Out of the blue, like a precision-guided strike from a stealth aircraft, a legislative provision suddenly being considered on Capitol Hill could mean the beginning of the end of the notorious Navy A-12 Avenger II. If so, the development at least would settle the long-running lawsuit between Washington and General Dynamics (GD) and Boeing, which is good news—but it also would indelibly stain U.S. acquisition practices, and could have ramifications for the Navy's tactical air posture for most of this century.
The great strides that Africa's commercial aviation industry has made in recent years—with the emergence of strong scheduled carriers such as Egyptair, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways—has not been beneficial for Africa's wet-lessors. “Wet-leasing is not as popular as before,” says Apandi Lakhiyalov, group CEO of Aerovista, a leasing company based in Dubai that provides wet leases in Africa and other emerging markets using its Georgian and Tanzanian air operator certificates (AOCs).
Vincent Pagano, Jr., has been appointed to the board of directors of New York-based L-3 Communications. He is a retired partner in the New York law firm Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett.
In the 1930s, large segments of France's economy—including the aviation industry—were acquired by a newly elected left-wing government. The final part of the nationalization program became reality shortly after World War II ended, when engine manufacturers Gnome & Rhone and Renault were consolidated to form state-owned Snecma.
Roderick McLean has been named vice president/general manager and Michael Cawood vice president/deputy of the F-16/F-22 Integrated Fighter Group (IFG) at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth. McLean was vice president/program manager for the next-generation trainer program and had been IFG vice president/deputy. Cawood was vice president of F-16/F-22 IFG product development.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is taking the unusual measure of activating an in-orbit Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) spare as experts try to rescue the primary spacecraft, which that has failed to transmit imaging and sounding data for a second time in less than a year.
Bombardier's new Challenger 350 will have 20% taller cabin windows, more standard cabin equipment, a modular galley and a Lufthansa Technik high-definition cabin management system that offers touch-screen controls.
Randy Phillips (see photos) has become senior vice president-corporate development/chief strategy officer of TASC, Chantilly, Va. He was vice president-corporate development and strategy for the Computer Sciences Corp. Joseph Pacileo has been named vice president of the Mission Solutions unit. He was vice president-cyber operations for the ManTech International Corp.
Steffen Wurst has been named senior vice president-human resources of Zurich-based SR Technics. He was director of executive search consulting firm Odgers Berndtson in Hamburg and had been chief human resources officer at the transport and logistics division of Deutsche Bahn.
Paul R. Adams, who is chief operating officer of Pratt & Whitney, is among the new members of the Washington-based National Academy of Engineering. He was cited for leadership and innovation for gas turbine engines, especially the geared turbofan. Other new members are: Charbel H. Farhat, who is Vivian Hoff Professor of Aircraft Structures/chairman of the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department at Stanford (Calif.) University, for contributions to computing fluid-structure interactions and their applications in aeronautical, naval and mechanical engineering; R.
As much as Boeing is benefitting from a 737 customer base that is replacing older models, it also has seen a 13% cancellation rate this year. The company reported a whopping 101 737 orders from an unidentified customer or customers in its May 21 update, but it also racked up 24 unidentified cancellations in the same period. For the year, Boeing has seen 57 cancellations from 424 gross orders. The order boost includes 40 737NGs and 61 737 MAXs, raising that reengined version's total to 1,376.
The French air force is responding to operational needs of special forces fighting Islamist rebels in Mali, speeding integration of a new laser-guided air-to-ground missile on the Rafale fighter and declaring initial operating capability for its use against moving targets.
With air threats to ground forces expanding beyond traditional manned aircraft and ballistic missiles, the U.S Army must decide how to counter lower-cost unmanned aircraft and cruise missiles, as well as rocket, artillery and mortar (RAM) threats at an affordable price.
This week, Aviation Week publishes two editions. On the far left cover, a Dassault Falcon 7X business jet and Rafale fighter fly near the Bay of Biscay in southern France (photo by Katsuhiko Tokunaga). Like some others in our annual Top-Performing Companies analysis (page 48), Dassault, the leader in its class, balances defense and commercial business to achieve exemplary results. Elsewhere in both editions are a special report on African aviation (page 39) and articles on Indian helicopters (page 31), 787 glitches (page 35) and aero aluminum technology (page 37).
Eliza Southard (see photo) has become product support director for Cincinnati-based Nexcelle, the joint venture of GE's Middle River Aircraft Systems and Aircelle. She has been business partnerships leader for the GP7000/GEnx engine programs and business leader for GE Engine Services' component repair.
While fixed base operations (FBOs) are key elements in business aviation's infrastructure, their existence is largely unknown to the public. Except in San Jose, Calif. Silicon Valley's Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is owned and operated by the city. Business aircraft alighting there use Atlantic Aviation, which succeeded the San Jose Jet Center when its parent, Australia's Macquarie Group, acquired it in 2007.
The first Canadian command of the International Space Station ends safely with this May 14 parachute landing of Soyuz TMA-07M in southern Kazakhstan. Onboard were Canada's Chris Hadfield, the first of his countrymen to command an ISS mission increment; U.S. astronaut Tom Marshburn, and cosmonaut Roman Romanenko. Throughout Hadfield's nearly five months in orbit, the retired 53-year-old Canadian air force colonel exhibited his musical talents and skills as a photographer and with social media to share his experiences.
Gary Klein has been appointed president of Dynamic Materials Corp.'s AMK Welding, South Windsor, Conn. He was general manager for the Americas at DYNAenergetics and succeeds Nelson Rouette, who is no longer with the business. Klein was vice president of operations for Tegrant Corp., and had been vice president of Ametek's Aerospace Sensors and Fluid Management Systems.
Beechcraft CEO Bill Boisture made it poignantly clear in a recent Viewpoint (AW&ST April 29, p. 54) that the AT-6 is a superior choice but was denied. The AT-6 has a smaller frame, wing and tail, meaning it is a smaller target. It weighs less yet carries more fuel thus is a more efficient platform. It has more firepower, bullets and other types of weapons, plus more usable weapon stations. Boisture points out 12 other facts making the AT-6 a superior choice.
Joseph T. Houghton has been named vice president of training and flight operations support and head of the Airbus Training Center in Miami for Airbus Americas. He was vice president of flight operations at Spirit Airlines, a founding officer and chief pilot at Virgin America, and an assistant chief pilot at US Airways.
Ben Murray has become president of the aircraft management and charter division of Houston-based Landmark Aviation. He has been president of XOJet, president/chief operating officer of NetJets and president/CEO of Executive Jet Management. Honors And Elections
EasyJet has flown a ton of volcanic ash from Iceland to the U.K. to prepare for final tests to gain commercial certification of the Avoid (Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector) ash-detection technology by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The low-cost carrier is partnering with Airbus and Nicarnica Aviation, a spin-off company of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, to test the Avoid system at high altitude and prepare for the industrialization of the technology.
