Mark Blanks has been appointed manager of the unmanned aircraft systems program at Kansas State Universityin Salina. He was interim director and flight operations manager for the unmanned aircraft systems program and an assistant professor of aerospace maintenance management at Middle Tennessee State University.
Ruth Bishop (see photo) has been named sector VP of quality, safety and mission assurance in the Herndon, Va.-based Technical Services sector of Northrop Grumman Corp. She was director of mission assurance for the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and Targeting Systems division in the Electronic Systems sector.
Thank you for the article about the Kodiak—an amazing aircraft (AW&ST Dec. 31, 2012/Jan. 7, p. 20). I was the lead engineer on this project for the first few years, and spent eight years with the company (in two stints) working through the initial type certification, and then up till the gross weight was increased to 7,255 lb. in 2010.
In winter-spring 1970, Boeing encountered “ovalization” problems with the engines on its 747. Several of the type were sidelined on the tarmac in Seattle with blocks of concrete where the engines were supposed to hang. Boeing will resolve the battery problem on its 787 as it did with its 747 wrinkles. Like the Marines, “The difficult will be done immediately, and the impossible will take a little longer.” New York, N.Y.
The freighter conversion business begins 2013 with a clear division: The market for narrowbody conversions is dynamic and growing, while the market for widebody aircraft has stagnated. The market's current status is belied by the statistics for 2012, when conversions were almost evenly split between the aircraft types. The 64 conversions included 28 widebody and 33 narrowbody aircraft, with the other three on turboprops, the Aviation Week Fleets database shows.
Australian regulators are playing a huge role in shaping the future of the country's airline industry. But with crucial rulings looming, the carriers' destinies will soon be back in their own hands.
Curt Brown, Eileen Collins and Bonnie Dunbar have been selected for induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Brown is a veteran of six space shuttle flights; Collins is the first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle; and Dunbar served as a shuttle mission specialist and payload commander.
North Korea said last week it would conduct its third nuclear test and continue long-range missile trials designed to reach the U.S. just as the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) was gearing up for a long-awaited return to flight of the system designed to protect the U.S. homeland from such an attack. The vow came a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed to a Washington-backed set of sanctions for Pyongyang in response to its December rocket launch.
Eric Trappier has been appointed chairman and CEO of Velizy-Villacoublay, France-based Dassault Aviation, succeeding Charles Edelstonne, who will retire but remain a director of the company. Trappier was VP for the Middle East and North Africa.
Plans for a 90-seat turboprop are rapidly taking shape on the drawing boards of European regional airliner manufacturer, ATR. On the back of a record year in terms of sales and deliveries, the company has also been quietly working on a business plan, which they hope will urge joint owners EADS and Finmeccanica to green-light the project this year.
David Cran (see photo) has been named airport manager of Cambridge Airport in England. He was airside operations manager at London Stansted Airport for BAA.
Orbital Sciences Corp. engineers are preparing for a static first-stage test of the company's Antares liquid-fuel rocket next month, with only one wet dress rehearsal to go before the on-pad test at Wallops Flight Facility, Va. A month to six weeks after that test, the company plans to launch an Antares with an instrumented test version of its Cygnus cargo carrier. And if that test flight goes well, first flight of an Antares/Cygnus stack to a grapple-and-berth linkup with the International Space Station would come in May or June, depending on ISS scheduling.
Kevin Sargent has been appointed chief operating officer of Derby, England-based Pattonair. Richard Gayle has become group commercial director and acting U.S. general manager in Fort Worth, and Richard Mogg has joined the company as commercial finance director. He comes from Capita's IT Service and consulting division. Steve Williams will head the human resources department, and Sue Williams, who has been with BAE Systems, will become group supply chain director.
Lillian Zarrelli Ryals has been promoted to director, senior VP and general manager of the FAA-sponsored Center for Advanced Aviation System Development at the McLean, Va.-based Mitre Corp. She has more than 30 years' experience in the National Airspace System research, modernization and operations. Sarah MacConduibh has been appointed VP of Air Force programs at Mitre. She was Air Force portfolio director of the organization's command and control center.
Curt Brown, Eileen Collins and Bonnie Dunbar have been selected for induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Brown is a veteran of six space shuttle flights; Collins is the first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle; and Dunbar served as a shuttle mission specialist and payload commander.
When safety issues arise with products used by millions of Americans, Congress is often quick to exercise its oversight role. But for the most part, lawmakers are willing to let the FAA and Boeing take time to discover just what caused the 787 battery fires that have grounded the fledgling fleet (see page 30). Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee who plans to retire in 2014, is one exception. He had a brief outburst last week pressing for congressional inquiry into the matter.
Mark Arimoto (see photos) has been promoted to associate general counsel from assistant general counsel at Hawaiian Airlines. Robin Kobayashi and Scott Miyasato have been appointed assistant general counsels. Kobayashi was an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, and Miyasato was general counsel for a medical device company.
