In November 2008, the year Wanda Austin became CEO of The Aerospace Corp., Aviation Week & Space Technology featured her on the cover with a three-page profile inside. “The fact that Austin is a woman and an African-American is impossible to miss,” the magazine wrote.
Regarding “Pyrology for Cargo” (AW&ST Dec. 17, p. MRO22), I believe a common element as to the possible causes of each of the fire-related accidents cited was certain lithium-ion batteries. That the cargo airlines involved and the FAA have not banned carriage of these batteries is another case of moral turpitude, trading assets and human lives for some miniscule gain in profit margin.
French arms maker Thales has chosen former Vivendi Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy to pursue continued recovery of the group and its future development. Levy, 57, replaces outgoing CEO Luc Vigneron, who, after three years as head of Thales, had lost the support of the company's majority shareholders, the French state and Dassault Aviation. The change came two days after Dassault announced Eric Trappier would succeed Charles Edelstenne as chairman and chief executive of the French aircraft maker, effective Jan. 9.
Korean Air Lines said last month it aimed to be Asia's strongest aerospace company by 2020. Even by South Korean standards, the assertion seemed a little ambitious, since the company's aircraft and space division is not a fifth of the size of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' aerospace company, and hardly compares with the sprawling Avic group in China.
Jeff Smisek has been appointed chairman of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings Inc., effective Dec. 31. He will remain president/CEO. Smisek succeeds Glenn Tilton, who also was chairman/CEO of UAL Corp. before it merged with Continental. Tilton will remain on the board of directors. Other appointments are: Jim Compton, vice chairman/chief revenue officer; and Jeff Foland, executive vice president-marketing, technology and strategy.
Aviation Week & Space Technology marks a major transition every eight to 10 years, when the editor-in-chief passes the torch to his successor. The next such milestone will occur on Dec. 31. After months of preparation, I will bring to a close my 24-year career at Aviation Week, though I plan to stay deeply engaged in aerospace.
As part of Boeing and Embraer's recent pact to cooperate on commercial aircraft features designed to enhance safety and efficiency, the two airframers are planning an initiative to reduce runway excursions. These have resulted in more than 780 fatalities in 15 accidents from 2002-11.
USAF Lt. Gen. Stanley E. Clarke, 3rd, has been named director of the Air National Guard in the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon. He has been commander of the First Air Force (Air Force North) and the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, Tyndall AFB, Fla. Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak has been appointed assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration at USAF Headquarters. He has been commander of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center of Air Force Materiel Command, Kirtland AFB, N.M. Harencak will be succeeded by Brig.
A three-man multinational crew that includes veteran astronaut Chris Hadfield, who is scheduled to become the first Canadian to command the International Space Station in mid-March, was on track late last week to dock with the orbiting laboratory Dec. 21. The Soyuz TMA-07M capsule carried cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Hadfield. The newcomers are expected to restore the ISS's crew to its full complement of six members for the first time since Nov. 19.
India officially took delivery of the first of eight P-8I maritime patrol aircraft last week, although it has not yet left Boeing's Seattle factory. The navy is to receive two more in 2013 and the fourth and fifth aircraft are now in assembly.
With belts tightening across Europe, the EU is pushing the case for increased defense cooperation among its 27 member states, particularly when it comes to enhancing military capabilities in support of joint security and defense operations. EU leaders in December said the continent's economic crisis ultimately could force Euro-skeptics to share planning and development of key defense requirements in an effort to save money and facilitate interoperability on the battlefield.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), currently the longest-serving woman in Congress, will now become the first woman to lead one of what is perhaps its most powerful panels, the Senate Appropriations Committee. Mikulski takes control of the committee after the recent death of Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), who had chaired the full committee since 2009 and led Democrats on the defense subcommittee since 1989. And she will serve alongside Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), who will lead Republicans on the panel.
The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have met two major milestones for the F-35 this year just under the wire—establishing a contract for the next production lot that targets an incremental cost decrease and laying the foundation to start training pilots in January. Both are major steps forward for the $400 billion Joint Strike Fighter program managed by Lockheed Martin. But both came only after months of wrangling.
Pratyush Kumar has been appointed president of Boeing India, based in New Delhi. He succeeds Dinesh Keskar, who returned to Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Kumar was New Delhi-based president and CEO of GE Transportation for South Asia.
Joseph C. Anselmo's “Decline and Opportunity” commentary (AW&ST Dec. 3, p. 14) is an overly simplistic assessment of the “negotiations” within the government surrounding the pending fiscal cliff. To assert that Congress lacks the maturity of a six-year-old is nonsensical. Congress is not a single entity intent on doing what is best for the country. It is a collection of 535 Big Egos, each beholden to some group or ideology that elects them.
Teeing up an issue for Congress in 2013, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), have introduced a bill that would push the FAA to begin setting privacy rules for the use of UAVs in civilian airspace. UAVs can carry “infrared thermal imagers, radar and wireless network 'sniffers,' with the capability to collect sensitive detailed information while operating in the skies above,” according to Markey. As such, he is seeking to regulate their use.
John L. Berizzi has been named to the Technical Sales Group of Greenville, S.C.-based Stevens Aviation. He was a charter sales representative at Hop-A Jet.
The revenue of Russia's United Aircraft Corp. in 2012 is expected to reach 180 billion rubles (about $5.8 billion), CEO Mikhail Pogosyan said last week. By the end of 2012, UAC is expected to have delivered 20 commercial aircraft, and 35 military aircraft to the Russian defense ministry. For the first time the deliveries to the Russian military will outnumber the exported combat aircraft, said Pogosyan. The corporation delivered 102 combat and civil aircraft last year.
