Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
The U.S. Army's plan for improving and modernizing Army aviation should be released in late winter or early spring, according to Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, director of the Army Aviation Transformation Task Force. Last year, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker tasked Thurman's team to perform a comprehensive study of Army aviation and come up with a set of recommendations for improving it. The study is seen as a major driver behind future Army aviation procurement decisions, including the final buy of the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter.
Sikorsky announced its team members in the competition to build the next presidential helicopter during a press briefing in Washington Jan. 7, while touting the "all American" nature of its candidate aircraft, the VH-92. The VH-92 is a derivative of Sikorsky's S-92, the first of which will be delivered to civil customers early this year (DAILY, July 10, 2003). The S-92 has logged approximately 3,000 flight hours to date, according to Sikorsky.
U.S. and Russian engineers continue to search for the cause of a slow loss of cabin pressure onboard the International Space Station (ISS), although the likeliest culprit is a Russian carbon dioxide removal unit, according to NASA. Station managers noticed a "subtle" decrease in cabin pressure on Jan. 2, according to ISS Operations Integration Manager Mike Suffredini. Subsequent analysis of ISS records revealed that the pressure drop began on Dec. 22, he said.
