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 newly established NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) is reviewing the upcoming return to flight of the X-43A hypersonic demonstrator in response to a request from a member of the project team concerned that current aerodynamic models of the vehicle may not be accurate.
After months of delays, Marine Corps Systems Command has chosen AeroVironment of Monrovia, Calif., to build the backpack-portable Dragon Eye unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, The DAILY has learned. Over the next five years, AeroVironment is expected to build approximately 300 Dragon Eye systems, each consisting of one ground station and three aircraft. A fixed-wing, battery-powered surveillance UAV with a 45-inch wingspan, the Dragon Eye is launched by hand or with a bungee cord and controlled through a laptop ground station.
The Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche team is trying to ease the burden on Comanche pilots with an advanced cockpit interface that suppresses extraneous warning messages and simplifies the presentation of information. With this system, test pilots routinely experience no cautions or warnings during flights, said Rus Stiles, chief program test pilot for the Boeing-Sikorsky Comanche team.
