Derek Sharp has been appointed managing director for the Americas for Atlanta-based Travelport. He was senior director of applications at Electronic Data Systems/HP Enterprise Services.
Patrick Yeung (see photo) has been named CEO of Hong Kong-based Dragonair, succeeding James Tong. Yeung was director, general manager and chief representative of John Swire & Sons (China).
Will Zmyndak (see photo) has become director of operations at Chromalloy's Orangeburg, N.Y., advanced coating and repair plant. He was VP-aftermarket operations at Barnes Aerospace Aftermarket.
Laurie Leshin, NASA deputy associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, will join the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., as dean of the School of Science. Jon Morse, director of NASA's Science Mission Directorate's Astrophysics Division, will become RPI associate VP for research.
Beth A. Rayner has been named human resources manager at Aspen Avionics, Albuquerque, N.M. Rayner owned a technical recruiting firm that specialized in the engineering and information technology industries.
Paul S. Ratte has become director of aviation safety programs at New York-based U.S. Aircraft Insurance Group. He was the commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Atlantic City, N.J.
In Washington, it is now widely accepted that cuts to U.S. security spending will go well beyond the $330 billion, 10-year haircut approved by Congress early this month. If bitterly divided lawmakers cannot agree this year on a way to cut another $1.5 trillion from the U.S. budget deficit, the Pentagon's baseline budget will automatically be returned in 2013 to its fiscal 2007 level—and remain there for another eight years.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is planning a trial in the first quarter of 2012 to demonstrate the ability of two experimental Space Tracking and Surveillance System satellites to provide firing data for an Aegis ballistic missile defense test. The Northrop Grumman satellites, launched in 2009, will be the primary sensors for launching a Raytheon SM-3 IB missile at an Aegis Readiness Assessment Vehicle target. If successful, this test is expected to provide a significant advance for space-based sensing for missile defense.
Aiming for first delivery in 2016 of the foreign fighter aircraft winner of its F-X competition, Japan is scheduled Sept. 26 to choose three main local manufacturers. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI and Mitsubishi Electric seem likely to be chosen to build the airframe, engine and systems, respectively, since a major challenge confronting the defense ministry is to preserve the country's fighter industrial base. The Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning and Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet are the contenders for the order for 42 aircraft.
A pilot program to derail cyberattacks is being tested by at least 20 companies, four Internet providers and the U.S. Homeland Security Department, and it will soon be expanded to the rest of the defense-industrial base. The new cyberdefense strategy—Defense Industrial Base Cyber Pilot—lets the Defense Department share National Security Agency tools gained through intelligence-gathering to locate malicious network intrusions.
Obama administration officials say the U.S. Navy will provide the market for the nation's nascent biofuel industry as part of a White House initiative to kick-start the alternative-energy sector. The Navy and Marine Corps will partner with the Energy and Agriculture departments to share equally in a $510 million investment over three years—estimated at half the private sector's cost—in the production of so-called “drop-in” aviation and marine biofuels, which can be used with existing fuels.
An armed U.S. Navy/Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter is to be fielded within 18 months. The requirement for rapid deployment means the Navy initially has selected BAE Systems' Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System to arm the MQ-8, as the laser-guided 70-mm rocket is already approved for deployment on ships. Northrop Grumman, however, will demonstrate Raytheon's Griffin laser-guided mini-missile this month. The Pentagon has validated the requirement for an endurance upgrade for the Fire Scout to support special operations.
The U.S. Marine Corps' plans to arm the AAI RQ-7B Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft with a 25-lb.-class precision munition have cleared NATO treaty compliance hurdles, and the service aims to conduct a field-user evaluation within 18-24 months. NATO approval was needed as the rail-launched Shadow falls under a treaty intended to prevent the proliferation of intermediate-range cruise missiles.
The U.S. Marine Corps has purchased two Insitu Integrator small unmanned aircraft systems for use in pre-deployment training for forces headed to Afghanistan. The U.S. Navy plans to buy two systems for special-warfare units.
AeroVironment has received a $65 million contract for the urgent delivery of 180 Puma AE small unmanned aircraft systems to the U.S. Army to meet a surge requirement to equip every maneuver unit in Afghanistan with the hand-launched UAV, previously used principally by route clearance patrols.
Thailand's newly appointed transport minister says he has no plans to replace Thai Airways International's president and supports in principle the airline's plans to establish a low-cost carrier in partnership with Singapore's Tiger Airways. The previous transport minister, Sophon Saram, opposed the Thai Tiger joint venture, but the new one, Sukampol Suwannathat, said in Bangkok that he anticipates the Thai Civil Aviation Department will approve the start-up.
The Airbus A340-300 is the top disassembly pick for GA Telesis because acquisition costs are low, parts have commonality with other A340s and the A330, and the CFM56 engine has a large operator base, says Stefan Kageman, GA Telesis VP of aircraft sales and marketing. In addition, because four engines power the aircraft instead of two, its maintenance costs are higher, which also means there is a demand for used components.
With a state unemployment rate of 9.2% and concern running deep about where Boeing might put jobs for its 737 reengining program, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D) spent part of Congress's August recess visiting five of the small aerospace suppliers scattered across her state of Washington. Murray was there to give a boost to the federal-state Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee, which is using veteran factory workers as mentors to develop a new generation of skilled manufacturing workers.
The down economy is producing new opportunities for SimCom, which is picking up 14 more simulators and associated courseware from FlightSafety International. SimCom executives decided when the downturn hit to continue to build the business through acquisition of equipment already on the market, even while they slowed down the purchase of new simulators, says founder and CEO Wally David. The company was able to pick up simulator and training programs from CAE and the former PrestoSim facility in Dallas.
The first Turkish Aerospace Industries-built T129, or P6, has joined the flight-test activity for the country's ATAK attack helicopter program. The Turkish army wants to field an initial batch of T129s—being codeveloped with AgustaWestland on the AW129 platform—by mid-2012. In order to maintain operational capabilities, the government has devised a plan focused initially on so-called early-delivery helicopters that will pave the way for the full-up ATAK's arrival in the second half of 2013. The program suffered a major setback last year when the first prototype crashed.
Three years of work with data generated by the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (Stereo) has given the space-weather field a tool for better accuracy in predicting the time and intensity for massive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) arriving at Earth. Launched in tandem into heliocentric orbits on Oct. 26, 2006, the two Stereo spacecraft have been returning 3-D imagery of the Sun's corona for more than four years (AW&ST April 30, 2007, p. 15).
Israeli physicist Eliyahu M. Goldratt, who died this past June at age 64, is best remembered for the Theory of Constraints, which focuses on the weakest links in an organization's production and management processes. Over the years, his pioneering studies have evolved and are often called critical paths or critical chains.
Now in its 60th year and with 40 learning centers on four continents instructing tens of thousands of pilots, mechanics, dispatchers and flight attendants annually, FlightSafety International is one of the best-known aviation training organizations there is. And, regardless of its schoolmarm reputation, the Berkshire Hathaway unit is an exemplar of vertical integration.
