“Reaping the Benefits” (AW&ST Aug 15, p. 48) underscores—via the example of the Airborne Infrared system (ABIR)—why the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) needs to be back under the auspices of the Joint Capabilities Integration Development System (JCIDS). MDA has planned $178.5 million for ABIR through fiscal 2012—and probably much more for the Persistent Tracking Satellite System (PTSS)—without any effectiveness evaluation in a simulated combat environment.
To my knowledge, in company literature about Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, Scaled Composites has not stated a PSI measurement inside the airframe at altitude, or what the minuscule pressure is outside. In the promotional videos, there is not much of a spacesuit portrayed. I would like to see a chart in a future article that shows the common PSIs in a variety of aircraft. Lacey, Wash.
In “Open Season” (AW&ST June 27, p. 60), you quote Ike Song, Northrop Grumman's vice president for situational awareness systems, as saying: “Shrinking defense budgets make us do the right thing, which is why open architecture is important.”
Your recent editorial “Congress Bickers, Citizens Suffer” (AW&ST Aug. 8, p. 66), states: “And cutting spending in the midst of a weak recovery is exactly the wrong time to act.” The lack of spending cuts is exactly what brought on the fiscal problem in the first place! Just when do you think the right time to act is? Some point in the future may be too late. Westminster, Colo.
In response to a Leading Edge blog about a six-engine solution to designing a vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft that can lose any one of its propulsion units and complete its mission: Marcase writes: With six engines, fuel consumption will be substantial for an airframe of that size. djanes says: I've seen a concept with four before . . .
Senior Editor Graham Warwick writes: “The history of the very light jet sector is enough to give anyone pause. . . . But Stratos Aircraft is pursuing its single-engine Stratos 614, completing wind-tunnel tests of a 1/5th-scale model . . .” Details and a video of the tests are on the Business Aviation Now blog site.
An Ares Defense blog, “France, U.S. Dominate Libya Air Strikes,” notes that the Atlantic Council's tally is being rebutted by the U.K., and that a detailed after-action report will be needed. Signatory concurs: Yep, need more info eventually. That list mixes up definitions a bit, and data come from various months.
ARSA (Aeronautic Repair Station Association) wants maintenance providers to take a short survey on how the FAA's partial shutdown impacted business operations. See “Turnaround Time,” Aviation Week's aftermarket blog site, to participate.
Jason W. Aiken has been appointed CFO of the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga. He remains a VP of parent General Dynamics, where he has been controller. Aiken succeeds Daniel G. Clare, who is now president of GD subsidiary Jet Aviation. Kimberly A. Kuryea will follow Aiken as controller and corporate VP. She has been CFO of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems.
Denise Peppard (see photo) has been named corporate VP/chief human resources officer for the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. She held similar positions at CSC and has been senior VP-human resources at Wyeth.
Reed Kimbell has become production manager of Sifco Applied Surface Concepts, Independence, Ohio. He held a similar position at Goodyear Tire and Rubber and GOJO Industries.
Kevin F. Brown (see photo) has been appointed vice president of Raytheon's Fort Meade, Md., operations and deputy of the Information Security Solutions product line. He was senior vice president of the Cybersecurity Services and Solutions Operation for the Science Applications International Corp. and has been an associate professor and lecturer at George Washington University.
Andrew W. Camp has rejoined Elliott Aviation as regional sales manager, based in Grand Rapids, Mich. He was a regional sales manager for Elliott in Omaha, Neb., before holding a similar position for Hawker Beechcraft Services in Wichita.
Christian Forbes (see photos) has been named VP-financial planning and analysis and Steven Borzilleri managing director for Hawaii maintenance, both for Hawaiian Airlines. Forbes was VP for U.S. real estate for The Carlyle Group in Washington and held finance positions with US Airways. Borzilleri was director of technical operations support for US Airways before becoming a consultant on business development opportunities and aircraft certification for various aviation companies.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby, Jr., has been nominated for promotion to general and assignment as commander of U.S. Northern Command/commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. He has been director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Staff in Washington.
USN Rear Adm. (lower half) Diane E. H. Webber has been appointed director of the Net-Centric Capabilities Division in Washington. She was director of command control systems at North American Aerospace Defense Command Headquarters/director of architectures and integration for U.S. Northern Command.
Steve Bowlin (see photo) has been named general manager of Landmark Aviation's facility at Cincinnati Municipal Airport-Lunken Field. He was VP-fixed base operations for Kaz Aviation and was a general manager for Signature Flight Support and Mercury Air Centers.
Pawana Shrestha has become country manager in Nepal for Etihad Airways. She succeeds John Rees Evans and was an executive with global distribution system Galileo.
Ken Kaplan (see photo) has been appointed head of the Aviation Outreach Initiative at Vaughn College of New York. He has been an executive with the King Schools and a publisher and trade show producer.
Bonny Simi has been appointed VP-talent for JetBlue Airways. She was director of customer experience and analysis at the airline's Customer Support Center in Salt Lake City, and is one of JetBlue's Embraer 190 captains.
J. Veronica Biggins has been named to the board of directors of Southwest Airlines. She was a member of the board of AirTran Holdings Inc., parent company of AirTran Airways, which was acquired by Southwest in May 2011. Biggins is a managing director in the Atlanta office of Diversified Search and had been senior partner and head of diversity practice at Heidrick & Struggles in Atlanta.
USAF Maj. Gen. Bruce A. Litchfield has been appointed commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Tinker AFB. He was special assistant to the commander. Brig. Gen. Terrence A. Feehan has been nominated for promotion to major general. He has been deputy program manager for the Ballistic Missile Defense System for the Missile Defense Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Brig. Gen. Kenneth J. Moran has been appointed special assistant to the commander of Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Bonnie Allin, president/CEO of the Tucson (Ariz.) Airport Authority, has been appointed chair for 2011-12 of the board of directors of the International Association of Airport Executives, a division of the Alexandria, Va.-based American Association of Airport Executives. Vice chair will be Tonci Peovic, general manager of Zagreb (Croatia) Airport Ltd.
Brig. Gen. Charles L. Carr, Jr., (see photo) of Columbus, Ohio, has been elected national commander of the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. He was vice commander and will be succeeded by Col. Joseph R. Vazquez of Richmond, Va. Carr follows Maj. Gen. Amy S. Courter.
