Janet G. Figone has been named manager of customer service at the Los Alamitos, Calif., facility of the Timken Co., Canton, Ohio. She was director of customer service for a power management technology company.
Stephan Krenz (see photo) has become senior VP and general manager of Switzerland-based Jet Aviation Basel. He was president of Bombardier's Germany and Scandinavia business unit.
George A. Williams has been appointed director of human resources at Tampa (Fla.) International Airport. He held the same position for Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa.
Tom Lieser has been named manager of Lincoln, Neb.-based Duncan Aviation's avionics satellite facility in St. Paul, Minn. A Duncan Aviation employee since 2003, Lieser was crew leader of the company's avionics satellite shop in Chicago.
Dennis Hildreth has been appointed manager-original equipment manufacturer sales at Aircell, Broomfield, Colo. He joins Aircell from Rockwell Collins, where he was principal marketing manager.
Paul Gregorowitch has been named chief commercial officer at Air Berlin. He was head of operations for Dutch airline Martinair, where he will be succeeded by Diedrick Pen.
Larry Dean has joined CRS Jet Spares, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as Western U.S. sales manager. He was a member of the Atlantic Aviation, Jet Aviation and International Jet sales teams for aircraft management and charter services.
Jane Jurgensen has been named VP-business development at Mesa, Ariz.-based Aero-Zone. She was account director for civil customer management at GE Aviation Systems.
USAF Brig. Gen. Jack Weinstein is among six of his rank to be selected for promotion to major general. Weinstein is deputy director of programs for the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. Others are: Robert E. Wheeler, deputy director of nuclear operations at U.S. Strategic Command Headquarters, Offutt AFB, Neb.; Martin Whelan, director of nuclear support at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.; Stephen W.
USAF Brig. Gen. Jack Weinstein is among six of his rank to be selected for promotion to major general. Weinstein is deputy director of programs for the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. Others are: Robert E. Wheeler, deputy director of nuclear operations at U.S. Strategic Command Headquarters, Offutt AFB, Neb.; Martin Whelan, director of nuclear support at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.; Stephen W.
As defense budget cutbacks in the U.S. and Europe begin to bite into corporate sales and profits, military contractors have a choice of two paths. They can seek new avenues of growth by making acquisitions and selling their technologies into other markets. Or they can become smaller but more focused by spinning off underperforming business units.
Six weeks after a TP400D turboprop gearbox failure, the Airbus Military A400M airlifter program is still being impacted by the setback that has begun to erode the schedule margin the program had accumulated. Europrop International has not yet identified the root case for an inflight pinion failure. Also, Airbus has been forced to cannibalize engines intended for aircraft yet to join the flight-test program, to keep the four A400Ms now in trials flying. An industry official says several sorties have been scrapped as a result of the bottleneck.
The French government has finalized its near-term medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft plan, signing an updated proposal from Dassault Aviation to supply the Israel Aerospace Industries Heron-TP for that role. Dassault recently modified its proposal for the Heron-TP, to provide a largely off-the-shelf system. The Heron-TP will replace IAI Herons operating on an interim basis in Afghanistan. France also reaffirms plans to field a new system in 2020, to be developed with the U.K.
Boeing is dropping its delivery expectations for its twin-engine 787 and four-engine 747-8 development programs to a combined 25-30 airplanes, down from its 2011 expectation for up to 40 for both aircraft. The company has not broken down rates for those deliveries, but those for the 787 are expected to be no more than single digits.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers on July 27 urged U.S. State and Transportation department officials to file a World Trade Organization complaint against the inclusion of international aviation in the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS). Recognizing that a WTO challenge could take years, and that the ETS goes into effect for airlines on Jan. 1, House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) introduced the “European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011,” which would bar U.S. airlines from participating in the system.
GPS interference caused by a planned broadband wireless network could cost at least $70 billion and an additional 30 million tons of CO2 over the next 10 years through the loss of efficiency and safety benefits, estimates the FAA. LightSquared, which plans to deploy the nationwide network of terrestrial transmitters, says the FAA's assessment does not reflect the latest proposal to begin service using only its lowest block of frequency spectrum furthest from GPS.
In voting late last week, leaders of the Society of Professional Engineering and Employees in Aerospace (Speea) Local 2001 recommended against a 9.5-year contract proposal from Spirit AeroSystems of Wichita for the 2,300 members of the Wichita Technical and Professional Unit. The union leaders' aim is to force Spirit's management back to the bargaining table, which it left July 19 after making what it called a best-and-final offer.
Airbus has made a major move on the air traffic management front with its acquisition of Metron Aviation, a company that is heavily involved in the U.S. NextGen effort. A definitive agreement has been reached, although the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
The first test of a solar-powered, high-altitude airship demonstrator terminated prematurely on July 27, apparently due to a helium leak. Lockheed Martin launched the High Altitude Long Endurance Demonstrator from Akron, Ohio, with the goal of achieving a 60,000-ft. altitude. However, the airship attained only 32,000 ft. when controllers decided to bring the vehicle down. It landed in treetops in southwestern Pennsylvania, and recovery efforts are under way.
NASA contractors are carrying out long-planned layoffs in the wake of the final flight of the space shuttle. The day after Atlantis knifed through predawn Florida skies on July 21 to touch down in the final act of a spirited 30-year program, the shuttle program dropped 3,200 of the 5,500 contract workers who stood shoulder to shoulder with 1,200 civil servant colleagues to prepare and conduct the final mission.
A Nov. 30 launch date has been set for the first cargo supply mission by SpaceX's Falcon 9 launcher to the International Space Station, says Garrett Reisman, head of SpaceX's astronaut safety program. Two mission packages have been combined for the launch from Cape Canaveral, the COTS-2 automated approach test and the COTS-3 berthing test. Reisman says if the COTS-2 test is unsuccessful, COTS-3 will not be attempted.
The longtime chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Tom Poberezny, has retired, effective Aug. 1. He also had been president and CEO since 1989 of the organization his father Paul started in 1958. Tom Poberezny also had been chairman of the EAA's annual AirVenture convention and fly-in (see photo) since 1977. His accomplishments include overseeing the Oshkosh, Wis., organization's first major capital campaign, which was created to build the current EAA Aviation Center headquarters and museum at Wittman Regional Airport.
