Christopher White has been named director of public relations for AirTran Airways . He was deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs of the Transportation Security Administration.
Mike Stolarik has been named president/chief operating officer of Qinetiq North America , McLean, Va. He was president of Qinetiq North America’s Mission Solutions Group. Mark Greenfield has been appointed director of aerospace training for Qinetiq in the U.K., which operates the Empire Test Pilots’ School. He was head of flight safety training organization Ultimate High.
Meanwhile, U.S.-based Iridium says it will delay selection of a manufacturer for its second-generation MSS constellation, Iridium Next, to the second half of this year. The decision may be partly tied to a change in consideration for a proposed takeover of Iridium by GHL Acquisition Corp., announced on Apr. 28, that will delay the sale by several months. The change was prompted by a shift in equity market valuations since the original agreement in September.
Charles Richey has been promoted to vice president-operations from manager of the Atmospheric Measurement Business Unit at the Michigan Aerospace Corp. of Ann Arbor.
For Thomas Hobbes, “the natural state of men, before they entered into society, was a mere war—and that not simply, but a war of all men against all men.”
USMC Cols. John W. Bullard, Jr., Steven W. Busby and Michael A. Rocco have been nominated for promotion to brigadier general. Bullard has been head of aviation weapons requirements at Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington, while Busby has been executive assistant to the deputy commandant for aviation and Rocco has been commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group 39, Miramar, Calif. Lt. Col. Roger L. Cordell has assumed command of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, Md. He succeeds USN Capt. James A. Glass. Cordell was the school’s executive officer.
Despite initial misgivings, the U.S. Defense Dept. may give Congress an “interim” estimate on a potential, new multiyear acquisition of Boeing F/A-18s sooner rather than later. Gates told Senate appropriators June 9 that while he wants such a report to be part of the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review, he thinks the Pentagon could offer an initial assessment. Both he and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke favorably of the fighter. Gates said if Pentagon planners call for buying more F/A-18s, then a multiyear deal would make sense.
Airports are taking renewed interest in coordination of NextGen air traffic control developments and are seeking support for local airport studies to identify how technology advancements can be tailored to each airport’s unique operational issues. Christopher Oswald, vice president for safety and technical operations for the Airports Council International-North America, says airports have felt secondary in past planning efforts. Airport officials want a key role in participating in national NextGen planning efforts for the ground side.
As a 40-year reader I am saddened this time every year when I read your annual Top-Performing Companies issue, and how aerospace and defense has joined the rest of industry in being evaluated by a group of financial audit and rating firms—how our industry is being measured by “cash flow per employee” and metrics such as return on investment capital, even though Editor-in-Chief Anthony L. Velocci, Jr., warns that some of these “efficiencies” are being reached by cutting deeply into R&D (AW&ST June 1, p. 48).
Ray Peterson (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
Air traffic is off and carriers do not need as many aircraft, resulting in lower order rates, deferrals and outright cancellations. Depending on one’s perspective, the situation is either so-so or really bad.
Despite disappointing in-orbit failures and a continued U.S. embargo, China is slowly becoming a factor in the international telecom satellite market. China first broke into the telecom market in the late 1990s when China Great Wall Industries (CGWIC) landed contracts from Chinese and southeast Asian operators to launch four U.S. and European spacecraft on the LM-3B, a Long March vehicle used for large commercial telecom satellite missions.
The British Defense Ministry is considering retaining its Nimrod R1 electronic intelligence aircraft for three years beyond its notional out-of-service date of 2012, as it attempts to identify a replacement. At the same time, efforts are underway to conclude delivery of the Nimrod MR2 successor, the MRA4 maritime reconnaissance and attack aircraft, up to six months in advance of the previous schedule. While the Royal Air Force favors the U.S.
USAF Maj. Gen. (ret.) James B. Armor, Jr., has been named vice president-strategy and business development for Minneapolis-based Allied Techsystems Spacecraft Systems and Engineering Services. He was director of National Security Space Office in the Office of the Undersecretary of the Air Force.
Rob Waterhouse has been appointed director of sales for Satcom Direct , Satellite Beach, Fla. He was a sales executive in satellite technologies and services for Arinc.
Prof. Robert C. Owen Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
Having just read the interview with Norman Augustine (AW&ST May 12, p. 48) and having attended the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference on building and retaining the aerospace workforce, I can say we all know or think we know why young Americans are not drawn to engineering or other technology careers.
The U.K. intends to fund research on propulsion for deep-strike needs, marking a shift from the military engine approach laid out in the Defense Industrial Strategy.
Less than a year after flying its PW1000G geared turbofan (GTF) demonstrator for the first time, Pratt & Whitney appears to be gaining in confidence as it sets out its stall for Airbus and Boeing at the Paris air show. “They’re walking the walk with us,” says Bob Saia, Pratt vice president for the next-generation product family. Engineers just finished crunching data gathered on last year’s proving flights on the company’s Boeing 747SP flying testbed and the Airbus A340-600 technology demonstrator.
House Republican leaders have selected Rep. Howard (Buck) McKeon (R-Calif.) as the next ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. If approved by all Republicans in the chamber, McKeon will succeed Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) whom President Barack Obama has tapped to be Army secretary. McKeon currently sits on the panel’s air and land forces and strategic forces subcommittees, as well as the House unmanned aerial vehicles and missile defense caucuses.
Our industry is ambitious. Two years ago, just before the last Paris air show, I announced a vision for air transport to achieve carbon-neutral growth on the way to a carbon-free future.
Robert Wall (Paris), Andy Nativi (Genoa), Graham Warwick (Washington)
As Europe steps up efforts to meet its need for a future heavy-lift helicopter, it is becoming increasingly likely the project will focus on upgrading a current system rather than launching a brand-new design.
The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam will not license new airlines until 2015 to help incumbents cope with the global economic downturn and to relieve a shortage of skilled workers and infrastructure. The pressure on Vietnamese aviation skills and infrastructure is a result of the industry’s rapid growth. Vietnamese airlines carried 23 million passengers in 2008—a figure that is expected to more than double to 47 million for an approximate growth rate of 10%.
Pilots caught in the time warp of being older than 60 but younger than the FAA’s new mandatory retirement age of 65 are suing to get back in the air. But it’s unclear if they’ll find relief in court. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked why they are suing in San Francisco rather than in Washington. One unstated answer is the perception that the FAA has a home court advantage in the nation’s capital.
Craig Simpson has become director of European sales for Connecticut-based Titanium Industries Inc. He was U.K. general manager for Samuel Son & Co. (U.K.) Ltd. Honors and Elections
Reports of the death of the VH-71 presidential helicopter have been greatly exaggerated. Defense Secretary Robert Gates may have recommended axing the program when he first made his budget recommendations in early April, but now he finds himself shouting down critics concerned with wasting more than $3 billion that has already been spent on development. And the basic requirement for a new fleet for the president is still alive and well—even if the nine aircraft already built by Lockheed Martin-AgustaWestland don’t fit the bill.
Chris Stott and Dianne vanBeber have been elected to the board of directors of the New York-based Society of Satellite Professionals International . Stott is managing director of Mansat; and vanBeber is vice president-investor relations and corporate communications for Intelsat. She will be the board secretary. Richard P. Wolf has been appointed chairman of the board and Clayton Mowry president. Wolf is senior vice president-telecommunications and network origination services for ABC, while Mowry is president of Arianespace Inc.
