Eric Ruff has become press secretary in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. He was a special assistant to the deputy Defense secretary.
I was glad to see the letter from Tari Taricco and see that someone else thought the same thing I did (AW&ST July 3, p. 6). I too am a pilot and mechanical engineer (retired Air Force and aerospace engineer). I have never heard of a Boeing aircraft losing its tail because of control input. The Airbus A300 should have been grounded until it was determined to be structurally adequate to handle these loads. The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA failed not only the flight crew, but the passengers and American people as well.
W. Keith Watkins asserts it is morally wrong to spend money on manned space exploration when there are unmet human needs in the U.S. (AW&ST June 19, p. 7). He cites universal health insurance, Gulf Coast reconstruction and Mexican border security as better uses of those funds.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin says he will recommend that Congress continue to fund the troubled Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) program. Sofia is a Boeing 747 modified to carry a 50,000-lb., 2.5-meter infrared telescope supplied by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Designed to fly at altitudes up to 45,000 ft., Sofia is expected to capture infrared images superior to those of even the largest ground telescopes.
John M. Doyle (Washington), William B. Scott (Colorado Springs)
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is campaigning to "accelerate" the Missile Defense Agency's capabilities to intercept incoming ballistic missiles in the wake of North Korea's July 4-5 tests.
Pierre Sparaco's article "Missed Opportunity" was his second plea for cultural change of the French aviation community's investigative priorities regarding the Air Inter Flight 5148 accident of 1992, which involved an Airbus A320. This is a study in what I term "aviation anthropology," or the comparative study of human societies, cultures and their development. It appears that this society's "cultural perspective" has allowed the judicial system to dominate the investigative focus while the critical needs of safety experts are being ignored.
Universal Fabric Structures Inc. (UFS) provides cost-effective engineered fabric structure systems for military and industrial needs as well as for sports and event applications, worldwide. Recently, Universal partnered with Bethesda, Md.-based Futron Corp. to deliver two 21.9 X 35-meter (71.8 X 114.8-ft.) Universal TFS structures to Al Taqaddum, Iraq, about 74 km. (46 mi.) west of Baghdad. The request stemmed from a U.S. Marine Corps need for secure facilities in which to handle the retrofitting of military vehicles at the site.
John S. Slattery, a managing director of the Royal Bank of Scotland and head of RBS Aviation Capital for the Americas, has been named to the board of directors of New York-based Orbis International.
The aviation industry needs to re-think radically the way it tackles environmental issues--or risk becoming increasingly treated as a "pariah" industry by politicians and community leaders.
While I have visions of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) bouncing back into the air after initial contact with the ground (as in Mars Rover landing animations), I'm sure the system depicted on the June 19 cover is designed to deflate and transmit reduced g-forces to the CEV. It would seem though that a big, complicated system is required to decelerate this multi-ton vehicle and protect the astronauts. Perhaps there is another way.
A Bordeaux-based facility to simulate nuclear warhead explosions will double as a research asset to establish the southwestern region of France as a global center in laser and optics technologies. The facility, whose target vessel is shown, is to enter operation in 2011 (see p. 122). Although the primary user will be the ministry of defense, 15% of operating time will be available to outside users, in particular an adjacent research cluster known as the Laser Road.
Gary Yomantas (see photo) has become executive officer of the Minebea Co. Ltd., Chatsworth, Calif. He has been president of subsidiary New Hampshire Ball Bearings and general manager for the Americas of affiliate NMB (USA).
Not all Pentagon programs need to move at the glacial speed of the biggest-ticket items, says John Young, Jr., the Pentagon's director of defense research and engineering. Young allows that "some degree of program process and rigor" is appropriate for high-end acquisitions.
Diamond Aircraft is targeting certification of its new surveillance aircraft for early next year and it is working on a version for unmanned operations.
Robert Wall and Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Douglas Barrie (London)
Boeing is on track to blow rival manufacturer Airbus out of the water in terms of order intake this year. It is outselling its competitor by a four-to-one margin. Airbus and Boeing officials generally see the market as balanced as long as the two remain in a 60-40% band. But with Boeing net orders through July 5 standing at 480 aircraft, and Airbus's through June 30 at 117, the European aircraft maker has a busy six months ahead to get back in the game.
Gerald F. Fitzgerald, Jr., has been appointed to the board of directors of the AAR Corp., Wood Dale, Ill. He is president/chairman of Cornerstone Bancorp and LaSalle Bancorp Inc.
Even as budget pressures at the Pentagon intensify, Lockheed Martin President and CEO Robert J. Stevens says the company is maintaining its edge. Lockheed Martin reaped $19.4 billion in prime contracts in Fiscal 2005 alone. Despite being known for the aircraft produced by the aeronautics sector--including the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes and the $276-billion multinational Joint Strike Fighter--the systems and information technology group outstripped aeronautics' sales by $7 billion last year, and Stevens plans to continue aggressively pursuing work in this area.
Eric P. Roy has been named executive vice president of AircraftLogs.com, a subsidiary of Stewart-Ratcliff Aviation Services Inc., Columbus, Ohio. He is a former executive vice president of AirNet Systems.
Last year's record orders for Airbus and Boeing nearly doubled the backlog for both and will put the industry on a vast capacity expansion over the next five years as the deliveries play out. In the Asia-Pacific region, this boost is a payoff to increased liberalization and reflects the advent of budget carriers.
USAF Lt. Gen. William M. Fraser, 3rd, has become assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. He has been vice commander of Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va. ANG Maj. Gen. Craig R. McKinley has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general with assignment as director of the National Guard Bureau at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He has been assistant deputy chief of staff for plans and programs at USAF Headquarters. Maj. Gen. Allen G.
The Aircraft Mobile Access Platform is constructed of heavy-duty aluminum, designed to be lightweight and mobile. Urethane wheels allow it to be positioned in the work area by one person. A hand-operated winch can adjust the ladder to heights for accessing tail and engine structures in most aircraft, according to the company. Tie-off points at the top of the platform allow for up to two users and provide 100% tie-off from the ground up. Custom heights and designs are available. Flexible Lifeline Systems, 15325 W. Hardy Road, Houston, Tex. 77060 or www.fall-arest.com
Chris Charnley has become vice president-sales for Canada and Latin America, Don Dwyer vice president-global commercial sales and Jeff Anastas sales director for the Middle East, India, and South and Central Asia for the Wichita, Kan.-based Raytheon Aircraft Co. Doug Brantner has been named vice president and Skip Madsen general manager of Raytheon Aircraft Services.
Continuing evidence of the comparative health of the U.K.'s aerospace sector is provided by this year's government "Value Added Scoreboard." The study, fronted by the Trade and Industry Dept., is an attempt to identify wealth creation by company and by sector, both at the British and European levels. Figures for the aerospace sector show its value-added contribution increased by 5%. The sector is the 17th largest in the U.K.'s 800 overall companies, contributing 2% of the total U.K. value-added, according to the report.
Christopher DiSantis has become vice president-manufacturing innovation for the Cleveland-based Hawk Corp. He will remain president of the Hawk Precision Components Group.
The FAA says an en-route traffic flow initiative will reduce the need for airport ground-delay programs during this summer's thunderstorm season. The Airspace Flow Program (AFP) was introduced in early June and already has helped cut delays, according to the FAA and Air Transport Assn. When the AFP is activated, it imposes delays only on flights that are routed through severe weather. This is a much more targeted approach than ground-delay programs, which affect all arriving flights at a specific airport, regardless of whether they are routed through the storm area.
