Lt. Gen. Patrick P. Caruana (USAF, Ret.), former vice commander of the Air Force Space Command, has received the Gen. Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy. He was cited for his leadership and managerial skills in supporting U.S. space programs.
Steve Koch has been promoted to vice president-operations from director of engineering of Composites Horizons, Covina, Calif. Jerry Lunde has been named vice president-engineering. He was a senior technical specialist for the Raytheon Aircraft Co.
Boeing and Aerojet are investigating the cause of two abnormal shock events that occurred in connection with the rocket engine of a Delta booster second stage as it successfully propelled the British Royal Air Force/Matra Skynet 4D spacecraft after launch from Cape Canaveral Jan. 9.
Drawing on a ``special ops'' legacy of innovation and unconventional approaches, the 58th Special Operations Wing has patched together funding from diverse sources to create one of the U.S. Defense Dept.'s most advanced flight training organizations.
William G. Wilson (see photos) has been named vice president-technology and Col. Lamberth W. Blalock, Jr. (USAF, Ret.) director of field marketing in Colorado Springs, for Alliant Techsystems of Minneapolis.
Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region are looking to defer or cancel aircraft orders, sell surplus inventory, discount fares and realign their markets to counter falling passenger bookings. Not all the actions carry a negative connotation: Australia and New Zealand are seen as positive markets for beleaguered Asian carriers. Still, Asian carriers are making mostly defensive moves as they are hit by a ``second wave'' of the effects of the Asian economic crisis.
Honeywell continues to test and evaluate a new cockpit voice command system. The company's Phoenix-based Business and Commuter Aviation Systems division is reporting good results using test software. Market research has found that although the concept initially is met with skepticism by most users, there is a strong desire by pilots to see an effective cockpit voice recognition system implemented. Pilots will accept about a 95% word recognition rate to start, according to Larry Clark, Next-Generation System team leader for Honeywell.
Higher than expected earnings, record sales and a forthcoming contract for Eurofighter aircraft will position Daimler-Benz Aerospace to play a lead role in the next phase of restructuring of the European aerospace industry, DASA Chairman/CEO Manfred Bischoff predicted.
U.S. airlines are chalking up record earnings for 1997--the third straight year of profitability for most--as they reap the benefits of strong demand, higher fare levels, continuing cost containment and restraint in adding capacity. Expectations are high for 1998.
Nissan Motors, one of Japan's major solid-propellant rocket manufacturers, is studying a proposal to offer a new low-cost, small solid-rocket motor that would compete with government-sponsored boosters. The effort is apparently aimed at the market for launching small payloads into low and medium Earth orbits. One question mark is whether Japan's Science and Technology Agency will buy a commercial vehicle. Until now, Japan's government-owned spacecraft have been put into orbit by government-sponsored boosters.
AIRBUS INDUSTRIE HAS CONFIRMED the appointment of Noel Forgeard, currently president of the Lagardere group, as its new managing director. Forgeard will take over from Jean Pierson, who is retiring. Airbus also named Dietrich Russell, a member of the board of directors of Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA), chief operating officer, while DASA Chairman and CEO Manfred Bischoff will become chairman of the Airbus supervisory board, replacing Edzard Reuter, who is also retiring. All appointments become effective on Apr. 1.
French regional carrier Brit air is expected to float 37% of the company's shares to fund a wide-ranging growth plan this week. The Brittany-headquartered carrier last year concluded a franchise agreement with Air France. It operates 200 daily flights on thin domestic European routes with a 25-aircraft fleet comprising ATR 42/72 twin turboprops and Canadair Regional Jets. Seven additional aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in the next four years. In 1998, Brit air's traffic is expected to increase 20% to 1.32 million passengers.
Roy D. Resavage will become president of the Alexandria, Va.-based Helicopter Assn. International on Mar. 16. He will succeed Frank L. Jensen, Jr., who will retire. Resavage, a retired U.S. Navy captain, has been a project manager with PrimeCo. Personal Communications.
Fabrice Bregier has been appointed chairman/ CEO of Matra BAe Dynamics. He headed the Scalp and Storm Shadow missile programs. Bregier succeeds Noel Forgeard, who will become managing director of Airbus Industrie on Mar. 31.
NASA's First Earth Observing System spacecraft, EOS AM-1, is nearing completion. The spacecraft, pictured above at a Lockheed Martin facility in Valley Forge, Pa., was undergoing thermal vacuum tests last week in preparation for shipment this spring. It is scheduled for launch into a polar orbit in June or early July on an Atlas 2AS from Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
Arthur E. Wegner, chairman/CEO of the Raytheon Aircraft Co., has been elected chairman of the Washington-based General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. (GAMA) for 1998. L. David Caplan, chairman/CEO of Pratt&Whitney Canada, has been elected vice chairman.
American Eurocopter plans to begin construction next month of a 14,000-sq.-ft. addition that will triple the size of its rotor blade shop. Increased helicopter utilization prompted the new construction at the company's Grand Prairie, Tex., headquarters. The new building, which is scheduled to be completed by mid-year, will house repair and balancing equipment.
Brian Desormeaux has been appointed vice president-operations of Hughes Data Systems, Irvine, Calif. He was manager of workstation manufacturing for IBM in Austin, Tex.
Defense Minister Ian McLachlan has warned that improved military capabilities in the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) threaten to erode Australia's traditional regional leadership unless the country invests in information technology systems in command and surveillance.
Ivan A. Getting founding president of the Aerospace Corp. of Los Angeles, has received the U.S. Defense Dept. Medal for Distinguished Public Service. He received the medal for his service as a member of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 1946-1997. Getting was chairman of the board's electronics panel and implemented the Quick Reaction capability for Electronic Countermeasures.
Francis Bernard has received the French National Air and Space Academy's 1997 award. He was recognized for his accomplishments in developing Dassault Systemes' CATIA computer-aided design system.
Kenneth F. Kames has been appointed to the board of directors of the Dynamics Research Corp., Andover, Mass. He is vice president-business development of the Gillette Co.
The U.S.' most closely held, well-protected military secrets are no longer the improved stealth, unmanned strike aircraft, silent helicopters or high-precision, hypersonic missile projects that still populate the black world. The tightest security is drawn around the tactics and technologies that would allow the U.S. to penetrate a foe's computers and either clandestinely read his communications or actively corrupt the system.
