With regard to “Unambiguous Upset” ( AW&ST June 16, p. 51) I have a suggestion that could be an effective and extremely cheap means to drill home upset training: First, all pilots should read Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche; second, they should undergo 10 hr. of dual training in a high-performance glider. With this background, pilots will know what makes an airplane fly, how to safely fly it—and they will be less involved in “systems management” issues.
As reported in “Change Agent” ( AW&ST June 30, p. 41), the NTSB recommended enlisting a panel of experts to develop a “context-dependent low-energy alerting system.” The NTSB and Boeing should look to Airbus, where such a warning has been in place on its fly-by-wire aircraft for decades. The warning announces “Speed-Speed-Speed” when the current thrust is not sufficient to recover a positive flightpath with pitch control.
The Delta Air Lines CEO’s recent Viewpoint, specifically his comments about the Export-Import bank, had me snickering. Richard Anderson calls for transparency into the bank’s business dealings. He wants complete information on intended transactions involving parties that may be affected economically (i.e. the airlines). And he wants Ex-Im to provide public justification for its activities.
USAF Maj. Gen. Leonard A. Patrick has been appointed vice commander of Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. He was commander of the command’s Second Air Force, Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Brig. Gen. Mark A. Brown, who has been selected for promotion to major general, has been named to succeed Patrick. Brown has been director of financial management at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Brig. Gen. John P.
Charles Buckland has been named general manager of Landmark Aviation’s Asheville (North Carolina) Regional Airport facility. He was general manager at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for Atlantic Aviation.
Lisa Ellman has joined Washington law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge’s public policy and regulatory practice. She was head of the U.S. Justice Department’s Working Group on Domestic Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson’s Viewpoint “Stop Subsidizing My Competitors” ( AW&ST June 30, p. 66) wavers when it focuses on widebody aircraft without a line of context. Why aren’t narrowbodies a concern? To make his point, Anderson cites a two-aircraft deal with Boeing versus a four-aircraft arrangement with Airbus that took place in 2012. Is this the only example available? Were there more in 2012, or in 2011 or in 2013? If so, he should strengthen his case.
Mark Salzano (see photo) has been appointed executive director of government contract training for New York-based FlightSafety International. He was director of training at the LaGuardia Airport Learning Center and succeeds Bill Nugent, who has retired. Paul Kuchta (see photo) has been appointed director of training operations. He was an assistant manager of the company’s Dallas Learning Center and is succeeded by Robert Standley (see photo), who has been promoted from director of maintenance training.
When announced in March 2013, plans to create the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) backed by more than £3 billion ($5.1 billion) in U.K. government and industry investment in research and development were heralded as a resounding endorsement of the U.K.’s continued major role in commercial aviation manufacturing.
Europe may not have a single NASA-like organization to act as a focal point for aeronautics research, but it does have Clean Sky. Now entering its culminating phase of demonstrations, and with a follow-on program starting, Clean Sky is having a powerful structuring effect, aligning not only European Union (EU)-funded research but also national programs with common aviation goals.
First, Japan decided in April to drop its arms export ban in order to join international weapons programs. Then, July 1, it loosened its military operations policy, so its armed forces could fight to defend an ally. Now it is building a strategic relationship with Australia, which is reacting warmly to Tokyo’s approach. The common factor behind all of this is, of course, China.
