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Bryan Shelton has been named director of field operations for Zenith Aviation, Fredericksburg, Va. He was senior manager of aviation maintenance operations for the U.S. Marine Corps Presidential Helicopter Squadron.
Uncle Sam's sequestration may accomplish what Chinese and Russian anti-satellite efforts have not: undermining U.S. space capability. That is one of the emerging conclusions of an industrial base assessment by the Commerce Department, shared with Aviation Week.
David Binks (see photo) has been named president of FedEx Express for Europe, Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Africa, effective Jan. 1. He will succeed Gerald P. Leary, who is retiring. Binks has been senior vice president-European operations and will be succeeded by Michael Holt (see photo), who has been CEO of FedEx U.K./vice president-operational integration for Europe.
USAF Maj. Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., has been appointed director of operations, strategic deterrence and nuclear integration at Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany. He has been deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command-Southwest Asia. Brown will be succeeded by Maj. Gen. Jeffrey G. Lofgren, who has been commander of the USAF Warfare Center of Air Combat Command, Nellis AFB, Nev.
Prof. Robert Owen (Daytona Beach Fla. ), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach Fla. )
Recent writers who advocate retaining A-10s in the Air Force miss the point—the world has changed. The A-10 was designed to kill tanks from outside the range of the main tactical, low-level, counter-air threats of the 1970s. However, in the three-plus decades since, it has become vulnerable to a wider range of modern air-defense missiles.
Marc Bourret has been appointed head of the Toulouse-based Aerolia Group's Quebec subsidiary and François Paynot site director at St. Nazaire, France. Bourret succeeds Marie-Agnes Veve, who has been promoted to the EADS Group, while Paynot follows Arnaud Mayer, who is now chief operating officer of Auvergne Aeronautique.
Mounting budget pressure is forcing France to curb defense spending, slowing deliveries of major military programs rather than killing them outright. Under the nation's new military program law—a €190 billion ($256 billion) budget for the period 2014-19—key aerospace platforms that will see reduced or delayed orders include Dassault Aviation's Rafale combat jet, Eurocopter's Tiger and NH90 helicopters and Airbus Military's A400M tactical airlifter.
Jean-Michel Hillion (see photo) has been named corporate senior vice president for Boeing programs for Paris-based Safran. He succeeds Norbert Gaillard, who has retired. Hillion has been head of Safran Electronics and was director of programs for the Hydraulics and Braking Control Divs. of Messier-Bugatti.
A recent In Orbit column (AW&ST Oct. 28, p. 22) touted the potential of a cancer cure developed on the International Space Station (ISS). Nice idea, but first, even if the clinical tests work out, given the cost of getting the raw materials up to the ISS and returning them, will anyone be able to afford the cure?
The NH90 is a medium-lift, twin-turbine troop-transport and maritime helicopter. The helicopter is available with a choice of turboshaft engines: GE T700-GE-T6E1 (2,040 shp) and CT7-8F5 (2,634 shp), or Turbomeca RTM322-01/9 (2,100 shp) and RTM322-01/9A (2,544 shp). The NH90 comes in two standard models, the Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) and the NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH), though extensive customization is available.
The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is a long-range nuclear and conventional strike/attack aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force. The aircraft is powered by four 17,300-lb.-thrust GE F118-GE-100 turbofan engines. The B-2's maiden flight occurred in 1989, with the 21st and final aircraft delivered in 1997. The final two B-2s were delivered in the full Block 30 configuration, with the remaining bombers upgraded to that standard.
The T-6A is a tandem-seat, single-engine, high-performance, turboprop-powered trainer powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turboprop engine, flat-rated to 1,100 shp. It is based on the Pilatus PC-9 Mk II and was selected in 1995 for the U.S. Air Force/Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) requirement.
Thomas P. Quinly has become chief operating officer of the Curtiss-Wright Corp., Parsippany, N.J. He succeeds David C. Adams, who has been promoted to president/CEO. Quinly was president of Curtiss-Wright Controls.
Boeing has reached a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), which, if ratified, will help clear the way for the final assembly of the Boeing 777X and its composite wing in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. The provisional agreement aims to secure a long-term contract extension from 2016 to 2024, and will be voted on by the IAM around Nov. 13. In a related move, further pressure to keep the work in the Seattle area is being brought on Boeing by Washington Gov.
The MiG-AT is a twin-engine jet trainer. One prototype made its first flight in 1996, and a second in 2004. The aircraft uses two 3,150-lb.-thrust Turbomeca/Snecma Larzac 04-R20 turbofan engines, although it has also been tested with 3,750-lb.-thrust Soyuz RD-1700 engines for the Russian air force. RAC MiG has also conceived a single-seat light fighter/attack version designated the MiG-AS.
The first Bombardier 415 amphibious waterbomber sold to a U.S. customer has been delivered to Tenax Aerospace and leased to firefighting operator Aero-Flite for use on a multiyear contract with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).
Christine Geosling (see photos) is among four Northrop Grumman Corp. employees who were honored at the recent annual conference of the Society of Women Engineers. Geosling received the Resnick Challenger Medal, named for Judith Resnick, NASA mission specialist on the Challenger space shuttle flight, “for her visionary contributions to space exploration.” Receiving Emerging Leader Awards for their “engagement in engineering and outstanding technical accomplishments” were Linh Dang, Sonja Domazet and Diane LaFortune.
It is a commonplace that any future attempts to explore outer space will of necessity be an international effort. No single nation can afford the price of admission, and even with everyone pulling together, it will be difficult and dangerous. A recent television schedule for upcoming activities on the International Space Station brought that home.
The Senate finally has confirmed Alan Estevez as the deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics after a long delay over parochial concerns. In March, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a high-ranking Republican, had placed a senatorial “hold” on Estevez's confirmation to be the second-ranking defense acquisition official to again protest the Pentagon's decision to buy helicopters from the Russian state-owned Rosoboronexport for the Afghan security force, spurning helicopters made in part by Texas-based Bell Helicopter. Sen.
The CN235 is a twin-turboprop transport and maritime patrol/antisubmarine-warfare aircraft. In transport variants, the aircraft seats 30-40 passengers (up to 53 paratroopers), or provides a maximum payload of 11,023 lb. The CN235 is powered by two GE CT7-9C turboprop engines rated 1,750 shp. First flight of a CN235 prototype occurred in 1983, followed by initial deliveries in 1986. Approximately 270 CN235s were produced through 2012. Production is also licensed to IAe. CN235 production is forecast at 81 units for 2013-22.
