James Hetherington has become Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based director of Middle East operations for Salient Federal Solutions Inc., Fairfax, Va. He was chief of the International Airmen Div. at Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, and had been the U.S. defense secretary's military adviser to the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
I find it difficult to get excited about the International Civil Aviation Organization's new plan to address global climate issues (AW&ST Sept. 23, p. 43). ICAO has had since the Kyoto Treaty of 1997 to develop a blueprint for international aviation. Nothing happened until the European Union proposed an Emissions Trading System (ETS), which at least got ICAO's attention and self-righteous indignation.
One way to try to escape cataclysmic budget uncertainty is to cover all the bases. Consider EADS's Lakota Light Utility Helicopter, one of the programs that fared poorly in President Barack Obama's long-term budget plans. The Army asked for just 10 this year and no more after that. But members of Congress appear to be persuaded by EADS's pitch of a low-cost, robust platform that delivers on time and is entrenched in the U.S. industrial base. The House's spending committee added funding to procure 31 Lakotas, and its Senate counterpart funded 20.
I found the comments of U.S. Air Force Gen. Mike Hostage in “Life Post-Cuts” (AW&ST Sept. 23, p. 31) in alignment with those of reader Thomas Parker in his letter in the Feedback section of the same issue (page 10).
Boeing Commercial Airplanes is restructuring its marketing and business development unit following the unexpected announcement by Mike Bair—the vice president who leads the current strategic, planning and marketing group—that he will retire. Bair, who is 57, has been marketing and business development chief since February 2012, following a period as leader of the 737 development group in the run-up to the 737 MAX launch.
Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will step down on Dec. 4, leaving the Pentagon after 4.5 years. Carter joined the administration at the start of President Barack Obama's first term as the Pentagon's top acquisition official under then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates. In 2011, Carter was promoted to become the second-highest ranking civilian in the Defense Department under Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced Oct. 10 the appointment of Deputy Defense Minister Oleg Ostapenko to replace Vladimir Popovkin as head of Russian space agency Roscosmos. The announcement comes as Moscow reviews proposals to centralize oversight of its space industry in an effort to curb government waste and restore confidence in the nation's space program following a spate of spacecraft and launch vehicle failures in recent years.
Five years ago, the U.S. rotorcraft industry was stagnant, fat and happy. It was building the same old helicopters for customers who did not think they needed anything better. Today, the industry is vibrant and developing new designs, but running the same risk of focusing on a single, dominant customer with a shaky record of making and sticking to procurement decisions.
Austin Meyer, developer of the X-Plane simulator and Xaxion emergency landing application for the iPad, tests Xavion in his Columbia 400 single-engine aircraft in this image by Jeff Amberg Photography. Meyer also provides the Xavion software to nascent avionics maker Vertical Power for the VP-400 backup flight display and “runway seeker” package that automatically guides an aircraft to the best-fit runway after an engine failure or pilot incapacitation. VP-400 is being offered to the experimental aircraft market.
I agree with the premise that Bill Sweetman puts forth in “Blast from the Past” (AW&ST Sept. 30, p. 17) that, when applicable, previously tested concepts should be reexamined. A possible solution for today's time-critical targets was within our grasp during the height of the Cold War. The High Speed Strike Weapon of the 1960s was the Douglas AGM-87A Skybolt, a hypersonic Mach 12.4 (9,500 mph) air-launched ballistic missile. Strategic Air Command Boeing B-52s would have carried four Skybolts, and launched the 11,000-lb. missiles at a standoff range of 600-1,000 mi.
The photograph that appears on page 47, which accompanies “The Shock of the New” (AW&ST Sept. 30, p. 44), is certainly not of a Lockheed TriStar. It appears to be a Vickers VC10. Prospect, Ky. (The reader is correct—Ed.)
Alexander Mikheev (see photo) has been appointed CEO of Moscow-based Russian Helicopters, a part of Rostec State Corp. He was deputy CEO of Rosoboronexport and succeeds Dmitry Petrov, who will continue to work within Rostec.
Franz Josef Kirschfink (see photo) has been appointed managing director of Hamburg Aviation, which includes Airbus, Lufthansa Technik and Hamburg Airport. He succeeds Walter Birkhan, who is retiring. Kirschfink has been director of technology projects for Lufthansa Technik and had been chief operating officer of subsidiary Alitalia Maintenance Systems in Rome.
William H. Hernandez (see photo) has been named to the board of directors of the Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman Corp. He is a retired senior vice president/CFO of PPG Industries Inc.
Victoria Pender (see photo) has become executive vice president-communications of U.K.-based Cobham plc. She was group director for government and corporate affairs for Network Rail and has been director of communications for Tube Lines Ltd.
Samar Nath (see photo) has been named Mumbai-based CEO/country manager for Indian operations for DHL Global Forwarding. He was executive vice president and managing director for India and South Asia at CEVA Logistics and has been managing director for India and South Asia at APL Logistics.
Brent Monroe (see photo) has been named Dallas-based vice president for Western North American sales for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. He was head of aircraft sales in Texas for Bombardier Aerospace. Honors And Elections
Lew Jenkins (see photo), longtime chief of air traffic services for Airways New Zealand, has been named to receive the Jean Batten Memorial Award from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators on Oct. 23 in London. He is being honored for “outstanding individual contribution to New Zealand aviation, in training and leading professionals in his chosen discipline of air navigation services.”
Textron, in partnership with Airland Enterprises, recently unveiled the Scorpion, a largely clean-sheet light combat/ISR jet that is being prepared for a first flight this month (see photo). New military aircraft are so scarce that any new prototype is bound to garner attention, including an Aviation Week cover story (AW&ST Sept. 16, p. 22), and it's good to see innovation make an appearance in the aerospace and defense industry. Yet, despite all the talk of paradigm shifting, low costs and “80% solutions,” what exactly is the market for this product?
