Curtis Reusser (see photo) has been appointed president/CEO of the Esterline Corp., Bellevue, Wash., effective Oct. 28. He has been president of United Technologies' Aircraft Systems business, which was acquired from Goodrich. Reusser succeeds Brad Lawrence, who will continue as executive chairman until March 5. Michel Potvin has become vice president-corporate marketing and strategy. He was a platform president for Esterline and had been a vice president of the Canadian division of L-3 Communications.
The U.K. Parliament Transport Committee plans to hold an inquiry into helicopter safety following the crash of a Super Puma into the North Sea on Aug. 23, which killed four oil workers. Committee Chairman Louise Ellman said: “We have heard worrying evidence that the workforce has lost confidence in the helicopters, which they have no choice but to use. We want to look at what has gone wrong and whether the government can do more to improve safety.”
Daniel Godin has been promoted to vice president-operations for North America from general manager of the New York and Ohio facilities for Circor Aerospace Products, Corona, Calif.
Brian E. Chappel (see photo) has been appointed Redondo Beach, Calif.-based vice president/program manager for the Northrop Grumman Corp. for the F-35 Lightning II program. He was vice president of business management/CFO of the Advanced Development Programs unit.
Finding funds for space startups has always been difficult. Investors all know the old joke that the best way to make a small fortune in space is to start with a large one. Several billionaires have ignored that warning to put their money on the line for commercial space developments. But for most space engineers with a great idea, getting beyond CAD (computer-aided design) is a scramble for money that can suck personal savings dry, pester government funders and angel investors to death, and hammer the crowd-sourcing web servers to the point of meltdown.
Avicopter has joined the trend for developing high-speed helicopters. The Chinese manufacturer is building a technology demonstrator with a compound configuration that combines coaxial rigid rotors and nose-mounted, counter-rotating propellers.
Paul Adams has been named to succeed David Hess as president of Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, Conn, when Hess retires at year-end. Adams has been chief operating officer and was senior vice president-operations and engineering.
In its January 2013 aviation finance overview, consultancy PwC noted that The Cape Town Convention's core purpose of protecting aircraft financiers when airlines go bust “remains untested.” What a difference a few deals, a post-bankruptcy rift, and few quarters make.
Andrew Braley (see photo) has joined Wales's Cardiff Aviation as commercial director. He was director of business development for A.J. Walter Aviation.
The FAA appears to be on the verge of a second “reset” of its NextGen airspace modernization plan, based on a fresh set of recommendations to be delivered on Sept. 19 by the RTCA's NextGen Advisory Committee.
Marisa Von Wieding has been promoted to vice president-system operations control from director of operations and customer service at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport for JetBlue Airways.
Avicopter is in a hurry. It is racing against the clock to prepare a set of competitive products for an expected boom in Chinese civil helicopter demand by 2018. Having developed just one small civil helicopter substantially on its own, the rotary-wing subsidiary of Avic is rushing to design two additional projects: a second all-new type and an upgrade of the Eurocopter Dauphin so extensive as to be barely recognizable.
John Brewer has become managing director of e-commerce and distribution, Vikram Baskaran managing director of airline operations applications and Troy Kaser managing director of customer systems supporting customer-facing technology, including alaskaair.com, all at Alaska Airlines. Brewer was director of e-commerce and digital marketing at TUI Travel, Baskaran was director of applications development at United Airlines, and Kaser was vice president-engineering at Expedia and vice president-technology at Groundspeak.
Four years after the bankrupt program's purchase, the first new Eclipse—with upgraded avionics, systems and interior and rebranded the Eclipse 550 (see photo)—is about to be delivered.
Northrop Grumman has begun company-funded development of a directed infrared countermeasures (Dircm) system for fast jets, anticipating a requirement to protect the Lockheed Martin F-35 from heat-seeking, air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles. “We believe the requirement is there, and coming quickly, and that the first opportunity will be on the F-35,” says Jeff Palombo, senior vice president and general manager of Northrop's land and self-protection systems division.
European missile manufacturer, MBDA has secured a £250 million ($395 million) production contract to produce the Sea Ceptor naval air defense missile for the U.K. Royal Navy. The weapon, also known as the Common Anti-air Modular Missile, will be initially installed on the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates from 2016, replacing the aging Seawolf missile. Later, the system will be integrated onto the Navy's new Type 26 Global Combat Ship frigates being developed by BAE Systems.
