As the hard-won progress in hypersonic propulsion technology can attest, the road to sustained air-breathing engines that can operate above Mach 5 is littered with five decades worth of failed tests, some more dramatic than others.
Clayton Mowry, president of Arianespace Inc., has been named to receive the 2013 Mentor of the Year Award on Nov. 13 by the New York-based Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), for making mentorship a priority in successful leadership.
Maureen Del Duca (see photo) has become vice president/deputy general counsel for litigation and investigations for the Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman Corp. She was senior vice president/deputy general counsel for litigation and chief ethics and compliance officer for AOL.
Qatar Airways is the first of the three Persian Gulf carriers to join one of the three alliances, signing up for Oneworld last week. Separately, CEO Akbar Al Baker says he would be interested in a further stretch of the Airbus A350. Such an aircraft “could meet our requirements” if it has the right payload/range characteristics even in the very hot Qatar summers, he added. He did not specify the range requirements.
Last year, the Arab Air Carrier Organization (AACO) chose a trip into the region's past by picking Algerian capital Algiers as the site for its annual general meeting. It was a surreal event in many ways: A lot of attendees did not even get to Algeria because they could not obtain visas, and those who were able to travel there were stuck in a highly protected luxury hotel above the city. Anyone who wanted to take a stroll was supposed to do so only with a bodyguard.
Vicky Hartley (see photo) has been appointed London Heathrow Airport-based senior financing director for the Boeing Capital Corp. She was an aviation financing executive in London for WestLB and Berliner Bank.
An Oct. 28 article (page 39) misstated the history and operational status of the Airbus A350 program, which was launched in 2006. The A350-1000 market has grown by 29% since then and now totals 2,100 units that are expected to be built during the next 20 years.
South Korea may move quickly to order the Lockheed Martin F-35 for its derailed F-X Phase 3 competition for 60 fighters—and yet again, it may not. In a program that has become chaotic and unpredictable even by the standards of fighter acquisitions, a range of outcomes is in the offing.
Glenn Splieth has become vice president of global human resources of Erickson Air-Crane Inc., Portland, Ore. He held a similar position at the RadiSys Corp.
U.S. Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell received the Guild Award of Honor from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators in a ceremony in London on Oct. 23. Lovell was recognized for his contribution to spaceflight on Apollo 8 and 13 but also his achievements in the Gemini program including the first in-orbit rendezvous in 1965 with Gemini 7.
In an Up Front column “The Art of Disruption” (AW&ST Oct. 28, p. 16), Byron Callan takes a rather optimistic stance about emerging technologies and defense. Considering the Oct. 23 testimony that U.S. Army acquisition czar Heidi Shyu gave to the House Armed Services tactical air and ground forces subcommittee about how continuing resolutions (CR) and the mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration are affecting new and start-up programs, not much can happen with new technologies.
Dave Kaufman (see photo) has been named vice president/general manager of the national defense strategic business unit at the Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. He was director of the unit's national security space mission area and had been program manager for the Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle.
The U.S. Navy raised speculation about its fighter procurement planning by asking Boeing for a price on 36 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers, and then canceling the solicitation days after it was reported in public. Under current budget plans, the Navy's last 26 Super Hornets were funded in 2013 and the final 21 Growlers in 2014. The Navy confirmed that the request issued on Oct. 17 was in support of “a potential option for any prospective requirements,” including Navy orders as well as foreign military sales.
The B-52H crew were trying to thread a needle through an invisible point in the sky to hit the correct launch conditions for the test flight of the X-51A Waverider hypersonic demonstrator.
Two captions were transposed in an article about engines for the next generation of business jets, in the Oct. 14/21 issue. The bottom image on page 65 shows a Honeywell engine, and a Pratt & Whitney powerplant is shown on page 66.
Andrew Watterson has been appointed vice president-network planning and performance and Sherry Staber vice president-business transformation solutions, operations and enterprise management for Southwest Airlines. Watterson was vice president of planning and revenue management at Hawaiian Airlines, while Staber was vice president of corporate solutions for the J.C. Penney Co.
Ron Ladnier (see photo) has been promoted to vice president of the New York-based FlightSafety Services Corp. from director of military business development. He succeeds Mike Sangster, who will be retiring at year-end but will continue as a consultant.
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Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz says the company's third-quarter financial performance indicates a “trend reversal” for the group's passenger airlines. Lufthansa Passage, which comprises Lufthansa and Germanwings, posted a €300 million ($408 million) operating profit, an improvement of 170% over the year-ago quarter. According to Franz, the unit's short-haul segment also will post a full-year operating profit for the first time in five years. Subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines posted a 5% increase in operating profit for the quarter, reaching €182 million.
