Lisa Sasse, an executive at VisionSafe, has been named vice chair of the Business Advisory Committee of the Alexandria, Va.-based Flight Safety Foundation. David Bjellos, who is aviation manager for the IS-BAO Stage 3 flight department at Florida Crystals Corp., has been appointed special liaison from FSF to the Helicopter Association International.
Referencing “Connecting Flight” (AW&ST Aug. 19, p. 24) about the U.S. Justice Department's decision to challenge the US Airways/American Airlines merger, it is worth mentioning that history has proved that with fewer players in the game, price-fixing cartels will almost always result. With low-cost carriers in the mix for duplicated markets, there is a potential of lower prices in those markets—initially. Lawrenceville, N.J.
In reading “Feast of Fixes” (AW&ST Aug. 19, p. 28) I am amazed that Lockheed Martin has not yet solved its tailhook problem. The recent tailless UAV trials seemed to go very well, and at the de Havilland Museum I weekly pass the “tailless” de Havilland D.H.110 Sea Vixen with its arrestor hook dangling on the ground (as is true for the de Havilland Sea Venoms). What trick is Lockheed missing? Toddington, England
The concept of the Comac C919 that accompanies “Not Just Inexperience” (AW&ST Aug. 19, p. 39), shows an airliner with square windows. Didn't we already learn about pressurized airliners with square windows on the Comet? This seems like an unnecessary risk of pressure fatigue and explosive decompression. Even if the odds are low, the consequences could be dire.
Static strength testing of the airframe of Japan's ATD-X stealth-fighter technology demonstrator has begun, says the Defense Ministry's Technology Development & Research Institute. The ATD-X, which is not intended to lead directly to a combat aircraft, has been scheduled for flight testing between 2014-16. Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the ATD-X is expected to demonstrate technologies that the ministry hopes to apply to its proposed F-3 fighter. Development would begin around 2017 for entry into service about 10 years later.
The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) says data and anecdotal information are showing increases in aircraft performance and air-traffic-control instruction violation rates during airline approaches. The information comes from the FSF's International Advisory and European Advisory committees as part of a new survey of aborted approaches, also known as “go-arounds.” Of particular interest in the preliminary data is that, on average, only 4% of unstabilized approaches result in go-arounds, the FSF says.
New technology can be surprisingly inexpensive. In the U.S., the Pentagon and the intelligence community spend billions of taxpayer dollars pushing the envelope on creative new hardware and software concepts that may never emerge from behind the black curtain of secrecy. That is probably a good thing for bombs and bullets, but it keeps a lot of potential dual-use technology out of the economy. Fortunately, there are means for innovation at the other end of the funding scale that can drive economic growth with actual, and significant, return on investment.
Mike Medeiros (see photo) has been named vice president-Seattle for Delta Air Lines. He was vice president–global human resources and talent development and had been head of Delta's New York operation. Patricia Ornst has become director of New York state and local government affairs for Delta. She was Northeast U.S. managing director for state and local government affairs for American Airlines.
As a retired corporate pilot, I am somewhat puzzled about the crash of UPS Flight 1354. Surely the aircraft was equipped with a radio altimeter and a ground proximity warning system which should have given the crew ample time to respond to a “Whoop, Whoop, Pull Up” audio alert, if the system was working properly. Eden Prairie, Minn.
Andrew C. Bradley has been promoted to Washington-based president of global sales from the division's senior vice president at the Avjet Corp., Burbank, Calif.
Gunnar Kleveland has become senior vice president-integrated operations, Cathy Ferrie senior vice president-engineering and Matt Hasik senior vice president-commercial programs, all at Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter. Kleveland succeeds Pete Riley, who will be retiring. Ferrie and Hasik follow Jeff Lowinger, who is leaving Bell and whose position as executive vice president-engineering and commercial programs has been divided.
