Nick L. Stanage has become president/CEO of the Hexcel Corp., Stamford, Conn. He succeeds David E. Berges, who will be executive chairman until retiring Dec. 31. Stanage has been president/chief operating officer.
USN Adm. Cecil E.D. Haney has been named commander of U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb. He has been commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Haney succeeds USAF Gen. C. Robert Kehler. Rear Adm. (lower half) Cindy L. Jaynes has become executive officer for air anti-submarine warfare, assault and special mission programs at NAS Patuxent River, Md. She has been commander of fleet readiness centers/assistant commander for logistics and industrial operations at Naval Air Systems Command at NAS Patuxent River.
As the European Union's biggest defense powers pare back military budgets, the crisis in public spending is bolstering the EU's case for taking on more responsibility in the realm of defense, space and security. The European Commission (EC) issued a long-awaited slate of broad policy proposals last month that would harmonize defense commerce in Europe, develop common standards, fund dual-use R&D and ultimately see the EU's executive arm purchase and operate its own military hardware.
Jim Grant (see photo) has been named senior vice president-military programs for the Beechcraft Corp. of Wichita. He was vice president-new business for the Lockheed Martin Corp.
The serious fire that occurred July 12 at London Heathrow Airport is attributed to the combustion of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) device (AW&ST July 22, p. 22). For those keeping score, please note that a simple tally shows the Number of Passengers Saved By Fitting of ELTs = 0. Number of Aircraft Seriously Damaged/Destroyed By Carriage of ELTs = 1. Would that well-meaning regulators and lawmakers take a moment to consider such odds before demanding action to mitigate some already improbable event.
Charles B. Johnson has been appointed to the advisory board of the Los Angeles-based Saker Aircraft Corp. He is president of Practical Aircraft Solutions and has been president of the Cessna Aircraft Co., the Aviation Technology Group and Beyond Aviation.
NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) should be able to reach the high-retrograde lunar orbit where the agency wants to reposition a small asteroid, based on the results of its preliminary design review (PDR). Top SLS managers at Marshall Space Flight Center say the planned 321-ft.-tall, 70-ton-capability Block 1 vehicle passed muster with a series of review boards for a first flight in 2017.
Nunzio Gambale, CEO Locata Corp. (Griffth, Australia )
I would like to thank Graham Warwick for his article “Synchronicity” (AW&ST July 8, p. 15). He did an excellent job of covering Locata's technology and its implications for the U.S. Air Force and others. I knew the article had been published when I received a rash of emails about it from business acquaintances in the U.S. and beyond. You obviously reach a large and informed audience. Given that Warwick only had a short time to talk to me via phone, his understanding and coverage are outstanding.
John McGraw has become head of regulatory affairs for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Association. He was deputy FAA director of Flight Standards Service.
Europe's legacy airlines are in great danger and could disappear in the next 20 years, according to a French government-sponsored think tank, the Commissariat General a la Strategie et a la Prospective (CGSP). The analysis was headed by Claude Abraham, a highly respected expert who was in charge of the French civil aviation authority (DGAC) in the 1970s and 1980s. Now, in his capacity as the investigation team's coordinator, he reports directly to Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has flown an improved version of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft with twice the payload and endurance of the Block 1 aircraft now flown by the U.S. Army.
Robert Trimborn has been appointed business development director for the American Airports Corp., Santa Monica, Calif. He was that city's airport director.
How unmanned aircraft have matured over more than a decade of war is illustrated by the AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven. This hand-launched UAV is often overlooked, even though it outnumbers all other U.S. unmanned systems put together—there were 5,394 in service as of November 2012 —but advances in microelectronics have given the Raven capabilities previously associated only with larger aircraft. Small size brings challenges. “Our engineers operate within a tight SWAP [size, weight and power] trade space,” says AeroVironment Vice President Steve Gitlin.
Maturing unmanned technology is fueling U.S. studies of how autonomy could benefit civil aviation, including the potential for reduced crewing on commercial aircraft and a future airspace system beyond NextGen. In a June presentation to senior industry and university representatives, NASA noted that “technology is not the overwhelming barrier” to using autonomy to enable single-pilot operations. Social acceptance, certification methods and cost-effective integration of air-ground technology and procedures are listed as the challenges.
Tap on the icon in the digital edition of AW&ST for an interactive map with more on the U.S. missile defense sensor architecture, or go to AviationWeek.com/misdef
Sven-Uve Hueschler has become managing and financial director of Air France Industries-Lufthansa Technik joint venture Spairliners of Hamburg. He succeeds Andre Schulte-Bisping, who has returned to Lufthansa Technik. Hueschler was head of business development for Lufthansa Technik's Aircraft Component Services.
Frequent fliers have long decried the poor service and uncomfortable cabins to be found on most U.S. airlines. But many carriers are now planning major improvements—particularly on key transcontinental routes. Over the next few years, passengers will be seeing drastic changes to the inflight experience. Some airlines are purchasing entirely new sub-fleets and others are completely overhauling their interiors and products.
The aerospace industry is taking small and large steps toward energy efficiency. Israel Aerospace Industries photo shows the company's TaxiBot, which can save more than 100 gal. of fuel by towing aircraft from ramp to runway and is about to begin testing with Lufthansa (see page 44). This week's special report on energy efficiency, which begins on page 40, explores such common sense approaches to saving on fuel along with the latest in new fuels and solar-powered flight.
Penton Media, a New York-based publisher of trade magazines and industry-specific websites, has signed an agreement to acquire McGraw Hill Financial's Aviation Week unit, the parent of Aviation Week & Space Technology. The all-cash deal is expected to close as early as Aug. 1. Financial terms were not disclosed. Aviation Week will join Penton's Aviation Group, whose brands include Air Transport World, Aircraft Bluebook, Air Charter Guide, Airportdata.com, AC-U-KWIK and SpeedNews. Aviation Week President Gregory Hamilton will head the combined entity.
The Royal Navy is investing heavily in a multi-mission capability for its future fleet of shipborne helicopters, but the service is paying the price in terms of shrinking fleets and greater demands on support services and training.
House Republicans are pushing a bill that would require the Transportation Security Administration to publish a “strategic multiyear technology investment plan,” as well as conduct a cost-benefit analysis for purchases and create an inventory tracking system. “For too long, TSA has struggled with efficiently testing, investing in and deploying new technology,” says House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
