The U.S. Navy intends to substantially increase the percentage of simulation training for its personnel, especially in aviation. For the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Navy plans to increase simulated training to 32% of overall instruction by 2020 compared to the current 18%, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). For the Boeing EA-18G Growler, the Navy plans to increase that percentage to 34% from the current 20% in the coming eight years, the GAO says.
Air Tahiti Nui has selected SR Technics of the Mubadala Aerospace MRO network to complete three cabin modifications on Airbus A340-300s along with C-checks. The technical aircraft services company will replace the current three-class cabin configuration with two business and economy classes, and install an inflight entertainment system. All work will be completed at SR Technics' Centers for Excellence in Zurich and Dublin, with planned completion dates beginning in May 2013.
Mark Davis has become senior VP-maintenance, repair and overhaul sales at Timco Aviation Services, Greensboro, N.C. He has held leadership roles at United Airlines in vendor-provider relationship management.
An article in the July 16 issue (page 34) incorrectly stated the Franco-German cost estimate for a next-generation European launcher, which is $5-8 billion. In addition, the article should have indicated that the U.K. investment in a national space technology program is funded at £10 million ($15.5 million).
In its Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan issued last year, the department set very ambitious targets for itself and its suppliers. One of them is to make sure that 95% of its “off-the-shelf” procurement is conducted sustainably; another is to design and acquire weapon systems and platforms that are both more sustainable and have a reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), for example, through lower fuel use. The stakes are huge. In 2010, the Pentagon issued more than 3.6 million contracts amounting to $366 billion in resource obligations
Tania Hanna has been named VP-government relations of Harris Corp. of Washington and Melbourne, Fla., succeeding Peter Challan, who has become VP-industry specific programs for the company's Mission Critical Networks. Hanna was VP-policy and legislative affairs.
The delegation of U.S. politicians at the Farnborough International Airshow was so large they could scarcely fit on the same stage. “Don't push me over the edge, Cornyn,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) quipped to fellow Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) at an event marking the start of the week-long gathering.
Following a hostile, acrimonious procurement effort, the Indian navy now appears set to decide on a winner in its delayed multirole helicopter (MRH) competition. Commercial bids by the two contenders, NHIndustries and Sikorsky, are expected to be opened in the next two weeks by the Indian defense ministry, with a roughly $1 billion contract to follow for 16 of either the NH90 or the S-70B Seahawk.
Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey celebrated servicing its 1,000th General Electric CF34-series engine on July 16. The company, which specializes in the maintenance of regional and business aircraft engines, serviced its first CF34 in 1991.
Woody McClendon (see photos) has been appointed sales manager-rotorcraft training at New York-based FlightSafety International. He has been senior VP-sales and marketing of PrivatAir, aviation manager for the UCLA MedStar program and an instructor for FlightSafety. Doug Gill has been named director of engineering for the company's visual simulation facility in St. Louis.
Etienne Veber has been named chief commercial officer and executive VP of Precise Biometrics, Vienna, Va. He has held executive positions at Learning Resources, Merisant, Nutra-Sweet Co. and Monsanto Corp.
Budget and political decisions made in Berlin, Brussels and Washington will help shape the global aerospace industry. So it was not surprising that an undercurrent of anxiety ran through the recent Farnborough air show (see p. 43). Uncertainty from a financial crisis in Europe, potentially hefty cuts to U.S. defense spending, and slower economic growth in Asia and Latin America have put buyers and suppliers on edge.
Dave Schmitz has been named chief operating officer of Cubic Defense Applications of San Diego. He was VP and general manager of Cobham Sensor Systems' microwave business. Donald Haring is the new VP-human resources. He held the same title at Thomas & Betts.
With an eye on fuel efficiency, some airlines are turning to turboprop aircraft instead of jets. The new 90-seat model from French-Italian manufacturer ATR looks especially promising in this market, which makes it all the more perplexing that ATR has been unable to persuade its shareholder EADS to commit to investing in a more modern family of turboprops.
Next year, Indonesia's Lion Air group will receive a Boeing 737-900ER every 15 days, and an ATR 72-600 every 30 days, expanding its fleet by a third in 12 months. Garuda Indonesia plans to double its fleet within the next 3.5 years. Taking delivery will be the easy part. For every new narrowbody, an airline needs to employ at least six pilots, and to do a Boeing 737 line-maintenance check requires four maintenance technicians. The difficult part will be finding enough of these maintenance technicians and pilots to support the fleet growth.
You can tell when the top leadership of China is not satisfied with an economic sector. It fires off a public memo addressed to the provinces, certain major cities and central government departments. It lists its gripes, sets out its objectives and states what it wants done. Then it hopes they will listen. Such a memo, better called a policy guideline, has just emerged with the stamp of the state council, China's equivalent of the national cabinet. Its subject is aviation.
The powerful rocket engine developed in the 1960s to launch the first men to the Moon could be reprised in the 2020s as the powerplant for strap-on boosters that NASA hopes to use in heavy-lift human missions to Mars. (Image: NASA)
While the continuation of litigation associated with the tragic Air France Concorde fatal accident near Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) appears regrettable and may seem pointless, I wish to offer some pertinent information that was not addressed in Pierre Sparaco's commentary “A Concorde Mystery” (AW&ST July 9, p. 26).
Joseph P. Doherty has been named CEO and a board member of Clearview Capital company GCR, New Orleans. He was executive VP, government sector president and chief operating officer for Affiliated Computer Services.
An article on Spain's S-80 submarine program (July 2, p. DT24) misidentified the legacy platform that was supposed to rationalize Europe's shipyards. It was the Scorpene sub.
A recent Washington Outlook column states that cybertheft of U.S. intellectual property is estimated at near $1 trillion and is suspected to largely involve China (AW&ST July 16, p. 23). The U.S. debt to China is now around $1.2 trillion. While we certainly need to improve our own security, perhaps we should wield some leverage to encourage China toward better recognition of IP rights. Los Angeles, Calif.
Hawaiian Airlines is taking steps to launch a regional subsidiary, and has signed a letter of intent to buy an unspecified number of turboprops. The carrier plans to eventually have up to six aircraft in the subsidiary. While the type is not being revealed yet, the carrier is bound by union agreements to restrict turboprop operations to aircraft with no more than 69 seats. Hawaiian says up to 50 seats is the right configuration for the routes it has in mind.
