Mike Leinback has become director of human spaceflight operations at Denver-based United Launch Alliance. He was launch team leader for all NASA space shuttle missions launched since 2000.
Michael Stofferahn has been appointed VP-North American sales for the Kaydon Bearings Div., Muskegon, Mich. He was VP and general manager of Rexnord Product Services.
With 246 C-130Js delivered and another 71 in backlog, Lockheed Martin has just scratched the surface of the market to replace the 1,200 Hercules airlifters operated by 72 countries worldwide.
Greg Diognardi has been appointed Falcon 900 technical sales manager at StandardAero Business Aviation, Tempe, Ariz. He was regional sales manager for Landmark Aviation.
Philip King (see photo) has been appointed president of San Jose, Calif.-based Vision Systems International, succeeding Drew Brugal. King has held leadership positions at McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.
Hannele Malin has been appointed VP-internal auditing at Finnair, succeeding Erkki Lehtinen, who will retire. Malin was manager for government, risk and compliance services at Deloitte & Touche.
Gen. Jean-Paul Palomeros (see photo), chief of staff of the French air force, has become director of the European Air Group, based at RAF Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, for a two-year term. He succeeds Lt. Gen. Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik, commander of the German air force.
Bill Gerstenmaier (see photo), NASA associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, has received the Von Karman Lectureship in Astronautics award, given by the Washington-based American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was recognized for his leadership in human spaceflight, culminating in the space shuttle and International Space Station programs.
Innovation has become a mantra for aerospace in part because the industry is worried about losing its edge. Pressure on research spending and global competition from other industries have companies concerned about where the ideas and talent will come from.
Bernd Munzenmayer has become senior sales adviser for Pro Star Aviation, Londonderry, N.H., supporting new Sales Director Clark Gordon. Munzenmayer is a founder of Pro Star. Julie Weber has been promoted to VP from senior director of people for Southwest Airlines.
Paul Chun has become managing director of KLM UK Engineering, based in Paris and Amstelveen, Netherlands. He held the same role at Epcor, where he will be succeeded by Romain Helmer, who headed KLM Engineering & Maintenance's Boeing 737 unit. Ton Dortmans was named executive VP-engineering and maintenance of KLM E&M, succeeding Peter de Swert.
Andreas Knoepfel (see photo) has joined Swiss Aviation Consulting of Huenenberg/Zug as managing director of Swiss AeroRisk Management and a board member of Swiss AeroHoldings. He was a senior aviation manager for an insurance broker.
U.S. Army Gen. (ret.) Rick Lynch and Paul McDuffee have joined the board of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, Arlington, Va. Lynch commanded the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Div. at Fort Hood, Texas. McDuffee is Insitu's principal interface with the FAA on the commercial viability of unmanned aircraft.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the management of Dassault are elated, as Rafale is the apparent winner of the $10.4 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft order for India's air force. France also has an order backlog with India that includes the Scorpene submarine and $2.4 billion in retrofits to the Mirage 2000 fleet.
The U.S. Army is not expected to issue final requirements for its planned Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) helicopter until after evaluation flights scheduled for the second quarter. Essentially, these flights are intended to allow the competing manufacturers to show what they have, what it will cost, and to help the Army decide what it can get for what it can afford.
