Eclipse Aerospace took a step toward returning new production Eclipse very light jets to market in the third quarter with the first power up of an Eclipse 550. The March 14 power up of the first production Eclipse 550 followed the launch of the production line in June. “This event is another key signal to the world that we continue on our methodical and well-executed plan to reintroduce production and delivery of the Eclipse 550 jet this year,” says CEO Mason Holland.

Ashlee Kishimoto (see photo) has been promoted to senior director-investor relations from director of Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance at Hawaiian Airlines.

Supply-chain plans are key to financial success of CSeries

Guillaume Faury (see photo) has been appointed CEO of EADS's Eurocopter division, succeeding Lutz Bertling, who has resigned. Faury returns to Eurocopter after a tenure as executive VP for research and development at Peugeot.

C. Donald Bateman's inventions have saved thousands of lives

NASA has taken down a popular technical reports server after the chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the space agency complained the website was particularly popular in China. Shutdown of the NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) follows the March 16 arrest of a NASA contractor employee as he awaited takeoff at Dulles International Airport on a flight to his native China.

Immediately after Congress passed a spending bill last week to fund the government for the rest of fiscal 2013, lawmakers' attention has turned to the fiscal 2014 budget. While Congress continues to wrestle with how to reduce the federal deficit and overturn sequestration before its potential consequences become a chilling reality, that does not mean it will be any easier to agree on spending Pentagon dollars. Last year, Congress thwarted Air Force plans to put Global Hawk Block 30 aircraft in storage.

Inspired by two Roman palaces, the National Building Museum was constructed in the 1880s with the dual purpose of housing the U.S. Pension Bureau and providing “a suitably grand space for Washington's social and political functions.” On March 7, nearly 300 aviation and aerospace luminaries from around the globe gathered in the cavernous building for Aviation Week's 56th annual Laureate Awards.