Christian Reck (see photo, p. 15) has become executive director for sales and supply for Ameco Beijing . He was director of government and special mission aircraft services for Lufthansa Technik.
The next U.S. President should revise the Vision for Space Exploration by placing more emphasis on Mars as the ultimate destination for human exploration, according to space planners meeting at Stanford University. The new administration should also deemphasize the Moon, and stress it as a stepping-stone to the Mars goal, participants argue. Most participants also believe a return to the Moon goal by 2020 is now unattainable.
The chairman of the House Armed Services air and land forces subcommittee predicts Congress will restore funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) alternate engine development program. The House and Senate Armed Services committees have recommended an alternate engine for the JSF, says Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). “Given a brand-new aircraft with yet-to-be-proven technologies, we believe that developing a second, competitive engine makes sense,” even though the Pentagon repeatedly has rejected that argument, he adds.
Japan’s ATD-X Shinshin stealth demonstrator—shown in the form of a radar cross-section model—is the most advanced aircraft development program so far attempted by an Asian country. As always, Western aerospace products will be prominent at this week’s Singapore Airshow, but the global industry’s center of gravity is increasingly moving toward Asia (see stories beginning on p. 64). TRDI photo.
John S. Brunette has become chief legal and administrative officer of Iridium Satellite , Bethesda, Md. He succeeds Michael Deutschman, who has retired. Brunette was CEO of Teleglobe Inc.
Efforts by new competitors to enter the global jet commercial aircraft market seem certain to eventually spark trade friction, although at this stage the trouble is only brewing. It may not boil over for another 10 years or so. China and Russia are building large regional jets, Japan could launch a similar aircraft within weeks, and South Korean industry is pushing its government to support yet another. All those aircraft will or would compete against Embraer and Bombardier products, and all can be assumed to need government support.
European and U.S. airframe and engine makers have been establishing affiliates in Asia since the early 1990s, giving the Asians valuable experience and opening doors to the world’s supply chain.
The French government has given the go-ahead for a new airport near Nantes, called the Grand Ouest airport. The facility is to become operational in 2012 and will receive €580 million in funding. The airport will start with a 3-million-traveler capacity and hopes to triple that by 2050.
Iberia plans to take over its largest domestic rival, Spanair, which SAS is unloading. Grupo Marsans was the likely buyer of Spanair, but has pulled back. The proposed combination is likely to raise serious anti-trust concerns.
Nicolas Aguilar has been named sales manager for Mexico for National Technical Systems , Calabasas, Calif. He was quality assurance manager at Siemens Transformers, Guanajuato, Mexico.
U.S. Air Force researchers will push for more development funding for pulse detonation engines (PDEs) following the successful first-ever manned demonstration flight of an aircraft powered by the exotic propulsion system.
Malcolm R. O’Neill (see photo) who retired recently as vice president/chief technical officer of the Lockheed Martin Corp., has joined the board of directors of Information Systems Laboratories of San Diego.
The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive calling for operators of about 2,400 Cirrus Design SR20 and SR22 airplanes to inspect the rudder, aileron and rudder-aileron interconnect rigging and correct any out-of-rig condition. The directive, effective Mar. 11, stems from reports of jamming and subsequent loss of aileron and rudder control on an SR20.
Rolls-Royce already relies on Singapore as a major engine repair center and now it is turning to the country to help satisfy the growing demand for new Trent engines.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin says time is running out for the government to authorize his agency to buy more Soyuz and Progress flights from Russia after 2011. The flights will be essential to support the space station after the space shuttle’s 2010 retirement. NASA has been allowed to purchase Russian vehicles for station resupply under a special exemption from the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Enforcement Act, but that exemption runs out at the end of 2011.
U.S. Army Gen. (ret.) Bryan (Doug) Brown (see photo, p. 15) has joined the board of directors of Aurora Flight Sciences , Manassas, Va. He was commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.
If there is one aircraft market that is sure to balloon in the coming 15 years, it’s Chinese general aviation. An official study predicts the country’s fleet of general aviation aircraft will grow by the early 2020s to almost 10,000, a level 14 times the numbers employed at the end of 2006. We can take these figures seriously because there is every sign that the sector will soon be rid of its greatest encumbrance: highly restrictive military control of airspace.
Cirrus Design Corp., manufacturer of the SR20 and SR22 personal aircraft, is extending its reach to South America. Millennial Technologies, an FAA-certified repair station specializing in avionics equipment, will serve as the facility for Cirrus’s Venezuelan sales center, Aero-Acciones, based at the Caracas airport. Millennial’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla., location will serve as a satellite office.
Kudos to Barry Eccleston, president and CEO of Airbus Americas, for his Viewpoint “Aviation’s Next Group Activity: Take Charge on Improving Environment” (AW&ST Jan. 14, p. 62). Lately, all I’ve read from officials at EADS and Airbus has been about production woes, internal conflicts, restructuring and beating Boeing: how the KC-30 is better than the KC-767, how the A380 is better than the 747, how the A350XWB will be better than the 787, etc. And vice versa.
Klen P. Brooks has been promoted to vice president from director of flight operations of SkyWest Airlines . He succeeds Bradford R. Holt, who has been named president/chief operating officer of SkyWest’s Atlantic Southeast Airlines.
Michelle Martell has become director of strategic sourcing for the Circor Aerospace Products Group , Corona, Calif. She was a strategic sourcing manager for Motorola Inc.
Brussels Airport has received approval to build a terminal dedicated to low-fare airlines, with plans to start operations in April 2009. The airport’s board approved the plan late last week. The terminal will make use of an existing, but unused, passenger terminal and extend a low-cost pier. Initially, the facility will accommodate up to six aircraft, with plans to extend that to 15. “We are aiming for 4 million passengers,” says Brussels Airport CEO Wilfried van Assche.
Tammy L. Choy (see photos), Michael G. McLain and Fred Ovadia have been promoted to principal engineer at the El Segundo, Calif.-based Aerospace Corp. Choy was senior engineering specialist and remains in the Corporate Information Resources Div. McLain, who is based in the Chantilly, Va., office, was a systems director in the National Reconnaissance Office. Ovadia will be chief software engineer for the Missile Defense Space Systems organization. He was senior project leader in the Space Tracking and Surveillance System Ground Segment.
Australian airline Regional Express has cut another route because of a lack of pilots. The turboprop operator says 60% of its pilots are quitting each year to join bigger airlines. It eliminated some services in November for the same reason.
Robert Blouin has been appointed vice president-flight operations of the Hawker Beechcraft Corp. , Wichita, Kan. He was president/founding partner of Sky Group Associates Inc. of Washington and president/founder of the Greater Washington Business Aviation Assn.
