Kevin Imanaka (see photo) has been named director of internal and corporate communications for Hawaiian Airlines. He was director of communications and community relations for the Hawaii Permanente Medical Group.
USAF Maj. Gen. (ret.) Michael Kostelnik has become president of Astrium Americas, Herndon, Va., and vice president of EADS North America's space business. He was assistant commissioner of the Office of Air and Marine in U.S. Customs and Border Protection and had been deputy associate NASA administrator for the space shuttle and International Space Station.
Frances Townsend has been named to the board of trustees of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. She is executive vice president of MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings and was homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush.
DayJet founder Ed Iacobucci died on June 21 at home in Boca Raton, Fla., from pancreatic cancer. He was 59. Like many entrepreneurs, Iacobucci had a lifelong passion for aviation. On a rain-soaked day in Tallahassee, Fla., in 2007, he opened the doors of his dream business, a per-seat, on-demand “airline” called DayJet that would ride on a massive fleet of 1,400 four-passenger Eclipse 500 jets, connecting small communities across the U.S. that were not adequately served by airlines.
Jason-1, a Franco-U.S. ocean-topography spacecraft in operation since Dec. 7, 2001, has gone offline after its sole remaining transmitter failed on June 21. NASA and French space agency CNES decommissioned the Earth-science bird after 11.5 years of service, continuing the dataset started in 1992 by Topex/Poseidon and continuing today with the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2.
Did two French aviators cross the Atlantic oceans days before Charles Lindbergh completed his historical 1927 New York-Paris flight? The question is asked by Bernard Decre, a well-regarded amateur historian. In the last five years, he has been working full-time on the ill-fated attempt by Charles Nungesser and Francois Coli who vanished hours after they took off from Le Bourget on May 8, headed for New York. The assumption for years has been that they plunged into the sea during the early part of the crossing, but there is no definitive information to back this up.
Frank Morring, Jr., in his commentary “Out There” (AW&ST June 24, p. 22) notes that, “While six humans crank away at their research—a pair of aging robotic great observatories continue to fine-tune mankind's understanding of the cosmos.” And then, in the same issue, on the facing page, we are told by a former Lockheed Martin executive that with NASA's current budget he doubts we will ever get to Mars.
Assembly work has started on the first pre-production JAS 39E Gripen fighter, according to Saab. The front fuselage of the first of three development aircraft, 39-8, is the first major component to enter production. It is due to fly in early 2015, followed by 39-9 in 2016 and 39-10 in early 2017.
This week, Aviation Week publishes two editions. Forty years after FedEx had the idea of flying a small fleet of Falcon 20s into Memphis, Tenn., to unload and redistribute packages, hub operators are facing challenges from high fuel prices and low-cost competitors. A special report on the future of hubs begins on page 36. The far right cover shows Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, the main base for Emirates' hub operations (Dubai Airports photo).
Chris O'Ferrell has become chief technical officer and Tempy Wright vice president-marketing and communications of Cyveillance, a subsidiary of Qinetq North America, Reston, Va. O'Ferrell was its vice president-security and response services, while Wright was head of marketing strategy for Dell SecureWorks. Robert Mullins (see photo) has been appointed executive vice president-corporate strategy and mergers & acquisitions of Cobham plc, based in Arlington, Va. He was senior vice president-corporate strategy for Alliant Techsystems.
Doug Shane has been appointed executive vice president/general manager of The Spaceship Company (TSC) of Virgin Galactic, Mojave, Calif. He was president of Scaled Composites, where he had also has been vice president-business development and director of flight operations.
After two decades rising through the executive ranks at communications services provider Amdocs Management, Dov Baharav had no defense experience when he was tapped in 2011 to serve as chairman of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). During his tenure at Amdocs, Baharav oversaw complex financial systems and high-tech development projects in the lead-up to the dot-com bust, when he was appointed CEO.
The U.S. Air Force is planning to conduct a critical design review (CDR) for the Boeing KC-46 aerial refueling tanker. Late last month, the company loaded its first 767-200ER wing spar bound for a KC-46 tanker onto a production jig. “We fully expect a positive CDR,” says Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft. “We are still on cost and on schedule.” Boeing is estimated to be adding up to $400 million of its own money in order to deliver the first 18 KC-46s in 2017.
EU carbon dioxide allowance (EUA) prices under the EU Emissions Trading System edged higher overall in June, as the market waited for a key vote in the EU Parliament July 3.
Also at the recent AAAE conference, Jeanne Olivier, assistant aviation director for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, received the 2013 Chair's Award for her “stellar record of service at the chapter and national level.” Leadership Award winners are: Doug Hofsass, vice president operations-planning of the Aircraft Service International Group; and Ken Newstrom, executive director of the AAAE Great Lakes Chapter. Scott Brockman, executive vice president/COO of the Memphis-Shelby County (Tenn.) Airport Authority, won the 2013 Distinguished Service Award.
In response to reader Guy Wroble's criticism (AW&ST June 12, p. 12) of “Language Barriers” (AW&ST May 27, p. 26), I would agree with him that a unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) with advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (Amraams) could theoretically be a force multiplier. However, the need for an F-22 to use his systems to target the UCAV—rather than the UCAV operator having the communications and radar-scope skills to do it himself—would beg the question: “Should UCAVs be carrying missiles in the first place?”
The Chinese government likes to make neat plans. One of the neatest is the policy of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) that the country should have three major state airlines, based widely apart, and that each should turn its home airport into its single major hub.
Last week's delivery of an Airbus A380 to British Airways (BA) was a landmark event for the manufacturer. The aircraft finally is sporting the liveries of all of the big European airlines—BA, Air France and Lufthansa. But Airbus may have reason to worry.
Michael Mecham (San Francisco), Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington)
Spaceborne study of the Sun has produced spectacular images like these over the years, but still leaves much about our nearest star cloaked in mystery. Now an ultraviolet (UV) telescope with unusually high spectral bandwidth will try to solve one of the most puzzling—why temperatures vary so dramatically between the Sun's surface and the upper limits of its turbulent atmosphere.
