Three recent articles in one issue (AW&ST June 27, pp. 22, 41 and 42) illustrate that the U.S. is about to make a strategic mistake in ending the shuttle program. “Space Standoff,” “Cooperative Kerfuffle” and “Setback” all imply the consequences of ending the STS program while prematurely banking on the transition to the commercial crew and Multipurpose Crew Vehicle/Satellite Landing System (MPCV/SLS) efforts.
“Painful Lessons” (AW&ST June 6, p. 36) regarding information from the recorders recovered from the Air France Flight 447 crash reminds me of my letter to the editor (AW&ST July 6, 2009, p. 8) proposing that recorders send data in real time to ground stations, ensuring it is neither lost forever nor buried for two years. Information could be retrieved promptly. Technology for real-time data transmission is, I believe, within reach.
I noticed the rearmost Air Berlin jet on a recent cover (AW&ST May 30) has the registration: D-AERO. Reminds me of all the custom license plates we see here in California! San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Re: Congressional Editor Jen DiMascio's Aviation DAILY post “Killing BizJet Tax Break May Get GOP Support”: Dave in Rio Rancho writes: Things like this are why Congress has an approval rating below 20%. 123xyz opines:
Defense Editor Amy Butler's Aviation Week.com post “Boeing Liable For KC-46 Overage” drew extensive comments, including: Paladin noting: This is standard A&D industry procedure: should be cost versus price to win. Amigo 500 asking: Anyone seriously think Boeing won't make this $300 million up in MRO? and ikkeman taking the jocular route:
Clay Moran (see photo) has been appointed engineering director of the advanced coating and repair operation at Chromalloy, Orangeburg, N.Y. He was VP-engineering at Energy Storage and Power.
Linda Hillmer has been named head of the Small Business Div. of the National Defense Industry Association, Arlington, Va. She was CEO and president of Defense Department consulting firm CorpComm.
Michael Brunskill has joined Pelican Products, Torrance, Calif., as director of customer service. He was VP-customer operations for Source Refrigeration.
Trevor Jones (see photo) has become director of client relations at Gama Aviation Ltd., headquartered at Farnborough (England) Airport; Stratford, Conn.; and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. He was managing director of Manhattan Jet Charter Ltd.
Bertrand Dumazy has been named CEO of Deutsch Group, owned by French company Wendel and based in New York. He succeeds Jean Marie Painvin, who will become chairman in charge of acquisitions and partnerships. Dumazy was CFO of Neopost Group.
Patrick Bloodworth has been appointed aeronautical business development director for SkyNet Satellite Communications USA, Houston. He comes to SkyNet with more than 25 years of experience in new-technology system sales, customer training and program management.
Paul Lu (see photo) has become director of product support for Asia for Savannah, Ga.-based Gulfstream Aerospace. He was program manager in Southern California for the G650.
Christopher Gleason has joined Avantair, Clearwater, Fla., as sales manager for Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Utah. He comes from Eluxe Group, where he was co-founder and CFO.
Anders Solem has been appointed VP-sales for China for Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, Montreal. He was corporate VP-new business initiatives for Lockheed Martin and had been a senior executive with General Electric.
Robert Hang (see photo) has been named technical services/pre-purchase maintenance supervisor for London-based Freestream Aircraft Ltd. Hang, an authorized FAA airframe inspector, recently retired as maintenance and facilities manager for Ford Motor Co.
Volker Fabian has been named chief commercial officer at Intrepid Aviation, Germantown, Tenn. He was co-managing director at Amentum Capital and held executive positions at HSH Nordbank and CIT Aerospace. John Shavinsky, who was a senior VP at CIT, joined Intrepid as chief operating officer.
Steven McCaughey (see photo) has joined the Lakeland, Fla.-based Seaplane Pilots Association as executive director. His career includes flight school and air operations management, as well as a stint in the USAF Special Operations Command.
Mark MacKeigan (see photo) has been reappointed as a member of the Canadian Transportation Agency for a three-year term. He was legal counsel for Nav Canada and senior legal counsel for the International Air Transport Association.
Rob Fox is the new regional sales director for StandardAero, Tempe, Ariz. Preceding his 21-year tenure with the company, he was an aircraft mechanic for Flight International, Learjet and U.S. Jet.
Orlando Carvalho (see photo) has been appointed VP and deputy of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter management team in Fort Worth. He succeeds Eric Branyan, who will become VP and program manager. A Lockheed employee for more than 30 years, Carvalho was president of the Mission Systems & Sensors unit and held management posts in the naval weapons systems area, including development and production of the Aegis anti-ballistic missile system.
Paul Goodrum has become key account manager at PAS Technologies, Kansas City, Mo. He was technical sales manager at Dunlop Aircraft Tires and had been global key account manager at Sermatech International and Praxair Surface Technologies. Honors And Elections
Wes Bush, CEO and president of Northrop Grumman Corp., has been named vice chairman of the Washington-based Business-Higher Education Forum for 2011-12.
Peter Bernard and Dr. Roy Montgomery have been appointed to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada. Bernard is a longtime practitioner of maritime law, and Montgomery was president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Prince Edward Island.
Anthony J. Vizzini, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, is the new president of the 2011-12 Executive Cabinet of the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering.
During the past two decades, Embraer has demonstrated an uncanny ability to bring ideal aircraft to market at the right time. In the 1990s, it was 50-seat regional jets (RJs). The following decade, just as soaring fuel prices made smaller RJs uneconomical, the aircraft manufacturer rolled out its family of “E-Jets,” which span from 70-122 seats and have attracted more than 1,000 orders from 60 airlines. Now, with the industry's competitive landscape shifting once again, the question is whether CEO Frederico Curado and his team can pull another rabbit out of the hat.
