After a slow start, the U.S. and Australian Hypersonic International Flight Research Experiment (HIFire) is poised for seven more flights in quick succession.
The Virgin Blue Group will be unifying its various international and domestic operations under a single brand—Virgin Australia—by the end of this year, an important step for a carrier looking to challenge its legacy rival Qantas.
Paul Neal has become a principal consultant in the Washington office of Parsons Brinckerhoff. He was head of surface transport for the London Olympic Delivery Authority and a management consultant handling assignments related to airport access and transportation planning for special events. Honors and Elections
French military test personnel late last month demonstrated the AASM's ability to engage a fast-moving ground vehicle even in difficult engagement scenarios. The test involved the laser-guided version of AASM, which in its basic GPS-guidance and infrared-seeker mode is already being used operationally. The air-to-ground weapon was launched from a Rafale fighter at the Biscarosse test range at a range of more than 15 km (9.4 mi.) with the aircraft flying off-axis by 90 deg. from the target, which was itself moving at 80 kph.
Beijing continues to reveal new additions to its growing fighter inventory. The latest pictures feature its Shenyang J-15 Flying Shark design, which is intended to populate the decks of the country's first aircraft carrier.
Andrew P. Pearce (see photo) has been appointed London-based director of aircraft sales for the U.K., Europe and the Middle East at Montreal-based Innotech-Execaire Aviation Group.
Boeing is using its lobbying power to threaten the authority of the National Labor Relations Board to uphold workers' rights to collective bargaining, says Local 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which prompted the NLRB's proposal that the company not be allowed to open a $2 billion South Carolina factory to build 787s.
Mike Papay (see photos) has been named vice president of cyber initiatives in the McLean, Va.-based Information Systems Sector of the Northrop GrummanCorp. and the company lead for cybersecurity. Mitchell B. Waldman has been appointed vice president of government and customer relations at the Shipbuilding Sector. Papay was director of engineering strategy for Informations Systems, and Waldman was vice president for business development of advanced programs and technology for the company's Aerospace Systems Sector.
The European Commission issued passengers false and misleading advice during last year's volcanic ash crisis, European Ombudsman P.P. Nikiforos Diamandouros has determined. He effectively has upheld a complaint lodged by the European Regions Airline Association. Diamandouros also notes this was not the first time the EC published erroneous air passenger information, and has asked the EC to explain the circumstances by the end of June. In his ruling, Diamandourous writes: “This constitutes an instance of maladministration.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Bill Sweetman (Washington)
Despite the tight veil of security thrown over Boeing Phantom Ray unmanned aircraft demonstration program, several industry officials revealed that the stealth-shaped aircraft made its first flight at Edwards AFB, Calif., on April 27.
The storm was just too long for Jack Pelton to ride out. For the past decade, the chairman, president and CEO of Cessna Aircraft was a force in business aviation, taking up the industry's battle in Washington when President Barack Obama and members of Congress singled out corporate jets as a symbol of excess to score political points. And for a time, the amiable salesman could do no wrong, with Cessna accounting for more than half of the profits at parent company Textron in 2006 and 2007.
Mike Papay (see photos) has been named vice president of cyber initiatives in the McLean, Va.-based Information Systems Sector of the Northrop GrummanCorp. and the company lead for cybersecurity. Mitchell B. Waldman has been appointed vice president of government and customer relations at the Shipbuilding Sector. Papay was director of engineering strategy for Informations Systems, and Waldman was vice president for business development of advanced programs and technology for the company's Aerospace Systems Sector.
Science teams at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Proxemy Research Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md., and the University of Maryland will receive $3 million each from NASA to advance concepts for a Discovery-class planetary mission in 2016. JPL's Geophysical Monitoring Station, headed by Principal Investigator Bruce Banerdt, would study the interior structure of Mars. The Titan Mare Explorer, proposed by Ellen Stofan of Proxemy Research, would land in a hydrocarbon sea on Saturn's moon Titan.
Michael Bright has become vice president of the Missile Defense Business unit of Sacramento, Calif.-based Aerojet. He succeeds Pete Massey, who will join Aerojet's Business Development and Strategy Department.
In a last-ditch bid to keep the F136 engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter alive following cancellation by the U.S. Defense Department, General Electric and Rolls-Royce have proposed converting the F-35 alternate engine development effort into a self-funded demonstrator. The GE-Rolls Fighter Engine Team says it will “bear all costs for continued development of the engine through the end of fiscal year 2012.” The plan hinges on House Armed Services Committee support to restore the F136 to the budget.
Preparations for the first launch this fall of a Russian Soyuz rocket from the European spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana, are gathering momentum following a simulated launch last week that included erecting one of the first two Russian launch vehicles to arrive at the site on the north coast of South America. The dry-run ground-operations checkout started April 29 with transport of the flightworthy launch vehicle 600 meters (1,968 ft.) from its “MIK” horizontal assembly building to the new pad on its transporter/erector rail car.
Stacy Jackson (see photo) has been promoted to director of contracts and risk management from manager of contracts at Executive AirShare, Kansas City, Mo.
Scaled Composites tested the feathering re-entry mechanism of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo (SS2) in flight for the first time on May 4. The feathering device reconfigures the vehicle while in the vacuum of space, and creates very high drag as it descends through the atmosphere. The test took place during the seventh glide flight of the 60-ft.-long, 42-ft.-wingspan commercial spaceship, and was performed after release from the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft at 51,500 ft.
Airbus Military and the Europrop International joint venture developing and building the TP400D turboprop engine for the A400M military airlifter say they have resolved their contract dispute. The two sides were sparring over liabilities linked to A400M delays and cost overruns. Detailed terms of the changes are not being disclosed, although MTU Aero Engines CEO Egon Behle says there is no net payment between the two sides. The agreement comes after Airbus Military and A400M customers agreed to a new contract to cover overruns and a three-year schedule delay.
An almost serene confidence permeated board room reaction to the recent run of first-quarter results across the U.S. airline industry, with a belief that price elasticity and prudent capacity control will still produce annual profits despite more than $1 billion in losses from the legacy carriers in the first three months of the year.
Italian aerospace and defense giant Finmeccanica is entering a new phase, aiming to generate stronger financial returns. Just how that will happen is something newly appointed CEO Guiseppe Orsi will try to determine in the coming three months. After a period of expansive growth through acquisitions, Finmeccanica in recent months has worked to rationalize its business by consolidating activities into a few core areas to cut overhead. But the company's majority shareholder, the Italian government, is looking for more.
Fayette Collier, Project Manager for Environmentally Responsible Aviation, NASA Langley Research Center (Hampton, Va. )
Reader Fred Bearden questions NASA's noise reduction initiative (AW&ST April 25/May 2, p. 8). This noise goal for future aircraft is important for economic and environmental reasons. Noise is the No. 1 environmental constraint to the expansion of airports and the air transport system. Expansion is linked to GDP and the overall economic health of the nation. If aircraft were not noise-constrained, and were permitted to operate round-the-clock in major metro areas, this could have obvious economic benefits.
The aircraft can work harder these days, but there is only so much you can get out of a pilot. For that reason, Australia will need its new flight training system to handle more trainees, with the result that its air force will be able to conduct the high-tempo operations available from new types, such as the Lockheed Martin F-35.
