James D. Taiclet, 60, became president and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp. June 15, 2020. He succeeds Marillyn A. Hewson, 66, chairman, president, and CEO since 2014 and president and CEO since 2013 in a 37-year career with Lockheed Martin. Taiclet will continue to serve on the corporation’s board, which he joined in 2018. Hewson will become executive chairman of the board.
Taiclet is former chairman, president, and CEO of American Tower Corp., a wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure company, which grew its market capitalization from $2 billion to more than $100 billion during his leadership.
Previously, Taiclet was president of Honeywell Aerospace Services, and prior to that was vice president, Engine Services at Pratt & Whitney. He was also a consultant at McKinsey & Co., specializing in telecommunications and aerospace strategy and operations.
In other executive leadership appointments, Frank A. St. John, 53, became chief operating officer, a newly created position. Stephanie C. Hill, 55, succeeds St. John as Lockheed Martin’s Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) business executive vice president. Yvonne O. Hodge succeeds Hill as senior vice president, Enterprise Business Transformation.
Schatz Bearing achieves Boeing Premier Bidder Status
Boeing Commercial Airplanes has recognized Schatz Bearing Corp.’s sustained level of high performance in flexibility, consistency, and short lead times with an invitation to participate in its Premier Bidder Program.
For almost 40 years Schatz Bearing has supplied the aerospace, defense, and space industries with precision ball bearings for rotating and oscillating applications, manufacturing products in its AS9100 Rev D, ISO9001:2015 certified facility in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Tri-Mer in anodizing conference
Tri-Mer Corp. Director of Finishing Systems Gary M. Kriesch will be a panelist at the Aluminum Anodizers Council (AAC) Remote Conference and Workshop Oct. 14, 2020. Kriesch has 36 years’ experience developing and manufacturing anodize and plating systems and is a frequent speaker at industry events.
magniX powers Grand Caravan on 30-minute all-electric flight
A 9-passenger Cessna 208B Grand Caravan became the largest aircraft to fly solely with a battery powered single electric motor, a magniX 750hp (560kW) Magni500 motor replacing the plane’s usual Pratt & Whitney PT6A 675hp (503kW) turboprop engine. Testing, engineering, and certification firm AeroTEC modified the plane.
The Caravan’s 30-minute flight on May 28, 2020, at Moses Lake, Washington, was twice the duration of a magniX-powered electric flight of a Harbour Air de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver in December 2019.
Roei Ganzarski, magniX CEO, notes that 30 minutes of continuous flight covers about 100 miles at the Caravan’s 214mph cruising speed, and about 5% of all worldwide airline flights in 2019 were less than 100 miles. The half-hour flight cost less than $6 in electricity compared to more than $40 in fuel for an equivalent turboprop powered flight.
