Milan Dedek
President - Empire State Chapter of the AHS International
Milan Dedek has been with BAE Systems for over 12 years and is currently in the Electronic Systems sector. As Director of Rotary Wing Avionics, Milan has responsibility for all Defense Avionics programs associated with rotary wing aircraft – both commercial and military. Milan joined the company as a Software Engineering Manager and has held positions in Business Development, Program Management and Strategy. His experience in the aerospace industry includes aircraft simulation, as well as avionics and controls applications.
His education includes an M.B.A. and a B.S. in Mathematics with a specialization in Computer Science from Binghamton University, as well as an M.S. in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University.
Milan and his wife Teri live in Johnson City and have four sons.
Col. Nolan D. Schmidt USMC (Retired)
Vice President - Empire State Chapter of the AHS International
Nolan Schmidt was recently (July 2007) reassigned to BAE SYSTEMS, Johnson City, NY as the VP and Deputy GM for Platform Solutions (PS).
Previously he was the Director, Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) Initiatives at BAE SYSTEMS in Lansdale, PA, part of the EW Line of Business. As Director AEA Initiatives, Nolan led efforts to put Stand Off Jamming Capability in the B-52 teamed with Boeing, Wichita, and recently led an EA UAV program. Prior he was Director of Electronic Attack Programs in Lansdale, PA.
He has also held positions as both the Program Director/Manager for V-22 Aircraft Programs and Program Manager for Advanced Tactical Aircraft Electronic Warfare Programs (PMA-272) for Naval Air Systems Command, Cost Analyst for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Commanding Officer of EA-6B aircraft.
Nolan has a Masters in Public Administration from George Washington University, a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Navy Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Seattle Pacific College, and graduated from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and Defense System Management College.
Clark W. Smith
Treasurer - Empire State Chapter of the AHS International
Clark is the Weapon System Integrity Lead Engineer for CSAR-X. He came to Lockheed Martin Systems Integration Owego, NY in early 2006 to manage the requirements for a major modification to UK Ministry of Defence E-3D AWAC aircraft.
Previously, he was the Regulatory Compliance Lead Engineer for all B767 Tankers and established the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) based Maintenance Organization Exposition (MOE) currently used by Italian Air Force (ITAF) for their heavy tanker fleet.
Clark's aviation career includes: Industry Steering Committee Co-Chair for the B747-400, American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), FAA certifications for numerous modifications to heavy jet transports, Chief maintenance & flight line operations instructor for a U.S. Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) spy plane, Chief mechanic for an antique aircraft restorer, Alaskan bush pilot, and aircraft dispatcher.
He holds FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate with single engine land, single engine sea, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane ratings, FAA Mechanic Certificate with airframe & powerplant ratings, BS degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, AS degree in Aviation Maintenance Technology from Cochise College, and is a graduate of the Woodstock International School, Mussoorie U.P. India.
Herb Hoefferle
Membership Chair - Empire State Chapter of the AHS International
Herb has been a member of the American Helicopter Society since 1986 and has spent the past 24 years working as an engineer for Schweizer Aircraft Corp.
For the past three years, Herb has been the Director of Engineering at
Schweizer supporting commercial, military, and research programs. Herb's
background is in design, development and qualification of light helicopters
and fixed wing reconnaissance aircraft. He is an active FAA DER with delegations
in Structures, Flight Test, and Systems & Equipment. Programs of involvement
include the Fire-Scout unmanned helicopter, X-2, and 300/333/434 family
of light helicopters.
Thomas M. Spura
Programs Chair - Empire State Chapter of the AHS International
Tom is the Chief Engineer on the K-MAX opportunity at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego, working with the airframe manufacturer, other LM companies, and potential customers to develop a UAS suited for resupply. He has worked many programs within LMSI over the past 12 years, including: Lead Engineer on FCS Class II and Class III programs, HMI Lead on UCAR program, Lead Engineer on A-10 Engineer Upgrade, Lead Engineer on multiple IRAD programs.
Tom has been working on unmanned systems development with LMSI for the past 8 years. In conjunction with these activities he has presented numerous papers at international conferences, including AUVSI, CERI, and AHS. He is currently an active participant on 2 working groups looking at regulations for the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles in the US national airspace.
Tom holds an FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate with single engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane ratings, as well as Flight Instructor Certificate for airplane single engine, instrument airplane. Tom graduated from Boston University with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering, and from Binghamton University with a EMBA degree.
Chris Weaver
Technical Chair - Empire State Chapter of the AHS International
Chris is currently employed at BAE Systems in Johnson City, New York and is serving as the Program Manager for the V-22 Flight Control System project. Prior to this position, Chris was a Rotary Wing Systems Engineer responsible for technology development for BAE Systems' rotary wing programs. Chris also held positions as a Principal Systems Engineer at BAE on various weapon and flight control programs primarily involved in system architecture trade studies, requirements definition, and integration design.
Before joining BAE Systems in 2005, he spent (10) years at Naval Air Systems Command in a variety of Systems Engineering and Test Engineering roles supporting the V-22 Program Office (PMA-275), the H-1 Program Office (PMA-276), and the Rotary Wing Test Squadron. Chris is a (5) year veteran of the United States Marine Corps.
Chris holds a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering from Johns
Hopkins University and a Bachelors of Science degree in Engineering Science
from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
Craig Osborne
Secretary/Webmaster - Empire State Chapter of the AHS International
Craig Osborne joined BAE Systems - Platform Solutions in 2008 as a systems engineer. He supported system integration for flight test for the rotary wing Heads Up Display, Q-Sight. Recently, he graduated from BAE's Engineering Leadership Development program and is currently working as a systems engineer on the QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target program.
Craig graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from Ohio University. He is currently completing his Masters of Engineering with a specialization in Systems Engineering from Binghamton University.
Nathan Meehan
Student Affairs Chair - Empire State Chapter of the AHS International
Nathan is the lead software engineer for the MH-60S and MH-60R cockpit displays at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego. Nathan has over 10 years experience in software engineering for flight displays systems for both rotary and fixed wing aircraft.
Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Nathan was a site recognized expert in image processing and flight displays for Honeywell Aerospace. His work with Honeywell included aircraft such as the F-18, F-15, and C-17.
Nathan is a graduate of the Advanced Technical Leadership Program at Lockheed Martin and holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science from New Mexico State University.
Matt Lockhart
University Coordinator - Empire State Chapter of the AHS International
!
Frans Jurgens
Public Relations Coordinator
Frans Jurgens joined Lockheed Martin in 2002 as a PR and communications specialist after 20 years as a publicist with various advertising and PR agencies in the UK and US, including six years as a freelance writer for government and business-to-business clients.
Frans has supported numerous rotary wing programs at Lockheed Martin, including the Presidential Helicopter program, the Unmanned K-MAX helicopter and the MH-60R maritime helicopter. His communications role is centered around translating engineering speak into plain English so that reporters can write with clarity and understanding.
Frans joined the Empire State Chapter as an initial member, and has stayed with the chapter ever since. He has a degree in communications from William Paterson University in New Jersey, and is a former member of Toastmasters International.
For further information, please contact: Craig Osborne, Webmaster.
Updated 09/10/2010