Aviation News Headlines
Global Aviation Aerospace & Airlines Industry news headlines with up-to-date news on Boeing, Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, Bombardier Aerospece/Learjet, Spirit Aerosystems, Airbus Wing Design and many other national aircraft builders.
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Reporting on Aviation in the Air Capital: Wichita Eagle Writer Reflects on Covering Wichita's Dynamic Industry.
Wichita Eagle: AviationA four-year blueprint for aviation programs that hastens the transition to a new air traffic control system based on GPS technology was given final approval by the House on Friday despite last-minute objections from organized labor. The compromise agreement between the House and Senate authorizes $63 billion for Federal Aviation Administration programs through the 2015 federal budget year. It was passed on a 248-169 vote. Final Senate action is expected Monday, culminating a five-year struggle that included a partial shutdown of the FAA last summer. Lawmakers said the legislation will provide certainty and stability to programs that are critical to the health of the commercial aviation industry, which accounts for about 5 percent of U.S. economic output. Read more Boeing’s Dreamliner launch customer, All Nippon Airways of Japan, had to cancel two of its first 10 flights between Tokyo and Frankfurt, Germany, the new jet’s first long-haul route that opened on Jan. 21. The glitches on the early long-haul flights follow a relatively smooth introduction of the Dreamliner into domestic service in Japan and on short-haul flights to China. ANA spokeswoman Jean Saito said the airline canceled the Jan. 26 flight out of Frankfurt “due to a malfunction of the flaps system” on the airplane. Read more OKLAHOMA CITY – A Boeing spokeswoman said Thursday that it is too early to know whether the U.S. Air Force’s planned postponement of a program to upgrade the cockpits of its C-130 aircraft will reduce the number of jobs the company plans to move from California to Oklahoma City. The Boeing Co. announced plans in 2010 to move about 550 employees from Long Beach to Oklahoma City, with about 230 of those to work on the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program as part of a contract with the Air Force. The rest were to work on similar upgrades to the Air Force’s B-1 aircraft. About 110 of the jobs associated with the C-130 upgrades have been filled, Boeing spokeswoman Jennifer Hogan said. Read more Bombardier Learjet is cutting 23 jobs in its service center and outsourcing the work elsewhere, and the Machinists union is crying foul. The union has filed a grievance with the company, arguing that moving the work violates its labor contract with the company. It also is questioning whether the change violates the agreement Bombardier Learjet made with the state of Kansas in order to secure millions of dollars in bond financing. A Department of Commerce spokesman says it does not. Read more Sen. Jerry Moran and U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo are asking the Secretary of the Air Force to study whether Boeing’s closure in Wichita will create a national security issue. “We write to inquire about any potential degradation of our national security because of this action,” Moran and Pompeo wrote in a letter last week to Michael Donley, the Air Force secretary. Boeing announced Jan. 4 that it planned to close its defense facility in Wichita by the end of 2013. Read more Jeff Turner, CEO of Spirit AeroSystems, was the second recipient of the Wichita Aero Club’s trophy at a gala Saturday at the Wichita Airport Hilton. Turner was nominated for his deep connections to Wichita and for furthering the aerospace industry in Kansas, organizers said. Turner quipped that he had been given no time limit for his speech, so he decided to give the history of the company, from the empty field that led to Lloyd Stearman’s factory until today. Read more Boeing Wichita has finished an 18-month modification on the fourth and final E-4B Advanced Airborne Command Post for the Air Force. The plane returned to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska a few days ago. The modification included upgrades to the capabilities of the E-4B, including improving the communications and upgrading avionics, video and voice conferencing and a conference room. The modification included stringing more than 300 miles of cable. Read more The National Institute for Aviation Research is turning to futuristic virtual reality and reverse engineering to help keep aging aircraft flying, re-creating replacement parts for old aircraft where none are available. Lab associates at NIAR’s new virtual reality and reverse engineering lab, located at the National Center for Aviation Training near Jabara Airport in northeast Wichita, use a process called reverse engineering to create a computerized design from an existing part or piece of equipment. “It’s very exciting,” said Brian Brown, associate director of NIAR’s Computer-Aided Design, Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD-CAM) Laboratory. Read more Recruiters who want to hire engineers and other aerospace employees have their eye on Wichita, where Boeing plans to close its facility by the end of 2013. Boeing employs 600 engineers in Wichita, who earn an average salary of $84,000. The company announced Jan. 4 that it plans to close the Wichita facility over the next two years and move the work to Oklahoma City and San Antonio. Some current employees will be offered jobs at those locations. The Wichita facility has received many calls from companies inside and outside the state seeking employees with a variety of skills, said Boeing spokesman Jarrod Bartlett. Read more Cessna Aircraft’s parent company, Textron, put to rest questions of whether Cessna would resurrect a plan to build a big business jet. “It would be a huge investment to go do that,” Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly said Wednesday about re-entering the large-business-jet market. Donnelly spoke on a conference call about the company’s earnings. The investment in a big business jet would be at the expense of the small and mid-sized market, he said. During the economic downturn, Cessna shelved a plan to build the Citation Columbus, its largest aircraft ever. Read more
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Airbus - http://www.airbusnorthamerica.com/newsroom/index.asp
The newest Airbus facility in the U.S., and the largest in terms of people-power, is in Wichita, Kansas. Airbus North America Engineering, Inc. opened in Spring 2002, is the first design and engineering venture for Airbus in North America and hosts some 140 engineers on the newest and largest Airbus aircraft: the A380. |
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Boeing Airplane Company - http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/index.html
The Boeing Company is the largest aerospace company in the world, as measured by total sales, and one of the nation's leading exporters. Boeing is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft, and the nation's largest NASA contractor. The company's capabilities in aerospace also include helicopters, electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch vehicles, and advanced information and communication systems. |
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Boeing Defense, Space & Security - http://www.boeing.com/bds
Boeing Defense, Space & Security working in partnership with its customers and focusing on network-centric, capability-driven solutions, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is transforming business and military operations to address a rapidly changing world. The seven customer-facing business units are Aerospace Support, Air Force Systems, Army Systems, Missile Defense Systems, NASA Systems, Naval Systems and Space Intelligence Systems. |
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Bombardier Aerospace/Learjet - http://press.businessaircraft.bombardier.com/en/media_centre.jsp
Encompassing Learjet, Canadair, deHavilland, and Shorts... as the world's third largest civil aircraft manufacturer. The company designs, markets and supports the world's broadest line of business jets, from the Learjet 31A Light Jet to the ultra long-range Bombardier Global Express. Wichita is the production site for Learjet aircraft as well as one of seven Business Aviation Service Centers and the dedicated center for all of the company's aircraft certification flight-testing. |
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Cessna Aircraft - http://cessna.com/newsroom.html
The Cessna Aircraft Company, pioneer of general aviation, manufactures or has under development the industry's most extensive line of business jets ... the CitationJet, Citation CJ1, Citation CJ2, Citation Bravo, Citation Encore, Citation Excel, Citation Sovereign, Citation VII and the world's fastest business jet, the Citation X. The Cessna Caravan is the best selling turboprop utility aircraft in the marketplace, is also manufactured in Wichita. |
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Hawker Beechcraft - http://www.hawkerbeechcraft.com/about_us/news_room/
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation is the world’s leading business, special-mission and trainer aircraft manufacturer – designing, marketing and supporting aviation products and services for businesses, governments and individuals worldwide. The company’s headquarters and major facilities are located in Wichita, Kansas, with operations in Salina, Kansas; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Chester, England, U.K. The company leads the industry with a global network of over 100 factory-owned and authorized service centers. |
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Spirit AeroSystems- http://www.spiritaero.com/Media.aspx
Wichita, Kansas is the headquarters for Spirit AeroSystems, having been purchased by the Onex Corp. from Boeing Commercial Airplanes in June, 2005. In addition to Wichita, the Company has operations in Tulsa and McAlester, Oklahoma. Spirit AeroSystems is the world's largest Tier 1 supplier of commercial airplane assemblies and components. |
Recent Aviation NewsHawker 900XP Receives Russian Type Certification Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) today announced it has received type certification for the Hawker 900XP midsize business jet from the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) Aviation Registry in Russia.
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