Aviation News Headlines
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Kansas.com: AviationShould Boeing win the contract to provide refueling tankers to the U.S. Air Force, between 62,605 and 70,706 new U.S. jobs would be created over the life of the contract, according to a new report. That's about 10 times more than the 5,113 to 7,080 new jobs a Northrop Grumman/Airbus win would have created in new U.S. jobs, the report said. The job projections are for Boeing and Northrop Grumman/Airbus only and don't include jobs for suppliers or indirect jobs. Wichitans driving along South Oliver on Wednesday couldn't help but notice a supersized white-and-blue modified Boeing 747, called the Dreamlifter, sitting near a Boeing hangar. Its size and massive hump are distinctive. The Dreamlifter was in Wichita to pick up the 19th forward fuselage section Spirit AeroSystems has built for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. It will deliver it to Boeing's Everett, Wash., plant. Boeing Co. is putting its new 787 through an aggressive flight-testing schedule, with the fourth plane set to begin test flights on Sunday. Boeing wants to deliver the plane to its first customer by the end of this year. By midyear it plans to fly six planes a total of 90 hours per week, Jim Albaugh, chief executive of Boeing's commercial airplane division, told analysts on Tuesday. Albaugh said the testing so far has included more than 100 stalls, practice with an engine off, and a dive that brought it to Mach .97, close to the speed of sound. SEATTLE — Northrop Grumman's decision to forgo bidding on the Air Force's $35 billion refueling tanker program, leaving Boeing without a competitor, might not mark the end of a nearly
decade-long quest to replace the military's existing fleet, a Boeing executive said Tuesday. "I've been working this program for nine years," Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing's commercial aircraft and former chief of its defense unit, said in a presentation at a JPMorgan Chase conference broadcast on the Web. "It's the longest-running
soap opera since 'Days of Our Lives,' and I'm not sure we've seen the last episode." Northrop, which had partnered with European Aeronautic Defence & Space in a winning bid for the tanker that was overturned in 2008, announced its decision Monday. The move made good on Northrop's December threat to withdraw
unless the government altered some of its requirements. Northrop Grumman said Monday that it won't submit a bid in the U.S. Air Force's refueling tanker competition, saying the proposal clearly favors Boeing's smaller tanker. That should make it easier for Boeing to win a $35 billion contract for 179 refuelers. A Boeing win would benefit Wichita, where workers at the company's defense facility would do the finishing work on the tanker. How many jobs the program would create is uncertain. Flags from around the world line a long hallway at the FlightSafety International Hawker Beechcraft Pilot Learning Center in east Wichita. They represent the countries of the pilots who come to the center for training. Wichita is FlightSafety's largest location, and the number of international customers who come to its five pilot and maintenance training facilities here — which provide training for Hawker Beechcraft, Cessna and Learjet aircraft
— is growing. BERLIN — The nations that ordered the Airbus A400M military transporter have agreed to pay more than $4.7 billion more to address cost overruns and keep the troubled project alive, manufacturer
EADS NV and the German Defense Ministry said Friday. The agreement was worked out by deputy defense ministers and industry representatives in a meeting in the German capital. EADS and the German Defense Ministry said the two sides had reached basic agreement, with the idea of amending the original contract in the "coming weeks." Boeing will offer the U.S. Air Force a refueling tanker based on its 767 commercial airliner in its bid for a $35 billion contract, the company announced Thursday. Boeing said its offering will satisfy all 372 of the Air Force's mandatory requirements, including a production rate at whatever level the Air Force determines. Boeing said it will rely on existing Boeing facilities in Washington and Kansas and on U.S. suppliers throughout the country to build the tanker. A California company is suing investment bank Goldman Sachs and a managing director, alleging that it was cut out of the deal to buy Raytheon Aircraft Co. in 2007. Paragon & Co. and its owner, Charles Lubash, based in Woodland Hills, Calif., allege the company was key to the purchase and was promised payment or an equity share in what became Hawker Beechcraft Corp. But that didn't happen,
according to a lawsuit. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court of California, Western Division, alleges that Paragon worked with Goldman on the deal. Raytheon Co. sold Raytheon Aircraft Co. to a Goldman subsidiary and Canadian investment firm Onex Corp. in
2007 for $3.3 billion. DALLAS — Continental Airlines will begin charging coach customers extra if they want a seat with more legroom. Prices will vary depending on the length of a flight and popularity of the route. A spokeswoman said extra room on a Houston-New York flight might cost $59. International fliers would pay more than that. Starting March 17, coach customers will be able to pay the charge at check-in to get an exit-row seat with at least 7 inches more legroom than the other rows, Continental said Wednesday.
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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://www.bombardier.com/en/3_0/pressreleaselist.jsp?group=3_0&lan=en&action=list
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_news_releases.aspx?ItemID=264
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 NewsBoeing to Offer NewGen Tanker to US Air Force The Boeing Company today announced that it will offer the Boeing NewGen Tanker in the competition to supply the U.S. Air Force with a multi-mission aerial refueling aircraft that will meet all the warfighter’s mission requirements for the next several decades.
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