Kansas.com: Aviation

General aviation deliveries down 47%

MOLLY McMILLIN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:07 CST

Deliveries of general aviation aircraft have fallen 47 percent in the first nine months of 2009 when compared with the same time a year ago.

Planemakers worldwide shipped 1,587 piston aircraft, turboprops and business jets in the first nine months, down from 2,982 a year ago, according to figures released Thursday from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

Billings, meanwhile, are down 23.5 percent.

Spirit CEO concerned about Airbus, Boeing

MOLLY McMILLIN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:59 CST

Spirit AeroSystems CEO Jeff Turner says he's concerned that Boeing and Airbus might cut production on single-aisle, narrow-body jetliners.

There are sign that rates should be trimmed, Turner said Thursday during a conference call after the company reported its third-quarter results.

"I felt terrible three months ago and six months ago — terribly worried I should say," Turner said in response to whether he feels better than he did three or six months ago on whether rates will hold. "And I remain that way."

Hawker Beechcraft sees lower sales and income on declining deliveries

MOLLY McMILLIN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:07 CST

Hawker Beechcraft recorded lower sales and operating income in the third quarter as aircraft deliveries fell, the company said Thursday.

Net sales for the quarter totaled $757.7 million, a decrease of $25.6 million from a year ago.

The decline is due to continued weakness in the general aviation market that has significantly hurt deliveries, the company said.

Gala Saturday will honor role of women in flying

MOLLY McMILLIN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:34 CST

The Kansas Aviation Museum's annual gala Saturday will recognize the Ninety-Nines, an international association of female pilots, along with Kansans who have made a difference in aviation.

Emily Warner, the nation's first female airline pilot, is the keynote speaker at Saturday's event.

Norman Colvin, who spent years helping owners of Beechcraft Bonanzas keep their planes in top flying condition, will be posthumously inducted into the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame.

TECT on path of growth

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:32 CST

Inside TECT Aerospace's new Park City manufacturing facility, something is noticeably missing — an inventory of parts.

There, three massive high-speed, five-axis milling machines turn out large, monolithic parts and structures for the aerospace industry.

Each machine replaces three smaller, traditional ones, TECT spokesman David Nolletti said.

Backers want WTO ruling in tanker deal

DONNA BORAK — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:04 CST

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of lawmakers who support Boeing in its bid for a $35 billion tanker contract want President Barack Obama to force the Air Force to include a recent World Trade Organization ruling against Airbus in its decision.

The WTO in September issued an interim ruling that found Airbus received illegal launch aid from European governments to build its aircraft. Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. are competing against Chicago-based Boeing for the third time to replace 179 aging Air Force refueling tankers.

In a letter Monday, Reps. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., and 37 other Boeing supporters pressed Obama to find a way for the Air Force to account for the WTO ruling. A separate ruling on a European Union counter-complaint against the U.S. is expected in a few months.

Fines boost surcharges on peak holiday travel days

DAVID KOENIG — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:13 CST

DALLAS — If you plan to travel around the holidays, prepare to pay a little more — again. Several of the largest U.S. airlines have increased a surcharge for travel on the busiest travel days to $20 each way, up from $10.

The surcharges apply to a large number of flights within the U.S. on more than a dozen peak days around holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.

Delta, American, United, US Airways and Northwest all boosted their surcharge on some routes, said Tom Parsons, who runs the discount travel site Bestfares.com.

Embraer gaining on local planemakers

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:08 CST

As Wichita planemakers grapple with the downturn in the business jet market, they're keeping a keen eye on the competition.

One of the biggest threats to Wichita's business jet industry is 7,600 miles away.

That's where Brazil-based Embraer — long a maker of regional and military jets in a colorful country known for samba, sugar cane and soccer — has entered the market in a big way.

Northrop, EADS claim Air Force favoritism

LES BLUMENTHAL — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:08 CST

WASHINGTON — A European aerospace company and its American partner say the Air Force is stacking the odds against them and favoring the Boeing Co. as it prepares to seek bids on a $35 billion contract to start replacing the nation's fleet of aging aerial refueling tankers.

"This is tantamount to a cost shoot-out that accelerates the race to the bottom," said Mitchell Waldman, a Northrop Grumman vice president, arguing that the Air Force has decided that cost is the overwhelming factor and that it doesn't matter how good a plane is. In the last contract bid, he said, the Air Force indicated it wanted certain new capabilities in the new tanker; now it's just about price.

Waldman refused to say whether the Northrop-Grumman-European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. team would pull out of the competition if changes weren't made.

Northrop: Tanker cost emphasis favors Boeing

DONNA BORAK — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:04 CDT

WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman Corp. says a disputed $35 billion Air Force contract competition prioritizes cheaper tankers over vital needs like refueling planes in flight, which could end up favoring rival Boeing Co.

"Last time, it was very clear it was a capabilities-based, best-value source selection process," Northrop spokesman Randy Belote said Wednesday. "This time, it's very clear that cost is the predominant driver and that the capabilities to the warfighter have taken on a secondary role of importance."

After winning the deal last year and then seeing that decision overturned, Los Angeles-based Northrop and its partner, Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., are competing against Chicago-based Boeing Co. for the third time to replace the aging refueling tankers.

S.C. chosen for second 787 site

MOLLY McMILLIN — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:13 CDT

Boeing has decided to build its second 787 Dreamliner assembly line in North Charleston, S.C., the company said Wednesday.

Boeing had been considering whether to place the line there or in Everett, Wash.

Boeing says it chose North Charleston because the location was best to support its 787 business plan as the program increases production rates. The facility also will have the capacity to test and deliver aircraft.

At NBAA, the focus is on the future

MOLLY McMILLIN — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:19 CDT

ORLANDO — Wichita’s aviation industry has been battered, but there are signs of encouragement in the business jet market, officials said Monday as the world’s largest business jet show prepares to officially open in Orlando.

Hawker Beechcraft underscored the battle the industry has been involved, with company executives and personnel wearing military flight suits to their news conference.

“We’re on a mission,” Bill Boisture, Hawker Beechcraft’s CEO, said at the 18th annual National Business Aviation Association convention. “Our mission is to prevail against unprecedented market forces; our mission today is to counterattack.”

Cessna sees drop in revenue, profit

MOLLY McMILLIN — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:39 CDT

Cessna Aircraft Co.' s revenue fell 42 percent and profit declined 87 percent in the third quarter, its parent company reported Tuesday.

Textron said Cessna recorded profit of $32 million in the quarter, a drop from $238 million a year ago. It recorded $825 million in revenue, down from $1.4 billion.

Cessna is on track to meet or modestly beat its revised projection of 275 jet deliveries this year. At one time, Cessna had planned on delivering 535 jets this year.

Lawmakers voice tanker concerns

DONNA BORAK — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:05 CDT

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers from Washington to Alabama are raising serious concerns over a troubled $35 billion tanker competition between rivals Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp.

In separate letters, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Rep. Norman Dicks, D-Wash., representing competing interests and thousands of jobs in their districts, expressed concerns over the Air Force's draft request for bids to build 179 aerial refueling tankers that was issued last month.

Los Angeles-based Northrop and its partner, Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. NV, are competing against Chicago-based Boeing for the third time to replace the aging refueling tankers.

Interest, some sales at NBAA

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:04 CDT

Despite a down market for business jets, Wichita planemakers said they found a lot of interest in their aircraft during last week's National Business Aviation Association show in Orlando, Fla.

And they sold some aircraft.

"I think it was a very good show considering the environment we're in," Cessna Aircraft spokesman Bob Stangarone said.

1st SkyCatcher now at Cessna

MOLLY McMILLIN — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:14 CDT

Cessna Aircraft's first production 162 SkyCatcher has arrived in Wichita from Shenyang Aircraft Industry in China.

The light sport aircraft is being assembled at Cessna. It will be modified here to comply with the latest design changes, Cessna spokesman Bob Stangarone said.

The second SkyCatcher will be shipped from Shenyang, in Xinhua, China, to Yingling Aviation in Wichita for assembly. Yingling is one of three companies that will reassemble the aircraft after arrival in the U.S. It's receiving the first batch of aircraft, however.

Pilot who missed landing denies sleeping

STEVE KARNOWSKI and BRAD CAIN — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:06 CDT

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. —The first officer of the Northwest Airlines jet that missed its destination by 150 miles says he and the captain were not sleeping or arguing in the cockpit but he wouldn't explain their lapse in response and the detour.

"It was not a serious event, from a safety issue," pilot Richard Cole said late Friday in front of his Salem, Ore., home. "I would tell you more, but I've already told you way too much."

Air traffic controllers and pilots had tried for more than an hour Wednesday night to contact the Minneapolis-bound flight. Officials on the ground alerted National Guard jets to prepare to chase the airliner, though none of the military planes left the runway.

Pilots' error stumps investigators

JOAN LOWY — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:58 CDT

WASHINGTON — Were the pilots distracted? Catching up on their sleep? Federal investigators struggled to determine what the crew members of a Northwest Airlines jetliner were doing at 37,000 feet as they sped 150 miles past their Minneapolis destination and military jets prepared to chase them. Unfortunately, the cockpit voice recorder may not tell the tale.

A report released late Friday said the pilots passed Breathalyzer tests and were apologetic after Wednesday night's amazing odyssey. They said they had been having a heated discussion about airline policy. But aviation safety experts and other pilots were frankly skeptical they could have become so consumed with shop talk that they forgot to land an airplane carrying 144 passengers.

The most likely possibility, they said, is that the pilots simply fell asleep somewhere along their route from San Diego.

Wichitan moves ahead on Aerion jet

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:09 CDT

ORLANDO — A battered economy hasn't stopped the development of a long-range $80 million supersonic jet at Aerion, a company led by Wichitan Brian Barents.

But with the downturn, it might take more time to work with a major manufacturer to build it.

"It's not a matter of if; it's a matter of when," Barents said this week at Aerion's exhibit at the National Business Aviation Association's convention. Thursday was the last day of the convention.

Garden City pursuit of flights to Wichita stalls

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:09 CDT

GARDEN CITY — Discussion that began among city officials late last fall about possible flights from Garden City Regional Airport to Wichita is currently at a standstill, according to city and airport officials.

"We're definitely still interested in the project, but the city's not willing to make a commitment right now," said Rachelle Powell, Garden City Regional Airport's director of aviation. "The timing's all off, and funding sources are scarce."

Powell met with city officials earlier this month to present an intrastate air service feasibility study paid for by Garden City and other communities interested in attracting an airline that could provide flights to and from their cities to Wichita.