Wichita Eagle: Aviation

Spirit’s 2011 revenue up, income down

Molly McMillin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:09 CST

Spirit AeroSystems turned in strong performance in its core business last year, while it increased production rates on key programs, the company said Thursday.

At the same time, the year was challenging for some programs now under development. Spirit entered the year with 10 programs in development.

The company increased production on Boeing’s 737 single-aisle jet and its 777 wide-body jetliner along with the Airbus A320 program in 2011.

Pompeo: Air Force needs to be transparent about contract

RICK PLUMLEE — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:50 CST

Rep. Mike Pompeo said Thursday he’s still waiting to get a definitive response from the Air Force on why it excluded Hawker Beechcraft’s bid for a light air support contract worth up to nearly $1 billion.

During a teleconference that touched on a wide range of topics, Pompeo said he has sent several letters to secretaries of the Air Force and defense departments asking for an explanation. And he has received a letter back from Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley.

“It was nearly non-responsive,” the Republican congressman from Wichita said. “There was literally no substantive response contained in the letter whatsoever.”

WSJ: Hawker hires bankruptcy, restructuring lawyers

Molly McMillin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:44 CST

A Wall Street Journal blog is reporting that Hawker Beechcraft Corp. has hired bankruptcy and restructuring lawyers, according to people familiar with the matter, it said.

Hawker has hired Kirkland & Ellis LLP, a law firm that has advised on large bankruptcies, such as United Airlines, and restructurings, such as Keystone Automotive, the Wall Street Journal said.

“Kirkland’s hiring doesn’t necessarily mean Hawker plans to file for bankruptcy protection or that any other restructuring is imminent,” the report said.

Report: Bombardier near pact with Chinese firm

Molly McMillin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:34 CST

German newspaper Hadelsblatt reported this week that Bombardier is close to sealing a substantial agreement with state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (Comac).

The agreement involves Comac’s C-919 jet and Bombardier’s CSeries passenger plane. Bombardier spokeswoman Haley Dunne said the company signed a “framework” agreement with Comac last March to collaborate on the two programs.

That initial agreement formed the beginning of other potential agreements. Bombardier and Comac are looking at areas they can work together, such as the supply chain, marketing, customer support and services on the two programs.

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will return to Wichita in September

Beccy Tanner — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:11 CST

Circle your calendar for the last weekend in September – the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are coming back to Wichita after a two-year absence.

They will be at McConnell Air Force Base Sept. 29-30.

Tech Sgt. Cameron Camacho of Haysville, who is the noncommissioned officer in charge of communications for the Thunderbirds between the ground and the air, said he’s looking forward to doing a show for his hometown. The 1998 graduate of Bishop Carroll High School has been with the team for three seasons.

Frontier Airlines wants to look more like Spirit

SAMANTHA BOMKAMP and JOSHUA FREED — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:56 CST

The chief executive at Republic Airways Holdings Inc. says he's trying to make the airline's money-losing Frontier Airlines unit more like lower-cost rivals Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Travel Co.

But he's not going all the way.

Chairman and CEO Bryan Bedford says he wants to continue cutting Frontier's costs as he gets it ready to be spun-off or sold, but he's not willing to start charging lots of new fees like rivals have done.

Hawker Beechcraft hires turnaround specialist as CEO

Molly McMillin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:50 CST

Steve Miller, who calls himself “The Turnaround Kid,” has spent his long career rescuing troubled companies.

A restructuring specialist, Miller, 70, now will work with Wichita’s financially troubled Hawker Beechcraft in an attempt to help it emerge from the bumpy journey it has been on since the 2008 downturn in the business aviation market.

The company’s board of directors appointed Miller CEO of Hawker Beechcraft Inc., effective Tuesday, replacing Bill Boisture. Boisture, however, will continue in his role as chairman of its subsidiary, Hawker Beechcraft Corp.

Boeing orders checks of 787 Dreamliners on fuselage delamination

Ed Dufner — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:07 CST

Boeing has ordered inspections of 787 Dreamliners after finding signs of delamination on the fuselage of the first passenger jetliner built chiefly of carbon-fiber composites.

There is no “short-term safety concern” from the fault, which was caused by an incorrect assembly in a support structure within the plane’s aft fuselage, Scott Lefeber, a spokesman, said in a statement. All Nippon Airways Co., the only operator of the 787, said it will continue flying the aircraft.

“We have this condition well-defined and we are making progress on the repair plan,” Lefeber said. Chicago-based Boeing declined to say how many jets showed signs of delamination, a term for the separation that can occur in a composite material when its layers crack and lose strength.

Expanding Spirit getting set to ramp up production

Molly McMillin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:42 CST

Driving down K-15 in southeast Wichita, it’s easy to spot the new construction at Spirit AeroSystems.

Two expansions under way will give Spirit extra room to meet increases in 787 Dreamliner and 737 production.

The most noticeable of the expansions, the construction visible from K-15, will allow Spirit to add equipment to produce additional composite barrels of the 787’s forward section. Boeing said it will triple 787 production this year.

House passes 4-year aviation blueprint

JOAN LOWY — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:56 CST

A 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.

Glitches plague early 787 flights

Dominic Gates — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:05 CST

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.

Boeing program in Oklahoma City could be threatened

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:29 CST

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.

Union balks at Bombardier outsourcing plan

Molly McMillin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:15 CST

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.

Boeing closure a security issue? Moran, Pompeo ask for Air Force review

Molly McMillin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:11 CST

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.

Spirit AeroSystems' Jeff Turner Wichita Aero Club trophy winner

Molly McMillin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:03 CST

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.

Boeing completes Air Force contract

Molly McMillin The Wichita Eagle — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:33 CST

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.

NIAR’s reverse engineering lab works to help planes fly longer

Molly McMillin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:54 CST

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.

Aerospace recruiters are watching Wichita

Molly McMillin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:09 CST

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.

Textron: No plans for big Cessna jet

Molly McMillin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:53 CST

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.

Boeing earnings, revenue up in fourth quarter

Molly McMillin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:37 CST

Boeing reported $19.56 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2011, up 18 percent from a year ago.

Net income for the quarter totaled $1.39 billion, up 20 percent from $1.16 billion a year ago.

The results reflected continued strong core performance of the company’s businesses, a 52 cent per share impact related to a favorable tax settlement and higher pension expense.