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Work Begins On Boeing's New 777X Wing Factory In Everett, Wash.
Construction has started on Boeing's new composite wing factory for its 777X aircraft. Three buildings at the site in Everett, Wash., still need to be demolished, but site prep is underway. About 190 construction workers are on site, but that number is expected to rise to 1,500 at peak construction. The 1.3 million-square-foot factory is slated for completion in 2016... Read More
General Atomics Awarded Initial EMALS Contract
U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) awarded General Atomics (GA) an initial sole-source contract for Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) for the CVN 79 aircraft carrier to be named John F. Kennedy. This contract is for the initial procurement of the long-lead-time materials in support...Read More
US Navy, Northrop Grumman Integrate Manned, Unmanned Flight Operations
The U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman offered a glimpse of the future of carrier aviation on Aug. 17 by conducting a series of cooperative flights from the aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), using an X-47B Unmanned Air System (UCAS) and an F/A-18 Hornet. The flights - the first time manned and unmanned carrier aircraft have operated together in the same...Read More
Eclipse Aerospace Announces Layoffs
Mexico-based Eclipse Aerospace laid off an undisclosed number of employees, citing a lack of sales. Business at Eclipse appeared to be going well, as the company announced in March when it delivered the first Eclipse 550 twinjet...Read More
CitationAir Shutting Down
CitationAir, Cessna's fractional jet business founded in 2000, plans to shut down its flight operations for good and exit the market on October 31, two years after the company stopped selling new jet shares and cards. Once flight operations cease, CitationAir's fleet will be...Read More
JetBlue To Equip Crew Members With iPad Minis
Cabin crew members on JetBlue flights will soon be getting iPad minis that will allow them to manage documents and make in-flight sales. The company plans to build on its new In-Flight Service Assistant application so that, in the near future, crew members will be able to identify special-needs customers and frequent fliers...Read More
Airbus A350 XWB Completes Its Route Proving World Tour
The Airbus A350-900 has successfully completed a series of Route Proving trials, receiving an enthusiastic welcome at each of the 14 cities it has visited over the past three weeks. At the technical Route Proving the aircraft must demonstrate its readiness for airline operations on a global scale. This last series of trials is required for Type Certification, which is expected in Q3 this year...Read More
McDill AFB Hurricane Hunters To Get Overhaul
Two Orion P-3 airplanes flying out of McDill AFB in Tampa, FL into hurricanes are about to get a makeover to the tune of about $35 million. The two planes ... nicknamed "Miss Piggy" and "Kermit," will be overhauled over the next three years. The work will include new wings, refurbished engines, and upgraded radar and avionics, according to NOAA's McDill chief of operations Jim McFadden. Tampa Bay...Read More
Air Lease Corporation Places Two New 777-300ERs With KLM
Air Lease Corporation has announced long term lease agreements with KLM (The Netherlands) for two additional new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2016 and early 2017. These aircraft placements are in addition to the two new 777-300ER aircraft scheduled for lease from ALC to KLM in early 2015 and early 2016, all from ALC's order book...Read More
Jet Airways 777 Makes 5,000 Foot Descent While Pilot Slept
An investigation has been launched into an incident over Turkey in which a Boeing 777-300 en route to Brussels from Mumbai lost 5,000 feet in altitude while the pilot was reportedly taking a nap, and the copilot was looking at a tablet device. The UK newspaper The Daily Mail relays a report from The Times of India that alleges the pilot had gone to sleep at the time of the incident...Read More
FAA Certifies Boeing Tactical Surveillance Aircraft
The FAA has granted an STC to Boeing for its Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System Risk Reduction Prototype (ERRP), meaning the planemaker can now begin offering the aircraft to global customers."ERRP's FAA certification gives us another approved modification in Boeing's growing family of ISR airplanes," John Rader, vice president of...Read More
US Air Force Awards Northrop Grumman $300 Million Contract
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has been awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract valued at up to $300 million to continue helping U.S. Air Force Weather (AFW) deliver a full range of terrestrial and space environmental information, products and services to military users worldwide...Read More
Altus AFB Breaks Ground For KC-46A Construction
Officials broke ground on a new construction project on Altus Air Force Base, OK, August 7. The ceremony marked the beginning of a months-long effort to prepare for the arrival of the newest refueling aircraft in the Air Force fleet, the KC-46A Pegasus. Air Education and Training Command commander Gen. Robin Rand, Oklahoma Senator Mike Schulz and 97th Air Mobility...Read More
American Airlines Seeks Fuel Sales Tax Cap Extension
American Airlines is asking North Carolina legislators to extend a measure that caps fuel taxes for airlines operating in the state at $2.5 million per year, or to eliminate the taxes altogether. The cap is set to expire Jan. 1, 2016. "North Carolina needs to be competitive for air service and airline investment...Read More
Gulfstream Sees Latin American Fleet Grow Nearly 70 Percent In 5 Years
Show In São Paulo Gulfstream opened the Latin American Business Aviation Exhibition & Conference (LABACE) by announcing its fleet in Latin America has grown by nearly 70 percent since 2009. The company has its in-production fleet - the Gulfstream G650, G550, G450, G280 and G150 - at the annual air show in São Paulo...Read More
Two Rocket Launches Scheduled From Wallops
Two Terrier-Lynx suborbital rockets are scheduled for launch between August 12 and September 24 for the Department of Defense from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The rockets will be launched on separate days. The second rocket is expected to be launched about two weeks after the first rocket. The launch windows are (all times are EDT): The rockets may...Read More
Terrifying Descent To A Normal Landing
The story on the web news site Kicker Daily News earlier this week about the Thomson Airways flight that "plummeted" after a mechanical issue over the Atlantic takes mainstream mangling of an aviation story to new lows. According to the story, TOM 157, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner...Read More
Government To Buy Out Malaysia Airlines
Beleaguered Malaysia Airlines will seek to avoid economic collapse with a government takeover of the carrier, brought on by the twin tragedies this year of the disappearance of Flight MH370 and the shoot down of MH17 over Ukraine. Even before it faced unthinkable crises involving two...Read More
Eielson AFB The Preferred Alternative For First Overseas-Based F-35As
Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, has been selected as the preferred alternative to host the first F-35A Lightning II squadrons in the Pacific area of responsibility. Air Force Officials said Eielson was selected due to its ability to support the mission, economic factors and environmental considerations. "Basing the F-35s at Eielson...Read More
Scorpion Participates In USNORTHCOM's Vigilant Guard Exercise
The Scorpion aircraft has completed operations in support of Vigilant Guard 2014, a Northern Command and Kansas National Guard training exercise demonstrating the capabilities of emergency response agencies at all levels of government, both military and civil. With over 2,000 local, state, and federal personnel participating, the airplane...Read More
Shifting Airline Schedules Continue To Hammer Smaller Airports
"We think that the major shifts in the industry are nearing an end," Moody's notes in a recently released commentary on the U.S. airport sector, pointing to schedules after October's expiration of the Wright Amendment and the fallout from the American-US Airways and Southwest-AirTran mergers as three of the recent dominos that have fallen...Read More
First Recipient Of Air Force-Designed Medal Of Honor Dies
Col. Bernard Fisher, the first person awarded the Air Force-designed Medal of Honor, died Aug. 16 in Idaho at the age of 87, reported the Idaho Press-Tribune. President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Fisher the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest honor for valor in combat, on Jan. 19, 1967 for "personal action above and beyond the call of duty" in South Vietnam, according to an...Read More
Switch In Jet Fuel Is Saving The Air Force Millions
Changing the type of jet fuel the Air Force uses for its aircraft has lowered the price by two cents a gallon. That doesn't sound like much, but when that is applied to the billions of gallons consumed annually, the switch is saving USAF millions of dollars a year, according to an Air Mobility Command release. Travis AFB, Calif., the Air Force's...Read More
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