Monthly Archives: April 2009

‘I’m With Dummy’ photo opportunity to raise money for laid-off workers

April 30, 20094:51 p.m.

“I’m with dummy.”

That’s the name of the opportunity to have your picture taken with one of the crash dummies at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research’s crash lab. It will be held Friday, May 1,  from 9 a.m. until noon.

It’s part of an open house at NIAR and WSU’s College of Engineering that runs from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Several labs will be open to the public to tour.

Photos will be held in Room 102 on the first floor of NIAR for a suggested donation of $1. The money will go to the United Way’s Laid-Off Workers Fund.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Wichita State University | Comments Off

Greensburg fly-in to raise money for rebuilding

April 30, 20093:57 p.m.

Wichita pilots plan to take part in a fly-in at the Greensburg airport on Saturday, May 2.  The fly-in is sponsored by the  Kansas Pilots Association and is open to the public.

If the weather is bad, they’ll drive over for the event.
A variety of airplanes will be on display beginning at 11 a.m.  Free airplane rides  will be available for children ages 7 to 17.  A barbecue lunch will be served beginning at noon.

Proceeds will go to Greensburg Rebuilding fund, said Ken Johnson, an organizer of  the event.
For more information, call Al Madero 316-721-4366.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Analyst: Business jet recovery could take two years

April 29, 20092:24 p.m.

When will the business jet market hit bottom?

That’s the question on a couple of people’s minds who e-mail the Wichita Eagle after the news hit today that Cessna is cutting an additional 2,300 jobs, suspending development of its Citation Columbus and extending a companywide shutdown to four weeks from two.

I posed the question to analyst Peter Arment.

Unfortunately, there’s a significant lag between corporate profits and business jet activity, Arment said.

He thinks it will be “24 months before you see any meaningful uptick in business jet activity.”

If corporate profits begin to stabilize and improve by the end of this year, that means it would be the second half of 2011 before we’ll see an increase in new business jet activity, he said.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Onex part of duo bidding on AIG aircraft unit, report says

April 27, 20093:11 p.m.

Onex and Greenbriar Equity Group reportedly are bidding on International Lease Finance Corp., AIG’s aircraft leasing arm, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Onex became tied with Wichita after it acquired Boeing’s commercial aircraft division, now Spirit AeroSystems.  In addition, a partnership between Onex and GS Capital Partners  acquired Raytheon Aircraft, now Hawker Beechcraft.

Another group submitting bids to acquire ILFC is Thomas H. Lee Partners and Carlyle Group, the report said. The identity of a third bidder could not be determined.

AIG is likely to negotiate with the three groups for several weeks before it presents the winning bid to the New York Federal Reserve and US Treasury, which hold about an 80 percent stake in the insurer.

ILFC has ordered 168 aircraft worth $16.7 billion from Boeing and Airbus. The aircraft are to be delivered during the next 10 years. Forty-nine of them, worth about $3 billion, are scheduled for delivery this year.

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Sub hunter P-8A Poseidon completes first flight

April 27, 200911:22 a.m.

Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon test aircraft made its first flight on Saturday, the company said.

The plane’s fuselage was built in Wichita by Spirit AeroSystems. The P-8A is a derivative of Boeing’s 737-800. The Navy plans to buy 108 P-8As to replace its fleet of P-3C aircraft.

During the flight, it performed a series of flight checks, reached a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet and landed after three hours, 31 minutes in the air.

“This is a significant accomplishment for the P-8A team, as it moves us one step closer to delivering the next maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft to the warfighter,” Capt. Mike Moran, P-8A program manager for the U.S. Navy, said in a statement.

Before take-off, the P-8A team completed a limited series of flight checkings, including engine starts and shutdowns. During the flight, test pilots performed airborne systems checks including engine accelerations and decelerations, autopilot flight modes and auxiliary power unit shutdowns and starts.

Formal flight testing by a Navy/Boeing team will begin during the third quarter of 2009.

Boeing describes the P-8A as a  “long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.”


By Molly McMillin | Filed under Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems | Comments (1)

Kansas pilots work to restore historic Wendover Air Field

April 27, 200910:51 a.m.

Six local volunteers from the Kansas Pilots Association took part in helping save a piece of U.S. history earlier this month.

They flew to the historic Wendover Air Field, a 1940s Army airfield, in Utah to help restore the airfield.

The airfield, located about 100 miles west of Salt Lake City, was the training site for the 509th Group for its mission to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

The Air Force selected a B-29 Superfortress and one of its best aviators, Col. Paul Tibbets Jr. to form and train a group devoted to dropping the bomb. Tibbets selected Wendover Air Field as the training site. He thought the remote location was perfect for the secrecy surrounding the project. For a time, it housed the Enola Gay, the B-29 Tibbets used to drop the bomb, “Little Boy.”

During the trip to the airfield, KPA volunteers excavated piled-up dirt and debris from a second bomb loading pit on the base, said Johanne Pachankis, who organized the trip. They found only a few relevant items, wooden framing, wiring leads, rusted piping and a piece of uniform cloth, she said. They cleaned the pit down to its concrete flooring.

Al Madero, Art and Alice Hatch and David and John Krueger also made the trip.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized, pilots | Comments Off

Deal by Arabic companies to buy Textron is off, a Kuwaiti report says

April 24, 200911:55 a.m.

A report by Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Watan said last week that a consortium of Arabic companies was close to a deal to buy Textron, parent to Cessna Aircraft.

Today, the newspaper is reporting that the deal has been suspended, citing unnamed sources.

The action was taken because of the emergence of further losses suffered by Textron and possible political reservations that a non-U.S. company would own Textron, the report said.

In addition, it cited a “non-professional capacity” to dismantle Textron’s units and separate them by civil activity and military activity. The company would have to interpret that activity, it said.

Last week’s news that a deal was imminent sent Textron stock soaring. Shares jumped 49 percent that day.

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Spirit AeroSystems freezes nonunion salaries

April 24, 200911:13 a.m.

turnerSpirit AeroSystems‘ board of directors will freeze their own salaries and those of Spirit’s executives, managers and salaried employees — a total of 1,800 people — the company said today.

The action comes in an effort to contain costs in light of the current global economic uncertainties, Spirit CEO Jeff Turner said in a memo.

The economic downturn has not affected Spirit’s business as deeply as others in the industry, Turner said. But it’s important to be cautious and prepared, he said.

“Our board understands that it is vital to manage costs and ensure the company remains viable, but to do so in as many innovative ways as we can, rather than resorting immediately to layoffs,” Turner said.

Read More »

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Spirit AeroSystems | Comments (11)

First pet-only airline launches service for “pawsengers”

April 23, 200911:14 a.m.

It’s not every day you hear about a new airline starting up. But here’s definitely a unique idea for one — an airline just for pets. No owners allowed.

Called Pet Airways, the airline, based in Delray Beach, Fla., will use Beech 1900s for service to and from New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles.

Owners drop off the pets — dubbed “pawsengers” by the airline — at a “Pet Lounge.” They’re given potty breaks before boarding and after landing. And pet attendants take care of them during the flight, according to the airline’s Web site. No more putting them in cargo.

Fares are charged according to the size of the pet and the distance traveled. You can track your pet along the way with the airline’s online “Pet Tracker.” Introductory fares are $149 each way. Service starts in July.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Transcript of flight by passenger after pilot dies

April 23, 200910:22 a.m.

This is the transcript of the recent emergency landing of a Super King Air 200 after the pilot died during the flight. One of the passengers was a private pilot, but he was a self-confessed “low time single engine” pilot without any turbine experience.

It’s amazing how calm he remained and how controlled he was under the circumstances, considering there was a “dead pilot sittin’ next to me.” His voice gets more tense as he gets closer to landing, but he remained in control.

He also was assisted by the calm professional air traffic controller.

http://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/2009-4-12/media/kingairsave.mp3

By Molly McMillin | Filed under pilots | Comments Off