In 1996, golf legend Arnold Palmer took delivery of Cessna Aircraft‘s first midsized Citation X business jet. Cessna delivered its 300th Citation X this week.
The jet was delivered to Cessna’s authorized sales representative, Jetalliance, based in Vienna, Austria. An unnamed retail customer will operate the plane from Vienna, Cessna said.
Cessna calls the Citation X the world’s fastest nonmilitary aircraft. It has a top speed of .92 Mach, just under the speed of sound. Since it’s launch, Cessna has delivered more than 45 Citation Xs to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
With plans for a new $150 million terminal building in the works, Wichita Mid-Continent Airport officials are studying the use of wind turbines. The turbines could generate enough electricity to light new parking garages at the airport, according to a report by HNTB Architecture, the firm designing the new airport.
Other green initiatives for the new terminal are in the works.
According to HNTB, the building will conserve energy through use of high-performance insulation systems in walls and roofs, low-solar heat-gain glazing systems, high performance HVAC systems, use of groundwater heat for snow-melt systems in the sidewalks and lighting with controls that take advantage of daylight from skylights and large glass walls to further reduce the need for energy.
Sustainable aviation development is occurring around the country. Airports are working to reduce utility consumption and saving operating and maintenance costs by putting in green practices.
WICHITA — More than 100 pilots of electric-powered, radio-controlled airplanes and helicopters will be in Wichita next month to compete in the second annual Central Plains E-Fly Spectacular.
The competition is sanctioned by the Academy of Model Aeronautics and features pylon races, combat, night flying and freestyle air shows.
Pilots from Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas will be here for the event.
The competition will be held, Friday, Dec. 11 through Sunday, Dec. 12 at the Expo Hall at Century II. For more information, go to www.clearviewfield.com.
Companies are starting to shift to becoming more vertically integrated — a function in which a company controls materials, manufacturing and distribution. That’s a departure from previous thinking when companies were becoming more specialized and shifting functions such as manufacturing to others, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Boeing, for example, bought a Vought Aircraft Industries factory so it could have more control over 787 manufacturing. Boeing has been plagued by supply and assembly problems, which has led to a two-year delay in the Dreamliner. (Boeing officials, however, say it’s still committed to outsourcing.) And PepsiCo. is planning to repurchase bottlers it spun off a decade ago, the article said.
Top executives from Boeing, Google, AT&T, Disney and others will attend a Dec. 3 jobs summit at the White House, according to a report from Reuters. The summit is to seek ways to jump-start employment. In October, the U.S. jobless rate jumped to 10.2 percent — a 26 year high.
About 130 people will attend, ranging from small business owners to academics to large corporations.
