Hawker Beechcraft Defense Co. delivered four of six T-6C-plus military trainers to the Mexican Air Force last week, the company said.
The trainers were delivered in a ceremony at Santa Lucia Air Force Base in Reyes Acozac, Mexico.
The two remaining trainers are to be delivered by Sept. 16, in time for Mexico’s Independence Day celebration, the company said.
The order was the first for the T-6C-plus enhanced version of the T-6 military trainer.
It is capable of carrying external stores and delivering practice weapons for training purposes, and will replace the Mexican Air Force’s aging PC-7 fleet.
The Air Force will use the new trainers for intermediate to advanced tactics, including air-to-ground weapons employment capabilities and training.
Four flight instructors for the Mexican Air Force completed six weeks of flight training at Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita.
Hawker Beechcraft has launched a Portuguese language website, it announced during the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this week.
The website mirrors its English language website and is the third in a series of language translations the company is making.
Websites in Chinese and Spanish were added last year.
The change comes as the company continues to focus on the international markets, it said.
Hawker Beechcraft is distributing 60-day layoff notices to 170 employees at its Little Rock, Ark., facility.
The layoffs cross multiple levels and functions and hourly and non-hourly employees, it said in a letter to employees.
“The company continues to evaluate and balance production rates throughout a difficult and rapidly changing environment,” the letter said. “Over the last several months, we have worked to appropriately size our business, primarily in Wichita. Today, we are faced with additional challenging decisions that involve further resizing our work force.”
Hawker Beechcraft filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy May 3.
Its Little Rock facility completes and delivers Hawker business jets to customers.
“This continues to be an unprecedented time for our company and our employees,” the letter said. “We encourage you to uphold a pattern of respect and care for our impacted colleagues during this time.”
Hawker Beechcraft officials declined comment beyond what was in the letter.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York this afternoon approved Hawker Beechcraft’s motion to enter into exclusive negotiations with Superior Aviation Beijing regarding a sale of the planemaker’s assets for at least $1.79 billion.
The approval allows the company and Superior to spend 45 days in due diligence and negotiations.
As part of the agreement, Superior will make a $25 million deposit by the end of the week to keep Hawker Beechcraft’s jet business in place.
Superior will make a second $25 million deposit within the next 30 days.
Any agreement would be subject to approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and other regulatory agencies. It also would be subject to termination if another buyer outbids the company in a mandatory competitive auction of the assets. The auction will be overseen by the bankruptcy court.
If negotiations are not concluded in a timely manner, Hawker Beechcraft will move forward with court confirmation of a Joint Plan of Reorganization filed with the bankruptcy court on June 30. The plan contemplates the company emerging as a standalone entity with a more focused portfolio of airplanes.
More specifically, the company said, it would wind down the jet-related businesses, “a process that likely would have commenced already but for Superior’s compelling proposal to the company,” Hawker Beechcraft said in a press release.
Sierra Nevada Corp. filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking the reinstatement of a light air support contract from the Air Force.
The suit was filed with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
The action is in response to a lawsuit filed by Hawker Beechcraft following its disqualification in the competition.
The Air Force set aside the contract to Sierra Nevada in March, opened an investigation into the source selection process and reopened the competition.
“The cancellation of the contract was an extreme response to what appears to be paperwork errors on the part of the USAF,” Sierra Nevada said in a statement.
Sierra Nevada alleges the revised Request for Proposal is “tilted in favor of the competition.”
The company has not received adequate explanation or justification for the contract’s termination, it said.
Sierra Nevada has partnered with Brazil-based Embraer to offer the Super Tucano to the Air Force.
Hawker Beechcraft’s bid is for the AT-6, an upgraded T-6 trainer used to train Air Force and Navy pilots.
Two Wichita-built King Airs will take part in the Royal Air Force’s Fly Past for Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration June 5, according to a report by the Royal Air Force.
The multi-engine King Airs, built at Hawker Beechcraft, will take part in the formation flight as the Royal family watch from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
The celebration marks Queen Elizabeth II’s 60-year reign.
The Battle of Britain Memorial flight and the Red Arrows will salute the Queen in the Fly Past, which will include a Dakota flanked by two King Airs, Spitfires, a Hurricane and a Lancaster. Red Arrows will make their entrance seconds later, the report said.
The Royal Air Force use King Airs in its training fleet.
Courtesy photo
Hawker Beechcraft announced the successful first flight of a Hawker 400XPR with upgraded Williams International engines.
The upgrade includes the increased power of the FJ44-4A-32 engines and winglets.
Optional upgraded avionics and other enhancements improve the plane’s performance, operating cost and resale value, the company said.
Certification is expected in September with deliveries beginning this year.
“The first flight of the Hawker 400XPR engine test article is a major milestone and significant achievement for our design and production teams,” Christi Tannahill, senior vice president, Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Service, said in a statement. “Hawker Beechcraft and its partners spent countless hours and great effort to ensure the Hawker 400XPR exceeds the needs our customers require in their light-jet aircraft. We continue to see great demand for this upgrade in the market and look forward to certification and deliveries commencing later in the year.”
Upgrade packages are also available for existing Hawker 400 and Beechjet 400 airplanes.
Hawker Beechcraft could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as early as Thursday, according to a Wall Street Journal article today.
The company is in the final stages of preparing a “pre-arranged bankruptcy” and will hand ownership over to several hedge funds, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
It’s negotiated a restructuring deal with lenders. A filing could come as soon as Thursday, depending on how quickly lawyers can finish up documents.
The company has more than $2.3 billion in debt.
In a pre-arranged bankruptcy, creditors would agree to a deal ahead of time.
The creditors would convert more than $2 billion of its debt to equity in a restructured company, which would eliminate nearly all the debt on its balance sheet, the article said.
Hawker Beechcraft would continue to operate and employees would continue to get paid, it said.
During the proceedings, Hawker could also explore its alternatives, including the possible sale of its business lines, the article said.
Hawker Beechcraft has filed a form 15-D to de-register bonds with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
That means the bonds will no longer be registered with the commission.
And it means Hawker Beechcraft will no longer be required to disclose its financial results with the SEC every three months.
That’s a positive move for the company, said one analyst who did not want to be named because he is not allowed to speak publicly for his company.
It saves money and time and no longer provides its competitors with information about the company, he said.
Filing obligations to the SEC can be suspended when the company has fewer than 300 shareholders of the class of securities offered, or fewer than 500 shareholders of the class of securities offered and less than $10 million in total assets for each of its last three fiscal years, according to the SEC’s website.
Hawker Beechcraft filed its 10K annual report for 2011 on April 13.
The company applied to de-register its 8.5 percent fixed rate notes due 2015; 8.875 percent/9.625 percent senior PIK-election notes due 2015; and 8.75 percent senior subordinated notes due 2017, the filing said.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association has updated its 2011 fourth-quarter and year-end aviation shipment report after Hawker Beechcraft reported its deliveries on Friday.
The company released fourth-quarter delivery numbers when it submitted its 2011 financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
GAMA, a Washington D.C.-based industry trade group, released its annual industry shipments in February but without Hawker Beechcraft figures.
Worldwide general aviation shipments for 2011 totaled 1,950, down from 2,020 the year before, a drop of 3.5 percent. Total billings were $19.64 billion, down from $19.72 billion the year before.
Hawker delivered 85 planes in the fourth quarter, compared to 88 in the same time a year ago. Total deliveries for 2011 totaled 198, down slightly from 214 the year before.
Hawker Beechcraft also delivered 93 T-6A and King Airs for military use in 2011, compared to 104 a year ago.
