Today is National Aviation Day.
I didn’t realize that until a bit ago when a sharp aviation-supplier executive brought it to my attention. Here in the Air Capital, we should take note.
National Aviation Day was established by a presidential proclamation in 1939 to celebrate the development of human flight. Aug. 19, Orville Wright’s birthday, was designated as the anniversary.
Now, if we could only get the day off.
Is it a signal of more to come?
Azerbaijan Airlines has canceled one of three 787-8 aircraft the airline has on order with Boeing. It’s the first 787 order cancellation Boeing has received. The program is about two years behind schedule from supply chain delays and parts shortages. First flight is now slated for late 2008.
Azerbaijan Airlines still has two 787s on order. Boeing and Azerbaijan Airlines announced Thursday that the airline is buying two 737-900ER aircraft and two 767-300ER aircraft valued at $449 million. In the announcement, it said that one of the 767s is a substitute for the canceled 787.
Just read Carrie’s posting about her losing streak. It all has a bright side. One of the players at the poker table we were at had won big — twice. In the past year, he’d won $45,000 two times playing Texas Hold ‘em. He was so excited about the money, he had the winning hands tatooed up his right arm. While some tattoo parlor is poorer from Carrie’s losses, Carrie’s arms are still lovely.
Airbus has outpaced Boeing in orders announced this week at the Farnborough Air Show outside London. Airbus announced a $7.2 billion order Wednesday from South Korea’s Asiana Airlines.
Together Airbus and Boeing have amassed more than $50 billion in orders at the show, which opened Monday. Middle Eastern and Asian carriers and leasing companies make up for slackening demand from U.S. and European airlines, who’ve been hurt by rising fuel prices.
FTN Midwest Research Securities Corp. analyst Michael Derchin told Bloomberg, that getting any orders is good in this environment.
“Thank God for the Asians and the Middle Easterners,” Derchin told Bloomberg.
It just takes a little vision.
Cessna Aircraft competitor Cirrus Design announced the new name of its new single-engine personal jet on Friday. The Duluth, Minn.-based company has been calling it “The-Jet.” Now, it will be called “Cirrus Vision SJ50.”
The plane made its first flight last week.
Phil Boyer has long been president of the 414,000 member Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Boyer plans to retire at the end of 2008. AOPA is a pilot organization working as an an advocate for general aviation. It provides a variety of services for pilots through its Web site and publishes aviation-related magazines.
Public affairs veteran Craig Fuller has been named Boyer’s successor. Fuller is currently executive vice president of global public affairs at APCO Worldwide in Washington. He served as assistant to the president for cabinet affairs during the Reagan years and was chief of staff for vice president George H.W. Bush at his request. He also worked with public affairs organizations in Washington and with Philip Morris Cos. in New York. before becoming president and chief executive of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.
It’s been only days since the General Accountability Office said the Air Force made mistakes in awarding Northrop Grumman-EADS a multi-million contract for aerial refuelers in a competition with Boeing. Mobile, Ala., would gain about 1,500 jobs because of the deal to Northrop Grumman.
Now, a billboard along Interstate 65 in Mobile reflects the community’s strong feelings about the development, according to the Seattle Times.
The owner of four Foosackly’s Chicken Fingers restaurants in Mobile has put up a billboard reading: We would like to offer Boeing a finger. The owner has printed T-shirts and bumper stickers with the slogan. So far, it’s not turned in to extra business for the restaurant, however.
As a flight student, I’ve stopped by The Aviator’s Attic inside Yingling Aviation to buy a study guide and some other items. Whenever I stop in, I can’t help but take some time to browse.
You don’t have to be a pilot — or a pilot wanna-be — to enjoy the store. Besides pilot equipment, books and gadgets, Aviator’s Attic is also a boutique of aviation-themed speciality items. The store is now getting some national attention.
An Aircraft Owners and Pilots blog calls the store a “neat pilot’s shop.” In fact, AOPA senior editor Alton Marsh goes on to say it is “one of the neatest in the land.”
When will it end? A new survey shows that rising fuel prices have impacted general avaition. Pilots who own and rent aircraft have significantly curtailed the amount of flying they’re doing, it found.
Conducted by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a Washington trade group, the survey found that three out of four pilots have cut back the amount of flying they do. Forty percent said have cut back 50 percent or more.
Aircraft owners are feeling the impact more than those who rent planes, it appears: 72 percent of the owners have cut back flying compared to 67 percent of the renters who have.
A cut in flying impacts flight schools, which make a significant portion of their income from aircraft rentals, and fixed base operators, which sells fuel. That means fewer taxes and fuel flowage fees going into local communities. Rising fuel prices can also impact public service flying, such as medical airlift operations, which rely on volunteers.
When it’s hectic in the newsroom, sometimes it’s fun to dream a bit about an afternoon hanging out with a good book and a glass of wine. Or spending time sightseeing in Barcelona. Ah, retirement — and high hopes for my 401(K).
New hires at Boeing will work under a retirement plan different from existing employees. Those not represented by a union who start work at Boeing after Jan. 1 will have a defined benefit savings plan. Under it, Boeing will contribute an amount equal to 3-to-5 percent of a new employee’s pay regardless of whether the employee contributes to the plan. There also is a matching plan. Boeing has negotiated a similar new hire program with several of its unions. It also plans to discuss the issue in current talks with the Machinists union.
Power to the Plane. Boeing has launched a website with screens, links and videos highlighting “power on” for its first 787 Dreamliner. “Power On” is a milestone in the jet’s development. It’s the first time the airplane comes to life. It tests that all the systems work in the airplane. That’s especially important for the Dreamliner, considering it’s the most electrically driven passenger jet in history.
The Machinists union has launched a blog called “Project Pelican: Kansas Jobs Flying South,” about Hawker Beechcraft’s plant in Mexico. The blog is part of the union’s protest of a Hawker Beechcraft internal document, which describes six phases of growth for the Chihuahua, Mexico, facility over the next several years. The plant opened in October. The company says it continually performs analysis but doesn’t always go forward with the plans.