King Air Sales Remain Strong

Notwithstanding an “unfavorable” labor market and chronic supply-chain disruptions, Textron Aviation—the Wichita, Kansas-based general aviation business unit of American industrial conglomerate Textron Incorporated has furthered its meaningful contribution to the Textron marque’s strong financial performance by dint of a favorable Q2 2023 earnings report.

Success by the Numbers

As EAA’s AirVenture 2023 and the entirety of the delights, enlightenments, thrills, successes, tragedies, and camaraderie associated therewith recede slowly into memory, the event’s organizers invite one and all to look a final time upon and take pride in their contributions to the most recent iteration of aviation’s greatest yearly spectacle.

UAL PIC BAC Nearly 3x Legal Limit

A French court has sentenced a 63-year-old United Airlines pilot to a six-month suspended sentence and revoked his flight privileges for one-year after he allegedly reported for flight duty in a state of intoxication. Referred to in reports as simply “Henry W.,” the aviator arrived at Paris, France’s Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport to serve as the Pilot In Command (PIC) of a Boeing 777 slated to operate as United Airlines Flight UA331 to Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport (IAD).

Contemplating the Uncertainty Principle

On Thursday, 27 July, Surf Air stock opened trading at only $5-per-share. As trading continued into the late morning and early afternoon, the stock’s price fell to $2.75-per-share before trading in the company was halted on account of price volatility occasioned by the stock’s freefall. On Friday, 28 July, Surf Air stock opened at a modest $2.64-per-share, a price reflecting a market capitalization of less than $500-million—well below the $1.2-billion valuation reported during a May 2023 fundraising round, but indicative, still, of an enterprise value 25-times greater than the company’s annual revenue.

New Whiting Aviation Park Facility to Open Late-2024

Birmingham, Alabama-based program management firm HPM and Leonardo Helicopters—the rotary-wing subsidiary of Italian multinational aerospace, defense, and security conglomerate Leonardo S.p.A.—have broken ground on a state-of-the-art customer support center in Milton, Florida. HPM will manage the undertaking and provide preconstruction services for the rotary-wing support center at Whiting Aviation Park—a site immediately adjacent Naval Air Station Whiting Field (NASWF) (NDZ) in Florida’s Santa Rosa County.

Boeing and Lockheed to Vie for Next Generation Fighter Contract

Northrop Grumman, the American multinational aerospace and defense technology concern, has withdrawn from contention as a prime contractor for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation fighter program. Conversely, the storied aerospace marque has surpassed a milestone along the B-21 Raider’s lengthy and tortuous path toward its first flight. Northrop’s withdrawal from the next-generation fighter competition—as announced by company CEO Kathy Warden during a second-quarter 2023 earnings call—leaves Boeing and Lockheed-Martin as the remaining bidders vying for opportunity to build the fighter aircraft at the heart of the USAF’s Next Generation Air Dominance

New DOD Contract Worth Up To $142-Million

Archer Aviation, the California-based designer of electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has broadened its working relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) by means of a newly-signed contract worth up to $142-million. Announced on 31 July 2023, subject contract obliges Archer to share additional data pertaining to flight-testing and pilot training, provide certification-related test reports, and help the DOD develop maintenance and repair operations under its AFWERX Agility Prime program—an expansive DOD undertaking in which Archer has participated since 2021. According to Archer Aviation, the new contract extends the company’s extant partnership with th

New Blood and New Faces Geared at Prepping the Company for a Hearty Growth Spurt

Volatus infrastructure is a provider of electric charging solutions aimed at the burgeoning electrically powered aircraft sector. The company partners with local airports to construct and equip that site with power and interface solutions that are either universal in nature or accommodates every type of current and future customer needs delivering “agnostic” interfaces. The company announced new executive team members at AirVenture 2023. At EAA’s 70th AirVenture Volatus Infrastructure, LLC announced three members of their future leadership team.

Out With the Old …

The National Transportation Safety Board has announced the appointment of a new general counsel and leadership changes in the Office of Research and Engineering and the Office of Aviation Safety.

Dead Reckoning

Dead reckoning, as applied to flying, is the navigation of an airplane solely by means of computations based on airspeed, course, heading, wind direction, and speed, groundspeed, and elapsed time.

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“There was so much going on during the week that encompassed the entire world of flight, from the presence of the U.S. Air Force Training Command and NASA, to magnificent aircraft restorations and exciting new flying technology. Oshkosh was again the place that brought the aviation world together.”   Source: EAA CEO and chairman Jack Pelton, speaking to the subject of AirVenture 2023, and the record setting numbers experienced last week.