The US Navy has just selected the US101 for a new fleet of "Marine One" helicopters for the President of the United States. Lockheed Martin, which leads Team US101 as prime contractor, will receive a $1.7 billion contract from the Navy for the Marine One program's systems development and demonstration phase.

Statement: Lockheed Martin to Build New Presidential Helicopter

The Department of Defense announced today that the team led by Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Owego, N.Y., has been selected to build the new presidential helicopter (VXX) based on its U.S. 101 medium lift helicopter.

Sikorsky Aircraft issued the following statement following their loss of the 'Marine one' VXX contract to Lockheed....

"Sikorsky and our All-American supplier team are disappointed with this outcome. We're honored to have flown U.S. Presidents for nearly half a century and believe we put forward an exceptionally strong proposal to continue this tradition," said Stephen N. Finger, president of Sikorsky Aircraft. "I want to extend my sincere thanks to all who worked so diligently. Everyone at Sikorsky Aircraft, as well as our partner companies across the country, should be proud of their efforts. "I am confident in the future of the S-92," Mr. Finger added.

Eight Air Forces to Fly T-6B

Raytheon Aircraft Company's upgraded primary training aircraft, the T-6B, left Beech Field earlier this week on the first leg of its world tour. The tour will include flight demonstrations in the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, the T-6B will be on display at the Air Show Down Under in Avalon, Australia, the Paris Air Show in France and the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in the UK.

CAE Director Passes Away

CAE says its former Chairman, R. Fraser Elliott, passed away Wednesday in Toronto. Elliott, who had served previously as Chairman of CAE, had been a director of the company since 1951.

Board Approves New Investment to Meet Aircraft Order Demand

The Lancair Company announced this week that it will hire an additional 130 employees at it’s Bend Municipal Airport facility in Oregon between now and mid-summer. The company has been ramping up its production rate over the past year, with employment currently surpassing 400.

But It Was Just Too Late

The Air Force pilot of a Cessna T-37B apparently saw an Air Tractor AT-502B moments before the two aircraft collided on January 18, 2005. That's the word from the NTSB in its preliminary report on the accident, which was released on Thursday.

Company Prepares For "Another Year Of Growth"

Cessna says it ended 2004 with deliveries totaling 897 aircraft: 179 Citations, 64 Caravans and 654 single engine piston aircraft.

The Little Ant Keeps Having Some Fun With The BIG Plane

Now Scheduled To Depart On February 6th

Steve Fossett's 'round-the-world record attempt aboard the Global Flyer won't get off the ground as soon as he'd hoped. Instead, Fossett, with backing from aviation entrepreneur and adventurer Richard Branson, will begin his 70+ hour attempt on February 6th.

Goo Gawked, Antenna Installed

Whistling, humming and outright singing rang through the speakers at ISS Mission Control in Kazakhstan earlier this week as the International Space Station was left vacant for a time. Word now is that NASA Mission Commander Leroy Chao and Russian Cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov successfully complete all objectives Wednesday as they roamed the station's exterior for more than five hours.

Senator Murkowski Has A Plan

US Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on Wednesday introduced two provisions to repeal a rural airplane ticket tax that has been discriminatory to rural Alaskans for several years and a similar ticket tax on floatplane passengers.

All Signed On Just After Graduation

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has successfully placed three graduates of its Commercial Airline Pilot Training (CAPT) program as first officers at Atlanta-based Atlantic Southeast Airlines - another milestone for the program, which was started by the university a little more than a year ago.

It's Now Also A Maritime Mine-Hunter

The MH-60 Sierra helicopter has a new mission – to detect, localize, and neutralize all sea-based mines in order to clear the path for the battle groups of today and of the future.

Speed Before The Fact

Boeing's Next-Generation 737 airplane is making history again as the application of lean manufacturing techniques gives it the shortest final-assembly time of any large commercial jet.

They Have The G-1000 On Board

Atlantic Flight Training, Coventry, England has taken delivery of the first DA-42 Simulator built for the all new Diamond DA-42 aircraft. The device features Garmin G1000 and Frasca's TruVision 170. Frasca is also building a DA-40 FTD for Middle Tennessee State University.

Sport Plane LLC Can Help You Get Past The Bumpy Bits

So you're building your dream plane, determined to make it ready for burning holes in a bright blue sky. There's just one problem -- your dream plane has sat untouched in the garage for so long that your wife has started draping laundry on the spars. Well, there's a company in Meridian, ID, that's here to help.

Military In Motion...

Air Expeditionary Force Rotations 1 and 2 "turns on final," as about 700 airmen assigned to AEF Rotations 3 and 4 are slated to hit the ground at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan over the coming weeks.

All I Need Is The Air That I Breath

Kansas State University mechanical and nuclear engineering faculty members have studied aircraft cabin environments for more than five years.

"The instructor stated that he briefly scanned at the student pilot's altimeter on the left side of the instrument panel (a standard practice for T-37 flight instructors). As he was turning his head back to the right, he noticed a "high visibility yellow airplane" out of the right corner of his eye. The student pilot stated that as the flight instructor took control of the aircraft, he scanned outside the airplane to the left, and started to look back to the right when he saw the yellow Air Tractor heading towards the right side of the T-37B. Subsequently, the instructor and student pilot recalled feeling a spinning sensation, and rolling inverted. Both the instructor and student pilot initiated emergency egress procedures and ejected from the aircraft." Source: N

AD NUMBER: 2005-02-03 MANUFACTURER: Pratt & Whitney SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2005-02-03 SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Pratt & Whitney (PW) JT8D-209, -217, -217A, -217C, and -219 series turbofan engines. That AD currently requires torque inspection of the 3rd stage and 4th stage low pressure turbine (LPT) blades for shroud notch wear and replacement of the blade if wear limits are exceeded.

AD NUMBER: 2005-02-05 MANUFACTURER: Rolls Royce SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2005-02-05 SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Rolls-Royce (RR) PLC RB211-535E4-37, RB211-535E4-B-37, and RB211-535E4-B-75 series turbofan engines.

AD NUMBER: 2005-02-09 MANUFACTURER: Airbus SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2005-02-09 SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to all Airbus Model A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes, that requires operators to revise the Airworthiness Limitations section (ALS) of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness to incorporate new and more restrictive service life limits for certain items, and new and more restrictive inspections to detect fatigue cracking, accidental damage, or corrosion in certain structures.

AD NUMBER: 2005-01-04 MANUFACTURER: Raytheon (CORRECTION) SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2005-01-04 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) to supersede (AD) 98-15-13, which applies to certain Raytheon Aircraft Company 90, 100, 200, and 300 series airplanes.