Some times it pays to be lucky, other times it pays to be smart. The Greensboro Airport appears to have been both, attracting HondaJet to its airport.  A recently added 170,000 sf research hangar will bring additional jobs, and the next production facility building will bring Honda's space to 500,000 sf at the Greensboro Airport.

It appears there will be no slowdown either. "We are moving forward confidently with the HondaJet program with the full backing and strength of our parent, Honda Motor Company," Fujino said. Honda Aircraft, which launched its sales effort for the plane in October 2006, has orders for more than 100 of the aircraft.

Keep your eyes peeled on aviation. Sales of turboprops grew by 3.4% in the first quarter of the year while piston aircraft sales fell 55.1% and bizjet sales fell by 35.7%.  You will know if the economy is truly on the mend when general aviation sales start to increase, and CEOs and company owners start buying jets once again ignoring Congress.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

"High Flight"

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.
And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space...
...put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Cessna Aircraft, a division of Textron, continues to drag earnings for Textron down as the company continues its efforts to restructure.  So far over 4,600 of the 6,200 persons laid off by Textron have been at Cessna Aircraft as demand for its aircraft continues to decline.

If memory serves me right general aviation has usually been the last to feel the effects of an economic slowdown, and the last to recover.  I would guess that this is because of the long lead time between aircraft sales and aircraft deliveries. Aircraft manufacturers are not able to produce vehicles as quickly as say an automobile manufacturer.

Sales at Cessna have fallen by some 38% while the Bell helicopter unit of Textron continues to experience growth, in large part because of military helicopter acquisitions. 

In the meantime the CEO for Piper Aircraft, James Bass, said the effect of the U.S. government’s “assault” on general aviation will linger much longer. His remarks, made Tuesday at the Sun ’n’ Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Fla., were a biting criticism of government officials and media outlets that are spreading the off-base message that “private aircraft equal corporate excess…that’s the new equation, and Washington has made it a sound bite that no politician seems able to resist.

Given the excesses by our government and its leaders it is difficult to swallow the criticism of a critical part of our transportation system. Political retoric to curry favor with an unsuspecting public to carry out the redistribution of wealth in the United States by an out of control administration is leading our country down a path which many believe will result in the United States losing its leading role in the world economy.

Just last night President Obama stated again that this is "the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression", a statement which is completely false.  Unemployment is no where near where it was in the Great Depression, and while economic growth is negative interest rates are no where near where they were under Carter.

It is time for more conversation about facts and less false statements to further frighten an already frightened public.  Someone please stand up and tell the truth!  We need general aviation, and so do the airlines. There are not enought pilots in the military to replace all of the retirements coming, so don't be surprised if the new wave of pilots for the airlines are not Americans.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

Ah, the furor over flying the backup Air Force One Boeing 747 low past the Statue of Liberty in New York was probably not the best decision ever made.  Given the state of photography and photoshop today, it was entirely unnecessary, and caused a great deal of anxiety amongst New Yorkers near that part of the city.

The flight was billed as an attempt to update the promotional photo of the President's plane. Obama reportedly was "furious" over the flight, and former Secretary of the Army Caldera, who is in charge of the Presidential aircraft, has apologized profusely while his future at the White House remains a question.

One question I have is why the President wasn't told of this plan. It seems to me that something of that nature should have required approval of senior White House staff, given the traumatic events of 9/11. In any case a lot of people apparently knew about it, including New York City's finest, but the public was not informed.  Strange, isn't it?

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

That's not flying, that's just falling with style.

— Woody, from the 1996 movie 'Toy Story,' regarding Buzz Lightyear.

On April 15th the United States delivered a Caravan Combat Aircraft to Lebanon in an effort to help Lebanon protect it's people and borders.  The aircraft is equipped with advanced night and day sensing equipment, as well as Hellfire missiles.

The U.S. Departments of State and Defense worked hard to hurry up the delivery of the aircraft, along with other military equipment, in an effort to show steadfast support for the Lebanese people and the Lebanese Air Force.

Military aid to Lebanon by Obama's administration is increasing from $90.7M to $189.1M next year, and this aircraft will be used for ground support for the Lebanese Air Force, particularly in urban areas.

It is interesting how general aviation aircraft find their way into the military arsenals, and I hope that the administration will continue to promote general aviation in every way possible.  If it means arming a Piper Cub I say - hey, what the heck!

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

FedEx is the world's largest all-cargo carrier with a fleet of some 670 aircraft, but as the economy has slowed is reducing its operating budget by $ 1B dollars.  In order to accomplish this goal the company is retiring some of its older aircraft like the Airbus A310-200s and Douglas MD10s. The company plans to reduce the fleet between now and the end of the second quarter by some 14 aircraft.

At the same time a small number of the company's aircraft remain grounded because of the over capacity available versus the amount of business available today.  Most analysts feel that the environment for FedEx is neither improving or worsening, and the company anticipates it will resume its growth when the economy begins to recover.

Meanwhile, an article in Barron's suggest that getting rid of the corporate jet in order to improve the balance sheet and removing a symbol of corporate excess may actually hurt a business.  The reason: many small competitors under the radar can eke out an advantage using their business jets to service customers and work with suppliers in a more timely manner, creating an economic opportunity for those companies at the expense of the larger ones who are dumping their aircraft fleets.

The bottom line is that business jets, when used properly, make a great deal of sense.  Even President Obama knows the value of this type of travel - just see how much he is using Air Force One!  Of course, if I had access to Air Force One I think I would get out a lot too!

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

Unseen Fire

This is a damned unnatural sort of war;
The pilot sits among the clouds, quite sure
About the values he is fighting for;
He cannot hear beyond his veil of sound,
He cannot see the people on the ground;
he only knows that on the sloping map
Of sea-fringed town and country people creep
Like ants — and who cares if ants laugh or weep?

— R. N. Currey

While the leaders in Congress levied charges against the auto company execs for using biz jets to come to Washington asking for money, many Americans cheered. Barak Obama, while on the campaign trail and now as President, crows about how "the rich will finally pay their fair share and help middle class Americans recover from the economic crisis".

In the meantime aircraft sales slumped, many aviation related businesses and industries have laid off thousands of workers, and Nancy Pelosi requisitions a government Grumman G V to commute home to California for the weekend.  All very impressive.

The problem is, we have been here before.

Consider the following excerpt from Inside Politics:

"Starting in 1991, Washington levied a 10 percent tax on cars valued above $30,000, boats above $100,000, jewelry and furs above $10,000 and private planes above $250,000. Democrats like Ted Kennedy and then-Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell crowed publicly about how the rich would finally be paying their fair share and privately about convincing President George H.W. Bush to renounce his 'no new taxes' pledge," the newspaper said in an editorial.

"But it wasn't long before even those die-hard class warriors noticed they'd badly missed their mark. The taxes took in $97 million less in their first year than had been projected — for the simple reason that people were buying a lot fewer of these goods. Boat building, a key industry in Messrs. Mitchell and Kennedy's home states of Maine and Massachusetts, was particularly hard hit. Yacht retailers reported a 77 percent drop in sales that year, while boat builders estimated layoffs at 25,000. With bipartisan support, all but the car tax was repealed in 1993, and in 1996 Congress voted to phase that out too. January 1 was disappearance day.

"The end of any federal tax is such a rarity that it's well worth celebrating. And the luxury-tax lesson of economic damage is worth keeping in mind as politicians begin to wail that President Bush's new tax proposals aren't punitive enough on the rich."

It seems Washington has had lessons not well learned.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

In the space age, man will be able to go around the world in two hours — one hour for flying and one hour to get to the airport.

— Neil McElroy, 'Look,' 1958

Ah, I can hardly await. The Australians have decided to invest $6M at an airport in Brisbane to develop the unmanned aircraft business.  It will open in January next year and employ some 35 scientists from the Queensland University of Technology in a joint venture with the Brisbane Airport Authority.

Before we get to worked up, the truth is these are rather small aircraft being developed for special purpose use such as powerline patrol, search and rescue and bushfire fighting. The development of these aircraft will create new aviation jobs and will range in size from a small dog to a large jetski.

While the Aussies are developing peaceful use pilotless aircraft, the Chinese are developing military pilotless aircraft for themselves. The truth is technology marches forward, and I can not believe it will be too long before we see pilotless large commercial aircraft.

Not in my lifetime, I hope.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

To invent a plane is nothing.
To build one is something.
To fly is everything.
-- Otto Lilienthal

Well, I need to contact my friend Chuck Cooper and tell him that the photographs of the RJ he sent me and said had been damaged by lightning was a mistake.  As it turns out there was a fire in the cockpit just behind the pilot's head that occurred while the aircraft was on the ground.

Sorry, not damage by a lightning strike.  However, this doesn't change the fact that pilots need to be careful around lightning.  It is still dangerous, and aviation itself remains a dangerous endeavor.  Nonetheless, I keep thinking that most folks won't want to climb aboard an aircraft without a pilot on board.  There has never been a computer built that comes close to the human mind, and I doubt one ever will.

In other news a replica Tiger Moth took a solo flight after the pilot propped the aircraft which promptly jumped the chocks and flew off on its own. After a short flight it struck some trees and come to an abrupt halt.  You see, aviation is dangerous even if your aren't in the aircraft!

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

When asked why he was referred to as 'Ace':
Because during World War Two I was responsible for the destruction of six aircraft, fortunately three were enemy.

— Captain Ray Lancaster, USAAF.

The pilot of the Cessna 172 which flew from southern Canada to Missouri in the United States and landed on a highway was actually trying to be shot down and killed.  It didn't work, thanks to great work on the part of the F-16 pilots, and he is presently in custody.  Born in Turkey and now a Canadian citizen, Adam Dylan Leon age 31, has been arrested and charged with illegal entry and transportation of stolen property.

At least this incident resulted in no harm to anyone, and Mr. Leon will learn a hard lesson.

On a personal note, my father in law passed away and the family is busy with arrangements for the funeral, so I may not be posting for a few days.  My wife is also a pilot, and she is having a hard time dealing with the death of her father.

Lastly, I will be moving my blog to a Word Press platform in the near future, which means the RSS Feed and url will change.  When I am ready to make the change I will let you all know.  There will be some very interesting additions which I am sure everyone will find interesting and informative.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."