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Cessna tries to rise above recession – CNN.com
Posted by: | CommentsWichita, Kansas (CNN) — A few years ago, Cessna, one of the most renowned names in aviation, was selling hundreds of multimillion-dollar airplanes annually. Then the recession hit.
The company lost half of its orders and half of its jobs — 6,000 jobs in Wichita alone.
“I think now every day we wake up, we feel we have to go out and earn our right to be that number-one manufacturer in general aviation,” said Cessna CEO Jack Pelton.
As a result, Cessna has re-examined its manufacturing methods on the aircraft production line. They've stepped up customer service and they say they're looking for new ideas, new savings and new efficiencies.
Off the Radar: Private Planes Hidden From Public View – ProPublica
Posted by: | CommentsTelevangelist Kenneth Copeland faced a congressional inquiry after flying his ministry’s tax-exempt jet to Maui and the Fiji Islands.
South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds has been questioned about his use of state planes for political and personal trips.
And after getting a $180 billion federal bailout, the insurance giant AIG caught flak for its fleet of corporate jets.
To prevent the public from seeing where they fly, all have over the years turned to a little-known program that lets private plane owners block their flights from view in the government’s system for tracking air traffic.
via Off the Radar: Private Planes Hidden From Public View – ProPublica.
Aviation experts predict biofuel-powered flights within 10 years – USATODAY.com
Posted by: | CommentsAviation experts predict biofuel-powered flights within 10 years
By Arthur Max, Associated Press Writer
AMSTERDAM — Within a decade, passenger planes will be flying on jet fuel largely made from plants — flax, marsh grass, even food waste — as airlines seek to break away from the volatile oil market and do their part to fight climate change, aviation experts said Wednesday.
Though biofuels are still in the experimental stage, the projected shift has stoked concern among environmentalists that the possible insatiable appetite of airlines for plant oil will hasten the destruction of tropical forests and the conversion of cropland from food to fuel.
Dependency on agrofuels “will lead to faster deforestation and climate change and spells disaster for indigenous peoples, other forest-dependent communities and small farmers,” said a statement from the Global Forest Coalition, an alliance of environmental groups.
But aviation experts told a global biofuels conference the industry is focusing on fuels that cause minimal environmental destruction.
A Swiss-based organization, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, has drawn up standards for certifying the entire chain of production. “Not all biofuels are created equal,” said Victoria Junquera.
via Aviation experts predict biofuel-powered flights within 10 years – USATODAY.com.
A JFK air traffic controller let his twin children instruct pilots.
Is it right that the air traffic controller who let kids operate the controls may lose his job?
* We cost Dad his job! Kids who took over for air traffic controller blame themselves after he gets su
* JFK air traffic controller let not one, but TWO kids direct
Pilots are rallying behind the suspended Kennedy Airport air traffic controller, broadcasting messages of support to his colleagues.
“Thoughts going out to your co-worker there,” a Delta pilot departing Kennedy Airport said to a flight controller Thursday night, according to a recording captured on the Web site Liveatc.net. “I think it's BS what he's going through.”
Other pilots have come to the defense of Glenn Duffy in more subtle ways: They’ve been signing off with the word “adios.”
via Pilots show support for controller Glenn Duffy, who let his 2 kids direct traffic at Kennedy Airport.
