John was editor of Aviation Week's ShowNews for nearly two decades. He retired in 2020. His background in business journalism before joining Aviation Week includes stints at Reuters, the American Banker daily banking newspaper and as business news editor at the Milwaukee Journal and the Cincinnati Enquirer.
A lifelong aviation enthusiast, John has been a private pilot for 34 years and won an award at EAA Oshkosh for his restoration of a vintage British Auster army spotter aircraft. He is currently building a 1920s Staaken Flitzer biplane from plans. John attended his first Farnborough Air Show in 1952, when just eight months old.
A new multitasking, nanocomposite material may be one of the technologies that will enable replacement of the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families of narrowbody airliners, say researchers at Goodrich.
EADS Innovation Works unveiled its work on a concept thermal-electric helicopter during the recent ILA Berlin Air Show. Powered by two opposed piston (OPOC) two-stroke diesel engines, two generators and a pack of high-capacity lithium-ion batteries, it is designed to fly on either diesel or electric power, or on both together when maximum power is required. “You can use the engines separately or together,” EADS technology chief Jean Botti says.
BERLIN - The U.S. has lost its lead in vital areas of space and will continue to give up business unless its export rules are relaxed to spur more international collaboration. That’s the verdict of Elliot Pulham, CEO of the Space Foundation, which is widely regarded as the foremost international advocate for all sectors of the global space economy. Pulham noted that the global space economy has grown more than 40% over the past five years to $261 billion in 2009, of which more than 70% is in commercial activities.
