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.
Beauty may prove to be only skin deep once Honeywell's SAM is unleashed on your favorite business jet. SAM -- that's Structural Anomaly Mapping -- can see through the gloss to flaws within, discovering cracks and corrosion in metal and debonding and delamination in composites, flaws that quietly lurk in wait of a structural failure. SAM is, in effect, the first CAT scan for business jets. Its robotic sensors can inspect and diagnose an airplane overnight, without taking it out of regular service.
The NBAA is turning its attention to the emerging business jet market south of the border, having succeeded in exporting its expertise in running conventions and exhibitions to EBACE (the second European Business Aviation Conference&Exhibition will be held in Geneva on May 28-30).
China could prove to be the world's largest market for helicopters over the next two decades. The country will likely need more than 10,000 helicopters by 2020, with a market value of $84 billion, according to officials at the China National Aero-Technology Import&Export Corp. More conservative estimates put the need at 1,867 civil helicopters by 2013, with a value of $4.9 billion.
