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.
The next all-new engine from Pratt&Whitney Canada will be the PW800, a geared turbofan aimed at 70- to 100-passenger regional airliners and large business jets. If it sounds familiar, it is. The PW800 is the next step in bringing the company's Advanced Fan Technology (AFT) Integrator engine to market, following a successful series of tests in anticipation of first flight in first quarter 2002.
Turbomeca has decided to invest heavily in customer support in North America, the French firm's largest geographic market and one with some of the most demanding operators. The new strategy entails building a new facility in Canada, probably near Montreal/Mirabel, to repair and overhaul Arriel and then Makila II engines. ``We decided to have a complete stand-alone zone in North America,'' said Emeric d'Arcimoles, Turbomeca's new chairman and CEO. ``No more engines will cross the ocean for repair -- that is not the case today.''
Photograph: This 206L-4 LongRanger is one of 18 helicopters that Bell had at DeKalb-Peachtree airport. BELL HELICOPTER AT THE OLYMPICS The Olympics proved to be a marathon exercise in logistics for Bell Helicopter, which provided no fewer than 18 aircraft for the three weeks of the games. ``I don't think we have ever participated on this scale before for this long a period,'' said O.K. Moore, head of Bell's Olympic team.
