The first air show Aviation Week sent me to cover was at Farnborough in 1998. Near the end of a hectic week, we stayed up late into the night to write our stories. Then they were edited, bundled into a magazine and mailed to subscribers, who got to read them the following week.
Today’s readers aren’t nearly that patient. In recognition of that, Aviation Week has created a new app for this year’s Paris Air Show to quickly relay the latest from our on-site team of award-winning aerospace journalists. Free, easy to use and compatible with both iPhones and Android devices, the app will be updated at Le Bourget throughout the day with breaking news, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.
Once downloaded, it will automatically update to include coverage from future industry shows such as the Royal International Air Tattoo in the UK in July and November’s Dubai Airshow. I urge you to give it a look. You can download the app quickly and easily at AviationWeek.com/app
Speaking of Paris, Aviation Week has teamed up with the air show’s organizers to host an on-site conference and exhibition on the advanced air mobility revolution. Join editors Graham Warwick, Ben Goldstein, Lee Ann Shay, Sean Broderick, our partner Sergio Cecutta and me as we delve into the emerging industry with dozens of leaders from companies such as Airbus, Archer, Ascendance Flight Technologies, EHang, Eve Air Mobility, Honeywell, Joby Aviation, Lilium, MagLev Aero, Thales, Volocopter, Wisk and ZeroAvia.
The Paris Air Mobility event takes place on June 20-22 in Hall 5 at Le Bourget and is free and open to all air show attendees. A full agenda can be found at AAM.AviationWeek.com
Aviation Week’s Laureate Awards have honored great innovators and achievements in aerospace, defense and aviation annually since 1957. Last year’s winners included a new space telescope unlocking secrets of the universe, an autonomous military helicopter, the founding father of aircraft leasing and a volunteer program to help underrepresented people of color become pilots, as well as two dozen top students and military cadets pursuing aviation or aerospace careers.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 66th Annual Laureate Awards in six categories: Business Aviation, Commercial, Defense, MRO (new), Space and Extraordinary Achievement, which includes lifetime achievement. Aviation Week editors will judge entries and announce winners in early November. The awards will be presented at a gala at the historic National Building Museum in Washington on March 14, 2024. Read more about past winners and submit your nominations at Laureates.AviationWeek.com
In 1960, Ed Kohl, an aerospace research student at Boston University, tried to subscribe to this magazine. He was rejected because he was “not in the industry.” After an appeal from the dean’s office, the McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. relented and sent Kohl a $7 invoice for a one-year subscription. Today, it’s a lot easier for students to get Aviation Week: We offer free digital subscriptions to students pursuing careers in our industry at AviationWeek.com/Student
Our numerous initiatives to reach younger generations also include the Aerospace on Campus partnership with the Wings Club. Several times a year, senior industry executives team up with Aviation Week editors to visit a university campus, meeting with students seeking careers in roles such as engineer or pilot.
Aviation Week and the Wings Club Foundation also award scholarship grants of more than $200,000 a year to diverse schools and students. And our annual 20 Twenties program, established in 2013, recognizes 20 talented students each year: AviationWeek.com/20Twenties
Sadly, though, aerospace does not hold the appeal today it did to Kohl’s generation. In a column on page 12 of this issue, Oliver Madilian, a 20-year-old New York University student, laments that his peers view this industry as old and overwhelmingly male. That is supported by a recent FAA Women in Aviation Advisory Board study, which found women make up just 16.8% of the U.S. aviation workforce, a figure that hasn’t budged in 15 years (AW&ST May 22-June 4, p. 66).
After graduating from Boston University, Kohl went on to become an R&D engineer at Aerojet’s liquid rocket plant, working on first-stage engines for the Titan rocket at the age of 22. He then supported NASA’s Gemini program, working with pioneer astronaut Gene Cernan. The good news is that those types of opportunities still exist in an industry supercharged in recent years with innovative technologies and products.
Todd Tuthill, a vice president at Siemens, summed it up succinctly on a recent Aviation Week Check 6 podcast. “It’s just the cool factor,” he said. “I can’t tell you what it’s like to stand at an air show and watch something you designed blow over your head.”
