Aerospace

Finland fighter bids submitted; Air Force One’s costs rise; Pentagon’s R&D nominee; and Top Aces win renewal.

Ask the editors: Longer-haul electric aircraft will depend on better energy storage, higher power densities and greater efficiencies.

Last month, PCX Aerosystems announced it was buying nearby Senior Aerospace Connecticut. This month, Greenbriar Equity Group announced it will buy PCX from RFE Investment Partners.

STARBURST AEROSPACE introduced its Singapore Aviation Accelerator to promote innovation and accelerate the growth of startups in Asia Pacific region.

GDC TECHNICS, TX filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy following cancellation by Boeing of contracts on Air Force One program.

Brian Proctor to Chief Executive Officer of Aquila Aviation Ventures.

AQUILA AVIATION VENTURES, TX was formed by City+Ventures and Mente Group to invest in high-growth firms within the private aviation sector; Aquila

EMBRAER had US$89.7m net loss on US$807.3m revenues (33.7% commercial aviation) in 1Q21 vs US$292m loss on US$633.8m (21.9%) in 1Q20 and ended quarter

AIRBUS had €362m net income on €10.5b revenues in 1Q21 vs €481m net loss on €10.6b in 1Q20; Commercial Aircraft earned €343m (vs €57m) on 4% lower

BOEING reports that it has delivered >85 737 MAXs to customers and 21 airlines have returned their aircraft to service with 26,000 revenue flights

BOEING says 737 program is currently producing at a low rate and expects to gradually increase production to 31 per month in early 2022; it adds 777

Arianespace’s Vega light launcher placed six satellites into orbit on April 28 in a successful return to flight that was crucial for the program.

After a brief pause to send the SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA last week, SpaceX on April 28 resumed launching its Starlink broadband constellation into low Earth orbit.

The new arrivals temporarily boosted station staffing to 11 people for the first time since 2010.

The VC-25B program took a $318 million write-off in the first quarter of 2021 because of supplier challenges related to the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to Boeing.

GE AVIATION earned $641m on $5b revenues in 1Q21 vs $1b on $6.9b in 1Q20; it delivered 359 commercial engines (188 LEAPs) vs 530 (272). It says

Andrew Masson to Vice President of Product & Portfolio Management of Panasonic Avionics, CA.

KARMARK GROUP was selected by Eastman Aviation Solutions as distributor of its turbine engine oils, Skydrol hydraulic fluids, and SkyKleen aviation

BOEING posted $537m net loss on $15.2b revenues in 1Q21 vs $628m loss on $16.9b in 1Q20; BCA revenues fell to $4.3b, driven by lower 787 deliveries

April is a stormy month in the Western world, and in aerospace and defense, it lived up to its reputation with the winds of change blowing through the C-suites of industry.

BARFIELD (AFI KLM E&M), Miami signed agreement with Donecle to sell and support its airplane inspection drone solution in the Americas.

German satellite launcher firms Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) and ISAR Aerospace have signed agreements to launch from a new orbital launch site planned for Andoya, Norway.

Ed Gorman was promoted to Vice President of Engineering of Avionica, Miami.

SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS, KS has acquired (through a subsidiary) assets of APPLIED AERODYNAMICS, TX (composites MRO); additional composite repairs include

TOPCAST, Hong Kong was selected by Honeywell as exclusive distributor of 737NG mechanical components for mainland China over next five years.