Manufacturers

When the US Air Force awarded the contract for a KC-135 air refueling tanker replacement to European company EADS, American aircraft manufacturer Boeing went crazy. They brought out the lawyers and argued that although the EADS Airbus A330 tanker had out performed the Boeing's B767, the competition was unfair and should be re-accomplished. Boeing wants the criteria for the new tanker adjusted to favor their products. Although I'm not sure they ever said it directly, a large part of their argument seems to be that it's not fair to have a European company providing aircraft on a multi-billion dollar US military contract. EADS, of course, is arguing that they still have the better product and that the US military should select the product that will do the best job of taking care of our troops...no matter where it comes from. I think the argument is pretty stupid and that we're wasting literally years delaying the A330 tanker; however, Boeing got what it wanted and the competition is open again.

I bet they never expected a third company to throw them for a loop though. Ukrainian (formerly Soviet) aircraft manufacturer Antonov has entered the competition with the help of a US partner, US Aerospace. Antonov is submitting proposals for 3 different aircraft, and they may be able to out-perform both competitors. I wonder how Boeing is feeling now about the can of worms they've opened.

All recessions aside, the piston single market has been doing pretty well for the last few years. Cirrus has come from nothing to lead the pack in just over a decade and other big names like Cessna, Piper, Mooney, Beechcraft and others are working to keep pace. Flightglobal.com notes that Korea Aerospace Industries has taken note of this and is developing their own piston single. Although it sounds like they're just getting started, the plane will be impressive if it can perform as promised.

If you want to know something about a specific type of aircraft, the best place to start is probably a type club. As a Cessna 170 owner, I'm a member of the International Cessna 170 Association. It has a catalog of useful and affordable STCs, a ton of corporate knowledge and a great community of owner/enthusiasts. There is a type club for pretty much every kind of plane in the sky, though some are more active than others. I think I've found what sounds like the club with the coolest opportunity out there.

LoPresti Aircraft has an amazing event for Fury owners.

The Zodiac CH601XL has had a rough few years. There have been six in-flight structural failures resulting in an effective grounding of the fleet and mandatory modifications to all aircraft. The FAA recently released an official report on the situation.