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Mitsubishi agrees to cost concessions on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner jet
BY JERRY SIEBENMARK

[email protected]

OCTOBER 23, 2017 11:17 AM

Another major supplier to Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner passenger jet has agreed to cost concessions as part of the Boeing’s “Partnering for Success” initiative.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, which makes the Dreamliner wing, agreed to reduce its cost of producing the wing, and to partner with Boeing on studying advanced aerostructure technologies for future airplanes.

“We are delighted to be enhancing the competitiveness of our commercial aircraft business with this agreement,” Shunichi Miyanaga, president and CEO of MHI, said in a Boeing news release on Monday. “We have built our partnership with Boeing over more than 40 years, collaborating on various aircraft programs including the 737, 747, 767, 777, 787 Dreamliner and state-of-the-art 777X and look forward to cooperating to explore future opportunities.”
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although it “aims to enable sales by pursuing increased efficiency in MHI’s production system and its supply chain through lean production methods, automation and other activities,” Boeing said in the release.
MHI joins Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems in Boeing’s Partnering for Success program, which aims to lower the cost of Boeing’s airplanes, thereby increasing its competitiveness in the commercial airliner market.



Spirit manufactures the composite forward fuselage of the Dreamliner — providing a fully furnished and equipped cockpit as well — at its South Oliver plant, where it produces 12 of them a month.

Boeing in September confirmed plans to increase the 787’s monthly production rate to 14 planes a month in 2019.

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ONE Aviation announces more layoffs
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Friday, October 20th, 2017 at 3:38pm

ONE Aviation Corp. in Albuquerque announced a new round of layoffs as the company winds down production of its Eclipse Aviation 550 very light jet to focus on design of the planned EA700 series aircraft.


It’s the second round of layoffs this year, although the company would not discuss the number of employees affected nor many how many remain on the job.

ONE Aviation launched in 2015 as a merger of Wisconsin-based Kestrel Aviation and Eclipse Aerospace in Albuquerque. The latter had previously acquired the assets of the former Eclipse Aviation company after that business went bankrupt in 2009.

ONE Aviation Corp. has continued to make the Eclipse 550 twin-engine jet since the 2015 merger, while also providing services for owners of that aircraft and for the previous series EA500 jet. ONE Aviation also produces the Krestel K350 single-engine turboprop.


Last year, however, the company announced plans to phase out production of the EA550 aircraft to focus instead on designing and building an upgraded EA700 series jet.

“As we transition through the development stages of the highly anticipated EA700 series we made the very difficult, yet necessary, decision to reduce our workforce,” said ONE Aviation CEO Alan Klapmeier in a prepared statement.

The reduction was needed to align the company’s headcount with its new focus, said spokeswoman Linda McDonough.

“The company remains committed to providing service and support for EA500 and EA550 owners as it begins to phase out production of the 550 and transition into the EA700,” McDonough said. “All of our company-owned and company-authorized service centers in the U.S. and elsewhere continue to operate.”

That includes service centers in Albuquerque, Chicago, San Diego and Boca Raton, Fla., as well as affiliated centers in other countries around the world, McDonough said.

Meanwhile, design and testing of the EA700 is moving forward.

The upgraded aircraft will hold more fuel in longer wings that will be extended by two feet on both sides, more cabin volume with a 14-inch fuselage stretch, a modern digital Garmin avionics suite, and more power with Williams International FJ33 engines, according to the company website.

Klapmeier said ONE Aviation successfully completed the first flight of a proof-of-concept wing for the EA700 in September using a modified experimental test aircraft.

“This is a key milestone in the path to making a very good airplane a great airplane,” Klapmeier said.

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ONE AVIATION PHASING OUT EA550, REDUCING WORK FORCE
October 20, 2017 By AOPA ePublishing staff

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of Albuquerque, New Mexico, announced a workforce reduction as it phases out production of its EA550 series of very light jets and focuses on developing the EA700, previously introduced as “Project Canada.”
One Aviation mounted the wings of the Eclipse 700 now in development on an Eclipse 550 for testing, the company announced. Photo courtesy of One Aviation.
“As we transition through the development stages of the highly anticipated EA700 series we made the very difficult, yet necessary, decision to reduce our work force,” said One Aviation CEO Alan Klapmeier in a news release. “I would like to extend my thanks to the hardworking individuals affected by this action for their many contributions to date. I would also like to thank our remaining employees for their commitment to our success as we move forward with the development of the EA700.”

The company has not disclosed the number of jobs to be eliminated, but a media representative said the staff reductions would affect personnel in multiple locations where One Aviation has operations.


The EA700 is a 14-inch

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of the Eclipse 500/550 line that will use Williams International FJ33-5A-12 turbofan engines. The aircraft holds more fuel in its lengthened wing than the previous models, has more cabin volume, and will be equipped with Garmin G3000 avionics.

In September, the company—a 2015 merger of Eclipse Aerospace and single-engine turboprop developer Kestrel Aircraft—

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a successful first flight of its proof-of-concept wing for the EA700. One Aviation “continues to explore strategic partnerships and investment in the future growth of the EA700 series,” it said.

One Aviation said it would continue providing “the highest standard of service and support” to current EA500/EA550 owners through a global service and distribution network.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co is fixing production problems with its 777 wide-body jetliner but has not stopped production and does not expect the snags to delay deliveries to airlines, it said on Monday.

The Chicago-based aerospace and defense company said it had given workers more time to catch up on “behind-work” on the 777 assembly line in its massive factory in Everett, Washington.

“Boeing is using extra time in the production schedule to focus on out-of-position work and catch up on jobs that are behind,” spokesman Paul Bergman said. The shifts only affect portions of the production line.

“It’s not a line stoppage because the entire line never stopped,” Bergman said.

Boeing said it expected the problem to exist for a “relatively short” period but would not say how long it would take to catch up.

The comments follow a report on Thursday on Aviation International News website AINonline that said Boeing had stopped loading fuselage sections for the 777 line and was trying to finish behind-schedule work that had increased in recent months as it installed robotic systems in the factory.

Boeing said the additional time it was using had been built into its production schedule for the 777 and successor jet, the 777X, which adds longer wings and new engines to the top-selling wide-body aircraft that the company introduced in 1995.

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Embraer Announces Delivery of the First E190-E2 in April of 2018


NEWS PROVIDED BY

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Oct 18, 2017, 07:33 ET

• 
  

ATHENS, Greece, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Embraer confirmed today April of 2018 as the delivery date of the first E190-E2 to Widerøe, the aircraft's launch operator. The announcement was made at a press briefing in Athens, Greece, during the annual general meeting of the European Regional Airline Association (ERA –

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). Widerøe, the largest regional airline in Scandinavia, will begin revenue service with the aircraft shortly afterwards.


"Since the program was launched, the first half of 2018 has been our target, and now we are making good on this commitment. This was only possible thanks to the excellence of our engineering process due to our unique experience in certifying 12 new aircraft in the last 17 years," said John Slattery, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. "From the beginning the E2 program has been, and remains on time, on budget and better than the initial specification. We'll deliver to the market a mature and robust aircraft."

Widerøe signed a contract with Embraer for up to 15 E2 jets consisting of three firm orders for the E190-E2, the first member of the second generation of the E-Jets family, and purchase rights for 12 further E2s. The order has a potential list price value of up to USD 873 million, with all orders being exercised. The airline is configuring the E190-E2s in a comfortable single-class layout with 114 seats.

Stein Nilsen, Chief Executive Officer of Widerøe, said, "We have been working very closely with Embraer teams in order to guarantee a very smooth Entry Into Service. We are eager for the coming months, when will intensify the familiarization with the aircraft, with immersion training for the technical teams, ground handling, flight operations and cabin attendants."

Embraer is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial jets with up to 150 seats. The Company has 100 customers from all over the world operating the ERJ and the E-Jet families of aircraft. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and almost 1,400 deliveries, redefining the traditional concept of regional aircraft by operating across a range of business applications.

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Russia upgrades Tupolev-160M2 bomber

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October 06, 12:15UTC+3
The United Engine Corporation has begun bench tests of the NK-32 02 series engine for an upgraded strategic bomber Tupolev-160M2
MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. The United Engine Corporation (an affiliate of Rostec) has begun bench tests of the NK-32 02 series engine for an upgraded strategic bomber Tupolev-160M2.







"The bench tests of the new NK-32 02 series engines meant for the strategic missile carrying bomber Tupolev-160M2 are in progress at the public joint stock company PAO Kuznetsov in Samara," the UEC said.

A number of parts and components of the NK-32 engine (series 02) were upgraded to make it more fuel efficient.

"Its endurance has been improved. Equipped with this engine, the Tupolev-160M2 bomber will have far greater capabilities, including a longer range of flight," the UEC said.


Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015 issued orders to resume the production of Tupolev-160 planes. In October 2016 Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said there were plans for building 50 such planes for the time being. He also said that an initial batch of six engines for the upgraded bombers would be provided by the first quarter of 2018. Earlier, the UEC said the facilities for testing the new engines had been upgraded and certified for experiments with NK-32 power plants





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The program for creating the medium military transport aircraft IL-276


bmpd
October 31st, 12:01
On October 31, 2017, the TASS news agency disseminated an interesting interview of the head of the Il-276 long-range medium military transport aircraft program at Igor Iliya Bevzyuk's PJSC


The project of the medium military transport aircraft Il-276 © PJSC "IL"



A new medium military transport aircraft (SVTS) is being created in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry. By the end of the year, the military department must approve the tactical and technical task for this machine. About what the characteristics of the new aircraft, from which airfields he will be able to take off and whether to possess weapons, in an interview with TASS said the program manager in the PJSC "IL" Igor Bevzyuk.

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We may have just witnessed the end of the Airbus A380 superjumbo

An Emirates Airbus A380. Emirates

• Emirates ordered 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners at the 2017 Dubai Air Show.
• The airline was expected to order more Airbus A380s. Emirates is concerned that Airbus may cancel the A380 program.
• "Most operators of the A380 I've talked to are not thrilled with the performance of the A380 given the cost," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview.

Of the 318 A380 superjumbos that Airbus has sold in the 15 years since it began building the massive aircraft, one airline — Emirates — has bought nearly half.

The airline, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, operates 100 A380s — a double-decker aircraft that can carry as many as 800 passengers on long flights — while no other airline owns more than 19.

So when Emirates opened the

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this week with a blockbuster $15.1 billion order for 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners — a sleeker, more efficient aircraft made by Airbus's rival — it was a massive surprise. In fact, as

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at the show noted, Airbus was expected to announce a deal of that very size for the A380.

Even though Emirates' president, Sir Tim Clark,

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on Monday that the company hadn't ruled out buying more A380s in the future, the reason he gave for going with the Boeing aircraft was particularly troubling. Emirates won't order any more A380s, he said, until Airbus can firmly commit to not canceling the superjumbo.

Clark's concern may become a self-fulfilling prophecy for Airbus.

For most other planes, Airbus could firm up its order books and stabilize the program by fishing for sales elsewhere.

But it can't do that with the A380. At this point, Emirates isn't just the plane's most important customer — it is effectively the plane's only customer. And that means what happened in Dubai this week could mark the end of the giant aircraft.

Airbus was not immediately available for comment.

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while Sukhoi is developing the stealthy Su-57 fifth-generation fighter to equip the Russian air force in the years to come, today it is the company’s Su-35 Super Flanker that represents the top of the line in front-line Russian fighter hardware. Developed from the Su-27 Flanker, the type has entered Russian air force service, and was deployed to Syria in early 2016 to make its operational debut. Russia is pushing the type for export. China was the first country to sign up for the Su-35, and it has already received its first batch of aircraft. Now attention is focused firmly on the United Arab Emirates. In February the Russians claimed at the IDEX defense show that the Emiratis had agreed to buy at least a squadron’s worth. If negotiations have been finalized, then confirmation could be announced during the course of the Dubai Airshow. In the meantime, the Su-35 is showing off its extraordinary super-maneuverability in the daily flight displays at Dubai, demonstrating the post-stall agility that is made possible through the use of thrust-vectoring engines and an advanced fly-by-wire flight control system.

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