The AP reports that on Tuesday, Dassault Falcon Jet “announced a $100 million expansion of its facility in Little Rock that the jet manufacturer said will add 800 new jobs. Dassault announced it had selected Little Rock for the expanded completion center for the development and delivery of its new Dassault Falcon 6X business jet and future Falcon programs. The company already has 1,400 workers at its two facilities in Little Rock.”
Full Story (Associated Press)
Tag: aircraft
Dassault’s First Falcon 6X Business Jet Enters Service
Aviation International News reports Dassault announced that on November 30, the company’s “Falcon 6X began flying for its new owner. … Dassault did not reveal the identity or location of the 6X launch customer.” The 6X, with a maximum range of 5,500 nm, was launched in February 2018 “after the 5X program was canceled due to problems with the in-development Safran Silvercrest engine. The 6X is 20 inches longer than the 5X, to accommodate the 6X’s more powerful Pratt & Whitney PW812D engines.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
Japanese Authorities Hand Over Pieces of Wreckage from USAF Osprey Crash
The AP reported, “Japanese authorities handed over pieces of the wreckage from an U.S. Air Force Osprey that crashed off southwestern Japan to the U.S. military on Sunday, as the search continued for seven missing servicemembers.” The wreckage “had been collected by a ship from the regional coast guard headquarters and by fishers from the town of Yakushima since the CV-22 aircraft crashed into the water near the town Wednesday during a training mission to Okinawa.”
Full Story (The AP)
Airbus Creeps Towards Full-Year Delivery Goal with 18% Year-Over-Year Increase for October
Reuters reports that Airbus “needs to deliver 161 aircraft in the last two months of the year to reach its full-year delivery target, fractionally below the performance seen in the closing stages of last year.” Airbus’ monthly bulletin “confirmed it had delivered 71 aircraft in October, up 18% from the same month last year and bringing the total for the first 10 months to 559 jets.” In the final “two months of 2022, Airbus delivered 166 jets.” Agency Partners analyst Sash Tusa “wrote in a note that the company was not expected to change its full-year delivery target of 720 aircraft despite pressure on supplies of Pratt & Whitney engines.” Airbus last year “lowered and eventually abandoned its delivery goal due to supply constraints and started 2023 on a weak note, before deliveries accelerated over the summer.”
Full Story (Reuters)
HAL to Produce Forgings for CFM International LEAP Engines
FlightGlobal reports that Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and Safran have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for HAL to produce engine forgings for CFM International LEAP engines at its foundry and forge location in India. The MoU “calls for Indian company to produce engine forgings for the LEAP engine at its foundry & forge location in Bengaluru, says HAL.” The LEAP series “is produced by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran.” Safran Aircraft Engines CEO Jean-Paul Alary said, “We are delighted to expand our collaboration with HAL, which is already part of the LEAP supply chain through our joint-venture in Bengaluru dedicated to the production of aero-engines pipes.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal – Subscription Publication)
European Airlines Say Sustainable Fuel Goals Could Lead to Higher Fares
Reuters reports, “European airline chiefs said on Thursday the industry needs to make more money and may consolidate further to pay for sustainability targets, a trend likely to lead to higher fares for passengers on top of rising demand for air travel.” The EU “has adopted rules requiring flights departing from EU airports to carry a progressively increasing amount of SAF, starting with 2% of total fuel in 2025.”
Full Story (Reuters)
USAF Expects Boeing to Retrofit KC-46 with Remote Vision System in Two Months
Aviation Week reports that the US Air Force (USAF) says it expects The Boeing Company “to be able to retrofit a KC-46 with the new Remote Vision System (RVS) 2.0 in about two months at the company’s Florida facility, once the design is set.” Boeing and the USAF first announced a plan to overhaul the tanker in April 2020.
Full Story (Aviation Week)
NASA Extends Work on Hydrogen Fueled and Cooled Airliner Concept
Aviation Week reported that NASA “signed a Space Act Agreement with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to extend work on a zero-emission aircraft propulsion concept that uses liquid hydrogen as both an energy carrier and a cryogen to enable superconductivity to increase efficiency and reduce weight.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
How Airports Can Prepare for Future Electric Aircraft Operations
Aviation Today reports that engineering firm WSP “has taken the lead in assisting airports in the preparations for electric aircraft. With electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles on the horizon, WSP is working closely with clients to integrate these groundbreaking advancements into their master plans.” A significant project currently underway “is WSP’s collaboration with Philadelphia International Airport, where they are incorporating provisions for a state-of-the-art vertiport facility into the airport’s master plan update.” This approach “demonstrates the airport’s commitment to embracing advanced air mobility and ensuring seamless integration of eVTOLs into their operations.” WSP is also “spearheading the master plan for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, which encompasses the redevelopment of an existing vertiport to accommodate electric aircraft.”
Full Story (Aviation Today)
NASA’s X-57 Program Concludes with No Flight
Aviation Week reported that after struggling for years “with a variety of technical problems and setbacks, NASA has decided to conclude its X-57 Maxwell electric aircraft demonstrator program at the end of September without attempting a flight.” The program “announced its decision on June 23 on a conference call with reporters.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)