Misplaced Pages

#671328

47-499: Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas . Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation , an American manufacturer of general aviation , commercial , and military aircraft , ranging from light single-engined aircraft to twin-engined turboprop transports, business jets , and military trainers . Beech later became

94-557: A civil aviation authority (such as the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States) to oversee the following areas of civil aviation: The World Bank lists monotonously growing numbers for the number of passengers transported per year worldwide with a preliminary all-time high in 2015 of 3.44 billion passengers. Likewise, the number of registered carrier departures worldwide has reached

141-405: A 7% rise over one year. The passenger numbers are distinctively more volatile than general economic indicators. Global political, economic or health crises have an amplifying effect. Cessna Cessna ( / ˈ s ɛ s n ə / ) is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas . Originally, it was a brand of

188-541: A 7 ft (2.1 m) section of one Cessna 400 's wing skin from the spar while the aircraft was being flown by an FAA test pilot. The aircraft was landed safely. The FAA also discovered 82 other aircraft parts that had been incorrectly made and not detected by the company's quality assurance. The investigation resulted in an emergency Airworthiness Directive that affected 13 Cessna 400s. Since March 2012, Cessna has been pursuing building business jets in China as part of

235-594: A Cessna 172. Cessna's first business jet, the Cessna Citation I , performed its maiden flight on September 15, 1969. Cessna produced its 100,000th single-engine airplane in 1975. In 1985, Cessna ceased to be an independent company. It was purchased by General Dynamics Corporation and became a wholly owned subsidiary. Production of the Cessna Caravan began. General Dynamics in turn sold Cessna to Textron in 1992. Late in 2007, Cessna purchased

282-594: A contract with the U.S. Army for 33 specially equipped Cessna T-50s , their first twin engine plane. Later in 1940, the Royal Canadian Air Force placed an order for 180 T-50s. Cessna returned to commercial production in 1946, after the revocation of wartime production restrictions (L-48), with the release of the Model 120 and Model 140 . The approach was to introduce a new line of all-metal aircraft that used production tools, dies and jigs, rather than

329-604: A division of Raytheon and then Hawker Beechcraft before a bankruptcy sale turned its assets over to Textron (parent company of Beech's historical cross-town Wichita rival, Cessna Aircraft Company ). It remains a brand of Textron Aviation. Beech Aircraft Company was founded in Wichita, Kansas , in 1932 by Walter Beech as president, his wife Olive Ann Beech as secretary, Ted A. Wells as vice president of engineering, K. K. Shaul as treasurer, and investor C. G. Yankey as vice president. The company began operations in an idle Cessna factory. With designer Ted Wells, they developed

376-463: A joint venture with Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The company stated that it intends to eventually build all aircraft models in China, saying "The agreements together pave the way for a range of business jets, utility single-engine turboprops and single-engine piston aircraft to be manufactured and certified in China." In late April 2012, the company added 150 workers in Wichita as

423-478: A new world speed record for engines smaller than 500 cubic inches by averaging 237 mph (381 km/h). Cessna's nephews, brothers Dwane and Dwight Wallace, bought the company from Cessna in 1934. They reopened it and began the process of building it into what would become a global success. The Cessna C-37 was introduced in 1937 as Cessna's first seaplane when equipped with Edo floats. In 1940, Cessna received their largest order to date, when they signed

470-722: A peak in 2015 with almost 33 million takeoffs. In the U.S. alone, the passenger miles "computed by summing the products of the aircraft-miles flown on each inter airport segment multiplied by the number of passengers carried on that segment" have reached 607,772 million miles (978,114 × 10 ^  km) in 2014 (as compared to highway car traffic with 4,371,706 million miles (7,035,579 × 10 ^  km)). The global seasonally adjusted revenue passenger kilometers per month peaked at more than 550 billion kilometres (3,700 AU) (~ 6.6 trillion per year, corresponding to roughly 2000 km per passenger) in January 2016,

517-490: A result of anticipated increased demand for aircraft production. Overall, they have cut more than 6000 jobs in the Wichita plant since 2009. In March 2014, Cessna ceased operations as a company and instead became a brand of Textron Aviation . During the 1950s and 1960s, Cessna's marketing department followed the lead of Detroit automakers and came up with many unique marketing terms in an effort to differentiate its product line from their competitors. Other manufacturers and

SECTION 10

#1732786987672

564-532: A severe decline in quality and popularity. Cessna kept ARC as a subsidiary until 1983, selling it to avionics-maker Sperry . In 1960, Cessna acquired McCauley Industrial Corporation , of Ohio, a leading manufacturer of propellers for light aircraft. McCauley became the world's leading producer of general aviation aircraft propellers, largely through their installation on Cessna airplanes. In 1960, Cessna affiliated itself with Reims Aviation of Reims , France. In 1963, Cessna produced its 50,000th airplane,

611-654: A total of 665 jobs were cut at Cessna's Wichita and Bend, Oregon plants. The Cessna factory at Independence, Kansas , which builds the Cessna piston-engined aircraft and the Cessna Mustang , did not see any layoffs, but one third of the workforce at the former Columbia Aircraft facility in Bend was laid off. This included 165 of the 460 employees who built the Cessna 350 and 400 . The remaining 500 jobs were eliminated at

658-508: Is referred to as state aviation. This includes military aviation , state VIP transports, and police /customs aircraft. After World War II , commercial aviation grew rapidly, using mostly ex-military pilots to transport people and cargo. Factories that had produced bombers were quickly adapted to the production of passenger aircraft like the Douglas DC-4 . This growth was accelerated by the establishment of military airports throughout

705-518: Is the Cessna 172 , delivered since 1956 (with a break from 1986 to 1996), with more sold than any other aircraft in history. Since the first model was delivered in 1972, the brand has also been well known for its Citation family of low-wing business jets which vary in size. Clyde Cessna , a farmer in Rago, Kansas , built his own aircraft and flew it in June 1911. He was the first person to do so between

752-528: The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Expo, CEO Jack Pelton indicated that sales of Cessna aircraft to individual buyers had fallen, but piston and turboprop sales to businesses had not. "While the economic slowdown has created a difficult business environment, we are encouraged by brisk activity from new and existing propeller fleet operators placing almost 200 orders for 2009 production aircraft," Pelton stated. Beginning in January 2009,

799-498: The Cessna Aircraft Company , an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing corporation also headquartered in Wichita. The company produced small, piston-powered aircraft, as well as business jets . For much of the mid-to-late 20th century, Cessna was one of the highest-volume and most diverse producers of general aviation aircraft in the world. It was founded in 1927 by Clyde Cessna and Victor Roos and

846-475: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a US$ 2.4 million fine against the company for its failure to follow quality assurance requirements while producing fiberglass components at its plant in Chihuahua, Mexico . Excess humidity meant that the parts did not cure correctly and quality assurance did not detect the problems. The failure to follow procedures resulted in the delamination in flight of

893-634: The King Air and Super King Air line of twin-engined turboprops, in production since 1964, the Baron , a twin-engined variant of the Bonanza, and the Beechcraft Model 18, originally a business transport and commuter airliner from the late 1930s through the 1960s, which remains in active service as a cargo transport. In 1950, Olive Ann Beech was installed as president and CEO of the company, after

940-748: The Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains . Cessna started his wood-and-fabric aircraft ventures in Enid, Oklahoma , testing many of his early planes on the salt flats. When bankers in Enid refused to lend him more money to build his planes, he moved to Wichita . Cessna Aircraft was formed when Clyde Cessna and Victor Roos became partners in the Cessna-Roos Aircraft Company in 1927. Roos resigned just one month into

987-425: The late-2000s recession , laying off more than half its workforce between January 2009 and September 2010. On November 4, 2008, Cessna's parent company, Textron , indicated that Citation production would be reduced from the original 2009 target of 535 "due to continued softening in the global economic environment" and that this would result in an undetermined number of lay-offs at Cessna. On November 8, 2008, at

SECTION 20

#1732786987672

1034-626: The "Travel Air" name, while Curtiss-Wright built the CW-12, 14, 15, and 16 as well as previous successful Travel Air models (mostly the model 4). In 1942 Beech won its first Army-Navy "E" Award production award and became one of the elite five percent of war contracting firms in the country to win five straight awards for production efficiency, mostly for the production of the Beechcraft Model 18 which remains in widespread use worldwide. Beechcraft ranked 69th among United States corporations in

1081-592: The 350 and 400 production moving to Kansas, the company indicated that it would lay off 1,600 more workers, including the remaining 150 employees at the Bend plant and up to 700 workers from the Columbus program. In early June 2009, Cessna laid off an additional 700 salaried employees, bringing the total number of lay-offs to 7,600, which was more than half the company's workers at the time. The company closed its three Columbus, Georgia , manufacturing facilities between June 2010 and December 2011. The closures included

1128-690: The China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I), a Chinese government-owned consortium of aircraft manufacturers. Cessna reported that the decision was made to save money and also that the company had no more plant capacity in the United States at the time. Cessna received much negative feedback for this decision, with complaints centering on the recent quality problems with Chinese production of other consumer products, China's human rights record, exporting of jobs and China's less than friendly political relationship with

1175-612: The Mustang, reducing that facility to 1,300 workers. On April 29, 2009, the company suspended the Citation Columbus program and closed the Bend, Oregon, facility. The Columbus program was finally cancelled in early July 2009. The company reported, "Upon additional analysis of the business jet market related to this product offering, we decided to formally cancel further development of the Citation Columbus". With

1222-504: The T-6 and AT-6 military trainer/attack aircraft, as well as the piston-powered single-engined Bonanza and twin-engined Baron aircraft. The jet line was discontinued, but the new company continues to support the aircraft already produced with parts, plus engineering and airworthiness documentation. By October 2013, the company, now financially turned around, was up for sale. On December 26, 2013, Textron agreed to purchase Beechcraft, including

1269-461: The United States. The customer backlash surprised Cessna and resulted in a company public relations campaign. In early 2009, the company attracted further criticism for continuing plans to build the 162 in China while laying off large numbers of workers in the United States. In the end, the Cessna 162 was not a commercial success and only a small number were delivered before production was cancelled. The company's business suffered notably during

1316-587: The airlines combined. Since 2004, the U.S. airlines combined have carried over 600 million passengers each year, and in 2014, they carried a combined 662,819,232 passengers. Some countries also make a regulatory distinction based on whether aircraft are flown for hire, like: All scheduled air transport is commercial, but general aviation can be either commercial or private. Normally, the pilot, aircraft, and operator must all be authorized to perform commercial operations through separate commercial licensing, registration, and operation certificates. Non-civil aviation

1363-454: The aviation press widely ridiculed and spoofed many of the marketing terms, but Cessna built and sold more aircraft than any other manufacturer during the boom years of the 1960s and 1970s. Generally, the names of Cessna models do not follow a theme, but there is usually logic to the numbering: the 100 series are the light singles, the 200s are the heftier, the 300s are light to medium twins, the 400s have "wide oval" cabin-class accommodation and

1410-560: The bankrupt Columbia Aircraft company for US$ 26.4M and would continue production of the Columbia 350 and 400 as the Cessna 350 and Cessna 400 at the Columbia factory in Bend, Oregon . However, production of both aircraft had ended by 2018. On November 27, 2007, Cessna announced the then-new Cessna 162 would be built in China by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation , which is a subsidiary of

1457-592: The discontinued Hawker jet line, for $ 1.4 billion. The sale was concluded in the first half of 2014, with government approval. Textron CEO Scott Donnelly indicated that Beechcraft and Cessna would be combined to form a new light aircraft manufacturing concern, Textron Aviation , that would result in US$ 65M–$ 85M in annual savings over keeping the companies separate. Textron has kept both the Beechcraft and Cessna names as separate brands. As of July 2019, Textron Aviation

Beechcraft - Misplaced Pages Continue

1504-700: The field of general aviation manufacturing, along with Cessna and Piper Aircraft . In 1973, Beechcraft found Beechcraft Heritage Museum to host its historical aircraft. In 1994, Raytheon merged Beechcraft with the Hawker product line it had acquired in 1993 from British Aerospace , forming Raytheon Aircraft Company . In 2002, the Beechcraft brand was revived to again designate the Wichita-produced aircraft. In 2006, Raytheon sold Raytheon Aircraft to Goldman Sachs creating Hawker Beechcraft . Since its inception Beechcraft has resided in Wichita, Kansas , also

1551-633: The first aircraft under the Beechcraft name, the classic Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing , which first flew in November 1932. Over 750 Staggerwings were built, with 352 manufactured for the United States Army Air Forces and 67 for the United States Navy during World War II . Beechcraft was not Beech's first company, as he had previously formed Travel Air in 1924 and the design numbers used at Beechcraft followed

1598-626: The hand-built tube-and-fabric construction process used before the war. The Model 140 was named by the US Flight Instructors Association as the "Outstanding Plane of the Year" in 1948. Cessna's first helicopter, the Cessna CH-1 , received FAA type certification in 1955. Cessna introduced the Cessna 172 in 1956. It became the most produced airplane in history. During the post-World War II era, Cessna

1645-547: The home of chief competitor Cessna, the birthplace of Learjet and of Stearman , whose trainers were used in large numbers during WW II. The entry into bankruptcy of Hawker Beechcraft on May 3, 2012, ended with its emergence on February 16, 2013, as a new entity, Beechcraft Corporation, with the Hawker Beechcraft name being retired. The new and much smaller company produce the King Air line of aircraft as well as

1692-543: The main Cessna Wichita plant. In January 2009, the company laid off an additional 2,000 employees, bringing the total to 4,600. The job cuts included 120 at the Bend, Oregon, facility reducing the plant that built the Cessna 350 and 400 to fewer than half the number of workers that it had when Cessna bought it. Other cuts included 200 at the Independence, Kansas, plant that builds the single-engined Cessnas and

1739-737: The new 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m ) facility that was opened in August 2008 at a cost of US$ 25M, plus the McCauley Propeller Systems plant. These closures resulted in total job losses of 600 in Georgia. Some of the work was relocated to Cessna's Independence, Kansas, or Mexican facilities. Cessna's parent company, Textron, posted a loss of US$ 8M in the first quarter of 2010, largely driven by continuing low sales at Cessna, which were down 44%. Half of Cessna's workforce remained laid-off and CEO Jack Pelton stated that he expected

1786-706: The partnership, selling back his interest to Cessna. Shortly afterward, Roos's name was dropped from the company name. The Cessna DC-6 earned certification on the same day as the stock market crash of 1929 , October 29, 1929. In 1932, the Cessna Aircraft Company closed due to the Great Depression . However, the Cessna CR-3 custom racer made its first flight in 1933. The plane won the 1933 American Air Race in Chicago and later set

1833-972: The recovery to be long and slow. In September 2010, a further 700 employees were laid off, bringing the total to 8,000 jobs lost. CEO Jack Pelton indicated this round of layoffs was due to a "stalled [and] lackluster economy" and noted that while the number of orders cancelled for jets had been decreasing, new orders had not met expectations. Pelton added, "our strategy is to defend and protect our current markets while investing in products and services to secure our future, but we can do this only if we succeed in restructuring our processes and reducing our costs." On May 2, 2011, CEO Jack J. Pelton retired. The new CEO, Scott A. Ernest, started on May 31, 2011. Ernest joined Textron after 29 years at General Electric , where he had most recently served as vice president and general manager, global supply chain for GE Aviation . Ernest previously worked for Textron CEO Scott Donnelly when both worked at General Electric. In September 2011,

1880-463: The sequence started at Travel Air, and were then continued at Curtiss-Wright, after Travel Air had been absorbed into the much larger company in 1929. Beech had become president of Curtiss-Wright's airplane division and VP of sales, but was dissatisfied with being so far removed from aircraft production. He quit to form Beechcraft, using the original Travel Air facilities and employing many of the same people. Model numbers prior to 11/11000 were built under

1927-549: The shape of the windows led to cracks due to metal fatigue . By the time the problems were overcome, other jet airliner designs such as the Boeing 707 had already entered service. The Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation was originally established in 1944; it states that signatories should collectively work to harmonize and standardize the use of airspace for safety, efficiency and regularity of air transport. Each signatory country, of which there are at least 193, has

Beechcraft - Misplaced Pages Continue

1974-404: The sudden death of her husband from a heart attack on November 29 of that year. She continued as CEO until Beech was purchased by Raytheon Company on February 8, 1980. Ted Wells had been replaced as chief engineer by Herbert Rawdon, who remained at the post until his retirement in the early 1960s. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th century, Beechcraft was considered one of the "Big Three" in

2021-483: The value of World War II military production contracts. After the war, the Staggerwing was replaced by the revolutionary Beechcraft Bonanza with a distinctive V-tail . Perhaps the best known Beech aircraft, the single-engined Bonanza has been manufactured in various models since 1947. The Bonanza has had the longest production run of any airplane, past or present, in the world. Other important Beech aircraft are

2068-512: The world, either for combat use or training. These could easily be turned to civil aviation use. The first commercial jet airliner to fly was the British de Havilland DH.106 Comet . By 1952, the British state airline British Overseas Airways Corporation had introduced the Comet into scheduled service. While it was a technical achievement, the airplane suffered a series of highly public failures, as

2115-510: Was known as one of the "Big Three" in general aviation aircraft manufacturing, along with Piper and Beechcraft . In 1959, Cessna acquired Aircraft Radio Corporation (ARC), of Boonton, New Jersey, a leading manufacturer of aircraft radios. During these years, Cessna expanded the ARC product line, and rebranded ARC radios as "Cessna" radios, making them the "factory option" for avionics in new Cessnas. However, during this time, ARC radios suffered

2162-417: Was producing the following models under the Beechcraft brand name: Civil aviation Civil aviation includes three major categories: Although scheduled air transport is the larger operation in terms of passenger numbers, GA is larger in the number of flights (and flight hours, in the U.S. ) In the U.S., GA carries 166 million passengers each year, more than any individual airline, though less than all

2209-556: Was purchased by General Dynamics in 1985, then by Textron, Inc. in 1992. In March 2014, when Textron purchased the Beechcraft and Hawker Aircraft corporations, Cessna ceased operations as a subsidiary company, and joined the others as one of the three distinct brands produced by Textron Aviation. Throughout its history, and especially in the years following World War II, Cessna became best known for producing small, high-wing , piston aircraft. Its most popular and iconic aircraft

#671328