March 30, 2023 - No. 013 In This Issue : Fatigue crack results in total loss of engine power : How the war in Ukraine is driving growth in Arkansas : Boeing 737 Max AD Sheds Light on Factory Errors New GE Apprenticeship Program Seeks to Shape the Next Generation of Powerplant Technicians : Daily Memo: The New State Of Attracting Aerospace Manufacturing : NASA Awards $50 Million For Aviation Composite Tech Development Repair Parts Running Out For GNS 430/530 : de Havilland Dragon Rapide Takes Flight in New Zealand Fatigue crack results in total loss of engine power By General Aviation News Staff · March 27, 2023 According to the pilot receiving instruction they departed the airport in Lodi, California, uneventfully and climbed to their cruise altitude, 3,000 feet mean sea level. The pilot receiving instruction donned an instrument instruction tool at 200 feet above ground level. Once they reached cruise altitude, he reduced power to 2,450 rpm, applied carburetor heat, and leaned the fuel/air mixture to achieve best rpm. He followed the airplane’s cruise checklist, scanned the engine instruments and did not observe any anomalies as each instrument was reporting normal operation. Approximately five minutes later, he heard a sound that resembled a gun shot, and the propeller stop rotating. The instructor took control of the Cessna 150J and announced “my controls” while the pilot searched for a suitable place to land and attempted to restart the engine. He was unsuccessful. Although they were surrounded by fields, their options for suitable landing sites were limited due to trees or other obstacles. They were able to glide the airplane to the end of an almond tree field where the airplane hit trees before coming to rest in the field. Photographs of the airplane taken by local law enforcement showed substantial damage to the wings and empennage. A post-accident examination of the engine revealed that the top of the engine case was fractured with a hole that extended about seven inches in diameter. Additionally, the lower case had fractured around the circumference of the No. 4 cylinder. Continuity of the throttle and mixture controls was confirmed from the cockpit to their respective arms at the carburetor. The No. 3 cylinder connecting rod was fractured at the connecting rod shank and was mechanically damaged. The No. 4 cylinder barrel rim was bent outboard towards the crankcase. A borescope inspection of No. 3 cylinder revealed that the connecting rod bushing end was still attached to the piston pin, but the piston ring seal was fractured, and part of a piston ring was exposed. No evidence of oil starvation or thermal damage was observed. Metallurgical analysis of the No. 3 cylinder connecting rod revealed that the fractured face exhibited crack arrest marks consistent with fatigue cracking. The fatigue crack emanated from the outer surface at one corner of the arm. A portion of the fatigue crack also displayed mechanical damage that destroyed some of the fatigue crack features. However, the origin of the fatigue crack did not exhibit any indications of mechanical damage such as a gouge. The No. 3 cylinder piston contained evidence of heavy combustion deposits at the outer crown. Similar deposits were also observed near the spark plug ports and the intake and exhaust valves. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the carburetor input fuel line contained a smell that resembled automotive gasoline. The owner stated that he had only used 100 low lead aviation grade gasoline (100LL) in the 60 total flight hours he had accumulated in the airplane since he purchased it. Fuel receipts showed that the pilot purchased 12.3 gallons of 100LL the day before the accident and 17 gallons of 100LL on the day of the accident. According to the owner, the previous owner had implied that he only ever used 100LL during their correspondence. The fuel from the accident site was not tested. The pilot stated that he regularly used carburetor heat due to a “serious issue with carb ice” as he had that day when he reached cruise altitude. He would have adjusted the carburetor heat until the carburetor heat temperature gauge reached a certain temperature and then leaned the mixture out to achieve best rpm before enrichening the mixture about three full turns. The previous owner who flew the airplane from the engine’s most recent overhaul had passed away and was not available for a statement. According to the FAA Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25B), detonation is defined as “an uncontrolled, explosive ignition of the fuel-air mixture within the cylinder’s combustion chamber. It causes excessive temperatures and pressures which, if not corrected, can quickly lead to failure of the piston, cylinder, or valves.” The section also provides several causes of detonation, including the use of a lower grade fuel than specified by the manufacturer and operating the engine at high power settings with an excessively lean mixture. According to the PHAK, preignition occurs when “the fuel-air mixture ignites prior to the engine’s normal ignition event. Premature burning is usually caused by a residual hot spot in the combustion chamber, often created by a small carbon deposit on a spark plug, a cracked spark plug insulator, or other damage in the cylinder that causes a part of heat sufficiently to ignite the fuel-air charge. Preignition causes the engine to lose power and produces high operating temperatures. As with detonation, preignition may also cause severe engine damage because the expanding gases exert excessive pressure on the piston while still on its compression stroke.” It should also be noted that detonation and preignition can occur simultaneously and/or one may be caused by the other. Probable Cause: A total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to a fatigue crack in the No. 3 cylinder connecting rod shaft resulting from either preignition or detonation, which resulted in a forced landing and impact with terrain. NTSB Identification: 102703 To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device. Fatigue crack results in total loss of engine power How the war in Ukraine is driving growth in ArkansasBy Jen Judson Tuesday, Mar 21 A Lockheed Martin technician works on the HIMARS production line in Camden, Ark. (Jen Judson/Staff) CAMDEN, Ark. — In downtown Camden, in south-central Arkansas, a large number of storefronts sit dark and empty, offering little insight into what once thrived there. On one block, only a florist and an artisanal soap shop were open on a recent Monday. “This building is not empty, it’s full of opportunity,” a sign on another block’s storefront read. But 10 minutes away, the Highland Industrial Park was bustling and its parking lot full as some of the nation’s largest defense contractors — Lockheed Martin, Aerojet Rocketdyne and General Dynamics — manufactured solid-rocket motors, missiles, launchers and other weapons systems that proved critical to the U.S. military and are now front and center in Ukraine. Camden has long depended on the defense industry. For example, since 1980 Lockheed Martin has locally built its M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System — a tracked rocket launcher that can carry a dozen rockets or missiles. A mural featuring the system covers the entire back of a building in downtown. Now the Lockheed facility is manufacturing the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System as quickly as it can. The HIMARS — which carriers fewer rockets and missiles than its predecessor, the M270, but is more nimble — is attracting worldwide attention for helping Ukraine fend off Russian invaders. And it has put Camden’s bustling defense industry in the spotlight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the launcher made a “huge difference” in liberating critical areas of the country under Russian occupation. Late last year he presented a medal from a HIMARS officer to U.S. President Joe Biden. The Arkansas Chamber of Commerce has named HIMARS “the coolest thing made in Arkansas,” beating out more widely known products like Cheetos. And Lockheed in recent months won nearly half a billion dollars in new contracts to build HIMARS and guided rockets for Ukraine. That’s a sizable number, considering Arkansas exported $1 billion of defense and aerospace goods in 2020. Local officials are hopeful expansion at Lockheed and dozens of other defense contractors in Camden’s Highland Industrial Park, driven by the demand for weapons for Ukraine, will lead to growth in their region. The state’s Chamber of Commerce anticipates Ouachita County, home to Camden, will see an influx of new employees — up to 1,000 total — at defense firms. In the meantime, state, local and industry officials are weighing how to best recruit and retain these employees. An empty storefront in downtown Camden, Ark. (Jen Judson/Staff) Hot, cold, and hot again The M270 has a long legacy in Camden. Building off that, Lockheed in the 1990s developed HIMARS as a lighter, more mobile rocket launcher. The U.S. military first fielded the new system in 2010, but didn’t stay in production long. The Army and Marine Corps wrapped up their orders in 2013, and the production line in Camden went cold in 2014. But it wasn’t long before Lockheed needed it again. In 2015, the U.S. State Department approved the United Arab Emirates to buy 12 systems along with accompanying missiles in a $900 million deal. By 2017, HIMARS production was underway again. Still, it was more complicated than simply restarting the production line, according to Becky Withrow, director of business development for the company’s tactical missiles portfolio, based in Grand Prairie, Texas. The previous HIMARS launchers were built using a U.S. government-provided chassis; this time, Lockheed had to build the system from the ground up. Lockheed expected to manufacture the launchers for the UAE and then stop the line, she said. But in 2018, the U.S. Army named long-range precision fires one of its six modernization priorities, and the service chose the HIMARS launcher to support a new long-range missile in development, the Precision Strike Missile, with a range beyond 310 miles. The Army in 2019 awarded Lockheed a contract, valued at roughly half a billion dollars, to build more launchers. To accommodate the UAE and the new orders for the U.S. Army, which now plans to buy 545 total launchers for about $3 billion, Lockheed took over a former diaper factory close to other buildings it owns within the Highland Industrial Park. The contractor originally planned to build four launchers a month, but is now able to produce six in that time. Ramping up HIMARS first arrived in Ukraine in summer 2022. The U.S. has committed 38 HIMARS to the country as part of more than $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, according to the Pentagon, and 20 have already arrived. Lockheed anticipates it will begin delivering the remaining 18 launchers in two-and-a-half years, according to Jay Price, vice president of precision fires for Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business. In Ukraine, “we see HIMARS as a game changer,” U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said in January. “If you look at our portfolio ... and we take a look at the [Precision Strike] Missile, which is going to ride on HIMARS, I would argue those are going to be very effective in future conflict.” In August 2022, Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, reported Ukrainian forces had used HIMARS weapons to kill more than 100 Russian soldiers in an August attack. He said Russian air defense units were not able to counter those rocket attacks. However, Defense News was unable to independently verify this. By November, Ukraine had used HIMARS to weaken Russian-controlled terrain and capabilities. Zelenskyy said HIMARS was critical in liberating Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine as well as Kherson, a port city in the south that Russia occupied for eight months. The foreign operators of the system now include Romania, Jordan and Singapore. Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and the Netherlands are signed up to become owners in the coming years. In Ukraine, the HIMARS weapon has become a symbol of strength; Zelenskyy, while visiting Biden in December, gave him a cross for military merit awarded to and offered by a captain of a HIMARS rocket unit. In February, when Biden visited Kyiv, Zelenskyy asked for longer-range munitions like the Army Tactical Missile System, which HIMARS can launch. Lockheed Martin’s ATACMS assembly line is open, but the U.S. has not publicly announced any intention to send the weapon to Ukraine. Lockheed Martin is now preparing to produce eight HIMARS a month in Camden by the third quarter of 2025, Price said. A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is fired during the African Lion military exercise in in Morocco on June 9, 2021. (Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP) The contractor won a $431 million U.S. Army contract in December to produce HIMARS launchers with the aim of rapidly replenishing the stocks of the U.S. and its allies and partners who sent arms to Ukraine. That came after a November deal from the Army worth $14.4 million to increase production capacity for the HIMARS line. And the company received a $521 million deal in November 2022 to replenish Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System stocks, also supplied to Ukraine. GMLRS weapons are produced in one of the original World War II-era ammunition depot buildings on the Highland property. Lockheed, which has about 1,000 employees in Camden, plans to hire about 200 new workers over the next several years to increase HIMARS production and that of other weapons sent to Ukraine like the GMLRS, according to Aaron Huckaby, the director of Lockheed’s Missiles and Fire Control business operations in Camden. Despite plans to bolster its workforce, Lockheed won’t need to add space to its 2.2 million-square-foot facility. The plant operates with one HIMARS shift from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, Huckaby told Defense News, and will add a split shift, meaning another 10-hour shift with some overlap. Lockheed will hire technicians, assemblers and inspectors, as well as manufacturing, chemical and mechanical engineers, Huckaby said. The contractor has a partnership with Southern Arkansas University and recruits students from the tech school, located across the street from Lockheed’s facility, for an apprenticeship program. Lockheed is also eyeing graduates of Louisiana Tech University and forging a new relationship with the University of Arkansas. The manufacturing supervisor of Lockheed Martin's HIMARS work, Nick Spurlin, came to work three years ago as an assembler at the facility. A graduate of Southern Arkansas University, he followed in the footsteps of his father, who had spent 30 years at the company, partly working on the system. Spurlin said the production line now has roughly 50 workers building the weapon from the ground up. (Jen Judson/Staff) Expansion in Arkansas While Lockheed plans to grow by several hundred employees, defense contractors statewide are expected to add about 1,000 workers over the next several years. “The challenge right now is workforce issues,” Randy Zook, the president of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce, told Defense News. “We’re trying to help with that.” Camden is in a remote area “purposefully because of the nature of what goes on there,” Zook said, so the surrounding region must prepare for the new employees of local defense companies. Aerojet Rocketdyne, which has been in Camden since 1979 and builds more than 75,000 solid-rocket motors a year for weapons like the Javelin, Stinger and Patriot missile, will grow its energetics capabilities in the town. The contractor recently announced the planned construction of a 51,000-square-foot facility in the industrial park. Its Camden workforce now totals more than 1,000 employees, according to Aerojet. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems’ Camden operations include an explosive load, assemble and pack facility working on Defense Department programs like the Hydra 70 2.75-inch rocket, Hellfire and Javelin warheads, and the modular artillery system supporting 155mm artillery. The company has 320 employees at the location, but is expanding to accommodate a new product line for explosive load, assemble and pack for M795 projectiles. GD plans to repurpose existing facilities and build an additional 15,000 square feet of space as well as hire 60-90 more workers. A resident in downtown Camden, Ark., commissioned artist Kiptoe to paint this mural on the side of his apartment building to promote the growing vibrancy of the small city. Prominently featured in the work are M270 launchers, which Lockheed Martin has made at its Camden facility since 1980. (Jen Judson/Staff) The flow of new defense workers isn’t entirely unprecedented. James Lee Silliman, Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development’s executive director, told Defense News that when the Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot opened up in 1944, it brought 25,000 workers to Camden. Workers were sleeping on the streets and renting out beds in local homes for eight hours at a time. And the defense industry has helped stabilize the local economy after a paper mill — International Paper Co. — closed down two decades ago and most of its 600 employees left the area, according to Silliman. Over the last five years, many of the area defense contractors have grown; Lockheed, for instance, doubled its size over this period. The influx has brought new housing as well as a handful of new businesses catering to a younger crowd, including a microbrewery, Silliman said. To handle the anticipated boom of new workers and their families, the city is in discussions with several housing developers about building more single-family and multifamily homes, he said. Silliman added that he’s hopeful Camden will reap the benefits. “Retail jobs follow manufacturing jobs, so the more manufacturing jobs that you have in a community, retail will soon follow.” How the war in Ukraine is driving growth in Arkansas Boeing 737 Max AD Sheds Light on Factory Errors by Gregory Polek - March 24, 2023, 11:16 AM Note: See photos in the original article. Improper torquing of fasteners in engine anti-ice exhaust ducts at Boeing's 737 assembly line in Renton has led to an FAA airworthiness directive. (Photo: Gregory Polek) An FAA airworthiness directive (AD) scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Monday highlights improper torquing of engine anti-ice (EAI) exhaust ducts in Boeing 737 Max jets by factory mechanics. The AD calls for some 737 Max operators to inspect EAIs to determine whether all fasteners remain in place and to check their gap spacing. The directive affects 330 U.S.-registered airplanes. The order stems from a finding during a preflight inspection of a bolt protruding through a drain hole at the bottom of the engine inlet near the EAI exhaust vent. Boeing determined that factory personnel installed some of the fasteners for EAI exhaust ducts with inadequate torque due to the use of a prohibited yoke-style torque wrench adapter at a significant angle. When used at a sufficiently large angle due to the restricted access in the area of the EAI exhaust duct, the adapter will cause what the FAA calls a significant under-torque of the installed fasteners. Inadequately torqued fasteners can loosen over time due to engine vibration, eventually causing the fastener to drop into the inlet inner barrel. The EAI system injects high-temperature bleed air from the engine into the interior of the inlet lip to prevent the formation of icing on the exterior of the inlet lip. The EAI exhaust air then exits the rear of the inlet lip through the EAI exhaust duct, which passes through the inlet inner barrel prior to exhausting air overboard. The composite construction of the inlet inner barrel structure is susceptible to heat damage at the temperatures of the EAI exhaust air should a leak occur. Loose or missing fasteners for the EAI exhaust duct could allow EAI exhaust air to escape from the EAI exhaust duct via two scenarios, according to the AD. In the first scenario, the loose or missing fasteners allow the EAI exhaust duct to vibrate excessively, which, when combined with the redistribution of structural loads onto the other fasteners, might lead to fatigue cracking of the EAI exhaust duct. Such fatigue cracking would ultimately progress to a rupture of the EAI exhaust duct. In the second scenario, the loose or missing fasteners could allow EAI exhaust air to escape from a limited location. The escaping air could impinge directly on the inner barrel structure, depending on which specific fasteners are loose or missing. In both scenarios, EAI exhaust air enters the inlet inner barrel causing heat damage, which will compromise the structural integrity of the inlet, eventually leading to inlet failure and separation under normal flight loads, said the order. Failure and separation of the inlet will lead to failure of the corresponding engine due to airflow disruption and ingestion of debris, and likely to failure and separation of the associated fan cowl, the AD added. Damage to the engine and engine nacelle could result in a loss of engine thrust, increased nacelle drag, and disruption of airflow over the wing, which might excessively reduce the controllability and climb performance of the airplane; damage from debris departing the engine and nacelle, which could affect the fuselage and empennage, could result in personal injury to passengers and loss of control of the airplane, said the FAA. A Boeing Service Letter dated March 3, 2023, specifies procedures for an inspection to determine the serial number of each engine inlet, and if the inspection uncovers any affected engine inlet. Corrective actions include re-torque of fasteners, repairing or replacing EAI exhaust ducts, repairing thermal exposure, and replacing the engine inlet. Although Boeing specifies that the actions apply to all airplanes in service, further inspections found that airplanes produced after a certain production line number didn’t show improperly torqued EAI exhaust duct fasteners. Therefore, the order only applies to airplanes with an original airworthiness certificate or original export certificate of airworthiness issued on or before the effective date of the AD. In a statement to AIN, Boeing said it updated work instructions and implemented additional quality checks to ensure proper installation of an engine inlet exhaust duct after the discovery of what it characterized as "a small number" of improperly tightened fasteners. "We are working with our customers to verify fasteners for this exhaust duct installation remain appropriately tightened on the in-service fleet," it said. "This is not an immediate safety of flight issue; however, Boeing is working with operators to quickly conduct these inspections." Boeing 737 Max AD Sheds Light on Factory Errors New GE Apprenticeship Program Seeks to Shape the Next Generation of Powerplant Technicians Mar 23 2023 | by Gillian Wanoksy Note: See photos in the original article. When GE posted the application for the Powerplant Technician Apprentice Program, Krystal Widner knew this was meant for her. “GE was a company that had my interest when I heard they were building a facility here. Unfortunately, I knew I was not qualified for a position due to the lack of having a powerplant license or experience,” Widner said. “I was ready to find the next challenge in life, and the program opened up to give someone like me, with no license, the opportunity to experience and learn something of value and get my foot in the door.” As one of the first to take on this apprenticeship, Widner said that the program has been an incredible learning experience that has enhanced her knowledge of jet engines, shown her how to work effectively on teams, and pushed her to her fullest potential. “One of the biggest things I have learned would be how far I can push my knowledge in the program. GE is a company that encourages their employees to continually grow and take ownership of projects, and it values opinions. I look forward to the future with GE and – in completion of the program – to obtaining a license that I would be able to carry to other facilities as well.” Krystal Widner working on an engine. The pandemic and shifting work environments have changed how people prioritize their work needs, with 70% of employees saying they care more about flexibility, compensation, wellbeing support, and professional opportunities than they did three years ago. GE Aerospace hopes to provide potential employees with these qualities and more through a new, skill-based apprenticeship. In 2018, GE Aerospace launched the new facility in Lafayette, Indiana, aiming to narrow the “skills gap” that many young Americans encounter when looking for manufacturing jobs. Now, the company’s multi-year apprenticeship equips candidates with skills for success across the manufacturing and technician fields. As the first program of its kind, the Lafayette Powerplant Technician Apprenticeship Program gives participants a hands-on aviation experience in a state-of-the-art work facility. Apprentices learn alongside skilled technicians and engine maintenance, repair and overhaul professionals while working through multiple job scopes, software and computer programs. One of the most prominent job functions includes working on teams that support new jet engine assembly for the LEAP and Passport engines, as well as overhaul for the LEAP engine. Apprentices also get a firsthand look at how the company works to achieve better fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions – with the goal of being a net-zero company by 2050. Apprentices may continue their career with GE Aerospace after the program, but this is contingent on completing the FAA Repairman Certification and the FAA Powerplant Certification. As a world leader in the aviation industry, GE Aerospace thoroughly prepares apprentices as this immersive training program is designed to cover both certifications. Krystal Widner at the GE Aerospace Lafayette site. “I feel the program has helped, and will continue to help me grow in my knowledge of commercial jet engines, develop an understanding of the customer relationships, vendor relations, as well as interpersonal skills. Knowing that your voice can be heard in a team environment, and how everyone’s opinion is always weighed out is a growth opportunity in itself,” Widner said. Under GE’s team-based structure, apprentices work on multiple self-directed teams that strive to reach unified safety, quality, delivery and cost goals. Operating under the concepts of LEAN, the company commits itself to create a workplace with diverse backgrounds and perspectives that leave all employees feeling respected and supported. To learn more about the Powerplant Technician Apprentice Program, as well as other open roles at the GE Aerospace facility in Lafayette, visit invent.ge/lafayette All apprentices must have a minimum of three years of experience in manufacturing or mechanical experience, which includes vocational classes. Apprentices also must have either a high school diploma or GED. GE Aerospace is thrilled to welcome the next generation of aviation professionals that will continue the company’s innovative aviation technology. By training candidates with optimal skills, more and more people like Krystal can see their career take flight! New GE Apprenticeship Program Seeks to Shape the Next Generation of Powerplant Technicians Daily Memo: The New State Of Attracting Aerospace Manufacturing Michael Bruno March 10, 2023 Credit: Malcolm Park / Alamy Stock Photo This month, Archer Aviation closed a deal with Georgia state officials for local government incentives and started construction on a manufacturing plant that could produce hundreds of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. Last month, rival Joby Aviation said it was “actively evaluating proposals from a number of U.S. states” for that California company’s Phase 1 plant. What do these announcements have in common? The answer: they represent tangible examples of ongoing domestic aerospace manufacturing opportunities and show that U.S. states and localities have much more to compete over, even if large defense primes and commercial OEMs are announcing few new major programs. The catch: like in the business world, leaders and incumbents have many advantages, and the difference between the best and the rest is only hardening as the size and type of new opportunities changes. States and localities no longer can rely on simply wooing a brand-name company that swoops in to create a whole industrial ecosystem, and in turn builds up a sleepy locality. Gone are the days where Airbus puts Mobile, Alabama, on the map for narrowbody final assembly lines, or Boeing boosts North Charleston, South Carolina, into the top echelon of widebody manufacturing. Instead, states and communities must attract small and innovative companies pursuing new defense technology or sustainability-related projects. The new game in local economic development, at least when it comes to aerospace and defense, is landing and supporting new-age efforts such as eVTOLs, supersonic, hypersonics, commercial space startups, sustainable aviation fuels, UAS and counter-drone, and so on. What remains constant is the need for winning localities to create the building blocks themselves, e.g., creating local infrastructure, establishing business tax incentives, embedding workforce development programs, etc. Not surprisingly, those that have been doing well already continue to lead the pack in the latest assessment of domestic best-places to do aerospace business. According to PwC’s just-released aerospace manufacturing attractiveness rankings as of 2022, the latest top states essentially are the same as in 2021 and 2020, with just two exceptions. Virginia rose to ninth from 11th in 2020, while last year’s 10th-place Kansas dropped to 21st. PwC said the sunflower state’s plunge was due to its infrastructure metric (down from second to 25th place). However, the launch in mid-2022 of the Kansas Infrastructure Hub could soon restore the state’s strength on this score. “This year’s state rankings emphasize the impressive resilience of U.S. civil aviation manufacturing, despite the demand and supply-chain shocks of the COVID-19 era and the uncertainties of the current inflationary period,” PwC said. “The need for workforce development—growth, diversification, education and retraining—and the efforts underway to address that need also emerge strongly as themes in many states.” The consultancy advised that states with well-developed supply networks to the U.S. military, especially those that have invested in research and development capabilities in recent years, could expect strong growth in and beyond 2023. Meanwhile, competition among top states to attract space sector investment and green aviation startups reveals a growing emphasis on public-private collaborations and the development of new technologies that cross the boundaries among the civil, defense and space areas. While innovation in past decades was often likely to cascade down into civil aviation from NASA and the military, today the reverse is just as likely. In the midterm, sustainability, new defense technology and commercial space might not be the massive economic engines many localities are hoping for when it comes to moving the proverbial needle of economic development. But with commercial and defense end-markets simultaneously beginning what could be historic up-cycles, industry as a whole could be on the cusp of its greatest buildup ever. Anyone looking to get on board the Great Ramp-Up should look to anchor whatever opportunities they can, and that means setting up their own conditions first. Daily Memo: The New State Of Attracting Aerospace Manufacturing NASA Awards $50 Million For Aviation Composite Tech Development By Kate O'Connor Published: March 16, 2023 Updated: March 17, 2023 Image: Boeing/NASA NASA has awarded a total of $50 million to 14 organizations for the development of manufacturing processes and advanced composite materials for aircraft structures. Part of the agency’s Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project, funded work will look to “reduce the cost and increase the production rate of composite structures made in the U.S.” It will cover experiments in material processing, assembly techniques, inspection and structural performance over HiCAM’s three established manufacturing concepts, which include next-generation thermosets, resin-infused composites and thermoplastic composites. “With more lightweight, composite airframes in service, airlines will save fuel and reduce emissions, making commercial aviation more sustainable,” NASA said. “Sustainability, cost, and aircraft production rate drive U.S. competitiveness in the commercial aircraft industry.” Among the organizations receiving funding are Boeing, Collins Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Spirit AeroSystems, the University of South Carolina and Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research. NASA noted that HiCAM will select the most promising concepts for further development. Full-scale demonstrations of fuselage or wing components are expected by 2028. NASA Awards $50 Million For Aviation Composite Tech Development Repair Parts Running Out For GNS 430/530 By Russ Niles - Published: March 15, 2023 Updated: March 16, 2023 Garmin says those who still rely on its early generation navigation products should start planning a panel upgrade. The company says “multiple component availability limitations” mean the parts needed to fix the devices that heralded a revolution in aviation navigation and in-flight information are fading away. “First introduced in 1998, Garmin has offered repair service for the GNS 430/530 series for 25 years,” the company said in a brief service advisory issued March 14. “Garmin plans to continue offering repair service when the components required for a specific repair remain available. Database updates and technical support will also remain available.” But the company said that starting in 2024, it will no longer be able to fix some issues with the early devices, which include “all WAAS and Non-WAAS GNC® 420, GNS 430, GNS 530, GPS 400, and GPS 500.” The company said now is the time to think about an upgrade. “We encourage GNS 430(W)/530(W) series owners to begin considering their transition strategy to newer generation products,” the advisory said. Repair Parts Running Out For GNS 430/530 de Havilland Dragon Rapide Takes Flight in New Zealand February 23, 2023 James Kightly (Commissioning Editor) Aircraft Restoration, Vintage Aviation 1 Dragon Rapide ZK-AKU on approach to landing from her second post-restoration flight at Ardmore, New Zealand on February 23rd, 2023. (photo by Nigel Hitchman) Note: Many excellent photos in the original article. by Nigel Hitchman & James Kightly The team from Avspecs Ltd. has just flown de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide ZK-AKU following a multi-year rebuild effort at Ardmore Airport in Auckland, New Zealand. Ryan Southam took the vintage aircraft up for its first post-restoration flight on February 23rd, 2023. Southam is no stranger to the type, having already accumulated many hours in New Zealand’s other airworthy Dragon Rapide (ZK-AKY) and a rare DH.90 Dragonfly. Dragon Rapide ZK-AKU just after takeoff on her first post-restoration flight at Ardmore, New Zealand. (photo by Nigel Hitchman) Like most Dragon Rapides, this aircraft rolled off de Havilland’s production line during WWII as a DH.89B Dominie, the type’s military variant. Built to a Royal Air Force contract as HG663, the Royal New Zealand Air Force took her on strength as NZ528 in November, 1943; she served in communications and navigation training roles. Demobbed in 1946, the aircraft underwent conversion into a Dragon Rapide for civilian service with the New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NAC), registered as ZK-AKU. NAC nicknamed the aircraft Tawaka and flew it on short-haul passenger routes until 1962. A sister-ship to the subject aircraft of this article, ZK-AKT appears in the NAC livery similar to that which Dragon Rapide ZK-AKU wore at the time this image was captured in September, 1954. This other Deagon Rapide joined New Zealand National Airways Corporation in August 1946 and was named “Tareke”. It survived until 1967, when it was written off while with another operator. (image via Wikimedia) Dragon Rapide ZK-AKU, as seen at Tauranga on April 1st, 2008, wearing its previous RNZAF livery as NZ528. (photo by Phillip Capper via Wikimedia) Passing through several subsequent owners, the Dragon Rapide retained its New Zealand registration and even took part in the 1969 London-to-Sydney Air Race – retracing the route of the epic 1919 competition which had seen Vickers Vimy G-EAOU cross the finish line first. Under ownership of the NZ Historic Aircraft Trust, the aircraft returned to its RNZAF colors, but remained on the civil register. Arriving at Ardmore in these colors during September, 2020, ‘AKU’ has undergone a full refurbishment with the world-renowned experts at Avspecs Ltd., who finished the airframe in a livery reminiscent of its first civil colors. The test-flying has been quickly completed and the aircraft has received its formal airworthiness sign-off, AvSpecs will pack the DH.89 into a shipping container for the long sea voyage to the USA where it will take up residence with owner Charles Somers’ collection at McClellan airport in Sacramento, California. The Dragon Rapide looks magnificent under partly cloudy skies on the ramp outside Avspecs Ltd’s workshop in Ardmore, New Zealand. (photo by Nigel Hitchman) Tucked up in Avspecs Ltd’s hangar following its first flight, Dragon Rapide ZK-AKU undergoes some post-first-flight inspection. Note the window sticker of the late Queen Elizabeth II in the forward passenger cabin window. Furthermore (for the eagle-eyed among you) there is another of de Havilland’s finest, though more muscular, designs under restoration lurking in the background. (photo by Nigel Hitchman) The cockpit bulkhead features a map depicting the route which this Dragon Rapide flew during the 1969 London-to-Sidney Air Race. (photo by Nigel Hitchman) de Havilland Dragon Rapide Takes Flight in New Zealand Curt Lewis