Robinson Helicopter hits milestone, makes 10,000th chopper

Robinson Helicopter Co., the nation's leading maker of commercial helicopters, hit a major milestone when its 10,000th chopper came off the production line.

To mark the occasion, the company held a celebration at its factory, which now hugs almost half a mile of runway at the east end of Torrance Municipal Airport. The event took place last week with employees, city officials and representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Also in attendance was Frank Robinson, the company’s 81-year-old founder, who spoke briefly about starting the company in 1973. He retired in August 2010 and turned over the chief executive role to his son, Kurt.

Kurt Robinson predicts the company’s total aircraft production for 2011 will more than double last year’s production of 162 choppers.

At Robinson Helicopter's complex in Torrance, hundreds of workers churn out 10 helicopters a week -- from start to finish. The company manufactures more civilian helicopters than any other helicopter manufacturer in the world, making the two-seat R-22, four-seat R-44, and the new five-seat R-66.

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Photo: Kurt Robinson, Robinson Helicopter Co.'s chief executive, makes a toast at the firm's Torrance complex. Credit: Robinson Helicopter

Century City's Air Lease posts third-quarter profit

Air Lease Corp., the aircraft leasing company started last year by Los Angeles billionaire Steven Udvar-Hazy, reported a profit for the third quarter, citing strong demand for its aircraft amid airline expansion in many regions of the world.

The Century City company reported late Thursday that net income for the three-month period ended Sept. 30 came to $18.3 million, or 18 cents a share. Analysts had expected a profit of 15 cents a share. Revenue totaled $92.1 million.

Air Lease bought 14 planes during the quarter and now has a fleet of 79 aircraft. The company plans to expand to about 100 planes by the end of the year.

“Passenger airline growth in many regions of the world continues at a strong rate, coupled with the requirement on the part of all carriers to constantly push toward newer and more efficient fleets,” Udvar-Hazy, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement. “As such, global demand for new aircraft remains strong, and our lease placements and portfolio returns are in line with our expectations.”

Air Lease is growing its business by focusing on emerging markets such as Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, where fast economic growth is driving an increase in air traffic.

During the quarter, Air Lease signed deals with airlines that included South Korea’s Asiana Airlines Inc., Colombia’s Aerovías del Continente Americano and Brazil’s Gol Transportes Aéreos.

Udvar-Hazy, a Hungarian emigre, made a name for himself pioneering the business of buying planes and leasing them to airlines when he co-founded International Lease Finance Corp. nearly four decades ago.

After a rift with ILFC, Udvar-Hazy left to start Air Lease last year. He took the company public in April.

Air Lease shares rose 49 cents, or 2%, to $23.16 on Friday.

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Photo: Air Lease Corp. CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy. Credit: Lai Seng Sin / Associated Press

Boeing defense chief preparing for 'worst-case budget scenario'

The chief executive of Boeing Co.’s defense, space and security sector spoke to investors at a defense forum in New York about how the company was positioning itself in the coming years with constrained federal budgets.

At the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Defense Outlook Forum on Thursday, Dennis Muilenburg described bracing for what he expects to be a “tough defense environment.”

"We do a lot of scenario planning about how it might impact individual programs, which would get into individual facilities and infrastructure," he said. "But we are preparing ourselves and had been preparing ourselves for that worst-case budget scenario."

Boeing has extensive defense, space and security facilities across the Southland including in El Segundo, Anaheim, Long Beach and Huntington Beach. In all, the company employs 21,347 people in the state.

“We are anticipating already seeing at least $500-billion reduction in the U.S. defense budget over the next 10 years that could be as high as $1 trillion dollars,” he said.

The Chicago company, which also makes commercial jets, has already begun to slash defense jobs in preparation of a shrinking Pentagon budget.

Earlier this year it relocated two key defense programs and 800 jobs from Long Beach. The company also cut 900 jobs at its nearby sprawling complex where it makes C-17 cargo planes, citing declining orders.

“Certainly, it’s a challenging defense environment and we’ve been very realistic about it, we’ve anticipated it, we’ve expected it,” Muilenburg said. “Clearly we’re in a down dense cycle budget-wise in the U.S., while we see some opportunities on the international front.”

Boeing has had success selling its products overseas, which has benefited the Southland.

Muilenburg also said the satellite business, based in El Segundo, is a potential growth area.

“We see strength in the satellite business, especially when we look across the commercial sector and the demand for communications bandwidth,” he said.

Boeing shares rose 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $64.83 on Thursday.

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Photo: Royal Australian Air Force Squadron 36 air crew waits for the delivery of their new Boeing C-17 Globemaster lll aircraft in September at the company's Long Beach plant. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Biofuels, wind power show gains, but hurdles remain

Biofuels and wind power are having the biggest new impact in American power generation, according to a report released today by the U.S. Energy Department. Consumption of biofuels has risen 16-fold since 2000 and wind power use has seen an eight-fold increase during the same period.

Among renewable energy sources, only solar power is rising faster, the Energy Department said. But solar and photo-voltaic power are still the smallest contributors to the nation's energy needs, accounting for just 1% of the renewable total.

Hydroelectric power remains the biggest resource, at 31% of all renewable energy produced in the U.S., but it is not a growing resource. Wood is next, at 25%, followed by biofuels (23%), wind (11%), waste (6%), and geothermal (3%). Altogether, renewables account for 8% of U.S. energy production.

The Energy Department said that improved technology was part of the reason for the growth in electricity generation from wind power, which rose from about 6 billion kilowatt-hours in 2000 to about 95 billion kilowatt-hours in 2010. But the Energy Department also cited the importance of financial incentives in the form of federal production tax credits and grants.

The American Wind Energy Assn. is lobbying Congress to extend the tax measures amid partisan political wrangling over the issue, fearing the industry's ability to thrive without them.

Biofuels have made a huge splash recently. Earlier this month, Continental Airlines Flight 1403 made history when it landed at Chicago's O'Hare airport as the nation's first biofuel-powered revenue generating passenger flight. Alaska Airlines this week launched a round of 75 flights it said would be powered by biofuels.

But the biggest hurdle for renewables is cost. For 11 days of biofuel-powered flights, Alaska Airlines purchased 28,000 gallons of biofuel for a whopping $476,000. That works out to about $17 a gallon or about six times more than what it would have paid for regular jet fuel.

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Photo: Turbines line the hillside at First Wind's power project in Sheffield, Vt., which is ready to generate power after an eight-year planning and building process. Photo credit: Toby Talbot/AP

Newly delivered Boeing 787 Dreamliner's landing gear malfunctions

The world’s first Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner is being checked out for an issue with its landing gear less than two weeks after the new aircraft embarked on its maiden passenger flight for carrier All Nippon Airways.

The airline’s pilots had to manually deploy the Dreamliner’s landing gear after the automated system did not engage, the company said. The incident occurred on a Sunday morning flight when the plane was approaching Okayama Airport in western Japan from Haneda Airport in Tokyo.

Nao Gunji, an All Nippon spokeswoman, said the problem has been linked to a hydraulic valve. The airline is working with Chicago-based Boeing to address the issue.

The Dreamliner is an all-new commercial jetliner that Boeing says is the most advanced, fuel-stingy passenger jet ever made. It features a suite of new technologies, such as the largest windows on a commercial jetliner and an extensive use of strong, lightweight carbon composites rather than sheets of aluminum.

When the aircraft was first delivered to All Nippon on Sept. 26 it was more than three years late because of design problems and supplier issues. It took off on its first passenger flight a month later, on Oct. 26, from Narita, Japan, to Hong Kong on a four-hour charter trip.

The Dreamliner, which will seat 210 to 290 passengers, is the first new class of aircraft launched by Boeing since the 777 in 1995.

There are more than 800 orders for the Dreamliner from airlines and aircraft leasing firms around the world.

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Photo: All Nippon Airways' Boeing 787 Dreamliner comes in for a landing at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Sept. 28. Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP/Getty Images

Buzz Aldrin's lawsuit against trading-card company tossed

Buzz Aldrin may have stepped foot on the moon, but he wasn’t able to walk over trading-card company Topps Inc. in court.

Aldrin accused Topps in a lawsuit filed last year of improperly using his image in a series of historic trading cards.

U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson ruled that Topps’ use of photographs from the Apollo 11 mission was protected as “free speech of an issue of public interest.” He dismissed the lawsuit Sept. 27.

Aldrin has appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

At the center of the disagreement is a series of trading cards Topps issued in 2009 called, Topps American Heritage. The set of cards includes hundreds of images of well-known American politicians, actors, athletes and events, including a photograph of Aldrin during the historic mission.

Aldrin argued that Topps’ use of his image was “unprotected commercial speech,” for which he was entitled toc compensation.

"We believe that the federal trial court's ruling could effectively end California's well-established and statutory right of publicity law as it affects the use of celebrity images on trinkets such as plates, pencils, trading cards and the like," Aldrin's attorney, Robert C. O'Brien, said. "Accordingly, Dr. Aldrin has appealed the ruling to the 9th Circuit. He is hopeful for a positive result from the appeals court."

Topps was represented by the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, which also represents The Times.

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Photo: The cover of Buzz Aldrin's book, "Reaching for the Moon." Credit: HarperCollins Children's Books

Boeing to establish center in Florida for new spaceship program

Aerospace giant Boeing Co. announced plans to establish a headquarters for its new spaceship program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The Chicago company is in the process of developing a seven-person spaceship, dubbed the Crew Space Transportation-100, for the job of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station now that the space shuttle program is over.

Boeing will consolidate the program’s engineering and manufacturing operations, which are now spread across the country in space-centric cities like Huntington Beach, Houston and Huntsville, Ala. Boeing’s decision is expected to bring back high-paying aerospace jobs to the nation’s “space coast,” near Cape Canaveral, which lost thousands of jobs when the shuttle program was retired this year.

"We selected Florida due to the cost benefits achieved with a consolidated operation, the skilled local workforce and proximity to our NASA customer,” John Mulholland, Boeing’s program manager of commercial programs, said in a statement.

Boeing estimated that the workforce at Kennedy Space Center will ramp up to 550 local jobs by December 2015. Although that's a relatively small number compared with the tens of thousands employed during the shuttle program, the announcement was heralded by state officials.

"We are extremely pleased that Boeing will locate its commercial crew headquarters here in Florida," said Frank DiBello, president of Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development agency. "This positions our state well for future growth and a leadership role in NASA's next-generation human space exploration initiatives. It is also a key factor in ensuring Florida's space-related economy continues to thrive after shuttle retirement."

In the coming years, NASA plans to rely on private businesses for low–orbit space missions such as carrying cargo to the space station. The space agency hopes that one day the companies will be able to take astronauts into space as well.

Modern-day industrialists have pounced on this opportunity, developing rockets and space ships to assume the responsibilities.

Boeing's contender to fill the role is an Apollo-like space capsule. Locally, engineers in Huntington Beach are developing the capsule's pressure vessel, base heat shield and autonomous docking systems.

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Image: An artist's rendering of Boeing's Crew Space Transportation-100. Composed of a crew module and a service module, the capsule could carry a crew of seven and would be used to support the International Space Station. Credit: Boeing

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner completes maiden commercial flight

 

For the first time, Japanese airline All Nippon Airways took to the skies carrying paying passengers aboard the world’s first Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner.

The much-anticipated maiden passenger flight Wednesday was a charter trip from Narita to Hong Kong that took about four hours.

The 787 Dreamliner is an all-new commercial jetliner that Boeing says is the most advanced, fuel-stingy passenger jet ever made. It features a suite of new technologies, such as the largest windows on a commercial jetliner and an extensive use of strong, lightweight carbon composites rather than sheets of aluminum.

PHOTOS: The future of commercial flight

But the new aircraft is more than three years late due to design problems and supplier issues.

The 787, which will seat 210 to 290 passengers, is the first new class of aircraft launched by Boeing since the 777 in 1995. There are 821 orders for the plane from airlines and aircraft leasing firms around the world.

Boeing posted some photos of events before and after Wednesday's flight on its Flickr account here.

The Associated Press reported that there were 240 journalists and aviation enthusiasts aboard -- and that some of the passengers paid thousands of dollars for a seat.

Stephanie Wood of Davie, Fla.,  told the AP that she won a charity auction and paid nearly $18,700 for two business-class seats.

"It's silly, but it's a little piece of history,” she said. “New cars come out all the time but how often do new planes come out?"

Not only is the event momentous, it's also good for Boeing's business, said Paul Sheridan, head of risk advisory at aviation consultancy Ascend Worldwide Ltd.

“Airlines are, if anything, even more keen to get their hands on the aircraft," he said. "The advanced technology used in the 787 means that, in spite of the delays, it is still ahead of its time. The size and range of the aircraft offers airlines the ability to open new long-haul routes linking a range of cities that would have been uneconomic with other aircraft types in the market.”

Chicago-based Boeing also issued its third-quarter earnings Wednesday, saying profit rose to $1.1 billion, or $1.46 per share, from $837 million, or $1.12 per share, when compared to the same period last year.

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Photo: All Nippon Airways passengers arrive in Hong Kong after maiden 787 Dreamliner commercial flight. Credit: Boeing Co. via Flickr.

Military reportedly uses 'kamikaze drones' in battle

U.S. Army and Air Force special forces have used a mini-cruise missile made by Monrovia-based AeroVironment Inc. to blast apart Taliban targets, according to a media report.

In an article, Bloomberg BusinessWeek disclosed that the weapon, called Switchblade, “was secretly sent to Afghanistan for the first time last year.”

Check out the entire article here.

The self-destructing mini-drone is designed to fit into a soldier's rucksack and be fired from a mortar where it unfolds its wings as it takes to the skies, and begins sending live video and GPS coordinates to the soldier who launched it. Switchblade is remotely operated with a handheld controller.

The little missile, which looks less harmless than many Fourth of July fireworks, is tipped with a tiny warhead designed to explode upon hitting a target, which is why BusinessWeek dubbed it a “kamikaze drone.”

The 2-foot-long battery-powered drone is designed to fly above a war zone for at least five minutes for more than a mile at a time. We told you about the technology in a Times story about the miniaturization of military weaponry here.

Maj. Christopher Kasker, an Army spokesman, did not confirm whether Switchblade had been deployed above the war zone. However, he issued a statement that said:

"The Army has purchased a limited quantity of the Switchblade munition to support an urgent operational request. Quantities, fielding locations, dates and units involved are confidential to protect operational security."

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Photo: Switchblade is fired from a mortar in a demonstration flight. Credit: AeroVironment Inc.

Virgin Galactic moves into New Mexico spaceport

Las Cruces, N.M., officially joined the list of the nation’s major space centers Monday when a newly completed terminal and hangar facility was turned over to British billionaire Richard Branson and his commercial space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic.

The company aims to launch paying customers beyond Earth’s confines from the new $209-million futuristic-looking facility, named Spaceport America.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez joined Branson and a crowd of more than 800 others during the dedication ceremonies.

“Today is another history-making day for Virgin Galactic,” Branson said at the event. “We are here with a group of incredible people who are helping us lead the way in creating one of the most important new industrial sectors of the 21st century.”

Virgin Galactic said it has taken about 455 reservations for the ride. The price per flight for a would-be space tourist is $200,000.

Instead of launching people directly into space with a rocket, Virgin Galactic plans to do the following: A rocket plane with six passengers will be attached to the wings of a White Knight mother ship, flown to 50,000 feet and released. The rocket plane's engine then will ignite and propel the passengers into suborbit.

The spaceship is designed to climb to the edge of space, about 60 miles above the Earth's surface. At that suborbital altitude, people experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the Earth.

Virgin Galactic’s sleek carrier aircraft and spaceships are made by the Spaceship Co. in Mojave, where the planes are currently undergoing test flights. Branson hopes to make its first passenger flight with his adult children, Sam and Holly, as soon as next year.

At the end of Monday’s event, the Branson trio --after rappelling down the side of the Spaceport’s massive glass windows -- named one of the ground terminals the Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space.

The gateway will house preparation facilities for company’s passengers, which it calls astronauts. There is also a mission control center and an area for friends and family.

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Photo: Dancers with Project Bandaloop, based in San Francisico, hang and dance on the side window wall of the Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space hangar in Las Cruces, N.M. Credit: Mark Greenberg / Virgin Galactic

Pentagon, NASA open space launch missions to private ventures [Updated]

The U.S. government has taken the first steps toward opening up the competition to launch its national security satellites into outer space.

The Air Force, NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office -- the secretive federal umbrella agency that operates spy satellites -- have signed an agreement to establish clear criteria for private rocket builders to launch their pricey payloads, which include $1-billion spy satellite and robotic missions.

United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of aerospace behemoths Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., is currently the Pentagon’s sole launch provider for such missions. The new agreement could break the company’s virtual monopoly on the launches and give opportunities to smaller start-ups, such as Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

The company, better known as SpaceX, has repeatedly contended that it can provide rockets at a fraction of of its competitors' prices. For example, SpaceX said launches on its Falcon Heavy would cost  $80 million to $125 million. This is half the cost of United Launch Alliance’s similar-sized Delta IV Heavy rocket, which can run around $250 million, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s most recent estimate.

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive, has publicly criticized the Pentagon for not allowing competition with United Launch Alliance. But now -- at a time when all aspects of federal spending are under scrutiny -- his sales pitch has resonated with the government.

“Fair and open competition for commercial launch providers is an essential element of protecting taxpayer dollars,” he said in a statement that commended the move.

But SpaceX has yet to build the Falcon Heavy. It is still in development. That didn’t stop the company from breaking ground in July on a $30-million launchpad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, located northwest of Santa Barbara.

Situated along the Pacific Ocean, Vandenberg has primarily been used for launching spy satellites since the beginning of the Cold War because its location is considered ideal for putting satellites into a north-south orbit.

There still isn’t a guarantee that SpaceX or other rocket makers will win those contracts, but the government's announcement gives the company an opening. To win, SpaceX and other rocket makers must first meet detailed technical requirements and have several successful launches under their belts.

“This strategy is the best balance of ensuring reliable access to space while encouraging competition and innovation in the launch industry,” Erin Conaton, undersecretary of the Air Force, said in a statement. “We are committed to providing a level playing field to all competitors in the interest of ensuring the best capability for our war fighters and the best value to the American public.”

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Photo: United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy rocket rises from a launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in January. The rocket was carrying a spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. Credit: Bryan Walton / Associated Press/Santa Maria Times