Week in review (5/22 to 5/28)

While you're enjoying your long holiday weekend, please don't forget the reason. Monday is Memorial Day, a day to honor those who have given their all in service to the nation. Take time to give thanks for their sacrifices. They deserve nothing less than our respect and appreciation.

On a far less solemn note, as this month draws to a close, now is a good time as any to remind you that the June edition of the bimonthly Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Newsletter is coming up. The eight-page newsletter, designed to keep you posted on significant aerospace and aviation activities in this region, will be published June 7.

Meanwhile, work continues on our July 5 issue of the Gulf Coast Reporters’ League Business Quarterly magazine. It's a special tourism issue that will take you on some fascinating road trips in the Gulf Coast region. We'll take you on a history tour, a science tour and much much more. We feel pretty confident this issue will be a keeper.

Both the newsletter and the magazine are free for readers, thanks to our newsletter underwriters and our magazine advertisers. Both are available electronically and can be delivered directly to your inbox. To sign up for either, send me an email and tell me which one you want, one or both, and I’ll add you to the distribution list.

Now here's the week in review:

Airbus
The first A321 jetliner built in the United States is now earning money for JetBlue. The first revenue flight was No. 611 from JFK airport in New York to Las Vegas on May 14. Since then, it has been to Orlando, Tampa, Barbados, Fort Lauderdale, Puerto Rico and San Diego. The plane, nicknamed “BluesMobile,” was delivered to JetBlue April 25 in a ceremony at the Airbus campus at the Mobile Aeroplex. (Post)


Bases
A nine-year-old got behind the controls of an Air Force F-35 simulator earlier this month as part of a 26-year-old program to reach out to the community and for children to experience a day in the life of an Air Force pilot. Christian Loafman was diagnosed with progressive infantile scoliosis and autism, and he’s had multiple surgeries.

Two weeks ago he was chosen as the 33rd Fighter Wing’s first F-35A Pilot for a Day at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. His day was May 18, and the affair included getting a flight suit with his name and 58th Squadron patch. He also saw a static display of an F-35 with his name on it before getting at the controls of a simulator. (Post)


Contracts
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $20 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the low-rate initial production Lot 8 non-recurring special tooling/special test equipment. This equipment will be utilized in the manufacture of general material bulkheads in support of the F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed in Ohio, Texas, Montana, Canada and California, and is expected to be completed in December 2017. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. … L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $302.2 million contract for logistics services in support of the C-12 utility lift aircraft, including post-production, full commercial-type aircraft maintenance, logistics support, and materials for Marine Corps Reserve C-12 (UC-12B/F/M/W) and Navy TC-12B trainer aircraft. New Orleans is one of the work sites. Others are in Texas, Maryland, Bahrain, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Japan, South Carolina, Arizona, North Carolina, Virginia and California and is expected to be completed in July 2021. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, is the contracting activity.