Saturday, December 11, 2021
Final issue published
The December 2021 issue has a recap of the most significant aerospace stories of 2021, based on the postings in the Gulf Coast Aerospace daily news feed. That was quite a challenge since more than 370 items - contract summaries and news stories alike - were posted between January and mid-December.
There's also a page in the newsletter highlighting the previous five issues of the newsletter during the year.
The newsletter is our last because of a funding shortfall. Those of you who have been regular readers know the newsletter was first produced more than eight years ago, in September 2013, and that it's always been provided without charge to readers because of the backing of sponsors.
But times change, interest change and we're stepping back now.
The December issue will be sent to the inbox of subscribers Tuesday, and others can pick it up at our website. It will also be made available on our Facebook page.
Thank you for a wonderful eight-year run.
Saturday, October 16, 2021
October newsletter publishes Tuesday
The October 2021 issue of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Newsletter will be published Tuesday. The cover story is about the hypersonic cruise missile space race, where Northwest Florida's Eglin Air Force Base is a player. While superior to mature technologies, hypersonic missiles are costly and the Pentagon wants to drive down the dollars.
There’s also an article about a new test series that wrapped up at South Mississippi's Stennis Space Center. This testing was for startup company Launcher, and involved testing the thrust chamber assembly. It’s just the latest test showing SSC is a go-to for commercial space companies that want to take advantage of the facility’s extensive rocket engine test infrastructure.
The newsletter also has a column highlighting some of the significant news stories that occurred since the August newsletter. It includes an item on the contract between ST Engineering and UPS to bring highly skilled MRO workers to Pensacola, where an MRO campus at Pensacola International Airport is expanding. There's also an item about Airbus considering a new stretch version of the A220, which is built in both Canada and Mobile, Ala. There's also an update on the progress of the Artemis III at Louisiana's Michoud Assembly Facility, and a brief on an important new contracting method at Eglin Air Force Base.
The October issue will be sent to the inbox of subscribers, but others can go to our website and follow the links to download a copy. It will also be available on Facebook. Please consider liking us and becoming a follower. Just search for the Gulf Coast Aerospace Newsletter.
As always, our newsletters are free to readers thanks to the support of our underwriters.
Saturday, August 14, 2021
August newsletter coming soon
A lot has happened since the first battle between the two giants to build the replacement for the KC-135. When the contract was awarded to Boeing in 2011, Mobile had no aircraft assembly lines. Now the Alabama city is home to two - one for the A320 and one for the A220.
Importantly, the KC-Y is called the "bridge tanker" because it is the transitional tanker between the current one and a future tanker, which may end up being autonomous.
We also have a story about an electronics manufacturer in Holt, west of Crestview. Certified Manufacturing Inc., got its start in 1998, and has grown over the years focusing on high-end electronics products for the Department of Defense, NASA and aerospace companies. It's the type of home-grown company that economic development officials love.
Finally, we take a look at some of the key stories that developed in the region since the last newsletter in June, including the new training helicopter that was delivered to Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla., the latest engine test at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and developments designed to create a business park at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
The newsletter will be sent to the inbox of subscribers Tuesday. Non-subscribers can read a copy at our website.
Saturday, June 12, 2021
June newsletter publishes next week
The June 2021 issue of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Newsletter will be published Tuesday. The cover story is about the virtual briefing held last month highlighting Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
The two NASA facilities at the west-end of the Gulf Coast I-10 aerospace corridor are critical to NASA's current Space Launch System program, and they have a major economic impact both regionally and globally. The directors of Stennis Space Center and Michoud Assembly Facility gave presentations, as did the leader of the Naval Oceanographic office, a major tenant at Stennis.
It's a story about some of the wins and some of the losses caused by the pandemic and a particularly rough 2020 hurricane season, twin challenges everyone in the Gulf Coast region has in common.
There's also a profile on Verdell Hawkins, the economic development executive at Pensacola-based Gulf Power. He provides some insight into how he got involved in the field, and some of the projects in Northwest Florida where Gulf Power worked with local economic development groups.
There's also a column hitting on some of the key aerospace-related activities impacting the Gulf Coast region.
The June issue will be sent to the inbox of subscribers, but others can go to our website
and follow the links to download a copy June 15. For Facebook users,
we launched a Facebook page in December where readers can go to see the
entire newsletter or individual stories. Comments are welcome. Please
consider liking us and becoming a follower. Just search for the Gulf
Coast Aerospace Newsletter.
As always, our newsletters are free to readers thanks to the support of our underwriters.
Saturday, April 10, 2021
April newsletter publishes Tuesday
The April 2021 issue of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Newsletter will be published Tuesday. The cover story is about the effort to create two new space-related technology parks near two NASA facilities – one in Louisiana and one in Mississippi.
Enterprise Park is a more than 1,000-acre park on the north side of Stennis Space Center. It’s been in discussion nearly four years now, and much of the delay has been because of the pandemic. But NASA has approved plans for the center to send out announcements for proposals to develop the park. A new office for specialized business development is also being established at the space center, with hiring about to start.
Another proposed park is about 40 miles away outside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. Called the Louisiana Space Campus, it's a 50-acre spread at Michoud that will target commercial office development for existing tenants as well as bring in new public and private partners. Should both reach fruition, it would cement this region's reputation in the space field at a time when commercial space activities are growing.
There’s also a story about Gulf Power's recent virtual symposium, including a discussion about Florida and how it fared better than most during the pandemic. While Gulf Power opted to do a virtual event, it still plans to hold a full-blown symposium in September.
There’s also an article about the upcoming TeCMEN Industry Day, where a contender for the Armed Overwatch program will be discussed. Plans are to build that contender, the Bronco II, in Crestview, Fla.
Finally, there’s a story about the recently released Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index. It shows that most of the metro areas in the Gulf Coast I-10 region performed quite well and improved their ranking. Two standouts were the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metro area in Alabama and Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin metro area in Florida.
The April issue will be sent to the inbox of subscribers, but others can go to our website and follow the links to download a copy April 13. For Facebook users, we launched a Facebook page in December where readers can go to see the entire newsletter or individual stories. Comments are welcome. Please consider liking us and becoming a follower. Just search for the Gulf Coast Aerospace Newsletter.
As always, our newsletters are free to readers thanks to the support of our underwriters.
Monday, February 8, 2021
February issue publishes Tuesday
The report covers industries including aircraft, spacecraft, missiles and munitions, shipbuilding, electronics, cybersecurity, and more. Many if not most are of interest to the Gulf Coast I-10 region. In addition to summarizing the findings, we also give you an overview of what the report says about two of the industries most-closely linked to aerospace: aircraft and space.
We also have a story about the large number of military retirees in the 18 counties and parishes spanning the region between New Orleans and Panama City. These retirees bring millions in retirement money to the region every month, which is a boon for local economies. But the retirees – who retire at a younger age than their civilian counterparts – also provide a ready pool of highly skilled workers, many of them going on the pursue careers outside the military.
We also fill you in on the recently completed Green Run of NASA’s Space Launch System. That’s the test where all four of the RS-25 engines are fired at the same time. But the January test only lasted just over a minute instead of the planned eight minutes. So we’ll fill you in on the second test planned for late February. We also have a story about the new series of tests for single RS-25 engines that just got underway.
As usual, the February issue will be sent to the inbox of subscribers, but others can go to our website to download a copy. As always, it’s free thanks to the support of our underwriters.
Regular readers will notice the February issue is smaller than in the past – six instead of eight pages. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, we rely on annual underwriters to fund an entire year of six issues rather than charging readers. That's because we think the stories about our aerospace and aviation activities are too important to put behind a pay wall. The downside of that is it means some years we’ll fall below our required funding level, and 2021 is just such a year.
But unlike some publications, which might tell you you're getting something "improved" when they have to cut back on staff or product, we won't insult your intelligence. You’re getting fewer pages and stories this year, but we can promise you that we will cut no corners when it comes to providing you with quality stories. If that means a smaller product, so be it.
Finally, we launched a Facebook page in December where readers can go to see the entire newsletter or individual stories – and comment if they so desire. If you are on Facebook, please consider liking us and becoming a follower. Just look for Gulf Coast Aerospace Newsletter. The February newsletter will be there Tuesday.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
December newsletter coming
The year is drawing to a close, and the
December issue of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Newsletter will be published
Tuesday. While it’s likely you may be too busy getting ready for the holidays,
it will be there to read when you have some time.
This eight-page issue focuses on the incoming Biden administration, and what it
might mean for the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor. Let’s face it: there is a lot
of uncertainty when any new administration comes in, and this one is no
different.
Reporter Timothy Boone takes a look at what a Biden administration might mean
for the region’s two NASA operations, one in New Orleans and the other in South
Mississippi. The expectation is NASA under a new administration might focus
more on climate change and earth science. But as you’ll find out, that’s
primarily a reading of the tea leaves, since the transition team has not had a
lot to say about space issues.
What about national defense? This region is heavy with military bases, most of
them aviation focused, so a new administration’s views on national defense are
always of high interest. Reporter Lisa Monti delves into that issue. At this
juncture, it doesn’t appear there will be any sort of dramatic shift that will
impact the defense budget.
Jane Nicholes has a column in this issue where she takes a look at what the new
administration might mean for the Airbus operation in Mobile, where the issue
of tariffs caused some concerns over the past few years. Airbus established the
operation in Mobile as a hedge against any protectionist policies, and it has
been quite successful. The new administration is likely to have no specific
impact on Airbus, but it's likely to change the trajectory of relationships
with allies when it comes to trade.
But all of it is overshadowed by the still raging worldwide coronavirus
pandemic. Our cover story takes a look at that, because the incoming
administration has said that everything for the economy’s future depends on
controlling it. While we are now in one of the darkest times as deaths continue
to rise, there are some encouraging signs that we may find out way out of it in
2021.
The issue will be sent to the inbox of subscribers, but others can go to our
website to download a copy. As always, it’s free thanks to the ongoing support
of our underwriters.
One more thing. We are in the process of creating a Facebook page where readers
can go to see our stories, and to comment if they so desire. It will be up and
running before the end of the year.
The best to all of you.
Sunday, October 18, 2020
October newsletter coming
The cover story by Timothy Boone is about next month's Green Run test of NASA's Space Launch System core stage at Stennis Space Center, Miss. During the test, all four RS-25 engines will be fired up to test the system and controls. It will be loud, and it will be a crucial test.
We also have in the eight-page newsletter a profile of Scott Luth, executive director of FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance. Reporter Martha Simmons will tell you how this Ohio native got involved in economic development, and what brought him to Pensacola.
Reporter Jane Nicholes will provides and update on plans for the Mobile Downtown Airport. Right now flights go to Mobile Regional Airport to the west of Mobile, but the new airport at the Mobile Aeroplex is south of downtown and much closer.
Finally, I review a non-fiction book by Ken Fortenberry. I once worked for Ken when he was managing editor of the Pensacola News Journal. His book, "Flight 7 Is Missing," is a whodunit about why his father's passenger plane went down in the Pacific in 1957, when Ken was just six. Part of the title is "The Search For My Father's Killer," which should pique your curiosity.
The newsletter is scheduled to be published Tuesday, and the PDF will be sent to the inbox of subscribers. If you're not a subscriber, you can get the newsletter PDF Tuesday at www.gulfcoastaerospacecorridor.com.
Saturday, August 8, 2020
August newsletter coming
The cover story is about the new era of helicopter aviator training at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla. In addition to getting a technologically superior helicopter, Santa Rosa County broke ground on a temporary maintenance hangar for helicopter-maker Leonardo, which will be used until a new maintenance hangar is built at Whiting Aviation Park in Milton.
There's also a story about Matt Coughlin, the new director of Pensacola International Airport. The former naval aviator comes aboard at a time when the airport - like others nationwide - is slowly coming back from the impact of the pandemic.
We'll also tell you about a new education program from Embry-Riddle and its partners. Called “Aviation Maintenance SkillBridge,” the training program begins at Hurlburt Field in Northwest Florida Oct. 19, with an initial class of up to nine students. It's designed to make it easier for soon-to-be discharged military personnel to land high-paying jobs in civilian aviation.
We also have a story about Flight Works Alabama in Mobile. It opened this month and features hands-on exhibits and educational opportunities to pique interest in aviation.
The newsletter will be emailed to subscribers, and non-subscribers can download the eight-page report at our website, Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor, starting Tuesday.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
June newsletter published
The cover story is about Airbus in Mobile, Ala., which is doing well despite the pandemic. It had to pause production for a while, but is now assembling A320 and A220 jetliners again.
There's also a story about Relativity Space, which is planning to build 3D printed rockets at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The company is planning a big test this year that will involved attaching one of its rocket engines to the rocket.
We all know airports have suffered in the pandemic, and Pensacola International Airport is no different. But passenger counts are beginning to tick upwards, certainly a good sign for the future.
Finall, there is a review of the most important aerospace news items that occurred since the last newsletter in April.
Sunday, April 12, 2020
April newsletter coming Tuesday
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Newsletter coming Feb. 18
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Week in review (12/22 to 12/28)
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Week in review (12/15 to 12/21)
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Week in review (12/8 to 12/14)
It will be sent to subscribers' inboxes, but non-subscribers can look for it next week at our webpage.
Now for your week in review:
All eight of the people injured in the Dec. 6 shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., have been released from the hospital, according to the Pensacola News Journal.