ST Aero ops topic of meet

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- CareerSource Escarosa will be hosting a free information and recruitment session March 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for individuals looking to learn more about career opportunities with ST Aerospace Mobile. Those with qualifications will have access to ST Aerospace's human resources staff, who will be on site to answer questions regarding current employment opportunities in Mobile, Ala. Openings are available for aircraft maintenance inspectors, avionics mechanics, structure/sheet metal mechanics, and interiors mechanics. Representatives from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, George Stone Technical Center and Pensacola State College will also be on site for those who may need to acquire skills for future employment. The effort is in collaboration with the Greater Pensacola Chamber, Naval Air Station Pensacola Fleet and Family Support Center, the City of Pensacola, Escambia County, Pensacola State College and other community partners. The free event is at the Thomas G. Delano Student Center at Pensacola State College. (Source: Greater Pensacola Chamber, 03/13/14) In addition to the Mobile operation, ST Aerospace is working on establishing an operation at Pensacola International Airport.

Airbus FAL has topping out

MOBILE, Ala. – The Airbus final assembly line being built at Mobile Aeroplex celebrated a milestone Wednesday with a topping ceremony for the main hangar. A 21-foot steel structure built by Dothan's Covenant Steel was ceremoniously installed as the highest structural element of the A320 final assembly line. The plant, Airbus' fourth final assembly line for the popular A320 and the only one in the United States, will employ 1,000 workers. It's scheduled to open in 2015 and the first A320 will roll out in 2016. (Sources: al.com, WKRG-TV, 03/12/14)

More Airbus jobs posted

MOBILE, Ala. – Airbus posted two new positions for its A320 final assembly line being built at the Mobile Aeroplex. The first posting is for a ground test inspector, which will pay between $18 and $30 per hour based on skills, experience and education. The second posting is for a manufacturing engineer paint coordinator. That position requires a professional degree in aerospace, industrial, mechanical or chemical engineering, preferably in the aviation field. The $600 million operation will eventually have 1,000 workers. For all available positions, click here. (Source: al.com, 03/11/14)

IHMC display simplifies flying

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- David Still wanted to fly. The only problem was learning all those dials, gauges, buttons and other confusing array of controls involved in flight. “I found it totally frustrating and difficult,” said the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition research scientist. He did get his private pilot’s license, but it also drove him to develop a new type of aircraft display. And pilots that have used it fly better, one study showed. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor newsletter, 03/11/14)

Moss Point riding leading edge

MOSS POINT, Miss. -- If you want an industry firmly entrenched in the future, it's hard to pick one better than unmanned systems. It's on track to grow dramatically. And if you want a leader in the field, Northrop Grumman is at the front of the high-tech pack. Moss Point since 2006 has been in the enviable position of being involved in building some of the most capable unmanned aerial systems in the world. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor newsletter, 03/11/14)

Airport positioned well for niche

CRESTVIEW, Fla. -- It's been described as a place where airplanes go to die. True, but most of the aircraft that come to Bob Sikes Airport in Northwest Florida's Crestview get refurbished or modified with the latest military gear and leave more capable than when they arrived. The airport is close to four military bases and has managed to carve a niche for itself. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor newsletter, 03/11/14)

Mobile still on the prowl

MOBILE, Ala. -- You might think landing an Airbus jetliner plant would be enough to satisfy any economic development appetite. But you would be wrong. The folks who run the nearly 1,700-acre Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, site of the future A320 final assembly line, are quick to point out there are still 200 acres and 850,000 square feet of building space available. And there's also space at Mobile Regional Airport. Alabama's port city is still on the prowl. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor newsletter, 03/11/14)

NASA picks tech proposals

NASA has selected 108 research and technology proposals from U.S. small businesses that will enable NASA's future missions while benefiting America's high technology-driven economy on Earth. The selected proposals now will enter into negotiations for contract awards as part of Phase II of the agency's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The selected aerospace technology and innovation projects have a total value of some $87 million, supporting 99 U.S. firms in 26 states. Two selected proposals involve technology being administered by the Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: NASA/Stennis, 03/10/14)

ST Aero deal OK'd

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The Escambia County Commission on Thursday pledged $8 million in local option sales tax revenue to bring an aircraft maintenance and repair facility at Pensacola International Airport. Commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of the allocation, formalized by an interlocal agreement with the city of Pensacola. The agreement was ratified last month by the Pensacola City Council. The county will loan the city $3.2 million, to be repaid by 2020, and provide a further $4.8 million in direct contributions to get ST Aerospace and 300 jobs. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 03/06/14) Previous

Contract: Lockheed, $7.7M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $7,696,166 undefinitized modification to the previously awarded low rate initial production lot 6 advanced acquisition contract (N00019-11-C-0083) for the F-35 aircraft. This modification provides for the procurement of non-recurring sustainment activities for the government of the United Kingdom, to include procurement of site activation planning efforts for Royal Air Force Marham. Work will be performed in Warton, United Kingdom (65 percent); and Fort Worth, Texas (35 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2014. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/07/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the F-35 training center for pilots and maintainers.

Contract: Concurrent, $15.3M

Concurrent Technologies Corp., Johnstown, Pa., was awarded a $15,338,026 cost-plus-fixed fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide engineering services in support of the continued modification of the carriage, stream, tow and recovery system to incorporate airborne countermeasures capabilities. The overall objectives of the carriage, stream, tow and recovery program are to design, fabricate, test and integrate a system for the carriage, stream, tow and recovery of all five airborne mine countermeasures (AMCM) sensors to support the organic AMCM mission of the MH-60S helicopter. Work will be performed in Johnstown, Pa., and is expected to be completed by March 2015. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation and fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy funding in the amount of $5,034,148 will be obligated at time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity (N61331-14-D-0010). (Awarded March 4, 2014) (Source: DoD, 03/06/14)

Contract: Arete, $10.2M

Arête Associates, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $10,228,983 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N6133-11-C-0007) for Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Program Systems Support for the AN/DVS-1 COBRA Block 1 System and support equipment. The primary mission of AN/DVS-1 COBRA is to conduct unmanned aerial tactical reconnaissance in littoral battlespace for detection and localization of mine fields and obstacles in the surf zone and beach zone. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by February 2015. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $1,400,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Awarded March 5, 2014) (Source: DoD, 03/06/14)

FWB company honored

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott recognized three businesses today with the Governor's Business Ambassador Award for their commitment in creating jobs in North Florida. One of the Ambassador Award recipients was Fort Walton Machining, a family-owned small business that provides assembly, metal finishing, and machining services to the aerospace, defense, medical, and high-tech commercial industries. Established in 1987, the company today employs 220 workers. The other two companied awarded were ShayCore Enterprises of Jacksonville and Foley Timber and Land Co. of Perry. (Source: Gov. Rick Scott, 03/06/14)

Demolition work at Duke

Cross Environmental Services Inc. has been named a subcontractor to provide demolition and remediation services of maintenance facilities at Duke Field in Okaloosa County, Fla. The March 4 subcontract announcement, valued at $148,700, is the start of a 3-phase project that requires abatement of asbestos material and the demolition of three one-story buildings. CES, headquartered in Crystal Springs, Fla., has branch offices in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and New Orleans. (Source: MarketWatch, 03/04/14)

NASA budget released

WASHINGTON — NASA's $17.5 billion proposed budget for fiscal 2015 released Tuesday provides funding for NASA's top priorities. It includes $2.8 billion for the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion multi-purpose vehicle; $848 million for the Commercial Crew Program that helps fund private efforts to sent astronauts to the International Space Station; and $3.05 billion to run the ISS, including money for continued cargo shipments by SpaceX and Orbital Science. Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, are involved in those programs. The budget also would ramp up funding to fly astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 as part of a steppingstone approach to Mars. The budget is some $190 million below the fiscal 2014 level. Fiscal 2015 begins Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2015. (Source: multiple, including USAToday, Space.com, 03/04/14)

Southwest adjusts flights

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Southwest Airlines will temporarily cease direct service from Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport to Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) this fall. Direct flights from the airport in West Bay to Baltimore will not be available between Aug. 9 and Nov. 11 as part of a seasonal adjustment, ECP Director Parker McClellan said Monday. (Source: News Herald, 03/03/14)

Airbus posts another position

MOBILE, Ala. – Airbus is looking for a quality performance manager for the A320 final assembly line being built in Mobile. The position requires a minimum associate or technical degree with a focus on manufacturing, quality management, industrial engineering or business administration. The latest position also requires at least nine months training abroad. The $600 million plant, which will have 1,000 employees, will open in 2015 and its first plane will be produced in 2016. (Source: al.com, 03/04/14)

ST Aero vote on Thursday

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The Escambia County Commission decides on Thursday whether to pledge $8 million toward the development of an ST Aerospace aircraft maintenance and repair facility at Pensacola International Airport. Commissioners will consider an agreement with the City of Pensacola setting out terms by which the county will loan the city $3.2 million. The county is putting $4.8 million into the project. The Singapore-based company also has a major operation in Mobile, Ala. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 03/04/14) Previous

China Eastern buying A320neos

China Eastern Airlines Corp., the nation's third-largest airline, ordered $6.4 billion single-aisle planes from Airbus Group to meet demand in a country set to become the world's biggest aircraft market. The 70 planes will be delivered between 2018 and 2020 and the final price is "significantly less than" the manufacturer's list price, China Eastern said in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange. The airline is buying A320neos, the most fuel-efficient version of Airbus's single-aisle planes. (Source: Bloomberg, 02/28/14) Gulf Coast note: Airbus is building an A320 assembly line in Mobile, Ala.

General contractor chosen

MOBILE, Ala. – Birmingham-based Brasfield and Gorrie LLC has been awarded the first of four general contractor packages for the $600 million Airbus A320 final assembly line being built at Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. The contractor will be responsible for the outfitting and completion of the final assembly line hangar and construction of the service building and logistics center. The contract was awarded by Hoar Program Management, the company overseeing construction of the Airbus complex. The plant will open in 2015 and the first jetliner will be produced in 2016. (Source: al.com, Birmingham Business Journal, Made in Alabama, 02/28/14)