Professional Pilot, October 2018

PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2018 107 The Latitude was certificated in 2015 and has since led its category in unit deliveries The Longitude is expecting certification before this year is out Meanwhile Textron Aviation has aggressively marketed its AT 6 Wolverine and the first Textron Aviation Defense branded aircraft the Scorpion jet Bombardier Learjet introduced the Learjet 75 in 2012 The company will focus its near future activities on marketing its models 70 and 75 flight testing in Wichita all models produced by parent Bombardier as well as providing support for approximately 4800 units of its Bombardier family aircraft globally WSUs National Center for Aviation Training To assure a qualified workforce into the future as its aging employees retire Sedgwick County and Wichita in 2010 opened the doors to the citys all new National Center for Aviation Training now aligned with Wichita State University as WSUTech which has capability to train 4000 students at a time not only in aviation trades but health care and many others as well Reflecting on the past decade Dave Franson a long time public relations executive at Garrett AiResearch Cessna and Learjet and currently president of the Wichita Aero Club described it as Unlike any other in my 40 years in this industry It ushered in a new normal for the Air Capital of the World With the downturn of 2007 2008 production rates orders and jobs dropped dramatically But Wichitas aircraft business adapted with resilience and resolve The new normal appears to include lower overall employment at Textron Aviation and Bombardier Learjet which is now approximating a total of 11000 workers half of what was employed just a decade earlier but no doubt with more efficiency Of interest is the fact that all Wichita aviation manufacturers and most of their subcontractors have open requisitions totaling hundreds of workers New ideas taking root in Wichita As the industry rebounds Wichita leaders are committed to a game plan that will hopefully assist in protecting its economy from the inevitable ebbs and flows of general aviation manufacturing The city that a century ago spawned the Coleman Outdoor Products company and more recently Pizza Hut and Rent A Center is going all in on a resurgence of its entrepreneurial lineage Led by an expansive Innovation Campus at Wichita State University and spurred on by new volunteer organizations such as the e2e accelerator facility which ferrets out promising new business ideas with increasing amounts of available investment capital the community has plans for its sterling aviation heritage to be joined by successful high tech and other innovative companies Stay tuned A more balanced Wichita economy still led by aviation is primed to increase its role in the global marketplace Tonya Sudduth is vice president and general manager of Bombardiers Wichita site She first joined the company in 2001 as a senior financial analyst Bill Lear at right no doubt would barely recognize his Wichita facility now producing the Learjet 75 above and its sister ship the Learjet 70 while performing flight testing on all Canadian built Bombardier models Textron AirLand Scorpion began as a secret joint venture between Textron and Air Land Enterprises The Scorpion is a twin engine combat aircraft now being performance evaluated by a number of global military agencies Al Higdon spent 12 years as a public relations executive with Beech and Learjet before co founding an advertising pr firm that represented more than a dozen clients in aviation including Learjet and Cessna over a 25 year period before his retirement at 60 in 1996 Beechcraft T 6 Wolverine is a single engine turboprop military trainer which has replaced the USAFs Cessna T 37 and the USNs T 34 Turbo Mentor for basic and primary flight training Photos courtesy Bombardier