Model Airplanes

Sennheiser announced in a Nov. 18 press release that it will stop selling pilot headsets after February 2016.

The German audio company known for headsets and microphones built for music and other applications challenged Bose, Lightspeed, and other high-end aviation headset makers in 2011, introducing a noise-canceling headset at EAA AirVenture designed and priced to compete with top-of-the-line offerings. The last of those headsets, including the S1 model, will be sold in February or soon after, though warranties and product support will continue.

“Our decision to leave the pilots’ headset sector was not taken lightly, especially as we have played a key role in the development of audio transmission in the cockpit, for example by introducing the world’s first headset with active noise compensation to receive FAA-TSO certification,” said Peter Claussen, Sennheiser’s chief operating officer, in a news release. “We will redirect our aviation-specific resources to focus on our key business of headphone and microphone technology.”

The company pledged to fulfill all guarantees and service obligations, and noted in the news release that “generous transition periods have been agreed with airplane and equipment partners.” Claussen said that support can still be offered in individual cases even after the company’s legal obligations have expired.

Article source: http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/November/20/Sennheiser-exits-pilot-market

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Article source: http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/NASA-electric-propulsion-180957302/

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is rumored to be working on an Uber competitor that will, in the eyes of Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas at least, shake the foundations of the auto world. Elon Musk, the firm’s visionary CEO, had better watch out however, as a 16 year old from Playa Vista, California may get there first. Haydn Sonnad is the founder and leader of Tesloop, a firm that aims to make travel in a Tesla Motors Model S open to everyone.

Since earlier this year Tesloop has been operating on a single route: Las Vegas to Los Angeles and back. The firm charges $85 for a single trip and aims to compete with regional airlines on price, luxury and convenience. That plan appears to be working. Haydn, who takes the title Chief Evangelism Officer, says that the real limit is the number of cars that he can get his hands on.

The Model S is immobile, that’s the first problem

While the rest of the world, and Mr. Jonas of Morgan Stanley, waits for Tesla Motors to emerge and make Tesla Motors Mobility a reality, Mr. Sonnad, along with his father and other backers, is making a Tesla sharing service a reality. The problem that Haydn saw is the same that Mr. Jonas recognizes. Teslas are amazing cars, but they’re just not used enough.

The average Tesla Motors Model

Article source: http://learnbonds.com/125086/tesla-motors-inc-already-has-a-mobility-service-unofficially/

Summary

2015 and 2016 have not been the strongest in B/E Aerospace’s history.

However, 2017 and 2018 are likely to be incredibly strong given current guidance.

Recent management commentary regarding the company’s leverage target provides more context.

Free cash flow generation over the next three years will be strong, leading to over $600M in share repurchases.

Fresh off its KLX spin-off, management seems committed to building a reputation for being shareholder friendly. I buy into that, and other investors should too.

B/E Aerospace (NASDAQ:BEAV) has been an underperformer for me in 2015. Given relatively firm strength in both larger partners like Boeing (NYSE:BA) and other aerospace parts sellers like HEICO (NYSE:HEI) and Hexcel (NYSE:HXL), this has been disappointing. This weakness comes despite the company continuing to make large contract wins, such as this most recent $260M win for high-end first-class seating. Unfortunately, it seems the market seems more concerned with the company’s short-term headwinds (business jet business, foreign currency) rather than its continued backlog growth. Shortsightedness isn’t a new problem for markets, and I think in this case, it is overly ignoring impending earnings growth. What looks at first glance like revenue growth slowdown

Article source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3699256-b-e-aerospace-market-continues-to-discount-future-earnings

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Article source: http://www.airspacemag.com/space/space-timekeepers-180957295/