Model Airplanes

David McCullough’s popular biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Adams succeeded with readers because they weren’t about politics or history from a particular point of view, but because they were about real people who happened to be politicians and historical figures.

McCullough brought out the humanity in these figures although he tamped down Roosevelt’s blood lust, Truman’s suspicious background and Adams’ snobbery. Instead, he emphasized their strengths, above all their American qualities.

Orville and Wilbur Wright don’t belong in that select company despite McCullough’s sincere efforts to elevate these hardworking brothers to a lofty place in the American pantheon. His new biography of the Wrights covers well-trod ground as it refreshes their story in his upbeat, minutely researched manner.

What’s lacking are interesting characters like Adams, Roosevelt or Truman. While Orville and Wilbur accomplished their goal of powered flight, they missed out on the stuff that makes life interesting: relationships, children, hobbies, fun and, most of all, self-reflection.

Instead, it was their sister, Katharine, a college graduate and high-school teacher who found time, while she managed the household in Dayton, Ohio, and supported her brothers’ airplane projects, to achieve a more rounded life and even married, albeit at 58.

Orville took the marriage hard and refused to speak to his sister for three years, until she was on her deathbed. His odd behavior is barely touched on by the author, however. Instead, McCullough leaves the Wrights in 1910, just seven years after their Flyer achieved flight with Wilbur at the controls in Kitty

Article source: http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/books/20150501-wrights-bio-doesnt-quite-soar.ece

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ‘A’ long-term and ‘F1’ short-term Issuer
Default Ratings (IDRs) for The Boeing Company (BA). Fitch has also
affirmed the ‘A’ long-term IDR for Boeing Capital Corporation (BCC). A
full list of ratings is included at the end of this release.

The Rating Outlook is Stable. The ratings cover approximately $9 billion
of debt ($6.6 billion attributable to BA and $2.4 billion attributable
to BCC). Of the amount attributable to BCC, Fitch estimates that
approximately $1.3 billion consists of debt originally issued by BCC and
subsequently guaranteed by BA, with the remainder consisting of
intercompany loans from BA to BCC.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Boeing’s debt ratings are supported by its competitive positions in the
commercial aerospace and defense sectors, financial flexibility,
liquidity position, access to capital markets, high barriers to entry in
its key businesses, and large backlog ($495 billion). Debt reduction has

Article source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150501005547/en/Fitch-Affirms-Boeing-Boeing-Capital-AF1

The newest airplane in the American Airlines fleet may be a pleasure to the eyes of passengers, but even more, it should be a treat for the carrier’s wallet.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which begins commercial service for the Fort Worth-based carrier this week, comes with a reputation for saving airlines money.

The 226-seat airplane offers significant fuel savings over the less efficient airplanes it replaces. And with carbon-fiber composite used for the plane’s fuselage and other parts, American expects to also save on maintenance.

“For the airlines, it’s about the fuel efficiency,” Randy Tinseth, Boeing vice president of marketing, said last week during an event introducing the airplane to American Airlines employees. “It’s about the maintenance costs. It’s about the total operating costs of the airplane.”

Because money drives much of the decision-making at airlines, the arrival of the Dreamliner has allowed American to take a look at routes that it has previously avoided or that can be flown more economically. Consequently, American will deploy the 787 on longer flights, most of them international.

American will launch its Boeing 787s on the D/FW-Chicago route on Thursday. On June 2, the carrier will begin flying 787s on its D/FW-Beijing route.

Two days later, the D/FW-Buenos Aires, Argentina, route — which today uses a larger Boeing 777-200 — will convert into a 787 route. And on June 26, the D/FW-Shanghai route will switch from a 777-200 to the 787.

“The best routes for the 787 are longer routes. That’s why we announced that the inaugural flights are going

Article source: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/airline-industry/20150501-american-airlines-plans-to-go-a-long-way-with-the-boeing-787.ece