After serving as a gunner in the USAF, McBurney turned to museums and airshows to satiate his passion for aviation.  Soon, he took a more active role in preserving his favorite aircraft, the F4U-4 Corsair.

McBurney eventually moved back to CT from FL, “to try and tie in the history of the state of Connecticut, how much Connecticut has contributed to the history in the country and the world, for that matter.”  In 2005 McBurney helped get legislation passed deeming the Corsair the state aircraft.

McBurney is focused on restoring to flight a single “V-166B” Corsair produced in 1945 by United Aircraft Corporation at its factory in Stratford , CT. He has photos and some of the original parts from the aircraft with serial number 9484, US Navy Bureau Number (BuNo) 97330.  It is a late version of the F4U-4, distinguished by its metal wingtips, flat windscreen and style of canopy.

Spending upwards of $500,000 of his own money, McBurney has collected 10 F4U-4s along with enough parts to fill several warehouses in CT and AZ.  His hangar at Chester Airport (SNC) houses an assortment of pieces, including a 3,000 lb Pratt & Whitney engine painstakingly reassembled from 14,000 individual parts.

“We’ve got the expertise. Now we just need an infusion of capital,” McBurney told The Hartford Courant. “We’re trying to find a sponsor here in the state of Connecticut that will help us finance this over the next couple of years to allow us to stay in the state.”

His goal of raising $1 million to complete the aircraft over the next three years seem steep, but McBurney says it will come back to benefit the local community.  He claims the specialized manufacturing, aircraft restoration skills, and general interest in state history generated by the project will have long-term benefits for the area.

The real benefit may be the students that have worked on the “Connecticut Corsair.”  The project allows them to get hand-on experience with manufacturing and design while meeting potential future employers.

In addition to students and volunteers working on the project, local businesses have also donated services and time.  Mark Bliek, owner of Bolton Works, is helping create three-dimensional images of the plane’s parts that will be used to create virtual models and then to manufacture new parts.  He sees the Corsair restoration as a great business networking opportunity.

Source: aero-news.net

The economy is but one of the stories that has affected the diecast airplane model industry in 2009. It’s been a busy year, with some good, some bad, and some ugly. So without further ado, here are this year’s Top 10 newsmakers for the diecast retailer, not necessarily ranked in order of relevance:

1. The economy: Not that this needs a lot of reporting, because we’re all living through it. The economic slowdown late 2008 became a full-fledged recession in 2009, with small retail bearing the brunt of consumers’ diminished spending habits.

The retail hobby business fared fairly well through the first quarter of 2009, with dealers tightening their inventories and consumers still buying. Many dealers reported a slowdown in the late spring which continued through the summer. Also reported was a shift away from high-ticket items to accessories and items at lower price points. Several retailers have reported the holiday season to be off to a slow start, but are hopeful sales will rally closer to Christmas.

2. China slowdown: Problems with China’s toy industry have been brewing since 2007 when it was hit by a massive recall. Add in changes in labor laws, increased environmental scrutiny, and compound it all with the global economic downturn. The result has been closed factories and delays in deliveries of new products. Production backups at firms like model railroad manufacturer Sanda Kan has been especially vexing for U.S. manufacturers. Also playing a role in the unpredictability of when a new product will be available is the overseas shipping industry, another business hard-hit by the economy.

3. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA): Signed into law in August 2008, the law went into effect in February, 2009, catching many companies flat-footed and making them scramble to meet its mandates. Intended to prevent the problems that caused the massive toy recalls of 2007, it set new lead and other chemical testing and documentation requirements on toys and products consumers – primarily children 12 and younger – might come into contact with.

Many companies in the hobby industry were forced to relabel products to skirt the age requirements of the new law. In the broader toy industry, many items, including apparel, bedding and books could not be sold and had to be destroyed. Numerous small companies have gone out of business. One poll put the cost of the CPSIA at $2 billion to the toy industry.

Ironically, the large toy companies whose recalled products brought about the law suffered least. Almost a year later, there are still reports of toys sneaking onto store shelves that don’t meet the law’s requirements.

4. Märklin insolvency: Talk about bad timing: on the eve of the Nuremberg Spielwarenmesse Toy Fair that was largely going to be a 150th birthday party for Märklin, the German train manufacturer-which also owns LGB – declared bankruptcy. The unfortunate event cast a pall over the show, but receiver Michael Pluta did make an appearance to answer questions.

In the bigger picture, new product development for the company has slowed, as have exports of Märklin and LGB products to North America market. Perhaps the most visible impact has been on the U.S. large-scale segment.

After putting together a reorganization plan, potential buyers have been identified and and the sale of the company could happen this spring.

5. More German insolvencies: Märklin wasn’t the only German model railroad manufacturer to reorganize in 2009. Fleischmann also entered bankruptcy and is in the process of restructuring. Another casualty of the economy and slumping European train sales has been building and scenery manufacturer Faller, which, like the other companies, has seen a significant portion of its workforce slashed to stay alive.

6. Hobby trade shows: It was a mixed bag in 2009, with the economy playing the biggest role in the drop in attendance. Retailer numbers were reported up 10% at the National Retail Hobby Store Association’s Table Top Expo in Las Vegas, however, exhibitors were down. After selling out of booth space early for the 2008 iHobby Expo, 2009 saw about 25 fewer exhibitors, with dealer attendance comparable to the previous year. The bright spot? iHobby Expo drew more than 20,000 consumers, eclipsing 2008’s numbers by more than 5,000.

7. Train shows doing well: The January World’s Greatest Hobby show in Philadelphia in drew possibly the largest crowd ever to attend a model train show in the U.S.: just over 40,000 in two days. Almost 25,000 attended the first day, causing a 5-mile backup on the route to the show.

The WGH shows continue to average about 25,000 people per event. Additionally, individual shows like Trainfest in Milwaukee continue strong. This year’s event in the Brew City drew more than 21,000. Model railroading is dying? Hardly.

8. Amazon.com: This is a story that’s going to be making news for some time to come. The late summer brought rumblings the massive e-tailer was looking to expand its hobby offerings; the fall brought confirmation from the company itself: Among the hobbies represented are coin collecting, die-cast, hobby tools, models, radio control, rockets, science, sports trading cards, stamp collecting, games and model railroading.

9. R/C explores new marketing channels: There is no denying that R/C, overall, has been down for the last year. As hobbyists held on to dollars, R/C companies looked to utilize their marketing dollars outside the traditional hobby channels to reach a wider audience.

One of the biggest players in this movement was Traxxas, which not only penned a deal with Pep Boys to sell products in its stores, but also landed top billing for the Off-Road Championship series. A coalition of respected names in R/C, which includes Tamiya, Kyosho and HPI Racing, formed the R/C Motorsport Experience and exhibited at the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach, Calif., this past year. That show alone exposed the R/C hobby to 180,000 visitors over three days. Only time will tell whether this new marketing approach will build a broader R/C audience.

10. Fantasy leads plastic model resurgence: According to manufacturers, distributors and retailers, plastic models have been selling well even with a recession on. What has been a surprise is the banner year that fantasy and sci-fi plastic models have had.

Moebius Models, building on its Aurora repops, has made licensing agreements with Marvel Comics, DC, and Universal Studios, and is producing kits as fast as it can. Meanwhile, Round 2 is rereleasing many old Polar Lights kits and making new molds for its Star Trek license. Even Revell has thrown its hat into the ring, repopping its own classic Aurora monsters and Babylon 5 kits, along with continuing its partnership with the Star Wars franchise.

The other important factor in the success of these types of kits has been price. There have always been sci-fi and fantasy model makers, but the kits are often expensive and not widely available except to those in the know. Recent releases have been accessible, priced right, and some are targeted at novices or youngsters, which doesn’t hurt.

All of this in the face of increased production and shipping costs is a testament to the resiliency of plastic models. The buying public has proven to be open to products that are new, different and eye-catching.

Source: modelretailer.com

Schemes to reinstate An-124 pro¬duction have been kicking around for a while but began to take shape with the emergence of UAC, which devised a business plan acceptable to the Russian and Ukrainian governments. The resurgence in government aerospace and defense spending also played a crucial role.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently approved a plan to restart production of an upgraded An-124 version at the Aviastar-SP plant in Ulyanovsk, under the responsibility of United Aircraft Corp. (UAC). Known as the An-124-500, it would feature a glass cockpit for four crewmembers and enhancements to the aircraft’s Motor Sich D18-T powerplant that would boost range and payload and double the aircraft’s operating life to 50,000 hr. Deliveries would begin by 2014-15.

Volga-Dnepr Group–which with UAC and the Antonov design bureau has led the fight to restart production–says the upgrade was recently validated by Russia’s Central Aerohydrodyamics Institute (TsAGI) and the State Research Institue of Civil Aviation. However, for the new plan to go forward, Moscow must agree to invest $500 million to retool the plant and refurbish the assembly line, and launch customers must come forward with firm commitments.

VolgaDnepr says it is ready to commit to 20 of the new An-124s during 2011-20 and another 20 during 2021-27.
According to the air cargo operator, studies show the outsize freight service market has grown 30% annually during the past five years, to more than $1.1 billion, and will reach $7 billion by 2030. Consulting company SH&E predicts this will translate into a need for 70 An-124s.

However, it is not yet clear if the defense ministry, which already has a long list of hardware purchases on its wish list, is interested in a new An-124 acquisition just now. The ministry may place higher priority on renovating the 24 An-124s currently listed in the Russian air force inventory, most of which require a major overhaul.

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“Today is truly a proud and historic day for the global team who has worked tirelessly to design and build the 787 Dreamliner — the first all-new jet airplane of the 21st century. We look forward to the upcoming flight test program and soon bringing groundbreaking levels of efficiency, technology and passenger comfort to airlines and the flying public,” Francher announced.

More than 12,000 employees and guests watched as the plane rose into the air at 10:27 a.m. (1:27 p.m. ET) from Paine Field in Everett. It landed more than three hours later and about 40 miles away at Seattle’s Boeing Field after having flown at a speed of 207 mph at 15,000 feet — typical for a maiden flight, the company said.

“It’s good is see that plane fly,” said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group in Washington. “With all the delays, you begin to question when things will get on track.”
Video: Dreamliner takes flight
Video: Dreamliner’s smooth landing

During their time aloft, the chief pilot and captain tested some of the airplane’s systems and structures while flight data were transmitted electronically to a team of engineers at Boeing Field.

“The flight marks the beginning of a flight test program that will see six airplanes flying nearly around the clock and around the globe, with the airplane’s first delivery scheduled for fourth quarter 2010,” Boeing’s news release said.

Boeing promises passengers “a better flying experience” that includes cleaner air and bigger windows, more luggage space and better lighting. It promises airline operators greater efficiency by burning 20 percent less fuel than current models of comparable size and by providing as much as 45 percent more space for cargo.

So far, 55 customers have ordered 840 of the 787 planes. The official price of one such plane is $150 million.

“We think this is going to be a very efficient airplane,” Jim Albaugh, Boeing executive vice president and CEO, told CNN. “It’s going to change the way people travel.”

Despite the delays, Boeing’s first new commercial airliner in more than a decade will still be relevant, Albaugh said Monday.
It will be considered a game changer in 10 years.
–Richard Aboulafia, analyst

“It’s more environmentally friendly, it’s more efficient, uses less fuel, it’s going to cost the operator less to fly, it’s going to allow the passengers to pay less and feel better when they land,” he said.

“It will be considered a game changer in 10 years,” Aboulafia said of the aircraft that sill must clear a yearlong certification process.

Boeing’s fuel claims are linked to its design; it is the first major airliner to be made mostly of composite materials. As a result, it’s lighter.

Depending on the configuration, the plane can seat 200 to 300 passengers and can travel more than 2,500 nautical miles, making it an attractive aircraft for point-to-point international travel.

“Everyone wants it. Everyone needs it,” said Aboulafia. “It’s just a question of how long will it take to get it up to expectations” as the plane goes through the normal ups and downs of rolling out a new aircraft.

Boeing’s 787 is set to a 10-month schedule of flight tests. Commercial flying for this aircraft will happen by 2011.

Source: CNN.com

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