Andrew Schmertz, CEO of Hopscotch Air, Inc and blog commentator makes a comparison between two very distinct industries, Hollywood and the aviation market. Though their differences are clear, he finds there is common ground in their struggle.

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Russian company Irkut just unveiled its new 160- to 212-seat narrowbody named Irkut MC-21-300. Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev attended the unveiling and stated that “plans for first flight within a year”. Also at the event was Irkut vice president of marketing Kirill Budaev who mentioned the potential to replace some of the Western partners on the program in the future once Russian companies can develop up to Western standards.

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Boeing, the multinational corporation giant has announced on July 15th that under a $127.3 million dollar contract, it will begin developing power, interior, and electronic specifications for the next generation of “Air Force One”. In a contract award bulletin, the Defense Department stated that the award was decided upon in order to reduce the risk of delays and cost overruns in anticipation of the USAF committing to a full-scale development and procurement of three 747-8s.

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CityJet, the Irish regional airline which is headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, has recently taken delivery of the very first Sukhoi SSJ100 aircraft in Western Europe during a ceremony which was held in Venice, Italy. This ceremony was held at the SuperJet International, which is the headquarters for the program’s Western aftermarket support and sales partner. The Irish regional airline currently holds a delivery option for 16 SSJ100s and has also agreed to lease 15 SSJ100s. including all of the aftersales services and options, this deal is estimated to be valued at more than $1 billion.

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The Federal Aviation Administration will begin to expand the Pathfinder Program which focuses on detecting identifying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) flying too close to airports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) just recently signed the Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRDAs) with Gryphon Sensors, Liteye Systems Inc. and Sensofusion with the intention to evaluate procedures and technologies designed to identify unauthorized UAS operations in and around airports. This is all part of the FAA’s Pathfinder Initiative research effort aimed to address one of the significant challenges to safe integration of UAS into our nation’s airspace. Marke “Hoot” Gibson, FAA Senior Advisor on UAS Integration believes that the Government and industry share responsibility for keeping the skies safe because people sometime fly drones in unsafe manners.

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Atlantic Aviation, the Texas-based operator with 68 fixed-based operators around the United States, has recently acquired the Black Canyon Jet Center, the only fixed-based operator at the Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado. Black Canyon Jet Center’s facility has served as a gateway into Colorado’s ski resorts, such as Telluride. This facility at the Montrose Regional Airport has received high ratings, specifically for their customer service, by readers in Aviation International News’ annual fixed based operator survey.

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Delta Air Lines Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia, and Bombardier Commercial Aircraft have recently come to a firm agreement for the purchase and sale of 75 CS100 aircrafts. Bombardier’s CS100 aircraft is a twin-engine, narrow-body, medium-range jet airliner which is capable of seating up to 110 passengers. This purchase agreement will allow for options for an addition fifty CS100 aircrafts. At a later date, Delta Air Lines may choose to convert some of these CS100 aircrafts into CS300 aircrafts. This firm order agreement is approximately valued at $5.6 billion, according to list prices of the CS100 aircraft.

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James Drew wrote an article on Flight Global talking about how Boeing still remains confident as the CH-53K Chinook enters the market. According to Steve Parker, Boeing’s vice president of the heavy lift helicopter program, the CH-47 Chinook is in a great position to go up against international orders such as the Sikorsky CH-35K King Stallion as both the CH-53K and CH-47 go up against Germany. Germany is planning to replace its outdated fleet. The outdated fleet is the CH-53Gs which will be replaced in 2022. Luftwaffe says that the CH-47 and CH-53K are most appropriate for the Bell-Boeing V-22.

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