Aviation – How to Succeed – Part 5

General Aviation

Raytheon – Founded in 1922, it is a very significant defense contractor in the US, and is also the foremost producer of guided missiles throughout the world. In 1980, it purchased Beech Aircraft Corporation, an important manufacturer of piston and turboprop aircraft. In 1993, it added the Hawker line of business jets from British Aerospace. In early 2007, Raytheon disposed of its aircraft operations, which now conduct business under the name of Hawker Beechcraft.

Light Aircraft

The majority of the general aviation fleet consists of light aircraft. The most significant recent developments in this category have been the introduction of advanced avionics (which consists of the electronics systems used on the aircraft, and is made up of the communications, navigation, and the display and management of the multiple systems). Such avionics also include GPS (or Global Positioning System, which is a U.S. global navigation satellite system positioned above the earth. Its role is to provide dependable positioning, navigation, and timing data to worldwide users, on a continuous basis, regardless of weather, 24 hours a day, and anywhere on or near the Earth). Such sophisticated avionics were previously only available on large airliners. A further groundbreaking addition to make small aircraft lighter and faster has been the introduction of composite materials (or composites, which are finely engineered special materials, such as carbon fibre, made from two or more constituent components with significantly different physical or chemical properties, which remain separate and distinguishable within the final structure. (more…)