ndmckinney|net

Here in Washington, D.C., we see a lot of lobbying advertisements, far more than the rest of the United States. Since most of the Congressmen and their staff reside here, we are the target market for these “issue ads”.

Today, I saw a link to an issue add from Northrup Grumman claiming that “KC-45: It won on the most American of Values: Merit”. As you may remember, the decision to award the contract to Northrup and EADS, the European manufacturer of Airbus, was somewhat controversial. However, the only argument put forth by Boeing seems to have been “we’re Boeing. We’ll give you the privilege of giving us lots of money through sub-standard leases in exchange for a substandard aircraft”.

From what I can remember, this is the first time I’ve seen an ad asking to keep a contract award, to to be given one.

[From America's New Tanker - KC-45]

According to the wire services, a B-2 Spirt stealth bomber has crashed in Guam. Both pilots are reported to have ejected safely and are under medical observation at this time.

This is a substantial loss for the United States Air Force. Not only does the B-2 cost $1.2 billion dollars, but there are only twenty-one B-2s in existence.

I think we the people will see a new funding request. I don’t think it will be granted.

[From In a First, $1.2 Billion Stealth Crashes - washingtonpost.com, Un appareil B-2 de l'US Air Force s'écrase à Guam]

It looks like Boeing is taking a page straight out of the Airbus operations manual. The BBC is reporting that Boeing will delay the maiden flight of the new 787 ‘Dreamliner’ by as much as three months.

The competitor to the 787 from Airbus, the A350, has been experiencing similar delays, although not nearly as substantial as the delays for the massive A380. However, delays or not, nothing seems to be shaking the fact that Boeing has seven times as many orders (706 Boeing orders, according to the BBC v. 228 Airbus orders, according to the company website).