Mon, May 19, 2008
Tiahrt Praised Planemaker's Jobs Six Years Ago
US Representative Todd Tiahrt has represented the 4th District
of Kansas in Congress since 1995. He's slamming the decision by the
US Air Force to award the KC-X contract for the next-generation
aerial refueling tanker to Northrop Grumman and EADS. His position
is popular with Boeing employees and US unions, but is being
characterized as a misinformation campaign by Airbus officials.
Six years ago, Tiahrt praised a decision by Airbus North America
to open an engineering office in Wichita. Now, 200 Airbus employees
there are taking exception to Tiahrt's anti-Airbus tirades.
In a recent speech before a crowd of Boeing supporters, Tiahrt
made reference to EADS's recent attempt to sell military
helicopters in Iran, and allegations of insider trading and illegal
government subsidies, in arguing that the bid from Northrop
Grumman and EADS should have been disallowed.
Airbus North America chairman Allan McArtor told the Wichita
Eagle that Tiahrt has "...gone beyond a chance of misinterpretation
or misunderstanding of the Air Force selection process," and is
engaging in an "intentional misinformation campaign."
Specifically, Tiahrt says the KC-45A tanker was chosen through a
flawed process, can operate from fewer bases, is less survivable
and less fuel-efficient than Boeing smaller plane, which would be
based on the 767 airliner.
McArtor notes that the selection process drew compliments from
Boeing... until Boeing lost. He calls Tiahrt's other assertions
"patently wrong."
On his "Tanker Blog," Tiahrt asserts "An American tanker should
be built by an American company with American workers." McArtor
counters that "I don't find Alabamans any less American than
Kansans."
Tiahrt was employed by Boeing for 14 years before he ran for
Congress.
More News
Aero Linx: International Business Aviation Council Ltd IBAC promotes the growth of business aviation, benefiting all sectors of the industry and all regions of the world. As a non->[...]
"During the annual inspection of the B-24 “Diamond Lil” this off-season, we made the determination that 'Lil' needs some new feathers. Due to weathering, the cloth-cove>[...]
Also: Bushcat Woes, Hummingbird 300 SL 4-Seat Heli Kit, Carbon Cub UL The newest Junkers is a faithful recreation that mates a 7-cylinder Verner radial engine to the airframe offer>[...]
Also: Seaplane Pilots Association, Rotax 916’s First Year, Gene Conrad After a decade and a half of struggling with the FAA and other aero-politics, G100UL is in production a>[...]
Also: Martha King Scholarship, Montaer Grows, Textron Updates Pistons, FlySto The FAA is hiring thousands of air traffic controllers, but the window to apply will only be open for >[...]