Boeing’s Wichita Operations Cut Jobs: Boeing is restructuring its Wichita, Kan., operations, laying off approximately 900 because of defense budget cuts, program delays, and contract completions. According to Derek McLuckey, general manager of the site, the Wichita plant will continue to handle military modifications and upgrades for 747s and other aircraft and will focus on engineering work for the B-52 fleet and other aviation and defense projects. The company plans to move management of its KC-135 program and several engineering jobs to its Oklahoma City, Okla., site later this year “to better service the customer.”
An Air Force F-16 pilot designed a collapsible ladder that weighs just six pounds and folds into the unused cockpit map case.