Aircraft Manufacturing Industry Competitors

Executives should like Textron: The company's golf carts enrich their golfing jaunts; its Cessna airplanes and Bell helicopters whisk them around; its auto parts keep their cars running; and its financial subsidiary provides loans....

Tea and pasta may not go down well together, but British and Italian partners GKN and Finmeccanica thought their helicopters a good pairing and so formed AgustaWestland as a 50/50 joint venture in 2001....

Pilots? Aurora Flight Sciences don't need no pilots. The company designs and builds unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and produces composite structures for UAVs with both military and scientific applications. The company also provides flight operations and testing services for a variety of aircraft....

B-N Group has seen a lot of ups and downs. John Britten and Desmond Norman formed Britten-Norman in 1955 and began making the twin-engine, 10-seat Islander in 1966. By 1970 the company was also making the three-engine, 18-seat Trislander. Britten-Norman ran into trouble in the 1970s and went through several name changes before being acquired by B-N Group in 2000....

Boeing Satellite Systems International is happiest when its products are far, far away. A subsidiary of Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems unit, the company manufactures communications, meterological, military, and research satellites....

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Allied to aluminum and totally committed to titanium, GKN Aerospace Chem-tronics fabricates components (such as doors, ducts, enclosures, exhaust nozzles, keels, and bulkheads) for aircraft and spacecraft. The company, a subsidiary of GKN, specializes in lightweight chemically-milled titanium and aluminum alloy parts for engines, airframe structures, and launch vehicles....

No mere satellite in the world of general aviation, Mooney Aerospace Group wants to keep flying high. Through operating subsidiary Mooney Airplane, the company produces four models of high-performance, single-engine, piston-driven propeller aircraft: the Ovation 2 GX, the Ovation 3, the Acclaim, and the Acclaim GX....

Arianespace is tops in space launches. Arianespace, the world's leading satellite launch company, is a private European commercial space consortium that has launched more than 240 satellites using its Ariane launch vehicles. Arianespace has signed cooperative agreements with Boeing Satellite Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries....

Boeing is best known for its commercial planes, but its Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) unit -- formed when Boeing combined its Military Aircraft & Missile Systems and Space & Communications units -- carries the big sticks....

Helping the rich, famous, or merely busy soar to new heights, Dassault Falcon Jet sells and supports Falcon 50EX, 900DX, 900EX, 7X, 2000DX, and 2000EX business jets. A subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, the company provides such offerings as engine maintenance, spare parts and tools distribution, parts exchange, special equipment testing, operational assistance, and pilot, maintenance, and cabin crew training....

A centaur is part man, part horse; a griffin is part eagle, part lion; and a gyroplane is part helicopter, part airplane. Groen Brothers Aviation's Hawk series gyroplanes are designed to be safer in low and slow flight than either an airplane or a helicopter....

Kaman Aerospace is best known for its Super Seasprite and K-MAX Aerial Truck helicopters, but it does much more than make maritime and large transport helicopters. A subsidiary of Kaman Corporation, its other aerospace offerings include electro-optic devices (light detection and ranging systems), fuzes and safety systems (munitions safing and arming devices), aircraft components (wing structures, engine doors, and machined parts), rugged memory systems (disk and solid state), aerospace bearings (Kamatics), and non-contact position measuring systems (used to measure alignment, thickness, dimensions, pressure, and vibration)....

Meet George Jetson... Well, not quite, but Moller International is working on a Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft that bears more than a passing resemblance to George's daily ride. The company is testing a prototype of its M400 Skycar in preparation for seeking FAA certification....

Russian-born helicopter pioneer Igor Sikorsky is long dead, but helicopters bearing his name still fly the skies. A subsidiary of United Technologies, Sikorsky Aircraft's military helicopters include the Black Hawk, used for troop assault, combat support, special operations, and medevac operations; and the Seahawk, used for submarine hunting, missile targeting, anti-surface ship warfare, and search and rescue....

Boeing is the 800-pound gorilla of US aerospace. The world's largest aerospace company, Boeing is the #2 maker of large commercial jets (behind rival Airbus) and the #2 defense contractor behind Lockheed Martin....