Adrian is Auckland bureau chief for Aviation Week, based in New Zealand. He covers commercial aviation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Adrian was previously based in Aviation Week’s Washington office for nine years, writing for a range of the group’s publications and covering many aspects of the commercial aviation industry. He has won Australasian and international awards for his aviation writing.
Prior to joining Aviation Week in 2002, Adrian covered aviation industry and policy issues for two other publishing companies in Washington. He has also worked for newspapers in Texas and New Zealand, covering a wide range of topics. Adrian graduated from Auckland University with a degree in history and English in 1992.
With Boeing on pace to easily achieve its initial order estimate for its popular 787 program, a leading aerospace analyst believes the company is correct in anticipating no slowdown in demand. When Boeing launched the 787 in 2004, it projected that the aircraft would capture as many as 500 orders by the time of the first flight -- scheduled around the end of August. The company already has 460 orders for the 787, and this week program head Mike Bair predicted it will soon surpass the 500-order milestone (DAILY, March 20).
Vought Aircraft Industries says it is on track to make its first production shipment for the 787 program sometime this month. The shipment will include two fuselage sections - Aft Section 47, measuring 19 feet in diameter and 23 feet long, and Section 48, which is 14 feet in diameter and 15 feet long. These two combined represent 23% of the entire fuselage section.
House aviation leaders yesterday all but closed the door on the administration's proposal to overhaul the aviation funding system, and the lawmakers found support in comments from the most important government watchdog agencies.
