McDonnell Douglas

McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing 30 years later, it produced a number of well-known commercial and military aircraft such as the DC-10 airliner and F-15 Eagle air-superiority fighter.

The corporation was based at Lambert–St. Louis International Airport near St. Louis, Missouri, while the headquarters for its subsidiary, the McDonnell Douglas Technical Services Company (MDTSC), were established in unincorporated St. Louis County, Missouri.

History

Background

The company was formed from the firms of James Smith McDonnell and Donald Wills Douglas in 1967. Both men were of Scottish ancestry, graduates of MIT and had worked for the aircraft manufacturer Glenn L. Martin Company.

Douglas had been chief engineer at Martin before leaving to establish Davis-Douglas Company in early 1920 in Los Angeles. He bought out his backer and renamed the firm the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1921.

Super Hornet

Super Hornet may refer to:

A18

A18 or A-18 is a three-character acronym that may refer to:

Grumman F-14 Tomcat

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program following the collapse of the F-111B project. The F-14 was the first of the American teen-series fighters, which were designed incorporating the experience of air combat against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.

The F-14 first flew in December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65), replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The F-14 served as the U.S. Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor and tactical aerial reconnaissance platform. In the 1990s, it added the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pod system and began performing precision ground-attack missions.

In the 1980s F-14s were used as land-based interceptors by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force during the Iran–Iraq War, where they saw combat against Iraqi warplanes. Iranian F-14s reportedly shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the war, while only 12 to 16 Tomcats were shot down; at least half of these losses were due to accidents.

Avalon Airport

Avalon Airport (IATA: AVV, ICAO: YMAV) is the second busiest of the four airports serving Melbourne (in passenger traffic) and is located in Avalon, Victoria, Australia, 50 km (31 mi) to the south-west of the state capital Melbourne and 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of the city of Geelong. The airport is operated by Avalon Airport Australia Pty Ltd (AAA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fox Group Holdings Pty Ltd and is situated on a 1,753 hectare site, 40 minutes drive from Melbourne’s Central Business District and 20 minutes from Geelong.

The airport's location between Melbourne and Geelong makes it both a capital city airport and a regional airport, servicing a large regional catchment in western Victoria and providing connections to tourism destinations such as the Great Ocean Road. Since Linfox Group’s purchase of the airport in 1997, Avalon Airport’s aviation operations have grown significantly as it has established itself as a second gateway to the Melbourne and Geelong regions. Today, the airport contains land and facilities that are surplus to current and projected aviation requirements. This provides the opportunity to pursue property development projects for a wider range of activities, which support Avalon Airport’s growth as an airport and as a major employment centre for the region. The business has an established a vision for Avalon Airport: “to be a World Class Centre of Aviation Excellence”, achieved via four pillars of activities: passenger operations, technical aviation operations, freight operations and retail and commercial developments.