INSIDE - Big guns of the Gulf Coast - Region’s military aircraft - Airbus delivery center - The worker pipeline - Aerospace parks - Growing R&D 5th annual GULF COAST AEROSPACE CORRIDOR 2015-2016 June 2015 gulfcoastaerospacecorridor.com Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2015-2016 – 1 Researched, written and prepared by the Gulf Coast Reporters’ League, an independent team of current and former journalists. Support for this project was provided by our underwriters. Findings detailed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect views of the organizations or agencies that appear in this publication or provide support. This book is available as a free PDF download. Printed versions (color or black-and-white) are available from Lulu.com, a print-on-demand service based in Raleigh, N.C. All rights reserved. Cover photos: MQ-4C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter (Northrop Grumman photo); U.S. Coast Guard HC-144 (Airbus Military photo); Fat Albert of the Blue Angels (Navy photo); A321 vertical tail (Airbus photo); RS-25 test (NASA/Stennis Space Center photo); F-35 (Lockheed Martin photo); SpaceX Falcon 9 (SpaceX photo); CV-22 (U.S. Air Force photo) Version 2, 06/09/2015 Copyright © 2015-2016 by Tortorano Commissioned Publications/Gulf Coast Reporters’ League Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2015-2016 – 2 Acknowledgements Support for the research and compilation of this report was provided by the following organizations (alphabetical order): Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County Enterprise Florida Florida’s Great Northwest FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance Gulf Power Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport Mobile Airport Authority (Mobile Aeroplex/Mobile Airport) Pensacola Today PowerSouth Santa Rosa County Economic Development Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2015-2016 – 3 About us The Gulf Coast Reporters’ League was established in 2011 by four current and former journalists to provide research on aerospace activities along the Gulf Coast Interstate 10 region. First published in June 2011, the 2015 edition provides additional information from ongoing research. Information on the region’s aerospace activities is tracked throughout the year by the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor news digest (www.gcacnews.blogspot.com). League founders David Tortorano , owner of Tortorano Commissioned Publications of Gulf Breeze, Fla., has 40 years of newspaper experience. In the Gulf Coast he’s worked for UPI , the Pensacola News Journal , Northwest Florida Daily News , Mobile Press-Register and Sun Herald , where he was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service in 2006. Individual awards include a 1992 first- place for in-depth reporting from the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. Duwayne Escobedo , a freelance journalist, has worked nearly two dozen years as an editor, investigative reporter and columnist. His experience includes covering Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and a range of news, business and feature stories in Northwest Florida. His work has appeared in the New York Times , Associated Press , Bloomberg and Time magazine. He won the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors award for Investigative Reporting in 1997. Tom McLaughlin covers courts and politics and is an investigative reporter for the Northwest Florida Daily News . He’s an award winning reporter with 30 years of newspaper experience in the Southeast. He won the national Best of Freedom Award and Florida's Gold Medal for Public Service award, along with three investigative reporting awards and awards for court reporting, beat reporting, explanatory writing, deadline reporting and column writing. George Talbot , former political editor of the Press-Register in Mobile, Ala., is an awardwinning reporter/columnist with more than 18 years experience on daily newspapers. His coverage of the Air Force tanker competition received national recognition and multiple first-place awards, including the Alabama Press Association and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. He’s now communications chief for the mayor of Mobile. Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2015-2016 – 4 Associate members The League has a growing list of associates, all experienced former newspaper professionals, who provide research, stories and graphics. Kaija Wilkinson , former reporter with the Mobile Press-Register and Sun Herald of Biloxi-Gulfport, Miss., has more than 18 years experience as a writer. An awardwinning writer, she’s currently an associate editor at Elevator World , an international trade magazine. Born in San Francisco and raised in Canada, she’s also worked in New Orleans and Birmingham and lives in Mobile, Ala. Rod Duren is a retired Navy civilian public affairs officer who served for 25 years at multiple Gulf Coast commands in the areas of surface and aviation warfare and training, and military medicine. He also worked as a newspaper reporter, photographer, editor and associate publisher for 11 years. He’s now a correspondent for the Pensacola News Journal and lives in Pensacola, Fla. Melissa Scallan is a former reporter and editor with 25 years of newspaper experience. She previously worked for the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in Alexandria, La; the Monroe News Star in Monroe, La. and the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss. Currently she manages the Public Affairs office of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources in Biloxi. She lives in Gulfport, Miss. Ron Stallcup has worked more than 27 years in newsrooms, most at the Pensacola News Journal . An infographics specialist, he won first, second and third place from the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors in 2014. He currently works at PensacolaToday.com , producing stories, graphics, videos and photos, and oversees design of Studer Institute reports. He lives in Pensacola, Fla. Matt Irvin , former assistant metro editor at the Mobile Press-Register , is a freelance writer, researcher and editor. Through a newspaper career that spanned more than 30 years, he worked as a reporter, page designer, copy editor and news editor. He’s a native of the Gulf Coast region and lives in Mobile, Ala. Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2015-2016 – 5 Contents Executive summary 8 The four-state aerospace showcase Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi each has aerospace activities, but there’s only one place where the interests of all four come together... Preface: Region overview 14 The Gulf Coast way(s) of life Natural and man-made attributes, along with a wide variety of lifestyles, draws attention to the Gulf Coast region... Chapter I: Airbus 22 Delivery center set for debut The Airbus delivery center will be the public face of the aerospace giant when the first jetliner is turned over to JetBlue next year... Chapter II: The big guns 30 Top 10 call region home Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and others have decided the Gulf Coast is a great place to set up shop... Chapter III: Education pipeline 40 Filling the aviation pipeline Educators across the region have heard the call and are gearing up to help fill the expected need for workers in aerospace and aviation... Chapter IV: R&D/innovation 50 Innovation centers on the rise R&D played a role in creating the nation’s high-tech hot spots, and the Gulf Coast has more innovators than some might think... Chapter V: Aerospace/tech parks 62 Tech parks: A place to call home Multiple parks that cater to aviation dot the region and give prospects a variety of options to become a part of a large cluster... Chapter VI: Military aircraft 72 From F-35s to drones and more Military aircraft are a common sight in the region, and include everything from trainers to the most lethal assets in the U.S. arsenal... Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2015-2016 – 6 Library/research 88 Previous book chapters, sidebars, newsletters and articles Tables/information boxes/lists • U.S. aerospace industry, p8 • Chapter at a glance, p51 • Aerospace activities at a glance, p9 • Chapter at a glance, p63 • Gross Metropolitan Product 2013, p17 • Seeking advantage, p64 • Region’s metropolitan areas, populations, p21 • Florida First sites, p66 • Chapter at a glance, p23 • Project Ready sites, p70 • Delivery center profile, p26 • Aerospace-related parks, p71 • Suggested reading, p29 • Chapter at a glance, p73 • Chapter at a glance, p31 • Military activities at a glance, p73 • Suggested reading, p39 • Value of military bases, p74 • Chapter at a glance, p41 • Suggested reading, p86 • Aviation and aerospace career pathways, p44 Photos • Gulf Breeze sunset, Fla., p14 • Bob Sikes Airport, p65 • Eastern Shore, Ala., p16 • Pensacola International Airport, p67 • Cotton field, Baldwin County, p18 • Mobile Regional Airport, p69 • Beau Rivage, Biloxi, p19 • F-22 and F-35, p72 • Nepal jet loaded with supplies, Hamburg, p23 • A10, p75 • Airbus delivery center, Mobile, p24 • C130, p75 • Airbus delivery center, Toulouse, p25 • C-145A, p76 • Fuselage shipment, p27 • E-9A, p77 • SLS structure, p32 • F/A 18, p78 • Orion recovery, p34 • HC-144, p79 • Fire Scout MQ-4C, p35 • T-6B, p80 • Rolls-Royce engine test stand, p38 • UC-12W, p81 • Aviation training center, p40 • AH-64, p82 • Pensacola State College, p42 • CV-22, p82 • Flight simulator at BC Rain, p47 • TH-57, p83 • Michoud Vertical Assembly Center, p50 • UH-72, p84 • Eglin weapons test control room, p53 • QF-16, p86 • Fort Walton Beach Technology Park, p62 Maps/illustrations • Gulf Coast I-10 region, p8 • Front of A2IRc in Mobile, p59 • Gulf Coast I-10 cities, p10 • Interior of A2IRc in Mobile, p60 • British West Florida, p15 • Street view of A2IRc in Mobile, p60 • Airbus supply chain, p22 • IHMC three-story addition, p61 • 3D fuel nozzle, p28 • Whiting Aviation Park, p68 • NASA Space Launch System, p54 • Military bases, aviation bases, p87 • Interior of A2IRc in Mobile,Gulf p58 Coast Aerospace Corridor 2015-2016 – 7 Executive summary Alabama Florida Mississippi Louisiana GCAC illustration, Google Earth map The four-state aerospace showcase labama, Florida, Louisiana and Mis- U.S. aerospace industry sissippi each can brag about being a player in the aerospace industry.