Brazil's new entrants in aviation design and manufacturing are specializing in niche markets for domestic consumption and are receiving support from industry, academia and government agencies.

High operating costs and scheduling conflicts prompted Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce to think that Tennessee was maybe not the best place to do ice certification testing. It was time to find a locale where it is really, really cold.

Maintenance outsourcing plays an increasingly important role in the business model of airlines around the world. Cathay Pacific Airways has a unique perspective on outsourcing, having taken the concept further than almost any other carrier. Cathay's Engineering Director Christopher Gibbs talks to Aviation Week's Adrian Schofield about the challenges and benefits of an outsourced maintenance model and Cathay's relationship with long-time MRO provider, Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. (Haeco).

Internal debate is raging over whether NASA has the right flight-research assets in place to test the array of technologies emerging in coming years from its Subsonic Fixed Wing and Environmentally Responsible Aviation programs. The only X-plane on the near horizon is the X-56A Multi-Use Technology Testbed, an unmanned aircraft built by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and expected to be handed over to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center by year-end.

With funding tight, NASA leaders say it's time to pick priorities.

Even though Russia bet heavily on Western turbofans to revive its commercial aerospace fortunes, the country has also continued to focus on bolstering its domestic aircraft engine industry. That effort is now a step closer with the Perm-based Aviadvigatel design bureau moving forward with development of the PD-14 turbofan to power Russia's new Irkut MS-21 narrowbody airliner. The aircraft also is being offered with the Pratt & Whitney PW1400G.

In Japan, it was last year's earthquake and tsunami; manufacturers worldwide are still recovering. In the U.S., a swarm of tornadoes ripping across Kansas—and striking Spirit AeroSystems—brought another reminder of just how vulnerable and vastly inter-connected the aviation's supply chain is to natural disasters.

Investors seem to believe that Textron Inc.'s darkest days are behind it. The share price of the 89-year-old parent company of Cessna Aircraft, Bell Helicopter and Textron Systems rose more than 50% during the first quarter of 2012. And while the stock has declined a bit in April, it has recovered from a slump that began a year ago, when it became apparent that a rebound in the lower end of the business jet market was further off than anticipated.