My corner of the institution: KARL explores global leadership in Wichita...


We couldn't take pictures, so I borrowed. (compositesworld.com)

I had a moment during the last KARL Class XII seminar in Wichita as I was watching the fuselage (that's the nose) of an airplane being built. It was moving along the assembly line at a snails pace as workers and machines crafted the massive structures that take me from place to place.

"I am never telling Dad this is basically made out of duct tape," I said to myself as I watched and listened to our tour guide at Spirit Aerosystems. "Seriously, freakin' duct tape."

OK, so it's not real duct tape, but it's like duct tape. It's a composite of metal that looks and feels like stiff electrical tape. It comes in gigantic rolls and they spin the fuselage about a gazillion times layering and wrapping this composite tape around. Then they cook them to melt the tape all together and you have yourself a nose of an airplane. It may be slightly more complicated, but that's the diluted version.

In Wichita they make all sorts fuselages for different sizes of airplanes and we got to watch and observe. We watched the nose come together, we watched as robots went around and around putting rivets in, tested, tested, and tested some more. We watched them prep pieces, add electrical units, and see what they look like prior to being shipped to the location where the rest of the plane will be assembled. It made me look at air travel a little differently.

They churn out about three planes per week, but shortly that production will increase. It was fascinating to learn about aviation and what a huge role it plays in the Kansas economy. Most people think agriculture is all Kansas has, but I'm here to tell you - "not so fast my friend."

In Kansas Spirit Aerosystems is the largest employer in the state with 12,000 employees. In addition, the aviation industry generates about 3.6 jobs for every one with support and development jobs needed. The aviation industry contributes billions into the economy. In fact, agriculture companies that depend on the aviation industry sustain about $1.2 billion in economic activity.

Eye opening for most of us.

Touring the mill. (photo courtesy of KARL program)

This seminar included some very cool visits. In addition to aviation, we were able to tour the Ardent Mills flour mill, and the Cargill Innovation Center.

The Ardent Mills tour was pretty interesting. We learned about the merger between Cargill and ConAgra, were able to walk through the mill, learn how flour is milled, and get a look at how they distribute.

Following our mill tour we headed down to the new Cargill Innovation Center. This is where food scientists, chefs, and food safety experts work to ensure we have the safest food supply in the world. In the CIC they have kitchens set up like a home kitchen, a restaurant kitchen, and they can even mimic grocery counters, and convenience store displays. They have the ability to bring clients in and showcase new products, or work with clients on a variety of things. This was a really cool part of the day, even if it was the last tour of the day and everybody was toured out.

Our tour guide helped develop foods for McDonalds. She also showed us how they do safety studies, utilize chemists, and even have a lab to diagnose and study pathogens. I have friends in food science, and this was a pretty fascinating look into what they do.

Also on the list of visits for Wichita were Koch Industries, which was very interesting given the state of their public relations that has been up and down since 2010. Personally, I was amazed by their VP of communications. I could have listened to her all day talk about public relations, how they handle media, and how they use relationships to curb image. Very intriguing to say the least.

In addition to touring corporations we had the opportunity to visit Holy Savior Catholic School near downtown Wichita to present agriculture to inner city kids. It was more fun than I anticipated. Our class broke up into groups to present topics like soil science, value added products, plants, and animal science. I was on the animal science team and we had kids match up byproducts, and characteristics of multiple species of animals on a board.

Yes, I had a few favorites. The highlight of the day was the little guy that did the creep (walked like a T-Rex) to the board. He also thought beef jerky shouldn't be in a stick. It was still jerky.

As we wrapped our session in Wichita we also wrapped our regular seminars for the program. It's been an incredible two year journey, and I'm looking forward to the last two months of the program. Class XII is preparing to head to South Africa in March for two weeks, and I'm positive we'll have something to blog about!

ccording to the 2010 Kansas Aviation Economic Impact study, the total economic impact of general aviation is $5.4 billion.

AVIATION BY THE NUMBERS

According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, Division of Aviation, Kansas has 130 public-use general aviation airports. According to the FAA, these airports serve 6,934 pilots and 3,138 active general aviation aircraft.

NUMBER OF JOBS

According to the 2010 Kansas Aviation Economic Impact study, general aviation airports support 23,266 jobs and an overall payroll of $1.1 billion.
According to the same study, approximately 47,000 additional jobs in Kansas depend on the development, production and manufacture of aircraft, aviation support systems, aircraft components and other aviation and aerospace-related products. These jobs support an overall payroll of $1.6 billion annually. According to a Wichita Eagle article from March 14, 2014, Cessna supports 5,400 jobs and Beechcraft supports about 3,500.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The 2010 Kansas Aviation Economic Impact study found that general aviation supports $5.4 billion in economic activity annually in Kansas. According to the same study, agricultural companies in Kansas that depend on aviation sustain up to $1.2 billion in economic activity.
FAA data shows that Kansas is home to 103 repair stations, 7 FAA-approved pilot schools, 1,281 flight students and 1,406 instructors. In addition, there are 91 fixed-base operators in the state registered in the AC-U-KWIK database. According to Helicopter Association International, there are 414 heliports in the state.
According to the University Aviation Association, flight departments in Kansas include Kansas State University in Salina.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

For businesses like Wichita-based Berry Companies, business aviation is a valuable tool. According to company President Walter Berry, "We wouldn't have looked at opportunities as far away... We'd be a lost smaller." ("Corporate planes give business owners an edge," THE WICHITA EAGLE. Dec. 13, 2012)