DuPont-based Venture Bank will host four public gatherings within the next few weeks to address the current financial situation and its effect on community banks.

The one-hour meetings will focus on the local impact of stimulus legislation as well as the overall state of the nation's community financial institutions, according to a release today.

"Our goal is to help people understand the complex changes that have already happened in 2009 and see them from the perspective of the direct impact they are having (or could have) on our local, Main Street economy," said Jim Arneson, Venture president and CEO.

The meetings will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. as follows:
• March 24, Gig Harbor: Inn at Gig Harbor, 3211 56th St. N.W.
• March 31, Tumwater: Masonic Center, 455 North St. S.E.
• April 8, Tacoma: Cheney Stadium, 2502 S. Tyler St.
• April 15, Tumwater: Masonic Center, 455 North St. S.E.

Boeing's sixth and final test 787 Dreamliner entered production this week in Boeing's Everett plant.

Under Boeing's original schedule, that plane would have been built and flying now. It's testing phase would have been concluded a year ago.

But production and supply problems have delayed the production process by nearly two years. The first Dreamliner, rolled out for the public, in July 2007, has yet to make its first flight. That flight is now scheduled before the end of June.

Here's what Boeing had to say about the beginning of construction of the sixth plane:

The airplane, designated ZA006, will be powered with General Electric GEnx engines.

Progress continues on the fleet. The first flight test airplane, ZA001, is getting its paint touched up this week before finishing factory testing. Power was brought onto the second airplane, ZA002, in late February and build verification tests are progressing well.

Production work continues on ZA003, ZA004 and ZA005. In all, assemblies for 31 Dreamliners are currently in production throughout the supply chain.

The 787 Dreamliner has orders for 878 airplanes from 57 customers.

The U.S. State Department has put its stamp of approval on a $2.1 billion contract under which the Indian government will buy eight submarine hunting aircraft from Boeing.

The P-8I aircraft are militarized versions of the company's popular 737 airliner. The planes will be equipped with advanced submarine and ocean surveillance equipment and weaponry.

The twin-engine patrol aircraft will be built on a special assembly line in Boeing's Renton plant.

The Indian government selected the Boeing aircraft from among several proposed by aircraft makers around the world in early January.

The proposed contract calls for delivery of the first plane within four years. The Indian government has an option to purchase eight more of the aircraft.

The U.S. Navy is buying 108 similar aircraft from Boeing for its own use.

More signs that the sickened economy is making big changes in how airlines are operating emerged this week, and they're not encouraging for Airbus's huge A380 aircraft.

Airlines around the world say their overseas business is down significantly in the first two months of 2009, and they're cutting routes,frequencies and capacities between many international city pairs to cope.

Dubai's Emirates Airways this week announced that it will end service between New York and Dubai using the huge Airbus A380 aircraft and substitute smaller Boeing 777s on the route.

The A380 is a super-efficient aircraft when it operates full but when it flies with a substantial number of empty seats, its profitability falls. That's what's happening on the New York route. The 777 is also a money maker when it operates nearly full, and it's 150 seats smaller than the A380.

Emirates is moving the A380s to Toronto where they'll operate three times weekly and to Bangkok on a tourist-oriented route.

Airline industry analysts are wondering out loud whether Emirates, Airbus's biggest A380 customer, will continue taking delivery of the giant jets on their original schedule. It has 54 on order.

Meanwhile in the Los Angeles-Sydney market where Qantas has deployed A380s, a fare war has broken out as the additional capacity of those planes plus the entrance of a new competitor, V-Australia, has created a glut of seats. Qantas was advertising one-way tickets to Australia this week for $299.

Meanwhile the world's largest aircraft leasing company, International Lease Finance Corporation, isn't saying whether it will cancel its order for 10 of the big Airbus jets when it has the opportunity next January.

Air France, domiciled in Airbus's home country, France, meanwhile has postponed two A380 deliveries, and India's Kingfisher Airways has postponed its first A380 deliveries two years until 2014.

The Boeing Co. has rolled out a stealth version of its classic F-15 fighter aircraft designed to compete with newer designs from both U.S. and foreign aircraft builders.

The F-15 Silent Eagle features stealth additions such as radar absorbing coatings, weapons systems hidden within the aircraft body and canted vertical tails designed to reduce the plane's radar signature.

The modernized version of the F-15, the original model of which debuted in the '70s, is aimed at foreign customers shopping for modern fighter aircraft.

The new version of the F-15 also features new radar and electronic warfare systems that allow the pilot to jam enemy radar while still using the plane's own radar to detect opposition aircraft.

Boeing's new F-15 model is intended to keep Boeing in the fighter business beyond the normal end of the design life of the venerable fighter.

Boeing builds its two fighter aircraft, the F-18 and the F-15, at a former McDonnell Douglas plant in St. Louis. Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged in 1997.

The U.S. military's newest fighters, the F-22 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, are built by Boeing rival Lockheed Martin. Boeing builds the wings and aft fuselage for the F-22 under contract to Lockheed Martin at a factory at Seattle's Boeing Field.