With Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCP), as air travel goes, so go the profits, which is why I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for the company, first recommended on April 20, 2009, at a price of $61.92. If you bought PCP in April, you're up an impressive 50%.

Precision is a major maker of jet engine components, and PCP will benefit as engine orders ramp-up in FY2010. By most measures, an industrial bottom is occurring in the U.S. and global economies in Q3/Q4. Hence, rising demand coupled with the need to re-stock inventories of parts bodes well for Precision. The key revenue drivers: 1) emerging market economies that are modernizing their airline fleets and increasing fleet sizes and 2) Boeing's (NYSE: BA) new 787 Dreamliner, which should undergo its first test flight by the end of 2009.

The major revenue driver for Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP) is up in the air, literally. Precision is a major maker of jet engine components, and although only modest growth is expected in the sector, due to moderating demand, PCP will benefit as production ramps-up in FY2010.

Therefore, I'm reiterating my Buy rating for Precision Castparts, first recommended on April 20, 2009 at a price of $61.92. If you purchased PCP at that time, you're up a nice 35%.

Readers of this space know that the investment bias is toward large-cap companies with demonstrated business models and who have a competitive advantage in established markets, preferably with a favorable, global trend as a support. And with the aforementioned in mind, Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP) is worth a review.

Just call Precision Castparts a hybrid cyclical/defensive. The company is a large manufacturer of forged components for the power generation market, and in case one hasn't noticed, upgrades and expansion of power generation facilities should benefit from the Obama administration's initiatives to renovate the nation's electric grid, among other energy projects. Demand for industrial gas turbine parts should remain more than adequate.

My recent Investing in Oregon post took a look at some companies that the Motley Fool had featured in its investigation of investment opportunities in the Beaver State, including Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCP), StanCorp Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: SFG), FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR), and Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM).

But the Motley Fool article also mentioned that one of the most prominent business influences in Oregon wasn't even headquartered in the state: semiconductor giant Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) from Santa Clara, California. It also included mention of four Oregon-based businesses that provided support for Intel: Tektronix Inc. (NYSE: TEK), Mentor Graphics Corp. (NASDAQ: MENT), Triquint Semiconductor Inc. (NASDAQ: TQNT), and Electro Scientific Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ESIO). One could imagine that Intel's impressive earnings report this week should have been good news for these supporting companies.

Beaverton-based Tektronix, widely known as Tek, is one of the leading makers of test and measurement equipment, such as digital multimeters, logic analyzers, and curve tracers, and oscilloscopes. Tek will win its seventh technical Emmy this year. Tek beat Wall Street expectations in its previous three quarters, reporting earnings per share of 40 cents for its first quarter FY2008. But the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was to hold shares of Tek. The share price reached a 52-week high of $37.95 on Monday when it was announced that Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) will acquire Tek. Tool and equipment maker Danaher just announced record third quarter results.

The end of Oregon Trail may not be the trapping and logging region that it once was, but the Beaver State still has a thriving agriculture sector, including such products as potatoes, apples, hops, and hazelnuts (more than 90% of domestic production of hazelnuts). But the Pacific Northwest is known today as a high-tech region, with growth through both domestic relocation and foreign immigration. The lack of a sales tax in Oregon probably doesn't hurt when it comes to attracting investment and labor.

When the Motley Fool investigated investment opportunities in Oregon earlier this year, first on their list was, of course, Oregon's largest public company, Beaverton-based Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), the world's largest shoemaker. We pretty regularly cover Nike here at BloggingStocks. The Motley Fool also took a look at Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCP), StanCorp Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: SFG), FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR), and Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM).