Learning To Fly with Night-vision Goggles

A variety of companies offer pilots training to fly with night-vision goggles (NVG), but one is also the pioneer of developing NVG for the civil aviation market and manufactures and maintains these precision optical-electronic devices: Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU). AIN visited ASU recently at its Boise, Idaho headquarters to learn more about NVG, including participating in a training class and flying ASU’s Bell 505 at night while wearing NVG.

NVG have seen dramatic improvements since military helicopter pilots first began flying with them in the 1960s. Now most medevac operations use NVG during night operations, and they are penetrating the fixed-wing market, such as for night agricultural flying and other types of operations with minimal ambient lighting. ASU offers training in its Bell 505 and a Cessna 206 equipped for NVG operations and says it is the only company offering fixed-wing NVG training. ASU also certifies and installs the required NVG-compatible lighting and avionics filters on airplanes and helicopters.

BJT: Inside an Electrifying Flight over Versailles

Volocopter had hoped to be able to fly passengers around Paris during the Olympic Games, but the approval process proved to be too tight. That's not surprising given the new technologies involved and regulators who are trying to keep up regarding certification rules.

Nonetheless, the German company and its local partners were able to demonstrate what the aircraft can do just days after the 2024 Summer Olympics concluded. The eVTOL took off from the Saint-Cyr-l’École Airfield in the southwestern suburbs of Paris before making an eye-catching appearance at the historic palace of Versailles.

From the Archives: General Dynamics To Buy Jet Aviation

Gulfstream Aerospace parent company General Dynamics has agreed to pay approximately $2.25 billion to buy Jet Aviation from the Permira Funds private-equity group. Subject to antitrust legal approval, General Dynamics’ acquisition of all Jet Aviation stock should be complete by year-end after Permira subsidiary Dreamliner Lux signed a SwF2.45 billion purchase agreement on Aug. 19, 2008.

Permira bought Jet Aviation in October 2005 for an undisclosed sum (understood at the time to be in the region of $700 million) from its private shareholders (mainly the Hirschmann family). Earlier in 2008, there were rumblings that Permira intended to resell the company, but neither Permira nor Jet Aviation would confirm these reports at the time.

Bombardier, Pilatus Tops in AIN Product Support Survey

AIN’s product support survey for 2024 saw Bombardier rise to the top of all manufacturers with a full-point improvement from 2023, when it ranked last with a score of 7.6. The company’s 8.6 rating this year resulted from a strong showing in several categories, including a tie for first place with Dassault Falcon in warranty fulfillment at a score of 9.0.

Also seeing gains in support rankings in 2024 were Embraer Executive Jets and Dassault, with each improving by 0.4 points in the overall average from 2023. Both had strong service center ratings, reflecting their concerted effort to expand support capacity.

BJT: Air Partner Pulls Off Themed Group Charter Flight

Most private jet charter customers are looking for an ultra-discreet way to travel away from the public gaze. That wasn’t the case when Air Partner took a call from gambling group Paddy Power requesting an aircraft to fly a substantial group of staff, brand ambassadors, and customers from the UK to Germany during this summer’s European soccer championship.

“This was a wow project, they wanted the flight to promote their brand,” said Air Partner senior v-p for group charter Clive Chalmers. The UK-based charter broker is a subsidiary of private aviation group Wheels Up and arranges flights for its North American customers worldwide.

FutureFlight: eVTOL Deliveries Boost EHang's Bottom Line

EHang has achieved its highest number of deliveries to date with its two-seat EH216-S autonomous eVTOL. Reporting financial results for the second quarter, the Chinese company said it delivered 49 of these aircraft in the second quarter—nearly twice the 26 it shipped in the first quarter.

Deliveries of the aircraft that achieved type certification with the Civil Aviation Administration of China in October were a big boost to EHang’s revenues. These reached RMB102 million ($14 million) in the second quarter, which was a 65.3% increase over the first three months of this year.

AINsight: Quality, Not Quantity, Defines Pilot Shortage

Is the pilot shortage over? The short answer is no. We might be catching our breath and experiencing a little relief right now, but the underlying issues remain. What we have today isn’t exactly a shortage of pilots, but rather a shortage of qualified pilots, particularly in business aviation. Despite what some might say, the reality is that it’s still a pilot’s market—and a maintenance technician’s market, too.

What does that mean for us? If you post a pilot opening today, you might see more applicants than you did last year. Some military pilots are bypassing the airlines entirely, looking straight to business aviation. And a few pilots who left business aviation for the airlines are now returning.

Vertical Aero Starts Next Stage of eVTOL Flight Testing

UK-based Vertical Aerospace has been working hard with partners Honeywell, GKN, and Leonardo, among others, to develop a four-passenger eVTOL that can fly routes of up to 100 miles. It recently started test flights with a second prototype that features more advanced technology as it prepares to deliver the aircraft to operators such as Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Japan Airlines, and Bristow.

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