The Aerion Corp. decision in May 2021 to cease operations immediately raised questions on whether it was a “category killer,” the end of supersonic aspirations. After nearly two decades of design efforts, Aerion was believed to have the inside track to returning a civil supersonic aircraft to market. However, a lack of support from the investment community brought those efforts to a screeching halt, raising questions about the viability of supersonic.
The issues for Aerion were financial rather than a technological barrier as the company had accrued some four-dozen patents. Further, it was just one of several efforts underway, and at least one, involving a partnership between Skunk Works giant Lockheed Martin and NASA, may play a key role in the future of supersonic flight.
Buyers, sellers, and those just thinking about getting into private aviation—there’s something for all to celebrate this holiday season as data, forecasts, and anecdotal evidence bear good tidings for the preowned market in the coming year—the third of the Covid era.
If you’re a preowned aircraft buyer, expect prices to stabilize or start easing and selection to increase. If you’re shopping your aircraft, you needn’t worry that the bottom is about to drop out of what still remains a seller’s market. And if you’re new to business aviation, you can take your time making the right access decisions, sans FOMO.
In June 2007, Cirrus Aircraft unveiled the configuration of its new single-engine jet. At the time, it appeared as though Cirrus was jumping on the same bandwagon as other would-be or existing aircraft manufacturers. The apparent market for a single-engine jet, if all the prognostications were to be believed, was going to soar, part of the then-current hype projecting huge fleets of very light jets about to clog up the world’s airspace.
The list of would-be single-engine jets was long, yet only a handful have actually flown: the VisionAire Vantage, PiperJet, Eclipse 400, Diamond D-Jet, and Stratos 714. While Stratos’s effort has recently seen renewed activity including flight testing, only one—Cirrus’s SF50 Vision Jet—has made it into production.
A Texas federal judge has ruled that Boeing must appear in court on January 26 for arraignment on federal criminal charges related to the twin crashes of 737 Max jets that claimed the lives of 346 people. Initially, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) granted Boeing immunity from criminal prosecution as part of a $2.5 billion settlement reached in January 2021. However, the lawyers for the victims’ families argued that they should have been allowed to participate in the case under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act and the judge agreed, ruling in favor of the victims last October.
The crashes in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia led to a 20-month grounding of the 737 Max and prompted the U.S. Congress to pass legislation reforming airplane certification.
New Future Transportation (NFT), the company behind the Aska personal eVTOL aircraft billed as a “flying SUV,” now says it plans to start offering on-demand air taxi services as early as 2026. However, recently announced plans are based on arrangements that would appear to stretch the current regulatory requirements for commercial flights by building on current practices in the ground-based ride-sharing sector.
The California-based startup unveiled the four-seat, hybrid-electric Aska A5 “drive-and-fly” eVTOL in April 2021, when it began collecting pre-orders from private buyers. With four motorized wheels and foldable wings, NFT said the Aska will be able to quickly switch between driving and flying modes, and it’s compact enough to park on a driveway or in a garage.
While Walt Disney used various commercial and business aircraft to support his many entertainment, entrepreneurial, and philanthropic projects, the one most closely associated with the man and his dreams was his beloved Grumman Gulfstream I.
Think about it: in one way or another, whether through movies, TV, or a visit to the “Happiest Place On Earth,” the talents of Walter Elias (Walt) Disney have touched all of our lives.
NASA and Boeing will collaborate on building and test-flying a single-aisle commercial aircraft demonstrator using a truss-braced, high-aspect-ratio wing scheduled for first flight in 2028, the partners said Wednesday. Called the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) project, the effort would reduce fuel burn compared with contemporary narrowbodies by 30 percent through aerodynamic, materials, and engine improvements. Of the $725 million needed for the project, NASA will contribute $425 million while Boeing and other partners will absorb the rest of the cost.
Speaking from NASA offices in Washington, D.C., NASA administrator Bill Nelson characterized the demonstrator as a short- to medium-haul airplane that addresses 50 percent of the commercial air transport market. Program leaders hope the testing will help adapt the technologies needed to bring a new narrowbody aircraft to market in the 2030s.
Advanced air mobility continues to be one of the most dynamic sectors in aviation. To prepare for what we might expect to see in 2023, we interviewed expert observer Sergio Cecutta from SMG Consulting. He has made five bold predictions for this year covering where he sees progress being made and where problems and setbacks could arise.
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