The design of avionics and the way pilots control the increasingly electronic aircraft they fly are on a rapid pace of advancement. The future of avionics is not just coming—it is already here and profoundly affecting the way we fly.

One of the most interesting developments is the declining cost of advanced flight control systems—autopilots—and how some are nearly morphing into fly-by-wire controls. This ultimately will make flying easier and will enable more people to become safe pilots without the enormous training burden that today’s pilots must endure. The technical term for this is simplified vehicle operations.

For years, the industry standard for cabin pressurization was 8,000 feet while the aircraft is at its maximum cruising altitude. That standard, combined with a lack of humidification and changes in circadian body rhythms, accounts for the fatiguing sensation on longer flights better known as jet lag.

One way to combat jet lag is to lower cabin altitudes. And this becomes a bigger issue for older passengers. In an interview with BJT, actor and pilot Morgan Freeman said that one of the main reasons he had ordered a particular business jet was that it maintained sea-level cabin pressure up to 41,000 feet. “So, you are a lot fresher when you hit the ground after a long flight,” he noted. Several studies bear him out.

After eight years of litigation, a legal battle between ExxonMobil and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over mandatory pilot retirement age has concluded with a ruling by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The appeals panel upheld the previous ruling that the energy company’s policy on mandatory retirement for its corporate pilots at age 60 (later 65) does not violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

In 2006, two pilots facing forced retirement from ExxonMobil’s flight department filed charges with the EEOC, which then brought suit against the company in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The EEOC’s suit alleged that the company’s policy violated the ADEA.

The fast-emerging advanced air mobility sector is poised to bring eVTOL aircraft and other new technology to early adopter cities including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Paris, and Singapore from 2025. AIN brought together experts from this exciting field to discuss what will be necessary to pave the way for new aircraft to enter commercial service and what this future might look like.  

Matheu Parr, customer director at roundtable sponsor Rolls-Royce Electrical, summed up by saying: “When we look at the billions of investments that have been made into these aircraft, it's clear to us that we can enable an AAM mobility solution of hundreds of aircraft operating. But our expectation is this market will start a lot smaller, this market will start effectively in helicopter channels while we understand that full ecosystem.”

“When greeting someone in Greenland,” explained Lana, the Inuit cultural presenter, “people used to say inuugujoq. But that does not mean ‘hello.’ It means, 'happy to see you alive.’” The passengers on the Quark expedition ship, Ultramarine, let out a collective gasp.

“Don’t worry,” said Lana. “The greeting has nothing to do with death; it means time passing because Greenland has few roads and we don’t see each other often.” She looked at the passengers, “Can you say inuugujoq?” A few tried but were unsuccessful. “That’s OK,” she said. “The longest word in my language has about 150 letters, and I won’t make you try to pronounce it.”

In a little more than 12 months, investors in eVTOL aircraft developers have been led to believe they can start expecting commercial returns to start flowing. However, there are still plenty of question marks over the pace and form that the much-vaunted advanced air mobility revolution will take.

What is clear is that natural selection is taking its course, meaning that just a handful of frontrunners are now vying to be in the first wave to operate the new aircraft. At the same time, others are not as fixated on being first to market in 2025 and don’t view 2024 with the same criticality, believing that changing air transportation fundamentally is a long-distance race rather than a sprint.

Embraer’s OGMA MRO subsidiary is preparing to bring maintenance and overhaul capabilities for the Pratt & Whitney GTF-series engine in-house this year. The Portugal-based company—in operation for more than a century—is headquartered at Alverca Airport (LPAR). 

Despite its relationship with the Brazilian airframer, OGMA is agnostic when it comes to the platforms it services. In 2020, the facility—located less than 10 miles north of Lisbon—was announced as a Pratt & Whitney Authorized Maintenance Center for the support of the PW1100G-JM engine. According to Carlos Naufel, Embraer’s president and CEO of services and support, it is currently completing the test cells and facilities required for this engine.

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