One of the most storied lines of business aircraft began in the mid-1950s with something of a leap of faith—to invest in a modern turboprop-powered executive transport that would compete against the huge surplus of cheap, repurposed World War II-era airplanes that had been awkwardly pushed into that role.
After first considering a similar route, by adapting its amphibious, piston-engine Widgeon or C-1 Trader military hauler to the corporate role, Grumman Aircraft Engineering determined the best solution to meet the needs of an expanding base of corporate fliers lay in a fresh, low-wing design with a true stand-up cabin.
Consolidation, Covid, unprecedented demand, stock exchange listings—the charter industry has been on a wild ride of late, bringing both opportunities and challenges. The U.S. has dominated the global air charter market, and activity stateside is up about 55 percent over pandemic-stunted 2020, according to Argus International.
Both Argus and Germany–based WingX have reported some cooling of charter growth in the U.S. and a greater fall-off in Europe, though demand overall is expected to remain 15 to 20 percent above pre-pandemic levels.
House Transportation Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) set the table for the next round of FAA reauthorization and federal aviation programs when he told the International Aviation Club of Washington, D.C., last month that “we have to begin laying the groundwork now.”The current FAA reauthorization became law in 2012 and expires in September 2015.
“That bill—the FAA Modernization and Reform Act—made some important reforms and we’re trying to ensure the FAA is implementing them,” he said. “But we have more work to do to put U.S. aviation on a true path to the future.”
France’s Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA) on Tuesday followed the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in calling for Ethiopian authorities to amend the final report on the March 10, 2019, crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 to reflect human factors considerations and flight crew shortcomings. Ethiopia’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (EAIB) led the investigation with the help of the French and U.S. authorities, both of which said that the report failed to sufficiently address operational and crew performance in its finding that a malfunction in the airplane’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) caused the accident.
“Shortcomings relating to the crew’s actions, particularly in the first phase of the flight, is not accompanied by a thorough analysis of the reasons for the behaviors observed, in relation with their training, their experience and the company organization with regard to the training and knowledge acquisition principles,” said the BEA.
Car maker Stellantis is to produce Archer Aviation's four-passenger eVTOL aircraft under a new arrangement announced this week by the existing partners. Stellantis has also agreed to provide Archer with a further $150 million in equity capital in 2023 and 2024 in a move that significantly deepens a relationship with the California-based startup that began in 2020.
Plans announced on January 4 call for Stellantis to produce the Midnight aircraft at Archer's manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia, which is scheduled to open in 2025. The Europe-based automotive group was formed in 2021 from the merger between carmakers Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot.
Two years have passed since the UK formally exited the European Union (Brexit) and a new set of rules and regulations covering trade, travel, and business came into play.
Europe’s business aviation community continues to reel from the break-up, which initiated a host of unwelcome changes to the regulatory and operational landscape.
Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky unit is challenging the U.S. Army’s December 5th decision to award its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) contract to Bell and has filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The move was widely anticipated.
Bell had fielded and flown its V-280 tiltrotor while the Sikorsky-Boeing team offered the Defiant X based on Sikorsky’s X-2 coaxial compound helicopter technology. The FLRAA program was designed to produce aircraft to eventually replace up to 4,000 Sikorsky Black Hawks. The initial production aircraft are expected to be operational by 2030 and the entire program could have a value of up to $80 billion.
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