Breakthroughs in technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, health monitoring, and augmented reality have begun to present possibilities for a leap forward in the way maintenance departments ensure aircraft, as well as their engines and other systems, remain in service.

Increasingly, the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector has begun to embrace a path away from "paper-based" processes to one committed to digital transformation, according to General Aviation Manufacturers Association director of airworthiness and regulatory affairs Joe Sambiase. AI is one such technological advancement that will accelerate that digital transformation.

Greg Norman’s public persona conjures up a swashbuckling extrovert. But when I meet the golf great turned enormously successful CEO at his Palm Beach, Florida headquarters, he turns out to be soft-spoken and thoughtful—self-confident but certainly not flamboyant.

The dichotomy doesn’t come as a complete surprise, because I’ve read Norman’s 2006 autobiography, The Way of the Shark: Lessons on Golf, Business, and Life. The book reveals a self-described introvert who enjoys spending time alone contemplating his next triumph. It’s simply written, but the messages are profound, and Norman does not shy away from detailing some of the early career disappointments, failures, and betrayals that shaped the entrepreneur he is today.

Then-new Cessna CEO Scott Ernest took the helm at a time when all eyes were on how the iconic Wichita airframer confronts the Embraer threat. The company had recently announced a revitalized CJ1+, known as the M2, to compete with, among others, the Phenom 100. More significantly, at NBAA 2011 in Las Vegas, Cessna took the wraps off a long-overdue enlargement of its midsize cabin in an addition to the Citation line called the 680A Latitude.

Cessna was betting that the depressed market for most business jets, other than the large-cabin, ultra-long-range segment, would turn around in sync with the Latitude's development and certification schedule, which envisioned first flight in mid-2014, FAA approval in mid-2015 and entry into service in the second half of 2015, followed by EASA certification in the first half of 2016. Cessna said the Embraer Legacy 450 was squarely in the 680A’s sights.

When asked before the Covid-19 pandemic what issues kept business executives up at night, more often than not, workforce would be the top answer. After a brief reprieve during the early days of Covid-19, those issues came roaring back with the complications that accompanied the pandemic. AIN brought together thought leaders on this issue to discuss what’s happening now, whether industry efforts are helping to restore the pipeline of the next-generation workers, and what needs to be done for the future.  

Katie Johnson, chief people officer for West Star Aviation, kicked off the roundtable, noting: "The real issue boils down to there's simply not enough of the workforce available, which is magnified by a robust demand for talent. This is not something that just developed post-Covid. It's been a lingering challenge that started well before the pandemic. The issue with not just having enough talent is maybe better stated as a lack of experienced aircraft maintenance technicians."

Eviation has completed the conceptual design review for its all-electric Alice commuter airplane following a redesign. The company's April 24 announcement came nine months after it outsourced design work to Seattle-based engineering firm TLG Aerospace, and 19 months after it conducted its first and only test flight so far with an earlier iteration of the nine-passenger model.

Eviation's new CEO, Andre Stein, who joined the company in January after stepping down as CEO of Eve Air Mobility, declined to offer a projected timeline for flight testing and certification, but he told AIN that he expects the Alice to be in service by the end of the decade. 

With a global footprint of projects spanning New York, Miami, London, St. Tropez, Beijing, and Hong Kong, Argent Design is leaving its imprint across continents—and above them. When founder and CEO Nicola Fontanella and her business partner Jack Bridges, a principal and co-owner, put their heads together, supremely stylish, next-level homes, yachts, and private aircraft are the result. 

BJT asked Fontanella how Argent Design is able to maintain both project flexibility and quality for such a rarefied clientele. 

A Martin JRM Mars, the largest flying boat ever produced for the U.S. Navy, will be returning to the U.S. as a museum piece later this year. The massive, four-engine “Philippine Mars”—one of only five JRMs produced—was acquired from its operator Coulson Aviation and will become part of the collection of the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona.

The Mars entered service at the tail end of World War II and were used to ferry cargo to distant U.S. bases in the Pacific. During the Korean War, they served as medical transports as well.

Nebraska's Eppley Airport in Omaha Digs Out Following Tornado

Embraer Exec Jets, Gulfstream Aerospace Take Bigger Slices of Bizjet Market

AOPA Institute Takes Closer Look at Challenger 605 Truckee Crash

Bombardier Celebrates Its New Toronto Production Home

House, Senate Strike Accord on Long-term FAA Bill