Honeywell recently welcomed visitors to see its Pilatus PC-12 equipped with the new Anthem avionics suite. The display, at the most recent AirVenture in Oshkosh, marked the first time Honeywell showed the system to the public in an airplane where the original avionics were almost completely replaced by the Anthem system.

Just before the show began, Honeywell invited me to go on a flight in the PC-12 to try out the Anthem avionics. This was the first time I’d flown in an aircraft with Anthem; my previous Anthem experience had been in Honeywell’s engineering simulator. And while I normally like to fly the airplane myself, in this case, it made more sense to spend the time in the air with the avionics and not worry about managing the airplane.

BJT listed the eight aircraft it views as the greatest fighter aircraft that participated in World War II, including one that some Japanese called "Whistling Death."

However, the list starts with the Grumman F6F “Hellcat,” noting that it shot down over 5,000 enemy aircraft. The Hawker Hurricane Mk II followed. This aircraft was deployed against German tanks in North Africa.

Embraer Executive Jets has redesigned the Legacy 450 and 500 fly-by-wire business jets, adding two new models—the Praetor 500 and 600—that improve performance to a significant degree. Introduced during the 2018 NBAA-BACE, the Praetor 500 and 600 are expected to enter service in 2019 and will sit at the top of Embraer’s midsize and super-midsize offerings.

“We’re unleashing the Legacy 450/500 potential so customers can fully enjoy the value these disruptive products offer,” said product strategy manager Alvadi Serpa.

The nascent advanced air mobility (AAM) industry is facing an increasingly challenging funding environment with an ongoing decline in venture capital for new electric aircraft and propulsion technologies, according to a report published October 1 by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. In the blog post, McKinsey consultants spelled out the implications of the current funding environment and offered some strategic advice for AAM companies looking to “close the funding gap” as they near commercialization.

As McKinsey’s analysts note, the decline in funding for urban air mobility (UAM) and eVTOL aircraft “comes at a particularly bad time for companies in this segment,” as a handful of manufacturers are “getting close to commercialization.” For example, Joby and Archer are planning for service entry of their respective four-passenger eVTOL aircraft as early as 2025. Several other eVTOL developers are targeting service entry in 2026, including Lilium and Eve.

There are a lot of sports metaphors used to inspire our best performances, but the one I like most when it comes to fighting is from the Greatest himself: “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses—behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” – Muhammad Ali

In August, I wrote in this space: "Nobody has ever won a fistfight with the autoflight.” It might be that this piece should have come first—a discussion of how crews, both veterans and novices, can prevent an undesired aircraft state, a sort of fistfight for pilots. If you’re going to avoid going down in this kind of fight, just like the Greatest suggests, you better put in the work in advance.

One thing eVTOL aircraft pioneers don’t seem to lack is self-confidence, with several front-runners saying they will be ready to start air taxi and other services from 2025.

To help assess their claims in a more objective way, BJT's sister publication FutureFlight spent time with Sergio Cecutta, who founded the consulting group SMG.

Aircraft operators face an array of potentially hazardous decisions when planning flights around the Middle East region as military conflict continues to escalate between Israel and Iran-backed forces in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen. In a presentation to customers this week, security consultants Osprey Flight Solutions advised extreme caution with risks to aircraft now also extending across Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.

According to Matthew Borie, Osprey’s chief intelligence officer, operators need to be especially careful in their risk management in the face of conflicting advisories from various regulators. On September 28, EASA issued conflict zone information bulletins advising against using the Tel Aviv and Beirut flight information zones at all altitudes.

Launch of Super-midsize Gulfstream G300 Could Be Nearing

Passenger Lands King Air C90 after Pilot Medical Incapacitation Issue

Gulfstream G700 Deliveries Lag by a Dozen in Q3 2024, Say Reports

Sea Cheetah Set To Reveal Hydrogen-powered Wing-in-ground-effect Vessel

ATC Issues Changes in North Carolina Hurricane Response

Year-to-date Business Aviation Accidents Decline