Pilot Report: Cirrus Adds Auto Radar to Vision Jet G2+

As we maneuvered toward McGhee Tyson Airport’s Runway 23R in Knoxville, Tennessee, a trifecta of thunderstorm information gave us a clear indication of how we should thread the needle to avoid a large cell hovering near the airport. We were flying a demonstration of the new Auto Radar feature now available in new-production Cirrus Vision Jet G2+s and eventually as an upgrade to in-service G2 and G2+ jet singles.

We could easily see the gray shaft of rain plummeting downward from the cell’s cloudy base at our two o’clock position, and obviously, we wouldn’t want to fly through that. But at the same time, the Cirrus Vision Jet G2+ we were flying showed additional highly useful information on its two cockpit displays.

BJT: New York’s TWA Hotel Conjures Up a Bygone Era

The mere fact that the former TWA terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport still exists is astounding.

When TWA faltered in the early 2000s and was absorbed by American Airlines, the TWA lease on the complex was allowed to expire, reverting the property back to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. While that agency pondered its fate, the building remained empty, only briefly revisiting its past glory as a filming location for the Tom Hanks/Leonardo DiCaprio movie "Catch Me If You Can."

Preowned Inventories Swell, but It's Not Time To Panic

Inventories of used jets and turboprops have risen dramatically. The number of these aircraft for sale has increased by 25 percent since the beginning of 2023. Our data show an increase from 4.2 percent of the in-service fleet to more than 5.1 percent now for sale.

Significant increases in inventories in such a short period could potentially be cause for alarm and signify a downturn or a buyer’s market. But before we conclude that the market has collapsed, let’s check back to pre-Covid 2019 as a point of comparison. Our data also show that in 2019, the market had more than 3,000 jets and turboprops for sale, representing over 8 percent of the in-service fleet. Today, we have only a little more than 2,000 jets and turboprops for sale.

From the Archives: SAF Finally Starting To Take Off

For years, sustainable alternative fuels (SAF) have been a topic of discussion in the business aviation industry as it looks to improve its overall environmental footprint, but in 2019, those words finally turned to action.

In January 2019, the industry came together at California business aviation hub Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) for “Business Jets Fuel Green: A Step Towards Sustainability.” For the first time, SAF was available to the business aviation community on a trial basis, with World Fuel and Avfuel supplying the four FBOs on the field with more than 14,000 gallons of blended SAF produced by California-based World Energy and Gevo, respectively. The biofuel blend was in some cases pumped directly into the FBO’s fuel farm to illustrate its absolute compatibility with the existing neat jet fuel and the FBO’s tanks and pumps, while others chose to keep it stored in a refueler and distributed on customer preference.

Immaculate Flight Cautions on Compounds for Aircraft Cleaning

With an ever-growing number of materials used inside business aircraft cabins, Immaculate Flight cautions operators to understand not only which cleaners to use but also how to use them. The aircraft cleaning specialist has been in business since 2005, and president John Craft said by the time he joined Immaculate Flight in 2006, it already had locations at some of the busiest business aviation locations: Teterboro, New Jersey; Van Nuys, California; and Greensboro, North Carolina.

While the company wasn’t the first in the business aviation market when it began, “There definitely was a need,” Craft said. “There were a couple of big companies but a lot of smaller regional vendors.”

BJT: Citation Sovereign Still Reigns Supreme

There has never been a business jet quite like Textron Aviation’s Cessna Citation Sovereign and its Sovereign+ successor. Cessna began serial production of the sort-of-super-midsize jet in 2004 and upgraded it with the Sovereign+ in 2013. Production ended in 2021 after the airframer had delivered 349 Sovereign and 94 Sovereign+ aircraft. No other business jet, before or since, has offered the Sovereign’s combination of cabin size, range, and short-field capability.

With two crew up front and four passengers in back, the eight- to 12-passenger Sovereign has a range of 2,847 nautical miles, a payload capacity of 2,650 pounds, and a long-range cruise speed of 388 knots (normal cruise is 445 knots). It has a relatively quick climb rate of 4,000 to 5,000 feet per minute at the lower altitudes without being a fuel pig and can easily use runways with a length of 4,000 feet.

FutureFlight: EMC Jet To Market Lilium's Pioneer Edition

Lilium this week made its eVTOL aircraft available for purchase by U.S. private owners through an agreement with aircraft management and charter group EMC Jet. Under an agreement announced on October 18, EMC Jet committed to taking five of the four-passenger Pioneer Edition versions of the all-electric Lilium Jet and to act as the German manufacturer’s exclusive private sales dealer in Texas where it is based through 2030.

The deal appears similar in structure to the one Lilium reached with UK-based private aviation group Volare, which has committed to acquiring up to 20 of the Pioneer Edition with a view to remarketing these to private owners. Volare will operate the aircraft through its new eVolare division and is one of several European companies with which Lilium has reached commercial terms to offer the Lilium Jet to business aviation customers.

Jet East Expanding, Adds Mobile Engine Teams

Gama Aviation’s Jet East division is adding mobile engine repair teams across the U.S., broadening its independent business aviation maintenance network. Gama Aviation acquired Jet East in early 2021.

Solon, Ohio-based Jet East now has MRO facilities in Dallas; West Palm Beach, Florida; Millville and Teterboro, New Jersey; White Plains, New York; Chicago; Statesville, North Carolina; Las Vegas; and Van Nuys, California. Outside of the new mobile repair teams (MRT) operation, it also has a component repair shop in Solon.