The booming aircraft business has continued throughout the year with book-to-bill ratios remaining well above 1:1 and in some cases 2:1. Textron Aviation saw its backlog swell by $700 million alone in the second quarter to $5.8 billion. This narrative was shared by many manufacturers.
Yet in July, Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, testified before the House aviation subcommittee that “I have never seen a time where the manufacturers and maintenance organizations are under such tough times.”
The Russian government has asked local airlines to weigh in on an idea to purchase Airbus and Boeing jets operating in the country from their Western lessors using money from the National Welfare Fund (NWF). Russian carriers continue to operate nearly 740 regional and commercial airliners owned by foreign lessors but forcefully kept in the country under the Kremlin’s order.
The Ministry of Transportation has distributed a letter on the subject to 20 key carriers. The responses from the airlines would help determine the feasibility of the plan.
Words and pictures cannot fully convey what has happened to the city of New Orleans. Several miles away at 5,500 feet, the air in the cabin of the Cessna 172 told us we were approaching the city before the haze let up enough for us to see it. Matt Thompson, a contract King Air 350 corporate pilot based in Baton Rouge, was flying the aircraft. He’d made it clear that it was restricted airspace and the aircraft couldn’t descend below 5,500 feet.
In back was Tommy Crump, a medical equipment salesman and long-time civilian pilot who’d spent the previous week, immediately after Hurricane Katrina, driving his boat through the streets of New Orleans helping rescue survivors. It was his first chance to see the big picture. Next to him was John Chapman, pilot and traffic reporter for Baton Rouge’s Shadow Broadcasting. The purpose of the flight was to get pictures of Lakefront Airport.
There was a time when the twinjet, large-cabin, long-range business aircraft market was a duopoly. When all roads to it ran through either Bombardier in Montreal or Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, Georgia. And now, that time is over—meet the Dassault Falcon 6X.
The 6X—which has an estimated equipped price of $52.75 million—made its first flight last year, and deliveries are expected to commence in early 2023. The 12- to 14-passenger aircraft has the largest cross-section of any purpose-designed business jet: eight and a half feet wide, six and a half feet high, and just over 40 feet long.
A partnership between Airbus Helicopters, Safran Helicopter Engines, and Babcock has delivered the first of six Airbus H160s to the Marine Nationale (French navy). They will be used for search and rescue (SAR) duties, replacing the Alouette III at locations around the French coast.
“The delivery of the first H160 to a military customer is a major milestone for the H160 program,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “With this H160 we will strengthen our partnership with the French Navy, delivering the right helicopter for its critical search and rescue missions.”
Some family-owned aviation companies stretch back decades, spanning generations, and among them is Holman Aviation, an FBO at Montana’s Great Falls International Airport (KGTF). The company was founded in 1950 when Homer Holman, a former World War II U.S. Marines aviator, set up shop at the formerly military-controlled airfield.
“In the Marines, one of my dad’s responsibilities was as an instructor, teaching others how to land on aircraft carriers, and I always thought that was kind of a unique involvement in World War II,” said his son and current company president Dwight Holman. “When he came back he brought that safety and service culture to the FBO, and that’s what I have embraced.” Today the company is into its third generation with Dwight’s daughter, Jamie Ronholdt, serving as v-p of customer service.
Work to assess how new eVTOLs can safely integrate with other traffic in existing public airspace accelerated this week with further flight trials at Pontoise near Paris. Volocopter operated its remotely-piloted 2X eVTOL technology demonstrator in tests alongside Pipistrel’s piloted electric-powered Velis Electro light aircraft to evaluate how air traffic management technology and processes can be optimized in the lower airspace prospective eVTOL operators expect to start using for commercial flights starting in 2024.
The week-long flight trials, which ended yesterday, simulated three different avoidance maneuvers in situations where unplanned incidents can disrupt flight plans. The first involved the unexpected unavailability of the final approach and takeoff area and a forced diversion due to another aircraft needing to be given priority to land. The companies also tested a flight path diversion due to the closure of an airport or vertiport, as well as a diversion provoked by two aircraft flying on the same path.
Gulfstream Shows 2nd Production G700 with Interior
Gulfstream’s G700 flight-test program is in full swing, and the company recently flew its second production aircraft, known as P2, for the first time. The 7,500-nm twinjet is equipped with a full interior and is being used to test maturity, durability, and comfort of the cabin elements. In this video, Tray Crow, Gulfstream’s director of interior design, explains what’s different between P1 and P2.
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