As the light-jet market continues to strengthen during the pandemic, Embraer’s Phenom deliveries doubled in the first quarter to 10 aircraft, the Brazilian manufacturer reported today. At the same time, however, Embraer handed over one fewer Praetor midsize jets, for a total of three in the first quarter.
Overall, Embraer delivered 22 commercial and executive jets in the first quarter. This marked a jump from the 14 shipments logged in the same period in 2020, when the global rolling shutdowns were pushing off late-quarter deliveries at most aircraft manufacturers.
In the most recent quarter, Embraer handed over nine Phenom 300s, up from five a year earlier. In addition, Embraer handed over a Phenom 100 in the first quarter versus zero in first-quarter 2020. As for the Praetors, Embraer shipped two 600s and a single 500 in the quarter, compared with three 600s and one 500 in the same period a year ago.
Commercial deliveries, meanwhile, improved from five in the first quarter of 2020 to nine this year. The 195-E2 accounted for this increase, with five delivered in the first quarter, compared with a single copy in the same period of 2021.
While deliveries increased, backlog shrunk, from $15.9 billion a year ago to $14.2 billion in the most recent quarter.
VistaJet Aims To Be Carbon-neutral by 2025
VistaJet has not only committed to becoming the first carbon-neutral business aviation operator by 2025, but also released a white paper as a roadmap for the broader industry to go beyond its current goal of a 50 percent emissions reduction by 2050. “The industry as a whole must step up to combat climate change and its impact today—it’s the right thing to do and we all have to act now,” urged VistaJet founder and chairman Thomas Flohr.
The company plans to meet its target by offering a certified carbon offset program; adopting the use of more sustainable aviation fuels (SAF); adding more efficient aircraft; and using more sustainable in-flight products. Further, the company has pledged to move to use renewable electricity at its facilities and will publish annually greenhouse gas accounting and climate risk reports.
VistaJet’s carbon offset program introduced in January 2020 has already helped to make big gains toward the carbon-neutrality goal, with 80 percent of its customers opting to purchase carbon credits to offset aircraft emissions on their flights. The company has also removed more than 90 percent of single-use items across its fleet and replaced them with sustainable alternatives. Additionally, it partnered with SkyNRG in September to increase global access to SAF and invested in flight-optimization technology that has reduced fuel consumption by an average of 8 percent per flight.
Project Vertex Taps Helo Flightlab for Autonomy Trials
Airbus has started to integrate several enabling technologies for autonomous flight into its Flightlab helicopter. Through the new Vertex project, the company aims to develop and demonstrate ways to simplify mission preparation and management to reduce pilot workload with a view to introducing these innovations on next-generation rotorcraft, including eVTOLs.
The Airbus UpNext technology incubator subsidiary is overseeing the Vertex project, which will incorporate full fly-by-wire controls and a high-capacity central processing unit to support an enhanced autopilot. During this year and 2022, it will conduct initial flight tests to prepare for a full demonstration program on the Airbus H130 Flightlab aircraft to start in 2023.
The Airbus team is acting as systems integrator for onboard technology that includes a two-axis camera (provided by Merio), an infrared camera (IDS), and a lidar sensor (Luminar) to support improved situational awareness and obstacle detection. Flight trials will also incorporate a combination of a touchscreen tablet and a head-worn display.
Severin Dauvergne, head of the Vertex project, said that initial flight testing this year will focus on acquiring data from the cameras to develop flight-control algorithms. Next year, the focus will shift to acquiring data from the lidar sensor and also to converting the Flightlab helicopter to fly-by-wire controls.
Want more? A longer version of this article can be found at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective, independent coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
New Colorado Hangar Complex Seeks FBO
Discover Air, a private aviation hangar complex rising at Northern Colorado Regional Airport, has issued a request for information (RFI) for companies wishing to establish an FBO as part of the facility. The nearly 30-acre complex will eventually consist of a 24,000-sq-ft terminal with enclosed parking, along with a quartet of 37,700-sq-ft hangars, each with office and shop space. According to Discover Air, the first of the hangars is expected to be completed by the end of the year and has already received lease commitments.
Developers have secured permission for a second FBO on the field, which will serve the tenants of the complex as well as transient aircraft. It will occupy a portion of the new-build, two-story terminal along with an aviation-themed restaurant.
According to David Vaughn—a partner in consultancy Business Aviation Group, which is working with property owner Water Valley Land Co. to develop the project and will help select the service provider—the RFI is meant to start a dialog with possible FBO operators. Those interested in responding are required to register by May 20.
Ventura Air Looks To Citation Excel To Grow 135 Fleet
Charter and aircraft management operator Ventura Air Services is adding Cessna Citation Excels to its fleet in a move to tap into a growing Part 135 business. The Farmingdale, New York-based company added one Excel to its charter certificate earlier this year and plans to launch two more for service in the second quarter.
The addition of the midsize twinjet comes after the company added two Bombardier Challenger 604s to its fleet and placed them into service in the fourth quarter. In all, Ventura Air has eight owned or managed business jets in its fleet that is located at Republic Airport, including two Bombardier Learjet 35As and three Learjet 55s. The fleet expansion comes as the company looks to capitalize on the growing demand for its charter services.
“We are committed to keeping up our aggressive expansion by continuing to add additional Challengers and Excels in 2021 to meet the demand of our current customers,” said Ventura Air CEO Nick Tarascio. “We are very bullish on the continued growth of the charter segment.”
Ventura Air also provides aircraft sales and maintenance, as well as transport of human organs for transplant for New York-area hospitals.
EASA Approves VR Device for Helicopter Flight Training
EASA has granted the first certificate for a rotorcraft virtual reality (VR) based flight simulation training device (FSTD) to VRM Switzerland. The FSTD is qualified as flight and navigation procedures trainer (FNPT) level II for the Robinson R22 Beta II. Approval for the Airbus H125 is expected shortly.
Depending on the training concept, EASA will provide users of the device with up to five hours of training credit for a private pilot license, 10 to 20 hours of training credit for commercial certificate, and five hours of nighttime credit. VRM developed the device in partnership with Air Zermatt, and launch customers include Mountainflyers and the Heli Academy.
In granting the authorization, the European regulatory agency applied special conditions from the existing regulations that take account of new technology adapted to cockpit, display, and motion systems to ensure an equivalent safety level compliant with the FSTD certification specifications. Its evaluation confirmed the suitability of VR for helicopter flight training particularly for autorotations, hovers, and slope landings where exact height perception and wide field of view are required.
Device approval “aligns with the safety objectives of the EASA rotorcraft safety roadmap to review the most critical training scenarios and promote the use of simulators for high-risk training operations,” said EASA flight standards director Jesper Rasmussen.
Leggat Aviation in Canada has been appointed by Textron Aviation as an authorized sales representative (ASR) for the Cessna Caravan turboprop single, building on its ASR credentials for the Wichita airframer. Under the Caravan ASR designation, Leggat will serve eastern Canada.
According to Textron Aviation, the Caravan accounts for 88 percent of the utility turboprop singles operating in the country. Located at Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport, Leggat also serves as an ASR for the Cessna Skyhawk, Skylane, and Turbo Stationair HD, as well as the Beechcraft Bonanza and Baron.
“We are continually focused on expanding our global capabilities and availability for customers, and we’re looking forward to continued growth in Canada,” said Textron Aviation senior v-p of global sales and flight operations Lannie O’Bannion. “Eastern Canada has historically been a strong market for our Caravan products, and this expanded relationship with Leggat Aviation provides us greater opportunity to meet the growing demand for our aircraft in the region.”
Former NTSB Member and FAA Official Robert Francis Dies
Robert Francis, a long-time aviation safety advocate who served at the NTSB and FAA, died on April 17 at the age of 83. Francis was appointed to the NTSB by former President Bill Clinton in 1995 and was involved in the investigations of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades in May 1996 and TWA Flight 800 off the coast of New York in July 1996. He served on the Board until 1999.
During his time with the FAA, he was involved with global aviation safety and security issues and was part of the U.S. team that helped with the investigation of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. He joined the Flight Safety Foundation board of governors in 2005 and continued in that capacity until 2015.
NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt had told the Flight Safety Foundation that “Bob was a true friend of mine and aviation safety. He was totally devoted to aviation safety and was always the consummate gentlemen.”
Francis was also an original founder and served a stint as chairman of the Washington, D.C. branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society. The leadership of that branch called Francis’s professional achievements extraordinary and said, “International aviation was not just his job, it was his passion. He loved the way aviation brought the people of the world closer together."
According to a recent RTCA report, terrestrial 5G telecom systems could cause interference issues with certain existing avionics. This can cause serious safety concerns for aircraft equipped with legacy radar altimeters and other vulnerable products. Solutions to this problem exist, and we will be highlighting these during an educational webinar on 5G interference concerns in the NextGen airspace presented by subject matter experts in avionics manufacturing, installation, and regulatory perspectives.
Please join us tomorrow, April 28, as AIN editor-in-chief Matt Thurber moderates this webinar with Nathan Hernandez, business development sales manager at Southeast Aerospace; Dr. David Redman, director of Aerospace Vehicles Systems Institute and an RTCA committee member; and Ashley Ring, v-p of sales and marketing at FreeFlight Systems. Sponsored by Freeflight Systems.
People in Aviation
Dassault Aviation’s board of directors has selected Besma Boumaza to serve as an independent director and Thierry Dassault as a director. They will take the terms of Catherine Dassault, who departed the board, and the late Olivier Dassault. The appointments are to be confirmed during the company's May 11 general meeting.
Jay Yu has provided a seed investment and joined private aviation services company Flewber Global as co-founder, president, and member of the board of directors. Yu, a dynamic private investor and CEO of Financial Ventures Group, joins Flewber founder and CEO Marc Sellouk in helping to establish and grow the company.
Don Milum was appointed director of sales for Universal Avionics. Milum, who joined Universal in February 2019 as regional sales manager, has more than 25 years of aviation industry experience that also has included roles with Honeywell, Textron, and StandardAero.
Bombardier appointed Ève Laurier as v-p of communications, public affairs, and marketing. Laurier has more than 20 years of public relations, communications, corporate marketing, and branding experience, most recently as general manager of the communications firm Edelman.
Precise Flight promoted Bill Hoback to general manager. Hoback has served with Precise Flight for nine years, most recently as senior director of business development, and also has spent six years with Cessna in assembly, quality, flight line, customer service, and special projects.
Airspace security specialist Dedrone named former FAA deputy and acting administrator Daniel Elwell to its advisory board. Elwell, who left the agency late last year, has also served with the U.S. Air Force, American Airlines, and the Aerospace Industries Association, in addition to multiple roles within the FAA and Department of Transportation.
Bryan Dunn has joined Leading Edge Aviation Solutions as v-p of aircraft sales. Dunn formerly served with StandardAero for seven years as U.S. Northeast regional sales manager.
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
AIN Alerts is a publication of The Convention News Company, Inc., 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
