The market for preowned business jets will become softer as Gulfstream G700 deliveries begin and customers trade in their existing aircraft when they upgrade to the newly certified model. This is according to Hagerty Jet Group, an aircraft broker that specializes in Gulfstreams.

While the company noted that “the Gulfstream market has been anticipating this certification for more than a year…the market will feel an impact from so many aircraft coming for sale because of the G700 deliveries, regardless of the brand.” In the Gulfstream line-up, Hagerty Jet indicated that preowned G500, G600, and G650/650ER inventory will be the most immediately affected models. It also expects Gulfstream to discontinue G650ER production since the G700 is entering service, estimating that the last G650s will be delivered in mid-2025.

Although more than 40 completed G700s are ready to be handed over to customers, the brokerage said “deliveries will be staggered by the availability to train crews and obtain foreign certifications. G700 crews need to be trained by FlightSafety International, which has been offering initial ground training but [is] unable to issue type ratings pending certification of the aircraft/training program. EASA certification is still pending and likely a few months away.”

Supply of preowned Gulfstreams was “at or near historic high levels” in the first quarter, Hagerty Jet noted, with transactions falling 56 percent quarter-over-quarter.

Ronaldsway Airport on the Isle of Man is getting an upgraded FBO through a substantial investment by charter flight group Megacorp Aviation. On Monday, the company announced plans to expand and modernize the airport’s Private Jet Centre FBO and establish an adjoining aviation technology park.

The Isle of Man, located between the UK and Ireland, operates an offshore registry popular with private aircraft owners. The Private Jet Centre opened in 2015 and will now be updated, in part to make operations there more environmentally sustainable.

Under the plan, the available hangar space will double to 40,000 sq ft, and the new FBO terminal will include additional office space and an improved business center for customers alongside a 10-room hotel for passengers and crew.

Megacorp Aviation, which has bases in the Isle of Man, London Biggin Hill Airport, Dubai, and Mumbai in India, is placing some of its employees at the Private Jet Centre. The company operates aircraft for charter under the Opul Jets brand, with a fleet including a Bombardier Global Express XRS, a Learjet 40, and a Learjet 55.

Ronaldsway Airport draws traffic bringing high-net-worth individuals, as well as visiting movie crews filming on the island.

Texas' San Antonio International Airport is teaming with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance sustainable aviation technologies, such as batteries for electric aircraft, energy storage solutions, and power management systems. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the DOE’s innovation unit, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the city’s aviation department and public service board (CPS Energy), as well as the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), in which the partners pledged to collaborate on developing and promoting technologies that will help to decarbonize the aviation sector.

San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg joined representatives from ARPA-E, UTSA, and CPS Energy for a signing ceremony at San Antonio Stinson Municipal Airport. “This is an important agreement with the potential to shape the aviation industry of the future,” Nirenberg said. “Researching the decarbonization of aviation and finding new sustainable energy models is important work, and I am proud San Antonio will be playing a leading role in this cutting-edge research.”

Also present for the signing event were several project teams that have received funding from ARPA-E for electrification efforts, including Ampaire, a California-based developer of hybrid-electric powertrains for airplane retrofits. Ampaire flew its Electric EEL technology demonstrator to Stinson Municipal Airport on April 3 to commemorate the occasion.

Estonia’s Magnetic Engineering has added new Continuous Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO) capabilities for business aircraft and commercial markets, the company said today. The expansion, which Magnetic Engineering said encompasses a “well-thought-out strategy” to address increasing demand while adopting a portfolio of engineering and design projects in business aviation, follows recent approval by the Estonian Civil Aviation Authority.

With the broadening of CAMO capabilities for Dassault Falcon, Bombardier Challenger, and Embraer Legacy models, Magnetic Engineering aims to meet the growing need for CAMO inspections and consulting services.

Natalja Platonova, chief of the Magnetic Talents sector, reflected on its need for specialized services to ensure airworthiness. “Business aircraft owners and operators require specialized services to ensure the airworthiness and operational efficiency of their valuable assets,” she said. “By applying our expertise and adding the new approval, we can now cater to the unique market needs.”

Magnetic Engineering continues to strengthen its competitive position as a global provider of CAMO and consulting services across an extensive range of aircraft for both the business and commercial aviation markets.

An exploration of the transformative synergy of Extended Reality (XR) and its capacity to revolutionize aircraft maintenance technician training.

Robinson Helicopter has added an instructor pilot standardization course to its training menu. The course is designed to help improve R22, R44, and R66 instructors’ aircraft knowledge, basic and advanced flying techniques, safety, and flight proficiency. The course builds on Robinson’s pilot safety course, which was implemented more than 40 years ago.

Graduates of the instructor course will have the opportunity to join Robinson’s approved training provider network. The company plans to add more factory training programs and incentives that will encourage pilots to train with approved instructors.

During the week-long instructor course, participants attend ground school with “deep dives into crucial topics” and spend several hours in flight training. Focus areas include “a significant emphasis on safety and incident-mitigation strategies; the importance of fundamental maneuvers, advanced procedures, and system failure responses, ensuring instructors can effectively train others in both basic and advanced flying techniques; [and] in-depth instruction on Robinson helicopter design equips instructors with a thorough understanding of the aircraft they’ll be teaching others to fly.”

“This new [instructor pilot] course reflects Robinson Helicopter Company’s commitment to safety and excellence in helicopter training,” said Robinson president and CEO David Smith. “An entire generation of pilots has built their careers from their experience training in a Robinson aircraft. This course aims to advance safety and train the next generation for successful careers in aviation.”

Partners in Aviation (PIA) has launched the Elite program, which combines its unique business aircraft co-ownership model with a charter revenue component. The Elite program is rolling out this month, starting with an Embraer Legacy 500 and four Phenom 300s that are now available for co-ownership.

PIA president Mark Molloy told AIN that the company strives to be an alternative to fractional programs for customers who want less costly options by offering a co-ownership arrangement. And the Elite program aims to offset costs for the co-owners via charter income.

“When the two owners aren't using it and the owners allow for it, all these airplanes are going to be getting charter revenue as well. So we consider the charter the subservient third partner to every match of two people,” Molloy said.

“Most of our clients fly one to two trips a month. So they're actually technically in their airplane, three or four, maybe five days every month,” he added. So with two owners flying not more than 10 days a month, that leaves about 20 days a month for charter flight opportunities, according to PIA.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has issued a production certificate to EHang, clearing the way for the company to start large-scale series production of its EH216-S autonomous eVTOL aircraft. The approval, which was announced at an event in Guangzhou on Sunday, was granted just under six months after EHang became the first eVTOL manufacturer in the world to achieve type certification—on October 13.

Notably, the production certificate is based on EHang’s quality management system covering raw materials used to make the aircraft, as well as processes for controlling production in-house and with suppliers. It also includes quality control processes, pre-delivery tests for the EH216-S, and after-sales maintenance, repair, and overhaul work.

EHang is now working to support commercial flights with the two-seat aircraft at various locations in China, by providing training to operators and developing procedures. It is working with CAAC officials to establish regulatory standards for commercial operations in the second quarter of this year.

This year, the company intends to work with local government agencies to develop networks of vertiports to integrate eVTOL air taxi services into city public transportation systems. Sightseeing flights for tourists will also be an early use case for the EH216-S.

GAMA continues to build out what is its increasingly popular associate members EPIC membership category with the additions of four companies: Electric Power Systems, Pivotal, Venus Aerospace, and VoltAero.

Founded in 2016, North Logan, Utah-based Electric Power Systems provides high-power, scalable powertrains for electrified aviation. Palo Alto, California-based Pivotal was founded in 2011 to design light eVTOL aircraft. Venus Aerospace, founded in 2020 in Houston, meanwhile, is focused on engineering for future hypersonic aircraft. VoltAero, founded in 2017, is developing the five to 12-seat Cassio aircraft from its base in southwest France.

The latest additions push GAMA’s membership in the associate members EPIC category to nearly 40 organizations. GAMA established the EPIC, or Electric Propulsion & Innovation Committee, associate membership category in 2015 to tap into the nascent advanced air mobility (AAM) sector. Its membership ranges from academia, including Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, to light sport aircraft manufacturers such as Icon, and those interested in AAM development such as Toyota.

In addition, several in this sector are full GAMA associate members, including Joby, Beta, Archer, Volocopter, and MagniX.

The EPIC Committee itself draws from a broad cross-section of GAMA’s membership and is so busy that it is has six working groups and/or subcommittees. These subgroups are focused on various aspects that will pave the way for AAM, including hydrogen, data communications, infrastructure, eVTOLs, hybrid/electric propulsion, and simplified vehicle operation.