Bombardier’s latest addition to the Challenger 300/350 family—the 3500—remains on pace for delivery during this quarter with all the pertinent certifications in hand, president and CEO Eric Martel announced yesterday.
While reporting second-quarter results, Martel said Bombardier received the key autothrottle approvals, including both from Transport Canada and the FAA. He further noted the jet has received approvals as well for its seats and that the company “pretty much [has] everything in hand with certification.”
While not detailing specifics on delivery plans for this year, he said the aircraft is a component in its guidance of more than 120 unit shipments this year (the company has delivered 55 through the first half of 2022).
Martel also noted that the super-midsize jet is a factor in its target of ramping up production by 15 percent to 20 percent next year and said it has been well received by the market. “We are extremely happy with how things are shaping up [with the 3500 program],” he said.
Deliveries would come a year after Bombardier unveiled the model with a new look and branding that brought the Challenger in line with the Global nomenclature. The addition of the Safe Flight autothrottle system and its Nuage seats—first introduced in the Global 7500 and later in the Global 5500 and 6500—are key features in the newest member of the Challenger family.
AINsight: Forecasting Wx Easier than the Aircraft Market
Remember when you woke up in the morning and before getting dressed you watched your local weather person forecasting the day’s weather? Watching for the temperature and any rain or snow. Then discounting the forecast slightly to choose your day’s attire. There can always be that slight variance between what is predicted and what really are the day’s conditions.
Even with that slight variance, the weather person was more accurate than any of our prognostications about the preowned business aircraft industry. I watch every indicator that should be guiding the economics of our industry, such as recession fears, higher interest rates, higher fuel prices, and geopolitical unrest.
If we were betting people, any one of those would cause a market correction. Any one of those alone should bring an arresting halt to the demand we are seeing. Imagine all together they are not stopping the demand. Don’t forget we are getting ready to get back into what could be a year-end buying frenzy to take advantage of the last published year of 100 percent bonus depreciation.
Like all of you that are reading this, I have the privilege to work with very smart and successful people. Few of those I work with, albeit knowing the wealth that is out there, believe that the current business aircraft demand can continue. None of them really think that the value of aircraft will just drop and fall precipitously, either.
Due to continued supply chain impacts related to the Covid pandemic, Nav Canada has pushed back the previously announced Feb. 23, 2023 implementation date to start mandatory use of ADS-B Out in Class A and B Canadian airspace.
As a result, the mandate will come into effect on Aug. 10, 2023, for Class A Canadian airspace and on May 16, 2024, for Class B Canadian airspace. The ADS-B Out mandate for Class C, D, and E airspace will occur no sooner than 2026, with exact dates “to be determined pending further assessment,” said Nav Canada. The new dates have been developed to reflect customer feedback regarding supply chain limitations and backlogs to acquire and install the appropriate transponder and other required avionics.
"The valuable input we have received from our stakeholders and partners on the Canadian ADS-B mandate indicates that later dates for the mandate requirement are warranted as the industry continues to navigate the ongoing impacts to supply chains due to the pandemic,” said Jeff Dawson, assistant v-p for operational support. “We are taking these steps to ensure customers have adequate time to comply with mandate equipage requirements."
Added Dawson: “What we are seeing in terms of equipage is very encouraging—rates in Class A airspace are at 95 percent, while those in Class B airspace are above the 88 percent mark and growing steadily.”
Luxaviation reported that charter inquiries have surpassed the 1,000 per day mark as clients seek to travel to popular summer destinations around the Mediterranean, mainland Greece, Portugal, and Spain.
In June and July, inquiries ranged between 800 and 1,050 per day, Luxaviation said, noting in the two months prior, its UK charter office had received up to 400 per day.
“Incoming inquiries are off the scale, we’ve never experienced such a busy period,” said George Galanopoulos, CEO of Luxaviation UK and head of charter sales Europe for the Luxaviation Group. “This is partly due to post-pandemic new users choosing to fly privately and safely, but also new users who want to avoid the current airport and airline chaos of delays and cancellations.”
He added the approach to travel is evolving this summer as well. “Typically, we are seeing extended families who regularly fly with us, now traveling with an additional two or three families, enabling them to help spread the cost, travel safely, and avoid lengthy queues at airports,” he said.
Luxaviation is managing this uptick with its broad fleet, but it also has begun encouraging regular clients to consider buying aircraft to offset their charter overhead and ensure availability.
The White House this week turned its attention to the future of advanced air mobility, gathering government, industry, and other leaders to focus on the challenges and opportunities of integrating eVTOLs and UAS into the national airspace system.
FAA acting Administrator Billy Nolen, in his prepared remarks for the summit, said the agency is “looking at every aspect of this enterprise—the vehicle itself, the framework for operations, access to the airspace, operator training, infrastructure development, and community engagement.”
For the FAA, it's not just about air taxis, but also about everything supporting air taxi flights, including operational rules and pilot training standards. “We’re modifying our regulatory approach to enable powered lift operations including the certification of powered-lift vehicles and the pilots who operate them,” he said. “Longer term, the agency plans to continue to develop permanent regulations to safely enable powered-lift operations and pilot training and certification.”
He stressed the need for collaboration to move forward on these efforts.
NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen reported optimism from government and industry officials alike at the summit on the potential of AAM. “It’s encouraging to see this level of discourse and collaboration among stakeholders in this exciting, emerging industry, and to have this level of support from the highest levels of our government,” Bolen said.
Bell announced the milestone delivery of its 400th model 505 light single-engine helicopter to UK customer Al Barratt, co-founder of Grenade and owner of Cotswold Aviation.
“We are proud to celebrate the 400th delivery to Mr. Barratt,” said LaShan Bonaparte, Bell's vice president of commercial sales. “The Bell 505 provides outstanding performance capabilities, modern avionics, and a versatile cabin for our customers. This will be a great addition to Cotswold Aviation’s fleet.”
The first Bell 505, a five-seat aircraft that cruises at 125 knots and has a 360 nm maximum range, was delivered in 2017. It features the Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite and Safran Arrius 2R engine with a dual-channel fadec and can now be equipped with the optional Garmin GFC 600H autopilot with features including altitude hold with speed stability and a hover assist mode. The aircraft is available in utility, executive, and VIP interior configurations and is gaining popularity as both a civil and military trainer.
The 505 currently is used to train government forces in Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Montenegro, and the UAE. Additionally, Bell recently signed a deal to sell 40 for use as trainers to the Republic of Korea Army and Republic of Korea Navy.
RTAG, a charity dedicated to helping veterans jumpstart their aviation careers, will host its annual convention from October 21-23 at the Fort Worth Convention Center for military service members, veterans, and civilians interested in pursuing careers in aviation. The convention will be the last major aviation hiring event for 2022, according to the organization, and will host civilian recruiters, military representatives, vendors, flight schools, and hiring representatives from several airlines and charter operations.
Established in 2017 as a campaign to address the national pilot shortage, RTAG is a veteran-run, non-profit charity that has since evolved to place veterans in the airline industry, regardless of their experience, and has assisted thousands of service members in the transition.
“Veterans have been fighting these wars for 20 years. They should not have to come home and fight for a job...We have programs that will pay for all of a veteran's flight training up to ATP and can help businesses with free internships, tax credits, and pathway programs full of the most diverse aviation job applicants in the U.S.,” Erik Sabiston, co-founder and president of RTAG, told AIN, adding the event is not just for service members. “We want civilians to join us too. Everyone is welcome.”
Attendees and vendors wishing to attend the convention can find additional information and pre-register for the convention at the RTAG website.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) celebrated the creation of the 200th flying club that has been formed under its You Can Fly initiative. Members of the Lake Shelbyville Flying Club from Shelby County, Illinois, were honored for becoming the milestone program when they notched their first flight in a leased Cessna 172.
AOPA began the flying club initiative about a decade ago as part of an effort to encourage the recruitment and retention of pilots. The association since has provided numerous resources to assist in the creation and support of flying clubs, from an extensive guide to a Flying Club Finder.
The Shelbyville club, founded by airport manager Scott Jefson, is now at 10 members with the help of the AOPA initiative. “I realized all these people had one thing in common—me. So, I gave them all the names of people who were asking about a club, and they all reached out to one another,” Jefson said. “I have helped them come together, but they run it on their own.”
Jefson found the Cessna 172 at an estate sale, cleaned it up, and flew it back to the airport, AOPA reported.
Under the AOPA Foundation, the flying club initiative is part of a larger You Can Fly program, that provides multiple resources such as high school curriculums, to foster the general aviation community.
Photo of the Week
Morning glory. Dan Ellingson sent us this pastoral shot of a Stinson 108-3 taken on Trout Lake in northern Wisconsin that he entitled "Breakfast on the Beach." No doubt you enjoyed the meal and the view. Thanks for sharing Dan!
Keep them coming. If you’d like to submit an entry for Photo of the Week, email a high-resolution horizontal image (at least 2000 x 1200 pixels), along with your name, contact information, social media names, and info about it (including brief description, location, etc.) to photos@ainonline.com. Tail numbers can be removed upon request. Those submitting photos give AIN implied consent to publish them in its publications and social media channels.
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.
AINalerts is a publication of AIN Media Group, 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey. Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
