On December 6, CWS Asset Management (CWSAMS) will hold an auction for the U.S. Treasury Department that includes the HondaJet formerly owned by Michael Avenatti. A former attorney, Avenatti is in prison, having been convicted of extortion of Nike and for stealing millions of dollars from clients. 

The jet was seized at California’s Santa Barbara Municipal Airport by federal agents in April 2019 when Avenatti was indicted on fraud and tax charges. A contractor flew the HondaJet to Chino Airport in Southern California, where it has been stored since. In the indictment, Avenatti was accused of taking $2.5 million from a client’s $3 million settlement and using the money to buy a portion of the HondaJet.

Preview appointments are available on December 4 and 5 and can be arranged through CWSAMS. The HondaJet has 386.5 hours of total flight time and 343 landings with no damage history. The auction notice states, “Engines are started monthly and ran up, with systems cycled…Being that this aircraft has been in storage since April 2019 and not on a Honda maintenance program since that time, there may be Honda-specific inspections and updates that are needed.”

Proceeds from the auction will be deposited in the Treasury Forfeiture Fund, which helps pay for law enforcement activities and compensation for victims of fraud.

There are so many signs that it’s that time of year. Fireplace chimneys smoking, commercials on television playing Christmas music, and department stores setting up the Santa area for kids to whisper in Santa’s ear what they hope to have under the tree on Christmas morning.

From my vantage point, I can almost see the new year by the drop-off of calls from people who are trying to capture a year-end business aircraft transaction. Sure, I am still getting some—even as recently as last Friday—looking for an opportunity. But most people are now thinking about next year rather than this year.

This has been a very good year on many fronts. The transactions have been less frenzied, and the balance in our market seems to be returning. Inventory levels are increasing, signaling the balance is here to stay—for a while. And days on the market are lengthening.

But this gives buyers more choice and success in negotiating for better pricing rather than just having a yes-or-no answer from a seller. Don’t misunderstand—prices are not dropping off a cliff. They are gently floating down a bit. This gives sellers the ability to not feel as if they are in a fire sale and gives buyers a bit of confidence that they are not in a bidding war. Both sides are winning.

Bombardier’s hopes to supply the Canadian military with a multi-mission/anti-submarine version of the Global 6500 were dashed when the Canadian government yesterday announced its decision to award a contract to Boeing for the P-8A Poseidon to satisfy the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft (CMMA) requirement. The Canadian airframer had partnered with defense contractor General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada to develop a special mission entry based on the ultra-long-range business jet.

Earlier this year, Bombardier called on the Canadian government to open a fair and competitive procurement for its plan to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Lockheed CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft. At the time, Canada had already shown interest in acquiring the P-8, noting, “The government has determined that the P-8A Poseidon is the only currently available aircraft that meets all of the CMMA operational requirements.”

In a statement released yesterday, Bombardier expressed its disappointment in the decision and claimed it was never allowed to fully demonstrate its offering.

“Despite multiple conversations with the government, where we requested an RFP or a more detailed framework within which to present key facts and capabilities, no such follow-on opportunities were given to Bombardier or its partners,” it noted. “No aerospace or third-party experts subsequently evaluated our capabilities.” It concluded that it remains confident that its product offering will be successful in multiple markets, “setting a new standard for maritime patrol.”

An Enstrom 280FX crashed this morning onto a busy motorway moments after departing the site of this week’s European Rotors conference in Madrid. The helicopter, French registered F-HPUX, had two aboard and was flying from the Ifema Convention Center to the Cuatro Vientos Airfield, just south of the city. It crashed onto a Jersey wall in the median and hit a car just short of a bridge abutment on the M40 at 10:12 a.m. local time.

Both helicopter occupants were injured; one was able to walk off on his own, while the other had to be extracted by emergency personnel. The driver of the car was also injured. The car suffered a smashed windshield and gouge marks while the helicopter, which came to rest on its side, was substantially damaged. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, according to authorities, but one of the injured was reported to have a broken leg.

Authorities also said a heavy wind gust could have been a factor in the crash. Earlier in the morning, Madrid-Barajas Airport had recorded gusts in excess of 38 knots and high winds were forecast for the area most of the day. 

The accident helicopter was one of 20 on display at the conference, which ran from Tuesday to yesterday. It had arrived in Madrid on November 24 from Beziers, France.

ForeFlight has added the HondaJet HA-420 to its runway analysis service, with obstacle analysis for one-engine inoperative departures and takeoff and landing distance performance. The runway analysis service is in addition to the existing en route performance planning and weight and balance calculations in ForeFlight.

To create the runway analysis models, ForeFlight and Honda Aircraft “worked closely together to verify the quality and accuracy of the finished models,” according to ForeFlight. Honda Aircraft gave ForeFlight developers access to digitized high-resolution performance data, which is more accurate than having to scan flight manual pages. This sped up the process of developing the runway analysis models and prevented potential errors from digitizing scanned data.

HondaJet pilots can use runway analysis as a seamless part of their preflight planning, and ForeFlight incorporates and displays departure and destination airports, route, forecast weather, fuel at takeoff and landing, and weight and balance outputs based on passenger, payload, and fuel information. To complete the obstacle analysis, pilots need to select the departure runway, and the one-engine inoperative route and procedure is instantly available. 

“The team at Honda has gone above and beyond by providing digital aircraft performance data to help our engineers ensure the utmost quality and reliability of our Runway Analysis product,” said ForeFlight CEO Tim Schuetze.

The U.S. House of Representatives aviation subcommittee on Thursday ratcheted up the pressure on the Senate to move on a long-term FAA reauthorization bill, holding a hearing on the consequences of delaying action.

“It is absolutely critical that the United States Senate move forward to pass this reauthorization. Without a full reauthorization of the FAA, safety is at risk, and American leadership in aviation technology and innovation is at risk,” maintained aviation subcommittee Chair Garret Graves (R-Louisiana).

This contention was backed by GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce, who cited a “critical need” to finish the bill. “I've been doing this job at GAMA now for 19 years, and I've never seen a time that is more important for us to get the FAA reauthorized and address some of the critical issues.”

Rich Santa, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, added, “The single most important action Congress can take for the safety of the NAS [national airspace system] would be to pass a long-term, comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill into law before the end of the year.” 

In tandem with the hearing, several business and general aviation groups issued a joint statement urging passage of a long-term bill and, separately, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) sent a letter to Senate leaders calling for action.

The Air Charter Association (ACA) has announced the winners of its 2023 Excellence Awards. These awards recognize companies for their contributions to nine aspects of the industry during a recent event held in Brighton—on the south coast of England—attended by 500 people.

The winners are: Platoon Aviation (executive passenger charter operator); Loganair (commercial passenger charter operator); Atlas Air (cargo charter operator); Saxon Air (helicopter charter operator); Farnborough Airport (handling agent or FBO); Embraer (aircraft manufacturer); Air Partner (charter operators’ broker of the year); Charlie Woodward/RVL Aviation (ACA NextGen young person of the year); and Loganair (Sir Michael Marshall award for sustainability in aviation).

“It was fantastic to see so many of our members gather to join us in recognizing and celebrating excellence in our industry over the past year,” said ACA chairman Kevin Ducksbury. “The fact that the evening was so well attended is a testament to the popularity of the Air Charter Association’s events.”

Mindful of environmental concerns around the private aviation sector, the ACA’s sustainability and innovation working group introduced new arrangements for the event, including a low-carbon dinner menu based on locally sourced and sustainably grown produce. The carbon footprint for the event (including water, energy, and waste) was covered by the purchase of carbon credits by the hotel venue—the DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole.