Honda Aircraft announced a milestone today by delivering the 200th example of its HondaJet, nearly six years and two variants after the light jet’s first delivery on Dec. 23, 2015. That first delivery came 14 days after then-FAA Administrator Michael Huerta presented the clean-sheet twinjet’s type certificate to Honda Aircraft president and CEO Michimasa Fujino.
“Since 2017, the HondaJet has been the most delivered aircraft in its class, and we continue to see high demand for the aircraft,” said Fujino. “The delivery of the 200th HondaJet is a reflection of its capabilities and reliability, as well as the extraordinary customer support of our team members.”
Assembled at Honda Aircraft’s facilities at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, the HondaJet has undergone a number of enhancements beginning with the HondaJet Elite, which the company introduced in May 2018. Improvements on the Elite included an extended range of 1,437 nm and new avionics features and styling. The Elite was followed up with Elite S, which was introduced in May.
Upgrades on the Elite S include increasing the aircraft’s takeoff weight by 200 pounds and new avionics features that further expanded the jet’s operational capability and reduced pilot workload for improved safety. Certified in more than 13 countries, the HondaJet fleet has accumulated more than 98,000 flight hours.
Seven passengers and two crewmembers were killed yesterday evening when a 2002 Gulfstream IV-SP crashed shortly after takeoff while attempting a diversionary landing at Santo Domingo Las Americas International Airport (MDSD) in the Dominican Republic. According to flight data from FlightRadar24, the aircraft—registered as HI1050—took off from Santo Domingo La Isabela International Airport (MDJB) at 5:07 p.m. local time on a charter flight headed to Florida and operated by Santo Domingo-based Helidosa Aviation Group.
However, the crew reportedly experienced an unspecified mechanical issue and diverted to MDSD. The twinjet crashed not far from MDSD at 5:22 p.m. and was destroyed by impact forces and post-crash fire. FlightRadar24 data indicates that the GIV-SP was headed to Orlando International Airport, but Helidosa said the destination was Miami.
Among the seven passengers killed were Puerto Rican music producer Jose Hernandez, known as “Flow La Movie,” and his wife and child, according to Hernandez’s publicist. In a statement expressing sorrow for those who perished in the crash, Helidosa named the two flight crewmembers as Luis Alberto Eljuri and Victor Emilio Herrera.
Helidosa said it is cooperating with the Dominican Republic aviation authorities on their accident investigation.
Aviation leaders are bracing for a wave of restrictions and potential disruption of operations at airports in a number of major metropolitan areas as the FAA crafts a notam to implement safety measures surrounding the rollout of 5G in C-Band. The notam is anticipated to provide specifics of restrictions contained within two airworthiness directives the FAA released earlier this month to address the threat of potential radar altimeter interference from 5G cellular.
Those ADs called for limits when aircraft are at risk of such interference, including prohibitions on CAT II/III operations; special authorization (SA) CAT I and SA CAT II; autoland; manual flight control guidance system operations to landing/HUD to touchdown; and use of enhanced flight vision systems (EFVS) to touchdown under FAR 91.176(a). Aviation industry groups point out that the limitations essentially affect systems and operations to enable safe approaches in poor weather.
Telecom providers AT&T and Verizon have indicated plans to implement their 5G signals on January 5—initially at a reduced power level—in certain areas of the country, including much of California and Florida, as well as other major metropolitan areas.
The telecom providers have indicated they would share data with the FAA regarding what power levels they plan to use and how it will be directed. This information could help the FAA tailor notams specific to airports and even approaches rather than a blanket notam.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers this week introduced legislation designed to help pave the way for the development of infrastructure to support the emerging advanced air mobility (AAM) sector. The Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization Act (AAIM), H.R.6270, would direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a pilot program that would provide planning and construction grants to support AAM infrastructure development.
NBAA, which strongly supports the bill, along with other associations such as the Helicopter Association International, said this could include public-use vertiports. The grant program would also support integration into the nation’s airspace, leverage existing public transportation facilities, and develop community engagement programs
House Transportation and Infrastructure aviation subcommittee chair Rick Larsen (D-Washington), ranking aviation subcommittee member Garret Graves (R-Louisiana), and Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) jointly introduced the bill. NBAA said the bill is the result of advocacy efforts from the association along with a broad group of aviation stakeholders that recognize AAM has the potential to support nearly 300,000 jobs and generate a $115 billion annual market by 2035 while reducing congestion and emissions.
“The successful integration of AAM will depend upon comprehensive planning, construction, and community input,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “The targeted investments proposed in this legislation will assist U.S. state, local and tribal, governments in creating new, innovative, and sustainable air transportation networks throughout our country.”
Modern Aviation today closed on its second acquisition of the year: two FBOs and an MRO operated by Hill Aviation in Puerto Rico. Hill is the sole FBO at Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (TJIG) in San Juan and owned a satellite FBO at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport (TJRV) in Ceiba. Both FBOs will be rebranded Modern Aviation Puerto Rico.
Hill Aviation, owned by Tommy Hill and private equity firm VRM Companies, was a Million Air franchisee and operates a Part 145 repair station at TJIG, which is included in the FBO acquisition. The sole FBO at TJIG occupies 91,000 sq ft of hangar and office space there. Under the terms of the deal, Hill will continue to operate its Propilot aircraft management and charter business at TJIG.
CEO Mark Carmen said Modern Aviation plans to expand the FBO’s leasehold at TJIG by building more hangars. The company also operates FBOs in Denver, Seattle, and Wilmington, North Carolina. In October, Modern Aviation announced plans to acquire Sheltair’s five New York locations.
Shares in eVTOL aircraft developer Vertical Aerospace began trading today on the New York Stock Exchange after shareholders in special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Broadstone Acquisition Corp. yesterday approved a merger with the UK-based startup eVTOL manufacturer. Around $300 million is expected to be raised from the flotation and the issuance of convertible senior secured notes.
Vertical said that amount will more than cover the estimated $250 million it needs to complete EASA type certification of its four-passenger eVTOL by 2024 and start commercial operations in “the mid-2020s.” Last week, Vertical Aerospace unveiled the prototype of the newly renamed VX4 aircraft, which is expected to start flight testing next year.
Vertical recently announced an additional $205 million funding round led by Mudrick Capital, along with new strategic partnerships to develop vertiports with London Heathrow Airport and infrastructure group Ferrovial.
Provisional orders for the fixed-wing eVTOL, which will have a range of over 100 miles and speeds of 200 mph, now total 1,350 units with a list price combined value of $5.4 billion (implying a $4 million price tag). Rolls-Royce is developing an electric propulsion system for the VX4, with the first units to be delivered in 2022. Other leading partners in the program include Honeywell Aerospace, which is providing flight controls and avionics.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
A new iOS app called JumpSeat has launched to help crowdsource important information that isn’t always included in a notam. The app has been in beta testing since June and is now available to any user, currently for free.
JumpSeat was launched by Ben Zavadil and Brad Doebelin to provide an easily accessible repository of information that either isn’t covered by notams or that pilots have to search for in siloed locations such as online forums and social media or that might be local knowledge from ground handlers.
“We’ve seen complaints resounding across the industry,” Zavadil said. “Notams don’t solve this. This isn’t necessarily the fix, but we have the technology to get away from [forums], scouring Facebook, or hoping our operations department gets good information or that siloed information gets out.”
The app offers a simple presentation of a world map populated with airports. Click on any airport to see reports about that airport or the local terminal area forecast. To add a report, users can click on the plus button and then select the type of event, such as runways/taxiways, ATC, scams, fuel, violence, strikes, and weather.
JumpSeat’s revenue model will likely involve a subscription at some point, but the founders are still working on developing the content and functionality. The core features will remain free.
Several industry groups are protesting the decision by California’s Santa Clara County to ban the sale of 100LL aviation gasoline at two general aviation airports, starting on January 1. In a letter to FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson signed by the heads of AOPA, EAA, GAMA, HAI, NATA, and NBAA, the groups said the move will leave piston aircraft operators at Reid-Hillview Santa Clara County and San Martin airports with no fuel option approved for use in the entire piston GA fleet. That, said the letter, would significantly increase the risk of aircraft misfueling.
While the groups signaled their support for the eventual phasing out of leaded fuel, they urged the FAA to use its “aviation safety mandate to prohibit individual airports from interrupting the availability of 100LL and stifling the cooperative industry-government effort to safely transition the entire general aviation fleet to unleaded fuels.”
The letter explained that 75 percent of the 100LL sold in the U.S. is consumed by aircraft with high-compression piston engines, many of which aren't approved to use the unleaded avgas currently on the market. It added that those that are approved to use lower-octane unleaded fuel must still first obtain an STC to legally do so. That can cause problems for pilots landing at airports where the only option is a lower-octane fuel than what their aircraft requires.
Neste, a leading supplier of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to the U.S. and European markets, won the AIN 2021 Top Flight Award for sustainability. The company recently announced an expansion at its Rotterdam refinery—a $231 million investment that will add another 500,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel a year to the plant’s capacity. Burning 100 percent SAF in place of jet-A can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent, while the emissions reductions are lower when burning an SAF/jet-A blend. At present, aircraft are permitted to use up to a 50-percent SAF blend.
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