Textron Aviation has delivered its 8,000th Cessna Citation, the airframer announced today. The milestone aircraft, a Citation Longitude, was delivered at a special ceremony at the OEM’s headquarters in Wichita to customer Scotts Miracle-Gro. The super-midsize twinjet is the fifth Cessna Citation in the lawn-and-garden product manufacturer’s fleet.
“I, along with the members of our flight department, congratulate Textron Aviation on the delivery of its 8,000th Citation aircraft,” said Scotts CEO Jim Hagedorn, who personally owns a Citation CJ4 and is a former U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot. “Reaching this milestone is a credit to the Cessna brand.”
The first Citation 500 was delivered in 1972 to American Airlines. Since then, more than 30 Citation models have been certified over the more than 50-year history of the brand. Six Citation models are in production, representing the light, midsize, and super-midsize categories of business jets: M2 Gen2, CJ3+, CJ4 Gen2, XLS Gen2, Latitude, and Longitude.
“A milestone like this wouldn’t be possible without all the owners and operators who love to fly our aircraft,” said Textron Aviation president and CEO Ron Draper. “With more than 41 million flight hours across the globe, our customers continue to make Citation jets their aircraft of choice.”
The U.S. Air Force 89th Airlift Wing took delivery of its final scheduled Gulfstream G550 modified as a C-37B, the service said today. The second of two C-37Bs acquired under a $159 million indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract update, the aircraft carries the tail number 1949 in honor of the Berlin Airlift, which happened in 1949 and is one of the biggest airlift operations in USAF history, the service noted.
Designed to transport the U.S. Vice President and cabinet-level officials, the previous C-37B arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on November 3. That aircraft was given the tail number of 1941 in honor of the year the Tuskegee Airmen were founded. Honorary Tuskegee Airman and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown had said of that delivery: “I’m humbled to not only be asked to deliver this aircraft but to be a red jacket wearer and now to be a red tail flyer.”
A derivative of the Gulfstream G550, the C-37Bs were upgraded with secure commercial and military voice and data communications systems through L3 Harris. Including both A and B variants, the USAF now has 16 C-37As (Gulfstream V derivative) and -Bs in its fleet. The G550, which ended production last year, has been acquired by more than a dozen countries for a range of special-mission configurations.
King Aerospace is planning an expansion project to open a location in a third state and increase its work in specialized and advanced aircraft systems integration and modification projects on aircraft as large as Boeing 747s and 777s. The Dallas-based company—which operates an MRO and modification center for Boeing Business Jets and other VIP narrowbody and corporate jets in Ardmore, Oklahoma—has leased two, 58,368-sq-ft hangars at Northwest Arkansas National Airport (KXNA).
Its Arkansas facility will provide FAA Part 145 modifications, engineering, and integration services such as upgraded airborne defense and next-generation information systems for government or quasi-government widebody aircraft. Also included in the lease is 78,000 sq ft of engineering, shop, and office space.
King Aerospace founder and chairman Jerry King told AIN that even though the facilities it is occupying at KXNA had been vacant for about 10 years—they previously served as a completions and maintenance center for Ozark Aircraft Systems—they were well maintained during that time. The hangars are receiving new LED lighting, paint, and security and fire suppression systems, the latter of which meets Department of Defense requirements.
The KXNA facilities are expected to be open for occupancy on May 1. King said his company expects to start out with 20 employees at KXNA and build upon that.
Eviation co-founder and CEO Omer Bar-Yohay has left the company just as it prepares for first flight of its Alice electric airplane, the company announced yesterday as part of a “leadership reorganization.” Gregory Davis, who previously held executive positions with Viking Air and Marshall Aerospace, has replaced Bar-Yohay with immediate effect. Davis joined Arlington, Washington-based Eviation in May 2021 as the startup’s president.
In a social media post, Bar-Yohay said he stepped down from the position “after a long-standing disagreement with the company's main shareholder,” referring to Singapore-based investment group Clermont. Eviation insisted that his departure was “part of a planned succession process that reflects the company's transition to the production phase” of the program.
The unexpected move comes a little over a month after Roei Ganzarski stepped down as Eviation’s chairman, as well as CEO of sister company MagniX, which is supplying the electric propulsion system for the nine-passenger Alice. Ganzarski is now CEO of information technology group Alitheon.
“Eviation expects to make the first flight of the Alice in the upcoming weeks, having completed many preliminary milestones, including initial taxi and flight-test preparations,” said Eviation’s new chairman, Dominique Spragg.
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Transport Canada has issued a notice of proposed amendment to require installation of lightweight flight data recorders (LDR) on virtually all general and business aviation aircraft registered in Canada. The mandate would apply to the existing fleet and newly manufactured aircraft used for private flying, training, aerial work, and commuter and air taxi operations. Operators would have up to five years from the publication of the final rule to meet the retrofit requirement.
“LDRs generally represent a less costly alternative to traditional flight data recorders (FDR), though they are less robust and generally less likely to survive a crash,” Transport Canada said, but added that these units still provide a means of “recording valuable flight data information.” Several LDR systems currently on the market can record information that is sufficient to determine the flight path and aircraft speed. This includes combined flight deck image, flight deck audio, aircraft parametric data, images of the aircraft instruments, and/or datalink messages.
Canada currently requires FDRs in most private and commercial aircraft with 10 or more passenger seats. Australia's CASA, EASA, and other national aviation authorities are well into the regulatory process of requiring LDRs on aircraft flown for commercial purposes. Presently, there are no current initiatives underway by the FAA to mandate the installation of LDR systems. Comments on the Transport Canada proposal are due March 5.
Shane G. Eddy will become the next president of Pratt & Whitney on March 1, parent company Raytheon Technologies Corp. announced late yesterday. Eddy replaces Christopher Calio, who has been appointed Raytheon’s chief operating officer.
Eddy, who joined Pratt & Whitney in November 2016, was most recently senior v-p and chief operations officer. Before joining the aircraft engine OEM, he was v-p and general manager of turboshaft and turboprop programs at GE Aviation, president of commercial systems and services at Sikorsky Aircraft, and senior v-p of customer support and services at Bell.
“Shane’s significant aerospace industry leadership experience and in-depth understanding of Pratt & Whitney’s products and culture makes him the ideal leader to take the business through its next phase of growth,” said Raytheon chairman and CEO Greg Hayes. “Building on his proficiency running global operations, Shane’s management and operational expertise will help drive continued optimization of the business.”
Japanese airline ANA will work with Joby Aviation to establish ridesharing flights in the latter company’s four-passenger eVTOLs in Japan. Under an agreement announced yesterday, carmaker Toyota—an investor in Joby—is also involved in the partnership, providing expertise for plans to integrate the air taxi services with ground transportation. ANA and Joby will focus on infrastructure development, pilot training, flight operations, air traffic management, public acceptance, and regulatory requirements.
All three partners are already contributing to the Japanese government’s Public-Private Conference for the Future of Air Mobility Revolution, which was organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Investment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. The government is supporting efforts to launch commercial eVTOL flights during the 2025 World Expo to be held in Osaka at the heart of the Keihanshin metropolitan area.
One of the proposed ridesharing routes would take travelers from Osaka’s central rail station to the Kansai International Airport, which is 31 miles away on a manmade island in Osaka Bay. According to Joby, its all-electric eVTOL, which is expected to enter service in 2024, could make the journey in 14 minutes versus an hour by car.
Joe Del Balzo, 85, the founder and president of JDA Aviation Technology Solutions and former acting FAA administrator, died from cancer on February 11. Del Balzo founded JDA in 1994 after spending more than three decades with the FAA, culminating in the roles of acting and deputy administrator. JDA colleague and former FAA staffer Sandy Murdock said Del Balzo "was kind [and] found time for anyone...Calm and quiet was his effective management mode.”
Born In New York, Del Balzo earned an engineering degree from Manhattan College in 1958 and embarked on his public service career beginning as an entry-level engineer with the FAA, Del Balzo earned a master’s in engineering management from Drexel University in 1967.
An instrument-rated pilot, Del Balzo moved into a number of senior-level roles with the FAA, including as chief technical advisor for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, head of the FAA Technical Center, and executive director of system operations. He also served as deputy administrator and in 1992 and 1993 was acting administrator.
At JDA, Del Balzo steered consultancy work across airport and airspace planning, safety, security, training, and technology applications, working with a range of international clients.
A Fellow of the America Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Del Balzo chaired the Air Traffic Control Association, was a former member of the Civil Tilt-Rotor Advisory Committee, and served on the board of Weather Information Technologies.
Orla Brady has joined Clyde & Co’s global aviation practice as senior counsel in Washington, D.C. Brady formerly was a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Aviation, Space & Admiralty Section.
Tecnam appointed Volodymyr Rizzitano customer service manager. Rizzitano joined Tecnam’s technical support department in 2014 and since held roles as engineering manager of the company’s maintenance organization and as aircraft delivery manager.
West Star Aviation promoted Darren Nash to director of quality assurance. Nash has served with West Star since 2007, holding a number of roles with the quality assurance team.
The Air Charter Association named Alina Minaeva deputy chair of its Next Generation Group formed to support initiatives that attract talent into the industry, as well as focus on sustainability and innovation. Minaeva serves as director of Volanteus.
Asian Sky Group (ASG) named Nadav Kessler managing director of Asian Sky Group and Tan Rahman managing director of Asian Sky Media. Kessler joined the company shortly after its founding in 2012 and since has taken on roles with increasing responsibility, including developing and expanding the company’s aircraft transaction and consultancy business units. Rahman has 20 years of telecommunications, consumer electronics, technology, travel, financial services, and government experience, including as chief marketing officer for Chinese B2B startup Xcalibyte and as global head of digital and media with Huawei Technologies.
Greg Cornell was appointed president of Innovative Advantage. Cornell, who began his career with Emteq, joined Innovative Advantage in 2014 and has held sales and business development roles with the company.
Northern Plains Unmanned Systems Authority named Trevor Woods executive director of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS). Woods has been with the NPUASTS since its inception and formerly has served as director of safety and director operations.
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