Jetcruzer International has placed a firm order for ZeroAvia's 600-kilowatt electric propulsion system (EPS) to support development of its six-seat hydrogen-electric 500E airplane, the companies announced today. According to ZeroAvia, this is the first firm order for the ZA600, which the company has developed to convert aircraft carrying up to 20 passengers to hydrogen power. It has previously reported preorders for 2,000 units.

California-based Jetcruzer plans to take delivery of the ZA600 powertrain in the second quarter as it works towards service entry in 2028 for the reworked 1990s-era Jetcruzer 500 pusher turboprop single. When the first ZA600 is delivered, it will be integrated with a rebuilt Jetcruzer 500 airframe that will be used as a flying testbed.

Jetcruzer announced plans for the 500E, as well as for a version powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop, at NBAA-BACE 2023. It also plans to develop a 12-passenger 1250E variant that would be certified in 2030.

Earlier this month, the FAA issued ZeroAvia with a G-1 issue paper, marking stage two of the certification process for the EPS. Featured in the equipment are four 200-kilowatt continuous power bidirectional inverters to convert DC to AC power for ZeroAvia’s direct-drive motors, which are capable of 2,200 rpm. The EPS can be configured for various aircraft powertrain architectures, including battery-electric, fuel cell-based electric, and hybrid-electric.

A recent rulemaking paves the way for the industry to move toward an electronic filing and distribution system for aircraft registration. The FAA hopes to fully implement the Civil Aviation Registry Electronic Services (CARES) system by year-end.

Released last month, the rulemaking facilitates online submissions for and issuances of aircraft registrations. “Electronic issuance of the certificates is more efficient and cost-effective,” the agency said.

The FAA explained that, currently, the registry issues more than 5,000 certificates printed on card stock per month, and then it takes about seven to 10 business days for mailing. With mounting delays in the process, Congress in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 called on the FAA to upgrade the registry, including digitization of its functions.

“The FAA is modifying FAA regulations in a way to help the industry do business with today’s technology,” said Scott McCreary, aircraft practice group leader at McAfee & Taft and a member of NBAA’s Tax Committee and regulatory industry advisory group.

He noted that, for now, “the FAA has simply changed the governing regulations to allow use and submission of electronically executed documents and manually executed copies in certain circumstances…Once fully implemented, possibly by the end of the year, the system will accept documents, digitally executed and manually executed, electronically through CARES.”

Eviation has laid off 30 of its staff and has paused work on its nine-passenger Alice fixed-wing electric aircraft as it seeks new investment. According to a source close to the U.S-based company, a small team has been retained as its main shareholder, the Clermont Group, tries to get commitments from new financial backers and industrial partners.

Almost two and a half years since Eviation flew a technology demonstrator at Moses Lake in Washington state, the company has not said when it will build and fly a prototype aircraft as it works towards securing FAA type certification. In April 2024, it announced the completion of the conceptual design review with the support of engineering contractor TLG Aerospace, which is not currently involved in the program.

“This decision was not made lightly,” said Eviation CEO Andre Stein, a former executive with Embraer and Eve Air Mobility, who was appointed in December 2023. “However, we believe this temporary pause is necessary to focus on identifying the right long-term partnerships to help us make electric commercial regional flight a reality. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our customers and partners for their support for the Alice program. And we would especially like to thank our employees for their hard work in accelerating the electric revolution in aviation.”

EBAA and a coalition of business aircraft manufacturers, operators, airports, fuel producers, and service providers are urging the European Commission to adopt book-and-claim under ReFuelEU regulations to accelerate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) use. In a joint industry letter sent yesterday to key European Union commissioners and directors-general, they noted that the ReFuelEU mandate for fuel suppliers to provide physical supplies of SAF at major European airports may be unworkable.

“Introducing further flexibilities [such as book-and-claim] is of paramount importance to avoid structural imbalances and to reduce overall costs in the EU’s SAF market, while ensuring an efficient deployment of SAF across the EU,” the coalition wrote.

The joint letter highlights several key concerns affecting the SAF market in Europe, including that physical availability constraints will prevent many airports from having access to SAF in the short to medium term. This has been compounded by uncertainties around feedstocks that have delayed investment in new SAF production projects, as well as the higher cost of SAF (1.5 to 10 times higher than jet-A).

“To address these challenges, EBAA and its industry partners are calling for the [EC] to introduce a book-and-claim system—a mechanism that would allow SAF purchases and usage to be accounted for without requiring physical delivery to a specific airport,” the coalition said. “Book and claim would not impose additional costs on the EU or member states.”

Aerox Aerospace Group has purchased Omnigas Systems, which specializes in hydrostatic testing and MRO services for oxygen system components and fire-suppression systems. This acquisition complements the group’s Aerox Aviation Oxygen Systems and Aerox Fluid Power divisions and their oxygen systems engineering and manufacturing for aircraft OEMs, air medical interiors manufacturers, and other oxygen system integrators, according to Aerox.

The Omnigas acquisition is the fourth for Aerox Aerospace Group, which purchased Aerox Aviation Oxygen Systems in 2020, Sky-Ox Aviation Oxygen in 2022, and Fluid Power in 2023. After rebranding as Aerox Omnigas MRO, the acquired company will operate independently under the Aerox Aerospace Group umbrella.

“Our acquisition of Omnigas Systems leverages Aerox’s deep expertise and infrastructure in developing and manufacturing aviation oxygen systems for a global customer base,” said Scott Ashton, president and CEO of Aerox. “We are excited to welcome the experienced Omnigas team into the Aerox family of companies. Omnigas Systems brings robust capabilities in both oxygen components and fire-suppression systems service and repair, as well as hydrostatic testing.”

Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based charter operator Heartland Aviation has adopted TrustFlight’s minimum equipment list (MEL) Manager software to help manage the MEL process for its Bombardier Challenger 350 and Cessna Citation Sovereign.

According to TrustFlight, many aircraft operators rely on word processors such as Microsoft Word to edit and maintain their MEL documents. “However, Word often proves inadequate for the task, frequently crashing or corrupting files due to the size and formatting requirements of MELs. Such inefficiencies can lead to operational delays, regulatory risks, and frustration for maintenance and operations teams,” the company explained.

The MEL Manager software automates MEL processes to reduce the risk of manual-entry errors and ensure alignment with changes to regulatory MEL updates. TrustFlight maintains up-to-date MEL information to provide “seamless integration with operational and safety systems…ensuring that MELs remain accurate and actional across all departments.” Another advantage, according to TrustFlight, is that MEL Manager helps personnel across all departments collaborate via a centralized and user-friendly interface.

“Heartland Aviation has always prioritized the safety and reliability of its services,” said Cory Haupt, the company’s director of operations. “By partnering with TrustFlight, we’re adopting one of the industry’s most advanced tools to ensure our operations remain immune to compliance errors that may impact our flight operations.”

The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) has scheduled a series of safety management system workshops that will be held in tandem with its Safety Symposium planned in April at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach, Florida campus.

Opening on April 7, the symposium will start with a panel about business aviation careers and run through April 9. Speakers include Convergent Performance CEO Tony Kern, NTSB member Michael Graham, Valor Partners chair and CEO Al Gorthy, and others from companies such as GE Aerospace, FlightSafety International, Hop-A-Jet, and RBAVLaw.

The workshops will include a session entitled “ACSF Lite, Part 5, and the Declaration Letter” run by John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems and co-founder of Aviation Safety Compliance, and Jim Hosey, CEO and president of Aviation Consulting/Auditing and president and co-founder of Aviation Safety Compliance. This session will provide an overview of upcoming SMS requirements, including options for small operators.

Another workshop, “Turning SMS Data into Safety Insights” run by Aviation Safety Solutions CEO Amanda Ferraro, will instruct on how to effectively analyze and leverage SMS data to identify trends, assess risks, and drive proactive safety improvements. A third workshop, “Safety Management, Airworthiness, Quality Escapes; Victim or Enabler,” will be held by AeroTechna Solutions managing director Leonard Beauchemin and delve into the foundation of airworthiness, risk management, and compliance management.