Honda Aircraft Delivers First HondaJet Elite S

Honda Aircraft turned over the first HondaJet Elite S—registered as N712LV and painted in an ice-blue color scheme—to an undisclosed customer last week, the company said today.

The new Elite S, which was unveiled in late May and includes a 200-pound mtow increase, was certified by the FAA in an update to the HondaJet’s type certificate data sheet on July 7 for S/Ns 42000207 and up. According to the type certificate, the Elite S has a new maximum landing weight of 10,160 pounds and a maximum zero fuel weight of 9,100 pounds.

Changes to the G3000 avionics suite include a Com 3 datalink radio and FAA Data Comm and aircraft communications, addressing, and reporting system (ACARS) capabilities. The Com 3 radio can also be used as a VHF radio by disabling its datalink.

A new nosewheel advanced steering augmentation system (ASAS) embodies control logic in the nosewheel steering to assist the pilot during landing rollout. This is done by detecting the yaw rate of the HondaJet and “providing directional assistance to the nosewheel steering to increase stability...to help maintain runway centerline during rollout. This reduces pilot workload during the landing rollout and provides an additional level of safety during the landing,” according to Honda Aircraft.

The HondaJet Elite S base price is $5.4 million; the previous Elite model was priced at $5.25 million.

EBAA, IBAC Launch Sustainability Program Test

EBAA and IBAC today announced the pilot launch of their Standards & Training for Aviation Responsibility and Sustainability (STARS) program. It is intended to evaluate the clarity and feasibility of a framework of social and environmental standards to be implemented across the business aviation value chain.

Thus, the program will introduce industry-wide best practices that will dovetail with existing IS-BAO and IS-BAH safety guidelines, as well as be made available to businesses that do not operate aircraft, manage FBOs, or provide ground handling services. Like IS-BAO and IS-BAH, the three-tiered sustainability accreditation program, which was developed starting in 2018, will employ an auditing process to ensure its integrity.

Scheduled to run through December, the pilot will involve six initial members: Air Charter Services UK, CAT Aviation, Flying Group, Luxaviation Malta, Time to Fly, and a Switzerland-based corporate flight department.

“STARS will provide a vital framework for members of the business aviation community to contribute to the broad range of sustainability needs as outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” said IBAC director general Kurt Edwards. “Experiences in the pilot will allow us to refine the sustainability best practices, and we can begin to roll out the STARS program across Europe in 2022 and globally by 2024.”

Flexjet Accelerates Jet Deliveries as Demand Rises

Fractional ownership provider Flexjet is accelerating aircraft deliveries and hiring another 200 pilots to fly them as the industry experiences an “unprecedented rise” in demand, CEO Michael Silvestro told AIN. But while such demand has posed problems for some competitors, he said, it hasn't interfered with Flexjet's ability to sell shares and jet cards and arrange leases for its fleet of Phenom 300 light jets.

“Over the past year and a half, we acquired new clients who had previously never flown privately,” Silvestro noted. “That increase in business includes fractional, lease, and jet cards across all of our aircraft types. [It's] not limited to light jets.”

A proactive approach to maintaining service levels has mitigated any service disruptions from the demand increase, Silvestro noted. While focusing on fractional sales as Flexjet’s core business, the company said it has remained mindful of the importance of jet cards to its total operation. “In this way, we can continually ensure that supply matches demand,” Silvestro said. He added that companies with a “disproportionate number” of jet cards rolled into their core business of fractional ownership shares make it “much harder to withstand moments like this when they unfold.”

Air Partner Sees ‘Continuing Momentum’ in JetCard Sales

Air Partner’s private jets business saw a 57 percent year-over-year increase in global JetCard bookings between February 1 and June 30, the UK-based global charter broker and aviation services group reported late last week. At the same time, the number of new members climbed 37 percent while customer deposits increased 85 percent.

The U.S. market is behind much of the growth. Bookings in this region are up 152 percent and the number of new JetCard members increased 225 percent. Air Partner Americas president David McCown attributed the sustained demand from high-net-worth individuals, adding that “we expect to see the momentum continue.”

In the UK, bookings are 6.3 percent higher and customer deposits increased 82 percent, despite what Air Partner said was a wider, downward market trend in the country due to pandemic-related travel restrictions.

“It is extremely encouraging to see such strong growth in our private jets business, particularly in the U.S., and the growing popularity of our JetCard product among both new and existing customers globally,” said Air Partner Group CEO Mark Briffa.

Third Generation Takes Over at Priester Aviation

Family-owned Priester Aviation will pass its leadership torch to a third generation with the announcement that Charlie Priester will transition to chairman emeritus, while his son, Andy, will take over as chairman. Since the 1980s, Charlie had led the on-demand aircraft charter, management, and consulting firm that his father, George, founded in 1945.

Andy Priester, a graduate of the University of Dayton and Concordia University, became president and CEO of the Chicago-based company in 2013, and under his tenure the company’s aircraft fleet has expanded nearly tenfold. Over the past several years, Priester has increased its operations and staff, while introducing its Centerline Jet Card program.

“For more than 75 years, the Priester name has meant so much to aviation and to the people with whom we’ve built strong relationships,” noted Andy Priester. “So much of that credit goes to Charlie, who took the company to new heights over the past 40 years. His vision and connections within the industry and to people have been invaluable to our success.”

Ventura Air Program Seeks Excels, Challenger 604/605s

Seeking to add fleet capacity in light of growing demand for private aircraft flights, charter operator and aircraft management firm Ventura Air Services is offering a new owner lease program for Cessna Citation Excel/XLS and Bombardier Challenger 604/605 owners that will absorb their fixed costs while providing them with financial and tax benefits.

The New York-based company said the program makes it feasible for owners of those types who only need to fly 50 to 100 hours per year to access and enjoy the benefits of aircraft ownership. It will provide a consistent financial return for each hour an owner’s aircraft is used.

Ventura Air claimed that, in many situations, owners enrolled in the program will realize a profit from the revenue that comes from operating leased jets.  Insurance costs are also covered and flight crews are provided by Ventura. Also covered are standard maintenance costs, which include scheduled inspections and discrepancies except for significant corrosion, capital improvements, and any engine/APU maintenance not covered by a subscription program. 

For new buyers of Excel/XLSs or Challenger 604/605s, the program also allows in most cases 100 percent depreciation of the purchase price in the first year. 

“We take on the risk and costs. All that is required of owners is to pay the standard expenses they incur for their own flights,” said Ventura CEO Nick Tarascio.

Canadian Governments Pumping Billions into Green Aviation

Last week, the governments of Canada and its Quebec province finalized plans announced earlier this year to pump more than C$2 billion in direct grants and loans into the country’s aerospace sector, with some well-known OEMs, including Pratt & Whitney, Bell, and CAE, primed to receive up to $685 million. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the aid was part of the country’s “strategic investments” to promote a green economy and assist in the “profound transformation” of the nation’s aerospace industry, which supports 235,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Funds to be provided include nearly $70 million to Pratt & Whitney Canada to support ongoing work for a $163 million hybrid-electric aircraft engine propulsion project; $275 million for Bell Textron Canada for the Viridis hybrid-electric helicopter technology; and $340 million for CAE to acquire electric training aircraft and implement a global R&D program encompassing digital technology, electric aviation, and health care over the next five years. 

Smaller aerospace firms would also benefit. Trudeau concurrently announced the launch of the Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative (ARRI) through a federal investment of $250 million over three years. The ARRI is designed to provide funding to small and medium-sized businesses and organizations in the aerospace sector “to help them become cleaner, more innovative, and more productive,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office.

AOPA Takes Issue with FAA Compensation Definition

In addition to the FAA’s July 12 directive requiring letters of deviation authority (LODA) for instructors to be compensated for providing training in experimental-category aircraft, AOPA said agency lawyers are also applying an Advisory Circular intended to define “compensation” for sharing flight expenses to instructors in limited, primary, and experimental aircraft.

Advisory Circular 61-142 defines “compensation as the receipt of anything of value that is contingent on the pilot operating the aircraft…[it] does not require actual payment of funds…Accumulation of flight time and goodwill in the form of expected future economic benefits can be considered compensation. Furthermore, the pilot does not have to be the party receiving the compensation; compensation occurs even if a third party receives a benefit as a result of the flight.”

While flight instructors giving training or reviews in standard-category aircraft are not affected by this recent move, AOPA maintains “it is a roadblock for those seeking instruction in these three specific categories of aircraft, potentially causing some to forego proper training and therefore impacting safety.

“To stay out of the FAA’s legal crosshairs until the courts decide whether the FAA’s legal arguments are winning ones, you’ll need to get the FAA’s permission first,” AOPA advised. “For training in experimental aircraft, that means obtaining a LODA. For limited and primary category aircraft, that means obtaining an exemption.”