Textron Aviation’s latest member of its Gen3 portfolio, the Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen3, took a step toward certification with its first flight today. With the flight, the twinjet joins the CJ4 Gen3 and M2 Gen3, which have entered flight testing as Textron Aviation continues to refresh its light-jet models.

“This achievement continues the forward momentum of the CJ3 Gen3 program and reflects the discipline, innovation, and commitment of this team,” said Chris Hearne, senior v-p of engineering and programs. “Comprehensive flight testing will now begin for this aircraft with rigorous validation of its performance as we continue to work toward FAA certification and entry into service.”

Piloted by Steve Helmer and Dave Welbrock, the aircraft took off from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport on a nearly two-hour-long flight, reaching 41,000 feet and 278 kias. The pilots tested software functionality in the cockpit during the mission.

The CJ3 Gen3 adds Garmin Emergency Autoland to the model’s Garmin G3000 suite. It can seat up to 10 people and has a range of 2,040 nm, maximum payload of 2,135 pounds, and 1,000-pound baggage capacity. Textron Aviation is targeting market entry in 2027.

Dassault Aviation has yet to specify the extent of disruption to manufacturing of its Falcon business jets and Rafale fighters from forest fires that have extended to just nine miles from its main assembly facility at Mérignac near Bordeaux in southwest France. On Monday, the company confirmed it had moved some “sensitive equipment” from its factory in Martignas and its Cestas logistics center—both of which are closer to the main fire sweeping through the Gironde region.

Except for staff needed to handle the transfer of equipment and site protection, employees at both the Mérignac and Martignas sites have been instructed not to report for work, according to a statement from Dassault reported by France’s AFP news agency. Aircraft assembly work at Mérignac has been suspended since Monday, and local emergency services reported overnight they had managed to halt the westward spread of the fire toward Bordeaux.

Dassault is targeting an increased production rate of 40 Falcon deliveries in 2026, along with 28 Rafales. In a first-half results call last week, the company acknowledged it had delivered only 13 Falcons through the end of June due to ongoing supply-chain bottlenecks.

Bell delivered 36 commercial helicopters in the second quarter, up from 32 in the same period last year, as the rotorcraft manufacturer’s revenues climbed 6%, to $1.1 billion. Segment profit, however, slipped 6%, to $75 million, as parent Textron Inc. applied what CEO Lisa Atherton described as a conservative booking rate on the U.S. Army’s MV-75 Cheyenne tiltrotor program while awaiting a congressional decision on $350 million in redirected funding.

Second-quarter commercial deliveries comprised eighteen 505s, eleven 407s, four 429s, and three 412s. That compares with seventeen 505s, eight 407s, four 429s, and three 412s in second-quarter 2025. Military deliveries totaled a single V-22 Osprey, down from three V-22s a year earlier.

Through the first six months, Bell has handed over 56 commercial helicopters, down from 61 in the first half of last year, along with three V-22s delivered in the first half of 2026 versus five a year ago.

According to Textron, the $58 million revenue increase from second-quarter 2025 reflected higher military revenues of $47 million, plus an $11 million rise in commercial helicopter, parts, and services revenues attributed primarily to pricing. The $5 million decline in segment profit stemmed from program performance and the mix of military programs, partially offset by lower research and development costs. Bell’s backlog closed the quarter at $7.5 billion, up from $6.9 billion a year earlier.

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) yesterday released details about a new three-day event, EBAA Week, in Brussels from November 16 to 18. It will bring Europe’s business aviation community together for discussions covering operations, safety, policy dialogue, and industry engagement, with different events running in tandem.

EBAA Week is open to EBAA members and nonmembers. Participants are expected to include aircraft operators, service providers, policymakers, and regulators.

On November 16, EBAA Week will begin with the Business Aviation Flight Dispatcher Day at the Eurocontrol headquarters in Brussels. The second and third days will take place in the Skyhall venue at Brussels Airport, with exhibitor opportunities for companies there.

The program for November 17 and 18 will be built around the latest staging of the Airops sessions for companies that include FBOs, airports, ground handlers, trip planners, and other operational stakeholders. At the same time, other delegates will participate in the new Business Aviation Safety & Innovation Conference. During the afternoon of November 17, EBAA will also hold its European Business Aviation Summit, which will be focused on policy, regulation, and strategic issues facing the industry.

EBAA has yet to issue a statement about possible future plans for its annual EBACE show after the cancellation of the 2026 event.

West Star Aviation, in partnership with Mid-Continent Avionics, is helping Embraer operators eliminate one of the platform’s most persistent maintenance challenges—the standby emergency power supply battery.

Forecasting an overall 2.2% growth in business aviation activity in North America in the second half, Argus International anticipates that the fractional market will lead the way in this jump, logging a 3.5% increase. But in its Mid-Year Business Aviation Review, the data analyst and safety specialist also predicts that the Part 135 charter sector will be on the heels of fractional with a 3.4% increase, while Part 91 lags with 0.5% growth.

Argus anticipates that business aviation traffic in North America will remain stronger year over year in all months in the second half except in September, which is expected to fall just below last year’s level by nearly 50 flights.

These predictions come off a first half where private operations led the tally at 759,446 departures, up from 757,308 a year earlier. Charter followed at 641,518, an increase over the 622,470 in first-half 2025. Fractional still has roughly half as many operations as charter but remains the hot growth market, with 371,138 operations in the first half, eclipsing 332,330 from a year ago.

Argus also detailed traffic by days of the week, finding little change between 2025 and 2026. In both years, Thursday remained the peak day (averaging 11,201 flights in first-half 2026) and Saturday the lightest (averaging 7,545 flights in first-half 2026).

Three international aviation industry groups are coordinating to reduce runway incursions worldwide, after years of high-profile close calls put renewed pressure on regulators and airport operators to act. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), and Airports Council International (ACI) launched the joint initiative.

The Joint Runway Safety Initiative centers on three areas: collecting better safety data, including near-collision reports and input from frontline staff; giving more weight to local runway safety teams, where airlines, airports, and air navigation service providers work out local risks together; and sharing lessons learned so effective mitigation can be adopted across airports with similar operating environments. The groups said the effort builds on existing programs and will draw on tools such as ACI’s Runway Safety Team Implementation Package and IATA’s Runway Incursion Safety Risk Assessment.

The initiative also draws on the runway safety checklist (co-developed by ACI and CANSO), a gap-analysis tool for airlines developed under GAPPRI, and IATA’s operational safety audit program, which reviews airline risk assessments and mitigation measures. Together, the three organizations represent a broad swath of the industry: IATA counts more than 370 member airlines accounting for roughly 85% of global air traffic, ACI represents 811 members operating over 2,200 airports in more than 160 countries, and CANSO’s members support more than 90% of the world’s air traffic.

Roused by two back‑to‑back crashes involving a Bombardier Learjet 45XR and a Beechcraft King Air C90A air ambulance, as well as a decade‑long string of charter and helicopter accidents, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a safety warning to the nonscheduled operator permit (NSOP) segment that signals a deepening pilot‑centric safety crisis. NSOP is the commercial charter arm covering business jets, air ambulances, tourism, and VIP flights in India.

The advisory highlighted systemic weaknesses, SOP violations, inadequate planning, training gaps, corporate pressure, and fatigue affecting pilot judgment. Operators were warned that pilot pressure would trigger regulatory action, with senior company leaders accountable.

Meanwhile, DGCA has rolled out an enforcement package that includes random cockpit voice recorder (CVR) audits, ADS‑B cross‑verification, strict flight-duty-time limitations with license suspensions, and operator‑specific safety rankings tied to pilot compliance history. Also included are surprise roster checks and pilot suspensions of up to five years.

A DGCA committee will seek input from India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA) member‑operators flying ultra‑long‑range business jets “to rationalize flight-duty-time limitations for optimal utilization on [a] case-by-case basis,” said BAOA managing director R.K. Bali. This includes longer flight-duty periods, augmented‑crew flexibility, and fatigue‑risk‑based scheduling.

Fundamental Advisors has acquired Southern California-based aerial services operator BlueSky Helicopters. Under the deal, the New York-based asset management group is adding BlueSky’s expertise in aerial firefighting and utility air services to its investment portfolio.

BlueSky Helicopters operates a fleet of five aircraft—four Sikorsky Blackhawks and one Bell 407—across the western U.S. According to Fundamental Advisors, the BlueSky team has “a long history of providing mission-critical aviation services to leading energy companies and state and federal public safety agencies.” Typical missions include firefighting, powerline support, construction services, and animal surveying.

The acquisition brings the number of public service helicopters in Fundamental's portfolio to 24 and gives it a presence in what the investment group said is “in one of the most active markets for aerial firefighting and utility services.” It also expects BlueSky’s in-house maintenance capabilities to prove useful in further scaling up its helicopter business unit.

Fundamental launched its public service helicopter strategy in 2025, aiming to provide the capital, operational resources, and platform support needed to help operating partners scale in an often “fragmented” sector.