Wheels Up Stock Plunges on Bankruptcy Rumors

Two weeks after a 10-1 reverse split pushed Wheels Up stock to over $3, share prices plunged more than 60 percent on Thursday after reports surfaced that the company was in talks with a law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, that specializes in bankruptcy restructuring. Trading in the shares was briefly halted, and Wheels Up took the extraordinary measure of issuing a press release to address the situation. 

In it, the company said, “Wheels Up Experience continues to progress with redesigned programs to better serve its members and customers in support of our path to profitability. As we execute our vision and the associated strategic plans, we are working with a number of advisors and industry participants around securing new strategic investments, raising capital, and executing previously disclosed strategic divestitures."

The price of Wheels Up shares dropped from $3.13 to $1.24 Thursday afternoon. The company has gone from a market cap of just over $2.8 billion in 2021 to barely $30 million now. Wheels Up has lost nearly $1 billion over the last nine quarters, including $555 million last year alone. It is on track to lose close to another $100 million this quarter. 

AINsight: Now Everywhere, Can AI Improve Aviation Safety?

Artificial intelligence (AI) applications have created a buzz on the internet and with investors, and have the potential to transform the aviation industry. From flight data analytics to optimized route and fuel planning applications, AI, in its infancy, is making an impact on aviation—at least operationally. But can it improve safety?

Natural language AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, according to technology publication Digital Trends, “continue to dazzle the internet with AI-generated content, morphing from a novel chatbot into a piece of technology that is driving the next era of innovation.” In a mixed outlook, one article states, “No tech product in recent memory has sparked as much interest, controversy, fear, and excitement.” 

Search for Titan Sub Ends with Harding and All Aboard Lost

The search for a submersible on a sightseeing mission to the remains of the Titanic ended in tragedy as the U.S. Coast Guard announced on Thursday that it had located the imploded wreckage of the Titan on the sea floor less than 2,000 feet from the doomed ocean liner’s bow. All five on board were lost, including Hamish Harding, founder and chairman of Dubai-based aircraft brokerage Action Aviation and a noted adventurer, who was onboard as a “mission specialist”—one of the individuals who paid up to $250,000 for the trip.

Harding, 58, a commercially licensed jet pilot, was inducted as a Living Legend of Aviation last year. A member of the Explorers Club, his exploits took him from the deepest depths of the ocean to suborbital space.

In a statement posted yesterday on the Action Aviation website, managing director Mark Butler said the company and Harding's family were united in grief with the other families who also lost their loved ones in the disaster, and described Harding as a loving husband to his wife and a dedicated father to his two sons. “He was a passionate explorer—whatever the terrain—who lived his life for his family, his business, and for the next adventure.” The statement concluded: “If we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it's that we lost him doing what he loved."

Dassault Chooses Honeywell’s Aspire Satcom for Falcons

Dassault has selected Honeywell’s Aspire 350 satellite communications system for its fleet of Falcon business aircraft. The deal provides for forward-fit and aftermarket retrofit of the system on the 900, 2000, 7X, 8X, 6X, and 10X models.

Built for business aircraft, airliners, and helicopters, Aspire 350 provides an integrated connectivity flight deck and cabin for pilots and passengers via Iridium’s Next satellite constellation—enabling speeds up to 700 Kbps and seamless pole-to-pole coverage while allowing pilots to maintain up-to-date information throughout the flight. It is small, lightweight, and, according to Honeywell, easy to install.

“Staying connected is critical to flight safety and efficiency, and we are proud that Dassault has selected the Aspire 350 for its fleet of best-in-class business aircraft. Honeywell and Dassault’s relationship has now reached its 50th year, and we continue to strengthen this relationship,” said Steve Hadden, Honeywell Aerospace v-p and general manager for services and connectivity. “We are confident that the users of the business aircraft will appreciate the seamless connectivity the Aspire 350 will provide. The experience will be like using your broadband at home.”

EcoPulse Debuts at Paris Air Show

EcoPulse, a hybrid-electric technology demonstrator jointly developed by Daher, Safran, and Airbus, made its public debut this week at the Paris Air Show. Having completed the first flight tests in 2022 using a conventional thermal engine, the EcoPulse team now is working to integrate the hybrid-electric propulsion system and plans to fly the converted aircraft for the first time this summer. 

Using a Daher TBM 900 single-engine turboprop converted with a hybrid-electric powertrain, the EcoPulse project intends to evaluate the advantages of a hybrid-electric distributed propulsion system, such as increased efficiency and reduced carbon-dioxide emissions and noise pollution. Airbus is responsible for optimizing the aerodynamics and the battery system while Safran is developing the hybrid-propulsion system.

According to Daher, the EcoPulse team recently completed initial ground testing of the new propulsion system, validating its aerodynamics and systems configuration. In March, the hybrid-electric EcoPulse logged 10 flight hours with two of its six motors installed and subsequently flew with a four-motor configuration in April. Now the team has completed the installation of all six motors ahead of the aircraft’s debut at the show. 

“The demonstrator has so far amassed around 27 hours of flight time with the electric propellers feathered,” said Daher chief technology officer Pascal Laguerre. “We expect by the end of 2027 to be able to offer our first hybrid aircraft to the market.”

Gulfstream G280 Cleared for Saint-Tropez

Gulfstream Aerospace's super-midsize G280 has been cleared for operations at France’s Airport of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez in La Môle (LFTZ). The aircraft recently flew several takeoff and landing demonstrations at the short-field airport’s lone runway, which measures 3,871 by 98 feet. To begin operations, G280 crews must complete French Civil Aviation Authority-approved ground, simulator, and aircraft training within six months of the first flight to La Môle. No aircraft modifications will be required for operational approval. 

“Given its prime location in the south of France, we are pleased to unlock this destination for G280 customers,” said Mark Burns, president of Gulfstream. “The aircraft offers long-proven short-field performance, which is required for this airfield, as well as competitive range access when departing from La Môle to all of Europe and northern Africa.” 

In addition to the short-field performance required for La Môle, the G280 has steep-approach capability, opening access to some of the world’s most challenging airports. It is certified to the FAA’s Stage 5 noise standards, offers multiple floorplan options, and seats up to 10. It features a four-place conference table, Gulfstream’s cabin management and high-definition entertainment systems, 19 large oval cabin windows, access to baggage at high altitudes, and multiple connectivity options, including a high-speed Ka-band satellite system.

Bell Logs First Turkish 407GXi Helicopter Sale

Turkish operator Sancak Air has signed a purchase agreement for what will be the first Bell 407GXi helicopter in the country. Bell Textron said the single-engine model will join a Bell 430 and a 206 in the customer’s fleet and will be used for private travel by Sancak CEO Mustafa Bayrak.

According to the manufacturer, demand for the latest version of the 407 is strong. Earlier this year, it announced purchase agreements from an undisclosed corporate customer in the UK for a pair of 407GXis, plus four more for the Polish National Police and one for Zeus Essential Holding in Ireland.

“As a business owner, this aircraft will be flown by me for my private flights,” said Bayrak. “The 407GXi impressed us with its high cruise speed, smooth flight characteristics, and advanced avionics.” There are 1,590 Bell 407s in service worldwide and collectively the fleet has amassed more than six million flight hours.

Georgia HS Takes Top Honors in GAMA Design Challenge

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) this week named teams from Peachtree City, Georgia’s McIntosh High School, and Washington D.C.’s Gonzaga College High School as winners of its Aviation Design Challenge. 

More than 80 high school teams from 38 states participated in this year’s challenge. GAMA’s Aviation Design Challenge consisted of two sections: the first was a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) “Fly to Learn” curriculum, which allowed students to learn about aircraft design and flight principles, and the second section required teams to use their knowledge from the first to virtually modify a CubCrafters NX Cub using X-Plane flight simulation software to make a more efficient flight between Packwood, Washington, and Seattle, Washington. 

First-place team members from McIntosh High School—Aaron Maeder, Jada Reeves, Marc van Zyl, Matthew Villiger, and Emily White—added winglets, retractable landing gear, and fairings to their airplane and modified both its chord ratio and wing length. The team's prize consisted of a CubCrafters Manufacturing Experience and demonstration flight opportunities, among other benefits.

Meanwhile, the second-place team—including Enzo Bunag, Hunter Cullina, Jack Deye, Reed Gray, Colin Heil, and Paul Molinaro—won a Redbird Flight Simulations STEM Lab. 

“We look forward to continuing to improve and grow the program so that [it] can inspire younger generations to consider fulfilling careers in general aviation,” GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce said.

Photo of the Week

Up and away. AIN’s talented photographer David McIntosh had a veritable cornucopia of subjects to shoot during this week’s Paris Air Show. While Paris wasn’t as hot as it was during the last event in 2019 (the 2021 show was canceled due to Covid-19), David endured the challenging Paris sunshine, weaved among the crowds, which were larger than ever, and put miles on his shoes to capture hundreds of amazing images, including this one of Boeing's 737 Max 10 taking its turn in the skies. Thanks for sharing, David!

Keep them coming. If you’d like to submit an entry for Photo of the Week, email a high-resolution horizontal image (at least 2000 x 1200 pixels), along with your name, contact information, social media names, and info about it (including brief description, location, etc.) to photos@ainonline.com. Tail numbers can be removed upon request. Those submitting photos give AIN implied consent to publish them in its publications and social media channels.