Otto’s Phantom Light Jet Promises Midsize Specs, Comfort

After exploring the benefits and application of laminar-flow aerodynamics with the Celera 500 experimental aircraft, Otto Aviation has instead decided to launch the Phantom 3500, a clean-sheet light business jet slated for certification in 2030. To facilitate laminar flow, the 3,200-nm twinjet will not have any cabin windows, except for the one required for the emergency exit. Instead of windows, passengers’ view of the outside world will be on 42-inch 4K monitors mounted on the cabin walls, four on each side.

After raising sufficient funds, the Otto team flew the diesel-engine-powered Celera 500 in 2019 and 2020. “It had unbelievable results,” said CEO Paul Touw. “And that’s what led to the ability to move forward, to build the actual first product.”

Having completed the Phantom 3500's systems requirement review and conceptual design, Otto in January validated some of its suppliers. In October, Touw expects to finish the preliminary design review, “which means the design will be completely finished. Then we are ordering parts for the first aircraft—flight test vehicle one.”

Items with long lead times have already been ordered, including the landing gear from Mecaer and FJ44 engines from Williams International, for arrival by the end of next year. The next step will be assembly of the first Phantom 3500, systems-level testing, and first flight in 2027.

AINsight: NBAA Forum Stirs Memories of FBOs Past

As an AIN staff member for nearly two decades, I have accumulated a fair amount of branded “merch” from industry companies—items presented to me after visits or location tours—ranging from custom-designed Lego-style FBO kits to hammocks. Among the most popular giveaways are shirts. I have accumulated a drawer full over the years, and they're adorned with logos or names of companies. But I still remember the first one I was given.

While attending the NBAA White Plains Regional Forum held this week at New York's Westchester County Airport (KHPN), I was taken back to my first NBAA regional event at my “backyard” airport. It was 2007 and I joined AIN just a few months earlier. As I walked the aisles and visited with the scores of exhibitors, I remember speaking with the proprietors of a new FBO in Florida, and then it happened: they asked me my shirt size and handed me a polo shirt with the company’s embroidered logo. It was the first of many.

Among all the segments in the industry, FBOs have become the most transient, and it is somewhat poignant to look back through the collection of shirts I have accumulated over the years and realize that many of those companies simply no longer exist. This is due to industry consolidation that has pushed out many independent FBOs.

Catarina Aviation Show Grows alongside Host Airport

São Paulo Catarina Executive Airport managing director Ronie Wiston Guimaraes said the annual Catarina Aviation Show—the latest edition of which runs through tomorrow—is growing in tandem with the airfield itself. He said this year’s three-day aviation fair has doubled in size versus 2024, while monthly business aircraft movements have climbed to 2,000, with about 10% of those being international flights.

To illustrate the growth of the annual luxury markets show (the event also attracts supercar and yacht dealers as exhibitors), Guimaraes highlighted the Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty, Dassault Falcon 8X, and Gulfstream G600 on the static display. “All the business jet makers are here.”

The Catarina Aviation Show also includes a fly-in, with more than 700 airplane and helicopter movements during the event. “DECEA, Brazil’s air traffic control department, is monitoring it in their command center.”

Longer-term, the dedicated business aviation airport is working with DECEA to potentially install a tower next year. An ILS is also being planned for next year.

Meanwhile, he said, the airport is growing with no limits in sight. “There are 12 hangars today, the 13th is coming next month, and by the end of the third quarter, we’ll be up to 16 hangars,” Guimaraes said. “A new 20,000-sq-m patio was built for the fair, and car parking was doubled with 250 new spaces.”

GA Groups Step Up Privacy Push for Operators

Business and general aviation groups continued their push for privacy, submitting comments to the FAA, as well as taking their concerns to Capitol Hill.

NBAA weighed in on an FAA request to comment on the removal of personally identifiable information from the aircraft registry. The FAA in March followed through on a congressional directive, enabling operators to submit a request through the Civil Aviation Registry Electronic Services to withhold this information from public display on all FAA websites. The agency also requested comments on the action.

In its comments this week, NBAA stressed that the FAA can strike a balance that permits access to the information for legitimate industry uses while safeguarding sensitive personal data. NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen praised the measure in comments to lawmakers this week, telling the U.S. House aviation subcommittee that the action mitigates threats.

AOPA president and CEO Darren Pleasance further called the congressional measure a good first step, noting an instance where an aircraft operator was sued over noise after a person tracked down the registration information from the N-number.

He also expressed concern about a new “cottage industry” of companies contracting with public-use airports to collect fees from pilots based on ADS-B data that leads to aircraft registration information. While some states have adopted legislation to prohibit the use of ADS-B data for fee collection, Pleasance urged the committee to develop a national policy.

Conclusion of KEWR Runway Rehab Could Ease Traffic Woes

Aviation traffic snarls in the New York City area may soon be easing with the conclusion of the runway rehabilitation project at Newark Airport (KEWR) earlier this week. Parallel 11,000-foot Runway 4L/22R had been closed since April 15 for the work, which was completed two weeks ahead of schedule.

According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the $121 million project was required for the runway to meet FAA safety standards. Its closure not only led to delays in arrivals and departures at KEWR but also caused subsequent traffic disruptions at other airports, particularly Teterboro (KTEB), which led to the diversion of business aviation flights to other area airports.

“As FAA staffing and operational challenges impacted air traffic controllers’ ability to effectively use the remaining two operational runways at Newark Liberty during the rehabilitation, the Port Authority worked to accelerate the construction schedule by bringing in additional crews, expanding shifts, and enabling construction to take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” the agency noted.

“Newark presently has the ability to use the inboard runway [4L/22R] as a departure-only runway,” said Andrew Aponte, FAA district general manager for New York, speaking on Wednesday at the NBAA Regional Forum at Westchester County Airport (KHPN), adding that the ILS is expected to be operational by next week.

Photo of the Week

Buzz at Biggin Hill. London Biggin Hill Airport said it is “buzzing” about its latest airport tenant: an active hive with about 30,000 bees. The airport is working with the Orpington Beekeepers Association, which is guiding Colin Hitchins, Biggin Hill’s head of sustainability, through the process of establishing its first apiary and helping ensure the health and wellbeing of its growing bee colonies. Honey collected from the hive will be used at the airport’s community cafe, The Lookout, and onsite hotel, The Landing. Biggin Hill hopes to establish additional hives in the future. Thanks to the Biggin Airport team for sharing this one!

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.