Leonardo’s Safran-powered AW09 PS4 prototype made its first flight on Thursday. The 20-minute flight was conducted at Leonardo’s Mollis, Switzerland facility. According to the company, the flight “completed all set objectives” including hovers at low altitude, spot turns, and straight and sideways flights at speeds up to 20 knots, as well as several landings and takeoffs. Upcoming tests will expand the helicopter's flight envelope.
Earlier this year, Leonardo said it replaced the AW09’s Honeywell HTS900 turboshaft with the 1,000-shp Safran Helicopter Engines Arriel 2K. At Heli-Expo earlier this month, Leonardo managing director Gian Piero Cutillo said the engine switch would delay certification by no more than one year. Further, Leonardo said it received “preliminary” orders for 50 AW09s to date and predicted the order book could reach 200 by the time serial production starts in mid-2024.
Recently announced AW09 customers include Aero Service Representação in Brazil; Synerjet Latina SA in Colombia, Peru, and Chile; Helitech Asia in South East Asia; Safomar in South Africa; Diskopsa in Panama and Guatemala; and Heliflite in Oceania.
Leonardo also recently signed an agreement with U.S.-based Metro Aviation to develop air ambulance interiors for the AW09 and support its introduction into the U.S. market. Leonardo is positioning the AW09 to compete with light twins from other manufacturers in the air ambulance space.
Bombardier continues to chip away at its debt burden with the announcement that it had redeemed $500 million in principal amount of its 7.5 percent senior notes due in 2025. The move comes as the company has reduced its debt by more than $4.5 billion over the past two years, marking a 45 percent reduction since 2020, according to Bart Demosky, executive v-p and CFO, who added these steps translate into a “significantly improved” credit risk profile.
“This debt repayment marks another important milestone in our deleveraging journey and demonstrates our continued commitment to strengthening our balance sheet,” Demosky said, adding the average maturity of its long-term debt is now 4.7 years and annual interest charges are now $330 million less than in 2020, before it became a pure-play business aviation company in early 2021.
The announced redemption comes ahead of Bombardier’s investor day scheduled on Thursday when the company is anticipated to provide a more complete update of its financial performance and plans for its future structure.
Bombardier entered the year with momentum, anticipating a 12-percent bump in deliveries in 2023, to 138 aircraft, and a 10 percent jump in revenues, to $7.6 billion, according to the company's latest earnings report. In addition, Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel said the company’s $14.8 billion backlog—which grew by $2.6 billion in 2022—is “super solid.”
Business jet activity is softening globally, with traffic dipping 9 percent month-to-date and 7 percent in the last four weeks versus the same periods a year ago, according to WingX’s latest report. This erosion is driven by lower activity in both North America and Europe.
In North America, business jet departures are down 10 percent for the month and activity dropped by 8 percent over the last four weeks. This comes as month-to-date branded charter and corporate activity slid 28 percent and 15 percent, respectively. By contrast, private flight departments and fractional activity climbed 2 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
In Europe, business jet sectors are down 9 percent month-to-date and 11 percent over the last four weeks versus the same time frames in 2022. Excluding Russia, sectors are down 8 percent this month. WingX said 71 percent of the business jet activity is on international flights in this region.
However, activity is busier in other parts of the world, up 17 percent so far this month.
“March 2022 was the record peak in business aviation activity, reflecting the pent-up demand as the pandemic faded and lockdowns were released, so it’s not a great surprise to see lower [year-over-year] activity,” surmised WingX managing director Richard Koe.
The preowned business jet inventory is continuing to rise, according to the latest data from Jefferies Equity Research. In its latest release, the industry analyst noted the number of jets for sale has increased by 53 percent over the previous year and by 29 percent over the past six months. In March 2022, there were 578 available aircraft—a near-record low—but that number has grown to 883 jets on the market. Inventory represents 3.5 percent of the in-service fleet, still well below the five-year average of 5.7 percent.
The increase was observed across all segments, led by heavy jets, with that inventory climbing by 72 percent from a year ago, followed by medium jets (up 62 percent) and light jets (up 38 percent). Among jet types in production in 2015 or later, the number on market has risen by 123 percent, while pricing has increased by 22 percent year-over-year.
Bombardier aircraft pricing rose by 25 percent from last March to an average of $16.3 million, with Global pricing increasing by 26 percent, Challengers by 18 percent, and Learjets by 94 percent. Cessna Citation average listing prices ascended 29 percent, while Dassault and Embraer were each up by 28 percent. Gulfstream saw a modest pricing improvement to an average of $21.6 million, paced by the G450 (up 32 percent) and the G550 (up 18 percent).
The NBAA Owner Pilot Association Coalition (NBAA-OPAC) recently concluded its 2023 planning meeting focused on addressing top concerns for the owner-aviator community. Those priorities include the exploration of strategies to lower insurance for owner-operators, particularly for pilots over 70 years of age; the production of resources to enhance operator safety; ways to lower fuel costs; and addressing supply-chain difficulties. Coalition members also provided ideas for improving the owner/single-pilot pavilion at NBAA-BACE, which will be held in Las Vegas in October.
“I’ve felt our community has needed a coalition like this for some time,” said Tom Turner, executive director of the American Bonanza Society Air Safety Foundation. “The ability to discuss important safety and operational issues and identify common best practices will strengthen our entire industry.”
Twin Cessna Flyer executive director Christian Pancake agreed: “While our respective associations may focus on different aircraft, we have much in common, including that most of our members fly single-pilot and often under IFR conditions. It’s important to have a forum like this to address the issues that impact flying for all of us.”
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EASA has issued a special-information paper dealing with the validation of new generation flight simulation training devices (FSTD)—including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)—that eventually paves the way for approval and use of these devices, particularly with regard to eVTOL pilot training.
The agency notes that “existing certification specifications (so-called Primary Reference Documents (PRD)) to evaluate and qualify FSTDs for pilot training—CS-FSTD(A) issue 2 and CS-FSTD(H) Initial issue—cannot serve or not entirely serve as a qualification basis. Following a gap analysis, they have to be amended or modified by special conditions (SCs). The definition and use of SCs is a faster way to amend the existing certification specifications than an update by a standard rulemaking process.” This includes FSTD special conditions for using head-mounted display combined with a reduced envelope motion platform.
EASA already has evaluated and approved these devices for use in the Robinson R22 Beta II and Airbus Helicopters H125. In April 2021, EASA has granted the first certificate for a rotorcraft VR-based FSTD to VRM Switzerland (now Loft Dynamics). The FSTD is qualified as flight and navigation procedures trainer level II for the Robinson R22 Beta II. Approval for the VRM H125 device was received shortly thereafter and has proved popular with a wide variety of operators, including Helitrans and Air Zermatt.
Online aircraft parts marketplace PartsBase has launched PartStore 2.0, which builds upon the community footprint of the PartsBase family by introducing a “true E-commerce experience.” Many large OEMs and aviation distributors are migrating their inventory, images, and pricing to the new platform, according to PartsBase.
“The new PartStore creates an online platform for the aviation industry to buy and sell parts in a transactional way,” said PartsBase COO Rodrigo Garcia. “PartsBase completely overhauled and revamped the way buyers and sellers engage and launched a much-needed digital channel to add to the experience of our customers and vendor partners.”
PartStore 2.0 is powered by B2B e-commerce platform Oro, which allows users to manage their inventories and orders in real time. Additionally, customers can purchase multiple vendor inventories in a single shopping cart, which PartsBase said is a first for the aviation industry. The platform also includes expanded data fields, images, and extended shipping options.
“Along with these solutions, buyers can check out using a secure transaction and sellers are issued sales orders—all via the PartStore,” Garcia said.
Bell has delivered three of its 505 Jet Ranger X light turbine helicopters to the Royal Bahrain Air Force. This delivery marks the first of the type in the country and includes a package for training, tools, and spares. The Bahrain Defense Force is a Bell customer of long-standing, having flown models such as the 212 and AH-1 attack helicopter.
“We are honored to provide the Bahrain Defense Force another premiere Bell asset to train the next generation of Bahrani pilots,” said Sameer Rehman, Bell managing director for Africa and the Middle East. “Generations of Bahraini pilots have flown in Bell helicopters and the Bell 505 will continue the tradition.”
More than 30 Bell 505s operate throughout the Middle East and Africa. Bahrain joins other countries in the region employing the Jet Ranger X for helicopter flight training. UAE-based Horizon International Flight Academy operates 12 Bell 505s and the Royal Jordanian Air Force signed an agreement for 10 of them in November. Additionally, the Bell 505 is the military training helicopter for the Montenegro Air Force and the Republic of Korea army and navy.
To date, the OEM has delivered more than 400 Bell 505s and the fleet has amassed more than 100,000 flight hours.
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