Universal Aviation, which operates the general aviation terminal (GAT) at London-area RAF Northolt Airport, reports that the facility will resume weekend operations in June for the first time in five years. Beginning June 1, the airport will be open from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and from noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Universal took over the operation of the GAT in January 2021 and worked with the RAF to extend the facility’s weekday operating hours by three hours a day. “We expanded to Northolt in the heart of the pandemic when traffic was at a standstill in anticipation of the eventual recovery and belief that we could unlock its potential by working to make it more accessible,” said Sean Raftery, Universal’s regional managing director.
The airport is approximately 12 miles from Central London and its cultural attractions and provides access to area stadiums such as Wembley, Twickenham, Wimbledon, Emirates Stadium, and Tottenham.
“Northolt is already an extremely popular London Airport,” noted Raftery, adding that users appreciate its lack of congestion, privacy, security, and location. “These extended hours are certainly going to make Northolt an even more attractive option for accessing London.”
AINsight: Don’t Swim with Sharks
Smaller Part 91 business aircraft operators have shown a reluctance to embrace safety management systems (SMS). A key component of SMS is safety risk management, which aviation safety professionals define as “a decision-making process designed to methodically identify hazards, assess the degree of risk, and determine the best course of action.”
It is easy to understand resistance by smaller operators to adopt a voluntary safety system when it sounds so complicated. Perhaps a better option to explain risk management is to break it down into "bite-size" chunks and demonstrate that SMS is scalable.
A more simplistic way to look at risk management in action is to sit back, pop some popcorn, and watch the movie “Jaws.” In fact, there may be no better way to explain the fundamentals of safety risk management than to unleash a man-eating shark on a coastal vacation destination days before the summer tourist season.
In this movie, the concepts of hazards versus risk, production versus protection, and risk assessments and risk mitigation all play out right in front of you. The central theme for “Jaws” is “man versus nature;” for the pilot that same theme is common when identifying hazards and managing risk associated with weather and the environment.
I not only found an underlying theme of risk management in “Jaws,” but also a stronger message of “don’t swim with sharks.”
In a move lauded by business and general aviation groups, the U.S Senate approved a bill calling on the Department of Transportation to establish an advanced air mobility (AAM) interagency working group to coordinate on safety, infrastructure, security, and federal investment for the nascent sector.
Senate voice-vote passage of the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act (S.516) on Wednesday follows House approval of a similar bill, H.R.1339, in November. This week’s Senate action brings the measure closer to adoption after differences between the bills are ironed out or one of the congressional chambers opts to simply adopt the other’s version.
“As advanced air mobility continues to develop, it will be essential for federal government agencies and departments to be coordinated and prepared to usher in this rapidly developing sector of aviation,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce.
NBAA also supported the bill, saying it would facilitate policies, procedures, and programs to support the integration of AAM into the transportation system. “AAM is expanding the very definition of on-demand air mobility and presenting the U.S. with the opportunity to enhance the country’s leadership in all aspects of aviation,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “We welcome this legislation, and we thank the bill’s sponsors, Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona), for championing this exciting new technology.”
Global business aircraft activity continues to increase but at a less robust pace, according to WingX’s weekly Global Market Tracker. While activity last week was 35 percent higher year-over-year and 25 percent above the same time frame in 2019, this week’s activity growth slowed to 26 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
In Europe, business jet flights increased 38 percent month-to-date, but compared with March 2019 the growth was only 5 percent. In the U.S., flight activity increased 30 percent in the first three weeks of March versus the same period in 2019. However week-over-week activity increased just 23 percent versus the comparable 2019 period. In Canada and Mexico, the report noted, business jet activity hasn’t recovered from the pandemic period. Yet flights in other parts of North America—such as the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and Saint Maarten—“are all well up,” the report added.
In the rest of the world, month-to-date global business jet activity is up 32 percent, 27 percent, and 9 percent compared with March 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. The war in Ukraine is having an effect on business jet departures from Russia, which in the last four weeks is down 6 percent from the same period in 2021, 26 percent from 2020, and 5 percent from 2019.
In an effort to expose students to the opportunities present in aviation careers, the Central Florida Business Aviation Association (CFBAA) will sponsor a business aviation day on April 1 at Daytona Beach International Airport. The organization teamed with local high schools, colleges, and universities that offer aviation curricula, and the event at the Sheltair FBO—a combination career fair and aircraft display—will be free for students, educators, and faculty members. With the state being a hotbed for aviation activity, CFBAA will collect resumes from all attendees and provide them to local industry employers.
“There has never been a better time to get into aviation, but few people know about the opportunities,” explained Jordan Scales, CFBAA’s business aviation day coordinator. “Business aviation is a major industry in Florida, and with aviation universities like Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and manufacturers like Melbourne-based Embraer Executive Jets and Vero Beach-based Piper Aircraft, it has a huge footprint in the area.”
The event will include breakfast and lunch with discussions from top industry leaders. Among them: NBAA chief Ed Bolen; Michael Amalfitano, CEO of Embraer Executive Jets; former NTSB chair and now Embry-Riddle faculty member Robert Sumwalt; jetAviva CEO Emily Deaton; Deb Higgins, v-p of sales for Speedbird; Sheltair COO Todd Anderson; Ryan Waguespack, NATA’s senior v-p; CFBAA president and corporate pilot David Keys; and business aviation careers coach Jenny Showalter.
Eve Urban Air Mobility now expects to raise nearly $600 million from its pending merger with Zanite Acquisition Corp. and subsequent IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. During a briefing for investors today, the eVTOL aircraft developer’s CFO, Eduardo Couto, said the deal—announced in December—has boosted the public investment in private equity (PIPE) by $42 million, to $347 million.
The transaction, expected to close by May, is also backed by $237 million from special purpose acquisition company Zanite, which is headed by aviation entrepreneur Kenn Ricci. Couto said the capital, potentially totaling $584 million, will derisk Eve’s plans to bring its four-passenger eVTOL into service in 2026.
Ricci said he sought a partnership with the Embraer subsidiary after considering “several dozen” other companies in the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector. He cited the core factors as Eve’s simplicity of its vehicle design, which he claimed will be easier to certify and manufacture.
“We also avoided any opportunity where companies wanted to build and operate the aircraft,” Ricci said. “It’s a bridge too far to be both the manufacturer and the airline. You are competing with your own customers, and the capital needs to do both are just too high.”
Ricci also values the production and global customer support experience of Embraer, which will remain the majority shareholder in Eve with an 82 percent stake.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is bringing together top women aviation and aerospace professionals in a free online course designed to help prepare current and future female leaders. And while the massive open online course (MOOC), Leadership for Women in Aerospace and Aviation, was just announced, more than 1,000 people have already registered.
Scheduled from April 17 to May 31, the course will provide insight on strategies for success from accomplished women, as well as feature ERAU subject matter experts. Cosponsored by a NASA Space Grant, the six-week course includes four modules and should take 16 hours to complete.
“Our speakers include top industry experts whose career experience will help inform and motivate others,” said Linda Weiland, associate professor in the Worldwide Campus's College of Aeronautics. “We envision that MOOC participants represent the future leadership of our industry.”
Participating in the course are former FAA Administrator and Rolls-Royce North America chief Marion Blakey; Wheels Up chief growth officer Stephanie Chung; Ellen Stofan, undersecretary for science and research at the Smithsonian Institute; Bobbi Wells, v-p of safety, environmental and regulatory compliance for American Airlines; U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt; Desert Jet founder Denise Wilson; Becky Lutte, associate professor for the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute; and Tammie Jo Shults, former fighter pilot and captain of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380, which successfully landed in Philadelphia after a rapid decompression.
The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) presented Wally Funk with the 2021 Katherine and Marjorie Stinson Trophy at a March 17 reception at the opening night of the 33rd annual Women in Aviation International conference. Created in 1997, the NAA award recognizes a living person for “an outstanding and enduring contribution to the role of women in the field of aviation, aeronautics, space, or related sciences.”
Funk took her first flight lesson at age nine and at 16 began flight school at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. She later became the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and has soloed more than 700 students. In the 1960s, she became one of the Mercury 13 after undergoing preliminary astronaut testing as part of a privately funded research project to test women's physiological readiness for space.
On July 20, 2021, at the age of 82, Funk finally achieved her lifelong dream of spaceflight as a member aboard the first crewed suborbital mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule. She was also the first female air safety investigator for the NTSB and the first female FAA inspector.
At the reception, Funk was recognized for “blazing trails for women in aviation and spaceflight and inspiring the next generation of aerospace professionals.” Upon receiving the award, she thanked the organization and exclaimed, “I love my life."
Preserving aviation history. This photo comes from Commemorative Air Force Airbase Georgia, which is acquiring this WWII-era P-47 Thunderbolt as a long-term restoration project. Some 15,600 of the short-to-medium-range escort fighters were built between 1941 and 1945, but only four remain flying today. “Meat Chopper” will join CAF Georgia’s fleet of operating aircraft, including its SBD Dauntless, P-51 Mustang, FG-1D Corsair, and P-63 Kingcobra. Thanks for sharing!
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