Commercial, business, and general aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) specialist VSE has completed its acquisition of Precision Aviation Group (PAG) from private-equity firm GenNx360 Capital Partners for $2.025 billion in cash and equity. Completion of the deal follows a definitive agreement reached in January.

The acquisition creates a combined aftermarket services provider that spans 61 locations across eight countries, including 48 repair facilities and 11 distribution centers, VSE said, adding that it expands the company’s global reach, technical capabilities, and integrated offerings in MRO and distribution services.

Founded in 1996, Atlanta-based PAG provides MRO, distribution, and other supply-chain services to the commercial, business, and general aviation markets and the rotorcraft and defense markets. GenNx360 acquired PAG in 2018 and has since helped steer the growth from nine repair stations to 29, with an expanded footprint from North America to Europe, Australia, and Brazil.

PAG employs more than 1,000 people and completes 175,000 repairs annually. GenNx360 estimated that the acquisition will increase VSE revenue by about 50% on a pro forma 2025 basis.

VSE president and CEO John Cuomo said that now that the transaction is closed, VSE is shifting focus to integration and synergy through “cross-selling, repair insourcing, and procurement efficiencies.”

I hear this more now from candidates than I used to, and it almost always comes at the same point in the conversation. We’ve talked through the role. The candidate is qualified, the client is strong, and you can tell they’re leaning in because this is the kind of position they’ve been working toward—often with a top-tier flight department and a serious operation.

Then I mention the location and, just like that, the conversation shifts. “I can’t do it,” they say. “My kids are in high school. Call me in a couple of years.” I understand that instinct. I raised a family, too. But after more than 20 years doing this, I’ve seen how that decision plays out.

The candidate stays put, the job goes to someone else, and a few years later they’re still in the same seat—often having missed meaningful career growth, escalated earnings, and opportunities that never circled back around.

Trust me, “Call me in a couple of years” almost never works out the way people think it will.

Somebody once told me, “The good jobs aren’t there when you need them. The good jobs are there when they need you.” In the business aviation industry, that is absolutely true!

“If you’re not already using AI today, you’ll be left behind,” Bob Watts, CEO of artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity firm Vivitec, told attendees during the “AI in Business Aviation” panel session at the Florida Aviation Business Association annual conference this week in Tampa. “The goal is to use AI so that you are better. It’s a force multiplier for company growth and expansion.” Watts was joined on the panel by X-1FBO co-founder and CEO Jim Wiley and AvSales Talent founder Tom Lelyo.

“The real risk is not adopting AI, which is great for collecting and analyzing data,” added Wiley. “When it comes to AI, what we’re seeing is that the fear of being left behind is overcoming fear of change.”

While there are concerns that AI will replace human workers, Wiley said this is not a foregone conclusion. “AI will replace mediocrity, but it also will help leaders go further. This tool allows you to do more with the same staff.”

Watts advised AI users “not to chase the shiny objects.” He suggests staying with one AI platform, instead of jumping to the next best thing, and becoming proficient in it. He also recommends adjusting settings to keep your data private: “Cybersecurity is important—set boundaries.”

Lelyo told attendees that he trained AI to “speak like me” and uses it for aircraft market research.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has issued a bulletin warning that some instrument approach procedure missed approach segment designs may have a problem. Flight information provider OpsGroup notified members that some countries are adding higher minima on certain approaches because of this issue.

According to the ICAO bulletin, “The specific issue is regarding an inconsistency between the assumptions behind the obstacle assessment criteria and the navigation systems standards for approach procedures based on SBAS [satellite-based augmentation systems]. As a result, the protection provided in the missed approach segment may be inadequate for some navigation systems authorized for localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) operations.”

OpsGroup advises operators to check notams for updated LPV minima. Some countries that have adjusted LPV minima include Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Others, according to OpsGroup, have suspended LPV minima for certain procedures or runways, including Dublin, Ireland (EIDW), and Pescara, Italy (LIBP). “Keep checking the notams for any LPV minima changes or restrictions in the coming weeks,” the group suggested.

West Star Aviation has completed numerous one-piece valance installations on Falcon 900 and 2000 aircraft, offering operators a proven upgrade that enhances passenger experience, aesthetics, and aircraft value.

Six months after launching the TBM Advanced Aviator Program (TAAP), the TBM Owners and Pilots Association (TBMOPA) has signed up more than 100 participants. The program is designed “to pursue zero accidents in the TBM fleet by establishing a rigorous, professionally oriented standard of annual training and proficiency.”

TAAP participants who complete six core requirements during a 12-month period earn advanced aviator status from TBMOPA. The requirements include recurrent training with a TAAP-qualified instructor, an instrument proficiency check, adherence to TAAP operational guidelines, at least 100 hours of TBM pilot-in-command time, a sustained approach score above 80% on the Me & My TBM app, and at least two approved enrichment activities.

Instructors must have at least 1,500 hours of pilot-in-command time, 500 hours in turboprops, and 100 hours in TBM single-engine turboprops. Independent instructors can qualify to become TAAP-qualified, and training to meet TAAP requirements is also available at CAE/Simcom and Goldberg Aviation.

“In just six months, TAAP has grown into something we are genuinely proud of,” said TBMOPA director of safety and training Adam Kudzin. “The pilots who have enrolled aren’t checking off boxes, but are committing to a higher standard of airmanship and joining a community that believes safety is a practice, not a destination. Reaching this milestone reinforces our belief that TAAP will become the defining safety program for TBM operators.”

A report from Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology has cautioned that, under existing EU rules, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) may become more expensive and energy-intensive. After analyzing different methods for producing synthetic methanol, the study concluded that regulatory bias risks “locking in” less resource-efficient manufacturing methods.

Three “technically feasible” production pathways, which all use biomass, were studied. Two are based on biomass combustion, while a third employs a process called gasification. However, while the study showed the latter to be the most resource-efficient option—offering up to 46% lower production cost and 30% lower energy demand—the current EU regulatory framework does not favor this option.

While Chalmers University argues that gasification can use residual material more efficiently, limited biomass feedstocks are at risk of being diverted elsewhere. According to co-author Henrik Thunman, the study “highlights a structural issue in EU energy and industrial policy” where “regulation risks working against its own objectives.”

Although minimal commercial SAF is currently produced via gasification, it is expected to account for some 35% of all aviation fuel in the EU by 2050. To help promote this technically mature but little-used production pathway, Thunman urges “better co-ordination…between climate targets, resource efficiency, and industrial feasibility.” This, he believes, will help reduce uncertainty in making “rational investment decisions for the large-scale expansion of SAFs in the coming years."

During a session on smoke and fire issues at the recent 2026 Flight Safety Foundation Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS), panelists highlighted concerns about the growing number of hazardous events and how pilots can mitigate hazards and land safely after the cockpit fills with smoke. Coincidentally, a few days after the session, the NTSB released three safety recommendations for realistic, scenario-based training to prepare pilots for smoke-in-cockpit emergencies.

The NTSB’s recommendations resulted from the Dec. 20, 2023 Southwest Airlines Flight 554 engine bird-ingestion incident, which filled the cockpit with smoke. Although the pilots were able to don oxygen masks and safely land at the departure airport, they said this was “far more challenging than anything they had experienced in training,” according to the NTSB. “If such an event occurred at night or in [IMC], the consequences could be catastrophic.”

The FAA is now receiving near-daily reports of emergencies involving smoke in the cockpit, the NTSB noted, but “passenger airlines are not currently required to conduct realistic smoke-in-cockpit simulation training. Existing training often consists only of verbal discussion of a smoke event rather than immersive simulation involving reduced visibility or elevated workload.” Because existing recurrent training standards don’t sufficiently prepare pilots for smoke emergencies, “The NTSB recommended that the FAA work with industry to develop standardized, realistic smoke-in-cockpit simulation training for pilots.”

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association held its annual member meeting on Tuesday at the National Aviation Community Center in Frederick, Maryland, where members elected two new trustees to the board, and 17 members provided feedback.

Members elected all 11 board members to one-year terms, including Peter Burwell and Ryan Samples. Burwell, an AOPA member for more than 15 years, flies a Cessna Skywagon and Beechcraft Baron, and leads Burwell Enterprises with his two brothers. Samples, a member for nearly 30 years, flies a Beechcraft V35 Bonanza, a Carbon Cub, an Icon A5, and a Cessna Citation CJ4, and founded BankOnIT in 2003.

Acting co-president Katie Pribyl discussed advocacy efforts, and acting co-president Jill Baker presented on AOPA’s finances. General counsel Fernando Campoamor detailed seven potential bylaw changes announced in April, noting that the bylaws have not changed in decades. The board continues soliciting member feedback until 11:59 p.m. ET on June 5, ahead of a vote to implement changes this fall.

“This is a game of inches; I want to be clear,” said AOPA board of trustees chairman Luke Wippler. “We need all of our stakeholders pulling in the right direction. I recognize that we need to rebuild your trust,” referring to member outrage over the board's ouster last year of now-former president and CEO Darren Pleasance.

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