Textron Aviation is calling on owners of Cessna, Beechcraft, and Hawker aircraft to volunteer for the ninth Special Olympics Airlift. The airlift, set for June 19 (incoming) and June 27 (outgoing) at St. Paul Downtown Airport/Holman Field (KSTP), will transport athletes and coaches to and from the Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, marking a significant opportunity for aircraft owners to support the cause.

“The airlift is more than just a flight; it’s about giving these champions the chance to shine and achieve their dreams on a national stage,” said Ron Draper, president and CEO of Textron Aviation. “We need Cessna, Beechcraft, and Hawker customers to join us in this heartfelt mission, volunteering their aircraft and time to make a profound and lasting impact on the lives of these athletes and their families.”

Started in 1987, the Special Olympics Airlift has transported more than 10,000 athletes and coaches to various games. At the end of this year's games, participating airlift aircraft will depart from KSTP every three minutes during a 10-hour period. The event is made possible by the collaboration of several industry groups, including the FAA and Signature Aviation.

The death of aerobatic wunderkind Rob Holland while on a seemingly normal approach to landing hit me hard, coming after a string of aircraft accidents that are stretching our willingness to keep going. Obviously, many of us know people who have died in aircraft accidents, and we all have to figure out how to put those aside and do our best to fly safely and be prepared for the unexpected—which is, after all, part of the definition of accident.

The scary part of this is that for some accidents, even the pros at the NTSB will not be able to give us a definitive answer. While their investigative capabilities are incredible, they do sometimes come up short, for an important reason: lack of data. There is only so much data available, especially on older or smaller aircraft without cockpit voice or flight data recorders.

Sometimes, the NTSB gets lucky and a passenger’s smart device contains valuable information, such as what one passenger was seeing when two tourist aircraft collided in Alaska on May 13, 2019.

By now, you might have figured out where I’m going with this screed. Yes, I am advocating for the mandatory installation of recording devices, especially cockpit video recorders.

Gulfstream Aerospace yesterday celebrated finishing a $30 million expansion of the aircraft completions operations at its St. Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS) service center. Announced in 2023, the facility enlargement provides the resources for full aircraft interior outfitting activities at the location.

“This St. Louis facility expansion is a continuation of our company-wide growth strategy to support the production of Gulfstream’s industry-leading fleet,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “It positions our team to further support completions of our next-generation aircraft for customers all over the world as demand for these aircraft continues to grow.”

The project brings Gulfstream’s St. Louis maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility to a total footprint of 645,013 sq ft. It also builds on an expansion finished at the location in 2017 that provided dedicated hangar space and service to support the entire Gulfstream fleet.

In support of this latest growth, the company added 200 new jobs at the St. Louis MRO. “While many of these new positions have been filled, Gulfstream is still actively recruiting and hiring in St. Louis for numerous roles in avionics, interior installations, cabinet fabrication, and cabinet finishing,” it noted. To help engage and develop its workforce in St. Louis, Gulfstream is partnering with several local educational institutions, including two high schools.

Travelers booking private flights through Equinox Charter now have the option to offset carbon emissions through the reward points they earn through the company’s Beyond Balance loyalty program. On Wednesday, the UK-based charter brokering group announced a partnership with sustainability services specialist 4Air, which will provide a variety of offsetting “pathways” for Beyond Balance members.

Clients earn rewards for each charter flight arranged through Equinox Charter and decide how they want these credits to be applied at the booking stage. They will still have the option of using these rewards towards future flights and aircraft upgrades, or services such as ground transportation, hotels, and other arrangements made through the group’s Equinox Travel sister company.

4Air manages the emissions offsetting process by independently verifying environmental projects. The company’s Level 2 offsetting program addresses carbon dioxide, as well as a range of other emissions, including nitrogen oxides, water vapor, and contrails. Beyond Balance clients can optionally upgrade to the Level 3 and 4 programs that provide ways to directly reduce the carbon footprint of their flights by using sustainable aviation fuel, including through book-and-claim arrangements.

A sleek and up-to-date aircraft interior starts with a vision. But where do you go from there? This quick guide from C&L Aviation Group breaks down the process of redesigning a private jet, explores the possibilities, and helps you focus on what matters most—style, function, budget, and timeline 

The FAA has extended the deadline one month, to June 4, for comment submissions on the impacts of preventing certain aircraft registration and personal data from public display on agency websites, including through current search functions and published reports. Removal of this data is intended to satisfy a part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 that requires concealing private aircraft owners’ or operators’ personally identifiable information from broad dissemination or display on FAA websites.

As part of its ongoing evaluation, the agency is considering whether to automatically withhold personally identifiable information from the public aircraft registry by default, while providing owners with a means to access their data when necessary. Since publication of the proposal on April 3, the FAA received a joint request from several trade associations, including GAMA, NATA, NBAA, and the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA). These and other organizations requested more time to analyze any impacts, develop comments and recommendations, and coordinate those comments among their stakeholders.

Of the more than 260 comments submitted to date, most are from individual general aviation aircraft owners and operators who overwhelmingly support the proposal. Trade associations are expected to submit their comments over the next 30 days. Because this extension provides a 60-day comment period, the FAA “will not grant any additional requests to further extend the comment deadline.”

Bell Textron has made its first sale of a Model 505 helicopter in the Netherlands to Gerrit Verwijs, owner of Verdegro Group, a manufacturer of public safety infrastructure. Verdegro will use the Bell 505 for business trips in Europe, including showing customers its facilities near Breda in the Netherlands.

The Safran Arrius 2R-powered light helicopter features Garmin G1000H integrated avionics with synthetic vision and a five-seat cabin with wide panoramic windows. With a cruise speed of 125 knots and range of 306 nm, the 505 can hover in ground effect to 14,450 feet or out of ground effect at 10,460 feet.

“The Bell 505 will redefine our company travels across Europe,” Verwijs said. “We will be way more efficient in meeting multiple customers in a short time period. The helicopter allows us to take our customers to different project sites and easily present our footprint near Breda.”

More than 100 Bell 505s have been sold to customers in Europe. “Bell is proud to work alongside the Verdegro Group as they welcome their first Bell aircraft,” said Robin Wendling, Bell managing director of Europe. “With the expansion of the Bell 505 to the Netherlands, we are excited to enter a new era of supporting customers in the region with the multi-mission capabilities of this platform.”

Aircare International has launched an airborne medical system designed specifically for business aviation applications. The Aircare Emergency Diagnostic Platform (AEDP) supports flight crews and passengers by gathering and delivering high-fidelity patient diagnostic information via encrypted video through the company’s telemedicine app.

Using the supplied specially armored Android-based tablet, patients can communicate with Aircare’s board-certified emergency physicians on the ground in real time in cases of medical emergencies. Their medical data can be shared with the emergency physicians as well.

Several components that integrate with the AEDP are featured in the kit, including the MedWand multi-sensor diagnostic tool, an infrared thermometer, pulse oximeter, digital stethoscope, high-definition camera, digital blood pressure monitor, glucometer, and ECG leads.

“Our mission has always been to protect and support crews and passengers in the moments that matter most,” said Karl Kamps, v-p of operations for Aircare Emergency Telemedicine. “The AEDP is more than just hardware—it’s a direct line to expert care delivered through a service platform that’s been trusted by operators worldwide for decades.”

Volunteer pilots, fire and rescue teams, and aerospace pioneers who support the mission of Angel Flight West (AFW) are to be honored May 9 at the 11th annual Endeavor Awards. The ceremony at the Wallis Annenberg Building of the California Science Center in Los Angeles will celebrate aviation volunteers and professionals who serve the public good.

Among those being recognized are 2025 Inspiration Award recipients Mark Baker, past president of AOPA; Los Angeles aerial firefighters and first responders; and the Polaris Dawn space crew. Accepting on behalf of Polaris Dawn will be crewmember Sarah Gillis.

Two Endeavor Awards will be presented to volunteer pilots Mike Evans of Angel Flight West and Lisa Fusano of Aviation Explorers Post 747. AFW patients who have benefited from volunteer flights will be in attendance, and special tributes will honor fire crews who served during this year’s Los Angeles wildfire season. The gala will be emceed by Stephanie Goetz of The Pink Jet.

A silent auction benefiting AFW and its passengers launched today at 10 a.m. PDT and remains open through next Friday at 9 p.m. PDT. Auction proceeds will support thousands of annual missions flown by volunteer pilots to transport patients to essential medical care.

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