Beta Technologies—in cooperation with FBO group Signature Aviation and regional operator Republic Airways Holdings—has completed three days of high-cadence electric flight demonstrations at Kissimmee Gateway Airport (KISM) in central Florida, using its Alia CX300 airplane.

Vermont-based Beta has installed charging infrastructure at six airports across Florida, including KISM, which was recently equipped with a Beta Charge Cube and thermal management system, enabling rapid charging despite hot, humid weather. Other locations include Duke Field (Eglin Air Force Base Auxiliary KEGI) and Bob Sikes Airport (KCEW) in Crestview; Gainesville Regional Airport (KGNV); Tallahassee International Airport (KTLH); and Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (KCRG).

This latest test follows a winter demonstration campaign in Burlington, Vermont, and Plattsburgh, New York, earlier this year. Notably, the hot- and cold-weather demonstrations proved the readiness of electric commercial aviation to support cargo, logistics, passenger, and medical missions connecting Florida's major metropolitan areas with the regional airports that serve them.

“Together, Beta, Republic Airways, and Signature Aviation are demonstrating how aircraft, infrastructure, and operators can unite in a real-world environment to deliver repeatable missions and a clear path to commercialization for all-electric flight,” said Simon Newitt, the airframer's head of sales and support, adding that Alia aircraft have flown more than 140,000 nm across the globe.

On Dec. 18, 2025, a Cessna Citation II was destroyed when it crashed at North Carolina’s Statesville Regional Airport (KSVH), killing the pilot and six passengers. Operating under Part 91 regulations, the twinjet had a planned destination of Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (KSRQ) in Florida.

Nascar legend and former champion Greg Biffle owned the aircraft. Killed in the crash were Biffle, his family (wife and two children), an ATP-rated pilot, the pilot’s adult son, and one other passenger.

According to the NTSB, the left-seat pilot had multiple type ratings and 17,000 hours TT. His Cessna Citation 500-series type rating had the limitation “CE-500 Second in Command Required.” The pilot’s adult son, who held a private pilot certificate and an instrument rating, was seated in the right seat. NTSB reports indicate that the passenger seated in the right seat “was not qualified to perform second-in-command (SIC) duties per [FAR] 61.55.” Biffle, seated in the cabin, reportedly was a pilot with more than 3,500 hours TT.

This accident highlights an issue with pilot certification and experience in business aviation. SICs, according to FAR 61.55, must have at least a private pilot certificate with appropriate category and class rating, an instrument rating that applies to the aircraft being flown, and a type rating for the aircraft being flown, with some restrictions.

Pilatus Aircraft launched a 32-month study with Swiss institutions to investigate whether carbon fiber production waste can be recycled directly back into the aircraft construction process. The Swiss aircraft manufacturer produces more than six tonnes of carbon fiber waste annually from cutting “prepreg” material—carbon fiber web pre-impregnated with synthetic resin—during component production.

Recycling the material could significantly reduce production waste and potentially replace certain aluminum parts with carbon components, generating savings of up to 36 tonnes of aluminum per year, according to Pilatus.

The study will investigate a novel approach that heats sticky prepreg scraps in a controlled manner, causing them to lose their adhesive qualities and allowing further processing by machine. Then the material is cut into small pieces and transformed into new components using a special pressing process before being hardened. No established industrial method currently exists in aviation for directly transforming unused prepreg waste into new components.

Pilatus is partnering with researchers at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Inspire AG, a strategic partner of ETH Zurich, on the project.

Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse is providing funding for the project. “The fact that Innosuisse chose to allocate a substantial financial contribution to the study is a reflection of its ecological, economic, and technological relevance,” said Urs Thomann, director of technologies, processes, and sustainability at Pilatus.

The FAA’s busy modernization agenda includes an effort to use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to better manage airspace flow and reduce scheduling problems at busy airports, agency Administrator Bryan Bedford told an audience at a Royal Aeronautical Society event in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening. He delved into the future of the agency, outlining three prongs: air traffic control equipment modernization, staffing issues, and airspace redesign.

While the FAA is progressing on both an equipment refresh and an aircraft control hiring surge, all of this will rely on the final pillar, he said, and that’s how to redesign the airspace. “How do we get from an unpredictable, chaotic, disorganized airflow management system into a strategic, predictable, precise air traffic management system, and do so in a way that reduces the controller workload, allowing them to manage more traffic, not less, with the resources that we have?” Bedford asked.

He said machine learning and AI-enabled technology have to be a part of that but “not to replace people.” Using unlimited compute power in the cloud, the FAA would be able to tap into terabytes of data to examine 55,000 flight trajectories in the National Airspace System, deconflict them, and optimize the capacity, he maintained. But this also requires a behavior change, Bedford continued, including airline scheduling.

If you own, operate, manage, or fly a Citation 525 series aircraft, it may be time to take a closer look at what is happening beneath the surface—specifically, beneath the lavatory floor

Air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity provider Apcela and Liberty Partners have developed an upgrade path for installation of Apcela (née SmartSky) systems on legacy business airplanes that simplifies the certification process. Installing ATG on older aircraft using the major alteration process “gives operators of legacy business aircraft a faster, more predictable, and cost-effective path to modern in-flight connectivity,” according to Apcela.

Liberty Partners provides the FAA field-approval engineering and PMA parts for the upgrades, available for older Cessna Citations, Dassault Falcons, Gulfstreams, Hawkers, and Learjets. The company will develop supplemental type certificates (STCs) for these installations later, as more owners of those aircraft upgrade to Apcela ATG systems, and these will “migrate cleanly into the STC.”

In the meantime, aircraft owners can take advantage of the opportunity to upgrade to Apcela ATG without having to wait for an STC to be approved.

“We have STCs on most newer-model airframes. For older airframes that we have not yet reached with STCs, like a Learjet 45 or Hawker 800, those don’t need a clean-sheet STC program to get modern connectivity; they need approved data, the right hardware, and a team that can install it,” said Apcela CTO Mike Dodson. “Pairing Apcela ATG’s connectivity platform with Liberty Partners’ engineering and PMA hardware lets operators upgrade efficiently, without the cost, downtime, or uncertainty of a bespoke or upfront STC program.”

The new and young preowned business jet market remains very tight in terms of availability, according to data analyst and industry veteran Rolland Vincent of Rolland Vincent Associates. He moderated a panel discussion on the subject at NBAA’s White Plains Regional Forum this week at Westchester County Airport (KHPN).

“If you’re a [business jet] manufacturer in this industry, you’re sitting on two or three years of work, which is a good place to be if you’re them.” He added that the five major business jet makers—Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer, Gulfstream, and Textron Aviation—are approaching a combined backlog worth nearly $63 billion. “I think we’ll see a few manufacturers, at least two, go to 200 unit [deliveries] a year here pretty shortly.”

Despite those huge backlogs, Edward Kilkeary III, managing partner at Avpro, applauded the airframers’ measured approach to their production rates. “With the changes that they’ve made from a process perspective, where they’re controlling production, they’re managing pricing better, and frankly, it’s making what was historically a depreciating asset a less depreciating asset,” he said. “So, I think our clients certainly enjoy that.”

However, for a customer looking to acquire a new aircraft, that presents immediate concerns. “The average lead time is at a minimum of a year and a half; some are two, three, and even four,” said Josh Mesinger, v-p of Colorado-based aircraft broker Mesinger Jet Sales.

Tamarack Aerospace has introduced AirConnect, a permanently installed in-flight connectivity system designed for the Cessna CitationJet and most of the CJ family. An FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) application is now winding its way through the approval process.

The system uses low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite technology and features a fuselage-mounted antenna with an aerodynamically optimized low-drag fairing. Unlike portable connectivity solutions commonly used by Citation operators, AirConnect is engineered for permanent installation and operates with no ground speed restrictions, according to the company.

Covered in the initial STC program are all models under the Cessna 525, 525A, and 525B type certificates, meaning the CitationJet, Citation M2, CJ1/1+, CJ2/2+, and CJ3/3+. The system includes aircraft-grade cabin Wi-Fi distribution, certified electrical integration, and a complete FAA STC documentation package. Once certified, installation is expected to take approximately three days at a Tamarack-authorized service facility.

Tamarack has already completed the installation of AirConnect on a customer-owned Citation CJ1. The equipment has been operating in that aircraft since March under experimental certification in support of the STC program.

The system is designed to be compatible with multiple LEO satellite networks, including SpaceX Starlink and Amazon Leo. Tamarack is now accepting reservations for AirConnect. Pricing has not yet been announced and no payment is required to reserve a position.

EASA Safety Information Bulletin 2026-04 warns operators and pilots that supplies of jet A-1 grade aviation fuel “on certain markets might be constrained” and notes that jet-A may be substituted in markets where jet A-1 is typically available. These include airports in Europe, Africa, Australia, India, and Southeast Asia.

While U.S. and Canadian airports typically supply jet-A, according to the bulletin, “A potential introduction of jet-A in Europe or in other parts of the world would not generate safety concerns provided that its introduction is properly managed.” There are differences between the two fuels, including a reduced freezing-point margin for jet-A compared to jet A-1 and lower electrical conductivity. However, aircraft and engine type certificates generally permit use of both fuel types.

“Although North America operates without a defined minimum conductivity limit,” the bulletin explains, “it cannot be assumed that European infrastructure has been fully risk-assessed for this change, as it has been designed for fuels with specific conductivity characteristics. In particular, it is not clear to what extent existing European infrastructure, procedures, and electrostatic hazard controls across the supply chain would remain fully effective for low-conductivity fuels.”

The bulletin is not regulatory or mandatory; it was published “to raise awareness of the risks associated with the introduction of jet-A fuel in a jet A-1 environment, in particular potential mismatches between fuel properties and existing operational, technical, and procedural assumptions.”

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