Tuesday’s protests at EBCE 2023 weren’t the first time demonstrators have disrupted a business aviation event, and they certainly won’t be the last. As recently as last February, protesters disrupted EBAA’s Air Ops conference in Brussels after reportedly managing to register for the event based on a bogus connection with an industry executive.
Before that—in November—eco-protesters on bikes barged into the business aviation enclave at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, disrupting traffic. And on Tuesday, ahead of a peaceful and officially sanctioned protest outside EBACE venue Palexpo, demonstrators forcefully broke into the show’s static display, handcuffing themselves to aircraft and stopping flights at Geneva Airport for almost an hour, driving up carbon emissions as aircraft had to stay in holding patterns or divert.
In the aviation industry, artificial intelligence (AI) has largely been discussed as a tool for improving automation of flight controls or even development of fully autonomous aircraft. But the business aviation industry is exploring some different uses for AI on the ground to help improve operational efficiency, according to a panel discussion of the technology on Tuesday at EBACE 2023.
Steve Varsano, founder and CEO of London-based aircraft broker The Jet Business, explained that his company has been using AI to enhance the showroom mobile app it developed for business jet buyers.
Air mobility is on the cusp of gold. Next year, the nascent sector is set to achieve a milestone with plans to provide all-electric air mobility service for the Olympic Games in Paris. A partnership of companies and authorities is collaborating to pave the way for the service that will be based on Volocopter’s VoloCity air taxi. Hiring of pilots is due to begin before year-end, and further Volocopter services are planned to follow in Rome in 2024 and Osaka, Japan, for Expo 2025.
These plans—along with other schemes underway—mark a major transition for the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector as it moves along the path from PowerPoint presentations, through prototyping, to commercial service. The path remains problematic in some areas and will not see a dramatic rise immediately, but the successful demonstration of services will not only build public acceptance but also build trust in further investment.
Approximately 13,000 turbine business aircraft are projected to be delivered over the next decade, according to the latest JetNet iQ industry forecast released on Tuesday morning at EBACE 2023. Presented by JetNet's Rolland Vincent and Paul Cardarelli, the outlook calls for shipments of 8,637 jets and 4,265 turboprops by the end of 2032. At that point, the global fleet should tally approximately 44,500 aircraft, based on an anticipated 7,000 aircraft retirements.
Vincent, JetNet iQ’s creator and director, noted that while the macroeconomic outlook is dampening enthusiasm, “the business aviation industry has been absolutely firing on all cylinders. We have super demand for our products and services.” The five major business jet OEMs all have book-to-bills above 1:1, he noted. “What we don't have is super supply and we haven't had [that] for some time.”
The flight tests are complete, the paperwork submitted, and certification of the Falcon 6X, Dassault Aviation’s flagship-in-waiting, is expected “in the coming weeks,” CEO Éric Trappier said this week at EBACE. But the twinjet's journey to service entry began well before its first test flight in February 2021, as Philippe Duchateau, chief test pilot on the program, explained aboard the outfitted 6X on the EBACE static display in Geneva.
The test program begins “in the development phase, with a lot of work on the ground before even getting to the flight line,” said Duchateau. Flight-test pilots first meet with engineers to “discuss what the aircraft should be like” in terms of flight control response, handling, and cockpit ergonomics. Engineers then create a basic simulator to mimic the desired characteristics and “we go and test it” to refine the controls, said Duchateau, a former French Air Force test pilot.
The digital flip-through issue of AIN’s award-winning EBACE Convention News is now available online. It’s a great way to quickly scan the news from EBACE 2023, whether you’re in Geneva attending the show or watching from afar.
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