Conair Group has deployed two newly converted Daher TBM 960s as lead airplanes for aerial firefighting operations in British Columbia. With the supplemental type and airworthiness certifications from Transport Canada in hand, the turboprop singles are in active service with the BC Wildfire Service for the 2025 wildfire season. The aircraft are operated by Conair and will serve as birddogs—airborne command-and-control platforms that coordinate airtanker drops and provide real-time strategic oversight.

Conair selected the TBM 960 for its performance, safety features, design, and OEM support. The aircraft were modified with mission-specific avionics, communications gear, smoke generators, and additional sensor systems. A government air attack officer flies onboard each aircraft alongside a Conair pilot to manage operations and ensure coordination with ground crews and other firefighting aircraft.

“We received our first TBM from Daher in November 2024 and our second in January 2025,” said Michael Benson, Conair’s director of business development. “Conair was able to purchase, engineer, convert, certify, and deploy this new aircraft type within six months, including training our pilot crews. That turnaround time is a statement to our team’s expertise and experience.”

The TBM platform replaces Conair’s aging fleet of Turbo Commanders, which the company notes are becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.

As business jets continue to grow in size while hangars remain unchanged, FBO operators find themselves managing an increasingly complex balancing act that’s about to get even more complicated. The industry faces not only the immediate challenge of fitting larger aircraft into finite ramp and hangar space, but also preparing infrastructure for advanced air mobility (AAM) operations that will demand new charging systems, safety protocols, and financial arrangements—all while grappling with workforce shortages that are spreading existing staff dangerously thin.

The convergence of these challenges was highlighted last week during NATA’s Air Charter Summit, where panelists outlined the operational pressures that are forcing fundamental changes in safety culture and infrastructure planning across the industry.

Jason Sahl, director of safety at FBO chain Million Air and chair of NATA’s safety committee, painted a picture of the infrastructure challenge facing modern FBOs. “When I came into the industry in 2003, everybody was still flying King Airs and Citations,” he said. “The airplanes are only getting bigger; the hangars aren’t really getting any bigger.”

The impact extends beyond simple logistics. “Our base customer just upgraded from a Phenom to a G650. We don’t have a choice. We’re going to have to figure it out,” Sahl shared in one example, describing the reality facing FBO operators who must accommodate customer fleet upgrades regardless of infrastructure limitations.

U.S. House Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) renewed his efforts to ban helicopters in New York City, introducing a bill with Reps. Rob Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York) that would bar all nonessential helicopter traffic within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty.

It joins at least a handful of bills that Nadler has co-sponsored since 2019 to restrict helicopters in the region. In introducing this latest bill, Improving Helicopter Safety Act (H.R.3196), Nadler pointed to the April 10 crash of an air tour helicopter into the Hudson River that claimed six lives.

“The tragic helicopter crash last month on the Hudson River was not an isolated incident; it was the latest in a long line of preventable tragedies in the New York metropolitan region’s increasingly crowded and poorly regulated airspace,” Nadler said. “For far too long, nonessential helicopter flights have endangered public safety and shattered the peace of our neighborhoods. We owe it to the victims, and to every resident living beneath these flight paths, to put safety first and prevent future disasters.”

The lawmakers noted that there have been about 30 helicopter crashes in the New York area that have led to at least 31 fatalities since 1983. They also believe the most recent accident has placed a spotlight on concerns about regulatory oversight and operational standards.

Garmin has entered the terminal procedure charts market with the release of SmartCharts, which it explains as dynamic terminal procedures and airport diagrams that allow pilots to access information needed without the clutter and non-relevant information found on static charts.

SmartCharts are now available in the Garmin Pilot iOS app and cover the U.S. and the Bahamas. Garmin Pilot premium subscribers have access to SmartCharts at no additional charge, and anyone can try SmartCharts for 30 days during a free-trial period. For those who have previously used the free trial, Garmin has reset these to allow another trial so they can experience SmartCharts.

Under development during the past nine years, Garmin said SmartCharts adds several features to make pilots’ jobs easier. SmartCharts are dynamic and data-driven, not just raster-based replicas of static charts, and they smoothly “adjust and scale as the pilot zooms and pans within the chart,” according to Garmin. This also enabled Garmin designers to optimize the way information is displayed on the charts, allowing pilots to see the information they need when they need it and minimizing distracting, non-pertinent information.

“[This is] one area of aviation that hasn’t seen a lot of innovation,” said Kyle Ludwick, Garmin senior aviation marketing manager. “There is no question that this is a better way to do it, situational awareness-wise.”

AEG Fuels is updating its AEG Rewards program with a new tiered structure—Ready, Jet, and Fuel—designed to give customers more ways to earn and redeem. With added benefits at every level, the revamped program offers greater value for your fueling and flight support activity.

Airbus Helicopter parts will flow faster to operators in Ontario now that the OEM has opened a distribution center in Niagara, Canada. The 21,000-sq-ft facility will support more than 300 jobs in the region and will strengthen relationships with Canadian suppliers and distributors, according to the company.

Additionally, the new center will help Airbus Helicopters’ manufacturing and completions facility in Fort Erie expand to support demand for the H135 and the Future Aircrew Training program. The H135 was recently selected by the Royal Canadian Air Force for that program.

Helicopter operators will benefit from the center’s ability to speed up delivery times for critical components and increased availability thanks to more onsite storage capacity.

“The expansion of our footprint in Ontario underscores the strategic importance of Canada to Airbus’ global operations,” said Dwayne Charette, president of Airbus Helicopters in Canada. “This new integrated distribution center represents a significant investment and a clear demonstration of our enduring commitment to innovation, local talent development, and Canadian leadership in aerospace. By deepening our roots here, we are not only proactively addressing the evolving demands of the helicopter market but also actively contributing to the economic strength and security of the region.”

As the aviation industry awaits the outcome of tariffs, NBAA is encouraging members to provide comments on a U.S. Department of Commerce investigation on the impacts of imports of commercial aircraft, engines, and parts on national security. The Commerce Department is taking comments through June 3 on the investigation being conducted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, specifically 15 CFR 705.4.

“A strong industrial workforce, healthy national economy, and a safe national airspace system are vital to our national security,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “The U.S. leads the world in aerospace manufacturing and has maintained the largest positive trade balance of any sector for several decades, thanks to 45 years of reciprocal tariff-free trade under the 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft.”

NBAA pointed out that the U.S. aviation industry has a $104 billion trade surplus, supporting 9.4 million jobs, and $1.8 trillion in total economic activity. The industry contributed 4% of the U.S. gross domestic product, the association added.

NBAA noted that the Section 232 investigation is not affected by the U.S. Court of International Trade’s May 28 ruling to halt the tariffs imposed under the second Trump administration. The White House is appealing the May 28 decision.

Hermeus took its next step toward hypersonic flight with its first test vehicle, Quarterhorse MK1, taking to the skies. Quarterhorse MK1, the first flight-test vehicle in a series of uncrewed aircraft Hermeus is planning as it progresses toward a 20-seat hypersonic aircraft, flew last week at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The vehicle will be used to validate high-speed takeoff and landing gear of a large uncrewed aircraft, Hermeus said, noting that its unique configuration for high-speed flight can make basic takeoff and landing operations challenging.

According to Hermeus, the flight demonstrated a rapid development pace, going from a clean sheet to flight-ready in a little more than a year. “MK 1 has redefined the pace of developing and flying new aircraft,” said Hermeus CEO and co-founder AJ Piplica. “We’ve proven the viability of our iterative development approach. But this is just the start. We have much more to do as the bar rises for the next iteration.”

Data from the flight campaign is also validating design and performance models, including aerodynamics, stability, and control, as well as subsystems such as propulsion, fuel systems, hydraulic power, thermal management, avionics, flight software, telemetry, flight termination, and command and control. “The real-world flight data from MK 1 provides significant technical value that we’re rolling into our next aircraft,” said co-founder and president Skyler Shuford.

The Irish Business & General Aviation Association (IBGAA) is gearing up for its next conference later this year, building on the 2024 event that drew 160 delegates. IBGAA is planning its 2025 International Business Aviation Conference on November 13 at the K-Club Hotel and Golf Resort in County Kildare. That was also the site of the 2024 event, which proved popular among attendees, according to IBGAA.

Its event attracts leading decision makers and will delve into topics such as doing business in Ireland, obtaining an Irish air operator certificate, and placing aircraft on the Irish registry. In addition, participants will get an update on planning for the Ryder Cup, which will be held at Adare Manor in County Limerick in 2027.

The conference comes as business aviation continues to strengthen in Ireland. Many business jet owners have selected Ireland for its favorable tax regime and legal framework, particularly surrounding aircraft leasing and ownership structures, according to IBGAA.

Since its founding in 2021, IBGAA has spearheaded campaigns to elevate the importance of business aviation in Ireland, including working to ensure that business aircraft operators would retain slots at Dublin when officials had contemplated a complete ban. IBGAA also worked to educate the Irish government and stakeholders on the economic contribution that the sector provides.

AIN sister publication Business Jet Traveler has launched its 15th annual Readers’ Choice survey and we invite you to share your private flying experiences. Your participation helps shape industry insights while supporting a great cause. For each completed survey, BJT will donate to Corporate Angel Network, which provides free flights to cancer treatment for patients and their families.