Aerion Completes AS2 Wind Tunnel Testing

Aerion Supersonic wrapped up low- and high-speed wind tunnel testing for its redesigned Mach 1.4 AS2 business jet, accumulating the equivalent of 78,000 nm flown and hundreds of simulated flight hours at facilities in Europe and North America. The testing, along with digital modeling, enabled Aerion engineers to assess more than 200,000 data points to validate the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft and keep the program on target for component manufacturing to begin in 2022 and AS2 assembly in 2023.

The tests involved an evaluation of the full operational envelope of the AS2, including takeoff and landing, subsonic cruise, “boomless” supersonic cruise, and dive speed. Additionally, the AS2 design was tested for operational conditions, including the landing gear deployment and wing icing, along with handling qualities.

Aerion worked with the French Office of National Aerospace Research in Modane, France, on high-speed testing, assessing stability and control at transonic and supersonic speeds. “The conclusion of this phase of the development program is a major milestone for Aerion and the AS2,” said Aerion chairman, president, and CEO Tom Vice. “In 2023, when we start manufacturing at Aerion Park [in Melbourne, Florida], the first AS2 we build will be a production-specification aircraft. This key phase of testing validates our aerodynamic assumptions.”

First flight is planned in the mid-2020s, with certification to come later in the decade.

Avionics Sales Continue Double-digit Slide

Avionics sales fell 33 percent in the third quarter and 27 percent year-to-date, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest data from the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA). Total sales in the three-month period ending September 30 were $519.6 million, compared with $708.8 million a year ago, while sales for the first nine months of 2020 were $1.67 billion, compared with $2.28 billion in the same period last year.

“The significant contraction of industry sales during the last six months has been driven by the international health crisis,” said AEA president and CEO Mike Adamson. Both retrofit and forward-fit (avionics installed by OEMs) sales were down when compared with the same period last year. “However, we are encouraged with the direction of activity in the retrofit market, which is up nearly 11 percent over second-quarter total sales,” Adamson added. “In addition, the overwhelming majority of AEA member shops and manufacturers are continuing their essential operations, and many are reporting customer backlogs that extend several weeks and into next year.”

Of the AEA members that break out sales geographically, North America accounted for nearly 73.7 percent of 2020 sales thus far, with other international markets accounting for the remainder. That compares with 74.9 percent North American sales and 25.1 percent international in the first nine months of 2019.

Foley: Autonomy To Factor into Long-term Pilot Demand

As organizations such as Boeing release their forecasts for pilot demand, analyst Brian Foley cautioned that long-term factors such as automation must be taken into account. Foley, who heads his own Brian Foley Associates firm, believes breakthroughs in autonomy will dampen demand beyond current projections.

In particular, he questioned the Boeing forecast for 763,000 new pilots over 20 years, projecting a rebound in pilot demand led by crew retirements and fleet growth. “That may be, but only if the world of cockpit technology stands still for the next two decades, which would seem highly unlikely,” Foley contended, noting some aircraft already are at least partially flying autonomously.

Foley pointed to the approval of Garmin Autoland, which can automatically bring an aircraft in for a safe landing at the push of a button, calling the technology a “baby step” in autonomy. In addition, urban air mobility and drones are pushing the autonomy envelope. 

Military aircraft may be the first to downsize crew requirements, he said. But “towards the end of Boeing’s forecast period, this trend will inevitably spill over into the civil aircraft arena,” Foley noted. Removing a copilot out of 10 percent of this future fleet through automation would reduce that need by almost 50,000 pilots, he said, estimating that Boeing’s forecast could be overstated by 10 percent or more.

ExecuJet Acquires Jet Aviation’s Berlin and Munich FBOs

ExecuJet has acquired the Jet Aviation FBO facilities in Berlin and Munich, AIN has learned. Switzerland-based ExecuJet, a Luxaviation subsidiary, already operates FBOs in the general aviation terminals at Berlin Schönefeld—now part of the newly-opened Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER)—and Munich International Airport (MUC), and will incorporate the former Jet Aviation facilities, consisting of two lounges (passenger and crew) and two offices, at both locations.

Jet Aviation, which will continue to operate its facility in Düsseldorf, expanded its German locations to include Berlin in 2013 and Munich the following year. With this consolidation, along with the closing of Berlin Tegel Airport—where Jet Aviation also had an FBO—as part of the Brandenburg opening plan, ExecuJet expects to see a bump in its Berlin traffic.

“We are pleased to see the Jet Aviation FBOs on BER and MUC integrating with our operations in these locations and therefore strengthening our position in Germany,” said Execujet Aviation Group chairman Patrick Hansen.

ACS Sees Bookings Rise from Women’s Soccer

Air Charter Service (ACS) is seeing a growing trend in women’s soccer team charter bookings, more than tripling over the past two years, according to the UK-based broker. A confluence of events and actions—the growing popularity of and additional investment in the sport, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic—are driving the increases.

“It is a testament to the amount of money that has entered the field in the past two years,” said ACS global football sales director Alex Sadat-Shafai. That money includes a promised $1 billion investment in the sport by FIFA and successes by the U.S. women’s national team and England’s Women’s Super League. In the past two months, ACS has booked charters for seven women’s soccer team trips and more are on the way as teams prepare for Euro 2022 qualifying matches. Before 2019, bookings for these teams amounted to a couple per year, ACS said.

Covid-19 is also driving higher bookings among the teams, as much as three times more than before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. “National associations, as well as the governments they represent, cannot be seen to be paying for more hygienic, Covid-safe charters for the men's teams whilst sending women's teams on scheduled commercial flights,” Sadat-Shafai explained.

Startup Charter Provider FXAIR Makes Key Exec Hires

Fledgling charter provider FXAIR has made a couple of key executive appointments fewer than three months after what it calls an “impressive launch.” The New York-based company and unit of Directional Aviation named Robert Shaplen as senior v-p of sales and Michael Hall as senior v-p of operations.

Shaplen previously served as senior v-p of sales at PrivateFly and as an adviser at XOJet, while Hall comes to his post at FXAIR from several senior sales roles he held at other Directional Aviation companies. “I know it is important to have experienced, hard-working leaders, especially when you’re launching a new company,” said FXAIR president Gregg Slow. “That’s why we are fortunate to have Robert and Michael on board. Their guidance and leadership during this unique time have been exemplary, and it is because of them and their teams that FXAIR has such a bright future.”

In its first few months in business, FXAIR has arranged on-demand charter flights for more than 3,000 passengers to 375 destinations and is on pace to exceed its sales targets by year-end, according to the company.

Further, FXAIR in September launched the Aviator program, which offers the 100 members who have joined it thus far preferred access to second-generation aircraft flown by sister company Flexjet, including on peak travel days.

Airbus Delivers 1,400th H135 Light Twin Helicopter

Airbus Helicopters has delivered its 1,400th H135 light twin, with the milestone helicopter going to French HEMS operator Mont Blanc. This adds to the company's fleet of more than 20 H135s and H145s.

The H135 currently holds 25 percent of the global HEMS market, with more than 650 units in service. Overall, H135s are operated by some 290 customers in 65 countries. In addition to HEMS, the helicopter family is deployed for law enforcement, private and business aviation, offshore windfarm management, and military flight training.

Since first entering into service in 1996, the H135 family has received regular upgrades. The latest H135 version has a 200-pound increased mtow and a useful load increase of up to 500 pounds. Other improvements have focused on the airframe, engine, cockpit, mission equipment, and maintenance and reliability with the aid of regular input from HEMS operators via conferences, interviews, questionnaires, and reliability data. New-production helicopters are equipped with the Airbus Helionix avionics suite, which includes a four-axis autopilot and is night-vision ready. 

Airbus charitably supports the work of the international HEMS community via Airbus Foundation sponsorship of medical professionals. In 2019, the foundation and French Academy of Medicine Foundation trained nearly 215 doctors and rescue personnel in India, China, and Indonesia. More than 1,100 professionals from around the world have benefited from this initiative.

Former CJP, Hoover Foundation Head Tracy Forrest Dies

Tracy Forrest, who had served as president of both the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation and Citation Jet Pilots Association (CJP), died of brain cancer on October 12. He was 70. AOPA said Forrest would be remembered as a “philanthropist, an accomplished pilot, and a mentor to the next generation of aviators.”

In 1974, he founded Winter Park Construction, which grew into one of Central Florida’s largest construction firms. Forrest also pursued his passion for aviation, becoming an air transport pilot with numerous ratings, including single-pilot in several Cessna Citations, as well as seaplanes.

He combined his interest in construction with his passion for aviation in the development of the South East Ramp hangar complex at Orlando Sanford International Airport, his home base, according to AOPA. Forrest, who had formed a friendship with Bob Hoover, teamed up with Mike Herman to form the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation and became its president. The mission, which was sanctioned by Hoover, was “to inspire future generations of professional aviators in all aspects of aviation and aerospace,” the foundation said.

In addition, Forrest was a founding member and deeply involved with CJP and supported the Veterans Airlift Command, Corporate Angel Network, and EAA Young Eagles.