The general aviation avionics industry has seen more than $1.7 billion in sales through the first nine months, representing a 5.4 percent year-over-year increase, according to statistics released yesterday by the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA). That total takes into account all business and general aviation aircraft electronics sales but does not include repairs, overhauls, extended warranty, or subscription services.
Of the total sales to date this year, 53.7 percent came from the retrofit market, equipment installed after original aircraft production, while equipment included on delivery by airframers made up the balance. Nearly three-quarters of the 2021 sales volume took place in the U.S. and Canada.
Market sales have been steadily growing over the past five quarters, with the most recently ended quarter showing 5.8 percent improvement over the first quarter of 2021, and 1.8 percent over the second quarter.
“We are encouraged that this report indicates industry sales are continuing an upward trend despite the lingering pandemic and changing market forces,” said AEA president and CEO Mike Adamson. “Although the industry has seen robust sales during some unprecedented times, there are still challenges with the supply chain and workforce to work through as we close out the year and look forward to 2022."
Wheels Up wrestled with shortages of flight crews and airplanes during a period of “unprecedented demand” for the private aviation membership company in the third quarter, resulting in a $59.45 million loss despite double-digit gains in revenue, according to its earnings report released yesterday. The company reported a 55 percent gain in revenue, to $301.9 million, versus the same period last year. Year-to-date, Wheels Up’s loss widened to $120.6 million on 75 percent higher revenue of $849.2 million.
“With unprecedented demand comes supply challenges that are also unprecedented,” Wheels Up CEO Kenny Dichter told analysts on an earnings call yesterday. “These supply challenges were significantly exacerbated during the third quarter, which impacted contribution margin in our profitability.”
Dichter said “the biggest gating factor” currently for Wheels Up is the supply of pilots to meet that demand. “The end result was that we could not fully crew our first-party fleet during the third quarter. This reduced the utility of our fleet versus our prior quarter.” A related challenge was the availability of flight crews for its partner companies that provide Wheels Up supplemental lift, he added. “This resulted in less third-party aircraft available to us and increased costs obtaining that supplemental lift.”
The Part 91-operated McDonnel Douglas MD-87 involved in the October 19 runway excursion accident following a rejected takeoff at Houston Executive Airport had jammed elevators, the NTSB said yesterday. Investigators found that the airplane’s left and right elevators were jammed in a trailing-edge-down position and neither could be moved by hand.
According to flight crew interviews, at the rotate callout the captain tried to pull back on the control column but said it felt like it was “in concrete.” About the time the first officer made the V2 callout, the first officer also attempted to pull back on the control column. The first officer then called abort and retarded the thrust levers, and the captain deployed the thrust reversers. The captain said the autobrake system was in rejected takeoff mode and applied maximum wheel braking.
The airplane overran the end of Runway 36, went through the airport perimeter fence and powerlines, and came to rest about 1,400 feet beyond the runway end. Of the 23 aboard, two passengers were seriously injured and one received minor injuries. A post-crash fire destroyed most of the airplane except for the tail section.
In its report on a similar accident in 2017, the NTSB noted “the lack of a means to enable flight crews of Boeing DC-9/MD-80 series and 717 model airplanes to verify before takeoff that the elevators are not jammed.”
A broad group of aerospace manufacturers, operators, airlines, and other organizations are urging the National Economic Council (NEC) to hold off on the deployment of 5G technologies in the C-band until the safety and efficiency of the U.S. National Airspace System are ensured. Twenty-two organizations—ranging from NBAA to Honeywell to Airlines for America—made that appeal in a recent letter, saying that that the “new 5G cellular systems operating in the C-Band will begin to deploy throughout the country shortly. These 5G systems have the potential to cause harmful interference to radio altimeters” crucial to aircraft.
The FAA released a special airworthiness information bulletin on November 2 asking manufacturers to submit detailed information on the susceptibility of radio altimeters to 5G interference. It also recommended testing and evaluating operational restrictions or design changes that may be necessary as a result and warned pilots to remain aware of the potential for interference. Further actions may be necessary, the FAA added.
The groups called on the NEC to convene a joint industry working group to explore acceptable mitigations and, meanwhile, delay deployment of the technologies.“While high-speed data and communications hold many benefits, we must first and foremost ensure such systems do not compromise the safety and integrity of operations within our National Airspace System," said Heidi Williams, NBAA's senior director for air traffic services and infrastructure.
Gogo SmartShield Can Protect Your Inflight Connectivity Investment
Gogo Business Aviation announced a new premium membership program called SmartShield that offers exclusive protections and benefits for anyone with a Gogo inflight connectivity system.
In the year since the launch of NetJets’ global sustainability program, the fractional aircraft provider said it has uplifted more than 750,000 gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) across its 700-plus aircraft fleet and flown 2.5 million nautical miles with SAF.
Earlier this year, NetJets invested in the production of SAF through an agreement with WasteFuel that includes an offtake deal for 100 million gallons of the fuel over the next decade. In July, NetJets Europe became the first customer to purchase Air bp’s International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus-certified SAF, marking the European division’s first foray into sustainable fuel use.
The Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary is also reporting a 71 percent increase in enrollment in its Blue Skies program, which encourages its aircraft owners to lessen their environmental impact by purchasing carbon credits to render their flights carbon-neutral.
“We’re energized to see our peers in the private and commercial sectors making sustainability commitments of their own,” said Brad Ferrell, the operator’s executive v-p of administrative services. “In the years to come, NetJets looks forward to being at the forefront of sustainable aviation fuel and other initiatives that will keep our industry at the cutting edge.”
As the United Nations COP26 climate change conference in Scotland focused its efforts on transportation yesterday, the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) announced the formation of an industry user group to promote investment in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and increase its acceptance. SABA, which was launched earlier this year, is a joint initiative by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and forward-looking energy nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). Its new Aviators Group includes founding members Amazon Air, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and United Airlines.
At the Glasgow conference, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg highlighted the release of the government's aviation climate action plan, which, for the first time, sets out the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. aviation sector by 2050. He challenged SABA to spur the pace of uptake of SAF and arrive at next year’s conference loaded with significant new offtake agreements from its membership.
SABA is working with stakeholders such as academic experts, fuel producers, and airlines to establish a sustainability framework that will ensure SAF contributes to “credible” emissions reductions and without any unintended environmental or social problems.
Professional pilot logbook software provider Coradine has launched LogTen on Apple Watch. Already available for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, the new LogTen logbook application allows pilots in the flight deck to file and access essential flight information through their watch.
“Coradine is committed to creating technology to accelerate the future of aviation,” said CEO Noah Lieberman. “LogTen for Apple Watch is a natural step on that journey. With just a tap on the wrist when the pilot leaves the gate at JFK, and another when they arrive in SFO, they can make sure they are logging flights and staying safely within regulated limits."
LogTen for Apple Watch captures details and then automatically updates on all of the pilot’s devices. Pilots can tap “Fly Now” to start a flight entry in their logbook and “Out” when they leave their parking spot, with an option to change the time if necessary. Once the out time is logged, the takeoff airport is logged automatically using GPS coordinates. Upon arrival, the pilot taps “In” to finish logging the flight.
LogTen will provide a summary with the departure and arrival airports, block time, air time, and night time—all of which are automatically registered. The flight is then logged.
After months of the Canadian Business Aviation Association sending letters to the federal government expressing its opposition to a proposed luxury tax on private and charter aircraft, the association recently followed up with a brief titled “The Unintended Consequences of a Luxury Tax on Aircraft.”
The proposed 10 percent tax on the sales of certain vehicles, yachts, and “personal” aircraft was included in both the 2019 Liberal election platform and again in the 2021 federal budget. Last August, the Department of Finance extended the scope to include virtually any private or air taxi aircraft with fewer than 40 seats.
“While the government’s luxury tax on aircraft may lead to a minor increase in tax revenues, the potential for negative implications and unintended consequences is significant,” notes the brief. “For example, the tax creates incentives to use older, less fuel-efficient and sustainable aircraft, making it harder for business aviation to fulfill carbon reduction plans. Additionally, the tax will reduce demand for Canadian-made aircraft, negatively impacting jobs, businesses, and Canada’s overall economic growth potential.”
The CBAA made the following recommendations: raise the sales price threshold from $100,000 to $5 million; avoid tax inconsistencies by using the existing tax code; add business use and air taxis to the list of qualifying exempt activities; do not impose the luxury tax on exported aircraft; and defer implementation to Jan. 1, 2023.
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