Embraer delivered 23 business jets (15 light and eight midsize airplanes) in the third quarter, up from 21 aircraft (14 light and seven midsize) in the same period a year ago. At the same time, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer handed over 10 commercial airplanes, up one unit from third-quarter 2021.
Year-to-date, Embraer has shipped 52 executive jets (33 light and 19 midsize), compared with 54 (36 light and 18 midsize) in the first nine months of 2021. But Embraer reaffirmed its 2022 delivery guidance for 100 to 110 business jets, which means the company’s fourth-quarter shipments will nearly equal or exceed those in the first three quarters combined. In 2021, Embraer handed over 93 business jets (62 light and 31 midsize).
Commercial deliveries in the first nine months stood at 27 aircraft, down from 32 in the comparable period a year ago. The company expects to hand over 60 to 70 commercial jets this year, which means fourth-quarter deliveries for these aircraft will exceed those for the first nine months.
Embraer’s firm order backlog for commercial and business jets ended the third quarter at $17.8 billion. While that is flat from the second quarter, the backlog has grown by $800 million since the end of last year.
Rocketlab’s second attempt to catch its Electron low earth orbit (LEO) launch vehicle’s first stage in midair with a Sikorsky S-92A approximately 160 nm off the New Zealand coast failed on Friday afternoon. “We have had an update from the [helicopter] pilots and unfortunately it looks like we are not going to bring Electron home dry today, but we do have the backup option of an ocean splashdown,” Rocketlab’s mission control said.
This latest failure was blamed on a loss of telemetry from the rocket’s first stage on reentry. “The standard procedure for safety is that we pull the helicopter out of the recovery zone when this happens, so we couldn’t attempt a catch,” according to mission control.
The S-92 used for the recovery has a three-man crew: pilot, copilot, and rocket spotter. It is equipped with long-range auxiliary fuel tanks, bubble windows to enhance crew visibility, and a long line attached to a hook designed to snag the first stage as it falls back to Earth under a parachute.
Rocketlab’s first mission attempt to retrieve a falling rocket stage with an S-92 failed on May 3. While the helicopter did manage to snare the falling rocket stage, the pilot elected to jettison it after noticing “different load characteristics than we’ve experienced in testing,” according to a company spokeswoman.
Gulfstream Aerospace’s G700 has made its debut in Vietnam and Asia-Pacific as part of the world tour of its newest ultra-long-range twinjet. The G700 joined a G600 and G650ER at an invite-only event at Van Don International Airport in Quảng Ninh Province held by Gulfstream's international sales representative in Vietnam, Sun Air, a business aviation services company.
On the way to Vietnam, the G700 set a city-pair speed record from Istanbul to Van Don, traveling 4,573 nm in nine hours and two minutes at an average speed of Mach 0.90. This record is pending verification by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
“Vietnam and Southeast Asia are strong developing markets for Gulfstream,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “As we see continued demand and fleet growth in the region, we are also bolstering resources to support customers there, including field service coverage from Gulfstream customer support and the Gulfstream FAST field and airborne support teams.”
Some 10,000 additional engineers will be needed over the next decade to meet the demand for advanced vertical flight aircraft development in the U.S., according to a just-published study by the Vertical Flight Society (VFS) and Hysky Society, which promotes hydrogen-powered aviation. The study calls for significant additional funding for academia to train engineers to meet industry demands and for the industry to provide sufficient incentives and the correct workplace atmosphere to attract and retain them.
The research notes, “The legacy aerospace and defense (A&D) industry has 2x the attrition rates than that of the national average. The advanced air mobility (AAM) sector likely has 4x attrition rates of the national average. Workplace ostracism is likely a major cause [and] could result in a threat to national security.” It defines this ostracism as “the number-one predictor of attrition rates” and ties it to a failure of organizations to properly implement a culture of diversity, inclusion, and equity. It also estimates the cost of this attrition in part, noting that replacing a highly-experienced aerospace engineer could run up to $1 million.
“To avoid high attrition rates in an organization, the incorporation of diversity into boards, cap tables, investors, and founders must happen prior to hiring diverse talent,” it adds. “Otherwise, the attrition costs will grow exponentially with U.S. demographics and become unsustainable.”
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Weather is a suspected factor in the fatal crash of a Leonardo AW109E Power over the weekend that killed seven in Italy. The helicopter was making a regularly scheduled shuttle flight from the San Domino heliport in the Tremiti Islands in the Adriatic Sea to Foggia when it went down Saturday shortly after 9:20 a.m. local time.
Alidaunia operated the flight. The victims included both pilots, a doctor returning home from a shift on Tremiti, and four members of a Slovenian family on holiday. Local authorities reported a thunderstorm in the vicinity of the last radio contact in an area between Apricena and San Severo. The wreckage was recovered in a rural area of Castelpagano di Apricena 31 nm from Foggia.
Based in Foggia, Alidaunia began operations in 1976 and started helicopter flights in 1984. Since 1985, it has provided helicopter passenger service between Foggia and the Tremiti Islands, and it is the only Italian helicopter company offering regularly scheduled passenger service. It also provides 24/7 helicopter air ambulance service to the islands. The company is a factory-authorized service provider for Leonardo and Robinson helicopters.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
Which of the following is the operating principle of a conventional airspeed indicator?
A. Dynamic pressure is detected by the pitot tube and compared to the groundspeed by the air data computer.
B. The pitot-static system measures total and static pressures; the airspeed indicator instrument determines airspeed by the difference in the two pressures.
C. Dynamic pressure is sensed by the static ports and subtracted from the total pressure sensed by the pitot tube.
D. Information from the altimeter is fed into the airspeed indicator; the difference between the altimeter indication and the total pressure provides the airspeed.
The National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) drew more than 125 attendees and speakers across the aviation spectrum to its fourth Aviation Inclusion Summit (AIS), which wrapped up last week. Held at the Air Line Pilots Association headquarters in McLean, Virginia, the event served as a forum to discuss efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion in the industry. It also provided networking opportunities and training sessions.
Breakout sessions addressed crew resource management, allyship, unconscious bias, and upstander training. In addition, the summit featured an inclusion panel that provided insights on the experiences of leaders within the NGPA peer organizations, including the Black Aerospace Professionals, Women in Aviation International, European Pride in Aviation Network, and the Professional Asian Pilots Association.
Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen provided a keynote, saying the FAA’s “first commitment is to safety, but our second is to diversity.” Also during the summit, NGPA was honored with the National Aeronautic Association Clifford Henderson Trophy.
“The visibility that an event like this brings to the aviation industry is paramount to progress. Bringing to light barriers to inclusive workplaces across our industry helps initiate policy changes that lead to positive change for all,” said NGPA president Brian Gambino.
NGPA next is hosting an Industry Expo on February 9 and 10 in Palm Springs, California.
Private aviation marketplace Flyjets has launched an upgraded version of its mobile application with new automated scheduling, FlyCalendar, and FlyGreen features. The charter booking engine automates charter availability and empty-leg charter flights on a point-to-point basis.
Using automation and technology-enabled networks, the system allows users to find affordable charter rates and allows them to take advantage of empty-leg discounts. Aircraft providers upload aircraft and availability information on the systems and from that, users can find and book aircraft and routes in real-time. Flyjets also provides booking support and travel-planning services as an International Air Transport Association-registered travel agency.
The company’s FlyGreen system has been automated with its FlyRewards feature, so when users purchase carbon offsets the rewards received will appear in their mobile dashboards. FlyCalendar operates as a volume aggregator for what Flyjets refers to as in-network empty-leg matchups and group-booking opportunities. “Upon successful match-up, each flyer party typically saves 30 to 50 percent per charter, given the routing efficiencies simultaneously created for aircraft providers,” said Flyjets founder and CEO Jessica Fisher.
Less than a month after BAE Systems dedicated a new $150 million 390,000-sq-ft factory in Austin, Texas, the aerospace electronics company celebrated the opening of a $100 million 278,000-sq-ft facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Serving as home to BAE Systems’ Navigation and Sensor Systems (NSS) business, the facility enables the company to bring together some 800 systems design and production employees into a single location.
BAE Systems has delivered more than 1.5 million devices for more than 280 airborne, ground, and weapon system platforms, producing advanced GPS technology compatible with the next-generation M-Code signal, improving security and anti-jamming capabilities for defense applications.
“The first GPS signal ever received on Earth was received here in Cedar Rapids,” said Luke Bishop, director of the navigation and sensor systems unit. “We’re building on our legacy of innovation, and we’re supported with the tools and resources to do it.”
The company called the addition part of a broader strategic investment it is making across the U.S. to facilitate business growth, increase manufacturing capacity, and accommodate workforce expansion. In addition to Austin, BAE has recently opened facilities in Huntsville, Alabama, and Manchester, New Hampshire.
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