Embraer Executive Jets logged a record third quarter, delivering 41 aircraft, an increase of more than 45% from third-quarter 2023, according to the airframer’s third quarter financial results released this morning. Revenues for its private jet division—which accounts for one-third of the company’s net revenue—rose by 65% year over year (YOY).

The delivery mix for the quarter was fairly evenly split between Embraer’s light and super-midsize families, including four Phenom 100EXs, 18 Phenom 300Es, nine Praetor 500s, and 10 Praetor 600s.

Through the first nine months of the year, the OEM has delivered 86 business jets—20 more than through the same period in 2023—and is well on its way toward meeting its forecast range of 125 to 135 aircraft this year.

Parent Embraer reached a backlog of $22.7 billion, a nine-year high. The business jet segment’s backlog stood at $4.4 billion at the end of the quarter, an increase of 3% YOY but a 4% decrease from the second quarter, which the company attributed to increased delivery tempo and a “seasonally slower period for sales because of summer in the northern hemisphere.”

In the company’s services and support division, the backlog reached $3.5 billion, an increase of more than 25% YOY and up more than 10% quarter over quarter.

Due diligence in private aviation has never been more important in today’s dangerous world populated with bad actors. Increasingly, fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, and terrorism compound the risks in standard (two-party) and back-to-back used aircraft purchase transactions.

Despite these concerns, some purchasers and sellers understandably feel frustrated that due diligence for them is repetitive or unnecessary. After all, they negotiate an aircraft purchase agreement to minimize their risk and memorialize their business agreement. It’s hard to disagree even as aircraft transactions become increasingly complex.

However, a myopic focus on the aircraft purchase agreement rather than broad risk management efforts may subject the deal participants to government inquiries, enforcement actions, or civil and criminal penalties. It is not hyperbole to say that deal participants should regard regulatory agencies as serious stakeholders in due diligence failures with substantial power and seemingly unlimited enforcement budgets.

Due diligence basically means doing your homework around buying or selling a private aircraft. That type of due diligence differs from diligence in selecting an aircraft management company, an FBO or MRO, or buying a company that holds a Part 135 certificate. And diligence for banks varies from other entities due to vast regulations, “know your customer” (KYC) rules, and internal policies.

Clay Lacy Aviation has been awarded a lease for a new FBO at Friedman Memorial Airport (KSUN) in Sun Valley, Idaho. The California-based company will begin construction on the 10-acre plot as soon as designs are finalized and building permits approved. It will become the second FBO on the field, as well as the company's fourth location.

When completed in 2027, the facility will offer a 4,500-sq-ft terminal, more than 110,000 sq ft of hangar space that will accommodate ultra-long-range business jets, a 14,500-sq-ft enclosed vehicle parking garage, and four acres of ramp. Like all of the company’s new facilities, it is expected to achieve carbon neutrality and receive LEED Gold certification for sustainability.

“It is an honor to bring a sustainable approach while strengthening the general aviation experience at Friedman Memorial Airport,” said Scott Cutshall, Clay Lacy’s president of real estate and sustainability. “We understand and value this unique area, having flown to and from KSUN for over five decades. That longevity leads us to take a community-focused approach to the design of our facilities and service.”

A fixture at Los Angeles-area Van Nuys Airport for decades, Clay Lacy is constructing an FBO at John Wayne Airport (KSNA) in Orange County and is putting the finishing touches on its first East Coast facility at Waterbury–Oxford Airport (KOXC) in Connecticut.

Has managing all your ERJ landing gear overhauls got you feeling overwhelmed? A third-party provider can assist with the entire process, but is outsourcing right for you? In this resource, C&L Aviation Group explains the benefits of working with a provider for all your ERJ landing gear overhaul management needs. 

Pratt & Whitney Canada is preparing to demonstrate hydrogen combustion technology on a PW127XT turboprop engine as part of the Canadian government’s Initiative for Sustainable Aviation Technology (INSAT). On Wednesday, the RTX group company said the Hydrogen Advanced Design Engine Study (HyADES) will be conducted in partnership with Next Hydrogen Solutions, which is developing high-efficiency, low-cost electrolyzers for the hydrogen production process.

Funding for the first phase of work covers fuel nozzle and combustor rig testing using hydrogen fuel, with future phases involving engine ground tests. The PW127XT is the latest member of Pratt & Whitney’s PW100 series of engines that have accumulated more than 220 million flight hours on several regional airliners. The PW127XT is featured on current versions of the ATR 42 and ATR 72 twin turboprops, and has also been selected by Deutsche Aircraft for its Do328Eco aircraft.

Under a second INSAT-supported project called Turbine Engine Advanced Materials for Efficiency, Pratt & Whitney Canada is teaming with the Ottawa-based Derivation Research Laboratory. This will explore advanced materials for hot section components of gas turbine engines that could improve thermal efficiency, reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

A measure on the ballot that would have ceded control of Colorado’s Aspen/Pitkin County Airport to county voters instead of county officials was rejected by voters on November 5. The measure essentially removed from the county board of commissioners the ability to authorize and use state or federal grants to expand or relocate any runway at the airport beyond the dimensions existing as of Jan. 1, 2024, unless approved by Pitkin County voters.

In a letter sent on October 17, the FAA had warned the county board that the ballot measure, if approved, would be in violation of federal grant assurances.

“Pitkin County, the sponsor of Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, is obligated to comply with FAA grant assurances, as recipients of over $119.6 million in FAA grant funding since 1982. Specifically, ‘Grant Assurance #5, Preserving Rights and Powers’ states that Pitkin County ‘will not take or permit any action which would operate to deprive it of any of the rights and powers necessary to perform any or all of the terms, conditions, and assurances in the Grant Agreement without the written approval of the Secretary.’”

AOPA supported local stakeholders in this effort and said the rejection of the ballot measure “was in the best interests of both the local community and aeronautical users.”

A NASA/Lockheed Martin team recently fired up the modified GE Aerospace F414-GE-100 engine for the first time aboard the X-59 supersonic demonstrator, a key milestone that helps pave the way for the aircraft’s first flight. However, the agency noted that the team had to overcome several technical challenges to get to that point and, as such, has pushed first flight into 2025 instead of this year as hoped.

Engine-run tests, which began October 30, will verify that aircraft systems work together while powered by the aircraft’s 22,000-pound-thrust engine. Previous tests have used external sources for power, NASA said.

The team initially rotated the engine at a lower speed without ignition to check for leaks and ensure that systems communicate properly. Following that, the aircraft was fueled and engine tested at low power, again to ensure there were no hiccups in the aircraft systems or leaks while on engine power.

NASA X-59 chief engineer Jay Brandon said, “The first phase of the engine tests was really a warmup to make sure that everything looked good prior to running the engine. Then we moved to the actual first engine start. That took the engine out of the preservation mode that it had been in since installation on the aircraft. It was the first check to see that it was operating properly.”

You can count on AIN for full coverage of MEBAA Show 2024. Our team will publish our award-winning daily MEBAA Convention News editions at the show. We will also have comprehensive real-time reporting of all the top news at AINonline.com and in our daily e-newsletters. If you are an exhibiting company that wants to share news or propose pre-show interviews and briefings, please contact show editor Chad Trautvetter.