Bombardier on Tuesday received a firm three-unit Challenger 3500 order from Memphis, Tennessee-based operator AB Jets, with an option for a fourth. The charter company—which celebrates its 25th anniversary next year—currently operates a fleet of nine Learjet 60s and specializes in providing supplemental lift and urgent organ transplant transport.

“With our missions, we are primarily in the Continental U.S. [The 3500] will give us a true coast-to-coast offering with the range of the aircraft, and that in itself will be thoroughly enjoyed by the customers to have that capability,” company co-owner and director of operations David Turner told AIN. “We had a lot of requests through current clients for that category offering, and it's always had the Challenger request with that.”

The Argus Platinum-rated charter operator will take delivery of its first super-midsize 3500 in August 2025 and will then receive one every four months.

“AB Jets was looking to upgrade their offering with the ultimate jet experience, and we are thrilled that they recognized the Challenger 3500 as the aircraft that can provide just that,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive v-p of aircraft sales and Bombardier Defense.

Rolls-Royce’s Pearl 10X engine—selected by Dassault for the forthcoming Falcon 10X—has now passed the 2,000-hour milestone in ground-testing. Rated at more than 18,000 pounds of thrust, the engine met its thrust objectives on its first run and testing has run smoothly to date.

The first flight trials engine has been delivered from Rolls-Royce's Dahlewitz factory near Berlin to L3Harris in Waco, Texas, for installation on the company’s Boeing 747 testbed, with a first flight expected before the end of the year. Flight trials will be conducted at Rolls-Royce's test site in Tucson, Arizona.

Delivery of the first engines to the customer, Dassault, is scheduled to coincide with the formal opening next year of the production support plant at La Haillan, close to the Bordeaux-Mérignac final assembly line for the Falcon 10X. It will support production and flight-test activities.

Additionally, Rolls-Royce said the engine—and the Pearl 15 that powers the Global 5500/6500—will be able to run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel.

CAE launched a new Master Technician Program dedicated to two distinct learning tracks—specialist and people—this week at NBAA-BACE. The new program, which builds on CAE’s previous Master Technician program, addresses the need for independent certification of technical and leadership skills as the industry faces unprecedented demand for aircraft mechanics.

CAE’s 2023 aviation talent forecast predicts a need for 402,000 new maintenance technicians industrywide over the next 10 years, of which business aviation will require 74,000.

“The CAE Master Technician Program gives technicians two structured paths to build their skills and advance along a career path, recognizing competency development, not just aircraft-specific training events to bring them closer to their ideal career,” said Alexandre Prevost, CAE’s business aviation and helicopter training division president. “As a large proportion of the existing aircraft maintenance technician population approaches retirement age, the Master Technician Program addresses the challenge of developing the next generation of professionals and ensuring they have the skills and knowledge needed to keep the industry flying safely.”

The new program affords trainees access to an array of skill enhancement and training. Covering three levels of achievement—Certified, Advanced, and Master—trainees can reach Master Technician status in less time than in CAE's previous maintenance technician career development programs, its said.

Avfuel is developing a new sustainability program aimed at helping flight operators effectively manage and reduce their carbon emissions. Currently in beta test, Avfuel Zero will offer users a comprehensive solution for seamlessly measuring, mitigating, auditing, and reporting carbon emissions.

“With Avfuel Zero, we’ll be taking the complication out of sustainable aviation operations,” explained C.R. Sincock II, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company’s executive v-p. “As the entity that directly provides sustainable solutions to operators, we’re uniquely qualified to help them identify what their emissions reduction needs are, how to meet those needs, and how to report them.”

It is the latest in the company’s sustainability initiatives, which include investing in a variety of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) feedstocks and processes such as HEFA, alcohol-to-jet, power-to-liquid, and biomass, as well as hydrogen, hybrid, and electrification.

For NBAA-BACE, the fuel company provided additional supplies of SAF produced by Neste to Textron Aviation and Embraer so their static display aircraft could fly to Las Vegas more sustainably. While the two OEMs regularly receive SAF for their operations, Avfuel worked with them to make sure they had ample supplies for their BACE flights.

In addition, Avfuel announced the Atlantic Aviation FBO at California’s Stockton Metro Airport as its 14th location to receive continuous supplies of SAF.

Aircraft float specialist Wipaire has received Technical Standard Order C27A approval from the FAA for its Wipline C13000S composite floats. The TSO award is the first stage of approval, validating the design and production data. The new floats will undergo fit and finish refinements and will be flight-tested as the program homes in on a supplemental type certificate for fitment to the DHC-6 Twin Otter.

“We are thrilled to achieve this milestone,” said president and CEO Chuck Wiplinger. “We did not just develop a float; we also gained significant composite expertise that will support the next generation of our products.”

The South Saint Paul, Minnesota-based company has developed the floats with aerospace-grade carbon fiber, achieving considerable savings in weight. They use the same strut attachments as the existing all-metal Wipline 13000 floats.

Private jet charter and fractional provider FlyExclusive came to NBAA-BACE 2023 just two weeks after taking delivery of three new Cessna Citation CJ3+s, launching the start of the next phase of the company’s fleet modernization effort. The plan, which FlyExclusive announced last year, included an order for up to 44 new Citations, including up to 30 CJ3+ and 14 midsize and super-midsize Citations (eight XLS Gen2s and six Longitudes).

In an interview with AIN, FlyExclusive chairman and CEO Jim Segrave revealed that the company has sold 24 fractional shares in the CJ3+s and expects to sell another five before NBAA-BACE ends today. Expecting to get all SEC approvals to go public by around the Thanksgiving holiday, Segrave and company just filed a proxy statement in connection with an equity purchase agreement with special purpose acquisition company EG Acquisition Corp.

Meanwhile, the company has recently completed the second phase of its Kinston campus expansion. The project included four hangars—one designed as an electrostatic paint shop that can accommodate eight aircraft a month. The hangars, along with a previously announced Phase 3 expansion, will ultimately allow the company to bring 80 percent of its maintenance in-house, reducing the need to outsource, which often comes with lengthy waits and higher costs.

Earlier this year, the FAA granted FlyExclusive Part 145 certification to perform MRO services on third-party aircraft.

Global Jet Capital has struck a partnership with carbon offsetting and compliance specialist Azzera to develop a multi-pronged sustainability platform.

Through the partnership, Global Jet Capital will undergo a comprehensive annual audit to assess its Scope 1 and 2 direct emissions and offset those through the purchase of “a carefully curated portfolio of high-quality carbon offsetting projects.” Azzera will identify these projects in adherence with the Oxford Principles for Offsetting, which are designed to ensure that they have been validated for their contribution toward net zero.

In addition, Global Jet Capital said the partnership will further support its ongoing CleanFlight program, launched in 2020, to offer clients a pathway to offset greenhouse gas emissions in their business aircraft. The partnership with Azzera will provide access to a diverse portfolio of regionally based carbon credit projects.

Global Jet Capital clients will have access to compliance management support, including a specialized Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia) portfolio.

“We believe Azzera is an ideal sustainability partner for us,” said Global Jet Capital CEO Vivek Kaushal. “With its deep industry experience and strong ties to the business aviation sector, coupled with its strategic presence in both North America and Europe, Azzera is uniquely positioned to support our global client base in achieving their sustainability goals.”

AviationManuals is integrating its safety hazard reporting tool with GE’s digital flight operations quality assurance (FOQA) data. The company is thus enabling business jet operators to more easily source GE Digital’s FOQA data analytics after each flight operation. Further, it will automatically fill out an incident hazard report, regardless of scope.

The integration provides immediate safety insights covering all levels of FOQA incident and accident data. “We believe that safety is in the small stuff, and even minor deviances need to be addressed to mitigate risks,” said AviationManuals CEO Mark Baier.

AviationManuals supports more than 4,500 operators worldwide and provides manual development services and SMS software for business aviation flight departments, aircraft management companies, and owner/operators. GE’s digital aviation software enables operators to enhance operator safety and efficiency, reducing operational disruptions and improving decisions regarding real-time fleet health.