The business aviation community got a close look at the air mobility change that is coming in the shape of new electric and increasingly autonomous aircraft this week at NBAA-BACE 2022. A higher-profile emerging technologies zone at the show includes several pioneers working to bring eVTOL and eSTOL aircraft to market.
The most eye-catching item in an array of new aircraft models is the cabin mockup for Supernal’s four-passenger eVTOL. The Hyundai Motor subsidiary gave visitors the chance to be virtual air-taxi passengers by enjoying a simulated ride to a shopping center and restaurant.
Also pitching their plans for the advanced mobility sector are rival eVTOL aircraft developers Jaunt, Overair, and Wisk. Electra is displaying a model of its nine-passenger eSTOL aircraft and on Tuesday announced the signing of a letter of intent with private charter group Welojets, which plans to add 32 of the hybrid-electric models to its fleet.
Representing efforts to introduce hydrogen propulsion to the aviation sector is ZeroAvia. The company is preparing to start test flights with its fuel-cell-based powertrain on a 19-seat Dornier 228 aircraft.
Also on Tuesday, NBAA held a panel discussion on the certification process for new electric aircraft that also covered preparations for AAM infrastructure. Speakers included leaders from Overair, Archer Aviation, Textron eAviation, and Eviation, which last month achieved first flight of its all-electric Alice aircraft.
Creators of this year’s blockbuster hit “Top Gun: Maverick” gathered at NBAA-BACE 2022 on Wednesday for a panel discussion about what it took to bring realism to such a risky film.
“Top Gun: Maverick” follows the adventures of the fictional test pilot and U.S. Navy Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise. Although Cruise did not make an appearance at the NBAA show, his co-star Monica Barbaro, who played the role of the sole female fighter pilot Lt. Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, was there to explain how the actors prepared for the film.
While actors typically prepare for their roles by memorizing lines and doing some research on the ground, the stars of “Top Gun: Maverick” did much of their preparations while flying on all kinds of airplanes and military jets. Before filming intense scenes flying in supersonic jets, Barbaro spent 40 hours doing flight training in the air.
Barbaro said she and her co-stars began their training by learning to pilot a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Once she got comfortable with the Cessna, she moved on to flying in an Extra 300, a two-seat aerobatic monoplane, with stunt pilot Chuck Coleman. “His job was basically just to toss us around and make us as miserable as we possibly could be in the airplane, and also to start slowly building our g tolerance,” Barbaro said.
Million Air has completed its acquisition and rebranding of the former Marathon Jet Center at Marathon International Airport (KMTH) in the Florida Keys. For the FBO chain, the location represents its fourth in the state and the 34th in the Million Air network. The facility includes two separate locations, one catering to business jets, while the other handles light general aviation traffic.
The terminal on the jet side was recently replaced with a hurricane-rated building after the former structure was heavily damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Million Air will keep that building but eventually relocate GA operations there. It expects to break ground early next year on a new 9,948-sq-ft jet terminal with a full-service indoor/outdoor restaurant and a green observation rooftop deck.
The first phase of construction, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, will include a new fuel farm. A second phase will add 40,000-sq-ft and 24,500-sq-ft hangars, along with 16 acres of ramp and a taxiway connector that will give KMTH more ramp space than Key West International Airport. The projects, representing an investment of $36.5 million, should wrap by mid-2024.
Tecnam has opened the order book for its P2012 short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft. Introducing the piston twin at NBAA-BACE 2022, the Italian manufacturer said the new version of its Traveller aircraft will give access to some of the world’s most demanding airports and can carry nine passengers or just over 2,800 pounds of cargo.
At its maximum takeoff weight of 8,113 pounds, the P2012 STOL will need a takeoff run of only 902 feet, rising to 1,410 feet if a 50-foot obstacle needs to be cleared. Its maximum-weight landing distance is 1,181 feet or just 509 feet without the need to allow for an obstacle. It is powered by a pair of Continental GTSIO-520-S engines.
According to Tecnam, the P2012 STOL will offer significantly higher levels of comfort and a better-equipped cabin than existing STOL aircraft, such as the Britten-Norman Islanders. Compared with the UK-built aircraft, it offers a cabin that is 34 percent wider, with a 24 percent increase in seat pitch, and with almost twice the luggage weight allowance and three times the available volume.
With single seats installed on each side of an aisle, all passengers have a window, as well as a USB charger, reading lights, air conditioning outlets, cupholders, and under-seat baggage storage space. The cabin can be reconfigured for a variety of utility and special-mission applications.
From email to streaming video, today’s business jet travelers demand the same connectivity experience in the cabin as they enjoy in their offices. The only way to meet that expectation is to use a network with the peak output capacity required to avoid data slowdowns.
Though the need for pilots and maintainers across the industry is at an all-time high, “the demand is certainly right now outpacing supply,” said Sheryl Barden, the president and CEO of staffing specialists Aviation Personnel International. The company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week at NBAA-BACE 2022.
Among the constraints are “pilots that used to come to business aviation from regional airlines, or the military are now going right to airlines, and they’re not coming,” Barden said.
And though recruiting executives isn’t a challenge, she said, “Finding the individual contributors is much harder than the leadership because it's very difficult to get somebody to make a lateral move in this market.”
Meanwhile, lowering the 1,500-hour requirement for commercial airline pilots won’t solve the pilot shortage, she said, because business aviation typically demands pilots with at least 3,000 to 4,000 hours of experience.
Greater workplace inclusivity and diversity can expand the labor pool, but advocates for the cause “are not necessarily met with open arms,” said API v-p Jennifer Pickerel, chair of the NBAA diversity, equity, and inclusion working group. “If the corporation isn't prepared to receive that underrepresented person and they’re hired simply because someone's checking a box, then the [employer and recruit] have a terrible experience.”
CAE is ramping up its Gulfstream training in facilities at Las Vegas; Savannah, Georgia; and Singapore.
CAE Las Vegas began training G650 customers in a full-flight simulator (FFS) on October 14. Other training operations ramping up in Las Vegas include FFS training in the G550 in the coming weeks followed by that for the Bombardier Global 7500, Embraer ERJ-145, and Phenom 300 by year-end and a Gulfstream IV by spring 2023.
Maintenance training for the Gulfstream G650, G600, and G500 has begun at Savannah Technical College, while construction continues on the new CAE Savannah campus. CAE Savannah will open in mid-2023 and feature four FFSs, including those for the G280.
Meanwhile, a G650 FFS will begin hosting students at CAE Singapore in November.
CAE employs more than 13,000 in 200 sites across 40 countries, training pilots, technicians, defense and security forces, and healthcare workers.
Honeywell Aerospace said the next generation of its JetWave Ka-band satcom system is expected to be certified next year. It features multi-network, multi-constellation capability that will lower the cost and increase the speed of airborne broadband connectivity up to 100 Mbps, according to Honeywell.
“Our next generation of JetWave will unlock a wider Ka-band frequency and utilize the next generation of very-high throughput satellites,” said Steve Hadden, v-p of services and connectivity. “Additionally, new service plans will make this connectivity more affordable than it’s ever been.”
Commercial upgrade incentives for current customers will be offered “closer to the product’s availability” next year, Honeywell said.
Initial service will be provided via Inmarsat’s global JetConneX Ka-band service, enabling previously announced JX Evolution plans to benefit from increased speed and capacity. Service options will expand to other Ka-band networks through Honeywell’s satellite network partners in 2024. Currently, more than 3,000 JetWave systems are in operation globally.
While the Covid pandemic has affected virtually all areas of aviation, Japan’s Nagoya Airport in Aichi Prefecture has had a rougher go of it than many. The country virtually sealed its borders to international traffic and required Nagoya Airport to shutter its customs, immigration, and quarantine (CIQ) facility from April 2020 to June 2022.
While the number of international business aviation landings at Nagoya had been trending upwards pre-Covid, the imposed restrictions dropped arrivals to just three in 2021—all foreign diplomatic flights with pre-approved clearance. Since CIQ resumed in June, Nagoya Airport assistant director Naoto Matsuoka said there have been 12 international business aircraft arrivals, compared with 66 at nearby Chubu Centrair International Airport.
Nagoya has a 9,000-foot runway, and private aircraft passengers are processed through a terminal dedicated to business aviation—with a distance of only 200 feet from the aircraft, through the CIQ inspection room, and to the vehicle parking lot, enabling arriving passengers to easily depart the airport.
The airport has a ramp with enough space to accommodate six Bombardier Global-sized aircraft at a time, and all private aircraft are handled by Aero Asahi, which has a 92,000-sq-ft (8,600-sq-m) hangar.
Aichi Prefecture is one of the manufacturing hubs of Japan and home to Toyota Motor, accounting for 15 percent of the country’s manufactured goods. Nagoya is located approximately halfway between Osaka and Tokyo.
The digital flip-through issues of AIN’s award-winning NBAA Convention News are now available online. It’s a great way to quickly scan the news from NBAA-BACE 2022, whether you’re in Orlando attending the show or watching from afar.
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