In October—the month when NBAA-BACE would have been held if not for the pandemic—AIN is producing in-depth coverage of business aviation that celebrates the industry’s resilience, value, and innovation. Along with these weekly dedicated newsletters sent to you every Thursday this month, we will be holding a series of business aviation-themed webinars and publishing content on a dedicated landing page, culminating in a special-edition print issue of NBAA Convention News.
Analysts: Many Contenders, but Little Room for SSTs
While the ban on supersonic flight over land is still in place, the field of supersonic contenders is growing increasingly crowded as new prospective developers jump into the fray while others accelerate their pace of development. This field has expanded even during the pandemic, including Virgin Galactic’s Mach 3 jet and the U.S. government’s supersonic Air Force One executive transport. They join a fray that has already included Aerion Supersonic, Boom, and Spike.
However, the question remains whether supersonic is a reasonable possibility in the next decade and, if so, how many aircraft can the market reasonably sustain? Analysts are optimistic, but only see room for one or two such aircraft in the market.
“I am bullish,” said Rolland Vincent, president of Rolland Vincent Associates and JetNet IQ creator/director, adding “speed sells.” But he doubts the market could accommodate all contemplating joining the market. “The five will become two,” he said. Also, Vincent worries that the Covid downturn might cause investors to scale back.
Richard Aboulafia, v-p of analysis for Teal Group, meanwhile, believes there is more hope in the business jet side than for a commercial variant. “The prospects for supersonics exist with business. They do not exist with commercial."
Consultant Brian Foley believes the current activity makes the outlook promising but points to one of the biggest obstacles: “The path will go at the speed of cash.”
Although I had been attending NBAA’s Annual Meeting and Convention since the early 1970s, I had always gone directly to the exhibit hall and never attended an Opening General Session that the association held as its kickoff event. My first convention as NBAA’s president was 1992, where I had to be at the General Session. It was indeed an eyeopener. Attendance was sparse, perhaps for good reason. Everyone wanted to see the new products on display within the exhibit hall. The NBAA board made it clear that the lack of attendee participation had to change.
For the 1993 event, held in Atlanta, the convention staff headed by Dave Franson and Kathleen Blouin initiated a new format. We scheduled a special speaker who we thought would draw attendees, and we kept the exhibit hall closed until the Opening General Session concluded. The featured speaker in 1993 was former all-star quarterback Fran Tarkenton and we launched the “No Plane. No Gain” advocacy program with our associates at GAMA. That relationship with GAMA has remained a hallmark of subsequent NBAA conventions.
My favorite convention was in New Orleans in 2001, moved from early September to just before Christmas because of 9/11. Some exhibitors boycotted, but others joined into the spirit of resilience and support for business aviation. The companies that did participate said it was one of their best.
—John “Jack” Olcott, founder of General Aero Company and former NBAA president
In the absence of this year’s NBAA-BACE, AIN has reached out to industry leaders to share their favorite memories and thoughts about past shows. The responses are highlighting how the annual event resonates throughout the industry. These memories are being accumulated here.
With production of sustainable aviation (SAF) fuel continuing to rise, global fuel distributor Avfuel predicts that by 2030 as much as 20 percent of the jet-A consumed in North America could have an SAF component, according to Keith Sawyer, the company’s manager of alternative fuels. Speaking last week during AIN’sMaking Business Aviation Environmentally Sustainablewebinar, he noted that since the introduction of SAF, there have already been more than a quarter-million flights using a component of SAF in blends ranging from 5 percent to 100 percent.
Sawyer pointed out that that there are currently seven approved pathways for SAF production, using varied feedstocks ranging from wood waste to municipal waste, purpose-grown crops, and used oils and residues, and while SAF is currently more expensive, as supply increases he expects that price differential to shrink. “The technology is there,” he said. “It’s not a matter of if, but when.”
Panelist Mark Masluch, Bombardier Aviation's director of communications and public affairs and a member of GAMA's environmental committee, explained that safety was initially a major concern among operators. “The most important point is that SAF is drop-in ready,” he said. “The aircraft doesn’t know the difference chemically from regular fuels.” Masluch is also encouraged by the number of SAF offtake agreements announced recently. “It’s hopefully becoming a more global phenomenon as we move into next year.”
Universal Finds Solution To Respond to Covid's Effects
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many companies to examine how they could do business in light of concerns about the coronavirus and travel restrictions. Universal Avionics is one of them, and almost from the start, it began planning how it would conduct business as close as possible to normal.
The Tucson, Arizona-based company’s approach includes the launch of a webinar series tied to its ClearVision enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) and the UA Academy Online Learning Center, which provides on-demand, remote training for customers, authorized dealers, and integrators. It also offers a mobile demonstration unit, a Gulfstream III with Universal’s latest avionics including ClearVision EFVS, and a virtual reality training device that customers will be able to use from their desktop computers.
Universal CEO Dror Yahav said while these measures required Universal to increase its research and development budget at a time when many companies are cutting costs, he thinks there will ultimately be a healthy payoff for Universal. “This crisis will create a lot of opportunities for us as a company [so] that when the market will start to recover…we will be in a better position,” Yahav explained. “I see very good opportunities due to this approach.”
A lighter color palette, home-like furnishings, straighter lines, and more natural materials. These are among the broad trends in today’s business aircraft interior design book, applied by OEMs and aftermarket outfitters alike, in combination with improved environmental systems, digital capabilities, and all the comforts and conveniences buyers expect in their homes and offices.
In a typical year, industry executives might have surveyed some of these advances in person this month as they walked the aisles or on static display at the NBAA’s annual convention. But while business aviation’s biggest gathering has been canceled by the coronavirus pandemic, the aircraft interiors world has continued turning, and if anything the global lockdown has focused even more attention on the cabin. It’s not just about looking good, but functionality, safety, and wellness, and the new-generation flagships of the business aviation fleet have the technology and the space to deliver the goods.
Thirty-some years of NBAA Conventions make for a lot of memories. However, when the term “unique” is added to “memorable,” I do have a standout that happened in 1992. My company, Butler Aviation, had recently merged with Page Avjet. I was one of a dozen customer service employees in the combined company selected to attend that year’s convention in Dallas. We were all eager to meet our new Page Avjet teammates and then collectively greet our customer community at the show.
One awkward challenge for us gregarious customer service types: we literally did not know our name when we all arrived in Dallas. The name of our new company was so top secret that the executive leadership did not even distribute our new name badges until minutes before the press conference announcement was made on the show floor.
After the press gathered, a drape lifted from over a fuel truck, and there it was on the side of the truck. Signature Flight Support was born at NBAA 1992!
— Mary Miller, v-p of industry and government affairs for Signature Aviation
In the absence of this year’s NBAA-BACE, AIN has reached out to industry leaders to share their favorite memories and thoughts about past shows. The responses are highlighting how the annual event resonates throughout the industry. These memories are being accumulated here.
The FAA has been working on remote identification requirements (ID) for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to help further facilitate their integration into the National Airspace System.
Doug Carr, v-p of regulatory and international affairs for NBAA, noted the FAA had indicated its intention to push the final rule out this year, and three UAS industry groups appealed to the DOT to ensure there is no delay. Those groups—the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the Consumer Technology Association, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Engagement Center—wrote DOT saying the remote ID standards will be “the linchpin needed for future rulemaking to pave the way for transformative uses of UAS with significant benefits for our economy and society.”
NBAA welcomed the remote ID proposal when it was released late last year. “NBAA has long maintained that UAS offer great promise for a variety of applications, including for companies relying on aviation in the conduct of their business,” Carr said at the time. “This notice from the FAA is a foundational document for moving forward with integrating not just UAS, but other emerging technologies, in a way that addresses our industry’s collective safety, security, and other objectives.”
However, Carr said the proposal was not without its concerns, specifically surrounding the privacy of data gathered from the drone operations.
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
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