NBAA affirmed that 2022 BACE is moving forward as planned in Orlando, Florida, in two weeks, but the association has stood up a webpage and taken other steps to help coordinate assistance in the region in wake of the devastating Hurricane that ripped through the state last week.
The association said it has received reports from Orlando officials that the Orange County Convention Center and other facilities were not harmed by the storm. “Despite the storm’s impact on Florida’s Gulf Coast, the facilities for NBAA-BACE 2022 in Orlando remain ready for the show,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.
At the same time, the association encouraged its members to register for the NBAA Humanitarian Emergency Response Operator (HERO) database to support relief efforts. “NBAA and its members are mobilizing with Floridians to respond to the challenges caused by Hurricane Ian,” said Bolen. “The ability of business aviation to provide humanitarian assistance in times of crisis is a hallmark of our industry, and our association is coordinating with government and nonprofit organizations on guidance for relief assistance.”
In addition, NBAA is planning to help facilitate other relief efforts during the gathering, including a YoPro Networking Reception and “Helpy Hour” on October 18, when business aviation professionals will work together on relief packages and assistance to local charities.
The cost of flying privately continues to soar, according to the latest data from Private Jet Card Comparisons. In the third quarter, fixed-rate guaranteed availability jet card memberships increased 4 percent, to an average hourly rate of $11,200 across all business aircraft types. That continues the trend of rising jet card costs that began on the first of the year with a 5 percent quarter-over-quarter increase and another 6 percent increase from the first to second quarter.
Yet, the cost of fixed-rate jet cards was lower in the period than on-demand pricing in 10 of 12 different flight scenarios, which is a reversal from the second quarter when on-demand pricing in 10 of 12 scenarios was lower than jet cards. “For flyers looking for the best pricing, what this means is they likely will need to use multiple solutions,” said Private Jet Card Comparisons founder Doug Gollan.
Among aircraft types, jet card hourly rates were within a percentage of second-quarter rates for turboprops and light and midsize jets. But rates for super-midsize jets increased 4 percent, to an average of $12,116 per hour from the second quarter. For ultra-long-haul jets, rates jumped 5.4 percent quarter-over-quarter, to an average of $20,123 per hour.
As the remnants of now-tropical storm Ian bring rain and winds to the Northeast U.S. following flooding in the mid-Atlantic region, areas in Florida remain devastated from last week’s Category 4 hurricane, which claimed approximately 100 lives and left millions without power. Many airports across the center of the state, from the Gulf Coast where it made landfall to the Atlantic Coast, continued their clean-ups and reopenings, in some cases for humanitarian flights only.
In heavily impacted Fort Myers, the Lee County Port Authority told AIN that both of its airports—Southwest Florida International (KRSW) and general aviation-only Page Field (KFMY)—have power and are receiving military and humanitarian flights only. KFMY is anticipated to fully open tomorrow to civil traffic, while KRSW is expected to resume limited daylight operations on Wednesday.
Over the weekend, Sheltair reported that all of its affected bases in the state—at Tampa International, Lakeland Linder International, St Pete-Clearwater International, Albert Whitted, Orlando Executive, Melbourne Orlando International, and Jacksonville International airports—are now fully operational, while its Daytona Beach International Airport location is still handling only military and humanitarian aid flights.
Naples Airport, which instituted a permission-required landing plan over the weekend, has now resumed full operations but only during daylight hours from 7 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. until further notice due to damage to its runway lighting system.
The U.S. Senate approved a measure to permit the use of Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds to provide incentives for the early completion of airport projects. Passed by unanimous consent on Wednesday, the Expedited Delivery of Airport Infrastructure Act of 2021 (H.R.468) now heads to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature. Introduced by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and aviation subcommittee Republican leaders Reps. Sam Graves (Missouri) and Garret Graves (Louisiana), respectively, the Airport Infrastructure Act was approved by the House in June 2021.
Under the bill, AIP grants can be awarded to public agencies and other entities to plan, develop, and execute infrastructure projects at public-use airports, such as runways and taxiways, in a timely manner.
“This proven, smart reform is already in use for road and bridge construction, and it’s just common sense to make this same incentivization tool available for the construction of aviation infrastructure projects,” said Sam Graves. “Delivering airport projects ahead of schedule will save money and essentially provide a similar impact as increasing investment without requiring any additional federal resources.”
NATA president and CEO Curt Castagna praised the bill, saying it will support “critical upkeep and modernization of our airport infrastructure.”
Hradecka Letecka Servisni (HLS) has been appointed as an authorized TBM service center and sales representative for the Czech and Slovak Republics, the France-based airframer announced today.
Located at Hradec Kralove Airport in the Czech Republic, HLS is a Part 145 repair station for general aviation aircraft. The company has a reputation among aircraft owners and operators for its competitive pricing and technical staff, who have more than 20 years of aircraft maintenance experience, Daher said.
“We welcome HLS to Daher’s global network of TBM service centers and as an authorized sales representative for the Czech and Slovak Republics,” said Daher aircraft division senior v-p Nicolas Chabbert. “With the interest in central Europe for the TBM as a fast and efficient aircraft, we wanted a capable partner in this region to expand our activities, which we found with HLS.”
Autonomous flight start-up Daedalean has published a roadmap outlining its path to developing self-flying aircraft by 2028. The Swiss company is working on a vehicle-agnostic, fully autonomous flight system, starting with situational-awareness software and sensors that will be used as an aid for pilots. It aims to eventually be able to convert any type of aircraft to fly fully autonomously using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
“If you want to actually replace the pilot, either remote or onboard, you have to make systems that can do that,” said Daedalean CEO Luuk van Dijk. “So, for that, you need to have this complete situational awareness, and after that, you need sufficient sensors, and then you need these AI parts to make sense of these sensors.”
To start, Daedalean is working on getting its situational-awareness system certified for general aviation purposes, under design assurance level (DAL) C, with the aim of eventually certifying a fully autonomous flight system up to DAL A, the highest level of design assurance that can be applied to airborne software. The company plans to launch its PilotEye machine learning-based onboard pilot aid for general aviation in 2023. It is developing the system in collaboration with Melbourne, Florida-based Avidyne.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
EASA has issued a regulatory opinion to further boost helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) operational safety in Europe while also “fostering efficiency and proportionality while keeping the economic impact on HEMS operators to a minimum.” Adoption of the amendments is scheduled for the second quarter of next year.
The final text of this opinion is based on the review of comments EASA received to two notices of proposed amendments (NPA) issued in 2018 and 2019, as well as discussions with the agency’s member states advisory board during a meeting in February.
One of the NPAs would revise requirements regarding HEMS operations at high altitudes, flights to and from hospital landing pads in congested areas, mountainous area rescues, night operations, and additional training, equipment, and maintenance rules. The objective of the other NPA is to reduce accidents under VFR in marginal weather conditions and to resolve regulatory obstacles currently impeding helicopter flights under IFR.
The new regulation would also require HEMS aircraft have an autopilot to fly single-pilot at night. High altitude performance rules would permit operations under specific limited conditions for helicopters that are not certified to Category A.
Meanwhile, emergency locator transmitter (ELT) rules would be clarified and ELT equipment alternatives would be introduced to reduce the cost for helicopters that are flown variously for commercial, non-commercial, and specialized operations.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
Being aware of which of the following factors is a strong barrier to help in preventing controlled flight into terrain?
A. Altimeter changes due to the prevailing weather conditions.
B. Altimeter setting unit of measurement in use at the destination airport.
NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen urged Senate lawmakers to support a coordinated, transparent, and predictable national strategy to support the emergence of advanced air mobility (AAM). In testimony for a Senate aviation subcommittee hearing last week on AAM considerations for the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill, Bolen called a national coordinated strategy essential for the development of AAM and ensuring the benefits that the nascent market can provide.
Bolen pointed to a recent Deloitte study finding that the AAM market could reach $115 billion by 2035 in the U.S. and create more than 280,000 jobs. He cited benefits that the market could provide, including job creation and economic growth, sustainability, accessibility, and security.
However, challenges continue to face AAM, including certification hurdles and infrastructure and airspace management, Bolen said. The FAA is paving the way on the airspace front with its approach to beyond visual line of sight for UAS, he noted, saying this could be a step for AAM. Bolen also stressed the imperative that the FAA maintains its schedule for enabling operational rules by 2024.
He urged that AAM remain a priority as Congress moves forward with drafting a comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill and, in addition to supporting a national strategy, that lawmakers support transparency and certainty in the regulatory process, provide continued investment in infrastructure, and preserve congressional oversight of the national aviation system.
AIN Lunch at NBAA-BACE: How LEO Can Enhance Business Aircraft Connectivity
Join us for lunch on October 19th at NBAA in Orlando to hear from a distinguished panel of experts who will discuss the latest technological advancement for broadband connectivity in aviation—Low-earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. Gain a deeper understanding about LEO + Small Electronically Steered Antenna = Low latency, high-speed broadband, for virtually any business aircraft anywhere globally and hear directly from the experts who are bringing LEO connectivity to business aircraft from turboprops and super light jets to ultra-long range large cabin jets. Featuring speakers from Gogo, OneWeb, and Hughes Network Systems.
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