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.

Industry Leaders Optimistic about Bizav Rebound

While acknowledging the difficulties associated with the global Covid-19 pandemic, industry leaders are upbeat about the prospects for business aviation given the new entrants and the fact that activity is climbing.

During an AIN webinar Tuesday, “A Business Aviation Update from Trusted Advisors—Separating Fact from Fiction,” Jay Mesinger, president of Mesinger Jet Sales, said it is a fact that the pandemic has changed the market. When people started to indicate in March and April that they would not fly on airlines, there was skepticism on whether that would translate into business aircraft sales.

“Actually, starting in June, it has translated,” he said. “We have never been as busy. [It’s] very, very exciting.” Demand is increasing for individuals, he said, while the corporate buyer has “pretty much retreated right now.”

GKG Law president Keith Swirsky said he too is seeing a lot of first-time buyers. But he’s been surprised by the number of calls he’s gotten from new buyers looking for bonus depreciation when they want the aircraft for personal use. 

As far as the pace of recovery, Dan Drohan, chairman and CEO of Solairus Aviation, likened it to a checkmark model, giving the analogy of riding down the elevator and walking up stairs. “I would say Covid has impacted us for longer than we expected, but probably not as deeply as we anticipated,” he said.

NBAA Honors Successes of DEF Flameout Safe Landing

NBAA marked its first-ever Virtual Safety Week with a Safety Town Hall on Wednesday that went into the details and lessons of the airmanship, attentiveness in the flight deck, and crew resource management from the successful dead-stick landing of a Cessna Citation II in Savannah, Georgia, following a diesel exhaust fluid (DEF)-induced dual engine flameout.

NBAA also took the occasion of the virtual Safety Town Hall to announce its inaugural NBAA Above and Beyond Airmanship Award that was presented to the pilots involved, Bruce Monnier and Gerald Downs, for their roles in what the webinar’s moderator, aerospace and science journalist Miles O’Brien, termed as business aviation’s version of “Miracle on the Hudson.”

The Citation, N744AT, operated by air-ambulance operator Air Trek, lost power from both engines, and briefly, its electrical power. Wednesday’s town hall focused on the successes of the event and how two pilots who rarely flew together worked calmly in concert, drawing upon the experiences in training and knowledge of glider flying, to land an aircraft at an alternate airport after issues first surfaced while flying at 35,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean.

“Their story is inspirational to everyone in the business aviation industry, and a reminder of the importance in always keeping safety in the forefront,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. 

NBAA Show Memories: John & Martha King

We have been attending the NBAA Convention regularly since we purchased our first business jet—a Citation 500—in 1987. We have owned business jets continuously since and find the conventions very relevant to both our business and flying. They are educational, motivational, and fun. We don’t recall having missed a convention since we first attended. We believe it is valuable to support NBAA since we feel that without NBAA we wouldn’t have business aviation in the way it is today.

One of our favorite moments came last year. NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen introduced Magic Johnson onstage for his motivational talk. Then, to Ed’s great surprise, Magic jumped down from the stage and went searching through the audience for a short person who wouldn’t be camera shy about providing a contrast with his great height.

He found that person in the front row in the form of 5-foot 1-inch Martha King, who through her own magic—of video—had taught nearly half of the pilots in the country learning to fly. What he wouldn’t have known—since you wouldn’t guess it by looking at her—is he also found, among other things, an airline transport pilot for airplanes and helicopters and an instrument flight instructor for both. The audience cracked up with laughter at the picture they made together, and the photo has a prized spot in Martha’s office. It could only happen at an NBAA Convention!

—John and Martha King, King Schools co-owners and co-chairs

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.

Lufthansa Technik’s Voice Commands Coming to Bizjets

Lufthansa Technik’s (LHT’s) in-development “nicechat,” which can control cabin entertainment and environmental systems via voice command, is coming to market next year aboard an unnamed aircraft manufacturer’s new business jet.

“Initially, it will be on one model,” said Andrew Muirhead, LHT’s original equipment innovation product division head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it became available on others.” 

Nicechat will be integrated with LHT’s signature “nice” cabin management system (CMS) already on the manufacturer’s jets, but Muirhead declined to say if it would be standard or optional equipment, as LHT does “not want to preempt any announcement” from the OEM. But the voice command system is readily adaptable to other CMSs and to aftermarket retrofits, and LHT plans to make it available for those applications as well. “There’s quite a lot of interest in this technology—it’s not specifically tied to one solution,” he said. “I think it could pretty much go on any aircraft.”

Nicechat will handle commands that typically require passengers to make menu-driven choices on display screens, such as entertainment modes and content, and customized lighting and temperature preferences. “We’re not talking about simple things like lights on, lights off,” said Muirhead. “We’re focusing on things that take a little more effort.” He also said the voice system would be capable of learning.

Bizjet Buyers Undeterred by Pandemic, Says Honeywell

According to Honeywell's 29th annual Global Business Aviation Outlook released earlier this week, 80 percent of the more than 1,000 business jet operators surveyed said their purchase plans have not been affected by the Covid slowdown. Of the remaining 20 percent, the vast majority said that they plan to hold on to their existing aircraft for a longer period of time.

“Fortunately compared to the last recession, we’re not seeing the urge to sell aircraft,” Shantanu Vaish, Honeywell’s director of strategic marketing, told AIN. About 82 percent of the respondents in North America said they expected to operate their jets less frequently this year than they did in 2019, with a bounce back to 2019 levels expected by the end of next year.

Of those who have indicated that they will be purchasing an aircraft in the next five years, 30 percent are planned to take place in the next two years, five percentage points lower than the results last year, indicting those purchases—while still planned—are being moved further into the future. “The good thing is we’re seeing a quick recovery towards the end of that five year time, and at the end of the 10 years we’re seeing a…very minimal change,” said Vaish.

NBAA Show Memories: Dave Franson

I have attended the show for 42 of my 46 years in the business aircraft community and was even responsible for managing two of the conventions.

In the old days of NBAA, exhibitors vied aggressively to attract attendees to their displays. Lots of very attractive young women graced the exhibits. By the mid-1980s, that trend was beginning to wane. I took the position of v-p of public relations at Garrett in 1984. We had become well-known for our NBAA exhibit, which featured attractive hostesses dressed in shorts and T-shirts. They presided over a popular booth that offered a T-shirt with the forerunner of a “selfie” of each visitor on the front and the Garrett logo on the back. Among my first decisions was to move away from the T-shirt promotion. 

I told our exhibit manager that we weren't hiring models for 1985. He wasn’t pleased. The day before that show opened in New Orleans, a well-known reporter wandered through the display hall looking for news. He asked the exhibit manager what was new. Exasperated, the manager uttered a memorable phrase—which the reporter used as the headline for his short paragraph on Garrett—“No more bimbos!” Though I had NEVER used that phrase and never would, it was me who had ended a long-standing tradition at Garrett, so he attributed the sentiment to me.  It took a while for me to live down something I never said!

—Dave Franson, president and owner of Franson Consulting and president of the Wichita Aero Club

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.

Rulemaking Changes Raising Concerns of Backlog at FAA

While the FAA has moved forward on a range of rulemakings during the Covid pandemic, from pilot records database to supersonic standards, industry officials have become concerned that it is getting bogged down in some of its smaller regulatory activities. The holdup isn’t Covid, however. It comes from a DOT regulation implemented about a year ago that changed how the FAA promulgates rules. This has led to extended reviews for regulatory actions that previously did not need such scrutiny, including interpretive rules and implementing guidance/policy, such as advisory circulars, orders, and acceptance of standards.

Walter Desrosier, v-p of engineering and maintenance for GAMA explained many of these actions facilitate new technologies, vehicles, and types of future operations. “One of the areas that we're really focused on is engaging with the Administration in the rulemaking and regulatory process because we are seeing a significant roadblock..to things getting promulgated and just through the system,” said Walter Desrosier, v-p of engineering and maintenance for GAMA. 

For example, Desrosier expressed concern about a “huge backlog” of acceptance of RTCA performance standards used in the development of TSOs for new avionics. There are numerous new standards created but haven't yet been recognized by the FAA, he said, estimating that so far this year, the FAA has only signed off on only a couple of the nearly 30 standards in the backlog

Which Business Jet Is Right for You?

There’s no confusion over the comfort and convenience that private aviation travel delivers, but selecting the right aircraft to own or charter does require some thought if you are going to get the right fit for your needs, as well as your pocketbook. Fortunately, there is a wide array of new and previously owned models and they come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and styles, and with different levels of performance.