Textron Aviation rolled out the first production model of its Cessna Citation Ascend, the latest iteration of the 560XL series. The manufacturer has delivered more than 1,000 560XLs over the past quarter-century.

Launched at the EBACE show in 2023, the midsize Ascend made its first flight in June last year and will eventually replace the XLS+ in the airframer’s product lineup. It is expected to receive FAA certification by the end of the year.

Employees at the OEM’s Wichita assembly facility held a celebration to mark the event. “It is your craftsmanship that continues to make milestones like this possible,” said Todd McKee, Textron Aviation senior v-p of integrated supply chain. “By infusing new technology and bringing new features to the market, we continue to drive the future for us to build these legendary aircraft.”

With standard seating for up to nine, the Ascend takes many of its design features from its siblings Latitude and Longitude, with a flat floor for extra passenger leg room and the Garmin G5000 avionics suite with autothrottles.

The Ascend will offer a full-size airstair, an externally serviceable lavatory, single-point refueling, and an upgraded Honeywell RE100 (XL) auxiliary power unit that can be left unattended while running. The aircraft will be equipped with 19 USB charging ports and three universal power outlets.

The NTSB attributed the probable cause for a runway excursion of a fractional Pilatus PC-12 on May 17, 2025, at Las Vegas Henderson Executive Airport (KHND) to the “pilot’s failure to maintain directional control while landing with a quartering tailwind.” Public charter provider Boutique Air was operating the 2006 turboprop single under Part 91.

According to the NTSB, the sole-occupant pilot conceded that he was landing on Runway 17R at night with a quartering tailwind. “Shortly after touchdown, about the time that he placed the power control lever to reverse, the airplane veered right. He applied left rudder control to bring the airplane back to the centerline, and about one to three seconds later, the airplane veered hard right.

“The pilot tried to bring the airplane back towards the runway centerline, but it veered off the right side of the runway and traveled through gravel between the runway and the taxiway. Subsequently, the airplane struck a storm trench and substantially damaged the right wing.” The pilot, who had logged 3,176 total hours and 2,853 in the PC-12, was not injured.

The airport’s automated weather observation station reported that the wind was from 240 degrees at 13 knots, gusting to 20 knots in night VMC at about the time of the accident.

GNSS radio frequency interference will be among the key issues before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) triennial assembly that opens on September 23, according to International Business Aviation Council director general Kurt Edwards. The full assembly is convening this month for its 43rd session, bringing together the 193 member states that will address urgent issues.

As the incidence of spoofing and GPS jamming continues, GNSS vulnerability remains a global pressing issue. “It’s a technical issue, largely because people want to figure out how do we stop this [and] how do we remain resilient in the face of these types of jamming and spoofing efforts,” Edwards told attendees at the JetNet iQ Summit last week. “There’s no solution at this point.”

Edwards anticipates that the assembly will likely task ICAO to draw upon experts worldwide to “figure this out.” He added that while it’s a technical issue, it’s also a political issue and pointed to a “paper coming out of the council that seeks to condemn Russia for its efforts [in] spoofing and jamming,” he said. "Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland all found evidence of Russian efforts to jam and spoof aircraft in their airspace, he said. “So, this is going to be a big political issue as well as a technical issue as we go into this big meeting.”

In Aero Asset’s 2025 Half Year Heli Market Trends Twin-Engine report, the Toronto-based helicopter sales and market intelligence company found that all weight classes of preowned twin-engine helicopters have experienced declining retail sales. During the first half of the year, 49 twin-engine helicopters changed hands, down 33% from the same period in 2024.

“Global sales hit a five-year low, but supply held steady, and Asia-Pacific bucked the downturn with bullish momentum,” said Valerie Pereira, Aero Asset v-p of market research.

While Asia-Pacific’s share of transactions reached 25%, North America retained the largest share at 39%, Europe accounted for 16%, and Latin America 14%. During the period, Asia-Pacific was the only region with a year-over-year (YOY) retail sales increase, at 71% compared to Europe’s decline of 68%.

“Supply remains relatively low, only 23% higher than its lowest point in the last five years,” Pereira said. The YOY supply of twins for sale dropped just 3%. At current trade levels, the absorption rate climbed to 22 months of supply. “Median transaction price climbed 7% YOY, with light and medium twins up 10% YOY, and heavy twins reaching a five-year high,” according to Aero Asset.

Light twin sales dropped 37%, and medium and heavy twins reached a five-year low, while heavy twin supply climbed 43% and medium twin supply was at its lowest level in five years.

Million Air Austin broke ground on the company’s Phase II expansion, bringing exciting new facilities and amenities to one of the region’s most in-demand FBOs.

Bombardier’s Chicago and Frankfurt parts hubs, each celebrating its 20th year in service, are on track to reach new shipment milestones in the upcoming months that number in the millions. The Chicago hub, which ships almost 2,000 individual part numbers daily, is projected to surpass the 10 million mark by early 2026. Meanwhile, the warehouse in Frankfurt, Germany, ships 400 individual parts daily and is anticipated to reach 1.5 million shipments by year-end.

The Canadian airframer celebrated the respective anniversaries at each location last week, bringing together hundreds of employees, suppliers, local officials, and industry members to join in the festivities.

Bombardier decided 20 years ago to consolidate multiple sites into two large hubs near major airports, opening the Chicago facility on June 27, 2005, and then the Frankfurt site on August 29 of that year. In Chicago, Bombardier can store more than 100,000 unique parts at full capacity, while the Frankfurt facility has a capacity of about 60,000 parts.

In addition to Chicago and Frankfurt, Bombardier operates regional depots in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, and San Luis Obispo, California. Bombardier noted that it has achieved a 92% “off-the-shelf” shipping rate through its stockpiles of parts in multiple regions.

Honeywell brought its Boeing 757 testbed to Kansas City in late August to demonstrate its ground safety cockpit tech. Included in this demo were its newest runway safety addition—Surface Alerts (SURF-A)—along with its already-certified SmartRunway/SmartLanding (“Smart X”), which helps pilots avoid wrong-surface events and runway excursions. Both create direct cockpit alerts hosted on the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS).

While Smart X has been available for roughly a decade, Honeywell expects to receive SURF-A certification for commercial transport aircraft in 2026, pending approvals and the ongoing success of flight tests and demonstrations on the 757. SURF-A is an EGPWS-hosted software upgrade, designed to be retrofitted across a broad installed base.

During a pre-flight media briefing, Thea Feyereisen, senior technical fellow at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, outlined three risk areas these technologies are built to address: wrong-surface operations, runway excursions, and incursions.

Smart X provides aural and visual cues such as “on taxiway,” “flaps, flaps,” “too high,” “unstable,” and “long landing” to alert pilots in real time to high-energy approaches, configuration errors, and wrong-surface alignments when pilot attention is outside the cockpit during high workload phases of flight.

SURF-A extends that protection to runway incursions by using ADS-B data and trajectory analysis to warn pilots when another aircraft or vehicle in the runway engagement zone creates a collision risk within roughly 30 seconds. SURF-A is intended to buy pilots time—often just seconds—to avoid incursions.

Creed Fuels, a nascent energy and services provider, has launched an aviation division to provide fuel to remote locations and for rural applications. The company supplies jet-A and 100LL avgas to airports and directly to aviation customers in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, and Texas.

Creed is focused on serving unbranded FBOs, along with Part 137 and other agricultural aviation providers—operations that often have difficulties securing fuel. In addition, the start-up will deliver deicing products and offer aircraft solutions to help enhance aircraft performance, as well as aircraft detailing.

“Our expansion into aviation is a natural step for Creed Fuels,” said Keaton Knaub, CEO of Creed Fuels. “We are committed to delivering the same level of quality, reliability, and service that our customers have come to expect—now with solutions designed specifically for aviation professionals and operators.”

Creed was established in 2024 to provide bulk fuel, propane, and other services to support agriculture, fleet managers, and other industrial purposes in the central U.S. The addition of aviation furthers its mission of supporting the safety, efficiency, and growth of operations in the region while supporting communities and essential services, the company said.

The Piper M-Class Owners & Pilots Association (PMOPA) has named the recently launched 5X5 Aviation Insurance as a preferred insurance partner. 5X5—which looks to expand nationwide—is now authorized to write insurance policies in Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Alabama, and Virginia.

PMOPA members will receive a 5% discount on their insurance simply by being part of the association, and those who participate in PMOPA’s Master Aviator Program can qualify for additional discounts of up to 20%.

As part of the partnership, the association and the insurance provider will collaborate on underwriting requirements and safety and operational best practices to ensure they align with how PMOPA members operate their aircraft.

The announcement was made last week at the start of the group’s annual convention and fly-in in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

“Partnering with 5X5 as a preferred insurance partner is another great example of the value of PMOPA membership,” said Mike Nichols, the association’s CEO. “Not only do members have access to top-notch resources and a vibrant community, but now they can also save significantly on their insurance by participating in our safety programs. It’s a win-win for our members’ safety and their bottom line.”