Textron Aviation is celebrating 30 years of aircraft maintenance and modifications at its Greensboro (North Carolina) Service Center, it announced today. The factory-owned location, which opened in 1993 at Piedmont Triad International Airport (KGSO), commemorated the anniversary this month with a celebratory event for employees and longtime customers.

The facility provides MRO services for current and legacy Textron Aviation aircraft. It is one of the busiest locations in Textron’s global network of 20 service centers, which offer maintenance services, avionics upgrades, equipment installations, interior refurbishments, exterior paint jobs, and other specialized work.

“During the past three decades, we have developed strong relationships with customers in Greensboro and throughout the southeastern region, and they count on our skilled team to provide factory-direct service and support to their aircraft,” said Jeff Dowden, who manages the service center. “They know they can trust us to support them wherever they are.”

Originally called the Cessna Citation Service Center, the facility has grown and expanded since its opening. In addition to Cessna Citations, the facility now provides support, maintenance, and modification services for all Beechcraft and Hawker models, as well as Cessna Caravans.

The FAA last night issued a warning to operators of “safety of flight risk to civil aviation operations” in light of the growing number of GPS spoofing incidences along a flight path through Iraq alongside the Iranian border, according to Ops Group.

Earlier this week, Ops Group alerted that it had tracked incidents of fake GPS signals transmitted to 12 business jets and airliners traveling along Airway UM688, and many lost navigation capability.

Since then, Ops Group said it continues to receive such reports—with the number growing to 20. “The impact of the nav failures is becoming clearer, with one operator almost entering Iranian airspace without clearance, and another left requiring ATC vectors all the way to their destination in Doha."

One such report came from an Embraer Legacy 650 flying from Europe to Dubai, telling Ops Group that it lost GPS in the aircraft and on both iPads; additionally, inertial reference system (IRS) navigation failed. When they requested radar vectors, the aircraft was shown to be 80 nm off track.

A Bombardier Challenger 604 crew also required vectors from Iraq to Doha. According to Ops Group, the crew detailed: “Nearing north of Baghdad something happened where we must have been spoofed. We lost anything related to nav and the IRS suggested we had drifted by 70 to 90 miles.”

Recent GPS spoofing incidents along the Iranian border underscore the importance of training for dead reckoning capabilities, particularly at night and particularly if an aircraft’s navigation systems are more vulnerable to interference, warns Jan-Peter Van Viegen, the head of aviation for security firm Dyami. The incidents also underscore that GPS-reliant navigation systems can be vulnerable, he added.

At least a dozen aircraft flying along the Iraq/Iranian board on Airway UM688 had encountered the fake GPS signals. In most cases, the signals were of such integrity and strength they caused a complete failure of navigation systems. This occurred without warning.

Van Viegen noted that of interest is how the most recent instances were spread all along the Iranian border. This route has been more heavily used since the conflict began erupting in the Armenia/Azerbaijan region.

He suggested that many others may have encountered spoofing but the pilots didn’t notice and/or the aircraft’s backup systems protected against it. Additionally, he expressed concern that wandering off course and into hostile territory makes these aircraft vulnerable to protective actions from the state involved.

Van Viegen also expressed concern about aircraft that are 100 percent reliant on GPS for positioning navigation. Unlike with the military, GPS for civil use is not encrypted, “so it's very easy to take over," he said, adding that’s what makes training so important.

London Oxford Airport has set its sights on becoming a leading UK hub for green transportation, as new environmentally friendly aircraft and technologies arrive over the next 20 years. The privately owned airport announced the initiative during a recent “Disruptor Day” conference, where head of business development James Dillon-Godfray mapped out the airport’s infrastructure projects and development goals.

“There is a proposal from local government to establish a transport hub in the corner of the airfield, which will host all forms and modes of new sustainable transport,” said Dillon-Godfray. Oxford Airport is about nine miles from the city center and 65 miles from the heart of London.

Dillon-Godfray believes the long-term project, which has an initial budget of more than £23 million ($29 million), largely to develop the ground transportation infrastructure, will be a boon to the airport and will help secure its survival well into the future. “We have the opportunity to integrate the ground network with air transportation solutions, including regional commercial services, with the hubs next to one another on the west side of the runway.”

There is also an opportunity to put a vertiport nearby. “It will all be integrated with new-generation electric aircraft and models using different versions of sustainable fuel,” said Dillon-Godfray.

Purdue University civil engineering researchers have developed patent-pending “intelligent architected” materials that can dissipate energy caused by bending, compression, torque, and tensile stresses, avoiding permanent plastic deformation or damage. The materials might also exhibit shape memory properties that allow them to have actuation capacity, said the researchers. Aviation applications include aircraft runway mats for temporary or expeditionary flight operations using 3D-printed materials.

Developed under a collaboration between Pablo Zavattieri, the Jerry M. and Lynda T. Engelhardt professor in civil engineering, and Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies (ITAMCO), the 3D-printed panels consist of a carbon-fiber-reinforced metal composite, allowing for high stiffness while remaining lightweight. The panel system serves as an alternative to conventional AM-2 panels and offers improved longevity and mechanical properties. Applications for the technology include rapid deployment of structures or runways for defense, public health, and natural disaster response.

Cellular or foam materials contain a porous microstructure of interconnected beams, columns, or truss-like structures, with both solid spaces and empty spaces that form a lattice or honeycomb arrangement. Examples found in nature include bone, cork, foam, honeycomb, sponge, and wood.

“Changes in the cellular geometry as a result of an applied load typically will be limited either by the desire to prevent permanent deformation or the fact that it is impossible to return to the original stable configuration,” Zavattieri said.

Marking the introduction of the Embraer Praetor 600 to its North American fleet, private lift provider Flexjet is taking the aircraft on a 12-state, 15-stop meet-the-customer tour that kicked off this week in Texas.

After visits to Austin and San Antonio, the super-midsize jet will travel to Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland, and Seattle this week. Miami and Naples, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; Atlanta; Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee; Pittsburgh; Milwaukee; and St. Paul, Minnesota, round out its agenda next week.

In service in Flexjet’s European fleet since 2020, the Praetor 600 is now available for fractional purchase by North American customers. It has a range of more than 4,000 nm and a high-speed cruise of 466 knots. At 45,000 feet, it has a cabin altitude of 5,800 feet and offers accommodations for up to nine, with fully berthable seating in its six-foot-high stand-up cabin.

“Our mid- and super-midsize fleet of aircraft, with Bombardier Challenger 350/3500s and Embraer Praetor 500s, is like no other, and adding the super-midsize Praetor 600 to the fleet is cause for celebration,” said D.J. Hanlon, the Cleveland-based operator’s executive v-p of sales. “We are looking forward to introducing this extraordinary aircraft to current and future customers.”

The third-annual European Rotors show, to be held in Madrid from November 27 to 30, will foster training and workforce development for the vertical flight industry. This event is a collaborative effort by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European Helicopter Association (EHA), Helicopter Association International (HAI), and Spanish helicopter association Ataire.

A series of curated training sessions will be conducted on topics such as human factors in helicopter operations, the integration of simulator training devices, advanced automation in helicopters, and night vision goggles training for crews. Courses will also be available for aircraft maintenance personnel.

Notable sessions will include Spanish Day (November 28), which Ataire coordinates, emphasizing Spain's influential aviation companies. Other themed events will focus on Swiss innovation, sustainability, and helicopter emergency medical services systems.

Addressing a critical global shortage of qualified pilots and maintenance personnel, European Rotors' Career Day on November 30 will aim to connect employers with skilled candidates. Pegasus Aviacion is also partnering with European Rotors to offer a specialized firefighting training module for helicopter pilots and incident command managers.

Approximately 200 exhibitors will be featured in the IFEMA Convention Center. There will be dedicated areas for advanced technologies such as electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and automation.

DeKalb County Airport (KGWB) in Auburn, Indiana, is holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow to mark the conclusion of a 2,100-foot extension to its lone Runway 9/27, bringing it to 7,105 feet. The $6.8 million project involved installing upgraded runway lights, signage, and paint, along with a new precision approach path indicator system and exterior fencing for the extension. It was 90 percent funded by FAA airport improvement grants, with the remainder covered by state and local funds.

According to airport manager Russ Couchman, the field is currently home to six business jets. “I think we’re going to see more, and probably see more Part 135 because of [the longer runway],” he said. “We were seeing a whole bunch of jet traffic already that just wanted to be here, and that’s what prompted this. When we are seeing over 1,000 jet operations a year off of 5,000 feet [of runway], it was time to do something.”

The project kicked off in February and resulted in the closure of the runway from July 21 through September 19.

Couchman told AIN this represents a milestone in a multi-phase development plan at KGWB. Additional work lined up for the coming years includes the installation of a new ILS, construction of a parallel taxiway, and refurbishment of the previously existing 5,000 feet of runway pavement that was laid down in 1996.