Bombardier is projecting stable deliveries of 150 to 155 business jets per year for the foreseeable future, with the mix remaining even between its super-midsize Challengers and ultra-long-range Globals, Jefferies reported following its Bombardier 2024 Global Industrials Conference yesterday.

Bombardier executives attending confirmed that the company is capable of meeting that level and, despite the ramp of shipments in the second half, all of the aircraft to be delivered by year-end are already in Montreal undergoing completions. The company further has a “good line of sight to any material not in the facility today,” despite ongoing supply-chain issues, Jefferies further reported. Bombardier has begun work on aircraft for 2025 deliveries as well.

As for supply chain, the issues have narrowed from broad challenges across almost all suppliers to “certain acute issues that can be managed,” Jefferies reported. “There is out-of-sequence work, but it should return to normal in the next few years.” Further, the analyst pointed to engines and avionics as the remaining sticking points.

The even mix of products comes with the order momentum for the Challenger 3500 and the model's better supply-chain environment. With 200 Global 7500s in the market, Bombardier anticipates delivering the initial Global 8000 follow-ons next year, transitioning fully to the speedier model in 2026. Jefferies pointed to Bombardier estimates of 35 to 40 Global 8000 deliveries a year.

Wheels Up Experience has expanded the benefits offered for its Global Custom Enterprise Solutions private flight membership. Today, the company announced changes to the frequent flyers program and said these will now be available in the U.S. and to clients in other parts of the world, including Europe, where its Air Partner charter brokering group arranges flights through a select group of operators.

The new and enhanced benefits will be available to new members committing to $500,000 or more in pre-funded flight hours. These include guaranteed availability of a “mission-capable” aircraft with a 48-hour booking and flight cancellation window in the U.S. and 72 hours in Europe. If a trip is disrupted by more than four hours beyond the planned departure time, customers receive a refund and also get a credit toward a subsequent flight.

New minimum flight hours per booking now apply, including the standard allowance for taxi time. For the company’s U.S. fleet, these are 1.2 hours for light and midsize jets, 1.7 hours for super-midsize jets, 2.5 hours for large jets, and 1.1 hours for King Air turboprops. In Europe, the minimum bookings are 1.5 hours for light and midsized jets and 1.75 hours for super-midsize aircraft.

While SpaceX’s Starlink division offers high-bandwidth satcom systems for business aircraft, owners of single-engine airplanes and light jets have been using Starlink Mini antennas for relatively fast airborne connectivity at a fraction of the cost of Starlink’s aviation service.

Starlink Mini systems cost $599 and service fees range from Mini Roam for $50 per month for up to 50 GB of data over land to $250 per month for service over oceans and outside the U.S. These systems are not advertised for aviation use but are generally for users not based at a fixed location. The official Starlink aviation equipment costs $150,000.

Discussions of using Starlink Mini in small airplanes can be found on Facebook, with pilots reporting high bandwidth service with the antenna mounted (temporarily) in a sky-facing window. An owner pilot of an Embraer Phenom 300 on the Phenom Pilots online forum claims to be running a Starlink Mini system in his light jet with great success by mounting the antenna next to a cabin window.

AIN has attempted many times to contact SpaceX and Starlink, but the company does not offer any methods of communication, so we were unable to ask the company whether it intends for the Mini system to be used in aircraft or whether Mini owners could subscribe to an aviation service plan.

A Hawker 900XP damaged when it ran off the end of Runway 27 at Colorado's Telluride Regional Airport (KTEX) during an aborted takeoff apparently was not configured for departure as the pilot had calculated, according to the NTSB preliminary report of the July 20 accident. The report also noted that weather data indicated the aircraft might have attempted to take off with a tailwind.

The two pilots were not injured in the accident, but the lower fuselage was substantially damaged when the aircraft traveled over the engineered material arresting system (EMAS) and came to a stop about 150 feet from the runway threshold. They were on a repositioning flight without passengers to Miami Executive Airport (KTMB) after completing an on-demand passenger flight earlier in the day, landing on KTEX's Runway 9.

For takeoff, the crew selected 7,111-foot Runway 27, as recommended by a Telluride operations notice. “Performance calculations showed a takeoff roll between 6,800 to 6,900 feet would be needed with flaps set to 15 degrees,” according to the NTSB report. 

When the airplane had not attained 75% of the planned takeoff speed halfway down the dry runway, the pilot decided to abort. “The brakes, air brakes, and thrust reversers were used, however the airplane did not slow down,” the NTSB said. After the crew exited the airplane, they saw the wing flaps fully retracted.

Engine Assurance Program (EAP) knows maintaining engines is critical to maintaining the value of an aircraft. But with aircraft utilization at close to record levels, there’s increased competition for the already limited resources needed to keep engines in peak condition. That's why EAP has amassed a large pool of rental engines, maintains a multi-million-dollar inventory of spare parts and has assembled a highly-skilled technical team including AOG support. 

Sweet Aviation—a division of Surack Enterprises, which owns several aviation businesses—has purchased Goshen Air Center, the sole FBO at Goshen Municipal Airport (KGSH) in Indiana since 1992. The facility includes an 8,000-sq-ft terminal with a pilot lounge and snooze room, showers, refreshment bar, three conference rooms, onsite car rental, and crew cars.

It also includes 28,000 sq ft of hangar space that can accommodate aircraft up to a Dassault Falcon 2000. That hangar also houses the location’s Part 145 maintenance station and Garmin-approved avionics repair shop.

Among the first changes Sweet Aviation plans to introduce are expanded line service hours, with the terminal open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. daily. The company has experience as a single-source provider since it also operates the lone FBO at Indiana’s DeKalb County Airport (KGWB) and offers various services at Smith Field (KSMD) and Fort Wayne International (KFWA) airports.

Surack also owns Aviation Specialty Insurance, rotorcraft manufacturer Enstrom Helicopter, and charter provider Sweet Helicopters. Company founder and owner Chuck Surack purchased a hangar for the latter at KGSH in 2017 to accommodate clients traveling to Notre Dame University and the greater Chicago area.

As part of the deal, Sweet Aviation also acquired operator Aircraft Charter Services and added a pair of Cessna Citation XLSs and Encores to its KFWA-based charter fleet.

Leasing company LCI has delivered two new Leonardo AW139 helicopters to Babcock Australasia, and they are placed in LCI’s SMFL LCI Helicopters joint venture. The helicopters will be based at Horn Island and support Babcock’s emergency medical services (EMS) for the Queensland government as well as EMS and search-and-rescue operations across the Torres Strait.

The AW139s were delivered to Australia in August and are undergoing modifications for the EMS role. Upgrades will include a power-loading stretcher system, winch, and electro-optic infrared camera system.

Torres Strait Islander artist Alick Tipoti designed the dragonfly motif that adorns the AW139s. According to LCI, “Torres Strait Islander Peoples use the word ‘Kuyup’ in reference to the rescue helicopter, which translates to dragonfly. The overall design is known as ‘Kuyupaw Yabu,’ which translates to the flight path of the dragonfly and incorporates elements such as migrating birds, sea spirits, reefs, and lagoons. The Kuyup (dragonfly) is central to the design.”

“We are delighted to be providing two new AW139 helicopters, equipped with the latest equipment for EMS and other mission-critical services to our longstanding partner Babcock,” said Nigel Leishman, chief commercial officer of LCI. “The striking Kuyupaw Yabu liveries will boost the visibility of emergency operations across remote communities in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula, and we are proud to have co-sponsored the artwork alongside Babcock and Leonardo.”

Avflight’s FBO at Arizona’s Falcon Field Airport (KFFZ) is the latest to stock continuous supplies of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with its first shipment arriving last week. A sister company to Avfuel, Avflight operates 26 FBOs and its Mesa location is the first to offer SAF.

Produced by Neste in California, the fuel is a 30% SAF blend. Each 8,000-gallon SAF truckload provides a 19-tonne reduction in life cycle carbon emissions. The supply at Mesa—an Avflight location since its acquisition in 2020—represents Avfuel’s 30th SAF-supplied FBO and its second in Arizona.

“The addition of SAF to Avflight Mesa’s overall sustainability initiatives furthers our commitment to reducing the production of greenhouse gasses and provides our customers the opportunity to work toward their sustainability goals,” explained Avflight senior regional manager Aaron Mauer.

"We're thrilled Avflight chose Mesa as a launching point for a more sustainable future," said KFFZ director Corinne Nystrom, adding that the move complements the city's climate-action initiatives. "With Falcon Field growing every day, SAF will play an important role in supporting the airfield's increased operations while reducing overall emissions."

In addition to its first foray into SAF, as part of its broader network-wide initiatives, all of Avflight’s U.S. locations are now certified under NATA’s Sustainability Standard. The company also has installed electric aircraft charging stations at key locations.

Manual development services company AviationManuals is changing its name to Nimbl, a move the company said “better captures the flexible, full range of services, solutions, and commitment to customer support and innovation the company embodies.” Its ARC Safety Management platform will also be renamed under the new moniker.

“We really have been so much more than just manuals for a long time now, but our name often limited how we were perceived by users and the industry,” said Nimbl CEO Mark Baier. “We are a company that is always striving to provide operators with the convenient support they need to keep getting better and safer through quality manuals and safety management tools all backed by an expert team. While manuals were and will continue to be a significant aspect of our services, they are now just one element of a more comprehensive suite of tools.”

The company said the rebranding has made it “excited about expanding its goal of helping operators conveniently enhance safety, efficiency, and operational excellence.”

With upcoming mandates for Part 135 operators, now is the time to think about your Safety Management System. Join us on September 17 at noon ET to learn how you can go beyond compliance to drive true ROI with easy-to-implement SMS software. We'll also discuss how paper-based approaches to SMS can leave you with blind spots and how an integrated approach to SMS, QMS, and Risk can deliver outsized ROI. Sponsored by TrustFlight.