Business & Commercial Aviation

The medium and light business jet resale markets began 2017 with two of the best first quarters in the past 10 years, according to a report by market research company Amstat.

Wingly, an internet-based private-pilot ride-sharing service, a concept ruled as a violation of air regulations by the FAA—a position upheld in federal court—is operating in the UK, France and Germany.

Last November, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) cooperatively launched the first of three GEOS-16 weather and environment satellites, which collectively promise to greatly improve weather prediction and enhance aviation safety.

The FAA has adopted a new Airworthiness Directive for certain Learjet Model 60 airplanes. This AD was prompted by an evaluation by the design approval holder indicating the upper fuselage skin under the aft oxygen line fairing is subject to multi-site damage.

Boeing Business Jets and GKN Aerospace are offering a new window on the world at 41,000 ft., one that Boeing claims is the largest available on any passenger jet today.

BCA shares news of the latest products and services for the business aviation industry.

​Aircare International has launched an enhanced hypoxia training course for pilots and cabin crewmembers. The training involves both classroom instruction on high-altitude physiology and actual exposure using a hypoxia training platform.

Agreeing to fly or maintain an airplane far from home, particularly in developing countries, could be a foolish mistake or an adventurous career accelerator.

Blackhawk Modifications in Waco, Texas, has received an STC for the installation of True Blue Power TB44 lithium-ion batteries on Blackhawk-powered Cessna Caravan 208 and 208B models.

AirspaceX, a new company set up by design house Detroit Aircraft, is developing a tail-sitting electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft that can carry modular payloads, including a four-seat passenger cabin for air taxi operations.

In early May, Pratt & Whitney Canada completed production of its 100,000th engine, and of that total 60,000 remain in service operated by 12,300 customers in more than 200 countries and territories.

Rolls-Royce is developing a new generation of business aviation powerplants, for which the first full-up fan demonstrator is expected to run later this year. The ramp-up of work on the technology demonstrator, dubbed Advance2, signals a new phase for the manufacturer, which heretofore had revealed few details of its future business aviation family initiative. Covering the 10,000- to 20,000-lb. thrust range, the plan is to develop three Advance2 demonstrators with two different core sizes and three different low-pressure systems.

Gulf stream Aerospace's G280 set two speed records in April on flights to and from the 2017 Avalon Airshow. The aircraft flew 3,332 nm from Singapore to Melbourne, Australia, in 7 hr. and 21 min., at an average cruise speed of Mach 0.81. It then flew from Singapore to Dubai's Al Maktoum Airport, 3,177 nm, in 7 hr. and 18 min. at Mach 0.82.

Japan has set ambitious targets to double foreign visitors to 40 million a year by the 2020 Summer Olympics, and business aviation is expected to play a role.

The fourth Cessna Citation Longitude test aircraft has joined the flight-test program. The aircraft is expected to receive FAA type certification later this year. The fourth Longitude flew for the first time on May 6.

Will supersonic business jets be streaking across oceans in the near future? No less an entity than Rolls-Royce is cautiously optimistic about the prospects and is actively studying a new generation of potential engine designs to power it.

Tata Steel Group, based in Mumbai, India, is adding a second Bell 429 helicopter to its fleet to support steel production operations, Bell said. The aircraft will operate from the company's Jamshedpur facility in eastern India. There are more than 90 Bell helicopters operating throughout India in commercial, civil/government and military operations.

Compare Jet-A and avgas fuel prices by U.S. region based on a survey conducted in May 2017 by Aviation Research Group/U.S. Inc. and an analysis of the lowest fuel prices reported by FBOs on acukwik.com

Falcon Aviation has opened a VIP Heliport at its new Dubai South VIP Terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport in the UAE. The heliport will be run and managed by Falcon Aviation personnel and will be available to those arriving in business jets at the terminal.

A highly experienced Mexican crew with newly minted Bombardier Challenger type ratings attempted an approach into one of business aviation's toughest airports with adverse winds on Jan. 5, 2014. The result was tragic.

Airbus sees strong potential in Voom, an on-demand helicopter booking service incubated within A3—the aircraft maker's Silicon Valley outpost—and now being tested in helicopter-friendly Sao Paulo.

Uber announces partnerships with vehicle developers and infrastructure providers to support its planned electric vertical takeoff and landing flight demonstrations in Dallas and Dubai in 2020.

Sometimes you come upon a physical construct of such wrongheadedness that the natural question is: What were they thinking?

Completions specialist Flying Colours Corp. has delivered the first three Bombardier CRJ200 ex-airliner-to-VIP conversions for Chinese luxury company Sparkle Roll's SR Jet, and will deliver three more by year-end.

Selected accidents and incidents in April 2017. The following NTSB information is preliminary.