Business & Commercial Aviation

Wearable technology—including head-up displays, embedded sensors, advanced textiles, embedded computing, energy harvesters, exoskeletons and communications—is being integrated into a variety of civil and military systems and components in ways not previously possible. Over the next decade, the wearable technologies market is expected to grow at a cumulative compound annual growth rate of nearly 40% and produce a cumulative global market of nearly $8 billion, according to Global Wearables Technologies Market Forecast to 2025.

Quest Aircraft's Kodiak 100 has received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The award raises the total number of countries in which the utility single-engine turboprop is certified to more than 50. The award will allow European operators with large payloads to access many more airstrips and locations that would previously have proven difficult, said Quest CEO Rob Wells.

Tecnam has launched a slot-deposit program for its P2012 Traveler. The high-wing, 11-seat piston twin lists for $2.35 million. A deposit of $107,000 allows customers to take delivery positions in 2019 and freezes the pricing.

Embraer has delivered its 400th Phenom 300. The aircraft was delivered to Daniel Randolph, CEO of EliteJets.com, a startup charter company based in Naples, Florida, whose fleet includes four Phenom 300s and one Legacy 500.

Questions for Brandon Mitchener, CEO of the European Business Aviation Association.

Harlow Aerostructures, a component supplier to the aviation industry, has developed its first autothrottle for new general aviation aircraft.

In a surprise announcement,Textron Aviation reported that Purdue Aviation had committed to adding the diesel-powered Cessna 172 to its training fleet. FAA and EASA certifications of the Turbo Skyhawk JT-A are expected later this year.

Selected Accidents and Incidents in March 2017. The following NTSB information is preliminary.

The ongoing fight over the privatization of the U.S. air traffic control system, an idea Cessna Chairman Emeritus Russ Meyer last year characterized as “a disaster for general aviation,” has produced some curious, possibly concerning, signs within the opposition.

BCA readers share their opinions on articles we published.

For an aircraft to be listed in the Purchase Planning Handbook, a production conforming article must have flown by May 1 of this year. The dimensions, weights and performance characteristics of each model listed are representative of the current production aircraft being built or for which a type certificate application has been filed. The basic operating weights we publish should be representative of actual production turboprop and turbofan aircraft because we ask manufacturers to supply us with the average weights of the last 10 commercial aircraft that have been delivered.

In May 1967, BCA reported on new controlling ownership of Lear Jet, Cessna’s Tandem Twin Super Skymaster and certification of the first Riley Turbo Heron owned by ... a former publisher of BCA.

Business jet operators are flying more than 4.3 million missions per year, the highest since 2009 and even more than in 2008 prior to the Great Recession.

Heritage Aviation announced the development of Heritage Aware, a remote aircraft maintenance-monitoring portal that allows customers real-time access to updates and work-in-progress reporting.

Ross Aviation (KLGB) in Long Beach, California, was named as a gateway FBO through the DCA Access Standard Security Program, granting flights leaving the operator the ability to fly directly to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (VABB) was the most requested departure and destination airport requested with the Air Charter Guide Worldwide Trip Builder by brokers and travelers shopping for charter flights during the last 12 months.

ADS-B installations are a small part of Duncan Aviation’s business despite market outreach ahead of the 2020 deadline. President and CEO Aaron Hilkemann explains operators’ reasons for delaying the upgrade—and the consequences.

News of promotions, appointments and honors involving professionals within the business aviation community.

Jet-A and avgas per-gallon fuel prices—March 2017

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

AvFab has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approval for pleated window shades on Beechcraft King Air 200, B200 and B200GT aircraft. The shades replace the factory-installed polarizers and can be closed when the aircraft is parked. The shades are flame retardant, have an antibacterial coating, provide Sun protection, reflect heat and are available in several colors.

Robinson Helicopters is considering adopting a diesel engine for a future derivative of its R44 piston-engine light helicopter. The company is “holding strong to putting a diesel” in the R44 over the next 3-4 yr., CEO Kurt Robinson announced in a speech to the Western Museum of Flight in Hawthorne, California, late last year. The helicopter manufacturer is working with a “couple of different [engine] manufacturers,” Robinson says. “We have got to get the vibration loads right.

Pivoting to an unprecedented wave of new aircraft owners and pilots, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is now welcoming unmanned aerial vehicle pilots into the fold. “Drone pilots are seeking their place in the larger world of aviation and looking for opportunities to expand their experience,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. The association noted an FAA estimate that 1.3 million pilots will be certificated to operate drones under 14 CFR Part 107 by 2020.

XTI Aircraft Co., a Denver-based startup aircraft manufacturer, is hoping to build a hybrid-electric ducted-fan vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) business aircraft. It recently teamed with electric propulsion specialist Bye Aerospace to develop the TriFan 600.

With certification of its AW609 commercial tiltrotor finally in sight, Leonardo is now embarking on the next step of its tiltrotor journey. Backed by the European Union’s Clean Sky 2 aeronautical research program, the Anglo-Italian aerospace company is putting the finishing touches to the architecture it envisions will shape its next tiltrotor and potentially give Europe the lead in fast civil rotorcraft.