Business Aviation

ExecuJet MRO has officially opened its new MRO hangar at Kuala Lumpur Subang Airport, as the Malaysian government seeks to attract business aviation companies.

SHELTAIR broke ground on new FBO at Sarasota Bradenton, FL, with two hangars totaling >45,000 sq ft, to open 4Q25.

FAA forecasts US fixed-wing GA turbine fleet will grow from 27,355 aircraft (16,570 jets) in '23 to 41,580 (28,325) in 2044.

NETJETS ordered 12 Challenger 3500s and optioned 232 in potential $6b deal that was signed in December 2023.

CAMP SYSTEMS acquired AVINODE GROUP, Sweden (SaaS solutions for business aviation industry).

Anthony Newlin to Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah (effective May 31).

The Alia eVTOL makes the first piloted full transitions between vertical and horizontal flight.

JETS MRO formed partnership with AIRCRAFT CUSTOM INTERIORS to offer customized refurb/fabrication solutions for corporate aircraft interiors; deal is part of plan to become one-stop shop for aircraft at 40,000 sq ft facility in Dallas.

PRIMA AIR is opening operations center in Hong Kong through a strategic partnership with the Hong Kong Business Aviation Center (HKBAC). It operates a 737, two G650s, 10 GVs, a GIV, and a Global 5000 through Pegasus Elite Aviation.

D&J AVIATION, CO was selected by SmartSky as sales and installation partner. It completed a first-article installation of LITE system on a King Air C90 (STC expected soon) and working first-of-type installation on a Citation Encore 560.

"There are a large number of woods used in the construction of airplane propellers and the selection of one suitable to meet the conditions in hand is not always an easy problem," writes Frank W. Caldwell.

The work will culminate with flights of a De Havilland Dash 7 regional airliner modified with a hybrid-electric propulsion system in 2026.

The green aircraft carrying serial number MSN97001 headed west after completing flight-testing with manufacturer UAC that began in August 2023.

European satellite communications provider SES is to buy U.S.-based rival Intelsat in a bid to tackle competition from other low-Earth-orbit services.

Gulfstream debuted the two programs in 2021.

Six European countries are expected to have placed orders for 24 DHC-515s by the summer.

Located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, Elista International Airport is the farthest of the closed airports from the Ukrainian border.

Community concerns over noise and emissions have slowed new development at Van Nuys Airport in metropolitan Los Angeles

Embraer plans to invest approximately USD$390 million and hire 900 additional employees in the current year.

Comparison of aggregate hourly utilization results

Comparison of aggregate hourly utilization

TEXTRON AVIATION earned $143m on $1.2b revenues in 1Q24 vs $125m on $1.1b in 1Q23. It delivered 36 jets/20 commercial turboprops vs 35/34 and has $7.3b backlog. BELL earned $80m on $727m vs $60m on $621m in 1Q23.

BOMBARDIER had $110m net income on $1.3b revenues in 1Q24 vs $302m on $1.5b in 1Q23 and ended quarter with $14.9b backlog vs $14.2b at end 2023. It delivered 20 business jets (eight large) vs 22 (14), and plans 150-155 in 2024.

The FAA, Lycoming, Swift Fuels and UND are collaborating to isolate the cause of the engine wear issue.

In this issue we published a feature about the evolution of the airplane. On page 450, C. G. Grey wrote: "Although the first human flight on a power-driven airplane, free from control on the ground was made by Orville Wright on Dec. 17, 1903, it was not until 1908 that the airplane as a more or less consistently navigable vehicle, really came into being."