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More King Air 350/360CERs From U.S Customs & Border Protection
Today Textron Aviation announced that the U.S Customs & Border Protection has ordered more King Air 350/360CERs to bolster their Border Patrols as well as air and maritime operations. "These two Multi-role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) will complete the current acquisition program of record and join a fleet of King Air 350 turboprops safeguarding the United States border," said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Mission Sales...
Phenom 300 Best Selling Light Jet For 9 Consecutive Years
According to numbers from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the Embraer Phenom 300 is still the best selling light jet and has now had this distinction for the ninth consecutive year. 50 Phenom 300s were shipped to customers around the world in 2020. This is staggering considering that Embraer manufactures a myriad of other business jets. The Phenom 300 is operational in over 30 countries around the world since being introduced to service in 2005...
Boeing Sells Last VIP 747 To Customer
With Boeing winding down the production of the commercial Boeing 747 aircraft and even airlines dropping them from their fleets and sending them to the scrapyard, this too affects the BBJ section of Boeing. In fact just last month Boeing sold the last available new 747 BBJ to a customer. This takes the form of a 747-8i that will be fitted with a VVIP interior to the specifications of the owner. It then marks the end of an era for this jet even on the business aviation end of the spectrum...at least for brand new off the production-line specimens...
Piaggio Aerospace Receives Positive Offers To Purchase
Piaggio Aerospace has been looking for a buyer for a while now but during the wait the airframer has received several Italian government-related contracts that have been keeping the company afloat. The latest news in the saga is that the airframer has received four (4) positive bids to purchase the business complexes of Piaggio Aero Industries and Piaggio Aviation by entities...
FAA Type Certification Granted To King Air 260
The United States-based Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has formally given the King Air 260 its type certification. This comes after certification to the larger flagship King Air 360 model. The first 260C which is the cargo door variant of the regular 260 is being worked on and the certification will allow deliveries like these to go forward. The King Air 260 will see many of the upgrades that the 360 sister received...
Gulfstream Awarded 700 million In Air Force Support Contracts
Various branches of the United States armed forces utilize special mission derivatives of Gulfstream large cabin jets. The G550 (C-37B), GIV (C-20G) and GV (C-37A) are all used of course have different designations under their operations but this leaves those jets to need support from the OEM, in this case Gulfstream. To this end, Gulfstream was awarded nearly 700 million dollars (696 million) in support contracts. $612 million is earmarked for engineering services contract (ESC) and is a 10-year renewal of a previous ESC. The remainder $84 million is for contractor logistics support (CLS)...
First Dassault Falcon 6X First Flight
The first flight of the first Dassault Falcon 6X test article has taken place. It comes after the roll out of the first aircraft back in early December 2020. Today, Bruno Ferry and Fabrice Vallette were the test pilots in the cockpit of S/N 1 for the landmark flight. "Today’s flight is another milestone in Dassault history, made all the more satisfying by the remarkable efforts of the entire Dassault organization and its partners over the challenging past year," said Dassault Aviation Chairman/CEO Eric Trappier. "We dedicate today’s achievement to Olivier Dassault, who died tragically on Sunday," continued Trappier...
Gulfstream G280 Has Long Met Stringent Noise Emission Standards
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. recently announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed that the super-midsize Gulfstream G280™ meets the certifying organization’s recently intensified noise standards. The FAA lowered the noise standards which essentially makes it tougher on jets to comply with the highest form of noise emissions. Gulfstream says that the G280 was already below the requirement standard from the inception of the aircraft. Known as Stage 5, the standard lowers the noise limit for subsonic aircraft...
NetJets; FlightSafety International Sign MoU With Aerion
Aerion has been thrust back into the news once again with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NetJets as well as Flight Safety International. As a result of the signing, the potential value of the backlog for the AS2 has now grown to 10 billion. Under the MoU NetJets would have purchase rights of up to 20 AS2 Mach 1.4 aircraft. FlightSafety International would also work with Aerion to create a supersonic flight training academy for civil, commercial, and military supersonic aircraft and of course it would be Aerion branded...
Bye Aerospace Starts Assembly On eFlyer 2 Serial #001
The latest progress update for the production on the eFlyer 2 all-electric two-seater is underway. The airframer has updated on the assembly on eFlyer 2 Serial #001. Below we can see the fuselage sections for the eFlyer 2 at Composites Universal Group (CUG). The backlog for these electric aircraft from Bye Aerospace is growing. At present they have 717 aircraft with commitments for between the eFlyer 2 and the eFlyer 4 and other Bye Aerospace aircraft...
Test Flights Of EHang 216 AAV In Beijing
If you follow our coverage of eVTOL aircraft and their strides towards development and certification, at some point you would have heard the name EHang before. The aircraft they are developing is called the EHang 216 AAV and is -at this stage- a self-flying aircraft. Once certified it is envisioned that these aircraft will service in the Air Taxi sector. The aircraft has done a number of tests around the world in different jurisdictions but it is the first time they have conducted tests in Beijing. This month alone they have flown at least five test flights over the frozen Yanqi Lake in Beijing where the air temperature has been -14c...
Italian Govt To Have Avantis Upgraded By Piaggio Aerospace
The current Piaggio P180 Avanti aircraft operated by the Italian armed forces are in for upgrades to further bring them up to scratch. The upgrades will facilitate changes to the landing gear system, avionics, communications etc to in-service Avanti and Avanti II aircraft throughout the Italian Armed Forces. These aircraft will then be known as the P180 Avanti II Plus after the upgrade. Secondly, there is the Piaggio EVO Plus program that will happen. This has to do with facilitating the Armed Forces with new Avanti EVOs geared towards special mission applications...
Most Delivered Jet In Class For Fourth Consecutive Year
The HondaJet has become the most delivered jet in its class for the fourth consecutive year. This is based on data from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). In 2020, Honda Aircraft Company expanded its global footprint with type certifications in Pakistan and Russia. Honda Aircraft Company’s sales and service footprint now spans North America, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East, India, Japan and Russia...
Textron Aviation Leads Business Jet and Gen Av Deliveries In 2020
Today, Textron Aviation announced that it led in Business and General Aviation deliveries in 2020 posting approximately 560 deliveries for both market segments. Textron Aviation delivered more than a quarter of all general aviation aircraft last year. However, we will focus on the business jet and turboprop side of their business as we look back at their performance in 2020. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) led both on Business jets and general aviation for 2020...
First Brazilian-Based Praetor 500 Enters Service
Embraer recently shipped the first Brazilian-based Praetor 500 and has since entered service. The model which is the successor to the Legacy 450 has been in service since mid-2019 and only now has the first Brazilian delivery. That means all the Praetor 500s that have been shipped since then have been international market customers...
1,100 Test Hour Mark Passed By Gulfstream G700 Program
It is only a few days past the one-year anniversary of the first test flight of the Gulfstream G700 program and to date that program has topped 1,100 test hours. February 14th 2020 was the date of the first test flight. With the aircraft due to enter service by the end of 2022, the program appears to be on track to meet this target. Pretty much all the flight test articles to date have been rigorously tested throughout different phases. The next set of tests will involve a focus on the interior and cabin environment. In fact, to this end, there are going to be two test aircraft dedicated to this cause...
ACJ Delivers The 9th ACJneo Aircraft To Asia-Pacific Region
The latest ACJneo aircraft to be delivered to a customer has gone to the Asia-Pacific region. Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) did not say where exactly the aircraft was delivered to. The newest aircraft delivery does bring the delivery number of ACJneo aircraft to nine (9). The new plane was an ACJ319neo example and can fly great distances when needed. With a range of around 12,500 km it is the longest range bizliner in its class according to Airbus Corporate Jets...
Canada Certifies Embraer Praetor 600
Transport Canada has given the nod to the Embraer Praetor 600 certifying it for operations across Canadian jurisdictions. "The certification by Transport Canada Civil Aviation reinforces the great momentum of the Praetor 600 in the global market," said Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Michael Amalfitano...
New King Air 360CHW Ordered By Royal Flying Doctor Service
Starting this year the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in Australia (Queensland Section) is expected to receive the Beechcraft King Air 360CHW. This is because the company has made an order for four aircraft of the type with options to purchase another two should they require them in the future. The King Air 360 is the new top-of-the-line offering in the King Air family of aircraft...
Learjet Program To Be Cut From Bombardier Production
As Bombardier continues its efforts to become as lean as possible by only and solely focusing on executive jet manufacture, the once multi-faceted Canadian aerospace giant has made another big decision. In the face of more staff and worker layoffs the company expects to axe the Learjet Program by the end of 2021. The airframer said the move is absolutely necessary for the company to rebuild itself and that Covid-19 only served to accelerate the demise of the Learjet program...
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