A number of business aviation-related organizations have launched sustainability programs in April, including some that used Earth Day on April 22 as the catalyst for their announcements. Here is a roundup of new programs.
The National Business Aviation Association has announced the launch of a new accreditation program, called the NBAA Sustainable Flight Department Accreditation Program, in order to certify leadership actions involving sustainable flight operations by flight departments and others.
A four-year research project to develop a cheaper method of producing sustainable aviation fuel from agricultural and forestry residues has kicked off in Europe.
Zero-emissions propulsion startup Universal Hydrogen has raised $20.5 million in Series A funding from investors including the venture arms of Airbus, JetBlue Airways and Toyota.
It is still too early for major international trade shows to resume, but China is further down the road to recovery than most of the rest of the world.
Seven aviation industry advocacy organizations are establishing the Council on Sustainable Aviation Fuels Accountability, intended to accelerate the industry’s actions to decarbonize aviation and increase the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels.
Bye Aerospace has launched development of the eFlyer 800, an eight-seat, all-electric competitor to Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft King Air 260 turboprop.
A Safety Management System might have forewarned the operator of a sightseeing floatplane involved in a 2019 midair collision over Alaska that the aircraft’s avionics were not providing adequate situational awareness, the NTSB contends.
Robotic Skies, which is building a maintenance service network for commercial and industrial drones, has received an investment from Japan-based Drone Fund.
Europe is looking to business aviation to take the lead in adopting sustainable aviation fuels because of its greater willingness compared with the airlines to pay a premium for low-carbon fuel, at least until production is scaled up and prices come down.
Kopter Group’s SH09 single-engine light helicopter has been rebranded the AW09 to reflect the aircraft’s entry into the product line of Leonardo Helicopters.
An alliance has been launched with the goal of accelerating investment in sustainable aviation fuels by creating a certificate system that provides a standardized approach to verifying and tracking the emissions reductions from the low-carbon fuels.
Austrian aerospace supplier FACC has developed an antimicrobial surface coating for aircraft cabins that it hopes will boost its position in aftermarket services.
During the first quarter of 2021, 211 business aviation aircraft transactions were finalized, while another 246 aircraft were put under contract by members of the International Aircraft Dealers Association, and 41 deals fell apart, IADA said.
Morf3D, an additive manufacturing startup that once was the darling of Boeing new-investment efforts, has a new 90,000-sq.-ft. headquarters in Long Beach, California, and is now controlled by Japanese camera giant Nikon.
Electric aircraft propulsion will lead to the creation of electric low-cost carriers—eLCCs—flying sub-regional routes that are not economically viable for hydrocarbon-powered aircraft, proposes a report released by UK trade association ADS Group.
Swiss startup H55, a spinoff from the Solar Impulse round-the-world aircraft project, has joined MagniX and Harbour Air to certify an electric-powered version of the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver.
Europe has launched a research program to develop a deeper understanding of the environmental impact of future supersonic aircraft and provide input into international efforts to develop certification standards for noise and emissions.
ExpressJet, a U.S. regional carrier that stopped flying in September, is seeking permission to begin scheduled commercial operations under its own brand.
