PUBLICATIONS Vol.50 | No.7 $9.00 JULY 2021 | ainonline.com With little prospect of securing the funding needed to bring the End of the supersonic bizjet era? AS2 supersonic business jet (left) to market, Aerion announced the by Kerry Lynch sudden shutdown of its 18-year effort, just months after it broke Aerion Corp. had appeared to be on the had generated enthusiasm regarding the Aerion knew from the beginning that ground on a new headquarters precipice of realizing its 18-year dream of possibilities for the market, with estab- its venture would be expensive, figuring it and manufacturing facility in building what many anticipated would be lished operators such as Flexjet and NetJets would take upwards of $5 billion to bring Melbourne, Florida, and unveiled the first purpose-built supersonic business publicly coming on board. In fact, Aerion its supersonic business jet to market. Fort the near-hypersonic AS3. jet, the AS2. The company had decided on claimed its order backlog had ballooned to Worth financier Robert Bass—the key a final design that had been proved out in $11.2 billion. investor who backed the project, enabling wind tunnel tests, and dozens of patents Meanwhile, the company had already it to launch in 2003—had early on set a limit FBOs had been secured. teased its next product, a near-hypersonic on what he would spend, according to offi- Then that facade came crashing down in AS3 airliner that was to incorporate tech- cials close to the company. Atlantic, Signature late May, when the company confirmed it had nologies developed through a joint research Aerion knew it would have to line up other chains sold page 12 ceased operations. project with NASA. partners. It was able to attract the likes of Air- Aerion had sought to de-risk development And, importantly, Aerion had helped con- bus, Lockheed Martin, and ultimately Boeing. with well-established suppliers. Many of the vince regulators and lawmakers that the time continues on page 31 OEMs industry’s giants signed on to the program, was ripe to consider a fresh approach to cer- Honda Aircraft unveils including Boeing, GE Aviation, Spirit AeroSys- tifying and accepting new-generation, more Read AIN’s MID-YEAR REPORT page 14 tems, Honeywell, Rosen Aviation, Universal environmentally friendly supersonic aircraft. latest upgrade Avionics, and Collins Aerospace. The company had held a groundbreaking Dramatically Ramped-up Spending Aerospace Progress Regulations ceremony in December for a $300 million, But while Aerion appeared to be moving for- FAA releases final pilot 2 million-sq-ft headquarters complex at ward with much momentum, it was also on Airlines, aircraft manufacturers, Florida’s Orlando Melbourne International the precipice of a dramatically ramped-up suppliers, and lessors are looking records rule page 17 Airport (KMLB) that was to have housed spend rate as it transitioned from being a forward to a post-pandemic landscape facilities for research, design, production, design firm to an aircraft developer. At that and a return to growth. Safety and interior completions of the AS2 super- critical juncture, the company’s investors sonic and future aircraft. decided that was too much for them to bear page 20 Air Methods solves the As the progress was being made, the AS2 without significant outside support. IIMC problem page 28 OXYGEN RICH. prae•tor six hun•dred : arrive refreshed with the best-in-class cabin altitude of 5,800 ft +1 321 751 5050 | embraer.com/human OXYGEN RICH. prae•tor six hun•dred : arrive refreshed with the best-in-class cabin altitude of 5,800 ft +1 321 751 5050 | embraer.com/human INSIDE this issue JAMES HOLAHAN !1921"2015#, FOUNDING EDITOR WILSON S. LEACH, FOUNDER & CEO EDITOR!IN!CHIEF – Matt Thurber NEWS EDITOR ! AIN PUBLICATIONS ! Chad Trautvetter SENIOR EDITORS ! Charles Alcock, Curt Epstein, Kerry Lynch Gregory Polek – Air Transport, Jerry Siebenmark CONTRIBUTORS David Donald – Defense Mark Huber – Rotorcraft Jennifer Leach English David Jack Kenny – Safety Gordon Gilbert Richard Pedicini James Wynbrandt PRODUCTION MANAGER ! Martha Jercinovich GRAPHIC DESIGNERS ! John A. Manfredo, Grzegorz Rzekos 10 14 DIGITAL SOLUTIONS MANAGER ! Michael Giaimo DEVELOPER ! Ryan Koch DIRECTOR OF VIDEO ! Ian Whelan MID!YEAR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ! Dave Leach REPORT VICE PRESIDENT SALES & MARKETING ! Karl H. Elken ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ! Nancy O’Brien From ADVERTISING SALES manufacturing Melissa Murphy ! Midwestern U.S., +1 (830) 608-9888 Nancy O’Brien ! Western U.S./Western Canada/Asia Pacific, to operations, +1 (530) 241-3534 the aviation Joe Rosone – Mid-Atlantic U.S./Southeast U.S./Caribbean/Brazil, +1 (301) 693-4687 industry and Diana Scogna ! Europe/Middle East, +33 6 62 52 25 47 airlines shape a Victoria Tod ! Northeastern U.S./Eastern Canada/Great Lakes U.S./ new future in the United Kingdom, +1 (203) 733-4184 post-Covid era. Yury Laskin ! Russia, +7 05 912 1346 28 20 AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER ! Nicole Bowman MARKETING AND CLIENT SERVICES MANAGER ! Lisa Valladares SALES AND MARKETING COORDINATOR ! Adam Brandwein AIRPLANES and ENGINES 37 Avidyne Helios FMS receives TSO approval SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ! Zach O’Brien SALES ADMINISTRATOR ! Cindy Nesline 1 End of the supersonic bizjet era? CHARTER and FRACTIONAL DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & HUMAN RESOURCES ! Michele Hubert 14 Honda Aircraft unveils upgraded HondaJet Elite S ACCOUNTS PAYABLE ! Mary Avella 10 Directional Aviation’s Halo orders 200 Eve eVTOLs ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE ! Bobbie Bing 30 GE, Safran launch green open-rotor tech demo 10 Why Directional Aviation is betting U.S. HEADQUARTERS 214 Franklin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432, +1 (201) 444-5075 AIR TRANSPORT big on urban air mobility Advertising Inquiries: +1 (201) 345-0085 [email protected] 8 United Airlines lends weight to Circulation Inquiries: +1 (201) 345-0085 FBOS AND AIRPORTS [email protected] Boom Supersonic plans WASHINGTON, D.C. 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As We Go To Press Hansueli Loosli takes over WINGX: BIZJET FLIGHTS SURGE CHICAGO JET, TRIMEC NEXTGEN IN JUNE, TOPPING 2019 UPGRADE STC’D FOR G200 as chairman of Pilatus Business jet activity resurged globally Trimec Aviation has completed installation in the first half of June, surpassing pre- of the first NextGen ProLink FANS/ by Kerry Lynch Covid levels and outpacing cargo growth CPDLC/LPV solution for the Gulfstream for the first time, according to data from G200. Chicago Jet Group (CJG) Pilatus Aircraft has formally elected Han- included the successful introductions of WingX.