McKinley Climatic Laboratory in Elgin Air Force Base, Florida.

Opened in 1947, this remarkable US Air Force-owned and operated facility is essentially a combination of a giant freezer and huge oven.

Used mainly to test US Military aircraft in extreme weather conditions, it is also used by commercial aircraft and business jet manufacturers to test aircraft awaiting final certification in very cold, very hot and very humid weather conditions in a laboratory environment.

Capable of generating over 990 tonnes of refrigeration for example, the equivalent of 1,500 home air conditioning units, this “hangar” in Florida can create temperatures as low as -65 degrees or +165 degrees Celcius, all in one day.

Used by all the major aircraft manufacturers for extreme weather testing as part of their certification approval requirements, the process normally takes about two weeks to complete and can can cost up to US$25,000 per day to “rent” the facility from the US Air Force. Cheaper and easier of course than flying the aircraft to similar real-world conditions…even if there was a usable runway nearby such conditions and available exactly when required.

It is also used by many of the the world’s car manufacturers which is just as well – the normal monthly electricity cost is well over US$100,000.

Secure the aircraft to the floor for full engine runs and away you go? Need North Pole and Equator conditions in the space of a few hours? Sounds simple but it’s not of course. Furthermore, it is a necessary, complicated and costly part of of the certification process for any commercial aircraft. Ah, the joys of being an OEM.

Embraer’s Praetor: Disruptor, Devolver or Derivative?

Arguably, the big news from the annual NBAA event in Orlando on 16-18 October was the glitzy launch of Embraer’s “new” Praetor 500 and Praetor 600 jets to the Midsize and Super-Midsize segment.

The inverted commas reflect some media comment that both “new” aircraft offer not much more than souped-up engines, an improved fuel capacity, Tron-Legacy style winglets and cosmetic (if significant) cabin improvements to the Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 models. (e.g. Flight Global called the Praetor family “a notable upgrade” on the Legacy 450/500.)

The much-repeated “Disruptive Aircraft” marketing phrase used by Embraer establishes a worthy challenge to the Big 4 of Gulfstream, Bombardier, Textron and Dassault Falcon in this very competitive market segment. It’s also sending a clear signal that the Embraer innovations in Fly-By-Wire cockpit technology and the use of the latest cabin materials and products (e.g. Carbon Fiber cabin tables and latest ground-to-air connectivity system) is their vision of how future business jets will evolve. Supported by the all-important and very tasty range improvement promise from extra fuel tanks in both models, the Praetor family look and sound very impressive.

Embraer CEO Michael Amalfitano’s Aviator shades and accompanying Top Gun soundtrack undoubtedly captured the imagination and the Praetor launch event, some two days prior to the formal opening of NBAA itself, certainly stole the pre-show headlines, even if you’re still torn between Goose and Maverick.

Perhaps surprisingly, the NetJets/Cessna announced “order” for 325 Longitude and Hemisphere jets was tempered by the fact that the purchase deal is not yet finalised, even if Scott Donnelly from Textron and Adam Johnson from NetJets seem very confident it will happen. With NetJets having just placed an order for it’s 100th Latitude and with a strong track record from both companies in terms of completion of previous large order announcements at business aviation shows such as NBAA, we can expect further news on the mammoth NetJets/Cessna order before the EBACE 2019 show, scheduled for 21-23 May 2019 in Geneva.

By co-incidence, we’re told the Praetor 600 will be certified and enter into service around the same time as EBACE 2019, followed by the Praetor 500 in Q3 2019.

In the meantime, enjoy the Need for Speed and the er…Embraer version…of Top Gun.

Falcon 900LX – The French, followed by an Italian and an American.

Shot over The Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Coast in 2014, this making-of snippet is an unusual take on the normal glossy business jet promotional videos we see nowadays, many often computer-generated.

Kudos to Dassault for creating and releasing this very real 3-minute behind the scenes version to accompany the actual official marketing video of about 1 minute. The long version of the making-of video is just over 5 minutes and can be seen on the Dassault Falcon website.

Amazingly, the French manufacturer used the Aermacchi MB339 (the Italian military jet) and the B25 Mitchell (the American bomber aircraft) to take photographs and shoot the videos of the Falcon 900LX (the French corporate jet).

What is truly extraordinary is that the B25 Mitchell, a WW2-era bomber aircraft first introduced in 1941 and officially “retired” in 1971, was used to follow and photograph one of the most modern business jets in the world, and take those airborne photographs through a hole in the rear of its fuselage with the photographer attached to a safety “harness”.

There were almost 10,000 B25s built so there’s likely to be quite a few enthusiasts around who can still fly the B25 and take a photo or two for creative aircraft marketers like Dassault.

It is worth seeing the final edited version of the marketing video and compare the behind the scenes “shoot” with the official marketing version. There may well be a “three guys walked into a bar” joke somewhere off the coast of Florida and we can only marvel at the skills and talents of all involved. Bravo.

www.dassaultfalcon.com/en/MediaCenter/MediaGallery/Pages/videoresults.aspx#k=#s=31

Airbus Pop.Up – Urban Mobility is aviation’s biggest challenge?

Virtually all science fiction movies contain elements of a future world where the skies are peppered with drone-like airborne vehicles in dystopian urban mists. Think Blade Runner 2049, iRobot and the gloriously bonkers The Fifth Element. Miraculously, these vehicles never seem to crash into each other, ATC is non-existent and bad weather isn’t a problem. However, science fiction often doesn’t translate well into science reality, especially when it comes to commercial aviation.

Nevertheless, many aerospace designers are now furiously challenging the boundaries of aviation, especially when it comes to power generation options, take-off/landing possibilities and even air traffic rules. What is truly remarkable is how many creative futurists, engineering geniuses and imaginative designers are being bankrolled by large global companies such as Uber, Google, Toyota, Siemens along with Airbus, Embraer and Boeing in order to realise this future vision. NASA of course has been in this “space” for years. Non-aerospace global corporations such as Audi have joined in the race, getting heavily involved with Airbus and ItalDesign in the “Pop.Up” concept. Uber Elevate is even planning to have a prototype model and VTOL platform ready for the Dubai 2020 Expo followed by a similar launch in Dallas by 2023.

The well-regarded German consultancy, Roland Berger, estimates that there are “about 100” electric-powered aircraft currently in development. Whilst many of these are embedded or are subsidiaries within the larger parent (e.g. Airbus Vahana, Embraer X, Uber Air), many are start-ups such as Volocopter, SureFly, Aurora, XTI Aircraft, Faradair, Lillium, eHang184, IFO, Project Zero, Vertical, Cora (backed by Larry Page), Flyer by Kitty Hawk – the list goes on and is growing.

With a UN forecast that there will be 41 mega-cities in the world by 2030 (a mega-city is defined as one with over 10 million people), the race is well and truly on to design, manufacture and market an aircraft and ecosystem that can integrate into an urban mobility landscape whilst being feasible, practical, safe and environmentally friendly. The likelihood is that the aircraft will be either fully electric or hybrid and will almost certainly use some form of vertical take-off and landing design.

It’s also more likely to be piloted by a Sullenberger than a Spock, if piloted at all. What looks certain is that the not-too-distant future of urban mobility will include airborne vehicles. Lots of them.

HondaJet Elite – one small step for Honda, one giant leap for HondaJet.

The traditionalists in the business jet manufacturing community were skeptical when Michimasa Fujino initiated the HondaJet project in 1986. Many challenged the basic concept of the Honda Jet vision and of course, the now iconic wing-mounted engines.

Some thirty years later and having built a green-field manufacturing facility in Greensboro, North Carolina, HondaJet have now upgraded their 2015 launch model with the HondaJet Elite, offering 17% longer range than the original launch model via a lighter cabin, better engine aerodynamics and an auxiliary fuel tank. At 1,437NM, the HondaJet Elite can now operate non-stop from London to Istanbul or New York to Houston – a move welcomed by the very competitive light jet market.

HondaJet increased the price mind you to US$5.25m to pay for the upgrade (US$300,000 more than the original standard model) and you will pay extra for the optional fully enclosed belted lavatory for example. Given Honda’s automotive heritage and huge investment in the project to date, the overall end result is predictably top quality and very high-tech.

The good news for HondaJet is that it delivered 43 units in 2017 making it the highest seller in its class. This winning streak continued in 2018 with the model topping the light business jet category in deliveries for the first two quarters. Given the range upgrade, we can expect more of the same from this small but mighty “new entrant”.

www.hondajetelite.com

Falcon 8X Global Test Campaign – exhausting, exhaustive, exhilirating.

26 days, 55,000 nautical miles, 60 flights, 46 cities, 26 pilots, 1 8X.

At circa US$58m, the Falcon 8X is a metre longer than its 7X sibling and with some aerodynamic and fuel tweaks, gets an additional 10% range to 6,450NM or 11,945KM. This equates non-stop from London to Cape Town or Paris to Los Angeles with a full payload. Nice.

Whilst the 8X doesn’t have the ultra long range of the Global 7500 or the G650ER, the three engines and classy cabin interior of the 8X are more than a match for the competition. Oh and about US$13m less than the Bombardier Global 7500.

Worth the extra few bob? 8X Owners will argue they’re getting a relative bargain, they remain fiercely loyal and Dassault will expect strong sales.

www.dassaultfalcon.com/en/aircraft/models/8x

Four Seasons Private Jet Experience – one for the bucket list?

Often voted the best luxury hotel chain in the world, Four Seasons brings their hospitality talents to private aviation luxury vacations using a Boeing 757-200ER with 52 sleeper seats offering 78 inches/2 meters of personal space. Promising the finest dining experience on board (including an on-board chef), visiting several exotic locations over 3-4 weeks and only staying in Four Seasons hotels or resorts, it is pampering of the highest order.

An unusual take on the private aviation experience and as far removed from the stereotypical package holiday trips as one can imagine, it is not for the budget conscious. It is all-inclusive mind you. Prices start at US$106,000 per trip with 6 different types of journeys. Many are waitlist only so if it tickles your fancy, book early.

www.fourseasons.com/privatejet

ACJ320neo “Melody” – heady stuff indeed.

Wonderfully modern and tasteful interior from Airbus for their ACJ range, the ACJ320neo in this case. Can be applied to the other aircraft variants in the ACJ executive jet family although not sure what Jean-Luc Picard or James T Kirk would make of the cabin divider doors.

The circular cabin tables save oodles of space when folded on themselves and they could well become a design classic. The interior looks fantastic and at over US$100m per finished aircraft, it will need to be.

The Global 7500 – the game changer in the ultra long-range market?

Very likely to raise envious glances in Savannah and Paris, the self-styled “world’s largest and longest range business jet” from Canada’s Bombardier has certainly captured the market imagination as well as the business jet media headlines.

Scheduled for a formal customer operational launch in late 2018 and with a unique four-zone cabin in this market sector, the Global 7500 finally is set to tackle the G650ER head-on. With a higher list price (circa US$73m) than the G650ER (circa US$69m), the longer range and larger cabin space of the Global 7500 looks likely to be a winner.

While the Falcon 8X’s tri-engine merits wins the short-runway battle, expect Gulfstream to announce a fightback to regain the long-range crown. In the meantime, Bombardier holds the NM range belt. To quote the legendary boxing referee Mills Lane: “Let’s get it on!”

Gulfstream Customer Support – Classic (al)

Sharp video showcasing Gulfstream’s customer support platform using an orchestra backdrop. You needn’t be a fan of classical music to appreciate the video originality. Well done to our friends in Savannah.