Known as Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace, combines predictive maintenance, site optimisation and workforce intelligence into one solution. According to designers, aerospace manufacturing and MRO face several operations and workforce challenges. Forge is able to increase operational awareness and improve asset management, while also lowering operational costs. 

“During a time of increasing workplace complexity and operating costs, operators need to be able to leverage data to inform critical decision making and embrace automation,” said Karen Miller, general manager, Honeywell Connected Aerospace. “As the aviation industry grapples with issues such as aging fleets, higher maintenance costs and ongoing supply chain challenges, Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace can help organisations achieve key outcomes such as quicker turnarounds, increased asset utilisation and decreased maintenance times.”

Looking ahead, Honeywell will also expand the platform with the addition of FedRAMP, a defence-compliant version that will provide services and solutions tailoured to the defence industry.

 Michael Rowe, vice president Aerospace & Defense at Frost & Sullivan added: “Today’s aerospace companies need to improve their operational efficiency and gain better visibility into their assets, but disconnected and manual processes hold them back. A smaller MRO team may have more than 1,200 open maintenance actions to tackle. Instead of focusing initially on work that seems easiest to complete, software solutions such as Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace can enable companies to first address those tasks with the highest impact on operations that improve productivity and decrease costly downtime.”

The post Honeywell unveils cloud-based platform for aerospace manufacturing and MRO appeared first on Corporate Jet Investor.

“The industry [business aviation] is an incubator of technology, we have always sought to be more efficient and to fly less expensively,” said Kurt Edwards IBAC director general at our sister title Corporate Jet Investor’s London conference last month. “We are the first to introduce new technologies into the broad industry. Those winglets you see on the tips of aircraft wings now; first put on a business jet in 1976. Avionics and glass cockpits which allow aircraft to fly more directly; that was business aviation too.

“There are developments that take place in our industry first, and then spread and improve the total air transport system.”

Using that logic, it could follow that business aviation has a role to play in the scale-up of electric flight, particularly on the operations side. Recent agreements between established business aviation fixed-based operators (FBOs) with leading electric aircraft developers show stakeholders in both industries feel similarly. Clay Lacy has agreements with Joby and Overair. Atlantic has announced deals with BETA, Joby and Archer. BETA also just announced a deal today with Signature Aviation, the world’s largest private aviation terminal operator, to install chargers at several on-airport locations across the US east coast. This follows on from a similar deal announced between BETA and AvFlight back in February.

Not to mention the regulatory framework, which will allow initial operations of eVTOLs and other electric aircraft in the US to be operated as Part 135 flights, which are conducted under the set of Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) guidelines relevant to non-scheduled, commercial aircraft operations, i.e. business aviation.

“You won’t see these aircraft go into Part 121 – they will operate under Part 135, which has been our centerpiece as an industry,” says Chris Rocheleau, chief operating officer, National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). “I understand there has been a lot of news coverage about these partnerships with United, Delta, American, etc.,” he adds. “But the short of it is, the regulatory framework that will enable AAM is Part 135, and that is business aviation-oriented. It’s one of three reasons why Clay Lacy Aviation has stepped in to be a leader in this segment.”

On top of that, battery-electric aircraft – with vertical takeoff capability or otherwise – only achieve meaningful distances with today’s technology by carrying a lighter payload and/or fewer passengers than an equivalent, conventional or hybrid-powered aircraft. This means initial electric aircraft are well-suited to the needs of private aviation in terms of payload. Although lacking in range, they have a niche (as well as existing demand), supplementing today’s business aircraft for shorter regional missions.

“Thinking about how these aircraft will operate, it will be short local or regional connectivity, due to the range at present,” Rocheleau notes. “We like to say at NBAA that you have the commercial airlines connecting 500 airports around the country, but in business aviation we provide access to 5,000,” he says.

Putting down roots 

“Business aviation will play a pivotal role in the adoption of AAM,” Scott Cutshall, senior vice president, Strategy & Sustainability at Clay Lacy tells us. “The reason being, I believe AAM will begin at existing airports because the airspace and the infrastructure, for the most part, other than charging, already exists.

“From a community acceptance standpoint, from an airspace standpoint, airports are there to arrive and depart aircraft. So once we have some certified aircraft in the general aviation community, business aviation is where AAM will plant its roots.”

Clay Lacy began operations as an on-demand jet charter operator at Van Nuys Airport in 1968, before launching the first all-jet FBO in 1981. Cutshall believes FBOs are “ideally situated” and will play a significant role in the early adoption of AAM. “The reason is FBOs exist to serve general aviation aircraft at airports. When these aircraft are certified, they will be general aviation aircraft and will have all the same accommodations as any other aircraft – fuelling, ground handling, connections with ground transportation etc.”

As noted earlier, the FBO already has much of the necessary infrastructure to accommodate AAM aircraft. Cutshall says Clay Lacy is approaching AAM in much the same way as any other new fleet addition, the only difference is the fuel type. In January it announced a deal with Joby to install Southern California’s “first electric air taxi charger” at John Wayne Airport, Orange County. Later in the month it also announced a deal with Overair to introduce AAM operations throughout the Southern California region.

“There are a number of AAM companies that have identified the Southern California region as one of their launch markets. We have two wonderful FBOs in the region at Van Nuys, Los Angeles and John Wayne Airport in Orange County. Our purpose currently is to provide that electrical charging infrastructure to enable the start of this industry. 

“These aircraft can’t fly if they can’t fuel. Electricity is the fuel. So Clay Lacy’s goal is to provide that fuel at our facilities.”

So far, Cutshall says Clay Lacy has enough power capacity for two high-capacity simultaneous charging pads. Construction is due to begin in the second quarter 2024 on the infrastructure at John Wayne Airport. This is positive news as power challenges have caused delays to the rollout of chargers as grid capacity catches up, especially in the automotive industry. The one obstacle preventing Clay Lacy from installing electric aircraft charging infrastructure at its Van Nuys Airport FBO is a moratorium implemented by Los Angeles City Council last month restricting development at the entire airport. Cutshall says this is something the airport community is working to resolve with the council, and he is hopeful of a resolution.

Changes to the FBO

Business aviation players getting into the AAM market today is a sign of things to come, according to David Shilliday, vice president and general manager Advanced Air Mobility at Honeywell. As a global Tier One supplier, Honeywell components can be found in almost every aircraft, the same goes for AAM platforms too. Honeywell has announced a number of partnerships with electric aircraft OEMs such as Archer, Lilium and Heart Aerospace.

“I like to think about how FBOs will support operations at EIS and how they will evolve as the operations scale. What does that mix of aircraft look like and what are the missions they are going to serve?” says Shilliday. “I think FBOs are getting ready by leveraging existing infrastructure, I think fleet operators are getting ready and I think the OEMs are trying to work out what the right mix of solutions is they need to have to support all of the customers they have. People are still going to want to fly long distances and these aircraft are not yet equipped for that, so you are going to need a mix of traditional and new.”

Initial customer base 

Business aviation’s customer base also lends itself to initial AAM operations, according to Clay Lacy’s Cutshall. He says there has been a lot of talk about “long-term vision”, but Cutshall likes to think of AAM in terms of “near term, mid-term and long-term vision”.

“As you progress along that timeline in the near term, there will be fewer operations and there will be fewer aircraft. Therefore, the price point will be higher,” he explains. “So the most likely people to fly on electric aircraft, eVTOLs in particular, as the industry begins will be business aviation users. As more aircraft are delivered, and as more charging infrastructure and vertiports get built out and co-location of vertiports with transportation hubs gets built out over the coming decades, that price point will come down making travel by AAM a reality for even more users.

“As the industry scales, I think you will also start to see a slight move away from traditional FBO models for AAM in favour of larger vertiports co-located with other modes of transportation.”

NBAA’s Rocheleau agrees. He highlights a vision of the growth potential for AAM firms like Supernal. “They’re forecasting that they will manufacture a lot of these aircraft, and that is where the price point really begins to become much more normal for regular travellers like me or you. Say for example, I want to go from Virginia to Washington, D.C., in the morning and don’t mind paying $50-$100, because I have an important meeting to get to. 

“You watch – once this segment proves itself to be safe and affordable, I believe it is going to expand nicely across the world.”

Regional opportunities 

Munich-based startup VÆRIDION has singled out business aviation as a key target entry market for its nine-passenger battery-electric aircraft – aka Microliner. Co-founder and CEO Ivor van Dartel says he concluded such an aircraft size would be within the realms of possibility back in his days studying at the Delft University of Technology, and then working for Airbus. There he learned two things: Electric flight is much easier on a smaller scale and new propulsion is better suited to a newly designed aero structure.

“I quit my job and asked my friend and colleague Sebastien to join me. We then collected initial funding from venture capital investors, and basically came up with the size of the plane because of three angles. First, physics. We believe that if you have pure battery-electric aircraft, you can’t go much bigger than what is essentially a general aviation aircraft. So, we think nine seats is feasible. But 19 seats is still a little bit too far away,” van Dartel tells us.

The second point is regulatory. If an aircraft holds nine seats or below, it still qualifies for level three of CS23 – EASA’s regulation for normal, utility, aerobatic and commuter aeroplanes. Anything above that becomes a level four, which is a considerably bigger certification effort, says van Dartel.

Thirdly, the firm sees a unit economic advantage with a nine-seater. Van Dartel thinks its price point should compete in a very non-business aviation-like way with an ATR 42 or similar aircraft. Having a nine-seater aircraft enables VÆRIDION to open up thinner routes where filling up the 40 seats on a regular basis, if at all, is not possible.

VÆRIDION has cooperation agreements with Danish charter operators Copenhagen AirTaxi and Copenhagen Helicopter. The firms plan to test Microliner on the Copenhagen to Læsø route (an island in the north of Denmark).

Van Dartel completed his first study on electric aircraft 17 years ago. “Well, back then, there was the big promise of lithium sulphur that would get us to 500 watt hours per kilogram, and that would come online in 2010,” he says. “Well by now there are lithium sulphur cells that flew on unmanned platforms, but none have made a breakthrough. 

“We have now lithium-ion NMC [nickel, manganese, and cobalt] cells out there in the higher 300 or even 400 range in the lab stage. We also found that if you optimise well enough for aerodynamics and weight, our current generation of battery technology is good enough to have a meaningful range of up to 500km IFR.”

Regulatory, technology and customer-base factors aside, the business aviation community, especially from an association standpoint, is ready and willing to help scale AAM and electric flight in general. Collaboration across many parties has often been key to getting new technologies off the ground. Rocheleau explains: “No matter the concept – whether we’re talking about regional air mobility, or flying from 30th Street Heliport down to JFK – we’re able to help because of the expansiveness of our own operations and advocacy work. I think we are going to see the success of early operations build quickly upon itself. 

“One of the things that we do here at NBAA, and I play a role in specifically, is the whole industry, government-engagement piece, bringing people together, working through some of the challenges and sharing our experiences. Many of us – thinking about the rollout of some of the next generation materials that have made their way into the US National Airspace System – have tackled similar challenges before. So, there is the ability to help educate, shape perceptions and bring people together.”

The post Will business aviation have a role in scaling electric flight? appeared first on Corporate Jet Investor.

“Continuous improvement and ongoing enhancements for all Gulfstream aircraft are hallmarks of our ownership
experience,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream. “Development teams have prepared and perfected robust upgrades worthy of the award-winning G650 fleet. These enhancements provide operators even more tools that help pilots make informed safety decisions during all phases of flight, with particular emphasis on improving awareness in high-traffic situations and during take-offs and landings.

Standard Block 3 features include:
• New advanced graphics modules providing four times the terrain resolution and enhanced gamma-correct
colour sets
• Night Mode charts
• New Synthetic Vision System display options and improved graphics on primary flight display (PFD)
• Communication Management Function (CMF) version 3.1, providing improved performance and alerting
options
• Localiser Performance (LP) approaches with reduced minima over LNAV approaches, where localiser
performance with vertical guidance (LPV) is not available
• ADS-B In Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) for airborne or qualified ground operations
• More than 1,500 enhancements to the next-generation Flight Management System
• Access to the baggage compartment up to 45,000ft.

Optional features include:
• Situational Awareness package that includes both 2D and 3D airport moving maps (AMM), ADS-B In Visual
Separation on Approach and enhanced Synthetic Vision System symbology
• Predictive Landing Performance System that includes integration of Honeywell’s Runway
Overrun Awareness & Alerting System
• Autopilot Coupled Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)
• Weather Awareness package that includes an XM Weather update with eight new weather products, plus a
predictive weather hazards addition to the Honeywell IntuVue RDR-4000 3D weather radar system.

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If you have not seen Sesame Street, Plaza Sésamo or Sesamstrasse (or any one of the 160 international versions in 70 languages) recently, you may have forgotten Oscar. He is a green puppet who lives in a trash can. Jim Henson and Jon Stone, the creators of Sesame Street, named him after the “magnificently rude” owner of a local restaurant they regularly ate in.

You may be thinking that the airline has hired a character famous for being grouchy to guarantee consistent customer service levels, but in fact the puppet has been given the role of Chief Trash Officer (CTO). United is using him to highlight how Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is made from waste.

The airline has made more than 30 videos of Oscar talking with United staff (the first two are here) and is working on digital and physical campaigns. If you email Oscar (Chief.TrashOfficer@united.com) you receive a reply telling you that he is out of the office. It ends saying: “For the forestinkable future, our CTO is out of office telling the world about his love of garbage. Speaking of, your email will be forwarded straight to the trash folder. Just where we like it.” (This is not particularly innovative, a lot of emails to airlines seem to go straight to trash folders.)

SAF was less than 0.1% of United’s total fuel use in 2022. The airline says it is using Oscar to highlight its investments in SAF.

“United has invested in more sustainable aviation fuel production than any airline in the world by far,”  said Josh Earnest, chief communications officer, United. “Every airline burns jet fuel to run their business, but no airline will solve climate change on its own. So United has enlisted Oscar to help us educate the travelling public of all ages about SAF and rally them to the cause of fighting climate change. From banana peels to fryer grease, Oscar is uniquely qualified to help us explain why trash could be the treasure that fuels the jets of the future.”

While it clearly hopes people will be encouraged to book flights, United deserves huge credit for this campaign which is great for both airlines and business aviation. While you may be getting bored of SAF*, very few people outside of aviation really understand what it is or how it is made.

United’s Oscar campaign explains in very simple terms that SAF is – and will be – made from waste. The airline’s investments in five different SAF companies show this. It has stakes in Alder Fuels (forestry and wood waste), Cemvita (taking carbon dioxide from factory emissions), Dimensional Energy (air extraction), Fulcrum BioEnergy (municipal waste) and Next Renewable Fuels (used cooking oils and fats).

Last week United Ventures, the airline’s corporate venture capital fund, launched a new SAF fund with Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase and Honeywell as investors.

Business aviation companies are also investing in SAF. Directional Capital is an investor in Alder Fuels along with AvFuel. NetJets has backed WasteFuels which is looking to make SAF from garbage.

As United says, no operator can change climate change on its own. Perhaps business aviation as an industry should have its own sustainability campaign. What about using a big flightless yellow bird? (Image courtesy of United Airlines).

The post Trash talk appeared first on Corporate Jet Investor.

Inside, there was heat too, but this was confined to descriptions of the high-demand market for private jets. The key themes running through the 28 different sessions all touched on strong demand, supply chain issues and talent shortages, sustainability and a new influx of capital coming into the industry.

While everyone expects the US economy to worsen, almost all delegates were confident there will be no big fall in the next 12 months at least, with 33% of attendees very optimistic and 66% fairly optimistic. Brokers, too, were confident demand will remain strong into 2023.

Bankers shared their cautious optimism, with business expected to stay strong over the next year. “Senior executives do anticipate some level of recession, but the number one takeaway is that the banks are still open for business,” said Keith Hayes, senior vice president of PNC Aviation Finance. He added: “We’re not in fear of recession, we’re lending very prudently and we’re still doing business.”Global Jet Capital’s CEO Vivek Kaushal agreed:“We’re doing probably 50% more volume this year than we did last year, so we’re still very much in business.”

Another reason for optimism was OEMs’ strict supply chain management – aided by supply chain disruptions. However, keeping up with the demand was a worry for many. Maintenance was a particular concern. Speaking about backlogs in the sector, Christopher Jordan, Operations director, Global Engine Service Sales, Honeywell said: “Have you ever played whackamole? That’s what it’s like right now. It’s triage.”

Hiring (and keeping) the right people also dominated lots of conversations. Many attributed this to the industry’s image and commercial airlines’ polished recruitment campaigns. “Let’s be honest, we’re getting our tails kicked by the airlines,” said Andy Priester, chairman and CEO, Priester Aviation. “That’s where [the students’] mentality is. As an industry, we need to figure out how to engage and recruit people to get them involved in our organisations at the high school and university levels. If we do it together, we’re going to be able to make a difference, if we all do it separately it’s going to be really hard to fix.”

FAA staff shortages are also delaying some jet sales. Chris Rocheleau, chief operating officer, NBAA said the challenge is that companies in business aviation are “trying to move at the speed of Silicon Valley versus moving at the speed of government”. He said: “There’s always a little bit more work to do than there is the time and resources to do it, and the FAA faces the same challenges.

“As you have a lot of people rotating in the senior positions, it’s challenging for the agency to pick a path, there’s a lot of competing interests. Permanent leadership in a direction that’s important to the industry is going to make a difference.”

Sustainability offered both a challenge and an opportunity. While it remains the focus of industry criticism, Eve Laurier, vice president of Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs, Bombardier said it could be key to recruiting more talent. The same young people who are critical of aviation could be attracted by the promised opportunities to make it more sustainable. “They can test the solutions[to sustainability]with us. They can’t test them with commercial aviation”, she said.  

More than half (58%) of the 500 delegates thought the industry has seen a permanent shift in demand. The remaining 42% thought the industry was experiencing cyclical changes. So, even if demand dips in the short term, it will come back around.

The post CJI Miami 2022: Is the heat wave cooling? appeared first on Corporate Jet Investor.

Second quarter (Q2) sales increased 12% this year to $709m compared to $635m in Q1 and rose by a fifth (20%) compared to Q2 last year, according to AEA’s most recent Avionics Market Report.

Over half of the $1.3bn in sales (54%) in the first half of this year came from forward-fit sales installed during aircraft production, while the retrofit market accounted for the remainder.

“It is encouraging to see sales continue to climb, up nearly 16% compared to the first six months of 2021, but we also must consider the inflationary pressures that could factor into that increase,” said Mike Adamson, president and CEO, AEA (pictured). Adamson pointed out that companies participating in the report said they had increased their prices by a substantial 6%, but highlighted this is still below the 8.5% increase in the US annual consumer price index reported in July. He said: “The effort to manage and maintain the flow of products by our avionics OEMs dealing with supply constraints and the ever-increasing cost to produce and recertify their products is extraordinary.”

The report, which launched in 2013, is compiled using sales figures from 21 aviation companies, including Alto Aviation, Blue Avionics, Collins Aerospace, Gogo Business Aviation, Honeywell Business Aviation and Universal Avionics. The sales numbers include all components in the cockpit and cabin of aircraft, software upgrades, aircraft electronics, hardware and batteries.

View the total sales from each year since the report’s launch below.

Yearly Totals

$1.3bn

$1.1bn

$2.4bn

+6.5%

$1.2bn

$980m

$2.2bn

-26%

$1.7bn

$1.4bn

$3bn

+10.2%

$1.6bn

$1.2bn

$2.7bn

+17.3%

$1.3bn

$984m

$2.3bn

+2.9%

$1.1bn

$1.1bn

$2.3bn

-6.4%

$1.2bn

$1.2bn

$2.4bn

-4.4%

$1.2bn

$1.3bn

$2.5bn

+4%

$1.1bn

$1.3bn

$2.4bn

+9%

N/A

N/A

$2.2bn

N/A

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• Honeywell appoints AMETEK Singapore PTE as an Authorised Repair Centre for engine components on CF6-80, PW2000, PW4000, V2500, Trent 700, Trent 800, and Trent 900 units.  
• This new licensing agreement is designed to enable both partners to further penetrate into OEM markets in Asia.
• AMETEK MRO has provided maintenance, repair, and overhaul services on these components for more than 14 years.

Honeywell has appointed AMETEK Singapore PTE, a brand of AMETEK MRO, as a Honeywell Authorised Repair Centre (ARC) specifically for engine components on CF6-80, PW2000, PW4000, V2500, Trent 700, Trent 800, and Trent 900.  This new licensing agreement will allow both Honeywell and AMETEK MRO to further penetrate into OEM-centric markets in Asia, serving customers that require OEM-only material through the utilisation of strategically located facilities in Singapore and the USA.

AMETEK MRO has provided maintenance, repair, and overhaul services on these components for more than fourteen years. Emphasizing the company’s strategy of providing best-in-class solutions for customers, David Corish, Divisional Vice President & General Manager of AMETEK Singapore PTE, said: “This agreement expands our long-standing relationship with Honeywell and strengthens our presence in the market by allowing us to better support our OEM-centric customers in the AsiaPAC region. The provision of comprehensive maintenance solutions, particularly in regions such as Asia Pacific where European and US based MROs continue to seek a collaborative approach to provide viable repair options from a logistics point of view, is a cornerstone of AMETEK MRO’s business.”

Andrew Wong, Vice President, Airlines, Asia-Pacific, at Honeywell Aerospace, said: “With borders re-opening and international travel on the rise, we are committed to support our customers in ensuring their aircraft are service-ready to safely meet growing passenger demands. As we continue to develop our MRO capabilities and partner ecosystem, our partnership with AMETEK MRO will expand our reach in the region and provide our customers with dedicated OEM services and support at strategic aviation hubs, further reinforcing their trust in Honeywell as a trusted service partner.”

As an original equipment maker with decades of experience, Honeywell has unparalleled expertise with fleets and regions around the world. This new partnership will provide Honeywell’s customers with greater accessibility to parts, aftermarket services and best-in-class engineering support, maximising the operation of these engines.

AMETEK MRO Singapore has the financial backing it needs to prioritise innovation and expand capabilities and as an authorised repair station, it provides OEM warranty assessment as well as repair services for engine, cockpit, galley, and bulk cargo components. AMETEK MRO Singapore recognises that OEM-approved component repair and licensing agreements, particularly for more mature product lines, can deliver the ultra-efficient repair services that airlines expect, and looks forward to adding the additional Honeywell engine component capability to its portfolio.

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*The generator weighs about the same as a motor scooter but has energy to power a neighbourhood block

*The machine can be integrated with gas turbines, operate high-power electric motors, charge batteries, or in required cases mechanically drive a propeller

*The findings from the latest rounds of testing at the Electric & Hybrid Aerospace Technology Symposium 2022 in Frankfurt which runs today and tomorrow (May 31 – June 1). 

Honeywell has successfully completed the first round of testing of its 1-megawatt generator system, a new power source designed to serve hybrid-electric aircraft. This system is the industry’s first aerospace-grade electric machine that can also be used as a 1-megawatt motor without modifications.

The megawatt generator operated at 1.02 MVA (~1MW@ unity power factor) power levels during successful testing. The test demonstration ran continuously at 900 kilowatts, highlighting the megawatt generator’s high-power density (~8kw/kg) and efficiency (~97%), which are key enablers in hybrid-electric propulsion for both aerospace and ground applications.

At 280 pounds, the Honeywell 1-megawatt generator weighs about the same as a motor scooter and delivers enough energy to power an entire neighbourhood block. Its compact size, low system weight and fuel savings translate into sustainable and operational benefits for hybrid-electric propulsion and other applications such as mobile charging stations, turbogenerator systems that can be flown in remote areas, and directed energy systems.

“Honeywell’s megawatt generator is a new addition to our extensive portfolio and an industry first. It represents an important step in providing scalable solutions that advance industry innovation and support more sustainable and efficient operations,” said Dave Marinick, president, Engines and Power Systems, Honeywell Aerospace. “Essential high power, through advanced and compact technology such as this, impacts both the future of flight and of hybrid-electric aerospace propulsion.”

When compared to other aerospace generators in the market today, key performance differentiators include a much higher efficiency (97% versus 88%-90%) and improved power density (8kW/kg versus 2k-3kW/kg.

“Over the years, our experienced team of researchers and designers has developed several cutting-edge technologies to identify and address our customers’ needs and to advance innovation in our industry. The development of our megawatt generator is another example of this, providing power levels several times higher than those available today while still meeting aerospace expectations around size and weight,” said Taylor Alberstadt, senior director, Electric and Hybrid Electric Propulsion, Honeywell Aerospace. “Additionally, the megawatt generator’s potential to be seamlessly integrated with our existing gas turbine engines to create the most power-dense turbogenerators in the industry, including the ability to run on sustainable aviation fuels, is also exciting and will usher in an era of cleaner and less expensive air travel.”

These turbogenerator solutions can provide electricity to operate high-power electric motors, charge batteries, or in required cases mechanically drive a propeller to satisfy missions from heavy-lift cargo drones to air taxis and commuter aircraft.

The team is currently increasing the capability of the setup to support testing continuous operation at higher power levels.

Cristian Anghel, technology fellow, Electric Power, Honeywell Aerospace, will present the findings from the latest rounds of testing at the Electric & Hybrid Aerospace Technology Symposium 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany, May 31-June 1, with ongoing development and qualification to follow for both Honeywell megawatt generator and turbogenerator systems.

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Business aviation’s “fastest L-band inflight connectivity service” is expected to come into service in the first half of 2023, according to Inmarsat and its partner Honeywell. The service, SwiftJet, is powered by Inmarsat’s ELERA satellite network and an upgraded Honeywell terminal.

“SwiftJet represents a real step change in what customers can do on the aircraft,” Kai Tang, head of Business Aviation, Inmarsat told Corporate Jet Investor at the EBACE event in Geneva. “What we previously offered, 432 kilobits per second, is the fastest L-band in existence for aviation. Now you’ll be able to do up to 2.6 megabits per second. This is six times more powerful than what was previously provided.”

The increased speeds that SwiftJet offers will give customers enhanced capabilities for video calls, web browsing, email, texting and cloud-syncing. Video applications which were previously challenging over L-band, such as Netflix and YouTube will also be accessible.

SwiftJet utilises hardware from partner Honeywell. Existing customers of Inmarsat’s Swift Broadband service will benefit from an upgrade path without needing to replace any externally-mounted aircraft equipment, while new customers will experience the same ease of installation as with any Inmarsat L-band terminal.

Adam Sheppard, director of Aircraft Connectivity, Honeywell Aerospace said: “With Inmarsat, we have created a straightforward upgrade path for SwiftBroadband customers, giving them easy access to unprecedented internet speeds over L-band without having to change wiring or antenna hardware.”

Inmarsat already provides connectivity solutions to 4,500 aircraft that will benefit from the new service. “A lot of those 4,500 aircraft have Honeywell kit onboard with an antenna and terminal. Next year, when we flip the switch and turn on the service for customers, they will have already had

SwiftJet has been developed based on Inmarsat’s 40-year history of providing connectivity solutions, said Tang. Its work to build a global maritime safety at sea service, as part of a UN directive, has allowed Inmarsat to establish its ground and satellite infrastructure across the planet. “This service had to work exactly the same no matter where you were in the world,” Tang told CJI. “That is part of our DNA, and a part that helped build a global service that ensures end to end connectivity.”

Partnership with governments and international entities, such as the UN , had enabled Inmarsat to access technologies and build its infrastructure in numerous jurisdictions worldwide. “This is what allows customer to just turn their device on and it works. That’s really how it should be.”

Business jet connectivity is becoming ever more important, as revealed by a recent survey conducted by Corporate Jet Investor Quarterly, in partnership with Inmarsat. For example, 46% of respondents believed that enjoying the same online access in the air as on the ground will become more important over the next 12 months

As the latest addition to Inmarsat’s portfolio of business aviation inflight connectivity services, SwiftJet will be available alongside Jet ConneX (JX) and SwiftBroadband which have been activated on thousands of jets worldwide. All of Inmarsat’s services are powered by its ELERA satellite network

Business jet connectivity should always be a seamless process for the principal, said Tang. “ Our ethos is if we’ve done our job, then you don’t hear us abouts us. The principal on the aircraft shouldn’t care how their laptop or streaming works, it should just feel like magic.”

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