Lots of pilots come to EAA AirVenture each year to learn, whether it’s in a builder’s forum, an expert panel, or a session in a flight sim at the Pilot Proficiency Center.
Thursday held a training theme for me around master instructors, with three gatherings tuned to bring CFIs together.
The first was the annual member breakfast for the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI). During the event, NAFI inducted Doug Stewart and Tim Tucker into the Instructor Hall of Fame, and gave the Eggespuehler and Laslo awards to Samantha Bowyer and author Steve Rutland.
The second was the annual King Schools press conference and lunch, which gathered flight school leaders and scholarship winners along with John and Martha King—legendary instructors who take the time to talk with everyone who comes their way.
Third was the dinner hosted by the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE), during which Instructor Hall of Fame member Rich Stowell gave his presentation on 9 Principles of Light Aircraft Flying.
At each event, I took away something I intend to apply to my own dual given.
The 2024 inductees to the National Instructor Hall of Fame were honored at NAFI’s breakfast. [Credit: Julie Boatman]John and Martha King pose for their raving fans at their lunch press conference. [Credit: Julie Boatman]David St. George kicks off the annual SAFE dinner on Thursday evening. [Credit: Julie Boatman]Rich Stowell and Doug Stewart catch up at the 2024 SAFE dinner at Oshkosh 2024. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
For an Oshkosh lacking major announcements—no totally new aircraft, no killer app—the quiet part out loud could be found in applications of new technology to familiar aircraft.
The headliner has to be the Harbour Air eBeaver, tucked into the main aircraft display, featuring a Magni650 power train. We spoke with Riona Armesmith, CTO of MagniX, and she briefed us on the operation of the dual motor, four inverter system driving a Hartzell composite prop. The STC is in work while flight tests comtinue.
The next pair involve simplified flight controls. We signed up for a demo of the Skyryse system in the sim set up in the shadow of the tower. We’re under NDA, but if the four-axis controls work as advertised, in a Robinson R66, we’ll likely need a different pilot certificate for traditional rotorcraft—worse than giving a manual transmission car to a kid who has only driven an automatic.
We also met up with Airhart’s founder and CEO Nikita Ermoshkin, who we interviewed for a story on Robb Report last week. The team is testing simplified flight controls in a Sling E-LSA, after flying its first proof-of-concept in an RV-12. The idea? Bringing easy flight to the masses. And I say making it possible to get a sport pilot certificate in 20 hours or less—for real.
With the relaunch of JulietBravoFox Media, we’ve captured back a bit more time to volunteer with the aviation missions closest to our hearts. Day Two at AirVenture was filled with meet-ups for two key groups: the Recreational Aviation Foundation and LightHawk.
We kicked off the day with doughnuts and coffee and good times with our fellow RAF volunteers on the top of the Hartzell booth, with a great view of the main aircraft display. Pete Bunce of GAMA honored a couple of special contributors, and then we went on a walk to take photos of the orange RAF gaggle at sponsors’ exhibits around the show: Redbird Flight Simulations, Daher, and Aviat.
Next, we had a gathering of LightHawk volunteer pilots, of which Julie just became one—along with the contribution of Stephen’s photography. We met at the Textron Aviation booth, hosted by board chairman Steve Kent. We shared our latest missions and took a tour of the Cessna, Beech, and Pipistrel aircraft on display.
Our evening capped off with two parties celebrating community: AOPA’s 85th anniversary bash at The Waters, and the Pilatus/Piper Block Party, where we met up with old friends.
Doughnuts and coffee and camaraderie celebrate the Hartzell rooftop gathering of volunteers with the Recreational Aviation Foundation. [Credit: Julie Boatman]Stephen and Julie met up with fellow LightHawk volunteer pilots at the Textron Aviation exhibit, sharing stories with friends old and new. [Credit: Julie Boatman]AOPA brough New Glarus on tap for its 85th anniversary party at the Waters. [Credit: Julie Boatman]Pilatus and Piper hosted their annual “block party” showing that even competitors find community at Oshkosh. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
This year’s EAA AirVenture launched with a relentless lineup of press conferences and events impossible for one person to cover—so it’s great to have a team here!
We started off with the Cirrus presser and Todd Simmons gave his characteristically enthusiastic run down of the company’s recent success—and the 10,000th SR and 500th Vision Jet are on display here at the show.
Daher’s Nicolas Chabbert introduced the Multi-Mission Kodiak 900 with its truly dynamic paint scheme to show off the company’s new paint facility in Sandpoint. Chabbert gave the mike to CEO and group chair Didier Kayat for his update, then introduced the interns for 2024—one from the US, one from Canada, and two from France.
The EAGLE initiative delivered a detailed update—and raised a lot of questions. More on this in an in depth edition of #JustJuliesTakes later this week.
Todd Simmons heads up the customer experience team at Cirrus. [Credit: Julie Boatman]Nicolas Chabbert, CEO of Daher’s Aircraft Division, introduces the 2024 interns in the company’s program with GAMA. [Credit: Julie Boatman]The EAGLE update on unleaded fuel for GA sparked a lot of questions from the crowd. [Credit: Julie Boatman]EAA Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton and Director of Coms Dick Knapinski kick off AirVenture with a big lineup and lots of folks flying in. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
We cruised in 24 hours ago, and that first day at EAA AirVenture 2024 has filled up with friends, and tents, and requisitioning from the local commisaries: Columbia Outlet, Kwik Trip, Mills Fleet Farm, and Festival Foods.
We start the business end of our stay in an hour, and I’ll plan to share my #JustJuliesTakes from each day of the show. But for now, I’ll leave you with a quartet of images that capture today’s day of active rest in the Oshkosh Bubble.
You can adorn your airplane any way you want in the North 40. [Credit: Julie Boatman]The first beer of Oshkosh 2024 has to be to local favorite, Spotted Cow from New Glarus. [Credit: Julie Boatman]A full moon rises over the V-tail Bo… is it a Tomato Moon? [Credit: Julie Boatman]Sunday morning from the campsite breaks with a soft sunrise. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Simplified flight controls have been on my mind of late. Triggered this week by a conversation with Nikita Ermoshkin, founder of Airhart, and past ones with various flight control engineers and pilots at Dassault, Embraer, and Gulfstream, translating aileron, elevator, and rudder input into a single joystick control won’t just be for bizjets and F35s.
Airhart began proving its model in a Van’s RV-12, and now a Sling E-LSA. Joby’s flight control system takes it a step further by incorporating VTOL flight requirements into a speed control (set it and forget it) and a side stick. Could creating an ease of flight for the average person finally make possible the increase in aircraft production necessary to reduce its overall cost? We’re quickly approaching this first transformational point.
At the same time, another sea change approaches. While Joby builds toward its first certificated eVTOL using electric motors and battery packs charged through currently available ground based sources (renewable or not), it is working concurrently on a hybrid-electric model fueled by liquid hydrogen. In fact, it flew one of its remotely piloted test articles (with a power system developed by H2FLY) in the vicinity of the Marina Airport in California for an eye popping 523 statute miles during a flight time of four hours, 47 minutes. The intention? To prove the viability of the next version for regional transportation, not just the 50-to-100-mile hops planned for the all-electric model.
“Rather than just connecting metropolitan areas, we’re able to connect between metropolitan areas,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, in a technology roundtable hosted by Joby virtually on July 17. “We think this is another game-changing technology.”
“It’s just a glimpse as to what the power of this platform is,” said Eric Allison, Joby’s chief product officer, in the same discussion.
Hydrogen-fueled flight compels in spite of the challenges to contain it because it is so energy dense, and leaves only water vapor behind. Putting this power into Joby’s platform would actually make possible the timeline for achieving net-zero carbon emissions in aviation by 2050. A second key element.
The third? The ability to bring these aircraft into our neighborhoods because of the substantial reduction in noise they produce as compared to a piston airplane, let alone a helicopter. Ever been surprised by a Tesla sneaking up on you? That’s the relative quiet of Joby’s first production model, based on both their objective noise reporting and my impression of it standing on the ramp at Marina about 100 feet away.
Ease of flight control. Hydrogen power. Big noise reduction. The intersection of these three elements lies just ahead, if Joby makes good on its efforts.
“I want to frame this moment in time as one of the most exciting times in aviation,” said Bevirt. I happen to agree.
Joby also recently announced plans for a large flight training facility in Watsonville, so I asked Bevirt and Allison: Is the plan to continue with the original piloted version to be first to market, with an autonomous version to follow, given the acquisition of the Xwing autonomous platform development business?
“We are laser-focused on bringing a piloted eVTOL aircraft to market, and are establishing pilot training facilities, curricula, and simulators to support the introduction of that aircraft to markets around the globe,” Joby’s team replied after the roundtable.
“Xwing’s comprehensive approach, and expertise in perception technology, system integration and certification, is expected to benefit both near-term piloted operations for Joby as well as fully autonomous operations in the future.“
Joby’s plan has long been to apply autonomous versions of its aircraft to the air taxi market once the concepts underpinning them are proven operationally. So the Xwing acquisition, along with the recent announcement of ElevateOS, Joby’s customer interface, feel timely.
We’re not quite ready for autonomous flight. But more than ever, we can see it from here.
The wind picked up white tips on the wave tops below, little cirrus wisps on a teal-blue field.
Turning south to parallel the Atlantic coast down from Rehoboth Beach, we made good on a promise I’d made myself 4 years ago when we first flew with LightHawk for a story for Flying magazine.
With the pivot to our own business this spring, I saw clearly the gift of time we could now dedicate to volunteering for several aviation organizations near to my heart: the Recreational Aviation Foundation, the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators, and LightHawk. I could spend meaningful time with each, and give purpose to my flying as well as collaborate with some of my favorite folks in the aviation family.
I went through the process to become a LightHawk volunteer pilot (VP), a series of interviews and reflection on my experience, as well as recommendations from key folks I’d flown with the in past. They set a minimum total time of 1,000 hours PIC for a reason: The flights typically involve carrying non-aviation passengers and photographers. The flights may also follow routing at low level and/or in congested airspace, or in varying terrain for the sake of capturing a broad breadth of the natural resources we collectively seek to protect.
Our first mission would just involve Stephen and I, capturing a couple hours’ worth of video of the high tide at the end of June along Maryland’s Atlantic coast and around the Delmarva Peninsula into the Chesapeake Bay. LightHawk will add the reels to their archives, and use them to compare to similar footage to be collected during the King Tides in September. We’d fly our friend Bobbie’s Cessna 182, the perfect steed for this, and test out a couple of new GoPro mounts along the way. It was an ideal one to start for us.
But it wasn’t without its complications. We’d need good VFR weather—no low coastal clouds, and no convection down low bumping us around. We’d also need to navigate the special use airspace peppering the Bay and the southern tip of the peninsula. The length of the mission would stretch our legs (but not the 182’s, with its nearly 6 hours endurance), and the afternoon timing meant we would be flying in the hottest part of the day.
We chose our day: Saturday, June 29. We had to wait for the weather to clear off on the peninsula, and some last-minute fiddling with the tiedown-ring mount on the wing meant we got off a little later than hoped. We’d still make the coast by a few minutes after the high tide mark, but we’d be an hour past that by the time we got to the bay side. C’est la vie! We’d capture what we could and take lessons learned for the next time.
However, we completely lucked out when it came to airspace: the summer weekend with the DC and Delaware areas quiet as far as VIP movements (read TFRs) nixed the one centered on KILG that would have affected the northern part of our route. And, the closed tower at Wallops and cold restricted areas throughout the bay meant we could fly out straight over Aberdeen, down the coast past Chincoteague, cut across the tip as needed, and back up the other side.
We even managed a Class B clearance just north of BWI on the return, giving us a clear view of the Key Bridge (or its remnants) and our best shot at making it back to KHGR before the thunderstorms came over the mountains from the west. Many thanks to those nameless folks at Potomac, Dover, and Patuxent Approach for your help and creative suggestions.
The remote control on the wing mount worked, as we found coming over KGED, and a glareshield mounted GoPro as a backup worked well too. Stephen ran video on his iPhone for triple redundancy. We’re now in the tedious process of uploading all of the footage to LightHawk for their review and consideration.
Regardless of that outcome, we’re calling the mission a success. We clocked 4.1 hours on the Hobbs, and got the airplane back in the hangar before the rain began at the surface.
I figure we managed to generate all four of the “happy chemicals” a person needs to lift their spirits: dopamine (achieving a goal); serotonin (being above nature); oxytocin (helping others); and endorphin (being creative).
LightHawk is in the midst of its #50in50Challenge to launch 50 flights in the 50 days starting from June 15. If you’re interested in becoming a LightHawk VP, check it out here.
Crossing the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay just south of Aberdeen. [Credit: Julie Boatman]Flying out to the coast near Rehoboth Beach [Credit: Julie Boatman]Turning south towards Chincoteague [Credit: Julie Boatman]Patterns on the shoals and waves below [Credit: Julie Boatman]Capturing the wetlands along the coast [Credit: Julie Boatman]A wing view out to the water [Credit: Julie Boatman]The town of Chincoteague and the seashore below [Credit: Julie Boatman]Passing the Cape Charles VOR to the bay side [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Not sure if you’ve noticed, but LinkedIn recently launched a new feature on its feed, “AI-powered takeaways” accessible to subscribers to the LI Premium product.
If they’re honestly trying to get me to re-up Premium, this is not going to do it. Here’s why.
These AI-generated prompts key off of the text of certain LI posts, and posit “reasonable” questions to ask, presumably to further one’s knowledge of the subject at hand.
While a handful come off ok, it’s typically only when they address very broad topics, or very basic questions—certainly not the kinds of questions I would need any kind of background to figure out for myself.
And often I find them completely, well, inane.
For a Friday afternoon laugh, check these out from this week…
The spark of the idea took place more than two years ago—the concept that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association could organize and execute a mass formation flight over the nation’s most restricted airspace. In commemoration of its 85th birthday, the association did just that, with the “National Celebration of General Aviation DC Flyover” on May 11.
A strung-out gaggle of 54 aircraft—cached in eras and genres from the most classic Beech Staggerwing to the recently debuted Piper M700 Fury—launched from the Frederick Municipal Airport (KFDK) starting at 11:38 a.m. They flew in a distinct trail straight to the heart of Washington, D.C., into the Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ) and through prohibited area P-56 overlaying the National Mall. They took three routes back to Frederick and landed without a hitch.
A secure area had been established on the flight line, with all pilots vetted by the Secret Service and put through extensive background checks. Most aircraft carried at least two people, also having gone through preliminary and on-site TSA screening. I took up friends on the invitation to watch from their hangar near the flight line, and we positioned the golf cart with a good view of the runway—as close as we could get.
The spectacle alone—and the formation logistics—would be worth a round of applause. Just to have 54 aircraft show up and fly, and have the weather completely cooperate, made it a banner day. But after a few days’ reflection, I can’t help but say it goes much further than that.
A number of GA classics, like this 1944 DGA-15P Howard, joined the aerial parade. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
For someone who was working at AOPA on September 11, 2001 (like me), to watch nearly 23 years later a string of former colleagues and friends from around the country fly right into the heart of the “no-fly zone” that has existed ever since that awful day….well, it made me realize what is possible. It took a lot of “trust but verify” to put 54 GA aircraft into that string of pearls—but with concerted effort and the integrity of those making the “ask,” it came to pass.
We’re celebrating another anniversary this year: 30 years since the General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) was passed, paving the way for the restart of GA aircraft production by Cessna, Piper, Beech, and others. A tip of the hat to Russ Meyer (former president and CEO of Cessna) and Ed Stimpson (then president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association) for figuring out the way to make that bill a reality. A “post restart” Cessna 172 took its place in the Flyover—not the fanciest airplane on the lineup, but one of the most poignant.
This week we also saw an amazingly bipartisan effort to pass the FAA Reauthorization bill so desperately needed to free the gridlock in bureaucracy and funding to keep the FAA running. That will support not only those GA manufacturers now producing 4,090 aircraft in 2023, but also the pilots, airports, and technological advances like unleaded fuel that are critical to a healthy GA ecosystem. This time, it also produces a title for general aviation, preserving its seat at the table, for the first time in a bill. And rare for the current state of affairs in Washington, both parties came together to pass the bill through Congress and to the president. It’s still possible to collaborate across the aisle.
And so much more is possible if we keep working together, dreaming big dreams, and innovating our way to solutions. My friend Carlo flew the Hatz biplane he built in his hangar at Frederick past the Washington Monument, the White House, and over the top of DCA on a sunny Saturday in May. You just never know where GA can take you when you believe, and you put in the effort to make it happen.
The open-hangar lunch let us linger after the formations returned. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Just before the monthly Washington Aero Club luncheon—hosted by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA)—kicked off on Thursday, I was chatting with two members of of the general media whom I had not yet met. One represented Bloomberg’s tax-related publications and was relatively new to the beat. The other reported for the Wall Street Journal’s general business coverage, and had not delved much into private aviation (aside from a stint sitting next to Jon Ostrower while he was still at the WSJ, from whom he said he soaked up aerospace insight like a sponge).
The pair each echoed in their own words the fact they had been invited to a panel on sustainability in business aviation—yet before that moment, had no idea that those flying BA had any desire to act sustainably. “I had no idea anyone flying private jets cared,” was the consensus.
I know in theory how true it is that we often preach to our own choir in BA/GA, but once more I was slapped in the face with proof.
First, kudos to NBAA for bringing these two reporters from the general media (among others) into a room where they would hear an up-to-date and frank accounting from three leaders in our space that sit at the tip of the sustainability spear: Michael Amalfitano, president and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets, Billy Nolen, former deputy FAA Administrator and chief regulatory affairs officer for Archer Aviation, and Scott Lewis, president of World Energy (WE) SupplyZero, one of the largest producers of sustainable aviation fuel in the United States and globally.
In summary, here’s where we are in terms of the three pillars remarked upon by Amalfitano, Nolen, and Lewis—and underlined by moderator Ed Bolen of NBAA:
Commitment from the Manufacturers: Embraer now uptakes weekly the volume of SAF it had delivered quarterly in 2023. Amalfitano noted the Brazilian OEM had tested to 100 percent—”neat”—SAF in its Phenom 300 and Praetor 600, and that it uses the fuel in various blends for test flight, demos, and customer deliveries. “That will allow us to increase what was a low mid-single-digit consumption of SAF to 20 to 25 percent of what we do out of Melbourne” in 2024, he said. Embraer has cooperated with its engine OEM partners, including Honeywell, through the process.
Legislative Synergy for Sourcing and Distribution: Lewis outlined how WE SupplyZero is growing volume at the best rate possible, producing SAF derived from animal fats and used cooking oil. “We are employing latest technology that’s available right now in order to take that up from where we are today,” said Lewis. “About 4,000 barrels a day, of which about 1,000 barrels is sustainable aviation fuel, up to 25,000 barrels a day, of which 20,000 barrels is sustainable aviation fuel.” WE is also working on a pipeline that will deliver from its main terminal in the Los Angeles area (and soon to come in Houston), in order to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the SAF, so that its benefit is not just zero emissions from aircraft exhaust, but through the entire chain. Leaders in the audience noted the passing of the most recent agriculture funding bill in synergy with the last infrastructure funding bills and FAA Reauthorization Act to support biodiesel production in the U.S. The Biden Administration has challenged the industry to produce 3 billion gallons per year of SAF by 2030.
Advanced Air Mobility Goes Electric: Along with Amalfitano, who outlined Embraer’s electric push with its stake in Eve (an electric VTOL), Nolen reported on Archer’s leadership in bringing a viable eVTOL to market, with the regulatory basis established, airline partnerships in play, and a roadmap to infrastructure to support the accelerated development. He brought up another key feature of moving eventually to electric power: the quiet needed to fly within residential communities. “How have we gotten to this point?” said Nolen. “Three critical things have happened. Number one, battery cell technology has gotten us to the point that we have…the carrying capacity. Number two, the FAA has given us a regulatory path to get there. And number three, we’ve had the level of federal investment which, in turn, has unlocked the financial investment.”
All three areas will be required to maintain at least the current pace—and accelerate—in order to continue what BA has managed to accomplish in increased efficiency over the course of the last 40 years. Because the 30 percent greater efficiency gains that we have seen with each new bizjet model over that timeframe aren’t going to be enough to cover the spread in the future.
