Tag: general aviation

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GAMA 2025: Reading the Room

The year kicks off—at least from a general aviation perspective—with the annual GA Shipments and Billings Report produced by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and its associated press conference held in concert with meetings of the association’s board and various committees.

With the National Press Club tied up, GAMA hosted the conference at the George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium near Foggy Bottom in Washington, D.C., which honestly made for a more comfortable venue in light of the packed house that may have overwhelmed the Press Club’s more intimate quarters. Youth infused the production, which was executed by talented GWU students in concert with GAMA’s highly professional team.

The delivery and billing numbers didn’t surprise me—generally positive news there. Once more, much is at stake as the playing field shifts again before our eyes.

The vibe in the room sets the tone for the year. In 2020, the specter of COVID was just beginning, with lockdowns not yet in place in the U.S. but challenging already in Europe. In 2021, the Russian invasion of Ukraine had just transpired days before. Supply chain repercussions echoed through 2022 and 2023, with FAA Reauthorization looming large last year.

With as much change taking place on a daily basis as we’re seeing this first quarter of 2025, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a necessary change in course prompted by one of several factors in play:

  • Tariffs by the U.S. and retaliatory answers from Canada, Mexico, China
  • The charge to slash U.S. government regulations and only replace them at a 10:1 ratio
  • Egregious use tax implementation in Europe, targeting business aviation
  • Deeply cutting personnel reductions at key agencies, including FAA, DoT, and Department of Commerce
  • And, oh yes, privatization of the National Airspace System in the U.S.

To kick off, Pete Bunce, current chairman and CEO of GAMA, clearly bases the association’s strategy on tariffs based on what transpired with the first go-round of the current administration, when tariffs were floated and walked back. “We want to work with the administration on smart policies to be able to go in not to debilitate this industry,” said Bunce. 

Using a typical GA powerplant—whether piston, turboprop, turbine, or electric—as an example, Bunce illustrated the impact on an industry that already suffers from a stressed supply chain. “[As for] tariffs and our supply chain…the challenges have been vast. And when you think about supply chain, it’s not easy to switch a supplier. When you go and switch a supplier, you’ve got to recertify that supplier. So that burns up resources from the regulators on either side of the Atlantic… So if we add tariffs on top of that to debilitate the industry, that can have very severe unintended consequences. Whether you’re talking about aluminum, whether you’re just talking about cross-border transactions—remember, when we produce an engine, parts and pieces cross borders all the time—if you’re starting to add tariffs to each one of those transactions, [they] become significant.”

Another echo of the previous charge to slash regulations may also have consequences that kill a lot of good work done by industry and government in partnership to streamline the certification process (MOSAIC), encourage bilateral agreements between FAA and EASA, and integrate UAS into the National Airspace System. “We in aviation can’t do anything without regs, policy, and guidance,” said Bunce, “and a lot of those are enabling regulations. How we interpret this, how it was in the first administration—2 to 1, now it’s 10 to 1—how we are going to actualize that to keep the momentum going forward on policy and guidance?”

An Oxford Economics impact study quantified the positive effect the business aviation industry has in the EU, in terms of jobs and revenue. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

A move in Europe to enact Draconian passenger use taxes on business aircraft forms a third distinct threat to the forward momentum of the industry. France stands to implement a “green” tax that would charge up to 2100 Euro per passenger on every business flight operating in the country. It’s an absolutely fallacious means by which to purportedly limit business aviation emissions—and would only serve to kneecap the very segment of the aerospace industry that is the incubator for innovation. It’s a sector that a recent Oxford Economics study commissioned by GAMA and the European Business Aviation Association reported 440,000 jobs and an economic input of 110 billion Euro into the European economy. 

“But what are we seeing over there?” asked Bunce. “We are seeing policies that attack our sector of aviation but also taxes that hit every sector of civil aviation—and these taxes aren’t what we thought about three or four years ago that dealt just with sustainability. These taxes are debilitative taxes that are simply going to be tax revenue for France or for other countries out there. The French government just signed into law a tax policy that has the potential of charging every passenger on a business aviation aircraft turboprop or jet up to 2100 euro per flight. 

“Think about that,” he continued. “If you have an economy in Europe that boasts that they are shifting from a strategy of the green deal to the green industrial deal, and your major pillar in that strategy is competitiveness, you just shot yourself in the foot by doing this. Because we all know it’s business aviation that gives companies advantage whether you’re doing business in Europe or you’re doing it around the globe.”

The grand irony is that France need only look across its landscape for the very businesses that are spurring the “green industrial deal,” such as Daher, which in its recent annual press conference reported on core business across all its pillars pushing emphatically towards the sustainable future. From AI optimization of energy consumption to the utilization of advanced thermoplastics within its TBM and Kodiak aircraft—and culminating in whatever the follow-on to Eco-Pulse will be—Daher is not blasé—or isolated—in its commitment to our collective future.

The already-declining EU market for business jets faces strong headwinds if tax policy such as that recently voted in by the French government comes to pass, or expands to other countries. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

But we’re not done yet… other specters raised in Bunce’s comments included the privatization of the NAS, an ongoing fight. This time around, it’s in the name of modernizing and streamlining the outdated air traffic control system.

However, within the FAA Reauthorization bill and associated appropriations, the funding and support for required upgrades to equipment and advanced training for personnel are already earmarked and ready for implementation. If acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau—a former NBAA exec and well regarded by the GA industry—is allowed to move this F&E forward, these issues untangle towards resolution. “But why would we want to go into that fight again when we can go and look at making this system better,” said Bunce. “I think if we’re distracted by another privatization fight, we’ve just lost this unique opportunity that all of civil aviation is united and said, ‘Congress, you can help us by appropriating more money in F&E, but also letting us use the trust fund more wisely, working with the appropriators to do it very smartly.’”

The GA Leadership panel, composed of GAMA chairman Henry Brooks, of Collins Aerospace, Pete Bunce, outgoing CEO of GAMA, and Jim Viola, CEO of VAI and incoming GAMA CEO. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

Finally, large-scale and immediate personnel reductions across the U.S. government have made the news every single day since January 20. And the FAA has not been immune, with an initial reduction of 400 employees imminent—and this to an agency that is already running at about an 800-personnel deficit, according to various reports. It feels particularly galling to have that salvo across the bow in the wake of the mid-air collision at Washington National last month, in which it appears understaffing may have played a part. 

To this, Bunce returned to the presumption that we can trust the administration to stand by its commitments when the dust has settled. “We’re trying to understand with them what the impacts are,” he said, “and the numbers don’t sound like they’re as many as they were first reported. We know that the morale within the FAA was boosted by…the declaration late last week [that] those that have direct responsibility for safety—their jobs are safeguarded. In fact, they aren’t even allowed the ‘early out,’ for lack of a better term, and that helps with morale. It says, ‘You are important to this industry.’ But we are going to lose some support people out there. That just means we have to exploit efficiency.”

In closing, Bunce noted the need to continue to build the stories that convey the wide-ranging and deeply felt impact general aviation has on the world. GAMA, in concert with AOPA and other aviation associations, commissioned a study of their own through PWC to quantify that impact.

It’s human nature to base predictions of future action on past behavior. My biggest concern lies in whether that can be applied to each of these threats—and how we can fortify ourselves as an industry to weather those ensuing storms.

Reading the room gave me the same feeling. Can we trust those now leading the U.S. government to listen to our stories and follow through on their commitments?

Piston airplane deliveries showed the strongest growth by segment. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Turboprop airplanes notched a slight decline in deliveries, with a slight increase in billings. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Business jet shipments ticked up slightly, at just under 5 percent. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
The 2024 GA billings report numbers reflect a steady increase since the knock-back in 2020 spurred by COVID. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
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EAGLE Rides a Bit of Turbulence at Oshkosh

While a record number of folks flew in to Oshkosh, the forum wasn’t quite full for the EAGLE (Eliminate Aviation Gas Lead Emissions) briefing at 10 am on Monday, July 22. But a couple hundred interested parties (pilots) did show up—and they were in for quite a review, punctuated by events unfolding throughout the week at EAA AirVenture. To review, EAGLE’s goal is to eliminate the use of leaded fuels in piston-powered aircraft in the U.S. by the end of 2030.

In the briefing, the FAA and industry consortium put representatives up on the forum stage, including co-chairs Curt Castagna, of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), and Wes Mooty, acting administrator on certification for the FAA. Walter Desrosier, GAMA’s technical lead on fuels, presented as well.

Walter Desrosier of GAMA presents on the long list of required materials testing in the path to approval for a fuel. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

Desrosier gave an in-depth look at where each of the candidate fuels are on the path to the marketplace. But even the “big picture” simplified version of that path appeared more complex than has been perhaps sold to constituents.

Three candidate fuels remain in the mix: 

* GAMI’s G100UL, which has an STC but no ASTM specification acceptance

* Swift’s 100R, which is undergoing concurrent STC and ASTM compliance testing

* LyondellBasell Industries’ UL100E, going through the Piston Engine Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) program, which progresses towards ASTM acceptance and fleet authorization

After compliance is unlocked, the stakeholders in the supply chain must accept it along the way: aircraft and engine OEMs, fuel distributors, FBOs, aircraft owners/operators, and pilots.

Dan Pourreau, of LyondellBasell Industries, maker of UL100E currently going through the PAFI process, led a separate presentation later in the week. In it, he noted that a true drop-in replacement for 100LL was quickly passing from reality. One reason? The MON (mean octane number) of 100LL with which many high-compression engines were certificated is roughly 104, and may be as high as 106. 

The best that unleaded fuel can do with non-lead boosters has been around 100 MON. That means that if an engine cannot accept the 100 MON, it may need mods to its operating conditions, such as cylinder head temperature limitations (“paper mods”), or further mechanical or technical mods.

Materials Testing?

There’s another concern raising a specter over the viability of GAMI’s fuel in particular. And that has to do with the materials testing that earlier candidate fuels in the PAFI program failed to pass. When you put fuel into the wing of an airplane, you pump it into a tank and start its journey through a system that includes elastomers (O-rings, hoses), metals, rubbers and other bladder materials, plastics, sealants, and paint. You have the certified fleet to consider when walking through the potential interactions—and then there’s the experimental fleet.

During Desrosier’s presentation, he popped up a Materials Compatibility Testing Matrix slide listing an outline of the materials that EAA has put forward through the EAGLE consortium for consideration in the process of ensuring a candidate fuel won’t negatively interact with anything it comes into regular contact with. While the OEM holds responsibility for testing certified aircraft (including its legacy models), the individual builder must test their own.

So, one of the 2,846 showplanes on EAA’s display last week drew my interest as a result of this question: the Beechcraft Baron that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is using to demonstrate to its members the high-octane unleaded fuels vying to replace 100LL. I’d have reason to take a close look at it as the week wore on—Oshkosh often serves as a proving ground for new designs and technologies, in that they must sit out in the sun, wind, and storms for more than a week in many cases. That’ll test anyone’s material makeup.

AOPA flew the Baron to the show with GAMI’s fuel powering the left engine. As the week wore on, two things raised questions in the area of materials compatibility—though nothing is conclusive yet. The first one feels perhaps cosmetic: the stain growing on and around the fuel cap on the left main tank where white paint had been previously. 

The fuel cap on the left main tank of the Baron flown by AOPA for unleaded fuels testing. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Sludge weeping from seams under the wing of the Baron at the AOPA exhibit. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Reaching a low point in the wing, perhaps, the substance had the appearance of oil but smelled more of sealant. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

The second one feels more onerous, though we don’t yet know what the cause is. A line of oil-colored sludge reeking vaguely of sealant seeped from the seams underneath the wing, at low points near where the tank sits inside the wing. I crawled under to take a look myself, and it was there for all to see. Until the source of the sludge is inspected, however, its origin is inconclusive. Stay tuned for more as other results of long-term testing/demonstrations come to light.

We Have a Mixing Problem

The FAA recently published data that indicates GAMI’s fuel uses m-toluidine, an aromatic amine, as an octane booster. Not only does this set of chemicals potentially pose materials compatibility problems, but it also raise the problem of intermixing in the field—or within a tank. For its part, Swift Fuels has stated that any fuels containing aromatic amines cannot be intermixed with any Swift Fuel, including the 100R. 

LyondellBasell reported that its fuel will be fully miscible with 100LL, since it runs very close to the leaded fuel in its chemical and physical properties. But it too is not likely to be mixable with either GAMI’s or Swift’s fuels.

And that prompted me to ask the question at the forum, is there a point at which the FAA and industry will need to get behind one fuel to move forward with—especially since FBOs are unlikely to have multiple tanks to dedicate to unleaded fuels? The market is so small as it is, and the risk of bifurcating it into two or three high octane unleaded fuels doesn’t sit well.

With these clouds on the horizon, the race to field a workable unleaded fuel solution for the GA fleet by 2030 has only intensified. The next EAGLE report will be virtual, in October. I plan to be there—will you?

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What The DC Flyover Meant

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]
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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]
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Climbing Fast, Sustainably

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.

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What Happened at GAMA 2024?

The annual report out livestreamed by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association Wednesday delivered good news mixed with ongoing challenges to the industry.

My key takeaways?

  1. The GA industry delivered more than 4,000 units across the piston, turboprop and jet segments last year—more than we have in a decade. That’s exciting and shows continuing strength in the face of supply chain, inflation, and workforce pressures.
  2. The MOSAIC comment period is open again—and we need to weigh in strongly against the proposed shift to Part 36 noise compliance, which would add spurious testing to already extensive certification programs.
  3. We need to push for a commensurate book & claim system in Europe—especially as SAF availability moves to commercial airports and out of reach of BizAv where it can be used to foment innovation.
  4. As we move towards the publication of the SFAR governing advanced air mobility lift, as well as facilitating bilateral agreements we must keep building guidance that is clear and actionable for the front line FAA, EASA, ANAC, and Transport Canada folks to implement.

More on unleaded fuel, electric and hybrid progress, and fallout from Boeing to come.

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The Spirit Of Scholler

The early evening light shone into the tent, making the old orange nylon glow. It was appropriate to be there at the campgrounds of Camp Scholler in the first tent I ever camped in—my family’s tent from 40-plus years ago—for my return to Oshkosh au naturel, more than 20 years since I first put down stakes there.

It turned into a homecoming, and a new experience at the same time: My partner in crime, Stephen, celebrated his first Oshkosh ever during the 2018 show. He had an excuse: He’s a Brit. So we were both like kids returning to our more innocent years. And it turned out Scholler was a perfect place to do it—hard ground, busy showers, bugs, and all.

We rolled in around 6 pm on Tuesday, which meant we secured one of the last tent spots for the taking. Seriously, when we located our home for the next four nights, we looked around for the south boundary fence and found it just a few yards away. That made me happier than you might think: It meant that Scholler was FULL! 

My guess was verified the next morning at the media briefing: Not only was Scholler at capacity, the aircraft camping filled up as well, even given the new extension, the South 40. More happiness. To have so many folks there, spending days or the whole week, and (most importantly) flying in, that made my heart sing. It’s a solid indication that our general aviation industry retains a shine, perhaps returning to full health after a decade of rough years.

So many elements go into this hope, as I found out over the course of the week at EAA AirVenture. Innovations took top billing, with forums and showcases and lots of attention from all sides. Old friends met new ones: Both the warbird and classic rows featured new faces, and the homebuilt areas were packed. The venders with whom I compared notes said business was good—a solid showing at least. More satisfaction.

And the weather…nearly perfect. Does that ever happen? Okay, so, Wednesday eve we ducked out of the pouring rain around dinnertime, and feared what we’d find at the campsite. A moat? A stream? Water cascading through our tent? We lucked out. We’d picked a bit of ground that sat ever-so-slightly higher than its surroundings. And with the exception of one dumbass move (leaving the vent window unzipped), we stayed dry through that single night of showers.

But the best part of camping was the people (aside from opting out of the morning traffic jam coming into the grounds). After our early morning showers and reasonably giant coffees from the canteen, we sat outside and talked with newbies from around the country—and the world. Everyone gave off a kind of quiet joy that’s impossible to fake. 

If we were a bit worried that we might find politics a problem, our concerns faded quickly. It was as if everyone silently agreed to keep our differences outside of the airport boundaries. We had enough common ground to focus on that the divisiveness fell away. It had no place. Let’s make a pact to carry on that spirit of camaraderie, shall we? We could wind up solving our problems rather than letting them grow intractable.

It felt as though general aviation has started to use its collective will in this way to renew itself, and move forward. For a first-time visitor to Oshkosh, what I’ll call the “Spirit of Scholler” demonstrated best what GA in the United States is all about. For a longtime avgeek returning home for that annual visit to Wisconsin, it made me feel so full of hope.