Well, it wasn’t on my dance card, to begin with, but circumstances dictated that I head down to Florida for the first time in a couple of years to attend the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo this year.
My primary mission was to help out with my fellow volunteers with the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators at the triple-wide booth we had planned in Hangar A for the show.
SAFE volunteers proudly show off the new display booth at Sun n Fun 2026. [Credit: Donna Wilt]
But since I was already on site, I met up with fellow AvBrief contributor Larry Anglisano to put together a few bits for the home team at avbrief.com. We started off with this video showing off the Bristell B23 with the Rotax 916iS powerplant, interviewing my pal David Copeland of Bristell on the company’s plans for the model, now that MOSAIC is reality.
Next, I covered the several press conferences on Tuesday, with news from Daher including their Me & My Kodiak app and the proud display of the new TBM 980 and Kodiak 900 out front. Larry and I enjoyed a coffee (I only spilled a little on my feet) on their spacious deck).
Nicolas Chabbert introduces the Me & My Kodiak app at Sun n Fun 2026. [Credit: Julie Boatman]AvBrief’s Larry Anglisano and Julie Boatman share a great espresso on the porch at Daher at SNF 26. [Credit: Larry Anglisano]
Then, I scooted over to MagniX to check out their big reveal of a rather little powerplant, one that will be going into no less than the pretty Van’s RV-10 parked outside the tent.
The magniX motor will go next into this Van’s RV-10 for testing. [Credit: Julie Boatman]The magniX motor is destined for several test applications. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
I also had a chance to support client Hartzell Propeller during the company’s seminar as part of the Sun ‘n Fun Innovation Preview on Monday afternoon under the breezy pavilion (which won’t be so breezy next year, once it is enclosed). Great stuff coming from the Top Prop line, and new prop applications in the works…
JJ Frigge of Hartzell Propeller introduces the company’s new products at the Sun n Fun 2026 Innovation Preview. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Overall props to the excellent media headquarters staff, who kept me watered and fed and charged up during my whirlwind visit… and to the entire Sun ‘n Fun team for a great show… things are looking up at least in this part of central Florida.
The unofficial kickoff for theannual BACE in Vegas included reflections from all corners of the business aviation industry in a quest to make sense of a challenging, changeable time.
For those of us coming in from the East Coast, or Europe, the sun doesn’t rise quickly enough in Las Vegas. As usual, I woke up, sans alarm, at 4:57 am, ready to roll. Fueled by Tacos El Gordo from the night before, the action began at 7:30 am and did not conclude until I walked “home” from the Honeywell media event at the Las Vegas Country Club (very old school Vegas in a mid-century modern clubhouse) at 8:30 pm. Whew.
Éric Martel, president of Bombardier, announced the goal of a Mach 0.95 certification MMO for the Global 8000. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Big—and Fast—Jets
We covered Gulfstream’s G300 launch in late September in Savannah. The greater story lies in the rationalization of their product line that has occurred under the leadership of Mark Burns and team. I’m hoping to talk later at BACE with chief of engineering flight test, pilot Scott Evans, out at the static display where the G400 test article, G800 production model, and G300 cabin mockup grace the ramp.
Bombardier in a celebration fested by Cirque du Soleil gymnastiques announced its Global 8000 will aim for certification at a new top MMO of Mach 0.95. The nuances behind the number have been significant, and clearly already addressed in flight test to date, but the traverse to M1.2 during those tests opens up a slew of questions.
Rollie Vincent, CEO of JetNet IQ, remarked upon the effect that the spectre of tariffs have had on the business jet market. {Credit: Julie Boatman]WingX’s Christoph Kohler noted the headwinds and tailwinds found in the market ahead for business aircraft. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
The Market
At the Newsmaker’s Luncheon—during which The Air Current’s Elan Head deservedly secured NBAA’s Gold Wing Award for business aviation reporting—the mood in the room smacked of cautious optimism (that has been a theme for a while), with the collective sentiment captured in two keynote speeches referencing the current political situation in the U.S. as well as the leadership panel convened following lunch.
Those two keynotes formed an interesting parallel. Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, gave an impassioned plea for Congress to work towards the same kind of bipartisan solution to resolve the shutdown as the one that had led to the FAA reauthorization bill of last year, and which was discussed by Rep. Sam Graves in his remarks just prior to Daniels’. We can all hope, but hope is not a strategy.
Elan Head, of The Air Current, accepts the NBAA Gold Wing Award at the Newsmakers’ Luncheon. [Credit: Julie Boatman]The leadership panel at the Newsmakers’ Luncheon on Monday at NBAA BACE 2025 featured CEOs from aircraft OEMs and fractional operators. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
The uncertainty generated by global economic and geo-political forces underpins each of the market reports presented to the media on Monday, both by Rollie Vincent (JetNet IQ) and Christoph Kohler (WingX/JetNet) and by the Honeywell team, led by strategic planning manager Kevin Schwab. While the demand for business jets continues to rise—with 8,500 (Honeywell) or 9,700 (JetNet) new jets predicted to deliver over the next decade, forces from tariffs, to regulatory/shutdown headwinds, to black swan events on the geo-political scene are keeping everyone on pins and needles about the tenacity of that demand.
Leveling things out a bit, Michael Amalfitano, president and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets (and wearer of the purple socks, always spot on in style) noted the significant impact that large fleet sales have on their business. “What you have in terms of stability of strategic partners like FlexJet…is a great testimony to being able to find efficiencies in your production line, look for solutions that are going to bring more volume to that sector, and recognize that they’re a sales group in the sky.” However, Ron Draper, CEO of Textron Aviation, offered a balancing note–and one grounded in the company’s experience during the recession of 2008: “Fleet customers can change as the economy goes up and down. And so we like a mix of retail and fleet orders, and that’s what our backlog represents today.”
Kevin Schwab, Honeywell, presents the company’s market forecast at an event at the Las Vegas Country Club on Monday evening.Nicolas Chabbert of Daher highlighted the multimission capabilities of the Kodiak turboprops with a video showing a surveillance action in Las Vegas. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Brazil, Multimission in Focus
In several press conferences, the growth recently seen in Latin America has led to a greater focus on that market by OEMs seeking to capitalize on economic opportunity there, particularly in Brazil, where light jets and turboprops find great application in connecting remote areas of the country to its population centers. As an example, Daher opened its Brazilian office this summer and has now appointed its leadership team on site: Paulo Cesar Olenscki assumes the role of Executive Director for the operation in São Paulo, along with Rodrigo Cendon as the Customer Relations Director.
Also noted by Daher Aircraft CEO Nicolas Chabbert, the Tagine R&D project continues to roll along under funding by the French government. “This program is underway and is delivering papers and a cabinet full of ideas on the innovation side,” said Chabbert. “We took the Kodiak as a good bench to provide the mix between what could be advertised and what solutions can you do when it comes to the trade offs with the battery, and electricity. So this is the purpose of Tagine; it doesn’t necessarily end up with a product.”
In fact, the mountain of papers and data resulting from the joint exercise will be published publicly, according to Chabbert, so the company will determine following that report out if it will put into application the learnings gleaned from it. The problem presented by slow progress on improving energy density in the batteries currently available remains—capacity is roughly 50 percent of what it should be, he noted. And with collaboration on the FAA side that has come to a standstill during the current government shutdown, Chabbert would only remark that Daher’s progress on certification programs in process have paused.
Partnerships
Hartzell Propeller and The Blackhawk Group also announced their partnership ahead of BACE this fall. The plan is to leverage the service and support capabilities of both entities and expand their footprint in North America and Europe. Hartzell will supply its Top Props to Blackhawk for use on its upgrades and aircraft overhaul programs, and provide maintenance and overhaul facilities via its eight service centers.
We look forward to more time in the exhibit hall and at the static display on the official Day One of NBAA on Tuesday…more aircraft pics to come, along with fun times celebrating aviation with friends and colleagues.
One theme to my recent reporting and media support in the personal aviation industry has focused on the advanced materials from which the latest aircraft are composed. Composite airframes have matured over the past 20 years—no more overbuilt Beech Starships; now we have more than 10,000 Cirrus SR series singles delivered. But beyond the “skin” lie applications for everything from carbon fiber to thermoplastics in game-changing ways.
Hartzell’s Composite Props
Case in point: Hartzell’s ever-expanding line of composite propellers. The first composite prop was essentially a wood core with a metal leading edge—but we’re way, way beyond that now.
We have had the pleasure of supporting Hartzell’s media efforts at AERO this year, and it’s been very cool to have a front seat to the deep dive they have provided on just how different their new props are. Laid over a rigid urethane foam core, dozens of layers build up the body of the blade over a stainless steel shank. A nickel cobalt leading edge protects the robust blade, belying its thin profile. These stand up so well to the rigors of flight that they have essentially an unlimited life—they can be overhauled repeatedly, adding materials back up to spec rather than filing them away.
A recent white paper released by Hartzell outlines just how this is done, and it’s worth a read, since their props can be found on everything from the CubCrafters Carbon Cub to the Cirrus SR22T to the Daher TBM 960.
JJ Frigge, president of Hartzell Propeller, talks composite props with Flyer’s Ian Seager in front of the Carbon Cub at AERO 2025. [Credit: Julie Boatman]Hartzell’s first press conference at AERO 2025 gave President JJ Frigge the opportunity to brief the media on the latest in composite prop technology. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
That Citation Longitude Wing
Another place where you’ll find advanced materials making manufacturing more streamlined—and often reducing parts count—lies within the wings and fuselages of Textron Aviation’s Citation Longitude and soon-to-debut Beechcraft Denali. I sat down with Jimmy Beeson, vice president of product innovations at TextAv, and he described how they are able to build the wing monolithically on the Longitude, and they are applying similar principles within the airframe of the Denali. The clean-sheet designs allow for this development—and form one solid reason why we can’t just innovate iteratively. We need to start from scratch to realize the biggest leaps in technology.
Textron Aviation’s Cessna Citation Latitude features advanced materials inside and throughout the airframe. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Aura Aero’s Integral R
While a composite aerobatic aircraft doesn’t feel quite as new, the beauty of the recently EASA certified Integral R two-seater lies more than skin deep. The R made its stateside debut at the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo, and no less an aerobatic star than Mike Goulian has taken it up as his latest mount.
Aura Aero recently delivered the first Integral R in its portfolio of two-seat composite aircraft. [Credit: Julie Boatman0
