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BETA Plans to Certify a Fixed-Wing Electric Aircraft Alongside Its eVTOL

BETA Technologies announced plans to certify its fixed-wing electric aircraft, the CX300, alongside its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, the ALIA. (Photo: BETA)

BETA Technologies announced plans this week to certify its fixed-wing electric aircraft alongside its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, the ALIA. The eCTOL prototype performs conventional take-off and landing. BETA has already flown it more than 22,000 miles during 2+ years of full-scale testing. The eCTOL, the CX300, has undergone qualitative evaluation flights by FAA, Air Force, and Army test pilots and has completed a 386-mile test flight.

BETA’s Founder and CEO, Kyle Clark, commented that they have conducted test flights with the eCTOL prototype along airport-to-airport routes. “Global operators are looking for practical solutions to help meet their sustainability commitments, and after seeing the cost and performance of this prototype, our customers are eager to integrate it into their fleet,” said Clark. “With its known certification and operational path, this aircraft represents an opportunity to get electric aviation into the market, and into the hands of our customers, as quickly as possible.”

The ALIA and the CX300 “are common in their design, allowing us to economize validation of our high performance solutions,” according to BETA’s CEO, Kyle Clark. (Photo: BETA)

United Therapeutics, Bristow, and Air New Zealand are some of the customers that have placed orders for BETA’s eCTOL aircraft. Certification and delivery are expected in 2025. Air New Zealand intends to fly its first zero-emissions commercial demonstrator flight in 2026.

Clark remarked that the ALIA and the CX300 “are common in their design, allowing us to economize validation of our high performance solutions. With the eCTOL aircraft launch we have further de-risked our path to commercialization and concurrently provide lower cost, more utility and optionality to operators. This has given us the confidence to industrialize and invest heavily in production at scale over the last year.”

Pictured above is a comparison of the CX300 and ALIA-250 aircraft. (Photo: BETA)

A partnership between BETA, the UAE government, and UPS was made public recently. The partners are collaborating on the operation of electric aircraft in the UAE. February 28 marked the achievement of a Minimum Viable License, or MVL, to operate BETA’s electric cargo aircraft in the country. The temporary MVL was issued by the UAE Regulations Lab “with an aim to accelerate the shift towards sustainable and eco-friendly transportation modes and enhance the sustainability of the air cargo industry in the UAE,” according to the press release from the UAE Government Media Office. The initial stages of the collaboration will involve the operation of conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) vehicles.

Maryam Al Hammadi, Minister of State, Secretary General of the UAE Cabinet, is quoted as saying, “The Regulations Lab works with a number of experts, legislators from the federal and local government entities, private sector and entrepreneurs. The Lab’s mission is to develop new legislations that contributes to designing and adopting a flexible legislative system that keeps pace with the requirements of sustainability, and aligns the speed of regulations with the speed of innovation.”

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LIFT Conducts First Piloted eVTOL Flights in Japan

This week, LIFT Aircraft completed nine successful demonstration flights in Japan with its eVTOL aircraft, HEXA. (Photo: ©︎GMO Internet Group)

This week, LIFT Aircraft announced that it has completed the first piloted eVTOL demonstration flights in Japan. Following the nine flights completed in Osaka this week, the demonstration tour will continue in the cities of Niihama and Imabari.

LIFT’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, HEXA, was reviewed by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), which gave approval for this week’s demonstrations. Marubeni Corporation partnered with LIFT to conduct the flights, and GMO Internet Group also participated. Masatoshi Kumagai of GMO was introduced to the eVTOL aircraft and successfully completed three flight patterns following a training session.

Matt Chasen, founder and CEO of LIFT Aircraft, commented, “JCAB was thorough in their review of our safety standards and our aircraft, and gave us the green light to fly. It’s an honor that our aircraft was selected to be the first eVTOL ever piloted in Japan.”

“This is a strong indication to the world, and especially the thousands on our waitlist, that they will have the opportunity to fly very soon.” – Matt Chasen, CEO at LIFT (Photo: ©︎GMO Internet Group)

The eVTOL developer has already worked with the U.S. Air Force to formally conclude Phase 1 flight test and beginner flight envelope development. The HEXA eVTOL conforms to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Part 103, and it can be flown in the U.S. without a pilot’s license or aircraft type certification. LIFT has now launched Alpha Flights which allows for flights conducted by people outside of LIFT’s Flight Operations and Test teams.

The team at LIFT Aircraft has conducted flight testing of its eVTOL concept with the support of the U.S. Air Force since 2020 through a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Last spring, a Phase 3 contract was awarded that supports a rigorous flight testing program for HEXA as well as further development of use cases for the aircraft. HEXA is one of many eVTOL aircraft that the Air Force is evaluating through its Agility Prime program.

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USAF Budget to Include About a Dozen New Starts

Pictured above is the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie. Late last year, the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin AFB, FL, took possession of the first of two government-owned XQ-58As. The aircraft is a low-cost, high-performance uncrewed air vehicle that is rocket-launched off a rail system and is controlled from a ground station or airborne fighter by an onboard computer system that is capable of determining the best flight path and throttle settings to comply with commands, the U.S. Air Force said. (Photo: AFRL)

The upcoming U.S. Air Force fiscal 2024 budget request is to include about a dozen new start programs that will require congressional authorization, and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters on March 7 at the Air & Space Forces Association conference in Aurora, CO, that he is concerned that the toxic political division on Capitol Hill may impede the establishment and progression of such programs.

Such new starts would include the Next-Generation Air-Refueling (NGAS) tanker and a buy of perhaps 1,000 Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) to be employed by 200 Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) manned fighters and 300 Lockheed Martin F-35As.

The Air Force has about 300 F-35As and has planned to buy 1,763.

The 300 F-35As for deploying CCAs “is a reasonable target point,” Kendall said on March 7. “It’s somewhat arbitrary. I don’t know what the ultimate inventory of CCAs would be or exactly what the ratio would be. We’re starting out with the intent to have at least two per fighter working together, but it could be more than that. It’s gonna be a question of what the technology is and what works out best operationally.”

The Air Force fiscal 2024 budget is to include funding for operational unit experimentation with uncrewed, autonomous drones to develop CCA operational concepts and training.

“We want to get as much operational combat capability as we can out of this [CCA] concept, but, if we shoot too far, we’re gonna have a program that gets caught in schedule and cost overruns,” Kendall said. “We’re assessing the technology. We’re gonna do this competitively..I wanna push the technology without pushing it too far. That’s something we’re gonna have to figure out as we go along.”

Kendall warned against the Air Force “gold plating” service requirements, “which has gotten us in trouble in the past” on other programs.

This article was originally published by Defense Daily, a sister publication of Avionics International. It has been edited. Read the original version here >>

The post USAF Budget to Include About a Dozen New Starts appeared first on Avionics International.

Boeing and Shield AI Explore Bringing AI-Enabled Autonomy to Military Aircraft

Boeing will collaborate to explore Shield AI’s capabilities in autonomous pilot technology and artificial intelligence. (Photo: Shield AI)

Boeing on Wednesday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shield AI to explore leveraging the latter company’s capabilities in artificial intelligence and autonomy for autonomously piloting aircraft to military platforms.

Shield AI’s key software is Hivemind, which is an AI-enabled pilot for military and commercial aircraft that doesn’t require GPS, waypoints or communications to make decisions. This capability means that aircraft equipped with Hivemind can operate in highly contested and GPS-denied environments, and fly in swarms.

“Integrating Boeing aircraft with our AI pilot would redefine what large aircraft, crewed or uncrewed, could do,” Brandon Tseng, president and co-founder of Shield AI, said in a statement. “As the world leader in aerospace technology, Boeing has been exceptionally easy to engage with, so we are excited to expand our scope of work to co-develop, productize and bring to market the world’s best AI pilot for large aircraft.”

“Integrating Boeing aircraft with our AI pilot would redefine what large aircraft, crewed or uncrewed, could do.” – Brandon Tseng, president and co-founder of Shield AI (Photo: Shield AI)

Shield AI also offers some unmanned aircraft system (UAS) products, including the medium-size V-Bat series that can take off and land vertically as well as fly horizontally like fixed-wing aircraft, and Nova, a small UAS. Hivemind has been used to fly both UAS and an F-16 fighter.

“Boeing continues to leverage talent from across the enterprise to make great strides in autonomous capabilities and programs in recent years,” Steve Nordlund, vice president and general manager for Boeing’s Air Dominance organization, said in a statement. “Collaborating with Shield AI, the leader in AI pilots, will accelerate our ability to deliver these capabilities to the warfighter.”

Boeing’s Phantom Works advanced research, development, and prototyping division will manage the collaborative effort.

This article was originally published by Defense Daily, a sister publication of Avionics International. It has been edited. Read the original version here >>

The post Boeing and Shield AI Explore Bringing AI-Enabled Autonomy to Military Aircraft appeared first on Avionics International.

Universal Avionics To Fix, Update Dassault FalconEye Systems

Universal Avionics announced this week that it has added repair services for Dassault’s FalconEye product line at its Part 145 Repair Station in Arizona. (Photo: Dassault/Universal Avionics)

Arizona-based Universal Avionics has added repair services for Dassault Aviation’s FalconEye Combined Vision System (CVS) at its Part 145 Repair Station in Tucson.

Universal CEO Dror Yahav told Avionics International that the company, a subsidiary of Ebit Systems, is deploying “very sophisticated” equipment to diagnose and fix problems with FalconEye systems and has the knowledge and facilities to repair the six-sensor camera-driven CVS, typically on a five-day timeframe.

One critical factor is to have the necessary equipment to recalibrate FalconEye systems before returning them to in-service operations, he explained: “We have six different images that in the end have been fused into one big image and … when you touch the camera [for repair purposes], the whole thing just goes out of balance. So, you need to make sure that all six sensors are aligned.”

It is not just repair work that will be performed, Yahav noted, pointing to regular upgrades needed. “The FalconEye continues to evolve and we have new software improving the camera, solving other issues,” he said. “We are getting units here that need to be upgraded, but also units that come here for a problem or malfunction. In any case, every unit that comes in needs to be fully calibrated all over again [before it is returned] because whenever we touch it, then we need to make sure that it’s fully calibrated.”

Yahav said the FalconEye CVS is a level up in technology compared to more traditional flight vision systems. “Our traditional cameras are one-sensor cameras,” he explained. “Because they are one-sensor cameras … you don’t really need to align it to anything. So, it’s much more complicated than the cameras we are currently maintaining.”

Pictured is the Dassault FalconEye Combined Vision System (CVS). (Photo: Dassault/Universal Avionics)

Universal said in a statement announcing FalconEye’s addition to its repair portfolio that the Dassault system “uses synthetic, database-driven terrain mapping with multi-sensor camera inputs to provide pilots with enhanced situational awareness through its heads-up display.”

According to Dassault, FalconEye displays a high-definition, synthetic 40-degree horizontal by 30-degree vertical field of view “with no tunnel vision effects.” The six sensors allow images to be produced from “near-visible and infrared spectrums,” Dassault said in a description on its website, noting that one of the six sensors “can detect LED runway lighting before our naked eyes are able to.”

Universal said its FalconEye repair capabilities give North American operators of Falcon family business jets “local and comprehensive support” for the CVS. Dassault reported it booked 64 net Falcon jet orders in 2022.

The post Universal Avionics To Fix, Update Dassault FalconEye Systems appeared first on Avionics International.

Skyryse Introduces IFR Capable Robinson R66 Aircraft

Skyryse announces plans to bring a single-pilot fly-by-wire VTOL to market, providing full IFR capability. (Photo: Skyryse)

Recently, Skyryse announced plans to certify a variation of the Robinson R66 helicopter for instrument flight rules (IFR). This helicopter, equipped with improved systems, will make general aviation safer and more affordable, with the costs of purchasing and operating this system only a fraction of pre-existing programs with the same purpose.

Skyryse is an aviation technology company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that aims to reduce and eventually eliminate general aviation fatalities through a widespread adoption of a universal flight deck. Its system FlightOS helps to make flying more accessible and safer for all, and its recent improvements and applications promise to bring improved safety and reliability to certain sectors of the aviation industry.

FlightOS, Skyryse’s automated flight control system, is available for a multitude of aircraft specifically in the general aviation sector. It strives to bring unprecedented levels of safety, mainly through making the program easy to use and intuitive through the adoption of simpler controls. This always-on and always-engaged system has the ability to maintain critical flight details like altitude, heading and velocity, even in inclement weather with poor visibility or hazardous conditions.

The need for improved systems that can perform these functions is critical to the safety and reliability of the industry. As Dr. Mark Groden, founder and CEO of Skyryse, explained, “Cockpits and flight control systems have not changed much over the last century. We’ve reached a point where OEMs, pilots, federal agencies, and general aviation customers are looking for, and even demanding, changes that increase safety and reduce pilot error. At Skyryse, we believe it’s a moral imperative to deliver on this mission. We strongly believe that if this technology had been available sooner, we would have saved more than a thousand lives, including Kobe Bryant.”

Pictured above, a Robinson R44 modified by Skyryse makes a fully autonomous flight above Los Angeles. (Photo: Skyryse)

One of the challenges involved with the introduction of more sophisticated and reliable systems are the associated costs. As of 2023, the average rotary airframe equipped with IFR capability cost somewhere around $5 million. In addition to this sky-high cost, these aircraft also cost more than $1,500 to operate hourly. Meanwhile, the Skyryse Robinson R66 will be only a fraction of this cost, and will be over 50% cheaper to operate while still offering similar levels of safety.

Skyryse believes the success of this aircraft and FlightOS will have benefits that extend to other segments of the aviation industry, namely helping urban air mobility (UAM) to find reliability and thus practical application in major metropolitan areas. UAM operations are often greatly impacted by weather. In fact, in 2019 when Skyryse ran a mass air taxi operation in Los Angeles, it found that 25% of the time operations had to be grounded due to inclement weather. Through implementing IFR on rotorcraft, Skyryse believes reliability for UAM will improve, opening the door for practical application across the world.

Aviation companies are already demonstrating interest in Skyryse’s innovations. Air Methods, an air medical transport company, has already signed an agreement with Skyryse for the retrofit of over 400 units (mostly single-engined helicopters). As this IFR technology is introduced in more flight decks, Skyryse hopes to improve safety and reliability across the aviation industry.

The post Skyryse Introduces IFR Capable Robinson R66 Aircraft appeared first on Avionics International.

Airbus Helicopters Partners With the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation

In a new partnership, Airbus Helicopters will explore the use of eVTOL aircraft for emergency medical services with the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation. (Photo: Airbus)

Airbus Helicopters and the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation have formed a new partnership to explore the use of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for air medical services. The news was shared in an announcement during the HAI Heli-Expo event this week in Atlanta, Georgia. The partners will determine operational requirements for conducting air medical missions in Norway. These requirements will then be integrated into the configuration of the CityAirbus NextGen, the eVTOL aircraft that Airbus is developing.

Two objectives of the partnership are to reduce emergency response times for air medical services in Norway and to improve patient outcomes. The Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation and Airbus Helicopters will create a comprehensive roadmap to achieve these objectives for specific scenarios and to improve the performance of the Norwegian Emergency Medical Services system.

“This approach could be further expanded in the region through collaboration with other countries to optimise operations beyond the national healthcare system,” according to the announcement from Airbus.

The expertise in aviation that Airbus brings “is a major asset to help us combine different aircraft for medical services,” commented Hans-Morten Lossius, Secretary General of the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation.

“Helicopters remain essential to perform EMS missions, whilst eVTOLs can bring additional capabilities to support first responders, for instance by transporting medical specialists to accident scenes or organs from one medical site to another,” explained Lossius.

The Norwegian Air Ambulance, Norway’s national Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operator, utilizes a fleet of H135 and H145 models.

Balkiz Sarihan, Head of Urban Air Mobility at Airbus, commented that the company is looking forward to working as a strategic partner of the foundation. “The Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation has always been at the forefront of medical innovation, most recently with dedicated research to integrate a CT scanner into a five-bladed H145 helicopter,” Sarihan stated.

Through this new partnership, Airbus will be able to “further develop the exact missions where our eVTOL’s capabilities would contribute to protecting citizens and making sure they can access effective healthcare in Norway,” she added.

Evaluating the efficiency of Norway’s emergency medical system as it exists today will be the first step in creating an ecosystem that incorporates eVTOL aircraft.

The post Airbus Helicopters Partners With the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation appeared first on Avionics International.

BETA Opens Engineering Hub in Montreal

Electric aircraft developer BETA Technologies has opened a new engineering hub in Montreal with a focus on structural engineering and materials processing. (Photo: BETA)

BETA Technologies announced the opening of an engineering hub in Montreal, Canada, this week. Structural engineering and materials processing will take place at the new location. BETA is developing a fully electric aircraft, the ALIA, which is designed to perform short-haul and regional flights.

More than 50 employees based in Montreal will be working at the new engineering hub. Their focus is in the areas of advanced design, flight controls, data science, and flight sciences in support of the design, certification, and manufacturing of the ALIA eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft.

Kyle Clark, BETA’s Founder and CEO, explained that the company’s long-term plan has always included Montreal. “Electrifying aviation is a big and important problem to solve, and it’s going to take a lot of really smart people to get there,” Clark stated. “We have already added a highly skilled team to our ranks in Montreal, and we look forward to continuing to tap into the wealth of experience and talent in the region as we grow.”

Pictured above is BETA’s new office in Montreal. (Photo: BETA)

Jean Sebastien Leclerc, Aerostructures Engineering Lead at BETA, remarked on the news of the new office and Montreal’s reputation in the global aerospace ecosystem. “Our team members are excited to bring their experiences from recent OEM certification programs to this future-focused aviation technology,” said Leclerc. “Our connection to green energies and passion for aviation marries well into BETA’s mission to turn the corner on climate change.”

Alexandre Lagarde, Vice President of Foreign Investments, Montréal International, also commented on the announcement. “Greater Montréal has been a key player in the aerospace industry since its inception in the 1940s. Prominent projects such as BETA’s contribute to our local ecosystem and its work to decarbonize the industry,” Lagarde shared.

Last month, BETA and Blade Air Mobility completed the first test flight of a piloted eVTOL aircraft in the greater New York City area. During the test flight, the eVTOL flew alongside a conventional helicopter to demonstrate the difference in noise profiles.

The post BETA Opens Engineering Hub in Montreal appeared first on Avionics International.

Textron Recieves Special Airworthiness Certificate for Aerosonde Unmanned Aircraft System

The FAA issued a special airworthiness certificate to Textron Aviation to conduct civil unmanned aircraft operations at Textron’s Unmanned Systems Service and Support Center in Virginia. (Photo: Textron)

Textron Aviation recently received a special airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to perform civil unmanned aircraft operations in Blackstone, Virginia. These special certifications will allow the company to further test its unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in a convenient location, thanks to its proximity to training facilities.

An airworthiness certificate issued by the FAA is a document that grants an individual or company permission to operate an aircraft within the United States. These documents can be further divided into two different classifications: Standard Airworthiness Certificates and Special Airworthiness Certificates. Standard certificates are issued to aircraft involved in things like acrobatic, commuter, and transport activities.

Meanwhile, special certificates are issued for a multitude of aircraft operation categories, including primary (aircraft flown for personal use), restricted (aircraft flown for purposes including agriculture, aerial surveillance, and weather control), and experimental (which involves research and development, crew training, exhibitions, and unmanned aircraft systems).

The airworthiness certificate Textron Aviation received is a special certificate (abbreviated as SAC-EC). It will allow the company to fly its Aerosonde MK 4.7G uncrewed aircraft system. With the ability to operate land-based and sea-based operations, the Aerosonde Small Unmanned Aircraft System uses features like full motion video (FMV), voice communications relay, signals and communications intelligence, 3D mapping, and automatic identification systems (AIS) to offer a variety of benefits to its customers. The aircraft has a wingspan of 12 feet and a range of 75 nautical miles, all while boasting a small footprint that does not require alterations to infrastructure on ships to accommodate it.

With this certification, Textron will operate research and development and training missions with its UAS. In addition to flight authorization, the company will be able to operate these flights conveniently close to the Unmanned Systems Service and Support Center in Blackstone, Virginia.

“Our Aerosonde system achieves an equivalent level of safety compared to conventional aircraft. We’ve backed that up with more than 600,000 hours of flight time and over 3,000 aeronautical research flights.” – Wayne Prender of Textron Systems (Photo: Textron)

Wayne Prender, Senior Vice President of Textron Systems’ Air Systems business, highlighted his enthusiasm for and the benefits of this certification, explaining, “This is a significant achievement because of what it says about the safety of operating unmanned systems in the NAS. We’ve shown that our Aerosonde system achieves an equivalent level of safety compared to conventional aircraft. We’ve backed that up with more than 600,000 hours of flight time and over 3,000 aeronautical research flights conducted at KBKT airfield to support integration in the NAS.”

Obtaining this special certification required extensive work from Textron. In order to issue the certificate, the FAA must conclude that operations will not jeopardize public safety. Proving this meant Textron had to submit several vital documents, including items like safety checklists and operating manuals while hosting an onsite safety evaluation of every part of the UAS. With the FAA’s approval, Textron hopes to work with its operators to perform Visual Line of Sight training along with a variety of research missions in Class D, E, and G airspace.

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Demand for Airbus H160 Helicopters Continues to Grow

The growing demand for Airbus Helicopters’ H160 model continues in 2023. North American customers have already placed orders for more than 12 H160 helicopters. (Photo: Airbus)

ATLANTA, Georgia — The growing demand for Airbus Helicopters’ H160 model continues in 2023. North American customers have already placed orders for more than 12 H160 helicopters. The model is also gaining interest in private and business aviation, according to the announcement by Airbus Helicopters.

The company also shared that plans have been made to add the first H160 full flight simulator in North America. The simulator, which will be located in Texas, will serve as a training tool for pilots as soon as 2025. This is the result of efforts by Helisim—a joint venture between Airbus Helicopters and Thales—which installed the first H160 full flight simulator in France in 2020.

This week, Airbus Helicopters also delivered the first ACH160 to The Helicopter Company (THC) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. THC has placed orders for six of the aircraft.

Additionally, Airbus Helicopters has partnered with Genesys Aerosystems to develop an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) capability for the H125. The capability, which is expected to be available in the second half of 2024, will include an upgraded cockpit, redundant hydraulic and electrical systems, and a new autopilot, according to the announcement.

“Airbus Helicopters continues to experience a growing demand for H160 helicopters, with more than a dozen H160s already ordered by North American customers to date to fulfill a range of missions.” (Photo: Airbus)

Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, remarked during a press conference this week that flight hours recorded in 2022 were slightly higher than 2019. He sees positive momentum in the helicopter market for both the civil and military sectors.

According to Even, the uncertainty of the environment—including the situation in Ukraine, inflation, and supply chain issues—”illustrates how important it is not only to manage growth and implement action to be able to grow but also to be resilient and robust in this context.”

Airbus Helicopters expects the civil market to continue growing by 20 to 25% over the next five years. The company claimed 54% of the market share in the civil market last year. Meanwhile, the military market has seen strong performance in North America and Western Europe, which are both achieving pre-pandemic levels.

“2023 will be a critical year to meet the very strong market demand for the H160 helicopter,” Even commented. “The H175 illustrates the positive momentum we see in the oil and gas market.”

“Airbus Helicopters has launched the development of an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capability for the H125 in partnership with Genesys Aerosystems.” (Photo: Airbus)

Bruno Even listed the four strategic priorities for Airbus Helicopters as they look to the future: customer loyalty, innovation, sustainability, and defense/security.

Romain Trapp, CEO of Airbus Helicopters Inc., also spoke at the press conference taking place during the HAI Heli-Expo 2023 event this week. “We saw our customers flying much more in 2022 compared to 2019,” he noted, adding that flying hours had increased by 10%.

“Historically, we book two thirds of our helicopters on the single engine side and one third on the twin,” said Trapp. “Last year, it was almost 50/50. We saw a clear shift in the market. We reached $1.1B in revenue, with growth of 10% compared to 2021.” He also remarked that a third of their 87 bookings in 2022 came from new customers.

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