From safety to fuel and people, each piece is an important part of making our industry sustainable.
News of climate change effects—including flooding and droughts around the world—appears daily. This has made me examine my footprint and alter some activities, which won’t make a huge impact, but hopefully they will make at least a tiny change (and biking or walking to places instead of driving is healthier, too!). Scanning this issue’s table of contents reveals that sustainability—but not just environmental matters—is the unofficial theme of this issue. For instance, to ensure that piston-powered aircraft have an alternative to 100 low-lead (100LL) avgas, it is imperative that the industry, research organizations and regulators work together to find a safe, effective, drop-in solution as soon as possible to sustain operations of these aircraft. Can this be done before the end of 2030, as outlined by the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions initiative? Read Bill Carey’s story on 100LL. To sustain safe operations, our industry always needs to learn how to make it even better. For tips, read Roger Cox’s The Crosscheck column on Big Data, his Cause & Circumstance feature about a faulty localizer, and Robert Sumwalt’s column on the NTSB Go Team. Honda Aircraft made a big change recently—Michimasa Fujino, creator of the HondaJet, retired and Hideto Yamasaki took over as president and CEO. See Molly McMillan’s Fast 5 with Hideto on changes to customer service and his goals for sustainable operations. And a big section of this BCA issue is devoted to the annual Operations Planning Guide, which includes 16 pages of charts—by aircraft class and manufacturer—full of direct, fixed and variable costs. Paul Lafata’s preceding article provides commentary on some of the major costs, including salaries, as well as other expenses, such as insurance premiums. We hope this resource will be helpful to you year-round. A key part of making our industry viable is the people. The aviation industry, amongst others, is struggling to recruit and retain talent. In case you missed it online, I urge you to read Ross Detwiler’s follow-up article on the first cohort at RedTail Flight Academy. What the RedTail Flight Academy is doing is giving students an opportunity to pursue their interest in aviation. You’ll now find a few of that first cohort, who are recent graduates, at a corporate flight department, at a charter operator and at a large training company. Let’s all do our part to create a healthy industry—including fostering talent.
Just as we were going to take this magazine live, the FAA had approved supplemental type certificates to allow General Aviation Modifications Inc.’s 100-octane unleaded fuel (G100UL) to be used by the entire general aviation piston fleet, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. At press time on Sept. 1, it’s not clear when G100UL will be available at airports. GAMI co-founder George Braly says, “It’s going to take a while to manage the infrastructure, including manufacturing and distribution,” but getting the fuel to California, in particular, as soon as possible, is a priority.
Lee Ann Shay Editor In Chief, BCA
