Industry news

During his tenure at the top, Caldecott shifted Piper’s top-of-the-line attention to turboprops, particularly the flagship M600, the first GA airplane certified to fly with Garmin’s automated landing system, able to take over in case of pilot incapacitation and land the airplane at the nearest suitable runway. Piper also boosted its bottom line by more traditional means, delivering scores of single-engine piston airplanes to colleges and flight schools working to keep up amid a global shortage of pilots. Piper unveiled the Pilot 100 in 2019, adding a lower-cost variant of the long-popular PA–28 series.

When the pandemic shoved the aircraft market back on its heels once again in 2020, Piper was better positioned than many to weather the storm. Piston aircraft propelled a pre-pandemic surge in sales (and business jets to a lesser degree), and while jet orders fizzled in the face of the global health crisis, piston deliveries for 2020 nearly matched the 2019 industry totals. That was thanks in no small part to Piper, which delivered 244 aircraft (including 149 PA–28 Archers, and 11 Piper Pilot 100s) in 2020, according to data compiled by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, down from 290 aircraft delivered in 2019 (of which 182 were PA–28 Archers).

“It has been an honor and privilege leading Piper Aircraft through a transformative journey, from a legacy aircraft manufacturer to the first general aviation manufacturer to certify an autoland equipped general aviation aircraft,” Caldecott said. “We strengthened the leadership team with new talent, made major facility improvements to make a safer workplace and strengthened relations with the community as well as with major suppliers. I am enormously proud of the dedicated team at Piper and our global independent dealership network.”

piper.com

Fujino receives award

Hondajet co. President Michimasa Fujino has been named the recipient of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 2021 Reed Aeronautics Award. Fujino is credited with “the invention of advanced aerodynamic and structural technologies implemented on Honda’s first aircraft, the HondaJet, creating new value in business aviation,” according to an announcement by the Reston, Virginia-based organization.  

Fujino’s clean-sheet design of the jet “introduced innovations in aviation technology, including the Over-The-Wing Engine Mount and Natural Laminar Flow wing and fuselage. The HondaJet is the first, and only, business jet to include these technologies,” said AIAA.

“On behalf of the entire HondaJet team, we are proud to be presented with this tremendous accolade,” Fujino said. “It is a great privilege to be recognized by such a distinguished organization for the HondaJet’s advanced aerodynamic and structural technologies. Honda Aircraft will continue to invest in leading-edge technologies that become the new standard in the industry.”

The Reed Aeronautics Award, which is named after aeronautical engineer Sylvanus A. Reed, is the highest honor bestowed on an individual “for a notable achievement in aeronautics that represents a significant engineering advancement milestone.”

aiaa.org

Tuskegee Airmen honored

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) has selected the Tuskegee Airmen as the recipient of its 2021 Clifford Henderson Trophy. The Henderson Trophy was established in 1960 to honor the creator and managing director of the world-renowned National Air Races from 1928 to 1939. The trophy is awarded to “a living individual, group of individuals, or an organization whose vision, leadership or skill made a significant and lasting contribution to the promotion and advancement of aviation and aerospace in the United States.”

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps (predecessor to the U.S. Air Force). In 1941, with the start of World War II imminent, it was decided to offer training to African Americans as pilots, mechanics, and support staff. The air base in Tuskegee, Alabama, became the center of the training program for more than 14,000 Black air personnel. Collectively, the airmen flew more than 15,000 individual sorties throughout the war, earning 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and encouraging the eventual integration of the U.S. armed forces in 1948.

naa.aero

AOPA News

iFlight Planner fuel updates now offered daily

Get more accurate fuel prices—100LL, Jet A, mogas, and UL94—in the AOPA Airports and Destinations Directory and iFlightPlanner for AOPA with daily updates that will now be provided by iFlightPlanner. The switch from data provider 100LL.com to iFlightPlanner allows AOPA to display availability and fuel prices for mogas and UL94, the unleaded fuel alternative produced by Swift Fuels. Information about 100LL, Jet A, and Jet A with Prist will continue to be available.

The prices will be updated daily, rather than weekly, providing pilots with more up-to-date information for planning fuel stops. AOPA and iFlightPlanner will be working to add real-time, on-demand pricing information in the future.

“We know prices play a role in where pilots decide to stop for fuel,” said Eric Rush, AOPA director of product development. “With iFlightPlanner, we can provide the most up-to-date information possible for a wider variety of fuels.”

In April 2020, AOPA switched its legacy flight planning tool to iFlightPlanner for AOPA, a mobile-friendly online planning tool that depicts temporary flight restrictions, displays fuel prices, allows route rubber banding and airway waypoints, and enables flight service briefings. The flight planner is free to AOPA members. Members also have the option of upgrading to iFlightPlanner Core or Premium to send flight plans from the tool to electronic flight bags including ForeFlight Mobile, Garmin Pilot, FlyQ, FltPlan Go, Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro and Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck, and WingX. —Alyssa J. Cobb