Oct. 11, 2024
Sustainability efforts championed by NBAA and its industry partners will drive growth in business aviation and create new opportunities for the next generation of aviation professionals, NBAA Northeast Regional Director Brittany Davies said during a recent Management Speaker Series presentation hosted by Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology students.
During the virtual presentation, Davies along with industry veterans Christopher Bing and Delray Dobbins, provided deep insights into business aviation’s critical role in the sustainability movement, both as a technology incubator and vocal advocate for environmentalism through programs like CLIMBING. FAST.
“CLIMBING. FAST. is part of an industry-wide effort by the business aviation community to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. On that journey, we will be creating jobs that don’t exist today, producing new opportunities to connect communities across the country in new and sustainable ways and elevating our industry’s already critical role in proving lift for humanitarian efforts,” Davies said.
“Business aviation has a proven track record of success in emissions reduction, and through a structured plan based on the four levers of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), modern technology, improved operations and out-of-sector measures, we will achieve our net-zero goals,” she added.
Those efforts build on the industry’s longstanding commitment to sustainability and its constant pursuit of efficiency, noted Dobbins, who has worked in the engine manufacturing field for the past 30 years, most recently as head of sales and global strategy for Pratt & Whitney Canada’s Eagle Service Plan.
“All the major engine manufacturers have said their powerplants are approved for 50% [SAF], which is the maximum blend currently allowed by regulators. That means you can take an engine designed in the 1960s and use the same 50% SAF blend as a brand-new engine,” Dobbins said. “That older engine obviously will have gone through several overhauls, but being able to use an emerging fuel type in any turbine engine built in the past 60 years is a remarkable milestone.”
That adaptability and inherent foresight will generate new opportunities for today’s students, said Bing, chief pilot for aerospace and defense company RTX.
“When you mention aviation as a career, most people’s minds jump to a pilot, but a dozen different jobs have to be completed before the pilot gets involved,” Bing said. “With the increase in sustainability, we are already seeing the introduction of electric hybrid technologies, advanced air mobility and new fuels, and over the next 10 to 15 years, who knows what opportunities will be created.”
Business aviation will be at the cutting edge of these advancements, Davies added.
“Business aviation is a vital contributor to our country’s economic growth and with the advancements in technologies powered by our drive for a more sustainable future, we have the potential to create over 300,000 jobs, if not more, in the coming years,” she said. “We as a community have already achieved so much, and we will continue to make our communities more accessible and bring time-critical services to the next level.”