The best Aero yet

The vibe at Aero can only be described as upbeat and—happy. Sure, there were plenty of aviation experts, critically eyeing the hardware and the gear, but a big part of the audience was made up of families, kids (and dogs—so many dogs) in tow or in strollers, all of them in awe and overjoyed to be able to get close up and personal with all the flying machines.

Friedrichshafen, Germany, is located bang in the middle of Europe and attracts visitors coming from nearby Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and France, as well as European countries a little farther away, and one can hear as much French, Italian, and English as German. A career fair for those wanting to find out about employment options in aviation, from manufacturing to piloting, was held for the second time.

Aero has for years focused on sustainable fuels and alternative methods of propulsion. Through the exhibit halls visitors could follow “the sustainable aviation trail,” marked by green balloons, showcasing exhibitors who are working on or offer innovative projects in this field. One exhibit hall was dedicated to the e-flight-expo, displaying all aspects of electric flight. Worldwide, there are currently two certified, fully electric aircraft flying; both were displayed at the convention:

A branch of Chinese Liaoning General Aviation Research Institute, Rhyxeon General Aircraft Co. Ltd., founded in October 2013, introduced the world’s first four-seat electric aircraft, the RX4E, at this year’s Aero. It was certified in December 2024. This world premiere was exhibited at the static display and flew at the e-Flight Airshow.

AOPA Editor in Chief Kollin Stagnito was one of three crewmembers flying the RX4E to demonstrate its capabilities at the airshow. “The RX4E displayed performance and noise levels comparable to traditional four-seat aircraft. If I did not know it was electric, I would have assumed it was powered by a piston engine,” he said.

The other one is Pipistrel by Textron eAviation’s Velis Electro, which in June 2020 was the first fully electrified aircraft to receive Certification Specification 23 (the European equivalent of FAR Part 23) and was on display with the Pipistrel family of aircraft in one of the exhibit halls.

Additional approaches to achieve climate-neutral flying include hydrogen fuel cells, hybrid propulsion, and alternative fuels, and it will take time to figure out which one of those or which combination will ultimately prevail. “The road to climate-neutral flying is not straight and not smooth. This is also demonstrated by the recently declared bankruptcies of several players in this segment of aviation,” Aero noted in a press release.

Meanwhile, GA is still dominated by single- and twin-engine piston aircraft, and all the big names and many not so big names were on display.

A global trade fair premiere, Pilatus Aircraft presented its PC–12 Pro, featuring new interior finishes and a new cockpit equipped with Garmin Autoland, Smart Glide, and Electronic Stability, proclaiming it the most technologically advanced aircraft in its class.

French aircraft manufacturer Elixir delivered the first of 12 Elixir aircraft to the Greek flying school Egnatia Aviation on the floor at Aero. Cyril Champenois, Elixir co-founder and sales director, handed the keys to the aircraft painted in the livery of the school to Dimitris Lymperakis, the president of Egnatia Aviation. The school is based in Kavala-Amygdaleon in Greece, and the Elixir was expected to fly there right after the show. Elixir aircraft are produced using OneShot carbon, in which airframe components are created in nine large sections, eliminating the need for rivets. The manufacturer reports to have 400 orders in the books and is waiting for FAA approval.

Daher CEO Nicolas Chabbert announced that the company is increasing its investment in the United States and is adding jobs by building a third assembly line for TBMs at its Stuart, Florida, facility. A facility in Sandpoint, Idaho, manufactures Kodiak 100s and 900s.

After declaring insolvency in December, Flight Design was acquired by the Chinese Shang Gong Group, supplying the company with the funds necessary to continue production. There are plans to relocate the current headquarters in Eisenach, Germany, to an as-yet undisclosed location in the country. Operations in Šumperk, Czech Republic, will continue, and the facility there will be extended to manufacture 100 airplanes per year.

In the ultralight segment, Italian manufacturer Groppo premiered its G70-600 Enduro, a two-seat taildragger. Based on Groppo’s Trail, a backcountry aircraft, it is capable of short takeoff and landing and a speed of 200 kilometers per hour (124.27 mph).

Another very sleek ultralight speedster is Italian-manufactured Risen. It holds several ultralight speed records. Its big canopy affords almost unlimited vision, while a V-tail allows for spin and crosswind resistance. This “sleekster” comes in two model variants, the Risen 912iS and the Risen SV 916 "Super Veloce."

Helicopters have their own exhibit hall at Aero, dubbed the heli-hangar, where Airbus Helicopters showed its twin-engine H160, which is manufactured in modules that require only five stations on final assembly and reduce total time of assembly to 40 days.

Other exhibit halls were dedicated to gliders and drones, but the biggest innovation at Aero this year was the inclusion of long-range business jets on display at a newly configured space called the Aero Business Aviation Show Hub (BASH) ). Exhibits were arranged in two halls dominated by a dome-like construction—a 2,000-square-meter (21,527-square-foot) transparent hangar—which served as communication space, offering refreshments, areas for conversation, and a stage with a 40-square-meter (about 430-square-foot) LED wall, where experts could talk about topics such as sustainability and the shortage of skilled workers.

And last but not least, with all the new designs on florid display, it can be easy to forget that history is literally hovering overhead. A group of journalists may stare at the latest and greatest, but they turn as one to look up at a Zeppelin, as huge as it is close overhead, as it maneuvers to its dock. As if to remind you—in case you forgot— that this is its home.