I n the aerobatic flying world, knife-edge flight is performed by an aircraft flying vertically on its side, slicing through the air, well, like a knife. If you’re an airshow enthusiast, you’ve probably seen your favorite performers do it. To perform the maneuver, a pilot will quickly roll the aircraft 90 degrees until it is perpendicular to the ground, driven by a powerful engine. Then, they must skillfully work the rudder, ailerons, and throttle to keep the airplane stable and airborne. It takes immense skills and a cool head to do it well. Watching National Aviation Hall of Fame performer Patty Wagstaff doing her routine at April’s Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida, I couldn’t help but notice how when she’s suspended in the air, she’s as smooth as a hot knife cutting through butter. But recent disruptions in the business aviation industry’s charter and fractional market have made me think of Wagstaff. We’re also on a knife’s edge. This
time, though, it’s not from skill or will. Things are off- kilter, and one misstep—a failure to maintain enough power or the right attitude—could have things come hurtling down. It’s the best and worst of times. While more people have discovered the upside of private aviation, the downside caused by the changing economic market conditions and business mistakes are making those negative drivers in business aviation come into sharp focus. Indeed, the winds have shifted, and everyone knows it. How did we get here? Was a pandemic bullwhip effect causing charter companies to misread acute demand for long-term travel habits? Did that cause them to overexert and overspend to ramp up capacity though demand would dwindle? Was it supply chain or workforce issues speed-bumping growth? Was it Russia President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine that sent fuel prices surging? Was it historic inflation levels,
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