Aircraft refueler provider Rampmaster has delivered the first fully electrified 5,000-gallon jet tanker in the U.S. to Signature Aviation at Eagle County Regional Airport (KEGE) in Vail, Colorado. Last year, a converted refueler went into service at France’s Toulon Hyères Airport (LFTH).

Rampmaster manufactures its equipment with a modular design, and its E-lectric Vehicle Refueler replaces the truck’s standard diesel engine with an electric motor. The aircraft refueler features a Lithium battery-powered hydraulic pump. With a full DC charge in less than two hours, the system—which provides an optimum battery operating temperature of 76 degrees Fahrenheit—supports eight hours of continuous pumping.

Signature is the world’s largest FBO chain, and its KEGE facility was its first to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in 2022. Among the factors allowing that was the adoption of solar power, the initiation of a continuous sustainable aviation fuel supply chain to the location, and fleet and facility upgrades that established a 15 percent decrease in fossil fuel emissions.

DESERT JET, the leading full-service business aviation company in Greater Palm Springs, California, announces its latest sustainability initiative. The company has partnered with TITAN Aviation Fuels to establish the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its flagship FBO, Desert Jet Center at KTRM, including using SAF for its charter aircraft fleet.

The partnership is part of Desert Jet’s commitment to sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint. With the addition of SAF at its FBO, Desert Jet is providing its clients with a more sustainable option for their air travel needs while contributing to the aviation industry’s greener future…

ExecuJet France, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based Luxaviation Group, has completed the conversion of its FBO at Paris Le Bourget Airport (LFPB) to all-electric ground service equipment (GSE). The achievement makes the location the first ExecuJet FBO in Europe to make the conversion, which is a companywide goal by 2030.

At the Le Bourget facility, the list of electrified GSE includes ground power units, tow tugs, air stairs, luggage truck, lavatory service vehicle, and potable water truck.

It follows in the footsteps of the chain’s Australasia locations in Auckland, Sydney, and Melbourne, which have already made the switch from petroleum-fueled equipment. Execute said it has reached nearly 60 percent of its goal across the company’s network of 22 FBOs.

“We are very happy to have achieved this milestone, which contributes to our mission to provide outstanding and more sustainable business air travel experiences by fully electrifying our FBOs by 2030,” said Luxaviation Group CEO Patrick Hansen.

Joby has signed an agreement with Clay Lacy Aviation to install what it says is Southern California’s first eVTOL charger.

The charger’s installation comes as part of Clay Lacy’s planned $100m redevelopment of its FBO terminal at John Wayne, with completion set for mid-2025. It will support Joby’s Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS) which is already in use at the OEM’s flight test centre in Marina, California and Edwards Air Force Base where Joby recently delivered its first aircraft. The charger will act as a node in Joby’s Southern California air taxi network.

JoeBen Bevirt founder and CEO of Joby said: “The charging technology we have developed is optimized to support our whole industry, from air taxis delivering short range city flights to more conventional electric aircraft flying longer distances. Joby made the specifications for the universal charging interface freely available to the wider industry in November 2023, to help accelerate the transition to clean flight. We’re therefore very pleased to see it being adopted in this key market.”

Clay Lacy’s all-new FBO development at John Wayne Airport is expected to be the first in the world to be Gold-certified by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

Atlantic Aviation has started installing electric charging stations at its FBOs through a partnership with aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies. The first charger has been installed at Atlantic’s facility at Elmira Regional Airport in upstate New York, and the partners have also agreed to install the equipment at Alabama’s Birmingham International Airport, Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Mississippi, and Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport in Massachusetts.

Beta, which is developing both eVTOL and fixed-wing versions of its Alia airplane, has designed its “technology agnostic” charging stations to work with multiple aircraft types, as well as electric ground vehicles. The Vermont-based company has now installed chargers at 17 locations across the U.S. and has another 55 sites in the permitting or construction process.


By CHARLES ALCOCK • Managing Editor
January 9, 2024
Atlantic Aviation has started installing electric charging stations at its FBOs through a partnership with aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies. The first charger has been installed at Atlantic’s facility at Elmira Regional Airport in upstate New York, and the partners have also agreed to install the equipment at Alabama’s Birmingham International Airport, Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Mississippi, and Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport in Massachusetts.

Beta, which is developing both eVTOL and fixed-wing versions of its Alia airplane, has designed its “technology agnostic” charging stations to work with multiple aircraft types, as well as electric ground vehicles. The Vermont-based company has now installed chargers at 17 locations across the U.S. and has another 55 sites in the permitting or construction process.

The existing Beta network of chargers extends south from Vermont to Arkansas and Florida. Installations include one at Eglin Air Force Base, where one of the Alia prototype aircraft has been deployed for several months as part of U.S. Air Force trials. Beta has conducted multiple extended flights across the U.S. to evaluate the practicalities of charging the Alia’s batteries between trips.

Atlantic’s FBO network covers more than 100 locations across North America. Its “host site agreements” with Beta are intended to provide the infrastructure needed to support anticipated advanced air mobility services with electric aircraft to reduce operating costs of short flights and cut carbon emissions.