What to expect this week at the biggest AERO Friedrichshafen ever

The doomsayers of private aviation in Europe don’t have to look much further than this week to be proven wrong.
EBACE, the region’s longtime industry draw, couldn’t garner enough interest to get off the ground this year. AERO Friedrichshafen in Germany, meanwhile, has taken off like a hydrogen-powered rocket.
It opens its 32nd edition on Wednesday with its largest business aviation contingent ever and a whole lot of pretty planes to ogle—50 aircraft on the static and in the halls, up from 30 last year, and more than 850 exhibitors from 50 countries.
Textron’s new mid-size Citation Ascend is making a European tour stop for the show, along with its super mid-size sibling, the Citation Longitude. Also on the flight line: Dassault’s Falcon 6X, Bombardier’s Global 6500 and the Series 3 Cirrus Vision Jet, as Cirrus pushes to grow Europe past 10% of its global sales mix.
Turboprops making the trip include Daher’s latest TBM 980, and Kodiak 900 and—sure to be a camera-phone favorite—a risen-from-the-ashes Piaggio P.180 Avanti Evo. On the next-gen side, Diamond Aircraft, which now owns Volocopter, brings the VoloXPro personal ultralight, and Germany’s EvoCopter ClassiX ultralight helicopter also debuts. And Hartzell Propeller is bringing its team to present a live seminar focused on advancements in carbon fiber propeller technology.RELATED STORIES:Textron to show-debut Citation Longitude and Ascend at AERO Friedrichshafen Hartzell Propeller expands Top Prop conversion program with over 150 additionsShow Director Tobias Bretzel said the success of last year’s business aviation showcase gave AERO Friedrichshafen room to go bold this year.
“We created more space on the static and had sold all slots by the end of March,” he said. “We have doubled the exhibitor numbers in the dome and opened a new hall to accommodate mainly new exhibitors.”
Those include JetEx, ViaSat, UAS, Hadid and Flight Safety International. Also new to the floor—yours truly, GlobalAir.com, sponsoring a preowned aircraft showcase in the Zeppelin Hangar.
“This partnership with GlobalAir.com not only further strengthens its offering for the pre-owned aircraft segment,” Bretzel said, “but also expands AERO Friedrichshafen’s outreach into private-corporate aviation.”
Business aviation groups from around the world will have a presence at AERO Friedrichshafen. The Air Charter Association debuts its European Regional Forum on opening day with three back-to-back panels, followed Thursday by two sessions from Corporate Jet Investor and a Women in Aviation International brunch.Get a day-by-day rundown of AERO Friedrichshafen here.A dedicated visitor and family day closes out the four-day show Saturday. Discounted family tickets run €39 at the counter. The airshow headliners include father-son duo Nico and Ralf Niebergall flying close formation in two Siai Marchetti SF-260s, and Red Bull pilot Mirko Flaim putting a BO-105 helicopter through loops, rolls and dynamic maneuvers rarely attempted anywhere. Guided tours, a kids’ area and a social-media creators panel on the Innovation Stage round out the day.
“We are very proud of what we have achieved this year,” Bretzel said. “The enthusiasm and anticipation among exhibitors, partners, and visitors are already clearly noticeable.”