2014 NBAA Jet Aviation Show; Orlando Convention Center

2014 NBAA Jet Aviation Show
Flying Faster & Further Each Year​

In October 2014, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) celebrated their 60th anniversary in Orlando, FL with their annual exhibition of turbines and technology. If you were slave to a stator, handling a hot section or on layover in Liberia (aka quarantine), join us for a phototorial walk thru the Orange County Convention Center, then a stroll through the Showalter static display at Orlando Executive. JetForums publisher Carl Camper along with photographer Tom Serio focused on the planes and people that make up the NBAA, jet aviation's celebration of life approaching Mach.

The NBAA is a spectacle for the senses. It's ranked as the 4th largest trade show in the U.S. with over 1,000 exhibitors showcasing the latest aviation products and services. These aren't your typical 10 x 10 trade show booths, but massive displays that rise to the rafters of a convention center, creating a self-contained city. These are the premiere companies in both civil and military transportation and their displays are like monuments to manufacturing. It's a very professional event and the environment reflects the same with over 25,000 business aviation professionals in attendance.

Captions by Carl Camper
Photography by Tom Serio​

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This runway let's you know you've landed at the NBAA. Much like an airport, this shag tarmac is populated with FBOs but on a scale better suited to aviation's r/c equivilents.

The first thing you need upon arrival is to take on fuel. Here's Stephanie Jordan, the director of marketing for World Fuel...

East Coast card services manager Renee Owen is accompanied by her Canadian counterpart for World Fuel, Jill Batson...

Some FBOs aren't as large as World Fuel's display at the NBAA...

Million Air started their franchise 30 years ago and have grown into 25 locations in North America and the Caribbean. Here's Allison Woolsey from Million Air's Houston location...

Million Air commissioned a Harley to celebrate 30 years in business...

Every fender and each tank side portray the Million Air corporate theme; nothing exceeds like excess...

On Tuesday Oct 21st, GE announced the purchase of two HondaJets to be powered by GE's new HF120 engines. Making that hardware look good is Loren Parsons, the marketing analyst for GE Honda Aero Engines. JetForums published a PR on the same, here... GE HondaJet

You would be hard pressed to find an aviation paint booth that doesn't use PPG paints. Their global director of coatings Mark Cancilla (pictured left) became a photo shoot director to bring his busy group together for this shot...

There was a "Camper" in the house at the 2014 NBAA and it wasn't an Airstream...

Although we were unable to get all the names of the people that posed for this picture, special thanks to Embraer's VP of marketing; Jose Costas for letting us shoot their models. Embraer had a busy booth at the NBAA with an ever increasing product line and level of interest from customers. JetForums was on-hand for the FAA signing ceremony of the Legacy 500 operation in the United States; Legacy 500 FAA Approval

HondaJet is out of the hangar and headed for the runway. Eleven new HondaJets are in-build, in addition to the existing 4-5 HondaJets that have been used for flight testing in preparation of FAA certification. Honda's display showcases the extraordinary manufacturing methods they are using to create an efficient, light jet. See the next post for an example. Special thanks to Aleasha Vuncannon for the continuing education on HondaJet's development program.

Talk about tolerance in machining, the upper and lower wing skins are machined from bar-stock aluminum to remove the rivet-head imperfections normally found on the surface of a sheeted wing. The result is a super-smooth skin that is so thin, it is nearly see-thru! It's also so light it can be lifted with your fingertips. This pic is the inside of the upper skin. It started as a block of aluminum that weighed a couple thousand pounds, then it was whittled down t0 43 pounds buy a five-axis milling machine...

Also awaiting the FAA is Epic Aviation's new Turboprop, theE1000. Boasting a 325+ KTAS, this one-engine wonder can go from sea level to 34,000 feet in 15 minutes, covering up to 1650 miles at an economical cruise speed. Up front is a 1200 hp, Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67A swinging a full reverse, Hartzell 4-blade prop.

The great dames behind Epic's marketing efforts; Gale Evans and Kathy Fosberg...

The mock-up of Epic's cockpit is fairly complete and simulates the finished product...

JetForums photographer Tom Serio with a backpack resembling a parachute makes an Epic exit as he prepares to plunge down 3 steps before deploying his chute...

Daher-Socata was present to promote their TBM900, the latest in the TBM series of single turboprop aircraft. Michel Adam de Villierds, VP of Sales brought his team together for the JetForums camera...

The TBM 900 is powered by the proven Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A. Variants of the PT6A are in use on more than 100 different types of aircraft. With over 43,000 engines in the field, spanning over 350 million flight hours, the PT6A is recognized as one of the most reliable powerplants ever built.