EAA AirVenture wrapped this weekend with a record roughly 730,000 attendees, smoke and all. The FAA unveiled Mobile Clearance at the show, a genuinely significant digital IFR clearance tool headed for nationwide rollout in 2027. Textron, Cirrus, and Garmin all made news at Oshkosh, with Cirrus putting autoland on a piston aircraft for the first time ever. On the fuel side: Houthi attacks on Saudi tankers near Bab el-Mandeb have opened a second front in the region's shipping crisis, pushing Brent crude briefly above $100 a barrel. With both major Middle East chokepoints now compromised, there's no end in sight, plan your fuel budgets accordingly. Plus a dangerous heat wave building across the central and southern U.S., and STXBAA's second annual aviation law seminar in Conroe.

Happy Oshkosh week, BizAv family. EAA AirVenture kicked off today at Wittman Regional under some early wildfire smoke, but it's still one of the best weeks on the aviation calendar and this week's Scissortail Brief opens with it. Beyond that: large-cabin Part 91 flying keeps declining while fractional large-cabin activity surged 13.3% in June, GPS jamming and spoofing are both up sharply and Honeywell's got a new answer for it as a freshly independent company, Embraer launched the Phenom 300EV with the largest business jet application yet of Garmin Emergency Autoland, Spain beat Argentina in the World Cup Final, and crude oil is climbing fast again as the Iran conflict reignites. Farnborough opens today too.

The NTSB's preliminary report on the June 16 Laredo crash found a fractured fuel tube and broken pressure switch in the right engine, but the left engine failure right after it is still unexplained. The Iran ceasefire collapsed after renewed strikes and attacks on Gulf shipping, sending oil from the low $70s to $75-79 a barrel and putting recent fuel price relief back in question. And we lost Senator Lindsey Graham this weekend, whose Budget Committee chairmanship is the reason 100% bonus depreciation on business aircraft is permanent law instead of a countdown to zero by 2027. Plus the Global 8000's new speed record and this week's fuel and weather outlook.

This week's Scissortail Brief covers a lot of ground. A heat dome cooked the eastern half of the country through the Fourth of July, grounding schedules with density altitude issues and a "ring of fire" storm pattern that produced thousands of delays nationwide, we share our own client-side lesson from it. Fuel dropped below $7.50 nationally for the first time since February as wholesale prices keep easing. The NTSB still hasn't published its Laredo preliminary, but new details are emerging about the crew's four-leg day before the accident. The public comment window closed on NetJets' petition to extend Global 7500 and 8000 crew duty limits, and it drew real opposition. Farnborough is two weeks out, and the World Cup knockout rounds are underway.

Fuel is down to $7.59 nationally at the FBO, with wholesale prices dropping 14.2% in a single week as the Iran MOU starts doing what it was supposed to do. The NTSB still hasn't published the Laredo preliminary report, which tells you the investigation is more complex than it might look from the outside. The FAA proposed a significant overhaul of Part 25 aircraft certification standards this week, the most consequential certification rulemaking in years. And World Cup traffic data from the opening two weeks shows the big airports absorbing the extra jets just fine while smaller host-city markets like Seattle are doubling their normal daily activity.

This week's Scissortail Brief leads with the NetJets Citation Latitude crash on Loop 20 in Laredo, which killed Capital Factory founder Joshua Baer and appears to be the first fatal accident in the history of fractional aviation. The NTSB is on site, the FDR and CVR are in Washington, and a preliminary report is expected in roughly two weeks. Also this week: the Dassault Falcon 10X flew for the first time, NetJets separately asked the FAA to extend crew duty limits on the Global 7500 and 8000 with pushback already in the docket, AeroVanti's founder was convicted on six counts of wire fraud for a $15 million membership scheme, Global Jet Capital closed a $659 million business jet securitization with 41 investors, and fuel prices are finally declining with a fragile Iran MOU providing partial Hormuz access during a 60-day negotiation window.

Late last night, the U.S. and Iran announced a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with a signing set for June 19. If it holds, it could change the fuel story we've been covering for four months straight. But wait, there's more: Flexjet bought The Jet Business and named founder Steve Varsano president, putting one of bizav's biggest social media names in charge of fleet sourcing. The FAA loosens its mental health certification policy for pilots and controllers, which is a big win for the industry. And World Cup host cities are now under PPR with FBO surcharges running 20-40% above standard rates.

This week's Scissortail Brief opens with the tragic crash of a Gulfstream G200 at La Romana in the Dominican Republic that resulted in the loss of both pilots. The aircraft had departed for Austin and declared an emergency; what followed was a fatal second landing attempt into what appears to have been a tailwind.

NBAA's Q1 accident analysis is out, covering 40 safety events, including six fatal accidents, with stabilized approaches and runway excursions leading the findings. Jet-A has found a plateau at $7.83 nationally with wholesale prices starting to soften. And the FIFA World Cup opens Thursday at MetLife, with bizav demand on host-city routes forecast to surge through the knockout rounds.

With kids out of school and summer upon us, the BizAv family is busy. The World Cup is two weeks out. CBP is under pressure. An Ebola outbreak in Africa has NBAA issuing operator advisories. The DHS is floating a proposal that would gut customs operations at major gateway airports, and NBAA is fighting it. And in Massachusetts, a business aviation association just canceled their annual event because activists bought tickets to it. It's been that kind of week.

This week's Scissortail Brief covers the FAA's new ATC workforce plan and the union dispute over a staffing target that dropped by 2,000 positions overnight. Wheels Up completed its fleet transition 18 months ahead of schedule and posted a 99% completion rate. FBO Jet-A is at $7.96 per gallon nationally heading into Memorial Day weekend, and the eastern half of the country is going to be a weather workout for anyone flying this weekend. We also take a moment for Memorial Day, because some things are more important than the news cycle. Read the full Brief at scissortailconsulting.aero.

This week's Scissortail Brief covers the FSF Business Aviation Safety Summit in Provo, where the DCA midair's 50-plus recommendations took center stage. Hal Shevers, the founder of Sporty's Pilot Shop, passed away at 90 after six decades of building the pilot pipeline. STXBAA, HigherVets, and South Texas PAMA came together at The Bandit Golf Club in New Braunfels on May 14 for a golf classic and after-party benefiting veteran transitions into bizav careers. FBO Jet-A is holding near its decade high. And the NTSB released its preliminary report on the Cessna 421C crash near Wimberley — pitot heat failure in icing conditions, in-flight breakup, five fatalities. We also debut a standing weather brief this week.

This week's Scissortail Brief covers the NBAA Maintenance Conference in New Orleans, where the maintainer shortage took center stage with 1,000-plus attendees and 42% first-timers. Embraer posted record Q1 revenue of $1.447 billion with strong executive jet deliveries, but U.S. tariffs compressed margins sharply and that headwind isn't going away. FBO Jet-A hit a decade high in April and ticked up again to $7.94 per gallon nationally this week. Kentucky Derby traffic held steady, giving us two events and two different readings heading into summer. And the FIFA World Cup opens June 11 across 16 North American host cities with charter demand forecast to surge 200-300% during the knockout rounds — if you haven't locked in aircraft and FBO slots, the window is closing.

If you own a business jet in Texas, how you operate it can have a major impact on both your state and federal tax position. This article explains how placing an aircraft on a Part 135 charter certificate can unlock a more favorable valuation method under Texas law, potentially reducing property taxes, while also outlining key federal considerations including depreciation, qualified business use, and passive activity rules.

May the Fourth be with you, BizAv family. This week's Scissortail Brief has something for everyone: Spirit Airlines shut down at 3 a.m. on May 2 after a $500 million bailout collapsed, and 2,000 experienced turbine pilots just became available (a few of them might be ready to cross from the Dark Side to the Light). Gulfstream posted its best Q1 delivery count ever. Florida banned ADS-B-based landing fees. And the IADA Q1 market report shows 333 closed transactions with inventory still tight and values holding firm. The Force is strong with this one. Read the full Brief at scissortailconsulting.aero.

This week's brief touches the NTSB's final report on the Hop-A-Jet Challenger 604 crash near Naples (corrosion in both CF34 engines' variable geometry systems, driven by years of salt-air exposure), plus a breakdown of what $8.63-per-gallon national average FBO Jet-A is doing to Part 91 and Part 135 operations, an update on the DOT's ATC modernization progress out of the Modern Skies Summit, and Starlink coming to the Citation Ascend.

This week's Scissortail Brief is out, and it's a full one.

The ALERT Act passed the House. The FAA replaced its 40-year-old NOTAM system. EBACE 2026 was canceled. American Airlines entered the private jet market through a TLC Jet partnership that has real implications for fractional and card operators. Masters week traffic came in below forecast. And Jet-A prices are up more than $2.00 per gallon year-over-year, which means trip planning looks different than it did six months ago.

If you operate, own, or advise in business aviation, there's something in here for you.

A more active week in business aviation. FAA hiring efforts move forward, new EU passenger requirements take effect, and updated safety guidance puts more focus on approach risk. Add in firm aircraft demand and elevated fuel costs, and there’s plenty driving how operators are planning and flying right now.

The first week of April brought a mix of FAA rulemaking, fleet activity, and steady movement in the aircraft market. The FAA introduced proposed updates to Part 141 training rules, operators worked GPS interference procedures into daily planning, and the Global 8000 began entering service with NetJets. At the same time, aircraft transactions stayed active across multiple segments, and Jet-A pricing continued to vary widely depending on where you were buying.

This week in business aviation was anchored by NBAA’s record-setting Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference in Cleveland, where 3,500 attendees focused on the realities of running flight operations today. At the same time, the FAA issued a new Piaggio airworthiness directive and updated GPS interference guidance, Bombardier delivered the first Global 8000 to NetJets, and Jet-A prices continued to show wide variation at the truck across the country.

New AI capabilities are enabling operators to analyze flight data continuously rather than only after events, helping identify patterns in approach stability, energy management, and overall operational performance. As tools like ForeFlight begin to surface trends automatically, flight departments are gaining earlier visibility into risk and more actionable insight into how their aircraft are flown every day.