There are 37 companies in the general and business aviation sector that arrive from our country with high-end products, 90% of which we only sell abroad. Regulations and green are slowing down growth.
Over 850 exhibitors from 50 countries, all companies in the aeronautical sector, are participating in the 2026 edition of the Aero Show in Friedrichshafen, on Lake Constance, Germany. At the airport, home to historic brands such as Zeppelin and Dornier (of which there is a museum), the entire sector is presented to the public and operators: on display from ultralight aircraft to drones, from helicopters to long-range private jets. This 32nd edition (22-25 April) has around one hundred more exhibitors than last year, marking a new record. Tobias Bretzel, director of Aero Show – Fairnamic, says: “Business aviation, with its dynamism, is the engine of Aero’s strong growth; however, one of the show’s strengths lies in the presentation of the entire spectrum of general aviation and air sports in a venue that can dedicate twelve pavilions to them.” This is a particular year: the new Mosaic regulation arrives from the United States which facilitates the construction and use of small airplanes by private individuals, a measure aimed at modernizing the regulations and revitalizing the sector which in recent years has slowed down production and innovation, with the exception of that of electronic systems. Just to give an example, today there are 4-6 seater airplanes with automatic emergency landing system, voice assistant for navigation and flight management, integrated digital instrumentation which until now was found on larger aircraft. So at Aero ’26 there are many new features ranging from new aircraft models and systems to new accessories; the electric flying taxi (eVtol) segment is also present with Volocopter, the first to reach the Easa certification milestone in Europe. For the rotary wing, the German Evocopter unveils the ultralight Evocopter ClassiX helicopter, the only one in its category to be equipped with the Lycoming O-360 engine. Also from German companies, Kaelin Aero Technologies GmbH presents the B-100C, a basic trainer aimed at civil and military schools. Even more news from Italy, present with 37 companies: Piaggio Aerospace presents for the first time the “Next Era” concept for the P.180 Avanti which becomes Avanti Next; Neapolitan Tecnam brought the VIP variant of its twin-engine P2012, dedicated to business aviation; the new version of the four-seater P2010 MkIII, which will be available for the entire range of engines including the kerosene one. Interesting is the long-awaited climate control system designed directly in the factory and the Garmin Bundle package with visualization of taxiways at airports, synthetic vision and Starlink connectivity. From Pordenone, Alpi Aviation presented two airplanes destined to become new points of reference in the sector: the 2-2 seater Pioneer, heir to the four-seater Pioneer 400, and the new twin-engine Pioneer 800 Twin, four seats powered by two Rotax 916iS engines, each with 160 hp, Dynon HDX digital instrumentation, ballistic parachute for the entire airplane and voice piloting assistance. The pilot can verbally order the retraction or extension of the landing gear, the configuration of the flaps and the lights. From Salento, Promecc Aerospace brought to Germany the new high-performance low-wing two-seater aircraft to which it gave a courageous and ironic name: TerrOne. A low roof gives it the racer look, while features such as the single-piece wing and winglets reward lightness and efficiency. ING is also always present with the Trial and G70 models, the equivalent of off-road but flying models; Delta Interior, specializing in the furnishing of business jets, ICP, Konner and Lamanna Helicopter. In practice, if we consider the second-hand shop, at the Aero in Friedrichshafen you can buy your own flying machine by spending from 20,000 euros for an old but flying motor glider, up to 65 million euros for a Dassault Falcon 6X business jet. Around the aircraft, dozens of companies that produce from on-board tools to those for maintenance, up to specialized clothing. The entire sector is valued at around seven billion euros, 40% less than that of the United States, but Europe has a much smaller territory, a higher population density which often makes coexistence with airports complex and, without hypocrisy, a crazy ecological policy associated with suffocating regulations which greatly limit the spread of light aviation.
