Aviation International News Monthly

Preliminary Report: Boeing Crashes Short of Runway

Paris Air Show organizers have introduced a range of improvements aimed at making the huge biennial trade fair a more user-friendly proposition when it is staged at Le Bourget Airport from June 17 to 23. At an April 30 press conference in London, Emeric d’Arcimoles, chairman and CEO of show organizer SIAE, said that the show has been sold out for several months and that organizer SIAE has two main aims this year: providing more services for exhibitors and an improved experience for visitors.

Paris Air Show organizers have redoubled the event’s emphasis on recruiting new talent to the aerospace sector. “We [the industry] need to invest a lot in young people if we are to be ready for increasing production rates in the coming years,” said SIAE chairman and CEO Emeric d’Arcimoles.

California governor Jerry Brown is attempting to fix the state’s notorious Proposition 65 law because it “has been abused by some unscrupulous lawyers driven by profit rather than public health,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.

Construction on the first section (north end) of the main runway at Van Nuys Airport is expected to be completed this month. The $20 million renovation project, which began in February, aims to rehabilitate and modernize the 8,000-foot Runway 16R/34L to meet current FAA design standards.

On July 1, 2015, Santa Monica Airport in southern California may be a completely different airfield, if the city of Santa Monica has its way. On that date, the city wants to end all fuel sales, not renew any aviation-related leases and cut 2,000 feet from the airport’s 4,973-foot runway.

In the space of less than 24 hours in late April, Congress passed a bill that staved off air traffic controller furloughs and produced “found” money to keep low-activity contract control towers operating. With lawmakers eying another vacation that would officially begin on April 27 and end on May 5, the Senate passed a measure on the night of April 25 that would prevent furloughs of essential FAA employees, including air traffic controllers.

There has hardly been a better time to be a buyer of business aircraft insurance, according to aviation insurance brokers, underwriters and industry consultants that AIN canvassed for this article. All signs definitely point to a buyer’s market, with some customers almost able to name their own price. While rates are already low, they could descend even further over the next 12 months if the industry stays on its current course.

The FAA issued a supplemental type certificate (STC) to Avidyne covering installation of the company’s DFC90 autopilot in 25 Beechcraft Bonanza models. The STC requires interfacing with the Aspen Avionics EVD1000 Evolution Pro PFD. The DFC90 autopilot is a plug-and-play replacement of the S-Tec 55X autopilot and uses the 55X’s servos. The DFC90 can also replace S-Tec 30/50/60-2/65-series autopilots in the 25 Bonanza models covered by this STC.

Business jet operators needing FAA approval to use Apple’s iPad running the ForeFlight mobile app can now sign up for Sporty’s Easy Approval system. For $799, the Sporty’s team will help jet operators governed by Part 91F, 91K or 135 gain FAA approval to use ForeFlight on an iPad as an electronic flight bag (EFB). Included in the price are documentation, training, iPad testing and operational guidance. The training includes Sporty’s “Flying with ForeFlight” video.

Garmin’s new GTS 825 TAS (traffic advisory system) and GTS 855 Tcas I (traffic alert and collision avoidance system) had already received FAA technical standard order approval when they were introduced in March. Garmin is now working on approved model list supplemental type certificates for the GTS 825 and 855.

Aircraft synthetic-vision systems (SVS), when combined with GPS, gyros, accelerometers and terrain and obstacle databases, provide pilots with a colorful, animated depiction of the world outside the cockpit, matching what they would see looking through the windshield on a clear day. But to really see what is outside in dark or low-visibility conditions, you need an infrared (IR) camera. When you add forward-looking IR to SVS, you get a heat-referenced, real-world view along with a 3-D, database-derived and geo-referenced virtual view. Together they are called enhanced or combined SVS.

As we approach the halfway mark of the year, the used jet market continues to show improvement in terms of sales, but at the detriment (if you’re a seller) to price. Every day for the past several years, pricing has become more and more attractive to buyers. In retrospect, it seems that no seller left any money on the table when they rolled out of their previous aircraft and turned the keys over to a new owner. That said, buyers are not cloistered away and continue to buy actively, taking advantage of values no one could have ever predicted.

For the first time since the end of 2006, quarterly deliveries of business jets, turboprops and piston-powered aircraft finished in the positive, according to first-quarter 2013 statistics released last month by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). “We are pleased to see a shift to the positive for GA airplanes, which extends across all airplane segments,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce.

European bizav still awaits resurgence, but news abounds at EBACE show

Judging by the wretched weather conditions endured at this year’s EBACE show, some might conclude that God doesn’t approve of business aviation. But the rain on its parade didn’t dampen the industry’s enthusiasm and the 13th staging of the annual event delivered plenty of news.

For the first time since the end of 2006, quarterly deliveries of business jets, turboprops and piston-powered aircraft all finished in the positive, according to first-quarter 2013 statistics released last month by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). “We are pleased to see a shift to the positive for GA airplanes, which extends across all airplane segments,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce. 

Bombardier Aerospace took the wraps off the Challenger 350–an upgraded Challenger 300 with a new wing, more powerful engines, larger windows and redesigned interior– May 19 on the EBACE show floor. NetJets was also announced as the launch customer for the new $25.8 million twinjet, which is $1 million more than its fraternal twin, which Bombardier will continue to offer. First deliveries of the new Challenger are scheduled to begin in May 2014.

Accompanied by plumes of dry ice pouring from the edges of a black-curtained mockup and the music from the Superman movie, chairman Oscar Schwenk called for the unveiling of Pilatus Aircraft’s long-awaited new twinjet project, the PC-24.

Bombardier has pushed back certification of the Learjet 70/75 to the fourth quarter of this year, from what had been planned to be an early-2013 entry into service. “Our supplier, Garmin, encountered some difficulties in delivering its avionics hardware and software,” a Bombardier spokeswoman told AIN. The Learjet 70/75 were slated to be the first jets certified with Garmin’s G5000 flight deck, although Cessna’s Sovereign might now enter service before the new Learjet.

Nextant Aerospace launched the 400XTi (the i stands for innovation), the latest evolution of the remanufactured light business jet, last month at EBACE. Compared with the 400XT, the new version introduces a number of improvements, including an all-new cabin that offers more space and reduced noise.

General Electric is preparing its new Passport engine for a first test run this month. Chosen to power the Bombardier Global 7000 and 8000, the Passport 20 is scheduled for certification in 2015. Assembly of the first engine began in March. The Passport has been developed from General Electric’s eCore technology, which is also used in the CFM Leap engine for single-aisle airliners.

The price of maintaining Rolls-Royce Spey engines, which power the Gulfstream II and III, has dropped dramatically over the last several years, according to MRO shops and operators. Gulfstream made 460 GIIs and GIIIs between 1966 and 1987, but operators increasingly are scrapping them in response to rising fuel prices and more stringent anti-noise requirements that will require the installation of hush kits or restrict operations.

A new noise-cancelling headset introduced in April at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, is set to find a market in business and private aviation.

Middletown, R.I.-based Avid claims the headset “effectively reduces environmental external noise by 85 percent with a 20-decibel maximum noise attenuation.” Forty-millimeter speakers, said an Avid spokeswoman, “ensure crisp, clear sound and well defined bass.”

With a fresh supplemental type certificate in hand, Gore Design Completions delivered a completed ACJ340-500 for a head-of-state client in mid-April.

It was the second outfitted private jetliner delivered this year by the San Antonio-based facility. The company handed over a new BBJ3 in January.

Gore president Kathy Gore-Walters describes the big quad-jet as “one of the most beautiful aircraft interiors GDC has ever had the pleasure of building.”

SR Technics, an executive refurbishment and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) specialist in Zurich, continues to enhance and develop its executive cabin outfitting and maintenance services.

The company claims to have invested in new engineering tooling and systems and to have nearly doubled the size of its skilled labor team in the past 12 months alone.

Charter/management firm Solairus Aviation is headquartered in the heart of downtown Petaluma, Calif., and not at an airport because employees prefer local amenities such as restaurants and shops to the relative remoteness of most airport general aviation facilities. Pilots who are visiting headquarters for training especially enjoy what downtown Petaluma has to offer, according to Solairus founder Dan Drohan.

The year 1935 saw the debut of the timeless board game Monopoly, the retirement of baseball great Babe Ruth and the first flight of the iconic Douglas DC-3. The aviation industry also saw the start of what is today one of the oldest FBOs in the country: Lane Aviation in Columbus, Ohio. Aside from a few years during World War II when the Navy took control of Port Columbus International, forcing to FBO to relocate, the family-owned business has been at Port Columbus International Airport for its entire existence.

Northstar Aviation, the lone service provider at Providence, Rhode Island’s Theodore Francis Green International Airport, has just completed its new 5,000-sq-ft terminal.

Jackson Jet Center at Idaho’s Boise Gowen Field is the latest FBO to join World Fuel Services’ Air Elite network, bringing the total number of facilities in the group to 28 worldwide. The newly remodeled Jackson Jet Center (consisting of the former Boise Air Service and Boise Executive Terminal) features a 9,400-sq-ft terminal with flight planning center, exercise room, men’s and women’s showers, pilot lounge with sleep room, conference room and free Wi-Fi, along with 92,000 sq ft of hangar space.

A legal battle is under way between the nation’s largest private aviation provider and two of the major FBO chains over whether NetJets’ aircraft charter and management arm, Executive Jet Management, can require the chains to provide fuel discounts to aircraft owners and operators whose aircraft are not part of the company’s fully managed fleet.

The Paragon Network, a group of independent FBOs, has added Detroit to its growing web of national coverage. Metro Flight Services at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the 24th FBO to join the group since its inception in early 2011. One of two FBOs on the field, Metro Flight is preparing to open a new 100,000 sq ft facility at the airport later this summer. The former site of a private flight department, it includes 45,000 sq ft of heated hangar space, 20,000 sq ft of climate controlled parking, and a 35,000 sq ft terminal, offices and shop space.

Fuel supplier Shell Aviation added a dozen newly branded FBOs to its distribution network during the first three months of this year.

The Paragon Network, a group of independent FBOs, has added Detroit to its growing web of national coverage. Metro Flight Services at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the 24th FBO to join the group since its inception in early 2011. One of two FBOs on the field, Metro Flight is preparing to open a new 100,000 sq ft facility at the airport later this summer. The former site of a private flight department, it includes 45,000 sq ft of heated hangar space, 20,000 sq ft of climate controlled parking, and a 35,000 sq ft terminal, offices and shop space.

Maintenance, repair and overhaul facility Professional Pilots Aircraft Maintenance (PPAM), located in the Professional Jet Center at Plymouth, Mass., was established in 2004 as part of a natural progression of PPAM’s owner Don Staszko’s life in aviation.

Staszko served in the U.S. Air Force from 1970 to 1978; he was an F-4 pilot and is a Vietnam veteran. In 1973 he traded in active duty service for the reserves, was hired by American Airlines as a Boeing 727 flight engineer and was laid off the next year, a victim of the OPEC oil embargo.

FlightSafety International has received EASA approval for 49 of its practical maintenance training courses under Regulation 1149/2011.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., will incorporate five turbofan components from previously repaired engines, a donation from Snecma America Engine Services (Sames), into its aerospace and mechanical engineering programs.

The donated items (a fan shaft assembly, thrust bearing, compressor rotor shaft, fuel manifold ring and high-pressure turbine rear shaft) came from a CFM56-5A, the engine that powers single-aisle aircraft such as the Airbus A319 and A320. The components will help expand engineering students’ understanding of turbine engines.

Gulfstream Aerospace has made enhancements to its field and airborne support teams (Fast), the company’s program that helps Gulfstream operators in aircraft-on-ground (AOG) situations by dispatching technicians and maintenance engineers by airplane, train or automobile.

The company recently upgraded its Fast aircraft, replacing two Gulfstream G100s with two G150s. The aircraft transport technicians and flight-essential parts across the U.S., Canada, Central America and the Caribbean. Gulfstream maintains a G100 as a backup for the airborne maintenance service.

The price of maintaining Rolls-Royce Spey engines, which power the Gulfstream II and III, has dropped dramatically over the last several years, according to MRO shops and operators. Gulfstream made 460 GIIs and GIIIs between 1966 and 1987, but operators increasingly are scrapping them in response to rising fuel prices and more stringent anti-noise requirements that will require the installation of hush kits or restrict operations.

For Phoenix Heliparts, this year’s Heli-Expo show resulted in the sale of two helicopters, thanks to the display of the rebuilt MD500 flown for the television show Magnum, P.I. Based in Mesa, Ariz., Phoenix Heliparts celebrated its 10th anniversary at the show, where on March 5, Magnum, P.I. stars Larry Manetti and Roger Mosley signed “The Chopper.” On June 3, The Chopper receives its official Hawaiian blessing as it enters service in the Paradise Helicopters fleet at the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu.

The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) for Twin Commander 690s, 690As and 690Bs requiring inspection for cracking of the outer fuselage attachments, the lower wing main spar, the vertical channels, the upper picture window channels, aft cabin pressure web, external wing to fuselage fillets and fasteners. It requires modification of the structure with reinforced parts. According to the AD, the condition, if not corrected, could result in structural failure of the airplane.

In Afghanistan, soldiers still pull the trigger. Civilian contractors do almost everything else. While the U.S. and its allies may be preparing for a troop draw-down there next year, for the contractors flying an assortment of 50 helicopters in country, things have never been busier or better.

Landmark Aviation has made several additions to its executive staff. Ben Murray, former president of XOJet, has joined the company as president of its aircraft management and charter division. The service provider also named Skip Madsen, previously Jet Aviation’s v-p for MRO operations, to its newly created v-p of MRO. Tyson Goetz was selected as company v-p. Most recently he was a senior regional manager for Atlantic Aviation.

Brazilian OEM Embraer received a firm order from U.S. operator SkyWest for 40 E175 regional twinjets. SkyWest plans to operate the 76-seat aircraft under a capacity purchase agreement (CPA) with United Airlines. Another firm order for 60 of the E-Jets hinges on SkyWest’s being awarded additional CPAs with major airline partners. In addition, the acquisition agreement includes options for another 100 E175s, bringing the potential total order to 200 airplanes. If all 100 firm orders are exercised, the deal has an estimated value of $4.1 billion.

In the space of less than 24 hours in late April, Congress passed a bill that staved off air traffic controller furloughs and produced “found” money to keep low-activity contract control towers operating. With lawmakers eying another vacation that would officially begin on April 27 and end on May 5, the Senate passed a measure on the night of April 25 that would prevent furloughs of essential FAA employees, including air traffic controllers.

Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), whose district includes Wichita, has introduced a House bill to implement changes in the certification process for light general aviation aircraft. H.R.1848, the “Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013,” has already been referred to the House aviation subcommittee for further legislative action.

Within 12 Months

Jan. 14, 2014:

Flight Crewmember Duty and Rest Requirements

Offshore-energy and medevac operator PHI reported substantially higher earnings for the first quarter, posting a net revenue gain of $40.9 million (to $178.9 million) compared with the same quarter last year. The company credits the gain to more deepwater oil exploration support work and an uptick in its air medical segment. Net earnings quadrupled from the same period in 2012, increasing to $8.8 million from $2.2 million.

For Phoenix Heliparts, this year’s Heli-Expo show resulted in the sale of two helicopters, thanks to the display of the rebuilt MD500 flown for the television show Magnum, P.I. Based in Mesa, Ariz., Phoenix Heliparts celebrated its 10th anniversary at the show, where on March 5, Magnum, P.I. stars Larry Manetti and Roger Mosley signed “The Chopper.” On June 3, The Chopper receives its official Hawaiian blessing as it enters service in the Paradise Helicopters fleet at the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu.

Eurocopter has inaugurated its Systemhaus, a €100 million ($130 million) helicopter development center built at its existing site in Donauwörth, Germany. With a total floor area of 300,000 sq ft, it is the new workplace for about 900 employees previously located in Ottobrunn. The facility features research and test facilities that will be used notably for the still-under-wraps X9 program.

Sikorsky has delivered the first of two VIP S-92s to the Turkish National Police for service to the Turkish Prime Ministry, under a contract signed in 2011. The new helicopters will support the head-of-state function, currently served by one S-92.

Bell delivered eight new helicopters in Russia last month, including five 429 light twins and a 407GX single. Two of the 429s will be configured for medevac for use in the St. Petersburg area.

Aircraft synthetic-vision systems (SVS), when combined with GPS, gyros, accelerometers and terrain and obstacle databases, provide pilots with a colorful, animated depiction of the world outside the cockpit, matching what they would see looking through the windshield on a clear day. But to really see what is outside in dark or low-visibility conditions, you need an infrared (IR) camera. When you add forward-looking IR to SVS, you get a heat-referenced, real-world view along with a 3-D, database-derived and geo-referenced virtual view. Together they are called enhanced or combined SVS.

In Afghanistan, soldiers still pull the trigger. Civilian contractors do almost everything else. While the U.S. and its allies may be preparing for a troop draw-down there next year, for the contractors flying an assortment of 50 helicopters in country, things have never been busier or better.

Contrary to the hopes of most French helicopter EMS operators, French doctors have issued a motion calling for the soon-to-be-mandatory second flight crewmember to be a trained paramedic. New rules at the European level will mandate such a second crewmember, for some operations, beginning in October next year.