Chad Trautvetter
Online Editor
Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group. He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion, the student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot magazine, he joined AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.
Latest from Chad Trautvetter
Charter & Fractional
NetJets, FlightSafety Gain in First-half 2014
NetJets accounted for nearly a third of Berkshire’s $507 million revenue increase in its service businesses division.
BBA Aviation CEO Notes 15 Months of Growth in U.S. Bizav Flying
Pryce is predicting continued recovery in the North American market in the second half.
FlightSafety Fields Third Gulfstream G650 Simulator
First two Gulfstream G650 simulators are in service at FlightSafety’s learning center in Savannah, Ga.
Bob Hoover, Bill de Decker To Receive NBAA Lifetime Achievement Awards
The awards will be presented in October at the 2014 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Orlando, Fla.
Charter & Fractional
Fleet, Jet Card Sales Climb at Delta Private Jets
Company recently signed agreements for five new aircraft that are entering the fleet through new Ownership Assist program.
Maintenance and Modifications
Gulfstream, Embraer Tie for Best Bizjet Product Support
Mitsubishi earned top honors for turboprop support, while Bell Helicopter once again took first place in helicopter support.
Lightweight Hartzell Scimitar Blades Hush Piaggio Avanti EVO
Propellers, along with changes to the nacelle and engine exhaust geometry, reduce external noise by five dBA, a 68-percent decrease.
Landmark Completes Acquisition of Ross Aviation FBOs
Acquisition increased the size of Landmark’s network from 57 to 75 locations globally.
Charter & Fractional
ExecuJet Charter Celebrates 20th Year
Since its founding in 1994, the company has flown more than 16 million incident- and accident-free miles worldwide.
Air BP Conducts First Off-airport Refueling in Middle East
Air BP operations team refueled HeliDubai’s Augusta 109 at the HeliDubai Festival City helipad.
CL350 Transition Mutes Bombardier 2Q Bizjet Deliveries
Bombardier’s business jet order backlog in months of production is at or above target levels.
Rotorcraft
German Aeromedical Operator DRF Luftrettung Takes First Airbus Helicopters EC 145T2
DRF has a firm order for 20 EC 145T2s, which will gradually replace its BK 117 and Bell 412 fleets.
Avionics
Jeppesen Simplifies, Lowers Pricing Structure for Mobile FliteDeck Charts
Jeppesen also announced new features and functionality today for Mobile FliteDeck.
Rotorcraft
Genesys HeliSAS STC’d for Robinson R44
System allows for heading and nav hold, as well as vertical speed and altitude hold.
Charter & Fractional
Embraer’s Light Jets Reach Phenom-enal Milestones
Aircraft
First Production HondaJet Makes Public Debut at Oshkosh
HondaJet also flew a flight demonstration during the afternoon airshow that included high- and low-speed passes.
Regulations and Government
Rep. Graves Pushes FAA on NextGen Avionics Loans
2012 FAA reauthorization bill gave the agency the authority to set up a loan-guarantee program for mandated avionics upgrades.
Aircraft
First Production Cessna Citation CJ3+ Takes Flight
Production flight-test pilot Mark Tuttle said that all systems performed as expected during the 73-minute flight.
Daher-Socata U.S. Southwest Distributor Takes Delivery of Its 100th TBM Aircraft
Avex became a Daher-Socata dealer 15 years ago.
Aircraft
Third Cessna Citation Latitude Joins Flight-test Fleet
This flight also marked the first time all three Citation Latitude prototypes were in the air simultaneously.
Charter & Fractional
WestAir Charter Announces “Price Pledge” for Air Charter Quotes
Its “price pledge” states “it will never bill clients for more than they were originally quoted.”
Charter & Fractional
Executive AirShare Taps Pedicino as Vice President for South Texas Sales
He “will drive Executive AirShare’s growth in key Texas markets.”
Deliveries Continue To Climb at Gulfstream
Gulfstream delivered 77 aircraft (59 large-cabin, 18 midsize) versus 65 (55 large-cabin, 10 midsize) in the same period last year.
Charter & Fractional
Wheels Up Turns One, Plans for More Growth
Company expects to have 1,200 members for its closed charter fleet by year-end and some 2,500 by the end of next year.
Maintenance and Modifications
Nextant Aero Joins Remanufacturing Industries Council, Readies To Unveil G90XT Mockup
Nextant remanufactures Beechjet 400/400XP twinjets and plans to do the same for King Air C90s.
Maintenance and Modifications
Raisbeck Gets STC for Learjet 60 Aft Fuselage Locker
Aft fuselage locker weighs 276 pounds and adds 28 cu ft of storage space.
Avflight Opens FBO at Michigan’s Traverse City
The Avfuel-branded facility offers a range of fueling products and services.
Dassault Readies To Begin Falcon 8X Ground Tests
Dassault expects to fly the new trijet early next year, with certification slated for mid-2016.
Regulations and Government
EASA Issues Proposed Rules for Commercial SEIFR Ops
EASA said the move would harmonize its regulations with ICAO and other major foreign aviation authorities.
