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Magazine Issue

Business & Commercial Aviation, June 2017

VOL. 113 NO. 6 May 25, 2017

Viewpoint

article

Heart Of The Matter: It’s A Good Investment For Us All

May 24, 2017
Sometimes you come upon a physical construct of such wrongheadedness that the natural question is: What were they thinking?

Readers' Feedback

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Readers' Feedback (June 2017) Letters To The Editor

May 26, 2017
BCA readers share their opinions on articles we published.

Intelligence

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Startup AirspaceX Pursues Tiltwing Electric VTOL

May 24, 2017
AirspaceX, a new company set up by design house Detroit Aircraft, is developing a tail-sitting electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft that can carry modular payloads, including a four-seat passenger cabin for air taxi operations.
article

Japan Wants To Encourage Business Aviation

May 24, 2017
Japan has set ambitious targets to double foreign visitors to 40 million a year by the 2020 Summer Olympics, and business aviation is expected to play a role.
article

Jet-A And Avgas Per-Gallon Fuel Prices: May 2017

May 24, 2017
Compare Jet-A and avgas fuel prices by U.S. region based on a survey conducted in May 2017 by Aviation Research Group/U.S. Inc. and an analysis of the lowest fuel prices reported by FBOs on acukwik.com
article

Uber Partners For eVTOL Service In 2023

May 24, 2017
Uber announces partnerships with vehicle developers and infrastructure providers to support its planned electric vertical takeoff and landing flight demonstrations in Dallas and Dubai in 2020.
article

Gulfstream Adds Third G600 Flight-Test Aircraft

May 24, 2017
Gulfstream Aerospace has added its third G600 aircraft to its flight-test program. The aircraft completed its first flight May 5 and will undergo numerous system tests required for FAA certification, expected in 2018.
article

Cirrus Ramping Up Vision Jet Production To One Per Week

May 24, 2017
Cirrus Aircraft was awarded the FAA's production certificate for its SF 50 Vision jet on May 2, and will begin producing the single-engine, single-pilot personal jets at a rate of one per week.
article

Falcon 8X Receives OK For London City Airport

May 24, 2017
Dassault's new Falcon 8X ultra-long-range jet has received approval to operate at London City Airport, which has some of the most restrictive steep approach and noise abatement regulations in business aviation.
article

Third Global 7000 Flight Test Vehicle Flies For First Time

May 24, 2017
Bombardier's third Global 7000 flight test aircraft flew for the first time May 10 and has entered the flight-test program. It will soon join Bombardier's flight-test center in Wichita.
article

FlightSafety Creates Maintenance Management Program

May 24, 2017
FlightSafety International has teamed with Service Elements to create an Aviation Maintenance Management Program. The three-day course, provided at FlightSafety's Maintenance Training Center in Dallas, is designed to enhance the skills of current aircraft maintenance department managers and help those who aspire to such positions.
article

Wingly Ride-Sharing Service Operating In Europe

May 24, 2017
Wingly, an internet-based private-pilot ride-sharing service, a concept ruled as a violation of air regulations by the FAA—a position upheld in federal court—is operating in the UK, France and Germany.
article

Aircare Launches Hypoxia Training Course

May 24, 2017
​Aircare International has launched an enhanced hypoxia training course for pilots and cabin crewmembers. The training involves both classroom instruction on high-altitude physiology and actual exposure using a hypoxia training platform.
article

Pratt & Whitney Canada Produces 100,000th Engine

May 24, 2017
In early May, Pratt & Whitney Canada completed production of its 100,000th engine, and of that total 60,000 remain in service operated by 12,300 customers in more than 200 countries and territories.
article

Cessna Adds Fourth Longitude To Flight-Test Program

May 24, 2017
The fourth Cessna Citation Longitude test aircraft has joined the flight-test program. The aircraft is expected to receive FAA type certification later this year. The fourth Longitude flew for the first time on May 6.
article

Falcon Aviation Opens New VIP Heliport

May 24, 2017
Falcon Aviation has opened a VIP Heliport at its new Dubai South VIP Terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport in the UAE. The heliport will be run and managed by Falcon Aviation personnel and will be available to those arriving in business jets at the terminal.
article

Flying Colours Delivers Sparkle Roll CRJ200s

May 24, 2017
Completions specialist Flying Colours Corp. has delivered the first three Bombardier CRJ200 ex-airliner-to-VIP conversions for Chinese luxury company Sparkle Roll's SR Jet, and will deliver three more by year-end.
article

ForeFlight, Jeppesen Form Strategic Alliance

May 24, 2017
ForeFlight, one of the aviation industry's leading providers of mobile electronic flight bag applications, and Jeppesen, a global powerhouse in aeronautical data, are teaming up to offer a broad range of products to business and general aviation, military and airline customers.
article

Business Flight Activity Highest In Nearly A Decade

May 24, 2017
Business aviation flight activity increased globally during the first quarter of 2017 compared to the last three months of 2016. In fact, it was the highest utilization of aircraft for any first quarter since 2008, according to Jet Support Services Inc., a provider of maintenance support and financial services.
article

Amber Aviation Launches Aircraft Management Services

May 24, 2017
Shenzhen, China-based Amber Aviation has launched its business jet management services. The company was founded by Chairman Chang Qiu Sheng. It will also have an office in Hong Kong.
article

Duncan Releases New Bizjet Model/Market Summary

May 24, 2017
Duncan Aviation has released a new edition of its Business Jet Model/Market Summary, an initial introduction and overview of market conditions.
article

Hawthorne Global Acquires Sioux City FBO

May 24, 2017
Hawthorne Global Aviation Services has acquired JetSun Aviation Centre, an FBO located at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa. The facility has more than 100,000 sq. ft. of hangar space, a reception area, conference room, pilot lounge and flight planning.
article

FAA Adopts Airworthiness Directive For Learjet 60

May 24, 2017
The FAA has adopted a new Airworthiness Directive for certain Learjet Model 60 airplanes. This AD was prompted by an evaluation by the design approval holder indicating the upper fuselage skin under the aft oxygen line fairing is subject to multi-site damage.
article

Blackhawk Earns STC For True Blue Battery On Caravans

May 24, 2017
Blackhawk Modifications in Waco, Texas, has received an STC for the installation of True Blue Power TB44 lithium-ion batteries on Blackhawk-powered Cessna Caravan 208 and 208B models.
article

Gulfstream G280 Sets Two Additional Speed Records

May 24, 2017
Gulf stream Aerospace's G280 set two speed records in April on flights to and from the 2017 Avalon Airshow. The aircraft flew 3,332 nm from Singapore to Melbourne, Australia, in 7 hr. and 21 min., at an average cruise speed of Mach 0.81. It then flew from Singapore to Dubai's Al Maktoum Airport, 3,177 nm, in 7 hr. and 18 min. at Mach 0.82.
article

Tata Steel To Add Second Bell 429 Helicopter

May 24, 2017
Tata Steel Group, based in Mumbai, India, is adding a second Bell 429 helicopter to its fleet to support steel production operations, Bell said. The aircraft will operate from the company's Jamshedpur facility in eastern India. There are more than 90 Bell helicopters operating throughout India in commercial, civil/government and military operations.
article

Airbus Testing Voom Helicopter Service In Sao Paulo

May 24, 2017
Airbus sees strong potential in Voom, an on-demand helicopter booking service incubated within A3—the aircraft maker's Silicon Valley outpost—and now being tested in helicopter-friendly Sao Paulo.
article

Jet Aviation Signs Agreement With Pazos FBO In Puerto Rico

May 24, 2017
Jet Aviation has signed an FBO management agreement with Pazos FBO at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico. It is the only FBO in Puerto Rico with a full-service on-site U.S. Customs and Border Protection terminal for customs, immigration and agriculture processing of international flights.
article

Cessna Won't Cut Jobs As Mustang Assembly Ceases

May 24, 2017
Textron Aviation ended production of its Model 510 Cessna Citation Mustang light jet on May 11. No jobs will be lost as a result, as Textron Aviation is moving production of its Caravan turboprop to the plant where the Mustang was assembled.
article

Tradewind Aviation Adds Pilatus PC-12 To Fleet

May 24, 2017
Tradewind Aviation, which operates shuttle and on-demand flights in the U.S. and Caribbean, has added three Pilatus PC-12 eight-seat aircraft to its fleet as well as a hub at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts. Tradewind, which operates scheduled service from Westchester County Airport in New York, now operates 21 aircraft, including 18 PC-12s and three Cessna Citations.
article

Large Jet Ops Up At London Oxford Airport

May 24, 2017
London Oxford Airport is seeing an increase in large business jets using its facilities this year. Its FBO has seen a 37% increase in large jet movements and a 46% increase over the past two years, the airport reports.
article

Key Milestone: TSO Submittal For Universal Avionics’ InSight

May 24, 2017
The engineering of Universal Avionics' InSight display system is now fulfilled, and the company is working toward completion of the STC and TSO package in preparation for TIA.
article

Amstat: Light, Medium Bizjet Resale Markets Off To Good Start

May 24, 2017
The medium and light business jet resale markets began 2017 with two of the best first quarters in the past 10 years, according to a report by market research company Amstat.

Fast Five

article

Questions For Shawn Vick, CEO of Global Jet Capital

May 24, 2017
Questions for Shawn Vick, CEO of Global Jet Capital Inc., Boca Raton, Florida.

Cause & Circumstance

article

Poor Decisions: Unstabilized Approach, Vicious Winds Trigger Crash

May 24, 2017
A highly experienced Mexican crew with newly minted Bombardier Challenger type ratings attempted an approach into one of business aviation's toughest airports with adverse winds on Jan. 5, 2014. The result was tragic.
article

CVR Recording For Challenger N115WF

May 24, 2017
CVR Recording for Challenger N115WF: Shortly past noon on Jan. 5, 2014, a Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger crashed during a landing attempt on Runway 15 at Colorado's Aspen-Pitkin County Airport/Sardy Field (ASE). The information below, from the NTSB report, is a record of what went on in the cockpit as the approach became unstabilized and the flight came to grief.

Accidents in Brief

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Selected Accidents And Incidents In April 2017

May 24, 2017
Selected accidents and incidents in April 2017. The following NTSB information is preliminary.

DOM Notebook

article

Replacing Yourself: How To Ensure Your Successor’s Success

May 24, 2017
Choosing the right person to take over when you exit can be the capstone of your career as a director of maintenance. Depending on the size of the operation, there may be several people involved in the process, but regardless, your input will weigh heavily in the selection.

Safety

article

When Pilots Become Passengers

May 24, 2017
During my first-ever opportunity to lead a formation of two T-37 jet trainers as a solo pilot, my wingman, also a student pilot, failed the ride. I asked the instructor why the other lieutenant busted.
article

When Your Only Engine Fails

Jun 30, 2017
Pilots of single-engine aircraft have long debated the “best” options for reacting to an engine failure after takeoff.
article

When In-Aircraft Training Kills

May 24, 2017
On June 24, 2006, a private pilot was receiving flight instruction in a Pilatus PC-12/47 at Big Timber, Montana's uncontrolled airport. Conditions for the departure from Runway 6 included winds at 17 kt. gusting to 23 kt. Witnesses said that the pilot had transmitted on CTAF with the intention of practicing a loss of engine power after takeoff, and turning 180 deg. to return to the airport. He and his instructor never made it back.

Operations

article

Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone Is Full Of Convective Storms

May 24, 2017
Some of the most violent weather to be concerned about on the planet — and the most predictable because it’s always there — can be found in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone.
article

GEOS-16: A Weather Satellite For The 21st Century

May 24, 2017
Last November, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) cooperatively launched the first of three GEOS-16 weather and environment satellites, which collectively promise to greatly improve weather prediction and enhance aviation safety.

Technology

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March to Mach+: Several Supersonic Business Jet Projects Advancing

May 24, 2017
Will supersonic business jets be streaking across oceans in the near future? No less an entity than Rolls-Royce is cautiously optimistic about the prospects and is actively studying a new generation of potential engine designs to power it.
article

Next-Gen Business Aviation Powerplant Family Detailed

May 24, 2017
Rolls-Royce is developing a new generation of business aviation powerplants, for which the first full-up fan demonstrator is expected to run later this year. The ramp-up of work on the technology demonstrator, dubbed Advance2, signals a new phase for the manufacturer, which heretofore had revealed few details of its future business aviation family initiative. Covering the 10,000- to 20,000-lb. thrust range, the plan is to develop three Advance2 demonstrators with two different core sizes and three different low-pressure systems.

Piloting

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Over There: What To Consider When Accepting Assignments In Developing Countries

May 24, 2017
Agreeing to fly or maintain an airplane far from home, particularly in developing countries, could be a foolish mistake or an adventurous career accelerator.

Pilot Report

article

BBJ MAX 8: It’s Bigger, Flies Farther And Is More Efficient

May 24, 2017
Step aboard Boeing's BBJ MAX 8, one of the world's most exclusive private jets, and you'll find it does virtually everything better than the original BBJ that made its debut almost two decades ago.
article

Welcome To Boeing’s Window On The World

May 24, 2017
Boeing Business Jets and GKN Aerospace are offering a new window on the world at 41,000 ft., one that Boeing claims is the largest available on any passenger jet today.

On Duty

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News Of Promotions, Appointments And Honors (June 2017)

May 24, 2017
News of promotions, appointments and honors involving professionals within the business aviation community.

20/Twenty

article

Used Aircraft Report: Dassault Falcon 2000S

May 24, 2017
The Falcon 2000S is a large-cabin jet that has been redesigned, repackaged and repriced to fit into a niche between super-midsize and large-cabin business aircraft.

Products & Services Previews

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BCA Business Aviation Products And Service Previews

May 24, 2017
BCA shares news of the latest products and services for the business aviation industry.

BCA 50 Years Ago

article

Business & Commercial Aviation News From June 1967

May 24, 2017
Frankly, the proposed fee schedule [user charges] doesn’t bother us as much as the fear that once the principle is set it then becomes a mater of how much more. – BCA Staff Rockwell-Standard declined to act on its option to pick up line of new aircraft models being produced by Ted Smith and his company. The option was for $6.5 million to be exercised by R-S upon certification of Aerostar model.