Business & Commercial Aviation

Fractional aircraft operator Flexjet plans to move its Richardson, Texas, operations to the Braniff Center at Dallas Love Field. A private terminal and 60,000-sq.-ft. maintenance hangar are scheduled to open in mid-2019.

Textron Aviation has halted production of its Cessna Turbo Skyhawk JT-A, which was certified by the FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency just last year.

Deer Jet has been awarded Overseas Repair Station recognition by the FAA, allowing it to perform maintenance on N-registered aircraft at its facilities in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Ranked the fifth busiest business aviation airport in the UK, London Oxford Airport retains its top spot for business aviation movements. According to Eurocontrol data published in March, London Stansted leads the "most recovered" airports with 35% growth and London Oxford is second with an overall 32% growth.

The Jetex Global FBO Network is charged up over electric aircraft, so much so that it has joined U.S. startup Wright Electric to develop charging stations for its 30 FBOs.

Berry Aviation in San Marcos, Texas, has begun a $2.7 million expansion of its headquarters, breaking ground on a 31,000-sq.-ft. facility at San Marcos Regional Airport.

Aero Star Aviation has received FAA Part 145 repair station certification for its Dallas Love Field operation. The facility provides maintenance for Embraer Phenom 100s and 300s and capabilities on Cessna Citation 500s and 600s.

The Town of East Hampton, New York, cannot divert airport revenue to pay for legal fees resulting from its unsuccessful effort to restrict access at East Hampton Airport, according to an appeal to the FAA filed by the National Business Aviation Association.

Million Air celebrated its grand opening at Westchester County Airport, New York, in May. The 52,000-sq.-ft. hangar is part of Million Air's $80 million expansion and upgrade at the airport. The two-story hangar features 28-ft.-high doors, radiant heated floors, eight customizable offices with storage space and 7.25 acres of ramp space.

J.A. Air Center in Sugar Grove, Illinois, has joined the Air Elite Network. Based at Aurora Municipal Airport, the FBO has a 11,000-sq.-ft. terminal facility, 100,000 sq. ft. of heated hangar space and a 20,000-sq.-ft. arrival canopy.

Gulfstream Aerospace plans to build a $55 million, 202,000-sq.-ft. service center at its Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport campus in Georgia, and employ an additional 200 people there.

A privacy watchdog organization has filed suit against the FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee, charging that the industry-government group has failed to release records and make subcommittee and task group meetings open to the public.

Bombardier Business Aircraft has launched an online recurrent training course for Challenger 605 and 650 business jet pilots.

Piper Aircraft delivered 34 aircraft during the first quarter of 2018, as compared to 25 aircraft a year earlier.

Collingwood Regional Airport, a single paved runway facility close by Ontario’s Georgian Bay, is up for sale or lease. The town of Collingwood is soliciting offers for the 392-acre airport, which is 90 mi. north of Toronto.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on May 9-10 revealed the local, state and tribal governments that her department has selected to participate in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Integration Pilot Program (IPP) to test small drone applications within their jurisdictions.

Weston Aviation, a UK- and Ireland-based business aviation and FBO specialist, has achieved continuous growth since its opening in 2011 at Humberside International Airport.

Duncan Aviation has moved its Satellite Avionics Shop at Fulton County Airport in Atlanta to a new facility at the Hill Aircraft FBO.

Within days, the aviation world began to understand the dangers of volcanic ash, its effect on turbofan engines, and how to survive an encounter.

The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements reports that among those U.S. workers exposed to radiation while on the job, flight crews get the largest annual effective dose.

There are airline pilots who make far northern or even transpolar flights on a regular basis. Business aviators become familiar with the requirements for these flights, but we seldom do it often enough for it to be considered routine.

The FAA is investing $17 billion to move the National Airspace System through a massive modernization effort known as NextGen that ultimately will impact almost all aircraft movements.

Production of the Citation X, Cessna Aircraft’s 520-kt. muscle rocket, is ending after 22 years. It was Cessna’s signature technical masterpiece of that era.

Citation VII, the second-generation Citation CE650, built from 1992 to 2000, made up for dozens of shortcomings found in the original model.

William Garvey, Editor-in-Chief of Business and Commercial Aviation, speaks to John Sheehan, Operational Excellence Program Consultant, about the latest flight department evaluation program.