Business & Commercial Aviation

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.

FAR Part 135 operator GrandView Aviation recently announced a five-year retention package of up to $80,000 to attract and keep qualified pilots to fly its fleet of Embraer Phenom 300 business jets.

Readers comment on recent stories and events.

News of business aviation promotions, appointments and honors.

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.

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

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.

The Indonesian Air Force recently took delivery of an additional six Grob Aerospace G 120TP turboprop trainers, increasing its fleet of the German-made aircraft to 30.

Clay Lacy Aviation has opened a 65,000-sq.-ft. aircraft maintenance facility at Waterbury Oxford Airport in Oxford, Connecticut.

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.

JetBlue Airways' commercial tie-up with boutique scheduled charter operator JetSuiteX is both a long-term play for the mainline carrier and an indicator of how underserved communities could regain air-service network connectivity without relying directly on traditional airlines.

General Dynamics subsidiary Jet Aviation has completed its acquisition of Hawker Pacific.

Congress recently clarified that aircraft management fees should not be subject to Federal Excise Tax, nor should flights operated by the aircraft owner. However, there are still many gray areas for business flight operations.

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.

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.

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.

Frozen trim controls lead to an unexpected return to the airport.

Selected Accidents And Incidents In April and March 2018.

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.

BCA subscribers, log in to download the entire 2018 Purchase Planning Handbook, including airplane comparison tables as well as Avionics Marketplace charts, which are available only in digital format.

The tables show Jet-A and avgas prices from a survey of U.S. fuel suppliers conducted in April 2018.

Honda Aircraft Honda Aircraft is to receive the 2018 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Foundation Award for Excellence, for leading the design, development and commercialization of the HondaJet.

The U.S. Air Force has allocated $250 million in its fiscal 2019 budget to equip 20 aircraft types for ADS-B Out position reporting.

Gulfstream Aerospace passed a major milestone in April when it delivered the 300th G650, slightly more than five years since its premier model entered service.

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