Business & Commercial Aviation

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Flying in Alaska and Canada’s northern provinces is tough: It takes ingenuity, skill and constant vigilance. Complacency is a killer.

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.

Fred Schrameck, the former CEO of Epic Air of Bend, Oregon, recently pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for a scheme involving his consumer aviation company, Aircraft Completion Services.

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.

News of business aviation promotions, appointments and honors.

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.

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

Textron Aviation recently chalked up orders for 52 Cessna 172 Skyhawks from two Cessna-authorized sales and service representatives in China, with deliveries expected to be completed this year.

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

Workhorse Group, a maker of electric pickups and vans, has joined the small, but growing, rank of companies flight-testing full-size electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft, with the first flight of its hybrid-electric multirotor SureFly April 30 near its Cincinnati headquarters.

There were smiles all around in Stans, Switzerland, because Pilatus delivered 115 aircraft in 2017, grossed sales worth $987 million and closed out the year certifying and delivering the first PC-24 twinjet.

OneJet, a three-year-old air transportation network that provides scheduled nonstop service between small and medium-size cities primarily east of the Mississippi River using regional operating partners, is acquiring Ultimate JetCharters.

Readers comment on recent stories and events.

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.

Gulfstream Aerospace reported delivering 26 business jets during the first quarter, down from 30 a year earlier. The total comprised 19 large-cabin and seven mid-cabin aircraft, compared to 23 large-cabin and seven mid-cabin jets in 2017.

Business Jet Center at Dallas Love Field is returning to the Paragon Network. It is the only award-winning FBO at Love Field and continues to place at the top of operator surveys.

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.