Business & Commercial Aviation

Jet Aviation's maintenance center in Vienna has gained FAA repair station approval and is registered to provide line and base maintenance services to all N-registered aircraft it is allowed to support. The Vienna facility provides maintenance support to owners and operators in Eastern Europe, where about 10% of all N-registered aircraft in EMEA and Asia are based or operating.

We are not talking about Brexit, although it looks like there will be be lots of change for the British to embrace when the UK abandons the European Union.

Harlow Aerostructures, a component supplier to the aviation industry, has developed its first autothrottle for new general aviation aircraft.

The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) has identified "psychological drivers of noncompliance" behind pilots' poor adherence to go-around policies. The finding has spurred a revamping of the safety advocate's long-held stable approach criteria and guidance for when a go-around is prudent. The work is part of the FSF's Go-Around Decision-Making and Execution Project.

BCA subscribers, log in to download the Avionics Marketplace charts exclusive to the digital version of the 2017 Purchase Planning Handbook.

In May 1967, BCA reported on new controlling ownership of Lear Jet, Cessna’s Tandem Twin Super Skymaster and certification of the first Riley Turbo Heron owned by ... a former publisher of BCA.

The FAA has issued its first airspace restrictions that specifically apply only to unmanned aerial vehicles, banning flights under 400 ft. AGL within the boundaries of 133 military facilities. The special security restrictions took effect April 14. The agency warns that violations could result in criminal charges, civil penalties and the revocation of certificates and authorizations to operate UAVs. More restrictions may be coming.

The flow of relatively young, high-time business jets exiting the fleets of fractional ownership companies could allow whole ownership for first-time buyers while supporting a vigorous charter business that could nearly cover the cost of ownership.

CIT Group marked the end of an era April 4 as the financial holding company exited the aircraft leasing market and closed the sale of its commercial aircraft leasing business to Avolon Holdings for a final purchase price of $10.4 billion.

A years-long effort to rewrite European aircraft certification standards for many types of light aircraft is finished and the European Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) new CS-23 takes effect Aug. 15. In general, the new rules are in harmony with the FAA's new Part 23 regulations, which were published in December. Both regulations shift from design-specific requirements to consensus-based standards in helping determine compliance and airworthiness.

BCA subscribers, log in to download the entire 2017 Purchase Planning Handbook, including airplane comparison tables as well as Avionics Marketplace charts, which are available only in digital format.

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

Oil and gas helicopter operator CHC reports emerging as an economically robust and agile competitor, 10 months after filing for bankruptcy protection. The Canadian operator, which has its headquarters in Texas, says the court confirmed its financial restructuring on March 24. The new CHC is lighter to the tune of 80 helicopters, $1 billion of debt, and another $1.4 billion in lease obligations.

The ongoing fight over the privatization of the U.S. air traffic control system, an idea Cessna Chairman Emeritus Russ Meyer last year characterized as “a disaster for general aviation,” has produced some curious, possibly concerning, signs within the opposition.

Charles McKinnon, founder and retired manager of IBM's flight department, died March 30 in Trussville, Alabama. He was 101.

The Pilatus PC-12 NG has been approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency for commercial operations in Europe. The decision means the single-engine turboprop can be operated commercially at night and under instrument flight rules across all 32 EASA member states.

Questions for Brandon Mitchener, CEO of the European Business Aviation Association.

According to the chief economic adviser to President Donald Trump, air traffic control (ATC) reform—including privatizing ATC—could be a major element of the new administration's infrastructure buildup, but general aviation operators should not fear paying more for it. "We're probably not even going to tax general aviation," said Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council. "There's enough money in the aviation tax right now." Cohn made that comment during a so-called White House town hall on the U.S.

BCA readers share their opinions on articles we published.

Few innovations have brightened the future of business aviation as light-emitting diode technology.

Continental Motors has delivered its 5,000th CD-100 Series engine. The company, which is based in Mobile, Alabama, has produced the engine for 15 years, and the series Jet A-fueled piston engines have surpassed 5.25 million flight hours.

Firing an employee is one of the most unpleasant of all managerial tasks. It is emotionally draining, and there is an additional administrative burden involved to ensure that laws and company policies are followed in the process. Review the issues at play from the perspective of a director of maintenance.

Wearable technology—including head-up displays, embedded sensors, advanced textiles, embedded computing, energy harvesters, exoskeletons and communications—is being integrated into a variety of civil and military systems and components in ways not previously possible. Over the next decade, the wearable technologies market is expected to grow at a cumulative compound annual growth rate of nearly 40% and produce a cumulative global market of nearly $8 billion, according to Global Wearables Technologies Market Forecast to 2025.

Business jet operators are flying more than 4.3 million missions per year, the highest since 2009 and even more than in 2008 prior to the Great Recession.

In the rapidly receding world of incandescent light bulbs, light produced is simply measured in watts. Today, LEDs are becoming the standard, but a number of other bulbs have appeared, with advantages and disadvantages. This expansion required a new means of measuring light, with the lumen (from Latin, meaning light) emerging from a coalition of more than 40 organizations.