Business & Commercial Aviation

Questions for David Sneed, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Delta Private Jets.

GI Aviation has earned an air operator's certificate from the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority to enable the start of commercial flights with its fleet of Pilatus PC-12NG aircraft in the Gulf region. GI Aviation has been working to begin new entry-level service for business aviation in the region, which has been dominated by larger business jets. GI Aviation worked with Hendell Aviation in Finland to help it obtain the air operator’s certificate.

Satcom Direct last month completed the acquisition of TrueNorth Avionics, a manufacturer of cabin communications systems, thereby expanding its service offering to VIP aircraft operators. Ottawa-based TrueNorth, which designs, develops and manufactures satcom systems, TrueNorth becomes a business unit within the Satcom Direct family of companies focused on avionics development.

BCA: We are too shortsighted to realize that the fewer accidents we have, the more people will fly and the more airplanes we will sell in the long run.

Embraer Legacy 500 is the company's first aircraft to have the certified version of the Embraer Enhanced Vision System.

Rolls-Royce delivered the 7,000th engine made at its plant outside Berlin. The engine, a BR710, was being shipped to Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, Georgia. The site, which began production in 1995, employs more than 2,300 worker who produce the Tay 611-8C and V2500 engines in addition to the BR700 series, which power the G550 and 650 as well as the Bombardier Global 5000 and 6000. The engine maker reports more than 4,000 BR700s have been delivered to date. Later this year the German facility will begin assembly of the Trent XWB turbofan, which powers the Airbus A350.

AeroBrigham, based in Decatur, Texas, has taken delivery of a Bell 407 configured for medical mission flights. It is the fourth aircraft on which the company has completed paint, interior, avionics and airframe improvements and performed maintenance and component overhauls. The work was done for Survival Flight, a Part 135 air medical transport provider. AeroBrigham will begin work on another 407 for Survival Flight before year-end.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association says new aircraft deliveries for the first three quarters of 2016 were down 3.5% from the same period in the previous year, with 1,504 units shipped compared to 1,558 units in 2015. Helicopter shipments were even worse—down 16% to 615 units compared to 732 units in the same period in 2015. Combined airplane and rotorcraft billings were $15.9 billion year-to-date in 2016 compared to last year's $19.1 billion, a contraction of 16.5%.

Increased business jet deliveries in North America and Western Europe during the third quarter helped offset declining shipments to emerging market regions, along with China and Latin America, according to a recent UBS market research report. Global business jet deliveries fell 5% during the third quarter compared to a year ago. Deliveries to North American customers rose 9%, while deliveries increased 13% in Western Europe during the quarter.

The Federalist Papers No. 62, published in 1788, James Madison warned, "It will be of little avail to the people, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood." I suspect this founding father would be flummoxed by today's federals, especially if he decided to go flying.

As a maintenance manager, you need to ensure your troops receive the training and education to address the demands of high technology aircraft.

StandardAero is offering global high-speed broadband connectivity for the business aviation market for Falcon aircraft. Working with Honeywell’s new JetWave Ka-band system, the cabin completion and MRO facility has completed an STC for the Falcon 900B, C and EX series, as well as for the Falcon 50 series. The new system was first fitted for a Falcon 900EX operator. Documentation has also been submitted for European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) validation.

Quest Aircraft has signed a major fleet order with a sister subsidiary in Japan for up to 20 Kodiak aircraft. The 10-seat aircraft single-engine turboprop will be used for a new membership-based private travel service that was launched in November. The order is Quest’s largest commercial fleet order to date. “We are very excited to have completed such a large order for the Kodiak,” said Nick Newby, Quest senior vice president of sales, marketing and customer service.

The Polish Ministry of National Defense has signed a contract to buy two Gulfstream 550 aircraft for VIP transport, with delivery in 2017,

Bombardier's second Global 7000 flight test vehicle is now under Canadian registry. MSN 70002 was registered Nov. 22 with tail number C-GBLB. The registry comes less than three weeks after the first flight of the first Global 7000 test aircraft. The aircraft flew for the first time Nov. 4 in Toronto. The aircraft is now in Wichita for flight testing, which is progressing, the company said. Bombardier is not projecting first flight or other milestones for the second aircraft or for its other Global 7000 flight-test vehicles, a spokeswoman said.

Even before taking office, President-elect Donald Trump is shaking up the business world, taking credit for keeping UTC jobs in Indiana that might have gone to Mexico. “Companies are not going to leave the United States anymore without consequences,” Trump says. The parent company of Pratt & Whitney may have been motivated to stay to remain in a Trump administration’s good graces.

Business aviation professionals say they are optimistic about the Middle East private jet market, a new survey shows. In research from Global Jet Capital, a provider of financing for corporate aircraft, 59% of 200 business aviation professionals surveyed said the Middle East private jet market is currently attractive for finance companies, while 15% say it is unattractive. Over the next three years, 41% of those surveyed said they expect the market to become more attractive, while 13% said they believe it will become less appealing.

The NTSB report on the Learjet 60 rejected takeoff (RTO) accident in Columbia, South Carolina, noted the following: “In 1990, the NTSB issued a special investigation report (SIR), “Runway Overruns Following High-Speed Rejected Takeoffs,” that examined high-speed RTOs involving commercial jet aircraft. The SIR reviewed three studies, which included data from the NTSB, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Boeing, related to the causes and outcomes of RTOs. The SIR found that tire failures led to more high-speed RTOs than engine-related anomalies.”

To help mark and celebrate its half-century in business, Jet Aviation has adopted a new logo, a stand-alone, circular monogram with the word JET to replace the deer head with which it has long been identified. “We wanted the new logo and branding initiative to visually reflect the strength and stability of our trusted brand name as we turn to face and welcome future opportunities,” explained Heinz Aebi, Jet’s senior vice president of Group Marketing and Communications.

Astronics Corp. has been selected as a supplier for Textron Aviation's new Cessna Denali single-engine turboprop. Astronics will supply an aircraft power system that features Astronics’ Corepower Induction Starter Generator System and Corepower Electronic Circuit Breaker Unit and the 28-Volt DC Empower In-Seat Power Supply. The Empower in-seat power systems allow passengers to simultaneously use and charge multiple personal electronic devices in the air. The Denali’s first flight is expected in 2018.

Jet-A and avgas per-gallon fuel prices—December 2016

BCA shares news of the latest products and services for the business aviation industry.

The Citation Mustang, introduced at the 2002 NBAA Convention by then-Cessna Chairman and CEO Russ Meyer, was marketed as a sure-thing alternative to the new class of very light jets (VLJs) that were all the rage at the turn of the 21st century.

West Star Aviation has received a supplemental type certificate for the installation of a Future Air Navigation System (FANS) Controller Pilot Data Link Communications application on Dassault Falcon 900B aircraft. The application updates and supplements current communications equipment and allows direct exchange of text-based messages between the controller and pilot and improves communication capabilities in areas that usually require third-party HF communication relay such as oceanic and en route airspace.

Signature Flight Support's new state-of-the art FBO at London Luton Airport is open for business. The facility comprises a 4,500 sq. meters (48,000 sq. ft.) hangar, which became operational in 2014 and is capable of housing two BBJ or ACJ-sized aircraft, and a 7,000 sq. meters (75,000 sq. ft.) parking ramp with a dedicated ground service facility in addition to the legacy apron and a covered arrivals area. The new 1,572 sq. meters (17,000 sq.