Business & Commercial Aviation

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

As winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, pilots turn their thoughts to braking action performance and procedures.

Flight departments must walk a narrow path to satisfy all regulatory requirements.

Selected accidents and incidents in September/October 2016. The following NTSB information is preliminary.

If you are interested in stepping up to a long-range, large-cabin G500, it could be a real bargain.

R. A. “Bob” Hoover, called the “greatest stick-and-rudder pilot who ever lived” by Lt. Gen. James Doolittle, USAF (Ret.), died peacefully of heart and kidney failure early Oct. 25, 2016, at Torrance Hospital, near his home in Palos Verdes, Calif. He was a favorite performer at air shows around the world, thrilling his audiences with his precision aerobatic maneuvers in the North American Aircraft P-51 Mustang and Aero Commander Shrike.

Jet-A And Avgas Per-Gallon Fuel Prices October 2016

The Sterling Group, a middle-market private equity firm based in Houston, has acquired Destin Jet and formed a new fixed-base operator network.

Acorn Growth Companies, an Oklahoma City private-equity firm, announced Sept. 26 that it has acquired Seattle-based Raisbeck Engineering from founder and Chairman James D. Raisbeck. Founded in 1982, Raisbeck's company has developed dozens of modification systems for general aviation, utility and jetliner aircraft.

TRU Simulation + Training has entered the second phase of expansion for its Pilot Training Center in Lutz, Florida. It is enlarging its facility by 30,000 sq. ft. to accommodate four additional flight simulators in order to diversify its training programs. TRU Simulation is a Textron Aviation company headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Nextant Aerospace, which builds the 400XTi, and Constant Aviation, which offers MRO services, have partnered with Rockwell Collins to offer a Next Gen flight deck package for Beechcraft 400X/XP aircraft.

The consolidation of Europe's business aircraft charter operations continues apace. The most recent pairing is the takeover of UK's Blink by Wijet of France, to create a single fleet of 15 Citation Mustang light jets.

Gogo is overhauling its ground-based connectivity system over the U.S. and Canada to bring inflight speeds in line with its satellite-based offering.

Meanwhile, days earlier Cessna delivered a Citation M2 to Helitrip Charter, which is leasing it to Catreus Ltd. a British charter operator.

Embraer is cutting 1,463 employees from its workforce in Brazil as it moves to reduce costs in the midst of a challenging market. The departing workers represent 99.5% of those who applied for a Voluntary Dismissal Program, the company reported.

The Citation Longitude, Cessna Aircraft's entrant into the super-midsize business jet category, flew for the first time Oct. 8. The flight from Beech Field on Wichita’s east side where the aircraft was assembled occurred less than a year after the jet was publically detailed. “Today’s successful first flight of the Citation Longitude was performed exactly as we anticipated,” said Scott Ernest, president and CEO, Textron Aviation.

Gulfstream says it will cease production of the G150, the smallest aircraft in its lineup, after a 10-year run; the last G150 will be delivered in mid-2017.

The long-running fight over Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) entered a new phase recently when the FAA initiated an investigation requiring the California city to explain its rationale for issuing eviction notices to two FBOs at the key business and general aviation facility after the municipality declared its policy included closing the place.

Daher recently completed its 800th TBM single-engine turboprop, a TMB 930 that rolled off the assembly line at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport in France.

Blackhawk Modifications has announced details of its new engine upgrade for the King Air 350. Blackhawk is developing the STC to permit installation and operation of the Pratt & Whitney 1,200-shp PT6A-67A to replace the 1,050-shp PT6A-60A.

The first Legacy 450 mid-light business jet assembled in Embraer's Melbourne, Florida, facility made its first flight in early October and is on track for delivery to a customer in December.

BCA readers share their opinions on articles we published.

Robert Sumwalt from the National Transportation Safety Board has won Bombardier's 2016 Safety Standdown Award, which was presented at the event held Sept. 27-29 in Wichita.

Citing slower business jet engine aftermarket shipments and defense and space business declines, Honeywell International said early last month it expected to report up to 2% lower core organic sales for the third quarter of 2016.

Bombardier WAVE (Wireless Access Virtually Everywhere) Ka-band high-speed internet is now available for Global business aircraft at all Bombardier Service Centers, the company said. Bombardier was awarded a supplemental type certificate for installation on all Bombardier Global 5000 and Global 600 aircraft and previous Global aircraft as a retrofit, the company said. A Global 5000 aircraft was the first customer aircraft to feature a retrofit installation of the Bombardier WAVE at Bombardier's Singapore Service Center.