Business & Commercial Aviation

The potential failure of critical information technology systems is the No. 1 risk to the aviation industry, according to a new ranking by Willis Towers Watson. The next most pressing risks include competition law scrutiny associated with merger and acquisition activity and dependence on third-party suppliers, followed by the inability to keep up with the pace of change and technological advancement, over-dependence on national infrastructure and changes in seasonal demand.

Blackhawk Modifications has launched another engine upgrade program, this time targeting the King Air 350. The switch involves replacing that aircraft’s 1,050 shp PT6A-60A engines with a pair of -67As, each rated at 1,200 shp. The Waco, Texas company expects to receive approval for the upgrade in the second quarter of 2017. The change-out will benefit those operators — including military units — needing improved hot-and-high performance.

Jet Support Services has announced its Tip-to-Tail Program is now available for the Dassault Falcon 8X, Embraer Lineage 1000 and Airbus Corporate Jets, including the ACJ318, ACJ319 and ACJ320. The program includes coverage for the airframe, engines and APU.

FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida, celebrated its 50th anniversary in October. Its 21,000 graduates have flown for 62 airlines and over 100 corporate flight departments around the world. It employs 160 people and owns nearly 90 aircraft. Its campus also includes classrooms, flight training devices, an Air Traffic Control communications laboratory and on-site accommodations for 300 students.

Although Boeing does not market used BBJs, it has decided it is in the best interests of operators, potential buyers and the company to help facilitate the process and, further, to help establish fixed maintenance costs for those considering a pre-owned BBJ.

Jeppesen has launched Operator, a cloud-based business aviation platform that integrates flight planning, runway performance and weight and balance calculations, crew scheduling, accounting, pricing, regulatory compliance and trip checklists, among other things. BoldIQ, the fleet optimization and management program that evolved from the failed DayJet operation is intrinsic to the new Jepp service.

Performance-based navigation promises to make air traffic management more efficient than ever before . . . but what does this mean for business aviation?

The annual gala dinner, or soiree, and auction sponsored by NBAA at its convention to benefit the Corporate Angel Network (CAN) raised $450,000 to help fund that organization’s decades-long mission to transport cancer patients to treatment centers, mainly aboard business jets, free of charge. CAN Executive Director Gina Russo said, “We very much appreciate the industry’s involvement in CAN’s work, as illustrated by the hundreds of companies flying CAN missions for cancer patients year-round, as well as through participation in this event.

Heli-One will upgrade a fleet of Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri helicopters for an Asian operator with Universal's EFI-890H Advanced Flight Displays and Multi-Missions Management System. Heli-One will design and install the initial aircraft with an Asian maintenance, repair and overhaul business performing the upgrades on the remainder of the fleet. The upgrade includes four EFI-890H Advanced Flight Displays and one UNS-1L2 MMMS, Universal’s flight management system for mission support.

Between November 2015 and October 2016, Teterboro Airport was the most requested departure and destination airport for brokers and travelers shopping for charter flights with the Air Charter Guide Worldwide Trip Builder.

Bombardier’s new Global 7000 made its maiden flight Nov. 4 in Toronto. First delivery is expected in the second half of 2018. The OEM provided this promotional video touting the first flight milestone. Courtesy: Bombardier Business Aircraft

Fred George, Business & Commercial Aviation’s Aircraft Evaluation Editor, shows us the features and performance of the Gulfstream G500 as he takes us up on its 66th test flight.

There are close to 5,000 airports in the U.S. with paved runways, but only about 500 have full- or part-time control towers.

How to master automation, communications, navigation, systems and the rest when you are a crew of one.

Especially as a single pilot, organizing items you will need for the flight while still in the chocks or the planning room just makes good sense.

Mark Jones's deep expertise on Hawker series aircraft has proven to be invaluable to his employers, fellow maintainers, pilots and the jet’s manufacturer.

The enduring innovation of Universal Avionics products is closely tied to its core characteristics of designed by pilots, and built by pilots for pilots.

Despite the seemingly glacial-pace of air traffic management evolution, the FAA has begun upgrading its services and capabilities, including controller-pilot data link communications to help make the flow of traffic safer and more efficient.

Rick Stoulil, chief pilot for Hormel Foods Corp., says: "The way the HTF7000 is set up, it works great. It is equipped with autothrottles and is very responsive [on spool-up] with very little lag. And it's really fuel efficient.

Many of the checklists designed for business aircraft are lengthy, especially when addressing critical phases of flight, and they can increase a pilot's workload, thereby detracting from the primary task of managing the aircraft's trajectory. The challenge becomes compounded whenever the list is temporarily halted for whatever reason.

The turbofan for the USAF Fairchild-Republic T-46 advanced trainer was rated at 1,330 lb. thrust and was assigned the designation F109. But the program was canceled after the first 28 F109s were delivered.

Universal Avionics' InSight Integrated Flight Deck system allowed the writer to instantly form a mental image of our proximity to terrain and obstacles.

Going behind the scenes to see how much work is involved in creating an avionics product and bringing it to market gives one an appreciation and respect for the work of the designers, engineers and technicians who make this happen.

The director of maintenance of a large U.S. charter/management company with experience with HTF7000 turbofans half jokes that, while the engine runs well, you do not want to borescope it.

According to Honeywell, there are 700 HTF7000-powered aircraft in service with 1,400 engines that have collectively logged more than 2.6 million hours.