Business & Commercial Aviation

Drone Pilots? “Empty Cockpits” (Viewpoint, June 2016) was a good editorial. There’s no quick fix to this [pilot shortage] problem. Desire alone is not enough to incur the expense with so long a period before you get an adequate return. Maybe drone pilots? Dick Van Gemert Fairfield, Connecticut Looking Back Fondly

With more than 120 combined aircraft transactions in the previous year, jetAVIVA, which bills itself as the world's leading seller of light jets, and Kansas Aircraft Corp., a Kansas City sales firm focused on piston and turboprop aircraft, have become one, with the former acquiring the latter.

Embraer CEO Fred Curado recently said he planned to retire this month after nine years as head of the Brazilian manufacturer. Embraer announced that Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, president and CEO of Embraer's commercial aviation division, will succeed Curado.

Signature Flight Support has expanded its reach at London Biggin Hill Airport by incorporating the former Rizon Jet FBO into its global network.

The 17th annual Reading Air Show attracted 3,000 registrants, 1,500 aircraft and a total crowd of 65,000 over the three-day period. Total aircraft movements recorded by the tower were 6,227.

A flight attendant’s roles are many, but minimizing risk is foremost. In order to reduce risk to a level as low as reasonably practicable, potential hazards must be identified and then reported, discussed, analyzed and, ultimately, mitigated.

Hartzell Propeller, based in Piqua, Ohio, has earned an amended supplemental type certificate for installation of its five-blade composite swept tip propeller on Finnoff Aviation P&W PT6A-67P engine upgrades for Pre-NG Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.

Cessna's new super-midsize Citation Longitude moved closer to first flight this summer when in mid-June the electrical distribution system was powered three weeks after the first wing was mated to the fuselage.

Five years after opening its Melbourne, Florida, aircraft production, assembly and delivery facility, Embraer Executive Jets opened an expanded facility in early June that more than doubled its size there.

Air BP has signed a 50/50 aviation fuel joint venture in Peru with PBF, an energy company there. The joint venture will operate as Air BP PBF and will initially supply aviation fuel at Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport.

According to the FAA, inflight cabin safety means protecting against fire, turbulence, decompression and providing the means to address medical emergencies. Quite a catalogue of woes.

The first run of GE Aviation's 2,000-hp-class advanced turboprop (ATP) series, internally known as GE93, is on track for certification this summer by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and delivery in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Jet-A And Avgas Per Gallon Fuel Prices June 2016

An investigation is underway to determine why Piaggio Aero's prototype P.1HH Hammerhead unmanned air system crashed off Sicily on May 31.

ExecuJet has acquired its first fixed base operation in the Caribbean region. The FBO is located at Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten. The FBO was acquired from TLC Aviation.

Bell Helicopter is moving production of its new Model 505 JetRanger X helicopter from the U.S. to the company's Mirabel plant near Montreal as part of a restructuring that the company says will optimize manufacturing capabilities.

Jet Aviation Moscow Vnukovo has received FAA repair station approval following a recent audit of its maintenance, repair and overhaul facility. The approval authorizes it to support aircraft registered in the U.S., including Bombardier, Gulfstream, Embraer, Falcon and Hawker aircraft.

Marshall Aviation Services has added the Bombardier Challenger 604 and 605 to the business aircraft types it supports as a Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO).

Jet Aviation has added eight aircraft to its global management fleet in the past two months, including two Gulfstream G650s and a G550, an Airbus to its managed fleet in EMEA and Asia, two Dassault Falcon 2000s, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter and a Global Express in the U.S. Jet Aviation manages 300 aircraft worldwide. Jet Aviation Business Jets, an air carrier certificate holder, is based in Zurich. Jet Aviation Flight Services is based in Teterboro, New Jersey.

To help spur equipage, the FAA is offering a $500 rebate incentive for general aviation aircraft owners who equip their U.S.-registered, fixed-wing, single-engine piston aircraft with required Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out avionics. The announcement was made in early June by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

Lufthansa Technik and DC Aviation Group, a European operator of business jets, have signed a cooperation agreement.

TAG Aviation is adding a second Airbus ACJ319 to its corporate jet fleet to meet the rising demand for charters and business travel, the company said.

The economic slowdown and shrinking overall demand for business aviation services in Russia has not affected the expansion plans of A-Group, which operates FBOs at Moscow-Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg-Pulkovo airports.

The average age of a business jet in Europe is 26, according to research from Global Jet Capital, an aviation finance specialist. Sixteen percent of the mid-to-heavy private jets in Europe are age 20 years or older and 8% are at least 30 years old. Consequently, there is a significant market in Europe for private jet owners considering an upgrade of their aircraft, Global Jet Capital said.

West Star Aviation in Charlotte, North Carolina, was named an authorized dealer of hardware sales and installation of SmartSky technology.