Business & Commercial Aviation

Bell Helicopter has signed a deal with Air Medical Group Holdings for the sale of eight Bell 206L-4 helicopters to be used in emergency medical services. It will be operated by Air Evac Lifeteam, an O’Fallon, Missouri-based subsidiary. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2016. Air Evac Lifeteam operates more than 130 Bell 206Ls in its fleet.

Doc’s Friends is the 2015 recipient of the Wichita Aero Club’s annual trophy. The organization is restoring a vintage Wichita-built B-29 Superfortress to flying condition. Volunteers have spent 18 years transforming a 65-year-old “pile of parts” into an impressive aircraft, the selection committee said. The trophy is a tribute to the thousands of men and women who built, maintained, flew and sacrificed to produce thousands of B-29s for the defense and freedom of the country. The award will be presented Jan. 23 in Wichita.

Appointments, promotions and honors in the business aviation community.

Continued technical troubles with the Silvercrest engine in development at Safran’s Snecma motors division will further delay certification of the new powerplant by 12-18 months, and Dassault is not happy. The engine problems mean the planemaker will not begin test flight of its new Falcon 5X business jet this year. “We have written to our partners and told them to slow production,” says Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier.

Beech King Air production is evidently going along at a fast clip — 100 per year. Some 78 have been delivered, Beech announced. Scuttlebutt is that the company is planning on new model King Air with larger PT6 engines.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected to purchase up to six AgustaWestland AW609 commercial tiltrotors for search and rescue (SAR) missions. In the agreement, which was being negotiated in November, the UAE military would help to define the aircraft’s SAR configuration. The value of the contract was not announced. The government said the aircraft had been selected because of its ability to fly faster and higher and responds faster to incidents around the country.

To comply with the FAA’s “prospective rest” requirement, the FAR Part 135 on-demand charter industry needs to adopt and accept some common-sense standards. First, a pilot who isn’t accustomed to flying “on the backside of the clock” (between midnight and sunrise) shouldn’t start without easing into it first. Second, a pilot has to know when it is OK to drink a beer.

Rockwell Collins CEO and President Kelly Ortberg was elected to the additional role of Chairman of the Board. Ortberg was appointed president of Rockwell Collins in September 2012 and was elected CEO in July 2013. Under his leadership, the company successfully completed the acquisition of ARINC, won a number of key commercial and government programs, effectively managed through the challenges of sequestration, and ultimately, returned to growth after several years of challenging market dynamics.

Airbus Helicopters recently flew a model H120 powered by a high-compression diesel engine burning Jet-A in place of the model’s standard Turbomeca Arrius turboshaft. The goal of the project is to reduce fuel consumption and emissions of light rotorcraft. The 30-minute flight occurred Nov. 6 at Marignane, France, under Europe’s Clean Sky research program. The aircraft’s a 4.6-liter V8 was developed by TEOS, a French race car powertrain specialist, and Austro Engine.

Selected accidents and incidents in October 2015. The following NTSB information is preliminary.

Jetex Flight Support has entered into an agreement with EOLO for EOLO’s FBO to become a co-branded facility. As part of the agreement, the FBO located in Toluca, Mexico will start operating as Jetex-EOLO, adding to Jetex’s worldwide network of FBOs. Toluca is the most important airport in Mexico for business aviation with Mexico being the second largest market in Latin America. At the FBO, clients will be offered Jetex’s full range of services.

Emirates Airlines, the world’s largest international carrier, has selected the Cirrus SR22 as the primary training aircraft for its flight academy. The carrier has signed for a fleet of 22 aircraft, which will be based at Al Maktoum International-Dubai World Central Airport in support of the Emirates’ National Cadet Pilot Program.

Once again the NTSB urges pilots to do homework on spatial disorientation — especially those sources listed below. Full details can be found in the Agency’s AC library at https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars.

The NTSB determined the probable cause of a December 2013 Piper Malibu accident was “the pilot’s inflight loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation while operating in dark night instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the exceedance of the airplane’s design stress limitations and a subsequent inflight breakup."

Three In a Row for Ross I’ve been involved in aviation for 40 years, both as a chief pilot for a corporate flight department in Canada, and as owner and operator of a Piper Aerostar 601P. I anxiously look forward to each and every issue of BCA magazine. Great magazine.

1. Sierra Improves Citation Entry Step Designed with improvements in functionality and appearance over the original factory step, the SkyStep improves safety and utility at a competitive price. Some features include: enclosed back and sides; three evenly spaced steps instead of two; first step is closer to the ground; pneumatic cylinders softly deploy the door. The SkyStep is applicable to a wide variety of classic Citation aircraft. Price: $15,500 installed Sierra Industries Uvalde, Texas

Sandel Avionics, Inc., has introduced Sandel Avilon, a retrofit flight deck for King Air aircraft. Avilon is intended to redefine how modern cockpit avionics are designed, built, sold and installed. “From the company’s inception, Sandel has a history of introducing groundbreaking technologies that defy industry conventions,” said Gerry Block, president and CEO of Sandel.

Beijing General Aviation Co. has begun construction of a 46,000-sq.-meter production facility for its P750 single-engine turboprop aircraft. The plant, located in the Changzhou National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone’s Aviation Industrial Park, is expected to be capable of building 70 aircraft per year. The company says the aircraft is aimed at addressing the growing aviation market in China. It is a multipurpose design that can take off and land in short distances and operate in unimproved airstrips.

Bell Helicopter has named Mitch Snyder president and CEO, replacing John Garrison, who is joining Terex Corp. as president and CEO. Most recently, Snyder, who joined Bell in 2004, served as executive vice president of Bell’s military business organization. At Bell, Snyder has held several leadership positions within the company, including as vice president and program director for the V-22 Osprey program, where he was responsible for Bell’s commitments for the design, development, production and sustainment of the V-22.

Penton’s Aviation Week Network, the parent of Business & Commercial Aviation, has acquired MRO Network, a London-based event and information services provider focused on the fast-growing aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market. MRO Network's Airline Purchasing & Maintenance (AP&M) Expo specializes in second, third and fourth-tier aftermarket suppliers, complementing Aviation Week's MRO Europe event, which engages first and second-tier providers.

Embraer Executive Jets has delivered its 300th Phenom 300 light business jet to an undisclosed U.S. customer at the company’s Melbourne, Florida, complex. The Phenom 300, which was first delivered six years ago, is in operation in 28 countries and has accumulated more than 250,000 flight hours. The aircraft has a 57% market share in the light business jet category, the company said.

Astronics Corp. through its wholly owned subsidiaries Astronics AeroSat and Armstrong Aerospace, debuted its new VVIP aircraft connectivity system components at the NBAA Convention in November. The AeroShield low-drag radome and composite adapter plate technology combination provide significant benefits to VVIP aircraft operators installing connectivity systems to include reduced drag, simplified installations and lower weight.

Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI), the leading provider of hourly cost maintenance programs for the business aviation industry, has announced its exclusive Tip-to-Tail® Program coverage for the Dassault Falcon 7X that includes coverage of the Airframe, Honeywell APU, and the three Pratt & Whitney PW307A Engines. Falcon 7X operators may also choose a stand-alone JSSI Engine or APU Program to fit their specific needs.

After garnering almost $14 million in pledges from thousands of individuals through a crowdfunding campaign, startup XTI Aircraft has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to convert the expressions of interest in its unique aircraft into investments. XTI hopes to develop the TriFan 600, a six-place vertical-takeoff-and-landing business aircraft with two tilting ducted fans in the wing and a third fan in the rear fuselage for lift and control. The company launched its crowdfunding campaign in August.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.'s distribution center near Al Maktoum International Airport in United Arab Emirates (UAE) will cover approximately 6,000 square feet/557 square meters.