Business & Commercial Aviation

The Menominee, Michigan, manufacturer reports having signed MOUs in hand for the new helicopter, first announced last year, and designed for the ab-initio flight training, light commercial, and private owner market.

Michael Thacker, Textron Aviation senior vice president for engineering, says a team has been created to bring a turboprop to market a range of more than 1,500 nm, and cruise speed of over 280 kt.

The acquisition also involved Firstmark Aerospace, which makes navigation, flight control, fuel measurement and other electromechanical components; transducer maker Firstmark Controls; ABI, an aviation safety equipment supplier; and Centroid, which makes electronic components for the defense industry.

The Brazilian aircraft maker celebrated the type certification award during the recent Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (LABACE) in Sao Paulo.

Gulfstream Aerospace reports the market for its business jets has been boosted by demand from major corporations companies seeking to replace their fleets. General Dynamics Chairman and CEO Phebe Novakovic says the sales pipeline for Gulfstream jets remains steady across all aircraft models. And the return of S&P 500 companies seeking to replenish aging fleets is especially encouraging.

Cirrus Aircraft officials say the Vision SF50 personal jet is on track for certification by the end of this year. In the meantime, the company is adding a finishing and detail center in Duluth, Minnesota, and a new “Vision Center” in Knoxville, Tennessee, which will focus on training, deliveries, service, sales and marketing. In addition, the company is phasing in a new manufacturing system for the SF50 to take advantage of the benefits of robotics, which it calls the “Electronic Manufacturing Execution System.”

Revenue totaled $1.12 billion for the quarter.

​Those who regard the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) annual AirVenture, held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as America’s national air show, need only point to the tallies of this year’s gathering, held July 19-26, as proof:

​ U.K. air crash investigators probing the loss of a Saudi Arabian-registered Embraer Phenom 300 have found the aircraft touched down just 400 meters from the end of the runway before crashing into a car-auction business. All three passengers — who were members of the Bin Laden family — and the Jordanian-born pilot were killed in the accident at Blackbushe airfield, west of London, on July 31. In its interim report, published on Aug. 6, the U.K.

FlightSafety International is building a full-flight simulator for King Air 350 aircraft for its Learning Center in Atlanta. The new FS1000 simulator will be equipped with the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system. It is expected to enter service in early 2016. Training will include FlightSafety’s Operational DayFlow training methodology, which presents critical procedures and tasks according to the phase of flight.

The Breitling Jet Team is performing aerobatic exhibitions using seven L-39 C Albatros jets made by AERO Vodochody Aerospace, a Czech Republic aerospace company. The team is on a U.S. and Canada tour visiting more than 20 cities. Watchmaker Breitling has worked with the Czech jets for almost a decade in showcases and display tours throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.

Aviation Partners has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for retrofitting its Split-Scimitar Winglet on BBJ aircraft. The approval was granted to Aviation Partners Boeing (APB), a joint venture between API and Boeing. The STC follows FAA approvals issued earlier this year. The Split-Scimitar Winglet is now standard equipment on new 737NG BBJ aircraft.

According to the Office of Inspector General, Jeffrey Krantz was charged and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Hartford, Connecticut, to wire fraud for his role in the sale of counterfeit aircraft parts. Among other things, Krantz allegedly bought and sold obsolete electronic parts for use by commercial buyers and the U.S. military.

Redesign of the wing is the major driver behind a two-year delay in entry into service of the Bombardier Global 7000 long-range, large-cabin business aircraft, to the second half of 2018, says CEO Alain Bellemare.

FL Technics has formed a cooperation with B&H Worldwide. FL Technics provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services. The partnership will cut delivery time in half, the company said. FL Technics’s main warehouse, based in Lithuania, manages aircraft spare-part stock in the U.K., Malaysia, Poland, Russia and the U.S. The agreement with B&H gives the company more warehousing capacity, inventory inspection and customs-clearance support. The extended London-based stock will include up to 1,500 part numbers.

Commercial aviation’s first touch screen primary flight displays have received FAA certification as standard equipment on Beechcraft King Airs. Textron Aviation now will begin deliveries of the King Air 250 turboprop equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics.

Swift Fuels said that its 94 MON, or motor-octane-number, aviation gasoline will be available in select regions in the U.S. and Canada. The unleaded fuel is FAA certified and meets ASTM standards for aviation gasoline, the company said. An estimated 40% of the nation’s aircraft fleet will be able to use the fuel. Many piston-engine aircraft requiring a minimum octane rating at or below 94 MON are eligible to buy the appropriate supplemental type certificates to use the fuel, the company said.

Van Nuys Airport (VNY) and Signature Flight Support hosted an open house celebrating the grand opening of the new 1,528-sq.-ft. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility. Since its opening on May 21, 2015, more than 75 international flights have been successfully cleared, providing direct benefits for business travelers, the local economy, and reducing airspace congestion in Southern California.

Vertis Aviation, based in Switzerland, has added a Doha, Qatar-based Bombardier Challenger 604 to its managed fleet of aircraft. The Challenger 604 is a new model for the company and complements the larger Boeing Business Jet managed by Vertis out of Dubai, the company said.

Wade Eyerly launches Beacon, an all-you-can fly membership carrier that takes customers from the Westchester County Airport, outside New York City to Boston Logan, beginning with nine roundtrips per day.

For less than $3 million, the Cessna Citaction CJ2 provides high value in light jet transportation. It offers excellent airport performance, reasonable block times on typical missions, unbeatable reliability and unmatched product support from Cessna.

Training Accident

Shipments of commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) will exceed 2.6 million units a year by 2025, according to a new forecast by Tractica. According to the Boulder, Colorado, market researcher, the industries using the drones will include film, media, agriculture, energy, mapping, mining, and disaster relief. Meanwhile, companies, universities and government agencies are actively assessing the opportunity for drones in other capacities.

In July, the New York City Council introduced legislation targeting the city’s helicopter tour operators for increased regulation “to reduce noise and air pollution for New Yorkers who live and use public parks along the tourist-helicopter routes.”In doing so, the bill’s sponsors aligned themselves with a number of groups, including “Stop the Chop NYNJ,” a neighborhood coalition that sees sightseeing-helicopter operations as both a source of noise and pollution, and as “a danger to health, the environment and national security.&rdqu