Business & Commercial Aviation

RIGA Business Aviation Center opened its new fixed base operation at Riga International Airport in Latvia Sept. 8, it said, which allows the FBO to handle 35% more aircraft. The company provides ground handling services for business aircraft, passengers and crews, with plans to expand its services and add maintenance, repair and overhaul services for business jets. That will contribute to the growth of the number of aircraft it handles. Its hangar is able to hold 12 to 14 business aircraft of all types, it said.

The National Business Aviation Association says it is ready to follow up on a recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board following a fatal runway overrun accident last year.

Textron Aviation’s eastern U.S. service facilities have received FAA certifications to expand their capabilities to provide service and support for Beechcraft King Air, Cessna Citation and Hawker customers. Under the certifications, centers in Newburgh, New York, and Greensboro, North Carolina, are authorized to service King Air 90-, 200- and 300-series aircraft and Hawker 125-series jets.

Teterboro Airport returned to the No. 1 positions on the lists of most popular departure and arrival airports for charter travel in August 2015, according to an investigation into Air Charter Guide Worldwide Trip Builder search queries submitted during the month.

Bombardier’s Wichita Learjet facility is seeking to take on outside work from third parties to diversify its business. It has also expanded its Wichita service center capabilities.

Night flying is very different from day flying and demands more attention of the pilot.

The business jet market is expected to reach nearly $21.07 billion this year, according to London-based Visiongain. Demand for business jets is growing because of a strengthening global economy and a rise in high net worth individuals. Several major business jet manufacturers offer a diverse portfolio of aircraft types with a broad range of performance and flight mission capabilities, Visiongain said.

Cessna Aircraft, the oldest member of the Textron Aviation family, is rebounding as a result of streamlined manufacturing processes, supply chain cost controls and expedited development of new products.

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.

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

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.

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 system has an MSRP of $1,895.

Revenue totaled $1.12 billion for the quarter.

The audit follows a request in March from the ranking members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Subcommittee on Aviation.

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.

​ 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.

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.

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.

​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:

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.