Business & Commercial Aviation

The 2012 National Business Aviation Association Convention in Orlando, Fla. closed with 25,150 people in attendance, a number comparable to the final Attendee total of 26,077 for the 2011 Convention, and to the final attendee total of 24,206 for the 2010 event. The number of exhibitors at the Orange County Convention Center was 1,073; booth spaces totaled 4,361, an increase over last year's booth-space total. A total of 105 aircraft were shown on two separate static displays, and an additional four aircraft were shown inside the convention center.

HBC has delivered the 7,000th Beechcraft King Air since the legendary line of twin-engine turboprops began production in 1964. The milestone aircraft is a Beechcraft King Air 350i delivered to Herman & Kittle Properties, Inc., based in Indianapolis. The King Air fleet has amassed in excess of 45 million flight hours. The King Air is currently operated in 127 countries, and all branches of the U.S. military.

In its 21st annual Business Aviation Outlook, Honeywell forecasts a market for 10,000 new business jets through 2022. In terms of overall delivery numbers, the outlook remains little changed from the predictions Honeywell made in 2011. But the fleet composition is changing, with a greater number of large-cabin, long-range aircraft pushing up billings estimates by 9% over 2011 levels. Large-cabin jets now account for more than 40% of new purchase plans, says Honeywell, which surveys more than 1,500 business jet operators worldwide for its annual outlook.

A recent investigation by USA Today found that a large percentage of people don't follow the rules and leave their electronic devices on during takeoff and landing. That's understandable, given the lack of evidence that doing so causes any major difficulty to the flight crew or the aircraft's navigation systems (despite the few anecdotal claims otherwise). Even the feds are looking into the matter, at long last, probably because FAA personnel are as dependent on their electronic appendages as any of us and they know better.

Slow sales in the mid- and light segments are keeping business jet deliveries relatively flat for the year, but the market for turboprops has continued to gain momentum in 2012, according to the latest GAMA deliveery report. Manufacturers delivered 428 business jets through the first nine months of 2012, just one more compared with the same period in 2011. Turboprop deliveries, meanwhile, are up 10.5% to 368 units in 2012. Piston aircraft deliveries also inched up 3.5% to 597. With the improving turboprop shipments, deliveries on the whole are up 4.2%.

Gulfstream Aerospace, completing its strongest quarter of the year in terms of new orders, expects sales to grow further in the fourth quarter and is increasing its delivery estimates for 2012 to as many as 124 aircraft. Gulfstream continues to shine in the General Dynamics (GD) portfolio, leading the Aerospace group to a 30% increase in third-quarter revenues and a 20.3% increase in operating earnings. The GD Aerospace group includes Gulfstream and Jet Aviation.

Dassault Falcon received EASA and FAA approval to install SmartStem Tire Pressure Systems on Falcon 50 series aircraft. The existing tire inflation valve stem is replaced with a special valve stem containing integral sensors that communicates tire pressure, temperature, and other stored information wirelessly to a handheld reader without the use of an internal battery in the stem. The reader stores up to 10,000 readings and can be downloaded to a PC.

Doha, Qatar, is a world center for higher education and research.

BLR Aerospace delivered its 500th winglet system to its largest winglet customer, the FAA. The agency has purchased 18 Winglet Systems with LED lights for installation on its King Air 300 fleet. The FAA is in the process of installing its third set of Winglets as part of a larger fleet upgrade effort, and the first modified aircraft is flying. BLR Winglet Systems are in operation in 40 countries.

The November issue was outstanding, cover to cover. Starting with your tribute to Neil Armstrong and ending with Fred George's Lear 35 “20/Twenty” column, every article was really good. Every month I look forward to reading BCA, but something about the November issue was particularly good. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Net orders are slowly picking up for Dassault's Falcon line, reaching 37 through the first nine months of the year. Dassault values the new orders at €1.598 ($2.08 billion). This compares with net orders (orders after cancellations) of 30 Falcon jets valued at €1.391 billion ($1.81 billion) through the first three quarters of 2011. At the same time, Dassault's Falcon deliveries increased from 35 in the first three quarters of 2011 to 43 this year. The improved Falcon deliveries helped drive a 22% growth in Dassault Aviation's net sales of €2.521 billion.

It was the 69th Annual National Peanut Festival parade in Dothan, Ala.

Fractional ownership provider Avantair has returned its fleet of Piaggio Avanti aircraft to service after several weeks of groundings while the company conducted thorough “nose-to-tail” of inspections on each aircraft and scrutinized its maintenance and inspection procedures

Operations are straightforward and the Saudis understand business aviation.

In 1994, the NATA viewed the imminent retirement of its long-time leader, Larry Burian, as an opportunity to raise the organization's visibility in Washington and on Capitol Hill. Accordingly, the board turned to James Coyne, a former congressman and Ronald Reagan White House aide, to get the FBO/charter group noticed. It didn't take him long.

Bell Helicopter appointed Shanghai Kingwing General Aviation Co., Ltd., (Kingwing GA) as an authorized Customer Service Facility (CSF) approved to perform field maintenance on Bell 429 aircraft. Kingwing GA currently provides charter, training, leasing overhaul and operational management services from five bases in Eastern China.

This aircraft can grow up: Recently unveiled, the Mooney Master is the new low-price contender for the FBO flight training market with an added dividend — for $1,600 the owner can convert the standard fixed gear to retractable, and end up with basically the same airplane as the successful Mark 21.

Slower-than-expected business jet sales in the third quarter that hampered both deliveries and revenues are leading executives from Cessna parent Textron to prepare for another flat year in 2013. At the same time, though, the commercial sales of Textron's Bell Helicopter unit continue to pick up steam and helped buoy Textron's overall third-quarter results. Cessna's profit declined $3 million to $30 million in the third quarter. Business jet deliveries dropped to 41, compared with 47 in third quarter 2011, and backlog slid $196 million to $1.3 billion.

The G150 is one of the fastest and most cost-effective midsize business aircraft that is capable of flying non-stop between most coastal cities in the U.S. Assuming an ideal NBAA profile, it can fly four passengers 2,988 nm at long-range cruise. It offers slightly better range performance compared to the cramped G100 from which it is derived, but its cabin is 12-in. wider and its wide-oval cross section makes available more usable head and shoulder room than some larger midsize jets having circular fuselages.

The future of Hawker business jet lines, and the brand, is grim after Hawker Beechcraft decided to end negotiations with would-be Chinese buyer Superior Air Beijing and move forward as a standalone company. On Oct. 18, the Wichita-based company announced that the $1.79 billion sale was off to buyer Superior Air Beijing, after the two parties could not agree on terms. Instead, the company will emerge from bankruptcy as Beechcraft Corp.

Pratt & Whitney Engine Services (PWES) is moving its Long Beach, Calif. Regional service center to new, larger facilities to meet customer demand. PWES is part of the P&WC customer service network. The center opened Nov. 1 at its new location: 11190 Valley View Street, Cypress, CA 90630. The new 23,000-sq.-ft. building offers an additional 4,500 sq. ft. of usable space. The increased space allows for a new machine/clean line room.

A spectacular city in the desert hosting the world's tallest building, Dubai has engineered a transition from oil to finance.

October 2012 Argus TRAQPak data shows business aircraft activity increased month-over-month, and year-over-year. TRAQPak data indicates that October 2012 produced the second largest month of business aircraft flight activity, since January 2009. The results by operational category were all up from the previous month, with Part 135 up 11.7%. Reviewing activity year-over-year (October 2012 vs. October 2011) TRAQPak saw an increase of 2.8% in overall aircraft activity.

The Office of Naval Research has awarded Rockwell Collins a contract to develop technology to locate and classify an adversary's attempts to interfere with GPS signals and disrupt military operations that will likely have collateral benefits to civil users. The three-year contract for the Modernized Integrated Spoofer Tracking (MIST) program calls for Rockwell Collins to develop technology and prototype system concepts to detect and locate the sources of transmitted signals that are intended to disrupt users' ability to navigate and communicate.

I enjoyed “Oceanic ATC” (November 2012, page 40); however, I am not sure I agree with the following: (1) Page 40, 2nd paragraph: If reading back an oceanic clearance on a designated North Atlantic Track (NAT) and the Track Message Identifier (TMI) is included, there is no requirement to read back each waypoint. (2) Page 40, 3rd column, 2nd paragraph: I am familiar with the 3-min., but not the 5-min., requirement. (3) Page 45, 2nd column, 3rd paragraph: I thought the air-to-air frequency was 123.45.