We strapped into the left seat of TBM 900 S/N 1014 with Daher-Socata’s chief pilot Stéphane Jacques at the firm’s plant in Tarbes, France, for a two-hour evaluation flight.
International flight planning, trip support and aircraft connectivity are the focus of the newly combined Rockwell Collins and ARINC, which are making their European debut here together following the completion of the acquisition for $1.4 billion on December 23, 2013.
The debut African Business Aviation Association Expo, which was held in Marrakech, Morocco last month, demonstrated the potential for African business aviation growth.
Jet Aviation Basel was recently granted European Aviation Safety Agency Part-145 approval to provide line and base maintenance for the Gulfstream G650. “With more than 60 G650s currently flying…this is a significant authorization for the company’s maintenance hub supporting large-cabin aircraft in Europe,” said Erik Vandegrift, director of Gulfstream Maintenance Operations at the facility.
“We’re open for business,” says Stanley Bugeja, European Business Aviation Association board member and president of MBAA, the Malta Business Aviation Association. “Come here.” Malta, the Mediterranean island country with the lowest taxes in the EU, is “giving London a good run for its money,” Bugeja says, with a strong presence of IT, banking and insurance firms.
The company is boosting its focus on solutions and innovation under a plan, announced this week, to quadruple its investment in R&D for product, service and technology from EUR50 million over the past five years to EUR200 million over the next four years. At the same time, it has restructured its organization to coordinate R&D company-wide for the airline and VIP markets.
The first two production ARJ21 regional airliners are being outfitted ahead of local certification, but in a surprise move on May 10, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China accepted an order for a corporate version from Shanghai Salt Merchants Group Ltd. The existence of an ARJ21-700 bizjet was unsuspected until now, although the manufacturer’s “hope that Salt Merchants Group is able to provide valuable opinions on this jet” suggests that an interior configuration is still to be defined.
The large and privately owned Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group (Marshall ADG), which has a turnover of some £1.5 billion, is looking to increase its civil and business aviation work from 5% to 18%.
Bombardier’s unveiling of the Global 7000 mock-up has generated strong traffic flows through the exhibit. The thrust of the marketing campaign is more quality of lifestyle than pure business use.
Altitude Aerospace Interiors marked the first quarter 2014 with the customer delivery of its first green Boeing Business Jet completion, and the center is already at work outfitting a second green BBJ at its facilities in Auckland, New Zealand.
Greenpoint Technologies of Kirkland, Washington is a long way from its home on the U.S. West Coast but, as the first completion center to take on the outfitting of an executive 787, Greenpoint and its sister companies are a major presence here at EBACE 2014. The first of two 787 BBJ completion projects is due to arrive later this year, and Greenpoint’s wide-body outfitting facility at Moses Lake, Washington is in the final stages of renovation for the big VIP variant of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.
At least three VIP completions centers are making a pre-emptive strike against overcapacity in the narrowbody market by going down market with cheaper, simpler interiors.
Rosen Sunvisor Systems is promoting a fully adjustable iPad mount for monorail-equipped cockpits at Booth 6125. The new Rosen mount features “multidirectional adjustability, convenient and fully adjustable deployment presentation and one-hand tension control and locking,” the company says. “The engineering behind the mount allows the iPad to be easily stowed up and out of the way while remaining clamped to the rail, or quickly removed for use while on the ground.”
After earning a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the University of Akron and University of Cincinnati, respectively, Ernest spent 29 years working as an executive for GE Aviation, headquartered in Cincinnati. In the course of his career at GE, he oversaw its sourcing organization and assumed responsibility for its North American operations and large aviation services businesses located in Singapore and Strother, Kansas.
Web Manuals Sweden AB is celebrating here as its latest European customer, Zurich-based Premium Jet, goes live with its document management system. Premium Jet will use Web Manuals to digitize and distribute operational and compliance documentation, providing savings in time and administrative costs and improved regulatory compliance.
EBAA CEO Fabio Gamba is upbeat that this year’s EBACE is reflecting signs that the business aviation market in European may be stabilizing. “It’s been a tough period,” he says, but he told Tuesday’s opening ceremony that “indicators point to 2014 being a year of positive rebound.” EBAA, working with NBAA here, is “trying to be proactive” in anticipation of an improving market, with more educational sessions and announcements on access, infrastructure, runway use, flight and duty time and more.
AgustaWestland has announced an order by Kaan Air for one AW139 intermediate twin-engine helicopter and one AW189 super medium twin-engine helicopter. Both helicopters will be fitted out with VIP passenger transport interiors and will be operated in Turkey. The contract expands the presence of the AW139 in Turkey and marks the entrance of the AW189 into the Turkish helicopter market. Additionally, this is the first VIP-configured AW189 ordered in Europe where the type has already enjoyed a considerable success in the offshore and SAR markets.
Embraer’s Phenom 300 has received certification from EASA for steep-approach operation, which enables increased descent angles of up to 5.5 deg. “This certification enhances the Phenom 300’s operational flexibility,” said Marco Túlio Pellegrini, president and CEO, Embraer Executive Jets.
Daher-Socata yesterday announced the first sale of a TBM 900 to a European customer, Badenwings, a subsidiary of Schmitt & Eger Holding. The company is based at Baden-Baden airport, Germany, where it will operate the airplane. This is the first TBM 900 sold to a final customer in Europe and the first sold by Rheinland Air Service (RAS), TBM distributor for Germany and Austria. “We selected the new TBM 900 for its flexibility to carry small freight or passengers for private internal flights of our holding company,” commented Nielsen Bott, CEO of Badenwings.
Buying or leasing a $2.4 million Nextant C90XT or $5 million 400XTi just became easier with the introduction of Nextant Financing, a new division of the Cleveland-based Nextant Aerospace. The plunge in used-aircraft values, coupled with restrictive conventional financing for used aircraft, has made it difficult for many buyers to finance or lease aircraft in the $2 million to $10 million range, even if they’re fully remanufactured.
