103: The Chinese business aircraft fleet has grown to 103 aircraft, according to a Mainland China Business Jet Register. These aircraft include three corporate variants of the Airbus A318, as well as a Boeing BBJ. The Gulfstream fleet is the largest, with 36 aircraft, followed by Cessna with 24. Bombardier, Hawker Beechcraft and Dassault also have placed multiple aircraft in the growing Chinese market.
The National Business Aviation Association last week awarded its David. W. Ewald Platinum Wing Award to George Larson, senior editor of BA affiliate Business & Commercial Aviation magazine (B/CA). The award, presented on the opening day of NBAA’s Annual Meeting and Convention in Atlanta, recognizes Larson’s “decades of commitment to business aviation,” the association says.
Optimism was the key word heard at this year’s National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) 63rd Annual Meeting & Convention despite the chaotic times the industry still faces, says Association President and CEO Ed Bolen. “It has been a pretty challenging couple of years for business aviation,” says Bolen. “By almost any measure, our industry fell 25% to 40% over the past year. But even in this climate, the people and companies in business aviation continue to seek out effective venues for conducting business, sharing information and networking.”
Exclusive Aviation, the aircraft sales arm of Fargo Jet Center, has moved its operation to St. Paul Downtown Airport in Minnesota. Exclusive Aviation purchased a 17,000-sq.-ft. hangar on the airport. The facility includes 1,700 sq. ft. of office space with a lobby, conference room and sales team offices.
Advanced Aircrew Academy has completed development of customized training modules for Des Moines, Iowa-based Elliott Aviation. The training modules for Elliott’s flight schedulers complement the online pilot training Elliott Aviation has been using from Advanced Aircrew Academy for the past three years. The training package incorporates Elliott Aviation’s specific procedures and authorizations.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS350B3 and EC130 B4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2010-0779; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-84-AD; Amendment 39-16467; AD 2010-21-07] – Inspect the pilot’s and co-pilot’s throttle twist for proper operation of the contactors. This AD, which resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is intended to prevent a dormant failure of one of the two contactors (53Ka or 53Kb), which can prevent switching from “IDLE’” mode to “FLIGHT” mode during autorotation training.
Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton says last week’s unveiling of the new Citation “Ten” is the first of several new products in the pipeline, and further announcements likely will be coming “on an annual basis.” Asked if he had seen a Photoshopped image of turboprop Citation Mustang or the real thing, Pelton replied, “Well, I haven’t seen a Photoshopped image.” When pressed further, he added that he was aware that “there have been sightings” of such an aircraft.
Hangar Ten this month celebrated the grand opening of Phase II of the aviation services complex on Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC) in Kansas City. The addition includes 55,000 sq. ft. of terminal and hangar space. The complex includes a two-story, 26,000-sq.-ft. executive terminal with crew rest areas that have “hotel-style pilot overnight rooms” and a fully equipped fitness center with separate men’s and women’s locker rooms. The 29,000-sq.-ft. hangar is capable of handling a Gulfstream 650 or Bombardier Global Express sized aircraft.
Cessna Aircraft business jet shipments sunk to a low of 26 in the third quarter, leading the Wichita manufacturer to post a $31 million loss. Seven of the business jet shipments were for the Mustang very light jet. Cessna had delivered 68 business jets in the same period in 2009.
NBAA and the Asian Business Aviation Association are planning the return of the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition in Shanghai, China in 2012, the beginning of what officials hope to become an annual event. When first held in 2004, business aviation was still in its infancy in the Chinese market. Since then, the fleet has surpassed 100 (see “NBAA By the Numbers” on Page 4), and just this month the Chinese government has opened the airspace below 4,000 meters to general aviation without having to ask for approval a week in advance.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has agreed in principle to take a minority stake in Eclipse Aerospace, with the transaction to be closed by the end of the year. Neither side will disclose the deal’s value or how Sikorsky’s holding will be structured, but Mason Holland, chairman and CEO of Eclipse, says it was “priceless” in terms of assuring success and credibility in the market.
In Japan, business aircraft operators also are expected to have more access. According to reports, Tokyo International/Haneda Airport (HND) is expected to begin permitting daytime operations of business aircraft before the end of the month, thanks to lobbying efforts by the Japan Business Aircraft Association. Corporate operators have long found it difficult to gain more than limited access to HND.
Group 3 Aviation Inc. has opened new satellite helicopter flight training and commercial helicopter service facilities in Anchorage, Alaska. Group 3 Aviation Alaska is currently the only FAA-approved Part 141 helicopter flight training facility in Anchorage. In addition to Schweizer 300CBi and R44 helicopter training, the new facility will offer local aerial photo and film services through its close relationship with production partner Indie Aerials LLC.
H.I.G. Capital, a global private equity firm, closed the deal to purchase Volvo Aero Services from AB Volvo late on Oct. 6 for an undisclosed amount. Claes Malmros, Volvo Aero Services’ president and CEO, will remain, as will the rest of the management and staff. He says the company will change its name to VAS Aero Services within 45 days of Oct. 7. Transitioning functions such as information technology and financial systems from Volvo should take about one year.
Clifford Development is planning to deliver a Citation II/IIS re-engined with Williams FJ44-3 turbofans to a Canadian customer by the end of the month following the recent supplemental type certification from Transport Canada. CEO Jim Clifford says business had been slow in 2010 and the firm has fought to survive with the support of investors. But more recently business has begun to improve, he says.
Aviation Fabricators (AvFab) has received European Aviation Safety Agency approval for the installation of its two-place, side-facing divan in a Cessna 441. The divan is equipped with mounted shoulder harnesses. The installation requires no airframe modification, AvFab says.
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) has unveiled PT6A cost-optimization packages, including an overhaul program for PT6A-41/42 models, a compressor-turbine vane ring refresh program for most small PT6A engine versions, and a 50% discount for operators wishing to convert their PT6A-66 engines to PT6A-66Bs, representing savings of up to $170,000 per engine. “The market has changed significantly for our customers during the last two years,” says Raffaele Virgili, vice president of customer service for P&WC, adding the recession has taken its toll.
MITCHELL CANNON was named program administrator for Gulfstream Aerospace’s Organizational Designation Authorization (ODA) office. Cannon is responsible for supplemental type certificates and major repair and alterations supporting Gulfstream’s Savannah Final Phase operations in Georgia. Cannon has served with Gulfstream Savannah’s Final Phase ODA department since November 2009. Before that, he spent 10 years with Piper Aircraft. He also has worked for Nordam Group, Sino Swearingen Aircraft, Cessna Aircraft, Aircraft Conversions LLC and Square D Co.
Cessna says it will continue to have the world’s fastest production civil aircraft after unveiling the Citation Ten, a second-generation model 750 that will cruise faster, higher and farther than the current Citation X, which reaches Mach 0.92.
Long-time aviation writer and editor Edward Tripp died Oct. 16 of natural causes at his Cincinnati, Ohio, home. He was 75. Tripp was born in Boston, Mass., served in the Korean War with the U.S. Army, and was a graduate of Columbia University. He was an accomplished aviator who held a commercial pilot license and was rated to fly airplanes, helicopters and gliders.
LEARJET Model 45 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0676; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-095-AD; Amendment 39-16479; AD 2010-21-19] – Replace aluminum fire extinguisher discharge tubes with new, improved tubes. Also, replace certain fire extinguisher containers and inspect for pressure indicator discrepancies on fire extinguisher containers, taking corrective actions if necessary, per the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 40-26-05 or 45-26-9 (both Rev. 2 and dated May 4, 2009), as applicable.
