Business jet demand is weakening as the global economy continues to falter, says J.P. Morgan in its December Business Jet Monthly report. The analyst sees little sign of improvement, citing recent increases in used aircraft inventory and a second consecutive monthly decline in flight operations. Also, the analyst notes Hawker’s slowing of the Hawker 200 and Bombardier’s falling book-to-bill ratio in the most recent quarter as signs of a stalling market.
GINO JOOYAN was named southwest coast fractional sales director for Flexjet. Jooyan will work with fractional jet ownership customers in the Southern California, Arizona and Nevada region. He has nearly a decade of aviation sales experience, most recently as vice president of business development for Flexjet. He also has held a sales position with the Flexjet 25 Jet Card program.
Cambridge Aero Club will begin handling most light general aviation and helicopter activity at Cambridge Airport in the U.K. on Jan. 2. The change comes as ExecuJet Europe takes over the Marshall Business Aviation fixed-base operation and will handle business jet arrivals and departures starting Jan. 1.
PAUL FLORECK was named senior vice president, U.S. and Canadian sales for Dassault Falcon. He succeeds Jeff Habib, who is leaving to become a partner in a new New York City- based investment firm focused on aviation. Floreck joined Dassault Falcon in 1996 as a sales engineer and later was promoted to inside sales manager, Western U.S. and regional sales manager in New York. Most recently he was vice president of sales for the Eastern U.S. and Canada.
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet Series 700, 701, 702 705 and 900 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1227; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-100-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to revise their maintenance programs to incorporate a task involving discard of the outboard wing aileron pulleys. This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada, is designed to eliminate aileron control stiffness, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane. FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 398 aircraft on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S.
Garmin’s GTN touchscreen avionics have received European Aviation Safety Agency validation, clearing the way for installation of the GTN 650 and GTN 750 series on European-registered general aviation aircraft. The GTN 650 and GTN 750 are the successors to Garmin’s GNS 430W and 530W series GPS/NAV/COM avionics. They combine multifunction display (MFD) features with touchscreen data entry and integrated radio tuning, as well as optional remote transponder control. The GTN 750 series has the option of supporting remote audio processor control.
FAA has set new requirements for the evaluation of composite rotorcraft structures for fatigue or damage tolerance. The final rule, released this month, is designed to update the regulations to the latest advances in materials, along with harmonizing rules with the agency’s counterparts in Europe.
Sierra Industries delivered its 59th re-engined FJ44 Citation business jet, a project that the company completed in its fastest time yet. The engine modification, which replaces original Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15-D engines, took a little more than six weeks, a two week improvement from the previous fastest turnaround time, the company notes. The latest Sierra J44-2A Stallion aircraft (Citation 500/501 series) was handed over to Florida automobile dealer Larry Phillips. Sierra has re-engined Citation series aircraft for more than two decades.
The Sundance Helicopters air tour helicopter that crashed Dec. 7 outside Las Vegas had departed the normal flight route, climbing, turning and descending in the final minute of the fatal flight, according to preliminary information released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The fractional ownership fleet continues to slide, down 10 jets in October to 771, according to market analyst J.P. Morgan. Year to date the fleet is down 11% and has declined in 29 of the 33 months since the January 2009 peak of 960, J.P. Morgan says in its December Business Jet Monthly report. Share sales also plummeted in October, down 40% year over year and 26% from the previous month, the analyst says.
LISA GIESSERT was appointed to head of sales administration and customer support for Piper Aircraft. She is responsible for sales administration, marketing, customer support and aftermarket business. Giessert has served with Piper for nearly 20 years and held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in Piper sales support.
FlightSafety International has received approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency for its Dassault Falcon 7X Theory Maintenance Initial Course. Already approved by FAA and Transport Canada, the 20-day course is available at FlightSafety’s training facilities in Dallas and at the Paris-Le Bourget airport in France. The course covers component location, function, normal system operation, routine servicing, minor troubleshooting and repair of aircraft systems. The course also includes simulation training.
FAA has certified the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines that will be installed on Sikorsky’s new S-76D helicopter. The Dec. 5 certification follows the award of Transport Canada approval in October. Sikorsky, which calls the FAA validation “another important milestone in the development of the S-76D helicopter,” expects European Aviation Safety Agency approval in the upcoming months and delivery of the first S-76D in 2012. Sikorsky is flight testing three prototype S-76D helicopters, and two more are expected to join the program in early 2012.
MICHAEL DOW was appointed director and general manager of manufacturing services for Piper Aircraft. He has a 30-year aviation background, including leadership roles for military and commercial products. Dow most recently was director of manufacturing engineering and tooling at Aurora Flight Sciences. Before that, he spent 11 years with Bell Helicopter, where he held leadership positions in manufacturing engineering and operations management.
The second round of testing for potential GPS interference from LightSquared’s proposed broadband network shows interference with a “majority” of GPS receivers, the U.S. Departments of Defense and Transportation say. The agencies released a joint statement last week on the recently completed testing for interference from LightSquared’s proposed operation of high-powered 4G LTE (long- term evolution) ground stations in the Mobile Satellite Service band, intended for satellite downlink.
TURBOMECA Arriel 2B and 2B1 engines [Docket No. FAA-2009-0889; Directorate Identifier 2009-NE-35-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to check the transmissible torque between the low-pressure (LP) fuel pump impeller and the high-pressure (HP) fuel pump shaft on HP/LP pump hydromechanical metering units (HMUs). If the HMU does not pass the torque check, then replace it.
The Middle East business jet fleet has contracted over the past year, but business aviation analyst Brian Foley says the downward shift is likely a necessary shakeout of the market. The business jet population in the Middle East fell about 6%, from 550 aircraft to 516, primarily in the large and midsize categories. Foley estimates the value of the aircraft that have either been sold, grounded or repossessed at close to $750 million.
U.S. aerospace and defense sales continued to grow in 2011 and will see only a modest decline next year, according to a forecast unveiled Dec. 14 by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). But the association warns of potential continued troubles for the lighter end of general aviation.
The Chinese market, which was nearly nonexistent for business aviation just a few years ago, is accounting for 7% of global business jet deliveries, according to the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). That number is expected to steadily grow, reaching 20% by the end of the decade.
Avfuel added Island City Flying Service to its network of branded fuel dealers. Owned by Paul De Poo since 1984, Island City is a full service fixed-base operation (FBO) at Key West International Airport. It will participate in AVTRIP rewards and Avfuel contract fuel programs. The FBO is undergoing a complete renovation that is scheduled for completion in early 2012.
Appareo Systems has teamed helicopter services company CHC Helicopter to develop an electronic flight bag (EFB) application for the CHC fleet. The CHC EFB software will run on the Apple iPad as part of an effort by CHC to move toward a paperless cockpit. CHC is deploying more than 500 iPads globally to be used for various flight-related activities, including crew training and flight operations. The EFB will help standardize CHC’s flight operations at bases worldwide, providing routing, fuel planning and weight and balance calculations for flight crews.
