Textron Aviation kicked off this year’s NBAA convention by naming Safran and Honeywell as key suppliers of engine and avionics for its new $35 million, large-cabin Citation Hemisphere.
ATP and Sweden-based Web Manuals have joined forces to provide aircraft operators and maintenance organizations with constantly updated operating manuals as well digitized technical documents, maintenance manuals, and safety and regulatory alerts.
Some business aircraft operators are holding off on making a decision on Ka band equipment. But with such strong competition from Inmarsat and Viasat, operators likely will be the big winners.
Elements of the design were unveiled at EBACE 2015, but they elicited doubt about the feasibility of the concept. So Lufthansa Technik has spent the past year engineering the sumptuous interior into a product.
Unlike most corporate interiors, there are few straight lines to see in Melody, the nature-inspired Airbus cabin concept unveiled at NBAA 2016 for future customers of the company’s new ACJ320neo family.
The second Pilatus PC-24 prototype, most recently seen undergoing avionics tests at Honeywell’s Phoenix-Deer Valley hangar, is making its NBAA debut this year.
Wall Street brokers and business jet lenders told a recent JetNet iQ conference on business jets that they expect business aircraft demand to remain soft in the near-term, with no clear indication of when recovery will occur. But manufacturers were more optimistic.
The so-called “Wal-Marting” of FBOs won’t threaten the viability of small chains and healthy independent FBOs, believes the Aviation Business Strategies Group, which tracks the sector.
One hot topic at last year’s NBAA Convention was the transition from the fuel sale-dependent FBO business model to a European version, where fees for service are commonplace. This year, FBOs are talking about adopting best practices from both business models.
Delta Private Jets helped bail out its airline parent this past August when a systems failure in Atlanta forced the cancellation of hundreds of commercial flights and stranded thousands of passengers.
By William Garvey, Fred George, Molly McMillin, Rupa Haria
Ahead of NBAA next week, our editors discuss the state of the business aviation industry, the factors that could help revive it and how retrofitting used aircraft is the next big thing.
The NTSB believes installing a crash-resistant fuel system into existing helicopters would help mitigate the safety risk of post-crash fires in survivable accidents. However, the board is concerned that owners and operators of FAR Part 27 and Part 29 helicopters may be unaware of retrofit kits to do just that.
Introduced to the market in 2012, Pratt & Whitney Canada's PT6A-140 turboprop series has achieved broad acceptance in utility and agricultural markets for both forward-fit and retrofit application on a variety of aircraft.
While it may be wrong thinking, passengers often equate the interior condition of an aircraft with the overall condition of the machine and its systems along with those who operate, manage and maintain them. Worn or stained carpeting, tarnished plating and the usual wear and tear that you might find acceptable may be viewed quite differently by your primary customer.
