Associated Air Center (AAC) comes to NBAA 2014 riding a wave of success, with aircraft crowding its 295,000 sq. ft. of hangar space at Dallas Love Field, where projects range from C checks and major refurbishment to widebody green completions.
It was a little more than a year ago that MAZ Aviation, a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based consulting firm, stepped into what was shaping up as a court battle and acquired Gore Design Completions, a major player in the completions and refurbishment industry.
Quest Aircraft Company has moved to expand its reach in China under an agreement that would give it a sales presence in the short term and ultimately provide for the manufacturing of its Kodiak single-turboprop aircraft there.
Sabreliner, an iconic name in business jet aviation since the late 1950s, is making a comeback with ambitious plans to expand beyond maintenance and repair to provide aircraft rebuilds, refurbishments and engine overhauls.
Israel’s Elbit Systems is making further inroads into business aviation cockpits with novel, wearable head-up displays (HUDs) and a fusion of sensor images and synthetic vision in its latest enhanced vision systems (EVSs).
Rockwell Collins says it will certify its first aftermarket version of Pro Line Fusion late this year for the Beechcraft King Air, one year later than originally projected when the flight deck was launched at NBAA in 2011 for Pro Line 21-equipped aircraft. Adam Evanschwartz, director of business and regional aircraft marketing for Rockwell Collins, says the extra time resulted from “scope enhancements” to the cockpit, improvements that Rockwell Collins came upon during the flight-test campaign.
Wearable electronic devices are beginning to resemble a technology steamroller in the consumer market, and business aviation is already climbing aboard in an attempt to keep up.
New technology, new products and new relationships reflect a commitment to business and general aviation that’s growing by leaps and bounds at Safran, the French propulsion and power systems company.
Microturbo marked a strategic turning point this summer when it became the supplier of auxiliary power units for the Global 7000/8000 and Dassault 5X business jets.
Flying Colours Corp. has signed a multimillion-dollar joint venture agreement with China’s Sparkle Roll Technik Co., Ltd. (SRT). With a hangar facility set up at Linyi City in Shangdong Province, it will focus on private jet cabin modification and aircraft maintenance. The first project, beginning this month, will see eight B- Bombardier CRJ-200s converted to VIP configuration.
Every time I belt into the left seat of an Eclipse 500, I’m reminded that it’s the only jet I’ve yet flown with active sidesticks. That’s because the left and right cockpit controls are mechanically linked to each other as well as to the flight control surfaces.
Honda Aircraft, which already has built a campus encompassing 605,000 sq ft on 133 acres in Greensboro, North Carolina, is expanding its facilities again as the company approaches certification and first delivery next year.
Should your Falcon find itself ground-bound by a flaw of whatever nature, Dassault Falcon Jet has an elegant solution – two more Falcons packed full of technicians, spares and, if need be, a ticket to ride.
Lufthansa Technik has expanded its portfolio of VIP cabin designs in order to appeal to a price-sensitive clientele, and is now offering an Executive Shuttle concept for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families with airline interiors.
Miami-based Permagard is at NBAA promoting its environmentally friendly Permagard Aviation Coating process that protects and improves the appearance of an aircraft’s external painted surfaces and composite materials.
Ontic, provider of extended life solutions for OEM legacy products and systems, has enjoyed the most active licensing period in its 40-year history in the past two years. Although most of these agreements were from the commercial airline and military aircraft sectors the company is hoping to announce new business aviation-related agreements at NBAA.
Embraer says the long-awaited FAA certification of the Legacy 500 midsize business aircraft is “imminent” and following completion of flight tests and initial approval from Brazilian authorities in August.
Embraer Executive Jets is exhibiting seven aircraft at Orlando Executive Airport, marking the first time its entire seven-strong business jet fleet has appeared at an NBAA Convention. They include the prototype Legacy 450, which made its first flight on December 28, 2013, and the first customer Legacy 500, which was delivered on October 10.
Dassault’s new Falcon 5X has entered the ground testing phase following power-up of the first aircraft at the end of August. First flight is expected by the second quarter of next year, and certification by the end of 2016.
Avfuel Corporation continues to expand its FBO network. It recently added Winner Aviation at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, Ohio, where the FBO provides fueling, maintenance, hangarage, flight planning and weather services, passenger and crew amenities, and ground transportation.
With the arrival in completion centers around the world of Boeing’s BBJ747-8 and BBJ787, it’s too easy to forget that there are still other VIP widebody jets out there, and no small number of them are coming in for cabin replacement or refurbishment.
Despite a slight drop in narrowbody business jet deliveries over the past year, demand for their completion and refurbishment appears to continue keeping the independent centers occupied.
