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Magazine Issue

The Weekly of Business Aviation, March 7, 2016

VOL. 101 NO. 9 March 07, 2016

Forecast/Industry Data

Civil Helicopter Demand Forecast Down Over Year Ago

Mar 01, 2016

Honeywell Aerospace forecasts demand for 4,300 to 4,800 helicopters for civilian use over the next five years. That’s roughly 400 aircraft lower than last year’s five-year forecast.

China’s Helicopter Fleet Set To Overtake Japan

Mar 02, 2016

China will likely overtake Japan this year as the largest civil helicopter market in the Asia-Pacific region, even as its rapid growth of the recent past abates to more realistic levels.

Suppliers

Embraer Revenue, Profit Fall In 2015

Mar 03, 2016

Embraer took a large hit on its operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2015 as a result of the Republic Airways bankruptcy filing.

Honeywell Stops Pursuit Of UTC, For Now

Mar 07, 2016

Honeywell International said early March 1 it would no longer pursue a merger with United Technologies under the terms the companies discussed last month.

Intelligence

AvWeek’s Laureates Recognize Textron Aviation In Biz Aviation Category

Mar 07, 2016

Aviation Week & Space Technology held its 59th annual Laureate Awards March 3 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The award in the business aviation category went to Scott Ernest, president and CEO of Textron Aviation, and Scott Donnelly, chairman, president and CEO of Textron, for saving Hawker Beechcraft, rejuvenating Cessna with aircraft upgrades and new turbine models, expanding its support network and creating a new manufacturing and training division.

OEMs/Suppliers

Standard & Poor’s Lowers Forecast For Bombardier

Mar 04, 2016

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service has lowered is revenue and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) forecast for Bombardier for the next two years, primarily due to pressure in the company’s aerospace business, it said.

Seeker Aircraft To Start U.S. Manufacturing

Mar 03, 2016

Seeker Aircraft will begin manufacturing its light observation aircraft in the U.S., the company said. It was previously manufactured only in Australia.

Bell Helicopter Announces Deals For Bell 525, Bell 412EPI Aircraft

Mar 01, 2016

Bell Helicopter has signed a letter of intent with Guangxi Diwang Group for 10 Bell 525 Relentless helicopters. It has also signed an agreement with Aichi Prefecture in Japan for one Bell 412EPI helicopter.

First Flight Close For AgustaWestland Trekker

Mar 02, 2016

Finmeccanica Helicopters is days away from conducting the first flight of its AW109 Trekker, the skidded version of its AW109 twin-engine light helicopter.

Fly-By-Wire, Automation To Be Featured In Future Sikorsky Commercial Helos

Mar 02, 2016

Sikorsky’s next commercial product will likely feature fly-by-wire and a high degree of automation, but it is undecided whether such a platform will benefit from the company’s X2 high-speed technologies

Restart Of AW609 Flights Sought By Finmeccanica

Mar 02, 2016

Finmeccanica Helicopters is negotiating with the FAA to restart flight tests of the AW609 commercial tiltrotor, following the loss of the second prototype last October.

AW609 Tiltrotor EMS Agreement Signed By Era Group

Mar 03, 2016

U.S. helicopter service provider Era Group has become the third operator to sign up to develop new missions for the AgustaWestland AW609 commercial tiltrotor.

Programs

After Battery Upgrade, Solar Impulse Back In The Air

Feb 29, 2016

Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) has completed its first test flight following a battery system upgrade and ahead of restarting its solar-powered round-the-world flight attempt in April from Hawaii.

REMOS To Introduce Next Generation GXiS

Mar 02, 2016

Germany aircraft manufacturer REMOS plans to unveil the next generation of its high-wing composite GX aircraft at the Aero Friedrichshafen 2016 trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, April 20-23.

Airbus Expanding H175 Capabilities

Mar 01, 2016

Airbus is hoping to certify an increase in the maximum takeoff weight of its H175 intermediate-heavy helicopter by the end of this year.

Services/FBOs

Australian College Adds Eight Diamonds To Fleet

Mar 03, 2016

Australian International Aviation College has added eight Diamond Aircraft to its fleet of DA20 C1 and DA40 CS aircraft, the company said.

JetSmarter Signs Partnership With Jet Edge

Mar 04, 2016

JetSmarter has formed a partnership with private jet charter operator Jet Edge International, in a deal valued at $350 million over the next seven years.

Zhuhai Adds Business Aviation Customs Services

Feb 17, 2016

AsBAA exults as business aviation operators now have a new gateway, with plenty of ramp space, to the Hong Kong-Macau-Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Zhuhai metroplex, aka the PRD, or Pearl River Delta.

Charters / Brokers

Jet Aviation Expanding In Asia

Mar 01, 2016

Jet Aviation, an aircraft management and charter operation, is growing in Asia with a fleet that totals 31 aircraft, the company said.

Business Aviation Briefs

True Blue Power To Provide Lithium-Ion Battery For Bell 505

Mar 07, 2016

True Blue Power, based in Wichita, announced that its lithium-ion engine-start battery will power Bell Helicopter’s new 505 Jet Ranger X. The helicopter relies on a high-power, low-maintenance battery ideal for rugged environments, it said. The Tb17 battery uses proprietary Nanophosphate lithium-ion cell chemistry to provide power, energy, safety and life.

Bell Receives Van Horn Rotor Blade Repair Approval

Mar 07, 2016

Bell Helicopter’s blade repair operation has received FAA approval to repair Van Horn composite tail rotor blades for Bell 206 Series models. Its facility is based in Broussard, Louisiana.

Bell Helicopter Becomes Distributor Of New Products; Adds New Service Center

Mar 07, 2016

Bell Helicopter announced that it is a distributor of several new products, including its Aeronautical Accessories brand, LED Super Nightscanner, Bell 206 series Van Horn rotor blades and products from the Airglas product line. In other Bell news, the company announced that Able Aerospace Services, based in Mesa, Arizona, is Bell’s newest service center. Able was recently acquired by Textron Aviation and provides component repairs, component exchanges and replacement parts and other offerings.

Satcom Direct, Universal Weather Join To Offer Integrated Datalink, Trip Planning

Mar 07, 2016

Satcom Direct’s FlightDeck Freedom datalink and Universal Weather and Aviation’s online flight planning and weather services are now offered as a bundle. The partnership offers seamless datalink and flight planning, the companies said. Satcom Direct FlightDeck Freedom datalink and Universal flight planning are integrated through Universal’s do-it-yourself mission planning called uvGO.

Belcan Completes Purchase Of East Kilbride Engineering Services

Mar 07, 2016

Belcan, based in Cincinnati, has completed its acquisition of East Kilbride Engineering Services, an engineering consultancy company based in Europe. Terms were not disclosed. The deal was first announced in January. Belcan is owned by AE Industrial Partners.

West Star Aviation Earns STC For Honeywell Software Upgrades

Mar 07, 2016

West Star Aviation, based in East Alton, Illinois, has received a Supplemental Type Certificate for the upgrade of the Honeywell CAS-81A/TPA-81A or CAS-100A/TPA-100A with 7.0 software to the CAS-100B/TPA-100B with 7.1 software. The list applies to various Hawker, Citation, Challenger, Falcon and Gulfstream aircraft models. TCAS II 7.1 software improvements include the level off and reversal logic functions. Europe mandated the new software requirements effective December 2015. There is no proposed FAA mandate at this time for TCAS 7.1.

West Star Aviation Receives FAA’s ODA/STC Certificate

Mar 07, 2016

West Star Aviation has received an Organizational Design Authorization allowing them to issue Supplemental Type Certificates on behalf of the FAA. The company is now authorized to show compliance on behalf of the FAA for STCs. It recently issued an STC on the FAA’s behalf. The authorization is a “huge milestone” for the company, it said.

SKYTRAC, Flight Data Services Partners On Services

Mar 07, 2016

SKYTRAC has joined with Flight Data Services for enhanced Flight Data Management Services. Under the agreement, the flight data graphing, visualization and analysis features of Flight Data Services’ POLARIS FDM platform will be directly imbedded in SKYTRAC’s SkyWeb online data management portal. SKYTRAC will also be supported by Bly Data Services’ team of flight data analysts. SKYTRAC fixed and rotary wing customers will now have one-stop access to self-serve report and personalized analysis.

Banyan Air Service To Transition Tech Info Library

Mar 07, 2016

Banyan Air Service, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has signed an agreement with Aircraft Technical Publishers to transition Banyan’s technical information library from CD-based services to the ATP Aviation Hub, a cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service) application. The change will allow Banyan staff to access technical and other information on any Internet-enabled device.

Embry-Riddle, Universal Helicopters Extend Agreement to Train Students

Mar 07, 2016

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Campus and Universal Helicopters have extended a 2010 agreement to exclusively provide helicopter training to Embry-Riddle students. The program is designed to train students from zero time through a Certified Flight Instructor certificate. Since 2010, more than 150 students have received training through Universal Helicopter’s fleet of Robinson R22 and R44 aircraft.

Airworthiness Directives

FOKKER SERVICES

Mar 07, 2016

FOKKER SERVICES B.V. Model F.27 Mark 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 aircraft. [Docket No. FAA-2015-3633; Directorate Identifier 2014-NM-097-AD; Amendment 39-18416; AD 2016-04-22] This AD was prompted by a design review conducted by Fokker Services B.V. that indicated no controlled bonding provisions were present on many critical locations outside the fuel tank or connected to the fuel tank wall.

DASSAULT AVIATION

Mar 07, 2016

DASSAULT AVIATION Model FALCON 900EX and FALCON 2000EX airplanes. [Docket No. FAA-2015-3144; Directorate Identifier 2014-NM-110-AD; Amendment 39-18403; AD 2016-04-09] This AD was prompted by a report of significant fuel leakage at the middle position of the left outboard slat. This AD would require modifying the assembly of the slat extension mechanical stop.

M7 AEROSPACE

Mar 07, 2016

M7 AEROSPACE LLC Models SA26-AT, SA226-T(B), SA226-AT, SA226-T, SA226-TC, SA227-AC (C-26A), SA227-AT, SA227-BC (C-26A), SA227-CC, SA227-DC (C-26B), and SA227-TT aircraft. [Docket No. FAA-2015-3607; Directorate Identifier 2015-CE-010-AD; Amendment 39-18398; AD 2016-04-04] This AD was prompted by information that the airplane flight manual (AFM) does not provide adequate guidance in the handling of engine failures, which may lead to reliance on the negative torque system (NTS) for reducing drag.

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

Mar 07, 2016

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS (previously Eurocopter France) Model AS350B, AS350BA, AS350B1, AS350B2, AS350B3, AS350C, AS350D, AS350D1, AS355E, AS355F, AS355F1, AS355F2, AS355N, and AS355NP helicopters. [Docket No. FAA-2015-2568; Directorate Identifier 2014-SW-026-AD; Amendment 39-18424; AD 2016-05-06] This AD supersedes AD 2014-07-52, which required repetitively inspecting certain reinforcement angles of the rear structure to tailboom junction frame (reinforcement angles) for a crack at 10 hr.

Departures

Thomas Hendricks

Mar 07, 2016

Thomas Hendricks, president and CEO of the National Air Transportation Association, based in Washington D.C., announced plans to resign, effective Aug. 31, 2016. A member of NATA’s board of directors will assume duties as interim president and CEO effective September 1 until a successor is named. NATA’s Senior Vice Presidents William Deere and Timothy Obitts will oversee the association’s daily activities.

Appointments

Mar 07, 2016

Jan van der Heul has been appointed vice president of sales at Skytrac Systems. Van der Heul most recently was at CHC Helicopter, where he led a global team of account managers responsible for a helicopter oil and gas portfolio. Stephen Mitchell has been appointed sales director for Aura Aviation’s new rotary division, which operates as JetBrokers. Aura Aviation is based in the U.K.

Upcoming Events

Mar 07, 2016

Mar. 9-10—Airline Engineering & Maintenance, China & East Asia, Hong Kong, www.aviationweek.com/events Mar. 15-16, 2016—2016 ACI-NA/AAAE Washington Legislative Spring Conference, Washington, D.C., www.aci-na.org/event/6390 Mar. 18-19—The Society of Experimental Test Pilots West Coast Symposium, San Diego, California, http://www.setp.org/symposium/meetings/san-diego/

Market Sector

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The Weekly of Business Aviation, March 7, 2016

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Forecast/Industry Data

Suppliers

Intelligence

OEMs/Suppliers

Programs

Services/FBOs

Charters / Brokers

Business Aviation Briefs

Airworthiness Directives

Departures

Appointments