Aviation International News December 2023

DECEMBER 2023 | Vol. 52 No. 12 | AINonline.com

AIRSHOWS: DUBAI'S BIENNIAL EXTRAVAGANZA RETURNS CHARTER: NEW LEADERSHIP REVIVING WHEELS UP AVIONICS: WAAS IS WINNING THE APPROACH RACE

AV I AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L N E W S

Special Report: A Year in Transition

Honda's Journey to First Flight A bold experiment to develop a prototype very light jet launched Honda into the jet age 20 years ago

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In this issue

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Business aviation gives back

Wheels Up shifts focus toward business clients

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Special Report: 2023: A transitional year

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Honeywell forecast sees strong appetite for bizjets

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Cirrus creates milestone specialedition SF50 Vision Jet

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DCAF VIP terminal holds strong at Al Maktoum Business aviation ‘climbing fast’ on sustainability Twenty years later: Looking back at the first flight of the HondaJet prototype Dubai in pole position as Gulf’s bizav hub Global tensions call for strong presence, says U.S. group Citation Jet Pilots convention celebrates safety, highlights findings from FOQA How WAAS turned into a must-have system

DEPARTMENTS 46 Rotorcraft | 50 On the Ground | 52 MRO 54 Accidents | 56 Compliance | 58 People in Aviation

On the cover: HondaJet prototype's 2003 first flight 2

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

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Honeywell forecast sees strong appetite for bizjets

News Briefs BOMBARDIER DELIVERIES, REVENUES JUMP IN 3Q

B Y CUR T E P S T E I N

The business aviation market could Aerospace’s Americas aftermarket division. see as many as 8,500 new jet deliveries “Operators are showing confidence with worth $278 billion over the next decade, plans to expand their fleets at a faster rate according to the results from Honeywell than any time in the previous decade.”

Aerospace’s 32nd annual Global BusiHe cited recent plans from fractional operness Aviation Outlook. Released ahead of ators to boost their fleets by several hundred NBAA-BACE 2023, the outlook calls for 730 aircraft, the third consecutive year of growth business jet deliveries worth $23 billion in that area. “Additionally, new users in busithis year, while in 2024 it sees a 10 percent ness aviation have increased demand by 500 increase in deliveries, passing the 800-unit aircraft and 6 percent more flights over the mark for the first time since 2019. next 10 years. This, along with expected According to the company’s 10-year out- double-digit increases in turbofan deliveries look, it predicts more than 800 deliveries a in 2023 and 2024, shows our industry’s comyear through 2031, when the industry could mitment to meeting growing demand.” once again surpass the 900-unit plateau.

The company’s annual operator sur“Our industry is on the upswing,” said vey—which the forecast is in part derived continues on page 60  Heath Patrick, president of Honeywell

AVIATION OUTLOOK 2023 REGIONAL SNAPSHOT

A breakdown of business jets in service by region

14% Europe 6%

5% Latin America

AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES

11%

Asia Pacific

Africa / Middle East

PURCHASE PLANS BY AIRCRAFT CLASS

Heavy/ Long-Range 69% of total valuation

Medium

21% of total valuation (Medium to Super-Midsize)

8,500

aircraft projected through 2033

Worth 800 $278 projected 2024 billion deliveries valuation

Small

11% of total valuation

37% 29% 34%

Honeywell projects 8,500 new business jet deliveries over the next decade.

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Operators are showing confidence with plans to expand their fleets at a faster rate than any time in the previous decade.

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

Heath Patrick, President, Americas Aftermarket, Honeywell

SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES STILL WEIGH ON GULFSTREAM Gulfstream Aerospace deliveries dropped by eight units year-over-year in the third quarter, to 27 aircraft (22 large-cabin jets, five midsize G280s), as the company continued to grapple with supply chain challenges. Revenues at the General Dynamics aerospace group—which includes both Gulfstream and Jet Aviation—slid in the third quarter by $315 million, to $2.03 billion. Gulfstream will not reach its 2023 delivery forecast of 145 aircraft; the revised estimate is now 133 to 135 aircraft. However, company officials were upbeat about the order intake at Gulfstream.

DASSAULT TO OPEN MRO AT SÃO PAULO CATARINA AIRPORT

HONEYWELL

64% North America

Bombardier saw a 28 percent year-over-year jump in third-quarter revenues as deliveries increased across its medium-size and large models to a combined 31 units. But it posted a net loss of $37 million for the quarter as it continues to navigate through debt repayment. Revenues for the quarter ended on September 30 reached $1.9 billion, compared with $1.5 billion a year earlier. Deliveries were up by six units, comprising 16 Challengers and 15 Global models. Despite the increase in deliveries, the company was able to maintain a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1:1, with backlog steadying at $14.7 billion.

Dassault Aviation plans to open a companyowned service center early next year at São Paulo Catarina International Executive Airport, replacing its existing facility at Sorocaba.

The Catarina facility will offer nearly 40,000 sq ft of floor and office space and accommodate up to five Falcon business jets at a time. The new facility will hold repair station certification from Brazil’s ANAC, the FAA, and EASA, as well as from authorities in Argentina, Bermuda, and Uruguay.

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News Briefs

BARRY AMBROSE

AEA: GA AVIONICS SALES CONTINUE ASCENT

The SF50 has been the world’s best-selling private jet for five consecutive years.

Cirrus creates milestone special-edition SF50 Vision Jet B Y DAV ID D O N A L D

Cirrus is celebrating the recent delivery of the 500th SF50 Vision Jet by creating a special-edition range of five designs, with styling applied to both exterior and interior. This includes 500th Limited Edition branding throughout. Pilot type ratings issued for the SF50 have surpassed 1,000.

The delivery milestone is significant for an aircraft program that went through uncertain times in its early days. Now, however, the world’s first volume-production single-engine personal jet has carved out a class-defining niche for itself and has been the best-selling private jet for five years in a row.

Orders continue to grow, with many customers coming from the piston-engine Cirrus SR community. Cirrus is building just under two SF50s per week, for an annual rate of around 90.

Parts are manufactured in Grand Forks, North Dakota, before being trucked to Duluth, Minnesota, for final assembly and completion. Delivery is handled at the Cirrus facility in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Knoxville is also home to the Cirrus training center. Type rating training in the SF50 full flight simulator takes around two weeks, with the Vision Jet sharing similar avionics and procedures with the SR.

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Cirrus has continually improved the SF50, adding new capabilities. In 2019, the G2 was introduced with autothrottle and increased payload, while RVSM certification enabled the aircraft to attain an altitude of FL310. Based on its Garmin avionics, Safe Return Autoland was introduced in 2020, and the SF50 became the first jet to be certified with this capability.

The G2+ Vision Jet appeared in 2021, with Gogo air-to-ground connectivity and a 25 percent jump in takeoff performance, unlocking 40 percent more airfields in hot and high conditions.

This year, Cirrus introduced the Cirrus IQ mobile aircraft readiness checking app and Garmin Auto Radar, which provides a detailed picture of hazardous weather. The SF50 is also equipped with the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System and to date, there have been two deployments, saving four occupants.

A robust support network is in place, based largely on that of the popular SR series. Cirrus also manages the Vision Pilots and Owners organization, which provides a rapid way to share important safety information and also a channel through which owners can help shape future updates. z

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During the first nine months of this year, worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales reached more than $2.4 billion, according to the Aircraft Electronics Association’s (AEA) latest Avionics Market Report. This figure represents a 15.9 percent year-over-year increase. Avionics sales for the third quarter amounted to more than $814 million, up 9.9 percent from the same period a year ago. According to the AEA report, 40.7 percent of these sales were from the retrofit market, while forward-fit sales accounted for 59.3 percent.

MODERN AVIATION SOLD Global asset management firm Apollo Funds has acquired a majority share in FBO chain Modern Aviation from Tiger Infrastructure Partners. Founded in 2018, Modern made an immediate splash with the acquisition of the former XJet FBO at Denver Centennial Airport. It followed that up with the agreement to purchase all five of Sheltair’s New York-area locations in 2021. Modern now has 16 locations in the U.S. and Caribbean.

Apollo focuses on mid-market businesses and assets with key areas of investment including energy transition, digital infrastructure, supply chain, and sustainability.

AVFUEL TO RELEASE NEW SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM Avfuel is developing a new sustainability program aimed at helping flight operators effectively manage and reduce their carbon emissions. Avfuel Zero will offer users a way to seamlessly measure, mitigate, audit, and report carbon emissions. It is the latest in the company’s sustainability initiatives, which include investing in a variety of sustainable aviation fuel feedstocks and processes such as HEFA, alcohol-to-jet, power-to-liquid, and biomass, as well as hydrogen, hybrid, and electrification.

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DCAF VIP terminal holds strong at Al Maktoum B Y P E T E R S H AW- S MI T H

Holger Ostheimer, managing director, DC Aviation Al Futtaim VIP Terminal, Dubai.

Dubai Airshow 2023 Dubai-based DC Aviation Al-Futtaim (DCAF) reported a solid performance over the past year at its VIP Terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport (OMDW) on the eve of Dubai Airshow 2023.

“We’ve seen steady operations with ground-handling activities at a good level, pretty much in line with what we set out for this year and last,” managing director Holger Ostheimer told AIN. “In sum, I think 2022 was probably a little exceptional with the Qatar World Cup occurring and other events associated with it. This year, we’ve been running a steady ship.

It got really quiet in August, but we can already see activity increasing again.”

On the aircraft management side, DCAF is acquiring new jets, including a Global 7500 at the end of last year, while a 6000 and 5000 recently joined, bringing the managed fleet size to 11 aircraft.

“A particular focus of our activities is the expansion of our maintenance capabilities,” he added. “The majority of aircraft under our management also benefit from our aircraft maintenance services. We’ve increased total man count, levels of expertise, materials, and tooling to be able to do that.”

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Ostheimer further noted, “We had set out to grow our organization in terms of quantity, manpower, and quality certifications; that has kicked off in the last two years with a change of personnel and a good plan in place.”

Most of Dubai’s VIP throughput is driven by wealth distribution: many ultra-high-networth individuals from India find Dubai an attractive residence, and several people from the conflict in Russia and Ukraine are coming to Dubai. “There’s a continued influx of Chinese into the region with relevant net worth,” Ostheimer said. “All of these are stimulators of our industry, which I think is being reflected in the increasing activities over the last 10 years.”

Ostheimer conceded that DCAF was not going to double or triple its activities in the next few years. “I remember questions being asked in 2012 and 2013, where the market was expected to double or triple over the next 10 years,” he said. “What we’ve seen is maybe a 20 to 30 percent increase.”

Though Ostheimer appeared to be bullish about Saudi Arabia in 2019, continuing hesitancy is more a reflection of the situation in the Kingdom than at DC Aviation.

“We would always want to increase our market share,” he said. “If the right opportunity were to come up in Saudi Arabia, I’m sure this becomes a consideration.” z

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News Briefs EMBRAER REPORTS STRONG 3Q FOR BIZJETS Embraer delivered 28 business jets during the third quarter, accounting for 65 percent of the company’s total and representing a 22 percent increase over the same period last year. Deliveries included 17 Phenom 300s and two Phenom 100s, compared with 13 Phenom 300s and two Phenom 100s in third-quarter 2022. Embraer also handed over nine Praetors (four 500s and five 600s) in the most recent quarter, up from four apiece a year earlier. For the first nine months, Embraer delivered 66 business jets. The value of its executive aviation backlog now stands at $4.3 billion, while its book-to-bill ratio of 1.5:1 highlights the high volume of jet sales and deliveries.

TEXTRON AVIATION Q3 GROWS Textron Aviation recorded $1.3 billion in revenue in the third quarter, a 14.7 percent year-over-year increase. This reflected a mix of higher volume ($89 million) and higher pricing ($82 million), the OEM reported. For the quarter, the airframer delivered 39 Cessna Citations, the same as last year’s tally, and 38 turboprops, an increase of five from the same year-ago period. The OEM’s airplane backlog at the end of the quarter stood at $7.4 billion.

GULFSTREAM COMPLETES SAVANNAH EXPANSION Gulfstream Aerospace on October 31 marked completion of a 142,000-sq-ft expansion that doubles the capacity at its G400, G500, and G600 manufacturing facility in Savannah, Georgia. The $150 million expansion will help the company reach a planned increase of 170 aircraft deliveries next year, up from an estimated 133 to 135 jets this year. Gulfstream also produces the ultra-long-range G650ER, G700, and G800 in Savannah. These activities include wing and empennage production that it brought back in-house in 2019.

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Business aviation ‘climbing fast’ on sustainability B Y K E R R Y LY N C H

T h e b u s i n e s s av i a t i o n c o m m u n i t y Industry leaders recognized that in h a s c o a l e s c e d b e h i n d a n e w c a m - addition to touting societal benefits, “We paign—“Climbing Fast”—to highlight the need to be clear and unequivocal about progress and promise it has made toward our commitment to net-zero emissions the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. by 2050,” Bolen said. This comes as the Unveiled during NBAA-BACE 2023, the industry has been increasingly targeted by Climbing Fast advocacy campaign will be eco-protesters. used to educate public opinion leaders and Industry associations collectively have decision-makers on business aviation’s spent months “understanding how best to commitment to—and leadership role present all that we are and all that we’re in—sustainability. doing, including our commitment to susThe campaign involves a dedicated tainability to a public that may not know, website that will be used as a promotional understand, or appreciate business aviation.” vehicle as well as a resource. In addition, Working with an established pollster, plans call for paid digital advertising, a “we learned that there are, maybe as you multi-channel social media presence, and a would expect, a lot of people who don’t targeted media relations program. And the know business aviation [and] don’t undercampaign was threaded throughout BACE. stand business aviation. When asked about Climbing Fast builds on the long-time business aviation and sustainability, they advocacy campaign No Plane No Gain, said don’t make a positive connection.”

NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “It has The polling showed that when presented always been kind of a focal point for our with facts about what business aviation is industry, a rallying call based on a catchy doing on sustainability, people changed phrase that was well known…and it has their opinion. “There were a significant allowed us to talk effectively about who we number of people who were persuaded that are and the societal benefits that business business aviation is an essential industry aviation offers,” he explained. with a commitment to sustainability.” z

The new advocacy campaign will highlight the industry’s commitment to sustainability.

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News Briefs JET EAST SOLD TO WEST STAR Gama Aviation completed the sale of its Jet East MRO business to West Star Aviation on November 6, just two weeks after the deal was announced at NBAA-BACE 2023. The enterprise value ascribed to Jet East is $131 million but net proceeds to Gama Aviation were approximately $100 million. West Star is a portfolio company of The Sterling Group.

Gama Aviation, which has been providing MRO services in the U.S. since 2012, purchased Jet East for $11.9 million, which included assumption of debt, in January 2021.

SKY HARBOUR TO DEVELOP 25 ACRES AT CHICAGO EXEC Chicago Executive Airport (KPWK) and Sky Harbour Group have reached an agreement for the development of a Sky Harbour home base campus at KPWK. The contract calls for hangar development on some 25 acres in two phases. Sky Harbour v-p of real estate Eric Stolpman explained that Chicago Executive’s existing hangars operate at more than 100 percent capacity, making the need for more hangar space obvious.

During the first phase of development, Sky Harbour will oversee the construction of seven or eight hangars and create 130,000 sq ft of aircraft storage and office space.

EBAA APPOINTS NEW SECRETARY GENERAL The European Business Aviation Association has appointed lobbyist and former politician Holger Krahmer as its secretary general, effective January 1. Krahmer spent the past five years as head of EU affairs with Mercedes-Benz. Serving in the European Parliament between 2004 and 2014, he was directly involved in setting policy on the Emissions Trading Scheme and Single European Sky initiative. EBAA’s board of directors had been working to appoint a new secretary general following the death of Athar Husain Khan in March 2023.

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Twenty years later: Looking back at the first flight of the HondaJet prototype B Y M AT T T HUR BE R

After three years of intense effort, the HondaJet proof-of-concept prototype took to the skies in 2003.

Behind the closed doors of a hangar at the Atlantic Aero FBO more than two decades ago at Greensboro, North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad International Airport (KGSO), a team of engineers and technicians assembled an oddly configured twin-engine very light business jet. This was the proof-ofconcept (POC) prototype of what would become the best-selling HondaJet very light jet. The team’s work culminated on Dec. 3, 2003, when the POC took flight and a new business jet family was born.

The Honda team worked overtime to achieve the goal of flying the POC by the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight on Dec. 17, 1903. “So this date of December 3 gave us a little bit of contingency in case any unforeseen issues might arise,” recalled engineering consultant David Tanner, one of the many employees who witnessed the first flight.

“There were many [issues], but somehow

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all were overcome and the day arrived.

“This was a relatively small team of engineers and technicians that had been working furiously for at least the last 10 months—and some much longer—in preparation for this day. Many times it was in excess of 14- and 16-hour days, going home late at night and racing back to work the next morning. We couldn’t wait to get back to work because there was so much to do. I never worked with a more determined and dedicated team. Everyone had a spirit to help each other solve the problem of the day. It really was inspiring and made me want to be a better engineer.”

Another witness, Dave Khublall, a technical expert on electrical wire design who is leading the wiring design and installation team on Honda Aircraft’s next airplane, the HondaJet Echelon, recalled the intense work during the nearly three years before the POC’s first flight.

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“When I got here,” he told AIN, “I realized that there were no electrical system drawings, only conceptual schematics, and we had to create them from scratch. What a daunting task! I walked around here for a few days scratching my head trying to figure out where to begin, but we did and never looked back.

“We had a very small group in the early days of the project here in Greensboro and a larger team in Japan supporting us. Work hours during the design phase started early and extended into the evening, day after day. In three years, we accomplished a tremendous amount of work and overcame huge challenges.”

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The second production jet (along with the Fokker VFW 614) to feature over-the-wingmounted (OTWEM) turbofan engines, the HondaJet was the brainchild of Honda’s

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Michimasa Fujino, who had been tasked and the paper was published. I was so flight and every scenario and procedure. in 1986 with helping the giant company fill excited to see his comment. The published Did I say ‘stressful’!” one of the last missing pieces of its mobil- papers for the OTWEM‘s aerodynamic “I think everyone was stressed and nerity empire: aviation. Fujino spent years and aeroelastic design became strong vous every day because we really wanted exploring aircraft design, culminating in endorsements to present the design to the to make the first flight a success,” engineer flight testing of a composite experimental top management of Honda Motor. It took Kazuhisa Mahiko recalled. aircraft, MH02, which had two engines more than two years to reach the point mounted on top of a wing attached to the and finally the OTWEM configuration for FINALLY, THE FIRST FLIGHT top of the fuselage.

HondaJet was fixed. We could move one The test team walked out to the airplane He eventually settled on the HondaJet step forward for the POC...first flight.” that morning, which was flanked by the OTWEM design because of its efficiency “The day before the flight,” Khublall said, chase airplane and a news helicopter. and the extra space it afforded in the aft “every team performed their final prepara- Atlantic Aero and Honda employees lined cabin, but persuading the head office that tions for the big day; then it was the elec- up outside the hangar. this was the best configuration proved to trical team’s turn. It was getting late in the “As the pilots completed their checks be a huge challenge. evening, and we still needed to load the lat- and engines started,” Khublall recalled, “a “OTWEM was very controversial and est version of the aircraft software. All was selected engineering team was monitornot well accepted,” he ing the critical aircraft told AIN. “I tried to systems in the flight test explain the pros and control room where all cons of the design with key data was displayed on technical detail and also monitors for us to track.” how this concept may Fujino joined the crew change the light jet conin the control room cept. However, my boss instead of standing outdid not understand it. In side. “I concentrated on a meeting, he stated, ‘I radio communication and have never seen such a data sent by the telemstupid engineer in my life. etry system,” he said.

You are fired!’ I was very Michimasa Fujino’s first design was the MH02, which didn’t go into production.

“There were no windows upset and disappointed. I facing the runway so I remember I did not go to the office for a going well until we hit a snag, making the could not see the takeoff, flight, or landcouple of days after the meeting. I walked wrong selection and putting us back sev- ing. It seems strange but I had never seen around downtown Tokyo to change my eral hours. At this point, the stress levels by my own eyes any first flight of my promood but I found myself thinking only elevated, with a few nervous people hover- grams because I monitored the data.” about the design. I realized I cannot run ing over our shoulders in the cockpit. With “The flight went off without a hitch,” away from this and decided to prove tech support from our vendor, we managed Khublall said, “with all systems checked the design. to reload the aircraft software and per- out, and a decision to extend the flight was “I and a few engineers who supported formed all the checks needed. It was now granted. What a huge relief for everyone me began to work on the OTWEM design midnight and, with the flight scheduled for after the aircraft landed safely—jubilainconspicuously. Using CFD [computa- 8 a.m., the aircraft was prepped and ready tion—we did it!” tional fluid dynamics] simulation and a to go. However, we did not get much sleep Test pilots Richard Gritter and David transonic wind tunnel, I was able to finally that night and were back in at 5:30 a.m., fir- Paul West (who passed away in 2021) were prove the concept of reducing wave drag ing up the aircraft to make sure everything at the controls of the POC, taking off from by the OTWEM configuration. I also estab- was still okay before the preflight.

KGSO’s Runway 5 (since changed to 5R lished a design method for aeroelasticity. I “Stress levels were running high, check- after the addition of a parallel runway). submitted a paper to the American Insti- ing and double-checking, making sure that “There was no surprise,” Fujino noted. tute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Jour- [we] have accounted for everything. With “We defined the detailed flight profile for nal of Aircraft. The reviewer wrote me that the aircraft prepped and ready, preflight the test and did several computer simulathis is a relevant finding in aircraft design, with the pilots, [we were] going over the tions before the flight. The flight test was

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conducted based on the test profile. After the first flight, the pilots commented to me that it was very close to the simulation. It seems to me that their comment was the best compliment to our engineers, so I was very pleased and relieved.”

“Many people watched the first flight from the roof of NOAA [weather station] at KGSO Airport,” Mahiko said. “The people on the roof of NOAA were so thrilled that they jumped around, and they even worried they might break through the roof in their excitement. I had never felt such emotion before, and I haven’t felt anything like it since. I think many engineers shed tears of joy. I was happy to be involved in work that moved me to tears.”

“Lots of smiles and high-fives [were] The HondaJet prototype proved that Michimasa Fujino’s unusual design performed as expected. going around,” according to Khublall. “It was time to take stock, celebrate, and people as well as the Japanese congrat“Before the first flight of the POC, I was reflect on what was achieved, but we still ulated the accomplishment of the POC privately told by my boss that the Hondahad a lot more to accomplish, with more first flight together in the Japanese Jet project wouldn’t be commercialized. flights flown to expand the flight envelope. way. It represented a truly international He said to me that after the demonstration Of course, we had a big celebration.” team’s accomplishment.” of the POC flight, the project will be ended.

Tanner and some fellow employees had He joked, “I did not do any simulation So I was very disappointed because all of climbed onto the roof of a small storage for the tossing in the air like the first flight us worked very hard. After the conversabuilding to watch the first flight. “It was of the POC HondaJet, so it was very dan- tion, it was very difficult to motivate, but cold and a bit windy so we were a little gerous! Actually, I was not designed for I finally decided to do my best until the concerned if the flight might be delayed, crashworthiness like the HondaJet.” POC first flight is completed and I might but it wasn’t. It was magnificent, and explore new opportunities after the first everyone cheered and felt a great sense TIME TO RELAX flight. I had very mixed feelings when we of accomplishment. The pilots were met After the first flight, it was time for everyone accomplished the POC first flight because when they came off the airplane after they involved to unwind for a bit. “During the I knew there was no future for the Hondalanded and taxied back to the hangar, and several months of preparation for the first Jet, even though I thought there was a big they were each thrown into the air in great flight,” Mahiko said, “there were various potential for the design.” jubilation! Everyone was happy and smil- pressures (flight safety, solving technical While in the Bahamas, a chance encouning. It was a great honor to be there.” issues, schedule requirements such as the ter with a pilot who had flown with his Players and coaches getting tossed into first flight to be achieved in the same month, wife to the Bahamas in their Cessna Citathe air is traditional in Japanese sports and 100 years after the Wright brothers’ first tion gave Fujino reason to hope. “They is considered to be heartfelt congratula- flight, the live streaming of the first flight asked about my work and I told them, ‘I tions, according to Fujino, and the crowd video, et cetera). So after the first flight, we am working on a jet project at Honda.’ enthusiastically gave him a toss, which is needed a release from a burnout state and Surprisingly, he knew about the HondaJet. captured in the video of the first flight. “I went straight into the Christmas vacation.” He said, ‘The HondaJet is really cool and did not prepare for it but I was tossed in Fujino and his family took some much- I really want to get it.’ I said I could not the air too,” he said. needed vacation time, traveling to the sell one as we are not selling the Honda“My Japanese friend who watched the Atlantis resort in Nassau, Bahamas. But he Jet.’ His response was, ‘If you decide to video was very pleased and impressed to carried devastating information that had sell the HondaJet, please let me know first see the ‘tossing in the air’ at the POC first been weighing him down for some time and I really want to purchase it. It’s our flight because he felt that the American and that tempered the joy of the first flight. promise!’ I felt like I could finally meet the

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

real customer—in person—who wants the HondaJet, and his words really encouraged me. I thought I should not give up.”

Returning to his office in January, Fujino set about finding a way to keep the HondaJet project alive. He came up with a plan to showcase the POC at the world’s largest airshow, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. “After 15 months of negotiation, Honda management gave us permission to showcase the HondaJet POC with the condition that we never mention or insinuate that we have the intention to commercialize the HondaJet. It should purely and only be an experimental aircraft.” Little did they know the profound effect that showing up at Oshkosh would have for the HondaJet. On July 28, 2005, the HondaJet POC flew a demonstration flight and then landed in front of the massive Oshkosh crowd. “Thousands of aviation enthusiasts visited the HondaJet, and it was an overwhelming response,” Fujino said. “Some customers sent checks to Honda Motor to order a HondaJet, even though we kept saying it is purely an experimental aircraft.

The news was passed to Honda Motor in Japan, and I saw some changes in the atmosphere of Honda management.”

Months of fruitless discussion ensued and Fujino was almost ready to give up, but then in the spring of 2006, he met with Honda Motor’s then-CEO Takeo Fukui.

This was to be a final meeting to deliver the plan to commercialize the HondaJet. “He listened to my presentation. After my presentation, he did not say a word for a few minutes. After a long silence, he whispered, as if he tried to convince himself, ‘Honda is a personal mobility company and we should do the HondaJet,’ and then, ‘Fujino, propose to the board meeting. Do your best to make the HondaJet successful.’ I could not believe what he said for a few minutes. It was a moment to change our lives, and I could finally see the silver lining after many years of effort.”

Honda Aircraft exhibited at that year’s NBAA convention, and Fujino announced

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HondaJets roll along the assembly line in Greensboro, North Carolina, where design of the new Echelon is already underway.

the commercial launch of the HA-420 “When we accomplished the POC first avionics were updated in the later version.

HondaJet, opening the order book. “It was flight, it was a moment to challenge the “The performance was much better in the again an overwhelming response from survival of the project,” Fujino recalled. “It real airplane,” he said. customers,” he said—especially what hap- was an emotional roller coaster from the The POC was the first airplane to fly pened next.

POC first flight to Oshkosh, then NBAA. with components of Garmin’s new G1000 “At the show, someone called, ‘Fujino After we accomplished our POC first flight, integrated avionics system, which the san!’ and I looked back. He said, ‘Do you it took 2.5 years to stand on the starting avionics manufacturer had just unveiled remember our promise?’ Yes, the gen- line for commercialization of the HondaJet, in March 2003. While Garmin kept quiet tleman who I met at Nassau came to our and our new journey started in 2006. about its early relationship with Honda booth to order a HondaJet! It was an emo“It was extremely difficult to start a new Aircraft, the Japanese manufacturer eventional moment as he was the one who aerospace business. The decision process tually selected the touchscreen-controlled inspired me to proceed with the HondaJet was long, and we constantly faced many G3000 suite, making it a launch customer. without giving up.” challenges. Looking back, I was encourAs with the POC’s first flight, when aged by American aviation enthusiasts and Gould and Johansson took off, he said, “I CLEAN-SHEET AIRFRAME customers during very difficult times. It think we had close to the whole company seems to me that their direct and indirect on the ramp watching.”

AND ENGINE What made the achievement of the Honda- support made the HondaJet be realized.

During the five years it took until cerJet POC’s first flight remarkable in the That’s why I always want to design some- tification, there were four flight test airannals of business jet development is thing customers are excited about. They planes. Johansson spent most of his time that it was powered by Fadec-controlled are our motivation to overcome many chal- in ship 3, testing avionics and systems and engines designed and made by Honda. It lenges to reach type certification.” flying natural icing trials. “Icing was a high is rare for an aircraft manufacturer to In December 2010, seven years and point,” he said. “It was an interesting type develop a clean-sheet airframe powered by three days after the Wright’s 100th- of testing and quite demanding.” a new engine design and even more rare anniversary flight date, test pilots Warren To gain flight into known icing certificafor the same manufacturer to design and Gould and Stefan Johansson (now director tion, he had to chase opportune weather develop the airframe and engine. of flight operations) powered up the first conditions all over, guided by frequent text Coincidentally, the Wright Flyer was production-conforming HondaJet and messages via satcom with the meteorolpowered by an engine of the Wright compa- took off into the Greensboro skies. This ogist who was sussing out the best icing ny’s design, created by the brilliant “mech- launched a flight test program that led to conditions. This involved flights in the anician” Charles Taylor. The HondaJet FAA certification in December 2015.

Northeast U.S., around the Great Lakes, POC’s 1,670-pound-thrust, HF118 engines “We were still doing testing on the POC and finally in Winnipeg, Canada. never went into production but morphed before the first flight of the conforming “The meteorologist was texting over the into the more powerful 2,095-pound-thrust prototype,” Johansson told AIN. While satellite link; we were trying to coordinate HF120, produced by a Honda and GE joint both versions looked similar and shared with ATC—it was a pretty high workload,” venture, GE Honda Aero Engines. handling qualities, all of the systems and he said. Not only did the test crew need to

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

find icing conditions, but they had to let the ice build to the proper profile, find conditions to do handling and systems assessments, and then return to fuel up.

ECHELON RISING

Now Johansson and the flight test team are putting finishing touches on the HondaJet’s new autothrottles and Garmin Autoland system. And the next program is already underway: Honda Aircraft’s Echelon, a larger-cabin light jet with midsize-jet performance that has already garnered more than 350 letters of intent. “We’re doing a lot of work preparing for the Echelon program,” he said. “Our work starts well ahead of flying [the airplane].”

Taking advantage of Honda’s expertise, the Echelon team will work closely with in-house designers at Honda North America Automotive Design on the interior. “We have always believed as Honda in

long-term partnerships,” said Amod Kelkar, Honda Aircraft chief commercial officer and head of the Echelon program.

The timeline calls for certification of the Echelon in 2028, and the preliminary design review is already complete. The jet will be powered by Williams International FJ44-4C engines in OTWEM configuration.

“With our first jet, it was a clean-sheet airplane, clean-sheet engine. It took a couple of years’ delay, but it also allowed us to learn,” he said. “We have the same retention of our expertise and talent, so we are making sure the new program takes into consideration all those lessons learned.”

Honda Aircraft president and CEO Hideto Yamasaki, who took over after Fujino retired in March 2022, is enjoying the opportunity to bring the jet to market.

“Having this engagement with the Honda team right now is so exciting,” he said. “Many of the technicians, many of

“Exceptional service is responsive, consistent, and personal. It’s about building relationships and anticipating customer needs. We are redefining the FBO experience.” ~ ASHLEY American Aero Lead Customer Service Representative

our engineers had the desire when entering automotive…maybe aviation was their second choice or their first choice. They are very much excited. I think we are really heading into the next phase of creating together something new in the aviation industry. I hope that will be a game-changer.”

Engineer Mahiko continues his work with Honda Aircraft on the Echelon program. “Our employees’ enthusiasm for airplane development, such as wanting to build and fly it, has passed down from those who experienced the first flight of the POC HA-420 aircraft,” he said, “and even 20 years later, it is still deeply rooted in the associates of Honda Aircraft.”

Four Echelons will be involved in the flight test program as well as an integrated test facility. As for who will be at the controls for the first flight of the Echelon, “It’s a little premature to say who’s going to fly it,” test pilot Johansson said. z

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Dubai in pole position as Gulf’s bizav hub B Y P E T E R S H AW- S MI T H

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub at Al Maktoum International Airport is where business aviation flies in Dubai.

Dubai Airshow 2023 Strong revenues from elevated oil prices and its position as a magnet for personal and corporate wealth continue to make Dubai the Middle East region’s preeminent hub for business aviation activity. That fact was quite apparent at this year’s Dubai Airshow, with new facilities opening at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH) at Al Maktoum International Airport, most notably the new ExecuJet FBO adjacent to the existing VIP terminal, which the airport’s CEO Tahnoon Saif described as state-of-the-art.

“They are putting the final touches to the FBO facility and lounges,” Saif told AIN. “The [Dassault ExecuJet MRO] hangars are ready and will add capacity to the area.”

Eager to encourage competition and diversity in service providers, Saif indicated that Jet Aviation’s plans could include a new MRO facility at MBRAH.

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“We’d love to see their MRO here, and an Official figures put the total number expansion for widebody [aircraft],” he of business jet movements at MBRAH at said. The group, which is part of General more than 15,400 in 2022. Saif reported Dynamics and a sister company to business that in the first half of 2023, the airport jet manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace, saw about 7,300 business jet movements. already has MRO capability at Dubai InterAli Alnaqbi, founder and executive chairnational Airport for smaller private jets. man of the Middle East and North Africa Meanwhile, Empire Aviation Group Business Aviation Association, expects still (EAG) already has started the development more growth. “Today, Dubai’s near-term of a new facility next to the VIP Terminal goal is 20,000 movements,” he told AIN. that will offer office space, luxury food and At the same time, the management of beverage outlets, and a rooftop lounge MBRAH wants to participate in the new for events. wave of urban air mobility that could see According to EAG, the multipurpose new eVTOL air taxi services. The airport business facility sits in a prime location. It and the UAE’s General Civil Aviation consists of the company’s new global head- Authority already have signed an agreequarters and houses operations control and ment with infrastructure specialist VPorts continuing airworthiness maintenance orga- to develop what it calls an “advanced air nization teams, plus a crew check-in and mobility integrator world center.” briefing area. “We anticipate breaking ground According to Saif, investments from before the end of this year with the opening international companies and the governscheduled for around the end of 2024,” man- ment in MBRAH already have totaled about aging director Paras Dhamecha told AIN. $820 million since the airport opened. z

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

LEAP turns heads in the boardroom.

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Global tensions call for strong presence, says U.S. group

BY CHARLES ALCOCK

Dubai 2023 Airshow The strong defense presence at international air shows means their significance in terms of military strategy and diplomacy is always at least as great as the potential for commercial advancement. The extreme tensions across the Middle East unleashed

by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel makes it more true of almost any Dubai Airshow since the 2001 event held just weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks on the U.S. The circumstances underscored the prominence of the U.S. industry’s presence at the 2023 Dubai show, where some 180 American companies signed up to exhibit on-site, alongside other major national industry groups such as GIFAS from France and the UK’s ADS. Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the U.S.-based Aerospace Industries Association, acknowledged the importance of a strong presence to signal abiding support for key allies like the UAE at a time of grave instability.

“The lesson of what’s happening right now is that we can plan for scenarios and focus on certain parts of the world, but at the same time our adversaries get a vote on where we need to dedicate our attention. I’m not aware of the world previously having so many issues that we need to pay attention to: Russia invading Ukraine; our efforts to have the strongest deterrents possible [given the] Chinese scenario; and the Hamas invasion of Israel.”

While soaring demand for military hardware and services at times of tension might, superficially, appear good for business, it doesn’t come without its challenges, and for U.S. companies they include ongoing domestic political paralysis. For AIA members, their ability to respond to shifting

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military imperatives is founded in dealings with their undisputed key customer, the U.S. government. Fractious relations in Congress and with the executive branch continue to complicate that relationship.

Inconsistent shifts over recent years in Pentagon spending, combined with ongoing post-Covid supply chain difficulties, have made it hard for the U.S. military to sustain a surge in output. Also bringing uncertainty had been stop-gap budget funding.

E R IC FA N N I N G P R E S ID E N T A N D C E O A E RO S PAC E I N DUS T R IE S A S S O C I AT IO N

“It is important for the U.S. government to always remember that they have stewardship of this industrial base,” Fanning commented. “The signals that they send shape that industrial base. It has taken years to get it to where it is now, which is a very efficient base built for a different type of conflict with a different type of duration. So to have all these conflicts spike simultaneously has put a spotlight on the fact that the U.S. hasn’t consistently invested in the base to ensure there is capacity when it is called on.”

At the same time, AIA is concerned that inflationary pressures could worsen the pressure on the supply chain. “The industry can be more agile on inflation on the commercial side than on the defense side,” Fanning commented. “Some [companies]

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

may go out of the defense business saying that the government hasn’t fully accounted for the impact of inflation so we can’t afford to do these contracts.”

DECARBONIZATION CAN BE A COMPETITIVE EDGE

No less challenging is the existential threat to civil aviation posed by the climate change crisis and the binding global agreements to achieve net zero carbon no later than 2050. But here too lies opportunity for American aerospace companies and their competitors around the world.

AIA expects its member companies to redouble efforts to decarbonize aviation through new propulsion technologies, composite materials, components, and fuels.

The trade association sees the effort as an opportunity to gain a competitive edge as the global industry scrambles to deliver first incremental, and then transformative, paths for airlines to turn their fleets “green.”

In its view, that challenge also demands consistent, strategic backing from governments, balancing the supply of carrots to incentivize the industry to do the right thing for the planet, with sticks to cajole companies into compliance. “If you just use the stick you will stifle innovation,” Fanning warned.

That said, Biden Administration initiatives in decarbonization do seem to have provided a stimulus to industry, although AIA and its members still see scope for more targeted support. “For example, we’ve been advocating to get back to the old research and development investment schedules where every dollar you put in can get a tax credit so that it can be amortized in that year; right now it’s amortized over five years,” said Fanning. z

Business aviation gives back B Y A I N S TA F F

One of the hallmarks of the business aviation industry is its charitable work, from rescue and disaster relief missions to providing a lift to a patient or an endangered animal. Numerous companies and organizations participate such as through the Corporate Angel Network, which flies thousands of cancer patients each year, all on a volunteer basis. Here is a small sample of business aviaton’s stories.

ANGEL FLIGHT WEST’S EXTRA LEGS

Angel Flight West (AFW) volunteer pilot Eric Chadwick went on a discovery flight in 2018 and was instantly hooked. “Angel Flight West was on my mind from the very first day of flight training,” Chadwick said.

“I knew aviation was not accessible to everyone and that learning to fly would be a great way to further my philanthropic ambitions.”

Chadwick has been a volunteer pilot since 2020, helping passengers travel to their far-off care, with 47 AFW missions flown. Each flight has reinforced his decision to share his aviation skills and resources with the rest of the world. “My first flight was with a child battling cancer,” he recalled. “He’s had an incredibly tough journey, and I had the honor of flying him and his family to a medical appointment.”

As an owner of a TBM 940, Chadwick often signs up for long-range missions that would typically require one or two stopping points.

Just last month, he flew a passenger from Burbank, California, back home to Hamilton, Montana—more than 1,150 miles when traveling by car. Knowing missions with multiple legs can be difficult to fill, he looks for trips in which he can combine both legs.

“Eric has been invaluable to our mission, always willing to go the extra mile,” said AFW associate executive director Cheri Cimmarrusti.

AFW has more than 1,600 volunteer pilots and flies more than 5,000 missions a

year. A nonprofit organization, it flies people to their medical appointments at no cost to the passengers and also provides transportation for those escaping domestic violence, as well as for therapeutic programs for children and veterans. This year, AFW is celebrating 40 years of service and 100,000 missions flown. To learn more or to donate, visit angelflightwest.org.

—Angel Flight West

CASTLE & COOKE AVIATION TEAM AIDS MAUI

The Castle & Cooke Aviation team has been at the forefront of disaster relief for Maui in the aftermath of its devastating wildfires. With FBOs in Van Nuys,

Eric Chadwick has been flying Angel Flight West missions since 2020.

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California, and Honolulu, we’ve partnered with long-time tenants Planet 9 and Rainbow Helicopters to support relief efforts while showcasing how vital general aviation’s flexibility is in times of crisis.

Our collaboration with Planet 9 primarily focused on transporting essential supplies from the U.S. mainland to Hawaii.

Together, we loaded a Bombardier Global Express with relief items such as water and toiletries. Additionally, in conjunction with Avfuel, we donated nearly 3,000 gallons of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

Our dedicated team in Honolulu took charge of coordinating flights with Rainbow Helicopters, ensuring the efficient transportation of essential supplies. We’ve been supporting pop-up flights between islands and donating supplies.

In the wake of this disaster, we’ve experienced firsthand general aviation’s crucial role in connecting communities during emergencies. Our team has worked tirelessly during and after the heart-wrenching situation to facilitate these critical operations.

Those interested in contributing to Maui’s relief efforts can donate via Rainbow Helicopters’ GoFundMe page.

—Tony Marlow, president of aviation operations and business development, Castle & Cooke Aviation

AEROANGEL’S CHRISTMAS GIFT

Most requests for AeroAngel flights don’t come on Saturday evenings, let alone the week before Christmas. But the call from Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh was different.

A few months before, a social worker contacted AeroAngel—whose mission is to provide free business jet flights for seriously ill children going to and from medical care—to see whether we would take on a flight for a child in need of a kidney transplant.

Jailyn, 9, who lived in Houston, desperately needed the transplant. Previous tries to get her to Pittsburgh in time had failed.

She was out of options and in declining

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Rainbow Helicopters and Castle & Cooke Aviation coordinated to conduct Maui relief flights. health. We accepted the request—a first out to flight donors. Despite the late time, for AeroAngel—even though it came with a we had several viable options in two hours. very short fuse. Jailyn would need to arrive Early the next morning, a corporate in Pittsburgh less than 12 hours after the flight department flew Jailyn and her call that a kidney was available. mother from Houston to Pittsburgh. JaiTypical AeroAngel flight requests are lyn’s flight donor did so anonymously. for children and young adults who cannot Jailyn arrived at the hospital in time to safely fly by commercial airline due, for receive a life-saving kidney transplant. Her example, to a compromised immune sys- medical journey continues, but she is back tem, physical disabilities, or the need to home and living free of weekly dialysis treatuse small medical devices on a flight. ments thanks to a successful transplant.

To be ready for the call, our flight coorWith Jailyn’s flight in the logbook, dinator compiled a “call list” of potential AeroAngel has accepted several similar donors from our network of flight donors challenging requests in addition to the across the country who offered to help. many requests it continues to receive for When the call for the flight came in about flights for children having surgery or need9 p.m. Eastern time, we scrambled to reach ing specialized treatment.

—Mark Pestal, executive director and founder, AeroAngel

WHEN TURTLES FLY

A flight from Houston to Pittsburgh arranged

by AeroAngel helped 9-year-old Jailyn receive a lifesaving kidney transplant.

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

Berni, an endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle, made history for the rescue charity Turtles Fly Too, completing a trek from Seattle Boeing Field to San Diego International Airport.

The 2020 voyage was the first U.S. West Coast mission for Turtles Fly Too, which was founded in 2014 to help relocate the reptiles that are pushed into frigid northern waters.

Turtles Fly Too began its operations in the Northeast, where every year as summer turns to autumn and temperatures fall, hundreds of the endangered reptiles,

swept north on the warm currents of the A DAY TO REMEMBER Gulf Stream, become stranded in the Cape A few years ago, Luxaviation UK partnered Cod region. Left alone they would soon die with the Signature FBO at Luton Airport to in the cold weather, but volunteers collect host a group of terminally ill children, givthe turtles from the beaches and take them ing them a VIP experience of the private to the New England Aquarium, where their terminal and business jets. Sporting Bears condition is stabilized. Available space at Motor Club volunteers, dedicated to raising the aquarium is soon overwhelmed, requir- money for children’s charities, arranged for Turtles Fly Too completes West Coast rescue. ing them to be evacuated to marine animal the nine children and their families to arrive care facilities in Southern states for reha- in Bentley cars. bilitation before released.

The children were escorted onboard But Berni was found on the West Coast one of Luxaviation UK’s Embraer Legacy north of the Canadian border. A Vancouver 600 super-midsize jets for a 60-minute Aquarium van drove the turtle across the pleasure flight around the east coast of U.S.-Canada border, before a complicated England. Upon return to the airport, the loading process began, aided by the crew children and their families enjoyed a lunch at Signature Flight Support. AIN editor- supplied by Signature. in-chief Matt Thurber participated in the All the children and their families had mission to relocate Berni, flying right seat a special day, and the team at Luxaviation to monitor the turtle. Aviation market- UK was honored to play a part in creating ing/communications veteran Jeff Miller these precious memories.

Luxaviation welcomed terminally ill children piloted the flight of the turboprop single —George Galanopoulos, CEO, Luxaviation UK z to a business jet VIP experience.

Jetprop DLX).

The flight crew kept Berni warm, as turtles prefer warm climates, and Berni had suffered from cold shock in the northern waters. The flight to San Diego was two legs, first from Seattle to Reno, Nevada, for a quick refueling by Atlantic Aviation. It took two hours for the flight to Reno, then good customer service is good. another two hours to San Diego, and along pentastar service is exceptional . the way, controllers would ask whether this was the “turtle flight,” likely because the flight plans were filed using the compassion flight callsign CMF1922.

San Diego Signature Flight Support was ready when the flight arrived, and the Sea World San Diego van was already there, ready with a special crate for Berni’s ride to the aquarium.

Turtles Fly Too this year marked another milestone, its longest, most complex rescue, involving a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle that was stranded in Northern Wales, UK. The multiPLEASE VOTE PENTASTAR FOR BEST FBO IN THE ple-continent flight, which entailed a special AMERICAS IN THE 2024 AIN FBO SURVEY. permit, transferred Tally to Texas for rehabilpentastar.aero itation and ultimately release into the Gulf.

—Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief, AIN a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Special Report

2023: A year in transition New, far-reaching aircraft concepts and the emerging eVTOL sector took significant steps forward in 2023, which has proven to be a transitional year. While capacity constraints and supply-chain woes have hampered the MRO and offshore rotor sectors, they have resulted in opportunities for expansion in both fields. And, though interest rates may be a deterrent in some financing corners as well as in the infrastructure development niche, growth continues in these areas while an overheated market corrects.

AIN takes a deeper dive into all these trends from 2023.

The fast, the far-reaching, and the future B Y K E R R Y LY N C H

While much attention has centered around president of Rolland Vincent Associates the new wave of eVTOL aircraft, research and creator/director of JetNet iQ. “At this continues at a feverish pace across the stage, it is difficult to distinguish which—if industry on a range of new (or renewed) any—are the survivors and which are ideas concepts from blended wings to super- that never get beyond the concept stage. sonic and all-electric in more traditional The breadth of concepts is encouraging aircraft forms. Progress was made on all and reflects the variety of technologies that fronts in 2023, with the field of activity are certain to attract people and capital to growing more crowded. the sector.”

Many of these projects draw skeptics.

Much of this work is centered around However, the question may be not whether advancements toward a more sustainable they make it to market but whether these future. Indeed, many believe this is imperconcepts will play a role in shaping the ative for the survivability of the industry. future of flying.

As a testament to this effort, Bombardier “I am intrigued by these emergent president and CEO Éric Martel has said developments,” noted Rolland Vincent, that more of its research and development

Bombardier’s blended-wing body demonstrator is generating significant flight test data.

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

dollars involve sustainability in some fashion than any other area.

THE BLENDED WING

One of Bombardier’s largest projects on this front is its EcoJet. Unveiled during the 2022 edition of EBACE, the EcoJet blended-wing-body (BWB) project aims to reduce aircraft emissions by up to 50 percent through aerodynamic and propulsion improvements.

At the end of that year, an 18-foot-wingspan air vehicle had made its first flight, and the Phase 2 demonstrator had flown 10 times by NBAA-BACE in October. Flying at an undisclosed North American location, the BWB has roughly 16 percent of the wingspan of a Global 6000. Bombardier reported that the demonstrator is generating large amounts of data as it looks at dramatically cutting emissions of a Global 6000-sized business jet.

The EcoJet BWB concept is seen as having enormous promise in terms of fuel savings. It also offers the potential for carrying large volumes of fuel, which may be an important advantage if fuels with lower power densities than jet-A are selected.

The flight demonstrations are expected to run for at least two years and potentially up to four years. At present, Bombardier

has no detailed plans concerning the program’s immediate direction or what propulsion concept might be selected for a full-scale BWB business jet.

But Bombardier is not the only manufacturer in this space. In August, the U.S. Air Force had commissioned JetZero to build and fly a full-scale BWB technology demonstrator for possible military and commercial airline applications. The California start-up, which was awarded a $235 million contract from the Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, is Hermeus hopes to field a hypersonic airliner that can carry 20 passengers. developing the aircraft in partnership with Northrop Grumman and its Scaled Com- viable path. However, NASA and Boom are working through “intermittent issues” with posites subsidiary. believers in the possibility, and Hermeus safety-redundant computers controlling Under the terms of the four-year con- takes this faith one step further into the aircraft systems. The aircraft is undergoing tract, JetZero is expected to have a technol- hypersonic realm. integrated testing and, once complete, will ogy demonstrator ready to fly in the first All made strides in their respective pro- proceed to flight readiness review. At that quarter of 2027. grams in 2023. During the Paris Air Show, point, the agency expects to release a more According to JetZero, when deployed as Boom updated progress on its Mach 1.7, specific timeline for the first flight. a fuel tanker, its BWB aircraft would carry 66- to 80-passenger Overture, naming On the hypersonic end, Hermeus, like as much fuel as the current KC-46 work- Aernnova a supplier for the aircraft’s wings, Boom, plans phased tests using demonstrahorse over twice the distance. Alternatively, Leonardo for the fuselage and wing box, tors. Also like Boom, it plans to build its it could take on twice as much fuel load for and Aciturri for the empennage. own engine, and the company has already the KC-46’s current operating radius.

More recently, Boom has been prepping successfully tested the transition from JetZero also has its sights set on the air for the first flight of its XB-1 “baby Boom” turbojet to ramjet for the Chimera powertransport industry’s need to decarbonize. scale demonstrator, which moved to the plant that uses a GE J85 modified to reach The start-up intends to offer the design Mojave Desert in California earlier this year Mach 4. This will power the remotely-pias a 200-plus-passenger replacement for and has undergone extensive ground test- loted “Quarterhorse” demonstrator that is Boeing’s 757 and 767 transports, and also ing since. These trials, Boom said, include anticipated to fly next year. the Airbus A330. medium-speed taxi test events reaching 90 Hermeus is also prepping for the develPlans call for the company to use Pratt knots as it preps for the first flight that was opment of the next aircraft, the larger & Whitney’s geared turbofan engines, with anticipated possibly this year.

Darkhorse UAV that will roll out later in a view to achieving a 50 percent reduction NASA is planning for supersonic trials the decade and will be used to mature in fuel burn and carbon emissions through with another “X” aircraft, the Mach 1.4 technologies. Hermeus anticipates that a quantum leap in aerodynamics. The com- X-59 Quesst demonstrator, which could Darkhorse will eventually drive capabilipany has said that later versions of the collect noise data that may pave a path for ties such as ISR and strike for Department BWB design could be integrated with new the return of supersonic flight over land. of Defense and intelligence customers. hydrogen propulsion technology.

However, NASA pushed back the first flight Hermeus this year accepted an F100 These followed the revelation in 2020 until next year as it works through “several engine from Pratt & Whitney that will be that Airbus had tested a BWB demonstra- technical challenges identified over the integrated into the enhanced Chimera II tor, the Maveric, with an eye on seeking course of 2023.” turbine-based combined-cycle propulfuel reduction possibilities.

Built at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works sion system for Darkhorse. While also facility in Palmdale, California, the X-59 targeting military applications, Hermeus THE NEED FOR SPEED was anticipated to fly this year. “Extra time envisions eventually bringing a commerMeanwhile, the demise of Aerion deliv- is needed to fully integrate systems into the cial 4,000-nm, 20-passenger Halcyon ered a blow to the supersonic sector, rais- aircraft and ensure they work together as to market to airline and business aviaing questions about whether it was still a expected,” NASA said, adding that it also is tion customers. a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Some research has revolved around hydrogen projects, and Airbus has been among those at the forefront of this. But companies such as ZeroAvia and Universal Hydrogen have flown converted aircraft on hydrogen power this year.

THE FUTURE?

Whether any of those projects reach fruition remains in question. Brian Foley of Brian Foley Associates casts doubt on much of the current crop of aircraft, noting the climate change environment makes supersonic unlikely and pointing to BomPipistrel’s Velis Electro is the first and so far only certified piloted electric aircraft. bardier’s debt load as an obstacle to commercializing the EcoJet. As for Aerion, once widely considered certification milestones as it approaches He believes the eFlyer has potential the frontrunner in the supersonic race, Part 23 approval. Next up is the four-seat but faces stiff competition from Pipistrel, its assets were transferred to the winning eFlyer 4, and it has proposed the eFlyer and he noted “a litany of practical conbidder (there was no backup bidder) of an 800, an electric twin-engine airplane to cerns” surrounding hydrogen propulsion. auction last year. That bidder, “Boeing Ace compete with the King Air turboprop, A key issue is environmental: “95 percent Collateral,” took the assets—including the albeit with a shorter range. of hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels, myriad of patents developed over decades Another potential competitor could be which is analogous to wrapping a paper of research—for a value of $200,000. This Eviation’s all-electric Alice, which flew straw in a plastic wrapper.” was a credit bid because Boeing, which had for the first time in late 2022. However, However, Foley acknowledged the U.S. milbeen a partner of Aerion’s, was a lender in Eviation is refining the design for a nine- itary support for JetZero and believes that it the liquidation case. passenger model that could be a viable will progress, at least through the early stages. commuter option and, as such, had held Vincent also pointed to challenges surIT’S ELECTRIC off on further flight tests. Plans call for a rounding supersonic: “Speed is one of the While research into electric flight has passenger/commuter aircraft that could fly last great frontiers in aviation, and it is only become almost ubiquitous with projects 250 nm on a single charge and reach market a matter of time before this becomes a civil underway across the industry, the quest by 2027. aviation reality. Nevertheless, the demise of toward larger aircraft still is a holy grail.

A hybrid project may reach market ini- the Aerion program signaled the enormous Pipistrel (now owned by Textron eAviation) tially, given the limitations of battery capital requirements and challenges of conbroke new barriers with 2020 EASA approval power. Daher is looking at 2027 for the vincing an engine OEM to invest to power of its two-seat, all-electric Velis Electro. The potential launch of a hybrid aircraft, and what is seen by many as a niche market.” company has new hope for a U.S. pathway by NBAA-BACE, the company was readyHe added: “My sense is that designs that under the FAA’s modernization of special ing its EcoPulse distributed propulsion offer step changes in fuel burn/energy effiairworthiness certificates (Mosaic) pro- technology demonstrator to fly for the first ciency will be much more likely to shape posed rulemaking released in July. time on electric power. The EcoPulse demo the market over the next decade or so.”

Diamond Aircraft also has an all-electric aircraft, which uses the Daher TBM 900 as And it may be that at least concepts in version of its two-seat eDA40 that flew its platform, has been flying with inactive some of these designs find their way into for the first time this past summer and is wing-mounted electric thrusters installed the next generation of aircraft. z anticipated to receive approval in early since earlier this year. In addition to its Eve 2024. Further, Bye Aerospace is eyeing eVTOL, Embraer also has explored a variety —Charles Alcock, David Donald, Chad Trautthat space with its eFlyer 2, also a two- of options including flying an electric EMB- vetter, Hanneke Weitering, Matt Thurber, and seat electric aircraft, that has checked off 203 Ipanema as a testbed.

Mark Huber contributed to this article.

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

Solution to MRO capacity shortage is a multi-pronged endeavor B Y G R E G OR Y P OL E K

A shortage of maintenance capacity in According to Oliver Wyman partner Group’s acquisition of Keystone Aviation the business aviation sector shows lit- Andrei Grskovic, demand continues to along with that company’s MRO operation tle sign of abating, forcing manufactur- outstrip new capacity in terms of annual early last year, FlyExclusive’s expansion ers and operators to address the issue square footage growth versus aircraft of its North Carolina facilities as part of a with investment in new facilities and, in inductions by 100 to 200 basis points. The plan to bring 80 percent of all MRO work some cases, direct acquisitions of MRO result is unmistakable: turnaround times in house, and Airshare’s move to bring in providers. A recent survey by interna- for airframes now range between six and 12 third-party work at its Wichita heavy maintional management consultancy Oliver months and from between 50 and 60 days tenance facility. At the 2023 NBAA-BACE, Wyman showed that 70 percent of oper- to more than 90 days for engine work.

West Star Aviation announced that is buyators believe capacity will become more While several OEMs recently have invested ing Jet East from Gama Aviation. constrained in the coming months as heavily in MRO largely to control expensive In a recent interview with AIN, Elevate elevated flight hours, labor shortages, parts flow, independent companies don’t Aviation Group president Randy McKinney supply chain constraints, and brick-and- always enjoy the financial resources needed explained that his company’s acquisition of mortar needs conspire to limit the ability to build facilities. As a result, said Grskovic, Keystone Aviation and subsequent spinoff of maintenance companies to deliver ser- non-OEMs haven’t managed to increase of Keystone’s maintenance arm to form vices promptly. capacity through infrastructure development Elevate MRO presented a two-fold chalWhat Oliver Wyman described as to the same extent, prompting what he called lenge—first to shift its business model from extremely high utilization rates likely will insourcing strategies. primarily a Part 135 operation to a broader increase from about 90 percent to 95 perExamples of insourcing strategies offering encompassing managed clients cent in the next five years, placing still more include NetJets’ establishment in June and third-party operators. “The second pressure on MRO providers to address of a maintenance hub at Paris Le Bourget piece, on the positive side, was the talent, capacity needs. Already utilization rates Airport. Others include Flexjet’s acquisi- the people,” he added. “Part of the upside have risen by 13 percent compared with tion of Constant Aviation in February and of what we were hoping to buy our way into 2019 levels.

Flying Colours in August, Elevate Aviation was a seasoned group of professionals, and we did find that to be very fortunate.”

Asked whether he sees a general trend toward operators such as Elevate acquiring MRO providers, McKinney acknowledged that “there are some opportunities,” but not only as a means to overcome capacity shortages. Acquisitions have increased, in part, because many businesses’ balance sheets now look healthier than ever since the MRO market boom that took place post-Covid, he noted. At the same time, others have overleveraged by borrowing too much money and now can’t find the talent to expand as they had hoped.

“I think some of the consolidation you’re going to see as opportunity in the industry,” said McKinney. “It will play out and it will Elevate MRO maintenance tech Anders Struve is helping the company offer more third-party work. happen because some are in trouble and a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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they need help or some because they’ve put projects either finished or in progress rest of the MRO industry,” he explained. themselves in a great position and this is over the last year include the expansion “So it’s going to be tough to ultimately the moment to go. Companies like us, who of facilities in Mesa, Arizona, Fort Worth, solve and do this cleanly without solving are still looking and are active in the mar- and Farnborough. the labor shortage and the materials and ketplace, we’re kind of cherry-picking and For its part, Dassault plans to add a parts shortage…because the entire induslooking for opportunities to add a new busi- 175,000-sq-ft facility under its own brand try’s dealing with that. You can’t just throw ness line or add something complementary.” in Melbourne, Florida, that will help pre- capacity at that.”

Among OEMs, moves by the likes of pare it to bring into service the large-cabin Among the parts of which the supply Bombardier to take on MRO business have Falcon 6X and 10X. The OEM also had chain kinks have produced a shortage, alleviated capacity deficiencies to a degree. added service capacity at its other U.S. Grskovic named engine castings, blades, The Canadian manufacturer has increased sites, including its completions center in and vanes as among the most constrained. its MRO facility footprint worldwide by 1 Little Rock, Arkansas, and service centers Other pinch points include tires, carbon million sq ft in the past two years. in St. Louis, Missouri, Stuart, Florida, and brakes, and windshields.

Separately, Gulfstream this past July Reno, Nevada.

Grskovic further explained that because opened three authorized service centers While manufacturers see their moves the labor part of the MRO business genin China, in addition to 200,000 sq ft of into MRO lending a measure of control erates relatively low margins on the order workspace at its Savannah, Georgia facil- and visibility of the supply chain, Grskovic of 8 to 10 percent, manufacturers’ motiity. It also opened a repair and overhaul said he doesn’t think the trend can solve vations for the move into maintenance shop at Farnborough in the UK that will the capacity shortage on its own. lay mainly with materials and parts sales, bring significantly more capacity for work “Each of [the OEMs] has the same labor margins from which range from 30 to 40 on wheels, brakes, and batteries. Other and competitive dynamics for labor as the percent. z

Jet buyers still finding financing among higher interest rates B Y K E R R Y LY N C H

Despite interest rates that have crept up this year and a market that has corrected from an overheated status, aircraft financing has largely remained available even if the banks have become more regimented in their lending requirements. And financing is expected to increase over time.

A study Airbus Corporate Jets released during the most recent NBAA-BACE found that 82 percent of U.S.-based business aviation financiers and private jet brokers expect access to financing to grow over the next three years alongside steady demand.

However, while 98 percent believe jet finance rates will remain attractive, nearly half did see a slight rise in cash requirements.

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

When asked by analysts recently if troubles over the past year. “That’s where IADA executive director Wayne Starling financing has been harder to come by for the marketplace has felt it a little bit. But also agreed that the environment with traits customers in light of the interest rate the very large banks still very much con- ditional banks may be a little more difficult, hikes, Bart Demosky, executive v-p and tinue to be out there.” telling AIN that “all banks took a step back CFO of Bombardier, responded that the At GJC he said, “We have not migrated regarding the underwriting guidelines, especompany has seen “no negative impact. If up the credit spectrum like they have. As cially in the terms they offered.” But he added, anything, it’s the opposite.” a dedicated provider of business aviation “This does not apply when they are talking to Bombardier executives recently met financing, we can be nimble, which is very one of their larger bank clients. The changes with various financing companies that important in this transitioning market.” apply mostly around a non-bank customer.” participate in the business aviation space, Further, GJC does not have the extent Starling also saw smaller banks staying he elaborated, and “all of them are seeing of the regulatory scrutiny and constraints in the market for only a short time. But he growth in their books. They’re being very that banks do, which may need to insist on further noted that the interest rates “are supportive of the industry. As a group, they certain lending requirements that “they not a significant factor in the decision to all said that they’re deploying more capi- don’t have a whole lot of flexibility on.” buy or not buy,” particularly with turbine tal into business aviation because it’s been aircraft. “It is more about do I finance or high performing for them.” pay cash...Cash is still king.”

This has been particularly true for BomThe evolving market also has created bardier’s fleet customers, he said, but opportunities for new players in the financial acknowledged those customers have the realm. One such entity is Jet Support Serability to generate cash. vices Inc. (JSSI), which this year launched a Specialty lenders such as Global Jet Capspecialty finance unit with the acquisition of ital (GJC) have continued to grow in this Shearwater Global Capital. “It’s an alternative market. GJC CEO Vivek Kaushal has been to traditional lending options,” said JSSI chief encouraged that business has remained marketing and strategy officer Megha Bhatia. steady. “Business has been good this year,” The asset-based lender “is in a place V I V E K K AUS H A L Kaushal told AIN. “We’re roughly on pace specifically to address a gap in the marC E O, G L OB A L JE T C A P I TA L with where we were back in 2022, which is ket looking at mid-vintage aircraft.” She actually really good considering that it’s Even if interest rates may have cooled defined that as aircraft 15 years or older. been a somewhat smaller marketplace.” demand a little bit, “I can’t say that’s necJSSI found that with the new entrants GJC is approaching its 10th year of busi- essarily a bad thing,” Kaushal said. “I think and record-low inventory, interest has ness, and over that time it has become one it’s inserted some rationality into the increased in older viable business jets, Bhaof the biggest financiers and lessors in the transaction market where last year, a good tia explained. “While we are seeing these business jet industry, approaching $4 bil- chunk of the transactions got done without trends normalizing and OEMs cautiously lion in originations. pre-buy inspections. That’s no longer the increasing production rates to match He agreed with the contention of oth- case, so the market has reverted back to demand, options to the traditional lending ers that the financing availability is “still standard practice.” process, especially for older aircraft, are limpretty good.” For GJC, he added, “We’ve The market is normalizing, Philip ited—presenting an opportunity for lenders maintained our appetite. We’ve maintained Winters, v-p of aircraft sales and char- who can service this market with speed and our stance consistent with other years.” ter management with Western Aircraft ease throughout the financing process.”

However, he did note that with the inter- and incoming chair of the International JSSI Aviation Capital, she further said, est rates, traditional banks may be “aiming Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA), can provide financing solutions as an alterthemselves farther up the credit spectrum also acknowledged, “except for interest native for a customer that may not meet than before that perhaps was the case 12 rates, which is going to be an interest- traditional lenders’ financing criteria. months ago. If you’re a sort of investment ing evolution.”

Like others, Bhatia was bullish on the grade-type credit, tapping the banks is still Winters is a little more cautious about market both on the used and new side: relatively straightforward.” the outlook, saying, “I think we are in the “The business aviation market is robust Difficulties may come with banks on the early stages of the impacts to the people even as interest rates continue to rise.” margin, he said, pointing to some of the who buy airplanes.” Large aircraft buyers regional banks that encountered financial tend to be able to rely more on cash, he said.

—Curt Epstein contributed to this article. a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Impatient eVTOL start-ups may have to embrace crawl-walk-run approach

BY CHARLES ALCOCK

In a little more than 12 months, investors in eVTOL aircraft developers have been led to believe they can start expecting commercial returns to start flowing. However, there are still plenty of question marks over the pace and form that the much-vaunted advanced air mobility (AAM) revolution will take. What is clear is that natural selection is taking its course, meaning that just a handful of frontrunners are now vying to be in the first wave to operate the new aircraft.

At the same time, others are not as fixated on being first to market in 2025 and don’t view 2024 with the same criticality that it has for the likes of Archer, Joby, Volocopter, Lilium, Beta Technologies, and Vertical Aerospace. Airbus, Wisk (owned

by Boeing), Jaunt, Eve (majority shareholder: Embraer), Supernal, Overair, and Odys Aviation are among the pioneers willing to take more time to come to market on their own terms, believing that changing air transportation fundamentally is a long-distance race rather than a sprint.

There was a time when 2024 was the new 2023 in terms of AAM timelines, but let’s not write off the year just ending without acknowledging the world’s first type certification of an eVTOL aircraft. This was achieved in October when the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a type certificate to Guangzhou-based, Wall Street-listed EHang for its two-seat EH216-S vehicle.

After 1,000-plus unmanned flight tests with prototypes, Joby Aviation flew a piloted eVTOL this year.

be nowhere close to signing off on for start-ups, including AutoFlight and TCab passenger-carrying operations. As of the Tech. “When we think about the crawlend of October, EHang was still working to walk-run approach in the context of a censecure the production and airworthiness tralized [state] like China, the crawl phase certificates it needs to progress to series will mean a limited certification at first, production and the launch of commer- so we don’t expect thousands of vehicles cial services for applications expected to to start—and there could be quite limited include tourist sightseeing trips. operations before the envelope expands.”

There can be no doubt that the Chinese Western rivals remain on a different government’s emphatic backing for AAM path, pursuing initial type certifications initiatives, as part of a national plan to from both European air safety regulator stimulate the so-called low-altitude econ- EASA and the FAA in the U.S. While the omy of the People’s Republic, has been a eVTOL frontrunners appear to be making factor in EHang’s fast track to certification. solid progress, both agencies have made it But, equally, the highly focused start-up clear that reaching their high bars for safety has taken control of its own destiny, lever- will trump any promises made to investors aging the latitude granted by the CAAC to when it comes to entry into service. conduct many hours of flight trials.

At Singapore-based consultancy Alton FAA: HEY, NOT SO FAST CHINA APPROVES AUTONOMY Aviation, Joshua Ng told AIN that, while In August, the comment period closed What made the approval all the more autonomous flights are ultimately the for the FAA’s proposed Special Federal remarkable is that the aircraft will be best path to scaling up AAM, it will take a Aviation Regulation for Integration of operated entirely autonomously, some- gradual approach. That’s what he expects Powered Lift: Pilot Certification and Operthing that Western regulators appear to to see in China with EHang and other ations. Submissions from industry groups

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including the General Aviation Manufacturers Association expressed strong concern on four counts, including: the basis on which pilots will be certified to fly the new aircraft types; dual controls in the flight deck; flight simulation training devices; and requirements for energy reserves electric aircraft will need to ensure they can land safely in the event of an emergency.

The latter point on energy reserves is especially critical and could potentially limit the already constrained range of eVTOL aircraft dependent on current battery technology. In recent months, manufacturers like Archer have subtly started underlining not only their maximum range of up to around 100 miles but the fact that most of their flights are expected to be short, urban hops over traffic of just 10 to 20 minutes.

Industry groups are clearly concerned that the FAA’s apparent rethink could compromise efforts to launch AAM operations in the U.S. from 2025, an objective for which the agency has expressed support via its recently published Innovate 28 AAM plan. The confirmation in October of Mike Whitaker as FAA administrator, after a 19-month gap, could sharpen the agency’s focus. It continues to face a mountainous backlog of work and remains compromised by political failure to reach consensus over its long-term funding. Whitaker’s most recent previous job as COO of eVTOL aircraft developer Supernal has raised spirits among the AAM pioneers.

Across the Atlantic, EASA appears to be ahead of the FAA based on the Special Conditions VTOL regulatory foundation, but it can’t be expected to cut corners to meet the industry’s ambitious timelines.

The new year will see an important test case as Germany’s Volocopter seeks to be ready to complete type certification in time to operate the first fare- paying eVTOL rides with its piloted VoloCity aircraft during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, in July. The plan depends on getting EASA’s sign-off by the end of the second quarter, with Volocopter stepping up

flight testing and securing an air operator’s SHIFTING BUSINESS MODELS certificate to establish its credentials.

Increasingly, some observers feel that While acknowledging the progress that eVTOL use cases for missions such as companies are making towards eVTOL logistics and supporting medical services type certification, at Alton Aviation Alan could gain traction more quickly than the Lim is urging clients to “think about the much-anticipated air taxi services. Others next steps” in 2024. Most notably, they feel that so-called regional air mobility—in should consider the approach towards which electric or hybrid-electric fixed-wing achieving mass production, which the likes eSTOL aircraft open up commercial air of Joby and Archer are now doing by estab- services to under-served communities— lishing production facilities outside high- could come to be prioritized over ferrying cost Silicon Valley. He also expects to see people around city centers. more and more partnerships emerging as “We’re seeing business models starting companies look to join up the dots for the to evolve more,” Lim acknowledged. “The so-called AAM ecosystem and spread the scheduled airlines are starting to express costs associated with these. how they see eVTOLs working, but also Arguably, some of the eVTOL developers business aviation operators are getting who are not fixated on being first to market involved around applications that could could benefit from lessons learned from include air medical services and oil and gas this intense drive towards type certification, [support].” series production, and first deliveries.

While viewing initiatives such as the What is clear is that despite the start-ups’ Paris Olympic Games as symbolically insistence that they will deliver unprece- significant for the new sector, the Alton dented levels of air transportation safety, team couldn’t rule out more delays to regulators—in the West, at least—are not type certification. Lim expressed encourprepared to take their word for it. “Walk agement that investors have continued the walk, don’t talk the talk,” seems to be to keep putting money into the AAM secan apt New Year’s resolution for the AAM tor, albeit more selectively than during pioneers, who also face plenty of hurdles in the SPAC-fueled gold rush that peaked in establishing the supporting infrastructure 2021. “We are not seeing a complete shut required for the new air services, including out [of investors] from the market despite vertiports and ways to safely integrate the the technology sector being beaten up by new aircraft into existing airspace. high-interest rates,” he concluded. z

EHang’s two-seat EH216-S is the world’s first type-certificated eVTOL aircraft. a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Offshore heavies facing tenuous path B Y M A R K HUBE R

Offshore operators’ continuing difficulties with fielding their heavy helicopters could create new opportunities for the supermedium market.

Supply chain woes continue to adversely impact offshore helicopter operators, according to a notice recently issued by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers’ (IOGP) aviation subcommittee (ASC). In a recent IOGP ASC safety notice to members, the organization branded the situation as “serious and deteriorating,” saying that it presented “significant safety and operational risks.”

While the problems were particularly acute with regard to the Sikorsky S-92, with 86 percent of its fleet flying offshore energy, the ASC said the situation pervaded the entire industry. Consultancy Air & Sea Analytics warned, “The ability of the industry to keep enough serviceable aircraft to meet demand is now in question.”

Nearly two-thirds of the 300-strong S-92 fleet serves the offshore oil and gas industry, and the majority are owned by leasing companies, with AerCap unit Milestone Aviation the fleet leader at more than 80.

The market’s only other heavy commercial twin, the Airbus H225 series, largely exited the offshore market after a series of high-profile crashes culminating with a 2016 in-flight main rotor separation in Norway that killed all 13 aboard and triggered a worldwide grounding of the fleet, a large portion of it for more than a year. The aircraft’s reputation with offshore oil workers never recovered, and the S-92 moved into a dominant role in the industry.

The S-92, with its unique capacity to carry 19 passengers and service deepwater clients, drew the majority of the ASC’s attention based on operator surveys. The resulting metrics are alarming.

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The Sikorksky S-92’s larger role in offshore operations is suffering from supply chain shortages.

Data from the three largest civil operators of the model representing 61 percent of the fleet—Bristow, CHC, and PHI— revealed that 20 aircraft (13 percent of the combined fleet) are AOG waiting for replacement main gearboxes. Three other operators reported 11 S-92s are also AOG. The AOG number is likely to double by the end of 2024 given Sikorsky’s low aircraft production rates—just four of its civil helicopters were delivered in 2022. Overall fleet dispatch reliability now hovers at 80 percent; the industry average is 96 percent.

The situation has triggered a variety of adverse maintenance practices according to the ASC, including parts cannibalization, up by 50 to 106 percent, with over 50 parts being taken from an aircraft entering maintenance “not uncommon.” Maintenance extension requests to the OEM have increased by an average of 850 percent year-to-date. The time to complete a 1,500hour inspection has increased by 75 percent, to 75 days; requires 25 percent more manpower; and triggered a 57 percent increase in overtime. The ASC concluded

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

that the climate created the “potential and conditions for a serious safety event that is clearly growing unless action is taken.”

Operators are forced into contracts that apply “punitive financial penalties for not meeting aircraft availability targets.” The ASC warned that such provisions “will not improve availability, but will worsen the operators’ position further and potentially add further stress and risk to their maintenance departments.” It predicted that S-92 parts availability “has the potential to deteriorate further in the coming 12 months, leading to further reductions in aircraft availability.”

The organization reiterated operator “resilience strategies” suggested earlier in the year, including raising stakeholder awareness and transparency, temporary sharing of contracted aircraft assets, and not punitively adding to operational risks via contract penalty clauses. The ASC concluded that “effective local action and engagement between individual clients and contracted operators is essential if the safety risks are to be mitigated and our

normal very high levels of safety performance maintained.”

In a statement provided to AIN, Sikorsky president Paul Lemmo said the company is taking various actions to address the “unprecedented” S-92 spares situation, in part driven by a “22 percent increase in S-92 aircraft flight hours over the last three years. This increased utilization has added to the fleet operating hours but also created more pressure on parts required.

“Sikorsky experts have provided S-92 suppliers technical and operational support so they can accelerate delivery of parts,” and the company “has been assisting S-92 suppliers throughout all tiers of the supply chain to source specialty metals, components, and other raw material.” Lemmo said these efforts were beginning to produce results, noting, “We have increased main gearbox output by 40 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. We have delivered 31 year-to-date and project providing 40 in 2023 versus 28 delivered in 2022.” He said Sikorsky “will continue these efforts for as long as it takes to accelerate delivery of the parts our customers need.”

Earlier this year, Sikorsky executives speaking at Heli-Expo said the company was working to resolve supply chain problems. Leon Silva, Sikorsky executive v-p of global, commercial, and military systems, admitted that ongoing supply chain problems had dragged down S-92 fleet

utilization rates and dispatch reliability percentages “into the high 80s.” He said the company “continues to work diligently on the supply chain” and had established what amounts to an emergency center at Sikorsky’s Trumbull, Connecticut facility to work with suppliers to resolve issues.

But, aside from ongoing supply chain woes, Sikorsky’s commitment to the civil market remains suspect after the company was acquired by defense contractor Lockheed Martin in 2015. It has discontinued production of the S-76, rather than manufacture it with a federally-mandated crash-resistant fuel system. Earlier this year, the company shelved the S-92B program and moved anticipated certification date of the S-92A+ upgrade into 2025, some three years later than originally planned.

As a result, deliveries of A+ kits ordered today would not happen until 2026. While several helicopters in the installed fleet of more than 300 S-92s have nearly reached their 30,000-hour life limit, Sikorsky has no plans to extend it. And, while Sikorsky continues to take orders for new S-92s, it cannot deliver one for at least two to three years.

The scenario opens the door for what had been a largely nascent offshore market for super-medium helicopters to move more aggressively into this market space.

Bell already has at least four oil and gas configured, fly-by-wire 525 super-medium twins on its final assembly line in Amarillo,

Texas, and the company likely will pick up production following certification late this year or early next. By way of program update, Bell told AIN that a variety of key flight testing with the FAA including avionics, airspeed/altitude, and cold weather has been completed and that handling qualities/flight characteristics testing with the FAA is well underway. The 525 is expected to be more expensive than competitive aircraft—Air & Sea Analytics estimates the price premium at 50 percent—but it may not matter in an environment with operators desperate for lift.

PHI, a long-standing S-92 operator, inked a deal with Airbus Helicopters for 20 super-medium H175s in September.

Another veteran S-92 operator, Bristow Group, is integrating more super-medium Leonardo AW-189s into its contract search and rescue offerings that used to be the exclusive purview of the big Sikorsky.

But the likelihood that OEMs will significantly boost production to alleviate scarcity across all helicopter categories remains low, according to industry experts interviewed by AIN. Earlier this year, Jaspal Jandu, CEO of helicopter lessor LCI, said the offshore supply problem was exacerbated by owners and operators that ran their helicopters harder and longer during Covid and substantially delayed fleet replacement plans by three to four years, creating a “bow wave” of demand. z

Hangar space remains tight, FBOs are full B Y CUR T E P S T E I N

With many major business aviation destinations in the U.S. short on hangar space, and hundreds more aircraft entering the market every year, the FBO industry has been hard-pressed to keep up with demand.

“The day [the customer] puts the money down for the deposit to buy the airplane, I really wish they would call their local FBO

and say, ‘I need a hangar right on the day the plane comes,’” said Milo Zonka, Sheltair’s v-p of strategic growth. “What usually happens is they wait until they have a delivery date and it’s 90 days away, and that’s when they start looking for hangar space. You’re too late if you are looking for hangar space 90 days out because we need lead time; everything is full.”

Yet the construction of new hangars is typically a multi-year, multi-million-dollar commitment, and one that is facing several hurdles, according to industry experts.

Coming out of the Covid pandemic, the construction industry, like many, is still facing supply chain shortages. While some materials have come down in price and are

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Special Report

now less constricted, others remain tight.

“Metal buildings we can get, and the turn time is definitely reduced from almost a year at its worst to probably half that now,” said Zonka. He described that as a longer lead than historically seen, but still a time frame he could work with, unlike the shortage of electric meters. “We’ve had to redesign a couple of projects that were individually metered into a group meter because we could get one meter; we couldn’t get 30,” he told AIN, adding that he was told there was a year backlog on Supply chain issues, high costs, and rising interest rates are driving hangar availability. orders. “We would have had a built project sitting there waiting to open because we 2018/2019, pre-Covid,” explained Douglas And the rents justified by the new develcouldn’t find electrical meters.”

Wilson, president and senior partner of opments at these locations are not proving Chuck Suma, COO of Million Air, industry consultancy FBO Partners. He to be a deterrent. “I’m astonished at what encountered similar difficulties in acquir- added that the effects of the pandemic people are paying per square foot for some of ing electrical transformers for his compa- quickly drove the rising rates down again. the bigger airplanes,” said Suma, adding that ny’s development projects. “They were “So what that meant is almost 13 years of there are only so many hangars that can hanlike an 80-week lead time, and here over near-zero interest rates that was rocket dle the high tail heights and big wingspans the last three months we’ve gone from 80 fuel for development.” of the ultra-long-range jets. “Because someweeks down to 12,” he explained.

That burden on financing and increased body just dropped $70 million to $90 million On a macroeconomic scale, Suma noted cost of money now has to be baked into on an airplane, they are not going to leave it that rising mortgage rates have slowed the costs for any hangar development and outside. There are stories of operators paying housing starts and reduced competition for threatens the pace of continued develop- double what they paid pre-Covid just so they materials and contractors. This will allow ment. “These projects that are being built have a place to put their airplanes.” material costs to continue to decrease. right now were on the books three years Another factor FBOs and hangar keep“I’m not saying it’s because they have fixed ago,” said Wilson. “They are being con- ers must now account for is sustainability. the supply chain issues, as much as there structed now in a time of much higher inter- Aviation is facing increasing scrutiny over is more inventory available at the moment, est rates than what was anticipated at the its environmental impact and airports are and that may change over time.” time the projects were put on the books.” no exception. “In pretty much any [request Additionally, labor availability remains Those costs must be rationalized and for proposals] that’s been released in the a concern in some areas. “There are con- passed along to the end user, and Zonka last two or three years, one of the scoring tractors out there, but it’s still very difficult admits they may inhibit development in metrics is sustainability,” Wilson told AIN. to get seven or eight bids [on a project],” some markets that cannot support the “I’ve seen RFPs where sustainability is 25 said Zonka. “You are really struggling to get rents required for new construction. percent of the score, meaning you can win three at a lot of our projects. We want to Yet, Suma noted, in high-traffic markets or lose an RFP based on how sustainably see multiple numbers just to get as much the need is still there. For example, Mil- you design your facilities.” competition as we can.” lion Air is developing a new hangar comWilson noted that the costs associated Possibly the major concern among plex in Texas. “If I could snap my fingers with constructing sustainable hangars are FBO operators is now the climbing inter- in Austin, I would have a facility there with more than standard structures and thereest rates, which have topped five percent. 120,000 sq ft of hangar space and it would fore offer lower returns on investment, “The federal funds rate since 2008, com- be completely sold out,” he told AIN. “I feel because customers will weigh whether they ing out of the global financial crisis, had very comfortable it will be 100 to 125 per- are concerned enough about sustainability been below one percent until April 2022 cent utilization on the hangars once they to want to pay more to house their aircraft with one brief exception, and that was in are built.” in an environmentally friendly hangar. z

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

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Wheels Up shifts focus toward business clients B Y M A R K HUBE R

The reorganization plan for Wheels Up includes implementing primary service areas and improving operational performance.

Wheels Up’s new CEO, George Mattson, on business clientele, and leveraging its has a message for customers: “We’re going relationship with Delta Air Lines to proto be very much of a ‘show me’ and not a vide “seamless” solutions that integrate ‘tell me’ company.” premium airline and private travel.

Mattson, who stepped in to lead the Ideally, Mattson would like to see a cusfinancially beleaguered company in early tomer mix that is 50 percent business cusOctober, further vowed, “We’re just going to tomers and 50 percent leisure travelers. He go get it done and then tell people what we envisions 50 percent on-demand charter did. We’re going to deliver operational excel- and 50 percent coordinated program offer, lence and consistency. Our stated goal is to as opposed to the company’s historical become the best-run private aviation com- emphasis on leisure travelers, which has pany, and we are delivering tangible, mea- been 90 percent of the business. surable progress every week, every month.”

Rebalancing the mix would optimize He inherits the helm of a membership aircraft utilization, he said. “We’d spread and charter provider that has been rocked out demand Monday through Thursday by performance problems and nearly $1 with corporate [customers] and Friday billion in losses in recent years and is now through Sunday with the individual leisure seven months into a reorganization plan. travelers,” he said, adding that Wheels Up That plan concentrates on implementing 2.0 will offer customers “much more of a primary service areas, reducing deadhead solutions-based, go-to-market strategy” legs, improving operational performance, that can accommodate both members and rebalancing its client base to focus more non-members worldwide with the assistance

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

of its Air Partner brokerage in Europe.

As an example of how this would work, Mattson cited a hypothetical case of a member who flies Delta to Paris, then connects to an Air Partner-brokered private jet flight to Poland, flies back on Delta, and then catches a Wheels Up flight to South Carolina.

Wheels Up has shed membership this year as it focuses on two main service areas—east of the Mississippi River and in the southwestern U.S., primarily California—but already has seen a financial benefit from the reforms.

It has been aided by $500 million in loans and a credit line from Delta, Certares Management, Knighthead Capital Management, and Cox Enterprises received in September in exchange for a stock position that has grown to 95 percent ownership of the company.

CFO Todd Smith said no current payments are due on those loans and, while

the principal will have to be eventually and former Delta executives. “With new Airs. At one time, Wheels Up operated repaid, the interest is paid in kind via the leadership in place, Wheels Up is well-po- nearly 76 of the turboprops. It is in the value of the stock. sitioned to drive strategic, operational, and process of consolidating its various Part The company is looking to add another financial improvements for its customers 135 certificates, a task that Mattson hopes $50 million from a to-be-determined inves- and stakeholders in the months and years will be completed next year. tor, but Smith said the current capital infu- ahead,” said Bastian, whose company The situation arose as Wheels Up went sion is sufficient to meet its needs. infused Wheels Up with $70 million in on an acquisition binge to add capacity, “Our belief is that we’re comfortable that August—since repaid. buying charter operators including Gama the funding that we’ve raised is what we Delta holds a 40 percent equity stake in Aviation, the Travel Management Company, need to execute our business plan and turn the company and is its largest shareholder. and Mountain Aviation. Smith held out the [the company] around,” he said. “We’ve Smith said that $150 million of the $500 possibility that Wheels Up might dispose been on a journey over the last year to million in new money available to Wheels of additional aircraft. improve the profitability of the business Up is a credit line that the company has In November, Wheels Up launched and fix our cost position.” yet to tap, and he suggested that Wheels its “Up for Business” program, aimed at The Delta-Wheels Up connection has Up’s cash-burn rate is improving. “Once attracting more small and medium-sized grown in recent months with the addi- the dust settled by late September, we saw enterprise members with discounts and tion of Mattson, a Delta director, the lead a very positive [customer] response to the tailored benefits. investor and chairman of seaplane operator removal of the uncertainty [about the comWheels Up also offers its existing busiTropic Oceans Airways, and a former part- pany’s future],” he said. ness membership for larger businesses/ ner at Goldman Sachs. Mattson is based in Wheels Up’s owned and leased fleet high-volume fliers focused on custom Atlanta, the location of Wheels Up’s new stands at approximately 180 aircraft, solutions. Both programs come with travel operations center. according to Smith, with 60 being King benefits from Delta. z Other current and former Delta executives who have recently joined the company include Dan Janki, Delta’s CFO, as Wheels Up chairman and Dave Holtz, Delta’s former chief of operations, who is serving as president of operations at Wheels Up and will run its new 35,000-sq-ft consolidated operations control center in Atlanta that opened in May. Mattson credits Holtz with Know more. With our innovative business aviation research service, you’ll have access transforming Delta over a decade from an to original, comprehensive, worldwide current airline tarred with a reputation of “operaand historical data on markets, fleets, and individual aircraft. Better research means tional mediocrity” to one known for “operbetter data to give you better results. ational exceptionalism and excellence.”

Mat tson stressed that the immediate goal for the company is delivering consistency of service, using an airline analogy, comparing Delta to two Get a custom demonstration luxury competitors. at jetnet.com/request-demo “Delta is not Emirates [Air Lines] and it’s not Singapore [Air Lines]. But when you get on a Delta airplane, you expect something and you tend to get it—or a little better. We’re trying to get to the same place: you expect something from Wheels Up and you get it.”

The World Leader in Aviation Market Intelligence Delta CEO Ed Bastian praised the new 800.553.8638 | +1.315.797.4420 | +41(0) 43.243.7056 | jetnet.com team, which is largely comprised of current

BETTER RESEARCH. BETTER DATA.

a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Citation Jet Pilots convention celebrates safety, highlights findings from FOQA program

MATT THURBER

B Y M AT T T HUR BE R

Citation CJ1+ owner and safety expert Charlie Precourt congratulated Citation Jet Pilots members on their excellent safety record.

Members of the Citation Jet Pilots (CJP) Owner Pilot Association gathered in Nashville in early October to celebrate their safety record and continue learning how to improve and share CJP safety information with the Citation pilot community.

For the third year in a row, CJP members have not had any incidents or accidents, a remarkable record for the 1,358 members who fly 954 Citations. “We have very good fliers,” said Charlie Precourt, former Space Shuttle commander, chairman of the CJP safety committee, and owner of a CJ1+.

Precourt shared some initial results of the CJP flight operations quality assurance (FOQA) program, which uses the

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ForeFlight Data Analysis system (formerly (IFR) and 500 feet (VFR), the CJP’s Safe CloudAhoy) for post-flight analysis. The To Land initiative has selected a more FOQA system has already recorded 5,000 flexible final gate of 200 feet where pilots flights by CJP members, and a few “items must go around if stable approach criteria are warranting attention,” he said. For the aren’t met. This gives pilots more fleximost part, CJP members are flying better bility to make corrections, within certain than average industry standards on unsta- parameters, from 500 feet to 200 feet. “We ble approaches. implemented the lower gate to 200 feet,” “In less than 2 percent [of approaches] Precourt explained. “If we included that, would we trigger the unstable approach we’d be much less than 2 percent. There criteria,” he said, “while the industry stan- are a lot of unstable approaches being fixed dard is 3 percent instability at a gate.” between 500 and 200 feet.”

A gate is a point where a pilot has to Interestingly, the data show that determine either if the approach is sta- exceedances are occurring 10 times more ble or if a correction needs to be made or on visual approaches compared to IFR a go-around initiated. While most stable approaches, and visuals are flown 50 perapproach criteria use gates at 1,000 feet cent of the time. These include occasional

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

leg but 500 feet above the light airplane traffic pattern altitude. Speed on downwind should be Vref+20, and below 2,000 feet, the maximum descent rate should be 1,000 fpm.

 We are three years running where nobody else in general aviation can touch our record.

This is a big part of our success in our future.  — Charlie Precourt Former Space Shuttle commander, chairman of the CJP safety committee, and owner of a CJ1+ At an airport with parallel runways, use an instrument approach or the avionics’ visual approach feature to set up guidance to the correct runway. Two midair collision accidents, at North Las Vegas (2022) and Centennial, Colorado (2021), were due to one of the aircraft not properly lining up with the assigned runway. “Having a backup approach in your FMS is really advised,” he said.

Another critical element for visual approaches that aren’t straight-in is to

maintain the correct distance from the runway while flying the traffic pattern in a jet. The downwind leg is best flown at 1.5 to 2 nm from the runway, and base leg should be no closer than 2.5 nm from the runway threshold, Precourt advised, but 3 nm is best. After stabilizing at 160 knots on downwind, pilots should set landing configuration (landing gear down and full flaps) before turning base and then slow to Vref+10.

An ongoing debate is about whether pilots should follow vertical glide path guidance from an ILS or LPV approach when the visual glide path indicator (PAPI or VASI) becomes visible or transition to the glide path indicator. “Some PAPIs or VASIs are not coincident with the ILS,” he said. But pilots should transition to following the PAPI or VASI at decision altitude because they provide obstacle clearance, while the ILS or LPV vertical guidance provides obstacle clearance only to the end of the approach, the decision altitude point.

“Get off the PFD [primary flight display] glide path and transition to VASI/PAPI,” he recommended.

Summarizing his discussion of the CJP FOQA program, Precourt said, “We’re being given a gift with this data. We are three years running where nobody else in general aviation can touch our record. This is a big part of our success in our future.” z

MATT THURBER

high sink rates below 1,000 and 500 feet during visual approaches, including some as high as 2,500 fpm for more than six seconds below 1,000 feet. “What is pushing people into that corner, and can we do something?” he asked.

Some of this may be due to air traffic control (ATC) instructions, but CJP is planning to launch a project to study these anomalies. To mitigate these situations, Precourt recommended, “The use of the word ‘unable’ [with ATC] is the most powerful tool you have. They can’t fly your airplane.”

Other parameters are showing good results—for example, the Safe To Land goal of not exceeding a 15-degree bank below 200 feet. “We are doing well with this,” he said. Pilots are maintaining the proper landing reference speed (Vref ) at the runway threshold, and touchdown point is “most densely packed at [the correct] 1,000 feet.”

That said, the CJP FOQA parameters are still a work in progress, and some items aren’t being used because the parameters aren’t yet trustworthy. “We’re working towards getting all of them turned on,” he said. “We want to get you accurate information.”

Some of the parameters that haven’t been switched on and need further research include runway remaining, but the trend at meeting the parameter of slowing to 70 knots by 1,000 feet runway remaining is a “good trend,” according to Precourt. N1 rpm on final is another parameter that likely will be switched on, and this measures whether the power setting is stable during the approach. “If you’re at idle for 25 or 30 seconds [on approach], you’re struggling,” he said.

Precourt outlined an ongoing discussion about traffic pattern operations for Citation pilots. FAA best practices say to avoid straight-in approaches unless flying an IFR approach. But when in visual conditions, the best way to enter the traffic pattern is over the airport, then turn on downwind

Owner-pilots flew a variety of Citation models to Smyrna, Tennessee, to attend the Citation Jet Pilots Owner Pilot Association convention in nearby Nashville. a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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How WAAS turned into a must-have system B Y DAV ID HUG HE S

Two decades ago, the FAA commissioned the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), opening the door to satellitebased GPS navigation with accuracy, integrity, and consistent availability for an array of business and general aviation.

Leading up to then, WAAS had come under scrutiny—and criticism—after encountering several years of delays and mushrooming costs. Even so, groups such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association strongly backed it.

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And now, if you are a business aviator and not using WAAS, then you can count yourself in a minority. Most business aircraft rolling off the production line now are equipped to fly RNAV approaches with WAAS localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) minima.

Avionics repair shops also continue to upgrade aging jets, turboprops, and IFRcapable piston singles and twins with WAAS LPV, often as part of major full panel upgrades. It can cost $20,000 to

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

$30,000 to upgrade a small aircraft with WAAS LPV and more like $200,000 to $300,000 for a business jet, according to several avionics repair shops.

What do general aviation aircraft owners get for the money? They get access to precision-like approaches with more than 4,100 WAAS LPV procedures that can, in many cases, match Category 1 ILS minimums down to 200 feet. LPV serves nearly 2,000 airports, including more than 1,200 without ILS.

WAAS provides an accuracy of two to four meters for horizontal position by providing corrections to GPS from more than two dozen precisely surveyed ground stations. These corrections are broadcast up to geostationary orbit satellites and then sent from there to avionics aboard aircraft.

THE SAFETY BENEFIT

According to the FAA, WAAS provides pilots with more stable vertical guidance for approaches and enhances safety in all weather conditions. The Flight Safety Foundation points out that controlled flight into terrain accidents are significantly reduced by vertically guided approaches. ILS approaches can be affected by bends in the signals that can lead to a missed approach, the FAA noted.

WAAS localizer performance (LP) procedures provide for lateral accuracy similar to ILS for approaches where terrain or obstructions do not permit LPV. The FAA says some manufacturers include an advisory glideslope so pilots can fly a stabilized descent to the minimum descent altitude.

There are 734 WAAS LP approaches to 734 runways at 537 airports—most of which do not have ILS. These RNAV approach procedures without vertical guidance have LP minima that can also be helpful when there is no precision-type approach available at an airport.

There are only 1,290 ILS approaches in the U.S.—just about one for every three LPVs. NBAA points to the benefits of the lower minimums provided by WAAS. “Our members value the precision-like minimums WAAS technology brings to the table. Many aircraft owners have equipped to take advantage of the capabilities and lower minimums at many airports across the country that aren’t currently served by an ILS,” said NBAA senior director of air traffic services and infrastructure Heidi Williams.

THE COSTS

When the FAA announced in July 2003 that it had commissioned WAAS, there were only 500 approaches with WAAS that had

been certified at 200 airports. By 2003, the cost of the system had nearly doubled from the initial $1.4 billion 20-year lifecycle cost estimate in the early 1990s.

To date, the costs incurred to develop and operate WAAS have reached nearly $3 billion, of which $2.7 billion is development costs, including satellite leases. The FAA said it costs $90 million to $110 million per year to operate and sustain the WAAS system.

At the time WAAS was commissioned, it provided an accuracy of 1 to 1.5 meters compared with 7 to 10 meters (vertically and horizontally) obtained from GPS without augmentation.

The U.S. Air Force is modernizing GPS and has already launched six out of 10 GPS Block III satellites that are expected to improve GPS accuracy by

three times. The other four satellites will be launched by 2026, if things go according to plan.

These satellites broadcast on three frequencies—L1, L2, and the newer L5. However, the L5 signal won’t become fully operational—expected later this decade— until it is broadcast from 24 satellites; currently, it is being broadcast from 17 satellites.

In 2022, Raytheon Intelligence and Space was awarded an indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling of $375 million over the next decade for technical refresh and dual-frequency (L1 and L5) operation upgrades to WAAS. This will include more modern and sustainable processing, system security, and network architecture while adding dual frequency service in 2028.

RNP is a statement of navigation performance necessary for operation within a defined airspace. The RNP types (e.g.: RNP 5, RNP 1, RNP 0.3) specify the navigation performance accuracy of all the user and navigation system combinations within an airspace. WAAS is able to meet all of these different RNP levels. a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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The L5 frequency is designed to improve accuracy, integrity, and availability using dual-frequency-enabled WAAS receivers. Dual frequency (L1 and L5) will be especially helpful during ionospheric disturbances, including solar storms. The FAA adds that dual frequency will enable further expansion of WAAS LPV service in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico.

Legacy avionics may need new receivers to take advantage of the L5 WAAS frequency when it goes fully operational, according to Sam Pullen, a senior researcher at the Stanford GNSS laboratory. He holds a doctoral degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford and an undergraduate degree from MIT. Each dot on the above map represents a WAAS LPV or LP approach at an airport.

Legacy WAAS equipment users will be able to get the same performance they At DeltaFox Aviation at Manassas flight director, or other equipment curare getting now by relying on the original Regional Airport in Virginia, a Part rently installed.”

L1 frequency.

145 repair station, co-founder Charles Older Collins Pro Line 21 avionics The GPS ground control system is being Schefer still frequently installs avionics don’t support flying LPV approaches, and upgraded, and this work has to be com- to upgrade general aviation aircraft to it may require a $20,000 supplemental pleted before dual-frequency (L1 and L5) fly WAAS LPV approaches. DeltaFox is a type certificate (STC) to essentially trick operations can begin. dealer or service center for Cirrus, Tex- it into thinking it is flying an ILS so it can “The operational benefit will be higher tron, Garmin, Avidyne, and Aspen Avion- display the approach parameters. Univeravailability, so you are more likely to be ics, among others. sal FMS and Garmin GTN avionics are able to fly an approach to completion than “I feel like 70 percent of the general avi- WAAS-capable. before,” said Pullen. ation fleet is already upgraded to fly WAAS In some cases, the needles on a display The boundaries on worst-case errors approaches, and most of the new business are color-coded so pilots can tell if they are will be reduced, increasing both accuracy aircraft rolling off the production line [are] flying an ILS by seeing green needles, while and availability. WAAS and other satel- also already equipped,” Schefer said. magenta ones indicate flying a WAASlite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) guided approach. may also provide corrections for the EuroMASS EQUIPAGE Schefer did a lot of Cessna Citation pean Galileo system signals and potentially There are more than 200,000 active gen- upgrades to WAAS LPV, but most of the other Satnav systems. eral aviation aircraft, according to the FAA, aircraft in that product line have been outThe European EGNOS version of SBAS which cited more than 140,000 WAAS- fitted. When an STC box is not installed, already supports the use of GPS and will equipped aircraft in the NAS in a June the GPS is limited to use for lateral naviadd Galileo support along with Galileo’s 2021 presentation. gation, so it isn’t possible to fly an LPV second frequency on E5a (the same as The FAA said 160,000 aircraft are approach with vertical guidance. Smaller GPS L5). equipped worldwide. The ADS-B man- general aviation aircraft flown mostly Aviation isn’t the only community using date spurred WAAS equipage because it under VFR are seldom equipped because WAAS, which is also found in agricul- is the only navigation source that meets they won’t be flying WAAS LPV or LP ture, surveying, and maritime sectors. In those requirements. approaches. “It wouldn’t make any sense,” aviation, regional airlines SkyWest and “However, I see a lot of older jets that are Schefer said.

Horizon Air have installed WAAS on their not yet equipped and to upgrade one to fly Schefer also operates a Part 135 charter aircraft, and Delta, Airbus, and Boeing are LPV costs a lot,” Schefer said. “This often business and recalls one trip he had to canmoving ahead with equipage. relates to the limitations of the autopilot, cel with a Cessna Citation CJ2 to an airport

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

without ILS. He said the former owner of the aircraft installed WAAS but not LPV capability, so he couldn’t use the LPV at the airport he was planning to fly to.

Bill Forbes, the director of avionics sales for Elliott Aviation, recounts a WAAS story that is posted online at the company’s website.

Elliott works on a wide range of business jets at three service centers in the Midwest, one in Texas, and one in Georgia. A few years ago, an Elliott customer was flying on a Hawker 800 on a business trip from Nashville to Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, the city’s main commercial airport. The ILS was out and the Hawker 800 pilot executed a missed approach but saw a Cirrus land right after that.

A diversion led to the aircraft owner missing the important meeting in the city, and he ordered a WAAS LPV installation for the Hawker the next day.

In Lynchburg, Virginia, Jason Moorefield runs an avionics shop at Freedom Aviation that maintains Liberty University’s fleet of training aircraft and does avionics installations for other customers. The shop has three other technicians.

Moorefield does WAAS LPV upgrades to aircraft several times per month, either as a standalone job or as part of a new panel.

He notes that small business aviators like WAAS LPV for getting into airports that are located near the site of their day’s work but are not equipped with VOR or ILS. He likes installing the GNC 355 all-inone touchscreen GPS navigator with comm radios for light aircraft, which provides WAAS GPS navigation for LPV approaches.

It pairs with selected Garmin flight displays or integrates with a course deviation indicator for a low-cost installation.

Garmin lists the price of the GNC 355 as $7,695. Moorefield works on some jets each year and says a WAAS LPV retrofit for a jet starts at $200,000.

While the FAA is enabling satellite navigation, it is not giving up on maintaining ILS systems and some VORs for resilience. Jens

Hennig, vice president for operations at the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, said some air navigation service providers in Europe are considering getting rid of some ground infrastructure. He thinks this approach is short-sighted.

Hennig notes that the FAA investment in WAAS has already been made. “The United States has a wonderful belt and suspenders system [with WAAS and groundbased navaids including ILS],” said Hennig.

JE N S HE N N IG V IC E P R E S ID E N T F OR OP E R AT IO N S AT T HE G E N E R A L AV I AT IO N M A N UFAC T UR E RS A S S O C I AT IO N

 The United States has a wonderful belt and suspenders system [with WAAS and ground-based navaids including ILS].

Now we do need to invest in teaching flight crews how to fly in that environment... “Now we do need to invest in teaching flight crews how to fly in that environment [without ground-based navaids] when there are maybe some challenges in the future,” he said, adding, “WAAS is a wonderful technology, and the FAA continues to invest in it.”

The FAA is working on an ILS Rationalization Program to decommission some

ILS systems at smaller airports equipped for WAAS LPV approaches. It has not decommissioned any ILS systems yet or announced how many will be selected. But the agency has shut down 164 VORs and will shut down 139 more at a rate of 20 per year, ultimately leaving 590 running in its minimal operational network.

Analysis, coordination, and approval of the ILS program are required to identify candidate systems before any decommissioning begins. The FAA has contracts set up to replace aging ILS systems with stateof-the-art systems. ILS will be retained at airports where air carriers operate and along with VORs to ensure resiliency during GPS outages.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Joseph Hensley upgrades a lot of long-out-of-service turboprops that may have sat on a ramp somewhere for 10 or more years. He is the avionics manager for Intercontinental Jet Service Corp. Hensley said his shop installs WAAS LPV capability in these older aircraft along with completely new panels.

After purchasing the aircraft and installing new avionics, the new owners may have $1.5 to $3 million invested. But for an airplane like the Mitsubishi MU2 that can carry eight passengers with a single pilot at more than 300 knots, the cost per flight hour may be around $2,000 per hour with fuel consumption at 80 gallons per hour.

“It makes sense why these refurbished aircraft are so popular,” Hensley said. A similar new turboprop aircraft would cost $7 to $15 million. Most of his customers are doctors, lawyers, and salesmen who depend on these aircraft to grow their businesses.

Intercontinental is an authorized Mitsubishi and Piaggio service center. Hensley has upgraded 100 Mitsubishi aircraft and 40 Piaggios with new avionics systems, including most with WAAS LPV. A lot of these aircraft fly into small airports without ILS and need WAAS LPV capability to get there. z

a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Rotorcraft

Air Methods navigates a financial storm B Y M A R K HUBE R

Air Methods filed for bankruptcy amid mounting debt, influenced by private equity investment and legislative changes.

Air ambulance provider Air Methods filed Air Methods will wipe out $1.7 billion in Those price hikes stemmed from Medicare/ for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in debt. Approximately $1.25 billion of that Medicaid transport reimbursements for October, calling the decision a strategic is variable interest loan debt, tied to dra- patients covered by those programs that move to position it for long-term success. matically rising interest rates, that is due were substantially below costs.

The move could be unique to the compa- in April 2024. Another $500 million on 8 ny’s highly-leveraged balance sheet—or percent interest bonds is due in 2025.

NO SURPRISES a harbinger of turbulence ahead for the Much of the debt was tied to the $2.5 bil- That problem was exacerbated when Conentire air ambulance industry. lion acquisition of Air Methods by private gress incorporated the “No Surprises Act” This space is increasingly controlled by equity firm American Securities in 2017, (NSA) into the second Covid relief packprivate equity investment firms seeking when the air ambulance company operated age (the Consolidated Appropriations Act) a high rate of return for investors while from more than 300 bases. AIN’s attempts in 2021. The act was supposed to insulate being squeezed by reimbursements that to solicit comment from Air Methods were patients when it came to payment disputes are significantly below costs from health not successful. between healthcare providers and payers, insurers and government programs.

As early as 2017, financial analysts were including insurance companies. Critics Air Methods operates 365 aircraft— warning that the company’s business charged that provisions of the legislation mainly helicopters—from 275 bases in 47 model was not sustainable. It was becom- gave insurance companies outsized power states. Under terms of the pre-packaged ing dependent on ever-increasing trans- in settling billing disputes, providing bankruptcy filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy port price hikes charged to private payers/ them wide latitude to delay, discount, and Court for the Southern District of Texas, insurance companies in a saturated market. deny claims.

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

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The consequences hit providers with community-based air ambulance programs, such as Air Methods, particularly hard, and it began closing bases last year.

Reports also surfaced that the NSA’s impact trimmed the company’s revenues in recent quarters by more than 50 percent.

(Air Methods is privately held and does not disclose financial data.) And the reimbursement environment could get worse.

Low Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement rates could become a bigger issue for the industry if that reimbursement structure is adopted by the Veterans Administration (VA). A move by the VA to begin reimbursing non-contract ambulance and air ambulance transportation at those lower rates is getting heavy pushback from federal legislators and providers. The new rates would take effect this February.

VA CHANGES SPARK BACKLASH

Industry critics are charging that the move would force providers to downsize operations and reduce hours of availability while compromising the ability of veterans to receive prompt medical transport.

The VA currently pays for the actual costs of such medical transports. However, Congress has granted the VA the authority to pay the “lesser actual charge for the transportation or the Medicare Fee Schedule (MFS) amount unless the [VA] secretary has entered into a contract for that transportation with the provider.”

This will allow the VA to impose the MFS payment schedule and has spurred the industry to file suit against the VA with the U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 26, 2023.

Texas-based MedStar, among those filing the lawsuit, maintains that the new rule would cost it $1.4 million annually.

The air ambulance industry has long objected to the lower MFS reimbursement rates, saying they are forced to charge other patients more to make up the difference—a practice called “balanced billing.” The plaintiffs argue that the new rule exceeds granted congressional authority,

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which authorized the secretary to only pay the lower rates when the transports were to or from a VA facility. The new rule would cover transports to any location.

The move by the VA drew rebukes from a bipartisan group of lawmakers including Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Montana) and ranking member Jerry Moran (R-Kansas). Along with Senators Patty Murray (D-Washington) and John Boozman (R-Arkansas), they have introduced the “VA Emergency Transportation Access Act” to “protect rural veterans’ access to quality, lifesaving emergency medical care and transport.”

Among other things, the legislation would “ensure the new rates reflect the actual cost of transportation.” “ T h e VA E m e r g e n c y Tr a n s p o r t a tion Access Act introduces a thoughtful approach to protecting emergency transport access for veterans,” said Jana Williams, president and CEO of the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS).

Aside from its financing debt and a difficult reimbursement environment, Air Methods settled several high-profile civil cases in recent years. A 2015 crash near Frisco, Colorado, of an Air Methods Airbus AStar triggered a $100 million settlement paid by the company and the OEM to a surviving crewmember with severe burns.

In 2020, the company settled a classaction claim by its California crewmembers that they were illegally denied overtime pay for $78 million, or more than $100,000 each.

Also that year, Air Methods agreed to pay an $825,000 civil penalty for operating a helicopter with corroded pitot tubes.

For now, the company will continue normal operations. Air Methods’ filing will increase its liquidity with $80 million of debtor-in-possession financing from the first lien lenders who are party to its related restructuring support agreement (RSA). In return, those debtors are expected to receive a substantial portion of the company’s equity.

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

The filing covers most of the company’s entities, including MRO United Rotorcraft.

Air Methods stressed that vendors, suppliers, and employees would be paid in full and without interruption during the bankruptcy process—which it expected to complete by the end of the year—and that all of its subsidiary companies would continue normal operations. The filing and its terms, according to Air Methods, had the support of the “majorities of its first lien lenders and bondholders.”

Air Methods CEO JaeLynn Williams said the bankruptcy filing, coupled with recent performance improvements, would allow the company to continue to provide “the highest level of service and patient care.”

J A E LY N N W IL L I A M S C E O, A IR ME T H O D S

“Over the past year, we have made meaningful progress optimizing our field operations, going in-network with leading commercial [health] insurers, and improving our cost structure. We’ve also seen record numbers of transports, and we’ve opened several new bases across the country this year,” Williams said.

But will these moves be enough for Air Methods or other air ambulance programs?

The industry has had limited success with pushback. Certain implementation rules for the No Surprises Act have been successfully challenged in federal court.

Last year, Christopher Eastlee, AAMS v-p for public affairs, expressed doubt that enough of the No Surprises Act could be sufficiently changed and done soon enough to provide needed relief. “Can we wait it out? I don’t know if we can,” he said. z

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On the Ground FBO AND AIRPORT NEWS BY CURT EPSTEIN

The Phillips 66-supplied property is getting a $2 million makeover with fresh paint, new illuminated signage, Wi-Fi throughout the complex, a surveillance camera network, and repairs to the fuel farm. The FBO’s 1970s-era 7,400-sq-ft terminal is being gutted and rebuilt, with completion expected by May 2024.

New FBO To Rise at Atlanta-area Bizav Gateway

After Taking Over FBO, Georgia Airport Has Big Plans Georgia’s Macon-Bibb County has taken over the operation of the lone FBO at Middle Georgia Regional Airport (KMCN) after buying out the remainder of the facility’s lease from Lowe Aviation.

Concurrent with its arrival as an aviation service provider, the county unveiled a plan to replace the current FBO—now renamed High Note Aviation—with a new $12 million facility that pays homage to Macon’s claim as the birthplace of Southern rock.

At more than twice the size of the existing terminal, the new structure will resemble a giant guitar from the air and a piano from the ground. According to airport director Doug Faour, construction will begin in secondquarter 2024, starting with the demolition of the existing terminal, and completion is slated in late 2025.

KTPL Debuts New FBO Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport (KTPL) held the grand opening of its $7.4 million FBO. Following a 14-month construction period, the new 6,400-sq-ft terminal with adjoining 1,600-sq-ft airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF) bay replaced the former 1950s-era terminal and ARFF station, which was last renovated in 2002.

The focal point of the facility is the more than 20,000-sq-ft arrivals canopy that can accommodate aircraft up to a Bombardier Global.

Minnesota FBO Gets Major Renovation Under New Ownership Inflight Aviation, which recently acquired the former Elliott Aviation FBO at Minneapolis-area Flying Cloud Airport, has embarked on a complete renovation of the six-acre facility.

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A private aviation real estate developer has obtained permission to construct a new FBO at Atlanta-area Fulton County Executive Airport (KFTY). Construction of the greenfield facility will begin as soon as the company inks an agreement with its first hangar tenant, likely in the first quarter of 2024.

Once completed, the multi-million-dollar FBO will become the third service provider at KFTY, alongside established service providers Hill Aircraft and Signature Aviation.

The facility will feature a pair of corporate hangars, each more than 30,000 sq ft, and a modern two-story terminal with a large aircraft arrivals canopy. The current plan is to operate the new facility under the name Atlanta Executive, but the company said it would entertain the idea of a collaboration with an established FBO operator.

Skyservice Makes Major Move into Miami Canada-based aviation services provider Skyservice has purchased a majority interest in Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (KOPF) FBO Fontainebleau Aviation.

The deal also included Fontainebleau’s planned expansion into Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (KFLL).

Fontainebleau acquired the former Jetscape FBO facility that is currently under development. Including 80,000 sq ft of aircraft storage and a 35,000-sq-ft terminal/office complex, it is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024.

Nashville-area FBO Has Many Irons in the Fire It’s been a busy year of development for Hollingshead Aviation, one of two service providers at Tennessee’s Smyrna Airport (KMQY). The company, which has operated from the former Smyrna Air Center facility for seven years, has made several upgrades to its property.

Hollingshead is about to wrap up a six-month renovation project at its twodecades-old, 12,000-sq-ft, two-story terminal. Completely gutted and remodeled, the terminal is expected to be finished by the end of the year and will include a pair of 10-seat conference rooms, a pilot lounge with showers, a media room, a flight planning area/business center, and a marbletiled passenger lobby with fireplace.

Brenda Fields, the FBO’s director, looks forward to the project’s completion. “I think people are going to be very impressed when they walk in, not only with the facility and the commitment the owners have made, but the fact that what they are providing is all geared toward making the customers comfortable,” she told AIN. The FBO offers a Part 145 repair station as well as crew cars, a passenger van, concierge service, and rental car deliveries to the terminal.

In October, the company completed two 60,000-sq-ft heated hangars near its terminal on the west side of the field. Capable of sheltering the latest ultra-long-range business jets, they bring the complex’s hangar space to 210,000 sq ft. Plans call for the addition of another three 30,000-sq-ft hangars over the next several years.

The FBO’s leasehold includes 18 acres on the west side of the field and an additional 22 acres on the east. Business jets and transient aircraft are generally handled on the west side, while the majority of the company’s based piston aircraft as well as

Hollingshead Aviation at Tennessee’s Smyrna Airport is on a building spree. line service, which is trained using the fuel the facility’s cargo-hauling tenants are on the east side. The airport is five miles from a provider’s in-house training program, spemajor Nissan auto plant, and there is a brisk cializes in quick turns. business in the parts delivery sector.

“We work very closely as a team to make Hollingshead’s Avfuel-supplied under- things comfortable for our customers and ground fuel farm is on the east side and make sure they are taken care of,” Fields holds 16,400 gallons of jet-A and 14,000 said. “We try to make it a very positive expegallons of avgas. However, another improve- rience for them. They enjoy coming in and ment underway is the relocation of its fuel we enjoy having them.” storage to a new complex on the west side.

Located just 14 miles from Nashville, the The aboveground fuel farm with a capacity heart of the country music world, the airport of 40,000 gallons of jet fuel and 15,000 gal- attracts a fair number of A-list performers. lons of 100LL is expected to be completed by “We see a lot of celebrities,” said Fields. the third quarter of 2024, at which time the “They are very down-to-earth and they enjoy east-side fuel facility will be decommissioned. it because we treat them like they are norIn addition to a 5,000-gallon jet-A refueler mal people, and they are.” and two 1,000-gallon avgas trucks—one of The FBO complex has been the setting which is permanently stationed on the east for music videos, and its hangars have side of the field—the operator plans to install hosted more than just aircraft, with wedself-serve avgas fueling stations on both sides dings, baby showers, birthday parties, and of the field. even graduation photo shoots taking place Open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. there. “We’re kind of an all-around type of with after-hours callouts available, the FBO facility,” explained Fields. “We’re open to all has 24 employees. Fields noted that while types of events.” summer is the peak season for the business, The FBO recently hosted gatherings for the increasing traffic has reached the point Daher TBM and Cessna Citation owners assowhere operations are steady all year. KMQY ciations that attracted dozens of aircraft. Once is centrally located and provides a good every two years, it handles all the civilian airtech stop for aircraft transiting between craft and performers for the Great Tennessee Florida and points north. As a result, the Airshow, which takes place at KMQY. C.E.

a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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MRO

BY AIN STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS

StandardAero Committing Millions to Springfield Base

International Sanctions Force Russian Companies To Refurbish Aging Airliners Russia’s business aviation sector is struggling to source and operate viable aircraft in the wake of international sanctions imposed more than 18 months ago. The shortage has intensified in recent months, prompting the industry to repurpose aging Soviet-era airliners into private jets to meet the needs of corporate flight departments.

Large Russian state-backed corporations, such as Gazprom, Rosneft, and Rostec, have operated fleets of Westernmade business aircraft. Now, due to sanctions covering maintenance services and parts, they have found it hard to keep these in service and harder still to replace aircraft.

According to a recent report from the Russian Kommersant newspaper, the space agency Roscosmos and energy group Gazprom are looking to restore dismantled Tupolev Tu-204s. Some companies are also considering conversions of the larger Ilyushin Il-96 airliner.

Bombardier Expands Smart Services Cost-per-hour Program Bombardier has expanded its cost-per-flight-hour offerings with the introduction of a new level of its Smart Services program that includes scheduled and unscheduled maintenance cost coverage on major parts such as aircraft system components and landing gear overhaul. Called Smart Services Elite, the offering includes parts shipping, technical publications, technical support, a guaranteed flight-hour rate throughout the term, and mobile response team (MRT) coverage.

Smart Services Elite also encompasses select maintenance options on previous cost-per-flight-hour programs, making it what Bombardier calls its most complete maintenance cost coverage program. Bombardier calls the new program “essentially inflation proof” due to its flat, fixed yearly rate.

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StandardAero plans to invest $10 million to $12 million in leasehold improvements at the company’s business aviation MRO facility in Springfield, Illinois. StandardAero said the investments—under a partnership with Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (KSPI)—will come in three phases over a 2.5-year period.

The investments will pay for major building improvements and modernization, including hangar door overhaul, interior door replacement, resurfacing of hangar floors, exterior and interior paint, HVAC replacements, flat-roof replacements, paint facility equipment upgrades, and parking area and road resurfacing.

Earlier this year, KSPI finished installing a 2.88-MW solar project that consists of six solar arrays with more than 6,500 panels on 7.5 acres of the airport property, making it one of the greenest facilities in the industry.

Honda Aircraft Simplifies Ownership Tasks Honda Aircraft has developed a service to help HondaJet owners manage the maintenance of their airplanes. Called Aircraft Management Services (AMS), the program aims “to make HondaJet ownership effortless while offering owners greater control and predictability over maintenance demands,” the company said. AMS is available to owners who enroll in Honda Aircraft’s Flight Ready service plans.

AMS participants will work with Honda Aircraft’s customer service division to “guide, plan, and schedule maintenance activities.” Work will be done by Honda Aircraft’s network of authorized service centers, although AMS is initially available only for U.S.-based N-registered HondaJets.

The AMS program includes AOG and unscheduled maintenance support; scheduling and tracking of upgrades and modifications and regular maintenance; scheduling of aircraft detailing; pilot services such as for relocation; and service bulletin and airworthiness directive compliance. z

Omni Aircraft Maintenance Poised for Major Expansion A year after earning its Part 145 certificate, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Omni Aircraft Maintenance has taken full advantage of its status as an FAA-approved repair station, witnessing the annual number of its MRO jobs roughly triple over the span of a year.

For 40 years, the company’s MRO division has been engaged in the maintenance of Omni Air Transport’s fleet of Learjets under individual mechanics’ A&P licenses. The division has expanded its scope of activity to include several aircraft models, ranging from King Airs to Gulfstreams.

Now, as outside work accounts for roughly 25 percent of its business, the company plans to open a new 20,000-sq-ft hangar in Tulsa, effectively doubling its capacity from three heavy lines to six by the end of the year.

In a recent interview with AIN, Omni Aircraft Maintenance president and co-owner Caleb Benner said it took about two years to gain the Part 145 ticket, somewhat longer than he originally expected due to a shortage of inspectors at the FAA. “It went pretty smoothly, but there were some changes here locally within the FAA we were dealing with, as well as some internal changes with us as we grew the company,” explained Benner. “We started out with three inspectors but at the end of the job, I think only one of the original three was still on this project.”

But once the organization gained its FAA approval, business from outside customers grew rapidly, increasing from 58 external jobs in 2022 to about 100 in just the first eight months of this year, reported Benner.

The growth, however, proved limited by a shortage of hangar space.

One of the three lines in the new hangar will accommodate aircraft as large as a Gulfstream, he added, providing the needed capacity for the general trend toward the operation of larger jets.

Omni Aircraft Maintenance expects its MRO capacity to double by the end of the year.

“Our expertise is definitely in Learjets,” said Benner. “[But] I’m in the process of adding other ones to the certificate...such as King Air 350s, which we have a lot of experience on—a lot of expertise. For the Citation XL and Citation XLS+, we’ve got experience there, and then Learjet 60s as well will be on the certificate. We also do a lot of work on Gulfstreams and Falcons—primarily AOG work. We’re not doing heavy inspections on Gulfstreams and Falcons right now. That is one of the lines that’ll be added, though, for what we call heavy-body aircraft.”

Meanwhile, Omni has entered the parts business to address the widespread delivery delays plaguing the industry. Most recently, it bought a used Learjet 45 to scavenge parts for itself and for sale to competitors and back to manufacturers.

“We’ve sold a lot of parts to competitors and continue to sell them internally, which has really helped us,” said Benner.

Whether it sells parts that need refurbishment or not depends on the part, he added, but often Omni can perform a visual inspection and tag them for placement on its own shelves.

“It has been very beneficial to the business and I would say to the industry as well,” Benner noted, adding that he plans to do more part-outs when the right aircraft become available. “We need the right amount of time on the components and engines to make it a direct value to us. But we’re continuing to look for other makes and models as needed.”

Apart from Tulsa, Omni maintains satellite locations in Atlanta and Lubbock, Texas, where it stages AOG trucks for remote support in areas within about a 400-mile radius.

From Atlanta in particular, AOG personnel also fly up and down the East Coast, where a large portion of Omni’s client base operates.

Next, it plans to base another AOG truck in Las Vegas, which will place support resources within a reasonable distance from the West Coast. Finally, a dedicated truck based in Tulsa serves local clients and other points in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas.

Now employing about 20 mechanics, Benner said he expects an initial need to hire another 10 to staff one shift in the new hangar, followed by another 10 when it adds a second shift as demand dictates.

G.P.

a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Accidents

BY DAVID JACK KENNY The material on this page is based on reports by the official agencies of the countries having the reponsibility for aircraft accident and incident investigations. It is not intended to judge or evaluate the ability of any person, living or dead, and is presented here for informational purposes.

Preliminary Reports

Final Reports

Brownout Cited in PNG Helicopter Accident

Georgia Helicopter Crash Attributed to Spatial Disorientation

Bell 407, Sept. 22, 2023, Madang, Papua New Guinea

Robinson R66, Sept. 15, 2021, Monticello, Georgia

almost 4,000 feet per minute and crashing in a 90-degree right bank. A witness south of the accident site reported “very rainy” conditions.

The 2020-model helicopter was equipped with a 10.6-inch Garmin display capable of displaying both primary flight and navigation screens side by side, a Garmin GTN 750xi combined navigation and communication system, and a HeliSAS stability augmentation system, but was not certified for flight in instrument conditions.

It had been acquired by the operator several months earlier but had not been added to its Part 135 certificate. The 42-year-old, 6,000-hour commercial pilot owned the charter company and held both pilot and instructor certificates for instrument helicopter, but the NTSB was unable to determine his proficiency with the systems in the accident aircraft. The 46-year-old co-pilot listed 383 hours of flight experience. He held a commercial certificate with helicopter and instrument airplane ratings.

“Dense dust” blown into the cabin as the helicopter entered a five-foot hover over a “The pilot’s decision to continue the visual soccer field caused the pilot to lose visual flight rules flight into deteriorating weather contact with the ground, according to a pre- conditions during a dark night and over liminary report issued by Papua New Guin- unlit terrain” led to spatial disorientation ea’s Accident Investigation Commission that ended in the crash that claimed the (AIC). All four passengers suffered serious lives of all three on board, the National injuries, and one person on the ground was Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. killed when the aircraft drifted backwards Two company pilots were onboard the and hit a tree. The pilot, loadmaster, and Part 135 charter flight transporting a client several locals reported minor injuries. to “look at properties” in southern GeorThe AIC reported that the pilot of the gia and northern Florida. They departed charter flight from the Sengapi Airstrip Atlanta’s Fulton County Executive Airport was a PNG native with 11,600 hours of at 07:00 that morning; the return flight flight experience but unfamiliar with the stopped at the Thomasville (Georgia) area. The helicopter’s GPS did not contain Regional Airport, from which they departed coordinates for their destination, so he at 18:40 after taking on 40 gallons of fuel. used the nearest available fix and relied on At 19:37, the passenger responded to a a passenger to aid him in navigation. After text message from his wife with a photoSilver Eagle Wreck Traced crossing the airstrip, he made a shallow graph showing that they’d made a precauto Slipping Seat approach to the soccer field where villag- tionary landing in a field after a “bad storm Cessna P210 Silver Eagle converers were waiting. pop[ped] up.” He estimated their arrival sion, Oct. 8, 2021, Atlanta, Georgia time at 21:30.

One Hurt in Caravan’s ADS-B data showed that after lifting Though the airplane was estimated to be Forced Landing off from the field, the helicopter followed 500 pounds overweight with its center of power lines north and then back south, gravity more than two inches aft of limits, Cessna 208, Oct. 20, 2023, Barthen flew to the Perry-Houston County the NTSB attributed its departure crash to won Heads, Victoria, Australia (Georgia) Airport 117 nm to the southeast. “the pilot’s failure to ensure that his seat In a brief initial report, the Australian Trans- It landed there at about 20:15, 10 minutes was properly secured before initiating the port Safety Bureau (ATSB) stated that one after the end of civil twilight, and took off takeoff, which resulted in a loss of control passenger was seriously injured and the air- again five minutes later, following High- during the initial climb.” plane sustained substantial damage during way 75 northwards before crossing into the All four occupants perished when the a forced landing. The pilot initiated the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. airplane lifted off about 1,000 feet down forced landing after observing “an engine During the last three minutes of the Runway 21 of Atlanta’s DeKalb-Peachtree malfunction” during the initial climb. The flight, it “made a series of left and right Airport, pitched up and rolled inverted, purpose of the flight and total number on turns before entering “a rapidly descend- and crashed nose-first next to the runway. board were not initially disclosed. ing right turn” at a rate that increased to Investigators found the pilot’s seat at the

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

extreme aft end of its track, a position failure of the main shaft and the torsion alcohol and metabolites of cocaine, but the not compatible with his five-foot nine- shaft, and loss of the 2nd- and 3rd-stage NTSB concluded that those findings alone inch height. turbine wheels.” A teardown inspection by were not sufficient to account for his “synThe 1978-model airplane’s original recip- the manufacturer found a fragment of the copal episode.” Those metabolites included rocating engine had been replaced with a third-stage turbine wheel lodged in the rup- cocaethylene, indicating “that both cocaine Rolls-Royce 250-B17F/2 turbine under the ture of the containment case; the remain- and ethanol had been in his system at the provisions of a supplemental type certifi- ing pieces of the second- and third-stage same time, with more than a small amount cate. Slippage of the pilot’s seat is a known turbine wheels were missing, as were the of cocaine likely used.” The pilot was serihazard in single-engine Cessnas of that vin- aft turbine bearing and bearing support, aft ously injured, the flight nurse suffered tage and is the subject of both an airwor- sump scavenge pump, aft bearing support critical injuries, and the flight paramedic thiness directive (AD 2011-10-09) requiring struts, turbine nut, and tail cone. Examina- escaped with minor injuries after the pilot repetitive inspection of the seat tracks and tion of the fragment of the third-stage tur- lost control. The precise cause of his incaseat locking pins and a service bulletin bine wheel showed evidence of low-cycle pacitation was not determined.

(SEB07-R06, most recently revised June 11, fatigue cracking.

The helicopter was dispatched from its 2015) requiring installation of a secondary The Honeywell TPE331 engine had been base to transfer a patient from Andalusia stop behind the pilot seat and recommend- overhauled in June 2009 and was main- Health Hospital to another facility. The en ing one behind the co-pilot’s seat. tained by the same organization until it route portion of the 15-minute flight was The Pilot Operating Handbook’s “Before was removed in September 2019 while the uneventful, but as they approached the Starting Engine” checklist also calls for ver- airframe was refurbished. The first- and hospital helipad, the pilot recalled “feeling ifying that the seat is locked in place. Main- second-stage turbine wheels were replaced sweaty and clammy.” The flight reported tenance records showed that the AD was and a hot section inspection performed in that their flight path seemed low as they last accomplished on July 19, 2021, but the August 2014. A new maintainer took over and approached the hospital, and that the flight service bulletin was never carried out. reinstalled the engine in August 2020. The nurse had tapped the pilot on the shoulder most recent 100-hour inspection was in Feb- to tell him so.

Cycle-tracking Errors ruary 2022, and the operator had scheduled After briefly levelling off, the helicopLed to Engine Failure replacement of all three turbine wheels at an ter’s nose dropped again. The flight nurse upcoming maintenance appointment. made a MAYDAY call and told the pilot to de Havilland Canada DHC-2/A1 Beaver, A 2006 U.S. airworthiness directive man- “Pull up, pull up, pull up.” Witnesses nearby April 4, 2022, Moruya Airport, dated a revised method of counting operat- confirmed that the helicopter passed about New South Wales, Australia ing cycles in Honeywell engines to adjust for 300 feet overhead, pitched up at least 90 Imprecise engine cycle tracking by the air- the number of landings made in specialized degrees, and rolled left into trees, power plane’s operator resulted in the third-stage operations such as skydiving and crop-dust- lines, and the ground. turbine wheel remaining in use beyond its ing. The ATSB’s review found that the operInvestigators found that in a visit to his service limit, allowing a low-cycle fatigue ator had logged landings accurately but primary care physician on April 29, 2022, crack to progress to complete failure. estimated the daily number of shutdowns one week after his FAA medical exam, the Shortly after the parachutists jumped at based on their pilots’ recollections, leading pilot reported using “an oral appliance” to 14,500 feet, the pilot of the skydiving platform the maintenance provider to underestimate treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) since heard a loud bang followed by brief vibra- the third-stage turbine wheel’s number of 2015. His history of OSA was never distions. Seeing holes in the engine cowling, the equivalent cycles by 477.6. This exceeded closed to the FAA. They also found that he pilot diagnosed an uncontained engine fail- the manufacturer’s service limit by 357.6. had been convicted for driving under the ure, pulled the emergency fuel shut-off, shut influence in 2012 and arrested for the same logo down the electrical system after broadcasting Positive Toxicology Didn’t Explain offense in AINonline May 2022, but had not reported a MAYDAY, and made a successful power-off Pilot’s Loss of Consciousness this to either the FAA or his employer. z landing on Runway 18, at the opposite end of Airbus Helicopters AS350B2, the airport from the drop zone.

July 29, 2022, Andalusia, Alabama According to the ATSB, “Examination of the engine identified a perforation of The pilot of an EMS helicopter who lost Get the latest bizav the external wall of the combustion cham- consciousness on a short positioning flight news ! ber, holes through the exhaust assembly, subsequently tested positive for both AIN logo: C 0 M 100 Y 63 B 12 Hex: D31245 RGB: R 211 G 18 B 69 Alerts: 65% black font: Myriad Pro semi extended 90% height

alerts

a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Compliance Countdown

BY GORDON GILBERT

JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Dec. 15, 2023

U.S.: Trichloroethylene The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to eliminate manufacturing, distributing, and using trichloroethylene (TCE) because of its alleged unacceptable level of toxicity. TCE is widely used as a solvent in a variety of applications, including aircraft manufacturing and servicing. The proposal includes extended compliance timeframes and workplace controls for certain industrial and commercial uses (including proposed phaseouts and time-limited exemptions); prohibits the disposal of TCE to industrial pre-treatment, industrial treatment, or publicly owned treatment works, with a time-limited exemption for cleanup projects; and establishes recordkeeping and downstream notification requirements. Comments must be received by Dec. 15, 2023.

Dec. 31, 2023

March 16, 2024

Europe: Emissions Trading System

U.S.: Remote ID of Unmanned Aircraft

Some two years after the European Commission’s proposal to revise aviation’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) directives, revisions have been adopted and must be incorporated into the legislation of EU member states by Dec. 31, 2023. Key changes that were noted by the European Business Aviation Association include the gradual phasing out of free ETS allowances beginning in September 2024 to reach a full auctioning regime beginning in 2026. Beginning in 2025, covered operators will be required to report non-CO2 emissions, such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), soot particles, oxidized sulfur species, and the effects from water vapor (contrails).

March 1, 2024

ICAO: North Atlantic Operations

A draft of the revised North Atlantic Operations and Airspace Manual has been published resulting from the meeting in June 2023 of the North Atlantic Systems Planning Group. The new manual is scheduled to take effect beginning on March 1, 2024. According to international operations and security intelligence organization OpsGroup, key changes in the manual include deleting the oceanic clearances requirement and a “completely rewritten” comms failure procedure.

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Drone pilots who are unable to comply with the remote ID broadcast requirements have until March 16, 2024, to equip their aircraft, a six-month delay from the original Sept. 16, 2023 date. After March 16, 2024, operators flying uncrewed aircraft without remote ID could face fines and suspension or revocation of pilot certificates. In making this decision, the FAA said it “recognizes the unanticipated issues that some operators are experiencing finding remote identification broadcast modules.”

March 31, 2024

Netherlands: Amsterdam Air Traffic

Business jets will bear the brunt of actions next year to reduce air traffic at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The airport declared that starting March 31, 2024, just 12,000 business aviation movements will be permitted over a 12-month period. That represents a 30 percent cut from the current 17,000 limit, with 7,200 of the new limit allocated for the summer 2024 operating period.

April 24, 2024; Oct. 24, 2024; April 25, 2025

U.S.: Airport SMS

Certain air carrier airports certified under FAR Part 139 will be required to submit an implementation plan for a safety

Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

management system (SMS) on the following deadlines: April 24, 2024, for airports designated as hubs; Oct. 24, 2024, for airports with 100,000 or more annual operations over the previous three years; and April 25, 2025, for airports classified as port of entry, landing rights, user fee, and international facilities. The SMS must be implemented within 12 months of receiving FAA approval of the implementation plan.

Sept. 9, 2024

U.S.: Pilot Records Database

Final compliance date is Sept. 9, 2024, for reporting historical records concerning training, alcohol testing, qualification, proficiency, and disciplinary actions records that date before Jan. 1, 2015, to the new pilot records database (PRD).

Also beginning on Sept. 9, 2024, the Pilot Records Improvement Act (PRIA) ceases to be effective and will not be an available alternative to PRD. Also after this date, each entity that holds an operating certificate under Parts 121, 125, or 135—or that holds management specifications for Part 91K—must report to the PRD all historical records kept in accordance with PRIA dating from Aug. 1, 2010, until June 10, 2022.

Since June 2023, certain operators under Parts 91, as well as those under 91K and 135, were required to complete submissions to the PRD of all historical records dating on or after Jan. 1, 2015.

Dec. 2, 2024

Europe: Part 145 Safety Management Systems

Starting on Dec. 2, 2022, EASA Part 145 maintenance organizations were required to meet revised regulations that were published in November 2021. However, there is a two-year transition period, to Dec. 2, 2024, to allow maintenance organizations to correct any findings of noncompliance with the new Part-145 requirements. The main change introduced in the regulation is the required implementation of a safety management system. SMS requires maintenance organizations to implement hazard identification, risk management and safety assurance processes, and the designation of a safety manager. To support the safety management system processes, several organization requirements have been changed including the safety policy and internal occurrence reporting.

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May 1, 2025

Europe: ETIAS

ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) is an online pretravel and pre-boarding requirement applying to visa-exempt third-country nationals planning to travel to European states. The implementation date has been extended several times, with the latest now May 1, 2025. The information is submitted via an online application ahead of arrival at borders, enabling pre-travel assessment of irregular migration risks, security, or public health risk checks.

Dec. 31, 2025

Europe/UK: Portable Halon Fire Extinguishers

In 2010, both EASA and the UK Environmental Agency set Dec. 31, 2025, as the replacement deadline for the use of halon handheld portable fire extinguishers in aircraft cockpits and cabins, as well as in certain aircraft fire protection systems.

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For the most current compliance status, see: ainonline.com/compliance AIN_DuncanAviation_Novemberl2023.indd 1

11/2/2023 12:22:15 PM

a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ December 2023 \ Aviation International News

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People in Aviation

BY JAMES CARELESS

ITP Aero has chosen Eva Azoulay as the company’s group CEO and Carlos Alzola as managing director, while current CFO Javier Lázaro has been appointed to its board. Azoulay was previously an aviation advisor at Bain Capital, while Alzola was ITP Aero’s general manager.

Spirit AeroSystems has named Patrick Shanahan, a member of the company's board of directors, as interim president and CEO. He succeeds Thomas Gentile III while Spirit searches for a permanent replacement. Shanahan was acting PATRICK SHANAHAN U.S. Secretary of Defense from January to June 2019.

Daher Group has selected Alain-Jory Barthe as senior v-p of industry and Julie de Cevins as sustainable development director, effective January 1. Prior to this, Barthe was CEO of Thales Avionics Electrical Systems. De Cevins is currently Daher Group’s acting senior v-p of industry.

Devin Golden has been hired as JetNet’s chief revenue officer. He was previously senior v-p of sales at IntelyCare.

The Aircraft Electronics Association has named Kevin Bruce as its director of engineering and certification.

He has served as the association’s Canadian region regulatory consultant since 2013 and as the director of airworthiness and quality for DiaKEVIN BRUCE mond Aircraft since 2006.

Tradewind Aviation has appointed Jen Lozada as v-p of finance and Crist Stilianos as v-p of human resources and people. Lozada was previously senior v-p of XO Shared. Stilianos was senior director of human resources at Calvin Klein.

King Aerospace has hired Pete Schneider as v-p of program management and special projects. He has 35 years of project management experience, including 15 involving VVIP aircraft.

ExecuJet MRO Services Africa's maintenance supervisor for engines, Frank Oberholzer, has attained the title of master technician

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

after successfully completing advanced training on engines at Honeywell in the U.S. According to ExecuJet, only 10 engineers in the world have earned this certification from Honeywell.

West Star Aviation has promoted Sean Ertz to technical sales manager–Textron at its Chattanooga, Tennessee location. His last position was project manager for the Textron program.

SEAN ERTZ Tom Owen was appointed general manager for the Big Island Jet Center. Owen has 18 years of experience in business aviation operations, including being a part of the Avfuel Corporation’s FBO management team and acting as general manager for Sonoma Jet Center in Santa Rosa, California.

Air Charter Service (ACS) has promoted James Royds-Jones to regional director for the company’s newly defined Greater China region and Wanny Wu as deputy regional director. RoydsJones was previously the company’s CEO and Hong Kong/regional director for Greater China, while Wu was managing director of ACS’ WANNY WU Beijing office.

Glyn Tookey has joined Duncan Aviation as its regional manager in Europe/Middle East/ Africa (EMEA). He was formerly sales director with ACC Columbia Jet Service.

Priester Aviation has hired Victor Schaefer to be national director of charter sales. He was formerly in a similar position at Mayo Aviation.

Bent Wing Flight Services has appointed Nathan Coyle as executive director and general manager. Coyle comes to Bent Wing from the Georgia Department of Transportation, where he served as aviation planning manager.

Alfredo Garcia has joined ACI Jet as director of sales and business development for the company’s MRO division. He ALFREDO GARCIA was formerly Duncan Aviation’s

regional manager for the southwest U.S. Elit'Avia Americas has appointed Renee Skiles as director of charter sales and client experience and Justin Warren as director of maintenance. Skiles was previously director of charter sales at Four Corners Aviation. Warren was CAM/MX supervisor at Solairus Aviation.

Marc Pos has been appointed as Reliable Robotics’ lead of radar design, having been a senior fellow at the company since July 2023. Pos was previously an engineering fellow at Honeywell.

Precision Aviation Group has proMARC POS moted David Scarbrough to director of repair station safety and compliance. Brandon Yarbrough also was promoted to accountable manager. He was previously the repair station manager. Bryce English was elevated to repair station manager. English has been a quality monitor and engineering assistant at the company.

Duncan Aviation named Drew Heginbotham as Bombardier airframe sales rep at the company’s facility in Provo, Utah. Heginbotham came from the natural gas firm Oneok, where he was director of maintenance.

MRO Jet East has hired Rick Mutschler as the company’s avionics and electrical systems technical instructor. He was previously Embraer product director at Constant Aviation.

West Star Aviation has named Eric Valdes as program director for Embraer, accessories, and nondestructive testing. Valdes was director of Gulfstream and accessories at West Star for the past 16 years. The MRO provider also promoted Ryan Gibbs to director of Falcon business development at its East Alton, Illinois location.

He previously served as the company’s Falcon technical sales manager at West Star Aviation St. Louis Regional Airport. In addition, West Star promoted Corey Boardman to Bombardier team lead at its Chattanooga, Tennessee location. Boardman has been with West Star for 14 years in various positions. z

Graham Stephenson, 84, whose aviation career spanned 60 years from British Airways to ExecuJet, died on October 19. Stephenson became known for his efforts to develop high standards of operations and safety at FBOs globally.

He had a lifelong passion for aviation, obtaining his pilot’s license at age 17—before he passed his driving test. Through an RAF scholarship, he had learned to fly the de Havilland Tiger Moth, according to obituary information from the Emerald Network.

Stephenson later spent 21 years with British Airways, a career that led him to Moscow as traffic manager and then back to London as traffic manager for British Airtours.

He also held stints with London Luton Airport and Saudi Arabian Airlines before moving into business aviation operations as v-p and COO of Jet Aviation Saudi Arabia.

In that role, he helped establish an FBO in Jeddah.

Ultimately, he returned to the UK for a role in deputy operations management with Jersey European Airways. By the mid-2000s, he became head of FBOs for ExecuJet Aviation Group. He remained active in helping establish FBOs and building FBO standards with his own consultancy after retiring from ExecuJet.

AWARDS AND HONORS Electric aircraft manufacturer Eviation Aircraft has announced that test pilot Steve Crane has won the Iven C. Kincheloe Award for the first flight of the company’s twin electric engine Alice. The award was presented by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), recognizing the accomplishment. Crane flew the nine-seater Alice aircraft on Sept. 22, 2022, making Alice the world’s first flight-tested all-electric commuter aircraft.

The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) has presented Max Motschmann with the François Chavatte Award. This special award honors Motschmann, former CEO of International Jet Management Asia and founder of the Philippines chapter of the Asia Business Aviation Association, for his passion for and leadership in expanding business aviation over his aviation career of 50-plus years.

Garmin co-founders Min Kao and the late Gary Burrell have been named to the National Aviation Hall of Fame in recognition of their lifetime achievements and contributions to the aviation and aerospace industry.

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 continued from page 4

from—showed that the five-year purchase plans for new business jets have increased by two percentage points from last year, surpassing pre-Covid 2019’s level and are equivalent to nearly 20 percent of the in-service fleet.

North America is expected to account for 64 percent of new jet deliveries in the first half of the decade, a rate that is on par with last year’s forecast and is driven by 90 percent of the North American survey respondents believing the economy will at least remain the same or improve—making it the region with the highest degree of optimism. European deliveries in that same period are estimated to account for 14 percent of the total, down 1 percent from last year driven by economic uncertainty and growing sustainability issues.

The Asia-Pacific region is predicted to capture 11 percent of the new jet delivery total through 2028, up one point from last year’s forecast. “For the past two years we’ve seen activity increase, especially in those fleet operators, even out of China,” noted Javier Jimenez Serrano, manager of strategy and market research. “We’re not going to see huge growth come out of China, but we are finally seeing that demand and usage show up here in the demand for new jets.”

While the number of deliveries forecast over the next decade remained the same from last year’s outlook, Honeywell’s analysts have isolated 500 aircraft as the “new user” impact resulting from the Covid pandemic. “There is a gap between what the world would have needed between 2020 and 2022, and what the industry delivered,” Serrano explained to AIN, adding the deficit was due to supply chain shortages.

“Now we know there was no drop in demand, there was a drop in supply so for the next few years we have to catch up. Backlogs may not be increasing at the same rate as 2022, but they are not going away, we’re not seeing cancellations either. After things have settled down, once you add up the preCovid total and the new total, that’s where we get the 500. They’re not new versus last year, we’ve just been able to identify them.” z

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Aviation International News \ December 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

Cancer Patients

Fly Free Can You Spare a Seat?

Corporate Angel Network (CAN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide cancer patients with free transportation to treatment centers throughout the United States.

CAN works with corporate flight departments to match scheduled business trips with patient requests. Thanks to the generous support of over 500 partners, CAN has coordinated more than 67,000 flights.

Contact CAN to learn more about becoming a partner or to make a personal or corporate donation to support the mission.

corpangelnetwork.org

It’s wonderful that organizations like the Corporate Angel Network are able to help connect those most in need of flights to those who are flying.

-Henry Maier, President and CEO, FedEx Ground

Westchester County Airport | White Plains, NY | (914) 328-1313