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Aviation Living Legend Sean D. Tucker striking the OTWEM at Oshkosh 2014
HondaJet No longer Only a Dream
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From the Editor
TRANSATLANTIC!... WHAT DO YOU MEAN? THE TIMING MAY HAVE BEEN APPROPRIATEÂ…but nonetheless, the launch of BART International in 1988 came as a surprise. This was the era when publishing the picture of a European Company's business aircraft was an absolute NO-NO! No dedicated Business Aviation magazine had ever been published in Europe. Instead, to find out what was happening in bizav on the Continent, you had to turn to mostly US published sources. So the catchphrase "Europe's Premier Business Aviation Magazine" that to this day underlined the title BART International was quite fitting. In due course things started to change, thanks in large part to the years of intense advocacy directed by BART, other colleagues of the international specialized press and the European Business Aviation Association. Proof that perceptions in Europe had finally begun to change came in 1999 when Denmark's LEGO became the first European company to authorize the publication of a photo of their business jet - a Dassault Falcon in an EBAA brochure. No wonder the name 'LEGO' is an abbreviation of the two Danish words "leg" and "godt", meaning "play well". They indeed played very well, opening the chest in which European Business Aviation was for so long locked away in. However, the real trigger for the development of Business Aviation in Europe was the creation of EBACE, an event that I had the privilege to launch as EBAA CEO in 2001 with my friend Jack Olcott, then NBAA President and CEO. This was really my first "transatlantic" experience and - as anyone who has ever attended an EBACE in Geneva can attest to - it has proven to be a success. It's secret? It simply brought together the world's two major Business Aviation markets to create the first transatlantic show.
"I feel we are all islands - in a common sea" Anne Morrow Lindbergh
To continue this trend, most recently we opened BART International offices in the U.S. while also increasing our distribution in America. Having taken root in Europe, BART International is nowadays firmly established on both Continents. At this point you know why the magazine is now called "The Premier Transatlantic Business Aviation Magazine"! No BRIC, no LCR, no EMEA but simply what we are: Transatlantic. As a matter of fact, aviation's history is transatlantic too. The United States of America can claim credit for having mothered the Wright Brothers, who made the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-thanair flight in 1903. The French of course can argue that Alberto Santos-Dumont made the first European flight in November at Bagatelle Field in Paris in 1906, and the Brazilians further argue the fact that although living in France, Santos Dumont was actually born in Brazil. So now I hope you understand what "Transatlantic" truly means. Crossing the Atlantic has always been a challenge for aviators. After Charles Lindbergh, who made the first solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to complete a solo transatlantic flight. OK, we made some progress since this epic era: namely you don't have to let your buttock get blistered from spending 34 hours in the cockpit like Lindbergh did to cross the pond. Following closely behind its recent FAA certification, a Cessna Citation X+ completed a trans-Atlantic crossing in normal business flight operation in just 5 hours, 33 minutes. With a maximum speed of Mach 0.35, the Citation X+ is currently the fastest civil aircraft. A speed that makes you wrap 10 miles in one minute, leaving you no time for hesitation in case of a sudden glitch. So be prepared and go to school before your company makes up its mind on one of these new jewels.
Avionics Editor Steve Nichols
PREMIER TRANSATLANTIC BUSINESS AVIATION MAGAZINE
Editor and Publisher Fernand M. Francois Associate Publisher Kathy Ann Francois Executive Editor Paul Walsh Senior Editor Marc Grangier Training Editor Captain LeRoy Cook
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MRO Editor Bernard Fitzsimons
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER - 2014 Volume XVII - No 4 BART No 152 WWW.BARTINTL.COM
New-York Editor Kirby J. Harrison CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Fabio Gamba, Nick Klenske, Louis Smyth, Giulia Mauri, Derek A. Bloom, Guy ViselĂŠ, Yvan Veretennikov PRODUCTION Tanguy Francois Production Manager ADVERTISING Kathy Ann Francois Advertising Director kafrancois@bartintl.com CIRCULATION Thais Cremer Marketing Assistant tcremer@bartintl.com
CONTENTS
SECTIONS 3 EDITORIAL 6 POINTER 22 CEO CORNER 23 TRANSATLANTIC UPDATE 28 BUSINESS NEWS
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BUSINESS AS USUAL AT JET EXPO Russia still holds many opportunities, and in this special section we profile Jet Expo, while looking at the regulatory challenges to doing business in Russia.
STATE OF THE ART SIMULATORS The flight training industry is an innovation hot-bed with simulators becoming ever more realistic. Here we look at the latest developments.
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KAZAKHSTAN'S BIZAV POTENTIAL Business Aviation professionals are always looking for the next opportunity, Kazakhstan might be a good place to start.
SHOW REPORTS Oshkosh and the Farnborough Airshow both drew spectacular crowds this year and boasted impressive orders and announcements.
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RUSSIA'S GREY MARKET Aviation law expert Derek Bloom opens the docket on efforts to clamp down in illegal flights in Russia.
FROM THE COCKPIT BART Training Editor LeRoy Cook investigates the impact of wind when flying and then looks at how to avoid runway excursions.
48 HONDA JET FROM DREAM TO REALITY With certification just around the corner, the long awaited HondaJet will soon be a flying for owners and operators. We look at the program's history, and give our analysis of this great aircraft.
70 MAINTENANCE MATTERS Bernard Fitzsimons looks at how Bombardier is using advanced date technology to better serve and make life easier for its customers.
OUR ADVERTISERS AND THEIR AGENCIES
Member
43 17 84 13 11 2 57 63 55 19 81 69 25 15 39 47 7 9 73 83 37
AMSTAT ARINC Cessna Jet Sales (Copp Media Services, Inc.) Dassault Falcon (Puck l'agence) Duncan Aviation FlightSafety International (Greteman Group) GCS Safety Solutions Geneva Air Park Honeywell Aerospace Jet Aviation Jet Expo 2014 JetNet LLC Jet Support Services, Inc. / JSSI Lufthansa Technik (MEC GmbH) NBAA 2014 NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference 2015 Rolls Royce Textron Aviation Customer Support (Copp Media Services, Inc.) Textron Aviation Customer Support (Copp Media Services, Inc.) Universal Avionics Systems, Corp. Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc.
IT'S HERE! The PC 24 was recently rolled-out at Stans Switzerland heralding the beginning of a new aircraft category: the Super Versatile Jet. OUR COVER Offered for US$4.5 million FAA certified in a seven seat executive configuration, the HondaJet is expected to shake up the small business jet market. BART International. Business Aviation Real Tool is the Premier Transatlantic Business Aviation Magazine. ISSN 07767596 Printed in Belgium and published Bi-Monthly by Société Anonyme Frankie&Lette 20 rue de l Industrie, 1400 Nivelles, Belgium. Phone +326 788 3603; Fax +326 788 3623. With US offices in Texas and Arizona, BART International is governed by international copyright laws. Single copy $12.95 U.S. or 10.00 EUR. Professional Subscription available at 12 issues $31.00 U.S. or 24.00 EUR. Bank account BNP PARIBAS Fortis BE92 2710 0610 0423. Administration and Circulation Thais Cremer tcremer@bartintl.com. International distribution by ASENDIA. USPS 016707 Periodical postage paid. For details call IMS at 1(800) 428 3003. Belgian posting office: BE1380 Lasne. Office Coordinator Paul Walsh - Strategic Development Officer. Responsible Publisher - Fernand M. Francois
POINTER Events
Agenda
IN SEQUENCE Reading You Five For more than twenty six years our editors have been informing you about Business Aviation and its uncompromised safety and efficiency; contributing to the economy and the well being of humanity. Give us your views and opinions. All this requires your feedback. Take a few minutes and write your comments to editor@bartintl.com
NBAA Convention & Exhibition Oct 21 - Oct 23 2014 Orlando Convention Center U.S.A.
Paul Walsh Executive Editor
I work with Mission Aviation Fellowship and I just want to thank you all for a nice article in your May-June 2014 edition about what we do and how we use the Quest Kodiak to do it. It was a pleasure to meet Fernand Francois in Arizona. Along with my fellow pilot Tim Imbrock, it was a pleasure to share about what the Kodiak does for us as an organization. It is such a blessing to be able to use this airplane to serve isolated people around the world in sharing the love of Jesus Christ through medical help, humanitarian support, and other things we often take for granted in our big cities. Thanks for putting out the word about MAF and the Kodiak. Have a blessed day. Captain Scott Channon Mission Aviation Fellowship Nampa ID, U.S.A.
Dubai World Center Dec 08 - Dec 10 2014 Dubai U.A.E.
SDC Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference Feb 3 - Feb 6 2015 San Jose, California U.S.A.
AERO Friedrichsaffen 2015 Apr 15 - Apr 18 2015 Friedrichsaffen Germany
Slip-Up WE WROTE BY MISTAKE in the caption page 48 of BART 151 that Universal Weather had a 10,712 square foot FBO at Luton, when in fact this ultra-modern FBO is located at Stansted Airport. We apologize for this slip-up and encourage you to visit the Universal Weather FBO at Standsted on the occasion of your next flight to London.
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Thank you very much for your kind words of appreciation. At BART we know that across the general aviation community, a number of organizations coordinate the use of business airplanes and other assets for humanitarian purposes. MAF is one of them and we praise you for you for being part of it.
Our Man in New-York We are pleased to announce that veteran Business Aviation editor Kirby J. Harrison has been designated as BART New-York Editor, reinforcing our team of U.S. based journalists. Harrison joins BART International with many years of experience in Business Aviation publishing. Until recently he served as Senior Editor at Aviation international News for more than 18 years. Prior to that, his work as a journalist and as a news/documentary photographer has appeared in more than 100 U.S. and international publications. "Kirby is a talented global reporter who has strong expertise in the Business Aviation industry," said BART publisher Fernand Francois. "Accelerating BART's expansion, strengthening our position and intensifying our reputation are key to moving BART International forward. I am confident that Kirby is the ideal person to position BART International as a transatlantic authority when the Business Aviation market is regaining momentum."
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CESSNA CITATION M2 RECEIVES CERTIFICATIONS IN BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA
Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation, announced at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition that that Citation M2 – making its LABACE debut – has gained final certification from civil aviation authorities in Brazil and Argentina, paving the way for deliveries to begin. Since its certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in December and European Aviation Safety Agency in June, 31 Citation M2s have been delivered to customers through the first half of this year. “The market in Latin America has shown tremendous interest in the Citation M2 due to its competitive acquisition and operating costs, its airport performance and its advanced onboard systems,” said Robert Gibbs, vice president, International Sales. The Citation M2 has a maximum cruise speed of 404 knots true airspeed (460 miles per hour) and a range of 1,580 nautical miles. It can operate at airports with runways as short as 3,210 feet and will climb to 41,000 feet in 24 minutes. The Citation M2 is certified for single-pilot operation with room for seven passengers and features two Williams FJ44 engines.
JSSI INTRODUCES TIP-TO-TAIL® COVERAGE FOR LEARJET 70 AND 75 Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI), the leading provider of hourly cost maintenance programs for the Business Aviation industry, has announced Tip-to-Tail Program coverage for the new Learjet 70 and 75 series aircraft models. “As new Learjet 70 and 75 aircraft are delivered, buyers now have the option to cover their valuable asset from Tip-to-Tail with JSSI,” commented Neil Book, President and CEO for JSSI. “Our Programs not only enhance a new aircraft warranty but provide owners and operators a single source for complete coverage with a predictable maintenance budget and superior JSSI 24/7 service,” added Mr. Book. The new Learjet 70 and 75 series aircraft are powered by the Honeywell TFE731-40BR turbine engines. JSSI introduced its Tip-to-Tail® maintenance program in 1997 by adding Airframe and APU coverage to its legacy Engine Programs. Established as the industry standard for full coverage aircraft maintenance programs, JSSI has worked with Learjet owners and operators for 25 years. Today, JSSI offers Tip-to-Tail coverage for more than 100 business jets, including 21 different Learjet models that are in operation, as well as the soon to be certified, Learjet 85.
STANDARDAERO ESTABLISHES COMPONENT REPAIR & DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES IN CANADA StandardAero’s Component Services (SACS), located in Cincinnati, Ohio, has expanded its component repair and development facilities with the addition of new capabilities at its Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada campus. The Winnipeg facility will be known as SACS-Canada and the Cincinnati facility will be referred to as SACS-USA. The expanded SACS-Canada facility will provide a substantial increase in StandardAero’s component repair offerings to meet the growing market and customer demands for customized component repair solutions — completely aligned with and authorized by the major OEMs for both aviation and industrial gas turbine powered engines and accessories. In addition to already serving operators of CF34, CFM56, CF6, GE90, V2500, and LM1600/2500/6000 engines, SACS will now serve customers for T56, M250 and 501k engine applications. StandardAero is also improving its in-house offerings for component repair and support for PW2000 and PW4000 customers, with the addition of a world-class plating capability at its SACS-Canada facility.
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PILATUS PC-24 LEAVES THE PRODUCTION HANGARS A world premiere took place on Swiss National Day, when Pilatus Aircraft Ltd officially unveiled its first ever PC-24 prototype. Some 25,000 spectators watched as the show took place at Buochs airfield in central Switzerland. The show got underway at 12.35 when a team of 24 horses, chosen to symbolize the number appearing in the PC-24 product name and its future mission profile as a ‘workhorse’, pulled the first prototype out of the production halls. The new jet sports an eye-catching elegant design in Swiss style, featuring chrome and gold-colored Alpine flowers. The rollout was preceded by a fly-by of all the aircraft which have ever reached series production in the company’s 75 year history. Over 120 performers and more than 160 children of company employees made the rollout an unforgettable event for highranking guests, customers and fans of Pilatus. Oscar J. Schwenk, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Pilatus, enthusiastic about the new PC-24 and the event said “Today’s celebration is a clear sign of our commitment to Switzerland as a center of vision and action. Our company was established here in Stans exactly 75 years ago. We have seen our activities grow and expand here in Stans, and this is where we want to be in the future: in Stans, producing our aircraft for sale to customers around the world.
DUNCAN AVIATION HAS INSTALLED MORE THAN 500 AIRCELL WI-FI SYSTEMS With two full-service aircraft service locations and 25 satellite avionics shops strategically placed throughout the United States, Duncan Aviation recently reached a milestone, installing its 500th in-flight connectivity system from Aircell,the Business Aviation division of Gogo. With more than 500 installations, Duncan Aviation holds a prominent position as leader of the aftermarket installation of in-flight internet and Wi-Fi upgrades such as Aircell Gogo Biz and SwiftBroadband systems. “There is strong market demand for products that increase the productivity of business aircraft,” says Mike Minchow, Completions and Modifications Marketing Manager for Duncan Aviation. “Wireless internet certainly filled a need for Business Aviation , and Aircell has been a leader in that market. On-board Wi-Fi has completely transformed the travel experience, allowing operators to be much more efficient in the air and allowing for a true office-in-the-sky experience. “Combining the benefits of our Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) and multiple locations, we’re able to offer owners a great deal of flexibility as well as the confidence that their aircraft is in the care of the most experienced technicians in the industry and a company known for its service and support,” he continues.
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When it’s late in the evening on a Saturday and you need a part, who can you call? Duncan Aviation has team members who answer calls 24/7/365. They also use their decades-long experience and plethora of connections to get the essential part delivered, regardless of obstacles.
When a customer in Spain had to be up and running in less than 24 hours, her experience led her to believe customs might cause a delay. So she opted to have a courier hand-carry the part to ensure all customs requirements were addressed along the way, reducing the AOG time from days to just hours. For the rest of the story visit www.DuncanAviation.aero/experience.
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JET AVIATION BASEL RECEIVES SACAA APPROVAL AS DESIGN ORGANIZATION Jet Aviation Basel recently received the approval certificate from the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) as a Design Organization. This is the first time the SACAA has issued such an approval to a company outside of South Africa. “We are delighted to expand our design capabilities to include modification services to South African registered aircraft,” says Tim Shannon, Director and Chief of Office of Airworthiness at Jet Aviation Basel. “The ability to approve modifications without further validation of the SACAA supports Jet Aviation Basel’s strong position as a one-stop-shop and allows us faster aircraft delivery to our valued South African customers,” adds Johannes Turzer, vice president and general manager of Maintenance at Jet Aviation Basel. To enhance product delivery, Jet Aviation Basel’s engineering certification department together with the company’s Large Aircraft team applied for the Design Organization approval in 2013 and successfully passed the audit by the SACAA in April this year. The new approval adds to Jet Aviation Basel’s Part 21J capabilities.
BELL HELICOPTER INTRODUCES THE FIRST TWO BELL 429S TO POLAND Bell Helicopter, has announced signed purchase agreements with two private customers for the first two Bell 429s to be delivered in Poland. The deal became official during a formal signing ceremony at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA). The agreement was signed on behalf of Bell Helicopter by JB Investments Ltd., the company’s Independent Representative in Poland. “After the successful sale of three Bell 407GX units in Poland, we are very excited to introduce the Bell 429 to the region,” said Patrick Moulay, Bell Helicopter’s managing director for Europe. “The capabilities of the Bell 429 not only allow for exceptional performance in the most demanding of flying situations, but provide operators and passengers with a high level of luxury and comfort during every trip.” JB Investments is the longest-operating distributor of light aircraft and helicopters in Poland and offer a wide variety of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.
FLIGHTSAFETY INT L THIRD GULFSTREAM G650 SIMULATOR RECEIVES FAA LEVEL D QUALIFICATION FlightSafety International announces that its third Gulfstream G650 aircraft simulator has been qualified to Level D by the United States Federal Aviation Administration. The simulator is located at FlightSafety’s Learning Center in Long Beach, California. The first two Gulfstream G650 simulators are in service at FlightSafety’s Learning Center in Savannah, Georgia. “The FAA Level D qualification of FlightSafety’s third Gulfstream G650 simulator clearly demonstrates our ability to design and manufacture the highest quality simulators,” said David Davenport, Senior Vice President. “Installing this new Gulfstream G650 simulator in Long Beach is another example of FlightSafety’s commitment to provide our Customers with the scheduling and training location flexibility they require.” “FlightSafety’s Gulfstream G650 training programs, flight simulators, and other advanced technology devices are developed in conjunction with Gulfstream Aerospace,” said Steve Gross, Vice President, Sales. “This ensures they reflect the exact operating characteristics of the aircraft and provide pilots, maintenance technicians, and flight attendants with current and relevant information.” This is the first FlightSafety FS1000 simulator to receive FAA Level D qualification. FS1000 simulators are designed to enhance training and maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of FlightSafety’s latest innovations in technology. They include the VITAL 1100 visual system, electric motion cueing, and new Instructor Operating Station. The FS1000 features tightly integrated computer hardware and software across subsystems which allows for more accurate and higher fidelity simulation than found in other current and previous generation simulators.
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BLACKHAWK ANNOUNCES ENGINE UPGRADE PROGRAM FOR CESSNA CARAVAN Blackhawk Modifications, Inc. of Waco, Texas, is adding a new engine upgrade option for Cessna 208A Caravan and 208B Grand Caravan aircraft. Blackhawk is certifying the 867 horsepower PT6A-140 engine as a direct aftermarket replacement for the standard PT6A-114 (600 horsepower) or the PT6A-114A (675 horsepower) in those aircraft. Caravan operators upgrading to the PT6A-140 can expect significant increases in climb performance, cruise speeds, takeoff distances and operations in adverse weather (icing) conditions. Blackhawk is accepting deposits for the PT6A -140 new-engine upgrade and deliveries will begin first quarter 2015. Blackhawk currently offers the 850 horsepower PT6A42A engine to Caravan 208A/208B operators as a higher-power upgrade. As part of a show special, operators who order a Blackhawk XP42A Grand Caravan engine upgrade during EAA AirVenture will save $50,000. The PT6A-42A is optimized for Caravan operators routinely flying above 6,000 feet on hot days with heavy loads.
DAHER-SOCATA s AVEX DISTRIBUTOR RECEIVES ITS 100th TBM AIRCRAFT DAHER-SOCATA announced its delivery of a TBM 900 to AVEX, the Camarillo, California- based authorized TBM distributor for the U.S. states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. This is the 100th new TBM for the California company since it became an official dealer for DAHER-SOCATA aircraft 15 years ago. The aircraft is the third TBM 900 provided to AVEX this year, and will be delivered to its owner, John Edwards. Established in 1985 as an aviation export company, AVEX has grown into one of the most recognized names within the TBM network. Specifically focusing on DAHERSOCATA aircraft since 1999, AVEX has become a leading TBM sales and service center. New AVEX utilizes state-of-the-art systems and highly trained technicians to provide top-level support for TBM aircraft. Delivering excellence while striving to improve the TBM ownership experience are part of AVEX’s customer-centric approach.
FIRST PRODUCTION HONDAJET MAKES PUBLIC DEBUT AT EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH 2014 The first production HondaJet made its public debut at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Following a celebratory event commemorating the occasion, the HondaJet concluded the day with an entertaining flight demonstration during the afternoon airshow that included high- and low-speed passes. “EAA AirVenture Oshkosh has been the setting of several HondaJet firsts and in many ways, this event was the true beginning of Honda’s aviation venture,” said Honda Aircraft Company President and CEO Michimasa Fujino. “We decided to debut the first production HondaJet here as part of Honda’s commitment to inspire others through the power and realization of our dreams.” “We again welcome the impressive innovation and technology from the Honda Aircraft team, as it is a perfect fit for the world of flying ingenuity we see every year at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh,” said Jack J. Pelton, EAA’s chairman of the board. “It has been fascinating to watch the development of the HondaJet from its original concept to the production aircraft shown here at Oshkosh. It is a tribute to the entire Honda team that made it possible.”
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BEECHCRAFT CELEBRATES KING AIR MILESTONES
Beechcraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation Inc, celebrates two important King Air milestones this week at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh – the 50th year of King Air production, as well as the first anniversary of a record-breaking order from Wheels Up, the membership based private aviation company. The order from Wheels Up represents the largest order in history for general aviation turboprop aircraft, encompassing up to 105 King Air 350i aircraft and including maintenance, service and support. “With the King Air family of products on display at Oshkosh this week, it is fitting to recognize two major milestones that speak directly to the reputation of this great airplane,” said Christi Tannahill, senior vice president, Turboprop Aircraft. “Flexible, reliable, efficient, high quality – these are characteristics that have defined the King Air through the years, and now Wheels Up members are experiencing these characteristics as well.”
QUEST CELEBRATES TEN YEARS AS EAA PARTNER Quest Aircraft Company had two KODIAKs on display at this year’s EAA AirVenture, demonstrating the variety of options available and the versatility the aircraft offers. Three interior levels are now available, ranging from the base, workhorse Tundra interior to the newlycertified Summit Executive interior; both of which are here on display. Quest is also proud to have been acknowledged for its ten year partnership with EAA in a special award ceremony held on July 27. The KODIAK made its worldwide debut at the 2005 AirVenture. “Quest is very excited to be at EAA again this year, and especially with our new Summit Executive interior,” said Sam Hill, Quest President and CEO. “We have come a long way in the last ten years. We continue to work on new options and enhancements for the KODIAK, and have had several noteworthy milestones so far this year.” In addition to the certification of the Summit interior, Quest has completed much of the certification work on the integration of the Garmin GFC 700 autopilot for the KODIAK, with FAA approval expected later this summer. Earlier this year, Quest received FAA approval to increase the landing weight of the KODIAK to 7,225 lbs. Other recent enhancements include redesigned exterior lighting, fuel flow transducer upgrade and an extension in the airframe fatigue life to 10,000 hours.
P&WC DELIVERS FIRST PRODUCTION PW306D1 TURBOFAN ENGINE FOR CESSNA CITATION LATITUDE Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC) announced the delivery of the first production PW306D1 turbofan engine model to Cessna for its Citation Latitude midsized business jet. Development of the PW306D1 engine began in 2012, building on the success of the PW306C/D models which have powered the Cessna Sovereign and Sovereign+ business jets since 2004. The enhanced capability of the PW306D1 engine, Cessna’s widest fuselage aircraft design, combined with a 2500nm range (4630 kilometers) performance provides outstanding comfort, value and productivity. The aircraft has been very well received in the marketplace with more than a two year backlog in orders and options. Rated at a maximum take-off thrust of 5,907 pounds (6784 pounds thermally rated), the PW306D1 delivers the best thrust-to-weight ratio in its class. As the latest addition to the PW306 family it features higher thrust at climb and cruise as well as improvements in overall specific fuel consumption (SFC). The PW306D1’s engine control system is fully integrated with the new Cessna Citation Latitude avionics and auto-throttle system, providing additional ease of operation.
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FIRST TRANSPORT CANADA FANS RETROFIT CERTIFICATION ACHIEVED Universal Avionics announces Authorized Dealer, Mid-Canada Mod Center (MC2), has achieved the much anticipated, first Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) Future Air Navigation System (FANS) certification with the UniLink UL-801 Communications Management Unit (CMU). The Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) was issued for MC2’s FANS installation on a Falcon 50EX. The FANS aircraft upgrade includes Universal Avionics’ UniLink® UL-801 Communications Management Unit (CMU), UNS-1Ew SBAS-Flight Management System (FMS) and CVR-120R Cockpit Voice Recorder for FANS data link message recording. The installation of this package provides the business operator with the use and benefits of Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Contract (ADS-C). In addition, Universal Avionics’ UniLink UL-800/801 CMU provides a path to EUROCONTROL’s Link 2000+ Program. Universal Avionics’ Canadian Regional Sales Manager, Norm Matheis, currently spends much of his time working with operators who have voiced their frustration over the lack of OEM-produced solutions available today. “Our Authorized Dealers who tackle first-of-a-kind retrofits help make Universal Avionics what it is today,” said Norm. “Once again, Bill Arsenault and his team at Mid-Canada Mod saw and heard a need, this time a FANS STC, and just got it done,” he added.
NEXTANT JOINS REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES COUNCIL Nextant Aerospace maker of the Nextant 400XTi – the world’s only remanufactured business jet – and the forthcoming Nextant G90XT turboprop, has announced it has joined the Remanufacturing Industries Council (“RIC”). The Remanufacturing Industries Council defines remanufacturing as “a comprehensive and rigorous industrial process by which a previously sold, worn, or non-functional product or component is returned to a ‘like-new’ or ‘betterthan-new’ condition and warranted in performance level and quality. Remanufacturing is not the same as recycling nor is it a modification program. It produces products at a fraction of new-build cost and with significantly lower raw material consumption and greenhouse emissions. Nextant Founder and Chairman Kenn Ricci foresaw the potential benefits of remanufacturing when he established the company in 2007. His vision is now reality as Nextant produces aircraft that offer superior performance, a quieter and more spacious cabin and world-class reliability. Starting with some of the most popular and reliable airframes ever built, Nextant remanufacturing provides aerodynamic and engineering enhancements, state-of-the-art avionics and engines, advanced acoustic insulation, handcrafted interiors and custom exterior paint designs. The aircraft sell for roughly half the cost of new-build and produce significantly lower emissions to build and to operate.
VECTOR AEROSPACE APPOINTED OVERHAUL FACILITY Vector Aerospace a global independent provider of aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, is pleased to announce that Vector Aerospace Africa (Pty) Ltd engine repair and overhaul facility, located in Lanseria, South Africa, has been appointed a Designated Overhaul Facility (DOF) for the Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PT6A-140 aircraft engine. “We are well known for our industry-leading customer service orientation and we share with P&WC a service first philosophy that is of great importance to aircraft owners, aircraft manufacturers and us,” says Jeff Poirier, president of Vector Aerospace Engine Services - Atlantic. “With this new DOF appointment for the PT6A-140 engine, we are pleased to continue our long and successful relationship with P&WC.”
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HONDA AIRCRAFT COMPANY ANNOUNCES BANYAN AIR SERVICE AS HONDAJET DEALER
Honda Aircraft Company announced a new HondaJet dealer for the Southeast United States. Banyan Air Service Inc., based at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), will provide HondaJet sales and service for the eight-state territory that includes Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina. “Banyan Air Service has an outstanding reputation for providing exemplary customer satisfaction through aircraft sales and service. We are proud to have a partner who shares Honda’s commitment in making customers our highest priority,” said Honda Aircraft President and CEO Michimasa Fujino. “Banyan Air Service will complement and further strengthen the HondaJet dealer network.” Banyan Air Service was established in 1979 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The company has more than 30 years’ experience serving the general aviation market, and its facility is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Administration (EASA) certified repair station. The company provides 24-hour Fixed Based Operation (FBO) services as well as heavy aircraft maintenance, full avionics capabilities and turbine engine services. Banyan Air Service’s maintenance division has been recognized as an FAA Diamond Award recipient, and the company is consistently ranked by the industry as one of the country’s top FBOs. “We are excited to represent the HondaJet in the Southeast U.S.,” said Banyan Air Service President Don Campion. “Banyan Air Service looks forward to providing exceptional aviation services to HondaJet customers.” HondaJet dealers in North America and Europe are diligently preparing for entry to service and will provide customers the quality of service expected from Honda.
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DAHER-SOCATA SHOWCASES ITS NEW TBM 900 The fast and eco-efficient turboprop aircraft makes its first appearance at the world’s largest aviation gathering The world’s newest and fastest certified single-engine turboprop aircraft is taking center stage at this week’s AirVenture Oshkosh gathering as DAHER-SOCATA’s TBM 900 makes its first-ever appearance at the event. Retaining the proven airframe, engine and avionics from DAHERSOCATA’s TBM 850, the new TBM 900 is enhanced by aerodynamic optimization including the addition of winglets, Hartzell’s new five-blade composite propeller, a complete nose-to-firewall redesign for improved engine airflow circulation and an improved human-machine interface in the cockpit.
BANYAN RECEIVES GARMIN PLATINUM AWARD
Banyan Air Service recently received the 2013 Garmin platinum award for excellent sales performance as part of the Garmin International avionics distributor network. Banyan has received similar recognition over the past 12 years for consistently ranking among the top distributors of Garmin aviation products. Joe Stewart, Garmin International aviation regional sales manager, presented the award to Don Campion, president of Banyan, and the Banyan Pilot Shop team. Then in a second ceremony to the Banyan Avionics team. “Banyan has been among the top tier of authorized Garmin sales and service centers for many years and it is my pleasure to recognize them with this award,” says Stewart. “Our avionics team and our pilot shop team are extremely honored by this award,” says Don Campion. “Garmin products are very popular. Customers want the latest Garmin products such as the D2 GPS pilot watch and the VIRB action camera available in our pilot shop and they also want aircraft upgrades such as the Dual Garmin 600 Glass Cockpit upgrade that our avionics department recently completed on a Pilatus PC-12.”
PEOPLE Dallas Airmotive, a BBA Aviation Company, announced that industry veteran Henry Lisboa has joined the company as its newest Territorial Director. He will lead the company’s sales efforts in the Central and South American territories.
Angie Gremard, previous Manager of the Center, will now serve as a Relationship Manager for FlightSafety’s Regional Airline Customers as well as Assistant Manager. Jeremy Pisell succeeds David as Manager of the Houston Learning Center. It also announced that Alex Thurmond has been promoted
Henry Lisboa
Alex Thurmond
FlightSafety International has announced that David Glass has been appointed Manager of its Learning Center in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition, David has become a Regional Operations Manager and will also oversee FlightSafety’s Learning Center in Seattle, Washington.
to an Assistant Manager of its Learning Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Finally it announced that Jeremy Pisell has been pro-
Manager of FlightSafety’s Learning Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Jet Aviation Basel has appointed Hendrik Janssen as director of Completion Sales and Market Development. As director of Completions Sales and Market Development, Janssen liaises with aircraft owners, operators and industry executives to ensure they are informed about the benefits of assigning VVIP Completions projects to Jet Aviation Basel’s Completions center. He reports to Ruedi Kraft, vice president, Market Development & Completions Sales for Jet Aviation Basel. As well as this Rick Hollandsworth has been promoted to Director, Backshops, responsible for operations in all aviation backshops at the Jet Aviation St. Louis facility.
Tony Moorehead moves to Manager, Operations, 2nd Shift, responsible for the entire facility on the 2nd shift, stepping up from his role as aircraft supervisor on the Challenger airframe. Since joining the company in 1998, he has served as lead engine technician, engine shop supervisor, and aircraft inspector. Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI), has announced Tony Gilbert has been named the new Vice President of Business Development for South America.
Tony Gilbert Brian Campbell has been appointed Vice President, Global Sales for StandardAero Business Aviation. Campbell joins StandardAero from Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, where he most recently served as Vice President of Worldwide Aftermarket MRO Sales. Rick Hollandsworth
Jeremy Pisell
David Glass
moted to Manager of its Learning Center in Houston, Texas. He succeeds David Glass who was recently named
Brian Bauwens is now the Business Operations Manager for the team responsible for the Global and Boeing Business Jet airframes, moving up from customer account representative. He has been with the company since 1996, serving as leadman/inspector, crew chief customer support manager, and project manager. Tony Lang is the new Business Operations Manager, Refurbishments.
Brian Campbell
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TRANSATLANTIC EUROPE ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH A SAFETY REMINDER
From the Desk of Fabio Gamba CEO EBAA
THE STRING OF RECENT commercial aviation accidents splashed across the pages of news media has left us all sombre witnesses to tragedy. With three fatal accidents occurring in very quick succession, it goes without saying that people will be asking questions about the safety of aviation, and not just in the context of flight paths and aircraft flying over conflict areas. The fact is that the events have touched passengers, the industry, and the public, carrying the reality that tragedy in the air is possible. Regardless of the cause or accountability, the damage in such cases is always immeasurable and acts as a hard-hitting reminder to everyone that safety should, and must, always come first. Despite these latest events, however, the fact remains: flying is safer than it has ever been and is one of the very safest means of transport. And safety, rightly, remains the number one priority for our industry. A demanding sector: experienced and highly-trained crew Whilst business aviation enjoys the very best of advanced technologies to enhance safety in current generation aircraft, the machine is only one layer of the security matrix. The second layer involves operational strategy. Here we re talking about the right information, the right crew, and a good analysis of intelligence for specific situations and routes. Intelligence disseminated by the authorities, such as EUROCONTROL, foreign affairs ministries and intelligence agencies, should always be taken into account even if in some cases it restricts business aviation in its very purpose, which is to be fast, efficient and flexible. Although, as we have seen in recent news, civilian aircraft can come under fire from the ground (and no one disputes the sheer tragedy of it), the fact remains that it is a) extremely rare, and b) can be avoided in almost all circumstances. Whilst the ultimate responsibility for safety always falls on the captain and crew, it is the responsibility of all involved in the operational chain to minimise the risks when planning routes and destinations. Accurate intelligence must be used to minimise risks, within day-to-day practices where a culture of safety is paramount.
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Maintaining consistently high standards Non-commercial business aviation has enjoyed a level of flexibility in not being as heavily regulated as commercial operations. However, in order to deliver a high standard of safety and security, while allowing users to enjoy the productivity, efficiency and privacy benefits of business aviation, self-regulation and the highest operational and engineering standards have been an important part of our sector s value proposition. The industry has done, and is doing, an excellent job in proactively setting and maintaining the highest standards. Start by looking at the International Business Aviation Council s (IBAC) portfolio of safety training and standards, including Safety Management Systems (SMS), Emergency Response Planning (ERP), and the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), and the International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH).
Accurate intelligence must be used to minimise risks, within day-to-day practices where a culture of safety is paramount. In fact, if we compare commercial (which is more regulated) and corporate (less regulated) aviation, corporate is safer, and at least as good as the best airlines. This is a particularly creditable achievement, considering its diverse and challenging operations, often to remote destinations. Moreover, this excellent record shows that over-regulation does not improve the safety records. However, with growing complexity in the air transport sector, there is associated growing complexity in legislation, and business aviation is, of course, affected.
/EUROPE TRANSATLANTIC The former EU OPS regulations are currently transitioning into EASA OPS, which are being extended to include non-commercial operations. Non-commercial business aircraft operators in Europe must therefore be ready to comply with the new rules coming into force in 2016. Many operators already have Safety Management Systems (SMS) integrated into their business but for those that don t, the new legislation to implement NCC (Non Commercial Complex) rules, will significantly change the way they have to manage their business. This is why EBAA and other associations promote industry standards of best practice, like IS-BAO and IS-BAH. These standards are designed to help operators and handlers comply with the new requirements, and make the transition easier. European safety standards for Third Country Operators Europe, closely followed by the US, has the best aviation safety record. In order to maintain, and enhance, this level of safety, EASA is now taking steps to ensure that all commercial business aircraft (CAT) flying into Europe are compliant with the same safetydriven procedures that the agency prescribes for European operators. The new Regulation (EU) 452/2014 (dubbed the Part-TCO Regulation) will require all operators to obtain EASA authorisation prior to entry into European airspace, except in the rare cases of emergency need. To facilitate the transition, EBAA is holding a TCO seminar in Cologne, Germany on the 24th September to ensure that operators can best prepare their businesses before the 6-month application period ends in November. We learn from the difficult lessons With the media light shining brightly on the recent tragic accidents, there is no better time for the entire air transport sector to reflect on the safety issue; after all, it is often the hardest lessons that teach us the most. The objective is not to place blame, or introduce inappropriate, ill-thought out, short term regulation (we know that this doesn t work!). Rather, it is to manage risks to the minimum practical level (ALARP) in ALL aspects of our operations. When the whole of our industry can demonstrate it fully understands its responsibilities and follows best practice safety management as a basic function of business, the questions about safety can be met with answers. And then the only question remaining is: does your organisation really have a safety first culture?
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A NEW ACTOR IN THE EUROPEAN NETWORK BH ACC On 16 July 2014, representatives from the civil aviation authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia and their air navigation service providers (BHANSA, Croatia Control and SMATSA), together with EUROCONTROL and its Network Manager, agreed to move forward with the opening of the new Bosnia-Herzegovina Area Control Center (BH ACC) in the autumn of 2014. The new BH ACC will initially provide air traffic services (ATS) over parts of the Sarajevo flight information region (FIR) ACC up to FL325, while for the remaining portions of the airspace and for the airspace above FL325, ATS will continue to be provided from Belgrade and Zagreb ACCs. All the parties involved agreed that the operations at the new BH ACC will start by mid-September 2014 on the basis of a commonly agreed Transition Plan that will cover all the detailed operational aspects and will last until 30 November 2014. The opening of the new BH ACC is the result of extensive successful work by all involved parties. EUROCONTROL focused on the coordination of all safety, technical and operational aspects ensuring that disruptions to the air traffic management network would be kept to a minimum during the transition phase.
EASA ISSUES SAFETY INFORMATION BULLETIN FOR THE UKRAINIAN AIRSPACE The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published a Safety Information Bulletin (SIB), taking into consideration the reported loss of flight MH17 in Eastern Ukraine. Through this SIB, EASA strongly recommends the National Aviation Authorities of the EASA Member States to inform all aircraft operators to give careful attention to Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) and information addressing airspace and routes modifications concerning this region. In particular, EASA and EUROCONTROL Network Manager, strongly recommend airspace users to avoid the restricted areas affecting the Simferopol (UKFV) and Dnepropetrovsk (UKDV) FIR and circumnavigate using available alternative routings.
EBOLA VIRUS OUTBREAK IN WEST AFRICA - ADVICE TO EBAA MEMBERS The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) is closely monitoring and communicating with other authorities in order to distribute necessary information to our members regarding the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) that has been reported in West African countries Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Nigeria. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) a coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola ; however, the organisation also stated that current information on risks does not warrant border closures at points of entry and the organisation does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions. The WHO, in collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has considered passenger screening revisions, and is also preparing other emergency responses. The advice from the WHO is that States with Ebola transmission (Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) should conduct exit screening of all persons at international airports and that this screening should consist of BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014 - 23
/EUROPE TRANSATLANTIC at a minimum, a questionnaire, a temperature measurement and, if there is a fever, an assessment of the risk that the fever is caused by EVD. Any person with an illness consistent with EVD should not be allowed to travel unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation. The severity of the outbreak makes it crucial for air transport providers to remain current on risks, warnings and advice from appropriate authorities, but at this time no general ban on international travel or trade should be implemented.
EBAA SIGNS MOU WITH GSA The European Business AviationAssociation (EBAA) and the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the wide use of EGNOS precision-based navigation (PBN) at regional airports in Europe, following discussions at the European Space Solutions Conference in Prague last month. Maintaining all-weather access at secondary and tertiary airports is becoming more and more important for the air transport community with ever increasing difficulties when it comes to access at major hubs. Business Aviationis now in a position to optimize access at more of these regional airports which are often characterized by limited investment or technical innovation on the ground. By improving penetration of EGNOS, the entire air transport value chain will be enhanced. The aviation community stands to benefit greatly from EGNOS because it means safe access to small and medium sized airports without the need for expensive ground equipment, said Fabio Gamba, EBAA CEO. Approach procedures have been published for around 100 airports which is still a far cry from where we should be. A move towards this technology is well overdue, and this is evident if you compare Europe to the U.S. We are proud to have signed this MoU with GSA and together we are committed to having many more procedures published in the near future. The Business Aviation segment is a pioneer in the use of EGNOS and most new business aircraft are already equipped. This means that operators can start using published LPV procedures immediately, without making any upgrades, just by obtaining the operational approval from the authority where the aircraft is registered, said Carlo des Dorides, Executive Director, European GNSS Agency (GSA). We are committed to working with business operators to enable opening new routes that best serve their specific needs. 24 - BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014
JET AVIATION BASEL RECEIVES EASA PART 145 APPROVAL FOR BOEING B777 SERIES Jet Aviation Basel has recently received EASA Part-145 approval, permitting the company to provide line and base maintenance to Boeing B777 series aircraft. As a Boeing Authorized Service and Warranty Center, Jet Aviation Basel s team is adding the B777 series to its portfolio of services, including line and base maintenance, refurbishment and completions. The company s dedicated Boeing maintenance team has a proven track record on all Boeing models and has performed numerous C-Checks, fuel tanks modifications, 9 and 12 years inspections and major cabin refurbishments since 1999. The addition of the B777 to our capabilities was driven by customer demand and now allows us to serve the entire family of Boeing operators, says Johannes Turzer, vice president and general manager of Maintenance at Jet Aviation Basel. Having a dedicated Jet Aviation Boeing maintenance team on site provides customers with peace of mind when looking for a reliable partner and one-stop-shop operation for maintenance, refurbishment as well as completions services, he adds. Jet Aviation Basel is a world-renowned completions, maintenance and refurbishment center employing more than 1,600 professionals. The facility has in-house design and engineering departments, along with on-site cabinetry, upholstery, fiberglass and paint shops. The organization is capable of outfitting jets as large as an Airbus A380 or the Boeing 747-8 series and has already completed numerous Airbus 319ACJ, A320, A330, A340 and Boeing B737, B757, B767 and B747-400 aircraft. Jet Aviation Basel also provides aircraft maintenance and repair services to a wide variety of business jets. It is a factory approved service center for Boeing, Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer and Gulfstream. The location also holds a jet aircraft repair station rating by the FAA #QV1Y440K, and the EASA #CH.145.0232 in addition to approval certificates of 21 other national aviation authorities.
OBITUARY It is with very deep sadness that we are informing you that Mr. Frederik Sorensen former head of air transport policy at European Commission and one of the founding fathers of the European Aviation Club, passed away on August 14th. He was a great man, who more than anyone else shaped the face of aviation in Europe. A real supporter of Business Aviation, he was very considerate to our problems. A real ally of the European Business Aviation Association, Frederik Sorensen helped the Association at many occasions. All of us at BART International are deeply saddened by Frederik s passing and we express our deepest sympathy and condolences to his family We are losing a visionary man and a great friend.
TRANSATLANTIC U.S.A. ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH OPERATORS IN EUROPE, U.S. SHARE UNIVERSAL CHALLENGES
From the Desk of Ed Bolen NBAA President and CEO
Whether speaking of San Francisco or Stockholm, Philadelphia or Paris, business professionals across North America and Europe depend on the ability to travel between business centers. These people rely on business aircraft to make such connections, usually into small, secondary and tertiary airfields - such use of Business Aviation thereby brings people face-to-face, in real time, and not just in metropolitan areas, but also in remote areas that may have unreliable access, or no access at all, via ground-based modes of transport or airlines. Just as the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has seen in the United States, the benefits of Business Aviation continue to gain recognition around the globe. A growing number of companies and business professionals have discovered how the use of a business aircraft is a valuable tool in traveling the long distances between regional and worldwide population centers and commercial markets. In fact, Business Aviation is seen increasingly not only as a way to remain nimble against increasingly global competition, but also much like a smartphone or tablet device - as an indispensable tool for increasing efficiency and productivity, while also providing a secure environment for companies to conduct important meetings and discussions while en route to their destinations. Just as our operational environments are similar, so too are many of the challenges facing Business Aviation stakeholders in Europe and the U.S. In fact, many of the issues NBAA addresses in the U.S. are shared with European operators. For example, one key issue affecting our shared aviation community is the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme, or the EU-ETS. NBAA and its Members have continually opposed onerous and unnecessary fees, taxes and regulations that severely harm the industry, which is why we have fiercely opposed the EU-ETS. Working with other aviation groups, NBAA has also raised our industry's concerns with policy leaders at the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO. These concerns led the governing body to move
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forward on an international framework regarding aircraft emissions that pivots away from EU-ETS in several key ways. Other threats facing our industry are those that have threatened Business Aviation for decades. These include stifling access to airports; new fees and taxes levied upon our industry, and; burdensome - and often unnecessary - regulations. Such threats are often driven by misperceptions of, or negative perceptions about, Business Aviation among policymakers. The misperceptions often lead to attempts to enact punitive, onerous policies, as we have seen recently in Italy's tax on visiting aircraft, and air passenger duties levied against business aircraft in the U.K. Negative attitudes towards business aircraft affect airport access, as well. It's important that our global Business Aviation community ensure that our industry's value is understood at all levels, and in all regions. We certainly have a good story to tell: Growth in Business Aviation means growth in jobs. Growth in Business Aviation means growth in opportunity, for companies of all sizes. And, growth in Business Aviation means connectivity for communities, and economic growth. We must continue to stand up and explain clearly that Business Aviation is essential to citizens, companies and communities everywhere. We are not demanding respect because we are a big industry. We're seeking recognition because we're an important industry, and we want to ensure its growth and expansion across the European region and around the world. As our industry continues to gain traction in what appears to be a gradual recovery from the global economic downturn of 2009, we must continue to closely monitor the policy arena, and take action on government proposals that could affect operators not just in Europe, but U.S. companies as well. NBAA and other industry groups continue to promote Business Aviation around the world. Our industry has many positive stories to tell, as we continue to emphasize the truly global scope of our shared aviation community.
/U.S.A. TRANSATLANTIC CERTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS CRITICAL SAYS NBAA National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen submitted a statement to a House Aviation Subcommittee hearing on U.S. aviation manufacturing challenges. The written statement emphasized that certifications and approvals are fundamental to all aviation segments, and that further improvements are needed to support Business Aviation s environmental, economic and safety concerns. Certification is critical to Business Aviation in terms of time, cost, efficiency and safety, Bolen said. Improvements must continue to be made to the Federal Aviation Administration s (FAA s) certification processes, including operator authorizations, operator certifications, and aircraft and parts certifications. Bolen welcomed the progress being made by the FAA in streamlining reviews for certain of these procedures, emphasizing that long timelines have a direct impact on safety, the environment and overall cost of operations. Safety is of utmost concern, Bolen noted, because delays in proper flight authorizations mean that Business Aviation operators must fly at below optimum altitudes for safety and efficiency. He urged lawmakers to consider two key areas for further improvements to FAA authorization processes, including giving more priority to Part 91 operators based on the importance of Business Aviation operations to the U.S. economy and the impact these companies have on commerce domestically and internationally and creating one or more FAA and Industry process enhancement teams to review and streamline the authorization processes applicable to these authorizations. We had success with the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) Process Enhancement Team and believe we can again be successful with each of these teams, the statement read. Operator authorizations remain one of the biggest issues for NBAA Members, Bolen wrote. NBAA Members have for years expressed concerns with the
timelines and requirements to obtain a letter of authorization (LOA) for RVSM airspace operations. As an example, Bolen noted that a common change, such as a revision to an aircraft registration number akin to changing the license plate on your car, required significant time for an FAA inspector to review all of the information as though it was a brand new operator, often taking in excess of 60 days to process. New FAA operator authorization guidance published in January should enable inspectors to review only the elements that are requested for change. Once inspectors become familiar with the new procedures, we expect the overall timelines from an initial request being made to the issuance of a new or amended RVSM LOA will continue to decrease, Bolen added.
Bolen also mentioned the FAA s focus on providing LOAs to U.S. operators needing automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) technology authorizations for ADS-B operations in international regions where this is a requirement of civil aviation authorities. More than 60 percent of the U.S. Business Aviation operators responding to an NBAA survey indicated travel to a foreign region in 2012, he wrote. But timelines to receive these authorizations are often measured in months. Recently, the FAA announced that ADS-B approvals would be able to
NBAA Members have for years expressed concerns with the timelines and requirements to obtain a letter of authorization (LOA) for RVSM airspace operations. be granted by the flight standards district offices (FSDOs) directly, thereby decreasing approval times. Still, more progress needs to be made, Bolen noted, citing long timelines for operator certifications for operators of business aircraft, including for Part 135 air carrier certificates for passenger or cargo charter operations, and Part 125 air operator certificates commonly needed for companies operating a corporate shuttle to transport employees between cities where the company does business. In both of these cases, operators are often told it will take a year or more before the FAA will begin the application and review process, Bolen wrote, based on limited FAA inspector resources. Similar improvements are essential in accelerating the timelines for certifications of aircraft and aircraft parts to halt disproportionately rising costs that are transferred from general aviation manufacturers to end users that result from lengthy certification times. In order for continued improving such timelines, Bolen said that NBAA fully supports Congress continued commitment to increase the inspector workforce at FAA.
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TEXTRON AVIATION REMAINS BULLISH ON LATIN AMERICAN MARKET For the past few years, the market for Business Aviation in Latin America has been one of the largest in the world for both Beechcraft Corporation and Cessna Aircraft Company. Now that both companies have come together under the banner of Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, Latin America takes on an even greater level of importance to the world’s largest supplier of general and business aircraft and support. The significance of the Latin American market for Textron Aviation is emphasized by its extensive 13-aircraft line-up being showcased together for the first time in Brazil at the annual Latin America Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (LABACE) at São Paulo’s Congonhas Airport Aug. 12-14. “No other aerospace company offers customers in Latin American the range of aircraft and aircraft support from Cessna and Beechcraft represented at this important event,” said Robert Gibbs, vice president, Latin America and Caribbean Sales. “Brazil remains the
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center of growth in Latin America but the rest of the region, from Mexico to Chile, is flexing its economic muscle and we’re seeing strong interest across our product line that matches the growth. “To meet the increasing demand, we continue to invest in products that meet the unique requirements across Latin America, and in our customer support network that remains a cornerstone of Textron Aviation’s global reputation,” Gibbs said. According to industry data, Business Aviation in Latin America has grown nearly 4 percent in the last year to more than 5,000 business turbine aircraft based in the region. The three largest markets in the region for Textron Aviation products are Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela. Buoyed by a dramatic increase in individual wealth in Latin America, powered chiefly by oil production, Textron Aviation companies have seen deliveries to the region rise dramatically in recent years.
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LOWEST MID-SUMMER PEAK SINCE 2005 SAYS WINGX According to WINGX`s latest monthly Business Aviation Monitor this month’s 68,048 Business Aviation flight departures mark a 2.7% YOY decline, with July 11% below its 2008 peak and in fact the least active July on record since 2005. YTD, 2014 activity is 0.7% below 2013 trend. A 5% fall in flights from Europe’s largest market, France, had the biggest negative influence on aggregate activity. Switzerland fell 10%, and crisis-hit Russia and Ukraine were respectively 12% and 49% adrift YOY. There were regional growth spots, including the UK, now 3.3% up for the year, the Baltic states and Iberia. Also summer activity out of Greece peaked at more than 17% last year’s activity. While business jets and piston activity subsided, turboprop flights did increase 2.3%. Overall, owner flights fell 4%, this year’s largest monthly decline in private missions. This was felt most in business jet activity. Business jet charter flights also subsided in July, but both piston and turboprop charters were up. Overall however, July extended the 2014 YTD run of successive months without growth in aggregate charter activity. Intra-European flights fell slightly, though still up for YTD. Flights from Europe into the sizeable CIS market were almost 25% down in July. But flights between Germany and Russia, for example, climbed 24%. Demand for ULR jets picked up, accelerating the YTD trend to 12.3%, but the adjacent HJ segment slumped 9% in July, deepening its YTD trend to -5% compared to 2013. Although Cessna aircraft flew 3% less YOY in July, the CJ1, CJ2, Sovereign and Mustang were among the best charter performers in July. In flight hours, the Bombardier fleet gained 3.3% activity YOY. The London airports shared most of the growth in July, Luton thriving most, with 13% increase in charter activity. Nice, Le Bourget and Geneva activity receded, the latter registering a 17% decline in private flights.
Richard Koe, Managing Director of WINGX Advance, comments: › “July was the busiest month as expected, but the historically low peak confirms that the incipient recovery in European Business Aviation activity has lost its way. This month owner flying was particularly tepid, especially out of large markets such as France, Germany, and Switzerland. Evidently the Ukraine crisis has undermined the market, with European flights to the CIS down 24%, and East-West European connections down by 15%.”
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BOMBARDIER RELEASES ANNUAL BUSINESS MARKET FORECASTS Bombardier has released its annual 20-year
forecasts for the business and commercial aircraft markets. While the world economy has grown at a slower than expected rate, signs of improvement in the business and commercial aircraft markets have started to emerge. Business indicators are pointing towards a gradual industry recovery. New aircraft orders are supported by continued demand from established markets – such as North America and Europe – and growth potential in emerging markets, which are forecasted to play an increasing role in the global aviation marketplace. China is expected to be the second largest region in terms of commercial aircraft deliveries in the 20- to 149-seat segment, and the third for business aircraft over the next 20 years. Also, as environmental concerns continue to gain importance and high fuel prices add pressure to the bottom line, operators across both industries will remain focused on finding more efficient and sustainable solutions. “At Bombardier, we have a long and proud tradition of pushing the boundaries of technology, and developing the next generation of aircraft that will better meet the needs of our customers – both today, and tomorrow,” said Michael McAdoo, Vice President, Strategy and International Development, Bombardier Aerospace. “As such, Bombardier Aerospace with its new category-defining business and commercial programs is well-positioned to strengthen its leadership position in its current markets.” Business Aircraft Market Forecast Bombardier is confident in the strong, longterm potential of the business aircraft industry and forecasts a total of 22,000 business jet
CAE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015
deliveries from 2014 to 2033 in the segments in which Bombardier competes representing approximately $617 billion US** in industry revenues. Bombardier’s Business Aircraft Market Forecast anticipates 9,200 aircraft deliveries, worth $264 billion US between 2014 and 2023, and 12,800 aircraft, worth $353 billion US, from 2024 to 2033. The market for Business Aviation continues to show promising signs of recovery. While current macroeconomic indicators are mixed, the overall trend for the world economy is stable to positive. In 2014, the world GDP is expected to grow by 2.9 per cent, with higher growth expected in 2015 onward. Industry order intake saw incremental improvement in 2013 over 2012, allowing the industry to record a book-to-bill ratio of one for the second year in a row. Industry deliveries are expected to increase slightly in 2014 from 2013 based on the delivery guidance of manufacturers and new aircraft programs. Business aircraft orders are expected to remain challenging in 2014 across the industry, but projected to improve beginning in 2015. It is also anticipated that with demand for business jets shifting towards emerging markets, the fleet of large and medium category aircraft will grow, with the large aircraft category demonstrating the fastest growth. Over the forecast period, Bombardier predicts North America will receive the greatest number of new business jet deliveries between 2014 and 2033, followed by Europe, which remains the second largest market. China is forecast to become the third largest region in terms of deliveries over the next 20 years with 950 deliveries from 2014 to 2023, and 1,275 deliveries from 2024 to 2033. Bombardier predicts that – similar to commercial aviation – future challenges facing the Business Aviation sector include rising fuel prices and increased environmental awareness. To face these challenges, Bombardier continues to invest in innovative, more efficient transportation solutions through its new aircraft development programs that include the Global 7000, Global 8000 and Learjet 85 aircraft.
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CAE has reported financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014. Net income from continuing operations attributable to equity holders was $43.8 million ($0.17 per share) this quarter, compared to $44.7 million ($0.17 per share) in the first quarter last year. Operating profit was $71.7 million (13.6% of revenue) compared to $61.6 million (11.8% of revenue) in the first quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter was $526.2 million, compared to $520.1 million in the first quarter last year. All financial information is in Canadian dollars. A strategic review of New Core Markets reaffirmed CAE’s conviction in Healthcare and led to a process to divest Mining. The Company will now focus capital and resources on its three remaining core business units: Civil Simulation and Training (Civil); Defense and Security (Defense); and Healthcare. “The growth in our first quarter operating results came entirely from Civil, which saw operating income increase by 32% over last year,” said Marc Parent, CAE’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Defense had stable revenue and lower operating income, owing to the mix of programs in the quarter and persistent delays in government decision-making. I am pleased to report that CAE’s Board of Directors has approved a $0.01 increase to CAE’s quarterly dividend, which becomes $0.07 per share, effective September 30, 2014. This marks CAE’s fourth dividend increase in as many years and is testament to our confidence in the business. As in the last few years, we expect a stronger performance in the second half and solid growth for the year as a whole.” Civil Simulation and Training (Civil) Revenue for Civil was $308.9 million in the first quarter, up 2% compared to $301.8 million last year. First quarter operating income was $49.5 million (16.0% of revenue), up 32% compared to $37.6 million (12.5% of revenue) last year. During the quarter we obtained solutions contracts expected to generate future revenues of $365.3 million, including 11 fullflight simulators (FFSs) for airline customers around the world. Orders also included pilot training services for Air Canada, Air Nostrum, Scandinavian Airlines, and British Midland Regional as well as training center operations services for Caverton Helicopters.
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PREVIEW By Paul Walsh
T
FULL-SIZE
Russians love big irons. Dassault, Bombardier and Gulfstream are on their most wanted list.
he Ukrainian crisis may be causing friction in East/West relations and anxiety among companies, but Russia still holds opportunities for those who are willing to take them. Being practical people, that’s exactly what many Business Aviation professionals plan to do. And as usual JetExpo, which runs from September 4th to 6th in Moscow is the best starting point. Amid the uncertainty, one clear trend is that Russia’s Business Aviation market is becoming more mature, with buyers looking for aircraft to support their businesses rather than their lifestyles. Resale values and operating costs are factored in to every purchase decision; there’s also a growing market for turboprops as well as remanufactured and upgraded aircraft. But it’s also true that Russians love big irons and one company looking to profit from this is Dassault, which has a long-standing connection to the Russian market. “We share Russia’s passion for aviation technology and excellence and Dassault is proud of the long time role it has played in the country’s Business Aviation sector,” said Gilles Gautier, Vice President, Sales for Dassault Aviation. “Jet Expo is a perfect occasion to showcase these shared values and accomplishments.”
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JET EXPO
BUSINESS AS USUAL
Large Russian Fleet Russia’s complicated operating environment is actually a bonus for Dassault, as people are looking for aircraft that can endure extremely low temperatures and challenging airfields. The Falcon fleet in Russia and the CIS has doubled over the past five years with more than 60 Falcon jets now in operation. Seven new aircraft were delivered in the region in the first half of 2013 alone, accounting for 15% of Dassault Falcon’s worldwide deliveries. “The sharp increase in activity over the past half decade reflects the excellent reputation the Falcon brand enjoys among Russian operators, who have a fine appreciation for advanced technology and high-end products,” added Gautier. “This reputation also based on the exceptional robustness and operational efficiency of Falcon jets, has allowed Dassault to capture about 40% of Russia’s large cabin market.” Most of the recent Falcon deliveries were for the 7X, the first business jet to be equipped with a fully-digital flyby-wire flight control system. The 7X can connect Moscow with New York, Johannesburg or Singapore nonstop and is the only aircraft in its class able to fly into challenging airports with steep approaches like London City, Lugano or Sion in Switzerland. It can
also operate into very small airfields like La Mole-St Tropez in France, where other jets of its size can’t. Just last year Dassault received FAA and EASA approval to install the second-generation version of its award winning EASy cockpit on the Falcon 7X. EASy II includes a host of new features designed to increase safety and situational awareness while taking advantage of next-generation technologies within the air traffic management system. With this approval, EASy II is now available on all EASy-series Falcons. Gulfstream goes from Strength to Strength Similarly Gulfstream has seen significant growth in Russia with its Russiabased business-jet fleet growing more than sixfold in the last six years. According to the latest report there are 53 customer-operated aircraft in Russia and a combined 76 in Russia and the wider Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 2007, those numbers were eight and 11, respectively. “The Gulfstream brand is very strong in Russia,” said Larry Flynn, president, Gulfstream. “We sold our first aircraft to a Russian customer in 2002 and have experienced remarkable growth since then. We have the biggest market share in the large-cabin segment, but we’ve also had success with sales
of our mid-cabin models. The recent opening of our sales and design center in London is a direct result of strong customer response in Russia and other parts of Europe.” More than a quarter of Gulfstream’s European fleet is in Russia. Surrounding countries, including CIS members Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, also are home to multiple Gulfstream operators. To support the growing fleet in Russia and the CIS, Gulfstream has more than $120 million in parts and materials inventory at three European locations — Luton, England; Madrid; and Basel, Switzerland. The Gulfstream Luton facility, which has nearly 190 employees, is a major resource for Russian and many Eastern European operators. Earlier this year, the site earned certification to work on Gulfstream aircraft registered in Azerbaijan. Gulfstream Luton has maintenance approvals from several other civil aviation authorities,
Skyhawk aircraft, announced at JetExpo 2013. Moscow-based ViraZH, which ordered the planes, plans to use them for training purposes at various flight schools throughout western Russia.
“Response to the CJ3+ has been excellent; customers recognize the value proposition of the airplane with its Garmin G3000 flight deck along with upgraded interiors and systems throughout,” said Chris
including the United States and European Union. Its technicians also support Russia and CIS operators by traveling to their aircraft’s location. Additionally, Gulfstream has rapidresponse Field and Airborne Support Teams (FAST) maintenance technicians in Ukraine, France, Greece and Switzerland, who are dispatched by airplane, train, van and automobile to reach customers in the field.
At the time, Kriya Shortt, Cessna senior vice president of Sales, said: “We are delighted to have a strong relationship with ViraZH and are proud they have selected the Cessna 172 Skyhawk to be their training platform. This order augments an additional 11 Skyhawks purchased by ViraZH in 2011, highlighting their confidence in our product. It is encouraging to see an increase in both our global customer base and flight training accessibility in Russia.” One aircraft that Cessna will be pushing in Moscow is the Cessna CJ3+, which successfully completed its maiden flight last month.
Hearne, vice president, Jets. “The CJ3+ is engineered for superior reliability without sacrificing efficiency and comfort, and is offered with best-in-class acquisition and direct MARKET operating costs.” Cessna will promote the Upgrade Packages Cessna Cj3+ in Meanwhile Cessna sister compa- Moscow. n y B e e c h c r a f t b e l i e v e s t h a t Kriya Short demand is likely to grow for jet senior VP of upgrade packages from Russian Sales is buyers, such as its Hawker XPR delighted by the programs, as they look to benefit order for 79 from the enhanced performance, Cessna 172 efficiency and value of refurbished placed by aircraft. Vira ZH.
Cessna Gains a Foothold Cessna’s Russian customer base is growing too, building from last year’s bumper order for 79 Cessna 172
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PREVIEW Beechcraft’s Global Customer Support (GCS) organization offers the customized XPR upgrade packages for existing Hawker 400 and 800 series light and midsize jet aircraft, as well as XPR factory-completed aircraft for those who do not currently own an aircraft. The upgrades provide a highly modernized business jet, at around half the price of a comparable new jet. Beechcraft is experiencing substantial demand for the 400XPR upgrade, with its order book full until the third quarter of 2014. Across the CIS, approximately one in seven light and midsize business jets (14 percent) are listed for sale, indicating that this sector is a buyers’ market. This figure is slightly higher in Russia, where 15 percent of business jets are listed for sale. With the balance of power in buyers’ hands, many sellers are looking at upgrade packages as an alternative way to get new jet performance at around half the cost. “The high proportion of business jets for sale in Russia is making it increasingly difficult for buyers to purchase pre-owned aircraft for what they view as an acceptable price,” said Brian Howell, vice president, GCS Aftermarket Sales and Business Development. “By choosing refurbished aircraft such as the Hawker 400XPR and 800XPR, owners are able to buy an aircraft which benefits from state-of-the-art performance, payload and efficiency for around half the cost of a new comparable aircraft.”
POSITI
Bombardier Business Aircraft, VP Sales Eastern Europe Christophe Degoumois sees a growing interest in Russia for business jets considered as business tools. 32 - BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014
JET EXPO
Nextant also sees potential in Russia. “It is a young and expanding aviation market which understands the convenience of Business Aviation, says said Peter Walker, Nextant Vice President, EMEA and APAC. “Light cabin aircraft have traditionally struggled here due to limited range. This is not a problem for the Nextant 400XTi. With a 3,710 km (2,003 nm) range the aircraft can easily fly from Moscow to Novosibirsk, Almaty or Tashkent as well as to London, Barcelona or Cairo without refueling with the quietest and most comfortable cabin in its class.” With a rapidly growing economy and the sixth largest GDP in the world, Russian government and business leaders are looking for time-efficient and cost-effective travel to Europe, the Middle East and within the Commonwealth. The Russia/CIS entry-level jet market is estimated to be 69 aircraft valued at $225 million and growing. However, the total Russia/CIS market, including aircraft owned by residents but registered abroad, is estimated to be at least three times this size. Bombardier and Embraer Grow Market Share Bombardier also has positive things to say about Russia as it gears up for a big presence at the show “Russia is an important market where we are seeing a growing interest in the business jet as a business tool,” said Christophe
Degoumois, Vice President, Sales, Eastern Europe, Russia & CIS, China, Asia Pacific and Australia, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “To further build on our position in the region, we’re pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate just why our aircraft are so well received here. We believe we have the right mix of jets to accommodate the Russian business community’s needs and welcome the chance to present the comfortable and spacious cabins that will help increase travel efficiency.” Bombardier says that it is offering the highest level of support as close as possible to the operational bases of its customers. As part of this commitment Bombardier opened a Regional Support Office (RSO), operated by its Russian subsidiary Bombardier Aerospace Services Russia LLC (BASR), in Moscow, in 2012. The RSO is complemented by two Authorized Service Facilities (ASF), as well as a team of Field Service Representatives (FSR) and Customer Support Account Managers, part of BASR’s network. Embraer Executive Jets will also be promoting its portfolio at Jet Expo. “The Russian market continues to grow steadily for us as a result of the enhancements we are making across the product line, which provide unmatched value to our customers,” said one Embraer executive.
One of Embraer’s most popular aircraft in Russia is the Legacy 650 with a range of 3,900 nautical miles (7,223 kilometers) with four passengers, or 3,840 nautical miles (7,112 kilometers) with eight passengers, both with NBAA IFR fuel reserves. The aircraft can fly nonstop Moscow to Nairobi (Kenya) or to Anadyr (Russia). An example of these enhancements is the state-of-the-art Honeywell Ovation Select cabin management system featured on the Legacy 650. Moving on to maintenance and completions, it’s worth noting that Jet Aviation Moscow has signed an agreement with Kazan-based Tulpar Interior Group to offer scheduled full interior refurbishment capabilities out of its maintenance facility at Moscow Vnukovo Airport. In response to growing customer demand for interior capabilities, Jet Aviation Moscow has entered into an agreement with the Tulpar Interior Group, the only company in Russia providing the full range of aircraft interior services for commercial and VIP aircraft. With this agreement, Jet Aviation Moscow adds comprehensive interior refurbishment capabilities to complement its maintenance service offerings. The new services include carpet replacement; minor repair or replacement of interior components; rejuvenation and protective coating of leather
surfaces; fabrication of new seat upholstery; repair or replacement of coating or headlining on windows and other panels; and rectification of any decorative varnish defects on veneer and hard wood. The services must be scheduled in advance. “Our customers can now schedule interior modifications during planned maintenance checks, improving aircraft utilization,” says Vitely Aleksikov, general director at Jet Aviation Moscow Vnukovo. “We are very pleased to expand our on-site services and offer our customers this additional support.” Jet Aviation Moscow Vnukovo provides 24/7 technical maintenance services, including line maintenance, defect rectification and AOG services, at Vnukovo International Airport to Bombardier, Gulfstream, Embraer and Hawker aircraft operators. As part of Jet Aviation’s global MRO network, the company supports AOG requirements throughout the Russian region. Jet Aviation Moscow Vnukovo is a line maintenance, AOG and authorized warranty line service facility for Bombardier aircraft products as well as an authorized line service facility for the full line of Gulfstream jets. Located next to the Vnukovo 3 FBO, the facility holds maintenance approvals from EASA #145.0472, Aruba DCA, Cayman CAA and Bermuda DCA.
✈
MAINTENANCE
Jet Aviation Moscow provides 24/7 technical maintenance at Vnukovo.
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REPORT By Anna Nazarova and Ivan Veretennikov
The Russian business charter market is particularly lively, with two new big players having emerged on the infrastructure side in Moscow and more FBOs being planned or announced throughout the country. Although the number of deals and deliveries for new and pre-owned aircraft seems to have remained flat, statistics are very hard to obtain considering the lion s share of the local fleet is still registered abroad. That being said, overall the market seems unaffected by the current political uncertainty and will continue developing sanctions notwithstanding.
W TOUCHY
Flying foreign made aircraft has become increasingly sensitive in political circles.
hen discussing business aviation in Russia, one cannot avoid the topic of US and European sanctions against certain Russian politicians and businessmen who, as people of power and considerable wealth, are among the country’s top Business Aviation users. The good news, however, at least from what we can see, is that the sanctions seem to have had little effect on the market. Nobody, it seems, has disposed of their aviation assets or stopped flying
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RUSSIAN BUSINESS AVIATION
RESUMING LEVEL FLIGHT
privately – save Gennady Timchenko, former owner of Avia Group, who is said to have sold his aviation business. That being said, the topic of flying foreign made business aircraft has become increasingly sensitive in political circles, with some voicing concerns that it jeopardizes national security. In the long term, this could lead to the development of some sort of Russian substitution for such models, but their number would be limited to only a handful of the highest-ranking officials.
As for the market in general, as a result of what’s happening politically, activity has probably even increased considering that Crimea is a traditional Business Aviation hot spots. More so, the political situation in general (which results in the sale of foreign assets, for example) is actually urging companies and individuals to fly more, not less. As for sales and acquisitions, manufacturer representatives and brokers report closed deals and new deliveries.
Their intensity, however, seems lower than some forecasts may lead the reader to believe. In any case, allin-all Russia remains a promising market with huge potential – sanctions notwithstanding.
breaking the psychological barrier of $100 per barrel. As for individuals, according to CNN Money, there are 108 Russian billionaires and a total of over 1,200 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) with investable
Vnukovo-3 has almost reached pre2008 indicators by number of flights, the passenger flow has increased by over 30% - showing that bizav flyers in Russia have become much more conscious of the money they spend on travel compared to the “good times” of 2007—2008. More people fly on a business jet today than they used to, as is evident if we look at the numbers. By year-end 2007, about 103,000 passengers had been served by 19,500 flights in Vnukovo-3. In 2012—2013, the number of flights stayed about the same, but the number of passengers rose to 137,000 and 133,000 respectively. Russian Business Aviation customers still tend to prefer the larger aircraft, but there have been more flights on smaller aircraft when only short trips are required. According to the Domodedovo Business Aviation Centre FBO, midsize jets (Challenger 300 and similar) were the most wanted in June 2014, accounting for 37% of flights. Large jets (Legacy 600 and
assets of over $30 million. Between them, Wealth-X estimates they hold $620 billion. The favorable economic conditions are reflected in the statistics of the number of Business Aviation flights and passengers served. Moscow airports alone (between them accounting for well over half of total bizav activity in Russia and CIS) received about 29,000 flights, of which 19,000 went to Vnukovo-3 (UUWW), Russia’s busiest FBO. On the other hand, although
similar) came marginally in second with 36%, while light jets comprising of various Cessna CJ models were selected on 20% of flights. This recent trend is not only due to regular flyers trying to save money. Driving it are new users from mediumsized businesses who are starting to enter the market thanks to diversified offers and attractive pricing on behalf of some bizav operators who are using Russian-registered Cessna CJ and Pilatus aircraft.
Business Charters as a Means of Transport In Russia, the state of the Business Aviation market is usually assessed by flight intensity. This is opposite to the production and delivery reports favored by the US and Europe. This is because no business jets are made in Russia, unless we count the one-off converted Sukhoi Superjet. But to say that Russia lacked a Business Aviation sector because it lacks a Russian OEM would be to ignore the fact that many corporations and private individuals own and regularly fly foreign-made business aircraft. Thus, the more they buy and fly, the better the state of the local market. Starting in 2012 and continuing to this day, key economic indicators and the climate in general have been favorable for Business Aviation. For example, the extracting and processing industries are a traditional driver for growth, while high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are, in many cases, the end customers who are highly dependent on these industries. While both oil prices and the number of HNWIs have slightly decreased since 2012, they are still very high. For example, the average price per barrel of Urals oil, the cornerstone of Russian export, was 107.88 USD in 2013 – once again
ROBUST
Vnukovo-3 remains Russia's busiest FBO hasn't been adversely affected by the drop in oil price since 2010.
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REPORT
RUSSIAN BUSINESS AVIATION
FBOS
FAVORITE
Vnukovo 3 stays at the top among the Russian FBOs with an average of 30.5 departures per day.
The top FBO list has remained almost unchanged in the past years. According to Eurocontrol, which takes into account airports serving at least one business aircraft departure per day, Vnukovo-3 stayed at the top in 2013 with an average 30.5 departures per day. Sheremetyevo (UUEE) came second with 7.3, followed by Pulkovo (ULLI) with 5.4 and Domodedovo (UUDD) with 3.8. Another two airports with significantly lower activity shared fifth place with an average of 0.9 departures: Ostafyevo (UUMO), home base of Gazpromavia, and Sochi International Airport (URSS). Judging by this data, it is safe to say that Russian Business Aviation is still concentrated in Moscow, with significantly less activity in Saint Petersburg. Large industrial complexes and financial institutions in cities such as Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Tyumen and Vladivostok, however, can expect to attract more and more business aircraft in the future. Most of these cities are poorly serviced by airlines, and quite often business flyers who need to cover 500—1000 nm between two cities are faced with the choice of spending up to 10 hours (plus transit) on flights via Moscow or going direct on a jet. The remoteness of these regions from central Russia, Europe, and Asia – coupled with scarce flights and inflexible schedules – urge company owners, shareholders, and executives to turn to Business Aviation. Major international events also provide a boost to bizav activity, with the Winter Olympics in Sochi being a clear example. In just three days, the Sochi airport received over 300 flights. According to some open sources, Basel Aero, the managing company of the airports in the Krasnodar region (including Sochi) received 650 requests within that period. Thanks to the hype, the airport managed to earn a reported $42 million, or over half of what it made over the entire year in 2012. Business traffic is gradually growing in predominately agricultural regions too. According to the Domodedovo Business Aviation Centre FBO, Belgorod (UUOB) is in stable demand
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with 5—10% of all Business Aviation flights in 2013 and 2014. Nizhnekamsk (UWKE), the oil and chemistry center of Tatarstan, also accounts for a similar share of traffic from Domodedovo. As for international business jet flights, the pattern has not changed in years. “Most activity is between Moscow and some European countries such as France, Italy, and Germany and, in summer, Turkey is also a big one,” says Andrey Stepanyuk, Director General of Domodedovo Business Aviation Center. “If we take a look at our reports, it turns out that Nice was the top destination this June with 11% of all flights originating from our FBO bound there.” German consulting agency WINGX Advance confirms this trend. Their research says that Russia to France is a top route, with 570 flights as of May 2014. Starting in 2013, and continuing to this day, the growth of activity has slowed a little compared to previous years, when the rate was about 12%. All of this shows that the Russian market has become more mature. As opposed to catching up with the 30— 40% annual growth of 2006—2008, it has now relaxed to a standard European 2—3%. Admittedly, the economy is not as good as it used to be, but at the same time, the current state of things reflects real demand as opposed to overhyped pre-bubbleburst activity.
Competition is Fierce Less than 10 years ago, business aviation dedicated FBOs in Russia was a thing only found in Moscow. In the rest of the country, the concept was unheard of, with handling agents that connected stray jets with local airport services being the best one could hope for. As the market matured, supply emerged with demand. FBOs are now starting to appear in such Russian regions such as Kazan, Yekaterinburg and Sochi. Even more interesting, however, is the lively activity happening in the place where it all started: new players and big projects are constantly being announced in the Moscow area. Avia Group, operator of Terminal A and a number of facilities and services for Business Aviation in Sheremetyevo, was the first to challenge Vnukovo’s rule with its stylish and luxurious two-storey terminal building capable of accommodating up to 35 departing and as many arriving passengers per hour in an atmosphere of utmost security and privacy. Two modern air-conditioned hangars adjacent to the terminal offer a total area of 15,000 sq. m and are home to a line maintenance facility operated by pseudo-Finnish company Airfix Aviation. Granted, at least it was Finnish on paper. Both Airfix and A-Group, holding 74% of Avia Group in Sheremetyevo and 70% of Avia Group
REPORT
RUSSIAN BUSINESS AVIATION
Nord (FBO Pulkovo-2 in St Petersburg), unofficially belonged to Gennady Timchenko, former co-owner of crude oil trader Gunvor. However, rumor has it that Timchenko was forced to sell his aviation business after Western partners blocked some of its accounts. The deal was closed in March 2014, but information leaked to the press only recently. Market professionals are skeptical about the sale, as none of the potential buyers are known to be a party to the transaction. In the end, this may be just an evasive maneuver to avoid sanctions against AGroup.
Whether the company has new owners or not, with its growing customer base, Sheremetyevo will remain an attractive airport for Business Aviation. This, in part, is due to a new expressway that should open before the end-2014 and will help avoid traditionally heavy traffic along the St. Petersburg motorway – one of the key reasons why business jet flyers prefer Vnukovo, Moscow’s most accessible airport. RENOVATION Domodedovo
With a total investment of $10 million, new owners at Domodedovo Business Aviation Center are hoping to win a third of Moscow s Business Aviation traffic.
Big news recently came from Domodedovo, where the former Avcom-D became Moscow Business Aviation Centre following the FBO being sold to a group of private investors – who also happen to own Business Aviation operator Sfera Jet and its fleet exclusively comprised of Gulfstream aircraft. The new owners underlined that the FBO will be open for all and will not become a private base for the company.
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Regardless, development plans are impressive: apart from renovation and new construction, Domodedovo Business Aviation Center will offer a long-awaited diversity of service providers – a common practice in Europe and the US, but not in Russia. The company will attract different ground handling, catering and fuelling agents to create competition and an antitrust environment. Perhaps this will lead to flexible and competitive pricing, not just at the airport in question, but in Moscow in general. The new team started by renovating the existing passenger terminal – a process it expects to finish by August. It is also augmenting the current service offering. For example, there are talks with several catering providers. On the other hand, Domodedovo Business Aviation Center is planning an all-new service in Moscow: after washing an airplane, it gets coated with a special polymer film that helps paint stay intact and greatly reduces repainting costs.
In the bigger picture, there will be some heavy building to finish by 2016. But once complete, Domodedovo Business Aviation Center should be home to a much bigger passenger terminal, not to mention well-kept surrounding territories and, thanks to a new hangar, more indoor parking space. Total investment is estimated at $10 million. The new owners of Domodedovo Business Aviation Center are hoping to win over at least a third of Moscow’s existing Business Aviation traffic, thanks in no small part to its new facilities, a diversity of service providers, flexible pricing and Domodedovo’s no-slot system. The former owner of the Center, Avcom Group, is also keeping busy with a grand project of its own. The plan is to create the first proper Business Aviation airport in Russia using the Ramenskoye airfield as its base (UUBW, home of the MAKS Airshow). The modular construction approach will reduce the time and money needed to build the projected passenger terminal, hangar and maintenance center. If all goes according to plan, the new airport should be operational by 2015. As anyone who has ever been to MAKS knows, getting to the venue from the city is no easy feat. But rest assured, investors have an answer in the form of a separate road available to airport passengers. If the project is a success, it will be great news for the Russian market, which will finally have an airport specifically dedicated to Business Aviation needs.
BUSINESS AVIATION CONVENTION & EXHIBITION | OCTOBER 21, 22, 23 | ORLANDO, FL
Join 25,000 industry professionals for the most important three days of business aviation this year, with over 1,000 exhibitors, 100 business aircraft on static display, and dozens of education sessions. Visit the NBAA2014 website to learn more and register today.
www.nbaa.org/2014/BART
REPORT
ROTOR
The helicopter market has seen a real evolution in Moscow that will lead to growth.
The People s Helicopter The private helicopter was just the stuff of dreams for all but the most opulent Russians. Even in Moscow, where the concentration of wealth is among the highest in the world, it was still a rare sight. That situation, however, is changing rapidly as more and more people realize the advantages of rotary-wing travel and, at the same time, supply becomes more civilized and centralized. Over the past five years, the Moscow helicopter market has seen a real revolution that will lead to even more growth should the skies above the city finally open to the public. Today, flights into the city, even along the Moskva River, are restricted to military and emergency helicopters. The number of air taxi services, helicopter dealerships, and rotary-winged machines themselves is constantly growing. According to BizavNews.ru, there are over 200 helicopters registered around Moscow alone, from the light piston R44 – the mainstay of the privately owned fleet – to the luxurious AW139 flying limo. In addition, there are 33 certified helicopter operators. And this is far from the peak as the market is growing each year by over 10%. It is worth noting that the reason for this growth is not just in the generation of more wealth, but because more people are beginning to understand the business capabilities of the helicopter. Most Moscow operators are keeping profit margins down to the bare minimum to make the service as accessible
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RUSSIAN BUSINESS AVIATION
as possible. The choice is there, and the rest is up to the passenger. A flight hour on the most popular Robinson R44 will cost around $750, which is about what it costs in the UK or the rest of Europe. There are also other options available, such as the Bell 407 or the AW119, which are offered at around $1,500—$2,100 per hour. The helicopter boom is also boosting infrastructure development. Helipads and helicopter centers have opened across the country. The big newsmaker is Heliport Moscow, a project backed by major real-estate player NDV Group. The total investment is expected to reach around $100 million when a massive network of Russian Heliports, as the program is known, will connect Russian cities and towns. Company representatives believe that such an all-round approach to creating a combination of an air taxi, dealership network, flying school, and maintenance facility should make flying more accessible while ultimately helping the economy by making the population more mobile. Another big project is backed by longtime player Aerosouz who, in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport of the Moscow Region, is building helicopter centers near the Moscow ring roads. Around 50 multifunctional helicopter centers are planned. “For the passengers to be comfortable and for flight safety to be at acceptable levels, it won’t be enough to just build helipads,” notes Aerosouz President Alexander Klimchuk. People need a place where they can fuel their
machine, perform inspections and get the help of a qualified technician.” One of the air taxi pioneers, Heli Express, was created for this exact purpose by Russian Helicopter Systems and UTair – one of the world’s biggest helicopter operators. Heli Express operates a diversified fleet of R44, AS350, AW109, and Mi-8 machines that ensures it can cater to any taste and job. The company owns four helipads and should open two more before the end of the year. It is planning to operate 14 more in the Moscow Region in the near future. Company executives confirm the helicopter is becoming a popular form of alternative transportation, citing their own statistics showing the number of flights increasing from 30 to 450 per month between 2008 and 2013. “Heli Express customers turn to us for completely different reasons,” says Director General Vadim Karavaev. “Some want to visit their home village, while others need to quickly make it to a meeting. It is worth mentioning that airport transfers are the least popular because our passengers know that anything to do with airports is a headache. It’s hard to get permission to land, it’s hard to time it right, and it’s expensive. We have an alternative: we land on a helipad near the airport and transfer our customers to the airport by car. They end up saving a lot of time and money that way.” According to BizavNews.ru Editor-inChief Denis Lobastov, the Russian helicopter market is experiencing qualitative development of helicopterrelated infrastructure and the growth of supply. “Today, market players have engaged in a very important phase of development – competition. This will mean good times for clients who will have a choice of flexible and cost-effective options. If we speak of helicopter ownership and number of ad-hoc charters, I expect the numbers to grow 20 and 40%, respectively, this year”. Overall, the private helicopter market is probably the most promising segment of Russian Business Aviation, having huge potential for growth and making evident progress in both the quality and diversity of services offered.
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COUNTRY FOCUS
N
o matter how difficult or uncertain the operating environment, you’ll be sure to find Business Aviation professionals on the hunt for opportunities. This is partly a question of necessity; European growth has been slow, so people have no choice but to turn to countries with weaker infrastructure and complex regulatory systems. One example is Kazakhstan, where a booming oil and gas industry has created a surge in wealth, and where Business Aviation is just starting to take off.
KAZAKHSTAN
N EW OPPORT UN IT I ES IN KAZAKHSTAN
By Paul Walsh
Growth Potential According to BART International’s most recent fleet report there are 31 business aircraft based in Kazakhstan, with commentators predicting that this number could grow to 100 in the next ten years. Most of these aircraft will be in the Midsize to Large segaircraft brokers. “This is not unique to Kazakhstan of course, but the phenomenon has been exploited to a slightly greater degree than in some other Asian countries because of the number of brokerages charging in as soon as it became apparent that there was an emerging oligarch class.” Flagging Infrastructure There are also challenges in terms of infrastructure which lags significantly behind the West. As Jorge Colindres, CEO and Chairman of the Registry of Aruba points out. “As of today there is no Kazakhstani FBO that can offer western-standard VIP services.” ment, serving people who want the range to do business in south-east Asia, Africa and North America. And with no base maintenance facility in Kazakhstan, people need aircraft that can easily access facilities in Eastern and Western Europe, making light jets and turboprops an unattractive option. It’s also true that Kazakhstan is relatively new to Business Aviation and many people are still buying aircraft as status symbols rather than business tools. Richard A. Asper, Chairman of the Aviation Professionals Group says first time aircraft buyers are traditionally less-than-mature and are influenced greatly by commission-seeking
INFRASTUCTURE
Two dozen airports are eager to accommodate a sustaining Business Aviation growth in Kazakhstan. BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014 - 41
COUNTRY FOCUS
ALLIANCE
Airbus Helicopters launched a 50/50 joint venture in Kazakhstan to assemble EC145 helicopters.
On the bright side, Kazakhstan’s infrastructure is sufficiently developed to support basic Business Aviation activity; there are nearly two dozen airports in the county, all capable of sustaining corporate aircraft growth. The government is also planning to create a holding company to operate 11 public airports, all in an effort to lessen the influence of monopolies and boost the aviation industry. As reported in the Astana Times, Beken Seidakhmet, the chairman of the Committee of Civil Aviation says the government recognizes the need for public investments. “It is necessary to develop small aircrafts, to reopen airports. Work is already being done. We want to prepare a proposal to the budget committee for the development of the flight maintenance and design estimates for the reconstruction or creation of ground runways. Today we have 8 airports with local airline flights, by 2020 there will be 40.” Although these plans bode well for the future; aviation regulatory oversight in Kazakhstan is still in need of significant improvement. “Because the Kazakhstan civil aviation committee (“KCAC”) is largely not staffed and trained to international standards, many KCAC air carriers are banned from commercial operations to many destinations, such as the EU,” says Asper. “This also affects the interest of large companies as to where they want to register their expensive corporate aircraft. While KCAC is engaged in endeavoring to meet international standards, they have a ways to go.” These shortcomings surely inhibit growth, but they can also present opportunities for certain companies. “We have very close relationships with our customers in Kazakhstan, and they recognize that given the environment there, they need our support so there are never any issues doing business with them,” says Jan Hasche, Director, Business Development Central- Eastern Europe & Russia for JSSI. “We are dealing with international operators in Kazakhstan, so they understand Business Aviation very well and understand the value that a maintenance program can offer.”
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KAZAKHSTAN
Recent Investment Airbus Helicopters’ recent investment in the country is a sign of better things to come. In 2012 it launched a 50/50 joint venture in Kazakhstan to assemble EC145 helicopters, and also announced the sale of 45 of these locally-assembled aircraft for government missions in the country. The agreement also includes the development of local maintenance and training activities to support EC145 operations throughout the new customs union zone created by Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus and the entire Central Asian region. “Airbus Helicopters, together with its joint venture partner Kazakhstan Engineering, will create several hundreds of highly qualified jobs,” said Airbus Helicopters President & CEO Lutz Bertling. “Moreover, this project will foster helicopter usage in Kazakhstan, making this country the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) showcase for governmental helicopter operations. This joint venture also positions Airbus Helicopters for future business development in Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Russia and Belarus, providing helicopters that are well tailored for applications in the oil and gas, para-public and government sectors, as well as for other applications.”
To date, Airbus Helicopters has delivered 20 EC145s to Kazakhstan, which are utilized by the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Environment. Six more are to be supplied to government agencies this year, with the remaining EC145s being delivered through 2016. So it’s clear Kazakhstan has investment potential, but what advice is there for companies setting up in the regional. Asper says it’s very important to register your aircraft outside Kazakhstan until the KCAC is better able to meet international standards, while Colindres notes that you should find a good established local operator that meets western standards, since Kazakhstani aviation authorities are still in the EU ban black list due to lack of compliance. “You can find subsidiaries of European operators such as Comlux, Prime Aviation and others run by expats that have open facilities and operations to service the Business Aviation industry.” Finally Asper notes; “smaller boutique aviation firms should establish themselves now, since growth will happen, and reward those who were part of the early process of improving its worldwide reputation.”
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THE DOCKET By Derek Bloom
I
t has been clear to insiders for some years that Business Aviation regulators in Russia have organized the regulation of the industry to give selected market participants an unfair competitive advantage and earn profits. Issuing flight permits, and ground handling for transient foreign-registered business aircraft has become a very lucrative enterprise, so there are strong vested interests, including among government officials. The phenomenon of grey aviation, the operation of foreign-registered business aircraft in Russia in Russia that are documented as private flights, but that are, in reality, commercial flights, is kept in existence as a result of shared governmental and private interests. The public position of representatives of leading Russian ground handling companies is that foreign operators are the drivers of grey aviation. It is they, we are told, that are paying fees that defray the cost of obtaining flight permits for private flights that are really commercial flights. The foreign operators are the bad actors, we are told. In contrast, the uniform position of representatives of leading foreign operators and foreign jet charter companies is that they would much prefer not to be required by “Russian realities� to pay fees to obtain flight permits. The excess cost for flight permits that sometimes misrepresent the nature of a flight as private when it is commercial is a cost that leading for-
WICKED
Russian regulators organize their directives in order to give a competitive advantage to selected companies. 44 - BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014
RUSSIA
WHO BENEFITS FROM GREY AVIATION?
eign operators, foreign jet charter companies, and their charter customers would prefer not to pay. The Role of Foreign Operators Foreign operators and foreign jet charter companies, would much prefer if there were many more customscleared business aircraft in Russia that were available for use on a fully law compliant basis. Foreign operators and foreign jet charter companies prefer not to engage in the
increasingly uncomfortable game of winks, nods and payments of fees for flight permits that indicate flights are private when they are, in fact, commercial. They would prefer not to instruct passengers to indicate, if asked, that they are friends of the owner of an aircraft. One of the main obstacles to customs clearance of business jets in
The Status Quo One suspects, and one is told by industry participants, that this is because vested interests like things the way they are. One suspects, and one is told, that it is convenient for the real bad actors to present foreign operators and foreign jet charter companies as the scapegoats, when responsibility lies elsewhere, and
Russia is that Russia, in contrast to every European country that is a member of the European Union, has not created an exemption from import VAT for business jets that are imported for commercial use. However the Value Added Tax Law of all 28 member states in the EU, creates an exemption from import VAT for aircraft that are imported for commercial use along international routes. In the absence in Russia of a comparable exemption from import VAT, it follows, of course, that Russian owners of business aircraft who are high net worth individuals, as opposed to Russian corporations that can offset import VAT, almost without exception register their aircraft in a neighboring European country. Also of interest, it is understood among industry participants that whenever the proposal is raised that Russia ought to create the same exemption from import VAT as in Europe, a coalition of business and regulatory interests come together to strongly oppose the creation of such an exemption from import VAT.
profit from this situation is earned elsewhere. An important recent court case, Aerotrans and Rosaviatsia v. the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation, provides a detailed explanation of Rosaviatsia practices that have been held by the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) to be anticompetitive. The FAS findings have so far been upheld on appeal, with a next appeal to commence on August 28, 2014. The court decisions make interesting reading, and the facts revealed in the case merit retelling. Aerotrans is formally named the “Open Joint Stock Company” Center for Processing and Dispatcher Services for Civil Aviation in Russia”. Rosaviatsia is the Federal Air Transport Agency, and is part of the Ministry of Transportation of the Russian Federation. In a decision dated July 16, 2013, FAS held that both Rosaviatsia and Aerotrans had violated the Russian law “On the Defense of Competition”. They had entered into a anticompetitive agreement that
would limit competition in the business of the obtaining of flight permits. According to law, Rosaviatsia is supposed to issue permits to foreign aviation operating companies and to agree the fees payable for flight permits to operate flights across Russia. This includes that Rosaviatsia is supposed to have exclusive jurisdiction over the issuance of the famous “one-time permits” for operation of foreign registered aircraft within Russia, that have become the exception that has swallowed the industry and created a situation in which, according to anecdotal reports, 80 percent of all domestic flights within Russia are conducted on foreign registered aircraft and are presented as being “private” when they are understood to be “commercial” by their participants. Documents filed with FAS and the courts that have reviewed this matter establish that Aerotrans is a commercial organization that is in the business of providing organizational services for flights, including obtaining flight permits from the aviation regulators of the Russian Federation. It conducts this business pursuant to a certificate issued by Rosaviatsia. IT is one of 60 organizations to have such a certificate fro Rosaviatsia Aerotrans and Rosaviatsia also entered into a Cooperation Agreement dated January 14, 2005. In the Cooperation Agreement Aerotrans and Rosaviatsia agreed to undertake joint activity to facilitate operational control over the conducting of unscheduled and one-time internal, and international flights conducted by Russian and foreign users of Russian airspace. Aerotrans agreed to carry out technical operations for flight permits and also carries out other Rosaviatsia functions and the provision of services meant to be conducted by Rosaviatsia Aerotrans and Rosaviatsia also entered into an agreement as of March 30, 2012 providing fees for services, in particular information services in aviation, including informing Russian and foreign users of Russian airspace about flight permits issued, and the collection and processing of requests for flight permits. FAS and the courts discuss that, under the Chicago Convention for International Civil Aviation, each nation is supposed to name a single governmental organ to handle the
OBSTACLE
There is no exemption for business jets imported in Russia for commercial reasons.
BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014 - 45
THE DOCKET
MONOPOLY
The issuance of flight permits in Russia is often in conflict with the Russian and other International laws.
issuance of flight permits. This requirement is also reflected in the Russian Federal aviation rules approved by the Ministry of Transportation. An investigation by the General Prosecutor’s Office of Russia, dated April 12, 2013, established that the functions of Rosaviatsia connected with the issuance of flight permits which are supposed to be provided for free have been in fact, transferred to the commercial organization, Aerotrans. In other words, the governmental function of issuing flights permits had been privatized for private gain. As a result, Aerotrans conducts the processing and issuance of documents for fees. The Ministry of Transportation also itself ruled that Rosaviatsia was issuing flight permits
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RUSSIA
illegally, and sent official communications to Mr. Neradko, the Director of Rosaviatsia, and developed a new regulation, demanding that permits be issued in conformance with Russian law. Rosaviatsia refused to carry out these legal requirements and refused to amend its rules accordingly. This inaction by Rosaviatsia was held by FAS to be a violation of Russian competition law by giving access to information to Aerotrans in a prioritized manner. Rosaviatsia rules continue to require that an application for a one-time permit was to be submitted to Rosaviatsia and to Aerotrans. As a result, Aerotrans has had an advantage in the marketplace in obtaining flight permits on an expedited basis. Also, any other company that had a certificate allowing it to obtain flight permits had, in fact, to submit all appli-
cations for flight permits via Aerotrans. The result was that the great majority of operators were persuaded to enter into agreements to obtain flight permits exclusively from Aerotrans, which was a violation of the Russian law “On Competition”. The FAS’s decision was upheld by an Arbitration Court of the City of Moscow on March 5, 2014, and was upheld by the Ninth Arbitration Appeals Court as of May 26, 2014. A next appeal by Rosaviatsia and Aerotrans against the FAS decision is scheduled to be heard by the Federal Arbitration Court for the Moscow Region on August 28, 2014. If the FAS decision is upheld, then Aerotrans should no longer be in a favored position to obtain flight permits, more companies will be able to obtain flight permits, and the fees for flight permits should be reduced. Finally, this situation involving a complex arrangement for the payment of, cumulatively, substantial sums of money in exchange for flight permits, which is supposed to be a free government service, raises a potential issue for foreign operators about whether they are in compliance with their own laws and regulations and compliance programs if they are knowingly indirectly compensating unknown persons, possibly associated with government officials, for the performance of government services.
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AIRCRAFT PROFILE
HONDAJET
NO LONGER ONLY A DREAM On May 4, 2012, the fourth FAAconforming jet achieved its first flight. Honda Aircraft’s second FAAconforming aircraft completed its series of ground-based structural testing in early 2012, with additional structural test aircraft in production. In the second half of 2012, the company moved into aircraft production. On May 16, 2013, the fifth FAA-conforming HondaJet made its first flight. On Dec. 20, 2013, the FAA issued the first Type Inspection Authorization certificate for the HondaJet.
By Marc Grangier
T
MILESTONE
Rolling out the hangar, the first FAA conforming HondaJet took place on Dec 20 2010
he first time I saw the HondaJet’s unconventional configuration I was instantly reminded of the VFW 614, which many of our older readers probably remember. Developed in the mid-60s by Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke in Bremen, the aircraft had its engines installed on the wings. The aircraft’s high engine positioning meant better protection from dust and dirt, important for handling short-take-off and landing performances on poorly reinforced runways. Ultimately, the VFW 614 failed to ‘take off’, some of its technical innovations form the basis of some of today’s aircraft models – including the HondaJet. Although there is no doubt that Michimasa Fujino, President & CEO, Honda Aircraft Company, looked back to the VFW614 program when designing his HondaJet, really the aircraft belongs to the future. As Fujino told BART, the HondaJet’s performance capabilities and technological improvements make it an innovative jet with its sight set on tomorrow. The HondaJet flies at a maximum cruise speed of 420 knots (483 mph), with a maximum altitude of 43,000 feet. It seats up to five passengers in a standard configuration and can travel at an NBAA IFR range of 1,180 nautical miles (1,357 miles) – incidentally making it an ideal aircraft for business flights throughout Europe.
48 - BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014
Milestones The HondaJet was designed and developed by Honda engineers working in the US and Japan. Honda Aircraft Company, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, was established in August 2006 to oversee the certification, production and sales of the HondaJet. The first flight of the first FAA-conforming HondaJet took place Dec. 20, 2010, at Honda Aircraft Company’s world headquarters. On March 11, 2011, the first conforming HondaJet achieved a maximum speed of 425KTAS (489 mph) at 30,000 feet and Mach 0.72 above 30,000 feet – surpassing the company’s performance commitment of 420KTAS for the production aircraft. The aircraft also achieved its maximum operating altitude of 43,000 feet on April 27, 2011. On Nov. 18, 2011, the third FAA-conforming aircraft made its first flight.
Innovations Among the HondaJet’s many innovations is its patented Over-The-Wing Engine Mount (OTWEM) configuration. Developed using advanced concepts in aerodynamics and design simulation, the OTWEM configuration eliminates the carry-through structure of conventional fuselagemount designs – allowing for greater use of fuselage space for the cabin and external cargo areas. The configuration also reduces cabin noise by dispersing much of the engine’s noise away from the fuselage. Through an optimization of the design and placement of the engine nacelles, the HondaJet OTWEM configuration actually exhibits less drag at high speeds than conventional ‘clean wing’ designs, significantly contributing to the aircraft’s superior performance and efficiency.
But for Fujino, this wasn t enough After extensive analyses and wind tunnel testing, HondaJet engineers developed a natural-laminar flow (NLF) wing and fuselage nose. The result is a lower aerodynamic drag at high speeds and a high lift coefficient. Starting from scratch, the company also developed an advanced, composite fuselage structure consisting of a combination of honeycomb sandwich and stiffened-panel structures joined using a patented integral co-curing process. The aim was to reduce weight for optimal performance and payload capacity, along with reducing manufacturing complexity. As a number of EBACE and NBAA show attendees will have noticed, the aircraft’s glass cockpit includes the latest version of the Garmin G3000TM avionics Platform. It features a 40/60-
display configuration on both of the G3000 Primary Flight Displays (PFDs). This 40/60 enhancement provides an easier visual scan for pilots. It also improves situational awareness and safety by allowing the pilot or copilot to select and show additional information via a customizable tile within the 14-inch wide high-res displays. First Flight of the Production Aircraft On June 27, 2014, Honda Aircraft announced that the first production HondaJet achieved its initial flight, marking yet another milestone toward aircraft certification and entry into service (currently expected during the first quarter of 2015). “With this first flight, the HondaJet program has entered the next exciting phase as we prepare for delivery,” said Fujino.
During the 84-minute flight, the aircraft climbed to 15,500 feet and reached a speed of 348 Knots True Airspeed (KTAS). The crew completed several checks during the flight, including low and high speed handling characteristics, avionics and system functionality of the landing gear, flaps and speed brake operations. The aircraft is finished in the signature HondaJet paint scheme of deep green pearl and a gold stripe. This new color introduction is in addition to the four exterior color options already available to customers, which include silver, red, yellow and blue. Aircraft production continues at its steady pace in the lead up to entry into service. Currently there are nine aircraft on the final assembly line, with four having been mated to their wings and empennages. This steady build-up supports the company’s objective to have aircraft ready for delivery imme-
FUTURE
HondaJet Aircraft Company is based in North Carolina. Michimasa Fujino, President and CEO of the company is looking at creating a new market.
BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014 - 49
AIRCRAFT PROFILE
EXPERTS
First FlightSafety simulators for flight training are complete. Honda and GE Aviation formed a 50/50 joint venture called GE Honda Aero Engines.
diately following FAA type certification. The HondaJet will be single-pilot certified and is currently offered for sale in North America and Europe through the HondaJet dealer network. “The HondaJet production line is maturing with the efficient and robust processes needed to build high quality aircraft,” said Fujino. “From handheld tablets that deliver worker instructions to an automatic guided cart to pick up and deliver parts, we continue to integrate the latest technology into our production process to create an efficient workflow.” Following the FAA’s issuance of Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) for the HondaJet, the program has begun testing with FAA pilot participation. Several certification tests by FAA pilots were conducted under this final phase, including stall speed, stall characteristics and stall warning system. Tests were conducted under various flight conditions. During testing, the stall warning system (stick shaker attached to the yoke) and stall protection system (stick pusher that provides automatic stall recovery) were evaluated. Cockpit indications for airspeed, altitude and ambient temperature were also validated, along with wheels, tires and brake control system. Concerning FAA Full-Scale Fatigue Testing, the ground structural test program has completed more than 2,000 cycles so far. This is equivalent to more than five years of use for typical business jet operators. Testing
50 - BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014
HONDAJET
examined the airframe’s fatigue strength under simulated in-flight operations derived from theoretical load spectra and mission profiles. The tests evaluated the effects of vertical and lateral maneuvers, vertical and lateral gust, landing, taxi, Ground-AirGround (GAG) and fuselage pressure cycle on the aircraft. This testing was conducted using a sophisticated structural test system capable of simultaneously operating 73 hydraulic actuators and cabin pressurization in a closed loop digital control system using force, pressure or displacement as the feedback parameters. Honda also announced that Fokker Aerostructures would supply the empennage structure for the HondaJet. Fokker was selected based on its expertise in the manufacturing of tail sections for business jets with a global supply chain network. Honda Aircraft is putting significant effort and investment into pilot and maintenance training for customers. Working with FlightSafety International, the company is currently developing flight and maintenance training curriculums with maintenance training classes scheduled to begin later this year. The first flight simulator for flight training is complete and software integration is underway. Flight training with this simulator will include type rating and recurrent pilot training programs for both single and multi-crew operations.
“Honda Aircraft Company, along with our worldwide network of dealers and suppliers, are working together to support a seamless transition to customers,” said Fujino. TAG Aviation will be the exclusive HondaJet Authorized Dealer for Northern Europe. GE Honda Aero Engines In 2004, Honda and GE Aviation formed a 50/50 joint venture called GE Honda Aero Engines, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The joint company integ rated the res our c es of GE Aviation and Honda Aero, Inc., a Honda subsidiary established to manage its aviation engine business, to launch the GE Honda HF120 engine program in 2006. Shortly after, it was selected to power the HondaJet. Rated at 2,095 pounds of thrust, the HF120 engine is designed to set new performance standards in fuel efficiency, durability, and low noise and emissions. Its technologies include: ❍ Wide-chord, compound, swept front fan blisk with composite outlet guide vanes ❍ High-temperature titanium impeller in the compressor for maximum engine pressure ratio and stallfree performance ❍ Compact reverse-flow configuration combustor and single-stage airblast fuel nozzles ❍ Advanced materials in the highpressure (HP) turbine as well
HONDAJET IN FIGURES Basic Design Specifications: Maximum Cruise Speed @ FL300 420KTAS (483 mph) Maximum Cruise Altitude FL430 (43,000 ft) Pressurization (Differential) 8.7 psi Range Performance: NBAA IFR Range (4 occupants) Rate of Climb Engines: Manufacturer / Model Output (Uninstalled) Bypass Ratio
1180 nm 3990 ft/min
GE HONDA / HF120 (x2) 2050 lbf/each derated from 2095 lbf/each 2.9
External Dimensions: Height 14.90 ft (4.54 m) Length 42.62 ft (12.99 m) Wing Span 39.76 ft (12.12 m) Cabin Dimensions: Height 4.80 ft (1.46 m) Length (Fwd. pressure bulkhead to aft pressure bulkhead) 17.80 ft (5.43 m) Width 5.00 ft (1.52 m) Seating: Typical Configuration Alternative Configuration
1 crew + 5 passengers (2 crew + 4 passengers) 1 crew + 6 passengers (2 crew + 5 passengers)
Baggage Capacity: Nose Baggage Compartment Aft Baggage Compartment Total External Baggage Space
9 cubic feet (0.25 cubic meters) 57 cubic feet (1.61 cubic meters) 66 cubic feet (1.86 cubic meters)
❍ Two-stage low-pressure (LP) turbine ❍ Counter rotating HP and LP spool shaft system Last May, GE Honda Aero Engines accomplished a major milestone with the delivery of the first shipset of HF120 production engines to Honda Aircraft Company. “The delivery of
these first set of engines is a significant milestone for the HF120 program and reinforces our continuous support for our customer,” said Terry Sharp, president of GE Honda Aero Engines. “Significant planning is underway to enable a smooth transition to the Honda Aero facility in Burlington, North Carolina, before year end.”
Certification of the engine was set back last year when it didn’t pass iceingestion testing, requiring a subsequent engine redesign. Fortunately, obstacles were quickly overcome. With the FAA Part 33 certification of the GE Honda HF120 turbofan engine obtained on December 13, 2013, the team is now focusing on obtaining EASA validation by the end of the year. GE Honda also announced that Honda Aero’s Burlington, North Carolina site was chosen as the official MRO facility for the HF120 engines. “With both production and MRO taking place at the same facility, GE Honda will have the flexibility to better respond to customer demands,” said Masahiko Izumi, executive vice-president of GE Honda Aero Engines and president of Honda Aero, Inc. To date, the HF120 has accumulated more than 15,000 cycles and close to 10,000 hours of testing. Sales and Production According to Fujino, to date more than 100 aircraft have been ordered, including some 65 aircraft from North American clients. Production rate is planned to reach 80 aircraft per year in 2016, but should not exceed 50 aircraft next year due to personnel shortages. As production ramps up, the company plans to employ approximately 800 people next year – nearly doubling its total staff. The HondaJet is offered in a seven-seat executive configuration, including enclosed lavatory, for US$4.5 million with FAA certification. With a remarkable affordable price for such an aircraft, expect the HondaJet to shake up the world’s market for small business jets. One has to ask, has Fujino’s dream finally become a reality? “Delays in the program have certainly been frustrating,” he notes. “It was a big challenge that we had to overcome.” Concerning the market, Fujino says that although the light jet market remains depressed, the HondaJet’s will carve out its own unique niche by being able to deliver jet performance with turboprop efficiency. “The reason the light jet market has some stagnation is not only because of saturation, but also the attractiveness, usefulness and efficiency of each jet,” says Fujino. “That’s why with the HondaJet, I’m not looking at the current market – I’m looking to create a new market.”
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BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014 - 51
SPECIAL FEATURE
FLIGHT TRAINING
GETTING CLOSER TO THE REAL THING
By Kirby Harrison
The goal of those providing flight simulator training has always been, and continues to be, a more realistic experience that will enhance pilot skills and safety.
I
PROGRESS
Simulation has come a long way from its early origins. Link High Fight (top).
t was a goal first made reality in 1929 with creation of the Link Flight Trainer, a tiny box with a canopy to isolate the student pilot from outside distractions and a set of stubby, wooden wings. The brainchild of Ed Link of Binghamton, N.Y., the trainer provided minimal pitch and roll movement and a basic set of instruments gave the pilot feedback as he learned to fly. Through World War II, Link produced more than 10,000 of them, and more than 500,000 U.S. pilots alone went through Link training. Eighty-five years later, the flight simulator has become a mainstay in the world of pilot training. FlightSafety International has been in the business of pilot training since 1951 when founder A. L. Ueltschi acquired a Link Trainer. To date, the New York-based company has delivered more than 1,000 visual systems
52 - BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014
and 800 flight simulators and other advanced training devices. With customers from more than 160 countries, Flight Safety provides more than 1.2 million hours of training each year to pilots, maintenance technicians, flight attendants and dispatchers. In addition, more than 13,000 graduates of FlightSafety Academy, the company’s ab initio training facility in Florida fly for 62 airlines and more than 100 corporate flight departments. Canadian flight training specialist CAE currently has approximately 1,800 full flight simulators and flight training devices in service worldwide in its own and its customer network. It also has 68 full-flight business aviation simulators in eight locations around the world in its CAE network. According to group president Nick Leontides, the Montreal-based Canadian company devotes approximately $150 million any one year to research and development. “We’ve heavily invested in the latest technologies in our training programs,” he added. With an emphasis on safety and pilot training to the latest standards, technology takes a priority place in the process. Much of that technology is in the form of computer code – between 5- and 10-million lines of code in each
simulator to ensure a realistic experience, from banking and turning to the bumps felt as the aircraft tires pass over cracks in the tarmac. Visual systems now replicate flying to an amazing degree – flight through dense clouds and thunderstorms, turbulence and lightning flashes, and approaches to some 250 airports round the world. And flight simulators can be adapted to fit the requirements of individual flight departments, whether it is a particular aircraft make and model, domestic or international routes, or the steep approach to London City Airport. And while the realism of the pilot training simulator is the ultimate goal, pilot training has also entered the expanding world of remote learning. FlightSafety’s eLearning and LiveLearning are also a fast-growing contribution to pilot training. “We started small to be sure we were doing it properly,” said director of marketing Dan Myers. “Today, we have a comprehensive suite that can be taken in a one-off or subscription program.” In some of them, students interact with instruction, in others they work on their own. There are also interactive courses. “It’s allowed us to dramatically expand the course offerings.”
CAE has a growing library of Online eLearning courses for everything from in-depth preparation for full-flight simulator training to stand-alone enrichment instruction on a variety of topics. Included are: Controlled Flight Into
Terrain; Warm- and Cold-weather Operations; EGPWS/TAWS; TCAS; DRVSM; Safety Management; and typespecific Garmin G1000 Familiarization. CAE offers a total of more than 5,000 hours of Online courses.
Alliances Mean Faster Integration of Technology FlightSafety works closely with the aircraft manufacturers it serves, developing new training programs and simulators. Much of this is done
while the aircraft are still in development. “We keep an eye on the industry and emerging technologies and subsequently use off-the-shelf equipment,” said Myers. “This allows us to focus entirely on what the aircrew sees through the window.” One recent example of a successful alliance with an aircraft manufacturer is reflected in recent announcements by FlightSafety and Gulfstream Aerospace. Among them is introduction of a new rejected-takeoff course designed to promote “best practices and enhance ‘go/no-go’ decision making.” The four-hour simulator-based course presents the flight crew with 18 different V1 scenarios requiring a decision to either continue or abort the takeoff. The course is being initially offered at FlightSafety learning centers in Dallas, Texas and Savannah, Georgia. More locations are to be added by the end of 2014. FlightSafety and Gulfstream have also introduced a new, two-hour simulator-based Energy Management Course, focusing on the physics of operating a Gulfstream aircraft during the descent phase. At CAE, said group president Nick Leontides, “We’re very much of the view that customers are partners and
DUOPOLY
The flight training world is still dominated by the two established players. CAE (top) FlightSafety (bottom left).
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SPECIAL FEATURE
SUPERIOR
FlightSafety s FS1000 is lighter yet more robust than existing options says FlightSafety s Vice President Simulation John Van Maren.
their input is critical.” To that end, for example, Bombardier, Dassault and Embraer “have trusted us for entry into their new aircraft,” he said.” We’re building the first Dassault 5X platform and it will be a substantial step up into the simulator training program.” Most of the flight simulator business is based on in-production and out-of-production aircraft training – as much as 85-percent is focused on in-production airplanes. Fortunately, many cockpit technologies are shared by a variety of aircraft. And a growing number of changes are software upgrades. “Just as customers are starting to rapidly adopt the concept of the paperless cockpit and electronic flight bags, we’re also adding the capability to support mobile devices,” said Bruno Cacciola, CAE Director of Product Strategy & Marketing. “In the future, we believe the instructor’s mobile device will become the central tool for how a training session is planned, executed and reviewed.” As advancements in graphic-rendering capabilities add modeling concepts are adopted from the gaming industry, the flight simulator industry is providing more and more realistic visual scenes of the environment, weather and runway and taxiway contaminants. Better graphics performance also enables more “liveliness” in the scene, with added ground traffic and other moving objects at the airport. To come “in the near future” is the ability to leverage the increase in traffic modeling to provide a more realistic environment for air traffic control (ATC) simulation. It will permit better connectivity and realism between the visual scene and ATC. While most of the attention is focused on pilot training, no less important is training of instructors. “We have a very comprehensive inhouse training program,” said Steve Phillips, FlightSafety v-p of communications. “A new hire may spend six to eight months of training. Our inhouse training program is very comprehensive, and instructors also go through training with new-aircraft manufacturers. The result is a staff of very, very good instructors.”
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FLIGHT TRAINING
FlightSafety Introduces New FS1000 Simulator In July, the new FS1000 simulator for the Gulfstream G650 entered service at the FlightSafety training center in Long Beach, California. It is a Level D, full-flight simulator for Gulfstream’s flagship G650. FlightSafety ‘s Dr. Sammur described it as “designed to outperform current generation flight simulators in virtually all aspects.” A team of nearly 600 design and manufacturing engineers and specialists were involved in development of the FS1000. It is the latest in an evolutionary process, featuring “tightly integrated computer hardware and soft-
ware across subsystems which permits more accurate and higher fidelity than found in previous generation simulators.” It also includes the latest multi-core, 64-bit architecture and supporting real-time tools. According to FlightSafety, the lighter weight and robust modular design offers more configuration flexibility and ease of systems integration. These features, said Vice President of Simulation John Van Maren, enable FlightSafety to respond quickly as new aircraft and as advances in technology are introduced, and will serve to increase reliability and reduce maintenance time. “We also kept in mind supportability and interchangeability of parts,” said Sammur. We designed it in a modular way so that we can reproduce and adapt any new change to an aircraft.” He also pointed out that the process integrated such new technologies as 3D printing to produce some of the simulator parts. “It’s also a very quick way to develop a prototype prior to mass production. Aside from the cockpit itself, everything in the FS1000 is standard components.” A redesign of the instruction operating station presents instructors with “a highly productive and efficient work space equipped with an intuitive interface, scalable graphics and large multitouch displays. In fact, the total interior space for instructors is nearly twice that of earlier simulators.
Glass mirror technology is one of the most advanced new technologies on the FS1000 and is particularly applicable to helicopter pilot training. “We are able to provide an extremely wide field of view to replicate the actual view out of the aircraft,” explained Jon Hester, general manager of visual simulation systems. “Using the glass mirror provides for a clean, crisper, highly detailed view without distortion.” Glass mirror technology has been around for some time, explained Hestor. “We’ve also reduced the thickness of the glass and reinvented motion-based technology to make it more practical.” Also incorporated in the FS1000 is the new Vital 1100 visual system, announced last fall at the NBAA convention. The computational performance is five times greater than that of its Vital X predecessor, which Hester said “significantly enhances training by providing misson-specific imagery with vastly improved scene content and unprecedented levels of detail.” With the Vital 1100, as FlightSafety explains, “Hundreds of millions of scene elements are processed every second and presented, along with environmental effects such as physics-based weather models of rain, snow and hail that develop and react as they do in the real world. Other unique features include shadowing and enhanced shading effects to add a new dimension to the training environment by providing aircrews with valuable cues and added realism. Vital 1100 can provide system resolutions that are well over 20 million pixels for a typical out-the-window field of view of 200 degrees horizontally. It “significantly” enhances training by providing mission-specific environments rich in high-definition imagery and 3D content. “All This gives the viewer the necessary resolution for virtually any altitude and position, whether on short final in a fixed-wing aircraft, or during hover/landing maneuvering in a rotary-wing platform,” said Hester. “The enhanced display management system incorporated into Vital 1100 reduces the life-cycle and maintenance costs, while removing the need for manual adjustments and special skill sets.” What’s more, “The
automatic calibration system allows utilization of new LED and other display systems as well as conventional LCoS (LCD and DPD technology) projectors.” Also new is Matrix, which takes the software that runs a Level D, fullflight simulator and puts it into a desktop environment, featuring a group of screens laid out in a semicircle. “It’s key to a lot of our new training programs and allows us to change the way we train pilots on the business aviation side,”said Myers. It permits students to use the system in free-play or instructor-led learning modes. Finally, there is Operational Dayflow Learning which allows the student to go through an entire flight – takeoff to landing. The scenarios can change from one city pair to another, and it can be customized for a particular route. Day-flow was most recent put into service with Gulfstream to enhance Gulfstream G550 training and is now part of the G550 simulator in Farnborough, England. CAE s New 7000XR Simulator Goes Operational Canadian flight training specialist CAE announced its new, loaded with bells a whistles, 7000XR, Level D, fullflight simulator at the World Aviation Training Conference and Tradeshow (WATS) in Orlando, Florida. The 7000XR, the latest evolution of CAE’s simulator seris, is expected to become the common platform for all its civil aircraft full-flight simulators and the first example will serve in Boeing 737NG and Airbus A320 aircraft training and is due for completion in the third quarter 2014. “We believe the 7000XR will form the basis for the future of aviation training,” said Cacciola, who added that the simulator was in development for almost two years, was designed for ease of continuing upgrades, much of it through software. “We have already adopted 5megapixel projectors to increase resolution beyond high-definition,” revealed Cacciola. “This is a field which is advancing quickly and we foresee the use of 4k all the way up to 8k projectors [and] with LED and laser technology, we will also see sharper and more consistent scenes.” A key element of the 7000XR is a concept CAE refers to as “the instruc-
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SPECIAL FEATURE
ADVANCE
CAE says its 7000XR is the future of flight training.
tor office,” a re-designed space within the simulator that includes support for mobile devices and real-time data analysis and feedback. “In the future, we believe the instructor’s mobile device will become the central tool for how a training session is planned, executed and reviewed,” he explained. “And the simulator will become more than more integrated with the tools with which the crew is equipped, such elements of the electronic flight bag.” Also added to the instructor office is real-time de-briefing capability for instructor. “Providing immediate feedback to the crew, and full debriefing capacity, using the instructor’s mobile feedback will significantly enhance the training experience,” declared CAE’s Cacciola. At the Canadian flight simulator specialist, one of the key improvements is in embedded training capabilities, which will drive much of the innovation in coming years, including improvements in resolution and content for the visual scene. Integration of the personal tablet with the simulator system also allowed development of the Simulator Operation Quality Assurance (SOQA) that permits assessment of how a customer fleet is being operated from a safety perspective. “SOQA will pick up how well an approach is being performed, with the evaluating recorded on the tablet, making real-time feedback possible,” he explained. Under the embedded training capability is a tool-kit capability to train for upset prevention and recovery, as well as high pitch, high bank and high rate of descent. “We can set the simulator for those conditions and the student can follow as it tracks both aircraft behavior and student input, with the goal of recovery in such a way that does not overstress the aircraft beyond the flight envelope,” said Cacciola. During upset prevention and recovery, the instructor has a real-time means to show the crew exactly what is happening. The 7000XR also introduces the new CAE Sentinel diagnostic application, designed to optimize life-cycle operation by real-time monitoring, preventive and predicative maintenance, and
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FLIGHT TRAINING
advanced capabilities for support and trouble-shooting. Also part of the embedded training capability is a continuous enhancement of the visual system. “We call it ‘True Airport,’ and it provides the student with continuous display, including new gates and new actuation systems,” noted Cacciola. “There used to be a delay in getting real-world data input from the; we continuously update this information.” “Our goal,” he said, “it is migrate all our best attributes of current simulator platforms into the 7000XR.” Meanwhile, the world of pilot training continues to adapt and adopt for new technology. CAE’s Bruno Cacciola believes technology has allowed for a larger and more realistic database. One example is a growing airports library, using modeling techniques drawn from the gaming industry. “Powerful graphics capabilities hasve resulted in hundreds of highly realistic airport models
[and] the future will see greater adoption of high-resolution satellite data and technology such as Google’s Street View for still more realistic airport models.” Broadly, the pilot training industry believes there are three driving factors which will shape the future: Regulatory requirements which will always influence training and continuously enhance safety. Further expansion of the data provided by aircraft manufacturers. Technology which forever explores and expands the boundaries of what is possible. “By leveraging all three,” explained Cacciola, “We will be enhancing training effectiveness and ultimately safety [and] technology advancements will enable better connectivity and realism.”
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REPORT
OSHKOSH
AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH GROWS IN STRENGTH AND STATURE By LeRoy Cook
T
EVENT
At Oshkosh pilots of every stripe mingle to see what new products are being introduced.
he annual AirVenture convention and exhibition, held in late July at Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s Wittman Regional airport, is certainly an eclectic gathering. At Oshkosh, general aviation owners and pilots of every stripe mingle to see what new products are being introduced at mid-year—or what older aircraft have been lavishly restored for display. King Airs and MU-2 turboprops can be seen parked next to Mooneys and Cessnas. Personally, my airplane was tied down within 200 feet of a Learjet 36, and a Gulfstream V taxied in as I was prepared to depart the show. So, what went on this year, to bring what appeared to be near-record attendance, notwithstanding a continuing difficult economic climate? HondaJet brought its first production airplane to the show for a public appearance, as the OTWEM (Over The Wing Engine Mount) design marches steadily toward certification and first deliveries. Textron Aviation combined its Beechcraft and Cessna displays into one large exhibit, leaving a noticeable hole near Boeing Plaza, where Beechcraft Corporation had long held a prime position. Embraer brought its Phenom 300 and a just-announced Phenom 100E (enhanced) light jet, which features new multi-function spoilers and interior options. Republic Airways cooperated by bringing an ER-175 airliner to the nearby Plaza hardstand, and Eclipse displayed its Eclipse 550 light twin jet. Cirrus announced that it expects to be delivering SF50 Vision singleengine personal jets by the end of 2015, as it is now flying a conforming prototype, to be joined by two other conforming test airplanes later this year. Touting over 500 orders, Cirrus plans to build 90 SF50s in 2016 and 125 per year thereafter.
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Turboprops Retain Strength The turboprop world was well represented by Textron’s King Air 350i and King Air C90GTx, parked adjacent to display stands for the Pilatus PC-12 and Piper Meridian. The latter aircraft had just been approved by STC for retrofit of an MT Propeller Quiet Fan Jet five-blade propeller. Daher-Socata was showing its TBM 900, and Quest Aircraft presented the latest improvements to its Kodiak utility plane, including single-point refueling, certification of the Garmin GFC 700 autopilot and a new Summit interior. Epic Aircraft continues its pursuit for certification of its fast composite single-engine turboprop, with a large exhibit at AirVenture. Blackhawk Modifications was proudly celebrating installation of its 500th upgrade package, a pair of PT6A-52 engines for a King Air B200 owned by Ballard Aviation in Newton, Kansas, on display at the show. Blackhawk also announced a new 867-shp PT6A-140 conversion for Cessna Caravans, supplementing the popular 850-shp PT6A-42 upgrade. The PT6A-140 option will be attractive for floatplane and package-carrying operators, who fly primarily at
lower altitudes, while the PT6A-42 remains the choice for those flying above 6,000 feet or in hot temperature conditions. The PT6A-140 upgrade will be available in Q1 of 2015. Meanwhile, Textron Aviation showed its own PT6A-140 powered heavy-hauler, the Grand Caravan EX model of the Caravan line, featured as part of the collection at the Textron Aviation stand. In the company’s other news at the AirVenture show, Cessna demonstrated that it was not content with development of a Turbo Skylane JT-A, which features SMA’s turbocharged diesel engine; Cessna followed on by announcing a forthcoming Skyhawk JT-A, powered by Continental’s CD-155 diesel. It will be priced at $435,000. Textron is no doubt feeling the competition from Piper’s Archer DX, announced earlier this year at AERO in Fredrichshafen. Also, interior enhancements were introduced for the Stationair and TTx airplanes. A revitalized Mooney Aircraft showed off its first production airplane, an M20TN Acclaim Type S that proudly showed off its 242-knot speed number, painted across its for-
ward-swept vertical stabilizer. A Chinese order for 10 Mooney airplanes was received at the show, demonstrating the relationship between the company and its investors. Mooney will be building a limited number of non-turbocharged Ovation models, as well as the Acclaim. New Electronics Abound Most of the show news, however, centered on avionics. BendixKing Honeywell shook up the scene by unveiling its AeroVue retrofit suite, which should be ready for first deliveries in mid-2015, initially STC’d for King Air 200 cockpits, but no doubt adaptable for other turboprops and light jets. AeroVue draws heavily on Honeywell’s original-equipment systems in Gulfstream, Falcon and Pilatus cockpits. It will have three large 12-inch displays, a cursor-control trackball on the central pedestal for input, synthetic vision, split-screen MFD and much, much more. The package includes a new autopilot and the brand-new AeroWave 100 satellite transceiver, a
big announcement in its own right. AeroVue is expected to cost $100,000 less than competitive retrofits. At $19,999, Honeywell’s AeroWave is a low-cost data solution for wireless accessibility in light jets, turboprops and even cabin-class piston twins. AeroWave’s unique attraction is the user’s ability to pay for access by the hour of connect time, rather than by data volume; $1,999 buys 50 hours of use, a considerable sum, but far cheaper than other in-flight options. Connectivity for smaller business airplanes is becoming a viable option.
VARIETY
From the top: Cessna, Honda Aircraft, Pratt and Whitney, and Honeywell all had impressive products to display at Oshkosh.
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REPORT
CLASSICS
Aside from innovations Oshkosh is also a great showcase for vintage and venerable aircraft. (WB-57F top right).
Continuing its quest to regain dominance in general aviation avionics, BendixKing also announced certification of the KSN 770 all-in-one GPS/NAV/COM system, priced at less than $14,000, and a series of KGX ADS-B UAT transceivers, from a basic “in” receiver to a full GPS position sensor, priced from $1,489 to $4,069. Not to be outdone, L-3 Communications showed up with its Lynx MultiLink Surveillance System of ADS-B solutions, details of which will be made available later in the year. Each package will address an owner’s specific needs, ranging from complete systems with an ADS-B compliant position source, Mode S transponder, UAT in/out box and information display, or as little as an ADS-B “out” system only, if the aircraft is already equipped with most of the other components. Lynx pricing can begin at under $2,000. Avidyne Corporation proudly showed its now-certified IFD540 allin-one FMS/GPS/NAV/COM box, designed to slip into the existing space now occupied by older Garmin GNS 530 units. The IFD540 has a display about 10% larger than the displaced unit; it features the latest WAAS approach capabilities, and it functions through both touch-screen and knob inputs. The IFD540 is priced at $16,995. Avidyne’s smaller IFD440, a replacement for the popular GNS 430, is to be available before year-end, priced at $14,995.
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OSHKOSH
Garmin, Ltd. announced a morecompact 7-inch display version of the 10.6-inch G3X Touch, its $6,099 integrated glass cockpit that is popular with homebuilt aircraft builders. This option allows builders with limited panel space to better utilize the G3X system. Garmin also introduced Flight Stream 110 and 210 systems that can interface the GDL traffic and weather receivers with mobile devices, using Garmin Pilot; the Flight Stream 210 goes further by adding two-way communication with GNS and GTN nav systems. In cooperation with Piper Aircraft, Garmin reported the first deliveries of Piper’s Seneca V twins with the GFC 700 autopilot, completing the airplane’s transition to all-Garmin flight deck. FreeFlight Systems, well known for its Rangr ADS-B solutions, announced Daher-Socata’s selection of its RA-4500 radar altimeter system for the TBM 900 turboprop. FreeFlight also reported that its 1203C WAAS/SBAS transceiver received an STC for installation in Embraer 135LR and 145LR regional airliners, as a position source for a fully-compliant ADS-B “out” system. On The Flight Line Among the air cr aft featured at AirVen tu r e 2014 were the U .S . Marine Corps’ V-22 Osprey tilt rotor assault transport, Boeing E/A-18G Growler electronic attack airplane, a restored Martin/English Electric
WB-57F that had been brought back into service for NASA after 41 years of storage in a government boneyard, a unique Twin Mamba-powered Fa irey G an n et, a nd a huge Fed eral Expres s Ai r bus A330 freighter. Unique antique airplanes included a restored 1933 Lockheed Vega, a replica 1934 GeeBee QED sport-racer, and a replica of a 1911 Benoist flying boat. The airshow program was dominated by a weekend appearanc e fro m the USAF Thunderbirds demonstration team, a first at Oshkosh, and some fantastic short-field takeoff and landing demonstrations by competitors from the Valdez, Alaska bush-flying contest. Speaking at the show’s wrap-up, EAA Chairman Jack J. Pelton projected “one of the best” number showings, with early aircraft registrations totaling more than 1,000 greater than last year’s tally and gate attendance on Saturday some 20% higher than 2014, no doubt due to the Thunderbirds jet team being on the bill. The expansive airport was completely saturated by the second day of the show, when no more parking was available It’s not too early to plan for AirVenture 2015, to be held for the 46th time at the Oshkosh, Wisconsin location from July 20 to July 26.
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REPORT By Paul Walsh
A
mid the noise, heat and chaos of the Farnborough Airshow, it’s sometimes difficult to appreciate the sheer size of the show, and it’s only the post-event figures that bring it into focus. This year over 100,000 visitors streamed through the Farnborough Airshow gates, and deals worth over US$201bn, were done over the five day event. Scale like this explains why in recent years it has been hard for Business Aviation to make an impression and with many of the OEMs preferring to concentrate on their commercial, military lines; BizAv was starting to seem like an afterthought. But this year it as different in that Business Aviation wanted to make a statement; with all of the BizAv OEMs boasting large chalets, and some of them backing these up with large orders.
Setting the tone for the show was Cessna, with its team arriving on the Cessna Citation X+ making its first trans-Atlantic trip in an impressive 5 hours, 33 minutes, with an average ground speed of 502 knots. But Cessna wasn’t necessarily out to set any records, wanting to demonstrate a flight plan that a customer can expect in normal operations. According to Kriya Shortt, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing for Textron Aviation; “While the operator will realize a huge benefit from the Citation X+ during shorter cross-country flights, long flights like this is where it really shines.”
FARNBOROUGH AIRSHOW
BACK IN BUSINESS AT FARNBOROUGH
Taking off from the Cessna factory in Wichita, KS for a first leg to Presque Isle, Maine, the aircraft then flew 2,788 nautical miles non-stop to Cessna’s facility at Paris Le Bourget before completing its journey at TAG Farnborough Airport. For the trans-Atlantic leg, the aircraft made a direct climb to 45,000 feet, accelerating to an initial cruise speed of .86 Mach, then to .88 Mach for much of the flight to Paris. “Just as impressive as the speed of the aircraft – and the time saved – is the large cabin, the comfort, and the smart cabin technology that really make this the jet for business,” Shortt said.
The new Citation X+ has seating for up to 12 passengers, a maximum altitude of 51,000 feet, an unmatched maximum speed of Mach 0.935 (617 mph, 536 ktas) and an increased max range of 3,408 nautical miles. The most distinct outward difference with the evolved Citation X+ is the addition of winglets, allowing the aircraft to cruise efficiently at higher altitudes and to consume less fuel, as well as improving takeoff and landing performance at higher elevations or on hot days. Powered by two FADEC-controlled Rolls-Royce AE3007C2 turbofan engines, the Citation X+ can fly above commercial traffic and some adverse weather at a maximum altitude of 51,000 feet. “The pilots were thrilled by the ease of fuel management with the fully integrated autothrottle system used throughout the mission,” Shortt added. “Combined with improved aerodynamics and the addition of winglets, the Citation X+ autothrottle is the key to getting the most efficient use of fuel given the prevailing environmental conditions, and that means you save money.” Meanwhile Cessna’s sister company Beechcraft had its Special Mission Beechcraft King Air 350ER on display and demonstrated that it fits numer-
CHAMPS
Setting the tone for the show, were Textron aircraft Beechcraft King Air 350ER Special Mission and Cessna Citation X+ which made its first transAtlantic trip in 5 hours, 33 minutes.
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REPORT ous mission profiles, including aerial survey, air ambulance, flight inspection, aerial surveillance, training and utility transport. “With the combination of the Beechcraft and Cessna products within Textron Aviation, we now offer the largest proposition of special mission platforms in the industry,” said Dan Keady, vice president, Special Missions. “We have seen a significant growth in special mission activity around the globe and anticipate this market will continue to grow across our aircraft platforms. From our pis-
VIGOR
From the top: The Gulfstream G650, Embraer Legacy 650, Pilatus PC-24, Global 6000, Falcon 2000s LXS were all promoted vigorously at Farnborough.
ton-engine Beechcraft and Cessna products up to the largest Citation business jets, we are able to offer our customers an aircraft to fit just about any mission requirement.” The Beechcraft products, particularly the King Air turboprops, are used around the globe in a number of services including air ambulance, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), maritime patrol and pilot training, while the Cessna product line lends itself to multiple special mission roles from piston trainers, to the multi-purposed Caravan operating in an air ambulance, cargo, parachute and float plane platforms. The Citation jets are also used in training, flight inspection and air ambulance roles throughout the world. “There have been a number of factors fueling the special mission business,” Keady said. “Two key factors include advances in on-board technology, which means aircraft such as our turboprops can be used for missions previously requiring larger, more expensive military aircraft. In addition,
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more organizations are looking to use their business aircraft for multiple roles, which could include using a King Air for executive or utility transport while having the ability to quickly adapt it to an air ambulance configuration, for example.” But getting back to those orders, the big news at the show was that Piaggio Aero signed its first major contract to sell 50 Avanti EVO aircraft to Hong Kong based investment
and advisory firm Bravia Capital Hong Kong. The contract included 10 firm orders and 40 options for Avanti EVO aircraft to be delivered starting from the first quarter of 2015. Alberto Galassi Chairman of the Board of Directors of Piaggio Aero said “This first major contract for our new Avanti EVO delivers an incredible vote of confidence to Piaggio Aero and our new business aircraft. Bravia
FROM THE COCKPIT
RUN OFFS
WHY PILOTS RUN OFF RUNWAYS By LeRoy Cook
A
runway excursion accident, particularly one that occurs at very near flying speed, is an extremely hazardous affair. High performance airplanes are normally designed for level, prepared and evenly-paved surfaces. They do not comport themselves well when caused to operate on footings other than runways, and the accompanying structural failures often result in fires, injuries and deaths. So, why do pilots of otherwise perfectly functioning aircraft run off runways? One prime ingredient of these offrunway excursions is lack of consideration for the surface wind. We have all seen the videos of airliners wallowing back and forth across the runway centerline in extreme wind conditions. However, such situations are rare, and pilots will rise to the occasion with consummate skill. It’s often the lessaggressive wind that catches pilots unprepared, because it was disregarded as a factor.
DANGER
Less aggressive winds often catch unprepared pilots, because they were disregarded as a factor.
However, even a mild tailwind skews the landing-distance charts by a major increment; a substantial tailwind component, such as 10-15 knots, creates a huge difference. From the King Air F90 takeoff charts, for instance, a 10-knot headwind would reduce ground roll by about 150 feet, while a 10-knot tailwind increases ground roll by 350 feet. Even more disparity becomes evident
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when figuring the distance to climb over an obstacle. Landing distances are similarly affected. A slick runway, combined with a following wind, brings the potential for hydroplaning at a much slower airspeed than normally expected. Rudder control becomes zero as a tailwind matches aircraft speed, leaving only braking as a means of steering unless the nosegear is solidly planted.
Forcing The Issue In January, 2014, a Challenger 601 crashed during an attempted landing at Aspen, Colorado, in the mountainous western U.S. While not technically a runway excursion, since the accident took place on the runway, it certainly involved loss of control with a 25-knot tailwind’s influence. Touchdown occurred some 3,500 feet beyond the threshold, a forced arrival that resulted in a bounce, followed by a fiery inverted crash. It was the crew’s second attempt, after a 33-knot tailwind prompted a go-around on the first try. Which brings us to a significant ingredient of runway excursion accidents while attempting to land; it’s termed “landing expectancy”. When the pilot is fixated on the goal of touching down, there’s a tendency to ignore signals that an alternative course of action should be taken. We want to get the aircraft on the ground; we do not want to give up short of the objective. Because we expect to land, we make that the only acceptable outcome. The passengers, after all, want to arrive on time, at the intended destination. An acquaintance of mine was left with no options during an Atlantic crossing from Canada to Iceland in a light jet when a major storm suddenly produced surface winds of 75 to 85
knots at Keflavic. Without fuel to reach better conditions, he was committed to a landing at Kef. However, before descent, he established crew resource management with the pilotnot-flying, considered alternatives like
In the 50 seconds leading up to the crash, the G-IV had attained 165 knots, with preliminary indications showing that braking and thrust reverse had been initiated. It was too late, however. The aircraft impacted a
landing diagonally on the wide runway, and coordinated a plan to switch visually to land on a vacant parking ramp for a better alignment, all to cope with the expected severe conditions. His planning paid off, and the aircraft and occupants arrived safe and sound. He rose to the occasion.
localizer antenna and fence after running past the runway end, coming to rest 564 meters from the runway; everyone perished in the ensuing fire. Sadly, there’s some FDR evidence that the controls gustlock may have remained engaged. Analysis, of course, is still on-going.
Leaving The Runway Before Liftoff A takeoff, pursued beyond the point of practicality, is also subject to expectancy. While performance calculations predicate a continued roll to liftoff and climbout once V1 speed is attained, that doesn’t mean one should totally ignore signs of sluggish acceleration, or loss of directional control early-on due to adverse winds. Along with devotion to the balanced-field concept, there must be interpretation of the aircraft’s control and speed. Abandoning a takeoff is not to be taken lightly, but if done early, it’s a sensible course of action. Takeoffs, after all, become more and more hazardous as kinetic energy builds during the maneuver, while the opposite is true of a landing rollout. The late-May 2014 crash of a 2000model Gulfstream IV at Bedford, Massachusetts bears tragic witness to the kinetic energy of an airplane running off the runway at takeoff speed.
Other Factors Distractions like obstructions or an unfamiliar airport layout can cause pilots to forget about the precise job of control they must do if they are to stay on the runway, let alone maintain the centerline. A visual approach over obstructions leads pilots to “pad” their threshold-crossing height, which results in a touchdown taking place farther than normal downfield. Another distraction is an airstrip of unfamiliar dimensions; if one is accustomed to a 75-foot runway width, but is landing on a 150-foot-wide runway, there’s a tendency to flare early, in an attempt to keep the familiar perspective of the runway during landing. Conversely, a narrow runway tempts pilots into flaring late, or not at all, while waiting for the runway to grow to its normal size. Downward-sloping runways are guaranteed to catch your airplane at the far end of the runway, if you aren’t alert enough to go around. The prima-
ry danger is not the extra slope’s effect on braking, but rather the illusion of being low on the approach, which made you go high over the threshold. A normal glideslope angle to a downhill runway produces a view of a short, wide airport, as if you are coming in low. Barring obstructions, concentrate on placing your non-moving aiming spot at the target zone and ignore the perspective. The emphasis at many airports today is on a decelerating approach, for traffic considerations, arriving in queue with plenty of speed and a requirement to add final flaps for an airbrake late in the arrival. That’s fine, if you’re good with your timing and have some extra runway to cover your mistakes. It’s far better to plan on being stabilized no later than 500 feet AGL and probably two or three miles out. In any case, go around if the airplane is not on target for a touchdown at, or just past, the fixed-distance runway markers, and adjust your approach for the next attempt. Using CRM and briefing the takeoff and approach are critical to avoiding a hurried, slap-dash procedure. The pilot flying should say “this will be a flaps-10 normal takeoff, you are to call out V1, Vr and V2, and observe the distance to go markers.” Once cleared for approach, brief the arrival; “we are flying the RNAV 16, initial minimum altitude is 2,100 feet, landing minimum is 515 feet, the missed approach is straight ahead to 2,000 feet. Call out altitudes to go, Vref deviation and runway in sight.” Even if you are flying as a single-pilot, make such takeoff and landing briefings verbally, reinforcing your dedication to following procedures. The prevention for running off a runway is to swallow your pride and take a wave-off from an unworkable landing, or abort the takeoff early. These are maneuvers in their own right that need to practiced regularly in simulator training. Think about what caused you to abandon the landing or takeoff and change something for the next try, so you don’t fall into the same trap. Insanity, it’s been said, is defined as doing the same thing as before but expecting different results. Let’s not give the tower controller an excuse to quip “Speed permitting, exit at the end.”
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DAMAGE
The kinetic power of an airplane running of the runway at takeoff speed often leads to dramatic consequences.
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FROM THE COCKPIT
WIND
WIND IS WEATHER By LeRoy Cook When the breezes pick up, my non-pilot friends will invariably ask How much wind can you fly in? Setting aside their grammatical error, I try to separate my responses into the possible and practical; There s no real limit to the airplane s ability to fly in wind, I will say, but you may want to give up at some point, to avoid a bad experience. Wind, after all, means turbulence, and the accompanying wind shear is a serious hazard when operating at low speed and close to the ground.
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O
ur heavier general aviation airplanes can be operated in stronger winds than light aircraft, but that doesn’t mean there’s no practical limit to flying in the wind. Passengers and crew are better served by avoiding the discomfort and risks of heavy winds. I’ve been out on some very windy days and really didn’t enjoy the adventure; one landing was enough, thank you very much. You’ve probably had similar experiences. That said, if you’re already up there, you’re going to have to land, in whatever wind happens to exist. That doesn’t mean options aren’t available, when faced with a wind challenge. Evaluating conditions for a decision to make a flight presents you the first choice, one of staying on the ground, and that’s a wise election if you know you’re pushing the aircraft’s limitations. Your flight department or operations manual no doubt has published wind guidelines, providing you with support for your decision not to launch. Remind yourself of how much trouble you’re going to have justifying your action, if you come to grief while ignoring the book’s warning. The configuration of the airport has a great influence on whether a takeoff or landing should be attempted. A wind blowing straight down the runway might present little hazard, while one aligned directly across the runway presents a real challenge. All airplanes have crosswind component limitations, published or otherwise. For takeoff, one might have to consider whether it’s possible to keep the air-
craft on the ground until control is enhanced to manage the wind. Not all airplanes tolerate prolonged takeoff runs, because of their designed-in angle of incidence sitting on the landing gear. How Much Is Too Much? A crosswind landing is evaluated on the basis of how much crosswind component exists, and that’s most easily calculated with rules of thumb, such as “60 degrees of angle to the runway means it’s all crosswind” and “a 30degree angle means half the wind speed is crosswind”. If and when you decide to attempt a landing, be prepared to divert to another airport with a more favorable runway alignment,
and determine this option long before you need it. Having an alternate airport ready for use eases the decision to divert. The final evaluation of your ability to make the landing becomes apparent on a stabilized final approach, as you observe the crab angle and/or amount of sideslip required to maintain runway alignment. Most aircraft are limited by the rudder’s ability to generate sideslip to negate wind drift. When you’ve bottomed out the downwind rudder pedal, you’re no longer able prevent the aircraft from moving laterally across the runway. Other limitations can be keeping enough clearance with the lowered wing to accommodate extended wing flaps or under-
CHALLENGE
Be prepared to divert to another airport when you decide to attempt a crosswind landing
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FROM THE COCKPIT
slung engines. When you’re up against the airplane’s physical limits, it’s time to abandon the approach and go somewhere else. Bringing in power on a twin’s upwind wing-mounted engine can add the necessary yaw, but at the cost of increased runway used. And, at some point, you’ll have to get all three landing gears planted firmly to gain traction for the rollout. For both takeoff and landing, it’s important to understand the local topography and how it affects low-level turbulence from the wind. When buildings, trees or hills are upwind of the runway, the turbulence behind them may be both surprising and intense as you fly through it to take off and land. In most cases, the landing configuration sacrifices more to control the aircraft in a crosswind, given the large flap deflection and spooled-down engine thrust that leaves you vulnerable to the wind. On the other hand, the aircraft is usually heavier during takeoff and can’t accelerate out of a windshear sink as quickly as when at landing weight. Beware of landing approaches that cross lower terrain when a strong wind is blowing down the runway. The flow of air descending into a ravine just off the end of the runway will take an airplane on short final approach down with it. Don’t try to spike your wheels onto the first foot of pavement under these conditions; you might APPROACH leave your maingear in the rough, You will have to short of the threshold. carry more speed into the Beware The Shear Windshear is a modern term for approach as strong winds will what old-timers called a “sinker”, decrease at encountered while flying into a subground level. siding wind during descent on the
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WIND
approach. Strong winds at 1,000 feet AGL will likely decrease at ground level, from the surface friction effect, and the aircraft will be left without sufficient lift as it momentarily loses airspeed. The cure, of course, is to carry more speed into the approach, but that can set up an overshoot if not managed carefully. Gust spread is not true windshear, but it has similar consequences; sudden increases or decreases in wind speed cause the roller-coaster effect we find on approach. If you watch autothrottles moving aggressively back and forth in these conditions, you’ll have an idea of what you need to be doing when hand-flying. The ancient rule is to carry half the gust spread in extra airspeed when landing on a windy day; a report of “15 gusting to 25” calls for tacking five more knots onto your normal Vref. Often, however, pilots make it 10 knots or more, with a corresponding increase in runway used during rollout. Just half the gust spread is enough. During departure, once you’ve climbed above the ground-influence layer, usually found within one or two thousand feet of the ground, the ride will smooth out until it’s time to land. As you descend for the landing, you’ll have to tighten your belts and prepare to fly aggressively. Don’t ignore a strong wind’s effect on any turns made during the landing approach. A turn to final with a stout tailwind tempts a pilot into steepening the turn’s bank angle as the runway enters their side window. Worse yet, he or she may unconsciously step on rudder to skid the airplane into alignment, an invitation to disaster at slow
speed. Just let the turn’s ground track overshoot the centerline if necessary, then make a correcting turn in the reverse direction to regain the straight-in line-up. In mountainous terrain, beware of strong winds blowing perpendicular to the ridge lines. If the wind at ridge level (not surface wind) is 15 knots or more, there will be strong downdrafts on the lee side of the ridge, and wave action can persist a hundred miles downwind at altitudes far above the hills. It doesn’t take Alpine heights to create noticeable waves; even thousand-foot ridges above a valley floor will generate this dangerous turbulence if the conditions are right. Never forget that airport operations are conducted in a localized wind condition, and the generalized wind field can be altered by a number of factors, like buildings and terrain. Larger airports will have perimeter wind indicators that can give you clues of a shifting wind, and possible windshear warnings. Do not try to take off or land in close proximity to a thunderstorm. An outflow wind from the storm can turn everything around for your approach or climbout. Watch for blowing dust and tossing trees, and take them as a sign to fly elsewhere. Don’t ignore the wind as a component of the weather briefing. If you’re at the wrong airport at just the right time, you may find yourself exceeding the aircraft’s limitations, if not your own. Have a plan to deal with the wind’s consequences.
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MAINTENANCE MATTERS
BOMBARDIER
MAK I NG L I FE EAS I ER FOR CUSTOMERS
By Bernard Fitzsimons
Bombardier is following a threepronged product support improvement strategy driven by a desire to make life easier and more affordable for its customers.
S
ince launching a reliability improvement modification program (RIMP) for the Global fleet in March 2010, Bombardier has extended the idea to other families while evolving the maintenance program for most of its models to reduce costs and increase availability. It has also moved to extend its global service footprint.
CONSISTENCY
Bombardier has extended its Global RIMP to other types of aircraft.
“We are moving forward with looking at the maintenance programs on each of our platforms and optimizing the tasks, which I think is smart for us and smart for our customers,” says Gary Martin, VP sales, marketing and service programs with Bombardier Aerospace Customer Services.
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The latest evolutions in the maintenance programs are promulgated in manual revisions and service bulletins, Martin explains: “We take the larger check intervals and we escalate them to a higher number, which reduces the maintenance burden on the customers.” The basis for extending the intervals is findings customers have experienced in the course of carrying out maintenance. “You look at the routine task card that says go and look at a certain part on the airplane and see what its condition is,” he elaborates. “You do that at a certain interval, and eventually you gather enough information to show that every time you go look at it at that particular interval there are no findings. “That lets you build a technical dossier that says, to take a hypothetical example, ‘I’ve been looking at this every 12 months, I never find anything.’ With enough data from enough airplanes from enough customers you build a technical dossier and you say, ‘I don’t need to look at it every 12
months, I can do it every 14 months instead.’ And once our own Bombardier people are comfortable with the new program construction they talk to the regulatory agencies to make sure that they can approve it.” The evolution is planned so that the data is reviewed on a regular basis: “Once you know you’ve compiled enough input it’s time to go off and do the data analysis and build the dossier.” Component Reliability At the same time, under the RIMPlike MAX programs for the Challenger 300 and Challenger 605, Bombardier is proactively replacing key components with the latest configurations that meet the baseline operational level of the current production model. Essentially, says Martin, the MAX program “takes an incredibly reliable airplane and improves some of the economics by making some targeted changes.” Elements of the MAX program, he says, include main gear improve-
ments, changes to the nose gear, minor modifications on the passenger door and the emergency exits over the wing, new accumulators for brakes and hydraulics and protected covers for radio altimeters: “These are very specific modifications and improvements that will help us with the operating economics of the airplane.” Having defined the upgrades, he says, “we actually worked with customers to figure out how they would best implement the MAX program on the Challenger fleet, similar to what we did on the Globals.” RIMP had a profound effect on the Global in terms of how it operated, Martin says. “And EFFICIENT
A Learjet 45 based at Chicago delivers parts when they are needed.
one of the key features of this is, it’s stuff that we sponsor. There is typically not much exposure to the customers at all.” Unsurprisingly, he adds, “it was very well received by the operator base.” The underlying rationale for the program, he says, is customer satisfaction. “As people see us continuing to invest in the airplanes and continue to invest in their satisfaction with the airplanes it makes them want to come back and buy a new airplane.” Last year saw the launch of Bombardier’s latest cost per flight hour parts program, Smart Parts Preferred, which extends the coverage provided by Smart Parts Plus. “We’ve added coverage for certain parts in the airplane that weren’t included before,” says Martin. “We’ve provided longer term agreem en t s, whic h i s som ethin g cu stomers asked us for.” Now offered at service entry on almost all current models, Smart Parts Preferred is als o ea s ie r to trans f e r t o a n e w owner.
The new scheme “allows us to transfer it to a buyer without a deficit,” Martin explains. “If the prior owner had used more parts than they had paid in, we don’t ask the new buyer to sign up for that.” There is no administration charge when the coverage is transferred from one customer to the next. The scheme is also easier for the customer to manage, with no requirement for review of activity reports, and there are no annual performance rate adjustments, so the rate is fixed for the whole seven years of the agreement. “We have the benefit of so much history on our airplanes that we were able to offer those programs with confidence,” Martin says. It was the wealth of historical data that enabled Bombardier to conclude record-breaking deals with NetJets – the fractional operator has 50 Globals and 100 Challengers on firm order, plus options for 70 and 175 more – “and we will add all the benefit of their operation into our knowledge base as they continue to take airplanes into their operation.” BART: SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2014 - 71
MAINTENANCE MATTERS Global Expansion
EVOLUTION
The Bombardier evolved maintenance program improves aircraft availability and reduces maintenance costs
As Bombardier’s business jet customer base expands globally, Martin says, “so are we,” with a new service centre in Singapore and a new parts depots in Johannesburg, South Africa. “Putting our flag on the ground all over the world so that we’re there when customers show up with their airplanes is challenging and exciting at the same time,” he says. The new service centre opened in February at Seletar in Singapore “started off as nothing more than a grassy field, and it took a tremendous amount of effort from a lot of people to design and build this service centre that is half a world away from our headquarters.” The facility is already full, and there is talk of further expansion. Next on the agenda is a third parts hub in Asia, following the upgrade of Bombardier’s Frankfurt warehouse to full hub status. “We are considering where to put a similar hub operation in Asia-Pacific,” Martin says. Factors in the choice of location include logistics and ease of shipping as well as the local population of customers. Maintenance and operations conferences in Singapore this year and Europe in 2012 were received enthusiastically, he says, to the extent that the European conference may become an annual event. And the company has been opening regional support offices to act as initial customer contact points: “It makes customers’ life easier, they don’t have to wait till people in our head offices are awake to conduct their business.” Other recent initiatives include the addition of a customer response team aircraft in the form of a Learjet 45 based at Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) in Palwaukee, Illinois, near the Bombardier parts hub. “We’re using it to bring parts to customers when they happen to need them faster than is practical using the normal modes of transport,” Martin says. Launched in March, the CRT aircraft logged 86 hours of flying on 50 trips in its first four months of use. Since late 2012 Bombardier has also deployed a fleet of seven mobile response team trucks at strategic locations in North America. They,
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BOMBARDIER
EVOLUTION IMPACT Under its evolved maintenance program Bombardier has improved aircraft availability and reduced maintenance costs for its operators on Challenger 300 aircraft in July 2013, Learjet 40s and Learjet 45s in October 2013, Globals in December 2013 and Challenger 604s and 605s in July 2014. It quantifies the resulting savings in terms of average direct maintenance cost (DMC) reduction per flight hour over a 20-year period and additional flying days per year for typical annual aircraft utilisation. The company says Learjet 40 and Learjet 45 customers will be able to benefit from DMC reductions of over $130 per flight hour and up to 12 additional flying days per year. For Challenger 300 customers the DMC reduction will average as much as $24 per flight hour and up to two additional flying days per year. Evolving the maintenance intervals for Global aircraft will increase availability since the aircraft will be less frequently in a service centre for maintenance. Fewer visits for maintenance also means lower DMCs for operators, especially as they can benefit from DMC reductions of as much as $20 per flight hour. The evolved maintenance intervals for the Challenger 604 and Challenger 605, meanwhile, will reduce the aircraft labor DMC for operators by as much as $22 per flight hour.
The term program escalation is no longer accepted by regulatory agencies and has been replaced by program evolution, which describes an improved maintenance program process that does not focus entirely on escalation. An evolution may result in task interval escalation, de-escalation, deletion, additional tasks and task combinations. However, Bombardier says it has had great success with task interval escalation using the evolution process. Overall, the evolution process combines an evaluation of maintenance check data with probabilistic methods through failure reporting, analysis and corrective action system (FRACAS) reports. Aircraft and fleet age are a factor in our ability to evaluate tasks with higher intervals, Bombardier says. The company adds that it will continue to evaluate the maintenance program as more data becomes available.
too, have been very popular, he says: “We see huge demand for the trucks and we’re looking at expanding that program.” Feedback from operators at the maintenance and operations conferences “is a source of energy for us,” adds Martin. “They’re not bashful. When we do things well they tell us,
when there are things we could do better they tell us, and we do our level best to act on it. That’s why we do things like opening the depot in Johannesburg, because they want to fly our airplanes down there and want to have access to material.”
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SAFET SENSE
TIRE ISSUES
OBSERVE, AND THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
By Michael R. Gr체ninger and Capt. Carl C. Norgren of Great Circle Services AG (GCS)
C FAILURE
Landing at Van Nuys, a main landing gear tire of the Global Express suffered a slide-trough failure.
alifornia is generally a warm and sunny place. But it had rained for days. On January 28, 2008, the rain stopped in the early afternoon. It was still cool at +12째C, but the air blew dry and a light wind at 10 kts removed all residual moisture from the runway. The commander of VP-CRC, a Bombardier Global Express, arrived at Van Nuys airport for a scheduled departure into the night at around 2200 hours. At 2240 hours he took off bound for London Luton on a private flight with one passenger. The night flight went on well. The commander touched down the next day at 0808 hours UTC. During the subsequent landing roll, one main landing gear tire suffered a slidethrough failure.
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Crew and passenger remained unharmed. But the aircraft suffered substantial damage. The left inboard main gear tire had burst resulting from a locked wheel. The flap drive shaft and two hydraulic pipes fractured. Impact damage from flailing sections of the tire also damaged a wiring loom and localized elements of the wing structure. Thus, the flight control system was extensively damaged. A similar failure in a touch-and-go scenario might have resulted in a much less benign outcome. Frozen Brakes It seems counterintuitive at first glance that frozen brakes had been the cause for the tire burst in Luton. The take-off happened in dry weather on a dry runway. And yet, one of the brakes froze once the cold air at high altitude cold soaked the brake assembly. VP-CRC had been parked on the Tarmac for four days. It had rained a lot in Van Nuys during this period. It was only during the last 8 hours before departure that the weather dried up. This rainfall had wetted the carbon brakes of which both the rotors and stators are porous and slightly absorbent. To mitigate the risk of frozen brakes, the manufacturer’s training material recommended to heat the brake assemblies during taxi by applying the brakes. However, such guidance was not contained in the approved aircraft documentation and it did not specify brake temperature limitations. As it is common practice in business jet operations to reduce wear and tear of the brakes by avoiding brake applications as far as possible, the pilot of this flight did not dry the brakes sufficiently before take-off. On many smaller airports this would also be hard to accomplish as the distance to taxi to the runway might not be sufficiently long to allow such brake application. Certificated Tire Failure Mode The tire in question was of the crossply type, sometimes known as Bias ply type. Slide-through events and lateral cutting by debris are at the origin of tire failures in which the tire ruptures. Tire ruptures on take-off can be induced by lateral cutting by debris on the runway such as in the tragic accident of Concorde flight 4590 on July 25, 2000.
Partial or complete separation of large sections of total carcass thickness and substantial portions of the tire sidewall then detach. The flailing section inflicts great damage. EASA and FAA had certificated this type of tire based on much lower speeds than the speeds encountered by our incident aircraft. Having analyses the serious incident discussed in this Safety Sense and the Concorde accident, the UK AAIB concluded that EASA certification rules did not suffice to prepare for such catastrophic tire rupture and recommended a review of such certification rules. Understanding the System Type certification rules and pilot type training aim to achieve the highest level of safety possible. They root in assumptions regarding what can go wrong and what actions are best suited to handle the failure. Aircraft certification rules will never encompass all possible failure modes and pilot training will never include all actions to deal with all possible failures. The probability of a failure as well as the severity of such a failure determine if it is incorporated in the certification requirements and in the pilot training syllabus for a particular aircraft type. Therefore real life situations can occur which are outside of the scope of both aircraft type certification as well as the pilot training syllabus. Pilot training aims to optimize the learning effect versus the time required. To deeply understand aircraft systems, the relationship between such systems and the environment and to know about the operational consequences and practice them, exceeds the time available for formal training. The UK AAIB suggested in the wake of the incident discussed here that crew should be made aware of the vulnerability of carbon brakes to freezing in flight following exposure to moisture on the ground. It should be empha-
sized that saturated carbon brakes dry very slowly even in warm, low humidity conditions. Depending on weather conditions and the specific geometry of wing, the wing will not shield the brake assemblies from moisture. Aircraft parked outdoors for several days are particularly vulnerable to this effect. The Cost of Safety, The Benefits of Safety Carbon brakes are much lighter than steel brakes and allow considerable weight savings for aircraft manufacturers. They can absorb more energy than steel brakes and are therefore more effective at decelerating the aircraft. To limit wear and tear on carbon brakes pilots should avoid to ‘ride the brakes’. One single, firm brake application causes less wear than numerous light applications. Reducing maintenance costs on brakes by avoiding to apply them is of course good practice. But as with any rule of thumb, it must be used wisely and in consideration of the full context. When weather conditions might wet the brakes, pilots should dry them prior to take-off. By doing so, they avoid the cost of losing more than just a brake.
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Michael R. Grüninger is Managing Director and Capt. Carl C. Norgren is Head of Business Development of Great Circle Services (GCS) Safety Solutions. GCS assists in the whole range of planning and management issues, offering customized solutions to strengthen the position of a business in the aviation market. Its services include training and auditing (IS-BAO, IOSA), consultancy, manual development and process engineering. GCS can be reached at www.gcs-safety.com and +41-41 460 46 60. The column Safety Sense appears regularly in BART International.
ROUTINE
Pilots should avoid applying numerous light impulses on brakes. One firm application causes less wear and tear.
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SAFETY ISSUES BY WAYNE ROSENKRANS
Misconceptions among professional pilots about their prospects of continued qualification for an airman medical certificate can prove costly in safety, health and financial terms, says Quay Snyder, a physician and president and CEO of Aviation Medicine Advisory Service and its parent company, Virtual Flight Surgeons. In the United States, inaccurate information has a tendency to seep into some pilots understanding at different stages of the dynamic process of revising Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical certification standards, he said.
L BANNED
You cannot act as a pilot-incommand if you have any medical condition that can make you unsafe.
ooking back at 12 months of changes, through first quarter 2014, shows a mostly positive impact on this pilot community, Snyder told the Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS 2014) in San Diego, a conference hosted by Flight Safety Foundation and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). The FAA’s authority to issue waivers to pilots on some certificate requirements stems from agency policy governing the work of aviation medical examiners (AMEs), and this policy essentially expects AMEs to help pilots identify, to the extent possible,
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MEDICAL CERTIFICATES
FULL DISCLOSURE
any medical conditions that might prevent them from flying safely, Snyder said. However, pilots should realize that the FAA is being tasked to do more with less while constantly being asked “Is that safe?” with respect to changes of medical certification standards and special issuances under them, he said. “You’ll be safe if you stay healthy,” Snyder said. “Don’t avoid seeking any medical evaluations. Get what you need because, generally, the FAA will waive you. … The sense I hope I’m conveying is that the FAA has flexibility despite not publishing the policies they’re using — flexibility to liberalize the standards.”
Fred Tilton, a physician and former U.S. Air Force F-15 pilot who retired from the FAA post of federal air surgeon in January, published policydirective language to AMEs through the quarterly Federal Air Surgeon’s Medical Bulletin that can be summarized as “issue a certificate whenever possible,” Snyder said. “He did not want to see them deferred. [Tilton would tell AMEs,] ‘If you’re looking at a deferral, call the regional flight surgeon or call the Aeromedical Certification Division in Oklahoma City to see if you can get permission to issue that certificate.’” James Fraser, a former U.S. Navy physician appointed in March as feder-
al air surgeon, has continued the deferral-averse stance, Snyder noted. Fraser has invited experts’ consensus about the latest scientific evidence for the remaining prohibitions against AMEs issuing an airman medical certificate.
posts its free Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners3 — available online in the searchable Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The Guide discloses, for example, the long-requested “do not issue, do
Snyder’s firm, for example, has been assessing flight operations personnel during the past four years for a major company that provides fractional aircraft services. “We have [the company’s] data on between 30 and 40 people right now,” he said. “What was initially surprising is we find a lot of different conditions‚ physical and mental — all [items on the FAA’s] IM SAFE checklist2 — but also many nuances.” Sleep apnea and depression were the most common conditions noted among these pilots, and others were of a psychologic, neurologic or drug-induced nature. Difficulties in safely performing flight duties, sometimes manifested by such conditions, had been observed by coworkers in some cases. “The interesting part is that these are people who no one will fly with, have violated FARS, can’t pass training events [and] can no longer requalify on recurrent training on their aircraft,” Snyder said. “In about 70 percent of [such] people, [AMEs] identify a treatable
not fly” list of medications . The idea of publishing that list had been controversial for years. “The most important thing is ‘What’s the underlying condition you’re taking the medicine for?’” Snyder told BASS attendees. “You could be taking an allowed medicine for a disallowed condition — or something that wouldn’t be safe.”
condition. [They] do cognitive testing before and after, and we see that treating the medical or psychologic condition returns [pilots] to a healthy cognitive and psychologic state so they are DILEMMA qualified to fly, and the FAA routinely Deficits in pilot certifies them.” perception related to aging Backlog Empowers AMEs recently became One of every pilot’s health-related a focus area for objectives should be to develop and the NBAA Safety maintain a strong relationship with Committee and what he called a “good” AME, one the FAA who is not only qualified as a physi- periodically cian, educated in the applicable FARs discloses a long and closely monitoring pilots’ health of medications changes, but also motivated, willing that may make and ready anytime to communicate you unsafe.
The physicians often use an unofficial term — conditions AMEs can issue (CACI) — for the physical and mental conditions that previously required FAA-level approval for special issuance of a medical certificate. Those had resulted in pilots not being able to fly after visiting an AME for a medical certificate, having it deferred and waiting maybe three or four months to get the certificate, Snyder said. Personal Responsibility Compliance with FAA requirements, one tenet of aviator professionalism, is the foundation of the national airman medical certification system. “The one regulation that we, as pilots, have to look at every time we fly — [Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs)] Part 61.53, [“Prohibition on operations during medical deficiency”] — is not a medical regulation [but] a certification regulation,” Snyder said. “You can’t act as a pilot-in-command — nor can you act as a required crewmember — if you have any medical condition or are taking any medication that may … make you [unsafe]. And you have to do this before every flight. It’s a selfcertification process separate from the medical certificate that you hold.” Although, as noted, the FAA does not publish its aviation medical policy, the agency periodically updates and
Fitness for Duty Deficits in pilot cognition related to aging and impairments associated with medications or other known factors recently have become a focus area for the NBAA Safety Committee and the FAA General Aviation Joint Steering Group, BASS presenters said.
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SAFETY ISSUES with the FAA on the pilot’s behalf. “That’s the person to go to,” he said. “A good AME is worth his or her weight in gold.” In his experience, however, some pilots claim it’s a great idea to search for an AME who has a reputation for signing medical certificates after a cursory medical assessment or even without an examination. “That really is not good because you could be [in] a situation where you have a disqualifying condition that’s never been looked at — and that’s an AME who’s not willing to make a phone call if something [e.g., an undesired test result] comes in,” he said. “If you don’t have an AME who — if there’s a question — is willing to call the FAA, you need to find a new AME because that person who won’t call will cost you a lot of money in sick leave, downtime, wasted effort and extra tests. If you don’t have a good AME who will pick up the phone, get rid of that AME.” During the past 12 months, this advice has increased in relevance. The FAA’s process of reviewing cases of U.S. pilots with problematic medical conditions, making decisions and issuing waivers slowed significantly because of a temporary government services interruption. By April 2014, however,the average duration of this process dropped from several months to 46 working days, Snyder said. “The good part is that [the FAA] pushed all the [backlogged] work out to the AMEs,” he said. “The AMEs are given more authority —more autonomy — and are encouraged to call the FAA to … reduce the paper flow that’s coming in, the ‘bandwidth’ [workload] taken up in all the waivers going back and forth. … If the AME is willing to make a phone call to the FAA, you can speed that process up.”
ALCOHOL
The FAA does not look kindly at applicants that have registered a blood alcohol level greater than 0.15 in the context of a DUI incident.
Disqualifying Diagnoses FARs Part 67, Medical Standards and Certification — technically the FAA’s only medical regulation — lists only 15 diagnoses that disqualify an applicant for an airman medical certificate; that list can be a point of confusion, Snyder noted. The small number appears here because this regulation also states that the federal air surgeon — “based on the case history and
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MEDICAL CERTIFICATES Intoxicated Driving
appropriate, qualified medical judgment relating to the condition involved”— has the authority to identify any condition, medication or treatment that would make the person unable to safely perform the duties or exercise the privileges of the airman medical certificate applied for or held. The Guide to Aviation Medical Examiners, 336 pages long in 2014, contains more than 300 disqualifying diagnoses that for many years were difficult for non-AMEs to discover. “There’s a downside in that [FAA medical policy] is a mystery to everyone, but the upside is that, as technology improves [and] medicine improves, they can adopt changes without going through a rulemaking process,” Snyder said. In practice, if the airman brings the appropriate documentation to the office visit, the AME now can perform the examination and complete a standardized worksheet for special issuances. Assuming all requirements are fulfilled, “the airman walks out with a medical certificate — bypassing the process that used to take two or three months,” Snyder said. A group of advocates for further updates, including Snyder, recently was informed that the FAA has adopted 14 of the 18 most recently proposed changes, expanding “protocols for conditions that we think should be well within the authority of an AME to issue,” he said. “Some of the ones we weren’t successful in getting approved immediately — but I think will — are in the cancer category, particularly lymphoma and leukemia.”
If a professional pilot in the United States is charged by police with violating a state law that prohibits driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol (or other intoxicating substances or medications), potentially irreversible consequences to an aviation career can result. Driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI) are two common terms for this offense. “The FAA doesn’t look kindly upon drinking,” Snyder told BASS attendees, referring to such arrests, convictions and administrative actions. If an applicant ever has registered a blood alcohol level greater than 0.1499 in the context of an alcoholrelated driving incident — in other words, 0.15 or higher — the AME cannot issue a medical certificate, he said. Likewise, if the applicant refused to provide a breathalcohol sample to a law enforcement officer, the AME cannot issue a medical certificate. In practical terms, the pilot is likely to lose flying privileges for three to six months while dealing with the paperwork required before the FAA rules on whether to restore the airman medical certificate. The AME also must defer certification, for example, if any alcohol-related or drug-related driving incident occurred within the preceding two years and there has been another arrest, conviction and/or administrative action at any other time. “[If] you had a minor-in-possession charge 30 years before [the latest incident,] that is disqualifying; the AME cannot issue,” Snyder said. He cited that scenario because it was an actual case involving a pilot who was arrested for DUI while driving away from celebrating a daughter’s wedding to assist someone involved in a car accident. The arrested pilot had to provide the AME a record from the 30-year-old incident. Moreover, the AME cannot issue if the applicant has had a total of two arrests, convictions or administrative actions within the preceding 10 years, or has had a total of three arrests, convictions or administrative actions within a lifetime, Snyder said. Generally, the AME does not take further action
until the pilot provides all police reports, driving records from all states that ever issued the pilot a driver’s license, arrest records, court records and military records. This process also includes a requirement that the pilot write and sign two personal statements, one explaining the circumstances that caused a law enforcement officer to stop the pilot and investigate, and the other describing the pilot’s entire drinking history from taking the first drink until the present time — including how much alcohol is consumed, what types of alcohol are consumed and in what situations the pilot drinks alcohol. “Then you have to get a substance abuse evaluation [compliant with detailed] FAA standards,” Snyder said. “You may as well pay for [this] evaluation up front with the person who’s qualified to do it. … So my bottom line is ‘You can’t afford a DUI — not in this career.’” Some BASS attendees indicated that they already were familiar with the national Human Intervention and Motivation Study–based abstinence program, which began in the early 1970s and essentially allows U.S. airline pilots who have a diagnosis of substance abuse to continue flying if they are identified to the FAA and if they are participating successfully in the program. “It’s a wonderful, collegial program [among] the airline management, the unions and physicians, both FAA and commercial,” he said. “We’ve returned 4,800 airline pilots with drug and alcohol dependence to flying. … They have to attend a 12-step [treatment] program. They have to do weekly after-care, a group meeting with a professional [substance-abuse counselor present]. They have to get annual psychiatric assessments. … The minimum period of time for alcohol [abuse] is three years in that monitoring program, after which they have to maintain abstinence for the duration they hold the medical certificate. For drugs or recurrent alcohol [problems], it’s a minimum of five years to do that, although some [cases] can be extended.” Sponsors of the pilots dictate how much random drug and alcohol testing, generally off-duty testing, that each participant must undergo.
Sleep Apnea Update Tilton, the former federal air surgeon, generated controversy within the professional pilot community by proposing a new requirement that AMEs proactively screen all airline pilots for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) based on factors such as body mass index (BMI). The proposal was withdrawn but led to high awareness of this condition and the serious risks to commercial aviation. “OSA has been a disqualifying condition since 1996 with the FAA,” Snyder said. “People have been getting waivers for it. In the past, there was no effort to screen for OSA.” In December 2013, 15 advocates for pilot medical interests — including Snyder — met with FAA officials and worked out an agreement on how to address the issue of OSA in pilot ranks. “[FAA] will screen based on BMI,” he said, summarizing the status of new agreements as of mid-April. “If you have a BMI of 40 or greater … that’s what’s considered morbidly obese, and 98 percent of people who have a BMI like that will meet medical criteria for sleep apnea.” In practice, the pilots newly identified by these criteria now get 90 days to see a primary care physician for assessment of possible OSA, and several types of physician-prescribed home studies are allowed. “The screening is different [now, no longer requiring evaluation only by a sleep medicine specialist], and … unless you have [OSA] that’s not treated, it’s not grounding,” Snyder said.
“If the doctor writes a note that says ‘I don’t think Joe Pilot has sleep apnea,’ you give that to the AME — that’s the end of the evaluation. No more questions. … If you come in and [tell the AME, furnishing documents and compliance data,] ‘I have sleep apnea and I’m on a CPAP [a continuous positive airway pressure machine] and I’m using my CPAP, the AME is directed to clear you right then. Or you can continue to fly while you’re going through the evaluation as long you’re making progress toward getting the treatment initiated.” The only thing required for certificate renewal is delivering current compliance data to the AME, such as validating the pilot’s correct use of the CPAP. The recent ASW article offers details of three other OSA-treatment options allowed by the FAA. This article was republished with permission from AeroSafety World the official publication of the FlightSafety Foundation. www.flightsafety.org
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SNOOZE
The former federal air surgeon, suggested that all airline pilots should be screened for obstructive sleep apnea based on factors such as body mass index.
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PROFILE
JET SUPPORT SERVICES, INC
BRINGING A FRESH PERSPECTIVE By Paul Walsh
I
n Business Aviation it’s common to find people who have been in the industry their whole life, and whose parents and even grandparents worked in aviation too. In such a vibrant, dynamic, yet down-to-earth industry, they simply can’t contemplate working anywhere else. Passion drives these people; making them determined and hard-working entrepreneurs. But the other side of this coin is that business decisions are sometimes motivated by people’s hearts rather than the desire to turn a profit. Let’s just say that passion in business can be a good or a bad thing. Actually he’s a tech geek who served as CEO of SMobile Systems, a company focused solely on smart phone and tablet security, before becoming Vice President of Mobility for Juniper Networks a manufacturer of network systems. Nowadays he holds the fort at JSSI, developing and promoting cost-perhour programs that give operators and flight departments more predictable maintenance budgets. It’s not an easy product to describe, without anything tangible, other than the bottom line, he can point to that explains precisely what his company does.
RECENT
Always expanding, the Tip-to-Tail program is extended to the new Learjet 70 and 75 since this August.
Outsider Viewpoint Given this phenomenon, it’s always interesting to meet someone who’s come in from the outside with a fresh perspective and different motivations. An example is Neil Book who took over as President and CEO of JSSI (Jet Support Services, Inc) in 2012 and quickly brought about significant changes in the organization. Unlike most people you’d meet at NBAA or EBACE, Book doesn’t have a pilot’s license, nor does he have a maintenance qualification.
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Standard Business Practices Nonetheless JSSI has come up with some innovative ways of marketing and promoting, and slowly the message is sinking in. “I’ve brought people in from my previous companies; we always say that it’s the same song just different lyrics. Business practices apply across all industries, and we’re just applying lessons we learned elsewhere to the aviation world.” He admires the passion in aviation, but says it’s nice to come in with a more detached perspective, and put some tried and tested business practices into place. He also wants to bring some of the urgency of the mobile technology world to a new sector. “Mobile technology is a world of paranoia; in my previous life I would wake
PROFILE
JET SUPPORT SERVICES, INC
up every morning wondering whether my technology was going to be obsolete. ‘Am I going to read about something that knocks us out?’ So you’re constantly motivated to keep changing and looking for opportunities.” Building the Brand According to Book, JSSI operates with the same sense of urgency, and doesn’t take anything for granted, particularly in the area of branding. “In Europe and the US, we’re lucky that we have twenty-five years of experience behind us. But in emerging markets we’re relatively unknown and even the concept of cost-per-hour maintenance is unknown. So our big challenge is to educate the market.” “But I relish being able to build our brand each and every day by talking to customers, talking to the lending communities in new markets, and to the maintenance people. But it all goes back to what I said earlier: we are implementing programs that served us very well in other industries.” An example is JSSI’s Alliance Program; a carbon copy of a program Book implemented in the tech industry. It basically involves establishing formal sales channels by focusing on lenders, the broker community, and the MRO business, and encouraging them to refer business to JSSI. Companies that take part in the Alliance Program are rewarded in a variety of ways and it is proving to be as successful as in the tech industry. Conferences are another important part of the marketing strategy and JSSI is particularly focused on emerging markets to educate people on the value of cost-per-hour programs. “Our message is that the ultimate winner is the consumer, because we give them SEMINARS an alternative to what the OEMs JSSI build their offer.” brand by talking to customers Bandwidth Initiatives like these appear to be and communities in new markets. paying off, and just this year JSSI John Crane,JSSI announced that it now covers 340 difCFO addressing ferent aircraft models with its cost-perthe audience at hour programs. As Book puts it, JSSI is the only comChina Business Aircraft and pany with the bandwidth to cover virMaintenance tually any combination of airframe, Conference. engine and APU model flying today.
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A big part of this is JSSI’s Tip-to-Tail coverage, which was introduced in 1997 and includes 85 different models, including recently added Gulfstream G650 and G280, the Bombardier Global 6000, Citations Latitude and Sovereign+ and the entire family of Boeing Business Jets. Tip-to-Tail means maintenance coverage for essentially every component and system on the aircraft for nearly any combination of airframe, engine and APU model. The point is that instead of having multiple programs and multiple points of contact, you can work with just one JSSI program, saving substantial time and money, while providing a more stabilized and manageable maintenance budget. The latest program development from JSSI is Check-to-Check, which adds the flexibility of customized contract terms in order to provide coverage through the next major scheduled airframe maintenance inspection. The program is structured specifically for each aircraft to create a plan around the major maintenance checks. Checkto-Check is fully transferable and assures aircraft buyers that they will have coverage for an upcoming major inspection.
Programs like these keep expanding, indeed, just this August, JSSI added Tip-to-Tail coverage for the new Learjet 70 and 75 series aircraft models. “As new Learjet 70 and 75 aircraft are delivered, buyers now have the option to cover their valuable asset from Tipto-Tail with JSSI,” says Book, “our programs not only enhance a new aircraft warranty but provide owners and operators a single source for complete coverage with a predictable maintenance budget and superior JSSI 24/7 service.” And the growth is not limited to fixed wing aircraft, helicopter owners benefit too; for instance the new Bell 429 Tip-to-Tail program gives operators a single source solution to cover the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207D1 engines, and virtually every assembly and system on the light twin airframe. AgustaWestland AW119Ke and Kx operators will also benefit from the new JSSI Tip-to-Tail coverage, with Latin America singled out as a big growth area for the program, “This region has an incredibly strong helicopter market, so we are excited to be adding more program options for these owners and operators.”
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