Bartintl167

167 - FEB - APR/2017

PREMIER TRANSATLANTIC BUSINESS AVIATION MAGAZINE OUR 29th YEAR

EUROPE APPROVES SINGLE TURBOPROP COMMERCIAL IMC OPERATIONS page 64 A REVIEW OF THE CONTENDERS page 65

HELI-EXPO 2017 The Helicopter Industry Hovering for Expansion in Dallas p 60 AERO FRIEDRISHAFEN Evolving from a General Aviation Exhibition to a Business Aviation Trade Show p 70

2017 BART EXCLUSIVE ANNUAL WORLDWIDE FLEET REPORT

MAX SPEED: MACH 0.85 • MAX RANGE: 6,667 KM • MAX ALTITUDE: 13,716 M

BEST-IN-CLASS FUEL-EFFICIENCY Frequent fliers value the efficiency of private jet travel. Save time and money in the Gulfstream G280™. It’s up to 12 percent more fuel-efficient than any other super-midsize aircraft while setting the standard for best-in-class range and speed.

To contact a Gulfstream sales representative in your area, visit gulfstream.com/contacts.

GULFSTREAMG280.COM

Theoretical range shown is based on cruise at Mach 0.80 with four passengers, two crew and NBAA IFR fuel reserves.

Actual range will be affected by ATC routing, operating speed, weather, outfitting options and other factors.

UPFRONT

WHO MAKES THE NOISE ?

LIKE MOST OF US LIVING IN THE AVIATION WORLD, I have always been fascinated by innovation. It all started when I was a young lad, when I enjoyed watching the Stampe SV4 biplane of the châtelain regularly roar over my little native village in Belgium. Although my passion for aviation has remained, I must confess that nowadays I prefer the "shhhh" of our modern aluminum tubes to the roaring airplanes of yesteryear.

Over the past three decades, aviation and particularly Business Aviation - have made incredible progress in terms of noise and emissions. It all started in 1990, when the US Congress passed the Aviation Noise and Capacity Act, which required all jet and large turboprop aircraft at civilian airports be Stage 3 by 2000.

While noise restrictions vary significantly by region and country, the EU has always had stricter noise regulations and, since 2013, it has become more difficult to manage Stage 2 aircraft hush-kitted to Stage 3 standards on the Continent.

This was a Catch-22 situation for aircraft engine manufacturers, now forced to accomplish extensive research that ultimately led to incredible results in aircraft noise reduction. For their part, propeller makers were introducing new

structural composite 5-blade propellers for the turboprop segment.

Fernand M. Francois Editor and Publisher

But the progressive wings of regulating agencies are never satisfied, and the international community has established and approved a more stringent standard within the ICAO Annex 16, Volume 1 Chapter 14, which became effective July 14, 2014. The FAA is adopting this standard and promulgating the rule for Stage 5, which is anticipated to go into effective for new type certificates after December 31, 2017 or December 31, 2020, depending on the weight of the aircraft.

The Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for Stage 5 was published on January 14, 2016.

The introduction of noise legislation should not come as a big surprise. How many times have we stood behind a busy ramp watching bizjets depart, with not one making an audible power reduction after gear and flaps up? The noise factor in a turbine engine is always more intense to the rear than forward, and there is no excuse for an aircraft powered by two 17,000 lbs thrust RR BR725 to not reduce power after flaps up when taking off.

Modern business aircraft are now hushed, and it is in our best interest to keep them quiet to avoid airport curfews and closures.

PS. The only noisy exception we should tolerate in aviation is the "Sound of Freedom" of an F-16 Fighting Falcon breaking the sound barrier.

CONTENTS 30

Volume XXIX N°1

60

2017 FLEET REPORT

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Fernand M. Francois

The number of Business Aircraft grew in 2016 to an all-time high, reports Volker K. Thomalla.

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Kathy Ann Francois

42

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Volker K. Thomalla vthomalla@bartintl.com

TODAY'S AND TOMORROW'S MARKET

Brian Foley shares his insights on the global Business Aviation market today and in the coming decade.

MANAGING EDITOR Busra Ozturk ART DIRECTOR Tanguy Francois ACCOUNT OFFICER Victoria Coffmans

44 TURNAROUND IN 2017

Even if the number of new aircraft deliveries might be lower in 2017, the charter activity is on track to be higher than in previous years, reports Richard Koe.

SENIOR EDITOR Marc Grangier SAFETY EDITOR Michael R. Grüninger INSTRUCTION EDITOR Captain LeRoy Cook TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Steve Nichols ROTORCRAFT EDITOR Mark Huber

48 HELICOPTER FLEET REPORT

Mark Huber analyzes JetNet's helicopter fleet data and put some trends into perspective.

52 HELICOPTER AVIONICS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Louis Smyth, Giulia Mauri, Derek Bloom, Guy Visele, Richard Koe, Brian Foley, Anna Naznarova

65 TURBOPROP SINGLES

LeRoy Cook expects that the new regulations for commercial operations for single engine turboprop aircraft in Europe will lead to increased demand for this type of aircraft.

70 AERO PREVIEW

Turning 25 this year, the annual AERO Friedrichshafen Show expands its focus on Business Aviation.

74 MEBAA REPORT

The bi-annual Business Aviation show in Dubai has seen some new aircraft attracting a good number of visitors.

Improved displays and enhanced computing powers allow manufacturers to offer a range of new helicopter avionics, writes Steve Nichols.

NEW YORK EDITOR Kirby J. Harrison LEGAL EDITOR Aoife O’Sullivan

HELI-EXPO PREVIEW

The rotorcraft industry will be gathering in Dallas, Texas, for Heli-Expo 2017, the world's most important helicopter trade show.

56 HELICOPTER MAINTENANCE

Marc Grangier analyzes the trends in civil rotorcraft maintenance, a sector that is worth US$6 billion annually.

ADVERTISING Kathy Ann Francois Marketing Director kafrancois@bartintl.com Titi Kusumandari Marketing Manager tkusumandari@bartintl.com BART International. Premier Transatlantic Business Aviation Magazine. ISSN 0776-7596.

Printed in Belgium, published by SA F&L 20 rue de l'Industrie at B1400 Nivelles, Phone +326 788 3603. Fax +326 788 3623.

BART International is governed by the International copyright laws.

Free Professional subscription available International distribution by ASENDIA USPS 016707 Periodical postage paid Call IMS 1 (800) 428 3003 Responsible Publisher Fernand M. Francois

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SECTIONS

3EDITORIAL 6POINTER

8QUICK LANE MEDIUM CLASS TWIN-ENGINE HELICOPTER

The Airbus H175 completes the upper end of Airbus Helicopters’ product line for the business and private aviation sector.

The H175 is available in a VIP version, seating six to eight passengers, and in executive version, seating nine to twelve.

24 ON THE MOVE 26 TRANSATLANTIC UPDATE

POINTER Events

Agenda NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers February 7-10, 2017 Fort Worth, TX, USA

HAI HELI-EXPO March 7 - 9, 2017 Dallas Texas, USA

AERO Friedrichshafen April 5-8, 2017 Friedrichshafen, Germany

EBACE May 22-24, 2017 Geneva, Switzerland

AIR VENTURE July 24-30, 2017 Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA

IN SEQUENCE BRIEFING ROOM YOUR GREATEST SECURITY RISKS on international travel, and even on domestic operations, are generally off-airport. Corporate crews routinely stay in hotels at assorted worldwide locations, and there are important considerations to be mindful of from both safety and security perspectives.

MINIMUM STAR LEVELS For Western European and U.S. travel, 4-star hotels are the suggested minimum standard for crew accommodation. Usually, these hotels have adequate security, surveillance and entrance controls as well as reliable standards in terms of fire codes and fire safety. When traveling to other parts of the world 4-star or above properties are also recommended.

However, some amenities may be lacking at some other international locations. Many general aviation (GA) operators prefer to use large European or U.S. chain hotels, in part because they maintain certain known safety and security standards.

HOTEL CONSIDERATIONS Especially if your stay is longer than just one night, it’s important to be mindful of assorted security/safety risks and to avoid predicable routines. For example, don’t always go to breakfast, or meet in the hotel’s public lounge, at exactly the same time each day. Location of the room is another consideration. Ideally, it’s best not to be too close to the elevators but, rather, near the end of a hallway near an exit stairwell. Stairwells are often the most secure/safe point to be in during emergencies such as a fire, earthquake, or attack on the hotel. Be aware of access controls between public and guest room areas of the hotel. It’s best if the elevators require a room key to access your floor and to have a programmable room card, rather than an old style traditional metal key (still common at many international locations). Be aware if the hotel has a public restaurant or bar onsite that’s popular with more risky elements of the local populace or attracts very late night crowds.

TRAVEL TO/FROM HOTELS In higher risk areas, particularly hotels far from the airport, it’s best to use pre-paid transport rather than public taxis. Even when staying in familiar locations it’s recommended to set up pre-paid transport, or to have the hotel book taxis for you. This is because if you’re familiar with a particular area you may not have a heightened sense of local security and/or may overlook potential risks in a familiar area.

BUSINESS AVIATION TRAVEL AND HOTEL SECURITY Always use common sense when traveling locally. If, for example, you take a public taxi to your hotel, and pay with a credit card, the driver will know both your name and your hotel. In such cases, it’s best to pay taxi fares with cash rather than credit cards. Also, avoid small talk and saying too much about yourself to drivers during the ride to your hotel. Always have back up local transport plans, as well as exit route strategies, in case road closures, strikes, local protests, earthquakes or bombings should occur.

STAYING WITHIN THE HOTEL If you’re staying at a higher risk location for a few days – for example Mexico City, Juarez or Naples – choose a hotel with sufficient amenities so that you won’t have to leave the hotel.

This may mean a more expensive property, and going over your rate cap, but you’ll have everything you need and will not have to venture out into potentially risky areas. Local area security briefs will indicate when a stay-withinthe-hotel policy makes sense.

SECURING VALUABLES IN THE ROOM Best practice is to travel with only the technology devices and valuables you actually require for the trip. Work with your internal security department to ensure that data on your electronic devices is adequately password protected. The best way to hide/safeguard valuables in a hotel room, it’s usually best to split things up. Leave some valuables – such as documents, cash and electronics – in the room safe for when you are out of your room. It’s recommended to keep some valuables locked in your luggage, just in case the room safe is compromised. It’s good practice to travel outside the hotel with only what you need for the day.

Keep copies of all important documentation IDs, credit cards plus a list of high value items you have with you – in your luggage in the event your purse/wallet etc. gets stolen.

CONCLUSION Always be alert to your surrounding when staying in hotels and moving around the local area.

Taking the effort to research safest and more secure hotel options is always a worthwhile use of time in the trip planning process. If you have any questions about this article or would like assistance obtaining a hotel security brief, contact: traciecarwile@univ-wea.com.at UNIVERSAL WEATHER & AVIATION

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EARN FLIGHTSAFETY

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You’ll build on your proven flying abilities with Master-level Advanced Training courses that expand your skills and prepare you to react correctly to a broad range of demanding, unexpected situations. You will gain a deeper knowledge of your aircraft and earn the recognition of being a pilot dedicated to enhanced safety who has achieved the highest standard.

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More than 1,800 highly experienced professional instructors deliver aircraft- and mission-specific courses, using our comprehensive training systems and advanced-technology flight simulators designed to enhance safety. Trust your training to FlightSafety. You’ll see why so many aviation professionals make the same choice. And have since 1951.

For more information, please contact Steve Gross, Senior Vice President, Commercial 314.785.7815 • sales@flightsafety.com • flightsafety.com • A Berkshire Hathaway company

QUICK LANE KODIAK LARGE FLEET ORDER TO BE USED FOR PRIVATE AIR CHARTER Quest Aircraft Company announced that it has signed a major fleet order for up to 20 aircraft. The agreement was signed at the recent National Business Aviation Association Convention (NBAA) in Orlando, Florida. The first aircraft was delivered last month to the customer, who is located in Japan. “We are very excited to have completed such a large order for the Kodiak,” said Nick Newby, senior vice president, Sales, Marketing and Customer Service. “While we have had other fleet sales for multiple Kodiaks, this represents our largest commercial fleet order to date.” The aircraft ordered will be used for a new membership-based private travel service that was officially launched November 7. The Kodiak’s rugged aluminum construction combines superior STOL performance and high useful load.

DUNCAN AVIATION A LEADER IN CMS INSTALLATIONS

TRU SIMULATION TO DELIVER AVIONICS TRAINING SYSTEMS FOR BELL 407GX, 412EPI TRU Simulation + Training Inc., a Textron Inc. company, announced that it will provide Bell Helicopter’s Training Academy with avionics bench training systems for the Bell 407GX and Bell 412EPI helicopters. These two training systems are expected to be delivered to Bell Helicopter, also a Textron Inc. company, in the summer of 2017.

The Bell 407GX avionics training system will ensure technicians understand how a Garmin G1000H system operates, what messages the equipment provides and will allow students to practice state-of-the-art maintenance techniques with Line Replaceable Units (LRU).

The Bell 412EPI avionics training system will provide technicians experience with Rogerson Kratos system avionics operation and maintenance practices.

As a major Business Aviation MRO facility, Duncan Aviation has significant experience installing the latest generation Cabin Management Systems (CMS). These systems use digital technology to meet operator demands for High Definition (HD) devices, personal electronic device integration, as well as new technologies like touch-screen and WiFi cabin controls. These networked systems are Ethernet-based, which allows passengers to experience an even greater level of control and entertainment that they have come to expect in their homes,” says Steve Elofson, a Duncan Aviation Avionics Installations Sales Rep. “These systems can also have a significant effect on the resale value of a business aircraft as passenger productivity and efficiency has become vital for company flights.”

8 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2017

TAG FARNBOROUGH ACHIEVES SILVER GREEN APPLE ENVIRONMENT AWARD TAG Farnborough Airport has been presented with a Silver ‘Green Apple Award’ by The Green Organization at a ceremony held at The House of Commons this month.

The Green Apple Environment Awards, is an annual international campaign designed to recognize and encourage environmental best practice around the world. TAG Farnborough Airport received the Silver Award in recognition of its commitment to reducing environmental impact and continuous improvement through best practice. In particular, the award acknowledges the innovative sustainable staff travel plan which encourages employees at the airport to adopt low or zero carbon travel such as cycling, the use of public transport and car sharing.

Revealing the

FUTURE Many Services – One Jet Aviation Celebrating our 50th Anniversary and Beyond in 2017 MRO, Refurbishment, Completions, FBO, Aircraft Management, Flight Support, Charter, Staffing.

www.jetaviation.com

QUICK LANE RUAG NAMED AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER FOR THE AW139 RUAG Aviation has secured Authorized Service Center status for the Leonardo AW139 helicopter at its locations in Sion and Lugano, Switzerland. This authorization confirms RUAG Aviation as a full support partner for the AW139 helicopter, including all maintenance, repair and overhaul, as well as warranty services. “The new type ratings for the Leonardo AW139 at both our Sion and Lugano locations enable us to support our customers with the full set of personal services they require, at a location convenient to their needs,” affirms Andreas Baumann, general manager Helicopters, RUAG Aviation.

SATCOM DIRECT AUTHORIZED TO RESELL INMARSAT’S KA-BAND GLOBAL XPRESS Satcom Direct (SD) has announced that it is now authorized by Inmarsat’s Global Government Business Unit to provision and resell Inmarsat’s Ka-band Global Xpress (GX) service to global government customers for use in military, head-of-state and other government operations. SD has been appointed a Value Added Reseller (VAR) for Inmarsat’s GX mobile global broadband satellite network. GX delivers secure, end-to-end wideband connectivity that enables seamless airborne, naval and land operations. “The high performance of the GX network allows us to deliver tailored solutions which meet complex government, military and VVIP requirements for secure and reliable connectivity,” said David Greenhill, Satcom Direct president.

TAG AVIATION ASIA WINS 'BEST MANAGEMENT COMPANY AND OPERATOR' AWARD

SATCOM DIRECT AND LUFTHANSA TECHNIK PARTNER TO OFFER NICEMEDIA At MEBAA 2016, Satcom Direct announced that SD and Lufthansa Technik are partnering to provide business jet operators with a wide selection of movies and TV shows. Initially available on aircraft equipped with nice HD cabin systems, nicemedia content is delivered via an easy-to-use portable memory device that connects directly to the CMS. No internet connection is required onboard to view the content, and new movies and shows will be added on a monthly basis. By mid2017, the system will be available for all IFE/CMS platforms via the nicemedia Smartbox, powered by SD. The system will enable passengers to view content via the cabin monitors or stream to personal electronic devices including iPhones, iPads, Android phones and tablets.

TAG Aviation Asia has been named as ‘The Best Management Company and Operator’ for the greater Asia and Asia Pacific region at this year’s Asian Aviation Association (AsBAA) industry awards ceremony. This coveted recognition marks the second consecutive year that TAG Aviation Asia has been voted for and received an AsBAA award, having previously won the award for ‘Best Operator’ at the inaugural awards ceremony in 2015. The AsBAA Icons of Aviation Awards Asia recognize outstanding achievements across 13 key categories within the Business and General Aviation industry.

10 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2017

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Call or email us at +1.312.644.8810 or info@jetsupport.com jetsupport.com

QUICK LANE JET AVIATION ADDS A GLOBAL 6000 TO ITS MANAGED FLEET

Jet Aviation has recently added a new Global 6000 aircraft to its managed fleet in the Middle East. The aircraft is based in the United Arab Emirates and is one of 20 aircraft currently being managed in the region by the company. The new Global 6000 brings the company’s managed fleet in the Middle East up to 20 aircraft, including one Airbus, four Bombardier, one BBJ, two Cessna, three Dassault Falcon and 8 Gulfstream aircraft. “Clients appreciate having their aircraft professionally managed, so they can simply enjoy them. We look forward to adding new aircraft, including another Gulfstream G650 in the next weeks,” says Claudio Peer, vice president of Aircraft Management & Charter Sales in EMEA & Asia.

WORLD FUEL SERVICES NETWORK WELCOMES TAG FARNBOROUGH AIRPORT

World Fuel Services announced that TAG Farnborough Airport (EGLF/FAB) in Hampshire, United Kingdom recently joined the World Fuel Services Network of FBOs. Conveniently located less than an hour’s drive from the capital city’s central business district, the award-winning facility is known as the Business Aviation Gateway to London. TAG will leverage World Fuel Services’ reliable bulk jet fuel supply and technical support of local professionals during their 5-year supply agreement. Beyond the award-winning, beautifully designed facilities and standard FBO/ground handling services, the facility is also home to an on-site hotel (Aviator Hotel).

UNIVERSAL AVIONICS ANNOUNCES 2016 TOP DEALERS Universal Avionics has announced its Top Dealers of 2016 to be Field Aviation for North and South America (Americas) and Heli-One Norway for International Dealer of the Year. Each year, Universal Avionics recognizes two dealers out of several hundred in its Authorized Dealer Network who have achieved outstanding sales performance for the year. Both companies’ expertise and commitment to pursuing Universal Avionics upgrades were instrumental in their successful performance this year. “We are very grateful for our strong Authorized Dealer Network,” said Robert Clare, Universal Avionics Director of Sales.

FALCON AVIATION LAUNCHES ITS FBO AT AL MAKTOUM INT’L AIRPORT

EPIC FUELS AND SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT TEAM UP FOR CARD NETWORKS

Falcon Aviation, now in its tenth year, continues to raise the benchmark of its standards of service including but not limited to its VIP Charter Services, Helicopter Charter Services, Aircraft Management, MRO and Oil & Gas Aviation Support. In line with its commitment towards continuous service improvement, Falcon Aviation has announced the launch of its FBO at Dubai South, Al Maktoum International Airport. This luxurious facility will serve customers in Dubai, providing a fast tracked, efficient and luxurious experience and a place to relax and unwind.

EPIC Fuels and Signature Flight Support, a BBA Aviation company, have signed an agreement that will benefit cardholders and FBOs alike. Under the arrangement EPIC Fuels becomes the card issuer for the new Signature Flight Support Multi Service Aviation co-branded aviation card. The new card will be accepted at more than 8,000 locations worldwide, including all Signature facilities in the US and Canada, as well as at all EPIC and UVair FBO Network branded locations. A reciprocal agreement opens up the network of Signature FBOs to accepting the EPIC Card at all 132 North American locations beginning in early 2017. The agreement provides the FBO networks of EPIC and Signature, which when combined touch more than 87 percent of all departures out of the top 50 airports in North America, with a robust aviation fuel card to better serve their respective customers.

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THE ORIGINAL Many claim originality, but there is always only one true pioneer. In designing the PC-12 our objective was to create the world’s most versatile, high performance, efficient and safe aircraft and back it up with the highest level of service. Today, with over 1,400 aircraft in operation, our commitment is just as strong as when the first PC-12 was delivered.

At Pilatus, we succeed by helping our customers succeed. How’s that for an original idea?

Step up to the “Pilatus Class” now.

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd • Switzerland • Phone +41 41 619 61 11 • www.pilatus-aircraft.com

QUICK LANE JET AVIATION INTRODUCES NEW LOGO, BRANDING FOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY Jet Aviation unveils a new corporate logo and branding initiative as part of the company’s 50th jubilee anniversary celebrations next year. The new corporate logo retains the color elements of the company’s current mark, while introducing a more modern design. The branding initiative also features a stand-alone emblem that replaces the deer-head symbol. Amongst other celebratory activities planned to commemorate 50 years of successful Business Aviation service provision next year, Jet Aviation has launched a new company logo and corporate emblem. The company has also designed a 50th anniversary logo that will be featured in all communications throughout the company’s anniversary year.

WEST STAR AVIATION RECEIVES STC FOR TCAS II VERSION 7.1 UPGRADE INSTALLATION

RUAG DELIVERS THIRD DORNIER 228 NEW SERIES PRODUCTION TO NCA

West Star Aviation has received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for installing an upgrade to the FAA approved Rockwell Collins TCAS II system incorporating TCAS II Version 7.1. In most cases, TCAS 7.1 is a software upgrade to an existing TCAS II with 7.0 software, TCAS 7.1 is required for travel in European airspace. This STC is applicable to Bombardier Challenger models CL-600-2A12 (CL-601), CL-600-2B16 (CL-6013A Variant), and CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3R Variant) equipped with TTR-21 or TTR-20. “This installation can be done during any routine maintenance event or scheduled modification,” said Marty Rhine, director of Sales, West Star Aviation.

RUAG Aviation announced the delivery of the third Dornier 228 from new series production to New Central Airservice (NCA), on 14 December 2016, fulfilling the terms of the purchase agreement announced in July of this year. The Japanese operator, and return Dornier 228 customer, together with longstanding partner, Sojitz Aerospace Corporation (SOASCO), were on hand to take official delivery of the new Dornier 228 aircraft at the OEM production site at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. This new aircraft expands the NCA fleet to six Dornier 228 aircraft.

328 AND DUNCAN AVIATION PARTNER FOR CHALLENGER 604

TAG AVIATION MAINTENANCE SERVICES EXPANDS INTERIORS OFFERING

328 Support Services GmbH (328), has recently partnered with USA-based Duncan Aviation to deliver and certify a full cabin completion on a Finnish registered, Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft. Following 328’s work on the EASA certification, the aircraft was delivered to the customer on time. 328 Support Services was responsible for verifying all the engineering data involved in the project as well as certifying the modification with a new EASA Part 21 Minor Change Approval. On the other hand, Duncan Aviation undertook all the production, installation and testing activity at Duncan’s full service facility in Battle Creek, Michigan. The project features a stylish new interior design for the 604’s cabin, including new grey carpet throughout the flight deck, galley, cabin and entrance hallway; flight deck crew seats and an entry jump seat; newly upholstered cabin and conference seating in pale cream leather throughout.

TAG Farnborough Maintenance Services (TFMS) in conjunction with Zodiac VIP Business Aircraft Interiors (ZBAI) is now able to provide improved business aircraft interiors capabilities. Services range from smart repairs to discreet cabinet refurbishments and minor interior modifications. The range of products extends to furniture, carpets, seats and cabin periphery. “Developing our repair capabilities on aircraft cabin interiors is a logical addition to our already extensive suite of support services” said Cyrille Pillet, vice president Maintenance Operations, TAG Aviation Europe.

14 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2017

Total Support.

NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS. Your PT6A — More Than an Engine

Beyond the pure performance of the world’s favorite turboprop engine, the PT6 offers best engineering and support; a global crew watching out for you from the ground; available before-you-need-it maintenance; when-and-where-you-need-it parts delivery; and an unmatched understanding of the need to keep your aircraft flying. Both you and your PT6 engine are at the heart of all we do. You shouldn’t have to settle for less. www.pwc.ca

QUICK LANE BELL 505 JET RANGER X ACHIEVES TYPE CERTIFICATION Bell Helicopter announced that its Bell 505 Jet Ranger X has been certified by the Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA).

Unveiled in 2013, the new, five-seat helicopter went from concept to a successful first flight in 20 months. Since then, the aircraft has flown more than 1,000 flight hours and undergone rigorous activities to ensure customers have superior handling qualities and payload performance. Transport Canada, federal officials and Safran Helicopter Engines joined Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel facility to commemorate the achievement.

“Today’s announcement reaffirms Bell Helicopter’s unwavering commitment to product development and the introduction of new and enhanced products to the marketplace,” said Mitch Snyder, Bell Helicopter’s president and CEO.

RUAG NAMES NEW DORNIER 228 ASC IN BERN-BELP Dornier 228 aircraft are now able to take advantage of full Authorized Service Centre (ASC) services and capabilities at the RUAG Aviation location in Bern-Belp, Switzerland. The announcement, by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) RUAG Aviation, confirms the availability of full services in support of Dornier 228 aircraft owners and operators and their requirements for MRO, refurbishments, and system upgrades. RUAG Aviation, the OEM of the Dornier 228, is currently taking an active role in determining the quality of reliable MRO support, refurbishments, system upgrades and accurate spare parts sourcing available to its Dornier 228 customers.

PIPER RECEIVES APPROVAL OF M600 FROM CANADA Piper Aircraft, Inc. was granted a type certification for its top-of-theline, single-engine M600 from Transport Canada, paving the way for deliveries of the M600 into the Canadian market. “M600 validation in Canada is exciting news for Piper and our prospective customers in that region,” said Piper President and CEO Simon Caldecott.

“We have seen quite a bit of interest from Canadian owner/operators given the expanded range, payload and speed that the M600 offers. The added safety proposition provided by the M600 equipped with Garmin G3000 avionics is further expanding enthusiasm for this state-of the art product.”

SDC 2017: AVFUEL INVITES FLIGHT DEPARTMENTS TO SHOP FASHION, FUELING LOCATIONS GDC TECHNICS AWARDED ODA Avfuel announced it’s bringing back the most popular promotion of NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference – Fuel Your Style: The Designer Collection – to better connect flight departments with the Avfuel Network of Independent FBOs at the 2017 show in Fort Worth, Texas. With 78 co-exhibitors in the Avfuel Aisle and a new twist on the popular promotion, attendees are able to shop for more fueling locations and more fashion items than ever before. For the first time ever, each coexhibitor is handing out two separate merchandise items – one for each day of the exhibit floor. “We always get such positive feedback about the promotion, but this year we wanted to put a new spin on it,” said Marci Ammerman, Avfuel’s vice president of marketing.

16 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2017

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded GDC Technics an Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) authorizing GDC Technics to act as a Representative of the Administrator for the purposes of performing design certification procedures in accordance with 14 CFR part 183, subpart D. GDC General Partner, Mohammed Alzeer noted “Receiving this authorization is further confirmation of GDC’s commitment to a process based business in a complex market segment.” Mr. Alzeer also noted “the recently awarded ODA compliments our existing EASA awarded DOA (Design Organizations Approvals) providing our global customer base certification options supported by innovative and complex engineering solutions.”

Global In-Flight Connectivity for All Ages Pilots and passengers will appreciate the affordable, global in-flight connectivity provided

by AeroWave™ from BendixKing.

Crews will now have in-flight access to global weather services, voice, text, email and their favorite connected aviation apps. Plus passengers will enjoy the ability to send and receive emails, text messages, browse simple web pages, make and receive phone calls and more.

AeroWave’s low-cost connectivity service plan is based on prepaid hours of use – not the amount of data used - so there are no billing surprises. Airtime is only $40 USD per hour and unlike other services it works at any altitude all over the world. It’s that simple.

Don’t leave your favorite apps on the ground anymore. Find out how to get globally connected today.

Global Weather

Flight Tracking

Voice

Text

To learn more, call 1.855.250.7027, contact your local BendixKing dealer or visit aerospace.honeywell.com/AeroWave ©2016 Honeywell International

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QUICK LANE JET AVIATION COMPLETES FIRST HONEYWELL PRIMUS ELITE DU-875 UPGRADE IN GENEVA Jet Aviation celebrates another milestone in Geneva, where its maintenance center has recently completed its first Honeywell DU875 ELITE cockpit display upgrade in combination with a 120month heavy check on a Global Express XRS. Jet Aviation’s MRO facility in Geneva recently conducted its first Honeywell DU-875 ELITE cockpit display upgrade and cockpit printer upgrade on a

large-cabin, ultra-long-range Global Express XRS. To help minimize the aircraft’s downtime, the upgrade was done in conjunction with a required 120-month check, Geneva’s second such inspection on a Global Express Series aircraft. During the upgrade, all Flight Deck display units on the aircraft were replaced with a new Honeywell Primus Elite DU-875 display system.

TEXTRON AVIATION SERVICE CENTERS OFFERING GARMIN G1000 NXI UPGRADE FOR KING AIRS

DUNCAN AVIATION ADDS MORE PAINT CAPACITY, FLEXIBILITY AT BATTLE CREEK Duncan Aviation recently completed a hangar renovation that allows additional paint capacity and more paint schedule flexibility for its full-service Battle Creek, Michigan, location. A former aircraft stripping hangar was renovated and now serves as a new, 12,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art paint hangar that will accommodate aircraft sized up to a Bombardier Global Express. The hangar now has a computer-driven sidedraft airflow system that triple-filters the air and will allow aircraft to be stripped, painted, primed and striped in that hangar. It also has new, adjustable and energy-efficient LED lighting. The renovation was managed by Tectonic Management Group with Duncan Aviation’s Battle Creek Facilities team coordinating between Tectonic, the BTL Paint Department and a plethora of contractors.

Textron Aviation Inc. announced its company-owned service center network will offer the next-generation Garmin G1000 NXi integrated flight deck retrofit for fielded Beechcraft King Air 200/300/350 series turboprop aircraft. “We are excited to bring yet another modernized solution to our King Air customer base,” said Brad Thress, senior vice president, Customer Service. “Garmin’s G1000 NXi platform presents a valuable avionics solution for our King Air owners and operators who want an integrated flight deck that combines the latest in cockpit technology with an upgraded visual interface.” Garmin’s G1000 NXi platform features significant flight display modernization with faster processing times, improved graphics rendering and enhanced readability with LED back-lighting.

WEST STAR AVIATION COMPLETES VENUE INSTALLATION ON GLOBAL EXPRESS West Star Aviation has successfully completed an extensive refurbishment of a Bombardier Global Express, including installation of the Rockwell Collins VENUE system. This complete refurbishment included a reconfigured floor plan change, upgraded LED cabin lighting, belted divan for takeoff and landing, soft goods, wood accents, and installation of the Rockwell Collins VENUE cabin management system. The Rockwell Collins VENUE system offers full cabin connectivity allowing seamless, swift and reliable data to and from the aircraft. This system can support work, entertainment and conference call needs while in flight. As part of the refurbishment, West Star also installed new touch screen control display units (CDUs).

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QUICK LANE TAG GLOBAL TRAINING CELEBRATES ITS 10TH BIRTHDAY On 27th January 2017 TAG Global Training officially celebrated its landmark 10th birthday. The anniversary marked the start of a very exciting year ahead and a grand salute to a triumphant decade of delivering premier training to Pilots and Cabin Crew globally. Over the past ten years TAG Global Training has gone from strength to strength, providing ground school training for over 22,000 participants which is testament to the interactive training environment that Debbie Elliott, Training Manager, identifies as the most rewarding and engaging way for crew to undertake the wide range of training courses available. “TAG Global Training currently offers over thirty Aviation, EASA and DFT compliant training courses that have been designed to meet the training requirements of our pilot and cabin crew attendees as well as the unique requirements of our ultra-high net worth clients’ bespoke private operations,” said Debbie Elliott, Training Manager, TAG Global Training.

GARMIN G1000 NXI CERTIFIED IN PIPER’S PISTON AIRCRAFT

TEXTRON AVIATION SEES SIGNIFICANT GROWTH OF ITS CESSNA PILOT CENTER NETWORK

Piper Aircraft has announced that certification on both the twin-engine Piper Seminole and single-engine Archer has been achieved and aircraft deliveries have begun. The University Of North Dakota John D. Odegard School Of Aerospace Sciences is the launch customer for the next generation Piper trainers.

Textron Aviation Inc. announced its Cessna Pilot Center (CPC) network added 24 new partners in 2016, including five international flight schools in Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Germany and Poland.

This growth supports the next generation of aviators with the help of the world’s leading training platform, the Cessna Skyhawk 172. “The CPC network makes up the world’s largest and most experienced flight training team,” said Doug May, vice president, Piston Aircraft. “Our commitment to supporting new pilot education and flight training is evident in the enthusiasm we see from our partner flight schools.”

JET AVIATION COMMENCES OPERATIONS AT WASHINGTON DULLES INT’L AIRPORT

JSSI ENROLLS FIRST CHALLENGER 650 CLIENT

Jet Aviation has acquired Ross Aviation’s Fixed Base Operation (FBO) at Washington Dulles International Airport. Jet Aviation announced the acquisition of Ross Aviation’s FBO location at Washington Dulles International Airport, one of the world’s most active Business Aviation markets. With more than 20 FBO operations worldwide, the addition of Washington Dulles allows Jet Aviation to meet increasing demand for high-quality, customer-oriented FBO services.

Jet Aviation’s Washington Dulles facility encompasses six hangars, 10 acres of ramp space and a newly renovated best-in-class FBO terminal building that includes onsite Customs and Immigration clearance, VIP lounge, flight planning center, executive conference room and onsite car rental.

Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI), the largest independent provider of maintenance programs to the Business Aviation industry, has announced the enrollment of the first Challenger 650 on a JSSI program. The latest version of Bombardier’s Challenger series was recently enrolled with Austrian operator, International Jet Management (IJM).

“We have a long history supporting the Challenger series, with hundreds already on a JSSI program. It’s great to enroll our first Challenger 650 and to work alongside the innovative and pioneering team at IJM, the first commercial 650 operator in Austria,” said Neil Book, JSSI’s President and CEO. “As we come off our strongest sales year in the company’s 28-year history, I am optimistic about the growth prospects in Europe,” added Book.

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ROCKWELL COLLINS AMSTAT RELEASES REPORTS FIRST QUARTER LATEST BUSINESS FINANCIAL RESULTS AIRCRAFT RESALE Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE: COL) reported MARKET UPDATE REPORT sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017 of $1.2 billion, a 2% increase from the same period in fiscal year 2016. First quarter fiscal year 2017 earnings per share from continuing operations increased to $1.10 compared to $1.00 in the prior year. Earnings per share from continuing operations for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017 includes 10 cents of expenses related to the pending acquisition of B/E Aerospace. Earnings per share from continuing operations in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 included a 21 cent restructuring and asset impairment charge partially offset by an 18 cent benefit from the retroactive reinstatement of the Federal Research & Development Tax Credit. Excluding these items, adjusted earnings per share increased 17% to $1.20 compared to $1.03 in the prior year.

“I’m pleased to report a very strong quarter of operating performance with total segment margins increasing 90 basis points and adjusted earnings per share growing 17% over the prior year,” said Rockwell Collins Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg. “First quarter sales were as anticipated with solid growth in our Government Systems and Information Management Services segments.

Commercial Systems sales declined due to headwinds from lower business jet and aftermarket sales. As a result, we are reaffirming our financial guidance for the full year.”

Ortberg continued: “We are making good progress with our pending acquisition of B/E Aerospace, which will strengthen our position as a leading supplier of cockpit and cabin solutions. Our integration planning teams are moving full speed ahead and all of our targets remain intact. I continue to be confident in our ability to achieve our synergy targets while focusing on successfully integrating these two great companies. The next major milestones include shareholder and various regulatory approvals, all of which we expect to complete in the coming months.”

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According to AMSTAT, the number of Resale Retail Transactions for Heavy Business Jets rose 9.3% higher in 2016 than for 2015. Light Jets also saw a modest yearover-year improvement of 1.7%. These segments bucked the trend in Business Jets in general, which saw the overall Resale Retail Transaction count contract just slightly by 1.1% versus 2015. The Medium Jet market did not fare so well with resale transaction activity dropping 10.5% versus 2015. The Turboprop resale market saw a slight uptick in transaction activity of 0.4% versus the previous year. These trends were consistent with the performance in the first three quarters of 2016 as reported by AMSTAT in November.

The Turbine Helicopter resale market had a tougher time in 2016. Overall Resale Retail Transaction activity was down 14.2%. At a segment level, the Single-Engine market was down 12.9% and Multi-Engine market was down 17.2% Many of the segments tracked by AMSTAT saw inventory levels take an arc trajectory during 2016, rising then falling over the year. As a result many ended 2016 at levels similar to the start of the year. Heavy Jets started and end with 10.4% of the fleet for sale, having reached 10.9% at mid-year.

Similar, Light Jets started at 11.5% of the fleet for sale and ended at 11.6% and Medium Jets started 2016 at 11.2%, rose to 12% mid-year and then retreated to 11.6% by December. Turboprop inventories started 2016 at 8.2% for sale, ended at 8.5%, but were back to 8.2% by January 2017. All fixed wing segments have experienced modest inventory contraction since the start of the New Year.

In the Turbine Helicopter market, the Single-Engine Helicopter inventory saw a modest contraction in 2016, starting at 6.3% and ending at 6.0% by December and 5.9% today. The inventory of Multi-Engine Helicopters has risen from 6.8% in January 2016 to 7.2% today.

Average Asking Price trends continue to vary between tracked market segments.

The Heavy Jet segment has seen a steady increase in Average Asking Price since mid2016. Indeed versus Q3, they are up 3.7%.

However, considering Average Asking Prices in this market declined for the first half of 2016, we ended up year-over-year largely unchanged, off by 0.2%. Light Jets and Turboprops experienced modest yearover-year gains of 2.2% each respectively, although it should be noted Average Asking Prices in the Light Jet market are down 4.3% since Q3 2016.

Average Asking Prices in the Turbine Helicopter segments have remained largely unchanged year-over-year. It should be noted that while in the Single-Engine market Average Asking Prices have remained flat since mid-2015, there has been greater volatility in the Multi-Engine market.

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CAE’S FINANCIAL SECOND QUARTER OF FISCAL 2017

Revenue from continuing operations is lower compared to last quarter and higher compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2016.

Consolidated revenue from continuing operations was $635.5 million this quarter, $16.1 million or 2% lower than last quarter and $18.7 million or 3% higher than the second quarter of fiscal 2016.

For the first six months of fiscal 2017, consolidated revenue from continuing operations was $1,287.1 million, $113.3 million or 10% higher than the same period last year.

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ON THE MOVE PEOPLE Two of Duncan Aviation’s well-established Satellite Avionics facilities will kick off the New Year with new managers. Long-time manager at the Denver, Colorado, Satellite facility Bob Hazy will be assuming responsibility for the Duncan Aviation Sacramento and Hayward, California, Satellite Shops. Install Team Lead Wayne Sand, who has been working on avionics in the Denver, Colorado area for 28 years, will take over as manager of the Denver and Broomfield Satellite Shops.

Duncan Aviation also announced the addition of Chris Jordan to its Turbine Engine Service Sales team.

Located in Mesa, Ariz., Jordan will focus on developing business relationships in new markets on the West Coast. He will be focusing on TFE731, HTF7000, and Pratt and Whitney engine services.

Another announcement from Duncan Aviation was Adrian Chene who joined the Duncan Aviation Avionics Sales Team in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Chene will now work diligently to help Duncan Aviation’s customers find the best, most reliable and cost-effective avionics equipment for their cockpits and cabins and throughout their aircraft.

Adrian Chene

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Air 7 has welcomed Cherie Hecker as the vice president of Operations. Cherie’s responsibilities will include the strategic oversight of operations efficiency, client engagement and leadership to Air 7’s growing brand and aviation client services portfolio.DART Aerospace recently promoted Alain Madore, formerly vice president of Commercial Operations and Aftermarket Services, to the position of President and CEO. Following Alain’s appointment, DART also announced the following organizational changes: Steve Ghaleb, formerly director of Sales, has been promoted to vice president Commercial Operations. Steve will lead all sales, marketing and customer support activities and will ensure overall customer satisfaction.

Ryan Williamson, formerly general manager of the Eugene facility, has accepted the position of vice president general manager (VPGM) of the Hawkesbury, Eugene and Calgary facilities.

Gordon Hill, formerly VPGM of the San Diego facility, has accepted the position of VPGM of the San Diego and Broussard facilities, where he will oversee all repair and overhaul operations as well as the flotation equipment business.

The Board of Directors of Marenco Swisshelicopter AG (MSH) has agreed with Martin Stucki that he would retire from his functions at MSH. Together they have appointed Andreas Loewenstein as new CEO. Chief Operating Officer Bruno Gubser will assume his responsibilities ad interim. Andreas Loewenstein together with the MSH management and employees will accelerate the transition from a technology pioneer to the first Swiss global helicopter provider and manufacturer.

Robert H. Wells has joined the Quest Aircraft Company as its new Chief Executive Officer. Wells has more than 40 years of aviation experience. “I am very pleased that an individ-

ual of Rob’s caliber and talent will be leading Quest moving forward,” said out-going CEO Sam Hill. “Rob’s tenure with TAG Aviation’s family of companies and his broad aviation management experience will be a true asset as Quest continues its worldwide growth.”

Piper Aircraft Inc. has appointed General Aviation industry veteran, Drew McEwen, to vice president International and Direct Sales, where he will lead Piper Aircraft’s global, and factory direct sales efforts focused on growing its trainer business and the international distribution network for the Company.

Additionally, Drew will oversee the factory direct sales team for fleet, trainer and special mission aircraft sales. He will report to Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Customer Support Ron Gunnarson.

Drew McEwen TAG Aviation SA has announced the appointment of Vladimir Velebit as manager of the Charter Department based in Geneva. Mr. Velebit will lead the ongoing development of TAG Geneva’s Charter department and undertake responsibility for managing the growing number of clients in this pivotal and important role.

Florent Sériès, vice president Sales and Marketing, TAG Aviation Europe, said: “His great aviation experience and

strong sense of customer service and sales focus will be great assets for this position and to the continual growth of the department.”

Specialist aerospace logistics and warehousing provider B&H Worldwide has promoted Markus Homann to the position of managing director, Germany. “We are strategically located in the north of Germany which is the ideal place from which to monitor and control customer business in this region and at other airports including Berlin, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich, Cologne and Hanover,” states Homann.

Honeywell announced that President and Chief Operating Officer Darius Adamczyk has been elected to the Company’s Board of Directors.

Earlier this year, Honeywell announced that Adamczyk, 50, is the successor to current Chief Executive Officer Dave Cote. Cote will continue as executive chairman of Honeywell until the company’s Annual Shareowners Meeting in April 2018.

Dassault Falcon Jet recently promoted Rodrigo Pesoa to the position of vice president of Sales for Latin America. In his new role, Pesoa will direct the regional team responsible for overseeing the development of new business in South America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, where more than 100 Falcons are in operation. Pesoa, who has been with Dassault Falcon Jet for 17 years, was previously Sales Director for South America.

Meanwhile, Dassault Aviation has appointed Damien Farret, Director Customer Relations and Field Service. He replaces Eloi Dufour, who was named, Director Aircraft Delivery & Pre-Owned Management. In his new position, Farret will lead the entire front line customer support organization for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India region.

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TRANSATLANTIC EUROPE ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH As a growing number of airports become coordinated – there are currently 93 fully slot-coordinated airports in the EU – this has a huge impact on the way Business Aviation can access these airports. In certain instances, it has led to a dramatic loss of grandfather rights to the point that access to self-funded facilities, including aprons and hangars, is no longer possible.

From the Desk of Fabio Gamba EBAA CEO AS A SPECIALIZED TRAVEL SOLUTION and investment facilitator, Business Aviation needs access to large airports as well as small. However, privatized airport authorities and public regulators do not always respect our sector’s access imperative. This issue is particularly urgent today in Europe.

The continuous growth in air transport has put increased pressure on the infrastructure available for aircraft movements at certain airports where demand for take-off and landing slots exceeds often scarce capacity. Indeed, according to Eurocontrol, in 2012, the top 15 airports in Europe were saturated for more than 12 hours a day, and this is forecast to rise to 16 hours per day by 2035.

One of the ways regulators are addressing this crisis is through the overhaul of the Slot Regulation, which could certainly be improved to the benefit of all airspace users. Indeed, initiatives to enhance the independence of slot coordinators and the transparency of slot mechanisms, as well as reducing abuse, are generally welcome.

However, the European Commission’s current Slot Regulation proposal does not adequately address the slot allocation needs of Business Aviation or other nonscheduled operations.

In fact, Business Aviation risks being marginalised, if not effectively shut out of many primary airports throughout the continent very soon.

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Regional Relief As it is, the Commission’s current proposal fails to grasp the unique value proposition of non-scheduled and Business Aviation operators – that is, the ability to go anywhere at any time – and therefore could be detrimental to Europe’s connectivity and the EU’s regional development policy.

At the same time, greater access to local and regional airports coule alleviate some of the burden on the primary airports, while also contributing to the economic development of these areas. This could be achieved by enhancing airfield access through the greater use of satellite-based navigation at regional airports, as well as the best use of existing regional airport capacity through revised state aid allocation rules.

Business Aviation is a key contributor to the accessibility of remote regions as it flies to a vast number of local destinations.

In Europe, business aviation connects around 100,000 airport pairs – three times more than the airlines and 25,000 of which are not connected by any other direct means. This coverage could be further extended, but poor ground equipment at many smaller airports means safe allweather operations are not possible.

Sat-nav Solutions However, thanks to existing satellitebased navigation technology, access to and safety at all airports and heliports can be improved by providing precision approach capabilities in all weather conditions without the need for additional airport-hosted infrastructure.

Advanced Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) technologies are widely available on Business Aviation aircraft.

When combined with procedures at airports based on EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service), or GPS, additional landing

/EUROPE

locations can be opened to safe, allweather operations, including at secondary and regional airports.

In fact, some 18 countries in Europe today already boast airports with EGNOS-based procedures, covering close to 400 runways. Moreover, another 100 LPV procedures are planned for implementation by 2020.

This is encouraging, but it falls far short of the US, for example, which has already published LPV procedures for more than 3000 runways.

Right Aid Complementary to this is the simplification of the state aid measures for regional airports in Europe. The EU should consider the number of regional airports as a strength, not a weakness. In this respect, we welcome the European Commission’s initiative to consider

factors such as the business model of the airport, based on other types of movements than scheduled flights.

A facilitated allocation of state aid to existing regional airports will enable their capacity to be fully utilized and help alleviate the current pressure on major hubs. The European Commission’s initiative is more than a step in the right direction as it corresponds to a de facto recognition of the important contribution that regional airports make in local communities and economies.

To sum up, Business Aviation must be allowed to play its key role in the European economy. Reasonable and fair access to slots at major airports is a vital prerequisite. So too is a sustainable regulatory and fiscal framework for regional airports to do their part in relieving capacity constraints.

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TRANSATLANTIC U.S.A. ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH NEW YEAR MARKS KEY MILESTONE FOR TWO BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATIONS

From the Desk of Ed Bolen NBAA President and CEO

BUSINESS AVIATION OFFERS the unparalleled ability to link communities and companies around the world, connecting entrepreneurs to opportunities in North America, Europe and across the globe. The highly-interconnected nature of this industry also means that the affects from national policies often span across borders and even oceans.

In 2017, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) will celebrate its 70th year of advocacy on behalf of this vital and dynamic industry across North America and beyond. Our association has also enjoyed a long and effective partnership with the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), which in 2017 will mark the 40th anniversary of its own founding and subsequent decades of advocacy on behalf of the Business Aviation operators throughout Europe.

One of the most recognizable examples of the valuable relationship between EBAA and NBAA is the two associations’ partnership in co-hosting the annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE), which in 2017 will showcase more than 500 exhibitors and 60 28 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL 2017

business aircraft on static display at Geneva’s Palexpo from 22-24 May. As the first event in Europe dedicated solely to Business Aviation, EBACE has showcased to policymakers and the public the industry’s value in supporting jobs, boosting productivity, efficiency and competitiveness for businesses, and enhancing transportation access for communities across the European region.

Indeed, EBACE has always been a key venue for industry and government to share perspectives about modernizing the region’s aviation system to meet future air travel demands.

Since the launch of the event in 2001, EBACE has featured major policy addresses by the president of the European Civil Aviation Conference, the EU’s director of Air Transport, top officials from Eurocontrol and a host of other figures involved in aviation modernization, safety and regulatory policies.

Less noticeable, but equally important, is the level of collaboration between the two associations beyond EBACE regarding a wide range of issues impacting both of our respective memberships. Through our shared engagement with key officials and other influential policymakers, our associations have advocated forcefully for sensible policies on matters ranging from aircraft emissions, to ensuring that business aircraft operators have the same fair and equitable access to airports as the airlines.

Together, we have also worked to enhance safety best practices for the industry, and joined to inform senior figures from European governmental institutions about the value of Business Aviation to citizens, companies and communities in the region.

In addition, EBAA and NBAA have each expanded our representative bases, allowing us to become increasingly able to represent the industry. In turn, our associations’ members themselves have become better able to communicate the value, diversity and priorities of their region’s Business Aviation community.

/U.S.A. TRANSATLANTIC GOVERNMENT WORKS TO ACCOMMODATE BUSINESS AVIATION AT PBI DURING PRESIDENTIAL VISITS

It has been a privilege and an honor over the past 12 years to work with former EBAA Chairman Rodolfo Baviera on these matters and NBAA looks forward to a similarly beneficial partnership with his successor, Juergen Wiese.

In a recent discussion with NBAA, he noted the importance of communicating the many positive stories about our industry to officials at the national, regional and local levels. “We want to make clear to all our stakeholders that Business Aviation is an important segment of the European transportation system, and Business Aviation is leading to new opportunities, careers, economic growth and regional development,” he added.

That’s a message that, much like Business Aviation as whole, truly transcends borders.

As NBAA and EBAA each look back on our respective accomplishments over the years and as we each look towards the future, I know I may speak for both associations in stating that we all remain committed to fostering a safe, efficient and productive environment for our industry across North America and Europe, and all other areas of the globe accessible by business aircraft.

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THE NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION (NBAA) recognized the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and US Secret Service, and other local, state and federal agencies, for their efforts to accommodate business aircraft access to Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) during presidential temporary flight restrictions (TFRs).

A TFR over PBI will be implemented when President Donald Trump visits his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, which is located only 2.1 nautical miles from the airport.

"We have a playbook indicating what the FAA, TSA and Secret Service have planned for TFRs at PBI," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "While TFRs present extraordinary challenges for Business Aviation, and remain a blunt security tool that has remained largely unchanged for decades, these agencies' efforts to utilize industry data to support expanded gateway options for this TFR are welcome.

"Going forward, we know that the economic impact of decreased business aircraft operations at PBI will be widely felt, and the government has agreed to regularly review these procedures, which we hope will identify greater efficiencies for this TFR, while also reducing the economic impact on operators and local businesses," Bolen added.

The TFR will be active only when President Trump is at Mar-a-Lago, and a specific NOTAM is issued. Additional details will not be published until an actual presidential trip to PBI is planned. At that time, NBAA will make the additional information available to members.

The President of the United States (POTUS) TFR for West Palm Beach will consist of a 10nautical mile (nm) inner circle and a 30-nm outer circle, extending from the surface to 17,999 feet and centered around PBI. When the PBI TFR is active, all operations will be prohibited with the inner ring of the TFR, except POTUS aircraft; military aircraft supporting the US Secret Service; approved law enforcement, air ambulance, and firefighting operations; and scheduled commercial and cargo flights operating under TSA Standard Security Programs.

General aviation aircraft will be permitted inside the inner ring with use of gateway airport procedures, which will be outlined in a POTUS TFR NOTAM. NBAA and others successfully advocated increasing the number of gateway airport locations to include three northern airports: Westchester County Airport, Teterboro Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. Southern gateway locations include Orlando International Airport and Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. These gateway locations better reflect actual business aircraft operations and allow for more flexibility.

Some types of flight operations will be prohibited when the TFR is active, including flight training, practice instrument approaches, maintenance test flights, unmanned aircraft systems operations and others.

"NBAA appreciates the efforts of multiple agencies to accommodate Business Aviation at Palm Beach International Airport, but we also recognize that some significant challenges still exist," said Doug Carr, NBAA's vice president of regulatory and international affairs. "We look forward to working with the various agencies and industry partners to address - and hopefully minimize - the effect that the presidential TFR at PBI will have on Business Aviation and local businesses."

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BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL 2017 - 29

FLEET REPORT

NORTH AMERICA MAINTAINS MARKET DOMINANCE

B

ART International’s exclusive 2017 Global Fleet Report shows that despite soft market conditions in some regions of the world, the number of business aircraft has once again grown. According to JetNet’s database, 2016 closed with a total of 36,674 business aircraft in the global fleet. This represents an increase of 992 units, or 2.8%, compared to the worldwide fleet at the end of 2015. This rate of growth is the same as the rate between 2014 and 2015 and reflects the challenges business aircraft manufacturers are experiencing in some regions.

COMPETENCE

Each year, BART International analyzes global fleet figures and outlooks.

US Surpasses 20,000 Mark When analyzing data by continent, North America, in particular the US, continues to dominate. Its total business aircraft fleet grew by 2.9%, from 19,894 units in 2015 to 20,477 units at the end of 2016. It’s the first year that the US-based turbine fleet surpassed

30 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017

the 20,000 mark – a figure that includes 12,782 jets and 7,695 turboprop aircraft – making the US home to over 55% of the global fleet.

Even as a mature market, the North America will continue to drive growth in the coming years. The region is expected to take 65% of all new business aircraft in the next 10 years, representing about a 4% increase compared to last year. Most of key indicators for when people buy a business aircraft are heading in the right direction: aircraft financing is available and interest rates remain low. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the US is also growing. In the third quarter of 2016, it reached 3.5%, up from 1.4% in the second quarter. With the presidential election over, uncertainty over the course of the US government for at least the next four years has given way to a clearer picture. As a result, business confidence is up – as are corporate profits.

BART Editor-in-Chief Volker K. Thomalla presents our annual Fleet Overview Report, based on data provided

by JetNet LLC

Germany Up, France Down, UK Out Meanwhile, Europe’s Business Aviation fleet saw a slight increase in aircraft numbers of 2.1%, growing from 3,803 to 3,880 units. While the Russian Federation has yet to return as an active market for business aircraft, other countries are making up for the loss. For example, Germany was surprisingly active, expanding its fleet by 52 aircraft, from 637 to 689.

This represents a growth rate of 8.1%.

However, France lost its spot at the Top 10 Fleet. Even with an increase of business jets, from 410 aircraft to 429, the country fell to the 11th place spot, leaving room for China and its 506 aircraft to move up – even surpassing South Africa to settle in at the nine spot.

Clearly, the Brexit referendum in June 2016 put a big question mark as to the future of British registered AOC holders. Will they be allowed to fly cabotage within the European

Union? Or do they have to re-register their aircraft and operations on the continent? This uncertainty remains unresolved six months after the referendum, and it will most probably not be solved anytime soon. Expect this uncertainty to continue to impact fleet development in Europe.

A Graying Fleet in the Middle East and Africa For much of the year, the Middle East and Africa have suffered from low oil prices and political upheaval, factors that have prevented some operators from buying new business aircraft. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, with oil prices expected to rise again. More so, the region’s fleet is ageing, thus putting pressure on operators to replace the current fleet with new aircraft. In fact, according to the Honeywell Aerospace Annual Global Business Aviation Outlook, potential buyers in the region are scheduling their purchases sooner in the next five-year window than what was originally expected, with 49% of purchases being planned before 2019. As a result of all these factors, the region is recovering and returning to its traditional market share of 4 to 7 percent.

Africa, on the other hand, has the distinction of being home to the world’s oldest fleet. The average aircraft age here is roughly 20 years.

Thus, operators must either modify their aircraft or buy new ones if they are to comply with the ADS-B mandate by January 2020. Failure to do so will mean they are no longer allowed to fly to other continents. Even with Africa having only a small market share, this mandatory replacement of old aircraft is a welcomed news for OEM’s.

Positive Signs in South America, Asia and Australia In 2016, South America posted an installed business aircraft fleet of 3,361 units. Compared to 2015, this represents a 0.4% decrease, or a loss of 15 aircraft. This is due in part to perineal regional heavyweight Brazil as failing to solve a slew of political and economic issues. However, that being said, purchasing expectations in South America, and especially in Brazil, are promising. According to the data, nearly 27% of the Latin

America fleet is set to be replaced or added to with new jet purchases. It is further forecasted that Latin American operators will take up to 12% of all new business jet deliveries within the next 10 years.

Asia saw impressive growth in its fleet. Between 2015 and 2016 the fleet expanded from 2,506 to 2,695, or a 7.5% growth rate. China remains the driving force behind this development, adding nearly 100 aircraft to its fleet. ‘The bigger, the better’ seems to be the motto here, with number of airliners converted to business aircraft growing from 42 to 109.

Australia and Oceania also saw an increase, adding 16 aircraft to its fleet

for or 2.2% increase in 2016. The region’s fleet now stands at 718 aircraft, with the majority being turboprop aircraft. Australia, Africa and South America are the only regions where there are more turboprop aircraft in operation than jets.

Bigger is Better Looking at the market as a whole, the industry looks set to deliver 7,380 new business jets between 2016 and 2025. The combined value of these aircraft is about US$219 billion.

However, demand is expected to take a small dip in 2017, before picking up again in 2018.

In terms of revenue, JetNet iQ sees the large ultra-long-range jets as being the most important segment, accounting for 45.3% of all revenue between 2016 and 2026. Unit wise, this aircraft category will account for 20.9%. By contrast, very light jets account for 12.8% of all units but only

TOP TEN BUSINESS FLEETS BY COUNTRY United States . . . . . . . . . . 20477 Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1558 Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1378 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1314 Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . 774 Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689 Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . 518 China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .506 South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

1.8% of revenue. The large jet segment will likely present a more balanced picture, producing 11.7% of revenue and 10.4% of total units.

About 17.0% of all new jets over the next 10 years will fall into the super mid-size category, producing 14.1% of all revenue. The mid-size segment, on the other hand, will account for 8.5% of all units and will produce 4.7% of total revenue.

In light of all this, it’s no wonder manufacturers are concentrating their product development efforts in the large cabin markets! Textron Aviation, for example, is developing a brand new large cabin jet family consisting of the Cessna Citation Latitude, Citation Longitude and the largest Citation ever built, the Cessna Citation Hemisphere, which is expected to fly in 2019.

The rule here seems to be the bigger the aircraft, the higher the margin per unit.

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017 - 31

PROSPECT

North America is expected to take 65% of all new business aircraft in the next 10 years.

JET SUMMARY BY MODEL MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPE AIRBUS A310-200 2 0 AIRBUS A310-300 16 9 AIRBUS A320-200 101 11 AIRBUS A330-200 8 2 AIRBUS A340-200 7 0 AIRBUS A340-300X 2 2 AIRBUS A340-500 4 1 AIRBUS A340-600 4 1 AIRBUS ACJ318 19 5 AIRBUS ACJ319 66 28 AIRBUS ACJ320 14 0 AIRBUS ACJ330 3 1 ASTRA 1125 30 0 ASTRA 1125SP 33 0 ASTRA 1125SPX 56 2 AVRO RJ-70 1 1 BAE 146-100 5 4 BAE 146-200 2 0 BEECHJET 400 46 1 BEECHJET 400A 290 17 BOEING 707-120B 3 0 BOEING 707-320 7 1 BOEING 707-320B 10 1 BOEING 707-320C 17 1 BOEING 727-100 33 2 BOEING 727-200 1 0 BOEING 727-200 ADVANCED 16 4 BOEING 737-200 4 0 BOEING 737-200 ADVANCED 14 1 BOEING 737-300 9 3 BOEING 737-400 2 0 BOEING 737-500 6 1 BOEING 737-700 2 0 BOEING 737-700C 9 0 BOEING 737-800 74 13 BOEING 747-200B 2 0 BOEING 747-300 1 0 BOEING 747-400 6 0 BOEING 747-400M 2 0 BOEING 747-8I 5 1 BOEING 747SP 9 1 BOEING 757-200 17 2 BOEING 767-200 1 0 BOEING 767-200ER 8 1 BOEING 767-300ER 5 1 BOEING 767-400ER 1 0 BOEING 777-200 1 0 BOEING 777-200ER 2 0 BOEING 777-200LR 1 0 BOEING 787-8 5 1 BOEING 787-9 1 0 BOEING BBJ 128 17 BOEING BBJ2 22 4 BOEING BBJ3 6 0 BOMBARDIER CRJ100 6 0 BOMBARDIER CRJ200 12 3 CHALLENGER 300 448 46 CHALLENGER 350 153 37 CHALLENGER 600 66 0 CHALLENGER 601-1A 48 3 CHALLENGER 601-3A 130 10 CHALLENGER 601-3R 57 2 CHALLENGER 604 361 62 CHALLENGER 605 274 50 CHALLENGER 650 31 4 CHALLENGER 800 10 0 CHALLENGER 850 67 27

CHALLENGER 870 CHALLENGER 890 CITATION 500 CITATION 525 CITATION BRAVO CITATION CJ1 CITATION CJ1+ CITATION CJ2 CITATION CJ2+ CITATION CJ3 CITATION CJ3+ CITATION CJ4 CITATION ENCORE CITATION ENCORE+ CITATION EXCEL CITATION I CITATION I/SP CITATION II CITATION II/SP CITATION III CITATION LATITUDE CITATION M2 CITATION MUSTANG CITATION S/II CITATION SOVEREIGN CITATION SOVEREIGN+ CITATION ULTRA CITATION V CITATION VI CITATION VII CITATION X CITATION X+ CITATION XLS CITATION XLS+ DIAMOND I DIAMOND IA DORNIER 328JET DORNIER ENVOY 3 ECLIPSE 550 ECLIPSE EA500 EMBRAER ERJ-135 EMBRAER LEGACY 450 EMBRAER LEGACY 500 EMBRAER LEGACY 600 EMBRAER LEGACY 650 EMBRAER LEGACY SHUTTLE EMBRAER LINEAGE 1000 EMBRAER PHENOM 100 EMBRAER PHENOM 300 FALCON 10 FALCON 100 FALCON 200 FALCON 2000 FALCON 2000DX FALCON 2000EX FALCON 2000EX EASy FALCON 2000LX FALCON 2000LXS FALCON 2000S FALCON 20C FALCON 20C-5 FALCON 20D FALCON 20D-5 FALCON 20E FALCON 20E-5 FALCON 20F FALCON 20F-5 FALCON 20G

AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2016 9 3 228 340 326 192 102 230 222 408 53 231 163 65 362 23 281 547 70 184 51 133 464 146 346 63 272 250 34 114 299 21 323 219 2 48 13 11 26 254 2 14 43 167 89 17 28 331 365 106 30 26 226 4 25 101 129 57 34 68 15 24 2 33 11 74 74 5

1 0 22 62 36 30 31 43 58 50 3 25 5 3 26 7 26 50 16 10 3 15 104 5 28 7 8 6 2 10 16 0 66 54 0 2 2 4 4 24 0 2 3 52 24 1 1 39 58 9 5 2 25 0 6 29 33 15 8 21 3 7 0 13 4 7 1 5

FALCON 50 FALCON 50-40 FALCON 50EX FALCON 7X FALCON 8X FALCON 900 FALCON 900C FALCON 900DX FALCON 900EX FALCON 900EX EASy FALCON 900LX FOKKER 100 FOKKER 70 GLOBAL 5000 GLOBAL 6000 GLOBAL EXPRESS GLOBAL EXPRESS XRS GULFSTREAM G-100 GULFSTREAM G-150 GULFSTREAM G-200 GULFSTREAM G-280 GULFSTREAM G-300 GULFSTREAM G-350 GULFSTREAM G-400 GULFSTREAM G-450 GULFSTREAM G-500 GULFSTREAM G-550 GULFSTREAM G-650 GULFSTREAM G-650ER GULFSTREAM G-II GULFSTREAM G-IIB GULFSTREAM G-III GULFSTREAM G-IV GULFSTREAM G-IVSP GULFSTREAM G-V HAWKER 1000A HAWKER 1000B HAWKER 125-1A HAWKER 125-1AS HAWKER 125-1B HAWKER 125-3A HAWKER 125-3A/RA HAWKER 125-3A/RAS HAWKER 125-3AS HAWKER 125-3B HAWKER 125-3B/RAS HAWKER 125-400A HAWKER 125-400AS HAWKER 125-400B HAWKER 125-400BS HAWKER 125-600A HAWKER 125-600AS HAWKER 125-600B HAWKER 125-700A HAWKER 125-700B HAWKER 4000 HAWKER 400XP HAWKER 750 HAWKER 800A HAWKER 800B HAWKER 800XP HAWKER 800XPI HAWKER 850XP HAWKER 900XP HONDAJET HA-420 JET COMMANDER 1121 JET COMMANDER 1121B JETSTAR 6

223 7 100 253 1 175 24 22 115 118 51 3 1 200 193 144 152 22 120 236 95 13 11 23 335 9 519 147 56 89 27 142 179 300 188 42 6 14 8 11 1 6 1 1 7 1 13 32 13 3 13 7 2 142 24 68 230 48 214 49 411 48 98 180 21 6 5 2

26 0 11 109 1 31 4 7 20 34 14 3 1 53 78 29 45 1 7 20 6 0 0 0 29 0 63 32 1 0 0 1 5 8 7 2 3 3 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 6 13 5 11 13 6 9 25 15 11 16 2 0 0 0

TURBOPROPS JETSTAR 731 JETSTAR 8 JETSTAR II LEARJET 23 LEARJET 24 LEARJET 24A LEARJET 24B LEARJET 24D LEARJET 24E LEARJET 24F LEARJET 25 LEARJET 25B LEARJET 25C LEARJET 25D LEARJET 25G LEARJET 28 LEARJET 29 LEARJET 31 LEARJET 31A LEARJET 35 LEARJET 35A LEARJET 36 LEARJET 36A LEARJET 40 LEARJET 40XR LEARJET 45 LEARJET 45XR LEARJET 55 LEARJET 55B LEARJET 55C LEARJET 60 LEARJET 60XR LEARJET 70 LEARJET 75 MCDD DC-8-62H MCDD DC-8-72 MCDD DC-9-10 MCDD DC-9-30 MCDD MD-81 MCDD MD-83 MCDD MD-87 NEXTANT 400XT NEXTANT 400XTi PREMIER I PREMIER IA SABRELINER 40 SABRELINER 40A SABRELINER 40EL SABRELINER 40R SABRELINER 60 SABRELINER 60A SABRELINER 60AELXM SABRELINER 60EL SABRELINER 60ELXM SABRELINER 60EX SABRELINER 60SCELXM SABRELINER 65 SABRELINER 80 SABRELINER 80A SABRELINER 80SC SUKHOI SBJ SYBERJET SJ30-2 WESTWIND 1 WESTWIND 1123 WESTWIND 1124 WESTWIND 2 Total Jets

7 4 15 11 21 2 19 46 10 8 18 56 9 112 3 4 2 35 197 37 429 15 37 37 93 238 203 107 7 13 297 108 13 91 2 1 3 1 1 2 10 28 26 120 153 8 21 4 1 26 2 1 2 23 3 2 68 21 3 5 3 3 88 5 39 73

1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 3 9 0 46 0 4 8 5 20 11 8 1 0 24 12 0 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 4 15 22 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

21.102

2.635

MFG/MODEL ADAM A500 AVANTI EVO AVANTI II AVANTI P180 CARAVAN 208 CARAVAN 208B CARAVAN 208B EX CHEYENNE 400 CHEYENNE I CHEYENNE IA CHEYENNE II CHEYENNE III CHEYENNE IIIA CHEYENNE IIXL CONQUEST I CONQUEST II DE HAVILLAND DHC-2T DE HAVILLAND DHC-3T GULFSTREAM G-I JETSTREAM 31 JETSTREAM 32 JETSTREAM 41 KING AIR 100 KING AIR 200 KING AIR 200C KING AIR 200T KING AIR 250 KING AIR 300 KING AIR 300LW KING AIR 350 KING AIR 350C KING AIR 350i KING AIR 90 KING AIR A/B90 KING AIR A100 KING AIR A200 KING AIR A90 KING AIR A90-1 KING AIR B100 KING AIR B200 KING AIR B200C KING AIR B200CT KING AIR B200GT KING AIR B200SE KING AIR B200T KING AIR B90 KING AIR C90 KING AIR C90-1 KING AIR C90A KING AIR C90B KING AIR C90GT KING AIR C90GTi KING AIR C90GTx KING AIR C90SE KING AIR E90 KING AIR F90 KING AIR F90-1 KODIAK 100 MERLIN 300 MERLIN IIB MERLIN III MERLIN IIIA MERLIN IIIB MERLIN IIIC MERLIN IV MERLIN IV-A MERLIN IV-C

TOTAL EUROPE 7 0 5 4 126 46 96 42 457 39 1.603 83 276 4 39 4 166 13 17 3 331 39 72 5 50 11 73 5 203 13 306 8 51 0 85 0 57 3 82 14 117 17 84 25 44 0 672 48 30 1 19 2 153 17 205 4 18 6 716 41 64 6 310 19 23 1 12 0 97 4 219 1 71 2 112 2 109 1 1.082 93 118 5 8 0 115 12 5 1 23 1 100 4 417 32 40 0 217 15 417 22 96 3 121 12 154 14 16 0 271 10 186 5 29 3 161 3 9 2 32 4 25 1 34 6 52 4 23 3 6 1 16 3 19 5

Jet Fleet

Europe 12.1%

World 87.9%

Turboprop Fleet Europe 8.3% World 91.7%

Total Fleet Europe 10.6%

World 89.4%

MITSUBISHI MARQUISE MITSUBISHI MU-2C MITSUBISHI MU-2D MITSUBISHI MU-2F MITSUBISHI MU-2G MITSUBISHI MU-2J MITSUBISHI MU-2K MITSUBISHI MU-2L MITSUBISHI MU-2M MITSUBISHI MU-2N MITSUBISHI MU-2P MITSUBISHI MU-2S MITSUBISHI SOLITAIRE PILATUS PC-12 NG PILATUS PC-12/45 PILATUS PC-12/47 PIPER M500 PIPER M600 PIPER MALIBU JETPROP PIPER MERIDIAN SOCATA TBM-700A SOCATA TBM-700B SOCATA TBM-700C1 SOCATA TBM-700C2 SOCATA TBM-850 SOCATA TBM-900 SOCATA TBM-930 STARSHIP 2000A TURBO COMMANDER 1000 TURBO COMMANDER 690 TURBO COMMANDER 690A TURBO COMMANDER 690B TURBO COMMANDER 840 TURBO COMMANDER 900 TURBO COMMANDER 980 Total TurboProp Grand Total © AVDATA/JETNET

84 16 1 30 1 21 35 12 19 24 28 17 42 645 565 200 35 12 262 541 106 87 7 95 329 108 35 5 98 42 176 180 100 34 69

1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 3 0 2 0 2 102 40 17 5 0 64 74 35 10 3 9 39 10 3 1 1 1 9 5 4 0 3

15.030 36.132

1.245 3.880

FLEET REPORT

EUROPE

Turb.

0 18 1 19 0 770 4 27 0 23 4 5 6 69 7 25 2 417 2 6 81 21 1 2 2 2 7695 4 8 0 9221

Country Total Albania 1 Austria 192 Belarus 16 Belgium 95 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 Bulgaria 20 Channel Islands 2 Croatia 13 Cyprus 15 Czech Republic 85 Denmark 76 Estonia 15 Finland 30 France 429 Germany 689 Gibraltar 1 Greece 35 Guernsey 5 Hungary 18 Iceland 9 Ireland 34 Isle of Man 40 Italy 175 Jersey 0 Latvia 9 Liechtenstein 2 Lithuania 13 Luxembourg 92 Macedonia 3 Malta 143 Moldova 0 Monaco 5 Montenegro 3 Netherlands 76 Northern Ireland 2 Norway 39 Poland 52 Portugal 128 Romania 15 Russian Federation 185 San Marino 31 Scotland 2 Serbia 23 Slovak Republic 16 Slovenia 9 Spain 153 Sweden 84 Switzerland 254 Ukraine 26 United Kingdom 518 Total 3880

Turb.

161 23 794 72 290 25 16 61 44 7 8 440 1941

Country Australia Fiji French Polynesia Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands New Caledonia New Zealand Papua New Guinea Samoa Tahiti Tonga Islands Vanuatu Total

NORTH AMERICA Country Total Aruba 6 Bahamas 36 Barbados 8 Belize 21 Bermuda 9 Canada 1314 Cayman Islands 17 Costa Rica 36 Dominica 1 Dominican Republic 56 El Salvador 10 Greenland 5 Guadeloupe 6 Guatemala 103 Haiti 7 Honduras 31 Jamaica 8 Mexico 1378 Netherlands Antilles 7 Nicaragua 6 Panama 130 Puerto Rico 40 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 Saint Vincent-Grenadines 5 Trinidad and Tobago 3 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 United States 20477 Virgin Islands (British) 21 Virgin Islands (U.S.) 15 West Indies 2 23764 Total

UPTURN

European fleet saw a slight increase in aircraft numbers of 2.1%.

Country Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Total

Executive* Jet 0 6 0 18 0 7 0 2 0 9 12 532 0 13 0 9 0 1 0 33 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 34 0 0 0 6 0 6 14 947 0 5 0 0 0 49 0 19 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 2 96 12686 1 16 0 7 0 2 124 14419

SOUTH AMERICA

Total Executive* Jet 328 1 166 32 1 8 1558 7 757 120 3 45 336 2 44 42 0 17 16 0 0 78 1 16 55 1 10 7 0 0 15 0 7 774 1 333 3361 17 1403

34 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017

Executive* Jet 0 1 0 159 0 16 0 56 0 2 1 11 0 1 0 7 0 13 0 53 0 58 0 9 0 16 8 226 14 428 0 1 0 20 1 1 1 10 1 0 8 20 0 26 1 104 0 0 0 8 0 1 2 11 1 48 0 3 3 135 0 0 0 3 0 3 2 39 0 1 1 14 0 26 0 127 1 8 5 145 0 29 0 0 0 18 2 13 0 8 5 105 0 48 4 163 1 19 15 345 77 2558

Turb.

0 33 0 39 0 8 1 6 2 32 18 6 14 195 247 0 15 3 7 8 6 14 70 0 1 1 0 43 0 5 0 2 0 35 1 24 26 1 6 35 2 2 5 1 1 43 36 87 6 158 1245

AUSTRALIA & OCEANIA Total 590 5 5 2 1 1 8 70 27 3 1 2 3 718

Executive* 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 5

Jet 193 0 0 0 0 1 2 14 3 1 0 0 0 214

Turb.

395 5 5 2 1 0 6 53 24 2 1 2 3 499

OEMs by the Numbers It’s always interesting to break down the global fleet data by manufacturers. And once again, the undisputed leader in terms of units is Cessna, now part of Textron Aviation. Of the more than 7,000 business jets manufactured by Cessna since 1969, 6,869

Country Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Brunei Burma Cambodia China Georgia Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Macau Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Syria Taiwan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen Total

ASIA Total 32 3 14 15 8 4 1 1 506 4 139 260 150 45 9 96 249 29 40 31 1 2 23 8 84 2 3 5 10 17 56 96 27 183 61 49 5 2 24 84 164 3 141 1 5 4 2696

Executive* Jet 0 0 0 1 1 13 4 7 0 1 4 0 0 1 0 1 109 276 0 3 3 128 5 164 2 48 6 21 0 0 14 45 4 88 1 20 1 29 6 23 0 1 0 0 2 18 1 7 3 50 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 13 2 33 2 45 4 23 29 123 1 53 3 33 0 0 0 2 2 16 4 37 2 125 0 3 8 101 1 0 0 0 2 0 230 1553

Turb.

32 2 0 4 7 0 0 0 121 1 8 91 100 18 9 37 157 8 10 2 0 2 3 0 31 2 3 4 10 0 21 49 0 31 7 13 5 0 6 43 37 0 32 0 5 2 913

AFRICA

Country Total Algeria 40 Angola 75 Benin 1 Botswana 53 Burkina Faso 6 Burundi 1 Cameroon 8 Canary Islands 1 Central African Republic 4 Chad 9 Comoros 2 Congo 9 Cote d''Ivoire 4 Dem. Republic of Congo 29 Djibouti 2 Egypt 40 Equatorial Guinea 7 Eritrea 2 Ethiopia 12 Gabon 14 Gambia 8 Ghana 13 Guinea 1 Guinea-Bissau 2 Kenya 136 Liberia 3 Libya 15 Madagascar 20 Malawi 2 Mali Republic 5 Mauritania 6 Mauritius 7 Mayotte Island 1 Morocco 46 Mozambique 11 Namibia 38 Niger 7 Nigeria 97 Sao Tome and Principe 1 Senegal 10 Seychelles Islands 5 Sierra Leone 1 South Africa 433 Sudan 11 Swaziland 3 Tanzania 92 Togo 8 Tunisia 3 Uganda 24 Zambia 26 Zimbabwe 12 Total 1366

Executive* Jet 0 10 5 23 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 4 0 2 5 12 1 1 3 33 1 5 0 1 0 0 1 10 2 6 0 8 0 0 0 0 1 10 0 0 1 9 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 5 0 1 2 28 0 3 0 13 0 1 0 84 0 1 1 2 0 3 0 0 2 160 0 4 1 2 0 4 1 3 0 3 0 1 0 2 0 2 32 472

Turb.

30 47 1 48 5 0 4 0 4 5 2 5 2 12 0 4 1 1 12 3 0 5 1 2 125 3 5 18 2 3 5 2 0 16 8 25 6 13 0 7 2 1 271 7 0 88 4 0 23 24 10 862

*Executive aircraft are airliner aircraft converted to private business use, excluding models originally meant for business use.

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017 - 35

MILESTONE

NetJets was handed over the keys of Cessna's 7000th Citation jet delivery.

FLEET REPORT 12 MONTH WORLD WIDE TURBINE FLEET 2015

2016

Unit Change

Growth

Worldwide

35,682

36,674

+ 992

2.8%

United States

19,894

20,477

+ 583

2.9%

Africa

1,343

1,366

+ 23

1.7%

Asia

2,506

2,696

+ 190

7.6%

Europe

3,803

3,880

+ 77

2.0%

23,118

23,764

+ 646

2.8%

702

718

+ 16

2.3%

3,376

3,361

-

-0.4%

North America Australia & Oceania South America

are still in service today. No other OEM even comes close to this number.

The company handed over its 7,000 th Citation business jet, a Latitude, to NetJets in June last year.

To celebrate the milestone, NetJets and Textron Aviation held a special ceremony at Textron Aviation headquarters in Wichita, Kansas. During the ceremony, NetJets announced that due to the great response by owners that the Latitude has received, the company decided to add 50 more options to its initial 2012 order, bringing its total order and options up to 200 aircraft.

15

Bom b a r d i e r has an installed worldwide fleet base of 4,803 business jets, including 2,380 Learjets.

Gulfstream, on the other hand, supports an active fleet of about 2,555, with the G550 being quite popular.

The OEM delivered 534 aircraft of the ultra-long-range jet so far. The company also delivered its 200 th G650 to a customer in the Middle East in October 2016, only five years after the entry-into-service of the first G650.

“The G650 and G650ER are our topselling models with a backlog that

MARKETS FOR BUSINESS AIRCRAFT OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS

extends into 2018,” says Gulfstream Vice President of Worldwide Sales Scott Neal. “We continue to see unprecedented demand for the aircraft, due to its unmatched range, speed, safety and comfort.”

With the new G500 and G600 in flight testing – the first G500 should be in service in the fourth quarter of 2017, followed by the G600 EIS one year later – the manufacturer has two additional popular aircraft in his portfolio.

LEADING

Bombardier's Learjet 75 (left) and Gulfstream's flagship G650ER (right).

“The Cessna and NetJets relationship extends more than 20 years, and our newest certified business jet is a perfect fit for their operations,” says Textron Aviation President and CEO Scott Ernest. “The Citation Latitude’s performance and value proposition equates to increased productivity for NetJets’ owners, while giving them large-cabin amenities at a midsize cost. We are thrilled the aircraft has become one of the fastest selling aircraft in the company’s history.”

36 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017

Dassault’s installed fleet grew in 2016 from 2,118 aircraft to 2,187.

The newest addition to Dassault’s Falcon family, the ultra-long range Falcon 8X, was certified by the FAA and EASA in June of 2016, with the first delivery taking place in October 2016. The first Falcon 8X for a Middle East customer was handed over in November. “The delivery of a Falcon 8X to a regional operator barely a month after the entry into service of the first aircraft says a lot about the important role the Middle East is expectwhere the Phenom 100 and 300, as well as the Legacy 450 and 500, are assembled. The Phenom 300 proves to be the most popular aircraft in Embraer’s business jet range. So far, 372 have been delivered, followed by the entry-level Phenom 100, of which 337 were in service at the close of 2016.

Newcomer Honda Aircraft is already making a mark on the market, delivering its first HondaJet in December of 2015. Since then it has handed over another 20 units to customers in the US, Canada, Mexico and Germany. Honda Aircraft is in the process of ramping up produced to play in the success of our new flagship,” says Dassault Director of International Sales, Middle East Region Renaud Cloatre.

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer Executive Jets was founded only a little more than a decade ago, but in April 2016 the company delivered its 1000 th Business Jet. “In a remarkably short period we populated the Business Aviation market with the most advanced and reliable aircraft in the industry.

Delivering 1,000 Business Jets to more than 60 countries in just over a decade reflects our strong ability to listen to our customers and respond to them with innovative solutions for different needs,” says Embraer Executive Jets President and CEO Marco Tulio Pellegrini.

“We are especially pleased to celebrate this important achievement with our distinguished customer Flexjet, which has honored us with their trust since we first entered Business Aviation.”

Embraer Executive Jets’ 1,000th aircraft, a midsize Legacy 500, was the fourth of its kind to join the Flexjet fleet and is part of a firm order for both Legacy 500 and Legacy 450 jets.

Flexjet offers travelers access to the world’s most luxurious fleet of private jets. Its fractional program fields an exclusive array of business aircraft — some of the youngest in the fractional jet industry — including the bestselling Phenom 300. Embraer has manufacturing facilities in Brazil, Portugal and in Melbourne, Florida,

tion. JetNet has forecasted that the company can increase its market share within the next ten years to an impressive 5%.

Turboprops Continue to Grow The turboprop market has held up, posting 2.2% increase, on par with its 2015 performance. The global turboprop fleet has grown from 14,708 units to 15,030 units. Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft King Air family is still the most popular turboprop family, with an installed fleet base of nearly 6,000

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017 - 37

CELEBRATION

Amjet Executive took delivery of the first Falcon 8X (top).

HondaJet (center).

Embraer reaches the four-digit mark in businessjet deliveries (below).

FLEET REPORT company Wheels Up is planning to expand into Europe this year, meaning the number of twin turboprop aircraft based in Europe is expected to grow, too.

Other Perspectives The annual Honeywell Aerospace Global Business Aviation Outlook, which was published in November during NBAA-BACE, is based on multiple sources, including interviews with 1,500 non-fractional operators, OEMs and other experts. units, followed by another Textron Aviation’s turboprop family, the Cessna 208 Caravan/Grand Caravan, of which 2,306 aircraft are in service.

The decision of the European Union to allow commercial flights of singleengine turboprop aircraft in IFR meteorological conditions (IMC), the unit numbers in this category are expected to rise on the Continent where Pilatus with their legendary PC12 powered by the reliable PWC PT6A, occupy a privileged position thanks to a roomy cabin and a capacious baggage compartment. Furthermore, membership-based aircraft charter “We continue to see relatively slow economic growth projections in many mature business jet markets, and while developed economies are generally faring better, commodities demand, foreign exchange and political uncertainties remain as concerns,” says Honeywell Commercial Aviation President Brian Sill.

“These factors continue to affect near- term purchases, but the survey responses this year indicate there is improved interest in new aircraft acquisition in the medium term, particularly in the 2018–19 period.”

SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

CONTENDERS

Cessna Grand Caravan (top), PC-12 NG (center) and King Air 350i (below).

38 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017

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FLEET REPORT

In the meantime, operators surveyed indicated modest plans to increase aircraft usage over the next 12 months, providing some welcome momentum to otherwise flat aftermarket activity.

This is part of the reason why the company lowered its 10-year business jet delivery forecast to 8,600 aircraft, with a value of $255 billion, down from last year’s forecasted 9,200 units and a projected value of $270 billion.

Overall, Honeywell is more optimistic than NetJets, expecting 1,220 new aircraft deliveries more in the

AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES IN THE LIGHT CATEGORY

AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES IN THE MEDIUM CATEGORY

ANTICIPATION

Bombardier is expecting larger aircraft to continue dominating the market.

ne x t t e n y e a r s t ha n N e t J e t s expects.

Embraer Executive Jets also weighs in on the business aircraft market prediction game. According to its latest forecast, it expects 8,400 new business jet deliveries between 2017 and 2026, worth US$244 billion. According to Embraer Vice President for Sales in the Middle East and Asia Pacific Claudio Camelier, he doesn’t believe the market will ever come back to the level of 2008, when over 1,200 business jets were delivered in a single year.

40 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017

For 2017, Honeywell (as well as JetNet) predicts lower delivery figures than last year. One of the reasons for this trend is seen in transitions to new models slated for late 2017 and 2018 service entry. Operators who participated in Honeywell’s survey say they are planning to make new jet purchases equivalent to about 27% of their fleets over the next five years as replacements or as additions to their current fleets. But Honeywell admits that this encouraging number is less than firm in timing.

AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES IN THE LARGE CATEGORY

Another finding of the Honeywell survey is that of the total purchase plans for new business jets, 21% are intended to occur already by the end of 2017, while 18% are scheduled for 2018 and 2019 respectively. Honeywell and JetNet — as well as other industry sources – agree that operators continue to focus on larger-cabin aircraft segments, which are expected to account for more than 85% of all expenditures on new business jets in the next five years.

Parting Thoughts Quite interesting are the purchase inhibitors that keep operators from ordering new business aircraft.

According to JetNet, 19.5% of those surveyed said their fleet matches their demand and that they just do not need any additional aircraft. 14.2% stated that the purchase price or the trade-up cost were too high, while 13.7% answered that the uncertainty about the economy and/or the regulatory environment kept them from new aircraft purchases. 12.1% experienced a decline in business activity and therefore needed no new or additional aircraft, while for 9.3% the inability to sell their current aircraft put a stop to any thoughts of buying a new one. Only 5.9% of the respondents did not find a compelling aircraft and only 5.0% saw the availability of financing or capital for purchase as an inhibitor to a new aircraft purchase.

About 10 percent of today’s business aircraft fleet is up for sale, far lower than the 16% back in 2009. But the inventory levels are trending up, especially for jets that are less than 10 years old. “We see a lot of overcapacity there,” says JetNet’s Rolland Vincent. According to Honeywell’s

findings, in 2016, the total number of recent model jets listed for resale rose significantly to about 675 aircraft, excluding personal jets and business liners.

In proportion to the level of overall listings, the share of recent model jets for sale has risen noticeably.

This puts a lot of pressure on pricing. Factors driving lower residual values in the last two years were, according to JetNet, over-production of new aircraft, the number of latemodel pre-owned aircraft on the market, deep discounting of new aircraft, cost of regulatory upgrade requirements, a rapid technology change and the drop in fractional and charter demand.

The used aircraft inventory is a major factor to new aircraft sales, and there are just too many young used aircraft on the market. As long as they remain, the OEMs will have a hard time selling new jets. But, according to Honeywell, operators are responding that they plan to increase aircraft usage over the next 12 month.

Overall, this year’s fleet report numbers are impressive, especially when framed historically. The global business jet fleet has grown from 7,300 aircraft in 1991 to over 20,000 in 2016. The value of the annual deliveries rose from $2.6 billion in 1991 to $18 billion in 2016. The number of different business jet models has seen a tremendous expansion too. 15 years ago there were only 13 different models available. Today this number stand at more than 30.

These aircraft have become more capable and more comfortable, too.

The longest range of any business jet grew from 4,500nm in 1991 to 7,500nm today. And the cabin diameter went up in parallel. In 1991, the biggest cabin diameter was 92 inches. Today, it is at 102 inches.

While the US is still and by far the largest market for Business Aviation, its market share has suffered a little. In 1991, the US had a market share of 72%. Today, the market share in new deliveries is at 65%.

There’s no doubt about it that North America will continue to dominate the Business Aviation market within the foreseeable future, with Europe holding its number two position. If an operator needs an aircraft now, there has never been a better time to purchase a business jet.

Aircraft financing is once again available at low interest rates and bargains on new or like-new Business Jets have rarely been better than today.

In other words, there’s all the reason to be optimistic again.

✈

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017 - 41

TIMING

If an operator needs an aircraft now, there has never been a better time to purchase a business jet.

FLEET REPORT

2017 MARKET OBSERVATIONS AND OUTLOOK

Brian Foley shares vital insight and predictions on what we can expect from Business Aviation in the years ahead

SMART INVESTMENTS IN THE BIZAV INDUSTRY

A

SLUMP

A faded appetite for business aircraft resulted from the sluggish BRICs economy.

t this point in time, any discussion about BRIC countries as they relate to Business Aviation would seem quite blasé. Brazil’s political, currency and debt issues are, in large part, driven by the fall of oil prices – a critical contributor to its economy. Meanwhile, Russia has had international economic sanctions levied against it and, as a result, has seen commodity prices – its lifeblood – plummet. India, always said to be the next big thing, still lacks the basic infrastructure needed to support any kind of sizeable fleet. Last but not least, in China, the Shanghai stock exchange was down around 11 percent in 2016. Today it hovers around a level of 3000, although it had been as high as over 5000 as recently as 2015.

Problems here are being exacerbated by a weaker currency and rising interest rates – with no end in sight.

That all being said, we cannot forget that it was these countries who helped the industry keep the lights on during the worldwide financial crisis. Without their continuous buying contribution

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during that tumultuous period, the effects on the industry would have been far worse – arguably costing even more in the way of additional aircraft manufacturer failures.

Economic healing in the BRICs can take a long time. Just take a look at Europe, who is just now starting to show the first signs of life since 2008.

In fact, it’s conceivable that it could take upwards of a decade for the former BRIC powerhouse to return to its former self. There’s no doubt this will eventually happen, but perhaps not at the speed anyone would like it to.

That’s not to say there will be no sales from coming from these regions in the interim. Even today there are still the one or two sales occurring, but certainly not on the scale of just a couple of years ago. As such, companies need to keep some chips on the table by maintaining a local presence and building and maintaining relationships. After all, success in the Business Aviation industry takes a lot of tenacity and can take literally years to consummate just one sale.

Countries of Big Opportunities So where can we expect to see sales be more near-term and plentiful? The most obvious place, in case you haven’t noticed, is the United States.

First, according to AMSTAT, just under 60 percent of the active world business jet fleet is located here, making it by far the industry’s center of gravity. Next, relative to the rest of the world, the US economic recovery has been progressing, albeit slowly, for several years now. The US is again attracting foreign investment, which is a testament to the world’s confidence in the country’s economy.

As is usually the case, there may have been some potential buyers with a ‘wait and see’ attitude before the US election. Now that it has come and gone and financial markets have reacted positively, it’s likely that some of these cautious buyers will finally come forward.

Another interesting fallout from the election is that the new president understands the value of Business Aviation, as he himself is an avid owner of both personal fixed-wing jets and rotorcraft. It’s conceivable that corporate buyers will no longer be seen as “fat cats flying off into the sunset on their private jets”, as they have been labeled by previous administration. Instead, there may now be more comfort in buying and operating jets without feeling the need to publicly stay under the radar.

After the US, Western Europe is the next region we should be keeping an eye on. Historically a strong market, the area has been economically whipsawed for nearly a decade.

While not anticipated to be anywhere near as robust as America, it should nonetheless begin to show signs of slowly firming.

Cabin Demand Prospects As for longer-term trends, expect to see the market for large cabin jets no longer performing any better than the small or medium class. During the financial crisis, the big segment seemed to be completely recessionproof, with deliveries remaining relatively strong, while their small and mid-cabin brethren saw a 67 percent decline in deliveries.

The hypothesis for a future of more normalized big cabin sales is rather straightforward: supply has finally caught up with demand. The market was flooded with small and medium size jets from the birth of the business jet age in the mid-1960s. As the big cabin phenomenon really didn’t begin in earnest until the mid-1980s, large segment supply was always trying to catch up with demand – and I argue that it finally has.

That’s not to say there won’t be a nice run in big cabin deliveries beginning in the 2019 timeframe, as such new products as Gulfstreams’ G500 and G600, the Bombardier Global 7000 and Dassault’s 5X begin to hit the market. However, it can be assured that as we wait for these new products there will be a noticeable sales lull in the upper end of the market.

Another relatively recent change in the market that’s likely to remain is a

significant decrease in aircraft residual values. For years, perhaps again because of more demand than supply, private aircraft bucked the conventional behavior of capital goods. Airliners, cars and even refrigerators have always lost significant value every year, and are practically written off within 10 years. Corporate jets, on the other hand, could be depended on to still be worth more than 70 percent of their purchase price after five years.

And in many cases, they were actually worth more than the owner originally paid for them.

This has now all changed. With a fleet of active business jets that numbers 21,356 units, it’s expected that used jets will become more of a commodity. As they do, they will follow a steeper and more traditional diminution of value over time.

My 10-year worldwide business jet delivery forecast calls for a relatively flat decade, with deliveries in the range of 650 to 750 units per year. This period is reminiscent of the 1986-1996 timeframe when deliveries were consistently stuck in the 350 unit range.

That moment in history has affectionately been named the “Dead Zone”.

While the next 10 years could also be referred to as that, it will have the advantage of having yearly delivery numbers that are twice what they were during the preceding flat period.

✈

About Brian Foley Associates (BRiFO) Since 2006 BRiFO has provided aviation investors and companies with advice, research, branding and investment banking services. His complete business jet forecast is available at www.BRiFO.com

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017 - 43

POSITIVE

The new U.S. President, Donald Trump (center) understands the value of Business Aviation.

Gulfstream G500 (top).

Falcon 5X (bottom).

FLEET REPORT With market confidence still uncertain, Richard Koe doesn’t expect much to change in new aircraft sales in 2017. But it could be a much different story for aircraft activity trends

T

he Business Aviation industry had a sorry start to 2016, with market confidence sliding in the face of the geopolitical tremors which would characterize a memorably seismic year. Cowed by volatility across all the major indices which have traditionally supported the industry, aircraft purchasers kept their heads down. Three quarters into the year, Business Aviation shipments were down 5 percent by volume, more than 10 percent by value. Trump’s election was expected to darken the market further. But in an ever-unpredictable year, the US economy’s performance

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LONG-AWAITED TURNAROUND MAY GET TRACTION IN 2017

has since brightened, and industry surveys are showing that Business Aviation has taken heart.

The positive ripples from Trump’s victory are now not hard to see. A big infrastructure program, including airports, is going to boost corporate revenues. His intended tax cuts will disproportionately benefit the ultrawealthy individuals capable of purchasing business jets. The fiscal expansion will support oil prices, and indeed Trump’s foreign policy, especially if he renews sanctions on Iran, will see the barrel price head back towards 100US$. Not good news for

energy importing economies, but a certain bonus for the US energy sector, as well as the balance sheets of the global oil exporters which in better times were great markets for new business jet sales.

What’s good for the US market is not necessarily a boon for the global business jet market – even if the US share of new aircraft deliveries is now creeping above 60 percent. Promise of a Trump-fueled fiscal expansion of the US economy will accelerate the US Fed’s interest rate program and with it the greenback’s appreciation.

That will dampen US exports, and

may particularly concern the business jet manufacturers with large international exposure such as Gulfstream and Bombardier. They would have benefited from the likely support of a Clinton administration for ExportImport bank financing, which Trump has signaled his intention to dismantle.

As well as making US-manufactured aircraft more expensive, a rampant dollar will also imperil the debt sustainability of various emerging markets such as Brazil and Turkey. Other BRICs such as China and India may

the latest referendum, the next flood barriers are the Dutch, French and German elections during 2017. The jury is still out on the repercussions of Brexit, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see UK businesses holding back on investments, business jets included. And regardless of Brexit, the economic recovery cycle across the Eurozone continues to be depressingly anaemic. Still, it was notable to see a relatively strong outlook for Europe in Honeywell’s annual survey of aircraft purchasing intentions, taken in November: Operators

least the Chinese, which makes Trump’s fighting trade talk perilous.

A protectionist shift has already seen the US exit regional trade agreements with Asia and Europe.

Trump’s signature wall with Mexico will further complicate life for US corporations, especially those offshoring production facilities across the border.

One of the big questions for forecasters looking into 2017 will be whether to focus more on the macro or micro. The macro – at least a honeymoon boost to US GDP, before the

LONG TERMS TRENDS IN BUSINESS JET ACTIVITY IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE

CHART 1

benefit from their currency’s relative competitiveness, and the strong trend in US domestic consumption. But these countries are still relatively tiny Business Aviation markets, constrained primarily by domestic barriers, whether import taxes, infrastructure and skills shortages, airspace limitations, with corruption scandals undermining demand. Russia and Middle East are bigger markets for business jets and both will benefit from higher oil prices in 2017.

For Europe, Trump’s election adds fuel to the populist fire. With Italian Prime Minister Renzi carried away by

plan up to 30 percent fleet renewal in the next 5 years, compared to a global average of 27 percent.

Global financial markets have reacted well to the president-elect but the prospects of a rising tide for global GDP will soon reverse if some of the feared downsides of Trumponomics materialize. His fiscal program will bloat an already huge federal debt, exacerbated as interest rates rise.

Expansion could boomerang into contraction if he then needed to raise taxes and cut spending to stay solvent. Much may depend on the willingness of foreign lenders, not

complications emerge – does suggest a better year for Business Aviation.

But the consensus forecast for deliveries of new business jets next year is downwards, with the pick-up not coming until 2018. Partly that’s the time it takes economic growth to feed through. But a more important industry barrier to growth is the excess supply of aircraft. The OEMs will need to take further pain in cutting production to correct the imbalance.

Until they do, prices will continue to languish, sapping residual values and discouraging new business jet purchases.

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017 - 45

SLOW

Flight departures have grown this year in North America at a mere 1 percent.

FLEET REPORT GROWTH IN CHARTER DEMAND IN NORTH AMERICA

CHART 2

TENDENCY

Underlying growth in charter activity is a notable trend in North America.

At the aggregate level, Business Aviation activity trends in the last year appears to reflect an industry on-hold. As shown in Chart 1, flight departures have grown this year in the North American market, but at barely 1 percent on a last 12-month basis. European activity trends have stopped declining this year, but have little momentum. The collapse in demand from emerging regional markets – Russia, Ukraine, Turkey – has been a significant contributor.

Measured by arrivals into Europe, business jet demand in the Middle East is still pretty resilient.

Transatlantic arrivals were up 5 percent in 2016, and inbound flights from Asia-Pacific are up more than 20 percent. The UK is getting a large share of these arrivals, with the cheaper post-Brexit pound no doubt a factor.

Notable in the slow overall trend in North America is the underlying growth in various forms of Charter activity. This has been true of the last few years: combined Part 135 and Part 91K operations have maintained a last 12-month growth trend of at least 5 percent, as shown in Chart 2, whilst owner activity, almost 70 percent of all flights, has fluctuated around zero growth. Considering the steady increase in the overall fleet of active aircraft, that flat trend is an accurate indicator of declining utilization as many owners effectively parked their aircraft for sale. The solid growth in charter suggests that many other would-be aircraft owners are instead looking to ad-hoc solutions for their flight requirements.

46 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017

flights but discernible growth in charter demand. The decline in owner flights is steepest in the older midsize, heavy jet and entry-level aircraft.

There has been an almost direct migration of demand to newer ultralong range, super-midsize and very light jets. As in the US, the Challenger 300 and Phenom 300 are the mainstays for this demand. The distinctive feature of the European charter trend is the VLJ, with on-demand flights up more than 15% in 2016. This contrasts with the US, where VLJ activity has been declining, with turboprops preferred as the entry-level aircraft for air taxi operations.

MOST ACTIVE BUSINESS AVIATION AIRCRAFT IN NORTH AMERICA CHART 3

The aircraft driving the growth in North American activity, as shown in Chart 3, feature the most popular light and midsize jets in the largest Part 135 and 91K fleets. A third of the Challenger 300 platform’s activity comes from Part 135 operators like XO Jet, with the influx of the Challenger 350 boosting activity by 20 percent this year. The Phenom 300, the industry’s top-selling jet the last 3 years, and a major part of Net Jets’ fleet rejuvenation, shows similarly strong growth. The PC-12 continues to be the most frequently flown Business Aviation aircraft. Together with the King Air 350, the PC-12 is increasingly employed in short-haul shuttle flights, a semi-scheduled product which is starting to diffuse Business Aviation into the traditional airline market.

Also in Europe, as shown in Chart 4, business jet activity can be distinguished by stagnant trends in owner

Charter demand will again be the growth factor for Business Aviation activity in 2017. The glut of under-utilized aircraft, low fuel cost, and a more expansive economy offers a good opportunity for those looking to disrupt this market. Fleet consolidation is a pretty sure trend, both in and across European and North American markets. Last year’s activity trends showed clear correlation between larger fleets, especially owned and operated, and higher aircraft utilization. High fixed operating costs, and the challenge of getting deadhead sectors anywhere below 30%, clearly favour scaled-up and geographically distributed fleets.

Alongside, the relentless tide of regulation – NCC in Europe this year, ADSB coming up in the US – will also encourage operator consolidation.

Beyond the physical consolidation of aircraft fleets, it’s the virtual consolidation of supply which is powering the most interesting growth in charter

demand. The headline has been provided by Jet Smarter, the world’s first ‘flying unicorn’ following its US$105M financing in December 2016. Jet Smarter gets classed within an increasingly diverse category of online charter platforms. Where Jet Smarter is distinctive is that its membership model requires it to manage an increasingly large but virtual fleet capacity.

Whereas other online brokers are getting some traction by matching spot market demand to availability, Jet Smarter has pre-purchased sufficient idle or distressed capacity, in an effort to guarantee lift to its members whenever they want to fly.

BUSINESS JET CHARTER AND PRIVATE FLIGHTS IN EUROPE

CHART 4

Almost a decade on from the crash, many in the Business Aviation industry have resigned themselves to a deflationary, slow-growth environment. The long-awaited J curve recovery is still two corners on; no one expects much to change in new aircraft sales in 2017. That makes sense because, notwithstanding the benefit of a short-term economic stimulus, there are no significant signs that ownership demand is going to come back. But it could be a different story for activity trends, particularly for chartered aircraft. Higher performance aircraft and scaled-up operations are having an impact. But the most important and positive disruption is coming from the online aggregation and marketing of spare capacity. A combination of these factors could see Business Aviation breaking out of its traditional silo in 2017.

✈

The Jet Smarter city shuttle, to which its members get free access, has rapidly expanded in 2016, with transatlantic as well as Middle East connections being added to established routes within the US and Europe. Operators such as Wheels Up and Surf Air have already demonstrated the popularity of membershipbased shuttle services, but Jet

Smarter has the greater agility to grow, able to pop-up new shuttles wherever supply and demand make sense. These are not the Ubers of Business Aviation, and the industry’s regulatory rigour is unlikely to license that model in any case. But they are one of several disruptors to import elements of the sharing economy to Business Aviation.

Richard Koe is joint Managing Director of WINGX, a provider of Business Aviation data, tools and technology. Together with partner, Christoph Kohler, Richard has developed WINGX into one of the industry’s foremost suppliers of business intelligence. Our aim is to equip anyone with a vested interest in the industry with immediately accessible, transparent and actionable insights into all aspects of the business aviation market globally.

As well as managing WINGX, Richard is a regular speaker, panelist and moderator at industry conferences worldwide, writes on a wide range of Business Aviation issues and works closely with regional regulators and industry associations.

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017 - 47

DOWNWARD

Private flights activity for business is stagnant in Europe.

FLEET REPORT

WORLD HELICOPTER MARKET 2017

The world fleet of western made civil helicopters grew most unimpressively last year, but opportunities remain.

Mark Huber presents highlights from 2016 helicopter fleet data

T

WHIRLYBIRD

Landing in Sao Paulo (top), Avicopter AC352 (center) and AW189 SAR (below).

hose who predicted a difficult 2016 for the world civil helicopter market proved correct as Western OEMs took a pounding.

How bad was it? The civil helicopter fleets in the US, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Italy and Germany all contracted in absolute numbers according to data from JetNet. That’s how bad.

The US fleet dropped from 9,395 to 9,047; Canada’s dropped from 2,417 to 2,246; Brazil’s from 1,848 to 1,843; Japan’s from 755 to 726; Italy’s from 742 to 714 and Germany’s from 720 to 697. The number of piston helicopters in Central America, Europe and Oceania all declined slightly, as did the number of multi-engine turbines in Central America and the number of turbine singles and twins in South America. North America posted a modest gain – thanks largely to Mexico, where the imbedded fleet grew from 689 to 730 – as did Europe and Oceania. The “big” gain, if you want to call it that, came in Asia – that is to say mostly China – where the regional fleet increased from 3,499 to 3,673. The Chinese portion of that grew from 595 to 691, but, to give that number some perspective, that still makes it smaller than Italy’s fleet of 714.

China’s Western helicopter civil fleet is comprised mostly of Airbus turbine singles (94) and Twins (81) along with 229 almost exclusively piston Robinsons. China’s long-term industrial policy calls for development of an indigenous civil helicopter manufacturing capability and it is limiting imports

48 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017

in favor of joint venture projects from which it can glean technology to that end. In January, state-owned Avicopter announced that it was integrating its civil and military helicopter design and manufacturing capability, saying that it had produced more than 50 models across 12 series of helicopters, had annual capacity to locally produce more than 300 civil helicopters and had even greater aspirations.

“Avicopter is among the world’s seven leading helicopter manufacturers. In recent years, we have developed one new model nearly every two years,” said Avicopter Chairman Yu Feng earlier this year. Yu added that the company was “going all out” to meet local demand and “conquer” contemporary technologies including high-speed tiltrotor. Avicopter points with understandable pride to its co-development (with Airbus) of the H175/AC352 super-medium twin as an example of

HELICOPTER SUMMARY BY MODEL PISTON MFG/MODEL ENSTROM 280 SHARK ENSTROM 280C SHARK ENSTROM 280F SHARK ENSTROM 280FX SHARK ENSTROM F-28 ENSTROM F-28A ENSTROM F-28C ENSTROM F-28C-2 ENSTROM F28F FALCON ROBINSON R22 ROBINSON R22 ALPHA ROBINSON R22 BETA ROBINSON R22 BETA II ROBINSON R22 HP ROBINSON R22 MARINER ROBINSON R22 MARINER II ROBINSON R44 ASTRO ROBINSON R44 CADET ROBINSON R44 RAVEN I ROBINSON R44 RAVEN II SCHWEIZER 300CB SCHWEIZER S-300C SCHWEIZER S-300CBI Total Piston Turbine Make/Model AGUSTA/WESTLAND A119 KOALA AGUSTA/WESTLAND A119KE AGUSTA/WESTLAND AW119Kx AIRBUS AS-350B-2 ECUREUIL AIRBUS H120 AIRBUS H125 AIRBUS H130 BELL 204B BELL 205A-1 BELL 206A JETRANGER BELL 206B JETRANGER II BELL 206B-3 JETRANGER III BELL 206L LONGRANGER BELL 206L-1 LONGRANGER II BELL 206L-3 LONGRANGER BELL 206L-4 LONGRANGER IV BELL 210 BELL 214B BIGLIFTER BELL 407 BELL 407GX BELL 407GXP BELL/AGUSTA AB-206A JETRANGER BELL/AGUSTA AB-206B JETRANGER II BELL/AGUSTA AB-206B-3 JETRANGER ENSTROM 480 ENSTROM 480B EUROCOPTER AS-350B ECUREUIL EUROCOPTER AS-350B-1 ECUREUIL EUROCOPTER AS-350B-3 ECUREUIL EUROCOPTER AS-350BA ECUREUIL EUROCOPTER AS-350D ASTAR EUROCOPTER EC-130B-4 ECUREUIL EUROCOPTER SA-315B LAMA EUROCOPTER SA-316B ALOUETTE III EUROCOPTER SA-318C ALOUETTE II EUROCOPTER SA-319B ALOUETTE III MD MD 500E MD MD 520N MD MD 530F MD MD 600N ROBINSON R66 SCHWEIZER 330 SCHWEIZER S-333 Total Single Turbine Turbine Make/Model AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109A AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109A MK II AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109C AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109E POWER

TOTAL 7 120 12 105 3 99 65 29 98 68 51 1058 1590 62 106 40 534 3 1349 3412 86 457 193 9.547

EUROPE 1 31 0 26 0 22 9 1 10 14 4 288 306 4 18 14 124 0 355 769 15 159 30 2.200

86 101 42 1.215 628 541 187 29 129 57 927 1.868 95 399 470 420 3 32 1.066 323 21 25 76 77 29 126 295 46 1.027 486 54 415 176 125 73 25 350 98 156 60 625 14 49 13.046

19 25 0 154 289 166 26 1 6 4 60 192 9 23 23 6 0 2 65 28 1 12 59 65 10 13 54 22 314 122 5 55 84 47 35 9 71 10 3 7 110 4 9 2.219

54 88 64 373

22 44 20 108

AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2016

AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109K2 28 AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109S GRAND 174 AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109SP GRANDNEW 146 AGUSTA/WESTLAND AW139 802 AGUSTA/WESTLAND AW169 12 AGUSTA/WESTLAND AW189 33 AIRBUS AS-332C1E SUPER PUMA 4 AIRBUS AS-355NP ECUREUIL II 58 AIRBUS AS-365N-3 DAUPHIN 2 196 AIRBUS EC-135P2+ 392 AIRBUS EC-135T2+ 218 AIRBUS EC-145 741 AIRBUS H135 31 AIRBUS H145 64 AIRBUS H155 141 AIRBUS H175 9 AIRBUS H225 170 BELL 206LT TWINRANGER 4 BELL 212 472 BELL 214ST 30 BELL 222A 33 BELL 222B 15 BELL 222SP 5 BELL 222UT 36 BELL 230 32 BELL 412 112 BELL 412EP 545 BELL 412EPI 2 BELL 412HP 68 BELL 412SP 30 BELL 427 78 BELL 429 GLOBALRANGER 276 BELL 430 113 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412 28 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412EP 17 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412HP 4 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412SP 22 EUROCOPTER AS-332L SUPER PUMA 60 EUROCOPTER AS-332L1 SUPER PUMA 67 EUROCOPTER AS-332L2 SUPER PUMA 45 EUROCOPTER AS-355E ECUREUIL II 2 EUROCOPTER AS-355F ECUREUIL II 116 EUROCOPTER AS-355F-1 ECUREUIL 62 EUROCOPTER AS-355F-2 ECUREUIL 158 EUROCOPTER AS-355N ECUREUIL II 147 EUROCOPTER AS-365C DAUPHIN 2 45 EUROCOPTER AS-365N DAUPHIN 2 96 EUROCOPTER AS-365N-1 DAUPHIN 2 36 EUROCOPTER AS-365N-2 DAUPHIN 2 121 EUROCOPTER BK-117A-1 50 EUROCOPTER BK-117B-1 53 EUROCOPTER BK-117B-2 67 EUROCOPTER BK-117C-1 53 EUROCOPTER EC-135P1 44 EUROCOPTER EC-135P2 154 EUROCOPTER EC-135T1 86 EUROCOPTER EC-135T2 145 EUROCOPTER EC-155B 30 EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117A-1 10 EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117B 87 EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117C-1 9 MD MD EXPLORER 114 SIKORSKY S-76A 107 SIKORSKY S-76A+ 34 SIKORSKY S-76A++ 35 SIKORSKY S-76B 76 SIKORSKY S-76C 25 SIKORSKY S-76C+ 145 SIKORSKY S-76C++ 214 SIKORSKY S-76D 64 SIKORSKY S-92A 282 8.559 Total Multi Turbine Grand Total 31152 © AVDATA/JETNET

16 62 59 218 9 15 0 36 69 159 124 119 20 47 48 7 71 1 51 0 4 3 2 1 0 32 35 1 19 4 9 44 8 26 17 3 16 22 32 22 0 46 25 49 73 21 33 11 26 0 18 17 24 14 62 46 104 17 0 1 0 59 2 1 3 16 5 10 22 2 100 2.432 6851

FLEET REPORT just how far its civil helicopter industry has progressed over the last decade.

Several of its “indigenous” turbine single and twin designs are actually largely based on existing Airbus models.

India is on the cusp of one of the largest global military helicopter buys in recent memory and it is hoped that this will translate eventually downstream into more trained pilots and mechanics to support a civilian helicopter industry there that is still very much in the nascent phase. India has announced its intention to acquire more than 1,000 attack, utility and multi-role helicopters for its military branches over the next decade – a deal that could

World Area Africa Asia Central America Europe North America * Oceania South America Unknown Total

TOP TEN FLEETS

BY COUNTRY United States

9514

Canada

2326

Brazil

1830

Australia

1791

United Kingdom

1109

France

901

South Africa

900

Japan

744

Italy

725

New Zealand

719

PISTON VERSUS TURBINES Pistons 556 651 285 2.200 3.876 1.376 888 0 9.547

Single 606 1.198 661 2.219 6.375 909 1.337 398 13.046

Multi 401 1.824 260 2.432 2.497 375 817 203 8.559

Total 1.563 3.673 1.206 6.851 12.748 2.660 3.042 601 31.152

* North America includes Central America counts

READY

Bell 407 GXP at the Textron India technology center in Bangalore.

be worth between $16 and $20 billion. Estimates are that the civil market there will require rotorcraft during the same period worth another $10 to $20 billion. But doing business in India requires joint ventures and local content with a heavy upfront investment. By its own account, Bell has done this, starting Indian operations in 1995, growing its local workforce to more than 100, with its parent Textron establishing a technology center in Bangalore. Yet, over the course of more than two decades, this has resulted in a grand total of 89 Bell turbines on the Indian civil registry, according to JetNet (Airbus has 88). Over the summer, Bell announced that it was partnering with India’s Tata while Airbus teamed up Mahindra to chase future military business. But overall, the world’s most populous democracy had just 248 Western turbine helicopters on its civil registry at the end of 2016. While both China and India hold enormous promise for Western OEMs, this will be in the form of joint ventures of collaborations in the

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long-run as part of well-advertised national policies to develop indigenous manufacturing capabilities as opposed to rich direct export markets for pre-assembled finished products. For now, those two markets remain largely promissory, unlikely to contribute to meaningful boosts in the bottom line for years to come.

In the here and now, the world fleet of western made civil helicopters grew most unimpressively last year,

showing a net gain of just 406 total aircraft to 31,152. The world piston market actually contracted from 9,557 to 9,547; turbine singles increased from 12,818 to 13,046 and multiengine turbines increased anemically from 8,371 to 8,559. These are basically life support numbers.

A dive into data provided by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) paints an even starker picture. For the first nine months of 2016, Bell delivered just 79 commercial helicopters, down from 119 from the year ago period and for the third quarter of 2016 just 25, down from 45 from the year ago period; Robinson delivered 177 for the first nine months of 2016, down from 266 from the year ago period and for the third quarter delivered 61, down from 92 from the year ago period; and Sikorsky delivered just 8 helicopters during the first nine months of 2016, down from 29 from the year ago period and for the third quarter delivered just 3, half of what it did from the year ago period. And remember, by any objective standard, 2015 was awful.

It came as no surprise when Bell posted lower sales and profits for the third quarter –profits of $97 mil-

lion, down $2 million from last year and revenues declined by about 3 percent to $734 million. What was a surprise is that the company made any profit at all, helped along by sales of a few more V-22 tiltrotors to the US Military. For the first nine months of 2016, Bell delivered 8 Model 206L-4s and 45 Model 407 singles and 20 Model 429 light twins and just 3 Model 412 EPI medium twins.

Likewise it seems almost incongruous that Sikorsky was able to post a $25 million profit on such anemic sales figures, delivering just four S-76Ds and four S-92As – until you remember that they do not include the much larger military side of the house.

Nevertheless Sikorsky parent Lockheed Martin noted that its rotorcraft unit’s operating results were impacted by “favorable impacts of risk retirements, which were offset by intangible asset amortization and other adjustments required to account for the acquisition of this business” (from United Technologies).

Deliveries at Airbus Helicopters are running considerably ahead of 2015 and at first glance this appears a positive. For the first nine months of 2016, Airbus delivered 237 units, a sharp increase from the 175 for the same year ago period, and 86 in the third quarter, up from 63 in the third quarter of 2015. Looks good, right? Not so fast. A dive into the numbers shows that most of the deliveries were singles and light twins, traditionally lowmargin products: Of the 237 deliveries, 118 were singles and 93 were light twins. This helps explain why third quarter earnings were down 17 percent.

Leonardo also noted that disappointing results at its helicopter division helped dragged down results although its civilian product mix was weighted toward larger helicopters. For the first nine months of 2016, Leonardo delivered 99 units, up from 60 from the year ago period and third quarter numbers doubled to 34 from 17 from the year ago quarter. For the first nine months of 2016, the multi-role AW139 twin again was the hot seller with 38 deliveries; however, deliveries of newer twins including the AW169 and AW189 proved disappointing with just 13 AW169s being delivered and only 3 AW189s. Deliveries of next-generation medium twins since certification across all OEMs is clearly disappointing. In total, Leonardo had delivered only 13 AW169s and 33 AW189s, with a good chunk of the latter going to fulfill Bristow’s UK SAR contract, while Airbus had delivered a mere 9 H175s and Sikorsky 64 S-76Ds, with the latter being certified in 2012.

Sales of these larger helicopters are, of course, what keep the lights on in the long run and last year, as in 2015,

there was a reason for all this purchasing reticence: Cheap oil. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude collapsed to as low as $26 per barrel last year before beginning to rise but at this writing is still below $60, a far cry from the $100 price that was sparking those large fleet buy announcements and spawning the launch of new leasing companies at Heli-Expos of the recent past. Early last year, Ed Washecka, CEO of helicopter leasing company Waypoint, said: “There is no doubt that 2015 was a difficult year for the entire energy industry and a challenging time for many of our customers. While we expect further headwinds through 2016, we are optimistic that as operators make capital allocation decisions, they will increasingly recognize the benefits associated with leasing solutions, which enhance operational and financial flexibility.”

English translation: The market stinks.

OGP helicopter services company Bristow reports revenue from that sector is off 25 percent and what is really surprising, given the slide in oil prices, is that it is not off more. To understand the market and where it is going, you need to look at the offshore rig count.

Baker Hughes tracks this metric perhaps better than anyone else. Their take: “The international offshore rig count for December 2016 was 210, down 1 from the 211 counted in November 2016, and down 40 from the 250 counted in December 2015.”

Some parts of the world are doing demonstrably worse than others. In Latin America, the offshore rotary rig count dropped from 57 in December 2015 to 32 a year later, in Africa from 27 to 11 and in the Middle East from 55 to 45 during the same period. The industry consensus seems to be that a sustained price of $60 per barrel is the floor price to encourage further offshore exploration, but even with the recently announced OPEC production limits, there is healthy skepticism whether this price can be reached and sustained this year. Offshore energy industry observers note that the rig market is currently in its worst downturn since the 1980s and worldwide utilization has dropped about 20 percent – that’s right in line with the drop in business reported by OGP helicopter service companies. A significant oversupply of offshore rigs is currently being

reported and rates on existing rigs are in some cases down 50 percent. When existing rigs are not as profitable, it places downward price pressure on those who supply services to those rigs, including helicopter companies.

The promise of $60 oil may encourage some increased energy exploration and production spending, but it is only expected to be up about 3 percent to $450 billion worldwide according to the firm Wood Mackenzie. Before things started to head south in 2014 that number was fully 40 percent higher. That’s a big gap. There is a growing consensus that the helicopter OGP market may not recover until energy does – around 2020.

So where will the growth opportunities be in the meantime? The parapublic sector and helicopter EMS look like good prospects for starters. Bristow has cushioned the blow from the offshore energy downturn with an inventive contract that privatized the search and rescue mission once performed by UK Royal Air Force helicopters and turned this into a substantial revenue source – and a home for Sikorsky S-92s and Leonardo AW189s. It is hoping to replicate it elsewhere. Bell has had success selling multi-mission 429 light twins to the Turkish National Police.

Over the summer Airbus Helicopters announced a ten-year deal to provide 100 H135 light twins for assembly in China, primarily for the parapublic/EMS market there. Airbus is forecasting a demand for up to 600 light twins in China over next 20 years.

Unquestionably, the market for Western civil helicopters is more difficult and the demand curve has changed, but opportunities remain.

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EFFECT

The drop in oil prices does not make significant impact on OGP company Bristow Group operations.

AVIONICS

WHAT’S NEW IN HELICOPTER AVIONICS Steve Nichols provides a glimpse into the helicopter avionics market, keeping up to date on the latest happenings in the industry

H

CUTTINGEDGE

Universal Avionics' EFI890H advanced flight display upgrade on AS332L (right).

elicopter owners generally have access to the same types of avionics as fitted to fixed-wing aircraft. Advanced synthetic vision systems (SVS), traffic collision avoidance systems (TCAS), connectivity and integrated glass cockpits are all available.

For example, Garmin’s G500H is designed to fit neatly into the limited panel space available on a helicopter.

It features dual LCD screens with the primary flight display located on the right side and the multifunction display on the left.

Garmin’s helicopter synthetic vision technology (HSVT) is also available as an optional upgrade to the G500H. Using sophisticated computer modelling to recreate a virtual topographic landscape from the system’s terrain alerting database, HSVT gives heli-

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copter pilots a clear depiction of ground and water features, airports, obstacles, traffic and more.

When flying in areas where rising terrain may pose a hazard, Garmin’s HSVT uses its database to “paint” the landscape with amber or red overlays showing where potential controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) risks exist.

Towers or obstacles that may encroach upon one’s flight path are also colour-highlighted with hazardappropriate symbology.

Garmin’s helicopter terrain awareness system (HTAWS) also provides five-colour terrain shading and obstacles on the display. A pilot selectable configuration lets HTAWS alert the pilot with voice call-outs when their altitude descends in intervals to 500, 400, 300, 200 and 100 feet. Garmin was also recently granted an STC for

the installation of the GTX 345 ADS-B In/Out and GTX 335 ADS-B Out transponders in an approved model list (AML) of part 27 helicopters.

Universal Avionics says it has been providing flight management systems (FMS) with multi-mission search capabilities to the rotorcraft market for many years. Grady Dees, Universal’s director of technical sales, said it was the standard option on the S-76 up through the S-76C models, as well as the standard FMS option on the S-92. “We have also installed our FMS as retrofit on Bell 412s, AW-109 and BK-117 helicopters,” he said.

“Plus, our MFD-640 and MFD-890H displays have been installed as retrofit on a number of rotorcraft including AS-332, S-76 and the UH-60.”

More recently, Universal has implemented helicopter qualification changes and begun tailoring its EFI890H advanced flight display software specifically for the helicopter market.

“Our EFI-890H primary flight displays (PFD) are now flying on numerous rotary-wing platforms and with authorized dealer Heli-One, we completed a two PFD EFI-890H advanced flight display integration with dual FMS that is certified for 3D coupled RNAV approaches to LPV minimums,” Dees said.

Integration is also under way for the installation of a four display EFI890H advanced flight display suite in the S-61 helicopter. “We are also responding to numerous proposals to install EFI-890H advanced flight displays onto the AS-365 platform.

InSight displays are also being integrated into the MD900 for both forward fit and retrofit applications,” Dees said.

Rockwell Collins says its “Helicopter Cockpit Display System”, designed specifically for LeonardoFinmeccanica’s new AW-189 and AW169 platforms, plus the AW-101 “extends scalability and configurability to new levels and features advanced graphics processing, ARINC 664 AFDX networking, and support for third-party developed applications.”

It also debuted its Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system for the helicopter market in 2015. The system combines large, high-resolution displays with the ease of touch-screen operations and complemented by intuitive keypad and cursor controls.

This has been selected for the new AW-609 helicopter.

Proline 21 is also standard fit across many Airbus medium and heavy helicopters. Dan Toy, Rockwell Collins’ principal marketing manager, said: “We also have a new generation of cockpit displays developed for China’s Avic AC312 platform, plus we have our MultiScan weather radar on KAI’s Korean Utility Helicopter.

There is also increasing interest in our synthetic vision products.”

Rockwell Collins says its helicopter synthetic vision system (H-SVS) gives pilots a “real-world” view of the terrain and obstacles along their flight path.

H-SVS is part of the Rockwell Collins HeliSure product family, which offers increased situational awareness through a unique combination of integrated visualization, displays, sensors and database components.

The options helps helicopter pilots when operating in close proximity to hazardous terrain and obstacles.

Takeoffs and landings in restricted areas and operation at low altitudes, often in limited visibility, put these flights at high risk of wire or tower strikes and controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents.

But what else can we expect from Rockwell Collins? “We are currently developing sophisticated voice recognition systems and will probably see these available commercially in three to four years,” Toy concluded.

Aspen Avionics also makes reliable, solid-state avionic technologies specifically for helicopter applications. It says its products increase situational awareness and reduce pilot workload.

For example, its Pilot H PFD is a lightweight, compact and all solidstate digital replacement for legacy mechanical flight instruments.

The Pilot H is geared towards helicopter operators that fly VFR-based missions and features a base map view with flight plan overlay, display of real-time winds aloft, outside air temperature, true airspeed and ground speed, built-in backup battery and emergency GPS functionality. Its top of the range Evolution 2000H combines the 1000H Pro PFD and the 1000H MFD to provide a system with MFD versatility as well as the safety and confidence of full PFD instrument redundancy.

Aspen recently announced it had partnered with Howell Instruments to provide the cockpit display system for new production, single-engine MD Helicopters.

Sandel’s ST3400H HeliTAWS is certified and exceeds the current HTAWS TSO-C194 requirement. Specifically built for helicopters, the ST3400H combines an advanced HTAWS computer with the industry’s best display technology to provide a single panelmount, self-contained solution. The system also includes WireWatch, Sandel’s advance defence system against wire strikes that helps helicopter pilots avoid transmission lines whether they are powered on or off.

WireWatch uses unique wire alerting algorithms that use Sandel’s proprietary three-arc second wire database.

It also features TruAlert – Sandel’s proprietary alerting technology that enables pilots to take off, cruise, hover and land at off-airport locations without triggering nuisance alerts.

Honeywell’s Primus Epic is being delivered as the standard flight deck for some of the world’s most advanced commercial helicopters. Its large LCD flat-panel displays include Honeywell’s intuitive INAV interactive navigation and patented graphical flight planning functionality, with the ability to monitor weather, terrain and air traffic along the route of flight.

Up to six 8” x 10” or four 10” x 13” LCDs can be specified, allowing charts, maps and electronic engine instrumentation images to be sized for easier viewing along with engine instrumentation and crew advisories as well aircraft system synoptic, configured to meet aircraft design requirements. The cockpit includes dual primary flight displays (PFDs), dual multifunction displays (MFDs) and an engine instrument and crew advisory system (EICAS) display.

Primus Epic’s Flight Management System is integrated with the iNav system, making it the first navigation system with patented flight-plan icons pilots can use to revise flight plans and routes. The intuitive pilot interface shows key information, such as navigation, weather, terrain and air traffic, on one display so pilots have unmatched views.

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GRANTED

Garmin GTX 345 is approved for installation in more than 60 helicopter models.

AVIONICS

AWARENESS

Rockwell Collins HSVS provides helicopter pilots with a real-world view of the terrain and obstacles ahead.

Honeywell has also received supplemental type certificate approval from the EASA to install its model 1134 health and usage monitoring (HUMS) on the LeonardoFinmeccanica AW-139. This system allows operators to perform rotor track and balance and continuously monitor key mechanical rotating components and subsystems on their helicopters, enabling early detection and prediction of potential problems before they occur. Any exceedance alerts can also be sent in real time via satellite communications link using Honeywell’s Sky Connect Tracker III. The transmission cost is minimal as the message is sent in a short data burst similar to a text message.

Honeywell also offers HTAWS. To date, the enhanced ground proximity warning system has more than 800 million flight hours of data on terrain and obstacles, making it the most advanced and thorough such database in the global market. The integrated viewing technology provides real-time information on objects such as towers, bridges and antennas.

The system is based on integrated modular avionics architecture, meaning operators can take advantage of future system updates, like future communication, navigation, and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) products via easy upgrades to the software and system.

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Primus Epic is available for the Leonardo-Finmeccanica AW-139 helicopter and Honeywell Aerospace was recently awarded the “Most Innovative Helicopter Avionics Award” by China Aviation News for the integrated avionics suite for the helicopter. Head-up displays are making their mark on the rotary-wing market too.

Thales’ TopEagle is the first-ever full-colour day/night head-up civil helicopter solution compatible with all types of helmets and head-worn equipment. Using high accuracy hybrid inertial/optical position tracking technology that enables passive integration in cockpits, the system delivers compliant colour symbology.

But what about inflight connectivity on helicopters? This has always been a little problematic due to the microwave satellite signals having to pass through the rotor.

Iridium, with its slower data rate, has always been a fairly safe choice.

Used in more than 15,000 helicopters around the world, Iridium says it is the only satellite communications company to offer connectivity under moving rotor blades due to optimal degree “low look” angle connectivity near the horizon.

The Thales LiveAero solution, enabled by Iridium OpenPort broadband service, gives business helicopters reliable, low-latency and highspeed in-flight connectivity for tablets and laptops. Iridium Certus broad-

band, available as soon as Iridium’s next-generation satellites come online, will offer broadband service for operational and passenger communications with greater speeds, up to 1.4Mbps with a single user terminal.

But there are other options. A couple of years ago Inmarsat introduced new High Data Rate (HDR) capabilities for SwiftBroadband, the aircraft connectivity service provided through the Inmarsat-4 (I-4) satellites. The new service doubled the streaming inflight Wi-Fi speeds for commercial, government and helicopter users through a simple on-aircraft software upgrade. HDR came about after Inmarsat performed a software upgrade to its satellites.

SwiftBroadband’s original short-burst waveform was extended to include longer bursts of data.

The new interleaving bearers can rearrange information packets across a longer burst, making it more robust in tough conditions, including under helicopter rotors. SwiftBroadband will work under a rotor without HDR, but an industry source told me that you are more likely to see just 150200kbps.

Honeywell developed and tested HDR to increase the data speeds from Inmarsat’s L-band SwiftBroadband network over its HSD-400 and HD710 onboard hardware. In March 2016, Honeywell signed a services agreement with Safran Engineering Services to make satellite communications solutions available on more helicopter airframes and for more operators around the world.

Inmarsat’s Kurt Weidemeyer said: “We now have a lot of data regarding HDR on a helicopter. We also have some promising data from another partner having success with SwiftBroadband without using HDR.” But what about Inmarsat’s latest Kaband offering – GX Aviation – which has now had its commercial service introduction and is available in its business aviation guise as Jet ConneX? “Regarding GX, we have done nothing with respect to helicopters, nor do we plan to investigate this soon,” Weidemeyer said.

It may be that the higher frequency, higher bandwidth waveform used for GX is just not happy passing through rotor blades.

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HELICOPTER MAINTENANCE

A MILLION PARTS FLYING IN CLOSE FORMATION The helicopter maintenance market is thriving and the oil prices evolution could soon push the industry forward, writes Marc Grangier

S

omeone once said that a helicopter is really just a million parts flying in close formation, meaning its maintenance is no easy task. Though this assertion remains undoubtedly true, it is becoming dated as technological development has made a lot of progress in the last decades.

ASSISTANCE

Through HCare, Airbus Helicopters provides global customer support (right).

Zhenjiang Aerochine Aviation is Bell Helicopter's authorized Customer Service. Facility (left).

Thanks to the efforts of a number of dedicated and creative engineers, rotary wing machines have established themselves as an important actor in the aviation world – particularly in the Business Aviation field.

Because of its relatively small size, the civil helicopter MRO market is largely dominated by OEMs and civil helicopter operators. These players are in turn supported by third party or independent MRO service

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providers, who were initially mainly specialized in fixed-wing aircraft, but have since diversified their activities to come onto the helicopter maintenance market.

Expanding the Support Network The marquee helicopter manufacturers are convinced that providing the most reactive support available is the backbone of the business. This includes everything from completion

and customization to component, engine and blade repair and overhaul. This is why, according to Bell Helicopter Executive Vice President for Customer Support and Services Glen Isbell, from the beginning Bell has spent effort and money on establishing a large support network.

Today, this network includes more than 100 Authorized Customer Service facilities in 34 countries.

Last November, Bell unveiled plans for significant growth in its aftermarket support network in China. It appointed Zhenjiang Aerochine Aviation Limited, located in Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, as its newest authorized Customer Service Facility (CSF). CSF has served as Bell’s official independent representative for China, Hong Kong and Macau since 2009 and, during this time, sold more than 70 Bell Helicopters to corporate, stateowned enterprises and general aviation startups. In addition to Aerochine, Bell Helicopter now has three authorized CSFs located in China, including Shanghai KingWing General Aviation and Chongqing General Aviation. Bell Helicopter’s maintenance facility in Singapore, which recently completed 5,000 hour

inspection and customization for two Bell 412EPs, is also very active in the region, providing aircraft delivery and complete aircraft refurbishment, customization and MRO. Airbus Helicopters has also strongly invested in expanding its global

Colombia, Sikorsky maintains training and support facilities in Melgar, which also serve as Sikorsky’s regional hub for support in Latin America.

MD Helicopters recently appointed Kuala Lumpur-based Sapura Aero as

maintenance capabilities, bringing on new partners like MRO expert Vector Aerospace, which it acquired in 2011, and McAlpine in the United Kingdom (now Airbus Helicopters UK). Today, Airbus Helicopters is represented through its nearly 30 Airbus Helicopters customer centers and more than 100 MRO service centers. Last year, through the launch of HCare, Airbus Helicopters simplified and reshaped its material support services to provide a more easy-touse service, performance guarantees, competitive pricing and larger coverage. Among its enhancements are the “Easy Repair” secured turnaround time offer, which now covers 800 components across the range, meeting the vast majority of customer repair needs.

Last November, Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin announced that Colombia’s civil aviation authority had approved the Offshore and Utility Type Certificate for its Sikorsky’s S-76C series (C, C+, C++), S-76D and S-92A helicopters.

These helicopters will enable Colombia’s commercial aviation operators to add the multi-role helicopters for VIP transportation and regional airline passenger service. In

its authorized representative serving the South East Asian countries (ASEAN) of Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Sapura Aero will offer the full range of MDHI’s commercial helicopter products, as well as the optional equipment and accessories required to support them.

In December, Heli-One announced that its Rzeszow, Poland facility received EASA approval to provide base maintenance service for Leonardo AW139 helicopters. HeliOne Poland’s facility, which opened in 2014, already provides base maintenance support for Airbus AS332, H225 and H135 aircraft. Meanwhile, a month ago, RUAG Aviation was named Authorized Service Center for the Leonardo AW139 helicopter.

Capabilities include MRO, component MRO, cockpit and cabin upgrades, refurbishments and painting, as well as warranty and support services.

Last autumn, Russian Helicopters signed an agreement with Cuba’s Tecnoimport on the provision of documentation for the overhaul of Mi-8MT and Mi-8MT-1 helicopters. The work will be performed by Yuri Gagarin

Aircraft Repair Plant in Cuba. The number of Russian helicopters in Latin America exceeds 400, with the most commonly used helicopters being the Mi-8/17s – their fleet is about 320 units. In Cuba, there are about 60 helicopters of Soviet and Russian origin, and about 50 of them are Mi-8/17s.

Russian Helicopters is developing a comprehensive after-sales service system for rotorcraft in Latin America.

Duncan Aviation's avionics & instruments department has expanded its helicopter avionics capabilities by building three new diagnostic test sets in support of products from Northern Airborne Technology LTD (NAT), dba Cobham Avionics. Also since 2015, Duncan Aviation has been offering non-destructive testing (NDT) services to helicopter operators. Along with the appropriate maintenance manuals and documentation, helicopter operators can remove and send in components for any required NDT testing.

Engine Maintenance Safran and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) recently inaugurated Helicopter Engines MRO Pvt. Limited (HE-MRO), their new joint venture in Goa/Southwest India, created to

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL -2017 - 57

APPROVAL

Vector Aerospace provides worldwide support for Airbus Helicopters (left).

Sikosky rotorcraft got certified by Colombia's civil aviation authority (right).

HELICOPTER MAINTENANCE vides long-term costs and ensures a planned and preventative approach to maintenance. The ESPecially for Your PT6 engine provides the first 400 hours of coverage for free to customers of new PT6A engine-powered aircraft. On the other hand, an enhancement to P&WC’s current ESP plan offering enables customers to apply their ESP plan investment toward a new engine of the same model or a new engine conversion at time of overhaul.

Last but not least, MD Helicopters and Rolls-Royce recently announced they were continuing their partnership to provide and service M250 engines, including the new M250C47E/3 variant, for MD530-series aircraft as well as growth airframes.

VENTURE

P&WC offers PT6A maintenance program (top).

Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated HE-MRO (below).

maintain helicopter engines. This new center will provide MRO services for Safran TM333 and HAL Shakti engines installed on HAL-built helicopters. It will commence its activities in 2017, with a capacity of 50 repaired engines a year and a full-capacity goal of 150 in the coming years. The center’s capabilities may be enlarged to include other engines as mutually agreed.

JSSI, which provides hourly cost maintenance programs for a wide range of business aircraft, also provides different programs to provide varying levels of coverage to suit its clients’ engine maintenance needs. It currently serves several helicopter models, including the Airbus Helicopters EC 135 T2 / T2+ / T2e and H135.

According to Susan K. Marr, JSSI co-president and CEO, one of the advantages of its program is that JSSI has now developed strong relationships with certain maintenance providers and parts suppliers. In return, the company can lower maintenance costs through discounted repairs and lower hourly rates. For example, its Platinum program provides comprehensive coverage for engine Removal and Replacement (R&R) and shipping. Pioneered by JSSI, the pro-rata - or cost-sharing plan - is available for engine program clients in lieu of paying a fee for prior hours flown (i.e., “buy-in”) at the time of original enrollment.

Thus, a client with 1,000-hours flown, a 2,000-hour Hot Section interval,

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and a 4,000-hour time between overhaul (TBO), would be responsible for 50 percent of the first Hot Section and 25 percent of the first Overhaul following enrollment – with the program being fully responsible for all future Hot Sections and Overhauls.

Last November, StandardAero signed a new agreement with Chinese partner, Chongqing General Aviation Co., Ltd. (CQGA), establishing CQGA as the company’s first StandardAero approved service center for Rolls-Royce M250 engine maintenance services in China.

StandardAero has serviced the RollsRoyce helicopter engine family for nearly 50 years.

At NBAA, Pratt & Whitney Canada disclosed its new Eagle Service Plan (ESP) maintenance program tailored to PT6A customers, as well as a major enhancement to its current ESP plan offering. The ESP plan is a simple, cost-effective pay-per-hour engine coverage program that pro-

Light at the End of the Tunnel There is no argument, the traditional civil helicopter markets of North America and Europe have been subject to a noticeable decline for several years, and the global market continues to face significant headwinds while witnessing anemic demand growth. But there could be light at the end of the tunnel. Technavio Research’s latest “Outlook of the Civil helicopter MRO Market” anticipates the global market to grow at a moderate compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 4 percent until 2020.

Even if it represents a comparatively small percentage of the overall aviation MRO market, the helicopter maintenance market is indeed worth some US$6B annually at present.

Furthermore, the oil prices evolution now taking place could soon contribute to push up the rotorcraft demand and therefore maintenance requests.

✈

R OTO R-WIN G COMPONENT SERV I C E Duncan Aviation provides the highest in quality component repairs and overhauls with the lowest warranty rates in the industry. We have more than 1,500 avionics and instrument repair capabilities on the following model helicopters: Agusta (A109A/C/E), Bell (205, 206, 222, 412, 430, 212, 214, 429), Airbus (AS 350B/C/ D/E, AS355F/N, SA 365C/N), McDonnell Douglas (369D), Sikorsky (S-76A/B/C, S-92A)

Search online for Duncan Aviation parts and repair capabilities, request a quote, or contact a Customer Service Rep at www.DuncanAviation.aero/parts/search.

Vi s i t u s at H e li - Ex po Bo o t h # 6 0 04. +1 402.475.2611 | www.DuncanAviation.aero | 800.228.4277

PREVIEW HAI

‘TEXAS BIG’ ILLUSTRATES HELI-EXPO 2017 SHOW

I

EXCLUSIVE

HAI President Matt Zuccaro is interviewed by Kirby Harrison from BART International.

t was in 1948 that the Helicopter Association International was founded, and now, 69 years later, looking forward to displays of some 66 rotor craft, nearly 700 exhibitors and 14,000 attendees at Heli-Expo 2017, can legitimately bill itself as “the biggest helicopter trade show in the world.”

The slogan of the host City of Dallas is Big Things Happen here, and according to Heli-Expo show organizers in early January: “We’re ahead of year-todate projections for exhibitors and attendees and it appears we’re going to live up to that slogan.”

In fact, the future of the industry appears to be tipping to the positive side. HAI President Matt Zuccaro noted that the oil and gas industry are starting to recover, and flight departments have begun looking at improving economic conditions and replacing aging helicopters in their fleets. “The industry is poised for another expansion,” he said in an interview with BART International.

Zucarro also pointed to the growing use of unmanned helicopters as yet another for confidence in an industry expansion. “Every day, people are identifying new uses for helicopters, in particular in the form of unmanned aircraft,” he explained.

Zucarro highlighted that OEM Kaman has successfully demonstrated the ability of the Unmanned Aerial

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System (UAS) variant of its K-Max heavy lift helicopter for underway ship-to-ship cargo transfer for the Navy. The UAS K-Max has also served the US Marine Corps in Afghanistan, frequently delivering cargo in-theater when such a role might be too dangerous for resupply convoys.

“Every time you can eliminate even a portion of a convoy, you eliminate the possibility of someone losing their life from an IED on the roads,” said Vice Admiral David Architzel, former head of Naval Air Systems Command.

The K-Max UAS is capable of lifting up to 6,000 lbs of cargo and can carry 4,000 lbs up to altitudes of 15,000 feet.

Unmanned helicopters may also be one answer to the growing shortage of pilots, Zucarro added. “It would also open the door for other uses of pilot skills, as well as to introduce new people to our industry.”

In fact, Heli-Expo also sponsors a number of free programs for military veterans and active duty personnels, to assist them in making the transition from the military to the civilian world. It interfaces well with a career fair designed to bring employers and potential employees together.

Two of the newest elements of HeliExpo are “HAI Connect” and the “Meetup Lounge.” HAI Connect has its own floor space at the show for demonstrations, presentations and meetings on a range of topics. There will be short educational courses, an industry town hall, regulatory updates and exhibitor demonstrations.

The Meetup Lounge has been set aside for attendees to arrange meetings, or simply stop to relax and recharge.

As it does every year, explained Zuccaro, Heli-Expo has expanded its emphasis on safety, in particular its annual Rotor Safety Challenge. “It’s a three-day opportunity for anyone to become involved in any of the safety sessions [and] we’re very proud of that.”

The future of the helicopter industry appears to be tipping to the positive side and the growth of Heli-Expo is a proof for that.

Kirby Harrison previews A Stage for the Global Helicopter Industry The show will be a stage for the annual meeting of international helicopter associates, including involvement by ICAO out of Montreal, Canada. There will also be the annual meeting of HAI’s global affiliates. And there is the opportunity to network and interface with regulatory agencies on a variety of matters, from compliance to commerce.

The show is “not really a forum for speakers,” said an HAI spokesman.

However, it does provide more than 100 educational opportunities featuring panels and discussions.

Four general sessions are scheduled in Ballroom D. The first on Monday, March 6 is the HAI Safety Symposium and the topic is “Integration of UAS into the National Airspace.”

On Tuesday, March 7, HAI will host the Annual Membership Meeting and Breakfast, featuring a presentation on HAI activities by Zuccaro. Candidates for the HAI Board of Directors will also speak, allowing members to learn more about the people who may be providing direction and leadership for the association.

There will be two scholarship funding-raising events on behalf of the Helicopter Foundational International. They include an Online silent auction that begins February 27

and a golf tournament on Sunday, February 5 before the official show opening. Both events raise money for scholarships allowing students pursuing careers as pilots or maintenance professionals.

Most of all, Heli-Expo provides the industry an opportunity to exhibit the latest technology and products, and to conduct commerce. According to HAI, Heli-Expo 2016 resulted in more than $2 billion in business, from the show itself throughout the following year. “One smaller exhibitor told us he did more business in the three Heli-Expo, in particular its CH-47D Chinook. A Columbia Helicopters Vertol 107-II played the starring role in the recent installation of a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit into place at the South Center Mall in Seattle. And in Minnesota, Columbia added internal fire-fighting tanks to its fleet of CH-47D helicopters and the success was immediate. In its first action, the big twinengine rotorcraft filled its fire-fighting tanks 21 times in a single fuel cycle to extinguish a 100-acre fire. days of the show than he had done the entire year before,” said Zucarro.

It was in 1980 that Heli-Expo outgrew hotel meeting rooms and moved to larger venues offered by exhibition centers. The first of those was in Las Vegas, the same place Heli-Expo 2018 will convene February 27 to March 3.

The Big Show Draws the Big Names Heli-Expo traditionally draws the bigname helicopter manufacturers, some arriving on a wave of recent orders and others celebrating a big year in 2016.

Orders and profits aside, Heli-Expo is the place to be for the entire industry.

Airbus Helicopters comes to HeliExpo with a Contractor Logistics Support contract from the US Army to provide spare parts, material and engineering support for the Army’s UH-72A Lakota fleet of utility and training helicopters.

It includes a base year and four oneyear options with a potential five-year value of more than $967 million. Also in December, the rotorcraft giant delivered three H145 helicopters to Air Methods for hospital-based air medical operations.

Bell Helicopter and TRU Simulation+Training, both Textron companies, announced in January that the Bell Helicopter Training Academy in Valencia, Spain, along with its Bell 429 full flight simulator, have been certified by EASA. The certification marks the official completion of the academy, serving training needs of European, Middle Eastern and other global customers. In addition, the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X has been certified by Transport Canada.

Columbia Helicopters will be featuring its heavy lift capabilities at

Enstrom Helicopter delivered an F28F in September, the third rotorcraft to be sold through Sharkey’s in nine months. Other customers have taken delivery of a 480B and an F28F. Elsewhere at Enstrom, the flight test program on the TH180 continues.

The third aircraft is a fully conforming prototype and certification is anticipated this year. The TH180 is intended as a training helicopter and the company anticipates global market reception. Certification flight testing is expected to be complete by mid-2017.

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DISPLAY

Airbus UH-72A Lakota (top), TRU's Bell 429 Full Flight Simulator (center) and Enstrom F-28.

PREVIEW HAI twin rotorcraft. Deliveries to Sino-US Intercontinental Helicopter Investment are slated to being this year.

This quarter, MD Helicopters is delivering the last of an order for six MD 530G scout/attack helicopters to the Malaysia Ministry of Defense.

Meanwhile, MD is promoting enhancements to its MD 902 Explorer and working on plans for a new singleengine attack helicopter it calls the 6XXX. At Heli-Expo, Robinson Helicopter will be showing off its new, two-place R44 Cadet. The company believes

LEGACY

The Sikorsky S-92 (top), MD 920 Explorer (left), AW169 (right) and Kaman K-MAX (below).

Erickson will arrive at Heli-Expo after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 8 last year. According to the Oregon-based heavy lift specialist: “This is first and foremost, a financial restructuring [and] during the restructuring the company will operate in the ordinary course of business.” The plan of reorganization, according to Erickson, “will dramatically reduce its total indebtedness and allow it to exit bankruptcy with a stronger balance sheet in early 2017.”

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Kaman Aerospace plans delivery of two of its manned K-Max heavy-lift utility helicopters to Lectern Aviation Supplies of China. The orders are the first from a Chinese customer and the two craft will be employed fighting fires for the China Department of Forestry.

The newly christened Italian OEM Leonardo Helicopters (formerly AgustaWestland) comes to Heli-Expo following the sale of 30 additional EMS helicopters to China. The order is for a mix of AW139 and AW169 medium

HeliSAS Autopilot, air conditioning and a 2,400 hour TBO brings operating costs closer to the R22, making it an attractive trainer for flight schools and pilots trying to build hours. Robinson has delivered two Cadets to Heliflite Australia and another two to Sky Helicopters, a Part 141 flight school and a Robinson dealer.

Sikorsky is at its second Heli-Expo as a Lockheed Martin company and the critical design review of the VH92A President Helicopter Replacement Program is near completion. The $1.24 billion, US Navy contract was awarded in 2014; good news is that since HeliExpo 2016 there was a contract for six S-70i Black Hawks for the Chilean Air Force. When delivered in 2018, they will fulfill Chile’s requirement to perform both military and humanitarian missions. In addition, Colombian aviation authorities have approved a Sikorsky S-76C series and S-92 to be used in offshore oil and gas support and Sikorsky has made delivery to Alaska’s North Slope Borough of an S92 heavy twin configured for EMS and SAR.

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The 2017 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) will have over 27,000 attendees, 1,100 exhibitors, and 2 static displays of aircraft – one inside the exhibit hall and the other outside at Henderson Executive Airport. Don’t miss this important opportunity to gain brand recognition and be seen as an industry leader at the world’s largest business aviation event. Learn more and submit your application today.

SUBMIT APPLICATION: www.nbaa.org/2017/exhibitbart

EASA

EASA FINALLY EMBRACES CAT SET-IMC OPERATIONS After over two decades of seemingly fruitless discussions, this spring the European Commission is expected to implement a new ruling to allow single engine turboprop commercial air transport aircraft to operate at night or in IFR conditions.

Written by Volker K. Thomalla

T

his is welcome news for EU operators, who have been waiting for this ruling for a long time while watching their counterparts in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia using single engine turboprop aircraft for commercial transport at night and in IMC (CAT SET-IMC) since the 1990s.

EASA first looked at the issue in 2012, taking steps to create a level playing field across Europe. The reason for the move was that although some countries like France, Switzerland and Finland allowed this type of operations for domestic flights, the conditions differed from country-to -country. As a result, EASA felt that a harmonization was overdue.

Two factors played a role in EASA’s decision to pursue CAT SET-IMC. First was environmental. As the regulations did not allow operators to use the most modern aircraft with a better environmental footprint, they had to use older twin engine types. The other factor was pure economics. Due to the lack of aircraft, low-density routes in Europe were not being served, thus limiting the possibility for those living in remote areas of Europe to travel – in contradiction to the EU’s principle of the free movement of people.

The Details With Opinion 06/2015, EASA proposed to introduce a new Subpart L into Annex V of Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, which defines the require-

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ments for CAT SET-IMC, especially in terms of aircraft equipment, flight planning, flight procedures and crew experience and training. The proposal sees the introduction of a specific approval procedure for CAT SET-IMC operations. First, the aircraft/engine combination has to have a proven safety and reliability track record.

EASA has used several risk assessment studies to show that the fatal accident rate for CAT SET-IMC operations is in line with the required targets. Today, only one engine family can realistically fulfill the requirements: Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PT6A. The aircraft itself will not need a specific SET-IMC certification, but the operator has to have an approval for CAT SET-IMC operations from his competent authority. To get this approval, the operator needs to provide evidence that the turbine engine has an acceptable level of reliability, achieved in-service by the world fleet for that particular airframe/engine combination. Furthermore, specific maintenance procedures have to be in place to ensure the continued airworthiness and reliability of the aircraft and its engine, and the aircraft must be equipped with an engine monitoring program.

Other equipment required for SETIMC operations includes – amongst others: an airborne weather-detecting system; a radio altimeter; a landing light capable of illuminating the

touch-down point on the power-off glide path from 200ft away; an emergency electrical supply system with sufficient capacity and endurance to power all essential flight and area navigation instruments during descent from maximum operating altitude after an engine failure; and an ignition system that activates automatically or is capable of being manually operated for take-off, landing and during flight, in visible moisture.

Flight crews operating under IFR are required to have a minimum of 700 hours of flight time, including 400 hours as pilot-in-command. These hours must include 100 hours under IFR and 40 hours in multi-engined operations. In operational terms, the crew has to plan their flights in a way that they are “only conducted along routes or within areas where surfaces are available that permit a safe forced landing”.

Set to Spur Demand The new regulations will spur demand, there’s no doubt about it. As Denis Parisien, Vice President General Aviation at Pratt & Whitney Canada, told BART: “We have been working closely with EASA on singleengine IFR certification. The ruling will open up new short-haul routes between city-pairs, including smaller airports that cannot accommodate jets, but can easily manage small passenger turboprops.”

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TURBOPROPS As EASA alleviates rules for commercial air transport at night or in bad visual conditions, there is a significant boost in single-engine turboprop sales.

Capt. LeRoy Cook reports

SINGLE ENGINE TURBOPROPS IN COMMERCIAL

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ow that EASA has finally begun to craft rules permitting some commercial operations using single-engine turboprop airplanes, a heretofore unavailable mode of transportation may become available for Europe, as it exists in most other regions of the world. There can be no doubt that operating economics of an aircraft are improved by having only one engine to feed and maintain. But how can a reasonable expectation of safety be assured? EASA, and, before it, JAA, has wrestled with this conundrum for nearly a quarter of a century.

For the highest levels of safety, more than mere engine-failure must be considered. Given the widespread acceptance of integrated avionics suites and engine management, redundant electrical power is vital. Because pressurization will be lost if the single engine ceases to function, supplemental oxygen supply is critical. Fuel pumps, pneumatic and hydraulic pressure and environmental comfort are all subject to engine power loss.

The likelihood of an inflight shutdown of a PT6A engine is quoted as occurring only once in 370,000 hours.

Piston powerplants can’t match such a reliability record, and even if equipped with two of them, the ability of the pilot to maintain control with asymmetrical thrust is often lacking.

Therefore, if commercial operations are permitted with twin piston engines, the odds would certainly favor allowing single-engine turboprops to operate as well. But, statistics notwithstanding, some clients will never accept flying with only one powerplant.

Beyond Europe, however, practically all governing bodies allow CAT-SET IMC (commercial air transport with single-engine turbine airplanes in instrument meteorological conditions). Oddly enough, two of the major

builders of single-engine turboprops, Daher and Pilatus, are located in Europe. Clearly, it’s time for EASA to conclude the discussion of removing the SET ban and let the marketplace decide if single-engine turboprops are acceptable.

Rather than widespread replacement of turboprop twins with singles, SET manufacturers are expecting a new niche in the market to develop. For reasons of payload, range, cabin volume and passenger comfort, there will always be a need for twins. But there’s also a place for the singles, from the standpoints of environmental impact, cost of operation and fitting the machine to the mission.

As of this writing, the final rules have yet to be seen, but EASA is logically expected to require CAT SET airplanes to have multiple sources of electrical generation, extra crew training and maintenance requirements and perhaps brighter landing lights to increase survival chances in a night forced-landing scenario.

The greatest safety enhancement of the single-engine turboprop is the crashworthiness afforded by its certification requirements of a 61-knot stalling speed in landing configuration.

While frequently compromised by providing “equivalent means of crashworthiness”, such as stronger structure and crushable seats and mountings,

the SET’s inherently low stalling speed assures a better chance of surviving in a crash than would be case with a faster-stalling twin-engine airplane.

Further, the glide ratio of a lightly wing-loaded single-engine airplane allows a wide radius of engine-out range.

Market Overview

Pilatus PC-12NG For now, the Pilatus PC-12 represents the largest and most-capable single-engine turboprop, seating up to nine passengers in an expansive cabin. Because of the aircraft’s big power-actuated aft cargo door and forward airstair entrance, the PC-12 is frequently used for a combination of passengers and freight. The PC-12NG was given a do-over last year with aerodynamic clean-ups, a new fiveblade Hartzell composite-blade propeller and improvements to the Honeywell Apex flight deck.

Nearly 1,500 of the PC-12s have been sold since it was introduced in 1995.

The company expected to deliver 90 PC-12NGs in 2016. With its 1,845-shp PT6A-67P engine rated at 1,200 shp, allowing flat rating for high temperatures, the PC-12NG can cruise as fast as 285 knots. Thanks to the larger wing and effective flaps, it can take off over a 50-foot barrier in 2,600 feet and range as far as 1,840 nautical miles.

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FAVORITE

The Pilatus PC-12NG has been a popular aircraft in its category since it entered service in 2008.

TURBOPROPS Using the 600-shp version of the PT6A-42A engine, the M600 incorporates a Garmin G3000 flight deck, with safety features like automatic level mode, electronic stability protection and underspeed protection. With ESP, resistance is fed to the control yoke to “nudge” a steep bank angle back toward level flight, even with the autopilot off.

The M600’s 6,000-pound takeoff weight contributes to 2,400 pounds of useful load, about 700 pounds more than the M500, and larger fuel tanks can allow a maximum range of 1,100 Daher TBM 930 First to the single-engine turboprop market, certificated in 1990, the venerable TBM series offers speed and utility approaching many light jets.

The TBM 900-series can cruise at up to 330 knots and is certificated to fly as high as 31,000 feet. Using the PT6A-66D engine delivering 850 shp, the TBM’s large cargo door, incorporating entrance stairs, adds versatility, with an optional forward crew door for maximum use of the cabin. With the TBM 930, Garmin’s G3000 avionnautical miles. The six-place cabin is compact, contributing to the airplane’s 260-knot maximum cruise speed.

CHOICE

Single engine turboprop giants Piper M600 (top), TBM 930 (center) and Cessna Denali.

ics suite was offered; the previous TBM 900, with G1000 avionics, remains in the product line.

An Elite cabin option permits rapid conversion from executive club seating to a forward-facing configuration, with the rear-most seats replaced by a larger cargo area. On the other hand, in 2016 an Elite Privacy aft lavatory installation was made available, with solid walls unfolding at the touch of a button to enclose a toilet area. There seems to be nothing the TBM can’t provide.

For workload-reduction and safety, Daher has incorporated Garmin’s latest ESP (electronic stability and pro-

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tection) and USP (underspeed protection) to prevent loss-of-control and envelope exceedances by monitoring the flight parameters and stabilizing the aircraft. Fuel balancing has always been automated in the TBMs. Piper M-Class Turboprops Now delivering the M600 singleengine turboprop, Piper has retained the M500 for reasons of cost and personal-size individual use. In commercial SET operation, the M600 will probably be slightly more attractive, since its higher gross weight provides the payload and range needed.

Textron Aviation’s Cessna Denali After the decision to proceed with development of a single-engine turboprop was announced by Textron Aviation in 2015, the question was whether it would be a Beechcraft or a Cessna product. As the first all-new aircraft since the merger of the two companies, the nod went to .Cessna, which produces the single-engine Caravan turboprops.

The Denali, however, will serve an entirely different market from the Caravan. It will be a high-flying pressurized retractable, as large as any competitor, and, unlike the rest of the SET field, it will be powered by a 1,240-shp GE turbine, not the ubiquitous Pratt & Whitney. The avionics suite will be the Garmin G3000 system.

The Denali is expected to cruise at 285 knots, offer a four-passenger range of 1,600 nmi and have an 1,100lb full-fuel payload. Seen in mock-up form, the Denali cabin will be spacious, suited for executive use.

Cessna Grand Caravan EX In production since 1985, Cessna more-or-less scaled up its 206 Stationair six-seat piston airplane to create the Caravan, using 600/675shp PT6A-114s to propel the unpressurized, fixed-gear, strut-braced, high-wing airframe. In its latest variant, the Grand Caravan EX, 192 more shaft-horsepower has been installed to boost climb and altitude performance, using the PT6A-140 of 867 shp. The short-cabin Caravan 675 remains in the line, if 340 cubic feet of cabin space isn’t needed, but the

Quest Aircraft Kodiak Certificated in 2007, Quest Aircraft’s Kodiak is only slightly smaller than the Cessna 208, seating up to 10 in a utility role. Similarly fitted with a strut-braced high wing and rugged fixed tricycle landing gear, the Kodiak uses a 750-shp PT6A-34 powerplant, turning a fourblade Hartzell propeller, with a maximum useful load of just over 3,500 pounds. Cruise speed is as high as 183 knots and the cabin volume is 248 cubic feet. A belly pod is also optional.

bulk of sales are for the Grand Caravan EX. The flight deck features a Garmin G1000 suite of instrumentation and avionics, and if plush seating is desired, an Oasis interior option can be installed by Cessna’s Wichita neighbor Yingling Aviation.

No slouch in the performance department, the Grand Caravan EX can cruise at up to 195 knots and range out to 1,125 nmi if fully fueled.

Seating up to 14, depending on the rules in the operator’s country, the aircraft’s useful load can be as high as 4,284 pounds. An optional belly pod adds even more space.

With eight feet less wingspan than the Caravan, the Kodiak manages tighter quarters more easily. The Garmin G1000 three-panel flight deck is installed and options from floats to skydiving kits provide every flexibility desired. Owned by the Japan-based Tsuenishi Group, Quest Aircraft recently sold 20 Kodiaks for use by a Tokyo charter operator, Setouchi Holdings, who is the Quest distributor for Japan.

Blackhawk Caravan Conversions Given its 30-year plus production history, Cessna’s Caravan is a logical target for aftermarket engine upgrades, like the Texas Turbines Garrett 900-shp Supervan conversion or the well-known Blackhawk Modifications PT6A enhancements.

Blackhawk offers either its longestablished 850-shp PT6A-42A mod or the more-recent 867-shp PT6A-140 conversion. Each offers significant performance improvements.

Epic E1000 As a planned certificated outgrowth of previous kit airplanes, the Epic E1000 has roots dating back to 2004.

Located in the former 200,000-squarefoot Cessna composite single-engine plant in Bend, Oregon, USA, Epic previously pursued an ambitious singleengine jet and other programs, and after going through bankruptcy in 2009 it is now concentrating solely on certification of the E1000. Following a brief Chinese ownership, the company is presently owned by Russian company Engineering LLC. An all-composite six-seat design, the E1000 is powered by a Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-67A engine, flat-rated at 1,200 shp. Quoted cruise

speed is 325 knots, certification is planned to 34,000 feet and range will be as much as 650 miles. Because the airframe is built of carbon fiber, the full-fuel payload is quoted to be over 1,100 pounds.

A three-screen Garmin G1000 avionics deck is planned and torque limiting and automated fuel balancing will lessen pilot workload. The certification effort began in April of 2013 and has resulted in steadily-advancing target dates for completion.

Clearly, EASA’s relaxing of the CAT SET prohibition will bring a boost to single-engine turboprop sales.

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ASSORTMENT

Kodiak (top), Cessna Grand Caravan EX (left), Blackhawk Caravan Conversion (right) and Epic E1000 (bottom).

RISK MANAGEMENT

RISK MANAGEMENT FOR SINGLE ENGINE OPS Even though accident statistics are all in favor of single-engine turbine commercial operations, zero risk does not exist.

Capt. LeRoy Cook shares critical tips on risk management and safety precautions

C SAFETY

The best riskreduction strategy for single-engine operations is simply to be powered by a turbine.

ommercial operations using single-engine aircraft are permitted in most of the regions of the world, with varying restrictions depending on the country involved. Some prohibit such operations during hours of darkness, given the hazards of executing a forced landing in the dark should the one and only engine fail. In others, operation in instrument meteorological conditions cannot be undertaken unless visual flight rules weather prevails under the IMC, providing a somewhat reasonable chance of locating a forced landing spot after breaking out.

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Restrictions such as these can give pause to clients who are contemplating flight in a single-engine aircraft.

Prudent risk management has to consider the likelihood of an engine or system failure and what provisions can be made to mitigate it, including back-up systems. Obviously, there’s no back-up for the powerplant, but the electrical system, avionics and other vital systems can, and should, have redundancy.

Turboprop engines generate power in response to a throttle setting, which signals a fuel controller, backed up by one or more governors that manage engine speed. In gener-

al, single-engine turboprop power quadrants will also include a manual fuel control lever, so if the engine’s complex controller system goes inoperative the pilot has a rough method of setting engine power directly, adequate to get the aircraft on the ground.

Cessna Caravan airplanes also have a back-up operating lever for the electric wing flaps, in case the primary flap motor fails out in the bush with the flaps fully extended. And, given that most single-engine turboprops have two wing tanks feeding only one engine, fuel balancing is required to keep weight equalized on both sides; a back up method of equalizing the fuel load will be provided. Electrical redundancy is usually provided by using multiple sources of electrical generation, plus robust batteries.

The best risk-reduction strategy for single-engine airplanes is simply to have a turbine engine. Once they’ve been started, turbine engines have much less likelihood of an in-flight shutdown than piston engines, on the order of once in 370,000 hours for the ubiquitous Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop, for example. Turbines are just very, very reliable. Nevertheless, they have been known to quit, so there should be mitigation techniques applied to the operation of any singleengine aircraft, turbine-powered or not.

Consider Where You’re Going Flight planning should take into account the nature of the terrain over which one is flying. Crossing large bodies of water should be done only if personal floatation gear is provided, and a stocked life raft must be ready for use.

If the route is over mostly mountainous terrain, jungle, heavily wooded forests or other inhospitable areas, consider that it should be flown only in a reliable twin-engine aircraft, particularly if the flight is to be made in darkness.

As we said, there is an order of magnitude difference in safety between single-engine piston-engine operations and single turbine operation. Although turbine engines have been known to stop without warning, it is quite rare and with good trend monitoring their health is relatively easy to assure.

Turbine stress is largely rotational; slinging a fan blade or turbine disk from the spinning shafts in the engine is the usual failure mode. Piston engines, on the other hand, are constantly pumping their parts up and down, reversing direction while manipulating their explosive power pulses into rotation. Stress on connecting rods, crankshafts and even pushrods and camshafts is a destructive force requiring designed-in restraint.

Because today’s piston powerplants usually peak out at under 400 horsepower, commercial single-engine operation will rely heavily on more-powerful turboprop engines of 500-1,200 shaft horsepower. The amount of payload available with a single-engine piston engine seldom is enough to pay the bills. Turboprops, and eventually single-engine jets, can handily fill the void between single or twin piston engine aircraft and light jets.

Mitigating the Risks Even so, commercial single-engine turboprop operations require some added risk management. As we mentioned earlier, routes should be chosen to avoid surface features posing disastrous outcomes during a forced landing. IMC conditions should be flown with an eye on the prevailing surface conditions; insist on at least 1,000 feet of ceiling and three miles of visibility, rather than zero-zero circumstances.

Give consideration to the availability of airports within gliding range of the aircraft, which can be surprisingly large, thanks to the single-engine airplane’s

large wing area, a design criteria to meet the low stalling speed certification standards for single-engine airplanes.

From 20,000 feet AGL, a Pilatus PC-12 can glide just over 50 nautical miles, with its propeller feathered and flying at 110 knots or less, as adjusted for weight. A Piper M500 will glide 58 nautical miles from 20,000 feet before reaching sea level, in clean, featheredprop configuration at 100 knots. These happy circumstances, however, must be tempered with realization that the ground isn’t always at sea level, and flying into an always-likely headwind reduces the gliding range. I would plan on safely gliding one nautical mile for each thousand feet above the targeted airport’s traffic pattern.

More importantly, the cabin’s pressurization may quickly leak off during 30 minutes of gliding, requiring the donning of emergency oxygen masks until reaching 10,000 to 12,000 feet, which probably means the descent rate will be have to increased to reach a breathable altitude before the O2 runs out, reducing available range. At the same time, the battery-supplied electrical power is draining away, despite load-shedding efforts, leading to eventual failure of the flight instruments and radios, and leaving the flaps inert. The landing gear may be deployable via an emergency extension system, but its use requires prior planning.

It’s best to plan an engine-out arrival to reach the emergency airport or landing spot with at least 1,500 feet of altitude remaining, rather than depending on maximum-range optimism. This allows some maneuvering time to fly a normal traffic pattern, whose twisting and turning permits adjustment of the approach to reach final with extra altitude “in the bank”.

If a surfeit of height remains as the aircraft coasts across the airport, be careful how you use it up. If circling is required, you should know, from prior practice, how many feet a normal 360degree turn consumes. Do not make overly-cautious shallow banked circles.

Less altitude will be lost per turn if you use a steeper bank; the sink rate will increase, but less time is spent in the turn. Bear in mind that artificial attitude references will probably be inoperative at this point; use your visual skills to establish a bank and avoid a stall. Stall speed increase is minor up to 30 degrees of bank, less than 10 percent.

Glider Flying Techniques One can borrow some basic rules from glider flying to increase the chances of reaching a safe engine-out touchdown. The principles to be applied are simply energy management; keep enough stored energy in the aircraft to overcome mistakes and unplanned circumstances. Altitude is our source of flying energy, so don’t expend it all before you’re finished flying.

Begin by attempting to stay upwind of the airport during the descent.

Center any circles on the departure end of the runway, not the approach end, so any uncorrected drifting will be in a safe direction. Have key altitudes in mind, vertical points where you want to be when you finish the downwind leg, turn base and roll onto final. If you wind up lower than desired, tighten up the pattern size and fly directly toward the end of the runway. Always be aware that dropping the landing gear will add drag in the last stages of the approach.

With the field well within reach as you enter downwind, it’s a good idea to deploy approach flaps and tack on five or ten knots of extra airspeed.

Carry those through your pattern so if a downdraft or late turn is encountered, you can retract some flap and reduce to best-glide speed to make up for the shortage of energy. Lower full flaps only after a safe touchdown is assured. Be high on final, not low; it’s better to leave the far end of the runway at 20 knots than to hit the approach lights at 120.

The best way to avoid an engine-out scenario to insist on extra-careful maintenance and piloting standards.

Keep plenty of fuel in reserve, keep multiple alternate airports in range, and avoid flying over totally unsurvivable spaces. Practice best-glide and traffic patterns with the engine idling, so your skills will be ready if needed.

Have an engine-trend monitoring program in place, to spot early warning signs, and don’t defer potentially critical maintenance items. If you only have one engine, keep it healthy.

The statistics are all in favor of single-engine turbine commercial operations. Just make sure you don’t wind up as a statistic, due to your own failure to consider risk management.

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PREVIEW Over the course of its 25 year history, Aero Friedrichshafen has evolved from a small regional aviation show into a global event for the General and Business Aviation crowd.

This year’s edition will see an expanded focus on Business Aviation.

By Volker K. Thomalla

AERO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN TURNS 25 A

ACHIEVEMENT

Last year's show saw a high number of aircraft displays, including the Legacy 500 (below).

ERO Friedrichshafen 2017, which will run April 5 – 8, comes with big expectations. Last year the show boasted over 600 exhibiting companies and more than 30,800 industry visitors – and this year’s edition looks set to surpass these impressive numbers. In fact, the show was nearly fully booked as of November 2016. The show’s success is partially due to its location. On the one hand, the purposebuilt Messe Friedrichshafen offers direct access to the Friedrichshafen Airport, making it convenient for visitors to stroll outside onto the static display without having to go through additional security screening. On the other hand, the show’s location on the shores of pristine Lake Constance in Sothern Germany is a selling point in its own right.

Although historically a General Aviation show, over the past decade show organizers have focused on expanding the event’s Business Aviation offering. This year Embraer, Textron Aviation, Gulfstream, Pilatus, Honda Aircraft, Daher, Kodiak and Piper Aircraft all have exhibition space booked.

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Embraer Embraer Executive Jet will be exhibiting via its German dealer Atlas Air Service. The company plans to showcase its entry-level Phenom 100E jet, along with the Phenom 300, Legacy 450 and Legacy 500. According to the company, it is currently in the process of moving the production for all four of these aircraft from Brazil to the US. The Phenom 100, Phenom 300 and Legacy 450 assembly is already in place at Embraer’s Melbourne, Florida facility.

Although assemblage of the Legacy 450 only started in June, the

first Melbourne-assembled Legacy 450 was already handed over to an undisclosed US customer, who also owns a Phenom 300. The second Legacy 450 from Melbourne is scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2017. Assembly of the larger Legacy 500 will begin in Melbourne in early 2017 following the arrival of the first fuselage section from Botocatu, Brazil.

Meanwhile, the Legacy 500’s wings are being manufactured in Embraer’s facility in Evora, Portugal, and shipped over to the US.

Textron Aviation Textron Aviation will have several business aircraft on display, including the Beechcraft King Air 250, Cessna Citation M2 and Cessna Citation CJ3+. In the first three quarters of 2016, the company has handed over – amongst others – 23 King Air 250, 15 CJ3+ and 26 Citation M2.

Highlighting the importance of the German and European markets, the company recently announced the addition of a new mobile service unit (MSU) based at Egelsbach Airport, near Frankfurt.

The MSU will be located in Hahn Air’s brand new hangar. “We are very pleased to welcome the first Textron Aviation MSU in the Frankfurt area to our hangar in Egelsbach,” says Hahn Air Lines

General Manager and COO Daniel Rudas. “For us, it is more than providing space for an MSU – it is a reinforcement of our commitment to our partner Textron Aviation.”

The new MSU enhances Textron Aviation’s factory-direct service offerings for Citation, King Air and Hawker operators in Germany and across Europe. The MSU’s, which are equipped to respond to scheduled and unscheduled aircraft service needs, are staffed with technicians who can perform limited inspections, engine, tire

and brake service on Citation, King Air and Hawker aircraft.

“With more than 300 jet and turboprop customers throughout Germany, we remain committed to making quality, factory-direct support convenient and accessible,” says Textron Aviation Senior Vice President of Customer Service.

“The addition of this MSU is further evidence of the significant investment we continue to make in our service network in Germany and throughout Europe.”

HondaJet Last year’s AERO Friedrichshafen marked an important milestone for Honda Aircraft, with the company delivering the first HondaJet in Europe. The aircraft was officially handed over to dealer Rheinland Air Service (RAS) during a special ceremony held on the exhibition floor.

“For more than 40 years, Rheinland Air Service has been serving the European Business Aviation market with superior aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities, as well as aircraft sales, support and fueling,” said RAS Chairman Johannes Graf von Schaesberg.

“With the delivery of our HondaJet, we look forward to showcasing its class-leading performance and fuel efficiency to our customers across central Europe.”

Since then, Honda Aircraft has not only received EASA type certification for the HA-420 HondaJet in Europe, but also the FAA’s production certificate, which allows the company to produce, flight test and issue airworthiness certificates for the HondaJet for customer deliveries. Furthermore, production ramp-up continues to gain pace. With the first two aircraft being delivered in December 2015, as of the first quarter of 2016 the delivery number rose to three aircraft and to seven during the second quarter. The third quarter closed with six deliveries, with plans for continued ramp-up throughout 2017.

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SHOWCASE

Cessna Citation CJ3+ (top) and HondaJet (below) were present at the fairgrounds last year.

PREVIEW The latest version of the type comes with a new five blade composite propeller. Together with some aerodynamic refinements, the new model PC12 can accelerate to a maximum cruise speed of 285 kts. Pilatus expects to deliver the 1,500th PC-12 in mid-2017, and the worldwide fleet of PC-12 aircraft will also surpass the 6 million hours milestone at about the same time.

As the Swiss company is located a mere 60 nautical miles (115 km) from the show site, there is speculation that it will send a prototype its light The Single Engines In the light of the upcoming new EU regulations that are expected to allow single engine commercial operations of turboprop aircraft at night and in IMC in Europe, this market segment is set to take center stage at the show in Friedrichshafen. Textron Aviation have its Cessna Grand Caravan EX on the static display, while Daher will be showing its TBM 930. And Quest recently announced that it will be bringing its Kodiak.

The central European Piper Dealer, Piper Deutschland AG, is one of the longest-standing exhibitors at AERO. utility jet Pilatus PC-24, which is in flight test right now, for a surprise visit. But that is purely speculation.

UPCOMING

Turboprops are set to take center stage at the show with Pilatus PC-12 NG (top), Piper M500 (center) and TBM 930 in display.

At last year’s event, Piper Aircraft sold the first Piper M500 turboprop single into Switzerland. Since then, the aircraft type has received EASA type certification. Meanwhile, the M500’s larger sibling, the Piper M600, made its NBAA-BACE debut in October 2016.

Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A turboprop engine, it is the most advanced and the most capable aircraft in Piper’s product line. It seats up to six and features a maximum speed of 274 kts. The maximum range

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is at about 1,484nm (2,748km) at cruise speed. The aircraft also comes with enhanced safety features, including Emergency Descent Mode, Electronic Stability Protection, Level Mode and Underspeed / Overspeed Protection.

Pilatus Aircraft will be landing a PC12 NG in Friedrichshafen. Again in 2016, the PC-12 remains the bestselling single engine pressurized turboprop.

Last year the company delivered 90 aircraft, which is an increase of 20 percent compared to 2015’s deliveries.

Beyond the OEMs But AERO isn’t just about the aircraft.

There will be also be plenty of exhibits from a range of suppliers, service providers and MRO companies, including Garmin International, Bendix/King

by Honeywell, Jeppesen, Air Alliance, Atlas Air Service, and Beechcraft Berlin Aviation.

The AERO conferences have also become an important part of the fourday show, bringing the event its reputation as being the communication platform for the industry to exchange ideas and knowledge. As most of the AERO visitors are pilots themselves, companies are looking for their input.

In 2016, the show hosted over 100 panel discussions, workshops and conferences covering general topics as aviation security, aviation safety, new trends in avionics and even the future of Berlin-Tegel as a Business Aviation airport.

✈

Join European business leaders, government officials, manufacturers, flight department personnel and all those involved in business aviation for the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2017). Visit the website to learn more and register today.

REGISTER TODAY www.ebace.aero

MEBAA REPORT

MEBAA: A DECADE OF EXCELLENCE

T

DEBUT

It was the first time Cessna Latitude (left) and HondaJet (right) showed up at MEBAA.

he Middle East and Northern Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) celebrated its 10th anniversary with the MEBAA Show 2016 in Dubai. The key takeaway: thanks to rising oil prices the region is optimistic for a return to growth in Business Aviation.

MEBAA 2016 was a success, with over 460 exhibitors from 48 countries presenting their products and services at the recently rebranded Dubai South Aviation District. The event welcomed 9,042 attendees and the static display boasted 45 aircraft, ranging from the piston-twin Diamond DA42 to the bizliner Boeing 757, of which two were on display.

First-timers like the Falcon 8X, the Citation Latitude and the HondaJet were a welcomed addition to the impressive line-up of business aircraft.

One of the big headlines from the show was Dassault’s choice of Dubai for the Middle East debut of its new ultra-long-range trijet Falcon 8X. The type gained its FAA and EASA type certificate in June 2016, and entered into service in October. In November, the first Falcon 8X was handed over to the first Middle East customer.

“The delivery of a Falcon 8X to a regional operator barely a month after entry-into-service of the first aircraft says a lot about the important role the Middle East is expected to play in the success of our new flagship,” says Dassault Director of

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The Middle East and Northern Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) celebrated its 10th anniversary with the MEBAA Show 2016 in Dubai.

The region is optimistic for a return to growth in Business Aviation thanks to rising oil prices.

Penned by Volker K. Thomalla

International Sales for the Middle East Renaud Cloatre. Due to its range of 6,450 nm (11,930 km) – in combination with its large cabin – Dassault expects the Falcon 8X to be a popular aircraft in the region.

Another first at MEBAA 2016 was Textron Aviation’s Citation Latitude.

The midsize jet is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306D1 turbofans, enabling it to cruise at a maximum operating altitude of 45,000 ft (13,716 m) with a maximum cruise speed of 446 ktas. The Latitude has a range of about 2,850 nm (5,280 km) and features a flat floor stand-up cabin that can handle up to nine passengers.

The Citation Latitude is Textron’s largest jet so far, with two larger siblings entering the market in the near future. As the Middle East is more of a large-cabin market, the Wichita-based manufacturer is expected to grab a larger market share with the Citation Longitude and the Citation Hemisphere. While the Hemisphere is still in development, the Longitude is well into the flight test and certification phase. Currently, two aircraft are in flight test, with the second Longitude taking to the skies on November 19, 2016 – just three weeks before MEBAA 2016.

Honda Aircraft was showing off its HondaJet for the first time in Dubai.

“We are excited to display the

HondaJet at MEBAA, where it appeals to savvy Middle East prospects and aircraft enthusiasts,” says Honda Aircraft President and CEO Michimasa Fujino.

Gulfstream’s lineup of business jets remain very popular with Middle East customers. The manufacturer had brought three of its aircraft to Dubai: the Gulfstream G280, G550 and G650ER. Since the first delivery of a Gulfstream aircraft to the region in 1976, the manufacturer has handed over more than 120 aircraft to customers in the Middle East and Africa.

“We continue to invest in product support capabilities throughout the region, including expanding our parts and materials inventory at Dubai World Central,” explains Gulfstream President Mark Burns.

IS-BAH Registration for Jet Aviation Jet Aviation, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, not only introduced a new logo at the show, but also announced that its entire network of FBO facilities in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia has received registration to the IS-BAH standard from the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC). The IS-BAH Standard is based around a safety management system that models the structure and format of the standard for Business Aircraft Operators (IS-BAO). IS-BAH establishes criteria to ensure that handling systems, processes and practices meet rigorous safety and security stanEmbraer Executive Aircraft used the MEBAA spotlight to announce the sale of a midsize Embraer Legacy 500 to Lebanon’s Cedar Executive, the private-jet affiliate of Middle East Airlines. It will be Cedar Executive’s second Legacy 500 and the first in service since January 2016. “Cedar Executive has exceeded customer expectations with a high-end premium service in their very first year of operation,” says Embraer Executive Jets President and CEO Marco Tulio Pellegrini. “It is a pleasure to be part of this accomplishment by supplying the aircraft that combines the comfort, technology and performance desired for the ultimate travel experience.” The total fleet of Embraer aircraft in the region now stands at 50 jets.

CLASSICS

Falcon 8X (top), Qatar Airways' Challenger (center right), G650ER (center left) and PC-12 (below).

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MEBAA REPORT between Al-Futtaim and Germany’s DC Aviation broke ground at Dubai South in early 2016 for a new 6,800 m2 hangar, which will bring the total hangar space area to 12,500 m2 and the apron area to 13,000 m2.

Connectivity and Completions One of main overarching topics at the show was connectivity and how customers require more band width and higher transfer rates in all regions of the world. On this point, Honeywell demonstrated its technological capabilities on board its

OCCASION

King Air 350i (left).

Jet Aviation celebrates its IS-BAH Standard registrations (right).

dards. AeroEx, an independent auditor, confirmed that all of the company’s 11 FBOs in the region comply with ISBAH registration requirements, firmly establishing the company’s leading role in the industry. Jet Aviation’s FBO facilities in EMEA and Asia are located in Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland; Berlin, Dusseldorf and Munich, Germany; Vienna, Austria; Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE); Jeddah, Medina and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Singapore.

“We are delighted to see our member list of IS-BAH-registered companies expand,” says IBAC IS-BAH Program Director Terry Yeomans. “By ensuring registered ground handling organizations are conducting their operations under a set of standardized best practices, IS-BAH registration helps raise the industry’s safety standards while offering assurance to aircraft owners and operators that they are in good hands.”

According to Jet Aviation FBO Safety and Quality Manager EMEA Daniel Brechbühl, the registration process was both challenging and gratifying.

“Our first priority is to ensure our clients arrive safely at their destinations while providing premium service throughout their travels,” he says.

“Continuous improvement is a priority at Jet Aviation, and our FBO facilities have been working closely together to standardize our handling processes since the IS-BAH registration program was introduced two years ago.”

Also during the show, Jet Aviation announced that it had added a new Bombardier Global 6000 to its managed fleet in the Middle East. The Global is based in the UAE, where it joins a fleet of 19 business aircraft in the region managed by Jet Aviation.

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New FBOs Jetex Flight Support used the MEBAA Show to celebrate the grand opening of its new FBO terminal at the Al Maktoum International Airport.

With a 1,500 m2 (16,145 sqft) terminal and a dedicated ramp parking space of 50,000 m2, the new facility is the largest FBO in Jetex’s worldwide portfolio. “We designed this new iconic facility to shatter expectations of a traditional FBO by bringing upscale contemporary interior design and 5star hospitality to the aviation arena,” says Jetex President and CEO Adel Mardini. “From the fleet of Rolls Royce airside transport to a lavish cigar lounge within the FBO terminal, we strive to provide the highest level of care and comfort to all of our guests.” The company also announced plans to further expand in Dubai. A state-of-the-art hangar for aircraft storage and maintenance is currently under construction and set to open in 2017.

Dubai-based DC Aviation Al-Futtaim announced that it has expanded its managed fleet in the region by one Falcon 7X , bringing the total of five business jets, including two Bombardier Challenger 604, one Bombardier Global XRS and a Gulfstream 200. The joint-venture

Boeing 757 flying test-bed and promoting its GoDirect services. The highly modified 757 is able to test equipment and engines in flight. The company also announced the signing of a contract with Gulf Wings and Arab Wings to provide its full suite of connectivity services to their 20+ managed aircraft fleet.

Last but not least, Flying Colours of Peterborough in Canada was on hand to promote its refurbishing and completions capabilities. Shortly before coming to the show, the company completed two Satcom Direct Router (SDR) installations. The first was fitted as part of a Bombardier Global 5000 cabin refurbishment package, while the second was part of a new Global 5000 completion project for an undisclosed private Middle Eastern owner. While crew and passengers on this aircraft are already benefiting from SD services, the aircraft is now expected to return to the Flying Colours Peterborough facility early this year to have the supplemental SD WiFi Hub installed. This will add functionality to, and augment the performance of, the existing SDR. This is the first time Flying Colours will have fitted the complete suite of SD router options onto an aircraft.

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FROM THE COCKPIT For the pilots changing to another make or model aircraft, Capt.

LeRoy Cook advises: Know as much as possible about the aircraft before you approach it to fly

TRANSITIONING G

HAZARD

Flying a different type of aircraft without familiarizing with the idiosyncrasies and systems is too much risk to take.

etting out of one airplane and quickly settling into another is always a bit of a shock. While it is certainly true that all airplanes are basically similar horses under different colors of hair, and they all need the same things in order to fly – power, attitude and energy management – they do vary widely in capability, feel and response. It takes more than a little transition time to achieve proficiency when switching airplane types.

Adding to the pitfalls of swapping cockpits is the challenge of mastering the avionics setup. Gone are the days when one set of gauges and radios operated pretty much like all the others. Not only does one have to contend with differing brands of avionic suites and their operating logic, each airplane usually has customized settings and defaults that have been selected by its owner, or the previous pilot. Even if you knew your way around your own cockpit, saddling up a borrowed mount, even of the same make and model, is likely to be subtly, or not so subtly, different.

Preparation is the key. The logical first step is to dig out the manuals for the aircraft, in whatever form they are furnished, and read them from start to finish. Make notes as you go and orga-

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nize those notes in operational checklist fashion. Look for limitations, Vspeeds, cautions and warnings. If possible, sit in the airplane while you read the books, where you can observe and touch the relevant items. Know as much as possible about the aircraft before you approach it to fly.

The second most important step is to avail yourself of tribal knowledge.

Talk with people who’ve flown the exact same airplane or as close to it as you can get. They can tell you what to watch for, what not to do and what the real expectations should be.

Respect their hard-won experience.

Then, get all the mentoring you can.

Find a knowledgeable instructor to ride along with emphasis on the knowledgeable part. It’s better to have a non-CFI who’s well acquainted with the aircraft than a person with an instructor’s rating but no experience in type. Understand, however, that pilots who’ve never occupied the right seat as a teacher may be reluctant to let you wobble and swerve while you’re feeling out the machine.

CFIs are used to tolerating a few initial foibles and their experience as instructors can help them assess your capability in short order.

A formal FAA-approved transition training course, perhaps with visual and motion simulation, is the only practical solution when moving into a complex, high-performance aircraft. Sims and FTDs allow us to practice the operational flow and cockpit management in ways not practical during actual flight. It’s far better to experience an emergency at the hands of a simulator trainer than in a dark cockpit.

Beyond the Rating Completing a course is not the goal; being comfortable with the plane and its avionics suite is what we’re after and that will take some time. Insurance stipulations and your common sense should require additional hours with a handler following the type rating, watching your every move. Set your initial limitations high and work down in careful steps.

This can mean flying mostly in dayVFR only at first; look for forecasts of weather good enough to facilitate a visual approach. If a few easy trips go well and your capability with the avionics is free of surprises, you may accept 800-and-two arrivals, then 500and-one if you feel up to it. Avoid 200and-one-half weather until you’re thoroughly satisfied with your performance in the strange cockpit.

Transitioning is about more than learning checklist procedures. It starts with understanding the systems behind the procedures, where different manufacturers do things in different ways. Operating fuel boost pumps, for instance, takes understanding of what is happening when the switches go on. Continental piston engines usually don’t call for pumps “on” for takeoff, unless that is a “low” purge setting that automatically switches to “high” if an engine-driven pump goes out. An overly-rich condition can result if the correct procedure is not followed. Lycoming engines, on the other hand, mostly call for pumps on for takeoff and landing – but not always. Know your airplane.

Don’t rush the transition, even if you feel it’s going to be a no-brainer move into just-another-airplane. At my home airport, a highly-experienced pilot recently jumped into an unfamiliar PT6A-powered aircraft to reposition it on a short ferry flight. The plane had been sitting outside for a while, but before that it had been running fine and it wasn’t going far. The pilot and new owner neglected to drain the fuel sumps among other things. Naturally, there was water waiting to plug the fuel filters and

when he tried to fire up he found that he wasn’t going anywhere.

As I’ve said before, avionics set-ups are one of the biggest bug-a-boos to be faced when first flying a new plane.

We’ve all had trouble getting communication radios to work because the audio panel switches were not set right. When several frequencies are lit up on the dashboard, how you know which one is actually the active one under your mike button? And I’ve seen airplanes with a newer panel-mounted radio installed while the old custominstalled remote gear was still being carried around, its switching panel remaining in place but not operational.

Never ever launch into weather or busy airspace unless you know exactly what is or isn’t working in your cockpit AND you are fully-schooled in how to make it work.

Transfer of Knowledge Does it get easier to move among different airplanes if you’ve done it a few times? Yes, just because you will have acquired some survival skills to protect you from assuming too much, too quickly. Basic stick-and-rudder ability is honed by having flown different types of aircraft. When I first flew a seaplane, I was amazed at how closely the

takeoff and landing attitude management resembled what I had learned earlier during glider flying. In the glider, one balances on a single wheel, located about under the cockpit and that’s where the “sweet spot” of a hull or float will be balancing when you’re planning on the step. Keeping the nose attitude just right to avoid “digging in” applies in both cases.

Similarly, a light helicopter’s cyclic stick is best moved gingerly, with one’s forearm resting on the right leg to facilitate small inputs with fingertips. And if you attempt to fly a sensitive, close-coupled high-performance homebuilt airplane, its stick will also need a damped, relaxed arm position, much like you used in the helicopter.

I know an individual who claims to have flown 438 different aircraft types, documented by logbook entries. I once scanned his list; I found that most of the types he’s logged are not exotic warbirds or type-rating airplanes, just a long list of general aviation aircraft he has sampled over a lot of years.

The first thing to decide when tallying up such a list of cockpits occupied is, “what constitutes having flown something?” Everyone has to set their own benchmark, but this pilot’s criteria was to always include a landing/takeoff

operation while handling the controls.

Only after rolling rubber on the runway did he put that aircraft into the list.

He declined to pencil-whip time spent holding a yoke or stick during cruise; if he doesn’t feel capable of landing the aircraft, he doesn’t consider that he’s flown it.

And what constitutes a “different type?” Again, you have to set up your own standard, somewhere. It is simplest to use the type certification or model designation, but a continuation of production under a single TC frequently deserves more than one entry in the list; a 1947 Beech Model 35 is considerably different from a 1956 G35, and the 1957 H35 and 1977 V35B are not the same airplane, even though produced on the basis of the same type certificate. A Baron 95-55 and a Baron 56TC are both built under TC 3A16, but they operate much differently.

And so, if you want to make up a list of transitions you’ve made, pick your own breakdown method and use your own discretion. In the glory days of G/A, manufacturers made annual model changes, like Detroit auto makers, sometimes significant, sometimes only involving a paint redesign. If you feel there’s a difference, I suppose you can log it as a different type. Cirrus Aircraft, for instance, has used the same basic airframe through several generations of development, but it certainly takes some transition training to move through a progression of Cirrus cockpits.

Transitioning between cockpits can be subtle or extreme in the amount of training and time needed. But always do the preparation and learning needed and keep your limitations sacrosanct, no matter how much pressure you’re feeling to perform.

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NECESSARY

A sound transition training program should involve no matter what model or performance the aircraft is.

SAFETY SENSE

SYSTEM KNOWLEDGE STALL

L

MISHAP

A Cessna 525A CitationJet CJ2+ had a loss of control accident during a flight from Leeds/Bradford Airport to Palma de Mallorca.

ate in the morning of the 31st of December 2013, N380CR a Cessna 525A (Citation CJ2+) was pulled out of the heated hangar where it was kept at UK Leeds Bradford Airport. The single pilot completed the flight preparation for a flight to Palma de Mallorca in Spain.

Once all set, the only passenger boarded the aircraft together with three small dogs. While the pilot and the passenger wore the seat belts, the three small dogs remained unrestrained and rested near the passenger.

Since the day was cold and some layers of clouds were expected during the climb, the pilot selected the pitot and static heat on before departure.

Takeoff and initial climb were uneventful.

The freezing temperatures above 4300ft posed no significant danger.

Regardless the pilot had selected both engine anti-ice and wind and tail de-ice on as a precaution.

Regarding the autopilot, the pilot had noticed in previous flights that the aircraft tended to “hunt” in pitch in Flight Level Change mode.

Therefore he opted to operate in vertical speed (VS) mode during climb.

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Experience might be an expensive teacher when the subject is travelling in the air. Capt. Carl C. Norgren and Michael R. Grüninger exemplify the importance of monitoring airspeed Initially he set the VS to 2,000 feet per minute (ft/min) in Maximum Continuous Thrust. While climbing, the pilot decreased the VS in 500 ft/min decrements.

When passing FL 410 the aircraft was climbing with 1000 ft/min and the Indicated Airspeed (IAS) slowed to 150 kts.

The pilot noted that the indicated airspeed was lower than he had expected. The green “donut” marker on the speed tape showing a Vref, slightly faster than the actual airspeed at 128 kts. Based on his experience the pilot believed that the aircraft would have sufficient

energy in reserve, to reach FL 430 and he further reduced the VS to 5000 ft/min.

Between FL420 and 430 the pilot discontinued monitoring the energy status and focussed on checking the forecast winds on his tablet.

Suddenly, while he was head-down, he heard a “click” and the aircraft pitched severely nose-down and rolled to the right.

The aircraft had almost reached FL 430, but the airspeed had decreased to stall speed. In stall, the aircraft executed four 360s to the right losing altitude with a rate of 20,000 ft/min.

It’s only when the pilot reached VMC below high stratus clouds, that he was able to regain control of the aircraft.

The aircraft had not given any warning. No pre-stall buffet, no stick-shaker, no stall warning. In fact, the angle of attack vane of the aircraft was frozen.

Climbing with VS Although the AFM does not prohibit the use of the VS mode during climb, a pilot selecting this mode risks that the kinetic energy decreases below stall speed.

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SAFETY SENSE

The decision to select VS mode during climb the distraction in the last phase of the climb, combined with the failure of the stall warning system, put the pilot in a difficult situation and made the aircraft stall.

In VS mode the autopilot prioritises vertical speed over airspeed. Pilot vigilance and intervention are required to avoid a low-speed condition.

Recognizing Decluttered PFD When the AOA exceeds a certain amount, the PFD displays a decluttered image which reduces complexity and focuses on the information required to exit the upset condition.

The main features are big chevrons indicating the direction to which to pitch to recover from the stall. Large red chevrons point towards the horizon line when the pitch attitude approaches 30° up or down.

Recovering from a Full Stall The pilot had previously attended a “jet upset” course on an L-39 aircraft in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So prepared, the pilot managed to stabilise the Cessna 525A as soon as he was in VMC again. The passengers and the three small dogs remained unharmed.

SAFETY

A second pilot provides a monitoring function that might prevent loss of control.

Know Your Aircraft The AAIB report highlighted the relationship between systems knowledge and decision-making. The pilot did underestimate the necessity to monitor airspeed while climbing. To focus on wind forecasts in a situation of low-energy was a wrong decision.

Structural Damage The high overload exerted during the stall recovery caused five ribs in the outboard wingbox of the left and

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right wings to buckle. The bonded joints between the ribs and the upper and lower wing skins failed. The upper and lower outboard wing skins of both wings were permanently deformed with a significant loss of aerofoil shape.

Despite such deformation, the integral fuel tank did not leak. The damage was consistent with symmetrical pullout manoeuvre loads between +3.6g (“limit load”) and +5.4g (“ultimate load”). The limit load is the load level that the aircraft’s structure must be capable of sustaining without permanent deformation or damage occurring.

The prescribed minimum factor of safety in FAR/CS-23 aircraft, such as the Cessna 525A, for limit loads is 1.5, meaning that the ultimate positive load factor on the aircraft is at least +5.4g.

When the structure is subjected to load levels above the limit load but lower than the ultimate load, the structure must withstand the additional load but may permanently deform whilst doing so.

Human Factors The pilot was operating a modern aircraft approaching FL 430 as a single flight crew member at the age of 69 and within the privileges of a private pilot’s licence. At a critical moment in the flight he took his attention away from the primary flight instruments to review weather charts stored on a PED. Head-down, with airspeed decaying and the aircraft suddenly stalling and the autopilot disconnecting, the pilot was startled.

To overcome this startle effect the pilot must regain situational aware-

ness and be able to effectively judge the situation. Effective mitigating actions were delayed by the confusion of unfamiliar information on the PFDs. The unfamiliarity with the sights and sounds during an in-flight upset delays corrective action as the brain races to understand the situation.

The aircraft performed ever faster spins and the rate of descent increases to 20,000 ft/min. The discomfort of high g forces and unfamiliar indications on the PFDs compounded an already difficult situation for the single pilot. Despite the aircraft being out-of-trim the pilot regained control of the aircraft around flight level 240.

The fact that the stall occurred at FL 430 allowed sufficient altitude for a recovery. Daylight VMC conditions also facilitated spatial orientation.

Had the weather conditions not been VMC and the stall occurred at lower altitudes the aircraft may well have been lost.

Know When You Need a “Safety” Pilot The decision to fly without a second pilot, although in line with regulations, has to be questioned considering the low recent flight experience (16 hours in 90 days) as well as the fact that the pilot was 69 years old. A Cessna Citation jet is a fast-moving complex machine.

A second pair of eyes reduces the workload and provides a monitoring function which might prevent such a loss of control at altitude.

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Michael R. Grüninger is Managing Director of Great Circle Services (GCS) Safety Solutions and Capt. Carl C. Norgren is a freelance contributor to Safety Sense. 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 (ISBAO, 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 since 2007.

Pure Precision Advanced navigation for mission success.

5-inch FPCDU, UNS-1Fw FMS

Visit Heli-Expo booth 9149 to learn more.

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SO FAST IT LEAVES TRADITIONAL LUXURY IN ITS WAKE. The HondaJet isn’t just the world’s most advanced light jet.

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