Bart International 185 - Feb-April 2020 by Bart International

185

SEP-OCT 2018 FEBRUARY - APRIL 2020

PREMIER TRANS-ATLANTIC BUSINESS AVIATION MAGAZINE

2019 EXCLUSIVE FLEET REPORT

Will the Market Fade or Flourish?

NEW MODELS SPUR DEMAND SPARE PARTS

NO TIME TO SPARE

THE NEW FLAGSHIP HAS ARRIVED Live life to the fullest in our new flagship, the Gulfstream G700™. The G700 features the tallest, widest and longest cabin in the industry, plus all-new, high-thrust Rolls-Royce engines and the award-winning Symmetry Flight Deck™.

UPFRONT

Remembering Murray Smith MURRAY SMITH, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER of Professional Pilot magazine and staple at any Business Aviation event, died on December 25, 2019 at the age of 89. He is survived by his wife, Marcia ‘Eleni’, who has been the assistant to the publisher and has directed advertising sales for the magazine, along with two sons, David and Alexander, and a granddaughter.

Fernand M. Francois Editor and Publisher

Born in Chicago, Murray’s interest in aviation took off at an early age. It started while working at an airport near his Chicagoarea home, where he also took flying lessons at the age of 14. He attended the University of Illinois and earned a degree in journalism. After a short stint working as a technical writer with an advertising agency, he joined the US Navy. After leaving the military, Smith took his passions for aviation and writing and went on to found Professional Pilot. The first issue was published in January 1967 – an issue that even then carried what would, over the next 50 years, become his trademark: a cover photo of a featured company’s president, staff and products. In 2012, Smith was honored during the 9th annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards – one of his many accolades. He kept his ATP and CFI certificates current until the day he died. Even when medical issues forced him to pass on his publisher duties to his “A friend who dies, it’s something of you who dies.” Gustave Flaubert

successors, Murray remained involved in both the publication and the industry. “As you may know, Murray had to step down from his captain position due to medical reasons, although he still visited the office regularly,” the magazine’s staff said in announcing Smith’s passing. “He will be truly missed.” It seems that everyone knew Murray, and news of his passing was noted across the industry with numerous memorials and the sharing of memories. “For decades, Murray Smith and his team have brought welldeserved attention to the people and companies that represent the best of our industry,” said NBAA President Ed Bolen. “We are deeply saddened by Murray’s passing,” said Helicopter Association International President and CEO Matthew Zuccaro. “It says a great deal about his position in our industry that a person could talk about him using just his first name.” “Murray was an advocate for Business Aviation and was never shy to ask the first question in a press conference and to continue to ask until he fully understood what was going on,” says Volker K. Thomalla, editorin-chief of BART International. That persistence, combined with his in-depth knowledge of the industry, made his contributions so valuable for his readers. Good Skies my Friend!

Volume XXXII N°1 EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Fernand M. Francois ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Kathy Ann Francois ASSISTANT to the PUBLISHER Victoria Graham EDITOR IN CHIEF Volker K. Thomalla MANAGING EDITOR Busra Ozturk

FEATURES

OUR ADVERTISERS and their Agencies

30 Fleet Report 40 2020 Outlook 46 Fleet Report Helicos 50 Heli-Expo Report 52 Avionics Anticipation 56 SDC Preview 60 Spare Parts for Bizav 66 Maintenance after ADS-B 74 The Docket 77 From the Cockpit 80 Safety Sense

15 65 17 13 9 11 31 19 21 67 2 45 55 73 83 59 7 84

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Nick Klenske EXECUTIVE EDITOR Marc Grangier SAFETY EDITOR Michael R. Grüninger COACH EDITOR Captain LeRoy Cook TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Steve Nichols

DEPARTMENTS 3 Upfront 6 Briefing Room 8 Quick Lane 22 Business News 24 On the Move 26 Trans-Atlantic Update

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Alan Norris, Derek Bloom, Richard Koe, Brian Foley, Eugene Gerden, Anna Naznarova, Giulia Mauri, Aoife 0’Sullivan PRODUCTION MANAGER Tanguy Francois CONTACT US For any one of the above Info@bartintl.com PREMIER TRANS-ATLANTIC BUSINESS AVIATION MAGAZINE

ADVERTISING Kathy Ann Francois Marketing Director kafrancois@bartintl.com

BART International Premier Transatlantic Aviation Magazine ISSN 07767596. Printed in Belgium is published and owned by SA Frankie&Lette, 20 rue de l’Industrie at B1400 Nivelles. Phone +326 788 3603. Info@bartintl.com. BART Intl is governed by the International copyright laws. Free professional subscription available. International distribution by ASENDIA. USPS O16707 Priodical postage paid. Call IMS I (800) 4283003 Responsible Publisher Fernand M. Francois

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Aero-Dienst GmbH AMSTAT Avfuel Corporation Blackhawk Aerospace CAE Duncan Aviation EBACE 2020 Flight Safety Foundation FlightSafety International (GRETEMAN GROUP) GCS Safety Solution Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation JetNet LLC NBAA-BACE 2020 NBAA Maintenance Conference 2020 Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. RUBAE 2020 StandardAero Textron Aviation (Copp Media Services, INC.)

SPARE PARTS

Without any doubt, weight reduction is the cornerstone of the aviation industry of tomorrow, and a mandatory commitment for manufacturers wanting to make greener aircraft.

OUR COVER

The global Business Aircraft fleet has grown to over 38,400 units, New models like the Cessna Latitude prompting the deliveries.

BRIEFING ROOM Events

HOW THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IS IMPACTING BUSINESS AVIATION IN EARLY DECEMBER 2019, A NEW CORONAVIRUS WAS DETECTED IN WUHAN, HUBEI PROVINCE IN CHINA.

Agenda Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2020) March 10 - 13 Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

AERO Friedrichshafen April 1 - 4 Friedrichshafen, Germany

EBACE May 26 - 28 Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland

Farnborough Int’l Airshow July 20-24 Farnborough, UK.

RUBAE 2020 September 9-11 Moscow, Russia

Spread of the virus has escalated since midJanuary 2020. On Jan. 30, 2020 the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global emergency. Special quarantine and health inspection procedures have been enforced in China and other locations in Asia and around the world in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus. Extra planning and precaution is required if you are planning a trip to China and Asia. Below is a list of precautions authorities are taking to limit the spread that will have an impact on business aviation. MAINLAND CHINA As of 0200Z/1000LT on 23 January 2020, all public transportation including flights have been suspended in Wuhan and Wuhan Airport (ZHHH) was subsequently closed. New health inspections are also being enforced at Beijing Capital International Airport (ZBAA), Shanghai Pudong International Airport (ZSPD), Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (ZSSS) and Shenzhen International airport (ZGSZ) airports. For all arrivals/ departures, crew and passengers are subjected to temperature checks. Health Declaration Forms are also required for international arrivals in ZBAA and ZGSZ. HONG KONG Immigration officers/ Port Health officers will take necessary actions, which includes banning the individual from entering Hong Kong if they have been to Hubei Province 14 days prior to arriving Hong Kong. In addition, as requested by the Department of Health of Hong Kong SAR Government, all travelers (including crews and passengers) of flights arriving from Mainland China are required to submit health declaration forms upon arrival in Hong Kong International Airport (VHHH) effective 0100Z/0900LT on 29 January 2020.

Hong Kong SAR Government announced that all cross-border rail routes and ferries between China and Hong Kong will be suspended starting at 0000LT 30 January 2020. JAPAN Effective Feb 1, 2020, Japan is not permitting the following individuals from entering the country: Foreigners who have travelled to Hubei Province in the People’s Republic of China within 14 days before arriving Japan. Foreigners who have Chinese passports issued by Hubei Province in the People’s Republic of China. UNITED STATES Non-US citizens who have been in China within 14 days of their planned travel will not be permitted to fly to the United States. This direction considers a person to have recently traveled from the People’s Republic of China if that person departed from, or was otherwise present within, the People’s Republic of China (excluding the special autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau) within 14 days of the date of the person’s entry or attempted entry into the United States. Also, for purposes of this document, crew, and flights carrying only cargo (i.e., no passengers or noncrew), are excluded from the measures herein. This direction is subject to any changes to the airport landing destination that may be required for aircraft and/or airspace safety as directed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Per the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. is still accepting flights from China, however, if a person on a flight (Commercial or GA) has been in China within the last 14 days they will be routed to one major airport for screening, regardless of their final destination. QUESTIONS? If you have any questions about this article, or would like assistance for your future planning, please call Alan Pong Operations Manager for Universal’s Asia Pacific Operations Center +852 2109 277.

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QUICK LANE GULFSTREAM DELIVERS 400TH AIRCRAFT FROM G650 FAMILY Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. delivered the 400th aircraft from the record-breaking, ultralong-range Gulfstream G650 family to a customer. The extendedrange Gulfstream G650ER will be based in the US. “Business jet travelers the world over have long recognized the G650ER as the leading combination of speed and range in the Business Aviation sector,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream. “Its achievements and accolades have only mounted since its introduction, including an incredible 100-plus city-pair speed records, the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy and the title for the farthest, fastest business jet flight in history.”

UNIVERSAL AVIONICS ENHANCED FLIGHT VISION SYSTEM SELECTED FOR AW169 Universal Avionics (UA), an Elbit Systems company, has been selected by Leonardo and a European Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) operator to equip a fleet of AW169 helicopters with the ClearVision Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) suite for helicopters. The integration of the ClearVision system in the AW169 is designed and certified by Leonardo with installation completed in its factory. HEMS operators conduct Emergency Medical Services / Search and Rescue (EMS / SAR) missions where the ability to operate in degraded visibility environments is often necessary.

WORLD’S TOP FIREFIGHTING FIREHAWK FLEETS WITH COLLINS’ GOODRICH RESCUE HOIST

Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp, announced that three of the world’s top aerial firefighting agencies are equipping their helicopters with the company’s newest rescue hoist, the Goodrich 44318. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) selected the hoist for their S-70i FIREHAWK helicopters, while the Santa Barbara County Fire Department (SBCFD) selected the hoist for an HH-60L BLACK HAWK helicopter it is converting to aerial firefighting configuration. With its advanced technologies, the Goodrich 44318 is Collins Aerospace’s latest, most advanced rescue hoist.

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LEONARDO ACQUIRES KOPTER Leonardo has signed a contract with Lynwood (Schweiz) AG to acquire 100% of Kopter Group AG (Kopter). This move allows Leonardo to further strengthen its worldwide leadership and position in the rotorcraft sector; leveraging innovation, new capabilities and engineering skills which have been developed by the young, agile Swiss Company. Kopter’s SH09, a new single engine helicopter, is a perfect fit for Leonardo’s state of the art product range offering opportunities for future technological developments. The Swiss company’s competencies will boost future developments towards more disruptive technologies, mission capabilities and performances, including innovative hybrid/electrical propulsion solutions.

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QUICK LANE FLIGHTSAFETY EXPANDS ITS HELICOPTER TRAINING PROGRAMS FlightSafety International announces the expansion of its helicopter training programs and services with new Level D qualified simulators for the Airbus Helicopters EC145 and Leonardo AW139. “This significant expansion of the training programs and services we offer to helicopter operators reflects FlightSafety’s commitment to provide a broad range of conveniently located programs that our Customers require,” said Steve Gross, SVP, Sales and Marketing. The Airbus Helicopters EC145 simulator is scheduled to enter service in March 2020 at the FlightSafety Learning Center in Denver, Colorado.

TEXTRON AVIATION MARKS SUCCESSFUL WING, FUSELAGE MATE OF FIRST CESSNA SKYCOURIER Textron Aviation Inc. has successfully mated the wings to the fuselage of the first Cessna SkyCourier twin utility turboprop prototype aircraft, a key milestone in the development of the clean-sheet aircraft. “As expected, the operation was sound as the wings were secured on the fuselage, and the new Cessna SkyCourier took another major step in its development,” said Chris Hearne, SVP, Programs and Engineering. The program is progressing considerably with the assembly of the prototype and additional five flight and ground test articles. Landing gear testing continues as well as avionics ground testing. First flight of the Cessna SkyCourier is anticipated this year.

GARMIN REIMAGINES AIRCRAFT FLIGHT INSTRUMENTATION Garmin International, Inc. announced the GI 275, a powerful electronic flight instrument that directly replaces legacy primary flight instruments in the cockpit. The GI 275 is suitable as a direct replacement for a variety of instruments including, an attitude indicator, attitude directional indicator (ADI), course deviation indicator (CDI), horizontal situation indicator (HSI) and engine indication system (EIS). Also recently, Garmin announced the GTN 650Xi and GTN 750Xi, the next generation of in-flight navigation technology. Designed as a direct slidein upgrade to the previous generation GTN 650/750, pilots can preserve their panel and modernize the cockpit with the new GTN 650Xi and GTN 750Xi. The all-in-one GPS/NAV/COMM boasts a feature-rich multifunction display and can integrate with new or existing remote-mount equipment such as a transponder or audio panel. Dual-core processors and modern hardware also prepare the GTN Xi series for advanced capabilities in the future.

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STANDARDAERO ACQUIRES TRS IRELAND

StandardAero has acquired TRS Global Services subsidiary, TRS Ireland, a highly specialized provider of component repair and manufacturing processes for a large range of industrial, aeroderivative and aircraft gas turbines. The acquisition will continue to expand StandardAero’s Components, Helicopters & Accessories (CH&A) division and its worldwide portfolio of MRO and component repair services. TRS Ireland is a privately held company operating from Cork, Ireland, with nearly 70,000 square feet of MRO operations and more than 100 employees. The company has a large installed base of current customers that includes Siemans, GE, Rolls-Royce, MTU, Safran, ITC, Doncasters and many others.

New technology. Regulations. Mandates. Acronyms. Lots of acronyms. Business aviation can be confusing and noisy. Duncan Aviation continuously strives to be the voice of clarity by providing information about important topics in business aviation in clear, concise, no-nonsense language. Our goal is to educate customers so they can make the most informed decisions possible for their aircraft, passengers and company. Download our books, podcasts, and webinars, all highlighting Duncan Aviationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technical experts whom operators can call and speak with whenever they need clarification or more information.

Experience. Unlike any other. www.DuncanAviation.aero/straighttalk

QUICK LANE INMARSAT’S GX AVIATION ACHIEVES ANOTHER MILESTONE

FARNBOROUGH AIRPORT ANNOUNCES RECORD AIR TRAFFIC MOVEMENTS

Global mobile satellite communication company Inmarsat’s award-winning GX Aviation solution has powered more than one million free inflight broadband sessions for Air New Zealand passengers. The milestone was achieved approximately one year after Air New Zealand switched to a free-of-charge model for its inflight broadband service. GX Aviation is currently available on almost 25 aircraft within the Air New Zealand fleet, operating on TransTasman, Pacific Island, US and London routes. This includes a combination of Boeing 777-200, 777-300 and 787-9 aircraft, in addition to Airbus A320 and A321 neos.

Farnborough Airport has announced record air traffic movements for a third consecutive year, surpassing the previous record from 2018 for the highest ever number of total annual movements. For the full year 2019, Farnborough Airport saw a year-on-year increase in air traffic movements of 5.3 per cent. For December 2019, the airport recorded an 11.6 per cent increase in movements for the month, with initial forecasts indicating this positive trend is set to continue in 2020. Specifically, air traffic movements to and from the US experienced significant growth during the year, with an increase of 15 per cent year-on-year. In the same period, traffic to and from Europe saw a 6 per cent increase.

STANDARDAERO CELEBRATES 3,000TH GE CF34 ENGINE MRO WORKSCOPE

SWISSPORT OPENS NEW EXECUTIVE AVIATION TERMINAL IN MOROCCO

StandardAero recently celebrated the completion of its 3,000th workscope on the GE Aviation CF34 turbofan engine, which is widely used on regional jet airliners around the world. StandardAero was first appointed as a GE Aviation Authorized Service Provider (ASP) for the CF34-3 and CF34-8 in 2001. The milestone 3,000th engine workscope shipped was a CF34-8C5B1 powering a CRJ700 regional jet operated by SkyWest Airlines. SkyWest, headquartered in St. George, Utah, is a longstanding customer of StandardAero, which has been supporting the airline’s CF34-3 and -8 engine fleet since 2004.

Swissport Executive Aviation, a subsidiary of Swissport International AG, is further expanding its business in Morocco. After establishing its first Moroccan FBO for business and executive aviation in Casablanca in 2018, Swissport now moved into a dedicated VIP terminal at Marrakech Menara Airport, which opened on 1 February 2020. The new facility offers state-of-theart infrastructure that make arrivals, stopovers and departures convenient and hassle-free. On more than 500 sqm, the stylish facility offers relaxing lounge space for up to 40 passengers, including a bar and a media corner.

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QUICK LANE WEST STAR AVIATION WELCOMES FIRST 20-YEAR GLOBAL EXPRESS INSPECTION AT ALN West Star has completed its first 20-year Global Express inspection at their East Alton (ALN) location. The 240-month inspection incorporated gear overhaul, numerous Service Bulletin updates including the Inboard Flap 700-57-050, upgrades to existing Honeywell DU875s avionics with new Primus Elite enhanced features, and a complete strip and re-paint of the Global Express aircraft. “Considering West Star’s extensive experience with Global Express aircraft, we stand ready for additional inspections coming due in 2020 and look forward to providing these Operators with a full range of inspection and service capabilities,” stated ALN Technical Sales Manager Steve Bates.

KOPTER AND INAEC LAUNCH SH09 IN THE PHILIPPINES FOR ASCENT

UNIVERSAL AVIATION EXPANDS TO TURKEY

Kopter Group AG received additional orders in the Southeast Asian region from the leading operator in the Philippines, INAEC Aviation Corporation (INAEC). The SH09 helicopters are to be dedicated to urban air mobility operations with Ascent Flights Global Pte Ltd (Ascent). Kopter has signed an order for the purchase of one SH09 and one option with INAEC, leading helicopter operator in the Philippines. The SH09 will be dedicated to the expansion of Ascent, an urban air mobility service that was launched with INAEC in the largest metropolis of Southeast Asia, Metro Manila, in 2019.

Universal Aviation, the worldwide ground support division of Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc., announced the continued expansion of its global network with the opening of Universal Aviation Turkey, based at Ataturk Airport (LTBA) in Istanbul and providing supervisory ground support for business aircraft at all airports across Turkey. Universal Aviation Turkey is a partnership between Universal Aviation and Ferda Yildiz and Kaan Air locally. The decision to expand into Turkey was based on increasing customer demand for operations into Turkey and better service levels on the ground that what has previously been available.

AVFUEL WELCOMES PROJET AVIATION TO ITS NETWORK

UNIVERSAL AVIONICS INSIGHT DISPLAY SYSTEM SELECTED FOR MD HELICOPTERS

Avfuel Corporation has welcomed ProJet Aviation at Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO) to its branded network of FBOs. Located at the closest general aviation airport to the nation’s capital city, ProJet Aviation serves as Washington D.C.’s private aviation destination of choice and acts as a gateway to the Dulles Tech Corridor, and Virginia’s esteemed horse and wine country.

Universal Avionics (UA) and MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) announced a strategic partnership to integrate UA’s advanced InSight Display System as the full-digital flight deck solution for MD Helicopters’ MD 900/902 Explorer. MDHI will integrate the InSight Display System into the production and retrofit of the twin-engine helicopters. The InSight Display System for the MD 900/902 Explorer replaces steam guage displays with two portrait format high-resolution LCD displays with LED backlighting. The 10.4inch InSight Displays are compatible with Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and provide the latest in Synthetic Vision (SVS), 2D Topographical Moving Maps, electronic charts, checklists, systems synoptics, engine instruments, rotor data and more.

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QUICK LANE ELBIT SYSTEMS DEMONSTRATES NEW AERIAL FIREFIGHTING SOLUTION Elbit Systems completed a successful field demonstration of its patented Hydrop system, an innovative solution enabling high-altitude high-precision aerial firefighting. The field demonstration took place recently as part of an exercise led by the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority. During the exercise two Air Tractor aircraft from the Israeli Fire Fighting Squadron were directed to extinguish a burning field, from as high as 500 ft., more than four times higher than the average altitude of a standard aerial firefighting sortie. Using the HyDrop system each aircraft launched 1.6-tons of 140-gram liquid pellets in a computed ballistic trajectory, achieving a precise hit with saturation of 1-2 liter per 1 square meter.

SHELL AVIATION, WORLD ENERGY COLLABORATE TO INCREASE SUPPLY OF SAF Shell Aviation and World Energy have announced a collaboration to develop a scalable supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The agreement is intended to be a multi-year collaboration, with both companies acknowledging that the path to lower carbon emissions in aviation requires longterm commitment and collaboration. As part of the collaboration, Shell Aviation and World Energy also announced that they have initiated the supply of SAF to Lufthansa Group at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

RUAG FULFILLS 48-MONTH INSPECTION ON LINEAGE RUAG MRO International completed a MRO inspection on an Embraer Lineage that included full exterior painting and avionics upgrades during the aircraft’s M4 or 48-month inspection. The customer chose to optimize the MRO downtime to ensure ADS-B Out and FANS compliance, implement a new livery, complete with full exterior repainting, and refurbish the cabin interior. RUAG’s Embraer Authorized Service Center at Munich-Oberpfaffenhofen provided the one-stop shop support, enabling the customer to save on both time and costs.

JET AVIATION CONTINUES TO GROW CHARTER FLEET Jet Aviation has added a brand new Gulfstream G550 to its aircraft management and charter fleet in EMEA and Asia. The G550 is based in Switzerland and available for worldwide charter operation. It has already been added to the company’s Aircraft Operator’s Certificate. Accommodating up to 12 passengers and a regular crew of three, it is ideal for flights between Switzerland and destinations such as Singapore, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Los Angeles and Sao Paulo.

AIR SERVICE BASEL THE FIRST FULLY AUTHORIZED CIRRUS SERVICE CENTER

Air Service Basel has obtained approval to support the Cirrus Vision Jet SF50 for Maintenance and CAMO+ services, making it the first Authorized Service Center for EASA and FAA registered Cirrus aircraft in Europe. The company began by achieving the EASA Part-145 Approval for Full Line & Base Maintenance, including the FAA Repair Station Approval at the end of 2019, soon followed by the full CAMO+ Approval.

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QUICK LANE BOMBARDIER DELIVERS FIRST CUSTOMER AIRCRAFT FUELED WITH SAF TO LATITUDE 33 Bombardier announced that Latitude 33 Aviation, a private jet charter, executive jet management, and aircraft sales and acquisitions company based in California, has taken delivery of the first Bombardier customer aircraft to fly away on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Latitude 33 Aviation will manage and charter the best-selling Challenger 350 business jet in Seattle, WA, on behalf of the aircraft owner. “We are very pleased that the customer and Latitude 33 Aviation joined us in demonstrating that SAF can become a mainstream, drop-in alternative to traditional jet fuel for general aviation aircraft,” said Peter Likoray, SVP, Worldwide Sales and Marketing, Bombardier Business Aircraft.

PLANET NINE ADDS GULFSTREAM GV TO MANAGED CHARTER FLEET Planet Nine Private Air (“Planet 9”), the Van Nuys, California based private charter operator and aircraft management company, will add its tenth managed aircraft – an ultra-long-range Gulfstream GV – and the ninth on to its Part 135 AOC. The exceptionally outfitted aircraft, offering a 6,200 nm range (up to 13 hours’ flying time), is Planet 9’s third Gulfstream model, joining a G650 and G550. Its cabin is fitted with 14 luxury passenger seats, plus a dedicated rest area for crew. Inflight entertainment is accessible via high speed Air-Cell with passengers having the option to use their own devices or connect with the seven onboard Rosen slimline LCD monitors.

COLLINS AEROSPACE SIGN MOU TO ENHANCE FLIGHT SAFETY

DUNCAN AVIATION EXPERIENCES SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH IN INVENTORY PROGRAM During 2019, Duncan Aviation’s Managed Rotable Inventory or MRI expanded its customer base by more than a third, adding 45% more available part numbers and increasing its inventory value by $2 million dollars. Cori Hawes was recently appointed as MRI Program Assistant to support the rapid growth. The MRI is a unique parts program that allows clients to sell their aircraft rotable inventory to Duncan Aviation’s large customer base while still maintaining ownership, price control and oversight. Inventories are marketed and sold to operators of helicopter, turboprop, and business, regional, and commercial aircraft.

Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies, is teaming up with its fellow GLOBALink providers – Aviation Data Communication Corporation (ADCC) and Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Limited (AEROTHAI) – to enhance safety and efficiency for flight and tarmac operations in Asia. The three companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to leverage each company’s existing technology to provide communication solutions to stakeholders on the tarmac.

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CRITICAL AVIATION SAFETY INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Take advantage of FSF’s comprehensive online resources. As the only independent, impartial and international source for aviation safety, the Flight Safety Foundation takes keeping our skies safe seriously. To ensure the aviation industry has the most up-to-date safety information, the FSF website is your go-to repository of comprehensive, trustworthy aviation safety information. As safety continues to evolve from reactive to predictive to proactive, FSF members gain insight through expanded online offerings, including curated external content and our own AeroSafety World journal in a digital-only format for maximum ﬂexibility. Moreover, you are able to interact via an exclusive online community designed to facilitate additional discussion of key safety initiatives. Gain vital insight and help us keep the skies safe by becoming a member today. www.flightsafety.org ©2 2020 Flight Safety Foundation 701 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 250, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Visit flightsafety.org, information@flightsafety.org or call +1 (703) 739 6700

QUICK LANE PC-24 GAINS ROUGH FIELD CERTIFICATION Pilatus obtained certification for take-offs and landings on grass, wet earth and snow, making the PC-24 the world’s most flexible business jet ever. Pilatus has now obtained full rough field certification for the PC-24 Super Versatile Jet. Certification for operations on dry sand and gravel was delivered in 2018. A comprehensive post-certification test campaign was conducted throughout 2019 to certify the Super Versatile Jet for operation on unpaved runways and in differing conditions. With immediate effect, all PC-24s may now also be operated on wet and snow-covered unpaved runways.

PRATT & WHITNEY INVESTS $30M IN WEST VIRGINIA FACILITY

MTU MAINTENANCE OPENS OFFICE IN LEASING HOMETOWN DUBLIN

Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp, announced a $30 million US investment in its engine services facility in Bridgeport, West Virginia for the MRO of PW800 engines. Specifically, the site will service the market leading PW814GA and PW815GA engines that power the Gulfstream G500 and G600 aircraft, respectively, with the capacity to expand its capabilities to other PW800 engine models in the future.

MTU Maintenance has opened an office in the heart of aviation leasing community birthplace Dublin. Located in the Victorian quarter, the office is being run by leasing experts Eileen Guerin, Vice President Commercial Ireland, and Des Clarke, Vice President Technical and Strategy Ireland, on behalf of MTU Maintenance Lease Services B.V., the group’s leasing arm headquartered in Amsterdam. They will be responsible for growing and intensifying MTU Maintenance’s leasing and asset management activities in Ireland.

GULFSTREAM LAUNCHES WORLDWIDE TOUR OF G700 CABIN MOCK-UP Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced the full-scale mock-up of the Gulfstream G700 cabin, including the award-winning Symmetry Flight Deck, has departed Savannah for a worldwide tour that will give customers an opportunity to experience the new industry flagship G700 first-hand. “We have been excited to show customers this amazing aircraft,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream. “The compelling combination of technology and cabin innovation raises the bar for the business-jet industry. Whether customers prioritize cabin size and flexibility, speed, range or flight-deck technology, there is no need to compromise because the G700 delivers all that and more.”

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Textron Releases 4Q19 Results; 2020 Outlook

Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) reported fourth quarter 2019 net income of $0.87 per share. Adjusted net income, a non-GAAP measure that is defined and reconciled to GAAP in an attachment to this release, was $1.11 per share for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to $1.15 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018. Adjusted net income for 2019 excludes $72 million of pre-tax special charges ($0.24 per share, after-tax) recorded in the fourth quarter, primarily related to restructuring activities announced in December 2019. Full-year 2019 net income was $3.50 per share. Full-year 2019 adjusted net income, a non-GAAP measure, was $3.74 per share, up from $3.34 in 2018. “Textron Aviation saw double digit revenue growth in the quarter driven largely by initial deliveries of our new Citation Longitude, reflecting our continued investment in new products,” said Textron Chairman and CEO Scott C. Donnelly. “We also saw growth from strong commercial volume at Bell.” Cash Flow Net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations of the manufacturing group for the full year was $960 million, compared to $1,127 million last year. Manufacturing cash flow before pension contributions, a non-GAAP measure that is defined and reconciled to GAAP in an attachment to this release, was $642 million compared to $784 million last year. For the full year, Textron returned $503 million to shareholders through share repurchases. Outlook Textron is forecasting 2020 revenues of approximately $14 billion, up from $13.6 billion. Textron expects full-year 2020 earnings per share will be in the range of $3.50 to $3.70. 22 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020

CAE Reports 3Q20 Results

The company is estimating net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations of the manufacturing group will be between $1,010 million and $1,110 million and manufacturing cash flow before pension contributions (a non-GAAP measure) will be between $700 million and $800 million, with planned pension contributions of about $50 million. Fourth Quarter Segment Results Textron Aviation Revenues at Textron Aviation of $1.7 billion were up 11%, primarily due to higher volume and mix, largely reflecting the Longitude’s entry into service. Textron Aviation delivered 71 jets, up from 63 last year, and 59 commercial turboprops, down from 67 last year. Segment profit was $134 million in the fourth quarter, down from $170 million a year ago, primarily due to the mix of products sold and an unfavorable impact from inflation, net of pricing. Textron Aviation backlog at the end of the fourth quarter was $1.7 billion. Bell Bell revenues were $961 million, up 16% from $827 million last year, primarily on higher commercial volume. Bell delivered 76 commercial helicopters in the quarter, up from 46 last year. Segment profit of $118 million was up $10 million, largely on the higher commercial volume. Bell backlog at the end of the fourth quarter was $6.9 billion. Finance Finance segment revenues were up $1 million, and profit was up $2 million from last year’s fourth quarter.

CAE reported revenue of $923.5 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with $816.3 million in the third quarter last year. Third quarter net income attributable to equity holders was $97.7 million ($0.37 per share) compared to $77.6 million ($0.29 per share) last year. Net income before specific items in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 was $98.0 million ($0.37 per share before specific items). Third quarter segment operating income was $154.9 million (16.8% of revenue) compared with $113.0 million (13.8% of revenue) in the third quarter of last year. Segment operating income before specific items in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 was $155.3 million (16.8% of revenue). All financial information is in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. Civil Aviation Training Solutions Third quarter Civil revenue was $558.1 million, up 22% compared to the same quarter last year. Segment operating income was $123.0 million (22.0% of revenue) compared to $87.2 million (19.0% of revenue) in the third quarter last year. Third quarter segment operating income before specific items was $123.4 million (22.1% of revenue), up 42% compared to the third quarter last year. During the quarter, Civil delivered 12 fullflight simulators (FFSs) to customers and third quarter Civil training center utilization was 70%. During the quarter, Civil signed training solutions contracts valued at $706.2 million, including a long-term pilot training agreement with JetSmart Airlines, and 17 FFSs, for 37 sales in the first nine months of the year. Since the beginning of January, Civil received orders for seven FFSs, including six for the Boeing B737MAX aircraft, bringing total current year-to-date FFS sales to 44. To address the growing global demand for new pilots, during the quarter, Civil launched new Multi-Crew Pilot License programs with easyJet and Volotea and a new cadet pilot training program with Jazz Aviation and Seneca School of Aviation called Jazz Approach. In business aviation, Civil signed several business aviation pilot training contracts with business jet opera-

SUMMARY OF CONSOLIDATED RESULTS (amounts in millions, except operating margins and per share amounts) Revenue Segment operating income (SOI) Operating margins SOI before specific items Operating margins before specific items Net income Net income attributable to equity holders of the Company Earnings per share (EPS) Net income before specific items EPS before specific items Order intake Total backlog tors including JetSuite, Solairus Aviation, and TAG Aviation Holdings. The Civil book-to-sales ratio was 1.27x for the quarter and 1.44x for the last 12 months. The Civil backlog at the end of the quarter was a record $5.3 billion. Additional Financial Highlights Free cash flow was $275.3 million for the quarter compared to $155.1 million in the third quarter last year. The increase in free cash flow results mainly from a lower investment in non-cash working capital and higher cash provided by operating activities. CAE usually sees a higher level of investment in non-cash working capital accounts during the first half of the fiscal year and it

expects to see a significant portion of these investments reverse in the second half. Income taxes this quarter were $18.4 million, representing an effective tax rate of 16%, compared to 15% for the third quarter last year. The tax rate was higher due to the

$ $ % $ % $

Q3-2020 923.5 154.9 16.8 155.3 16.8 99.8

$ $ % $ % $

Q3-2019 Variance % 816.3 13% 113.0 37% 13.8 113.0 37% 13.8 79.5 26%

$ $ $ $ $ $

97.7 0.37 98.0 0.37 1,106.6 9,434.3

$ $ $ $ $ $

77.6 0.29 77.6 0.29 882.1 8,964.6

26% 28% 26% 28% 25% 5%

interest on long-term debt due to the issuance of unsecured senior notes since the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 and higher interest on lease liabilities because of the adoption of IFRS 16. Growth and maintenance capital expenditures totaled $51.6 million this quarter. Net debt at the end of the quarter was $2,306.6 million for a net debt-to-capital ratio of 48.5%. This compares to net debt of $2,442.8 million and a net debt-to-capital ratio of 51.0% at the end of the preceding quarter. Excluding the impacts of the adoption of IFRS 16, net debt would have been $2,021.2 million this quarter for a net debtto-capital ratio of 44.9%. Return on capital employed (ROCE) was 11.4% this quarter compared to 11.7% in the third quarter last year, before specific items.

SUMMARY OF CIVIL AVIATION TRAINING SOLUTIONS RESULTS (amounts in millions, except operating margins, SEU, FFSs deployed and FFS deliveries) Q3-2020 Revenue $ 558.1 Segment operating income $ 123.0 Operating margins % 22.0 SOI before specific items $ 123.4 Operating margins before specific items % 22.1 Order intake $ 706.2 Total backlog $ 5,263.0 Simulator equivalent unit (SEU) 252 FFSs deployed 303 FFS deliveries 12

impacts of tax audits in Canada last year, partially offset by a change in the mix of income from various jurisdictions. Net finance expense this quarter was $36.7 million, $17.4 million higher than the third quarter of fiscal 2019, mainly from higher

$ $ % $ % $ $

Q3-2019 Variance % 458.4 22% 87.2 41% 19.0 87.2 42% 19.0 586.6 20% 4,566.1 15% 219 15% 266 14% 16 (25%)

Excluding the impacts of the adoption of IFRS 16, ROCE before specific items would have been 11.6% this quarter. CAE will pay a dividend of 11 cents per share effective March 31, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 13, 2020. During the three months ended December 31, 2019, CAE repurchased and cancelled a total of 386,700 common shares under the Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB), at a weighted average price of $32.69 per common share, for a total consideration of $12.6 million. On February 7, 2020, CAE received approval from its Board of Directors for the renewal of its NCIB to purchase up to 5,321,474 of its issued and outstanding common shares (approximately 2% of its outstanding shares) during the period from February 25, 2020 to no later than February 24, 2021.

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ON THE MOVE PEOPLE

W e s t S t a r announced the placement of LaLaina Doudna as project manager at their Chattanooga, TN (CHA) location; the appointment of Gary A. Schandl as director of Quality Assurance for all West Star facilities; the placement of Walt Marcy to the Grand Junction, CO (GJT) team as the Avionics Technical Sales manager. Also, Jeffrey Sneden has accepted the position of Quality Assurance manager at their Chattanooga, TN (CHA) facility. Tommi Krell has assumed leadership for marketing the component repair business units, Dallas Aeronautical Services, Flite Components and Avant Aerospace. Krell will continue to maintain responsibility for corporate communication across the enterprise.

Rich High a highly valued member of our management team and a very capable leader,” said David Davenport, president & CEO, FlightSafety International. High assumes this responsibility from Brian Moore who has been named senior vice president of Operations, FlightSafety International. Moore will oversee the operational aspects of FlightSafety’s global Learning Center network. He will provide guidance and support for Center operations, the development, management and delivery of training programs and interaction with aviation regulatory agencies worldwide. Brad Thress has joined FlightSafety International as president and CEO. He assumes this responsibility from David Davenport who

Tommi Krell Moreover, John Brummel has been promoted to Avionics Technical Sales manager at their East Alton, IL (ALN) facility. Brummel is a US Navy veteran and has over 20 years aviation experience, starting his career as an avionics technician at Midcoast (now Jet Aviation), moving to West Star (Premier at the time) in 2007. FlightSafety Textron Aviation Training announced that Rachel Runner has been promoted to manager of the Wichita Cessna Learning Center, and Rich High has been promoted to CEO. “Rich is

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Brad Thress has left FlightSafety. Thress joins FlightSafety from Textron Aviation where he most recent-

ly served as Senior Vice President, Global Parts, Program and Flight Operations, and the President of Able Aerospace. During his 27 years with Textron Aviation, he held several leadership roles within many business areas including Engineering, Flight Operations and Customer Service. In addition, he served as Cessna Senior Vice President of Business Jets. Duncan Aviation announced leadership changes to its Flight Department. Craig Rathjen has been named the director of Flight Operations and Jon Kroesche the new chief pilot of Flight Operations. In this position, Rathjen leads the day-today operations of the flight department. Kroesche will lead the flight crews within the department. Long-time Duncan Aviation team member Dennis Kruse will be relocating to the company’s Provo, Utah, facility as the Avionics Install Sales representative. “In his 15 years at Duncan Aviation, Dennis has built a strong technical background in the Install Department as a Technician and Crew Lead,” says Modifications Sales Manager Nate Klenke. T o d d S h r i n e r has been named Duncan Aviation’s technical representative for Bombardier products. In this position, Shriner will provide troubleshooting and technical support for customers who operate Global, Challenger and Learjet aircraft, as well as to company airframe maintenance teams. Pratt & Whitney announced that C a r r o l l L a n e has assumed the role of president of the company’s Commercial Engines business, reporting to P&W President Christopher Calio. Carroll Lane succeeds Calio in this role; Calio was recently named president of Pratt & Whitney, succeeding Bob Leduc, who retired from the company after more than four decades of service.

RUAG International’s Board of Directors and CEO U r s Breitmeier have separated by mutual agreement. Urs Breitmeier held senior positions at RUAG for 18 years, the last seven of which as CEO. Chairman of RUAG International’s Board of Directors Dr Remo Lütolf said: “Urs Breitmeier was instrumental in shaping the unbundling and bringing it to a successful conclusion. RUAG International is thus well positioned for the future. We wish Urs all the best in his professional and private life and every success in the future.” D a s s a u l t A v i a t i o n has appointed Charles Wemaëre vice president, Worldwide Spares, with responsibility for spare parts strategy and logistics efforts for the global Falcon fleet. He will report to Pierre Thielin, VP, Worldwide Customer Service, within Dassault’s Civil Aviation Department. Wemaëre previously served as deputy manager to Serge Elias, the former VP Worldwide Spares, who is retiring. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has recently announced organizational changes. Having replaced Matthew S. Zuccaro, James A. Viola is the new president and CEO of Helicopter Association International (HAI). In his most recent role with the FAA, Viola oversaw 78 Flight Standards District Offices and 2,500 employees across the United States, and was responsible for maintaining consistency and standardization in the application of safety oversight activities for the GA community. Kate Fraser and Charlie Precourt have joined the association’s Board of Directors. Fraser is head of safety for Joby Aviation, a California-based company that is a pioneer in the development of novel aircraft enabled by electric propulsion. Precourt is the vice president and general manager of the Propulsion

Systems Division at Orbital ATK. Stewart D’Leon is now the director, technical operations, replacing Elias Cotti, who is retiring after 20 years with the association. In his new role, D’Leon will be responsible for providing technical assistance to NBAA member companies and promoting the highest standards of aircraft maintenance. He also will coordinate and develop certification policies for NBAA membership to support increased aircraft dispatching and reduced cost of ownership. Maggie Bergsma, currently head of Communications for ATR, is appointed head of Communications Commercial Aircraft at Airbus. In the new Communications leadership team, she will join Yves Barillé, head of Communications Helicopters, and Dirk Erat, head of Communications Defense & Space. They will report directly to Julie Kitcher – executive vice-president Communications & Corporate Affairs and member of the Airbus Executive Committee. Meanwhile, Guillaume Steuer is appointed head of External Communications, reporting to Philipp Encz and managing Airbus’ media relations, web and social media activities. He will rely on Stefan Schaffrath, head of External Communications Commercial Aircraft, and Martin Agüera, head of External Communications Defence & Space, to boost dialogue with Airbus’ external audiences and strengthen the company’s brand and reputation worldwide. Hong Kong-based Metrojet Limited welcomes Captain Kobus Swart as director of Flight Operations. Swart will oversee all aspects of Metrojet’s flight operations, including the management of flight and cabin crew, flight dispatch and training. Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced the appointment of Julien Nargeot as regional vice president of Sales for Southeast Asia, Australia

and New Zealand, and Brian McCarthy as regional sales manager in the region. Nargeot joins Gulfstream with 12 years’ experience with a business-jet original equipment manufacturer, where he held a pilot type rating and was involved with pilot training and operational support, aircraft technical support and customer service. More recently, he spent seven years in new aircraft sales for the Middle East. McCarthy comes to Gulfstream with nine years of Business Aviation experience. He previously worked as a sales manager for an aircraft brokerage company and was responsible for the sale and acquisition of pre-owned and new business aircraft in the Northeast US and Asia-Pacific markets. Nargeot and McCarthy report to Roger Sperry, Gulfstream’s regional senior vice president of Sales for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Florida, and are based in Gulfstream’s Singapore office. Modesto Jet Center announced the appointment of Otto Wright as general manager. Wright joins Modesto Jet Center with more than 12 years of experience in the aviation industry, mainly in leadership and business development roles. Most recently, he served as an aviation consultant and business owner. Previously, he served as business development director at Axis Jet in Sacramento, Calif., general manager for KaiserAir in Oakland, Calif., and has worked internationally with Far East Russia Aircraft Services (FERAS) and Jetex Flight Support. Jet Support Services, Inc. ( J S S I ) announced C h r i s C h a r n l e y has been named director of business development, Canada. Charnley brings more than 40 years of aviation industry experience to JSSI, including senior leadership roles at Hawker Beechcraft and Pratt & Whitney Canada. He will be responsible for over-

Chris Charnley seeing the company’s growth in the Canadian market. He previously worked for Pratt & Whitney Canada in a variety of sales and technical support roles for multiple engine types, including the PW100, PW300 and JT15D. The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) announced that aviation industry specialist, Andreas Meyer will join the organization as the new director, ICAO Liaison, for IBAC in Montreal. As director, ICAO Liaison, Meyer will direct the operations of the IBAC office in Montreal, co-located with ICAO Headquarters. He will be IBAC’s designated representative to ICAO overall and will serve in particular as IBAC Observer on the Air Navigation Commission, the highest-level technical body at ICAO. Meyer will also design the IBAC strategy and approach to ICAO in coordination with the Director General Kurt Edwards, as well as coordinate among the IBAC representatives at ICAO forums and expert groups, as well as make recommendations to Edwards regarding matters before ICAO. Private aviation company M e r i d i a n announced that Patti Ann Sullivan has been named vice president of Aircraft Management. In her new position, Sullivan will oversee the sales of aircraft management services and will be responsible for driving the growth of the aircraft manage-

ment business. Sullivan’s responsibilities include developing and visiting prospective new clients, negotiating aircraft management agreements, coordinating with other Meridian departments to ensure a smooth transition from the sales process to inservice operation and managing regional sales executives. In addition, she will focus on the needs of existing customers, offering counsel on the optimum operational and financial strategies to maximize the value and efficiency of their aircraft ownership. C A E has appointed T o d d Probert as group president, Defense & Security. He will be based in Washington, DC and is succeeding Gene Colabatistto. Probert worked for Raytheon, the world’s fourth largest defense company, over the past 10 years. Most recently, he was leading the Command, Control, Space & Intelligence business unit as part of Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services segment. At Universal Avionics (UA), F r a n c M e n d e s has been appointed to the manager position at Airline Business Development. Based out of Phoenix, Arizona, Mendes is responsible for introducing UA’s product line including the ClearVision Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) to the airline market. Additionally, Mendes will support UA’s Flight Department as a demonstration pilot for the company’s Gulfstream G-III aircraft. Mendes joins UA with over 24 years of experience in the aerospace industry. Most recently, he served in the position of technical and safety pilot for the Boeing Company in Shanghai, China. Prior to Boeing, Mendes was a longhaul pilot for Cathay Pacific Airways. He also has extensive experience flying corporate, United Nations and other humanitarian missions.

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TRANS-ATLANTIC EUROPE ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH BUSINESS AVIATION HAS A GOOD STORY TO TELL WHEN IT COMES TO SUSTAINABILITY

From the Desk of EBAA Secretary General Athar Husain Khan IN TODAY’S CLIMATE-CHANGE DEBATE, policymakers, opinion leaders and others have begun to question the need for aviation as a means of transport, including for business, as part of a larger question about various sources of carbon output and sustainability. Unfortunately, this debate seems too often shaped by misperceptions at the expense of the facts. Please understand this: We in Business Aviation may likely be the smallest carbon source – with the most significant plan for sustainability – you’ve never heard of. We are often asked: What is Business Aviation? It’s a term long-used to describe the use of mostly small airplanes for business reasons. It accounts for only a tiny fraction of all emissions, of any kind. If we were comparing emissions to a dollar in your wallet, Business Aviation would account for far less than a penny. If we were comparing it to other sources – cars, coal factories, cattle – it doesn’t move the needle on the gauge. In fact, Business Aviation accounts for the smallest emissions footprint since the advent of flight, and in the past four decades, emissions from business airplanes have been reduced by 40%. This hasn’t happened by accident: Our investments in Global Satellite Positioning, composite technologies, evercleaner engines and other advancements have produced these benefits. 26 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020

Equally important, we’re only getting started. Business Aviation leaders are united behind a plan to further reduce emissions a further 50 percent by the year 2050, relative to 2005 levels. This commitment reflects a similar 2050-emissons goal set by other government, industry and business leaders. Central to this pioneering idea has been the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuels, which are non-fossil-based fuel sources (think of used cooking oil). These alt-fuels reduce carbon lifecycle emissions by up to 80 percent, and thanks to industry investment, they are certified, safe and ready to use today in many business airplanes. The readiness of these carbon-neutral fuels and other forward-looking technologies reveals a central truth: Environmental action and economic growth are not mutually exclusive; we can make sustainability a top priority, without sacrificing the modern-day necessity of business flying, which connects citizens, companies and communities to economic opportunities as never before. Consider the data behind this economic equation: In Europe, Business Aviation flights support 374,000 jobs and 87 billion euros to the economy— these are often jobs needed in tomorrow’s workplace, including careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM careers. The case is no less pronounced in the US, where Business Aviation helps support more than a million jobs, and $200 billion annually, to the US economy. Here’s the point: As we look to tomorrow’s industries, many considerations are important, including their carbon footprint. Within that reality, the world’s simultaneous need for mobility with sustainability will be a constant, and some transportation industries will continue to focus on sustainable, safe and secure operations, while creating jobs and economic opportunity. Business Aviation is one of those industries.

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/EUROPE TRANS-ATLANTIC BUSINESS AVIATION’S SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT HIGHLIGHTED AT 2020 WEF

A GLOBAL COALITION FOCUSED on Business Aviation sustainability welcomed two new carbon-reduction initiatives for Davos-bound flights at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF), starting Jan. 21, 2020, in Davos, Switzerland. The Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF Coalition), in conjunction with the World Economic Forum and Zurich Airport, has secured agreements to make SAF available for aircraft departing the airport. At an event held Jan. 20 at Zurich Airport to demonstrate the fuels’ viability, organizers thanked officials with WEF and the airport for their collaboration with industry stakeholders in support of the demonstration. Additionally, under a payment-transfer initiative known as “book-and-claim,” operators flying to Davos are, for the first time, able to purchase SAF supplies, even at airports where SAF is not available. The initiative will be in place at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport (TEB) outside New York City, Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) in Bedford, Mass., and Dulles International Airport (IAD), outside Washington, DC. Simply put, SAF will be apportioned to the purchasing aircraft at TEB, BED and IAD, and consumed through a routine operation at California’s Van Nuys Airport (VNY).

Leaders with the coalition stakeholder groups applauded both initiatives, which were made possible through the efforts of Jet Aviation, Neste and World Fuels. Juergen Wiese, chairman of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), said: “Business Aviation aims to be a catalyst in the transition to cleaner and more sustainable transport. The new SAF programme brings us one step closer. This week at Davos, Business Aviation is laying the foundation of a p h y s i c a l , a nd t ra ce a bl e, S AF suppl y chain around the world.” Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), commented: “It is paramount that Business Aviation stimulates supply and demand for SAF, which is a linchpin to our industry’s sustainability commitments. These initiatives complement efficiency gains garnered t h r o u g h m ore effi ci e nt a i rcra ft a nd engine designs and leveraging performance-based navigation, which is enabled through advanced avionics.” Kurt Edwards, director General for IBAC, said: “Business jet operators and their stakeholders around the world can and should request SAF when fueling their tanks. The demand for SAF is the gamechanger for more production, and the time is now to bring the supply to our

industry and demonstrate that thousands of aircraft are ready to fly with SAF.” Tim Obitts, COO of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), stated: “NATA commends the SAF Coalition and our members from all segments of the supply chain for their dedication and innovation in advancing a number of sustainable firsts for the Business Aviation industry, These milestones demonstrate that meaningful change can be achieved through partnerships, education and collaboration.” Ed Bolen, president of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), said: “Business Aviation has long been committed to the sustainability of flight. As we continue working toward increased availability of sustainable fuels, we know that these initiatives are key to moving the industry toward a carbon-neutral future, this week, and in the years to come.” Business Aviation groups have been working for decades to decrease the industry’s emissions footprint, as part of the larger Business Aviation Commitment on Climate Change. Learn more at futureofsustainablefuel.com.

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TRANS-ATLANTIC U.S.A. ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH BUSINESS AVIATION LOOKS TOWARD AN EXCITING AND SUSTAINABLE 2020

From the Desk of NBAA President & CEO Ed Bolen

WE’VE RECENTLY TURNED OUR calendars over to a new year, and I’m often asked what I think the future holds for our industry. While NBAA typically leaves forecasting duties to analysts and meteorologists, it’s apparent we’re already seeing some very significant developments throughout the global business community that will continue throughout 2020 and beyond. First and foremost, while our industry has always embraced new technologies, the pace of emerging innovations has clearly increased, and includes the introduction of all-new aircraft that are more powerful and more capable, yet also more efficient, along with a host of new products and services. For example, over the past few years we’ve seen a new transportation segment emerge alongside more traditional business aircraft and rotorcraft seen at NBAAsponsored events. Urban air mobility (UAM) aims to revolutionize travel across large metroplexes, utilizing optionally piloted and even fully autonomous electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles to transport on-demand passengers and cargo. These hybrid gas-electric and, ultimately, fully electric designs offer the promise of safe and efficient travel within metropolitan areas around the globe, and even to the airport for longer-distance trips. NBAA also expects these designs to ultimately complement traditional Business Aviation aircraft that are also moving toward more efficient operations and reducing our industry’s already-low carbon footprint. The issue of environmental sustainability is another dominant theme not only in headlines around the globe, but also in the boardrooms and flight departments of

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companies using Business Aviation to improve their efficiency and competitiveness. Among the most promising avenues is use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) derived from renewable feedstocks. NBAA has been at the forefront of efforts to promote greater use of SAF in Business Aviation. As more and more operators seek to reduce their own carbon emissions with no impact to aircraft performance or reliability, we recently joined with the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and other industry stakeholders to announce a new Business Aviation Global Sustainability Summit coming to Washington, DC in March 2020 that will explore additional opportunities for our industry to use this fuel. It’s evident that our industry is embracing change across several fronts, as displayed throughout the recently concluded 2019 edition of NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas. NBAA-BACE reflected this exciting time with the most exhilarating convention I believe NBAA has ever hosted. I also expect this energy and inspiration to carry forward to our upcoming events in the coming year. Shanghai, China will host the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE2020) from April 21-23, with the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2020) taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from May 26-28. The 2020 edition of NBAA-BACE, the largest event in the world dedicated to the Business Aviation industry, comes to Orlando, FL from October 6-8. Our global Business Aviation community is in the midst of an unprecedented and thrilling transformation before our eyes, as new aircraft, technologies and practices take hold, showcasing the innovation and sustainability of our industry. I encourage readers of BART International to see what this promising future holds, and experience this evolution firsthand, at an NBAA event in 2020.

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/U.S.A. TRANS-ATLANTIC NBAA CANCELS ABACE 2020

!!!

THE National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced the decision to cancel this year’s Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE), given health concerns and other special challenges for event participants, which have arisen in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. ABACE 2020 was scheduled to take place in Shanghai from April 21-23. In remarking on the decision, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen noted: “While the Chinese government is taking commendable steps to address the Coronavirus outbreak, the current situation has presented a very challenging environment for decision-making and action for ABACE participants to fully prepare for the event. This necessary step is being taken in the spirit of partnership, collaboration and transparency.”

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NBAA WELCOMES FAA CALL FOR COMMENT ON DRONE IDENTIFICATION RULE THE National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) commended the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) mandating remote identification for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones. The 319-page NPRM, issued Dec. 26 by the agency, proposes to require remote identification capabilities that would allow a drone’s identity and location to be received by people on the ground and in the air, helping to further the safe integration of the devices into the nation’s airspace system. Specifically, the proposal would: ❍ Create definitions for “unmanned aircraft system”, “unmanned aircraft system service supplier” and “visual line of sight”

❍ Adjust aircraft-registration requirements contained in Parts 47 and 48 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) ❍ Create a new FAR Part 89, “remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems” ❍ Amend transponder and ADS-B requirements in FAR Parts 91 and 107 “The remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems in the airspace of the United States would address safety, national security and law enforcement concerns regarding the further integration of these aircraft into the airspace of the US while also enabling greater operational capabilities,” according to the FAA. “NBAA has long maintained that UAS offer great promise for a variety of applications, including for companies relying on aviation in the conduct of their business,” noted NBAA Vice President, Regulatory and International Affairs Doug Carr. “This notice from the FAA is a foundational document for moving forward with integrating not just UAS, but other emerging technologies, in a way that addresses our industry’s collective safety, security and other objectives. We thank the FAA for issuing this important proposal, and we look forward to working with the FAA and other stakeholders to secure its adoption.”

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UPDATED SAFETY RESOURCE AVAILABLE FOR SINGLE PILOT OPERATIONS OF VLJ AND TAA THE NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION (NBAA) has updated an important training resource for certain single pilot operations – specifically those of jet aircraft weighing 10,000 pounds or less, certificated for single-pilot operations and equipped with advanced cockpit automation, automated engine and systems management and/or integrated autoflight, autopilot and flight guidance systems. The NBAA Training Guidelines for Single Pilot Operations of Very Light Jets (VLJ) and Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA) was revised in response to a safety recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following an Embraer EMB-500 (Phenom 100) accident in 2014 in Gaithersburg, MD. The NTSB determined the probable cause was the pilot’s attempt of an

approach in icing conditions without proper use of the airplane’s deice system or accurate consideration for landing performance speeds based on weather conditions and aircraft weight. “In the safety recommendation, the NTSB tasked NBAA with developing enhanced training guidelines related to risk management in winter operations and special emphasis on appropriate use of ice protection systems and related standard operating procedures, as published by the manufacturer,” said Mark Larsen, NBAA’s senior manager of safety and flight operations. “These revised Training Guidelines for Single Pilot Operations of VLJ and TAA reflect the safety recommendation by placing additional emphasis on these key skills.” Specifically, the updated guidelines feature expanded discussions of: ❍ The areas of greatest risk to these operations, including the implications of winter operations, aircraft performance, and procedural noncompliance ❍ Pre-arrival training and proficiency, to include advanced cockpit procedures, aeronautical decision making and risk management ❍ Recurrent training recommendations ❍ Increased aerodynamics knowledge during training to address unique flying qualities of the aircraft type The guidelines do not establish mandatory training requirements; rather, they are meant to describe the minimum curriculum the association believes is necessary for successful VLJ transition and recurrent training programs. The guidelines help operators and training providers establish their own training programs utilizing these industry best practices.

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FLEET REPORT

NEW MODELS SPUR DELIVERIES The global business aircraft fleet has grown to over 38,400 units, with North America being by far the largest market for the industry. BRIC countries, which were very promising only a few years ago, don’t show any sign of dynamic growth. The pre-owned aircraft market is good for sellers as the inventory for sale is near record-low levels, while the demand is high, reports Volker K. Thomalla

he data for this report provided by JetNet LLC, the leading provider of aviation market information, shows that in terms of business aircraft deliveries, 2019 has been a good year. Despite several challenges like the ongoing political and economic turmoil in Venezuela, the US and China trade dispute and delays in new aircraft types entering the market, the global business aircraft fleet grew by 1.73% from 37,792 units at the end of 2018 to 38,448 units on December 31st 2019. A year before, the growth rate was at 1.4% only. This fleet size incorporates 22,717 business jets (including 317

GROWTH

The global business aircraft fleet grew by 1.73% in 2019.

30 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020

TOP TEN BUSINESS FLEETS BY COUNTRY United States . . . . . . . . . .21339 Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1539 Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1414 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1359 Venezuela

. . . . . . . . . . . . .765

Germany

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .750

Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .628 United Kingdom . . . . . . . . .502 France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .450 China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .447

bizliners) and 15,731 turboprop aircraft. This fleet mix is stable and about the same as in previous years. JetNet’s market intelligence is the most comprehensive, commercially available survey on the market. The company invites each quarter a selected number of business aircraft operators to take part in the survey. About 500 are responding each quarter, which gives the researchers a sufficiently sized data base to analyze the market trends. 2019 has been a seller’s market. At the end of September 2019, 9.8 percent of the worldwide business jet fleet was up for sale. This number is even below the lowest pre-crisis level in November 2007. The highest number of preowned jets for sale ever recorded was in August 2009, when 17.7 percent of the fleet were on the market. Inventories of pre-owned business jets for sale have increased and are now headed to the 2,200 mark at 2,167 for sale. JetNet explains: “Historically, there has been a one-year lag in new business jet deliveries versus preowned sale transactions. However, we find ourselves on new ground, as used inventory levels were once correlated with new sales such that most new owners needed to sell their existing aircraft before a new delivery took place.

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JET SUMMARY BY MODEL MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPE AIRBUS A310-200 1 1 AIRBUS A310-300 16 9 AIRBUS A320-200 15 2 AIRBUS A330-200 2 0 AIRBUS A340-200 7 0 AIRBUS A340-300X 2 2 AIRBUS A340-500 4 0 AIRBUS A340-600 2 0 AIRBUS ACJ318 20 6 AIRBUS ACJ319 64 26 AIRBUS ACJ319neo 1 1 AIRBUS ACJ320 14 0 AIRBUS ACJ320neo 1 1 AIRBUS ACJ330 3 0 ASTRA 1125 28 0 ASTRA 1125SP 31 0 ASTRA 1125SPX 57 3 AVRO RJ-70 2 2 BAE 146-100 4 3 BAE 146-200 2 0 BEECHJET 400 34 1 BEECHJET 400A 264 17 BOEING 707-120B 3 0 BOEING 707-320 7 1 BOEING 707-320B 10 2 BOEING 707-320C 17 1 BOEING 727-100 14 0 BOEING 727-200 1 0 BOEING 727-200 ADVANCED 16 2 BOEING 737-200 4 0 BOEING 737-200 ADVANCED 13 1 BOEING 737-300 9 3 BOEING 737-400 3 0 BOEING 737-500 5 0 BOEING 737-700 2 0 BOEING 737-700C 9 0 BOEING 737-800 7 1 BOEING 747-200B 2 0 BOEING 747-300 1 0 BOEING 747-400 6 0 BOEING 747-400M 1 0 BOEING 747-8I 3 0 BOEING 747SP 8 0 BOEING 757-200 17 2 BOEING 767-200 1 0 BOEING 767-200ER 7 0 BOEING 767-300ER 4 1 BOEING 767-400ER 1 0 BOEING 777-200 1 0 BOEING 777-200ER 2 0 BOEING 777-200LR 1 0 BOEING 777-300ER 2 0 BOEING 787-8 7 0 BOEING 787-9 2 1 BOEING BBJ 128 23 BOEING BBJ MAX 8 2 0 BOEING BBJ2 22 6 BOEING BBJ3 7 1 BOEING BBJ747-8 4 0 BOEING BBJ787-8 1 0 BOEING BBJ787-9 1 0 BOMBARDIER CRJ100 5 0 BOMBARDIER CRJ200 12 5 BOMBARDIER CRJ700 4 0 CHALLENGER 300 453 32 CHALLENGER 350 317 49 CHALLENGER 600 62 0 CHALLENGER 601-1A 35 1 CHALLENGER 601-3A 117 9 CHALLENGER 601-3R 55 3 CHALLENGER 604 352 55

CHALLENGER 605 CHALLENGER 650 CHALLENGER 800 CHALLENGER 850 CHALLENGER 870 CIRRUS VISION SF50 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 LONGITUDE 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 650E EMBRAER LEGACY SHUTTLE EMBRAER LINEAGE 1000 EMBRAER LINEAGE 1000E EMBRAER PHENOM 100 EMBRAER PHENOM 100E EMBRAER PHENOM 100EV EMBRAER PHENOM 300 EMBRAER PHENOM 300E EMBRAER PRAETOR 500 EMBRAER PRAETOR 600 FALCON 10 FALCON 100 FALCON 200 FALCON 2000 FALCON 2000DX FALCON 2000EX FALCON 2000EX EASy FALCON 2000LX FALCON 2000LXS FALCON 2000S FALCON 20C

AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2019 285 94 9 71 9 154 182 340 311 193 102 233 220 409 147 313 160 65 354 22 273 497 65 173 219 5 234 464 138 346 86 266 247 35 113 306 31 328 275 1 35 11 10 31 250 3 50 79 168 95 9 18 16 10 289 46 34 470 51 1 11 86 23 24 223 4 26 103 131 93 41 53

45 22 0 29 1 12 12 62 34 31 26 45 59 38 11 41 3 5 22 6 25 44 11 10 33 0 35 101 3 26 9 6 6 3 11 19 0 60 71 0 2 3 4 4 21 0 5 10 50 30 7 1 2 3 34 8 2 78 9 0 3 7 5 3 19 0 2 27 25 25 11 19

FALCON 20C-5 FALCON 20D FALCON 20D-5 FALCON 20E FALCON 20E-5 FALCON 20F FALCON 20F-5 FALCON 20G 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 7500 GLOBAL EXPRESS GLOBAL EXPRESS XRS GULFSTREAM G100 GULFSTREAM G150 GULFSTREAM G200 GULFSTREAM G280 GULFSTREAM G300 GULFSTREAM G350 GULFSTREAM G400 GULFSTREAM G450 GULFSTREAM G500 GULFSTREAM G-500 GULFSTREAM G550 GULFSTREAM G600 GULFSTREAM G650 GULFSTREAM G650ER 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 400XPR HAWKER 750 HAWKER 800A HAWKER 800B

14 21 2 31 11 66 62 5 193 7 100 275 51 166 25 24 114 118 75 3 1 228 305 8 143 153 22 125 238 184 13 11 23 350 28 9 580 6 245 147 60 23 125 175 296 191 39 6 6 5 10 1 4 1 1 7 1 12 19 12 3 9 5 2 113 23 69 218 5 45 185 43

3 7 0 14 4 6 0 5 22 0 9 100 28 20 3 7 15 21 19 2 0 53 108 3 31 43 2 6 27 13 0 0 1 25 2 0 67 1 48 14 1 0 1 3 10 7 3 3 1 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 13 4 14 0 11 4 5

Jet Fleet HAWKER 800XP 397 HAWKER 800XPI 51 HAWKER 850XP 97 HAWKER 900XP 180 HONDAJET ELITE 34 HONDAJET HA-420 94 JET COMMANDER 1121 5 JET COMMANDER 1121B 3 JETSTAR 731 4 JETSTAR 8 3 JETSTAR II 12 LEARJET 23 7 LEARJET 24 13 LEARJET 24A 1 LEARJET 24B 10 LEARJET 24D 34 LEARJET 24E 9 LEARJET 24F 8 LEARJET 25 8 LEARJET 25B 38 LEARJET 25C 6 LEARJET 25D 93 LEARJET 25G 3 LEARJET 28 4 LEARJET 29 3 LEARJET 31 29 LEARJET 31A 194 LEARJET 35 31 LEARJET 35A 391 LEARJET 36 15 LEARJET 36A 37 LEARJET 40 37 LEARJET 40XR 91 LEARJET 45 235 LEARJET 45XR 203 LEARJET 55 101 LEARJET 55B 7 LEARJET 55C 11 LEARJET 60 290 LEARJET 60XR 112 LEARJET 70 14 LEARJET 75 127 MCDD DC-8-62H 2 MCDD DC-9-10 5 MCDD MD-81 1 MCDD MD-83 2 MCDD MD-87 11 NEXTANT 400XT 27 NEXTANT 400XTi 33 PILATUS PC-24 50 PREMIER I 120 PREMIER IA 155 SABRELINER 40 6 SABRELINER 40A 17 SABRELINER 40EL 4 SABRELINER 40R 1 SABRELINER 60 23 SABRELINER 60A 2 SABRELINER 60EL 2 SABRELINER 60ELXM 19 SABRELINER 60EX 2 SABRELINER 60SCELXM 2 SABRELINER 65 55 SABRELINER 80 16 SABRELINER 80A 2 SABRELINER 80SC 5 SUKHOI SBJ 4 SYBERJET SJ30-2 4 WESTWIND 1 76 WESTWIND 1123 5 WESTWIND 1124 24 WESTWIND 2 63 Total Jets 22,282

28 8 12 15 3 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 48 0 4 8 5 22 13 6 1 0 17 14 0 11 1 0 0 1 2 10 8 12 17 26 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,808

Europe World

12.3 % 87.7 %

Turboprops Fleet Europe 8.6 % World 91.4 %

Total Fleet Europe 10.8 % World 89.2 %

TURBOPROPS MFG/MODEL 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 350ER KING AIR 350i KING AIR 350iER 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 B200CGT 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

TOTAL EUROPE 10 7 124 53 89 40 484 41 1,572 86 498 15 39 4 161 12 16 3 303 31 67 5 45 7 71 6 201 16 292 6 59 1 89 0 43 0 64 9 109 18 78 23 41 0 616 39 26 1 17 3 239 40 199 3 18 5 668 30 76 7 41 7 438 25 10 3 18 0 11 0 90 2 202 3 62 1 108 2 110 1 1,065 82 117 5 1 0 7 0 114 9 5 1 21 1 87 3 398 28 39 0 217 11 412 21 94 1 120 12

KING AIR C90GTx 189 14 KING AIR C90SE 16 0 KING AIR E90 266 12 KING AIR F90 184 5 KING AIR F90-1 29 2 KODIAK 100 239 10 MERLIN 300 9 1 MERLIN IIB 26 4 MERLIN III 19 1 MERLIN IIIA 33 6 MERLIN IIIB 51 4 MERLIN IIIC 20 3 MERLIN IV 5 1 MERLIN IV-A 12 1 MERLIN IV-C 16 4 MITSUBISHI MARQUISE 81 1 MITSUBISHI MU-2C 16 0 MITSUBISHI MU-2D 1 0 MITSUBISHI MU-2F 26 0 MITSUBISHI MU-2G 1 0 MITSUBISHI MU-2J 16 0 MITSUBISHI MU-2K 35 5 MITSUBISHI MU-2L 10 0 MITSUBISHI MU-2M 18 3 MITSUBISHI MU-2N 23 0 MITSUBISHI MU-2P 26 2 MITSUBISHI MU-2S 17 0 MITSUBISHI SOLITAIRE 39 2 PILATUS PC-12 NG 888 169 PILATUS PC-12/45 556 33 PILATUS PC-12/47 199 11 PIPER M500 79 12 PIPER M600 105 11 PIPER MALIBU JETPROP 275 64 PIPER MERIDIAN 546 86 SOCATA TBM-700A 102 33 SOCATA TBM-700B 81 9 SOCATA TBM-700C1 5 3 SOCATA TBM-700C2 95 8 SOCATA TBM-850 326 44 SOCATA TBM-900 111 13 SOCATA TBM-910 44 11 SOCATA TBM-930 129 13 SOCATA TBM-940 10 0 STARSHIP 2000A 5 1 TURBO COMMANDER 1000 89 1 TURBO COMMANDER 690 40 1 TURBO COMMANDER 690A 168 8 TURBO COMMANDER 690B 172 4 TURBO COMMANDER 840 93 3 TURBO COMMANDER 900 31 0 TURBO COMMANDER 980 58 3 Total TurboProp 15,731 1,351 Grand Total 38,013 4,159 Â© JETNET LLC

FLEET REPORT

EUROPE

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

NORTH AMERICA Country Total Antigua and Barbuda 1 Aruba 3 Bahamas 35 Barbados 5 Belize 25 Bermuda 8 Canada 1332 Cayman Islands 15 Costa Rica 45 Dominican Republic 61 El Salvador 9 Greenland 3 Guadeloupe 5 Guatemala 113 Haiti 4 Honduras 35 Jamaica 9 Mexico 1439 Nicaragua 5 Panama 98 Puerto Rico 45 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 Saint Lucia 1 Saint Vincent-Grenadines 4 Sint Maarten 3 Trinidad and Tobago 2 Turks and Caicos Islands 3 United States 21888 Virgin Islands (British) 17 Virgin Islands (U.S.) 19 West Indies 6 Total 25240

Executive* Jet 0 1 0 2 0 15 0 4 0 3 0 8 10 532 0 14 0 11 0 42 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 36 0 0 0 8 0 7 6 974 0 2 0 33 0 22 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 90 13797 2 10 0 12 0 1 109 15547

34 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020

Turb. 0 1 20 1 22 0 790 1 34 19 4 3 5 77 4 27 2 459 3 65 23 2 0 2 1 0 1 8001 5 7 5 9584

Country Total Albania 1 Austria 208 Belarus 4 Belgium 99 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 Bulgaria 23 Channel Islands 1 Croatia 13 Cyprus 16 Czech Republic 107 Denmark 78 Estonia 16 Finland 30 France 482 France Metropolitan 1 Germany 783 Gibraltar 1 Greece 38 Guernsey 5 Hungary 21 Iceland 8 Ireland 30 Isle of Man 34 Italy 180 Jersey 0 Kosovo 1 Latvia 8 Liechtenstein 2 Lithuania 11 Luxembourg 79 Macedonia 2 Malta 138 Monaco 1 Montenegro 3 Netherlands 87 Norway 52 Poland 64 Portugal 131 Romania 20 Russian Federation 244 San Marino 26 Scotland 5 Serbia 31 Slovak Republic 26 Slovenia 15 Spain 148 Sweden 81 Switzerland 245 Ukraine 32 United Kingdom 525 4159 Total

Executive* Jet 0 1 0 165 0 2 0 57 0 3 1 13 0 0 0 8 0 12 0 66 1 57 0 9 0 16 6 272 0 1 8 495 0 1 0 21 1 2 0 13 0 0 0 20 0 21 0 112 0 0 0 1 0 8 1 0 2 9 1 39 0 2 3 128 0 0 0 2 1 42 0 21 0 42 0 126 1 13 4 207 0 23 0 0 0 24 2 19 0 11 3 108 1 40 3 160 0 27 9 341 48 2760

Turb. 0 43 2 42 0 9 1 5 4 41 20 7 14 204 0 280 0 17 2 8 8 10 13 68 0 0 0 1 0 39 0 7 1 1 44 31 22 5 6 33 3 5 7 5 4 37 40 82 5 175 1351

AUSTRALIA & OCEANIA

Country Total Australia 635 British Indian Ocean Terr 1 Cook Islands 1 Fiji 6 French Polynesia 6 Guam 4 Kiribati 0 Marshall Islands 1 New Caledonia 7 New Zealand 81 Northern Mariana Islands 1 Palau 1 Papua New Guinea 28 Saipan 1 Samoa 3 Solomon Islands 1 Tahiti 0 Vanuatu 1 Total 778

Executive* 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

Jet 202 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 18 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 230

Turb. 431 0 0 6 5 4 0 0 5 62 1 1 25 1 3 0 0 1 545

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

SOUTH AMERICA

Total Executive* Jet 359 1 186 31 1 8 1566 2 739 133 3 49 344 0 47 3 0 0 45 0 21 21 0 1 90 1 18 52 1 11 7 0 0 10 0 2 739 1 316 3400 10 1398

AFRICA

Country Total Algeria 42 Angola 74 Benin 1 Botswana 63 Burkina Faso 6 Burundi 1 Cameroon 8 Canary Islands 2 Cape Verde 3 Central African Republic 6 Chad 9 Comoros 1 Congo 8 Cote d''Ivoire 12 Dem. Republic of Congo 29 Djibouti 2 Egypt 44 Equatorial Guinea 5 Eritrea 2 Ethiopia 11 Gabon 10 Gambia 4 Ghana 12 Guinea 1 Guinea-Bissau 1 Kenya 137 Liberia 2 Libya 15 Madagascar 23 Malawi 4 Mali Republic 6 Mauritania 7 Mauritius 4 Morocco 56 Mozambique 11 Namibia 40 Niger 8 Nigeria 109 Sao Tome and Principe 1 Senegal 12 Seychelles Islands 1 Sierra Leone 1 South Africa 418 South Sudan 4 Sudan 9 Swaziland 2 Tanzania 96 Togo 8 Tunisia 3 Uganda 25 Zambia 26 Zimbabwe 17 1402 Total

Executive* Jet 0 12 4 29 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 4 1 3 3 13 1 1 1 39 1 4 0 1 0 0 1 6 2 2 0 7 0 0 0 0 2 11 0 0 1 9 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 37 0 4 0 10 0 1 3 91 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 143 0 0 0 6 2 0 0 4 1 3 0 3 0 1 0 3 0 2 30 474

Turb. 172 22 825 81 297 3 24 20 71 40 7 8 422 1992

Turb. 30 41 1 58 4 0 5 0 0 6 5 1 4 8 13 0 4 0 1 11 3 0 5 1 1 124 2 5 21 4 4 6 3 18 7 30 7 15 0 9 1 1 274 4 3 0 92 4 0 24 23 15 898

Country Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Brunei 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 54 1 12 12 8 5 2 464 2 123 235 160 42 18 98 270 26 38 27 1 2 18 7 94 1 6 3 7 14 58 121 36 175 71 51 6 2 34 86 157 5 135 3 11 2 2703

Executive* Jet 0 0 0 1 1 11 5 5 0 1 3 2 0 2 4 287 0 2 0 116 4 147 0 48 5 21 0 1 14 46 4 95 1 16 1 31 4 20 0 1 0 0 1 14 1 6 2 64 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 11 1 33 3 57 3 32 27 119 1 59 2 35 0 0 0 2 2 26 3 33 3 116 0 5 5 100 3 0 0 4 0 0 106 1570

Turb. 54 0 0 2 7 0 0 173 0 7 84 112 16 17 38 171 9 6 3 0 2 3 0 28 1 6 2 7 0 24 61 1 29 11 14 6 0 6 50 38 0 30 0 7 2 1027

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020 - 35

ON DUTY

A Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprop in Tanzania.

FLEET REPORT 12 MONTH WORLDWIDE TURBINE FLEET 2018

2019

Unit Change

Growth

Worldwide

37,792

38,448

656

1.7%

United States

21,339

21,888

549

2.6%

Africa

1,347

1,402

4.1%

Asia

2,670

2,704

1.3%

Europe

3,981

4,160

179

4.5%

North America

24,705

25,240

535

2.2%

766

778

1.6%

3,409

3,400

-9

-0.3%

Australia & Oceania South America

Honeywell Aerospace traditionally publishes its Business Aviation Outlook on the eve of NBAA-BACE, which took place in October last year in Las Vegas. The company’s 28 th annual Global Business Aviation Outlook came up with a surprise. Despite high aircraft deliveries in 2019, the delivery forecast for the period 2019 to 2028 was lower than a year before. Honeywell’s market researchers see an increase in business jet deliveries in the near term future, mainly spurred by new airplane models which are in develop-

Of course, this is still true, but preowned inventory levels are no longer a reliable indicator of new sales. This relationship may no longer hold as true, due to the sharp decline in the realized used aircraft residual values. The price differential of new versus used has made used more attractive. However, most aircraft brokers will explain that the reduction of pre-owned sales in the first 9 months of 2019 is not so much about declining demand as it is about a lack of aircraft to choose from for the discerning buyer at the right price.” ment or right before entry-into-service. “Production ramp up on many new business jet platforms are expected to lead to a 7 percent increase in deliveries in 2020, following a strong projected growth in 2019 over 2018 aircraft deliveries,” said Heath Patrick, president, Americas Aftermarket, Honeywell Aerospace, in Las Vegas. “We are confident that these new and innovative aircraft models will support solid growth in the short term and have a continuing impact on new business jet purchases in the midterm and long term.”

DELIVERY

Daher’s Kodiak and TBM aircraft (center right). The first medevac PC-24 was handed over to RFDS Australia (bottom right).

JetNet forecasts deliveries of 7,050 business jets between 2019 and 2028 worth US$214 billion. This number excludes single-engine, personal jets like the Cirrus SF50 Vision. The overall outlook is positive. “In 2019, the OEM’s backlogs rebounded for the first time post-crisis”, said Rollie Vincent, JetNet iQ creator and director. Asked for their most popular aircraft, the survey participants named the Bombardier Challenger 350, the Pilatus Aircraft PC-24 and the Gulfstream G500.

36 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020

But during the forecast period, the company sees deliveries of 7,600 business jets worth US$248 billion. That’s about 100 aircraft less compared to the forecast a year before. The predictions of Honeywell’s market specialists for the next five years have been proven to be quite accurate in the past as they are based on surveys with over 1,500 operators worldwide who give the market researcher a good database to draw conclusions from. One of the key findings of the latest outlook is that operators plan to replace about 17 percent of their fleets over the next five years. This represents a decrease of three percent compared to 2018. Of the total purchase plans for new business jets over the next five years, 35 percent are expected to occur in the first two years of the survey, with 57 percent of purchase plans realized by year three. This is 5 percentage points higher than last year’s survey. But not all operators want to purchase new equipment. The survey shows that 32 percent of fleet replacements or expansion should be made with preowned jets. This number is 8 percentage points up from 2018.

According to Honeywell – and not surprisingly – North America will keep its position as key market for business jets in the foreseeable future. The researchers expect 60 percent of all business aircraft deliveries in the next five years being head-

ed to North American customers. This is 2 percent lower than last year. Europe follows with 19 percent and the Asia/Pacific region with 10 percent. Latin America should take 7 percent of all deliveries while Middle East/Africa will account for 4 percent.

BUSINESS JET DELIVERY FORECAST IN UNITS

Honeywell International

REGIONAL OUTLOOK

PURCHASE PLAN BY AIRCRAFT CLASS Big Cabin 73% total valuation (Large through business liner)

Honeywell International

42%

Midsize 19% total valuation (Medium to Super-Midsize)

29%

Small Cabin 8% total valuation

29% Honeywell International

AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES

LEAD

Honeywell International

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020 - 37

North America will remain to be key market for bizjets in the foreseeable future.

FLEET REPORT craft as well as a number of bizliners are extremely popular in the region. Ongoing political tensions between the different players in the Gulf region can hurt business aircraft sales significantly. Saudi-Arabia is the largest market in the region with an installed fleet of 175 turbine-powered business aircraft. Most popular are large-cabin and ultra long-range aircraft. Qatar features a small, but important fleet. Qatar Executive is the international launch customer of the G500 and G600 and one of the launch customers of the G700. Qatari nationals are not allowed

NEWEST

The supermidsize, cleansheet Cessna Longitude (left). Dassault’s fastest-ever selling bizjet Falcon 7X (right).

At the end of 2019, 57 percent or 21,888 business aircraft – jet and turboprop – were based in the US alone. The second-largest fleet is based in Brazil. The country’s fleet has seen in increase by only 17 aircraft in the last 12 months. Mexico is home to 1,439 business aircraft, securing the global number three position. Canada follows with 1,332 aircraft. Venezuela hasn’t overcome its deep political crisis which hurts the economy and has spurred hyper-inflation. It comes as a surprise that the country has lost only 25 aircraft during 2019. A much higher unit reduction could have been expected. The overall Venezuelan fleet stood at 739 aircraft on December 31st, 2019. The German business aircraft fleet grew by 33 units to 783 business aircraft positioning the country for the first time on the fifth rank in the worldwide fleet ranking, changing ranks with Venezuela. But purchase expectations in Germany were lower than in 2018. This could be linked to Brexit anxiety or to the economy in Germany. Australia (635), the United Kingdom (525), France (482) and China (464) filled the next ranks. The UK’s fleet size increase came as a surprise for the market researchers. The UK’s exit from the European Union could have easily been followed by an exodus of its business aircraft fleet into EU countries and with that a reduction in size. But the opposite happened. The fleet grew by 4,5 percent from 502 aircraft to 525 aircraft within a year. The UK’s aircraft owners and operators seem to be well prepared for Brexit and have adapted their business models accordingly. They see more opportunities than risks in Brexit and have invested in an expansion of their fleets.

38 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020

But to put the numbers of China, France and the UK in perspective: Each of these countries total business fleets are smaller than the number of aircraft by which the US fleet grew in the last year. While there is still a huge potential for business aircraft sales in China, there is no indication that this potential will be exploited anytime soon. Same is true for India, which features only a fleet of 235 aircraft, 18 aircraft less than a year before. India’s airport infrastructure does not support a huge growth of its business aircraft fleet with the booming airline industry taking up every square inch of available space at Indian airports. Without a major change in the airport infrastructure, the Indian business aircraft fleet simply has no space to grow. Business aircraft manufacturers monitor the situation in the Gulf region closely. Unit-wise the region’s fleet is only 4,0 percent of the world’s fleet, but value-wise it’s a different story as long-range, large-cabin air-

to enter several neighboring countries or to use their airspace due to a conflict with Saudi-Arabia. If this conflict remains unsolved, it will have a negative impact on Business Aviation in the region. Honeywell has asked operators what main factors influence purchasing decisions. The operators have clear priorities: aircraft performance is the main factor, followed by brand experience, cabin and range. But survey participants also named direct operating costs and customer support experience as important factors in their jet purchasing decision process. The market seems to have a hunger for bigger jets. 42 percent of the survey’s participants that wanted to buy new aircraft within the outlook’s forecast period, mentioned that they were looking for large-cabin jets. This trend towards larger jets is growing. 29 percent indicated that they wanted to buy midsize jets and another 29 percent wanted to opt for light jets.

Value-wise the epicenter of new aircraft sales will clearly be the upper end of the market. About 73 percent of the valuation over the forecast period are accounted to the large-cabin segment while only 27 percent are left over for the midsize and light jet segments, which account for the majority of units. Asked for a specific model that the operators would intend to buy, the Bombardier Challenger 350 was the most mentioned type. The number of business aircraft types has grown over recent years to about 40 different aircraft types – the highest number of certified models in production ever in history – and will continue to grow. Market fragmentation is continuing which will increase the competition and could lower the profit margins for the manufacturers. Among the new aircraft types coming to the market in the foreseeable future are the all-new ultra long-range Gulfstream G700, which was unveiled at the NBAA-BACE 2019 in Las Vegas. “The Gulfstream G700 takes the very best elements from our most innovative products and unites them with cutting-edge advances to create an allnew, advanced-technology aircraft that redefines safety, comfort and range at speed,” said Gulfstream President Mark Burns. The G700 offers their operators a 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 kilometers) range at Mach 0.85 or 6,400 nautical miles range at Mach 0.90. Powered by two new Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 turbofans and equipped with newly designed winglets, the aircraft will be the largest business jet ever built by the Savannah, Georgia, based manufacturer. Dassault Aviation of Saint-Cloud near Paris in France will bring two new aircraft to the market within the next years. The ultra long-range Falcon 6X is in final assembly in Bordeaux-Mérignac and should fly in 2021. The OEM expects certification and entry- into-service in 2022. But Dassault has already started working on another new aircraft project. Eric Trappier, the company’s chief executive officer, has announced at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas, that the designers are busily working on another aircraft project. He did not mention any details, but he announced that more details of the new project will be unveiled at NBAA-BACE 2020.

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Honeywell International Brian Foley, the founder of Brian Foley Associates, a consultancy and strategic research company, is skeptic about the market being flooded with too many aircraft models. He stated: “There are too many business jet models chasing too few buyers and something will likely give. Fortyone models of new business jets from 7 manufacturers vie for just 700 total worldwide industry sales per year. In response to tepid demand, leading makers such as Textron Aviation’s Cessna division and General Dynamics’ Gulfstream unit announced layoffs in late 2019. With such a relatively small market and workforce cutbacks, it wouldn’t be surprising for a least one of the participants to call it quits. The last culling of the herd hasn’t occurred since Hawker Beechcraft went bankrupt a few years ago. Cessna ended up buying its ruins and 4 Hawker Beechcraft jet models were permanently removed from the market – hardly enough to make a dent in the cornucopia of business jet models to choose from.” The impact of the ADS-B mandate in the US and in Europe cannot be seen in the 2019 figures. But there’s no doubt that a number of older aircraft will be taken off the registry because the cost of retrofitting them with new avionics is much higher than their market value. All market forecasts are very cautious about the impact that supersonic business jets might have on the industry. Aerion Supersonic has been working on its AS2 project for quite a while now but seem to have reached a point where all previous work comes to fruition. In the last quarter

of 2019, the Reno, Nevada, company has announced several partnerships with industry-leading suppliers like GE Aviation, Safran Group, Aernnova and Potez Aéronautique. Aerion has also teamed with Boeing to develop the aircraft and to advance the supersonic market. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works are also working on a supersonic civil aircraft. They are assembling in Palmdale, California, NASA’s research aircraft X-59 QueSST (Quiet SuperSonic Technology Demonstrator) which should be flying as early as 2021. NASA expects the X-59’s special shape to reduce the shockwave that creates the supersonic boom to a point, where it’s barely audible on the ground. It will be the X-59’s job to validate those theories, and once that’s done, the airplane will be flown over several US communities which still need to be selected, so residents below can provide reactions to what they might or might not hear. That data will then be passed on to the FAA and international regulators, who will use that information to help rewrite the rules so that supersonic flight over land is regulated based on noise levels and not the arbitrary speed of Mach 1. When that happens, a major hurdle will be cleared for the industry to move forward for establishing a new market for commercial supersonic flight over land, opening the door for a new era of Business Aviation which will for sure have an impact on the overall business jet market. “We think that a supersonic business jet will take-off before Urban Air Mobility will be a reality,” said Rollie Vincent from JetNet LLC.

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BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020 - 39

FORECAST

Europe's share of global demand over the next 5 years is estimated to be 19%, while Asia’s is 10%.

2020 OUTLOOK

FLIGHT SHAMING HITS BUSINESS AVIATION AND OTHER PREDICTIONS FOR Oftentimes industry outlooks tend to be nothing

more than an extrapolation of what’s already happening at the end of the year rolled into next. For private aviation however, there are developments that would suggest that 2020 will shape up much differently than 2019. Here are some thoughts, trends and predictions for the year from Brian Foley

JAUNT

Prince Harry has recently been slammed for jet-setting around Europe.

arely in the industry’s vernacular as 2019 rolled in, the term “flight-shaming” from the Swedish word Flygskam was developed by environmentalists to create the perception that one should be ashamed for flying and leaving a carbon footprint. Whereas criticism of corporate executives flying off into the sunset in their private jets had always been a crowd favorite to stick it to “the man” adding the environmental card now brings a nuclear option to activists’ arsenal. Aircraft owners risk being publicly called out à la Prince Harry for his now infamous Gulfstream jet trip to pal Elton John’s. In 2020, private flyers will gravitate towards ways to evade this kind of judgment and public humiliation, either by voluntarily paying into third-party carbon offset programs to have a good alibi if confronted, or by ditching aircraft ownership altogether by using charter, fractional or other non-ownership models that better protect identities. The latter is not at all helpful to new business jet sales which have been stubbornly anemic for the past decade. To create favorable corporate identities of being deeply concerned, committed stewards of the environment, companies in the Business Aviation industry will tweak their ad copy and concoct PR stunts to demonstrate commitment, such as one-time flights

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using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), by now an overdone skit. Others will offer voluntary access to pay-as-you-go carbon taxes to accommodate those who really care and others who want what is essentially an insurance policy to avoid public shaming. The only way out of this quagmire would be through the gradual introduction of hybrid-electric propulsion systems which eventually lead to allelectric engines. While the former could take 10 years and the latter 20 to come to limited fruition, it would eventually squelch the criticism even if smoke-belching, coal-fired electric plants are being used to charge the batteries.

2020 What to Watch Follow the money. With the US stock market up around a whopping 30% in 2019 and a repeat performance unlikely, investors are looking to overseas financial markets for better returns in 2020. This will have the effect of stimulating non-North American and emerging markets which have been on hiatus for much of the decade. Back in 2010, emerging markets accounted for 35% of worldwide business jet deliveries. In 2018 that figure had been reduced by half due to a variety of geopolitical and economic reasons. An inflow of investment due to attractive stock valuations coupled with an improved outlook for global

growth and the probability of a successful Brexit will create a decent uptick in offshore business jet sales. This comes at a good time as the economic cycle of largest purveyor of jets, the US, matures and buyers remain skittish. The Unconventional Wisdom A lot has been said of late of the sharing economy’s effect on the industry. It’s been popularized that a younger generation of fliers want nothing to do with aircraft ownership, only wanting access and the experience of private flying. The theory was this would further dent new aircraft sales while benefiting non-ownership models such as charter, fractional and jet cards – essentially a prepaid charter debit card. If that’s the case, it’s certainly not showing up in FAA flight statistics or even notionally. Charter continues to be an oversupplied market with what seems like a race to the bottom on pricing. The number of flight operations, or takeoffs and landings of chartered business jets in the US, barely budges each month, while fractional aircraft providers such as Berkshire Hathaway’s Netjets division is still a shadow of its former self since the worldwide financial crisis. Feedback from leaders in the charter business suggests that millennials representing the sharing economy are barely moving the needle. While the topic makes for good cocktail conversation, it cannot be verified either objectively or subjectively. The unpopular and contrarian truth is that the new aircraft sales lull cannot be attributed to the instant gratification crowd, nor are they swarming to any non-ownership means of private air travel. The Misplaced Assumption A great economy is no longer a proxy for new business jet sales. US stock markets and corporate profitability have been consistently breaking records. In previous times this would have signaled a booming jet sales environment. Instead, sales have been flat for a decade and much of the stock market run-up can be attributed to artificial government interest rate stimulus rather than fundamentals. Instead of shelling out money for a jet, companies are deploying capital to areas of higher return instead of a

depreciating asset. Profits have been going towards company stock buybacks while jets, which at one point held close to 80% of their value after 5 years, can be worth less than 50% of the new price as supply equals demand and a business jet finally depreciates like any other capital good should. It could even be argued that sales have remained stable and not fallen any further only because of a good economy. This kind of reasoning would then portend a decrease in sales should economic growth falter in any way. The Bold Prediction There are too many business jet models chasing too few buyers and something will likely give. Forty-one models of new business jets from 7 manufacturers vie for just 700 total worldwide industry sales per year. In response to tepid demand, leading makers such as Textron Aviation’s Cessna division and General Dynamics’ Gulfstream unit announced layoffs in late 2019. With such a relatively small market and workforce cutbacks, it wouldn’t be surprising for a least one of the participants to call it quits. The last culling of the herd hasn’t occurred since Hawker Beechcraft went bankrupt a few years ago. Cessna ended up buying its ruins and four Hawker Beechcraft jet models were permanently removed from the market — hardly enough to make a dent in the cornucopia of business jet models to choose from. If there were a weak link in the industry it could be the Learjet division of Bombardier, the parent who has been relentlessly shedding business units to remain viable. It surely has been evaluating its Learjet division which only delivered 9 units through the third quarter of 2019 and is the smallest contributor to the company’s overall business jet sale revenues which include the Challenger and Global Express divisions. Learjet’s recent move to offer a stripped-down, no frills, discounted model called the Liberty could be interpreted as a move to get rid of the last of the inventory rather than a tactical market strategy. With an aging product line, the company cancelled its allnew Learjet 85 a few years ago which further questions its long-term commitment.

Epilogue 2020 will hardly be a repeat of 2019 in the Business Aviation industry. The green movement will rise logarithmically creating a widespread move for companies to rebrand themselves as environmentally responsible while their clients seek carbon offset programs or explore non-ownership private flying models to also protect their image. With barely a detectable pulse the last several years, emerging markets will slowly be resuscitated to become more meaningful purveyors of new business jets. This would be timely as the next generation of millennial flyers aren’t pulling their weight, and the US economy can’t sustain the industry forever as talk of a recession in the next year or two permeates financial conversations. Lastly, a measly 700 worldwide business jet sales per year will test the resolve of some plane manufacturers, with the possibility of a storied brand being sold or quieted. In short, 2020 will not be just another cookie-cutter 2019.

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Since 2006 Brian Foley Associates (BRiFO) has helped aerospace firms and investors with strategic research and guidance. www.BRiFO.com Its sister company AvStrategies helps match aviation investors with great companies www.AvStrategies.com

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020 - 41

COMPETITION

There are too many business jet models chasing too few buyers.

FLEET REPORT

WILL BUSINESS AVIATION WILT OR BOUNCE BACK IN 2020?

Richard Koe scrutinizes some of the most notable aviation trends of 2019 and shares his sector predictions for 2020

CONTRAST

2019 was marked by stronger sales, but wilting confidence in the sector.

ack in January last year, 2019 was widely expected to deliver the Business Aviation industry a recovery path from its long period of recession and standstill. The preowned market already had impetus from a surge in transactions in 2018 and as excess capacity finally burnt off, industry optimism was at a longtime high that its lost-decade was finally over. In some ways, 2019 has delivered on that promise, with the largest number of new deliveries in a decade – around 10% up on 2018 – and leading OEM order books restored to parity. Yet the year-end forecasts for next decade deliveries were downgraded, as in each of recent years, and current industry confidence surveys, at their high point 12 months ago, show substantial deterioration in the last few months. The juxtaposition of stronger sales but wilting confidence during 2019 reflects the positive cyclical trends in the industry jarring with an increasingly uncertain macroeconomic environment. On the one hand, with the 2010s’ over-capacity worked out, new higher performance aircraft are well-timed to meet long-delayed customer upgrade requirements. On the other

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hand, global growth momentum back in 2017 has since withered away, with mature business jet markets like Europe at a standstill, and formerly fast growing emerging markets for the industry, including China, Russia, Brazil, much weaker. The global industry is ever more reliant on the US market, where the economy has maintained a remarkably long growth cycle, but relatively modest. Moreover, business investment in capital assets, especially on private jets, is lagging well behind corporate profitability. The relative weakness in overall aircraft sales is reflected in the preowned markets. Record activity in 2018 gave way to a much weaker market in 2019, with pre-owned inventory levels again rising towards 10%. Much of the older stock now semi-permanently parked, especially those models which missed the FAA’s ADSB mandate on January 1st. There is also an increase in younger aircraft for sale, which points to some cannibalization in various OEM categories. In particular, the sales of new Gulfstream and Bombardier ultra-long range jets is pushing their antecedent models onto the pre-owned market.

Volatility in business jet residual values, mostly downwards, has been a major restraint on the recovery of the industry after the recession. From 2018 into 2019, there was some welcome stabilization in values. That may well change now we are beyond the FAA ADSB mandate. The overall effect of new deliveries, transactions and retirements on flight activity came out about neutral, with globally operated flight hours on around 30,000 business jets and turboprops 0.7% up on the aggregate for 2018. Given that the net effect of new deliveries and retirements is estimated at around 2%, overall utilization seems to have flagged. In terms of business jet traffic, a total of 2.9 million sectors were flown by 20,831 jets worldwide in 2019, by just under 10,000 aircraft, representing a 1.6% increase on 2018. Around two thirds of that activity was recorded in the United States, although activity growth of less than 1% was disappointing given that the US took the lion’s share of new aircraft and also repatriated many aircraft through international transactions on the preowned market. Both Mexico and Canada saw strong growth rates in activity in 2019, boosting the overall North America trend to 2% compared to 2018.

By aircraft segment, the North American region saw by far the strongest growth in Super Midsize aircraft. As shown in Chart 2, 487K sectors were operated in this segment, up by 49K on 2018, more than 10% growth. Primarily this reflects the introduction of new aircraft in these categories into the largest US management, charter and fractional fleets. The Citation Latitude has seen strong sales throughout the year, competing with the evergreen Challenger 350 platform, and the Embraer Praetor 600 is starting to get traction.

CHART 1: INDICATIVE BUSINESS JET VOLUMES AND 2019 GROWTH TRENDS IN GLOBAL REGIONS

CHART 2: BUSINESS JET ACTIVITY IN NORTH AMERICA IN 2019, BY AIRCRAFT SEGMENT

Twenty percent of the Light Jet activity in North America, which has modest growth, has come from the Phenom 300, this one platform seeing 12% growth in hours flown. Across the whole active fleet, the Phenom 300 has a utilization rate of 354 hours per aircraft, compared to an average of 210 hours for the total business jet fleet. Net Jets alone have close to 100 Phenom 300s in operation. At the top end of the market, the last 2 years have seen an escalation in new competitive products. With the belated arrivals of the Global 7500, Gulfstream lost its long undisputed leadership in the ultra-long range segment. By the end of the year, Gulfstream itself had overshadowed the G600/650 with Gulfstream 700, unveiled at NBAA but not due on the market until 2022. Orders from Qatar Executive and Flexjet have provided some endorsement, but in the next couple of years the market will see if Gulfstream’s G500 and G600 can dent the portfolio gains of Bombardier’s trio of 5500, 6500 and 7500. The broader question is whether this competition generates a net growth in

an already overcrowded market. The flat overall trend in flight activity in North America belies some decent growth in Charter, with flight hours up by 6% last year. Within the United States there were 657K sectors flown by business jet tails with FAA Part 135 certification. Busiest aircraft as well as strongest growth unsurprisingly came from expanding Challenger 350, Citation Latitude, and Phenom 300 fleets, but there was also solid growth for the Citation Sovereign and Citation Excel/XLS. There was a big drop in Part 135 activity on Falcon 2000 and the large to midsize Gulfstream platforms, notably the discontinued G450. At the heavy metal end of the market, the Global 6500 had most growth in Part 135 demand. At the lightest end of the market, the remanufactured Hawker 400 has found a growth niche, and the Honda Jet fleet, with 20 units providing Part 135 services, saw a 50% increase in activity. Underlying the contrasting trends in private compared to charter – and more broadly, commercial, because fractional activity is also up in North

CHART 3: TREND IN 2019 IN CHARTER (PART 135) ACTIVITY BY AIRCRAFT TYPE

America – may be a shift in customer behavior. Aircraft owners have long been wary of the fat-cat stigma, and the last decade’s slippery slope in aircraft depreciation has highlighted the financial risk of the asset investment. But the rise and rise of the environmental agenda last year could change the game in terms of toxifying business jet ownership. If private jet travel is still essential, the green lobby will encourage users to go to the charter market. Part 135 operators have responded by striving to make rentalaccess as malleable and convenient as possible. Clubs, memberships, fixedprice routes and shuttles have added to the jet cards, fractional schemes and myriad spot-market options and undoubtedly stimulated demand. The overall effect has so far fallen well short of the democratization of private jet travel which is often claimed. The last 12 months have also seen an acceleration in the consolidation of the operator market. Not only are operators dominating the OEM fleet orders, but the biggest beasts have been busy raising capital and making acquisitions. Wheels Up hogged the

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020 - 43

POTENTIAL

The flat overall trend in flight activity in North America belies growth in charter.

FLEET REPORT CHART 4: BUSINESS AVIATION ACTIVITY TRENDS IN EUROPE IN 2019 COMPARED TO 2018

LAG

Europe has been treading water since mid-2018.

limelight, with its mid-year purchase to Travel Management Company’s Hawker fleet, then its acquisition of Avianis, empowering its digital shopfront, then last month its investment from and fleet merger with Delta Private Jets. The enlarged group now has near 200 Business Aviation aircraft and will hope to prove the complementarity of Delta’s scheduled services with its last mile operations. At the heavier end of the market, Vista Jet ramped up its access to market with the purchase of Jet Smarter, and saw its investment in a brand new Global 7500 fleet start to materialize during 2019. Vista’s benchmark rival has always been NetJets, which affirmed its market leadership with significant orders for Textron and Bombardier. Below the radar, still significantly large fleets are being consolidated in the US, with the likes of Jet Linx acquisition of Elliot Aviation, and just in January 2020, Jet Select’s acquisition of Jet Edge. Fleet consolidation still has a long way to go to emulate the domestic airline carriers, with several thousand operators still managing just a couple of units. But clearly the consolidation is not just about fleets, with the market leaders instead looking to control as many possible levers on the customer, from operations to advisory to digital interface. Outside the Americas, other regional Business Aviation markets saw little significant growth. Whilst China remains potentially the most exciting new market for aircraft, infrastructure, security issues and a slowing

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economy continued to frustrate growth. There were pockets of strong growth in other parts of Asia, notably Singapore, but still embryonic markets. Across Middle East, Africa and Russia, growth from a small but resilient customer base has faltered on the headwinds of economic and geopolitical crisis. Europe, the key global market for business jets outside North America, has been treading water since mid2018. The most direct obstacle is the flatlining regional economy, largely due to its exports’ exposure to global trade tariffs. That has affected Germany most. Brexit and the associated Eurozone breakup risk has also been a factor, particularly for the UK. Drawing together the strands of our review of 2019, what can we expect of Business Aviation activity in the 12 months ahead? As always, the political and economic backdrop will dictate demand for business jets. With regards to the industry’s biggest market, forecast GDP growth of around 2% should reassure aircraft owners and users, especially with the tailwind of an exceptionally strong 2019 stock market performance. The doubts will emerge in the 2nd half of the year with the presidential elections, likely to put many investment decisions on hold, with a new Democrat Administration likely to roll back on tax cuts. Assuming macroeconomic stability, new aircraft deliveries and scaled-up operations should bolster activity, especially in the charter market, with the sweet spots retained in the super midsize segment.

Other regions will add little to the global industry’s fortunes in 2020. Business Aviation is coming back in Latin America and Africa as these regional economies start to recover. China’s pent-up demand will come, but 2020 is too early. Formerly fast growing Business Aviation markets such as Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia will stay on hold, at best. In Europe, ceasefire on global tariffs and Brexit breakthroughs will encourage some economic bounceback. Whilst this might support flight activity, the climate crisis may prove a counterveiling disincentive for Business Aviation demand. As it grows, environmental pressures could accelerate the emergence of a much larger electrified, urban mobility market. But that’s still for the future; in 2020 the global industry outlook is broadly promising as the traditional user base upgrades its fleet whilst economic conditions remain benign.

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Richard Koe is managing director of WINGX Advance GmbH. WINGX, based in Germany and founded in 2011, provides business intelligence for the global private jet market. WINGX researches and tracks market data, from which they build analytics to assist customers in their decision making. Their customers span the entire industry supply chain, from airports, operators and manufacturers to industry investors and financial analysts. Mr. Koe has a background in sales, business development and strategy, in the Business Aviation sector and previously in telecom and manufacturing industries. He has a Bachelor degree from Oxford University and a Masters from Johns Hopkins University.

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FLEET REPORT

HELI MARKET CONTINUES ITS HEALTHY GROWTH The latest summary of the worldwide active helicopter fleet from JetNet LLC has highlighted mixed fortunes for both piston and turbine operators with increases and decreases in numbers across all regions. Alan Norris reports with only 148 aircraft added to the civil fleet in comparison to the previous yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s figure of 461aircraft. Overall, the figures for piston engine versus turbine engine helicopter use also indicates that piston powered aircraft use is on the decline with a reduction in numbers by 120 aircraft, which represents a 1.25% decrease. In the piston sector, although Robinson numbers were down by 66 aircraft (0.8% from 2018), the company still outperformed both Enstrom and Schweizer. The R44 Raven II continues to have the highest number of

L ROTOR

The Sikorsky S-76D (top). Airbus Helicopters family (center). Weststar is the largest operator of AW139 in Asia (below).

ooking at the figures released by JetNet LLC, obtained from a wide network of data sources, and comparing for like figures for year end 2018 and 2019 the total number of helicopters globally has increased by only 0.46%, from 31,965 aircraft to 32,113 in 2019. This slight increase of helicopters within the civil market is a continuing trend despite some sectors of the helicopter industry still struggling after the oil and gas price collapse. But the figures also highlight a downturn in real terms of the actual number of helicopters added down

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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 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 407GXi BELL 407GXP BELL 505 JET RANGER X 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 LEONARDO AW119Kx 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 A109K2

TOTAL 5 110 13 117 2 73 54 22 85 49 40 906 1575 47 106 40 471 50 1415 3602 72 435 175 9,464

EUROPE 2 28 0 20 0 14 7 0 8 8 3 235 280 3 19 13 100 12 355 776 12 139 31 2,065

83 99 1,197 620 881 264 24 122 47 796 1,774 87 363 452 425 3 29 1,042 263 40 183 208 21 72 74 28 158 268 40 1,008 452 42 411 141 95 63 22 78 329 95 170 53 787 12 47 13,468

19 24 138 283 293 48 1 5 3 53 188 9 21 21 10 0 0 55 21 4 12 41 12 57 61 10 20 50 19 285 100 3 58 68 37 33 8 8 67 9 3 10 140 3 8 2,318

45 79 60 25

16 35 19 12

AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2019

AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109S GRAND AIRBUS AS-332C1E SUPER PUMA AIRBUS AS-332L1E SUPER PUMA AIRBUS AS-355NP ECUREUIL II AIRBUS AS-365N-3 DAUPHIN 2 AIRBUS EC-135P2+ AIRBUS EC-135T2+ AIRBUS EC-145 AIRBUS H135 AIRBUS H145 AIRBUS H155 AIRBUS H175 AIRBUS H225 BELL 206LT TWINRANGER BELL 212 BELL 214ST BELL 222A BELL 222B BELL 222SP BELL 222UT BELL 230 BELL 412 BELL 412EP BELL 412EPI BELL 412HP BELL 412SP BELL 427 BELL 429 GLOBALRANGER BELL 430 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412EP BELL/AGUSTA AB-412HP BELL/AGUSTA AB-412SP EUROCOPTER AS-332L SUPER PUMA EUROCOPTER AS-332L1 SUPER PUMA EUROCOPTER AS-332L2 SUPER PUMA EUROCOPTER AS-355E ECUREUIL II EUROCOPTER AS-355F ECUREUIL II EUROCOPTER AS-355F-1 ECUREUIL EUROCOPTER AS-355F-2 ECUREUIL EUROCOPTER AS-355N ECUREUIL II EUROCOPTER AS-365C DAUPHIN 2 EUROCOPTER AS-365N DAUPHIN 2 EUROCOPTER AS-365N-1 DAUPHIN 2 EUROCOPTER AS-365N-2 DAUPHIN 2 EUROCOPTER BK-117A-1 EUROCOPTER BK-117B-1 EUROCOPTER BK-117B-2 EUROCOPTER BK-117C-1 EUROCOPTER EC-135P1 EUROCOPTER EC-135P2 EUROCOPTER EC-135T1 EUROCOPTER EC-135T2 EUROCOPTER EC-155B EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117A-1 EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117B EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117C-1 LEONARDO A109E POWER LEONARDO A109SP GRANDNEW LEONARDO AW109 TREKKER LEONARDO AW139 LEONARDO AW169 LEONARDO AW189 MD MD EXPLORER SIKORSKY S-76A SIKORSKY S-76A+ SIKORSKY S-76A++ SIKORSKY S-76B SIKORSKY S-76C SIKORSKY S-76C+ SIKORSKY S-76C++ SIKORSKY S-76D SIKORSKY S-92A Total Multi Turbine Grand Total

Â© JETNET LLC

167 5 3 61 210 381 218 827 171 253 147 35 173 3 459 28 28 13 5 27 32 104 559 34 61 28 73 352 104 28 17 4 22 49 66 44 1 92 60 152 146 39 86 33 111 30 46 73 51 40 153 84 143 29 8 81 11 388 183 11 967 80 66 110 71 19 30 67 16 134 207 71 292 9,181 32,113

69 1 3 37 70 144 122 118 115 143 49 23 67 1 50 0 3 2 0 0 1 35 49 3 21 7 13 52 7 24 17 3 16 16 33 23 0 35 21 49 70 17 24 11 25 0 16 10 14 13 61 44 103 16 0 1 0 105 74 2 242 42 31 59 0 1 0 7 4 2 20 1 108 2,647 7,030

FLEET REPORT At the heavy end of the aircraft scale Sikorsky S-76 numbers went down from 652 to 615 across all models but the S-76C++, with 207, is still the highest utilized variant worldwide. Fortunes for the S-92A improved with an additional seven operating globally by the end of 2019, with most of these flying in Europe predominantly supporting the oil platforms of the North Sea and in the SAR role. Overall North America remains the biggest global helicopter user of helicopters in the league table of coun-

AGILITY

The MD 600N is a proven performer for various missions (left). The Bell 407 GXi (right).

piston helicopters in service worldwide standing at 3602, up by 44 on 2018, and not surprisingly with highest usage in the North American region. The R44 Cadet had the biggest percentage increase at 56%, mainly in North America and Europe, as many training schools start to adopt the type as their training aircraft of choice. Robinson also had comparable success with the turbine R66 which recorded a 6% rise in aircraft use in 2019. The company ended the year with the R66, powered by the RollsRoyce RR300, worldwide fleet surpassing 1 million flight hours without a single reported in flight engine failure. But the winners by far are the multiengine models with 225 aircraft added in 2019, up overall by an impressive 2.4%. The best performing company was Leonardo Helicopters with their AW139 adding 88 in total across the globe, bringing the number in operation to 967 aircraft ranging from models in SAR, HEMS, firefighting, offshore support and VIP configurations. The AW139 has proved to be a versatile and reliable model now having logged almost 2.5 million flight hours since the first delivery took place at the beginning of 2004. The company delivered the 1000th production model to Italy’s Guardia di Finanza in 2019. Asia operates the largest number of AW139s, 370 across the region, up by 52 on 2018 figures. Europe is the second largest operator of the type and the delivery of 21 aircraft brought the regional total to 242. But up take in North America was slow with only a single model added to the 2018 figure of 143.

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Airbus Helicopters had its biggest success with the H135 and H145 increasing the global numbers to 27 and 29 respectively. Both helicopter types are cited by the company as being the two most popular HEMS platforms in their portfolio. The H145 is becoming the popular choice in North America amongst parapublic operators and the region added 27 during 2019 bringing the regional total to 575. Interestingly the company is also predicting that the H160 may be embraced by the HEMS community once it enters full production with operators replacing and upgrading their fleets in the future. But a change in fortunes may be on the horizon for both European companies as they await further clarification on Presidents Donald Trump’s proposal, in early 2019, to increase tariffs on helicopters manufactured in the European Union, supported by the World Trade Organization. According to a list published by the Office of the United States Trade Representative the tariffs would affect new civil helicopters in all the manufacturer’s empty weight ranges starting from 998 kg.

tries with a total number of 12,659 aircraft, but this figure is slightly down by 55 helicopters on the previous year. Europe is maintaining its second position with a total of 7,030 helicopters operating across the region but Asia, at third place with 4,286 helicopters, recorded the largest gains increasing the fleet by 6.3%. This was achieved with the addition of 253 aircraft across both piston and turbine powered helicopters and within these figures the number of multi-engine powered helicopters increased by 7% following the addition of 136 aircraft taking the total number to 2,062. This is a reflection of how light twin engine helicopters have become an essential part of HEMS, law enforcement, SAR and off shore support missions. This regional figure is heavily influenced by China which has seen a 7.5% growth in total helicopter numbers entering the market, up by 71 aircraft, representing 24% of Asia’s overall fleet, this is all set against the Chinese GDP slowing from a 6.2% to 6% by the end of 2019.

A few Asian countries have seen the benefits of having an established and funded HEMS system and China is rapidly trying to develop its capability. This potential for significant market growth has been recognized by the major OEMs who have invested in developing working partnerships, infrastructure and also benefited from some large orders over the last few years. Airbus Helicopters has now started full production of the H135 at its 6,500 sqm final assembly line in Qingdao, Shandong province and is the first helicopter final assembly line built by a foreign manufacturer in China. The opening of the assembly line is the result of an agreement in 2016 for the purchase of one hundred H135s for the Chinese market. Initially the first five will be assembled in Germany and then the main fuselage, main gearbox kits and rear fuselage will be shipped to Qingdao from Donauwörth, Germany and Albacete, Spain respectively. When the assembly line is at full production Airbus Helicopters expects to manufacture 18 helicopters per year. “Manufacturing the H135s in Qingdao marks the start of a new chapter in Sino-European collaboration and is a testament to our continued commitment to the Chinese helicopter industry and the strong spirit of cooperation that exists between us and our Chinese partners,” said Marie-Agnes Veve, general manager of Airbus Helicopters China. The Bell 407GXi, fitted with the Garmin G1000H NXi integrated flight deck and dual-channel FADEC Rolls Royce M250-C47E/4 turboshaft engine, received type certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China during the last quarter of 2019. This now opens the way for the company to start production and deliveries of an order it secured in 2017 from Shaanxi Helicopter Co. (SHC) for one hundred aircraft, aimed at building an air rescue, medevac and law enforcement network. The company has also supported an EMS training exercise in collaboration with SHC and the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital. It has also set up a bonded spare parts service center in Shanghai Pudong Airport, which will be operated by DB Schenker, to support critical spare parts for Bell’s fleet in China.

Airbus Helicopters recently published its nine month 2019 results which showed that its order intake had dropped by 25% compared to the same period in 2018, with 173 units against 230. The results also revealed a marginal dip in helicopter deliveries with only 209, compared to 218 during the equivalent period in 2018. The companies EBIT (Earnings before interest and taxes) remained stable at 205 million (2018: 202 million), this reflected an increased contribution from the services sector of the company. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) also published its industry update which also

TOP TEN FLEETS BY COUNTRY United States

9,348

Canada

2,303

Australia

1,939

Brazil

1,798

United Kingdom

1,062

China

1,026

South Africa

954

France

889

Japan

806

Germany

786

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

Pistons 571 789 295 2,065 3,729 1,418 892 0 9,464

Single 647 1,435 643 2,318 6,360 980 1,374 354 13,468

Multi 460 2,062 260 2,647 2,570 401 802 239 9,181

Total 1,678 4,286 1,198 7,030 12,659 2,799 3,068 593 32,113

* North America includes Central America counts.

shows the number of rotorcraft delivered during the first nine months of 2019 was down compared to 2018. During the nine months of the year 434 turbine powered rotorcraft were delivered and 136 piston engine powered rotorcraft were delivered.

Both figures give an early indication that the commercial civil helicopter industry did not grow as fast as predicted following the oil and gas price decline. Although Asia is seen by most OEMs as a lucrative market to maintain civil helicopter sales and the figures show the region has benefitted from the increase use of helicopters in the market, the uptake is still relatively slow. Sectors like HEMS and law enforcement operations are still finding their way and in their early stages of development in countries like China who are actively working to build up a HEMS network. Investing in one particular sector has proved to be problematic in the past for the helicopter industry and with the current global dynamic political environment at present 2020 could prove to be another uncertain time for civil helicopter industry with many OEMs continuing to look to military orders to maintain profit margins.

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RELIABILITY

The R44 Raven II police helicopter combines high performance with state-ofthe-art law enforcement tech.

HELI-EXPO REPORT

MERGERS AND ORDERS

Heli-Expo 2020 was a

OEMs Announce Orders Bell sent its newest flagship, the flyby-wire Bell 525 Relentless, to Anaheim for the show, interrupting its busy flight test schedule. It flew in from Fort Worth, Texas. The 525 on display is the fifth flying Relentless and the first one in an oil and gas industry cabin configuration with seats for 16 passengers. Bell hasn’t published any schedule for entry-intoservice but said the flight test program is in its final stages. Bell also used the occasion to announce several new orders. The Alameda County Sheriff’s office signed

resounding success, with manufacturers adding orders to backlogs and suppliers launching innovative equipment and enhancements. Volker K. Thomalla reports from Anaheim

TREND

Bell sent its newest flagship, Bell 525 Relentless (left), to Anaheim (right).

n late January, the global helicopter community gathered in Anaheim for the annual Heli-Expo event. This year’s edition brought nearly 700 exhibitors to Southern California, including the main helicopter manufacturers and major suppliers. But Heli-Expo is more than just a tradeshow, it’s also the place for professional training, networking, and learning about the latest trends. Whereas urban air mobility and autonomous flight were the hot topics last year, this year was all about mergers. This should come as no surprise considering that the helicopter industry is in the middle of a consolidation phase, both on the operator and manufacturer sides. The biggest surprise of the show came from Italy’s Leonardo, who announced that it had signed a contract to acquire Kopter Group AG from Lynnwood AG. According to Leonardo, this move allows them to further strengthen their worldwide leadership and position in the rotorcraft sector by leveraging the innovation and engineering skills developed by the young Swiss Company. Kopter’s single engine helicopter SH09, which is in the certification process, is a perfect fit for Leonardo’s portfolio. Speaking at a press conference, Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters, said that Kopter will act as an autonomous legal entity and competence center, working in coordination with Leonardo. Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo added that

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although he was skeptical in the beginning, he became more and more enthusiastic during the negotiation process. The purchase price, on a cash and debt free basis, consists of a $185 million fixed component plus an earn-out mechanism over the life of the program, starting from 2022. Just prior to the trade show’s opening, ERA Group and Bristow Group, two of the world’s largest commercial helicopter operators, announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement to combine the two companies in an all-stock transaction, creating a single company. The combined company will be named Bristow. It will offer a broader range of solutions to customers through an enhanced fleet size and diversity. It intends to invest in new technology and safety features to meet the needs of its customers and governmental agencies.

an order for the first Bell 505 Jet Ranger X with a Bell-developed public safety configuration. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) signed contracts for four Bell helicopters, including two Bell 429 and the first two IFR configured Bell 407GXi aircraft for their fleet, bringing their total to six Bell helicopters. The non-profit air ambulance provider Halo Flight ordered a Bell 407GXi with Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) kit to add to its existing Bell aircraft fleet. Heli-Expo proved to be an order bonanza for Airbus Helicopters. No less than 38 new orders, as well as 20 retrofits for the new five-bladed H145 and several service contracts, were added during the show. German air rescue and ambulance provider DRF Luftrettung placed an order for 15 H145s, while the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will add 16 new H125 helicopters to their fleet.

The manufacturer will produce these helicopters at its Columbus, Mississipi, facility. Another H125 order was signed with Ascent Helicopters in Western Canada. Airbus also received an order for three new H135s from NASA, marking the first-time that the agency had ordered an aircraft from Airbus Helicopters. NASA will use the H135 for a variety of missions, including missile launch security at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, emergency medical services and qualified personnel transport. MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) of Mesa, Arizona, made a U-turn in terms of avionics for its new twin engine MD 900/902 NOTAR equipped helicopter. At Heli-Expo, the company announced that is com-

“We are impressed by the capability and flexibility of UA’s InSight Display System,” adds Lynn Tilton, CEO of MD Helicopters, Inc. “As the product roadmap for this highly capable light, twin-engine platform evolved, we recognized the need for a robust and adaptable solution, capable of meeting the current and future requirements of our global operators. The InSight Display System is that solution.” Service and Support Rolls-Royce celebrated the delivery of its 250th engine to Enstrom Helicopter Corporation, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The RR M250-C20W has reliably powered the Enstrom 480B heliFlightSafety International announced a further expansion of its helicopter training programs and services with new Level D qualified simulators for the Airbus Helicopters EC145 and Leonardo AW139. The EC145 simulator is scheduled to enter service in March this year at the FlightSafety Learning Center in Denver, Colorado. The simulator that is being built for the Leonardo AW139 is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. It will enter service in Lafayette, Louisiana early in 2021 following Level D qualification.

ing back to Universal Avionics (UA) and has formed a partnership with UA to integrate Universal’s full-digital InSight Display System into the cockpit of production and retrofit MD 900/902 Explorer. The new avionics system for the MD 900/902 Explorer replaces steam gauge displays with two portrait format high-resolution LCD displays with LED backlighting. The 10.4-inch InSight Displays are compatible with Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and provide the latest in Synthetic Vision (SVS), 2D moving maps, electronic charts, checklists, systems synoptics, engine instruments, rotor data, and more. “InSight was designed to bring the most advanced capabilities while maintaining a friendly human-machine interface,” says UA CEO Dror Yahav. “This technology will put the MD 900/902 Explorer on the front line of the light helicopters segment.”

copter for more than 25 years now. Engine number 250 will power a helicopter for the Botswana Police-Air Support Branch, which will be delivered later this year. Honeywell highlighted its RDR7000 weather radar, which is being introduced for helicopters. It will be compatible with Leonardo’s AW139, Sikorsky’s S-76 and S-92, Bell’s 429 and 525, as well as with Airbus’s H135/145. The radar is well-proven in fixed-wing applications. It enhances safety and reduces pilot workload by offering new features and a high degree of automation to the users. It features automated 3D volumetric scanning up to 60,000 feet and out to 320 nautical miles. The RDR-7000 is the first weather radar to detect turbulence out to 60 nautical miles. It is capable of predicting wind shear out to 10 nautical miles and detects hail and lightning.

Safety on the Mind This year’s show as overshadowed by the crash of a Sikorksy S-76B in Calabasas, California, that took the lives of nine people, including U.S. basketball legend Kobe Bryant. Despite that tragic event, U.S. helicopter safety has improved over recent years, according to data provided by the United States Helicopter Safety Team (USHST). Over the past two decades, the fatal accident rate has been cut in half, from 1.27 fatal accidents per 100,000 flights to 0.63. But the USHST doesn’t stop there. They continue to work with regulators, flight crews and operators to raise safety awareness to even cut further the accident rate.

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SURPRISE

The Airbus H125 (top). Leonardo announced its acquisition of Kopter (center right). The Sikorsky Firehawk (left).

TECHNOLOGY

AVIONICS: WHAT’S NEXT FOR 2020 AND BEYOND? Avionics have come a long way over the past few years. But is progress slowing? Have we seen the biggest developments? Is there anything left to invent? Steve Nichols comments

COMPLIANCE

Kevin Kliethermes of Flying Colours said the ADS-B Out story will continue to run in 2020 (top).

homas Watson, the president of IBM, famously said in 1943 that he predicted the total world market for its products would be “maybe five computers”. So anyone who suggests we have seen the best in terms of technology on aircraft is probably wrong – totally wrong! But can we expect in 2020 and beyond? Kevin Kliethermes, director of Sales at Flying Colours Corp, said: “At the beginning of the year, the ADS-B Out story will run as those that haven’t complied will suffer consequences. There will still be operators working to meet the US requirements for at least a part of 2020. “European regulations are coming into effect too in 2020, and we have already had a healthy amount of conversations with EU operators regarding their compliance plan as part of a larger maintenance and/or interior projects.

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“We are also seeing more requests for redundancy in the cabin avionics. We have had a few customers asking for two different types of network and connectivity just in case one should fail, which demonstrates just how important cabin connectivity has become,” he said. So what new products/legislation does Flying Colours see affecting the market? “I think that further regulations are inevitable in order to better manage the airspace,” said Kliethermes. “Some of this will be driven by the environmental issues too, as better airspace management can reduce CO2 emissions. “I would also expect there to be continuous development in relation to more connected aircraft driving enhancements and workload reduction for not only the pilots, but also the maintenance and supporting personnel.”

He said they are reviewing several different opportunities and having discussions with a number of parties regarding future product development and how it will benefit customers. “We’d like to see smaller flat panel antennas developed so that we can support smaller aircraft that want increased connectivity options. Right now the equipment is too big and expensive for the aircraft,” he said. “I suspect we’ll see more of this in 2020.” Overall, how does Flying Colours see the avionics market in 2020? “NextGen will continue to be a major talking point and will broadband internet offerings. Customers continue to want cheaper, faster and more connectivity and that will drive what customers expect to be able to have,” said Kliethermes. “Aggregating data from the aircraft to improve performance, maintenance and customer experience will be something that will need product development and will become a hot topic this year. Convergence of suppliers is also on the horizon, what used to be a silo-ed sector of the landscape is becoming a place where complementary companies are coming together to deliver a better service to the end user,” he concluded. Turning to manufacturers, Garmin said that in 2020 it will continue to announce new retrofit options available in avionics. Garmin’s Jessica Koss said: “We see growth in this market continuing well into 2020 as aircraft owners will have plenty of retrofit opportunities available to them. GPS navigation and autopilots are cost-effective, and they expand the operating capability of their aircraft.” In November Garmin announced that it had received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for the GFC 500 autopilot in additional models of the Piper PA-28 and select models of the Piper PA-32.

“We’ll bring Garmin’s Autoland system to market and announce new aircraft adopting it. We’ll also continue to expand the availability and aircraft approval list of our GFC 500 and GFC 600 autopilots. Automation will be a big headline in 2020 and beyond,” Koss concluded. Another area in which we hope to see lots of new announcements is inflight connectivity. Inmarsat’s GX5 satellite was recently launched and at the time of writing was being maneuvered into its final orbital positions. When online, GX5 will deliver more capacity than the entire existing GX fleet (GX1-GX4) combined. Meanwhile, Viasat is gearing up for the launch of its Viasat-3 satellite. The satellite, which will serve the United States and the rest of the Americas, as well as trans-oceanic routes, is expected to launch by May 29, 2021, and be operational by Dec. 31, 2021. OneWeb is gearing up to provide internet access across the whole planet via constellation of low-Earth orbiting satellites. The company, based in White City, London, already has six satellites in orbit and is set to launch more than 30 per month in 2020. The aim is to have a total of 650 satellites by the service’s commercial launch from 2022. Ed Slater, executive director, Government and Business Aviation at OneWeb, said: “OneWeb intends to deliver an affordable line-fit solution to the lightest of business jets, through to large cabin VVIP airliners and even new supersonic offerings. “It will use electrically steerable array (ESA) antennas that can be easily sized for different aircraft. Antenna partners have yet to be selected, but OneWeb is confident it will be in a position to make partner announcements by EBACE in May 2020,” he said. “We had a very positive showing at NBAA in Las Vegas in October 2019 and are busy following up on those discussions with OEMs, operators and integrators.” A typical geostationary satellite signals’ round-trip of nearly 72,000km means a time delay of at least 240 milliseconds. “Our solution comes from high performing, low-latency, Low Earth Orbit

(LEO) satellites that will be situated much closer to Earth – approximately 750 miles. This means that business jet passengers connecting in-flight will be able to enjoy more bandwidth, at reduced cost,” Slater said. Low-Earth orbit also brings internet access to the poles. A geo satellite typically runs out of steam at about +/- 85 degrees – it is just too far down on the horizon. OneWeb says its constellation will provide access from pole to pole. Connectivity in the cockpit promises to revolutionize flying. We are seeing more companies developing cockpit apps with links to information sources, such as weather. Colin Quarles, VP Strategy and Product Management, Satcom Direct, said: “We believe cybersecurity will continue to be at the forefront of the industry in 2020 as requirements and guidance aviation authorities will drive architecture considerations at the hardware level to reinforce the need to mitigate potential cyber events. “Second, with the continued adoption of higher bandwidth satellite communications, real-time aircraft data being sent to the ground is now even more prevalent. “2020 is likely to see increased adoption of that data being used for actionable operational efficiencies, within flight departments, at OEMs and eventually into ancillary channels such as the brokers. “Third, as the number of worldwide aircraft continues to increase, minimizing pilot workload and fatigue through advanced avionics and autonomous reporting should see continued adoption. Much of this will be laying the foundation for enhanced

analytics, post-flight, and eventually moving into more real-time actionable information to operators and support staff,” Quarles said. SD said automating the pilot workload and fatigue management will continue to drive real-time data synchronization throughout the industry. “Increased spatial awareness and location tracking capabilities supported by satellite networks will allow for more efficient operations across the aviation market,” said Quarles. And what new products does SD have in the pipeline? “There will be announcements of larger scale communications platforms comprised of multiple LRUs that enable a truly premium and standard connectivity experience backed by the SD infrastructure empowering enhanced security and data accessibility standards,” he said.

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CONNECTIVITY

Garmin’s GFC 500 Digital Autopilot (top). SD Avionics partnered with QEST to develop a new antenna (center).

TECHNOLOGY

NEW-GEN

SkyLens HUD Universal’s FMS software (top left). Ed Slater of OneWeb (top right). Thales’ PureFlyt FMS (below).

Thales recently announced its new flight management system which relies heavily on connectivity. Available from 2024, it promises enhanced safety and efficiency in the cockpit. The FMS is specifically designed to efficiently manage aircraft in a connected aerospace ecosystem and in increasingly crowded skies. PureFlyt is a connected FMS, designed to offer air framers and airlines the best combination of safety, security, and fuel and operations efficiency. “With PureFlyt software, which will be available for Microsoft and Apple operating systems, the EFB becomes a more useful tool in their air,” said Peter Hitchcock, VP, Thales Commercial Avionics. He said that by using a secure inflight connectivity system, such as Iridium Certus or SwiftBroadband Safety, near real-time weather information will become available while in flight. The EFB could also receive messages from ground operations as well.

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The system can then suggest alternative routing to avoid thunderstorms or other adverse weather, complete with an updated estimated time of arrival and any additional fuel burn. “Typically, pilots only get up-to-date weather information from any onboard weather radar system. But any weather feature may be out of its range. Traditionally, EFBs only know about weather from out-of-date forecasts, but now they will be able to get up-to-date weather information while inflight,” he said. “At the end of a flight, the updated flight plan from the EFB is ready to be sent to the company at the touch of a button, which saves a lot of time and effort by the crew,” he said. PureFlyt has been developed by a team of 400 engineers at Thales’ operations in Toulouse and Bordeaux, along with commercial airline pilots. Hitchcock says that Thales has used artificial intelligence technologies to simulate two billion test cases, accumulating an invaluable experience, equivalent to 100 million actual flight hours. “The FMS is connected to more than 30 systems on the aircraft,” he said. “Our 4D-approach is a first for FMS systems and eliminates the gap between the EFB and the FMS. Finally, we’ve designed the system for the next generation of aircraft, both civil and military, both manned and unmanned.” He added that PureFlyt has also been designed to be future-proof, accommodating the implementation of concepts such as the Initial 4D (I4D) trajectory management methods currently being researched by

SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) in the EU and NextGen in the US. The connectivity enables other benefits to the pilot as well. Jean-Paul Ebanga, Thales VP of Flight Avionics, said: “In the air, the digital revolution has only just begun. A paradigm shift in onboard cockpit electronics is taking place in the connected airspace and PureFlyt is at the forefront of this digital new age, leading the next generation of FMS that truly makes the aircraft a node of connectivity.” Universal Avionics (UA) said that it sees lots of opportunities for “best equipped, best served” type upgrades this year. Robert Clare, Universal Avionics director of sales, said: “There’s also opportunity for obsolescence replacements for relevant suppliers.” But what does he see as the main stories for avionics in 2020? “The evolutions of CNS/ATM, EVS, and HUD (including wearable headup displays) may be the main news items,” said Clare. UA also debuted its ‘Fly by Sight’ flight deck concept at the 2019 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas, NV. This combines ClearVision SkyLens Head Wearable Display (HWD) and the company’s Interactive FMS (i-FMS). “We may also see the development of domestic en-route CPDLC, and ADS-B out for Europe,” he said. Its UniLink UL-800/801 Communications Management Unit (CMU) and SBAS-Flight Management System (FMS) are well placed for further growth.

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Three Business Aviation Events. Endless Opportunity. Each year, NBAA brings together tens of thousands of buyers from around the world, for three incredible events spanning three continents – the United States, Asia and Europe. These high-profile attendees include owners, executives, industry leaders, investors and the full range of business aviation professionals. Exhibitors will have the opportunity to showcase their innovative products and services to these decision makers, build relationships with new and existing customers, close deals, and grow their business globally. Visit the website to learn more about exhibiting at one, two or all three events in 2020.

LEARN MORE | nbaa.org/2020exhibit

APR IL 21-23, 2020

OCTOBER 6 – 8, 2020 • ORLANDO, FL

S&DC PREVIEW SDC2020, which will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina form March 10 -

ELEVATE YOUR CAREER

13, is the must-attend event for FBOs, tripplanners, fuel-suppliers and anyone else involved in the scheduling and dispatching of business aircraft. Nick Klenske picks out some of the highlights to expect from the show

VENUE

2020 edition of the event takes place in Charlotte.

oute and documentation planning, access to airspace and airports, managing risks in disruptive weather situations – all critical to a smooth and safe flight and all tasks falling onto the desk of the scheduler and dispatcher. As the role and responsibilities of the aircraft scheduler and dispatcher continues to grow, so too has the NBAA’s annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference. As the premier professional development event for anyone with a foot in the world of scheduling and/or dispatching business aircraft, this year’s event will take place March 10 - 13 in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the aim of bringing attendees up-to-date on the latest information critical to the scheduling and dispatching job function, this year’s conference agenda was developed to help attendees take their careers to new heights. “If you’re interested in elevating your career to the next level, look no further than the 2020 NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference,” says the NBAA. “Whether this is your first time joining us or you’re a seasoned SDC attendee, you’ll want to connect with this vibrant industry at SDC2020.” SDC2020 promises to be full of opportunities to learn best practices and trends from both industry experts and fellow attendees.

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Organizers specifically developed this year’s conference agenda with the aim of encouraging attendees to build their resilience in the face of new challenges. “Not only will you hear from industry experts about the critical information you need to do your job well, you’ll also learn from an inspiring keynote speaker about the key to staying resilient both professionally and personally,” says the NBAA. That keynote speaker is Warren MacDonald, whose life’s boundaries were redefined in 1997 when a freak rock fall left him stranded for two days only to undergo the amputation of both legs at mid-thigh. Yet just 10 months later, Warren climbed Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain using a modified wheelchair and the seat of his pants. “This keynote presentation focuses on what we can do to prepare for our challenges in advance and how we can fortify ourselves against the curve balls and roadblocks before they happen by practicing resilience,” says the NBAA. Other highlights from the agenda include sessions on the ABCs of active flight following, how to fill the tank without breaking the bank, security in the 21 st century, and team building for aviation professionals. “SDC2020 is all about ensuring you learn current best practices and trends from industry experts and fel-

low attendees,” adds the NBAA. “Through top-level education sessions and critical peer-to-peer networking, we’ll help you work smarter, not harder, in the year ahead.” According to the NBAA, SDC2020 will welcome over 2,900 attendees from 47 countries and all 50 states. It will also feature over 500 exhibitors, several of which we highlight here. Introducing the Green FBO In November of last year, Jet Aviation opened its new sustainably built FBO and hangar complex at Van Nuys Airport in California. The much anticipated project includes a brandnew 10,000 sq. ft. FBO terminal, a 43,000 sq. ft. hangar with 8,000 sq. ft. of office space and long, unobstructed ramp space. The hangar has a 30 ft. clearance, which can accommodate such large aircraft as the Gulfstream G700 and the Global 7500. “As part of one of the country’s busiest general aviation airports, we are proud to offer our customers a comprehensive solution for all of their aircraft service needs, including traditional FBO services like fueling, hangarage, aircraft cleaning, catering, and domestic and international handling, as well as full-service aircraft management, charter, and on-demand maintenance,” says Michael McDaniel, Director and General Manager of the Van Nuys FBO.

“Most excitingly, we did it using sustainable building practices and with an eye to conservation in the future.” The new Van Nuys facility is just the latest step in the company’s commitment to expanding its US footprint and broadening its global FBO network. “We are committed to delivering industry-leading services where our customers need and want them,” says David Best, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Regional Operations USA. “The enhancements throughout our FBO network are strategically designed to focus on exceeding customer expectations across our full range of Business Aviation services while using cost- and energy-efficient construction practices.” Construction and renovation are currently under way or pending in the US and Caribbean at six of Jet Aviation’s 13 regional locations, including a new state-of-the-art hangar and renovated FBO in Teterboro, New Jersey that opened in October 2019. Hangar expansions in San Juan, Puerto Rico and West Palm Beach, Florida are ongoing, and significant renovations are underway at the Dallas, Texas FBO. As if all of this wasn’t enough, the company recently acquired a stake in the Scottsdale Jet Center in Arizona, where it plans to build a new FBO. Expanding the Network Avfuel continues to expand its branded network of FBOs. In December, the company announced the addition of Premier Aviation at Elmira-Corning Regional Airport (KELM). The brand-new FBO offers guest flying to New York state-of-theart facilities, including expansive passenger and pilot areas, a quiet room, meeting space and ample hangar space. As a full-service FBO, the Premier Aviation team provides fueling serv i c es, A vf ue l Co ntr a c t Fu e l , AVTRIP rewards, catering, secure parking, a weather/briefing station, c rew l ounge and s no o ze r o o m , shower, crew car, snack bar and car rentals – all with exceptional customer service. Customers also benefit from concierge support, maintenance and other specialized aviation services. Premier Aviation is

also reopening a highly-specialized aircraft brake and wheel maintenance shop at KELM in January of this year. “We are proud to align ourselves with Premier Aviation, the new independent FBO at Elmira-Corning Regional Airport,” says Joel Hirst, Avfuel Vice President of Sales. “The Premier Aviation team provides an exceptional service for planes, pilots and passengers, making it an ideal option for flight departments in the Avfuel Network.” From Waste to Fuel After highlighting its pioneering carbon offset program for Business Aviation at SDC2019, AirBP arrived at NBAA-BACE showcasing how solid waste from homes and businesses can be converted into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Derived from non-palm renewable and sustainable raw materials, the fuel is made by leading fuels producer Neste and supplied by Air BP. It can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% over its life-cycle compared to conventional jet fuel. “At Air BP, we believe it is important to keep working with multiple suppliers, customers and partners to support the commercialization of SAF, which is something we will continue to focus on,” says Irene Lores, Air BP Global Sales and Marketing Director, General Aviation.

Universal Adds Turkey Per usual, Universal Weather & Aviation will have a large presence on the exhibition floor, showcasing their expansive suite of products and services. In January, the company announced the continued expansion of its global network with the opening of Universal Aviation Turkey. Based in Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, the new location provides supervisory ground support for business aircraft at all airports across the country. The decision to expand into Turkey was based on increasing customer demand for operations into the country and better service levels on the ground. “Turkey, and Istanbul in particular, is a rapidly growing Business Aviation market with good infrastructure and potential for growth, but it also continues to be a challenging destination for our customers due to service levels, parking availability and operating restrictions,” says Universal Chairman Greg Evans. The addition of Universal Aviation Turkey extends the company’s network to 18 locations in the EMEA region. The company also has 17 locations in the Asia-Pacific region and 19 in Latin America, for over 50 locations across more than 25 countries. “Looking ahead, 2020 is going to be an exciting year of growth for Universal and our Universal Aviation network as we continue to expand to high-risk, high-stress locations,” adds Evans.

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GATHERING

The show will welcome over 2,900 attendees and 500 exhibitors.

S&DC PREVIEW

New Digs in the UK After exiting Cambridge Airport, last fall ExecuJet, part of the Luxavaiton Group, announced its intention to launch an enlarged UK FBO at a new location. “After nearly eight successful years of operations in Cambridge, the time is right to seek a new facility with extended capabilities,” says ExecuJet Europe Vice President Niclas von Planta. “With the considerable growth ExecuJet has been experiencing in Europe, we decided to seek new premises that will better serve our client base.” Luxaviation, in collaboration with the Paragon Aviation Group, has a network of 56 FBOs around the world. “This move marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter of expansion for us,” adds von Planta. “ExecuJet has long been known for leading the industry in FBO safety and service, and the establishment of a new facility in the UK will give us the opportunity to uphold those standards on a larger scale.”

AIM

The conference agenda was developed to help attendees take their careers to new heights.

New Investors at Farnborough Speaking of the UK, in October, Farnborough Airport announced that Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), via Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 6 (MEIF6), acquired the airport from a consortium of private investors. “The significant investment that has occurred at Farnborough Airport over the past two decades has been trans-

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formative,” says Brandon O’Reilly, CEO of Farnborough Airport. “With a number of development projects already underway, we are excited to partner with Macquarie to further develop our offering to the Business Aviation market.” The airport recently won the IEMA Sustainability Impact Award for Energy and Carbon Transition. The award, organized by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, recognizes people and businesses that are transforming the world towards sustainability. “This award represents another important milestone in our ongoing energy efficiency and carbon reduction efforts,” says Farnborough Airport Environmental Manager Miles Thomas. A Banner Year 2019 was a banner year for Euro Jet. Not only did the company provide handling support to more than 10,000 flights - surpassing all previous records – it also provided thousands of permits, fuel uplifts, flight plans, hotel rooms, transportation and catering. Furthermore, the company expanded its operations center with more staff and renovated its Bucharest lounge. The team was also busy working summits and major events in Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, Kosice, Belgrade, Sochi, Istanbul, Vladivostok, Warsaw, Bucharest, Sibiu, Baku, Dubrovnik, Karlovy, Vary, St. Petersburg and Minsk.

Better Weather Prediction In October, Honeywell announced its most advanced addition to the IntuVue family: the IntuVue RDR7000 Weather Radar. Weather-related delays and cancellations cost the aviation industry billions of dollars every year, while turbulence-related incidents impact passenger comfort and safety. The RDR-7000 Weather Radar can accurately predict the presence of lightning or hail, so pilots can avoid hazardous weather. Beyond weather conditions, the radar can also detect turbulence up to 60 nautical miles ahead, enabling the crew to avoid the turbulence or alert the passengers sooner. “Weather is difficult to predict, and pilots continually run the risk of encountering unexpected weather like hail or thunderstorms, which can impact the safety and comfort of all onboard,” says Stevan Slijepcevic, President, Honeywell Aerospace Electronic Solutions. “The RDR-7000 reduces this risk by more than 50% using the new and improved automated mode, which helps pilots focus on upcoming weather hazards and reroute decisions instead of operating the radar.” Streamlining Operations Collins Aerospace will likely be highlighting its ARINCDirect Flight Operations System (FOS). According to the company, the FOS streamlines operations to bring unparalleled speed, functionality and ease of use. It gathers all the required information in one place, with a rich array of features and no redundant data entry. “ARINCDirect FOS becomes the hub of your operations with the integration of our flight planning, data link and international trip support tools,” says the company. “It saves you time and effort while reducing costs and helps you serve your customers more effectively.” See You in Charlotte! With schedulers and dispatchers continuing to assume more and more responsibility within corporate flight departments, shows like NBAA’s SDC will only continue to grow in importance. Don’t believe us? Come see for yourself at SDC2020. See you in Charlotte!

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AIRCRAFT PARTS: NO TIME TO SPARE

Spare parts are an integral factor in the service offering of any OEM. The on-time availability of parts is decisive if an aircraft support organization wants to satisfy the needs of its customers. BART International has taken a closer look to the spare parts business and was the first media outlet to visit Dassault Aviationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand-new Spare Parts Distribution deport at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Volker K. Thomalla reports

pare parts are of utmost importance for any aircraft operations. Parts have to be exchanged during planned maintenance to ensure a safe operation of the aircraft either because they are time-limited or their condition has deteriorated through usage. After an unexpected failure of a part, for example after a bird strike, parts have to be replaced as soon as possible to ensure that the aircraft can continue to fulfil the useful missions it is intended to fulfil. Western aircraft manufacturers and their suppliers have invested heavily in the last decades to improve their spare parts availability to a point where most of the parts are available within 24 hours wherever they are

PROMPTNESS

Dassault dedicates an aircraft for alternative lift in the event of an AOG (top). Textron's 1CALL service is available 24/7 (below). 60 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020

increase available part numbers to nearly 35,000 items across Europe, including all six service center parts rooms,” announced Brad Thress, then senior vice president, Parts, Programs and Flight Operations, Textron Aviation, in May last year. “The additional space keeps us ahead of growing demand and ready to support our customers at any time.” needed, be it for a planned maintenance event or to solve an AOG situation. Today’s computing power as well as state-of-the-art maintenance tools help manufacturers forecast when and where which parts are needed and in which quantity. Parts logistics is an important factor to succeed. Parts distribution centers of any major OEM are all strategically located close to international hub airports with sufficient international connections to minimize the time needed to transport the parts to the customers. Besides transport, parts can be delayed by customs clearances, so OEMs and suppliers have to make sure that a certain supply of spare parts is pre-cleared by customs to speed up the international delivery time. Warehousing of hundreds of thousands of parts is a costly endeavor. Constant analysis of spare part quantities and throughput rates are mandatory to keep the flow of spare parts at a rate the market needs and at a price that keeps the business profitable. Textron Aviation with its brands Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker has delivered more business aircraft worldwide than any other manufacturer. The Wichita, Kansas, based company has built its 7,000th Citation Business Jet in 2016 and is on its way to deliver the 7,500th Citation in the near future. The Beechcraft King Air Family is as successful as its jet sibling, the Cessna Citation. Over 7,000 of this robust twin turboprop aircraft are still flying worldwide. To support such an immense aircraft fleet, a smart spare parts management is mandatory. Textron Aviation is constantly expanding its regional spare parts footprint. In September of 2019, the OEM has opened a new aircraft parts warehouse in Australia to support its customers Down-under. The new spare parts center will initially hold 10,000 parts at Essendon Fields

Airport in Melbourne. Textron has colocated the new facility with Premiair Aviation Maintenance’s facility at the airport, a Textron Aviation Authorized Facility, which was acquired by Textron in January of 2020. Kriya Shortt, senior vice president of Global Customer Support at Textron Aviation, commented: “Textron Aviation has been steadily investing in service options for the Asia Pacific region to ensure customers flying all Textron Aviation aircraft receive the exceptional support they expect. Throughout the past year, we substantially increased our regional footprint, capabilities and parts availability.” Just a year earlier, Textron has invested in increasing its parts inventory in Singapore, nearly doubling the value of its parts inventory at its Singapore Service Center. Textron Aviation’s European Parts Distribution Center (EUDC) is based in Düsseldorf, Germany, and supports more than 1,800 business aircraft in the region. It has seen tremendous growth in 2019 as Textron has doubled its size within one year. “The expansion of the parts distribution center in Düsseldorf will

Shortt said: “Our strategy in Europe, and around the world, has always been to provide unrivaled support for the aircraft we produce with centrally located, company-owned service centers and parts distribution centers, mobile service units and fast AOG response with 1Call.” Since 2015, Textron Aviation has a Cessna Citation CJ on stand-by in Düsseldorf, seven days a week including most holidays to transport technicians and parts if needed to support customers during maintenance events, planned or unplanned. The French manufacturer Dassault Aviation has delivered more than 2,600 Falcon Business Jets, of which over 2,100 are in service today with 1,250 operators, explained Jean Kayanakis, newly appointed senior vice president, Worldwide Falcon Customer Service & Service Center Network at BART International’s visit to Saint-Cloud in France. The regional distribution of the fleet has a clear center of gravity in North America with about 68 per cent of the installed fleet in the region, followed by 27 per cent in the EMAI region (Europe, Middle East, Africa and India) and 5 per cent in

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FACILITY

Textron Aviation has opened a 2,000-sq-ft aircraft parts warehouse in Australia.

SPARE PARTS

STORE

Dassault Aviation’s spare parts warehouse (left and below). Charles Wemaere (top right).

Asia/Pacific. Dassault still supports every Falcon jet still in operation, regardless of its model year. Charles Wemaere, vice president, Falcon Spares at Dassault Aviation, has explained during the Paris Air Show in June 2019 that the spare parts organization consists of five teams: The first team identifies the parts that are needed to keep the Falcon fleet in the air, the second team is responsible for the procurement of the parts. It has to define how many parts are needed globally and where they are best stocked in regards of location of the global Falcon fleet. The third team consists of parts specialists who are handling on a 24/7/365 basis all customer inquiries in three different locations: Teterboro, New Jersey; BordeauxMérignac, France and Beijing, China. The fourth team is responsible for the parts logistics and has to find out the best and fastest means of transport to bring the part to the customer, while the fifth team does the quality control. The volume of order lines per year at Dassault Falcon Spares has reached 220,000. The worldwide inventory has climbed to 80,000 parts which are immediately available. This represents a value of US$ 916 million. There are 380,000 parts numbers in the catalogue. Falcon Spares operates 16 regional distribution centers. Four of them are in the US (Louisville, Teterboro, Little Rock and Reno and West Palm Beach), two in Africa (Lagos and Johannesburg), two in Europe (Paris Charles de Gaulle, Moscow), one in Brazil (Sao Paulo), two in the EMAI region (Dubai and Mumbai) and four in the Asia/Pacific (Beijing, Hong

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Kong, Singapore and Sydney). Due to the large numbers of operators in North America, Dassault has positioned parts worth more than US$445 million in that region, followed by EMEA (US$438 million) and Asia/Pacific (US$ 33 million). There are different solutions to fulfill the customer’s need in regard to spare parts. The classic way is to sell parts and tools to an operator or a maintenance facility. But there are others ways like the exchange of parts. The customer returns a part and gets a new one or a factory-overhauled part in exchange. This reduces down-time of an aircraft. Dassault (as other manufacturers, too) is also offering the rental of parts and tools to speed up the return-intoservice of an aircraft when a part or a component needs a lengthy repair or overhaul. In case of an AOG situation, Dassault strives the parts to be ready for shipping in less than two hours. In such cases, Dassault uses dedicated shipping solutions including taxi or

hand carry of parts on board of airliners or one of two Falcon 900 FalconResponse aircraft. Dassault has entered a partnership with the logistics company DHL for shipping and customs solutions. The speed of a delivery is expected to be as fast as possible. But the perceived price of a spare part is an important factor of the customer experience with a company. Therefore, Dassault is regularly embarking on a pricing study with a value-driven approach. The goal of this comprehensive operation is to ensure that parts are priced in accordance with its dimensions, material, weight and perceived customer value instead of the conventional methodology used to price aircraft parts. In the framework of this strategy, Dassault Falcon Spares employees have analyzed 67,000 part numbers and have proposed several prices to be adapted to market conditions. BART International had the opportunity to visit Dassault Aviation’s newly opened spare parts distribution cen-

ter in the Aerolians business park near Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, which is operated by Daher. It replaces the Le Bourget parts distribution center which has been in operation for decades. The parts distribution center is working around the clock, all-year long. But the volume is changing with Mondays featuring traditionally the lowest demand. The new center features a floor space of 16,000 square meters (172,222 square feet) and innovative storage facilities. The depot houses parts ranging from the size of a rivet up to a wing. Depending on the requirements of the different materials, different storage conditions are maintained. Tires, for example, are stored in an air-conditioned storage room without natural light in special racks which allow the employees to turn them regularly to avoid dents. Liquids are also stored in special stockage areas with controlled environments. Dassault and Daher have implemented a high degree of automation in storing the parts and managing the stock, but the facility does not work without humans. Most of the parts travel within the facility in colorcoded boxes to avoid mistakes. Specialists need to pack and prepare parts for shipping or to control the quality after receiving a part. To enhance processes and workflows within the facility, the management is actively testing new technologies. Exoskeletons, for example, help the employees to lift parts without harming their health. Drones are tested if they can be helpful in monitoring stock or by transporting smaller parts faster from the warehouse area to the packing stations.

Gulfstream Aerospace has produced more than 2,800 aircraft, of which the majority is still in active service. The company maintains a global spare parts inventory of more than US$ 1.6 billion in parts distribution centers in several countries near business hubs frequently visited by Gulfstream customers. The OEM operates out of Savannah, Georgia, two dedicated aircraft to deliver – if needed – flightessential parts and technicians to operators in North and Central America and the Caribbean. In 2016, the so-called FAST (Field and Airborne Support Teams) aircraft have completed their 5,000th mission. In regards to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union (Brexit), Gulfstream Aerospace has moved its European Customer Support Parts Distribution Center from the UK across the Channel to a location on the European continent near the Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. That move allows Gulfstream to continue to serve its customers in the EU after Brexit without

delays due to custom clearances. The 2,300 square meter Amsterdam facility is fully operational since the end of November with more than US$ 28 million in inventory. All stock in the new facility is customs-cleared into the EU, allowing Gulfstream to ship it immediately to where it is needed. The new spare parts center does not mean that Gulfstream stops warehousing and supplying parts to customers in the UK or transitioning through Great Britain. “Our customers traveling through or based in the United Kingdom will continue to receive support from our company-owned LondonLuton Airport Service Center, which has a parts inventory of more than US$45 million. Parts supply and availability in the UK remain a high priority for our organization as the larger ?European market evolves,” said Derek Zimmerman, president, Gulfstream Customer Support. Bombardier Aviation is supporting the world wid e fleet of Learj et, Challenger and Global aircraft. It operates a network of ten parts dis-

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IN-SERVICE

Gulfstream FAST (top). Bombardier’s dedicated Mobile Response Team aircraft (right).

SPARE PARTS

tribution centers that move 70,000 aircraf t p a r t s m o n t hl y . T he Canadian OEM has positioned a Ch alle n g e r 3 0 0 b u si n e ss je t i n Frankfurt, Germany, as part of its expanding Mobile Response Team (MRT). The aircraft supports the fleet of over 700 Bombardier business aircraft in Europe and Africa by providing shipping support in AOG situations for spare parts from Bombardier’s main European parts distribution hub in Frankfurt. In North America, Bombardier operates a Learjet 45 out of Chicago to

TOP

Among the leading parts distributors are Boeing’s Aviall (top), CRS Jet Spares (center) and StandardAero (below).

quickl y t r a n sp o r t p a r t s t o c u stomers. It’s not only the OEMs that support business aircraft operators with spare parts. CRS Jet Spares of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, provides aircraft operators since 1982 with parts. The company positions itself as a costeffective, high-quality alternative to aircraft OEM parts programs. The

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CRS Jet Spares team strives to develop personal relationships with its customers. The company offers parts for Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault Falcon, Learjet, Hawker and Astra aircraft. CRS Jet Spares has a long standing history of supporting operators of legacy Learjets for example. The company owns and maintains one of the largest and most comprehensive

inventories in the world for Learjet 35, 36, 40, 45, 55 and 60 series aircraft. CRS Jet Spares offers solutions such as parts sales, exchanges, repairs and rentals. All routable exchange items are serviced by either the original manufacturer or a qualified FAA Repair Station. Maintenance powerhouse StandardAero offers all things maintenance to aircraft operators, spare parts services included. It is, amongst others, an authorized distributor for Collins Aerospace, Kelly Aerospace, BendixKing and Honeywell. The company has a history that spans over a century. It promises its customers: “If we don’t have your part at a particular location, we can find it quickly. In addition, our Line Replacement Unit shop can overhaul, functional-test or repair most components on your aircraft. We know how important timely access to the right parts can be and we have both the tools and the talent to respond immediately.” Aviall is part of Boeing Global Services and supports civil, military aircraft and helicopter operators with parts services. The 88 year old company has partnered with over 250 suppliers and OEMs. It has an impressive portfolio of nearly two million part numbers and stocks an inventory of more than US$ 2.0 billion. But it offers far more than parts and supplies. It also offers onsite warehousing and global distribution services for manufacturers. Last year, Aviall signed an agreement with the Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam to assume responsibility for the distribution, ordering and shipping of all OEM genuine replacement parts for the Tecnam P2012 Traveller. The aircraft made its NBAA-BACE debut in October 2019 in Las Vegas. It is in service with Hyannis, Massachusetts, based Cape Air as well as with the Seychellesbased Zil Air. At the signing ceremony, William Ampofo, vice president, Business & General Aviation, Boeing Global Services, said; “We are thrilled to provide our industry leading distribution services for this new aircraft. Our global supply chain and agile distribution systems will keep these planes in the air for many years to come."

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MAINTENANCE

The business of MRO providers was driven largely by ADS-B installations

AFTER ADS-B: WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE MRO SECTOR?

in 2019. Now the mandate deadline being over, MRO companies still have a lot to do in the near future. Marc Grangier reports

GLOBAL

Universal Avionics’ UniLink CMU (top left). Darius Saluga (below), CEO of Jet Maintenance Solutions (top right).

ccording to a recent Mordor Intelligence report, the business jet MRO market is anticipated to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.03%, reaching a market value of $4.36 billion by 2024. “Every year, operators spend significant amounts of their budgets on various upgrades,” says Darius Saluga, CEO of Jet Maintenance Solutions, a Hawker Beechcraft and Bombardier maintenance company based at Vilnius, Lithuania. “If those upgrades are related to avionics and retrofits, the amounts quickly become significant, with modifications to power plants, cabin systems, exteriors and interiors often doubling – or even tripling – the amount of money spent on upgrades.” Many of these modifications are prescribed by the regulatory authorities and related to safety. Thus, such upgrades are mandated by Airworthiness Directives (ADs) and always have the highest priority. Some OEM Service Bulletins are also safety-related, and aircraft operators usually include them in their Maintenance Management Programs during the nearest base maintenance check. Complying with airspace man-

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dates requires another set of modifications, such as those falling under the Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS) avionics. In turn, upgrades related to in-flight connectivity and pilot glass cockpit upgrades are also becoming increasingly in demand. Add all this together and it’s easy to see how the maintenance costs of a private jet represent approximately 30% of an aircraft’s operating budget – and how a CAGR of 4.03% until 2024 is more than plausible!

When talking business aircraft maintenance, a number of other factors also come into play. For example, the inventory of for sale business jets has been declining steadily for the past 10 years. This means that the market for used aircraft is growing. In most cases, used aircraft owners like to customize or retrofit their cabins. Additionally, engines and propulsion systems are serviced before customer deliveries. Undeniably, this all means more business for MRO companies. For those MROs that are authorized service centers for large OEMs, they tend to have a are most of guaranteed pipeline of customers seeking heavy maintenance overhauls like a C or a D-check. For example, last September, RUAG MRO International carried out a 3C-check and avionics upgrade on a Falcon 900 to ensure compliance with the ADS-B Out Mandate. The 3C-check project also included a partial cabin refurbishment. All services were scheduled to take place during a single downtime. Last December, Clay Lacy Aviation performed a 10-year inspection on an Embraer Phenom aircraft manufactured in 2009. The company

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MAINTENANCE Duncan Aviation’s latest report, based on data from its proprietary customer database, the FAA, and other industry sources, reports that 23% of the business jet fleet, or 3,384 aircraft, were not compliant. “At this rate, we anticipate that at least 1,660 aircraft were not be in compliance when the calendar flipped to 1 January 2020,” said Matt Nelson, Duncan’s manager of satellite operations. Turboprop equipage rates are even lower. According to Duncan, 49% of the qualifying fleet were not yet in compliance and more than completed the first Phenom 100 inspection in October, with additional inspections for December and into the new year. In addition to being the largest Pilatus dealer in the world and applying more than 145,000 work hours to PC-12 maintenance in the last five years, Western Aircraft is now extending its expertise to heavy maintenance on the PC-24. Western Aircraft has completed 20% of all PC24 Big Aircraft Modifications (BAMs) worldwide, along with five 12-month inspections. Being a full-service avionics modification center, the company recently installed the first-ever Gogo AVANCE L5 in-flight connectivity system in a PC-24. Last September, Western Aviation was also authorized to work on Williams International FJ44 engines for the Cessna Citation Cessna 525, 525+, 525 A, A+, B, C and M2 models. It is already familiar with these engines thanks to it being a Williams Authorized Service Facility for the Pilatus PC-24.

OPERATION

Clay Lacy Aviation performed a 10year inspection on Phenom 300 (left). Western Aircraft now offers heavy maintenance on PC-24 (right).

The End of the Line for ADS-B Retrofitting? Though retrofitting of US registered aircraft with ADS-B Out theoretically came to an end on January 1st 2020, this is not yet the case for several other regions, including Australia and Europe. As to the latter, EASA and the FAA established June 7th, 2020 as the ADS-B Out mandate for aircraft operating in Europe. This means that all aircraft operating under instrument flight rules and with a maximum certified take-off mass exceeding 12,500 lb. (5,700 kg) or having a maximum cruising true airspeed capability greater than 250 knots will be required to fly with ADS-B out as of that date.

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In the US, the FAA made it clear that there won’t be any extension of the deadline and if operators don’t keep up with the ADS-B Mandate and their aircraft is unable to transmit the required signals, they will be forced to fly below 10,000 ft. and avoid certain specified airspace. Furthermore, those aircraft that are not equipped with the ADS-B Out by the deadline and use any large or most small airports will be grounded until they get the required equipment. One director of a large MRO told BART that although the industry seems to be doing a good job of meeting demand for compliance, with a good majority of aircraft now equipped, there is still an anticipated rush to the finish line. “We noticed an increased demand from owners and operators who regularly use their aircraft, and recognize they need to make sure they’re ready,” says the source. “We can accommodate a few more aircraft, but owners need to call quickly so that we can develop a compliance solution for their aircraft in time. If they don’t call us, they risk having their aircraft grounded post-deadline.”

3,800 examples would still need ADSB upgrades at the beginning of 2020. In total, Markets and Markets analysts estimate that the global market for these retrofits will reach $1,316.9 Million by 2022 when all aircraft have been upgraded. However, MRO companies will still have a lot of work in the months to come, as the FAA estimates that only about 72,000 of 100,000 piston airplanes had been equipped with rule-compliant ADS-B avionics as of October 1st, 2019. Given current rates of installation, there are many chances that the rest of the fleet – the 28,000 or so piston aircraft not yet equipped by the January 1 st 2020 deadline – will have to be taken care of during 2020 and probably even beyond. And what is now taking place in the US will also happen in Europe and in the rest of the world. Smart Maintenance Apart from ADS-B installations, MRO companies will certainly have a lot of work in other fields, as connected aircraft technologies are changing nearly everything about aviation – including the way operators service

and maintain complex onboard mechanical systems. One can thank the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics for connected maintenance capabilities that put powerful proactive tools at operators’ fingertips. Although analytics isn’t new, what is new is the evolution toward using big data to drive operational outcomes and return on investment. To rein in costs associated with aircraft maintenance, the industry is adopting ‘smart’ maintenance practices that help streamline the jobs of aircraft engineers and maintenance technicians. They diagnose problems sooner and prescribe the right course of maintenance while improving overall turnaround times and efficiency. The most advanced connected maintenance solutions do all that – and more. Today’s onboard systems and environmental control systems already generate vast amounts of data. With connected maintenance, one can capture and aggregate aircraft data, which can be combined with data from other enterprise systems and external data such as weather, to put together a comprehensive understanding of flight and maintenance operations. According to Honeywell, applying advanced analytic techniques such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, along with deep domain expertise and maintenance experts, allow one to generate accurate and actionable insights for operations and maintenance crews. Imagine an APU that tells you when a line replaceable unit is getting ready to fail, an ECS that indicates it needs unscheduled service, or aircraft brakes that send a message when it’s time for new disks. Those capabilities already exist with GoDirect Connected Maintenance from Honeywell Aerospace. It not only predicts an imminent system issue, it also provides prescriptive information to help maintenance crews pinpoint the fault down to the subcomponent level, identifying the particular part that needs to be repaired or replaced along with the repair procedure to be followed. As a result, technicians spend less time manually troubleshooting components and get to the right fix the first time.

Likewise, all the large OEMs have d e v e l o p e d r e a l- tim e health an d trend monitoring systems that automatically report high-level problems while the aircraft is in flight or o n t he g r o u n d . “I n on e cas e, a Gulfstream G650 reported a probl e m i n f l i g ht five hou rs b efore reaching its destination airport and when it arrived at its planned fuel stop, a technician and replacement parts were on site to fix the problem, expediting aircraft dispatch to its final destination and preventing a n o f f -si t e A O G ,” n oted G E Aviation. The company provides Gu l f st r e a m w i t h its I n teg rated V e hi c l e H e a l t h M an ag em en t ( I V H M) sy stem , part of Gulfstream’s PlaneConnect Health & Trend Monitoring system. For Textron Aviation, its LinxUs and LinxUs Air predictive maintenance technology allows its customers to lower costs, reduce AOG time and improve maintenance protocols as its systems isolate important details to help correctly address issues the first time.

Keeping Your Aircraft Connected Today’s business jet passengers are looking for the fastest connectivity inflight. Live streaming, teleconferencing, VPN, VoIP capabilities, internet, and email inflight have become standard and even expected. Since the beginning, Jet Aviation has been heavily investing in connectivity solutions to ensure its customers can enjoy the fastest internet connectivity on the market. The company’s engineering team in Basel spent two years developing a technical solution for Ka-band system integration. After demonstrating EASA-compliance, the solution was first implemented on a Boeing 747400. Jet Aviation also developed an EASA STC for a Boeing 767-300 aircraft and further plans to revise its 747-400 STC for another model in the 747 series, including a new antenna location. The company recently received the industry’s first EASA Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for Ka-band system integration on a Boeing 747-400 in Basel.

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BUSY

Duncan ADS-B (top) Matt Nelson of Duncan (bottom left). Honeywell GoDirect connected maintenance (bottom right).

MAINTENANCE

SOLUTIONS

GE Aviation’s IVHM (top left). Textron LinxUs Air (top right). Jet Aviation is investing more and more in Ka-band network (below).

The company has also been busy working on Satcom SBB and Live TV systems installations. It recently demonstrated compliance with the latest EASA bird strike requirement on the Rockwell Collins Live TV Radome. Jet Aviation is currently developing a second EASA STC for a Boeing 767300 aircraft and further plans to revise its 747-400 STC for another model in the 747 series, including a new antenna location. Other companies have looked into connectivity solutions. For example, last fall Flying Colours Corp. completed a retrofit of the Honeywell Primus Elite flight-deck on a Bombardier Global Express, along with an installation of the Honeywell JetWave Ka-band system. As part of the Primus Elite upgrade, six all new Honeywell DU-875 displays were installed to replaced old cathode ray tubes (CRT) monitors. The Primus Elite Advanced Features’ (PEAF) software suite is optimized on aircraft carrying a full complement of the new DU-875 displays. PEAF adds a Synthetic Vision System (SVS) which provides 3-D color images of runways,

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terrain and obstacles, giving pilots a clear view of the virtual flight path, particularly useful when flying to unfamiliar locations, in bad weather, or at night. Bombardier recently announced a Preferred Service Provider (PSP) agreement with GE Aviation. GE will power Bombardier’s cockpit and cabin connectivity solutions – including new, curated, service bundles that will simplify the selection of cockpit and cabin services with tip-to-tail solutions for new and in-service aircraft. This agreement is a first step toward the launch of Bombardier’s comprehensive Smart Link Plus connected aircraft program. GE Aviation is working closely with Bombardier on the development of the Smart Link Plus box – a Health Monitoring Unit (HMU) “smart” box capable of generating key data for customers, enabling them to increase operational efficiency and minimize return-to-service times through datadriven decisions. The smart box, at the heart of the program, will provide aircraft data to Bombardier’s digital platform where it will be analyzed and transferred into actionable insights, drawing on Bombardier’s aircraft expertise and leveraging the power of the entire connected fleet. The smart box technology was first introduced on the flagship Global 7500 aircraft and will now be adapted for eligible Challenger and other Global aircraft programs. Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has outfitted its 300 th aircraft with a Jet ConneX inflight broadband service. “The office-in-the-sky experience is very much a reality with Gulfstream and Jet ConneX,” said Derek Zimmerman, president, Gulfstream Customer Support. “Our customers

value our ability to efficiently incorporate this technology on our aircraft and the consistent and reliable global coverage it provides.” Deliveries, which began in May 2017, have included inproduction large-cabin aircraft, the G650ER, G650, G550, G500, and the all-new G600. Nearly half the installations are retrofits. Textron announced that the Garmin G5000 integrated flight deck is now available for the Cessna Citation Excel and Citation XLS. The G5000 modernizes the cockpit, solves parts obsolescence and addresses mandate requirements, while also offering a lower cost of operation. “The G5000 will modernize the cockpit to offer customers additional situational awareness, lower cost of operation and an improved in-flight experience in the aircraft they already know,” For Kriya Shortt, Textron Aviation senior vice president, Global Customer Support. The G5000 integrated flight deck for the Citation Excel and Citation XLS features three landscape-oriented displays with split-screen capability, intuitive touchscreen controllers, and geo-referenced Garmin SafeTaxi airport diagrams. New to the Citation Excel, emergency descent mode is available as a standard feature with the G5000 and is enabled by the autopilot in the event of a loss in aircraft pressurization. Additionally, operators gain access to more airports and lower approach minimums throughout the world as the G5000 has PBN/RNP 0.3 with LPV/APV approach capability. In partnership with Honeywell/Go Direct, Dassault has developed FalconConnect, a fully integrated, cockpit to cabin to ground connectivity package. Addressing specific concerns customers have had with the way high-

speed access has traditionally been offered, FalconConnect, is a comprehensive suite of services with state-ofthe-art connectivity and functionalities over multiple networks. Available networks for cabin and cockpit include 3G/4G on ground, WiFi, Inmarsat L-Band, Datalink, Iridium Classic and Next, Viasat KU and Ka or Jet Connex KA-Band, with future technology readiness. Depending on the customers’ needs, routers and antennas are available as upgrades. Universal Avionics recently disclosed an incentive package for operators seeking to equip for Data Comm using the company’s UniLink Communications Management Unit (CMU) as the cornerstone of their data link flight deck upgrade. The package, effective January 1, 2020, provides various data communications capabilities, including CPDLC DCL, CPDLC Enroute and FANS 1/A+ oceanic. It is strategically designed for retrofit upgrade of business aviation aircraft, who can benefit significantly from FAA’s Data Comm services. In terms of maintenance programs, the Honeywell Maintenance Service Plan (MSP) has been improved. Incorporating Honeywell Avionics Protection Plan (HAPP), Maintenance

Service Plan (MSP) and Maintenance Protection Plan (MPP), all offerings will now sit under the Maintenance Service Plan umbrella. Furthermore, the MSP now includes a comprehensive coverage of all Honeywell contents on the aircraft, including recently added components and usage based contracts (for HTF series and TFE731-20 In October 2019, the FAA released guidelines for remote connectivity in aircraft safety inspections. For this purpose, CloudVisit has developed an Aviation Maintenance Software to communicate with aircraft maintenance teams at distant sites and manage aircraft safety inspections from the operator’s office. This software, enabling remote aircraft inspections, provides video, audio, and image documentation to verify the quality of aircraft safety inspections. A Very Busy Road Ahead From the above-mentioned examples, one understands that MRO companies will have a lot to do in the near future, and other fields of maintenance and repair will also be of importance, such as the engine and the cabin refurbishment segments. It is also worth mentioning that the demand for In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) remains one of the most popular modifications. Cost-efficient newer equipment, as well as lower data usage fees, has made these modifications more attractive and reachable for private operators wishing to plug their iPads into their airplane systems and stay connected as they would at home. Therefore, upgrading/modifications to existing systems of connectivity will certainly continue to be very popular and bring additional work to MROs.

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OFFERINGS

Clockwise from top left: Flying Colours’ Primus Elite & Ka-band upgrade. Bombardier and GE teamed to offer connectivity solutions. Kriya Shortt. Derek Zimmerman. Falcon Connect.

AERO PREVIEW

AERO 2020: HOW ELECTRIC WILL BE THE FUTURE? The General Aviation trade show AERO in Friedrichshafen is constantly evolving. This year, the show will feature for the first time a dedicated FOCUS

This year’s edition will highlight the performance and capabilities of today’s electric aircraft.

re-sale area for business aircraft as well as The Lindbergh Rally, an e-flight competition to highlight the capabilities of electrically powered aircraft. Volker K. Thomalla reports

his spring will see the 28th AERO in Friedrichshafen. The trade fair in Southern Germany was established in 1977 as a bi-annual event. It is now held yearly since 2009. It has evolved from a small air sports event to a full-scale, global trade show for General Aviation including Business Aviation. Manufacturers like Pilatus Aircraft, Daher, Cirrus Aircraft, Piper Aircraft, Diamond Aircraft as well as authorized dealers like Rheinland Air Service (RAS) for Honda Aircraft or Air Alliance are regularly exhibiting in Friedrichshafen on the banks of Lake Constance. Suppliers of aircraft systems and services can also be found at the show. BlackHawk Modifications, Hartzell Propeller, MTProp, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Jeppesen, Garmin, Bose and True Blue will be exhibiting, just to name a few. This year’s show will – for the first time ever – feature an area in the static display which is reserved for used business aircraft only. The show organizers invite aircraft sellers to showcase their pre-owned aircraft in the resale area to attendees and to connect with potential buyers who can visit the aircraft on the spot. The show grounds are connected by a separate taxiway to Friedrichshafen Airport and offer plenty of room for aircraft up to the size of large-cabin business jet.

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At last year’s AERO, the German Business Aviation Association (GBAA) has successfully co-hosted the first Business Aviation conference at AERO which covered topics like ADS-B implementation – which is due in June this year in Europe –, public perception of Business Aviation and bizav’s role in humanitarian flights. The show organizers will offer this conference again this year, covering topics that are important for the industry such as the effects of Brexit on aviation and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Europe. The conference’s concept hasn’t changed: The lecturers have 20 minutes each to present their cases and do Q&A with the attendees. Afterwards, the conference visitors can meet with the presenters at their booths and discuss comprehensively what they need to know. The whole conference is limited to two hours, giving visitors plenty of time to see the show. Last year, 757 exhibitors from 40 countries at the show attracted more than 32,000 visitors. More than 60 per cent of the visitors were active pilots. With these numbers, AERO is one of the largest trade shows in the industry. AERO has played a major role in shaping the future of aviation by introducing the e-Flight-Expo as early as 2009, a special section of the show dedicated to electric flight. Even though the progress hasn’t been as quickly as the visionaries thought a decade ago, e-Flight is becoming a reality today. To highlight the performance and capabilities of today’s electric aircraft, the Lindbergh Foundation and Messe Friedrichshafen have set-up the Lindbergh e-flight rally, which is a flying competition for electric aircraft only. It will be held on March 30 th and 31 st, just prior to the show opening on April 1st. Certified aircraft as well as prototypes are eligible to participate.

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MAINTENANCE CONFERENCE Join your customers – business aviation’s directors of maintenance, flight department managers, maintenance technicians, aircraft owners/ operators, and chief pilots – at the 2020 NBAA Maintenance Conference. Whether this is your first time joining us or you’re a seasoned MC veteran, you’ll want to make plans to attend.

nbaa.org/mc

May 5-7

2020 HARTFORD, CT

THE DOCKET

BUYING AN AIRCRAFT: A SHORT GUIDE Giulia Mauri presents

some of the main legal

issues that prospective buyers will face when negotiating the contractual documentation needed to secure the purchase of their aircraft

s all buyers are aware, the purchase of an aircraft is complex. It not only involves technical choices as regards the type and the specifications of the aircraft, but the purchase also involves prospective buyers being confronted with technical, tax and legal issues that require assistance from a team of specialists in this type of transactions. Firstly, the contractual documentation and the issues raised by the relevant purchase will be different depending on whether the aircraft is bought new directly from the manufacturer or used from a third-party seller. In addition, the contractual documentation will need to take into account whether the buyer needs financing to purchase the aircraft or if it is buying with its own funds. Therefore, the items to be consider will vary depending on the structure of the relevant purchase. This article addresses the main issues to be dealt with in relation to i) the negotiation of a contract for the purchase of a new aircraft; ii) the negotiation of a contract for the purchase of a used aircraft; and iii) the legal issues linked to a possible financing of the purchase price.

PREPARATION

The many aspects of aircraft ownership should be seriously considered before buying.

Buying a New Aircraft When buying a new aircraft, the buyer deals directly with the manufacturer of the aircraft. Each manufacturer has its own standard aircraft sale agreements that they use as a starting point for negotiations.

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Type Certification The first element that needs to be addressed by a prospective buyer is to verify if the aircraft type that they wish to purchase has already been certified. Indeed, every time a manufacturer produces a new type of aircraft, this has to be certified by competent authorities (EASA or FAA) before it can be placed on the market and sold to clients. If the aircraft has not yet been certified, the manufacturer will have to indicate in the list of aircraft specifications that those specifications are communicated for information purposes only, but that they will need to be updated when the aircraft obtains final certification. When negotiating this type of deals with manufacturers, it is important to introduce an exit clause providing that, if certification has not been obtained by a specific cut-off date, the buyer may terminate the contract and obtain reimbursement of all amounts previously paid to the manufacturer. Ownership and Absence of Liens and Charges As the aircraft is bought new from the manufacturer, it is usually not necessary to carry out searches as to ownership and title. Indeed, the manufacturer is the first owner of the aircraft, which has not yet been sold to any third party. The aircraft sale agreement usually contains representations and warranties as to title and absence of liens or charges on the aircraft.

At the moment of the sale, the manufacturer will issue a bill of sale in favor of the buyer certifying that title to the aircraft has passed to the buyer at the time of delivery. Warranties It is market standard that an aircraft bought from a manufacturer is sold â&#x20AC;&#x153;as-isâ&#x20AC;?. This means that, once the aircraft is inspected and accepted, the buyer will not have any right to claim any damages from the manufacturer for apparent or hidden defects. It is, indeed, market-practice for a manufacturer to add a disclaimer to its contract providing that, except for a warranty of title, the manufacturer does not give any other warranty in relation to the aircraft or its future use. Given this lack of contractual warranties, it is important to verify what type of post-sale warranties or technical support is offered by the manufacturer. Most manufacturers offer postsale support for the repair of defects or the substitution of parts. If the manufacturer of the aircraft is not (as it is often the case) the manufacturer of the engine(s), it is critical to obtain warranties or post-sale technical support also from the engine manufacturer. Buying a Used Aircraft Buying a used aircraft is more complex than buying a new aircraft. Indeed, many items that did not need a specific attention in the framework of the purchase of a new aircraft need to be addressed when buying from a third party.

Ownership and Title The first fundamental item that must be verified is whether or not the seller is the owner of the aircraft. Several checks may be carried out to ascertain this, including the following: ❍ Obtaining all the original bills of sale allowing the buyer the trace back the various sales of the aircraft all the way from the manufacturer to the buyer via all intermediary steps; ❍ Carry out a search in the International Registry to verify if the aircraft has been or is registered on such registry; ❍ Verification of the current registration certificate of the aircraft. In certain countries (for example France), the aircraft is registered in the name of the owner and the registration cerments that need to be supplied together with the aircraft and to draft an exact list of the delivery conditions of the aircraft. The more detailed the delivery conditions, the better. During the pre-delivery inspection, the technicians of the buyer must (i) decide whether the aircraft complies with the delivery conditions and it may be accepted or (ii) judge whether there are discrepancies that can be rectified or that the damages are such that the aircraft cannot be accepted. This last option must be explicitly provided in the aircraft purchase agreement. Indeed, if the buyer considers that it may decide not to accept the aircraft in certain specific cases (e.g. presence of corrosion, structural tificate represents title. A search on the relevant registry may therefore prove helpful; ❍ Insurances also offer specific protection (title insurance) against possible future claims against your title or the title of the seller on the aircraft. In addition to the above, the seller will normally give specific representations and warranties as to the existence of title and the absence of liens or charges over the aircraft. Delivery Conditions Like new aircraft, also used aircraft are usually sold “as-is”. When buying a used aircraft, it is fundamental to work with experienced technicians who are able to indicate an exact list of the docu-

RESEARCH

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THE DOCKET Therefore, the flexibility of receiving financing often implies some limitations to the use of the aircraft. Limitations that may be negotiated with the relevant financier and tailor made to the planned use of the relevant aircraft. Conclusion Buying an aircraft is always an exciting time for prospective buyers. Working with a team of qualified and experienced experts helps buyers to focus on their investment while leaving the professionals to deal with the technical, legal and tax complexities of such a purchase. damage that has reduced the marketvalue of the aircraft, etc), such option to ‘walk-away’ must be indicated clearly in the text of the contract. Escrow Agent It is quite rare that an escrow agent is appointed when buying an aircraft from the manufacturer. Indeed, there is a certain reliance in the market on the reputation of the various manufacturers to return the deposit and amounts already paid by the buyer should the buyer decide not to accept the aircraft in compliance with the purchase agreement. When dealing with a third party seller, it is market-practice to appoint an escrow agent to remove from the buyer and the seller any credit-risk on the other party until closing of the relevant deal and delivery of the aircraft to the buyer. The appointment of an escrow agent may be done via a separate escrow agreement concluded by seller and buyer with the escrow agent or by having the escrow agent sign the purchase agreement. It is important, when negotiating an escrow agreement, that the provisions of the escrow agreement mirror what is provided for in the underlying purchase agreement. Indeed, it is fundamental that, for example, the buyer is free to obtain the reimbursement of the deposit if and when the deposit needs to be reimbursed under the main agreement. IMPORTANCE

It pays to put some effort into finding the right source of financing.

Financing If the buyer needs to finance the purchase of its aircraft, two main options are currently available on the market: (i) a loan coupled with a

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mortgage or similar security on the aircraft (and possibly other additional charges) or a (ii) finance lease. Whatever the type of financing chosen, the bank or the lessor needs to be involved in the transaction from the very beginning so as to avoid that the chosen bank or lessor decides to pull out and not grant credit at a late stage in the negotiations with the seller. The involvement of a bank means that certain security on the aircraft and on other assets of the buyer will be needed. Most banks active in the financing of private aircraft consider the financing of the aircraft as part of their private wealth department. They will therefore treat the risk of financing an aircraft mainly as a risk on the client, coupled with an additional risk on the asset being financed. Banks will therefore frequently request a mortgage (or equivalent charge) on the aircraft as well as a charge on the shares of the vehicle owning the aircraft and additional security on the bank accounts of the buyer. In contrast, a financial lessor will not need to take a mortgage on the aircraft since, from a legal standpoint, the lessor is the owner of the aircraft and it should be able to recuperate its aircraft even in case of bankruptcy of the lessee. Relying on financing when buying an aircraft means that the bank or the lessor will include limitations to the use of the aircraft for example providing that the aircraft cannot be subleased, that the operation of the aircraft must be entrusted to a reliable operator pre-approved by the bank or the lessor; that the aircraft may only be flown in certain countries considered as ‘secure’; etc.

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Attorney Giulia Mauri is Head of Aviation and Founder of KADRANT (www.kadrantlaw.com). She has more than 20 years’ experience in advising national and international clients on all aspects of aviation and transport-related transactions, including asset-finance and leasing, regulatory issues, carrier’s liability and litigation matters. She also acts as a mediator and is the co-founder of Mediation4Aviation, a mediation platform dedicated to the aviation industry. Giulia co-chairs the European and Legal Affairs Committee of the European Business Aviation Association and is an active member of the Industry Affairs Group of the European Regions Airline Association. Her Linkedin profile is accessible here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giuliamauri-5741979/

FROM THE COCKPIT

BACKUP BASICS As welcome as automation is, basic flying skills always need to be available as a back-up to help pilots through a confusing failure or mismanagement of the automated systems, highlights Capt. LeRoy Cook

FLIP-SIDE

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FROM THE COCKPIT

DANGER

The crash, in which a B737 struck a light when taking off in Belfast, could have been catastrophic.

utomation and technology are part of modern day business flying, so much so that initial training in a new aircraft spends perhaps half the allotted time on managing the cockpit equipment under normal and abnormal circumstances. So integrated have the systems in our aircraft become that we can’t move between aircraft types solely on our ability to operate the flight controls and engines. It takes some adjustment to get comfortable with handling the avionics, including the displays and flight management system. Somewhere along this upward path to ever-greater subordination of flying

Reliance on button pushes that had always worked proved his undoing. As welcome as automation is, simplifying our management of a high-performance airplane in complex airspace, we have to be prepared to do without it, if need be. We must never attempt any flight situation under automated control that we wouldn’t consider flying manually. Even if the ops specs and regulations require a functioning autopilot, be prepared to assume basic manual control in an emergency. And in today’s cockpits, failure of the automation IS an emergency, or at least a high-level abnormality.

to managing, we may have forgotten the basics of our craft. When an unusual event or failure is encountered, we have to be ready to resurrect old skills to cope with the situation. If those skills have been allowed to atrophy, tragedy can result. A Citation CJ4 departed from Cleveland, Ohio, USA’s Burke Lakefront airport on a night takeoff that resulted in an almost immediate crash into Lake Erie, with no survivors. The final investigation found that the autopilot modes were selected but no annunciation of engagement was displayed on the panel. In other words, the pilot thought he had turned on the autopilot but failed to verify that it coupled as intended, and then further failed to check the attitude indicator as he flew into the “black hole” over the lake, allowing the aircraft to dive into the water.

The Basic Equation of Flight When things don’t look right, we must scale back our expectations to basic levels of flight control; simply put, power plus attitude equals performance. Keep the wings level, put the pitch of the nose on the correct rung of the PFD’s ladder and push up the power. If you can’t tell if your wings are level, look at the heading indicator to see if it’s moving and roll opposite to the movement to make it stop, taking care to neutralize controls the instant the turn reverses. Once recovered at a safe height, troubleshoot the automation that isn’t working. A Boeing 737 operated by Sunwig airlines was departing Belfast, Ireland’s airport, using a takeoff computer to determine the minimum power required to meet balanced-field requirements for the runway, a method of extending engine life

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instead of setting max power. However, a lower-than-actual air temperature was input, causing the engine computers to reduce power far below what was actually required. As the crew watched the lethargic extended takeoff roll proceed, power was eventually added, but too late. The lumbering jet flattened a runway end light and lifted off into a very slow uneventful climb. Thankfully, flat terrain and few obstacles were ahead. Reliance on automation is so automatic we pay little attention to its functioning… but we should. Monitoring the actual results of our selections is the job of the humans seated at the controls. If the results do not meet expectations, we need to revert to basic flight path control. If acceleration is more sluggish than normal, gauged by a target speed to be achieved by the mid-point of the runway, an immediate decision to override the automation and add thrust needs to be made. If the engines don’t respond, a rejected takeoff has to be conducted. Continual practice is necessary to preserve the basic skills of manual control and instrument scanning. We are all taught to use the equipment in the airplane to help us meet the tight standards of our certification. But in a crisis situation the 100-foot altitude and 10-degree heading requirements can be tossed out the window. We need to be able to fly within safe limits to keep the airplane on a straight path, using all available resources while troubleshooting the system that failed us. Know Some Basic Parameters What are some of the basics? As we said earlier, attitude and power produces predictable results. In cases of unreliable or doubtful instrument indications, Boeing advises to establish 7 degrees of nose-up pitch and 70% N1 power, for basic stabilized flight. Similar targets of attitude and power should be in your mental flight bag for each flight condition; climb, cruise, low-speed cruise and descent. Rules of thumb for fuel consumption should remain in the back of your mind, even if the fuel totalizer has proven to be uncannily accurate in times past. Most of us have acquired figures for “pounds consumed for the

first hour and then each hour thereafter”, applicable to the airplanes we fly. Cross-checking the expectations with the fuel quantity indicators guards against excessive consumption from leaks or valve failures. Never assume an observed anomaly is due to a faulty gauging system. Where Are We? Navigational orientation is no longer dependant on bearings taken from navaids or ETA computations, thanks to space-based aircraft icons crawling across moving map displays, but those methods can still work, when all else fails. We should at least have a rough idea of how long it will take to get to the destination and how many miles per minute we’re making. Flying a certain number of minutes since our last known fix or waypoint, and holding a certain heading, should put us roughly in an expected position. If air traffic control requests a descent to a suspiciously low altitude, it is our basic responsibility to realize that compliance is a bad idea. We must not rely on ground-proximity warnings or map color exclusively. Flying a visual approach to a runway requires the ability to think ahead of the airplane, a basic skill that deteriorates through reliance on ATC vectors and coupled guidance along a charted approach. Every so often, we need to reacquaint ourselves with the concept of making our own way onto a stabilized final approach. Doing this means making timely power adjustments to manage the aircraft’s energy state, and knowing what attitude and power is needed to hold an airspeed target in a given configuration of landing gear and flaps. This is not to say that automation is not to be used during visual flight, but rather than we must rely on our basic skill set to manage the flight path, whether we’re holding the control yoke or letting the autopilot steer. Using heading mode and airspeed hold is helpful, but if the autothrottles are expected to be working, make sure they are actually engaged. The pilot’s job is to bring the aircraft to a point in space that represents a normal entry to a final approach to the runway, by anticipating where the airplanes needs to be and what its configuration is along each portion of the path.

A last-minute change in runways, or switching to a different IAP than the one expected, requires some basic flight management. This is a good time to have the autopilot in simple heading and altitude modes while loading the new procedure, and to utilize CRM to the fullest, making sure one crew member monitors the flight path when the other one is headdown. When disorientation threatens, revert to basic flying; hold a safe altitude and point the airplane in a direction that heads it toward the interception of a final approach to the runway. Know where the airplane is, don’t guess. An abnormal indication in an aircraft system means it will probably be necessary to revert to basic flight management during the troubleshooting or correction. Knowing the architecture of the aircraft is

important, so you’ll understand which electrical bus contains which items and what isolation choices will restore flight capability. Know what you have left to work with, and use it to fly the aircraft. Remember the basics; aircraft control, flight path anticipation and power management. Precision control of the aircraft’s course and height is expected in today’s operating environment, and rightly so. Without automation, it is very difficult to meet these demands. This does not mean we should ignore the basic flying skills that began our careers. They always need to be available as a back-up, to help us through a confusing failure or mismanagement of the automated systems.

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SKILL

Flying a visual approach to a runway requires the ability to think ahead of the airplane.

SAFETY SENSE Michael R. GrĂźninger and Capt. Andreas Grauer discuss the risks of leaving safety culture as a loosely defined and adaptable concept through an accident in Geneva in 2017

LANDING WITH PARKING BRAKES ON

MISHAP

The Runway 05 at Geneva Airport was blocked for 1.3 hours due to an immobilized aircraft.

light VPC5, early afternoon, October 28, 2017, Geneva International Airport (LSGG), Runway 05, excellent weather conditions. Geneva Tower closes the airport. The main wheel tires of a Hawker Beechcraft 750-HB-33 had

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blown up upon landing. The immobilized airplane was not able any longer to exit the runway on own power. It took the emergency services 1 hour 17 minutes to tow airplane off the runway. Gladly, no personal injuries occurred.

Operator Proficiency Check on the Aircraft ES-PHR, the Spanish registered airplane operated by Panaviatic AS from Tallinn (Estonia), was utilized on that day as platform for an Operator Proficiency Check (OPC). Two pilots were conducting the

OPC, while two more pilots were seated in the passenger cabin while not under OPC. The 53-year-old pilot flying acted as commander of the flight and sat on the left hand seat. The role of the copilot was exercised by a 71-year-old Type Rating Instructor (TRI), who simultaneously acted as pilot monitoring and instructor or examiner. In fact, the Summary Serious Incident Report does not clearly specify whether the TRI was performing instruction or an examination during the particular sector leading to the occurrence. It may be assumed that the occurrence flight was a training flight or simply a positioning flight. On previous legs, the instruction covered GNSS approaches in Grenoble (LFLS) for all pilots onboard. Once the exercises were completed, the active crew began the return flight to Geneva. At the time the pilot monitoring contacted Geneva Approach Air Traffic Control, the pilot flying was maintaining Flight Level (FL) 110 at a ground speed of 278 knots. The crew was cleared for a standard IFR approach from the southwest for a straight in ILS 05 approach to land on Runway 05. When the aircraft passed six nautical miles from waypoint INDIS and approximately 1000 feet too high for glide slope intercept of the ILS 05, the commander announced that the airplane was flying too high and that he was confident to be able to correct the descent in time to join the glide slope. The instructor on the right-hand seat suggested that “this” should be used, but the commander did not agree. At about the same time the cockpit voice recorder recorded a “click”. Unnoticed by the crew members, the brake pressure jumped from zero to 1300 PSI and remained at that level. Four minutes later, the instructor told Geneva Approach that ES-PHR was established on the ILS 05. He then changed frequency to Geneva Tower. After four more minutes, the tower cleared flight VPC5 to land. One minute later, at 12:52 UTC, the Hawker 750 touched down. Within seconds both pilots became aware of the fact that the

airplane decelerated abnormally fast and soon they found out that the brakes were completely locked. While the airplane was still moving on the runway with burst tires, the instructor notified the tower. Six seconds later, ES-PHR was standing still on the runway and could not move any more. Parking Brake Active, Runway Blocked Geneva Runway 05 was blocked for 1.3 hours due to the aircraft immobilized on the runway. Immediately after the aircraft had come to a stop, the two pilots started discussing what had just happened and found that the parking brake was activated. They were puzzled and did not know how the parking brake activation had come about. The report assumes that the instructor must have suggested the use of the air brake. He must have accidentally mistaken the wheel brake lever for the air brake lever. In any case, one of the pilots must have made a mistake and placed the wheel brake lever to parking. The problem is that the cockpit voice recorder did not record any acknowledged commands concerning the activation of any brake lever. The Wheel Brake Lever The Hawker 750 is equipped with a wheel brake lever located on the right side of the center pedestal. On the left side of the thrust levers, the air brake lever is installed.

During the approach, when the position too high relative to the Glide Slope was detected, the instructor suggested the use of “this”. He might have meant the use of the air brake lever and accidentally changed the position of the wheel brake lever, despite the pilot flying not requiring or ordering any activation of the air brake lever. The wheel brake lever provides three positions. In normal position, both the parking as well as the emergency brake system are not active. In emergency position, hydraulic pressure from accumulators can be used after touch-down to provide pressure to the pedal brakes in case the normal hydraulic system would have failed. In emergency, the anti-skid units would be by-passed. Finally, in parking position, the wheel brake lever would pressurize the brakes from the accumulators. Landing with the wheel brake lever in the “parking” position leads to a wheel lock and burst tires. Questions This serious incident and the report raise numerous questions: ❍ Apparently, the flight in question was conducted as a training flight that included an OPC. Industry best practice, supported by regulations, directs commercial operators to conduct pilot training and checking in simulators. Only in case no suitable simulators are available, training and checking may be conducted by use of the actual airplane. Had the use of the aircraft for the conduction

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020 - 81

FAULT

The pilot mistakenly pulled the hand brake lever slightly instead of the air brake lever.

SAFETY SENSE

LANDING

Reports show touchdown occurred while the parking brake was applied.

of the training and checking been legal and been conducted with the consent of the competent authority? ❍ Experience shows that pilots’ psychology and behavior patterns differ between activities in training and in operational environments. Did the fact that training and checking was conducted under real flight conditions contribute to the incident? ❍ As we learn from the report, after landing the instructor wanted to show the trainee pilot how the parking brake works while still standing on the runway after the tire burst. Obviously, he was trying to take advantage of the mishap to illustrate parking brake system functions. Was he aware of what had just happened and of the magnitude of the risk the crew and passengers were exposed to? ❍ Among other things, an OPC shall assess a pilot’s proficiency with regard to crew coordination skills and adherence to Standard Operating Procedures. Is that at all possible when the instructor or examiner is part of the active crew and is acting as pilot monitoring? ❍ The report indicates that the flight was conducted under commercial flight rules. Therefore, it is likely that it was a positioning flight. However, in this case the instructor would have been older than legally allowable for commercial flights. Has his age and a possible age-related deterioration of his performance together with the other described factors contributed to the incident? ❍ The air brake and the wheel brake lever are different in shape. The air brake lever left of the throttles has a horizontal bar shaped handle, while the wheel brake lever right of the

82 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2020

throttles features a vertical ball shaped handle. It can be assumed that these shapes were designed to prevent any confusion between these two levers. But, what if a pilot changes seats and flies the aircraft from both sides depending on the different roles he holds? Is there a risk of confusing one with the other? Where do we Get the Answers from? Unfortunately, the official summary report answers none of the questions above and does not even discuss many of them. Its conclusions are superficial and based on assumptions. Like most entities in the public aviation sector, accident investigation bodies are short on staff and resources. Therefore, they have to set priorities when deciding which cases to investigate in detail and which ones to treat more generously. Usually and for political reasons, the extent of the damages caused by an event is taken into consideration, which means that accidents with fatalities or major personal injuries enjoy highest attention while incidents not even causing major financial damages to third parties rank a lot lower on the priority list. Of course, the number of fatalities is not a good indicator for the potential of learnings we can take away from a case. So where do we find the answers to low-priority event questions? Regulations required any commercial operator to investigate and analyze any accident, incident or other safety threat that occurs in connection with its air operation. The operator cannot solely rely on the investigation of the investigation boards, but

itself holds the responsibility for drawing conclusions from the own analysis. Regrettably, many operators are not aware of these obligations. Even more regrettably, the industry still hesitates to share the knowledge of and learnings from safety relevant events among the participants in the community. Still no common platform where operators can make their reports and occurrence analyses available is introduced neither by AfBAA, EBAA nor by IATA or any other industry association. Such a platform would be the place where also those issues that has not received full attention by the state investigation boards could be communicated. We will have to continue to promote the sharing of safety relevant knowledge, encourage operators to live up to their obligations, maintain Safety Management Systems that are capable of drawing conclusions and transfer them into daily operations.

✈

Michael R. Grüninger is managing director of Great Circle Services (GCS) Safety Solutions and Capt. Andreas Grauer is the deputy managing director of GCS. 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 interim and start-up management, training and auditing (IS-BAO, IOSA, EASA), 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.

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