Pentastar Tops in 2019 AIN FBO Survey

Pentastar Aviation at Michigan’s Oakland County International Airport beat out two-time winner Sheltair Tampa, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, as the best U.S. facility in this year’s AIN FBO Survey, but only by a very slim 0.01 margin, with Pentastar earning an average 4.75 rating out of a possible 5. The two facilities were the only two to score 4.70 (out of a possible 5) or above this year in all five categories: line service, passenger amenities, pilot amenities, facilities, and customer service representatives.

Tying Sheltair Tampa for second place with a 4.74 average score were Jet Aviation at Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport, American Aero at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport, and Wilson Air Center at Memphis International Airport. Henriksen Jet Center (Austin Executive, Texas), Global Select (Sugar Land Municipal, Texas), Business Jet Center (Dallas Love Field), Wilson Air Center (Chattanooga Lovell Field), and Meridian Teterboro rounded out the top 5 percent of FBOs in the U.S.

TAG Aviation Farnborough took the mantle as the top FBO in the rest of the world, with an average score of 4.66. Other top-scoring international FBOs included Universal Aviation and XJet at London Stansted, Jet Aviation at Amsterdam Schipol, Grafair Jet Center at Stockholm City, TAG Aviation Geneva, and Execujet Europe at Zurich International.

FlightSafety, TRU Combine Textron Aviation Training Ops

FlightSafety International and Textron's TRU Simulation + Training have established a joint venture to combine training on all 48 Textron Aviation aircraft—Cessna, Citation, Beechcraft, Beechjet, King Air, and Hawker—using 89 simulators at 16 locations, the flight and maintenance training companies announced today. The venture includes the formation of a new company, FlightSafety Textron Aviation Training, that will be led by CEO Brian Moore, who was previously FlightSafety’s executive director of operations.

“Our main goal in establishing FlightSafety Textron Aviation Training is to further enhance the training and services our customers receive,” FlightSafety co-CEO David Davenport said. “Combining the strengths and resources of FlightSafety and TRU Simulation + Training will also increase efficiency, promote innovation, and ensure the extension of our high-quality training programs into new and upcoming Textron Aviation aircraft.”

TRU operates pilot training centers for Textron Aviation aircraft in Carlsbad, California, and Tampa, Florida, as well as its Aviation Maintenance Academy that’s adjacent to the west campus of Wichita-based Textron Aviation. Those three centers will be operated under the new joint venture, a TRU spokeswoman told AIN. It doesn’t include TRU’s flight training center for Bell Flight, a Textron sister company, in Valencia, Spain.

Jet Aviation’s Paddock To Take Over as President

Jet Aviation is promoting Dave Paddock, currently senior v-p of regional operations USA, to president of the Jet Aviation group, effective July 1. He is stepping in for Rob Smith, who is moving to the marine systems business of parent company General Dynamics. Smith has led Jet Aviation for the past five years.

Paddock, who has 20 years of industry experience, has served with Jet Aviation since January 2007, initially as v-p of business development and strategic planning. He moved into his current role in January 2015 and has been responsible for acquisitions, facility expansions, and the portfolio of Jet Aviation services. Before his time with Jet Aviation, Paddock was v-p and managing officer for the consultancy SH&E, where he focused on business aviation strategy, market analysis, and planning. 

“As regional lead for the Americas and a valued member of the Jet leadership team, Dave has overseen the company’s Dulles and Avjet acquisitions, as well the facility expansions in Bedford, Palm Beach, Van Nuys, and Teterboro,” Smith said. “I have every confidence that Dave will continue to do great things for our customers, our shareholders, and our employees moving forward.”

New Study Sees Competitive SAFJ Prices in Future

While the aviation industry is showing increasing interest in the use of sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF), price and meager supply remain key issues. But according to a new study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, sustainable, plant-based jet biofuels could provide a competitive alternative to conventional jet fuels if currently planned development and scale-up initiatives continue to progress.

The study, “Techno-economic analysis and life-cycle greenhouse gas mitigation cost of five routes to bio-jet fuel blendstocks,” published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, provided evidence that optimizing the biofuel production pipeline is well worth the effort.

While the cost of biofuels is currently around $16 a gallon, compared to $2.50 for conventional jet fuel, the researchers demonstrated that all five current SAJF production pathways could create fuel products at that target price, providing the leftover biomaterial from the process could be developed into and sold as a profitable byproduct.

“Our hope is that early in the research stages, we can at least simulate what we think it would look like if you develop these fuel production routes to the point of maturity,” said Corinne Scown, lead author and researcher. “Thankfully the answer is they can be viable, and we’ve identified improvements that need to happen all along the conversion process to make that happen.”

Bolen: Fed Funds Protecting Airports from Local Limits

Federal airport grants are not only enabling small airports to flourish but also protecting others from shuttering, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen told lawmakers last week, stressing these grants must be protected.

In testimony for a House Transportation and Infrastructure hearing on airport investment, Bolen highlighted the importance of maintaining the national network of 5,000 airports, saying it provides the foundation for general aviation to thrive. “The cost of doing nothing is too great and without continued investment in airport infrastructure the future of our country is grim.” Annual airport needs tally approximately $7 billion, but Airport Improvement Program grants are only covering less than half of that, a little more than $3 billion annually.

Further, federal funds come with grant obligations that protect the national aviation infrastructure, Bolen said. “Unfortunately, there have been a number of communities that have made attempts to impose restrictions limiting access, such as curfews, weight, and noise limits, on their airports, attempting to gain local control of what is part of a national aviation-transportation system,” he said. pointing to Coleman Young Municipal Airport in Detroit, Michigan, as an example of an airport that is falling into disrepair without federal funding. 

However, airports that are receiving grants are greatly benefitting, Bolen said. More than 40 airports extended runways using AIP funding last year, he noted.

Bombardier’s Safety Standdown Moving To Fort Worth

Bombardier Business Aircraft will hold the 23rd edition of its Safety Standdown from November 12 to 14 at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, the Canadian airframer announced today. It will be the first time in the event’s history that it will be held in a city other than Wichita, where Bombardier assembles Learjets and conducts flight testing.

This year's theme of the three-day seminar is “Elevate Your Standards,” with a focus on setting standards, determining how to strategically change standards in an organization to get the best possible results, and implanting them in an organization. “This message will be weaved into presentations and provide takeaways to improve and elevate safety within your organization,” Bombardier said. Planning for the 2019 seminar’s curriculum, hot topics and subject matter experts is under way, it added.

The free seminar is directed at pilots, maintenance and cabin crews, managers, aviation professionals, and students. As in past years, the general session and selected workshops will also be webcast.

Safety Alert Addresses TALPA Procedures

A newly released FAA Safety Alerts for Pilots (SAFO) provides information and guidelines to FAR Part 25 airplane operators on the safety benefits of using a takeoff and landing performance assessment (TALPA). The alert highlights TALPA Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) recommendations released in October 2016. During its study, the ARC discovered that “significant gaps in information needed to determine if a safe landing can be made.” The ARC produced consistent terminology and runway assessment criteria, and recommended using “non-dry, non-wet performance data for takeoff and time-of-arrival landing calculations.”

As a result of the ARCs findings, eight FAA Advisory Circulars (AC) were revised or developed to support the implementation of TALPA, including AC 25-32, “Data for Time-of-arrival Landing Performance Assessments.” In addition, the SAFO discusses TALPA in terms of estimated landing distances at time of arrival, the assessment of pilot braking action reports based on the size of the aircraft reporting, runway surface conditions, landing or takeoff distance available, and airplane ground-deceleration devices.

Currently, the FAA does not plan to provide small aircraft manufacturers with advisory information similar to AC 25-32. In the absence of guidance to manufacturers of Part 23 aircraft, operational landing distance data can be based on the recommendations of AC 25-32 provided by the airframe manufacturer or a performance data provider, according to the agency.

Niagara Falls FBO Gets Another Decade

Calspan Air Services, the lone FBO at New York’s Niagara Falls International Airport, has received a 10-year renewal from the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to provide aviation services. The Buffalo-based company—which performs aircraft research, modifications, and flight-testing among its offerings—first won the contract to provide FBO services at the airport in 2013 and subsequently completed a renovation project on the 40-year-old facility, which includes a kitchen, conference room, and pilot lounge with snooze room.

With the new lease, the company plans to make further investments for capital improvements in the FBO. It has 40,000 sq ft of heated hangar space for transient aircraft, a Part 145 repair station, and on-request U.S. Customs service. The FBO is open 24/7, serving not only the general aviation community but also providing the mixed-use airport’s commercial and military fueling.

“The Niagara Falls Airport has become a popular place for private planes, due to its proximity to downtown Buffalo and Niagara Falls,” noted company CEO Lou Knotts. “Many don’t realize just how easy it is to fly in and out of the Calspan Air Services FBO at Niagara Falls.”