Gulfstream Aerospace is eyeing growing demand in Central Europe with plans to showcase its large-cabin G500 at Aero Friedrichshafen from April 17 to 20 in Germany. While a general aviation show, Aero Friedrichshafen attracts a range of exhibitors and industry professionals, from the ultra-light and experimental to the eVTOL and novel inventions on up to light turbines. But Gulfstream’s return shows a continuing growth in the show’s reach across the general aviation and business aviation spectrum.

Gulfstream marked its first appearance in Friedrichshafen at the 2023 show, viewing the event as a window to the market in the heart of Europe. The move continues its decision to focus on regional events in place of exhibiting at the large business aviation staples of NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas and EBACE next month in Geneva.

Instead, Gulfstream looked to the Middle East market with an exhibit at the Dubai Airshow and the Southeast Asia market with the Singapore Airshow, debuting its new flagship business jet—the G700—at each of those events in recent months.

“Gulfstream is seeing strong demand and a growing fleet opportunity in Germany,” said Scott Neal, senior v-p of worldwide sales for Gulfstream. “The fuel efficiency, safety advances, and performance capabilities of our next-generation aircraft are ideal for operators in this region.”

In February, I discussed aspects of the FAA medical standards as outlined in FAR Part 67. Considerations of how the FAA applies these standards were also introduced, along with the FAA’s general mandate to adequately ensure the safety of flight. The FAA has the prerogative to review, consider, and at its discretion formally rule on virtually every medical condition that is presented to it, along with upholding the numerous cut-and-dry standards that exist in the regulations.

The differences between the “specifically disqualifying” and “general disqualifying” medical diagnoses are also important to understand. Remember that a specifically disqualifying condition requires documented stability (meaning to the FAA’s satisfaction) and the granting of a “special issuance authorization” before resumption of flight status.

A take-home point is that the aviation medical examiner (AME) has very little flexibility at the time a pilot applies for a medical certificate. All medical requirements must be met at the time of examination. If a medical condition is not “stable,” it potentially limits the AME’s ability to issue a medical certificate.

For the AME to be able to issue the certificate, a pilot must be stable, feel “fit to fly,” meet all applicable medical standards, and essentially be qualified to leave the AME’s office and immediately fly a trip as a required crewmember.

But what do we do between FAA medical examinations?

ExecuJet has completed the first phase in a major renovation of its FBO at Australia’s Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. Designed in cooperation with Coco Republic Interior Design—a noted hotel and hospitality decoration firm—the project included hard surface flooring for ease of cleaning, an enhanced refreshment selection, and the creation of individual zones with expanded seating capacity. Sustainability was reflected in the use of natural stone and vegan leather furnishings, and a curated music playlist was selected to enhance the guest experience.

According to the Luxaviation subsidiary, the renovation underscores the company’s dedication to delivering unparalleled customer service but also reflects its commitment to providing a seamless travel experience.

“We are thrilled to unveil the breathtaking transformation of our passenger lounge and reception area,” said Luxaviation Group CEO Patrick Hansen. “As we set our sights on the future, we remain dedicated to exceeding business expectations and achieving new heights of excellence.” The next phase of the project includes upgrades to the facility’s meeting spaces and crew lounge areas.

The location earned Stage 3 registration in IBAC’s International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) in 2023, and once again had a strong showing in this year’s AIN FBO Survey as the top-rated service provider in the Asia-Pacific region.

Saul Arceo, CEO, ARC Aviation, Niko Arceo, Director, Sales and Research, ARC Aviation and Kiril Jakimovski, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Million Air Dallas are celebrating the start of a collaboration between the two companies during the delivery of a new Gulfstream G600 business jet. 

NBAA has updated its Management Guide, providing an online resource for members on best industry practices and advice on key issues confronting flight departments. By offering the management guide solely in electronic format, the association said it is available anywhere, can point business aviation managers to further resources, and can be updated continuously.

“Flight department personnel are expected to reflect company priorities and values, establish and measure key business objectives, and evolve to meet emerging challenges and opportunities,” said Bill Riter, aviation department manager for Rich Products and chair of the NBAA management tools subcommittee, which produced the updated guide.

“The 2024 edition of this authoritative resource equips professionals for today’s dynamic business environment by bringing together the industry’s collective wisdom on long-standing operational best practices. Equally important, it provides guidance on present-day considerations, including workplace diversity, employee work-life balance, ethical business transactions, and other managerial concerns.”

The guide is better aligned with NBAA’s Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) program domains used as a blueprint for the CAM exam, the association added.

Universal Weather and Aviation master flight planner Jason Davidson provided a comprehensive update of worldwide automatic dependence surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) mandates in a recent post. The update summarizes current ADS-B Out mandates as well as those that are in the process of being implemented. So far, no country has mandated ADS-B In capability, although more aircraft are equipping with ADS-B In, which provides improved traffic information and other benefits.

Davidson advises that pilots and operators become familiar with the applicable ICAO flight plan equipment and capability codes and performance-based navigation codes “to help prevent misunderstandings with air traffic control while in flight. Know which codes apply to the specific operation. Remember that codes filed in the flight plan should represent not only aircraft equipment and capabilities but also those crewmembers covered by necessary training, authorizations from the state of registry, and working equipment.”

He also pointed out that “better equipped, better served” applies “as it is no longer just first come, first served…Even though some countries do not currently have any ADS-B mandates or any proposals for mandates, they still may provide ADS-B services. ADS-B services are also provided in some non-radar environments with satellite-based ADS-B. If you are non-ADS-B equipped and flying in an area that does not have a mandate but does provide ADS-B services, you still may not get the altitude/route you want.”

Davinci Jets Services has installed a SmartSky air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity system in a Cessna Citation CJ4 and expects FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) approval to be granted during the second quarter. This is the first-article installation of the smaller SmartSky Lite system in the CJ4 and the fourth first-of-type SmartSky upgrade completed by Davinci Jets.

The MRO provider and charter operator announced last October that it planned to fit its entire managed fleet with SmartSky systems.

“Pilots, owners, and passengers are constantly telling us they are astounded by the inflight performance of SmartSky, including connecting as many devices as they want without worrying about diminished performance,” said Davinci Jets CEO Eric Legvold. “After so many years of hearing customer complaints about their inflight connectivity, it’s gratifying to be able to provide a proven solution and hear this kind of feedback. More customers are moving through Davinci’s pipeline, including both managed and external clients. We have the capacity to increase our pace in order to provide all sizes of business aircraft with the best ATG system upgrade on the market.”

STCs are now available for more than 6,000 individual aircraft and in development for another 10,000 tails, according to SmartSky.

Textron eAviation Shows Off FAA-approved Velis, Works on Nexus eVTOL

Cirrus Launches Turnkey Aircraft Management Service

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Junkers Takes Wraps Off of More-authentic A50 Heritage

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