Textron Aviation kicked off 2019 with double-digit percentage gains in jet and turboprop deliveries, in addition to profits and revenue, parent company Textron announced today in its first-quarter earnings results. Citation deliveries for the three months ended March 31 totaled 44, a 22 percent increase over the 36 jets it shipped a year ago, while turboprop deliveries also totaled 44, up 51 percent from 29 in last year's first quarter. Aviation segment profit in the quarter was $106 million on revenue of $1.1 billion, up 47 percent and 12 percent, respectively, from a year ago.
During a conference call with analysts this morning, Textron CEO Scott Donnelly said he expects deliveries of its long-delayed super midsize Longitude jet to begin in earnest in the third quarter after a certification process that “is certainly taking longer than we expected. We continue to coordinate closely with the FAA as our engineering group works to complete the underlying documentation that is required under the FAA’s design assurance process, and we expect to complete this work in the second quarter.”
Meanwhile, Donnelly said the company continues to anticipate first flights of the Cessna Denali turboprop single and SkyCourier high-wing turboprop twin by year-end.
West Star Aviation has rebranded MSP Aero as a West Star satellite location. West Star acquired the FAA Part 145 repair station in November 2017, and it has operated the shop since then as a stand-alone facility under its original name.
Located at Minnesota’s Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the shop has provided avionics, interior, paint, and window repair since 2009. It will join the existing five West Star satellite locations where technicians aid in troubleshooting problems to get customers back in the air as quickly as possible. The satellites serve as bases for the company’s AOG mobile repair team services, and if necessary, they can assist in obtaining ferry permits to relocate aircraft to one of the company’s four full-service centers.
“We continue to refine and strengthen our geographic MRO network to support customers’ operational needs while bringing value and capabilities throughout the Twin Cities, as well as the Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and both North and South Dakota areas,” said company president and COO Rodger Reynaud.
StandardAero Gains First Embraer SmartSky STC
StandardAero has received FAA STC approval for installation of SmartSky air-to-ground connectivity equipment in the Embraer ERJ135/140/145 and Legacy 600/650. The STC will support SmartSky customer JetSuiteX and its ERJs, and it comes as SmartSky’s 4G LTE airborne connectivity network in the U.S. nears service entry in June.
StandardAero will complete SmartSky installations at its Augusta, Georgia; Springfield, Illinois; and Houston locations. It is developing additional SmartSky STCs for the Embraer 450/500 and Dassault Falcon 50EX, 7X, and 8X.
SmartSky will be offering two versions of its air-to-ground service: SmartSky Lite for smaller aircraft and 4G LTE for larger aircraft. The 4G LTE service will launch first with subscription plans ranging from 15 GB/month for $3,800 to 100 GB/month for $4,500. The Lite service will start at $75/hour. Initial service will be over areas where 80 percent of business jet flights (by flight hours) take place in the U.S., followed by continental U.S. coverage by year-end.
The 4G LTE system requires two antennas, a high-performance blade weighing 13.5 pounds and 30 inches long and a full-duplex quad antenna weighing 6.5 pounds and 15 inches long. The Lite service requires just the full-duplex antenna. In addition to a cabin router, the onboard equipment includes a base radio, which weighs 12.1 pounds. SmartSky network speeds allow multiple users at the same time and video streaming.
Universal Aviation Costa Rica is part of a consortium known as GAT SJO that has been chosen to manage a new general aviation terminal (GAT) at the country’s Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO). The first facility of its kind in Costa Rica, the future GAT, part of the airport’s domestic terminal, will be available exclusively for international private operations. GAT SJO also includes local handlers and was selected after a public RFP process by Aeris Holdings, which operates the airport under agreement with the Costa Rican government.
Renovation for the GAT area in the terminal will begin this summer and is expected to be completed by September. Currently, private passengers and their baggage have to mix with commercial passengers in the international airline terminal for customs and immigration services upon arrival and departure. With the new process, after landing, private passengers and their luggage will be shuttled from the parking area to the GAT where there will be a dedicated customs, immigration, and quarantine (CIQ) area.
“We are thrilled that the Costa Rican government, airport authorities, and Aeris recognized the need for a dedicated GAT to improve the privacy, experience, safety, and security of private operators at MROC/SJO,” said Adolfo Aragon, Univeral’s senior vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean. “The new GAT will drastically reduce private operators' time on the ground.”
Transport Canada, FAA OK Learjet 45 NextGen Upgrade
Toronto-based Skyservice Business Aviation has received STC approval from Transport Canada and the U.S. FAA for its Bombardier Learjet 45 “NextGen and Beyond” avionics upgrade package. These certifications cover installation of a Universal Avionics UniLink UL-801 communications management unit (CMU) and CVR-120R cockpit voice recorder to the already installed UNS-1Ew SBAS-flight management system (FMS).
The upgrade adds capabilities for current and future mandated technologies, including Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC), CPDLC departure clearances, en route data communications, FANS 1/A+, Aeronautical Telecommunications Network Baseline 1 (ATN B1), and localizer performance with vertical navigation/performance-based navigation.
“Obtaining Canada and U.S. certifications for CPDLC STC [FANS 1/A and ATN B1] for the Bombardier Learjet 45 is another reason why Skyservice remains a leading MRO,” said Skyservice v-p of maintenance Paul Weeks. “With the support that we receive from Universal Avionics, we can ensure aircraft operators and owners benefit from this leading-edge technology now and well into the future.”
The first upgraded Learjet 45 was delivered to the customer in July, with the second and third aircraft expected for delivery in October and next April. EASA approval for the upgrade is “imminent,” Skyservice added.
Nextant Throttles Up Production of 604XT AutoPower Kits
Nextant Aerospace is ramping up production of its Safe Flight AutoPower system kits to meet demand for this option on its 604XT Pro Line Fusion flight deck upgrade package for Bombardier Challenger 604s. The autothrottle provides automatic speed control from takeoff to touchdown, as well as stall and N1 flight-envelope speed-limit protection, engine synchronization, real-time power limits, and speed management.
According to Nextant, AutoPower’s flight performance advantages result in increased situational awareness, reduced crew workload, extended range/payload potential, and greater passenger comfort. Meanwhile, the Fusion flight deck upgrade complies with upcoming 2020 mandates and provides enhanced capabilities and safety, it added.
“The AutoPower upgrade option on the 604XT has been really well received in the market,” said Nextant executive v-p Mark O’Donnell. “Already this year, almost half of the 604XT aircraft delivered in the first quarter have included the Safe Flight AutoPower upgrade, with more booked well into the second quarter and beyond.”
“Pilots and passengers of the 604XT will enjoy how accurately and smoothly the [atuothrottle] system manages the aircraft’s speed through all flight conditions,” said Safe Flight director of corporate and commercial sales Ken Bannon.
The 604XT's Safe Flight autothrottle option is offered exclusively through Nextant sister company Constant Aviation.
Three Die in Sabreliner Crash
Two pilots and a passenger were killed when their Rockwell Sabreliner 265 crashed about 20 minutes after taking off from Oxford-University Airport in Mississippi on Saturday. The twinjet was on a Part 91 flight to Hamilton-Marion County Airport in Alabama, its home base, when it went down in remote wooded terrain.
After a three-hour flight from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, Colorado, the airplane arrived in Oxford at about 2:45 p.m. local time, where it offloaded several passengers. It took off at about 3 p.m. and crashed at 3:20 p.m. According to flight tracking data, the aircraft was filed for 11,000 feet and was at that altitude when ATC lost contact. Reportedly, the crew told ATC they were having electrical problems.
The crash is the second fatal accident worldwide of a business jet this year. FAA records show that the 1980 Sabreliner, S/N465-45, is registered as N265DS to Classic Aviation in Guin, Alabama.
Local officials identified the three victims as pilot Tommy Nix, his wife Merline, and copilot Jarrod Holloway. One report said the “airplane went out of control” before crashing. Specific weather data was not immediately available, but local officials said there were no storms in the area at the time of the crash. At press time, the NTSB had not released any information.
Aerobat Tucker To Keynote Textron Customer Conference
Aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker will keynote Textron Aviation’s 2019 Customer Conference, which will be held April 29 to May 1 in Wichita. Tucker, who has flown more than 1,600 performances at some 575 airshows since 1976, is one of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s 25 Living Legends of Flight.
“The Textron Aviation Customer Conference is an exciting opportunity for owners to ask questions, learn more about their aircraft, and hear from industry legends like Sean Tucker,” said Textron Aviation senior v-p of global customer support Kriya Shortt. “It’s a pleasure to host our customers for a mix of education and fun, and it’s also a chance for us to learn more about their needs and wants so that we can better serve them in the future.”
Technical and industry topics at the conference will include trends and challenges for flight department operations; a review of 2018 air safety investigations; program and supplier updates; and analyzing data recorded on AReS II devices. Also on the agenda are an outdoor sportsman day, a hangar social, and tours of Textron Aviation facilities.
The conference is free and open to owners of Beechcraft, Cessna, and Hawker airplanes, but there is a limited number of available spots.
AIN Webinar: Safe and Efficient Single-pilot Operations
Technology and a shortage of pilots to fill the flight decks of tomorrow’s business jets and airliners are creating pressure to facilitate more single-pilot operations. Avionics manufacturers are developing technology for safe single-pilot operations, but pilots have been flying alone safely in light aircraft through Part 23 jets for many years. Learn about factors that are causing the flying landscape to shift toward more single-pilot operations, what kind of automation avionics manufacturers are developing for single-pilot operations and what we can learn from experienced pilots flying in single-pilot operations.
Join AIN editor-in-chief Matt Thurber on April 24 at 1:30 p.m. EDT as he moderates the discussion with Tal Golan, manager, rotorcraft business development for Universal Avionics, and Charlie Precourt, former NASA astronaut, safety expert, and Citation owner. Sponsored by Universal Avionics
Requires inspecting the oil tank outlet’s fitting color; if it’s blue, then the tank must be replaced with one that lacks a blue fitting. It also requires determining the revision letter on the ink stamp and installing an oil tank angle based on that determination. Prompted by reports of broken oil tank internal baffles.
Requires replacement of fire extinguisher percussion cartridges with P/Ns 862700-00 or 862710-00 and manufacturing dates of 10 or more years ago. EASA found that the Dassault aircraft maintenance manuals for Falcon 50, 900/900EX, and 2000/2000EX mention that “combined service/storage life” of these affected parts is 12 years, whereas it should be 10 years. The related technical investigation confirmed that this could have a safety impact in case of fire, the agency said.
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