AMGH Buying Air Ambulance Provider SevenBar

Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH) has agreed to acquire air ambulance company Seven Bar Aviation. Dallas-based SevenBar has a fleet of nine jet and turboprop airplanes and six helicopters, nearly 100 employees, and bases in New Mexico, Texas, Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina. SevenBar began as an aviation services company in 1947 from a dirt runway on Albert Black’s ranch. It launched air ambulance operations from New Mexico in the 1970s and later moved its headquarters to Dallas. In recent years the company had been run by Albert Black’s grandson, Wade Black.

AMGH plans to align SevenBar with its Med-Trans operations. Med-Trans operates from 95 bases in 29 states and has 1,500 employees. AMGH operates through six subsidiaries: Air Evac Lifeteam, Guardian Flight, Med-Trans, REACH, AirMed International, and EagleMed. Collectively the companies employ 6,000.

AMGH is part of Global Medical Response (GMR), an operator of 7,000 ground ambulances, 306 helicopters, and 106 fixed-wing aircraft from 335 bases. GMR transported 13 million patients in 2018. It operates from 4,000 communities and employs 38,000. GMR was created last year when investment firm KKR acquired American Medical Response, primarily a ground ambulance provider, for $2.4 billion and combined it with its existing portfolio company, AMGH. 

Bombardier M&O Conference Highlights Service Expansion

Bombardier has kicked off a full lineup of sessions during its Business Aircraft Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Conference Europe being held this week in Lisbon, Portugal, including an overview of the Global 7500 that recently entered service and the introduction of a Challenger 300 mobile response team (MRT) aircraft and the new Paris line maintenance station. The M&O event will host platform-specific technical and operational discussion, as well as provide an overview of program updates.

In addition, Bombardier will highlight its increasing footprint in Europe. Along with adding the Paris station and MRT Challenger 300 MRT, Bombardier has placed two more MRT trucks in Paris, along with the five additional trucks placed in the U.S.

The Lisbon conference is one of a number of customer events planned for 2019, including exhibitions, six customer advisories, and Safety Standdown 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas.

“These important events give our customers and operators an invaluable forum to share key information about our products and services so we can deliver exceptional products and unparalleled service to our customers,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, v-p and general manager of customer experience for Bombardier Business Aircraft. 

FAA Sets Policy for Operating Without ADS-B

The FAA issued a policy statement establishing the requirement for operators to obtain ATC authorizations to fly aircraft that are not equipped for ADS–B Out through ADS–B-mandated airspace beginning in January 2020. However, the policy makes it clear that obtaining authorizations is not guaranteed and could be difficult. 

Under the policy, the operator must make the request to ATC for an authorized deviation at least one hour before the proposed flight in ADS-B airspace. Requests are addressed on a “case-by-case basis” and ATC might not be able to grant authorizations for a variety of reasons, including workload, runway configurations, air traffic flows, and weather conditions.

What’s more, the FAA said it does not intend to divert ATC facility resources from other critical functions that directly support controllers performing their duties in order to prioritize and manage authorizations for operators of non-equipped aircraft. The FAA also notes that it “will be difficult” for unscheduled operators conducting flights at capacity constrained airports (the major facilities in class B airspace) to obtain authorizations. “Unscheduled operators with a need to access this airspace on more than an occasional basis should equip with ADS–B Out to ensure no disruption to operations.”

West Star Adds Landing Gear Service in Chattanooga

MRO provider West Star Aviation has increased the service offerings at its recently expanded Chattanooga facility, with the addition of landing gear repair and overhaul for a variety of airframes.

West Star completed the major expansion at its Lovell Field location last year, which included a 65,000-sq-ft maintenance facility with 40,000 sq ft of hangar space, and a 45,000-sq-ft paint facility that can accommodate business jets up to an Embraer Lineage 1000.

The upgraded facility also includes an accessory and component shop, which allows the company to increase its support for the Embraer Phenom 100 and 300, King Airs, and Learjets (excluding the 40 series), by adding landing gear inspection and repair as well as wheel and battery service.

“With the larger facility, we are able to expand our market presence and services to our customers, while continuing our proven success for landing gear repair and overhaul, along with performing any other maintenance requirements at the same time,” noted Steve Goede, the location’s general manager. “With each added capability, we are able to provide our customers the convenience of a one-stop shop.”

Stevens Settles In at Macon; Adjusts To New Identity

Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems—the freshly rebranded name for the former Stevens Aviation—recently welcomed the public to its newest facility at Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon. Stevens is moving its large-cabin business jet operation from the company headquarters facility in Greenville, North Carolina, to Macon. Bombardier previously occupied the 48,000-sq-ft hangar. Late last year, Stevens signed a three-year agreement with the Bibb County Commission, which operates the city-owned airport, and holds two five-year extension options.

Stevens chief financial officer Neal McGrail told AIN at the grand opening celebration he’s very pleased with the rapid ramp-up in Gulfstream business. “We’re already generating revenue,” he said, nodding to a pair of G450s on the hangar floor. The two jets, owned by brokers who intend to sell them, are in for ADS-B avionics upgrades, Gogo connectivity suites, and interior refurbishment. “We hope to be able to add a paint shop here in Macon,” said McGrail.

Stevens director of sales and marketing Phil Stearns explained that the new name brings into focus the military and industrial capability that has existed for several years. “There are always a lot of olive drab and gray aircraft on our ramp up in Greenville,” he said, “but now, when people not familiar with us see the company name, they can tell right away that we’re more than a business aviation company.”

Aero-Dienst Offers Learjet 60 ADS-B Out Solution

EASA has approved an STC for Aero-Dienst’s GPS/satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) sensor system installation, which the Nuremberg, Germany-based business aircraft services provider said is the basis for cost-effective ADS-B Out for Learjet 60s equipped with Collins Aerospace’s Pro Line 4 avionics. Aero-Dienst’s sensor system includes a FreeFlight Systems GPS receiver and antenna.

Combined with CMD Flight Solutions’ EASA STC for a transponder upgrade that fulfills the latest DO-260B (V2) standard, the package achieves ADS-B Out requirements mandated by EASA, Aero-Dienst said. “Especially in view of the fact that we have less than 14 months until ADS-B Out becomes mandatory in Europe, we are pleased to be able to provide our Learjet 60 customers with a combined STC solution that keeps costs and downtime to a minimum,” said Aero-Dienst design and modification manager Patrick Morgenstern.

Aircraft are required by EASA to have ADS-B Out by June 7, 2020, while the FAA has a January 1, 2020 deadline. The EASA mandate applies only to aircraft that weigh more than 5,700 kg (about 12,500 pounds) or have a maximum cruise speed of more than 250 knots.

FAA Schedules Meeting To Discuss Miami Class B Changes

An FAA “fact-finding informal airspace meeting” regarding a plan to modify the Miami Class B Airspace and the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Class C Airspace areas is scheduled for June 12.  All comments received during the meeting will be considered before any revision or issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking.

During the two-hour event, an FAA representative will brief attendees on the planned modifications and interested parties will have an opportunity to “present views, recommendations, and comments on any proposed change to the airspace.”  

The meeting will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Broward College, South Campus Building 69, Room 133, 7200 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines, Florida.

This meeting is not to be confused with those previously announced to run in April and May associated with the FAA’s The South-Central Florida Metroplex re-design project announced last year. While the two projects are related, the broader purpose of the Metroplex effort is to “optimize procedures and improve air traffic flow on a regional scale by analyzing current operational challenges and exploring opportunities for improvement,” including developing proposed updates to current arrival and departure procedures.

The 13 public meetings on the Metroplex redesign start are scheduled from April 15 through May 2 at various venues throughout south-central Florida.

CHC Helicopter Opens Safety Summit Early Registration

Texas-based CHC Helicopter has opened early registration for its annual CHC Safety and Quality Summit, which will be held this October in Dallas. The summit, now in its 15th year, typically attracts more than 500 people in the industry from nearly 30 countries, and focuses on the latest in safety best practices and human factors in safety. This year's theme will be, “Shining a Light on Safety: Are We Looking in the Right Places?”

Approximately 100 concurrent sessions are planned for the summit that will be held October 1 to 3 at the Omni Dallas Hotel, led by experts in the fields of aviation, oil and gas, safety, insurance, and technical industries. It will open with an address from CHC president and CEO Karl Fessenden followed by a plenary session featuring presentations from several leading safety experts.

Early registration runs through May 31. More information about the summit is available at www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com.

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

Register for the free webinar.