NBAA is ramping up on preparations for the 2021 NBAA-BACE, its first live in-person convention to be held since the pandemic took hold last year. With the exhibitor application priority deadline coming up on April 16, association executives said during a webinar yesterday that 60 percent of space is already booked. Chris Strong, senior v-p of conventions and membership for NBAA, said the feedback NBAA is getting for the October 12 to 14 event in Las Vegas is “the timing is right” and that “we are optimistic we will be in a position to have a very safe show.”
NBAA-BACE in Vegas will have a new look this year because it will be housed in the $980 million West Hall expansion that added 1.4 million sq ft of convention space, including 600,000 sq ft of exhibit floor space that will enable the entire show to be housed in a single hall. Previously, NBAA exhibitors had been split between the North and Central Halls in Las Vegas.
Also new this year is a sustainability pledge that is in the works. Strong noted that trade shows are “notoriously not sustainable” but that NBAA was hoping to take a leadership role by creating a pledge for participants to meet certain sustainable goals. Strong said Covid-19 health and safety guidelines will be released in the July timeframe.
Rheinland Adds Third Hangar for Increasing Bizav Mx
Rheinland Air Service (RAS) is expanding its footprint with the addition of a third hangar at Mönchengladbach Airport in Germany at a cost of €15 million ($17.8 million) to address increasing business aviation MRO activities. In addition to the expansion, the MRO provider said it expects to add 50 new jobs in the near term and a total of 100 long-term.
RAS’s site at Mönchengladbach consists of two maintenance hangars, a spare parts warehouse, office space, and 270 employees. Annually, it performs maintenance on more than 50 ATR regional aircraft and more than 100 business aircraft.
Completion of the new hangar is expected in third-quarter 2022. Its construction was originally planned for 2020, but postponed because of Covid-19.
“That led to a difficult situation, as the lack of space made it harder for RAS to meet the demand for maintenance and repair of business jets,” said RAS. “The hangar expansion, and new jobs, position RAS for continued growth—and more personalized service for regional airlines and business aviation.”
Bizjet Accident Fatalities Drop in First Quarter
In spite of increased flying hours, fatalities from business jet accidents worldwide decreased in the first three months of 2021 versus the same period last year, according to statistics calculated by AIN. Although there was one fatal crash in each of the comparable first quarters—both occurring under Part 91—the number of fatalities decreased from four last year to one this year (the sole pilot aboard). Nonfatal accidents involving U.S. business jets also fell from six in the first three months of 2020 to three in the same span this year.
U.S.-registered business turboprops were involved in four nonfatal accidents in the initial three months of 2021 versus five last year. There was one fatal turboprop accident in both first quarters—both also occurring under Part 91—but the number of fatalities declined from three last year to two this year.
There were no fatal accidents involving non-U.S.-registered business jets in the first quarter. This compares to two accidents last year that claimed the lives of 11—eight on a charter flight and three on a navaid calibration mission.
However, the downward accident trend in the first quarter was dramatically reversed by mishaps involving non-U.S.-registered turboprops. That segment had just one nonfatal accident in first-quarter 2020, but three fatal accidents killed 17 people in the first quarter of this year.
West Star Expands Grand Junction Interior Design Center
West Star Aviation is remodeling and expanding the business aircraft interior design center at its Grand Junction, Colorado facility. When complete, the center will be four times its previous size and include extensive material and sample storage displays.
The new space also will feature improved lighting for viewing design renderings and detailed materials for customer discussions regarding upgrade options for aircraft cabins. West Star said the larger space is the result of growth in demand for interior upgrades and refurbishments from Bombardier Global and Gulfstream owners and operators.
Construction of the space is expected to be completed in the next few weeks. It will complement the company’s Grand Junction Regional Airport facility that features four paint booths and two strip bays. “We welcome customers looking for interior and paint upgrades to stop by or schedule their appointment and experience our new space,” said West Star Grand Junction general manager Dave Krogman.
NTSB Counts SMS, Recorders, FDM among ‘Most Wanted’
Yesterday, the NTSB approved its 2021-2022 “Most Wanted” list of safety improvements, calling for safety management systems (SMS) for all revenue passenger-carrying aviation operations, as well as urging mandatory crashworthy recorders and the adoption of flight data monitoring (FDM) programs. The two issues were among the 10 focus areas on the list that NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said stem from a combined 118 safety recommendations.
The NTSB is urging the FAA to require, as well as verify the effectiveness of, SMS in all revenue passenger-carrying operations. “It is concerning that preventable accidents involving Part 135 and Part 91 revenue passenger-carrying operations continue to occur,” said NTSB Office of Aviation Safety director Dana Schulze. In some cases, operators have voluntarily implemented in SMS, but without FAA oversight or review those programs were ineffective, she said.
Regarding recorders, the NTSB said they are required only on commercial airliners, but that other passenger-carrying commercial aircraft should be equipped with data, audio, and video recording devices. The NTSB estimated that 86 percent of turbine-powered, nonexperimental, nonrestricted-category aircraft involved in fatal crashes that it investigated between 2005 and 2017 were not equipped with any recorder.
FDM is another area repeated by the NTSB, including recommendations stemming from the 2015 Hawker 700 accident in Akron, Ohio, and most recently was reiterated during the Island Express helicopter accident.
Dassault Renews Western’s Falcon Service Designation
Dassault Falcon Jet recently renewed the authorized service center (ASC) contract for Idaho-based FBO and FAA repair station Western Aircraft. It became a heavy jet-authorized Dassault service center in 2001.
Beyond its Falcon maintenance capabilities, Western Aircraft performs avionics retrofits on the French airframer’s aircraft, including Collins Pro Line 21, Honeywell Primus Elite integrated flight decks, and Gogo Avance L5 system installations, as well as Aviation Clean Air Ionization Purification System installations on most Falcon models. Western Aircraft also offers full interior retrofits and modifications, including wood, seats, and other soft goods.
Since receiving the ASC designation from Dassault, the Greenwich AeroGroup company has performed 118 Falcon C-check inspections, which is the largest maintenance event on Falcon jets.
“We are celebrating 20 years as a Falcon ASC this year,” said Western Aircraft v-p and general manager Austin Shontz. “When customers come to Boise for service, they know that we will provide them with the standards of quality and service that they would expect to receive from a Dassault Falcon Jet ASC.”
Smoother Sailing for Eclipse Aero with AML at Helm
The skies look much brighter for Eclipse 500 very light jet owners more than four months after international fuel supplier AML Global purchased the assets of that program out of bankruptcy. Once again operating under the name Eclipse Aerospace (EAI), top priorities for the company include stabilizing parts, maintenance, and AOG support for owners and shoring up vendor relationships, interim CEO Mike Press told AIN.
"Most, if not all, vendors have an interest in returning, especially after hearing about our plans to refurbish/upgrade the fleet aircraft and possible future plans for production of the [Eclipse] 550,” Press said. AML Global's backing allows EAI to pay vendors in advance, he added.
EAI is also working to upgrade as many as 30 aircraft to the latest Eclipse 550 specification for unnamed European fleet owners. “New European operators expand our footprint and customer base,” Press said. “We are not completely dependent on the North American customer market."
The Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company is operating with “more than 50 employees and looking for more,” Press said. All are former Eclipse workers.
Press co-founded the first iteration of EAI in 2009 following the Chapter 7 bankruptcy of the original Eclipse Aviation. That company merged with Kestrel Aircraft in 2015 to form One Aviation, which entered Chapter 11 protection in October 2018 and was subsequently liquidated earlier this year.
StandardAero Sees Big Interest in CL604 Fusion Upgrade
StandardAero is now offering Bombardier Challenger 604 owners and operators the Pro Line Fusion upgrade now that Collins Aerospace opened the STC to its dealer network about a month ago. In that short time, StandardAero has quoted nine Fusion installs, and the upgrade continues to gain interest, a company spokesman told AIN.
“Because of our experience, we have seen an uptick in Challenger Fusion quotes since Collins has released Fusion to the dealer network,” StandardAero director of avionics program management Jerry Sanders told AIN. “Pro Line Fusion is exciting because it provides an intuitive touchscreen approach to a Challenger 604 flight deck that will enhance the pilot and passenger experience.”
Sanders noted that StandardAero has a lot of experience on Collins cockpit upgrades. “We have worked on various STCs including synthetic vision, FANS 1/A, and MultiScan weather radar,” he added.
The Fusion upgrade features 14.1-inch touchscreens, ADS-B Out and FANS 1/A, synthetic vision, LPV/RNP approaches, and improved FMS. StandardAero is among a number of other MRO providers to offer the Fusion upgrade for the large-cabin Challenger.
AIN Webinar: Overcoming Avionics Obsolescence
Airplanes are built to fly for decades and ideally, a well-maintained airplane will provide many years of safe and reliable service. However, the longer an airplane flies, it’s inevitable that the avionics will need to be upgraded. With fast-moving technology, required safety mandates, and parts obsolescence, compliance with regulatory standards and overcoming technology barriers can be challenging for legacy jet owners and operators. Join us for this free webinar on April 19th as we discuss avionics obsolescence in the legacy business jet market and the proactive approach avionics manufacturers are taking to make retrofit upgrades more affordable and manageable. Sponsored by Avidyne.
Supersedes but retains requirements of AD 2017-07-08, which mandated repetitive inspections of each engine mount elastomeric bushing. Updated AD retains requires replacing each affected engine mount bushing with an improved part while also requiring repetitive inspections of these improved engine mount bushings. New AD also prohibits installing an elastomeric bushing.
Supersedes but retains requirements of AD 2017-23-08, which mandated repetitive inspections of the main rotor rotating scissors, removing certain lower half scissor spherical bearings from service, replacing the removed bearings with a new bearing, and installing a special nut. Updated AD now requires replacing each affected bearing with a certain part-numbered bearing. Prompted by an investigation determining that a quality control issue might have affected the production of these bearings.
Supersedes AD 82-20-05, which required inspecting and establishing a life limit for the tail rotor drive shaft bearing. Updated AD requires replacing certain tail-rotor bearings with a specified part-numbered bearing and repetitively inspecting that new bearing. Prompted by inconsistencies that have been identified between inspections and maintenance actions required by ADs and those specified in the maintenance manual.
Requires an inspection of the attachment bolts of the main rotor hub scissors assembly for discrepancies and repair if necessary; part marking of the attachment bolts of the main rotor hub scissors assembly; and repetitive inspections of the part marking of the attachment bolts and repair if necessary. Prompted by a report of broken and bent attachment bolts of the main rotor hub scissors assembly.
Requires modifying the release system of each cabin lateral sliding plug door or modifying the design of the jettison system of each cabin lateral sliding plug door. Prompted by a report that the cabin lateral sliding plug door failed its emergency jettisoning test. A subsequent investigation revealed that the jettison handle cable interfered with the cable clamps.
Requires replacement of the protective cover of the SHEAR control pushbutton on the pilot and copilot collective sticks and re-identification of the pilot and copilot collective sticks. Prompted by a report of mechanical deformation of the protective cover of this pushbutton on the copilot collective stick.
Model(s): Challenger 600, 601, 601-3A/3R, 604, and 650
Published: April 6, 2021
Effective: May 11, 2021
Requires revising the airplane flight manual to update the FMS and inertial reference system limitations. Prompted by a determination that certain airplanes have outdated magnetic variation tables inside navigation systems.
Requires revising the airplane flight manual to include a caution and note to the SPOILERS FAULT non-normal procedures to reinforce the importance of completing the procedure in its entirety each time this fault message appears on EICAS. According to Transport Canada, "The design of the spoiler control system is such that certain EICAS messages may be posted intermittently and repetitively, during flight and on the ground. These messages reflect real system behavior and are not considered nuisance, or false, messages; therefore, flight crews must action the appropriate checklist each time these messages appear." A software upgrade that eliminates the intermittent and repetitive EICAS messages for certain spoiler electronic control unit configurations is available from Bombardier, the agency added.
Requires upgrading the GPS-4000S unit(s). Prompted by an un-annunciated GPS position error that could cause a misleading localizer performance with vertical guidance glide path and possibly result in controlled flight into terrain.
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