Gulfstream Sets Longest Business Jet Flight Record

Gulfstream notched a new city-pair speed record for its flagship ultra-long-range G650ER, and in the process established a new record for the farthest business jet flight in history, the company announced today. The records are pending approval by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association.

On March 29, the ultra-long-range G650ER flew from Singapore to Tucson, Arizona, in 15 hours and 23 minutes, with fuel in excess of NBAA IFR reserves, eclipsing the previous record set earlier last month by a Bombardier Global 7500 by 44 minutes. The Gulfstream twinjet departed Changi Airport at 4:53 a.m. local time on March 29, and arrived in Tucson at 5:16 p.m. local time, covering the 8,379 nm at an average speed of 597 miles per hour. This also bested the 8,152-nm distance flown last month during that same Global flight.

“Worldwide, you can’t go farther faster, and this record proves it,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “With 350 aircraft in service, the G650 and G650ER show day in and day out that they are class-creating and leading aircraft that set the standard when they were announced and continue to do so today.”

StandardAero Returns To Carlyle Portfolio

The Carlyle Group closed on its acquisition of StandardAero, marking a return of the global maintenance, repair, and overhaul organization to the investment firm’s aerospace portfolio.

Terms of the acquisition from Veritas Capital were not disclosed, but financial reports had estimated the value of the deal at about $5 billion. That is nearly eight times the estimated price Carlyle paid in 2004 when it first acquired the then Dunlop Standard Aerospace, at the time an entity with four major facilities in North America and Europe that employed 2,600.

Carlyle sold the MRO provider in a $1.9 billion deal packaged with Landmark Aviation to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) in 2007. Veritas subsequently acquired StandardAero in 2015, and by that time its value had grown to $2.1 billion. Today, StandardAero has more than 6,000 employees at 38 primary locations and dozens of field services and sales offices across five continents. The company’s revenues reached $3 billion last year.

“StandardAero has established itself as one of the true leaders in the MRO industry,” said Adam Palmer, managing director and global head of aerospace, defense, and government services for Carlyle. “We are excited to partner with the StandardAero team to continue supporting the company’s growth and industry leadership.” Ramzi Musallam, CEO and managing partner of Veritas Capital, added the company is well positioned to continue its momentum.

With Skyjet Now Integrated, PrivateFly Set for Takeoff

Business aircraft charter broker PrivateFly has completed its integration with Skyjet, with the two companies now operating as a single entity under the PrivateFly brand within Directional Aviation’s OneSky portfolio, it announced today. Directional Aviation acquired online charter booking firm PrivateFly in September.

According to Directional, the integration makes PrivateFly “OneSky’s singular on-demand offering for private jet travel in both North America and Europe” and complements other lift options from its two sister companies—fractional provider Flexjet and jet-card provider Sentient Jet.

PrivateFly founder Adam Twidell is leading the combined entity, which brings PrivateFly’s U.S. and European teams together with Skyjet’s U.S. sales team. Michael Hall, who spent the last decade at Skyjet and Sentient Jet, is now senior v-p of sales and heads PrivateFly’s restructured U.S. sales team.

“This is a very exciting year for PrivateFly, as we ramp up our global presence and our offering,” said Twidell. “We’re increasing investment in our digital platform and our buying power is strengthened even further under OneSky, as well as our emphasis on safety and service. But we retain our innovative spirit and distinctive culture.”

FAA Proposes To Ease High-airport O2 Requirements

The FAA is proposing to amend certain FAR Part 25 airworthiness regulations regarding pressurization systems and oxygen dispensing equipment on transport-category airplanes to accommodate operations at airports with elevations at or above 8,000 feet msl. Currently, the agency makes a finding of an equivalent level of safety when a manufacturer or modifier proposes to certify cabin pressurization systems for operations at these higher-elevation airports. Additionally, the FAA has been granting exemption requests from the automatic oxygen mask deployment requirements for operations at airports with elevations at or above 14,000 feet.

Current regulations limit the cabin pressure altitude to not more than 8,000 feet under normal operating conditions, but the rules were never intended to imply that the cabin pressure altitude could exceed 8,000 feet under normal operating conditions. Therefore, the agency proposes adding an exception to allow the pressure to be equal to or less than the airport elevation while the airplane operates at or below 25,000 feet.

Pressurization rules also require a cockpit warning when the cabin pressure altitude exceeds 10,000 feet to alert the flight crew to potential hypoxic conditions. Under the proposal, that warning could be adjusted to change the cabin altitude warning to 15,000 feet or 2,000 feet above the airport elevation, whichever is greater, when operating at high elevation airports. Comments on the proposed rulemaking are due by June 4.

New BACA Chair Outlines Priorities for Year

Air charter association BACA formally installed Nick Weston as its new chair at the group’s annual spring lunch on Wednesday in London, where a capacity crowd prompted organizers to open a second annex for attendees. Weston, founder and CEO of Weston Aviation in the UK, outlined his objectives for the organization, including continuing its work on the risks of illegal charter flying. 

In addition to keeping the spotlight on illegal charters, Weston said another key priority for him will be to expand BACA’s membership, which now stands at more than 240 members, and strengthen its voice and authority on aircraft chartering. “I relish the prospect of implementing and continuing the initiatives we have in place to deliver exceptional value to our members and ensure that the key issues impacting their business are known to governments and authorities globally,” he said.

Weston assumed the post from Richard Mumford on the organization’s 70th anniversary.

CAA Adds Four New Locations to Network

The Corporate Aircraft Association (CAA) welcomed four new service providers to its preferred FBO network: Sheltair at Denver-area Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport; Boedeker Flying Service at Texas’ Childress Municipal Airport; Perry-Houston County Airport Authority at Georgia’s Perry-Houston County Airport; and Skypark Airport in Bountiful, Utah.

In addition, five FBOs have renewed their contract with the 250-location-strong association for an additional three years: Rectrix at Boston-area Laurence G. Hanscom Field; Hartford Jet Center at Connecticut’s Hartford-Brainard Airport; Wildcatter Aviation in Odessa, Texas; Fontainebleau Aviation at Miami-Opa-Locka Executive Airport; and Stein’s Aircraft services at Waukesha County Airport in Wisconsin.  

CAA was founded in 1995 to negotiate discounted fuel prices for its Part 91 membership, by combining purchasing power and working with respected members.

“As a general practice, CAA does not solicit FBOs; an FBO must show interest by coming to us,” said president Bob Bordes. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without our members recommending our organization to FBOs when they stop in to purchase fuel.”

More-powerful Russian Mi-171 Helo Certified In China

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has issued a national type certificate for the Mi-171 equipped with VK-2500-03 engines, clearing the path for Russian Helicopters to sell the helicopter in China. The VK-2500-03 engine is more powerful than the previously stock TV3-117VM powerplant in part due to improved design, including the incorporation of heat-resistant materials, BARK-78 digital automatic controls, and an emergency power mode for one engine inoperative (OEI) operations. This combination gives the Mi-171 a higher load capacity and service ceiling.

During demonstration flights in China last year, the Mi-171 equipped with the new engine conducted firefighting and cargo missions to altitudes up to 10,826 feet when loaded with three tons of cargo and nine passengers and also carried 3.5 metric tons of water in an external bucket to an altitude of 9,842 feet.

Currently, 20 civil Mi-8/17 helicopters operate in China. Russian Helicopters CEO Andrey Boginsky said the operators of these helicopters are interested in the new Mi-171 variant for its more modern technologies and reduced operating costs. Viktor Kladov, director of international cooperation and regional policy for Russian Helicopter’s parent corporation Rostec, added that helicopter technology is a key area of industrial cooperation between Russia and China. He also noted the two countries’ cooperative development of the new Advanced Heavy Lift (AHL) helicopter.

Essinta Labs Rebrands Its FBO Management Software

Florida-based FBO software provider Essinta Labs has rebranded EssintaWings, its management and point-of-sale program, as FBO Director. Since its release two years ago, the system has processed more than 60,000 FBO transactions worth approximately $35 million.

According to its developers, the renamed program offers a user-friendly interface and handles invoice and payment acceptance, tax and discount application, and fuel and inventory management. FBO Director's automation and integration with other core FBO programs will enable customer service staff to focus on running the FBO, the company added.

“FBO Director more properly reflects our passion and commitment to the general aviation industry, as well as pays homage to our experience and expertise in this market,” said company president John Nelson, who released the company’s first aviation industry program in 1996. “No other software company in this space has a comparable track record for delivering easy-to-use, efficient, and automated general aviation software.”

Bombardier Global 7500 Needs Hardly Any Runway To Take Off

GE’s Passport engines help Bombardier’s new Global 7500 to take off using only 5,800 feet at maximum takeoff weight, but much less when flying light. The aircraft needed only a fraction of the 11,800-foot-long runway at Stewart International Airport (SWF), a former U.S. Air Force base in New York, during a demo flight for AIN on a gusty, bumpy winter day.