Embraer Executive Jets assumed the top spot for business jets while Pilatus retained its top position among turboprop airplanes in the annual AIN Product Support Survey. Embraer recorded the highest rating among six business aircraft OEMs with a Combined Overall Average Ratings of Newer and Older Aircraft score of 8.0, unseating Dassault Aviation. Pilatus scored an Overall Average of 8.6 among turboprops, based on the results of AIN’s survey of turbine aircraft operators, pilots, and maintainers.
Embraer’s ranking was followed by Gulfstream Aerospace, with an Overall Average of 7.9, Textron Aviation at 7.8, Bombardier at 7.6, and Dassault at 7.5. Interestingly, all of this year’s fixed-wing OEMs saw their Overall Average ratings lower than in last year’s survey.
In comments to AIN regarding improvements to product support over the past year, a number of OEMs cited the effects of supply chain disruptions, although none reported significant interruptions in providing service and support to their customers.
For this year’s survey, there were 674 respondents who rated 1,793 aircraft broken down into 141 models. The minimum number of ratings required to include a manufacturer’s aircraft in the final results is 20.
NBAA kicked off its newly established Owner Pilot Association Coalition (OPAC) last week at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Formed with representatives from six independent owner-pilot organizations, NBAA’s OPAC agreed on five top priority issues that they hope to tackle to best assist their members.
These include finding a way to enable aging pilots to get a “fair shake” at securing comprehensive aviation insurance; developing user-friendly, accessible data-collection tools that enhance safety and training; addressing air traffic control efficiencies and training requirements; and collaborating on means to ease shortages in supply-chain and training availability. The fifth priority is to sharpen focus at NBAA-BACE and OPAC coalition events to ensure expertise and resources are available to meet owner-pilot needs.
“The flight path developed by NBAA and its coalition of owner-pilot organizations offers just a first glimpse of what can be realized when we mobilize together on key priorities, and address challenges collectively,” said Andrew Broom, NBAA's senior v-p of strategy, marketing, and innovation.
Marking the first of its kind of collaboration, OPAC comprises representatives from the Cirrus Vision Pilots and Owners (VPO), Citation Jet Pilots Association (CJP), Embraer Jet Operators Association (EJOA), Malibu M-Class Owner and Pilot Association (MMOPA), Pilatus Owner Pilot Association (POPA), and TBM Owner Pilot Association (TBMOPA).
RED Aircraft is to supply its A03 engine for the powertrain Ampaire is developing to convert Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft to hybrid-electric propulsion. The compression ignition engine will be rated to 405 kW (550 hp) as part of Ampaire’s integral parallel configuration with the electric motors and battery packs.
Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed during the EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, last week, the partners intend to jointly commercialize the hybrid-electric version of the utility aircraft under the brand name Eco Caravan. Ampaire is developing a family of propulsion systems for applications requiring power ratings of up to 800 hp. RED will develop, certify, and supply a range of engines that can run on both jet-A and sustainable aviation fuel.
According to Ampaire, the converted Grand Caravans will consume 70 percent less fuel on shorter trips and 50 percent less on longer flights with corresponding reductions in CO2 emissions. The Eco Caravan is expected to be able to carry 11 passengers or 2,500 pounds of cargo on flights of up to 1,100 nm.
In April, Ampaire started ground runs with the latest version of the powertrain, and it aims to start flight testing of the first converted Eco Caravan prototype in the second half of this year with plans to secure FAA approval for the conversion program by 2024.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
Michigan-based services provider Pentastar Aviation has achieved two industry safety milestones—Wyvern Wingman Pro recognition and Stage 2 International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) registration.
The company’s charter operation became one of only eight operators in the world to be recognized with Wyvern Wingman Pro. The Pro designation is issued only after an established Wingman operator demonstrates effectiveness in safety management systems, excellence in the addressing of human factors and organizational safety culture, and continuous conformity to international standards by way of an internal audit program.
“Pentastar’s certification as a Wyvern Wingman Pro operator sets them apart from other operators in the air charter industry,” said Wyvern CEO Sonnie Bates. “This achievement validates their commitment to attaining and maintaining an enduring safety culture that elevates their performance above other operators who are just beginning to embrace the value of formal safety risk management.”
The Detroit-area company's FBO at Oakland County International Airport (KPTK) achieved the Stage 2 IS-BAH registration. Only 5 percent of all FBOs in the U.S. have reached this level in the audit-based standard of industry best practices.
“Receiving Stage 2 IS-BAH registration reinforces safety as our top priority,” explained company president and CEO Greg Schmidt. “Our FBO team is led by accomplished and knowledgeable aviation veterans who consistently emphasize and encourage our 'safety-first' mentality to our entire team.”
The European Commission (EC) is expected to delay deadlines for certain operators to register for two new European Union (EU) passenger entry/exit programs, according to NBAA. September 30 was the starting date for the Entry/Exit System (EES) program and May 31, 2023, was the starting date for the European Travel Information and Authorization System.
The EC is expected to formally announce the new deadline for EES registration this summer, according to NBAA. EES will replace the current system of manual stamping of passports, which the EC said is “time-consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings, and does not allow a systematic detection of travelers who have exceeded the duration of their authorized stay.” The programs will ostensibly enable a single electronic query to help identify security threats, as well as epidemic risks.
Essentially, the programs will apply to travel in 26 EU countries of non-EASA charter carriers and professional-piloted private operations. However, they are not intended to apply to individuals who own and pilot their aircraft into the EU. NBAA and other stakeholders are working with EU officials to obtain clarification of the new requirements on private operations.
NBAA recommends that “operators who meet the descriptions of ‘carriers’ and travel regularly to Europe should still begin the registration process for these programs as soon as possible, despite the postponed deadlines.”
Radiant Technology introduced its portable, battery-powered “Flight Sensor Pack” last week at EAA AirVenture. The compact pack retails for $299.95 and combines an artificial horizon with common aircraft instrumentation. It is not attached or wired to the aircraft and could be used as a backup instrument. Limited shipments will begin in September via authorized distributors Aircraft Spruce, Gulf Coast Avionics, and Pacific Coast Avionics.
The company characterizes the response of the pack’s artificial horizon gyro as “smooth, quick, and accurate.” Features include an altimeter, G-meter, variometer, graphing display of values over time, vertical speed indicator, density altitude, and display of pitch and roll values.
“Flight Sensor Pack represents a fusion of commonly requested aircraft flight data, all in a very small package,” said James Wiebe, Radiant CEO. “Another version of the product is designed for installation in a standard 2.25-inch instrument cutout for experimental aircraft and, by manufacturer approval, also in light sport aircraft.”
Wiebe said the pack is useful for passengers and pilots alike as the altimeter graphing shows the variation in cabin pressure while the G-meter displays bumps or G’s during an aerobatic maneuver or simple turbulence of a commercial flight.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
Which of the following options would be an effect of landing beyond the intended touchdown point?
A. It will not be possible to achieve the calculated landing distance.
B. Depending on the runway length, the landing distance will be shortened.
C. It will be possible to achieve the calculated landing distance if the crew uses more aerodynamic braking.
Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen called on his agency to be more “predictive” when it comes to enhancing aviation safety.
“Every day we have to challenge ourselves to find even more ways to reduce and eliminate the risk inherent in aviation because we all know too well that it has little tolerance for mistakes,” Nolen said during EAA AirVenture last week. “Rather than responding to incidents, we are getting better at predicting them through the careful analysis of data. But we need to do more of this—especially in general aviation—and we need to get better at it. Being preventative is no longer enough; we must become predictive.”
Nolen stressed the role of private-public collaboration in improving safety. “I like to think that the GA community sees us as a partner in the journey to make this community safer, more secure, and ready for the future. The safer we are, the more freedom we have to fly.”
He further pointed to the joint efforts of the FAA Safety Teams, Runway Safety Teams, and General Aviation Joint Safety Committee. “As the result of a lot of hard work by government and industry, we’re making progress in reducing fatal accidents in general aviation. Our target since 2008 has been to reduce the fatal accident rate by one percent per year, and we’re on track again this year to meet or exceed that reduction.”
Bell Helicopter has entered into an agreement to deliver two of its Model 505 light-single helicopters to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, the FWC manages fish and wildlife resources across the Sunshine State. The aircraft will aid in multi-mission law enforcement operations for FWC’s division of law enforcement, which is responsible for patrol and investigative law enforcement services over more than 8,400 miles of coastline, 13,200 sq mi of offshore waters, and more than 34 million acres of land.
The five-seat Bell 505 features a large, open cabin that provides panoramic views, a fully integrated Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite, and a dual-channel fadec-controlled Safran Arrius 2R engine. It cruises at 125 knots and has a 360-nm maximum range. Bell has delivered more than 360 of the light helicopters worldwide since the 505's service entry in 2017 and in February announced the installed fleet had achieved 100,000 flight hours.
“The Bell 505 is a proven platform for public safety agencies around the world,” said Lane Evans, Bell's managing director for North America. “The Bell 505 advances an agency’s ability to readily respond to emergencies on the ground, sky, or water. Bell is proud the FWC has selected the Bell 505 as its choice aircraft to advance the vast mission of the agency.”
AIN’s Solutions in Business Aviation
We invite you to review our new sponsored resource guide. Solutions in Business Aviation features answers to some of the industry’s biggest challenges and also includes innovative ideas to help your organization succeed.
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
AINalerts is a publication of AIN Media Group, 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey. Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
