Avionics Sales Soar 14% in First-half 2019, Says AEA

Business and general aviation aircraft electronics sales climbed 14 percent year-over-year, to just more than $1.5 billion, in the first six months, according to data released yesterday by the Aircraft Electronics Association. Forward-fit avionics installations jumped 26.9 percent, to nearly $712.554 million, while retrofit sales increased by 4 percent, to almost $794.340 million.

“Avionics sales for general and business aviation have now seen an increase in year-over-year sales for 10 straight quarters,” said AEA president and CEO Mike Adamson. “In addition to the ADS-B workload, our AEA member repair stations continue to report an increasing number of full-panel retrofits with new electronic flight displays and digital autopilots, as well as continued interest with in-flight connectivity solutions.”

According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and other international markets, AEA said 74.9 percent of the first-half sales volume occurred in the former, while the remainder was in the latter.

The reported data is based on net sales price and includes all components and accessories in flight deck, cabin, software upgrades, portables, certified, and noncertified aircraft electronics; all hardware; batteries; and chargeable product upgrades from the participating manufacturers. Amounts do not include repairs and overhauls, extended warranty, or subscription services.

Wheels Up Raises $128M To Fuel Further Growth

Wheels Up raised $128 million in new equity late last week to help the private flight solutions firm accelerate growth and digital efforts. The Class D equity capital raise comes just three months after Wheels Up acquired charter operator Travel Management Company and brings its total valuation to more than $1.1 billion, it added.

According to Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter, this latest financing round will fund several business initiatives, including additional potential acquisitions, acceleration of membership growth through further investment in sales and marketing, and significant scaling of the company’s technology and digital platforms.

“The continued support from our existing investors and the strong interest from new institutions in our latest investment round reinforce the dominance that Wheels Up continues to exhibit as an innovative disruptor and leading force in the private aviation and technology industries,” said Dichter. “As we invest further in growth-focused initiatives, we will focus on potential strategic acquisitions and rapid digital advancements to further our mission of bringing the highest-quality private flight to millions and the private-flying lifestyle to the world."

Wheels Up was represented by Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as placement agents for the Class D equity private placement.

Norwood Breaches Agreement Allowing New FBO

Less than two weeks after reaching a settlement agreement in federal court, the town of Norwood, Massachusetts, has apparently reneged on the signed and official accord acknowledging that Boston Executive Helicopters (BEH) has “satisfied all minimum standards” for the “prompt issuance” of an FBO permit for Norwood Airport.

According to BEH’s attorney, the Norwood Airport Commission (NAC) declined to approve BEH’s request for an FBO permit citing an alleged deficiency in insurance coverage. This is despite that the city stipulating in the July 30 agreement that “all minimum standards and additional requirements for the issuance of an FBO permit by the NAC to BEH have been met.”

Another issue that might threaten the viability of the agreement is that three NAC members didn’t personally sign it. The agreement shows that an attorney signed as a representative of two members, but BEH questioned his authority to do that. A third member who wasn’t available to sign the agreement at the time is believed to have no intention of signing. “Without their actual signature[s], I do not accept the agreement,” said BEH president Christopher Donovan.

Líder, Aero Rio Approved for Gulfstream Warranty Work

Gulfstream Aerospace has named two Brazilian aircraft services companies—Líder Aviação and Rio de Janeiro-based Aero Rio Táxi Aéreo—company-authorized warranty facilities, it announced yesterday at LABACE. As such, both facilities can now provide warranty repairs and maintenance services within their regulatory approvals for both large-cabin and midsize Gulfstreams such as the G650/650ER, G550, and G280.

In addition, Líder—which has facilities in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Brasilia—is now a Gulfstream-authorized parts dealer for South America. It can facilitate parts sales transactions for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance events, Gulfstream said.

“We’re committed to providing our Brazilian operators a range of choices for their aircraft maintenance needs,” said Gulfstream Customer Support president Derek Zimmerman. “These additions, further complemented by the new maintenance facilities planned for Palm Beach, Florida, and Savannah, will provide comprehensive and timely support throughout Brazil, especially in the two large cities where most of our operators are located.”

Meanwhile, Gulfstream is building up its U.S. Southeastern company-owned MROs to provide more maintenance options for operators in Latin America. Gulfstream Palm Beach is scheduled to begin operations at a new 115,000-sq-ft/10,684-sq-m facility in the first quarter of next year. Next month, it plans to open a 202,000-sq-ft/18,766-sq-m service center expansion at its Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport headquarters.

Approximately 230 Gulfstreams are based in Latin America, with approximately 40 of them in Brazil.

Dickson Reports for Duty at FAA

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao yesterday swore in Stephen Dickson as the 18th FAA Administrator. Confirmed for a five-year term, Dickson brings nearly 40 years of aviation experience to his new post, including as a former Delta Air Lines senior v-p of flight operations and U.S. Air Force F-15 pilot.

He steps into the role held on an acting basis by Dan Elwell over the past 20 months. Elwell returns to his previous position of deputy administrator thanks to a waiver that Congress passed late last month allowing him to serve alongside Dickson even though they are both former military officers. “I’m grateful for acting Administrator Dan Elwell’s steady and principled leadership during an especially challenging time in the FAA’s history,” Chao said.

Dickson takes the reins as the FAA has come under intense scrutiny for its handling of the Boeing 737 Max certification. He will steer an agency that is responsible for the safety of more than 50,000 daily flights, employs more than 47,000, and has an annual budget of more than $16 billion.

“I…look forward to ensuring our aviation system maintains its proper place, leading the world in both safety and operational performance,” Dickson said. “Maintaining the highest levels of safety while adapting to technological advancements will be a key part of our success."

Rotorcraft Deliveries Dip in 1H19

The rotorcraft segment saw deliveries slow in the first half of 2019, with turbine-powered helicopters down 11.3 percent, according to data released yesterday by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Total helicopters billings decreased from $1.7 billion to $1.5 billion.

Airbus Helicopters was the lone airframer to buck the trend, increasing its unit deliveries year-over-year by more than 5 percent. The OEM boosted deliveries of its light H125/H130 and its H145, while output of its H135s dipped.

Bell saw its deliveries drop by nearly 20 percent in the first six months. The Textron subsidiary is transitioning from the 407GXP, which had 33 deliveries in the first half of 2018, to the 407GXi, which had 19 through the first six months of 2019. Deliveries of the 505 also declined from 59 to 48 year-over-year.

In addition, Italian manufacturer Leonardo experienced a 25 percent year-over-year decline in the first half, delivering 18 fewer helicopters. Half of that loss can be attributed to the AW119Kx, which accounted for nine shipments in the first six months of 2018 but none in the same span this year.

Enstrom, which delivered three of its turbine-engined 480 light helicopters in the first half of 2018, also delivered none through the first six months of this year. California-based Robinson Helicopter saw its deliveries of the R66 diminish by 25 percent year-over-year.

Pilot Dozed Off at Controls of MedFlight Helo

The FAA is investigating an incident in which a Boston MedFlight pilot briefly fell asleep at the controls of a helicopter, believed to be an Airbus H145, while transporting a patient to a Boston hospital from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, on June 24. The pilot, whose identity was not immediately released, overflew the designated helipad before turning around and completing the flight without incident.

“Our investigation determined that fatigue was a factor and we are now working with a fatigue management consultant and a safety consultant to review our policies and procedures so that this isolated incident does not happen again,” Boston MedFlight said in a statement. The company operates several twin-turbine helicopters and airplanes.

Although the FAA acknowledged it is investigating the incident, the agency did not provide any additional details, such as how it became aware of the occurrence or if certification action against the pilot is being considered. Meanwhile, the not-for-profit aeromedical company said the pilot is “no longer employed by Boston MedFlight.”

Boston MedFlight declined further comment beyond saying, “Throughout our 34-year history as a nonprofit organization providing critical care medical transport to over 75,000 patients in need, the safety of our patients and crews has always been our highest priority.”

SmartSky, Mosaic Partner To Expand Skytelligence

SmartSky Networks has partnered with Mosaic ATM to enhance Skytelligence’s open marketplace and framework infrastructure to connect aviation applications and services developers, the air-to-ground (ATG) data network developer and provider announced yesterday. An improved Skytelligence enables the development of new data and services products to improve the efficiency of business and commercial aviation operations, SmartSky said.

“To catalyze aviation’s digital transformation, our Skytelligence open marketplace enables companies to access and share aviation, flight, weather data, operations data, and more,” said SmartSky chairman and CEO Haynes Griffin. “Mosaic is a critical partner in the creation of this application development infrastructure.”

Mosaic has already provided to SmartSky the expertise to expand upon and refine the Skytelligence concept—including insights for data processing, transformation, and fusion techniques to increase Skytelligence’s data offering. Under this partnership, the two companies will continue collaborating in the development of applications and services related to airport data, convective weather data, and navigation aids.

“SmartSky’s patented system for five-dimensional trajectory optimization with continuous re-planning is an industry breakthrough and accessing this capability via a software-as-a-service model is a game-changer,” said Mosaic CEO Chris Brinton. “This feature allows developers to take advantage of the combination of several data sources and services, including weather and traffic constraints, to quickly and cost-effectively build enhanced services.”

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