TAG Aviation Holding has completed its departure from business aviation with the announcement that it sold off its aircraft charter/management divisions TAG Aviation SA and TAG Aviation Asia, in which it holds a 51 percent stake, to its joint venture partner in Asia, Young Brothers Aviation, and another unidentified private investor. The Asia sale also includes the TAG FBO in Macau and its Asian maintenance operations.
The company noted use of the TAG Aviation name and logo would continue under the new ownership, and that several of its current directors will continue to serve on the boards of the two companies. Jo Goodall, a long-term TAG employee, will succeed Daniel Christe as CEO of TAG Aviation Europe, and Steven Young, currently president of TAG Aviation Asia, will succeed Jolie Howard as CEO of the division.
Amid continuing Covid pandemic event cancellations, the Helicopter Association International (HAI) this week reaffirmed its intention to hold its annual Heli-Expo show next March 22-25 in New Orleans. "Our early [booking] numbers tell me there is an entire industry that is eager to come out of quarantine and get together to do business,” said James Viola, HAI president.
"We know people are concerned [about Covid-19],” said Viola. “It's our job to manage the risk for attendees and exhibitors and ensure their safety during their visit with us, just as our members do for their customers."
The first stage of the show floor lottery closed in July, and more than 300 companies—including most of the major OEMs—have already booked more than two-thirds of the available show floor, and over 10,000 hotel room nights were secured on the first day reservations could be made. HAI reported that some hotels have already sold out.
Heli-Expo is the world’s largest helicopter exposition and typically attracts over 50 display aircraft and more than 600 exhibiting companies. Additionally, there are over 100 industry meetings of all kinds: technical briefings, professional education classes, safety education sessions, forums, and workshops.
G1000 NXi Certified in Piper Meridian
Garmin’s G1000 NXi upgrade is now available for installation in Piper’s Meridian single-engine turboprop. The NXi upgrade includes new displays with faster processors, and these fit without any panel modifications in the same footprint and using the same wiring connectors.
The new processors enable many added features as well as faster map rendering, smoother panning, quicker initialization, and LED backlighting for better display brightness and clarity, lower power consumption, and improved dimming.
Key NXi enhancements include Garmin SurfaceWatch runway monitoring, visual approaches, HSI map overlays, display of sectional and en route lo/hi charts on the multifunction display (MFD), decoded com frequencies, decoded terminal aerodrome forecasts, and split-screen functionality.
NXi installations also enable the use of Garmin’s Flite Stream 510 wireless gateway and Connext technology, which allows pilots to update avionics databases wirelessly via the Garmin Pilot app. Pilots can also transfer flight plans between a mobile device and the avionics and view traffic, weather, GPS, and back-up attitude information on the mobile device.
The visual approach feature is helpful when trying to find a runway during VFR flight and displays a three-degree glideslope from the runway threshold. Pilots can fly an autopilot-coupled visual approach to the runway and set customized minimums as well as choose vectors or straight-in for the final approach intercept.
WingX Says Bizav Activity Mixed, with U.S. Sputtering
A new post-March high in global business aviation activity has been recorded in the past few days with an average of 11,500 flights a day, according to WingX’s weekly Global Market Tracker. However, in the past six months, global business aviation flights are down 37 percent—a total of 844,000 flights—compared with the same period in 2019, according to the report.
During the period, a previously robust recovery in the U.S. has slowed to a 19 percent deficit in flights so far in August and a 21 percent decline comparing July 2020 to July 2019. In Europe, flights are up 2 percent compared with the same period last year, driven by countries in central and eastern Europe such as Germany, up 17 percent, Switzerland, up 21 percent, and 25 percent or more in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine.
Elsewhere, the report said business aviation flights in Asia are closing in on pre-pandemic levels. Australia is up while India is down. Flights from and within China are up by 16 percent compared with August 2019 and growth is noted in the UAE, Israel, Brazil, Colombia, South Africa, and Nigeria. Demand is down in Mexico as well as in the Bahamas, Singapore, Japan, and Argentina.
New STCs To Enable LuxStream Satcom on Gulfstream Jets
Collins Aerospace’s LuxStream airborne connectivity service will soon be available on a variety of Gulfstream jet models following FAA approval of multiple STCs by Western Jet Aviation. Van Nuys, California-based Western Jet and Collins expect STC approval for installation of Collins's KuSat-2000 satcom terminal that enables the LuxStream service on the G450 next month followed by the G350, GV, and G550 by the end of the third quarter of 2020.
Installations will be performed at Western Jet and Collins-approved MROs. Launched late last year on VistaJet’s Bombardier Globals, LuxStream, part of Collins’s ArincDirect services portfolio, offers speeds of up to 25 Mbps in the U.S. and 15 Mbps elsewhere by way of SES’s Ku-band satellite network. LuxStream provides for an always-on service that’s enabled by the redundancy and resiliency of SES’s satellites and serves as a turnkey solution with both hardware and service provided by Collins.
“We know in-flight connectivity is one of the most in-demand features on today’s business aircraft and we are proud to provide the market’s premier service,” said Collins executive director for business aviation and digital solutions Dori Henderson. Powered by SES’s global geostationary high-throughput and wide satellite beams, LuxStream’s performance has been validated with more than 25 passengers able to access the internet and stream content at 25 Mbps simultaneously, according to Collins.
Aerion Supersonic is receiving a multimillion-dollar investment from Florida’s aerospace economic development agency, Space Florida, as the aircraft developer prepares to break ground on a campus in Melbourne, Florida, later this year and hire up to 675 workers by 2026.
Unveiled in April, the $300 million Aerion Park will serve as Aerion’s headquarters as well as the site of research, design, production, and support for its future aircraft, including the AS2 Mach 1.4 business jet. The company did not specify the exact amount of the Space Florida investment but said it runs in the millions.
Space Florida and Aerion anticipate that Aerion Park eventually will attract other aerospace suppliers within the supersonic technology realm. Melbourne already is home to Embraer Executive Jets' U.S. manufacturing headquarters and satellite service provider Satcom Direct.
“This is a truly transformational project for Florida that changes the game for high-speed air transportation as well for advanced aerospace manufacturing in the state,” said Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida. “The decision to locate design, engineering, and manufacturing of this technologically advanced supersonic flight vehicle here in Florida is a testament to the growing strength and global recognition of the importance of Florida as a world-leading aerospace state.”
Aerion expects to begin manufacturing the AS2 in 2023.
MySky Integrates with SD Pro
Satcom Direct has added financial information to its SD Pro platform through a strategic alliance with MySky. Satcom Direct users can add MySky’s “spend-management platform” to their SD Pro subscription and have a single source of data to gain more insight about operational and financial information.
The addition of MySky to the SD Pro platform takes advantage of SD Pro’s open-architecture design, which allows for integration with third-party suppliers. SD Pro gives aircraft operators a “digital management dashboard” with detailed information on pre- and postflight aircraft performance.
MySky uses artificial intelligence technology to analyze and compare prices and expenses to help operators “reduce costs, refine spending, and improve the overall aircraft ownership experience.”
Integrating MySky and Satcom Direct data will help “increase longevity of ownership and improve the overall ownership experience,” according to the companies.
“By combining our industry-leading financial data with Satcom Direct’s detailed operational information, I’m confident that this alliance will help stakeholders better navigate the long-time obstacles associated with private aviation management,” said Kirill Kim, cofounder and CEO of MySky.
“With the integration of MySky into the SD Pro platform,” said Chris Moore, Satcom Direct president of business aviation, “we are adding a significant resource to the operational mix by providing a business management tool that complements our operations-focused products.”
Airbus Helicopters is selling 10 new H125 singles to the Helicopter Company (THC) of Saudi Arabia. The deal comes as part of THC’s fleet expansion and introduction of services that fulfill market demand and support the development of the Kingdom’s wider aviation sector. THC will use the helicopters to roll out services related to scenic tourism and aerial work, such as filming, banner towing, and surveying.
THC CEO Arnaud Martinez said the new helicopters were part of a strategic plan that includes expansion of air tourism that will “guarantee passengers a one-of-a-kind experience to relish the beauty of the Kingdom from above.”
THC was formed by the Kingdom’s Private Investment Fund (PIF) as part of the country’s “Vision 2030” economic development campaign. THC is the nation’s first local commercial helicopter operator and has been offering private flights since mid-2019. “The H125 is the perfect helicopter for developing commercial operations in Saudi Arabia. It is a powerful and versatile aircraft particularly suited to hot and high environments,” said Ben Bridge, Airbus Helicopters’ executive v-p of global business.
BA Bidding Adieu To Boeing 747
The first of 31 idled Boeing 747s at British Airways took off from London Heathrow Airport on August 18th for its final resting place at an aircraft boneyard in Castellon, Spain. The flight marked the start of the airline’s ultimate disposal of its fleet, the first member of which entered service in 1971 with BA progenitor British Overseas Airways Corporation.
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