Embraer Expands NE Service Center Network Capabilities

Embraer has expanded the list of aircraft models that Hawthorne Global Aviation Services and Jet East Aviation can provide maintenance under their authorized service center agreements with the Brazilian airframer. This further strengthens Embraer's Northeast U.S. service network following the closure of its company-owned service center at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.

Long Island, New York-based Hawthorne adds the Phenom 100/300, Legacy 450/500, and Praetor 500/600 to its MRO services. Previously, Hawthorne’s authorized service was limited to the Legacy 600/650. Meanwhile, Jet East, at Trenton-Mercer Airport in Trenton, New Jersey, adds the Legacy 450/500 and Praetor 500/600 to its Embraer-authorized maintenance capabilities. That facility had already been maintaining the Embraer Phenom 100/300. Pro Star Aviation in Londonderry, New Hampshire, also recently expanded its Embraer aircraft maintenance capabilities.

“With the growing fleet of Embraer business jets in the U.S., we are reinforcing our services network to better serve our customers in the region,” said Embraer Services & Support v-p of global MRO centers Frank Stevens. “All three facilities will offer great options to these customers for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, component and part exchange, and inspections at varying levels of complexity.”

Carver Aero Makes Inroads in Illinois

Iowa-based Carver Aero has acquired two aviation businesses at Illinois’s Aurora Municipal Airport (KARR)—LumanAir Aviation Services, one of two on-field FBOs, and aircraft maintenance and servicing company ATS Illinois.

Family-owned LumanAir, in operation for more than 60 years, has a 15,000-sq-ft terminal with passenger and pilot lounges, three conference rooms, a flight-planning area, and crew cars. Open from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. with after-hours call-out available, the FBO also offers flight training, aircraft charter and management, an avionics shop, and an FAA Part 145 repair station.

ATS, which has had a presence at the airport since 1992, specializes in engine servicing and maintenance. “Guy Lieser, the CEO of Carver Aero, and I go back many years,” said owner Mark McKinney. “They have great plans for the company and this airfield, and the ATS team wants to be a part of it.”

Carver, which operates several turboprops and a light jet under its Part 135 charter certificate, has three FBOs in Iowa. Last month, it purchased its first location outside the state.

“As a new tenant of the airport, we are honored by the welcome and trust we received from the city and from existing businesses at the airfield,” said Peter Limberger, co-founder and chairman of Carver parent CL Enterprises.

NBAA Releases Full Schedule for Las Vegas Convention

NBAA has released the schedule for the 2021 edition of BACE, to be held October 12 to 14 in Las Vegas, including the key features, as well as associated conferences and forums, that have characterized the event in past years. The annual convention will offer its traditional three days of exhibits and indoor aircraft displays at the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as the static aircraft display at Henderson Executive Airport.

Additionally, a packed schedule of sessions will focus on new technologies, business models, and utilization plans, other trends, and safety and operational considerations. Sessions will range from panels on advanced air mobility, UAS, and sustainability to ones on security, professionalism, airport tenant relations, and SMS, among many others. Several networking sessions are planned, including a reception at the new Maintenance Pavilion. Day one and two keynotes are scheduled, as is the annual Corporate Angel Network benefit cocktail reception.

As in the past, the convention will be bookended with a Tax, Regulatory, and Risk Management Conference along with the Single-Pilot Safety Standdown on the eve of the event and a National Safety Forum on the last day. Also on the last day will be the Collegiate Connect Day as NBAA strives to build up the industry's future workforce. A two-day PDP course on aviation leadership will be held as well.

Signature Aviation Sees Change in Leadership

Just days after Signature Aviation was acquired by a consortium of private equity firms including Blackstone, Global Infrastructure Partners, and Cascade Investments, company CEO Mark Johnstone was replaced by president and COO Tony Lefebvre, who moved into the position as interim CEO.

Johnstone had been with the company for more than 13 years, holding a variety of leadership roles, including EMEA managing director, group corporate development director, and global CFO, before taking the reins as CEO in January 2018.

With a background in airline operations, Lefebvre joined the then-BBA Aviation in 2013 as president and COO of its former ASIG commercial aviation services division. He was also responsible for the company’s since-divested global engine services operation, as well as the Signature TechnicAir maintenance division.

Signature operates the world’s largest network of FBOs—more than 200 locations worldwide—between its owned facilities and those independent locations branded under its Signature Select affiliate program.

Lockheed Shuttering Sikorsky Coatesville

The 2019 reprieve negotiated by the Trump administration and several congressional leaders to keep Sikorsky’s Coatesville, Pennsylvania helicopter plant open is apparently short-lived. On Thursday, parent company Lockheed Martin announced that it was shuttering the plant effective March 2022.

Coatesville is where completion work is done on Sikorsky S-92 and S-76 helicopters. Lockheed Martin said it is moving that work elsewhere and eliminating 240 of the plant’s 360 jobs. Sales of the S-92 and S-76 have been anemic for years. Last year, Sikorsky delivered just two civil helicopters, according to data from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pennsylvania), whose district includes the plant, expressed disappointment in the decision. “After spending the last two years working with Lockheed Martin, White House officials in two administrations, and state and local partners to find ways to enable the plant to continue operating, I am frustrated and disappointed that we find ourselves here,” she said.

In a statement issued last week, Lockheed Martin said it “has made a final decision to exit its Coatesville facility and consolidate the work in other Lockheed Martin locations due to a downturn in the commercial helicopter sector.”

Elliott Jets Guarantees Risk-free Aircraft Acquisitions

Business aircraft brokerage services provider Elliott Jets said it is now offering a risk-free, money-back guarantee on aircraft acquisitions. Under the guarantee, customers will receive a full refund if Elliott Jets’ acquisitions team is unable to find an agreed-upon aircraft under contract within 120 days.

According to its in-house research, Elliott Jets found that as many as 83 percent of recent business jet transactions within a given market were never advertised. The company noted that its acquisition service specializes in off-market transactions of jets and turboprops.

“Our team prides ourselves on providing solutions to customer needs,” said Elliott Jets v-p of acquisitions Todd Jackson. “The biggest need in the market right now is for customers to find high-quality airplanes.

“In my 23 years of selling airplanes, I’ve never seen such a low level of advertised airplanes. However, transactions are still happening at a healthy rate; it’s just that most customers don’t know how or where to find the right aircraft. Our acquisition services specialize in finding off-market aircraft, and we’re so confident we can find customers the right aircraft that we’ll stand behind our promise with a risk-free, money-back guarantee.”

Senate Measure Seeks Report on GPS Vulnerabilities

Congress is stepping up its scrutiny of the security of GPS, including a measure in the recently introduced Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal 2022 that seeks a report on vulnerabilities to hostile actions. Introduced by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence chair Mark Warner (D-Virginia), the authorization bill, S.2610, calls for the director of national intelligence, working with the Secretaries of Defense and Commerce, to conduct a joint study on the vulnerability of GPS, as well as actions being taken by the various government agencies to mitigate associated risks.

The measure specifies that the study should look at vulnerabilities; potential negative effects from prolonged GPS outage from national security and economic standpoints; and alternatives that could be a backup for positioning, navigation, and timing for civil, commercial, and government users. Further, the study should detail actions planned or undertaken by the intelligence community and various agencies to mitigate risk. The measure directs that a report should be submitted to Congress within 180 days.

Last year, the Center for Strategic and International Studies released a Space Threat Assessment that looked at potential risks, including capabilities of countries such as China and Russia to jam GPS signals.

Redbird Pro Gives Pilots Proficiency Score

Simulator manufacturer Redbird has released its Redbird Pro app, which allows pilots flying Redbird simulators to measure proficiency and create a plan to support ongoing currency training. The app can also help non-Redbird users with articles, videos, quizzes, and briefings for scenarios that can be flown on other simulators, but without the scoring feature.

Redbird Pro starts by asking the user questions to create a self-assessment. Then the pilot does a baseline flight in a Redbird simulator. Using machine learning, Redbird Pro generates the Pro Score that forms the basis of a personalized training plan.

To help improve flying skills, the Pro app and Score measures the user’s progress and recommends ways to improve proficiency. According to Redbird, “It includes a broad overview of all your training activity and allows you to drill into specific skills and tasks, how much training time you should allot to them, and how you score for them relative to your baseline proficiency and objective.”

The recommended training includes a catalog of training collections focused on specific topics, with articles, quizzes, skill refreshers, and scenarios. When using a Redbird simulator with the Pro app, flying the scenarios provides additional data to inform the Pro Score, Redbird said, “which enhances your training plan and allows you to drill even further into the minute details of your flying.”

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