Gulfstream Aerospace has completed a $40 million expansion to its service center in Appleton, Wisconsin, which it opened earlier this month. The expansion adds a nearly 190,000-sq-ft hangar northeast of the airport terminal that will simultaneously house up to 12 Gulfstream G650/650ER twinjets, as well as offices, back shops, general support space, and a new sales and design center.
"This beautiful facility represents the most significant expansion we've had in the 20 years we've been here,” Gulfstream customer support president Derek Zimmerman said. “It is a tremendous asset to our site and the community. It will help us enhance the reliability of our growing fleet, support more customers and elevate their experience, continue to maintain a high level of safety, and provide a world-class workplace for our employees.”
About 100 new jobs have been created as a result of the expansion, with more hiring to come, according to the Savannah, Georgia airframer. It is part of Gulfstream’s 500,000-sq-ft footprint at Appleton International Airport (ATW) that last year recorded nearly 500 aircraft visits. In addition to MRO services, including structural modifications and major avionics installations, Gulfstream Appleton also provides large-cabin completions.
Argus Sees Ops Growth After Mixed First Half
Following mixed results in the first half of 2019, Argus is anticipating business aviation operations in the U.S. will continue to gain strength in the second half, the data specialist forecast said in its newly released 2019 Mid-year Business Aviation Review. In the first six months, business aviation turbine operations in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean logged a 0.3 increase in flight activity and 0.7 percent in flight hours year-over-year.
Charter operations slipped in each of the first six months and were down 2.2 percent in total. However, the fractional segment made gains throughout the first half, culminating in 6.2 percent in the first six months. The Part 91 segment saw a slight improvement, up in four of the six months and 0.7 percent overall during the period. Despite the overall gains in the first half, flights were down for all segments of aircraft except midsize jets.
Argus anticipates that business aviation will be up 2 percent year-over-year in the second half, with September and December possibly bringing the strongest gains. The business aviation data firm is forecasting a 4.6 percent increase in September and 3.3 percent in December. Bolstering this is returns for July were up over initial expectations, coming in at a 2.4 percent increase.
As the U.S. moves to expand its Customs preclearance options in Canada beyond commercial airlines to other modes of transportation, industry officials are hoping to work with government leaders on extending those services to business aviation. The U.S. recently announced that it planned to build on an existing agreement with Canada “to, for the first time, conduct full preclearance in the rail, ferry, and cruise ship environments.”
However, business aviation is not yet part of those plans. NBAA has been working with industry leaders in Canada, as well as with airport and government officials and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on possibilities for business aviation. At least one large airport in Canada has expressed interest in participating, said NBAA v-p of regulatory and international affairs Doug Carr, although no timeline has been set for a pilot project. Conversations are ongoing, he added. “A question that has to be answered…[is] can an armed officer of the U.S. be granted authority to conduct work on non-U.S. parts of the airport? It's not a simple answer."
CBP does provide preclearance in two locations for business aviation: in Aruba and Shannon, Ireland. While Aruba is not as frequently used, Shannon has become a success story, Carr said. “The preclearance program in Shannon is nearly the perfect solution for operators returning to the U.S.,” he added.
NTSB: Citation Latitude Bounced Twice before Overrun
The Cessna Citation Latitude carrying retired race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., his wife, and infant daughter bounced twice on landing and collapsed the right main landing gear on the third touchdown preceding its runway excursion and post-crash fire, according to the NTSB preliminary report on the August 15 accident. It then went off the departure end of Runway 24 at Tennessee’s Elizabethton Municipal Airport, traveled across an open area of grass, down an embankment, through a chain-link fence, and up an embankment before coming to a stop on the edge of a highway.
The pilot and copilot were not injured, while the passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to JRM Air and operated under Part 91. Day VMC and calm wind prevailed. No flight plan was filed for the short hop from Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina.
Airport surveillance video captured the aircraft’s initial contact, which occurred near the runway touchdown zone, and portions of the accident sequence. The pilots’ account of the landing was generally consistent with the video. Following the second bounce, the pilots attempted a go-around; “however, the aircraft did not respond as expected, so they attempted to land straight-ahead on the runway,” the NTSB said.
Although damaged by the fire, the cockpit voice recorder was recovered.
Bizav Restrictions Expected for Japan Enthronement
General aviation traffic restrictions will likely be put in place when Japan enthrones a new emperor nearly two months from now, but reports that such restrictions have been announced for two airports are not correct, according to a posting this week on Universal Weather & Aviation’s Operational Insight blog. ”We have begun receiving inquiries regarding reported airport restrictions being announced at Tokyo Narita (RJJJ) and upcoming restrictions for Haneda (RJTT),” the blog post states. “This information is incorrect.”
On October 22, Japan will hold an enthronement ceremony for Emperor Naruhito, which is expected to attract a large number of international dignitaries and affect business aviation operations in the country. Specifically, Universal anticipates that general and business aviation flights will be restricted at Chubu Centair (RJGG) and Kansai International (RJBB) airports, in addition to Narita and Haneda.
“While we are anticipating restrictions, nothing official has been announced,” the blog post explained. “Our team at Universal Aviation Japan is staying in close communication with Japanese authorities, and we will publish the correct information once we receive official confirmation.”
Minimal Issues Noted in Drone-human Collision Study
What happens when a small drone hits a person on the ground? Not much. That’s the conclusion of research from the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (Assure). The 18-month study was conducted by researchers from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Mississippi State University, the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University, and the Ohio State University.
More than 512 impact tests and simulations were conducted using 16 different multi-rotor and fixed-wing sUAS, as well as various objects and payloads with weights ranging from 0.71 to 13.2 pounds. Testing also included evaluation of heavier sUAS using mitigations to reduce potential for injury, such as sUAS under parachutes.
“Even in these controlled studies, slight variations of the vehicle orientation or location of impact with the human, just prior to impact, reduced the injury potential. These results showed that these worst-case impacts are very difficult to achieve, even under controlled impact test conditions,” said principal researcher David Arterburn of the University of Alabama at Huntsville.
According to Assure, the research findings and data might help inform the FAA and industry of operational limitations for sUAS when operating over people and used to develop design specifications to further reduce risk to people and property on the ground.
The general manager of Metrojet’s China air operator certificate (AOC), Michael Chen has been elected to the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) board of governors for a two-year term. Chen will be responsible for enhancing the brand awareness of AsBAA in China's aviation industry and, with the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), work to enhance operational safety practices.
He started his career in Beijing with Ameco, spending nine years in various production planning and engineering management roles. He was the program manager of the U.S.-China Aviation Cooperation Program of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, a director of government affairs and business development with Honeywell China, and also served as the director of business development and government affairs of GE Aviation Greater China.
“AsBAA is a perfect example of private and public partnerships working together—acting as a conduit between the business aviation industry and the government policymakers,” Chen said. “With my previous working experience in government affairs and my current role within Metrojet, I am confident that I can assist in supporting the future development of the industry in China.”
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
In the context of undesired airplane states, what does active monitoring mean?
A. Actively checking for traffic, especially in the terminal area and around airports.
B. Keeping an eye on the autopilot to verify that all redundancy systems are working.
C. Keeping track of the environment, the airplane's energy state and flight path trajectory.
D. Verifying crew alertness during night flight.
U.S. Operators Reminded of MNPS Deadline
U.S. operators with older minimum navigation performance specifications (MNPS) approvals have until December 31 to get these updated if they want to keep flying in the North Atlantic Track (NAT). According to a recent FAA national policy notice, more than 1,000 Part 91 operators have not yet obtained an amended operations specification management letter of authorization (LOA) B039. Most Part 91K, 135, and 121 operators have already obtained the required approvals, it added.
These requirements have been in effect for nearly two years under rulemaking aimed at aligning the NAT system with ICAO standards and to transition from the old MNPS to the more modern performance-based navigation (PBN) specification. This included requiring PBN specifications to operate in NAT high-level airspace (HLA), FL285 to FL420 inclusive, by January 2020.
Operators applying for a B039 LOA have to provide FAA aviation safety inspectors (ASIs) with additional evidence of compliance with NAT HLA requirements, “particularly with regard to required navigation performance (RNP) 10 and flight crew training,” said the notice. “ASIs should not assume operators with the NAT/MNPS LOA B039 already have the aircraft equipage, operating procedures, and training in place.” Additionally, ASIs should not issue an amended B039 LOA “without first confirming the Part 91 operator has incorporated the new contingency procedures in the applicable operator handbooks, flight manuals, etc.”
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