The HondaJet Elite S and Beechcraft King Air 360 took honors as the best new business jet and turboprop aircraft, respectively, in AIN's second-annual Top Flight Awards, results of which were released today. Winners are determined by the publication's editorial staff. These awards recognize the best and the brightest in business aviation and honor creativity and innovation in design and technology, as well as quality and passion in business aviation services and significant contributions by industry people.
Other categories and winners included New Rotorcraft, NASA Mars Ingenuity; Technology, Garmin Smart Glide and Smart Rudder Bias; Training Innovation, Aviation Performance Solutions virtual reality upset recovery training; Excellence In Innovation, Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter; Safety Hero, former NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt; Charitable Hero, Raisbeck Engineering founder James Raisbeck (posthumous); Charter/Fractional/Jet Card Innovation, Jet It/Jet Club; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Duncan Aviation refugee assistance program; Sustainability, Neste; Contribution to Safety, HAI and U.S. Helicopter and Vertical Aviation Safety Teams; New FBO, Jet Aviation Scottsdale; and Maintenance Innovation, FlightSafety virtual reality maintenance training.
These selections came from a list of nominees announced last month. Besides meeting basic eligibility requirements, nominees also must illustrate something new and unique such as improved safety and performance, contributions to aviation or public benefit, creativity, or innovation. AIN welcomes input from readers during the nomination process, which will be opened after the first quarter for the 2022 Top Flight Awards.
Duncan Aviation’s relocated Teterboro, New Jersey facility within the Meridian FBO now includes the addition of airframe services, the Lincoln, Nebraska-based MRO provider announced this week. Previously, Duncan had provided avionics repair and installation at its Teterboro location. However, with the sale of its aircraft charter/management division, Meridian also disbanded its Part 145 repair station that primarily supported its charter aircraft.
As a result, Duncan added equipment and staff at the satellite operation, as well as FAA certification to provide airframe services at its new Meridian location. “I believe adding airframe services, such as small inspections, Chapter 12 services—oxygen, tire, strut, and fluid services—brakes, and squawk work, among others, is a great convenience for our customers,” said Duncan Teterboro satellite manager Jeff Glanville. “Combined with the FBO services Meridian offers, we’re now a one-stop shop.”
One of Duncan’s key hires for Teterboro airframe services was former Meridian airframe technician Michael Kotosky, who is leading the company’s airframe team there. “We feel fortunate to have him,” Glanville said. “With his expertise, we’re building this from scratch.”
Meridian president Steve Chandoha said Duncan’s presence at Meridian is a “great benefit.” He added, “Duncan Aviation’s commitment to excellence mirrors Meridian’s, so we’re very pleased at the additional capabilities we will be able to offer customers.”
The Aircraft Electronics Association’s (AEA) 2021 Rate and Labor survey is underscoring the upbeat outlook for the industry with some 60 percent of the respondents expecting to see their retrofit business increasing and 40 percent predicting business will remain the same, according to an article in the association’s latest edition of Avionics News. “You can count those predicting a decline by hand, with leftover fingers,” AEA added. However, labor remains a challenge, which is leading to hourly rate increases for many technicians across the U.S.
Installers, in particular, saw wage jumps. In the Central U.S. region, install technicians witnessed a 6 percent increase in starting pay. Overall, 76 percent of shops reported salary increases that averaged 5 percent. Fifty-two percent of shops gave incentive pay, an increase from 35 percent in 2020. In the East, 81 percent of shops reported increased pay at an average of 5.6 percent. In the West, nearly 75 percent increased salaries an average of 6 percent.
Meanwhile, 64 percent in the Central region increased their shop rates by an average of 7 percent. In the East, two-thirds of the shops anticipate an average of a 7 percent increase while 52 percent in the West are planning rate hikes of 7.4 percent next year.
Airshare, a fractional and managed aircraft company based in the Kansas City area, is looking to expand its heavy maintenance facility in Wichita to include third-party maintenance even as it takes on additional aircraft in its fractional fleet. The company, which was founded in Wichita in 2000 and relocated its headquarters to Lenexa, Kansas, five years later, has begun the process of opening maintenance to business aircraft other than the 50 jets in its fractional and managed fleet, CEO John Owen told AIN.
“It is a place in the organization where we think there’s a lot of opportunity,” Owen said of the Wichita maintenance facility. “That’s one of the things we’re looking at right now.”
Operating from a 27,000-sq-ft hangar and an adjoining 7,000-sq-ft office at Col. James Jabara Airport (KAAO), the facility originally opened in 2005 when Airshare brought its maintenance in-house. The facility became an authorized Embraer service center in 2012 in large part because Embraer Phenom 100s and 300s account for a majority of its fractional fleet. Augmenting Airshare’s Wichita maintenance base are smaller facilities in Fort Worth, Texas; Buffalo, New York; and Kansas City.
According to Airshare COO Alex Franz, the Wichita facility, which provides heavy maintenance such as 120-month inspections, would need to hire additional maintenance technicians to expand its services to include outside jet customers.
Citing the rise in Covid-19 cases in Europe, the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) is moving its annual Safety Summit from an in-person to a virtual forum on December 13 and 14, the association announced this morning. Registration for the virtual Safety Summit is free. Attendees who registered for the in-person event will automatically be signed up for the virtual Safety Summit and EBAA will reimburse ticket costs for the event.
European Union Aviation Safety Agency executive Patrick Ky is the opening keynote speaker for the two-day event, which will be held on the originally scheduled dates. With a focus on “Operational Excellence: daily actions to ensure safe operations,” the summit also will include sessions on business aviation safety, ground operations, and threat-line auditing.
“This continues to be a very challenging situation, and the health and well-being of our attendees and speakers remains our highest priority,” said EBAA COO Robert Baltus. “We decided that, in the current epidemiological situation, we had to take a proactive stance to showcase that safety remains our prime concern.”
Count business jet OEM Bombardier as another company to offer installation of Collins Aerospace’s Pro Line Fusion avionics upgrade in the Challenger 604. The Montreal-based airframer announced this week the installation of the upgrade at its Dallas and Hartford, Connecticut service centers.
Collins, Bombardier, and Nextant Aerospace partnered on the STC over a two-year period. Collins opened the STC to its dealer network earlier in 2021, which has resulted in several MRO providers offering the installation, including Constant Aviation, Duncan Aviation, Elliott Aviation, StandardAero, and West Star Aviation. Bombardier noted that the upgrade is designed to meet current and future airspace mandates, address obsolescence, and enhance the overall flight deck experience.
Among the features of the Fusion upgrade are 14.1-inch touchscreens, ADS-B Out and FANS 1/A, synthetic vision, LPV/RNP approaches, and improved FMS. “The radar is the best of the best,” said Esteban Lopez, lead captain of an upgraded Challenger 604. “I feel totally confident navigating through bad weather with laser-sharp precision graphical layers.”
Gulfstream Aerospace is extending its reach in South America with the appointment of Grupo Aeronáutico as the authorized international sales representative in Ecuador and Peru. Under the authorization, Grupo Aeronáutico will promote and support Gulfstream’s sales efforts throughout both countries.
“Gulfstream continues to see the potential for significant growth opportunities in South America, especially in Ecuador and Peru,” said Scott Neal, senior v-p of worldwide sales for Gulfstream. “Adding Grupo Aeronáutico to our representative network will allow Gulfstream to further capitalize on the increasing interest in our full range of aircraft in these two countries.”
Grupo Aeronáutico has provided transaction services, strategic advice, market research, fleet planning, aircraft operations, and management throughout Latin America. The organization will coordinate closely with Pedro Ruiz, Gulfstream’s regional v-p of sales for South America, and Brent Monroe, Gulfstream’s regional senior v-p of sales for the Western U.S. and Latin America.
“Our relationship with Gulfstream will help continue to grow Gulfstream’s presence in the Ecuadorian market,” said Jimmy Ballesteros, director for Ecuador at Grupo Aeronáutico. Juan Pablo Chirinos, director for Peru at Grupo Aeronáutico, added, “Gulfstream already has a significant presence in Peru in both the super-midsize and large-cabin segment…and we look forward to continuing to grow their presence even further.”
Nomad Technics will serve as a factory-authorized business and regional systems dealer for Collins Aerospace, the Basel, Switzerland-based MRO provider announced last week. As a result, Nomad will have access to Collins's full product line, including avionics and cabin systems for business and commercial aircraft.
Further, Nomad will provide sales, marketing, and aftermarket support to customers using Collins products such as its Venue in-flight entertainment system, Tailwind live TV, and future mandated avionics such as FANS 1/A upgrades.
“We welcome the opportunity to further increase our service level by offering our clients comprehensive maintenance and modification solutions through the Collins [business and regional aircraft]-authorized dealership,” said Nomad director of sales Thomas Gierlich.
Added Nomad Aviation group of companies executive chairman Heinz Köhli: “Nomad Technics’s extensive industry experience, wide manufacturer network, and knowledge of business aviation operations, paired with Collins’s innovative communication and aviation electronics solutions, will be of considerable benefit to both companies and customers alike.”
Clarification
An upcoming European Union Aviation Safety Agency environmental registration deadline applies to operators of aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 34,000 kg (75,000 pounds) or more or 19 or more passenger seats. An article in the November 22 edition of AINalerts stated that the requirement involved both the weight and passenger thresholds instead of either/or.
HondaJet Elite S Wins Top Flight Award for Best New Jet
AIN editors selected the HondaJet Elite S as the best new business jet in the 2021 AIN Top Flight Awards. Building on the success of the original HondaJet, the new $5.4 million twinjet features an increased mtow, flight deck improvements, nosewheel steering system enhancement, and additional paint colors.
Requires installing a protective fairing on both the left and right-hand divans that cover the divan shroud and the side-ledge panel. Prompted by a finding that the divan’s foremost place presents a step between the divan shroud chamfer and the side-ledge panel that could interfere with the correct kinematics of the shoulder belt during its retraction, resulting in the possibility of the shoulder belt getting stuck. This condition may affect the shoulder belt release movement, which could not be available during turbulence or an emergency landing situation, resulting in potential injury to the airplane occupants.
Requires repetitive inspections of collective torque tube assemblies for any deficiency and corrective action, if necessary. Replacement of any affected part with a serviceable part is a terminating action for the repetitive inspections, Prompted by reports of abnormal play on the collective torque tube on two AW119MKII helicopters.
Requires replacing the main gearbox (MGB), or as an alternative, replacing the epicyclic reduction gear module for certain serial-numbered planet gear assemblies installed on the MGB. This AD also requires inspecting the MGB magnetic plugs and MGB filter for particles, as well as inspecting the oil sump for particles for certain serial-numbered planet gear assemblies. Depending on the outcome of these inspections, this AD requires further inspections and replacing certain parts. This AD also prohibits installing certain parts. Prompted by the failure of an MGB second-stage planet gear.
Requires repetitive detailed inspections inside the overhead panel for chafed electrical wires and any necessary corrective actions. Prompted by a report of a short circuit caused by chafing of the electrical wiring in the overhead panel.
Requires modifying the hoist control power supply. Prompted by a design deficiency.
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.
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