Average prices for preowned business jets are expected to continue to climb over the next six months, according to a recent survey ArcosJet conducted of European business aviation companies. Sixty percent of the respondents expressed the belief that prices will see that continued growth and as many estimated that it would be the second half of 2022 when preowned inventory begins to grow again, ArcosJet said.
Meanwhile, 46 percent see the biggest shortage of supply in the U.S. and another 40 percent in Europe. Only 13 percent said they are ready to sell their aircraft five years or younger, while 47 percent said the best time to sell is between five and 10 years and another 40 percent said aircraft should be sold after 10 years.
The survey also delved into model preferences, with respondents spread evenly at 40 percent between the Bombardier Global 7500 and Gulfstream G700 and the other 20 percent with the Dassault Falcon 10X in the ultra-long-range flagship category. In the large business jet segment, ArcosJet said “respondents are willing to consider the entire model range on offer, with a slight tilt towards the Challenger and Falcon platforms,” and the Pilatus PC-24 and Embraer Phenom 300 edging slightly ahead in the light segment.
An industry colleague reached out and requested that I address the topic of overworked A&Ps. In our email exchange, he explained, “It’s getting out of hand.”
As I dug into this subject, I contacted several maintenance leaders within the industry. And the consensus was clear: maintenance professionals are overworked and are dealing with task saturation. Simply put, they have too much to do without the time, tools, or resources to do it.
Adam (not his real name), a director of aircraft maintenance for a major company, provided a much better understanding of this issue. According to Adam, maintaining the airplane should be the primary responsibility and focus of those in his profession. And although that focus is “mission-critical,” he said it’s being diluted by a whole host of ancillary duties that are being piled on aircraft maintenance crew—duties that don't necessarily have anything to do with aircraft airworthiness and readiness, such as crew laundry.
Meanwhile, as aircraft essentially become flying computers, the maintenance professional’s role is changing from that of a largely blue-collar technician to a professional engineer. These more varied and technical skill-oriented roles are becoming the “new normal.”
There are solutions to the challenge of task saturation. It seems apparent that what the industry needs is a reboot of its maintenance professional “roles and responsibilities” standards.
Greenpoint Technologies delivered the first VIP-configured 787-9 to an undisclosed customer, the Moses Lake, Washington-based company announced this week. The company managed the completion from concept through redelivery, including engineering and integration of the custom-built interior, with the cabin designed in collaboration with the client’s representatives. This marks the fifth executive-configured 787 completion that Greenpoint has performed.
The main cabin hosts private VIP areas and a multifunctional living space featuring woven fabrics, wood veneers, and metallic details, complemented by softer indirect lighting. These interior elements create what Greenpoint calls “a beautiful, seamlessly outfitted Boeing 787 showcasing the client’s individual style, designed to the highest caliber, and robustly engineered to meet the aircraft mission requirements.”
This interior completion was performed eight months faster than the time required to complete the first VIP Boeing version of the 787-8 Dreamliner, which Greenpoint delivered. Klaus Koester, CEO of the Boeing completion specialist, credits the company’s detailed processes, planning, and 10-year knowledge base of the composite airframe’s complex systems and structures for the expedited completion.
“This historical achievement is a testament to our team’s dedication to detail and VIP completion expertise,” Koester said. “Greenpoint is grateful for the opportunity to partner with such an amazing client, and we look forward to applying this expertise to future VIP projects.”
Helicopter operator Bristow has launched a collaboration with Overair, marking its fourth such deal with an aircraft manufacturer in the advanced air mobility sector. Under an MoU signed yesterday, the Houston-based transportation group said it has “preordered” between 20 and 50 of Overair’s Butterfly, a five-passenger eVTOL with 100-mile range that is expected to be FAA certified in 2025.
Bristow will provide the California-based startup with guidance on matters including vehicle design considerations, key performance parameters, flight planning best practices, flight operations data sharing, and health monitoring strategies, configuration and maintenance protocols, infrastructure, and ground support operations. It will also contribute to promoting the launch of eVTOL commercial operations.
This deal appears similar to other recent agreements that Bristow has reached with Embraer’s Eve Urban Air Mobility, Vertical Aerospace, and Electra Aero. All of these also involved collaborative work and provisional commitments to add up to 250 of these companies' eVTOL and eSTOL aircraft to Bristow’s fleet. However, the exact commercial terms of these sales agreements remain unclear.
Overair said that “of the vehicles Bristow is currently considering, Butterfly is the only aircraft with a vectored-thrust configuration.” Given its range and 200 mph speed, the Butterfly might be suitable for some of Bristow’s offshore support services, carrying oil and gas workers to platforms in locations such as the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea.
Boom Supersonic recently brought together airlines, engine makers, and other leaders in the travel industry to discuss sustainability innovation and action. Held over two and one-half days in Lake Tahoe, the Net Good Summit drew 50 leaders from companies such as American Express, Japan Airlines, Rolls-Royce, and United Airlines to discuss the future of sustainable travel.
“We launched the Net Good Summit from a belief in the benefits of travel not just for people, but also for the planet,” said Boom president Kathy Savitt. “Sustainability is core to our business, and we understand the role cross-sectoral collaboration can play in solving the wider challenge of making travel sustainable.”
Speakers brought backgrounds in aviation, electric vehicles, clean energy, sustainable fuels, tourism boards, and sustainability nonprofits, and the event covered decarbonizing transportation, enabling technologies, sustainability governance, and responsible tourism.
Boom, which is developing an Overture supersonic airliner that will be able to run entirely on sustainable fuel, said several lessons emerged from the discussions, including the need to ensure there is a culture that stresses the importance of sustainability and that people are the key to bringing meaningful change. Discussions also centered on customers' desire to travel responsibly and the industry's opportunity to accelerate the adoption of clean, renewable energy.
Five Rivers Aviation, the sole service provider at San Francisco-area Livermore Municipal Airport, has completed a new 43,000-sq-ft hangar complex according to schedule. The $9 million project, with 30-foot-high doors that can handle the latest ultra-long-range business jets, now brings the FBO to 75,000 sq ft of hangar space.
The new three-hangar facility, which includes more than 3,000 sq ft of office space, drains for wet-washing aircraft, three-phase power receptacles, and high-speed fiber-optic internet connectivity, was built with environmental sustainability in mind. It incorporated energy-efficient LED lighting; 70 skylights; a reflective-white roof coating with a 99-kW solar array; fully insulated ceilings, walls, and doors; and six electric vehicle charging stations.
In 2014, Five Rivers was selected by the city of Livermore to take over the aircraft servicing operations at the airport, which has a 5,253-foot main runway. The company opened its Avfuel-branded FBO the following year, and this new addition is part of its Phase II construction.
“Five Rivers is thrilled to responsibly develop the Livermore Airport in ways that are compatible with the needs and demands of our thriving community,” said owner Pete Sandhu. “By reducing the friction of conducting business in the Tri-Valley community, we are able to attract new customers and further enable existing businesses to flourish.”
Aery Aviation has acquired 12 Learjet special-mission aircraft (SMA) that will bring its special-missions fleet to 26 and added millions of dollars of support equipment and spares. The additional Learjets will allow the Newport News, Virginia-based company to expand, providing SMA services to the Department of Defense, foreign governments, and commercial customers.
One of the programs the additional Learjets will support is the U.S. Navy High Endurance Electronic Warfare Jet (HEEWJ) contract, which simulates a variety of airborne threats to train and evaluate shipboard and aircraft squadron weapon systems, operators, and aircrew on how to counter potential enemy electronic warfare and electronic attack operations, according to Aery director of flight operations Larry Hecht. “This support is provided in a variety of venues, from basic schoolhouse Air Intercept Control training to large multinational exercises and small, single-unit training exercises,” he added.
For the contract, Aery is modifying three models of Learjet and Gulfstream IV aircraft that will result in the development of more than a dozen STCs for baseline and configuration changes to wing hardpoints, radomes, and other mission-critical systems. The aircraft will be used to conduct banner/target tow operations and a variety of radar/electronic warfare and stand-off-jamming training and fleet operations.
Aery also is building a new facility in Newport News to support heavy maintenance of its fleet.
Charter and FBO operator Sun Air Jets has certified its Signature Select member FBO at Camarillo Airport in California as a Green Aviation Business with Tier 1 status under the National Air Transportation Association’s (NATA) new Sustainability Standard for Business Aviation. The new sustainability initiative was developed by a working group in NATA’s environmental committee to provide FBOs, airports, and other aviation businesses with a self-certification process for cost-effective, carbon-lowering options.
The program encourages the use of more environmentally friendly energy sources, reduction of waste, and promotes sustainability across an entire operation. “NATA is grateful to Sun Air Jets for their input in developing the standard and leadership as an early adopter,” said NATA president and CEO Timothy Obitts. “It is inspiring to see our members’ enthusiasm for meeting the requirements of this sustainability standard and then raising the bar even higher for greater improvement.”
Sun Air Jets business development director Mary Brehm said the company’s goal is to increase its sustainability efforts to allow it to achieve the higher Tier 2 status at its next renewal. Besides Camarillo, Sun Air operates a base at Van Nuys Airport where it recently constructed two green-certified hangars for use by managed aircraft clients.
Photo of the Week
118 years and counting. Today marks the 118th anniversary of the first manned, powered aircraft flight—by the Wright Flyer piloted by Orville Wright at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The airplane stayed aloft for only 12 seconds and flew just 120 feet, but what the Wright Brothers achieved paved the way for modern flying machines that can link cities on opposite sides of the globe nonstop. So thanks to the Wright Brothers for giving us the wonder of powered flight! (Photo: John T. Daniels, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
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