WiJet Closes French Subsidiary

WiJet, which wound down its UK operations last year and switched to an all-HondaJet fleet, has now closed its French subsidiary, based at Paris Le Bourget, saying it will restart operations next month out of Luxembourg. WiJet confirmed the closedown after it became apparent that it was no longer accepting bookings for flights.

Its French subsidiary had been operating under the French equivalent of bankruptcy protection (with court-appointed supervision) after it made arrangements to restructure its debts earlier this year.

The company’s HondaJets, of which it received the first of 16 in March, are flown by Flying Group under a Luxembourg AOC, but they had been available on an arrangement with Air France-KLM called La Première. It is not clear whether this relationship will continue.

WiJet marketing manager Sarah Djeradi told AIN, “The French entity is being shut down as the group has its AOC and fleet in Luxembourg. Bookings are suspended until January 11, 2020, as lease titles are being assigned under our new fleet acquisition covenants.” She suggested the reason for the closure was that its business had “grown in Luxembourg and Belgium with our AOC partners."

The company signed an MoU for 16 HondaJets at the 2018 Singapore Airshow, replacing a fleet of 15 Cessna Citation Mustangs. WiJet signed an agreement with Jet Aviation in May for FBO services.

Brazil’s First Greenfield Bizav Airport Opens

São Paulo Catarina Aeroporto Executivo, Brazil’s first greenfield business aviation airport, opened on Monday with an 8,100-foot/2,470-m runway and 232,500 sq ft/21,600 sq m of ramp space. The facility, capable of handling 200,000 operations per year, required moving more earth than did the Itaipu Dam project, leveling hills and spanning the gaps between them, not to mention an investment of more than $147.7 million amid a recession in Brazil.

Boldly envisioned at the height of Brazil’s aviation boom and initially planned to be ready for the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament, the airport required persistence and dedication by luxury real estate developer JHSF, which sold off other assets while moving forward with Catarina, slowing the pace of development. Some features were axed, such as an auxiliary runway that doubled as a taxiway, but the length of the main runway was maintained.

The 65,000-sq-ft/6,039-sq-m Hangar 01 is joined to a completed FBO, including lounges, meeting rooms, crew accommodations, a gym, cinema, and an area set aside for eventual customs and immigration processing. It features a soaring atrium crossed by suspended walkways reached by an openwork staircase, glass walls and roof, terrazzo floors, and tropical greenery.

During the opening ceremony, a Gulfstream IV made the first official flight into the airport, receiving a water-cannon salute by Catarina’s firetrucks as it taxied to the ramp.

Duncan Creates Online PMA Library

Duncan Aviation has created an online parts manufacturer approval (PMA) library comprising more than 75 PMAs that are available for sale, the Lincoln, Nebraska-based MRO provider announced. PMAs in the searchable library can be found by aircraft, PMA category (such as Aircell, airframe, installations, and interiors), or viewing the full list.

The PMA library is in addition to Duncan’s searchable online library of STCs produced by its engineering and certification departments. Those can be sold as a complete STC package or as individual PMA parts. “You can think of a PMA as an egg that’s a part of an entire carton; the STC is the entire carton, with regard to STCs,” Duncan Aviation PMA project lead Chad Ladwig said. “We can sell the entire carton, the STC, or we can sell the individual eggs, the PMA.”

Since going live with the PMA library, Duncan said it has received multiple requests for quotes, including dust panes for Cessna Citation 550s and 560s and Gogo kit modification parts for a Wi-Fi system.

Gulfstream’s D’Leon To Take NBAA Role as Cotti Retires

Elias “Eli” Cotti, who has provided in-depth expertise and represented the business aviation industry on maintenance and other technical matters for NBAA, is retiring after 20 years with the association. Succeeding Cotti is Stewart D’Leon, who previously spent 14 years with Gulfstream.

Cotti, who joined NBAA in November 1999, has provided technical assistance to business aviation operators and served as the staff liaison to the NBAA Maintenance, Technical, and Connectivity Committees. On a global stage, he has represented the business aviation community as an International Business Aviation Council observer to the ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection. Before his time with NBAA, Cotti spent more than a decade as chief of maintenance for the Hewlett Packard flight department and also has been an aircraft mechanic.

NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said Cotti's expertise, integrity, and humility have allowed him to be “a respected and effective leader for our industry in the U.S. and around the world.”

D’Leon steps into this role after serving as Gulfstream’s field service representative at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. He also spent four years in the U.S. Air Force and holds a bachelor's of science in professional aeronautics and a master's of aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Nomad Completes ADS-B Install on Challenger 850

Nomad Technics recently completed an ADS-B Out installation and six- and 12-month (1,000- and 2,000-hour) inspection and defect rectification on a Bombardier Challenger 850, the Basel, Switzerland-based MRO announced. The Maltese-registered Challenger operates under a commercial air operator certificate (AOC).

Under a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) mandate, aircraft flown in Europe are to be equipped with ADS-B Out by June 7, 2020. The FAA mandate in the U.S. is January 1. Nomad said the ADS-B installation was completed during the inspection process and the Challenger was returned to the owner on time.

An EASA Part 145-approved organization, Nomad Technics is the maintenance division of Nomad Aviation and provides maintenance inspection and non-routine repair work on Bombardier Challenger 600 and 850 series, Global XRS/5000/6000, and Embraer Legacy 600/650 business jets. It also performs similar work on Cessna Citation 525-series aircraft. It operates from a 79,652-sq-ft/7,400-sq-m hangar together with 75,347 sq ft/7,000 sq m of ramp space at the International EuroAirport in Basel.

Funding Agreement To Boost Mx Workforce, Ex-Im

A comprehensive Fiscal Year 2020 funding agreement revealed on Capitol Hill this week is drawing praise for boosting FAA funding, including for technician workforce development, as well as for providing for a long-term reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im). Lawmakers on Monday revealed two sweeping bills to fund most of the federal government, including H.R.1865, which covers the Department of Transportation and a number of other agencies, as well as includes Ex-Im reauthorization. A second bill, H.R.1158, focuses more on security and defense funding. Both cleared the House yesterday.

The agreement would provide the FAA with a $17.6 billion budget for FY2020, slightly below the $17.7 billion level proposed earlier this year, but still $166 million above the FY2019 level and $513 million above the administration request. Of significance is full funding for a new aviation technician workforce development program. Congress previously called for such a program and authorized the spending of up to $5 million annually over five years. The Aeronautical Repair Station Association called the FY2020 funding for the program “a major victory for the aviation maintenance industry."

H.R.1865 would also reauthorize Ex-Im for seven years, a substantial length given Senate reluctance to a long-term period.

ExecuJet MRO Malaysia Gains Philippines Certification

ExecuJet MRO Services Malaysia has received Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) certification for line and heavy maintenance on Dassault, Bombardier, and Gulfstream business jets, the Kuala Lumpur maintenance provider announced. Aircraft covered by the certification include Dassault Falcon 2000EX and Falcon 900EX; Bombardier Challenger 300/350 series and Learjet 45; and Gulfstream G200 and GIV jets.

“The impetus for getting CAAP certification was the increased number of queries from operators in the Philippines,” said v-p of MRO Services Asia for Execujet Malaysia Ivan Lim. “We realized that many of them are looking for a wider range of maintenance options, especially those who usually send their jets to the U.S. for MRO work.”

Lim added the Philippines is the third-largest market in Southeast Asia for business aviation, after Malaysia and Singapore, with about 50 business jets—a number that is expected to grow. The Kuala Lumpur facility and its mobile response team also are close enough geographically to support Philippines customers in AOG situations, he added.

NASA Clears Final Assembly of Low-boom Demonstrator

Last week, NASA cleared the way for final assembly of the $248 million X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) demonstration aircraft. The X-59 is being developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, and is part of NASA’s integrated aviation systems program’s low-boom flight demonstration project.

The aircraft is shaped to mitigate the loudness of sonic booms reaching the ground and will be flown over select U.S. cities to gather data from sensors and people on the ground. Data gathered from the flights will be used to help regulators establish new rules to enable commercial supersonic air travel over land. Supersonic flight over land by civil aircraft is currently banned in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world. Aircraft manufacturers have repeatedly said establishing those regulations is the key to enabling development of a new generation of supersonic aircraft for business aviation and airlines.

Final X-59 assembly and systems integration, including the cockpit external visibility system, is slated for 2020, with first flight expected in 2021. Bob Pearce, NASA associate administrator for aeronautics, said the X-59 is on schedule and on track. “We have everything in place to continue this historic research mission for the nation’s air-traveling public,” he said. 

Tomorrow’s Aviation Challenges

AIN is developing a 14-part series of articles and infographics that speak to “Tomorrow’s Aviation Challenges.” Drawing on the knowledge base of experts at Honeywell Aerospace, AIN will explore a variety of topics over the coming weeks, including safety in the world of autonomous flight, harnessing the power of big data, beyond the 2020 ADS-B mandate, and reducing pilot fatigue to increase productivity and safety.

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