First Cessna SkyCourier Gets Its Wings

Textron Aviation marked a key milestone in the development of its Cessna SkyCourier twin utility turboprop, announcing Thursday that it successfully mated the wings to the fuselage of the first prototype aircraft.

“As expected, the operation was sound as the wings were secured on the fuselage, and the new Cessna SkyCourier took another major step in its development,” said Chris Hearne, Textron Aviation's senior vice president of programs and engineering.

The Wichita airframer added the SkyCourier program is “progressing considerably” in the assembly of the prototype and five other flight and ground test articles as well as testing of its landing gear and avionics. The first flight is expected in 2020.

FedEx is the launch customer for the SkyCourier, with 50 firm orders for the airplane and options for 50 more. Configurable for both cargo and commuter operations, it is designed to carry a payload of up to 6,000 pounds with an 87-inch cargo door, a flat floor, and a nearly 70-inch-tall and -wide cabin to accept three standard LD3 air cargo containers. 

In a passenger configuration, it will have seating for up to 19 passengers, with a netted rear cabin area for luggage and equipment. Capable of flying 200 ktas, the aircraft is powered by two 1,100-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC turboprop engines and two new 110-inch McCauley propellers.

FAA Issues New Policy Guidelines on Charters

The FAA has taken a number of actions to ensure FAA aviation inspectors are equipped with the tools and knowledge they need to investigate illegal charter operations, and to highlight this, the agency released several new guidance documents yesterday intended for charter operators, brokers, and passengers.

"Illegal air charter operations pose a serious safety hazard to the traveling public, and the FAA works aggressively to identify and shut down rogue operators,” the FAA stated. “Today, booking a charter flight can be as easy as tapping a few buttons on your mobile device. But that doesn’t mean the flight is legal or safe.”

The new guidance materials include a list of “red flag” items that indicate a company may not be a legitimate operator: if the company provides the aircraft and at least one crewmember, yet attempts to transfer operational control to a consumer via any document; failure to charge customers the Federal Excise Tax (legitimate operators have to charge this); if the price is “too good to be true, it probably is”; no safety briefing or passenger briefing cards; any evasiveness to questions or concerns (legitimate operators should be transparent and helpful); and/or if the pilot or someone associated with the company coaches passengers on what to say or do if an FAA aviation inspector meets the aircraft at its destination.

Ross Aviation Buys Rival in California

Ross Aviation has acquired rival Signature Flight Support’s facility at California’s Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport, which gives it two FBOs at the Palm Springs-area gateway. The new location expands Ross’s leasehold on the airport to approximately 40 acres. It will continue to operate the new location, which includes a 9,000-sq-ft, two-story terminal with offices, 25,000 sq ft of community hangar space and 17,500 sq ft of T-hangars, as Ross Aviation South, retaining most of the former Signature employees. Between the two locations, the company now has more than 122,000 sq ft of hangar space, and agreements with its hangar tenants can boost that number by another 20,000 sq ft of large aircraft storage capability.

“We see Thermal not only as a primary airport serving the Coachella Valley but also as an excellent alternative to other facilities in the region, which are becoming increasingly congested,” said Brian Corbett, Ross’s recently-named CEO. “We anticipate hosting traffic from a variety of previously traditional destinations in the area, and now have the ramp space and hangar capacity, along with outstanding passenger and crew facilities, to accommodate them comfortably throughout the year.”

The airport briefly had three separate FBOs as the Desert Jet Center debuted its brand new, multi-million-dollar facility in October, replacing the temporary trailers that it had been operating from.

Bahamas Airports See Progress in Storm’s Wake

The Bahamas’ Leonard M. Thompson International Airport, one of the two aviation gateways on Hurricane Dorian-ravaged Abaco Island to supply fuel, reopened last week to international operations. Known colloquially as Marsh Harbor Airport, the facility, along with its 5,000-foot runway, suffered damage to its terminal, which serves both commercial and private operations. The primary issue, however, was rebuilding the perimeter fencing that was destroyed and replacing baggage screening equipment in order to meet U.S. TSA requirements, according to Algernon Cargill, the Bahamas director of aviation.

Abaco’s Treasure Cay Airport, which was popular with private jet operators for its 6,900-foot runway, has remained closed to international operations since the August storm, and the government noted it plans to make the airport, which previously had limited commercial service, into a dedicated GA airport. It is looking to select an FBO services provider to rebuild the devastated airport and take over operations on a lease and revenue-sharing basis. Cargill told AIN he has had discussions with interested parties, but there is no timeline as to when a deal might be reached.

Privately-owned Grand Bahama International Airport also recently reopened. The airport, which was inundated with water, had its commercial terminal destroyed. All flight operations there have since shifted to the FBO building, which survived the storm relatively intact. Private aviation traffic continues to be processed there as well.

IS&S Engine-out Autothrottle Certified in King Air

The FAA has awarded an additional supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Innovative Solutions & Support ThrustSense King Air B200 autothrottle, following the system’s first STC in May. The new STC covers engine-out mode/Vmca mitigation as well as the use of IS&S’s Integrated Standby Unit (ISU), which is required for the STC, as a standby instrument that can replace other standby systems. The engine-out/Vmca is the first STC ever approved by the FAA for this functionality, according to IS&S.

The engine-out mode/Vmca mitigation capability automatically detects the failed engine in any phase of flight and manages the power on the good engine to prevent loss of directional control.

Installation of the ThrustSense system includes IS&S’s ISU, which contains the processing hardware and software that runs the autothrottle as well as the pilot controls and interface for the system. The ISU is also a certified standby instrument, with altitude, attitude, airspeed, slip/skid, and primary flight and navigation information, according to IS&S.

The ThrustSense autothrottle does not involve any structural modifications to the throttle quadrant, and it features a clutch-less design. In addition to the engine-out safety features, ThrustSense also automatically controls power settings of the King Air’s Pratt & Whitney PT6A engines by matching power to the selected airspeed and protects against exceeding torque and temperature limits.

Learjet 75 Liberty Mockup Lands in Scottsdale

A full-scale cabin mockup of the Bombardier Learjet 75 Liberty will make a three-day appearance next week in Scottsdale, Arizona, a popular winter destination. The new light jet was launched in July as a rescoped variant of the Learjet 75 with fewer seats and options, shaving about $3 million off the price tag—to $9.9 million—while keeping the performance.

Bombardier unveiled the mockup of the six-seat passenger cabin two months ago at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas. That was followed by a showing last month in Florida at the Wings Wheels Water kickoff event for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

In Scottsdale, the Liberty mockup is being made available for private viewing by appointment from December 27 to 29 at Ross Aviation. Guests will be able to experience the aircraft’s “executive suite”—two seats adjacent to two ottomans and fold-out tables—in the forward section and club-four seating in the aft.

“The success of the Liberty mockup [at NBAA-BACE] reflects a strong desire from the market for a light jet that offers more comfort, power, and range,” said Bombardier Business Aircraft senior v-p of worldwide sales and marketing Peter Likoray. The jet’s price point and operating costs make it accessible to more customers, he added.

Bombardier said the Learjet 75 Liberty will enter service in mid-2020.

BJT Survey: Bizav Users Are in Buying Mood

More than a third of the 2,225 respondents to AIN sister publication Business Jet Traveler’s ninth annual Readers’ Choice Survey expect to purchase a fractional jet share (personally or as a company owner or employee) over the next 12 months. Other planned purchases include a business jet (32 percent of respondents), charter services (18 percent), a jet card (13 percent), turboprop aircraft (12 percent), business aviation consulting services (11 percent), and a helicopter (6 percent).

Nearly half of readers expect to fly “a bit” or “much” more in the year ahead, while only 8 percent will fly “a bit” or “much” less. Forty-five percent expect to fly “about the same” amount.

NetJets received the highest ratings for overall satisfaction among fractional-share providers, as well as among charter, jet card, and membership-club providers. Pilatus Aircraft scored highest for overall satisfaction among airplane manufacturers, while Robinson earned that distinction among helicopter companies.

Asked to indicate which of six innovations would most interest them, readers most often picked supersonic business jets, with widely available per-seat charter a distant second.

The full survey results include readers’ picks for preferred business aircraft in 13 categories.

West Star Conducts First Two-Decade Global Express Check

West Star Aviation’s facility in East Alton, Illinois, has completed the company's first 20-year inspection on a Bombardier Global Express.

The 240-month inspection incorporated a nose gear overhaul, upgrades of the existing Honeywell DU875 avionics with Primus Elite enhanced features, and several service bulletin updates, including one for the inboard flap. A complete strip and repaint of the large-cabin twinjet was performed concurrently as part of the 13-week project.

“Considering West Star’s extensive experience with Global Express aircraft, we stand ready for additional inspections coming due in 2020 and look forward to providing these operators with a full range of inspection and service capabilities,” said Steve Bates, the location’s technical sales manager.

East Alton is one of the company’s four primary service locations, along with Grand Junction, Colorado; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Perryville, Missouri. The company specializes in repairs and maintenance of airframes, engines, and APUs, along with avionics installation and repair, major modifications, cabin refurbishments, painting, surplus avionics sales, and parts service.

MedAire Develops Tools To Respond to In-Flight Medical Emergencies 

Passengers flying in an aircraft can find themselves in a medical emergency very suddenly, and that leaves the flight attendant having to figure out what kind of care that patient needs. MedAire has developed tools that flight crews can use to communicate with doctors on the ground in real time.