JetNet is forecasting the final number of new business jets delivered during 2021 to be “just shy of 700,” the research firm said in its December JetNet iQ Pulse newsletter. That number is about 11 percent over 2020, and next year’s total should climb another 12 percent to about 770 jets.
Because of the lack of inventory of late-model jets, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of jets of all sizes are benefitting, but especially Textron Aviation with its deep product lineup. “For the OEMs,” JetNet said, “2021 has been and will continue to be a year to long remember, when orders were well in excess of deliveries, and firm order backlogs were replenished.”
When the Covid pandemic first took hold, OEMs laid off and furloughed workers and cut production in anticipation of reduced demand, but that soon turned around. Now they face the challenge of accelerating production while suppliers are facing their own problems with material and personnel shortages.
“Further production rate increases are on the horizon,” the newsletter went on, “bolstered by robust demand signals, but constraints driven by highly competitive labor markets throughout the aerospace supply chain represent tangible limits to growth that are a front-and-center focus of management.”
On the five-year anniversary of the opening of Dassault Falcon Service’s (DFS) service center in Mérignac, France, the airframer announced Wednesday the operation will expand its capabilities there to include the Falcon 900EX EASy, 2000EX EASy, and the wide-cabin Falcon 6X, which is set to enter into service next year.
Located close to Dassault Aviation’s final assembly facility near Bordeaux, the Mérignac service center “has proved indispensable in multiple ways,” said Jean Kayanakis, senior v-p of worldwide Falcon customer service and service center network. “It has helped [to take] some of the heavy maintenance load off DFS’s busy Paris Le Bourget facility. Besides, as the service facility most closely linked to our production and engineering teams, it is ideally suited to resolve complex maintenance issues.”
Additionally, Kayanakis said, the service center has become a resource for the customer service organization that Dassault relocated from Paris to Mérignac.
The 7,500-sq-m (80,729-sq-ft), six-bay Mérignac service center was originally opened to support the large cabin, long-range 7X and 8X trijets. Since its opening, the service center has mostly been operating at maximum capacity and has completed 35 of 53 Falcon 7X C-checks, which take a minimum of six weeks to complete. With 62 maintenance crew on staff, Mérignac performs structural repair, cabin refurbishment and modifications, avionics upgrades, carpentry, and paint, as well as heavy maintenance.
Gulfstream Aerospace’s ultra-long-range G700 continues to progress toward service-entry late next year, checking off a number of key tests as 83 percent of its flights from the company’s Savannah, Georgia, headquarters have used a blend of sustainable aviation fuel, the company said.
While it isn’t releasing flight hours at this time, financial analyst Jefferies pointed to Amstat data that showed a dozen G700s have now been produced. Gulfstream has flown six G700s in flight tests, including the first production model with a full interior. Jefferies noted that the remaining six of the 7,500-nm, five-zone aircraft appear customer bound.
Gulfstream, meanwhile, reiterated several tests it had accomplished surrounding envelope expansion, flutter, aerodynamic stalls, flying qualities, flight control systems, and air-data testing. The twinjet has reached Mach 0.99 and 54,000 feet and further trials have included winglet and wing-ice shape stall testing and loads testing. Cold-weather testing was accomplished at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and the aircraft has successfully completed high-altitude engine-performance testing at Telluride Regional Airport in Colorado, at an altitude of 9,078 feet.
The aircraft has racked up several city-pair records, including from Savannah to Doha, Qatar; from Doha to Paris; and from Paris back to Savannah. Further, the G700 has since set records from Houston, Texas, to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and on the return to Savannah.
Jet Aviation’s Fujairah, UAE operation delivered three Bell 412 medium twins to an unnamed customer following major inspection and refurbishment of the helicopters. The five-year inspection required full disassembly of the helicopters, while the refurbishment included new paint and engine upgrades. The company’s Fujairah site has been providing helicopter maintenance, repair, upgrades, and modifications since 2017.
“The helicopters had been parked in different locations across the region for an extended period of time before they were trucked to us in early 2021,” said Jet Aviation Fujairah general manager Mike Conomos. “Coupled with the required paint and refurbishment, each aircraft took an average of 3,000 man-hours to complete. All three deliveries were made on time.”
More than 20 maintenance staff are based at the Fujairah site, which provides helicopter services for customers based in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. “The team drew on all their experience, expertise, passion, and flexibility with this project,” Conomos added.
GE Aviation denies the claims in a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee report released last week that a member of its Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) unit reviewing conformity testing of the company’s new Catalyst turboprop engine—powering Textron Aviation’s new Beechcraft Denali turboprop single—was “overwhelmed by non-ODA unit duties” and not “given enough time to fulfill properly his ODA unit duties.”
The report overviewed details from whistleblowers on conflicts of interest surrounding Boeing 737 Max and 787 certification activities but also included claims that GE Aviation failed to meet its obligations to prevent interference or conflicting duties that affect the performance of authorized functions as an FAA designee surrounding the GE9X and Catalyst programs. As a result of the whistleblower claims, the Commerce Committee is calling for further reviews. The FAA further said it is limiting delegation authorities.
Addressing claims regarding Catalyst activities in a statement to AIN, GE Aviation disagreed that its ODA unit member in Prague who oversees conformity testing was unable to fully perform his ODA duties and was saddled with duties outside his capacity within the ODA. The company noted that its 17-member ODA unit includes four regulatory compliance inspectors in Europe—including Prague—all of whom are available to assist each other.
Further, GE Aviation said neither the claims of the whistleblower, GE Aviation ODA deputy administrator Richard Kucera, nor the report have affected activities or resulted in changes in Prague.
Duncan Aviation completed a Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion upgrade on a Cessna Citation CJ2+—only the fourth such install on that model industry-wide and Duncan's 30th CitationJet—as part of a larger multi-shop refresh of the aircraft that also included paint, interior, and airframe work.
The MRO completed the work at its Lincoln, Nebraska, facility. Interior specialists there worked with Duncan lead designer Heather Pridemore from the company’s Battle Creek, Michigan, facility on the reupholstering of the leather seats, installation of new carpet, and addition of “sharp-looking” lower side ledges. The refurbishment brightened the interior over the previous cabin, which Duncan described as dark, heavy, and dated.
A brighter custom paint scheme incorporating colors of the owner’s business was completed in addition to the avionics swap.
“I upgraded to the Pro Line Fusion suite because it provides more information at your fingertips. It makes your workload as a pilot so much easier,” said Drew Forhan, the owner and operator of the aircraft. “The system allows for more heads up flying, the graphical weather interface is much improved, and the touchscreens are very easy to use.”
“From the quote process to the time during the completion, Duncan Aviation was thorough and accurate in quoting the project and timeline expectations,” said Forhan. “Throughout the process, myDuncan was very helpful in keeping me up-to-date with the plane with pictures.”
The Corporate Angel Network (CAN) today is commemorating 40 years of cancer patient flights. The charitable organization, which arranges free travel for cancer patients aboard corporate aircraft, was established on Dec. 22, 1981, when Leonard Greene, founder and former president of Safe Flight Instrument Corp.; Priscilla Blum, a commercial pilot; and Jay Weinberg, then owner of an Avis Car Rental franchise, jointly came up with the idea of asking corporations to permit patients on board as guest passengers.
Since then, CAN has grown into a nationally recognized charity that to date has arranged more than 66,000 flights and sees to the transport of thousands of patients each year. It has coordinated with more than 500 of America's leading corporations. The flights enable patients to travel to areas that have minimal airline access to seek treatment at specialized centers. CAN arranges transportation for all cancer patients, as well as bone marrow and stem cell donors and recipients.
CAN noted that the pandemic continues to increase demand while causing resources to be limited and said it is hoping to raise $40,000 in recognition of its 40-year milestone.
PWI announced this week that it has received parts manufacturer approval from the FAA for its LED ice light for use on several Beechcraft and Cessna piston and turboprop airplanes, as well as Cessna Citation and Hawker jets.
According to Wichita-based PWI, its LED ice light provides 100,000 hours of life compared with 165 hours from a conventional bulb. It also provides 210 more lumens than replacement LED ice lights, making ice formation more visible. Radiant heat from factory-installed bulbs is also eliminated, thereby reducing lens discoloration, cracking, and warping over the life of the light.
“The PWI LED ice light is a no-compromise solution to overall safety and efficiency that saves money over the life of your aircraft,” said PWI president and CEO Robi Lorik. “[It] is valuable to pilots not just for use in cold and icy weather situations but also for the overall safety of the aircraft. This is peace of mind for pilots.”
The bayonet-mount light has been approved for the Beechcraft Baron 55/58; King Air 90 to 300 series; Beech 99; Beechjet 400A/400XP; Cessna Caravan 208/208B; Centurion 210/P210/T210; Conquest 441; and Citation 525, Bravo, V, Excel/XLS, 650-series, and Sovereign.
FSI Wins Top Flight Award for Maintenance Innovation
Flightsafety Virtual Reality Training was selected for the AIN Top Flight Awards Maintenance Innovation category. FlightSafety International has begun offering virtual reality training on Pratt & Whitney Canada engines at its learning centers. The training includes “X-ray” vision, dynamic engine cutaways, and borescope practice, all of which can meet regulatory requirements. The VR training recently received EASA approval for the practical training portion of one of FlightSafety's PT6 engine training courses. The company provides advanced, technology-based maintenance training for many Pratt & Whitney Canada engine families including turboprop, turbofan, and turboshaft engines as well as for auxiliary power units. FlightSafety has delivered close to 14,000 courses for Pratt & Whitney Canada engines and APUs to customers from 126 countries to date.
Model(s): AS350B/BA/B1/B2, AS350D, AS355E, and AS355F/F1/F2
Published: December 17, 2021
Effective: December 31, 2021
Requires a one-time check of the tail rotor head spider pitch change nut, installation of a black paint index marking, repetitive checks of the marking alignment, and any necessary repairs. This AD also provides conditions for affected part installation on a helicopter. Prompted by an occurrence where, during a TRH pitch change spider inspection, excessive play in the assembly and excessive wear on its parts due to unwanted rotating motion were found.
Supersedes but retains the requirements of EASA AD 2021-0235-E, which mandated repetitive visual inspections of the rivets on the rear transmission shaft bearing support and of the local structure for presence of cracks and any necessary repairs. Updated AD additionally requires visual inspections of the rivet heads on the outside face of the tailboom corner support, as well as the reporting of inspection findings to Airbus Helicopters. Prompted by a reported occurrence of degradation of the rear transmission shaft bearing support, where it was determined that all attachment rivets of the transmission shaft support were sheared.
Requires installing protective rubber borders on the edge of the baggage avionics bay frames. Prompted by the discovery that rubber protection of certain electrical wiring had not been installed in the baggage avionics bay during production.
Requires replacingcertain part-numberedfairings on the main rotor tip lights and prohibits installing any affected part on any helicopter. Promptedby the determination that certain part-numberedfairings were neverintroduced into the main rotor tip lights kit design definitionand were notcertified for icing conditions.
Requires a one-time inspection of the seat belt restraint system and any necessary corrective actions. Prompted by reports of erroneous and/or partial installation of the seat belt restraint system.
Requires revising the airplane flight manual toincorporate new and revised airspeed limitations and procedures at static airtemperatures below-54degrees C. Prompted by a report that theoperationalenvelope does not contain airspeed limitations andprocedures for operating the airplane at static airtemperatures below-54degrees C.
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