Gulfstream Delivers 400th G650-Family Twinjet

Gulfstream Aerospace yesterday delivered the 400th G650/650ER, some five years after the first of the ultra-long-range twinjets entered service. The milestone aircraft was handed over to an undisclosed U.S.-based customer, the Savannah, Georgia-based aircraft manufacturer said.

“Business jet travelers the world over have long recognized the G650ER as the leading combination of speed and range in the business aviation sector,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “Its achievements and accolades have only mounted since its introduction, including 100-plus city-pair speed records, the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy, and the title for the farthest, fastest business jet flight in history. We could not be more pleased to deliver the 400th aircraft in the G650 and G650ER fleet.”

Since entering service just five years ago, the G650 family “quickly gained recognition for its ability to connect far-flung cities at the fastest speeds,” the company said. “The G650ER offers passengers both style and comfort with the signature Gulfstream cabin experience, featuring 100 percent fresh air, the lowest cabin altitude in business aviation, quiet sound levels and 16 of the industry’s largest windows.”

The G650 can fly up to 7,000 nm/12,964 km at Mach 0.85, while the G650ER has a range of 7,500 nm/13,890 km at the same long-range cruise speed. Both aircraft have an Mmo of Mach 0.925—the current top speed for in-production civil aircraft.

AINsight: Believe It or Not

I have written lately about judging preowned business jet market conditions by the subject lines of the e-blasts we all receive daily. This year, they have changed and speak to what could look on the surface to be much weaker than reality. The constant number of “Price Reduced,” “Must Sell,” or “Owner wants to be next to sell” might lead those watching to believe that the market is moving downward quickly.

The greater outcome of this perception is to send buyers to the fence to sit, thinking that waiting would be better than acting now. However, I disagree with this perception of a rapidly falling market; many sellers have come to market not trusting the professional hired to market their airplane and are throwing a dart at the wall to pick an asking price.

Sellers using this dart pricing method and then taking a no-hurry-to-sell approach results in a delay to find what the right price should really be. When that is finally achieved and they announce a new price, unnecessary time on the market occurs and a perception of weakness in the overall market is reinforced.

This market is not in a free fall. It is simply in a natural progression and will reward those who set better asking prices and expectations, resulting in shorter days on the market. Believe it or not!

P&W Investing $30M in West Virginia Engine Service Site

Pratt & Whitney (P&W) has selected its West Virginia engine services facility as the site for maintenance, repair, and overhaul of its PW800 turbine engines, specifically the PW814GA and PW815GA engines that power Gulfstream G500 and G600 twinjets, the engine maker announced yesterday. As part of the selection, P&W will invest $30 million in the Bridgeport facility, which encompasses nearly 193,000 sq ft. 

“This decision was based on the site’s wealth of technical expertise in business aviation engines and its excellent record in providing quality, speed, and value for our customers,” P&W customer service v-p Satheeshkumar Kumarasingam said. “Adding the game-changing PW800 engine to their repertoire of business aviation engines will equip and upskill the facility with high-value service engineering jobs.”

Fifty new jobs will be added at Bridgeport for the new work, which will eventually include other PW800 engine models. Bridgeport has been designated a center of excellence for P&W turbofans and serves as the specialist MRO for PW300 and PW500 engines, a spokeswoman told AIN.

FAA, Industry in Push To Be Ready for ADS-B

As the 2020 ADS-B deadline approaches in just a few weeks, the FAA is putting the final pieces in place to address privacy and security concerns, as well as to enable limited use of waivers, said Jens Hennig, GAMA v-p of operations and the chairman of the ADS-B Equip 2020 working group. The Equip 2020 group met this week to review the status of ADS-B efforts. As far as equipage, the FAA reports more than 102,000 U.S. aircraft now have properly installed ADS-B avionics. “The FAA continues to promote ADS-B equipage and is observing positive trends in the number of equipped aircraft,” the agency said.

While equipage is ongoing, the FAA has been working with industry groups, including AOPA, to beta test a waiver process for operators flying aircraft not yet equipped. That process, the ADS-B Deviation Authorization Pre-flight Tool (ADAPT), is anticipated to roll out this month, the agency said. AOPA president and CEO Mark Baker cautioned that the FAA’s intention is not to provide a flow of waivers.  

The agency is also planning to put a program in place by the end of the month to assign ICAO codes that decouple from aircraft registration numbers to protect the privacy of the aircraft. Plans call to hand over that program to a private vendor next year.

Landsberg Advocates For GA Aircraft Engine Data Analysis

NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg led a wide-ranging discussion that touched on a variety of topics including the dangers of pilots transporting marijuana-laced brownies and the ineffectiveness of Notams during a 45-minute-long presentation Wednesday at the Wichita Aero Club’s December luncheon. One topic that was of personal interest to Landsberg was a need to give greater attention to retrieving and analyzing data from reciprocating engines to prevent in-flight engine failures.

“We’re in the era of big data,” he said. “There’s all kinds of information out there that makes our job, if something bad happens, much easier to do. But I’d rather see us be a little more proactive on some things.”

Landsberg said that on his older model reciprocating airplane he has the oil analyzed each time it’s changed. And every 20 hours or so he downloads and checks the data he gets from his engine analyzer. He’s also a proponent of regular borescope inspections, which he maintained are “very easy to do” by removing a spark plug. “And then you can see the condition of your exhaust valves. And there is a pattern by which you can see them start to fail about 25 to 50 hours before really bad things happen.

“I think the manufacturers, both engine and airframe, could be doing more in this area of encouraging pilots to do that.”

Errant Drone Pilot Fined $20,000

The FAA has fined the pilot of an errant recreational drone $20,000 for landing next to an active runway in Las Vegas. Reuben Burciaga lost control of his DJI Phantom 3 shortly after launching it from a parking garage in June 2018 and flying toward the 550-foot tall passenger observation wheel at the Linq Hotel’s open-air entertainment complex on the Las Vegas strip. It then continued to fly on its own, uncontrolled, at an altitude up to 450 feet agl until landing at the airport. The garage was within the normal five-mile drone exclusion area around McCarran International Airport.

After tracing the drone to Burciaga, the FAA cited him for nine separate violations, including flying in controlled airspace, flying over people, and posing a hazard to other aircraft. He was initially fined $14,700, which was increased to $20,000 when he failed to appeal or pay on time.

In a video posted to YouTube, Burciaga seemed to blame the Secret Service, which he said was in town of the day of the drone flight to guard President Trump. He claimed the Secret Service “intercepted” his drone. If true, this could expose Burciaga to criminal charges related to violation of a presidential TFR. Trump arrived in Las Vegas on the morning of June 23, 2018, to deliver a speech. The Secret Service does employ various counter-UAS technologies.

Cherokees Tap FlightSafety for UAS Training

Cherokee Nation Strategic Programs (CNSP) has selected FlightSafety International (FSI) to provide unmanned systems training. CNSP is a member of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks FAA UAS integration pilot program (IPP). FSI provides UAS training in the Las Vegas area and at several other training centers in the U.S.

Courses are built to the FAA's UAS standards and to those of other aviation regulatory authorities around the world. CNSP curriculum begins with eLearning Part 107 test preparation and eLearning UAS essentials library, followed by theoretical and practical UAS instructor-led training. FSI’s Part 107 test preparation course meets certification Level 1 requirements, while the instructor-led courses satisfy Levels 2 and 3 certification requirements. FAA Wings credits also are available via the IPP.

In addition to Part 107 written test preparation, FSI eLearning UAS courses include resource management, fatigue management, and safety management systems for UAS operations, as well as a free flight risk assessment tool (FRAT) via Apple’s iTunes app.  

Coulson’s Firefighting Setup To Equip Cal Fire C-130s

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Coulson Aviation a $39.26 million firm-fixed and cost-type contract to install its Retardant Aerial Delivery System (RADS)-XXL Firefighting Systems on seven C-130H. The aircraft are to be operated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the Canadian-based operator of heavy fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and designer of special missions modifications announced. Installation of the RADS-XXL systems will be performed at Lockheed Martin’s Greenville, South Carolina facility.

"We are the first system in the industry to employ technology to not only aid and reduce the workload of the pilots, but also produce a superior drop pattern on the ground,” said Coulson Aviation’s Britt Coulson.

Coulson first developed and installed RADS in 2011 to equip its own C-130H/Q for aerial fire suppression. The Port Alberni, British Columbia-based company has more than 25 years of experience in aerial fire suppression.