Gulfstream’s G500, G600 Demonstrate Steep-approach Ops

Gulfstream Aerospace’s G500 and G600 have both demonstrated steep-approach landings into London City Airport in England, as well as Lugano Airport and Sion Airport in Switzerland. With their low-speed handling and short-field landing capabilities demonstrated, FAA and EASA steep-approach approvals for these jets are anticipated next year.

Following the completion of the landing demonstrations, the G500 and G600 each logged city-pair speed records from London City Airport. They both averaged cruise speeds of Mach 0.90 and above.

The G500 made a 3,077-nm journey to Teterboro Airport near New York in 6 hours and 46 minutes. This was a 12-minute improvement of the previous record despite encountering challenging headwinds, Gulfstream reported. Meanwhile, the G600 flew to Seattle, completing the 4,235-nm flight in 8 hours and 39 minutes.The records are pending approval by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association and Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in Switzerland. 

In addition to steep approach approval, the G500 is on track for certification of improved takeoff performance operations on grooved runways in wet conditions in early 2022. The G600 already has received this approval from the FAA and EASA, which Gulfstream said provides increased flexibility and range options when operating in wet runway conditions.

Dassault Falcon Jet Considers Closing Wilmington MRO Site

Dassault Falcon Jet is weighing whether to shutter its heavy service center at New Castle Airport in Wilmington, Delaware, the French airframer told AIN. Operating from four hangar bays totaling more than 300,000 sq ft, the 21-year-old site also includes a paint shop and FBO for Falcon operators.

According to the company, there are “continuing challenges specifically facing the Wilmington facility,” and its management team met earlier this week with the site’s union representatives to discuss “steps that may need to be taken in the future.”

“Included in the list of possibilities is the orderly closure of the Wilmington-based MRO and FBO operations,” added Dassault Falcon Jet. While the company did not identify the site’s challenges, the union representing the Wilmington workers filed a case with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this year that includes an allegation of “refusal to bargain/bad faith bargaining” on the part of Dassault Falcon Jet.

Last week, the service center also issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Notices to its MRO and FBO employees there, providing them 60-days advance notice of a potential closing. In the meantime, management and union representatives are expected to meet again in the “near future” to continue discussions. The Wilmington site will continue to operate normally in the interim, the company added.

Jet Aviation Launches SAF Book-and-claim Program

Jet Aviation has partnered with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) provider SkyNRG to launch its book-and-claim service. Book-and-claim will allow more SAF usage throughout the entire system by enabling aircraft operators who choose to use the renewable fuel to purchase it even where it is not physically present, with the actual fuel being dispensed at another location—typically near an SAF production center—to a different aircraft.

The volume of SAF in the transaction is tracked and verified and the carbon emissions reduction credits are assigned to the purchaser of the fuel rather than to the aircraft owner that receives it. This process ensures the environmental benefits are properly accounted for, including the avoidance of unnecessary fuel transportation, which could result in diminishing the SAF’s lifecycle greenhouse gas reductions. Jet Aviation offers continuous supplies of SAF at its FBO at California’s Van Nuys Airport and this week announced it will do the same at its Amsterdam Schiphol location in the Netherlands.

“As a global company with global customers, we are committed to contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and are pleased to partner with SkyNRG to make SAF more widely accessible,” said Jet Aviation president David Paddock. “Global access to SAF through book and claim brings us one big step further in ensuring everyone can choose to be part of the climate solution–anywhere, anytime.”

Coalition Predicts ‘Significant’ Delays from 5G C-Band

A coalition of diverse aviation groups yesterday predicted “significant disruptions to the National Airspace System due to the rollout of 5G technologies in the C-band unless the FCC acts to mitigate the concerns.” The reaction comes one day after the FAA issued a pair of airworthiness directives that would ban certain aircraft operations linked to aircraft radar altimeters in areas of likely or demonstrated 5G C-band interference.

Currently, 5G C-band frequencies are scheduled to be activated on January 5. The coalition called for this date to be delayed to enable the further technical study of the issue.  

In a joint statement issued by the Aerospace Industries Association, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), Airlines for America (A4A), EAA, HAI, AOPA, NBAA, Regional Airline Association (RAA), National Air Carrier Association (NACA), GAMA, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the industry groups foresee “delayed and canceled passenger flights; delayed air cargo shipments; significant schedule disruptions; and the inability for first responders, military, and law enforcement to fly helicopter missions."

Last month, AT&T and Verizon proposed to modestly reduce their 5G power levels in C-band at an undefined number of airports for six months, which the aviation coalition called “inadequate and far too narrow to ensure the safety and economic vitality of the aviation industry."

Jet It Goes Bigger with Gulfstream G150 Fleet Additions

Jet It, the North Carolina-based fractional operator of HondaJets, is adding two Gulfstream G150s to its fleet to enable transcontinental U.S. flights and increased capacity for its shareowners while beginning a long-term plan to add the larger HondaJet 2600 to its fleet.

“The G150 will lead to a seamless integration of cross-continental travel for our shareowners,” said Jet It co-founder and CEO Glenn Gonzales. “Honda’s commitment to aviation with the announcement of the HondaJet 2600 is exciting, and we intend to be the launch customer when the aircraft becomes available.”

Honda Aircraft unveiled plans for the 2600 concept twinjet—with a range of 2,625 nm and seating for up to 11 passengers—at NBAA-BACE 2021 in October. The company presented it as a concept for market research and said a decision on commercialization would come later.

Gonzales said shareowner feedback led Jet It to add the G150, which seats eight and has a 3,200-nm range. “Three years in, we’re excited to add larger, longer-range options with an auspicious business plan,” he added.

Bidding for Piaggio Aerospace To Reopen

The bidding process for the sale of Piaggio Aerospace is reopening after negotiations with a single prospective buyer faltered and the terms of that buyer had fallen outside of the parameters of the tender, Piaggio Aerospace extraordinary commissioner Vincenzo Nicastro reported. Piaggio, which entered extraordinary receivership in late 2018, had obtained approval from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development to negotiate with a single potential investor, reportedly a consortium headed by the Swedish fund Summa Equity.

The exclusivity, however, expired on September 15 after “no formal step has been taken from their side,” Nicastro said. “The potential investor made us just aware of what the conditions would be for the purchase. These conditions were…not consistent with the tender rules.”

In agreement with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, “we decided therefore to start discussions with other parties interested in purchasing the company assets,” he said. Details for bidding are anticipated in the next few weeks.

Nicastro is encouraged that Piaggio appears to be in a stronger position for a new buyer with employment currently numbering around 900 workers and the company completing one of its best financial years in recent history, including an expected turnover of €150 million ($169 million) and a €500 million order portfolio. In addition, another €180 million in orders are in the process of being finalized, he said.

4AIR Teams with Cambridge on Net Zero Flight Initiative

Aviation sustainability solutions company 4AIR has partnered with the Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA)—led by the University of Cambridge—to develop interactive, evidence-based tools to engage decision-makers, aviation industry, and the public about how to achieve Net Zero Flight. The partnership is being financed by 4AIR and its Aviation Climate Fund, which uses contributions from 4AIR clients based on their carbon footprint to support research and development for future aviation technologies and emission reduction solutions.

“To meet ambitious sustainability goals such as Net Zero Flight, we will need future technologies that enable actual emissions reductions within the industry beyond carbon offsets and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),” said 4AIR president Kennedy Ricci. “Our partnership with the Aviation Impact Accelerator will support bringing the leading academics and industry practitioners together to identify new paths to Net Zero Flight.”

With this support, the Aviation Impact Accelerator will advance efforts to help achieve emissions reductions by capturing the entire system, from the sources of power and raw materials to the production and transport of fuel and the introduction of new aircraft technologies and operations. This will provide a comprehensive picture to guide support around new technologies, the partners said.

MD Helicopters Partners With UAV Leasing for Air Taxis

Dublin-based UAV Leasing has signed a general representation agreement with MD Helicopters that will allow it to sell and lease that company’s new aircraft. UAV Leasing said it plans to develop an air taxi service using the MD530F turbine light single helicopter, as well as to offer these helicopters to law enforcement customers in concert with UAV Leasing’s long-endurance, unmanned CS23 platform for border patrol or maritime surveillance as part of a turn-key solution to government customers.

The MD530F was particularly suitable for short-haul air taxi service because of its “competitiveness in terms of maintenance and operating costs,” UAV Leasing said. The agreement includes Ethiopia, France, Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, India, South Africa, Sweden, and Switzerland. UAV Leasing said the addition of helicopters allows it to “tailor modern and effective hybrid airborne solutions and to become a one-stop shop for governmental agencies requiring extremely long monitoring missions as well as rapid deployment platforms.”

UAV Leasing was founded in 2019 by aviation entrepreneur Charles Hergott. The company currently provides consulting services for the implementation of medium and high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned platforms for border patrol organizations.

Wheels Up's Dichter Wins Top Flight Award for Innovation

Wheels Up CEO Kenny Dichter is the winner of the 2021 Top Flight Awards Excellence in Innovation/Design category. In 2013, he launched Wheels Up, and less than a decade later, it has become the largest Part 135 operator in the U.S thanks to a series of recent and rapid acquisitions. Wheels Up became a publicly-traded company last year, and projects an annual run rate of close to $1 billion this year.