Daher brought in record orders for 100 aircraft as deliveries scaled up to a combined 73 TBM and Kodiak turboprop singles last year, the Tarbes, France-headquartered business aircraft manufacturer announced today. Deliveries edged up from 68 in 2021, while the number of orders doubled year-over-year.
Daher credited the results to its continual improvement strategies, including the unveiling of the TBM 960 with enhanced digital engine control and the larger, faster Kodiak 900. Nicolas Chabbert, senior v-p of Daher’s aircraft division, said these new entrants energized sales, leading to an unprecedented backlog that stretches into 2024.
“Last year’s business performance benefitted from the dedicated efforts of our production, delivery, and sales teams on both sides of the Atlantic, along with our firm engagement to deal with the aviation industry’s continued supply chain challenges and employment shortages,” Chabbert said.
As in previous years, the TBM family accounted for the majority of the deliveries (56), with North American customers accepting 40 of the pressurized turboprop singles. European demand increased, resulting in 11 deliveries, Daher further reported.
Daher also handed over 17 Kodiak 100s during the year to a mix of corporate, business, and special-mission customers, as well as private owners. Most went to North American clients, with one delivered in Europe.
Satcom Direct’s Plane Simple antenna for IntelSat’s Ku-band satellite communications network is now commercially available, the Melbourne, Florida-based aircraft connectivity company announced today. The milestone comes after two years of development, testing, and in-service customer evaluation.
The company partnered with Germany’s Qest to develop the antenna, which consists of two LRUs, the SD modem, and a tail-mounted mechanically steered antenna. The equipment can be installed in unpressurized areas of the fuselage to free up cabin space, according to Satcom Direct. FAA STCs for installation of the Plane Simple antenna are available for the Bombardier Global 5000, 6000, and Express/XRS; Dassault Falcon 2000LX/LXS; and Gulfstream IV through G550. EASA STCs are in hand for the aforementioned Bombardier and Dassault models.
Satcom Direct conducted flight tests of the Plane Simple Ku-band system and the IntelSat FlexExec satcom service on its G550, logging more than 560 hours of flight time. Executive Jet Management was one of the customers testing the new satcom system on a Global 5000.
IntelSat has dedicated the FlexExec satcom service to business aviation so its capacity isn’t shared with airline or military users. Service speed is 15 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up to the satellite, but that will soon grow to 20 Mbps down and, by year-end, to 35 to 40 Mbps down. Coverage is global except for polar regions.
Sheltair will expand its service network in Georgia with the announcement that it has been selected by Gwinnett County Airport (KLZU) to take over the FBO location formerly operated by Gwinnett Aero, whose lease has expired. Florida-based, family-owned Sheltair was chosen at the completion of a request-for-proposal process for the $17 million project. The company operates 20 FBOs in Florida, Colorado, and Texas, as well as a facility in Savannah, Georgia.
“This is an important move for Sheltair into the Atlanta metro area and a large investment to redevelop the significant facilities already on site, almost 220,000 sq ft of hangars,” said Milo Zonka, the company’s v-p of real estate. “Design and construction of a new FBO and restaurant/office facility will commence shortly.” Sheltair will begin operations on April 2 from the existing facility as an Avfuel-branded location.
The company was awarded a 40-year lease on the property at the state’s third-busiest airport, which saw 119,000 operations last year. In its successful proposal to the airport authority, Sheltair claimed that the airport is underutilized and said it intends to market the county—which has growing bioscience, technology, and manufacturing industries—as a business aviation destination.
VIP Completions will display its recently completed Dassault Falcon 2000 “flying showroom” demonstrator next Wednesday at Miami-Opa locka Executive Airport (KOPF) during an NBAA Regional Forum. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based aircraft completions and refurbishment specialist has outfitted more than 600 aircraft and last year decided to undertake the acquisition and revamp its own business jet to show customers its work.
The company’s 22-year-old Falcon features 10 custom-designed seats with Garrett leathers, oak woodwork in a matte-brown finish, carpeting and cabin details using Loro Piana fabrics, and a custom bar area adjacent to the galley and open to the cabin. The aircraft's entertainment systems include a custom Alto audio system calibrated using Alto’s MySound optimization tool, and the cabin management system can be controlled with Creston touch panels at each seat and in the galley.
“We are proud to be taking our very own Falcon 2000 to its first-ever NBAA Regional Forum,” said VIP Completions president Ben Shirazi. “Owning our own business jet is the perfect way to demonstrate what we do. Our Falcon embodies the elegance of contemporary private aviation and the NBAA Regional Forum in Opa Locka is the ideal opportunity for our team to network with the business aviation community.”
Basel, Switzerland MRO Nomad Technics has completed a project involving several modifications along with scheduled maintenance on a Boeing BBJ.
The modifications, for an unidentified customer, included the installation of a quick-access recorder, the replacement of a water heater with a more efficient unit, and the relocation of an infrared sensor—all of which required custom design and engineering that culminated in EASA approval, Nomad Technics said. In addition, the MRO freshened the interior with refurbished seat and credenza leather and touched up cabinet and furniture woodwork.
Nomad said it accomplished the work on time. “We are proud that the flexibility and dedication shown by our team allowed us to incorporate these modifications during the scheduled maintenance work, thus not extending the agreed ground time planned for the event,” said Christian Sacker, director of quality, safety, and compliance.
Nomad Technics, the maintenance division of Nomad Aviation based in Basel, is an EASA Part 145-approved organization that provides maintenance inspection and non-routine repair work on Bombardier Challengers and Globals and Embraer business jets, along with line and base maintenance work on the Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737NG series.
Aircraft can now descend continuously from cruising altitude to final approach without the need for step-down procedures at 11 more airports in Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nevada. These latest optimized profile descents (OPDs), activated throughout 2022, minimize ATC communications and reduce aircraft fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions. The latest additions bring the total of facilities with OPDs to 64.
OPDs, which were introduced in 2014, eliminate stair-step procedures, in which aircraft repeatedly must level off during the descent, requiring the need to increase engine power. This burns more fuel and requires air traffic controllers to issue instructions at each step. With OPD, aircraft descend from cruising altitude to the runway on a continuous path with the engines at near idle.
During 2022, the FAA implemented OPDs for the following airports: Orlando International, Palm Beach County Park, Palm Beach International, North Palm Beach County General Aviation, Pompano Beach Airpark, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale Executive in Florida; Missouri’s Kansas City International; Eppley Air Field and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska; and Nevada’s Reno/Tahoe International Airport. With the latest OPDs in place, the FAA estimates that operators will reduce fuel consumption by 90,000 gallons and greenhouse-gas emissions by 27,000 tons annually.
The state of Illinois has awarded a $2.6 million grant to support workforce training, pipeline development, and apprenticeships at AAR’s MRO at Rockford International Airport. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the investment during an event at the MRO last week that also involved local officials, leaders from Rock Valley College, and AAR executives, along with those of its partners.
This latest award builds on recent state grants that AAR said have helped increase the number of its mechanics in Rockford from 85 in 2019 to 350 this year. Cumulatively, the state will have invested $5.2 million in the company’s mechanic pipeline in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Investment has supported apprenticeships, advanced training, the hiring of training personnel, and partnerships with Rock Valley College and high schools throughout northern Illinois.
“Partnerships like this with companies like AAR model the best of private-public cooperation,” Pritzker said. “We’re opening up a new pathway for students across northern Illinois and giving them a concrete opportunity to pursue well-paying, trained jobs.”
AAR has expanded its workforce strategy to include high school aviation programs, an aviation sheet-metal course at Olive Harvey College in Chicago, an AAR Fellows Program in partnership with Rock Valley College and the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, and the development of an airframe and powerplant test prep course for current AAR employees.
Hartzell Engine Tech recently received FAA parts manufacturer approval (PMA) for its Sky-Tec HT (high tech) starters for Robinson piston-engine R22 and R44 helicopters. The starters work with the helicopters’ Lycoming engines and feature an integrated self-resetting kickback protection system that safeguards the powerplant from engine kickback.
According to Hartzell, the PMA was obtained via the company’s organization designation authorization program. Robinson operators can check the Hartzell Engine Tech website to determine whether their model is covered under the PMA and find distributors.
The new starters are in “full production and available today,” said Keith Bagley, Hartzell Engine Tech president. “They replace our older starters installed by Robinson Helicopter at the factory” and starters manufactured by competitors. Robinson has produced more than 10,000 R22 and R44-series helicopters since 1979. Hartzell Engine Tech offers engine accessories and heating products through its family of brands, including Janitrol Aero, Fuelcraft, Plane-Power, Sky-Tec, and AeroForce Turbocharger System.
Extends the compliance time for a required modification—installing a reinforced horizontal stabilizer and stabilizer rod assemblies—required under the preceding AD. Installing these reinforced assemblies constitutes terminating action for the repetitive inspections of the horizontal stabilizer main spar required by the original AD.
Model(s): AS350B/B1/B2/B3/BA, AS350D, AS355E, AS355F/F1/F2, and AS355N/NP
Published: February 1, 2023
Effective: March 8, 2023
Requires inspection of certain part-numbered tail rotor head spider pitch change units for correct installation of the spider pitch change nut; marking a two- to five-millimeter-wide black paint index mark and repetitively inspecting the alignment of the marking; and any necessary additional inspections and corrective actions. This AD also allows an affected part to be installed on a helicopter if certain requirements are met. Prompted by an occurrence reported where, during an inspection of a tail rotor head pitch change spider, excessive play and wear were detected.
Supersedes but retains the requirements of EASA AD 2021-0283R1, which mandates repetitive visual inspections of the rivets on the rear transmission shaft bearing support and of the local structure for presence of cracks, visual inspections of the rivet heads on the outside face of the tail boom corner support, and any necessary corrective actions. Updated AD also requires a one-time inspection for the presence of finishing paint applied on the gutter and its removal because it could prevent the detection of cracks.
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