First India-made Falcon 2000 Cockpit Assembly Completed

The first Falcon 2000-series cockpit nose assembly made in India by Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd. (DRAL)—a joint venture of Mumbai-based Reliance Infrastructure and Dassault Aviation—is now ready to be delivered. Assembled at DRAL’s facility in Nagpur, the nose section is expected to be ceremonially handed over to Dassault later next week at the Aero India airshow in Bangalore before being shipped to a final assembly line in France.

DRAL’s facility is located in the special economic zone adjoining Nagpur International Airport. The foundation stone was laid 15 months ago “to manufacture several components of the offset obligation connected to the purchase of 36 Rafale Fighters from France, signed between the two governments in September 2016,” Dassault said. Presently, DRAL is slowly building up a supply chain in India having already awarded many of the approximately 2,500 components in the Falcon 2000’s cockpit section.

“We remain committed…to making our humble contribution towards the 'Make in India' and 'Skill India' policies of the government in the critical area of defense, including our offset partnership agreement with our valued partner, Dassault Aviation of France,” said Reliance Group chairman Anil D. Ambani.

Speaking about the joint venture last year, Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier told AIN, “Reliance is our partner and we believe in them,” adding that people in India were being trained to ensure skill sets.

Global Bizav Utilization Moves Higher in 2018

Global business aircraft utilization swung higher in the fourth quarter and all of 2018 without being affected by a slight drop in Part 91/private flights, according to the Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI) Business Aviation Index released today. The index reported 2018 flight activity year-over-year increases of 4.9 percent in the quarter and 4.7 percent for 2018. Part 91 flight activity was down 1.5 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, while Part 135 jumped 9.5 percent in the same period. 

“Despite the dramatic market swings that defined the end of the year, flight hours were up significantly for both the quarter and the year, contributing to 2018 being one of the strongest years in a decade,” said JSSI president and CEO Neil Book.

Among the nine industries tracked by the index that utilize business aircraft, only three of them saw gains last year: aviation, 9.1 percent; business services, 5.4 percent; and power and energy, 3.6 percent. Consumer goods flight activity saw the steepest year-over-year decline in the fourth quarter, at 6.1 percent, followed by real estate (down 4.8 percent) and manufacturing (down 3.9 percent).

Regions with the highest increases in business aircraft utilization last year were Africa, up 17.4 percent; Europe, 8.8 percent; and South America, 8.1 percent. North America rose 2.8 percent.

House Panel To Spotlight Shutdown’s Harm on Aviation

Facing the possibility of another government shutdown at week’s end, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has scheduled a hearing this Wednesday to delve into how the recent 35-day shutdown harmed not only FAA functions, but also the larger aviation industry. Among those scheduled to testify at the hearing, “Putting U.S. Aviation Safety at Risk: The Impact of the Shutdown,” is National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) president Paul Rinaldi, who will emphasize the erosion of layers of safety and detail the stress placed on the workforce during the shutdown, NATCA said.

The hearing follows last week’s introduction of a bill, H.R.1108, which would shield FAA programs and workers from a future shutdown. Introduced by T&I chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) and aviation subcommittee chairman Rick Larsen (D-Washington), that bill would enable funds to continue to flow from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to cover FAA programs and payrolls during shutdowns.

The bill garnered strong support from a cross-section of industry, including NATCA and a number of business and general aviation organizations. “Aviation is among the nation’s most regulated industries, requiring oversight and a host of services from the FAA,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen, noting the bill would avoid a potentially harmful disruption in the event of another shutdown.

Honeywell Consolidating Two Avionics Repair Sites

Honeywell Aerospace confirmed Friday it is consolidating repair and overhaul sites in Renton, Washington, and Wichita, Kansas, into a similar operation in Olathe, Kansas, near Kansas City. “Honeywell is centralizing its repair and overhaul (R&O) operations to better serve our customers,” the company told AIN in a statement.

The consolidation is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The Wichita and Renton operations repair and overhaul electronic equipment such as flight management systems, radios, radars, and actuators. 

About 175 employees in Wichita are affected by the consolidation. “This is not a decision we made lightly as we realize this, unfortunately, affects valued employees,” the statement said. “We’ve provided employees with extensive notice and are also posting roles in Olathe, many of which include potential relocation assistance. We’re encouraging employees to apply for those roles or other Honeywell positions, and will offer severance and outplacement assistance to those eligible.”

Honeywell officials declined further comment on the consolidation. Since 2005, Honeywell has occupied a 60,000-sq-ft building at Wichita Eisenhower National Airport (ICT). 

Customs Comes To Florida’s Witham Field

Starting today, arriving international flights will be able to be cleared at Florida’s Martin County Airport/Witham Field in Stuart, with the opening of a new, stand-alone U.S. Customs facility. The culmination of nine years of planning, the 3,210-sq-ft structure is the first intermodal clearance facility of its kind in the state and will allow pilots, boaters, residents, and visitors to the city to be processed without having to first travel to Fort Pierce or West Palm Beach.

The project, funded through an 80/20 grant partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation Aviation (Multimodal) Division and the Airport Enterprise Fund, will rely on user fees to cover the cost of operations, with fees ranging from $30 for a single-engine piston aircraft to $500 for a heavy jet. It will operate from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Monday.

“Adding a customs facility on the airport field is a major step to accommodating more needs, particularly for international operators looking for reliable, quality FBO services in South Florida,” noted Dan Capen, president of Stuart Jet Center, one of two service providers on the field. “The addition of customs will be great for the airport, the community, and those who visit us.”

Falcon Aviation Gets Saudi GACA Nod for UAE MROs

Falcon Aviation has won new accreditation from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) for business jet and regional aircraft maintenance at its UAE bases. This adds to the Abu Dhabi-based MRO’s existing approvals from the UAE’s GCAA, EASA, Aruba, San Marino, and the Cayman Islands.

“[It] is a significant endorsement for Falcon Aviation to be recognized by GACA and we look forward to delivering the same high level of service and support to customers of Saudi-registered aircraft that we provide to our UAE and international customers,” said Falcon director of engineering Nicolas Tejera.

Falcon is expanding its existing facility at Abu Dhabi Al Bateen Executive Airport to become a leading center for third-party regional aircraft MRO, supporting Bombardier Q400s and, eventually, other types. Falcon is also due to open its new business aviation MRO facility at Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) in the coming months.

“In addition to full C checks, we can offer customers line support, parking, and hangarage during their scheduled visits to Abu Dhabi and Dubai,” said Falcon Aviation service center manager Ronnie McCrae. “We look forward to booking in our first Saudi customers in the first quarter.”

BendixKing AeroVue Enters Service in King Air B200

Stevens Aviation has performed the first field installation of the BendixKing AeroVue integrated flight deck in a King Air B200 at its Dayton, Ohio facility. The MRO owns the B200 AeroVue STC and is considering developing a similar STC for the King Air 300/350, as well as one for the Cessna Citation 560.

“AeroVue is BendixKing’s aftermarket retrofit solution of Primus Epic,” said Roger Dykmann, director of product management for Honeywell’s BendixKing division. “[Epic] has a tremendous amount of heritage and millions of flight hours. AeroVue has synthetic vision and the best human factors and ease of use for this class of aircraft.”

In the King Air, removing the original Rockwell Collins Pro Line II avionics and installing the AeroVue upgrade shaves about 125 pounds off the turboprop twin’s empty weight. It includes new high-resolution displays, autopilot and servos, and a cursor-control device (CCD)-based pilot interface. Standard equipment includes autopilot, SmartView synthetic vision system, ADS-B Out-compliant mode-S transponder, dual-channel ADAHRS, dual WAAS GPS receivers, integrated engine instruments, dual KMA 30D Bluetooth audio panels, Mid-Continent Instruments Standby Attitude Module, and all radios. Options include SiriusXM Weather, radar altimeter, second transponder, and TAWS.

Notably, upgrading the flight deck adds ADS-B Out and LPV approach capability. The AeroVue radios are also VDL Mode 2-compliant and will thus be compatible with upcoming datalink communications requirements.

Lufthansa Refocuses Drone Efforts

The Lufthansa Group is restructuring its drone operations, with its Lufthansa Technik subsidiary now tapped as the drone competence center for the entire group. The MRO is charged with responsibility for strategic matters, portfolio management and the correlation of all drone activities within the group. It will represent the group's interests at national and international bodies and take part in the development of binding standards for the drone industry.

As part of the restructuring, Lufthansa Aerial Services and SafeDrone by Lufthansa Technik are pooling resources to offer their customers a more comprehensive menu of UAS services. SafeDrone's focus will be on providing technical fleet management and monitoring the condition of drones via SafeDrone Health. Lufthansa Aerial Services is responsible for drone deployments at industrial installations such as wind turbines or electrical power lines. The training opportunities previously offered by SafeDrone and SafeDrone Academy will be continued and further developed by affiliated company Lufthansa Aviation Training beginning in March.   

"The realignment of SafeDrone and the integration of Lufthansa Aerial Services' flight operations allow us to combine existing competencies and focus our drone activities on the growing industrial sector,” said SafeDrone project manager Ulrich Hoffmann.

Count on AIN for Full Coverage of Heli-Expo

As ever, you can count on AIN for full coverage of the 2019 Heli-Expo Convention. Our team will publish three of our award-winning daily HAI Convention News editions at the show on March 5, 6, and 7. We will also have comprehensive real-time reporting of all the top news at AINonline.com and in our daily e-newsletters. If you are an exhibiting company that wants to share news or propose pre-show interviews and briefings please contact show editor Kerry Lynch.