Gulfstream To Close Service Center in Brazil

Gulfstream Aerospace is closing its service center at Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airport in Sorocaba, Brazil, near São Paulo, the company confirmed yesterday. It opened a factory-owned service center in Sorocaba seven years ago, initially taking over a hangar from sister company Jet Aviation in 2012 and then relocating to a larger, 34,768-sq-ft facility across the field in 2014.

The company made the decision to close the facility “after considerable research and evaluation,” adding, “We remain committed to our operators in Latin America and have a plan in place to support them.” Currently, there are approximately 200 Gulfstreams based in Latin America.

To offset the loss of its Sorocaba location, Gulfstream is expanding its Field and Airborne Support Teams (FAST) in the region and integrating them with a to-be-announced authorized service provider in Brazil. (It is keeping the Sorocaba facility open with minimal staffing for drop-in service appointments until such a third-party agreement is established.) Further, the company is expanding its West Palm Beach, Florida service center, which it said “has been the center of choice for most customers in Latin America.”

In addition, the company said the more than 400 technicians and support personnel added to its customer support organization last year complements existing Gulfstream-authorized facilities in Venezuela and Mexico. It will also retain its two field service representatives in Brazil.

Used Bizjet Inventories About To Climb, Says Analyst

The tight inventory of used business jets is about to loosen up in the midst of economic and regulatory changes, according to a new report from Brian Foley Associates. “We’re at the trough now, in my mind,” Brian Foley, president of the firm, told AIN. A 10-year run of declining used jets for sale is poised to reverse itself gradually from its current level of 9 percent of the fleet for sale to a historical average of 12 percent, according to the report. 

Signs of early economic fatigue in the U.S.—the country with the largest concentration of business jet buyers—is one of the reasons leading Foley to this conclusion. So are historical trends. The last two times used jet inventories contracted, in the 1990s and 2000s, the contraction’s duration was between six and seven years. The current contraction “has already exceeded those periods by three to four years, which suggests statistically that a correction is overdue in this cyclical business,” the report notes.

And the looming ADS-B mandate in the U.S. and Europe will force some jet owners to put up their aircraft for sale rather than comply with the rule because of the cost, it says. But slowly climbing used inventories aren’t expected to affect new business jet sales, according to the report, because those buyers aren’t interested in older preowned aircraft. 

In Shutdown’s Wake, Industry Unites on FAA Funding Bill

A House bill to shield the FAA from future government shutdowns is picking up support and has “galvanized” an industry once sharply divided on funding of the air traffic control organization, industry leaders agreed. Some 40 organizations signed a February 12 letter to the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee and aviation subcommittee leadership strongly endorsing the bill, H.R.1108, which would allow the aviation trust fund to cover all FAA expenses during times of future shutdowns and permit workers there to continue to get paid.

“The effect on the nation’s air transportation system and the workers charged with keeping the system safe was dramatic,” the letter stated of the recent 35-day shutdown. “We find this situation to be unacceptable.”

Testifying before the aviation subcommittee today, GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce told lawmakers he hasn’t seen the industry as united as strongly on an issue as it has on H.R.1108. Airlines for America president and CEO Nicholas Calio agreed, saying the industry has come together.

During the hearing, Bunce and Calio joined several other industry leaders who went into depth on some of the ramifications of the shutdown. Bunce noted one manufacturer had weighed furloughs because it couldn’t get FAA flight-test personnel in on its flight-test program. A major manufacturer was also experiencing roughly a $10 million monthly burn rate on certification delays.

Lufthansa Technik Earns Saudi Maintenance Nod

Lufthansa Technik has received approval from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation to perform maintenance on Saudi-registered aircraft. Last month, the company’s Middle East division performed its first A-check on a Saudi Airbus A320 in the hangar of DC Aviation Al-Futtaim at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC).

The 400 man-hours check included examination of all systems necessary for flight safety, the exchange of several components, and the completion of Service Bulletins. It also included cooperation from the DC Aviation/Al-Futtaim Group joint venture at DWC.

“We are only the second VIP MRO supplier in the Gulf region approved for Saudi-registered aircraft of the Airbus ACJ320 family and Boeing BBJ types,” said Omar Aker, Lufthansa Technik’s regional sales manager. “The first A-check maintenance has been finished within budget and ahead for schedule.”

“The cooperation agreement with Lufthansa Technik takes advantage of our facility and the increasing infrastructure available, thereby providing the strong foundations for offering maintenance services to our customers both in the region and beyond,” said Holger Ostheimer, the facility’s managing director. “The agreement also enables us to further diversify our technical knowledge through the larger number of aircraft types being supported.”

FAA Mandating Exterior Registration Numbers on Drones

Effective for flights starting after February 25, owners of small drones will have to begin displaying their FAA registration numbers on an outside surface of their aircraft, the agency announced today. When the FAA first required registration of small drones in 2015, it mandated that the registration marking could be placed in an enclosed compartment, such as a battery case, if it could be accessed without the use of tools.

Subsequently, law enforcement officials and the FAA’s interagency security partners have expressed concerns about the risk a concealed explosive device might pose to first responders upon opening a compartment to find a drone’s registration number. The agency believes the new requirement will “enhance safety and security by allowing a person to view the unique identifier directly, without handling the drone.”

The FAA has issued this requirement as an interim final rule with comments due by March 15. The agency said it “will then review any submissions to determine if the provisions of the final rule should be changed.”  

Separately, the FAA has also issued two new notices of proposed rulemaking to allow drones to fly routinely at night and over people without obtaining a waiver and to further integrate them safely into the nation’s airspace. The comment period for these proposals ends April 15.

Bell 407GXi Receives China Nod

Bell has received type certificate approval for its 407GXi light single helicopter from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Bell revealed the 407GXi in February 2018 and made its first customer delivery in October to a Chilean customer. Currently, more than 1,400 Bell 407 series helicopters are in operation worldwide.

In 2017, Shaanxi Helicopter ordered 100 Bell 407s as part of its plan to build an air medical rescue and law enforcement network in China. Deliveries of the new helicopter in China are expected to begin this month. The 407GXi is equipped with the Garmin G1000H NXi integrated flight deck and the dual-channel Fadec Rolls-Royce M250-C47E/4 turboshaft engine. The G1000H NXi integrated flight deck on the helicopter provides high-definition displays and faster processors, increased brightness and clarity, faster start-up and map rendering speed, and enhanced pilot situational awareness. Options include the Garmin FlightStream 510 that allows pilots to upload flight plans from smart devices.

The new M250-C47E/4 engine features dual-channel Fadec with full automatic relight. It delivers 2 percent improved fuel efficiency and 8 percent more power in hot-and-high environments. The 407GXi also is available with a newly designed executive cabin with a five-seat club layout.

Dart Secures Multiple Approvals for H135 Crosstubes

Dart Aerospace is expanding its landing gear product portfolio, securing approvals in recent months from Transport Canada, the FAA, and EASA for its Airbus Helicopters EC/H135 replacement crosstubes.

“This achievement represents a key milestone for DART’s landing gear portfolio. The development presented significant design, manufacturing, and certification challenges,” said David Shepherd, Dart Aerospace vice president of certification, noting the part marks Dart’s first foray into larger thin-wall aluminum tubes used on Airbus helicopter landing gear. “It definitely increases our capabilities to take on more complex landing gear program development in the future.”

Shreveport, Louisiana air medical operation and completion center Metro Aviation took delivery of the initial Dart H135 crosstubes. Metro Aviation further worked with Dart during the development phase, and managing director Milton Geltz said the company is “excited to have an alternate source for these types of products.”

The crosstubes are corrosion resistant, made from improved high-strength aluminum alloy and protected by a high-performance primer and paint for offshore operations, Dart said. The company is offering the standard low size and mid-height that is suited for helicopters requiring extra ground clearance, such as for utility operations. They are designed to be compatible with Dart’s Round-I-Beam skid tubes and OEM-related parts such as saddles, skid tubes, access steps, and ground-handling wheels. The mid-height model further is compatible with Dart and OEM floats, Dart said.

Hartzell Engine Technologies Expands Alabama HQ

Tailwind Technologies subsidiary Hartzell Engine Technologies has broken ground on a  10,000-sq-ft addition to its Montgomery, Alabama headquarters. Hartzell became a presence there in 2010, when Tailwind acquired and rebranded Kelly Aerospace Energy Systems. The company’s product line includes turbocharger systems, alternators, starters, Janitrol heaters, fuel pumps, oil filters, ignition harnesses, magnetos, voltage regulators, and a large range of other electrical components.

According to company president Keith Bagley, the growth of the business and upcoming new product introductions spurred the addition. One of its goals, he added, was to allow the consolidation of its product engineering, quality, planning, and purchasing groups to improve collaboration between the groups in a modern open-floor-plan area.

“Last year we purchased our current facility and today we are excited to celebrate the furthering of our commitment to the city of Montgomery, our employees, and to all of general aviation,” said Bagley. “This groundbreaking is also rock-solid proof of our parent company Tailwind Technologies’s steadfast commitment to expand this business and be an integral part of the future of general, business, and military aviation.”

When completed this summer, the expansion will bring the size of the company’s campus to 86,000 sq ft.