With a surge in the latter half of 2021, business aviation flight activity in North America sailed past 2020 levels by 40.9 percent and eclipsed pre-pandemic results in 2019 by 7.2 percent, according to Argus International’s 2021 Business Aviation Review. “We ended 2020 saying that it was a year unlike anything we had before and now we wrap up 2021 with the same thought but in a dramatically different way,” Argus reflected in its 2021 overview of TraqPak data, which tracks IFR business aircraft flights in North America.
As with flight activity, flight hours similarly were up 42.3 percent from 2020 and 10.3 percent from 2019. Fractional operations saw the biggest bounce with the number of flights up 51 percent and hours 48.9 percent in 2021. Part 135 activity increased by 44 percent and hours 46.5 percent over 2020 levels, and Part 91 flights and hours saw gains of 35.4 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
Large cabin jets saw the greatest year-over-year increase in terms of flight hours, up 54.3 percent, while midsize jets led the jump in the overall number of flights, which climbed 50.3 percent.
Looking forward, Argus forecasts flight hours in 2022 to surpass 2021 levels by 9.5 percent. This would push it past 2019 levels by 17.4 percent.
Sustainable fuel technology developer LanzaJet will partner with Marquis Sustainable Fuel to establish an integrated fuel plant with a capacity of 120 million gallons a year. The MoU announced Thursday between the Illinois-based companies would see the facility—which will use LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel process—constructed on a 2,500-acre industrial site in Hennepin, Illinois, two hours southwest of Chicago.
With the site providing access to highways, a rail line, and the Illinois River, not to mention the proximity to deliver sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to Chicago O’Hare International and Chicago Midway International airports by pipeline, it offers strong strategic distribution potential. Marquis recently announced plans for the complex to be carbon neutral, with access onsite to carbon sequestration. The companies are conducting engineering and feasibility studies to determine the cost of the plant, which would be the second to use LanzaJet’s ATJ process, following a facility in Georgia that is expected to be completed by year-end. Current plans call for the Hennepin plant to begin production in 2025.
“This demonstrates the opportunity for the U.S. to produce meaningful volumes of SAF at scale, transitioning feedstocks from the production of traditional biofuels into SAF,” said LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis. “SAF from existing sources alone could replace more than 50 percent of U.S. fossil jet fuel use. The key is low carbon intensity, where existing infrastructure is paired with carbon capture and sequestration and renewable energy.”
EASA has issued an opinion expressing its intent to adopt new regulations on tire pressure minimums and helicopter ditching survivability. With consideration given to comments submitted when proposed in 2020 and 2021, the new rules will be adopted essentially as proposed and effective later this year.
Large airplane certification (Part CS-25) rules will be amended to provide a means to ensure that no tire is below its minimum serviceable inflation pressure during operation. This can be achieved either by requiring operators to perform tire pressure checks at certain time intervals or by installing a tire pressure monitoring system that alerts the flight crew to unsafe tire pressure.
Improving the ability of occupants to survive a water impact from a helicopter ditching is the objective of rules that will revise type certification standards for both small (Part CS-27) and large (Part CS-29) rotorcraft by requiring several design improvements. In addition, this NPA also proposes enhancements to certification specifications for new ditching and emergency flotation provisions.
The EASA opinion also includes regulations adding to the list of business airframes that are exempt from current rules requiring separate baggage compartments to meet the fire prevention standards for Class D cargo compartments. This includes the Gulfstream G100 and G200 series; Cessna Citation 500/550/S550/560/560XL and 750 series; and the Hawker series. About 300 EASA-certified airframes would be exempted.
While the town of East Hampton, New York, continues its plan to shutter its airport (KHTO) by month's end and reopen it days later as a private-use facility, the FAA has warned that the transition could take up to two years. In a letter to town supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, the agency noted that upon processing the town’s request to deactivate KHTO, all FAA-operated navigational, weather, and communications aids will be disabled and Class D airspace will not be applicable.
The agency will also need to conduct an airspace analysis on the safety of using existing or contemplated air traffic patterns, and added that private airports cannot use publicly funded procedures, engendering the development of special-use procedures paid for by the town. East Hampton would also have to pay the FAA to re-establish navigational, weather, and communications aids. The town could procure the equipment but would have to reimburse the agency to install, certify, and maintain it.
In addition, the airport will be required to establish a letter of agreement with the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, as that facility cannot discern who does and does not have permission to access the airport. This raises concerns for the FAA about what methods the town will use to deny inbound aircraft permission to land, which could result in possible airspace disruptions.
Select Pilatus PC-12/45 and PC-12/47 turboprop singles have access to expanded engine monitoring through the release of Garmin’s TXi Engine Indication System (EIS) display, the Olathe, Kansas-based avionics OEM announced late last week.
The EIS is available as a complete Garmin cockpit retrofit with the GFC 600 autopilot, G600 TXi primary flight display, GTN Xi navigators, GTX ADS-B transponders, GWX weather radar, and GI 275 electronic flight instrument configured as a standby flight instrument. The installation provides new capabilities and features such as autopilot-coupled VNAV descents, fully coupled missed approaches, and Smart Glide safety technology.
In an engine failure, Smart Glide can automatically engage the autopilot and pitch for the aircraft’s best glide speed while navigating the aircraft within the vicinity of a selected airport, allowing the pilot to execute an approach and landing. Legacy avionics and wiring are also removed during the installation, offering weight savings.
In addition to the EIS, Garmin said it has received an FAA STC for the GFC 600 autopilot in the Pilatus PC-12/47.
CrewBlast, the app that matches operators with contract pilots and flight attendants, has begun posting monthly data on requested daily wage rates. Derived from more than 150 responses for crews, the data includes rates for domestic and international pilots in command (PIC) and seconds in command (SIC), along with flight attendants. This information further is classified by aircraft type.
A daily PIC rate can range from $700 for a domestic operation involving a Beechcraft King Air 200 to $4,000 for a Gulfstream G600. Rates for flight attendants range from $500 to $850 per day.
Release of the wage data follows CrewBlast’s report on staffing requests involving aircraft types. The firm found that it drew the most requests in December for crewmembers for the Gulfstream G500, Dassault Falcon 7X, Bombardier Challenger 605, Cessna Citation XLS, and Gulfstream IV.
Launched late last year, the app sends a “blast” to registered crew of operators in need of contract staffing. Qualified crewmembers will receive a push notification on their mobile devices, enabling them to respond immediately.
The Flight Analytics Software Desktop Animation Tool from Applied Informatics and Research (Airinc) is set to be offered as part of GE Digital’s Flight Analytics portfolio for aircraft operators. With the software, aircraft operators can create animations of their actual flight data to better understand specific aspects of aircraft and crew performance for pilot and operational training.
Under an agreement announced earlier this month, Airinc will also provide support for GE Digital’s helicopter flight data monitoring customers, as well as flight data and cockpit voice recorder services. The Canadian company holds approved maintenance organization clearance to provide recorder readouts.
According to Airinc, its flight data animation tool makes it easier for aircraft operators to create realistic and interactive animations of flights using accessible desktop software. It will be integrated with GE Digital’s event measurement system, which provides the data processing foundation for all of the company’s Flight Analytics products.
The animations can be used to validate and investigate flight events while also supporting flight deck and airport awareness training. They can be password-protected to ensure confidentiality.
“The philosophy for building our software tools and services is simple: provide data-driven analytical tools that make flight data monitoring a precise, fact-based science,” said Airinc CEO Steve Roberts.
Leasing company Milestone Aviation Group has signed an 11-aircraft deal with Brazilian operator Omni Helicopters covering newly delivered Leonardo AW139 medium twins, as well as Sikorsky S-92A heavy twins already in place with the operator. Milestone has a long-standing relationship with Omni that now covers 22 aircraft across four different fleet types. The AW139 helicopters are the first of the type to go on lease to Omni from Milestone and will be deployed on missions across Latin America and Africa. Omni is the largest vertical air mobility provider in Brazil, operating 75 helicopters from 10 bases across the country.
“Omni was Milestone’s very first customer and we are incredibly proud to extend that partnership which has spanned more than a decade. We are delighted to continue to support the diversification of their fleet and the growth of their operations,” said Milestone president and CEO Pat Sheedy.
AerCap unit Milestone partners with diverse helicopter operators whose missions include offshore oil and gas, search and rescue, emergency medical services, police surveillance, mining, and other utility missions. It provides a variety of financial products, including leasing, purchase/leasebacks, secured debt financing, engine leasing, and fleet advisory services to more than 40 customers in some 35 countries.
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