Canadian aviation services provider Skyservice will expand its network to include Vancouver—a move that will give it facilities at all three of the country’s busiest airports. The company will take over operations at the InterDel Aviation Services location at Vancouver International Airport (CYVR) starting in April with plans to turn it into a full-service facility offering a slate of aircraft services. This includes MRO services and aircraft charter, management, and sales, along with FBO operations.
With its flagship facility at Toronto Pearson Airport, the company operates additional bases at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, Calgary International, and Macdonald–Cartier International Airport in Ottawa. Skyservice has also recently expanded across the border into the U.S. with the rebranding of four Leading Edge Jet Centers in Washington, Oregon, and Montana, and the opening later this month of an FBO in California at Napa County Airport.
“We are thrilled to add Vancouver to our growing network of business aviation jet centers in Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest,” said Skyservice president and CEO Benjamin Murray. “Increasingly, business aviation clients are looking for providers who deliver full aircraft support, from aircraft consultation and management to maintenance and full ground and fuel support with impeccable fixed-base operation facilities.”
The tentative recovery in the turbine rotorcraft market achieved modest momentum last year, fueled mainly by rising demand in the civil and para-public market, and more specifically the private and business aviation sectors, according to a market analysis released today by Airbus Helicopters. Overall, helicopter orders grew by only 2 percent last year to reach 1,082 units, but the European group is now projecting that more than 16,200 new helicopters worth €120 billion will be delivered over the next 20 years.
Announcing 2022 financial results for the Airbus group this morning, its rotorcraft division reported a 19 percent increase in earnings to €639 million ($684 million) on revenues that were up 8 percent at €7.1 billion. The company said these improvements reflected growth in income from services and “a favorable mix” in the performance of its various programs.
While the number of net orders booked in 2022 was down 13 percent from 2021 at 362 units, the value of these orders was up 9 percent at €9.3 billion. The value of its 757-unit order backlog has improved by 16 percent to €20.1 billion.
Almost three-quarters of new demand anticipated by Airbus over the next 20 years will be driven by the replacement of existing aircraft, with 26 percent attributed to growth.
Gulfstream Aerospace handed over the 100th ultra-long-range G600 to a customer, the Savannah, Georgia airframer announced yesterday. Completed at Gulfstream’s Dallas center, the milestone aircraft was delivered to an unnamed customer in North America. The mark was reached just 3.5 years since the first G600 was delivered in August 2019 and certified two months earlier. It also comes on the heels of the 100th customer delivery of its slightly smaller G500 sibling that occurred in the second half of last year.
“Thanks to its highly customizable cabin, fuel-efficient design, and exceptional performance capabilities, we are seeing unwavering customer demand,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “The 100th G600 customer delivery is a testament to that excellence and surging popularity.”
The G600 can travel 6,600 nm at Mach 0.85 or 5,600 nm at Mach 0.90. The twinjet has set more than 35 city-pair records, at least 10 of which had already occurred by the time of its first customer delivery. City-pair records have included Washington, D.C., to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 11 hours 40 minutes; Paris to Rio de Janeiro in 9 hours 42 minutes; and London to Seattle in 8 hours 40 minutes.
Aircraft records platform Bluetail received a $2.2 million Series A investment in a round led by Arizona-based venture capital fund AZ-VC. This investment comes as Phoenix-based Bluetail saw triple-digit growth and more than 600 million in aircraft records managed in 2022. The company’s customer base grew across private, corporate, and charter operators, it reported.
Bluetail plans to use the cash infusion to expand its market presence, introduce products, and further the automation of its SaaS platform.
“Despite the wildfire spread of software during the 21st century, some pen-and-paper industries are still absent of modern solutions, private aviation included,” said AZ-VC’s Jason Pressman. “Bluetail is redefining aviation records management with a cloud platform that is a true 10x solution. We are eager to support the founder’s ascension as they bring innovative solutions to an industry that is primed for disruption.”
The investment follows a previous $2.1 million round from Brookstone VC and angel investors.
“We are proud that AZ-VC has recognized the value of our significant market growth, expansion of the aircraft records software category, and our unlimited potential as the business aviation industry continues to see the ROI benefits of our platform and digital scanning services,” said Bluetail CEO Roberto Guerrieri.
Sustainability Question of the Week
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True or false: if a flight is planned to a non-ICAO state and subsequently diverts to an ICAO state, the flight is exempt from reporting.
RTCA CEO Terry McVenes believes the aviation industry can avoid a repeat of the 5G C-band radio altimeter interference debacle when it comes to developing and implementing the digital flight operations required to facilitate both crewed and autonomous advanced air mobility (AAM). McVenes said during a recent HAI webinar that the ongoing 5G kerfuffle produced “a lot of lessons learned,” chief among them that the industry can no longer “think of aviation operating in isolation.”
McVenes said that necessitated planning for things “beyond just traditional aviation” to include the need for consuming more of the available radio-frequency spectrum to facilitate communication between disparate aircraft and their respective systems. “If we’re going to do that successfully and avoid what we went through with 5G, we’ve got to get our industries working together right away, during the development phase, not the implementation phase. We waited too long with 5G. Everybody effectively went in their own direction. Now we’re trying to put the genie back in the bottle and move forward.”
According to McVenes, time is running out to develop and implement digital air traffic control technology to accommodate AAM. “There’s not much talk about how we’re going to integrate [AAM vehicles] into the [National Airspace System] and getting scalability. We’ve got to figure out how we can do that as an increasing number of users are going to want access.”
SkyPlace FBO, one of three service providers at San Antonio International Airport, has completed a seven-month, $1.2 million project to build a 4,000-sq-ft terminal attached to one of its two 30,000-sq-ft hangars.
According to general manager Rudy Rocha, the new facility on the northern side of the field off Runway 13L/31R gives the company a terminal closer to the ramp. It includes a passenger lobby and refreshment bar, eight-seat conference room, pilot lounge, flight-planning area, plane-side valet, and an on-site notary during business hours. Crew cars and shuttle service are also available.
Open 24/7, the terminal is adjacent to the airport’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, which is open from 8 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. on weekdays, with after-hours availability with advance notice.
The previous stand-alone terminal is being retained to be rented out to tenants.
GKN Aerospace is adding 80,000 sq ft to its Chihuahua, Mexico facility to support its growing advanced complex composite aerostructures business, the company announced yesterday. Slated to be completed by the end of the year, the expansion is anticipated to result in 100 new jobs.
In addition to strengthening GKN’s presence in Mexico, the aerospace supplier said it will also foster its partnerships and growth strategy with its business aviation customers. The Chihuahua facility supplies composite and metal structures and provides special processes and engineering services for customers including Airbus, Gulfstream, and Honda Aircraft. It is among three facilities GKN operates in Mexico.
“We are proud to partner with the government of Chihuahua on this project, which will not only support GKN Aerospace’s growth strategy but create jobs and prosperity in the local aerospace supply base,” said Mauricio Herrera Murillo, site director for GKN Aerospace in Chihuahua.
Canadian Coast Guard Bell 429s have joined the search for debris from an unidentified flying object shot down on Sunday. While it is believed the object was downed in an area near Manitoulin Island, the helicopter search focused on an area substantially south near the eastern shore of Lake Huron in the Kincardine, Ontario vicinity. Kincardine is proximate to the world’s largest nuclear powerplant, the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station.
The unidentified object, reported to be octagonal in shape, was shot down by a U.S. Air National Guard F-16 from the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth, Minnesota. Earlier this week, the Pentagon acknowledged that the initial firing of an AIM 9X “sidewinder” air-to-air missile at the target missed its mark and that the object was downed with a second shot.
The 429s joined a debris search fleet that included a Canadian C-130J and several surface ships from both the U.S. and Canada. The Canadian Coast Guard operates a fleet of 15 Bell 429 light twins.
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