Textron Aviation is about to start construction for an expanded and modernized service center at Melbourne Essendon Fields Airport (YMEN) in Australia. The U.S. aircraft manufacturer announced the project today, saying the enlarged facility is expected to open in early 2026 to provide increased support capacity for operators of Cessna, Beechcraft, and Hawker turboprops and jets.

“Building this new facility to support more than 1,400 aircraft operating in the Asia-Pacific region demonstrates our commitment to providing the strongest combination of factory-direct maintenance and service solutions available for our customers,” said Brian Rohloff, Textron’s senior v-p for global customer support. “This investment will grow our capacity and help us to better assist customers with scheduled maintenance, modifications, and aircraft-on-ground support.”

The company operates a global aircraft support network with nearly 3,000 staff and 50 mobile service units, consisting of “Go Teams” that can be sent to support operators locally. In addition to Melbourne, Textron Aviation also has Asia-Pacific service centers at Gold Coast Airport (YBCG) in Queensland, Perth’s Jandakot Airport (YPJT), and Singapore Seletar Airport (WSSL).

The mass layoffs at the U.S. government have reached the FAA, with hundreds of probationary agency workers receiving emails beginning Friday evening that notified them of their termination. This included members of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA).

“We are troubled and disappointed by the administration’s decision to fire FAA probationary employees PASS represents without cause nor based on performance or conduct,” said PASS national president David Spero in a statement released over the weekend. “Several hundred employees have been impacted with messages being sent from an ‘exec order’ Microsoft email address, not an official .gov email address. Messages began arriving after 7 p.m. ET on February 14 and continued late into the night.”

PASS, which represents workers who inspect and maintain the nation’s air traffic control systems, believes that up to 300 members may be affected. Anecdotally, this includes a range of positions such as maintenance mechanics and aeronautical information specialists.

NATCA president Nick Daniels said that the layoffs involved its Region X employees. Region X members are involved in an array of tasks at the agency—including aircraft certification specialists and aviation technical system specialists.

Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Washington), the ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, added, “Conducting this reckless purge...is a terrible idea that puts the traveling public at risk. It must be reversed immediately.”

The Tata Group and Airbus Helicopters are close to confirming the location of the final assembly line where they will make H125 rotorcraft in India. This will be the first privately-owned helicopter manufacturer in India, with Bangalore reportedly emerging as the likely site from a shortlist of five possible locations.

Through their joint venture, Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus will integrate all components for the single-engined helicopters, as well as install all avionics and mission systems, electrical harnesses, hydraulics, fuel systems, flight controls, and the Safran Arriel 2D turboshafts. The new operation will compete with the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) developed by government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics for both the civil and defense markets.

Under an eight-year agreement, the first aircraft is due to be delivered from the India facility by the end of 2026. Production plans call for an initial 52 H125s to be manufactured at the site, with Airbus holding orders for 40 of these from customers located around the world, with the remaining 12 to be sold directly by the Tata subsidiary.

During the Aero India trade show last week in Bangalore, Himalayan Heli Services ordered a pair of H125s. This deal will expand the Indian operator’s fleet to eight, adding to the six Airbus AS350B3/3E aircraft it already has in service.

Gogo Business Aviation/Satcom Direct has renewed its preferred supplier agreement with Luxaviation Group for an additional three years, building upon the partnership established between the business aviation operator and Satcom Direct in 2021. This latest agreement expands Luxaviation’s access to include Gogo Galileo phased-array antennas and its North American air-to-ground connectivity network, following the recent merger of the two connectivity providers.

Under the extended agreement, Luxaviation Group will continue to use Satcom Direct’s hardware, including the SD Plane Simple terminal series, software-as-a-service applications, flight deck connectivity solutions, and around-the-clock customer support. Luxaviation customers will also gain the ability to maximize connectivity through Gogo Galileo’s half-duplex and full-duplex phased-array terminals via a single source.

“The Gogo/SD offering brings real value to our business and, more importantly, our customers by enabling us to deliver broadband connection, regardless of aircraft size,” said Stuart Williamson, managing director of Luxaviation Technical Services. “If a problem occurs, a human expert is at hand.”

“The expanded portfolio means we can help our customers curate multi-band, multi-orbit connectivity to support all their connectivity needs,” noted Dave Falberg, senior v-p of sales for EMEA APAC at Gogo/Satcom Direct. “All the technology has been purpose-built for business aviation and is future-proofed to ensure our customers can keep pace with the rapidly changing connectivity landscape.”

Garmin’s touchscreen TXi displays now support engine indicating system (EIS) displays for Honeywell TPE331-10/10N turbine engines. The latest TXi software update, v3.72, includes arc gauges that previously were available only on the TXi upgrade for the CitationJet CJ2.

Aircraft that support the EIS TXi displays include the Cessna Conquest 441 with TPE331-10N engines and the Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 Solitaire and MU-2B-60 Marquise with TPE331-10 engines. Additionally, the software update makes the EIS arc gauges available on Piaggio Avanti P.180 turboprops, which are powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engines.

The arc gauges feature a half-arc format instead of the previous round gauges. Arc gauges offer the advantage that the shape allows for a much larger size and increases the size of the digital readout indications by 50%.

Customers interested in v3.72 can contact Garmin dealers for the upgrade. In addition to the EIS changes, the software upgrade adds many new features, fixes, and updates for the TXi series displays (G500H, G500, G600, G700). Some of these include changing the synthetic vision aspect ratio from 0.8 to 1.0 and upgrading the display of the heading from DAL B to DAL A for the G700 TXi.

NATA Compliance Services (NATA CS) has released a safety management system (SMS) with artificial intelligence functionality. According to the company, its new SMS enhances safety and security in aviation operations by merging them into one unified platform, simplifying FAA compliance, and even assisting with flight safety assessment decisionmaking.

It includes features that could help mitigate potential hazards. One key AI-driven feature is its flight risk assessment tool, which compiles relevant information to calculate flight risk and escalates the “go/no go” decision when risks exceed acceptable thresholds.

“One operator said that the GenAI Safety Reporting with recommended controls saved his team 90 minutes by streamlining the normal reporting review process,” said Gary Tougas, NATA CS co-founder and head of product.

The new SMS is designed to be used by aircraft operators, ground service providers, and airports. It streamlines safety reporting processes, allowing pilots and ground crew to submit reports that are automatically categorized and assessed by GenAI, which evaluates the likelihood and severity of safety risks. This enables safety managers to quickly review reports and make informed decisions.

In addition, the company provides a range of solutions to support aircraft operators, FBOs, Part 145 repair stations, and others in meeting regulatory requirements. Its services also include TSA security program training, biometric fingerprinting, FAA pilot records database support, anti-drug and alcohol program management, and crew credentialing.

Asset management company Fundamental Advisors made its first investment in the helicopter business with the acquisition of HeloAir. The Richmond, Virginia-based helicopter operator specializes in pipeline and powerline patrol, charter, aerial filming, fire suppression, and external load operations. HeloAir was founded in 1993 and patrols more than 50,000 miles of pipelines and 10,000 miles of powerlines every year and has overseen 750,000 acres of controlled fire burn.

The purchase supports Fundamental’s plans “to invest behind businesses supporting public safety missions that protect critical national infrastructure, with a focus on cutting-edge companies leveraging helicopters and aerial firefighting services to monitor the electrical grid and gas pipelines for utility customers,” according to the company. Founder and president Whit Baldwin retained a stake in HeloAir, and he and the management team will continue in their leadership roles.

“Whit and his team have built a best-in-class business providing necessary infrastructure monitoring services for communities across the Mid-Atlantic, and this partnership underscores our strategy of supporting businesses with experienced management teams in markets where we see opportunity to provide public purpose-driven solutions,” said Ryan Keane, senior managing director at Fundamental.

“We look forward to working closely with the HeloAir team to expand the capabilities of its existing fleet, while also pursuing complementary acquisitions of other best-in-class regional operators to establish an enterprise-grade platform in an otherwise fragmented market.”

AIN’s senior-level Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit (CALS) East, set for July 14 to 16 in Boston, Massachusetts, will address the latest topics, strategies, and solutions in business aviation. The summit is attendee-centric and serves as an educational and professional networking platform, connecting corporate aviation leaders with peers, industry experts, and solution providers in a relaxed, informal environment. We invite U.S.-based flight department leaders to apply to attend this all-expenses-paid event as our guests.