Inventory of used business jets for sale is up by 40 percent from a year ago and marks a 23 percent increase over the past six months, according to the latest report from analyst Jefferies. Citing Amstat data, Jefferies noted that available inventory is still only 3.3 percent of the fleet, well below the five-year average of 5.8 percent. However, this has inched up from the one-year average of 2.8 percent.
Considering only jets less than seven years out of production, inventories have soared by 91 percent while prices rose 25 percent. All segments have contributed to the growing available inventory, with heavy jets increasing by 56 percent. Medium jet inventory climbed by 25 percent from a year ago, while light jet inventory is up 51 percent.
Eighty-four used Cessna Citations are on the market this month, a 50 percent increase from a year ago and led by a nine-unit jump in available CJ3s. However, this is only 2.1 percent of the active CJ3 fleet and one Citation Latitude and no Longitudes are for sale.
As for list prices, Cessna and Bombardier used jets each are up by 35 percent; Embraer, up 30 percent; and Dassault Falcon, up 28 percent. The only year-over-year pricing contraction involved Gulfstreams, down 3 percent led by a drop in the G450 and G150.
General aviation airports holding an operating certificate under FAR Part 139 and having nonscheduled international operations can apply for a waiver from new rules that require certain air carrier airports to have a safety management system (SMS).
According to the FAA, the intent of the rule “is not to impose a burdensome regulation on certificate holders with international service capabilities aimed exclusively at general aviation traffic.” However, the waiver is available as long as there is no tenant at the airport that must comply with a SMS requirement imposed by its country of origin.
This final rule requires airport certificate holders that qualify under one or more of the following triggers to develop a SMS: airports classified as large, medium, or small hubs; those that have a three-year rolling average of 100,000 or more total annual operations; or that serve any international operation other than general aviation.
The FAA revised the proposed compliance schedule to extend the SMS implementation period from 18 months to 24 months and require the submission of an implementation plan within 12 months (instead of six months) from the effective date of the rule, which will be 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
AerCap unit Milestone Aviation Group has agreed to lease six helicopters to Bristow Group for search-and-rescue (SAR) missions for the Netherlands Coast Guard. The agreement covers two Leonardo AW189s and four Sikorsky S-92s.
Terms of the deal provide for Milestone to complete a purchase-leaseback of a new SAR-equipped AW189 helicopter from Bristow and extend an existing lease on a second AW189 that will be converted for SAR missions. Milestone also is placing three S-92s with Bristow and will add a fourth later this year in support of the deal.;
“As part of this deal, we are delighted to add the first SAR-enabled AW189 to the Milestone portfolio and to bring the advanced capabilities of this aircraft to a wider variety of customers operating mission-critical responses,” said Milestone CEO Pat Sheedy.
Bristow won the 10-year SAR contract with the Netherlands Coast Guard last year. The helicopters are tasked to the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Den Helder and provide additional services such as post-disaster and incident operations, as well as transportation of the maritime incident response group.
Newly-released analysis from Ascend by Cirium shows that market values for many business jets have increased perhaps unsustainably during the post-pandemic period on a constant age basis (comparing the same age of aircraft over time).
While the preowned business jet inventory increased in the second half of 2022, pricing for completed transactions continued to rise and “buyer distress” transactions—where customers were willing to pay higher prices, above the asking price in some competitive situations—continued throughout the year.
According to Ascend senior appraiser and principal aviation analyst Syed Zaidi, business jet values soared due to various factors, including the surge of new users into the market since the pandemic began. This includes a 60 percent rise in midsize jet values from a year ago and approximately 45 percent higher for very light and super-midsize jets. Long-range jets values increased by 20 percent year-over-year.
Zaidi warned that market values may have entered “bubble” territory and constitute a real risk to owners, financiers, and investors, as the market-to-base value ratios which his company uses as a measure of potential risk, are “significantly” above 100 percent across most aircraft segments. He added that as the airlines continue to repair their schedules to pre-pandemic frequencies, the staying power of those new users will prove a true test for the business aviation industry.
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Textron Aviation is offering its Cessna SkyCourier with a gravel kit to enable operations from unimproved runways. Deliveries of the turboprop twin with the installed option will begin later this month.
“Cessna aircraft have been moving people and critically needed goods in and out of remote areas for decades, and this new capability allows SkyCourier customers to operate in some of the world’s most demanding environments,” said Lannie O’Bannion, senior v-p of sales and flight operations. “The addition of [the] gravel kit greatly enhances the already rugged reliability of the SkyCourier.
The high-wing SkyCourier received FAA certification in March 2022 and deliveries began two months later. The unpressurized aircraft can be configured for cargo, 19-passenger, and special-mission operations. It features a large fuselage door and a flat floor cabin that can hold up to three LD3 shipping containers.
At its maximum takeoff weight of 19,000 pounds, the SkyCourier can carry 6,000 pounds of freight or 5,000 pounds of passengers and luggage. Power comes from a pair of 1,100-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC turboprop engines and the aircraft is equipped with Garmin G1000 NXi avionics. Maximum range is 900 nm and maximum cruise speed is 210 knots.
A group of aerial firefighting companies has formed its own advocacy association in Washington, D.C. The nonprofit United Aerial Firefighters Association (UAFA) was founded at the end of 2022 to educate policymakers, legislators, and the public about issues regarding aerial wildland firefighting.
“With the growing national security threat that wildfires pose year in and year out, the entire aerial firefighting community wants to ensure that we are doing everything we can to provide the highest levels of service to the taxpaying citizens expecting better outcomes,” said John Gould, UAFA president and president and CEO of 10Tanker. UAFA “looks forward to partnering with federal, state and private entities who share the same concerns,” he added.
UAFA membership is open to companies who own, lease, or operate airplanes, rotorcraft, or UAVs to deliver fire suppressants/retardants under contract with federal, state, or local entities, as well as companies who support the aerial firefighting industry with products and services. Free membership is available to related nonprofits and government agencies.
Founding UAFA board members include Gould; Bart Brainerd of Firehawk Helicopters, UAFA v-p; Brett L'Esperance of Dauntless Air, secretary/treasurer; and Jennifer Draughon of Neptune Aviation Services, director.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
An aircraft flying faster than Vref on final and is above the required flight path:
A. Has too much kinetic and potential energy.
B. Has too much chemical potential energy.
C. Has too much potential energy and enough kinetic energy for the pilot’s discretion.
D. Can be better controlled to assure landing on the runway touchdown zone.
Long-time aircraft broker Jack Prewitt passed away at age 91 on February 8 at his home in Texas. Prewitt served in the U.S. Air Force and trained as an avionics technician. Following his military service, he began a career with Dallas Aero as an avionics technician.
Later, he joined a new division of Qualitron Aero, where he was involved with avionics and interior completions at Meacham Field and worked on Air Force One for Presidents Johnson and Nixon. Prewitt shifted his focus to aircraft sales in 1973 when he joined Associated Air Center at Dallas Love Field.
In 1978, Prewitt founded aviation brokerage Jack Prewitt & Associates, which also offers aircraft interior design, aircraft completion and acquisition management, avionics installation management, and MRO management, as well as leasing and concierge services. The company is now run by his family, with son-in-law Rick Pitts serving as president and Sabrina Prewitt and Rene Prewitt serving as senior v-ps. In the first 35 years in business, the company sold more than 1,000 aircraft worth some $4 billion.
Besides being passionate about aviation, Prewitt was an avid hunter and fisherman. The family is planning a celebration of his life in the coming weeks for the aviation community.
The United States Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) will hold a meeting at the upcoming HAI Heli-Expo 2023 to discuss the USHST’s five new safety enhancements. The meeting, open to all Heli-Expo attendees, will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on March 6 in room B303 in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
USHST is a volunteer team of U.S. government and industry stakeholders that formed to improve the safety of civil helicopter operations in the national airspace system. The group released its first safety enhancements in 2017 after analyzing more than 100 fatal helicopter accidents. Those 16 enhancements range from recommended preflight inspections to understanding basic helicopter aerodynamics and safety culture and professionalism.
Its five new and additional enhancements concern ;the promotion of conservative go/no-go decision-making; education on the detection of hazards from low-level operations, including wire and tower strikes; night operations risk management and hazards, including loss of control; fatigue; and training for operations in adverse winds and related performance issues at low airspeed.
USHST welcomes individual stakeholder assistance in further developing these enhancements, either at the meeting or by contacting the organization at safety@ushst.org.
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