Ross Buys Rectrix, Adding Five More FBOs to Network

Ross Aviation has given its network a big boost with the acquisition of Rectrix Aviation and its five FBOs. As customary with Ross, Rectrix's four Massachusetts locations—Boston-area Laurence G. Hanscom Field Airport, Worcester Regional Airport, Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport, and Cape Cod Barnstable Municipal Airport-Boardman/Polando Field—and a base at Florida’s Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport will retain their original name.

Rectrix also runs a Part 135 aircraft charter/management operation and MRO facilities at Westfield and Sarasota.

The acquisition brings the chain to 16 FBOs at 14 airports in the U.S. “Rectrix Aviation has done an excellent job of providing customers with luxury facilities and exceptional customer service,” noted Ross Aviation president and CEO Jeff Ross. “We are excited to expand the Ross Aviation footprint on the East Coast and believe the Rectrix locations will be very complementary to our existing portfolio.”

Aerion Names Spirit Fuselage Partner on AS2

Airbus and Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems will collaborate with Aerion Corp. on the preliminary design of the forward pressurized fuselage of the AS2 supersonic jet, the companies announced today. Wichita-based Spirit—which manufactures the forward fuselage of all in-production Boeing jetliners, including the composite 787 Dreamliner—said it expects to immediately begin preliminary development.

“Joining a project team this early allows us to apply our technical expertise and commercial best practices to make the most positive impact,” Spirit president and CEO Tom Gentile said. “We can create cost-efficient, innovative engineering solutions that take into account Spirit’s highly efficient manufacturing processes.”

Aerion’s 12-passenger, Mach 1.4 trijet program has seen an uptick in development announcements in recent months, including the Reno, Nevada-based company’s selection of GE Aviation’s new Affinity engine as the airplane’s powerplant at NBAA 2018 in October, followed by the February 5 announcement of its partnership with Boeing, including a “significant” investment in the program by the Seattle airframer. Aerion expects to begin flight testing the AS2 in 2023.

“They are a leader in composite structures and we are excited that they have joined the team,” Aerion CEO Tom Vice said of the Spirit partnership.

Spirit’s experience in composite fuselages extends beyond the 787 to include manufacture of those for Lockheed Martin Sikorsky’s CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter and Bell’s V-280 tiltrotor for the Army’s Future Vertical Lift program.

GA Praises FAA Coordination, Mulls Shutdown Lessons

Industry leaders attending the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) State of the Industry event yesterday agreed that the business aviation market is entering 2019 with a stronger footing, but also conceded that the partial government shutdown that ushered in with the New Year will take months to resolve. “This has been an interesting start of the year,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce. 

Bunce has previously pointed to the work backlogged during the shutdown, but yesterday he also credited FAA senior leadership for providing as many resources as possible, as the law permitted, during the shutdown to coordinate on workflow. He further noted that the shutdown underscored the importance of organization delegation authorization (ODA). Without it, “We would have been dead in the water” during the shutdown, Bunce noted.

Gulfstream president and GAMA chairman Mark Burns, who presented the 2018 industry results at yesterday’s event, agreed that ODA was “invaluable,” but acknowledged the shutdown did backlog projects. Burns noted that there were a number of lessons learned that the industry is working out with the FAA. “We need to capture the lessons learned,” agreed Bunce, pointing out one area that was spotlighted was just how much paperwork the FAA is involved in. This is an area that can be examined to see ways to ease that involvement, Bunce said.

FSI Selects Sites For Unmanned Systems Training

FlightSafety International will establish unmanned systems training centers in the Las Vegas area and Wichita, it announced yesterday, nearly a year after unveiling plans to enter this market. Its unmanned systems training catalog also will be expanded to include practical training in operating unmanned aerial systems (UAS). 

The FlightSafety UAS Learning Center near Las Vegas will have operations in the suburb of Henderson, as well as at Searchlight Airport (1L3), about 50 miles south of Henderson. FlightSafety has not named a specific location for the training center in Wichita, though it will be established “before the end of this year,” FlightSafety director of unmanned systems training for commercial and government Nora Ann Mishler told AIN.

She said the company’s unmanned systems flight training will be offered in partnership with Praxis Aerospace Concepts, which has a “wealth of UAS experience in military and commercial.” The first “hands-on” flight training course at Henderson, a 10-day-long Professional Remote Pilot Fundamentals course, will begin March 18.

Plans for FlightSafety’s unmanned systems training were announced in May 2018. It currently offers unmanned systems electronic learning courses in resource management, fatigue management, safety management system, and Part 107 exam preparation. Those will expand over the next few months to include remote pilot fundamentals, as well as courses in aerial photography, weather fundamentals, and basics on batteries, Mishler said.

GAMA: Fixed-wing on Pace, Rotorcraft Lag on ADS-B

As the Jan. 1, 2020 deadline approaches for ADS-B Out equipage in the U.S., rotorcraft remain an area of concern for the industry, with just 30 percent of this fleet now equipped. But General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) president and CEO Pete Bunce yesterday expressed more optimism about the ability of the fixed-wing side to meet the mandate.

As of February 1, more than 73,000 U.S.-registered aircraft were equipped out of a target of 100,000 that fly in the controlled airspace where ADS-B will be required, according to GAMA. More than half of the piston side is now equipped, Bunce reported yesterday during GAMA’s annual State of the Industry event, and operators are continuing to equip at a rate of about 1,000 aircraft a month.

Turboprops have remained on track, while business jets also have picked up the pace. He estimated that 63 percent of business jets that fly in the system are equipped and equipage is continuing at a rate of about 500 aircraft a month, he said, adding that come 2020, “we will be in good shape.”

The worry spot remains the rotorcraft sector, Bunce said, noting that equipage is occurring at about 100 per month. GAMA, working with Helicopter Association International, is planning a big push next month at Heli-Expo to impress upon operators the need to equip.

EASA: Operators Need To Prep for GPS Rollover Event

On April 6, navigation data from some GPS receivers will become inaccurate unless they are reset to account for the next so-called “week number” rollover event, according to a new EASA Safety Information Bulletin. If affected GPS receivers are not reset by that date, the time data used for navigation solutions will be inaccurate. “A nanosecond error in GPS time can equate to one foot of position error,” EASA said.

The GPS weekly number has a valid range of values from zero to 1,023 weeks. Unless updated by April 6, the end of the 1,024th week, the counter experiences a rollover, could reset to week zero and the GPS will think it’s the week of Jan. 6, 1980. The GPS week zero started on that date and the last week-number rollover occurred Aug. 21, 1999. 

A GPS device that conforms to the Interface Specification GPS 200J and provides UTC should not be adversely affected, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security white paper. These devices should not be affected by the April 6 rollover date “but may experience a similar rollover event at a future date.” However, EASA said, tests of some GPS devices revealed that not all manufacturer implementations will correctly handle the April 6 rollover.

Gulfstream’s G650ER Notches Another Speed Record

Gulfstream’s ultra-long-range flagship G650ER has set another city-pair speed record, flying from Singapore to San Francisco in 13 hours and 37 minutes. The flight, which departed Changi Airport, traveled the 7,475-nm route at an average speed of Mach 0.87. The flight was the last of a seven-leg mission that set speed records on each leg.

“To Gulfstream, leading the class means continually demonstrating to customers that their ultra-long-range missions are possible at the fastest speeds,” said company president Mark Burns. “Even after more than 85 records, we will continue to illustrate this real-world performance.”

The G650ER was joined in Toluca, Mexico, this week by the Savannah airframer’s new large-cabin G500, which made its debut in the static display at the annual AeroExpo. The G500 entered service last year and Gulfstream now has delivered more than 10.

“The G500 visited Toluca last year as part of a 44-city, 18-country world tour, receiving rave reviews,” noted Burns. “We are excited about its return to the market and its AeroExpo debut.”

Next up for the G500 is the 2019 Aviation Africa Summit & Exhibition, which will take place next week in Kigali, Rwanda. There it will join the OEM’s super-midsize G280 at the static display at Kigali International Airport.

CAA Sees Strong Growth in Membership, Network

The Corporate Aircraft Association (CAA), which negotiates fuel price discounts for its membership, will add five FBOs to its preferred network next month, bringing it to 249 locations in North America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Established in 1995, CAA has added 67 FBOs to its network over the past two years, while at the same time expanding its membership by 42 percent.

Included in this latest batch are V1 Aviation at North Central West Virginia Airport; Koury Aviation FBO at Greensboro, North Carolina Piedmont Triad International Airport; Lamar Flight Service at Lamar Municipal Airport in Colorado; and the Tac Air FBOs at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina and at Salt Lake City International Airport.

“We are in the business of assisting Part 91 operators to succeed,” said association president Bob Bordes, adding that he has had to add two new membership specialists to the CAA team to meet the increasing demand as it continues to add quality FBOs in convenient locations. “We are looking forward to what the future holds for our organization as we continue to negotiate the best fuel price for our CAA members.”

Count on AIN for Full Coverage of Heli-Expo

As ever, you can count on AIN for full coverage of the 2019 Heli-Expo Convention. Our team will publish three of our award-winning daily HAI Convention News editions at the show on March 5, 6, and 7. We will also have comprehensive real-time reporting of all the top news at AINonline.com and in our daily e-newsletters. If you are an exhibiting company that wants to share news or propose pre-show interviews and briefings please contact show editor Kerry Lynch.