FBOs Felt the Covid Bite in 2020, Says ABSG Survey

According to the Aviation Business Strategies Group's (ABSG) annual FBO Fuel Sales Survey & 2021 Industry Forecast released this morning, nearly 70 percent of the North American FBOs surveyed reported decreased fuel sales last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and its dampening effect on travel. The report is typically distributed at the start of NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference, which itself is being held virtually this week on the NBAA Go platform due to Covid concerns.

According to ABSG principals John Enticknap and Ron Jackson, survey results showed that 13 percent of the FBOs queried indicated they had the same level of fuel sales between 2019 and 2020, while approximately 20 percent did report an increase in volume. Of that latter group. 12 percent reported a more than 5 percent year-over-year rise in fuel sales despite overall business aircraft activity falling due to the pandemic.

“There’s no question that 2020 will go down as one of the most economically depressed periods ever in fuel sales for the majority of the FBO industry,” said Enticknap. “This is by far the most negative results we have experienced in the eight years we have been conducting this survey."

While corporate travel cratered, Jackson identified a “fairly robust” charter market as one of the lone bright spots for the FBO industry, at least in certain locations.

Analyst Predicts Improving Year at Textron Aviation

Jeffries equity analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu believes that Textron Aviation is primed for a double-digit sales rebound this year, according to a note sent yesterday to investors. Following a 23 percent decline in 2020 sales, Kahyaoglu looks for sales growth of 14 percent in 2021 at the Wichita airframer.

Kahyaoglu also noted other improving metrics this year for the company that manufactures Cessna Citation business jets and Beechcraft King Air twin turboprops. Specifically, she estimates revenue from Citation sales will increase 31 percent year-over-year, while deliveries will reach 165 aircraft, which would be a 25 percent increase from the 132 jets and turboprops the company delivered in 2020.

Additionally, operating margins are projected to expand from 0.4 percent last year to 5.5 percent this year, Kahyaoglu wrote. She noted the company’s margins were impaired in 2020 partly from $115 million in idle facility costs, $60 million in inventory impairment, and $347 million in volume and mix. Kahyaoglu added those impairments were partially offset by cost actions. Textron Aviation’s cost actions last year included three rounds of layoffs affecting more than 1,100 workers.

ACA Sees Membership Applications Soar

Nearly two months into the new year, the Air Charter Association (ACA) is reporting a record number of new member applications—70 percent more than the same year-to-date period in 2020—driven by effects from the Covid-19 pandemic and challenges arising from Brexit. Membership applications have come from the U.S., Italy, Luxembourg, and the UK. ACA also has approved its first member from the country of Georgia.

ACA chief executive Glenn Hogben said air charter companies are needing support and guidance like never before—not only to face the challenges of the pandemic and Brexit’s effect on European Union-UK operations, but also because of increased regulation and best-practice considerations.

“Providing our members with updates and advice on the key industry issues has never been more vital,” Hogben added. “The ongoing EU-UK operating issues have not solely affected the European business aviation market but the entire global air charter market. We are working closely with other trade leaders and stakeholders to find the best route out of the current situation, and our team works every day to help steer our members through.”

Indiana Genav Airport Looks To Add Another Runway

Indiana’s Jasper County Airport Authority has hired strategic consulting firm Woolpert under a master services agreement to develop a master plan to guide its development that could see the addition of a second, longer runway. The airport has been without a master plan since 2006 and FAA requirements have changed so that any development project funding, even for smaller airports, now requires one.

The general aviation airport has a 4,000-foot-long, 60-foot-wide main runway that stretches north to south and, according to airport manager Ray Seif, the authority is looking for justification to add another runway. “The thing that is driving the master plan is our need to substantiate a larger runway that is more aligned with prevailing winds in the area, which is typically east-west in direction,” Seif told AIN, adding that the current runway is limited as to what aircraft it can accommodate. “Citations are about as large as can come in here, and they can only come when the runway is clean and dry. If there is any rain or any other contaminant on the runway, they have to divert and go somewhere else.”

According to Seif, the new runway would be at least 5,000 feet long and 75 feet wide. He further noted that the airport authority has already acquired most of the land required for its construction, which if approved would largely be covered by federal and state grants.

USHST Issues Guidelines To Combat Inadvertent IMC

The U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) has developed a new recommended practices document focusing on “spatial disorientation induced by a degraded visual environment” and offering training and decision-making solutions. The USHST notes that from 2000 to 2019 in the U.S., there were 130 fatal accidents directly linked to spatial disorientation that occurred regardless of pilot experience or mission type. 

Its recommended practices focus on training and decision-making actions, including the avoidance of inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC), preflight planning that includes en route decision processes, in-aircraft training that simulates a lack of visibility, and training of recovery techniques and committing to instruments. 

“For decades, studies, articles, research papers, and discussions have been published theorizing why accidents related to degraded visual environments consistently occur and it has been hard to find clear answers that can slow or stop these tragic accidents,” said USHST industry co-chair Nick Mayhew. “In part, the accidents stem from failed planning, lack of understanding, or poor decision-making. All pilots have the option to turn down a flight before launch, turn around, proceed to an alternate, or land in a safe place if the weather deteriorates below company or personal minimums, yet we continue to see these types of accidents.” 

Cutter Aviation Expands HondaJet Charter Fleet

Cutter Aviation has added three HondaJets to its charter fleet as a result of rising demand for private air transportation, the general and business aviation services company has announced. Two of these light jets will be based in Phoenix—at Cutter’s FBOs at Sky Harbor and Deer Valley Airports—with the third at the company's facility in Addison, Texas.

The new HondaJets enable Cutter to provide increased coverage to its clients in the Southwest and bring the number of HondaJets on its charter certificate to seven. The HondaJet has been part of Cutter’s fleet since 2015.

“We are delighted to be able to offer these new HondaJets to our clients,” said Cutter president and CEO Will Cutter. “These aircraft comfortably seat up to six passengers, are equipped with Wi-Fi, and provide the client with an exclusive experience unlike any other very light jet on the market.”

NTSB To Decommission TWA Flight 800 Reconstruction

The NTSB is decommissioning its TWA Flight 800 reconstruction as it prepares to potentially exit its current training center in Ashburn, Virginia. The NTSB moved its training programs from its headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C., in 2003 and has since provided educational programs in Ashburn to thousands of students and professionals. But its lease at the Virginia facility is set to expire in 2023.

TWA Flight 800 reconstruction is a centerpiece of the location, housed in a 30,000-sq-ft hangar alongside training tools. The NTSB has used the reconstruction for its accident investigation courses, but the Safety Board said “investigative techniques such as 3-D scanning and drone imagery lessen the relevance of the large-scale reconstruction in teaching modern investigative techniques.”

While the NTSB will cease using the reconstruction on July 7, the agency plans to spend the next several months thoroughly documenting it, using 3-D scanning for historical archiving. The agency stressed the reconstruction was never meant as an exhibit or public display, noting this was an agreement it had made with the families of the victims of the flight. Thus the TWA Flight 800 wreckage will be dismantled and destroyed.

As for the other programs at the center, the NTSB said it is exploring options to continue its training. The NTSB trained an annual average of 2,622 students between calendar years 2015 and 2019.

U.S. Army Retires Bell TH-67 Trainers

The U.S. Army retired its last Bell TH-67 “Creek” primary training helicopter at a ceremony this week at Fort Rucker, Alabama. A derivative of the Bell 206, the TH-67 fleet grew to 181 aircraft and was employed by the service between 1993 and 2020. Army TH-67s logged more than 1.9 million hours and trained more than 25,000 students.  

“If you’re an Army aviator who began your aviation career between 1993 and 2020, the odds are pretty good that the TH-67 Creek helicopter was the foundational tool on which you built your aviation tradecraft,” said Lt. Col. Keith Hill, 1st Battalion, 223rd Aviation Regiment commander.

The Army began gradually replacing the single-engine TH-67 with the twin-engine UH-72A Lakota—a militarized version of the Airbus Helicopters EC145—in 2016 as it eventually built its training fleet of the latter to 204 aircraft. The move to the more complex UH-72A was controversial, but the Army defended it saying it provided the opportunity to integrate simulators into primary training, allowed students to stay with the same airframe longer, and better prepared them to fly more sophisticated twins such as the UH-60 Blackhawk, AH-64 Apache, and CH-47 Chinook. Since 2006, Airbus has delivered more than 460 UH-72A Lakota helicopters in nine configurations to the U.S. Army, Navy, and National Guard.

Mid-Continent Simplifies Flight Deck Display Development

Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics has introduced the Flex MD23 Custom Function Display, a new series of forward-fit and retrofit displays that the company calls “a custom display, controller, and data converter, all-in-one.” Flex has already received FAA certification for its hardware and software that runs inside the instrument. All that remains is for the customer to work with Mid-Continent on the design of what shows up on the Flex’s display and how it interacts with the aircraft, and the result is a much quicker method of adding display functionality and system control into many aircraft types.