Business aircraft MRO Constant Aviation is being folded into sister company Flexjet as the fractional provider’s in-house maintenance department. Flexjet noted that its fleet grew by 40 percent last year, bringing additional demands for maintenance services. Under the move, the Constant Aviation name will fade away and the MRO will cease performing maintenance for non-Flexjet aircraft, though a spokesman told AIN that “customers with previously booked maintenance slots will still be accommodated.”
While both companies are Directional Aviation subsidiaries, Flexjet is technically acquiring Constant since the MRO arm wasn’t wholly owned by Directional. Under the deal, Flexjet will acquire Constant’s facilities at Ohio’s Cleveland Hopkins International and Florida’s Orlando Sanford International (KSFB) airports, as well as its nationwide AOG mobile response network. Flexjet also plans to build new facilities at KSFB, expanding its maintenance footprint there to 220,000 sq ft.
With Constant under its wing, Flexjet’s maintenance facility footprint will cover 650,000 sq ft across bases in Cleveland; Teterboro, New Jersey; Naples, Florida; Dallas; White Plains, New York; Sanford; and Morgantown, West Virginia. Flexjet senior v-p of maintenance Jay Heublein said the move for more in-house maintenance differentiates the company from competitors who “rely largely on third-party providers to meet…maintenance needs."
All of Constant’s existing team members will join Flexjet and the company also plans to hire nearly 200 more technicians over the next 12 months.
Skyryse’s automated flight control system, FlightOS, has met all of the FAA’s means-of-compliance requirements, clearing the way for supplemental type certificate (STC) applications, starting with the Robinson R66 helicopter. According to the company, the outcome of the recently completed system review means the FAA will not require additional rulemaking to cover any aspect of the system’s hardware, software, or human-factor components.
FlightOS is intended to improve safety by reducing pilot workload and training needs rather than displacing crew from aircraft cockpits. Skyryse said the technology will bring commercial aviation safety standards to general aviation, which “suffers from risks associated with pilot errors and delays in poor weather.”
The equipment replaces some of the complex controls in a typical general aviation cockpit with a touchscreen tablet display and a joystick. Fly-by-wire hardware and software handle most of the core piloting functions, according to Skyryse, preventing pilots from inadvertently exceeding safe flight envelopes. The company claims that training pilots to interact with FlightOS takes only a few minutes.
California-based Skyryse said it designed the system to the 10-to-the-minus-nine safety standards used as the benchmark for commercial aviation safety, which equates to a one-in-a-billion chance of a catastrophic system failure. The system is based on a triple-redundant fly-by-wire system with dissimilar architecture that removes mechanical complexity and adds “highly intelligent” computers.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
The business jet market remained strong on many metrics in 2022, but questions remain about whether 2023 may bring a tougher environment for the industry, Global Jet Capital (GJC) said in its latest Market Brief. Its report notes that, in the fourth quarter, flight operations improved year-over-year; orders for new aircraft came in at high levels; transactions, while down, were still above pre-Covid levels; and pricing remained stable and overall available inventories remained low, even as aircraft listings increased.
“The biggest question going forward is the health of the global economy, with many economists expecting a recession in 2023,” GJC said. “Due to business aviation’s unique value proposition, the business jet market has remained resilient but will likely be tested this year.”
Flight operations “were a bright spot” for business aviation in 2022, GJC said, with activity 12 percent above 2021 and 19.1 percent higher than in 2019. GJC credited the return of existing customers along with new entrants for the results. While orders dampened by the end of the year, they still were at historical norms and industry-wide book-to-bill remained above 1:1.
Combined new deliveries and preowned transactions declined 15.1 percent in 2022 versus 2021, though dollar volume was up 5.5 percent thanks to increased pricing. However, GJC noted economists expect economic headwinds to persist in 2023, which could shift industry dynamics.
Simcom International CEO and General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) chair Eric Hinson stressed the importance of addressing “major challenges” the industry has faced on the oversight front through the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill. Speaking during GAMA's annual State of the Industry press conference yesterday, Hinson said, “The FAA has really, really struggled to provide timely and effective guidance and oversight to our industry.”
He said a key area where the industry is hoping to gain congressional support is in policy guidance and rulemaking. “The short way of describing this is basically a lot goes in and very little comes out of rulemaking policy and guidance. It just kind of goes into a black hole right now and it's very difficult for us as an industry to see where the process is breaking down.”
Another area of concern, he added, is the “fairly significant” exodus of experienced technical personnel at the FAA, noting that many have retired or were hired directly into the industry. “The fact is that it’s a pretty new workforce and it’s really important that that workforce be trained to understand the technology.”
Hinson added that a key part of this is fostering closer collaboration between the industry and the agency as in the past. “We want to make sure that we get back to that kind of engagement with the FAA.”
With the window on the request for proposals (RFP) to operate the lone FBO at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport/Sardy Field (KASE) now closed, competition to take over the facility is heating up. Colorado’s Pitkin County this week announced the respondents to its request to “develop, construct, operate, maintain and manage first-class, state-of-the-art FBO facilities and services at the airport,” which serves the upscale ski resort area.
Incumbent Atlantic Aviation has managed the facility for more than 15 years and will see its lease expire at the end of September. The Texas-based chain—which now has more than 100 locations, mainly in the U.S.—is interested in remaining and was among those who submitted a proposal to the county.
The other respondents include a mix of large FBO chains such as Signature Flight Support and Jet Aviation; smaller-chain Modern Aviation; operators with a handful of locations—Odyssey Aviation and Sonoma Aviation; and Fontainebleau Aviation, which operates its sole FBO at Miami-Opa locka Executive Airport.
According to the county, the proposals will go through multiple reviews and be scored on criteria specifically related to the RFP. It is eyeing the selection of an operator by midyear, with a potential lease starting on October 1.
The Helicopter Association International (HAI) is urging its membership to formally oppose the proposed closure and redevelopment of the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport (8A4) before the expiration of the FAA’s comment period on March 9.
On February 7, the FAA issued a notice of intent of waiver with respect to land that would allow the sale and conversion of the 5.36-acre site for commercial, non-aeronautical redevelopment and release the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) from its federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) obligations associated with the heliport.
HAI said the heliport should remain open because of its value to the community. Specifically, the organization noted that the heliport is an asset due to its public, law enforcement, and emergency medical services value, including for organ transplant transport, natural disaster relief, business travel, and accommodating advanced air mobility.
HAI is providing a template for its members and other interested parties to comment to the FAA regarding the proposed closure.
Regional private airline, aircraft charter, and aircraft management provider Tradewind Aviation will expand its operational footprint with the establishment of a base at New York's Hudson Valley Regional Airport (KPOU, formerly Dutchess County Airport).
By midyear, the company will occupy a 50,000-sq-ft hangar there with two acres of ramp to serve its Hudson Valley customers and to provide maintenance and operational support for its facilities at Westchester County Airport (KHPN) in nearby White Plains and Connecticut’s Waterbury-Oxford Airport (KOXC).
The move comes as Tradewind is in the process of expanding its fleet of Pilatus PC-12NGXs. It recently ordered 20 of the turboprop singles and received its first of these aircraft late last year. Deliveries will continue at a rate of four per year for the next five years. The operator is also looking to expand its managed aircraft base.
“The Hudson Valley region is booming in many ways right now and is often referred to as the 'New Hamptons,'” said Tradewind co-founder and CEO Eric Zipkin. “As we take ownership of additional turboprops, add more routes to our scheduled flight service, and entice more people to discover the benefits of private aviation, the additional hangar space will be a big advantage for our operation.”
Twirly Birds will again hold its annual membership meeting in conjunction with the Helicopter Association International (HAI) Heli-Expo. The meeting will be in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 7 at 5 p.m. at the Omni Hotel Atlanta at CNN Center.
Membership requirements for the organization include having flown solo in a helicopter or other vertical-lift aircraft at least 20 years ago. Attendance at the annual meeting is not necessary to become a member.
Twirly Birds was founded more than 80 years ago by a small group of early helicopter pilots who met to share stories and experiences. Notable past members include Charles Lindbergh, Igor Sikorsky, Stanley Hiller, Alan Bristow, and Wes Lematta. Twirly Birds has no political or commercial interest and is, by design, a social group. It publishes a newsletter several times a year.
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