Piper Aircraft Marks 2018 as ‘Exceptional Year’

Piper Aircraft closed out 2018 with deliveries reaching a 10-year high and billings topping $263 million, a nearly 38 percent increase from 2017, the manufacturer announced today. Higher billings and deliveries were driven by demand from the Vero Beach, Florida-based airframer’s trainer and M-class product lines.

Billings for its single-engine piston Archer rose nearly 50 percent year-over-year, Piper said, while its Seminole twin deliveries increased by 117 percent. The combined billings of its piston M350 and single-engine turboprop M500 and M600 grew by 36 percent from 2017, Piper said.

In addition to the gains in billings and deliveries, Piper added three new dealers last year, took its largest trainer order in company history, and expanded its backlog to nearly 700 airplanes going into 2019. It also increased its workforce 14 percent, to more than 1,000 employees.

“2018 was an exceptional year for Piper Aircraft as we continued to deliver a measurable impact for our customers, and our employees,” said Piper president and CEO Simon Caldecott. “Over the past year, we have increased strategic investments in our facilities and products to better position Piper Aircraft to support the growing but stable demand for our diverse product lines. We also have expanded our efforts and investments to drive innovation while achieving strong financial results.”

FAA: Jet Ban at LNA Violates Grant Agreements

The U.S. FAA has found Palm Beach County in violation of its airport grant assurance agreements for a long-standing ban on jets and cargo aircraft with mtows of more than 12,500 pounds at Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA) in Lantana, Florida. In a February 22 determination, FAA Office of Airport Compliance and Management Analysis director Kevin Willis ordered the county to submit within 30 days a plan to lift the restrictions and notify airport users of the change. The county might appeal.

The finding comes in response to a Part 16 complaint filed by pilot Errol Forman, who had received warnings from the county that two landings he made at LNA in Cessna Citation I/SP were in violation of airport restrictions and could result in fines and/or jail time.

The LNA operational restrictions originally traced back to 1973, and the county argued they were grandfathered under the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA). However, in 1988 Palm Beach adopted a “comprehensive codification” of LNA airport regulations. With that codification, it also canceled regulations pre-dating October 1987, Forman argued.

The FAA found the county’s arguments “unconvincing” and agreed that the 1988 change and regulations canceled out the previous restrictions. Therefore, it said, the ban was not grandfathered under ANCA. Further, the FAA said the county did not defend the necessity of the ban.

American Airlines Adds Private Aviation Touches

American Airlines has boosted its Five Star service options on both sides of the U.S. through partnerships with two private aviation companies. Customers traveling through Los Angeles International and New York JFK Airports can now book private helicopter transfers through the airline as part of American's agreement with rotorcraft operator Blade. The helicopters will pick passengers up at destinations of their choice in both cities and fly them to the airports, where they will be met by an American Airlines team member and escorted via luxury car to Flagship First check-in.

“The number-one pain point of traveling from NYC and LA to the airports is traffic,” explained Blade founder and CEO Rob Wiesenthal, adding that helicopter transfers can reduce a potential hour-and-a-half drive to just under seven minutes. “Blade and American Airlines will now provide customers with a seamless experience from the door of the helicopter to their seat on their American flight.”

The airline also has inked a deal with The Private Suite, a new exclusive terminal at LAX designed for first- and business-class travelers that features its own private airport entrance and in-house TSA screening and customs processing. Passengers are then driven across the tarmac directly to their gate.

Both services are available as individual add-ons to customers purchasing Five Star or Five Star Select services from American.

Gulfstream Aerospace Expands Leadership Team

Gulfstream Aerospace is expanding its senior leadership team to meet a growing number of aircraft programs and manage worldwide supply, the company announced today. Thus, it is promoting vice president of flight operations Colin Miller to senior vice president of innovation, engineering and flight, and vice president of initial and final phase manufacturing Greg Collett to senior vice president of manufacturing and completions.

Miller will be taking the baton from Dan Nale, who will retire April 1 after nearly 35 years at Gulfstream, the past six of which has seen him at the helm of innovation, engineering, and flight. Miller joined Gulfstream in 2013 as an experimental test pilot and has since been a part of the development, testing, and certification programs for the G500 and G600, as well as the development of advanced aircraft technologies.

In his new role, Collett is assuming some of the responsibilities held by senior vice president of operations Dennis Stuligross, who is simultaneously being elevated to senior vice president of program management, quality, and supply chain. Since joining Gulfstream in 1998, Collett has held various leadership roles in operations, including oversight of initial and final phase manufacturing, new product development, and manufacturing operations.

Chicago Mayoral Candidate Pledges To Reopen Meigs

While gone for well over a decade, Chicago’s lakefront airport—Merrill C. Meigs Field—is not forgotten, with at least one of the key candidates for mayor of the Windy City making its reopening part of his platform. More than a dozen candidates are vying for mayor in the general elections that will be held tomorrow.

Willie Wilson, a businessman who founded a medical supplies company and in the past owned McDonald's franchises, is running in the crowded field as a nonpartisan. As part of his campaign platform, he cited the re-opening of Meigs Field as a revenue-raising goal, estimating that such a move could generate more than $500 million. “To raise new revenues, you have to come up with new ideas,” he told the City Club of Chicago. He also has been quoted in Chicago media as saying he'd rather have the jobs from the airport than a park rarely used.

Once among the busiest single-strips in the U.S., Meigs had operated as an airport for nearly 55 years until the evening of March 30, 2003, when then-Mayor Richard Daley ordered the use of bulldozers to carve giant Xs in the runway pavement, effectively destroying its use.

CB SkyShare Adds Second FBO

Utah-based FBO operator and private lift provider CB SkyShare has purchased the former DVO Fuels FBO, the lone service provider at Gnoss Field Airport in California’s Marin County. The company has already completed remodeling the 1,600-sq-ft two-story terminal, which adjoins a 7,500-sq-ft hangar that can accommodate aircraft up to a CJ2. A second phase—including a new 600-sq-ft pilot lounge and snooze room, the addition of a self-service avgas pump, and electric vehicle charging stations—will be completed by this summer.

As part of its vision for the airport, which has a 3,300-foot main runway, the company established a green space on its property, rescuing several old-growth trees that were slated for removal.

“Our company is visionary, bold, and fanatic about the customer experience,” said Cory Bengtzen, founder of CB SkyShare, which offers aircraft charter, management, and fractional ownership solutions. “This must include creating actual physical spaces where a community can grow.”

“Cory and his team at CB SkyShare have a very unique vision and special culture, and we’re thrilled to watch them grow,” said Mick Kendall, director of West Coast sales and development with Shell fuel distributor Titan Aviation Fuels.

Genesys IFR Cockpit Approved for Metro’s EC145e

Genesys Aerosystems and Metro Aviation have achieved FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) approval for installation of an IFR-capable flight deck in the Airbus Helicopters EC145e, including the HeliSAS stability augmentation system with three-axis autopilot. The new HeliSAS IFR system is based on Genesys’ VFR HeliSAS but adds more robust hardware and redundancy. 

Metro was the first customer for the lighter-weight, lower-cost EC145e when it was launched by Airbus Helicopters in 2015. It currently operates them VFR-only, enabling a useful load improvement of 330 pounds over standard IFR avionics. When it placed a $125 million fleet order for 25 EC145es last year, Metro said it was developing a new low-cost, lightweight IFR package for the helicopters with Genesys.

The Genesys IFR package on the EC145e features four IDU-450 displays in a dual-sided PFD/MFD format with dual redundant ADAHRS, dual GPS/FMS and IFR certified HeliSAS stability augmentation system and three-axis autopilot. The level-A-certified IDU-450 weighs 4.5 pounds and features high-resolution LCD glass, 3D synthetic vision, highway-in-the-sky, enhanced HTAWS, integrated FMS, and hover vector. 

The aircraft fitted with the Genesys systems will be delivered by Metro from its facility in Shreveport, Louisiana. Metro CEO Mike Stanberry told AIN that he expects deliveries to begin next month. “We have helicopters ready for delivery,” he said.

More Features Added To Mars Aircraft Dashboard

Web-based software developer Sutton Integrated has further expanded the capabilities of its My Aircraft Reporting System (Mars) online aircraft dashboard for owners and operators. The company also continues to build its base of business aviation charter and management customers, the most recent being GainJet Aviation out of Athens, Greece.

While Mars has been able to work any flight activity or financial software, it is now able to import all information directly via APIs for FOS and Quick Books. Sutton said it is also working on more APIs for other aviation scheduling and financial software.

Another new feature in Mars is a customizable owner’s report, which can include a profit and loss statement, aircraft activity summary, flight log information, and operating costs. It can either be viewed online in the Mars system or printed out identically as viewed online.

Mars also has a new calendar view that allows aircraft owners to see where their aircraft has been, where it is currently, and its future availability. This feature also allows owners to reserve their aircraft for specific days simply by selecting the dates on the calendar. That reservation information is then sent directly to the charter/management company.

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