Gulfstream’s G700 Mockup Goes on Tour

Gulfstream Aerospace has launched a tour of the G700 mockup less than four months after taking the wraps off the new ultra-long-range twinjet. During NBAA-BACE 2019, Gulfstream unveiled the mockup at the Henderson Executive Airport in Nevada, showcasing a five-living-area configuration for the company's new flagship.

The mockup—which was specially designed to be able to handle road travel in the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific—headed to Monterey, California, this week before it is to embark on stops in Palm Beach, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; Switzerland; France; and the UK. “We have been excited to show customers this amazing aircraft,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “The combination of technology and cabin innovation raises the bar for the business-jet industry.”

Powered by Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines, the $75 million twinjet will have an NBAA IFR range of at least 7,500 nm; adopt the G500/600 Symmetry flight deck, including active-control sidesticks; and sport 20 large, G650-size windows. First flight of the G700 is expected by June, with service entry to follow in 2022.

Gulfstream announced the aircraft in October with launch orders in hand, including from Qatar Executive and Flexjet.

PrimeFlight Continues Aircraft Appearance Roll Up

The PrimeFlight Aviation Services group of companies continues to roll up aircraft cleaning companies with its latest acquisition of some of the assets of California-based International Aero, the Texas-based portfolio company of venture capital firm Carlyle Group announced yesterday. It follows PrimeFlight’s December acquisition of Appearance Group in Wichita.

“This acquisition furthers our growth in the aircraft cleaning space, boosting our expertise, and helping us to become the premier aircraft cleaning provider in the general aviation industry,” explained PrimeFlight president and CEO Dan Bucaro. Assets of International Aero that PrimeFlight acquired include International Aero operations at Long Beach Airport (LGB), Van Nuys Airport (VNY), Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV), and Tucson International Airport (TUS).

Those operations provide OEMs, operators, and corporate flight departments with services to maintain, repair, and replace every aesthetic aspect of the aircraft, including cleaning, detailing, painting, and placarding. International Aero will retain its interior and engineering businesses and machine shop located in Los Angeles.

“This acquisition means our aircraft appearance business will become part of a larger network with additional support and growth opportunities for our team members, allowing us to help PrimeFlight build the industry’s preferred aviation services network,” said International Aero president Jonathan Saltman.

Milano Prime FBO Saw a Strong 2019

SEA Prime, which manages the business and private aviation infrastructure at Italy’s Milan Linate and Milan Malpensa Airports through their Milano Prime business aviation terminals, noted 24,500 business and general aviation movements at the two airports in 2019 or an average of 70 per day. That includes the 5,300 movements that were rerouted to the new Malpensa terminal due to a three-month closure of Linate for a runway and taxiway renovation project. The totals, announced this week at Air Ops Europe 2020 in Brussels, made the Italian city the fifth most popular private aviation destination in Europe last year.

A new service launched at Malpensa five months ago has allowed more than 500 VIP commercial aviation passengers to transit the new private aviation terminal and enjoy the services and benefits normally reserved for private passengers.

“2019 was an important year for SEA Prime,” said CEO Chiara Dorigotti, citing the EBAA Safety Recognition Award that the company received in November at the European Safety Summit. “Moreover, thanks to the renewed partnership with BMW, which will provide [the company] with full electric vehicles in February 2020, continues the commitment towards sustainability of SEA Prime at both Milano Linate and Malpensa Airports.”

Eagle Creek Aviation Begins NXi Upgrades on Phenom 100s

Indianapolis-based Eagle Creek Aviation has completed its first three Garmin G1000 NXi avionics upgrades on Embraer Phenom 100s, it said today. Designed for Phenom 100s with the Prodigy Flight Deck, the recently certified NXi upgrade adds wireless flight plan and database updates, SurfaceWatch runway monitoring, visual approach guidance, and HSI map, among other features.

The MRO/FBO provider said it has already presold several G1000 NXi upgrades for Phenom 100s that are scheduled to begin in the coming months. In addition, Eagle Creek can also install the NXi flight deck on Beechcraft King Airs.

The Garmin upgrade builds on the company’s previous Phenom maintenance and avionics experience. Over the past year, Eagle Creek has completed sixteen 120-month/10-year inspections on Phenom 100s and the first two 10-year inspections on Phenom 300s, in addition to landing gear overhauls due at the same interval. The company also completed more than 75 ADS-B installations on Phenom 100s and 300s.

Eagle Creek is also an International Aircraft Dealers Association-accredited aircraft dealer and broker and operates Naples Jet Center in Naples, Florida, and First Wing Jet Center at Indianapolis Executive Airport.

CJI Panelists: Bizav Must Improve Industry Promotion

The business aviation industry faces various threats to growth, and speakers at the Corporate Jet Investor 2020 conference earlier this week in London made it clear that doing the right thing on the environment and safety would not be enough to address the industry’s negative perception. Rather, the industry must promote its efforts on those fronts.

During the panel session “Under Pressure: Why People Are Attacking Business Aviation,” Aoife O’Sullivan of The Air Law Firm (and chairman of the British General and Business Aviation Association) warned, “There is a general perception that we’re flying fat cats around, and we’re not doing enough to address that.” 

In a panel discussion on sustainable aviation, it was noted that young people are turning their backs on aviation because they perceive it as environmentally unfriendly. However, this perception is detached from reality as business aircraft carbon emission account only for 0.04 percent of the total for all transportation modes. 

Yet another threat is on the safety side, highlighted by occasional accidents involving “gray charter” and operators where it is not clear whether they meet the requirements for commercial operation. In a safety session at the CJI event, regulators from various places in the world addressed illegal charter. Simon Williams, Isle of Man's director of civil aviation, said, “It is an issue, but identifying the scale is a challenge.”

Bell Adds Genesys Autopilot as Factory Option on 505

Bell has selected the Genesys Aerosystems VFR HeliSAS autopilot and stability augmentation system with envelope protection as a new factory-installed option on the 505 Jet Ranger X light single. Key autopilot features include automatic recovery to near-level flight attitude at all airspeeds; stability engagement throughout all phases of flight; autopilot pitch control, including altitude hold, IAS hold, VS hold, GS autopilot roll control with HDG hold, NAV, LOC, and VOR; optional yaw control; and over- and under-speed protection.

VFR HeliSAS is also offered as a retrofit option in the field through a Genesys Aerosystems approved dealer. Current pricing for HeliSAS on the Bell 505 is $70,259 for two-axis and $85,259 for three-axis, not including installation. Shipping will begin in the coming months, dependent on customer location, following FAA certification and foreign authority validations.

"We are proud to introduce new safety features to HeliSAS for the Bell 505 including airspeed protection and yaw control,” said Genesys director of sales and marketing Jamie Luster. The HeliSAS system already has been installed in more than 1,000 small to medium helicopters, the company said. 

Feds Approve West Star’s Mx Tech Apprenticeship Program

West Star Aviation has received approval for its aircraft maintenance technician apprenticeship program in Illinois from the U.S. Department of Labor, the MRO provider announced this week. The approval makes West Star eligible for state grants that can offset wages, tuition, and other training costs.

It also allows the company to tap additional federal grants, including the Aviation Workforce Development Grant, recently passed by Congress. “We are honored to be approved for this exciting new program,” said West Star v-p of human resources Katie Johnson. “This opportunity will allow us to continue to grow and expand the AMT workforce.”

There are currently 37 apprentice maintenance technicians at West Star, with nearly three-quarters of them based at its East Alton, Illinois location. It also operates primary facilities in Grand Junction, Colorado; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Perryville, Missouri, as well as six satellite facilities at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (ASE); Chicago Executive Airport (PWK); Centennial Airport (APA); Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport (CXO); Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP); and Scottsdale Airport (SCF).

Skytrac Enables Live Patient Data Transfer from HEMS

Skytrac has successfully transferred patient medical data via inflight cellular and satellite connection, using the company’s DAL-200 and ISAT-200A avionics and data from the Zoll X series monitor/defibrillator. The test of this new capability was performed in collaboration with helicopter EMS provider STAT MedEvac.

Skytrac engineers were able to configure the Zoll device to connect to an onboard Wi-Fi network enabled by the DAL-200. When cellular connectivity was available, the DAL-200 acted as a Wi-Fi/cellular bridge that allowed the Zoll to connect to its own servers. When cellular connectivity was unavailable, the DAL-200 enabled a redirection request to the ISAT-200A that encrypted and transmitted medical data through the Iridium satellite network to Skytrac. It was then forwarded to Zoll’s secure medical servers, enabling healthcare practitioners to access 12-lead reports before patients arrive in the emergency room.

"Transfer of care of critically ill patients is one of the riskiest phases of care, where up to 20 percent of patients in the U.S. may experience a harmful event. Current emergency and 911 communication systems are limited, utilizing archaic technology. Our work will be critical to developing future systems that allow early and robust coordination of care and alert waiting medical and surgical teams of inbound patients,” said Dr. Leonard Weiss, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and assistant medical director for STAT MedEvac. 

Act Now: FBO Survey Closes Tomorrow

Don’t wait—AIN’s FBO survey is now open for year-round feedback. It takes only a minute, and you can do it while waiting for passengers, on the shuttle bus to/from the hotel or any other time that is convenient for you. Log on to www.ainonline.com/fbosurvey to rate your experiences at the FBOs you visit. Voting for this year's survey closes February 7.

Leonardo Buys Swiss Helicopter Manufacturer Kopter

Before it has even certified its first helicopter, Swiss manufacturer Kopter was sold to Italian manufacturer Leonardo, in a blockbuster deal announced at Heli-Expo 2020.

Leonardo already has its own successful light single-engine helicopter in the AW119, a variant of which was just selected as the winner in the U.S. Navy’s training helicopter competition. But the company believes the addition of the single-engine Kopter SH09, which has a cabin volume equivalent to a medium-size helicopter, will be an enhancement to its lineup.