Industry Needs Pilots, Mx Techs Now, Says NBAA Chief
With the ATC privatization fight now in the rearview mirror, NBAA plans to focus this year on business aviation’s acute workforce shortage, association president and CEO Ed Bolen said this morning at the NBAA Regional Forum in West Palm Beach, Florida. “Our industry is growing, but there are bottlenecks; there is a shortage of pilots and maintenance technicians, and we need them now!”
Due to this urgency, NBAA is targeting college students since they will be entering the workforce in the near term, while “still keeping the people we have” in the industry, he said. “But the challenge in attracting new people is how do we make an industry that has purposely flown under the radar more publicly known and accessible?”
On this front, NBAA is using lessons learned from the ATC battle, namely tapping into the industry’s grassroots to find what’s working and best practices, and then package that at the national level to redeploy for use at local levels. To promote business aviation as a career choice to young people, NBAA is providing tools for classrooms and fostering career days, as well as promoting internships, mentorships, and best practices, Bolen said. He also noted that 250 students are being brought into today’s regional forum to see the 30 static display aircraft and interact with the more than 150 exhibitors.
Airbus, Helisim Break Ground On Texas Training Center
Airbus Helicopters and Helisim broke ground Tuesday on a $40 million, 23,000-sq-ft helicopter pilot and maintenance crew training center in Grand Prairie, Texas. Helisim is a joint venture of Thales and Airbus Helicopters. Christian Cochini, Helisim's CEO, said the new facility will “be able to provide unparalleled training solutions to North American customers.”
The center will house new Thales Reality H level-D full-motion flight simulators for the Airbus H145 and H175 twin-engine helicopters. It will also incorporate Airbus Helicopters’ existing training facility—including its H125/AS350 full-flight simulator and H135/H145 training device—and eventually include the simulator for the new H160 twin once that helicopter is certified and put into production.
“This training center will advance safety for the thousands of men and women who operate and fly in our helicopters every day,” said Anthony Baker, vice president of customer support for Airbus Helicopters. Airbus expects the new center to bring several thousand pilots and maintenance personnel to Grand Prairie every year, sometimes for two weeks or more.
Atlanta FBOs Emerge Victorious from Super Bowl
Atlanta-area FBOs emerged victorious from the Super Bowl weekend, smoothly handling an estimated 1,000-plus private aircraft over the six days that reservations (priced from about $1,500-$1,700—comparable to previous Super Bowls) were required at half a dozen local airports.
Epps Aviation at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK) hosted some 140 jets, and fuel uplift per aircraft was far above average, as almost all were large-cabin jets. Hill Aircraft at Fulton County Airport-Brown Field (FTY) welcomed “well over” 120 aircraft and uplifted more fuel than expected. Signature Flight Support—with FBOs at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), PDK, and FTY—had many drop-offs from charter operators and NetJets, in addition to ramps filled with parked aircraft.
FBOs brought in extra line and maintenance personnel and equipment to handle the traffic. At Cobb County International, Hawthorne Global Aviation Services added 45 line service techs and 15 customer service representatives. Atlantic Aviation at PDK brought in extra fuel trucks, tugs, lav servicing equipment, and power carts, while Signature deployed Technicair maintenance teams. But the only maintenance issue FBOs reported to AIN was a tire change on a Gulfstream.
FBOs credited detailed planning, experienced staffs, and the number of regional airports for the smooth operations.
Jetworx Expands Mx Work, Facilities at VNY
California-based Jetworx has added maintenance capabilities to its FAA Part 145 repair station certificate and relocated to a new facility at Van Nuys Airport (VNY) with plans for further expansion this year. “We have continued to invest heavily in new tooling and equipment as well as several new strategic hires with incredibly strong maintenance and avionics experience so that we may better serve the private aviation community,” said Jetworx general manager Louis DeLorio.
Specifically, the company has added Embraer EMB 135—including Legacy 600 and 650—and Gulfstream GIV-X and G450 twinjets to its FAA Part 145 repair station certificate, as well as Hamilton Sundstrand T-62T-40 Series APUs. It also has added limited instrument and radio ratings as it broadens its airframe maintenance capabilities to cover avionics troubleshooting, testing, and repair, including FAR 91.411 and 91.413/RVSM recertifications. Jetworx added technicians and made other key personnel hires to accommodate the additional work.
The seven-year-old maintenance provider also relocated to a new 55,000-sq-ft hangar at the northwest corner of the airport and plans further expansion in an adjoining hangar some time this year.
Skyservice STCs Learjet 45 Iridium Datalink
Transport Canada has granted a supplemental type certificate (STC) to Skyservice Business Aviation for Satcom Direct’s Data Link Unit (DLU) in the Learjet 45. Satcom Direct worked with Skyservice to develop the STC and is helping the company with upcoming EASA and FAA STCs, which should be approved in the second quarter.
The SD DLU is an Iridium satcom that facilitates FANS-over-Iridium datalink communications and is the only DLU that is FAA technical standard order-approved (TSO C159c), according to Satcom Direct. The DLU was developed by TrueNorth Avionics, which Satcom Direct purchased in December 2016.
Skyservice has upgraded one of its Learjet 45s with the SD DLU. Two more Learjet 45s will receive the upgrade shortly. With the DLU upgrade, the Learjet 45 can use controller-pilot datalink communications (CPDLC) to fly in airspace where FANS-1/A equipage is required. The DLU also enables ATN-B1 services and CPDLC-equipped aircraft can take advantage of digital clearances available at many airports in the U.S.
“Skyservice is one of the first MROs to comply with 9,600-/10,000-/14,800-hour inspections and has more than 30 years' experience in Learjet maintenance,” said Paul Weeks, Skyservice vice president of maintenance. “The SD DLU is a proven product that supports more efficient Learjet 45 operations.”
EMS Helo Crashes After Other Companies Decline Flight
A 1996 Bell 407 that crashed last week en route to a patient pick up in Ohio had been dispatched only after two other air ambulance companies rejected the flight as being below their established weather minimums. The Survival Flight helicopter had been dispatched from Grove City to pick up a patient in Pomeroy.
All three crewmembers died January 29 when the helicopter crashed through trees and disintegrated at 6:55 a.m., shortly before local sunrise, on state forest land near McArthur, 34 miles from its destination. Blowing snow and gusty winds were reported in the area of the crash site at the time of the accident. Pilot Jennifer Topper, 34, held a second-class medical, a helicopter instrument rating, and had received her commercial certificate in November 2018, according to FAA records.
The flight had been rejected by two other air ambulance programs, MedFlight operated by Metro Aviation, and HealthNet Aeromedical, operated by Air Methods. MedFlight issued a statement saying it had rejected the flight based on the fact that Metro’s Operational Control Center “determined that the weather conditions at the time of the request were below our program’s weather minimums.” HealthNet issued a similar statement, saying that its Air Methods pilot declined to complete the flight. Survival Flight said the flight met all relevant FAA regulations.
Aviation service provider Avflight has made its first expansion into Canada with the acquisition of Kelly Western Jet Centre, one of three FBOs at Winnipeg’s James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. The facility is open 24 hours a day, offering both jet-A and avgas, customs, deicing, crew cars, and charter handling, with 24,000 sq ft of hangar space to accommodate any size of business aircraft. The 12,000-sq-ft terminal includes a passenger lobby, pilot lounge with snooze rooms and shower facilities, flight planning area, car rental, and 12-seat A/V-equipped conference room along with office space. The Avfuel-affiliated company expects a seamless transition as it rebrands the facility to Avflight Winnipeg.
“Winnipeg is a key location for the Avflight network,” said Garrett Hain, the company’s vice president of finance. “This acquisition will help connect Avflight customers to business in Winnipeg and serve as the network’s gateway to Canada.”
This latest acquisition brings Avflight to 21 full-service FBOs across North America and Europe.
Metrojet Philippines Receives Qatar Approval
Metrojet Limited's MRO operation in the Philippines, Metrojet Engineering Clark, has received approved maintenance organization designation for Qatar controlled aircraft and aircraft components from the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority. “Metrojet Engineering Clark sees the demand to support the growth of A7-registered aircraft in the Asia Pacific region,” Metrojet Engineering Clark general manager Wesley Slate said.
Metrojet opened the Clark facility in 2012. It is at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (CRK) in the Philippines’ Clark Freeport Zone.
The Qatar approval follows others from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the U.S. FAA, and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands. Metrojet, established in 1995, is part of the Kadoorie Group and a sister company of The Peninsula Hotels. It is an authorized warranty repair center for Gulfstream, as well as a Bombardier service center. In addition to MRO services for the Asia-Pacific region, it offers aircraft management services from Singapore and is an aviation consultancy.
Deadline Approaching: Make Your Voice Heard in the 2019 FBO Survey
AIN’s FBO survey is open for year-round feedback, but the deadline to vote in the 2019 survey is this Friday. The results will be published in the April issue of Aviation International News. The survey 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. Participants will be entered to win a $500 Amazon gift card. Log on to www.ainonline.com/fbosurvey to rate your experiences at the FBOs you visit.
Calls for updating approved publications to include a new airworthiness life limitation for a centrifugal force bearing (CFB), Part Number (P/N) 429-310-003-103, in accordance with Bell’s revised Chapter 4, Airworthiness Limitations Schedule (ALS) of the Bell 429 Maintenance Manual.
This AD partially retains the requirement of EASA AD 2018-0261-E and requires installation of a thermal strip and monitoring of the tail rotor (TR) duplex bearing condition. The ADs stemmed from an AW169 accident that is still under investigation. While the helicopter was taking off at low forward speed, a loss of yaw control was observed. As a precautionary measure, Leonardo a service bulletin to provide inspection instructions to check the correct installation of the TR servo-actuator and, subsequently for AW189 helicopters, since these have a TR flight control system of similar design to AW169 helicopters. EASA followed with ADs, including requiring inspections of the TR duplex bearing. Since then testing showed that temperature is a reliable parameter to determine functional condition of the bearing and published a bulletin with instructions to install and repetitively inspect a thermal strip as an additional means to monitor the condition of the TR duplex bearing. This action includes that installation and monitoring.
Supersedes an AD that required the inclusion of specified emergency operational procedures in the rotorcraft flight manual. That was prompted by the discovery that certain attitude heading and reference systems (AHRS) used the same “flight/ground” logic signal, instead of independent redundant signals, as required by the original design specification. If both AHRS receive wrong “ground” status in flight, as a result for instance of a single failure, this will generate consistent erroneous computation of the attitudes and vertical speed during helicopter maneuvers with consequent incorrect flight data indications to the flight crew on both primary displays. This condition could lead to increased workload for the flight crew when the upper modes of Automatic Flight Control System are not engaged, possibly resulting in reduced control of the helicopter during high-speed maneuvers in instrumental meteorological conditions. Since issuance of that AD, Airbus Helicopters developed a wiring harness modification to ensure independent sources of “flight/ground” logic signal for both AHRS. This AD retains the requirement of EASA AD 2017-0077 and requires a wiring harness modification of the AHRS1.
The AD implements limits for storage life of certain TT-Straps and provides conditions for installation of parts. This AD also requires replacement of certain Lord and Bendix TT-Straps with serviceable parts. The AD also prohibits installation of a certain Bendix TT-Strap. This AD is prompted by the determination that aging of the elastomeric material, since manufacturing up to its first flight, may affect the structural characteristics of TT-Strap. This condition could lead to premature failure of a TT-Strap and possible resulting in loss of control of the helicopter.
AD requires replacement of affected fuel control units (FCUs). The AD stems from a reported incident on a PT6B-37A engine, where the contamination from galvanic corrosion between the FCU aluminum body and the steel union fitting has caused the loss of engine control, resulting in an engine over-speed condition and subsequently leading to an engine inflight shutdown.
AD calls for an amendment to the aircraft flight manual procedures, time limits maintenance check change, and eventual installation of a supplemental low-temperature ground wing anti-icing system. The AD stems from a modification Bombardier developed to prevent takeoff with contaminated wings. This AD, along with actions required by ADs CF-2005-03 and CF-2008-16R1, completes the actions undertaken by Transport Canada to improve the safety of the Challenger fleet when operated in adverse weather conditions, the agency said.
Revises an AD to introduce a modification to the 9-deg frame as a terminating action for required repetitive inspections for cracks. The AD originally was prompted by the finding of a crack on the 9-deg frame. The affected helicopter had accumulated 10,786 flight hours (FH) at the time of the inspection. The crack was located 230 mm above the cabin floor and had grown over a large section of the frame on the right-hand (RH) side. To address this potential unsafe condition, EASA issued an emergency AD to require repetitive detailed visual inspections on the RH and left-hand (LH) side of the affected frame to detect any crack and of applicable corrective action, if necessary. After that AD was issued, the results of analyses demonstrated that the flight time leading to crack initiation in the affected area varied significantly depending on the weight and balance data of the affected helicopter models. EASA issued subsequent ADs modifying compliance times and inspection thresholds. Since then, Airbus Helicopters developed the modification to provide structural reinforcement and a terminating action for the inspections.
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