Business aircraft flight activity in North America last year increased by 5.1 percent over 2021 but traffic remained largely flat for the last three quarters of 2022, according to Argus International’s year-end analysis for North America released on Friday. “We began 2022 in arguably the strongest position business aviation has ever been in, but we ended 2022 with some of the first activity losses since the pandemic began to loosen its grip on air travel,” it said.
Traffic continued to surge in the first quarter of 2022, up 23.2 percent year-over-year. But the last nine months of the year combined for just a 0.4 percent gain over the same period in 2021. This was still well above pre-pandemic levels, up 15.2 percent from 2019. While activity was up in the single digits in 2022, flight hours soared 10.6 percent from 2021, Argus added.
Large-cabin jet operations led the year-over-year gains in 2022, with an increase of 11.4 percent. This was followed by midsize jets, 5.2 percent; light jets, 4.6 percent; and turboprops, 2.3 percent.
By operational category, Part 135 began to see the jump in operations wane, ending the year at a 1.3 percent increase over 2021. Fractional operations saw a 6.6 percent increase, and Part 91 operations improved by 7.9 percent, with large-cabin activity in that category up 13.9 percent.
Bombardier has realigned its senior leadership team in a series of moves that add an executive-level position focused on supply chain and are in line with the company’s growth plans in defense, services, continuous product improvement, and future manufacturing practices, the Montreal-based airframer announced today. The reorganization takes effect February 20.
Jean-Christophe Gallagher, who has helped spearhead a major expansion of the company’s support facilities as executive v-p of services, support, and corporate strategy, will step into the new role of executive v-p of aircraft sales and Bombardier Defense. Paul Sislian, who is executive v-p of operations, will become executive v-p of Bombardier aftermarket services and strategy. Sislian formerly led the optimization of Bombardier’s business jet manufacturing facilities and processes.
Meanwhile, David Murray, who has been senior v-p of transformation, operational excellence, and information technology, will add aerostructures, assembly, and completions activities to his responsibilities in his position as executive v-p of manufacturing, IT, and Bombardier operational excellence system.
Éric Filion will take the role of executive v-p of programs and supply chain, returning to Bombardier after serving as an executive v-p at Hydro-Quebec. Also, Michel Ouellette, a 33-year company veteran, will lead engineering and product development as executive v-p until his planned retirement in June.
The pilots’ decision to use normal, non-icing procedures while landing their Embraer Phenom 100 in known icing conditions led to a “stall on very short final,” hard landing, and collapsed landing gear before the twinjet veered off the runway at Paris Le Bourget Airport on Feb. 8, 2021, according to the newly issued final report from French aircraft accident investigation agency BEA. There were no serious injuries to the pilots or passenger, but the aircraft was written off.
According to the report, the pilots flew the approach at a Vref of 97 knots, the normal procedure for non-icing conditions. However, this was 22 knots below Vref for icing conditions and close to the stall speed in the event of ice contamination. Under the weather conditions and airplane’s weight, compliance with the manufacturer’s procedure for an approach in icing conditions would have prohibited landing at Le Bourget due to one-engine inoperative climb requirements.
At 3,000 feet, after a single cycle of the wing and stabilizer deicers, the crew saw through the cockpit window that ice built up on the wing leading edges had broken up. After that, the deicers were not used for the remainder of the flight. However, ice on the wing and stabilizer leading edges observed after the accident indicated that ice built up on the aircraft during final approach.
The newly-organized House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is set to kick off FAA reauthorization hearings tomorrow with a focus on aviation safety. Tuesday’s hearing, entitled “FAA Reauthorization: Enhancing America’s Gold Standard in Aviation Safety,” will include testimony from FAA acting administrator for aviation safety Dave Boulter, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, Air Line Pilots Association president Jason Ambrosi, GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce, and NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.
The hearing is the second for the committee and the first on FAA reauthorization in the 118th Congress and comes as the panel recently reorganized with Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri) becoming chair, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Washington) ranking member, Rep. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) chair of the aviation subcommittee, and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) as ranking subcommittee member.
Lawmakers anticipate holding a series of hearings this year to explore various aviation issues as they craft a comprehensive bill to renew the FAA’s operating authority and address areas such as advanced air mobility, FAA certification, and workforce. The FAA’s current authorization is set to expire on September 30.
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Hill Helicopters CEO Jason Hill claims his company can build its GT50 turbine engine for less than $100,000 each. Hill called available engines “unreasonably expensive,” giving his company “no choice” but to “think bigger” for its HX50 helicopter, he told AIN.
While the GT50 traces its origin in an industrial engine to provide “low development risk,” the design has been modified for the helicopter. This includes replacing the three-chamber combustor with an annular combustor and two-stage turbine with a single-stage model.
Referencing the engine, Hill said his team began with performance targets, including the ability to carry five 210-pound passengers and their luggage, cruise for three hours, and hover out-of-ground effect at 10,000 feet msl at ISA+15. “That set the parameters for the engine,” Hill said, adding he aims for the GT50 to produce 400-shp max continuous, 440-shp for five minutes, and 500-shp for 30 seconds.
Hill is building parts for the first engine now and plans to build “three or four” more engines in the course of bench testing before it finds its way onto the HX50, which is expected to make its first flight later this year. Hill said he thinks he can get individual engine cost below $100,000 “easily” based on a run rate of 500 helicopters a year, the company’s ultimate production goal.
The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) is returning to the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) campus in Daytona Beach, Florida, for its annual Safety Symposium from March 20 to 22. It will have a slate of speakers that includes General Lloyd “Fig” Newton and, for the first time, a business aviation career panel session.
ACSF brought its Safety Symposium to ERAU last year after remaining at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) training facility in Ashburn, Virginia, for the organization’s first 13 years.
Building on the success of last year’s symposium, ACSF is hoping to tap into the university's student base with a kickoff panel on March 20 involving C-Suite leaders who will provide insight into their own career paths and highlight future opportunities in business aviation. Jessie Naor, president of GrandView Aviation, will moderate the panel, which also includes executives from USAIG, Embraer, Priester Aviation, Magellan Jets, and Jet It.
That event will be followed by two days of safety sessions covering topics such as leadership, culture, safety management systems, and flight data monitoring. Newton, a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general who serves on the NBAA board, will discuss developing a sustainable aviation safety culture. NTSB Member Michael Graham, meanwhile, will overview circling approaches.
In all, 20 industry leaders and safety experts are lined up to participate in panels and sessions during this year’s event.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
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In context of flight path management, what definition below corresponds to planning and control of airspeed, altitude, thrust, aerodynamic drag (speedbrakes, slats/flaps, and gear), and trajectory to achieve desired lateral/vertical flightpath targets?
Jordanian business jet charter and management firm Arab Wings recently obtained air ambulance operation certification and authorization from the Jordanian Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission. “This authorization will enable Arab Wings to transport patients and their families to Jordan from any country in the region and in Europe on board private aircraft equipped with medically trained and experienced air ambulance operations staff, to escort patients throughout the entire journey,” it said.
Last year, Arab Wings general manager Ahmad Abu Ghazaleh told AIN that interests running in parallel to the aviation business had raised $350 million to build a medical center, Abdali Hospital, which opened in 2019 and serves as the focus of Arab Wings medevac and medical tourism initiatives.
International Wings Group, the owner of Arab Wings, said it could make the “appropriate medevac aircraft” available at a minimum of four hours. “Each aircraft can be configured into a mini intensive care unit that handles advanced life support, basic life support, and critical-care patients,” it said. “A preflight medical assessment is conducted on all patients to ensure that we have the appropriate medical team and equipment on board to safely move the patient(s). Our medical staff is deployed from one of the key group subsidiaries—Abdali Medical Centre.”
The National Aerospace Research & Technology Park (NARTP) has received a $2.25 million congressional grant to advance the development and testing of autonomous devices that can perform routine labor-intensive activities such as lawn mowing and foreign object debris sweeps on military and civil airfields.
NARTP—which occupies a 58-acre campus adjoining New Jersey’s Atlantic City International Airport (KACY) and the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center—will work on the Airfield Autonomy Initiative (AAI) together with the U.S. Air Force, FAA, National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, Atlantic County Economic Alliance and others to create the first-ever, airfield-specific autonomous command and control (C2) systems.
While some automated technologies already exist, the AAI will focus on establishing software that can incorporate them into a comprehensive operating system to enable their use in airfield operations in a scalable and consistent manner. According to NARTP, such devices will allow more efficient and safer ground operations, as well as reduce operating costs and labor.
“Developing and successfully demonstrating vigorous C2 systems that can safely operate, track, coordinate, communicate, navigate, and deconflict multiple types of automated devices from a variety of technology providers is a critical step forward in increasing airport efficiencies and reducing costs,” said NARTP chairman, retired USAF Major General, and American Airlines captain Mark Loeben.
Demonstrations of these systems will begin this spring at KACY and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
City: Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport
State:
Country: Nigeria
Event Date: February 6, 2023
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