NBAA Scraps ABACE 2020 Amid Virus Concerns

With concerns mounting over the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus in China, and Asia in general, NBAA today decided to pull the plug on this year’s Asian Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (ABACE). The show was scheduled to take place at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport from April 16 through 18.

“While the Chinese government is taking commendable steps to address the coronavirus outbreak, the current situation has presented a very challenging environment for decision-making and action for ABACE participants to fully prepare for the event,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “This necessary step is being taken in the spirit of partnership, collaboration, and transparency.”

Since its launch in 2012, the show which is conducted in partnership with the Shanghai Airport Authority and hosted by NBAA and the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) in the hangars and on the ramp of the Shanghai Hawker Pacific Business Aviation Center, has become the region’s premier business aviation event, typically attracting more than 9,000 attendees from 50 countries. Next year’s edition is scheduled for April 13 to 15.

“We will focus on making ABACE 2021 the best edition yet, and continuing its critical role in promoting business aviation in China, across Asia, and around the world,” Bolen concluded.  

AINsight: Taking Pedigree to the Next Level

In the business aircraft broker community, we bandy about the word pedigree as a badge of honor. We certainly feel as an industry that value is added when the right pedigree is associated with an aircraft offering: low number of owners since new, location of operation, detailed and complete records, and maintenance and repair history. These all stack up to create the story around pedigree.

I started to think recently that pedigree needs to be broadened when considering the overall value of a transaction. Just think for a moment of the other direct and indirect players involved. Let’s talk for a minute about the elephant in the room: representation pedigree.

There is a phenomenon that occurs whenever transactions get reduced due to market slowdowns. Many actors who act as brokers and acquisition specialists begin to operate in what can look very unprofessional and create terrible experiences for those involved, given the seriousness of the investments. They should be handled with a seriousness that leaves everyone in the transaction feeling it was a professional, ethical, and transparent process.

So we are internally beginning to actually rate the representation pedigree along with the aircraft and ownership pedigree. As we stack up aircraft to consider for a client in an acquisition project, we give a score to who is representing the aircraft for sale.

Bombardier’s Singapore Expansion Nears Completion

Bombardier Aviation is progressing on an expansion that will quadruple the size of its Singapore service center, expected to be completed in the second half of this year. The expansion at Seletar Aerospace Park will give the Canadian airframer a 430,000-sq-ft (40,000-sq-m) center that Bombardier claims will be the largest OEM-owned business aviation service facility in the Asia-Pacific region.

Included in the expansion will be new customer facilities for business jet operators, a 37,000-sq-ft full-service paint facility, advanced interior finishing capabilities, and expanded component repair and overhaul services. Heavy structural and composite repair capabilities, a nearly 10,000-sq-ft integrated parts depot, and the addition of more than $15 million in parts inventory will round out the service center’s expansion.

Singapore is one of several service center expansion projects the Montreal-based company has undertaken or completed recently, including at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in Florida, and more recently at London Biggin Hill, where Bombardier announced plans this week to construct a nearly 250,000-sq-ft service center to replace existing hangars there.

In related news, Bombardier’s Tianjin service center in China was awarded European Union Aviation Safety Agency Part 145 approval for line and base maintenance on Challengers and Globals, as well as component approval for batteries and wheels.

Drones Enlisted To Fight Coronavirus in China

Terra Drone Group company Antwork is using drones to transport critical medical supplies and patient samples in support of health care efforts to combat the coronavirus in China. Yesterday, a medical delivery drone flew from the People’s Hospital of Xinchang County to the disease control center there. The county, located in Zhejiang province, is one of the hardest-hit localized areas by the virus, with more than 1,006 confirmed cases.

Using drones reduces contact between patient samples and medical transport personnel and speeds delivery times. Drones best ground delivery speeds by more than 50 percent and also free ground transport assets and personnel at a time when the nation’s medical resources are severely strained. Terra Drone also pointed out that drone delivery also prevents “secondary pollution” of medical materials.

The medical flights are being conducted by Antwork branch company Aerodeli, which received the first urban drone delivery license issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in October. Antwork also is working with other medical institutions throughout the country.  

As of this morning, the death toll from the virus surpassed 630, with more than 31,500 cases reported. While the majority are in China, cases have been confirmed in 25 other countries since the virus was first publicly identified on January 23.

EASA Proposal Updates Large-airplane Cert Rules

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published a notice of proposed amendment (NPA) to update CS-25 certification regulations for transport airplanes. The move will harmonize airworthiness approval requirements with U.S. FAR Part 25 and its associated advisory circulars. Comments on the 98-page NPA are due February 20.

In particular, the NPA proposes amendments in go-around handling qualities and performance; minimum control speeds; fuel tank and system lightning protection; cabin safety; electronic aircraft flight manuals; onboard weight and balance systems; air conditioning systems; flight guidance systems; primary flight displays during unusual attitude and declutter modes; lightning protection and electrical bonding and protection against static electricity; and operation without normal electrical power.

“Overall, these proposals would provide a moderate safety benefit, would have no social or environmental impacts, and would provide some economic benefits by streamlining the certification process,” EASA said. “Proposals are issued when relevant data is available following an update of industry standards, feedback from certification activities, or minor issues raised by the stakeholders. To that end, this NPA proposes amendments to CS-25 following the selection of non-complex, noncontroversial, and mature subjects.”

Sheltair Scion Named as President

Florida-based FBO operator and aviation real estate provider Sheltair has promoted Lisa Holland from president of corporate strategies to president of the company. The daughter of company founder, chairman, and CEO Jerry Holland, she will oversee the day-to-day operations of the more than half-century-old, privately-held company as part of its succession plan.

“My life’s desire is for Sheltair to remain a vibrant and successful family business,” said the elder Holland, who will continue to be actively involved in its management. “I am sure that Lisa will manage and grow the company to retain our industry reputation as the largest privately-held and well-respected FBO and aviation real estate company in the industry.”

Sheltair began in 1963 as a construction company but now has a network of 18 FBOs and properties at 22 airports throughout New York, Florida, Georgia, and Colorado. In addition, it provides property leasing and construction management for aviation-related facilities.

Dassault Finds Buyers for Belgian Aero Firm SABCA

Dassault Group today reached a deal to sell its 97 percent shareholding in aerospace supplier SABCA to a new joint venture between Belgium’s sovereign wealth fund SFPI/FPIM and independent Belgian MRO provider Sabena Aerospace. SABCA’s civil aircraft unit designs and supplies parts for the Airbus A320, A330, A350, and A380 and is active on several Dassault business jet programs, including the Falcon 6X. The company also manufactures the composite horizontal stabilizer structure, supplied to Fokker Aerostructures for integration and delivery to Gulfstream for the G650.

Dassault in April last year revealed it intended to divest SABCA, just weeks after acquiring the near totality of the shareholding of the Belgian Tier 1 aerospace supplier through the purchase of Fokker Aerospace’s 43.57 percent stake for €7.5 million ($8.2 million). That sale price valued SABCA at just €17 million, but Dassault now is selling the company for €74.6 million.

The transaction is subject to merger control approval. The parties said they expect to close the deal at the end of SABCA’s second quarter.

Wisk’s Cora eVTOL OK’d for New Zealand Flight Trials

The New Zealand government and Wisk have signed a memorandum of understanding for the Cora electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to conduct passenger-carrying trial flights in the city of Canterbury. Wisk, a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, has been testing the all-electric aircraft in New Zealand since 2017 and has logged more than 1,000 flights.

Officials have not yet said when the first passenger-carrying flights will be made or how passengers will be chosen. However, it is contingent on the Cora completing type certification by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

In October 2019, the New Zealand government announced an Airspace Integration Trial to demonstrate how unmanned aircraft can be safely operated in unmanned airspace and it has selected Wisk as the first industry partner for this program. The program is being managed by the country’s Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment in conjunction with the CAA and the Ministry of Transport.

“Enabling the emergence of an entirely electric air taxi service is a natural fit with New Zealand’s zero carbon goal by 2050,” said research, science, and innovation minister Megan Wood.

Cora is expected to fly on routes up to around 60 miles and at speeds of approximately 112 mph. It can carry two passengers.

Count on AIN for Full Coverage of NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference

NBAA’s Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2020) will be held from Tuesday, March 10 through Friday, March 13 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Exhibitors with news to share ahead of the show should contact AIN senior editor Curt Epstein.