The FAA has finalized the first aircraft-specific standardized training curriculum for Part 135. Issued in October, the curriculum—for the Gulfstream V—was open for comment through November 9. In what is anticipated to be the first of a series for specific aircraft, the curriculum is a voluntary program designed to provide a standardized approach to training at Part 142 centers.
The curriculum stemmed from a recommendation of the Air Carrier Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which sought to ease paperwork burdens and staff shortage concerns while elevating safety through best practices.
A key feature is that the programs are portable, which addresses the issue of charter operators having to send pilots to initial training for the same model of aircraft for each operator they fly for, even if the pilots are current in that aircraft.
The FAA released an advisory circular providing guidance on the standardized training concept in 2020 and formed a Training Standardization Working Group (TSWG) to draft the various curricula. Its GV curriculum is anticipated to serve as a framework for future models, and NBAA said Citation Excel and Hawker 800 standardized curricula are under development.
Brian Koester, director of flight operations for NBAA and chair of the TSWG, lauded the release of the GV curriculum: “The standardized curriculum concept will change the future of Part 135 training by creating efficiencies in the industry’s training system and providing higher-quality training events.”
The captain’s abrupt, last-minute turn to avoid clouds caused a momentary loss of control of a Jetfly Pilatus PC-12 during its descent to France’s Brive-Souillac Airport. According to French aircraft accident investigation agency BEA, the Oct. 12, 2021 “serious incident” involved stall warning activation and an unintentional descent below the minimum safe altitude (MSA) before the aircraft was recovered.
During the nighttime descent, the chartered PC-12 encountered intense turbulence after passing through a cloud mass, for which the airborne weather radar was showing weak precipitation. To ensure the comfort of the three passengers, the copilot insisted that the captain (pilot flying) avoid another cloud mass that she could see ahead of them. Relying on his radar, the captain “refused to change the flight path and continued descending to the 3,000-foot MSA for which he had been given clearance.”
At the continued insistence of the copilot, when the single-engine turboprop was “very close” to the cloud mass and approaching the 3,000 feet, the captain “without warning or adjusting the engine power disengaged the autopilot and turned suddenly and abruptly.”
The stall warning sounded and the airplane descended nearly 600 feet below the MSA before the captain leveled the wings and increased engine power to climb back to 3,000 feet. The remainder of the approach and landing was conducted without further incident.
Continuing its push for small operators to adopt flight data monitoring (FDM) programs, the NTSB released a video highlighting the benefits and possible solutions for those aircraft operators. The 30-minute video provides a synopsis of a roundtable the Safety Board held in October entitled “Practical Flight Data Monitoring Solutions for Small Operators.” The full two-hour meeting, moderated by NTSB vice chair Bruce Landsberg, is available online as well.
The goal of the roundtable was to show how small and medium-size operators can use data to prevent crashes and improve safety, Landsberg told attendees. He added that the NTSB has recommended that the FAA require FDM for Part 135.
“NTSB investigations have consistently shown that effective FDM programs could have identified potential safety issues and prevented a crash,” Landsberg said. While multiple investigations have underscored the importance of FDM, he pointed to the Nov. 10, 2015 accident of an Execuflight Hawker 700A in Akron, Ohio, in particular.
He noted NTSB officials have asked operators how they would know if the pilots are doing the right thing. “Too many times they don’t know and that’s unacceptable,” Landsberg remarked.
The October roundtable included four small operators discussing how they were able to implement an FDM program. Landsberg added that the key takeaway from the meeting is that FDM is not as daunting or costly as it might seem.
Daher has signed an agreement to acquire France-headquartered aerospace manufacturing services company Assistance Aéronautique et Aérospatiale (AAA). This deal was announced today alongside the unveiling of Daher’s “Take off 2027” strategic plan, under which it plans to become a “large, profitable international company” in four complementary businesses: aircraft production, manufacturing, manufacturing services, and logistics. Subject to approvals, the acquisition is expected to be completed in May.
Outside of France, AAA has subsidiaries and holdings in Canada, the U.S., Germany, Qatar, China, and the Philippines. It provides “complete service solutions that are complementary to those of Daher, in particular for the assembly and installation of [aircraft] structures, systems, and engines, along with runway work, maintenance, industrialization, and quality,” according to Daher.
“The development of manufacturing services is an integral part of our new strategic plan and is perfectly aligned with our commitment to support our aeronautical customers in a context that remains complex,” said Daher CEO Didier Kayat.
FlightSafety Studies the Decision-Making Process of Go-Arounds to Enhance Training
Pilots can and should choose go-arounds when approaches become unstable. Now, FlightSafety International is working to determine what goes into pilots’ decision-making process and whether different choices should be made. Incorporating the results is what the company hopes will lead to better flight training, ultimately preparing pilots more effectively.
Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (KEAU) is preparing for the completion of a 22,500-sq-ft hangar. Construction on the facility, which will be owned by the airport and managed by Hawthorne Global Aviation Services, the lone FBO on the field, began in September.
Once the hangar opens by mid-year, Hawthorne will have 47,000 sq ft of aircraft shelter and will be able to accommodate ultra-long-range business jets, something it could not do previously in its existing 24,500-sq-ft hangar, which is limited to super-midsize jets due to wingspan restrictions.
With its 8,100-foot main runway, KEAU is a predominantly general aviation airport serving the west-central part of the state. It has a control tower and on-site aircraft rescue and fire capabilities.
“As the region continues to grow, the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport continues to look for opportunities to accommodate the corresponding demand for aviation facilities,” said airport director Charity Zich. “This new hangar will greatly increase our ability to capture additional demand for those looking for a convenient and accessible airport option.”
Aircraft brokerage Aerocor, which specializes in preowned very light jet sales, experienced another strong year in 2022. The Nevada-based company completed 43 sales transactions last year, 30 percent of which were completed in the fourth quarter.
The company dominated the Eclipse 500 market with its representation of either the buyer or seller in more than 70 percent of the transactions in the second half of the year. Over the past few years, the company has offered several value-added services for Eclipse 500 operators, including an aircraft training program combined with FlightData’s maintenance tracking and performance analyzer and the recently-updated Eclipse quick reference application.
Last year, Aerocor also saw growth in its market share of the Beechcraft Premier I/IA as it represented clients in 15 percent of the type’s transactions.
“We have put a lot of effort into developing informational materials for the benefit of Premier owners and potential buyers,” said Jens Personius, the company’s manager of client services, adding that they are now beginning to see the positive effects reliable and transparent information can have on the fleet’s liquidity. “Prior to publication of our 'Premier Buyers Guide, New Owner Guide,' and quarterly market updates, there was very little information available about these aircraft.”
Inflight Connectivity Question of the Week
Sponsored by
Individual users have more than ____ their data usage per device, per flight today compared to 2014.
Air ambulance operator Life Flight Network (LFN) is adding four Bell 407GXi turbine single-engine helicopters, bringing its overall Bell fleet to 29 with four 429 light twins and 25 407GX-series machines. LFN operates from 27 rotor-wing, 10 fixed-wing, and two neonatal and pediatric bases across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. It is the largest air medical operator of the Bell 407GXi in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West.
“Life Flight Network has continued to see the value and performance the Bell 407 ;platform has provided in the last several years,” said Lane Evans, Bell's director of North America sales. “The additional four Bell 407GXis with certified IFR capabilities will grow their state-of-the-art transport resources, allowing Life Flight Network to further increase community access to industry-leading critical care transport.”
More than 1,600 Bell 407s have been produced and the installed global fleet has logged six million flight hours, flying diverse missions including flight training, military, and para-public missions. The 407GXi features the Garmin G1000H NXi flight deck ;with available IFR capability.
In the past five years, Planet 9 has transitioned from its founding as a charter provider that owned its aircraft to a charter-management company operating 31 large-cabin jets. The company celebrated its growth with an open-house event last Thursday at its Los Angeles base in the Castle & Cooke hangar at Van Nuys Airport.
When it launched in 2018, Planet Nine owned one Dassault Falcon 7X, which soon grew to three. Today, the company’s managed fleet ranges from Bombardier Globals to Gulfstream G550s and G650s and the Falcon 7X.
Planet 9 has bases in Los Angeles, Miami-Opa locka, London Stansted, and Teterboro, New Jersey, with a client services office in Houston and an operations team in Lisbon, Portugal. Maintenance is done in-house at the Planet 9 facilities in Los Angeles, Miami, and London.
With the increase of customers new to business aviation during the past two years, director of business development Matt Walter said, “We made a significant pivot to a new business model: traditional aircraft management.”
Most of the owned Falcon 7Xs were sold, and now 90 percent of the managed aircraft fleet is available for charter. Half don’t require owner approval for charter flights, which gives Planet 9 much more flexibility to handle the demand for charter flights. “We specialize in international, complex missions,” he said. Almost every flight carries a trained professional attendant.
Wayne Fry, the FAA flight standards division manager for general aviation safety assurance, has been named as government co-chairman of the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team. Fry is a 25-year veteran of the FAA and previously worked for 17 years at oil-and-gas industry helicopter operator Air Logistics.
The National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) appointed Justin Ellixson-Andrews executive director of the organization, succeeding former NGPA president Brian Gambino, who is stepping down from the role. Ellixson-Andrews is a long-time member of NGPA and previously served as the head of talent acquisition and learning development at JSX. While at JSX, he focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion and helped the company receive a perfect score on the HRC Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ equality.
Atlanta-headquartered HondaJet operator Volato named Joan Sullivan Garrett to its board of directors. Garrett is founder and chairman of safety solutions provider MedAire, which she started in 1985. She was also inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2021, recognizing her work in the industry.
The International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) named Stan Kuliavas, the v-p of sales and business development for Levaero Aviation Group, head of its International Committee. Kuliavas replaces Zipporah Marmor, the v-p of aircraft transactions at ACASS, who was named chair of the organization in October 2022 and formed the International Committee to increase the roster of internationally based dealers and aid them in developing processes that ensure transparency and integrity in the sale of preowned aircraft.
Air Charter Service appointed Joel Fenn as CEO of its new office in Washington, D.C. Fenn joined ACS in 2005 in the company’s London headquarters and has held roles as private jets director in the London and Hong Kong offices. He most recently served as CEO of ACS’s Miami operation.
Asian Sky Group (ASG) named Dennis Lau as consultancy services director. Lau has more than 15 years of experience working in both business and commercial aviation and joins ASG from Ascend by Cirium, where he served as a senior aviation analyst and led the helicopter values research team. He also managed and delivered advisory projects for companies across the aviation industry.
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
AINalerts is a publication of AIN Media Group, 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
