APP Jet Center, a small aviation services chain consisting of a trio of FBOs scattered across the U.S., has been acquired by middle-market investment firm Ridgewood Infrastructure. The formerly privately-held APP Jet Center provides ground services at Treasure Coast International Airport in Fort Pierce, Florida; San Francisco-area Hayward Executive Airport; and Manassas Regional Airport in Northern Virginia. The company also owns and operates 65,000 sq ft of aircraft hangars at Denver Centennial Airport.
“We founded APP in 2009 and were recently seeking a value-added partner to help us achieve our potential,” explained CEO Dan Harrow. “Ridgewood has deep transportation infrastructure experience and a track record of success working with companies like ours.” Ridgewood Infrastructure is part of the affiliated Ridgewood Companies, a real asset investment manager founded in 1982 with approximately $6 billion of total capital and commitments.
“Ridgewood’s investment in APP exemplifies our ability to create differentiated exposure to essential infrastructure in the U.S. lower middle market, drive value, and deliver beneficial outcomes,” said Ridgewood Infrastructure managing partner Ross Posner.
U.S.-registered business jets and turboprops suffered 16 fatal crashes last year, double the number recorded in 2020, while fatalities increased nearly 62 percent, to 46 killed, according to preliminary figures compiled by AIN. This surge in fatal accidents tracked with WingX Advance's report of a 49 percent year-over-year increase in business aircraft flying in the U.S. in 2021.
Twenty-three people were killed in six crashes of N-numbered business jets last year, compared with four in a single accident in 2020. Five of those accidents were operating under Part 91 rules, while the Bombardier Learjet 35A accident on December 27 is currently listed by the FAA as Part 135. Not included in this analysis is the October 5 crash of a cargo Dassault Falcon 20 that killed two. Non-fatal mishaps involving N-numbered business jets increased from 13 in 2020 to 19 last year.
While instances of non-fatal accidents by U.S.-registered turboprops was flat at 18 last year, fatal accidents increased nearly 30 percent, with 10 accidents claiming 23 people last year. All were under Part 91 or its equivalent.
Meanwhile, two non-U.S.-registered business jets experience fatal accidents that claimed 10 last year, compared with four accidents and 14 fatalities in 2020. Fatal accidents involving non-U.S.-registered turboprops quadrupled from two to eight, while the number of fatalities climbed from nine in 2020 to 40 in 2021.
Business aviation is flourishing globally amid the pandemic as people seek safer travel alternatives, with a notable exception: China. Not only is this boom bypassing China but the market there is “very depressed,” according to Jason Liao, NBAA’s chief Asian representative and chairman and CEO of China business aviation group CBAJET.
Liao said the Chinese business aviation market has been beset by a triple-whammy of Covid travel restrictions, real estate deleveraging, and a crackdown on the high-tech and education industries. The country’s zero-tolerance Covid policy has “pretty much closed Chinese borders,” he noted, while the latter two issues have sapped companies whose principals own or use business aircraft.
Liao is nonetheless optimistic, saying “I believe the above obstacles to the business aviation industry will be gradually removed” this year. He envisions “more accommodating” monetary policies and a gradual opening of the Chinese borders to international travel after the Winter Olympics in Beijing and the 20th Party Congress in March.
“The Chinese business aviation market will come back strongly due to strong demand and rapid wealth creation,” he maintained. “China is a huge country that needs efficient air transportation and it has the greatest number of billionaires in the world.”
Asking values for used turboprop aircraft increased 4.8 percent year-over-year, according to the latest Sandhills Global aviation market report. The report states the average turboprop aircraft value increased by $64,209, to $1,412,023, between December 2020 and December 2021.
Higher asking values are the result of dwindling used turboprop aircraft inventory, especially in key age groups and for certain models, according to the report. Overall inventory is down 56.6 percent year-over-year, according to the report. For turboprop aircraft 10 years and younger, inventory is 64 percent lower year-over-year, while inventory for turboprop aircraft 25 years and older was down 52.2 percent year-over-year.
Looking specifically at Beechcraft King Air turboprop twins, the Sandhills Equipment Value Index was 2.8 percent higher year-over-year in December. It was up nearly 19 percent year-over-year for the King Air 200 series, which Sandhills Global said was the key driver of King Air asking values. For the year, King Air 200 asking values are up $330,000, reaching an average of $2 million in December.
Private lift provider Jet Edge International has captured an additional $75 million of funding from private equity firm KKR to further expand its large-cabin and super-midsize jet fleet. Over the past year, the Ohio-based aircraft charter, management, and brokerage company has received $265 million from KKR in credit and equity investments.
Last year, Jet Edge added 27 more aircraft. With this latest investment announced today, it expects to add 20 more aircraft in the first half of 2022, which would bring its fleet to 95 jets. Jet Edge noted that it grew 1,800 percent year-over-year in new member acquisitions, accounting for more than $180 million in membership deposits.
“With KKR, Jet Edge has been able to grow considerably at a time when the private charter marketplace is experiencing unprecedented demand,” said Jet Edge CEO Bill Papariella. “KKR’s most recent investment in Jet Edge speaks to its confidence in our mission.”
The in-service fleet of 400 Bell 429 light twin helicopters has amassed more than 500,000 flight hours, the rotorcraft manufacturer said late last week. Bell delivered the first 429 in 2009 in air ambulance configuration and since then has developed variants for law enforcement, utility, executive/VIP transport, and military training.
A pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207D1/D2 turboshafts (620 shp each) power the 429, which features a main gearbox with run-dry capability; four-blade, rigid, composite main rotor; composite main rotor hub; four-blade, composite tail rotor; and graphite tail boom and tail-rotor drive shaft. Standard equipment includes dual hydraulics and a three-axis autopilot. Kits for the 429 include rear fuselage doors, a tail-rotor guard, air conditioning and seating options, floats, wheeled landing gear, a cargo hook, a rescue-hoist searchlight, dual controls, a four-axis autopilot, weather radar, and a 40-gallon auxiliary fuel tank in the cabin.
In 2015, Mecaer Aviation Group unveiled a VIP interior for the 429 that features luxury seating, cabin noise dampening, electro-chromatic windows, and the I-Feel in-flight entertainment system, which passengers can control from their personal devices.
The 429 is in service with a diverse roster of customers, including the Swedish National Police, the New York Police Department, the Canadian Coast Guard, and Air Zermatt’s Swiss Alps rescue team.
Autonomous Flight is now inviting prospective customers to place pre-orders for its six-seat Y6S Plus eVTOL that the company aims to start delivering in 2024. The UK-based startup also has confirmed that it is set to launch a Series C fundraising round to raise an additional $100 million to support work to get the all-electric model certified and into production.
Design work on the Y6S prototype is now complete and Autonomous Flight intends to work on this vehicle in 2022 as it prepares to complete the assembly of the Y6S Plus production version in 2023. The company said the aircraft will offer a range of around 100 miles and cruise at 125 mph, supporting commercial flights at altitudes below 2,000 feet across large cities such as London, while also connecting cities across the north of the UK.
The planned Series C funding round will build on an initial $7 million Series A round, and a Series B round that is now being concluded and which is expected to raise a further $25 million. “We are edging ever closer to a reality where drones will become a regular mode of transport in cities around the world. We are years away from this reality, not decades,” noted Autonomous Flight founder Martin Warner.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has brought long-time FAA official Keith DeBerry on board in a full-time capacity as senior v-p of safety and education. Before stepping into the new role, DeBerry had served as senior advisor of regulatory affairs in the maintenance arena and as a liaison for the association’s Aircraft Maintenance and Systems Technology Committee. In his new role, he will steer the development of safety education programs and help the industry to develop and incorporate safety management systems.
Before joining NATA, DeBerry was the director of the FAA Academy, where he led a workforce of more than 400 federal employees and hundreds of contractors. He also has steered the regulatory standards training division that provided technical training for FAA’s aviation safety inspectors and engineers and further spearheaded the development and implementation of the FAA’s flight program SMS under the new Part 5.
Noting DeBerry’s 45 years of aviation experience, including more than two decades in FAA leadership roles, NATA president and CEO Timothy Obitts said his “extensive experience, in everything from maintenance and aviation safety oversight to SMS and education program development/implementation, as well as his passion for helping to kickstart next-generation careers in aviation, will be tremendously beneficial in advancing the success of both our members and the entire industry in these key areas.”
People in Aviation
Avports appointed April Gasparri manager of the Westchester County Airport. She succeeds Peter Scherrer, who served as manager of the airport since 2005 but has been promoted to v-p of airport management services and is part of the Avports executive team. A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot-in-command, Gasparri has 15 years of experience holding various leadership roles at the Port Authority of New York and Jersey airports and with Pittsburgh International Airport.
Jake Banglesdorf was promoted to executive v-p for at Assent Aeronautics. Banglesdorf joined Assent Aeronautics in 2019 after serving with Charlie Bravo Aviation.
West Star Aviation promoted Dean Zimmel to satellite manager of its Minneapolis, Minnesota base and Bob Peyman to technical sales manager of Bombardier Challenger and Global business at its East Alton, Illinois facility. Zimmel has served with West Star for more than three years and has 35 years in all of aviation experience, also including with Mesaba Airlines, Dallas Airmotive, and General Dynamics. Peyman has more than 23 years of corporate aviation experience, obtaining his airplane and powerplant certification in 1999.
Aaron White joined MRO Insider as director of sales. White’s aviation career began as a business development manager in aviation recruiting and SaaS startup. He also has served as research analyst and sales associate for an aircraft sales/acquisition company.
Coleman Jet Solutions named Mike Pryor director of market intelligence. Pryor has more than 30 years of aviation industry experience, most recently serving as an acquisitions and sales executive. He also previously served as an assistant general manager at a Signature Flight Support FBO and as manager of administration for Priester Aviation.
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