The FAA today released a virtual avalanche of notams in the face of potential disruptions in the function of radar altimeters ahead of the January 19 launch of AT&T and Verizon’s new 5G networks. According to HAI, the agency has published 1,500 notams primarily for public-use airports within the 46 Partial Economic Areas in the U.S. that will see 5G service using the C-band, including the 50 airports recently identified by the FAA. The notams address the unreliability of enhanced flight vision systems (EFVS), autoland, and helicopter hover autopilot modes, among others, and prohibits their use.
“This obviously continues to be a rapidly-evolving situation, and it is imperative that business aviation operators be aware of all notams affecting their flights and what they may entail,” said Heidi Williams, NBAA’s director for air traffic services and infrastructure. “Guidance included in these notams may range from simple advisories about 5G network operations in the area to prohibitions of some instrument approach procedures due to potential interference affecting radar altimeters.”
Williams also noted that airframers and avionics manufacturers are “aggressively working” on alternative means of compliance (AMOC) that could allow operators to supersede the notam directives, and that they expect the FAA to approve an initial series of AMOCs soon. She cautioned that any such alternative means would apply only to the specific aircraft, avionics, and airports listed in the operator’s approved AMOC.
This year is “off to a fast start” with business jet operations besting tallies from two years ago—just before the onset of the pandemic—by 26 percent in the first 10 days, according to WingX’s Global Market Tracker data released today. Business jet operations for the first week-and-a-half of 2022 have risen by 38 percent over 2021, WingX added.
In the U.S., business jet operations have jumped by 31 percent compared with January 2020. Flights are up 45 percent from last year and 30 percent from January 2019. January 2 has been a high point with more than 7,000 flights, compared with 4,500 on the same day in 2019. International connections have climbed 47 percent in the U.S., with increases to Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas, WingX reported.
In Europe, business jet traffic has surged 53 percent over last year, while marking a 16 percent improvement over January 2020. As cross-border restrictions lifted, international sectors jumped 69 percent from 2021 and were up 16 percent from January 2019.
WingX listed Canada, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, UAE, and Colombia as the busiest business jet markets outside of the U.S. and Europe. Business jet operations have strengthened over last year in most of the markets except Canada, Australia, and the UAE, the company said.
Continuing a nearly three-decade relationship with Gulfstream, GKN Aerospace won a contract to supply components for the Savannah, Georgia-based airframer’s G800 and G400 business jets that were announced in October. Specifically, GKN will supply the empennage, floorboards, and fuselage panels for the G800, and rudder and machined wing skins for the G400.
GKN will use thermoplastics for the rudder and elevators for the empennage, as well as the floorboards. It expects its use of those materials to save at least 10 percent of the weight typically associated with traditional materials and contribute to lower carbon emissions. It will also produce the metal-bonded fuselage panels and aluminum-machined wing skins. Production of the parts will occur at GKN facilities in Papendrecht and Hoogeveen in the Netherlands; Chihuahua, Mexico; and Wellington, Kansas.
Currently, GKN supplies to Gulfstream the empennage, fuselage panels, and floorboards for the G650 and G700, and the rudder and wing skins for the G500 and G600. “We are excited to be selected again as a key supplier on Gulfstream’s next generation of business jets and we truly value this partnership of almost 30 years,” said GKN Civil Airframe president John Pritchard. “Our advanced lightweight thermoplastic technology offers a sustainable solution for aircraft structural components.”
Despite the “rather gloomy” overall mood at the beginning of 2021, early forecasts for a strengthening market bore out last year and suppliers who anticipated this are better positioned to handle the upswing, said Nicolas Chabbert, senior v-p of Daher’s Aircraft Division and CEO of Kodiak Aircraft. Chabbert, the outgoing GAMA chairman, yesterday provided an overview of the association’s activities in 2021. Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Michael Amalfitano is the new GAMA chair for 2022.
Chabbert noted the pessimistic mood that prevailed last February. “I may have surprised many [during GAMA's February State of the Industry review]...by talking about the signs of a recovery and urging the supply chain’s readiness to keep pace with an eventual upswing in demand,” he said. Results through the year confirmed that outlook with delivery increases, he added, noting “production ramp-up...is now a reality.”
He also highlighted progress made in other areas in 2021, such as climate goals—notably business aviation's new target of carbon neutrality by 2050. Chabbert further was encouraged that the voice of general aviation and business aviation has been heard “loud and clear” on key topics on both sides of the Atlantic during the pandemic as recognition of GAMA as an international organization grew. In addition, he said more multinational players joined GAMA, including Airbus Corporate Jets, Leonardo Helicopters, and Safran Helicopter Engines, among others.
Independent ground handling provider UTG Group, which took over operations at Russia’s Domodedovo Airport business aviation center last year, will be making several improvements to the facility over the coming months.
Next month, the bar and lounge area of the 8,300-sq-ft (770-sq-m), two-story terminal will be remodeled, and the following month a gourmet restaurant will debut. By the end of the year, the building will have undergone a major redevelopment expanding the ground floor with glass-enclosed verandas and a spacious conference room, renovating the second floor, and adding new facades and landscaping. The company also plans to open its own helipad on the FBO property but outside the airport border, and expand the FBO's 4.2-acre (17,000-sq-m) ramp.
From last April when it assumed operation of the Moscow facility through the end of 2021, the FBO handled 10,297 passengers for an average of 1,144 a month. In June, it completed a modernization project on the ground floor of the terminal, with separate processing channels for domestic, international, and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) aircraft arrivals. In October, it began offering ground handling arrangements beyond Domodedovo and assistance for overflight and landing permits worldwide. Other services include rapid Covid PCR tests on arrival, visa support, catering, and airport customs clearance assistance.
Avcon Industries is looking to break into a new market with the development of an FAA-approved special missions STC for the Cessna 208 and 208B Caravan. The STC allows for Avcon fuselage sensor ports with or without the Avcon Mission Power System for these Caravan models.
“The objective of the Avcon Caravan Sensor Platform is to incorporate unique features and functionality gained from Avcon's extensive modification experience,” said Avcon president Marcus Abendroth. “This provides the marketplace with a cost-effective sensor port modification to a recognized single-engine platform.”
He added that the company designed the modification for easy production as a kit for qualified installers and to minimize downtime. “There are more than 2,500 of these aircraft built and we are confident that this modification will satisfy a need in a significant market and accommodate larger new-technology sensors. We look forward to continuing to expand our product offerings,” Abendroth explained.
Sky Harbour—a real estate developer that is building and operating turnkey private aircraft hangar complexes at airports across the U.S.—will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) starting on January 25.
The New York-based company was founded in 2018 and has a 140,000-sq-ft hangar complex in operation at Houston-area Sugar Land Regional Airport. Construction of similar projects is underway at Nashville International Airport and Florida’s Miami Opa-Locka Executive Airport, both of which are slated to open in September. Site preparation for facilities at Denver Centennial Airport and Phoenix Deer Valley Airport has begun, and the company was recently approved for hangar development at Dallas-area Addison Airport. It plans to eventually have a presence at more than 50 U.S. airports.
In August, Sky Harbour entered into a business combination agreement with Yellowstone Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company already listed on the NYSE under ticker symbol YSAC. Once that deal is approved, the combined companies would be listed on the NYSE under a new ticker symbol.
“Having validated the company’s business model and having established a robust pipeline of new airfields, Sky Harbour is today in a position to deploy capital very effectively and at scale,” CEO Tal Keinan told AIN. “Ongoing access to both equity and debt markets will sustain our accelerated growth plans.”
Aeronautical Data Systems (ADS) and Orbcomm have signed a strategic partnership for Orbcomm to deliver Automatic Identification System (AIS) ship-position information to users of ADS’s Ergo safety apps. The Ergo apps show georeferenced aircraft position on a moving map with an overlay of AIS-derived shipping traffic that could be helpful for a rescue in case an aircraft needs to ditch in the ocean.
Using the Ergo app running on an Apple iPad, pilots can see near-real-time ship positions and, when the iPad is connected to a suitable maritime transceiver, send emergency messages to nearby ships. The AIS information includes vessel speed, direction, and country of origin. Ergo can send “an automatic mayday distress call formatted to maritime protocols on a continuous 2.5-minute loop, updating all pertinent aircraft location information at each interval,” according to ADS. “The pilot can select the most desirable vessels to ditch near, but all ships within VHF range (potentially 200 to 250 nm, depending on altitude) will receive this call on the maritime distress channel 16.”
“This is equivalent to pulling a fire alarm in the middle of the ocean to alert any resource within hearing distance to come and help,” said ADS CEO Jim Stabile. ADS and Orbcomm expect display of AIS information to “complement the Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS) due to be implemented in 2023.”
Make Your Voice Heard in AIN’s 2022 FBO Survey
AIN’s FBO survey is open for year-round feedback, but the deadline to vote in the 2022 survey (to be published in April) is February 4. 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.
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 2022. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
