Envirotech Vehicles (EVT) has chosen NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference (SDC) this week in Nashville, Tennessee, as the venue for the public debut of its all-electric refueler. The just-completed first production model of the 900-gallon capacity avgas truck is being displayed this week at SDC, marking not only the first time an all-electric refueler is being displayed on the SDC show floor but also for any first-production model to be on display there.
Arkansas-based Envirotech, which manufactures a range of electric commercial vehicle chassis, partnered with aviation equipment manufacturer Garsite, which outfits the refuelers. The first of which, on display at the Music City Center, is slated for delivery to Atlantic Aviation.
The vehicle requires no special infrastructure for charging, and according to Mike McCarthy, Garsite’s director of customer technical support, the vehicle’s no-maintenance lithium iron phosphate batteries will provide endurance for a full day’s fueling and then still drive 50 miles before recharging.
The refueler’s pump is rated for a 20-gallon-per-minute flow capacity, and while that is satisfactory for the smaller volumes typical in avgas fuelings, Garsite is currently working on integrating the higher capacity battery and pump that would be needed for jet-A fueling use.
Sue Emry, EVT’s executive v-p, told AIN that her company will provide a larger electric vehicle frame later this year to Garsite, which expects to complete it as a 5,000-gallon jet-A refueler.
Five years after its facility was destroyed by Hurricane Maria, Bohlke International Aviation, the lone FBO at St. Croix’s Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (TISX), has opened its newly-rebuilt FBO, it announced today at the NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference.
Its 4,200-sq-ft terminal was built to storm-resistant standards and features a crew suite with shower facilities and separate flight-planning area. An eight-seat conference room, kitchen area with coffee and refreshments, concierge service, crew cars, and on-site car rental round out the amenities. It adjoins a 20,000-sq-ft hangar with a 90-foot door that can accommodate large-cabin corporate jets.
“A lot of planning went into making our new facility hurricane-proof,” said company president and third-generation professional pilot William Bohlke. “You don't truly appreciate how important your place of business is until it’s gone. Our hardworking team and loyal customers deserve this new space, and we hope it’s here for a very long time.”
The Avfuel-branded facility, which recently hosted Air Force One, is open every day from 7 am until 7 pm with after-hours call-out available.
Sustainability was a focus in the design of the new facility, including LED lighting and a water-capturing system for the building and hangar. A local garden with bananas, coconuts, and other tropical fruits borders the parking lot.
NBAA’s 2023 Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2023) opens today in Nashville, Tennessee, with nearly three-dozen educational sessions on the schedule.
The conference kicks off with flight department representatives discussing best practices and subjects such as onboarding employees, multitasking, and checklists. Other sessions on Tuesday’s agenda include panels conferring on career development, incorporating new technologies, ensuring well-being, providing security for assets and personnel, understanding fuel quoting, finding supplemental lift, and preparing for weather.
SDC2023 also will delve into a series of updates on operations in various regions of the world, and the event provides a service opportunity for the local Thistle Farms nonprofit dedicated to helping women recover from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction.
Following the opening general session tomorrow with NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen and the keynote speaker, fighter pilot Michelle “Mace” Curran, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials will participate in a roundtable on clearance and other policy issues. NBAA’s Doug Carr will provide an overview of safety management systems and FAA officials similarly will participate in a roundtable on ATC challenges. Other talking points include flight planning, scheduling, and Part 135.
The sessions extend through all three days of the show, with subjects on Thursday addressing emergency response plans, medical surprises, taxes, helicopters, and sustainability.
Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico will introduce ground-handling services under its FBO brand Primesky next month at Hermosillo International/General Ignacio Pesqueira García Airport (MMHO) in Sonora. The location is one of 12 gateways managed by the company in Mexico, along with two in Jamaica. Primesky (Booth 1257) will begin ground-handling operations on February 1 from a temporary facility while it works to refurbish a dedicated area of the general aviation terminal (GAT) by the end of April.
The facility will be smaller than the company’s existing FBO at San Jose Del Cabo International Airport. However, planned amenities and services include lounges for passengers and crew, refreshments, a crew work station, concierge, large screen TVs, and expedited customs and immigration clearance, as well as flight and trip support—all features currently not available for private aviation users at the airport.
“Our objective is to repurpose an area of the GAT to offer value-added service to passengers and pilots, including above and below-wing services,” said Patricia Silva Lugo, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico’s head of business development. “We want to offer services so that when the crew gets on board, they are well rested and stress-free, along with giving the passengers a [pleasant] experience.”
This week, the company is also making its NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference debut.
NBAA selected Spring Adamo, a longtime business aviation scheduler and former chair of the association’s Schedulers & Dispatchers (S&D) Committee, as this year’s recipient of the S&D Outstanding Achievement and Leadership Award. To be presented this week during NBAA's SDC2023 in Nashville, the award was created in 2008 to honor individuals who have “shared their business aviation industry expertise, provided extraordinary service, exhibited leadership, and made significant contributions to the scheduling and dispatching function.”
“Spring has long been a champion for schedulers and dispatchers and worked to ensure this sector of our industry had access to professional development opportunities to help people grow in their careers,” said Tyler Austin, NBAA director of certification.
Adamo has served with FirstEnergy since 2007 where, as flight logistics lead, she manages scheduling, safety, security, and personnel. Before that, she worked with McKinley Air for 11 years, brokering charters, helping bring in business, and directing hiring, training, and concierge services.
During her time on the S&D Committee, she established the Scheduler and Licensed Dispatcher Safety Award category for the NBAA Flying Safety Awards. She also is a founder of the Schedulers and Licensed Dispatchers Roundtable, served on the board member for the Ohio Regional Business Aviation Association, has been a subject matter expert for NBAA education sessions, and most recently advised in the creation of the association’s Business Aircraft Scheduler Certificate Program.
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