Embassair, a new FBO at Miami Opa-locka Executive Airport (KOPF), will open on February 1 after two years of construction. The $50 million complex was designed by architect Jacques Rougerie and, according to the company, its 25,000-sq-ft terminal offers the highest levels of security and discretion.
It also features four private boarding lounges with direct access to the ramp; a covered garage with access to the lounges and ramp; an atrium lobby with a 28-foot-high ceiling; dining lounge; a trio of snooze rooms with individual bathrooms, full beds, and television; crew gym; two flight-planning areas; and a pair of conference rooms seating four and eight, respectively. The AEG Connect-branded facility has 60,000 sq ft of adjoining hangar space capable of accommodating the latest ultra-long-range business jets and nearly three acres of ramp space.
“Our team is ready to showcase our innovative facility to the private aviation customers traveling to the Miami area,” said José Cabrera, the FBO’s director. “We have a highly trained team who uphold the highest standards in safety and customer experience in the industry.” He told AIN the FBO will soon begin accepting tenant contracts.
The company also announced this week at NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference that it will be one of the first participants in Argus Intenational’s Base Operations Audit Program.
AINsight: Preventing Runway Excursions a Complex Task
Runway excursions are a persistent problem in aviation. The NBAA Safety Committee has included runway excursions on its annual list of top safety focus areas since 2015. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has included runway excursions on its annual safety watchlist for more than a decade.
“Runway excursions are a towering concern and the most common type of business aviation accident,” NBAA said. According to data compiled by AIN, nearly one-third of all business aviation accidents involve an aircraft overrunning or veering off a runway during takeoff or landing. These accidents cost business aviation operators $900 million per year in injuries and damages.
At this point, runway excursions are a well-known risk and preventable. Volumes of guidance material provide flight crews with best practices to ensure there is sufficient landing distance available and provide information on flying a safe approach under the most adverse conditions.
Two production G700s amassed 25 speed records during the recently completed world tour to showcase the ultra-long-range jet, Gulfstream Aerospace announced yesterday. The twinjets logged a combined 180 hours of flight time on the tour, covering 53,882 nm and more than 20 countries across six continents.
“The G700 world tour was a success,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “We knew the aircraft would perform well, and they exceeded even our own high expectations for both reliability and performance across a variety of routes. Showcasing the outfitted aircraft to our customers and prospects around the world bolstered the [aircraft’s] already strong demand.”
Notable record runs include Savannah to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 12 hours 36 minutes; Istanbul, Turkey, to Vietnam’s Van Don International Airport in 9 hours 2 minutes; Riyadh to Melbourne, Australia, in 13 hours 39 minutes; and Christchurch, New Zealand, to Los Angeles in 12 hours 13 minutes. The former two were flown at Mach 0.90, while the latter two were at Mach 0.87. The 25 speed records are pending approval by the National Aeronautic Association and Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Meanwhile, the G700 is on track to receive FAA certification “this summer,” Phebe Novakovic—chairman and CEO of Gulfstream parent company General Dynamics—said on Wednesday during a quarterly investor call. Its G800 sibling would follow with FAA approval about six months later, she added.
NBAA’s lead-off event for 2023—the Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference (SDC)—concluded yesterday in Nashville, Tennesee, starting the year on a high note. The show attracted a record of more than 3,400 attendees, 10 percent of whom were first-timers at SDC.
On the show floor, more than 460 exhibitors displayed their services and wares, including EVT/Garsite’s debut of their fully-electric refueler. AEG Fuels joined the ranks of the major fuel providers bringing contingents of their dealer network FBOs as it showed off the AEG Connect brand for the first time at SDC.
The conference, which was themed “Community, connections, and a little bit of country,” featured more than 30 education sessions, as well as a “day of service” event where a group of volunteers from the show assisted a local organization that benefits women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction.
“SDC2023 was an incredible, record-breaking event, but it’s about so much more than the numbers,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen, who addressed the audience at the show’s opening session on Wednesday. “This is a group that’s very passionate. They are committed to coming together, giving back to the community, and moving the industry forward. And the way they do that as part of this event is inspiring.”
Next year’s edition will take place in Fort Worth, Texas, from March 12-14.
Charter brokers are still finding demand outpacing available aircraft as newcomers are beginning to stay, operators consolidate, and private jet owners withdraw their managed aircraft from the charter market, according to a senior executive at Hunt and Palmer.
Wendi Matthews-Ortiz, v-p of executive aviation in the U.S. for Hunt and Palmer, said these factors are creating a perfect storm for brokers both in the U.S. and Europe. For the first time in her 25-year career, she's had to inform clients that there is no available aircraft at their price points.
“The pandemic brought a rush of newcomers to charter when the scheduled airlines stopped serving regular routes,” said Matthews-Ortiz. Furthermore, she said airline frequent flyers are remaining loyal to charter in light of forecasts that a recovery of the airline industry might take until 2025. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that a number of owners are no longer offering their managed aircraft for charter, while operators such as Vista Global and Wheels Up are consolidating. A lack of flight crews is adding pressure, she added.
While leisure travel booking has dominated charter travel since the panemic began, the business sector, particularly banking, is returning. “We have quoted multi-leg trips for a number of roadshows for banking customers, which typically book large-cabin charter aircraft,” said Matthews-Ortiz.
To keep operators up to date on the many procedures and requirements of flying in the North Atlantic Track (NAT) system, ICAO has issued revised NAT Document 007 “North Atlantic Operations and Airspace Manual.” The manual notes that because the airspace of the North Atlantic is “the busiest oceanic airspace in the world,” strict adherence to procedures is required to ensure safe aircraft separation.
The majority of North Atlantic flights are on tracks designated NAT High-level Airspace (NAT HLA) between FL285 and FL420 inclusive. To ensure adequate airspace capacity and provide for safe vertical separations, RVSM is applied throughout the NAT region. Hence, the bulk of the document provides information for aircraft operating agencies, flight crews, and dispatchers planning and conducting operations in or above the NAT HLA. It also offers guidance to the state regulators responsible for the approval, certification, or licensing of such aircraft operators, flight crews, or dispatchers.
An extensive list of the specific revisions, which are described as “editorial and minor amendments,” sets the stage. But understanding the basic document and its revisions can be as complex as the airspace to which it applies. As such, international business aviation operations information provider OpsGroup has provided a chapter-by-chapter summary of the more important revisions within the 174-page manual.
Tuesday night Michigan State Police (MSP) shot and killed a man who first lased, and then later shot at, the department’s Trooper 2 helicopter in northwest Detroit. Video from the Bell 206L-3 showed the man pointing a green laser at the helicopter from a second-story rear window at the home near the city’s notorious I-96 drug corridor. Moments later he entered the backyard with a high-power rifle and opened fire several times in the direction of the helicopter. The shots appeared to miss.
On audio from the helicopter, a trooper can be heard on the radio saying, “He might be armed, he almost looks like he's holding a long gun pointed at us right now…yeah, he’s shooting at us right now.” Trooper 2’s crew requested ground units to respond to the scene. When they did, the shooter opened fire on them. Officers on the ground returned fire, killing the 33-year-old suspect.
The incident occurred just after 7:30 p.m. local time and remains under investigation. The MSP has been increasingly involved in fighting the city’s illegal drug trade on the ground and in the air. It operates a fleet of four helicopters. In 2021, two Flint men were arrested after allegedly shooting at another MSP helicopter.
Flight Data Systems (FDS) was selected to provide its Readouts service for maintenance provider Avionicare East Africa. FDS will provide EASA and UK CAA-compliant flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) reports for Avionicare.
“We are proud to partner with a company that has true end-to-end flight data expertise,” mentions Alex Kibue, head of planning for Avionicare, a Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority-approved maintenance provider for customers in Kenya, East, and Central Africa. “With Flight Data Systems, we can guarantee that our partners and customers will receive in-depth, accurate, and fully-managed readout analysis services for their flight data and cockpit voice recorders, ensuring timely compliance with custom database creation capabilities when needed.”
Flight Data Systems offers a portfolio of data acquisition, recording, storage, and analysis services, including providing more than 3,500 FDR, CVR, and CVR datalink readouts per year for more than 300 customers worldwide.
Photo of the Week
This commute’s a real breeze. Director of maintenance Wayne Kaler has occasionally used a Piper J-3 cub to commute to work at Sunrise Jets at Francis Gabreski Airport (KFOK) in Westhampton Beach, New York. “It’s a joy to fly a J-3 with the doors open on a beautiful summer day.” We rate this statement as 100 percent true! Thanks for sharing, Wayne.
Keep them coming. If you’d like to submit an entry for Photo of the Week, email a high-resolution horizontal image (at least 2000 x 1200 pixels), along with your name, contact information, social media names, and info about it (including brief description, location, etc.) to photos@ainonline.com. Tail numbers can be removed upon request. Those submitting photos give AIN implied consent to publish them in its publications and social media channels.
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