Frasca International, the Urbana, Illinois flight-simulation and training business that Rudy Frasca founded in 1958, has been acquired by flight-training giant FlightSafety International (FSI). The sale—announced yesterday but completed on December 31—expands FSI’s reach into the lighter end of the general aviation market with Frasca’s trainer lines for single-piston Cessna, Diamond, and Piper aircraft to its full-flight level-B, C, and D simulators for models such as the Cessna Citation CJ1+, Beechcraft King Air, Cessna Caravan, and Bell helicopters.
The acquisition brings Frasca into the fold after it was named a subcontractor last year on the FlightSafety Defense U.S. Navy TH-73A Aircrew Training Services (ATS) program. Announced in April, the subcontract award called for 18 level-6 and 7 flight-training devices to be designed and built by Frasca.
A Frasca spokeswoman said the acquisition will enable each company to increase its training capabilities through “scalable and integrated product lines, increased innovation, and expanded expertise in the training and simulation market.” She further stated that FlightSafety and Frasca “share a long history of collaboration dating back decades to the friendship of the founders of both companies, Al Ueltschi and Rudy Frasca."
Frasca president John Frasca and the rest of the management team and employee base will remain in place and the company will continue to operate as Frasca International.
AINsight: Who Would You Like To Be with at the Altar?
Who would you like to be with at the altar? Will it be someone who you have just met or someone who is trusted? Remember, this is not a relationship that is to be taken lightly. This reasoning also applies to who you chose to help you buy a business aircraft.
The frenzy of first-time buyers who rushed to complete preowned aircraft transactions before the end of 2021 to garner 100 percent bonus depreciation created an uncomfortable buying process. This included horse races, not only to see who can pay the most for the airplane but also often who would accept the least amount of due diligence before closing.
I expect the next 12 months will be filled with stories, webinars, and articles about the disappointment experienced by many of these buyers as they begin to fully understand what they purchased. Not just the price paid, but also the aircraft’s ability to fulfill missions and mechanical condition.
When I speak about who is with you at the altar, ask yourself how that person will be there for you when these questions start to arise. In some cases, actual sellers have been three times removed from the buyer. Who will even be able to sort this web out when the problems start to occur? This is a surefire recipe for a very poor wedding reception.
After a year’s absence due to the pandemic, Heli-Expo is returning in March with a full program that includes its typical exhibits, safety programs, and educational sessions, along with new features such as the possibility of helicopter commuter flights and air tours from the convention center. HAI officials yesterday hosted a webinar outlining plans for this year’s event, which will run March 7 to 10 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, as well as for the traditional fly-in on March 4 and 5 and fly-out on March 10 and 11.
HAI has teamed with nearby Dallas Executive Airport for the staging of the fly-in and has obtained FAA approvals for the short hop to the convention center, including a special route for experimental/restricted-category aircraft.
Some 512 companies have signed up so far to exhibit. HAI exhibits manager Caylie Cook said limited space remains available. The floor will include a safety zone, first-time exhibitors pavilion, and “tabletop exhibitors” that may be showcased for a brief period rather than for the full run of the event.
A full safety program will include the Rotor Safety Challenge, professional education courses, and the traditional manufacturer technical briefs. HAI president and CEO Jim Viola said plans are underway to further highlight the sector by working with operators who could provide transportation to and from the convention and perhaps line up air tours. In addition, a career fair is planned.
MyHandler App, a mobile device application launched in July and developed to connect general aviation pilots to reputable FBOs, will expand its coverage beyond its original Central and South America regions to Europe. In the half a year of its existence, the application has grown to cover more than 140 airports across the region with over 100 participating FBOs and ground handlers.
“The app has proven a great hit across all sectors of general aviation, especially with air ambulance operators, aircraft ferry services, private pilots, business aviation flight departments, charter operators, non-government organization flights, and even military users,” noted company co-founder Lourdes Martinez Waldner. She added that due to demand from customers and ground service providers in Europe, the service is now going to encompass that area as well starting this month.
The application is free for customers to use, and FBOs only pay a fee for confirmed flights booked through the system, which allows pilots to easily arrange ground services such as fuel, catering, and hangarage.
“As a corporate jet pilot I was continually finding choosing a suitable FBO difficult and taking too much time to set up our handling requests,” said co-founder Agustin Martinez Waldner, adding pilots can rate the services provided by the FBO and give feedback through the application to help improve service delivery.
For general aviation pilots and aircraft owners who are AOG (aircraft on ground) and stuck in an unfamiliar place, finding maintenance, parts, or a place to stay can be difficult, so Cirrus SR22 owner Jay Locke developed an AOG Alerts app to help. Locke came up with the idea for the app after the message-based forum he used to communicate with other Cirrus owners became too clumsy to use and hard for other pilots to find. “Shouldn’t there be a centralized application?” he wondered. “Somebody must have done this.”
He reached out to other Cirrus owners to assess their interest in such an app and whether they would support it financially. After raising almost $2,000, he connected with another Cirrus owner, Goutham Sukumar, who is also a software developer, and the result was launching AOG Alerts. “I threw it out there thinking nobody would be very supportive,” he said. “It’s gratifying to see an idea become reality.”
AOG Alerts isn’t just for pilots stuck with mechanical problems but for anything where fellow pilots can help out, including recommendations for local eateries and attractions, accommodations, and even rides from the airport to town. The app is free and available for iOS and Android devices.
Bristow’s Gulf of Mexico (GOM) search and rescue (SAR) team reached more than 1,000 missions for the year, rescuing or assisting 1,065 people. Sixty-six percent of these missions were Covid-related, the company said.
GOM missions in 2021 substantially surpassed SAR missions in the region in 2018 and 2019 when they amounted to 144 and 185, respectively. Bristow’s GOM SAR team is operating from New Iberia, Louisiana, following extensive damage to its base at Galliano, Louisiana, from Hurricane Ida earlier this year.
“We keep a rigorous training regimen with varied scenarios that prepare us for any situation,” said Jon Kruse, Bristow operations manager. “We are prepared to work with any size vessel, day or night, in different weather and sea conditions. Whether it’s hurricanes, medical, Covid, boats dead in the water, open water, mass casualty situations—we’re ready to respond. We want to do the most amount of good for the most amount of people, and the team, including our top-notch mechanics, puts in the work to remain prepared.”
Kansas State University's Salina Aerospace and Technology campus took delivery of the first of five Cirrus SR20 piston singles for the school’s flight training program. The delivery late last month is part of a larger order that will see the school add a total of 17 new aircraft between now and the first half of 2022.
"This is a major step toward our vision to meet industry demands by providing students experience from a primary trainer all the way to a business-class airplane,” said K-State Salina CEO and dean Alysia Starkey. Cirrus Aircraft expects to deliver the remaining four SR20s in the second quarter of 2022.
Additionally, K-State Salina purchased 10 new Cessna Skyhawk 172s from Textron Aviation, deliveries of which are expected in the first quarter of 2022. The school also added two more Beechcraft Baron G58 piston twins to its fleet.
Clinton Strong, head of K-State Salina's aviation department, said the diversified fleet allows students to begin their training in the 172, move into the SR20, and complete their multi-engine rating in the Baron. “I don’t know of any other flight school that uses this unique combination for training,” he added.
Global petrochemical fuel provider ExxonMobil has partnered with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer Neste to establish commercial-scale distribution of the latter’s renewable fuel at major airports in France. The move follows French legislation that took effect on January 1 and calls for airlines to use at least 1 percent SAF for flights originating in France as part of the European Green Deal. The European goal is to reach 2 percent SAF usage by 2025 and 5 percent by 2030.
SAF is a fully miscible, drop-in replacement for jet-A and Neste’s MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is derived from 100 percent renewable sources such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste. It is currently a blend of 30 percent SAF/70 percent jet-A, but once approved for use at 100 percent it can provide lifecycle CO2 emissions reductions of up to 80 percent compared with conventional jet fuel.
While a spokesperson noted that SAF availability would begin with Paris gateways Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, ExxonMobil declined to state when deliveries would commence.
“We are delivering solutions that enable customers to meet product performance requirements while reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Charles Amyot, ExxonMobil’s lead manager in France. “We have the capabilities and infrastructure to safely and reliably provide this energy, and will be ready to comply with new French regulations for sustainable aviation fuel.”
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.
Photo of the Week
A new day dawns. Cutter Aviation director of safety Kevin Reedy took this sunrise photo at FL350 while flying a trip from Phoenix to Albuquerque, New Mexico, on December 14. Thanks for sharing this beauty, Kevin!
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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