NATA Rolls Out Revamped Safety 1st Training System

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) today announced the first major renovation to its Safety 1st line service training program since it went online in 2008, with the launch of the all-new NATA Safety 1st Training Center. The web-based program is based on specific input from the organization’s members and users.

In addition to a content makeover with refreshed video, photos, and audio, the updated program has changed from a certification-centric model, where students must complete the entire curriculum to earn certification, to a ratings-based approach, where the learner can concentrate on tasks based on operational needs and earn specific ratings as training is completed in each area. This allows organizations to customize their training as staffers take on different tasks.

Like the legacy program it is replacing, this new system is a mix of e-learning on the computer and on-the-job training, as well as practical and written exams that must be successfully completed before participants earn their rating. The system provides resources for company training coordinators on how to conduct the live training and testing portions. These resources are designed to reduce training coordinator workload, as well as simplify and streamline the training bookkeeping process.

For the first time, it can also directly integrate a customer’s internal training content into its learning management system, generating a single digital record for all employee training.

June Euro Bizav Activity Reflects ‘Gloomier Picture’

June was the busiest month of the year for business aviation activity in Europe, with 87,236 departures, but still continued the trend of year-over-year declines, according to the latest WingX Business Aviation Monitor. Departures for the month marked a 1.7 percent year-over-year decrease.

“All but one month this year so far have seen declines in flight activity compared to last year, with the first half of 2019 some 2 percent down on 2018,” said WingX managing director Richard Koe.

Turboprop activity saw the biggest drop in June, down 6 percent, while the number of business jet flights slid 2 percent. Charter activity remained flat, but owner flights declined. Small and midsize jet activity combined for a 3.9 percent decline.

However, large jet flights continued growth, up 3.4 percent. Activity in France also strengthened, with departures up 4 percent year-over-year, and Spain experienced a 9 percent year-over-year increase. The same was not true in the UK, which experienced a 6 percent decline in business aviation activity, and in Germany, where flights dropped by 11 percent.

June’s result overall, said Koe, “Clearly…reflects the gloomier macroeconomic picture, with Germany´s economic slowdown and the UK's Brexit chaos reflected in significant declines in flight activity from both countries.”

Most Bizcraft Now Exempt from EASA Datalink Rules

Aircraft that have a certified maximum seating capacity of 19 passengers or fewer and a maximum certified takeoff weight of 100,000 pounds or less, and with a first individual certificate of airworthiness issued before Feb. 5, 2020, are now exempt from revised European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) datalink communications requirements (regulation EU 2019/1170).

Older aircraft, those with an individual certificate of airworthiness first issued before Jan. 1, 1995, have been exempt from the start, and the Feb. 1, 2020 compliance date for equipage by non-exempt aircraft also remains unchanged, as does the airspace (above FL285) in which datalink communications is required.

When the original requirement was adopted in 2009, it applied to all large aircraft (except older airframes) with an expectation that 75 percent of the fleet would be equipped before the February 2020 compliance deadline.

If the ongoing datalink implementation rates are to meet the original goal of 75 percent by next year’s deadline, EASA says the “criteria for exemptions should be amended.” Along with older aircraft, the exemption categories now include operators of aircraft with Future Air Navigation Systems 1/A systems installed, as well as operators of aircraft designed to carry 19 passengers or fewer.

This exemption is separate from the Jan. 30, 2020 datalink communications compliance deadline for operations at all altitudes in the North Atlantic. Those provisions remain unmodified.

HAI Launches Job Bank with JSfirm

Helicopter Association International (HAI) has rolled out its new web-based aviation job bank in partnership with online personnel search specialist JSfirm. Announced during the most recent Heli-Expo in Atlanta, the HAI job page provides a searchable, interactive database of thousands of aviation job postings from companies worldwide that are posted through JSfirm. The HAI page has a focus on helicopter-industry-specific openings, with jobs posted by HAI members highlighted and marked with an HAI Member icon.

“We’ve talked about the helicopter pilot and maintenance technician shortage quite a lot,” said HAI president and CEO Matt Zuccaro. “This partnership is a valuable workforce development tool that will assist our members in matching qualified candidates for their open positions.”

Under the partnership, HAI members new to JSfirm.com will receive a 90-day job ad (offer expires August 9). Existing clients, meanwhile, will receive a 20 percent discount on new JSfirm.com advertising/resume packages. “Through HAI’s network, we will enhance our ability to make jobs readily accessible to current and future helicopter professionals,” said Abbey Hutter, JSfirm.com manager of marketing and partnerships.

Desert Jet Founder Wilson Transitions to Chairperson

Palm Springs, California-based Desert Jet has brought business aviation veteran Jared Fox on board as its new CEO as founder and current CEO Denise Wilson transitions to chairperson of the parent company, Desert Jet Holdings.

Wilson founded Desert Jet in 2007 originally as an aircraft management company. Since then, Desert Jet has obtained a Part 135 certification, opened the Desert Jet Center FBO, and last year earned Part 145 certification. It further is nearly completed with the development of a new FBO and headquarters facility.

The shift to chairperson will enable Wilson to focus on strategic growth, including acquisition opportunities, the company said. “Now that we are preparing to open the Desert Jet Center terminal, the time is right for me to announce my successor in leading Desert Jet,” she said. “I’m thrilled to have Jared Fox come onboard as Desert Jet’s new CEO.”

Fox, to take the CEO role effective August 1, will steer the charter, aircraft maintenance, and FBO businesses. He brings more than 20 years of broad experience in business and general aviation, most recently as a regional sales manager for Epic Aviation. He has also led business development for TWC Aviation, served as a vice president for Corporate Aviation LLC, and been an airport manager for American Airports Corp.

Asian Sky Inks Agreement with Medevac Operator

Asian Sky Group (ASG) has signed a cooperation agreement with Beijing Red Cross Emergency Medical Center (Beijing 999) for emergency medical flights, the Hong Kong-based business aviation consultancy announced. Under the agreement, Beijing 999 made a long-haul EMS flight from China to Europe.

“As part of ASG’s range of solutions for our clients, we provide charter services which include those for emergency situations,” ASG managing director Jeffrey Lowe said. “For this particular flight ASG’s client contacted us to assist with an urgent overseas, intra-hospital transfer. To provide the reassurance and peace of mind the client needed, we provided round-the-clock, on-site assistance in Beijing for the departure to ensure the process went smoothly.”

Lowe said the mission was successful and demonstrated Beijing 999’s efficiency and professionalism, from arranging medevac flight permits to ensuring timely departure. “We are looking forward to conducting more EMS flights in the future with them,” he added.

Beijing 999 operates a dispatch center with 200 emergency medical lines and a fleet comprising two Airbus H135s, a Dassault Falcon 2000LX, and a Gulfstream G550.

Baron Introduces High-res Wx Forecasting Model

Weather information provider Baron has unveiled a new forecast model that it says offers predictive weather parameters 66 hours into the future at higher resolution and in hourly intervals. Incorporated into Baron Threat Net, the forecast model is available to users of Baron API and broadcast products, the Huntsville, Alabama-based company announced. The new model also runs a second set of parameters that extend 90 hours into the future at lower resolution.

The 66-hour, 3-km grid model offers greater accuracy and enables users to see greater detail of thunderstorm or hail development, as well as storm size and location information. “We wanted a more accurate weather model than we currently deliver to our customers [and] we feel we’ve achieved that,” Baron v-p of development Bob Dreisewerd said. 

Other features include 25 different weather parameters for rain and rain-related hazards, winter weather including snow and ice accumulation forecasts as well as temperature tracking, humidity, and visibility.

Magellan Jets CEO Herbert to Become ACSF Chair

Joshua Hebert, founder and CEO of Magellan Jets, is stepping into the role of chairman of the Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF). Herbert—who founded Magellan in 2008 and has since steered it into a well-established multifaceted business with charter, jet card, and other services—has been vice chairman for ACSF.

“Joshua has been an invaluable vice chairman and member of the ACSF executive committee and board of governors,” said ACSF president Bryan Burns. “With his leadership, knowledge, and creative ideas in the aviation industry, he will make an excellent chairman.”

He is succeeding former chairman Michael Graham, the director of flight operations safety, security, and standardization at Textron Aviation who has been nominated to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The White House late last year announced its selection of Graham to succeed Earl Weener as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), originally for a term expiring on Dec. 31, 2020.  However, in late June, the White House followed with a second nomination that would have Graham on the board through Dec. 31, 2025. That nomination is currently pending in the Senate Commerce Committee.

Count on AIN for Full Coverage of LABACE

As ever, you can count on AIN for full coverage of LABACE 2019. Our team will publish three of our award-winning daily LABACE Convention News editions at the show on August 13, 14, and 15. We will also have comprehensive real-time reporting of all the top news at AINonline.com and in our daily e-newsletters. If you are an exhibiting company that wants to share news or propose pre-show interviews and briefings please contact show editor Ian Sheppard.