Bombardier today announced the $9.9 million Learjet 75 Liberty as its newest offering in the storied business jet brand. It’s “a rescoped aircraft that’s going to be cost-competitive from an operating cost perspective but also purchase cost perspective with Part 23 light jets,” Bombardier Business Aircraft spokesman Mark Masluch told AIN.
To accomplish this, the Liberty will have fewer seats and options than the original Learjet, shaving about $3 million off the price tag while keeping the performance, the Canadian airframer said. It sheds two seats in the forward cabin—for a total of six seats—replaced by two fold-down ottomans and fold-out tables, creating what it calls the “executive suite” for the two remaining seats in the forward section of the cabin. The four remaining aft seats are in a club configuration.
The jet retains its 51,000-foot ceiling and high-speed cruise of Mach 0.79, but range improves by 40 nm to 2,080 nm with NBAA IFR reserves. Also standard on the Liberty is the Bombardier Vision flight deck with the recently announced upgrade to the jet’s Garmin G5000 avionics, as well as Gogo ATG 4G wireless connectivity.
Bombardier hopes the lower price tag will drive a new segment of buyers to the Wichita-assembled aircraft, which has seen steadily declining deliveries over the past five years to just a dozen last year. Deliveries are expected to begin next year.
Dassault is continuing the recent expansion of its customer service offerings with the purchase of Ruag’s operations in Geneva and Lugano, the companies announced this morning. This move follows similar deals earlier this year when Dassault purchased ExecuJet's global aircraft maintenance business and TAG Aviation’s European aircraft maintenance operations, and strengthens the manufacturer's presence at Geneva, one of Europe's top business aviation hubs.
“The acquisition of the business aviation activities of Ruag is part of our strategy to develop a worldwide MRO network of excellence and will allow Dassault Aviation to reinforce its footprint in Switzerland,” said Eric Trappier, the French airframer’s chairman and CEO, adding that Ruag has been a long-time authorized Falcon service center.
“We are extremely satisfied that we have completed this transaction with Dassault Aviation, a leader in manufacturing and maintaining aircraft,” said Ruag CEO Urs Breitmeier. “They are an experienced partner of Ruag and can provide a strong foundation for successfully continuing operations in Geneva and Lugano, as well as for the future of the members of our staff at both sites.”
While Ruag will retain its maintenance operation and FBO at Germany’s Munich-Oberpfaffenhofen Airport, the deal with Dassault also includes its FBOs at Geneva-Meyrin and Lugano-Agno Airports. “Both Geneva and Lugano FBO activities will complement the full range of services offered by Dassault Aviation in Switzerland,” concluded Trappier.
PANYNJ Ponders ACY Buy
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) will initiate a study to possibly acquire Atlantic City International Airport (ACY) at the behest of several state lawmakers. The airport, which features a 10,000-foot main runway, serves the southern coastal region of the state in addition to the city’s gambling enclave. It is home to a single FBO and sees approximately 160 operations a day, according to the FAA; more than one-third of those are general aviation or air-taxi flights.
While the agency briefly ran the airport earlier in the decade, it is owned and currently managed by the South Jersey Transportation Authority.
In addition to the three major metropolitan New York area airports (John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, and La Guardia), the PANYNJ operates business aviation hub Teterboro Airport and Stewart International Airport, another small joint civil/military-use airport in New York’s Orange County, which it acquired in 2007. The legislators are hoping a PANYNJ takeover could boost commercial traffic at ACY, which is currently served by just one airline.
New Airbus H145 Begins High Altitude Testing in Chile
A prototype of the new Airbus Helicopters H145D3 has arrived in Chile to begin high altitude testing in the Andes Mountains following preliminary high altitude testing in the French Pyrenees last summer. Some operators will be afforded the opportunity to fly the helicopter during the Chilean campaign.
Airbus revealed the H145D3 earlier this year at Heli-Expo in Atlanta. Scheduled for EASA certification in early 2020, the improved model features a new five-blade, foldable, and bearingless main rotor system; two Safran Arriel 2E engines with Fadec; four-axis autopilot with the Helionix digital avionics suite; and an integrated wireless airborne communication system (wACS). Cumulatively, the improvements will give the H145 an increased useful load of 330 pounds and boost mtow to 8,377 pounds.
The company plans to transition from the current H145 model, the D2, to the D3 throughout 2020 and end D2 production by the end of next year. D3 modifications will be available to D2 owners as a factory upgrade. That upgrade, which would take approximately 220 manhours to complete, will not be available for BK117 or EC145 models.
EASA Issues Special Condition To Govern VTOL Aircraft
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) today published the Special Condition document that will govern development and certification framework for hybrid- and electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. These new rules will apply to small VTOL aircraft with lift/thrust units to generate powered lift and control. The small category is for aircraft with nine or fewer passenger seats and maximum takeoff weight up to 3,175 kg (7,000 pounds).
The VTOL Special Condition also establishes a direct correlation between the airworthiness requirements for these aircraft and the type of operations for which they will be used. An enhanced category will apply to operations in which passengers are being flown on a for-hire basis over congested areas with a view to protecting third parties, including people on the ground. Lighter requirements will apply to non-commercial flights over uncongested areas under the basic category.
Announcing the new Special Condition, which was subject to public consultation initiated in October 2018, EASA said it will be “the first building block” to enable the safe operation of VTOL aircraft. The agency is now the wider rulemaking process will be guided by the Special Condition document to take full account of the new technologies and operational air transport concepts emerging in the fast-growing VTOL sector.
A major aircraft interiors contract is leading MGR, the American division of Montreal, Canada-based MSB Global Resources, to move to a 4,500-sq-ft Wichita office and double its employment by this fall, the company announced. In all, MGR is looking to recruit 30 more aerospace engineers in Wichita, especially precision design engineers as well as electrical and stress engineers.
These additional engineers, which would bring its total to 60, will not only support the new contract with an undisclosed North American customer but also the contract engineering company’s existing workforce in Indiana, Washington, and California.
“The strong economy, the growth in aerospace as an industry, and the seemingly diminishing number of aerospace engineers are all factors that have inspired us to become creative as hiring gets more challenging,” MGR director of operations Gemma Dendurent said. “We are using our network to find talent with the desired qualifications, as well as training new engineers to understand interiors. Recruits are not just from aviation but from the automotive industry, too.”
OEM customers for MGR and MSB, part of France-based Sogeclair Group, include Bombardier, Embraer, and Gulfstream.
Drone Maker DJI Launches ‘Government Edition’
The world’s largest maker of light civilian drones, DJI, today unveiled a special “Government Edition” designed to safeguard sensitive data. The architecture of the new drones ensures that drone data—including photos and videos captured during flight—never leave the drone and therefore can never be shared with unauthorized parties, including DJI.
DJI’s release of Government Edition comes a week after the company issued a fiery rebuttal to fresh charges emanating from Capitol Hill that interception of its drones’ data could be misused by foreign governments and/or bad actors. In a letter to the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation written late last month, Mario Rebello, DJI's vice president and regional manager of North America, pointed out that DJI drones have multiple safeguards to ensure against such activities, including embedded passwords, data encryption, and internet disconnect.
Features of DJI’s new Government Edition drones include no data transmission, a permanently enabled local data mode that prevents data transfer from the mobile application over the internet to third parties; firmware update reviews, including full control over how to validate them and when to install them on DJI drones; and restricted hardware pairing, where drones and remote controllers running Government Edition solution firmware can be linked only with each other and are not compatible with other DJI products, preventing the use of unsecured hardware and unauthorized third-party applications.
Romain Trapp has been appointed president of Airbus Helicopters' U.S. subsidiary, Airbus Helicopters Inc., and head of the North America region for helicopters. He succeeds Chris Emerson, who is assuming the role of president of Airbus Defense and Space. Trapp previously served as CFO of Airbus Helicopters Inc. in Grand Prairie, Texas, beginning in 2008. He became Airbus Helicopters COO in 2016 and has also been president of Airbus Helicopters Canada since 2013.
Trapp began his Airbus career in 1999 and has held various positions in finance, program management, and general management throughout Germany, France, Canada, and the U.S. He is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in France and the Stanford Executive Program in the U.S.
“Romain brings a keen understanding of the North American helicopter market, and I could not think of anyone better suited to take on this role than someone who has led such a diverse range of our U.S. and Canadian activities for so long,” said Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even. “I am confident he will continue to support our customers and grow our business in the world’s largest in-service helicopter market.”
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.
People in Aviation
Emlyn David has been named president and CEO of Skyservice Business Aviation, succeeding Marshall Myles, who retired as CEO after serving with the company since 2008. Myles will continue to serve the executive team in a consulting capacity. David has been a director of Skyservice and has held the role of president since 2012.
Robert Randall was named to the newly created position of director of strategic business development for Universal Avionics. Randall, who has 35 years of avionics experience, joined Universal Avionics in September 2008 as Midwest regional sales manager and later became U.S. senior sales manager.
Miguel Gallardo has joined Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems as a Gulfstream maintenance sales representative, focusing on the northern half of the U.S. and abroad. Gallardo brings a background in end-user maintenance, part sales, and other business aviation experience in Latin America to his new role.
Cutter Aviation has promoted Jon Lassak to chief pilot in its charter and flight management department. Lassak has been a HondaJet and Pilatus PC-24-rated captain for the Arizona-based company.
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty appointed Tom Fadden global head of aviation. Fadden, who joined Allianz in 2004, has been the regional head of aviation.
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