Vref Sees Strong Market for Business Aircraft Sales

Sales of older and smaller business jets have seen a resurgence of late, according to aircraft appraisal and data tracking provider Vref. In its first-quarter market trend report released yesterday, Vref noted that older jets with some refurbishments are still desirable entry points into the market for first-time buyers, with aircraft such as the Gulfstream G550, G450/IV/IV-SP, Bombardier Challenger 604, and Embraer Legacy 600 topping large-cabin business jets.

Demand in the small to midsize segment is outstripping the supply, according to Vref, with Cessna Citations, Challenger 300/350s, Embraer Phenoms, Learjet 40s and 60s, Beechjet 400s, and Eclipse 500/550s generating the most interest. Also heating up is the single-engine turboprop market, with activity across the spectrum from turboprop conversions to new Piper M600s ramping up as owner-pilots are seeking to add more range and speed in their post-Covid travels. Beechcraft King Air 90s and 350s are also seeing “enormous demand” in the preowned segment.

“Current market activity is somewhat of a feeding frenzy, with many aircraft going under contract without ever being listed for sale on the open market,” said company president Jason Zilberbrand. “Based on current activity levels and availability, we do not expect much change in the coming months.”

Vref calculates the top-valued aircraft based on activity such as reported closings, completed appraisals, and valuations from Vref Online.

Pfizer Flight Dept Helped Get Vaccine to Market Sooner

While Pfizer’s corporate flight department suffered a drop-off in flights during the pandemic, it was able to demonstrate the critical role it plays in the company and has been credited with helping to reduce by two weeks the time it took to bring the Pfizer vaccine to market, said v-p of corporate aviation John Witzig. Participating in the Flight Safety Foundation/NBAA Business Aviation Safety Seminar's opening general session yesterday, Witzig detailed how the pandemic had shuttered his operations and the steps his department took not only to get up and running but to step up as the company was conducting trials for its Covid-19 vaccine.

"As slow as our flying was for last year, the reality is that the value the flight department generated for the business probably exceeded the value of every trip we’ve ever done,” he said.

Recognizing that Pfizer faced travel complications stemming from ongoing restrictions and reduced airline flights, the flight department worked with health and safety experts and its own logistics teams to explore the role it could play in helping forward its mission and carrying equipment and the vaccines. “It was a lot more complicated than we thought,” Witzig conceded, but the department was able to work through issues to conduct “dozens and dozens” of trips carrying small loads of trial product and lab technicians.

G1000 NXi Enhancements Available for Mustangs

While some Citation Mustang owners have opted to upgrade their Garmin G1000 avionics to the NXi configuration, Garmin has unveiled an STC for the Mustang that adds more features to the NXi upgrade. These include a new radar, diversity transponder, and datalink weather and communications.

These features can be added to Mustangs that already have the NXi upgrade, while those with the original G1000 avionics can be upgraded to the NXi configuration with the new offerings. A big change for Mustangs is the package’s GWX 75 weather radar, which replaces the original magnetron-based, four-color GWX 68. The GWX 75 is a digital radar with 16 colors, vertical scanning, weather attenuated color highlight technology, and optional ground clutter suppression and turbulence detection.

Dual GTX 345DR transponders, which are part of the new NXi STC, provide ADS-B In traffic and weather and the ability to operate where diversity transponder output is required or helpful. Diversity transponders have antennas mounted on the bottom and top of the fuselage, allowing surveillance to work more consistently than it would from only belly-mounted antennas. Aireon’s space-based ADS-B requires diversity transponders in many countries and some over-ocean regions.

Meanwhile, Garmin’s GSR 56 Iridium transceiver adds global weather information, two-way text and voice communications, automatic position tracking, and other datalink services to the very light twinjet.

NTSB’s Landsberg Stresses Need To Overhaul Notams

NTSB vice-chair Bruce Landsberg kicked off the Flight Safety Foundation/NBAA 66th Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS) yesterday, stressing a need for the FAA to wrap up its two-decade-long effort to overhaul the notam system, calling the necessary changes a “safety of flight issue.” Landsberg also highlighted the need for business aircraft operators to embrace safety management systems (SMS) and flight data monitoring (FDM).

He questioned why there are so many notams and why they are so cryptic and said, “It’s time we did something different.” Notams should be accessible in one place and improved in coordination with stakeholders and other groups, he said. 

Landsberg also said SMS can root out unforeseen safety issues. Organizations may point to their perfect safety record, but he said, “Everything is perfect behind you, but it is the next flight that is the most important.” However, the FAA should “keep in mind that it needs to be simple, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, and it doesn’t need to have a huge amount of paperwork.”

As for FDM, he asked, “Do we want to be reactive or do we want to be proactive?” Landsberg stressed the importance of basic measuring—“If we’re measuring things, it allows us to modify our behavior for optimal outcomes. Does it work? Absolutely.”

Bombardier Begins U.S. Service Center Hiring Spree

Bombardier is looking to fill more than 200 positions across its U.S. service center network, the Canadian airframer announced today. Specifically, the company is hiring A&P technicians; avionics/electrical technicians; customer project managers; interns; lead technicians; managers; paint and interior technicians; quality inspectors; structures technicians; and supervisors. The positions are open at its service centers in Dallas; Hartford, Connecticut; Tucson, Arizona; Wichita; and Fort Lauderdale/Miami Opa Locka.

Fueling the demand for workers is a 2 percent annual growth of the business aviation fleet based on the industry fleet numbers between 2015 and 2018 in the segments where Bombardier competes. Additonally, global wealth has continued to rise and is a leading contributor to business aviation, Bombardier said. Citing information from Wealth-X, Bombardier noted the number of high-net-worth individuals increased 10 percent each year between 2015 and 2019.

Overall, Bombardier expects its aftermarket services to grow to $2 billion by 2025. During that period, Bombardier plans to expand its aftermarket services to about 27 percent of total revenue.

Central Florida Airports Settle Name Dispute

Florida’s Melbourne Airport Association (MAA) and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) have settled their long-simmering dispute over the name of Orlando Melbourne International Airport (MLB). MLB is located approximately 70 miles southeast of Orlando International Airport (MCO), which as a gateway to Central Florida’s renowned tourism destinations is the busiest airport in the state.

Melbourne International Airport officially adopted the name Orlando Melbourne International Airport in 2015 and GOAA, believing the new name was misleading to the millions of passengers each year heading to the area’s theme parks, filed a lawsuit in 2019.

MAA told AIN it has used Orlando as part of its name in websites and marketing since 2008. But in an effort to resolve the matter for both sides and for the benefit of the traveling public, it will change the name of MLB to Melbourne Orlando International Airport, along with all trademarks, signage, identifiers, and branding as part of a consent and license agreement. It has asked its tenants and business partners, including FBOs, to do the same on their websites and printed materials.

“Both airports value regionalism and share a common goal of providing world-class traveler experiences,” said MLB executive director Greg Donovan. “We look forward to a bright future as Melbourne Orlando International Airport, the coastal gateway to Central Florida.”

Texas MRO Donates Global Express Airframe to Mx School

MRO provider and parts specialist Southwest Aerospace Technologies has donated a parted-out airframe of a Bombardier Global Express to Texas State Technical College (TSTC). It will be used at the school’s campuses in Waco, Harlingen, and Abilene for an aviation curriculum that includes airframe and powerplant technology and avionics technology training. TSTC chancellor Mike Reeser said it’s the largest in-kind donation the school has received to date.

An FAA and EASA Part 145 repair station headquartered in Georgetown, Texas, Southwest Aerospace also will provide annual funding for a scholarship for TSTC aviation students.

“The aviation industry definitely has a need for well-trained professionals in a variety of capacities, including aircraft maintenance,” said Southwest Aerospace president and CEO Kurt Encinias. “Institutions such as TSTC play a valuable role in providing students the training and education needed to be successful in their chosen field.”

ABS Jets Joins EmbraerX’s Beacon Digital Mx Platform

EmbraerX’s Beacon will provide its digital maintenance coordination platform to ABS Jets in the Czech Republic under a new agreement announced today. Through its web and mobile application platform, Beacon connects operators, maintenance providers, aftermarket suppliers, and OEMs with the goal of accelerating aircraft return-to-service time during unscheduled maintenance events. ABS Jets is Beacon’s first European executive operator to join the platform.

ABS Jets ran its first maintenance case using Beacon on April 1. It expects to run more than 50 maintenance cases per year using the platform, with the goal of reducing the out-of-service time by 20 percent. “Since we started running all our maintenance cases on the platform, we see less miscommunication, less wait time, and more accountability,” said ABS Jets chief technical officer Vladimir Sip.

At the end of April, Beacon concluded more than 35,000 unscheduled maintenance cases by more than 1,000 users—numbers that are expected to grow as the industry recovers from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. EmbraerX is Embraer’s market accelerator for disruptive businesses.

AIN Product Support Survey Now Open

Tell us about the product support you receive from business aviation OEMs. The 2021 AIN Product Support Survey is now open, ready for selected readers to rate aircraft, engine, and avionics support. AIN readers who have been picked to participate in this year’s Product Support Survey should have received their password and link to the online survey by e-mail. The survey needs to be completed by midnight on June 11.

Can Supersonic Dreams Survive Aerion's Collapse?

Aerion had booked orders for its AS2 supersonic business jet and secured the backing of aerospace experts such as Boeing, GE Aviation, and Spirit AeroSystems. But that wasn’t enough, and when it failed to secure much-needed new investment to bring the aircraft to market, the company was forced to shut down. AIN senior editor Kerry Lynch explains what went wrong and where the aviation industry’s supersonic ambitions may go from here.