The Gulfstream G700 has been awarded the 2022 International Yacht & Aviation Award (IY&AA) for excellence in cabin design under the private jet design (exterior and interior) category. In 2020, the company also earned an IY&AA award for the G700’s seat design.
“This award-winning G700 interior is featured on our first fully outfitted production-test aircraft, proving design maturity and excellence,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. That aircraft—S/N 6—joined the flight-test fleet in April 2021 and is currently being used for function and reliability testing. Certification of the G700 is still expected by year-end, though Gulfstream said that could slip by as much as six months due to a line-by-line software validation required by the FAA, which is ramping up scrutiny of aircraft certifications in the wake of the Boeing Max debacle.
“Earning this award for the sixth consecutive year is a testament to the innovation and expertise of Gulfstream’s designers, engineers, and artisans who have helped create the company’s next-generation fleet,” added Burns. “We are honored by this distinction, and I congratulate the Gulfstream team.”
The interior of G700 S/N 6 features a palette of light neutral and warm gray colors contrasted by accents of cinnamon and charcoal hues, Gulfstream said. Each of the aircraft’s five cabin living areas also include a circadian lighting system to help reduce jet lag.
Embraer’s services and support unit today opened its expanded MRO facility in Sorocaba, Brazil, mostly in response to a growing business jet fleet in its home country. The Sorocaba expansion doubles the airframer’s facility footprint there from 20,000 sq m (215,278 sq ft) to 40,000 sq m. The site now boasts four hangars, three of which are dedicated to aircraft and component MRO, with the fourth supporting the company’s FBO there.
“There is consistent growth in the executive aviation segment in Brazil and we see great opportunities for the service sector in the coming years, aligned with our growth plans for both the services and support business unit and Embraer itself,” said Embraer Services & Support president and CEO Johann Bordais.
Bordais told AIN the site also will support the company’s commercial and military aviation businesses, noting that support includes Azul airlines’ fleet of E195-E2 passenger jets and the fleets of the Brazilian federal police and air force. “We felt it was the right moment and definitely the right place,” he added.
Besides maintenance, Sorocaba’s capabilities include interior refurbishment through a partnership with F/List and aircraft modifications, such as the conversion of Legacy 450 into Praetor 500 jets.
The site currently employs 150 workers. Over the next three years, Embraer expects to add an additional 100 employees at Sorocaba.
Air charter company VistaJet expects to take its final seven of 17 Bombardier Global 7500s on order by year-end, making it the largest operator of the 7,700-nm business jet. Three Challenger 350s are also set to join VistaJet’s line-up over the same period, boosting its super-midsize fleet to 27 aircraft.
Ian Moore, VistaJet’s chief commercial officer, said that once the Challenger 350s and Global 7500s are delivered this year, there are no more outstanding orders. But the company is apparently eyeing Bombardier’s new flagship—the Global 8000, which was launched last month at EBACE and scheduled to enter service in 2025. However, Moore was tight-lipped if a fresh order for the 8,000-nm, Mach 0.94 Global 8000 will be forthcoming. “All I can say is watch this space,” he said.
“There is ramp envy in this market, and we need to ensure that we are staying up to date with the latest aircraft,” Moore continued. “Some of our customers will also value the 8000’s extra speed and range,” he said. A possibility for VistaJet would be to upgrade its Global 7500 fleet to the 8000 specification, noted Moore. “It will cost around $3 million for each aircraft, but it is definitely a consideration.”
Recent signature annual events in Europe have underscored the continuing surge in business aviation usage. In Milan, Italy, the city’s famed Design Week saw a significant boost in private aviation traffic, according to SEA Prime, which manages the general aviation infrastructure at both Linate and Malpensa airports. The event attracted more than 400,000 visitors to the “Design Capital of Europe," with more than 1,100 business aviation movements for the week between both gateways, for an average of 160 a day.
That represents a 75 percent increase from 2021, with two-thirds of the activity consisting of international flights. The company noted a record 80 aircraft overnighting at its facilities during the event, which ended on June 12.
On the French Riviera, Nice's Cannes-Mandelieu and Côte d’Azur airports experienced a 56 percent rise in business aviation traffic in May compared to pre-Covid 2019 levels during the 75th edition of the iconic Cannes Film Festival, which began on May 17, and the 79th Monaco Grand Prix that took place on May 29.
Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur, which operates both gateways, reported more than 1,000 additional aircraft movements this year at Côte d’Azur, for a total of 2,993, compared to the similar span period in 2019, with a high of 390 operations on May 30. At Cannes-Mandelieu, there were 205 more operations this year than in 2019.
Prepared is the Ultimate Training Objective
To master the aircraft, one needs to go beyond the checklists. The objective of aviation training should be to put a pilot in the best possible position to succeed, no matter the circumstances. That only happens when training’s goal goes beyond proficiencies and regulatory standards. FlightSafety International’s goal is higher: to create preparedness and confidence.
Elite Jets has added a dozen new employees, including pilots and back-office personnel, to accommodate growth at the Naples, Florida-based charter company. Specifically, the Part 135 operator has hired six first officers, one captain, managers in client services and information technology, a director of quality and chief inspector, and an accounting assistant.
“The past two years have marked a period of tremendous growth across the private aviation industry as affluent travelers are choosing to fly privately over first-class commercially,” said Elite Jets executive v-p Stephen Myers. “At any given point, we might have jets across multiple time zones or even multiple countries, so we need to maintain a ground support team and pilot teams capable of providing an exceptional, reliable travel experience to our passengers.”
Founded in 2016, Elite Jets operates four Embraer Phenom 300s and a Legacy 500 that serve destinations across North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean. It also manages a Gulfstream G550 and operates a Bell 407 helicopter for sightseeing and travel across South Florida.
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch’s (AAIB) 2021 Annual Safety Review found that the five fatal accidents in the country last year all involved non-commercial and non-turbine general aviation (GA) aircraft. According to the report, most of the GA fatal accidents involved loss of control, either at low speed close to the ground or following an inadvertent entry into clouds by pilots with no IFR rating.
“The normal seasonal variations in GA activity were exaggerated somewhat by lockdowns in 2021, but the overall accident statistics and prevalent occurrence types were not unusual,” according to the report.
There were investigations into 17 nonfatal accidents or serious incidents to both GA and commercial air transport (CAT) aircraft, including two turbine business airplanes and two turbine helicopters. “International travel restrictions continued to suppress CAT activity, with a commensurate reduction in CAT occurrences,” the report notes. “A few serious incidents were directly related to the return to flying, some due to aircraft system failures but also some associated with a lack of aircrew recency.”
In this review, the AAIB also provides details of each of the 37 recommendations issued last year, including responses and updates on the progress of the action taken. The final section of the review provides details of 188 actions to enhance safety taken proactively by the industry in 2021 as a direct result of AAIB investigations.
Helicopter lessor LCI and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company (SMFL) have delivered two new Leonardo AW169 helicopters via their joint venture to Italian helicopter operator Alidaunia. The air ambulance-configured helicopters will be based in Naples and Salerno for operations in Italy’s Campania region.
“Alidaunia is a highly experienced provider of helicopter services, and LCI is proud to be supporting their growing emergency medical services operation. With over half of our fleet deployed on mission-critical operations, we have the technical and operational experience to help them deliver this vital service for the people of Campania,” said LCI CEO Crispin Maunder.
LCI and SMFL’s joint-venture portfolio now totals 38 units valued at more than $420 million—a doubling in size in less than two years from when it was launched in September 2020 with 19 aircraft. Since its inception in 2004, LCI has booked more than $8 billion in aviation business. It currently operates a fleet of some 140 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, with an additional 125 units on order. LCI’s rotorcraft fleet—focused on medium and super medium helicopters manufactured by Leonardo, Airbus Helicopters, and Sikorsky—operates on four continents in sectors including emergency medical services, offshore wind, search and rescue, maritime pilot transfer, and energy sector transportation.
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC) invited thousands of its employees and retirees to Toronto Downsview Airport on June 11 to pay tribute to the people that made the company a success before saying goodbye to its home for the past 93 years. The company also displayed a selection of its iconic aircraft at the event, including the DH-82C Tiger Moth, DHC-1 Chipmunk, DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-2 Mk III Turbo Beaver, DHC-3T Turbo Otter, DHC-4T Turbo Caribou, Dash 7, and Dash 8-400.
The seed for the celebration was planted in 2019, when Longview Aviation Capital bought the Dash 8 aircraft program from Bombardier knowing that the latter company had already sold the 148-hectare site and the runway would close around 2023. In March, the last Downsview-built Dash 8-400 was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines.
DHC has moved its Toronto staff to new offices at nearby Pearson Airport, where the engineering team is working to launch production of the DHC-515 Firefighter (née CL-515). The company recently secured an order for 23 DHC-515s from several European government customers.
While DHC has made the move, Bombardier still needs to transfer production of the Global 5500, 6500, and 7500 to a new $400 million, 770,000-sq-ft factory it expects to open next year at Pearson Airport.
People in Aviation
Duncan Aviation has hired Bruno Mazzani as its business development coordinator for the company’s satellite network. Mazzani holds a degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business marketing. In this new position, Mazzani will manage satellite-specific diversification and growth, as well as continuous improvement initiatives throughout the company’s satellite network.
Matthew DeLellis has been appointed by West Star Aviation to the role of CFO. DeLellis has more than 20 years of finance and operational experience, including some 12 years in the aviation sector. In his new role, DeLellis will oversee all aspects of the company’s finance functions, including accounting, financial planning and analysis, and tax, as well as preside over the purchasing, material control, legal, risk, and compliance areas.
Doug Washburn succeeds Bruce Hanke as v-p at Hartzell Propellers following the retirement of Hanke after 20 years with the company. Washburn recently joined Hartzell after working at GE Aviation for the past 21 years, holding numerous engineering management roles with skills in mechanical design, analysis and testing, organizational leadership, project management, fiber-optic systems, and team building.
Robert Sincennes has been named v-p of regulatory affairs by the Canadian Business Aviation Association. Sincennes joined Transport Canada in 1985 as an airworthiness engineer and has since occupied various positions including chief of regulatory affairs, where he formed the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council and shepherded the development of regulations, as well as held several senior leadership roles within the organization.
Aircraft parts and services provider Bii Aero has appointed Andrew Newell as general manager after previously holding the role of the company sales director for the past two years. Newell has experience in consignment stock management and commercial aircraft interiors and in his new role will focus on investing in stock levels to accommodate the rising demand for Bii’s services.
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