The flock of aircraft service providers at Houston William P. Hobby Airport grew more crowded on Monday with the opening of the long-anticipated Galaxy FBO. The $20 million facility, the sixth FBO on the field, is located on 19 acres on the south side of the airport, adjacent to the U.S. Customs facility at the end of Runway 4.
It features a two-story 23,000-sq-ft terminal with pilot and passenger lounges, concierge, snooze rooms, shower facilities, four conference rooms, on-site car rental, crew cars, and more than 2,000 sq ft of tenant office space. Additionally, the new facility is now home to Galaxy’s sister company—aircraft charter and management provider Wing Aviation, which offers its customers an exclusive 1,300-sq-ft Voyager Lounge.
The terminal building sits on nine acres of ramp and is flanked by a pair of 38,000-sq-ft hangars with 245-foot clear span doors that can accommodate the latest ultra-long-range business jets.
Galaxy, an Air Elite FBO Network member, which established its first FBO at Conroe North Houston Regional Airport in 2006, also operates a Houston-area heliport. “The new facility will provide visitors with an impressive gateway to Houston, and a great experience for the flight crew,” said general manager Tony Wright. “When it reaches its full capacity, Galaxy FBO is expected to add over 30 new hires to our workforce.”
Constant Supports CL300s Through Midlife Inspections
MRO provider Constant Aviation has completed a 7,500-cycle inspection on its 17th Bombardier Challenger 300-series business jet, noting that many more of them—nearly 800 of the type have been delivered since 2004—will be coming due for the milestone inspection and maintenance event. “There have been fewer than twenty 7,500-cycle [Challenger 300] inspections completed worldwide to date,” noted Constant CEO David Davies. “With every inspection, we have gained knowledge and found ways to make the process more efficient.”
More than 8,000-man-hours are required to complete the super-midsize jet’s midlife inspection, which includes removal of the horizontal stabilizer, engines, interior, APU, windshields, landing gear, flaps, winglets, and baggage door. Once those and other components are removed, they along with the airframe are inspected for corrosion, cracks, and other defects.
Inlets, landing gear, thrust reverser doors, interior finishes, and avionics are among the components most susceptible to corrosion and wear, according to Constant. Additional inspections are performed during reassembly and the entire process can take between two and three months. Constant performs these inspections at its facilities in Cleveland, Ohio, and Orlando, Florida.
NTSB Calls On Helo OEMs To Install Recording Systems
Citing the FAA’s failure to implement its recommendations made in 2013 and 2015, the NTSB issued a safety recommendation report yesterday calling for helicopter manufacturers to equip turbine-powered helicopters with crash-resistant systems to record data, audio, and images. Specifically, it asked these manufacturers to act on its recommendations issued after NTSB investigators found the lack of recorded data hindered their understanding of several crashes that could have flight safety implications.
Helicopters meeting specific criteria established by the FAA are required to have crash-resistant systems to record flight data and cockpit audio, but none are currently required to have image-recording capability, the NTSB said. Some helicopter operators have equipped their aircraft with recording systems, including image recording capability, even though they are not required to do so, it added.
“The more information we have, the better we can understand not only the circumstances of a crash but what can be done to prevent future accidents,” said NTSB Office of Aviation Safety director Dana Schulze. “We are asking that currently available recording technology be [used to] improve aviation safety.”
According to the NTSB, the lack of access to recorded data in seven helicopter investigations between 2011 and 2017 impeded investigators’ ability to identify and address potential safety issues. It also identified five accidents where recorded data was critical to understanding crash circumstances.
UK Ignores Industry Pleas, Confirming Quarantine Rules
The UK government is pressing ahead with requirements for all travelers arriving in the country to be quarantined for 14 days. Ignoring demands from business groups to delay, amend, or abandon the rules, Home Secretary Priti Patel on Wednesday confirmed in a statement to the country’s parliament that they will be enforced from June 8.
All passengers arriving by aircraft, ship, road, or rail will be required to complete a quarantine registration form, providing a fixed address and contact details to be used to check that they are keeping to the quarantine. Last week, the UK’s Border Force told AIN that the form could be completed on arrival in the country, but today’s announcement said that it will be required before departure to the UK. The government will allow some groups of travelers to be exempt from the rules, including flight crew and people who have to travel at least once per week to another country for work.
Patel told parliament that the government will review the need to continue the quarantine every three weeks, with the first review scheduled for June 28. She said a meeting involving the Home Office and the Department for Transport will be held with aviation industry groups on June 4 to discuss the implementation of the rule.
King Aerospace Adds Hangar To Almost Triple Capacity
Even with 200,000 sq ft between four hangars at Ardmore Industrial Airpark in Oklahoma, space is at a premium for MRO provider King Aerospace, which is why it is now laying plans for additional expansion. The Dallas-based company that specializes in VVIP aircraft is looking to add a fifth, 90,000-sq-ft hangar.
That hangar will increase its covered space by 45 percent and provide additional room for multiple large jets and shops to support large aircraft interior projects. Once construction begins, it’s expected to last between 12 and 15 months.
In addition to VVIP aircraft, King Aerospace provides depot services for military and government aircraft at its Ardmore site, which has a 9,000-foot runway to accommodate VVIP and ultra-long-range business jets. A second 5,300-foot runway supports turboprops and light and midsize jets. King’s civil aircraft services include maintenance, avionics, paint, and interior refurbishment.
Avcon Taps SD as Preferred Connectivity Supplier
Satcom Direct inked a deal to be the preferred airborne connectivity supplier for Austria-headquartered aircraft management and charter operator Avcon Jet. Under the agreement, Satcom Direct is providing Avcon’s fleet of more than 70 aircraft with connectivity tools such as voice and data services, flight deck communications, and cybersecurity.
Solutions provided by Satcom Direct’s software, hardware, and infrastructure services delivered through the SD Xperience portfolio supports Avcon’s needs and influenced the selection process. Satcom Direct will also develop a customized hardware upgrade roadmap to ensure that each aircraft is equipped with the right connectivity tools. Real-time assistance and troubleshooting from the Satcom Direct support team will also help to quickly resolve any connectivity issues experienced in Avcon’s fleet.
“As the preferred connectivity services supplier to Avcon Jet, we can better serve their needs,” said Satcom Direct international v-p Michael Skou Christensen. “The ability to synchronize the flight operations of each aircraft will reduce workload and make life easier for Avcon Jet, its customers, and crews.”
Trimec Aviation Expands Gulfstream Mx Portfolio
Trimec Aviation has expanded its Gulfstream maintenance capabilities to include the GIV and GIV-SP, the Fort Worth, Texas-based MRO provider announced. It also has technical expertise to perform maintenance on G150 and G200 models, as well as the legacy Astra series.
“We are excited to add the GIV platform to our capabilities as we continue to focus on expanding our maintenance services,” said Trimec Aviation general manager John Holland. “Our technicians are the best in the business, and everyone here at Trimec is passionate about exceeding our customer’s expectations. I am eager to work with these owners and operators and look forward to supporting their operations as we all try and get back to business during these uncertain times.”
Trimec's GIV/GIV-SP services include scheduled and unscheduled maintenance by technicians who have been trained on the types. An FAA-certified repair station, Trimec Aviation services include paint, interiors, and major engine work. It also has an in-house avionics department.
Appareo Adds Conexus Connectivity Collection
Appareo, which manufactures low-cost and lightweight flight data monitoring equipment, is adding a new product line called Conexus Aircraft Communication Units (ACUs). The new units both collect and transmit flight data to the operator or aircraft manufacturer. The ACU-200 is Appareo’s first Conexus ACU, available for fixed-wing and rotorcraft applications, and it is already being installed in customer aircraft.
The flight data monitoring data collected by the ACUs is helpful for operators’ flight operations quality assurance (FOQA) programs or for aircraft manufacturers' statistical analysis and predictive maintenance programs.
Inputs to the ACU-200 include Ethernet, Arinc 429, and RS422. Flight data for FOQA comes from onboard inertial and GPS information, but the ACU-200 does not need to interface directly with avionics. Cybersecurity protections are built-in, and the ACU-200 is qualified against RTCA DO-160G environmental testing standards.
To send data, the ACU-200 is equipped with 4G/3G/2G cellular data connectivity, so there is no need to download data onto a device or memory card after a flight. When the aircraft is powered down, the operator can remotely connect to the ACU-200 to retrieve data.
Appareo’s Vision 1000 audio and video recording systems and RDM-300 crash-hardened storage system can interface with the ACU-200 for offloading video and audio and safely storing captured information.
Tell us about the product support you receive from business aviation OEMs. The 2020 AIN Product Support Survey is now online, ready for selected readers to rate aircraft, engine, and avionics support. AIN readers who have been selected to participate in this year’s Product Support Survey should have received their account number and link to the online survey website by e-mail. The survey needs to be completed by midnight on June 12.
Requires adoption of an operational bulletin or, at the discretion of the aircraft operator, revising the aircraft flight manual to limit the minimum airspeed when static air temperatures are below -54 degrees C. Prompted by findings that operation of the aircraft at static air temperatures below -54 degrees C could lead to several systems and components operating outside their qualified temperature interval, potentially causing these systems to fail.
Requires a one-time special detailed inspection of the Safran Aerosystems emergency flotation system (EFS) to verify that there is no blockage through the EFS supply hoses and, replacement, as required, of the affected supply hoses. This AD also prohibits affected EFS supply hoses from being used as replacement parts. Prompted by a maintenance check of an EFS where the third compartment of the left forward float did not inflate. An investigation revealed that the supply hose for the gas flow from the pressurized cylinder to the float compartment was blocked because of a manufacturing defect.
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