Gulfstream has launched an upgrade to the G280 and pledged its commitment to the 10-year-old super-midsize business jet program, despite indications that it is developing its replacement. From mid-2023 forward, G280s will have a cabin altitude of 4,800 feet, a reduction of 1,200 feet compared with the current models. The upgrade also includes new exterior LED lights to improve visibility in flight and on the ground.
Speaking today at a media event at the airframer’s European service center at Farnborough airport in the UK, company president Mark Burns described the G280 as an “exceptional and popular aircraft.”
“The G280 continues to set the standard for the super-midsize class, and we are seeing outstanding levels of interest from customers around the world,” said Burns. “This past year marked a record sales year for the G280, validating that our continued investment has been well received.”
Gulfstream has added five business jets to its high-end fleet since 2014—the G400, G500, G600, G700, and G800. When pressed by AIN about the likely introduction of an all-new super-midsize jet—perhaps dubbed the G300—to complement its family of new-generation large-cabin and long/ultra-long-range models, Burns said, “Gulfstream is always investing in its products and its future, and having commonality across the product line is important to us. Watch this space.”
Almost 500 business aircraft with significant connections to Russia are now potentially caught up in operating restrictions and sanctions imposed by Western nations in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, according to aviation data group WingX. The company’s managing director, Richard Koe, said that airspace closures and threats of assets being impounded have significantly dented an otherwise positive outlook for the business aviation sector in recent weeks.
During a special briefing held at the British Business & General Aviation Association (BBGA) conference on today, aircraft operators heard they face higher costs from having to reroute around Russian airspace. A day after UK officials grounded a Luxembourg-registered Global 6500 jet at Farnborough Airport, experts also warned that companies will have to be sure that they are not breaching sanctions and other restrictions, perhaps inadvertently.
“There is now a massive increase in the due diligence that needs to be done,” cautioned aviation attorney Aoife O’Sullivan, a partner with The Air Law Firm and the BBGA’s chair. She warned that companies have to determine for themselves whether an aircraft is owned by a Russian entity and acknowledged that arrangements such as fractional ownership can complicate this assessment.
According to George Galanopoulos, CEO of Luxaviation UK, the due diligence task could be extremely onerous, given the widespread use of shell companies that disguise the identity of aircraft owners.
Airbus is starting up testing on a new high-voltage lithium-ion battery system that will be used to power the EcoPulse demonstrator aircraft.
Under development for several years, the battery can achieve 800 volts DC and deliver 350 kilowatts, enough to power the six electric motors on the EcoPulse, whose airframe is being assembled by Daher. This represents a quantum leap from the power output of batteries currently in use on aircraft.
The new battery, which weighs 770 pounds (350 kilograms), contains several unique features, according to Julien Laurent, Airbus’s battery project leader. He noted that the unit, which was designed in-house, includes several thousand lithium-ion cells incorporating safety measures to prevent thermal runaway. “Another innovative part is the active cooling system, which ensures the optimum temperature for normal operations,” he said, adding that the battery includes a management system. “This helps to minimize maintenance thanks to its built-in test features and ability to highlight the charge status or whether the cells need to be rebalanced.”
Following a test regimen at Airbus’s Toulouse, France facility, the battery will be installed in the EcoPulse. It is expected to make its first flight by the end of the year.
The UK aviation industry’s skills shortage continues to be exacerbated by a failure to reach an agreement on the movement of labor across borders following the country’s departure from the European Union (EU). Marc Bailey, chief executive of the British Business & General Aviation Association (BBGA), told the group’s conference today that high-level political obstacles continue to mean that UK companies have restricted access to pilots and maintenance professionals from other European countries.
“Without doubt, there has been an impact because positions have hardened [between the UK and the EU],” Bailey commented. “We expected to see bilateral agreements [on immigration and recognition of qualifications] coming to fruition in a couple of years, and it’s not at the UK Civil Aviation Authority and EASA, but at a political level there is not a will to have them, so progress on agreements has been weaker than a lot of us would have hoped.”
The UK government remains at loggerheads with the EU over UK demands to amend aspects of the terms under which the country left the community in January 2020. These mainly hinge on disagreements over how cross-border trade is regulated between the British mainland and Northern Ireland.
According to Bailey, the UK industry needs to generate its own flow of fresh talent, with the urgency of human resources challenges having increased through the Covid pandemic.
WingX is partnering with Parapex Media to offer market intelligence regarding the international helicopter fleet. This venture combines the data of Parapex and the flight activity platforms developed by WingX across the global business jet fleets.
The Europe-based companies say they will endeavor to cover information on “every civil-operated turbine helicopter in the Western world.” Users can select from the flight activity data based on a wide combination of factors including country, type of operation, operator, aircraft type, and engine type.
Richard Koe, managing director of WingX, explained, “We think this is a great opportunity to materialize the obvious synergies between our two businesses, and it’s good timing, given the emerging and exciting convergence of business aviation and next-gen, short-haul, and eVTOL operations.”
Jeremy Parkin, managing director of Parapex Media, added, “This collaboration opens up new opportunities for the helicopter industry. In combining our complementary knowledge and expertise, customers are afforded the ability to make better business decisions on the basis of accurate and well-presented data.”
Signature Flight Support has introduced permanent supplies of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for retail sale at its Vail Valley Jet Center FBO at Colorado’s Eagle County Regional Airport.
The leading provider of SAF to the private aviation industry, Signature has pumped more than six million gallons of renewable fuel since it first introduced permanent supplies at its San Francisco International Airport location back in September 2020. Its Signature Renew-branded SAF blend offers 25 percent less CO2 emissions than conventional jet fuel, and Vail Valley Jet Center customers who purchase it will receive verified carbon reduction certification, which will comply with stringent recordkeeping standards.
“The interest of our customers in adding SAF to their sustainability plans has been climbing,” noted Signature Aviation CEO Tony Lefebvre, who added that the company is planning to bring SAF to its FBOs at other nearby airports. “With the expansion of Signature Renew SAF with our partners at the Eagle County Regional Airport, we’re not only demonstrating our commitment to the Vail community and central Colorado but [to] the environment at large.”
Signature, the world’s largest FBO chain, now offers 12 SAF locations, nine in the U.S. and three in the UK. According to AirNav, nearly 20 FBOs in the U.S. now regularly list SAF pricing in addition to jet-A.
Transport Canada has issued a revised advisory circular with a renewed emphasis on wearing shoulder harnesses. The information has been added to AC 605-005 in response to a Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) analysis of more than 60 general aviation accidents in which shoulder harnesses were not being worn.
From 1990 to 2018, the TSB determined, harnesses were not being worn by at least one occupant in 62 accidents that resulted in a total of 68 fatalities. Thirty-seven of those 68 victims were aircraft occupants who had not been wearing the available shoulder harness. “The use of shoulder harnesses could have improved the occupants' chances of survival and egress,” concluded the TSB.
The AC acknowledged that crew and passengers in some aircraft are not wearing shoulder harnesses because they interfere with reaching the controls or are uncomfortable and unmanageable, particularly in some helicopter operations that require crewmembers to twist in their seats to view outside. To address these issues, the AC noted, aircraft owners can install inertia reel shoulder harnesses that allow for greater freedom of movement and reduce the likelihood of occupants unfastening them during flight. The AC also noted that some helicopter models have the capability to be retrofitted with crew seats that can swivel.
VRM Switzerland, builder of virtual reality (VR) flight training devices, has delivered the first Airbus H125 VR flight training device (FTD) in the U.S. to Colorado Highland Helicopters (CHH). Based in Durango, Colorado, the operator and flight school ordered the motion-base H125 FTD to provide basic flight training, as well as instruction for mountain flying and special operations such as external sling loads. CHH intends to qualify the device as the first virtual reality FTD under FAA regulations.
According to VRM, CHH will install its new H125 FTD this spring, Both companies will work with the FAA to speed qualification of the device and apply training credits toward pilot certification.
Donning the VR headset, a pilot trainee enters a fully immersive training environment with a 3D, 360-degree panoramic view. The system also features high-resolution ground-maneuver visualizations with sun effects and other elements that enhance the realism of the training experience. A full-scale replica cockpit with all relevant controls provides trainees realistic physical feedback when operating control components, knobs, and buttons.
“This will be a significant milestone, qualifying a VR device within the U.S.,” said Brandon Laird, owner and chief pilot at CHH. “We are excited to bring this technology to our training.”
Ed Bolen Reflects on the Evolution of the Business Aviation Industry - AIN’s 50th Anniversary
Aviation International News is celebrating its 50-year anniversary in 2022. As part of the festivities, we asked some key industry players to reflect on their time in the business aviation field. In this month’s video, NBAA's president and CEO Ed Bolen reflects on how the industry has evolved, and his first NBAA show.
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
AINalerts is a publication of AIN Media Group, 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey. Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
