TBM 930 Completes Paris-New York Record Flight

A Daher TBM 930 turboprop single piloted by Dierk Reuter and Phil Bozek completed a record-setting flight from New York to Paris on Saturday in an attempt to break a speed record held since 1985 by famed test pilot Chuck Yeager. The record must be verified by organizations such as the National Aeronautics Association and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

The flight departed Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, New York, on Saturday shortly after midnight local time and landed at Le Bourget Airport (FPB) in Paris about 8 hours 35 minutes later. Pilots Reuter and Bozek worked with officials on both sides of the Atlantic in preparation to attempt to beat the record in the C1e category (turboprop aircraft with an mtow of less than 13,200 pounds/6,000 kg).

The aircraft, owned by Reuter, was fitted with an additional fuel tank to carry another 300 gallons of jet fuel. This brought total usable fuel to 600 gallons, providing more than 10 hours of flight time. The FAA provided a permit to allow for a takeoff weight of 9,500 pounds, which is an increase from the TBM 930’s certified mtow of 7,398 pounds. Further, the aircraft was equipped with an Iridium Go! in-flight tracking device.

Pistons Buoy Bizav Activity in Europe, Says WingX

Business aviation departures in Europe rose 1.7 percent year-over-year last month, thanks to a “big increase” in piston traffic, according to the latest data from WingX Advance. Business jet activity was down by 1.3 percent for the month, while charter activity fell 1.6 percent, it said.

“The overall trend in business aviation activity, up 2 percent year-over-year, camouflages a significant underlying decline in business jet activity, across all the top markets except Germany, with notably large falls in large-cabin jet activity out of Spain and light to midsize cabin activity from the UK,” said WingX managing director Richard Koe. “These declines are most obvious in charter activity. This year’s falling trend in business jet charters reflects softer demand in the context of weaker economic growth and heightened political risk across Europe.”

WingX also noted a “major slump” in business jet activity out of Russia and Turkey, which were down 15 percent and 20 percent year-over-year, respectively. In fact, business jet departures from Moscow Vnukovo Airport have dropped 16 percent year-to-date versus a year ago, it said.

Business aviation flights within Europe climbed 2 percent last month, while arrivals into Europe from North America and Africa increased more than 15 percent. But these trends were offset by decline of almost 20 percent in flights from Asia-Pacific and a 9 drop from the CIS region, according to WingX.

Metrojet Breaks Ground on Philippines FBO/MRO Complex

Hong Kong-based business aviation service provider Metrojet broke ground on an FBO/MRO facility at Clark International Airport in Pampanga, Philippines, late last week. The 279,862-sq-ft/26,000-sq-m complex, planned to be operational in the second quarter of next year, will include a 76,424-sq-ft/7,100-sq-m hangar that can simultaneously house up to 10 large-cabin business jets in a fully typhoon-proof structure with foam fire-suppression system.

In addition, there will be 26,910 sq ft/2,500 sq m of space for “customer accommodation and storage, FBO capability, maintenance workshops, and materials warehousing.” It will also have some 118,403-sq-ft/26,000-sq-m of taxiway and parking ramp space to provide aircraft parking, maintenance, and FBO services, the company noted.

“This development represents the largest investment made by Metrojet in its 21-year history, demonstrating our commitment to the development of business aviation in the Philippines,” said Metrojet COO Bruce Watson. “With this Clark facility, we at Metrojet are strengthening our footprint in Southeast Asia. The growing strategic importance of Clark with its freedom of operations and freeport zone enables us to provide our clients with a high-quality and very competitive hangar parking and maintenance facility in the region, especially with locations such as Hong Kong and Singapore becoming increasingly expensive and having capacity constraints.”

IADA Progressing On Bizjet Broker Accreditation

The International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) is moving towards full accreditation of its member brokers in what it said is a stringent process that is quantifiable and measurable, the organization formerly known as the National Aircraft Resale Association announced today. It has engaged Joseph Allan Aviation Consulting to review and analyze the qualifications of existing IADA members. “They will also examine 15 new accreditation applicants to see if they meet the high standards of IADA accreditation under their confidential processes to ensure accountability and transparency,” IADA executive director Wayne Starling said. 

Implementation of an accreditation process is the last step in the transformation of IADA announced in September to elevate the broker profession. IADA said it will establish consistent standards of behavior that will raise the confidence of aircraft buyers and sellers in selecting professionals and experts for counsel in business aircraft negotiations and transactions.

Leading the IADA accreditation program are Mark Dusenbury, associate professor in the University of North Dakota’s (UND) aviation department, and Shayne Daku, assistant professor at UND’s aviation department. Dusenbury also serves on the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) board of trustees, while Daku is also chair of the testing committee of NBAA’s Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) governing board.

Royal Jet Optimistic About Prospects at Saudi Airshow

Rob DiCastri, CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Royal Jet, told AIN that he is “hoping to” do new business in Saudi Arabia this week at the inaugural Saudi Airshow, despite the government’s anti-corruption effort that has slowed down business aviation there over the past 15 months. The three-day airshow opens tomorrow with an expected 260 exhibitors and 80 airliners and business aircraft on display.

“We've always had business there and some of it has continued. It's trickled,” DiCastri said. “Of course, when everybody went quiet, everybody lost business from that. But we're hearing noise now. We're getting requests, especially for events and things like that, that the Saudi government is putting on. They need capacity, and they need to move people. They don't necessarily want to move them in commercial aircraft, but want some private aircraft. It's encouraging.”

He said he is attending the show at Riyadh Thumamah Airport because of the opportunity in Saudi Arabia. “It's waking up, there's some interest coming. There are more quote requests coming out of there, so we need to be there,” DiCastri said, adding that Saudi has the largest business aircraft fleet in the region. “They historically have had more demand than anybody else in the region. It's not there right now. It'll come back.”

Lone Sky Aero Bizav Consultancy Launches

Three men with nearly 80 years of combined aviation industry have launched Lone Sky Aero Advisors, an aircraft sales and consulting organization, the Dallas-based firm announced late last week. The firm offers worldwide aircraft sales and purchasing services, aerospace and defense contract consulting, aircraft management and operations consulting, and aviation business financial management programs.

It was founded by Phil Jordan, Herb Knight, and Chad Collins. Jordan, Lone Sky’s president, is a commercial-rated pilot with more than 30 years of experience in private, corporate, and general aviation and has held various aviation services management positions with companies such as Banyan Air Service and Tempus Aircraft. He’s also owned an aircraft sales, FBO, MRO, and aviation consulting business. 

Knight, Lone Sky v-p, also has three decades of experience in corporate daily financial activities, aircraft sales and management services sales, client reporting, and administrative services. His career stops have included positions at Gama Aviation and Tempus. He and Jordan are joined by Lone Sky v-p Collins, who has nearly 20 years of experience in operations management, aircraft acquisitions, aircraft maintenance, and international business development. Collins was most recently v-p of aircraft sales at Air 7.

PowerFlarm Reaches 10,000th Customer

Flarm Technology last week announced the delivery of its 10,000th PowerFlarm aircraft anti-collision warning system to a UK customer who installed it aboard an MD500 helicopter. Since its invention initially for gliders in 2004, nearly 40,000 Flarm systems have been installed in all types of manned airplanes and rotorcraft, according to the company.

PowerFlarm was introduced to cater to the specific needs of powered aircraft pilots. It features triple the detection range of the legacy system, to 6.2 miles, offers coverage from not only forward approaching aircraft but also aircraft approaching from behind or below, and protects against interference from mobile phones and other electronic devices.

PowerFlarm also offers optional transponder and ADS-B 1090ES receiver to guard against non-Flarm equipped aircraft and to monitor potentially intruding aircraft transmitting mode-C, mode-S, and ADS-B messages on 1090 MHz, and includes those aircraft in PowerFlarm’s smart trajectory prediction and collision warning algorithms.

PowerFlarm systems are available for installation in-panel or as a portable unit. The company also makes UAV traffic collision and avoidance sensors. 

Bristow Bell 407 Louisiana Crash Proves Fatal

A Bristow Group Bell 407 crashed into the coastal Gulf of Mexico waters at approximately noon yesterday near Galliano, Louisiana. Bristow said the helicopter, which was manufactured in 1998 and registered as N577AL, was carrying one crewmember and one passenger. As of this morning, one body had been recovered and one person remained missing. Neither has been identified.

The helicopter was operating between Galliano and Venice, Louisiana. The area along the route is difficult to access via land. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff responded to the scene at approximately 1:42 p.m. yesterday.

Bristow CEO Don Miller said, “Our highest priority is assisting those involved and affected by the accident.” The company declined to release additional details. As of last year, Bristow operated 24 Bell 407s, owning 22 and leasing two. 

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