ADS-B Compliance Accelerates, but Will It Be Enough?
While ADS-B installs continue to accelerate, concerns about shop availability as the 2020 deadline approaches are leading to talk of a potential limited exemption from the FAA. GAMA leaders reported last month that fixed-wing equipage numbers have jumped significantly and are now on a solid pace.
“The last three months are continuing to improve each month with respect to equipage rates,” said Jens Hennig, v-p of operations for GAMA, noting equipage rates for December, January, and February were the highest since the FAA began tracking in 2014. In February alone, a record 2,583 aircraft were equipped. By the beginning of this month, nearly 76,000 aircraft were equipped. “If the current rate simply continues, approximately 100,000 aircraft will be ADS-B compliant when the mandate enters into effect on January 1, 2020,” Hennig added, noting this is in line with FAA estimates from the Equip 2020 kickoff meeting in 2014.
At the same time, however, industry leaders doubt that 100 percent of the fixed-wing fleet will be equipped come 2020. The FAA already has begun discussions on perhaps providing a pathway for those who can’t get shop slots in a timely manner, said Heidi Williams, director of air traffic services and infrastructure for NBAA.
Such a topic is anticipated to be reviewed by the government/industry Equip 2020 workgroup, which is scheduled to meet tomorrow.
Plans announced yesterday by the White House to nominate Stephen Dickson to a five-year term as FAA administrator were broadly welcomed by a cross-section of industry leaders, who characterized the former Delta Air Lines executive as a champion of safety with deep industry knowledge. The move comes more than a year after the last permanent FAA administrator, Michael Huerta, completed his five-year term, but also as the agency has come under scrutiny in the aftermaths of two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes.
NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen was enthusiastic about the prospect of Dickson’s appointment to the position. “Steve is a leader whose comprehensive understanding of our national air transportation system and the efforts under way to keep building a ‘Next Generation’ system are second to none,” Bolen said. A 1979 U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, Dickson was an F-15 fighter pilot before becoming an airline pilot and ultimately part of the senior leadership team at Delta. He retired last year as senior v-p of flight operations.
Airlines for America (A4A) said it “applauds the nomination. During his distinguished career, he has demonstrated strong leadership and unwavering dedication to aviation.”
“His in-depth knowledge of our aviation system, keen awareness of general aviation, as well as the challenges before us, make him the right choice to lead the agency,” added AOPA president and CEO Mark Baker.
Global Jet Wins Mx Training Endorsement from Dassault
Dassault Aviation has named Global Jet Services a factory-authorized maintenance training provider for the French airframer’s classic line of Falcon business jets, Connecticut-based Global Jet announced today. The authorization allows Global Jet to provide maintenance training for the Falcon 10, 20/20-5, 50/50EX, 2000/2000EX, and 900/900EX.
“We are very excited with this endorsement from Dassault,” said Global Jet founder and CEO J.D. McHenry. “We look forward to adding our support to their successful worldwide maintenance program already in place.”
The Part 147 B1 and B2 training provider said it employs several instructors with nearly 100 years of combined experience on these Falcon types. Established by McHenry in 1992, Global Jet offers on-site, interactive business aviation maintenance training to airframe and powerplant mechanics and avionics technicians. It also offers professional development and safety training to those in the industry.
Aircraft Appraisers Form New Professional Association
Veteran aircraft appraiser Mike Simmons and his peers have formed the Professional Aircraft Appraisal Organization (PAAO) following the disbanding of the former National Aircraft Appraisers Association, in hopes of promoting trust in the aircraft valuation process and providing its members training, resources, and networking. “We’re focused exclusively on aircraft [appraising], ensuring our guys do the proper research by going out to the field,” Simmons told AIN yesterday.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based organization was officially formed January 1 and currently comprises 120 aircraft appraisers primarily located in the U.S. but also in Canada, China, Germany, Mexico, and South Africa. “It gives an infrastructure, providing training and mentoring you’re not going to get elsewhere,” he said of PAAO.
It’s important for aircraft appraisers to have an organization in a profession that’s not regulated, Simmons explained, adding there are instances where an appraisal of an airplane is made without an inspection of it or its logbooks. Some clients don’t really want to know the value of an airplane, he said. Instead, their only “interest is making the deal go forward, and that’s not the business our guys are in.”
Pilatus Renews Ruag’s PC-12 Mx Credentials
Pilatus Aircraft has renewed its authorized PC-12 service center agreement with Ruag MRO International, building on its PC-12 type rating status that’s been in place for 11 years, the Emmen, Switzerland-based maintenance provider announced. “Over the years, Pilatus PC-12 customers have come to understand that this expertise translates into the prompt and reliable resolution of routine maintenance events and optimized downtimes, all of which means improved aircraft availability and more time in the air,” said Ruag Geneva site general manager Pio Ming.
An average of 150 aircraft maintenance and support events are handled by Ruag’s dedicated PC-12 team at Geneva-Meyrin, Switzerland, which includes line, base, and heavy maintenance, as well as AOG, avionics upgrades and cabin modifications. That facility also is an authorized service center for Dassault Falcon and a service center for the Embraer Legacy, Bombardier Challenger 604/605, Hawker Beechcraft, and Piaggio P.180 Avanti.
Philippines Regulators To Increase Service Charges
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is looking to increase the rates of most of its services. These rate hikes will see the cost of most, if not all, of CAAP’s services increase tenfold. Industry groups such as the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) welcomed the plan, noting that the CAAP has not raised rates since 1994.
Under the new proposed rates, the issuance of annual air operator certificate (AOC) would increase from PHP6,500 ($122) to PHP62,000 ($1,172). Domestic flights, such as demonstration or tests flights, of foreign-registered aircraft will rise from PHP2,500 ($47.35) and PHP250 ($4.73) processing fee to PHP24,000 ($454.54) and PHP2,400 ($45.45), respectively.
AsBAA supported the move, saying it believes the fare hike will improve the country’s aviation safety standards, but recommended that it be implemented in a staggered manner. “The last increase of the user fees of the Philippine government was 25 years ago and it is time that user fees are being adjusted to reflect the tasks CAAP must perform to uphold international standards of aviation safety,” said AsBAA. “With the increase of user fees, CAAP can now hire additional qualified and trained flight operations and airworthiness inspectors and train them well to develop and improve systems in keeping with ever-evolving international safety standards.”
MRO Insider Expands Registered Aircraft Base
MRO Insider, the website founded in 2016 to connect corporate operators with qualified maintenance shops, recently topped 500 corporate aircraft registrations on its maintenance quoting marketplace. “With the ADS-B deadline nearing, we are seeing an increase in registrations and avionics requests sent through the website,” said Andy Nixon, co-founder and v-p of sales for MRO Insider. “Owner-operators or directors of maintenance can compare ADS-B quotes side-by-side to find a solution that best meets their needs, including scheduling and downtime.”
MRO Insider provides a venue for registered operators to obtain maintenance quote requests for 11 different maintenance services. Aircraft operators can select an aircraft, choose which service is needed, specify a time frame, and send equipment lists, maintenance tracking documents, or photos. Maintenance shops that subscribe to MRO Insider are then notified of a request for a quote and can respond or seek additional information. The website includes profile pages for each maintenance shop and is open to customer reviews.
“We have gotten great feedback from both segments of our customer base and have used the feedback to continue to improve our system,” Nixon added.
PrivatAir Saudi Arabia: Four New FBOs Coming To Kingdom
Bizjet charter and private aviation terminal operator PrivatAir Saudi Arabia (PASA) said plans are afoot to add another FBO in Riyadh, two in Jeddah, and install a new one within existing facilities at Dammam Airport, PASA managing director Mansour Alsharif told AIN last week at the Saudi Airshow.
Four operators are currently in place in Riyadh: Saudia Private Aviation (SPA), Jet Aviation, Sky Prime, and NasJet-ExecuJet. The private aviation terminal there is undergoing a massive overhaul, set for completion in June 2020, and expected to almost triple floorspace to 13,500 sq m (145,313 sq ft), and more than double the apron size to 20,500 sq m (220,660 sq ft). A separate standalone facility will give one undisclosed FBO operator extra space, while the other four players will share common-user spaces and government services but run separate lounges.
Meanwhile, Alsharif said two FBOs would be added in Jeddah, where SPA and Jet Aviation currently operate facilities, but refused to confirm the identity of the new entrants. No FBO exists today in Dammam, so PASA is installing a facility on the ground floor of the existing terminal building that is expected to be open in mid-July.
Requires removing certain part-numbered and serial-numbered tail rotor duplex bearings from service. Prompted by a report of a failed tail rotor duplex bearing roughness inspection.
Retains the requirements of AD 97-26-03, which mandated visual inspections for cracks in the ribbed area of the main rotor mast flange, but removes a certain mast from the applicability.
Requires identification of the batch number of all P/N 109-0011-03-105 torque tube assemblies, repetitive inspections of the affected parts, and replacement, as well as prohibits installation or reinstallation of affected parts. Prompted by reports of abnormal play on the collective torque tube of two AW119MKII helicopters and subsequent investigations that identified these events were due to an erroneous manufacturing process, EASA said.
Supersedes but retains the requirements of EASA AD 2018-0287, which mandated a one-time inspection of the tail rotor gearbox actuating rods, but expands this inspection to more part numbers and introduces a new requirement to mark the affected parts.
Check out Mecaer’s “Magnificent” Interior for the Bell 505
VIP rotorcraft specialist Mecaer Aviation Group recently delivered the first Bell 505 Jet Ranger X in North America outfitted with the company’s “Magnificent” interior to Canada’s Hélite Aviation. Hélite will use the Bell 505 for VIP transport from its downtown Montreal heliport and anticipates strong demand for the stylish five-place light single. AIN had a chance to check out the interior at Heli-Expo 2019, where Mecaer delivered the aircraft to the customer.
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