Piaggio Aerospace Aims To Find Buyer by April 2020

Piaggio Aerospace is trying to chalk up orders for its P.180 Avanti Evo turboprop twin while it simultaneously searches for potential buyers of the entire company by April 2020. The Italian aircraft manufacturer went into insolvency late last year after its UAE-based owner Mubadala canceled its order for the P.1HH Hammerhead, an unmanned maritime patrol version of the Avanti.

Lawyer Vincenzo Nicastro, who is now the “extraordinary receiver” to temporarily manage Piaggio, told AIN this week at the LIMA airshow in Malaysia that the Italian government has pledged €250 million to complete the final stage of the P.1HH program. On Tuesday, Piaggio also secured a €45 million maintenance contract to service Aermacchi MB.339s for the Italian air force, as well as P.180 logistics support for three other government agencies.

“We want everyone to know that we are still in operation,” Nicastro said. “And we want to present the new Piaggio to the world.”

Next month, the company is aiming to receive non-binding letters of intent from potential buyers to get a better sense of market interest. By June, Piaggio will present a proposal and officially invite the market to buy the company. Nicastro said it hopes to complete the process, including approval by the government, by next April.

AINsight: Simple Solution to Aircraft Mechanic Shortage

There is no question it’s getting hard to find qualified aircraft technicians. It’s partly a demographic problem (baby boomers not having enough babies) and more likely due to crappy pay, benefits, and quality of life. The result has been low levels of new entrants into aviation maintenance and consequent shortages.

Despite all the talk about the shortage, I see nothing new on the horizon on how to solve it, beyond getting kids as young as kindergartners interested in aviation careers. It’s time to get creative. There are roughly 200,000 certified A&P mechanics in the U.S., but a surprisingly large number are not qualified/current to work under their certificates. If there is a shortage of A&P mechanics, there likely is also a shortage of those that hold the Inspection Authorization (IA). The problem for both A&Ps and IAs is the experience requirements, which are too stringent and discourage participation in the industry.

The simple way to free up this underused labor pool would be to change the applicable regulations. Instead of requiring a certain amount of recent experience, why not replace that with a training option? An IA or A&P could maintain currency by attending, say, a week of training every year. 

Taking this small step would be a win-win for the industry, not to mention giving the FAA an opportunity to eliminate some unnecessary regulations.

Norwegian Bizav Company Ups Its Carbon Neutralization

Norwegian aviation services provider Sundt Air has, for the past several years, operated as a carbon neutral company, due to its participation in a mangrove forest restoration program in the Thor Heyerdahl Climate Park in Myanmar. This year, its charter division will make flights even more sustainable for its passengers by pledging to double the contribution required to cancel the carbon emissions generated.

Along with providing coastal protection against tsunamis and other forms of extreme weather, shelter for juvenile marine creatures, and cleaning polluted waterways, Mangroves swamps are important as each tree mitigates five times more CO2 as their terrestrial equivalent, and produces enough oxygen for four people. The Myanmar Mangrove project, implemented by Worldview International Foundation in cooperation with Pathein University, was the first such project in Asia to achieve verified carbon standard validation. It has achieved a 93 percent survival rate of trees planted and will mitigate 3.5 million tons of CO2 over the next two decades.

In addition to being Norway’s largest private jet operator, Sundt Air operates a Part 145 repair station, has FBOs in Oslo and Stavanger, and offers aircraft brokerage services.

New ForeFlight App Answers 'Are We There Yet?'

Aviation app developer ForeFlight has unveiled a companion app for passengers with the release of ForeFlight 11.2 that allows them to track the progress of their flight, the company announced this week. Use of the ForeFlight Passenger app, which is available for free on the Apple App Store, requires connectivity between a pilot’s ForeFlight Mobile subscription and the app.

According to ForeFlight, the Passenger app features a map showing the position of a flight—which requires a GPS source—route of the flight, estimated remaining time, estimated time of arrival, speed, altitude in feet, and magnetic heading. The default speed is measured in knots but can be changed in the app’s settings to mph or kph.

If the pilot changes the flight’s route, ForeFlight will automatically transmit it to the Passenger app. ForeFlight Passenger also allows travelers to pan and zoom around the map, as well as supports split view and slide over on the iPad for users who are multitasking.

In testing, ForeFlight has successfully connected up to eight Passenger apps to one Pilot app, but added, “the actual limit is probably higher.”

Bombardier’s Global 7500: Another Day, Another Record

Bombardier is beginning to rack up speed records for its flagship Global 7500, this time setting one on a flight from Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, New York, to London Luton Airport (LTN) on March 27. The Global 7500 departed HPN at 6:26 a.m. local time Wednesday and arrived at LTN at 3:52 p.m. local time, a transatlantic trip that was completed in 5 hours and 26 minutes “under seasonal winds,” Bombardier announced, adding the Global 7500 reached the aircraft’s top speed of Mach 0.925 and averaged Mach 0.92. The record is pending U.S. National Aeronautic Association certification.

This followed the speed record a Global 7500 set over this past weekend on a 3-hour, 54-minute flight from Van Nuys, California to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. In addition, the Global 7500 earlier this month completed a record 8,152-nm mission from Singapore to Tucson, Arizona, landing with 4,300 pounds of fuel reserves.

Bombardier also continues to expand the fleet with the delivery of the first Europe-based Global 7500. That aircraft was handed over to former Formula One driver and long-time Bombardier customer Niki Lauda. The delivery took place less than two months after Bombardier obtained EASA validation.

Bombardier, which began delivery of the model late last year, said it remains on track to deliver between 15 and 20 Global 7500s this year.

Jet Linx Crosses 100 Million Miles

Business jet card, charter, and management firm Jet Linx recently reached a major milestone: 100 million miles flown. That mark was passed during a 1,085.2-mile flight from Scottsdale, Arizona, to Omaha, Nebraska, on March 24.

"Jet Linx has grown at a steady pace since 1999 but, in the last few years, our business has experienced an exponential trajectory, having flown half of the 100 million miles in the last five years alone,” said president and CEO Jamie Walker, crediting that to the company's drive to provide a personalized approach to its services.

The company reached the milestone as it is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a fleet topping 100 aircraft. Jet Linx expects to continue on its growth trajectory with expanded operations and terminals opening in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Austin, Texas, through the second quarter. This follows the opening of terminals in Detroit and Houston and expansion in Washington, D.C.

Boeing Details 737 Max Updates

Boeing on Wednesday specified software and flight deck display updates for the 737 Max, precipitated by two recent fatal crashes of the model, that center on the maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) and related systems and equipment. The MCAS updates went through hundreds of hours of analysis, laboratory testing, verification in a simulator, and two test flights, including an in-flight certification test with FAA representatives, said Boeing.

One of the principal changes involves the angle-of-attack sensors, inputs from both of which the MCAS will now compare. If the sensors disagree by 5.5 degrees or more with the flaps retracted, the MCAS will not activate.

If the MCAS activates in non-normal conditions, it will only provide one input for each elevated AOA event. Boeing said it knows of no failure conditions where the MCAS will provide multiple inputs. Finally, the MCAS can never command more stabilizer input than the pilots can counteract by pulling back on the column.

Flight deck updates now include a formerly optional angle-of-attack disagree indicator and alert on the primary flight display. Finally, Boeing has updated the Max’s computer-based differences training and manual review to accompany the software update.

Boeing continues to work with the FAA on the certification of the updates. It provided no timeline for expected certification or the Max's re-entry into service.   

Bulletin Clarifies RVSM Authorization Process

The FAA in 2016 adopted a final rule that eliminates the requirement for operators to apply for a specific RVSM approval when their aircraft are equipped with qualified ADS-B Out systems and meet specific altitude keeping equipment requirements for operations in RVSM airspace. This final rule became effective on January 22 and the agency estimates it will save operators $5,000 per RVSM application. 

To summarize the details of this rule, the FAA has issued Information for Operators (InFo) 19003. Included in this guidance is a reminder that an application to operate in RVSM airspace “will no longer be required to develop and submit an RVSM maintenance program solely for the purpose of obtaining an RVSM authorization.” The agency noted that, “because of other, independent FAA airworthiness regulations, all aircraft operators remain required to maintain RVSM equipment in an airworthy condition.”

Operators of U.S.-registered aircraft whose altitude-keeping performance has been evaluated using data collected through ADS-B Out can obtain monitoring performance via an FAA webpage. Operators seeking to fly under the new provisions should refer to Advisory Circular 91-85B, “Authorization of Aircraft and Operator for Flight in RVSM.”