Signature Aviation held the reopening this week of its FBO at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (PANC) in Alaska. Housed in the former Kulis Air National Guard facility, the 13,000-sq-ft terminal takes its interior styling from the local culture and offers a wood-burning fireplace, complimentary snack bar, conference room, and pilot lounge.
Given the airport's location on great-circle routes between Asia and Oceania to the U.S., as well as Europe to the U.S. West Coast, the newly renovated FBO includes a dedicated U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, making it the only service provider in the state to offer this service and permit passengers and crews to clear customs at the same time their aircraft is being fueled.
"Signature's Kulis terminal for private aviation is helping restate the importance of Anchorage as both a global crossroads and a destination for private aviation,” explained Geoff Heck, the service provider's senior v-p of global operations. “There is simply no better, faster, or more reliable tech stop option available to operators that find themselves traveling between Asia and the United States."
The Signature FBO has 90,000 sq ft of ramp space for aircraft parking. PANC is open 24/7 with no curfew, and due to its exceptional snow removal programs it has never been forced to close due to inclement weather.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for three occupants of a Bombardier Learjet 36A that declared an emergency before it crashed yesterday morning into the sea about a mile southwest of San Clemente Island, some 65 miles southwest of San Diego. This marks the third fatal mishap of a U.S.-registered business jet year-to-date.
The twinjet had taken off from Point Mugu Naval Air Station and was being operated as a public-use aircraft by Phoenix Air under a U.S. Navy contract. After receiving word of the crash, at about 8 a.m. PT, another Phoenix Air Learjet in the area immediately began searching for possible survivors; its crew located a debris field one mile southwest of San Clemente Island.
According to the Flight Safety Foundation Aviation Safety Network, Phoenix Air has experienced three previous fatal accidents since 1988. Before yesterday's crash, the last Phoenix Air fatal accident occurred on Dec. 14, 1994, when a Learjet 35 flying as a public-use aircraft for the U.S. Air Force crashed on approach for landing.
“Suspending search efforts is one of the hardest decisions to be made, but after aggressively searching the area around San Clemente Island for more than 24 hours using land, air, and surface assets with negative results, the decision was made to suspend the active search until further information or developments occur,” said a Coast Guard spokesperson.
Southeast Aerospace (SEA) has received an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) for the installation of the Universal Avionics InSight electronic flight instrument system (EFIS), datacomm for CPDLC and FANS 1/A, and a standby instrument in Hawker 800A/B/XP twinjets.
SEA partnered with Universal Avionics to supply the InSight integrated flight deck as an option for the three Hawker 800 variants with existing Collins EFIS 85/86, FCS-80, and APS-85 autopilots. InSight features embedded synthetic vision with mapping, electronic charts, and radio control. The Universal UniLink UL-801 and Latitude DL150 Data Link units provide FANS 1/A, CPDLC, and ATN B1 datalink capability. When integrated with the InSight EFIS, the Universal datalink unit brings additional navigation and communication capabilities, SEA said.
Further, the upgrade includes Mid-Continent's MD 302 SAM electronic standby instrument (ESI) to replace the existing ESI and a path to update older cockpit voice recorders, as well as provisions for new audio and weather radar.
No significant and “reasonable” upgrade paths for modernizing avionics on Hawker 800 aircraft have emerged since the aircraft entered production in the 1980s, SEA said. Thus, the company said its STC brings a much-needed solution for the aging and nearly or entirely obsolete original production avionics, provides new capabilities for pilots, and improves safety and efficiency “for years to come."
Vista Global Holding has launched an organization to centralize the company's worldwide aircraft trading activities and named Bill Papariella to lead these efforts and build on its services. Dubbed Vista Global Trading, the group will assist business aircraft owners, operators, and brokers in the buying and selling of assets and will provide expertise, technology, and analytical market support.
The company said this structure will enable aircraft owners to move into a Vista asset-free membership program by “easily and quickly” divesting their aircraft to the new division. Vista further said that the organization will shorten lead times.
“We are transforming the trading marketplace worldwide to enable valuable transactions to occur when speed and market appropriateness are critical, whilst giving access to asset-free flying solutions globally through Vista’s subscription memberships,” said Vista founder and chairman Thomas Flohr.
Papariella, who joined Vista in 2022 through the acquisition of Jet Edge, is holding the roles of chief business officer at Vista and Vista Global Trading, as well as serving on the executive board. He was building up a trading business while heading Jet Edge and said the new service “leverages the huge power of being part of the Vista universe and capitalizes on a key opportunity across the increasingly diversified requirements of the business aviation world.”
Duncan Aviation recently upgraded a 2001 GLEX with a complete interior refurbishment, new paint, a 240-month inspection, and the installation of new avionics systems. The work required extensive planning and involved every shop at the company’s full-service MRO located in Provo, Utah. The result is astounding.
The Air Charter Association (ACA) held the latest training session for its Air Charter Broker Qualification on May 4, attracting 28 industry professionals to take part in the group’s Level 1 Foundation Knowledge session. The event, held in Munich, Germany, was the first course to be held outside the UK, where ACA is based.
In addition to Germany and the UK, trainees came from Algeria, Austria, France, Greece, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands, and Kenya. The program guides new and experienced brokers through a range of charter industry topics to build and refresh their knowledge.
The ACA course has three levels, starting with the Foundation Knowledge session, which covers core skills like managing new charter inquiries, understanding pricing and contracts, and then arranging and overseeing a flight. Level 2 provides more advanced training in operations and flight management, and the program concludes with the Level 3 class on advanced broker skills. Each course ends with an assessment based on the content taught on the day, as well as general aviation knowledge.
The courses are run by ACA training manager Julie Ellis, who joined the association in 2022 to develop the Broker Qualification program. “It was a pleasure to welcome aviation professionals to our first session overseas, more conveniently located for many of our international members,” she said.
VSE Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire aircraft component and MRO services provider Desser Aerospace, expanding its portfolio of products and services. The transaction is expected to close within the next 90 days, subject to regulatory approvals.
“The acquisition supports our tip-to-tail aircraft distribution and MRO services strategy and provides VSE access to the highly fragmented commercial, [business aviation, and general aviation] aftermarkets,” said VSE Corp. president and CEO John Cuomo. “Desser, and their family of businesses, also provide a platform for geographic expansion in high-growth international markets.”
Founded in 1920 and with locations in California, Tennessee, the UK, and Australia, Desser Aerospace is an independent distributor of aircraft tires and tubes, brakes, and batteries, and a component MRO services provider across all aviation industry segments.
“We are excited to welcome the Desser, Desser Australia, Watts Aviation, Aero Wheel and Brake, Cee Bailey’s, and Rotable Repairs team to the VSE Aviation family,” said VSE Aviation president Ben Thomas. “We look forward to building on Desser Aerospace’s track record of success as a specialized, highly technical supplier.”
The FAA has granted a supplemental type certificate (STC) to SmartSky Networks for installation of the company’s Flagship air-to-ground connectivity system on a Dassault Falcon 2000EX. Installation partner West Star Aviation performed the work at its facility in Grand Junction, Colorado, and Liberty Partners provided engineering support starting on February 3. The aircraft arrived for service at West Star in March and the company completed the first-of-type installation and unrelated planned maintenance in just over a month, followed by a return to service in mid-April. The FAA granted the STC on April 28, meaning the project took three months.
“SmartSky was a great company to work with on this STC effort,” said West Star Aviation avionics sales manager Aaron Berg. “The coordination between West Star, SmartSky, and Liberty partners was excellent, and we are pleased to be part of enabling all Falcon 2000-series aircraft models to upgrade to SmartSky’s groundbreaking new technology.”
Berg added that the system’s high-bandwidth and low-latency performance allows continuous data transfer to and from the aircraft, powering inflight use for such activities as live streaming, videoconferencing, and gaming.
SmartSky’s two-way data flow went on display during the jet’s return-to-service flight from Colorado to the Bahamas, when passengers used seven gigabytes of data in just over three hours, downloading more than three gigabytes and uploading nearly four gigabytes.
Jet Aviation recently handed over an Airbus ACJ319neo with a handcrafted contemporary Art Deco interior. Installed at its facility in Basel, Switzerland, Jet Aviation said the interior was created through a close collaboration between its design studio, the undisclosed customer, and interior architect Colin Radcliffe.
The interior sports a monochrome palette with dark woods and tiling that is contrasted with beige and gold upholstery finishes. Jet Aviation incorporated complete details such as a bulk designed with a “sunburst” marquetry that features more than 180 “rays” of light and dark veneers and is separated by three-millimeter brass inlays. Jet Aviation noted that each piece was individually hand placed and manipulated for a seamless finish.
“Every interior we create is completely bespoke, hand-crafted by our team of some 200 skilled artisans in Basel, Switzerland,” says Christoph Fondalinski, v-p of completions at Jet Aviation. “This particular design featured incredibly beautiful and complex detailing throughout, such as the statement ‘sunburst’ veneer marquetry bulkhead in the living area, delicate open-pore walnut veneer, and a custom-dyed ombre carpet.”
The cabin was designed with living and dining space fitted with “wingback” seating and sofa areas, a separate office with embroidered wall finishings, and an ensuite bedroom with a bathroom styled in golden black marble and beige onyx.
Sustainability Question of the Week
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True or False: Under EU-ETS, operators claiming the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) must submit details on the procedures to trace data and documentation to prove the fuel’s sustainability.
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