Airshare Moving Upmarket with Challenger 350s

Kansas City-based aircraft charter, management, maintenance, and fractional provider Airshare today placed a firm order for three Bombardier Challenger 350s, with options for 17 more. When delivered later this year, the trio of Challengers will expand Airshare’s fractional offerings into the super-midsize segment.

Airshare currently has 50 aircraft in its fleet, including 20 Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 light jets for its fractional program and 30 managed aircraft. The company said it selected the Challenger 350 as the catalyst for expanding its fractional ownership program beyond the central U.S. to the East Coast.

“The addition of super-midsize jets into our fleet represents a significant milestone in our vision to expand the Airshare brand nationally,” said Airshare president and CEO John Owen. “Considerable due diligence went into choosing the Challenger 350, with input from our current customers and contributions from every department in the company.”

Airshare’s days-based fractional program provides each owner of a 1/16th share with 20 days and unlimited flight time, based on a customer’s allocation of days and maximum 14-hour crew duty days.

Constant’s Orlando Paint Ops To Tackle Bigger Jets

Constant Aviation has expanded its paint operation at Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida to now accommodate business jets as large as the Gulfstream G650, Dassault Falcon 7X, and Bombardier Globals. As a result of the expanded capability, the Cleveland-based MRO provider expects to hire 50 additional workers at its Central Florida location.

Since the acquisition of its Orlando facility, Constant has added 35,000 sq ft to its hangar space and invested more than $10 million in improvements. Last year, the company extended the leases for its paint and interior modification facilities through 2028 and for its primary maintenance facility through 2030. The larger paint operation will allow Constant to increase its available paint slots by 20 percent.

On May 15, the Orlando facility is scheduled to take on its first large business jet paint project—for a Bombardier Global Express. “When we entered the Orlando market, we expanded the facilities to handle more aircraft, increased our ability to handle more airframe types, and extended our leases,” said Constant COO Kevin Dillon. “Now, we continue to invest in enhancements based on robust demand. These improvements to the aircraft painting operation will allow us to improve our paint efficiencies.”

Collins Delivers Avionics for NASA’s Supersonic X-59

Collins Aerospace has handed over the avionics system for NASA's X-59, bringing the Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) research aircraft a step closer to its first flight in 2022. Being built at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, the X-59 will be used to conduct sonic boom trials over various population centers to generate noise data that could be used to ultimately develop new international standards for supersonic transport.

Collins is providing a Pro Line Fusion-based avionics system that can accommodate the unusual design of the X-59, including a lack of forward-looking windows. “We are bringing the Pro Line Fusion to the world of supersonic with an optimized solution for the X-59,” Peeter Soot, Collins Aerospace senior director of marketing for avionics, said this week. “It has no forward-looking windscreen, so we are adding EVS [enhanced vision] and SVS [synthetic vision] to give pilots all the visual references they need. And we are introducing touchscreens and a new HUD to combine all the images, and a suite of navigation and surveillance equipment.”

Working with Lockheed Martin and NASA on software applications, Collins tailored a large-format touchscreen display system with multifunction windows and a range of navigation, communication, and other systems that incorporate HUD symbology, synthetic vision, ARC-210 communication radios, and a Collins multi-spectral enhanced vision system.

Duncan Expands Engine Mx Capabilities in Lincoln

Duncan Aviation has expanded its turbine engine capabilities at its Lincoln, Nebraska facility with the addition of Honeywell TFE731 heavy and HTF7000-series minor authorizations. In addition, the facility has brought online a 20,000-pound-thrust-class test cell.

The company has also added 592 sq ft to its engine washroom area to account for the larger engines and heavier parts, as well as a new environmentally friendly evaporator system that includes an air makeup unit with exhaust fans to remove fumes from cleaning solvents. To better support HTF7000 customers, Duncan added a large-capacity media blaster and a paint booth dedicated to the company's engine services department.

“We have always been able to successfully perform all aspects of the core zone inspection (CZI) heavy maintenance process since receiving the authorization,” said Duncan engine overhaul services manager Scott Stoki. “We are now making the best use of our time and space by supporting the CZI process completely within our shop and do not have to move certain critical parts through other areas of the company.”   

During 2020, Duncan’s engine services unit recorded a 53 percent increase in scheduled events, a trend that Stoki expects to continue in 2021. As a result, the company is looking to add four more technicians to its engine services team.

Rise Aviation Breaks Ground on Texas FBO

Rise Aviation, formerly known as Lake Texoma Jet Center, has broken ground on its new terminal at North Texas Regional Airport (KGYI) just 60 miles north of Dallas. It is the sole FBO at the airport.

To accommodate the $3.7 million project, the company negotiated with the Grayson County Regional Mobility Authority to expand its leasehold by 1.4 acres. The new 10,800-sq-ft, two-story terminal will include a spacious passenger lobby, pilot lounge with snooze room, shower facilities, and flight-planning and vending areas. It will also offer a 12-seat conference room, observation deck overlooking the runway, tenant office space, and the airport’s administrative offices. The terminal is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2022.

The former 4,500-sq-ft 1950s-era terminal, which has been modified many times over the years, will be retained for tenant use. The FBO complex also includes approximately 68,000 sq ft of hangar space that can accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Gulfstream V, as well as seven acres of ramp space.

“As the North Texas area continues to grow, many businesses and investors who come to Grayson County with thoughts about relocating, building, or investing here will arrive in a business aircraft,” said FBO owner George Shuler. “We are pleased that Rise Aviation’s new facility will be Grayson County’s front door to the world.”

Neste Going Forward with SAF Refinery Expansion

Major sustainable fuel producer Neste has finally greenlit a long-discussed expansion project at its Rotterdam refinery. Requiring an outlay of approximately $231 million, the expansion, which is expected to be completed by mid-2023, will add another 500,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) a year to the plant’s annual capacity.

Neste’s current output capacity for SAF is 100,000 tons a year, but combined with upgrades underway at the company’s Singapore production facility, that total is expected to increase more than tenfold—to 1.5 million tons—each year by the end of 2023. There is certainly room for growth in the field, as SAF accounted for just 0.01 percent of all fuel used by the aviation industry in 2019. The SAF component of the blended Neste fuel can offer an up to 80 percent lifecycle carbon-emissions reduction over the same volume of conventional jet fuel it replaces.

“We have made a commitment to support our customers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 million tons by 2030,” said Peter Vanacker, president and CEO of the Finland-based fuel supplier, citing SAF’s considerable potential in that arena. “As the aviation industry is likely to resume on a growth trajectory after its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a growing need and urgency to act on aviation-related emissions.”

True Blue Inverters Approved for Select Gulfstreams

True Blue Power’s TI1204 emergency power inverters have been approved by Gulfstream Aerospace as an aftermarket installation on G550, GV, and G450 business jets. Installation doesn't require any mechanical or wiring changes.

The 1,200-watt inverter provides 400 Hz of power to emergency systems in the event of an aircraft power failure. It weighs nearly six pounds less than existing emergency power inverters, which offers owners and operators of the select Gulfstream models a more useful load.

“Gulfstream is one of the most technologically advanced business jet manufacturers in the industry,” said True Blue Power v-p of OEM sales and support Erik Ritzman. “Our TI1204 reduces unnecessary delays and delivers the trusted performance expected of such highly regarded aircraft. The selection of our inverter for this application demonstrates that we are well positioned to replace existing E-inverters on a wide range of business jets and commercial aircraft.”

Rotor Leaders Stress Performance Advances, Autonomy

Senior rotorcraft company executives all emphasized the need to not only change how current and future rotorcraft and other vertical lift aircraft perform, but how they are made. During remarks on Monday at a Vertical Flight Society (VFS) Forum 77 keynote session, they also pointed to the need to continue to recruit and retain top engineering talent as the rotorcraft industry transitions to future vertical lift programs, more efficient internal combustion and electric propulsion, and increased use of autonomous systems. 

Tomasz Krysinski, v-p of research and development at Airbus Helicopters, said his company was focused on innovation that would make vertical takeoff and landing aircraft “safer, simpler, more affordable, and more citizen-friendly.” He noted that enabling technology is being tested and validated between now and 2023 on the company’s H130 “Helicopter Flightlab.”

Bell v-p of rapid manufacturing and prototyping Glenn Isbell emphasized a need for cultural shifts within companies to achieve vehicle performance goals. “Aircraft manufacturing can be done differently,” he noted, pointing to Bell’s new manufacturing technology center that the company intends to use to modernize manufacturing across its entire enterprise.

Sikorsky president Paul Lemmo, who is not a pilot, said his company’s Matrix autonomous technology enabled him to be able to successfully fly an S-76 helicopter after just one hour of training. “These technologies really are proving themselves,” he concluded.

AIN Product Support Survey Now Open

Tell us about the product support you receive from business aviation OEMs. The 2021 AIN Product Support Survey is now open, ready for selected readers to rate aircraft, engine, and avionics support. AIN readers who have been picked to participate in this year’s Product Support Survey should have received their password and link to the online survey by e-mail. The survey needs to be completed by midnight on June 11.