Following in the steps of January’s Business Jets Fuel Green: A Step Toward Sustainability event, which marked the first commercial availability of sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF) in the U.S. for business aviation, a similar event will take place this weekend in Europe, ahead of EBACE. Called Fuelling the Future, it will begin with North America-based aircraft from OEMs and other operators having the opportunity to fuel up on Avfuel-supplied SAJF at the Sheltair FBO at New York’s Republic Airport before the transatlantic flight between May 16 and 18.
On May 18, at London-area Tag Farnborough Airport, the SAJF coalition—consisting of EBAA, NBAA, GAMA, IBAC, and NATA—will host a media reception detailing progress in the adoption of the renewable fuel in the year since the launch of the Business Aviation Guide to the Use of Sustainable Alternative Jet Fuel at last year’s EBACE, including an address by Eurocontrol director general Eamonn Brennan and a panel discussion of industry experts.
EBACE-bound aircraft will then be able to fuel on SAJF, produced by U.S.-based Gevo and provided by World Fuel Services. In addition to Farnborough, SAJF from Neste, through Air BP, will also be available at France’s Caen Airport and Sweden’s Stockholm Arlanda, with the intention of making the arrival of aircraft in Geneva the business aviation industry’s largest fly-in on the renewable fuel to date.
Bombardier Partners With Jetex for Dubai Line Mx
Bombardier has agreed to establish a new line maintenance station in Dubai with FBO operator Jetex, the Canadian airframer announced today. Its ninth line maintenance station will initially provide unscheduled maintenance but work toward offering scheduled maintenance in the coming months. Supporting the Dubai station are technicians certified for all of Bombardier’s Challenger and Global business jets, including its newest Global 7500.
“This expansion is an integral part of our overall mission to enhance OEM support for our operators in the Middle East—and we are very pleased to be working with highly respected business aviation leader Jetex in the development of this project,” said Bombardier Business Aircraft v-p and general manager of customer experience Jean-Christophe Gallagher. “As a part of our commitment to offering an exceptional customer experience, we are delighted to offer our customers expanded support, more resources, and increased flexibility closer to their base of operations.”
Jetex president and CEO Adel Mardini added that the service expansion in Dubai is a “significant boon” for his company’s customers that use its FBO network around the globe.
FSI Names Davenport Sole CEO
FlightSafety International is shifting its top leadership to make David Davenport the sole CEO. He will also remain president. Davenport in October stepped in as co-CEO and president, Commercial, alongside Ray Johns, who was co-CEO and president, Government and Manufacturing. The international training specialist had originally opted for the joint leadership approach after longtime chairman, president, and CEO Bruce Whitman had died.
Under the latest shift, Johns continues as president, Government and Manufacturing, overseeing FlightSafety’s business involving government and military agencies, as well as its flight simulation/visual system design and manufacturing operations.
“After leading FlightSafety together since last October, Ray and I determined that this new structure is the best and most effective way to achieve FlightSafety’s goals while continuing to build for the future,” Davenport said. “Ray is an outstanding leader who has contributed greatly to FlightSafety‘s success since joining us in 2014. His focus on innovation and dedication to continuous product, service, and process improvement is most appreciated and valued.”
Davenport has served with FlightSafety since 1996, holding positions of increasing responsibility. This included as assistant manager in Palm Beach, Florida, and manager in Savannah, Georgia. He was executive v-p before he was promoted in October. Davenport also is a president of the Wings Club Foundation and a member of NBAA’s Advisory Council.
Archein Aerospace, which made its debut last week at the NBAA Maintenance Conference, has received its Part 145 repair station certificate for avionics maintenance and installations, with a focus on head-up display/enhanced vision system (HUD/EVS), ADS-B, and other advanced systems for air transport, cargo, and business aircraft.
Colocated with MRO provider and interiors specialist Robinson Aerospace at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, the company aims to be a center of excellence in advanced avionics using what chairman Jim Wisdom told AIN is a “hyper-maintenance” model for quick-turn service with an emphasis on HUD/EVS installations.
“We’re trying to fill a niche,” Wisdom said, with a HUD/EVS program that aims to have such systems installed and up and running within six days compared with the typical 18 to 20 days. “If someone wants this done, they don’t want their airplane down for three weeks,” added Wisdom, who said he was involved in the initial development and flight testing of HUD/EVS for FedEx.
Archein president and CEO Michael Kaufhold thinks HUD/EVS is an increasingly important part of an airplane’s avionics. “The 2016 changes in FAA regulations for reduced-minimums approaches through lower ceilings and bad weather conditions with [no natural vision] enhanced vision technologies installed is the underlying impetus for Archein,” Kaufhold explained. “You can’t ignore the safety and bottom-line value and efficiencies of this to owner-operators operating globally and, in particular, in the NextGen arena.”
Embraer Sees Revenues Dip, Preps for Praetor Delivery
While Embraer’s business jet deliveries remained stable year-over-year in the first quarter at 11 aircraft, revenues for the Brazilian manufacturer’s Executive Jets unit dipped slightly to $117.3 million, the company announced this morning. The first quarter Executive Jets results were down from $127.8 million a year earlier.
Overall, Embraer’s revenues totaled $823.3 million in the quarter, down from $960.3 million a year earlier, and the company posted a net loss of $42.5 million. This came as Embraer shipped three fewer commercial aircraft, for a total of 11, and as it prepares for its alignment with Boeing later this year. In fact, the only area to bring in more revenues was services and support, which was up a little more than $5 million to $244.2 million in the quarter.
Embraer, however, said it remains confident in its 2019 guidance for both commercial jets (85-95) and executive jets (90-110) and added it expects deliveries to increase in upcoming quarters. The company also noted the recent Brazilian certification of its super-midsize Praetor 600 and said backlog extends to May 2020 and that deliveries would begin shortly.
Embraer ended the quarter with an overall backlog of $16 billion, down from $19.5 billion a year earlier.
Elliott Aviation Reaches Milestone G5000 Retrofit
Elliott Aviation has signed an agreement for its 50th Garmin G5000 avionics retrofit. Elliott was the first company to perform a G5000 installation and since has retrofitted more than 30 of the systems in Beechjet400A/Hawker 400XP twinjets.
This milestone installation will be in a 2000 Cessna Citation Excel. The retrofit for the Excel and XLS replaces Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics, including the flight director system and autopilot, and offers ADS-B Out, WAAS/LPV, dual-channel digital flight control system, integrated engine indication and crew alerting system (EICAS), all in a lighter-weight package, while swapping the obsolescent CRT screens for LCD displays. Additional options such as CPDLC/Link 2000 services, FANS-1/A, and lightning and hail prediction will be added in the future.
“We have been Garmin’s leading aviation retrofitter for many years,” said Conrad Theisen, the MRO’s director of avionics sales. “Our longstanding partnership with Garmin has led the G5000 program to be a huge success for Elliott Aviation.”
The company has also installed more than 350 G1000 suites in King Air turboprops, exceeding the total of all the other dealers combined.
FAA Nominee Dickson Stresses Collaboration in ATC
Stephen Dickson faced a positive reception on Capitol Hill today as the Senate Commerce Committee held a confirmation hearing on his nomination as the next FAA Administrator. However, at the same time, several members of the committee gave notice that they expect strong scrutiny on matters surrounding the Boeing 737 Max accidents. Dickson, who appeared before the committee as current acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell faced separate questioning on the 737 Max in the House, had testified, “Despite the enviable track record of aviation safety in the U.S. over the past decade and more, we must never rest.”
Dickson also committed to work to integrate unmanned systems, ensure progress on cybersecurity initiatives, and continue on efforts on supersonic regulations. As a former long-time Delta Air Lines executive, Dickson also noted his past involvement in NextGen matters and agreed that the agency needs to move forward expeditiously with modernization. But he also stressed the importance of working with all stakeholders.
Leading up to the hearing, business and general aviation groups emphasized their support for the nomination. NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen wrote Congress offering support for confirmation. Bolen said the nominee is “committed to advancing NextGen technologies that benefitted all airspace users, including general aviation.” GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce further expressed strong support. “I have known Steve for more than 40 years and am deeply familiar with his demonstrative leadership in aviation."
Fort Worth, Texas-based Fieldtech Avionics & Instruments is the latest company to sign on as an authorized installation center for PWI’s vibration-resistant, energy-efficient LED lighting products. Located in Wichita, Kansas, PWI manufactures interior lighting systems for the Beechcraft King Air 200 and 300 series turboprop twins and has the ability to design, engineer, and construct all types of electrical assemblies, magnetometers, and customized LED solutions in-house as well as provide electronics contract manufacturing services.
Fieldtech, an FAA- and EASA-approved repair station, has been in operation for more than four decades and specializes in aircraft and avionics sales as well as repairs, and lists capabilities of more than 35,000 different items. The company, PWI’s third authorized dealer in the state, is also a dealer for Collins, Garmin, Telephonics, Avidyne, and Freeflight Systems avionics products.
How are OEMs doing at supporting their products?
Tell us about the product support you receive from business aviation OEMs. The 2019 AIN Product Support Survey is now online, ready for selected readers to rate aircraft, engine and avionics support. AIN readers who have been selected to participate in this year’s Product Support Survey should have received their account number and link to the online survey website by e-mail. The survey needs to be completed by midnight on June 7. Visit this site for more information or if you want to participate in the survey.
Requires repetitive detailed visual inspections of the aileron control system cables and flap interconnect system cables for damage or disconnected cables, corrective actions if necessary, and replacement of the Teflon parts in the aileron control systems, aileron/rudder interconnect, and aileron power unit beam. The replacements terminate the repetitive inspections. This AD was prompted by a report that a supplier fabricated Teflon parts with a charge of 15 percent fiberglass content instead of the specified 5 percent fiberglass content.
Requires amending the rotorcraft flight manual’s emergency procedures. The AD stems from misleading information identified in the AW189 RFM Emergency procedure associated with the “1(2) FUEL LOW” caution message. In particular, the current procedure instructs the pilot to land as soon as practicable within 20 minutes. However, this remaining flight time is guaranteed only if a constant torque value of 50 percent is maintained. The correct time limit depends on the fuel consumption of the different engine ratings. This condition, if not corrected, could lead to the wrong estimation of the remaining flight time in low fuel condition, possibly resulting in an uncommanded engine in-flight shut-down and forced landing, with consequent damage to the helicopter and/or injury to occupants.
Retains the requirements of EASA AD 2016-0200, but adds a requirement for the replacement of liferaft release bellcranks as a terminating action for repetitive cleaning and lubrication requirements. The AD originally stemmed from an occurrence involving the jamming of the bellcrank of the inflation cylinder percussion system on left-hand and right-hand sides. Subsequent investigation revealed that the jamming was caused by the presence of foreign coating material in the bellcrank hole.
Model(s): Bombardier Global Express and Global 5000
Published: May 10, 2019
Effective: May 24, 2019
Requires installation of a modified top bracket and new middle bracket on all affected portable oxygen bottle installations to improve portable oxygen bottle accessibility. Bombardier discovered that easy removal of the portable oxygen bottle from its support bracket may not always be possible due to the latch of the upper bracket assembly catching on the pressure gauge tube or on the pressure gauge bezel of the portable oxygen bottle. The portable oxygen bottle is required to be accessible for use by cabin crew members in emergency situations.
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