Indiana-based Surack Enterprises announced on Friday that it acquired Enstrom Helicopter, which filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy and shuttered operations in January. Menominee, Michigan-based Enstrom was in near-continuous operation for 64 years, manufacturing more than 1,300 light turbine and piston-powered helicopters for police, military, commercial, and private missions.
A previously-announced deal to sell the company’s assets to Midlothian, Texas-based MidTex Aviation in March collapsed. Enstrom had most recently been owned by China’s Chongqing General Aviation Industry Grou (CGAG) but had at various times been owned by the Purex Corp., famed defense attorney F. Lee Bailey, and inventor Dean Kamen.
Enstrom joins the Surack Enterprises portfolio of aviation-related businesses, including Sweet Aviation, which provides airplane charter flights, training, and rentals; Sweet Helicopters, which provides the same for rotorcraft; and aviation insurance broker Aviation Specialty Insurance. Sweet Helicopters hosts the annual Rotors ‘n Ribs helicopter fly-in in Goshen, Indiana, which includes an airshow, barbecue, and helicopter-related safety seminar.
Surack is owned by Chuck Surack, a helicopter pilot widely known for founding Sweetwater Sound, an online retailer of musical instruments and professional audio equipment.
NBAA has joined with several other stakeholders in filing legal challenges to tomorrow’s planned closure of East Hampton Airport (KHTO) on New York’s Long Island. The town’s plan calls for the airport to reopen 33 hours later as private-use East Hampton Town Airport (KJPX), with access restrictions under a prior permission required (PPR) program.
The effort consists of a pair of motions filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York asking for an injunction. In a motion of contempt filed on May 14, the claimants argued that the town’s plan—which includes imposing high landing fees, bans on aircraft weighing more than 50,000 pounds, and restrictions on aircraft with high decibel levels—violates the permanent injunction issued by the court in 2015 following a previous attempt by the town to impose similar restrictions in violation of the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA).
The second complaint asked the court to rule that ANCA preempts the town’s attempted reclassification of the airport.
“Allowing this airport’s closure and reopening to proceed would undermine decades of federal policy and create a dangerous path by which other communities could similarly claim ‘local control,’ restrict access to their airports and destroy the functionality of the national air transportation system,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.
Gulfstream recently issued maintenance and operations letters (MOLS; scroll to bottom of page) regarding ground spoiler checks for GIIB, GIII, GIV, and G450 operators as a result of the ongoing investigation into the December 2021 fatal crash involving a GIV-SP. The twinjet hit the ground during an attempted landing at Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, killing all nine on board.
This information “re-emphasizes the critical importance of performing a full verification of spoiler functionality on the ground, as detailed in the respective aircraft flight manual or operation manual.” In addition, the MOLS noted the necessity of adding visually identifiable marks to the hydraulic lines to ensure they are connected to the correct actuator ports.
“Failure to reconnect hydraulic lines to the appropriate actuator ports may result in improper operation of the ground spoilers, including asymmetrical deployment and operation during flight, which could lead to loss of control,” it added.
The preliminary report released by the Dominican Republic CIAA in January noted that both the right ground spoiler and flight spoiler actuators were removed and replaced during maintenance just before the planned flight to Orlando, Florida. The aircraft was seen taxiing for departure with the three spoilers on the right wing still extended. Later, an image of the airplane in flight showed the right-wing spoilers were still extended while the ones on the left wing were not.
Embraer is embarking upon a hiring spree as it seeks to fill 1,000 jobs in Brazil to help boost production rates and support services growth. The company is also looking to expand on its product development and new businesses through the additional hires, it said, noting aircraft deliveries are anticipated to increase between 15 percent and 25 percent this year.
"These hires materialize the strategic plan that includes the resumption of aviation growth and all investment in technology, innovation, and new businesses at Embraer. We are very excited about the market prospects that generate career opportunities in several areas of the company,” said Carlos Alberto Griner, vice-president of people, ESG (environmental, social, and governance), and communication. “Alongside the talents of traditional educational programs that meet the needs of accelerated qualification and natural replacement of professionals, the new employees will contribute to our efforts to have a more agile and competitive company in an increasingly flexible and diverse work environment."
Embraer, which had 18,000 employees at the end of 2021, said it plans to hire with an eye on diversity, individuality, and commitment to ESG. Hires will include remote and hybrid work plans, it said.
A cross-section of aviation and energy organizations appealed to the Biden Administration to remove roadblocks to ramping up the availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Forty-two organizations last week wrote to national climate advisor Gina McCarthy that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could take “simple first steps [that] would have a tremendous impact on SAF scale-up and enjoy broad support.”
These steps will play a critical role in helping meet the administration’s SAF Grand Challenge to increase SAF production to at least three billion gallons per year by 2030, according to the organizations.
Key to this, the groups said, is that the EPA release, but incorporate fixes, to proposed provisions involving biointermediates—feedstocks that have been partially converted at one facility but sent to a separate facility for final processing. Among the fixes, they said, should include the ability to process SAF feedstock at more than two facilities. EPA has proposed allowing the transfer of biointermediates between two facilities. However, SAF production can involve multiple steps that may involve three or more facilities.
In addition, they asked that EPA permit a producer to sell biointermediate feedstock to more than one refinery. Further, the groups urged EPA to update the definition of biocrude with a broader definition of refinery, permit the commingling of fungible feedstocks, and ease restrictions on pipeline biogas.
Flight department manual and safety services specialist AviationManuals has issued an updated version of its flight-planning guide aimed at reducing errors in flight plans and helping streamline the letter of authorization (LOA) application process. The Maryland-based company analyzed thousands of LOA applications to update the guide and help users navigate their way through the many pitfalls in the process.
“More than 80 percent of applications fail because the equipment of the aircraft does not match what is being claimed and filed on the flight plan,” explained AviationManuals CEO Mark Baier. “There are a large number of codes available, and it can be difficult to determine which does apply under the right circumstances.”
Among the revisions in the new document are clarification on avionics requirements and when the satellite voice communication codes may be used on a flight plan, the addition of the “CPDLCX” equipment code to provide clarification on the use of this code for aircraft exempt from European controller pilot datalink communications (CPDLC) mandates, and links to additional information about other more obscure CPDLC codes.
“These improvements will be extremely helpful to operators by ensuring the correct codes are utilized in the flight planning process,” Baier added. “Operators can then obtain the essential documents and approvals needed to participate in various operations without any avoidable delays.”
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
What is the main purpose of a winglet?
A. A winglet is a wingtip drag-reduction device aimed at improving the efficiency of an airplane by reducing induced drag resulting from lift-induced wingtip vortices.
B. A winglet is a wingtip drag-reduction device aimed at improving the efficiency of an airplane by reducing parasite drag resulting from the airflow speed.
C. A winglet is a wingtip drag-reduction device aimed at improving the efficiency of an airplane by reducing skin-friction drag resulting from boundary layer around the aircraft skin.
Private aviation company Wheels Up posted a 24 percent year-over-year revenue jump, to $325.6 million, in the first quarter, but it came at the price of a net loss of $89 million, an increase of $56.8 million year-over-year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization decreased by $40.8 million year-over-year, to a $49.4 million loss. Meanwhile, the company’s number of active members rose 26 percent year-over-year, and live flight legs climbed by 15 percent, to 17,626.
“The record first-quarter revenue is a testament to the company’s unique market position and iconic brand as an innovator in a supply-constrained market,” said Wheels Up chairman and CEO Kenny Dichter. “Over the past several months, we have made meaningful improvements to address operational challenges and expect to realize the benefit in the coming quarters. We are ahead of plan on pilot hiring and continue to add to our maintenance capabilities while also delivering on several key strategic and technology initiatives.”
Wheel Up expects forward financial performance to improve with the implementation of fuel surcharges and additional capped rate price increases. It also said it undertook a variety of recent growth initiatives, including the acquisition of Air Partner on April 1.
Charter and aircraft management firm Elite Jets has recertified as an Argus Platinum operator and earned International Standard for Business Aircraft Operators (IS-BAO) Stage 2. Platinum is Argus’s highest safety rating for an operator while IS-BAO Stage 2 registration reflects an operator’s adherence to a recommended code of best practices for safety and professionalism and a framework for safety and operational processes as well as the tools for and establishment of a safety management system.
“The term ‘safety’ refers to more than just maintaining an aircraft and training pilots. It requires that everyone on staff, from captains and first officers to mechanics and cleaning crews, adhere to best practices developed by the government and industry leaders,” said Elite Jets executive v-p Stephen Myers. “The experience and convenience of flying privately is well known among affluent travelers, but during the pandemic our passengers recognized the importance of flying with a company that prioritizes aircraft and passenger safety.”
Based in Naples, Florida, Elite Jets owns a fleet of four Embraer Phenom 300s and one Legacy 500, in addition to a Bell 407 helicopter. It also manages a Gulfstream G550.
Count on AIN for Full Coverage of EBACE
As ever, you can count on AIN for full coverage of EBACE 2022. Our team will publish three of our award-winning daily EBACE Convention News editions at the show on May 23, 24, and 25. We will also have comprehensive real-time reporting of all the top news at AINonline.com and in our daily e-newsletters. If you are an exhibiting company that wants to share news or propose pre-show interviews and briefings, please contact show editor Chad Trautvetter.
Embraer’s Eve Boosts UAM Plans with IPO
Last week, Eve became the latest eVTOL developer to raise capital through a New York Stock Exchange listing. Former parent company Embraer is still a major shareholder and will be closely involved in plans to support air taxi services beginning in 2026. At the Wall Street event, AIN asked Eve’s senior executives about how the eVTOL market might take shape.
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