TAC Creates Hangar Management Business with Acquisition

Following its May 1 acquisition of the assets of Gemini Air Group at Arizona's Scottsdale Airport (KSDL), Dallas-based The Arnold Companies (TAC) has established a Keystone Aviation operation there. Additionally, it created TAC Private Hangars, which will manage more than 65,000 sq ft of upscale private hangar and office space at KSDL.

Keystone, which was acquired by TAC in 2012, will provide its full range of charter, aircraft management, and Part 145 repair station services at SDL that will serve as a second hub to Keystone’s primary hub at Salt Lake City International Airport. The Keystone charter fleet comprises 13 business aircraft and includes Pilatus PC-12 turboprop singles, an Embraer Phenom 100, and a Gulfstream G550. 

“Picking up a second hub in Scottsdale expands our regional footprint south from Salt Lake City in the desert to mountain corridors we fly regularly,” said Keystone COO Aaron Fish. “With the addition of Scottsdale, we can now offer a greater selection of aircraft to get customers where they want, when they want.”

Meanwhile, “the brand extension under TAC is a strategic opportunity for development as we continue to diversify our services and expand into new [business aviation] markets,” said TAC Private Hangars COO Joe Gibney. In addition to providing customers with hangar space and tenant office space, TAC Private Hangars will offer dedicated handling services at KSDL.

Industry Calls on Congress To Act on Sustainability

Two-dozen organizations representing a cross-section of the aviation industry are appealing to lawmakers on Capitol Hill to develop a comprehensive proposal to help cut carbon emissions. In a letter signed by organizations representing business and general aviation, airlines, repair stations, unions, travel and manufacturing groups, and other stakeholders, industry leaders urged lawmakers to take a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to leap ahead on our environmental goals...to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The organizations stressed that to address climate change, the government and industry must work together to advance technology, infrastructure, and operational strategies faster and further. “This ambitious undertaking will require industry, consumers, and governments to work in partnership to take decisive action to enable innovation and incentivize scale-up, cost-competitiveness, and deployment in these critical areas.”

According to the groups, Congress should include measures aimed at fostering sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development, production, and distribution; low/no emission technologies deployment; aviation environmental research and development; and air traffic management modernization. This includes support for an SAF blenders tax credit, a grant program for SAF producers to build up infrastructure, funding for a range of clean energy and technology advancements (including for advanced air mobility), and varied measures to boost air traffic management modernization.

Dallas Airmotive Brazil Ops Expands PW500 Mx Options

Dallas Airmotive’s regional turbine center (RTC) in Brazil has expanded its capabilities to provide hot section inspections for Pratt & Whitney (P&W) PW500 family engines found on the Embraer Phenom 300 and Cessna Citation Bravo, Excel, Encore, and XLS-series twinjets, the Signature Aviation Global Engine Services company announced. The move continues an expansion of Dallas Airmotive’s portfolio of engine and APU support at the RTC.

“With the growth of PW500-powered aircraft in the region, adding PW500 hot section inspection capability was a natural extension of the multiple engine services our Brazil RTC provides customers each and every day,” said Dallas Airmotive v-p of sales and service Jeff Turner. The Brazil RTC also will be able to provide service to operators who participate in the P&W Canada Eagle service plan.

In addition to the PW500, the Brazil RTC is approved by ANAC to provide maintenance for P&W PT6A and JT15D engines and Honeywell TFE731 engines, regardless of whether they're enrolled in a maintenance plan. Located in Belo Horizonte, the facility also provides line maintenance for Honeywell HTF7000 engines and 36-series APUs.

Avidyne Helios FMS Receives TSO Approval

A week after the FAA issued TSO approval for Avidyne’s Atlas flight management system (FMS), the agency issued a TSO nod for the Helios helicopter version of the FMS. Like Atlas, the Helios FMS is a dzus-mounted multifunction FMS that is form-factor compatible with many legacy systems, measuring 7.5 inches tall, 5.75 inches wide, and 10.615 inches deep. Helios prices start at $23,999, or $29,999 with optional navcom radio.

Among the many modern features that Helios brings to rotorcraft are SBAS/LPV approach guidance and the ability to provide position information for ADS-B Out transponders. Helicopter-specific optional features include night-vision goggle compatibility and helicopter-TAWS with powerline database.

Helios employs Avidyne’s hybrid touchscreen interface, which lets pilots alternate between using the touchscreen or knobs and buttons for almost all functions. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built-in for connection to EFB apps. The FMS also has a USB charging port, and its keyboard is spill-proof.

The Helios display can show airspace, terrain, and navaid information with overlaid ADS-B In or SiriusXM weather. Other display elements include traffic from TCAS, TAS, or ADS-B In, and Jeppesen approach charts and airport/heliport diagrams. It can also show BendixKing digital weather radar imagery and the FMS’s display can also run RS-170 video. An integrated 16-watt VHF com, VOR, localizer, and glideslope radio is available as an option.

Bombardier Collaboration To Enhance Parts Dispatch

Bombardier will collaborate with Sterling Global Aviation to enhance its global dispatch of parts including for AOG situations, the Canadian airframer announced today. Under the collaboration, Bombardier will have access to a network of aircraft on five continents to deliver parts and augment the support provided by its mobile response teams.

“Our customers deserve fast and effortless AOG resolution and our collaboration with Sterling, an industry leader in providing AOG logistics around the globe, allows us to quickly and efficiently deliver the parts our customers need,” said Bombardier v-p of customer support Andy Nureddin. “We are delighted to further enhance our portfolio of solutions, and we are proud to add this offering to the ways in which we can be there for our customers when and where they need us.”

Bombardier operates parts facilities in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that combined ship more than 350,000 parts annually with an availability rate of 96 percent. The collaboration is part of a broader effort by Bombardier to supplement its customer service network and increase its footprint by 50 percent. That activity includes the expansion of company-owned service centers in Berlin, Miami, London Biggin Hill, and Singapore, and a new service center in Melbourne, Australia.

NTSB: Wrong Rudder Input Led To King Air Fatal Crash

According to an NTSB final report issued yesterday, the pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control following reduced thrust in the left engine on takeoff from Addison (Texas) Airport led to the fatal crash of a Beechcraft King Air 350 on June 30, 2019. Both pilots and the eight passengers were killed in the accident.

After the left engine lost thrust several seconds after takeoff, “the pilot responded with left rudder input, the opposite action of what the emergency called for,” the report noted. Moments later, the pilot applied right rudder but by that point the airplane was rolling inverted, with “insufficient altitude for recovery.” The airplane would have been controllable had the pilot initially applied right rudder input, the Safety Board concluded.

CVR audio revealed that the pilots did not use any before-takeoff checklists, nor did they discuss what they would do in the case of engine failure on takeoff. “The pilot’s failure to follow checklists and adhere to the airplane manufacturer’s emergency procedures contributed to the accident,” the NTSB added.

NTSB investigators could not determine the reason for the thrust reduction, including whether incorrectly set thrust lever friction locks might have played a role in the loss of power. But the agency noted that “friction lock settings are one of the items in a pre-takeoff checklist the pilots didn’t use.”

Global Jet Capital: Bizjet Market Demonstrates Strength

Business jet financing firm Global Jet Capital (GJC) has issued an upbeat assessment of world market activity in its first-quarter market briefing, saying activity continued to “demonstrate strength" in the first quarter after last year’s “remarkable resilience."

“Led by industrial orders and production, the global economy has begun to recover,” GJC said. “Driven by the U.S. market and charter and fractional usage, business aviation flight activity in [the first quarter] was the sector’s best performance since the beginning of the pandemic.”

Major OEMs saw business jet orders rise, buoyed by low inventory and continued demand. While deliveries of new aircraft were down in the quarter, preowned transactions were up. As a sign of current demand, GJC noted that aircraft listed for sale year-to-date fell 19 percent, to 528 units—putting inventory levels at historically low levels.

Slight declines in aircraft residual values in the quarter were not as significant as those of the global financial crisis in 2008/09, or even 2016, when it said declining commodity prices affected business jet demand. However, it remains to be seen how continued low inventory will affect business jet values.

“The global economic future is uncertain in the near term, despite pockets of strength, due to continued Covid-19 related lockdowns and uneven vaccine rollouts,” it concluded. “The business jet market, however, remains strong and is set to grow in 2021.”

Embraer Appoints UK MRO as Phenom Service Center

Embraer has appointed Jets Bournemouth Ltd. as its newest authorized service center supporting Phenom 100 and 300 light jets. Located at Bournemouth International Airport in southern England, the EASA Part 145 repair station will perform scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, component and part exchange, and inspections at different levels of complexity for customers in Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

“This new partnership with Jets…will help to bolster the network of the ever-increasing fleet in the Western European region, offering an additional option for maintenance of the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 aircraft,” said Frank Stevens, Embraer's MRO global v-p of services and support.

Founded 17 years ago, Jets also holds Part 145 approval for Hawker 700s through 900XPs, as well as Bombardier Challenger 600-series aircraft. “We are delighted to enter the next chapter of our relationship with Embraer, being chosen as the latest authorized service center in the UK,” said Jets CEO and accountable manager Daniel Rogers. “Jets looks forward to providing industry-leading service from AOG and line support through to heavy base maintenance that ensures the Phenom family of aircraft remain the best-selling business jet in its class for many years to come.”

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.