Avfuel To Offer SAJF to EBACE-bound Aircraft

With last year’s EBACE seeing the release of a business aviation guide to the use of sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF), the topic will be of continuing focus at this year’s show. Toward that end, Avfuel will make a supply of blended SAJF available to the Sheltair FBO at New York’s Republic Airport from May 16 to 18 for aircraft operators and OEMs heading to EBACE 2019, which opens on May 21.

To date, the fuel provider has received commitments from business jet OEMs such as Bombardier, Embraer, and Textron Aviation, which will stop there and refuel with the renewable fuel supplied by Gevo before they head across the Atlantic.

“At the production level, sustainable alternative jet fuel is a highly-concentrated product, which is then blended with standard petroleum-based jet fuel to create an SAJF product that adheres to ASTM D1655 and is ready to be placed into the wing of an aircraft,” said C.R. Sincock, Avfuel’s managing director of business development. “This concentrated product is not yet available in quantities large enough to be able to serve the entire aviation community.”

While a SAJF education and demonstration event took place in January at California’s Van Nuys Airport and marked the first availability of the product to the business aviation community in general, another such introductory day is planned for London-area Farnborough Airport just before EBACE.

Bombardier Streamlining Aviation Activities

Bombardier will sell its aerostructures businesses in Belfast, Ireland, and Morocco as part of consolidating its aerospace enterprise into a “single, streamlined and fully integrated” unit located at sites in Montreal, Mexico, and Texas, the company announced today. The newly created Bombardier Aviation division will encompass both business aircraft and CRJ regional jets and be led by David Coleal, the president of Bombardier Business Aircraft since 2015. 

“It is the right next step in our transformation,” said Bombardier president and CEO Alain Bellemare. “The consolidation will simplify and better focus our organization on our leading brands—Global, Challenger, Learjet, and the CRJ. It will also allow us to better support our customers and generate value for shareholders.”

As part of the wider shakeup of its aviation business, Bombardier already sold a controlling stake in its C Series airliner to Airbus in July 2018 and will soon close on selling its Q400 turboprop program to Viking Air. Bombardier also recently sold its business aircraft training unit to CAE. Conversely, it acquired the Red Oaks, Texas-based wing manufacturing operation of its Global 7500 from U.S.-based Triumph Group in January.

The newly acquired Global 7500 wing operations in Texas, along with facilities in Montréal and Mexico, will provide Bombardier “all the skills, technologies and capabilities to design, produce and service the current and next generation of aircraft,” Bellemare said.

FAA Scales Back Genav Forecast on Softer Piston Market

Increases in the U.S. general aviation (GA) turbine fleet will offset declines in the piston sector over the next two decades, but the overall number of active GA aircraft will remain static, according to the FAA's just-released 2019 to 2039 forecast. The FAA predicts the GA fleet will total 211,575 in 2039, down from the current fleet of 212,875 aircraft (measured at the end of 2018). The 2039 number was further scaled back from last year’s 20-year forecast, which projected 214,090 GA aircraft by 2038.

In the most recent forecast, the number of turbine fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft is expected to grow at a rate of 2 percent a year, or by a total of 15,255 aircraft, through 2039. This matches last year’s forecast. Business jets will lead growth, averaging 2.2 percent a year; the FAA sees this sector propelled by growth in U.S. GDP and corporate profits.

However, the piston fleet is estimated to decrease by an average annual rate of 0.9 percent, totaling 25,645 fewer aircraft over the forecast period, marking a bigger slide than forecast last year. With “unfavorable pilot demographics” and increased cost of ownership, new piston aircraft deliveries are not keeping pace with retirements, the agency said.

But the FAA does see a jump in light-sport aircraft, growing by 3.6 percent annually, or by 2,890 aircraft over the 20-year period.

Grand Opening for New Seletar Bizav Terminal

Singapore’s Seletar Airport held the official grand opening of its new Seletar Business Aviation Centre (SBAC), the business aviation wing of the new Seletar terminal this week. The facility is managed by SATS Seletar Aviation Services, a joint venture consisting of Universal Aviation Singapore, Jet Aviation and SATS Ltd.

The facility, which began operations ahead of schedule in November, offers a designated drop off/pick up area, and dedicated check-in and lounge where business aviation passengers can enjoy quick pre-departure and arrival clearance in a comfortable setting. The facility also provides meeting facilities for customer use on the second level. Universal Aviation Singapore’s new operations center is located on the first floor of the building and features an integrated crew rest lounge.

“Our clients asked for a better experience in Singapore, and we’re proud to have partnered with SATS and Jet Aviation to deliver it,” said Universal chairman Greg Evans, describing the opening as a historic moment in the history of business aviation in Singapore. “This beautiful facility will raise the bar for airports in the region by offering an elevated level of privacy, efficiency, and luxury for business aviation operators, and potentially positions Singapore as the most business aviation-friendly country in the region.”

R-R’s CorporateCare Enhanced Contracts Grow to 100

Rolls-Royce received its 100th CorporateCare Enhanced service contract, a milestone reached just a few months after the engine-maker began offering the upgraded package. Unveiled during the last NBAA convention and offered beginning in January, the “Enhanced” package builds on Rolls-Royce’s long-standing CorporateCare fixed-cost maintenance program with more comprehensive coverage.

CorporateCare Enhanced provides a range of additional services items for the AE3007 and Tay engines, including unlimited troubleshooting and mobile repair team travel costs. For the Pearl 15, BR710, and BR725 engines, the program further includes maintenance for the whole powerplant, including nacelle, engine build-up, and thrust reverser unit-related services. Standard for new CorporateCare customers, the package is also available as an upgrade for existing customers.

“Signing 100 contracts in less than four months since program launch is a clear demonstration of how much value CorporateCare Enhanced provides to our customers,” said Rolls-Royce v-p of sales and marketing for business aviation Alan Mangels. “The program was developed with the mindset of ‘if we provide it, we cover it.’”

More than 2,000 aircraft are covered by CorporateCare packages, and more than 70 percent of newly delivered Rolls-Royce-powered aircraft enroll in the program, the company said.

Jet Linx Expands to Boston

Omaha, Nebraska-based private aviation services provider Jet Linx has opened its latest base terminal—the company's 18th location in the U.S.—at Boston-area Laurence G. Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts.

The renovated 2,200-sq-ft facility on the southeast corner of the airfield, formerly occupied by Jet Aviation, offers the company’s jet card and aircraft management clients FBO-level amenities such as a private conference room, executive lounge, and kitchenette fully stocked with snacks and beverages, as well as exclusive ramp access and parking. The location will make its official debut in mid-June with a grand opening event.

“The growing Jet Linx team in Boston is thrilled to share our completed facility at Hanscom Field,” said Brad Rosse, the company’s president for the location, adding the local team has more than 50 years of combined experience in corporate aviation. “The base is unlike anything else in the area—a private high-tech experience for our jet card members and aircraft owners. The people and the dramatic location introduce a new paradigm for corporate aviation at Hanscom Field.”

Jet Linx, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, has surpassed the 100-million-mile flown threshold. It anticipates another year of record growth with the buildout and openings of dedicated private terminals in New York, Chicago, and Austin this year, the company said. 

Wichita Group Hears Solutions to Pilot Shortage

There are ways to alleviate the industry’s pilot shortage through a multi-pronged approach, David Olive, part-time executive director of D.C.-based Aviation Workforce Alliance (AWA), told members of the Wichita Aero Club on Tuesday. But such action has to happen soon, he added, for “what is a very serious and immediate problem.”

Increasing the FAA’s mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots from 65 to 67 will “flatten out the curve a little bit,” he explained. But what will have an even greater effect on the pilot shortage in commercial and business aviation is to lower the cost barrier to pilot training “by making student loans available to students at the cost of training today, because [those costs] are prohibitive.” AWA, whose members include nearly 20 commercial airports and airlines, also advocates putting greater emphasis on proficiency rather than the 1,500 hours required for a pilot to fly right seat in a commercial airliner. 

The industry also needs to frame aviation jobs as STEM jobs and look to elementary and middle schools to develop its future workforce. “If we wait till high school, it’s not soon enough,” Olive said.

Lastly, he said, the industry can garner greater public support by framing the shortage’s impact on them in economic terms.

Hawaii Helitour Operator Suffers Another Crash

A 2000 Robinson R44 Raven operated by Novictor Helicopters crashed on Monday shortly after 9 a.m. local time while flying an air tour during heavy rains in the suburban Honolulu community of Kailua. The pilot and both passengers were killed.

The flight originated at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) and came down on a two-lane road near the ocean. Family members identified the pilot as 28-year-old Joseph Berridge, who had moved to Hawaii two weeks ago from New Mexico. Berridge held an FAA second-class medical and commercial and instrument helicopter ratings. The two female passengers were from Chicago and Australia.

Novictor is operated by Nicole Vandelaar, president of the Hawaii Helicopter Association (HHA), an organization dedicated to encouraging its members to “fly neighborly” and adhere to strict safety standards. In October, another Novictor R44 crashed after the pilot suffered an in-flight medical emergency. That pilot and his two passengers were injured but survived.

Following Monday's crash, Hawaii State Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R) called on the FAA to prohibit air tours over residential areas and national parks and called for the immediate grounding of helitour flights in Hawaii pending an investigation. In a statement, Novictor said, “We are actively cooperating with the authorities to determine the cause of this accident, including working closely with the FAA and the NTSB."