Yesterday HK Bellawings Jet revealed that it has exercised options for two Bombardier Global 7500s for which it signed initial agreements a year ago. The Hong Kong-based aircraft management company also signed a new letter of intent for another five Global 7500s.
Bellawings is a business jet charter and management provider and also provides maintenance, acquisition, consulting, and travel concierge services. The company has nine jets on the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands registry and recently became the first operator to obtain an air operator certificate for fixed-wing commercial operations in the Cayman Islands Special Economic Zone.
“Today marks a step forward towards our goal of becoming the premier Asian private jet operator,” said HK Bellawings president YJ Zhang. “[The Global 7500’s] unmatched performance and range is ideally suited for our customers in the Greater China region. As the operator that will manage one of the world’s largest fleet of Global 7500 aircraft, HK Bellawings Jet will further expand its business scope and continuously pursue higher goals.”
The Global 7500’s range of 7,700 nm allows flights between Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong nonstop to New York, London, or Milan and nonstop from Singapore to Vancouver.
Piaggio Aerospace Delivers More Evos
Piaggio Aerospace will soon deliver the first P.180 Avanti Evo to a customer on the African continent, as well as another of the turboprop twins to a repeat customer in Switzerland. It also announced that the first P.180 Avanti Evo entered service in India, having been delivered recently by Piaggio partner Business Aviation Private Limited to an unnamed customer.
The Swiss Avanti is being delivered by Italy-based Orion Fly to Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, who has owned and operated earlier models of the aircraft. “I decided to go for a new P.180 after my positive experience with the first aircraft,” said Owen-Jones. “I chose the new generation of the P.180, the Avanti Evo, for its extended range capabilities, its environmental friendliness so appreciated by the local community, and its further improved ability to take off and land on short runways.”
The East-African unidentified customer is expecting its Avanti in just a few days, via ferry flight from Italy, Piaggio said.
Cambridge Airport To Close by 2030
Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group’s Cambridge International Airport site—where the company has operated since the opening of the Teversham airfield in 1937—will be closed by 2030, with the company relocating its major engineering operations to a new site, Marshall said last week.
“It is still very early days, but we know that finding the right airfield location that will give us the necessary space and flexibility to support our planned growth, which is close enough to Cambridge to enable us to retain and attract talent, will be a complex and time-consuming task,” said Alistair McPhee, Marshall ADG’s chief executive. “At this stage, we have a number of potential locations in mind but are still some way away from making any definitive decisions.”
Marshall conducts business jet MRO work at Cambridge, including the modification of special-mission Bombardier Globals, and also hosts an ExecuJet FBO and ground handling service. Business aviation traffic has grown at Cambridge in recent years, serving not only the city itself but also the nearby horse-racing center of Newmarket. The financial district of London is around an hour’s drive away, and a helicopter interlining service is available. The future of this business aviation element of Cambridge’s activities has not been disclosed.
Meanwhile, the company continues to invest in its Cambridge MRO facility, with £30 million ($38.2 million) earmarked for infrastructure investment over the next five years.
Dassault Academy Marks 1,000th Training Course Graduate
The Dassault Training Academy recently graduated the 1,000th student from its Falcon Practical Training course designed for technicians. Dassault said the mark underscores the growing popularity of the hands-on educational tool, which provides a comprehensive approach involving real-life working conditions.
Founded in 2013, the academy provides a range of training options on Falcon aircraft with locations in Mérignac, near Bordeaux, and Paris-Le Bourget. The academy offers accredited, two-week, model-specific courses for technicians on all Falcon 900, 2000, 7X, and 8X models. Training covers the full life-cycle of the aircraft.
Falcon Practical Training is the baseline course, designed to complement instruction from Dassault authorized training providers CAE, FlightSafety International, and Global Jet Services. A key feature in the syllabus is Dassault’s Falcon Immersive Practical Training, which uses a 3D virtual reality tool that enables trainees to access any component or part without using actual hardware.
The academy further provides specialized offerings such as Structural Repair Training, a five-day course in mapping and handling corrosion and composite repair. That course is offered in partnership with Aerocampus Latresne near Bordeaux. Dassault is planning to add further specialized course offerings in other areas, such as pilot maintenance familiarizing service tasks and cabin system maintenance.
Taquan Air Involved in Second Fatal Accident This Month
Sunday’s crash of a Taquan Air de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver (N67667), in which the pilot and his passenger were killed, marks the fifth fatal accident since 1996 and the second deadly accident this month for the Alaska-based charter operator. In all, 10 people aboard Taquan-operated aircraft have died from their injuries. Taquan was also involved in a serious nonfatal accident last year.
Meanwhile, the NTSB is still in the early stages of its investigation into the previous fatal accident this month that involved the May 13 midair collision between a Taquan single-turboprop DHC-3T Otter and a Mountain Air Service Beaver, which was fatal to one passenger in the Taquan-operated Otter and all five people aboard the Mountain Air Beaver. Both aircraft were flying sightseers. After this accident, Taquan said it was canceling all flights during the investigation, but shortly thereafter resumed flights.
In the latest crash, on May 20, the float-equipped, piston-engine Beaver overturned and came to rest partially submerged while landing off Metlakatla Harbor near Ketchikan, Alaska, on a commuter flight, not a sightseeing tour. The NTSB has dispatched investigators from its Anchorage Regional Office to investigate.
Clint Johnson, chief of the NTSB’s Alaska region, said the agency will treat the May 13 and May 20 mishaps as separate accidents. “We may draw parallels as we get into the analysis portion, but at this point we are just gathering factual information.”
WinAir Releases Revamped Parts Sales Program
Canadian aviation management software specialist WinAir has revamped and enhanced the Parts Sales module for its WinAir Version 7 program, the company said. The updated module improves functionality for managing the entire sales process, from quoting and creating sales orders to shipping and invoices. The module is available for WinAir’s Operator, Heliops, and MRO packages and also can be included in custom packages.
Parts Sales is fully integrated with the WinAir Version 7’s Maintenance and Inventory modules, and WinAir has designed a “sequential workflow” that enables all information to be housed within one system. For instance, users can request parts through Parts Sales and that information will automatically be processed through to Inventory, based on an existing master part required part workflow.
All affected departments will have instant access to these sales-related activities, WinAir said. This can help expedite the order fulfillment timeline and makes it easier to access the required details when receiving an inquiry about a particular part, when processing an order, or when generating a quote, the company added.
Access to the information further assists in managing cost structure with information on the maintenance history, condition, and sale of parts, WinAir said.
Corporate Angel Network Flies 60,000th Patient
Corporate Angel Network (CAN), an organization that provides business jet flights to cancer patients in need, recently announced the completion of its 60,000th flight. The patient, known as David J., needed to see a specialist at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston regarding cutting-edge treatment for aggressive salivary gland cancer. His only option was to make the 17-hour drive by car from his home in Columbus, Ohio—until he learned about CAN through an internet search.
He called the organization, which quickly expedited the patient-registration process. CAN then found an available seat on a scheduled corporate aircraft flight from Columbus to Houston by American Electric Power. AEP is just one of CAN's enrolled 500 corporate partners that have donated space on their company aircraft to help patients like David.
Founded in 1981, CAN transports cancer patients, at no cost, to clinical trials and specialized cancer centers in order to access the best available treatment for their specific diagnoses. CAN aims to reduce the emotional stress, physical discomfort, life-dependent time constraints, and financial burden of cancer patients undergoing treatment.
CAN recently announced the appointment of two new members to its board of directors: David Davenport, CEO and president of FlightSafety International, and Scott Donnelly, president and CEO of Textron.
StandardAero Bolsters Capabilities at Fleetlands
In response to “strong demand,” StandardAero has continued to grow its business aviation MRO capability at its Fleetlands base in the UK, mainly by providing MRO support for Honeywell TFE731 turbine engines. The move has increased its capacity there by 50 percent over the past year.
According to StandardAero Business Aviation president Mark Drobney, “We are now working with our U.S. shops to adopt our Fastlane processes and are on a path to offering the same turn-times for TFE731 engine events at Fleetlands.”
StandardAero was awarded a contract by Honeywell to become the only TFE731 heavy maintenance authorized service provider in the EMEAI region in December 2017, then selected Fleetlands as the location in February 2018 before completing the first overhaul there in May 2018. In February, the Fleetlands facility achieved EASA certification, as well as Honeywell approval, for its test cell.
The U.S. MRO company said it recently completed a major periodic inspection of a pair of TFE731s in Fleetlands while the base has been adding technicians, tools, workstations, and other hardware since the beginning of the year. StandardAero has been overhauling TFE731 engines at its U.S. facilities for almost 40 years.
This emergency AD was prompted by reports of fatigue cracks in the fuselage frame, through the left-hand door frame webs and frame cap at station 4135. These cracks occurred on certain serial numbered helicopters with STC SR00592DE installed. The cracks initiated under the doubler that reinforces the door frame where recessed medical wall fittings are attached. In one case, the crack under the doubler propagated through the inboard frame cap and onto the inboard web. This condition, if not corrected, could result in excessive vibration, an in-flight breakup, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. Although the exact cause of this unsafe condition is still being investigated, the FAA has determined that the cracks are a result of the recessed medical wall rack installation
Requires replacement of the main gearbox (MGB) particle detectors. This AD is prompted by an EC 225 helicopter accident investigation that revealed the involvement of a failure of a second stage planet gear of the MGB. Following a review of design similarities, it was determined that such an event might conceivably also occur on SA 330 J helicopters. This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to loss of control of the helicopter. As a protective measure, Airbus Helicopters determined that more effective monitoring of oil debris could effectively establish an acceptable level of safety with the installation of an improved, elongated MGB particle detector.
Supersedes AD 2018-17-01, which required replacing certain oil and fuel check valves and prohibited installing these valves on any helicopter. This AD retains the requirements of AD 2018-17-01 but expands those requirements for all model helicopters. This AD was prompted by the discovery that we omitted a helicopter model from one of the required actions.
Requires inspecting the jettisoning mechanism of the left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) cabin sliding plug doors. This AD is prompted by a report that during a scheduled inspection a cabin door failed to jettison.
Supersedes an earlier AD requiring inspection of the tail rotor (TR) blades and requires modification as a terminating action. The ADs stem from a report that, following a flight during which the de-icing system of the helicopter was operated, TR blades were overheated with consequent damage after application on ground of alternating-current ground power unit (AC GPU) external power source 115V/400 Hz. Subsequent analysis determined that a power supply box failure (stuck in a “closed” position) caused the uncontrolled power supply to the TR blade de-icing system. In this event, during the preparation for flight with the rotors stationary, the flight crew was able to detect the smell coming from the TR, disconnected the electrical power supply and noticed that the TR blades were damaged by overheat. EASA issued an earlier AD requiring inspection of the TR blades. Since that AD was issued Airbus Helicopters developed a modification to prevent unintended power supply to the TR blade de-icing system and ensuring that the affected power supply remains under full control of the pilot.
Requires repetitive checks of torque conformation boxes and replacement, if necessary. This AD stems from cracks found on the soldered joints of certain torque conformation boxes. Although no events in operation were reported of One Engine Inoperative (OEI) ratings maximum power unavailability, the failure mode analysis for these boxes demonstrated that such an event could not be excluded. This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to engine in-flight shut-down, possibly resulting in reduced control of the helicopter.
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