London-area Farnborough Airport continued its decade-plus reign as the top FBO outside of the Americas, according to the results of AIN’s annual FBO Survey: the Rest of the World that were released this morning.
Owned by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets since 2019, the facility at the dedicated business aviation gateway earned an overall score of 4.66 (out of a possible 5) from AIN readers, who ranked it second-highest in the world in the facilities category (4.85). While the scores of FBOs in the rest of the world tend to lag those of the Americas, Farnborough’s rating would have placed it in the top 10 percent of all FBOs worldwide this year.
Rounding out the top 20 percent in the category were Universal Aviation-London Stansted Airport; ExecuJet Australia at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport; Jet Aviation at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport; Signature Flight Support-Munich International Airport; MJets FBO at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, which continued its run as the highest-rated service provider in Asia; the London Jet Centre at London Stansted Airport; Eccelsa Aviation at Italy’s Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport; Omni Handling-Lisbon Portela International Airport; and Signature Flight Support Geneva.
Gogo Unveils Unlimited Streaming, Data Plan
Gogo today announced that it is offering what it claims is the first unlimited streaming and data plan in business aviation—Gogo Biz 4G Limitless—offering owners and operators predictability in billing. “Our customers’ hunger for data continues to grow,” said Gogo v-p for product management Jim MacDougall. “Unlimited streaming and data give them the ability to enjoy the benefits of our streaming plan while reducing or eliminating the risk of getting high overage bills for any given month.”
Priced at $9,995 a month and available to Avance L5 customers, 4G Limitless doesn’t require a separate data plan, unlike other plans that claim to offer unlimited streaming and data but are ultimately limited to a single stream and by other exceptions, MacDougall said. “With our new unlimited plan, data is data and unlike competitors, we don’t put any limitations on it,” he added.
Separately, Gogo is offering to Avance L5 customers two new high data plans: Gogo Biz 4G with 20 GB of data and Gogo Biz 4G with 25 GB of data. They are priced at $5,650 per month with a 50 cents per MB overage charge and $6,495 per month with a 45 cents per MB overage charge, respectively.
Robinson Helicopter Logs 13,000th Delivery
Robinson Helicopter delivered its 13,000th helicopter—an R44 model, S/N 14438—to longtime Robinson dealer Sky Helicopters of Dallas, Texas on April 23. S/N 14438 features a new paint scheme and is equipped with the latest R44 options such as a Lithium-ion battery, heated seats, and a 4K cockpit video camera. The helicopter also includes glass panel avionics featuring the Garmin G700 TXi and GTN 650Xi navigator, as well as a Genesys HeliSAS autopilot.
Sky president Ken Pyatt said he wanted a new-generation R44 to round out the company’s fleet. “We purchased this R44 for our Part 135 air taxi and tour operations,” he said. Sky has been a Robinson dealer since 1996 and this latest acquisition puts the company’s Robinson fleet at 27 aircraft.
Robinson delivered its first two-place R22 piston in 1979 and today still produces this model, in addition to the four-seat R44 piston and five-seat R66 turbine. Robinson delivered its 12,000th helicopter in 2017, 11,000th in 2013, and 10,000th in 2011. The company shipped 177 helicopters last year, but president Kurt Robinson told AIN that he expects deliveries in 2021 to surpass this number.
NBAA’s Advanced Air Mobility Roundtable Lifts Off
NBAA has formed a new Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Roundtable as a forum for high-level policy planning to chart a course for the integration of AAM technologies into U.S. airspace and infrastructure. According to NBAA, the roundtable will allow OEMs developing electric vertical takeoff and landing transport (eVTOL) vehicles and other systems to discuss topics such as airport access, airspace management, and local community engagement.
“On-demand air mobility offers tremendous opportunities, especially for business aviation,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “We are uniquely suited to offer expertise in tackling the considerations associated with AAM integration, and we are pleased to partner with this group of AAM leaders in moving this technology forward.”
Founding members of NBAA’s AAM Roundtable include Eve Air Mobility, Hillwood Aviation, Hyundai UAM, Joby Aviation, Lilium, and Wisk. The inaugural meeting of the forum took place in February, with additional meetings planned throughout the year. Companies interested in participating can contact NBAA senior v-p of government affairs Christa Lucas.
Sino Jet Joins In on Chengdu FBO Management
Chinese private aviation provider Sino Jet has partnered with the Sichuan Province Airport Group and Chengdu Shuangliu Airport to assist in the management and upgrade of its FBO. Chengdu is the major center for finance, transport, and communications in western China, and the companies look to build the airport into the region’s premier business aviation hub.
Sino Jet is Asia’s largest IS-BAO Stage 3-registered business jet operator, with more than 45 aircraft under management. According to airport statistics, its fleet accounted for approximately 20 percent of business jet operations at Shuangliu last year.
“We provide efficient, secure, and premium business aviation services to corporate clientele in the southwestern region of China,” said a company spokesperson, adding that it has been managing business jets at Shuangliu since 2017. “We are pleased to have this collaboration and aim to work together, not just technically but also culturally, to reach a common goal in creating a top-notch FBO operation in Chengdu.”
The deal is similar to one Sino Jet entered last year at Nanchang Changbei International Airport with Jiangxi Airport VIP Service Company. Under that partnership, a new FBO will be developed in an independent terminal building with exclusive jet parking facilities, and Sino Jet will provide ground-handling services, an advanced flight-operating system, and a highly personalized customer-service platform.
Leonardo Opens $80M Philadelphia Training Center
Leonardo officially opened its $80 million Philadelphia training academy on Thursday. The remodeled warehouse on Leonardo’s existing production, engineering, and service campus will be operated by Rotorsim, a joint venture between Leonardo and CAE, and offer mission-specific ground, in-flight and virtual training. Senior Leonardo executives said the co-location of the academy on the Philadelphia campus provides a “one-stop-shop” for its customers and will provide them with “an inside view of our organization, our culture, and how our product is made and maintained.”
The new facility is expected to serve up to 1,000 students per year and features 10 multi-media classrooms, three maintenance simulators (AW139 and AW119 with the AW609 to be added shortly), and two full-motion flight simulators for the AW139 and AW169/AW609 with roll-on/roll-off capability. The AW139 simulator was relocated to Philadelphia from Whippany, New Jersey, while the new AW169 is one of only two simulators of its kind in the world. An empty bay allows for a third simulator to be added later.
Other center features include a self-service cafeteria, store, quiet room, and gym. The first Leonardo academy opened in Sesto-Calende, Italy, in 2006 and in its inaugural year trained 600 students. That number has grown to an annual average of 10,000 at the company training center there and in the UK, Poland, and Malaysia, as well as company-authorized training centers.
CloudAhoy Puts Flight Path Vector into Debrief Tool
Pilots viewing the visual debriefing of their flight on CloudAhoy’s postflight analysis platform can now see a depiction of the flight path vector (FPV) in all phases of flight. The FPV, which shows the path being flown, is a feature in head-up displays and many modern primary flight displays, helping pilots fly more precisely. As depicted in the CloudAhoy postflight debriefing tool, the FPV shows a pilot whether the aiming point is lined up properly with the runway; if the pilot is compensating correctly for wind during an approach or on final; and whether the pilot is maintaining altitude in a turn or when flying straight-and-level.
In an example from a flight shown in CloudAhoy, during slow flight and just before stalling, the FPV is below the horizon line, indicating the aircraft is not able to stay level and is already descending. The pilot would have seen the nose of the aircraft above the horizon, and CloudAhoy shows that as well, with the aircraft pitched up. But the FPV tells the pilot what is really happening and illustrates the trajectory of the aircraft, not just its attitude.
CloudAhoy computes the FPV in the debriefing animation using GPS position data recorded by the avionics or portable devices. The new feature was developed working with and at the suggestion and request of faculty at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
In an aircraft electrical system, what is a “thermal runaway”?
A. Condition associated to a generator under excess output of constant voltage and is due to cyclical, ever-increasing temperature and output current.
B. Condition associated to a bus bar under excess input of constant voltage and is due to cyclical, ever-increasing temperature and input current.
C. Condition associated to a battery under recharge by a constant-voltage source and is due to cyclical, ever-increasing temperature and charging current.
D. Any of the above, depending on the system part affected.
Bell Nears Final Fix for Cracked 505 Collectives
Bell could have a final solution in place for the cracked pilot collective sticks on its 505 light single helicopter before the end of the year, the company said. Approximately half of Bell’s 505 in-service fleet of approximately 300 helicopters have received replacement sticks, but those parts currently have a 300-hour life limit pending the completion of fatigue testing and certification, according to a company spokesman.
The cracked collective was first detected by a California law enforcement customer in February and triggered a series of airworthiness directives that initially called for repetitive 25-hour fluorescent penetrant inspections (FPI) of the part and later the requirement that all 505s be flown single pilot only from the left seat.
Fatigue testing of the new part should be completed within three months and “certification activity to remove the retirement-life limitation is expected to be finalized within three months of the completed testing,” Bell said in an email to AIN. “All customers who have requested a new stick now have them on hand. We have enough stock of the new stick to cover the entire fleet and current production,” the company said.
Nominations Open for 2021 Top Flight Awards
Following the successful launch of AIN’s Top Flight Awards last year, AIN is accepting nominations from readers for the 2021 Top Flight Awards.
AIN readers are invited to submit nominations for the 2021 Top Flight Awards through Sept. 30, 2021. There are 10 awards categories for which nominations will be accepted, ranging from Contribution to Safety and Maintenance Innovation to Technology, Sustainability, Training, and more.
Please review the awards categories and qualification criteria before submitting nominations for the 2021 Top Flight Awards. Nominees will be announced at the 2021 NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas in October. 2021 Top Flight Award winners will be revealed in December.
Last Chance: Air Charter 101 Webinar
If you've taken only a few private charter flights—or are thinking about taking your first—you likely have lots of questions. That’s understandable, given how many options and providers exist and how widely costs vary. AIN sister publication Business Jet Traveler is here to assist with a free Webinar tomorrow, May 4, that will walk you through every step of the process, helping you to know what questions to ask to get the most out of your charter experience.
BJT editorial director Jennifer Leach English will moderate an expert panel of speakers that include AIN editor-in-chief Matt Thurber and senior editor Charles Alcock, along with Avinode Group CRO and co-founder Per Marthinsson and AirPSG owner—and frequent air charter customer—Michael Ryan.
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
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