Gulfstream Reports Layoffs, LAS Service Center Closure
Despite cost-cutting measures intended to blunt challenges stemming from the pandemic, Gulfstream Aerospace said today it will have to take stronger actions, including layoffs and the closure of its Las Vegas service center. Earlier “measures alone were not sufficient to overcome this significant impact, requiring us to take additional steps to balance the size and structure of the business with current conditions,” a spokesperson told AIN. “As a result, we recently made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce at multiple locations across our company.”
The aircraft manufacturer did not specify how many workers would be laid off, but expressed regret for “the impact these actions will have on our colleagues and their families.” Up to 150 workers could be affected at the Las Vegas service facility alone, according to data from employer information website Glassdoor. Affected eligible workers will receive severance and benefits extensions, Gulfstream said.
According to Gulfstream, the proximity, central location, and capabilities of its Van Nuys service center were among the largest contributors toward the company’s decision to close the Las Vegas facility. “The Las Vegas service team will complete the aircraft currently in for service before the facility closes next month,” the spokesperson said. Work scheduled for the Las Vegas center will be shifted to Gulfstream’s Van Nuys facility, she added.
As Honda Aircraft today restarts HondaJet production after furloughing employees and shutting down the line last month due to Covid-19, president and CEO Michimasa Fujino is optimistic that light jets will be a key player in the recovery of the business aviation industry. Business jets “might be a good solution for people who have urgent business,” he said. “And they could avoid the risk of Covid-19 by using private aviation. Recently, some financial people started to show some interest in traveling in light jets to close their deals. There are some positive signs, but the economy as a whole is declining. It’s a very mixed situation.”
The utilization picture for HondaJet owners and operators is interesting, he noted. In March, HondaJet and other light jets saw dramatic increases in flight hours, but then significant decreases last month. “It’s very dynamic,” Fujino said, but he also believes that there are signs that business travelers are looking to business aviation to enable essential movement.
Meanwhile, new countermeasures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 on the manufacturing line will result in a lower production rate. This includes sanitizing of facilities and equipment, use of partitions, and social distancing in the Greensboro, North Carolina headquarters, assembly area, customer service facility, and research and development operation. Most engineers are working remotely “and continue to do research activities,” Fujino said.
Despite recent regulations on international business aviation flights put forth by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA) during the Covid-19 pandemic, aviation services provider A-Group reports its FBOs at Moscow Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg Pulkovo International Airports are still fully operational.
Under the administrative regulations on sanitary quarantine control, passengers are required to undergo health checks upon arrival. When the requirements were introduced in Moscow, the company was prepared with quarantine control staff and doctors on duty 24/7, conducting remote temperature checks and surveying arrivals to determine whether to order self-isolation or observation.
The terminals are equipped with sanitizer and hygiene products, informational materials, and medical masks. Rooms inside are thoroughly cleaned after each flight, while arriving luggage is also disinfected. Each member of the FBO staff undergoes a daily check-up, and their use of personal protective equipment is mandatory.
“The main tasks of our infrastructure in the current circumstances are to protect the health of passengers and staff, as well as to ensure the seamless maintenance of flights in compliance with all procedures and directives issued by [FATA], ICAO, and other industry regulators,” said A-Group president Sergey Semenov. “Business aviation in general, and our terminals in particular, allow us to provide not only passenger safety in every way but also social distancing, which plays an important role in preventing the spread of the virus.”
ASU Earns STC for Pilatus PC-12 Night Vision
The FAA awarded Idaho-based Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) an STC for night vision imaging system (NVIS) compatibility on Pilatus’s PC-12 turboprop single. The STC is the 14th that ASU has received for fixed-wing aircraft.
“This STC is important because it will allow us to give operators of this versatile aircraft the ability to perform safer nighttime operations with night vision,” said ASU repair station manager Chris Reber. “Because of the PC-12's ability to take off and land in undeveloped runways and fly in terrain that is less developed, adding NVIS capability just adds to the aircraft’s already robust capabilities.”
ASU also holds NVIS STCs for a number of other airplanes, including the Air Tractor AT-402, AT-802A, and AT-602; Cessna 208; Casa C-212; Gulfstream G550; and PLZ M18, among others. Among the Boise headquartered company’s capabilities are in-house drafting, parts manufacturer approval, traveling NVIS installers, and a streamlined STC approval process, all of which serve to help minimize aircraft downtime.
Aircraft Disinfection OEM Sees Surge in Demand
With more companies offering aircraft disinfection services amid the Covid-19 crisis, Aviation Clean Air (ACA) has seen a surge in demand for the airborne and ground-use sanitization systems it developed in conjunction with International Aero Engineering.
While the ground unit just made its debut in March and is already featured as the cornerstone of many aircraft disinfection programs, the company installed its first airborne unit in 2014 via STC on a Falcon 2000. Today, it has hundreds in service worldwide on aircraft ranging from Leonardo helicopters to Boeing BBJs.
Both units use electricity to create charged ions from hydrogen and oxygen atoms present in water vapor. Those ions have a propensity to cluster around viruses, bacteria, mold spores, and other pathogens in the air and on surfaces, and the ions immediately kill the pathogens. Other benefits to the patented maintenance- and chemical-free system include the elimination of any odors on board and the reduction of static electricity.
Compared to the installed version, which draws power from the aircraft’s electrical system, the new Ion Distribution ground unit is completely portable, weighing 22 pounds, and comes with a 25-foot 110-VAC power cord and ground plug. Depending on the size of the aircraft, full decontamination takes between one and two hours with the portable unit.
Houston Police are investigating the fatal Saturday morning crash of one of the department’s helicopters as a homicide. The 2008 MD Helicopters model 530E went down shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday while responding to reports of bodies in the water near the Biscayne at Cityview apartment complex.
Video of the crash shows the helicopter hovering and then spinning before impact. Post-crash photos show the helicopter had clipped part of the apartment complex’s clubhouse before coming to rest on its side.
The crash killed Houston police officer Jason Knox, 35, who served as the technical flight officer (TFO). The pilot, officer Chase Comier, 35, survived with serious injuries, including a broken back. Both men were cut from the wreckage by first responders and airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital.
Houston Police chief Art Acevedo stressed that the department did not have any indication that the crash was, in fact, a homicide, but said his department was investigating it as such to enable it to be approached with a “wide net.” While the flight crew was being extracted, the department made multiple arrests nearby related to gunfire. The accident helicopter, N8375F, had previously been extensively damaged from gunfire in 2016. The department has temporarily stood down its fleet of 10 helicopters in the wake of Saturday's crash.
Manual Provider Suggests FBOs Up Their Covid Procedures
Industry digital operations manual provider AviationManuals has released a white paper suggesting that FBOs update their operating manuals in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As service providers examine the policies and procedures they have in place regarding health and sanitation, the document recommends that providers research industry guidance from reliable sources, including the CDC, WHO, and NATA. It also recommends they also consult with their local airport staff, focus on personal hygiene, consider implementation of evolving social distancing standards, increase cleaning schedules, have workers wear masks and gloves, and request that those who can work from home do so.
“By now, FBO operators should be conscious that everyone’s perceptions and attitudes with regard to risk have changed dramatically,” said AviationManuals CEO Mark Baier. “While it is always important to operate to the highest standards, making customers and employees comfortable in times like these has become paramount due to Covid-19, so we wanted to offer some enhancements people can put in place.”
Baier also suggested that FBOs should update their emergency response plan (ERP) with respect to medical emergencies, adding that with the current decrease in aircraft activity, it is a good time to test those plans.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
Which of the following is a requirement for TCAS II to issue complementary and coordinated resolution advisories when both aircraft are equipped with TCAS II?
A. Connection with the mode-C transponder.
B. Connection with the mode-S transponder.
C. VHF communication between the crews.
D. Both A and B are correct.
U.S. Helo Safety Team Offers Case Studies for Survival
The U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) has released a new recommended practice guide with suggested training scenarios designed to mitigate risk and improve decision making. USHST's new guide contains materials for lesson plans using actual fatal helicopter accidents precipitated by flawed decisions that placed the aircraft at risk.
Scenarios include loss of rotor rpm in autorotation; loss of tail rotor effectiveness; spatial disorientation; unintended flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC); low-altitude wire strike; and low-altitude engine failure. The practice resources are suitable for use for both private and commercial helicopter flight training, including private, commercial, CFI, designated examiners, training center evaluators, and FAA safety inspectors.
To help further, the guide also suggests applicable methods of interjecting training scenarios into lesson plans including setting up training events based on the accident scenario. The guide and its five annexes can be found at either the USHST website or that of the International Helicopter Safety Foundation.
Notable fatal accidents mentioned in the guide include the 2009 crash in California of a nighttime medevac flight due to pilot spatial disorientation and a widely-reported New Mexico State Police helicopter accident that occurred after the non-instrument rated pilot attempted to take off into IMC.
Clarification
The aircraft in Friday's Photo of the Week was inadvertently misidentified. It shows a Supermarine Spitfire.
VistaJet Believes Bizav Could Help Airlines Restart Service
As Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift, travelers will want to start flying again, but maybe not enough to support full-sized airliners on some routes. VistaJet founding chairman Thomas Flohr believes its 115 private jets could help out by carrying between 10 and 15 passengers on routes connecting secondary cities worldwide to help airlines test demand levels in a cost-efficient way.
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