Jet Aviation Opens New VNY FBO

Jet Aviation has opened its new FBO complex at Los Angeles-area business aviation hub Van Nuys Airport (VNY). In 2016, the company was awarded a 30-year lease to redevelop the 17-acre site on the north side of the field, which was formerly occupied by the Pentastar Aviation/Basenet facility. Jet Aviation had been operating from a temporary facility during construction.

The $40 million location includes a 10,000-sq-ft terminal and a 43,000-sq-ft hangar with 8,000 sq ft of office space and 30-foot clearance that can accommodate current and future ultra-long-range business jets, as well as a new service center for sister company Gulfstream.

“As part of one of the country’s busiest general aviation airports, we are proud to offer our customers a comprehensive solution for all of their aircraft service needs, including traditional FBO services like fueling, hangarage, aircraft cleaning, and domestic and international handling, as well as full-service aircraft management, charter, and on-demand maintenance,” said Michael McDaniel, the FBO’s director and general manager. “Most excitingly, we did it using sustainable building practices.”

The facility was built to Leed Silver specifications using regional materials, energy-efficient lighting, and low-flow plumbing fixtures in its construction. The FBO is the first to offer sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at VNY, as well as the first of Jet Aviation’s locations to carry the blended fuel.

Argus: U.S. Bizav Flying Flat in October

Business aircraft activity was mostly flat in October with midsize and super-midsize fractional jets recording the lone double-digit gain for the month, according to data from Argus International’s TraqPak report. Overall, activity edged up 0.5 percent in October compared with the same month last year.

Activity among fractional midsize and super-midsize jets increased 10.8 percent, followed by Part 91 light jet activity, which was up 3.7 percent compared with October 2018. Also moving slightly higher for the month was overall Part 91 jet activity, which was up by 2.1 percent, as well as Part 135 light and large jet activity, increasing 0.9 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Argus said it expects another relatively flat month in November with year-over-year business aircraft activity nudging slightly higher by 0.5 percentage points. The flight activity data is based on aircraft flight-number specific arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in the U.S., the Caribbean, and Canada.

Textron Unveils New Special Missions Capabilities

With an eye on the special mission market, Textron Aviation unveiled a new option for the Beechcraft King Air 350 and a new role for the recently certified super-midsize Cessna Citation Longitude. During this week's Dubai Airshow, the Wichita airframer introduced an FAA-certified option for extending the nose of the 350 that provides 12 cubic feet of extra space and is capable of holding 250 pounds of extra equipment.

“We’ve actually delivered the first couple of them already and there are a lot of different missions possible with those,” Textron v-p of defense and special missions sales Bob Gibbs told AIN. The equipment bay has a range of possibilities, he said. “We currently don’t have it certified as a baggage compartment, so it’s not for golf clubs, yet.” But Textron does have a proposal out on a potential medevac order in which the customer requires 3,000 cubic meters of oxygen. The additional space could also be used for maritime patrol and other intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

Textron also announced that Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau has ordered a Longitude for flight inspections, its first special missions application. “They needed the speed and the range of the [Longitude] and it was the best value for them,” Gibbs said, noting that the Japanese CAB already owns and operates Citation CJ4s.

2018 GA Fatal Accidents Increase; Air Taxis Decline

U.S. civil aviation accident fatalities increased from 347 in 2017 to 393 in 2018, according to preliminary statistics released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Last year saw the nation’s first airline passenger fatality since 2009, when a passenger was killed on a Southwest airliner that suffered an engine failure.

As usual, most aviation deaths last year took place during general aviation operations. Last year, 381 were killed compared to 331 the year before. The fatal accident rate in general aviation was 1.029 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, an increase from 2017’s rate of 0.935. The NTSB’s GA accident statistics include private, personal, business, sightseeing, flight instruction and other training, and all other operations under Part 91.

Accidents involving on-demand Part 135 operations, encompassing charters, air taxis, air tours, and medical services (when a patient is on board), claimed 12 lives, down from 16 in 2017. Consequently, the fatal accident rate for on-demand Part 135 operations decreased slightly, to 0.156 fatal accidents in 2018 compared with 0.199 in 2017.

In its annual report, the NTSB divides the number of accidents into operational segments but does not separate by engine type—turbine or non-turbine. According to AIN’s annual tally, there were 10 fatalities from business jet operations last year versus three in 2017. Sixteen people died in business turboprop accidents in 2018 compared with 20 in 2017.

Bizjets Become Target of Extinction Rebellion Protest

About 100 people gathered at Geneva Airport in Switzerland on November 16 to block private jet activity as part of an environmental demonstration, according to news reports. The group Extinction Rebellion, which “uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction,” organized the event that lasted more than two hours, according to the news site SWI Swissinfo, which added that the group dispersed at the request of the cantonal police.

Other reports quoted officials from the organization as saying, “It is very important for us to denounce this completely absurd and unjust means of transport, which is used by a tiny fraction of the population.”

The protest followed indications that came out earlier this month from the UK Labour party that it could support a ban on fossil-fuel powered private aircraft flights from 2025. Andy McDonald, shadow transport secretary for the British Labour Party, released a statement asking, “Why is the government enabling billionaires to trash the climate when it’s the rest of us who will suffer the consequences?”

In response, business aviation organizations in Europe and the U.S. defended the business aviation community’s environmental efforts, saying the industry has made an aggressive push toward sustainable aviation fuels that can reduce carbon lifecycle emissions by 80 percent and that business aviation accounts for a minuscule portion of total transportation emissions.

Bell and Abu Dhabi’s Horizon Ink Order for 12 Bell 505s

Bell Textron president and CEO Mitch Snyder and Horizon International Flight Academy CEO Hareb Thani Al Dhaheri signed a contract for 12 Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters for the Abu Dhabi-based flight school yesterday during the Dubai Airshow. At list prices, the deal is worth $15.6 million.

Some 200 of the clean-sheet rotorcraft, which feature Garmin G1000H avionics, have been delivered since the type entered service in 2017. “The addition of single-engine glass cockpits will enable us to meet the latest technology needs of aspiring pilots and will prepare them to fly with modern helicopters when they are back to their units,” said Al Dhaheri. Horizon operates an all-Bell fleet of Model 206, 407, and 429 helicopters.

“There has been a lot of interest in the Bell 505 as a training aircraft due to its capability, affordability, maintainability, and safety features,” added Ian Darcy, senior v-p, Hawker-Pacific, Bell’s independent representative.

GAO Recommends FAA Improve UAS Oversight

The FAA’s compliance and enforcement approach for drones could benefit from improved communication and data, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. For this study, the GAO met with FAA safety inspectors and law enforcement officials in 11 of the aviation agency’s districts to determine how they investigate potentially unsafe small (under 55 pounds) unmanned aircraft systems.

Although the FAA has articulated the pivotal role local law enforcement can play and has developed resources for these entities, the GAO report says the agency “has not consistently communicated this information.” Consequently, most law enforcement stakeholders GAO met with stated that “officers may not know how to respond to UAS incidents or what information to share with the FAA.”

Without a clear approach to communicate to law enforcement agencies, the FAA “does not have reasonable assurance these agencies are armed with knowledge they need to help FAA identify and address unsafe UAS operations,” the GAO said. The FAA was also faulted for allegedly not identifying how it will improve the gathering and analyzing of UAS safety data.

The report recommends that the FAA develop a better approach to communicate to local law enforcement agencies its expectations for their role in UAS investigations and identify data needed to evaluate FAA’s small UAS compliance and enforcement activities. The FAA concurred with the recommendations.

NBAA: Mentoring, Networking Gateway to Future Workforce

NBAA officials are emphasizing the need to develop mentorship programs and foster networking to develop the next generation of aviation professionals as workforce demand looks increasingly difficult to meet. During Bombardier’s 23rd annual Safety Standdown, NBAA's Brian Koester and Sierra Grimes highlighted the growing needs, as the average age of aviation mechanics reaches 51 and the average age of pilots is now 53. 

“We all know the shortage is here, and we’re trying to work together as an industry to draw in the next generation,” Grimes said, but on the individual level, people and companies can also support the future generation through mentorship and networking, she added. Mentorship is a key way that helps recruit, retain, and develop the next generation, she added. “It’s about building those relationships and being able to pass on that skill set.”

Looking at the many people approaching retirement, mentoring will enable that knowledge to continue through the next generation. Further, studies have shown students who have mentors are more likely to finish their studies, Koester said. There are several approaches to mentorship, from an informal relationship to formal established programs.

Grimes and Koester also stressed the importance of facilitating network opportunities to foster the next generation and enable the development of relationships. Networking, they added, helps build knowledge by enabling the sharing of experience, and could lead to new opportunities.