Gulfstream Seeing Sales Momentum, Hope with Vaccines

Gulfstream Aerospace executives are optimistic that the rebound they began seeing in the third quarter has carried into the fourth quarter and is poised to be further buoyed by positive developments surrounding Covid-19 vaccines.

“Demand is returning, which is encouraging for us,” Scott Neal, senior v-p for worldwide sales for Gulfstream, told reporters yesterday. The Savannah, Georgia-based business jet maker saw activity begin to notably pick up by early July and that has continued, Neal said. “We actually had a very solid third quarter for sales activity, and we’re seeing some of that activity continue here into the fourth quarter.”

Activity has improved on a number of fronts, he added. “We’re having quite a few more sales discussions now than we did earlier in the year. So, our pipeline is actually very robust,” he said. “We’re flying more flight demonstrations, we have more factory visits—all encouraging signs to me, at least for Gulfstream, that customers are engaging, and we’ve got some very strong prospects for sales opportunities certainly for the end of the year, but into next year as well.”

Gulfstream president Mark Burns added that customers remain cautious but are more upbeat. He further is encouraged about 2021, particularly with the recent advancements of the Covid-19 vaccine. “Our customers now see that there is an end in sight,” Burns said.

AINsight: Making the ‘Handshake Connection’

The investment mogul Warren Buffett once asked, “Ever give a firm handshake over a speakerphone?” This quote from a decade-old “No Plane, No Gain” initiative has stayed with me because nothing can replace a warm handshake.

After all, one of the mainstays of business aviation is enabling personal, face-to-face handshake connections. Yet for the past eight months—and probably well into 2021—we’re forgoing them.

So, just how will we continue to manage in the meantime, without that symbolic, all-important handshake? For starters, we pivot. Just like we did after 9/11 and the Great Recession of 2008/09.

This time, business aviation has been equally resourceful and resilient: the industry has delivered on a vast array of humanitarian efforts; flight departments have resumed flying and expanded use policies; and industry associations and media outlets have hosted multiple virtual conferences.

And next month, we’re pivoting to our first-ever NBAA Virtual Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (VBACE). Of course, the overarching principle with all of these events is making connections. While I understand that an online conference isn’t the perfect replacement for a handshake, it’s the next best thing.

Now more than ever, I’d love to be resuming the ritual of shaking hands with my business aviation colleagues. But in lieu of doing that, let’s all show up for these online events and do the next best thing.

French Navy To Receive Falcon 2000 Albatros Patrollers

The French military will place an order for 12 Dassault Falcon 2000 Albatros aircraft, Florence Parly, the country's minister for the armed forces, announced yesterday during a visit to the Dassault plant at Seclin. They will be equipped for maritime surveillance duties in answer to the AVSIMAR (maritime surveillance and intervention aircraft) requirement. As part of the contract, Dassault will commit to a guaranteed availability clause and providing industrial support for at least 10 years.

The Albatros is based on the Falcon 2000LXS and will be outfitted with a range of equipment to suit it for a variety of maritime patrol roles, including search and rescue, fighting pollution and trafficking, surveillance of borders and exclusion zones, and fisheries policing. Large observation windows will be installed in the forward part of the cabin for visual searches and a Thales Searchmaster multi-mode radar will be mounted in a belly fairing.

In addition, a retractable Safran Euroflir optronics turret will be fitted under the rear fuselage and the aircraft will be capable of air-dropping search and rescue kits. The aircraft will also have a communications suite tailored to its military and public service tasks.

AOPA, NBAA Survey Highlights Misgivings of PRD Proposal

A new survey jointly conducted by NBAA and AOPA is highlighting significant concerns that pilots have over the FAA’s electronic Pilot Records Database (PRD) proposal, the associations said. Published earlier this year, the notice of proposed rulemaking will impose new mandatory record-keeping requirements for corporate flight departments, and along with it create the first formal definition of a corporate flight department.

Designed to help guide employer hiring, the proposal applies to a range of commercial, Part 91K, and corporate operations, seeking detailed information such as check airmen comments. AOPA and NBAA launched the survey to gather data that could be evaluated by government agencies as a final rule is crafted.

More than 1,200 pilots responded, the associations said, all of which were skeptical about the proposal. Three key concerns centered on the codification of the term “corporate flight department,” overly burdensome recordkeeping with no clear safety benefit, and inclusion of the check airman and instructor comments, NBAA said.

More than half of respondents with two or more type-rated aircraft in their operations were against the inclusion of check airman comments, while 20 percent believed those comments should be included. Some respondents estimated that the requirements would take more than 18 hours a month to maintain the appropriate records, including activity such as night landings or instrument approaches.

Embraer and Energy Group EDP Team on Electric Aircraft

Energy group EDP today announced a partnership to conduct research into electric aircraft technology with Brazilian airframer Embraer. Through its EDP Smart division, the Portugal-based multinational will make an unspecified financial contribution to acquire energy storage and battery charging technologies for Embraer’s all-electric demonstrator aircraft, which is using an EMB-203 Ipanema as a testbed.

This prototype is expected to make a first flight in 2021 from Embraer’s Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil facility. Ground tests are already in progress at the Botucatu site, which is also in Brazil's Sao Paulo state.

EDP and Embraer said they will cooperate “to advance their shared knowledge of energy storage and battery charging technologies for aviation,” which they believe is one of the main challenges for electric aircraft. “The partnership aims to investigate the applicability of high-voltage batteries for the electric propulsion systems of small aircraft in addition to evaluating the main operating characteristics, such as weight, efficiency and power quality, thermal control and management, cycling loading and unloading, and operational safety,” the partners explained.

In October, Embraer created a new subsidiary called Eve Urban Air Mobility. This will advance its plans to develop a four-seat eVTOL aircraft called Eve that it says will have a range of around 60 miles and be 80 percent quieter than existing helicopters and with half the operating costs.

Private Equity Firm To Take Majority Stake in JSSI

Private equity firm GTCR will take a majority stake in Jet Support Services (JSSI) in what officials are calling a recapitalization of the provider of power-by-the-hour maintenance programs and technical support services to business aviation operators. Under the deal, financial terms of which weren’t disclosed, JSSI CEO Neil Book and family will retain a “significant” minority stake in the company. The deal is expected to close by year-end.

According to GTCR, it will partner with Book and JSSI’s management team on the expansion of the company’s capabilities and market presence. “We look forward to partnering with GTCR to take JSSI to the next level of excellence,” Book said. “GTCR's deep sector expertise and resourcefulness will be a tremendous asset as we embark on this growth journey.”

GTCR’s past portfolio companies include FBO network Landmark Aviation and CAMP Systems. It also is currently an investor in aviation broadband connectivity provider Gogo.

“JSSI has a strong reputation for their deep commitment to providing clients with the highest standard of service and customer maintenance support, and we are thrilled to collaborate on their growth efforts,” said GTCR managing director Mark Anderson.

GippsAero Shuts Down Airvan Manufacturing

India’s Mahindra Aerospace has exited its GippsAero subsidiary in Australia, announcing during a recent earnings call that it had shuttered this business. “GippsAero is up for sale for someone who wants to buy it. But, if there is no buyer, the business has been shut down already,” said Anish Shah, deputy managing director and group CFO at Mahindra and Mahindra. The company was producing the GA8 Airvan piston single and was developing the 10-seat GA10 turboprop single.

“We have moved to a service model right now and will continue with [that] model to meet the contractual obligations of the planes. But there is no further activity in terms of manufacturing or selling these planes,” Shah said. He added there are no aircraft orders currently in hand, but a former value-added reseller for GippsAero disputed this statement, saying GippsAero “refused to take our order for several aircraft.”

Sources told AIN that Mahindra had invested more than $100 million into the subsidiary, with little return on investment since 2009 when it purchased GippsAero and Aerostaff Australia to manufacture aircraft and allied components to service the global market.

The Mahindra Group will, however, continue with its aerospace business in India. Its aerospace facility in India produces 100,000 parts and components monthly for OEMs such as Airbus and Boeing.

Reno Races In Jeopardy

The Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) is warning that the fastest show on earth might not resume in 2021 unless it can raise $500,000 in charitable donations by the end of the year. Races were canceled this year due to Covid-19.

“We’re asking our fans and supporters to help show 2020 that it won’t get the best of us,” said Fred Telling, CEO of RARA. The organization noted that it lost money on the 2019 races due in part to a $160,000 increase in insurance premiums. RARA said its past pleas for individual donations, the call to either roll-over or donate 2020 tickets, and the receipt of emergency federal pandemic aid has not been enough to fund overhead and planning costs for 2021 races.

RARA has already reduced its full-time staff by 75 percent, down to just two employees, and its new “Save The Races” campaign appears to be its last chance to save next year’s races. RARA is a charitable 501(c)3 organization.

Photo of the Week

The Spirit of John Muir, but firefighting muscle of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The world’s largest firefighting aircraft—an Airtanker 944 based on a Boeing 747 and christened after pioneering wilderness preservation advocate John Muir—was photographed by Cal Fire volunteer Bob Martinez at McClellan Tanker Base in Sacramento, California. The aircraft, which can carry up to 19,600 gallons of fire retardant or water, was on contract with Cal Fire during this very active firefighting season. Thanks for sharing, Bob! And an extra special thanks to all of the firefighting crews on the ground and around the world for their efforts this year.

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