FBO operator Modern Aviation continues its expansion with the acquisition of a second terminal and hangar at Denver Centennial Airport. Modern made a major addition in 2018, its first year of existence, when it acquired the former XJet FBO at the business aviation hub, one of the busiest in the U.S. and home to nearly 150 business jets.
Modern's latest purchase from aviation real estate developer The Sunborne Companies consists of a more than seven-acre leasehold, including a 62,000-sq-ft, three-story building that houses the Signature Flight Support FBO among other tenants, along with a 38,000-sq-ft hangar complex primarily leased by Signature.
According to Modern, it will take over the space occupied by Signature “at the expiration or earlier termination of its current operating agreement.” That move will allow it to encompass the entire south side of the field, giving it the largest leasehold among what would be the remaining four service providers.
“This transaction enables Modern to increase its footprint in the near term, adding significant rental income to its current operations,” said CEO Mark Carmen, adding the company has been seeking opportunities to grow at Centennial since its arrival there. The news comes after the service provider recently broke ground on a major expansion of its existing FBO at KAPA.
Signature also has two other FBOs in the area—at Denver International and Rocky Mountain Metropolitan airports.
ExecuJet MRO Services Middle East has opened a new business aircraft line maintenance shop at Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), which is part of Dubai South. The facility, which is adjacent to the corporate ramp and FBOs, can support aircraft types from manufacturers such as Dassault, Bombardier, Embraer, and Hawker.
“More and more business jet activity is shifting to DWC, partly driven by the airport authority and FBO incentives such as reduced airport landing and parking fees,” according to Nick Weber, regional v-p for the Middle East at ExecuJet MRO Services. “We chose to establish the first line maintenance facility at DWC in June 2013 to enable continued support of our existing customers.” He added that the new facility is better positioned to provide immediate support around the clock.
ExecuJet also provides line maintenance at Dubai International Airport (DXB), where its heavy maintenance base is located. However, it is also building a heavy maintenance base at DWC that it expects to open in the coming second quarter.
Meanwhile, the company—a subsidiary of Dassault Aviation—continues to expand its MRO capability and certifications. In fact, ExecuJet MRO Services Middle East recently received approval from India’s DGAC for line and heavy maintenance on Indian-registered Falcon 7Xs and 8Xs, as well as 900- and 2000-series Falcons.
Business aviation activity in North America set a new record last month with 323,000 flights, eclipsing the previous record set in July by 6.9 percent, according to just-released Argus TraqPak data. All operational categories saw gains, led by fractional, which was up 44.8 percent year-over-year (YOY) and 29.3 percent from October 2019. Part 91 activity increased 36.8 percent, followed by Part 135, which rose by 33 percent YOY. As travel restrictions slowly ease, large-cabin jets have shown resiliency with activity in the segment up 60 percent from last year.
“October’s record flight activity continues to highlight the unprecedented demand for business aircraft in the North American market and globally, producing two of the top 10 busiest days on record,” said Travis Kuhn, Argus International’s v-p of market intelligence. “Further emphasizing the magnitude of these numbers, six of the seven days of the week averaged at least 10,000 flights per day during the month. That compares to October 2019, which saw just two of the seven days average 10,000 or more flights.”
In Europe, which recorded 81,000 business aviation flights for the month, activity increased by 64.3 percent YOY and more than 30 percent from October 2019 levels, while monthly activity in Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America rose in October after three straight months of decline.
Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems has begun construction on a new MRO facility at Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport near Nashville, Tennessee. Comprising 57,000 sq ft of operational space, the two-phase construction project also calls for an additional 40,000 sq ft of hangar space.
Greenville, South Carolina-based Stevens Aerospace has operated in the Nashville metropolitan area for nearly 40 years. Last year, the company moved from a separate facility in Nashville that it had operated for decades into a temporary facility in Smyrna. The company expects to begin operations in the new MRO facility in mid-2022.
“John Black, the airport’s executive director, has done an outstanding job of growing and modernizing a WWII military training airport,” said Stevens Aerospace president Christian Sasfai. “He understands how to attract aviation businesses and, maybe more importantly, that the airport is a key part of overall business growth in the region.” In addition to Greenville and Smyrna, Stevens Aerospace operates MROs in Dayton, Ohio, and Macon, Georgia.
The industry has done a “wonderful job” of highlighting the benefits of business aviation during the pandemic, said Sentient Jet president and CEO Andrew Collins, but at the same time, jet card and other providers need to be prepared to manage through the supply constraints that have come along with Covid-19. Speaking yesterday at Corporate Jet Investor Miami 2021, Collins said Sentient “made the right call” to halt card sales to ensure that it can provide proper service to its existing clients.
"Nobody wanted a pandemic...but it played right into some of the attributes of business aviation,” he said. “We created this surge and built up a real demand.” However, Collins noted that supply is a challenge. If operators haven’t been prepared for the market in terms of sourcing, “organizational firepower,” the right investment sources, and necessary relationships, then it will be a tough market, he explained.
Regarding Sentient, he said the decision to pause card sales was a first. It was a move also taken by other providers, and Collins expects the industry to eventually take a new look at flight-leg sales.
Given the current capacity constraints, he believes there will be a shakeout. “You have that strong balance sheet,” Collins said. “You have to be willing to invest. I think it’s going to get better over time,” with deliveries accelerating and aircraft shifting from Part 91 to 135.
Spectrum Aeromed and Fargo Jet Center are highlighting their aircraft completions partnership this week at the Air Medical Transport Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Both based at North Dakota’s Hector International Airport in Fargo, the two companies recently completed the interiors for a pair of dedicated Beechraft King Air 350Cs destined as air ambulances in Greece and are working on the completion of a pair of highly-customized medevac-equipped Bombardier Learjet 75s for Polish EMS operator Lotnicze Pogotowie Ratnunkowe.
Next in line is certification for an aeromedical cabin solution for the Daher Kodiak 100. “This aircraft has great special mission capabilities and will provide a nice solution for many customers,” said Matt Christenson, Spectrum’s v-p and account executive.
Looking ahead, the pair will collaborate on an EMS cabin for Life Flight Network’s Pilatus PC-12. It will include an interior for a single patient, with liquid oxygen storage and delivery systems, additional cabinet storage front and aft, cabin radios for air-to-ground communication, and an upgraded lighting system.
“The proximity of our companies brings a value proposition to our clients that’s not found anywhere else in the world,” explained Fargo Jet Center's v-p of technical services Mike Clancy. “We each have a need that the other can support, in addition to offering a team of dedicated technicians and engineers to customize the fabrication of each air medical installation.”
The FAA has published a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin—AIR-21-18—that highlights potential radio altimeter interference issues by new 5G cellular networks. The 5G network deployment in the U.S. starting on December 5 is in the 3700 to 3800-MHz bands then later in the 3700 to 3980-MHz bands. Radio altimeters use the 4200 to 4400-MHz band.
In other countries, bands from 3300 to 4200 MHz are already deployed, according to the FAA, and some “have implemented temporary technical, regulatory, and operational mitigations, including temporary proximity and power restrictions.” The FAA added, “There have not yet been proven reports of harmful interference due to wireless broadband operations internationally, although this issue is continuing to be studied.”
The SAIB contains many recommendations for aircraft and avionics manufacturers and aircraft operators, ranging from reporting any problems to the FAA to documenting and reporting on the types of radio altimeters installed in aircraft.
TSO-C87A, the current radio altimeter Technical Standard Order under which these devices are approved, doesn’t address compatibility with adjacent-band operations, according to the FAA. The agency said it is “conducting a risk assessment to ascertain whether further mitigation is warranted in addition to the recommended actions in this SAIB.”
Meanwhile, Gogo Business Aviation, which is deploying its own 5G network for its air-to-ground connectivity system, pointed out that its system operates in frequency bands well away from those of radio altimeters.
Spectrum Aeromed is partnering with Uniflight Global to install medical interiors on multiple Leonardo AW119Kxi helicopters for two separate air ambulance programs, beginning in January. The project includes six sets of custom equipment built for Life Link III of Minnesota and Mercy Flight of New York.
The STC-approved, dedicated aeromedical cabin interior that Spectrum is providing includes a 10-liter liquid oxygen supply, patient pivot-loading system from the left side, two forward-facing medical attendant seats and one aft-facing medical seat, medical mounting options on the ceiling and back wall, and valance panels for all radios, controls, and outlets.
MRO Uniflight Global is an FAA Part 145 repair station that provides factory-certified maintenance for rotorcraft OEMs including Leonardo, Airbus, and Bell from its main location in Grand Prairie, Texas, and a satellite repair station in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania. Spectrum Aeromed holds more than 90 STCs covering more than 450 aircraft models, and it operates from a 17,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility in Fargo, North Dakota.
Requires repetitive visual inspectionsof rivets on the rear transmission shaft bearing supportand of the local structure for presence of cracks and any necessary corrective action(s). Prompted by a reported occurrence of degradation of the rear transmission shaft bearing support and subsequent investigation that found all attachment rivets of the transmission shaft bearing support were sheared. Uncorrected, this condition could lead to failure of the tailrotor driveshaft and subsequent loss of yaw control.
During production test flights, a lateral offset was observed on the HUD between the synthetic vision system and actual runway. An investigation determined the cause of the offset to be mechanical misalignment of the HUD during manufacturing and assembly. Left uncorrected, this offset will create an incorrect aircraft reference display on the HUD, which could lead to "excessive deviation during landing" that particularly affects steep approach landing (SAL) or enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) operations. To address this condition, this AD requires the HUD to be calibrated, as well as amendments to the airplane flight manual that prohibit SAL and EFVS operations until this calibration has been completed.
Requires a one-timeinspection of the fuel tank ventlines for blockages and any necessary corrective action(s). Prompted by an occurrence of "unexpected fuel system behavior" and subsequent investigation that discovered one of the two fuel tank vent lines blocked by an "excessive presence" of sealant. This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead todual engine flameout due to fuel starvation, EASA said.
Requires performing a rated load check on certain hoist assemblies with certain part-numbered hoist cables installed and any necessary corrective actions. Prompted by the determination that the requirement to accomplish a rated load check on certain hoist assemblies may have been inadvertently left out of some aircraft maintenance publications.
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