Charter operator and jet card provider Thrive Aviation has taken delivery of a Gulfstream G600, its first ultra-long-range jet. The aircraft joins Thrive's owned and managed fleet largely comprising Cessna Citations. The order was announced earlier this year by Savannah, Georgia-based Gulfstream Aerospace.
“We appreciate the confidence Thrive has placed in Gulfstream as they enter a new segment of their business with the G600,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “The G600 is expertly suited for Thrive’s mission and gives their customers new access to the latest in safety advancements and performance efficiencies.”
With a range of 6,600 nm at Mach 0.85, the G600 seats up to 19 passengers depending on the configuration. “The G600 helps take our services to a new level,” said Thrive co-founder Vitali Lapko.
Thrive is based at Henderson Executive Airport and operates a more than 30,000-sq-ft maintenance facility at nearby Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport. The addition of the G600 follows a previous order from the company for three super-midsize Cessna Citation Longitudes. Its fleet types also include the Citation Sovereign+, CJ3+, and M2, and Dassault Falcon 2000.
AINsight: NBAA-BACE Takeaways
Well, it is over. NBAA-BACE 2022 is behind us, but the memories and feelings continue.
I spoke to several attendees and asked them for their takeaways, as I was unable to attend this year. What was it like to attend this event in person? It was as if all the people I asked had spoken as a group before we talked as the answers were so similar.
Because the comments were all so positive, I have to say it was a winning event. Bravo to NBAA and the staff for being able to put together an event that not only brings the industry together but also speaks volumes to the pent-up desire to be together in person.
All those I spoke with started off talking about the customer experience. Starting with their own and then speaking about those customers whom they were able to see during the event.
Boeing unit Jeppesen has notified customers via its website that it is “currently experiencing technical issues with some of our products, services, and communications channels.” According to OpsGroup, “the majority of Jeppesen planning products are not working at the moment.” OpsGroup said this is affecting Jetplan, Milplanner, chart viewer products, FliteDeck Pro, and the notam feed for ForeFlight, which is owned by Boeing.
Jeppesen’s outage notice on its website says, “We are working to restore functionality as soon as possible.” A ForeFlight blog post warned about the notam problem and gave links to alternative sites to look up notams: “Our notam provider is currently experiencing technical issues with their services which are impacting the receipt and processing of new notams in ForeFlight. We are working to restore our notam feed as soon as possible.
“Flight Operators are reminded that the notams offices (NoF)/air navigation services providers (ANSP) for the countries of departure, overflight, and arrival are alternative sources of notams.”
No other information is available at this time, and Jeppesen has not yet responded to AIN’s request for more information. AIN has also asked for confirmation that the outage is a result of a ransomware attack, which was reported by OpsGroup and other sources.
Bombardier has delivered the first of two Global 6500 long-range jets to Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) for its RAPCON-X rapidly configurable aerial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft program.
The delivery of the first aircraft was made by Bombardier’s director of specialized mission aircraft Michael Calderon at SNC’s Hagerstown, Maryland facility, which will do the final outfitting of equipment. SNC plans to receive its second Global 6500 from Bombardier next month and both aircraft are expected to enter service later next year.
SNC’s RAPCON-X program is aimed at reducing the integration time of new systems and the addition of capabilities on an ISR aircraft without a complete redesign. It includes SNC Trax software, which creates interoperability among disparate systems, operationalizing data across the spectrum for full domain awareness and cooperation. RAPCON-X also includes the next-generation mission system and signal intelligence products for multi-domain operations.
Global business aircraft flight activity last month fell 3.2 percent year-over-year as traffic in North America and Europe dipped while the rest of the world saw a 22.6 percent surge, according to TraqPak data released yesterday by Argus International. Flights in North America and Europe were down 4.9 percent and 10 percent, respectively, from October 2021. For this month, Argus analysts are predicting a 1.4 percent decrease in North American flight activity, with Europe estimated to descend 11.1 percent year-over-year.
“October’s flight activity landscape is indicative of transition. On one side of the coin, we’re up double digits from October 2019, and on the other side we’re down from last year’s all-time high,” said Argus senior v-p of market intelligence Travis Kuhn. “Additionally, Europe is slowing but it is actually following more of its normal pre-Covid trend, so it is too early to tell if other factors are influencing the flight activity volume on the continent. In the short term, we expect to see some additional declines primarily related to seasonal adjustments in activity.”
Globally, midsize jets lead the activity declines by aircraft category, dropping 6.2 percent and 15.8 percent in the U.S. and Europe, and recording the only loss (-0.9 percent) in the rest of the world.
Business jet operators in the Dallas area now have an additional service provider option with the opening of the newly-built Galaxy FBO at Addison Airport (KADS). As well as being the third FBO at the airport, it is also the third in the growing Galaxy chain, joining facilities at Houston Hobby (KHOU) and Conroe-North Houston Regional airports.
The KADS location is on the southeast side of the field, near the end of Runway 33, and features a single-story 13,000-sq-ft terminal with passenger lounge, crew lounge with snooze room and showers, six-seat and 12-seat conference rooms, vehicle garage, crew car, and on-site car rental. Offering the largest uninterrupted ramp at KADS, the complex also includes 109,000 sq ft of hangar space, which can accommodate ultra-long-range business jets.
While the facility will initially operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with after-hours callout available, it will switch to 24-hour operation starting next month.
“After unexpected construction delays, we’re excited to be entering the Dallas-Fort Worth general aviation market with our facility at Addison Airport,” said general manager Jamie Munoz. “With our 'attitude of absolutely’ service motto, Galaxy FBO is ready to go beyond travelers’ expectations.”
The Black Forest Ventures-backed company also just added a new 39,000-sq-ft hangar at its flagship KHOU location, bringing it to 115,000 sq ft of aircraft shelter space there.
Piper Aircraft received FAA, Transport Canada, UK CAA, and EASA approval of a kit that permits certain M600/SLS turboprop singles to be operated from unpaved fields, the Vero Beach, Florida-based aircraft manufacturer announced today. Brazilian certification is expected to follow early next year.
All 2022 M600/SLSs, starting with serial number 198, are factory provisioned to operate on unpaved fields with incorporation of a supplement in the pilot’s operating handbook (POH). M600s manufactured between 2016 and 2021 equipped with five-blade propellers also have the option to be modified via an available kit allowing the same unpaved field operations. This kit includes a slightly redesigned nose fork and scissor link, nose gear wheel well plate cutout, and a pilot's operating handbook supplement.
“The Piper M600/SLS is known for its performance, reliability, and versatility over a wide array of general aviation missions,” said Piper president and CEO John Calcagno. “Now, with the addition of unpaved field capability, the M600’s versatility and asset value is taken to a whole new level.”
Piper Aircraft is running an introductory promotion for all M600 unpaved field kits ordered before November 30.
Sikorsky and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have flown an uncrewed Black Hawk helicopter autonomously on simulated internal and external cargo resupply and rescue operations. The flights were performed at the Yuma Proving Ground on October 12, 14, and 18 as part of the U.S. Army's Project Convergence 2022 (PC22) experiment to demonstrate how existing and future piloted utility helicopters could fly complex missions in reduced crew or autonomous modes, thereby giving Army commanders and aviators greater flexibility in how and when aircraft and pilots are used, especially in limited visibility or contested environments.
During the PC22 Technology Gateway, the Sikorsky and DARPA team showed how the uncrewed, optionally piloted Black Hawk can deliver a large quantity of blood product unharmed by flying low and fast above ground level using the terrain to mask its signature, resupply troops with an external load, and re-route mid-flight to evacuate a casualty.
Sikorsky’s autonomy system, known as Matrix, forms the core of DARPA’s ALIAS (Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System) project. "We believe Matrix technology is ready now for transition to the Army as they look to modernize the enduring helicopter fleet and acquire future vertical lift aircraft,” said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations.
Blue light special. Adam Sefton, Jet Aviation Flight Services’ aircraft maintenance director at its Stuart, Florida location, snapped this picture of a Bombardier Global at sunrise last week with the blue taxiway lights still glowing in the background. The ultra-long-range jet was being prepped for an early departure, he said. Thanks for sharing, Adam!
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