The upgraded HondaJet Elite II announced last month at NBAA-BACE has received FAA approval, Honda Aircraft told AIN ;today. Deliveries of the latest HondaJet variant—which has added range, new cabin designs, ground spoilers, and a stabilized approach feature—are expected to begin soon.
NBAA IFR range of the Elite II is 1,547 nm with four passengers, a 110-nm improvement from its Elite S predecessor. To accommodate the added fuel, the mtow has been raised by 200 pounds to 11,100 pounds.
Other upgrades include a new ground spoiler system that optimizes takeoff and landing performance at the higher mtow. The stabilized approach upgrade “assists the pilot with aural and visual alerts to maintain a stable aircraft state on approach,” Honda Aircraft said.
Meanwhile, a black sable exterior paint scheme is available for the HondaJet Elite II, in addition to cabin interiors in onyx and steel styles. The onyx option includes “a rich and warm neutral beige cabin theme with mid-tone wood accents,” while steel is “a modern light cool grey theme with high-contrast marble accents.”
Next year, Honda Aircraft will also add an autothrottle system to the twinjet by June, followed by Garmin Autoland anticipated in the second half.
Bombardier opened its Safety Standdown this morning in Wichita with conference veteran Tony Kern, founding partner and CEO of Convergent Performance, who challenged the roughly 450 in-person attendees to think of their organization as a working ranch. Wearing a black Stetson, work boots, and a western overcoat, Kern equated an organization’s standards officer and safety officer as the herding and guard dogs of the “ranch” and that both should be distinct positions within an organization to ensure a culture of safety that permeates to the individual level.
“Standards and safety should not be viewed as part-time additional duties,” he said. “They are critical, core requirements for moving safety forward.” He recommended that organizations “keep pushing the bar” on developing safety as well as standards officers.
During his hour-and-15-minute-long presentation, Kern also addressed the industry’s pilot and mechanic shortages, emphasizing that they could be alleviated in part by attracting more women to those careers. But first, he said, the industry needs to acknowledge that sexual discrimination is still an issue. And “we can’t make progress if we don’t acknowledge it exists,” Kern emphasized. He urged participants to make business aviation the place for women professionals.
Kern’s presentation followed opening remarks from FAA acting deputy executive director Derek Morgan, NTSB member Michael Graham, and NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. Bombardier officials said 51 percent of this year’s in-person attendees are here for the first time.
Airbus Helicopters continued to expand its HCare product support client list at the European Rotors conference, which opened today in Cologne, Germany. At the show, the company inked new contracts with Saudi Arabia's The Helicopter Company (THC) and European conglomerate SAF Aerogroup.
THC signed an in-service contract to cover its fleet of 20 five-blade Airbus H145 helicopters, which were ordered in December 2021 and will be deployed across the kingdom for helicopter emergency medical services. Five H145s have been delivered and the remaining 15 are expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The in-service package provides THC with parts availability by-the-hour services.
Launched in 2019, THC was established by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund to generate long-term commercial returns while meeting the growing demand for luxury tourism and air travel services. THC previously signed agreements to buy 10 Airbus H125s and six ACH160 helicopters to increase access to domestic tourism destinations and provide services such as filming and aerial surveying.
SAF Aerogroup unit Aero Support Force has signed an HCare in-service support contract to cover its fleet of Airbus helicopters, including four H215s and one H225. HCare provides SAF with parts availability by-the-hour services. SAF also signed a second contract to retrofit 15 of its H125 single-engine helicopters with crash-resistant fuel systems. The H125s are operated by SAF Aerogroup’s subsidiaries SAF Hélicoptères and Helilagon.
A “delayed decision to initiate a go-around after an approach had become unstabilized” lead to the hard landing of a Hawker 800XP on Dec. 20, 2020, that substantially damaged the airplane and seriously injured the copilot, according to a newly released NTSB final report. The twinjet was on a Part 91 business flight.
The Safety Board said the pilots were conducting an ILS approach in night IMC to Farmingdale, New York, when they were advised by the tower controller that the weather had deteriorated below minimums. At the time, the captain was the pilot monitoring and the first officer was the pilot flying. Since the airplane was inside the FAF and stabilized, both pilots agreed to continue and said they had the runway approach lighting in sight at the 200-foot decision height.
As the first officer continued, he looked outside, saw that the weather had deteriorated, and was “no longer comfortable” with the approach. He pressed the takeoff and go-around switch at about 50 feet agl, added full power, and called for the flaps to be retracted to 15 degrees. However, the airplane hit the ground about five seconds later.
The CVR recording revealed that the copilot flew a coupled approach to 50 feet agl when he initiated the go-around. But the NTSB noted that a coupled approach was not authorized below 240 feet agl on this procedure.
SmartSky is Live Nationwide and Everyone’s Talking
SmartSky is the leading innovator of connectivity for business aviation with the only ALL NEW airborne network that is available NOW, giving customers a choice of provider, hardware and services. “Of the next-gen systems coming online, SmartSky Networks has the only one available to install today,” said Seth Miller, IFEC, Aviation Analyst.
Helicopter services company Bristow Group quadrupled fiscal second-quarter net income compared to the previous quarter while posting modest revenue gains. In the quarter, Bristow reported $307.3 million in revenues, up $5.6 million from the previous quarter, while net income quadrupled to $16.5 million. Much of the increase can be traced to lower income taxes, which dropped by $8 million quarter-over-quarter, and a net gain of $3.4 million from disposal of three aircraft.
Results for the quarter were somewhat muted by a higher valuation of the U.S. dollar versus the British pound and Norwegian krone, as well as inflationary pressures that added $6.9 million worth of higher personnel, repair, and maintenance costs. Nevertheless, CEO Chris Bradshaw said the results represented an upward trend for the company reflective of an improving environment for the offshore helicopter market.
“The strengthening fundamentals in the offshore oil and gas market indicate that we are in the early innings of a multi-year growth cycle,” said Bradshaw. “International supply challenges and energy security concerns are expected to drive increased demand for services, while a tighter equipment market, constrained global labor force, and inflationary cost pressures should drive a material increase in rates. Combined with new contract additions in our government services business and improved activity levels for our fixed-wing business in Australia, the fundamentals for Bristow's business are improving significantly.”
German Helicopter Emergency Medical Services operator DRF Luftrettung has ordered two additional Airbus H145 helicopters and signed a contract covering its entire fleet with HDataPower pack from the Airbus connected services.The HDataPower pack is a set of digital services designed to improve flight availability and operational safety.
The two H145s are in addition to DRF’s current fleet of 15 H145s and three H135s already ordered in 2020 to replace its legacy fleet of BK117 and EC145 helicopters. Eleven of the helicopters have already been delivered and the remainder will be delivered by the end of 2024. DRF and its subsidiaries operate more than 50 Airbus helicopters at 37 bases throughout Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. In addition, it is the largest H145 civil operator in Europe.
Adding HDataPower to the fleet is designed to improve safety and efficiency. “By leveraging the data generated from helicopter systems, connected services provide in-depth analysis of flight, maintenance and logistics operations and set the stage for improvement actions and time savings. Prime examples are flight analyzer, which supports operational safety, and connectivity devices such as wACS, our wireless airborne communication system,” said Airbus Helicopters executive v-p of customer support and services Christoph Zammert.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) board of directors selected Sheltair Aviation COO Todd Anderson to serve as vice chair. Elected during the association’s fall board of directors meeting held in tandem with its Aviation Business Conference last week in Miami, Anderson brings four decades of aviation industry experience to his new leadership role with the association.
He joined Sheltair’s Orlando location in 2000 as senior v-p of aviation development, responsible for coordinating aviation real estate development, properties and leasing, government relations, and business development. As COO, Anderson has oversight for the FBO, real estate, development and construction, marketing, and information technology departments.
Anderson also spent more than 10 years in airport operations, leasing, and properties for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority and for an FBO at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, New York.
"Todd Anderson’s 40 years of aviation experience combined with his innate ability to foster long-term business relationships with airports, private aviation operators, aerospace firms, and other related organizations across the nation will be invaluable to NATA’s leadership and strategic direction in the coming year,” said NATA president and CEO Curt Castagna. “Partnership and collaboration will be key catalysts for industry advancement as we focus on safety, innovation, sustainability, and aviation business success.”
GE Aerospace has delivered its 250th CT7-2E1 helicopter engine, the company said yesterday. The engine was shipped to Leonardo Helicopter in late September and will support Leonardo’s AW149 and AW189 aircraft programs.
The CT7-2E1 is a member of the T700/CT7 engine family that delivers 1,500 to 3,000 shp and has accumulated more than 100 million flight hours. These engines power military helicopters such as the Sikorsky Black Hawk; Bell AH-1W, AH-1Z, and UH-1Y; and Boeing AH-64 Apache, as well as civil helicopters including the aforementioned Leonardo models and the Sikorsky S-92A.
GE noted that the engine is designed with technical features that ensure the aircraft meets requirements for long-range, high-speed, and Category A performance. The latest engine variants are equipped with Fadec and advanced materials primarily in the turbine section. In 2021, GE released a CT7-2E1 engine control software that incorporates prognostic diagnostic-based monitoring and time-limited dispatch features that enable better time-on-wing.
The CT7-2E1 can operate with approved sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blends. An AW149 powered by the engines flew with SAF at the Royal International Air Tattoo airshow earlier this year.
Embraer Praetor 600 Walkthrough
Embraer Executive Jets v-p of design operations Jay Beever explains the thinking behind the name of Embraer’s flagship, the Praetor 600, and what the aircraft does for its owner. With a range of 4,018 nm, passengers will appreciate the new interior design, which the company calls “Bossa Nova” and takes inspiration from the boardwalk at Rio de Janeiro’s famed Ipanema Beach.
People in Aviation
Jetcraft named Idriss Abdelaziz as sales director to strengthen the company’s established footprint in the EMEA region. Before joining Jetcraft, Abdelaziz was a managing partner at Swiss jet broker AeroProp, following an eight-year career in investment banking. In his new role, he will manage Jetcraft’s sales, acquisitions, and trades across 19 territories, including France, Benelux, Southern Europe, and Northern Africa.
Gulfstream Aerospace hired Clint Bloom and Jennifer Skelton to serve as regional sales managers for customer support. Bloom has more than 22 years of aviation experience, spending the last seven in corporate aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul sales. He will support customers in Arizona and Northern California. Skelton brings more than 15 years of aviation experience to Gulfstream, specializing in supply chain, sales, and customer service. She is now responsible for supporting customers in Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.
Richard Ziskind has been appointed chief commercial officer of Alerion Aviation. Ziskind has more than 30 years of experience in the aviation industry, having most recently served as v-p and managing director for Crystal Luxury Air. Before that, he held senior positions with large multi-fleet airlines, private jet companies, and special aircraft platforms for large commercial programs, international government entities, and heads of state. He has also participated on advisory boards with NBAA, the National Air Carrier Association, and The Wings Club.
Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems promoted Travis Fleshman to general manager and John Harris to maintenance manager of its Greenville, South Carolina facility. Fleshman has been with Stevens since 2014 in various positions, from aircraft technician to maintenance manager. Harris joined Stevens in 2004 and has served previously as an aircraft technician, crew lead, and, most recently, in a customer-facing position as a technical service representative.
The Colorado Aviation Business Association (CABA) appointed Michael Caflisch, founder of Strategy1 Advisors, as its executive director. Caflisch brings more than 40 years of industry experience to CABA, having spent 26 years with Boeing in numerous roles and leading Aircraft Performance Group as its CEO.
Gogo appointed Crystal Gordon as executive v-p, general counsel, and secretary, succeeding Margee Elias, who is retiring. Gordon’s aviation career spans more than 20 years, including similar roles at Era Helicopters and Air Methods. She joins Gogo from Bristow Group, where she served as senior v-p, general counsel, head of government affairs, and corporate secretary since 2020.
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