Business aircraft activity bounced back last month, climbing 2.4 percent year-over-year, after August saw a slight erosion, according to TraqPak data released late last week by Argus International. However, this fell short of Argus’s expectation of a 4.9 percent increase for September; the company is predicting a 0.8 percent rise in flying this month.
All aircraft operator categories experienced gains in year-over-year flight activity last month, led by a 4.4 percent increase by fractional providers. This was followed by flying at Part 91 outfits, up 2.4 percent from a year ago, and Part 135/charter, which climbed 1.8 percent.
Likewise, all aircraft categories were in the black, but once again the middle is seeing the most growth. Light jet activity led with a 4.1 percent gain versus September 2018, followed by midsize jets, up 3.3 percent; large-cabin jets, up 1.6 percent; and turboprops, up 0.8 percent.
According to Argus, fractional midsize-jet activity was the only individual category to experienced a double-digit year-on-year increase, rising 11.1 percent. Conversely, fractional large-cabin jet activity saw the only double-digit loss, falling 21.9 percent from a year ago.
Weekday flights rose by 1.8 percent from last September, while weekend traffic fell 3.1 percent. Keeping with recent trends, the U.S. Southeast led all departures, at 50,980, followed by the Great Lakes region at 34,703 and Southern West Coast at 33,336.
New Paris Le Bourget FBO Set To ‘Astonish’
The constellation of FBOs at Paris Le Bourget Airport will expand to seven with this week’s official opening of Astonsky. In January, the company acquired Signature Flight Support’s Terminal 2 from BBA Aviation and spent the past 10 months gutting and renovating the 1990-vintage facility at a total cost of more than $11 million. Only the elevator remained unchanged, according to president Charles Clair. Encompassing 75,000 sq ft on six floors, it is also home to sister charter provider Astonjet.
The terminal, which is open 24/7, features on-site discrete customs and security screening; a passenger lounge with an underground glass-ceilinged 3,000-bottle wine cellar, a 1,600-gallon saltwater aquarium, bar area, and panoramic views of the ramp; and a separate secure VIP lounge with en suite bathroom and private chef-served dining area.
For flight crews, there is a dedicated pilot lounge with flight-planning area, four snooze rooms, and showers. The complex also includes 54,000 sq ft of hangar space and can shelter aircraft up to a Dassault Falcon 8X.
Part of the Clair Group whose division names play off the word “astonish,” the company has also operated a small FBO and Astonfly, its flight school, at Toussus-le-Noble Airport since 2012.
NATA Urges Better Training after Fatal Misfueling Crash
In response to the NTSB’s issuance of a preliminary report on the fatal crash of a Piper Aerostar last week indicating misfueling as the possible cause of the accident, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is urging all FBOs, association members or not, to use its free website on best practices to prevent such mistakes.
“Aircraft misfuelings are preventable through proper training, and eliminating these accidents is a top priority for NATA and our membership,” said NATA president Gary Dempsey.
According to the NTSB report, the FBO worker, spotting the Aerostar on approach to Indiana’s Kokomo Municipal Airport and thinking it was a jet, asked the pilot via radio if he wanted jet fuel, to which the pilot answered yes. Upon arrival, the line worker parked the well-marked jet-A fuel truck in front of the airplane, again queried the pilot if he wanted jet fuel and again received an affirmative reply.
The FBO employee then described the need to rotate the fuel nozzle relative to the aircraft’s fuel tank filler necks, after spilling a gallon of fuel, in an attempt to overcome the different shape of the fueling nozzle, relative to the airplane’s fueling receptacle, which itself is a misfueling-prevention device. The worker pumped approximately 163 gallons of jet-A into the piston-engined aircraft, which crashed soon after takeoff, killing the pilot.
Flight Attendant Gathering To Make NBAA-BACE Debut
It was a year ago at NBAA’s annual convention in Orlando, Florida, when flight attendants Young Park and Christina Brown realized there were no social events around the show catering specifically to the flight attendant/flight technician segment. Determined to change that, the pair began contacting colleagues for an impromptu happy hour gathering later that night, and in the span of several hours, they attracted nearly 30 participants to the get-together, many who were at the NBAA show for the first time to market themselves.
“We were able to talk about how difficult it is for them to navigate without knowing anybody,” said Park, who in her spare time also serves as CEO of Seoul, South Korea-based business aviation provisioner Les Chefs Catering. She noted flight attendants and flight technicians rarely get invited to the major company-sponsored after-hours gatherings where they can network.
That led Park to recruit veteran flight attendant Christina Depew to help to organize a formal sponsored event for this year, which will be held next Monday, on the eve of NBAA 2019, from 7 p.m to 10 p.m. at the Factory of Dreams Hall, just east of Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. Advance registration is required.
The U.S. business turbine fleet has topped the 80 percent mark for ADS-B equipage, with the number of compliant aircraft reaching 14,684 as of September, according to flight-data tracker FlightAware. In its latest update for ADS-B equipage, FlightAware reported that 3,041 U.S.-registered turbine aircraft, or 17 percent of that fleet, are not yet compliant with the Jan. 1, 2020 ADS-B Out mandate.
The Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet has the highest rate of compliance, surpassing 99 percent, with only one of 133 aircraft left to meet the mandate. This is followed by the Mitsubishi MU-2 and Honda Aircraft HondaJet, each of which has a 94 percent compliance rate. Other business aircraft models reported as above the 90 percent market include the Cessna Citation CJ3 and CJ4, Bombardier Global Express, Embraer Legacy 600/650, Beechcraft Super King Air 300 and F90, Dassault Falcon 7X, Gulfstream G150, IAI Galaxy, and Piper Cheyenne.
Not surprising, the lowest compliance rates are found among older, out-of-production models. The Gulfstream III had the lowest, with 55 percent compliant of the 38 still on the U.S. registry. This was followed by the Bombardier Learjet 55, with a 60 percent compliance rate, and the Citation III, which had a 61 percent compliance rate. Other fleets that had a compliance rate below 70 percent were the IAI Westwind and Astra, Learjet 35, and Falcon 20.
King Aerospace Retrofitting BBJ with Collins EFVS
King Aerospace Commercial and Collins Aerospace are nearing completion of a supplemental type certificate (STC) to install enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) capability in Boeing Business Jets. The STC is being developed by Collins, using its EVS-3600 multispectral sensor, and King Aerospace will install the system in customer BBJs. The Dallas-based company recently completed the first installation with an unnamed launch customer.
The EVS-3600 displays enhanced vision imagery on the BBJ’s head-up display. The uncooled multispectral sensors in the EVS-3600 include short- and long-wave infrared, as well as visible, cameras, “for the earliest possible detection of visual references,” according to Collins. For BBJ operators, the benefits are the ability to take off with lower minima and also fly instrument approaches below the normal decision altitude/height, increasing the capability to complete missions in poor weather.
Following customer flight testing of the installation in April, engineers are incorporating upgrades or changes and finishing the final design of the modification, which will be followed by additional flight testing.
“Achieving an STC from the FAA for an EFVS retrofit requires extensive certification flight testing,” says Jarid King, president of King Aerospace Companies. “It’s been a fascinating and rewarding process as we know there are a number of BBJ operators eager to deploy this system on their aircraft.”
F/List Continues North America Expansion with New Base
A little more than a year after F/List established a North American production facility in Canada, the Austria-based interiors specialist is making plans to expand into the U.S. with the leasing of space in Westminster, Colorado, near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.
Located close to Pilatus Business Aircraft, which is one of F/List’s largest customers, the site will enable the firm to more closely coordinate on refurbishment and cabin modification projects, as well as on product support. In addition, the new base will enable F/List to support its North American customer base with a range of aftermarket services and strengthen its overall presence there.
“F/List has enjoyed stable growth in the aviation market since 2004. We are pleased to continue our success story and expand our operations here in Westminster,” said Thomas Mayr, general manager of F/List Colorado.
Working with regional officials for more than two years on the expansion, F/List expects that the location will bring more than $500,000 in capital investment to the area and initially 10 new jobs that could grow to more than 50 within the next couple of years as the expansion continues. F/List expects to begin operations there in January, not quite two years after the firm opened its Montreal production facility.
The acronym RAIM stands for receiver autonomous integrity monitoring. What does “integrity” mean in this context?
A. The manufacturer’s ability to provide a GNSS free of faults and, in case of failure, a way to automatically fix the issue.
B. The operator’s ability to control the execution of the flight plan by downloading data from the regional GNSS.
C. The GNSS capacity to provide a threshold of confidence and, in the event of an anomaly in the positioning data, an alarm.
D. None of the above—RAIM monitors accuracy, not integrity.
Safran-AECC WZ16 Helo Engine Certified in China
Safran's WZ16 engine jointly developed with the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) has received Chinese CAAC certification, the engine maker announced late last week. It is the first jointly developed aero engine to be entirely certified by Chinese authorities. Also known as the Ardiden 3C, the WZ16 has been jointly developed and built by Safran Helicopter Engines with Harbin Dongan Engine and Hunan Aerospace Propulsion Research Institute (HAPRI), both parts of the AECC consortium.
The Ardiden 3C was certified by EASA in April 2018. The WZ16 flight-test campaign started in December 2016 in the Avic AC352 medium twin. The WZ16/Ardiden 3C (1,700 shp to 2,000 shp) is a new design that features compact modular architecture, a best-in-class power-to-weight ratio, and delivers 10 percent better fuel consumption than comparable engines, according to Safran.
Safran Helicopter Engines executive vice president of programs Bruno Bellanger said Chinese certification “confirms that the WZ16 is now ready to operate in accordance with Chinese safety and performance standards” and is “a major step toward AC352 entry-into-service.”
Free Seminar at NBAA: Sustainable Aviation Fuel Basics
Alternative fuels are slowly but surely working their way into fuel supplies worldwide and many of the turbine-powered aircraft that will fly to Las Vegas for the NBAA-BACE static display will burn some amount of sustainable aviation fuel. AIN’s 1.5-hour live forum during the NBAA show in Vegas will bring together a panel of industry experts to explain how this fuel is gaining ground, why it is good for turbine engines and the environment, and how you can help move the needle on the use of sustainable aviation fuel in the aircraft that you operate. Register today for this free luncheon seminar on October 23 at 12 noon PT (seating is limited). Moderated by AIN editor in chief Matt Thurber, it will feature panelists Steve Csonka, Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative; Charles Etter, Gulfstream Aerospace; and Keith Sawyer, Avfuel Corp. Sponsored by World Fuel Services, TAG Farnborough and Gulfstream Aerospace.
City: Mediterranean Sea, 65 miles N of Port Said City
State:
Country: Egypt
Event Date: October 11, 2019
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