Skyservice Business Aviation broke ground yesterday on a new 60,000-sq-ft FBO complex at California’s Napa County Airport (KAPC). The company has operated from a temporary facility there since May 2023.

The two-story terminal, slated for completion in late 2025, will feature a rooftop restaurant offering views of the ramp and surrounding environs; a passenger lounge with refreshment bar; a pair of conference rooms seating a dozen participants each; a pilot lounge with snooze rooms, flight-planning area, and private shower facilities; and available office space.

Additionally, the 15-acre leasehold will include a 40,000-sq-ft hangar capable of sheltering the latest ultra-long-range business jets and nine acres of ramp.

“We are thrilled to begin construction of our new private jet center in Napa,” said Skyservice president and CEO Benjamin Murray, adding that the area has long been celebrated for its exceptional wines, culinary mastery, and luxurious accommodations. “Now is the ideal moment to connect the local business aviation community with a private jet center that aligns with the esteemed reputation of the region.”

The FAA’s focused efforts over the last year to resolve Boeing 737 and 787 production issues and address allegations of undue pressure in the production environment are “not effective” because of weaknesses in the agency’s “oversight processes and systems,” according to a recently released DOT Inspector General audit.

Specifically, the audit determined that the FAA’s oversight of Boeing manufacturing and production does not use “data-driven assessments to target” audits and the agency has not structured its audits to perform comprehensive assessments. In addition, the audit said the agency has not adequately ensured that Boeing and its suppliers can produce parts that conform to approved designs, nor does the FAA require its inspectors to review “first article inspections” that are intended to ensure a manufacturer’s processes can produce parts that meet requirements.

Further, the FAA’s compliance system cannot track milestones or determine whether potential repetitive non-compliances have occurred, nor has the agency assessed the effectiveness of Boeing’s safety management system. Finally, the agency has not established criteria to return delegated authority to Boeing’s organization designation authorization (ODA).

The IG submitted 16 recommendations to the FAA, and the agency concurred with all of them with proposed actions and completion dates. “We consider all recommendations as resolved but open pending completion of the planned actions,” the IG concluded.

Spoofing has exposed the vulnerabilities of using GPS as the sole primary navigation source for aircraft, according to a recent NBAA News Hour webinar. In a GPS spoofing attack, a counterfeit radio signal is transmitted to a receiver antenna to counteract and override a legitimate GPS satellite, causing navigation errors.

“The bottom line is, GPS satellites are 12,000 miles up in the sky while a GPS spoofer can be just 10 miles away from the airplane,” said David Woodcock, principal applications engineer for customer and product support for Honeywell Aerospace. “The RF signals you receive from satellites are a lot weaker than what’s on the ground.”

GPS spoofing is not confined to active conflict areas in the Middle East or Ukraine. Presenters have cited spoofing experiences near Beijing, and over Myanmar and India.

“This poses a significant impact not only on navigation [but also] other systems that will latch onto bad information,” added Nat Iyengar, NBAA International Operators Committee chair and captain with Jet Aviation Business Jets. Crews may experience erroneous TAWS alerts, for example, or false in-flight weather data.

Webinar presenters referred to an OpsGroup report that said the future of GPS in aviation is unclear. An OpsGroup workgroup "assessed that the vulnerabilities in public-use GPS…mean that the high involvement of GPS in aircraft systems is a major issue.”

Britten-Norman yesterday announced fresh investment that will allow it to accelerate production rates of its Islander utility aircraft and boost its performance in the aftermarket business. The privately-owned UK airframer would not disclose the amount invested by Beechlands Enterprises but said it is the biggest investment in the company in 30 years and exceeds targets for the now-complete second funding round.

In March, private equity group 4D Capital Partners acquired Britten-Norman for an undisclosed amount and said it would source further investment in the company, which produces the Islander family of turboprop and piston aircraft, including a military variant called the Defender 4000. Last year, Britten-Norman’s management team reopened the company’s production line at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight under a plan to move manufacturing back from Romania, where the Islanders had been built.

According to the company, it will now scale up production rates to eight aircraft per year. Most of this output will be the piston-powered version of the Islander, with a smaller number of turboprop models.

MRO provider Duncan Aviation owns and operates aircraft with perhaps the most unique paint schemes in the industry. The company’s most recent addition is a PC-12 that represents a fish. It is a testament to Duncan Aviation’s creativity, quality, and the trust the Duncan family has in its team members.

McLaren will be showcasing its fleet of supercars next week at the NBAA-BACE 2024 static display area at Henderson Executive Airport (KHND).

“Having these incredible cars alongside the world’s most advanced business aircraft will offer NBAA-BACE attendees a captivating look at what’s possible in engineering, technology, and design, both on the ground and in the air,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “We are pleased to feature this new, exclusive lineup that provides an exciting look at the future of high-performance travel.”

Supercars planned for display adjacent to aircraft at the static display area include the 750S Coupe, hybrid convertible supercar Artura Spider, new convertible supercar GTS, and high-performance hybrid Artura.

“We are thrilled to display McLaren at the most esteemed aircraft show in the world: NBAA-BACE,” said Tom O’Gara, owner of McLaren Las Vegas. “Aircraft and supercars share so many characteristics both in materials and design characteristics. McLaren is having a tremendous year in Formula 1 racing, and our lineup of vehicles continues to delight our most discerning customers. We look forward to showcasing the model lineup among the aircraft at NBAA-BACE.”

A software upgrade for FreeFlight Systems 1203C SBAS/GNSS receivers adds support for two additional satellite positioning systems. The upgrade supports the Korea Augmentation Satellite System (KASS) and the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN).

According to FreeFlight, “The 1203C software upgrade also addresses evolving requirements, and pilots can anticipate substantial improvements in accuracy and reliability during aviation operations, leading to an overall increase in efficiency.”

In addition to the KASS and SouthPAN capability, the 1203C upgrade helps pilots mitigate GNSS spoofing incidents with a “cutting-edge recovery mechanism.”

The software update is available now from FreeFlight dealers. The 1203C is certified to Technical Standard Order C145cc and approved to DO-160F and DO-178B Level C testing standards. Supplemental type certificates are available for installation of the 1203C in a variety of aircraft.

“By incorporating support for KASS and SouthPAN, we are significantly enhancing the navigation capabilities of our GNSS/SBAS Receiver,” said Shane LaPlante, v-p of sales and marketing at FreeFlight Systems. “These advanced satellite systems empower pilots with enhanced situational awareness and precision, allowing for safer and more efficient navigation in today's complex airspace.”

Today marks the start of ticket sales for AIN’s Inaugural FBO Awards Gala. The banquet will be held on the evening of March 27 in New Orleans at the World War II Museum and will honor the best of the best in the FBO industry.

Guests may purchase individual tickets or reserve entire tables of 10, the latter of which will include the table host's logo and branding onsite for the event that lists Avfuel and AEG Fuels as its first sponsors.

Since 1981, AIN Media Group has been conducting its annual FBO survey, which has become one of the industry’s most valued assessments of service provider quality. For the first time, the results will be revealed at a live event, ahead of their release online and in the April 2025 edition of Aviation International News. In addition to the overall top-ranked FBOs and the highest-ranked in each category, AIN will also present its first industry achievement award.

“As soon as we announced our event last month, we had an overwhelming demand for individual tickets and tables from FBOs,” said Lisa Valladares, AIN’s marketing and client services director. “We listened and have now opened up those opportunities. We look forward to welcoming the FBO industry and are excited to launch this event in 2025.”

Fort Worth-based Trimec Aviation is developing a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the installation of Gogo Business Aviation’s Galileo HDX satcom system in the super-midsize Gulfstream G200. Gogo Galileo is scheduled to begin service by year-end and runs on Eutelsat’s OneWeb low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite network.

The half-duplex HDX electronically steered antenna is the smaller of two antennas that Gogo will offer for its Galileo service and will be the first product available for Galileo. It will fit on turboprops to larger jets and weighs 21.6 pounds and measures 24 inches long, 11.8 inches wide, and 2.1 inches tall.

Meanwhile. the larger full-duplex FDX antenna—at 40 to 45 pounds and with a length of 30 inches, width of 24.6 inches, and height of 2.1 inches—will be available in the first half of next year and will provide faster service speeds. Antennas for LEO satcom have no moving parts and are installed on the top of the aircraft’s fuselage.

More than 230 G200s are in service, according to Trimec. “We are excited to work with Gogo on the new Gogo Galileo HDX STC to provide our G200 customers with an easy upgrade option to the latest satellite connectivity technology,” said John Holland, general manager for Trimec Aviation.