Textron Aviation’s new Cessna Citation Longitude has entered service following first deliveries of the super-midsize jet, the Wichita-based airframer announced today. The clean-sheet twinjet, the largest of the Citation lineup, received its FAA type certification on September 21.
“The newly certified Citation Longitude brings unrivaled technology to the business travel market, for both the passenger and the pilot, offering our customers the most efficient and productive super-midsize jet now in operation,” said Textron Aviation president and CEO Ron Draper. “We are thrilled to now transition this program into service.”
Textron Aviation did not disclose the recipients of the first Longitudes. Fractional provider NetJets is among the type’s biggest customers, having agreed to purchase up to 175 Longitudes, including an option to take first deliveries in the second half of this year. In a September 23 note to investors, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Ron Epstein forecast two Longitude deliveries in the third quarter that could possibly slip into the fourth quarter.
Powered by two 7,665-pound-thrust Honeywell HTF7700L turbofan engines, the $26.9 million Longitude has a 3,500-nm range and a maximum cruise speed of 483 knots. It seats up to 12 passengers in its six-foot-high, flat-floor cabin and has a 39,500-pound mtow.
Elliott Forms Team for AOG Phenom 100s, 300s
Elliott Aviation has formed a mobile response team specifically for Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 AOG events, the FBO operator, aircraft dealer, and MRO provider announced this week. The team—based in Minneapolis and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week—is factory trained by Embraer, Garmin, and CAE, and has direct access to Embraer’s technical help desk.
“With eight years of experience as a Phenom 100 and 300-authorized service center, we are happy to provide the next level of service to our customers,” said Lawrence Harting, v-p and general manager of Elliott’s Minneapolis Flying Cloud Airport facility. The team is available for regional and national dispatch as travel time allows, and offers its services for $125 an hour. It also is able to manage warranty considerations internally.
In addition to Minneapolis, the company operates FBOs and maintenance facilities in Moline, Illinois, and Des Moines, Iowa.
Traffic Grows at Malpensa SEA Prime with Linate Closure
Officials at Milan, Italy-based FBO operator SEA Prime are claiming a tripling of movements since July at Malpensa Prime, the company’s facility at Milan’s main international airport, due to the three-month closure for refurbishment of the runway at Linate Airport.
In 2018, SEA Prime saw around 22,000 movements at Linate Prime and 5,000 at Malpensa Prime, CEO Chiara Dorigotti, told AIN at the MEBAA Show Morocco for business aviation in Marrakech. Although Malpensa houses the bigger facility, Linate is more convenient for VIP travelers to the city of Milan.
“In the two months since we opened at Malpensa, we are up 200 percent on last year, due to the closure of Linate and key events like the Italian Grand Prix and Milan Fashion Week, which took place at the beginning of September,” she said. Milan handles around 40 percent of the movements in the Italian market and is also the world’s 15th most visited city for international tourists.
“[This year], we have [had on average] around 45 business jets [parking] overnight every night in Linate and Malpensa. We want to enlarge the scope of services offered to visiting aircraft, so that Milan becomes a destination, not only because there are nice things to do and important attractions, but also because you have service dedicated to business aviation here.”
Switzerland-based inspection, verification, testing, and certification firm SGS has acquired a majority stake in Argus International, the companies announced yesterday. According to SGS, the majority acquisition of the specialized aviation services company will strengthen SGS’s aviation auditing and consulting services and increase market penetration.
“Argus is a globally recognized brand name in the airline, business aviation, fixed-wing, and rotary-wing markets. Their broad client base and international activities will help SGS grow and keep pace with the increasing global demand of air traffic and safety,” said SGS CEO Frankie Ng.
With its 140 years in verification and inspection across a range of industries, SGS will be able to help broaden Argus’s offerings and information solutions to the business aviation, air carrier, rotorcraft, UAS, and overall aerospace industry. “We are confident that both SGS and Argus will deliver even greater value to the entire industry with the resources and verification experience SGS brings to the table,” said Argus CEO Joe Moeggenberg.
Argus International, Prism, and Argus Pros will continue to operate as distinctive businesses within SGS’s certification and business enhancement business unit.
Dart Boosts Firefighting Product Line with Simplex Buy
Canadian aftermarket helicopter equipment manufacturer Dart Aerospace has acquired Oregon-based aerial firefighting equipment specialist Simplex Aerospace, which traces its history back more than seven decades. The two companies will merge under the Dart brand, which will now encompass more than 320 employees spread over eight locations worldwide.
The purchase, terms of which were not disclosed, will allow Montreal-based Dart to broaden and diversify its firefighting equipment catalog and enable it to offer new products to its global network of rotorcraft manufacturers and operators, including firefighting belly tanks, aerial cleaning supplies, and spray systems for agricultural applications.
“With the support of Simplex’s 200-plus international product certifications and its years of experience in the aerial firefighting sector, Dart will strengthen its global leadership position by providing helicopter mission equipment for offshore, firefighting, and utility applications, as well as an increased portfolio alongside our current product offering of 900-plus STCs,” said company president and CEO Alain Madore.
IBAC Urges ICAO, States To Foster Use of SAF
The international business aviation community is calling on ICAO to support incentives for use of non-fossil-fuel-based products and for states to increase use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). “This approach will be key to lowering our industry’s dependency on fossil fuels, and reducing the CO2 output from the industry, and its effect on climate change,” the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) said in a report submitted to ICAO on behalf of the Business Aviation SAF Coalition. The report was accepted by ICAO and included in the organization’s 2019 Environmental Report.
Business aviation operations represent 0.04 percent of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, IBAC said, but “nevertheless, our industry has demonstrated a serious commitment...to significantly reduce this figure.” Business aviation leaders have pledged to work toward a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, compared with 2005 levels. IBAC called SAF “one of the most promising avenues” for achieving the goals. The industry is now pushing to encourage an increase in supply and demand. IBAC stressed this is critical for the business aviation industry. “Our industry’s commitment to SAF is not just about fuels, but about the future, and the business aviation license to operate.”
ICAO agrees that SAF can play a major role in reducing emissions, but said key to its success is availability.
Unity Aviation Joins Ranks of Viking Service Centers
Unity Aviation Canada has been named by Viking Air as a factory-endorsed service center (FESC) for the Series 400 Twin Otter in the Americas, the British Columbia-based airframer announced. Under the endorsement, Unity Aviation will provide authorized maintenance, refurbishment, and warranty-related work on legacy de Havilland and Viking Twin Otters.
“Viking’s FESC program was created to ensure the availability and provision of high-quality services that meet the satisfaction of our customers,” Viking v-p of customer service and product support Gregory Davis said. “Unity Aviation’s focus on delivering quality service from their maintenance facility in Alberta, as well as the services they provide at customer bases throughout North, Central, and South America, will be an asset to all Twin Otter operators in the region.”
In addition to specializing in the maintenance of legacy de Havilland Twin Otters, Unity Aviation’s parent company, Unity Group, provides dry-lease contracts to the DHC-6-300 worldwide on a multi-year basis.
UPS Gets Full Part 135 Certificate for Drone Deliveries
UPS Flight Forward has received the first full FAA Standard Part 135 air carrier and operator certificate for commercial unmanned drone deliveries by a dedicated drone delivery company, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced yesterday.
“This is a big step forward in safely integrating unmanned aircraft systems into our airspace, expanding access to healthcare in North Carolina and building on the success of the national UAS Integration Pilot Program to maintain American leadership in unmanned aviation,” said Chao. Certificate in hand, UPS made the first revenue flight with it using a Matternet M2 quadcopter late last week. UPS’s certificate permits the company to fly an unlimited number of drones with an unlimited number of remote operators in command, enabling the company to scale demand, operate aircraft weighing more than 55 pounds, and fly at night.
UPS received the certificate via the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) and allows UPS to operate multiple drones under a single certificate and conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights. UPS initially plans to use drones to deliver high-priority medical supplies on the WakeMed healthcare campus in Raleigh, North Carolina. UPS said the company will “initially expand its drone delivery service further to support hospital campuses around the country” and will “regularly fly drones beyond the operators’ visual line of sight.”
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Requires replacing the MS21042 nuts of the tail rotor drive couplings with NAS9926 nuts within 600 hours flight time or 24 months from the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs first. Also, MS21042-series nuts are not eligible for installation at the tail rotor drive shaft disc pack couplings after 24 months. Prompted by reports of cracked or missing MS21042-series nuts.
Requires replacement of the protective cover of the "SHEAR" control pushbutton and re-identification of the pilot and copilot collective sticks. It also prohibits installation and/or re-installation of an affected part and the old design protective cover.
Requires a one-time inspection of the airframe truss clevis lower lug truss assemblies and corrective action for helicopters affected by an excessive gap, including reducing the nut torque to reduce the stress from the fastener installation. However, Transport Canada said this reduced fastener installation torque results in reduced preload and therefore reduced friction between mating parts, making the joint more susceptible to wear and fretting. Thus, affected helicopters also require repetitive inspections to monitor the joint condition for wear and/or fretting, it added.
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