Some three months after taking the wraps off the latest iteration of the venerable Learjet line—the $9.9 million Learjet 75 Liberty—Bombardier will debut a full-size mockup of the interior of the now lower-cost light jet later this month in Las Vegas at NBAA 2019. Bombardier unveiled the Liberty in early July as a revamp of the Model 75 with fewer seats to provide a more spacious cabin, newly designated standard and optional features, and extended engine maintenance intervals.
According to Bombardier Business Aircraft manager of product planning and strategy Mischa Loeffler, the result is a lighter-weight aircraft that burns less fuel and has lower operating and acquisition costs. Loeffler said the goal was to make the aircraft available to more operators. While it had a strong reputation and brand, “many people didn’t think of it as accessible. We wanted to change perception."
Bombardier has created a six-seat executive suite in the cabin and made standard a front cabin pocket door. Also, the Learjet's engine is extended from 3,000 hours to 3,500 hours. Further, Bombardier has made optional some equipment that is standard on the current Learjet 75, such as the APU.
Deliveries are expected to begin next year, and Loeffler said initial aircraft have been sold. But he said Bombardier will still offer customer-specific incentives for customers at NBAA 2019.
With less than three months remaining before the FAA’s deadline for ADS-B Out equipage, business aircraft operators are now finding they will likely have to schedule into 2020 for installations, MRO provider Duncan Aviation reported. Duncan Aviation’s satellite avionics shop in Sacramento, California, has bookings for ADS-B upgrades through March 2020, according to Bob Hazy, manager of that facility.
In June, the Sacramento shop moved into a new, more spacious hangar at Mather Airport and since filled all the remaining slots for upgrade installations this year. “Other than some time in the schedule in February 2020, we’re booked from now through March 2020,” Hazy said.
The first quarter of 2020 is continuing to fill at the location, the company added, noting Hazy has quoted several additional aircraft for ADS-B upgrades, including a Learjet 45. “Before the FAA’s deadline, we have scheduled ADS-B upgrades on two King Air B300s, a King Air B200, three Pilatus aircraft, a Cessna 500, a Cessna 560, and a Premier,” he said. Many of the aircraft traveling through the Sacramento are equipped with Collins Pro Line avionics and are opting for the CMD Flight Solutions supplemental type certificate (STC) to upgrade.
ExecuJet MRO Services Adds Fourth Base in Australia
Dassault’s ExecuJet MRO Services is expanding in Australia with the opening of a line maintenance facility in Brisbane. Based at Queensland’s Brisbane Airport, the facility is ExecuJet MRO Services’ fourth in Australia, also including bases in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth.
“We are opening the new station in Brisbane to increase our reach in the northeast of Australia and broaden our line maintenance capabilities,” said Grant Ingall, v-p of MRO services for Australasia. “We have already begun dispatching a rapid response team to places in Queensland where operators need support, such as Cairns and the Gold Coast.”
The new Brisbane location enables ExecuJet MRO Services to meet demands for capabilities that include mobile repair services and aircraft-on-ground support, Ingall said, adding that the station also is helping the MRO provider respond faster.
ExecuJet MRO Services Australia recently added 7X maintenance capability to its Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) authorization in Australia. “We are already supporting a Falcon 7X operator, based in Brisbane, with line maintenance,” Ingall noted.
BBGA Urges More Industry Apprenticeships
In an effort to ameliorate the current workforce shortage in the aviation industry, the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) is urging the government and private sector to establish more apprenticeship opportunities to attract talent. The organization noted that while the urgent requirement for more pilots is well known, other areas such as aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, and ground and flight operations have positions to fill as the UK faces a demographic cliff edge as baby boomers retire.
BBGA plans to work closely with the UK’s CAA to steer a path toward training for a global industry. Presenting recently at a “Tomorrow’s Workforce” event, the association, which represents more than 180 UK business and general aviation companies, noted that its first priority is to align with Aviation Strategy 2050 and help quantify what the country’s workforce will require over the next three decades.
With support from the European Business Aviation Association and its Expanding Horizons initiative, BBGA advocates for dedicated aviation centers of excellence throughout the UK, offering aviation services pathways where trainees would receive high-quality, in-house training with assured work placements when they are ready.
It pointed to a program established by Stansted Airport College, which in just its second year has enrolled 429 full-time trainees and 52 apprentices.
Piaggio Taps Traxxall for Maintenance Tracking
Piaggio Aerospace has named maintenance management provider Traxxall an approved maintenance tracking provider for the Italian airframer, Traxxall announced this week. As part of the approval, all new factory-delivered Piaggio Avanti Evo turboprop twins will include Traxxall’s maintenance tracking as an optional service.
“This partnership will permit us to provide enhanced service to our existing Piaggio-Aerospace-operator clients, and the opportunity to support new and existing Avanti operators worldwide,” said Traxxall president Mark Steinbeck.
The company was already established as a maintenance tracking provider for in-service Piaggio aircraft. Users of Traxxall’s tracking service benefit from increased operational efficiencies, downtime reductions, and protected resale values, according to the Montreal-based company.
“The Traxxall team has developed an excellent product and, according to Piaggio Aerospace clients, the service is exceptional,” Piaggio head of sales and business unit customer service Andrea Di Fede said. “We are confident that our valued clients will benefit from the enhanced maintenance tracking that it delivers.”
New Aircraft Broker Group To Focus On ‘Integrity’
The newly formed Global Licensed Aircraft Dealer (GLAD) Association is seeking to be the leading advocate in the “fair business” of buying, selling, and leasing business aircraft. It aims to help influence and support growth in the business aviation industry and to provide a foundation for industry leaders to network and expand their businesses “with integrity,” it said.
GLAD, which was stood up earlier last month, is also intended to be a resource for and developer of standards for “efficient, effective, and principled business practices” in buying and selling aircraft. Additionally, it provides a foundation for professional development and “believes in using industry best practices.”
Association member benefits and service for industry professionals include dealer member listings, peer-to-peer networking, and GLAD events. Regarding the latter, GLAD will hold its first-ever outing—an evening cocktail reception—two weeks from today at the Las Vegas Hilton Grand Vacations patio pool lounge during the NBAA convention.
Members include business aircraft dealers and brokers and other industry professionals engaged in the business aviation industry, it said.
West Star Recognized for Economic Boost in SW Illinois
MRO provider and FBO operator West Star Aviation will be recognized by the RiverBend Growth Association later this month for enhancing a regional economy in southwestern Illinois, the company announced yesterday. It is one of six organizations that will receive a Captain Award at an October 24 luncheon.
“We are honored to be recognized by RiverBend for our community and economic involvement in the region,” said West Star Aviation president and COO Rodger Renaud. “We will continue to contribute to the West Star communities while strengthening the overall economic growth in each area.”
West Star Aviation repairs and maintains airframes, engines, and APUs, as well as provides avionics installations and repairs, major modifications, interior refurbishment, exterior paint, surplus avionics sales, accessory services, and parts. Its primary maintenance facilities are located in East Alton, Illinois; Grand Junction, Colorado; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Perryville, Missouri. It also operates FBOs in East Alton and Grand Junction.
PrivateFly Adds More Discounted Euro City-pair Flights
Private charter booking platform PrivateFly has released its updated list of discounted, fixed-price routes for the fall and winter seasons. The Directional Aviation company noted its city pairs exclusives are 30 percent lower than average year-round prices on the same or equivalent aircraft.
New pairings from London include Amsterdam, Zurich, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, and Barcelona, which join the existing destinations of Paris, Geneva, and Nice. On the London and Paris route, prices start at €4,500 for a six-seat Nextant 400XTi. Longer routes such as to Marrakech and Moscow would use a larger, 13-seat Embraer Legacy 600.
Today's announcement follows the company’s successful city-pairs offering launch earlier this year, which according to the company accounted for more than 20 percent of its European flights over the summer.
“On these routes we can provide a guaranteed price up front and take out some of the steps in the supply chain that are usually required to confirm the quote,” said company CEO Adam Twidell, adding that by committing to volumes on routes that are operationally efficient, PrivateFly can offer the city pairs as a fixed, one-way price up front, with no ferry fees. “As part of Directional Aviation’s OneSky family, access to the family fleet enables us to offer these kinds of exclusives alongside the wider market.”
5G for Bizav: Separating Fact from Fiction
Join us for a free lunch event on October 22 at NBAA 2019 in Las Vegas to hear from a panel of subject experts from First RF Corporation, Airspan Networks, and Gogo Business Aviation, who will discuss the latest technological advancement for connectivity in aviation—5G. They'll help you cut through the noise in the market to better understand what a true 5G network is, as well as what it will mean for anyone traveling on a private aircraft and what elements are required, end-to-end, for a network to be truly 5G. Attendees will also be entered to win a YETI gift basket. Sponsored by Gogo Business Aviation.
Requires replacement of the 26-tooth bevel gear (P/N 0-298-11-010-0 and applying to specific serial numbers) with a serviceable part. This AD also prohibits installation or reinstallation of affected parts. Prompted by a report of an in-flight engine shutdown. Subsequent investigations identified the rupture of several teeth of the Module 01 bevel gear due to fatigue propagation. According to EASA, a quality issue during manufacturing has been determined to be the root cause and investigators subsequently identified the batch of affected parts.
Supersedes but retains requirements of AD 2018-10-07—which specifies a one-time inspection of total resistance, linearity resistant movement, excitation voltage, and differential voltage of the engine collective position transducer (CPT), and replacement if necessary—and expands the applicability. This latest AD was prompted by the FAA's determination that an additional part-numbered engine CPT is affected by the same unsafe condition. Original AD was prompted by reports of wear of the CPT that has resulted in several one engine inoperative (OEI) incidents due to CPT failure.
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