Private charter and scheduled service provider Tradewind Aviation is opening its first base in the Southeast U.S. at Palm Beach International Airport (KPBI) in Florida. The move responds to a rise in demand for convenient travel in the region, the Connecticut-based company said.

Founded in 2001, Tradewind operates a fleet of Pilatus PC-12s and Cessna Citation CJ3s. It offers service throughout the Northeast with flights to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island. Since its expansion into the Caribbean 18 years ago, Tradewind has served destinations such as St. Barths, Anguilla, and Antigua.

The KPBI location will facilitate Tradewind’s charter operations to the Bahamas and other islands. Customers using the new location will also benefit from the company’s Goodspeed card program, which allows clients to pay only for the time they fly, with no repositioning fees. For new Goodspeed members, Tradewind is offering a bonus of a complimentary flight hour or a $1,000 credit on their first flight in the Southeast.

“Our new Southeast hub will be pivotal to our efforts in better serving Tradewind’s growing client base throughout the region,” said company co-founder and CEO Eric Zipkin. “As we continue to further elevate the Tradewind offering and expand to new destinations, our new Southeast Florida base is a major advantage to ensuring the success of our operation and plans for future growth.”

Opening Air Charter Expo (ACE) yesterday at London Biggin Hill Airport, Air Charter Association chairman Kevin Ducksbury thanked delegates for their patience with tightened security around the show. He said this was necessary to protect against possible disruption by eco-protesters who have been increasingly targeting private aviation.

Showgoers were required to check in for the event at a remote location on the other side of the airfield before being bussed into the show venue. Police patrolled the static display, mindful of the potential risk to aircraft parked there.

Nancy Bsales, COO of sustainability group 4Air, told attendees that the industry has no room for complacency. “We can’t wait for more pressure from regulators and politicians,” she said. “You can’t manage [carbon] that you can’t measure and it’s clear that 90 percent of emissions are now coming from the aircraft tailpipe. Now we’re at 1 percent sustainable aviation fuel [use] but we will see tremendous growth quickly.”

According to EBAA sustainability and future workforce manager Maureen Gautier, the industry has made clear commitments to reduce carbon and has fully grasped its obligations under legally binding net-zero targets to be achieved by 2050.

Bsales added that companies will increasingly be required to report progress in reducing emissions as part of their financial reporting obligations. Gautier noted that EBAA is establishing the STARS program, which will give operators established pathways to achieving environmental and social best practices.

Rotorcraft OEMs Bell and MD Helicopters recently announced moves to improve their maintenance support offerings.

Bell said that Boeing is now an authorized and endorsed supplier, providing used serviceable material (USM) products for Bell 212 and 412 customers and maintainers. USM parts are available for purchase or exchange.

All repaired or overhauled parts are FAA-approved and processed through Bell’s authorized customer service facilities and maintenance centers. The exchange/rotables inventory includes parts for Bell 212 and 412 helicopters supported by Boeing, such as airframe, main transmission, avionics, main rotor head, main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, and gearboxes.

Separately, MD Helicopters (MDH) has formed an authorized service center council representing its 40-member network. The effort aims to bring the OEM closer to its network members, increase communication, review and discuss policy changes, and develop a stronger understanding of customer needs.

MDH and the council will also establish new policies, pricing, procedures, and products to support the fleet. The six-member council will meet four times a year. Along with MDH, inaugural members include Thoroughbred Aviation, EM Heli-Logistics, SAS, Mt Hutt Aviation, and Summit Helicopters.

EBAA welcomed the European Parliament’s formal adoption today of a first-ever sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate. However, the association pointed out that the European Parliament agreement “noticeably lacks” a book-and-claim measure. RefuelEU 2021/0205 calls for the scaling up of the use of SAF at EU airports, reaching 70 percent by 2050.

Noting its commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, EBAA strongly backed the roadmap toward increased SAF uptake across the EU. However, EBAA also stressed that it had pushed for the inclusion of a book-and-claim system in the mandate.

Under book-and-claim, operators that do not have access to SAF at their airport can purchase it, paying the additional surcharge, for use by operators elsewhere. The operator paying the premium for the SAF would get the credit for the use of the fuel.

EBAA said recognition of book-and-claim is necessary “to ensure a level playing field between aerospace users and to help overcome logistical and geographical constraints.” This is particularly true given the limited development of SAF infrastructure, the association added. Further, book-and-claim can attract additional financing into the SAF system and support demand. “Regrettably, the final agreement does not include such a system,” EBAA lamented.

AviationManuals’ Kevin Honan and Mattison Smith will talk about how to customize a flight department’s risk assessment tool during the Central Florida Business Aviation Association Safety Standdown tomorrow in Orlando. They plan to highlight steps that operators can follow to tailor a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) to their operation to ensure better management of everyday risks.

Starting with discussing the importance and significance of performing safety risk assessments, the AviationManuals team will reinforce the importance of engagement, explain different styles of FRATs, and demonstrate how to review and trim factors. They also will provide guidance on how to identify and determine go/no-go situations and apply recommendations for making pre-created mitigations to lower the level of risks in coordination with flight department management.

AviationManuals will then return to Dulles, Virginia, on September 19 with presentations from company director of client engagement Laurie Duncan, operations advisor Justin Cripe, and senior customer success manager Charles Tresky during the Greater Washington Business Aviation Association (GWBAA) 17th Annual Safety Standdown. There, they will talk about how to start a safety management program and effectively use its data to optimize operations.

Finally, at the end of September, Tresky and Aviation Manuals’ Gary Webb will review steps to strengthen flight operation safety at the North Texas Business Aviation Association Safety Standdown.

While the number of newly issued FAA pilot certificates has jumped significantly, analyst Jefferies estimates that a shortage of about 5,000 pilots still exists in the U.S. and is on pace to reach a 12,000 deficit by 2025. Jefferies reported that total pilot certificate issuances last month increased by 34 percent year-over-year and by 77 percent from August 2019.

Of the 15,900 certificates issued last month, 1,266 were for airline transport pilots (ATP), a more than 21 percent year-over-year rise. At the same time, commercial certificates issued were up by 25 percent, private pilot issuances by 43 percent, and students by 35 percent.

However, taking into account the record ATP issuance, Jefferies estimated that the pipeline total is still shy by 4 percent given the early Covid retirements. This shortfall is expected to grow to 8 percent in 2025 and 9 percent—or 14,000 pilots—by 2023 as the pent-up certifications normalize and retirements reach 3 percent annually.

Jefferies points out that 16 percent of today’s pilots are between 60 and 64 years old and another 17 percent are between 55 and 59.

A group of business aviation industry veterans have launched Avtopia, an online platform that allows aviation professionals to connect and collaborate. The virtual community, which requires a login to access, has no subscription fees.

“Available in both app and web format, Avtopia provides features to allow everyone in aviation to come together to share ideas, promote and assist each other, and build a strong community for the future of our industry,” the group said. The app version is available at the Apple and Google Play stores.

The community includes business reviews and community forums, as well as listings of events. An app-only AOG feature, to be available soon, connects aircraft operators in AOG situations with service providers.

“With everything that a flight crew must manage on the ground, Avtopia AOG takes care of the rest. Avtopia AOG alerts the operators' dispatch and maintenance teams while also connecting them to vetted providers to quickly resolve the issue,” the group said.

The Health Care District of Florida's Palm Beach County has accepted delivery of the first of two Leonardo AW169 helicopters for its Trauma Hawk medevac program. The helicopters will replace the pair of Sikorsky S-76C+s that have served the program since 1999.

Pilots and maintainers are training on the first new helicopter in anticipation of service entry early next year. The second AW169 is expected to be delivered later this month.

"The Health Care District’s aeromedical program has been a key component of Palm Beach County’s integrated trauma system for more than 30 years,” said Dr. Kenneth A. Scheppke, medical director of the Health Care District’s aeromedical and ground transportation programs and Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. “These new, technologically advanced aircraft will play a key role in EMS response by providing critically ill and injured patients access to safe and rapid air transport in a county with a land area larger than the state of Rhode Island.” The county is home to two Level 1 trauma centers.

Its AW169s are equipped with a longitudinal roll-on stretcher system that eliminates the need to transfer patients onto hospital stretchers at the helipad. Other equipment includes night-vision goggles and advanced avionics. Typical crews include an instrument-rated commercial pilot and two medical personnel. The district employs its own aviation technicians and support staff.