On Friday, Rolls-Royce broke ground on a facility in Le Haillan near Bordeaux, France, that will help with production support for the Pearl 10X engine. This turbofan will power Dassault’s flagship Falcon 10X, which is set to enter service in 2025.
The new 2,000-sq-m (21,528-sq-ft) production support center—which will house offices, a workshop, and a warehouse—is expected to be finished in the first half of 2023. When completed, it will become part of the global Rolls-Royce product support network.
“While the Pearl 10X engine development program for the Dassault Falcon 10X is making good progress, we are already working in parallel on establishing the infrastructure to support Dassault’s flight-test activities and its production line,” said Rolls-Royce senior v-p for Dassault products Philipp Zeller. “This new facility will further strengthen our partnership with Dassault and it will ensure the delivery of the class-leading customer support already associated with the name Rolls‑Royce.”
Meanwhile, Dassault recently said 10X major structures and systems are under construction and that aircraft detailed design is nearly complete. The first all-composite wing for the 10X is in final assembly and is ready for testing at Dassault in Bordeaux-Mérignac. First engines and avionics are also undergoing tests, as are subsystems. All of these will flow into the Mérignac facility, where Falcon 10X final assembly will begin next year.
Authorities in Mississippi are continuing the investigation into an incident that occurred this weekend when an FBO worker at Tupelo Regional Airport stole a Beechcraft King Air C90. According to Tupelo Police, Cory Wayne Patterson, a line service technician at Tupelo Aviation for the past 10 years, took the fully-fueled twin turboprop around 5 a.m. Saturday morning. FAA records show Patterson has held a student pilot certificate since 2013.
He then circled Tupelo for several hours, at one point threatening to crash the aircraft into a large retail store, causing the building to be evacuated. As fuel ran low, he issued an apologetic social media post saying he “never actually wanted to hurt anybody” and finished with “goodbye.”
Negotiators speaking with Patterson eventually convinced him to try and land the airplane with the help of an experienced pilot talking him down. But he crash-landed the King Air in a nearby field around 10:20 a.m.
Unharmed by the rough landing, the man was arrested and charged with grand larceny and making terroristic threats. A Tupelo police spokesperson told AIN that Patterson was denied bail and remains in custody. He may also face federal charges.
The King Air, registered to Mississippi-based Southeast Aviation, was recovered from the field but there was no report as to its damage.
A privately-operated, Austrian-registered Cessna Citation II/SP departed Jerez-La Parra Airport, Spain, continued past its planned destination of Köln/Bonn (Germany) Airport, and plunged into the Baltic Sea on Sunday afternoon, nearly five hours after taking off. The pilot and three passengers aboard are presumed dead.
While over Northeastern France at FL360 and tracking a course to Bonn, the pilot reported to ATC that he was having issues with the aircraft’s pressurization system. When ATC could not reestablish radio contact with the pilot and the aircraft continued beyond Bonn still at FL360, a Luftwaffe fighter jet was scrambled to intercept the Citation. Reportedly, the fighter pilot could not observe anyone in the business jet's cockpit.
About 30 minutes before crashing into the sea, the Citation began to lose altitude and entered a left-hand spiral. The final altitude of the aircraft as recorded by the Flightradar24 tracking service was 2,100 feet, descending at 8,000 fpm. The impact site is about four miles northwest of the Latvian town of Ventspils. Yesterday, crews of search-and-rescue aircraft spotted the wreckage. The pilot of the aircraft was the owner of Quick Air, an air charter company based in Cologne.
Sales and supply of preowned twin-engine helicopters in the first half fell from the same period last year, according to a new report from helicopter trading firm Aero Asset. Sales volume of the type dropped 17 percent, to 73 units, while dollar volume rose 12 percent, to $264 million. The number of twin-engine helicopters for sale was down 30 percent from the same period last year. There also were fewer preowned helicopters for sale among other classes, including light, medium-twin, and heavy rotorcraft.
Sales of light and medium-twin helicopters were down 20 percent in the first six months versus the same time last year. But the sales volume of preowned heavy helicopters increased from a year ago.
North America and Europe accounted for 75 percent of total transactions during the period. Europe was also the only region with a positive trend in transaction volume, Aero Asset said. Sales of VIP and utility helicopters fell 25 percent, while EMS configured twin-helicopter sales increased.
“The absorption rate improved slightly to 12 months year-over-year and remained stable compared to the previous semester,” said Aero Asset v-p of market research Valerie Pereira. “The number of deals pending at various stages of transaction increased 20 percent in the second quarter compared with the second quarter of 2021.”
The Goal: 100 Percent Aircraft Availability
The only way to keep 100 percent of your customers happy is to have their aircraft available 100 percent of the time.
Safran is negotiating with Thales to acquire its aeronautical electrical systems business that focuses on electric power conversion, power generation, and electric motors in the civil and military aeronautics sector.
The proposed acquisition includes Thales Avionics Electrical Systems and Thales Avionics Electrical Motors companies in France, with sites in the Paris region in Chatou, Meru, and Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. It would also include the support, maintenance, and production activities for aeronautical electrical equipment with facilities in Orlando, Florida, and Singapore. Thales's aeronautical electrical systems business employs nearly 600 people and generated revenues of $123 million in 2021.
Safran said the electrical conversion business would make a significant contribution to its expansion of electrical power generation, particularly in the defense and helicopter markets. Stéphane Cueille, CEO of Safran Electrical & Power, said, "We are delighted with the prospect of joining forces with Thales's electrical teams, which will give us even greater competencies over the electrical chain, thanks in particular to their leading skills in electrical conversion. The complementary nature of our expertise will also enable us to provide the market with ever more relevant and effective solutions."
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to take place in 2023.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued a draft rulemaking that will implement a two-year postponement of the requirement for certain large airplanes certified in Europe to be equipped with emergency locator transmitters with distress tracking capability (ELT(DT)). An ELT(DT) is designed to activate automatically in flight when it detects conditions indicative of a distress situation; the flight crew can also manually activate it.
Under the new rules, airplanes with mtows exceeding 27,000 kilograms (59,500 pounds) and are first issued their certificate of airworthiness on or after Jan. 1, 2024, will be required by Jan. 1, 2025, to be equipped with an ELT(DT). These units must autonomously transmit information from which the aircraft's position can be determined by the operator at least once every minute when in distress.
The additional time for compliance from the original date of Jan. 1, 2023, is due to technical, equipment, and ATC issues, as well aircraft delivery and type certification delays stemming from the 2020 and 2021 pandemic years. Furthermore, EASA said international search and rescue (SAR) satellite-aided tracking programs are facing delays in setting up the communication infrastructure that is necessary to process and transmit ELT(DT) signals to SAR points of contact.
Matthew Jones, 35, was indicted last month in a Federal District Court in Utah for violating FARs and wire fraud. These latest allegations follow an indictment of Jones in the same court in October 2021 for previously committing identical offenses.
After his indictment last year, Jones violated the court-ordered conditions of his release by continuing to operate an airplane without an appropriate pilot certificate. FAA records show that Jones holds a commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating for helicopters only. The latest indictment alleges Jones also claimed to be a certified flight instructor, entered into an LLC, and advertised online that he was opening a flight school and charter provider.
On Dec. 29, 2021, Jones crashed a Robinson R44 helicopter, seriously injuring himself and killing the passenger, reportedly his girlfriend. Jones and the woman had traveled from Utah to Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport in Sevierville, Tennessee, to pick up the piston helicopter.
According to the NTSB preliminary report, weather throughout the day was deteriorating from marginal VMC to IMC. Jones was cautioned by several pilots about the dangers of flying in the Smoky Mountains in marginal weather. At about 2:15 p.m., Jones and his passenger departed the airport. ATC radar data showed the helicopter flying through valleys between 1,200 feet and 1,750 feet agl before it hit trees and was destroyed 10 minutes after taking off.
Luxaviation Group’s ExecuJet South Africa has expanded its fleet with the addition of a Bombardier Global Express. The business jet will be based at Lanseria International Airport, near Johannesburg.
With a capacity for 13 passengers and a 4,800-nm range, “we know the large cabin comfort and range will be highly attractive to charter customers across Africa,” said Luxaviation Africa v-p Gavin Kiggen. “Like all Bombardier business jets, the Global Express is an exceptional aircraft.”
ExecuJet South Africa also noted that Litson & Associates elevated the operator’s Silver Aviation Safety Award received last year to Gold. “This new Gold award recognizes our high aviation safety standards over a number of years and reflects the results of L&A reviews,” Kiggen added. “We are very proud of our long-term safety record and delighted to receive further industry recognition of our very high standards with this award.”
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
Which of the following are skills and actions that help pilots be better monitors?
A. Following SOPs consistently.
B. Clearly communicating deviations to other crewmembers.
Long-time business aviation executive Michael K. Moore, 78, died of natural causes at his home in Tucson, Arizona, on July 31.
He graduated from Columbia University in 1965 and subsequently attended Naval Aviation Flight Training, earning his U.S. Navy wings in 1966. He flew the P-3 Orion on active duty, as well as during his years in the Navy Reserves.
After active duty, Moore joined the business aviation industry when he went to work for FlightSafety International (FSI) at its LaGuardia headquarters in 1974. He then moved to Wichita, where he managed FSI’s Learjet Training Center.
Moore later held vice president of sales positions at Executive Air Fleet, Simuflite, and Learjet. In 2000, he joined TAG Aviation USA as senior v-p of sales and marketing and managed TAG’s Business Development group, its aircraft sales department, and oversaw marketing strategies for the company. An accident in December 2008 caused him to retire early, but he since remained a passionate advocate for the business aviation community.
Moore was preceded in death by Betsey, his wife of 57 years, and is survived by his sons Tim, Dennis, and Chris, their wives, and many grandchildren.
People in Aviation
Spirit Aeronautics hired Greg Diognard as its new regional sales manager for the Southern U.S. Diognard previously served in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief on the F-111E and earned degrees in industrial technology and aircraft maintenance. He has previously held roles with ATP/Flightdocs as a director of sales, StandardAero as technical sales manager, and Landmark Aviation as Northeast MRO sales manager.
The Aviation Suppliers Association (ASA) elected Leandra Cain, president of Hurricane Aerospace Solutions, and Jennifer Russell, director of supply chain quality at Boeing Global Services, as members of ASA's board of directors. Adam Chiamulon, president of Global Airtech, and Jason Reed, president of Flight Solutions Group and GA Telesis, were also reelected to the association's board.
JetHQ hired Laurie Zahniser as manager of market research in a bid to expand its market research and intelligence team. Zahniser joins JetHQ after 25 years with JetNet, where she was a research manager for the business aviation market information provider.
GPMS—a provider of helicopter health and usage monitoring system Foresight MX—hired rotorcraft industry veteran John Byus to serve as director of sales for the Americas. Byus has more than 40 years of rotorcraft and aviation industry experience, having held positions including mechanic, pilot, inspector, instructor, and multiple director of maintenance roles. He most recently served for 15 years as sales/key account manager with Airbus Helicopters.
Signature Aviation appointed Mike Eshoo as its new CFO. Eshoo joins Signature from General Electric, where he most recently served as senior v-p and CFO for GE Gas Power. During his more than 20-year tenure with GE, Eshoo held several financial leadership roles across multiple business segments, including GE Power and GE Aviation. He will be responsible for directing and overseeing the financial activities for Signature Aviation and all related business units.
FlyExclusive added Brent Smith to its executive team, naming him as the company’s next CFO. Smith has nearly 25 years of industry expertise, previously serving in CFO roles with Air Methods, Crossmark, and NetJets.
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