Business & Commercial Aviation

Hawthorne Global Aviation Services has acquired JetSun Aviation Centre, an FBO located at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa. The facility has more than 100,000 sq. ft. of hangar space, a reception area, conference room, pilot lounge and flight planning.

Tradewind Aviation, which operates shuttle and on-demand flights in the U.S. and Caribbean, has added three Pilatus PC-12 eight-seat aircraft to its fleet as well as a hub at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts. Tradewind, which operates scheduled service from Westchester County Airport in New York, now operates 21 aircraft, including 18 PC-12s and three Cessna Citations.

Jet Aviation has signed an FBO management agreement with Pazos FBO at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico. It is the only FBO in Puerto Rico with a full-service on-site U.S. Customs and Border Protection terminal for customs, immigration and agriculture processing of international flights.

Tata Steel Group, based in Mumbai, India, is adding a second Bell 429 helicopter to its fleet to support steel production operations, Bell said. The aircraft will operate from the company's Jamshedpur facility in eastern India. There are more than 90 Bell helicopters operating throughout India in commercial, civil/government and military operations.

The FAA has adopted a new Airworthiness Directive for certain Learjet Model 60 airplanes. This AD was prompted by an evaluation by the design approval holder indicating the upper fuselage skin under the aft oxygen line fairing is subject to multi-site damage.

Gulf stream Aerospace's G280 set two speed records in April on flights to and from the 2017 Avalon Airshow. The aircraft flew 3,332 nm from Singapore to Melbourne, Australia, in 7 hr. and 21 min., at an average cruise speed of Mach 0.81. It then flew from Singapore to Dubai's Al Maktoum Airport, 3,177 nm, in 7 hr. and 18 min. at Mach 0.82.

BCA shares news of the latest products and services for the business aviation industry.

The engineering of Universal Avionics' InSight display system is now fulfilled, and the company is working toward completion of the STC and TSO package in preparation for TIA.

The medium and light business jet resale markets began 2017 with two of the best first quarters in the past 10 years, according to a report by market research company Amstat.

Airbus sees strong potential in Voom, an on-demand helicopter booking service incubated within A3—the aircraft maker's Silicon Valley outpost—and now being tested in helicopter-friendly Sao Paulo.

London Oxford Airport is seeing an increase in large business jets using its facilities this year. Its FBO has seen a 37% increase in large jet movements and a 46% increase over the past two years, the airport reports.

Dassault's new Falcon 8X ultra-long-range jet has received approval to operate at London City Airport, which has some of the most restrictive steep approach and noise abatement regulations in business aviation.

Uber announces partnerships with vehicle developers and infrastructure providers to support its planned electric vertical takeoff and landing flight demonstrations in Dallas and Dubai in 2020.

Cirrus Aircraft was awarded the FAA's production certificate for its SF 50 Vision jet on May 2, and will begin producing the single-engine, single-pilot personal jets at a rate of one per week.

Gulfstream Aerospace has added its third G600 aircraft to its flight-test program. The aircraft completed its first flight May 5 and will undergo numerous system tests required for FAA certification, expected in 2018.

​Aircare International has launched an enhanced hypoxia training course for pilots and cabin crewmembers. The training involves both classroom instruction on high-altitude physiology and actual exposure using a hypoxia training platform.

Frankly, the proposed fee schedule [user charges] doesn’t bother us as much as the fear that once the principle is set it then becomes a mater of how much more. – BCA Staff Rockwell-Standard declined to act on its option to pick up line of new aircraft models being produced by Ted Smith and his company. The option was for $6.5 million to be exercised by R-S upon certification of Aerostar model.

Textron Aviation ended production of its Model 510 Cessna Citation Mustang light jet on May 11. No jobs will be lost as a result, as Textron Aviation is moving production of its Caravan turboprop to the plant where the Mustang was assembled.

Bombardier's third Global 7000 flight test aircraft flew for the first time May 10 and has entered the flight-test program. It will soon join Bombardier's flight-test center in Wichita.

FlightSafety International has teamed with Service Elements to create an Aviation Maintenance Management Program. The three-day course, provided at FlightSafety's Maintenance Training Center in Dallas, is designed to enhance the skills of current aircraft maintenance department managers and help those who aspire to such positions.

Compare Jet-A and avgas fuel prices by U.S. region based on a survey conducted in May 2017 by Aviation Research Group/U.S. Inc. and an analysis of the lowest fuel prices reported by FBOs on acukwik.com

In early May, Pratt & Whitney Canada completed production of its 100,000th engine, and of that total 60,000 remain in service operated by 12,300 customers in more than 200 countries and territories.

The Falcon 2000S is a large-cabin jet that has been redesigned, repackaged and repriced to fit into a niche between super-midsize and large-cabin business aircraft.

Falcon Aviation has opened a VIP Heliport at its new Dubai South VIP Terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport in the UAE. The heliport will be run and managed by Falcon Aviation personnel and will be available to those arriving in business jets at the terminal.

Wingly, an internet-based private-pilot ride-sharing service, a concept ruled as a violation of air regulations by the FAA—a position upheld in federal court—is operating in the UK, France and Germany.