Business & Commercial Aviation

Embraer is cutting 1,463 employees from its workforce in Brazil as it moves to reduce costs in the midst of a challenging market. The departing workers represent 99.5% of those who applied for a Voluntary Dismissal Program, the company reported.

The long-running fight over Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) entered a new phase recently when the FAA initiated an investigation requiring the California city to explain its rationale for issuing eviction notices to two FBOs at the key business and general aviation facility after the municipality declared its policy included closing the place.

Singapore-based Zetta Jet has added a Bombardier Global 6000 jet to its fleet, which will operate out of Zetta's North America hub in Los Angeles. It is the first Global equipped with Ka-band high-speed inflight internet connectivity.

Bombardier WAVE (Wireless Access Virtually Everywhere) Ka-band high-speed internet is now available for Global business aircraft at all Bombardier Service Centers, the company said. Bombardier was awarded a supplemental type certificate for installation on all Bombardier Global 5000 and Global 600 aircraft and previous Global aircraft as a retrofit, the company said. A Global 5000 aircraft was the first customer aircraft to feature a retrofit installation of the Bombardier WAVE at Bombardier's Singapore Service Center.

Meanwhile, days earlier Cessna delivered a Citation M2 to Helitrip Charter, which is leasing it to Catreus Ltd. a British charter operator.

Daher recently completed its 800th TBM single-engine turboprop, a TMB 930 that rolled off the assembly line at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport in France.

Gulfstream says it will cease production of the G150, the smallest aircraft in its lineup, after a 10-year run; the last G150 will be delivered in mid-2017.

Nextant Aerospace, which builds the 400XTi, and Constant Aviation, which offers MRO services, have partnered with Rockwell Collins to offer a Next Gen flight deck package for Beechcraft 400X/XP aircraft.

The first Legacy 450 mid-light business jet assembled in Embraer's Melbourne, Florida, facility made its first flight in early October and is on track for delivery to a customer in December.

Acorn Growth Companies, an Oklahoma City private-equity firm, announced Sept. 26 that it has acquired Seattle-based Raisbeck Engineering from founder and Chairman James D. Raisbeck. Founded in 1982, Raisbeck's company has developed dozens of modification systems for general aviation, utility and jetliner aircraft.

Gogo is overhauling its ground-based connectivity system over the U.S. and Canada to bring inflight speeds in line with its satellite-based offering.

Rockwell Collins’ offer to buy B/E Aerospace is a pricey ploy that will take more work to see to fruition, but it could secure the former as a leading provider of aircraft content while finding a successful exit for the latter.

Gulfstream’s newest aircraft is setting a new benchmark in business aviation technology. BCA Senior Editor Fred George strapped into the left seat of the new $44.65 million G500. Read his pilot report.

When pilots first belt into the cockpit of the G500, they will discover a Honeywell flight deck that has little in common with any Gulfstream they have flown.

The G500's electrical distribution and data communication network is far more advanced than found in previous Gulfstreams. Taking advantage of the latest Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet architecture, introduced on the Airbus A380 and the latest military fighters, it uses distributive processing and ARINC 664 communications protocols to slash wire count, reduce weight, decrease power consumption, boost reliability and increase system redundancy. Virtually every component on the data concentration network (DCN) has a redundant communications link.

Rated at 15,144 lb. thrust for takeoff up to ISA+15C, Pratt & Whitney Canada's PW814GA is the most advanced general aviation turbofan in its thrust class. Up front, it has a single-piece, wide-chord, 50-in.-diameter damper-less titanium fan and a two-stage, axial-flow, low-pressure booster with single-piece rotors that are powered by a three-stage low-pressure turbine.

Post-hurricane helping hand: It’s hard to know its worth until you need one.

In September 2016, Teterboro Airport ranked at the top of the list of business aviation airports viewed by acukwik.com users, according to traffic metrics. Analyze the rest of the top 50 in September.

There are risks inherent to any act of aviation. How can we best improve our levels of safety?

Alexandre Couvelaire is a former French air force pilot and founder of the charter company Euralair. He is also a director of the startup, Aero Electric, which has designed and developed the Sun Flyer, the world’s first certificated, all-electric training aircraft.

Can GE’s Advanced Turboprop carve out a niche in a market dominated by P&WC’s highly successful PT6A?

The NTSB believes installing a crash-resistant fuel system into existing helicopters would help mitigate the safety risk of post-crash fires in survivable accidents. However, the board is concerned that owners and operators of FAR Part 27 and Part 29 helicopters may be unaware of retrofit kits to do just that.

The post-crash fire threat in helicopters continues even though the fixes are known and well-proven. It’s past time to act.

Introduced to the market in 2012, Pratt & Whitney Canada's PT6A-140 turboprop series has achieved broad acceptance in utility and agricultural markets for both forward-fit and retrofit application on a variety of aircraft.

For more than a decade, Cessna’s mantra has been “It’s a sure thing.” The Citation M2 appears to epitomize everything that slogan entails.