RUAG Aviation, which operates an authorized Cessna Service Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, has won European Aviation Safety Agency Part 145 approval to provide base and line maintenance for the CitationJet 4. The facility, near Munich, also is authorized to work on CJ4s flown by operators based in Aruba, Bermuda, Bosnia, the Cayman Islands, Canada and Qatar. RUAG expects to add other country approvals.
Dennis Murphy, Elliott Aviation's aircraft acquisition manager, said his company has been successfully marketing late-model small and midsize jets, predominantly to domestic operators, and he sees some positive signs in today's market for previously owned business aircraft.
Sales of pre-owned business jets increased through the first nine months of 2011, but asking prices have generally trended downward, according to reports by Jetnet and Amstat. “Pre-owned business jet asking prices are more in line than they were 18 months ago, but the current reversal in average asking price is a big concern for the seller,” Jetnet said. According to Amstat, “Simple projections of the first nine months of transaction activity continue to suggest that this year will be better than 2010 for resale retail transactions.”
Gulfstream and FlightSafety International are offering a complimentary preview of FlightSafety's Gulfstream G350/G450/G500/G550 Ground Handling and Servicing eLearning course for FBO managers for the rest of this year. The course reinforces how ground handlers should move and service Gulfstream aircraft. Best practices developed and used by Gulfstream employees are emphasized to help mitigate risks.
Sierra Industries, the Uvalde, Texas-based company that specializes in upgrading legacy Cessna Citations, has received an STC for its Citation I glass cockpit retrofit. Developed in cooperation with Garmin International, the G501SP modification features three Garmin GDU 1040 10.4-in. LCD primary flight displays, one each for the pilot and copilot, along with a centrally mounted 10.4-in. LCD multifunction display. Sierra officials say the standard package is available at an installed price of $284,000. Typical installation time is five weeks.
Jet Systems, a fixed-base operation at Westchester County Airport (HPN) in New York and former Avitat affiliate, has rebranded as an Avfuel dealer. Jet Systems has been based at HPN for 18 years and completed a multi-million renovation in late 2006, with added features such as floor-to-ceiling tropical aquariums, piano music and Starbucks coffee. The facility was designed to accommodate aircraft up to the size of the Boeing Business Jet.
The new six-place utility helicopter, Hiller “Ten 99,” was unveiled on November 16 after six months of testing. The multi-purpose ship was designed for Navy/Marine utility and all-purpose civilian use. It's powered by a 500 hp P&WC PT6 turbine. No larger than Hiller's current 12E, the helicopter carries twice the number of passengers.
Titan Airways has added a new Cessna Citation CJ2+ to its charter fleet. The London Stansted-based operator purchased the six-seat light jet directly from Cessna. Titan plans to offer the aircraft for ski charters this winter, as well as other duties, including organ transplant missions and AOG flights to deliver vital spares.
The average prices for used business aircraft are still dropping, and the average time for-sale aircraft are on the market continues to lengthen, said market research firm Jetnet. However, the used market is still better today, compared to where it has been during the past couple of years. The market for previously owned business aircraft is considered a key indicator of the general health of the business aviation industry overall. Jetnet noted that asking prices for used aircraft have fluctuated over the last several months. “By the end of the second quarter . . .
Piper Aircraft is bucking the GA industry decline in piston and turboprop deliveries and sales. In contrast to the dismal GAMA delivery report (above), during third quarter 2011, Piper outpaced its own aircraft deliveries and already profitable revenue performance during the same period a year ago. Year-to-date revenue from new aircraft sales was $92.5 million, compared with $77.6 million during the same period in 2010, an increase of more than 19%. During the third quarter, Piper delivered 34 aircraft and received $35.3 million in revenue.
Eurocopter has successfully tested a hybrid helicopter that combines a turboshaft engine with an electric motor to increase the safety margin of a single-engine helicopter during an autorotation. The demonstrator helicopter is a modified light single-engine AS350. In the event of an engine failure, the electric motor provides power to the rotor.
From 1995 to 2005 the Hawker 800XP was the best selling Hawker model of all time, with 475 units produced. These aircraft sold new for as much as $13.5 million, but now many are available in the low $3 million to $4 million range, according to Jay Messinger Corporate Jet Sales. This classic midsize jet can fly nine passengers more than 2,400 nm and land with NBAA IFR reserves. The “XP” indeed signifies “extra performance,” at least when compared with the Model 800 that it replaced.
FAA is launching an outreach campaign to encourage the general aviation community to report wildlife strikes. Recent studies show that general aviation accounts for only 6% of total strikes reported—out of more than 100,000 reports. “Through increased and concentrated educational outreach, the FAA hopes to close the reporting gap between the more than 2,000 GA airports and certificated (airline) airports,” the agency says. FAA has developed a “Report Wildlife Strikes” poster that depicts a caution sign with a bird inside and the message to report wildlife strikes.
Sometimes it's the simple things that make one realize how quickly technology is morphing our environment. Now there are applications aplenty for business aircraft. Want to dim the lights? Cool off? Angle that seat back? Change the DVD? Use an app — cabin management system (CMS) makers have them in spades. Need to charter a jet tonight? There's an app for that, too, thanks to London-based Air Charter, which recently announced it has developed an iPhone app for business and leisure travelers interested in flying by private jet.
The TSA is reactivating an advisory panel that will provide recommendations to improve aviation security procedures and equipment. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano named 24 members to the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC), marking the first official appointments to the panel in the Obama administration. Various industry leaders have participated in informal ASAC meetings in recent years to “keep the spirit [of the panel] alive,” says one member, but the last official meeting was held in 2006.
The prolonged recovery of the used business jet market has faltered in recent months, taking a “frustrating” step backward, according to market research firm Amstat. Historically high inventories of previously owned aircraft have been considered a major stumbling block to the industry's overall recovery. However, Amstat stresses that those inventories have been coming down, albeit slowly. “Over the long haul, conditions are getting better more often than they're getting worse,” said Amstat Executive Vice President Tom Benson.
Montreal-based Bombardier Aerospace plans to deliver 240 business and commercial aircraft this year. While that figure represents a notable decline from the 400 it produced just a few years ago, current output, together with its maintenance and training services, will deliver revenues approaching $9 billion. And as of July 31, its backlog was $23 billion, a 20% increase from six months earlier. Guy Hachey, president and COO, says business aviation is his group's largest business, and it's growing.
Embraer has delivered the first Phenom 300 light executive jet to Baruna AG, with a ceremony at Embraer's headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil. The aircraft will be managed by Jet Aviation Business Jets' aircraft charter division and will be based in Zurich to serve the European market.
Organizers of a recent 2011 Westchester Aviation/Aerospace Expo reported that 850 area high and middle school students attended the two-day event, intended to expose youngsters to the variety of occupations and skills embodied in aviation. The event, hosted by PepsiCo in its corporate hangar at Westchester County, N.Y., Airport Oct. 21-22, involved workshops, presentations and hands-on activities ranging from robot face off and wind tunnel display, to flight simulator flying and a space shuttle discussion.
Among inflight connectivity trends as observed by OnAir, the SITA/Airbus satcom connectivity provider, three key findings stand out: (1) Over 95% of passengers use the GSM network, the default for most mobile devices, for calls, text messaging, emailing and mobile data. (2) Of those passengers buying inflight Internet access, more than half use smartphones or tablet computers, reinforcing the fact that on airplanes people prefer to use mobile devices, not laptops.
The FAA says the number of laser assaults on aircraft this year has grown to 2,733 as of Oct. 13. Laser strikes for all of 2010 year totaled 2,836 incidents. “Shining a laser at a plane and its pilots is very dangerous,” says FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “You wouldn't want a pilot incapacitated for any reason.” Subsequently, the FAA put out a call for witnesses after a green laser illuminated at least six flights approaching LaGuardia Airport the weekend following Babbitt's statement.
Freestream Aircraft Ltd., an international used aircraft broker, has opened offices in Hong Kong and Beijing to better serve the growing market for business jets in Asia. “Business jet use is accelerating as the Asian economies continue to grow and realize their vast potential,” says Alireza Ittihadieh, CEO of Freestream. “Doing business in person is preferred in this region. Our offices here will enable business jet buyers and sellers to work directly, face to face.”
Dassault Falcon has launched Falcon Dispatch Plus, a new package of Service Bulletins and applicable parts for all Falcon 900 and 2000 models. Based on a fleet analysis of more than 900 Falcon jets. Dassault determined which modifications and improvements were most effective in reducing costs and downtime and says that implementing the improvements as a package “is significantly less costly than performing the same Service Bulletins individually.”
India's business aircraft operators have formed the Business Aircraft Operators' Association (BAOA), to position the industry for what they believe will be exponential growth over the next decade. “The business aviation industry is growing at an encouraging rate, and India is all set to be the third largest aviation market by 2020,” says Rohit Kapur, president of the new association and managing director of Arrow Aircraft, which sells Gulfstream aircraft in India.
Pilatus Aircraft has named AMAC Aerospace as an exclusive sales and service center for Pilatus PC-12 aircraft in the Middle East. Its territory covers: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey. The sales office will open in Beirut, Lebanon at the first of the year. Maintenance work, including warranty service will be performed at ANAC's maintenance facility in Istanbul, Turkey beginning mid-2012.
