NBAA Convention News 10-31-12 Issue

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Aviation’s Next Gen iPads in the Cockpit Program Update Avionics and ATC Training

Irving Seeks To Inspire Young AviatorsA Hawker 400XPR will serve as a ‘classroom in the sky’ from which Barrington Irving will reach out to millions of young people in the hopes of sparking a love of aviation. Page 21

App Makers Talk EFBsBusiness aviation users have been quick to embrace iPad-based electronic flight bags–and the improved flight safety and efficiency they provide–and FAA EFB authorizations have proliferated. Page 24

Klapmeier Talks KestrelThe single-engine turboprop might be ready in about three years, according to company CEO Alan Klapmeier, who knows a thing or two about the difficulty of bringing a new aircraft to market. Page 75

Jetcraft Unveils EFVS for BombardiersThe HUD Vision Access system will bring the benefits of an enhanced flight vision system to the in-service fleet of Bombardier aircraft. Jetcraft is also showing a HUD training program. Page 39

CAE, APS Revisit Upset TrainingPilots need better training–in both a simulator and an airplane–to recognize and cope with unusual attitudes, to improve the industry’s safety record, according to the trainers. Page 68

‘War’ on bizav not over, says Micaby James Wynbrandt

“I wish I could tell you the war [of battling business aviation foes in Washington] is over, but all I can tell you is there’s a slight ceasefire,” said representative John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transporta-tion Committee and prime architect of this year’s passage of the long-delayed FAA Reauthorization leg-islation, at the NBAA’12 opening

session. “Some people just don’t get it that business aviation is one of the great economic engines of our economy and of a free-enter-prise system,” he said.

Ed Bolen, NBAA’s president and CEO, used the opening of the 65th annual Meeting & Conven-tion to highlight what the organi-zation is doing to win the war and

he cataloged recent victories won despite the gridlock in Congress. In addition to FAA Reauthorization, the industry achieved reinstatement of the Block Aircraft Registration Request program, the Ex-Im Bank program for financing foreign pur-chases of U.S.-made aircraft and passage of the Pilots Bill of Rights.

Continued on page 94 u

Wednesday 10.31.12ORLANDONBAA

Convention News ®

The show goes on:

In the teeth of two storms NBAA prevailsby Amy Laboda

It takes more than a monster storm and a potentially stifling presidential TFR to knock out the 65th Annual NBAA Convention and Trade Show. With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the north-eastern U.S. on the Saturday before the annual gathering, airlines began a chain of flight cancellations that eventually topped 8,000 before the storm made landfall in southern New Jersey on Monday evening.

With airlines backing out of the picture, the organization itself found that business aviation came to its rescue. “Most of our staff came in early to set up the show,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. But not everyone made it

NBAA OpeNs

uNder Blue skies

Hurricane Sandy certainly made travel to NBAA a chal-lenge, but the storm did not dampen the spirits of the 24,289 registered attend-ees who passed through the gates at the Orange County Convention Cen-ter by the end of the day on Tuesday. Last year’s event, at the popular Las Vegas venue, attracted more visi-tors–25,637–by the end of the first day. n

Rep. John Mica, a longtime advocate of business aviation, anticipates yet another user-fee battle.


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Cooperative regulators ease cockpit iPad useby Amy Laboda

Three popular Apple iPad applications were central to the first of several education sessions dedicated to the iPad-based electronic flight bag (EFB) at NBAA’12. Speak-ers featuring Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck, ForeFlight Mobile

and WingX Pro 7 all had their time at the podium offering information on how the prod-ucts can enhance flight safety and efficiency across the busi-ness aviation fleet.

All of the speakers were quick to acknowledge that

none of their products would be such a hit with business avi-ation were it not for favorable regulator treatment–namely the revision of Advisory Cir-cular 126-76B, “Guidelines for the Certification, Airworthi-ness, and Operational Use of Electronic Flight Bags,” pub-lished in June 2012; and the FAA letter of authorization guidance for use of iPads in particular in the cockpit, which was released in February last year after much pressure from Part 135 operators in the U.S. This precipitated a significant increase in FAA EFB cockpit authorizations, from roughly four a month to more than 30 a month. And this year alone FAA EFB cockpit authoriza-tions in the U.S. are running at more than 100 per month.

Safety AdvantagesJeppesen studies docu-

mented that iPad EFB users find that the device increases their situational awareness, decreases pilot workload and simplifies flights in general. The pilots were, of course, using the Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck app. Tyson Weihs, co-founder and CEO of Fore-Flight, produced similar data about his product’s users.

“In the last 30 days there were 2.7 million ForeFlight

sessions, with 50 percent of the app usage being in short bursts of 30 seconds to 10 minutes in length.” He also said that half the users triggered the app four to 20 times a day on any given day. Just 15 percent of Fore-Flight users keep the app on for more than 10 minutes at a time.

As for whether all the EFB apps for in-cockpit use actu-ally work, one can only look at the graph that Weihs placed on the screen at the end of his presentation. “Since the begin-ning of portable terrain aware-ness GPS-equipped products in the cockpit, there’s been a 75-percent reduction in the number of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents in aviation,” he said. His vision for the future includes more “magic boxes” such as ADS-B and auxiliary back-up AHRS connecting to iPad-based EFBs, Arinc 129 integration and interactivity among apps with complementary services.

Another recent develop-ment is the ability for WingX Pro 7 and ForeFlight Mobile to display the position of a per-sonal computer-derived simu-lated aircraft when running the X-Plane flight simulator pro-gram. This feature helps pilots by allowing them to train how to use the app before taking off in a real airplane. o

4 NBAA Convention News • October 31, 2012 • www.ainonline.com

Narita officials boosting Japan business aviationby Curt Epstein

Representatives from Japan’s government and Nar-ita Airport are here (Booth No. 3831) to describe recent initia-tives to promote business avi-ation in their country. Japan, with the world’s third largest economy, is home to 68 of the world’s Fortune 500 compa-nies, 52 of which are based in the greater Tokyo area. Yet the country until recently has not embraced corporate aviation.

The number of business air-craft registered in Japan is a minute percentage of those in the U.S., and the infrastructure to support them is on a dimin-ished scale as well, but the situ-ation is improving.

According to Akira Takano of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Tokyo metropol-itan area receives more than 35 percent of the country’s business aviation traffic, split between Haneda and Narita

International Airports, and those two airports have seen recent upgrades with regard to business aviation.

At Narita, all former restric-tions on operations by aircraft of less than 5.7 tons have been abolished and applications for landing slots, which formerly required application by letter, can now be requested online. The airport has increased the maximum parking period for business aircraft from 7 to 30 days. This past April saw the opening of Premiere Gate, the Tokyo area’s first dedicated business aviation terminal. Premiere Gate offers private aviation passengers curbside dropoff, VIP lounges and onsite customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) services.

Haneda has changed its takeoff and landing slot request deadline from a week’s advance notice to the day of takeoff or landing. At both airports,

which suffer from congestion, plans call for an increase in the number of arrival or depar-ture slots from about 640,000 a year to 747,000 by 2014 as an open skies policy in the Tokyo metropolitan area will be implemented.

Nagoya Airport is home to Japan’s first business aviation terminal, which has its own CIQ facility. Nearby Chubu International Airport offers a private aviation terminal. o

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NBAA Convention News is a publication of The Convention News Co., Inc., 214 Franklin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432; Tel.: (201) 444-5075. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of The Convention News Co., Inc. is strictly prohibited. The Convention News Co., Inc. also publishes Aviation International News, AINalerts, AIN Defense Perspective, AIN Air Transport Perspective, AINmx Reports, AINsafety, Business Jet Traveler, ABACE Convention News, EBACE Convention News, HAI Convention News, MEBA Convention News, NBAA Convention News, Dubai Airshow News, Paris Airshow News, Singapore Airshow News.Printed in Orlando by Central Florida Press Computer Services: Rentfusion

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AIN’s Thurber

wINs NbAA Gold wING AwArd

NBAA awarded its 2012 Gold Wing Award for reporting excel-lence to AIN senior editor Matt Thurber here at the Convention yesterday. The award recognizes Thurber’s article, “Saving Lives, One Flight at a Time,” about business aviation’s role in organ transport, published in the August/September 2011 issue of AIN Pub-lications’ Business Jet Traveler. The article highlights the key role that chartered aircraft and their operators play in the swift and reliable delivery of human organs for transplants.

The association presented its David Ewald Platinum Wing Award to Flying Magazine editor-in-chief Robert Goyer. –N.M.

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lumINArIes TurN ouT for NbAA opeNING

Business aviation has some influential supporters who recog-nize its value for individuals, and the economy in general, and several turned out to kick off this year’s NBAA Convention. On hand were (from left) Russ Meyer, Arnold Palmer, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Clay Lacy and former astronaut Gene Cernan.

Correction

In the Ikhana Twin Otter article in yesterday's issue of AIN Conven-tion News (page 77), information attributed to Ikhana actually applies to Viking Air, the owner of the DHC-6 Twin Otter type certificate. Vi-king, not Ikhana, has taken orders for more than 60 aircraft for the Pe-ruvian Air Force. And it is Viking Air that is installing Honeywell's Primus Apex in new Twin Otters.

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Bizav CEOs cautious about near-term forecastsby Rob Finfrock

The 65th Annual NBAA Meeting and Convention in Orlando, Fla., is taking place as the U.S. presidential election looms and with the state of the global economy very much on the minds of people worldwide. AIN recently took the oppor-tunity to ask the leaders of several business aircraft manu-facturers for their thoughts on the state of the economy and their forecasts for the business aviation industry.

Perhaps not surprisingly, responses were generally mea-sured to the question, “Is your company seeing any light at the end of the tunnel as far as the overall economy is concerned and for the business aviation market in particular?” While many companies are begin-ning to see some encouraging signs of recovery in the U.S. and Europe, most are turning to emerging markets to com-pensate for continued weak sales in what have traditionally been the regions with greatest

demand for business aircraft.“Business aviation activity

differs depending on the geo-graphic area,” said John Rosanvallon, president and CEO of Dassault Falcon. “The BRIC countries of Brazil, Rus-sia, India and China remain our backbone, but we’re seeing a slow increase of activity in the United States. Latin America, Australia and the rest of Asia are all active markets for Fal-con business jets.”

That sentiment was echoed by Stéphane Mayer, presi-dent and CEO, Daher-Socata. “While Europe is suffering from very poor growth, the rest of the world is enjoying recovery,” he said. “In terms of aviation seg-ments, commercial aviation is already in a significant climb, while business aircraft are just seeing the light and are prepar-ing to take off.”

“While we have seen the global market for Piper busi-ness and training aircraft grow over the past year, we remain

cautious about the state of the global economy,” said Simon Caldecott, president and CEO of Piper Aircraft. “As a corpora-tion, we continue to reach out to more countries in the world and expand our presence to ensure that our business is not depen-dent on one particular region.”

The outlook appears more encouraging for manufactur-ers of the largest, longest-range and most-opulent business air-craft. Steve Taylor, president of Boeing Business Jets, noted his company has been “quite for-tunate that the downturn hasn’t hit the high end of the market as much as the entry-level busi-ness jets. The market continues to be challenging for us, [but] we have a great backlog and this year alone we’ll deliver 12 air-planes into completion, includ-ing eight BBJ 747-8s, and we’ll also move 12 airplanes from completion into service.”

Taylor’s counterpart across the Atlantic, Airbus Corporate Jets vice president for worldwide sales François Chazelle, echoed that sentiment. “Airbus corpo-rate jets continue to spark inter-est from companies, individuals and governments at the top end of the marketplace, despite the economic uncertainty that our industry faces,” he said.

Responses were mixed from manufacturers of light- to medium-sized business aircraft, reflecting a continuing down-ward trend of depressed deliv-eries in these segments. “The industry continues bumping along the bottom of a stub-born and difficult market,” said Hawker Beechcraft chair-man Bill Boisture. “While the larger aircraft segment is

experiencing a faster recovery, we are not seeing similar prog-ress for the smaller aircraft seg-ment. Despite this, however, our King Air order intake is on pace with the last two years and the special-mission market remains strong for Hawker Beechcraft.”

Ernest Edwards, president, Embraer Executive Jets, said his company “is seeing the first signs of recovery, especially in the U.S. market. Global demand for business jets appears to be further off, especially due to uncertainty in the Euro-pean economy. China and Asia Pacific, on the other hand, are brighter spots where Embraer is well positioned for growth.”

“Cessna remains optimistic about our long-term strategies and success in the general avia-tion industry,” said Cessna Air-craft president and CEO Scott Ernest. “Our focus on develop-ing and delivering high-quality, innovative products based on customer input, providing out-standing service and support and expanding our global pres-ence in new and more mature markets will allow us to remain the global leader in general avia-tion for years to come.”

The state of the global econ-omy has offered opportunities to manufacturers of efficient sin-gle-engine turboprops. Thomas Bosshard, president and CEO of Pilatus Business Aircraft, said he considers the economic

climate “an excellent opportu-nity for Pilatus. The PC-12NG is an efficient and versatile air-craft that enables corporations and governments to accomplish more with limited resources.”

“We are seeing some posi-tive signs in the marketplace, both domestically and outside the United States,” noted Dave Vander Griend, chairman and CEO of Quest Aircraft. “Barring another severe economic down-turn, we are optimistic about our prospects in several geographic markets going into 2013.” Vander Griend added that his company has expanded its mar-keting efforts throughout Latin America, a region he termed “a bright spot” for Quest and other turboprop manufacturers.

By far the most encourag-ing sentiment came from Mason Holland, chairman and CEO of Eclipse Aerospace. Noting that even the most severe economic downturns have historically been cyclical in nature, Holland stated he is “very, very bullish on the economy. Manufactur-ing is coming back to the U.S. at a modest pace, after years of being dominated by the ser-vice industry over the produc-tion of goods. I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we’ll look back in 10 years and marvel that the Dow was only 13,000, because we’ll be at 30,000,” Hol-land concluded. “As the U.S. goes, so goes the world.” o


While many companies are beginning to see some encouraging signs of recovery in the U.S. and Europe, most are turning to emerging markets such as China, right, and Brazil, above, to compensate for continued weak sales in what have traditionally been the regions with greatest demand for business aircraft.

Organizers Expect Record LABACE 2013

Business aviation is growing fast in Brazil, and the Associação Brasileira de Aviação (ABAG) believes its Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (LABACE) this past August in São Paulo is ample proof.

Total attendance at the show this year was a record 16,722, a healthy jump from 15,429 visitors in 2011, despite an increase in the admission price. There were also 190 exhibitors and 70 aircraft on display. And ABAG chairman Eduardo Marson took note of aircraft sales announced during the LABACE show this year that included six helicopters sold by Helibras and two business jets by Tam Aviação Executiva, one of them a Citation Mustang.

Perhaps more to the point was a comment at the opening general session by Minister of Civil Aviation Wagner Bittencourt, who said a decree to permit the private construction and commercial operation of badly needed business aviation airports is “in the final stages of consideration.” Welcome news indeed with Brazil as host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

ABAG chairman Eduardo Marson believes that by 2014, ABAG (Booth No. 3230) may see LABACE expand even further at a new business aviation airport.

Looking forward from its stage at NBAA, ABAG is promoting LABACE 2013, scheduled for August 14 to 26, again in São Paulo. –K.J.H.

Brazilian Minister of Civil Aviation Wagner Bittencourt (center) with ABAG chairman Eduardo Marson (right) open LABACE 2012.

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New FSF committee addresses safety issues for mx techniciansby Rob Finfrock

The rise in global demand for com-mercial and business aircraft has not been accompanied by a proportional increase in the number of technicians ready to service those airplanes and helicopters; in fact, the number of qualified mainte-nance personnel continues to dwindle. The Flight Safety Foundation (Booth No. 3532) recently formed a new Main-tenance Advisory Committee (MAC) to examine issues affecting aircraft main-tainers and find ways to encourage new talent in the field. Committee members are consulting with industry personnel on these topics throughout NBAA’12.

FSF COO Kevin Hiatt told AIN the MAC is tasked with developing programs to assist the aircraft maintainer segment on safety issues, as well as identifying and offering solutions for maintenance and engineering concerns. “We took a look at our committee structure and determined there was a gap where main-tenance organizations weren’t being ade-quately represented in our international, European, and business advisory groups,” he said. “We simply didn’t have many

maintenance people involved to discuss the safety issues needing to be addressed.”

Fatigue and Filling the RanksFormed in August, the maintenance

committee met for the first time in early September. Hiatt said members came away from that gathering with two key areas to address, including concerns about fatigue. Though many think of pilot and crew rest concerns when dis-cussing fatigue issues, it’s a significant problem for aircraft maintainers as well, especially in Part 91 operations.

“Technicians work long hours, often outside their normal circadian rhythm,” Hiatt noted. “The bottom line comes down to when the operator wants to use the airplane; they expect to use it now; and maintainers are expected to work until a problem is fixed. Fatigue inevitably begins to set in when the mechanic is continually working, and many operations don’t have a lot of structure to deal with that.”

Of arguably even greater concern, though, is the lack of new personnel choos-ing to enter the aircraft maintainer field.

“The industry isn’t as lucrative for people coming out of college and going into the job as it’s been in the past,” Hiatt acknowledged. “People are starting to retire, and there are not enough people with the time and experience coming up to replace them. We’re not seeing as many people getting excited about those career paths, and the places that educate pilots and mechanics aren’t seeing the enroll-ment numbers we’d like.”

The number of qualified and eager candidates transitioning from other avi-ation-related fields or coming out of the military has also declined, leaving com-mercial training programs as the primary source for new candidates. “There are par-ticular schools that turn out mechanics, but we’re not seeing the enrollment there to support today’s number of business air-craft, never mind the growing market in the future,” Hiatt said. “We’ll have to do the best we can by working with these peo-ple to develop a suitable talent pool and maintain the high current level of safety.”

CompetitionWhile pay rates certainly factor into

the low numbers, Hiatt believes another significant reason lies in competition from other career fields that might appear “more glamorous.”

“In Europe and Asia, aircraft mainte-nance is considered a more professional trade, with a specific path to follow through

schooling and into a job,” Hiatt said. “The situation is somewhat sketchier in the U.S., and to compete, those offering jobs in these fields have to modify their hiring practices and style. There needs to be a better path for moving that individual from the learn-ing role to being an employee.”

A greater focus on ab initio training–with companies assisting not only with hiring the student but also in tailoring the educational program–may be one possible method to address this issue. Hiatt noted the MAC “will be taking a look at the industry from a global per-spective. Worldwide demand for com-mercial airline maintenance personnel is tremendous; we’re already seeing a short-age there, and that leaves the business avi-ation community clamoring for people to work on their aircraft.”

The MAC will function primarily in an advisory role to companies and the indus-try. “We’ll definitely point out the gaps that need to be covered and then use the resources available within the committee and the foundation to speak on those top-ics,” Hiatt said. “Like all of our committees, the MAC will examine the issues to ensure that aviation safety remains paramount.

“We try to stay out of the political, labor and industrial sides of the issue, and instead focus on particular issues affecting aviation safety and ways to keep aviation among the safest forms of trans-portation,” he concluded. o

www.ainonline.com • October 31, 2012 • NBAA Convention News 9

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FAA seeks consistency in enforcing regulationsby Paul Lowe

One of the many require-ments included in the new FAA reauthorization package that the U.S. Congress passed in February was the establish-ment of an aviation rulemaking

committee (ARC) to study the inconsistencies in the interpre-tation and application of regu-lations and policies by the FAA in a number of areas. The group is working on recommendations

to make regulatory interpreta-tion more consistent.

As part of the mandate in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the ARC will sub-mit a final report to the FAA

Administrator by Dec. 31, 2012, and the administrator is required to submit the agency’s report to Congress by Feb. 15, 2013.

The National Air Transpor-tation Association (NATA)

has estimated that the vary-ing interpretation of the FAA’s regulations by the agen-cy’s regional aircraft certifica-tion offices (ACOs) and Flight Standards District Offices (FSDOs) is estimated to cost general aviation businesses hundreds of millions of dol-lars annually when previously approved regulations are sub-jected to “reinterpretation.”

Currently, there are nine FAA regions, 10 ACOs and more than 80 FSDOs that issue approvals on a wide range of maintenance and operational requests made by regulated entities. These reg-ulated entities include Part 135 on-demand charter operators, Part 145 repair stations and Part 141 flight-training facilities.

According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associa-tion, aircraft owners and oper-ators may have experienced this when applying for supple-mental type certificates or field approvals, or when undertak-ing major repairs. Pilots and businesses may see it when applying for operating certifi-cates or working with different FAA offices.

Industry StakeholderThe ARC, which comprises

both government and indus-try representatives, created an industry stakeholder survey to help formulate effective recom-mendations that will result in meaningful enhancements to the current regulatory processes. “The lack of standardization on regulatory interpretations is costing both the FAA and industry dearly,” said indus-try chair Eric Byer, NATA vice president of government and industry affairs.

NATA has called the vary-ing interpretation of FAA reg-ulations by diffuse ACOs and FSDOs “one of the biggest bur-dens confronting the general avia-tion industry.” Affected regulated entities continue to be challenged by regulatory interpretations that regularly vary from one inspec-tor within one FSDO or ACO to another, the association noted. NATA said inconsistent and varying interpretations of com-pliance not only are costly for the industry, they also demonstrate a shortcoming in the FAA’s ability to coordinate its workforce and ensure that the decision-making abilities vested in inspectors are respected across all divisions of the agency. o


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Snecma puts Silvercrest engine to testby Thierry Dubois

Snecma has started running the first Silvercrest turbofan at its Villaroche test facility, near Paris. With 11,000 pounds of thrust, the Silvercrest will power the Cessna Longitude super-midsize business jet. EASA engine certification is slated for 2015 and FAA validation is expected shortly thereafter.

“Silvercrest testing began in the last week of September,” pro-gram director Laurence Finet told AIN. The engine had left the assembly hall in the middle of the month, and it then had to undergo the installation and instrumentation process. Some 1,000 measurements are per-formed during a test. Reach-ing takeoff power was a target for mid-October. Asked about a planned number of hours or cycles, business aviation mar-keting manager Loïc Nicolas answered, “Checking the engine’s behavior is more important than a number of hours.” Eventually, eight engines will be involved in

the development program.One of the Silvercrests will

fly on a Gulfstream GII, modi-fied as a flying testbed. The first flight is pegged for mid-2013. This is “a project in the proj-ect,” as Finet put it. Modifica-tion work will take a total of one and a half years. Pylon changes and the addition of telemetry

equipment are the bulk of the job. The GII will keep one of its original Rolls-Royce Speys.

What about studying a re-engining of the GII and even the GIII, as they share the same engines? “The Spey is rated at 12,400 pounds at takeoff; the Silvercrest could provide as much thrust at takeoff and even more

than the Spey in cruise,” Finet answered. Although some con-tacts with GII and GIII own-ers have been encouraging, the idea is not deemed mature yet. Snecma wants to see a solid busi-ness case before moving forward.

For the Silvercrest program, full-scale engine development began in the third quarter of 2010. The core had undergone 80 hours of ground tests in 2008, after which Snecma toiled to find an application. The con-tract with Cessna for the Lon-gitude was signed in May. The Silvercrest has long been rumored to be the choice for the still-under-wraps Dassault Fal-con SMS, but as of early Octo-ber, Snecma would not confirm this rumor.

The Silvercrest’s cold sec-tion consists of a 42.5-inch fan, a four-stage booster and a five-stage compressor (including four axial blisks and one centrif-ugal stage). The 20 fan blades are metallic. The low-emission

combustor is said to have a high-altitude relight capability, and it is followed by a single-stage high-pressure (HP) turbine fea-turing single-crystal blades and a four-stage low-pressure (LP) turbine. The HP and LP spools are contra-rotating for better fuel efficiency. The bypass ratio is close to 6:1.

Snecma is claiming that the Silvercrest will burn 15 percent less fuel, emit 50 percent less NOx than the CAEP/6 standard and halve the noise footprint, “compared to existing engines in the 10,000- to 12,000-[pound thrust] class.” Finet named the two reference engines (actually a bit below the aforementioned class), the 9,200-pound GE CF34-3 and the 9,440-pound Rolls-Royce AE3007C2.

In terms of maintenance, Snecma said the Silvercrest is a “true on-condition engine,” with no fixed interval. No hot-sec-tion inspection will be required. Another feature will be in-flight engine monitoring capability. o


The Silvercrest, which is to power the Cessna Longitude, made its first run on Snecma’s testbed in Villaroche, near Paris. Eight engines will be in the test program.

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Honeywell plans for engine approvalby Thierry Dubois

Honeywell is targeting the third quarter of next year for the certification of the HTF7500E turbofan. This is a revised sched-ule that fits with Embraer’s delay in developing the midlight Leg-acy 450 and midsize Legacy 500 business jets.

“We have begun the formal Part 33 certification program,” Jim Kroeger, Honeywell’s direc-tor of engineering for propul-sion engines, told AIN. The development program is “essen-tially complete,” he said. Six engines are involved in the certi-fication program, and five have flown on the engine maker’s fly-ing testbed, a modified Boeing

757, to demonstrate operability and performance.

“We want Embraer’s certifi-cation program to be as short as possible, as far as the engine is concerned,” Kroeger said.

The HTF7500E will be rated at 6,080 pounds (takeoff thrust, ISA+15-deg C) on the Legacy 450 and 6,540 pounds on the Legacy 500. First in the air-framer’s pipeline is the Legacy 500, which is expected to fly by year-end.

As of late last month, Honeywell had delivered engines for the first two aircraft and was about to hand over a third pair. Spare parts have already been provisioned to support the air-craft’s development program. Shipment of production engines will begin after certification of the HTF7500E.

Among the development tests Honeywell has run, note-worthy are two endurance trials. Two engines have been sub-jected to 2,000 hours each of equivalent run time, simulating actual service operations. “I am confident with the results dem-onstrated,” Kroeger said, add-ing that part of his assignment is to make the HTF7500E “as reliable as the HTF7000.”

The new engine features the Saber 1 low-emission combustor

(where Saber stands for single annular combustor for emis-sions reduction).

It is based on a rich-quench-lean scheme. The combustion commences with a rich setting

and is quickly leaned out to mit-igate the formation of nitrous oxides (NOx).

The technology enables a 25-percent reduction in NOx emissions and does not

compromise the durability of the combustion system, according to Honeywell.

For Embraer, the engine com-pany is supplying an integrated powerplant system, where the engine comes with its nacelle (built by GKN Aerospace) and other equipment. This includes, for example, the inlet, the thrust reversers (built by Safran) and

the engine build unit–bleed ducts, hydraulic lines, fire detec-tion and so forth.

In the same engine fam-ily, which entered into service on the Bombardier Challenger 300, Honeywell (Booth No. 4494) also developed the HTF7250G for the recently cer-tified Gulfstream G280 super-midsize business jet. o


Honeywell has tested five HTF7500Es on its flying testbed, a modified Boeing 757. The engine type is to power Embraer’s Legacy 450/500 business jets.

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EADS Sogerma designs cockpit seat for bizjetsby Thierry Dubois

EADS Sogerma (Booth No. 5431) is exhibiting at the NBAA convention for the first time

and is showcasing a full-size mockup of a cockpit seat that could fit into a super-midsize to

large-cabin business jet.“We visited the show last

year and saw it was in our interest to become an exhibi-tor,” Daniel Furon, Sogerma’s vice president for aerostructure business development, told AIN. The company has cockpit seats flying today in business jets but they are relatively old designs. “We are introducing a

new line for aircraft the size of a Bombardier Challenger 300 or bigger,” he said. The new product development is close to being completed.

The mockup on display here represents a seat that can be adjusted forward, laterally and vertically. The back can also recline. All movements can be motorized, which allows for a

position-memory feature. “We can add a lumbar setting and massage,” Furon said. “We put a lot of effort into pilot com-fort,” he emphasized. For exam-ple, Sogerma’s designers have endeavored to give the pilot good lateral thigh support, and to pro-vide good back support for both the flying and resting phases.

One of Sogerma’s strong points, he said, is armrest design. “An armrest must sup-port the forearm and the wrist without disturbing the human-machine link,” he stressed. Because the company sup-plies cockpit seats for Airbuses, which have sidesticks instead of central control columns, Furon anticipates it will employ this technology on forthcoming fly-by-wire business jet types, as this kind of control system is often associated with sidesticks.

Power plugs and communica-tion ports also can be added for laptop and tablet computs.

Separately, Sogerma has made progress in developing foam materials. Although none of the foam types is ideal by itself, superimposing a few lay-ers can give good results. Three layers of different foams is a frequent combination, provid-ing enough stiffness but keep-ing cushions comfortable.

Furon expressed hope that his company will sign a con-tract within two years for its new seat. Certification work will be conducted for one air-craft type at a time, he said. Aspects of the design that must be addressed include crashwor-thiness, environmental friendli-ness and endurance (measured in number of takeoffs and landings). “A seat structure is supposed to have the same durability as the airframe,” Furon pointed out. o


EADS Sogerma’s cockpit seat for super-midsize to large-cabin jets provides thigh and armrest support and can be motorized to offer a position-memory feature.

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Eclipse Aerospace sets sights toward productionby Rob Finfrock

It’s been a bit more than three years since Eclipse Aerospace was awarded the assets of bankrupt Eclipse Aviation in August 2009, not quite enough time, perhaps, to fully separate conversations about the former from the mixed record of its predecessor, but Mason Holland, CEO of Eclipse Aerospace, told AIN the company is weary of “Phoenix ris-ing from the ashes” stories and declared it has made considerable progress updat-ing and improving the Eclipse 500.

The most recent sign of this progress came in June, when Eclipse Aerospace started production of the Eclipse 550, a significantly revised version of the orig-inal very light twinjet. Resuming pro-duction was the last of Holland’s three primary goals for Eclipse Aerospace, fol-lowing the Albuquerque, N.M.-based company’s successful implementation of a supply and support network for the existing fleet of 261 Eclipse 500 jets and developing programs to upgrade those airplanes to the latest comfort and tech-nological standards.

The most significant upgrade Eclipse Aerospace offers for the Eclipse jet is the revamped panel, developed by Inno-vative Solutions & Support (IS&S) and

dubbed the Avio integrated flight man-agement system (IFMS). (Development of the IS&S panel began before Eclipse Aviation went bankrupt.) The Avio IFMS fulfills the functionality promises the former company struggled to meet, including full moving-map navigation capabilities, GPS-coupled autopilot and XM WX satellite weather. Command entry keyboards–part of the original Avio system but subsequently removed by Eclipse Aviation to make room for a Garmin GPS400W-based interim FMS –have also returned to the panel.

The Avio IFMS is a retrofit option for existing Eclipse 500s and standard on all Total Eclipse refurbished variants of pre-owned aircraft. A dual-redundant Avio IFMS version will also be standard on all new-build Eclipse 550s.

Referring to the numerous placards that once littered Eclipse 500 cockpits, Hol-land said, “Only one inoperable sticker remains–that for autothrottles. That sys-tem is currently in flight test and will be ready for production on the Eclipse 550, along with synthetic vision.” An optional infrared enhanced-vision system is also in development, though it “may or may not be ready by [the first Eclipse 550 delivery],

but all aircraft will be provisioned for it,” he said. “As a guy who lost a lot of money with a company that made promises it couldn’t keep, I’m very sensitive about promising only what I know we can real-istically deliver.” Holland was a deposit-holder for an Eclipse 500.

The Eclipse 550 will also feature improved fit-and-finish and revisions to the engine pylon assembly that improve cabin heating at altitude. Additional refinements under consideration include reducing the size of the large isotropic paint patches surrounding the dual static ports atop the nose–required for flight-into-known-icing approval–and a lighter windscreen heating system.

Retains Much of 500’s FeaturesDespite those changes, the Eclipse

550 will retain much of what made the original VLJ an attractive proposition for many buyers, including an airframe and cabin largely indistinguishable from those of the Eclipse 500. Like that air-craft, the 550 will be powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F tur-bofans (P&WC is a United Technolo-gies subsidiary, as is Sikorsky Aircraft, a minority investor in Eclipse Aerospace). The 550 is expected to have the same flight characteristics as the 500. Eclipse Aerospace will also continue to employ the friction-stir welding technique pio-neered by Eclipse Aviation in fabricating the new jet’s aluminum fuselage.

Though wary of comparisons to “the old Eclipse,” Holland is quick to express appreciation for the work performed by the former company. “The aircraft is crazy-good. From the beginning, we’ve been able to focus on improving the details and fulfilling the airframe’s prom-ise. The economics, flight qualities, speed and payload enabled us to start off with an incredible foundation.”

That foundation includes the train-ing program that Eclipse Aviation devel-oped, and the Eclipse Aerospace training curriculum draws heavily from it. Pilots are required to undergo a type-rat-ing training regime that includes famil-iarization, a detailed systems review and emergency procedures training at factory-authorized training provider SimCom. The program also includes upset training, conducted by the old company with an Eclipse-owned L-39

Albatros, though Eclipse Aerospace has authorized training providers to use var-ious aircraft for that purpose.

“The Eclipse 500 has flown more than 200,000 hours without major inci-dent,” Holland said. “The Eclipse jet is often easier to fly than the single-engine piston aircraft, many of our customers are transitioning from.”

Deliveries in Mid-2013Holland expects the first Eclipse 550

to be delivered in the middle of next year, allowing Eclipse Aerospace to vet the assembly process as that aircraft moves down the production line. Each step is being “checked and improved upon where needed, and revalidated,” he said. And while he wouldn’t reveal the exact number of deposits his company has for new Eclipse jets, he seems com-fortable with that total so far.

“We have about 70 to 80 percent of the Eclipse 550 orders we want to deliver in 2013, and 60 percent for 2014,” he said. “We’re talking about selling only 50 to 60 Eclipse 550s each year, which shouldn’t be a huge task, especially at this price point. We’re the last and only twin-engine jet in the world below $3 million.”

The first several Eclipse 550s will be produced in Albuquerque, with produc-tion of the wing, fuselage and empennage assemblies transitioned to Sikorsky sub-sidiary PZL-Mielec in Poland once those processes have been proven. Holland said that arrangement is another benefit of Eclipse Aerospace’s partnership with the rotorcraft manufacturer.

“We’re not saving any money by hav-ing Mielec perform [fabrication] work,” he added. “What we are doing is lever-aging the manufacturing experience of a company that’s been around for nearly 100 years.”

NBAA’12 attendees may sample the Eclipse 550’s Avio IFMS at the Eclipse Aerospace display (Booth No. 2954). A Total Eclipse 500 jet is on static display at Orlando Executive Airport. o


Eclipse Aerospace’s Total Eclipse 500 jet is on static display at Orlando Executive Airport. This particular aircraft is certified preowned and can be customized and delivered in 45 to 90 days, according to the company.

The Avio integrated flight management system for the Eclipse 500, developed by IS&S, features full moving-map navigation capabilities, GPS-coupled autopilot and XM satellite weather. The Eclipse 550 will retain much of what made the original VLJ attractive including a six-seat cabin.

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Shannon here to showcase U.S. customs, repair servicesby Ian Goold

Ireland’s Shannon Airport holds unique status as the only airport outside the U.S. able to provide inbound cus-toms and immigration preclearance for business jets and crews. The preclearance process has been considerably acceler-ated following a decision to permit oper-ators to keep aircraft powered up. The move means that chocks-on to chocks-off procedures can be completed in 45 minutes, a claimed saving of at least 35 minutes over aircraft that have to shut down all power.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protec-tion agency allows aircraft to run auxil-iary power units, as long as exhaust outlets are no lower than eight feet from the ground, or to receive power from ground units. So far this year, there has been a slight increase in demand for preclear-ance compared with last year, according to cargo and technical traffic develop-ment manager Joe Buckley, who reports “plenty of spare capacity” for any opera-tor wanting to use the service.

Buckley said a mix of about 20 busi-ness aircraft types use the airport, “with the Gulfstream IV making up 20 per-cent of our movements.” Other popular types transitioning via Shannon include Bombardier Challengers (about 10 per-cent) and Dassault Falcon 900s (about 8 percent).

Catering to Business AviationFBO services are available at Shannon

from Jetex Flight Support, Signature Flight Support and Universal Aviation. Dubai-based Jetex has established a joint venture with Westair to operate an FBO there. The facility includes an exec-utive terminal, with pilot and passenger lounges and flight-planning room, and 40,000 sq ft of hangar space. Westair/Jetex also provides fueling and EASA-approved maintenance for several busi-ness jet types.

Quintessentially Aviation is to develop a VIP lounge for corporate jet traffic operated from Al Bateen Executive Air-port in Abu Dhabi to Shannon. Some of the larger aircraft–such as the Boeing 737 and 767 and Airbus A319–operat-ing from the Middle East, together with U.S.-based jets, account for almost 50 percent of Shannon’s traffic. Overall, there were about 4,500 business jet move-ments at the airport last year, according

to director Mary Considine.Also being emphasized at Shannon’s

NBAA booth (No. 4642) this year is the airport’s location as “Number 1 for technical stops on the North Atlantic,” a circumstance that is seen as contrib-uting to its high levels of business air-craft movements.

Although airport officials are uncer-tain what caused a record total of 460 business aircraft movements in June this year, Shannon always sees an increase in traffic in line with transat-lantic flight trends, said Buckley. The June traffic was about 25 percent higher than in June 2011. However, the airport said it saw no particular sign of move-ments being influenced by the timing of the London 2012 Olympic and Para-lympic Games.

A recent initiative at the airport is an effort to focus on business aviation as a potential growth area through promo-tion in partnership with Shannon Devel-opment, a joint exhibitor here in Orlando. With the regional government agency, Shannon Airport has established an annual Irish Business Aviation conference.

The airport is being promoted as a center of excellence for the industry, which has led to foreign direct invest-ment inquiries, especially for mainte-nance and other aerospace projects, according to Buckley. The Irish govern-ment has established a Shannon Aviation Task Force to stimulate aviation develop-ment at the airport. o


Shannon Airport, the only airport outside the U.S. providing inbound customs and immigration preclearance for business jets, claims its repair expertise

has contributed to high levels of business aircraft movements there.

JSfirm.com, an aviation job and ré-sumé listing website, noted a record-setting second quarter 2012, reporting a 61-percent increase over the second quarter of 2011 in the number of aviation jobs being advertised. According to JS-firm.com manager Jeff Richards, “This was the busiest second quarter for job advertisements in our 13-year history.” Richards cited a recovering economy among reasons for the increase. The Fort Worth, Texas firm (Booth No. 3420) pro-vides a free service to job seekers and the website includes access to job postings, direct mail of new employment opportu-nities, as well as free résumé builder and networking tools. Companies subscribing to JSfirm.com’s services receive direct access to résumés, management tools and unlimited job postings. n

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Embraer’s new inside game by Mark Huber

Embraer is bringing interior develop-ment and modification for its full line of corporate jets in-house. That’s the word from Ernest Edwards, president of Embraer Executive Jets. The com-pany previously contracted with BMW Designworks USA for the interior cabin design on its Phenom and Legacy jets. Embraer’s new customer center and its

under-construction engineering and tech-nical center, both at its Melbourne, Fla. campus, will be the epicenter of the new effort. “We want to bring design excel-lence in-house,” explained Edwards.

To that end, Embraer is forming an experienced team. Over the summer it hired Jay Beever as vice president of inte-rior design. Beever previously served as

design manager for new product devel-opment at Gulfstream Aerospace, where he worked on the new G650 and the Elite interiors for the G550 and G450.

Prior to that he was a design engi-neering supervisor at Ford’s advanced concepts studio in California, where he helped fashion a wide array of concept vehicles for Ford’s domestic and Euro-pean brands.

“Jay’s task is going to be to look at the whole range of airplanes and fine tune the interiors, given customer feed-back. Then, maybe do some refresh-ments,” said Edwards. “You think about it: the world hadn’t seen anything like the [Phenom] 100 and 300 when we launched them in 2005. They were very fresh, but we are seven years into that program. Altogether, Embraer has 550 executive jets out there right now. The older Leg-acy 600s are 10 years old and the older Phenom 100s are already three years old. It is inevitable that people will start thinking about refurbishing and refresh-ing their interiors. I think it would be nice to start planning ahead for those days.”

Unmatched Array of InteriorsBeever thinks Embraer’s collabora-

tion with BMW Designworks gives him a good starting point. “Embraer already has done an incredible job of putting itself in a design leadership position because of the work it has done with BMW. There has always been an appetite with this company to differentiate itself with design. The next step is where I get involved, to take design to the next level.”

The designer faces immediate chal-lenges with the interiors of the new Leg-acy 450 and 500. Embraer’s plan is to offer customers an unmatched array of interior choices for aircraft within this $15 million to $18.5 million price point.

Beever describes Embraer’s goal as offering a high degree of personalization on those interiors as opposed to custom-ization. “That means strategically plan-ning zones of adjustability ahead of time that will allow the customer to put his fin-gerprint on the interior without getting out of control [on price]. Customers need to feel like they have a level of adjustabil-ity that allows them to come close to a

custom airplane [interior] and we need to make sure there is flexibility and change-ability of certain touchpoints to give them a unique look,” he said.

Beever sees most choices falling within colors, substrates and fabrics that will be available, but he also sees “bolt-on” fea-tures with “zones of appliqué,” such as customer logos or family crests.

The challenge is to keep engineering in budget while keeping the customer satis-fied. “That’s the challenge,” he said. “The more offerings you have available, even in a ‘plug and play’ configuration, the more engineering is involved.

“The industry currently understands design as color and material. My perspec-tive is industrial design and engineering. A well-run design studio incorporates all of those disciplines. Our industrial designers will be working on new prod-uct development and, when a design is released, engineering will be able to accept it. I’ve always been very practical in my approach,” Beever said.

To further bridge the design to end product divide, Embraer recently acquired a minority interest in Aero Seat-ing Technologies (AST) of San Gabriel, Calif. AST currently is a supplier on Embraer’s Lineage large executive jet.

Embraer also is testing its interiors much the way NASA tests spacecraft, using a full-size cabin mock-up to run passenger cabin simulations on its new Legacy 500, according to Edwards.

“Our engineers and executives sit in the cabin for three or four hours just like a customer would and we simulate a real flight. The passengers watch movies and are served drinks and meals. When you do that, you start noticing things you wouldn’t otherwise notice, and we are using that experience in finalizing the full production interior for the Legacy 500.”

Customers visiting Embraer’s new Melbourne center and showrooms already are seeing tangible evidence of the company’s in-house interiors focus. “This is an area to watch at Embraer,” said Robert Knebel, vice president of executive aircraft sales. “We are going to give midsize jet customers the same com-pletion experience they would have if they ordered a Lineage.” o


Embraer is bringing the design of its Phenom 100 and 300 and Legacy jets (above) in-house and plans to offer customers an unmatched array of interior choices and high degree of personalization. The company is testing its interiors much the way NASA tests spacecraft, using a full-size cabin mock-up to run passenger cabin simulations on its new Legacy 500.Whether in the air or

on the ground, we have your aviation risks covered.Aviation insurance isn’t just a take-off to touch down business. At Swiss Re Corporate Solutions our tailor-made risk transfer solutions span every aspect of aviation - from physical aircraft damage to liability coverage for aircraft manufacturers, air-port operators, and air traffi c control. All with the backing of Swiss Re’s global expertise, capacity, and fi nancial strength. With Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, risk is our raw material; what we create for you is opportunity.

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Irving to inspire youth with classroom in the skyby Curt Epstein

“It will be the only class-room in the world capable of reaching 41,000 feet in 18 minutes,” said record-setting pilot and educator Barrington Irving yesterday at the launch of his latest endeavor, known as “Classroom in the Sky.” The project, an initiative of Irving’s non-profit Experience Avia-tion, will attempt to expose mil-lions of students to aviation by

allowing them to interact with him during a planned around-the-world flight, which will take him to all seven continents.

Irving believes the science, technology, engineering and math (Stem) curriculum under development will engage stu-dents in a way that is chal-lenging for typical classroom learning. “This is the advan-tage that we have in the avi-ation industry,” said Irving. “What we do is exciting, what we do really triggers and fires the neurons in the brains of young people to take interest in math and science, and that is very difficult to do within the educational system.”

Through the Internet, social-media outlets and even through in-flight conversations, students will be able to follow along and participate in lessons tied to the flight. “We are empowering the students to become their own

engineers, become aviators, sci-entists,” he said. In addition to science and math, Irving plans to include other disciplines such as geography, ecology and biol-ogy as well, as students learn more about our planet.

In support of the program, Hawker Beechcraft (HBC) has donated a Hawker 400XPR jet to serve as the flying class-room. “Sponsoring Barrington’s Classroom in the Sky initia-tive is a natural fit for Hawker Beechcraft: we provide an air-craft that showcases its abil-ity to meet his rigorous mission requirements anywhere in the world and we help highlight the importance of Stem education in creating a strong future for aviation and other industries,” said Shawn Vick, HBC’s execu-tive vice president for customers.

Industry SupportIn addition to HBC, many

other aviation companies have pledged their support to the project, which so far has accu-mulated approximately $1.3 million in funding and donated services on its way to the nearly $3 million required. The mis-sion will receive sponsorship

and support from the National Geographic Society, NASA and Innovations for Education to develop a curriculum that can serve students from grades 3 to 10 and expose them early on to a possible career choice, according to Irving. “If you can get a student to pick up the bug of aviation or engineering at an early age, studies have proved that it works,” he said.

Irving, who was born in Jamaica and raised in Miami’s inner city, credits his pas-sion for aviation to a chance encounter with a Jamaica-born

professional pilot who allowed him to tour an airliner cockpit. He washed airplanes to earn his flight-school tuition, and in 2007 he became the youngest pilot ever to fly solo around the world, accomplishing the feat over the course of 97 days in 2007. o


Barrington Irving

In an attempt to cultivate in young people an interest in aviation, Barrington Irving will interact with millions of students as he flies around the world in a Hawker 400XPR, showing the real-world value of science, technology, engineering and math.

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Rebranded parts dealer retools for growth by James Wynbrandt

Aftermarket parts dis-tributor Globalparts.aero (Booth No. 3215) of Augusta, Kan. announced a corpo-rate rebranding that empha-sizes major enhancements to its

business, including the estab-lishment of an FAA Part 145 repair station and a new build-to-print parts manufacturing center equipped with computer numerically controlled (CNC)

machines. “These moves allow us to broaden the support of our worldwide base of OEM, business, charter and regional aircraft operators and provide them with a single, efficient and

cost-effective parts solution,” said Malissa Nesmith, GlobalParts.aero’s v-p and COO. Nesmith noted that the company’s former name, Global Parts Inc, “wasn’t anything that directly tied us to

aviation. We have now tied the name to aerospace.”

For its planned parts-to-print manufacturing enterprise, Global has invested nearly $3 million in acquiring five fac-tory-new CNC machines, including a Makino Mag 1 five-axis horizontal machining cen-ter that can mill complex parts from aluminum blocks mea-suring up to 60 inches per side. The company plans to use its new manufacturing capabil-ity to make out-of-production parts for legacy aircraft under OEM license and take on work from machine shops in the Wichita area that are migrating to larger machines that make bulkier parts. Global plans to build a 60,000-sq-ft addition to its facilities to house the manu-facturing operation.

“We are moving into this area at a level that demonstrates our long-term commitment to meet-ing customers’ needs, even for parts that aren’t typically available off the shelf or at multiple sites,” said Chris Roberts, director of manufacturing.

Meanwhile, the compa-ny’s new Part 145 repair sta-tion “allows us to have complete control over cost drivers, turn times and quality so that we can provide quick and compet-itive service,” said Nesmith. She noted that the company has come a long way since its found-ing as an authorized distributor for Raytheon excess inventory in 2003, when it operated out of a basement. Today the company has more than 50 employees and plans to add a dozen to 20 more in the coming year. o


Tamarack

announces WingleT Pricing

Tamarack Aerospace Group (Booth No. 4171) revealed during its press con-ference yesterday that it is taking deposits for its active technology load alleviation system (Atlas) active winglet system for the Cessna Cita-tion CJ1. “We’re accepting $10,000 refundable deposits here at the show,” said Brian Willet, v-p of sales and flight operations for the company. “The cost of the Atlas kit is estimated to be $196,000, and we are projecting it will take 80 manhours to install the active winglets,” he continued. The company is providing demon-stration flights in its technology demonstrator CJ1 during the NBAA show. –A.L.

Eagle Creek plans to outfit Twin Commander with G1000by Matt Thurber

While many in the aviation indus-try bemoan the fact that older aircraft values are rapidly declining, there is a bright spot–older efficient airframes with plenty of life left that can benefit from avionics upgrades. A great exam-ple is the Twin Commander twin-engine turboprop series. Twin Commander ser-vice center Eagle Creek Aviation of Indianapolis (Booth No. 5385) has been working on a supplemental type certif-icate (STC) Garmin G1000 upgrade to the Twin Commander series for more than six months and expects to receive FAA approval in the second quarter of next year, according to Eagle Creek CEO Matt Hagans.

There are still more than 700 Twin Commanders flying worldwide and more than 300 in the U.S., accord-ing to Twin Commander Aircraft pres-ident Matt Isley. Twin Commander 690 through 1000 series were produced between 1973 and 1986, and Twin Com-mander Aircraft is now owned by First-mark of Richmond, Va.

The Eagle Creek G1000 upgrade

is the first time Garmin has incorpo-rated engine instrumentation for the Honeywell (formerly Garrett) TPE331. The Twin Commander G1000 doesn’t use Garmin’s autopilot but retains the Meggitt autopilot found in many of these airplanes. “The original concept was to put in the Garmin autopilot,” Hagans said, “but that would have delayed cer-tification by another year.” The Meggitt autopilot did have to be moved, because the mode annunciators need to be in the

pilot’s field of view. Because there wasn’t enough depth at the top of the instru-ment panel, the autopilot control was moved to the glareshield.

Removal of the typical Collins or King avionics installed in most Twin Commanders and installing the Garmin system results in a net weight reduction of 250 pounds, according to Hagans. “All of the navcoms, radar, autopilot components, inverter sys-tem, all legacy avionics and sensors are gone and replaced,” he said. The G1000 system also will include Garmin’s new GWX 70 solid-state radar, a new radar altimeter, an electronic standby instru-ment and XM WX satellite weather. All of the engine sensors are new, too. The G1000 displays are two 10-inch PFDs and a 12-inch MFD. Larger displays

don’t fit because of the limited panel space in the Twin Commander. “It fea-tures great visibility by having a very low glareshield,” said Hagans.

The Twin Commander G1000 STC will be owned by Eagle Creek, but it will be available for all Twin Commander service centers to offer their custom-ers. Eagle Creek also offers a Garmin G600 upgrade for the Twin Com-mander series. Eagle Creek is showing the G1000-upgraded Twin Commander at the NBAA static display at Orlando Executive Airport. Pricing for the G1000 upgrade is “competitive with King Air installations,” Hagans said, and will be available from Eagle Creek during the NBAA convention. o


Musty Putters (Booth No. 3738) is showcasing at NBAA’12 its handcraft-ed wood putters and the ability to la-ser engrave on multiple locations on the golf club, so the coveted putters can do double duty as golf-related company-branded gifts. “Each of our putters is one of a kind, thanks to the variety of styles available and the unique grains found nat-urally in wood,” said David Musty, founder of the Signal Hill, Calif. company. “Addi-tionally we are a green company, using en-vironmentally sustainable materials, and our putters are made and assembled en-tirely in the United States. v

AT THE BOOTHS

On the bids Of angels: auctiOn raises funds fOr can

The NBAA/Corporate Angel Network (CAN) auction is heating up, with some tantaliz-ing items on which to bid. The auction, held tonight at the NBAA/CAN Evening with Angels at the Peabody Hotel here in Orlando, benefits CAN’s airlift of cancer patients nationwide.

This year bidders can vie for some diverse items, including a Honeywell Bendix/King KMA audio panel; one year of waived handling fees from Signature Flight Support; Aircell’s ATG 5000 high-speed Internet system; and air travel to Dubai, UAE, two Hawker Beechcraft T-6 flights, and business aviation training at Emirates-CAE’s flight training facility. There’s even 1,000 gallons of Phillips 66 jet fuel, redeemable at more than 860 FBOs in the U.S., as well as initial flight training in the King Air 90, 100 or 200 at SimCom. The complete list of auction items is at www.nbaa.org/events/amc/2012/soiree/auctions/#live. Every dollar raised by the auction benefits the Corporate Angel Network. –A.L.

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Service, training upgrades on Bombardier’s agendaby Mark Huber

Bombardier is moving to upgrade its customer product support and training options. To that end, the company announced a major expan-sion of its service capabili-ties, including deployment of a fleet of mobile response trucks and three new regional support offices co-located with Bom-bardier factory-owned main-tenance facilities in Tucson, Hartford and Fort Lauderdale.

The trucks and regional offices will be linked 24/7 with Bombardier customer support centers in Montreal and Wich-ita, all eight Bombardier fac-tory-owned commercial and business service centers in the U.S. and deployed customer liaison pilots, customer support account managers and field ser-vice representatives. The trucks and their crews will operate from Van Nuys, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Hartford and Fort Lauderdale. Each truck features state-of-the-art diag-nostic equipment and a variety of maintenance equipment.

Bombardier is establish-ing more regional service offices worldwide. The company recently

opened an office for commercial aircraft in Munich and for busi-ness aircraft at Farnborough. It also opened an office in Moscow. Other locations include Dubai, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Singa-pore, Tokyo, Mumbai, Shang-hai and Sydney. Bombardier also currently maintains 10 parts depots on five continents, two customer response centers (Wich-ita and Montreal), 52 authorized

service centers and two training centers, and it has trained 1,500 maintenance technicians.

“We really stepped up our game last year,” said Eric Mar-tel, president of Bombardier customer services. Martel said the company now has three main parts distribution hubs in

Chicago, Frankfurt and Asia and that it is launching a Smart Parts Preferred program to cover all Learjets, Challengers and Globals with more com-ponent coverage. “The really important change we made was to say ‘yes’ to our custom-ers all the time,” he said. “We can always say ‘yes’ if they need help and support from our service centers. That was not always the case in the past.”

Learjet StrikeMartel said the ongoing strike

at Learjet is not having an impact on customers’ ability to get parts in a timely fashion, although he admitted that the company did not stockpile parts in anticipa-tion of a strike. More than 825 members of the International Association of Machinists struck Bombardier Learjet Wichita on October 8. As of yesterday, the company and the union had not resumed negotiations.

Bombardier also announced an expansion of its partnership with CAE, revealing plans to open a new dedicated pilot and maintenance training center in Amsterdam in 2014 for Globals equipped with the Bombar-dier Vision flight deck. CAE’s Amsterdam location already offers training on the Chal-lenger 300 and 604. The new facility will complement CAE’s Burgess Hill facility. o


Online safety course trains volunteer pilots

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Foundation’s Air Safety Insti-tute (ASI) has released a new online course aimed at educat-ing pilots about how to stay safe while volunteering their services for emergency relief.

The new program, Public Benefit Flying: Balancing Safety and Compassion, was developed in conjunction with the Air Care Alliance and offers users inter-active techniques to examine flight profiles and decision mak-ing that takes pilots far beyond the realm of leisure flying. Users learn how to mitigate pressures and recognize treacherous mind-sets that could lead to trouble, helping them become adept at managing the particular risks of volunteer flying. “As an organi-zation dedicated to community service through public-bene-fit flying, the Air Care Alliance was pleased to partner with

ASI on this new online course,” said Lindy Kirkland, president of the Alliance. “We hope that after viewing this course, more pilots will want to get involved

in volunteer flying efforts.” ASI’s charter is to provide

continuing general aviation pilot education and safety programs, and the organization is a subset of the AOPA Foundation’s larger mission of protecting, preserving and improving the future of gen-eral aviation. AOPA (Booth No. 723) serves more than 400,000 pilots and airplane owners. –C.E.

Which one do you Want?

Attendees stop to dream at Dassault’s booth (No. 3760), where the company has its full line of business jets on display. The French airframer announced a new model in the Falcon line yesterday–the Falcon 2000LXS–that will replace the 2000LX when it gains certfication in 2014.

news clips

z Shell Showcasing Fuel GamesShell Aviation is showcasing 18 of the fuel dealers from

its network of 428 FBOs nationwide here at the NBAA show and is offering a promotion for NBAA attendees looking to find out more about the services they provide. Visitors to the Shell Aviation booth (No. 1940) will be offered a chance to win a Bad Boy Buggy or the $10,000 cash equivalent in the form of MasterCard gift cards. Guests at the booth will be given a Flightplan, which will be stamped each time they speak with one of the FBO Shell fuel dealers. Once they have accumulated at least 12 stamps visitors can drop the completed Flightplan into the bucket to qualify for the grand prize drawing, which will be held on the last day of the show. Also, on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons guests can meet champion aerobatic pilot Sean Tucker, who will be signing prints of his exploits by aviation artist Sam Lyons.

z CAPS Adds HeartStart AEDs Corporate Air Parts (CAPS), in business since 1983

(Booth No 885), recently signed a new agreement with Phillips Medical products that includes the sale and service of all HeartStart automatic external defribrillators (AEDs). Proper use of these life-saving devices will be incorporated into CAPS’s existing training programs, including Part 135.331 emergency crewmember training, hypoxia recognition and recovery and cabin service and AED/CPR/first aid training.

The HeartStart AEDs are specifically designed for trained or untrained responders by providing clear, easy-to-follow instructions. The units employ a series of comprehensive self tests to ensure readiness, using a visible status indicator to show when the device is ready for use. A highly accurate algorithm determines whether or not the patient’s current condition actually requires a shock.

z MarathonNorco Introduces New ChargerTexas-based aircraft battery and power equipment

manufacturer MarathonNorco is on hand at NBAA’12 to introduce the latest addition to its line of Christie battery analyzers. The RF80-M aircraft battery charger/analyzer incorporates new advanced micro-controller technology with a programmable touchscreen display, while building on the company’s existing power circuitry and durability from its previous models. Battery analysis can be performed either in manual mode or by utilizing the system’s programmable modes. The RF80-M will store up to 100 battery processing programs. Program functions include charge, discharge and wait steps with audible and visual alerts. According to the manufacturer (Booth No. 3182), the new unit is the only aircraft battery charger on the market with three different charge methods: constant current, constant potential and the company’s exclusive ReFlex fast charge setting.

z Gama Enhances HBC Support ServiceBusiness aviation service provider Gama Group (Booth

No. 2843) has entered an exclusive agreement through its subsidiary Gama Support Services with Professional Aviation Associates to hold consignment stock for Europe-based Hawker Beechcraft aircraft. The agreement significantly expands the range of stock that Gama Support Services holds for Hawker Beechcraft products, according to Gama Group. “This exclusive consignment agreement ensures that Gama Support Services clients will have access to a wider range of Hawker Beechcraft spare parts, at lower cost and with much improved turnaround times,” said Gama supply chain manager Neil Peters. Gama Support Services offers AOG capabilities and an in-house quick reaction team for urgent support of all Hawker Beechcraft aircraft. Atlanta-based Professional Aviation Associates (Booth No. 2569) is an independent supplier of parts and accessories for the Beechcraft King Air series, the Beech 1900 and Beechjets.

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Custom Control means total cabin controlby Kirby J. Harrison

Custom Control Concepts has found its niche in business and private aviation and is offering evidence at NBAA (Booth No. 2171) that its original status as a small fish in a relatively small pond has become a big fish in that pond.

The pond referred to is the comple-tion and refurbishment market for heavy iron; the single- and twin-aisle executive aircraft derived from airliners. In that pool, CCC made a splash recently with completion center contracts to provide

cabin management and in-flight enter-tainment systems for three new Boeing 747-8s. The latest contract is for L-3 Plat-form Integration in Waco, Texas.

The package for each aircraft includes CCC’s digital cabin management sys-tem, the total high-definition (1080p) cabin entertainment package, Spectrum LED lighting throughout, LED-backlit ultra-thin, lightweight LCD monitors, audio/visual on demand (AVOD) and cabin WiFi connectivity.

According to Serae Jemera, v-p of operations and customer relations, each cabin electronics package will be custom-ized to meet the owner’s desires, “from a 65-inch 3-D monitor to LED lighting throughout.” Customization is a key ele-ment of CCC’s success. “In fact, one of our customers has had the same CCC cabin management and entertainment system installed in the yacht and home that was put into the private jet.

“We focus on the very large business and private jet industry, but we’ve also installed our equipment in helicopters and even a private submarine. In all, our systems have been installed in more than 130 narrowbody and widebody bizliners alone,” Jemera added.

Available at the CCC exhibit here is virtually every product in its line, installed and available for demonstration in a cabin mockup. Among the latest items are:• A line of 3-D monitors, from 47-inch

to 65-inch, with a switch to shift from standard viewing to 3-D; promoted as “smart, bright, light and skinny.”

• The iPlane app, which allows users to stream previously loaded audio and video from Apple or Android devices and enjoy it on the cabin big-screen. It also allows control of all cabin amenities through a personal device.• Spectrum Lighting that permits infinite

control of cabin lighting from an Apple or Android device. It will also allow the user to simply touch any color in a pho-tograph in the device and have that color replicated throughout the cabin lighting system.

• Back-shells that ensure a custom fit for each application, and ensure “a sub-stantial reduction in electromagnetic interference.”

• The SkyShow 3-D moving map.According to Jemera, one of the

main advantages enjoyed by CCC is that it has its own in-house lab for test-ing and certification. The company

claims to have designed, manufactured, tested, certified and delivered more than 140 unique and proprietary systems.

Part of the CCC process of putting together a cabin package is a bench test of the finished system in its own integra-tion lab, “where the customer can come in and push all the buttons and is encour-aged to make any changes before the system is packed and shipped to the com-pletion center for installation,” explained president and CEO Kurt Mayhall.

CCC also has a training and sup-port team to back up more than 140 air-craft installations. This is important, said marketing administrator Jesse Swingle, “because some of our earlier customers are starting to come back for upgrades as new technology comes on line.”

CCC is growing to accommodate an expanding workload, in particular the engineering department. “Because growth in our market niche hardly felt the recession, we continued to expand,” Jemera explained. “We had a very good year last year and we expect this year to be even better.” o

Custom Control Concepts’ digital cabin management system provides Spectrum Lighting that permits infinite control of cabin lighting from an Apple or Android device, allowing users to match colors on a tablet image.

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Bell delivers two 407GXs for NYCby Harry Weisberger

Bell Helicopter has delivered two Bell 407GXs, the first of that model operated in a sightsee-ing capacity, to Helicopter Flight Services, a New York-based oper-ator. Helicopter Flight Services

flies a fleet of five Bell 407s and the two new 407GXs, offering tours, charters, aerial photogra-phy, lift work and custom projects.

Owner John Kjekstad opted for the 407GX quiet cruise kit

to proactively address helicop-ter noise complaints from New York-area residents and envi-ronmental activists. The quiet-mode kit, which consists of a selector switch on the pilot’s collective and an annunciator, permits flight operations at 92 percent rotor rpm above 50 kias and 200 feet agl. When engaged, the quiet mode kit reduces fly-over noise level by 3.8 dBA (sound exposure level). Bell said Helicopter Flight Services is the only New York-area company moving forward with rotorcraft noise-reduction technology.

“The 407 and 407GX are both great ships,” commented Kjekstad. “We chose to add two 407GXs because of the fantastic technology.” The 407GX differs from the B407 primarily in fea-turing the Garmin G1000H glass flight deck with two 10.4-inch high-resolution LCD screens.

Safety Benefits“The G1000H is user-friendly

and is a big safety feature for us; we are able to see the New York traffic at a glance,” he said. “Our clients love the 407GX and we could not be happier with it.”

The latest variant of the B407 is powered by the same Rolls-Royce/Allison 250-C47B turboshaft engine as the 407. Other 407GX features include high main rotor clearance (eight feet), excellent hover perfor-mance with the Fadec-controlled engine, comfortable seating for seven and the quiet cruise kit.

Another 407GX option is Bell’s 250-pound increased max-imum interior gross weight kit. The kit’s flight manual supple-ment allows customers to fly at an increased maximum internal gross weight of 7,500 pounds. First approved by Transport Canada, the kit also includes a helicopter terrain awareness warning system, cockpit voice recorder/flight data recorder, a flashing forward light and a radar altimeter.

Bell is at Booth No. 5366 demonstrating the work-load-reducing and situation-al awareness-enhancing func-tions of the 407GX’s G1000H glass cockpit. o


Helicopter Flight Services has taken delivery of two G1000H glass-cockpit-equipped Bell 407GXs that it plans to use for sightseeing, charter and aerial photography.

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GE Passport 20 engine preps for upcoming ground runby Thierry Dubois

GE Aviation (Booth No. 3900) is planning on testing the first full Passport 20 engine, slated to power the Bombar-dier Global 7000 and 8000, in the second quarter of next year. The design of the 16,500-pound-thrust turbofan was fro-zen in April this year. A series of thor-ough safety trials is well under way.

The Passport 20 features the largest fan blisk (blade-integrated disk) on a civil engine. It is made of titanium, but the case is constructed of composite mate-rials. This new combination has necessitated many fan-blade-out rig tests, proj-ect manager Dennis King explained. Two of these tests focused on the blade rupture process and the containment characteris-tics of the fan case, and these were successful. A third test, “fan blade-out three,” is scheduled for the third quar-ter of next year. The testing will look at the overall prod-uct design, said Brad Mottier, GE Avia-tion vice president and general manager for business and general aviation.

Other recent rig tests include bird ingestion and one that measured the aerodynamic efficiency of the fan. GE has high expectations for the new fan, as the 18-blade blisk design was chosen to improve efficiency. In a conventional engine design, blades are separate parts, held by a slotted disk or pinned holes, and air can leak between blade platforms, causing a loss of performance. Blades also can shift back and forth in their slot or on their pin, which causes wear and vibration. But in a blisk, the blades and disk constitute one combined unit, which eliminates leaks, wear and vibration. In addition, the inner (hub) diameter can be made smaller, allowing for a greater air-flow within the same fan outer diameter.

At the engine core level, two demonstra-tors of the high-pressure-ratio eCore have accumulated about 150 hours of testing.

The hardware for the first full engine is arriving at GE’s Evendale, Ohio facili-ties. The engine will be assembled in the first quarter of next year, as the first run is scheduled for the second quarter. In 2014, flight tests will be accomplished on GE’s flying testbed, a dedicated Boeing 747. Moreover, the company will employ the altitude test cell at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, Tenn.

Eight engines and two cores will take part into the certification pro-

gram. “There will be multiple builds of these engines,” King said. Engine certification is pegged for 2015.

The Passport 20’s 10-stage high-pressure (HP) compressor will include five blisk stages. “Increasing the number of HPC blisk stages from four to five is a design change that was introduced approximately one year ago,” a GE spokesman explained. The HP compressor will

offer a stall-free design with no throttle restriction. Downstream from the com-bustor, the two-stage HP turbine will be followed by a four-stage low-pressure (LP) turbine. The LP turbine will fea-ture third-generation 3-D aerodynamic design, state-of-the-art cooling tech-niques and active clearance control for reduced weight and enhanced durability.

As a result, GE claims the engine will offer “at least 8 percent improved specific fuel consumption, compared to current engines in the field.” It will be certified to CAEP/8 environmental standards with margins on all emissions (nitrous oxide, smoke, hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide), according to GE. As for noise, ICAO’s Stage 4 limits should be met with about a 13 EPNdB margin.

The Passport engine family could span the 12,000- to 20,000-pound-thrust range. The Passport 20 will be certified at 18,200 pounds, although Bombardier’s thrust requirement is only 16,500 pounds. o


Monterrey facility adds More Hawker BeecHcraft service

On September 26, Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support celebrated the grand opening of its newest service center at the Aeropuerto Internacional del Norte in Monter-rey, Mexico. Besides maintenance, repair and modification of airframes, powerplants and avionics systems, the Mexican Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil-certified Hawker Beechcraft Services facility also offers interior modification and exterior paint. This is the second HBS facility in Mexico.

“Our Monterrey facility offers the first dedicated paint facility in Mexico for general avi-ation and is a great option for owners looking to update and refurbish their aircraft,” said Christi Tannahill, Hawker Beechcraft senior vice president, global customer support. For cus-tomers seeking modification work, the Monterrey facility offers a design studio filled with a variety of leathers, carpets, fabrics and finishes as well as electronic views of potential designs.

The 48,000-sq-ft Monterrey Hawker Beechcraft service center features a 13,400-sq-ft paint hangar, 24,000-sq-ft maintenance hangar, 10,700 sq ft of office space, on-site parts and dedicated customer area with Wi-Fi-equipped guest offices and a lounge. –M.T.

The Passport 20 fan prepared for blade-out rig test. GE has designed the largest fan blisk ever on a civil engine.

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30 NBAA Convention News • October 31 2012 • www.ainonline.com

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November 2011• Announced that the company-owned

maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities in Belfast and Dallas were accredited with quality standard AS9110 Revision A.

• Signed a memorandum of under-standing with the government of the Kingdom of Morocco for the establishment of a new manufacturing facility.

January 2012• Bombardier released delivery and order results for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2011. The airframer

delivered 163 business jets, up from 155 for the previous fiscal year. During the same period, the company received 191 net orders for business jets, compared to 107 for the previous year.

• NetJets’s first Bombardier jet, a Global 6000, was handed over for completions. The aircraft was part of a firm order for 50 Globals by the fractional provider. With a total retail price exceeding $6.7 billion including options for an additional 70 Globals, the order was the largest aircraft purchase agreement in the history of private aviation.

March 2012• Bombardier named professional tennis player

Novak Djokovic as a Learjet Brand Ambassador.

• Bombardier’s new Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion-based Vision flight deck enters service on schedule on a Global 5000.

• Australia’s AVWest places a firm $292.5 million order for five Global 6000 ultra long-range jets.

2012

July 2012• Announced the opening of a regional support office at

Farnborough, UK.

September 2012• The OEM announced

it achieved power-on of the first Learjet 75’s electrical systems on the Wichita production line.

2011

BombardierA look back at the past year’s news and events

October 2011• Announced that interior

completion of the new Global 7000 and Global 8000 business jets will take place at Bombardier’s Global Completion Centre in Montréal.

• Bombardier named world-renowned architect Frank Gehry as a Global aircraft brand ambassador.

• Selected Stan Younger, who previously led Cessna’s company-owned service facilities, to head the company’s aircraft service center network, succeeding Michael McQuay, who retired.

• Began fabrication of the first Learjet 85 flight test aircraft.

• Announced OnPoint engine service agreements for Challenger and Global Aircraft with GE Aviation, for jets using GE Passport and CF34 engines.

• Announced that its Querétaro, Mexico manufacturing site will build the aft fuselage for the new ultra-long range Global 7000 and Global 8000.

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December 2011• Released third quarter financial results showing a backlog of

$22.3 billion across its aerospace division, a 16 percent rise over the previous year due mainly to an increase in large business aircraft and CSeries airliner orders.

• Opened new business aircraft regional support offices (RSO) in Singapore and São Paulo, Brazil and expanded capabilities at its Sydney, Australia commercial aircraft RSO to include business aircraft.

• Received a firm, approximately $156 million order for five Challenger 850 large cabin jets from an undisclosed customer.April 2012

• Albert K. Li, most recently president, Ford Lio Ho Motor, was appointed as general manager and head of Bombardier Aerospace China.

• Bombardier Aerospace inaugurates its new office in Shanghai.

• First Global 6000 equipped with the Vision flight deck is delivered.

• Bombardier Aerospace inaugurates new engineering service office in Bangalore, India.

• Ground breaking ceremony held for Learjet’s Wichita site expansion. The more than $50 million project, the largest in Bombardier Learjet’s history, includes the company’s flight test center, the establishment of centers of excellence for engineering and information technology, a new paint shop, production flight test building and a new delivery center.

February 2012• The 400th Learjet 60XR

midsize jet was delivered to Mexico-based movie theater operator Cinépolis.

June 2012• NetJets places $2.3 billion order for 75 super-midsize Challenger 300 jets and 25 large-cabin

Challenger 605s, plus options for an additional 125 Challenger 300s and 50 605s. The aircraft will be operated in North America and Europe.

• Ground breaking is held on a full-scale company-owned service center for business aircraft at Seletar Airport in Singapore. It will be the company’s 10th such facility and its second outside North America.

• Bombardier releases its annual 20-year market forecast calling for the delivery of 24,000 business jets from 2012 to 2031, valued at $648 billion.

• Announced firm orders for three Global 6000 and five Global 8000 jets from an undisclosed customer worth approximately $507 million.

August 2012• Composite fuselage

sections for the first Learjet 85 make the two-day journey by truck from Querétaro, Mexico to Wichita for joining.

May 2012• Launch of Learjet 70 and 75, direct replacements for the 40XR and

45XR, the midsize pair features newly-designed winglets, upgraded engines, the Garmin G5000 avionics suite and a new cabin.

Challenger 605

Vision flight deck

Global 7000/8000

aft cabin

Berg features ‘drop-in’ bizjet shadesW.M. Berg is featuring its

simplified custom window shade assembly design here at Booth No. 813, highlighting 15 years of experience in motor-ized business jet window shade assembly applications.

The firm is emphasizing its “truly simple, three-component design.” In both manual and motorized variants, the shade assemblies include: a lead screw to transfer horizontal actua-tion to vertical shade movement

with a motor for the motorized assembly; an upper pulley bear-ing assembly, replaced by shaft drive for the motorized assem-bly; and two belts.

“Our ‘drop-in’ design pro-vides worry-free operation

because there are no cables to increase the risk of failure,” said director of marketing Mark Weiland. “This saves custom-ers labor and maintenance costs, while ensuring low force and precise actuation.”

Other advantages of Berg’s customized approach to the business aircraft window shade include adaptation to various

mechanical envelopes, environ-ments and constraints; adjust-able stops with rare-earth magnets; 303 stainless-steel lead screw and guide rails; and off-the-shelf assembly design.

“Our customers are assigned a dedicated engineer represent-ing an entire team of experts as their single point of contact for the entirety of the projects,” said Weiland. “This ensures them not only a high-quality product, but service and support, too.”

W.M. Berg’s facilities are in Cudahy, Wis. where its shades are built and assembled in a 150,000-sq-ft plant. –K.J.H.


CRS Jet SpaReS ShowS New ipad MouNt FoR

GulFStReaMS

Apple iPads continue to flood cockpits, from ultralights to airlin-ers, and here at NBAA’12, several companies are offering mounts for the popular electronic tablets.

One such company is Fort Lauderdale-based CRS Jet Spares (Booth No. 3916), which is announcing its new iPad yoke mount for Gulfstream aircraft this week in Orlando. Accord-ing to CRS, the mount (part number CRS-IPD-GUL) weighs 11 ounces, attaches flush to the yoke, requires no electrical con-nection, can be rotated 360 degrees and flips up to allow easy entry and egress from the pilot’s seat. Said to be easily removable, the iPad yoke mount can also be used with other tab-lets, as well as on flat, horizontal surfaces. Priced at $475, it comes with a lifetime warranty.

CRS started marketing its iPad mount a few months ago, accord-ing to Jack Caloras, CRS vice president of sales and business development. Another company is manufacturing the mount under an exclusive agreement with CRS.

“We have sold more than 100 units of the yoke mount and are ramping up production to meet the demand,” said CRS CEO Armando Leighton. The yoke mount fits the yokes of all Gulfstream jets, except for the G650, Caloras told AIN. He added that CRS is developing a version of the iPad mount for glare shields with the same company that is manufacturing the yoke mount. The glare-shield mount, however, is being designed to fit just about any aircraft.

At NBAA’12, CRS Jet Spares is giving away a 2012 Harley David-son Super Low Iron 883. The drawing for the motorcycle will take place at the company’s booth at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. –R.R.P.

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Olympics traffic less than expected by Ian Sheppard

The London Olympics was as much a success from an avi-ation point of view as it was from a sporting one, although the French may choose to dis-agree given that Paris was the jilted candidate in 2005. Brit-ish medal hopes far exceeded expectations and the U.S. beat China at the top of the medals table. The vigilance and good planning paid off and there were no aviation-related news stories to interrupt the smooth flow of sporting action as even the weather, so appalling for much of 2012, decided to stop drenching the British Isles as the Gulf Stream shifted its gaze back up to Iceland.

Generally, the 40 slot-coor-dinated airports did not have capacity problems, and due to

the lack of any disruptions, few aircraft even had to hold in the temporary holding pat-terns. Having started on July 21, Olympic airspace restric-tions switched back to near nor-mal in mid-August with a quiet, behind-the-scenes sigh of relief from the armed forces, airspace coordinators, regulators, ATC and operators. The Paralympics started in late August with far less restrictive temporary mea-sures, mainly focused around London City Airport, which is close to the Olympic Park, and some out-of-London venues. Slot-coordinator Airport Coor-dination Ltd. (ACL), which is based at London’s Heathrow Airport, reported that around 5,000 bookings had been regis-tered for slots at the 40 airports.

Jet booking service Private-fly said airports did have spare capacity during the Games, although it saw a 40-percent increase in bookings, mostly “as a result of Londoners trying to escape. Despite predictions of a significant increase to private jet movements during the London 2012 Olympics, overall indus-try traffic levels were around 25 percent down on what was pre-dicted,” Privatefly summarized.

Oxford Airport’s experience of the Games period was inter-esting. “The airport’s Olym-pics impact really came ahead of the Games in July when we saw a notable increase in heavy metal coming through us in those two weeks,” the airport reported, “50-plus slots ver-sus 18 last year over the same

period for GV/G550/Global Express/Falcon 7X and first BBJs–representing a 180-per-cent increase–and we sold 40 percent more fuel.” Interest-ingly, the airport observed that the trend was “mainly driven by operators who might normally have gone to Luton, looking for a lower-cost option outside the [Olympics] restricted zone with easy aircraft parking space and less hassle. None of [that] was Olympics-related.”

Overall, Oxford saw well over 600 business aircraft slots used in the Olympic period, which ranked it number five behind Luton, Farnborough, Biggin Hill and Stansted airports. The Oxford traffic was not Olympics traffic, though. Oxford’s busi-est day was July 23 with 45 bizav movements, double the normal peak. It appears that overall air traffic services provider NATS and the UK CAA predicted vol-umes accurately, with almost 10,000 IFR general aviation movements, 3,000 more than would be expected normally.

Biggin Hill TrafficThe Barclays London Heli-

port, the city’s only commercial heliport, saw an increase of 63 percent over the same period in 2011. The heliport was acquired by Oxford Airport owners the Reuben Brothers earlier this year, but the airport said shut-tles to the heliport increased negligibly. Usually, the summer is a quiet holiday season.

London Biggin Hill Airport (Booth No. 1389) “handled a significantly higher profile of larger jets and some demand-ing peaks,” according to busi-ness development manager Robert Walters. He added that highlights included a total of 1,300 slots at the airport (July 21 to August 15) with the ACL slot system working well with “no problems encountered.” Growth of 12.5 percent was encountered during July over the same period a year earlier.

The peak movement period for Biggin Hill was July 26 to 29, and the peak number of air-craft parked was 80 corporate jets. In addition, Walters rec-ognized the “fine on-site sup-port from Gulfstream, which positioned an engineering team at the airport for the duration. Together with our FBO part-ners [at Biggin Hill] Jet Avia-tion and Rizonjet, the handling arrangements were seamlessly managed for customers.” Some 12 percent of the visitor total was new to Biggin Hill, reflect-ing a positive effect for busi-ness aviation airports around

London. Walters concluded, “The logistics required for the London Games has brought us extended capabilities and new ideas. Our task now is to build on that legacy.”

Luton Airport confirmed to AIN halfway through the Games that, “The total number of executive jet movements at London Luton for the Olympic period to date is 1,845 and this is expected to be 2,400 by the end. We do not have any information on the purpose of these visits and there is no definitive way of telling if they are arriving for the Olympics or another purpose.”

“A last-minute surge of world leaders, government offi-cials, VIPs and celebrities arriv-ing for the opening ceremony helped set a record at Stansted Airport on Friday, July 27,” that airport reported. The influx of so many private jets and air-craft saw more airplanes parked overnight at the airport than ever before. In total, 165 air-planes were positioned around the north side and south side areas of the airport, com-pared to 156 for the Champions League (European soccer cup) final in May 2011.

“We had an extremely busy day on Friday with scores of private jets flying in world lead-ers and the rich and famous attending the opening cere-mony,” said head of airside operations Trevor Waldock. “It was an immense logistical operation and hugely challeng-ing,” he said. Stansted has three established FBOs: Harrods Avi-ation (Booth No. 4263), Uni-versal Aviation (Booth Nos. 2516, 2914) and Inflite, while Aero Toy Store opened a base there earlier this year.

Finally, said TAG Farn- borough Airport (Booth No. 4321) director of operations Roger Walker, “Farnborough has been busy, particularly with heads of state and IOC member flights, providing good first and last impressions of London. The service has been seamless, with many positive comments received from our VIPs. We have been planning for the Olympics for over 18 months, and our new infrastructure, including han-gars, apron and arrivals lounge, has been well received. It has been a particularly eventful period, with the Farnborough International Airshow ending just 12 days before the Olympic Games opening ceremony.” o


Olympics brings new business tO biggin Hill AirpOrt

London Biggin Hill Airport (Booth No. 1389) business-development manager Robert Walters hopes that busi-ness aircraft operators that flew into the airport during the 2012 Olympics will visit again soon. “We have been encouraged by the number of new customers using the airport for the first time,” he said, “approximately 12 percent of the total [during the games].”

Heavier aircraft, including several Boeing Business Jets, Bombardier Global Expresses and Gulfstreams, were among aircraft arriving from Australia, China, Hong Kong, the Middle East, North America and Europe. Many regular ATR 42 and ATR 72 turboprop corporate-charter flights from Europe operated into Biggin Hill, which handled a peak of 20 movements in its busiest hour as many departed on the morning after the opening ceremony. Coordinated traffic management permitted Biggin Hill a maximum of 21 movements an hour.

Including Olympics-related traffic, Biggin Hill saw overall growth of 19 percent in July and a 7-percent gain for the year’s first eight months to August 31. The airport expects to achieve about 13,000 movements for the year.

Resident Swiss business aviation management and charter operator Perfect Aviation plans to move its Biggin Hill-based UK subsidiary to bigger facilities to provide expanded aircraft maintenance capacity. Its 11,475-sq-ft hangar and offices have been extensively renovated and larger ramp parking will accommodate four mid-sized business jets. Perfect will undertake in-house base maintenance for its Learjet 45 fleet and is planning to expand its maintenance capability to other types as demand grows. Among other news, completion center RAS Group has introduced a new apprenticeship scheme at Biggin Hill, and the airport operator has commissioned a new fire station offering capacity for up to eight 6- by 6-wheel rescue vehicles. –I.G.

Despite predictions of a significant increase to private jet movements during the London 2012 Olympics, overall industry traffic levels were around 25 percent down on what was expected. London Biggin Hill Airport (below), however saw a 12.5 percent increase in traffic from the previous July and reported handling more larger jets than usual and using some 1,300 slots.

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With window shade systems, ATG is spreading the lightby Kirby J. Harrison

Aerospace Technologies Group (ATG) is taking the art of aircraft window shades to a new level. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based company (Booth No. 995) is pro-moting its line of window shade systems for business aircraft. The line includes the electromechanical Powertech and Pow-ertech 2 dual-pleated shade-and-rail sys-tems and the latest product known as Panacea, which adds fourth-generation electrochromic technology.

Powertech and Powertech 2 are both in production, with Powertech 2 an upgrade that is “faster, quieter and features a man-ual override,” according to the company. Variants of each are currently in devel-opment in various sizes for six differ-ent OEM aircraft, from the HondaJet to Bombardier’s Global 7000 and 8000. The Modular System 2 is being developed for the Airbus A318, A319 and A321 series, and their ACJ executive versions, as well as for the Boeing Business Jet series.

ATG currently supplies both Airbus and Boeing with its earlier-generation products for commercial airline applica-tions: the Powertech NG for the Airbus A380 and the Ambiance shade system for the Boeing 777. These are also applicable to their executive aircraft variants.

Translucent ShadeThe Powertech and Powertech 2 fea-

ture a dual-rail carrying system to deploy a translucent pleated shade with approx-imately 50-percent light diffusion and a virtually 100-percent blackout shade. The rail assemblies are made of “ultra-light-weight” carbon fiber in a manufacturing technique called “pultrusion” to ensure precise tolerances and high strength.

The single-track design allows for a wider overlay cutout as well as the hous-ing of all the components within a thin cassette barely one-inch thick. This creates a flexible installation interface between the aircraft shell liner and interior pan-els. ATG claims its products are 20- to 30- percent lighter than competing aircraft window shades.

More important, said company pres-ident and CEO Simon Kay, is reliability and ease of maintenance. All the ATG shades, he emphasized, are field service-able and line replaceable. Powertech 3 is designed to allow anyone to simply snap

out the window surround, pop out the interior case containing the shade and articulating mechanism and replace it in a matter of seconds. And the only tools required, he added, “are the 10 fingers available to all of us all the time.”

In a demonstration, using only his fin-gers, Kay pulled a window surround, eas-ily yanked the Powertech window shade cassette unit and replaced it in less than 30 seconds. In fact, he explained further, the modular design allows an “ultra-quick” component replacement, from controller to motor to individual shade fabrics. Even the most complex mainte-nance job, said Kay, requires no more than about two minutes.

Taking the demonstration even fur-ther, Kay pulled a Powertech shade unit, attached it to an exterior power source and ran the shade up and down, at the same time twisting it, banging it on the tabletop and pressing the acrylic clear shell against the shade. At no point did the shade fail. “It’s a very rugged case,” said Kay, with a satisfied smile. “Any window shade has to work all the time, every time, even with the extreme changes of temperature and flexing of the cabin that’s normal with changes in pressure.”

Kay claimed that the reliability of ATG’s shades more than equals that of the typical manual shade. As an option for a small number of customers, ATG does offer a manually articulated shade called Tranquility, but it does not actively promote the product.

But the highlight being demonstrated at ATG’s NBAA exhibit is Panacea. The dual shades work as they do in the Pow-ertech and Powertech 2 products and the key difference is the electrochromic vari-able tinting lens that remains clear until an electrical charge is introduced, caus-ing the window to darken. The degree to which it darkens is dependent on the total amount of current applied.

The transition time for the electrochro-mic shade is approximately 30 seconds. The system allows the passenger to halt the process at any desired light-blocking level, and the unit does not require con-tinuous power to stay dark or clear.

ATG’s Powertech shade system can be seen installed in a Hawker Beechcraft 800XP on the static display. o


The Powertech and Powertech 2 feature a dual-rail carrying system to deploy (l to r) a sheer, translucent pleated shade with approximately 50-percent light diffusion and an opaque, virtually 100-percent blackout shade.

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Born out of a rich heritage and attention to fine American craftsmanship, Cessna offers a robust product line of aircraft to meet your aviation needs.

As we celebrate our 85th year, we look forward to continuing to deliver the excellence in general aviation you’ve come to expect.

Learn more about our family of aircraft at Cessna.com or contact us at 1.800.4.CESSNA.

Propeller | Caravan | Citation Jets

Visit Cessna at NBAA in the Orange County Convention Center, exhibit #5366 and at the Orlando Executive Airport static display of aircraft, exhibit #125


news clips

z Aeria Lux Gears Up for Long HaulAeria Luxury Interiors, a start-up division of ST Aerospace

in San Antonio, Texas, recently delivered its first airplane and is gearing up for a long-haul bizliner that arrives in November for heavy maintenance and an extensive cabin refurbishment.

“We had our first airplane in over the summer,” said Aeria general manager Ron Soret. “The launch of Aeria Luxury was at the Singapore Air Show in February and just a few months later we took on our first job–a BBJ for light maintenance and installation of a new inflight entertainment package.”

The parent company has allocated 100,000 sq ft at its San Antonio International Airport facilities to Aeria Luxury and Aeria is now hiring “a lot more people,” including installers, upholsterers and sheet metal workers for the coming wide-body project. And with “a half-dozen quotes out,” ranging from green airplane completion to major refurbishment, more growth is expected.

z Forum Promotes Emergency BeaconACR Electronics CEO Michael Wilkerson believes the best

way to keep more boaters, aviators and outdoor enthusiasts safe is to educate them about the value of keeping a 406 MHz emergency beacon close at hand when it’s needed. Because stories about rescue efforts carry considerable weight, ACR Electronics (Booth No. 3067) announced its new Survivor Club–www.survivorclub.com–where people who have used an emergency beacon can share their rescue stories on the SurvivorClub.com forum. In addition to seeing the beacon used in that rescue added to ACR’s Wall of Fame, people who activate a beacon after Oct. 1, 2012 will have their unit replaced with a new one at no charge.

“We see SurvivorClub.com as a forum to promote a very important public service message that satellite-detectable 406 MHz beacons are the ultimate way out of trouble and are literally saving lives somewhere around the planet every day,” Wilkerson said. “Who better to promote this safety message than survivors who have actually been rescued?”

z An Alternative to WiFi From Execjet MobileExecjet Mobile, of Scottsdale, Ariz. (Booth No. 706), is

enticing NBAA’12 attendees to its exhibit by offering an iPad Mini giveaway if they’ll stay to hear about the company’s new communication platform, Bizjet Mobile. The product uses an existing onboard smartphone, iPad or Android device’s Bluetooth plus Iridium technology to send and receive emails and text messages worldwide. When combining the portable Bizjet Mobile V2 and the company’s iPhone/iPad app (available on iTunes) Execjet Mobile promises in-flight productivity for passengers and pilots for an initial cost of roughly $35,000 and $799 a month.

z Ship It AOG Shows Off Fire-Containment BagsShip It AOG, the Addison, Texas-based international parts

distribution company, will offer visitors to Booth No. 682 an opportunity to see the new Fire-Fighter and the Fire-Fighter II fire-containment bags. The bags are designed to provide inflight containment for lithium-ion battery-operated devices in the event of a thermal runaway of the battery packs.

Lithium-ion batteries power nearly every portable electronic device that pilots and passengers carry on aircraft. “The fact that batteries can fail on rare occasions in an uncontrolled manner has brought an increased public awareness for battery safety, in particular as a result of some very large product recalls of portable notebook computer and cell phone batteries,” according to a July 2011 study conducted by Exponent (Failure Analysis Associates) for the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF).

According to Ship It AOG, “The bag has proven its ability to absorb the energy and fire while minimizing the escape of smoke.” The Fire-Fighter and the smaller Fire-Fighter II each include a pair of thermal gloves to protect the hands of people placing a hot device in the bag.

Jet Aviation upgrades first Legacy flight deckby James Wynbrandt

Jet Aviation St. Louis has become the first company to install Honeywell’s DU-875 flightdeck upgrade in an Embraer Legacy 600. “A team of techni-cians has been trained to sup-port the [Legacy] airframe,” said Chuck Krugh, senior v-p and general manager of Jet Aviation St. Louis. “We have increased tooling, parts and other materials needed to support the aircraft.” The company recently received approval for DU-875 installa-tions in the Legacy 650 as well.

Jet Aviation St. Louis (Booth No. 3797) also announced the formation of airframe-spe-cific teams to improve aircraft

support. The dedicated teams will focus on Hawker, Fal-con, Gulfstream and Bombar-dier Global and Challenger jets. “Having technical teams focused on specific aircraft ben-efits operators by providing the right resources,” said Krugh.

Efficiency ImprovementsThe company is on sched-

ule for its 200th green aircraft completion in December, a vol-ume enabled by continuous improvement initiatives that have increased the efficiency of its completions process. The last 16 of Jet Aviation St. Louis’s completions have been delivered

ahead of schedule, the com-pany noted. Krugh added that the company’s completion expe-rience “has made us experts at building aircraft and at build-ing the tools we use to manage the aircraft production pro-cess. From improved data man-agement to shop-floor layout, we have looked at every vari-able involved in the process and worked to make it better.”

Here at the show, Jet Avia-tion is debuting an interior con-figuration and paint scheme app for the iPad and iPhone that allows clients to visual-ize their options for cabin inte-rior appointments and exterior finishes. Jet Aviation St. Louis is also touting its free tool cal-ibration offer: any client who brings an aircraft in for mainte-nance before December 31 this year can receive free calibration of hand tools, such as torque wrenches and micrometers. o

Proceed to Parking

A Falcon 900EX gets a lift to the static display at Orlando Executive, where it is sharing the spotlight with approximately 75 large jets–including a handful of bizliners. For a short time on Sunday and Monday Orlando played host to the most impressive business jet–Air Force One–while President Obama was in town. n

Securaplane showcases next-gen security system

Securaplane Technologies (Booth No. 2157) of Tucson, Ariz. is showcasing at NBAA’12 its next-generation integrated security and camera system for business jets and highlight-ing OEMs that have recently selected its technology for secu-rity and flight operations.

Incorporating a suite of high-definition cameras, Secura-plane’s security system delivers real-time surveillance remotely to the owner/operator. “Wher-ever you are in the world–in a hotel next to the airfield or at

your home base on another con-tinent–you can keep a watchful eye on your property,” said Stef-fen Spell, vice president of sales and marketing. “This is the first system that allows operators to view the perimeter of their air-craft remotely through their phones rather than having to download the video recording from an on-board recorder.”

Bombardier Aerospace has selected Securaplane’s security system for its Global 7000/8000, and Boeing will equip its 777-300ER with Securaplane’s

ground-maneuvering camera system (GMCS), which will provide pilots with views of landing gear and ground condi-tions. Using a new lightweight camera, the GMCS presents images on a three-way split-screen flight-deck video display.

Additionally, Embraer De-fense and Security has selected Securaplane as its sole-source tier 1 supplier to provide a static inverter for its new KC-390 twinjet airlifter. Bolstering its international sales and support, Securaplane, a Meggitt com-pany, has tapped Singapore’s Meggitt Aerospace Pacific as its Pacific Rim distributor and CASP Aerospace of Quebec as its Canadian distributor for power products. –J.W.

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Jetcraft brings HUD/EVS to in-service Bombardier fleetby Matt Thurber

Jetcraft Avionics is unveiling an enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) that will be available for aftermarket ret-rofit in business jets.

Jetcraft’s HUD Vision Access sys-tem consists of an Elbit-Kollsman EVS II enhanced vision system combined with an Elbit AT-HUD head-up display. The first installation is under way on a Bom-bardier Challenger 604, and once that is certified, Jetcraft plans to develop similar installations on a Bombardier CRJ200 and Challenger 605. Jetcraft is announc-ing the EFVS retrofit program today at an event at the Elbit exhibit (“The Future of Low Visibility Operations” at Booth No. 4185, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.), and at the same time introducing the aviation world to a new personal-computer-based HUD simulator training and practice program developed by FlyRealHUDs.com.

Before Jetcraft’s development of an aftermarket EFVS retrofit, the benefits of lower landing minimums (generally 100 feet lower for ILS and LPV GPS approaches with vertical guidance) were available only to new aircraft equipped with EFVS. The

Jetcraft EFVS upgrade will be the first aftermarket EFVS (HUD with EVS) solu-tion. In addition to credit for approaches, Jetcraft is working with industry commit-tees and regulators to seek approval for credit for surface movement guidance and reduced takeoff minimums.

For pilots, a key feature of EFVS is that the infrared EVS image is displayed on the HUD. While other companies are working on approach/landing min-imums credit for head-down displays (using primary flight displays instead of HUDs), the EFVS combination of EVS and HUD is currently the only way to employ the 100-foot credit. So this means that pilots using EFVS need to learn how to use the system, and this is where FlyRealHUDS.com comes in.

Learning how to use a HUD is chal-lenging because the only way to prac-tice is to book some time in an expensive full-motion simulator. FlyRealHUDs.com has developed a much lower cost way around this problem, a plugin piece of HUD simulator software that works on the X-Plane flight simulator (both

PC and Apple Macintosh, version 10.10 or later). With the FlyRealHUDs.com plugin, pilots and simulator enthusiasts can fly any X-Plane aircraft with a full-blown real airliner or business jet HUD. The HUD plugin includes all the normal HUD features, such as the flight path vec-tor, flight director cue, acceleration cue, angle-of-attack, EVS mode, glideslope and localizer indicators, rollout guidance, runway remaining and so on.

The benefit of using a program like FlyRealHUDs.com is that pilots can not only learn how to use a HUD, they can also practice flying with a HUD in vary-ing weather conditions and flying HUD-assisted instrument approaches into unfamiliar airports. X-Plane allows users to set any kind of weather conditions, or use existing real weather, time and date. Demos of the FlyRealHUDs.com plugin are available at the Elbit booth. o


Jetcraft’s enhanced flight vision system retrofit incorporates a HUD, and the company worked with FlyRealHUDs.com to develop a PC-based training program (above) to allow pilots to practice flying with the device without having to book time in a full-motion sim or strapping into the airplane.

Rockwell Collins harvests bumper crop of bizav appsby Robert P. Mark

“If there’s a theme to our presence at this year’s show, it is to display the merger of consumer technology with the flight deck, cabin and flight operations that our customers expect. We’re delivering on that expectation,” said Collin Mahoney,

vice president of sales and marketing for commercial systems at Rockwell Collins.

Here at the convention Rockwell Col-lins unveiled its Skybox system, which wirelessly delivers Hollywood-protected content to personal Apple devices in the

cabin, taking full advantage of onboard Apple iTunes libraries to share movies, TV shows and music. Dassault Falcon will be the first manufacturer to offer Skybox on Falcons equipped with FalconCabin HD+, which cur-rently include the Falcon 7X, Fal-con 900LX and Falcon 2000LX.

Head-up PracticeAlthough head-up guidance

(HGS) capability has been around for nearly two decades, many pilots have never seen the Rockwell Collins head-up dis-play (HUD) system up close, much less flown with it. In keeping with Rockwell Collins’s desire to make NBAA’12 an Apple-based experience, it released the HGS Flight iPad app to familiarize pilots with HUD flying. The application–avail-able at no cost from the iTunes Store–offers pilots of all experience levels a chance to experience flying with HGS and contains a number of tutorials on terms and symbology and how HGS operates.

The HGS Flight app is diaboli-cally addictive and helps wanna-be HUD pilots learn HUD symbology

and also about Rockwell Collins HGS products. Experienced HUD pilots might find it challenging, too. The app starts beginners with a simple flight path marker and guidance cue (put the cue “donut” in the flight path marker “hole”) and progresses by adding more HUD symbology, plus a throttle control. Users can progress to new levels of difficulty by successfully landing the iPad airplane, and also choose varying weather and wind lev-els and day or night.

With a simple Rockwell Collins sys-tem upgrade, Airshow 4000 customers will now be able to use a new iPad app that offers passengers a panoramic view of the outside world from any direction the iPad is held, as if the aircraft were transparent. Point the iPad down dur-ing the day and what is passing beneath the aircraft appears as if the floor were made of glass. Hold it up at night and the iPad will display the stars as they appear outside the cabin. The con-trols for the Rockwell Collins version of Airshow are, of course, all touch-screen. Ascend, the Rockwell Collins integration of its flight planning and scheduling software, as well as wireless streaming of content updates to an air-craft information manager, is also now available in an iPad version.

The non-iPad-centric news here is the award of FAA certification for Rockwell Collins’s head-up guidance with enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) on the Bombardier Challenger 605, an add-on that allows the suitably qualified crew of the aircraft to con-tinue an approach to landing with mini-mums as low as 100 feet. o


Recognizing that flying with a HUD requires a pilot to practice before setting foot in an airplane, Rockwell Collins released the HGS Flight app to teach HUD symbology.

Foliage guides

operators through do-178 compliance

Creating software for aviation appli-cations that complies with the FAA’s DO-178 standard can be challenging, requiring completion of a series of pre-cise development and verification tasks during the process. Here at NBAA’12, software product development company Foliage (Booth No. 790) of Burlington, Mass. is highlighting how it can help companies meet these challenges.

Foliage believes many companies take the wrong approach to DO-178 compliance: they either go it alone or attempt to outsource completely the prescribed development and verifica-tion tasks. Both those approaches can increase product development costs and time, according to Foliage.

Foliage recommends a third path, an “integrated team” approach of partnering with development special-ists who have hands-on experience in DO-178 development. This can yield a compliant product with the least expenditure of time and money, according to Foliage. An integrated team approach also ensures that the company’s development team will be better prepared to tackle the next certifiable product development proj-ect. Foliage is sharing its ideas on this development methodology at the NBAA show. With more than 20 years of experience supporting the develop-ment of certifiable software products, Foliage believes it is well positioned to work with any company seeking such a development partner. –J.W.

An agreement has been signed between business aviation MRO provider Dun-can Aviation (Booth No. 5580) and battery maker EaglePicher Technologies whereby the Nebraska-based Duncan will now pro-vide maintenance for the manufacturer’s line of lithium-ion aircraft batteries. “We were searching for a strategic partner to provide the most comprehensive service and sup-port for our aircraft batteries and we believe Duncan Aviation fits this profile quite well,” said Ron Nowlin, vice president and general manager for aerospace systems at Missouri-based EaglePicher (Booth No. 3740). n

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Greensboro’s Atlantic Aero celebrates ruby anniversary

A regional fixed-base operation that grew into an internationally recognized maintenance and manufacturing facil-ity is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Atlantic Aero, formed in response to customer dissatisfaction with an exist-ing FBO provider in Greensboro, N.C., will hold an anniversary celebration at its booth (No. 2569) today at 3:30 p.m.

“A group of investors decided to start their own rival FBO and looked around the country for a model operation for their business to emulate,” said Jim Spin-der, Atlantic Aero general manager. FBO owner John Godwin was brought in as a consultant; he later sold his business in Cape Girardeau, Mo., to become Atlan-tic Aero’s first CEO.

The company established its facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport in 1972, offering Learjet 24B charters and management services, in addition to fuel sales and maintenance services. In the years that followed, the compa-ny’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business grew to include manu-facturers such as Bombardier, Dassault and Cessna. The company received

DAS/ODA certification in 1997.Atlantic Aero soon diversified into

other areas, including parts design and production, and even air freight oper-ations. Mid-Atlantic Freight, which at its peak operated 25 Cessna Cara-vans throughout the Southeastern U.S., helped Atlantic Aero earn a five-state ter-ritory for Caravan sales and support. The freight operation later merged with Addi-son, Texas-based Martinaire.

One of the more interesting Atlantic Aero subsidiaries was Godwin Aircraft, a small research and development off-shoot formed in 1982, which ultimately led to the company’s role in the develop-ment of the Questair Venture two-seat homebuilt airplane.

While Questair didn’t survive long-term, lessons learned with the Venture and other manufacturing programs led indirectly to the highest profile project to date for Atlantic Aero, and a tale Spin-der termed “one of the strangest stories you might ever hear.”

When a mutual friend advised the company of Honda’s interest in partner-ing with an American company to build

a proof-of-concept jet, Atlantic Aero focused its efforts to impress the Japa-nese manufacturer. “Honda visited us in 1998. After they left, we didn’t hear any-thing else from them for a year,” Spin-der recalled. “We couldn’t believe it when they called in 1999 and said, ‘We have selected you to be our partner.’ We had assumed they’d gone elsewhere!”

Atlantic Aero broke ground in 2000 on a 25,000-sq-ft manufacturing facil-ity for the prototype HondaJet and also assisted with Honda’s initial plan to also develop its own engines.

While the company is no longer affil-iated with the HondaJet as the pro-gram moves toward production, the

experience allows Atlantic Aero to bill itself as one of the only FBOs employ-ing a Catia 3-D modeling system to design aircraft components.

Now owned by Greenwich Aero-Group, Atlantic Aero provides airframe parts, interior component and cabinetry work and maintenance service for a wide variety of business aircraft. “We started very small and evolved to support a diverse range of aircraft types,” said Timothy Bolton, a quality assurance technician employed by Atlantic Aero for 39 of its 40 years. “Before Atlantic Aero, I’d been with several companies, but I could see right away this was the right place to be.” –R.F.


The Beechcraft King Air is one of the varied types of aircraft maintained by Atlantic Aero.

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London airports to Battersea a short hop for Harrods helosby Ian Goold

Harrods Aviation (Booth No. 4263) is here at the NBAA convention promoting its helicopter transfer service from Lon-don-area airports such as Biggin Hill, Farnborough, Luton and Stansted to the London Heliport at Battersea in the west of the city. The company believes the operation, which provides easy access to London’s West End, is virtually unknown among U.S. corporate travelers. When flying into Stansted or Luton airports, visitors can take advantage of the ameni-ties at the Harrods FBOs.

The Air Harrods helicopter fleet, com-prising a Sikorsky S-92, S-76C++ and S-76C+, as well as an AgustaWest- land A109S Grand and AgustaWestland A109E, offers quick helicopter transit to London’s sole CAA-approved heliport. It also provides flights to the major interna-tional airports at Heathrow and Gatwick.

The helicopter operation has grown, evidenced by recruitment earlier this year of two pilots with a combined 17,000 hours of experience. The company has added rotorcraft maintenance services at Stansted as it handles a wider range of

types. In fact, it has broadened its portfo-lio by taking on more maintenance work on the offshore fleet.

Harrods hopes to reflect the city’s recent success in managing the London 2012 Olympics by extending a “welcome back to London” message here at NBAA 2012. During the Olympics, the number of aircraft carrying heads of state was the main challenge for Harrods Avia-tion’s Stansted FBO. Along with its sister operation at Luton, Stansted saw consid-erably higher international traffic during the two weeks of the main events. Never-theless, the company claims not to have overestimated the likely Olympics-related flight numbers, which were subject to strict coordination with allocated slots at many airfields around London.

Slots “were never a problem,” accord-ing to Harrods, and forecasts of expected movements and related demand for air-port capacity were “good for planning,” a spokesman said, although the two FBOs were flooded with operators making late plans. The company believes that handling of Olympics-related aircraft was made

easier by the availability of southern England airfields, among which it claims Luton and Stansted were the busiest.

In a continuing effort to improve effi-ciency, Harrods Aviation has invested in security equipment, fuel trucks and training at its Luton FBO. Using the fuel trucks enables faster delivery of fuel to customers, eliminating the need to wait for a third party, and also guarantees competitive prices. The VIP lounge there has been upgraded with new furniture

to provide a comfortable, quiet place for customers to relax.

On the security front, UK requirements have driven the company to invest in explo-sives-detection equipment and staff training in its use and in baggage-search proce-dures. “Relying on a strong combination of in-house training and outsourced sup-port, [we] aim to comply with regulations while keeping any inconvenience to cus-tomers, passengers or crew to a minimum,” a spokesman said. o


The VIP lounge at Harrods Aviation’s Luton Airport FBO has been upgraded with new furniture to provide a comfortable, quiet place for customers to relax. Drawing on its success with the Olympics, Harrods is here promoting its UK-based FBOs with a “welcome back to London” marketing campaign.

Mecaer Aviation Group (MAG) is a leading international provider of fully-integrated aircraft flight control and landing gear systems for the helicopter, business and general aviation sectors.

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En route modernization program on targetby Bill Carey

The director of Lockheed Martin’s En-route Automa-tion Modernization (Eram) program has said the system’s deployment across the U.S. is on schedule and on budget since the FAA recalculated, or “re-baselined,” its cost and schedule in June last year.

The FAA now says the Eram deployment to 20 air route traffic control centers (ARTCCs) that manage high-altitude traffic will be completed in August 2014, nearly four years late, at an addi-tional cost of $330 million. That would bring the overall program cost to $2.4 billion. However, in an audit report released on Sep-tember 13, the Department of Transportation inspector gen-eral’s office said the FAA has not “fully resolved” critical soft-ware problems that have delayed the program. The IG reiterated a Mitre estimate that cost over-runs could exceed $500 million.

Achieving FAA’s Objectives“A year or two before the

re-baselining, the FAA com-missioned Mitre to look at the program. That was their worst case,” Fran Hill, Lockheed Martin director of en-route, ter-minal and oceanic programs, told AIN. “We are under con-tract and, given the collabora-tion that we have in place right now, I don’t see any reason why we’re not going to hold to that $330 million baseline.” Under the agreement negotiated with the FAA after the program was re-baselined, she said, “We have risk associated with our profit if we don’t achieve all the FAA’s objectives.”

Eram, which replaces aging Host computers, is continu-ously operating at six ART-CCs–in Salt Lake City, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Albu-querque and Oakland–and has achieved or is close to achiev-ing initial operational capabil-ity at three others. The fully operational systems are running Release 3 software, which inte-grates automatic dependent sur-veillance-broadcast (ADS-B) aircraft position reports. Release 4 software, not part of the cur-rent Eram contract, would add

the capabilities of ground-based interval management spacing and airborne reroutes.

In testimony before the House Aviation subcommittee on Sep-tember 12, DOT IG Calvin

Scovel said controllers and tech-nicians at the nine ARTCCs using Eram have identified 900 “high-priority” software issues that need to be addressed. Hill said some 60 percent of software

issues “end up being duplicates” across the sites. She said only 6 to 8 percent of reports represent new software problems.

Hill said improved gov-ernance of the program by

the FAA, and better collabora-tion among all parties, including the National Air Traffic Control-lers Association, gives her con-fidence that Eram will meet its current targets. Her comments echoed those of FAA acting administrator Michael Huerta, who told the House subcom-mittee that he believes “we’ve turned the corner” on Eram. o



Liebherr-Aerospace is a leading supplier of systems for the aviation industry and has more than five decades of experience in this field. The range of aviation equipment produced by Liebherr for the civil and military sectors includes flight control/actuation systems, landing gear and air management systems. These systems are deployed in wide-bodied aircraft, single aisle and regional aircraft, business jets, combat aircraft, military transporters, military training aircraft, civil helicopters and combat helicopters. Liebherr’s aerospace and

transportation systems division employs over 4,000 people. It has four aviation equipment production plants at Lindenberg (Germany), Toulouse (France), Guaratinguetá (Brazil) and Nizhny Novgorod (Russia). These production sites offer a worldwide service with additional customer service centers in Saline (Michigan/USA), Seattle (Washington/USA), Wichita (Kansas/USA), Montreal (Canada), São José dos Campos (Brazil), Hamburg (Germany), Moscow (Russia), Dubai (UAE), Singapore and Shanghai (People’s Republic of China).

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October 2011• An exclusive agreement is reached with Rockwell Collins to provide synthetic vision

upgrades for all Pro Line 21-equipped Hawker and Beechcraft platforms.

• The 100th Beechcraft T-6B trainer is delivered to the U.S. Navy. The T-6B has been in

service with the Navy since August 2009.

• XOJet, a California-based charter operator with 40 percent growth in 2011, announces

orders for 12 transcontinental-capable Hawker 800XPRs.

• The Hawker 4000 receives Brazilian type certification. The super-midsize jet is the first

all-composite fuselage aircraft to receive approval from Brazilian aviation authorities.

• All turbine-powered aircraft from Hawker Beechcraft are approved to use biofuels that

meet the ASTM International turbine fuel standards.

November 2011• Plans are announced to increase scheduled production of the

Hawker 400XPR following a sellout of the previously planned

production numbers.

• A suit is filled in the Court of Federal Claims following notification that the

Government Accountability Office (GAO) has declined to review Hawker

Beechcraft’s protest of the decision by the U.S. Air Force to exclude the

manufacturer’s AT-6 from the light air support competition. Instead, the Air

Force chose to award the contract, with a potential value of nearly $1 billion,

to Embraer and its U.S. partner Sierra Nevada for the Super Tucano.

• A contract is signed with the Mexican Air Force for purchase of six

T-6C trainers.

January 2012• The Hawker 900XP midsize business jet receives type certification from

the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) Aviation Registry in Russia.

• Hawker Beechcraft chairman Bill Boisture responds to statements by

President Obama in his State of the Union Address, protesting selection

of the Embraer Super Tucano by the U.S. Air Force as winner of the light

air support contract. Boisture said the actions of the current administration

do not align with comments made by President Obama that he “wants to

protect American manufacturing jobs and called for more highly skilled jobs

in the U.S. and for more products to be made in America.”

February 2012• Steve Miller assumes the position of CEO,

replacing Bill Boisture, who remains as

chairman of the company’s operating sub-

sidiary Hawker Beechcraft Corp..

• At the Singapore Airshow, the company

announces an order for two Hawker

900XP midsize business jets from

Jakarta-based Lion Air, along with options

for an additional two.

• Notice is received that the U.S. Air Force

will set aside the light air support contract

awarded to Embraer/Sierra Nevada.

March 2012• Hawker Beechcraft claims Brazil has become “a leading market

for the company’s entire product line” and the company

recognizes the rapidly growing business jet fleet there as

one of the largest in the world.

• Hawker Beechcraft announces 2012 as the 80th anniversary of

the company and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the

company’s Hawker 125 series.

• An agreement is announced with “certain lenders” that will provide the

company with approximately$120 million of additional liquidity through

an incremental term loan facility under its existing credit facility.

• The sale is announced of 10 King Air twin turboprops to Avion Pacific

of the People’s Republic of China. The deal is valued at

approximately $50 million.

2012

July 2012• Pending completion of the transaction, Superior Aviation Beijing

agrees to acquire Hawker Beechcraft for $1.79 billion and agrees to

make payments over six weeks of the exclusive negotiation period.

The exclusivity period expires Sept. 1, 2012.

• Hawker Beechcraft files a request with the bankruptcy court request-

ing permission as part of the restructuring to grant bonuses to most of

its “senior leadership team.”

• A bankruptcy court judge approves the Hawker Beechcraft motion

to enter into exclusive negotiations with Superior Aviation Beijing for

sale of HBC assets to Superior.

August 2012• Premium Jet Aircraft Maintenance at Afonso Pena International Airport in Curitiba,

Brazil, is appointed a Hawker Beechcraft authorized service center to support the

Hawker 125 series and Hawker 400 series.

• The bankruptcy court denies the request from HBC, filed on July 13, that would give

eight of the Wichita OEM’s senior leadership team as much as $5.3 million bonuses.

• In response to a request by Hawker Beechcraft, seeking a 120-day extension of the

exclusivity period during which only the company can file a reorganization plan, the

bankruptcy court agrees to maintain exclusivity through the end of February 2013.

May 2012• Hawker Beechcraft and certain subsidiaries file voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the U.S.

Bankruptcy Code. Terms of a pre-arranged restructuring agreement are to take effect when the

company’s reorganization plan is confirmed by the court and the Chapter 11 case is concluded.

• Bankruptcy Court grants approval of Hawker Beechcraft’s “first day motions” as part of the volun-

tary filing for reorganization under Chapter 11. Approval enables HBC to continue to operate “in the

ordinary course of business” during reorganization.

2011

Hawker BeechcraftA look back at the past year’s news and events

April 2012• The company announces it has filed its annual report Form 10-K for

the year ended Dec. 31, 2011. The filing deadline had been extended

to April 16. Hawker Beechcraft CEO Steve Miller noted that, “The

majority of the issues disclosed in this filing reflected the company’s

financial position as of Dec. 31, 2011.”

• In a letter to employees, a 60-day warning is given that the company

“will lay off approximately 350 employees in several areas of

operations in Wichita.”

September 2012• The exclusivity period for negotiations between Hawker Beechcraft

and Superior Aviation of Beijing expires with no news of an agree-

ment, or of any additional players seeking to purchase the company.

• Hawker Beechcraft celebrates the grand opening of its newest

company-owned factory service center at Aeropuerto Internacional

del Norte in Monterrey, Mexico. The 600,000-sq-ft facility includes an

exterior paint shop as well as interior refurbishment capability.

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GAO is recommending better reporting of FAA safety databy Mark Huber

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that the FAA more thoroughly collect and analyze gen-eral aviation (GA) operating data to help identify and mitigate safety risks and then set specific safety improvement goals with fixed deadlines. In an audit (GAO-13-36) of the FAA, the NTSB and general avia-tion accident data from 1999 to 2011 com-missioned by Congress and completed on October 4, the GAO made three major recommendations. The FAA should: • collect individual aircraft flight-hour data

at regular intervals, such as at registration or the annual maintenance inspection.

• set specific safety improvement goals for general aviation, such as fatal accident reduction targets “for individual indus-try segments using a data-driven, risk management approach.”

• develop performance measures for each significant general aviation safety pro-gram activity.

The GAO found that corporate avi-ation, which accounts for an estimated 14 percent of all general aviation flight hours, remains the safest form of general aviation and that experimental aircraft have the highest accident rate. “Corpo-rate operations accounted for less than one percent of fatal general aviation acci-dents and less than 0.5 percent of non-fatal accidents. From 2008 through 2011, there were no fatal accidents involving corporate airplanes, giving corporate operations an accident record similar to that of commercial air carriers,” the GAO found, crediting factors such as “the pilot’s training, experience and participa-tion in ongoing training to maintain and improve their skills, as well as the safety equipment that is typically installed on corporate aircraft” for this segment’s con-tinuing low accident rate.

Homebuilt AircraftConversely, homebuilt experimental or

experimental-amateur-built (E-AB) air-craft, according to the GAO, accounted for 14 percent of nonfatal and 21 percent of fatal GA accidents, while representing only an estimated 4 percent of GA hours flown. The agency noted both the growth and unique and inherent risks in this sec-tor. “E-AB airplanes were also the fastest growing type of aircraft in the general avia-tion fleet in recent years. In 2011, there were approximately 33,000 registered E-AB air-craft, a 10-percent increase from three years earlier. AOPA’s 2010 Nall Report–an annual safety report that provides perspec-tives on the previous year’s general avia-tion accidents–indicated that the physical characteristics and the manner in which these aircraft are used expose E-AB air-craft pilots to greater risk and make acci-dents less survivable.”

Citing NTSB findings, the GAO noted that, “The flight test period–the first 50

hours of flight–is uniquely challenging for most E-AB pilots because they must learn to manage the handling characteristics of an unfamiliar aircraft while also manag-ing the challenges of the flight test envi-ronment, including instrumentation that is not yet calibrated, controls that may need adjustments and possible malfunctions or adverse handling characteristics.”

Single-engine PistonsOverall, single-engine piston aircraft

account for the majority of all GA acci-dents, according to the GAO: 76 per-cent of all nonfatal and 60 percent of all fatal accidents, but these numbers were in line with estimated sector flight hours of approximately 65 percent. Personal flights had a higher accident rate, 77 per-cent, although they accounted for only 40 percent of all GA operations.

Instructional flights had the second-highest number of GA accidents from 1999 through 2011; however, they also had the smallest proportion of fatal acci-dents. The GAO concluded, “Almost 38 percent of accidents that occurred dur-ing instructional flying involved hard landings or loss of control while the air-craft was on the ground. These types of events are less likely to cause fatalities than other types of events. It is also pos-sible that the presence of a certified flight instructor onboard to share the manage-ment of the cockpit and other tasks may have contributed to the lower fatality rate for instructional operations.”

Loss of aircraft control fueled by pilot error was the most common accident thread in all sectors, followed by full or partial loss of aircraft power. Lack of pilot experience also weighed large, with 44 percent of all fatal and 43 percent of all nonfatal accidents occurring in air-craft whose pilot(s) had fewer than 100 hours in make and model.

The GAO acknowledged several FAA initiatives under way designed to improve safety, including renewal of the Gen-eral Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC), a government-industry partner-ship charged with analyzing accident data and developing effective strategies over five years to combat accidents, including risk management, outreach and engage-ment, training and safety promotion. The agency noted that the strategy had signifi-cant shortcomings because it “lacks perfor-mance measures for the significant activities that comprise it” and does not have a strong performance management structure.

The FAA earmarked $203 million in FY 2011 to reducing the general aviation accident rate. Overall, the GA accident rate continues its slow downward trajec-tory since 1999, but that is likely more a function of the declining number of pilots, student pilots and GA hours flown over the period. o


JET PRO-PEO AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS

www.newworldgroup.comAll material copyright © 2012, New World Group, Inc.

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FedEx Express, Fred Smith feted for work with Orbisby Mary F. Silitch

FedEx Express, a division of FedEx, and its founder Fred Smith are the recipients of the NBAA’s Al Ueltschi Humani-tarian Award, presented at yes-terday’s opening ceremonies. For more than 30 years, NBAA said, FedEx has been the leading aviation sponsor of the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital, which trav-els the world with dedicated eye care professionals and avi-ators to give the gift of sight to people in developing countries.

FedEx is expanding its com-mitment to the project by outfitting a new Flying Eye Hospital on an MD-10-30 freighter donated by FedEx. The MD-10-30, which will be the world’s only airplane with a state-of-the-art eye hospital on board, features a modular

design concept to advance both the requirements for aviation and medical certification.

“FedEx and Fred Smith have steadfastly supported aviation and many important humanitar-

ian endeavors through the years,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “NBAA has been proud to have FedEx as a member company since 1983, because the company has continu-ally represented the val-ues and professionalism NBAA has promoted since its inception.”

James Parker, executive vice president of air operations at FedEx Express and a member of the Orbis board of direc-tors, accepted the award given by NBAA in recognition of the use of airplanes in sup-port of humanitarian activi-ties in the U.S. and around the

world. FedEx pilots volunteer to fly the current Orbis DC-10 to help medical programs around the world, to train other volun-teer pilots, to provide mainte-nance and mechanical services and a variety of other assign-ments with international Orbis teams. “We’re taking our work to the next level by creating the next-generation Flying Eye Hospital,” he said, “which will significantly improve the lives of millions of people around the world who otherwise would have been blind, but now will experience the gift of sight.”

Parker explained that humanitarian work FedEx delivers working with Orbis is one of the company’s lon-gest running nonprofit part-nerships and reflects Smith’s devotion to aviation as well as his and the company’s commit-ment to charitable community service. Smith learned to fly as a teenager, is a member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame and has served as chairman of the board of governors of the International Air Transport Association and the U.S. Air Transport Association. Smith also has received numerous

honors for his business, civil and humanitarian activities.

NBAA’s Ueltschi Humani-tarian Award was established in 2006 in honor of Al Uelts-chi, founder of FlightSafety International, whose lifetime of dedication to philanthropic causes set a high bar for giv-ing back to communities. Last year’s winner was former sen-ate majority leader Bill Frist, for his use of airplanes to

provide life-saving medical ser-vices in the U.S., Africa, Haiti and other parts of the world. Other past recipients include the Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift, the Corpo-rate Angel Network and the Veterans Airlift Command. o

FedEx Express and founder Fred Smith were honored yesterday with NBAA’s Al Ueltschi Humanitarian Award for their part in flying the Orbis DC-10 Flying Eye Hospital to support medical programs, train other volunteer pilots and provide maintenance and mechanical services for teams in the U.S. and around the world.

AL UELTSCHI AWARD

Fred Smith

FlightBridge streamlines travel plansImproving communications

between flight departments and service providers is the goal of FlightBridge, a newly launched company making its NBAA debut.

The company’s web-based technology platform was devel-oped to eliminate the many phone, email and fax-based communications that result from changes in travel plans.

According to the company (Booth No. 3508), setting up, can-celing and modifying arrange-ments with service providers is more direct using its product.

“FlightBridge consolidates all ancillary services such as hotel and car rental bookings, catering, ground transportation and FBO and handler reserva-tions and requests under one platform,” said company presi-dent Dudley King.

The service offers two-way communication allowing ser-vice providers to request clari-fication and provide customers with service updates.

“Additionally, FlightBridge supports secure, real-time vis-ibility of relevant information

to the flight department, crew, FBO/handler and other service providers,” explained King.

The platform can integrate with professional Flight Man-agement (PFM) scheduling software. Any changes made in PFM will automatically gener-ate alerts and notify service pro-viders of those changes.

Atlanta-based FlightBridge

launched in June and in its first 10 weeks it facilitated more than 1,000 service requests across more than 500 trips.

On its website–www.flight-bridge.com–the company also provides a searchable interna-tional database listing FBOs, catering and ground trans-portation providers by airport and location. –C.E.


Essex shows emergency breathing gear

Essex Industries is displaying and explaining the uses of its protective breathing equipment (PBE) at Booth No. 4314.

The PBE offers eye, head and respiratory protection dur-ing emergency conditions in an aircraft at cabin altitudes, both by providing wearers with 60 minutes of protection and also delivering 15 minutes of avia-tor’s grade oxygen.

It dons in 15 seconds, and its design eliminates the need for an oral/nasal mask, allow-ing crewmembers to commu-nicate while wearing the unit.

The amber-tinted hood provides 270-degree visibility, and the PBE includes an elastic neck seal that needs no adjustment. This light-weight device takes little stowage space and is currently used in 90 percent of the U.S. commercial airline industry, Essex noted.

Essex, based in St. Louis, manufactures and provides FAA-approved emergency por-table breathing and rescue life-support systems that are used in a variety of environments. o

Essex Industries’ protective breathing equipment offers 60 minutes of protection and delivers 15 minutes of oxygen.

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PREOWNEDTransactions continue in lackluster marketby Bryan A. Comstock

In looking for something to validate my feeling about what a lackluster year it has been in the preowned segment, I com-pared the year-ago inventory level with this year’s numbers at this time, and even though my gut feeling told me so, the

results were still a bit surprising. Last year’s inventory was 2,572, and this year’s number was

exactly the same. In between there have been slight upticks and one small downtick that unexpectedly came this past summer, when inventory more often builds than diminishes.

Just because the year-over-year figures on this particular day happen to be exactly the same, that doesn’t mean deals aren’t happening. In fact, the rate of transactions has bumped up this year over last year, albeit amid a backdrop of weakening aver-age asking and, presumably, take (sale) prices. Considering that inventory averaged more than 3,000 for sale a few years ago, the reduction to current levels shows a willingness by both buyers and sellers to make deals happen. The current plateau may prove to be the seasonal resting point before the results of the final quarter–typically the most active–get tallied.

While there should be no confusion that there are still plenty of aircraft for sale, it is encouraging to see buyers take advan-tage of segments that until this year were largely dormant. Both the light jets and mid-size jets show transactional activity that hasn’t been seen since the boom years of 2006 and 2007. This may stem from a combination of factors, from the obvious, price destruction that has occurred, to perhaps the relationship between the owner’s current aircraft value and his bank note, no longer requiring him to pony up the difference on an underwater

Bombardier Challenger 604

Cessna Citation XLS

Dassault Falcon 2000DX

Gulfstream GIV-SP

Continued on page 54u


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sale that may have stymied the market in prior years. While happy days are clearly not here again, the recent activity, if not a reason to cheer, certainly comes as a relief and perhaps a sign of things to come.

Election-Year ChangesOf course an election year can deal the

market its own set of undercurrents, but generally these are transient and more often used as an excuse, rather than a reason, not to buy. Seriously, I’ve never seen any wholesale dumping of aircraft days after any election, or any noticeable increased buying. Everyone has known for quite some time that the economy is on life support and yet I don’t know any

of my counterparts who have gone out of business, and that’s because there are still plenty of buyers and sellers of jets. No matter who is elected, or reelected, I don’t think owners are going to dump their jets on November 7 and start relying on com-mercial airlines for transportation.

Some might argue that regardless of the election outcome aircraft values have only one way to go–up! Of course over the last couple of years many have held that feeling while prices continued to fall, but as the fall continues the argument gets stronger and perhaps has even more cre-dence. In general, the market has peren-nially been setting lower lows and lower highs in terms of average asking prices. Some types are still on that track, while others seem to have bottomed.

Take for example the Gulfstream GIV

market. Even though choices have been reduced substantially since last year, pric-ing has trended lower, perhaps falling vic-tim to the price pressure being exerted upon it by its successor model, the GIV-SP, which has seen at least one early model trade a tick under $7 million this year. That should leave little wonder why the G-IVs are sinking into the $4- to $6 million area and are trading fewer than one per month.

Choices among G550s are tight at nine, which is half what was available at the end of last year. That figure represents a paltry 2.5 percent based on the more than 350 in operation. Over the past few years, buyers have shown their passion for late-model, large-cabin, current-production aircraft and the G550 exemplifies this. It should take a while before the G650 fil-ters into the fleet and kicks a few G550s

to the street. If that happens at a rapid rate, G550 prices could feel the pinch. If G650 production rates mirror that of the G550 when it first entered service 10 years ago, it shouldn’t have much influence on pricing for the next year. Over the last six months, G550 sold prices have run from a low of $31- to $48 million, and that lat-ter figure isn’t a misprint, but rather what someone paid for one. In his defense, it was a late-model, low-time aircraft.

Bombardier BuyersYou can see the same trend in the

Bombardier lineage with the market absolutely saturated with 65 Challenger 604s, a growth of roughly 20 in the past year. Current stock represents 17 percent of the total number of 604s in operation. The availability of the successor Model

Gulfstream G550

Bombardier Global Express XRS

PREOWNEDuContinued from page 52

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605 slips to 18–less than 10 percent–and the Global XRS offers up 15, about 9 percent of its fleet. Although there is a glut of 604s for sale, pricing is attractive and the aircraft is selling at an average rate of roughly two per month. The low-est priced sale brought in the high $6 mil-lion range and the upper end topped out at $14 million for a low-time 2005 model. The well-received Challenger 300 choices are about even with its 12-month moving average of 25, or 6.5 percent of the fleet. Average sale prices are at $14 million.

Buyers have identified the market soft spots and have been moving in to take advantage. This has brought attention to the super-midsize market segment. Con-sider that the Falcon 2000 inventory is moving ever closer to prerecession lev-els. In fact, early this month the choices dipped below 20 for the first time in four years. Pricing on recent sales has fallen within a narrow band between $9- and $12 million, and most of the trading action occurred on models from 2000 and after. Consider also that the Falcon 2000s for sale are predominately domiciled in North America and Europe, whittling in half the choices for the travel-averse.

Another super-mid that broke below a multi-year low is the Gulfstream G200. That model peaked a few years ago with nearly 40 for sale and early this year dipped to just 17, or about 7 per-cent of the fleet. Unlike the Falcon 2000, though, nearly all of them are based in North America. More than a dozen have moved in the last six months and pricing is attractive, with the majority selling at or below $6 million, although a couple of later models captured figures above $9 million. Eleven of 13 sales were on aircraft below S/N 100 between the 2000 to 2002 model-year range, leaving only three in that same grouping available at present: one 2000, one 2001 and one 2002. It should be noted that two 1999 models are also for sale, one of which has been on the market for more than 1,500 days and another that hit early this year. That latter single-digit serial number Falcon looks properly priced at $5.45 million. The run on early mod-els has effectively pushed up the average asking price to nearly $10 million.

In the mid-cabin segment, Hawker 800XP sales are outpacing Learjet 60 sales by a two-to-one margin this year. The supplies of both are around 50 at present and both aircraft have arrived at current levels after reaching about 80 over the last few years. Consistent with

the above-mentioned models, later vari-ants show up in lower numbers.

There are far fewer Citation Excels: 30 in all and half reside in Europe, while fewer than half are based in the U.S. Simi-larly, there are nearly twice as many XLSs for sale in Europe as there are in the U.S. Contrasting the two models above shows Hawker 800XPs with an overwhelming supply in North America compared to Europe, 33 to six, and the Learjet 60, at 32 to 16. Clearly the Excel and derivatives play well in the European theater.

Light SectorEven the light-jet sector is percolat-

ing, with the CJ1+ reducing invento-ry levels not seen in three years, but that makes it difficult to explain why the next-up model isn’t faring nearly as well.

The CJ2 is carrying 37 aircraft, or 15 percent of its fleet, onto the used mar-ket, which is about consistent with the past few years. This model may be the next one buyers will begin to assault as we move through what is historically the business sales period of the year.

The Learjet 31A is no better off with a few less for sale, but equaling the same 15 percent of its counterpart due to a slightly smaller production run.

The Premier IA numbers, both in percentage terms and aircraft, are half of those of the CJ2, Learjet 31A and Phenom 100.

The Phenom now has a fleet size larger than the Premier, Learjet 31A and CJ2, offering up 27 choices, or about 11 percent of it numbers–it had reached 40 a couple of years ago at a time when its overall production run would have been significantly smaller.

So while 2012 didn’t charge out of the box, it’s clear that throughout the year buyers have been picking off the best of breed aircraft.

That activity seems only to heighten after the NBAA convention, from which the market seems to get a shot of adren-aline. Should this quarter stay true to form, the market could close out with the lowest total number of aircraft for sale since 2007. o

Information sources: Amstat, JetNet, Aircraft Post

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MedAire displaying updated medical kit and website by Curt Epstein

International travel medical services provider MedAire is here at NBAA to demonstrate the new functionality of its recently relaunched website. The direct link provides helpful informa-tion and relevant resources such as a health map highlighting medical risks to the traveling public. The company has also stocked its subscriber mem-ber portal with upgraded features such as the delivery of customized medical, security and travel information and new risk assessment overviews by country. The site also has print/email capability to share pertinent travel safety informa-tion with crew and passengers.

“We understand the unique chal-lenges aircraft operators face to ensure safe transport of their passengers, both in the air and at their destination,” said MedAire CEO Grant Jeffery. “The enhancements provide a comprehensive view of the information travelers and crewmembers need to make informed decisions about their destinations, both before and during their trip.” That infor-mation includes up-to-the-minute alerts

on disease outbreaks around the world, vaccine recommendations, security con-cerns by location and pre-travel advice.

Tempe, Ariz.-based MedAire is also showing off its new advanced aviation medical kit. The kit includes all the sup-plies required for compliance as well as medications and equipment necessary for in-flight care.

“As first responders to medical events that occur during a flight, crew need to provide assistance quickly and accu-rately,” said Dr. Paulo Alves, the com-pany’s vice president for aviation health. “The needs of the business aviation crew and passengers, as well as integration with safety management systems, were the primary drivers in creating the new medical kit.” The kit is fully integrated with both MedLink and MedAire’s man-agement of in-flight illness course, which is available to flight crew, aircraft opera-tors and owners.

NBAA show attendees can visit MedAire at Booth No. 1466, where the company is conducting its free immediate cholesterol screening. o


AviAtion community furious About obAmA bizjet comments

When President Obama criticized tax breaks for owners of corporate jets during the first debate with contender Mitt Romney on October 3, the reaction from the business aviation community was swift. Obama was referring to the allowable accelerated depre-ciation for capital goods, which ironically is part of a bill that he signed in 2010, HR 4853, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance and Job Creation Act. What the President said during the debate was: “Why wouldn’t we eliminate tax breaks for corporate jets? My attitude is if you’ve got a corporate jet, you can probably afford to pay full freight, not get a special break for it.”

While the debate was still under way, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen issued a statement: “At a time when both candi-dates claim to be putting job creation at the top of their agenda, it’s unfortunate that the President tonight denigrated the busi-ness aviation industry, which is responsible for 1.2 million American jobs and $150 bil-lion in economic impact.”

This was followed the next day by a let-ter in which Bolen wrote: “I’m writing to convey my frustration at your disparag-ing remarks about our industry during the debate. Your comments seemed to illustrate a complete lack of understanding about the

importance of business aviation in the U.S. and appear to be at odds with your stated interest in promoting job growth, stimulat-ing exports, driving economic recovery and restoring America to its first-place posi-tion in manufacturing.” In conclusion, Bolen wrote, “Please consider promoting, rather than disparaging, business aviation–it’s a great American industry.”

Former Cessna chairman, CEO and president Jack Pelton brought the issue to a local level by penning a letter to Wichita mayor Carl Brewer (D), who attended the Democratic National Convention in Sep-tember. Pelton asked the mayor to educate others in his party about the positive effect that the business jet industry has on jobs and the economy in the U.S.

Tom Hendricks, the new president of NATA, took a more nuanced view in a blog post about the President’s remarks. “There are more debates to come,” he wrote, “and the candidates will continue to talk about their plans to fix our economy. But when the dust settles after the November elections and the new Congress begins in January 2013, we will be ready to work with whoever is in the Oval Office and Congress to build a stronger economy and strengthen the gen-eral aviation industry.” –M.T.

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maintenance insights and so much more.


P&WC support encompasses real-world and virtual optionsby Curt Epstein

Pratt & Whitney Canada (Booth No. 3160) announced it has enrolled the 4,000th engine in its Eagle Service Plan (ESP) pay-per-hour maintenance program. The tiered program offers operators a choice of maintenance coverage. The basic plan includes parts and shop labor costs for scheduled engine overhaul/refurbishment and hot-section inspection, basic unsched-uled engine and line replaceable unit/accessory maintenance and required prod-uct-support improvements at shop visits. Over the past two years the powerplant maker has added 1,000 new engines to the program. Total global enrollment for all PW&C-backed hourly maintenance pro-grams now includes 7,500 engines from approximately 2,100 operators.

Data Monitoring SystemsP&WC has reached a milestone with

regards to its installed fleet of data acqui-sition systems. Some 4,500 flight data monitoring devices are now installed in aircraft belonging to more than 1,000 cus-tomers around the world. These devices include the company’s Flight Data Acqui-sition Storage and Transmission System (Fast), which was introduced last year. “Fast is unique in that it goes beyond traditional diagnostics, prognostics and trend monitoring,” said Raffaele Virgili, vice president for customer service. “The product can acquire, store and transmit data from the aircraft flight data recorder, thus allowing for customer review of full flight operational quality assurance infor-mation.” The system is installed on the Dassault Falcon 7X and has received STC approval for Bombardier’s Learjet 60 and Q400 regional turboprop.

To accommodate increased mainte-nance demand, P&WC is relocating its Long Beach, Calif. regional service cen-ter to a new facility in Cypress, Calif.

with more capacity. The 23,000-sq-ft energy-efficient facility (4,500 sq ft larger than the current location) will allow for a new machine/clean line room to sup-port broader repairs. Over the coming months, the location will add a wider range of services for the PT6, PW535/545, PW615/617 and PW200/PW210 as well as dedicated repair areas for larger engines and more in-depth work scopes.

P&WC reported that its mobile support teams are on track to finish this year with an exemplary on-time delivery rate for event response. “Year-to-date results show our mobile teams have performed more than 900 events around the globe, with 95 percent on-time delivery to meet customer needs,” said Virgili. Currently P&WC has 93 licensed A&P technicians on rotation with two on-call at each of the company’s six regional service centers in the U.S., and 14 mobile response team support vehicles stationed around the country, plus addi-tional mobile teams around the world.

As it prepares to mark its second birthday, P&WC’s website PT6Nation.com now has more than 30,000 follow-ers across many social platforms. The site provides new ways to connect with cus-tomers, learn how the engine is perform-ing in the field and deliver customized support to keep them flying, explained Denis Parisien, P&WC’s vice president of general aviation products.

P&WC has continued to make invest-ments in the design of the PT6 series, which is now available in 130 applica-tions. Over the half century of the ven-erable turboprop’s life, P&WC has wrung a four-fold increase in power-to-weight ratio from the ubiquitous engine. Next year, the company will celebrate the offi-cial 50th anniversary of the PT6’s first flight in a modified Beech Queen Air that blazed the trail for the King Air 90. o

BomBardier marks aiN’s ruBy aNNiversary

Monday night at Vines Grille in Orlando the Bombardier team presented AIN Publications with a custom-designed model of the Global 7000 honoring our 40th anniversary. From left to right: Gary Martin, v-p, Bombardier sales marketing and service programs; Eric Martel, president, Bombardier customer services; Wilson Leach, co-founder and managing director of AIN Publications; Charles Alcock, editor-in-chief of AIN Publications; and Andy Nured-din, v-p of Bombardier Customer Services & Support.

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20120928_Ad_AIN_NBAAConventionNewsDay1&2_ThirdPage_REV.pdf 1 10/5/12 9:38 AMwww.CharterBox.com

GE making progress on business aircraft enginesby Amy Laboda

GE Aviation is currently gathering hardware for the assembly of the first Passport engine for the Bombardier Global 7000 and 8000 program. Assembly of the first full engine will begin by year end, accord-ing to Brad Mottier, vice pres-ident and general manager of GE Aviation’s Business and General Aviation organization.

“As of April 27, GE has fro-zen the design of the Passport engine,” he said. “Since then we’ve performed two fan blisk validation tests, Fadec testing and ice ingestion testing. The first engine ground tests are expected to be complete in 2013, and the engine is expected to be in flight testing in 2014. We remain confi-dent in the engine’s performance

and look forward to testing the first Passport engine next year.”

The Passport engine, a clean sheet design for the Global 7000 and 8000, will produce 16,500 pounds of thrust in its initial incarnation, and will incorpo-rate advanced technologies and materials to provide 8 percent lower specific fuel consumption in comparison to other engines in its class. The engine can best CAEP/8 emissions and Stage 4 noise regulations, according to Mottier. The eCore suite, 52-inch front fan blisk and composite fan, combined with the engine’s inte-grated propulsion system from Nexcelle–a joint venture between GE and Safran–make it unique. The Passport is expected to be enveloped in a slim-line nacelle

with outward-opening lower cowl to reduce weight and drag.

GE’s H80 turboprop engine is now flying on the Thrush 510G ag aircraft, four of which were recently delivered to customers. The company built 40 H80s in 2012 and expects to double that output in 2013. Mottier expects to see more King Air C90 conver-sions to the H80 and the upcom-ing sister engine, the 850 shp H85.

GE Aviation (Booth No. 3900) has expanded its long-term maintenance service agreement program, known as OnPoint, to include H80 customers. OnPoint maintenance agreements are fully transferable. The program includes overhaul, on-wing sup-port, new and used serviceable

parts, component repair, tech-nology upgrades, engine leasing and diagnostics.

Last summer GE Aviation acquired Austin Digital in an effort to enhance the company’s engine monitoring, diagnostics, prognostics and data gather-ing capabilities. “We would like to improve the efficiency of not just our engines, but also the operators and the aircraft they fly in,” said Mottier.

For engine customers, GE Aviation introduced the Beacon app for the iPad and iPhone. Bea-con promises a return call from the appropriate customer service or tech rep in the region for AOG problems within 30 minutes of the request being made. o


Lumatech LED panels OK’d for King Air seriesby Mark Huber

Luma Technologies (Booth No. 3675) has received FAA parts manufacturer approval for its Lumatech LED caution/warning panels available for most recent models of King Airs fitted with classic, Rockwell Col-lins Pro Line 21 and Garmin G1000 avionics. The units cost between $14,000 and $20,000, according to Luma president Bruce Maxwell.

Lumatech systems can be installed as standalone or as a complement to modern glass

panel systems. Lumatech pan-els are available in six sepa-rate sizes for King Airs and are designed as a one for one drop-in for the existing incandescent units. Maxwell said the average installation takes three hours. Luma also makes replacement LED annunciator/warning pan-els for re-engined Beechjets and is working on systems for Cessna Citation CJs, Caravans, Dassault Falcons and helicopters.

The LED-based Lumat-ech systems offer significant

advantages over the incandes-cent lamps that they replace. “The existing design is well known for its low operational life and problematic cap/lamp-holder assemblies,” according to the company, “on King Air and other aircraft fitted with the iconic ‘press to relamp’ annun-ciator styles dating to the late 1960s and 1970s.” LEDs not only look more modern, espe-cially when matched with glass cockpits, but run much cooler and last much longer than incandescent lamp systems.

“I cringe every time I see a photo of a beautiful new glass cockpit overshadowed by those same old annunciators,” said Maxwell. “It’s like changing your oil, but not the filter. It just doesn’t make sense.” o

Nextant selects midsize jet for newest remanufacture by Chad Trautvetter

Nextant Aerospace founder and CEO Kenn Ricci said yester-day here at NBAA 2012 that his company will announce its next business jet remanufacturing pro-gram–dubbed “Project XXT”–in early January. It will be a mid-size jet, he told AIN, with service entry scheduled for 2015. Ricci expects a mockup of the aircraft to be at the NBAA show next year, with first flight expected about 15 to 18 months from now.

“We’ve already done the pre-liminary engineering and wind tunnel work, as well as supplier selection for avionics, engines and other systems,” he noted. While Nextant is technically ready to reveal the program today, Ricci said, “The avionics manufac-turer has asked us to wait until

January because of contractual obligations with another man-ufacturer, so we can’t make the announcement until then.”

Though he wouldn’t reveal the aircraft type for Project XXT, Ricci said candidate aircraft must meet three basic criteria: there has to be a big enough market; the aircraft needs to be improved; and there has to be an engineer-ing fix available to enable these improvements. “In the end, we came up with four prime can-didates and 15 marginal candi-dates.” Using these criteria, AIN believes that both the Learjet 60 and Hawker 800 would be among the four prime candidates, though Ricci wouldn’t confirm this.

Meanwhile, Nextant contin-ues to make headway with its

remanufactured 400XT, which obtained FAA approval about a year ago. The company now expects to receive EASA cer-tification of the 400XT by the middle of next month, to be fol-lowed soon after by delivery to a private buyer in Switzerland. This aircraft–the 25th delivered 400XT–will be managed by TAG Aviation for the customer.

Nextant also said that the shark-fin winglets for the 400XT are on track to be certified by early second quarter next year. Following this certification, Ricci said that all in-service 400XTs will be retrofitted with the winglets, while new aircraft will come delivered with them.

Additionally, the first 400XT level-D flight simulator came online this month at CAE’s facility at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Cus-tomer in-simulator training for the remanufactured jet will start by the end of this week, the companies said. o

Brad Mottier, v-p and general manager of GE’s BA and GA group, provided an update on the Passport engine.

Luma president Bruce Maxwell was here at

NBAA touting the benefits of his company’s LED

annunciator panels.

A solid piston twin

Under the leadership of new CEO Simon Caldecott, Piper Aircraft has focused its attention on its core competencies. The Florida-based OEM’s Seneca remains one of the few traditional piston twins still in production. It has proved a bright spot for the company as the training market has shown a healthy appetite for piston-powered aircraft.�

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Aviation industry loses FSI founder Al Ueltschiby Curt Epstein

The business aviation industry lost one of its visionary leaders when Albert Ueltschi, founder and chairman emer-itus of training provider FlightSafety International, died peacefully at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. on Oct. 18, at the age of 95. Growing up during the Great Depression in rural Kentucky in a family of modest means, he was bitten by the flying bug early on and decided to become a pilot. In pursuit of that dream, he ran a hamburger stand to fund his flying lessons and soloed at the age of 16. After buying his own open cockpit airplane, he barnstormed around the country, performing in air-shows and giving flying lessons. In 1941 he joined Pan American Airways and was eventually selected as the personal corporate pilot for the airline’s founder and president Juan Trippe, a role he maintained for a quarter century.

During that time, Ueltschi real-ized a need to provide corporate pilots with the same level of comprehensive training as commercial pilots and in 1951, with Trippe’s encouragement he founded FlightSafety, which remains

headquartered at New York’s LaGuar-dia Airport. While growing and diversi-fying the company, Ueltschi remained an active pilot with Pan Am until 1968 when FlightSafety went public. Today the com-pany employs more than 4,200 people at 40 facilities around the world, and is one of the world’s largest providers of flight and maintenance training. “Safety is the cornerstone upon which business aviation is built, and in a lot of ways Al Ueltschi is the person who laid the cornerstone,” said NBAA president Ed Bolen. “He always said that the best safety device in any aircraft was a well-trained pilot, and he made sure our community had a lot of well-trained pilots.”

Outside his thriving business, Uelts-chi was also a staunch supporter of the vision care charity Orbis International, serving as chairman for many years and helping transform a Douglas DC-8 into a flying eye hospital to provide care for people in impoverished regions. In 2010 he and his son Jim founded HelpMeSee, a not-for-profit organization that intends to restore sight to millions of cataract-blinded people worldwide by training

thousands of eye care practitioners in the latest low-cost vision restoration tech-niques and providing equipment, clinics and funds for the procedures.

A month before his death, Uelts-chi announced he had joined the Giving Pledge, vowing to donate half his personal wealth to philanthropy. “I have never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer,” he wrote in a letter announcing his joining the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in the charitable cause; “you can’t take it with you.” His share will be contributed to “helping the least advantaged people in the world lead healthy and productive lives through medical innovation.”

During his career Ueltschi was hon-ored on numerous occasions, receiv-ing the NBAA Award for Meritorious Service in 1991 and the NBAA Ameri-can Spirit award a decade later. In 2006, in recognition of his charitable work, NBAA established the Al Ueltschi Award for Humanitarian Leadership. It

was presented this year to FedEx and its founder Frederick Smith in recognition of the company’s 30 years as the leading aviation sponsor of Orbis.

Ueltschi was also given the FAA award for Extraordinary Service in 1991, the Wright Brothers Memorial Tro-phy in 1994, and in 2001 he received the National Aeronautic Association Elder Statesman Award and was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2006 he was presented with the Canadian Business Aviation Association’s first life-time achievement award.

“Al was an aviation icon and pioneer,” said FlightSafety International CEO Bruce Whitman, who worked with Uelts-chi for nearly 50 years. “He was admired, respected and held in the highest regard by all who knew him. While his loss will be mourned by us all, we also celebrate Al’s remarkable life and accomplishments. He was one of a kind and serves as an entre-preneurial role model to each of us.” o


Aircare enhances programs for in-flight medical emergenciesby James Wynbrandt

Aircare Solutions Group of Olympia, Wash., announced the launch of Aircare-Plus, a new safety recognition program for charter companies, and a new tool for the advanced in-flight assessment of pas-senger and crew medical needs.

“We have charter companies that are constantly investing their hard-earned profit into crewmember emergency pro-cedures training and 24/7 worldwide tele-medical services with us, when the regulations don’t state that they have to,” said Jeffrey Roberts, Aircare CEO. “We want to create a program that makes the charter consumer aware that these com-panies are exceptional.”

AircarePlus status is achieved when an entire charter aircraft crew holds cur-rent training certificates from Aircare Facts for emergency procedures train-ing, and the aircraft has Aircare Access Assistance 24/7 tele-medical services available to passengers. Wyvern Con-sulting has endorsed the program and announced a partnership to develop a data exchange with Aircare for pilot and flight-attendant records. “This part-nership is a natural collaboration as Wyvern systems are designed to provide real-time validation of an operator’s fleet and crew information,” said Brent

Moldowan, Wyvern managing director.Charter operators already achieving

AircarePlus status include Galvin Flying, M&N Aviation and Priester Aviation. “With all of the rating [systems] avail-able to show that we meet certain require-ments and standards, it’s wonderful now to have a method of showing our custom-ers that we actually exceed the require-ments in areas of passenger safety,” said Andy Priester, president of Wheeling, Ill.-based Priester Aviation.

For in-flight medical needs, the new self-contained Aircare RVS (remote viewing station) lets an emergency-room physician see and hear a patient and care-giver in flight or in a remote location. The RVS, priced at $16,000, includes a mini-laptop, high-resolution camera, speakerphone and several medical diag-nostic tools. MGM Resorts in Las Vegas recently outfitted its new Gulfstream G550 with an Aircare RVS.

“Aircare Access gives us the ability to bring the doctor to the patient in the air or on the ground, and gives our execu-tives and security staff a specialized tool to talk, video conference and send data securely, even in the remotest and least secure areas of the world,” said Bon Con-ley, MGM Resorts director of aviation. o

SenSor SyStemS unveilS three new antennaS

Sensor Systems (Booth No. 1994) is taking the wraps off three new antennas at NBAA’12. The first is the S72-1735-24/-26 TAS/Tcas directional antenna designed to pair with the Garmin GTS 800 traffic system. The antenna has better bearing accuracy than its predecessors, which means users see the traffic depicted just where it is. The antenna style is low-drag, making it a good fit on regional jets and business jets.

The second fresh product Sensor Systems has brought to the show is the S65-5366-720 WLAN high-speed data transfer antenna. It is compatible worldwide, operating from 0.8 to 2.65 GHz, 3.4 to 3.7 GHz and 4.8 to 5.875 GHz. The broad frequency range allows for a wide choice of wireless updating for flight management systems, avi-onics, electronic flight bags and in-flight entertainment systems by supporting WLAN, Quad GSM, WiMax and MIMO. The S65-5366-720 has TSO C74d approval and is hermetically sealed for durability.

Finally, the company introduced its S65-5366-895L, an L-band antenna that meets ADS-B UAT specifications. The vertically polarized, omni-directional antenna meets TSO-166b and TSO-154c and supports ATC Mode-S and DME. It is less than three inches long, making it suitable for installation on many types of aircraft. –A.L.

Spit and poliSh

NBAA and 1,000 convention exhibitors rolled out the red carpet for this week’s convention, and the aircraft on static display put on their best faces for the occasion. Here, Kevin Ballan-tine of England cleans the belly of a Bombardier Learjet 75 at Orlando Executive Airport.

The Sensor Systems S65-5366-895L provides wireless updating for various aircraft systems.

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Diverse portfolio drives Dallas Airmotive bizby Curt Epstein

Dallas Airmotive is antic-ipating that 2012 will be its busiest year ever in terms of field service support events in North America. The engine service provider, which is cel-ebrating its 80th anniversary this year, had 2,600 service calls last year ranging from engine borescope inspections to full engine changes and is on track to exceed 3,000 such events this year.

The company will surely add to its business with the announcement here at NBAA that it is now a designated over-haul facility (DOF) for Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW535B, PW535E and PW545C engine models. With this addition, the company is now autho-rized to provide repair and overhaul services for all seven engine models in the PW500 series, which makes it the only independent DOF to service the entire range.

Dallas Airmotive received its first PW500 appointment in 2004 for the engines that power the Cessna Citation

Bravo, Excel, Encore and XLS jets. “This new appointment extends to the PW535B that powers the Citation Encore+ and the PW545C that powers the Citation XLS+,” said Hugh McElroy, president of BBA Aviation’s engine repair and overhaul group. “Along with the previous DOF appoint-ments this increases our span to cover the bulk of Cessna Citation series aircraft.” The

addition of service for the PW535E engine (used on the Embraer Phenom 300) marks the company’s first entrée into that airframer’s product line.

International EndeavorDallas Airmotive (Booth

No. 3100), which is a BBA Avi-ation Engine Repair and Over-haul subsidiary, also announced that it has been selected to pro-vide engine support at Bombar-dier’s North American service centers. Under the terms of the agreement, Dallas Airmotive will support the Canadian air-framer’s Learjet 40, 50, and 60 series airplanes as well as the

Challenger 300 and 600 series and the Global Express XRS, 5000 and 6000 jets. The agree-ment includes line and heavy maintenance on the Honeywell ALF502 and the TFE731; line and minor maintenance for Hon-eywell’s HTF7000; line mainte-nance, hot section and overhaul for the P&WC PW305A; and line maintenance on the Rolls-Royce BR710. In addition to support at the Bombardier service centers, Dallas Airmotive also has more than 100 field service technicians and a fleet of strategically posi-tioned service vehicles to support customers throughout the U.S.

In Brazil, the company’s regional turbine center in Belo Horizonte–which opened in 2009–has outgrown its space and plans to move next year into a larger nearby facility. “Our new facility will more than double the space of the former so that we can accommodate the volume and add services to better support our customers,” said McElroy.

The additional space will enable the location to expand service capabilities for in-region support of Honeywell TFE731 engines and GTCP 36 series APUs as well as P&WC PT6A and PW100 engine repairs.

Across the Atlantic, sister BBA ERO subsidiary H+S Avi-ation has added the latest model of General Electric’s CT7/T700 engine series to its EASA and FAA approvals list. The Ports-mouth, UK-based company has been approved on various mod-els of the engine series since 1984 and has processed more than 2,500 of the type.

BBA’s parts distribution sub-sidiary International Turbine Service has expanded its ser-vice offerings to now include spectrometric oil analysis pro-gram (SOAP) kits from Jet-Care. “SOAP kits are required for Honeywell’s TFE731 opera-tors and are available for a broad range of turboprop and fanjet engines used in business and gen-eral aviation,” noted McElroy. o


news clipsz Kallman To Support More Aviation Shows

Taking your products on the road internationally can be a challenge. Kallman Worldwide (Booth No. 4631), recipient of the U.S. President’s “E” Award for Excellence in Export Services for 2012, has recently enhanced the list of aerospace shows that it will support. These include MEBA (December 2012), China Helicopter (September 2013), Seoul Air Show (October 2013) and Defense & Security (Thailand, November 2013). Show support includes creative services design for chalets and booths and marketing strategies customized for the event. The company also arranges trade missions that include introductions to critical business contacts and useful government officials, which can provide firsthand, direct local and regional marketplace intelligence that businesses can use.

z Continuum Upgrades Maintenance SoftwareContinuum Applied Technology (Booth No. 2764) has

announced the release of Version 10.5 of Corridor, its aviation service and maintenance software. Version 10.5’s qualifications module enables management and reporting of personnel certifications and qualifications and is designed for compatibility with regulatory authorities such as the FAA, EASA and China’s CAAC. “We worked closely with several Corridor customers to understand their qualification control requirements and developed the qualifications module directly from that feedback,” said Continuum president Jack Demeis. “With task requirements and technician qualifications being enforced in real-time on the shop floor, users of our system will benefit from providing increased quality and service levels to their customers.” Austin, Texas-based Continuum is offering a free user-training package to companies that sign up at its booth here at the show and become a Corridor customer by year-end.

z Honeywell Aero Exec: ‘Flat Is the New Up’In regards to revenue and growth in the business aviation

industry, “Flat is the new up,” Honeywell Business and General Aviation president Rob Wilson said during a roundtable discussion here on Sunday evening. He explained that, while Honeywell expects annual business jet deliveries to rise from about 700 this year to more than 1,000 in 2022, much of this growth won’t materialize until after 2015, meaning market growth in 2013 and 2014 is likely to be “flattish.”

Business jet demand from the BRIC countries–Brazil, Russia, India and China–is expected to lead all world regions, according to Honeywell. Asked what that means for the U.S., Wilson said that these areas simply offer growth opportunities for U.S. business aircraft manufacturers and their suppliers, among them Honeywell (Booth No. 494).

z Liebherr Showcases Diverse Aircraft SystemsAviation system manufacturer Liebherr-Aerospace (Booth

No. 1316) of Toulouse, France is exhibiting its landing gear, actuation, flight control and additional systems for business jets and helicopters at NBAA’12. Liebherr provides support for its equipment with component repair, technical expertise and spares distribution services. Its customer service organization is represented in the U.S. by Liebherr Aerospace Saline, with offices in Saline, Mich., Seattle and Wichita. The company also operates a customer service facility in Laval, near Montreal, Canada, that provides technical, logistics and engineering support.

z Gulfstream Aerospace is hiringGulfstream Aerospace (Booth No. 180) is adding more jobs.

Shortly before NBAA’12, the company announced a 20-percent employment boost at its 55,000-sq-ft completions facility in Brunswick, Ga. with the addition of 35 positions. The completion center worked on more than 100 aircraft last year. On the west coast, the company has hired Sherman Collins as a field service representative in the San Francisco Bay area. Collins, who has been involved in Gulfstream aircraft maintenance for more than 22 years, now provides technical and maintenance assistance to Gulfstream owners and operators in northern California.

Dallas Airmotive recently received approval to provide engine support for the Learjet 40, 50 and 60 series at Bombardier’s North American service centers.

Jet AviAtion expAnds Fleet, Adds Mx services

Jet Aviation (Booth No. 3797) has added 20 aircraft to its management fleet and expanded capabilities and ramp space at its Houston and Dallas FBO facilities.

Eleven of the aircraft added to the Jet Aviation fleet since May are U.S.-based and the remainder in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Two of the aircraft, a Gulfstream G550 in West Palm Beach, Fla. and a Bom-bardier Global 5000 in Moscow, are available for charter. “Expanding the fleet helps ensure that our range of aircraft will meet the varying jet transportation needs of our customers,” said Claudio Peer, Jet Aviation’s vice president of sales for aircraft management and charter in EMEA & Asia.

Jet Aviation also recently expanded its maintenance capabilities at its newly acquired FBO at Houston’s Hobby Airport and expanded its ramp space at Dallas Love Field by 48,000 sq ft, bringing the total Dallas facility size to more than 250,000 sq ft. “With the acquisition of our newest FBO/MRO in Houston and the expansion of our Dallas operation to handle aircraft up to narrowbody jets, we are well-positioned in Texas to continue providing premier quality and service to our customers,” said John Langevin, Jet Aviation’s vice pres-ident of FBO operations, North America. –J.W.

Good news: The Beechcraft King Air 300/350 series is now FAA certified

for avionics upgrade with Garmin G1000. It joins the King Air C90

and 200/B200 turboprop airframes already being completed by our

extensive network of authorized installation centers. Featuring full FMS

integration through Garmin’s ultra-smooth GFC 700 digital autopilot,

this complete G1000 glass suite offers computer-aided situational

awareness with optional SVT™ 3-D synthetic vision flight displays.

Other highlights include: Full Class B TAWS1 terrain alerting. Solid-state

AHRS. Digital onboard radar. RVSM compliance2. Electronic charts.

And standard XM satellite weather3. Optional Iridium-based Garmin

worldwide weather service4 is also available – as well as voice calling,

email and text messaging from virtually anywhere you’d care to fly.

To learn more, stop by our NBAA Booth (#2758). Or visit our website:

Garmin.com/kingair

Follow the leader.NASDAQ GRMN

©2012 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries1 Class A TAWS is also optionally available.2 King Air 200/B200 and 300/350 models only.3 Subscription required for XM weather.4 Uses optional GSR 56 Iridium network transceiver (subscription required).

Every King Air deserves it.Now, even more King Airs can have it. Garmin G1000®.

15403 NBAA King Air Ad-AIN_ShowDaily.indd 1 10/8/12 1:32 PM

Sikorsky challenge yields significant prizesby R. Randall Padfield

The Sikorsky Innovations Entrepre-neurial Challenge, now in its second year, saw a significant increase in entries over last year, a sign that the competition is gaining interest among its target audi-ence: entrepreneurial companies look-ing “to understand some of the toughest issues facing the vertical flight community and to identify their technology as rele-vant to one or more of these issues.”

The Challenge is open to any small company with revenue under $5 million, including newly formed and pre-revenue entities.

This year’s Challenge closed for entries on October 11. “We’ve received 16 submissions from three continents,” Laurence Vigeant-Langlois, director of business development and technology partnerships at Sikorsky Innovations,

told AIN. The first Challenge attracted half a dozen applications, although one was disqualified for late submission, she explained. “We then invited three teams to compete in the final round and they all chose to attend the event.”

Ten judges reviewed last year’s entries. “Our internal judges were technical and business generalists, although we also invited our internal experts in the relevant areas to vet the technologies presented,”

Vigeant-Langlois said. “Our external judges represented a mix of successful entrepreneurs and angel investors.”

To enter this year’s Entrepreneurial Challenge teams had to select and answer one or more of five defined “Challenge Questions,” such as, “How can your busi-ness concept utilize vertical flight to bet-ter serve or create new markets?” and “How can your business concept intro-duce new approaches to preserve, sta-bilize or heal damaged systems and structures?” Vigeant-Langlois said all five of these Challenge questions received at least one submission.

Interestingly, Sikorsky Innovations allows itself the options of selecting more than one winner or none at all. Last year, the company declared Pankl Aerospace Innovations of Cerritos, Calif., the win-ner, but awarded participation in a three-month education program to Smart Rotor Systems, of Ottawa, Ontario, and addi-tional interaction with Sikorsky mentors to Drew Lambert, an individual inventor.

“The caliber of applicants for the first Sikorsky Innovations Entrepreneur-ial Challenge exceeded our expectations,” Vigeant-Langlois said. “We felt there is a value in maturing more than one of the innovative business concepts, so we decided to grant awards to two additional finalists.”

The Challenge comes with signifi-cant prizes. The winning team receives a year’s use of office space at the Stamford (Conn.) Innovation Center and access to the facility’s business services, mentor-ing programs, education programs and events, all for no charge.

In addition, Sikorsky Aircraft, which is a founding member of the Innovation Center, provides team members a three-month education program at Sikorsky, giving them guidance in both technical and business strategy.

Finally, upon completion of the mat-uration cycle, a Sikorsky panel will evalu-ate the team’s results for consideration of investment in the project by Sikorsky or introduction to other investors.

Pankl Aerospace Innovations, last year’s winner, began its “incubation” at the Innovation Center earlier this month. “Should a longer term relationship be identified as mutually beneficial, we may also elect to set up future agreements,” said Vigeant-Langlois.

Sikorsky Innovation, a division of Sikorsky Aircraft, can be found here at NBAA ‘12 at the exhibit of Sikorsky divi-sion Associated Aircraft Group (Booth No. 3395). o


Matt Tran, Pankl Aerospace Innovations manufacturing engineer, and Sonya Zierhut, CEO talk about winning Sikorsky Innovations Entrepreneurial Challenge last year for Pankl’s technology demonstrator.

B&S Aircraft - Required For Flight - Celebrating 47 Years

[email protected](316) 264-2397

1-800-835-2961

Thank you to our partners in the industry!Have a great NBAA!

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Tampa-area airport unveils expansion plansby Curt Epstein

With the NBAA conven-tion taking place nearby in Orlando, representatives from

Hernando County Airport on the Gulf Coast side of the state are on hand (Booth No.

4141) to show off their expan-sion plans. Hernando County is one of the fastest-growing areas in the state, and though the airport has two runways of more than 5,000 feet and a new control tower, officials recognized that it lacked stor-age space for larger business aircraft. To remedy that, the Tampa-area airport, named

Florida’s general aviation air-port of the year last year by the Florida Department of Transportation, has embarked

on a construction project. Plans call for a 32,000-sq-

ft hangar and 1.3 acres of new ramp to be built on a four-acre parcel of land adjacent to the airport’s primary runway. The hangar will include a 32- by 120-foot door able to accommodate most business aircraft types. The airport authorities are looking for a maintenance provider or completions specialist to serve as a tenant in the new structure and say they will adjust the floor plan, hangar and shop layout as required. The entire structure can be climate-controlled.

The Brooksville, Fla. facility is 40 minutes north of Tampa Inter-national Airport. More than 120 businesses are located at the Her-nando County Airport and Busi-ness Complex. This multi-modal site offers many logistics solu-tions with its proximity to Inter-state 75. It also has an onsite rail park with direct access to the Port of Tampa. o


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Scheduled to open early next year, the office will be staffed by local specialists experienced in processing parts orders, warranty claims and FalconCare claims, and will include at least two type-rated Falcon pilots to provide jump-seat support to new and existing Falcon customers.

Separately, the airframer launched Dassault Fal-con Aircraft Services China, a dedicated program with Shanghai Hawker Pacific at Hongqiao International Air-port in Shanghai.

The program is staffed by Falcon technicians who each average more than 10 years of experience on Falcons and are trained to work on the 2000EX EASy, 900EX and 7X. The team brings extensive hands-on Fal-con maintenance experience to Shanghai Hawker Pacific’s facilities for support of local and transient Falcons. Earlier this year, Dassault revealed that the number of Falcons operating in China will triple before year-end. –D.A.L.

Hernando County Airport plans to build a 32,000-sq-ft hangar and increase ramp space by 1.3 acres. The hangar will accommodate most business aircraft types.

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Embraer design center focuses on customer input by Mark Huber

Embraer Executive Jets is expand-ing its Melbourne, Fla. campus. Already home to a Phenom 100 and 300 assembly plant and a state-of-the-art customer cen-ter, Embraer has begun construction on a 67,000-sq-ft engineering and technology center announced earlier this year.

The engineering center is expected to generate 200 jobs over the next five years, and initially its focus will be on executive jet interiors. The center will be charged with conducting research and develop-ment for product and technology and will include a materials testing lab.

The customer center, opened ear-lier this year, provides a central loca-tion for marketing, sales, design and delivery. The facility features offices, aircraft mock-ups, design studios, cus-tomer showrooms and suites, dining and meeting rooms and a delivery han-gar that includes flight operations and can accommodate four Phenom 100s parked wingtip to wingtip.

Two customer showrooms are adja-cent to the design studios. One is set up for Phenom customers while the other will serve Legacy and Lineage clientele. Both evoke the interior look, feel and features of their respective aircraft and use a vari-ety of high-tech imagery and large display screens, combined with a plethora of fabric and substrate samples.

3-D ModelingCustomers can easily visualize colors

and floor plans with the help of computer programs such as Autodesk’s 3ds Max 3-D modeling, animation and rendering software. Embraer also is developing a real-time configurator. Customers are able to look down onto the hangar through expansive suite windows and view their aircraft during the acceptance process.

“For all intents and purposes this is becoming the worldwide headquarters for the executive jet division,” said Robert Knebel, Embraer vice president for execu-tive jet sales. “We really want the customer to come here because they will get to see so much more.”

Knebel said Embraer closes approxi-mately 90 percent of sales prospects who visit the new customer center. “They come here already knowing that the airplane can do the job, but then they come here and see the facility and meet with our people. They get to see the kind of investment we have made and hear our story. It gives them a level of comfort that they are doing busi-ness with a company that is very serious about executive jets,” he said.

If the concept needs any reinforcement, it is readily available nearby at Embraer’s 80,000-sq-ft Melbourne assembly plant for the Phenom 100 and 300, opened late last year. The facility is run by Phil Krull, a vet-eran of the giant German conglomerate Siemens and several defense contractors,

including Lockheed Martin. Employee amenities include half-price meals at the company canteen, outdoor gazeboes and barbecues and on-site recreation, including volleyball and basketball courts and a quar-ter-mile jogging/walking track.

Parallel Production LinesBy the end of August Embraer already

had its 20th Phenom 100 on the line and was preparing to begin work on its first Phenom 300 on a parallel line. “We are accelerating assembly of the Phenom 300 in Melbourne,” said Ernest Edwards, pres-ident of Embraer Executive Jets. Edwards said the company hoped to have the first Melbourne-produced 300 in customer hands by April.

The fuselage and wings for both air-craft are sent to Melbourne via cargo ships into Miami and Tampa from Embraer’s São José dos Campos, Bra-zil plant, a journey that takes three to four weeks. The fuselage for the Phenom 100 is shipped in a standard cargo container.

Select interior components such as cabin shells are airlifted from Brazil, while engines, avionics and seats are shipped directly to Melbourne from their respective suppliers in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. “We get really good support from those companies here,” said Krull, adding that the goal is to have no more than three shipsets worth of parts inventoried at any given time.

All the parts and pieces come together in Embraer’s bright, clean, quiet, air-con-ditioned and wireless communications assembly hangar, which runs on two shifts. There, the fuselage is mated to wings, the empennage attached and all major com-ponents as well as wiring and hydraulics installed. Workers use computer tablets for quick instruction reference and to sign off on work performed. The status of each air-craft, metrics and team activities are dis-played on giant monitors.

Industrial and quality engineers and their computerized work stations are located adjacent to the assembly lines on the shop floor and they are in constant contact with their counterparts in Bra-zil. Key supplier representatives also have work areas in a segregated space reserved for parts inspection and conformance prior to acceptance and entry into the assembly area.

The Phenom 100 moves forward through five assembly stations over the course of 12 weeks before proceeding to flight test; the Phenom 300 has six sta-tions. The FAA is currently flying every fifth aircraft, and that is expected to prog-ress to every 10 aircraft early next year.

Embraer has the flexibility to paint aircraft either before or after flight test. The modern downdraft paint booth can accommodate aircraft as large as a Legacy 500. o


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Upset recovery training revisited by CAE and APS by Robert P. Mark

The International Committee for Aviation Training in Extended Enve-lopes (Icatee) published an article this summer in the ICAO Training Report that said, “The number-one cause of commercial jet transport fatalities…[is] loss-of-control-in-flight (LOC-I).” Icatee chairman Sunjoo Advani said, “[The problem] cannot be solved simply through technology or through current pilot training paradigms.” Coinciden-tally, Boeing’s statistical summary of commercial jet airplane accidents world-wide (1959–2011) showed more fatalities caused by LOC-I accidents than by any other. In fact, the Air France 447, Conti-nental Express 3407 and even the USAir 427 rudder hard-over accidents involved pilots being unable to recognize they were losing control of their aircraft.

Mesa, Ariz.-based Aviation Per-formance Solutions (APS) emergency maneuver training aims to put a dent in those accident statistics by better training pilots to recognize and cope with unusual attitudes. APS’s team wants to plug the huge hole it sees in today’s flight train-ing that tells pilots little about topics such as swept-wing aerodynamics and high-speed compressibility effects. APS also provides all upset recognition and recov-ery training for the leading-edge program Bombardier offers its Global, Learjet and Challenger customers.

UPRT in ActionAPS offered this AIN editor a one-day

glimpse at its three-day integrated upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) course that’s been taught to more than 5,000 airline and business aviation pilots through a blend of classroom and

full-motion simulator training–provided through a partnership with CAE–accen-tuated by in-flight education in an Extra 300, one of the most aerobatic light air-craft. APS also offers a web-based look at the academics behind its theories.

Despite the use of an Extra 300, APS upset recovery training is not about teach-ing aerobatics. APS instructors Paul “BJ” Ransbury (also APS president), Clarke “Otter” McNeace (v-p of flight opera-tions) and Randy “Random” Brooks (v-p of training) made it clear that the real emphasis of APS training is recogniz-ing an impending loss of control as the primary means of reducing the accident rate. But should a pilot still fall prey to an airplane about to fall from the sky, the APS all-attitude recovery method teaches escape maneuvers that should save lives. The airplane and simulator are simply tools to demonstrate and practice what pilots learn in the classroom.

APS training blends guidance from the official 2008 Upset Prevention and Recovery program report delivered to the FAA by the Upset Recovery Indus-try Team chairs at Boeing, Airbus and the Flight Safety Foundation. The report said that stall training should no longer focus primarily on minimal altitude loss in the recovery because pilots sometimes need to be aggressive with their aircraft. They just need to be sure they’re aggres-sive in the right ways. The APS training comes at just the right time too. Public Law 111-216, written in the aftermath of the Continental Express accident in Buf-falo, N.Y., requires upset and recovery training, although that is expected to be conducted in simulators only.

CAE and Aviation Performance Solutions have teamed up on an upset recovery course that provides hands-on training in Extra 300s.


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Having attended another upset recov-ery course a decade ago that was focused on aerobatics as the primary escape tool, I left that experience more aware, but not necessarily more confident of being able to recover a transport aircraft from an upset. Although I was initially skep-tical of any upset training, my single day of APS exposure left me feeling I could recover an airplane in a pinch. CAE

(Booth No. 364) was impressed enough with the APS training system that it plans to integrate a version of UPRT into the ab initio flight training it offers 200 stu-dents annually through its Oxford Avia-tion Academy at Falcon Field in Mesa. CAE expects to begin similar training in Europe in six months, and APS plans to extend its reach in the U.S. when it opens another training center in 2013 at Dallas Arlington Airport.

Protecting Future PilotsThis new training effort repre-

sents truly good news. It means some

next-generation pilots will climb into an airliner or business jet understanding more about loss-of-control aerodynam-ics and recovery than most current-gener-ation pilots. Ransbury explained that the APS philosophy is designed to enhance knowledge pilots already possess.

APS believes there are three root causes of upsets: environmentally induced events, such those caused by weather; pilot-induced circumstances; and those generated by equipment fail-ures. The leading LOC-I event, however, is still the stall and resultant inappro-priate actions by the pilot. The answer

to this kind of upset sounds simplistic–reduce the angle of attack–but statistics show it apparently is not. Ransbury said, “We want to develop an enhanced aware-ness of stall recognition long before pilots require extraordinary skill to recover. We also want to show them that many of the skills pilots possess today can actually make these situations worse.”

Current flight training doesn’t take pilots far away from the traditional flight envelope where they spend 99 percent of their nor-mal flying day. Ransbury said, “The further pilots and their aircraft stray from the enve-lope of normal, the less likely their skills are to save them during an upset.”

APS training focuses on early recog-nition of an impending upset through an enhanced education of the aerodynam-ics most pilots often think they already understand. “We teach them a fundamen-tal strategy, new gross skills to help them get the aircraft flying once again. The train-

ing identifies an envelope of nose-high and -low attitudes and airspeeds beyond which recovering the aircraft is the only thing the pilot should focus on–the only thing.”

Then APS shows pilots the path out with an all-attitude recovery memory checklist: push, power, rudder, roll, climb. Push the stick/wheel forward (slightly) to reduce the angle of attack, add power as necessary, don’t kick the rudders, then roll wings level and be sure the airplane is climbing. This is a far cry from what most pilots have been learning the past 30 years. We’ve all been taught to power out of the stall with a minimum of altitude loss, a move that can hang an aircraft on the edge of a stall for a long time.

Recovery Skills, Not AerobaticsBrooks was in charge of the early Aero

L-39 upset training at Eclipse Aviation before joining APS. “The education here is a generation beyond what we taught in Albuquerque,” he said. “This isn’t aero-batics. We introduce information in the classroom and demonstrate to profi-ciency in the Extra 300 and the simulator. Recovery skills need to complement pre-vention skills. Practicing recovery skills also brings enhanced recognition skills.” APS believes that, like instrument train-ing, it is the knowledge that is critical, not the platform on which pilots train.

“Most of our customer pilots have never flown any aerobatics,” Brooks explained. “They are normally pretty apprehensive on the first flight, but they come to trust our building-block approach. We demand more by the second flight, so that by the third flight the gloves come off. We can really train them with the skills they’ll need to survive. We don’t teach spins, for instance, since most transport airplanes wouldn’t recover from a



CAE and APS revisit upset recovery training uContinued from page 68

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spin. But we do teach spin recognition. The fourth flight gives pilots the opportunity to practice all the skills they’ve learned in VFR and IFR flight. They get to see that it all works the same way.”

Ransbury spoke to the idea of using rudders early on in the recovery. “That might work in some fighter jets, but not on transports.” He also explained why APS trains first in the airplane and follows with the simulator. “We realized early on that no matter how much we talked in the sim-ulator, the reality of the flight experience, including the startle factor, simply over-whelmed pilots.” Ransbury said another vague hole in flight training today is that stall training is handled at low altitudes–often 15,000 feet in the simulator–where thrust is plentiful. Up high at cruise alti-tude with engines running hard, recovery is a different ball game. “Pilots also think the first thing they should do in a stall is roll the wings level or pull the speed brake. That can make things worse. The goal is to reduce the angle of attack first.”

Time To FlyIt was time to learn up close whether

or not this APS theory worked in the air. I climbed into the front seat of Extra 300

N203EX with my instructor, Otter, in back. The panel was Spartan–airspeed indicator and altimeter, nothing else. We took off eastward toward Arizona’s Superstition Mountains, initially climb-ing to 5,500 feet and keeping in mind that this was not about aerobatics, something I’m not particularly keen on anyway. It was about stall recognition first of all and recovery when necessary.

“When someone’s anxious,” Otter said, “we use a building-block approach that starts with very low-key, low-pres-sure flights.” We tried stalls using the methodology. Power to idle and feed in back pressure waiting for the stall. When it happened, I made a small, but posi-tive push on the Extra’s control stick,

increased power, checked that the ball was centered and made the airplane climb. In a power-on stall with a climbing left turn, I reduced angle of attack first. “Even if a wing drops in the stall those ailerons can actually aggravate the stall,” Otter said. “Pilots still think life will get better if they roll the wings level first.”

A flight envelope exercise of sustained stalls was next, to examine changing sta-bility and controllability. Otter held the stick back and asked me to recover using only rudder at the break when the right wing dropped. I tried correcting with left rudder and the Extra rolled sharp left 150 degrees. Despite being nearly inverted, I pushed forward on the stick a bit and the airplane was instantly flying once again.

Another example included pushing half a negative g in the recovery, something most pilots say they’d never try for fear of hurting the airplane. I pulled the nose up and, just before the stall, pushed the nose over to the half-g point and realized the Extra was perfectly controllable with the airspeed showing less than stall speed because we’d unloaded the wing. We were very stable and controllable.

I also tried yanking back on the stick at 80 knots and the airplane stalled instantly. By simply releasing back pressure, I made the airplane fly like a bird.

Finally, we tried a skidding turn-to-final demo. As the aircraft skids and a wing drops, the instinct is to pull the nose up. Without any warning the Extra rolled on its back.

Ransbury did a pretty nice recovery the first time but we still lost 800 feet. You’d never see this base-to-final skidding stall coming. How could we? No one ever shows it to pilots in training, although they should.

In the USAir 427 accident, the Boeing 737 experienced an uncommanded left rudder hard-over at 5,000 feet. As in my test, that crew added right aileron and rud-der, and the Boeing spun into the ground.

Otter told me some APS-trained pilots re-created it in the simulator. Using the all-altitude recovery checklist they lost only 1,000 feet before the air-craft was flying again. o


APS training focuses on early recognition of an impending upset through enhanced education of aerodynamics.

CAE and APS revisit upset recovery training uContinued from page 70

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JSSI lays out plans to make inroads in Chinaby Amy Laboda

Jet Support Services (JSSI), an hourly-cost maintenance provider, has double announce-ments for NBAA’12. The com-pany just opened its Asian headquarters at Hong Kong International Airport, sup-ported by technical services manager Mark Winzar, client services representative Jacque-lyn Lau and business devel-opment director Robin Tozer. Along with that opening, the company announced that it has allied with Beijing-based China Business Aviation Group to help it navigate the shoals of regula-tions and cultural customs that can complicate aviation sales and business development in the region.

“We have seen the evolution in China and we believe it is early in the process,” said Neil Book, co-president of JSSI (Booth No. 3711). “We’re seeing in our cli-ent billing that flight hours are down worldwide in the last sev-eral quarters, but our Asian cus-tomers are actually flying about 7 percent more. So this alliance is about getting into the Chinese market, but also about getting in the right way. We wanted the right partner, one who shares our value system and who puts customers first. Jason Liao and China Business Aviation Group will accelerate our path to mar-ket–that’s clear,” he continued.

Jason Liao, chairman and CEO of the China Business

Aviation Group, explained why it is key for western companies such as JSSI to have a knowl-edgeable and compatible Chi-nese partner when entering into Chinese markets. “In China I would say the growth in business aviation is explosive. Yes, there are 157 B-registered aircraft, but I know there are at least 150 other China-based aircraft oper-ating in the country that may be registered in other domains. So there are easily 300 business air-craft operating in the country, and that number is growing by 25 percent a year,” he said.

“I compare the Chi-nese market more to West-ern Europe than to the U.S. You are speaking with people who have distinctly different cultural backgrounds, maybe even speaking different lan-guages,” he said. “For instance, in the U.S. you can use the same advertisement in New York and Los Angeles, but in China what works in Beijing will not sell in

Guangdong. We know the mar-ket and we have offices in dif-ferent key areas of the country so that we can understand the local market.”

As to the alliance with JSSI, Liao said, “We chose JSSI because of the stable and predictable maintenance

budget that JSSI provides. That is important to Chinese air-craft owners and operators. The hourly-cost maintenance pro-grams covering the multitude of different aircraft makes and models that JSSI offers comple-ment our current business avia-tion services.” o


Jason Liao, chairman and CEO of the China Business Aviation Group (left), and Neil Book, JSSI co-president, are here promoting a partnership between their companies.

Business aviation takes a long view

The industry has been hard hit since the recession began, battered by opportunistic legislators and the general media. Manufacturers and suppliers have endured years of declining deliveries and forecasts that looked bleak. There have been glimmers of hope–increased flying activity and cautiously optimistic forecasts–but the industry has not yet established a firm rate of climb out of the doldrums and looks ahead to brighter times.

Jetnet iq: smooth skies ahead

Based on its most recent statistics and industry member surveys, data provider Jetnet (Booth No. 5099) continues to forecast an upturn in the market. “If you liked the indus-try over the last 10 or 20 years, we believe it’s going to get even better,” said Jetnet iQ director Rolland Vincent at the company’s “State of the Market” briefing yesterday.

Over the next 10 years Jetnet iQ predicts a strong rebound in business aviation, with deliveries of 10,424 new business jets valued at $253 billion. For 2012, the company sees 699 bizjet deliveries, a total that will rise to 732 in 2013, an increase of 3.7 percent and 8.1 percent respectively over 2011’s tally. Primary drivers of the resurgence include a return to economic growth, the increasing international scope of business aviation flight operations and custom-ers, and fleet renewal among existing customers, who have forestalled their purchases in the wake of the recent down-turn. Indeed, in the company’s most recent industry survey, the second most cited reason for delaying an aircraft pur-chase, behind not needing another aircraft, was uncertainty about the economy/regulatory environment.

With improving economic conditions in the U.S. coupled with post-election “getting back to business” decisions nec-essary to run the country, Vincent believes that conditions are ripening for U.S. organizations to lead a resurgence in busi-ness aviation, although he cautions that more indicators such as utilization need to fall in alignment for a widescale recov-ery to gain traction. From the most recent of its Jetnet iQ quarterly industry surveys, 52 percent of the 507 owner and operator respondents believe the economy with respect to business aviation is past the low point in the current business cycle. That sentiment increases to 57 percent in North Amer-ica, where 61 percent of the global turbine fleet is registered.

Over the next decade the largest volume of deliveries will be the light jet class, according to Jetnet, with 37 per-cent of the volume. Medium jets will account for a third of the deliveries over the next 10 years while large jets will total approximately 30 percent but account for 64 percent of the order values. The company expects that the U.S. and Canada will account for 49 percent of all business jet deliveries over the life of the forecast, which sees the worldwide business jet fleet growing to 26,793 aircraft by 2021. North America, which today accounts for approximately 63 percent of the world’s jet fleet, is expected to see that percentage shrink to 58 percent by the end of the forecast window. –C.E.

Amac delivers completed BBJ 777-200LR When a business aircraft completion takes more

than 500,000 man-hours, you know nothing was spared on the project. “The principal set very high standards for this elegant interior,” said Bernd Sch-ramm, COO of Amac Group, which delivered the first Boeing BBJ 777-200LR this week to a Middle East-based customer.

Basel, Switzerland-based Amac’s business is split among executive completions, maintenance work and its hangar space, which can accommodate up to three widebodies and six single-aisle bizliners, along with lighter aircraft.

The BBJ 777 went to Aviation Link in Saudi Arabia after 19 months at the Basel completion

facility. Inside it is now configured with a master bedroom, master lavatory, private lounges, majlis, cabanas, guest areas, staff areas and more than one galley. An in-flight entertainment system, humidifi-cation system, satcom, voice over Internet protocol phone system and Wi-Fi all contribute to passen-ger comfort.

Amac received warranty service center approval from Boeing in May this year and has recently achieved EASA Part 145 approval to undertake heavy base maintenance on the Boeing 777, 747-400/8i and Airbus A330/A340. It expects to begin heavy jet main-tenance on executive aircraft in its newly opened facil-ities in the New Year. –A.L.

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Signature to offer ‘Clear’ benefitsby Curt Epstein

Signature Flight Support has chosen the venue of this year’s NBAA Convention to announce several new programs. The BBA Aviation subsidiary, which cur-rently operates a network of more than 115 FBOs worldwide, unveiled a new partnership with secure identification provider Clear, which uses biometric data to speed travelers through airport security. The partnership gives Signature’s customers a discount on registration in the program.

While some might find it odd for a private aviation services provider to be linked with a pro-gram that caters to airline trav-elers, it’s just one more added benefit for Signature’s custom-ers, according to Patrick Sniffen, the Orlando-based company’s vice president of marketing. At the company’s press conference on Monday, he said it’s not just crews that will benefit. “A lot of people in the back of the air-plane are transiting through the airline terminal as well, either on an international flight or in

first class, and for them time is money.” Signature is offering complimentary six-month Clear subscriptions to show attend-ees who register at a kiosk at the BBA Aviation booth (No. 3100) or at its FBO at Orlando Inter-national Airport. As a benefit to its customers, the FBO chain will also be installing Clear reg-istration kiosks at its locations at several major U.S. entry ports, including Dulles Interna-tional and Reagan National air-ports in Washington D.C. and Westchester County Airport in New York, with more to follow.

The service provider also debuted a new alliance with National Car Rental, which earlier this year was named Sig-nature’s preferred rental car partner. Signature customers who are enrolled in Nation-al’s Emerald Club program will now earn points in Signa-ture’s Tailwins loyalty program, set by dollars spent and mile-age driven. National will match customer status in any other

rental car affinity program, and Tailwins members can enroll in the Emerald Club through Sig-nature’s website.

Network AffiliatesThe chain also announced

news from its Signature Select program. American Aero in Texas has joined the provid-er’s affiliate network. American Aero is located at Fort Worth Meacham International Air-port in a historic former Amer-ican Airlines terminal known as Hangar 11N. The company plans to begin construction on a modern FBO facility while simultaneously renovating the landmark terminal, which will eventually house a private flight department. Starting in November, the location, oper-ating from a temporary facility, will offer the full range of Sig-nature products (including Sig-nature Tailwins and Signature Status) while maintaining its independent brand. American Aero is owned by Robert Bass,

the former owner of Butler Avi-ation, which merged with Page Avjet in 1992 to form Signature Flight Support.

At Florida’s Daytona Beach International Airport, ATP Jet Center is now a full Signature network affiliate. Among the benefits it will receive are Sig-nature’s proprietary safety and service training, marketing and

advertising support and access to the company’s SigNet cus-tomer relations system, which provides individualized services no matter where a customer flies in the company’s network. Other Signature select locations cur-rently undergoing transition are Jet Air Group in Green Bay, Wis. and Airside FBO Operations in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. o


Big movers

Paul Acro from Mototok demonstrates one of the company’s remote air-craft tugs at Booth No. 717. The German company claims its tugs can be used to move almost all aircraft without conversion. These visitors and exhibitors are making the most of what the NBAA Convention has to offer: the opportunity for face to face interaction.

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Klapmeier talks Kestrelby Robert P. Mark

Kestrel Aircraft president and CEO Alan Klapmeier announced that Cox & Company will build the wing ice protec-tion system for the Kestrel single-engine turboprop. Kestrel (Booth No. 5585) also chose Air Comm to develop the aircraft’s environmental control system (ECS).

“The Cox system is laminar flow [across the wings] and comes with a significant life-cycle advantage that means a six-year war-ranty is still in effect when some traditional rubber boots are beginning to wear out,” Klapmeier pointed out. Cox’s ice-protec-tion employs the electro-mechanical expul-sion deicing technique instead of rubber boots or TKS fluid panels that have been traditional alternatives.

When asked about the Kestrel turbo-prop’s development status, Klapmeier cracked the smile of an entrepreneur who understands the challenges of bringing a new aircraft design to market and replied, “We expect it’s about a 320-knot airplane, it’s going to cost about $3 million, it will fly about 1,300 miles and it may be ready in about three years.” He said lots of people are interested in the Kestrel, but the company is not tak-ing deposits yet. “I’m not willing to go

out and get a whole bunch of depos-its that are meaningless when we don’t have all the dates in place. There’s just no upside to doing that,” he said.

The Kestrel mockup at the show has the recently adopted straighter wing design, tail moved farther back along the empen-nage and a larger vertical stabilizer to improve yaw controllability. The windows have also grown in size and should make the aircraft feel larger in a cabin that is 8.4 inches wider at the cockpit and five inches wider in the cabin than the original air-craft. The landing gear is also beefier, with tires about the size of those on the PC-12.

Klapmeier said that despite the angst that circulates around all air-craft builders trying to guarantee certi-fication dates these days, “we’re feeling good about the overall performance and design of the Kestrel at this point. It’s all driven by what we think the cus-tomers want.” Building a new airplane is a “constant juggling of priorities,” Klapmeier noted. “I do believe there is a lot of room for market growth in business aviation and certainly in single-engine turboprop aircraft. This is now the airplane I’d want,” he said. o

The Kestrel mockup on display here is a representation of the final airplane, according to president and CEO Alan Klapmeier, incorporating recent airframe changes, such as a longer windows and larger vertical stabilizer.

GE Earns ICaO nOd fOr InstrumEnt prOCEdurE dEsIGn

GE Aviation has received the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) seal of approval as a qualified instrument flight procedure (IFP) design organization. The endorsement will assist countries in identifying IFP companies as they move forward with per-formance-based navigation (PBN). GE is one of five companies to receive the endorsement.

PBN allows aircraft to fly precisely defined flight paths without reliance on ground-based navaids. Required navigation performance, an advanced form of PBN, allows aircraft to fly shorter and more precise routes, reducing fuel burn, flight delays and air-traffic congestion. GE’s PBN Service unit is currently working with aircraft operators and air traffic management organizations in Australia, Canada, Central and South America and the U.S. to implement PBN.

Separately, GE announced it is creating a new set of global airport mapping databases to bring the next generation of airport situational awareness to business aviation. “Future air-space technologies such as digital Notams, data comm, taxi guidance, aeronautical information management and system-wide information management require the highly precise digitized surface features embedded in GE’s airport maps,” said Dottie Hall, GE product leader.

GE’s airport mapping databases include features and functions of airport layouts in the aeronautical information exchange model (AIXM) format. Imagery for GE databases is collected from GeoEye satellites and is suitable for use in synthetic vision systems and electronic flight bags. GE Aviation is at Booth No. 3900. –M.H.

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Comments: 2 different ad versions at this same sizePDFx1a for final releaseInks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, BlackFonts: Futura Std, Trade Gothic LT StdImages: RF_GY_80405055_20-MG.psd (372 ppi), SA-Final-logo-stacked CMYK.ai

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Shuttle Bus SchedulesShuttle bus service to the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) will be pro-vided from most NBAA’12 hotels. Shuttle buses will start one and a half hours pri-or to the show opening and continue until one hour after show closing, except for Tuesday when the shuttle buses will start at 6:30 a.m. Shuttle buses to the Stat-ic Display at Orlando Executive Airport will be available from the OCCC on show days. Static Display shuttle buses will start one hour prior to Static Display open-ing and continue until one hour after closing.

Hotel Shuttle Bus

Wednesday, October 31 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Thursday, November 1 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

All NBAA’12 shuttle buses arrive and depart from the Main Entrances of the North and South Halls of the Orange County Convention Center. You can then transfer to a Static Display shuttle bus that will take you to the Static Display at Orlando Executive Airport.

Static Display Shuttle Schedules

Wednesday, October 31 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Thursday, November 1 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Static Display shuttle buses arrive and depart from the Main Entrances at both the North and the South Halls. The last bus from the Orange County Convention Center to the Static Display departs at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday and 1:15 p.m. on Thursday.

NBAA TODAYBizav’s Biggest Gathering

The NBAA 65th Annual Meeting & Convention offers an array of educational and maintenance and operations sessions and spe-cial events in addition to a multitude of exhibits at the Orange County Convention Center. In addition, dozens of aircraft are on display at Orlando Executive Airport, and a smaller display graces the convention center’s parking lot. Shuttle buses are operating between the convention center and the static display. For up to the minute show information, including an interactive exhibitor direc-tory, download NBAA’s show app.

Wednesday10•31•12

NBAAConvention News

Room N210A • (407) 685 4045 • email: [email protected]

SCAN FOR THE LATEST NEWS, VIDEOS AND IMAGES FROM NBAA 2012

www.ainonline.com/nbaa

8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Attendee, exhibitor & Press Registration OpenOrange County Convention Center, North & South Concourses

8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

NBAA Tax Committee MeetingOrange County Convention CenterRoom S310B

8 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Hawker 400XP/Beechjet M&ORoom S330AB

9 a.m. – 10 a.m.

How to Successfully Address the Declining Aviation Talent PoolRoom S320FComplying with U.S. Economic Sanctions, Export Controls and Anti-Corruption Laws in Aircraft Transactions and Flight OperationsRoom S320CSafety Management Systems: What Have You Mitigated Recently?Room S320GTackling the Blockers: A Playbook for Isolating and Neutralizing Inhibitors to Business Aviation’s RecoveryRoom S320B

Future of Flight Duty & Rest Regulations for CrewmembersRoom S320E

9 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Light Business Airplane: Purchasing Pre-Owned vs. New Business AircraftRoom S320A

9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Collaborative Decision Making Weather Evaluation Team Update on Supporting NextGen ConceptsRoom S310GFAA NextGen: Happening Now for Business OperatorsRoom S320DNBAA Corporate Aviation Management Committee (CAMC) MeetingRoom S310C

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

NBAA Exhibit Halls, Light Business Airplane Static Display and Static Display OpenOrange County Convention Center and Orlando Executive AirportGlobal Business Aviation UpdateRoom S320B

10 a.m. – 11 am.

Dassault Falcon Jet General SessionRoom S330FG

10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Daher-Socata TBM M&ORoom S330D

10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

NBAA’12 Second Day General SessionExhibit Floor

11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Pilatus PC12 M&ORoom S330C

11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Dassault Falcon Jet Falcon 10/20/50 Series M&ORoom S330FGDassault Falcon Jet Pilot SessionRoom S330H

12 p.m. – 3 p.m.

NBAA Flight Attendants Committee MeetingRoom S310BHawker 125 Series M&ORoom S330AB

12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Dassault Falcon Jet Falcon 900 Series M&ORoom S330FG

1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

10 Strategic Factors That Will Influence Your Next Aircraft DecisionRoom S320EDemystifying Aircraft Accounting and Budgeting*Room S320CLoss of Control In-Flight Risk Mitigation in Corporate AviationRoom S320GHNBAA Best Practices in Corporate Shuttle OperationsRoom S210ENext Stop: China, India & BeyondRoom S320BValues-Based Leadership in the Aviation Department*Room S320FWhat’s Changing in Air Traffic Management and How it Will Affect YouRoom S320D

1 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

Light Business Airplane: Mission Critical - Using Aviation to Grow Your BusinessRoom S320A

1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D/PW300/PW500/PW600 M&ORoom S330C

1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Friends & Partners of Aviation WeatherRoom S331Gulfstream Operator’s ForumPeabody Orlando Hotel, Windermere X BallroomWorthington Aviation Westwind M&ORoom S330E

2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

NBAA Annual Meeting of MembersRoom S210D

2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Dassault Falcon Jet Falcon 2000 Series M&ORoom: S330FG

2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Honeywell Avionics, CFE Technical DiscussionRoom S331

2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Business Aviation Pilot Training for the 21st CenturyRoom S310GBusiness Aviation Security ReviewRoom S320FEmerging Trends in Charter Sales: from iPads to Social MediaRoom S320GHManaging Your Aircraft Management Company*Room S320ENBAA Local/Regional Business Aviation Associations Networking SessionRoom S210EPitfalls of Purchasing an SMS ProgramRoom S320BTax & Regulatory Issues: Stump the ChumpsRoom S320C

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

First Responder: Responding to a Business Aviation CrisisRoom S320APratt & Whitney Canada PT6 Turboprop Engine M&ORoom S330C

3 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Hawker 4000 Series M&ORoom S330AB

3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Dassault Falcon Jet Falcon 7X Series M&ORoom S330FG

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SAFE FLYING AWARDS • Support Services

Somewhat notably, three staffers from Tulip City Air Ser-vice, a full-service FBO, repair station and charter operation, have made it into the top five Safe Support Service award win-ner category for 2011. Tied for first place is Linda Ludema, vice president, and in second place, her husband, Ron, who is pres-ident and owner. In fourth place on the list is Mick Osborne, director of line service. Tulip City, not coincidentally, is also at the top of the Safe Commer-cial Business Flying list.

Linda Ludema told AIN that her father opened Tulip City Airport (now Western Michigan Regional Airport) in 1947, as a grass strip. He put in the first paved runway, just 2,500 feet

long, which has now increased to 6,000 feet. Linda was born and raised in a house on the airport, met her husband Ron there and started Tulip City Air Service with him. Her parts in running the business involve handling human resources and taxes.

Three of the Ludema’s chil-dren are learning to fly; they have soloed, and one planned to take his cross-country flight shortly after AIN spoke with her. The eldest daughter, Rhonda

Hulst, works in the Tulip City Air Service charter department, as does a granddaughter, Ash-ley Ludema. Linda said that when Rhonda was little, and the airport less busy, she used to ride her tricycle on the runway and the pilots would call in, “Is Rhonda on the runway?”

Line service director Osborne has also been around the airport for many years. His stepfather based a V-tail Bonanza there, and as a kid

Osborne spent a lot of time there. He earned his pilot cer-tificate in high school, then Ron Ludema offered him a job at Tulip City Air Service. Osborne has been employed at the airport for 40 years, 30 in his current position. Asked his view on improving safety, Osborne said it requires “a lot of training. And in my depart-ment the crew is fantastic,” he

added, explaining that one member has been there for 24 years, another for 12. He also believes longevity at a job is a safety factor.

The company’s outstanding safety record is a result of recur-rent training, not only for the pilots but also for support staff, he said. In addition to outside training, employees receive in-house training.

Ron LudemaPresident/owner45 years

Linda LudemaVice president45 years

Mick OsborneDirector of line service40 years

Tulip City Air ServiceHolland, Mich.

2011 NBAA SUPPORT SERVICE AWARDSPresented to the Top 25 support service professionals in recognition of their years of service.

Name Company Years

Linda Ludema Tulip City Air Service 45

Ronald Ludema Tulip City Air Service 45

Peggy Bunch Central Flying Service 41

Mick Osborne Tulip City Air Service 40

Theodore Baehre Aerodynamics 35

Rosemary Nickles ConocoPhillips Alaska 35

Mark Schild Emerson Flight Operations 35

David Smith Central Flying Service 35

Tom Kohlberger Taughannock Aviation 34

Cheryl Bush Aerodynamics 33

Thomas Cook Constellation Leasing 33

Roger Dennis Taughannock Aviation 33

Wanda Revolinski AT&T 33

Brenda Staten ConocoPhillips 33

Robert Thomas Taughannock Aviation 33

Mark Nelson Aerodynamics 31

Stephen Scroggins Central Flying Service 31

Christopher Ancora Honeywell International 30

Robert Austin JetSelect 30

E. Bjerke Corporate Flight Alternatives 30

Debbie Keenan Whirlpool Business Travel Center 30

Paul Kewin ConocoPhillips Alaska 30

Daniel Mansfield Citigroup Corporate Aviation 30

Joseph Reed Central Flying Service 30

Teresa Golla Central Flying Service 29

Marty Hyde Central Flying Service 29

Support services personnel provide backbone of business aviation safetyby Mary F. Silitch

The National Business Aviation Association Aviation Support Services Safety Award is presented to aviation personnel employed for three or more consecutive years by NBAA member companies primarily for support of corporate/business flight operations and whose company has had no aircraft accidents during their employment period. AIN interviewed the top recipients for 2011.

Tulip City Air Service’s outstanding safety record is a result of recurrent training, not only for the pilots but also for support staff. Three Tulip City Air Service employees were recognized by the NBAA with the Support Services Safety Award, from left Ron Ludema, president; Rhonda Hulst, charter department; Linda Ludema, vice president; and Mick Osborne, director of line service.

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Peggy Bunch was working at a restaurant while attending high school when one day a cus-tomer offered her a job. It was Claud Holbert, owner of Cen-tral Flying Service, which bills itself as the “oldest fixed-base operation in the U.S.” Founded in 1939 to teach pilots in the Civilian Pilot Training program before World War II, the opera-tion is based at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Lit-tle Rock, Ark.

When Bunch started at Cen-tral Flying Service in 1970, right after high school grad-uation, the firm operated a fleet of Beech airplanes: Model 18s, King Airs, Barons and Bonanzas.

“Working different shifts in different departments,” she said, “and meeting and working with many people left impressions only a few are privileged to experience. I am not a pilot, but just being around aviation definitely gets it in your blood.”

Central’s charter department now operates Beech Barons and King Airs, a Mitsubishi Dia-mond and a Cessna Mustang. “Central has an outstanding safety record that I attribute to training,” Bunch said. “After all these years I am a firm believer in our vision statement: ‘To set the national standard for avia-tion customer service through innovation, quality and team-work.’ I am forever grateful for the opportunity to work

with such a company.”In 1976, Holbert handed the

business over to his sons Don-ald and Richard. The third generation of the Holbert fam-ily is involved in the company and includes Valerie, direc-tor of marketing and design; Taylor, director of operations; Susan, CFO; and Steve, man-ager of IT. o

Peggy BunchOffice manager 41 YearsCentral Flying Service Little Rock, Ark.


PGA ElEctronic intros smArt touch cAbin

French electronics provider PGA Electronic is introducing its Smart Touch Cabin, a wireless software applica-tion that allows passengers to control cabin functions from any point in the cabin using Apple mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone. The customized interface, according to the company, allows control of most aspects of the cabin, from lighting and entertainment to electric shades.

Also on display at NBAAis PGA’s touch-screen line, including a 3.5-inch keyboard screen and a 10.5-inch ultra-slim screen. The company expects users to be impressed by the image quality, fast response time on the touch display and the user-friendly interface.

PGA is also demonstrating a range of connector panels–RJ45, USB, HD and VGA–tailored to meet customer requirements. The panels are offered in a variety of colors, and plating can be customized to fit various cabin decors.

PGA Electronic’s new line of monitors–HD/SDI–feature full audio/video high-definition quality in 1080p resolution. The monitors range from 10.4 to 64 inches in size and can be seen at the company’s NBAA booth (No. 3692). –K.J.H.

Peggy Bunch, office manager at Central Flying Service, has been with the company for 41 years.

Come See Us at NBAAStatic Display #305

Jet Professionals expands small biz servicesby Curt Epstein

Jet Professionals, a flight-department staffing specialist, is on hand at NBAA announcing a new human resources offering it believes could revolution-ize business for smaller aviation compa-nies. The Jet Aviation subsidiary (Booth No. 3594) has unveiled its Jet-Pro PEO, which it describes as the only profes-sional employer organization exclusive

to business aviation. The Jet-Pro PEO provides personnel administration and payroll services in addition to tax com-pliance and filing duties for small and midsize companies. By leveraging the buying power of parent company Gen-eral Dynamics, Jet Professionals believes it can provide company benefits such as medical, dental and vision coverage

along with life insurance and workers’ compensation, at a level and price point previously untouchable by a company with fewer than 200 employees.

“We provide economies of scale simi-lar to a Fortune 100 company and there-fore we are allowing the companies to save a significant amount of money, hopefully, and be able to provide them with a better benefit plan, better pay-roll process and streamlined adminis-tration at less cost than what they are paying now,” said George Kythreotis, Jet Professionals’ vice president and gen-eral manager. The program, which had been under development for nearly a year, had its soft opening last month and is ready for full-scale operation. “It’s a co-employment relationship where cli-ents maintain operational control over their employees and we are the back-office support services supplier,” noted Kythreotis. He said several customers

have shown interest in the PEO, which recently signed its first client.

At a time when many companies look-ing for areas to contain soaring costs are targeting employee benefit packages, Jet Professionals believes this program could attract companies looking for skilled tal-ent by permitting them to offer a more attractive benefits package. “With this [professional organization], the game changes. It affords and allows companies that are smaller in size to play with bigger company benefits,” Kythreotis told AIN. “I believe this product will improve the basic benefits and payroll infrastructure of small to midsize companies, the com-panies that have been the heart and soul of this industry but have had a hard time over the last several years.”

Jet Professionals, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, has seen its global core business of permanent and contract flight-department staffing nearly triple over the past few years, leading the Teterboro, N.J.-based company to open new offices in St. Louis, Houston and

West Palm Beach, Fla., in addition to its locations in Basel, Switzerland and Abu Dhabi. The expansion will continue with the opening of two California offices by the end of the year as well as at a yet-to-be-finalized location in Asia. The compa-ny’s U.S. headquarters currently handles its South American business, but Jet Pro-fessionals expects to open an office in Bra-zil by next year. In August, it signed an agreement with Lider Aviação to provide ferry pilots to deliver aircraft purchased in the U.S. to Lider’s customers in Brazil.

Demand for Contract StaffJet Professionals, which can staff all

aspects of a flight department from pilots to flight attendants and dispatchers to maintenance staff, noted a recent strong demand for contract staffing. “In a down-turn what we’ve noticed in respect to the core staffing business is it’s been more of ‘try before you buy,’” said Kythreo-tis. “In that respect is we’ve been able to cater to the industry.” Under that “pay-roll” model, companies needing staff but nervous about hiring full-time employ-ees can contract with Jet Professionals to

fill vacant positions for periods of time ranging from per diem to six months or longer. The flight department receives the employees’ services and maintains operational control over them in a no-strings-attached lease arrangement, but they are employees of Jet Profession-als. The human resource specialist pays their salaries and provides their benefits, workers’ compensation and personal lia-bility insurance for as long as needed until the employees’ services are no lon-ger required or until the flight depart-ment hires them.

The pendulum has begun to swing in the opposite direction as the number of available qualified domestic crewmembers has recently declined. Kythreotis said that in the past a listing for a crew position might attract dozens of respondents, but due to the expansion of business aviation in Asia and the Middle East, the skill sets possessed by U.S. and European pilots have become a valuable commodity, forc-ing potential employers to intensify their search tactics. o


Jet Professionals, which can staff all aspects of a flight department from pilots to flight attendants and dispatchers to maintenance staff, is announcing a new human resources initiative, dubbed Jet-Pro PEO, that provides personnel administration, payroll and benefit services to small and midsize companies.

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Fuelerlinx now calculates multi-leg tankering needsby Curt Epstein

Fuel management software provider Fuelerlinx is here at NBAA showing off the newest capabilities of its system. The San Francisco-based company has recently added a multi-leg tankering calculator to its sub-scription-based product, which continually updates the fuel prices at FBOs and airports so flight departments can deter-mine where they will get the best fuel prices. The Fuelerlinx sys-tem receives direct price inputs from more than 30 fuel suppli-ers, and program subscribers can tailor it to reflect their own contract fuel program discounts.

According to company pres-ident Kevin Moller, the multi-leg calculator was created to save money for flight depart-ments. While fuel purchases often are planned in advance so discounts can apply, many times dispatchers are uncertain about the quantity required and may

authorize a captain’s request for an open-ended amount, which is typically billed at a higher price point. “As you know, with fuel the more vol-ume you buy, the more discount you receive,” Moller told AIN. “What we were finding is many dispatchers didn’t know exactly how much fuel that aircraft was going to consume in flight, so we developed a tool that helps estimate that.”

A dispatcher or a pilot can enter the legs of their particu-lar trip into the software, which is accessible through virtually any computer platform, includ-ing mobile devices. The system will then calculate the distance between those legs and make fuel purchase recommendations based on fuel reserve as well as maximum landing and takeoff weights. While the system is pre-programmed with the factory specifications of every business

aviation airplane type currently in operation, users can custom-ize the software by inputting parameters for their specific air-plane. “The great thing about the tankering calculator is that, within seconds, it finds the ideal fueling route for the user,” said programmer Mike Mieglitz. “The software completes any-where from 10 to 70 million cal-culations to reach this outcome, something that users are just not capable of doing on their own.” In addition to base pricing, the software advises users about volume-based price breaks and ramp fee waivers at airports in the U.S. and abroad.

International ReachSince its founding in 2008,

Fuelerlinx has focused on domestic operations, but it is increasing its international capabilities and to that end it has partnered with CB VAT America, a company that spe-cializes in the recovery of value added taxes (VAT) and excise taxes charged to international operators. European VAT rates average approximately 21 per-cent of the price of fuel, an addition that some providers

include in their price quotes while others do not, which often leads to confusion. Based on its new partnership, Fueler-linx can incorporate data into its software, which gives a more accurate evaluation of interna-tional fuel prices by provid-ing a clear breakdown of taxes at the time of dispatch. This will allow users to more eas-ily determine what fees may be refundable to them based on certain operating criteria.

Visitors interested in seeing a demonstration of the software can stop by Fuelerlinx’s booth (No. 1918), where they also can enter a raffle for a Samsung Galaxy tablet computer. o



Fuelerlinx’s software continually updates fuel prices at FBOs and airports, enabling users to compare fuel costs, ramp fees and fuel discounts. The new multi-leg tankering function gives dispatchers purchase recommendations to maximize discounts.

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WingX adds GPWS, X-Plane compatibility by Matt Thurber

Hilton Software (Booth No. 3064) has added new features to its WingX Pro 7 iPad mov-ing-map software, including integration with the X-Plane flight simulator and a terrain and obstacle ground proximity warning system (GPWS) that includes a terrain profile. The GPWS also provides a look-ahead function to warn pilots of impending impact with ter-rain or obstacles.

With the simulator integra-tion, X-Plane users can fly with WingX Pro 7 and view all of the WingX features during a sim-ulated flight, without having to cable the iPad to the com-puter running X-Plane. The X-Plane integration runs on a WiFi network and includes the “position” of the simulated air-craft depicted on WingX’s mov-ing-map and geo-referenced approach plates. A unique fea-ture offered by the X-Plane

integration is that the user can try out advanced WingX fea-tures such as synthetic vision with pitch and bank, with-out needing a separate atti-tude heading reference system (AHRS) device.

In an aircraft, to obtain pitch and bank with WingX synthetic vision, an AHRS is needed to feed attitude data to the iPad. Currently, two such AHRS devices are available, the AHRS-G Mini by Levil Technology ($795) and Clarity SV ($997) from Sagetech. These devices are not inexpensive, but one advan-tage they also offer is not only providing pitch and bank data for WingX’s synthetic vision but also for the iPhone version of WingX.

In the iPhone version, WingX includes an attitude indicator, and an AHRS device could make the iPhone atti-tude indicator work as a dire-emergency backup device if

everything in the instrument panel were to fail (see photo above). On the iPad, this feature is called “heads-up display.”

WingX pioneered the split screen on iPad moving-map apps, and the benefits of this approach are easily appar-ent when testing WingX with a computer running X-Plane and an iPad running WingX. To do this, the latest version of X-Plane, 10.10r3, is required ($69.99), and it runs on PC, Apple Macintosh and Linux computers. WingX Pro 7 costs $99.95, plus $99.95 for syn-thetic vision and $74.99 for Seattle Avionics geo-referenced ChartData to display own-ship position on approach charts.

With the split screen, you can run a variety of displays on two screens at the same time. While shooting an approach, for exam-ple, you can view the approach plate with own-ship position on the top half of the iPad display and the en route or sectional chart on the bottom half. Plus, you also can view terrain on the en route or sectional chart as well.

Other features include a “passive radar altimeter,” which shows GPS altitude above the ground or the elevation of the terrain. The terrain profile shows the flightpath along the bottom of the screen and the relative elevation of any terrain based on the current flightpath or along the planned route.

For flight departments with multiple iPad-using pilots, Hilton Software recently added the FlightShare function to WingX. You can create a route plan on one device and share it with other iPads and iPhones that have WingX installed.

You don’t need to use X-Plane to try out WingX fea-tures; the app includes a sim-ulator function that will run a flight in simulated mode, although it doesn’t include sim-ulation of the AHRS. Syn-thetic vision will run without an AHRS, but you won’t see any pitch and bank, just a static animation of the view outside the windshield. o


A steep turn in an Avanti in WingX Pro, above, on the X-Plane flight simulator is contrasted with the same data playing on a WingX attitude indicator on an iPhone, right.

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NC Carpet gives upholstery an edgeNC Carpet Binding & Equip-

ment is hardly a household name, but chances are the carpeting and upholstery in most aircraft on dis-play here and at Orlando Execu-tive Airport were fabricated and installed using custom-designed machines from the company.

NC is a primary manufac-turer of sewing machines that apply edging to carpet and that are used to fabricate aircraft seats. Just about any aircraft upholstery and carpet will have borders sewn on NC machines, said CEO Mal Maher. Maher’s grandfather and uncle founded the family business in 1947 upon their return from World War II.

“We sell to those who build the seats and do their own inte-rior completions fabrication,” Maher said. These range from the airframe OEMs to comple-tion centers, aircraft restorers and furnishings specialists such as B/E Aerospace of Miami (Booth No. 2059) and Wichita-based Aircraft Interior Products (Booth No. 3185). Maher added that NC works closely with Kalogridis International (Booth No. 3985), the Dallas-based designer of high-end wool and silk custom carpeting for corporate and VIP aircraft. Kalogridis employs task-specific NC machines not only for carpet edging (serging) and binding but to embed unique designs into the carpet.

NC is in Orlando this week introducing its newest product, a polyester serging yarn developed in response to customer demand. Although carpet fabrication and

installation machinery remains NC’s primary product, the com-pany also provides yarn and thread for use in its machines.

The new “poly serging yarn” is said to be twice as strong as nylon or wool and also more

affordable, with the highest burn rating in the industry, Maher said. He invites anyone inter-ested in aircraft interiors to drop by Booth No. 2555. “I’m the guy with the boring sewing machine booth,” he joked. –H.W.


Carpet and upholstery in most business aircraft were most likely fabricated and installed using machines from NC Carpet Binding & Equipment.

Careers Presentation

NBAA is again hosting a gen-eral session focusing on careers in business aviation targeted at middle- and high-school stu-dents. The event, to be held tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Orange County Convention Center, is designed to inspire young people to con-sider aviation careers. Keynote speaker is Barrington Irving, ambassador for the Mitsubishi/Barrington Irving Dream & Soar: Youth in Aviation program, which emphasizes study in science and math. The session will be fol-lowed by a question-and-answer period and then a group tour of the exhibit halls by the students, who hail from central Florida. Irving is the first African Ameri-can and the youngest person to fly solo around the world.� n

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Luminate Your Flight ExperienceIntegrated. Seamless. Fully customizable. If you want to elevate the experience of flying, there's only one name to remember – Heads Up Technologies. We provide custom solutions that complement your aircraft and create a passenger experience that's uniquely your own. To discover our full range of offerings, including our Lumin™ Cabin Management System, RGB, Multi-White, and Traditional LED lighting, as well as other cabin components, visit us at booth #5066 at NBAA or contact us today at [email protected]. Get ready to see your flight experience in a whole new light.

Sherwin-Williams shows new websiteSherwin-Williams Aero-

space Coatings (Booth No. 4547) has launched a new web-site to assist aircraft coatings specifiers and paint applicators with what it calls one of the most detailed online information

sources in the aircraft coatings industry. The aerospace unit of paint giant Sherwin-Williams is demonstrating to convention-goers how the revamped web-site is easy to maneuver and provides more connectivity for

visitors.According to Sherwin-Wil-

liams, the website is intuitive to navigate, allowing direct search of specific market niches (gen-eral, business, commercial and military aviation), or product

categories (interior, exterior coat-ings, primers, fillers, etc.).

The site features Skyscapes, Sherwin-Williams’s new basecoat/clearcoat exterior paint system, with two complete coating sys-tems–including pretreatment, corrosion protective primer, top-coat and clearcoat–certified to SAE International’s Aerospace Material Specification 3095.

Also featured in the products section is the Jet Glo Express polyurethane topcoat, optimized as a complete painting system for commercial airline fleets. Jet Glo Express is also qualified to numerous general aviation OEM specifications and is mil-itary aircraft-qualified to MIL-PRF-85285, Type I, Class H.

The website links to a recently launched YouTube channel developed to acquaint manufacturing engineers and procurement executives, MRO professionals and painting crews with the newest Sher-win-Williams products and processes. The channel offers videos on Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings features as well as step-by-step instruc-tional videos of the aircraft painting and repair process.

Also on the website is enhanced technical data, including information in other languages, regulatory docu-ments, product listings, down-loadable product flyers and sell sheets and an updated qualified products list. –H.W.


Scott updateS carpet colorS

Scott Group Custom Car-pets is displaying at Booth No. 978 selections from its collec-tion, which features blended tweeds in classic colors such as navy, tan and charcoal. Scott Group designers have rein-terpreted the classic textures found in this season’s fash-ions, using unique weaving techniques and color com-binations. All patterns and colors are fully customizable, to meet the needs of the air-craft owner.

Scott Group Custom Car-pets and its staff of 15 artists custom design and manufac-ture wool carpets for business jet customers in Grand Rapids, Mich., in a 150,000-sq-ft facility. With a long history of crafting custom aircraft flooring car-pets, Scott Group performs all design and manufacturing of carpets and rugs, from start to finish, on its premises. –H.W.

Just three of the wool carpeting patterns in the Scott Group Custom Carpets selection on display at NBAA’12 are, left: Mika with silk; Erratic Plaid with silk, top; and Vale, at bottom.

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October 2011• In a departure from the earlier

policy of doing all Lineage 1000 cabin completion work in-house, Embraer has begun offering a green variant of this executive version of its E190 regional jet.

• Embraer celebrates the sale of 13 Legacy 650 large-cabin jets to China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing.

November 2011• The maiden flight of the Legacy 500 prototype, expected

by year-end, is delayed due to problems with the Parker remote electronic unit software in the fly-by-wire controls.

December 2011• Embraer Executive Jets opens its Global Customer

Center at Melbourne International Airport in Florida and simultaneously delivers the first U.S.-assembled Phenom 100 to Executive AirShare.

• The first Lineage 1000 bizliner is delivered to a customer in China.

• Embraer rolls out the first Legacy 500 at its São José dos Campos, Brazil headquarters.

January 2012• Maurício Botelho,

left, often credited with saving Embraer, resigns abruptly “for personal reasons.”

February 2012• Action film icon Jackie Chan takes delivery of a new Legacy

650, the first Legacy 650 to be delivered for service in China.

• Minsheng Financial Leasing, on the heels of an agreement to buy 13 Legacy 650s, places a firm order for three Lineage 1000 bizliners, with deliveries slated to begin in 2012.

• Embraer reintroduces its Legacy 600/650 cabin with major upgrades, including Honeywell’s new Ovation Select cabin management system.

• The first Phenom 300 to be equipped for medical evacuation is delivered to Amil Resgate Saúde in Brazil.

March 2012• With more than 100 of its executive jets operating in Brazil,

Embraer signs with the state of São Paulo to establish a $25 million modern service center at Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airport in Sorocaba, about 55 miles from São Paulo.

• Air Works India signs a memorandum of understanding to create a stock of Embraer parts in Bengaluru for all the OEM’s executive jet line in service in India, including the Lineage 1000 bizliner.

• The first international delivery of the Phenom 100 goes to Canadian businessman Tasso Kastelidis, an instrument-rated private pilot who plans to use the light twin to tie together distribution centers throughout Canada.

2012

July 2012• Embraer’s expanded

design suite at its Melbourne, Fla.-based customer center is unveiled.

August 2012• The first part for Embraer’s new Legacy 450 mid-light jet is milled as work

began on fabrication of the first aircraft.

• The Lineage 1000 makes its debut at the annual Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition.

• Using the LABACE show as the launch pad, CAE Latin America inaugurates its Latin American Training Center near São Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport, unveiling its Phenom 100 full-flight simulator as a centerpiece of ceremonies.

• Two new iPad apps–eTechPubs and Customer Support and Service Guide–are released, making it easier for customers to access technical and customer support information.

September 2012• The entry-level Phenom 100 executive jet receives certi-

fication from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

• With arrival of the first wing and fuselage, Embraer adds production of the Phenom 300 light jet to its assembly operation in Melbourne, Fla.

• Embraer opens its two new Centers of Excellence in Évora, Portugal–Embraer Metálicas and Embraer Compósitos. The two facilities will manufacture complex airframe structures and components in their specific areas of expertise; metal and composite materials.

May 2012• The Phenom 100 fleet reaches a combined total of

100,000 flight hours since the first aircraft entered service three-and-a-half years ago.

• The Lineage 1000 adds hot-and-high to its certification list with approvals for operations at altitudes above 13,000 feet, including El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Bolivia, at 13,357 feet.

• Embraer Executive Jets names Jay Beever as vice president of interior design, at its Melbourne, Fla. headquarters.

2011

EmbraerA look back at the past year’s news and events

September 2011• Embraer’s Lineage 1000 wins CAAC certification

from Chinese aviation authorities, and the Brazilian OEM’s Phenom 300 gets the nod from aviation authorities in India.

April 2012• International Water-Guard signs to

provide its IWG-A4 ultraviolet water treatment system as optional equipment on Embraer’s Legacy 600 and 650.

June 2012• Jose Filippo takes over as Embraer’s new chief financial officer.

• In a ceremony at Embraer Executive Jets’s Melbourne Campus in Florida, the FAA presents a production certificate to facilitate assembly of the Phenom 100 in the U.S.

• In a signing ceremony with Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Embraer agrees to build Legacy 600 and 650 jets in China, using the infrastructure, financial resources and workforce of their joint venture entity Harbin Aircraft Industry.

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Light jet market seeing shifts in demandby Cyrus Sigari

Before digging into the details of each of the light jet markets, it’s worth noting some global fac-tors affecting the market. In 2012, the big story

in the light jet market was Europe and the devaluing euro. As the light jet market typically trades in U.S. dollars, with the euro dropping nearly 20 percent in value compared to last year, European sellers saw an opportunity to take advantage of the strong dollar and liquidate at relatively lower dollar values for their assets, yielding a higher amount of euros. The result was pricing pressure on non-Europe-based aircraft, forcing price reductions to compete with the good deals from Europe.

Furthermore, with the U.S. stock market trading at nearly pre-crash values, U.S. operators have become more comfortable with buying aviation assets. Com-bine the strength of the U.S. market with the weak-ness of the European market–the two largest markets for light jets–and the result is a net shift of pre-owned inventory from Europe to the U.S.

While there are global effects on the light jet mar-kets, each of the products in this space are experiencing

light market

Eclipse 500

Cessna M2

Cessna Citation CJ4

Hawker 200


market forces and factors that have affected liquidity, market size and long-term residual value.

Cessna CitationSince the 1960s, Cessna has been the

leader in the light jet segment with the introduction of the first Citation, the Cessna 500. While the cast of characters and products has evolved, Cessna still has the largest market share of light jets in production and in operation.

With the entry-level Mustang now in its sixth year of operation and more than 400 units in operation, it repre-sents one of the most liquid light jets in the marketplace. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 40 pre-owned Citations traded hands. Mustangs are trading in the high $1 million to the mid $2 million range, depending on pedigree, options and program enrollments. Looking to 2013, watch for a spike in pre-owned Mustang inventory as M2 deliveries begin. With a majority of the orders for the M2 coming from current Mustang owners, there is likely to be some moti-vated market overhang that will present good deals for buyers next year.

Cessna expects to deliver the first M2 in mid 2013, with roughly 20 jets delivered by the end of the year. The M2 brings some life into the lower side of Cessna’s jet product line with an upgraded version of the venera-ble CJ1+. The M2 will offer operators a Garmin 3000 touchscreen cockpit, a redesigned interior, boosted thrust and winglets. Priced in the mid $4 mil-lion range, the M2 will present a strong threat to Embraer’s Phenom 100 as a direct competitor in size, seating, speed and price. The M2 will likely be the first of many new products we see out of Cessna using the formula of adding an upgraded Garmin cockpit combined with aerodynamic and interior improve-ments to bring Cessna’s 525 line more into the forefront of potential buyers.

The CJ2+ and CJ3 markets have been particularly interesting. Over the last 10 months, nine pre-owned CJ2+s have traded hands, with prices ranging from the high $3 million to mid $4 million range. On the CJ3 side, more than 30 pre-owned units have transacted, with prices ranging from the low $4 million to the

mid $5 million range. Many of the air-craft have come from European sellers taking advantage of the currency favor. Cessna’s top-of-the-line 525–the CJ4–has been in operation for almost three years with nearly 100 units in operation. Due to the relative newness of the prod-uct, there haven’t been many pre-owned CJ4 transactions. However, moving into the fourth quarter of 2012, a number of pre-owned CJ4s have begun to hit the market, leading the way for buyers and sellers to begin establishing the land-scape. So far this year, only one pre-owned CJ4 has traded hands. A new CJ4 is priced from the high $8 million to the low $9 million range. Pre-owned CJ4s listed for sale range from low $7 million to low $8 million.

EmbraerIn 2007, Embraer had zero light jets

in operation. After four years of being in the light jet business, Embraer has delivered nearly 300 Phenom 100s and 100 Phenom 300s. With light jets a seg-ment that Embraer strongly believes in, expect to see exciting and innovative products from the Brazilian manufac-turer. The pre-owned Phenom 100 mar-ket remains fairly liquid with Phenom 100s trading in the mid to high $2 mil-lions. The Phenom 300 market is similar to that of the CJ4, in that a pre-owned market has yet to fully form due to the newness of the product. New Phenom 300s are priced in the low $9 millions with pre-owned aircraft available in the mid $7 millions. A notable dynamic in the Phenom market is Embraer’s suc-cess in placing its homegrown prod-uct into hands of Brazilian operators. Approximately 30 Phenom 100s in operation are Brazil-based.

Eclipse AerospaceWe would be remiss in not mention-

ing the impressive resurgence of Eclipse Aerospace in its efforts to bring life back to the Eclipse 500 and the soon-to-be-produced Eclipse 550. Pre-owned, fully upgraded Eclipse 500s are trading in the mid $1 millions, with factory-refurbished Total Eclipses trading north of $2 mil-lion. Eclipse recently announced that the Eclipse 550 will go into production later next year.

Hawker Beechcraft

As Hawker Beechcraft (HBC) con-tinues to work through bankruptcy, the future of the company’s light jet, the Pre-mier I/IA, remains in question. While loved by many operators, the Premier I/IA never reached the level of market success to help keep the speedy little jet a market leader. Since late 2007, the pre-bankrupt HBC had been hard at work certifying the Hawker 200 (formerly known as the Premier II), a much-improved variant of the Premier IA. In December 2011, HBC formally shelved the Hawker 200 certifi-cation project until a more market-appro-priate time. The future of the Premier I/IA and Hawker 200 is up for speculation as HBC continues to work with potential suitors to take the company forward.

Market OutlookMoving into 2013, assuming the econ-

omy continues to show signs of growth, we expect to see some exciting new product announcements and first deliveries (M2 and HondaJet). It’s unlikely that we’ll see many new entrants in this space for many years to come. However, manufacturers that have been able to survive the market downturn will likely be well positioned to capitalize on their intestinal fortitude. o

Cyrus Sigari is CEO and co-founder of jetAviva, a light jet sales/acquisition firm based in Santa Monica, Calif. Sigari is an ATP type rated in the Eclipse 500, Citation Mustang, Citation 525 series, Embraer Phenom 100 and Boeing 747.

EclipsE announcEs ‘carEfrEE’ fuEl,

MaintEnancE incEntivE

Eclipse Aerospace announced a new incentive program ahead of the NBAA show for those consider-ing the purchase of a new-production Eclipse 550 twinjet. According to the company, the new Carefree Owner-ship Program covers all operating expenses, including fuel, for new Eclipse owners. Eclipse stated that the program is valid only for a limited number of delivery positions.

The program takes a page from luxury automobile manufacturers by covering the costs of all maintenance and inspec-tions for the first two years of Eclipse 550 ownership, including the 300-hour inspection as well as normal wear items such as tires, batteries and brakes.

Eclipse will also include an allowance to cover the cost of Eclipse 550 transition training–including jet basics, upset recov-ery and RVSM training–necessary for pilots to earn a type-rating in their aircraft.

Perhaps the most enticing aspect of the Carefree Ownership Program, how-ever, is the offer to cover up to $75,000 in fuel costs during the first year of ownership.

This is enough, the company noted, to pay for at least 225 flight hours.� n

Cessna Mustang Embraer Phenom 300

Embraer Phenom 100

Global 6000 offers passengers connectivity in comfy cabinby Kirby J. Harrison

When Bombardier Aerospace an-nounced the Global 6000 at the NBAA convention in 2003, it was as a major up-grade of its Global Express XRS. Today, the Canadian OEM describes it as “the most accomplished and luxurious busi-ness jet ever brought to market.”

Good news, especially for those who want to be connected and stay connected, starting with one-channel Inmarsat Aero H+ SwiftBroadband as standard, pro-viding 432 kbps data transfer, delivered to a personal communication device via the cabin Wi-Fi connection. Optional for higher data transfer rates up to 2 Mbps is the ViaSat Ku-band connection, which has some inconsistencies and with which coverage is not yet worldwide. “But when it is working right, which it virtu-ally always is, it’s great,” said customer account manager for the Global aircraft family Maurice Varin.

Industry wide, there is yet no air-borne Internet connectivity that is the true equivalent of what is found in the typical home or office. Aircell’s Gogo Biz comes close, and though not on Bombardier’s published options list it is available. Gogo Biz provides data trans-fer speeds up to 3.1 Mbps over the con-tinental U.S. and Alaska, but only at altitudes above 10,000 feet.

High-def Entertainment SystemThe 720p high-definition (HD) in-

flight entertainment (IFE) system is tied into the Rockwell Collins CES HD Venue-based cabin management system. It includes two 24-inch bulkhead-mount monitors, along with three plug-in HD monitors as loose equipment. The moni-tors are also LCD with LED backlighting to create a sharper image with brighter colors. A one-terabyte HD server for media storage is standard and a two-tera-byte server is optional.

A Wi-Fi application allows passen-gers to stream any movie in the IFE system to a personal device such as a tablet, and will allow streaming of tab-let or smartphone content to the IFE for viewing throughout the cabin. The cabin Wi-Fi system will also allow passengers to operate cabin controls through tablet or smartphone.

In addition to the two 24-inch and the three plug-in monitors as standard, cabin options include: a 24-inch pop-up screen stowed in the credenza; a 32-inch moni-tor with surround sound in the aft state-room; seat-installation monitors; and additional plug-in monitors.

According to Varin, the cabin manage-ment system and associated systems have

all been designed with the demands for a highly customized cabin in mind. “As a result, we have a highly flexible cabin that will easily adapt to new technology.”

While all the electronic toys are nice, even necessary, in an airplane with a range of more than 6,000 nm at Mach 0.85, cabin comfort is equally necessary. Start with a 2,140-cu-ft cabin and 335-sq-ft of floor area in a space 48 feet 4 inches long, 8 feet 2 inches wide and a spacious 6 feet 3 inches of headroom. In the cabin are three compartments, starting with a baseline layout that includes an enclosed aft stateroom, a pocket door divider and aft lavatory, a mid-cabin conference grouping and dedicated forward section that includes a second lavatory, large gal-ley and crew-rest area. The lavatory toi-lets forward and aft are connected and both are vacuum flushing.

Spacious CabinThe galley position is forward and it

is well-equipped with convection and microwave ovens, a Nespresso coffee-maker, hot- and cold-water sink and a refrigerated storage space that gets to 39-deg F within 30 minutes of power-up and maintains that temperature until shut-down. Options include an induc-tion oven and a regular (U.S. style)

coffee-maker as a replacement for, or in addition to, the Nespresso.

Adding further to the comfort is a standard side-facing divan in the aft state-room area, 80 inches long and 40 inches wide. An optional divan on the opposite side of the compartment will comple-ment it to form a single, large double bed.

The seats from B/E Aerospace have been upgraded to eliminate the annoy-ing “hump” in the center when fully reclined. The new seat features electric controls (for the most part) and when fully reclined form a true full-flat sleep-ing surface. An optional fitted mattress is also available. Varin said the articulation is “very smooth and includes 350-degree swivel.” And he notes that when the seat is partially reclined, the seat pan has a lifter mechanism that tilts so the passen-ger doesn’t tend to slide forward. “Com-pared with the original, which was a pretty good seat, this new seat is a one-hundred-percent improvement,” he said.

If cleanliness is truly next to godliness, the optional, stand-up shower is a place of in-flight worship with a maximum of 45 minutes of hot water (28 minutes standard and another 17 optional). The earlier shower was an adequate but less satisfactory sit-down affair. The shower is rated for one occupant, a restriction

that is related to available emergency oxygen supply.

A quiet cabin is high on the gotta-have list of every customer, and Bombardier has developed a thermal/acoustic pack-age that has reduced the Global 6000 average cabin noise level to slightly less than 50 dB SIL (speech interference level), roughly equivalent to a typical suburban living room. By comparison, the cabin noise level in the typical busi-ness jet averages about 54 to 56 dB SIL.

Finally, the cabin pressurization has been improved to permit a 4,500-foot altitude equivalent at 45,000 feet and 5,700 feet at 51,000 feet. A lower cabin pressure has been shown to increase pas-senger comfort as well as reduce symp-toms of fatigue and jet lag.

According to Bombardier, passen-ger desires were taken into consider-ation in upgrading the Global Express XRS cabin. “The Global 6000 succes-sor,” Varin explained, “was designed and crafted to not merely meet the traveler’s expectations, but to exceed them.” o


Left: The aft cabin compartment converts to a private stateroom that includes a 32-inch, high-definition, bulkhead-mount monitor and surround sound.

Bottom left: The new stand-up shower in the Global 6000 is an improvement over the sit-down shower in the earlier Global Express XRS and provides sufficient hot water for a 45-minute shower.

Below: New options available in the upgraded galley include an induction oven and U.S. style coffee-maker.

Below, right: New seats from supplier B/E Aerospace recline to full-flat position without the usual uncomfortable “hump.”

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50-Year Award Recipients

Hormel, the worldwide man-ufacturer of food products such as Spam, Dinty Moore stew and Lloyd’s Barbecue, started its flight department 50 years ago with Aero Commanders and Beech King Airs. It now oper-ates Gulfstream G150s and G200s, employing six pilots, two mechanics and one scheduler.

Rick Stoulil has been chief pilot for 10 years and has been employed by the company for 12 years. He said his favorite air-plane is the G200. Before joining Hormel, Stoulil flew for a com-puter company in Sioux City, Iowa, and before that he flew for a charter company in Las Vegas.

As for Hormel’s 50-year safety record, he said, “The safety-first attitude of top man-agement at Hormel Foods is the major contributor to our safety record. Safety, not only in the aviation department but company-wide in our manu-facturing facilities, is one of the company’s top priorities.”

Muscatine Corp. is a divi-sion of Kent Corp., a diversi-fied, family-owned company with operating subsidiaries involved in corn wet milling, the production of animal feeds and the manufacture of food products. The company was started in 1927 and its flight department started 50 years ago with a Piper Apache. Now Muscatine operates a Cessna Citation Encore+. Muscatine employs two pilots, two sched-ulers and one manager of oper-ations. Jeff Bohling, president and manager of flight opera-tions, has been with the com-pany for 14 years.

Bohling attributes his com-pany’s long safety record to “employing people who have a real passion for aviation and who are serious about providing safe, efficient travel for our own-ers and employees.”

60-Year Award Recipients

NiSource is a Fortune 500 company engaged in natural gas transmission, storage and distribution, as well as electric generation, transmission and distribution. NiSource compa-nies deliver energy to 3.8 million customers in the high-demand energy corridor that runs from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England.

Early aircraft flown by NiSource’s predecessor com-panies included Beech 18s and Lockheed Lodestars. Through the years, the company has operated Merlins, GIs, Citation SIIs, Hawkers, Learjets and a Bell 222 and 412SP for trans-port flights. “We also operate patrol flight aircraft to regularly monitor our electric and nat-ural gas system,” said aviation services manager Ralph Rosen-brock, “which includes Cessna 182s and Bell 206 helicopters.”

NiSource currently operates a Cessna Citation Sovereign for transport, plus the utility patrol aircraft. The flight department employs eight pilots.

Rosenbrock joined the com-pany 20 years ago and has been aviation manager for the last 13 years. “I first became interested in aviation,” he said, “when I was drafted in the U.S. Army in 1966 and sent to multiple aviation maintenance schools.” His career has been primarily in the helicopter industry. “I’ve also spent time in helicopter risk assessment and risk management. Prior to my current role, I owned my own company that specialized in helicopter safety, technical and financial consultations. I also spent more than 20 years as the technical editor of the Official Helicopter Blue Book.

“Safety is job number-one in our business, not only in the avi-ation department, but through-out all of our operations. The key to safe operations is support from the very top of the organi-zation and a staff that embraces the company’s safety culture, on the job and at home.”

A list of Procter & Gam-ble products would fill your shopping cart at the supermar-ket: Gillette, Ivory, Old Spice, Bounty, Charmin, Mr. Clean and Tide are just a sampling. The company began corpo-rate flight operations in 1951 at Lunken Airport in Cincin-nati, flying corporate-outfit-ted Douglas DC-3s. “Over the years, the company has operated Gulfstream I, II, III, IV, V and G550 aircraft as well as Chal-lenger 601-3As and Sabreliners,” said global flight operations director Stephen Ripley. “We now operate two Gulfstream IVs and three G550s.” The flight operation employs 50 people.

Ripley has been with the company since 2000 and took on his current role in 2006. Before joining Procter & Gam-ble he worked for Mobil Oil’s

flight department for 21 years.Ripley attributes Procter &

Gamble’s long safety record to “the company’s culture and con-tinued support to do the right thing, to the people who started the flight department and laid the foundation for safety and training and to the employees today who carry on the proud tradition and safety record.” o

Hormel FoodsAustin, Minn.

Muscatine Corp.Muscatine, Iowa

NiSource Gary, Ind.

Procter & GambleCincinnati

Four notch milestones of safe flyingby Mary F. Silitch

Flying safely for decade after decade takes extraordinary commitment and dedication, and the following com-panies are sterling examples of what it takes. The National Business Aviation Association recognized the following companies for 50- and 60-year safe flying records, and AIN interviewed this year’s honorees to find out about their operations and the secrets of their success.

SAFE FLYING AWARDS • Milestones

Muscatine’s flight department operates a Citation Encore+. The department includes (left to right) Jeff Bohling, president and manager of flight operations; Lee-Ann Druckmiller and Chris Brown, schedulers; and Jerald Cale and Gary Zeck, pilots.

2011 Safety MileStoneS

In 1998, NBAA starting honor-ing member companies that have flown 50 years or more without an accident, and in 2006 broadened the category to include companies that have flown safely for 60 years.

50 yearsHormel FoodsMucatine

60 yearsNiSourceProctor & Gamble

NiSource currently flies Cessna 182s and Bell 206s as patrol flight aircraft to monitor its electric and natural gas system and a Citation Sovereign for staff transport. The company has been flying safely for 60 years.

Procter & Gamble Global Flight Operations recently received IS-BAO certification. The company has been flying safely since 1951, when it started operating DC-3s.

BBJ ferry flight notches speed record

A Boeing Business Jet newly delivered to Samsung Electronics set a world record for speed over a recognized course on September 17, land-ing after a nonstop flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand, a distance of 5,658 nm covered in 13 hours, 7 minutes and 54 seconds.

The flight, monitored by the Washington, D.C.-based National Aero-nautical Association, ferried the green airplane to the completion facilities of Alti-tude Aerospace Interiors (Booth No. 1596) in Auck-land for cabin outfitting.

On the flight were J.J. Choi of Samsung Elec-tronics, BBJ chief pilot Rene Gonzalez, pilot and captain Matt Coleman and Boeing Business Jets (Booth No. 1499) presi-dent Steve Taylor.

“When we left Los Angeles with full fuel, we were 21,000 pounds

below our maximum takeoff weight,” said Taylor. “This means that the customer can add a full VIP interior, fill all the seats and still carry full fuel and have remarkable range.”

The aircraft was equipped with a seven-tank auxiliary fuel system installed by PATS Aircraft Systems of Georgetown, Del. (Booth No. 4206). It also coincidentally was the 150th BBJ to have the PATS auxiliary fuel package installed. –K.J.H.

A green BBJ belonging to Samsung Electronics set a speed record over a recognized course: 5,658 nm in 13 hours, 7 minutes, 54 seconds. With the aircraft are (l-r) J.J. Choi, Samsung Electronics; BBJ chief pilot Rene Gonzalez; pilot captain Matt Coleman; and Boeing Business Jets president and captain Steve Taylor.

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P A I D F O R B Y T H E N A T I O N A L B U S I N E S S A V I A T I O N A S S O C I A T I O N

In not-so-big cities throughout the United States,there are two kinds of companies:

Viking Range Corporation is headquartered in Greenwood, Mississippi – a two hour drive from the nearest major airport. With a business airplane, however, Viking

can bring customers directly to its corporate headquarters and often conduct presentations en route. Our industry enables companies such as Viking to maximize

valuable time with their key customers all across the United States. It’s just one more way that business aviation is at work for America. Noplanenogain.org

The 2012 NBAA Convention is dedicated to the memory of Neil Armstrong, who served as one of the first three spokesmen, together with Arnold Palmer and Warren Buffett, for the current “No Plane, No Gain” cam-paign. The effort was mobilized to rally support for business aviation in the aftermath of the economic collapse of 2008 and the subsequent vilification of

this segment. Bill Crutchfield, chairman of Crutchfield Corp. in Charlottesville, Va., has employed business aviation to fuel its growth. Crutchfield told attend-ees that while people understand the “plane” part of that phrase, many inter-pret “gain” as simply increased profits or efficiencies for those that use pri-vate aircraft. Crutchfield talked about viewing “gain” as what business avia-tion can do for communities at large. He cited the example of how he was able to establish a call center in an economically

depressed corner of the state, ultimately drawing more corporations to locate call centers there, dramatically decreas-ing poverty levels and raising the qual-ity of life in the region.

The upcoming presidential election received attention in multiple oblique ref-erences, with attendees keenly aware that the current administration has often been unsupportive of business aviation. Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes maga-zine, noted that the nation’s current 2 per-cent economic growth is insufficient to

restore health to the busi-ness aviation industry. “Whether [one has] a D or an R on the jersey, we have to get back to between 3 and 4 percent growth,” Karlgaard said at the con-clusion of his remarks.

Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), whose constitu-ents include citizens of the Air Capital of the World (Wichita) spun the No Plane, No Gain message down to the grass roots level, talking about the importance of general avi-

ation not from a jobs or operator’s per-spective, but from the people in rural communities he represents that rely on it as their lifeline to the world. Yet in a state hard hit by the downturn in business avi-ation’s fortunes, he emphasized his faith that “the leaders of this industry are no different from those who came to Kansas almost 100 years ago” to create an avia-tion manufacturing industry. “This indus-try has had its struggles,” said Moran, “but like the Kansas motto, ‘To the stars, through adversity.’” o


out before the cascade of flight cancella-tions. “We brought down several key staff and a speaker on a chartered aircraft that left the Washington, D.C. area on Sun-day, in the early evening,” he continued.

Business aircraft all over the north-east were relocating out of harm’s way by then, some taking key personnel with them. It’s anyone’s guess how many NBAA convention attendees found themselves chartering aircraft at the last minute to get to the show after airline cancellations, but most speakers man-aged to journey here one way or another. NBAA said that as of Tuesday evening 24,289 people were in attendance.

As if the storm was not disruption enough, the President of the United States decided to pay Orlando a cam-paign call just before the convention began, locking down Orlando’s air-space for Sunday evening and Monday morning. NBAA, once it learned of the TFR, went to work negotiating with the Department of Homeland Security to mitigate the restriction’s typically oner-ous effect on general aviation traffic.

“We were able to set up gateway air-ports for flights coming into Orlando so that they could clear TSA there, and then come on into Orlando Executive or Orlando International airports,” said Bolen. “We were also able to negotiate it so that operations were unimpeded at Orlando Sanford Airport and Kissimmee Airport. And once the President was on the ground operations were unimpeded at Orlando International as well,” he added. In the end the President left earlier than planned, to be back in Washington, D.C. before the storm arrived, and Monday’s air traffic in the Orlando area was back to normal earlier than expected.

As of press time yesterday after-noon, the airlines were still not operat-ing in the northeast. That said, calls to several business aviation airports in the

northeast yesterday afternoon revealed that Teterboro Airport was closed; but White Plains Airport, Long Island McAr-thur Airport, Morristown Airport and Atlantic City Airport were all open. The last business aviation flights before the storm left on Monday morning, with the exception of Long Island McArthur, where a Sheltair employee told AIN that the last flight left at around 9 p.m. Sun-day night. For the most part only military, Coast Guard and police helicopters were operating at the open airports, with the exception of White Plains, where several business jets had arrived around the noon hour on Tuesday, according to airport operations there. FBOs at White Plains were without power, however, at that time, and could not be contacted by telephone.

The flexibility of general aviation revealed itself in another fashion, as AIN learned that a company that needed to rush a group of electrical technicians to help with repairs to the northeast U.S. used its own business aircraft for the trip. o

Storms challenge NBAAuContinued from page 1

NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen enumerated the efforts the association has undertaken to protect business aviation’s indicating, intimating that the industry needs to remain vigilant.

CAN Receives $21,000 from NBAA and Phillips 66 at Show

Phillips 66 Aviation (Booth No. 4560) and NBAA jointly presented a check to the Corporate Angel Net-work (CAN) for $21,000 to support the organization’s efforts providing free flights on business aircraft for cancer patients en route to and from treatment around the U.S. More than 40,000 cancer patients have had transportation arranged by CAN since 1981. The $21,000 donation, awarded on the first day of NBAA’12, is the amount generated by the Corporate Angel Award program, which recognizes flight departments that donate seats on business aircraft for cancer patients traveling for treatment. The award sponsors are Phil-lips 66 Aviation, Safe Flight Instrument and McGraw Hill. This year’s Corporate Angel Award recipients are the corporate flight departments for Colleen, Ball, B-D and General Mills. –A.L.

This year’s MEBA event moves to a new venueby Robert P. Mark

Right in the middle of the NBAA Con-vention is precisely the right time to begin thinking about December’s Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show in Dubai, the fifth edition since the show began in 2005. This year’s event runs from December 11 to 13, but at a new location, Dubai’s Al Mak-toum International Airport (OMDW), a 25-minute drive south of the City of Dubai.

ExecuJet and Jet Aviation will han-dle FBO duties during the MEBA show. This year’s event promises to be larger than the 2010 edition, with 60 static air-craft versus 43 and 375 exhibitors ver-sus 338 two years ago. The show also plans an increased focus on helicopters, business aviation airports and aircraft interiors. MEBA’s 2010 visitors were 61 percent from Africa and the Middle East, 17 percent from Europe, 6 percent from the Americas and 16 percent from the Far East and Indian subcontinent.

“Operating in the Middle East means

we face some of the same challenges as business aviation everywhere, except when it comes to airport access,” said Ali Ahmed Al Naqbi, founding chairman of the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA). “We have 23 Middle East and North African govern-ments to contend with. Dubai Interna-tional Airport, for instance, has become an environment that doesn’t want busi-ness aviation.” The Middle East is home to more widebody business aircraft than anywhere else on the planet, just one more reason for the official business avi-ation move to Al Maktoum just after the first of the year. Al Maktoum is also Dubai’s growing cargo airport.

“We are in constant discussions with the 23 regional governments,” Al Naqbi said. “We’re working to pro-mote business aviation because we see that business is really picking up in the Middle East.” o

Mica: ‘war’ on bizavuContinued from page 1

The Microturbo e-APU60, a new concept in auxiliary power units (APUs), recently completed a 150-hour block test and is progressing toward certification, Micro-turbo, a Safran Group company, announced at the NBAA Convention. “These tests gave us the opportunity to validate the reliabil-ity and the endurance of this new concept, meeting our expectations and those of our first customer, AgustaWestland,” said Pierre-Yves Morvan, CEO of Microturbo. “This milestone represents a significant step forward for the program.”

The e-APU60 has been undergo-ing parallel inflight tests as part of the AgustaWestland AW189 new-generation helicopter certification campaign since early this year. In addition to ground starts of the main engines and powering the electrical systems and cabin air-condi-tioning, the APU, capable of delivering up to 60kWe, can restart the engines in flight if necessary. FAA and EASA certification is expected in the first half of next year.� n

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NBAA Convention News 10-31-12 Issue

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