Aviation International News June 2023

JUNE 2023 | Vol. 52 No. 6 | AINonline.com

CHARTER: WILL SUMMER TRAVEL HEAT UP? TRAINING: WHY YOU NEED TO GET UPSET ATC: FAA BALKS ON REMOTE TOWERS

AV I AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L N E W S

SAFETY: KETCHIKAN AIR TOUR RISKS STILL HIGH

Maintenance Matters Business is booming, but supply chain issues and labor shortages temper capacity

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In this issue

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European charter firms ready for peak summer demand

FAA regrouping on remote towers

A higher level of upset training with APS

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Bombardier deliveries grow, returns to Q1 profitability

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After slow start, Gulfstream expects to meet 2023 target

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Embraer reports flat bizjet deliveries, softer revenues

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Textron Aviation deliveries, demand remain stable

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Safety Talk: UAE's Aysha Alhameli

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Special Report: Profound change moves the maintenance market

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Ketchikan air tour safety still lacking, NTSB finds

DEPARTMENTS 46 Rotorcraft | 50 On the Ground | 52 Maintenance 54 Accidents | 56 Compliance | 58 People in Aviation

On the cover: AMAC Aerospace technician Julien Grimm working on a customer’s G550.

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News Briefs WHEELS UP FOUNDER DICHTER STEPS DOWN AS CEO

Both Bombardier Challenger and Global shipments increased in the first quarter despite supplychain challenges, but they aren’t expected to affect 2023 deliveries.

Bombardier deliveries grow, returns to Q1 profitability B Y K E R R Y LY N C H

Bombardier delivered one more business jet in the first quarter than a year earlier for a total of 22. Revenues, however, jumped 17 percent to $1.5 billion, reflecting a skewing to larger aircraft following the discontinuation of the Learjet line last year, the Montreal- based OEM reported.

Excluding Learjet, delive ries were up by 22 percent.

Deliveries in the first three months comprised eight Challengers and 14 Globals, compared with six of the super-midsized aircraft and 12 of the ultra-long-range models in the same period last year. Bombardier also delivered three Learjets in the first quarter of 2022.

Bombardier affirmed that it remains on track to continue to ramp up deliveries topping 138 for the year. Even with the ramp-up, Bombardier maintained a bookto-bill of 0.9:1, just under the even ordersto-deliveries target it had set for the year. Backlog at the end of the quarter stood at $14.8 billion, similar to where it was at the end of the year and representing at least two years of production.

Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel reiterated that this is a “quality” backlog and that “we feel pretty good our backlog will sustain even if there is a recession.”

 ... we feel pretty good our backlog will sustain even if there is a recession. 

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continues on page 60 

Some 10 years after founding private flight provider Wheels Up, Kenny Dichter stepped down as the financially-challenged group’s CEO on May 9. While Dichter will retain a seat on the board of directors, CFO Todd Smith took over as interim CEO and board member Ravi Thakran is executive chairman.

Wheels Up sustained $555 million in losses last year and reported a $101 million loss in the first quarter. “I’d like to thank our founder, Kenny Dichter, for his vision and work to make Wheels Up what it is today— the leading on-demand charter operator in the U.S. with more than $1.5 billion in revenue, more than 12,000 members and customers, and an iconic brand,” Thakran said.

FORMER ESCROW EXEC GUILTY A U.S. District Court in Texas last month convicted Debra Lynn Mercer-Erwin, owner of Wright Brothers Aircraft Title and Aircraft Guaranty Corp. (AGC), of money laundering, wire fraud, and two counts of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine.

According to the government, her Oklahoma City-based aircraft title and escrow services enabled cartels to use U.S.-registered aircraft, that AGC held in trust, for drug trade. She was also found guilty of operating a Ponzi scheme, advertising aircraft for sale that were actually not available, and using escrowed funds to repay money deposited by previous would-be buyers. She faces up to life in prison.

COMLUX DELIVERS 1ST COMPLETED ACJ TWOTWENTY Comlux delivered the first VIP completed Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty to launch customer Five Hotels and Resorts on May 2. Comlux is designing and installing the interiors on the first 16 of the bizliners. The cabin has been EASA certified, and the completion rate is expected to accelerate going forward.

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After slow start, Gulfstream expects to meet 2023 target B Y CUR T E P S T E I N

Gulfstream delivered 21 business jets in “Up until now, we have managed to work the first quarter, three shy of its projec- around late-to-schedule parts deliveries,” tions and four fewer than it delivered in Novakovic continued. “We have a very the same period a year ago, according to clear line of sight into the third and fourth parent company General Dynamics in its quarters, and the majority of these supplifirst-quarter earnings call in April. ers fully anticipate getting better.”

Through the first three months of the General Dynamics’ aerospace unit finyear, the Savannah, Georgia-based OEM ished the quarter with just $11 million less handed over four super-midsize G280s and revenue than a year ago, despite deliver17 large-cabin aircraft. While bureaucratic ing four fewer aircraft. The deficit was registration delays in a customer’s home almost offset by Gulfstream services, specountry impacted the delivery of one large- cial mission aircraft work, and Jet Aviacabin twinjet, General Dynamics chair and tion volume.

CEO Phebe Novakovic noted that this past Gulfstream ended the first quarter with quarter was the first in which the company a book-to-bill of just below 1:1. “The quarmissed an airplane delivery due to supply- ter was looking quite good until the two chain issues when a pair of G280s was regional bank failures in early March,” said delayed due to late engine arrivals.

Novakovic. “This created a pause in the “The shortage of parts-to-schedule from market for about three weeks.” She added the supply chain, especially from Honeywell, that since, strong sales activity and cushas created significant out-of-station work, tomer interest have resumed, with broad which is inherently less efficient,” Novakovic interest across the entire product line. said during the conference call. “The other The company forecast that it will deliver impact of late-to-schedule parts deliveries— 145 aircraft this year, and it is looking to apart from cost growth—is that we cannot deliver 26 in the second quarter with a increase our build rate until the supply of strong ramp-up in deliveries anticipated parts is more predictable.” She added that in the second half of the year as the G700 most Gulfstream suppliers expect that sit- comes online. “We’re pretty confident we uation to resolve itself by the third quarter. can get there,” said Novakovic. z

Gulfstream’s first quarter 2023 delivery totals were lowered after two G280s were sidelined by late engine delvieries from their manufacturer, Honeywell.

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News Briefs GLOBAL 5500/6500 GET EPDS Bombardier has expanded its suite of environmental product declarations (EPDs) to encompass the ultra-long-range Global 5500 and 6500. They join Bombardier’s Global 7500 and Challenger 3500 in securing an EPD, which details information about an aircraft’s environmental footprint throughout its life cycle. The Canadian aircraft manufacturer initially obtained an EPD for the Global 7500 in June 2020 after working with industry organizations and 45 Tier 1 suppliers to assess 200,000 parts. Bombardier followed the same methodology with the Challenger 3500, which received an EPD in 2022, and again with the Global 5500 and 6500.

PC-12 FLEET PASSES 10 MILLION FLIGHT HOURS The worldwide fleet of more than 1,000 Pilatus PC-12 turboprop singles has now logged more than 10 million flight hours. The fleet-leader PC-12 is based in Canada and has logged more than 35,000 hours, while 71 other of the turboprop singles have each flown more than 20,000 hours. The global fleet has made more than 9.3 million landings, with four aircraft alone reporting more than 50,000 landings each. Pilatus Aircraft also said it is increasing production rates as it closes in on its 2,000th PC-12 delivery.

NJASAP SUES NETJETS In the midst of midterm contract negotiations with NetJets, the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio alleging the fractional ownership provider violated federal law by attempting to suppress union-related speech. According to the NJASAP, NetJets “threatened to discipline pilots for referring customers to the union’s website” that provides information about NetJets pilot salaries.

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Embraer reports flat bizjet deliveries, softer revenues B Y K E R R Y LY N C H

News Briefs CAE EXPANDING BIZAV TRAINING TO CENTRAL EUROPE CAE is expanding its business aviation training activities in Central Europe with plans to open a new center in the second half of 2024. The center would become CAE’s first business aviation facility in the region and have a capacity for up to six full-flight simulators, the company said. “CAE is expanding its business aviation training network in strategic locations to help the industry meet the global requirement for an additional 45,000 business aviation pilots over the next 10 years,” said CAE Civil Aviation group president Nick Leontidis.

FAA ACTING ADMINISTRATOR TO DEPART AGENCY

Embraer attributed the small dip in Executive Aviation revenues in the first quarter to a different mix of Phenom deliveries, even though the total number matched that of last year.

Embrae r’s executive jet delive ries remained flat in the first three months, matching the eight handed over in first-quarter 2022, the company affirmed when it released its first-quarter earnings report in early May. Similar to a year earlier, Embraer handed over six Phenom light jets and two midsize Praetors during the quarter. However, at the same time, Embraer’s executive jets unit brought in $87.1 million in revenues, a 3 percent year-over-year slide that the Brazilian airframer attributed to the mix of light-jet deliveries.

Meanwhile, Embraer remained encouraged by the market in the first quarter, saying that customer orders for new aircraft have exceeded expectations. Backlog for its executive jets nudged up to $4.1 billion at the end of the first quarter, compared with $3.9 billion at the end of 2022 and $2.9 billion at the end of 2021.

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Embraer further noted its book-to-bill ratio remained above 2.5:1, an industry high watermark, and added, “Growth in the light and midsize business jet segments has continued into this year, and Embraer is well positioned to capitalize on this growth.”

While executive jets revenues softened in the quarter, Embraer’s commercial aviation unit handed over seven airliners, one more than a year ago. The mix also trended toward the larger E195-E2 model, with five delivered, compared with two in first-quarter 2022. Embraer also delivered two of the smaller E175s versus four a year earlier.

Commercial aviation revenues were up by nearly $30 million in the quarter, to $198.8 million. Even so, the manufacturer saw its net loss widen to $88.9 million, an increase from a $75.3 million loss a year earlier. z

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Billy Nolen, who stepped into the role of acting FAA administrator in April 2022 just months after he joined the agency, announced in late April that he will be stepping down. “I will depart as a new nominee [for FAA Administrator] is named this summer,” he said. “I have given everything to this agency, and now it’s time to do the same for my family, who have…supported me during my time at the FAA.” Nolen brought a more than 30-year aviation career with him to the agency, having served in operations, regulatory, and corporate roles with airlines and with Airlines for America.

GOGO EXPANDING TO CANADA Gogo Business Aviation is extending the coverage area of its 5G network into Canada. Having completed a critical design review of the 5G chip earlier this year, Gogo anticipates that its 5G service will launch commercially in the contiguous U.S. in the fourth quarter and expand to Canada next year. Gogo’s 5G service is expected to provide speeds of about 25 Mbps on average, with peak speeds between 75 and 80 Mbps, facilitating heavy-data applications such as videoconferencing, live TV, and gaming.

News Briefs EASA NOD FOR KODIAK 900

Textron Aviation, reporting revenue growth and stable deliveries, celebrated the handing over of the 400th Cessna Citation CJ4 business jet to Koch Holdings.

Textron Aviation deliveries, demand remain stable

BY CHARLES ALCOCK

Deliveries of Textron Aviation business to recover in the wake of the Government aircraft remained stable during the first Accountability Office’s recent ruling that quarter of 2023 with a slight uptick in com- rejected protests by competitors Sikorsky mercial turboprops (34 versus 31 in the and Boeing against the U.S. Army’s award same period last year) compensating for of the Future Long-range Assault Aircraft a drop from 39 to 35 jets. In an earnings contract to Bell. During the first quarter, call with analysts in April, parent company Bell delivered 22 commercial helicopters, Textron reported that revenues at its Tex- down from 25 units in the first quarter of tron Aviation segment grew by 10.5 percent 2022. Its segment profit fell by $31 million during the first three months of this year to $60 million and the order backlog stood to $1.1 billion, contributing to the $3 bil- at $4.6 billion. lion in corporate-wide revenues that were Textron’s eAviation business unit unchanged over 2022. achieved revenues of $4 million, mainly Textron Aviation contributed $125 mil- from sales of trainer aircraft produced by lion to the $259 million in corporate-wide its Europe-based subsidiary Pipistrel. profits, achieving an increase of $15 million.

In response to continuing supply-chain The company said this improvement was issues that chairman and CEO Scott Donlargely due to favorable pricing levels for nelly said are “not getting worse or betits aircraft and higher volumes. The divi- ter,” Textron added more employees in the sion’s order backlog at the end of the first fourth quarter of 2022 so that, “now we’re quarter was valued at $6.5 billion. largely staffed at levels where we want to By contrast, Textron’s rotorcraft division be so that things improve.” He acknowlBell saw revenues decline by 25 percent to edged that some business jet delivery dates reach $621 million, due to lower military were missed during the quarter due to revenues. But those revenues are expected supply-chain issues that held up parts. z

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Daher has secured European validation for its Kodiak 900, the larger and speedier variant of its Kodiak 100 turboprop-single utility aircraft.

EASA approval follows FAA certification in July, when Daher also announced the aircraft at EAA AirVenture. The first European delivery is scheduled for the third quarter. Nicolas Chabbert, senior v-p of Daher’s aircraft division, said the Kodiak 900 is attracting significant interest from Europe for missions ranging from air ambulance and firefighting support to skydiving and surveillance.

SMART LINK PLUS OK’D FOR CHALLENGERS, GLOBALS Bombardier’s Smart Link Plus aircraft health monitoring system is now approved by Transport Canada, EASA, and the FAA for installation on most Challenger and Global models. The approvals permit operators of all in-service Challenger 300/350/3500s, Challenger 605/650s, and Global Express/ XRS/5000/6000s to install Smart Link Plus. Approvals for the Challenger 604 and Global 5500/6500 are expected by early 2024, Bombardier noted.

Smart Link Plus collects crucial aircraft data that enables flight and maintenance crews to quickly prioritize and proactively troubleshoot essential in-flight alerts.

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The plant will be built at Cepsa’s La Rábida Energy Park in the Spanish province of Huelva.

Scheduled to be operational in the first half of 2026, it will have a projected annual output of up to 500,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and/or renewable diesel fuel.

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Euro charter firms ready for peak summer demand B Y J A ME S W Y N BR A N D T

Last summer, with the shackles of Covid removed, business jet demand in Europe hit record levels. Flight activity rose 13 percent above 2021 numbers during the season last year and was 23 percent above 2019’s summer peak, the previous high, according to Hamburg, Germany-based flight-data specialist WingX. In the charter market, that demand created shortages of aircraft, as well as of landing slots and parking spaces at popular destinations.

The good news for this summer: Part 135 operators, brokers, and support professionals report that the charter community is better prepared for the seasonal onslaught, which they anticipate could outpace the demand last summer.

Supply-wise, data “indicates that the pool of aircraft available for charter has

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increased,” B2B booking platform Avinode Switzerland-based Global Jet added Group told AIN, and the number of Part five aircraft to its charter fleet in recent 135 aircraft marketed through its site has months, ranging from an Embraer Phenom risen 5 percent since last summer.

300 and Pilatus PC-24 at the light end to “More aircraft are coming to the market,” a pair of Global 6000s (one with a threeechoed George Galanopoulos, Luxaviation zone cabin with extensive entertainment UK CEO and managing director, some systems, the other a 14-passenger execuof them from new owners “who bought tive configuration), as well as a Boeing 737aircraft because of the difficulties they 700 VIP airliner. encountered accessing lift through charter Germany’s Atlas Air Service operates and how much they had to pay for it,” he Pilatus PC-12, Daher TBM, and Beechcraft said. A spokesperson at UK-based global King Air turboprops, along with Cessna brokerage Air Partner agreed that opera- Citation, Gulfstream G150 and 280, and tors are “increasing fleet size where they Hawker 400 business jets from five locacan,” in anticipation of the demand. tions in Germany and Switzerland. With Some of the recent fleet additions are recently acquired MRO subsidiaries in light jets and turboprops—aircraft well- Augsburg, Germany, and Altenrhein, Switsuited to European routes—which are bol- zerland, Atlas now offers a full suite of supstering capacity for lower-cost access. port services, as well.

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

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Sparfell, a Geneva-based hourly rates apply 325 days per year, and dynamic rates on 40 c h a r te r- m a n a g e m e n t f i r m , counts the Embraer Phenom 100 high-demand days. and Cessna Citation CJ2+ among Last year, Vista, with the acquiits 30-some jets, as well as the sitions of Germany’s Air HamBombardier Challenger 300/350 burg and Jet Edge in the U.S., and Global, Embraer Legacy and added a net 117 aircraft to its fleet, Praetor 600, Gulfstream G650ER, and it has access to more than and Dassault Falcon 7X. Its net2,100 additional alliance partwork of partner providers offers ner jets. The group’s business in access to many more.

Europe was up 29 percent yearBut demand is keeping pace over-year in 2022 as well, across with the increased supply. Newly both the VistaJet and XO online introduced jet card and block brokerage brands, the Dubai, charter programs, offering more UAE-based owner/operator said. access options, are attracting Switzerland’s Jet Aviation, a new customers and increasing global business aviation services spend among existing clients, provider, operates a charter providers report. fleet of more than 100 business And despite a cooling of charaircraft and has “access to ter activity early this year seen in thousands more,” all available some tracking data, “the summer through its on-demand block months are ahead of where they charter and jet card offerings. were in 2022,” said an Avinode Jet Aviation’s new Freedom spokesperson, adding, “Based Access plan combines the best on the early demand in Europe, I of its block charter and jet card wouldn’t be surprised if the sumfeatures, which include global mer months outperform current guaranteed availability and industry expectations.”

Air Partner is preparing for an influx of U.S. customers. round-trip discounts.

Moreover, some declines in In preparation for the sumflight activity this year were due in part to relationships,” which will be “vital” to deal mer season, Jet Aviation, founded in 1967, the number of aircraft down for mainte- with “anticipated demand and slot and air- has worked “closely with our [managed nance following the heavy usage of the pre- port capacity restrictions,” the company aircraft] customers and partners to expand vious summer, noted Galanopoulos, who said, citing as top trending destinations our fleet and make even more choices called the situation “unprecedented in the Ibiza, Majorca, and Malaga, Spain; Faro, available,” the company told AIN, and last 28 years I’ve been in business.”

Denmark; Olbia, Italy; Mykonos, Greece; fall it added a BBJ to its charter fleet.

Air Partner, following its acquisition and Nice, France.

UK-based Air Charter Service has grown last year by U.S. charter and access proA growing array of access programs from its humble origins in the chairman’s gram provider Wheels Up, expects to see gives charter customers more options for basement in 1990 into a global brokerdemand from U.S. customers coming getting to their hot spot of choice. Vista- age with more than 500 employees that through its new parent company this sum- Jet International recently introduced its arranges some 23,000 charter flights mer, in addition to its Continental cus- VJ25 program to Europe, the Middle East, annually. Its Empyrean Jet Card provides tomer base. Wheels Up members can use and Africa. Aimed at travelers with flex- worldwide access and offers three pricing funds on deposit to fly to Europe privately ible schedules flying 25 to 49 hours per plans: Market (based on dynamic pricing), or on partner carrier Delta Air Lines, with year and offered as a three-year subscrip- Gold (based on capped dynamic pricing), Air Partner handling all their intra-Europe tion, VJ25 provides guaranteed on-demand and Platinum (block charter at a set perflights, the company noted. access to the Vista fleet of more than 360 hour rate). Deposited funds are held in a To prepare for the traffic spike, Air Part- aircraft worldwide, including the flag- third-party bank account, ensuring finanner has been “investing in our operator ship ultra-long-range Global 7500. Fixed cial security.

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Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

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Last summer, high demand and fuel costs drove big increases in hourly rates.

Despite lower fuel prices this summer, Air Partner anticipates comparable charter costs.

“For a light jet to operate from Farnborough to Ibiza on the first weekend of the school holidays in July, you would be looking at a rate of between £15k and £20k [$18,666–$24,895],” the company said, adding, “That’s not necessarily what you would end up paying if you left it to the last minute.”

Many operators and industry professionals had been saying for several years that charter rates needed to rise to keep pace with escalating costs, and they welcome the recent increases as long overdue. “Last year was the first I’ve seen when the rates were what they should really be to make it worthwhile for the owner and for us as an operator,” said Galanopoulos. The challenge now, he said, is “trying to reason with owners drunk on income after being parched so long.”

Luxaviation’s advice to its aircraft owner clients: “You need to reduce rates a bit now, or your aircraft will not be flying as much,” he said. “Reassess the market before the busy period and maybe [then] put rates back up to where they were.”

As for trending vacation hot spots, “People had a summer of partying after Covid,”

Galanopoulos said of last season, “So they’re probably looking for more discreet, quiet destinations.”

While brokers and operators handle the bookings and operations, ground support companies will provide the boots on the ground essential to seamless private flight activity. Support services can be especially helpful for getting needed permits at high-traffic destinations, as well as when traveling to locations off the primary jetset circuit, where private flight activity is less common.

 Last year was the first I’ve seen when the rates were what they should really be...  In Spain, General Aviation Service, founded in 1979, handles both types of destinations, operating FBOs in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Granada, Gerona, and Ibiza, with some 100 service professionals on staff.

Many charter customers discovered Eastern Europe in 2021 when it remained open to vaccinated travelers while much of the rest of the Continent was closed

EuroJet provides handling services at more than 170 airports in 30 countries.

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by Covid. As it reopened last summer, Western Europe received the brunt of demand, but travelers may head east again this year, said Gareth Danker, a director at Prague-based support provider Euro Jet Intercontinental.

“A lot of people got their fix dealing with the crowds and the expense of flying to the south of France and the Italian Riviera last summer,” said Danker, and suggested that this year, “More people may say, ‘Let’s go back to Eastern Europe, let’s go back to Croatia and Montenegro.’”

Euro Jet provides ground handling, flight permits, landing permits, and parking services at some 170 airports in 30 countries, and over the past two years has opened and renovated crew lounges in Serbia’s Belgrade and Pristina in Kosovo and is now renovating its flagship lounge in Prague, Czech Republic. It has also added office space at Jasionka Airport in Rzeszow, Poland, the airbridge for traffic to and from Ukraine.

Regionally based providers stand ready to assist with Eastern Europe charter needs. ABS Jets operates nine midsize and heavy jets from its headquarters at Václav Havel Airport in Prague, and Bratislava Airport in Slovakia. Turkey’s long-established PAN Aviation, operating air ambulance and other specialty charter services since 2003, recently introduced Pan Jet charter service, focused on providing business, personal, and family travel from its base at Ankara Esenboga Airport.

Latvia’s Flight Consulting Group (FCG) offers comprehensive flight support, ground handling, and charter arrangements, and has support contracts with some 100 business jets.

In more than 20 years of business, it has served more than 135,000 flights at 2,600 airports in 140 countries, the company said. Its subsidiary FCG OPS also provides international trip support and dispatch and ground handling services at more than 40 airports in the region.

For traffic heading to Latvia, FBO RIGA,

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another FCG holding, operates a state-ofart business aviation center at Riga International Airport.

But aircraft and permit shortages aren’t the only downsides of high charter demand: “Fraud and cybercrime increase during peak seasons,” Avinode said, as criminals seek to exploit the increased pressure faced by charter sales and finance teams, and temporary staffs. Greater security measures and automation may be in order “if the charter company’s payment routines rely too much on manual processes,” the Swedish company said, noting that Avinode’s Paynode platform provides such transaction security.

Some technology companies also offer software and other services designed to answer digital processing needs for business aviation.

Switzerland’s MySky offers cost and control software developed for charter operations, and its new MySky Quote can help with the summer surge via autoquoting, allowing operators to reply more quickly, with more accurate quotes.

“Obviously, you cannot have two times more people on the payroll the whole year to cope with the demand of four months,” said MySky co-founder and global strategy director Chris Marich.

“Bringing automation and IT to this process allows our customers to delegate work to the machine that is taking a huge amount of time and not creating a lot of value.”

The software’s quoting engine is informed by dynamic pricing algorithms, and the product also serves as “a revenue management tool” that supports customized revenue strategies, Marich said, enabling customers to “maximize the profit they can turn on the aircraft.”

MySky has some 300 customers with a total of 700 aircraft using its software. The quoting engine is available only for Europe, but MySky has announced plans to bring it to the Middle East and Africa and, later, to the U.S.

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in 2000, it has a presence in more than 30 countries and embraces “game-changing technology solutions designed specifically for business aviation” to enhance operations and service delivery, it said. Last December, Riyadh-based charter operator Alpha Star named UAS its preferred partner.

Mediterranean Aviation Services, headquartered in Dubai, offers trip planning, air charter, flight permitting, and ground hanC HR IS M A R IC H M Y S K Y C O - F OU N D E R dling worldwide—including extreme locations. Founded in 2005, it has a network of operational partners and exclusive contracts with major fuel and aviation service providers to ensure customers high quality and value.

AN Aviation Services specializes in ground handling and flight support in Egypt and UAE, with offices at every airport in both countries, and an extensive network of supervisory agents throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, built since its launch in 1991.

The Middle East is another region that Looking ahead, market watchers can has seen growing summer charter traffic take heart in broker reports that operators with Europe, with several regional com- are now “keen to chase the business that panies providing support services. Flight is out there,” as Air Partner said. That’s support specialist UAS International Trip a change from last summer, when some Support has served heads of state, VVIPs, operators, swamped by demand and quote Fortune Global 500 companies, and busi- requests, simply declined to take on addiness jet operators worldwide. Established tional business.

 Obviously, you cannot have two times more people on the payroll the whole year to cope with the demand of four months... 

UAS International Trip Support is seeing more traffic flying between the Middle East and Europe.

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To maximize efficiency for all, Avinode advises brokers to “carefully think through their sourcing and quoting workflow, and make sure the requests they send are relevant and up to date so that operators can spend their time on the right things.”

Concerns about the environment and sustainability could also impact the charter market, according to observers. This, even as “a lot of companies are putting a scheme in place for offsetting emissions that are voluntarily over and above the legal requirements of the EU,” noted Galanopoulos, adding, “That’s a message we need to get across to the world.”

One more key message that various providers expressed is that everyone needing charter lift this summer should note: “book now,” “book early,” and “book in advance.”

“This will ensure you achieve the best possible rates but also allows you to secure the preferred aircraft of choice,” said Air Partner.

Added Marich at MySky, “Book with a reliable partner, because if you’re let down, it’s going to be difficult to find a [last-minute] solution. Experienced charter brokers and operators know how to make sure you have your confirmed slot and parking.”

But even getting a jump on booking can’t guarantee you’ll avoid the charter crunch in today’s Part 135 world.

“Oftentimes parking and slots and other arrangements aren’t available if you book early,” noted Danker at Euro Jet. “But the likelihood of getting something close to what the [customers] want, or seeing what their options are, will be as high as possible.”

The need to reserve in advance seemingly flies in the face of one of the cherished bedrocks of private charter, but such is the new normal in lift access: “People are used to leaving at the last minute because that’s their idea of having a private jet—pick up the phone and there’s one today or tomorrow,” said Galanopoulos. “Those days are gone. You have to plan ahead and book when you know you have a requirement.” z

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Safety Talk

Aysha Alhameli highlights innovation in accident prevention in the UAE B Y P E T E R S H AW- S MI T H

As assistant director general of the Air Accident Investigation Sector (AAIS) at the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) for the past two years, Aysha Alhameli plays a key role in aviation safety in the Middle East region. She previously spent 11 years as the UAE’s permanent representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). From 2007 to 2009, she was head of the Air Transport Department at the GCAA. She began her career as a pilot with Abu Dhabi Aviation, acquiring a type rating on the DHC-8 Series 202. She holds commercial and air transport pilot licenses. Captain Alhameli discusses safety in the UAE, and plans for the AAIS with AIN. What are the main drivers of your decision to accept the role of assistant director general-Air Accident Investigation Sector?

When I was offered the role by the leadership, I saw it as a great opportunity. The main objective is to prevent similar accidents and incidents from happening in the future. For me, taking up this role was a natural evolution on a strategic level to position in the UAE as one of the leading investigation authorities in the world, and at the same time utilize my international connections and personal experience to move the sector forward.

When and why was the AAIS set up?

The AAIS was established by a decree in 2011 to have full authority separate from the GCAA. I report directly to the chairman, which means that my team and I have full independence when it comes to investigation—either investigating the GCAA or the industry.

Could you give an overview of operations at the AAIS in 2022?

We recently issued revolutionary, one-of-akind regulations on assistance to the families of victims. Moreover, the AAIS developed the first-of-its-kind aviation pathology protocol,

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which incorporates the state-level policies and coordination procedures for postmortem autopsy investigations on the pilots for the purpose of identifying physical, physiological, and psychological factors that could have impaired their performance and contributed to the accident. Several stakeholders have participated in the development of this protocol including the Ministry of Health and Prevention, Ministry of Interior, and the local Emirates police departments, in addition to specialists from the government and private sectors.

The Accident Prevention and Safety Recommendations Unit [was] a newly established unit assigned to follow the implementation of safety recommendations, as well as monitoring global trends of significant concerns and, at the same time, conducting studies on issues that we see trending.

You’ve mentioned aerial sports and recreational flying activities, is that a special operational category that you watch?

Our focus on aerial sports and recreational aviation activities is unique worldwide. Normally, aircraft accident investigation authorities in other states do not investigate occurrences of such category

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

of operations. I have decided to investigate almost every aviation activity to see whether, within the strategic framework, the regulations are correctly set up or if there are trends taking place that could affect safety.

In 2016, the GCAA celebrated ranking No.1 in the world for compliance with ICAO’s aviation safety standards. How did you achieve that in a part of the world where you would not expect to see the highest scores?

Why not? We have the biggest aviation industry and we have a visionary leadership that is empowering us to do our work.

We are always working towards the UAE vision. If an idea comes from any employee, let’s say, to use technology for mapping the accident site to protect human health and collect evidence, let’s do it. There’s no money? Okay, let’s coordinate with the national authorities. Let’s coordinate with educational institutions. I will get the support because everyone in this framework works towards one vision. Since I started in this industry, I’ve seen the way we move; it’s fast, agile, and supported by leadership.

Nobody has limits. Every employee within this sector is empowered to achieve and come up with ideas outside of just following the norm.

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Safety Talk Do you want to project kind of an international presence as the AAIS and as the GCAA? Absolutely. The aviation industry is international. If I do something alone, it won’t matter because if I do it perfectly it doesn’t mean that I’m going to get the support from other states or make it happen in a way that makes it efficient.

For example, the virtual reality program that we are developing with one of the local authorities in the UAE, will bring about a revolution in the world of investigation. You can reconstruct the accident site, train investigators in a way that measures their competencies, while setting in a safe environment.

Last year we developed the demo, and this year we are developing more complicated accident scenarios. It follows almost the same dynamics. This means the world will be able to utilize this program.

Another program we have worked on as a demo came from one of the pilots who joined my team recently. She said when you want to be a pilot, it’s not difficult because you have the competency list that you need to follow for you to get a license. For the aviation industry in general, there is no manual to tell you if you have these competencies [for roles such as an accident investigator].

The UAE first developed investigation competency-based training that was adapted internationally, which means that now we have clear guidelines to develop the investigator’s competencies from the time he/she joins the sector and going through all levels of job authorities.

Last year, we tested the electronic format [e-learning], which is going to be converting that competency-based training into an electronic format, where in addition to our team, it will provide a good training platform for our stakeholders, especially the first responders, and investigators from other states. The e-learning is more efficient than the traditional classroom training, it also saves money, saves investigators’ time, and creates a database of what

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investigators need to know to develop in their career and to do the job efficiently.

Have you interacted with any countries where you have been able to share best practice, such as in Africa, or elsewhere?

We started by receiving requests from states where we shared best practices, benchmarked with, or helped to download the data of the cockpit voice recorders [CVR] or flight data recorders [FDR] in our Abu Dhabi Flight Recorders Laboratory and analyze it. We also provide technical assistance to the states in the Middle East and North Africa [MENA] region through a mechanism agreed by the MENA States. Last year we had Saudi Arabia benchmark with us on family assistance, and we also supported Jordan on the readout and analysis of the CVR and FDR for their investigation into a serious incident involving a commercial aircraft.

On safety, we see no limits. Wherever we can provide assistance, we do so without even a second thought.

What are you planning in 2023?

In 2022, we have done a lot of testing.

This year, we’ll be working on the actual project: the virtual reality reconstruction of the accident site will provide a kind of simulator to train accident investigators on techniques for following to increase their competencies in a safe environment. Once it’s done, this will be promoted internationally because, as I said, this will be the first of its kind in the world. We are also working on developing training material for the e-learning system, and the team is working with a company to do that currently.

In addition, the aviation pathology protocol will be endorsed and activated. We are planning to provide training to the forensic pathologists and other specialized doctors and examiners (such as radiologists, histopathologists, toxicologists, etc.) who work for our aviation pathology stakeholders to give them the qualifications required to carry out post-mortem autopsy and

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

examinations on the pilots for identifying causes relevant to their body or to their psychological state that may have impaired their performance during the accident flight.

There is another challenge in the aviation community, whereby pilots, engineers, traffic controllers, people that hold licenses, cannot pursue their post-graduate education for obtaining a master’s degree, for instance, in their area of specialty. Today, their progress in office work is hindered because of lack of educational qualifications. Now we are working with institutes in the UAE to develop a program where, based on the qualification of that professional, they do a bachelor’s and master’s, which is recognized by UAE higher education, in three years.

Which academic institution will accept that responsibility?

I cannot reveal which institution it is because we haven’t signed an agreement yet, but you will hear about it. This is also very important for the international community because the master’s program will be launched for both national and international target populations.

Do you see virtual reality technology assisting in accident investigation?

Nowadays, we have here a 3D scanner where you reconstruct the accident site, and all you need is basically the initial information and information derived from the FDR. Using the 3D simulation, the investigator can “enter” the accident site as if he is on site. The technology is there. Sometimes, in the accident site, you are rushed, especially in those places where time and money are of the essence, or it is crucial to resume operations as soon as possible. For us, reconstructing the site and using these technologies help the team know the reasons or avoid missing a relevant [piece of] evidence or information because of the time pressure or chaos at the accident site. z This interview was edited and condensed.

See full interview at ainonline.com.

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Special Report

Bombardier

Profound change moves the maintenance market B Y K E R R Y LY N C H A N D M AT T T HUR BE R

The landscape of aircraft maintenance has Thompson, who is the liaison for the changed profoundly. Yes, the industry was association’s aircraft maintenance and sysbusy before the pandemic and technicians tems technology committee, noted that the were hard to find. majority of NATA’s MRO members report But now capacity is limited, the technician that they are at capacity with hangar space. shortage has accelerated, and, supply chain “The really good news is that a lot of our issues have continued, creating immense MROs are busy,” he said. challenges for companies that maintain The downside, for owners, is backlogs business aircraft. and long lead times.

Despite all of that, industry executives Owners and operators are acutely aware agree: business is booming. of the capacity constraints. But they also “Business is getting better and there are see opportunity. A recent JetNet iQ surmany jobs being sold well into 2024,” said vey revealed that operators believe MRO Ken Thompson, managing director of regu- capacity is among the top three issues latory affairs for the National Air Transpor- confronting the industry over the next tation Association (NATA). five years. In addition, JetNet iQ’s survey

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Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

further revealed more than 19 percent of respondents cited MRO when asked if they had $500 million to invest in the industry where would they invest for best returns, said Rolland Vincent, the creator of JetNet iQ and president of Rolland Vincent Associates.

“There has been a shift in the MRO space that could have significant implications for aircraft owners and operators.

While progress is being made in terms of streamlining MRO processes, aircraft owners should expect a more seamless experience,” said Tim Ferrell, senior v-p of JSSI Tech Services. “It will be interesting to see how this trend develops

over time as more research is conducted into the area of aircraft maintenance and repair operations. On the engine side, there continue to be some bottlenecks with respect to facilities facing backlogs, with sometimes as much as 20- to 30-day delays.”

“There are larger companies that have that bandwidth and the area to build.

They’re already building larger hangars to support the changing fleet,” he said. But in general, these shops are “going to be really careful on how much more they accept.” If a shop books into 2025, aircraft owners are probably going somewhere else to get their basic maintenance accomplished.

was a future slot open, “by Thursday it’s full. But Stevens always tries to accommodate customers and shuffle things around.”

“This is a conversation we’ve been having to have with customers over the last couple of years due to being at or near 100 percent capacity and the labor shortage,” said Phil Stearns, Stevens Aerospace director of sales LEAD TIMES GROWING and marketing. Customers need to warn Long lead times are particularly critical for their MRO ahead of time about changes in MROs servicing large business jets, as one the work scope so the provider can arrange NATA member reported having to schedfor the space, parts, and personnel. “The ule heavy C checks for those aircraft well technicians can only work so much overinto 2025, Thompson added. time,” he said. “With capacity issues, this “Business is good,” said Ryan Huss, v-p becomes a much more important discussion.” of sales at Duncan Aviation, which is head“I have never seen such a busy time, it’s quartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, and has sat“We’re extremely busy,” said Travis Flesh- unbelievable,” said Ruedi Kurz, direcellite and full-service locations throughout man, general manager of Stevens Aerospace tor maintenance and production orgathe U.S. “Certain product lines are booked and Defense’s Greenville, South Carolina, nization at AMAC Aerospace, the Basel, well into next year. We don’t forecast this MRO facility. “We have a lot of work and Switzerland-based maintenance and comto end unless something in the economy are processing it well, but we’re dealing pletions company. “We’re full, all our hanchanges the trajectory of business aviation. with the same struggles as the rest of the gars are full. And we are constantly hiring There are a lot of airplanes flying now.” industry.” Maintenance slots are filling qualified people. The biggest problem is In addition to long lead times for sched- quickly, he added, and if on Tuesday there the hangar space, we have to always shift uled heavy maintenance, large around the aircraft.” But with MROs are busy with major retromultiple work shifts and overfit projects—interiors, upgrades, time, AMAC is keeping up with and additions of new technolthe massive flow of work while ogy. Such projects are also filling not compromising quality. hangars, Thompson noted.

“We’re very fortunate and glad This means when a client to have this situation,” he said. needs a quick turnaround with a At Pentastar Aviation in smaller aircraft, the hangar space Waterford, Michigan, the past is no longer available. “When three years have been so busy they [MROs] have these longthat regular overtime has been term type projects going on that necessary. “It continues to be they’ve already built into 2024 or strong,” said Doug Levangie, v-p 2025, and then somebody has a of maintenance and advisory quick-fix item with their smaller services. “But looking at the aircraft that they used to be able sales side, I think we’re going to support, they have no hangar to experience a little bit of a space to do it,” he said. downturn. People I’ve talked to, Some MROs face the pros[things] are getting back to norpect of turning this work away, mal. Last year was unbelievable.”

Thompson said. Others, how“It will probably return to norever, are expanding and building mal rather than the frantic pace,” new hangars, if they have a footadded Gregory Schmidt, Penprint on the airport that enables AMAC Aerospace former trainee Hugo Marmonier tastar’s president and CEO. “We them to do so. and technician Wilfried Fidegnon. keep a close tab on sales, that’s

 I have never seen

such a busy time, it’s unbelievable. 

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Special Report

a barometer.” Interest rate hikes and infla- also New State Aviation Holdings, which tion seem to be causing a bit of cooling off acquired Avex in 2021 and Blackhawk Aeroin business aviation activity. space in January. “It doesn’t do any good “We are experiencing a slowdown on sitting in our hangar.” pre-buy [inspections],” added Levangie.

One area that may be easing is avionics “We’re still getting calls, but it seems like upgrades due to a lack of regulatory mansome sales are falling through, people are dates, but NATA’s Thompson noted even backing off. It happened a couple of times that trend may be short-lived. With new [in March].” airborne connectivity products coming At West Star Aviation, “We’re still online such as Gogo 5G and SmartSky’s incredibly busy,” said CEO James Rankin. recently completed air-to-ground network The maintenance provider is adding new and low-earth-orbit satcom from SpaceX hangars at its Chattanooga, Tennessee; (Starlink) and OneWeb (Gogo and Satcom Perryville, Missouri; East Alton, Illinois; Direct), those projects are anticipated to and Grand Junction, Colorado facilities to pick back up—and, with it, other projects. accommodate growth. “We exceeded our “When people upgrade [connectivity] they budget for the first quarter,” which saw might as well upgrade their panels and do growth over last year’s first quarter and the everything else,” he said. final quarter of 2022, he said, “and we’re Another trend emerging is some shops staying very busy. [Last year] was one of have stopped taking work on certain our largest growth years in terms of new aircraft types, particularly older, out-ofmembers joining West Star.” production models. That is a function of “Avex is focused on limiting how long supply shortages and the time it takes to we have an aircraft,” said Chad Cundiff, get unique or hard-to-find parts. Those CEO of Camarillo, California-based TBM parts are in such demand that operators sales and maintenance specialist Avex and are looking overseas to get their hands on

Pentastar Aviation technicans (left to right) Tony Ryan, Greg Cole, and Eric Niedjelski at the MRO, FBO, and charter provider’s facility at Michigan’s Oakland County International Airport.

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them and paying close to three times the price. These are components on aircraft that are out of service and being parted out.

But those parts need to be approved and repair stations need to make sure that they are airworthy. That adds in time to the entire process.

“So, we’re hearing a lot of these [older] aircraft are not being taken on because they occupy hangar space,” Thompson said. “If you have an aircraft that has one of these parts, then you may have to wait longer times to get repair of it.” These owners are being warned of the backlogs and supply chain difficulties on parts.

SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES

Legacy aircraft aside, the concerns surrounding the supply chain have lingered since Covid. “In a nutshell, the supply chain goes back to the factories,” Thompson said, as they fall behind on output.

Some component manufacturers have struggled getting workers back or finding new ones for those that moved on during the pandemic to jobs that may provide more flexibility, he noted. “Now we’re starting to see a little bit of it coming back” but it remains a problem. “Covid provided a whole new lens” on work-life balance, he said.

MROs are “having to plan well out in the future, getting a hold of what they know the aircraft might need during certain scheduled inspections, what that supply chain will support and forward scheduling those inspections,” Thompson said.

JSSI Parts & Leasing has been forecasting the need for parts that will come up for inspection to try to circumvent longer lead times, said president Ben Hockenberg.

“When this occurs, we are able to anticipate these issues before they happen and ensure those parts are pre-ordered,” he said. “Alternatively, one of JSSI’s key differentiators is our ability to offer high-quality alternatives to new parts. This proactive

approach not only saves time but also money as companies can plan ahead and make sure they have all the necessary components on hand without having to worry about delays or additional costs due to waiting periods. It also allows us to be more efficient with our resources by ensuring that nothing goes unused or wasted during production processes.”

“There has been little to no improvement to the supply chain across the board, whether engine, airframe, avionics, all three categories are seeing a significant struggle,” said Tony Brancato, president of StandardAero’s business aviation division. Although he expects improvement by the end of the year, delays in getting parts from major manufacturers has resulted in knock-on delays that require moving input dates later “because we don’t have the space,” he said. “It’s not as simple as moving aircraft around and parking them outside. We might do that for a few hours or half a day, but owners prefer to have their aircraft inside, and we like to respect that as much as possible. We’re trying to prioritize, and it’s very challenging.”

Like most MRO facilities, ACI Jet is facing supply chain and workforce issues while the hangar is the fullest it’s ever been, according to David Jensen, ACI Jet senior v-p of aircraft maintenance. “The supply chain issues weren’t something we experienced on a regular basis pre-pandemic,” he said.

“It’s causing everybody to be more proactive, with scheduling, more downtime, and ordering parts ahead of time. We do have times where an airplane is sitting in the hangar and nothing can be done until a certain part shows up.

“There’s a snowball effect that happens when an airplane is delayed. We want to see return to service on time. When parts come in there are other airplanes there as well, [so we’re] juggling airplanes continually.”

While ACI Jet employs every resource to find parts, he added, “The reality is the manufacturer is often the only one making

Duncan Aviation

it. At the end of the day, we can use all the Duncan has the advantage of a massive resources but end up waiting.” parts inventory and has also developed an Some of these efforts include trying new in-house parts manufacturing capability vendors and working with engineering called Duncan Manufacturing Solutions firms on alternatives, he explained, “any- (DMS). thing that fits in the FAA guidance of what “We’ve been trying to help with things we can and can’t use.” we can produce,” he said. “Our DMS side is doing as much as possible. But things like windshields are tough to get. I wish we could build windshields. Tires have gotten better, there are still a few airframes affected, mostly legacy types. In-house, anything out of metal other than cast, but anything milled or formed we can do. We also have an autoclave and can do composites and plastics.

Ultimately, Jensen said, aviation will “We have had to shuffle quite a bit but move away from on-demand, just-in-time have not had to decline a customer to manufacturing, which failed during the come in. We’re always able to maneuver pandemic. “We will see something come around enough to find a spot.” out better out of this.” Additive manuFor Pro Star Aviation, a busy maintefacturing, for example, “will play a bigger nance facility in Manchester, New Hamprole as we learn what caused these supply shire, part of solving the supply chain chain issues.” problem means sticking with products At Duncan Aviation, v-p of sales Huss is that are available. “We’re going to install well aware that manufacturers are “doing what we can get,” said Jeff Shaw, director everything they can” to speed up the flow of sales and marketing. of parts. With its many facilities and the Demand for airborne connectivity equiphuge amount of work it accomplishes, ment is high, and Pro Star has been successful

 We have had to

shuffle quite a bit but have not had to decline a customer to come in. 

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Special Report

West Star Aviation is adding hangars at all of its main facilities in the U.S. so it can accommodate more work on customer aircraft and keep up with last year’s record growth.

in obtaining Gogo products so that is what it is installing. “There’s no sense in me trying to sell Honeywell satcom or Collins radar if we can’t get it,” he said. “Right now we can’t get either. All the right ingredients for creating demand are there, but supply is not.

“We used to be a boutique avionics shop and would work on any airplane,” Shaw said. But as integrated avionics grew more complex and avionics technicians had to become more specialized to work on each type of product, Pro Star stopped offering services to all comers. “We focused on airplanes we maintain,” he said. “Rather than install avionics on a bunch of aircraft, we focus on aircraft we have good supply chain on. Meantime we grin and bear it.”

Avex deals with supply chain issues by working with aircraft operators well in advance of the scheduled work. “You’re coming in September,” said CEO Cundiff, “so let’s get prescheduled and get ahead of that. We’ve seen some of that start to recover and some places where it still is a struggle to get new equipment to do upgrades or overhauls.”

“Tires are an up and down issue,” said Stevens Aerospace general manager

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Fleshman. “Hawker windshields are they have to find parts, they’re really good.” nearly impossible.” Customers are being To keep its defense customers flying, told they’ll have to wait until the third or Stevens Aerospace has started making fourth quarter for a windshield. This is and obtaining FAA parts manufacturer also affects the King Air market, he said. approval for some parts on the legacy King “[Supply chain] requires more planning Airs operated by the military. “We’re trying now, we have to have a pulse on the avail- to serve a base [of customers] that’s been ability of parts and equipment, what we neglected,” he said. can get and can’t. It changes really fast.

At AMAC Aerospace, supply of Boeing What we’ve done more in the last few years and Airbus parts for its VIP customers is educate the customer base on the fluid- hasn’t been an issue, because the busiity of supplies. ness/VIP versions of airliners use the “Our procurement folks are fantastic,” he same parts. “Corporate aviation is a small enthused, “the network they have, the way fraction of that volume,” said director of maintenance Kurz. “Gulfstream and Bombardier, they struggle. There are shortages of windows and tires. It starts with Covid, everybody did lean production, and now we have these busy times. We can see some suppliers cannot follow up, whether it’s an OEM [original equipment manufacturer] or subcontractors. Through our good network we’ve been able to establish over the last 15 years, so far we’ve overcome this situation. It’s not easy, sometimes it doesn’t go as planned, but so far we did not have to cancel a delivery or delay a big project.”

 Rather than install avionics on a bunch of aircraft, we focus on aircraft we have good supply chain on. Meantime we grin and bear it. 

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

“Supply chain is definitely an issue,” said issues. Some MROs have been creative, Filling the pipeline with technicians is Pentastar Aviation CEO Schmidt. “We have creating apprenticeships and other edu- one problem, but there is also the retenhad delays. There are so many issues, who cational programs to draw new talent into tion issue, figuring out how to encourage would ever think you couldn’t find a tire?” the field. For example, ACI Jet worked with people to make a career of aviation mainteOne move that vendors have put in the local community to build a new A&P nance. “Companies that do all this training place to prevent hoarding is to require a school at Cuesta College in central Califor- must have hard-fast contracts in place to photo of the old windshield or the wear on nia. The first cohort of 25 started school in keep them for a few years,” said NATA’s brakes before allowing the MRO to order January and more than 100 students have Thompson. “If they don’t have that pronew parts. Pentastar has also seen a short- signed up for slots. gram in place, they’re losing these mechanage of carbon material for carbon brakes.

“We’re putting in a lot of effort to make ics to people who pay more.”

“We’ve had some customers get angry sure this is a high-end school, focusing on But there are also steps companies can when we can’t deliver on time,” Schmidt instruction and the students, not crank- take to promote careers. ACI Jet’s execusaid. “They’re getting tired of [everyone] ing through as many as possible,” said tive team spends a lot of time on this. “It’s blaming the pandemic. We reach out to ACI Jet’s Jensen. “Bill [Borgsmiller, ACI’s always been the culture here,” said Jencustomers proactively.” He urges custom- founder] and I recognized 10 years ago our sen. “This is more important for the new ers to engage early in the maintenance biggest challenge is labor. We wanted to generation coming into aviation. They’re process. “Don’t wait to the last minute do our part to contribute, and we produce looking for something special, they because we won’t be able to [handle the technicians not only for ACI but for local want to contribute, and we try to make work]. Transparent communications [are companies, and we’re making a decent that happen.” essential]. We’re doing the best we can.” impact on the state of California. This has Visitors to ACI Jet’s San Luis Obispo, Cal“The first thing is to try to build good part- been received well by the community, and ifornia, facility can see an example of the nerships with our suppliers,” said West Star interest is high.” company’s efforts, a wall decorated with Aviation CEO Rankin. “We try to help them out, and they work hard to help us. A lot of that is prioritizing and understanding when WE’RE FLYING HIGHER WITH THE SUPPORT OF OUR SPONSORS! we need the parts. We don’t want to sit on a part for six months if another customer needs it. Vendors have done a good job, they’re in a tough spot, and a lot of the time it’s sub-vendors. We have tried to do advance purchases and stocked up on things we know we use often. We try to have them on hand so we’re not slowing down the project.”

Most members of the Aircraft ElecNavigating Our Future. tronics Association (AEA) are the shops The Golden Age of aviation is back! 2023 marks our 12th JETNET iQ that install avionics, and the association Summit as we return to the beautifully retro TWA Hotel at JFK, September regularly receives feedback from mem13–14th, 2023. Join business aviation’s best and brightest to help chart our course for the future. This is truly an event that’s not to be missed. bers. “The number of shops I’ve talked Get more information at jetnet.com/summit to said [supply chain] is improving,” said AEA president and CEO Mike Adamson.

“They’re still experiencing some pains with certain products, but they’re not complaining about it like a year ago. There is September 13-14th, 2023 optimism, and they’re not saying the sky is falling. They’ve learned to adjust.”

TAKING FLIGHT.

MANAGING THE WORKFORCE

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ACI Jet

“mission patches,” which, he said, “commemorate momentous accomplishments.”

For big projects, like the first installation of a major upgrade, ACI Jet director of marketing and communications John Tucker designs a patch that captures the challenges of the job, and each team member receives a patch.

“Everybody feels good about it,” Jensen said.

Beyond such recognition, ACI Jet leaders realize that career progression is different for each individual. Newly hired technicians are invited to help develop their career paths, which includes a two-year program to help launch their next step, whether it’s becoming a manager, being director of maintenance on a jet, or moving into a different department. “It’s inspiring for the employee,” he said, “they’re more motivated, and it feels like a partnership, they’re on a path. There is loyalty gained out of that.

It’s been received well and been successful, [it shows] we’re listening to them.”

Maintenance providers have also reached out to other industries for help where a broader knowledge may be sufficient or an A&P may not be necessary, such as in paint or upholstery. In addition, the military is a source of prospects, NATA’s Thompson said.

“We recruit across the nation,” said Duncan Aviation’s Huss. “It’s important to

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have all aspects feeding in, whether they’re AMAC Aerospace works with European homegrown, from outside [companies], aviation schools to help students gain practech school graduates, or military. We need tical experience, which ultimately benefits all those resources.” That said, when Dun- the company. “A lot of these young people, can Aviation is able to train a mechanic after they finish school, they knock on our from the ground up, “we do instill the door,” said AMAC’s Kurz. company culture quickly,” he said.

AMAC also hires people without the Last year, Duncan Aviation spent more EASA Part 66 B1 and B2 technician licenses, than $8 million on training. And this “and we train them and bring them to the includes leadership training, which starts license standard,” he said. “We have peofairly early in a new hire’s career. “It really ple with us who made their way from nonhelps us develop leaders,” Huss said. experienced all the way to supervisor. We With its long experience working on can offer a career path if they’re interested military contracts, Stevens Aerospace has and have the right qualifications. It makes a unique advantage in helping military per- it good for us, these are people who have sonnel transition to civilian careers. One the AMAC spirit in their blood.” way it approaches this is to recruit from “We have a robust leadership training pronearby military bases. The company also gram,” said West Star’s Rankin. “We want recently was approved in the Department them to understand if they’re coming in as of Defense’s SkillBridge program, which an apprentice, we want them to be able to helps companies hire experienced mili- see the career path they can help form. tary personnel and launch their post-mili“We want them to stay with us for the tary careers. remainder of their career, and we want “They bring a lot of energy and they’re a these to be valuable years for them,” he sponge,” said Stevens Aerospace’s Fleshman. said. “We have done a lot with pay and Stevens also sponsors youth in the Avi- benefits the last few years and a lot to ation in Action program, putting aviation support people during the pandemic, it technician community college students to solidified that we do care. The pandemic work part-time and then hiring them when was a difficult time, but we came through they finish their courses stronger as a company.” z

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

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A higher level of upset training with APS B Y S T UA R T “K IP P ” L AU, P HO T O G R A P H Y B Y I A N W HE L A N

For decades, loss of control inflight (LOC-I) recognition and upset prevention, comevents have killed more people than any bined with specialized training to address other type of aircraft accident. There are skill deficiencies for recovery. several sobering facts about LOC-I; the Recent LOC-I events suggest that curthreat persists on any flight, at any time, rent upset prevention and recovery trainand pilots can have only a few seconds to ing (UPRT) programs—those limited to initiate the proper flight control inputs to use of flight simulation training devices safely recover from an aircraft upset.

(FSTDs)—may be missing the mark.

Many inflight upset events—including According to Aviation Performance those with a perfectly good aircraft—when Solutions (APS) CEO Paul “BJ” Ransmismanaged, can quickly escalate into a bury, “Advanced flight simulators, while LOC-I event where the pilot is unable to effective at addressing some of the needed recover from an unintended extreme devi- UPRT experience, knowledge areas, and ation from the intended flightpath due competencies, cannot robustly replito either a lack of skill, altitude, or time, cate the psychophysiological effects such leading to a serious incident or fatal crash. as startle factor to a sufficient level of Reliable LOC-I intervention requires early fidelity to reliably prepare pilots for the

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severity of potential impairment of the pilot’s and crews’ faculties in a real-world upset event.”

UPRT programs were first mandated for airline pilots in the U.S. in March 2019.

These programs use an FSTD certified for extended envelope training (EET). UPRT sessions in a simulator have some major limitations and if not used properly may introduce negative training.

FAA Advisory Circular 120-111 Upset Prevention and Recovery Training provides guidance to operators establishing UPRT programs and provides some cautions for instructors using FSTDs as a training device. The document notes, instructors must understand that FSTDs are limited

to the parameters that have been programmed and evaluated. Operating outside of these parameters may result in the FSTD responding differently than the airplane to a pilot’s control inputs.

Likewise, motion-cueing information may not always accurately simulate the associated forces and rates that could be felt in the airplane. As such, due to the limitations of an FSTD, there is no way to provide effective g-awareness training to the student and it is not possible to demonstrate flight in an all-attitude environment (both physiologically and aerodynamically).

The lack of g-awareness training and accurate motion cueing combined with physiological conditions representative of a real-world upset while being exposed to all-attitude flight profiles have been identified as some of the greatest shortcomings of current “simulator-only” UPRT programs. These areas can only be effectively and safely accomplished “on-aircraft” in aircraft that are capable of all-attitude maneuvering while overseen by an instructor with specialized training in the delivery of UPRT.

APS operates the largest fleet of unlimited-category aerobatic Extra 300Ls at its headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with eight of the type available for upset prevention and recovery training.

PEAK UPRT EFFECTIVENESS

APS—the Mesa, Arizona-based UPRT specialist—tailors its training to match a pilot or company’s operational profile, aiming to achieve what it calls “peak UPRT effectiveness” to lower or mitigate the risk of a LOC-I incident or accident. To help pilots stay safe throughout their careers, APS recommends initial and recurrent UPRT training.

The core of the APS UPRT program is the “Every Pilot in Control Solution Standard” or EPIC-S2, based on lessons learned during the past 27 years of training thousands of pilots. This includes training by APS-certified UPRT instructors at air carriers, flight schools, and training centers, including APS facilities. EPIC-S2 includes six critical factors: instructor qualifications; an integrated program (academic, on-aircraft, and simulation); training

Clarke “Otter” McNeace, APS executive v-p of compliance and standards, highlights elements of aerodynamics related to upset prevention and recovery training during a pre-flight training class.

Before taking off for his first round of upset training, AIN writer and airline pilot Stuart “Kipp” Lau gets a full safety briefing from APS flight operations support specialist McKenna Breinholt. a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ June 2023 \ Aviation International News

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program duration for the required intensity; compliance with best practices; and appropriate use of training platforms and other elements such as initial and recurrent training. In addition, APS’s UPRT solutions incorporate safety management system (SMS) principles.

A typical three-to-four-day program would include academics (for awareness and primary concepts) and on-aircraft and simulator training. The on-aircraft training helps engage human factors concepts (startle, surprise, and fear), immersion in the all-attitude environment, application of the recovery strategy, g-awareness, Kipp Lau (left) and Otter McNeace practicing upset scenarios in the Alsim ALX simulator. and repetition to proficiency. Simulator training reinforces crew and single-pilot resource management principles, provides a transfer of skills, knowledge, and recovery strategies on an aircraft more representative of what the pilot flies regularly, and enables practice of upsets at low-altitude and in poor weather.

The training reflects an analysis of a pilot’s operational profile. As an example, the typical business aviation or airline pilot operates a jet-powered aircraft, with two pilots, often at night in IMC, and above FL250. This pilot’s recommended training plan would include academics, on-aircraft training (both piston and jet), instrument To further enhance its upset training, APS adds virtual reality to the simulation experience.

UPRT (IFR), simulator (multi-crew jet), and a high-altitude jet flight. Ideally this Gateway Airport, and it houses classrooms, At APS, pilots train within the acceptwould culminate with a VR session in the briefing rooms, observation decks, two able load limits of the aircraft that they operator’s model of airplane. simulator bays and simulators, and mainte- normally operate. Most transport cateAfter training the student to master nance and storage facilities for its 10 train- gory aircraft are certified to a load limit of APS’s all-attitude upset recovery strategy ing aircraft. +2.5 to -1.0 g. APS’s philosophy is to train to assure resilience and proficiency, APS in aircraft that have a large safety margin would offer a long-term UPRT recurrent PURPOSE-BUILT PLATFORMS above those limits. APS operates both pistraining plan. This is designed to help According to APS, a critical factor in safe ton and jet aircraft capable of aerobatics the pilot maintain proficiency, compe- and effective UPRT programs is purpose- in its integrated UPRT program, and they tency, and confidence throughout their built training platforms. On-aircraft train- are equipped with a high-definition camflying career and would include access ing in an all-attitude, aerobatic-capable era with an audio system to be used as a to online learning to reinforce academic aircraft is essential for pilots to develop debrief tool. knowledge between practical training ses- manual handling skills and overcome the The Extra 300L is an unlimited aerobatic sions that typically take place every two to critical human factors and physiological category aircraft certified to +/- 8 g with two three years. effects that often derail successful upset occupants (+/-10 g with one occupant) and APS’s new headquarters and training prevention and recovery during a real- no prohibited maneuvers, which makes it a facility is located at the Phoenix-Mesa life event. great UPRT training platform. Performance

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is not a problem with the Extra 300L. It is powered by a 300-hp Lycoming AEIO540 piston engine and has a snappy roll rate of 400 degrees/second. APS is the largest operator of the Extra 300L with eight, all based in Mesa.

The SIAI-Marchetti S.211 jet trainer was to transport category airliners. APS offers designed for all-attitude flight instruction class-specific UPRT with this device. The of military pilots, and the jet has strong Alsim device is used within its validation aerodynamic and structural safety mar- envelope with a modern glass cockpit and gins (+6 to -3 g). It is a subsonic trainer transport category control responses. In with a moderately swept mid-wing design addition, APS recently introduced virand has a tandem-configured cockpit. APS tual reality (VR) technology to provide offers advanced jet training—including an additional layer of training for its stuhigh-altitude UPRT—in two S.211s that are dents. This immersive approach to trainbased in Mesa. Each aircraft has Garmin ing allows pilots to finish off their UPRT avionics similar to the presentation in experience in their own make and model modern business aviation transports. Pow- of aircraft, virtually. ered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4C turbofan engine, the aircraft is APS UPRT IN ACTION capable of speeds up to Mach .80 and has a APS offers an integrated UPRT program. A low stall speed of around 80 knots. In addi- typical business aviation or airline pilot tion to being a fantastic trainer, the aircraft would ideally complete an initial training is pressurized and air-conditioned. curriculum that includes academics, onIn addition to the training aircraft, APS aircraft, simulator, and VR training sessions. has two simulators at its Mesa headquar- Most pilots spend three days at APS for initers. The Alsim ALX convertible simulator tial UPRT with extended programs out to can be configured to represent multiple four days. aircraft classes from light to medium For the professional pilot, the on-aircraft multi-engine turboprops to business jets portion would include four flights—often

split into three flights in the Extra 300L and one flight in the S.211 or two flights in the Extra and two flights in the jet. During the later flights, considerable time would be spent flying in simulated instrument conditions.

Additionally, for pilots who fly above FL250, it is highly recommended to add the high-altitude UPRT course. The S.211 is helpful to explore upsets in a high-performance aircraft with swept-wing aerodynamic characteristics; the high-altitude course provides a high-fidelity comparison between performance at lower altitudes (below 15,000 feet) to higher altitudes (above FL300).

APS’s instructors each have significant amounts of all-attitude flight experience including flight time in unlimited aerobatic aircraft and/or military jet fighter and training aircraft. Each will provide sage advice on why UPRT is important and reminders that the objective is early recognition, upset prevention, and avoidance.

Each day the course begins with a facilitated academic discussion on aerodynamics, maneuvers, accident case studies, aircraft-specific discussions, and a review of the upcoming mission profiles.

Throughout the academic phase, students

 On-aircraft training in an all-attitude,

aerobatic-capable aircraft is essential for pilots to develop manual handling skills and overcome the critical human factors... 

A safety briefing on the helmet and oxygen mask in preparation for high-altitude upset training in the SIAI-Marchetti S.211 (right). a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ June 2023 \ Aviation International News

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will develop a newfound appreciation and understanding of two diagrams: the coefficients of lift and drag versus angle of attack (AOA) and the velocity versus load factor (g) or VG diagrams.

Lessons are filled with emphasis items such as awareness and prevention strategies to recognize operational and environmental conditions that increase the likelihood of an upset event and further discussions on aeronautical decision-making or the effects of automation and undesired outcomes.

As an example, during a recent visit by this writer, APS executive v-p of compliance and standards Clarke “Otter” McNeace reminded class members that “the objective is to become upset-, stall-, and spin-avoidance experts.” As one example, he surveyed the class by asking, “What two aerodynamic factors are needed for a spin to develop?” We all stumbled a bit but arrived at the answer: “continuous stall and continuous yaw inputs.”

Discussions on the basics of aerodynamics are far removed from most professional pilots’ day-to-day lives, but they nevertheless are relevant and important. Remember that there are four characteristics of an aerodynamic stall. A stall is characterized by any, or combination of: buffeting (which could be heavy), lack of pitch authority, lack of roll control, or inability to arrest the descent rate; these are usually accompanied by a continuous stall warning. Each student will be reminded of these characteristics during the in-flight training sessions where pilots experience a full aerodynamic stall (in both the Extra and the S.211).

immersion, overcoming spatial disorientaHIGH-ALTITUDE UPRT tion, and exposure to flight in an all-atti- At higher altitudes (above FL250) air dentude realm. The ability to understand the sity affects available lift and thrust. This forces and proprioceptive cues required complicates a LOC-I event due to vastly to reliably “load and unload” the aircraft different aerodynamic and aircraft perforin the real world, as discussed, cannot be mance characteristics when compared to fully replicated in a simulator. flight at lower altitudes.

The first, most critical, step in any upset The high-altitude UPRT course at APS recovery procedure—including APS’s all-at- begins with a thorough academic distitude upset recovery strategy after recog- cussion on high-altitude concepts such nizing and confirming the situation—is to as a decrease in maneuvering margins, manage the aircraft’s AOA. This is the “push” the lack of available thrust, and reduced part of the recovery where the pilot reduces aerodynamic damping. The key takethe AOA of the wing and in doing so reduces away from this discussion is that a pilot the load factor on the aircraft. Without must be patient, smooth, and deliberate on-aircraft G awareness training, pilots are with the application of the upset recovnot “calibrated” to know how much to push ery strategy. on the control yoke or stick to assure transThese discussions are a great reminder ferability to any fixed-wing airplane. that flight at higher altitudes is in a very dynamic environment. As an example, as altitude increases the margin between the low-speed buffet (stall) and high-speed buffet (Mach) decreases. In older jet aircraft, this was described as the “coffin corner” where only a few knots of airspeed separated the stall and Mach buffet.

This makes maneuvering much more challenging.

Additionally, a decrease in air density dramatically reduces the At APS, the target to “unload” the air- amount of available thrust in a turbine craft is to consistently achieve a “light engine. The fan section of a high-bypass turin the seat” feeling of less than 1 G (0.25 bofan engine produces a large percentage of to 0.5 G is the target in most situations). its total thrust, thus it is affected more by Only through repetition and practice in the decrease in air density when compared the on-aircraft phase of training can a pilot to a turbojet engine. consistently achieve this outcome.

Due to this reduction in available thrust In reviewing recent accident reports, (thrust-limited), it takes longer for an airthose where the aircraft crashes or pas- craft to accelerate, especially at slower sengers are injured or killed often have speeds below L/D max speed, where speed recorded cyclic g (vertical positive and control is inherently unstable, typically gennegative g) values that are two to three erating a continued slow down at constant times the structural limits of the typical thrust as the angle of attack increases. In a transport category aircraft. At these values thrust-limited situation in this slow flight unrestrained occupants (and objects) are condition, the aircraft may not be able to forcefully tossed around the cabin causing accelerate in level flight and a descent may severe injuries or death. be necessary to be able to accelerate.

 The ability to understand the

forces and proprioceptive cues required to reliably ‘load and unload’ the aircraft in the real world, as discussed, cannot be fully replicated in a simulator. 

G-AWARENESS TRAINING

Beyond stall recognition and recovery, one of the most important aspects and greatest takeaways of on-aircraft training is g-awareness, upset motion cuing

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The view of the Arizona desert while upside-down in the S.211 can be intimidating, but APS trainees learn exactly how to recover.

Adding to the challenges of an upset various altitudes. Since the medium and recovery at a higher altitude is a lack of sta- high-altitude phases are flown above FL180, bility combined with an increased rate of APS must coordinate to get a clearance aircraft movement to control inputs, which to maneuver in a nearby military operaleads to the potential to overcontrol the tions area. aircraft. The lack of stability is a result of The objective of the APS high-altitude a decrease in air density while the increase UPRT course is to enhance pilot awareness in controllability is a result of an increase and increase upset prevention knowledge in dynamic pressure or airspeed (reduced and skills. Throughout the flight phase of aerodynamic damping). the programs, pilots get to practically apply In addition to the academics, prior to high-altitude concepts and refine manual flyflight in any APS aircraft, there are several ing skills. Maneuvering above FL300 requires required safety briefings that cover emer- consistent and smooth control inputs. gency procedures on the ground and in Throughout the high-altitude mission flight, egress, and the use of a parachute. profile, pilots experience thrust-limited For the high-altitude flight, the student is conditions, stalls, wake turbulence encounalso fitted with an oxygen mask because ters and upsets (nose high, nose low), and the cabin altitude of the S.211 increases various aerobatic maneuvers to build conabove 8,000 feet when the jet climbs fidence. In each case, the flight reinforces over FL180. the academic lessons and requires patience The on-aircraft portion of the high- and discipline to safely recover from altitude course is comprised of three dif- each upset. ferent phases at low, medium, and high For the business aviation or airline pilot, altitudes. This provides an opportunity to the opportunity to fly a jet, at altitude compare the effects of each maneuver at (my flight was at FL320), throughout the

aircraft’s entire flight envelope, in an all-attitude environment is an outstanding experience and educational opportunity that undoubtedly will improve manual handling skills and prepare a pilot to better manage an unintended aircraft upset.

Often overlooked, yet critical as specified by ICAO, IATA, and the FAA, in training programs are the instructors. APS has an impressive cadre of instructors that have one mission—to effectively teach UPRT to pilots. Beyond instructors, APS has the training platforms, facilities, and programs to provide pilots with a higher level of UPRT. LOC-I accidents are almost always fatal—in SMS terms the severity level of these events is very high—and only a multi-faceted approach to UPRT can effectively lower this risk.

The goal of any UPRT program is to prevent the occurrence of an in-flight upset but should an APS graduate encounter an unexpected extreme departure from the intended flight path, they should be wellequipped to handle the situation. z

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FAA regrouping on remote towers B Y DAV ID HUG HE S

A developmental digital room in Heathrow’s traditional tower works in shadow mode and is winning the hearts and minds of controllers.

Remote tower technology is reaching maturity and going operational in Europe, Asia, and Canada. But in the U.S., one of two such projects is being shut down by the FAA and the other has received a stop-work order.

European suppliers and one in Canada have dozens of remote and digital tower projects under development or in operation at airports of various sizes in Europe and Asia. Even projects at large airports are moving ahead, including experimentation at London Heathrow in shadow mode with nearly 475,000 movements per year.

Nav Canada has a couple of operational systems and has a tender out for bids to construct multiple remote tower (RT)

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centers to serve airports in various regions.

Bill Payne, project manager of the ColAt the same time, though, the FAA is orado Department of Transportation’s shutting down one of its two RT projects— Remote Tower Project, is hopeful that at Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO)— Searidge can produce the needed system after the vendor Saab pulled out. design approval documents soon so the And, in November 2022, the FAA placed FAA will continue to evaluate the system at a stop-work order on the other one, at Col- KFNL in Fort Collins, Colorado. The state orado Northern Regional Airport (KFNL), has invested $8.8 million in the project. which is supplied by Searidge Technologies The FAA now wants all RTs to be evalof Ottawa, Canada. uated at a testbed at its Tech Center in The FAA gave Searidge six months to Atlantic City, New Jersey, before they are make modifications, including improv- approved. This comes after eight years of ing visual acuity. In early March, Searidge FAA testing of the system at KJYO before demonstrated a few 4K cameras at KFNL Saab pulled out, not seeing a path to certishowing improved performance over exist- fication. The FAA said in an email: “The RT ing 1080 HD cameras. at KJYO will not be operational because

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

the company [Saab] terminated its request for approval. Continued use of this unapproved system poses an unacceptable level of risk.”

Said Payne: “Going to the Tech Center may have some real benefits but it may take two or three years to get system design approval, then another two years to deploy it to an airport and get it certified.” The Colorado DOT sees no reason to take the Searidge system to Atlantic City after years of testing at KFNL. Payne is optimistic that KFNL certification could take advantage of the remote tower facility already in place so that similar systems can be installed at other airports in the state.

“With the failure to certify the KJYO system, a success at KFNL will not only be a win for the state of Colorado and the airport but also the FAA, which is under considerable pressure from Congress to deliver on the mandate to develop a remote tower pilot program as contained in the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act,” Payne said.

In a March 10 letter to Leesburg mayor Kelly Burk, an FAA NextGen official wrote, “Saab has stated it wishes to focus its efforts on pursuing system design approval for its future RT product offering.” The system at Leesburg is a first-generation Saab system and second-generation ones are now deployed and operating around the world.

LFV, the air navigation service provider (ANSP) of Sweden, and Saab pioneered the operational use of the first RT in the world eight years ago at Sundsvall, controlling traffic at Örnsköldsvik Airport about 75 miles away. Four airports are controlled from Sundsvall now.

Searidge is wholly owned by UK ANSP NATS Services but remains a separate business. NATS and Searidge have major projects at Heathrow, Hong Kong International Airport, Singapore Changi, and Hamad International Airport in Doha. NATS is not directly involved in the KFNL project.

Andy Taylor, chief solutions officer for NATS, said the digital system at Hong Kong using Searidge systems displays images from 200 cameras to three units on the airfield: the digital tower, the digital apron tower, and the digital operations center. “It is the biggest digital tower in the world,” he said. It is moving into the certification stage.

TESTING NEW SYSTEMS

Meanwhile, Raytheon has teamed up with Frequentis of Austria to offer RT systems in the U.S. and will begin testing at Atlantic City rather than deploy their system first at a client airport. The FAA said by email that it is working with the Raytheon/Frequentis team, which is the first to request testing and evaluation at the FAA Technical Center.

The Frequentis system proposed by Raytheon will use 360-degree, high-resolution cameras to produce images stitched together to create a panoramic display of airport runways and taxiways similar to the Searidge system at KFNL. Frequentis DFS Aerosense says dozens of airports in the U.S. are interested in getting a digital tower instead of a concrete one because the cost/benefit is significant.

The FAA’s preliminary analysis, cited in a presentation to its research, engineering, and development advisory committee on March 15, shows RTs are “likely a costeffective alternative to brick-and-mortar for most airports, but it is site-specific.”

But the FAA still seems to favor traditional towers. In April, it announced it will replace 31 traditional towers at municipal or smaller airports using standardized buildings 60 to 119 feet tall with

The RTC in Leipzig, Germany, manages about 10,000 movements a year each at Erfurt-Weimar and Saarbrucken airports. Dresden, with 27,500 movements, will be added at the end of 2024. a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ June 2023 \ Aviation International News

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environmentally friendly sustainable materials and energy systems. The agency is setting aside $500 million from the infrastructure bill to support site evaluation, preparation, and early construction activities.

The total count of remote tower projects worldwide shows the FAA’s lagging position in the use of this technology. Think ATM and Airports Consultancy in the UK has a web page cataloging all of the RT projects underway. It lists 20 that are operational and more than twice that many in various stages of study and development.

Ten are about the size of KJYO and KFNL in terms of the number of movements.

More than 10 projects are at international hubs with 150,000 to 300,000-plus movements per year.

MAGIC IN THE SOFTWARE

The RT industry segment loosely uses terms such as RT, digital towers, and hybrid towers depending on the applications but regardless of where the equipment is deployed, it relies on commercial off-the-shelf cameras, servers, and displays driven by proprietary software.

“The magic is done in the software,” said Taylor. “In addition, cameras mounted on masts at airports can ‘see’ better than

humans during dusk as the camera manThere are RTs that are rooms with disages the low-light levels more effectively plays fed by cameras on masts at airports, than human eyes and where arrays are and these can be in a building on or near placed around an airport to provide addi- the airport or in some cases at a tower tional views of more distant or obscured hundreds of miles away—as is the case areas [such as behind terminal buildings, with a center operated by ANSP DFS Deuthotels, and hangars].” And infrared cam- sche Flugsicherung in Leipzig, Germany. eras can be added. Controllers are not The equipment is supplied by Frequentis limited by lines of sight from a single phys- DFS Aerosense, a joint venture between ical location and as visibility reduces, the the German ANSP and remote tower views are better than from a single physi- equipment supplier Frequentis of Austria. cal tower.

Payne doesn’t think that simply trying DIRECTING MULTIPLE AIRPORTS to reproduce the out-of-the-window view The Leipzig center has DFS controllers from a legacy air traffic control tower and now directing traffic at two airports with not taking advantage of the technology about 10,000 movements per year each: makes sense. Putting cameras at the end of Erfurt-Weimar is 60 miles away and Saarunways that can zoom in on arriving air- rbrucken is 280 miles from Leipzig. The craft and provide a better view of the hold 21 controllers at Leipzig are cross-trained short line is superior to the out-of-the-win- now to work at either airport. Remote serdow view, even using binoculars, he said. vices for Dresden Airport with 27,500 flight Some U.S. airports want to add that movements in 2019 will be added at the capability to traditional towers. “It’s more end of 2024 as the controller workforce efficient for a controller to view an aircraft reaches 30. on a display located at the controller’s conOther remote centers aim to control sole or as a picture-in-a-picture on a video dozens of airports from one location. In wall,” Payne added. “And it also favors addition to the RT center controlling four the use of surveillance radar to mitigate airports from Sundsvall, Sweden’s LFV shortcomings in electro-optical cameras ANSP and Saab have one in Stockholm for situational awareness at airports with designed for 25 airports, several of which 50,000 movements.” are already connected.

The remote Kongsberg camera at Rost Airport in Norway can “see” better than human eyes at dusk and in low visibility, and multiple cameras can eliminate line-of-sight issues.

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Remote towers in Germany controlled by 21 controllers at the RTC-Centre in Leipzig.

The Integrated Airport Centre at Hong Kong International Airport, where information from the Searidge Technologies Digital Tower and Apron Management System, with 240 camera sensors, is fed to controllers who manage operations at the busy airport.

Norway’s Avinor ANSP has an RT center as well as a contingency center set up in Bodo serving 11 airports now with 1,200 to 7,000 movements per year, including air ambulances. This consolidation of towers and services at airports in communities as much as 620 miles away involves aerodrome flight information service (AFIS) specialists, not controllers. AFIS specialists provide information including weather and traffic on the runway but don’t tell a pilot what to do.

Avinor has decommissioned 11 towers and will decommission four more as these airport services are moved to Bodo and then possibly 10 more airports after that.

In the future, one AFIS specialist could handle two or more airports simultaneously, and the affected unions are on board with this. Kongsberg, a Norwegian aerospace and defense company, provides the remote tower systems.

NATS and Searidge have digital tower equipment installed for developmental use at Heathrow’s traditional tower where controllers can move from their perch high above the runway controlling traffic to the ground floor to see the camera equipment that is tracking movements in shadow mode. With 4K camera systems installed,

Taylor said, new controllers say “wow!” the of the airports in the UK are comparable in minute they first walk into the digital room. activity to traffic at KJYO and KFNL, espeNATS is winning the hearts and minds of cially Farnborough Airport where controllers controllers with this approach. handle small business jets. NATS is in RT The plan at Heathrow is to control a new talks with some of these airports. runway, not yet under construction, with But most regulators, not just the FAA, camera assistance without building a sec- have struggled to get their arms around ond traditional tower at a cost of over 100 technology that can do things for controlmillion pounds. In addition, NATS plans to lers they have never done before from a replace the current contingency tower at traditional tower.

Heathrow, which has no view of the runWhen NATS began controlling traffic at ways and depends on radar-based proce- London City International Airport in 2021 dural control, with an all-digital room with from an RT 70 miles away, it became the camera displays onsite at the airport. The first major airport to do so, controlling new digital room will handle 100 percent 40,000 movements per year. Saab supof normal traffic versus only 70 percent plied the system using 16 HD cameras on with the current setup. a 164-foot-tall mast at the airport feeding The use of digital panoramic and pan- displays at the control center in Shanwick. tilt-zoom camera display equipment with There was extensive testing before the enhancements such as head-up labeling London City RT was cleared for use. Certiand overlays in a traditional tower with fying the novel technology wasn’t easy. The controllers looking out the window is process for the first one won’t be a model called a hybrid tower. This hybrid solu- for how it is done in the future. z tion is what has been introduced in Hong Kong and also at Doha and will be used on Heathrow’s new Runway 3.

The latest news, data, “RTs are mature and accepted by regulators and analysis on the future in Europe, including the United Kingdom’s of civil aviation.

Civil Aviation Authority,” said Taylor. Some a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ June 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Ketchikan air tour safety still lacking, NTSB finds B Y C OL L E E N MO N D OR

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently added three more recommendations to those already issued surrounding air tour safety in Ketchikan, Alaska.

The latest recommendations, included in a short report, call for a special federal aviation regulation (SFAR) to be developed for Ketchikan air tour flights, the imposition of weather minimums more conservative than Part 135, and a pilot training requirement focused on reducing continued VFR into IMC. In that report, the Safety Board highlighted five fatal accidents in the region between 2007 and 2021 and found that

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despite FAA efforts over the past 15 years to motivate voluntary adoption of safety procedures, tour flights were still “vulnerable to the hazards unique to the area’s terrain and weather conditions.”

Unfortunately, the report ignores information from comparable accidents involving non-air tour operations and fails to consider the impact of funding limitations on FAA oversight and critical weatherreporting infrastructure.

Ketchikan is a Southeast Alaska community with about 14,000 year-round residents. As a primary destination on the cruise ship circuit, and gateway to Misty

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

Fjords National Monument, the town welcomes an estimated 1.1 million annual visitors. From May through September, scenic air tours are a significant part of the local aviation industry.

While these flights are operated by both helicopters and airplanes, the NTSB focused on fixed-wing operations in its recent report. The report also did not address the area’s commuter and charter activities, which are generally flown by the same companies at the same time.

The NTSB previously issued 13 safety recommendations to the FAA directed toward Ketchikan air tour operations. The

first four, in 2008, were directed broadly As noted in the current report, some of to all of Southeast Alaska and in response those recommendations languished, parto five specific regional accidents that ticularly the development and implementaoccurred between 1999 and 2007. They tion of more conservative VFR minimums. called for the installation of weather cam- Initially, the FAA responded that it was eras in the Southeast, formalization of FAA “evaluating policy and rulemaking options,” tour flight surveillance, and mandated spe- which was deemed an acceptable response. cialized training requirements concernBut after three years without specifics, ing flight operations and weather-related the Safety Board reopened the recommendecision-making. dation in 2020. By then, the FAA was buildIn the latest report, three of those acci- ing a working group to investigate overall dents, which involved helicopter compa- Part 135 air safety in Alaska, an initiative nies, are included only as a footnote. (A that was formed in response to yet another fourth, involving L.A.B. Flying Service in NTSB safety recommendation, which was the town of Haines, is largely ignored. That issued after the board’s 2019 Anchorage company was shut down by the FAA via an roundtable on the subject. emergency revocation of its operating certificate in 2008.)

From the original list, the NTSB references a 2007 Taquan Air Service crash and then adds four subsequent KetThe FAA informed the NTSB in 2022 chikan air tour accidents (see chart below). that the group’s report, the FAA Alaskan Two years after the 2015 Promech Air Aviation Safety Initiative (FAASI), discrash, the NTSB issued nine more rec- cussed a need statewide for “improved ommendations to the FAA, four of which weather reporting facilities.” As it did not specifically addressed Ketchikan operators. mention Ketchikan nor the recommenOne encouraged use by all companies of dation’s requirement for more conservamore modern terrain databases and instru- tive weather minimums, the NTSB was ment system software. unimpressed. And so, returning to the Three others focused on air tour oper- issue again, the most recent NTSB report ators and called for improved training declared that as air tour accidents conprograms to reduce the risk of weather- tinue to occur, recommendations for the related accidents, ongoing analysis of FAA to develop an SFAR, increase training, ADS-B route data (and meeting with com- and establish more conservative VFR minipanies to discuss hazards in a nonpuni- mums are necessary. tive manner), and the development and Essentially, the NTSB wants the FAA implementation of special operating rules to finally fix whatever is wrong with Ketto establish VFR minimums more conser- chikan. The problem is that the NTSB vative than Part 135. has not addressed the fact that the FAA

cannot satisfy this demand with its typical Juneau FSDO staffing levels. The evidence of this longstanding problem can be found in the NTSB’s Ketchikan-area Part 135 accident dockets, starting with the investigation into the 2007 crash involving Seawind Aviation. (The 2007 Taquan Air accident docket includes no interviews with FAA personnel.)

The principal operations inspector (POI) for Seawind told investigators that he had responsibility for about 33 Part 135 operators at the time of the crash. One of only two POIs at the FSDO, he was based in Juneau and traveled to Ketchikan once a month. At this time, the Juneau FSDO was responsible for oversight of 51 operations. According to the manager, it had curtailed services due to decreased staffing.

There are no interviews of FAA personnel in the docket for the 2010, 2012, and 2013 Pacific Airways, Southeast Aviation, and Promech Air accidents. Following the 2015 Promech crash that killed nine, the POI told investigators he was responsible for 21 certificates and also one of only two inspectors at the FSDO able to conduct checkrides, which took up a lot of his time.

In commenting on the events over the year, he admitted, “2015 had been a challenge.” He tried to visit Ketchikan twice a month during the summer season but prior to the accident had been there only once.

At this time, the Juneau FSDO was responsible for oversight of 71 operators.

In 2018 and 2019, Taquan Air Service was involved in three serious accidents that

 2015 had been a challenge. 

DATE

OPERATOR

PROBABLE CAUSE

FATALITIES & SERIOUS INJURIES

July 24, 2007

Taquan Air Service

VFR into IMC

Five fatalities

Aug. 16, 2007

Seawind Aviation

Takeoff in high wind resulting in stall

Five fatalities, four serious injuries

June 25, 2015

Promech Air

VFR into IMC

Nine fatalities

May 13, 2019

Taquan Air Service, Mountain Air

Midair collision; weather not a factor

Six fatalities, nine serious injuries

Aug. 5, 2021

Southeast Aviation

VFR into IMC

Six fatalities

Accidents cited in NTSB report “Implement Special Federal Aviation Regulation for Air Tours near Ketchikan, Alaska”

a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ June 2023 \ Aviation International News

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DATE

OPERATOR

PROBABLE CAUSE

FATALITIES & SERIOUS INJURIES

July 24, 2007

Taquan Air Service

VFR into IMC

Five fatalities

Aug. 16, 2007

Seawind Aviation

Takeoff in high wind resulting in stall

Five fatalities, four serious injuries

July 23, 2010

Pacific Airways (charter flight)

Loss of control

One fatality

March 13, 2012

Southeast Aviation (charter flight)

VFR into IMC

One serious injury

July 24, 2013

Promech Air (charter flight)

Mechanical Failure

Three serious injuries

June 25, 2015

Promech Air

VFR into IMC

Nine fatalities

July 10, 2018

Taquan Air Service (charter flight)

VFR into IMC

Six serious injuries

May 13, 2019

Taquan Air Service, Mountain Air

Midair collision; weather not a factor

Six fatalities, nine serious injuries

May 20, 2019

Taquan Air Service (commuter flight)

Loss of control

Two fatalities

Aug. 5, 2021

Southeast Aviation

VFR into IMC

Six fatalities

Accidents in NTSB docket since 2007 surrounding Part 135 Ketchikan operations

brought the company national attention. actual number or type of operations. without addressing the dearth of weather In the investigations that followed, it was After the 2021 Southeast Aviation acci- resources and continued FAA staffing discovered that Taquan had five different dent, its POI described his workload as issues, the NTSB may be asking for soluPOIs between January 2018 and March heavy, telling investigators, “a lot.” He tions that are impossible to provide. In the 2019. These included three from the managed 21 Part 135s including all of the process, it contributes to the seemingly Juneau FSDO, one of whom told investi- Part 135 operators in Ketchikan but lived endless discussions of the problems in gators he was responsible for 20-30 certifi- in Juneau. There were four POIs assigned Alaska, while the FAA lacks the funding to cates then later said: “over 25, less than 50.” out of the FSDO at that point but since fix them.

He described the number as difficult to pin then the number has reduced; there are In December the FAA held a webinar prodown because it was “changing weekly.” now three listed on the employee direc- viding an overview of its weather camera Another said he was responsible for tory (and an aviation safety inspector). program and plans for expansion; particabout 40 separate operators and the third, Also, one of the current POIs is remotely ipants were directed to a form where prowho served as POI from March 2019 to based in Ketchikan. spective sites could be submitted. In Alaska, September 2020, said his workload varied It is unclear how many certificates the the last FAA weather camera was installed widely from 30 certificates as a low and 67 FSDO was responsible for in 2021 as man- in 2016. as a high. agement was not interviewed.

When asked by AIN about expansion in The other two POIs for Taquan were Overall, the NTSB’s “Implement Spe- the state, the agency responded that it “is assigned from Columbia, South Carolina. cial Federal Aviation Regulation for Air evaluating whether it can install additional According to one of them, South Carolina Tours near Ketchikan, Alaska” report weather cameras in Alaska and the Contiinspectors were assigned about a dozen joins a litany of previous studies, initia- nental United States. Approvals for installogo Part 135 operators from Ketchikan for a tives, reports, and analyses on Alaska that lation willAINonline be decided later this year. No period of several months beginning in have each concluded a lack of weather immediate plans for new sites exist.” z August 2018 as “Juneau had only one ops information is a crucial factor in the inspector for the district.” state’s flight safety concerns.

He made one trip to Ketchikan, and the The FAASI report, cited by the board, POI who took Taquan after him did not i n c l u d e s 8 5 m e n t i o n s o f t h e w o r d Get the latest bizav go to Alaska at all. According to the FSDO “weather,” and increased weather reportnews ! manager, during this period, the Juneau ing, both via cameras and certified FSDO was responsible for oversight of weather sources, is a dominant theme in about 160 operators. According to the its appendix of stakeholder comments.

The latest news, data, front-line manager, the inspectors were By demanding the establishment and analysis on the future responsible for oversight of about 80 cer- of more conservative VFR minimums of civil aviation. tificates. Neither man was certain of the for Ketchikan scenic air tour flights AIN logo: C 0 M 100 Y 63 B 12 Hex: D31245 RGB: R 211 G 18 B 69 Alerts: 65% black font: Myriad Pro semi extended 90% height

alerts

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Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

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Rotorcraft

Autonomy is key for fast aerial firefighting response B Y M A R K HUBE R

Rain Industries has unveiled a remotely piloted and unmanned MK2 firefighting rotorcraft to respond to fires. Adapted from the Mosquito ultralight helicopter kit, multiple MK2s could be flown to an advancing fire front to help prevent it from spreading.

Rain Industries recently demonstrated the ability to remotely command a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk via satellite link from its California command center to the aircraft, located in Tennessee. With safety pilots aboard, the Black Hawk self-dispatched and flew to a hypothetical destination as part of a fireresponse demonstration.

“This is a critical first proof-of-concept to illustrate how our software will allow uncrewed aircraft to support firefighting missions,” said Ephraim Nowak, Rain’s chief engineer. The flight in April is one of several projects with customer fire agencies scheduled in 2023, Rain said.

The Black Hawk flight comes six months after Rain unveiled its remotelypiloted, unmanned MK2 firefighting rotorcraft, based on the ultralight Mosquito

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kit aircraft. Designed for rapid wildfire the 2020 wildfire season in the state of Calresponse, the MK2 can carry up to 30 gal- ifornia, it undid all greenhouse gas emislons of retardant, stay airborne for one sions progress in California over the past hour, and has a 23-mile radius. The MK2 20 years,” Brodie said. “Fire agencies at all can deliver compressed foam for indirect levels are witnessing fire behavior that they suppression to draw a containment line have never seen before. This is not business ahead of an advancing fire front, and Rain as usual. There are not the same boundaries envisions situations where several could we’re used to, and we need to do something be pre-positioned in high-risk areas and different. Wildfires grow exponentially. respond to threats in small groups.

There is a huge difference between getting Remotely piloted and ultimately auton- to a fire in eight minutes versus 20 minutes. omous aircraft provide the best solution to A rapid initial attack has been a concept in jumping on wildfires during their nascent the fire community for a long time, but getand most manageable stages, contends ting to ignitions before they reach the inflecRain co-founder and CEO Max Brodie, who tion point makes all the difference.” noted that wildfires produce 18 percent of A UN study recently predicted that the total world CO2 emissions and are only extreme wildfires will increase by 50 going to get worse. “Catastrophic wildfire percent by the end of the century. Fires has emitted eight billion tons of CO2 on already are perennial issues in the Westaverage globally per year. If we look at just ern U.S., northern Siberia, central India,

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

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Rotorcraft

and eastern Australia. California, often hit hard by massive and fast-moving wildfires, has deployed a network of 1,000 fire watch cameras that continuously monitor 90 percent of the state’s high-threat fire areas. Rain’s system integrates these camera feeds with early detection sensors with the goal of dispatching nearby autonomous firefighting helicopters within seconds to contain fires in minutes, before they spread and grow exponentially.

“There’s a ton of companies working in this space to use cameras to do widearea early detection, including lightning detection systems, and there’s a fantastic amount of work being done in early satellite detection,” Brodie said. “It’s not quite there yet for early incipient small fires, but it’s coming and so we are very happy to partner and work with all of these early detection data sources in order to bring that into [our] network control software.”

At a recent Helicopter Association International webinar, Brodie explained he got the idea for Rain after living through one of the worst wildfires in Canada’s history in 2003 when a bolt of lightening hit a tree in Okanagan Mountain Park, B.C. and ultimately consumed 64,000 acres. Brodie recalls the fire “ended up taking out a third of my hometown and caused the largest mass evacuation in Canada since the Second World War. Rain was founded in 2019 and today is based at the repurposed Alameda Naval Air Station near San Francisco. The company is dedicated to leveraging automated fire detection technology and fire prediction and behavior analytics, already in use in parts of California, with autonomous quick response aircraft. “The technology that we bring to the table is really the convergence of distinct technologies in sensing and AI [artificial intelligence], robotics and drones, looking at fire-growth models and designing the technology in order to reliably get to ignitions before they go out of control.”

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Rain Industries recently operated a Black Hawk by remote commands delivered via satellite.

Brodie does not see Rain’s technology as of flight hours. And flight hours are a key a replacement for manned firefighting air- driver of maintenance,” he said. craft, but rather an important augmentaHowever, Brodie stressed that autontion that not only enables quicker response, omy is the key to maximizing the value of but that takes pilots out of aircraft during unmanned aircraft in aerial firefighting. high-risk situations.

“The trajectory of the spectrum begins with Aerial firefighting currently “is not a safe automation and moves towards autonjob,” Brodie said, noting crashes including omy,” Brodie said, using a football analogy. a Coulson 737 tanker that hit a ridgeline “In a football game if the coach were to go during a retardant drop in Australia ear- around telling every single player, okay, turn lier this year. “When we look at the history left, turn right block, tackle, throw the ball— of robotics and where robots are typically there’s just way too many commands that applied, we send robots to the bottom of the coach would have to give. Autonomy is the ocean, to outer space, to the places more like the football coach that says okay, where it’s really dangerous for humans.” we’re going run, play 47 B and then everyone Brodie said applying Rain’s technology just knows what to do.” will “support and make the world safer for While “building full autonomy is not pilots in the near term.” required to help bring this technology It also should bring down the cost of air into the world and for it to start being operations, Brodie said, inasmuch as rapid useful and deployed,” Brodie said, “To response will limit the size of fires and the truly write down regional wildfire risk number of flight hours required to sup- and to respond with enough suppressant, press them. “The early stages are going to quick enough with enough aircraft, that look very familiar and rely on existing infra- is going to require more of that autonostructure and personnel at helitack bases mous capability.” at airports, with personnel on the ground However, there is a cost, he noted. “We required to support a small platform versus need to hear from decision makers within a large platform like Black Hawk. But we the fire agencies and government that this think more about what the impact on main- technology is something that folks are willtenance will be from not flying a lot of flight ing to pay for and wanting to integrate. As hours because small fires don’t require a lot we all know, this stuff is expensive.” z

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

Immerse yourself in the world of business aircraft at the 2023 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), taking place from Oct. 17-19 in Las Vegas. View fixed-wing aircraft of all sizes – from single-engine airplanes and turboprops to long-range jets. See today’s helicopters and tomorrow’s advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft.

NBAA-BACE is the biggest and most productive event of the year for business aviation.

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On the Ground FBO AND AIRPORT NEWS BY CURT EPSTEIN

space for additional parking. A separate 10,000-sq-ft maintenance facility is leased to sister company Jet Out.

Skyservice Opens Vancouver FBO

Million Air Expands to Alabama Million Air will assume control of one of the two FBOs at Alabama’s Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (KBHM) after being selected as the winner in an RFP process. Atlantic Aviation previously controlled both facilities, but to foster competition the airport authority decided to place the east-side location at the field up for proposals. Atlantic will continue to operate the west-side FBO. Houston-based Million Air was awarded a 22-year lease with an eight-year extension. In return, the company, which operates 35 FBOs mainly in North America, will spend $32 million on a new facility. This investment will include a 10,000-sq-ft terminal, a pair of 30,000-sq-ft corporate aircraft hangars, and a 24,000-sq-ft hangar dedicated to smaller, privately owned aircraft.

Incorporating iron and red brick to pay homage to the city’s brick and steel industry, the new FBO will replace the current 1960s-era facility. While the groundbreaking date for the new complex has yet to be determined, Million Air will operate from the east-side FBO starting on June 1.

Milwaukee Airport Now Offers Three FBOs Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport (KMKE) has received its third FBO. The recently completed $11 million Jet In facility includes a 10,000-sq-ft, twostory terminal with a land-side vehicle arrivals canopy, passenger lounge with refreshment bar and balcony overlooking the main runway, 10-seat conference room, pilot lounge and snooze room, gym and locker room with showers, and build- to-suit office space. It is open 24/7.

The adjoining 40,000-sq-ft heated hangar with its 28-foot-high-door can shelter the latest ultra-long-range business jets, and the complex has three acres of ramp

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Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

Canadian aviation services provider Skyservice has expanded its network to include all three of the country’s largest cities with the opening of its FBO at Vancouver International Airport (CYVR). In February, the company obtained the former InterDel Aviation Services facility in a lease from World Fuel Services.

The complex, one of three FBOs on the field, consists of a 14,000-sq-ft multi-story terminal with a passenger lounge offering views of the Pacific mountains, business center, conference rooms, pilot lounge with snooze rooms, showers, and ramp-side vehicle access. It has three 20,000sq-ft heated hangars and 175,000 sq ft of apron parking. For Skyservice, this represents its 11th FBO in North America and its sixth World Fuel Air Elite location in Canada.

Atlantic Aviation Wins RFP at Aspen Airport Colorado’s Pitkin County has selected Atlantic Aviation as the winner of its RFP to operate the sole FBO at AspenPitkin County Airport (KASE). Atlantic—the incumbent service provider—was selected from an initial group of seven respondents, which was further winnowed down to three last month. The Texas-based chain will now enter into contract negotiations with the county for a new long-term lease.

According to the county’s procurement office, the selection process was based on several criteria: approach to FBO services at KASE, financial proposal, environmental goals for the airport set by the Board of County Commissioners, ability to finance and build new FBO facilities, development plans for the airfield, and past performance and industry experience. z

Provo Air Center: a Secret No More When the Provo Air Center (PAC) first opened its doors in 2001, aside from knowledgeable scuba divers, few could place the Turks and Caicos Islands on a map. But these days it has become one of the region’s busiest destinations for private aviation.

Located at Providenciales International Airport, the full-service FBO—one of two service providers on the field—moved into its current 9,350-sq-ft terminal in 2015.

“We’re very big on privacy here, so we tried to design the building so that upon arrivals and departures everyone can have their own space,” explained PAC CEO Deborah Provo Air Center, one of two service providers at Providenciales International Airport in Aharon, who has been with the company Turks and Caicos, has seen a post-pandemic surge in business aviation traffic. since its founding. “Customers have four workers requested that nobody be fur- advantage of the time zone change, retaindifferent lounges to themselves; we even have a special lounge just for kids with a loughed. “For three months only two people ing him as the night concierge, and fielding pirate cave.” Other services and amenities were in the building at a time,” she told AIN. all overnight handling requests. “We might include a large pilot lounge, snooze room “What little hours there were, they shared leave work at 7 p.m. thinking that tomorrow with four private rest areas, shower facilities, them, and then they shared food, they we have 30 planes and when we wake up conference room, laundry, dishwashing, and shared information. It was the most amazing in the morning and look to see what Don’s concierge. “We have the world’s first drive- thing I have ever seen a group of people do, done, we have 70,” said Aharon. “If we through customs hall,” said Aharon, adding the way they took care of each other.” didn’t have him all night, we would be in terguests are picked up planeside and whisked The company has also forged lasting rela- rible shape, struggling to catch up.” inside. “You can stay seated in the golf cart tionships with its clients. The day the country While the facility was built with a fullyright through the building as you deal with reopened, a regular customer arrived from equipped kitchen, it wasn’t until the comthe customs and immigration officers.”

Europe on his large-cabin jet and delivered pany had to step in to replace the subpar Like many leisure destinations, traffic a large supply of personal protection equip- catering at a guest’s meeting that it decided at the FBO has experienced a post-Covid ment (which was unavailable on the island), to launch its own in-house catering operasurge with the past year seeing 1,100 more instructing Aharon to distribute half to her tion, PACKitchen. It has proven so popular flights than the period prior to the pan- staff and families and give the remainder to that the company is investing in a $1 mildemic lockdown. Between private aircraft the government anonymously. Realizing the lion expansion, with separate cold and hot and commercial carriers, the facility pumps hardships the business endured, he then preparation kitchens and more staff. Among approximately 5 million gallons of fuel a year. proceeded to give her a check for $25,000 its most popular offerings are “ready meals,” However during the pandemic, the entire to disburse equally among the staff. microwaveable gourmet dinners for crews island locked down for three months. While PAC is normally open from 7 a.m. until that arrive late after restaurants are closed. most companies in the suddenly-idle tourism 7 p.m., but that is not usually the case While PAC does not have any hangar industry began shutting down and laying off given the number of after-hours medevac space, that will change as the company plans employees, PAC eked through after Aharon flights and other emergency activities. Sev- to break ground this year on a 29,200-sq-ft sought permission to remain open to handle eral years ago, when the facility’s leading structure with a maximum ceiling height of medevac flights or fuel stops. As staffing concierge returned to his home in the nearly 40 feet, capable of holding a pair of needs at the FBO declined drastically, the Philippines, the company decided to take G650s side by side.

C.E.

a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ June 2023 \ Aviation International News

51

Maintenance

BY AIN STAFF

the 14-volt TB28-12V is a 26-amp-hour battery. True Blue Power plans to obtain supplemental type certification for the TB14 and TB28-12V in a variety of aircraft models.

In addition to the weight savings, lithium main ship batteries provide faster and more reliable engine starts, according to parent company Mid-Continent.

Duncan Aviation Expands Honeywell Engine Facility

CenTex King Air 350/360 Halo Mod Ups Weight, Safety CenTex Aerospace has received FAA approval for its Halo 350 increased gross weight modification for Beechcraft King Air 350s and 360s. The upgrade ups mtow from 15,000 to 15,950 pounds and raises payload by 946 pounds. To accommodate these higher weights, high-strength bolts replace the original main landing gear hinge bolts.

Two additional safety systems are installed under the upgrade: a takeoff warning system and stall warning “ice mode.”

The former alerts the pilot when the pitch trim is not properly set and a takeoff is initiated. Meanwhile, ice mode improves the accuracy of a stall warning when ice is present on the wings.

According to CenTex, the Halo 350 upgrade requires about 20 hours of installation time and increases empty weight by four pounds. The Halo 350 kit is available immediately.

True Blue Power Adds Lithium-ion Batteries for Light Aircraft True Blue Power unveiled two main ship lithium-ion batteries designed for smaller general aviation aircraft at the Aircraft Electronics Association Convention. This fills in the company’s line of lithium batteries for all segments of aviation, from experimental aircraft to business jets and commercial and military aircraft. The batteries are available for 14- and 28-volt electrical systems.

Both new batteries retail for $2,499 and have on-condition maintenance, “intelligent cockpit communication via discrete output and RS-232,” and integral charge current limiting. Weight savings compared to lead-acid batteries is about 20 pounds; each battery weighs 10 pounds. The TB14 for 28-volt aircraft is a 13-amp-hour battery, while

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Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

Duncan Aviation remodeled its Honeywell HTF7000 engine shop, effectively quadrupling the dedicated engine maintenance services space at its Lincoln, Nebraska, facility. The company also named Shawn Schmitz as its HTF7000 program manager.

The move brought all engine services and back shop capabilities into one place, including a dedicated on-site nondestructive testing lab, a flow and balance room, a large engine cleanroom with an overhead crane, a large-capacity media blaster, a state-of-the-art paint booth, and a mixing room.

Gulfstream Expanding Savannah Service Center Gulfstream Aerospace is committing $98.5 million for the second stage expansion of its MRO facility at its customer support center at Georgia’s Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (KSAV). This expansion comes in addition to the new-build 202,000-sq-ft service center that the company opened at its KSAV headquarters in 2019.

Slated for completion in early 2024, the new sustainablydesigned facility will add 250 jobs and 200,000 sq ft of hangar space and back shops to enhance Gulfstream’s array of MRO services in Savannah. These services include scheduled aircraft maintenance, avionics installations, interior refurbishments, and ground services.

Beyond Chauffeurs #BizAv #PrivateAviation #PrivateChauffeur

Accidents

BY DAVID JACK KENNY The material on this page is based on reports by the official agencies of the countries having the reponsibility for aircraft accident and incident investigations. It is not intended to judge or evaluate the ability of any person, living or dead, and is presented here for informational purposes.

Preliminary Reports Air Tour Helicopter Crashes in Vietnam Bell 505 JetRanger X, April 5, 2023, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam The aircraft crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff on a planned 10-minute sightseeing flight over Ha Long Bay, killing the pilot and all four passengers.

Search-and-rescue efforts were mobilized shortly after contact was lost; two bodies and portions of the wreckage were located about two hours after the accident.

Two more bodies and the majority of the wreckage, including the lightweight flight recorder, were recovered the following day.

The flight’s operator, Vietnam Helicopters, suspended all air-tour operations in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO world natural heritage site, is a popular tourist destination renowned for its dramatic geologic formations. Initial press reports stated that all four passengers were Vietnamese nationals; the pilot’s nationality was not initially reported.

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According to the pilot, some two and a half hours into the flight review the instructor posed a scenario requiring a weather diversion to Ashland. The pilot determined that winds favored Runway 30, entered the traffic pattern, and extended the downwind leg while configuring the airplane to assure a stabilized approach. Final approach was uneventful, with the landing gear and full flaps extended, engine torque greater than 10 percent, and airspeed “between 80 to 95 knots.”

As they crossed the threshold, the instructor described “a simulated obstruction on the runway” and called for a go-around. The pilot increased power to 70 percent torque and attempted to level the airplane, which instead yawed left despite right rudder and continued to descend until impact. There was no stall warning or any indication of an impending loss of control. The 2,650-hour pilot reported about 1,400 hours in TBM 700-series airplanes, during which he’d executed “many” go-arounds both with and without instructor supervision.

Final Reports

Go-around Accident Ends Flight Review

Night Ditching Prompts Call for NVIS Reassessment

Daher TBM 940, April 7, 2023, Ashland, Oregon

MBB/Kawasaki BK117-C1, April 22, 2019, Auckland Islands, New Zealand

The pilot and the instructor conducting his flight review escaped unharmed after the single-engine turboprop failed to respond as expected during an attempted go-around, instead descending into trees and shrubs off the left side of the runway. Tree branches blocked the pilot’s door, so both evacuated the aircraft through the passenger airstair door as “a small fire” ignited. The fire eventually “engulf[ed] much of the airplane.”

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) called on New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority to reevaluate its pilot and flight crew training requirements for using night vision imaging systems (NVIS) after a medical evacuation helicopter descended into the ocean while attempting to land at a planned overnight camping site. The pilot, paramedic, and winch operator were all wearing immersion suits and

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

were able to escape from the sinking aircraft with minor injuries and reach shore; another rescue helicopter found them the following day. The sunken wreckage was recovered about three weeks later.

The crew had planned to arrive at Enderby Island before dark and stay overnight before rendezvousing with a fishing vessel to extract a sick crew member.

Unexpected delays in departure pushed their arrival time back past nightfall and they continued a visual approach to their planned landing site using night vision goggles (NVGs), which enabled them to identify the hills around Port Ross and “part of Enderby Island.”

Believing the landing area to be covered by cloud, the pilot attempted to descend below the cloud level in clear skies over the sea before following the coastline back to their landing zone. As they turned toward land, the paramedic pointed out cliffs directly ahead, but the pilot was unable to react quickly enough to prevent impact.

The TAIC defines NVIS as the suite of “elements…required to safely operate an aircraft using NVGs,” including radar altimeters and compatible cockpit lighting systems, crew competence and recurrent training checks, and procedural requirements. Its review concluded: “The [current] minimum requirements…do not equate to proficiency” and recommended more stringent requirement for recurrent training in NVIS operations and crew resource management.

Misplaced Pick-up Downs Skydive Supervan Cessna 208B Supervan 900, June 25, 2021, Teuge International Airport, the Netherlands A mechanic’s error in replacing the magnetic pick-up in the propeller governor

that provided data to the engine’s exhaust gas temperature (EGT) gauge led to contact between the pick-up and the governor’s toothed gear, eventually leading to a total loss of engine power on initial climb. Seventeen parachutists were on board when the Supervan’s engine flamed out while climbing through 400 feet; one suffered minor injuries in the ensuing forced landing. The pilot was unhurt, but the airplane “sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, landing gear, and propeller.”

Prior to the flight, high and erratic EGT readings with the engine off prompted replacement of the pick-up. The mechanic followed the first four steps of the maintenance procedure but did not notice steps five through eight, which were therefore not carried out.

These included a system voltage check to confirm correct installation. A post-accident teardown found that the pick-up had been threaded into the governor assembly in the gap between two teeth of the rotating gear; the resulting contact fractured both the pick-up and the gear teeth, producing metal debris that restricted free movement of the ball head assembly and displaced the metering valve aft.

This in turn allowed the oil to drain from the propeller dome. As the propeller moved toward the feathered position, decreasing the rpm of the single-shaft engine, compressor discharge (P3) pressure in turn decreased, leading the fuel control unit to reduce fuel flow and initiating a feedback process resulting in engine stoppage.

The Dutch Safety Board’s report notes that the propeller governors of Honeywell TPE331 engines fitted with hydromechanical fuel controls, including that on the accident airplane, use 15-tooth gears. The gaps between teeth are wide enough to allow incorrectly installed magnetic pickups to penetrate the space between them, subjecting both components to the sort of impact damage that precipitated this accident. Those equipped with electronic fuel

controls use gears with 29 teeth that do not provide enough clearance for the pick-ups to intrude between teeth.

Lack of Recent Experience Faulted in Fatal Stall Beech E90, Nov. 15, 2021, Boyne City, Michigan

five-bladed McCauley propellers. At the time of the accident, it was one of only two with this STC installed.

The owner of the second modified airplane told investigators that moving the propeller controls to their high-rpm position caused rapid deceleration on final approach, prompting him not to do so until short final, and another jet pilot who had flown the accident aircraft recalled being surprised when it quickly slowed from 135 to 100 knots during level-off.

The 61-year-old, 13,000-hour airline transport pilot usually flew a Challenger 604 jet. While he had about 700 hours in E90 airplanes, his most recent flight in the accident airplane was during recurrent training on March 22, 2021.

Modifications to the aircraft, including installation of five-bladed propellers that increased its deceleration rate, and the eight-month lag since the corporate jet pilot’s previous flight in the accident aircraft were cited as contributing to its apparent stall on final approach. The pilot and the only passenger, reportedly a student pilot interested in pursuing a professional flying career, were killed when the King Air crashed on final approach in Excessive Taxi Speed Leads heavy sleet. to Runway Excursion Additional workload associated with exercising the airplane’s de-icing systems Swearingen SA226-AT Merlin IV, Feb. 26, 2022, San Andres Island-Gustavo Rojas and the aerodynamic effects of the sleet Pinilla Airport, Colombia itself were also cited as possible contributing factors.

Taxi speed well in excess of the manufacThe accident occurred on a Part 91 busi- turer’s published limit was blamed for the ness flight from the Oakland County Inter- loss of steering control that resulted in the national Airport in Pontiac, Michigan, to twin-engine turboprop departing the left Boyne City. ADS-B track data showed that side of the runway. The crew was on an on the final segment of the RNAV approach air ambulance flight to Medellín with one to Runway 27, the King Air’s groundspeed patient and two medical crew members on slowed from 129 to 88 knots in the course board and was cleared to back-taxi to the of one minute. approach end of Runway 06.

The last ADS-B fix came 3.2 nm from the About 200 meters (660 feet) into the threshold at an altitude of 600 feet and 88 taxi, the right engine increased power and knots groundspeed; the impact point was the aircraft accelerated to 36 knots and 600 feet further along the final approach began veering left. The crew’s efforts to course. An Airmet for moderate icing was counter the excursion were unsuccessful, in effect, and witness reports suggest that and it drifted off the runway into the grass bands of heavy sleet were passing through before they attempted to use the brakes. the area. The airplane flight manual called Braking proved ineffective due to poor for a minimum airspeed of 140 knots in traction on the grass, and the airplane conicing conditions. tinued until its nose struck the concrete The 1974-model turboprop “had been wall bordering the airport, sustaining dammodified numerous times” and was the age to the nose and left forward area of the original testbed for development of a sup- fuselage. The airplane’s flight manual cites plemental type certificate (STC) for instal- a maximum authorized taxi speed of just lation of Honeywell TPE331-10 engines and 10 knots. z a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ June 2023 \ Aviation International News

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Compliance Countdown

BY GORDON GILBERT

JUST AROUND THE CORNER

June 7, 2023

Europe: ADS-B Out Mandate Aircraft that obtained their certificate of airworthiness (C of A) between June 6, 1995, and Dec. 7, 2020, must arrange for retrofits to meet the ADS-B Out mandate by June 7, 2023. The ADS-B Out requirement in Europe was Dec. 7, 2020, for aircraft receiving their C of A on or after December 7. Aircraft with a C of A dated before June 6, 1995 are exempt from European ADS-B requirements. The ADS-B requirements apply only to aircraft with an mtow exceeding 5,700 kg (12,566 pounds) or having a maximum cruising true airspeed capability greater than 250 knots.

June 12, 2023 and Sept. 9, 2024

U.S.: Pilot Records Database

By June 12, 2023, operators under Parts 91, 91K, and 135 must complete submissions of reports to the pilot records database (PRD) of all historical records concerning training, alcohol testing, qualification, proficiency, and disciplinary actions dating on or after Jan. 1, 2015. Final compliance date for reporting historical records before Jan. 1, 2015, is Sept. 9, 2024. Also beginning on Sept. 9, 2024, the Pilot Records Improvement Act ceases to be effective and will not be an available alternative to the PRD. July 24, 2023 NEW

Europe: Flight Dispatcher Rules

An EASA notice of proposed rulemaking (NPA) establishes minimum requirements, responsibilities, and qualifications for serving as a flight dispatcher, a position mandated for European-registered commercial aircraft operations, including most business jet charter companies. Because current requirements are “confusing,” the proposed amendments are designed to standardize flight dispatcher training across EASA member states and to ensure a level playing field.

The NPA also contains requirements for the training of “operational control personnel,” which includes flight operations officer qualifications, and designates an “advanced qualification” level for flight dispatchers.

Comments are due by July 24, 2023.

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July 31, 2023

NEW

U.S.: Aviation Noise Policy

Aug. 10, 2023 and May 16, 2024

Canada: ADS-B Out Mandate

The FAA invites public comments to review and suggest updates to the agency’s civil aviation noise policy. The policy sets forth how the agency analyzes, explains, and publicly presents changes in noise exposure impacts from aviation activity, including unmanned aircraft systems, spacecraft, and emerging-technology aircraft. The FAA specifically seeks comments on how revisions to the policy may improve agency decisions regarding community annoyance and health issues, and to suggest how the agency can better manage and respond to a community’s aviation noise concerns. Comments on the policy review are due by July 31.

Due to continued supply chain impacts stemming from the Covid pandemic, the previously announced implementation date for ADS-B Out in Canada is delayed beyond the original date of Feb. 23, 2023. As a result, the mandate will come into effect as fol- lows: Class A Canadian airspace on Aug. 10, 2023; Class B Canadian airspace on May 16, 2024; and Class C, D, and E airspace to occur no sooner than 2026. The new dates have been developed from stakeholder feedback regarding supply chain limitations and backlogs to acquire and install the appropriate equipment.

Aug. 1, 2023

Europe: Travel Information and Authorization System

U.S.: Maintenance Schools

As part of an interim final rule overhauling aviation maintenance technician school regulations (Parts 65 and 147), the FAA is transitioning from using the mechanic practical test standards (PTS) as the testing standard for obtaining a mechanic certificate. As a part of this transition, the FAA developed the mechanic airman certification standards (ACS), which adds task-specific knowledge and risk-management elements. The FAA will use the PTS as the testing standard until July 31, 2023. Starting Aug. 1, 2023, the FAA will use the ACS to conduct mechanic certification tests.

Aviation International News \ June 2023 \ a i n o n l i n e .c o m

Nov. 30, 2023

ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) is an online pre-travel, and pre-boarding requirement applying to visa-exempt third-country nationals planning to travel to European states. Expected to be implemented in November 2023, the information is submitted via an online application ahead of their arrival at borders, enabling pretravel assessment of irregular migration risks, security, or public health risk checks.

ETIAS is one of two European travel authorization programs scheduled to go into effect in 2023. The other program is EES (Entry/Exit System).

April 24, 2024; Oct. 24, 2024; April 25, 2025

U.S.: Airport SMS

Under new regulations certain air carrier airports certified under FAR Part 139 will be required to submit an implementation plan for a safety management system (SMS) on the following deadlines: April 24, 2024 for airports designated as hubs; Oct. 24, 2024 for airports with 100,000 or more annual operations over the previous three years; and April 25, 2025 for airports classified as port of entry, landing rights, user fee, and international facilities. In each case, the SMS must be implemented no later than 12 months after receiving FAA approval of the certificate holder’s Implementation Plan. Most general aviation airports will be able to obtain a waiver from the SMS requirement.

Dec. 2, 2024

Europe: Part 145 SMS

Starting on Dec. 2, 2022 EASA Part 145 maintenance organizations were required to meet revised regulations. However, there is a two-year transition period, to Dec. 2, 2024, to allow them to correct any findings of noncompliance with the new Part 145 requirements. The main change is the required implementation of a SMS.

White, Bright & Cozy Every shop at our full-service facility in Provo, Utah, had a role in the complete transformation of this 2001 GLEX. The aircraft’s interior was completely gutted and the paint stripped before it was transformed into something truly spectacular. The result is undoubtedly the nicest aircraft of its age.

May 29, 2026

Canada: CVR and Data Link

Multi-engine turbine-powered aircraft configured for six or more passenger seats and requiring two pilots have been granted a temporary exemption from new cockpit voice and data link recorder requirements that were effective on May 29, 2023. The exemption is due to Covid-related delays in parts production, supply chains, and transportation, as well as labor shortages at manufacturers and installers. This exemption is in effect until the earliest of May 29, 2026, or a date when the exemption is canceled by Canada’s DOT. z

w w w. DA . ae ro/ bright white

For the most current compliance status, see: ainonline.com/cc a i n o n l i n e .c o m \ June 2023 \ Aviation International News

57

People in Aviation

BY K AIT WILSON

Helicopter OEM Erickson appointed Barry Kohler CEO. Kohler has more than 40 years of experience in aerospace, at least half of that time in the helicopter industry. He has a background in technology development and business leadership, having held senior leadership positions with Honeywell, BAE Systems, and Bell.

Bob Lockett was hired as chief people officer by flight-training provider CAE. Lockett has more than 20 years of experience in human resources (HR), previously working at ADP as a diversity and talent officer and v-p of HR, Harland Clarke as senior v-p and BOB LOCKET T head of HR, and with USAA in HR and marketing.

GE Aerospace appointed Germaine Hunter as chief diversity officer, effective May 1. Germaine most recently served as the chief diversity executive and talent acquisition leader at Marathon Petroleum. He previously spent more than 20 years working in the consumer-packaged goods industry in strategic planning and brand development roles and served as the first chief diversity officer at The Clorox Company.

Luciano Froes was named partner and chief marketing officer at mobility investment firm UP.Partners. Froes has more than 20 years of experience across the aerospace and financial sectors having held senior roles at Embraer including as chief marketing LUCIANO FROES officer for the company’s Executive Jets division and as head of investor relations.

Air charter specialist Chapman Freeborn appointed Katie Holmes as senior v-p of business aviation, Nick Kelly as senior v-p of aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) leasing, and Claire Geary to the newly-created role of group marketing director. Holmes has more than 15 years of private aviation industry experience, most recently as a director of key accounts for an on-demand charter provider. Kelly has 18 years of industry experience in ACMI leasing and cargo operations; Geary previously served for two years as marketing director EMEA with

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Cirium, has held marketing management positions at South African Airways, and was manager of corporate communications, marketing, and brand at Emirates Airline.

Honeywell Aerospace named Dave Shilliday v-p and general manager of urban air mobility and unmanned aerial systems, replacing Stephane Fymat, who is now leading Honeywell Ventures. Shilliday has been DAVE SHILLIDAY with Honeywell for more than 15 years and most recently served as v-p and general manager for Honeywell’s power systems business.

Aviation insurance firm Global Aerospace appointed Sarah Porges v-p and aerospace client executive. Porges joins Global Aerospace from Piiq Risk Partners, where she was a senior partner in its aviation and space insurance and risk advisory division. She also has held senior broker roles at aviation and space insurer Marsh for 23 years in its New York and London offices.

Ado Sanusi was hired by ACASS as director of business development for Africa. Sanusi served most recently as CEO of NG Eagle and previously was CEO for Aero Contractors in Nigeria, as well as a Boeing 737 capADO SANUSI tain, trainer, chief pilot, senior v-p of operations, and deputy managing director at Arik Air. Jennifer Veilleux was hired as director of sustainability for helicopter services provider PHI Aviation. Veilleux’s career in corporate social responsibility and sustainability spans 20 years in industries including consumer goods, retail pharmacy, medical devices, and aviation. She most recently was director of corporate social responsibility at Atlas Air. Engine Assurance Program appointed Yorkk Swick director of engine solutions. Swick has 30 years of experience in the industry and, while working at Garrett Aviation (now StandardAero), created and implemented the first mobile service team for AOG support worldwide. He previously served as director of operations for StandardAero at Los Angeles International Airport.

Dennis Pearson was hired by Aerocor as a flight training instructor to meet demand for Eclipse 500 type-rating training. Pearson has prior experience as a military flight instructor, professor of aviation at William Jessup University, FAA safety inspector, aerobatics instructor, and the founder of Mach 5 Aviation flight school.

Polaris Aero hired Ian Lumpp as Midwest regional sales executive. Lumpp has more than eight years of experience in aviation, most recently serving as the director of business development and publisher for BusinessAir magazine.

He also co-founded the Iowa Business Aviation Association and serves as the co-chair of the NBAA YoPro Council.

Colin Dunne was promoted to U.S. Midwest sales director at Jetcraft. Dunne has more than a decade of experience having previously held roles across the aerospace, energy, and construction industries in design COLIN DUNNE engineering, project management, and business development capacities. He joined Jetcraft as a sales manager in 2019.

Christin Sherwood was hired by Aircraft Specialties to head aftermarket sales. Sherwood has prior industry experience in part sales and purchasing. In her new role, she will be responsible for domestic and international aircraft part sales. z

AWARDS AND HONORS The NBAA maintenance committee awarded Gabrielle Janicki and Jacob Pendleton with the association’s Hank Hilsmann Memorial Scholarship. Janicki is a student at The National Aviation Academy working toward her A&P. Pendleton is an A&P student at Solano Community College and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a goal of becoming a business aircraft maintenance technician.

The scholarship is awarded annually by NBAA—in coordination with Dassault Falcon Jet and Dassault authorized training providers CAE and Flight Safety International—to aspiring aviation maintenance technicians and military personnel transitioning to business aviation.

Industry stalwart Larry Flynn, 71, whose career spanned more than four decades and culminated in his role as president of Gulfstream Aerospace and v-p of parent General Dynamics, died on April 12 after a battle with cancer. Flynn retired from his full-time role with the Savannah, Georgia manufacturer in 2015 for health reasons but he remained on boards of companies including Duncan Aviation and Heads Up Technologies.

Born Feb. 13, 1952, Flynn had grown up in a flying family.

His father, a TWA pilot for 38 years, had taught him and his two brothers to fly. Flynn obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in manpower management from the University of Kansas and, according to his obituary tribute, “was a diehard Jayhawk.”

His aviation business career traces into the early 1980s, when he held several roles within the FBO sector, including as v-p for Stevens Aviation, where he managed six facilities; as regional v-p and general manager for AMR Combs; and as regional v-p for Signature Flight Support. He joined Gulfstream in 1995, holding positions of increasing responsibility, serving as senior v-p of marketing and sales, and then president of Gulfstream Product Support. He was named president of the company in 2011.

Flynn is survived by his wife Sarah; daughters Kathrine Morehead and husband Ron, and Kelley Young and husband Adam; and five grandchildren and step-grandchildren.

Roger Humiston, Learjet aficionado and founder of Best Jets, JetMakers, and Artist-Aire, passed away unexpectedly on April 19. Humiston earned his pilot license in 1967 and became an aircraft structural repair specialist in a Kansas Air National Guard reconnaissance group.

In the late 1970s, he became a Learjet instructor at FlightSafety International in Wichita and later served as president of jet charter operation SternAir, and then as president of Continental Aviation, flying Gulfstream jets, before launching his first company, Best AeroNet. His aviation career spanned more than 50 years with 45 years actively involved in aircraft maintenance and flight operations. In that time, he earned 10 jet type ratings and amassed over 20,000 flight hours. Just prior to his passing, Humiston finished authoring and publishing a book, What You Need to Know About Owning & Flying 20 Series Learjets in the 21st Century, documenting his knowledge of the aircraft. He leaves behind wife Kate Woolstenhulme.

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 continued from page 4

This is a “different environment than we’ve had before” when the backlog may have had speculators that would be affected by the economic cycles. Bombardier CFO and executive v-p Bart Demosky noted the regular progress payments required for aircraft orders, resulting in “much less variability.”

“Demand is right where we want it to be,” Martel added of the order activity, noting that North American business is stable, Europe has softened slightly, but the Asia-Pacific region is “showing very positive signs.” He added that customers stress “they still need to move around” and that message was emphasized in Asia-Pacific.

While conceding that Bombardier has faced the same supplier challenges as others in the industry—“[this is] the third year in a row where it’s been challenging”— Martel said the company has remained as deeply involved in working with the supply chain as it has ever done, down to Tier 3. Demosky added that the company has a line on the parts necessary to meet its delivery targets this year.

The results came despite the regional banking failures, although Martel said Bombardier did feel the effects of them for about two to three weeks. He added that “unfortunately,” those two to three weeks came at the end of the first quarter when activity typically has ramped up, but added that activity normalized after those weeks.

Encouraging to the company, its aftermarket remains on the trajectory it had hoped, contributing $424 million, a 17 percent increase and a new high for the company that has invested heavily in services over the past decade.

Also encouraging to the company is the turnaround in profitability, reporting an adjusted net income of $113 million in the first quarter, compared with a $69 million loss in the same period of 2022.

“This is the best first-quarter net income Bombardier has had in more than five years and the first time it’s been positive since 2018,” said Demosky. z

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