Industry Remained Down, But Optimistic
Business aviation in 2010 was largely about survival. Some
companies continued to lay off employees, while others announced
expansions. But for those looking beyond 2010, most saw signs of
recovery ... albiet still off on the horizon. Here is a sampling of
the business aviation stories ANN brought you in 2010.
January
The NTSB
released a transcript of the CVR from a Sikorsky S-76C++ which
went down in January 2009 minutes after takeoff. No probable cause
had yet been determined for the accident.
Cobham's HeliSAS Stability Augmentation System and Autopilot
received Technical Standard Order
(TSO) certification from the FAA, a major milestone that
approves the manufacture of HeliSAS system components.
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) announced it had received FAA and EASA Type Certifications for the new
Beechcraft King Air 350i turboprop.
King Air 350i Turboprop
Sikorsky formally opened its new Precision Components Technology
Center, launching a new path
toward strategic competitive excellence beginning with the
manufacture of CH-53K heavy lift helicopter components.
Pilatus reported a
record-breaking year for PC-12 deliveries. The company
delivered 100 PC-12 NGs in 2009 worldwide, surpassing delivery
totals for any production year since the PC-12 program
began.
Aerion planned a new
series of flight tests in conjunction with NASA Dryden Flight
Research Center, using a NASA F-15B as a test platform.
February
After more than a year of waiting, the Laconia Airport Authority
(LAA) finally gave Tom and Mary Noonan an answer on their plans for
a skydiving facility at KLCI:
the answer was "no".
Cirrus said it has
nearly 430 orders for the Cirrus Jet, giving the company the
impetus to move forward with its production plans. But the price
tag jumped from $1.3 million to $1.72 million as the airplane is
refined and upgraded.
Cessna says it is encouraged by the
stability of the general aviation market in the Asia-Pacific
region.
Cessna rolled out its
300th Citation Mustang at its assembly facility in
Independence, KS Thursday, less than three years after the first
Mustang delivery in 2007.
The NBAA
saluted Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-3-MI) for a Congressional career
marked by steadfast support for the aviation industry, including
business aviation. NBAA's comments came on the heels of the Rep.
Ehlers' February 10 announcement that the Congressman would retire
at the conclusion of his current term in office.
Not that it comes as any huge surprise, but GAMA made it
official, announcing that 2009 worldwide shipments and billings of
general aviation airplanes were
down in all categories.
The first new-production DHC-6 Series 400 Twin Otter made its initial flight from Viking's final
assembly facility in Calgary, Alberta, in advance of certification
by Transport Canada.
Rolls-Royce forecast a turbine helicopter market characterized
by emerging
near-term recovery followed by long-term growth. Over the ten
year period, the company said total helicopter deliveries are
predicted to be more than 16,400 units.
Sikorsky Global Helicopters sait it was seeing a resurgence of interest in its S-300C and
S-300CBi helicopters, with sales activity for the beginning of 2010
showing a 50 percent increase over the same time period in
2009.
The NTSB has issued its
preliminary report on the Cessna 310 which went down in Palo
Alto, CA, which killed the three persons on board. The aircraft
went down in a residential area, causing widespread power outages
and igniting at least two home fires.
The 12th Turbine-Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook
released by Honeywell projected
flat overall deliveries of new civilian use helicopters during
the five-year period 2010 - 2014 compared to the 2005 - 2009
period.
Gulfstream announced that a second G650
completed its first flight.
March
The FAA and NTSB looked into the
crash of a Schweitzer G-164B cropduster which went down
February 23rd near Byron, CA, but which was not immediately
reported to either agency.
As the India Aviation 2010 show
got underway at Begumpet Airport (VOHY) in Hyderabad, India,
Cessna said it was encouraged by signs that the general aviation
industry is growing in that country.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) partnered
with the Ohio Regional Business Aviation Association (ORBAA) to
provide each organization's members more leverage in tackling state and federal issues
respectively.
US prosecutors charged two men for
systematical receiving aircraft parts from Honeywell and Pratt
& Whitney and then reversing payment.
Robert Stangarone, vice president of Corporate Communications
for Cessna, said at the British Business and General Aviation
Association (BBGA) Annual Conference that the industry needs to keep communicating the value and
benefits of business aviation.
In a decision issued March 4, the NTSB
denied the FAA's appeal challenging a decision by an
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to pay Air Trek, Inc., a
Florida-based air ambulance operator, attorney fees and expenses in
the amount of $120,169.35 pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice
Act ("EAJA").
Cessna Aircraft confirmed the awarding of an
FAA STC for the Citation CJ4. Deliveries were set to begin
later in the year.
Citation CJ4
The NTSB released a probable cause report in a medical helicopter accident which killed four
people in October, 2008. The board found that the probable cause
was the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the
734-foot-tall lighted tower during the visual night
flight.
FAA Associate Administrator for Safety Peggy Gilligan and Air
Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) President James K. Coyne testified
before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation at a
hearing titled
"FAA's Oversight of On-Demand Aircraft Operators."
Gulfstream announced that a second large-cabin, mid-range
Gulfstream G250
completed its first flight.
April
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Airline Division,
Teamsters Local 1108 and Flight Options, LLC, a Cleveland-based
provider of luxury business jet fractional ownership and jet card
programs, announced that the pilots had
ratified a first labor agreement.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Randall Dunn ruled that the assets of Epic Air will be divided between a
Chinese company who bid on the company and builders who have
projects underway for the kit-built LT turboprops.
The NTSB determined that a chartered business jet crashed at a South Carolina airport because of
the operator's inadequate maintenance of the airplane's tires and
the decision by the captain to attempt a high-speed rejected
takeoff, which went against standard operating procedures and
training.
The NTSB released its preliminary report in the crash of a medical helicopter which went down
in the early morning hours of March 25th near Brownsville, TN. The
pilot and two medical personnel were injured fatally as a result of
the accident.
An FAA NPRM published in the Federal Register would require that
the elevators in all Cessna Citation X airplanes
be replaced, superseding an existing AD which calls only for
the inspection of the elevator assemblies.
In a
Safety Alert For Operators (SAFO) published by the FAA , the
agency recommended that flight crews should be provided with a
written policy emphasizing that either pilot may make a go-around
callout, and that the response to a go-around callout is an
immediate missed approach.
The FAA published a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise the
applicability for function and reliability flight testing to
include all turbine-powered airplanes weighing 6,000 pounds or
less.
Eclipse Aerospace
displayed the first EASA certified EA500 aircraft at the EBACE
air show in Geneva, Switzerland.
Eclipse EA500
May
Rolls-Royce received
type and production certification from the FAA for the AE
3007A2, the latest member in the AE 3007 engine series, which
powers Embraer’s new large executive jet - the Legacy
650.
The Gulfstream G650 flew at its proposed
Mmo of 0.925 for the first time on Sunday, May 2.
Dassault's Falcon 900LX entered the
last phases of the flight test and certification program while
completions on the first two customer aircraft have
begun.
Dassault 900LX
The Full Ice Protection System (FIPS) for the AW139 medium twin
helicopter
received FAA certification, AgustaWestland announced
Wednesday.
MidAmerican Energy Holdings company says the State of Nebraska
should not have denied a $1.1 million dollar tax refund for the
purchase of an airplane in 2004, and filed suit to force the state
to cough up the cash.
The FAA issued an
Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD), prompted by several
reports of cracking in a tail gearbox (TGB) control lever, part
number (P/N) 350A33-1058-03, including an accident involving an
AS350B2 helicopter.
Purdue University's College of Technology began offering an online master's degree with an aviation
concentration beginning this fall.
Sikorsky's X2 Technology demonstrator achieved a speed of 181 knots in a test flight Monday at
the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, FL.
Sikorsky X2
A helicopter accident in Boxboro, MA,
fatally injured 57-year-old Mike Wheeler of Watertown,
NY, an FAA Helicopter Designated Examiner.
June
Two employees of CareFlight, a Grand Prairie, TX-based medical
air services company, were killed when the Bell 222U helicopter
they were flying reportedly
lost its main rotor during a post-maintenance flight. The
aircraft went down near Midlothian, TX about 1415 local
time.
Yet another lawsuit has figured out how to circumvent the Product Liability reforms that were supposed
to provide some sense of relief from legal actions against products
with significant histrories... like the Bell 47.
Hilton Head Island in South Carolina
has a local ordinance against aerial advertising, which it
passed in 1993. At the time, city leaders saw the banners towed
behind airplanes in the same way as any other sign, which are
strictly regulated.
The NTSB issued three recommendations
directed specifically at the Air Care Alliance which could have
ramifications for any organization offering charitable flights.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) General Civil Aviation Authority
has given Gulfstream
Type Certificate Validation (TCV) for the Gulfstream G550 and
G500. The approvals allow operators to register the business jets
in the Emirates.
The NTSB has issued a
preliminary report in an accident involving a Bell 222U
helicopter owned and operated by CareFlite of Grand Prairie, TX.
The report indicates that the aircraft broke up while on a
post-maintenance flight at about 600 feet AGL.
The creation of an
aviation biofuel production facility in Brazil will be
evaluated by EADS, Eurocopter and BioCombustibles del Chubut under
terms of a cooperative agreement signed at the ILA Berlin Air
Show.
The NTSB has taken action to
correct a regulatory subsection that became effective on March
8, 2010. The NTSB determined that a final rule which requires
reports of certain runway incursions, failed to specify that one
paragraph (49 CFR 830.5(a)(12)) applies only to fixed-wing aircraft
operating at public-use airports on land.
July
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senate
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary
Landrieu (D-LA) released the
Small Business Jobs Act on Tuesday, a bill they say will help
small businesses access capital, stimulate investment in small
businesses and promote entrepreneurship – all of which will
help small business create jobs.
The third and final Gulfstream G250 test aircraft
joined the flight-test program. During the 2 hour, 56 minute
flight, the aircraft reached a maximum speed of 250 knots and a top
altitude of 20,000 feet.
Jersey City Ward B Councilman David Donnelly petitioned the FAA
to
cancel the approval of a new heliport in Kearney, NJ. The
Councilman says the noise from low-flying helicopters over his
district would be "not merely a nuisance, it will be
frightening."
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen
repeated the business aviation community's support for
Congressional proposals to renew accelerated, or "bonus,"
depreciation for investments in strategic business assets,
including aircraft in Congressional testimony.
A Gulfstream G450 business jet established a
city-pair speed record between Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Dassault Falcon
received certification from both the FAA and EASA for the
newest member of the Falcon family of business jets, the 4,750 nm
Falcon 900LX.
The FAA has granted Garmin International an
STC for the G1000 integrated flight deck in the Cessna
CitationJet (Model 525, serial numbers 0001-0359).
Maine Governor John E. Baldacci and Kestrel Aircraft Company
(KAC) confirmed to ANN, the selection of Brunswick Landing, at the
soon to be decommissioned Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB), as
their home to
develop, certify and manufacture their composite turboprop
aircraft, the Kestrel.
The NBAA said it
welcomes the decision by TSA officials to eliminate a
historically unpredictable and burdensome process for companies
using business aviation to obtain international waivers for flights
into the U.S.
AOPA President and CEO Craig L. Fuller and NBAA President and
CEO Ed Bolen unveiled the
six forums that will be presented as the Light Business
Airplane Conference at both the NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention
October 19-21 in Atlanta and the AOPA Aviation Summit November
11-13 in Long Beach, CA.
August
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation announced that Garmin's Synthetic
Vision Technology (SVT) and other associated avionics improvements
will be
included as standard equipment on its piston-engine Beechcraft
Baron and Bonanza aircraft.
Embraer celebrated the
40th anniversary of the first flight of the Ipanema crop
duster, which took place on July 31st, 1970.
Embraer Ipanema
A Hawker Beechcraft model 390 (Premier IA) business jet, N6JR,
registered to and operated by Roush Fenway Racing, LLC,
was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during
landing to runway 18R at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH), Oshkosh,
Wisconsin.
A DeHavilland floatplane
went down in Alaska in IFR conditions. On board were a reported
9 people including retired Republican Senator Ted Stevens and
former NASA Boss Sean O'Keefe (now CEO of EADS North America).
Embraer's Phenom 100 entry level executive jet has
received certification from the FAA, EASA, and the Brazilian
National Civil Aviation Agency (Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil -
ANAC) to use Garmin's Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT).
Rolls-Royce received type certification from the Agência
Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) and European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the latest member of the AE 3007
engine series,
the AE 3007A2.
Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton
delivered the keynote address September 2 during the second
annual convention of the Citation Jet Pilots owner and pilot
association.
The preliminary report on the
Alaska accident which fatally injured former Alaska Senator Ted
Stevens and 4 others was been released by the NTSB.
Gulfstream announced that a Gulfstream G650 reached
Mach 0.995 as part of its 1,800-hour flight-test program.
September
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (R-GA) was announced as a
keynote speaker for the Opening General Session at NBAA's 63rd
Annual Meeting & Convention (NBAA2010) in Atlanta, GA, and will
be recognized with the 2010 American Spirit Award.
Gulfstream's Flight Operations department has reduced the
time it takes to receive a reduced vertical separation minimum
(RVSM) Letter of Authorization (LOA) from two weeks to
just a few days, according to the FAA.
The FAA issued an
Emergency AD for several models of Bell Helicopters prompted by
a main rotor hydraulic servo actuator (servo actuator) malfunction
and a subsequent investigation that revealed the output piston rod
assembly (piston rod) had fractured at the threaded end because of
stress corrosion cracking.
The FAA awarded
Level D certification for the Eclipse EA500 full motion
simulators located in Orlando, FL.
Roush Fenway Racing owner Jack Roush has
made his way back to the cockpit after his accident at
AirVenture in Oshkosh this summer, having flown twice ... albeit
with a co-pilot ... since his Beech Premier Jet went down on
approach at Wittman Field.
It's faster than any helicopter has flown before,
if the record stands. Sikorsky says its X2 Technology
demonstrator successfully achieved a speed of 250 knots true air
speed in level flight at the Sikorsky Development Flight
Center.
A fully equipped Nextant Aerospace 400XT aircraft
flew for the first time at Cuyahoga County Airport in Ohio. The
flight was the first ever for a Williams FJ44-3AP equipped Beechjet
400A.
Eclipse Aerospace confirmed the completion of an
enhanced windshield application for the dissipation of
precipitation static on windshields, and aircraft design changes
for operation up to 41,000 feet.
Hawker Beechcraft CEO Bill Boisture announced late last week
that the company plans to
lay off 350 salaried employees, citing continued sluggishness
in the economy.
Eurocopter
began test flights of the X3 demonstrator for its innovative
High-speed, long-range Hybrid Helicopter (H3) concept, which
combines vertical takeoff and landing capabilities with cruise
speeds of more than 220 kts.
October
A Gulfstream G450 business jet recently established a
city-pair speed record between Savannah, GA and São
Paulo, completing the 3,922-nautical-mile flight in less than nine
hours.
The FAA has proposed
broad new rules for helicopter operators, including air
ambulances, which, if finalized, would require stricter flight
rules and procedures, improved communications and training, and
additional on-board safety equipment.
The
300th Gulfstream G550 aircraft recently rolled out of
Gulfstream's manufacturing facility in Savannah, GA.
Gulfstream G550
The FAA granted a
type certificate (TC) to Hartzell Propeller for its new
advanced-composite ASC-II 4-bladed propeller.
Piper Aircraft has taken parts of the PiperJet
back to the drawing board, and it has come away with an
airplane with a much larger round fuselage design that gives
customers an even more spacious cabin to complement already
efficient acquisition and operating costs.
Honda Aircraft Company said that
ground testing is underway on its first conforming HondaJet
flight test aircraft, and static structural stress testing in
progress on its second conforming aircraft. Assembly is also
underway on the third conforming flight test aircraft.
Preliminary
results from flight testing done in conjunction with NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center were released at the NBAA convention
in Atlanta by Aerion Corporation, which is working on what would be
the world's first Supersonic Business Jet.
A groundbreaking ruling by the FAA means
good news for volunteer pilots engaged in charitable flying who
will now be able to operate under an FAA exemption allowing them to
receive reimbursement for fuel used in the transport of patients,
wounded warriors, and veterans.
Three years and eight months after Robinson Helicopter publicly
announced plans to develop a five-place turbine helicopter, the FAA
presented Frank Robinson with Type Certificate No. R00015LA for the
much-anticipated R66.
Robinson R66
November
The FAA certified Gulfstream's large-cabin aircraft to the
Stage 4 noise standard, the jet-maker announced Wednesday. The
certification applies to the Gulfstream G550, G500, G450, G350, GV,
GIV-SP and GIV.
At this year's NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention, Georgia
Governor Sonny Perdue
renewed his support for all of general aviation, including
business aviation, by once again declaring an Aviation Appreciation
Month in Georgia.
General Motors executives have again
started using chartered bizjets for travel between meetings, an
expense apparently approved by the Obama administration early in
2009. GM's expense policy allows the automaker to rent corporate
jets if its internal process deems that it is appropriate.
Embraer's new large Legacy 650 executive jet demonstrator
completed
a nonstop flight from Dubai (UAE) to London's Farnborough
Airport. The aircraft covered an equivalent still-air distance of
3,500 nautical miles in 8 hours.
Embraer Legacy 650
Gulfstream said that it will
expand its Savannah facilities through a $500-million,
seven-year plan to ensure that the company is well-positioned to
meet future demand for business-jet aircraft and support
services.
The first Piper PA-46 Matrix equipped with Avidyne's Entegra
Release 9 integrated flight deck was
delivered by the avionics company.
A helicopter accident in Louisiana in 2009 which fatally injured
eight people was caused by a red-tailed hawk
striking the windshield of a Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter. The
NTSB probable cause report indicates that the impact caused both
throttles to be pushed to flight idle, and the crew did not have
sufficient time to react and recover before impacting terrain.
December
Two aviation companies which transport workers to and from
offshore oil rigs say a
new Louisiana law requiring personal ELTs for passengers is
intrusive, and attempts to supersede FARs.
Final assembly production of the S-76D helicopter
has commenced at Sikorsky Global Helicopters' manufacturing
facility, marking a significant milestone in delivering the next
generation of the popular S-76 helicopter.
U.S. aviation safety auditing company and a subsidiary of
Lufthansa have have
entered into a strategic partnership to introduce a common
safety standard to the European business aviation market.
GE's new H80 turboprop engine has
completed its first flight on the Thrush 510G aerial
applicator, which flew in Albany, Georgia.
Eurocopter’s X3 high-speed hybrid helicopter demonstrator,
which first flew September 6, 2010, has reached the program’s
Step 1 speed objective ... attaining a true airspeed
of 180 kts in level flight at a reduced level of engine
power.
Embraer X3