Business & Commercial Aviation

Tower controller loses track, and a Sabreliner and Cessna Skyhawk 172 collide.

Pivoting to an unprecedented wave of new aircraft owners and pilots, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is now welcoming unmanned aerial vehicle pilots into the fold. “Drone pilots are seeking their place in the larger world of aviation and looking for opportunities to expand their experience,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. The association noted an FAA estimate that 1.3 million pilots will be certificated to operate drones under 14 CFR Part 107 by 2020.

The third and final Pilatus PC-24 prototype, P03, took flight for the first time March 6 when it launched from Buochs airfield near the company's headquarters in Stans, Switzerland.

Bell Helicopter signed a purchase agreement with the Arizona Department of Public Safety Aviation Bureau for a Bell 429 light twin-engine aircraft.

Selected accidents and incidents in February 2017. The following NTSB information is preliminary.

Robinson Helicopters is considering adopting a diesel engine for a future derivative of its R44 piston-engine light helicopter. The company is “holding strong to putting a diesel” in the R44 over the next 3-4 yr., CEO Kurt Robinson announced in a speech to the Western Museum of Flight in Hawthorne, California, late last year. The helicopter manufacturer is working with a “couple of different [engine] manufacturers,” Robinson says. “We have got to get the vibration loads right.

The FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency have granted steep approach certification for the Cessna Citation Sovereign+ and Cessna Citation Latitude.

Smyrna Air Center in Smyrna, Tennessee, is now Hollingshead Aviation. Jeff Hollingshead is president of the fixed base operation.

An aircraft fire in flight is one of the most deadly aviation hazards imaginable. The earlier you can detect the fire, the faster you can snuff it or get the burning airplane safely on the ground, the better the situation. Last year was a signal one for high-profile aircraft fires. In June, a Milan-bound Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER experienced engine problems en route from Changi Airport (SIN) and returned as a precaution. The engine and wing caught fire on final approach, a frightening condition that was filmed by passengers and later posted on social media.

With certification of its AW609 commercial tiltrotor finally in sight, Leonardo is now embarking on the next step of its tiltrotor journey. Backed by the European Union’s Clean Sky 2 aeronautical research program, the Anglo-Italian aerospace company is putting the finishing touches to the architecture it envisions will shape its next tiltrotor and potentially give Europe the lead in fast civil rotorcraft.

Safe Flight Instrument Corp.'s Angle of Attack Stall Protection System has been chosen by Textron Aviation for installation in its new Cessna Denali single-engine turboprop.

Weston Aviation, based in the UK and Ireland, has expanded its Business Aviation Center at Humberside Airport in the UK.

General aviation delivery trend lines decline again in 2016 as the industry’s year-long freeze continued.

Gulfstream and BAE Systems set out to reintroduce the intuitiveness of mechanically coupled flight controls by integrating electronically coupled sidesticks on the G500 and G600 business jets, set for certification this year and next year, respectively. Gulfstream G500 and G600 business jets will be the first commercial FBW aircraft with active sidesticks in service. For that achievement Gulfstream and BAE Systems were awarded the Aviation Week 2017 Technology Laureate during a gala in Washington.

The Global 7000/8000 program's second flight test vehicle flew for the first time March 4, and Bombardier says the 7000 is on track to enter into service in the second half of 2018.

A coalition of aviation groups, including the American Association of Airport Executives and U.S. Contract Tower Association, has written leaders of the U.S. Senate and House appropriations committees to request that the FAA appropriations bill continue the contract towers program.

BCA readers share their opinions on articles we published.

Gulfstream Aerospace's second G600 flight-test aircraft flew for the first time Feb. 24, joining the manufacturer's flight-test program. The flight lasted 4 hr. 26 min. The first G600 aircraft had its first flight Dec .17 from Savannah Hilton Head International Airport. Since then, the aircraft has flown more than 150 hr. The aircraft is undergoing flutter testing, and is expanding the flight envelope.

Northrop Grumman is proposing that the Gulfstream G550 serve as the platform for the U.S. Air Force's next Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-Stars).

More than 115 mayors from all 50 U.S. states have sent a letter to Congress saying they are concerned about the impact that privatization of air traffic control would have on communities around the country, especially in rural regions. By contrast, large commercial airlines are supporting the idea, which is being advocated by some legislators.

These are disruptive times. New technologies are challenging and changing the ways we communicate, conduct business and socialize. Nothing is immune to the new economy, and the vanguard for general aviation change may reside in the charter segment as FAR 135 operators embrace the “shared economy” movement.

Airbus Helicopters Inc. saluted the U.S. Coast Guard's fleet of HH/MH-65 Dolphin patrol and search and rescue helicopters as they recently passed 1.5 million flight hours. “This is an enormous accomplishment for the U.S. Coast Guard, and for Airbus,” said Chris Emerson, president of Airbus Helicopters Inc. “We are proud of the great work the men and women of the Coast Guard perform with these aircraft. They have saved countless lives and guarded our nation’s borders and ports.”

Bombardier Business Aircraft has established five new line maintenance stations in Europe to support customers of Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft.

Pratt & Whitney Canada is working on a new 2,000-shp-class helicopter engine that could be ready for market by year-end. According to P&WC President John Saabas the company identified a gap in its product range between the 1,750-shp PT6C-67C/E and the 2,300-shp PW100 family of engines, and the new engine is likely to be a further development of the PT6C core. He says the engine would be ready to launch by year’s end, but is waiting for a launch application.

Wheels Up was named by Aviation Week Network editors as the 2017 winner of the Laureate for Business Aviation. Founded four years ago with the promise to “democratize” travel by business aviation, the once disruptive start-up has grown into an operation with about 4,000 members. Membership is even available through Costco stores. Membership growth has come faster than anticipated expected -- up 72% from 2015 to 2016.