Business & Commercial Aviation

Four California law enforcement agencies have taken delivery of new Airbus Helicopters H125AStars. The California Highway Patrol took delivery of its fourth and fifth H125 aircraft, part of a five-year contract to upgrade its fleet. The LA Police Department took delivery of its second H125, part of a multi-year contract to upgrade its fleet of AS350 B2. The Ontario Police Department took delivery of its first H125, an addition to its fleet of two AS350 B2s. And the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office has taken delivery of two H125s.

In the U.S., the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) forecasts sales in 2016 of 1 million drones weighing more than 0.55 lb., up 145% from 2015 and 230% from 2014. That weight is the lower limit for registration under FAA rules introduced on Dec. 21, 2015. After seven weeks, 330,000 owners had registered an unknown number of UAVs between 0.55-55 lb., likely well short of the number in use.

FAA certification has been delayed on the Cirrus Aircraft Vision SF50 personal jet until the first half of this year, the company said. It was previously expected by the end of 2015. “2015 was a pretty aggressive goal” for certification, said Matthew Bergwall, Cirrus Aircraft Vision SF50 product manager. “We were full steam ready to go, but honestly two things . . . played into this.” One was that work on the aircraft’s parachute took longer than expected, Bergwall said. The other was “the overall quality of the product.

Rockwell Collins has received an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate for its Pro Line Fusion avionics upgrade for King Air 350 turboprops that were originally delivered with Pro Line II avionics. The STC was part of a joint effort with Landmark Aviation Winston-Salem and BHE & Associates. The upgrade is available through Rockwell Collins-authorized dealers. The avionics include touchscreen technology found on new King Airs, Rockwell Collins said.

Viking Air is marketing a $6 million (USD) float-equipped version of its upgraded Twin Otter 400. The British Columbia manufacturer says the new 400S is designed for short to medium flights and has a breakeven load factor of around eight passengers under typical operating conditions. The aircraft features a Honeywell “Super-Lite” integrated digital avionics suite adapted for VFR operations, and comes equipped with 17-passenger seats. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 engines turn platinum-coated CT blades.

Embraer’s Phenom 100 light jets have been selected for multi-engine pilot training for armed forces aircrew in the U.K. The contract with Affinity Flight Training Services will provide five aircraft to the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s Military Flying Training System. The contract includes support services and an option for additional aircraft. The fixed-wing program is intended to replace the current multi-engine and basic flying training delivered on aging platforms with a new integrated solution, Embraer said.

Already the world’s largest FBO network, Signature Flight Support added another 62 bases to its fold on Feb. 5 when BBA Aviation, its British parent company, closed on the acquisition of Landmark Aviation from the Carlyle Group for $2.065 billion. The combined network now includes 195 locations in North America, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, all under the Signature name, and added 3,000 Landmark employees to Signature’s payroll.

Airbus Corporate Jet Center (ACJC) has delivered a major Airbus ACJ319 refurbishment for the Ivory Coast government, with everything from dual-broadband Internet connectivity to a master stateroom. The Internet uses an Inmarsat connection to provide all 19 passengers with 1.2 Mbps of data transfer speed. The interior features a crew-rest zone, forward passenger section, dining area, office with sofa and seats, and a master suite with lavatory. The job included a 10-year C check, fuselage modification and two new Satcom antennas installed by ACJC.

With the addition of some 30 aircraft based in Brazil and Mexico, Global Jet Capital has completed its acquisition of General Electric’s fixed-wing corporate aircraft financing portfolio in the Americas. While the majority of the aircraft financed by the firm are large-cabin, long-range models based in the U.S. and Canada, the company says there’s strong growth potential in international markets.

Cessna Aircraft has selected four universities to take part in its 2016 Top Hawk program, which supports flight training, recruitment and promotional activities at each university. Cessna has selected Kent State University, LeTourneau University, Purdue University and Westminster College for the program. Each will take delivery of a new Cessna Skyhawk 172. The universities were selected for their aviation programs and commitment to general aviation, Cessna said.

Inside a hangar at South Australia’s Adelaide Airport, Cobham Aviation Services is modifying four former business jets. Cobham is integrating advanced sensor equipment and mission systems onto four Bombardier Challenger CL-604 aircraft in South Australia on behalf of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Under a 12-year, $640 million contract, Cobham will own, operate and maintain the Challengers for AMSA from bases in Perth, Cairns and Melbourne.

Textron Aviation has completed the expanded certification of its U.S. company-owned service centers that support Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker aircraft, the company said. All 14 service centers in North America have received the expanded certifications, which allow them to service all brands. The company also expanded its mobile service fleet to more than 60 vehicles in North America and Europe, and placed a third dedicated support aircraft in service, including its first in Europe, to transport technicians and parts to a customer’s location.

Several Gulfstream Aerospace service centers have received approved maintenance organization designations from various civil aviation authorities, which increases maintenance and repair options for customers. Qatar granted AMO status to its Savannah, Georgia, and Luton, England, centers. Savannah’s center also received approval from the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department to provide maintenance on HKAR-registered G650/650ER aircraft. It also was authorized by Brazil’s Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil for G650/650ER, G280 and G150 jets.

Bristow has invested in a drone inspection company as it diversifes away from an oil and gas industry that finds itself in a slump over low prices. The Houston-based firm is investing $4.2 million in U.K.-based Sky Futures, which provides unmanned air vehicles to support inspections of oil and gas facilities onshore and offshore. The investment comes as Bristow sees its revenues from oil and gas support continue to drop as energy companies reduce levels of exploration and the number of personnel working offshore.

General aviation aircraft deliveries fell 4% last year, with shipments of piston and turboprop aircraft down, while business jet deliveries rose, preliminary figures show. “It’s a mixed bag this year,” said Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), a Washington trade group that compiles the data. “The U.S. economy is still in a positive climb, but it is very anemic.” The health of the energy industry impacts the global market, especially the market for large-cabin, long-range aircraft.

Every technician has been there, standing face to face with an agitated pilot who opens a conversation with, “It happened again.” This is often accompanied with the same look of disappointment mothers give when their child present a less than stellar report card. Technical problems that appear and disappear are exceptionally frustrating. The lack of a definitive resolution can cause a corrosive environment in your team dynamic. Pilots need to trust their technician’s ability to hunt and trap these types of problems, and their return erodes that faith.

Mooney International Corp. has introduced the M20V Acclaim Ultra, a redesigned M20 aircraft. Sales began Feb. 11. The upgraded Acclaim includes a composite fuselage, pilot and copilot doors, a clean-sheet interior design and major avionics upgrades, including the Garmin 1000 with an integrated Garmin flight-management keypad. Production is in progress. FAA certification is expected in the second quarter of this year, with deliveries to begin by mid-second quarter of this year, the company said. The base price for the Acclaim Ultra is $769,000.

On May 31, 2012, during cruise flight at FL 220 in a Cessna 560, the captain’s windscreen cracked and the flightcrew made an immediate descent and landing. Engineering inspection revealed the source of the problem was a damaged seal. It had let water enter, which then froze during flight.

A good cleaning should be just that. But often is quite not. “A great many expensive repairs are made to windows which have been subject to improper cleaning techniques,” says Tim Snipes of Aviation Window Services in Boulder, Colorado. Among tools of destruction he cites are stiff brushes, soiled or abrasive cloths, and improper cleaning agents.

Sometimes MEL restrictions make sense, but sometimes they produce little-considered “gotchas.” Recently one reader flew a passenger trip into Napa, California. The captain’s windscreen heat was MEL’d and the operational notes instructed crews to keep it off and remain clear of freezing conditions.

Chances are you've heard that Nexrad has the capability to detect hail. That was made possible a few years ago with the addition of polarization. Previously the system detected precipitation in the horizontal dimension better than in the vertical. As a result, it could not distinguish between large raindrops, which tend to have a horizontal size greater than vertical, and hail, which tends to be equal both horizontally and vertically. Now it can differentiate between wide and tall.

The palette’s evolution began in the basement of a home in Kansas City, Missouri. Dedication to a task is often found in the strangest of places and so it was with this research project on thunderstorms. J.T. “Jean” Lee, then a young scientist for the “Weather Bureau,” as the federal agency was called some 60 years ago, was assigned to Severe Local Storms Research (SELS). Simply put, the SELS team was to learn all it could about the hazards thunderstorms posed to aircraft, a project begun earlier by the U.S. Army Air Corps.

Longitude’s cockpit layout closely parallels that of Latitude. Three side-by-side, 14-in., landscape configuration flat panel displays occupy most of the instrument panel. The LCDs are some of the highest resolution screens yet installed in a business aircraft. Synthetic vision is standard. Above the screens are left and right display controllers and a central integrated standby instrument system. At the top, there is a central glareshield-mounted flight guidance control panel.

Honeywell’s second-generation HTF7000 series engines are more powerful and fuel efficient than the original powerplant that entered service in 2003, plus they have lower emissions. Aboard Longitude, they’re rated at 7,550 lb. thrust for takeoff.

The NTSB recently opened its investigation docket on the Dec. 8, 2014, loss of an Embraer Phenom 100 (N100EQ) — an accident that renewed community worries and complaints about operations at Montgomery County Airpark (KGAI) in Gaithersburg, Maryland.