Cessna’s Longitude grows Citation legs by Mark Huber Six months after launching its midsize Citation Latitude, Cessna Aircraft announced at the EBACE show yesterday morning that it is now offering a $25.9 million stretched version, the “Longitude,” which can fly 4,000 nm at Mach 0.82. First flight is scheduled for 2016. “The aircraft is long on range, high on value and low on price,” Cessna president and CEO Scott Ernest said at the model’s unveiling on the EBACE show’s exhibition floor yesterday morn- ing. “It is more than $5 million less than competing aircraft.” Asked why the new model was launched at EBACE and just six months after the Lat- itude was announced, Ernest told AIN, “The business avi- ation market is in a rebirth. Cessna has to continue to inno- vate–that’s how we intend to stay at the top of the market.” He added that the company solicited “extensive customer feedback” to come up with the specifications of the Longitude. “I visited 500 customers in the past six months to get their feed- back about what kind of air- plane they wanted.” The Longitude/Model 800 will be the largest Citation attempted since the Columbus/ Model 850 development pro- gram was terminated in 2009. Scheduled to enter service in 2017, the super-midsize Longi- tude uses the same fuselage cross section, windows, passenger seats and aluminum construc- tion as the smaller Latitude, but will be nine feet longer. EBACE Convention News TM PUBLICATIONS Log on to AINonline.com for the latest coverage from the 2012 EBACE Convention. Vol. 44 No. 16 5•15•2012 TUESDAY Geneva Evergreen Apple Oxford Not So Blue MEBA Show Grows New FBO Team for Geneva AINonline.com Videos Evergreen Apple Nigeria says it is now providing first-class service at its Lagos FBO–Nigeria’s first such facility–as it plans for Abuja and Port Harcourt. Page 12 London Oxford Airport is starting to reap the benefits of infrastructure investment over the past few years and is now the UK’s fifth busiest for bizav. Page 24 A move to Dubai’s new Al Maktoum International Airport at Jebel Ali in December is the prefect opportunity for the MEBA show to grow. Page 32 ExecuJet Aviation and Ruag have teamed to jointly run an extensively refurbished FBO here at Geneva Airport. Page 38 Interview with Scott Ernest, Cessna president & CEO Round-up of the headlines from the first day of the show. New Learjet siblings aspire to the heritage by Liz Moscrop Bombardier drew a huge crowd yesterday at the EBACE show as it announced two new aircraft types in the light-mid- sized jet segment: the Learjet 70 and 75. “We are pleased to be building on the Learjet heritage and forecast a strong recovery in the business aviation market,” declared Steve Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft. The 2,000-nm range Learjet 70 and Learjet 75 (priced, respec- tively, at $11.1 million and $13.5 million) will deliver longer range than the existing Learjet 40XR and 45XR models they are replac- ing. They will offer upgrades in the cabin, cockpit, engines and airframe. Set to enter service in early 2013, both jets will fea- ture the new Vision Flight Deck, which incorporates the Garmin G5000 digital avionics suite com- plete with synthetic vision. The cabin offers a slick black- and-white interior inherited from the Learjet 85, including new seats and an advanced cabin management system with indi- vidual pop-up touchscreen mon- itors, plus full audio and video control. There is also LED light- ing throughout, a large baggage area and a spacious galley. The cabin management system will be controllable via an iPad and the Continued on page 55 u Continued on page 54 u DAVID MCINTOSH DAVID MCINTOSH Bombardier business aircraft president Steve Ridolfi toasts the launch of the latest Learjets, the $11.1- and $13.5 million Models 70 and 75. Cessna president and CEO Scott Ernest presents the Citation Longitude to a crowd here at EBACE.
Transcript
Cessna’s Longitude grows Citation legsby Mark Huber
Six months after launching its midsize Citation Latitude, Cessna Aircraft announced at the EBACE show yesterday morning that it is now offering a $25.9 million stretched version, the “Longitude,” which can fly 4,000 nm at Mach 0.82. First flight is scheduled for 2016.
“The aircraft is long on range, high on value and low on price,” Cessna president and CEO Scott Ernest said at the model’s
unveiling on the EBACE show’s exhibition floor yesterday morn-ing. “It is more than $5 million less than competing aircraft.”
Asked why the new model was launched at EBACE and just six months after the Lat-itude was announced, Ernest told AIN, “The business avi-ation market is in a rebirth. Cessna has to continue to inno-vate–that’s how we intend to stay at the top of the market.”
He added that the company solicited “extensive customer feedback” to come up with the specifications of the Longitude. “I visited 500 customers in the past six months to get their feed-back about what kind of air-plane they wanted.”
The Longitude/Model 800 will be the largest Citation attempted since the Columbus/Model 850 development pro-gram was terminated in 2009. Scheduled to enter service in 2017, the super-midsize Longi-tude uses the same fuselage cross section, windows, passenger seats and aluminum construc-tion as the smaller Latitude, but will be nine feet longer.
EBACEConvention NewsTM
PUBLICATIONS
Log on to AINonline.com for the latest coverage from the 2012 EBACE Convention.
Vol. 44 No. 165•15•2012TUESDAYGeneva
Evergreen Apple Oxford Not So Blue MEBA Show Grows New FBO Team for Geneva AINonline.com Videos
Evergreen Apple Nigeria says it is now providing first-class service at its Lagos FBO–Nigeria’s first such facility–as it plans for Abuja and Port Harcourt. Page 12
London Oxford Airport is starting to reap the benefits of infrastructure investment over the past few years and is now the UK’s fifth busiest for bizav. Page 24
A move to Dubai’s new Al Maktoum International Airport at Jebel Ali in December is the prefect opportunity for the MEBA show to grow. Page 32
ExecuJet Aviation and Ruag have teamed to jointly run an extensively refurbished FBO here at Geneva Airport. Page 38
Interview with Scott Ernest, Cessna president & CEO
Round-up of the headlines from the first day of the show.
New Learjet siblings aspire to the heritageby Liz Moscrop
Bombardier drew a huge crowd yesterday at the EBACE show as it announced two new aircraft types in the light-mid-sized jet segment: the Learjet 70 and 75. “We are pleased to be building on the Learjet heritage and forecast a strong recovery in the business aviation market,” declared Steve Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft.
The 2,000-nm range Learjet 70 and Learjet 75 (priced, respec-tively, at $11.1 million and $13.5 million) will deliver longer range than the existing Learjet 40XR and 45XR models they are replac-ing. They will offer upgrades in the cabin, cockpit, engines and
airframe. Set to enter service in early 2013, both jets will fea-ture the new Vision Flight Deck, which incorporates the Garmin G5000 digital avionics suite com-plete with synthetic vision.
The cabin offers a slick black-and-white interior inherited from the Learjet 85, including new seats and an advanced cabin management system with indi-vidual pop-up touchscreen mon-itors, plus full audio and video control. There is also LED light-ing throughout, a large baggage area and a spacious galley. The cabin management system will be controllable via an iPad and the Continued on page 55 u
Continued on page 54 u
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Bombardier business aircraft president Steve Ridolfi toasts the launch of the latest Learjets, the $11.1- and $13.5 million Models 70 and 75.
Cessna president and CEO Scott Ernest presents the Citation Longitude to a crowd here at EBACE.
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HBC scores sales trio with Hawker 4000
Three European operators signed up for the Hawker 4000 super-midsize jet–ordering one each yesterday at the EBACE show.
The first one will go to Bucharest, Romania-based InterAviation, a charter operator that serves mainly the Middle East, Europe, Russia and other CIS coun-tries. The second is being purchased by Orion-Malta, a company headquartered at Malta’s Luqa Airport. Both operators already have a Hawker 900XP in their fleet. The third order came from JoinJet, a charter operator that is going to add the Hawker 4000 to its Danish AOC. JoinJet’s fleet already includes a Hawker 800XP and a Hawker 800XPR.
Separately, Hawker Beechcraft is to open a parts and distribution warehouse in Bangalore, India. Airworks India Engi-neering is to operate the new facility, which will be ready “in the next few weeks,” according to the U.S. manufacturer. –T.D.
Qatar Airways passengers get Flexjet flights in Americaby James Wynbrandt
Qatar Airways and fractional jet own-ership provider Flexjet are to form an alliance to offer the Middle East airline’s passengers a seamless charter service throughout North America.
“We are extremely pleased to be launching this new program, and are confident that it is an attractive product offering for individuals and large multi-national companies alike,” said Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways’ CEO at an EBACE show press conference yesterday. The Flexjet fleet features Learjet 40 XR, 45 XR, and 60 XR and Challenger 300 and 605 business jets.
“This new alliance gives customers from Qatar and the rest of the airline’s interna-tional network the ability to book their travel on Qatar Airways’ commercial service and on-demand private jets to their onward
destination within North America with a single phone call,” continued Al Baker.
The agreement also provides members of Flexjet’s fractional ownership pro-gram with access to Qatar flights and to the all-Bombardier fleet operated by the airline’s private aviation arm, Qatar Exec-utive (Stand 2027), in the Middle East.
“With a growing focus on the interna-tional business market, we have seen an increase in demand for travel to the Mid-dle East and the surrounding regions,” said Fred Reid, president of Flexjet. “Today’s alliance with Qatar Airways–an award-winning airline that shares Flex-jet’s passion for high levels of customer service–is an ideal way for us to provide a global aviation solution to our owners. It’s a win-win situation for all.”
The partnership will be managed by
Qatar Executive as part of the airline’s pre-mium product portfolio. A dedicated con-cierge service team will arrange required airline tickets as well as the itinerary, contract and invoice for the charter portion of cus-tomers’ trips. “This will provide [Qatar’s cus-tomers] with unprecedented access to over 5,000 airports,” Reid said, “sometimes cut-ting travel time by a factor of four or five.”
Doha-based Qatar Airways provides scheduled service to Houston, Montreal, New York and Washington in North America. Texas-based Flexjet, a division of Bombardier, offers a fractional own-ership program and jet card products featuring an all-Bombardier fleet, oper-ated by Jet Solutions.
Flexjet also offers on-demand charter using a diverse fleet of aircraft sourced from premium operators throughout North America, but will use only Bom-bardier aircraft to service the charter needs of Qatar Airways customers. “We have enough capacity to fulfill a very large demand from both the airline and Qatar Executive, and if we are surprised we will buy more aircraft,” said Reid. “We know where to go for that.” o
4 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Hawker Beechcraft executive vice president Shawn Vick (far left) and Sean McGeough, president Europe, Middle East and Africa (far right), celebrate the company’s third Hawker 4000 order at EBACE with (from left) Niels Sundberg, Scott Plumb and Kristoffer Sundberg of Danish operator JoinJet.
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A pAnoply of plAnesGeneva is said to be the second busiest business aviation airport in Europe. It certainly is this week, with the EBACE static display packed with aircraft of all shapes and sizes.
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6 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Embraer ready for the coming recoveryby Kirby J. Harrison
Embraer announced the launch of its Embraer Executive Jets division in 2005 and its intent to become “a major player” in the crowded world of business jet manufacturing, eyebrows were raised and there was a certain amount of skep-ticism. After all, the ambitious Brazilian airframer had just unveiled its Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 entry-level and light jets, and its only business jet in service at the time was the Legacy 600, a 16-pas-senger aircraft derived from its ERJ 135 regional airliner.
But raised eyebrows and skepticism began to disappear as order books for the two Phenoms quickly began to fill, and the company announced later that same year the launch of the Lineage 1000, derived from its E190 airliner and meant to fill a market niche between the Boeing Business Jet and its competi-tors, the Bombardier Global Express and Gulfstream G550.
Today, a combined total of more than 190 Legacy 600s and follow-on Legacy 650s
are in service, as are a combined total of more than 300 Phenom 100s and Phenom 300s, and 10 Lineage 1000s. Altogether, more than 500 Embraer busi-ness jets are in service across the world in 42 countries.
And Embraer is filling market gaps, most recently with the Legacy 500 and 450 mid-size jets.
In many ways, the 450 and 500 are identical, shar-ing fly-by-wire flight con-trols, stand-up cabins with flat floors, 6,000-foot equiv-alent cabin pressurization, the Honeywell Ovation Select cabin management system and max cruise speed of Mach 0.82.
The $19.875 million Legacy 500, car-rying up to 12 passengers and with a range of 3,000 nm, will be the first into service. A first flight is expected in the third quarter of this year and the first delivery in late 2013 or early 2014.
The Legacy 450 is shorter and will accommodate up to nine passengers. The $16.470 million airplane will have
less range, at 2,300 nm, and is expected to enter service in the second half of 2014.
There is one obvious major market niche remaining for Embraer–that of ultra-long-range, large-cabin aircraft, a space currently occupied and fiercely fought over by Bom-bardier and Gulfstream. It is a market that Embraer will approach at some point, said Marco Tulio Pellegrini, senior vice president of operations
and COO of Embraer Executive Jets at a recent media briefing in Brazil, “but not now.” In the meantime, he said, Embraer is focused on making improvements in its current family.
Phenom UpgradesRecent upgrades of the Phenom 100
include TCAS II Change 7.1 (a package that met the European Aviation Safety Agency’s forward-fit mandatory date of
Mar. 1, 2012, and meets the retrofit mandatory date of Dec. 1, 2015). Assembly line installa-tions began in March this year. Still to come is an optional 330-pound payload increase; satel-lite weather coverage is
already available in Europe.The basic Phenom 100 cabin con-
figuration provides room for four pas-sengers, but a new layout replaces the standard forward wardrobe with an optional seat; a lavatory seat certified for takeoff and landing allows accommoda-tion for six passengers.
In the planning is an optional cabin seat with the same functions as the seats in the larger Phenom 300, includ-ing swivel and recline. Buyers may also choose an optional refreshment center or cabinet in lieu of the standard for-ward wardrobe.
The Phenom 300 also has TCAS II Change 7.1, as well as SMS capability in the Prodigy cockpit (based on Garmin’s G1000). Satellite weather in Europe is to be available later this year.
New in the cabin is an optional belted toilet seat certified for landing and take-off. Among options still to come is a two-place side-facing divan. New choices in fabric colors are standard.
Legacy 650 UpgradesThe Legacy 650 is the upgraded version
of the Legacy 600, differentiated primar-ily by Rolls-Royce AE 3007A2 engines, tanks for 2,430 additional pounds of fuel, bumping the range from 3,450 to 3,900 nm. The Honeywell Primus Elite cockpit avionics package was introduced in the 650 and is also available in the 600.
An upgrade of the three-zone cabin is available for both the 600 and 650 and most of it can be seen in the Legacy 650 demonstrator aircraft on display here at EBACE. Mariana Santos, Embraer Executive Jets head of product strat-egy for the 600/650, describes the cabin upgrade as “a process of evolution” to keep up with the latest technology and standards of comfort. The standard and optional upgrades are available in both the 600 and 650.
Among the standard cabin equipment improvements are Honeywell’s Ovation Select cabin management system, touch-screen “slide-and-select” entertainment controls, 1080p high-definition displays, a 32-inch credenza-mounted monitor and a redesigned galley.
Embraer promotes its Lineage 1000 as a home-away-from-home, emphasizing a foyer entrance, five separate cabin zones, a 14-foot divan facing a 42-inch monitor, up to three lavatories (two standard) and optional shower and double bed. There’s also an optional zone module with three seats, a bar and ice container that can hold up to five one-liter bottles.
The Lineage is the largest business jet operating at the New York City-area Teterboro Airport and Pitkin County Airport in Aspen, Colorado. As of late April, the twinjet was seeking approval to operate at London City Airport. The airplane also recently received hot-and-high certification for operations out of airports such as La Paz, Bolivia, which has an altitude of 13,000 feet. The Continued on page 8 u
Embraer Sees Bright Future For Global Bizav MarketAt a media briefing at the company’s headquarters in São Paulo
dos Campos on March 22, Marco Tulio Pellegrini, senior vice presi-dent of operations and COO of Embraer Executive Jets expressed op-timism for a long-term worldwide economic recovery. He took note in particular of such drivers as U.S. corporate profits at record lev-els and the number of high-net-worth individuals now at an all-time high worldwide.
Despite such negatives as a used aircraft market recovering more slowly than hoped, business jet traffic barely on the rise and the worst backlog erosion in history, Pellegini presented a market fore-cast for sustained growth from late 2012 through 2021. That growth, he said, represents 11,275 jet deliveries valued at $260 billion over the decade (see box).
Embraer Executive Jets president Ernie Edwards told AIN recently that by the time the Legacy 500 is certified next year, the company will have invested more than $1 billion toward its goal of becoming a major player in the ranks of business jet manufacturers.
“By all accounts, we are considered a major player and a factor to be considered in the business aviation industry,” he said. “In terms of market share by units delivered in 2011, we were ahead of Dassault and Hawker Beechcraft with a 15-percent market share.”
As for the short-term future, Edwards said that even as the industry is beginning to see movement on a global scale, “Europe is in the doldrums.” Although, he was quick to add, “There have been reports in the news that they are beginning to dig themselves out [and] it is encouraging to see activity picking up in the North American market.”
In the U.S., the Embraer assembly plant and customer service center in Florida is starting to show returns, he said. The company recently recorded two Phenom sales “directly attributable” to the fact that North American customers have access to demonstration aircraft in their own backyard.
In the meantime, he pointed to emerging markets as a positive sign. “Russia has re-emerged from the recession, and India is good for us,” he said, noting that, “We have one of every model we deliver today flying in India. And in China, we’re assembling the Legacy 600 and 650 in Harbin, and we have a good customer in Minsheng Leasing.” –K.J.H.
Marco Tulio Pellegrini, senior v-p operations and
COO of Embraer’s Executive Jets division.
Embraer is building a complete family of business jets, including the Lineage 1000 (foreground), Phenom 100 (center) and the Legacy 650 (rear).
Embraer’s Legacy 600/650 fleet now numbers more than 190 aircraft in service worldwide.
Embraer’s 10-Year OutlookIn its 10-year market forecast for 2012-2021, by region, Embraer expects the following number of deliveries:
Region No. of Deliveries
North America 4,200 to 5,300
Europe and the Middle East 2,400 to 3,400
Asia Pacific 1,400 to 1,700
Latin America 700 to 900
China 520 to 640
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hot-and-high capability is being offered as an option, initially to U.S. and Brazilian operators.
According to Edson Mal-laco, Embraer’s vice presi-dent of customer support and
services, long-term success for the executive jets division is not merely a matter of selling air-planes, but also a matter of the quality and availability of sup-port and service.
To this end, the OEM has invested more than $200 mil-lion since 2006 and is continu-ing to invest as it looks forward to the Legacy 500 and Legacy
450 going into service.Today, Embraer operates
more than 60 service centers worldwide, including five com-pany-owned service centers in Brazil, France and the U.S. Adding to the service and sup-port repertoire is a $25 mil-lion Embraer-owned center in Sorocaba, Brazil, that is to open in 2013.
In addition, there are seven parts distribution centers world-wide and on-site parts stock at 43 locations. Most recently, the company entered an agreement with Air Works India Engineer-ing to create an Embraer Exec-utive Jets spares repository in Bangalore. The total Embraer fleet numbers 14 in India, where the Directorate General of Civil
Aviation recently granted certifi-cation to the Legacy 650.
The numbers in Embraer’s fiscal year 2011 and fourth quarter 2011 report, released March 21, were not altogether encouraging. The report noted total business aviation deliver-ies in 2011 declined to 99 from 144 in 2010. In the fourth quar-ter 2011, business jet deliver-ies totaled 40 aircraft, 11 fewer than for the same period in 2010, and Embraer Executive Jets’ share of total company rev-enue dropped from 23 percent in 2010 to 19 percent in 2011.
Embraer CEO Frederico Curado described 2011 as “marked by signs of continued recession. On the other hand,” he said, “Embraer is encour-aged by the selection of the Phenom 300 light jet by frac-tional operators NetJets and Flight Options.” The combined firm orders are for 150 airplanes (business jets and airliners), with a value of more than $2 billion, including options. And he also pointed out that Embraer did meet its 2011 revised revenue guidance of $1 billion for its execution aviation division.
Encouraging First QuarterThe initial 2012 results were
considerably more encouraging. Numbers released April 17 for the first quarter 2012 reported an increase in deliveries of exec-utive jets from eight for that period in 2011 to 13 for the first quarter this year. The 2012 deliveries broke down to four Phenom 100s, eight Phenom 300s and one Legacy 650.
Also in the first quarter 2012, Embraer delivered to the Bra-zilian market the 300th jet from the Phenom family and the 100th executive jet. Other high-lights include the sale of three Lineage 1000s to China’s Min-sheng Leasing group, and deliv-ery of the first of 13 Legacy 650s ordered by the Chinese leasing company. Also in the first quar-ter, the company delivered a Legacy 650 to martial arts film star Jackie Chan. o
8 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Embraer ready for the recoveryuContinued from page 6
The foyer entrance to Embraer’s Lineage 1000 offers a pleasant entree into the big business jet.
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Many business aviation operators could lose their live-lihoods because of political tussles between the European Union (EU) and the rest of the world, especially over the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS). This was the clear mes-sage underpinning the opening general session of EBACE 2012 yesterday, when a panel of EU regulators joined Fabio Gamba, CEO of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), and Ed Bolen, president of the U.S. National Business Avia-tion Association (NBAA), to discuss the key issues the indus-try is grappling with.
On the surface it would appear that that the European Commis-sion (EC) had some sympathy for the sector. “We tried to find ways to create a more flexible, simplified procedure whereby small emitters are not required to monitor emissions on a flight-by-flight basis,” said European Commission air transport direc-tor Matthew Baldwin.
However, he went on to say that all operators could do now
was to “turn to Eurocontrol,” claiming that political support in Europe for ETS remained strong–despite the fact that the U.S., Rus-sia, China and India are fronting a growing phalanx of resistance to the imposition of the scheme on non-European operators.
Baldwin also urged opera-tors caught out by the compli-cated scheme to put pressure on ICAO to establish a global sec-toral agreement based on mar-ket-based measures for emissions mitigation. But he acknowledged that such an agreement could take a long time.
EBAA’s Gamba asked the regulators, “Why are so many important pieces of legislation
failing to consider the specifica-tions of business aviation?” He pointed out that the €20 billion (U.S. $25.8 billion) European corporate aviation sector pro-vides more than 164,000 jobs and asserted, “We expect com-passion from legislators. ETS is the fault of national aviation authorities who have failed [to consider] our interests.”
Support from the U.S.NBAA’s Bolen was also crit-
ical of the scheme. “ETS is a major issue for U.S. companies operating into Europe,” he said. “Our treatment is not equita-ble. A commercial operator can make two flights a day every
day before it finds itself in the ETS scheme. Noncommercial operators making one single flight have to go through a huge administration burden. Regis-tration costs thousands of dol-lars. This doesn’t make sense. We should not be targeted for one flight.”
But Baldwin was unsympa-thetic, saying, “Even if the Eu-ropean Commission were mind-ed to back down, it would be hard to see support in other Eu-ropean institutions for chang-ing the legislation.” However, he added that there is “flexibil-ity” to amend the controversial scheme in the event of a global ICAO deal.
Salvatore Sciacchitano, exec u-tive secretary of the European Civ-il Aviation Conference (ECAC, which is the European arm of ICAO) put the onus back onto the industry to stand up for itself. He explained that one of the reasons politicians may have so little sym-pathy for the corporate aviation market is that they do not under-stand it.
Sciacchitano added that al-though associations are toiling hard “to dispel the perception that business aviation is simply the playground for a privileged elite, it is not one that you have entirely escaped, however un-fair that might be.” o
10 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
EBAA chief executive Fabio Gamba spoke at EBACE’s opening session, joined by, left to right, Matthew Baldwin, EC air transport director; Marian-Jean Marinescu, Member of the European Parliament; Salvatore Sciacchitano, executive secretary of the European Civil Aviation Conference; and Ed Bolen, U.S. NBAA president.
Africa has a unified voice in business aviationby James Wynbrandt
Following a year of planning, the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) marked its official launch here at EBACE, with the goal of “establishing business aviation as an asset that is rec-ognized, valued and supported by gov-ernments, their respective civil aviation authorities and enterprises throughout Africa,” said Tarek Ragheb, chairman of the new organization.
According to AfBAA, 368 business jets
are registered in the 56 countries compris-ing the African continent, the majority of them long-range, large-cabin aircraft “because of the distances and geogra-phy” they typically traverse. Concurrently, increasing interest in the continent’s min-eral and oil resources are drawing in a growing number of transient business air-craft. Yet the continent’s regulatory and operating environment is not conducive to safe and efficient operation.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know there are challenges to business avi-ation in Africa,” Ragheb said, listing sev-eral of them. “There are over-flight issues, lack of infrastructure, high fees and a lack of consistency in regulations.”
‘Road Map’ for the FutureThe first step in having the associa-
tion’s voice heard is creating a “white paper” on the state of African business aviation and a “road map” for its future, said the Egyptian-born chairman, who is also a senior advisor to business-jet man-ufacturer Gulfstream. “By this time next year we should be well on the way to final-izing that study,” said Ragheb.
Former NBAA president Jack Olcott, senior advisor to AfBAA, noted that two organizations–the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) and the
Business Aviation Association of South Africa (BAASA)–represent regional interests on the continent, but that no pan-African umbrella organization exists. “We don’t see the African Business Avi-ation Association as competition with other groups, but rather as a collabora-tion,” Olcott said.
Using the acronym “Assist,” AfBAA’s guiding principles are advocacy, safety, security, integrity, service and training.
Fourteen “founding members” have joined the group. “Our roster of found-ing members managed to balance oper-ators from the continent with leading suppliers and OEMs,” said Rady Fahmy, AfBAA’s program director. The organi-zation is developing its membership and dues structure.
AfBAA will apply for membership to the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), which represents the world’s business aviation associations. “We hope to use that venue to have active communication with the whole [business aviation] community,” said Olcott.
AfBAA is being hosted by Gainjet (Stand 1265) here at EBACE, and is eager to hear from all who share its goals. “The association will represent the business avi-ation community in its broadest sense,” said Ragheb. o
African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) chairman Tarek Ragheb and former NBAA president Jack Olcott, currently serving as a senior advisor to AfBAA, discuss the launch of the new organization. The trade group plans to apply for membership in the International Business Aviation Council.
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Bell 429 performance has Europe taking noteby Charles Alcock
Bell Helicopter believes it is poised to rebuild market share in Europe with sales for its lat-est 429 model, which is on show here at EBACE (Stand 7091). For several years, the Euro-pean market’s requirements for twin-engine rotorcraft have favored rivals Eurocopter and AgustaWestland.
“But now, with the 429, we have a twin that meets and, in fact, exceeds the latest regula-tions,” said Danny Maldonado, Bell’s executive v-p for sales and marketing. “We’re seeing a lot more demand for the aircraft in Europe.”
Bell has just won a con-tract from the Turkish govern-ment to provide fifteen 429s, but the aircraft is well suited to a variety of other applications. “Originally, its main mission was EMS [emergency medi-cal service] but we are now see-ing interest in corporate use, as well as parapublic, police and even offshore roles,” Maldo-nado told AIN. “The 429 flies very smoothly and with good hot-and-high performance. It can come with a VIP cabin but also with a flat-floored cargo area that can be customized for all sorts of uses.”
The U.S. manufacturer has been boosting its customer sup-port infrastructure in Europe, largely through the March 2010 acquisition of Prague-based Aviation Services, which sup-ports both Bell’s helicopters and the fixed-wing fleet of its Tex-tron sister company Cessna.
The facility provides assis-tance for operators through-out Europe, as well as in Russia and Ukraine.
Maldonado indicated that Bell will likely expand its sales force in the region now that it has a more suitable aircraft to offer in the 429. He also predicted that the new larger 525 Relentless model that Bell launched earlier this year will also find favor in Europe.
“We’re back in this market-place, we are on a mission and we will meet customer require-ments by investing in new prod-ucts,” concluded Maldonado. o
Fal Aviation fields first Legacy 650 for Saudisby James Wynbrandt
Embraer Executive Jets yes-terday announced that it has sold and delivered a Legacy 650 to Saudi Arabia-based Fal Aviation–the first Legacy 650 registered in the Kingdom. A subsidiary of the Fal Group in Riyadh, Fal Aviation was among the first operators of the Legacy 600 when it was intro-duced in 2003.
“Following on from the type’s introduction in Jordan and the UAE, this first Legacy 650 into Saudi Arabia is a clear endorse-ment of the market acceptance for our aircraft in the region,”
said Colin Steven, Embraer Exec-utive Jets vice president, market-ing and sales, Europe, Africa and Middle East. “Our Legacy family, offering an outstanding level of comfort, excellent per-formance and state-of-the-art onboard technology, perfectly fits customer expectations in the Middle East.”
With a range of 3,900 nm, the Legacy 650 can fly nonstop from Riyadh to London or Bei-jing, or from Moscow to Shang-hai or London to New Delhi.
“For us, the Legacy 650 was the natural upgrade of the
Legacy 600 to fit our needs in terms of extended range,” said Sheik Fahad Al Athel, owner of the Fal Group. “Both our Legacy aircraft, which combine luxury, comfort, large baggage volume, innovation and operat-ing efficiency, will afford our cli-ents journeys that are as fast and pleasant as possible.”
Introduced in late 2010, the Legacy 650 features the Honeywell Primus Elite avi-onics suite and three cabin zones, and accommodates up to 14 passengers. Working to ensure customers have access to a global network of support services, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer also announced an agreement with Jet Aviation-Moscow Vnukovo to provide line maintenance using certified mechanics for Legacy 600/650 customers in Russia. o
12 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
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aMaC Gets BoeinG serviCe Center approval
Boeing Business Jets president Steve Taylor and Amac Aero-space group chairman and CEO Kadri Muhiddin shake hands on the recent agreement for the Basel-based MRO and completions spe-cialist to become an approved Boeing service center. Amac now has a third hangar at its Basel headquarters. It recently established Amac Aerospace Turkey based at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, where it will provide maintenance for operators of the Pilatus PC-12 air-craft in the Middle East. Amac’s office in Beirut, Lebanon, handles PC-12 sales in the region. –C.A.
After years of flying in the shadow of competing twin-engine models, Bell has a winner with the latest Model 429.
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Gore Design is wall-to-wall completionsby Kirby J. Harrison
If there is a completion center that consistently plays to a packed house, it must be Gore Design Completions, where it’s typical to see the single, 175,000-sq-ft hangar filled, nose-to-nose and wingtip-to-wingtip, with heavy-iron narrowbod-ies and widebodies undergoing a cabin completion or major refurbishment.
Last year, the San Antonio, Texas-based completion and refurbishment center (Stand 661) delivered two heavy-iron executive aircraft–a Boeing 767 and a 777–to Asian governments. This year, company president Kathy Gore-Walters expects to deliver to a Middle East cus-tomer the center’s first BBJ3, one ACJ320 to a central Asian client and two ACJ340s to clients she prefers not to identify.
According to Gore-Walters, the giant hangar will hold, and has held, as many as three ACJ340s simultaneously, along with some smaller outfitting projects, such as Airbus ACJ319s and Boeing Business Jets. And she doesn’t expect the
traffic to slow anytime soon, not with “a healthy backlog.”
Meanwhile, the center is also starting to respond to inquires from owners of older Airbus A319s and Boeing Business Jets whose airplanes are due for major 12-year C-checks. “We’re Part 145 certi-fied, so we can do the C-check, and they want to talk about having a major cabin makeover during the same downtime.”
Virtual InteriorsGore Design has its roots in the old
Dee Howard Company of no small fame in the business aviation industry. Both Kathy and co-founder Jerry Gore are “graduates” of that company. “He taught us practically everything we know,” said Kathy in an interview with AIN.
And they’ve learned a few things since that would amaze even the late Dee Howard. Among them is a new, com-puter-generated, 3-D, full-size virtual interior for an ACJ320 that will allow a customer to walk through a perfect rep-lica of the cabin designed for him. “It’s so real,” said Gore-Walters, “that peo-ple will occasionally reach out and try to touch something.”
Another major area of focus at Gore Design these days is cabin electronics, from cabin management systems that are more intuitive and user-friendly to the lat-est in high-speed Internet connectivity, to high-definition digital sound and imagery.
Today, with about 650 people employed and a Texas-sized hangar, the company is a major presence at Port
San Antonio, the former Kelly U.S. Air Force Base. However, said Gore-Wal-ters, “We’re not thinking about a further expansion of the hangar. We’re concen-trating on delivering what we have in the hangar on time and under budget.”
On the other hand, she admitted you don’t move ahead by standing still, and to that end there are plans to create a research-and-development group to examine new technology. “Things that won’t just put us on the cutting edge, but a step ahead of it.” o
16 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
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18 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Bombardier buttresses its worldwide supportby Ian Goold
Bombardier is pushing for-ward with the strengthening of its customer-support offering in locations such as Amsterdam, Singapore, Shanghai and Mex-ico, while moving to create spares hubs in Frankfurt and Singapore.
The Canadian airframer is seeking European Part 145 repair station approval to offer full cabin interior work at its Amsterdam, Netherlands service center, which provides Learjet, Canadair Challenger and Bom-bardier Global-series operators with maintenance and modifi-cation capacity. The Canadian manufacturer also plans to set up continuing authorized main-tenance organization capability at the center later this year.
Ground breaking this month for its Asia Pacific aircraft ser-vice center at Seletar Airport in
Singapore is expected to enable Bombardier to offer a full busi-ness-aircraft capability there next year. In the past 14 months, it has opened regional support offices (RSOs) in Hong Kong, Mumbai, São Paulo, Singapore and Sydney.
During 2012 the company is adding RSOs in China (Shang-hai) and Eastern Europe, and converting some North Ameri-can locations to RSO status. A further such office is planned in Mexico (Toluca) next year. Last month, Bombardier announced its Challenger 300 Max pro-gram, under which it offers “no-cost” performance upgrades with the aim of reducing own-ership and/or operating expense.
To be launched in June is Bombardier’s Flight Deck iPad app for the Challenger and
Global series corporate jets. Flight Deck is said to give crews instant access to data and docu-ments and to provide automatic temporary revision updates for aircraft manuals. It includes an FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency and Transport Canada-compliant audit trail for paper-less certification.
On the maintenance side, Bombardier has announced “now permanent” price match-ing on consumable and rotable parts. It said that from the begin-ning of 2013 all parts purchased through the company will be covered by two-year warranties.
The manufacturer is increas-ing its international parts net-work with the transition this year of its Frankfurt, Germany depot into a true hub. A future Asia Pacific hub is planned for Singapore, while parts depots are to be set up in India, Rus-sia and South Africa. As a foray into the Russian market, Bom-bardier has set up an inventory of critical parts at Jet Aviation in Moscow, holding some 300 high-demand items. o
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Multiple-call function added to Inmarsat systemby James Wynbrandt
Satellite communication spe-cialist Thrane & Thrane (Stand 1025) is announcing the intro-duction of its Inmarsat Multi-Voice service here at EBACE. This permits several simulta-neous voice calls to and from an aircraft and will be avail-able across its entire Aviator SwiftBroadband range.
The new service is compatible with Thane & Thrane’s Aviator wireless handset, which features noise- and echo-cancellation capability, and allows each hand-set to have a unique phone num-ber. Passengers and crew can also use their own WiFi-enabled smart phones to access SwiftBroadband voice calling on Aviator.
“Although we have been able to offer multiple voice lines on Aviator 700 for some time, we had to use the legacy H+ system along with a single SwiftBroadband line,” said Kim Gram, vice pres-ident of Denmark-based Thrane & Thrane’s aeronautical business unit. “With the introduction of multi-voice, we can now use mul-tiple dedicated SwiftBroadband lines, enabling the flexibility of several voice lines on board, but with enhanced call quality and lower calling costs.”
SwiftBroadband Multi-Voice is made possible by an update of the Aviator firmware, enabling current Aviator users to upgrade to the new service without any hardware changes. Multi-voice capability will be available on new installations from the third quar-ter of this year. Thrane & Thrane dealers can provide pricing infor-mation on the service and retrofit
and installation costs.Thrane & Thrane is also present-
ing its Aviator 700D, the flagship of its SwiftBroadband offerings (Aviator 200, 300, 350 and 700) at EBACE for the first time. The Avi-ator 700D provides both Inmarsat Classic and SwiftBroadband ser-vices in one package.
With the recent awarding of parts manufacturer approval (PMA) from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the system is certified for installa-tion on all aircraft, and the com-pany is working with its dealers to develop STCs for individual aircraft models as per customer requests. The 700D supports a wide range of communication applications in both the cock-pit and cabin, including in-flight WiFi and voice calling, and it is also fully FANS 1/A and CPDLC compliant.
“We are excited to be adding our first FANS 1/A compliant sys-tem to the well-established Avia-tor portfolio of SwiftBroadband solutions,” said Gram.
The integration of the new level-D software and hardware satisfies forthcoming mandates for future air navigation and offers a simple upgrade solution for existing level-E Aviator 700 and Aero-HSD systems.
Meanwhile, UK group Cob-ham is pressing to close a deal to acquire Thrane & Thrane. The Danish company’s board has reportedly accepted an improved bid that would value the deal at DKr 2.5 billion ($440 million) with the revised offer for shares due to close on May 21. o
Aerovision ‘eye in the sky’ shoots video, still imagesby Thierry Dubois
Aerovision is here at EBACE with its Dassault Falcon 50 jet that will be fitted with a cam-era pod for in-flight filming. Set up next to the airplane, the camera is transmitting live images from the EBACE static display to its indoor exhibit (Stand 148). The French com-pany expects to receive Euro-pean Aviation Safety Agency approval in time for commer-cial operations this summer.
Designed for aerial photog-raphy and filming, the retract-able gyro-stabilized “ball” contains cameras for still images and video. The cameras can be rotated 350 degrees horizon-tally, 20 degrees upward and 120 degrees downward. Sister com-pany UniAir has been in charge of the modification work.
The moving ball is encapsu-lated in a fairing under the Fal-con’s fuselage and is connected
to a workstation in the cabin. Images can be recorded or transmitted live, and Aerovi-sion is touting its high-speed, high-altitude capabilities. The Jet Services group subsidiary company said it amassed exten-sive experience with its pre-vious equipment, which was mounted under an Aerospa-tiale Corvette aircraft.
Aerovision hopes to open new markets with the higher performance Falcon. The air-craft will be operated in a quick-change configuration; the pod and workstation can be replaced with conventional seats for exec-utive air charter. Aerovision and UniAir are part of the Jet Ser-vices group. o
Aerovision is here at EBACE with this camera pod designed for the belly of the Falcon 50. The company hopes for EASA approval in time for film missions this summer.
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Operators of Bombardier products can expect improved parts and service support throughout Europe and around the world.
PWC has service on a FAST trackby Neelam Mathews
Pratt & Whitney Canada claims to have improved turn-around times for customers by 20 percent through a number of advances and innovations. For example, its online diagnostic tool enables customers using its PW300 turbofan, PW100 tur-boprop and PW200 turboshaft engine families to diagnose their engine issues quickly.
Here at the EBACE show, the engine maker is introducing a new product called flight acquisition storage transmission (FAST). This automatically acquires, stores and transmits engine and aircraft flight data for analysis for planned maintenance.
PWC (Stand 1539) is con-tinuing to expand its service network. It has partnered with China’s AVIC for a joint venture in Zhuzhou, in Hunan province, for civil-certified PT6A and PW100 series engines. It also is expanding its support infra-structure in Singapore and Long Beach, California, supporting turboshaft family of engines.
Flexible solutions are the new mantra at PWC. Operators can now avoid hefty lump-sum buy-in enrollment through a Flex enroll-ment option for its ESP program designed for in-service engines.
Earlier this year, an effec-tive alternative to an overhaul–a PW200 engine exchange pro-gram–was introduced that will greatly reduce logistics and eliminate turnaround times, said PWC. Under this program, the first model PW206B2 powering the Eurocopter EC135 for exec-utive transport and police and emergency medical services, will be introduced soon. The PW200 will models will follow based on market demand.
PW800 TestsMeanwhile, PWC expects to
assemble and ground test the first demonstrator version of its new PW800 turbofan some time this year, according to the com-pany’s president John Saabas.
The PW800, which in 2008 had won a place on the now-defunct
Cessna Citation Columbus, lost its only application when Cessna suspended the program in 2009. Undeterred, PWC still sees great potential for its use on a large business jet re-engining project, if not on an all-new design.
Because the PW800 shares a common core with the PW1000G geared turbofan des-tined to power new airliners, in-cluding the Bombardier C Se-ries, Mitsubishi MRJ, Airbus A320neo and Irkut MC-21, PWC has already collected sub-stantial data on the 10,000- to 20,000-pound-thrust turbofan’s potential performance attri-butes. Once the company mar-ries the engine’s core with its low spool–consisting of the fan, low-pressure compressor and low-pressure turbine–it can start validating its figures and mak-ing a definitive case to OEMs, explained Saabas.
The large-business-jet seg-ment continues to outperform the small- and medium-size cat-egory due to factors such as
a dearth of financing and the growth in numbers of individ-uals around the world who can afford to buy big jets with cash. Although PWC projects a pres-ence in the segment on the three-engine Dassault Falcon 7X with its PW307A, it continues to suffer with something of an identity crisis in the large twin-engine market.
“Right now we’ve got to get ourselves positioned on one of those big airplanes,” Saabas told AIN. Unfortunately, not many companies appear ready to spend their resources on new large-jet project any time soon, he noted.
“We feel that the Challenger one day will need to be re-engined,” said Saabas. “We also feel that Embraer’s next step will be something bigger than the Legacy 500. If you look at [Embraer’s] product line…there’s a gap in there that we fig-ure they will fill.” o
www.ainonline.com • May 15, 2012 • EBACE Convention News 19
EBACE visitors shopping for service learn about Pratt & Whitney Canada’s new “flight acquisition storage transmission” (FAST) product for saving and analyzing engine data.
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20 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Evergreen’s Lagos FBO sees Nigerian boomby James Wynbrandt
Evergreen Apple Nigeria is ready to support growing vol-umes of business aviation traf-fic heading to West Africa and wants EBACE visitors to know that it can provide a secure and capable port of entry for Nige-ria’s capital, Lagos. Hav-ing established what it claims is Nigeria’s first purpose-built FBO–the EAN Jet Centre at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport– last July and seeing a large increase in traffic, EAN is planning to estab-lish new FBOs during the next year in Abuja, the capital, and at Port Har-court, which is known as the gateway to the coun-try’s oilfields.
The number of busi-ness travelers heading for Nigeria is growing fast as commodities play an increasingly important role in the world economy, so remote but resource-rich areas in Africa, such as Nigeria, are becoming prime destinations.
“Lagos is usually the first Nigerian city that new business ventures target, and we could see there was a lack of facili-ties that international travelers expect,” said Segun Demuren, EAN’s managing director and CEO. “Creating an integrated FBO and maintenance cen-ter was essential to support this
expanding sector,” he added. The $25 million EAN Jet Centre fea-tures two VIP lounges, a crew room with WiFi access, short-stay accommodation and a pent-house restaurant atop the facility.
Demuren noted that most
aircraft owned and operated in Nigeria are foreign registered, and EAN has partnered with Maintenance Centre Malta (MCM Group) to provide line maintenance for European-reg-istered aircraft at the FBO, and also to provide maintenance for Nigerian-registered aircraft when they are operating in Europe.
Evergreen (Stand 1927) recognizes that, besides its
resources, Nigeria has a repu-tation for having payoff-hungry officials. The company is eager to counter that perception, however. “We try to make peo-ple feel at ease. They don’t have to worry about paying off peo-ple,” said Demuren. “We don’t collect cash; we don’t collect payments. After you leave the country, we’ll send you a bill. Every single item on our ser-vices has a price, so you’re not going to get any surprises.”
Here at EBACE, Demuren
is eager to meet with opera-tors seeking an entrée to Nige-ria, and FBOs and handlers that can assist EAN’s Nigerian-based clients when they take their jets abroad. o
Since Lagos is the first place businesses think of when contemplating the Nigerian market, it made sense for Evergreen Apple Nigeria to open a world-class FBO there.
news clipsz Signature Boosts EMEA Sales Team
FBO chain Signature Flight Support has established a dedicated sales team to provide personalized flight support
services in the European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. “We built our EMEA sales team on the model that has worked for us in the U.S.,” said Joe Gibney, Signature vice president and managing director for EMEA. “We formulate a comprehensive, customized portfolio based on the customer’s flying profile and specific needs.” The team
comprises Steve Gulvin, regional vice president sales, EMEA; Andrea Hopkins, sales manager mainland Europe; Karl Bowles, sales manager Middle East; and Julian Moller, sales manager, UK and Ireland.
z Idair Unveils Wireless IFE SystemIdair (Stand 783), the joint venture between Lufthansa
Technik and Panasonic Avionics, is debuting Eclipsair, its wireless “infotainment” system, here at EBACE. Aimed at the VIP and business jet markets, Eclipsair delivers news, video, audio data and flight information. The company anticipates it will be available for customer installations in the second quarter of 2013.
The single-box solution combines an IEEE802.11n wireless access point and a web-based media server, providing wireless distribution of streaming media to a variety of mobile passenger devices. Eclipsair will be offered as a standalone system or integrated with Idair’s global communication solution and in-flight entertainment and cabin management system. It will also be available as an integrated part of Lufthansa Technik’s “nice HD” system.
“Eclipsair represents a wireless solution that has been designed not only with the consumer device user in mind, but also with the requirements of the equipment installer and operator at the forefront,” said Andrew Muirhead, Idair’s CEO. “Through our one-box solution, we are offering a unique package both easy to use and simple to install.”
z Masterjet Renews AFI KLM Service PactFrench executive charter operator Masterjet has signed
an agreement with AFI KLM Engineering & Maintenance to use its Vipjetsuite cabin interiors services. The Air France KLM airline subsidiary provides a range of MRO services, including cabin modifications. “They have always been able to meet our deadlines in a highly efficient and effective manner,” said Nuno Perestrelo, maintenance and engineering director at Masterjet. The company operates eight aircraft, including a VIP-configured A320. It already uses AFI KLM for maintenance support.
z Nexus, ServiceElements Team on Customer ServiceNexus Flight Operations Services has announced a
joint venture with U.S.-based customer service specialist ServiceElements International (SEI) to offer training courses in the Middle East and Africa. Courses will be conducted in organizational resource management and related topics focusing on the human elements and issues relating to customer service within the aviation industry.
“Alongside our already well-established training program in collaboration with FlightSafety International, these organizational development programs will really bring something different to our region and allow us to raise the benchmark within the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] aviation industry even further,” said Abdullah Al-Sayed, president and CEO of Nexus, which has facilities in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Rwanda, India and France.
“Our workshops are very effective but input does not simply end with the workshop, as we prefer to establish long-term relationships with our clients and assist with organizational development that provides a whole-company approach to surpassing satisfactory service and performance levels,” said SEI v-p consulting and special programs Chris Crum.
Arinc Direct app connects pilots’ iPads via Bluetooth
When asked, “Why an app, and why now?” James Hardie, Arinc Direct’s director for the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions, responded, “Once we realized that more than 50 percent of our subscriber base was already using the [Apple] iPad as an elec-tronic flight bag in the cockpit, we knew that we could provide more up-to-date information, automatically, through our own app, whenever it is connected via the Internet to our servers.”
Arinc (Stand 328) customers that download the free app can receive information from Arinc that was previously available
only via aircraft avionics. The WiFi connection capability of the iPad and the true viability of the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband
uplink allows adequate through-put for the data, creating a con-duit for live weather radar, geo-referenced charting and constant connectivity with dis-patch and flight management offices.
The app has a few func-tions that are unique to it. For instance, two pilot cockpits can connect the copilot and pilot’s iPads via Bluetooth, so that only one pilot needs to input updates and clearances on the flight form. While connected, both iPads will display the same information simultaneously. Annotated and amended flight plans can also be saved as PDF files and deliv-ered directly to the flight office as a complete and accurate (and immediate) record of the flight, reducing paperwork on both ends for the operator. –A.L.
James Hardie, director EMEA and Asia Pacific for Arinc Direct, demonstrates the company’s iPad app, which is free for Arinc Direct subscribers.
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Passport 20 on track to power new Globalsby Thierry Dubois
Development is well under way for GE Aviation’s 16,500-pound-thrust GE Passport 20 engine,
which is set to power the Bombar-dier Global 7000 and 8000. The first engine is to begin ground
testing in the second quarter of next year.
GE Aviation (Stand 1143) is anticipating certification of its new turbofan in 2015 and entry into service in 2016. A key feature of the new turbo-fan is the 52-inch-diameter fan bladed disk (blisk). “We have been running validation test-ing on two fan blisks, and the
results have been very posi-tive,” a spokesman told AIN. The manufacturer also plans to conduct blade-out, icing and
aeromechanic trials on rigs at its Evendale, Ohio facility this year to verify design efforts.
In a conventional engine design, blades are separate parts, held by a slotted disk or pinned holes, and air can leak between blade platforms, causing a loss of performance. Blades also can shift back and forth in their slot or on their pin, which causes wear and vibration. But in a blisk, the blades and disk constitute one combined unit, which eliminates leaks, wear and vibration. In addition, the inner (hub) diam-eter can be made smaller, allow-ing for a greater airflow within the same fan outer diameter.
As the EBACE show ap-proached, GE engineers were set to freeze the engine design. Assembly of the first Passport 20 powerplant is to begin by year-end.
Environmental Improvements At the engine core level, two
eCore demonstrators have accu-mulated about 150 hours of test-ing. The eCore3 is scheduled to run later this year or next year.
The Passport 20’s 10-stage high-pressure (HP) compres-sor will include four blisk stages. Downstream from the combus-tor, the two-stage HP turbine will be followed by a four-stage LP turbine.
The HP compressor will offer a stall-free design with no throt-tle restriction. The LP turbine will feature 3-D aerodynamic design, state-of-the-art cooling techniques and active clearance control for reduced weight and enhanced durability.
The integrated propulsion sys-tem is being developed by France-based Nexcelle. The result will be a long-duct mixed-flow design with an outer opening cowl made from composites, which should reduce weight and ease access to line-replaceable units. The one-piece structure will also reduce vibrations and lower noise on the ground and inside the cabin.
GE claims the engine will offer “at least eight percent improved specific fuel con-sumption, compared to current engines in the field.” It will be certified to CAEP/8 environ-mental standards with margin on all emissions, according to GE. As for noise, ICAO’s Stage 4 limits should be met with about a 13 EPNdB margin. o
22 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
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Oxford records traffic growth as recent investment pays offby Charles Alcock
Large infrastructure investments by Oxford Airport’s private owners have paid off with the London-area airport now claiming a spot as the UK’s fifth busiest business aviation airport. As of last month, year-to-date traffic growth at
Oxford was 12.2 percent, which, accord-ing to business development director James Dillon-Godfray, was markedly ahead of the flat or declining situation at other UK airports (see box).
Just ahead of this week’s EBACE
show, the airport activated its new pri-mary and secondary radar systems. This is the result of a $7.2 million investment with Thales UK providing a radar for a project managed by NATS. It will allow more efficient transits through local airspace, while also increasing the throughput of IFR movements by reducing separation from nine to three minutes and allowing for SAR and vec-tored approaches.
The mode-S MSSR radar allows Oxford’s controllers to monitor UK air-space from the Thames Estuary in the east to Wales in the west and the Eng-lish Channel to the south. This year, the privately owned airport will be spend-ing another $1.4 million to complete a refit of the communications system for its tower.
Last year, the licensed length of Oxford’s runway was increased by 21 percent to 5,223 feet and the strength of the runway has been reassessed to a rat-ing of PCN 38, meaning that it can be used by heavier business jets such as the Embraer Lineage. The increased takeoff length means that longer range jets, such as the Dassault Falcon 7X, Bombar-dier’s Global family and the Gulfstream G550, can make transatlantic flights under commercial rules.
Oxford now boasts an additional 192,000 sq ft of apron space and has spent around $3.5 million to resurface a significant area of the existing ramp. The total available parking space for aircraft now covers 377,000 sq ft, which it expects to fill with around 40 aircraft during this summer’s London Olympic Games.
According to Dillon-Godfray, Oxford’s position outside the restricted airspace zone that will be in place during the Olympics will make it a convenient option for operators, as will its 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. hours of operation throughout the week. Oxford’s owners, the Reuben Brothers, recently acquired
the London Heliport, giving fixed-wing customers the option of having their passengers make an onward connection by helicopter, with charter service available through local operator Capital Air Services.
Meanwhile, at the airport entrance, construction is under way on the first of two 18,000-sq-ft office buildings, which will be available for rent. Also planned is a four-lane entrance road and improved reception building. The site also offers almost 250,000 sq ft of hangar space. The airport is home to 20 tenant com-panies employing more than 800 people and 30 resident aircraft in the hands of seven operators. o
24 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Oxford Bucks Trend of UK Traffic Stagnation
Eurocontrol data shows UK business aviation traffic largely stagnant in terms of year-to-date figures for the 12 months up to the end of March 2012, with just 0.7-per-cent growth recorded overall. Over the same period, the average number of daily bizav flights at UK airports dipped 2.4 percent.
But the situation is not uniform across the country. While Oxford showed year-to-date growth of 12.2 percent as of the end of March, London City Airport showed a 10.2-percent decline. Farnborough Airport recorded 1.8 percent growth, compared with 8.3 percent at Luton and 12.9 percent at Biggin Hill.
In the five years since the Reuben Broth-ers acquired Oxford Airport in mid-2007 and launched a concerted effort to make it a busi-ness aviation hub, the airport has achieved a 116.67-percent leap in average daily depar-tures to 7.8. According to figures released by Oxford Airport drawn from Eurocontrol data, it has now overtaken Stansted Airport (with 5.5 average daily movements) to become the UK’s fifth busiest bizav airport behind London City (with 8.9). –C.A.
Oxford Airport’s private owners have made big investments in infrastructure, which appear to be paying off with significant growth in business aviation traffic at a time when UK-wide movement figures are largely flat.
Bilen sees growth in TurkeyTurkey’s Bilen Air Services is here at
EBACE (Stand 2130) promoting its new strategic partnership with ExecuJet Avi-ation, as the Istanbul Ataturk Airport FBO is now part of the Swiss-based busi-ness aviation services group’s growing chain of handling operations. The agree-ment took effect in September last year.
“Actually, we are offering full FBO services, although Turkish law prevents us from taking passengers directly from our lounge to the apron,” assistant gen-eral manager Tolga Asan told AIN.
Bilen estimated its FBO’s traffic level has been between 30 and 35 aircraft per
month since November, and is increasing thanks to a growing number of business aircraft on the Turkish registry, he said.
In addition to the FBO activity, Bilen holds management contracts to operate 14 business aircraft. Working with holders of air operator’s certificates (since Bilen does not hold its own AOC), these aircraft are offered for charter when available.
Another Turkish bizav service com-pany–Gozen Air Services–is exhibiting here in Geneva (Stand 2023). From its headquarters in Istanbul, it provides flight planning and handling supervision at airports across Turkey. –T.D.
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www.ainonline.com • May 15, 2012 • EBACE Convention News 25
Optimistic on Europe market, Cessna boosts service networkby Mark Huber
Cessna remains optimistic about Europe. “In spite of all the negative news you get in the press about economic activ-ity in Europe, our order inquiry activ-ity from [that region] has remained very positive,” said Brad Thress, Cessna senior vice president for business jets.
At the top of the list for enhancing its presence on this side of the Atlantic is Cessna’s new factory service center in Valencia, Spain. Scheduled to open in September, the $30 million facility will feature 64,000 sq ft of hangar space and another 88,000 sq ft dedicated to office, shop and storage space. FlightSafety International already is training techni-cians for the center.
Thress thinks Valencia’s location will be a big customer draw because, while the bulk of the European Citation fleet is not necessarily based near that city, Spain is a popular destination for those airplanes. Elsewhere in Europe, Thress said, Cess-na’s new Prague service center, colocated with one for sister company Bell Helicop-ter, “is growing.”
“It’s a small facility for us [32,000
square feet], but it seems to stay quite busy and we are pleasantly surprised,” Thress said. “But Valencia will be our largest European facility and we are quite excited about that.”
Cessna operates another factory main-tenance facility at Paris Le Bourget and has three mobile service unit trucks sta-tioned throughout Europe that allow the OEM to “take maintenance to the customer,” Thress said. Another 13 fac-tory-authorized service centers operate throughout the region. Cessna and Bell also have partnered on a parts distribution warehouse at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Air-port. It opened two years ago and Cessna is constantly adding inventory to it.
Citation TenThress said European interest in new
Cessna product offerings under devel-opment–the M2, Citation Ten and Cita-tion Latitude–is high and the company has brought its full contingent of busi-ness jets and the turboprop single Car-avan to this year’s EBACE for display. “We’re very busy with our new product
development activities and everything is going pretty well.”
By way of more specific program updates, Thress said the Citation Ten prototype has flown approximately 150 hours; completed flight stability, con-trol and stall testing; and is in the midst of high-speed testing, “per plan.” When certified, the Ten is expected to be the world’s fastest business jet.
The second Citation Ten test aircraft is scheduled to fly this summer. The first test aircraft is not completely conform-ing because it carries increased test and safety equipment aboard, including an escape hatch in the belly.
Design is frozen on the recently announced midsize Citation Latitude and vendor selection is “85 percent com-plete.” Overall, Thress said the Latitude is “progressing per plan” and that the new avionics system being developed for both the Citation Ten and Citation Latitude–the Garmin G5000–has so far
“exceeded our expectations.” However, Cessna’s new M2, a follow-
on aircraft to the Citation CJ1, is gener-ating the most buzz in Europe right now, Thress said. “The interest in Europe is quite strong,” particularly from Ger-many. Thress said many M2 custom-ers are coming from the ranks of single turboprop owners, and fully 45 percent of M2 orders to date are non-Cessna customers. An M2 fitted with winglets recently began test flights. The M2 fea-tures the Garmin G3000 avionics system that shares much of the functionality of the G5000 being developed for Cess-na’s new larger jets. “They share a lot of commonality” and that has drawn cus-tomers in, Thress said. o
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Vigiplane protects jets from theft and damageby Thierry Dubois
Blue Green Technology is here at EBACE (Stand 1977) exhibit-ing its Vigiplane security system
for parked aircraft. The device, which operates autonomously from the aircraft systems and
does not require certification, immobilizes aircraft through a special nose wheel chock.
Vigiplane can also detect, within a given perimeter, whether any attempt has been made to get into the aircraft or interfere with it. This aspect of its perfor-mance uses infrared sensors and radars. The French company’s CEO, Frédéric Saubade, said it
opted for both sets of detection systems because infrared sen-sor performance degrades in hot environments while radars do not see well in foggy conditions.
Image processing is used to detect movement, with shape anal-ysis applied to avoid false alarms. Data is relayed from the unit to a server via a wireless connec-tion, 3G mobile phone network
or Iridium satellite telephone.The server can be located at
either the customer’s base or at Blue Green Technology’s facil-ities. In the latter case, the cus-tomer can access the photos via a web browser. However, before the aircraft’s crew or airport security is called, human eyes take a look at the detected event.
Such events could include a ground collision with another aircraft or with an airport vehi-cle, the theft of aircraft parts or fuel, or vandalism. Saubade also referred to smugglers who use other people’s aircraft to carry drugs or prohibited goods from one country to another, hiding the contraband inside the hold. Terrorism is a con-cern, too, for some customers. Security issues happen mostly in regions like sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Asia and Rus-sia, according to Saubade.
Vigiplane even provides weather information as a bonus feature, he said. Via three addi-tional sensors, it can warn of an on-coming tropical storm and can also sense possible aircraft movement due to wind gusts.
It took four years and approx-imately $1.3 million to develop Vigiplane, Saubade told AIN. The device was introduced at the MEBA show in Dubai in late 2010 and the company has deliv-ered nearly a dozen units so far.
Vigiplane is now being offered at a reduced price of less than $50,000. “One of our prior-ities this year is to introduce the Vigiplane on the U.S. market,” Saubade said.
The system can be installed in two minutes, according to Bordeaux-based Blue Green Technology, and has enough power to operate autonomously for seven days. The system can be used for aircraft ranging from 45 to 250 feet long. For example, the French government is using it to protect its Airbus A330.
All the equipment can be car-ried, in a pair of suitcases, in an unpressurized cargo hold. As the cases are relatively bulky and weigh more than 60 pounds, operators of light business air-craft may find them difficult to take on board. o
26 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
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E-A-R tackles cabin noise across the spectrum by Thierry Dubois
E-A-R Thermal Acoustics Systems (Stand 2145) is improv-ing acoustic insulation aboard business jets as it endeavors to cut the most annoying cabin noises on a case-by-case basis.
Overall, the best the avia-tion industry has done so far is focus on the speech interference level (SIL). Manufacturers nor-mally present sound pressure levels, measured in dB at SIL, to
indicate how quiet their cabins are. These levels currently are 50 percent lower than they were 10 years ago. However, the dB SIL level in the cabin does not nec-essarily measure actual acoustic
comfort, Brian Joyal, E-A-R’s director of aerospace, defense and rail business, told AIN.
“We are making sound qual-ity better in the cabin by looking at the frequency content of the
noise spectrum; it is more than just reducing an overall noise level measured in dBs,” Joyal said.
The noise spectrum is a com-bination of all noise sources emanating from and around the aircraft. The boundary layer (the air flow on the aircraft’s surface) has a broadband frequency con-tent, while the engines and air-craft systems have rather discrete harmonics. Some actuators also produce discrete harmonics, the noise from which is consid-ered especially annoying. “The frequency content of the noise spectrum is the key to under-standing the cabin’s sound qual-ity,” Joyal said.
E-A-R maps the acoustic power flow in the aircraft, and then chooses the right insula-tion material for the right place. For example, some areas receive structural damping treatment, while other materials act as reflectors of airborne acoustic energy. The U.S. company also has designed mufflers for the air-pressurization system.
The Indianapolis, Indiana-based company’s customers include business jet manufactur-ers and companies specializing in VIP cabin outfitting, such as Comlux, Amac Aerospace and Lufthansa Technik. o
30 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
DAC delivers aircraft data to tablets
DAC International (Stand 1131) has introduced the GDC64 tablet-to-aircraft interface, a small box that delivers air-craft data to devices such as the iPad and Android tablet com-puters and provides iPad bat-tery charging. The GDC64 will be approved for Part 25 aircraft and can accept up to four Arinc 429 inputs, eight other discrete data inputs and serial data from a weather receiver.
The data provided to the GDC64 is then delivered to the tablet computer via a hard-wire connection. So the tablet could, for example, use a highly accurate GPS signal from the aircraft’s avionics and weather data from a Heads Up Technologies XM receiver to overlay moving-map applications on the tablet. DAC expects STCs for installation of the GDC64 in the next two to three months. The company is working with iPad app devel-opers to integrate the GDC64 data with moving-map apps. The GDC64 will retail for about $8,000 plus installation. –B.C.
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Ocean Sky revamping FBO at prime-spot London Luton by Charles Alcock
Business aviation services group Ocean Sky is about to start construction for an FBO complex at London Luton Airport. The new building will replace Ocean Sky’s existing FBO and will be immediately adjacent to its main hangar and engineering shops, with direct access to an enlarged ramp space with capacity for 30 aircraft at a time.
The redevelopment, which will cost up to approximately $13 million, will not be fully completed before the end of August, but the additional ramp space will be available for use during this summer’s London Olympic Games, for which Luton is expected to be a major gateway airport.
The FBO building will include what Ocean Sky claims will be a “luxurious” passenger lounge, concierge services and on-site screening for customs and immi-gration procedures. Ocean Sky CEO Ste-phen Grimes said the facility will give the company, which is also active in aircraft management, maintenance and charter, the ability to double the number of move-ments it handles at Luton within a year of opening the FBO.
“Luton is a prime location for busi-ness aviation in the London area, mainly because it is open 24 hours a day,” Grimes told AIN. “At our current facility, which we knew we would outgrow, we have been operating on an airport stand but we’ve always wanted to have our own apron joined up to our main base. The new facility gives us an FBO, hangar and two aprons–one for live arrivals and depar-tures, and the other next to the buildings. Plus the site is away from the busy main airport terminal.”
Ocean Sky also operates FBOs at Manchester and Prestwick in the UK, and on the Spanish islands of Ibiza and Menorca. It has closed a facility at Valencia on the Spanish mainland because it proved not to be commercially viable. Grimes said both Manchester and Prestwick are exceeding budgets and Ibiza is doing far better than expected. The company is interested in opening another base on the island of Mallorca.
Meanwhile, Ocean Sky’s aircraft management business operates 24 air-craft, about half of which are on its
commercial AOC. Most of these are Bombardier Global Express models and Challengers, as well as the Gulfstream V and 550, plus a new Hawker 4000. The UK-based company also has a charter brokering operation.
“2012 won’t be a particularly exciting year for the industry,” predicted Grimes. “We are slowly coming out of the bad times and the larger aircraft are still
doing better than the smaller ones. The margins are still tight and there will prob-ably be some more casualties because it’s tough out there.” o
www.ainonline.com • May 15, 2012 • EBACE Convention News 31
Ocean Sky is investing almost $13 million in a new FBO complex at London Luton Airport.
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MEBA show to grow at new Dubai venueby Peter Shaw-Smith
The Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show will be staged for the first time at Dubai’s new Al Maktoum Inter-national Airport later this year (December 11-13). Organizers say the new location at what is also known as Dubai World Central will allow plenty of space for growth at a show that in 2010 attracted 338 exhibitors, 55 aircraft and 6,200 trade visi-tors. This year, MEBA will fea-ture new enclaves highlighting helicopters, business airports and VIP aircraft interiors.
Arriving for this week’s EBACE show, MEBA orga-nizer Fairs & Exhibitions (Stand 2341) announced that 60 per-cent of space for the 2012 event
has been sold. “We are preparing for the fifth edition of MEBA to be the biggest yet, and given our new location we are excited about hosting the very first event at Dubai’s Al Maktoum Inter-national Airport,” commented Michele Van Akelijen, aerospace director for F&E Aerospace. “With such minimal travel times
between popular hotel locations and our new venue, we foresee easy access for exhibitors and visitors alike, coming together at the region’s newest and biggest airport complex.”
Located close to the Jebel Ali port and industrial area, Al Maktoum International Air-port is significantly further from the main city center area of Dubai than MEBA’s former site at Dubai International Air-port. However, it is conveniently located from popular hotel loca-tions such as Jumeirah Beach (30 minutes drive) and Dubai Marina (25 minutes). It is also closer to Abu Dhabi, which is fast emerging as a hive of busi-ness aviation activity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Growing Market for Bizav The show’s exhibition and
static display will be staged in what remains for now the only completed terminal build-ing at Al Maktoum Interna-tional Airport. The use of the new airport for the event will likely focus discussion during the show on the vexed ques-tion of when or if business avi-ation will transfer operations from the existing Dubai Inter-national Airports. Other top-ics will include concerns over illegal charter activity in the Arabian Gulf and whether the Middle Eastern bizav fleet will diversify from its current lean-ing toward larger aircraft.
Ali Al Naqbi, chairman of the Middle East Business Aviation
Association (MEBAA), told AIN that he expects this year’s MEBA show to be about 10 percent larger than the 2010 edi-tion. Fairs & Exhibitions orga-nizes the event in partnership with MEBAA.
According to the associa-tion, the region’s business avia-tion market is growing at 10 to 12 percent a year, although pre-cise data are difficult to obtain due to the strong preference for privacy on the part of aircraft owners and operators.
Some 530 private aircraft are registered in the Gulf Coopera-tion Council states, and around 500 more are owned by locals but are registered in Europe or the U.S. for operation in the region. The executive/private charter market in the Middle East is worth more than $500 million annually, estimated Al
Naqbi. “The UAE and Saudi Arabia represent 70 percent of the business, shared 50-50, by market size,” he said.
Slot and parking congestion at Dubai International contin-ues to increase, largely due to unabated growth in airline traffic at the ambitious hub. MEBAA is encouraging the long-term move of business jet operators to Al Maktoum, although clarity on this issue has yet to emerge.
Al Maktoum DelaysIn the wake of serious finan-
cial problems impacting first and foremost state-backed Dubai World development group and its real estate subsidiary Nakheel, Dubai Airports has failed to act decisively over the completion of Al Maktoum International and on the timetable for transferring operations. Al Naqbi said facili-ties are not yet in place to allow such a transfer. “I don’t have a date when [the move will take place],” he said. “It’s a collective decision that will be brought to Sheikh Ahmed [president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Author-ity]. We don’t need to have a very complicated facility. We could [work] with a small terminal.”
Al Naqbi sees cases of busi-ness aircraft operators wait-ing six hours for takeoff slots at Dubai International. In some cases, this is inspiring operators to vote with their feet by moving operations to Al Bateen Exec-utive Airport in Abu Dhabi, a viable alternative to Dubai. These include: Falcon Avia-tion, Al Jaber Aviation, Prestige Jet and Rotana Jet. Among the charter operators expected to be prominent at this year’s MEBA
show, MEBAA expects Saudia Private Aviation to expand its fleet of eight aircraft to around 40 by 2020.
The so-called gray market for illegal charter flights was dis-cussed at a business aviation ses-sion at the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi on April 17, which also tackled the diffi-culty of selling small jets in the region. Citing market analysts, MEBAA has concluded that of the 550 business aircraft based in the Middle East, nearly 90 percent are mid- or large-size jets, while the worldwide average is only 60 percent. o
Ali Al Naqbi, chairman of the Middle East Business Aviation Association
32 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
MEBA 2012, the Middle East’s biennial business aviation show, is expected to be larger than its four previous stagings when it moves to the new Al Maktoum International Airport this December. Organizers expect the proximity to popular destinations to be a draw.
Aviation Events Crowd the Dubai Calendar
The biennial MEBA show is just one of a growing number of aviation events staged in Dubai by Fairs & Exhibitions. On Sep-tember 16 and 17 this year it will hold both the Gulf Aviation Train-ing Event and the Gulf Air Traf-fic Management Event at the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel.
Following MEBA 2012, F&E will organize the Aircraft Interiors Middle East show (Jan. 22-23, 2013), which will be co-located at the Dubai World Trade Cen-tre and run concurrently with the Maintenance, Repair and Over-haul Middle East show.
Then Nov. 17-21, 2013, the main Dubai Airshow is back and this too is due to be staged at Al Maktoum International Airport, with the existing Dubai Airport Expo facility due to be demolished at Dubai International Airport. P.S-S.
This year’s MEBA show is expected to grow by 10 percent over the 2010 edition, which attracted 338 exhibitors, 55 aircraft and 6,200 trade visitors.
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Project LIFE imagines bizjet cabin of the future
Led by AlmaDesign, a Brazil-ian/Portuguese consortium that included Brazilian airframer Embraer (Booth No. 741), hit the cabin design jackpot in March with its Project LIFE ex-ecutive private jet cabin design, winning top prize in the “Vision-ary Concepts” category of the recent Crystal Cabin Awards in Hamburg, Germany.
The cabin concept was devel-oped by AlmaDesign with the team of Amorim Cork Compos-ites, leather specialist Coruo Azul, the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Man-agement (INEGI) and SET engi-neering, all of Portugal, in partnership with Brazilian air-craft manufacturer Embraer (Booth No. 7041). The consor-
tium’s efforts culminated in a cabin mockup in which design is “focused on the use of natural and sustainable materials.”
According to the LIFE team, inspiration for the jet interior and prototype full-scale mockup came from natural structures, based on a symbiotic relation-ship between natural and arti-ficial elements, “providing a harmonious environment where
technology is subtly pervasive [rather than] being imposed on the passengers.”
“Project LIFE is the result of an initial desire to demonstrate our capacity and that of Por-tuguese industry in generating and aggregating new capabilities for innovative and eco-efficient solutions,” said AlmaDesign president Jose Rui Marcelino.
Embraer acted as the interna-
tional consultant for the project by placing its technological development team and its Cen-ter for Interiors Validation at the disposal of the group.
An investment of approxi-mately $2.3 million in Project LIFE was co-financed in Portu-gal by funds from Compete-Qren, a Lisbon-based group created to encourage exploration of new technology and science. –K.J.H.
www.ainonline.com • May 15, 2012 • EBACE Convention News 33
Helicopters join The Jet Business rosterThe Jet Business, the new Lon-
don showroom where would-be business aircraft buyers can eval-uate options, is about to add helicopters to its portfolio. The company is working on the pur-pose-developed software it uses to help buyers select their prefer-ences so it can also incorporate full details of all available rotorcraft.
“We have renderings for an executive helicopter app, which we are now fine-tuning to be ready for launch by the summer,” said The Jet Business founder Steve Varsano. “We can even take the showroom’s Airbus ACJ cabin and fit a helicopter interior inside if one of the OEMs would
like to showcase a new model.”Varsano told AIN that his
central London store has wel-comed several hundred prospec-tive buyers since fully opening in January. “Every client that has walked through our doors has been genuinely interested in the aircraft market and the technol-ogy we are showcasing,” he said. “Some 20 percent of visitors are first-time buyers, but the major-ity of its business is from repeat, referral clients and a rapidly increasing base of new face-to-face introductions.”
At a press briefing last month Varsano said, “The industry is doing fantastically at the top
end of the market, just like real estate.” Refuting the widely held view that the pre-owned market is overloaded with inventory, he estimated that between 5 and 14 percent of existing business air-craft are available for sale at any time among the various types, but in some cases this means there are barely 10 aircraft avail-able worldwide in each category.
Aircraft older than 10 years are moving more slowly due to the greater maintenance and operating costs that they incur. “The year 2000 [for the date of manufacture] is a big line in terms of demand,” Var- sano concluded. –C.A.
This cabin mockup shown at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2012 in Hamburg, Germany was the winner of the Crystal Cabin Award in the Visionary Concepts category.
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The Airbus Corporate Jet Centre (ACJC) is stepping up efforts to offer the latest in TV, on-board Internet and tele-communications technology, as customers are consistently asking for electronics in their aircraft that have become common-place on the ground. The Toulouse-based VIP completion facility (Stand 7070) has reached its target production rate of around four new cabins per year. It is working on new Airbus ACJ interiors and is also offering upgrades and refurbish-ments for all VIP-configured Airbuses.
Trends in customer demand include TV, wireless, high-performance Internet con-nectivity, in-flight use of GSM cell phones and high-definition multimedia interfaces (HDMI), according to the company. In addition, customers are requesting iPad tablets to be used as remote controls for in-flight entertainment, lighting, cabin air temperature, and so forth. “Customers tend to request the gizmos they use at home but
it takes time to have them certified,” Bruno Galzin, head of sales and marketing, told AIN, but there is a log in availability for that technology aboard an aircraft.
This year, ACJC plans to deliver five cabins–all on ACJ319s. The first of them, for 18 passengers, was handed over to operator Comlux in early February. In its forward area, a bedroom features two movable beds –in either two single bed or one double-bed format–that also provide storage. The aft section, an executive zone, has 12 full-flat, electrically actuated cocoon seats, each equipped with 15-inch video screens. ACJC is also touting the “cabin weight-saving plan” it performed to provide this aircraft with extended range.
The telephony system available offers “top-quality sound” with WiFi handsets. It also offers connectivity based on a com-plete SwiftBroadband satcom service. The
video system uses HDMI wiring. Passen-gers in VIP zones enjoy 1080p-standard images, and the forward lounge has a 52-inch full HD display.
ACJC has, so far, received two firm orders for completions for next year; in 2011 it completed three new cabins. Some of the cabins it is manufacturing are designed in-house by ACJC’s resident designer Sylvain Mariat.
In addition to new cabin outfit-ting, the ACJC is seeing its upgrade and refurbishment business growing. For example, it is refurbishing an air-craft with new seats, carpets, and so forth, and it will soon be outfitted with an upgraded satellite communications kit with WiFi and SwiftBroadband for higher-speed Internet service.
By year-end, the company plans to offer Alna V2, a connectivity system that provides a platform for both airborne mobile telephony and Internet services.
According to Galzin, that will help reduce the number of “boxes” on board.
ACJC employs 215 people and is recruiting another 40, so its total work-force should number more than 250 by year-end. The company’s 100,000 sq ft of hangars, on the site of former EADS subsidiary Sogerma, give it capacity for working on six aircraft simultaneously.
The completions house now has a “strong operational link” with Airbus Corporate Jets, a recently formed Airbus business unit. Commercial, program and support activi-ties are regrouped into a single unit, there-fore, Airbus can make complete offerings, including completions, just like other business aircraft manufacturers. o
34 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Airbus Corporate Jet Centre’s in-house designer Sylvain Mariat created a lounge (above) and a bedroom (right) for an Airbus A319-CJ.
French airports seek to boost bizav trafficby Thierry Dubois
Several French airports have flocked to the EBACE show to promote their
facilities and services for business avia-tion. For instance, while Nîmes Airport
may take advantage from the proximity of the Mediterranean coast, Chambéry and Grenoble airports seem to enjoy their location next to the Alps.
Nîmes Airport (Stand 2240), in the south of the country, is exhibiting for the first time. It has large hangars to rent, fol-lowing the departure of their former ten-ants, the French Navy. “They are now available to other users, like general avia-tion,” Jacques Burguière, deputy director of Nîmes Métropole’s economic develop-ment (the owner of the airport), told AIN.
The hangars, which range in size from 30,000 to 50,000 sq ft, might be suitable for use by a training organiza-tion, for instance, or shared by several aircraft owners. Other potential tenants might include maintenance companies or one setting up an FBO at the airport, which has an 8,000-foot runway.
According to Veolia Transport, the operator of the airport, Nîmes is a
cost-effective solution for parking larger business aircraft while their owners spend time on the nearby French Riviera, since its rates are markedly less than those at more prominent Cote d’Azur airports. A VIP lounge and concierge services are available for business aircraft passengers. Nîmes has no dedicated area for crews, but can provide a room for them to pre-pare the next flight.
Business aviation traffic is said to be very seasonal in the south of France. From May to October, many Swiss and British passengers–among others–fly to Nîmes to enjoy their second homes in the region. Last year, business aviation accounted for a total of 424 aircraft movements.
Meanwhile, Grenoble Isère and Chambéry Savoie airports (Stand 956) are exhibiting here at EBACE for the sec-ond year in a row. They are both operated by Vinci Airports.
At Grenoble, a dedicated apron and tow tractor are now available to business aviation. Passengers boarding an aircraft weighing less than 100,000 pounds ben-efit from expedited security checks. The business aviation terminal has recently been refurbished, providing more space and comfort for both passengers and crews, a spokesperson told AIN.
Chambéry Airport has launched a dedicated website for business aviation users. It is available in French, English and Russian. During the winter–Cham-béry’s busiest season–the peak period for business aviation is the Russian New Year in January.
During the 2011-2012 winter sea-son, Grenoble Airport saw an estimated 100-percent increase in business avi-ation traffic–600 aircraft movements. Chambéry recorded 5 percent growth, at 2,000 movements. High-end jets such as Bombardier Globals, large-cabin Gulfstreams, Boeing BBJs and Airbus ACJs account for an increasing number of the visiting aircraft. o
36 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
French airports are seeing increased business aviation traffic. To accommodate its growing number of customers, Nîmes Airport offers a VIP lounge and concierge services.
At Chambéry Savoie Airport, winter is the peak period, with business aircraft and scheduled flights bringing hundreds of passengers heading to neighboring ski resorts.
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38 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Dassault Aviation (Stand 7090) is here at EBACE promot-ing FalconBroadcast, a new ser-vice that will provide operators of Falcon business jets with real-time airborne health monitor-ing. This includes notification of in-flight events, which may require the attention of mainte-nance personnel.
The service will be available initially for Falcon 7X opera-tors in June. For Falcon 900s and Falcon 2000s (if they are equipped with the EASy flight deck, which early variants are not) it will be available “later this year,” said the French manufacturer.
“With FalconBroadcast, aircraft maintenance teams can quickly resolve or even avoid aircraft-on-ground situ-ations,” said Jacques Chauvet, Dassault’s senior vice presi-dent of Falcon worldwide cus-tomer services.
Anticipation is the main benefit for FalconBroadcast, according to Dassault. An overheat event, for instance, can be caused by a valve fail-ure, which the central mainte-nance computer (CMC) will signal via FalconBroadcast. The maintenance technician on the ground can then have a replacement valve supplied to the aircraft’s next destina-tion and a qualified engineer flown out to install it. Previ-ously, maintenance operations did not begin until a techni-cian downloaded the fault his-tory database from the CMC after landing.
With the new service, the operator receives an email alert with filtered information–just the main facts. For more details,
the technician may log on to the Falcon portal, where they will find the event history, time-line and contributing factors. Dassault even suggests possi-ble causes, with their precise locations. The entire process–from filtering to suggestions–is automated.
More than 1,000 pieces of equipment for the Falcon 7X are monitored by integrated maintenance, so identifying rel-evant information is important. “This is why, on the ground, we filter and prioritize the infor-mation received,” said Jérôme Decaix, avionics technical sup-port engineer.
FalconBroadcast uses Hon-eywell’s AFIS, which is the bridge between the aircraft’s CMC and the communications systems. By default, it uses VHF, but when outside VHF range it uses satellite communications–via the ACARS system.
Dassault has been devel-oping FalconBroadcast for a few years, and has used the system during a testing phase that lasted about one year and included 13 aircraft: eight Fal-con 7Xs (since April 2011), four Falcon 2000 LXs (since July 2011) and one Falcon 900 LX (since September 2011). Thanks to this beta test phase, FalconBroadcast’s final ver-sion was improved from the initial concept, said Dassault.
FalconBroadcast costs $19,000 for installation in an in-service Fal-con and includes nine months of use, after which it costs $9,000 per aircraft per year. For a new Fal-con, the option is offered for free, including nine months of use, after which the customer pays $9,000 per aircraft per year. o
Jérôme Decaix, an avionics technical support engineer with Dassault, explained how FalconBroadcast transmits filtered maintenance information while the Falcon is flying.
Ruag, ExecuJet join forces to operate revamped FBOby Liz Moscrop
ExecuJet Aviation and Ruag have announced a new partner-ship to provide handling and support here at Geneva Airport. The companies will jointly oper-ate Ruag’s existing FBO, which has just benefited from a $3 mil-lion remodeling.
The FBO features several dedicated passenger lounges, a crew rest area, workstations and free WiFi throughout. It provides clients with customs, immigration and quarantine, VIP ground transportation and concierge services, as well as de-icing and fueling. ExecuJet will install its dedicated FBO One software in Geneva, enabling the FBO to share data with Execu-Jet’s worldwide network.
“It has long been our plan to expand our presence in West-ern Europe and this is a terrific opportunity for both companies,” said ExecuJet Europe managing director Cedric Migeon. “Geneva is the second busiest business avi-ation airport in Europe so we are expanding at the locations that matter. Also, our Geneva-based [aircraft management] fleet is growing there and this means we have more availability for charter.”
Ruag’s 3,000-sq-ft facility han-dles more than 6,000 movements per year, and has sufficient capac-ity to handle peaks of up to 80 movements per day, with a dedi-cated ramp that includes parking space for up to six aircraft (current
plans see this increasing to 12). ExecuJet has been running its
Zurich FBO for 11 years, in addi-tion to nine other European facil-ities. Nicole Gut, director of ExecuJet’s European FBOs, will oversee the transition alongside Ruag’s general manager, Bernd Heinrich, who assumes overall responsibilities for the manufactur-er’s adjacent maintenance facilities.
The ExecuJet/Ruag FBO is sit-uated on the northwest side of
Geneva Airport, away from the other FBOs on site. It has exten-sive parking space for aircraft and arguably offers more discretion for arriving and departing passengers.
Meanwhile, ExecuJet is con-tinuing to pursue new FBO
opportunities on other continents. It intends to open a new facil-ity in Lagos, Nigeria, with a local partner later this year. Also in the works is a plan for an FBO part-nership in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“There is a clear development strategy to indentify airports that complement our network,” Mark Abbott, group FBO director, told AIN. “We have seen a [traffic] slowdown in Europe but Africa and the Middle East are buoyant and we also looking at opportuni-ties in China and South America.”
ExecuJet also is considering a plan to adopt the audit system developed for FBOs by the U.S. National Air Transport Associ-ation as a way of ensuring con-sistent service standards across
its growing network. “We don’t give our brand away lightly, so we go through a feasibility stage [with prospective FBO part-ners],” said Abbott. “We don’t want to be at locations with the wrong partners.” o
With a recently completed remodeling project, ExecuJet will now join with Ruag to provide business aviation passengers top-tier amenties here at Geneva Airport.
Stratafleet.com web portal promises precise bookingsby Amy Laboda
Stratajet has unveiled a new web portal presenting aircraft charter availability and pricing in Europe. The UK-based com-pany claims that new Stratafleet platform, which is due to go live August 1, will calculate char-ter quotes more efficiently and accurately than through existing systems.
Jonny Nicol, CEO of Strata-jet, said Europe’s charter indus-try is inefficient and that he is determined to fix the problem. “We know our pricing is accu-rate because we’ve been so care-ful to enter the data,” he told an EBACE press conference “We used a double-blind method by
which the system could check itself for inaccuracies before we ever use the data.
“Our software differs from a typical broker’s program or online charter marketplace because we
will not provide an estimate,” said Nicol. “We process 14 key pricing elements and apply proprietary computer algo-rithms to arrive at a flight price that will be completely accurate. We are so confident in our pricing engine that we will refund the charter com-pany the difference if the price charged to the customer turns out to be inaccurate.”
Stratajet will charge just a few euros a day for using Stratafleet–significantly less than a tradi-tional broker charges to book a flight. Stratafleet will also monitor dead legs for its char-ter customers and aims to help companies fill those legs quickly.
Nicol’s vision is that one day Stratafleet pricing will allow charter legs to be posted next to airline fares in existing com-mercial pricing engines and pur-chased with one or two clicks of a mouse by the end user. o
CEO of Stratajet Jonny Nicol and COO Olivia Scarlett expect their charter pricing web portal to go live on August 1.
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40 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Medaire joins HBC support offeringHawker Beechcraft has added
MedAire’s medical safety pro-gram to its SupportPlus main-tenance and parts service plan for new Hawker and Beechcraft aircraft. Owners that sign up for SupportPlus will receive an addi-tional four years of MedLink
membership, recurrent training vouchers and annual refurbish-ment of their aircraft first-aid kits. This augments the current MedAire membership entitle-ment that HBC provides to new aircraft owners.
U.S.-based Medaire (Stand
354) is also promoting its HealthMap 2012 tool here at EBACE. The map offers com-panies a visual representation of the medical risks present in countries all over the world, as well as providing a country-spe-cific health risk rating.
Earlier this year Medaire intro-duced a new “variable risk” cate-gory, which applies to countries where the level of medical risk in the major cities is low or mod-erate, but in other areas is high. This level was applied to all the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] countries, plus Argentina, Azerbaijan, Chile, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Peru, Philippines,
Thailand and Vietnam.In the BRIC countries, the
level of health risk is often determined by the availability or accessibility of adequate medi-cal care. In China, for example, pre-hospital care is an emerg-ing concept, and transportation to a hospital may not be read-ily available. The concept of dis-ease and approach to treatment can differ from Western coun-tries, and accessing care may prove difficult because of lan-guage barriers, the lack of med-ical specialization and very busy medical structures. To cater for customers traveling in China International SOS recently opened a new clinic in Tianjin, its fifth in the country. –L.M.
Kick off trip plans for Euro 2012
Business jet operators head-ing for next month’s Euro 2012 football championship in Poland and the Ukraine will face access problems if they don’t book slots early. This was the warning from Jetex Flight Support, whose international network includes a facility with a lounge in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. “We are seeing an increasing demand for the championships,” said Samer Mansour, Jetex’s regional direc-tor for the CIS and Eastern Europe. “We expect an addi-tional 1,000 to 1,500 flights to fly into Poland and Ukraine.”
The Dubai-based group’s business development manager for Europe, Mariya Vynohra-dova, urged operators not to delay in seeking help with flight planning and also to book accommodation in advance.
Last year, Jetex launched a new FBO partnership in Shan-non, Ireland, where operators and their passengers can com-plete U.S. immigration and cus-toms procedures before flying directly into U.S. airports, as if their flight were domestic. In 2009, Jetex opened a new FBO at Paris Le Bourget Airport and now claims to handle 18 percent of all movements there.
Jetex CEO Adel Mardini told AIN he is still looking at other expansion opportunities in Europe and didn’t rule out mak-ing an announcement here at EBACE. “The target is to have between 10 and 15 FBOs, with a minimum of two announced this year,” he said. “We like to be in crowded locations where we can prove ourselves.” –N.M.
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42 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
328 Support stakes claim on 328JET makeoversby Kirby J. Harrison
In addition to its broad-based cabin interiors work, over the past half-decade 328 Support Services has built itself a niche in the market for an executive and private aircraft conversion from the Dornier 328JET. Branded the 328DBJ (Dornier Business Jet), a full-scale, cutaway mockup is on display at the company’s exhibit here at EBACE (Stand 1913).
With a ready supply of the twinjet airliners sitting in storage, 328 Support Services can afford to cherry pick among the low-time, twin-engine aircraft in good condition at a cost of $5 million to $8 million. And for another $4 million to $6 million for a major executive interior upgrade, the customer has “an elegant air-plane” with a cabin roughly the size of a new Embraer Legacy 650 at approximately half the cost. 328 Support refers to the 328DBJ as “a bespoke luxury.”
The company, based at Mu-nich Executive Airport in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, in-troduced the 328DBJ in late
2010 as a replacement for the earlier Envoy version, with a longer cabin: 10 meters long, 2.15 meters wide and 1.8 meters high (33 feet by 7 feet by 6 feet). The 328DBJ was certified in June 2011. According to 328 Support, there are 17 Envoys and two 328DBJs in service and “two more orders are pending.”
According to sales support manager Kim Fuller, among the most recent deliveries are an executive 328DBJ and two 328DBJs in shuttle configura-tion for an African operator.
The 328DBJ is typically configured for 12 passengers, cruises at 400 knots at 35,000 feet, and with optional long-range auxiliary fuel system has a range of 2,000 nm.
But 328 Support is no one-trick pony. The company is a type certificate holder and with its sister company 328 Design, is expanding the com-pany’s market reach well beyond the 328DBJ. It has just won a major cabin refurbishment job
on a Gulfstream IV and has been awarded contracts to sup-ply galleys for executive Boeing Business Jets and a Boeing 767.
A spokesman 328 Sup-port can do elements of cabin design, reconfiguration and refurbishment on jets as large as the ACJ330 or ACJ340 or as small as a helicopter. In addition to aircraft mods and interior reconfiguration, 328 Support offers a variety of products, including structural parts, seat tracks, fuel tanks, control cables and electronic harnesses. 328 Support is EASA Part 21J design-, Part 21G pro-duction- and Part 145 mainte-nance approved.
In addition, another sis-ter company, Jet Engineer-ing Technical Support (JETS), located at Bournemouth Air-port on England’s south coast, has upgraded its paint hangar and is capable of doing exterior paint on the 328DBJ.
At EBACE, 328 Support is sharing an exhibit booth with Jet Engineering Technical Sup-port, as well as 328 Design. 328 Support also has a concession on the stand for business asso-ciate Visionnaire, an Italian designer and builder of high-end home furniture now moving into aircraft interiors. o
Embraer invests $200M to support bizjet line
In 2004, the entire Embraer business jet fleet consisted of a single airplane, the Legacy 600. A year later it rolled out the Lin-eage 1000, an executive version of the E190 airliner, and that same year unveiled plans for the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 and announced its goal of becoming a major player in the business aviation market.
Eight years later, the Brazil-ian airframer has more than 500 business jets in service worldwide and to date has invested more than $200 million in its Customer Support Integrated Solution to service and support that fleet.
“Just selling airplanes doesn’t make you a success,” said Edson Mallaco, vice president of cus-tomer support and services at a recent media briefing. “You must service and support what you sell.”
Embraer now has more than 60 service centers worldwide, 12 of which have come on line since EBACE 2011. The company’s five Embraer-owned centers in Brazil, France and the U.S. are among that number, including a new company-owned center in Sorocaba, Brazil, that is expected to begin operations in 2013.
Nayak in Frankfurt, Germany, and Milan, Italy, are approved
centers for the Legacy 1000 and the Legacy 600 and 650 series. The center at Jet Aviation in Mos-cow opened in March and already has $1.4 million in stock on site. A center at Altenrhein, Switzer-land, will serve Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 owners and opera-tors and is scheduled to open this year. Another new location is at Kaduna Airport in Nigeria, which is scheduled to open by August to provide service and support for the Legacy 600s and the new 650.
Further adding to its net-work, Embraer has established a centralized customer support center with 24/7 availability. According to Mallaco, the cen-ter is “fully dedicated to exec-utive aviation and staffed by executive aviation specialists.”
Embraer has also expanded its network of field support representatives (FSOs) who are integrated into the service cen-ter network and the new cus-tomer support center. There are 13 FSOs responsible for Europe and the Middle East, a number that is expected to reach 19 in 2013.
A new customer account manager concept has been imple-mented in Europe and the Mid-dle East, and will be expanded to other regions throughout 2012.
Parts are a point of focus and further investment has been made in stocks at warehouses in France, Singapore and the U.S. as well as in seven distri-bution centers worldwide and in on-site stocks at 43 authorized service centers. The effort has also included partnerships with global shippers such as UPS in the U.S., CEVA Logistics in the Middle East and Menlo in Sin-gapore. By December this year, Embraer expects to have $375 million in stock items spread among the seven distribution centers. “And we will have a dedicated material and logistics group in place a year from now,” added Mallaco.
Keeping up with the new world of instant connectivity, Embraer has also embarked on programs that include iPad apps and an improved customer rela-tionship web portal as well as maintenance tracking.
“We have also not neglected customer training for the aircraft we sell,” said Mallaco. There are full-flight simulators in place in Paris, France, Burgess Hill in the UK and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Others are in the U.S., in Dallas, Houston and St. Louis. In São Paulo, full-flight simulators for the Phenom 100
and Phenom 300 is expected to open shortly.
To further build a close customer relationship, Embraer plans to host seven operators’ conferences and two roundtables worldwide, among them one this month in Paris and another in October in Dubai.
The company has also created flight operations engineering courses for Phenom customers in North and Latin America. This year there will be courses for Phenom customers in Europe and the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions, and for Legacy 600 and 650 owners worldwide.
The efforts by Embraer in service and support are appar-ently bearing fruit. According to Embraer Executive Jets direc-tor of MRO centers Jacques Blondeau, the Embraer-owned service centers in Mesa, Ari-zona, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, recently received the Diamond Award, granted by the FAA for actively participating in its aviation technician train-ing program. “This is an impor-tant milestone that reassures all our Phenom and Legacy execu-tive jet owners about the quality of the work and skill of the air-craft technicians at our service centers,” he concluded. –K.J.H.
Dark veneer cabinetry and a wine-colored carpet in the 328DBJ provide pops of color in what would otherwise be a rather vanilla cabin.
The 328 Support Services makeover of the lavatory of the Dornier 328JET includes a clean and well-appointed lavatory that offers a surprising amount of storage space.
Embraer’s service center at OGMA, Portugal, is one of more than 60 facilities worldwide.
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44 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
StandardAero serves Euro clients in the U.S.by Kirby J. Harrison
StandardAero’s European stra tegy is anything but standard. According to senior vice president of business aviation Scott Taylor, the maintenance, repair and overhaul provider looked at the possibility of expanding its operation into Europe about two years ago but rejected the idea. “There was a lot of competition over there already,” he explained, “and from our perspective, adding more capacity where there was already an overcapacity wasn’t a good idea.”
So the Phoenix, Arizonabased company (Stand 671) developed the idea of creating global service partnerships with established companies in Europe for the mutual advantage of all involved on both sides of the ocean.
One example is the relationship with TAG Aviation Europe that “allows a seamless transition” for StandardAero customers flying in Europe or for TAG customers operating in North America. Working with TAG to provide engine support, Taylor said StandardAero has discovered it can provide an engine overhaul
in about half the time required by many shops in Europe.
One of the advantages enjoyed by StandardAero’s European partners is certification. StandardAero has organizational designation authorization from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to provide certification at its locations in Los Angeles; Springfield, Illinois; and Marysville, Tennessee. “We can do both EASA [European Aviation Safety Agency] and FAA certification simultaneously in half the time of most European facilities,” said Taylor.
At its facilities in Augusta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Omaha, Nebraska; and Springfield, Ohio, StandardAero does light/medium to largecabin refurbishment at various levels. “Anything you want done in a cabin we can do at our Springfield center,” said Taylor.
And there is some overlap with Associated Air Center (AAC) in Dallas which, like StandardAero, is a Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) company.
AAC has been focused on completion and refurbishment of executive airplanes in the singleaisle category for years but now has returned to larger airliner work and its first contract is to outfit a green Airbus ACJ330 for a Middle Eastern customer. “We’ve also made some investments in extending a hangar to accommodate the larger airplanes,” said AAC vice president and general manager Troy Jonas.
Both the Dallas and Springfield facilities have cabinetry and upholstery shops and will share resources, “depending on the workload.”
Most of StandardAero’s
facilities also provide avionics repair and upgrades. In fact, AAC recently completed the incorporation of a service bulletin and kit for a Class3 electronic flight bag on the Boeing Business Jet. “We worked directly with the Boeing, CMC and Carlisle Interconnect Technologies engineering teams in the early provisions installation STC and the latest LRU installation and activation STC,” said Jonas.
In the engine world, StandardAero moved its Honeywell TFE731 major overhaul (up to and including hot section) from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Springfield after consulting a customer
advisory board. “Our customers really want a true onestop shop,” said Taylor, “where they can get engine work, avionics, maintenance and overhaul and major refurbishment work done, in part or completely.
“We’ve branded it “Complete Care,” a nosetotail resource for operators to reduce their down time and improve their bottom line.”
In Winnipeg, Canada, where StandardAero maintains a 162,000sqft facility supporting the General Electric CF34 series and CFM657B, the company celebrated delivery of its 1,000th GE engine. o
Custom Control launches LED cabin lightsCustom Control Concepts doesn’t
claim to be the biggest, but is quietly going about solidifying a claim to being the best. The U.S. cabin electronics specialist comes to EBACE 2012 (Stand 883) with a hefty contract from executive aircraft outfitter L3 Platform Integration (Stand 1765) to provide the cabin management system and highdefinition, digital inflight entertainment for a headofstate 7478 greenaircraft completion.
According to vice president of business operations Serae Jemera, Custom Control continues to work closely with the Waco, Texas outfitter “to ensure that each custom switch panel, highdefinition monitor and touchscreen menu is exactly what the client envisions.”
To bolster its presence at EBACE, Custom Control is announcing the launch of a new, allLED Spectrum line of cabin lighting with an integrated controller that eliminates
the need for separate control boxes. Not only does it allow a choice through the entire color spectrum, it can be easily reconfigured to meet passenger preference.
Jemera emphasized the degree of customization available in the company’s cabin management system. While it specializes in single and twinaisle airliner conversions to executive use, it has installed more than 130 CMS packages in more than 130 aircraft, from Boeing 747s to helicopters, adapting each system to customer requirements.
Equally important, said marketing coordinator Austin Campbell, is that Custom Control is known for is ability to create systems that will interface with equipment from other manufacturers. “We’re the numberone integrator out
there,” he stated, “from window shades to controlling the potable water supply.”
The iPlane app is prominently featured at the Custom Control exhibit. The wireless app allows passengers to control all aspects of the cabin through any Apple device. It also allows a passenger to view any video stored in the entertainment system on an Apple device. Simultaneous streaming is possible to as many as 10 devices per access point. And, said Campbell, it will even allow the user to upload a sunset photograph taken on vacation and match that color in the cabin LED lighting system. Currently in development is a similar app for Android smartphones and tablets.
Campbell emphasized not only Custom Control’s ability customize, but the fact that it has onsite testing capability with fully a certified vibration, electromagnetic interference, temperature, flammability and crash safety laboratory.
Custom Control claims to have been one of the first cabin electronics vendors to offer remote systems diagnostics. But, according to Campbell, with the system it doesn’t get much to diagnose, thanks to the company’s policy of assembling every cabin electronic system in full in its integration lab before it goes out. There, it goes through extensive testing and then the owner of the airplane is invited to come in and “play” with it. Not until it has completed that phase of testing is a system packed and shipped for installation. –K.J.H.
The hangar at StandardAero’s sister company in Dallas, Texas, Associated Air center will soon see the arrival of a green ACJ330 for completion.
Along with the CMS and in-flight entertainment systems from Custom Control Concepts come a broad array of choices:
• High definition monitors up to 70 inches;
• Dolby Digital 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound;
• Audio/video on demand;
• SkyShow real-time 3-D moving map in any language;
• Expandable media storage units;
• iPad, iPhone, iPod docking;
• Custom-built, lightweight composite speakers; and
• the iPlane app.
An ACJ319 cabin lounge features Custom Control Concepts’ ability to provide full cabin electronics customization, from the cabin management system to control panels.
Farnborough terminal is optimized for Olympicsby Amy Laboda
TAG Farnborough Airport (Stand 7020) has revealed fur-ther improvements to its dis-tinctive terminal building. The work has been completed in time for the London Olympic Games, for which it expects to be one of the main gateways for business aviation.
In the past 10 years the air-port has invested more than $160 million in its infrastruc-ture, and it believes that this is paying off. In the latest Interna-tional FBO Survey published in the May edition of AIN, TAG Farnborough achieved the high-est average score for the sixth consecutive year.
The terminal improvements enhance passenger flow and the comfort and privacy of passengers during busy peri-ods. Most of the redesign and enhancements have been made in the crew room and arriv-als lounge. The crew room now contains state-of-the-art snooze
cabins, where crew can rest with-out being disturbed by noise or extraneous light. It also is equipped with WiFi, computer access, a drink and snack bar, comfortable seating, satellite television and broad library of books and movies.
Sophie Lesnoff, the compa-ny’s customer services manager, described the passenger arrivals lounge as “all-new” and added, “We are now able to offer a
superior level of comfort, pri-vacy and service.”
A new departure lounge, complete with bar and comfort-able seating, is also in the works. As always, Farnborough Airport enables private business jet pas-sengers direct ramp access via their private vehicles if they pre-fer not to use the lounge facilities.
Meanwhile, Geneva-based TAG Aviation Europe has appointed Manuel Manas as gen-eral manager at TAG Aviation España in Madrid. Manas has held senior management posi-tions in Spanair. The former aero-space engineer will be responsible for the company’s Spanish aircraft management, charters, FBOs and maintenance. o
46 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
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z Richardson Is New V-P at Yankee PacificYankee Pacific Aerospace (YPA) has appointed Rick
Richardson as vice president of business development, while Harvey Ticlo succeeds Richardson as president of YPA’s Cabin Innovations division. Richardson will continue to support the division in marketing and sales. Ticlo, with more than 20 years of experience, including five in aircraft maintenance and modification facilities in the U.S., has worked on completions on Boeing BBJ and Bombardier Global Express aircraft.
z Lufthansa Technik Renews Pact with AirbusLufthansa Technik has renewed its general agreement to
provide interiors and finishing for Airbus VIP and executive jets, including the ACJ318. So far, the company has delivered 15 ACJ318 cabin completions from it facility in Hamburg, Germany, and two ACJ318s from its U.S. subsidiary, BizJet International, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Three more aircraft are scheduled for completion in Tulsa.
In 2010 and 2011, Lufthansa Technik (Stand 443) completed two ACJ319s and two A340-300s and delivered them to the German government. Currently, it has several Airbus aircraft for private customers in its order book.
The company has also extended its cooperation with Bombardier Aerospace on cabin management and in-flight entertainment system installation to the Learjet 70 and Learjet 75 models. The “nice HD” system includes personal HD video at most seats with either 7- or 10-inch lightweight pop-up displays.
The system includes USB, Apple computer and HDMI interfaces with encoding and streaming via Ethernet. The multifunction media center is able to play back two applications simultaneously in HD, yet it is smaller than a typical DVD player. Its open architecture allows for a variety of configurations, including third-party solutions, according to Lufthansa Technik. Even so, the company said, the nice system meets digital rights management requirements.
z German Connection Clicks with Signature Signature Flight Support (Stand 827) announced at
EBACE yesterday that it has signed an agreement with Berlin Schönefeld Airport to provide supervisory handling at the airport’s general aviation terminal, beginning in June. The FBO facility will offer private crew and passenger lounge areas, as well as on-site customs and immigration. The airport is due to be renamed Berlin Brandenburg International in a few weeks.
The U.S.-based FBO chain also announced that its Frankfurt facility now provides fueling services through Rheinland Air Service, in a joint endeavor to enhance the customer experience there. The Signature facility at Germany’s Frankfurt Main International Airport opened in December 2011.
z Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Names New Manager Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport (Stand 1943) has
named Yousif Hassan Al Hammadi as acting general manager, with immediate effect. Until recently, Yousif was chairman of the organizing committee of Abu Dhabi Air Expo. He is also the president of the recently formed Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association branch in the United Arab Emirates.
Al Bateen, which is operated by Abu Dhabi Airports Company, saw business aviation traffic grow 11 percent in 2011. During the first four months of 2012, traffic increased by 26 percent compared with the same period last year.
z Le Bourget FBO Equips for Widebody BizjetsThe Advanced Air Support FBO at Paris Le Bourget has
purchased equipment to handle widebody business jets such as Boeing 777s and Airbus A340s. The equipment consists of two air-starter units, a container dolly, a goods lift, de-icing equipment and a medical lift for wheelchair access. In addition, a new hangar dedicated to this size of aircraft is being built and will open by the end of the year. Advanced Air Support is hosted under the Jet Services group umbrella (Stand 148) here at EBACE.
First Class Cars Ready for Olympic Service
Business aviation ground transportation specialist First Class Cars has set up a base at Farnborough Airport. The new operation has been estab-lished to be ready to respond to increased demand expected from this sum-mer’s Olympic Games and the Farnborough Air Show. It also will be working closely with the nearby Aviator Hotel to provide a convenient connection to TAG’s terminal building.
First Class Cars is based at London Luton Airport, but also has a base at Stansted Airport. “The decision to open at Farnborough, the UK’s only dedi-cated business aviation airport demonstrates our continued focus on the ex-ecutive aviation sector,” said managing director Graham Coate. n
Geneva Airpark is adding items to its service menuby Thierry Dubois
After recording “more than 4,000 aircraft movements” last year, up 12 percent from 2010, Geneva Airpark (Stand 2064) is here at EBACE looking to attract more business aircraft
operators. The handling ser-vices company is based at a three-year-old building next to the C3 general aviation ter-minal at Geneva International Airport. The terminal is con-spicuous thanks to its large size and distinctive yellow trusses above its roof.
Simple maintenance is being
added to the offer this year as well. Sophie Mabire, general manager, told AIN at the show yesterday that this means ser-vicing oxygen and fluids. She added that other companies
could perform more mainte-nance operations, as long as they keep the hangar tidy.
Last year, Geneva Airpark introduced water and toilet ser-vices on the ramp, as well as WiFi in the hangar and on the ramp. Also relatively new are on-site linen and dishwashing–the clean materials can be delivered
back directly to the aircraft, Mabire said.
The company welcomes both annual customers (with sold-out capacity now, at 30 aircraft contracts, not all being in Geneva at one time) and daily clients. The hangar is able to house two Boeing 747s simultaneously, although it usually houses smaller air-craft, the record number being 26 business jets during last winter’s period of severe cold.
The company does not offer anti-icing at present but endeavors to keep the jets inside the heated hangar as long as possible. “With good coordination with the crew, we need to tug them out only 30 minutes before departure,” explained Mabire.
Geneva Airpark has 12 employees, 10 of them directly involved in operations. It has 107,000 sq ft of hangar space, as well as 75,000 sq ft of ramp space, 50,000 sq ft of office space and 145 car-parking positions. o
Geneva Airpark conducts business from a building adjacent to the C3 general aviation terminal here at Geneva International Airport. Business grew 12 percent in 2011.
Jet Aviation ok’d to fly Phenom to St. Tropez
Jet Aviation (Stand 7040) has secured authorization from the French authorities to fly the Embraer Phenom 300 into Saint-Tropez La Môle Inter-national Airport in the south of France, the first air charter operator to gain such approval.
“With summer just around the corner, we are delighted to offer our Phenom 300 cus-tomers quick and expedi-ent access to Saint Tropez,” said Claudio Peer, Jet Avia-tion vice president of aircraft
management and charter sales for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. “The Phenom 300 holds a lot of appeal for our style-conscious customer base and is ideal for shorter-range flights within Europe and Northern Africa.”
Diverse FleetJet Aviation’s European char-
ter fleet consists of a variety of aircraft, including three Cita-tion Bravos, a Citation Excel, a Phenom 300, a Dassault
Falcon 2000 and 900 EX and two Gulfstream G550s.
In addition, the compa-ny’s Dusseldorf MRO facil-ity announced that it has performed the first medevac conversion of an Embraer Leg-acy 600, which will serve for both medevac, with four patient stretcher systems, and as a VIP charter aircraft accommodating up to 14 passengers.
Jet Aviation Dusseldorf is an accredited center of Excel-lence for Embraer aircraft. The facility has three hangars total-ing 6,400 sq m (66,100 sq ft) and holds repair station approv-als from the European Aviation Safety Agency and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. –B.C.
www.ainonline.com • May 15, 2012 • EBACE Convention News 47
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Iacobucci shows new galley, seat
Iacobucci HF (Stand 167) is rolling out its ATS Galley Cart here at the EBACE show. The sleek, modern cart was devel-oped in collaboration with BMW Group DesignworksUSA, and combines structural optimization and weight-saving design with an array of customization options.
The Italian company and BMW Group DesignworksUSA previously partnered to create Iacobucci’s new VIP seat model line, which is also on display here at EBACE.
Iacobucci used innovative materials-testing procedures and assembly processes in developing the ATS Cart, and the company employs advanced supply chain quality controls during produc-tion to ensure quality and on-time delivery to customers.
“I am very proud of the new Iacobucci HF Galley Cart, and I am confident it meets the rigorous demands of weight saving, functionality and robust-ness to ensure its useful applica-tion aboard aircraft around the world for many years to come,” said Lucio Iacobucci, president
and CEO of Iacobucci HF. “For the new Iacobucci air-
craft trolley system, we’ve brought the style, fit and fin-ish that customers expect to find in premium environments at home to enhance their on-board experience,” said Lau-renz Schaffer, president, BMW Group DesignworksUSA. “Tra- ditional galley carts used in the cabin resemble the rugged, battered cargo that’s loaded beneath the aircraft, and do lit-tle to create a welcoming sta-tion for passengers to choose their meals or perhaps shop for duty free.” –J.W.
Iacobucci HF teamed with BMW DesignworksUSA to develop this VIP seat line for corporate aircraft.
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A Blackhawk milestone: 375th PT6A upgradeby Amy Laboda
Blackhawk (Stand 483) has signed a deal for its 375th aircraft performance-improvement upgrade, as a consequence making the Waco, Texas-based company one of the largest non-OEM buyers of new Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) tur-boprop engines in the world.
Blackhawk signed the contract with Aerodynamics of Douglas, Isle of Man, for its XP42A Cessna Grand Caravan upgrade. The XP42A features an 850-shp PWC PT6A-42A engine and a 1,000-hour, no-calendar-limit PWC warranty. The system also includes a wide-chord, 100-inch-diameter Hartzell four-blade propeller; composite cowling and high-efficiency inlet duct; a 40-percent larger oil cooler; four-point engine mount ring assembly; engine mount isolators; engine hose kit; Blackhawk Hawkeye DigiLog engine gauges; and Frakes exhaust stacks.
“Overhaul shops certainly sharpen their pencils when they hear that an owner is interested in one of our upgrades but, really, how can they compete?” said Jim Allmon, Blackhawk’s president and CEO. “Our engines are new, and when the con-version is complete, the owner has an air-craft with much improved performance
capability. The XP42A Grand Caravan conversion changes the mission profile of the aircraft completely. It shortens climb to altitude by 50 percent, increases mtow by 300 pounds and true airspeed by nearly 30 knots. The aircraft’s takeoff run is 40 per-cent shorter. Imagine what you can do!”
The company has sold 16 conversions since October 2011, according to Allmon, nine of them going to skydiving oper-ations. “Skydiving operations are find-ing that they can increase their business by nearly 25 percent because they can fly more loads. That time-to-climb reduction is really paying off for them,” said Allmon.
Blackhawk provides a 3,600-hour TBO or 5,000-hour TBO (for quali-fied operators) with a qualified trend monitoring program. Documentation includes a flight manual supplement with full flight test-certified performance and maintenance manuals. In addition, Blackhawk offers full technical support for the life of the aircraft.
In another EBACE contract signing, Blackhawk inked a deal for one of its XP61 packages. The customer is South Coast Air Charter, upgrading a King Air 200. Blackhawk’s partner in the
UK, MCA Aviation of Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, will install two new PWC PT6A-61 engines in the aircraft, each rated at 850 shp.
Customers receive prepaid enroll-ment in Camp Systems’ aircraft mainte-nance tracking program and The Trend Group’s turbine trend analysis program. The performance advantages of the XP61 upgrade include an improved rate of climb with lower fuel consumption, a higher single-engine service ceiling and an increase in true airspeed. o
Summer is just around the corner, and Jet Aviation will be ready with approval from French authorities to fly charter passengers in a Phenom 300 to Saint-Tropez La Môle International Airport.
Blackhawk president and CEO Jim Allmon, center, signed a deal for one of its XP42A Cessna Caravan upgrades with Martin Courage, left, of Aerodynamics Ltd. Joining the festivities is John Saabas, president of Pratt & Whitney Canada. Engine-upgrade specialist Blackhawk is among the largest non-OEM buyers of PWC PT6As.
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Airline-style strategy pays off for GlobeAir
Austrian charter company GlobeAir is to take delivery of its eleventh Cessna Citation Mustang today, making it the largest operator of the type in the world. The company has 29 percent of the entry-level jet segment market share in Europe, and is aiming to push that figure up to 55 percent over the next two years.
“The most asked ques-tion for us is, ‘Do you make
money?’” said GlobeAir CEO Bernhard Fragner. “In 2006 there were thousands of start-ups with ambitious business plans saying operating these aircraft was like having a cash-printing machine. We became profitable in 2011 and will con-tinue to grow our revenues.”
Airline-style Business ModelGlobeAir owns half of its
aircraft, with private investors owning the other 50 percent. Fragner said that four of the fleet came directly from Cessna, while the remainder were sourced from the used market and have fewer than 200 hours. He added, “We expect to see lots of consolidation in Europe over the next couple of years and survivors will be those who are operating according to economies of scale.”
The company’s business mod-el is based on that of an airline. It operates one type of aircraft, as well as having its own in-house
maintenance facility. According to COO Claudio Bruno, a three-year inspection on a Mustang costs €50,000, compared with €150,000 to €200,000 on a Cita-tion Bravo, for example.
New Jet CardsThe operator also launched
two new jet card products at EBACE. Dubbed “Fix” and “Flex,” customers can buy a membership for €1,000, with options to pay for 25 or 50 hours flying time to first- or second-tier destinations. Depending on their chosen card, they will wait no more than 12 hours for an air-craft, and have a four- to eight-hour window in which to fly.
So what does the future hold for the Austrian operator? Bruno pointed out that, given its range and the impending advent of Cessna’s new light jet, the Citation M2, there are limits to the versa-tility of the Mustang. He said the company may look to larger air-craft such as the Citation CJ1+ to expand its capabilities. –L.M.
48 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
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Nextant eyes new remanufacturing targetNextant Aerospace expects
to deliver more than 30 of its 400XTs by the end of 2012, according to CEO Kenn Ricci. At an EBACE press conference yesterday, Ricci insisted that the U.S. company “remanufactures” Hawker Beechcraft 400A/XPs, rather than simply converting them. “That’s truly the difference between us and what Hawker Beechcraft has contracted Sierra Industries to do to create the 400XPR,” he declared.
The remanufacturing to which Ricci referred includes a com-plete teardown of the aircraft in a production facility, with a subse-quent rebuild and upgrade using Williams FJ44-3AP engines, improving fuel consumption by more than 30 percent. Aero-dynamically improved engine nacelles on newly designed mounts, and other aerodynamic refinements, are also installed.
Nextant then upgrades the cockpit avionics with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 flat-panel dis-plays, including associated avion-ics and controls and an on-board maintenance diagnostic system. Available options include IFIS (integrated flight information system) and XM Satellite Nexrad radar. The result is an aircraft
that outperforms its progenitor and several other competing air-craft, and has a lower cost both to acquire and to operate.
New Project?“We think we have the for-
mula for determining whether an airframe is ripe for remanu-facture,” explained Ricci. “And even though we feel that, with 605 Hawker Beechcraft 400A/XP
airframes out there, we’ve got plenty of depth to this project to sustain us for a while, we have identified another airframe that we think is a good candidate for the kind of remanufactur-ing that we do,” he added. “We should be ready to announce our next project at NBAA 2012, in Orlando,” hinted Ricci, refer-ring to the U.S. bizav show to be held in October. –A.L.
cheers to revitalizing the falcon 50Claude Alber, left, Rockwell Collins, and Franck Madignier, TAG Avia-tion president, toast a deal to upgrade a pair of Falcon 50s with Pro Line 21 avionics. The upgrade will include FMS and WAAS GPS.
z MHS Aviation Has 30-Seaters for CharterMunich, Germany-based operator MHS Aviation is here at EBACE
2012 (Stand 749) promoting its renewed portfolio of aircraft, including its recent acquisition of two pre-owned Dornier 328-100 turboprops, each seating 32 passengers. “For the last 12 months, we have seen an increase in the demand for group travel of up to 30 passengers,” said Frank Steitz, director of charter sales.
The two 328s are available for charter and wet lease. All the pilots, flight attendants and ground staff, including the director of flight operations and the director of training, have been sourced from IOSA-certified operators, said Steitz.
MHS Aviation operates 11 aircraft in total. The other fixed-wing aircraft are five Learjets–two of them in air-ambulance configuration. The helicopter fleet is composed of two AgustaWestland A109 light twins, a Eurocopter AS350 BE light single and one Bell 206L LongRanger.
z CRS Marks 30 Years in Bizav with iPad GiveawayU.S.-based CRS Jet Spares is celebrating its 30th year in
business aviation here at the EBACE show this year by giving away an iPad to one lucky visitor, who will be selected from those who drop a business card off at the company’s exhibit (Stand 428). The winner will be announced at the stand today at 4 p.m. “It gives us the opportunity to reward our loyal customers,” explained CRS founder and CEO Armando Leighton Jr.
CRS was recently approved by Hawker Beechcraft as an authorized supplier of aftermarket parts to support operators with legacy aircraft. The company has started aggressive global expansion in Europe, Asia and South America.
z Ocean Sky Expands with Menorca FBOUK-based business aviation services group Ocean Sky Jet
Centre (Stand 1669) has announced the purchase of Menorca’s Mahon FBO, becoming the sole private jet handling provider on the island. The purchase will enhance Ocean Sky’s ability to provide aircraft supervision in Menorca and increase its movement on the island to some 1,000 per year, according to the company.
Previous owner Karen Green will remain at the facility as manager of Ocean Sky Jet Centre FBOs in Spain at Menorca and Ibiza. Ocean Sky also operates FBOs at London Luton, Manchester and Scotland Prestwick.
“Becoming the single FBO at Menorca enables Ocean Sky to consolidate its position on the island and send the clear message that the Balearics are an important location for the Ocean Sky brand,” said Ocean Sky CEO Steve Grimes. “Together with our thriving Ibiza FBO, Spain remains a key growth target for the expansion of the Jet Centre network.”
z Flight Display Offers High-def Cabin SystemFlight Display Systems (Stand 1932) is introducing its upgraded
Select CMS Platinum cabin management system at EBACE. The U.S. company claims that, compared to the original Select CMS, the Platinum version offers higher quality, better reliability and lower costs, and it is easier to install.
The system provides high-definition with resolution up to 1080p on monitors from 5 to 55 inches. It also offers control through iPads, Android devices or any web browser. “We are expecting FAA parts manufacturer approval soon and have a large FAA STC project under way for the majority of this new equipment,” said David Gray, company president.
Separately, Flight Display Systems is endeavoring to make its European presence pay off. Under a new partnership, Paris-based Surfeo is becoming the firm’s representative for European customers. In parallel, Flight Display Systems has received a Part 145 maintenance approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency.
z FAI Buys Spectrum Stretchers for CRJsGermany-based Flight Ambulance International (FAI, Stand 749)
has ordered six Spectrum Aeromed 2800 series stretchers for its newly acquired Bombardier CRJ200. One of the stretchers will be fitted with “advanced life support systems.” To its fleet of “special-purpose” aircraft, FAI plans to add two BAE Systems Avro jets, also able to carry six stretchers or more each, by year-end.
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50 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
OnAir wants to bring connectivity to bizjetsby Ian Goold
Business aircraft opera-tors are beginning to follow the growing ranks of airlines that provide passengers with on-board connectivity for tele-phony, message and Internet-access services. Indeed, this sector now accounts for about 10 percent of Airbus/SITA joint venture OnAir’s 45 aviation cus-tomers, although not all clients have yet deployed the service.
According to chief commer-cial officer Stephan Egli, OnAir (Stand 583) is aiming its equip-ment at all business aircraft operators, but the most success-ful campaigns have involved Airbus and Boeing products. OnAir enables airline and cor-porate aircraft passengers to use mobile devices to make and receive telephone calls and short or multi-media messages (SMS or MMS), or to obtain access to the Internet (for which it pro-vides a GSM network and WiFi local area network hotspot, respectively, in the cabin).
Bizjet RetrofitsAlthough OnAir signed its
first contract to provide an in-flight connection system for a Middle East customer’s cor-porate Airbus A319 in 2008, it was only last year that agree-ment was reached covering a purpose-built business jet–the Dassault Falcon 7X.
The equipment has been spec-ified for an aircraft operated by Geneva-based operator Dasnair, which manages and charters the Dassault family’s aircraft, and OnAir is working on a supple-mentary type certificate covering installation of the system.
Initially, the business air-craft package is available only as a retrofit, but Egli said OnAir is discussing the possi-bility of production-line instal-lation with “certain OEMs” that could lead to an announce-ment later this year. He claimed that many manufacturers have received operator enquiries for the system.
OnAir systems are available for almost all major commer-cial airliners: all current Airbus models can be equipped dur-ing manufacture, or later dur-ing routine maintenance work, while installation is available as a retrofit on Boeing produc-tion aircraft. Egli said there is no demand to equip older A300
and A310 models and no orders yet for the Boeing 747 or 757.
Heavy Demand in Middle East
The Swiss-based company introduced its in-flight global system for mobile (GSM) com-munications and Internet ser-vices in late 2008, with combined services first becoming avail-able in early 2010. “Today, the vast majority of airline custom-ers choose both services to meet their passengers’ preference,” said Egli. Eight recent customers are set to introduce the systems by year-end, by which time there will be 20 or 22 such operators.
As happened with OnAir’s commercial operators, the cor-porate aircraft market has been led by heavy demand from the Middle East and Gulf regions, with Asia Pacific also now being clearly evident, according to Egli. He said more and more corporate jet operators, especially those that charter or lease equipment, share the airlines’ view that availability of in-flight telephony and Inter-net services is a key differentiator
for business travelers. Asked if business aircraft les-
sors and charter companies are principal targets for OnAir, he said all operators are in its sights. After heads of state or very wealthy individuals, corporations are seen as potential customers,
as well as users of “very pres-tigious, but much smaller” air-craft, like the Falcon 7X.
Cost Varies with SizeThe cost of system acquisi-
tion varies with aircraft size, from around $250,000 per shipset for a
small corporate jet to $1 million or more for a large commercial air-liner, such as an Airbus A380 or Boeing 777. An additional consid-eration is whether the equipment is installed on the production line or put in as a retrofit modification.
Air Works to grow in India and abroadby Neelam Mathews
Air Works is India’s only exhibitor at this year’s EBACE show –perhaps surprising, given the high expectations for busi-ness aviation growth in that coun-try and the fact that EBACE’s
catchment area has been extend-ing eastward in recent years.
Election fever is mount-ing in India–despite the fact that voting is still two years away–and, according to some
commentators, the country is suffering from what is being termed as a “policy paralysis,” which is holding back long-anticipated reform of the avi-ation industry. Against this
backdrop, companies such as Air Works are moving ahead with expansion plans in spite of Indian government atrophy.
In fact, the maintenance repair and overhaul special-ist has its sights firmly set on Europe itself. Its existing Air Liv-ery subsidiary in the UK (which does aircraft painting and cabin repairs and refurbishment) is soon to be complimented by the opening of another paint-ing facility at Bratislava in Slo-vakia during July. It has further plans to expand in the Euro-pean market and these could be announced soon.
“We felt it is time for Indian aviation to make its presence felt,” managing director Vivek Gour told AIN. “We feel this show is more international than NBAA.”
Starting in 2015 Air Works (Stand 2220) wants to be engaged in heavy maintenance of busi-ness jets in Europe. Frustrated by restrictive government pol-icy in India, it is also considering plans to set up an MRO facility at a tax-free location in the Ara-bian Gulf that would be staffed by Indians.
At last year’s EBACE show
OnAir’s in-flight connectivity systems enable corporate aircraft passengers to use mobile devices to make telephone calls, send messages, or obtain access to the Internet via a GSM network and WiFi local-area-network hotspot, such as in this ACJ operated by Comlux.
Air Works is expanding its maintenance, repair and overhaul capability in its home market of India, but it seeks a growing presence in regions such as the Middle East and Europe. It also is considering setting up an MRO in the Arabian Gulf.
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www.ainonline.com • May 15, 2012 • EBACE Convention News 51
Egli told AIN that the ques-tion of equipment size and weight is “tricky” because of many variables, including cus-tomer specification. “There is a big advantage in using Swift Broadband satellite communica-tions [satcom] already installed so as not to introduce a second system.” Depending on the orig-inal satcom fit, the hardware could weigh between 25 to 100 kilograms (55 to 220 pounds).
According to Egli, there have been “no real concerns” or teething troubles with initial business aircraft installations, but he acknowledged that when first introduced in 2008, the equipment had been “a bit too heavy for smaller aircraft,” lead-ing to development of a smaller, lighter platform.
OnAir said business aircraft passengers’ use of in-flight con-nectivity reflects that on com-mercial airlines. When the technology is available, almost all use involves GSM commu-nications, with only light use of Internet access–and that is usu-ally via smart phones or tablet
personal computers, rather than laptop devices.
The equipment is available for selection from the manufac-turer’s catalogue as a produc-tion-line fit on most new-build Airbus models (or otherwise by adoption of a service bulletin), while installation on Boeing aircraft is usually via a sup-plemental type certificate dur-ing heavy-maintenance checks. Regulatory approval for the sys-tem has been obtained in almost 80 countries and can be gained typically within the 12-month lead-time following a customer order, said OnAir.
Egli confirmed that OnAir expects Inmarsat’s Ka-band GlobalXpress solution, an alter-native to the existing Ku- and L-band services that will pro-vide users with 30 percent more throughput (or 30 percent more data volume) for the same price, to be available for commercial aviation in 2014.
Nevertheless, he acknowl-edged that it could be up to a year before the first custom-ers sign up to Inmarsat Global Xpress services, with a “50-per-cent chance” of an announce-ment before year-end. o
the company signed a prelimi-nary agreement with Abu Dha-bi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport with a view to opening a facil-ity there. Now it is considering this move among other poten-tial locations in the region, such as Oman, where the govern-ment has expressed an interest in attracting aviation companies.
“Today India is viewed for lack of quality and ability. Our focus now is to become a defini-tive player in heavy maintenance for general aviation,” said Gour.
Increasing Mx CapabilitiesIn India, Air Works has
expanded its business by doing line maintenance for interna-tional airlines at six stations. It is also moving into cities like Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Luc-know, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Madurai, each of which has the potential to support sev-eral business aircraft. “We are undertaking annual mainte-nance contracts by optimiz-ing work skills using engineers with multi-skill certifications,” explained associate marketing
vice president Dhiraj Chhabra. The 60-year-old company already claims to hold a 30- to 40-percent share of the general aviation MRO sector in India.
Currently, it is working with both Bombardier and Embraer to develop a $2 million mainte-nance facility with up to C-check level capability at a private air-field in Hosur, near Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore). This has been conceived primarily with the Western airframers’ regional airliner families in mind, but the 32,500-sq-ft facility will be large enough for bigger business jets.
Air Works also recently signed a memorandum of under-standing with Embraer to estab-lish parts depot for all of the OEM’s executive jets in service in India. The Indian company will house parts for the Embraer Phenom 100, Legacy 600/650 and Lineage 1000 in its facility in Bengaluru, which will serve as a central hub from which the parts will be dispatched to eight Embraer authorized service cen-ters (EASC), complementing the role of Embraer’s existing Asia Pacific distribution center in Singapore.
Of India’s assorted fleet of
425 general aviation aircraft, about 125 are executive jets, and half of them are preowned. Since the Directorate General of Civil Aviation requires sep-arate Indian certification for every model, Air Works initially has identified 12 commonly used types for which it offers heavy maintenance checks. They include Hawker Beechcraft jets, Dassault’s Falcon 2000 fam-ily, Bell 407 and 206 helicopters and Bombardier’s Challengers. It is in the process of acquir-ing approval from the Euro-pean Aviation Safety Agency for its Mumbai and Delhi facilities. “While, technically, we do not need EASA, it is accepted as a stamp of quality,” said Gour.
The company has already carried out heavy maintenance checks the Bell 206 and 407 and three business jets, including a Hawker 800 and a Bombardier Challenger 600. By the end of this year, it plans to have com-pleted approximately 12 to 15 heavy maintenance checks at its Mumbai and Delhi hangars, said Gour. Air Works expects to have more than 20 clients by 2013. “Then, we’ll be in busi-ness,” he said. o
AirWorksuContinued from preceding page
OnAiruContinued from preceding page
Visit us at EBACE 2012 Booth # 321
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52 EBACE Convention News • May 15, 2012 • www.ainonline.com
Bizjets boost productivity for today’s global businessesby R. Randall Padfield
Some companies fly their long-range business jets globally with only three or four passengers on board, while others may fill as many seats as possible. One operator said his executive passengers treat the airplane like a flying hotel room, sleeping in the cabin during night flights and attending business meetings on the ground during the day. Others fly during the day and stay in hotels at night. Some operators take an extra pilot on board and others swap out crews at a fuel stop.
Some carry a flight attendant, some carry a mechanic/flight attendant and some don’t carry any extra crew.
Using a business jet as a “flying hotel room” may need explanation. The oper-ator, who flies a Gulfstream G550, described a typical eastbound flight from an airport in the northeast U.S. With a Sunday-evening departure, the three to five passengers have dinner, work for a while and then recline their seats flat to sleep, using an inflatable mattress, called a JetBed, which is specifically designed for this purpose. The cabin comfortably sleeps five (six, if one includes the crew-rest seat): the forward club-four seats become two single beds, as do the two facing seats in the rear. A mid-cabin club-four with a big table between them and
the aft, three-seat, side-facing couch both become queen-size beds.
The passengers normally use the aft lavatory, through which they can easily get to their luggage. They can also use the forward lav. The G550 carries all food and potable water needed for almost an entire week.
Following an early arrival in Europe or the Middle East the next morning, the executives take a limo to a hotel for a shower and to change into business
attire before going to their first meeting. After that meeting and others, if need be, the execs return to the airport, take off, change back into casual clothes, have dinner, work some more and then turn in for the night as the airplane flies to its next destination. This procedure contin-ues for several days, often resulting in a round-the-world trip.
“We can hit seven cities around the world in six days,” said the operator. “Most high-level executives would avoid making such a trip, which could take two or three weeks, if they had to do it by airline.”
The standard crew for such flights is three pilots, a flight attendant and a mechanic. Industry “best practices” rec-ommend an additional pilot when the flight lasts more than 10 hours. The crew
has a dedicated crew-rest seat across from the forward galley, and typically uses the forward lavatory. The company flight attendant is trained in cabin safety, emergency evacuation and use of the on-board medical equipment, in addi-tion to meal preparation and service. The mechanic handles pre- and post-flight inspections and coordination with on-site repair facilities, the company’s mainte-nance department and even the manufac-turer, if there is mechanical problem.
Falcon 7X ShuttleAnother U.S. company, this one far-
ther south on the East Coast, does much business in Central and South America, flying a Dassault Falcon 7X to several destinations. This company runs its jet “almost like a shuttle operation, often carrying 12 passengers,” the flight depart-ment manager told AIN. In addition to executives, the 7X carries project manag-ers and engineers. When the CEO flies, however, there are fewer other passengers on board, mainly upper level execs.
“We fly during business hours,” the manager said. “Most executives don’t like to sleep on the airplane.” In fact, the passen-gers work most of the time en route, pre-paring for their next meetings. A passenger on any long-range business jet can expect a high-speed data system providing WiFi connectivity, sophisticated cabin enter-tainment systems, a satellite communica-tion system, noise-cancelling headsets and a host of other features one would find in a high-end living room and office.
The company flies with two pilots, who do not fly more than 12 hours. “The cabin does not have a berthable crew seat,” the manager said. You lose a lot of galley space with that.” The flight car-ries a mechanic, but not a flight atten-dant, so the mechanic is trained in meal preparation. “Our passengers, who are 95 percent male, are fed well, although not with white gloves. We also carry a good selection of wines, which helps keep them happy.” The company has some 500 peo-ple in its database of employees who fly on the 7X, said the manager.
A company in the Los Angeles area operates a large fleet of jets, includ-ing the Gulfstream G450 and 550 and
Bombardier Global Express and Chal-lenger 605. It flies virtually all over the world, including a polar route, which the other operators said they avoid doing, because of “wet footprint” concerns.
A flight’s “wet footprint” defines how far it is safe to fly over water and be able to make it back to land after certain emer-gencies. The primary considerations are medical emergencies, which would require the airplane to fly as quickly as possible to the nearest city with suitable medical facil-ities; a failure or required shutdown of one engine, which would necessitate a descent to a lower altitude in the 20,000s and a subsequent slower airspeed and higher fuel burn; and a loss of pressurization, which would require a descent to 10,000 feet, where the outside air is breathable, but fuel burn is even higher.
One such route is Los Angeles to Syd-ney, Australia, a distance of 6,507 nm, according the first operator mentioned above. This is one city-pair where the wet footprint typically precludes nonstop flights by the current crop of long-range “traditional” business jets. Most cross-polar routes fall into the same group. Many nontraditional business jets, those derived from airliners, are approved and can make these routes, however.
The Los Angeles operator flies at least one near-polar route in a clever way. Instead of flying nonstop from Istanbul to LAX, which is out of range anyway, it lands at Fargo, North Dakota, for fuel and customs. This makes more sense than it may seem at first glance, because Fargo’s Hector International Airport, a U.S. Port of Entry, provides much faster customs and immigration services than a private jet can usually obtain at Los Angeles International. Taxiing from the runway to the private terminal at LAX can take 30 minutes, and the whole pro-cedure has taken the operator upward of an hour and 45 minutes. This opera-tor is based at another LA-area airport, which is not a Port of Entry, so all its international flights must stop at an air-port that is. By flying to Fargo first, the jet can then fly directly to the compa-ny’s home airport at its maximum cruise speed, almost making up the time spent at the fuel and customs stop. o
The business jet cabin, such as that of this Global Express XRS, offers passengers all the comforts and amenities of their offices and living rooms at 41,000 feet en route to their next event.
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Global businesses need global travel solutions. For many international business travelers that solution is an extra-long-range business jet.
Several examples of such jets are on display here at EBACE, as mockup or real aircraft. Imagine walking up the airstair, stepping inside, sitting down in the cabin and thinking what it would be like to be on this airplane for 12 or 13 hours. You might wonder, “Could I sleep in this seat? Will there be a flight attendant? How many other passengers would there be?”
AIN wondered, too. So we made some calls to several flight depart-ments of Fortune 500 companies, all with long-range jets. Here is what we learned.
For some companies, the business jet–in this case a Gulfstream G550–serves as a flying hotel, giving passengers a place to work and rest comfortably, so they arrive refreshed for their early morning meetings.
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The 31-foot flat-floor cabin will have passenger seating for eight, and the aircraft will have a full-fuel payload of 1,950 pounds and an mtow of approximately 55,000 pounds. Mtow takeoff distance is an estimated 5,400 feet. Required runway distance drops to 4,000 feet on missions of 2,000 nm or less with lighter loads. High-speed cruise is Mach 0.84 and maximum operating Mach number is 0.86.
The Longitude will be pow-ered by a pair of Fadec (full authority digital engine control)-controlled, 11,000-pound thrust Snecma Silvercrest engines, with autothrottles. They are expected to power the aircraft to 43,000 feet in 23 minutes on the way to a ceiling of 45,000 feet. The engine hot sections and the times between overhaul (TBOs) will be “on condition,” much like air-liner engines are.
Mike Pierce, Cessna director of product marketing, said he expected this practice to increase actual TBOs from between 20 to 30 percent beyond the high-est time engine TBO in the current Citation fleet. That dis-tinction falls to the Rolls-Royce AE3007C engines on the cur-rent Citation X, with a 6,000-hour TBO.
Snecma Silvercrest EngineThe selection of Snecma, a
subsidiary of France’s Safran Group, is the most dramatic
imprimatur placed on Cessna to date by Ernest, who joined the company last year after 29 years in senior management at GE Aircraft engines. Cessna has traditionally used engines from Pratt & Whitney Canada, and to a lesser extent Rolls-Royce and Williams to power its Cita-tions. Snecma and GE formed CFM International in the mid-1970s to develop a new gen-eration of high-ratio-bypass CFM56 engines that now power most of the world’s fleet of Air-bus A320 and Boeing 737 com-mercial aircraft.
Announced in 2006, the Silvercrest engine has been the long-rumored choice for Dassault’s in-development SMS/5X twinjet but, until the Longitude, it had not found an official home (see below).
Snecma claims the Silvercrest will be quieter, cleaner and more efficient than current engines in class. The company claims a noise reduction of up to 20 EPNdB versus Stage 4 require-ments; a 50-percent NOx margin versus the ICAO CAEP 6 emis-sions standard; and 15 percent lower specific fuel consumption compared to current engines.
The engine is also designed to be lighter and have fewer parts than its contemporaries. It features a wide-chord swept fan followed by a four axial stage, and one centrifugal stage, high-pressure compressor driven by a single-stage turbine. Initially the engine will be supported by parts depots in Dallas, Texas; Paris; and Asia as well as the Cessna product-support net-work. The engines will have live
health and usage monitoring (HUMS) capabilities.
Limited Fly-by-WireIn another departure for
Cessna (Stand 7081), the Longi-tude will have limited fly-by-wire (FBW) capabilities for control-ling the rudder, spoilers and brakes (“brake-by-wire”). Pierce said the decision to go with a limited FBW was a function of potential weight savings versus increased cost and certification complexity. “Hosting a FBW solution on the airplane is a very
integrated solution with your avionics package. We settled on the roll spoiler and rudder sys-tems as the places where we can [extract] the most advantage in terms of weight [reduction] and cost [savings],” he added.
Not all of the Longitude’s details are fixed. The aircraft is projected to have a length of 87 feet and a wingspan of 84 to 86 feet. The 30-degree swept wing will incorporate leading-edge slats, winglets, centrifugal
Cessna Longitude grows legsuContinued from page 1
With projected range of 4,000 nm and a $25.9 million initial price tag, Cessna’s Longitude/Model 800 reckons to be the largest Citation ever. The stretched Longitude uses the same fuselage cross section as the Latitude.
Silvercrest’s big break comes with Longitudeby Thierry Dubois
Snecma has finally found an aircraft for its Silvercrest engine to power after Cessna announced its selection here yesterday for its Longitude super-midsize jet, which is scheduled to enter service in
2017. It has been almost five years since the French manu-facturer announced that it was to develop its first business-jet engine program, but finding its first application has proved to be a frustratingly long road.
According to Snecma, the Silvercrest will burn 15 percent less fuel, emit 50 percent less nitrous oxide (NOx) than the CAEP/6 standard and halve the noise footprint “compared to existing engines in the 10,000- to 12,000-pound class.”
The contract with Cessna was signed just a few days ago, Pierre Fabre, Snecma’s chair-man and CEO, told an EBACE show press conference. Has his company signed a contract with another business jet man-ufacturer for the Silvercrest yet? “The only contract we can talk about today is the Cessna one,” replied Fabre. Another hint was that he would not say when Silvercrest production begins. The Silvercrest has long been rumored to be selected for the still-under-wraps Dassault Falcon SMS super-midsized jet, which is expected to be unveiled next year.
Two Silvercrest engines will provide 11,000 pounds of thrust each on the Latitude. Snecma has started running the engine core, and the first full engine is due to go to test this summer at its Villaroche fac-tory near Paris, which also pro-duces large numbers of CFM International engines for Air-bus and Boeing airliners.
Flight testing of the engine is due to start in the first half of 2013 using a Gulfstream GII (see box) and engine certification is pegged for 2015. Eight engines will take part to the certifica-tion effort, said Laurence Finet, the program’s general manager. The first engine is now being assembled after full-scale engine development started in the third quarter of 2010.
The Silvercrest’s cold sec-tion is made of a 42.5-inch fan, a four-stage booster and a five-stage compressor, including
four axial blisks and one cen-trifugal stage. The 20 fan blades are metallic. The “low-emission” combustor is said to have a high-altitude relight capability. It is followed by a single-stage high-pressure (HP) turbine featuring single-crys-tal blades and a four-stage low-pressure (LP) turbine.
The HP and LP spools are contra-rotating for better fuel efficiency. The bypass ratio is close to 6:1, Finet added.
In terms of maintenance, Snecma emphasized that the Silvercrest is a “true on-condi-tion engine,” with no fixed inter-val. No hot-section inspection will be required. Another feature will be in-flight engine monitor-ing capability. o
Snecma Has Gulfstream GII Re-engining in the Cards
As the flying testbed for the Silvercrest will be a Gulfstream GII, what about re-engining the venerable business jet? “Why not? We are study-ing all possibilities,” Laurence Finet, Silvercrest program general manag-er, told AIN. During the flight tests, the GII will have one of its Rolls-Royce Speys replaced with a Silvercrest. Snecma obtained the GII from sister company Sagem, which had been using it as a testbed for avionics up-grades but no longer needed it. –T.D.
cabin will feature Ethernet tech-nology from Lufthansa Technik to make future technology upgrades more straightforward.
Increased engine power comes courtesy of a souped-up Honeywell engine, the TFE 731-40BR (see box). Both jets will offer an improved takeoff field length of less than 4,500 feet, almost 200 feet shorter than that of the 40XR. A new canted-winglet design will improve aerodynamics, and the OEM says the Learjets will offer up to a 9-percent improvement in field performance and a 4-percent improvement in fuel efficiency.
The six-passenger Learjet 70 can connect city pairs such as Chicago-São Paulo and Mex-ico City-Minneapolis, while the 75 can fly four people from Los Angeles to Toronto or Mumbai to Bangkok. It will be able to handle a range close to 1,950 nm carrying eight passengers.
According to Ridolfi, Bombardier
has gathered more than 50 firm orders and letters of intent for the two new types so far. The airframer is also offering a 600-hour inspection maintenance pro-gram with each new order.
“It’s about having a continu-ity across the Learjet platforms,” Learjet v-p and general manager Ralph Acs told AIN. “We’re placing much more importance on maintenance and the cost of
operations now.” Bombardier last year secretly
began flight-testing of the new technology on Learjet 40 and 45 development aircraft. A third test aircraft is to be fitted with an interior and cabin man-agement system and a fourth will follow featuring the revised wing and winglets, before a fifth prototype is used to confirm all the new elements. o
Honeywell Delivers 10 Percent More Thrust for Learjet
Honeywell has shipped the first two new TFE731-40BR engines to Bombar-dier for the airframer’s new Learjet 70/75 program. The new engine adds 10 per-cent more takeoff thrust by replacing the -20AR or -20BR engines in the Learjet 40/45 with the -40BR. “We’re turning up the wick, and putting more power to it,” said Michael Bevans, Honeywell director of technical sales, business and general aviation.
The engine maker expects certification of the 3,850-pound thrust TFE731-40BR by the end of this year. The added engine performance and other Learjet 70/75 features will improve hot-and-high field performance by up to 9 per-cent and fuel efficiency up to 4 percent.
The key difference between the TFE731-20AR and the -20BR or -40BR is addi-tion of an yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) oxide ceramic coating on the high-pressure turbine shrouds and on the duct between the high- and low-pressure turbine (oth-er applications for YSZ ceramics include tooth crowns, because of their hardness).
“The main trick for us was [the customer] wanted 10 percent more thrust without changing the length, weight, plumbing, bleed-air and electrical components,” said Bev-ans. The -40BR requires no changes in the nacelle or engine/airframe interfaces. –L.M.
New Learjets aspire to heritageuContinued from page 1
www.ainonline.com • May 15, 2012 • EBACE Convention News 55
ailerons and five speed-brake/spoiler panels per side. Roll con-trol will be augmented by the outboard spoilers and there will be three flap panels per side. The slats will be controlled hydrau-lically, and the flaps electrically. Ailerons and the elevator will have mechanical backups. The T-tail will measure 25 to 26 feet tall, have a sweep greater than 30 degrees and feature a fully trim-mable horizontal stabilizer.
The electrical system builds on the essential bus system Cessna developed for the CJ4, Citation Ten and Latitude: Pri-mary power comes from the left and right engine generators with backup power from the alterna-tors and a dual battery system. The dual hydraulic system uses a mineral-based fluid and, in addi-tion to controlling the slats, con-trols nosewheel steering, thrust reversers and landing gear.
The main gear is dual-tire trailing link, the nose gear is dual tire and features a limited amount of rudder steer and a wheel tiller. Cabin pressure allows for a 6,000-foot cabin altitude at FL450. The pressur-ization system uses an air-cycle machine as its primary source with bleed-air backup through heat exchangers. The backup system is adequate to provide constant temperature in the dual-zone controlled cabin.
The cabin itself features a large forward galley and aft lavatory with vacuum-flush-ing toilet. The forward cabin may include a crew lavatory as well as a third crew/flight atten-dant seat. Like the Latitude,
the Longitude’s interior cross section is 72 inches tall and 77 inches wide. The forward club-4 configuration is 200 inches long and the single executive seats are full berthing. There is room for another club-4 in the aft cabin or a three-place divan, certified for takeoff and landing, opposite an entertainment center with large flat-screen monitor.
A four-foot deep pressurized baggage hold can be accessed through the back of the lava-tory to facilitate changing of clothes or luggage retrieval. Aft of that, the aircraft also has a larger externally accessed bag-gage hold.
Pierce said Cessna has selected the Garmin G5000 for the Longitude, employing the same three-screen “touch con-trol” avionics architecture that the company is using on both the Latitude and the Citation Ten. He added that the cabin management system (CMS) will build on the new wireless “Clairity” system that Cessna is developing for the Lati-tude, Ten and M2. The Clair-ity system can host global airborne Internet and voice communications.
Initially, Cessna plans to build the Longitude in Wich-ita, Kansas, and the company is not currently enlisting any risk-sharing partners on the airframe. Notably, Ernest told AIN, “This is not the large-cabin jet that we’ve talked about building in China with our part-ner AVIC. That aircraft will be something different,” though he would not elaborate. o
Ex-Im Bank speeds up lending for U.S. aircraftby Bill Carey
The U.S. Export-Import Bank has implemented a new process to help expedite the financing foreign buyers need to acquire U.S.-made business aircraft and helicopters. The export credit agency of the U.S. government will work with qualified industry experts to perform due diligence and credit analysis of proposed business aircraft transactions.
“Business aircraft and heli-copters are a vital part of the U.S. aerospace industry,” said Ex-Im Bank chairman and president Fred Hochberg, who made the announcement Mon-day at the EBACE show. “Ex-Im Bank understands that business
aircraft transactions require spe-cialized knowledge and experi-ence but has limited resources to meet the growing demand for export financing in this indus-try. By leveraging private-sector expertise to assist and support our evaluation of these credits, we will be able to expand Ex-Im Bank’s support for U.S. business aircraft exports and the manufac-turing jobs that they sustain.”
The new process aims to provide more complete trans-action packages submitted to the bank, which is located in Washington, D.C. It is open to “any approved advisor that has met the bank’s qualification
guidelines, demonstrating the requisite knowledge, experience and expertise with business air-craft financing.” The institution is encouraging prospective advi-sors to contact its U.S. Trans-portation Division to qualify for participation.
The bank cited the example of its $500 million loan facility in 2009 that assisted Textron in financing exports from Cessna and Bell Helicopter. The loan facility enabled Textron Finan-cial Corp. to provide compet-itive terms and interest rates to finance the export of 100 Cess-nas and six Bell helicopters.
Last week, the Ex-Im Bank’s board of directors approved a second loan facility for Tex-tron Financial, Hochberg said. The bank is guaranteeing a $350 million loan from PNB Bank to Textron Financial to finance the export of additional Cessnas and Bells. o
UAE is site for Aurora’s first FBO
Aurora Aviation has signed a memorandum of understand-ing for a partnership agree-ment to run the first full-service FBO at Fujairah International Airport (FIA) in the United Arab Emirates. “We are look-ing to make Fujairah our hub,” Aurora CEO Ammar Kutait told AIN.
Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, and the only one on the Gulf of Oman on the country’s east coast instead of on the Persian Gulf. A new highway connects it with Dubai.
“We see a huge demand [for
business aviation] as the UAE has the second largest fleet in the region after Saudi Ara-bia,” said FIA general man-ager Khaled Almazroui. “We see good growth prospects for Fujairah, so decided to build an FBO here. We are very com-petitive. Our landing and park-ing charges are 50 percent less than Dubai and 30 percent less than Sharjah.”
With slots easily available and holding time less, Aurora will promote the airport for tech-nical stops. The two partners expect to do a marketing blitz to promote the airport as a fuelling stop at MEBA.
Aurora, meanwhile, is focusing on its present proj-ects and is not interested in another FBO in the region. But Kutait did hint at plans for the company to get into the fuel supply business at another undisclosed airport. –N.M.
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Rodney Williams, Bombardier v-p of marketing, business aircraft, samples the cockpit of the Longitude mockup.
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