Avia Blog

RIZON JET – one of the Middle East’s newest business aviation players – is preparing a soft opening in July of fixed-based operations at its Doha, Qatar headquarters and in the UK at London Biggin Hill, and is seeking to fill a host of positions.

A bipartisan bill to extend bonus depreciation on aircraft purchases has been introduced in the Senate and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association is rooting for its passage. The bill was introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Chuck Grassley. Bonus depreciation allows aircraft buyers to depreciate their purchase 50 percent in the first year instead of spreading the depreciation over five years. It was introduced in 2008 as part of the stimulus package and extended through 2009. “Bonus depreciation is a powerful incentive to purchase a GA aircraft and is proven to increase sales during difficult economic conditions,” said GAMA CEO Pete Bunce. “It is the one tax provision we have asked Congress to pass to help offset the decline in sales due to the recession and bring back lost jobs.

British Airways’ nine-month-old experiment with a business jet-style service between the convenient London City Airport and JFK has apparently been successful enough that the airline is considering similar service to Boston, Chicago and Washington. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation says BA is reporting 75 percent loads on the New York route which harkens to the golden age of aviation since it involves a fuel stop at Shannon, Ireland. That’s because the biggest airliner that can squeeze into London City, sometimes referred to as a STOLport because of its six degree approaches, is an A318. These aren’t the usual A318 configuration with cheek-to-cheek and knees-to-seat-ahead seating, however.

Operators of Lear 60 aircraft will have to check the tire pressure every four days starting July 10. The FAA issued a final rule on Tuesday mandating the maintenance procedure after it was determined underinflated tires caused a cascade of failures that led to a charter aircraft running off the end of a runway in Columbia, S.C., killing four of the six aboard. The NTSB determined the tires blew during the takeoff run and took out sensors that controlled the thrust reversers, resulting in their automatic retraction just when the crew needed them the most. The pilot didn’t know the reversers were stowed, and firewalled the throttles as the plane went through the airport fence and hit a hill on the other side of a highway. Bombardier has since redesigned the systems making them less likely to fail in a tire blowout.

Gulfstream says business is up and it’s predicting continued slow recovery through the coming year. In a conference call to discuss its first quarter results of parent company General Dynamics, CEO Jay Johnson said Gulfstream, buoyed by 200 orders for its new G650 ultra-fast and ultra-long-range business jet, is in a solid position. “First quarter revenues are up 15 percent over the last quarter of 2009, and the G650 order book remains strong,” he was quoted as saying by the Savannah Morning News. “Aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul demand is good.” Johnson said the company expects to build 77 large and 14 midsized jets in 2010 against an order backlog of $18.5 billion.

7X PROTOCOL The European Aviation Safety Agency has certificated a Honeywell voice over internet protocol system for installation on the Dassault Falcon…

Cessna parent company Textron posted a first-quarter loss of about $8 million, and Cessna’s 44-percent sales decline was a significant factor (although the company’s finance arm was also off 40 percent). Cessna is usually Textron’s biggest moneymaker but the continued sales drought is keeping things quiet at the Wichita planemaker. Almost half the workforce remains laid off and, as CEO Jack Pelton told AVweb in an interview earlier this month at Sun ‘n Fun, the recovery is expected to be long and slow. Meanwhile, Pelton told CNN the company is trying to make the best of the current circumstances by examining every aspect of its operations for efficiencies and cost savings.

SAFETY HEAD-UP GUIDANCE PROVES ITS VALUE ONCE AGAIN IN REVISITED STUDY THE REMAKE of a 1991 study by the Flight Safety Foundation reveals that…

Cessna has delivered the first CJ4, which was certified in March. The new owner wasn’t named. The aircraft is, of course, filled with the latest electronics, including a system called Green Trak. It was the first delivery of the flight planning software that figures out how to minimize trip cost by balancing the costs of direct operation, fuel burn and carbon emissions. It was the first aircraft delivered with Green Trak.

With the downturn in the economy, the order count that used to be a fixture of major aviation events has all but disappeared, but Cessna broke the recent mold at Sun ‘n Fun 2010, or more accurately, just after it. Cessna linked an order for 12 Cessna 182s to the Civil Air Patrol to the annual spring show in Lakeland, FL even though it’s doubtful CAP brass made the decision while kicking the tires last week. Nevertheless, it put a brighter spin on the show, which is holding its own in the economy and trying to make up for apparent decreases in exhibitor and fly-in attendance with jet team shows on the weekend (Thunderbirds this year) to draw the local crowds.