AUGUST 2020 $10.00 AviationWeek.

com/BCA

Business & Commercial Aviation

2020
Operations Planning Guide
A tool for planning flight department
budgets for the coming year

OPERATORS SURVEY

Pilatus PC-24 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Maturing is an ongoing process
The Human-Engine
Interface
Sharing Aircraft
Under Part 91
A Descent Too Late
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 CONTENTS AUGUST 2020
Business & Commercial Aviation

2020 Neal Award Winner

11 Intelligence
Edited by William Garvey,
Jessica A. Salerno and
Molly McMillin
NBAA and Other Alphabets
Cancel Events for 2020

Pilot Database Comes

Under Criticism

Airbus H160 Receives

Type Certificate

56 Stratos 716X Makes Its

First Flight

2020 Operations Bombardier Global 5500

Enters Service
Planning Guide
19 How to Use the Features Fast Five: Roei Ganzarski,
Planning Guide CEO, magniX, Redmond,
Tables 42 A Descent Too Late
Roger Cox
And the red flags
48 Operators Survey:
Pilatus PC-24
Washington

24 Production Fred George

colored green
Aircraft Tables Maturing is an
ongoing process

Digital Extras 19 56 The Human-Engine

Interface
James Albright
Many problems, one
easy solution
72
Departments
7 Viewpoint

Tap this icon in articles

44 Accidents in Brief
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70 Products & Services

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72 BCA 50 Years Ago
Selected articles from
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65 Marketplace
news stories and daily
news updates Keep up with all the
news and blogsfrom

COVER
48 BCA editors “like” us
on facebook facebook.com/avweekbca
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AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 1

 Business & Commercial Aviation

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Cancer Patients
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 Viewpoint William Garvey
Editor-in-Chief
william.garvey@informa.com

Of What Use?
A whisper of promise

MAGNIX
WHEN COVID-19 ARRIVED, THE AIRPLANES DISAPPEARED.
Depending upon the prevailing winds, my house is situated
below the eastern and southern arrival patterns for, respec-
tively, a nearby executive airport as well as a joint military and
commercial facility, and there are days when I can take in an
airshow from my office deck.
I’ve been enticed from my computer by everything from a
Wheels Up King Air, Citation X and U.S. Coast Guard Dolphin, An STC is planned. This followed by six months the flight of a
to a Boeing 747 Dreamlifter, V-22 Osprey (a most peculiar fly- de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver converted to electric pro-
ing machine), C-17s galore, flights of F-35s, F-16s and F-18s, and pulsion by MagniX and Harbour Air Seaplanes.
one day a B-25. No kidding. I so welcome the aerial interrup- υ On June 9, the French government committed to supporting
tions. But once the pandemic hit, those sounds on high ceased, Airbus Helicopters’ plans to develop a successor to its best-
their winged generators utterly absent from the sky. The novel selling H125 Ecureuil (AStar) single-engine light helicopter,
coronavirus had killed aviation. Or so it seemed. and which is intended for hybrid-electric propulsion.
But while the infection grounded tens of thousands of airlin- υ EHang received light sport aircraft (LSA) approval from
ers, business aircraft, lightplanes and helicopters, inflicting the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to begin
terrible financial hardship on ours and so many other indus- commercial operation of its EHang 216 autonomous eVTOL air
tries along with millions of individuals, aviation did not stop. vehicle for unmanned air logistics.
In fact, its advance continued rather dramatically. If you were υ Slovenia’s Pipistrel received an LSA type certificate for its
unaware, it may have been because the machines involved are all-electric Velis Electro two-seat fixed-wing trainer from the
so hush quiet since they all use electricity rather than internal European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
combustion to generate their propulsive power. υ Meanwhile, Bye Aerospace of Colorado neared critical
And while the technology may be unfamiliar and its current design review for its eFlyer 2 two-seat electric trainer and
capability modest, Benjamin Franklin’s response to a question revealed plans to develop an electric six- to nine-seat twin in
about the value of the then remarkable hot-air balloon seems addition to the already announced four-seat eFlyer 4.
timely still, 250 years on: What is the use of a newborn child? There was even more, but you get the idea. Electric propul-
So, what follows is an accounting of a few aviation events that sion is in active development for aviation. These are the early
transpired while you were looking for your misplaced mask: days, of course, and accordingly endurance and thus range is
υ NASA replaced the two piston engines on its X-57 Maxwell limited and numerous obstacles including excessive weight
experimental plane with a pair of 60-kW electric cruise motors and high cost remain. But the benefits — zero emissions, low
powered by lithium-ion battery packs. Startups Airflow and “fuel” expense, low vibration, simplified maintenance, nearly
Electra plan to adapt its distributed electric propulsion con- silent operation — are so compelling, that heavy money is being
figuration to their hybrid-electric short-takeoff-and-landing invested in e-aviation’s success.
regional and logistics aircraft. To underscore the dollar commitment, Lilium, a German
υ Wisk, the urban air mobility joint venture between Kitty e-VTOL startup, now has a valuation of more than $1 billion,
Hawk and Boeing, resumed flight testing of its two-place Cora while Joby, another e-VTOL air-taxi developer, has so far
raised $720 million.
WISK

And while some av veterans probably correctly regard much

of this electrification movement as a science experiment, I’m
not quite so dismissive. Yes, many of the e-Av projects are likely
to come to naught and their backers will lose all — in some
cases fortunes. But I also noted that more than half the invest-
ment in Joby came from Toyota, the largest automaker in the
world. And it is just one of many global corporate participants
all-electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) autonomous in the movement.
air taxi in the U.S. and New Zealand. Passenger-carrying tri- Notably, a sizeable portion of Lilium’s recent funding infu-
als are planned. sion came from a Scotland-based partnership whose previous
υ Electric motor developer MagniX and certification specialist bets were placed with big-promise tech hopefuls named Space
AeroTec flew a Cessna 208B Caravan at Moses Lake, Washing- Exploration (aka SpaceX), Tesla and Amazon.
ton, on May 27 powered by a 560-kW (750-shp) electric motor. Whither a newborn indeed, Dr. Franklin. BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 7

 Readers’ Feedback
Pressure Is On in my retirement. Dur- that day, there was a
I really liked the pressurization article ing refresher training large ice chest contain-
(Under Pressure, June/July 2020). We use at FlightSafety Interna- ing several dozen oys-
the [supplemental oxygen] masks quite a tional, the instructors ters on a large block of
bit — or used to. On a long-range shuttle beat into us about the dry ice. Now, as dry ice
we regularly fly, we take three pilots. green valve for the oxy- melts, it gives off carbon
That means we rotate pilots every 90 gen bottle located in the dioxide, which in turn
min. or so, and when there is only one Lear’s nose on the right eats oxygen.
pilot at the controls, the other must wear side. When the valve is As the aircraft passed
a mask anytime we are above FL 250. open — which we checked during pre- 20,000 ft. crew and passengers were
Then came COVID-19. Decontam– flight — it could appear to read “Off”. It getting a little hazy, so the crew put on
ination procedures are paramount, and seems that the green-painted valve con- their supplemental oxygen masks and
nobody wants to put their face in some- trol, when it was new and in the “Open” manually deployed the cabin (passen-
one else’s mask. Evidently the FAA position, displayed an arrow on its stem ger) masks. Unfortunately, they were
agreed and moved the altitude for man- pointing clockwise to the off position. But only breathing ambient air, and they all
datory wearing from FL 250 to FL 410. in every one of the five Lear 35s I flew, eventually passed out. That’s the story
Tim Slater the arrows had been worn away from the people at FlightSafety told, and I
Chief Pilot repeated use so that all the viewer saw always remembered that green oxygen
(Company name withheld by request) was “Off”. valve could lead you astray.
The new copilot on the Payne Stew- Richard Smith
Check Position art Learjet trip, seeing the valve during Gainesville, Georgia
I have to comment on “Under Pres- preflight inspection, supposedly thought
sure” (June/July 2020). After five years it was closed, and then turned it to the Perspectives
as a T-38 instructor, then 30 years as a actual closed position. Furthermore, I I noticed in your “Fab Four” Viewpoint
Delta pilot, I flew Lear 35s for five years was told that on the floor of the aircraft (June/July 2020) that the writers you

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8 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

featured are a bit of an ex-military boot. Meanwhile, my sim partner, an And David Esler was an Army officer but not an
monopoly. There are a bunch of us out A-10 driver, bent the jet three in a row. In aviator; all his piloting time was logged in civil-
here who never flew in the armed forces my experience, ham-fisted single-seat ian aircraft. The monopoly is open to anyone
that are just as — and in some cases per- fighter guys are some of the toughest serving aviation and readers well.
haps, more — knowledgeable than ex- people to tame on this side of the fence
service types. Indeed, some of the finest — from CRM to customer service (and Best Yet
pilots I’ve ever flown with never touched that includes providing a smooth ride). “Smoke Signals” (June/July 2020) was
a military aircraft, yet their experience Jason Smith perhaps the best safety-related article in
seems to get short shrift. (We’re also Legacy 600/650 Captain all my decades of reading the magazine.
pretty fine writers, too.) McAllen, Texas It was well-thought out and compellingly
You should consider mixing it up a presented. This one could actually make
little. Guys like me may have only flown Editor’s response: As a matter of fact, we some flight departments conduct some
Embraer 600s/650s, at times out of welcome pilot-writers of every type and with introspection. It did mine.
places most people can’t even spell, but all manner of backgrounds and many with Randall Greene
we might have a thing or two to contrib- civil-only experience have provided valuable Chairman & CEO
ute from our perspective. And candidly, insights and guidance over the years. Of the Safe Flight Instrument Corp.
I’ve flown with plenty of former military four cited in that Viewpoint, only one, James White Plains, New York
guys over the years and only a few would Albright, made a full career in uniform and
I consider standouts. since retiring has flown in business aviation
In fact, when I did Expanded Enve- exclusively. Meanwhile, Pat Veillette flew for an If you would like to submit a comment on
lope Training in the Boeing 737 at a airline, then for the forest service — both helo an article in BCA, or voice your opinion on
major airline, I was the only pilot who and fixed wing — and finally ended up piloting an aviation related topic, send an email to
didn’t bend the jet on the first try, and Citations for a fractional operator. Fred George jessica.salerno@informa.com
then went three for three. I’m just flew F-4s off Navy carriers and then Lears for or william.garvey@informa.com
a lowly FAR 121/135/125/91 civilian to a charter operator before joining us full time.

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 EDITED BY WILLIAM GARVEY,

INTELLIGENCE
NEWS / ANALYSIS / TRENDS / ISSUES
JESSICA A. SALERNO AND
MOLLY MCMILLIN
william.garvey@penton.com
jessica.salerno@penton.com
molly.mcmillin@penton.com

υ THE STRATOS 716X, AN ALL-CARBON, single-engine very light jet (VLJ) made it first Jet-A and Avgas
flight, reported the Redmond, Oregon, manufacturer reported July 2, which involved a full-
power takeoff, climb to 13,500 ft. and a series of maneuvers by pilot Sean VanHatten to
Per Gallon Fuel Prices
evaluate handling and lasted 22 minutes. Flight testing is to continue for several months. July 2020
The six-place, Pratt & Whitney JT15D-5-powered aircraft is 4.5-ft. longer and at 4.9 ft., a Jet-A
wider cabin than the 714 Proof of Concept aircraft introduced at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Region High Low Average
in 2017. It features a Garmin flight deck and autopilot, an automated pressurization system
Eastern $7.81 $3.36 $5.43
and air conditioning. The jet is designed to cruise at 400 kts. “The first flight of the 716X
went as briefed, which is a testament to the de- New England $7.57 $2.92 $4.73
sign quality and the professionalism of the crew Great Lakes $7.38 $2.99 $4.76
here at Stratos,” said VanHatten. “The aircraft
Central $6.22 $2.96 $4.06
is well harmonized, and its directional stability
was very good. The Stratos Aircraft team should Southern $7.34 $3.00 $5.13
be very proud of this accomplishment, and I’m Southwest $6.75 $2.28 $4.43
looking forward to continued flight testing of this
NW Mountain $7.41 $2.60 $4.65
new design.” “When we introduced the Proof of Concept 714 aircraft three years ago, the
marketplace interest was tremendous,” “It was clear that the market is looking for the per- Western Pacific $7.96 $3.60 $5.51
formance and comfort we were offering, but in a true six-place aircraft. We have achieved Nationwide $7.31 $2.96 $4.84
this with the 716X. With a cabin width of 4.9 ft. and height of 4.8 ft., there is plenty of room
for passengers to relax on long flights. The company says Stratos 716X will be offered as kit
build aircraft while the 716 will be FAA certified as a production version. The kit will be com- Avgas
prehensive and include a builder’s assist program. “We are excited to be able to introduce Region High Low Average
the 716X builder’s assist program,” said CTO Carsten Sundin. “This program will allow us to
Eastern $8.25 $4.35 $6.19
deliver the 716X to a select group of customers very soon while we continue with the program
for the 716 certified aircraft.” New England $7.45 $4.51 $5.54

Great Lakes $8.59 $2.99 $5.73

υ THE LONG-RANGE, LARGE-CABIN BOM- Central $7.59 $2.92 $4.86
BARDIER GLOBAL 5500 recently entered service
with an unidentified operator. However, the aircraft is Southern $8.15 $3.20 $5.97
registered to ExecuJet Europe, the Swiss-based private Southwest $7.19 $3.26 $5.25
charter group, according to Aviation Week Network data.
NW Mountain $6.45 $3.75 $5.30
In June, Bombardier also registered a Global 6500 on the Cayman Island registry to an undisclosed
customer, and a Challenger 650 and a Global 6500 to NetJets, according to Aviation Week data. Western Pacific $8.52 $3.99 $5.91
The latter is the first of its kind for the fractional ownership company. The Global 5500 received its Nationwide $7.77 $3.62 $5.59
type certificate from Transport Canada and the FAA in 2019. The first delivery is a milestone for the
company, which announced the Global 5500 and Global 6500 in 2018. The tables above show results of a fuel price survey
of U.S. fuel suppliers performed in July 2020.
This survey was conducted by Aviation Research
υ ACCELERATUM, A NEW COMPANY FOCUSED on advancing standards and best prac- Group/U.S. and reflects prices reported from
tices in the drone industry, counts among its co-founders former FAA Administrator Michael over 200 FBOs located within the 48 contiguous
Huerta and Jim Williams, the former manager of FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) United States. Prices are full retail and include all
taxes and fees.
Integration Office.Other co-founders Lessing Stern and Ben Rifking, respectively the founder
For additional information, contact Aviation
and CEO of Ten Eighty, a private investment firm. Stern also serves as chairman of the Air-
Research/U.S. Inc. at (513) 852-5110
craft Owners and Pilots Association Foundation. Acceleratum’s president is Brett Feddersen, or on the Internet at
formerly FAA acting director for national security programs and incident response. The new www.argus.aero
company describes itself as a privately funded, collaborative organization that develops con-
sensus solutions based on priorities identified by affiliate members who can include commer-
For the latest news
cial drone users, municipalities, emergency service providers, manufacturers, regulators and
and information, go to
trade associations. Project areas the company will focus on include counter-UAS detection
AviationWeek.com/BCA
standards, UAS certification standards, beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations and UAS traffic
management system integration.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 11

 INTELLIGENCE

υ THE NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION’S (NBAA) DECISION

Daher Launches Incentive TO CANCEL its annual convention, scheduled for Oct. 6-8 in Orlando, Florida, continued
Program for Kodiak 100 the novel coronavirus’s unrelenting felling of aviation gatherings around the world this year.
“The promotion of safety is a primary reason NBAA was founded in 1947, and safety is at the
foundation of all we are today,” NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said upon announcing the can-
cellation in early July. “As COVID-19 has emerged as a pandemic, NBAA has consistently looked
to local, state, federal and global health
officials to inform our decisions and guide
our actions with regard to live events.”
Officials at the Florida Department of
Health had issued an advisory recommend-
Daher has launched a new Kodiak
ing that individuals avoid gatherings of more than 50 people. The NBAA convention, the largest
Care Maintenance Program designed
business aviation gathering in the world, typically attracts some 25,000 attendees and vendors.
to provide free scheduled mainte-
Some exhibitors and consultants called the association’s move difficult but necessary. Part of
nance for Model Year 2020 Kodiak
100 aircraft. Customers purchasing the reasoning was attributed to the fact that to stem the continuing spread of the virus, a num-
the turboprop aircraft will receive ber of states, including Florida, the European Union and other countries put travel restrictions in
free maintenance service during the place, which complicated or made it impossible for individuals and companies to get to Orlando.
first two years of ownership. Also, in Since the pandemic began, NBAA has canceled a long list of business aviation gatherings, including
partnership with the Aircraft Owners its regional forums, meetings and other events. Among the largest were the Asian Business Aviation
and Pilots Association (AOPA), cus- Convention & Exhibition and the European Business Aviation Association Convention & Exhibition.
tomers can now finance a Kodiak Other groups have done the same. Two of the largest, the Experimental Aircraft As-
100 for a limited time at less than sociation’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and the Farnborough International Airshow
$6,000 per month during the first in Farnborough, England, were to have taken place in July. Additional cancellations due to
year of ownership. the pandemic include Sun n Fun, Lakeland, Florida; the Canadian Business Aviation Associ-
ation Convention, Ontario; National Air Transportation Association’s Air Charter Summit, Ar-
lington, Virginia; JetNet iQ, White Plains, New York;
Flying Colours Delivers 12th STIHL National Championship Air Races, Reno,
Reconfigured Aircraft Nevada; Aerodrome + Heliports Expo, Bucking-
hamshire, England; Air Medical Safety Conference,
Alexandria, Virginia; Aviation Week’s UAM Ameri-
cas, Orlando, Florida; Annual East Coast Sympo-
sium, Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Lexington
Park, Maryland; Aero Friedrichshafen, Friedrich-
shafen, Germany; and Nall in the Fall, Triple Tree Aerodrome, Woodruff, South Carolina.
Textron Aviation, a major exhibitor, had already decided to pull out of this year’s NBAA
annual and all other events this year. It was likely that other companies and individu-
als would have followed suit. Rolland Vincent, a consultant with Rolland Vincent As-
Flying Colours Corp. has delivered a
reconfigured Falcon 2000LXS to a sociates, said and a leader in the cancelled Jetnet iQ, said a poll of potential NBAA
Canadian customer, marking its 12th attendees was revealing: “Attendance would have been maybe a third — maybe.
project for the customer in 20 years. . . . It was actually pretty bleak.” He added, “I don’t think [NBAA] had a choice.”
A 13th project is in the works. The Exhibitors have long relied on the annual convention as a main venue to market products and
restoration included significant cabin services, meet with customers and suppliers, check out the competition and the latest in tech-
layout modification, new seating, nology and innovations and new products and services. Dassault, for example, was expected to
metal re-plating, cabinetry refinish- launch a new business aircraft at the show. It has postponed those plans until 2021, Vincent said.
ing, carpet installation and other The decision to cancel was the second major disruption for the convention since
features. In addition, the fuselage the turn of the century. In 2001, NBAA rescheduled the event set for New Orleans
was stripped and repainted at Flying just days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It was rescheduled for later that year.
Colours’ Peterborough, Ontario head- The annual convention along with the other conferences, exhibitions and meetings contribute
quarters, which opened in March. significantly to NBAA total revenue. Accordingly, the association carries event insurance, which
should help ease the financial hit. In addition, the association had some staff reductions earlier
this year.

12 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

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 INTELLIGENCE

υ PIPISTREL’S VELIS ELECTRO TWO-SEAT TRAINER recently became the first West-
Air BP Reaches Fueling ern-made all-electric aircraft to earn type certification when it received a CS-LSA award from
Milestone the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Previously, the Civil Aviation Administration
of China awarded LSA type and production certificates to Liaoning Ruixiang’s RX1E and RX1E-A
two-seat electric aircraft. The Slovenian manufacturer plans to deliver an initial 31 Velis Electros
this year to customers in seven countries. Separately, the com-
pany has received EASA type certification for the aircraft’s elec-
tric propulsion unit, which Pipistrel is making available to other
aircraft manufacturers. The Velis Electro’s powertrain is liquid
cooled, including the batteries, and demonstrated the ability to
withstand faults, battery thermal runways and crash loads as part
Air BP has marked 250,000 aircraft of the EASA certification process, Pipistrel said. Compared with the conventional powerplant
fuelings using its digital Airfield Auto- in the Virus SW121 trainer on which it is based, the Velis Electro’s powertrain has fewer moving
mation technology. The milestone parts. The powertrain elements also have twice the lifespan compared with previous-generation
took place in Adelaide, Australia, electric aircraft. This reduces maintenance costs and, combined with cheaper electrical energy,
when Air BP supplied Jet A-1 fuel to lowers operating costs in the training role, Pipistrel said.
The Royal Flying Doctors Service, it
said. Since it launched in May 2018,
the technology has rolled out to 145
υ BLACKHAWK AEROSPACE HAS RECEIVED THE FAA APPROVAL of its XR Up-
grade Kit for the King Air 350 which increases maximum gross takeoff weight to 16,500 lb. and
Air BP locations in 18 countries.
maintains basic aircraft empty weight that is 220 lb. lighter than comparable extended range
Before the pandemic, the company
was completing about 1,000 fuelings aircraft. The changes increase payloads and provide up to 25% more endurance, it said. The
per day worldwide. The technology upgrades involve replacing original Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A engines and 4-bladed
increases the speed and efficiency in aluminum props with new 1,200-shp PT6A-67A engines and MT 5-bladed composite propel-
the fueling of aircraft, it said. lers. Additionally, new heavy-weight landing gear is installed with high floatation tires, Raisbeck
enclosed high floatation gear doors and a True Blue Power TB44 lithium-ion battery.

υ ON JULY 1, THE AIRBUS H160 TWIN-ENGINE MEDIUM HELICOPTER was

Vertis Aviation Adds G450 to awarded type certification by EASA, but with several special conditions and deviations which the
Management Program manufacturer is working to resolve. FAA certification is expected to follow shortly, allowing the
Airbus OEM to make delivery to the model’s launch customer,
an undisclosed U.S. operator later this year. The type certifi-
cate describes the aircraft as the H160-B and clears it for day
and night visual flight rules operation and instrument flight in
non-icing conditions. The H160, which will replace H155, is the
first product to emerge from the company since its re-branding
from Eurocopter to Airbus Helicopters in 2016. The aircraft has been developed as a counter to
Leonardo’s dominance of the medium-helicopter market with its AW139.

Vertis Aviation, a Swiss-based charter υ IN WHAT COULD BE SEEN AS EVIDENCE OF BUSINESS AVIATION’S steady
operator, has added a Gulfstream recovery from its early grounding by the pandemic, Gogo Business Aviation reported it had
G450 to its management program. hit 3,000 daily flights during the week of June 22, up from a single-day low of 378 flights in
The aircraft was added to support mid-April. Said Sergio Aguirre, president of the broadband connectivity services for business
increased demand from an emerging
aviation, “We’ve strived to be a good partner with our customers to get through a very difficult
set of new clients seeking safe travel
time together, and we’re now in the midst of a measurable recovery as flight activity increases.”
options as a result of the COVID-19
When many aircraft owners parked their aircraft early in the pandemic, 30% of Gogo Business
pandemic, the company says. The
Aviation’s accounts reduced their spending through either account suspensions or service-plan
aircraft, which is available for charter,
is based in Basel, Switzerland and downgrades. Subsequently, however, nearly 60% of the suspended customers reactivated their
operated by a Swiss crew. service and about 80% reverted to their original service plan. Flights flown with active Gogo
service on board has continued to increase, reaching 3,039 flights on June 25, near Gogo’s pre-
pandemic average of 3,500 per day. Installations of new Avance L5 and L3 service is on the rise,
Gogo said, adding that several other positive developments will be released soon.

14 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

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 INTELLIGENCE

υ JAPAN’S NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY HAS ORDERED ONE H225 twin-engine

Europe Leading Bizav Activity heavy helicopter and four H135 twin-engine light helicopters from Airbus Helicopters. The five
Recovery, WingX Says aircraft are part of a planned fleet modernization, Airbus an-
nounced on June 24. The organization already operates 12
Europe is recovering the fastest in H135s, H155s, and six AS365 Dauphin models. It also has
terms of business aviation activity in a single H215 and two H225s on order. The National Police
June, with jet and turboprop activity Agency uses its aircraft for law enforcement, personnel and
down 43% through June 23 com- VIP transport and disaster relief missions. The agency buys
pared to a year ago, according to helicopters for the police forces of Japan’s numerous prefectures, purchasing aircraft from other
WingX Advance. The prior week saw manufacturers including Bell, Leonardo and Sikorsky.
a 24% increase in the week’s activ-
ity, and a rolling seven-day average υ AVANT AEROSPACE, A SUBSIDIARY of West Star Aviation and a supplier of aircraft
of activity rose 70% compared to the parts, spares, equipment, and tooling, has relocated from Dallas to Hangar #12 at the St. Louis
beginning of June. Almost all flight Downtown Airport. The new location is close to West Star’s full-service maintenance, repair and
activity is still within national borders. overhaul facility in East Alton, Illinois. The company relocated its offices and inventory to the
Activity in North America is down 20,000-sq.-ft. space to centralize its inventory and improve efficiency. Avant has expanded its
29% below normal but up 20% since services to include Bombardier, Textron, Piaggio and Gulfstream aircraft. All equipment and
the start of June. Activity among pro- parts repairs are provided by OEMs or Authorized Repair Agents.
viders is varied. NetJets activity is
down one-third over a year ago, while
Flexjet flights have risen.
υ EMBRAER’S SERVICES AND SUPPORT DIVISION has completed the first conver-
sion of a Legacy 450 to a Praetor 500 for an undisclosed customer. The midsize jet conversion
was performed at Embraer’s Executive Jet Service Center at Bradley International Airport in
Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The change converts the Legacy 450, with a 2,900-nm range, into
a Praetor 500, with a 3,340-nm range. To generate the range improvement, Embraer replaced
the level-sensing wiring in the fuel tanks,
SEA Prime Out at Signature moved the overwing gravity fueling ports,
Flight Support Italy relocated the fuel measurement system
and reinforced the wing ribs to hold the
additional weight. Mechanics also in-
stalled the swept winglets of the Praetor,
and placards and logos were replaced. The adjustments included updates to the flight control
systems, including a new avionics load for the Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion flight deck.
Embraer announced the Praetor 500 and Praetor 600 in 2018. They received FAA, European
Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and ANAC certifications less than a year later.

Signature Flight Support has ac- υ A LAW PASSED BY THE U.S. CONGRESS A DECADE AGO called for the FAA to es-
quired SEA Prime’s 40% minority tablish a database noting the employment, training and competence histories for airline pilots.
interest in Signature Flight Support The purpose of the mandate was to enhance safety for passengers on commercial aircraft, but
Italy. It is now 100% owner of the the draft rule’s impact on FAR Part 91 operators will be considerable, opponents say, and their
company. The action follows Signa- efforts to amend the proposed legislation is ongoing. This is just one step in a pretty long game,”
ture’s initial investment in SEA Prime said Doug Carr, vice president for Regulatory and International Affairs at the National Business
in 2016. Signature’s network in Italy Aviation Association (NBAA). The association has been critical of the rule, which Carr described
includes FBOs at Milan-Linate, Milan- as “a full-frontal assault” on business aviation. Objections to the mandate include the admin-
Malpensa and Rome-Ciampino; trip istrative burdens imposed to comply and that requirement to include reports of training flights
support arrangements at Bergamo, may discourage pilots from undergoing additional training. It also creates a new definition of
Catania, Florence, Naples, Palermo a “corporate flight department” which, opponents say, is inappropriate to many operators and
and Pisa; and a Signature Select FBO could have a negative effect on aircraft purchase decisions. These concerns were raised by the
partnership agreement at Venice- industry during an advanced rulemaking committee consultation, which took place soon after
Marco Polo. Congress passed the bill. But “The last engagement we had with the FAA on this topic was back
in 2010,” Carr said, adding he was confident that substantive discussions will take place. “We
are still far from any end state.”

16 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 FAST FIVE INTERVIEW BY WILLIAM GARVEY

Questions for Roei Ganzarski

MAGNIX
How did you arrive at your current position?
1 Ganzarski: Early in 2018 I got a phone call out of the blue from a representative of
Clermont Group, a Singapore-based business group that invests in a variety of indus-
tries all over the world. One of its investments was in an Australian R&D effort refining
and developing electric motors. Those engineers came up with a 350-hp motor that
many suggested could be ideal for the aviation industry. At that point, they pivoted the
outfit as a commercial entity and invited me to come have a look. I went to Australia
and after ten minutes of meeting the amazing engineers and seeing the prototype
they had built, I was sold. I knew that leading this effort would be my next role since,
if successful, it could change the face of aviation and transportation. We moved the
operation to Redmond since it’s a hub of both aerospace and of innovation. I still don’t
know how they got my name. Roei Ganzarski
CEO
Changing the face of aviation? How?
2 Ganzarski: Commercial aviation is not serving well what we call “middle mile” travel,
magniX
Redmond, Washington
those of trips of 50 to 1,000 mi. The carriers can’t make money with smaller aircraft,
so they use aircraft with 75 seats or more, and small or medium sized cities can’t gen- Israeli-born Ganzarski came to
erate enough traffic to support them. So, service declines or disappears while ticket
the U.S. in 1997 to study at the
prices increase, sometimes by a lot — $500 for a 250-mi. roundtrip is not uncommon.
University of Washington. After
As a result, people spend days on the highway. Meanwhile, electric propulsion is ideal
for 5-to-12-passenger aircraft operating trips of up to 125 mi. in our magnified, or earning his MBA, he joined the
retrofitted, aircraft or 500 mi. in a clean-sheet design like Eviation’s Alice using today’s Boeing family of companies
battery technology. Doing so can reduce operating costs while reconnecting cities and where he advanced as an
towns with fast, frequent, affordable and clean commercial service. It can help make executive in the company’s
small, wonderfully livable locales economic engines. Flight Services division over
the next 13 years. Then in
But a range of 125 mi. seems kind of pathetic.
3 Ganzarski: In 2018 the scheduled carriers flew nearly 2 million trips of less than 100
2012, he accepted an offer to
lead BoldIQ, the on-demand
mi., another 3.5 million trips of 100 to 200 mi. and 45% of all airline flights were less scheduling optimization
than 500 mi. And that doesn’t include trips by island service providers like Harbour
company based upon the
Air of Vancouver or Cape Air in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Nor does it include cargo
former DayJet’s scheduling
flights to small towns by FedEx or DHL or any business, charter or special operations
like sky divers. So, the data show us there’s lots of opportunity for both magificaton of software. He moved to magniX
aircraft and moreover for electric clean-sheet designs. And that will only increase as as CEO in 2018 and the
battery technology and range improves, which it is. following year also assumed
the chairmanship of Eviation.
What’s the status of magniX’s projects?
4 Ganzarski: Today in addition to our 375-hp magni250 we have a 751-hp magni500
which we’ve now used to fly a DHC Beaver and Cessna Grand Caravan, now an eBeaver
and eCaravan. Both are undergoing FAA Part 33 certification process and we hope to
have certification by the end of next year. It is key to Harbour Air’s plan to reequip its
43-aircraft fleet to all-electric power beginning in 2022. Meanwhile, Eviation of Israel,
a sister company, is developing Alice, a nine-passenger commuter, which will be pow-
ered by three magni250 motors. It should be flying in the next 12 months, certified
in 2022 and in passenger service the following year. Cape Air will likely be the launch
customer. Meanwhile, we’re talking to operators interested in STCing the eCaravan and
other aircraft for magnifications. And we’re happy to talk with anyone else interested
in converting a PT-6 powered aircraft — a great engine, by the way — to electric power.
Sorry, but why would anyone with a PT-6 make the switch to electric power?
5 Ganzarski: Because its costs are 40-80% lower than those of a PT-6 since it uses no TAP HERE in the digital edition
Jet A and has minimal maintenance requirements. Plus it’s odorless, nearly silent in of BCA to hear more from
operation and produces zero emissions. That’s all part of changing the face of aviation, this Interview or go to
AviationWeek.com/FastFive
and why I’m so excited about being here and what’s coming next. BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 17

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2020 Operations Planning Guide

How to Use the

Planning Guide Tables

DASSAULT
BY PAUL LAFATA plafata@airpowersgi.com

T
his year’s Guide covers turbine airframe systems parts and labor, en- conditions shown in the June Handbook.
powered, in production aircraft. gine reserves, APU reserves, and pro- Missions are calculated utilizing manu-
For out of production aircraft peller reserves for turboprop aircraft. facturer’s recommended cruise setting;
data contact AirPower Software Fixed costs, annual cockpit subscription therefore, cruise settings may vary
Group, Inc. Aircraft operating costs are services costs, annual cabin services from aircraft to aircraft, i.e. max cruise
presented in a format that separates costs and annual trip support cost fig- versus long range. Where the aircraft
information into six areas: Direct Mis- ures are provided for reference only and cannot cover the mission distance with
sion Costs, Fixed Annual Costs, Vari- are not included in the Direct Operating an 800-lb. (four-passenger) payload,
able Costs, Annual Cockpit Subscription Cost (DOC) figure for each of the Mis- BCA shows a reduction in payload or a
Services Costs, Annual Cabin Subscrip- sion Ranges. reduction in mission length at the Edi-
tion Services Costs and Annual Trip tor’s option.
Support Costs. BCA Equipped Price Direct Mission Costs include a bun-
dling of mission fuel consumed from
Aircraft Category: This number is taken from the June
2020 Purchase Planning Handbook, and
BCA’s Purchase Planning Handbook,
maintenance labor, parts, and reserve
Aircraft are grouped into six catego- reflects BCA-equipped, completed air- costs from the Variable Costs section
ries reflecting similarity of aircraft size, craft. The listed price is based on the lat- of this Guide, apportioned to the ac-
mission, and operations. Category 1 air- est model produced. tual flight time for the listed nm mis-
craft are turboprops weighing less than sion length. Fuel price used is based
12,500 lb. and very light jets weighing
less than 10,000 lb.; Category 2, multi-
Direct Mission Costs on a nationwide average price of $4.06
per gallon for Jet-A at press time. Fuel
engine turboprops weighing 12,500 lb. Mission Costs are calculated based on consumption calculations account for
or more and light jets weighing 10,000 the business aircraft missions shown taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, and
to 19,999 lb.; Category 3, jets weighing in BCA’s June 2020 Purchase Planning landing for the applicable mission as
20,000 to 29,999 lb.; Category 4, jets Handbook. Three missions are shown appropriate for the aircraft category.
weighing 30,000 to 40,999 lb.; Category for each aircraft: 300 nm, 600 nm, and (Note: Longer missions will lower aver-
5, jets weighing 41,000 lb. and up; and 1,000 NM. Ultra-long-range aircraft age hourly fuel burns due to more time
Category 6, ultra-long-range jets with (Category 6) missions are 1,000 nm, in cruise; conversely, shorter missions
NBAA IFR ranges above 6,000 nm. 3,000 nm, and 6,000 nm. The fuel ex- will increase average hourly fuel burn
Certain data are common to all aircraft pense for each mission is based on the figures since proportionally more time
in a category for purposes of calculating fuel burn figure for the mission, pro- is spent in the takeoff and climb phase
mission cost by listed range including vided by the OEM, and calculated under rather than cruise.)

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 19

2020 Operations Planning Guide
Fixed Costs (Annual) or small, play key roles in mitigating other factors such as training volume
personnel churn and attracting talent and length of commitment.
This area of expense includes those when needed. As Barden noted, “mul- Cabin Crew Training: These expenses
costs that must be borne by a flight tiple aircraft flight departments may are provided as budgetary planning
department irrespective of the level of or may not employ pilots as first offi- numbers only.
aircraft utilization. 2019 and 2020 have cers instead opting to qualify all pilots Maintenance Training: This estimated
been transitional years particularly for as captains. Directors of Maintenance cost is per-technician and includes ini-
flight department salaries and the re- can have a direct impact on airframe tial maintenance training on an aircraft
cent impact of COVID-19 shutdown this resale value by ensuring a high degree of model. Data reflected here was initially
year. Airline demand for qualified pilots aircraft maintenance and repair status compiled by ARGUS.
has waned, retirements and industry along and associated documentation ac- Hull and Liability Insurance: Aircraft
factors have resulted in compensation cording to Barden.” In summary, varia- hull and liability (and all aviation in-
leveling off in 2020. Salary surveys pub- tion across the industry relative to total surance in general) premiums have
lished last year quickly become obsolete. compensation is substantial. Therefore, changed significantly since last year’s
2020 has shaped up as somewhat nor- benefits are not a calculated factor in publication particularly for single pilot,
malized as qualified crew demand and salary estimates which would ordinarily owner flown, high asset value aircraft.
supply balanced more evenly. cover health care, retirement, bonuses,
Salaries: Included are salaries for restricted stock, and other benefits typi-
Flight Crew, Cabin Crew and Director of cal for a corporate flight department.
Maintenance where appropriate. We in-
terviewed Sheryl Barden, CEO at Avia-
tion Personnel International (API) (www.
Included are salaries for Flight Crew,
Cabin Crew and Director of Mainte-
nance where appropriate. Salary data
About Airpower
apiaviation.com) for state of the industry
insights with respect to aviation salaries
are based on available insights from
varied industry sources including API
Software
and the impact of business curtailment
and travel limitations. Barden’s over-
Aviation.
Flight Crew Training: Expenses shown Group, Inc.
arching message is this: “We don’t know are based on average transaction costs Our mission is to provide the aviation
what we don’t know. At the time of publi- for representative aircraft models. Ac- marketplace with data and information
cation, we are beginning to see a return tual expenses can vary due to market
necessary to make informed decisions
of flight operation and some hiring in capacity fluctuations, changes in train-
business aviation.” Barden went on to ing locations, and other factors such as and manage risk. Our premier product,
say, “we anticipate significant airline training volume and length of commit- Aircraft Budget Analyzer (www.Aircraft-
furloughs in the 4th quarter in response ment. The crew training landscape has BudgetAnalyzer.com), is used to perform
to the pandemic. However, airline re- changed significantly over the last 24 flight department budgetary planning,
tirements will continue as pilots reach months with several acquisitions and
side by side aircraft operating cost and
65 years of age. As flying returns pilots new developments. FlightSafety and
will be called back from furlough, and Textron Aviation announced a joint ven- performance comparisons including
the pilot shortage will be back.” ture to serve operators of the Cessna, charter and leasing strategies, and
Barden also noted that “corporate Hawker and Beechcraft product lines. solutions to aid in the identification
flight department crew retention is par- Simcom Aviation Training was acquired of business aircraft suitable for vari-
amount in anticipation of the economy by Flexjet and Nextant parent company,
ous mission needs. AirPower Software
coming back. Most organizations are Directional Aviation, which marked a
planning for a return to full flight op- major new entrant into the business avi- conducts research and data collection
erations domestically and globally once ation training space. Lastly, CAE pur- related to aircraft operating costs for
assured that they will not be caught chased Bombardier’s business aircraft both in and out of production aircraft,
in a quarantine when returning to the training unit. Additionally, there has primarily focused on fixed wing, turbine
United States. Salary adjustments for been continued expansion of in-aircraft
powered platforms, and a limited num-
2020, started the year on a potential or hybrid training options (flight train-
upward trajectory however, the impact ing device with in-aircraft training) for ber of high-performance piston aircraft.
of COVID-19 will likely keep salary non-type rated turboprop aircraft as For out-of-production aircraft contact
increases for flight departments flat. well as several owner-flown jets. Insur- AirPower Software at Support@Airpow-
Overall, flight operations have been im- ance underwriters continue to expand ersgi.com, or go to AircraftBudgetAna-
pacted and there is no one size fits all the number of approved training provid-
lyzer.com for a free PlaneFastFacts©
formula that can be applied to define ers for these platform types, and many
current operations. In general, flight of operators are seeking training options summary report.
departments are moving forward with that are closer to their base location, or AirPower Software Group
new protocols to ensure that business that require less time away from it. 850 Teague Trail
aviation can support the host organiza- Training costs remained effectively Ste. 1142
tion safely and efficiently in a COVID-19 flat for current production aircraft.
Lady Lake, FL 32158
world/economy.” Training expenses shown are based on
Barden believes retention strategies average transaction costs for represen- Phone: (407) 505-9116
including bonuses, restricted stock, tative aircraft models. Actual expenses www.Airpowersgi.com
work-life balance, and general working can vary due to market capacity fluctua- www.AircraftBudgetAnalyzer.com
conditions in flight departments, large tions, changes in training locations, and

20 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

Market forces impacting premiums the final step of selecting one insurance Category 3 aircraft carry $100 million;
include global catastrophic property/ policy over another, choose the proper and Categories 4 through 6 carry $200
casualty loss events, aviation losses in policy for broadness of coverage, liabil- to $500 million in liability insurance
the sector, cost of repairs and loss of ity limit needs, checkout or transition coverage depending on make and model.
underwriting facilities over the last 24 requirements and finally pricing. Other The annual cost is computed by multi-
months limiting competition. All these considerations include: Do you plan to plying the amount of liability coverage in
factors have made the smaller market dry lease time in the aircraft to a third millions by a per $M factor supplied by
space restrictive on high hull and lia- party? Does the policy cover this use? a leading provider of this type of insur-
bility limit aircraft along with forcing Can dry leasing be added to the policy / ance coverage.
tighter requirements on pilot qualifica- if so at what additional cost? What mini- Maintenance Software: The figure
tions. Hull and liability rates reflected in mum experience requirements do your shown for maintenance Software Pro-
the Guide are established based on key pilots need to have to be approved by the grams represents the average annual
experience and type specific training as policy underwriting company or what cost for a software program to track
noted below. Actual premiums can vary might be the requirements/minimum maintenance activities, intervals, and
significantly from those noted in 2020 experience threshold to add additional expenses. This number represents an
and beyond. Tom Hauge, National Sales pilots? Do all your pilots currently hold average cost and should be utilized as a
Director at Wings Insurance (https:// these qualifications and experience, budgetary planning estimate.
www.wingsinsurance.com) shared insights and if not, what will be required to have Hangar/Office Facilities: Expenses
for this year’s Planning Guide. “My job them approved by the insurance under- shown here are based on national av-
as an insurance broker is akin to that writing company?” erage annual costs reported by flight
of a salesman. “I work to position the These are just examples to consider departments in 2017 and escalated for
buyer in the best possible light to the says Hauge. “When you review your pol- 2020 based on the annual rate of ex-
underwriter. The level of thoroughness icy choices, make sure all your missions/ pected inflation. The figures shown in
achieved through interviews with my usage, pilots, etc. are covered. Without each cost area are broken down by the
clients can directly correlate to the qual- this knowledge, you could find yourself six aircraft categories and will gener-
ity of the quote. Come prepared to give in an uncovered situation, responsible for ally be the same for all aircraft included
your broker all the information needed a multitude of damages. With the right in the same category. This figure is an
to put you in front of an underwriter.” broker by your side, and the proper in- annual cost per aircraft and includes
Your broker will ask about your: formation, timing, and knowledge about hangar and office rent as well as addi-
υ࠙Pilot experience (the more detail pro- your policy, you can smoothly navigate tional facilities costs such as utilities,
vided, the better). Pilots without prior the aviation insurance purchasing pro- ground upkeep, snow removal, janito-
make/model experience, adequate tur- cess and gain a policy that best fits your rial service, and insurance (other than
bine time as PIC, and prior overall ex- needs.” Insurance estimates are based aircraft insurance).
perience can dramatically impact the on the aircraft flown by professional, For more than one aircraft, it is valid
overall total annual premiums. Pre- simulator-trained flight crews or well to multiply the figure by the number of
mium variation can be 100% higher or qualified Pilots with sufficient PIC time aircraft to arrive at a total flight depart-
more from previous years depending on in type particularly for the owner flown, ment cost. Actual rental costs will vary
experience metrics noted. single pilot class platforms. In other widely from one geographical area to
υ࠙Planned utilization for the aircraft, in- words, best case scenario as opposed to another.
cluding estimated annual flight hours, minimum qualification scenarios. Variable Costs (Per Flight Hour): These
territory you plan to operate in and how Hull Insurance per $100: This is the fac- expenses are directly related to opera-
you will use the aircraft. tor used as a multiplier to arrive at the tion of the aircraft and are represented
υ࠙Detailed training plan (if you are total annual cost of hull insurance for a as an hourly cost figure. Included are
transitioning into a higher performance particular aircraft. It is derived from ac- Maintenance Labor Expense, Parts Ex-
aircraft or turbine transition, this area tual aviation insurers’ quotes. Insurance pense, Engine, APU, Avionics and Pro-
is particularly important to define). quotes can vary greatly depending upon peller reserve expenses as appropriate.
Your broker will also dig into your use if the aircraft is covered under a fleet For in-production aircraft it is assumed
case for the aircraft including: policy or a standalone policy. The first the aircraft is covered by manufactur-
υ࠙Where you fly. number reported is the estimated an- er’s warranty. Figures shown are based
υ࠙Owner-flown versus professionally nual cost of hull insurance for a particu- on aircraft OEM direct estimates with
crewed aircraft. lar aircraft based on its BCA-equipped warranty effect incorporated unless
υ࠙Size of the aircraft make/model pool price as reported in the June 2019 Pur- otherwise noted by an (*). For OEMs
and overall safety record. chase Planning Handbook. The cost is that did not participate this year, an in-
υ࠙How many times a year you utilize computed by multiplying the cost per flation escalation was added to the most
the aircraft/flight hours estimated per $100 of hull insurance factor by the BCA current available data and noted in the
annum. equipped aircraft price. The figure in- remarks section.
υ࠙Expectations on liability coverages/ cludes war risk coverage, which consti- Service center maintenance labor ex-
any third-party passenger exposure. tutes on average $0.03 to $0.05 per $100 pense is computed by multiplying the
υ࠙Where the aircraft is based and how of hull insurance. Maintenance Man-Hours per Flight
it is secured when finished flying. Liability Insurance: This figure repre- Hour ratio by the nationwide average
υ࠙Number of underwriting companies sents the total annual cost for liability service center hourly maintenance la-
willing to write coverage for a specific air- insurance for an aircraft model. Air- bor cost (Category 1: $105/hr.; Category
craft type and planned crew operation. craft in Categories 1 and 2 are assumed 2: $105/hr.; Category 3: @110/hr.; Cat-
Hauge advises “when you get down to to carry $5 million in liability insurance; egory 4: $115/hr.; Category 5: $120/hr.;

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 21

2020 Operations Planning Guide
Category 6: $120/hr.). Labor expenses unscheduled maintenance require- consulted for price quotes. Expenses
for each Category noted here were used ments on a per hour, fee paid basis. En- shown vary depending on cockpit avi-
in the preparation of in production air- gine and or APU loaners may not be onics equipment configurations and are
craft maintenance labor costs per flight covered by these programs for unsched- approximated averages for in produc-
hour. uled events resulting in significant out tion aircraft.
Airframe Systems Parts and Labor: This of service time for the aircraft. Consult
figure is a model specific hourly expense
with warranty considered. It should be
policy terms and conditions or the Ser-
vice Provider for specifics.
Annual Cabin Services Costs
noted warranty periods and coverage Avionics Reserves: For in production Cabin services costs assume the aircraft
vary from OEM to OEM and are not aircraft, avionics reserves for categories is optioned with appropriate equipment
specifically defined in this description. 1 – 6 are assumed not to be applicable due at time of delivery from the factory. Air-
Contact the OEM for policies related to to OEM warranty coverage during the Power Software provided budgetary
new aircraft warranty and pre-owned first 5 years of operation following entry planning numbers for Swift Broadband
aircraft within the warranty period for into service. Additionally, upgrades to (SBB), Ka/Ku, SatTV, and Cabin Irid-
transfers related to the airframe, en- cover regulatory mandates are not fac- ium services. Estimated Air to Ground
gines, APUs and avionics. The following tored in hourly operating costs. service costs are derived from published
descriptions define how maintenance Propeller Reserves (where applicable): pricing where available. Cabin services
man-hours and parts expense were cal- These expenses are based on OEM input except for air-to-ground and cabin/
culated into mission costs: for in-production turbo-prop aircraft. iridium phone are applicable to aircraft
Maintenance Labor Hours/Flight Hour Annual Cockpit Subscription Costs: categories 4 – 6 due to suitable empen-
(in-production aircraft): An aircraft man- These are expenses related to cockpit nage and or vertical stabilizer antenna/
ufacturer-supplied ratio of maintenance navigation equipment database updates, radome solutions and suitable space for
man-hours per flight hour. The num- safety services associated with flight installation. Not included in cabin ser-
ber reflects an average for the first five planning, and other services associ- vices costs are activation, on-wing field
years of operation while under warranty ated with flight operations. These ser- labor support, aircraft crew training ex-
including scheduled maintenance and vices are typically purchased through pense, or ongoing technical support as-
unscheduled maintenance events. Main- the OEM in the case of FMS and GPS sociated with troubleshooting complex
tenance man-hours per flight hour are navigators or ground proximity system satellite communications equipment
multiplied by corresponding labor rate, databases, and service providers for and networks. Many service providers
by aircraft category and incorporated datalink, flight planning, charts and offer a continuum of support services
into the Airframe Systems Parts and graphs and digital weather-related and should be contacted directly for in-
Labor variable cost figure line item. products. Information in this section is formation related to ongoing support
Parts Expense (In-production aircraft): dependent on cockpit avionics configu- and service activation.
This hourly expense is derived from ration and pricing offered at the time of
model specific manufacturer’s quotes
and included parts expense for airframe
aircraft delivery, or as contracted with a
cockpit services provider. Procurement
Annual Trip Support Costs
systems. In-production aircraft parts of subscription services from a provider Annual trip support expenses are sim-
expense provided by the OEM have that offers training support on use of ilar for all aircraft in a particular cat-
warranty taken into consideration. It products as well as troubleshooting, sys- egory, reflecting comparable aircraft
should be noted some warranty periods tem configurations on-wing and satellite capabilities and mission utilization.
covered timeframes less than 5 years communication link setup for service Trip Expenses includes catering ser-
but are not specifically called out in the delivery where needed are highly de- vice, flight crew travel, international
Guide. Airframe systems parts calcula- sirable support elements. Typical sub- trip support, concierge, ground han-
tions assume unscheduled maintenance scription costs which vary depending dling and landing/parking fees. Fees
events would be covered by warranty on mission needs are reflected in this reflected are annual numbers assigned
and does not include reserves for engine section. However, annual aircraft uti- to specific aircraft categories. For air-
or APU overhauls, hot sections, long- lization and bundling of other services craft in categories 5 – 6, 400 annual
range maintenance events, or propeller may reduce these expenses. flight hour utilization rates were used
reserves. Those items are listed sepa- Navigation and EGPWS/TAWS Data- to arrive at budgetary planning es-
rately in the variable cost section. Avi- bases: Annual subscription prices are timates. For categories 1 – 4, 250 an-
onics repair costs during the warranty derived from OEM data sources or es- nual flight hour utilization rates were
period would also be covered by OEM timated where OEMs do not publish used. Mission durations vary substan-
warranty and therefore no reserve costs publicly available pricing, and therefore tially which resulted in a change in the
are shown for Categories 1 – 6 platforms. should be viewed as directionally cor- way these costs were calculated for
Regulatory mandates should be sepa- rect for budgetary planning purposes. the 2020 Operations Planning Guide.
rately budgeted for when evaluating op- Navigation database prices do not in- Many Operators elect to use a service
erating costs for each aircraft. clude optional bundled or enhanced fea- provider in the case of concierge and
Engine Reserves and APU Reserves ture pricing unless specifically noted. international trip support due to com-
(where applicable): These expenses are For example, Navigation database, plus plexities associated with overflight and
based on OEM input for in-production terrain, traffic or other charts and maps landing permitting and other logistical
aircraft where provided. Engine and can be covered in a one-time renewal, arrangement. International Trip Sup-
A PU OEMs and 3rd party service or annual subscription price depend- port and Concierge was not factored
providers offer programs designed to ing on the avionics manufacturer. The in for aircraft in categories 1 – 4 unless
fix or cover operator’s scheduled and aircraft or database supplier should be otherwise noted, or the aircraft had

22 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

sufficient NBAA IFR range to justify a the impact of IRS bonus deprecia- Guide Hull and Liability Insurance sec-
budgetary planning estimate. tion regulations on the planned flight tions, and the desired coverage limits
Operations Planning (Aircraft Acquisi- operations.” must be balanced against insurance
tion — new for 2020): Selecting a new or Wade further stated “significant premium payments.”
replacement airplane can be a complex, flight hours for personal use, or busi- Purchase Agreement: Wade said: “once
daunting task particularly for first time ness f lights which also carry pas- the desired aircraft is identified and ba-
buyers and those upgrading to a new sengers traveling for non-business sic business points of the acquisition
platform. Acquisition planning involves purposes, may negatively affect an an- negotiated, the parties will execute a
a thorough operational needs review ticipated bonus depreciation deduction. sales agreement. For new aircraft, the
to ensure the right aircraft for your Planning with the entire team to ad- manufacturer provides their standard
unique mission needs is purchased. We dress how to best satisfy tax goals and sales agreement. Certain terms are not
interviewed Michelle Wade, Managing business goals while complying with negotiable, but others can be revised to
Partner at Jetstream Aviation Law, P.A. FAA regulations can avoid unpleasant ensure a good delivery experience for
(https://jetstreamlaw.com), this year to eleventh-hour surprises. State sales everyone.
add new perspective to the overall Op- and use tax, state property tax and the υ࠙Consider the pre-purchase inspec-
erations Planning Guide. availability of any exemptions should be tion and delivery process to ensure that
Team Planning: Wade shared key ad- considered and will impact ownership it meets the buyer’s expectations.
vice: “assemble a team of subject matter planning and aircraft operations. Each υ࠙Consider addressing what closing
experts including technical, operations, aircraft owner has a unique business documentation the buyer will receive
tax, legal, staffing, and general consult- structure, unique tax goals and unique from the manufacturer at delivery time.
ing expertise in addition to the owner’s business goals. There is no “one-size υ࠙Consider addressing the closing pro-
in-house business team. Using a robust fits all” tax plan when buying a new cedure in more detail.
team to create a complete acquisition a i rcra f t . E a rly d iscus sion of the υ࠙Do you have any specific delivery con-
plan that considers mission needs, uti- planned operations and desired tax ditions to include for your aircraft?
lization plans, business goals, tax laws, benefits will allow the team to identify Planning for the delivery when nego-
and FAA regulations can avoid future and address any potential conflicts be- tiating the purchase agreement can cre-
problems.” Wade emphasized “start tween business plans, tax laws and the ate an easier closing experience.”
your planning early allowing sufficient FAA regulations.” In summary, there are many other
time to research questions arising from Financing: Wade stated: “the process details to be planned and executed in
unique business needs.” of identifying potential aviation lenders, the purchase of a new aircraft. The use
When asked for additional clarifica- obtaining quotes, and selecting a lender of experienced expertise is essential to
tion, Wade advised: “well-defined uti- should begin at least several months avoid delays and unexpected surprises
lization information narrows the list of before funds are needed. It takes time during the planning and purchasing
aircraft to consider, narrows the list of to provide the required due diligence process. Working with an experienced
significant tax issues to address, and to the selected lender, obtain loan ap- team will significantly streamline and
helps identify how FAA regulations will proval, review the loan documentation, ensure your experience is a good one.
affect ownership and operation of new and negotiate important business points General: Abbreviations and annota-
aircraft.” The answers to these ques- into the loan documents while ensuring tions are used throughout the tables:
tions will help clarify the intended utili- a smooth closing.” “NA” means not available or not appli-
zation of the aircraft: Home Base Logistics: Depending on cable to a particular aircraft model. As
υ࠙Will flights be primarily for business where the aircraft will be geographically an example single pilot (*SP) certified
use with limited personal flights? based, this planning element is critical to aircraft will not include a salary for the
υ࠙Will flights be predominately per- ensure an expensive asset is not parked copilot in the Guide table; “NP” signi-
sonal flights? on the ramp, unprotected. Wade fur- fies that the specific performance is not
υ࠙Does the owner expect anyone to pay ther advised: “the aircraft acquisition possible; “OC” means On Condition; and
for their flights on the aircraft? team should also identify the resources “INCL” indicates a particular cost item
υ࠙Will a professional aircraft manage- needed to support the new aircraft. is combined with another specifically
ment company be hired? υ࠙Where will the aircraft be hangered? noted item.
υ࠙Will the aircraft be leased to a char- This decision is affected by identifying a Model Footnotes: (1) Cirrus Aircraft
ter company to provide charter flights convenient departure airport for most offers the JetStream program; an all-
to the owner, friends or third parties? flights, hangar space availability and inclusive operating cost per flight hour
Tax Goals: Wade emphasized this state tax laws. product which includes recurrent train-
is an area that: “particular attention υ࠙How will the aircraft be staffed? ing, all scheduled and unscheduled
needs to be paid to. Missteps here can υ࠙How many pilots will the owner maintenance, all subscriptions and
be costly. Defining tax goals is essen- employ? Will any contract crew be more. Variable costs, which are nor-
tial, including both federal and state utilized? mally included in JetStream, are broken
tax factors. One significant decision υ࠙Will a maintenance technician or a out only for the purposes of calculating
in an owner’s federal tax planning in- flight attendant be employed? direct mission costs for each of the pre-
cludes whether to take a tax deduction υ࠙What maintenance/service programs defined ranges and are based on the
for bonus depreciation. Bonus depre- will be utilized? JetStream 2 yr./600 hr. Program, and
ciation may allow the owner to deduct υ࠙What insurance coverages will be AirPower’s estimates.
the entire purchase price on the own- obtained?” Cessna Citation Longitude APU re-
er’s tax return in the year of purchase, Insurance premiums have increased serves included in the engine reserve
however it is important to understand as noted in the Operations Planning cost. BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 23

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 1 — Turboprops <12,500 lb. – Jets <10,000 lb.

Manufacturer Mahindra Aerospace Textron Aviation Piper Aviation Textron Aviation
Aircraft Model Airvan 10 Cessna Caravan M500 Grand Caravan EX
Category (1-6) 1 1 1 1
BCA Equipped Price $1,700,000 $2,000,000 $2,250,000 $2,250,000
300 nm $688 $816 $536 $884
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $1,346 $1,597 $967 $1,732

1,000 nm NP NP $1,620 NP
3,000 nm — — — —
6,000 nm — — — —
Captain Salary $88,358 $88,358 $88,358 $88,358
First Officer Salary SP* SP* SP* SP*
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary NA NA NA NA
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 $4,500

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA NA
Maintenance Training NA NA NA NA
Hull Insurance per $100 $10,710 $12,600 $14,175 $14,175
Liability Insurance per $M $7,500 $7,750 $7,500 $7,500
Hangar/Office $16,391 $16,391 $16,391 $16,391
Maint. Software Programs NA $1,523 NA $1,523
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $71 $125 $98 $125
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $100 $123 $120 $124

APU Reserves NA NA NA NA
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves $6 $6 $6 $6
Nav Database $924 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database $150 Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database
Flight Planning NA NA NA NA
Wx Services NA NA NA NA
Charts & Maps NA NA NA NA
Swift Broadband NA NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA NA
Air to Ground NA NA NA NA
SatTV NA NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone NA $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service NA $3,121 $3,121 $3,121
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel NA $2,050 $2,050 $2,050

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA NA NA NA

Concierge NA NA NA NA
Ground Handling NA $2,030 $2,030 $2,030
Landing/Parking Fees NA $1,010 $1,010 $1,010
*FAA certified for single-pilot operations

Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

24 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 1 — Turboprops <12,500 lb. – Jets <10,000 lb.

Manufacturer Daher Cirrus Design Nextant Aerospace Vulcanair SpA
Aircraft Model Kodiak Vision G2** G90XT A-Viator
Category (1-6) 1 1 1 1
BCA Equipped Price $2,454,800 $2,480,000 $2,750,000 $2,965,000
300 nm $844 $601 $867 NA
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $1,650 $1,266 $1,730 NA

1,000 nm $2,723 $2,027 $2,877 NP
3,000 nm — — — —
6,000 nm — — — —
Captain Salary $88,358 $88,358 $108,980 NA
First Officer Salary SP* SP* SP* SP*
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary NA NA NA NA
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $4,500 $14,000 $8,000 NA

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA NA
Maintenance Training NA NA NA NA
Hull Insurance per $100 $15,465 $19,840 $17,325 $18,680
Liability Insurance per $M $7,500 $7,750 $7,750 $7,500
Hangar/Office $16,391 $16,391 $16,391 $16,391
Maint. Software Programs NA NA NA NA
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $107 $137 $225 NA
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $154 $137 $224 NA

APU Reserves NA NA NA NA
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves $8 NA $18 NA
Nav Database $1,000 $1,200 $1,500 NA
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database NA
Flight Planning NA NA NA NA
Wx Services NA $1,200 NA NA
Charts & Maps NA $1,200 NA NA
Swift Broadband NA NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA NA
Air To Ground NA NA NA NA
SatTV NA NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150 NA
Catering Service $3,121 $3,121 $6,151 NA
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel NA $2,050 $4,101 NA

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA NA NA NA

Concierge NA NA NA NA
Ground Handling $2,030 $2,030 $2,050 NA
Landing/Parking Fees $1,010 $1,010 $4,101 NA
*FAA certified for single-pilot operations
**See footnote in “How to Use the 2020 Operations Planning Guide”

Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 25

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 1 — Turboprops <12,500 lb. – Jets <10,000 lb.

Manufacturer Epic Aircraft Piper Aircraft Daher
Aircraft Model Epic* M600 TBM 910
Category (1-6) 1 1 1
BCA Equipped Price $3,250,000 $3,261,955 $4,162,365
300 nm $527 $566 $508
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $1,001 $1,013 $965

1,000 nm $1,623 $1,715 $1,563
3,000 nm — — —
6,000 nm — — —
Captain Salary $88,358 $88,358 $88,358
First Officer Salary SP** SP** SP**
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary NA NA NA
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $4,500 $4,500 $4,500

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA
Maintenance Training NA NA NA
Hull Insurance per $100 $22,750 $20,550 $29,137
Liability Insurance per $M $7,500 $7,500 $7,500
Hangar/Office $16,391 $16,391 $16,391
Maint. Software Programs NA NA $1,523
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $109 $98 $81
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $143 $120 $152

APU Reserves NA NA NA
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves $8 $6 $8
Nav Database $1,000 $1,200 $1,300
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database
Flight Planning NA NA NA
Wx Services NA NA NA
Charts & Maps NA NA NA
Swift Broadband NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA
Air to Ground NA NA NA
SatTV NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone NA $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service NA $3,121 $3,121
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel NA $2,050 $2,050

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA NA NA

Concierge NA NA NA
Ground Handling NA $2,030 $2,030
Landing/Parking Fees NA $1,010 $1,010
*Direct Costs estimated by AirPower Software
**FAA certified for single-pilot operations
Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

26 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 1 — Turboprops <12,500 lb. – Jets <10,000 lb.

Manufacturer Textron Aviation Daher Pilatus Aircraft
Aircraft Model Beechcraft King Air C90GTx TBM 940 PC-12 NGX
Category (1-6) 1 1 1
BCA Equipped Price $4,200,000 $4,504,654 $5,353,000
300 nm $1,027 $508 $796
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $1,935 $965 $1,466

1,000 nm $3,079 $1,563 $2,380
3,000 nm — — —
6,000 nm — — —
Captain Salary $108,980 $88,358 $88,358
First Officer Salary SP* SP* SP*
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary NA NA NA
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $8,000 $4,500 $4,500

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA
Maintenance Training NA NA NA
Hull Insurance per $100 $26,460 $31,533 $33,724
Liability Insurance per $M $7,750 $7,500 $7,500
Hangar/Office $16,391 $16,391 $20,822
Maint. Software Programs $1,523 NA NA
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $211 $81 $248
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $247 $152 $143

APU Reserves NA NA NA
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves $14 $8 $6
Nav Database $12,000 $1,300 $7,406
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database
Flight Planning NA NA NA
Wx Services NA NA NA
Charts & Maps NA NA NA
Swift Broadband NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA
Air to Ground NA NA NA
SatTV NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $6,151 $3,121 $3,121
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $4,101 $2,050 $2,050

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA NA NA

Concierge NA NA NA
Ground Handling $2,050 $2,030 $2,030
Landing/Parking Fees $4,101 $1,010 $1,010
*FAA certified for single-pilot operations

Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 27

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 1 — Turboprops <12,500 lb. – Jets <10,000 lb.

Manufacturer Textron Aviation Viking Air Piaggio
Aircraft Model Beechcraft King Air 250 400 Series Avanti Evo
Category (1-6) 1 1 1
BCA Equipped Price $6,390,000 $6,500,000 $7,695,000
300 nm $1,048 NA $935
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $1,924 NA $1,711

1,000 nm $3,024 NA $2,752
3,000 nm — — —
6,000 nm — — —
Captain Salary $118,029 NA $118,029
First Officer Salary SP* SP* SP*
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary NA NA NA
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $16,000 NA $16,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA
Maintenance Training NA NA NA
Hull Insurance per $100 $40,257 $40,950 $48,479
Liability Insurance per $M $7,750 $7,750 $7,750
Hangar/Office $16,391 $16,391 $16,391
Maint. Software Programs $1,523 NA NA
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $211 NA $195
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $270 NA $376

APU Reserves NA NA NA
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves $16 NA $16
Nav Database $12,000 NA $12,000
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database NA Incl. in Nav Database

Flight Planning NA NA NA
Wx Services NA NA NA
Charts & Maps NA NA NA
Swift Broadband NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA
Air to Ground NA NA NA
SatTV NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 NA $2,150
Catering Service $6,270 NA $6,270
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $4,045 NA $4,045

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA NA NA

Concierge NA NA NA
Ground Handling $2,023 NA $2,023
Landing/Parking Fees $4,101 NA $4,101
*FAA certified for single-pilot operations

Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

28 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 2 — Turboprops ≥12,500 lb. – Jets <20,000 lb.

Manufacturer Embraer Nextant Aerospace Honda Aircraft Co. Textron Aviation
Aircraft Model Phenom 100EV Nextant 400 XTi HondaJet Elite** Cessna Citation M2
Category (1-6) 2 2 2 2
BCA Equipped Price $4,250,000 $4,650,000 $5,300,000 $5,305,000
300 nm $937 $946 $903 $924
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $1,701 $1,682 $1,603 $1,648

1,000 nm $2,741 $2,748 $2,580 $2,582
3,000 nm — — — —
6,000 nm — — — —
Captain Salary $118,029 $118,029 $118,029 $118,029
First Officer Salary SP* SP* SP* SP*
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary NA NA NA NA
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $14,000 $14,000 $14,000 $14,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA NA
Maintenance Training NA NA NA NA
Hull Insurance per $100 $16,150 $17,670 $13,250 $20,159
Liability Insurance per $M $7,500 $7,000 $7,500 $7,500
Hangar/Office $20,822 $20,822 $20,822 $20,822
Maint. Software Programs $3,355 NA NA NA
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $146 $241 $202 $199
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $398 $318 $300 $305

APU Reserves NA NA NA NA
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA NA
Nav Database $1,400 $5,917 $1,810 $1,810
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database $550 Incl. in Nav Database $350 $350

Flight Planning NA NA NA NA
Wx Services NA NA NA NA
Charts & Maps NA NA NA NA
Swift Broadband NA NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA NA
Air to Ground NA NA NA NA
SatTV NA NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $8,652 $8,652 $8,652 $8,652
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $5,767 $5,767 $5,767 $5,767

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA NA NA NA

Concierge NA NA NA NA
Ground Handling $2,884 $2,884 $2,884 $2,884
Landing/Parking Fees $5,767 $5,767 $5,767 $5,767
*FAA certified for single-pilot operations
**Variable Costs estimated by AirPower Software
Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 29

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 2 — Turboprops ≥12,500 lb. – Jets <20,000 lb.

Manufacturer Textron Aviation Syberjet Textron Aviation Textron Aviation
Aircraft Model King Air 350i SJ30i King Air 350iER Citation CJ3+
Category (1-6) 2 2 2 2
BCA Equipped Price $7,755,000 $8,306,452 $8,795,400 $8,990,000
300 nm $1,049 $849 $1,097 $1,002
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $1,905 $1,438 $1,983 $1,756

1,000 nm $2,995 $2,253 $3,118 $2,723
3,000 nm — — — —
6,000 nm — — — —
Captain Salary $118,029 $118,029 $118,029 $118,029
First Officer Salary SP* SP* SP* SP*
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary NA NA NA NA
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $13,500 $14,000 $14,000 $14,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA NA
Maintenance Training NA NA NA NA
Hull Insurance per $100 $29,469 $31,565 $33,423 $34,162
Liability Insurance per $M $7,500 $7,500 $7,000 $7,500
Hangar/Office $20,822 $20,822 $20,822 $20,822
Maint. Software Programs $1,523 $1,755 $1,523 $1,755
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $211 $217 $211 $175
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $270 $231 $270 $332

APU Reserves NA NA NA NA
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves $18 NA $18 NA
Nav Database $12,000 NA $12,000 $4,395
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database NA Incl. in Nav Database $450

Flight Planning NA NA NA NA
Wx Services NA NA NA NA
Charts & Maps NA NA NA NA
Swift Broadband NA NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA NA
Air to Ground NA NA NA NA
SatTV NA NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $8,652 $8,652 $8,652 $8,652
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $5,767 $5,767 $5,767 $5,767

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA NA NA NA

Concierge NA NA NA NA
Ground Handling $2,884 $2,884 $2,884 $2,884
Landing/Parking Fees $5,767 $5,767 $5,767 $5,767
*FAA certified for single-pilot operations

Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

30 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 2 — Turboprops ≥12,500 lb. – Jets <20,000 lb.

Manufacturer Embraer Textron Aviation Pilatus Aircraft
Aircraft Model Phenom 300E Cessna Citation CJ4 PC-24
Category (1-6) 2 2 2
BCA Equipped Price $9,650,000 $10,095,000 $11,134,900
300 nm $1,138 $1,041 $1,016
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $1,970 $1,911 $1,793

1,000 nm $3,102 $2,948 $2,873
3,000 nm — — —
6,000 nm — — —
Captain Salary $118,029 $118,029 $118,029
First Officer Salary $70,304 $70,304 $70,304
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary NA NA NA
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $14,000 $14,000 $14,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA
Maintenance Training NA NA NA
Hull Insurance per $100 $22,488 $25,238 $27,837
Liability Insurance per $M $7,500 $7,500 $7,500
Hangar/Office $20,822 $20,822 $20,822
Maint. Software Programs $3,355 $1,755 NA
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $168 $197 $362
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $484 $342 $707

APU Reserves NA NA NA
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA
Nav Database $1,400 $7,325 $13,790
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database $550 Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database

Flight Planning NA NA NA
Wx Services NA NA NA
Charts & Maps NA NA NA
Swift Broadband NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA
Air to Ground NA NA NA
SatTV NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $8,652 $8,652 $8,652
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $5,767 $5,767 $5,767

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA NA NA

Concierge NA NA NA
Ground Handling $2,884 $2,884 $2,884
Landing/Parking Fees $5,767 $5,767 $5,767

Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 31

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 3 — Jets 20,000 lb. to 29,999 lb.

Manufacturer Bombardier Bombardier Textron Aviation
Aircraft Model Learjet 75 Liberty* Learjet 75* Cessna Citation XLS+
Category (1-6) 3 3 3
BCA Equipped Price $9,900,000 $13,800,000 $13,940,000
300 nm $1,164 $1,201 $1,345
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $2,090 $2,155 $2,397

1,000 nm $3,339 $3,440 $3,823
3,000 nm — — —
6,000 nm — — —
Captain Salary $153,426 $153,426 $153,426
First Officer Salary $88,173 $88,173 $88,173
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary NA NA NA
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $58,000 $58,000 $58,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA
Maintenance Training NA NA NA
Hull Insurance per $100 $22,770 $31,740 $28,438
Liability Insurance per $M $13,300 $13,300 $13,300
Hangar/Office $36,062 $36,062 $36,062
Maint. Software Programs $1,736 $1,736 $1,755
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $107 $107 $305
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $634 $634 $430

APU Reserves NA $40 $40
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA
Nav Database $7,325 $7,325 $7,325
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database
Flight Planning NA $3,500 $3,500
Wx Services NA $1,400 $1,400
Charts & Maps NA $2,450 $2,450
Swift Broadband NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA
Air to Ground NA $22,740 $22,740
SatTV NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $8,652 $24,501 $24,501
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $5,767 $16,334 $16,334

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA NA NA

Concierge NA NA NA
Ground Handling $2,884 $8,167 $8,167
Landing/Parking Fees $5,767 $16,334 $16,334
*Mission Fuel estimate from BCA Purchase Planning Handbook;
Variable Costs estimated by AirPower Software
Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

32 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 4 — Jets 30,000 lb. to 40,999 lb.

Manufacturer Embraer Embraer Textron Aviation
Aircraft Model Legacy 450 Praetor 500 Cessna Citation Latitude
Category (1-6) 4 4 4
BCA Equipped Price $16,570,000 $16,995,000 $18,195,000
300 nm $1,583 $1,639 $1,609
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $2,741 $2,750 $2,785

1,000 nm $4,280 $4,335 $4,414
3,000 nm — — —
6,000 nm — — —
Captain Salary $178,393 $178,393 $178,393
First Officer Salary $99,094 $99,094 $99,094
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary $127,306 $127,306 $127,306
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $58,000 $58,000 $58,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA $3,545
Maintenance Training $10,600 $10,600 $10,600
Hull Insurance per $100 $29,826 $30,591 $32,751
Liability Insurance per $M $22,400 $22,400 $22,400
Hangar/Office $60,704 $60,704 $60,704
Maint. Software Programs NA NA $1,755
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $158 $158 $186
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $661 $661 $600

APU Reserves $45 $45 $40
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA
Nav Database $33,500 $33,500 $15,295
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database $1,050

Flight Planning $3,500 $3,500 $3,500
Wx Services $1,400 $1,400 $1,400
Charts & Maps $2,450 $2,450 $2,450
Swift Broadband $68,000 $68,000 $68,000
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA
Air to Ground $22,740 $22,740 $22,740
SatTV NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $44,313 $44,313 $44,313
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $29,543 $29,543 $29,543

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support $22,156 $22,156 $22,156

Concierge $7,385 $7,385 $7,385
Ground Handling $14,771 $14,771 $14,771
Landing/Parking Fees $29,543 $29,543 $29,543

Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 33

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 4 — Jets 30,000 lb. to 40,999 lb.

Manufacturer Textron Aviation Embraer Embraer
Aircraft Model Citation Sovereign+ Legacy 500 Praetor 600
Category (1-6) 4 4 4
BCA Equipped Price $19,730,000 $19,995,000 $20,995,000
300 nm $1,529 $1,593 $2,279
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $2,634 $2,757 $4,058

1,000 nm $4,202 $4,331 $6,408
3,000 nm — — —
6,000 nm — — —
Captain Salary $178,393 $178,393 $178,393
First Officer Salary $99,094 $99,094 $99,094
Cabin Crew Salary NA NA NA
Director of Maintenance Salary $127,306 $127,306 $127,306
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $58,000 $58,000 $58,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA NA NA
Maintenance Training $10,600 $10,600 $10,600
Hull Insurance per $100 $35,514 $35,991 $37,791
Liability Insurance per $M $22,400 $22,400 $22,400
Hangar/Office $60,704 $60,704 $60,704
Maint. Software Programs $1,755 NA NA
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $187 $157 $155
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $594 $674 $674

APU Reserves $40 $45 $45
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA
Nav Database $15,295 $33,500 $33,500
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database $1,050 Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database

Flight Planning $3,500 $3,500 $3,500
Wx Services $1,400 $1,400 $1,400
Charts & Maps $2,450 $2,450 $2,450
Swift Broadband $68,000 $68,000 $68,000
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA
Air to Ground $22,740 $22,740 $22,740
SatTV NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $44,313 $44,313 $44,313
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $29,543 $29,543 $29,543

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support $22,156 $22,156 $22,156

Concierge $7,385 $7,385 $7,385
Ground Handling $14,771 $14,771 $14,771
Landing/Parking Fees $29,543 $29,543 $29,543

Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

34 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 4 — Jets 30,000 lb. to 40,999 lb.

Manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace Bombardier Textron Aviation
Aircraft Model G280 Challenger 350* Cessna Citation Longitude
Category (1-6) 4 4 4
BCA Equipped Price $24,500,000 $26,673,000 $28,345,000
300 nm $1,767 $1,623 $1,597
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $3,026 $2,777 $2,768

1,000 nm $4,720 $4,328 $4,367
3,000 nm — — —
6,000 nm — — —
Captain Salary $178,393 $178,393 $178,393
First Officer Salary $99,094 $99,094 $99,094
Cabin Crew Salary NA $98,753 $98,753
Director of Maintenance Salary $127,306 $127,306 $127,306
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $58,000 $58,000 $58,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA $3,545 $3,545
Maintenance Training $10,600 $12,237 $10,600
Hull Insurance per $100 $31,850 $34,675 $36,849
Liability Insurance per $M $22,400 $22,400 $22,400
Hangar/Office $60,704 $60,704 $60,704
Maint. Software Programs $11,501 $8,142 NA
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $285 $132 $247
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $762 $676 $678

APU Reserves $45 $40 Incl. in Engine Reserves
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA
Nav Database $33,500 $48,500 $15,295
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database $1,365

Flight Planning $3,500 $3,500 $3,500
Wx Services $1,400 $1,400 $1,400
Charts & Maps $2,450 $2,450 $2,450
Swift Broadband $68,000 $68,000 $68,000
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA NA NA
Air to Ground $22,740 $22,740 $22,740
SatTV NA NA NA
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $44,313 $44,313 $44,313
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $29,543 $29,543 $29,543

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support $22,156 $22,156 $22,156

Concierge $7,385 $7,385 $7,385
Ground Handling $14,771 $14,771 $14,771
Landing/Parking Fees $29,543 $29,543 $29,543
*Mission Fuel estimate from BCA Purchase Planning Handbook;
Variable Costs estimated by AirPower Software
Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 35

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 5 — Jets ≥41,000 lb.

Manufacturer Dassault Bombardier Dassault Dassault
Aircraft Model Falcon 2000S Challenger 650* Falcon 2000LXS Falcon 900LX
Category (1-6) 5 5 5 5
BCA Equipped Price $29,950,000 $32,350,000 $35,100,000 $44,800,000
300 nm $1,649 $1,728 $1,649 $1,910
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $2,836 $3,128 $2,836 $3,337

1,000 nm $4,436 $5,000 $4,435 $5,277
3,000 nm — — — —
6,000 nm — — — —
Captain Salary $215,531 $215,531 $215,531 $215,531
First Officer Salary $132,068 $132,068 $132,068 $132,068
Cabin Crew Salary $98,753 $98,753 $98,753 $98,753
Director of Maintenance Salary $165,957 $165,957 $165,957 $165,957
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $94,589 $94,589 $94,589 $94,589

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training $3,545 $3,545 $3,545 $3,545
Maintenance Training $10,037 $8,574 $11,301 $10,621
Hull Insurance per $100 $38,935 $42,055 $45,630 $62,720
Liability Insurance per $M $22,400 $22,400 $22,400 $22,400
Hangar/Office $103,196 $103,196 $103,196 $103,196
Maint. Software Programs $8,362 $8,142 $8,362 $8,362
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $342 $150 $342 $401
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $560 $783 $559 $776

APU Reserves $24 $40 $24 $27
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA NA
Nav Database $44,500 $48,500 $44,500 $54,500
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database
Flight Planning $3,500 $3,500 $3,500 $3,500
Wx Services $1,400 $1,400 $1,400 $1,400
Charts & Maps $2,450 $2,450 $2,450 $2,450
Swift Broadband $78,000 NA $78,000 NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA $125,000 NA $125,000

Air to Ground $22,740 $22,740 $22,740 $22,740
SatTV $11,652 $11,652 $11,652 $11,652
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $55,446 $56,000 $56,000 $56,000
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $36,964 $37,296 $37,296 $37,296

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support $27,723 $27,972 $27,972 $27,972

Concierge $9,241 $9,324 $9,324 $9,324
Ground Handling $18,482 $18,649 $18,649 $18,649
Landing/Parking Fees $36,964 $37,296 $37,296 $37,296
*Mission Fuel estimate from BCA Purchase Planning Handbook;
Variable Costs estimated by AirPower Software
Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

36 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 5 — Jets ≥41,000 lb.

Manufacturer Bombardier Gulfstream Aero. Bombardier Dassault
Aircraft Model Global 5500* G500 Global 5000* Falcon 7X
Category (1-6) 5 5 5 5
BCA Equipped Price $46,000,000 $48,500,000 $50,441,000 $53,800,000
300 nm $2,540 $1,722 $2,814 $2,102
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm $4,361 $2,720 $4,739 $3,552

1,000 nm $6,835 $4,088 $7,369 $5,513
3,000 nm — — — —
6,000 nm — — — —
Captain Salary $215,531 $215,531 $215,531 $215,531
First Officer Salary $132,068 $132,068 $132,068 $137,631
Cabin Crew Salary $98,753 $98,753 $98,753 $120,000
Director of Maintenance Salary $165,957 $165,957 $165,957 $165,957
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $94,589 $94,589 $94,589 $94,589

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training $3,545 $3,545 $3,545 $3,545
Maintenance Training $10,621 $10,621 $13,611 $20,260
Hull Insurance per $100 $64,400 $67,900 $70,617 $80,700
Liability Insurance per $M $22,400 $22,400 $22,400 $22,400
Hangar/Office $108,110 $108,110 $108,110 $103,196
Maint. Software Programs $8,142 $8,142 $8,362 $8,362
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $188 $482 $188 $280
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $1,238 $927 $1,238 $794

APU Reserves $52 $52 $52 $28
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA NA
Nav Database $54,500 $37,980 $54,500 $54,500
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database
Flight Planning $3,500 NA $3,500 $3,500
Wx Services $1,400 NA $1,400 $1,400
Charts & Maps $2,450 NA $2,450 $2,450
Swift Broadband NA NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku $125,000 $125,000 $125,000 $125,000

Air to Ground $22,740 $22,740 $22,740 $22,740
SatTV $11,652 $11,652 $11,652 $11,652
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $56,000 $56,000 $56,000 $56,000
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $37,296 $37,296 $37,296 $37,296

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support $27,972 $27,972 $27,972 $27,972

Concierge $9,324 $9,324 $9,324 $9,324
Ground Handling $18,649 $18,649 $18,649 $18,649
Landing/Parking Fees $37,296 $37,296 $37,296 $37,296
*Mission Fuel estimate from BCA Purchase Planning Handbook;
Variable Costs estimated by AirPower Software
Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 37

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 6 — Ultra-Long-Range Jets

Manufacturer Gulfstream Aero. Bombardier Gulfstream Aero. Dassault
Aircraft Model G550 Global 6500* G600 Falcon 8X
Category (1-6) 6 6 6 6
BCA Equipped Price $54,500,000 $56,000,000 $58,500,000 $59,300,000
300 nm — — — —
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm — — — —
1,000 nm $7,204 $6,900 $6,766 $5,799
3,000 nm $16,761 $19,826 $13,216 $19,001
6,000 nm $34,859 $41,014 $27,860 $34,014
Captain Salary $244,697 $244,697 $244,697 $244,697
First Officer Salary $137,631 $137,631 $137,631 $137,631
Cabin Crew Salary $120,000 $120,000 $120,000 $120,000
Director of Maintenance Salary $199,948 $199,948 $199,948 $199,948
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $102,900 $102,900 $102,900 $98,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training $3,545 $3,545 $3,545 $3,545
Maintenance Training $12,880 $20,505 $20,505 $20,260
Hull Insurance per $100 $81,750 $89,600 $87,750 $88,950
Liability Insurance per $M $22,400 $22,400 $22,400 $22,400
Hangar/Office $109,266 $114,469 $114,469 $109,266
Maint. Software Programs $9,395 NA NA $8,264
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $360 $187 $438 $253
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $1,222 $1,238 $1,018 $857

APU Reserves $52 $52 $52 $27
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA NA
Nav Database $37,980 $54,500 $37,980 $54,500
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database
Flight Planning $3,500 $3,500 NA $3,500
Wx Services $1,400 $1,400 NA $1,400
Charts & Maps $2,450 $2,450 NA $2,450
Swift Broadband NA NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku $125,000 $125,000 $125,000 $125,000

Air to Ground $22,740 $22,740 $22,740 $22,740
SatTV $11,652 $11,652 $11,652 $11,652
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $62,049 $62,049 $62,049 $62,049
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $41,367 $41,367 $41,367 $41,367

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support $31,025 $31,025 $31,025 $31,025

Concierge $10,341 $10,341 $10,341 $10,341
Ground Handling $20,683 $20,683 $20,683 $20,683
Landing/Parking Fees $41,367 $41,367 $41,367 $41,367
*Mission Fuel estimate from BCA Purchase Planning Handbook;
Variable Costs estimated by AirPower Software
Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

38 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 6 — Ultra-Long-Range Jets

Manufacturer Bombardier Gulfstream Aero. Gulfstream Aero. Bombardier
Aircraft Model Global 6000* G650 G650ER Global 7500*
Category (1-6) 6 6 6 6
BCA Equipped Price $62,310,000 $68,500,000 $70,500,000 $75,000,000
300 nm — — — —
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm — — — —
1,000 nm $7,420 $7,372 $7,372 $6,770
3,000 nm $17,954 $19,145 $19,343 $19,298
6,000 nm $37,089 $39,391 $39,784 $39,668
Captain Salary $244,697 $285,332 $285,332 $285,332
First Officer Salary $137,631 $137,631 $137,631 $147,000
Cabin Crew Salary $120,000 $120,000 $120,000 $120,000
Director of Maintenance Salary $199,948 $199,948 $199,948 $199,948
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training $102,900 $102,900 $102,900 $120,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training $3,545 $3,545 $3,545 $3,545
Maintenance Training $20,505 $12,880 $12,880 $24,186
Hull Insurance per $100 $93,465 $109,600 $112,800 $120,000
Liability Insurance per $M $22,400 $22,400 $22,400 $44,800
Hangar/Office $114,469 $109,266 $109,266 $114,469
Maint. Software Programs $9,395 $9,395 $9,395 $9,395
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor $187 $437 $437 $231
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves $1,238 $1,251 $1,251 $1,153

APU Reserves $52 $52 $52 $52
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA NA
Nav Database $54,500 $37,980 $37,980 $54,500
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database
Flight Planning $3,500 $3,500 $3,500 $3,500
Wx Services $1,400 $1,400 $1,400 $1,400
Charts & Maps $2,450 $2,450 $2,450 $2,450
Swift Broadband NA NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku $125,000 $125,000 $125,000 $125,000

Air to Ground $22,740 $22,740 $22,740 $22,740
SatTV $11,652 $11,652 $11,652 $11,652
Cabin/Iridium Phone $2,150 $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service $62,049 $62,049 $62,049 $62,049
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel $41,367 $41,367 $41,367 $41,367

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support $31,025 $31,025 $31,025 $31,025

Concierge $10,341 $10,341 $10,341 $10,341
Ground Handling $20,683 $20,683 $20,683 $20,683
Landing/Parking Fees $41,367 $41,367 $41,367 $41,367
*Mission Fuel estimate from BCA Purchase Planning Handbook;
Variable Costs estimated by AirPower Software
Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 39

 2020 Operations Planning Guide

Production Aircraft — Category 6 — Ultra-Long-Range Jets

Manufacturer Boeing Boeing Airbus Boeing
Aircraft Model BBJ MAX7 BBJ MAX8* ACJ319neo* BBJ MAX9*
Category (1-6) 6 6 6 6
BCA Equipped Price $91,200,000 $99,000,000 $105,000,000 $107,900,000
300 nm — — — —
DIRECT COSTS

600 nm — — — —
1,000 nm NA $9,606 $7,721 $10,714
3,000 nm NA $28,035 $26,035 $30,001
6,000 nm NA $57,915 $54,589 $62,099
Captain Salary NA $285,332 $285,332 $285,332
First Officer Salary NA $147,000 $147,000 $147,000
Cabin Crew Salary NA $120,000 $120,000 $120,000
Director of Maintenance Salary NA $199,948 $199,948 $199,948
FIXED COSTS

Flight Crew Recurrent Training NA $120,000 $120,000 $120,000

Cabin Crew Recurrent Training NA $3,545 $3,545 $3,545
Maintenance Training NA $24,186 $24,186 $24,186
Hull Insurance per $100 NA $158,400 $168,000 $172,640
Liability Insurance per $M NA $56,000 $56,000 $56,000
Hangar/Office NA $133,410 $133,410 $133,410
Maint. Software Programs NA $12,389 $12,389 $12,389
Airframe Sys. Parts & Labor NA $377 $928 $396
VARIABLE COSTS

Engine Reserves NA OC OC OC
APU Reserves NA OC OC OC
Avionics Reserves NA NA NA NA
Propeller Reserves NA NA NA NA
Nav Database NA $55,300 $55,300 $55,300
ANNUAL COCKPIT

SERVICES COSTS
SUBSCRIPTION

EGPWS/TAWS Database NA Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database Incl. in Nav Database
Flight Planning NA $3,500 $3,500 $3,500
Wx Services NA $1,400 $1,400 $1,400
Charts & Maps NA $2,450 $2,450 $2,450
Swift Broadband NA NA NA NA
SERVICES COSTS
ANNUAL CABIN

Ka/Ku NA $175,000 $175,000 $175,000

Air to Ground NA $22,740 $22,740 $22,740
SatTV NA $11,652 $11,652 $11,652
Cabin/Iridium Phone NA $2,150 $2,150 $2,150
Catering Service NA $62,049 $62,049 $62,049
SUPPORT COSTS

Flight Crew Travel NA $41,367 $41,367 $41,367

ANNUAL TRIP

International Trip Support NA $31,025 $31,025 $31,025

Concierge NA $10,341 $10,341 $10,341
Ground Handling NA $20,683 $20,683 $20,683
Landing/Parking Fees NA $41,367 $41,367 $41,367
*Mission Fuel estimate from BCA Purchase Planning Handbook;
Variable Costs estimated by AirPower Software
Copyright © 2020 by BCA magazine, Informa. All rights reserved.

40 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

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Cause & Circumstance

A Descent Too Late

And the red flags colored green
BY ROGER COX rogerdodger62@gmail.com

O
n a dark and foggy night in 2017

RUSSIAN IAC REPORT

the crew of a Turkish freighter
came to grief in an autolanding
that touched down off the airport
in Kyrgyzstan, killing themselves, two
relief crewmembers and 35 area resi-
dents.
After a three-year effort, Russian
investigators have released their final
report on the accident. In addition to a
catalogue of human errors and missed
opportunities to avoid the catastrophe,
the report revealed a new twist on an
automatic system involving the color
green.
The all-cargo Turkish Airlines Boe-
ing 747-412F flew a fully automated de-
scent and executed a perfect autoland,
including flare, but did so 3,050 ft. be-
yond the far end of the intended run-
way. The airplane touched down at 165 The fin and the horizontal stabilizer (Figure 4) have been found attached to the tail
kt., smashed through an airport barrier fuselage section, extending from the aft pressure bulkhead to the tail cone.
wall and disintegrated along a 1,800-ft.
path. Ten minutes later, the flight was cleared mode armed. The pitch mode was
to descend to FL 220 (using the Kyrgyz flight level change and the selected al-
The Flight Republic system) and shortly thereafter
was advised that Manas Airport Run-
titude was set to 3,400 ft., the depicted
glideslope altitude.
Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 originated way 26 RVR was 1,300 ft. at the thresh- At 0715:13, the approach controller
in Hong Kong (VHHH) and was des- old and 1,000 ft. at midpoint and end, asked, “Turkish six four niner one, are
tined for Istanbul (LTBA), with an inter- with vertical visibility of 130 ft. you established?” and when the crew
mediate stop at Manas Airport (UCFM) The flight was handed off to Bishkek confirmed they were, handed them off
near Bishkek, the capital and largest Approach Control at 0705 and cleared to the tower. Bishkek Tower cleared the
city of Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic). for the TOPKA 1 arrival and descent to flight to land at 0715:38. The RVR had
The cargo flight was operated on behalf FL 060 for an intended ILS approach improved slightly to 1,300 ft. at the ap-
of Turkish Airlines by ACT Airlines on to Runway 26. The controller reported proach end, 1,065 ft. at the midpoint and
Jan. 16, 2017. The planned time en route the winds were calm, the visibility was 1,300 ft. at the runway end.
was 6 hr., 3 min. The crew conducted 165 ft., the RVR was 1,000 ft., there was There was just one problem. The
a preflight briefing beginning at 2130 freezing fog and the vertical visibility flight was too high to capture the nor-
Hong Kong time but did not depart un- was 160 ft. Asked by the controller if mal glideslope. In fact, throughout the
til 0312, a delay of 2 hr., 2 min. from the they wanted to continue the approach, entire descent the airplane had been
scheduled departure. According to the the crew confirmed that they did. The high on profile, and the crew knew it.
accident report, the destination weather, airline’s operating manual allowed pi- Kyrgyzstan is one of the most moun-
although foggy, was “within limits to de- lots to continue an approach up to 1,000 tainous countries in the world; 94% of
part.” Two alternates, Astana (UACC) ft. above the runway threshold altitude its lies above 1,000 meters (3,280 ft.),
and Karaganda (UAKK), Kazakhstan, regardless of provided RVR data. and peaks range up to 24,406 ft. MSL.
were filed. At 0711:45, the flight was reminded Bishkek is in the far north and lies in
The flight cruised at 34,000 ft. using of the transition level FL 060, given the one of the country’s few plains. The Ma-
the separation system of the People’s QNH, 1023 hectopascals, and cleared nas Airport elevation is 2,090 ft. The
Republic of China and entered the Bish- for the ILS RWY 26. The approach con- depicted minimum safe altitude to the
kek ATC Area Control Center at 0641 troller added, “call me on localizer.” south of Manas is 13,000 ft. and 5,900
local time. (There is a 2-hr. time differ- At 0714:05, the flight captured the lo- ft. to the east.
ence between Hong Kong and Bishkek.) calizer and 3 sec. later the glideslope T he TOPK A 1 a r r iva l requ i res

42  Business & Commercial Aviation  |  August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

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Cause & Circumstance
crossing 43 nm southeast of Manas the primary flight display, but the angle passed 200 ft. At 0717:04, the 100-ft. au-
(MNS) VOR/DME (RAXALT) at or of the captured glideslope signal was not ral warning sounded and the F/O called
above FL 170 and 16.2 DME southeast 3 deg.; it was 9 deg. out, “Minimums.” At 0717:07, the cap-
(TOPKA) at or above FL 060. These Six seconds after the (false) glides- tain commanded, “Negative, go around.”
restrictions can be met if the crew lope capture, the green “LAND 3” an- At 0717:09, the autopilot FLARE mode
makes prudent use of drag devices. nunciation was recorded, indicating the engaged, then, at 58 ft., the go-around
But the flight remained high on profile autoland system was engaged in a triple push button was pressed. Engine thrust
throughout the descent and the cap- redundant, fail-operative configuration, began to increase, there was a control col-
tain can be heard on the cockpit voice suitable for use in ICAO CAT III condi- umn pitch-up input, and vertical load in-
recorder (CVR) complaining about tions. The captain called out, “Glides- creased to 1.4 G. However, 3 sec. after the
ATC. While still at FL 220, the cap- lope capture,” the first officer (F/O) go-around button activation, the jumbo
tain says, “We are starting to be high.” responded, “Check. Four thousand four made ground contact.
Leaving FL 180 with clearance to cross hundred,” and the captain said, “Land
TOPKA at FL 060, the captain says,
“They left us high again.” The flight
three.”
But then, 15 sec. after the glideslope
The Investigation
crossed TOPKA at 9,200 ft. and 270 signal capture, there was an autopilot The investigation was conducted by the
kt. Crossing a waypoint (MNS 090/8) caution, an amber line drawn through Russian Interstate Aviation Commit-
with a recommended altitude of 4,400 the glideslope mode annunciation, and tee (IAC) Air Accident Aviation Com-
ft., the flight was at 6,500 ft. and had an the beginning of a “four beep” audio mission as the State of Occurrence by
airspeed of 220 kt. alert that lasted until the flare. treaty agreement with Kyrgyzstan. Also
At 0714:18, when the airplane was The autopilot continued to function. participating was Turkey as the State of
over the Manas VOR/DME 5.4 DME, The pitch control channel maintained Registry and Operator and the U.S. as
it was supposed to be at the glideslope an inertially derived 3-deg. descent the State of Aircraft Design and Man-
intercept altitude of 3,400 ft., but the track, a descent designed to continue ufacture. The NTSB, FAA and Boeing
crew were at 5,300 ft. When they in- until either a valid glideslope signal re- represented the U.S. The IAC issued its
tercepted the localizer, they continued appeared, the crew disconnected the final report this past February and pro-
descent to the glideslope intercept alti- autopilot or the crew commenced a go- vided a courtesy English translation.
tude, but they were already past the 3.2 around. (This inertial path feature is Examination of the accident site
DME where the glideslope began. They common to Boeing 747-400/-8, 757, 767, showed the 747’s right wing and engines
flew level at 3,400 ft. until 0.4 DME, just 777, 787 and some 737 aircraft). impacted buildings about 525 ft. beyond
1.15 nm from the runway threshold, be- At 07 16:18 , the aut ola nd mode the touchdown point, and the aircraft
fore commencing their final descent. changed from LAND 3 to LAND 2. The began to turn right while still moving
The Runway 26 threshold was 2,055 ft. crew checked the altitude, which was forward. At 1,450 ft. beyond touchdown,
MSL, and they were at 3,400 ft. just over 800 ft., and continued the approach. At the cockpit impacted a brick house
a mile away. a height of 300 ft., the EGPWS Mode and turned more than 90 deg. to the
The glidepath deviation indicator de- 5 “glideslope” aural warning began to right. Parts of the left wing and empen-
scended from its position at the top of sound and continued until the flight nage traveled about 100 ft. beyond the

Accidents in Brief next 54 minutes, the airplane maneuvered

near the airstrip between 350-1,300
accident. The airplane was operated
as an FAR Part 137 aerial application
ft. AGL, with a groundspeed ranging flight. According to the pilot’s spouse, he
from 65-143 kt. The airplane was last departed earlier on the morning of the
recorded at 350 ft. AGL and 94 kt. ground accident to dispense two small “loads.”
Compiled by Jessica A. Salerno speed. The airplane impacted trees On his return home he called and asked
Selected accidents and incidents in June 2020. 670 ft. north of the southwest oriented her to come outside of their residence
The following NTSB information is preliminary. runway threshold and came to rest to watch the airplane fly over. She said
375 ft. southeast of the initial impact. that the airplane flew over the house
▶  June 27 — About 0153 CDT, a Piper A post-crash fire ensued. Examination before making a climb straight up. The
PA-32R airplane (N315AM) was destroyed of the airframe and engine revealed no airplane then banked to the left, rolled
when it was involved in an accident at evidence of mechanical malfunctions or right, descended straight down, and she
a private airstrip near Zavalla, Texas. failures that would have precluded normal heard a loud “boom” shortly thereafter.
The non-certificated pilot was killed. operation. Two witnesses that were fishing on a
The airplane was operated as a Part nearby lake saw the airplane flying below
91 personal flight. According to ATC ▶  June 16 — About 0730 CDT, an Air the tree line before it climbed straight
information, the airplane departed David Tractor AT-502B (N879JA) was up. They said the airplane rolled and
Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), substantially damaged when it was descended straight down nose first. They
Spring Texas, at 0023 and arrived involved in an accident near Atmore, heard a “loud thud” and then silence. The
overhead the airstrip at 0059. During the Alabama. The pilot was killed in the witnesses contacted emergency services

44  Business & Commercial Aviation  |  August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 Main fire bed indicated in yellow dashed
line.

logged 46,820 hr. and 8,308 cycles at

the time of the accident. Its oldest en-
gine was manufactured in 1991 and had
over 90,000 total hours and had un-
dergone three overhauls. Examination
of maintenance records revealed no
faults or areas of concern. A fuel sam-
ple taken from the left wing was found
to be normal.
The freighter’s takeoff weight of
755,055 lb. and 213,055-lb. fuel weight
were found to be in limits, as was the
takeoff center of gravity of 23% of MAC.
The landing weight of 614,649 lb. and
151-kt. Vref also were within limits and
RUSSIAN IAC REPORT
appropriate.
cockpit. Fuel spillage fed a fire that de- serving as an F/O in 2010. The weather at the Chuya lowland
stroyed most of the aircraft. The F/O, also 59, had 5,894 hr. total and Manas Airport on Jan. 15-16 was af-
The aircraft f light data recorder flight time and 1,758 hr. in the 747, and fected by a slow-moving cold front with
(FDR) and CVR were recovered, as was his training records and medical certi- a wide area of frontal fog and consecu-
one of the three flight control computer fication also were normal. Both pilots tive forecasts for fog, visibility 650 ft.
(FCC) circuit boards. The FCC unit had been off duty in Hong Kong for 69 and vertical visibility 100 ft. Investiga-
was sent to the NTSB and examined by hr. before the flight, and both were on tors found the forecasts had been accu-
Rockwell Collins, the manufacturer. The duty 11 hr., 47 min. at the time of the ac- rate and the meteorological equipment
non-volatile memory data was success- cident. The two had flown into Bishkek and support had been in compliance
fully downloaded and used in the investi- together the month before the accident. with requirements. The airfield lighting
gation. A recording of air traffic control Both pilots were graduates of the Turk- was checked and found to be function-
transmissions was also obtained. ish Air Force Academy. ing normally.
The captain, 59, had 10,808 hr. of The airplane was manufactured in A Diamond DA-42 flying laboratory
flight time, including 820 hr. on the 747. February 2003 and operated by Singa- was used to fly the accident aircraft’s
His training records and medical certi- pore Airlines from then until Decem- profile along the ILS and all parameters
fication were complete. He had a previ- ber 2015. Turkey’s ACT Airlines began checked. The false glideslope was found,
ous accident, a runway excursion and operating the four-engine Boeing the with an angle of about 8.8 deg., at 1.2 nm
gear collapse at Bagram Airport while following October. The airplane had from the end of Runway 26 at 3,400 ft.

and assisted local responders in finding equipped airplane reported that while on Selma, Alabama. The commercial pilot
the wreckage. An FAA inspector examined final approach to the float-pond at the and pilot-rated passenger were fatally
the airframe prior to its recovery from Fairbanks International Airport (PAFA), injured. The airplane was operated as a
the accident site, and noted that the Fairbanks, Alaska, all engine power Part 91 business flight. According to the
nose, cockpit, and empennage area were was lost. He added that the propeller FBO, the airplane was fueled with 55 gal.
crushed aft. Both wings displayed crush continued to windmill and that there were of fuel prior to departure from Walker
damage along their entire leading edges. no unusual noises or notable changes. County Airport – Bevill Field (JFX), Jasper,
The inspector confirmed flight control Subsequently, the floatplane landed Alabama. According to preliminary FAA
continuity from the elevator and rudder short of the float-pond and all occupants air traffic control communications and
to the cockpit area. He also noted aileron were able to egress with no further radar data, the airplane departed JFX at
cables extending from the cockpit area to incident. A review of PAFA Federal Aviation 1543 with the intended destination of
their respective wing. Administration ATC recordings revealed Pensacola International Airport (PNS),
that the pilot was inbound from the north, Pensacola, Florida. After departure,
▶  June 15 — About 1045 Alaska requested to land on Waterway 2, and the airplane climbed and leveled off
daylight time, a Cessna 180 (N3186D) never made a distress call or any other at a cruise altitude of 15,000 ft. MSL.
was heavily damaged when it was involved indication that something was wrong. Shortly thereafter, the pilot reported an
in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska. The engine “fluctuation” to the controller
pilot and two passengers were not injured. ▶  June 10 — About 1630 CDT, a Piper and requested to divert to Craig Field
The Cessna 180 was operated as a Part PA-32RT-300T (N543GS) was destroyed Airport (SEM), Selma, Alabama. The
91 personal flight. The pilot of the float- when it was involved in an accident near controller cleared the airplane to SEM,

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation  |  August 2020  45

Cause & Circumstance
Analysis and Causes manual guidance and mandatory call- example the red warning “APPROACH
outs, they ignored the “AUTOPILOT” LOST” in the Sukhoi RRJ-95 when the
The IAC’s lengthy analysis can be di- and “FMA FAULT 2” cautions, the audio glideslope signal is lost.
vided into four main areas: beeper alert, the flight director pitch The FAA Advisory Circular on auto-
(1) Conduct of the descent. The crew bars removed from the PFDs, the “G/S” matic landing systems that was in effect
did not take the appropriate actions to indication with a crossed amber line, when the Boeing 747-400F was certified
get the airplane down to the required and the two “MASTER CAUTION” (AC 20-57A) set prescribed dispersion
approach altitude. In particular, the de- lights and audio alert. The crew was not areas on the landing surface, and the
scent between RAXALT and TOPKA, psychologically prepared to go around. accident landing was well outside those
a distance of 27 nm, required the use (4) Boeing guidance and systems op- limits. The most recent update of that
of speed brakes and possibly lowering eration logic. The manufacturer’s flight AC requires the probability of touch-
of the gear and possibly even the first crew operating manual (FCOM) and down within that area of 1 x 10 -6.
notch of flaps in order to lose the de- flight crew training manual (FCTM) do The false glideslope capture that took
picted 12,000 ft. of altitude. not provide a complete description of place and the followed inertial path with
(2) Lack of assistance from ATC. Both pitch mode failure or direct instructions only an amber annunciation does not
the approach controller and the tower for pilot actions in this case. There was seem to be in full compliance with the
controller had radar with altitude capa- some conflict between the FCTM and established requirements.
bility, but the former was not required training manual guidance as to exactly The IAC found the cause of the ac-
to notify the crew of their abnormal alti- when a go-around is required. Most sig- cident was “the missing control of the
tude and the latter had not been trained nificantly, the airplane’s system opera- crew over the aircraft position in re-
to use the radar for this purpose. tion may not be in compliance with the lation to the glideslope during the au-
(3) The crew’s “psycho-emotional con- FAA’s certification requirements. tomatic approach, conducted at night
dition.” The captain displayed anxiety The 14 CFR Part 25.1322 document in the weather conditions, suitable for
and even intemperance about the steep “Flightcrew Alerting” requires red for ICAO CAT II landing, and as a result,
descent and the F/O’s efforts to calm warning alerts and amber or yellow for the measures to perform a go-around,
him were not successful. The crew be- caution alerts. The green LAND 3 and not taken in due time with the aircraft,
gan to blame the controller for their own LAND 2 annunciations are used for advi- having a significant deviation from the
errors, stopped monitoring approach sory purposes and informing the crew on established approach chart, which led to
indications and narrowed their focus to safe operational conditions. The descent the controlled flight impact with terrain
only two objects — altitude and the au- beyond the runway area in IFR ICAO II (CFIT) at the distance of ≈930 meters
toland objective — all of which resulted conditions was certainly not safe. The beyond the end of the active RWY.”
in “tunnel effect.” In addition to violat- crew probably relied on the green advi- There were six contributing factors,
ing their own airline flight operations sory display. The IAC gave as a contrary paraphrased here:

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The pilot was had made it to FSD. The LST responded

Accidents in Brief fatally injured. The airplane was operated

as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations
to the airport and confirmed that the
airplane and pilot were on their ramp. The
(CFR) Part 135 cargo flight. The flight LST gave his phone to the pilot so that
originated at Snohomish County Airport the pilot could speak to the operator’s
(Paine Field)(PAE), Everett, Washington, dispatcher while the LST retrieved the
and the pilot indicated that the propeller about 2115, and was originally destined fuel truck. When the pilot spoke to the
was turning; however, the airplane had for Huron Regional Airport (HON), Huron, operator’s dispatcher, he advised that he
experienced a total loss of engine power. South Dakota, for a fuel stop. However, would be departing FSD enroute to OKK
Soon after, while in the descent to SEM, preliminary ATC information and weather about 0400. The pilot requested the LST
the pilot stated that there was a “fire data was consistent with the pilot fill the tip tanks on the airplane wings
as well.” When the airplane was about diverting to Joe Foss Field Airport (FSD), with fuel. Preliminary radar data indicated
3 mi. from SEM and about 3,100 ft. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, due to weather that the airplane departed FSD from
MSL, radar and voice communications at HON at the time of intended arrival. Runway 15 at 0426.
were lost. According to an FAA inspector, The flight landed at FSD at 0140. The According to video recordings captured
the airplane crashed in a field and all final destination was Kokomo Municipal from various facilities at FSD, the airplane
components of the airplane were within Airport (OKK), Kokomo, Indiana. appeared to have a normal takeoff roll.
the vicinity of the main wreckage. The According to dispatch records and After rotation, a high pitch angle was
initial impact crater was about 4.5 ft. statements from the fixed-base operator established for initial climb out and the
deep and the debris field was about 225 (FBO) personnel, the pilot had misplaced right wing began to dip. As the airplane
ft. long by 120 ft. wide oriented on a his cell phone and was unable to contact climbed, the right wing continued to drop
125-deg. heading. the on-call line service technician (LST) with the airplane rolling over to the right
at the FBO for fuel. The operator’s side. The airplane noses-over on the
▶  June 7 — About 0425 CDT, a dispatcher was unable to get in contact right side and continued in a nose down
Mitsubishi MU-2B (N44MX) was destroyed with the pilot and, about 0310, called attitude and impacted the ground. Radar
when it was involved in an accident near the FBO for verification the airplane track data for the flight began when the

46  Business & Commercial Aviation  |  August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 The peculiarity of Manas International
Airport is that the ILS systems on both
RWY approach courses have the same
frequency (111.7 MHz) while their
letter-codes are different. According to
the available information, the system is
configured in such a way that when the
ILS for one approach heading is engaged,
the ILS for the other approach heading
disengages automatically.
FLIGHTAWARE

certification requirements. The FAA

replied that they believed the aircraft
▶ The flight crew’s poor briefing and managements, ATC personnel, airports, met all requirements and did not envis-
descent planning. Boeing and the FAA. Several involved age any reasons for changing the logic
▶ The flight crew’s poor execution of improved procedures and training at of the automatic flight system.
the descent, leaving them too high. airlines, and ACT airlines has taken While I have great respect for the
▶ The lack of the tower controller’s steps to address these concerns. millions of successful ILS and auto-
requirements to monitor aircraft Four recommendations pertain to the land approaches the Boeing fleet has
deviations. airplane’s design and operational guid- made over the years, I think this ac-
▶ The excessive psycho-emotional ance. Paraphrased, they are: cident points up a discrepancy in the
stress of the crewmembers. ▶ Improve glideslope capture logic and Boeing approach display that should
▶ The flight crew’s lack of monitoring false glideslope warning. be addressed. The color green has uni-
crossing reference points. ▶ Change the inertial glideslope descent versally meant “normal” in aircraft dis-
▶ The flight crew’s failure to verify al- logic. plays. In addition, green has a broader
titude at the FAF/FAP and the lack of ▶ Provide a better description of the in- meaning in everyday life. When you
a depicted FAF on the Jeppesen chart. ertial path flight mode. see a green traffic light, it means one
▶ Eliminate guidance discrepancies for thing: Go! When a crew is missing
Recommendations “autopilot caution.”
In its earlier preliminary report, the
their marks, green is not the color they
should be seeing when danger lurks.
T he I AC w rot e 13 re com mend a- IAC had urged the FAA to reevalu- The color green just has too much
tions, directed variously to airline ate the Boeing 747’s compliance with power for that. BCA

airplane reached about 45 ft. AGL and 12 sec. later, the airplane descended The wreckage was recovered to a secure
was limited to 3 radar hits in 3 seconds through 7,200 ft. MSL. About 3 min. location.
until the airplane impacted. The airplane later, a right turn to a southerly heading
wreckage was located in the infield area was observed about 5,150 ft. MSL. ▶  June 2 — At 1327 PDT, a Bell 206L3
north of taxiway B3 between taxiway B At 0758:29, a left 270-deg. turn was helicopter (N65PJ) was destroyed when it
and Runway 3-21. All four corners of the observed at 5,125 ft. MSL. The data was involved in an accident near Fairfield,
airplane (both wings, and the nose and tail showed that the airplane completed California. The pilot and 2 passengers
sections), as well as both engines, were the turn at 0759:15, on a west- were killed. The helicopter was operated
accounted for in the airplane wreckage. northwesterly heading at 5,275 ft. MSL. as a Part 133, rotorcraft external load
About one minute later, a left turn to a (Human External Cargo (HEC)) operation
▶  June 5 — About 0801 PDT, a Cessna southwesterly heading at 3,975 ft. MSL The helicopter was operated by PJ
175 (N9217B) was heavily damaged was observed. The airplane remained on Helicopters under contract from Pacific
when it was involved in an accident near a southwesterly heading and continued Gas and Electric (PG&E) to perform power
Redlands, California. The pilot and two to descend until ADS-B contact was lost line repair work. According to PG&E, the
passengers were killed. The airplane at 0800:58, at an altitude of 2,775 ft., linemen had completed work for the day
was operated as a Part 91 personal about 436 ft. northeast of the accident and had been picked up by the pilot. The
flight. Recorded Automatic Dependent site. There are no known witnesses to lineman would have been connected to
Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data the accident sequence. an external cable and airlifted back to
provided by the FAA showed that the San Bernardino County Sheriff Air the landing zone (LZ). During transition to
airplane departed Big Bear City Airport Units located the wreckage at 1630. forward flight, the helicopter contacted
(L35), Big Bear City, California at 0745, Examination of the accident site by an the lower power line, and impacted the
and proceeded southwesterly as it FAA inspector revealed that the airplane ground. A witness to the accident reported
ascended to 9,300 ft. MSL. impacted terrain on a southwesterly that after the helicopter impacted the
At 0751:36, the airplane began a heading. The wreckage debris path was power line, it impacted the ground and
descent followed by a left turn to a about 80 ft. long and contained all major rolled downhill. The helicopter came to
southeasterly heading; about 3 min., structural components of the airplane. rest in a ravine. BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation  |  August 2020  47

Operators Survey

Pilatus PC-24

Maturing is an ongoing process Operators laud large-cabin volume,

short-field performance and approval for
unimproved runway operations.

PILATUS

BY FRED GEORGE fred.george@informa.com

T
here are more than 80 Pilatus between 90 and 200 cu. ft. of cargo. PlaneSense’s operating area than com-
PC-24s now in service and opera- Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Ser- petitive light jets. It’s one of the few jets
tors say the twin jet is an ideal vice (RFDS) has its PC-24s configured that can operate out of Staniel Cay, Baha-
step up from the Swiss manufac- as “emergency wards in the skies,” mas, with its 3,030-ft. runway, Chatham
turer’s popular PC-12 single-engine tur- complete with three litters and seats Municipal in Massachusetts (3,001-ft.
boprop. Compared to that sibling, the for four doctors and nurses. The RFDS runway) and Banner Elk, North Carolina
jet flies 50% faster, 50% higher and it of- says its three PC-24s can slash aero- (3,468-ft. elevation, 4,600-ft. runway).
fers 50% more cabin volume. The PC-24 medical transport times by nearly half, When departing such airports, the PC-24
is the only current production business compared to its single- and twin-engine can fly more than 1,000 nm.
jet that is purpose-built for combination turboprops. JetFly CEO Cédric Lescop also lauds
passenger and freight missions, having The PC-24 has proven popular with the aircraft’s short-field performance,
both a 17-sq.-ft. cargo door and approval the two biggest PC-12 fleet operators. saying he can fly clients between Paris-
for unimproved runway operations. It’s PlaneSense, the fractional owner- Le Bourget and La Mole (3,514-ft. run-
positioned as a light jet, but it offers a ship operation based in Portsmouth, way), the airport nearest St. Tropez.
midsize cabin with a flat floor. Opera- New Hampshire, took delivery of the He also says he’s able to use the grass
tors say it has no direct competitors. first production aircraft in February strips at Goodwood Airport (EGHR),
The Embraer Phenom 300E, Bom- 2018. JetFly Aviation SA, a charter op- West Sussex, England. The famous
bardier Learjet 75 Liberty and Cessna erator and management company in British aerodrome is in the middle of
Citation CJ4 are three closely priced Leudelange, Luxembourg, launched the the vintage Goodwood automobile race-
rivals. The three have higher cruise aircraft in Europe a few months later. track and a 5-min. drive from the polo
speeds and greater tanks-full pay- “The PC-24 is a special value proposi- matches at Goodwood Racecourse.
loads. But the PC-24 boasts better tion,” says George Antoniadis, CEO and Antoniadis notes that the PC-24 has
runway performance, lower V speeds, president of PlaneSense, which now op- more modern design features than
greater cabin volume and larger bag- erates six of the Pilatus jets. “It’s a light its competitors, including standard
gage capacity. And its quick-change jet, but the cabin is a lot more than that Honeywell Laseref VI IRS, an FMS that
interior enables operators to config- [size].” He adds that its runway per- uses both GPS and DME for position
ure the cabin for four, six or eight pas- formance puts it into a class of its own sensing, a main engine Quiet Power
sengers, as needed, to accommodate as it’s able to use 392 more airports in Mode (QPM) that provides APU-like

48 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 ASK FRED
Send your questions
about this article to:
fred.george@informa.com

ground power and a utility manage- assembly and coating processes have management system software to Build
ment system that integrates control and yet to solve the problem, so Pilatus now 7.2; (6) SB21-003, which provides more
monitoring of aircraft systems through is eying other vendors to provide a more cooling air to the avionics rack behind
the avionics system. The QPM provides permanent solution. the copilot; (7) SB32-004, which checks
ample power for both electrical heat and Some operators report that the hy- the nose gear for excessive free play;
the electrically powered vapor-cycle draulic power pack, used for the anti- and (8) SB21-004, which improves mois-
system air-conditioner, thus providing skid brakes, is problematic. A sticky ture sealing of the environmental con-
APU-like functionality. valve in the brake fluid reservoir can trol system.
“It just punches every other OEM in cause loss of f luid and/or cause the A few pilots remarked that SB21-003
the face,” says Scott Marshall, who flies pump motor to run excessively long, reduces cooling air flow to the flight deck
serial number 0103, based mainly in leading to premature wear or failure. while improving ventilation to the avi-
Boise, Idaho. A Service Bulletin addresses this issue onics rack. The result is an uncomfort-
and apparently has solved the problem. ably warm flight deck on hot days. And
Overcoming Teething Pains A few serial numbers have required
wire bundle repairs, an upgrade that can
many operators say the passenger seats
in early aircraft are uncomfortable, arm-
Pilatus R&D chief Bruno Cervia endeav- keep an aircraft grounded for up to two rests wobble and the seats don’t track or
ored to perfect the aircraft before the weeks. Some early aircraft also were de- swivel properly. Pilatus has developed
first deliveries, but as with most clean- livered with defective NiCad batteries Service Bulletins to remedy those issues.
sheet designs, there have been some that needed replacement under warranty. Some operators also said the adhe-
snags. Pilatus worked with Swiss firm Most of the aff licted aircraft are sives used to attach upholstered pan-
Mecaplex to develop new-generation, early serial numbers. Pilatus bundled els get soft in warm weather and that
lighter weight, glass-faced, stretched several Service Bulletins into the Big fit and finish of interior bits and pieces
acrylic transparencies for the wind- Aircraft Modification (BAM) program, weren’t up to the standards set by the
shields and cockpit side windows. Corn- including: (1) SB42-004, a major soft- Phenom 300 or Citation CJ4. However,
ing supplies Mecaplex with its ultra-thin ware update for the advanced cockpit newer aircraft destined for the North
and tough-tempered “Gorilla Glass” for environment with avionics powered by American market are being completed
the outer windshield plies. Honeywell; (2) SB24-001, which up- at Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd. in
But several operators report crack- grades the software for the four elec- Broomfield, Colorado, and are much im-
ing or crazing of the Gorilla Glass outer trical power distribution units; (3) proved, operators say.
layer that requires windshield replace- SB42-006, which enhances the elec- Starting at s.n. 0131, Pilatus wrapped
ment. They say that it takes 24 hr. to tronic checklist function; (4) SB45-002,
remove and replace the windshield and which upgrades the loadable diagnos- PC-24 is approved for single-pilot
that some aircraft have had multiple re- tic information database interface; (5) operations, but most operators we
placements. A series of upgrades to the SB42-005, which updates the utility contacted fly it with two pilots.
PILATUS

PILATUS

Forward lav received mix reviews, but it’s a

necessity, considering PC-24’s aft cargo door.
However, it’s full width, amply sized, and it
features an externally service toilet.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 49

 Operators Survey
PILATUS

Many of these firms either currently

operate, or formerly operated, PC-12s.
Cox Aviation in Atlanta, U-Haul Busi-
ness Consultants in Phoenix and Gulf
States Toyota in Houston, plus Steele-
man Aviation in Las Vegas, North Slope
Borough in Barrow, Alaska, and Bloom-
berg in New York are the largest mixed-
fleet operators, outside of PlaneSense.
In Europe, the aircraft is popular
with air charter operators, most of
whom also fly PC-12s. JetFly, European
Aircraft Private Club near Brussels,
Amac Aerospace and Premium Jet AG
in Zurich, plus Blackbird Air Charter
in the heart of Denmark and Comlux
in Malta have PC-24s in their charter
fleets. Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg,
Germany, is one of the largest corporate
flight departments, with two PC-24s,
four Dassault Falcon 7X and two Falcon
Advanced Cockpit Environment [ACE], powered by Honeywell Apex, is quite similar to the
8X jets in its fleet.
flight deck of PC-12NG. Standard are autothrottles, LASEREF VI IRS, multi-sensor FMS
Its PC-24 trio makes Australia’s
and easy access to quick donning oxygen masks.
RFDS the type’s largest operator in the
all these Service Bulletins and many pro- Operator Demographics Asia-Pacific region. Other aircraft are
duction line upgrades into a block point scattered throughout the U.K., Canada,
production change. Aircraft delivered Almost half of the PC-24 fleet is based Chile, Malta, Mexico, Botswana, San
after mid-2019 appear to more reliable. in the U.S. PlaneSense in New Hamp- Marino and South Africa.
However, until Pilatus solves the PC-24’s shire is the largest single fleet operator. Non-commercial single aircraft op-
chronic windshield cracking problems, While the aircraft is designed with the erators predictably fly the fewest hours,
it’s likely to be an ongoing issue. owner-pilot market in mind, there are averaging 100 to 200 hr. annually among
On balance, though, the PC-24 has fewer than a half dozen people in this survey participants. Business flight de-
proved to be remarkably reliable, con- segment, a considerably smaller frac- partments fly the aircraft 200 to 400
sidering that it incorporates some of the tion compared to the PC-12. The large hr. per year. And air charter/fractional
most advanced design features of any air- majority of single aircraft operators em- ownership firms typically average 400
craft in its class. It’s the only business jet ploy professional pilots. High-net-worth to 800 hr. per year.
to feature brushless AC starter/genera- entrepreneurs in oil and gas exploration, Most operators report average stage
tors, plus electrically actuated multifunc- real estate development, high tech and lengths of 1.5 to 2.0 hr. with block speeds
tion spoilers, distributive data processing music production are among the single close to 400 kt. They plan on climbing
and electrical power architectures. It’s aircraft operators in the U.S. directly in the low to mid-forties and
also one of the few aircraft in its class Most aircraft in fleets are profession- cruising at Mach 0.69 to Mach 0.72,
to feature a fully interactive electronic ally crewed by two pilots employed by equivalent to 398 to 413 KTAS in ISA
checklist that ties into system synoptic business flight departments, manage- conditions. First-hour fuel flow is 1,100
diagrams and sensors and autothrottles. ment companies or charter operators. to 1,200 pph, dropping to 900 to 1,000
pph the second and subsequent hours.
PILATUS

PC-24, approved for steep approach operations, While the aircraft can fly as far as
making possible use of London City airport. 2,000 nm when slowed to Mach 0.65,
most operators plan on limiting mis-
sions to 1,700 to 1,800 nm. Antoniadis
uses even more conservative flight plan-
ning, usually capping missions at 1,400
to 1,500 nm. The consensus is that the
PC-24 is a good 1,500-nm workhorse.
A few operators say they seldom push
the aircraft to its maximum range lim-
its because their passengers feel self-
conscious using the forward lavatory
with its multi-section folding forward
and aft doors. Pilatus is evaluating an
optional aft lavatory configuration. But
such a design change would substan-
tially reduce baggage capacity. And,
when Pilatus offered the option to PC-12
operators, it never proved popular.

50 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 Congratulations to Our
Very Own William Garvey!
On his induction into the
“Living Legends of Aviation”

BCA Editor-In-Chief William Garvey has been inducted

into the Living Legends of Aviation. “For the past five years, I
have been honored to work
alongside Bill. His writing
Garvey is part of the Class of 2020 inductees, which never fails to amaze me, and
includes Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell, Gulfstream’s his knowledge and innate
Larry Flynn and Sergei Sikorsky. Past inductee recipients understanding of our industry
is unparalleled. He is simply
include more than 100 men and women from every the best story teller I know.
corner of aerospace. Congratulations to Bill on this
outstanding recognition.”
During a career that has already spanned 50 years, — Frank Craven,
Garvey has established himself as a well-known, highly Managing Director
Business Aviation
respected ambassador for aviation and shaped BCA
into the leading, essential “how-to” business aviation
publication within the industry.

Photo: Business & Commercial Aviation (BCA) Editor-In-Chief

William Garvey is introduced by Living Legends of Aviation host, actor/pilot
John Travolta. ©2020 Larry Grace Photography / Living Legends of
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AviationWeek.com/business-aviation
Operators Survey

PILATUS
Five Favorite Features
and Opportunities
for Improvement
Operators found it difficult to limit them-
selves to only five favorite features of
what Pilatus calls its “Super Versatile
Jet.” Cabin environment topped the list,
not only because of its 500-cu.-ft. volume,
but also due to its flat floor and impres-
sively low interior sound levels in cruise.
“The aircraft is very, very comfort-
able,” says Steve Cirino, U-Haul’s avia-
tion department manager. The PC-24
is the firm’s largest aircraft; it also flies
three Eclipse 500s and two PC-12s
The capacious baggage compartment,
which is easy to load because of the aft
cargo door and low floor level, is another Flat floor, large cabin volume, full-time access to the aft baggage compartment and very
favorite feature among operators. And low interior sound levels are some of operators’ favorite features.
passengers appreciate unrestricted ac-
cess to their belongings. Operators say it’s a bit of a pig at [FL] 450.” Still, he In QPM, ground idle rpm is reduced by
that while the aircraft comes with an aft loves the ability to use unpaved run- 8%, thereby reducing exterior sound
tail stand, it has a wide CG range that ways. He’s flown charters with the PC- levels significantly.
allows them to carry heavy items in the 24 between Las Vegas and the Burning As is often the case with an all-new
aft bay. They also say it’s easy to load Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock design, operators say that the PC-24
because of the relatively low baggage Desert north of Reno, just as he does us- has opportunities for improvement.
door sill height and the door’s large size. ing the firm’s PC-12 aircraft. Besides the BAM Service Bulletins
Runway and climb performance are The Advanced Cockpit Environment and recurring windshield problems,
two more favorite features. As noted (ACE) flight deck, powered by Honey- operators say the single-point pres-
by Antoniadis of Pla- well Epic 2 avionics, received sure refueling (SPPR) system doesn’t
PILATUS

neSense, this enables praise, mostly from crews mak- accurately refill the tanks to the se-
them to use runways ing the transition from the PC- lected fuel quantity. It can be off by as
that are too short for 12NG, which features Honeywell much as 300 lb. In addition, they cannot
other light and me- Apex equipment. The user inter- preselect the refuel quantity from the
dium jets and then face is quite similar to that on flight deck; it only can be done from
climb to the aircraft’s Dassault’s EASy models, relying the outside refueling panel, forward of
45,000-ft. certified extensively on point, type and the right wing root. They would like the
ceiling on most mis- click entry conventions. option to use either location.
sions, even on warm “It’s user friendly and Pilatus officials say SPPR will fill
days. it’s robust,” says Todd the aircraft within ±110 lb. of the
Hotes, who flies s.n. 112 preselected quantity, but line service
New optional based at Oxford, Connecti- technicians must follow published pro-
forward, left-side cut. Some operators com- cedures and allow sufficient time for
galley has available mented that the Apex and the fuel to settle in the tanks. Engi-
coffee maker, ACE interfaces are neers in Stans, Switzerland, are “in-
AC power outlet quite different from vestigating software improvements to
and microwave G a r m i n de si g n s avoid such issues,” says Tom Aniello,
oven, along with a nd that it’s not vice president of marketing for Pilatus
standard ice easy making the Business Aircraft.
chest and storage transition between The autothrottle system needs fine-
compartments. Honeywell and Gar- tuning, according to operators. While it
min f light decks. precisely holds programmed indicated
Docile handling is However, as almost airspeed at lower altitudes, it wanders
yet one more favorite all ACE menus only off the preselected or programmed
feature. “There’s no ‘cof- are two layers deep, Mach speed by as much as Mach 0.03
fin corner,’” the top point some operators be- at cruise altitude. This can result in the
in the flight envelope where critical lieve that the Honeywell system is easier autothrottles pushing the aircraft over
Mach number and stalling angle of at- to use in everyday operations. its Mach 0.74 redline.
tack might converge, says Tommy Suell, The quiet power mode (QPM) on the “We have successfully tested auto-
chief pilot for Steeleman Aviation in Las Williams International FJ44-4 turbo- throttle system improvements that will
Vegas. “It’s a forgiving aircraft; it han- fans enables one engine to function as be announced soon,” Aniello responds.
dles a lot like a PC-12. But thrust-wise, an APU and is a well-received feature. Takeoff and landing data (TOLD),

52 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 Know Before You Go

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 Operators Survey

PILATUS
including V speeds, runway with stores and supplies and
requirements and close-in when flown with two pilots,
cl i mb per for ma nce, cu r- the aircraft only can carry two
rently is computed using Pi- passengers with full tanks.
latus’ proprietary Guru tablet However, with a single pilot and
computer app. Operators BCA-spec equipment, it has a
say they want the ACE FMS 715-lb. tanks-full payload. Ani-
upgraded to support TOLD ello says Pilatus is evaluating
computations, freeing them several measures to increase
of dependence on their tablet tanks-full payload.
computers. Pilatus is evaluat-
ing the change.
The aircraft needs a full-
On Balance
service galley, some opera- Operators understand that
tors remarked. At last year’s all aircraft designs involve
NBA A annual convention, inevitable tradeoffs. The PC-
Pilatus Business Aircraft 24’s sweet spots are its capa-
showed off a prototype for- cious cabin, quiet interior and
ward galley that would replace the coat Overhead panel is a model of Swiss exceptional short-field performance,
closet behind the pilot’s seat. It would be simplicity. Switches up, knobs 12 o’clock, including approval to operate from un-
a 54.9-lb. option, priced at $59,750, and lights out and you’re ready for takeoff. improved runways. In exchange, it’s not
include an ice chest and storage com- the fastest cruising, longest range or
partments. A coffee maker or pull-out $10,800 per month plus $550 per hour, highest payload aircraft in its class.
tray with 115-volt AC power outlet will according to Aniello. Notably, the hourly “At first, I was turned off by its slow
be optional. A microwave oven also will rate includes $353.26 for Williams TAP speed. If you want high cruise speed, it’s
be offered as an option. Blue engine maintenance, Aniello notes. not for you,” says U-Haul’s Cirino. “But it’s
Many operators praise Pilatus for its Overall, the hourly cost for Crystal Care also the safest airplane I’ve ever flown, a
tip-to-tail Crystal Care maintenance ranges from $1,300 per hour for low uti- dandy machine for owner/operators.”
and support program, which covers lization operators to $828 per hour for “The PC-24 is the value driver in its
both engines and consumables. Some high-time users. class,” says Hotes.
say they wouldn’t own the aircraft with- “Crystal Care is really good and Pila- Growing pains notwithstanding, op-
out it. But others complain that it’s too tus has been very supportive in building erators say dispatch reliability has been
expensive. Pilatus officials counter that up its support network,” says Plane- quite satisfactory. Steeleman’s Suell, for
Crystal Care is the most comprehensive Sense’s Antoniadis. Some other opera- instance, says he’s only lost two charter
customer care program in business avi- tors, though, say they’ve waited 48 to 72 flights in 18 months. That’s quite im-
ation and that’s why it’s pricey. It even hr. for replacement parts if they must be pressive, considering the PC-24 is the
pays for consumables, such as O-rings, shipped from Switzerland. However, Pi- most sophisticated light to medium jet
LEDs and lubricants, along with AOG latus Business Aircraft in Colorado now yet to enter service, considering its fully
support and freight costs. has considerably more complete spare integrated ACE flight deck and utility
Crystal Care has both fixed and di- inventories, officials say. management system, distributive data
rect costs. An operator who flies 300 Operators also say they need a higher processing and electrical distribution
hr. per year, for instance, would pay tanks-full payload. Typically equipped networks, QPM and virtually all-electric
systems architecture.
PILATUS

Customer loyalty is reflecting opera-

tor sentiment, Aniello says. Despite the
Standard configuration features a four-chair club section up front and
plunge in sales suffered by other busi-
either two or four, forward facing chairs in the aft cabin. Alternatively,
ness aircraft manufacturers this year,
some operators have chosen a double-club layout.
the Pilatus PC-24 order book for 2020-
2021 has remained intact, he says.
The Swiss specialty aircraft company
never has been one to accept the status
quo. Most likely, PC-24 development and
refinement will be an ongoing program
at Pilatus, much the same as with the
PC-12, which is now in its fourth gen-
eration. The PC-12NGX is a far more
capable machine than the original model
introduced in the mid-1990s and was
also an unprecedented design.
As with the PC-12, operators say they
expect the PC-24 to become considerably
more capable as post-certification devel-
opment continues. It’s off to a strong start
and it can only get better. BCA

54 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

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 Safety

The
Human-Engine
Interface
Many problems, one easy solution
BY JAMES ALBRIGHT james@code7700.com

M
y first piece of aircraft auto- you to engage the autothrottles for autothrottles had a role to play leading

SAICLE/GETTY IMAGES
mation was a flight director in takeoff and then simply forget about up to the scene of the accident. Four fol-
the Northrop T-38. It was pure them until after landing. And, I must low — each with an autothrottle prob-
magic: Two mechanical needles admit, sometimes I forget about them. lem. Let’s see if we can come up with a
came into view, one for course and an- But these days, I mostly don’t trust solution.
other for glidepath, and you simply flew them during the climb because with
the airplane so as to center them. Over the wrong mode of the autopilot they Case Study: Gulfstream
the next few years the crossbars turned can result in a stall. Oh yes, I don’t trust GIV, G-GMAC
to vee bars, but there was nothing them en route because changing envi-
earthshaking until one of my airplanes ronmental conditions can leave us short Problem: There has been a divergence of
allowed us to couple those bars to the of thrust. And then there is the descent. opinion in the Gulfstream world on the
autopilot. Now, that was neat. And don’t get me started about the ap- proper way to engage and disengage
Then came an autothrottle system proach phase! OK, OK. I guess I just the autothrottles. There are two sets of
that was good for an ILS approach and don’t trust them. But I do use them from switches, forward and aft of what are
autoland, but not much else. (It could not takeoff to landing; they free up my brain called throttles, power levers or thrust
be trusted for takeoff or climb.) for other things. levers. The type of switches used has
It wasn’t until I got to the Gulfstream Why so paranoid? There have been a changed but their locations remain the
GV that I had an airplane that allowed lot of accidents over the years in which same. The forward switches will only
disengage and the aft switches will en-
U.S. AIR FORCE

gage or disengage. You can only engage

with the switches aft of the throttle
stems, so no debate there. I believe you
should only disengage using the forward
switches, since there is no chance you
will engage the autothrottles with a
“double click.” But Gulfstream gives us
the option and it seems many pilots use
the aft switches for everything.
On Dec. 1, 2004, a crew destroyed
a perfectly good airplane while land-
ing at Teterboro Airport (KTEB), New
Jersey. The pilot disengaged the auto-
throttles at 570 ft. AGL. It is unclear
as to who or why, but the autothrottles
were re-engaged at 38 ft. The GIV can-
not be landed with the autothrottles en-
gaged and I speculate that the pilot hit
Northrop T-38 attitude director indicator, circa 1979 the aft engage/disengage switches at

56 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

KEVIN KNECHT

Case Study: Turkish Well, maybe they were. Here’s my

Airlines Flight 1951 take: The radio altimeter system was
one of the leading maintenance squawks
Problem: Does this sound topi- for the Boeing 737-800 of the time — in
cal? A Boeing 737 equipped fact, it was the top squawk at Turkish
with two sensors used by the Airlines. Boeing knew a faulty radio al-
automated flight system was timeter could cause an autothrottle “re-
designed to use only one of tard” mode while in flight but reasoned
those sensors at a time, ignor- that the cockpit had more than enough
ing the opposite sensor. Then warning systems to alert the crew.
one day the sensor being used Actually, the very airplane involved in
went bad and the airplane this crash had the “retard” mode occur
crashed, even though the op- in two previous flights in the previous
posite sensor could have saved 48 hr. But each crew noticed the “RE-
the day. It has nothing to do TARD” annunciation, the decaying air-
Gulfstream GIV autothrottle switches
with the 737 MAX of the Lion speed, the low-speed cue and the higher
the last moment to ensure they were Air Flight 610 era; this was 10 years ago. than usual deck angle. Each crew dis-
disengaged. Of course, that caused them In a nutshell, here is what happened connected the autothrottles and flew the
to re-engage. to Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 on Feb. jet to a successful landing. This crew
After landing when the speed de- 25, 2009: The captain’s radio altimeter did not. Rather, the captain was busy
cayed below the target approach speed, malfunctioned to read -8 ft. in flight. training a new first officer, but there
the autothrottles pushed the thrust le-

DUTCH SAFETY BOARD

vers forward, making it impossible for
the pilot to lift the reverse levers out of
their stowed detent.
With available runway disappearing,
the pilot activated the emergency brake,
which does not have anti-skid protec-
tion, and the airplane departed the run-
way. All survived the landing except the
airplane.
The NTSB blames the crew’s inad-
vertent engagement of the autothrot-
tles and failure to recognize that during
landing. The Safety Board also notes the
lack of autothrottle switch guards and a
lack of an audible engagement tone. But Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 flight mode
all of that misses the point. annunciations during approach
Once the airplane had been landed
the pilot should have noticed the throt-
tles moving forward and he should have The crew were slam-dunked into Schi- was a third pilot on the flight deck as
slapped them back. I am speculating phol Airport, a common occurrence. A a safety pilot. Nevertheless, they got
that the pilot’s right hand was not on the poor design allowed the autothrottles rushed with the slam dunk and nobody
throttles during the final phase of the to use the left radio altimeter while the noticed the visual cues and five audible
approach and landing until he wanted first officer flew the ILS with the autopi- warnings until the stick shaker alerted
the reversers. lot coupled to the right autopilot. As the them, too late.
Solution: Keep your hands on the aircraft intercepted the ILS from above, Solution: Keep your hands on the
the autothrottles had all they needed throttles during approach and landing,
NTSB

to go into “retard” mode. Neither pilot

DUTCH SAFETY BOARD

seemed to correlate a cascading series

of warnings, including one for low air-
speed, and the resulting high deck angle,
with the radio altimeter failure.
The 737 ran itself out of speed at
about 500 ft., at which time it stalled.
The airplane impacted short of the run-
way. Nine of the 135 people on board
were killed. The airplane was destroyed.
Gulfstream GIV G-GMAC
The Dutch accident investigators Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 wreckage
throttles during approach and landing, placed the blame on Boeing for the de-
and mentally connect what they are do- sign of the radio altimeter/autothrottle and mentally connect what they are do-
ing against what you want them to do. If interface while giving the crew an addi- ing against what you want them to do. If
there is a disagreement, put the throt- tional mention, as if they were bystand- there is a disagreement, put the throt-
tles where you want them. ers to the crash. tles where you want them.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 57

 Safety
Case Study: Asiana mode control panel or flight manage- will be surrounded by a green box for
Airlines Flight 214 ment computer.
υ࠙Thrust (THR) — Thrust applied to
10 sec. The A/T will remain in HOLD
mode until one of the following condi-
Problem: Airlines in South Korea have maintain the climb/descent rate re- tions is met:
a long history of crashing airplanes be- quired by AFDS (autopilot flight direc- (1) The airplane reaches the MCP tar-
cause their pilots had difficulty when tor system) pitch mode. get altitude.
they were deprived of an ILS signal and υ࠙Idle (IDLE) — Occurs when A/T (au- (2) The pilot engages a new AFDS
their crews were unwilling to challenge tothrottle) controls the thrust levers to pitch mode or new A/T mode.
the most senior pilot on the flight deck. the aft stop. (3) The A/T arm switches are turned
This particular crash fits that mold, but υ࠙Hold (HOLD) — Occurs when A/T re- off.
the design of the autothrottle system moves power from the servo motors. In (4) The thrust is manually com-
combined with poor pilot technique was this mode, A/T will not move the thrust manded to increase past the thrust
certainly a factor. levers. limit.
On July 6, 2013, Asiana Flight 214, υ࠙Flight level change (FLCH) — A mode (5) The A/P is disconnected, and both
a Boeing 777, was on approach to on many autopilots that holds speed by F/D switches are turned off.
San Francisco International Airport either bringing the throttles to idle or This seems nonsensical at first. If
(KSFO) on a clear day with no real chal- climb thrust while controlling speed you are in an idle descent why do you
lenges to speak of, except maybe one. with the elevator. want the autothrottles to essentially
The ILS glideslope was out of service. I am familiar with all of these modes stop moving once they hit idle? To ra-
While many U.S. pilots prefer visual ap- except the HOLD mode, but more on tionalize a reason, visualize a typical
proaches, many Korean airline pilots that later. Airplane speed can be con- descent with autothrottles that don’t
seem to fear them. The crew started the trolled by the AFDS or the A/T. When do this. You start down and the auto-
approach too high, made a few automa- the AFDS is controlling speed, this is throttles go to idle. As you descend the
tion mistakes that caused them to get informally called “speed-on-elevator,” speed target will eventually change
even higher, and then as they were plum- as the speed is controlled by modifying from Mach to Indicated or Calibrated
meting down to briefly pass through the the pitch of the airplane through eleva- and that could cause the throttles to
correct glidepath (at a very high descent tor movement. This is typically dur- come up momentarily. Environmental
rate), they ended up with the autothrot- ing a climb when the thrust is set at an conditions can change so the speed is
tles in a mode that would not correct upper limit, or during a descent when suddenly too low and the autothrot-
their speed. They got too low and slow the thrust is set to idle. When the A/T tles will move forward only to move
to safely recover and impacted short of is controlling speed, this is informally back again. This back and forth makes
the runway. called “speed-on-throttle,” as the speed it harder to descend quickly and can
There is much to unpack from this is controlled by movement of the thrust be annoying in the cabin as the power
accident and I encourage you to do that. levers. The A/T controls speed only comes up and back again. So, I guess,
But for our purposes here, let’s look at when it is in SPD mode. This is typically there is a reason for this behavior.
the Boeing 777 autothrottle system. at times other than a climb or descent, But isn’t it dangerous? Typically,
The autothrottles have several modes such as in cruise or on an approach. you are descending to a target alti-
that should be familiar to most auto- In FLCH SPD mode, A/T is limited tude on the mode control panel (MCP)
throttle users: by the thrust limit at the forward range at which point the HOLD mode is re-
υ࠙Thrust reference (THR REF) — of thrust lever travel and by idle at the leased. But the sequence of events for
Thrust set to the reference thrust limit aft range of travel. During a FLCH de- Asiana Flight 214 left the throttles in
displayed on EICAS. scent, HOLD mode will engage when HOLD until it was too late. They were
υ࠙Speed (SPD) — Thrust applied to the thrust levers reach the aft stop too high coming down rapidly. Their
maintain target airspeed set using the or if the pilot manually overrides the MCP target was set to 3,000 ft., which
was the missed approach altitude for
Boeing 777 the ILS. The pilot wanted to increase
NTSB

mode his descent rate and selected the

annunciator FLCH mode, wanting the autothrot-
tles to command an idle descent. But
A / T. D u r i n g a the autothrottles increased thrust for
FLCH climb, a climb, because the MCP target alti-
HOLD mode will tude was above them. The pilot manu-
en g a ge on ly i f ally overrode the autothrottles, pulling
the pilot manu- them to idle and placing them into the
a l l y ove r r i d e s HOLD mode, where they would stay
the A /T. W hen until one of the conditions noted above
the HOLD mode was met.
engages, the an- But most of those were unlikely to
nu nci at ion for happen: The MCP target altitude was
the A /T mode above their actual altitude, they were
will change flying a visual approach and were un-
from “THR” to likely to change that, and they normally
“ H O L D,” a n d left the A/T arm switches on. Inter-
the annunciation estingly, Asiana standard operating

58 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 procedures called for the PM to turn I’m not so sure. There is a lot of infor- Case Study: Emirates
both F/D switches to off and then his mation on that display and the “HOLD”
Flight 521
own to on during a visual approach. Had is tucked away on top with other things
the PM done this, the A/T would have that compete for attention. Of course, Problem: This was a surprising accident
released the HOLD mode, but the PM the pilot should have spent some time on many fronts. First, Emirates has a
simply turned the PF’s F/D switch off looking at the airspeed indicator and sterling safety record and the carrier’s
and left his own on, and the HOLD mode the approaching amber band and bar- record was perfect with the Boeing 777.
persisted as a result. By the time the PF ber pole. There is a trend vector fore- Second, from what I’ve heard about
realized he needed more thrust, it was casting what is to come. But there was

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES REPORT

too late. an even better predictor of what was to
Note that in many accidents where come in this Boeing: the throttles that
automation is a factor, the investigators move even when being manipulated by
never fail to point out that the mode in the autothrottle system.
question is clearly shown to the pilot. Solution: Keep your hands on the
An important factor in this case was throttles during approach and landing,
that the pilots failed to realize the au- and mentally connect what they are do-
tothrottles were in HOLD mode when ing against what you want them to do. If
it was clearly annunciated at the top of there is a disagreement, put the throt- Boeing 777 main landing gear tilt position
their pilot flight displays. tles where you want them.
Emirates, they take all of this very se-
NTSB

riously. And finally, the incident itself

seemed at first to be one of those cases
of a perfectly good airplane destroyed
for reasons unknown.
On Aug. 3, 2016, this Emirates Boeing
777 appeared to be coming off a stable
approach into gusty winds and a hot
runway with thermals. Everything ap-
peared normal into the flare. While the
touchdown was a little late, it wasn’t
too bad. The airplane appeared to go
around, climb briefly and then fall to the
runway. Passengers evacuated (some
with their carry-ons in hand) and the
airplane was engulfed in flames. The
captain initiated the flare 15 ft. earlier
than he should have. (As someone I used
to fly with on the Boeing 707 often said,
Boeing 777 indicated speed display “I’ve done worse and bragged about
it.”) The combination of shifting winds
NTSB

(headwinds to tailwinds) and hot run-

way thermals made it difficult to touch
down in the touchdown zone, so the cap-
tain elected to go around.
The captain wasn’t aware that the aft
set of wheels on the trucks of his main
landing gear were going in and out of
ground mode, which made the airplane
think it was on the ground for a second.
When the captain pressed the Take-
off/Go-Around (TO/GA) button, the go-
around thrust mode of the autothrottles
was disabled because they were “on the
ground.” The captain did not realize he
was at idle thrust as he pitched up for
the go-around. The airplane ran out of
speed. As the airplane began to sink,
the captain realized his power state and
manually advanced the power, but it was
too late.
It appears to me that the crew did
Asiana Flight 214 wreckage everything right all the way to the flare.
Briefs, callouts, crew coordination. Very
good.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 59

 Safety
The airplane survived the initial im- one without the other, that is not its mo- Finally, in the case of Emirates Flight
pact but not the ensuing fire. Incredibly, dus operandi. I find it helpful to think 521, the crew did just about everything
the only fatality was a firefighter. It was of the autothrottles as an extension of right but failed to realize the engines
a tremendous loss, especially consider- the autopilot, which we know bears con- were not doing what they expected be-
ing two things. First, had the captain siderable watching. A common theme cause their human-to-engine interface
simply flown the airplane onto the run- to many autothrottle accidents is that was disconnected.
way, none of this would have happened. pilots simply stopped thinking about the Years ago I had a mechanic complain
throttles at all. that one of our pilots was putting too
REUTERS

I n the ca se of the much wear and tear on the throttle

Teterboro Gulfstream quadrant. This was in a Gulfstream GV
GI V, the pilot disen- where the throttle quadrant is not much
gaged the autothrottles, more than two thrust levers connected
pulled them to idle and to a rotary variable displacement trans-
assumed they would ducer (RVDT) that translated the physi-
stay there until it was cal movement of the levers into digital
time to pull on the re- signals for the engine’s full authority
verse levers. digital engine control (FADEC). The
I n the ca se of the throttle quadrant was a $300,000 item
Turkish Airlines flight, and we had already broken two of them.
Emirates Flight 521 wreckage once the airplane was on You couldn’t simply replace the RVDT
the approach the pilots — the entire unit had to be swapped.
Second, the go-around was only miss- busied themselves with helping the auto- This caused me to think about my usual
ing one thing: Somebody should have pilot catch up with their “slam dunk” and hand-on-throttle technique.
pushed the throttles forward when the assumed the autothrottles would take I place my hands on the throttles for
autothrottles didn’t. care of airspeed until the “RETARD” takeoff; I remove them at V1. I’ll watch
Solution: Keep your hands on the message appeared, which ironically is them closely during the climb, cruise
throttles during approach and landing, exactly what happened. and descent. But I typically don’t rest
as well as the go-around, and mentally In the case of the Asiana Airlines my hands on them until the gear is down
connect what they are doing against flight, the autothrottles behaved as de- again on approach. And I keep them
what you want them to do. If there is a signed, but not as expected. Here again there during the approach, landing and
disagreement, put the throttles where the pilots were provided the information rollout. I’ve done a few go-arounds over
you want them. they needed to survive, but the informa- the years and my hand will stay on the
tion wasn’t in a place they could receive throttles until we are at our missed ap-
Fixing What Is Broken it because their eyes were not on their
instruments during the visual approach
proach or pattern altitude again.
Is my technique right or wrong? I will
In my current aircraft, the autothrottles and the pilot’s right hand was not in “re- leave that to you, but I encourage you to
come on when you engage the autopilot; ceive mode” for the one critical piece of read each of these four case studies and
the two are linked. While you can use missing information. the recommended solution to each. BCA
JAMES ALBRIGHT

Gulfstream G500 pilot Jon Cain with his

hands on the stick and throttles.

60 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

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 Point of Law Kent S. Jackson
Contributing Editor
kjackson@jetlaw.com

Sharing Aircraft Under Part 91

When does “sharing” become illegal?
THE FAA REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018 CONTAINED A SECTION and furnishes the flight crew for that airplane and each of the
titled “Report on Illegal Charter Flights,” which contained sev- registered joint owners pays a share of the charge specified in
eral requirements intended to help identify and combat such the agreement.”
activities. The agency has since been revising inspector guid- “Registered” is the key to joint ownership. Sharing ownership
ance and has even sent a letter to every pilot on record regard- of an LLC that in turn owns an aircraft is not registered joint
ing the new emphasis on combating illegal charters. ownership. Because of the simplicity of registered joint owner-
But where is the line between legitimate FAR Part 91 business ship from an FAA enforcement perspective (just look at the reg-
aviation operations and illicit ones? istration certificate), joint owners have great latitude in shaping
The straightforward options for sharing aircraft under Part 91 the arrangement to meet their needs.
are time sharing, joint ownership and interchange, which are Part 91.501 also contains an interchange concept that is useful
defined in Part 91.501. The less-than-straightforward options for some, but it comes with strings, and the FET. Interchange is
are dry leasing your aircraft or “sharing the expenses” under an hour-for-hour swap of airplane and crew that is primarily use-
Part 61.113. ful for smoothing out the occasional maintenance
Part 91.501 applies to large airplanes (over
12,500 lb. MGTOW) and turbojet-powered mul-
The phrases problem by swapping time with another flight de-
partment. The swap is subject to Part 91.23 Truth
tiengine airplanes. However, there is an exemp- “dry lease” and in Leasing requirements, and after this year’s tax
tion for members of the NBAA who want to use holiday, the arrangement is subject to the commer-
the flexibility of Part 91.501 for a helicopter or “wet lease” cial FET even if no money actually changes hands.
small airplanes. The NBAA small-aircraft ex- Meanwhile, dry leasing is governed by Part 91,
emption, 7897K, has been around in various
forms for decades. However, because of the
have but it is not defined there. Rather, Part 110.2 defines
“wet lease” as “any leasing arrangement whereby a
FAA’s new focus on illegal charters, if a corpo-
rate operator wants to utilize the NBAA ex-
nothing to person agrees to provide an entire aircraft and at
least one crewmember.” The phrases “dry lease”
emption, in addition to the numerous previous
requirements (that already included contacting
do with fuel. and “wet lease” have nothing to do with fuel. If you
lease your aircraft to another company and their
the nearest FSDO), the company must now go to pilots (not your pilots) fly the plane, then you have a
http://www.regulations.gov and file a Notice of dry lease and you can charge whatever the market
Joinder. No one may operate under the exemption after Sept. 27, will bear. However, to the extent that any pilots employed by the
2020, without first filing such a Notice. lessor end up flying for the lessee, you can expect immediate FAA
The easiest way to share a business jet with another company scrutiny to determine if the lessee truly has operational control,
or individual is a “time-sharing agreement” under Part 91.501. and, next year, IRS scrutiny to assess the FET.
Such an agreement is a lease of the aircraft with crew, but the re- “Sharing expenses” is more of a myth than an option. Part
imbursement is limited to 2xfuel plus the flight-specific expenses, 61.113(c) states that “A private pilot may not pay less than the pro
which means crew expenses but not crew salary. Maintenance rata share of the operating expenses of a flight with passengers,
programs cannot be charged as a flight-specific charge. If the provided the expenses involve only fuel, oil, airport expenditures
2xfuel plus flight-specific expenses is covering the entire cost or rental fees.” Case law doctrine limits this even further, requir-
of the flight, you are probably doing the math wrong. Because ing that the pilot and passengers share a “common purpose” for
a time-sharing agreement is a lease, you must also comply with the flight. Under this doctrine, if a pilot offers to fly passengers
the “Truth in Leasing” notification requirements of Part 91.23 as wherever they want to go, then the pilot cannot share the ex-
explained in Advisory Circular 91-37B. penses of the flight.
Although time-sharing flights are conducted under Part 91, If you do not like your Part 91 options, then explore your
they are “commercial” for Federal Excise Tax purposes. So, after Part 135 options. Starting your own certificate may not be a
the current COVID-inspired tax holiday (which ends on Dec. 31), timely solution, but there are always Part 135 operators who wel-
you must collect and remit the 7.5% FET plus segment fees on all come business aircraft owned by others to their certificates. This
time-sharing flights. is still the best option if the company wants its aircraft to earn
If the new flying partner is going to be a regular user of the income whenever it’s not in company use. Part 135 comes with
aircraft, and you want to avoid losing money and paying FET, FAA paperwork and oversight. But there is no unlimited option
you may want to consider a joint ownership agreement. Under for charging for flights under Part 91. The upside to Part 135 is
Part 91.501 (c)(3), such an agreement means “an arrangement that the company aircraft can earn the going rate, flying for any-
whereby one of the registered joint owners of an airplane employs one, anytime. BCA

64 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

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EXPERIENCE THE AIR ELITE DIFFERENCE

 20/Twenty Fred George
Senior Editor
fred.george@informa.com

Gulfstream G280
Setting the standard for super-midsize
FOR $12 MILLION TO 14.5 MILLION, YOU CAN BUY A PRE-OWNED ISA+20C airport, it needs 7,320 ft. of runway. It’s approved for
G280 that can fly four passengers 3,600 nm in the largest and London City operations, but it’s slightly weight limited on takeoff
quietest cabin in its class. In keeping with large-cabin Gulf- due to noise abatement requirements. With full tanks, it will fly
streams of its vintage, it typically cruises at Mach 0.80 to 0.82. from northeast U.S. coastal cities to most airports in western
It also delivers better fuel economy than any direct competitor. Europe. Coming home, it can depart U.K. and Irish airports and
The G280’s outward appearance indicates that it’s related fly to the northeast U.S. and beyond.
to the G200/Galaxy/Astra IV family, but it shares little in com- Climb performance is excellent, making possible an initial
mon other than its basic fuselage and a few systems. It has a cruise altitude of FL 440. First hour fuel burn is 2,200 to 2,300
scaled down G550 wing, best-in-class Honeywell HTF 7000-se- lb., dropping to 1,800 lb. to 1,900 lb. and down as low as 1,750
ries engines, a proper Gulfstream T-tail, trimmable horizontal lb. per hour near the end of a 7-hr. flight. Most operators say
stab and hybrid flight control system. Autothrottles and auto- they’re comfortable flying the aircraft as far as 3,400 to 3,500
brakes are standard. Options include HUD with infrared EVS mi., depending weather at the destination, known ATC delays
camera, SVS PFDs, dual Honeywell Laseref VI IRSes, GoGo and available alternates.
Biz and Inmarsat Swift Broadband connectivity. Later serial They budget $2,400 to $2,500 for all-up hourly operating ex-
numbers are available with VIASAT KA-band SATCOM. penses, including $620/hr. for Honeywell MSP. Basic mainte-
Removing the G200’s fuselage fuel tank made room in G280 nance intervals are 500 hr. or 12 months, whichever first occurs.
to stretch the main cabin seating area by 8 in., widen the aft Most of those inspections require less than 7 days in the shop.
lavatory significantly and enlarge the aft baggage bay to 120 cu The most comprehensive 500-hr. inspections can be accom-
ft. Without that tank, the G280 provides full-time access to the plished in 12 to 14 days.
baggage compartment through a door in the aft lavatory. The Aircraft dispatch reliability has been excellent and Gulf-
aircraft has a dropped aisle that increases overall cabin height stream’s product support is second to none, operators say. How-
in the center and widens available floor width. While the G280 is ever, some are concerned that the firm’s recent reductions in
the only super midsize aircraft to have a dropped aisle, operators workforce may have a negative impact on AOG support. Early
say their passengers don’t object to it. aircraft suffered frequent incandescent exterior light bulb fail-
ures. Aftermarket LED replacement units solve the problem.
GULFSTREAM

Operators also say the galley is too small to serve 8 to 10 pas-

sengers on the longest missions and the microwave oven is tiny.
They would also like to see a major mid-life operating system
update for the PlaneView280 avionics. Some operators report
excessive wear of the abradable lining of the engine intakes out-
side of the fan and chipping or peeling of the exterior coating
of the thrust reversers. Gulfstream, they say, is addressing the
The cabin has four more windows than the G200, now total- nacelle issues and fixes are in the works.
ing 19 transparencies. There are four typical, two-zone factory Pilots love the aircraft’s sporty performance, but they say that
floor plans, all of which feature a forward, four-seat club section. roll control forces are a little heavy at high indicated air speeds.
The aft cabin may be configured as a second four-seat club, a They say they must take care not to use much wing down/top
two-chair section with opposite side three-place divan, four- rudder technique when landing in a crosswind as the wingtips
chair conference grouping with opposite side divan or four-chair are comparatively low to the ground due to the short stance of
conference grouping flanked by two lean-width facing chairs. the gear. They also remark that the short-travel, trailing link
Maximum seating capacity is limited to 10 passengers due to main gear is not forgiving of imperfect landing touchdown
emergency exit access requirements. All models feature a high- technique.
capacity vacuum toilet and hot and cold fresh water systems. The G280, while being impressively capable, has been outsold
But typical tanks-full payload is only 800 lb. to 950 lb. With by Bombardier Challenger 350 by a 2:1 margin, even though the
all options, tanks-full payload can drop to 600 lb. to 750 lb. So, Gulfstream’s cabin volume is larger, it flies 400 nm farther and
if you fill all ten seats, plan capping max range at 2,700 nm to is more fuel efficient. Currently, there are about 15 of 193 G280s
2,800 nm. listed for resale, all 3 to 7 years old. And there are only 12 of 347
Runway performance is a strong suit. Typical 2-hr. trips re- Challenger 350s for sale. Asking prices in the COVID-19 era are
quire only 3,100 ft. of runway, assuming standard day conditions. getting soft. So, potential buyers can afford to shop for deals.
Departing at MTOW, the G280 needs 4,750 ft. of pavement in Patience and perseverance could make the G280 a best buy for
ISA sea-level conditions. Flying out of BCA’s 5,000-ft. elevation, bargain hunters. BCA

66 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

TOP-TIER COVERAGE,
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MEANINGFUL COST SAVINGS
EAP is the high-quality alternative for hourly
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using the same high-quality engine MRO shops as the other programs. With EAP, these
engines can be operated more economically:

TFE731-2 TFE731-3 TFE731-5 PW305 A/B TAY 611-8 CF34-3A/-3A1

Lear 31 Falcon 50 Falcon 900B/C Lear 60 /XR Gulfstream GIV/SP Challenger 601 1A/3A
Falcon 10 Hawker 700 Falcon 20-5 Hawker 1000
Lear 35 Astra 1125/SP Hawker 800A /XP
Citation III/VI/VII Hawker 850XP
Lear 55

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 On Duty
Edited by Jessica A. Salerno jessica.salerno@informa.com

News of promotions, appointments and honors

involving professionals within the business
aviation community
υ࠙Air BP, London, United Kingdom, named business ownership, sales, marketing and
Martin Thomsen executive director, assuming managerial experience in the financial, insur-
the role from Jon Platt. Platt plans to retire ance and real estate industries.
later this year. Thomsen joined the company υ࠙National Air Transportation Association
15 years ago, most recently serving as retail (NATA), Washington, D.C., announced that
director and fuels country integrator for Aus- Curt Castagna, president of Aeroplex/Aerole-
tria, Switzerland and Turkey. ase Group, has been re-elected chairman of
υ࠙Aviation Personnel International, San Fran- AARON HIKEMANN MICHAEL MINCHOW the National Air Transportation Association
cisco, California, promoted Jennifer Pickerel (NATA). His term was also extended by one
to vice president. Pickerel, who joined the year. Larry Wade, president of Golden Isles
company in 2015, will continue to serve Aviation, was re-elected to the board for a
as senior aviation recruiter. She previously second term. Clive Lowe, Atlantic Aviation
served as director of client and candidate senior vice president of business develop-
services. ment, will continue his role as vice chair for
υ࠙Business Air, Seat tle, Washing ton, one additional year. David Best, Jet Aviation
announced that Emily Morey, the company’s CHAD DOEHRING PASCAL LAGUERRE senior vice president; Joe Gibney, TAC Air chief
executive vie president, has accepted the posi- operating officer; Josh Hochberg, Sonoma Jet
tion of president. In addition, she will maintain Center president; and John King, Solairus Avi-
her position as executive vice president of High ation president; were newly appointed to the
Plateau Capital LLC, a private equity invest- board for a term of three years.
ment fund and lead investor in Business Air. υ࠙Pentastar Aviation, Watership Twp., Michigan,
υ࠙Daher Group, Paris, France, named Pascal announced that Bob Rufli, vice president and
Laguerre to replace Nicolas Orance as chief director of flight operations has been named
technology officer for the group. Cedric Eloy BILL PROCHAZKA RYAN HUSS chairman of the Air Charter Safety Foundation.
was appointed deputy chief technology offi- Rufli succeeds Joshua Hebert, CEO of Magellan
cer. Orance has decided to become CEO of a Jets, whose term expired June 30.
midsize aerospace and defense firm. υ࠙JetHQ, Kansas City, Kansas, announced
υ࠙Deutsche Regional Aircraft, Wessling, Ger- that Gabriela Perez de Leon has joined the
many, announced Jose Costas has joined company as sales director based in Mexico.
Deutsche Regional Aircraft as vice president Most recently, Perez de Leon served as the
of aircraft sales. Most recently, Costas held principal of Mondo Aereo, an executive avia-
senior positions with Embraer in its commer- JEFFREY LAKE TONYA WOOD tion services business in Toluca, Mexico.
cial and executive aircraft divisions. υ࠙Kansas State University’s Polytechnic Cam-
υ࠙Duncan Aviation, Lincoln, Nebraska, has pus, Salina, Kansas, named Kurt Carraway department head
made the following changes to their leader- of the unmanned aircraft systems flight and operations pro-
ship teams: gram at Kansas State University’s Polytechnic Campus. Car-
υ࠙Jeff Lake is the new president replacing raway joined the university in 2014 and currently serves as
Aaron Hilkemann who plans to semi-retire. UAS executive director of K-State’s Applied Aviation Research
Mike Minchow, vice president of Modification Center.
and Engineering has taken on the additional MARTIN THOMSEN υ࠙Twin Commander Aircraft, Creedmoor, North Carolina, has
responsibilities of chief operations officer, hired Andrew Wilson as Technical service manager. He comes
Lincoln. Chad Doehring, formerly vice president of operations in to the company from Dynamic Aviation.
Provo is replacing Bill Prochazka as COO. Ryan Huss is the new υ࠙Western Aircraft, Boise, Idaho, has hired Tonya Wood as Inte-
Director of Sales, a newly created position. rior manager, overseeing the removal, repair, modification,
υ࠙GlobalParts.aero announced that Scott Toom has rejoined the refurbishment and reinstallation of aircraft interiors according
company as its new director of business solutions. Toom joined to customer specifications. BCA
the company in 2012. Most recently, he served as a sales engi-
neer with Electromech Technologies. If you would like to submit news of hires, promotions, appointments
υ࠙Fargo Air Museum, Fargo, North Dakota, named Ryan Thayer or awards for possible publication in On Duty, send email to
as executive director, replacing Jackie Williams, who left in jessica.salerno@informa.com or call (520) 638-8721
January. Thayer, a private pilot, has more than 15 years of

68 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

AIRCRAFT LIGHTING INT’L
PRESENTS
MOOD RGBW LED SYSTEM

ADVANTAGES OF A.L.I.’s RGBW LEDs

• Compatible with Honeywell Ovation Select CMS
• Flying on aircraft ranging from 400A to BBJs
• Full Spectrum RGB Color combinations
• Custom programming and preset scene
• Bluetooth Controller App Available
• Longer life = reduced maintenance costs
• Solid-state construction
• Contains no dangerous chemicals
• Emits virtually no heat
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TEL: (631) 474-2254 • sales@aircraftlighting.com • WWW.AIRCRAFTLIGHTING.COM
 Products & Services Previews
By Jessica A. Salerno jessica.salerno@informa.com

1. Duncan Completes STC

for Gogo Installation 1 (swine, avian, etc.), MRSA (methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus), C.
Duncan Aviation is pleased to diff (clostridium difficile), E. coli (Esch-
announce that its Engineering and erichia coli), pneumonia, polio, and
Certification Department has com- mold. In addition to pathogens, the
pleted a full-equipment Supplemental ACA component neutralizes poten-
Type Certificate (STC) for installation tially harmful gasses caused by fuel
of the Gogo Business Aviation AVANCE emissions, other VOCs (volatile organ-
L5 inflight Internet and Wi-Fi system ic compounds), and offensive odors
in Cessna Citation 680 aircraft. This caused by cooking or cleaning, ciga-
is the seventh STC Duncan Aviation rette and cigar smoke, stagnant air,
has completed for the system, and it and lavatories. Pet odors are also neu-
covers the Wi-Fi certification and full
equipment and antenna installation
2 tralized. The system will also reduce
the static electricity in aircraft that’s
required to provide inflight connectiv- caused by the low relative humidity of
ity to the Gogo Biz 4G network. This lat- the cabin air. The company’s Aviation
est STC, completed at the company’s Engineering & Certification Services
Battle Creek, Michigan, facility, adds team is developing the STC to cover
the Citation 680 to the growing list of the installation of the ionization sys-
aircraft makes/models for which Dun- tem and is working towards certify-
can Aviation has created STCs. ing other aircraft makes and models,
Duncan Aviation including a Challenger 300/350.
www.duncanaviation.aero Duncan Aviation
www.duncanaviation.aero
2. Avant Moves to St. Louis 3
Downtown Airport 4. FlightSafety Adds Main-
Avant Aerospace, a subsidiary of West tenance Training at Aus-
Star Aviation and a supplier of aircraft tralian Learning Center
parts, spares, equipment, and tooling, FlightSafety International is now pro-
has relocated from Dallas to Hangar viding maintenance technician train-
#12 at the St. Louis Downtown Air- ing at its new Learning Center at the
port. The new location is close to West Sunshine Coast Airport in Queensland,
Star’s full-service maintenance, repair Australia. Students can receive class-
and overhaul facility in East Alton, Illi- room and hands-on training to develop
nois. The company relocated its offic- and refine proficiencies. Technicians
es and inventory to the 20,000-sq.-ft.
space to centralize its inventory and
improve efficiency. Avant has expand-
4 also receive interactive courseware,
the use of full-scale systems trainers,
major component cutaways, working
ed its services to include Bombardier, models, and test equipment to demon-
Textron, Piaggio and Gulfstream air- strate procedures and reinforce class-
craft. All equipment and parts repairs room instructions. The maintenance
are provided by OEMs or Authorized training and curriculum meet world-
Repair Agents. wide regulatory requirements.
Avant Aerospace FlightSafety International
Email: info@avantaero.com www.flightsafety.com

3. Duncan Aviation to Certificate (STC) for the Aviation Clean 5. West Star Perryville Gets
Complete STC for ACA Air (ACA) ionization system for a Global Additional FAA Approvals
Air Purification System aircraft in late July. The ionized hydrogen West Star’s Perryville, MO (PCD) loca-
Duncan Aviation an aircraft service molecules also deactivate other viral, tion has received FAA approval for four
provider, is set to complete and make bacterial, and fungal pathogens such as additional airframe capabilities within
available its first Supplemental Type those that cause the common cold, flu the Bombardier and Embraer series.

70 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

The additional series of capabilities 6. Signature Launches
include Bombardier Global BD-700, SignatureAssure
Embraer Phenom, Embraer Legacy 120
and Embraer Legacy 134/145. Cur-
Signature Flight Support
has launched Signature-
6
rently, the PCD location is approved to A s s u r e, a c o m p r e h e n -
perform service on a variety of aircraft sive COVID -19 response
models including Falcon, Gulfstream, includes measures that
Sabreliner and Textron series. These encompass social distanc-
additional approvals reflect West ing, employee readiness,
Star’s continual focus on the develop- facility cleanliness and air-
ment of airframe-specific capabilities craft safe standards. The
throughout the organization.“The addi- roll-out coincides with a
tion of these capabilities will provide gradual increase in aircraft
further service opportunities for our operations and includes the
location, while also benefiting the West deployment of several tech-
Star company as a whole,” stated Kyle nological advancements
French, General Manager (PCD). including electrostatic sprayers, pulse oximeters and touchless thermometers.
West Star Aviation Signature Aviation plc
www.weststaraviation.com www.signatureaviation.com

ADVERTISERS INDEX
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Centex Pages 62-63
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Corporate Angel Network Page 3 good old fashioned service with YOUR
fundanangel.org best interests and bottom line in mind.
Engine Assurance Program Page 67
eap.aero/my-engine
FlightSafety International Page 43
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Garmin 4th Cover
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Gulfstream Page 5
Honda Page 15
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Kaiser Page 71
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Northeast Air Page 65
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AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 71

 BCA 50 Years Ago

August 1970 News

BCA’s aim is to provide guidelines that generate more
utilization, both present and future. Through articles on
aircraft, equipment, services and pilot proficiency . . .
Edited by Jessica A. Salerno jessica.salerno@informa.com

. . . BCA helps readers manage their aircraft more safely more efficiently
and more reliability — rather than allowing their aircraft to manage them.

With most anyone else at

the controls, this would be the
Shrike prelude to a crash. For north
American Rockwell’s public
relations executive Bob Hoover, it is
another one of his finely practiced Fokker F-28 Fellowship flies over
air show maneuvers in which he Southern California terrain after
rolls down the runway, touching interior/avionics installation at Pacific
Airmotives’s completion center. Large
down alternately on each wheel. flap track fairing on the modestly
swept wings serve as a prominent
Golden Eagle Golden Eagle Glitter: recognition features on the Dutch-built
jet, as does the tailcone speedbrake
Deliveries have begun on Cessna’s (shown in intermediate position) Photo,
new pressurized twin, the 421B taken from the rear seat of California
Golden Eagle, a longer and wider Airmotive’s Super Pinto (Temco TT-I),
is by Fairchild Hiller cameraman
version of the 421A. It’s powered by James B. Minnich.
375-hp turbocharged, fuel-injected
geared engines. Price for standard
airplane is $187,5000.

New lift for vertical lifters.

Alouette From France, here are the familiar
turbine-powered utility transport,
the Alouette II (pictured) and III,
with a new marketing push by
Vought Helicopter, Inc. The II seats
five, has a 1,710-lb. useful load
and a price of $118,500.

Bonanza Bonanza: The U.S. Naval

Academy Aerospace Engineer-
ing Department at Annapolis has
taken delivery of its first aircraft, a
single-engine Beech Bonanza, to Before you take delivery of a new
serve as a flying classroom. Citation, your pilot will have received
intensive training at the American
Airlines Flight Academy near Fort
Self-assembled island in the sky: “Be the first in your neighborhood to Worth, Texas. Naturally the course will
put the Scorpion in your garage. P.S. It fits in a garage,” says the brochure for this conclude with actual flight training in
mini-helicopter at a mini-price of $5,673, if you put it together yourself. The model your Citation.
displayed at Reading Air Show had “experimental” tag. BCA

72 Business & Commercial Aviation | August 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

 HOW DID WE MAKE THE
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