Canadian King Air Summit Scheduled for April 25
FastAir Executive Aviation Services is hosting what they say is the largest event for Beechcraft King Air owners and operators in Canada – the 2019 King Air Summit held April 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The one-day event focuses on education and information regarding best practices and upgrades for the King Air. Updates on support, innovation and operation will be provided through a variety of seminars throughout the day, along with a tradeshow of King Air suppliers and supporters.
Seminar topics offered include ADS-B Solutions, Wi-Fi connectivity options, “must have” King Air modifications, maximizing your King Air’s efficiency, benefits of up-gross operations, PT6 Ops and best practices, runway excursion prevention, the future of GPS navigation in Canada and more.
The event will also include a static display of King Airs, and awards will be given to owners and operators with the best examples of aircraft in three categories: medevac, executive and high-capacity configuration.
Registration is limited to the first 80 participants and early bird registration cost is $35 and will increase to $60 after March 10.
To register or for more information, go to www.flyfastair.com/kingair-operators-owners-summit.
VNY Hosts Jet Fuel Sustainability Event, First to Make SAJF Available for Retail
In mid-January Van Nuys Airport (VNY) hosted “Business Jets Fuel Green: A Step Toward Sustainability” – a daylong event devoted to the use and awareness of sustainable alternative jet fuels (SAJF), which include the latest formulations of jet fuel that come from renewable and sustainable sources.
The event included discussions by general and business aviation groups, including the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) – all members of the Sustainable Alternative Jet Fuels Initiative Coalition. Attendees were educated about SAJF’s composition and its feasibility as a useable, economical alternative to conventional jet fuels. As opposed to traditional jet fuel, which consists mainly of kerosene-based hydrocarbons, SAJF is formulated by mixing traditional kerosene-based jet fuel with various sustainably-sourced hydrocarbons, including food stock or other materials. When used, the SAJF can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 50 percent.
Attendees also participated in hour-long flight demonstrations on aircraft running on SAJF, provided by business aviation manufacturers Gulfstream, Bombardier and Embraer, to show that the fuel is a seamless replacement. Aircraft using SAJF does not require any modification, which makes it a true “drop-in” fuel, eliminating another barrier to introduction.
The event also marked the first time SAJF was made available for retail to aircraft operators. World Fuel Services provided 8,000 gallons of the blended renewable fuel produced by California-based World Energy for the event, while Gevo, through its distributor Avfuel, offered another 6,200 gallons, which were delivered to the FBOs on the field and mixed into their fuel supplies.
VNY is now the first general aviation airport in the United States to offer SAJF on a trial basis, serving as a model for other general aviation airports.
To learn more about the SAJF initiative, see a full list of participants and view a video stream of key portions from the event at futureofsustainablefuel.com. Follow business aviation’s commitment to alternative fuels on Twitter and Facebook at #Sustainability.
Reduced Separation Standards Trial Coming to NAT
On or soon after March 28, a trial of reduced separation standards for ADS-B-equipped aircraft in the Shanwick, Gander and Santa Maria Oceanic Control areas of the North Atlantic Track (NAT) will start.
Known as the Advanced Surveillance-Enhanced Procedural Separation (ASEPS), the trial program was announced per NATS Bulletin 2018-06, and will initially apply to: “a) 17 nm longitudinal separation of aircraft operating on the same track or intersecting tracks provided, that the relative angle between the tracks is less than 90 degrees; b) 14 nm provided the relative angle between the tracks is less than 45 degrees; and c) Opposite-direction aircraft on reciprocal tracks may be cleared to climb or descend to or through the levels occupied by another aircraft provided that the aircraft have reported by ADS-B having passed each other by 5 nm.”
The bulletin also stated that “a trial implementation of lateral ASEPS will start no earlier than six months after the beginning of the longitudinal separation operational trial.”
To be eligible to participate in the trial, aircraft must be RVSM/HLA approved, ADS-B equipped with dedicated 1090-Mhz Out capability, and meet RNP 4, RCP 240 and RSP 180 specifications.
Starting simultaneously with the ASEPS trial will be changes to contingency and weather and weather deviation procedures for NAT operators, which were outlined in NATS Bulletin 2018-05. The revised procedures apply when there is an inability to comply with the assigned clearance due to weather; diversion across the prevailing traffic flow; loss of, or significant reduction in, the required navigation capability; or pressurization failure.
EASA Issues NPA Regarding Runway Safety
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPA) focused on runway safety, focusing primarily on preventing runway incursions and excursions and reporting runway surface conditions. It also touches on ground collisions, runway confusion, foreign object damage and related occurrences, as well as runway pavement maintenance.
The proposed rule would change the operation and conformance of vehicles and their drivers in aircraft movement areas, and new requirements for assessing and reporting runway surface conditions, snow control plans, airport maintenance, aircraft towing, and performance standards for runway surface-friction measurement devices. This latter requirement also provides for alignment with ICAO recommendations as regards runway surface condition assessment and reporting which will be applicable worldwide by November 2020.
Comments on the NPA are due March 18.
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