EBACE Show News - May 21, 2008 - (Page 8)

EBACE 2008 Bombardier Brings the Whole Family Big Jets on a Never-Ending Boom? There is no let up in optimism or activity at the top end of the business aircraft market. Despite big delays to some prestige programs—Boeing’s 787 is the worst hit—no one is cancelling orders. Walter Heerdt, svp, Marketing & Sales for big jet completion specialist Lufthansa Technik, says, “Boeing’s latest 787 delivery plan certainly has an effect on our completion scheduling. We were planning for a first slot in 2015/16 and that has now moved back by two years, but no one has walked away from the aircraft—and there’s no sign of that Walter Heerdt. happening. The real implication is that with a two-year delay, some customers will be looking for an interim aircraft.” Boeing Business Jets chief Steve Hill agrees. In the last 12 months he’s signed up 10 new 787-8 VIP customers—plus three 747-8s, one 777-200LR, one 767-400 and 18 BBJs of different flavors. Looking at the sales trends, Hill believes, “This market not cyclical. The market continues to grow simply because the number of wealthy people who can afford this type Steve Hill. of aircraft continues to grow. We just don’t see this phenomenon [of orders] letting up.” Hill’s only problem is availability. He notes, “I do have a problem getting enough nearterm delivery slots. Some models are 10-years out in terms of availability, and that is a turn-off for some people.” —Robert Hewson And now, from Montreal, the Flying Bombardiers! The company brought seven Learjet, Challenger and Global family members to EBACE, with six aircraft on static display. Its newest aircraft, the Learjet 85, is here on paper and will undergo development at Grob here in Europe. Its largest aircraft, the Global 5000, will conduct demonstration flights from Jet Aviation’s ramp during the show. On exhibit are: Learjets 40XR, 45XR and 60XR, Challenger 300 and 605 and Global Express XRS. The 605 and XRs are open to visitors at the static display. Rosen, Elliott Team to Tame Noise Rosen Aviation (Booth 1014) and Elliott Aviation (Booth 2036) combine the former’s inflight entertainment system with the latter’s noise-canceling solution to provide a superior environment for passengers aboard King Air 200, 300 and 350 aircraft. Elliott’s UltraQuiet Active Noise Control samples interior sound, then digitally generates a sound that’s 180 degrees out of phase to reduce the sound level reaching passengers’ ears. Turboprop aircraft in particular benefit from the system, due to the shocks coming off the propeller tips and impacting the fuselage sides, the companies say. Aircell Cuts the Ribbon The doors to the store are open and Aircell (Booth 138) is taking orders for broadband services that will come on line in the third quarter of this year. Customers can get broadband over Aircell’s own network in North America or via Swift Broadband from Inmarsat (Booth 709) for global coverage. American Airlines selected Aircell for its commercial Internet connection service in 2007. The company will offer its two options initially to operators of heavy jets for a flat fee for unlimited service at an introductory price of $1,495 for six months. Medium and light aircraft can begin ordering later this year, and prices, including flat fee plans, will be announced at that time. Eleven Phenom 100 Deliveries by Year-end The Phenom 100 may be late, but Luis Carlos Affonso, Embraer’s evp executive jets, told Show News that 11 aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2008. The deliberately slow ramp-up in production is intended to give Embraer room to catch up with post-certification issues. Four P100 s now have flown more than 750 hours in the flight test program, and natural icing and ice shape test are complete. Next year, Embraer plans to deliver between 120 and 150 P100 and P300 jets. CRS to Give Away Laptop Tomorrow CRS Jet Spares will hold a drawing for a Dell XPS M1530 laptop tomorrow. Corporate jet operators, charter operators and personnel from flight departments and maintenance facilities can drop off their business cards at CRS (Booth 352). The drawing will be held at 3 p.m. Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based CRS provides aftermarket support for Learjets, Hawkers, Gulfstreams, Challengers, Falcons and Beechjets. Banyan Lives Larger Banyan Air Service (Booth 2147) has expanded its avionics capabilities into large jet aircraft. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company has been providing avionics for midsize aircraft such as King Air, Citation and Learjet, but it recently completed installations on a Gulfstream IV-SP, Falcon 900B and a private Boeing 747SP done in Europe, involving an entertainment system (GIV-SP), an infrared EVS (Falcon) and a Rockwell Collins TWS550 TV/high-speed data/ Wi-Fi (747SP) combined system. A Boeing BBJ installation currently is under way for a highspeed data/Wi-Fi system, along with a GIII for an entertainment system. Banyan is a certified repair station under FAA and EASA rules. 8 May 21, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EBACE Show News - May 21, 2008

A318 Elite is on a Roll A Circle Around London P&WC Deliveries Triple Avanti Sees Sales Shift RUAG Eyes Needy Cabins Global Gets Even NICEr Embraer Beefs Up Support Honeywell ‘Virtual VFR’ Signature Europe Grows Gestair Seeks to Double Aero-Dienst Turns 50 Gama Doubles in Size All is Not Woe with Oil Ocean Sky is Aggressive

EBACE Show News - May 21, 2008

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