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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 1601.PDF
mmNmmML AVIATION Green light shows for Net Jets Europe MAX KINGSLEY-JONES/LONDON AEUROPEAN-BASED busi ness-aircraft fractional-own ership programme has been launched by Montvale, New Jersey-based Executive Jet Aviation (EJA), the US pioneer of die "Netjets" scheme. The programme marks the sec ond stage of die company's Global Netjets plan, with opportunities in China and South America also being examined. Dubbed "Netjets Europe", the programme also involves Zimex Aviation of Switzerland and Portugal's Air Luxor as equity part ners (Flight International, 3-10 April). The Swiss concern will mar ket the programme within Europe, while Air Luxor is to be responsible for flight management, scheduling and customer service. Netjets Europe has been launched with a core fleet of three Cessna Citation S/IIs, crewed by pilots from the US programme and newly recruited Europeans. The S/II fleet, consisting of used aircraft from the US programme, will be increased when necessary, and the partners are confident that EJAs mid-sized aircraft, the Raytheon Hawker 1000, will be introduced in Europe within two years. The programme is aimed at operators anticipating a minimum annual utilisation of 75h. According to EJA, typically a one- eighth/75h annual utilisation share in a Citation S/II is offered to a European client for a basic acquisi tion cost of $3 30,000. Inaddition, clients will be subject (typically) to a monthly manage ment fee of $9,750 and a charge of around $1,950 per occupied flight hour. The scheme is offered within 30 European countries. A European client with a one- eighth share will be guaranteed an aircraft within lOh of the request, and this reduces to 6h for customers with a one-quarter share. Com parative guarantees in the USA are 8h and 4h, respectively, the differ ence reflecting the more congested airspace and slot requirements within Europe. The US and European pro grammes are interchangeable, allowing a US client to book an air craft in Europe, and vice versa. EJA, which has a fleet of more than 75 aircraft—including Cessna Citations, Hawker 1000s and Gulfstream IV-SPs — has reiterat ed that it expects to finalise an order for up to 50 more business aircraft in the next six months. The Citation Excel is rumoured to be the leading contender for the order, while the conversion of EJAs 25 Citation V Ultra options is also considered to be likely. J Israviation reschedules ST-50 certification ISRAEL'S ISRAVIATION has set a new schedule for certifica tion of the ST-50 single-turboprop business aircraft, following delays caused by funding difficulties and the recent military action in Israel. Certification is now scheduled for October 1997, with deliveries beginning in December 1997. Israviation president Stephane Juffa says that the factory at Tel- Hai, on the border widi Lebanon, was closed for three weeks earlier this year after coming under fire during Israel's Operation "Grapes of Wrath" action against Hez- bullah guerillas. He says diat 14 Katyusha rockets fired from south ern Lebanon landed on the periph ery of the Tel-Hai industrial park, causing some damage to the Israviation plant. The Israeli Government has promised com pensation to repair the damage and cover the delay, he says. The disruption came as Isra viation was recovering from prob lems with funding for the ST-50, caused when a Govern ment account, which provided loans to support Israeli industry, ran dry in the middle of 1995. Private investors continued to fund the programme, Juffa says, and a new agreement was reached with the Israeli Government in De cember 1995. Funds are now coming through at the rate needed to support the revised schedule. "I do not see any kind of danger to the project," Juffa maintains. Flight-testing of the proof-of- concept ST-50, builtin the USAby Cirrus Design, was completed in May, although the aircraft contin ues to be used to test refinements planned for the two conforming prototypes now under construc tion at Israviation. Structural test ing will begin in July. The first pro totype is scheduled to be flown in December. Israviation plans a sales tour of four European cities in August- September. Juffa says that negotia tions are in the final stages with ten organisations in Europe, mainly in Germany, which will each take delivery of three ST-50s and become base stations for a time- share scheme involving the busi ness aircraft. • The text entry for Israviation in the Corporate Aircraft Directory Flight International 12-18 June, P48) was inaccurate. Contrary to the report, the ST-50 programme has not been suspended. 3 EC135 certificated THE EUROCOPTER EC135 light twin-engined helicopter has been grant ed visual-flight-rules day/night certifi cation by Germany's Luftfahrt-Bunde- samt, in accordance with European Joint Aviation Rules Part 27 requirements. The approval covers the Turbomeca Arrius-2B- and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B-powered versions of the seven- to eight-seat EC 135, and fol lows a l,000h flight-test programme involving three pre-production aircraft. NEWS IN BRIEF • THAI CITATION Thailand's communications ministry has ordered for flight-inspection duties a Cessna Citation VII, to be fit ted with Gull Electronic Sys tems equipment and deliv ered in 1997. Cessna's Thai dealer, Corporate Aircraft Services, has ordered a Cita tion Bravo, also scheduled for delivery in 1997. The agricul tural ministry already oper ates three Cessna Caravans. • SAFE BET Jet Aviation is to operate the Las Vegas Executive Air Ter minal, a new fixed-based operation (FBO) at McCar- ran International Airport, Nevada,on behalf of the FBO's owner, the Eagle Group. Jet Aviation already operates FBOs in Europe, the Middle and Far East and the USA. The Eagle Group also owns Eagle Canyon Airlines, Eagle Jet Charter and Eagle Flight Services. • BOEING ORDER Boeing has placed an order with Canadair for a nine-seat Challenger 601-3R business jet. The aircraft is being out fitted by Texas completion specialist KC Aviation. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 26 June - 2 July 1996 21
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