Foreign Takeovers - Ultralight Style

I have written here about the recent and extensive buy-out of the North American aerospace industry by middle-eastern and far eastern interests before. It is always interesting to note this business trend and how North American investors just won't go near their own aircraft manufacturers, while foreign investors, especially Chinese investors, will.

Recently I discovered that the Flightstar Sportplanes website was up for sale and after a web search turned up no news at all I wrote to owner Tom Peghiny to find out what that meant.

Thousands of Flightstars have been built and flown since the type was introduced in 1987. They are very popular in the USA where the single seaters can qualify under FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules.

It seems that Flightstar's business dropped off in the early part of the 2008-2010 recession, to the point of mostly just supplying parts and few new aircraft. A contributing factor was the introduction of the US light-sport aircraft rules and the elimination of the two-seat trainer exemption under FAR 103.

Flightstar Sportplanes had been working with Yuneec International of Kunshan, Jiangsu, China on an electric version of the the FlightStar Spyder, called the eSpyder and it seemed a promising aircraft for the future. Flightstar provided the airframe and Yuneec the drivetrain.

When Flightstar sales dropped off Yuneec bought out the Flightstar aircraft line in 2009, including the rights, tooling and the parts inventory. Flightstar Sportplanes business was quietly wound up the same year, with neither company putting out a press release on the deal. The aviation press seems to have missed it altogether.

Yuneec is engaged in developing the single seat eSpyder, and they now have a web page on it that explains design changes coming:

"The already efficient and lightweight airframe, made from aircraft grade aluminium, Carbon Fibre and Chrome-Moly tubing, will be further enhanced with wing tip extensions, new body design and numerous other changes to allow operation under FAR-103 whilst using the Yuneec 20Kw (27Hp) ‘Electric’ Power Drive motor system. Easy to use, extremely quiet, virtually vibration free, low cost operation and environmentally friendly Electric power is the future and E-Spyder leads the way."

Perhaps the two seat Flightstar II model will be re-introduced with one of Yuneec's own brand of Power Drive electric engines as well.

So even on the very light end of aviation it once again looks like Chinese investors have moved in where no one else will, kept existing products flying and continued innovative development.

Here is how the foreign ownership list now looks:

• Cirrus Aircraft - Government of the Peoples Republic of China
• Continental Engines - Government of the Peoples Republic of China
• Diamond Aircraft - majority owned by Medrar Financial Group, Dubai
• Epic Aircraft - Engineering LLC, Russia
• Flightstar Sportplanes - rights, tooling and parts inventory purchased by Yuneec International, China
• Glasair Aircraft - Jilin Hanxing Group, China
• International Lease Finance Corp - 90% New China Trust Co Ltd, New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, P3 Investments Ltd and China Aviation Industrial Fund
• Liberty Aerospace - 75% owned by the Kuwait Finance House, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House of Bahrain
• Piper Aircraft - Government of Brunei
• Superior Air Parts - Weifang Tianxiang Technology Group, China

Who will be next?

Nav Canada Study of Ottawa TCA Airspace Underway

Note: This post is a follow up to the earlier article: Nav Canada to Conduct Study of Ottawa TCA Airspace

COPA Flight 8 Captain Mike Shaw remains the contact person for Flight 8's input into this study, so please send your comments to him or, better yet post them here for discussion.

Message from COPA

Patrick Gilligan, Vice President, Operations, Canadian Owners and Pilots Association writes:

"Nav Canada is proposing airspace change to the region of Ottawa and Quebec from currently class D airspace specified as transponder airspace to reclassify as class C airspace. The purpose is to eliminate conflict between IFR and VFR aircraft. For complete details see the message/invitation for comments below and the included document.

• Class D specified as transponder airspace, requires bilateral communication with appropriate ATC, the pilot’s intended flight and an encoding transponder.
• Class C requires authorization from ATC, bilateral communication with appropriate ATC with the pilot’s intended flight and an encoding transponder.

Message from Nav Canada

Yan Tremblay, Nav Canada writes:

As per the Oct 30th, 2012 notices of aeronautical study for the review of the structure and classification of the Ottawa TCA and Quebec City TCA/CZ, Nav Canada initially met with COPA, APBQ and AQTA on Nov 30th to provide details on the proposed changes and search feedback from their executive and membership.

This document is distributed to support the association’s internal briefing. Feedback is to be provided directly to the following point of contact no later than Jan 7th, 2013.

Nav Canada will soon after schedule local consultation meetings at Ottawa and Quebec City for a broader feedback.

Yan Tremblay
Shift Manager
Montréal Area Control Centre
Nav Canada
1750 Chemin St Francois
Dorval, QC
H9P 2P6
Yan.tremblay@navcanada.ca
service@navcanada.ca
Phone: (514) 633-3365
Fax: (514) 633-3371

Nav Canada Ottawa/Québec Airspace Change Proposal

COPA – APBQ – AQTA Briefing, November 30, 2012

As per the Oct 30, 2012 notices of aeronautical study for the review of the structure and classification of the Ottawa TCA and Quebec City TCA/CZ, Nav Canada initially met with COPA, APBQ and AQTA on Nov 30 to provide details on the proposed changes and search feedback from their executive and membership.

This document is distributed to support the association’s internal briefing. Feedback is to be provided directly to the following point of contact no later than Jan 7, 2013.

Nav Canada will soon after schedule local consultation meetings at Ottawa and Quebec City for a broader feedback.

QUEBEC AIRSPACE PROPOSED CHANGES (TCA and CZ)

(Refer to the attached depictions)

• IFR/VFR conflicts are frequent and repeating occurrences in this airspace. The current “D” airspace classification does not support systematic conflict resolution between IFR and VFR aircraft. Consequently Nav Canada is opting for changing the TCA and CZ classification to “C” (ref RAC 801.02).
• INSET A: Floor raised from 3500’ to 4500’ to reflect the actual use of the airspace and relieve VFR compression
• INSET B: The frequency range in this quadrant is affected by terrain. Broken communications are often experienced. Raising the floor from 1400’ to 2500’ will mitigate the issue.
• INSET C: Floor raised from 1400’ to 2500’ to reflect the actual use of the airspace and relieve VFR compression
• INSET D: Floor raised from 1400’ to 1500’ to relieve VFR compression especially at CNV9 and CST7
INSET E: Floor raised from 3500’ to 4000’ to relieve VFR compression and allow for the CYA616 alternative
• INSET F: Withdrawal and replacement of the Class F CYA616 airspace and surrounding Class D airspace (when CYA616 is not active) by a Class E transponder required airspace from 2000’ to below 4000’.

Through the use of radar, ATC will provide wake turbulence separation between IFR and VFR aircraft operating within the transponder required Class E airspace through mandatory ATC operating procedures. VFR training operation will not be impacted by the change neither required to be in contact with ATC.

IFR traffic operating in the southern portion of the Quebec airspace will benefit from additional altitude options when conditions dictate (ie CB, turbulence, icing, IFR conflicts)

The Class E airspace final dimensions still need to be defined through consultations with customers.

OTTAWA AIRSPACE PROPOSED CHANGES (TCA)

• IFR/VFR conflicts are frequent and repeating occurrences in this airspace. The current “D” airspace classification does not support systematic conflict resolution between IFR and VFR aircraft. Consequently Nav Canada is opting for changing the TCA classification to “C” (ref RAC 801.02).
• INSET A: Floor raised from 2500’ to 4000’ over the CYND Class E airspace, north of the powerline for allowing VFR traffic to exit the CYND airspace without entering the Class C airspace (formerly D).
• INSET B: VFR aircraft transiting to/from practice area (yellow arrows) elect to stay on the ATC frequency while operating below the current 2500’ Class D airspace south of the YOW VOR. VFR aircraft transiting below the current 2500’ Class D airspace south of the YOW VOR (red arrow) are not on the ATC frequency.

This results in conflicts within the same airspace between VFR aircraft on separate frequencies. Locally changing the floor from 2500’ to 1500’ will ensure the CYOW – Practice Area flow is operated entirely under the same airspace rules during the transition to and from the CZ.

CYOW Noise Management Committee

Noise is not a big issue for Ottawa’s International Airport. Sure there was a considerable bump in noise complaints during the summer while runway 07-25 was being resurfaced. During that period most traffic was handled on runway 14-32 thereby routing it over populated areas of the city that normally see fewer aircraft. In fact, excluding the 151 complaints generated during resurfacing 07-25, there was about 61 complaints generated during normal operations using both runways 07-25 and 14-32. This compares well with previous years complaints.

That said, there were some very angry folks affected by noise during the resurfacing of 07-25. One somewhat childish complainer would hold the phone to the air to pick up a passing jet and then yell a profanity into the phone. The complaints extended across Gatineau, QC and in the highly populated approach and departure paths to runway 14-32.

Still with all runways in operation the dominate aircraft type generating most complaints is the light Cessna used for flight training. And for these aircraft it is their circuit over populated regions that generates the complaints. The other activity that generates significant noise complaints are police operations which tend to circle at relatively low altitude over a small area for considerable time, even at night.

2014 will see runway 14-32 resurfaced, but it is expected to generate fewer noise complaints than happened this summer. There may be some impact on long haul flights from Ottawa that need the extra length provided by use of runway 14-32. So we may see slightly fewer long haul flights and perhaps some passenger complaints about less convenient flights. Of course these complaints will fall on the airlines.

This is rough summary of the Noise Management Committee meeting I attended this afternoon at the airport. If you have a comment or concern do not hesitate to contact me.

Chinese Consortium to Buy International Lease Finance Corp

International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) is a big name, in fact the biggest name in airliner leasing globally and it is on the block to be sold.

ILFC is owned by American International Group (AIG) and they are looking to sell a 90% stake in the company to New China Trust Co Ltd, New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, P3 Investments Ltd and China Aviation Industrial Fund. AIG needs the money from the sale, as they owe $182 billion to the US government for its bailout of AIG in 2008. It sounds like a motivated sale.

ILFC may be the biggest, but the fleet of aircraft they own is not the newest, in fact Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group referred to the new owners as becoming "a curator of an old jet museum."

So what gives? Could this consortium just be looking to coast on ILFC's reputation in the airline industry? Somehow I doubt it. Chinese business is always on the move and I suspect they will want to modernize the leasing fleet and the company itself. I have a feeling they are thinking of Chinese airline expansion, too.

This is not a small Chinese purchase, like Epic Aircraft or even Cirrus was. This purchase could be a global game changer in the world airliner business, depending how it plays out.

Once again Chinese investors show that they not only have the money, but also the verve to go big and buy what no one else seems to want to risk. As time goes by the aerospace world is looking increasingly Chinese these days!

Here is how the foreign ownership list now looks:

• Cirrus Aircraft - Government of the Peoples Republic of China
• Continental Engines - Government of the Peoples Republic of China
• Diamond Aircraft - majority owned by Medrar Financial Group, Dubai
• Epic Aircraft - Engineering LLC, Russia
• Glasair Aircraft - Jilin Hanxing Group, China
• International Lease Finance Corp - 90% New China Trust Co Ltd, New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, P3 Investments Ltd and China Aviation Industrial Fund
• Liberty Aerospace - 75% owned by the Kuwait Finance House, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House of Bahrain
• Piper Aircraft - Government of Brunei
• Superior Air Parts - Weifang Tianxiang Technology Group, China

So who will be next?

• AVweb story
• Wikipedia

Equestrian Centre moves in beside Pontiac Airpark

By Andrea Cranfield, Editor, The Equity
Quyon, November 14, 2012
(Reprinted with permission)

Fifty-three horses were moved onto an 85 acre farm at the beginning of September right beside the Pontiac Airpark in Luskville.

Owners of the horse farm, Michel Allen and his wife Claude Blanchette, and owner of the Pontiac Airpark André Durocher hope to work together to provide visitors with a positive experience in Pontiac.

Allen and Blanchette plan to offer their services to patrons of the Pontiac Airpark.

"We’re on Hwy. 148 and the air park is on River Road so the only thing between us and the air park is an old railway track that is removed and River Road...so we’re just back-to-back with the Pontiac airport," said Allen.

The horse farm called Elevage Fabie, is known for breeding and boarding Canadian Horses.

"We have Canadians and there’s not that many breeders of Canadian horses, I’m telling you. The Canadian horse is the national horse of Canada, the best kept secret in Canada, I think. We’ve been in the business of breeding the Canadian horse for about 12 years now," said Allen.

Prior to moving the business to Luskville, Elevage Fabie was based in Aylmer with Allen renting land for the horses.

"To me it was a better idea to move and buy a place of our own," said Allen.

He thought the move would be a good opportunity to be a part of the air park expansion.

Durocher is pleased that Allen and Blanchette have purchased the land beside the air park so that pilots can go horseback riding while waiting to fly.

"This farm was for sale for a few years and I worked hard to find someone to buy it to offer the equestrian centre services because it’s going to be good for my clients," said Durocher. "There are many projects like that in the states where you can see the airplanes and the horses all together in the same spot."

Besides giving riding lessons, trail rides, hay and sleigh rides, participating in horse shows and breeding Canadian horses at the new location, Allen said he can transport people to and from the air park.

The first step in expanding the Pontiac Airpark, according to Durocher, was to add the equestrian centre. Next, he hopes there will be more buyers that purchase land next to the air park who will eventually build a golf course, hotel, restaurant and spa.

"It’s going to be a 500 acre project … It’s going to attract tourists. You land on the runway, and you bring your plane to the hotel and then you can play golf, you can go with horses, you can go on the Ottawa River, sailing, boating, skiing, fishing," said Durocher.

Allen said one of his main goals is to get people hooked on the Canadian horse.

"They’re exceptional horses...We’ve sold horses in France, we’ve sold them in the U.S. and all over Quebec and Ontario. We have horses all over the place. We hope to (spread the word) because the Canadian horse is almost extinct," he said adding, "In 1970, there was only 400 (purebred) horses left, and now thanks to a few crazy people like me, we have about 4,500 to 6,000 registered horses."