News

NBAA’s Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2017) takes place Feb. 7-10 in Fort Worth, TX, and in addition to offering attendees educational and networking opportunities, the event also provides them with a chance to “pay it forward” to the host community. This year attendees participated in packing “Ana’s Baskets” to benefit Safe Haven of Tarrant County, a non-profit organization that exists to end domestic violence. Attendees also donate clean, ready-to-wear clothing and sample personal items to area charities.

Each year, the aviation businesses that call California’s Van Nuys Airport home have coordinated with the airport and Junior Achievement (JA) of Southern California to introduce high school students to the spectrum of aviation careers, including those in business aviation, through JA’s annual Groundhog Day Job Shadowing activity.

Children’s Flight of Hope (CFOH), which provides free air transportation to and from treatment facilities for ill and injured children, increased the number of children it could assist when it added business aircraft to its operations. “Many of our clients are unable to travel commercially,” said CFOH’s Chase McBride. Without business aircraft, “many of these children would simply not get the medical care they need to save their lives.”

Rex Duffin, vice president of Sun American Mortgage Co., uses his 1967 Piper Cherokee to help grow the Mesa, AZ-based business, saying his aircraft allows him to have personal contact with his clients – and gain a competitive edge. “Nothing beats meeting a borrower in person,” said Duffin. “The airplane makes that an efficient option.”

As a new year gets underway, and state legislatures across the country gavel into session, the materials NBAA representatives and other industry advocates leave behind after visits with lawmakers include resources from the No Plane No Gain advocacy campaign.

More local officials – from West Virginia and Massachusetts – have issued proclamations espousing the benefits of general aviation, including business aviation, to their communities. To date, state and local officials from all 50 states have issued statements about the value of the industry.

A Beechcraft-Textron King Air 350C has been plying the skies in the Midwest and other parts of the country, but what’s inside the airplane may be surprising. On any given day, the twin-engine turboprop aircraft may be delivering a heart for immediate transplant, transporting a surgeon to a hospital to provide expert assistance with a life-saving operation or bringing a patient in need of specialized care to the Mayo Clinic facility in Rochester, MN. The King Air is part of the renowned Mayo Clinic Medical Transport.

Two Long Island, NY industry groups have produced a bumper sticker to promote business aviation in the region. Echoing imagery and a central message of the No Plane No Gain advocacy campaign, the bumper sticker depicts a business aviation plane on an American flag background and states, “Business Aviation is Good for America.”

In acknowledgement of the value that general aviation, including business aviation, brings to towns and cities across the U.S., mayors from several cities declared December 2016 General Aviation Appreciation Month.

The Colorado Aviation Business Association (CABA) this year airlifted a record 10,000 pounds of donated items to hundreds of veterans and their families across the state. “The VFW Airlift is a perfect opportunity for CABA to give back to the local community, while at the same time showing the importance of business and general aviation to our state,” said CABA Vice Chairman Kandi Spangler.