Airplane Geeks Podcast

We talk about aircraft brokerage and acquisition of business aircraft with a vice president at Holstein Aviation. In the news, we look at the Delta Airlines order for A321neo aircraft, Boeing’s beef with Bombardier CSeries pricing, the NBAA statement on “Ethical Business Aviation Transactions,” Aerion Corporation gets help from Lockheed Martin and GE Aviation to develop a supersonic business jet, and the Atlanta airport power outage.

Steve Fushelberger is vice president at Holstein Aviation, a team of professional aircraft brokers and acquisition specialists with domestic and international experience. They are responsible for some 4,700 transactions valued at over 10 billion dollars, and have 66,000 combined flight hours, with light, medium and heavy jet type ratings from nearly all major aircraft manufacturers. Holstein Aviation is one of the top 10 business aircraft brokerage and acquisition firms worldwide by transaction volume.

Steve brings extensive experience in the aerospace and defense industries with a career that includes sales, marketing, public and media relations, communications, advertising, and branding. He served as Vice President of Marketing at Cessna Aircraft Company, and Vice President of Marketing Communications for the Avolar business aviation operations of United Airlines. Steve held positions with Rolls-Royce in the corporate / regional airline aircraft, helicopters, defense, and advanced development businesses, and at AgustaWestland (now branded Leonardo) as the North American manager of marketing services.

His industry service includes public relations, public affairs, market research and advisory committees for the National Business Aviation Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and the Transportation Research Board, as well as on the Aerospace LEAN Manufacturing Communications Initiative, and support for the industry’s GAME Plan (General Aviation Marketing Expansion) during the late 1980s, and the Learning For Life Aviation Exploring Program.

Steve has a commercial pilot license with instrument, multi-engine, and seaplane ratings. He holds a Bachelor’s degree with a marketing concentration from Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, and he is a US Army and Indiana National Guard veteran.

Find Holstein Aviation at their website, on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Also available is a company blog, the Fall 2017 edition of Business Aircraft Market Perspective magazine, and their Market Briefings.

Delta ordered 100 firm/100 option A321neo aircraft with deliveries set to begin in the first quarter of 2020. The airline chose the A321neo over the Boeing 737 Max 10. Delta wouldn’t say if their choice was affected by the Boeing claims that Bombardier unfairly priced CSeries jets sold to Delta. Reportedly, many of the Airbus jets will be built in Mobile, Alabama. Pratt & Whitney GTF engines were selected to power the aircraft.

At the recent U.S. International Trade Commission hearings, Boeing argued why it believes it was injured by Bombardier’s sale of C-Series jets to Delta. Reuters called it “a contentious hearing of the ITC” with Boeing accusing Bombardier of harming its ability to sell 737s in the U.S. market. Bombardier argued Boeing’s large 737 order book demonstrates that there has been no adverse impact from its CSeries jet, and also that Boeing does not manufacture a jet that competes with the CSeries.

In December 2017, NBAA’s Board of Directors approved the “Ethical Business Aviation Transactions“ statement that outlines best practices for ethical transactions between buyers and sellers of business aircraft products and services.

Lockheed Martin Corp. executed a memorandum of understanding with Aerion Corp. to develop the AS2 supersonic business jet. Lockheed will study the jet’s feasibility with Aerion over the next year and the two companies will build frameworks that guide engineering, certification, and production. Aerion hopes the GE Aviation-powered jet will be operating by 2025.

Video: Aerion Corporation Announces New Partnership

https://vimeo.com/247638117

Dassault Aviation chairman Eric Trappier says: “There is still a strong market need for a brand new, long-range aircraft with a very large cabin, so I have decided to launch a new Falcon project powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada engines, featuring the same cross-section as the 5X [and] a range of 5,500nm.” The 5X program has been hampered by development delays for the Safran Silvercrest engine.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport lost power this past Sunday, disrupting the entire network and stranding thousands of passengers. Georgia Power believes the power outage may have been caused by a fire which led to extensive damage in an underground electrical facility.

It’s that time of the year and David does his yearly Christmas card. This year he goes back to December 1944. Horsham St Faith was an RAF base taken over by the USAAC in 1942. It was home to the 56th Fighter Group flying P-47s and then 458th (H) Bomber Squadron flying B-24Js. But besides the history, there’s always a little Magic.

Observations from Capt. Rick Bell on United Airlines.

AIN’s Human Factor: Tales from the Flight Deck podcast.

Japan Airlines signals supersonic ambitions

Keep your eyes to the skies: Airbus tests A350-1000 from Mitchell International Airport

Intro music courtesy Brother Love from his Album Of The Year CD. Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.