GA hotting up in China

Over the last few years the aviation community has been noticing a steady stream of General Aviation heading to China. Chinese companies were here in Singapore too scouting for opportunities during the recent Singapore Air Show. In one of the talks/seminars at the Air Show forum, some speakers felt that China was moving away from a simple "Copy/Paste" formula for Aircraft design and was now going through a process of learning through the acquisitions route. Chinese companies acquisition of Cirrus Aircraft and Continental Aircraft Engines indicated such a formula.

For reasons unknown, deals between Chinese company and Epic Aircraft that was on-going for a while dropped or they sold out further to a Russian Corporation as recent news suggests. The latest news as on date is about Cessna Aircraft and AVIC China are joining hands to jointly produce and promote GA sales in China and utilize the massive up-coming market, servicing their needs from their door step. Here is a link for this news.

Reading about some other US based aviation company acquisitions and the financial problems facing Hawker Beechcraft, some suggest that they are contemplating bankruptcy, only acts as a bait for overseas investors. Piper Aircraft as we all know is already a Brunei Kingdom company. All such investments are good for the free market economy and free trade and so on but one hopes that America doesn't lose it's edge is design and innovation and continues to partner the rest of the World for all to benefit. As a big fan of US designed and built Aircraft and Aviation product, we wish US Aviation scene the best and hope that the best years are just down the road.

SINGAPORE AIR SHOW-POST SHOW BLOG

We had blogged about the opening ceremony of the much anticipated Singapore Air Show 2012. This blog is our assessment of business activity during trade days of 14th-17th February 2012. Firstly, we were under no illusions when we attended the show that this event was going to be dominated by Airlines making large buying announcements. This happens after protracted negotiations, sometimes lasting years before a sale-purchase is inked.

(At the main entrance to the Exhibit Hall)

This time the spot light was an Indonesian Airline, Lion Air, who placed an order for 201 Boeing 737 Max Aircraft for a record $22 Billion. They didn't stop there, next on their shopping list was ATR where they inked a deal for 27 ATR 72 turboprop Aircraft. These Aircraft are valued at list price around $600 million , surely Lionair would have worked out a far better deal. Last but not least, they picked up two hawker 900XP Corporate Jets for their charter business. There were many other deals related to large Aircraft acquisitions and even the COMAC C919 Aircraft that were, predictably, picked up by Bank of China (BOC). There are many news sources on the internet that have details about the show and the photos from the event. Our Facebook page and twitter page also contain photos and details live from the event.

(The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was a star attraction on the tarmac)

There were a few Executive Jets, Turboprops and other GA Aircraft on the static display outside on the tarmac. Pictures of those are also available on our Facebook and our twitter page under " recent images". Those pages have videos featured as well.

(Viking Tiwn Otter 400)

Chalets were alongside the static display area, various large companies held their meetings, discussions and deal making there. In the overall scheme of things, it appeared to be a very successful air show, confirming Singapore Air Show's position as the Third Biggest Air Show in the World today. Inside the main hall there were hundreds of exhibitors, some 900 confirmed companies participating, and that made things very busy inside the hall. There were the usual issues with organizing something so big but most of the issues were handled well and expeditiously except for their wireless internet which really never improved over the 4 days of the show and as far as phone 3G services were concerned, that really was a let down as well. There are areas for improvement but the feedback from the Air Show organizers isn't satisfactory, as in receiving no feedback from complaining to their twitter account. Lets hope the next show, to be held two years from now will be better in terms of such communications infrastructure.

As we mentioned, the Airline sector did well and there were some noises from Defense sales but none that was dramatic enough or one that warranted major headlines space on TV or papers. The F-15SG from RSAF was there, the F35 JSF was there and while they were crowd pullers, they didn't do much in terms of sales. Spectacular aerial demonstrations, as usual with all air shows, happened with the participation of the Malaysian Air Force "Smokey Bandits" flying their smokey MiG 29s.

Indian participation in this show was mainly Government of India and Defense dominated booths. The India discussion forum was well attended unlike the South east Asia forum but the latter was more informative than the former in terms of GA. There weren't any big ticket announcements from Indian buyers for any Aircraft. Maybe they are waiting for making announcements at the Hyderabad Air Show to be held at Hyderabad, India from March 14 - 16, 2012 (trade days). However, as most Airlines in India are swimming in red ink, any announcement made by them needs to be evaluated on it's merits (or lack thereof). Indian Corporate sector may see some buying activity and some from the Government sector, neither of them have monetary issues plaguing them that cannot be handled!

(Our Banner)

We will end this blog with a piece about General Aviation. Exactly as mentioned in our opening remarks above, there really wasn't much focus on GA outside of a few Corporate jets sold. We spoke to a number of companies representing GA and they had mixed results from being exhibitors at the show. Some like Piper Aircraft, had large stalls at the show and were seen having many meetings. We wish them well in this region and they have made some inroads into fleet sales to Flight Schools in the region. We had good meetings with Air Tractor and Field Air Australia (Air Tractor dealers for Asia Pacific). The USA pavillion had a large presence including a few GA companies in the mix. Major Countries that had their booths were The Netherlands, featuring Fokker Services and Fokker Services Asia. They had a good show with FSA inking a deal for maintaining ATR turboprop in the region. We wish FSA all success, their new Hangar facilities at Seletar Airport is state of the art and capable for servicing and heavy maintenance of a number of F100 jets and turboprops.

(Part of the Singapore Pavillion)

Local flight schools, Aircraft Maintenance Schools (ATTC Singapore) and aviation related employment placement companies such as Aerospec (Singapore) saw good turnouts at their booths. General Aviation Centre MAJ Aviation of Singapore who operate the Youth Flying Club at Seletar Airport, Singapore. They attracted some student crowds. As for us in particular, we had a good show in terms of networking and in terms of re-establishing some ties in Aviation that we had before and strengthen some of the partnerships. We are hoping that some of our efforts translates into benefits for the company and it appears that we are on the right track for that in 2012.

End.

PS: We will download more of our photos of the show from our cameras and post the same at a later date.

Lake 250 Refurbished specifications

The following Lake 250 refurbished Aircraft are available immediately through our inventory. These are factory refurbished and offer a higher market value than those on various websites offering unknown history and damage history.

These are represented at the Singapore Air Show 2012. For qualified buyers, there is an option to arrange for finance or straight lease as well. The following best value models are as follows:

 Click on the photos for expanded view

 Click on the photos for expanded view

Singapore Air Show Opening Ceremony

This evening, the Hon Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Teo Chee Hean formally declared the Singapore Air Show 2012, open. A short but impressive program with the Minister giving a short and assured speech about the growth of Aviation in Singapore culminated in a nice Dinner adjoining the event at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Convention Centre in Singapore.

Live updates from this evening's event was posted on our facebook page and also on our twitter page. There are photos of the event and a short video of entertainment.

The trade days for the Air Show start with registration of Trade Visitors to the show tomorrow 14th February at 12:00 Noon. From 15th-17th, the Air Show remains open for trade visitors from 0930-1700Hrs. For those who want an easy way into the show by way of transport, just catch the shuttle bus that leaves the coach stand at Changi Airport Terminal 3. The charge is SGD$5 each way. The bus leaves every 15 minutes to the Changi Exhibition Centre, the venue for the Air Show.

Once again, follow us on the twitter link given above and Like us on facebook for continuous updates from the Singapore Air Show, bigger and better than ever before and to commemorate the 100th year of aviation in Singapore.

See you'll at the show!

JETEEZY ON SOCIAL NETWORK

We are pleased to announce that we are now on Facebook as a page. Please visit here and "like" the page to follow updates. There will be frequent postings throughout the upcoming Singapore Air Show trade days 14th-17th February 2012.

We will also be tweeting live from the event from our dedicated twitter account. Click here to follow us on twitter also. Both the links given here open a new window to browse the same. The Facebook and twitter pages will contain news, information and other things related to our activities in Aviation as well as General Aviation and Industry news. Both pages will carry photographs and album dedicated to aviation events as they happen starting from the Singapore Air Show and continuing on to the Abu Dhabi Aviation Exhibition March 6-7-8.

Coffee Mugs at Air Show

We welcome your feedback on these pages and for a new experience in General Aviation via Social media networking. Thank you!

100 Years of Aviation in Singapore

This blog is an extract taken from an earlier blog posted by the same author on March 28, 2011. The complete blog is as below: (An updated note from us, towards the end of the article).

It's been a 100 years of aviation in many Countries around the World this year. For us in tiny Singapore, the 16th of March marked the 100th year of aviation here. On 16th March, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore organized a gala dinner program for aviators and Airlines based/operating into Singapore. The event was at the huge banquet hall of the new "Resorts World" at Sentosa. This blog is more like a news report, mentioning the event and the celebrations.

The evening began with audio visual presentation of what people thought about aviation in Singapore titled "People, Passions, Opportunities". It was on the evening of 16th March 1911 that a French pilot Joseph Christiaens piloted a Bristol Boxkite Biplane. He took off from the Old Racecourse at Farrer Park from an unprepared airstrip, offering rides to many people for $50 a head! Pricey it may have been, apparently it had many takers. Farrer Park is now just grassy area near the Farrer Park MRT station on Race Course Road. There is no Race Course here but the name remains. Race Course Road is now famous for many Indian restaurants and Singaporean Indian restaurants that are famous for signature dishes such as the "Fish Head Curry".

The Bristol Boxkite was first built in 1910 by the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company (later known as the Bristol Aeroplane Company). The Boxkite was powered by a 70 horsepower "Le Rhone" rotary engine. First flight of this model was on 29th July 1910 and later on became a highly successful model selling units around the World. 

The program was well conducted, as expected, everything works with clockwork precision in Singapore. There was an aerial symphony with dancers climbing on long curtains and conducting graceful movements set to music. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who is also a former PM spoke on aviation and Singapore, keeping the speech brief and relevant. Then they collectively pushed a button to launch the start of year long celebrations called as the Singapore Aviation Centennial Celebrations which will end next year at the Singapore Air Show and that's going to be something special for sure. Watch this space for reports and pictures/videos that event.

Soon after the Minister's speech, another video presentation was shown on large screens set up throughout the vast hall, this one was titled "Our dreams, Our journey". This is particularly relevant to us here in Singapore, for growth of aviation here in future and for all the success of the past. Yes, its been a 100 years and tiny Singapore catapulted into the World stage far better than most other Countries with among the best Airports in the World in Changi and among the best Airlines in the World with Singapore Airlines.

(Bristol Boxkite in Western Australia)

The newly expanded Seletar Aerospace Park where yours truly has spent the last 4 years, is going to be the showpiece for General Aviation and Aviation technology leadership in the region. For Singapore to continue as a leader, it will have to innovate and come up with new concepts to forge a competitive aviation hub in this region. I suppose we all need to pull our socks up and get to work!

There was a musical finalé to the evening, songs were sung by locally famous artists Dick Lee and Ms Julia Abueva and she did sing very well indeed. All this while we ate a four course meal with free flowing drinks. As we left the hall, there were CAAS representatives who handed out large gift bag with a box in it, that turned out to be a scale model of the original Bristol Boxkite, made beautifully out of wood and thread. That's sitting on my desk right now as I write this piece. A fitting way to start off the Centennial year of Aviation. Cheers!

Our note as of 7th February 2012, a week before the start of the Singapore Air Show: The 100th year of Aviation in Singapore will culminate with the Singapore Air Show from 14th-19th Feb. Trade Days 14th-17th Feb. The first day is the inauguration of the event. This will be preceded by other related events in Seletar, we are attending the opening of the new Hangar facilities for Fokker Services Asia, for the MRO business. We wish Fokker Services Asia all success for the long future ahead. 

Singapore Air Show Preparations

The Singapore Air Show is less than 2 weeks away now, starting on 14th Feb-17th Feb (Trade Days) and we are making preparations for the event. Some of the memorabilia we are giving to our customers and well-wishers include custom coffee mugs with our logo on them. Special ties with hand embroidered Aircraft is also among the gifts. We will have CDs of some of the Aircraft that we have on offer including 3 used/factory refurbished Lake 250 Renegade Amphibious Aircraft.

We look forward to interaction with many Industry players at the event, directly and also by attending various forum discussions at the event. Naturally we are keen to expand out horizons and long term prospects, this show is a good venue for networking and catching up with Aviators and aviation business owners, representatives, employees alike. Here is a sample of the mugs prepared by us.

As the date for the Air Show nears, we will update this blog once again and then be blogging live from the event itself, along with photographs that will appear on our blog and other media pages including twitter. Our new twitter account is: https://twitter.com/#!/jeteezyAvn 

Follow us on twitter for updates on all our activities and interesting tweets on aviation.

Thank you.