CJP 2021: Platinum Partners Offer Latest Updates
Platinum Partners FlightSafety International, Garmin and Tamarack Aerospace provided updates on their efforts to support Citation jets and other aircraft during opening day of CJP 2021.
“We’ve been here since the very beginning for CJP,” said Rich High, president and CEO of FlightSafety Textron Aviation Training. “I don’t think there’s any other partner besides Textron that can say that, and we just recently signed a brand new, three-year agreement to continue as a Platinum Partner.”
High noted several changes over the past year at FlightSafety, from new company branding and investments in facilities upgrades and additional simulators, to establishing a dedicated safety department and new training initiatives such as Spotlight training, “where we’re focusing on scenarios that are responsible for most of the incidents and accidents,” High said.
Garmin Vice President, Managing Director – Aviation Phil Straub noted the ongoing focus on operational safety by both CJP and Textron Aviation. “Both of these partnerships are awesome for Garmin, because it really drives safety improvements in our products,” he said. “Honestly, we work with a lot of owners associations and type associations, but there’s none that takes safety and proficiency to the levels CJP does.”
Citations are a big part of Garmin’s development efforts, he continued, with the first CJ2 produced – serial number 201 – delivered to the company in 2004 to serve as a flying R&D testbed. That plane is now flying with a potential upgrade option for CJ1 and CJ2s.
“We think there’s an opportunity with the straight [wing] models,” Straub said, “to transform [them] by building off the foundation of the GTN 750 Xi [with] our G600 TXi in there, along with a dedicated engine display for it and our flight control system.”
Straub also reassured CJP members that “I know [loading] databases are not the greatest experience right now,” and promised upcoming process changes will improve the experience for both SD card and wireless loading.
Rounding out the session, Tamarack Aerospace founder and CEO Nick Guida and company president Jacob Klinginsmith provided an update on the company’s performance-enhancing active winglet systems, including the new “Smartwing” now undergoing flight testing on a Beechcraft C-12 [King Air 200] operated by defense department contractor Dynamic Aviation.
Despite the focus on that program, Klinginsmith noted Tamarack has also worked on “refining our process” for winglet installations, to where the company can complete the process, including paint, at its Sandpoint, ID headquarters in just one week and its Transformation Centers in Aiken, SC and Oxford, England in under 10 days.
The company has also seen an uptick in the number of Citation M2s undergoing modification with Tamarack winglets. “We’ll have installed winglets on eight M2s by the end of 2021, which is about four percent of the fleet,” Guida said. “That’s kind of cool.” Tamarack has also partnered with the FAA to create its Tamarack Pilot Proficiency Program that is eligible for WINGS credit.