The Scissortail Brief | Oct 12, 2026
This week, Rise Aviation adds a large-cabin hangar complex at North Texas Regional Airport (KGYI). Mente retires the Four Corners Aviation name. Texas charter and fractional flying runs 11% ahead of last year. Hurricane Isaias closes Gulf Coast airports. General Dynamics names a new CEO. And moisture from a Pacific hurricane sets up a rain-heavy week in West Texas. Our thoughts are with the families of the six people aboard a Latitude Air Ambulance jet lost off Nantucket.
Texas
Rise Aviation Advances Large-Cabin Hangar Complex at North Texas Regional (KGYI)
Rise Aviation is preleasing space in a 63,100-square-foot hangar development at North Texas Regional Airport (KGYI) in Grayson County, according to an Oct. 6 project update. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2027.
The complex includes two 28,800-square-foot hangar bays and 5,500 square feet of offices for flight departments. Each bay has doors 160 feet wide and 30 feet tall, sized for large-cabin and ultra-long-range aircraft.
A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing, registered April 2, lists an estimated construction cost of $9 million and a completion date of Feb. 26, 2027. The owner of record is Grayson Aviation I LLC. The filing does not name a tenant. The October update added construction and leasing details to a project that was previously announced.
Mente Group Brings Four Corners Aviation Under Its Name
Mente announced Oct. 5 that Four Corners Aviation will become Mente Aviation, consolidating the Dallas-based company's advisory and operating businesses under one brand. Mente Group will keep its name, and the businesses will share a website and updated branding.
Services will be organized into five areas: strategy, aircraft transactions, operational consulting, appraisals, and charter and management. Founder and CEO Brian Proctor said the change reflects broader recognition of the Mente name. Existing services, including the Freedom corporate-jet-as-a-service program, will continue.
Texas Charter and Fractional Departures Up 11% From Last Year
Texas charter and fractional business jet departures increased 11% year over year, according to WingX data published Oct. 8 by Private Jet Card Comparisons. The report covers Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, not the Oct. 5 to 11 week.
Texas recorded 2,858 Part 135 and Part 91K departures in the measured week, down 3% from the previous week. The preceding four weeks totaled 11,771 departures, up 15% from the same period in 2025. Across all tracked business jet operations, Texas recorded 5,619 departures, essentially unchanged from a year earlier and down 9% from the previous week.
Around North America
Hurricane Isaias Disrupts Gulf Coast Airports
Hurricane Isaias disrupted airport operations along the Gulf Coast. NBAA reported Oct. 9 that Pensacola International Airport (KPNS) was closed and that protective shutdowns were affecting aviation infrastructure in Alabama and Florida. The storm also prompted airspace and routing restrictions. The storm had no impact on Texas.
Latitude Air Ambulance Names Crew of Jet Lost Off Nantucket
Hamilton, Ontario-based Latitude Air Ambulance issued a statement Oct. 5 identifying the four crew members aboard a medical flight lost in the Atlantic while traveling from Bermuda to Boston. The company said six people, including a patient and a family member, were presumed dead after the search was suspended.
The crew members were Capt. Philip Childerhose, First Officer Thomas Farquhar, flight nurse Sarah Paton and respiratory therapist Jolene Weir. Latitude said it was cooperating with Canadian and U.S. investigators. The aircraft was a Gulfstream G100, and it was lost off Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Eclipse to Acquire Resurgent Aviation Solutions
Eclipse Aerospace finalized definitive agreements to acquire Resurgent Aviation Solutions, effective Oct. 9. The agreement followed an Oct. 8 report that the manufacturer was moving to buy the supplier. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Resurgent supplies replacement parts, component repairs and modifications for the Eclipse fleet. The business is expected to continue operating under the Resurgent name, including its Part 145 repair center and FAA production-approval activities. The transaction also preserves access to supplemental type certificates, repair methods, manufacturing processes and other technical capabilities tied to the business.
Duffy, Marshall and Mann Tour Wheeler Downtown (KMKC) Tower; Mann Announces $30 Billion ATC Bill
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kan., toured the air traffic control tower at Kansas City's Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (KMKC). The visit centered on the Modern Skies Act.
Mann announced House legislation proposing an additional $30 billion for air traffic control modernization, NBAA said Oct. 9. The bill is a companion to Senate legislation introduced in September and would supplement the $12.5 billion approved in 2025. NBAA endorsed the measure, citing the need to speed replacement of aging air traffic control infrastructure. The funding remains a proposal and has not been appropriated.
General Dynamics Names Danny Deep Next CEO
General Dynamics announced Oct. 7 that Danny Deep will become CEO on Jan. 1, 2027, succeeding Phebe Novakovic. Novakovic, who has led the company since 2013, will become executive chairman.
Deep became company president in 2025 and has worked at General Dynamics for 25 years. His previous positions included executive vice president of global operations, executive vice president of combat systems and president of General Dynamics Land Systems.
ARGUS: September Activity Exceeds Forecasts
North American business aviation activity increased 0.9% year over year in September, exceeding expectations for a decline, according to an ARGUS report published Oct. 8. Fractional activity rose 7.2%, and Part 135 charter activity increased 3%. Part 91 activity declined 3.4%.
Turboprop activity increased 4.8%, and light-jet activity rose 3.6%. Midsize activity declined 1.1%. The report covers September operations, not the Oct. 5 to 11 week.
Around the World
WingX: Global Activity in Week 40
WingX recorded 79,710 business jet and turboprop flights worldwide in Week 40. Europe logged 12,646 flights, up 2% from the same week last year.
Bombardier Adds Line Maintenance Station in Sydney
Bombardier added a line maintenance station in Sydney, Australia, according to an Oct. 9 report. The station is the company's 11th worldwide and its second in Australia. It is approved for Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft and handles unscheduled maintenance, inspections and aircraft-on-ground support, with a mobile field team for work away from the station.
The station joins Bombardier's line maintenance station in Perth and its service center in Melbourne. Bombardier also plans to nearly double the size of its Singapore service center, beginning in the second half of 2028.
Falcon Executive Aviation Cleared for Dubai Helipark Operations
UAE officials approved Falcon Executive Aviation to operate at the Dubai Helipark, Aviation International News reported Oct. 8. The Helipark is a facility at Al Maktoum International Airport (OMDW) and is intended to complement the company's existing FBO there.
EBAA Week Draws More Exhibitors for Brussels Show
Bombardier, Dassault and Textron have committed to EBAA Week, the European Business Aviation Association's new three-day event, AIN reported Oct. 9. The show runs Nov. 16 to 18 at Skyhall in Brussels, with sessions on flight dispatch, operational priorities, safety, policy and the future of business aviation in Europe.
Weather and Fuel
Texas Forecast, Oct. 12 to 18
Warm, humid air covered most of Texas to start the week. A cold front was forecast to move through late Thursday into Friday, with the heaviest rain in West Texas Tuesday through Thursday.
North Texas (NWS Fort Worth): Highs were forecast in the 90s through Tuesday, up to 15 degrees above normal, with heat index values approaching 100. Rain chances of 30% to 60% were forecast from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday night, with 0.5 to 1.5 inches likely in the northwest Thursday. The front's strength was uncertain, with weekend lows in the upper 40s and 50s.
Central and South Texas (NWS Austin/San Antonio, WPC): Isolated afternoon showers were forecast Monday through Wednesday, with heat index values above 100 and cooler air Friday and Saturday. The Weather Prediction Center placed south-central Texas in a Slight Risk for excessive rainfall Wednesday and Thursday and said record heat was possible Wednesday.
Southeast Texas (NWS Houston/Galveston): Highs were forecast in the upper 80s to low 90s, with isolated to scattered showers Monday through Wednesday. A front was forecast Friday night into Saturday, and models disagreed on whether highs would drop into the 60s or hold in the low-to-mid 80s.
West Texas (NWS Midland/Odessa): Storm chances were forecast at 30% to 60% across the Permian Basin Tuesday through Thursday. The main severe risk, damaging gusts and hail, was Tuesday afternoon and evening, with localized flash flooding possible through Thursday. Friday highs were forecast in the upper 60s to mid 70s.
Forecast discussions were issued Oct. 10 (Austin/San Antonio and Midland/Odessa) and Oct. 11 (Fort Worth, Houston/Galveston and the Weather Prediction Center).
National Forecast, Oct. 12 to 18
An upper-level low over the Southwest was forecast to bring downpours and scattered flash flooding from Utah to Arizona early in the week, with snow on higher terrain in Nevada and Utah. Scattered severe storms were forecast Tuesday from Kansas City to Lubbock ahead of a cold front.
Moisture from the remnants of Simon was forecast to produce widespread rain Wednesday across the central U.S. and Thursday in the south-central U.S. The Weather Prediction Center's Wednesday Slight Risk stretched from western Missouri to the Texas Big Bend, with 2 to 3 inches possible. A strengthening low was forecast to move through the north-central U.S. and Great Lakes late in the week, with rain reaching the Northeast Friday and lake-effect rain and snow Friday and Saturday.
Highs were forecast well above average across the Central and Eastern U.S. through midweek, with record highs possible in the Lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast Wednesday. The West was forecast well below average, with highs in the 40s and 50s in the Intermountain West. Canadian high pressure was forecast to follow the front late in the week, with frost or freeze possible.
In the tropics, Hurricane Simon was about 50 miles off Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, on Oct. 12, and the National Hurricane Center gave an 80% chance that a low south-southwest of Guatemala would become a tropical depression within 48 hours. No Atlantic storms were active.
Fuel
GlobalAir reported national average prices on Oct. 11 of $8.35 per gallon for Jet-A, $7.78 for 100LL and $10.57 for SAF, across 3,201 reporting FBOs. The Central region averaged $7.56 for Jet-A and $7.12 for 100LL. Alaska averaged $9.61 for Jet-A and $11.57 for 100LL.
AirNav listed a national Jet-A average of $7.68 on Oct. 6, across about 3,586 FBOs.
Brent crude closed at $104.28 on Thursday. WTI traded near $91.50. About 63% of Gulf of Mexico oil output was shut in because of Isaias, and the International Energy Agency announced a release of emergency stocks. Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz continued. Brent was near $103 on Friday, up 2% for the week.
That's The Brief
The Week in One Sentence: Rise Aviation filed for a $9 million hangar complex at North Texas Regional (KGYI), Texas charter and fractional departures ran 11% above last year, Hurricane Isaias closed Gulf Coast airports, General Dynamics named Danny Deep CEO, and Jet-A averaged $8.35 nationally.
About Our Sources
We compiled information on Texas hangar facilities and administrative filings from Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation project registrations and official corporate announcements. We derived data on business aviation operations from WingX publications via Private Jet Card Comparisons, as well as ARGUS TRAQPak reports. We sourced accident investigations and regulatory updates from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). Corporate developments and international news were gathered from official press releases, Aviation International News, and Aerotelegraph. The National Weather Service offices in Fort Worth, Austin/San Antonio, Houston/Galveston, and Midland provided meteorological forecasts, along with the Weather Prediction Center and the National Hurricane Center. Aviation fuel pricing came from GlobalAir and AirNav, while crude oil market metrics came from Reuters and the Associated Press. We verified every entry against primary documentation where available, and excluded unverified data points from this report.
