Flaris LAR1 Makes First Flight

Nearly six years after it was announced and after multiple schedule slippages, the Polish Flaris LAR1 single-engine personal jet made its first flight on April 5 at Babimost Airport in Zielona Gora under the command of test pilot Wieslaw Cena, the company announced yesterday.

The $1.5 million five-seat jet is powered by a single 1,900-pound-thrust Williams FJ33-5A turbofan, has a targeted top speed of 380 knots, stall speed of 62 knots, estimated maximum range of 1,400 nm, and ceiling of 45,000 feet. On the initial test flight, Cena checked the jet single's optimal takeoff and landing configurations, as well as its control and stability. Wind conditions during the first flight were reported as gusty and there was a crosswind component. Altogether, 26 takeoffs and landings were conducted during the initial flight. Flight test leader Rafal Ladzinski called the conditions “difficult.” 

Flaris features rear-hinged main cabin doors reminiscent of 1960s Lincoln Continental cars, detachable wings and stabilizers, a fuselage fuel tank, electric deicing, an in-the-nose whole-aircraft ballistic parachute, and Garmin G600 avionics. The aircraft is being built by Metal-Master and is partially funded by the European Union.

Transport Canada Gives Nod to HondaJet Elite

The HondaJet Elite has received type certification from Transport Canada, with deliveries of the twinjet in Canada expected to begin immediately, Honda Aircraft announced today. Unveiled in May last year, the Elite version offers a 200-pound payload increase and 17 percent more range, to 1,437 nm, compared to the original HondaJet.

“Following the positive reaction to the HondaJet in Canada, we are pleased the HondaJet Elite has now also received type certification in the region,” said Honda Aircraft president and CEO Michimasa Fujino. “As the popularity of the HondaJet Elite increases around the globe, we are proud of the strong relationships we have with aviation bureaus worldwide, including Transport Canada.”

Thus far the HondaJet Elite has received nods from the U.S. FAA, EASA, Mexico DGAC, Brazil ANAC, India DGAC, and Japan JCAB. Honda Aircraft’s sales and service footprint spans territories in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. Skyservice Business Aviation is the HondaJet dealer in Canada.

The HondaJet fleet now numbers 118 aircraft worldwide and has demonstrated a dispatch reliability of 99.7 percent, according to the Greensboro, N.C.-based aircraft manufacturer.

Russians To Vie for EASA Certification of VRT500 Single

Russian Helicopters will apply for European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for its VRT500 coaxial helicopter this year and begin flight testing in 2020, according to company VR-Technologies general manager Alexander Okhonko. Russian Helicopters said serial production could begin as early as 2021 at its Ulan-Ude helicopter aviation plant at Buryatia in Siberia. 

Russian Helicopters is presenting a mockup of the VRT500 light single at Milan Design Week, which runs through this weekend. The mockup is being displayed by ItalDesign, a previously unannounced development partner on the project. The five-passenger, single-engine VRT500 is being designed to achieve a top forward speed of 134 knots, a maximum range of 464 nm, and a payload of 1,600 pounds. It is intended to compete with the Bell 505 and Robinson R66. 

The coaxial design features two three-blade main rotors with shaped carbon-fiber blades to cut noise emissions, extensive composite construction, glass-panel avionics, and sliding rear cabin doors. Plans call for its turboshaft engine to be Western-sourced, possibly from Safran. In 2017, Russian Helicopters received major financing from Russia's state-owned Vnesheconombank (VEB) for the project. 

Universal Aviation Increases South American Footprint

Universal Weather and Aviation has expanded its ground handling capabilities in South America with the opening of a new Universal Aviation office in Argentina. Located at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, the 24-hour location can support all airports in the area, including El Palomar Airport (SADP), San Fernando Airport (SADF), and Jorge Newbery Airfield (SABE), with everything from ground support to customs and immigration clearance, flight plan filing, landing permits, helping arrange maintenance services, hangarage, and baggage handling.

The office, led by operations manager Marcelo Ribet, can also dispatch staff to provide support at more than 35 additional airports in the country, according to the company.

“Whether it’s business trips to Buenos Aires or visits to breathtaking destinations such as Ushuaia to Iguazu, traffic to Argentina is up,” said company chairman Greg Evans, adding that Universal customers will now receive the same high level of service standards and service they receive at other Universal Aviation locations in the region such as Brazil and Chile.

Hiller To Receive NATA’s Highest Award

Former NATA president and board member and current director emeritus Martin Hiller has been named as the recipient of the William A. “Bill” Ong Memorial Award, the organization’s highest honor, presented for extraordinary achievement and extended meritorious service to the general aviation industry.

The owner of Marathon Jet Center and Marathon General Aviation in the Florida Keys, Hiller has nearly four decades of industry experience. From 1985 to 2010, he led the Hiller Group’s aviation fuel-distribution activities first as vice president and then as the company’s president and CEO. Under his watch, the company became one of the largest aviation fuel distributors in the U.S., representing Chevron, Texaco, and Phillips 66. In 2010, he sold the Hiller Group to World Fuel Services, where he remained executive vice president until 2013.

In 2016, after six years of service on NATA’s board of directors, Hiller agreed to take on the role of president and steered the organization through concerns such as ATC privatization, workforce shortages, and illegal charter.

“NATA and its membership are proud to recognize Marty Hiller with the Ong Award for his illustrious aviation business career and his devotion to NATA as a former president and long-time member of association and board of directors,” said Gary Dempsey, the association’s current president. “He is a great friend of mine and the entire general aviation community.”

Whitesky Aviation Makes Mark in Indonesia

Indonesia’s Whitesky Aviation is expecting to complete the construction of the new Cengkareng Heliport, near Jakarta Soekarno Hatta International Airport, by year-end and is hoping the $5 million investment will drive the growth of urban air taxis in the country. The facility, built in partnership with airport management company Angkasa Pura, will be able to park around 40 Bell 505 Jet Ranger Xs or 20 Bell 429s.

Whitesky Aviation CEO and founder Denon Prawiraatmadja said its HeliCity air taxi product has recently seen about 20 to 30 flights monthly, compared to virtually none three years ago. He said the company is using the coming four years to gather market information and is expecting 10 percent revenue growth annually from the B2C business. HeliCity currently provides helicopter service between Soekarno Hatta International Airport to downtown Jakarta and Bandung.

“The current administration is very open to new transport solutions to support all industry and economic sectors,” he said. “Some challenges are the lack of lighting equipment for us to operate visually at night, and we are in talks with the authorities to improve that. We also hope to operate night flights direct from Cengkareng to Bandung in three years.”

While the company currently operates mainly in the Java Island, Prawiraatmadja said it has partnerships in Bintan Island and will soon announce a new venture in Bali.

Aviation Weather Group Plans Day-long Forum in D.C.

Weather forecasting aids for rotorcraft pilots and convective weather forecasts are the topics of a day-long forum organized by Friends & Partners in Aviation Weather (FPAW) during its spring meeting on Wednesday at the NTSB Conference Center at L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C.

The first session, “Next Generation of the HEMS Weather Tool,” is scheduled from 8:15 a.m. to noon and is aimed at operations that use helicopters or UASs. The graphically based weather tool that, created in 2006 to improve weather decision making for helicopter EMS pilots, has become a critical weather decision-making asset for pilots who operate at altitudes below 5,000 feet, according to FPAW.

Convective weather’s impact on the National Airspace System, especially on higher-congestion airspace—congestion from volume of traffic, terrain, or special use—is the topic of the afternoon session from 1 to 5 p.m. Organizers said this session aims to answer a number of questions, including which convective forecasts should be used the day before and day of a flight, as well as if forecasts are selected because of past performance or a lack of awareness of competing forecasts. FPAW said a goal of the session is to begin a process of getting the aviation community—air traffic controllers, pilots, dispatchers, and trip planners—to move to the same source for convective weather forecasts, using feedback it gains from the session.

ExecuJet Prepares Swiss FBO for July Closing of Linate

The three-month closing of Italy’s Milan Linate Airport (LIN) beginning in July has ExecuJet preparing to handle a record number of aircraft movements in southern Switzerland, the unit of Luxaviation Group announced today. ExecutJet’s co-branded FBO at Lugano Airport (LUG) is expected to take traffic diverted from LIN.

“Our FBO at Lugano Airport is ideally located for travelers who might be affected by the closure of Milan Linate Airport this summer,” Luxaviation Group business development executive Gary Forster said. “Situated in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland, bordering Italy, it’s just 40 minutes by car from central Milan. Alternatively, we offer fast-track helicopter transfers directly from the airfield. Facing this situation, our goal is to increase our footprint in Ticino and northern Italy together with the local Luxaviation branch in Lugano.”

In December, ExecuJet announced its FBO partnership with LUG. It plans to offer a 50 percent discount on handling tariffs for flights to LUG with no slot restrictions. “To help facilitate the anticipated spike in movements from July, Lugano Airport has launched a new website, with guidance for pilots and crews on navigating the steep take-off and landings required by the airport’s mountainous surroundings,” Forster added.

LIN announced in the fall that the airport would close from July 27 to October 27 for runway maintenance and “airport restyling.”

AIN Webinar: Safe and Efficient Single-pilot Operations

Technology and a shortage of pilots to fill the flight decks of tomorrow’s business jets and airliners are creating pressure to facilitate more single-pilot operations. Avionics manufacturers are developing technology for safe single-pilot operations, but pilots have been flying alone safely in light aircraft through Part 23 jets for many years. Learn about factors that are causing the flying landscape to shift toward more single-pilot operations, what kind of automation avionics manufacturers are developing for single-pilot operations and what we can learn from experienced pilots flying in single-pilot operations.

Join AIN editor-in-chief Matt Thurber on April 24 at 1:30 p.m. EDT as he moderates the discussion with Tal Golan, manager, rotorcraft business development for Universal Avionics, and Charlie Precourt, former NASA astronaut, safety expert, and Citation owner. Sponsored by Universal Avionics

Register for the free webinar.