Daher Projects 40% Climb in 2021 Aircraft Deliveries

Daher expects aircraft deliveries to climb more than 40 percent this year, Nicolas Chabbert, the senior v-p of the company’s aircraft division, told AIN last week at the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida. Noting that “2021 will be a big year for us,” he added, "We’re looking at delivering 75 aircraft this year—50 TBMs and 25 Kodiak 100s—and possibly even more." In 2020, Daher handed over 53 aircraft, including 42 TBMs and 11 Kodiak 100s.

According to Chabbert, demand for both new-production and preowned TBMs is outstripping supply for the turboprop singles. “There are few TBMs on the preowned market,” he noted, adding that supply-chain issues caused by the pandemic are also putting a squeeze on new-production rates. “The supply chain is swamped, and we’re having to order supply six months out—we’ve never seen it like this before. And it will likely take 18 months to fix.”

Last week’s airshow also marked the first time that Daher has displayed a TBM (a Model 940, to be exact) and a Kodiak 100 side by side at one exhibit in the U.S. since the company acquired Sandpoint, Idaho-based Quest Aircraft, which developed and manufactured the Kodiak utility turboprop single. The Kodiak on display was a Series II; the Series III announced earlier this month will make its public U.S. airshow debut at EAA AirVenture this July.

NASA Helicopter Flies on Mars

After a week delay, NASA’s $80 million Ingenuity Mars coaxial helicopter took flight at 3:34 a.m. EDT today for 39.1 seconds, hovering for 30 seconds total time and achieving an altitude of 10 feet. NASA received data confirming the flight at 6:46 a.m. Ingenuity is the first aircraft to make powered, controlled flight on another planet. NASA said a second flight is scheduled no earlier than April 22 and that it would decide on how to expand the four-pound helicopter’s flight envelope after that. 

In honor of the first flight, NASA designated the test flight area on Mars, in the Jezero Crater, as “Wright Brothers Field.” ICAO presented NASA and the FAA with the official designator for the flight IGY, call sign Ingenuity, and gave the airfield location the ceremonial designator JZRO, for Jezero Crater. HAI also temporarily changed its name for today to the Helicopter Association Interplanetary.

Ingenuity’s initial flight demonstration was autonomous—it was piloted by onboard guidance, navigation, and control systems running algorithms developed by the team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Because data must be sent to and returned from Mars over hundreds of millions of miles using NASA’s Deep Space Network satellite constellation, Ingenuity cannot be flown with live pilot inputs and its flight was not observable from Earth in real-time.

Bizav Activity Strengthens in North America, Europe

Business aviation activity picked up substantially in North America last month, growing 46.2 percent year-over-year and slightly edging the March 2019 results, according to the latest TraqPak data from Argus International. In Europe, meanwhile, activity showed more tempered improvement, up 15.8 percent in March, but also up 30.1 percent from February.

In North America last month, business aviation logged 266,585 flights, 33 more than recorded in March 2019 and 84,259 more than in March 2020. All aircraft and operational categories were up year-over-year in the month, with fractional operations involving light jets leading the way at a 63.6 percent improvement. In all, fractional operations surged 55.9 percent. Part 135 operations were up 44.5 percent and Part 91 operations jumped 44.9 percent.

TraqPak analysts expect an even greater 241 percent year-over-year increase for April, but they also believe that April 2021 will come in 2.5 percent down from April 2019.

In Europe last month, operations improved across all aircraft categories, with light jets showing the most significant increase at 27.5 percent from March 2020. Midsize-jet operations were up 15.9 percent and turboprops were up 18.2 percent. Large-jet operations saw only a slight improvement of 2.3 percent. However, large-jet operations increased notably from February, up 26.6 percent month-over-month. Turboprop flights were up 33.5 percent from February, followed by light jets at 33.5 percent and midsize jets at 26.8 percent.

Colorado Sees First Continuous SAF Supply

Colorado’s Telluride Regional Airport (KTEX) has become the first location in Colorado to continually stock sustainable aviation fuel. The airport-operated FBO received its first demonstration load of Neste MY SAF on February 27, with two additional tanker loads the following month. On Thursday, the first of what will be a continuous supply was delivered, with each 7,600-gallon truckload of the blended SAF representing a 22-tonne reduction of CO2 emissions over its lifecycle.

The Neste drop-in fuel—supplied by Avfuel and produced from renewable waste and residue materials—meets all ASTM standards when blended with conventional jet-A. As testing by engine manufacturers continues, unblended SAF use in the future could deliver up to 80 percent fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to traditional jet fuel.

“Avfuel has worked diligently on the logistics for delivering SAF to Telluride Regional Airport, and we’re excited to announce this significant milestone that’s been three years in the making,” said KTEX manager Kenneth Maenpa.

Keith Sawyer, Avfuel’s manager of alternative fuels, thanked the airport for providing cleaner solutions amid one of the world’s most stunning environments. “We congratulate the airport on being the first to provide SAF in the state of Colorado, which not only provides significant emissions reductions, but also raises awareness of the environmental benefits and safety of the product.”

VistaJet’s Global Fleet Gets Pūr Air

VistaJet recently completed installation of the Pūr Air system on its Bombardier Global fleet. The system purifies and replaces cabin air with what VistaJet says is the fastest fresh-air delivery available on commercial and private aircraft. It uses an advanced HEPA filter to provide for cleaner air with better humidity and quicker heating/cooling, VistaJet said, noting Pūr Air uses the same technology as in hospital rooms.

“Since the start of the pandemic, aircraft cabin safety and regulating indoor air conditions has become a critical component of passengers’ and crews' health,” the company said in its decision to equip the fleet.

The HEPA filter captures up to 99.99 percent of particles passing through it, including virus particles, as well as mold, hair, and bacteria particles. It further eliminates odors and gases. In addition, the Pūr Air system can refresh the cabin air in as little as 90 seconds, which VistaJet said is 25 percent more than other air purifiers. As a result, passengers will receive 100 percent fresh air every two to four minutes.

SierraTrax To Offer Digital Aircraft Records Service

SierraTrax is planning to offer a nationwide scanning network for aircraft owners and operators to convert their aircraft logbooks and related documents to a digital format. Under SierraTrax’s Digital Aircraft Records service, the Wichita-based maintenance tracking software provider will professionally scan paper records such as log entries, 8130 parts traceability forms, 337s, and handwritten logs. Using artificial intelligence, those records are organized and made searchable. They are stored on SierraTrax’s secure cloud service.

“The industry is asking for digital record-keeping solutions and our platform already had the framework built-in for this,” said SierraTrax founder and CEO Jason Talley. “Our new Digital Aircraft Records service was the next logical step…to be able to give our customers peace of mind knowing their aircraft logbooks are backed up and always accessible.”

The service will be available later this spring as a stand-alone product or as an add-on to SierraTrax’s maintenance tracking subscription. Founded in 2017, SierraTrax primarily serves individual turbine aircraft owners and operators, as well as operators of fleets of 15 or fewer aircraft. It is a recommended service provider for Textron Aviation.

Atlantic Switches To Renewable Diesel at KLAX

Atlantic Aviation has fully replaced conventional fossil-based diesel fuel with renewable diesel at its Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX) FBO as part of the Texas-based company’s commitment to increasing sustainability in the aviation industry through its environmental, social, and corporate governance program. In addition to fueling its own ground service vehicles such as refuellers, Atlantic also provides diesel for many other equipment operators on the field and accounts for approximately 450,000 gallons a year.

First delivered to the Atlantic location on April 9 and offered for sale and use the same day, the sustainable fuel supplied by Pinnacle Petroleum is derived from fats, vegetable oils, and used cooking oil. According to Atlantic, it can be used interchangeably with standard diesel fuel.

“The change will reduce carbon emissions on the airport by over eight million pounds annually—the equivalent of that produced by approximately 795 automobiles,” said Atlantic Aviation senior v-p Steve Hirschfeld.

Last month, Atlantic announced the start of permanent supplies of sustainable aviation fuel at its KLAX facility.

Airbus Helicopters Adapts Training in Wake of Pandemic

In response to Covid-19, Airbus Helicopters enhanced its distance learning capabilities and is now making many of those and associated technology changes instituted during the pandemic permanent, both in the U.S. and worldwide. “Covid brought us into a new normal that will help us become safer,” said Romain Trapp, president of Airbus Helicopters Inc., the company’s U.S. arm. 

At Airbus’s training facility in Grand Prairie, Texas, the company installed a video studio where director of education Bruce Webb began making a variety of flight and maintenance training videos. Webb’s videos were posted to YouTube and other social media and routinely attracted more than 20,000 views each, Trapp said. “The training piece is absolutely critical to ensure the highest level of safety. While the number of helicopter accidents worldwide has been significantly reduced over the last 20 years, there are still too many.” 

Throughout the company’s training network, digital trainers are increasingly used. For distance maintenance training, Airbus combined mechanical mockups and jigs with video and computer technology. Full-sized maintenance training devices are also used in conjunction with distance learning as are iPads, which provide a three-dimensional representation of key helicopter systems.