The FAA is eyeing the potential replacement of 31 aging air traffic control towers, primarily at municipal and smaller airports, with newly designed sustainable facilities. Some $500 million was set aside from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for site evaluation, preparation, and early construction activities, the FAA said, adding construction could get underway in 2024.
A design from Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) of New York was selected for the towers, the agency said. Not only does the design conform to construction and operational cost requirements, it also meets sustainability qualifications and can be height adjusted (between 60 to 119 feet) per traffic and sightline standards.
The upgraded towers would incorporate all-electric building systems, use materials free from chemicals that could pose health risks, have a thermally efficient façade, rely on ground-source heating and cooling when possible, and be built with high-recycled steel and metal products and renewable mass timber when available. While the design has standardized elements to reduce costs, the buildings will be tailored to the location and local climate, the FAA said.
Initial towers slated for replacement are functioning beyond their intended design life and are located throughout the country, from Key West, Florida, to Bellingham, Washington. “These new air traffic control towers will mean that smaller airports can handle more flights, more sustainably, and more affordably,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Daher has secured European validation for its Kodiak 900, the larger and speedier variant of its Kodiak 100 turboprop single utility aircraft, the manufacturer announced today at Aero Friedrichshafen in Germany.
EASA approval follows FAA certification last year, which was in hand when Daher announced the next member of the Kodiak family during AirVenture in July. The first European delivery is scheduled for the third quarter.
The 900 has a 3.9-foot longer fuselage, providing more passenger room and cargo space over the Model 100, as well as a boost in speed to 210 ktas and increased useful load that provides a 1,129-nm range. It also incorporates several other updates such as redesigned ducts, inlets, and air intakes to reduce drag and an aerodynamically refined cargo pod.
“With its higher cruise speed, excellent operating efficiency, enhanced climb performance, and larger cabin, our Kodiak 900 meets the requirements of many customers who seek a faster aircraft and increased cargo capacity,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior v-p of Daher’s aircraft division. He added that the aircraft is attracting significant interest from Europe for missions ranging from air ambulance and firefighting support to skydiving and surveillance. Europe is an area where Daher is targeting growth in market share with only 5 percent of the Kodiak fleet currently based there.
Hansen Helicopters CEO John Walker is continuing to run his criminal enterprise from behind bars via straw men and alter-ego corporations, alleges a civil suit filed earlier this month by the U.S. government. The suit seeks to enjoin Hansen and Walker from what amounts to the furtherance of a criminal enterprise.
On Sept. 9, 2022, a Guam federal district court jury found Hansen Helicopters and Walker guilty of some 100 counts related to conspiracy; defrauding the FAA and the NTSB; bribery; aircraft parts fraud, causing serious bodily injury and death; falsification of aircraft registration; employing unlicensed mechanics and pilots; wire fraud; and money laundering. The government is seeking forfeiture of all of Hansen’s and Walker’s assets related to what it charged is $400 million worth of fraud tied to the convictions. Walker has been incarcerated since Sept. 12, 2022, and is awaiting sentencing.
In the new civil suit, the government seeks to end Hansen’s operations and enjoin both it and Walker from “leasing, reselling, or allowing his helicopters, or their parts, or those helicopters, or parts by alter egos, to be operated, installed, registered, deregistered, reregistered, or otherwise used in any way pending a final determination in this case.” The government alleges that, following Hansen’s initial indictment in 2018, the company and Walker moved to transfer helicopters and operations to a variety of offshore “shell” corporations.
The state of pilot supply came under scrutiny in the House aviation subcommittee yesterday as industry stakeholders testifying disagreed about whether a shortage exists.
Regional Airline Association president and CEO Faye Malarkey Black in testimony called the situation “devastating” and said that despite soaring passenger demand, the pilot shortage is decimating small community air service. “Currently, more than 500 regional aircraft are parked, and those aircraft remaining in service are underutilized,” she said. Last year marked a record for new pilots qualified—9,491—but the number “fell far short of the 13,128 hired by just one subset of the airline industry last year,” she stressed.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) released data in advance of Wednesday’s hearing showing that the FAA has certificated 2,658 new airline pilots in just the first three months of this year and 63,932 since 2013. The airlines filled about 40,000 positions at the same time. “The groups that continue the flood of misinformation and misleading data are only interested in one thing: manufacturing a crisis to lower aviation safety standards and increase their bottom line," said ALPA president Jason Ambrosi.
Heather Krause, director of physical infrastructure for the Government Accountability Office, noted that pilot supply is projected to increase, but “the extent to which projected supply would exceed or fall short of industry’s demand for pilots is unknown given uncertainties surrounding future demand.”
COVID-19 forced many businesses both large and small to rethink strategies that can carry them through during difficult times. Unfortunately, many businesses within the aviation industry were hit hard, and some are still working to recover from the disruption. A key factor to Greenwich AeroGroup’s success out of the turmoil was diversification.
Global vegetable oil processor Apical is partnering with sustainable energy producer Cepsa to construct what will be the largest second-generation biofuel production facility in southern Europe. Second-generation fuels are those derived from plant wastes and byproducts rather than purpose-grown crops.
The plant, with a price tag of up to €1 billion, will be built at Cepsa’s La Rábida Energy Park in the Spanish province of Huelva. Scheduled to be operational in the first half of 2026, it will have a projected annual output of up to 500,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and/or renewable diesel fuel.
With refineries in China, Indonesia, and Spain, as well as processing and distribution operations in the U.S., Brazil, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, the Middle East, and Africa, Singapore-based Apical—through its Bio-Oils subsidiary—will provide feedstock in the form of agricultural waste and residue as part of a global long-term agreement. This marks the company's first foray into the SAF market.
“Apical’s ample supply of high-quality, second-generation feedstock is key to ensuring that the new joint venture delivers on our shared vision to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across air, sea, and land transport,” said Apical president Dato’ Yeo How. “The wider use of SAF and renewable diesel provides significant benefits on a global scale, both in terms of mitigating the effects of climate change and promoting sustainable economic growth.”
Daher unveiled the latest version of its Me & My TBM application this week at the Aero Friedrichshafen show in Germany. Launched by the airframer in 2018, the cloud-based application has proven popular with owners and operators of TBM turboprop singles. It provides an enhanced piloting experience with improved readability, functionality, and reporting.
The app collects, processes, and analyzes more than four million points of data generated daily by the in-service TBM fleet. According to the OEM, this latest iteration (version 6) offers enhanced usability and new flexibility that allows its use by multiple pilots while tracking their flights and addresses the needs of fleet operators, flight departments, and aircraft renters.
Another new feature is the ability to identify specific types of flights: private or business trips, and training, maintenance, or ferry missions. The application also can generate compliance reports based on the TBM’s stabilized approach criteria.
“The sixth Me & My TBM app version marks Daher’s commitment to improving the TBM flight experience, year after year,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior v-p of the company’s aircraft division. “This latest version reflects 18 months of dedicated work by our strengthened IT team and includes inputs from experts in the TBM piloting community.”
Textron Aviation is marking the 10th anniversary this month of two of its key facilities in its European product support network. The U.S. manufacturer’s service centers at Zurich Airport in Switzerland and Germany’s Düsseldorf International Airport both opened in 2013 when they were acquired from Jet Aviation.
These facilities provide factory-direct support for operators of Beechcraft, Cessna, and Hawker aircraft, including all maintenance and modification services offered by Textron Aviation. Over the past decade, the company has expanded its support network in Europe to five service centers, including Paris; Prague, Czech Republic; and Valencia, Spain; as well as line stations/mobile service units in the south of France, Geneva, and Madrid. The network also includes a satellite service center in Stuttgart, Germany.
Over the past 12 months, Textron added the Madrid facility and strengthened its regional customer support capability with more localized 1Call and warranty teams. The company also expanded its parts distribution center in Düsseldorf by 4,000 cu ft.
“We are committed to supporting our customers throughout their entire ownership journey,” commented Christof Kandel, general manager of the Düsseldorf service center. “Whether it's scheduled maintenance, upgrades, or unexpected repairs, our team of experienced aviation technicians has our customers covered.”
Sustainability Question of the Week
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What does “retired” mean for carbon credits from a project?
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Former Rep. Elmer Greinert “Bud” Shuster, 91, who led the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee in the late 1990s and shepherded through the sweeping AIR-21 FAA reauthorization bill, died yesterday.
A Republican from Pennsylvania, Shuster served in Congress from 1973 until 2001 and chaired the T&I Committee from 1995 until he retired from Congress. In that role, he had a strong and influential hand in highway and aviation matters, among others. His final massive aviation bill, the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act (AIR-21), dedicated aviation trust fund dollars to aviation purposes, a decade-long effort that earned him AOPA's Hartranft Award.
“Few members of Congress were able to get things done like Bud Shuster and our nation’s transportation systems benefited from his leadership,” said AOPA president Mark Baker of Shuster’s passing. This sentiment was shared by lawmakers and other industry officials.
“Chairman Bud Shuster truly is a legend. He was a masterful legislator and one of Congress’ most effective advocates for America’s transportation and infrastructure,” said T&I chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri).
National Air Traffic Controllers Association president Rich Santa added. “[Shuster’s] steadfast commitment to ensuring the Airport and Airway Trust Fund was only used for its intended purpose and not used for other purposes went a long way toward improving the lives of our union’s members and countless other workers in the aviation industry.”
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