AINalerts will not be published tomorrow, April 10, due to the Good Friday holiday.

Leonardo Closes On Kopter Acquisition

Leonardo has completed its acquisition of upstart Swiss helicopter manufacturer Kopter Group AG, the Italy-based OEM announced yesterday. Under terms of the acquisition, Leonardo acquires 100 percent of the Wetzikon, Switzerland-based company from investment firm Lynwood.

In return, Leonardo pays $185 million for Kopter, as well as bonuses to Lynwood if certain milestones are met over the life of Kopter’s SH09 turbine single-engine program. Cyprus-based Lynwood, controlled by Russian oligarch Alexander Mamut, invested $270 million into Kopter Group in 2016.

The SH09 is Kopter’s first and only offering, which is undergoing concurrent certification with the FAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The $3.5 million SH09 features a digital avionics suite with the capability to integrate a four-axis autopilot and allow IFR operations approval. Power comes from a single 1,020-shp Honeywell HTS900. The helicopter will have a projected maximum cruise speed of 140 knots and a range of 430 nm.

“The acquisition of Kopter allows Leonardo to further strengthen its worldwide leadership and position in the rotorcraft sector, in line with the industrial plan’s objectives for the reinforcement of the core businesses,” Leonardo said in a short statement about the closing of the acquisition. The deal was first announced on January 28 during Heli-Expo 2020 in Anaheim, California.

Bizav Traffic Stays Down as Charter Demand Stabilizes

Business aviation traffic volumes have continued to fall this week in the wake Covid-19-driven reductions in economic activity and travel restrictions. As of this morning, the continually updated traffic data published by aviation services group Argus showed the number of flights in North America and Europe to be 65 percent lower this month versus April 2019. Year-to-date activity is about 12 percent less than at this time last year, according to the Argus TraqPak data.

Data analyst WingX today reported business aviation departures in the U.S. dropped 60 percent year-over-year in the first week of this month. Earlier, WingX released data showing that just over 18,000 business aviation sectors were flown globally in the first five days of April. This was around 50,000 less than the same period in 2019.

Meanwhile, online charter marketplace Avinode today reported that forward-looking demand in the U.S. and Europe, as measured by trip requests, has flattened out somewhat since the “drastic decline” seen following an initial spike around mid-March. The company described this trend as “the temporary normal.”

Overall trip requests for the next couple of months show demand in April to be 14 percent lower than in April 2019 and 38 percent lower for May. “There is still lots of time to recover summer demand, when restrictions allow,” concluded Harry Clarke, Avinode’s head of insight.

Gulfstream Maintains Production while Fighting Covid-19

Gulfstream Aerospace is not only keeping its business jet production lines, green aircraft completions, product support operations, and G700 flight-test campaign ongoing during the Covid-19 crisis, but it is also helping in the fight against the virus. The Savannah, Georgia-based aircraft manufacturer has donated personal protection equipment to hospitals in New York and elsewhere, made monetary donations to organizations that help those in need, and is now using its 3D printers to make medical equipment.

“To help address the shortage of medical supplies, we have already donated 3,500 N95 masks and more than 3,100 protection suits to U.S. hospitals and public health organizations,” it said. “We have also provided more than $60,000 to Savannah-based organizations working to assist those in need. To support other Gulfstream communities, donations are also being made in Dallas; Long Beach, California; and Appleton, Wisconsin.”

Meanwhile, Gulfstream—in partnership with two of its General Dynamics sister companies—is using its 3D printers to produce adapters for a Canadian clinic trial examining if CPAP/BiPAP machines can be converted to usable ventilators. The company is also using its 3D labs to print tension-release bands for surgical masks and is working with its General Dynamics sister companies to pursue Food and Drug Administration registration/approval of 3D-printed nasal test swabs.

NBAA Debunks U.S. Airspace Closure Rumors

A rumor about an imminent U.S. airspace shutdown promulgated by an aviation blogger earlier this week has been debunked by NBAA. “After receiving several inquiries to determine if the FAA is considering closing all domestic airspace, we reconfirmed that the FAA is NOT considering closing airspace,” NBAA director of flight operations and regulations Brian Koester told members via NBAA Air Mail yesterday.

He did explain that the FAA’s air traffic organization has temporarily closed towers and other facilities for Covid-19 related cleaning. “However, once cleaning is complete, these facilities continue to reopen. ATC has been strategic in their mitigations,” Koester added.

Meanwhile, he said NBAA continues discussions with the FAA’s Flight Standards Division about providing immediate regulatory relief for general operators, meaning those operating under Parts 91, 91K, or 125. The FAA has made several exemptions for Part 135 operators and pilots flying for these outfits, but none yet for noncommercial operators. NBAA is seeking relief for general aviation pilot currency, CFI renewals, and extensions for aircraft maintenance and continuing airworthiness requirements, among others. “FAA responded that they have a multifaceted team working nights and weekends to develop a regulatory solution for operators facing impending (or past) deadlines,” Koester wrote.

FlightSafety’s Recurrent Ground School Now Online

FlightSafety International has received approval from the FAA and other regulators to provide its LiveLearning online ground school for recurrent training events. The online ground school will be available for more than 20 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft models.

LiveLearning is instructor-led but done entirely online, and trainees must complete the flight simulator portion of their recurrent training within 90 days after finishing the LiveLearning training, according to FlightSafety.

“FlightSafety’s web-based and instructor-led recurrent ground school provides our customers with the benefits of classroom learning and the convenience of taking courses remotely,” said FSI senior v-p of sales and marketing Steve Gross. “With LiveLearning, our customers have live interaction with their instructor and others taking the course and use of online annotation tools, cockpit recordings, video, interactive features, and more.”

FlightSafety Textron Aviation Training had already offered online recurrent ground school on some Citation models, and this was originally developed by TRU Simulation + Training. FlightSafety and TRU formed the joint venture that became FlightSafety Textron Aviation Training.

Aviation Fuel Hose Maker Devises Ventilator Concept

Engineers at Husky Corp., a manufacturer of fuel nozzles and accessories (including aviation fueling hoses), have come up with a rapid-manufacture ventilator design the company claims it could produce at a rate of 500 a week to aid in the nation’s shortage during the Covid-19 pandemic. Husky engineering manager Zach Holcomb and design engineer Derek Willers have produced a proof-of-concept ventilator comprising readily available parts or those that could be rapidly created through additive manufacturing, according to the Missouri-based company.

The design incorporates a standard 1,500-ml manual resuscitator bag and a rubber ram that compresses the bag by way of an air cylinder. Its ventilator also features programmable controls that adjust the flow rate of oxygen and the frequency of compressions.

Husky noted that the air cylinder is the same type it uses to test its fuel nozzles and other components that require several hundred thousand test cycles without failure. It also is exploring an electric version of the ventilator that wouldn’t require the air cylinder to make it usable in areas that don’t have access to compressed air, which hospital rooms do. Before making the ventilator available, Husky is seeking confirmation of its viability from a medical specialist such as a biomedical engineer, pulmonologist, or respiratory therapist.

U.S. Air Ambulances Seek $363.5M in Emergency Aid

The U.S. air ambulance industry is requesting emergency funding of $363.5 million—equivalent to $254,424 per aircraft—from the federal government. The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) formally made the request for funds from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund in a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar on April 6.

It cited an up to 40 percent reduction in air medical transports due to the Covid-19 crisis as a result of multiple state stay-at-home and social-distancing orders. Further, the request noted the increased cost of transports that are flown due to the need for crews to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and increased labor costs of up to 50 percent based on heightened aircraft cleaning and decontamination protocols and quarantining of Covid-positive or exposed personnel.  

AAMS noted, “Like other segments of the health care industry, air medical providers are incurring significant labor and other cost increases stemming from our response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This public health emergency has exacerbated the already precarious economic viability of emergency air providers across the country and threatens the closure of additional air medical bases at a time when this service is acutely needed.” AAMS asked that Medicare Administrative Contractors release the funds directly to air ambulance providers based on their number of licensed air medical aircraft.

CBAA Cancels Annual Convention Due To Covid-19

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the Canadian Business Aviation Association has canceled its annual convention and exhibit, CBAA 2020, which was scheduled to be held in Toronto from June 16 to 18. “Given the uncertainty around when we can expect a recovery [from Covid-19], we have decided to delay the event for a full year and plan to reconvene in Toronto at Skyservice, June 15 to 17, 2021—CBAA’s 60th anniversary,” the trade group said this week.

“We are proud to be part of an incredibly resilient aviation sector, and we are still very much committed to bringing the business aviation community together,” it continued. The association will still hold its legally-required annual general meeting on June 17, but via a virtual platform.

Additionally, CBAA said it is also exploring holding a “hybrid online ‘mini-convention’ with presentations and speakers that will keep our industry informed and engaged.”

Dassault Offers Falcons for France’s Covid-19 Fight

In support of the French government’s efforts to stem the Covid-19 outbreak, Dassault has provided two of its business jets to the French Defense Ministry to supply logistics and medical support for civilian coronavirus control activities. The aircraft—a Falcon 8X and Falcon 900—carry 15 and 13 passengers, respectively, and are operated by Dassault Falcon Service (DFS), the manufacturer’s maintenance and flight operations support subsidiary based at Le Bourget Airport. DFS also provides the flight crews.

The two business jets are being used as part of Operation Resilience, and the first mission took place on April 5, carrying a team of 26 doctors and medical personnel from Brest to Paris. Depending on the needs of the government, one or both of the aircraft—which can land at small airports in all weather, without the need for ground infrastructure—are available to the French Air Force’s Air Defense and Air Operations Command for the transport of medical teams and equipment throughout France and across the globe.

Important Events Note

While there have been many cancelations and postponements of important events during the Covid-19 crisis, AIN remains committed to covering the business aviation industry. Please send any news and press releases, especially related to events you had been planning to attend, to ctrautvetter@ainonline.com and we will endeavor to help share your news. The Thursday AINalerts calendar will resume after event schedules firm up following the coronavirus pandemic.