Circadian-based Cabin Lights Unveiled for Global 7500

Bombardier today unveiled circadian rhythm-based cabin lighting technology that can help combat the effects of jet lag on long-distance flights in its 7,700-nm Global 7500. Dubbed Soleil, the dynamic lighting system’s LED development was “driven by the needs of truly worldwide aircraft that are going to be crossing time zones and connecting airports and city pairs that no other aircraft can,” said Bombardier Business Aircraft manager of industrial design Tim Fagan.

Incorporating dynamic daylight simulation, Soleil uses specific combinations of red and blue light wavelengths that studies have shown stimulate or suppress melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep. Fully integrated with both the Global 7500’s flight management system and Lufthansa Technik nice Touch cabin management system, Soleil can automatically adjust the cabin lights to help align passengers’ circadian rhythms to maximize efficiency en route or adjust to the time zone of their destination.

Each of the Global 7500’s four cabin zones can be controlled individually to have its own lighting regime during the flight. According to Bombardier, Soleil has the highest-definition color rendering index of any current cabin lighting system. A cabin mockup with Soleil is on display this week at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills.

PrivateFly Rolls Out Summer Pricing for Nextant Flights

International charter-booking platform PrivateFly is rolling out a new fixed and discounted pricing structure this summer for key city pairs in Europe involving flights on the Nextant 400XTi. Available through the end of summer, the rates include flights to and from London, Paris, Nice, Palma, Ibiza, Milan, Geneva, and Rome. Prices begin at €4,500 ($5,024) one-way between London and Paris and range up to €9,000 for Paris Le Bourget and Geneva for charter groups up to six passengers.

These city-pair prices are 30 percent lower than average year-round prices and as much as 50 percent off peak-summer demand, PrivateFly said. The offer follows a fixed-pricing trial in London and Geneva over the winter, the company added.

“On-demand private jet pricing in Europe can fluctuate when demand is highest, particularly in the summer peak, and we know this is something many clients find confusing,” said PrivateFly CEO Adam Twidell. “So we’re delighted to have secured priority access to a fleet of Nextant 400XTis for our clients at exclusive prices.”

Twidell added the structure leverages its position within Directional Aviation’s OneSky group. Directional Aviation, which owns a range of business aviation companies from fractional ownership provider Flexjet to remanufacturer Nextant, acquired PrivateSky last summer. “We’re looking forward to unveiling further innovations in both Europe and North America in the months ahead,” he said.

ACJ319neo Crew Sets Longest-flight Mark

Just two days after making its first flight, Airbus Corporate Jets’ first ACJ319neo completed a 16-hour, 10-minute test flight that set a new record for the longest A320-family flight by an Airbus crew, the European airframer announced today. On April 26, the CFM Leap-1A-powered aircraft departed Toulouse, France, on a roundtrip flight to northern Greenland, which included a simulated diversion under 180-minute ETOPS rules, for which the A320 airliner family is certified.

“We want to fly customers to their destination using the quickest routes, as well as delivering unsurpassed comfort and service, and it’s impressive to see such long-range capability at first hand,” K5 Aviation CEO and chief pilot, and flight participant Erik Scheidt said. Germany-based K5 will take delivery of the airplane following its flight trials.

The airplane is a derivative of Airbus’s commercial A319neo and is differentiated by five additional center fuel tanks and the option of choosing between two powerplants: the CFM Leap or Pratt & Whitney's PW1100G. It has a maximum range of 6,749 nm (12,500 km) with eight passengers, and a lower average cabin altitude of 6,400 ft (1,951 m) at its maximum ceiling of 39,000 feet.

Van Horn Helo Testing Full Gross Autos before Crash

The experimental-certified 1981 Bell 206B that crashed April 16 in Arizona was performing autorotations at maximum gross weight while fitted with developmental Van Horn Aviation main rotor blades, according to the preliminary NTSB report issued late last week. That accident killed the helicopter’s two occupants—contract test pilot Rucie Moore and Van Horn engineering manager Stephen Estes.

According to the NTSB, a witness one-third of a mile from the crash site heard a loud bang and then saw the helicopter and “several other objects” descending toward the ground. “Initial examination of the main wreckage revealed post-crash fire and impact damage consistent with a right-side-down, nose-level attitude during ground impact. The main rotor hub assembly, vertical tail, tail rotor assembly, tail rotor driveshaft, and forward induction cowl fairing separated from the main wreckage and was found in the debris field. The debris field was about one mile long and 1,000 feet wide. 

The helicopter was on the second of two planned test flights consisting of multiple autorotations at maximum gross weight with simulated loss of engine power. The accident occurred during the last scheduled test flight before the certification process, the NTSB said.

EASA Proposes SMS for Parts and Maintenance

An EASA notice of proposed amendment (NPA) would require safety management systems (SMS) be applied to Part 145 maintenance organizations and Part 21 aircraft parts manufacturers. Currently, SMS programs are required only for commercial flight operations under EASA rules. Comments on the NPA are due by July 17.

EASA said application of SMS principles would enhance safety for maintenance facilities and parts providers by establishing safety policies and objectives that are associated with sufficient resources; incorporating systematic identification of hazards and a risk-management system; and giving consideration to safety performance and safety promotion. The proposed amendments also aim to “streamline the procedures for oversight, and introduce a set of new, common management system requirements for competent authorities to increase their efficiency.”

The NPA is divided into three parts. Part A contains the procedural information pertaining to the regulatory proposal overall; explanatory notes to the proposed amendments; the regulatory impact assessment; and a detailed summary of the proposed amendments. Part B proposes the draft implementing rules (IR), as well as the draft acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM) for Part 21. And Part C proposes the draft IRs, AMC, and GM for Part 145.

Drone Delivers Kidney for Successful Human Transplant

GE Aviation unit Airxos recently participated in the world's first drone flight that delivered a donor kidney for actual human transplant. The flight was a collaboration between transplant physicians and researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, aviation and engineering experts at the University of Maryland, and collaborators at the Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland.

On April 19 at approximately 12:30 a.m., a human donor kidney was loaded onto the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) drone. The flight, led by the University of Maryland UAS Test Site at St. Mary's County, commenced at 1 a.m. The vehicle traveled 2.6 miles and flew for approximately 10 minutes. The kidney was successfully delivered to UMMC for a 5 a.m. transplant surgery.

The drone’s flight was monitored by Airxos's Air Mobility platform that enables unmanned traffic management applications, operations, and services. Organ transport by drone had been previously tested with success between medical facilities by the University of Maryland UAS Test Site in St. Mary's County, but this was the first time the flight operation was used to deliver an organ for transplant.

VNY Taxiway Rehab Hits First Milestone

California business aviation hub Van Nuys Airport has completed the first phase of a $26.3 million, nine-step rehabilitation project on Taxiway B. The work at the Los Angeles-area gateway included a full-depth restoration of the north end of the taxiway, along with enhanced markings, installation of embedded and elevated LED guard lights, a new blast fence east of Runway 16L, and upgraded signage.

Runway 16R/34L, which has been shortened from 8,000 feet to 5,600 feet during the construction, will return to full length in early June, after which Runway 16L/34R will be closed and used as a taxiway, allowing work to progress on other sections of Taxiway B. That runway is expected to reopen by mid-December.

The project, which began in January, is expected to take 14 months to complete and will extend the taxiway’s usable lifespan by a minimum of two decades, as well as increase its safety.

“With this multi-million dollar investment in Van Nuys Airport, we are ensuring the safety and longevity of one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world,” said Los Angeles World Airports CEO Deborah Flint. “The work on this taxiway has been on-budget, despite challenging weather conditions earlier this year, and we’re excited to move to the next phases of construction.”

Era CEO: Offshore Helicopter Industry ‘Not Sustainable’

The CEO of helicopter services company Era Group said the helicopter offshore oil-and-gas business is “not sustainable” and “in dire need of consolidation.” Chris Bradshaw made the remarks in written comments contained in the company’s annual report issued on Wednesday.

“Consolidation will not only address the excess capacity in the industry, but will also facilitate better absorption of the significant fixed costs required to run an air carrier,” Bradshaw said, adding that the bankruptcies of Era’s competitors and helicopter leasing companies are likely to become a revolving door. “A simple, standalone equitization of these distressed balance sheets is unlikely to address the fundamental issues at play and may only lead to subsequent rounds of restructuring. In our view, the offshore helicopter industry is in dire need of consolidation, among both the operators and the lessors.”

Bradshaw said consolidation of any two of the three deepwater operators in the Gulf of Mexico would create cost savings sufficient to “create significant value” for the surviving companies’ stakeholders. 

While competitors Bristow and PHI both lost money on their offshore operations in 2018, Era managed to post a modest net income of $13.9 million for the year on $222 million in revenues while operating 108 helicopters. However, that result included a $42 million settlement from Airbus Helicopters related to the grounding of H225 helicopters in Era’s fleet.