Quest Aircraft continues to expand the reach of its Kodiak 100 turboprop single with the first delivery to a Scandinavian customer. A 10-seat Kodiak completed a 4,400-mile ferry trip to Fredrikstad in Southern Norway for new owner Anders Eckhoff, who will use it for travel in Europe.
The delivery follows last month’s announced agreement for Quest to provide Dimor Aerospace, the German-owned company that owns Waco Aircraft, with three Kodiaks that will be equipped for humanitarian aid operations along the Amazon in Brazil. Two of those turboprop singles will be fitted with Aerocet 6650 composite floats. Discussions with Dimor are ongoing for future aircraft, Quest said.
The Sandpoint, Idaho aircraft manufacturer first brought the utility aircraft to market in December 2007 to offer a rugged, turbine STOL option. Since then, Quest has obtained validations in more than 55 countries, and more than 270 aircraft are in operation for a range of public, private, business, and humanitarian applications.
While it expands its markets for the Kodiak, the company is poised to become part of Daher’s family. Daher in June announced plans to acquire Quest in a move that will give the French conglomerate a U.S. aircraft-manufacturing base. That deal is slated for completion by year-end.
AINsight: Putting Part 135 Safety Under the Microscope
After reading several recent NTSB accident reports involving chartered flights, a few glaring issues emerged. One, the FAA doesn’t hold on-demand operators to the same safety standards or level of oversight as the scheduled airlines. The other is that those companies operating “on the cheap” have no business offering services to the traveling public.
Improving the safety of charter (Part 135) aircraft flight operations has even made the 2019 NTSB “Most Wanted” list for safety improvements. NTSB analysis suggests that 53 potential lives could have been saved between 2000 and 2015 had charter operators employed a safety management system (SMS) and flight data monitoring (FDM).
The problem is that most charter operators do not have, and are not required to have, an SMS, FDM, or other programs such as controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) avoidance and cockpit resource/pilot-in-command leadership training programs. Airlines are required by FAA regulation to employ these programs except for FDM (but they voluntarily have it).
Short of creating a “Charter Passenger Bill of Rights,” the charter industry needs to take an introspective look at creating a standard audit process for Part 135 charter ops. This single recognized standard may eliminate confusion to the consumer and provide a higher level of safety assurance.
The ongoing saga of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding for Albuquerque, New Mexico-based One Aviation continues, but it appears that debtor-in-possession Citiking International has made the path forward a bit smoother.
The sell-off plan immediately came under fire from creditors, as it would effectively wipe out any settlements those entities would receive under an organized Chapter 11 resolution. Objections were filed and a hearing date was originally set for July 11, later rescheduled for July 29.
However, that hearing was then canceled outright on July 26, with the notice to the court indicating that Citiking had leveraged the Section 363 sale proposal to bring its creditors onboard with its original plan to exit Chapter 11.
Now an omnibus hearing on Citiking’s restructuring plan is set for September 11. In addition to the trustee’s motion, concerns also remain over approval by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) on the plan for One Aviation to be acquired by Chinese-backed Citiking.
NBAA Directors Appointed To New DOT Safety Committee
The Department of Transportation (DOT)’s newly created Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Committee (SOCAC) will include representation from the business aviation industry. Honeywell director William Ayer and West Houston Airport president Shelley Lesikar DeZevallos, both of whom are also NBAA directors, were appointed to the committee.
Ayer is a member of the FAA’s Management Advisory Council and the immediate past chair of its NextGen Advisory Committee. He also serves on the boards of University of Washington, the Museum of Flight, and the AOPA Foundation. He began his aviation career in 1981 as a salesman for Piper.
DeZevallos also serves on the AOPA Foundation board, is a founding member and president of Texans for General Aviation, and teaches as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma State University. She has been a member of the Transportation Research Board and the Government Interrelations Committee for the National Academy of Sciences.
“Both are exceptionally qualified, given their long, distinguished carriers in the aviation industry,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “The expertise they will bring to this important committee will help provide government and industry with informed decision-making on the highest aviation safety priorities.”
SOCAC was created as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 to provide the DOT with guidance on aviation industry safety issues.
EHang OK’d for Autonomous Ops with UAS ‘Fence’
China-based eVTOL aircraft developer EHang this week received an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) safety certificate from the China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology (CAST). The Level II certificate vouches for the safe performance of its EHang 216 autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) and its Falcon drone in a UAS “fence” the company has developed to prevent autonomous aircraft from operating in restricted areas.
According to EHang, the CAST safety certificate is internationally recognized by organizations affiliated with the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS). The privately-owned company says that it is the first in the world to receive the Level II certificate and that its expertise in developing UAS fences gives it an advantage in the market to develop urban air mobility solutions.
The UAS fence has been evaluated in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, where EHang and local authorities are working to develop infrastructure to support autonomous eVTOL operations. EHang, which has a background in information technology and manufacturing drones for commercial and consumer use, has developed a command-and-control center to manage the operation of aircraft.
New OEM in Germany To Build Upgrade of the Dornier 328
Years-long efforts to re-launch production of the Dornier 328 turboprop appear to be bearing fruit with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday between 328 Support Services, the German federal government, and the State of Saxony to establish a final assembly line for the D328NEU at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
The project calls for the establishment of a new German OEM, namely DRA GmbH, as a subsidiary of U.S. commercial aerospace, defense, and space firm Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). Owned and managed by Turkish-American businesswoman Eren Ozmen and her husband Faith Ozmen, SNC has held the type certificate for Dornier 328 turboprop and its jet-powered counterpart since 2015 through its wholly-owned subsidiary 328 SSG.
“Germany’s return to the design and building of a Part 25-category commercial aircraft is long overdue, and this new operation intends to create an aviation legacy founded on the heritage of an aircraft pioneer,” said Dave Jackson, managing director of 328 SSG and DRA.
SNC, which initially tried to revive Dornier production in Ankara in cooperation with Turkey’s transportation ministry, has committed to investing €80 million ($88.75 million) in DRA. The state of Saxony pledged some €6.5 million ($7.2 million) in start-up funds. DRA reportedly will not manufacture an upgraded version of the Dornier 328JET.
Quantum Orders Bye eFlyers for LA-based Air-taxi Ops
Los Angeles-based charter start-up Quantum Air has agreed to purchase 22 of Bye Aerospace’s electrically powered, fixed-wing, four-seat eFlyer 4 aircraft and four two-seat eFlyer 2s. In an agreement announced earlier this week, Quantum Air also committed to buy two examples of another new electric aircraft that Bye Aerospace now has in development.
The two companies have not yet announced a delivery date for the eFlyers, for which Bye Aerospace is now completing the critical design review. It expects to achieve FAA FAR 23 type certification for the eFlyer 2 in 2021, with the eFlyer 4 expected to follow about a year later.
In 2018, Quantum Air reached a provisional agreement with Workhorse to buy an unspecified number of its SureFly multicopter eVTOL aircraft. The status of this deal (valued at $2 million at the time) is unknown, but Workhorse is understood to be trying to sell the program.
Denver-based Bye Aerospace’s founder and CEO George Bye has joined Quantum’s board of advisors. “One of Quantum Air’s goals is to disrupt aviation, providing more accessible, cost-efficient high-speed air transportation solutions—including FAA Part 135 on-demand air taxi travel—to help alleviate the noise and CO2 emissions challenges that accompany traditional internal combustion aircraft,” he commented.
Continuing its effort to foster high school student interest in STEM careers, GAMA kicked off registration for the 2020 Aviation Design Challenge this week. The competition involves use of an aviation-focused curriculum, including aircraft design work and a virtual fly-off.
First held in 2013, the challenge has attracted participation of more than 3,000 students in at least 400 high schools across 47 states and Washington, D.C. The design challenge has served as a catalyst for a number of past participants to pursue aviation careers, GAMA said.
“This will be our eighth consecutive year hosting this competition,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce. “As our industry’s workforce and talent needs continue to grow, this program remains a valuable tool in creating a pipeline for the future success of aviation and for paying it forward to the next generation to provide them with STEM skills and career opportunities.”
The first 150 schools to register will receive a complimentary “Fly to Learn” curriculum, along with X-Plane flight simulator software. Under the challenge, teachers guide students through the principles of flight and airplane design over a four- to six-week curriculum. High school teams will then modify an airplane design and compete in a virtual fly-off. GAMA judges score the fly-off based on application of what was learned and performance parameters. Winners receive a trip to a GA manufacturer.
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
AIN Alerts is a publication of AIN Publications, 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
For advertising in AIN Alerts please contact Nancy O'Brien at nobrien@ainonline.com.
