Aerion Breaks Ground on Florida HQ and Production Park
Aerion Supersonic today said it has started development of its $300 million, two-million-sq-ft headquarters complex at Florida’s Orlando Melbourne International Airport (MLB). Dubbed Aerion Park, the 110-acre campus will house facilities for research, design, production, and interior completions of the company’s AS2 supersonic business jet and future hypersonic aircraft. Production of the Mach 1.4 AS2 is slated to begin in 2023, followed by first flight in 2025 and service entry in 2027.
Flanking the main site will be a new Aerion customer experience center with a completions center and a full-size AS2 cabin mockup where customers can customize interior configuration, materials, colors, and finishes. The company said its aircraft assembly facility at MLB will span the equivalent of 14 football fields, while a systems integration laboratory will house the AS2 “iron bird.” Also included on the site will be the engineering flight-test center.
In line with the company’s plans for the AS2 to fly carbon-neutral on 100 percent sustainable alternative fuel, Aerion Park is planned to be powered by clean energy, using solar power for manufacturing. Locally-sourced recycled materials will be used in the construction of Aerion Park wherever possible, it said.
Aerion plans to deliver 300 aircraft over 10 years of production, supported by an order backlog that now exceeds $6.5 billion, above the company’s goal of $5 billion by year-end.
Airbus May Be Considering Hydrogen-powered Helicopter
Airbus is laying plans to develop hydrogen-powered helicopters. During a presentation yesterday to the Wichita Aero Club on the European aircraft maker’s zero-emissions commercial airliner program, Airbus Americas v-p of research and technology Amanda Simpson said its ZeroE project could be adapted to its rotorcraft. The group's Airbus Helicopters division now claims more than a 50 percent share of the civilian rotorcraft market.
“There are certainly thoughts about that,” Simpson said. “Our focus right now is on the airliner. I cannot go into some of the specifics that are planned for the helicopter side of the company because we haven’t made those public yet, but there’s some interesting ideas out there and some are actually in demonstration today. So maybe some exciting news soon...it’s not my place to burst the bubble on those.”
In a 45-minute-long presentation, Simpson reviewed Airbus’s proposed fixed-wing platforms for ZeroE—a conventional, narrowbody turbofan jet with 2,000-nm range and seating for up to 200 passengers; a 100-seat twin turboprop with 1,000-nm range; and a blended wing turbofan with a similar range and capacity as the conventional design. She also identified challenges of hydrogen power in aviation, including cost, availability, infrastructure, and regulatory acceptance of the technology.
The program to create a distributed-propulsion hybrid-electric airplane based on a Daher TBM airframe has reached a key milestone: completion of the preliminary design review. This paves the way for final assembly and integration of the EcoPulse demonstrator to commence at Daher’s factory in Tarbes, France, with first flight to follow in 2022. The EcoPulse team is comprised of Airbus, Daher, Safran, and France’s CORAC civil aviation research council.
Airbus will be responsible for aerodynamic optimization of the propulsion and the battery system while Safran is developing the distributed hybrid-propulsion system.
While the airframe will retain its Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop engine up front, it will act as both a thrust-delivering powerplant and turbogenerator to charge batteries and power electric thrusters mounted on the leading edge of the wing, three on each side.
Its six electric thrusters consist of 50 Kw Safran EngineUS electric motors driving DUC Hélices propellers, and the motors include integrated electronics and air cooling. Safran also plans to seek EASA certification of its EngineUS motor.
Airbus will conduct wind tunnel and endurance testing of the electric thruster to prepare to qualify the unit for the first flight, and this should take place in the first quarter of 2021. Wind tunnel runs will include tests of the electric engine and evaluation of the performance of the propeller and engine cooling.
FAA Extends Training Relief, but Suggests End in Sight
While the FAA contemplates scaling back on its pandemic-related exemptions, the agency did recently provide relief from certain crew training mandates until March 31, 2021. The latest exemptions continue to permit Part 121 and Part 135 operators to use alternative methods for emergency and abnormal procedures required during training that involve the use of breathing equipment or an oxygen mask.
In noting it had received the extension, NATA said it is still awaiting word on a similar request surrounding training deadlines. NBAA cautioned that this is expected to be the last extension for this training exemption. “The FAA made it clear that operators should not expect any further extensions to these exemptions,” said NBAA director of flight operations and regulations Brian Koester.
“While the current circumstances warrant an extension of the relief provided by Exemption No. 18509B, the FAA notes that, by the expiration date of this extension, 12 calendar months will have passed since the FAA first granted relief,” the agency said. “The FAA expects that this timeframe is sufficient for certificate holders to have implemented appropriate plans, processes, and procedures to effectively clean and disinfect emergency equipment so that crewmembers may complete training using the normal procedures.”
Meanwhile, the associations are turning to preparations for normalizing operations once Covid-19 vaccines become available, including seeking clear guidance on their use.
CCX Technologies has expanded its onboard cybersecurity product line to business aviation, bringing to the sector what the company calls a first-of-its-kind suite of offerings.
“We believe our new solution is the first to address inflight cybersecurity from directly onboard the aircraft,” said CCX Technologies president Chris Bartlett. “Until now, aircraft cybersecurity, if implemented at all, has been from the ground, making it difficult to know what’s really happening inflight. Protecting the network is not a 'once-and-done' activity, which is why we built this product line to perpetually monitor and defend the aircraft’s onboard network.”
Bartlett noted that the three offerings—Secure, Route, and Connect—use the company’s AP-250 unit, configured as aviation’s first cybersecurity-focused router, as an inline appliance. The offerings consist of cybersecurity and connectivity services, hardware, and technical support for both the cabin and flight deck.
Reliance on connectivity, mobile devices, and the constant stream of new vulnerabilities increases the number of “threat vectors” that ultimately lead to the compromise of onboard networks. The ability to monitor both the cabin network and flight deck avionics including databuses such as Arinc-429 gives operators new visibility into the onboard network security.
Proactively monitoring, detecting, and acting on cyber threats, the offerings continually protect the business jet’s onboard network and passenger data as new vulnerabilities emerge, said CCX.
Jet Aviation has redelivered its first ACJ319neo, featuring “the quietest VVIP cabin that the center has completed to date,” yet still weighing less than comparable bespoke interiors, the completions provider announced at NBAA-VBACE.
“Our departments have been working together to rethink industry norms, and apply new methodologies to create the next generation of VVIP cabins that are not only beautifully designed and crafted, but are lighter and quieter,” said Jet Aviation VIP completions v-p Jeremie Caillet.
The Swiss company’s Basel Completions Center performed the ACJ319neo’s outfitting, with the interior designed by its in-house studio team in collaboration with the undisclosed customer’s designer. The customer’s design brief called on Jet Aviation “to maximize light in the cabin,” achieved through strategic placement of decorative mirrored panels, each etched with an intricate pattern reflected in the carpet and moldings throughout the interior, that add “subtle layers of detail to the calm and refined aesthetic,” Caillet said.
A custom embroidered art panel depicting an Oriental scene hangs above the bed in the master bedroom, with complementary artworks hanging throughout the cabin. Furnishings in cream and light beige are complemented with gold, mother of pearl, and calacatta and onyx marble detail.
PrivateFly Rolls Out Winter Routes for ‘City Pairs’
PrivateFly has developed a new set of fixed-rate charter routes for its City Pairs program. Part of the Directional Aviation portfolio, PrivateFly launched City Pairs in 2019, offering fixed and guaranteed pricing on route pairings with specific aircraft.
This year’s routes reflect the increasing demand for charter flights as clients look to escape lockdowns, particularly during the holidays in Europe or for the winter sun in the Middle East, PrivateFly said. The new pairings include from London to winter travel destinations such as Dubai and the Canary Islands, among others.
“Following the month-long UK lockdown, we are now seeing a rise in flight demand as we approach the end of the year, with clients heading to a variety of destinations in Europe, and a strong interest in flights to Dubai,” said PrivateFly CEO Adam Twidell.
Through January 31, PrivateFly is offering a one-way flight between London and Dubai for £42,100 ($56,600) on a select fleet of super-midsize aircraft, including the Embraer Legacy 650 and Praetor 600. Meanwhile, shorter flights from London to Geneva and Chambery (in either direction) are priced at £14,000, while flights to Tenerife or Las Palmas cost £29,000. PrivateFly is using the 13-seat Legacy 600s for those routes. These pairs are available through the end of this year.
The U.S. House yesterday passed 343-67 a measure to extend government-wide funding—including for the Department of Transportation and the FAA—by one week until December 18 as talks continue on full-year Fiscal 2021 bills, as well as a coronavirus relief package. The government is currently funded through December 11 under a stopgap measure adopted in September. Facing that deadline, the Senate is expected to consider the one-week extension before the end of the week, averting a shutdown.
This extra week is designed to provide time for lawmakers to finish hashing out key spending programs, but also provide time to possibly strike a compromise on coronavirus relief in tandem. While details of a final coronavirus relief package are still unclear, a bipartisan $908 billion compromise bill under discussion includes an extension of the Payroll Support Program for air carriers and related support companies through March 31, 2021, as well as funding for airports. It would also extend the Paycheck Protection Program.
However, NATA noted that few details are available, including funding levels for these programs. Noting the limited time left on the legislative calendar, NATA warned members that “prospects have grown slimmer” for agreement on a comprehensive package.
In other action on Capitol Hill, the House today approved H.R.5040, the Air Safety Act, which calls for a study on interference of drones on wildfire suppression.
Luxaviation Adds Cirrus Vision Jet to Fleet
Luxaviation will be adding a Cirrus Vision Jet to its managed UK aircraft fleet tomorrow. The single-engine jet will also be the first Luxaviation UK aircraft on the Guernsey Registry, the company added. “Managed aircraft may have been inactive for unusually long periods this year but Luxaviation UK has remained constantly vigilant and busy, working hard for our clients,” said Luxaviation UK managing director George Galanopoulos. “Aircraft must be ready to fly at any time.”
The charter and aircraft management company’s services include flight planning, crew provision, and comprehensive safety compliance, including meeting its Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization responsibilities, Galanopoulos added.
He said business jet demand has fluctuated in 2020 because of Covid-19 but the company has kept an open and constructive dialogue with key aviation authorities, including EASA. “With international travel restrictions and regulations changing every day, we’re committed to keeping ourselves and our clients informed,” Galanopoulos said.
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