‘One More Orbit’ Screens in Doha

Qatar Executive, the business jet charter arm of Qatar Airways, held a private film screening in Doha, Qatar, this week to celebrate a record-breaking flight around the world via the North and South Poles. “One More Orbit" depicts the story of the fastest ever bipolar jet circumnavigation, taking just 46 hours and 39 minutes from July 9 to 11. The team successfully flew a Qatar Executive Gulfstream G650ER from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, making three 45-minute refueling stops in Kazakhstan, Mauritius, and Chile, exactly 50 years after man first walked on the moon.

Filmmakers expect to obtain a distribution deal on the festival circuit early next year, with plans to show it at U.S. events South by Southwest, Slamdance, Sundance, and Tribeca. Former NASA astronaut and expedition leader Col. Terry Virts; pilot Hamish Harding, originator of the idea; and Jim Evans of Untitled Inc., the film company that oversaw production, were all in Doha to hear Ettore Rodaro, executive v-p of Qatar Executive, say the flight had been an “amazing experience” for all involved.

“We have made history, by [achieving a] world circumnavigation speed record for [an] aircraft flying over the North and South Poles, in celebration of the Apollo 11 moon landing,” Rodaro said.

AINsight: Diabetes and Flying

U.S. pilots with diabetes requiring medication to control their disease represent one of the 15 “specifically disqualifying” medical conditions for pilots as listed in FAR Part 67. This means they are grounded until if and when a special issuance authorization is granted by the FAA.

Beginning in 1996, pilots could obtain a third-class FAA medical certificate if they are taking insulin and their diabetes is “well controlled.” But a pilot who requires insulin for treatment has been excluded for classes of FAA medical certificates higher than third-class—until just last month. Out of respect for caution, the FAA spent many years working on this program for pilots requiring first- and second-class medicals, and now it’s finally here!

However, the requirements are probably the most extensive of any special issuance program. There will be ongoing evaluations of numerous organ systems. In addition to using the latest technology to monitor and treat a pilot's diabetes, evaluations will be ongoing for eyes, heart, kidneys, and the neurological system. The data presentation to the FAA is also extensive and thorough.

As exhaustive as this program is, it has finally opened the world of commercial flying to insulin-dependent pilots who require a first- or second-class FAA medical certificate. I am hopeful that the program will be as successful as the earlier program for third-class pilots.

Bell Delivers First of 12 Jet Ranger X Helos to Horizon

Bell delivered the first of a dozen Model 505 light single helicopters to the Horizon International Flight Academy of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), per an agreement signed last month at the Dubai Air Show. Horizon is the region’s largest independent helicopter flight training academy.

The handover took place on Thursday at Bell’s Mirabel, Quebec facility in a ceremony attended by Hareb Al Dhaheri, CEO Horizon Flight Academy International; Ambassador Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani, UAE Embassy in Canada; Fahad Harhara Al Yafei, Cluster CEO; and Steeve Lavoie, president of Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd.

“We are glad to add Bell 505 helicopters to our all-Bell fleet that is comprised of Bell 206s, Bell 407s, and Bell 429s,” said Horizon’s Al Dhaheri. “This new addition will be an essential part of our training operations and will enable us to further expand our training offering.” 

“Bell is proud to support and celebrate today’s delivery with Horizon,” said Sameer Rehman, Bell managing director for Africa and the Middle East. “The Bell 505 will be a great addition to the Horizon fleet and is an ideal aircraft in training helicopter pilots.” The helicopters will be configured for flight training with an integrated glass cockpit.  

More than 200 Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters are now in service, and the fleet has topped 20,000 flight hours.

WWII Commemoration Committee Kicks Off Fundraiser

The 75th World War II Commemoration Committee, which comprises a cross-section of industry leaders, current and former government leaders, and military and other notables, is stepping up a public fundraising drive in preparation for the festivities upcoming in 2020. Bookending the commemoration are two key tributes: the Arsenal of Democracy Flyover to be held on May 8 in remembrance of the end of war in Europe (Victory in Europe or VE day), and events on September 2 in Washington, D.C., and Oahu, Hawaii in remembrance of the end of war in the Pacific.

The flyover, accompanied by five days of educational and commemorative activities, will comprise more than 100 vintage warbirds flying over the National Mall. Another five-day program is scheduled during the events celebrating the end of the war in the Pacific, culminating in a ceremony at the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor.

“It is our goal to honor the heroism and sacrifice of our WWII veterans, those serving on the home fronts and those who suffered the horrors of the Holocaust while we still have a precious few left living among us,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce, representing the Arsenal of Democracy Executive Committee and the 75th WWII Commemoration Committee.

Thales, StandardAero Team on Light Helo Autopilot

StandardAero and Thales signed an agreement this week to jointly develop and certify an advanced autopilot system for several light helicopters, starting with the Airbus AS350.

Thales brings to the table its lightweight, four-axis Compact Autopilot with built-in aircraft stabilization capability, eliminating the need for a dedicated flight-control computer. Additionally, the autopilot can fully control the helicopter from initial hover to coupled approach and position-hold.

Meanwhile, StandardAero’s expertise in aircraft modifications will help in obtaining STC approvals for the autopilot in the AS350 and other light helicopters, as well as provide after-sales support. StandardAero said the fielded solution will “far exceed basic certification requirements and will satisfy operators’ exacting expectations for system operation, airframe integration, simplified maintenance, and product support.”

“As part of our ongoing Safecraft program, offering this modern compact autopilot allows us to press forward in our aggressive pursuit of certifying transformational safety technologies that address…pilot fatigue and entry into inadvertent IMC conditions that can often result in LOC-I and CFIT situations,” said StandardAero v-p of business development for airframes and avionics solutions Elvis Moni. “Until now, we haven’t had the right technology available for this segment to adequately address the threat head-on.”

FAA: Windshield Could Fail On Certain Gulfstream Jets

The FAA has issued a special airworthiness information bulletin about windshield failures that have occurred on Gulfstream III, IV/IV-SP/G450, V/G550, and G650/650ER twinjets over the past six years. According to the bulletin, the FAA said it and Gulfstream are aware of at least 20 windshield failures since 2013 that resulted in arcing, cracking, smoke, and/or small fires. 

A new windshield with an improved heater terminal block has been designed and is now manufactured by Gulfstream, which in most cases can be used as a replacement because the same windshields are common to multiple models of Gulfstreams, according to the bulletin.

Pilots are advised to assume a structural windshield ply is affected in the event of a windshield cracking event. Further, it recommends that in such an event, pilots follow the appropriate airplane flight manual emergency procedure or abnormal procedure, which includes pulling the associated windshield heat circuit breaker.

Maintenance crews also are advised when replacing the windshield of affected aircraft under normal conditions to replace it with the improved windshield, which has upgraded/redesigned terminal block part numbers.

AIN Mourns Passing of Contributor, Podcast Host Combs

Veteran broadcast journalist and long-time AIN contributor Pete Combs flew west yesterday following a brief illness. Combs, 60, worked more than four decades as a radio, television, and print reporter, most recently for ABC News Radio and AM 750-WSB in Atlanta. While reporting across all aspects of life was truly his passion, Combs also held particularly strong ties to the general aviation community as a private pilot and past owner of a Grumman Tiger.

Over the past decade, Combs was a regular freelance contributor to AIN and since 2017 had hosted AIN's monthly “Tales from the Flight Deck” podcast examining safety-related matters from the firsthand perspectives of professional pilots and flight crews.

“Working with Pete was a breath of fresh air,” recalled AIN executive editor Mark Phelps. “He was the poster-child professional, but his sense of humor and modest demeanor brought a sense of calm to what can be a chaotic workday. The aviation world has lost an amazing aviator and journalist, and we will miss him deeply."

Combs also contributed print and audio-visual material for NBAA, which earlier this month honored him with its Silk Scarf Award. In bestowing that award, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen called Combs “a consummate media professional, one who consistently reports on matters within the business aviation community accurately and responsibly."

FAA Projected MCAS Could Cause 15 More Max Crashes

House of Representatives Transportation Committee chairman Peter DeFazio on Wednesday called for a commitment by FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson to investigate why the agency did not ground the Boeing 737 Max when its own analysis performed after the October 2018 crash of Lion Air Flight 610 projected as many as 15 more fatal accidents over the model’s service life if its flight control problem went uncorrected.

DeFazio further noted that the FAA also reached the conclusion that 99 out of 100 flight crews could comply with the Airworthiness Directive and successfully react within 10 seconds to the “cacophony” of alarms and alerts recounted in the NTSB report of the Lion Air crash. (Following the Lion Air crash, the FAA issued an emergency AD giving pilots of Boeing 737 Max 8s and Max 9s procedures to follow in the event of runaway horizontal trim caused by faulty angle-of-attack inputs to the airplane’s flight control system.)

“Such an assumption we know now was tragically wrong,” DeFazio said. “Despite its own calculations, the FAA rolled the dice on the safety of the traveling public and let the Max continue to fly until Boeing could overhaul its MCAS software. Tragically, the FAA’s analysis, which never saw the light of day beyond the closed doors of the FAA and Boeing, was correct.”