Bombardier Delivers First Factory SAF-fueled Jet

Bombardier Business Aircraft, which last month accepted the first load of sustainable aviation fuel at its Montreal headquarters, has delivered its first new aircraft, factory-fueled with the renewable fuel, as part of the OEM's continuing efforts to encourage operators on its adoption. The super-midsize Challenger 350 was handed over to San Diego, California-based aircraft management, charter, and sales provider Latitude 33 and it will become the sixth Challenger-series twinjet in the company’s fleet.

“We are very pleased that the customer and Latitude 33 Aviation joined us in demonstrating that SAF can become a mainstream, drop-in alternative to traditional jet fuel for general aviation aircraft,” said Peter Likoray, the airframer’s senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. “We are actively promoting the use of SAF as a regular part of flying business aircraft, and Latitude 33 Aviation’s trust as the first customer to fly away from our delivery center on these fuels represents a turning point in the longstanding and industry-wide pledge to reduce CO2 emissions.”

Bill Would Permit Airports To Set Noise Restrictions

A Colorado congressman has drafted a bill that would permit general aviation airports to impose a range of operational restrictions—such as type of aircraft that can use their facilities—in response to local noise concerns. Offered by Rep. Joe Neguse (D), the Aircraft Noise Reduction Act is the latest introduced in recent months designed to facilitate local control over operational restrictions, with others focused on helicopters and air tour operations.

The Neguse bill would provide the authority for small airports to set curfews and limit the number and types of aircraft that can operate at their facilities. It also would prohibit the FAA from withholding federal funds from airports that choose to regulate aircraft noise.

Neguse pointed to a lengthy and difficult approval process that airports must undergo to impose such restrictions and noted few airports are able to successfully impose them. “Ensuring our local airports can effectively regulate aircraft noise pollution based on what works for them and their community is essential to promote the health and well-being of our communities,” Neguse said. 

Congress approved the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 that required airports to undertake a comprehensive Part 161 study to justify the need for additional operational restrictions beyond nationally established standards. That bill was passed to ensure a cohesive national approach to aviation noise regulation.

Congress Could Trigger Wave of Air Med Base Closures

Key provisions of separate health care bills in the House and Senate designed to protect patients from “surprise” medical bills could financially cripple the air ambulance industry and lead to the closure of up to 80 percent of the air ambulance bases in the U.S., according to the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS). 

While specifics of the three bills—two in the House and one in the Senate—differ, in general they are designed to protect patients from “balanced billing,” the practice of holding patients liable for charges either denied by insurers or the difference between what medical providers charge and medical insurers pay. While none of the bills is likely to pass outright this year, AAMS fears that key provisions could be grafted onto last-minute, late-night amendments to the federal budget bill likely to pass both houses of Congress later this week.

AAMS warned that the bills were crafted without supporting data and would likely trigger widespread closures of air medical bases that would disproportionately harm Americans in rural areas. AAMS notes that more than 57 air medical bases in the U.S. already have closed this year, a figure Christopher Eastlee, AAMS vice president for government relations told AIN was “absolutely unprecedented,” creating 51 communities “without any air medical services at all” compared to a year ago.

Three New Firehawk Helicopters Delivered To California

Air Methods’ United Rotorcraft unit and Sikorsky delivered three new S-70i Firehawk helicopters to separate California fire agencies—the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), and the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, the companies announced last week. The helicopters are manufactured by Sikorsky and outfitted by United Rotorcraft.

Jason Lambert, vice president of Sikorsky global military and mission systems, said the new Firehawks give firefighters “a powerful and proven helicopter that can attack fires at night, in strong Santa Ana winds, maneuver with agility and safety in canyons and terrain from sea level up to 10,000 ft altitude, while dropping water with tremendous precision and force.” 

The aircraft can transport up to 12 firefighters, perform rescue operations, and fly fire suppression. They are equipped with a 600-pound external rescue hoist, a 9,000-pound cargo hook with load cell system, forward recognition lights, and a high-intensity searchlight. Avionics installations include tactical communications and navigation systems.

Its fire-suppression system consists of a newly-designed 1,000-gallon water tank attached to the belly; extended landing gear to accommodate the tank; and retractable snorkel than can refill the tank in less than one minute. United Rotorcraft contracted with Kawak Aviation Technologies of Bend, Oregon, to design and manufacture the water tank to new specifications based on input from LACoFD.

NBAA Advises Using Both Existing, New Privacy Programs

As the FAA moves to offer new privacy protections as part of the transition to ADS-B, NBAA is advising members seeking those protections to continue participating in the existing program, the Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD), as well as add the upcoming Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) program. This will provide maximum security for members seeking to shield their travels on a real-time basis.

LADD, essentially the third iteration of the program formerly known as the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR), ensures flight-tracking vendors do not display real-time aircraft location information of operators who have asked for such privacy. While effective when location information is derived through radar, NBAA senior manager of flight operations and regulations Brian Koester said LADD does not prevent mode-S transponders from continuously emitting a 24 bit ICAO address that can be directly linked to identifying information. 

After hearing NBAA’s concern, the FAA developed the PIA program to address the “hole in LADD,” Koester said. Under the program, which is to be available this month, the FAA will issue operators a PIA in addition to their normal 24 bit ICAO code, he said. “Receivers that pick up the PIA will not be able to determine aircraft ownership information.” NBAA is planning a podcast on the issue and anticipates its release sometime next month.

Study: 430,000 Urban Air Taxis By 2040

There will be more than 430,000 urban air taxis in operation by 2040, according to a new Frost & Sullivan study. The international consulting firm predicts that operations will begin as early as 2022, initially in the UAE, New Zealand, and Singapore, followed by Brazil and Mexico. "Globally, almost 50 cities are considering the feasibility of UAM, and most of the applications are focused on cargo drones, which will eventually open up the market for passenger UAM vehicles,” said Frost & Sullivan senior mobility analyst Joe Praveen Vijayakumar. 

"Safety, noise levels from propulsion, infrastructure for landing and takeoff in urban areas, and favorable regulations will be key focus areas for the commercialization of air taxis,” noted Vijayakumar. "Original equipment manufacturers will be looking to especially invest in hybrid fuel systems, lightweight high-strength composite materials, and alternative energy sources such as solar and lightweight high-capacity batteries to achieve fuel efficiency and longer range."

The study notes the potential for companies to profit by incorporating multiple fail-safe mechanisms in their vehicles to instill confidence in potential passengers; collaborating with companies developing innovative next-generation rotors and propellers that can muzzle sound; establishing the support infrastructure, including landing and takeoff stations, passenger waiting lounges, and landing pads in residential buildings; and developing internal cybersecurity capabilities or acquiring cybersecurity startups to safeguard their vehicles.

Garmin Certifies G1000 NXi for Embraer Phenom 100s

Garmin’s upgrade to the G1000 NXi configuration for Prodigy-equipped Embraer Phenom 100s received FAA approval last week, and the upgrade is now available for installation by select Garmin dealers and Embraer service centers. Garmin will offer the NXi upgrade for the Phenom 300 equipped with the Prodigy flight deck in the second half of 2020.

The NXi upgrade’s main hardware change is replacement of the displays with new ones containing faster processors, which make panning much smoother and render maps much faster. The LED-backlit displays—which are brighter and clearer, use less power, and offer improved dimming performance—have the same footprint and use the same connectors, so downtime for the installation is minimized.

Phenom 100 owners can take advantage of wireless connectivity features that come with the NXi upgrade. Meanwhile, the HSI map is new for G1000 NXi and displays overlays inside the HSI, such as a moving map and other elements. Other NXi features include SurfaceWatch runway monitoring technology; split-screen view on the MFD so maps and charts can be displayed simultaneously; display of VFR sectional charts and IFR low/high en route charts; Smart Airspace; optional Bluetooth connectivity in the audio panel; ADS-B In traffic and subscription-free weather; TargetTrend and Terminal Traffic; and optional GWX 75 weather radar.

EASA Approves Safran Aneto on Leonardo AW189

Safran Helicopter Engines has received European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification approval for its Aneto-1K engine, as fitted to the Leonardo Helicopters AW189K, following a flight-test campaign that began in March 2017. The Aneto family produces between 2,500 and 3,000 shp and is intended for super-medium and heavy helicopters.

Rated at 2,500 shp, the -1K has a power-to-volume ratio that produces 25 percent more thermal power that existing and similarly rated engines. Safran said this will expand the envelope of missions helicopters, such as the AW189K, can perform in applications—including offshore transport, search and rescue, firefighting, law enforcement, and military transport—that demand increased hot-and-high power margins and assured performance in the transitory regime.

The -1K’s maintenance regime has been optimized with fewer scheduled tasks and longer service intervals, connected features including health monitoring, and full compatibility with Boost, Safran’s online engine configuration, and maintenance management service.

“Certification represents a major milestone for the Aneto program, which will deliver best-in-class solutions for super-medium and heavy helicopters. It reflects the excellent performance demonstrated by the engine during its development phase. After an intensive and rigorous test campaign of more than 5,000 hours, on the ground and in-flight, the Aneto-1K is now ready to support AW189K entry-into-service,” said Christian Caneilles, Safran v-p for heavy helicopter engine programs.

Catch up on the 2019 webinars you may have missed!

Our team cultivates a variety of topics that educate and engage our audience: flight operations, cybersecurity, connectivity, flight planning, flight safety, and more. Recent webinars have included Key Steps to a Succesful Aircraft Transaction, The Connected Flight Department, Sustainable Aviation Fuel Is Here To Stay, and Safe and Efficient Single-Pilot Operations. Catch up.