With Catalyst Progress, Textron Plans Denali 1st Flight
Textron Aviation expects the first flight of its Cessna Denali turboprop single later this year now that GE Aviation has announced another milestone in its Catalyst engine development program. GE noted that the company’s European flight-test engineering team fired up a Catalyst engine hung on a Beechcraft King Air 350 flying testbed in preparation for ground testing. The clean-sheet Catalyst will power the Denali.
“The engine started flawlessly on the first attempt,” said Catalyst product line leader David Kimball. “It reached ground idle in a stable and predictable manner without any intervention, and the fully integrated engine and prop control system worked seamlessly.”
Next in the ground-test campaign is taxiing the testbed with the Catalyst, which will include running various power-management scenarios.
A Textron Aviation spokeswoman confirmed to AIN this week that it had recently received a flightworthy Catalyst engine and was looking forward to first flight of the Denali, which originally was expected in 2019. “We anticipate the Denali making its official debut in 2021 as the development program ramps up, and...the Denali takes flight in the second half of the year,” the spokeswoman said. With delays in the Catalyst program, Textron Aviation officials had previously declined to specify a timeline for the first flight of the Denali.
There are some encouraging signs that both the number of cases and the burden of serious disease and deaths due to Covid is finally beginning to decline. Further, the flu season is all but negligible in comparison to past years. This is great news.
What does this mean for pilots? While some early optimism might be emerging, we must remain on high alert and continue all recommended public safety and infectious disease recommendations as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and federal, state, and local governments.
The decline in total cases and disease impacts is perhaps a first sign of potential long-term lessening and relief from the pandemic. It will not go away overnight, of course, but little by little progress is being made.
However, the Covid variants seem to be particularly adept at evading efforts to provide immunity against them, hence making them more contagious than the original virus. It is clear that, for now anyway, we can’t let our guard down, and we should continue with the recommended mitigation strategies.
On mitigation, the CDC recently issued a statement that wearing either tight-fitting masks or double masking can reduce virus transmission by well over 90 percent. Wearing face masks is inconvenient, but well worth the effort.
Embraer Gets Canada OK for Praetor, Reports '20 Results
Embraer’s Praetor 600 super-midsize jet has received approval from Transport Canada, expanding its presence in the North American market, the company announced today. Unveiled in October 2018, the follow-on to the Legacy 500 was first approved in Brazil in April 2019 and then in the U.S. and Europe a month later.
Capable of flying 4,000 nm at long-range cruise, the full fly-by-wire Praetor 600 can connect distances such as Toronto to London. “The certification by Transport Canada Civil Aviation reinforces the great momentum of the Praetor 600 in the global market,” said Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Michael Amalfitano.
Embraer, meanwhile, also today reported a 35 percent drop in deliveries overall in 2020, with 130 executive jets and airliners handed over. Showing the relative strength of business aviation over commercial during the Covid-19 pandemic, 86 of these deliveries were executive jets. This was a decline from 109 executive jets in 2019.
Of the executive jet deliveries, 56 comprised light jets (50 Phenom 300s and six Phenom 100s), down from the 62 a year earlier. Large executive jet deliveries totaled 30 last year, a steeper slide from the 47 delivered in 2019. The Praetor 600 led the large-jet deliveries at 18 handed over in 2020, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter.
California FBO Sun Air Jets Starts Permanent SAF Supply
Sun Air Jets, an aviation services provider at Camarillo Airport in Southern California, has joined the handful of FBOs committed to offering a permanent supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and as a Signature Select FBO it becomes the first of that designation to do so.
The company—which also provides aircraft charter, management, and maintenance services—took its first delivery of SAF through Signature Aviation subsidiary Epic Fuels in December. That's around the time Signature Flight Support began receiving its first tanker loads at its own FBOs at San Francisco International and London Luton Airports.
"We are flexible in our supply solutions based on the merits of each market,” a Signature spokesperson told AIN. “We are consistent advocates of providing SAF at Signature locations and [at] our Epic and Signature Select FBO partners."
Sun Air is offering the renewable fuel at the standard fuel price thanks to a donation from an anonymous benefactor that will cover the price delta between SAF and conventional jet-A. Based on its average fuel flowage, the company expects this pricing policy to be in place for two years. Through the end of March, the FBO is giving TailWins program members five times the regular amount of Signature TailWins reward points for SAF orders.
Bombardier announced yesterday that it was taking its iconic Learjet brand off life support and ending its production. It is a sad end for the name long generically associated with business jets as much as Coke is with cola and Kleenex is with facial tissues.
When Bill Lear created the Learjet in the early 1960s, he envisioned a small, fast, and simple airplane. His 20-series and the slightly elongated 30-series aircraft that followed sold briskly for more than 20 years. Learjet espoused the ultimate in aviation cool: speed.
By the time Bombardier acquired the brand in 1990, Learjet had devolved into dysfunction. Bombardier moved quickly to launch variants of existing models and began development of the Model 45. But the Canadian airframer stumbled badly in bringing the Learjet 45 to market, missing program deadlines and delivery dates.
But its second major—and perhaps fatal—misstep came when Bombardier unveiled the all-composite Model 85 in 2007. While it looked like a Learjet, it had performance akin to a much slower Hawker. Potential customers were nonplussed, and Bombardier killed the program in 2015.
In 2019, Bombardier made a last-ditch attempt to keep the Learjet production line open, revealing the Model 75 Liberty. But that failed to relight orders.
Still, whenever I see a business jet, I will always think of Bill Lear.
Universal Rolls Out International Covid Test Directory
With the recent Covid travel restrictions and testing requirements for air travel into the U.S., Universal Weather and Aviation has established a network of Covid-19 testing providers across the top 200 international airports that its trip support customers most frequently use, including all destinations where the company has a presence, either through a Universal Aviation ground services office or an identified preferred ground handler. A spokesman told AIN that the company seeks to expand that list to 350 locations over the next two months.
The database of providers includes names and contact information, the types of tests available, mobile or on-site testing availability, turnaround times, and costs. Universal is also working with major hotel chains to determine properties where Covid testing can be facilitated.
“Most countries, including the United States, now require a negative viral Covid-19 test for entry,” said Charlie Mularski, the trip support provider’s senior v-p for international operations. “Finding a reliable and reputable testing provider when operating internationally is a huge challenge and area of risk. We’re taking that burden off our customers.”
Mularski added that while vaccine distribution begins to ramp up globally, testing will remain a common part of international operations for the foreseeable future. “We view that building this network of Covid-19 testing providers—and continuing to grow it—is critical to ensuring successful missions happen,” he said.
Garmin G3000 Selected for Joby eVTOL
Joby Aviation’s new eVTOL aircraft will be equipped with the Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck under a long-term agreement announced by the two companies this week. The avionics selection marks the first major systems supplier announcement for Joby. According to the company, its eVTOL is slated to enter service in 2024 and will be able to fly at up to 200 mph and carry four passengers up to 150 miles without recharging.
Selection of the G3000 avionics suite confirms that Joby’s all-electric eVTOL aircraft, which is expected to enter service in 2024, will be flown by a pilot. But Garmin’s work on autonomous products such as its Autoland automatic emergency landing system suggests that it might be preparing to supply avionics for aircraft that will eventually fly without a human pilot on board. The avionics will integrate with the Joby eVTOL’s vehicle mission computer and will offer tailored flight guidance display indications, according to Garmin.
Meanwhile, the company also announced that it has started receiving its first revenues from work under a U.S. Air Force for the Agility Prime program to assess the suitability of eVTOL aircraft for military missions. Joby also confirmed that the FAA has agreed to let it use the G1 requirements for certifying its aircraft under Part 23 Amendment 64 rules.
NATA Urges Administration Against ‘Shackling’ Charter
As the Biden Administration weighs the potential for Covid-19 testing on domestic flights, NATA is urging President Biden, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and FAA Administrator Steve Dickson to consider the low risk of virus transmission posed by the general aviation industry when they create travel policies.
“We cannot afford to shackle an industry that not only empowers countless businesses across the country and offers essential services, but also safeguards the health and safety of its passengers and personnel,” NATA president and CEO Timothy Obitts told the Washington leaders in a February 11 letter.
While acknowledging the national priority must be on mitigating the spread of Covid-19, Obitts added, “This must not come at the risk of burdensome or undue policies, including domestic preflight Covid testing requirements, that work to hinder an essential industry and cut important ties to the over 40 percent of the nation’s population that is not served by the airlines.”
Obitts highlighted safeguards charter operators and FBOs have put into place. “The controlled environment of on-demand air travel arguably entails less risk than a trip to the grocery store, evidenced by the fact that there are no documented cases of Covid-19 transmission on a Part 135 air charter flight,” he said.
FSANA Reschedules March Flight Training Conference
After earlier announcing plans to hold a live event in March, the Flight School Association of North America (FSANA) has rescheduled its annual International Flight School Conference to this summer. The three-day event now slated to commence on August 18 will take place at the same venue in Orlando, Florida, the Rosen Plaza Hotel, and all room reservations for the March dates will automatically be canceled.
Citing discussions with its membership, suppliers, government officials, and hotel management regarding the state of the Covid pandemic, FSANA’s leadership noted, “We apologize to anyone unable to make the new date, but feel the move will make for a better conference for all who attend or exhibit,” adding that this year’s conference will set the stage for “the strong rebound that is already taking hold in the flight training arena.” The August gathering could prove to be the group’s best-attended event ever, organizers said.
The group plans to release updated registration and hotel reservation information over the next week, with the rescheduling re-setting the clock for early-bird registration discounts.
The pandemic continues to place a chilling effect upon industry trade shows, with NBAA canceling all of its in-person events through the first half of the year. HAI, which had planned to stage its annual Heli-Expo as a live event in March, also decided to scrap that idea.
Photo of the Week
All lined up and ready to go. Brandon Coffman, the chief pilot for an agricultural company based in Texas, took this photo in mid-December as they were lined up for a nighttime departure from Runway 21 at Arizona’s Scottsdale Airport. Thanks for sharing, Brandon.
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