One of Joby Aviation’s two eVTOL prototypes had an accident on Tuesday during flight testing in Jolon, California, the company revealed yesterday in an 8K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. According to an FAA preliminary report, there were no injuries as a result of the accident since the aircraft was being flown with a remote pilot; it does not provide any details about aircraft damage.
“Safety is a core value for Joby, which is why we have been expanding our flight envelope with a remote pilot and in an uninhabited area, especially as we operate outside expected operating conditions,” the company said in its statement. “Experimental flight-test programs are intentionally designed to determine the limits of aircraft performance, and accidents are unfortunately a possibility. We will be supporting the relevant authorities in investigating the accident thoroughly.”
Last month, Joby added a second preproduction example of its four-passenger eVTOL as it steps up a flight test program expected to lead to type certification and the launch of air taxi services in 2024. To date, much of Joby’s flight testing has been conducted on company-owned land next to its headquarters at Bonny Doon in California's Santa Cruz County and also at twin Valley Creek close to the Pacific coast in southern Monterey County.
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After a frenzied 2021, the business aviation industry is showing signs that the overheated market is carrying into 2022, presenting opportunity but challenges on supply, workforce, and maintenance, participants on an NBAA webinar agreed. NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen kicked off yesterday’s “News Hour” webinar about business aviation's outlook this year, noting leaders recognize that “our industry in many ways is being stretched to the limit” but yet has “a lot of exciting stuff ahead of us.”
Mesinger Jet Sales president and CEO Jay Mesinger remarked that “2021 was an unprecedented year for growth of our industry,” agreeing that “a record number of first-time buyers is stretching all the limits.” He pointed to pressures on supply, labor, and the “crazy” preowned aircraft pricing that no longer has relationships to the market’s traditional evaluation tools. “It’s just 'what do I have to pay to get into this game?'”
The result has been a “complete depletion” of preowned inventory, according to Mesinger. Further, some thought that as 2021 ended and the desire for bonus depreciation had been satisfied, the buying frenzy would ebb. “But here we are a month and a half into 2022 and no less demand at all, and no less frenzy.”
Steve Dickson, the former Delta Air Lines senior v-p who was sworn in as the 18th FAA Administrator on Aug. 12, 2019, is stepping down from the role at the end of March—halfway through his full five-year term. Dickson informed employees of his “very difficult” decision in a letter yesterday, saying, “after sometimes long and unavoidable periods of separation from my loved ones during the pandemic, it is time to devote my full time and attention to them.”
He pointed to the agency’s accomplishments over the past couple of years, saying the workforce has built a “stronger, more collaborative, inclusive, and open culture” and reinvigorated its safety culture. “I believe we are stronger than ever,” Dickson said.
However, during his term, Dickson has faced some unprecedented challenges, including the fallout out of the Boeing Max crashes, the Covid-19 pandemic, and more recently the implementation of 5G C-Band, adjacent to frequencies used by aviation. Under his stewardship, the agency has begun to overhaul its certification procedures, pulling more work in-house and adding oversight, at the behest of Congress. During the pandemic, the agency quickly mobilized to implement procedures to keep the airspace operating to the fullest extent possible and limit shutdowns of its air traffic control towers. More recently, the FAA has been working through the 5G situation, establishing stop-gap measures.
While disruption to air transport links in and around Ukraine has so far been limited, airlines and business aircraft operators have been scrambling to determine how they can ensure operational safety with the threat of a Russian invasion still looming large. The risk management equation is complex and fast-changing, leaving operators to take their cues largely from advisories issued by governments.
Beyond this guidance, the aviation industry also looks to open-source intelligence. But making sense of it in real-time is more challenging, which is where specialists like Osprey Flight Solutions aim to complete the picture. Osprey uses artificial intelligence to provide a systematic risk assessment of airspace and the situation on the ground.
According to Osprey’s chief intelligence officer, Matthew Borie, this approach means that decisions taken don’t need to be completely binary in terms of either to fly or not to fly. For example, some airlines have ceased overnight stops at Ukrainian airports, mitigating the risks with fast turnarounds on the ground.
Even with a standoff between Russia and Ukraine, the threat of violence endangering safe flight operations remains real. Bori pointed to the threat posed by the Kremlin’s S400 and S300 missile systems deployed along Ukraine's eastern and northern borders and in Crimea. With a range of up to 400 km, these weapons pose a potential threat to any aircraft passing through Ukrainian or adjacent airspace.
Thomas Global Systems is introducing a drop-in LCD screen upgrade for business jet flight decks equipped with legacy Collins Pro Line 4 systems with EFD-4077 displays. The TFD-4100 is a drop-in replacement for Collins CRT displays installed on numerous business jet models, including the Bombardier Challenger 604 and Learjet 60; Dassault Falcon 50EX/2000/2000EX; Gulfstream G100/G200; and Beechjet 400A/XP.
The plug-and-play TFD-4100 will provide brighter, clearer images and an expanded display area for added symbology, as well as improved reliability and lifecycle. It is compatible with existing EFD-4077 Pro Line 4 architecture and built-in test equipment, and doesn’t affect OEM display software service bulletins.
“With EFD-4077 production and OEM support coming to an end, the TFD-4100 helps operators get the most from their existing investment by improving performance at a lower life-cycle cost, providing a growth path for new functionality, and ensuring continued reliable product support,” said Thomas Global president and COO David Barnes.
The TFD-4100 is the sixth in a line of CRT-to-LCD replacement screens that are already operating on several commercial, regional, and business aircraft types. Certification of the TFD-4100 is expected in early 2023.
Shell is the first fuel provider to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Singapore, the company announced this week during the Singapore Air Show. SAF, a crucial pillar in the aviation industry's sustainability ambitions, is currently approved for use at blends of up to 50 percent with conventional jet fuel. In its neat, or 100 percent, form it can provide lifecycle carbon emissions reductions of up to 80 percent versus fossil fuels.
While the first batch of Neste-produced SAF was blended in Europe, it will test and verify the supply chain the company has established in Asia. Subsequent batches will be blended in-country at Shell’s Singapore facility, which has been upgraded. According to the fuel company, having an in-region blending facility will enable a more efficient operation by allowing it to move neat SAF in bulk from production sources, and then deliver blended SAF to where it is required.
Shell is also developing plans to build a biofuel production facility at its energy and chemicals park in Singapore, which if completed would have the capacity to produce 550,000 tonnes of low carbon fuels a year. “Alongside investing in our capabilities to produce SAF, we are also focused on developing the regional infrastructure needed to get the fuel to our customers at their key locations,” said Shell Aviation global president Jan Toschka.
Krimson Aviation—an Addis Ababa, Ethiopia-based flight support, aircraft charter, and consultancy provider—is anticipating further growth following a record year in 2021. The company, founded in 2015, reported that it has become the largest African flight support company in terms of geographic footprint and airports services with a presence that has grown to 38 airports in 20 countries on the continent.
In tandem with its expansion, Krimson handled 1,143 flight-related operations and 274 ground-related requirements in 2021, the company said, adding the year marked the first time that 50 percent of its business originated outside of Ethiopia.
“The increased customer diversity, airport numbers, and flight movements has been spurred by the associated requirements driven by Covid, increased business activity, and a new set of clients ranging from medevac to military,” said Krimson Aviation CEO and founder Dawit Lemma.
Looking forward, Krimson has plans in the works for a series of new FBOs across Eastern Africa, it said. “There are no FBOs in the region, yet demand is high,” he said.
Lemma further is looking beyond Africa’s boundaries following his selection for EBAA’s Ambassadors program. That initiative brings industry leaders together to discuss challenges and opportunities for business aviation in Europe. He sees his participation as a means to highlight best practices and flight management between the two continents.
The NBAA Maintenance Committee has awarded more than $400,000 worth of scholarships to 30 technicians through the 2021 AMT Maintenance Scholarship program. These awards are being announced now because of pandemic-related scheduling changes, the trade group said.
Technicians receiving the scholarships can use the funds to attend model-specific airframe, engine, and avionics training courses, as well as attend the annual NBAA Maintenance Conference, the next of which will be held May 3 to 5 in San Antonio, Texas. Aimed at promoting technical education and training in business aviation, the program is open to current business aviation mechanics and technicians, students, and military personnel transitioning to careers in business aviation maintenance.
The scholarships are made possible through 35 courses donated by Abaris Training Resources, CAE Training, Dassault Falcon Jet, FlightSafety International, Garmin, Global Jet Services, Gogo Business Aviation, Gulfstream Aerospace, Collins Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, Satcom Direct, NBAA, Textron Aviation, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and Williams International.
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