Kopter is finalizing the design of its Pre-Series 4 (PS4) SH09 helicopter and will start the build-up of that aircraft in the next few months. Compared with the Swiss company's three previous SH09 prototypes, PS4 will have a larger cabin capable of carrying an additional eighth passenger as a result of a redesign of the fuel tank system.
According to Kopter, the SH09’s mtow has been increased to 2,850 kg (6,283 pounds) and to 3,000 kg (6,613 pounds) for external loads. PS4 will be used in the flight-test program to develop the different mission configurations of the SH09, as well as to evaluate avionics, cabin interiors, and optional equipment.
Meanwhile, Kopter's third SH09 prototype (P3) has completed more than 50 hours of testing at the company’s Mollis, Switzerland headquarters and will soon be moved to its new flight-test base in Pozallo, Sicily, the company announced this morning. Flight-test milestones achieved with P3 to date include climbing to an altitude of 5,000 feet and a forward speed of 126 knots and maneuvers, including turns, autorotations, and short-field takeoff and landing profiles.
Michele Riccobono, Kopter chief technical officer, said the Sicily flight-test campaign with P3 will enable the company to “complete the final optimization of our aircraft and freeze the configuration for the baseline type certificate.”
Pilot Convicted of Operating Illegal Charter Flight
British private pilot Robert Murgatroyd was convicted in a Manchester, England court this week of operating an illegal charter flight and reckless operation of an aircraft. His Piper Cherokee crashed on takeoff from Barton Aerodrome, near Manchester, on a planned flight to the Isle of Barra, Scotland, on Sept. 9, 2017, while carrying three passengers. The pilot and passengers suffered minor injuries. Investigators found that the aircraft was 426 pounds over mtow.
Murgatroyd, who had taken payment of £500 from each of the passengers, was found to have been making a profit from the flight, rather than it being cost-sharing as currently permitted under EASA regulations. Thus, he should have held a commercial license and the aircraft should have been included on an air operator certificate (AOC).
The jury found Murgatroyd guilty on all seven counts of the charges, which included recklessly endangering the safety of an aircraft and the occupants; conducting a public transport flight without an AOC; acting as a pilot without holding an appropriate license; and flying outside the flight manual limitations. His sentencing is set for March 15.
The Air Charter Association (BACA) is pleased by the verdict and noted that this case is “symptomatic of a wider problem caused by the blurring of the line between commercial and private aircraft operations.”
Jet Aviation has completed rebranding the Hawker Pacific FBOs in Australia following its May 2018 acquisition of the facilities, the Switzerland-based subsidiary of General Dynamics announced today. The rebranded Jet Aviation FBOs are located in Sydney, Cairns, Darwin, and Perth, as well as two facilities in Brisbane. Hawker Pacific facilities in Singapore and Shanghai retain their original branding.
“Our commitment to our customers and partners remains our highest priority,” said Jet Aviation senior v-p of Asia-Pacific regional operations Joe Reckling. “We are seeking to capitalize on the strong global recognition of Jet Aviation to continue to connect with our international market and grow our customer service offerings throughout Asia. The Australian FBOs have a history of strong performance and will continue to deliver exceptional customer service under the Jet Aviation brand.”
The rebranding is expected to strengthen Jet Aviation’s position as a leading global business aviation service provider, the company said. With Hawker Pacific, Jet Aviation operates 34 FBOs across America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. In addition to its FBOs, Jet Aviation provides maintenance, completions and refurbishment, engineering, and personnel services. Its aircraft management and charter divisions jointly operate a fleet of 300 aircraft.
Aerion Adds More Leaders to Team
Aerion continues to recruit executives and engineers, as well as refine its board of directors, as it prepares to bring the AS2 supersonic business jet to market. “We are absolutely dedicated to being a magnet for the world’s greatest talent,” said Aerion chairman, president, and CEO Tom Vice.
Cathy Rice has been appointed v-p of business management at the Reno, Nevada-based company, where she will lead contracts, pricing, and cost schedule management. Former Embraer Executive Jets senior v-p of customer support and services Scott Kalister has joined Aerion as v-p of worldwide support and logistics. He is tasked with establishing a global support network for the AS2.
Gene Holloway is now Aerion’s v-p of boomless cruise and environmental responsibility, where he will lead efforts to develop and certify the system that will allow the AS2 to cruise at speeds up to Mach 1.2 without a sonic boom reaching the ground, as well as explore and incorporate technologies for greater fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. Aerion also promoted Andrew Hellen to v-p of cockpit and subsystems.
Meanwhile, Bryan Barrett has been added to Aerion’s five-person board. He is the CFO and v-p of Keystone Group, an affiliate of Aerion Partners, the lead investor in Aerion.
Autonomous Flight Ready To Build Flying Prototype Y6S
Autonomous Flight—the Sevenoaks, UK-based start-up that is developing a two-seat, all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL)—said it has very nearly finalized $25 million of funding for the next stage to build a prototype capable of flight and able to undertake a certification program. It has spent the past year completing a full-size (20-foot wide by 22-foot long) developmental mockup.
The Y6S (Y as it is Y-shaped; 6 because it has six fans, two in each shroud; and S for “sport") is designed to fly two people at 72 mph and 1,500 feet above the ground, with a range of 80 miles (68 net of reserve power). It has tilt-props and two wings that can support its entire 2,000-pound max weight in cruise.
Autonomous Flight is lagging behind its original timetable—it expected to have a flying Y6S prototype by the end of last year—but at present it is just at the start of the prototype design and build process. The company plans to fly it in the third or fourth quarter.
Its Y6S will have six removable racks of Li-ion batteries—a total of 4,500 cells, and total weight 450 pounds—that can easily be swapped out, said company chairman and founder Martin Warner.
Textron Aviation Expands Premiair’s Service Authority
Premiair Aviation Maintenance has received an expanded authorized service facility appointment from Textron Aviation to include the Wichita-based airframer’s full product line at more Premiair service locations in Australia. That product line includes Cessna Citations, Caravans, and pistons; Beechcraft King Airs and pistons; and Hawkers.
“Textron Aviation has long been a part of the vibrant Australian aviation community and this appointment helps ensure our customers have easy access to expert, factory-authorized service for any requirement,” said Textron Aviation senior v-p of customer service Kriya Shortt. “In addition to its reputation for superb maintenance repair and overhaul skills, Premiair Aviation’s foundation of customer care and service fits well with the culture and values espoused by Textron Aviation.”
Founded in Perth in 2002, Premiair has since expanded to include service locations in Melbourne and Gold Coast. The appointment allows Premiair to provide Textron Aviation customers from those sites aircraft maintenance and support, including avionics services and upgrades, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, structural and component repair and overhaul, and refurbishment.
“With an installed base of more than 1,000 jets and turboprops across the region, we are excited to expand Premiair’s authorizations to ensure customers flying all Textron Aviation aircraft receive the exceptional support they expect throughout their aircraft ownership experience,” Shortt added.
Long-time Galvin Flying Services Leader Anderson Dies
Peter Galvin Anderson, the former long-time president of Galvin Flying Services, has died. Anderson, the nephew of Galvin Flying Services founder Jim Galvin, had spent more than five decades in the aviation services business.
Born and raised in the Seattle area, he first went to work for his uncle shortly after he turned 16 in 1969, washing the Galvin fleet on weekends and during the summer. After graduating from high school, he joined the family business full time.
He became president of the Seattle-area FBO in 1980 and in the mid-1980s acquired the operation alongside his family. Anderson sold the business in 2007 to Quantem FBO Services of Manchester, New Hampshire. The business was later then sold to Landmark Aviation in 2014 and Anderson then departed the business. But in 2015 Skip Moshner bought the flight-training end of the business and Anderson returned.
“Peter left an indelible mark on our community as a mentor and ambassador for light, general aviation. He will be sincerely missed,” Moshner said.
Over the years, Anderson became involved in the future of aviation, as well as highlighting its past in the community, through his contributions to The Museum of Flight and Youth in Aviation. He also was a founding board member of Raisbeck Aviation High School.
ST Engineering has received authorization from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) trials over the Lower Seletar reservoir with its DroNet UAS. DroNet is designed to operate autonomously in an urban environment. The system combines networking, video analytics, and data sharing for applications including perimeter security, asset inspection, and lightweight deliveries.
The Singapore-based company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CAAS early last year to facilitate the development of BVLOS UAS operations in Singapore’s urban environment. Under the MoU, ST Engineering is providing a suite of technical services for system integration and prototyping in identified areas of interest and is assisting the CAAS to enhance the regulatory requirements for BVLOS UAS operations in Singapore. One application includes the nation’s water infrastructure.
“Remote-sensing technologies on unmanned vehicles such as drones have the potential to provide real-time monitoring of our assets and infrastructure. We are happy to work with ST Engineering to study the feasibility of incorporating such technologies into our existing operations and work processes,” said Michael Toh, chief information officer of PUB, Singapore’s national water agency.
AIN’s Tales from the Flight Deck: Emergency Response
When an aircraft emergency situation strikes, as a pilot, how prepared will you be to deal with it? For both an experienced aviator with thousands of hours of stick time and a novice on the first solo flight, proper training, a level head, and the ability to focus on the task can carry the day. Listen to the podcast.
People in Aviation
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) elected three new members to its board of directors: Marc Drobny, president of business aviation for StandardAero; Geoffrey Heck, senior v-p operations of East, Canada, and Caribbean for Signature Flight Support; and Mike Magni, president of Monaco Air Duluth. Drobny joined StandardAero in March 2018 and before that was president of Executive Jet Management. Heck has 33 years of aviation experience, including 23 with Signature. Magni has led Monaco Air Duluth as president for 13 years and previously was managing director of IT development at American Airlines’ Sabre division.
Jet Aviation appointed Norbert Ehrich vice president of flight services for EMEA and Asia, succeeding Jürg Reuthinger, who retired after more than 35 years of service. Formerly vice president of sales for Jet Aviation Flight Services Southeast U.S. and South America, Ehrich has served with the company for nearly 30 years, serving in various roles involving FBO, charter and MRO operations.
FlightSafety International promoted David Dyche to assistant manager at its Tucson, Arizona training center. Dyche, who has 40 years of aviation experience, joined FlightSafety in 2005 as an instructor for the Bombardier Learjet 45 in Tucson, later became Learjet 45 program manager, and most recently was director of Learjet 45 training.
VT Group named Thomas Lydon as president of aviation solutions, responsible for the integration of the company’s worldwide aviation services with the engineering and logistics capabilities of the recently acquired National Technologies Associates. Lydon formerly was senior v-p at Sabre Systems and also has held leadership positions with Vistronix, SAIC, General Dynamics, Veridian, and Grumman Aerospace.
Western Aircraft hired Mario Samblotte as interior sales manager. Samblotte spent 26 years at Gulfstream Long Beach, beginning as a plastic/engraver mechanic and holding positions of increasing responsibility. He most recently was operations and project manager for International Aero Services.
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
AIN Alerts is a publication of AIN Publications, 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
For advertising in AIN Alerts please contact Nancy O'Brien at nobrien@ainonline.com.
