HAI Doubles Down on In-person March Heli-Expo Show
The Helicopter Association International (HAI) said this morning it remains committed to holding its annual Heli-Expo trade show in New Orleans from March 22 to 25, even though it expects to lose money on the event and despite the fact that the city currently remains under Phase One Covid-19 restrictions. However, HAI president and CEO James Viola acknowledged that if Phase One restrictions are still in place at the time of the March show, it will need to be canceled. New Orleans adopted modified Phase One restrictions on January 8 that limit businesses to 25 percent capacity and restrict gatherings to people in immediate households until at least January 29.
“Our industry needs this boost right now, and it has always been our responsibility to help our members keep their rotors turning,” said Viola. While conceding that expected attendance will be below normal, he said there are “hundreds of companies and thousands of attendees” who plan to attend, exhibit, or participate in education or industry meetings.
“Masks, social distancing, frequent cleanings—these are only the tip of the spear in our risk-management plan [to keep participants safe],” he added. HAI has also consulted with Dr. Allison Stock, an epidemiologist formerly with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) who is working with the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on health and safety issues.
The National Air Transportation Association is launching a Voluntary SMS Implementation Project (VSIP) to assess the application of safety management systems across the diverse Part 135 charter and Part 145 repair station communities.
Anticipated to kick off shortly with an organizational meeting next week, the project comes as the FAA has stated plans to issue regulations next year that would mandate Part 135 and 145 operators to implement SMS. The agency is widely anticipated to use regulations already in place for Part 121 carriers (FAR Part 5) as a basis for the new regulations.
A key question, however, is whether such requirements can roll over successfully to the range of operations involved in Parts 135 and 145. VSIP is intended to delve into that question and point to future SMS requirements that could be applicable across a gamut of charter operators and repair stations. “This project is intended to identify SMS requirements appropriate for the various size, scope, and complexity of operators that comprise the Part 135/145 community,” NATA said in a letter explaining VSIP. “Additionally, the VSIP will allow for collection of implementation lessons learned and best practices that NATA will share with the FAA to aid in the rulemaking effort.”
Ten businesses of varying sizes and locations have committed to participate in the project.
Signature Flight Support has moved its FBO at Louisiana’s Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport/Ryan Field next door to a newly-renovated terminal and hangar complex that previously housed a corporate flight department. As part of its purchase of Landmark Aviation in 2016, Signature inherited a 1960s-era facility at the airport, and it purchased the adjacent, larger location last year.
After two months of renovations, the new FBO consists of a 15,000-sq-ft hangar (50 percent larger than the previous hangar) that can accommodate aircraft up to a Gulfstream G650, as well as a 5,000-sq-ft adjoining terminal with a 12-seat conference room, pilot lounge with showers, and offices.
“Signature Flight Support is committed to the growth of private aviation at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport and the greater Baton Rouge area,” said Geoff Heck, the service provider’s senior v-p for eastern U.S. operations. “We are proud to service residents and visitors to the city, and our new facility allows us to grow our on-field presence in greatly renewed surroundings.”
Mike Edwards, the airport’s director of aviation, added, “The expansion of private aviation capabilities at Baton Rouge by Signature Flight Support is a testament to the strength and importance of this group of airport users.”
Compact Cockpit Video Recorder Wins New Zealand Nod
The Eye In The Sky compact cockpit video and audio recorder has received Approved Model List Supplemental Type Certificate (AML STC) approval in New Zealand. This STC covers multiple helicopter types, including the Airbus EC130 and AS350 and Robinson R44. Further aircraft types will be added this year, according to New Zealand-based Eye In the Sky.
Priced at $5,500, the all-in-one device includes a forward-facing HD camera that records a 160-degree HD image of pilot control inputs, the view out the front window, and flight data from the instrument cluster. Three audio channels capture pilot, radio, passenger, and ambient cockpit audio. Data is stored on an SD card within a tamper-proof housing that captures 22 hours of aircraft video, audio, and flight data. Accompanying software facilitates playback and review.
Eye In The Sky was developed by New Zealand-based air tour operator Louisa Patterson following the 2015 crash of an R44 that killed her son and the pilot. Investigators were unable to determine why the helicopter suffered an in-flight breakup but noted that a determination of a cause might have been possible had the helicopter been equipped with a cockpit video recorder. Patterson said the device “will raise the overall aviation safety bar, close occurrences, answer intermittent engineering faults, improve training, and provide answers in the event of an accident.”
AviationManuals, ARC Unveil Charter Ops Service Package
AviationManuals and ARC Safety Management announced a new service package for charter operators that is intended to make compliance with Part 135 document requirements and third-party audit standards easier. The new offering covers operational manual content, safety management system (SMS) development, and digital management tools that can be purchased as a package or in modules.
Specifically, the package includes general operations, maintenance, and international operations procedures manual content and revision support, digital manual distribution, and tracking tools that are accessible online and through an app. Also included is SMS software that will collect, analyze, and monitor SMS data, as well as improve communication and change management. Minimum equipment lists, emergency response plans, and training and flight attendant manuals make up other parts of the package.
“As charter operations face new challenges and changes to procedures driven by new requirements, best practices, and new customer demands, the ability to maintain policies and procedures, and quickly and effectively communicate changes to their teams will be critical,” said AviationManuals and ARC Safety Management CEO Mark Baier. “Part 135 department managers are already busy. The new Part 135 suite offering means that they will no longer have to spend as much time managing and distributing their documentation since we will provide content and digital distribution.”
Embraer Celebrates Founder Silva in Animated Film
With the light-hearted animated film, “The Flight of the Impossible,” Embraer celebrates company founder Ozires Silva, who turned 90 on January 8. The piece touches on his childhood dreams of Brazil making airplanes when the country didn’t even make bicycles and the Brazilian air force’s drive to produce engineers as a preliminary to producing aircraft. But the film focuses on the creation of the rugged twin-turboprop Bandeirante and the formation of Embraer to manufacture it.
The animated movie includes legendary episodes such as the Bandeirante’s budget being slipped into a stack of documents for a bleary post-midnight rubber-stamping by a government official opposed to the project. At one point, when all the region’s ranking officials had gone to Brazil’s air force academy to receive the president, bad weather forced his airplane to divert to São José dos Campos, where then-Major Silva received him on 15 minutes notice, showed him the Bandeirante prototype, and argued for official support for its manufacture. This chance encounter led to the creation of Embraer, with Silva as its first president.
Embraer's film begins in Paris with the dirigibles of Brazilian aviation pioneer Santos Dumont and ends with a flight of the Bandeirante along with the rest of Embraer’s product line, including a surprise with the still-in-development Eve eVTOL swooping at the camera.
When Covid-19 first made its way to the U.S. early last year, TxJet, like other charter operations, found itself in a demand slump. But it was a momentary pause because TxJet’s primary cargo is human organs and the medical teams that transplant them. “Tx” is an abbreviation used for organ transplantation in medical parlance.
“A lot of transplant programs, in the beginning, were frankly not transplanting because we didn’t understand the virus, we didn’t understand how we were safely going to transplant people," said TxJet COO Steve Johnson. "[But] we flew, and we kept flying [and] we’ve been able to come through this very well.”
Started in 2014 with one Cessna Citation CJ3, TxJet is an arm of the Indiana Donor Network. It was originally conceived as a service to transplant centers and organ procurement organizations (OPOs) within the borders of Indiana, but its service has since expanded to include a broader swath of clients. In 2019—the most recent year for which it has data—TxJet flew 580 organ transport missions to 38 states, a 29 percent increase from 447 missions in 2018.
TxJet recently purchased two new CJ3+s, an airframe that provides the organization “the reliability, the technology, and the versatility” to be able to fly in all types of weather and to do so efficiently in long- and short-leg flights.
Bell has delivered a 505 light single helicopter to the Fort Worth Police Department, joining the department’s two Bell 206s at its hangar at Texas's Meacham International Airport.
The rotorcraft manufacturer established its helicopter division in Fort Worth in 1951 and it remains headquartered there today with more than 4,200 employees. “Bell is proud to continue the long legacy of supporting the Fort Worth Police Department and public safety initiatives in our growing community,” said company CEO Mitch Snyder.
Also known as the Jet Ranger X, the Bell 505 was introduced in 2014 and certified by the FAA in 2017. More than 300 Bell 505s are currently operating in more than 55 countries on six continents, surpassing 50,000 total fleet flight hours. The model has a top speed of 125 knots and a useful load of 1,500 pounds. It features the Garmin G1000H digital avionics suite and is powered by a 504-shp Safran Arrius 2R engine.
Make Your Voice Heard in the 2021 FBO Survey
AIN’s FBO survey is open for year-round feedback, but the deadline to vote in the 2021 survey is February 5. The results will be published in the April issue. The survey takes only a minute, and you can do it while waiting for passengers, on the shuttle bus to/from the hotel or any other time that is convenient for you. Participants will be entered to win a $500 Amazon gift card. Log on to www.ainonline.com/fbosurvey to rate your experiences at the FBOs you visit.
ADS-B Enablers Take Top Flight Award for Technology
The aviation groups that helped the industry meet the ADS-B deadline placed first in the technology category of AIN's 2020 Top Flight Awards. When the FAA established the Jan. 1, 2020 deadline for installation of ADS-B equipment in most aircraft flying in the U.S., there was a lot of grumbling about the mandate. But business and general aviation groups—including AEA, GAMA, NATA, and NBAA—helped pilots understand not only what the equipage mandate meant but also the benefits of ADS-B Out and In. They also worked closely with the FAA to make sure the final rule made sense and that requirements around installation and operation made equipping easier and ultimately, for many aircraft owners, reasonably priced.
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