Magellan Jets has opened a private terminal at Laurence G. Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts (KBED), the business aviation services provider’s home airport and largest market.
The 5,300-sq-ft terminal features designated VIP parking for Magellan customers, a lounge with a fully stocked beverage center, an executive conference room with telecommunications capabilities, restrooms, and views of the tarmac. Customers can also request Magellan to stock specific spirits and wines. “This is a unique space at KBED in that it is specifically designed to make the customer feel at home, rather than catering to crews and maintenance staff,” the company said.
Located on the southeast corner of KBED off Hanscom Drive, the terminal is accessible via I-95 South and Massachusetts 2A-East. Magellan Jets is a Quincy, Massachusetts-based air charter broker that offers jet cards, a membership program, and on-demand charter services.
NBAA is appealing for an extension beyond the March 13 deadline for comments on the FAA’s proposal to require charter operators, air tours, and manufacturers to implement safety management systems (SMS). The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) released on January 10 would update and extend Part 5 SMS requirements to Part 135 outfits, certain Part 21 certificate holders, and air tours operating under FAR 91.147.
Joining the National Air Transportation Association in a call for an extension, NBAA director of safety and flight operations Mark Larsen noted the proposal covers an extensive scope of operations. “We believe the industry has a crucial role to play in helping make SMS a workable solution for the broad array of operations that would be affected by this proposal,” he said. “Additional time will be needed to fully evaluate the proposed additions for Part 5 and their impact on affected stakeholders.”
At the same time, NBAA fully supports SMS, he added. “We’ve seen how SMS directly benefits the safety of business aviation stakeholders that have adopted such programs voluntarily,” Larsen said. “Their experiences also highlight that, for any SMS to be a truly effective solution, it must be tailored to the size and complexity of the operation. Our review of the FAA’s NPRM will closely examine if such scalability would be possible under the changes proposed by the agency.”
Embraer has received a supplemental type certificate from the FAA and EASA for its Phenom 300MED, a specially designed aeromedical interior for the Brazilian airframer’s light business jet.
Developed and certified with engineering services provider Umlaut at Embraer’s service center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the 300MED has been designed with a set of configuration alternatives that include one or two stretchers and the ability to carry an incubator and additional medical equipment. The interior features hospital-grade trim and finishing and can be configured between an executive or medevac interior in five hours.
Aerolite developed the intensive care unit configuration and equipment specifically for the aircraft. The medevac interior is available for new and in-service Phenom 300s. The STC’d aircraft will be operated by launch customer Grandview Aviation, an on-demand charter operator based in Baltimore.
Concerns surrounding 5G implementation have brought into “sharp focus” how the aviation industry is inextricably linked to others and how the industry must work more quickly and in an agile way to anticipate risks that emerging innovation can pose, FAA acting Administrator Billy Nolen said yesterday.
Speaking during a webinar hosted by RTCA, Nolen said when he joined the agency a year ago, much of the dialog surrounded 5G and “how we are going to avoid falling into some sort of a major crisis mode.” But believing 5G and commercial aviation could coexist, the agency reached out not only to the telecoms but across government agencies and “we’ve made great progress” as a result of collaborative partnerships. “Aviation can no longer afford to treat itself like a closed society.”
The FAA, however, also needs to look at what can be collectively done to make processes faster, such as shepherding a new generation of radio altimeter performance standards as the telecommunications industry looks beyond 5G to 6G and further. “We've been accustomed to this seven- to 10-year horizon to get things done, but really we've got to now think about half that time or even less because that's truly the rate and the pace at which technology is advancing,” Nolen said.
Nolen touched upon a range of other subjects from workforce and FAA reauthorization to sustainability and general aviation safety.
ZeroAvia achieved first flight today of a Dornier Do-228 with a hydrogen-electric propulsion system. The company installed its fuel-cell-based ZA600 powertrain on the turboprop twin's left wing in place of one of its two Honeywell TPE331 turboprop engines.
The aircraft took off at 1:35 p.m. local time from ZeroAvia’s research and development base at Cotswold Airport in the UK for a flight that lasted 10 minutes. This marks the start of a flight-test campaign that the California-based startup hopes will lead to its first converted hydrogen-electric aircraft entering commercial service in 2025.
According to ZeroAvia founder and CEO Val Miftahkov, the company will soon reveal the first aircraft type to be converted to run on gaseous hydrogen, as well as a partnership with the manufacturer of that model and the launch airline customer. That program involves an aircraft in the 10- to 19-seat class that will fly under Part 23 certification rules.
ZeroAvia aims to submit a type certificate application for the 600-kilowatt powertrain, initially with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, by the end of 2023 as it works to establish the basis for the approval. It will also seek supplemental type certificates covering the conversion of each specific aircraft type. In the longer term, the company is working on a larger 2.5-megawatt powertrain suitable for aircraft carrying up to 90 passengers.
Flight training company Aerocor recently completed its 150th Eclipse 500 training event, it announced yesterday. In 2022, Aerocor marked its 50th Eclipse initial type rating and 100th Eclipse recurrent training events.
Further, the Henderson, Nevada-headquartered company said it has surpassed its performance predictions for the second year in a row. According to Jens Personius, the manager of Aerocor’s Eclipse training program, in fourth-quarter 2020 the company projected the completion of three Eclipse training events per month moving forward. But, he said, “Over the last two years, we have averaged a successful completion rate of four training events per month.”
Meanwhile, the company plans to continue expanding its operations by increasing the training staff and introducing updated training materials. “We are looking forward to becoming an even more integral part of the Eclipse community and light jet space in the years ahead,” Personius concluded.
Sustainability Question of the Week
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At present, approximately how many FBOs worldwide regularly carry sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)?
Kaman announced yesterday that it is ending production of its K-Max synchromesh rotor utility helicopter after a production run of 60 helicopters over the course of 30 years. The company said the move is part of its strategy to eliminate “non-value-added activities” and improve financial performance. Kaman will continue to support the existing K-Max fleet, it said.
The K-Max found a niche market with logging, external load, and aerial firefighting operators. It is unique in that it could deliver an external load of up to 6,000 pounds at sea level, more than the helicopter’s empty weight of 5,145 pounds. The helicopter also was proven on the battlefield by the U.S. Marine Corps between 2011 and 2014 in Afghanistan, when two unmanned models were used for supply delivery missions.
In 2020, the company said it intended to deliver unmanned technology kits for existing K-Max owners and buyers of new-build helicopters beginning in 2021. Helicopters so equipped were branded the K-Max Titan.
Kaman initially produced 38 of the helicopters between 1991 and 2003, when it halted production due to anemic demand. It then resumed production in 2016 after a resurgence in market interest that ultimately was not sustained. The company expects to take $54 million of non-cash charges related to the write-down of existing aircraft, contract costs, excess spare parts, and equipment inventories.
The general aviation community is committed to removing lead from aviation gasoline by the end of this decade but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must ensure that any endangerment finding and subsequent ban on its use enables a safe and orderly transition to unleaded avgas, a group of seven industry organizations said. In joint comments on the EPA’s proposed endangerment finding, the groups further reminded the EPA that the FAA must be involved in regulation requiring the end of leaded avgas.
Noting the target of eliminating lead by the end of 2030, the organization said the industry “recognizes that lead is detrimental to human health and that the communities surrounding airports should not bear a disproportionate burden.” However, they added that safety cannot be compromised, and premature removal of essential fuel would “economically destroy” the general aviation infrastructure.
“In the absence of readily-available and safe substitutes, EPA, the FAA, and the general aviation community must work together to ensure safe and efficient transition to lead-free fuels,” said the comments signed by AOPA, EAA, GAMA, HAI, NATA, NBAA, and the American Petroleum Institute.
The groups further urged EPA to make sure that regulatory actions do not “invite or motivate state, local, tribal, or territorial governments to take premature action by attempting to impose unlawful and preempted restrictions on the dispensation of 100LL aviation gasoline."
The Daher Kodiak 100 is a rugged and versatile utility turboprop aircraft, but the company’s Kodiak 900 takes the concept even further as it increases comfort and speed. Mark Brown, Daher Kodiak’s chief demo pilot and marketing director, runs through all of the changes and improvements that bring the Kodiak 900 up to the next level.
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