Saab Flies Second GlobalEye

Saab celebrated the new year with the first flight of the second GlobalEye airborne early warning aircraft. Wearing Swedish civil registration SE-RMZ, the aircraft lifted off from the company’s Linköping facility at 11 a.m. yesterday for a two-hour, 54-minute flight crewed by two test pilots and a test engineer.

“Today’s successful first flight is another major step for GlobalEye. We received the initial contract in late 2015, completed the maiden flight with the first aircraft in March 2018, and now we have the second aircraft in the air just over nine months later,” noted Anders Carp, head of Saab’s business area Surveillance.

The aircraft is the second of three ordered as Swing Role Surveillance System platforms by the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defense, which has been operating a pair of ex-Swedish air force Saab 340 Erieyes in the interim. GlobalEye is based on a Bombardier Global 6000 airframe that has been adapted to carry the Erieye ER radar—which incorporates GaN (gallium nitride) technology—in a dorsal “ski box” fairing. The aircraft also has an underbelly Leonardo Seaspray 7500E AESA radar and electro-optical turret for overland and maritime surveillance duties.

AINsight: Getting Creative with Aging Business Aircraft

A very high percentage of the business aircraft fleet is 20 years old or older. We as an industry keep finding ways to keep this older segment safe, efficient, reliable, and operating, which for many has become a pathway into our ownership ranks.

With lower utilization comes the need for many of these owners to analyze the value of engine and APU programs, which are often 300-hour per year minimums against an actual annual utilization of what might be 150 hours or less. Paying what amounts to be twice the price for these programs no longer looks or feels like good insurance. Often, owners will buy the airplanes with a program and immediately drop the coverage rather than pay for what could be hundreds of annual hours not used. 

Another area that is interesting and causing a more creative view of the aging aircraft is the cabin management equipment. Very often the planes of yesteryear have cabin switches or other entertainment equipment that is no longer supported by the original manufacturer. What I am seeing happening here are upfront specific carve-outs from pre-owned purchase agreements that exclude these unsupported pieces of equipment from the same delivery condition standards as the rest of the aircraft. 

Throwing money at these aircraft for non-safety of flight items seems out of vogue. Keeping them relevant and important to our overall fleet and their owners is important. These aircraft might be at the end of their viability for the charter market but should still have many years of service remaining.

NBAA Pushes for More Scenario-based Training

NBAA is encouraging the FAA to take further steps toward scenario-based training. In comments on the FAA’s draft Advisory Circular on Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) and Type Rating for Airplane Airman Certification Standards (ACS), the association supported the development of standards and guidance that are “evidence- and scenario-based” and that emphasize crew resource management, as well as single-pilot resource management.

“NBAA recommends recurrent training and checking be evidence-based and target operations and procedures that address leading accident causes for turbine-powered aircraft,” the association said. It further asked the FAA for greater clarification on pilot proficiency requirements and for more guidance on teaching and evaluating risk-management skills.

The agency announced the release of the draft AC in October, outlining standards and guidance for pilot preparations for the FAA ATP knowledge test, practical test, and ultimately ATP certificate or airplane type rating, as applicable. The FAA developed the draft following the release of recommendations of a government/industry work group that was tasked with exploring the creation of ACS for type training and ATP training.

NBAA acknowledges the proposal moves toward more “real world” instruction but believes more needs to be laid out on how to carry through on such instruction, particularly in recurrent training. The same is true for improved risk-management proficiency, it said.

Supersonic Hopeful Gets More Funding

Colorado-based Boom Supersonic, which hopes to fly a scale version of its supersonic commercial transport later this year, has closed a $100 million investment round, bringing its total funding to more than $141 million. This latest round, which includes $56 million in new investment, as well as its previously announced strategic investments, will allow the company to continue development of its planned Mach 2.2 airliner.

The company, which is currently assembling its one-third-scale XB-1, claims it will be the fastest civil aircraft ever built and will demonstrate in flight the key technologies for mainstream supersonic flight, including efficient aerodynamics, advanced composite materials, and an efficient propulsion system. Boom, which recently relocated its operations to Denver Centennial Airport, currently employs more than 100 workers and engineers and believes it will double that number by year-end. Selection of a production site for the full-scale aircraft—which the airframer hopes will enter service in the middle of the next decade—is ongoing.

“This new funding allows us to advance work on Overture, the world’s first economically viable supersonic airliner,” noted company founder and CEO Blake Scholl, adding the company’s goal is to make high-speed flight affordable to all. “Overture fares will be similar to today’s business class, widening horizons for tens of millions of travelers.”

Texas FBO Joins DASSP Program, Helps Local Kids

American Aero FTW, one of three service providers at Fort Worth, Texas’ Meacham International Airport, is the latest to be accepted as an approved gateway for Washington, D.C.-area Ronald Reagan International Airport, under the TSA’s DCA Access Standard Security Program (DASSP). The facility has a secure private lounge with direct ramp access, en suite restroom, and refreshment bar.

Meanwhile, the FBO just completed its sixth annual holiday luncheon and toy drive, the latter in cooperation with the U.S. Marine Corps. Since it began, the company has contributed 550 bicycles and helped gather more than 1,200 unwrapped presents for underprivileged children in the surrounding North Texas counties.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to get together with our aviation friends and neighbors to give thanks and to give back,” said Robert Bass, founder of American Aero FTW. “It is gratifying to be part of such a generous group of men and women, and to know that our efforts helped lift the spirits of children in need this holiday season.”

Tony Broderick, Former Top Safety Regulator, Dies at 75

Anthony “Tony” Broderick, 75, once the top safety regulator in the U.S whose policies helped advance aviation safety globally, died December 30 in Bealton, Virginia. Broderick spent two decades with the FAA, culminating in his position as the associate administrator for regulation and certification (AVR).

He managed a staff of 4,600 employees and a budget of $400 million at the agency. Calling him a “highly respected aviation expert known for his honesty,” former senior FAA officials Joe Del Balzo and Sandy Murdock, wrote in their JDA Journal blog, “There are few individuals whose career in aviation substantially improved safety. Tony is one, if not a unique, contributor to the health of our industry.”

Broderick helped spearhead numerous initiatives such as the development of international audit standards for civil aviation agencies and standards for safe operation of twin-engine airliners over oceans and the polar regions.

He graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics. Broderick then spent seven years developing optical systems for the private sector. He joined the public sector in 1971, taking a position with the Department of Transportation's Volpe Center and then moving to the FAA’s Office of Environment and Energy High Altitude Pollution Program in 1976. Two years later, Broderick joined the AVR organization, ultimately leading it until he retired from the agency in 1996.

Zunum Runs Into Financing Trouble

Aspiring Seattle-area airframe maker Zunum Aero has encountered trouble closing its latest fundraising round. The delays could set back the startup’s timeline in its bid to develop an electric-hybrid airplane. The company already has pushed back its target for entry into service of its 12-passenger ZA10 hybrid.

Zunum had hoped to close its latest fundraising round in August, then October. “That fell through,” chief technology officer Matt Knapp said early last month. The company could soon have to start scaling back its development work to buy time to find enough investors, he added. Late last month, Knapp said the company was “making progress,” but had nothing to announce.

Zunum Aero already has attracted big names to back it, including Boeing’s venture-capital unit HorizonX and JetBlue Airways’ Technology Ventures. Zunum also received an $800,000 research grant from the state of Washington’s Clean Energy Fund. The company is working to build a core group of new investors to close the latest fundraising round in the next couple months, Knapp said.

The startup company announced a contract covering 100 airplanes from JetSuite for scheduled and chartered flights. It has not said whether or not the deal involves a firm order or whether JetSuite has placed a deposit. 

NBAA’s SDC Looks To Pay It Forward

With NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference (SDC) little more than three weeks away, show organizers are asking attendees once again to raid their closets for gently worn business clothing and accessories to donate to charities in host city San Antonio, Texas, through the Schedulers and Dispatchers advisory council’s Pay It Forward program.

The program is entering its ninth year, and SDC showgoers have donated thousands of garments, which are collected by local organizations such as Dress for Success, to distribute to disadvantaged people seeking proper clothing for interviews and/or work.

Each year, the number of donated items has risen, tallying nearly 17,000 over the past eight years, according to Pay It Forward chair and co-founder Debbi Laux. Garments or cash donations can be deposited at the Pay It Forward area, which will be located near the exhibit floor entrance at the city’s Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center.

“We are excited as this will be the second time that we have partnered with the San Antonio chapter of Dress for Success as we support their efforts to make a difference in the lives of so many,” said Laux, a candidate specialist with Aviation Personnel International. “We can all help create confidence with clothing for those receiving the donations as they seek to be self-sufficient and employed when we pay it forward.”

Count on AIN for Full Coverage of NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference

As ever, you can count on AIN for full coverage of the 2019 Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference from San Antonio, Texas. Our team will publish special editions of AINalerts from the show on January 28, 29, 30, and 31. If you are an exhibiting company that wants to share news ahead of the show, please contact senior editor Curt Epstein.