NHV’s Airbus H175 Fleet Tops 40,000 Hours

NHV Group’s fleet of Airbus H175 helicopters has surpassed 40,000 flight hours, the operator announced this morning. NHV, which services primarily the offshore oil markets in Europe’s North Sea and West Africa, was the launch customer for the model in 2014 and currently flies a fleet of 13 of the super-medium twins. NHV’s fleet accounts for more than 60 percent of the H175’s 66,000 flight hours to date.

“We have successfully positioned the H175 as the new standard for oil and gas missions. We continue to believe that the H175 is the best and most modern helicopter in its class today and are dedicated to further develop its strengths,” said NHV COO Thomas Hütsch.

According to NHV, the H175 is capable of flying with a full payload to 90 percent of North Sea offshore installations. Airbus claims the H175 can reach 90 percent of the world's offshore rigs.

Announced in 2008 as a joint development between Airbus and China’s Avicopter, the 7-tonne H175 is powered by a pair of 1,776-shp Pratt & Whitney PT6-67Es that can propel the H175 to 19,685 feet in less than seven minutes. Maximum takeoff weight is 17,196 pounds. Configured for offshore operations, the helicopter seats 16 passengers.

Global Bizav Activity Continues Bumpy Recovery

A rebound in global business aviation activity continues, but a resurgence of Covid-19 infections and new restrictions in the U.S. threaten that recovery, according to WingX Advance’s latest Global Market Tracker. Through the first two weeks of July, activity is off by 19 percent compared with the same period last year while the rolling seven-day average peaked at just under 16,000 flights in July versus the pandemic low of under 4,000 flights in April.

In North America, July activity was 20 percent below a year ago while European flights were 82 percent of normal July activity. Oceania remained at 10 percent below normal while Asia was 23 percent below normal. Global business aviation activity is down 31 percent for the year and 47 percent since mid-March. That compares with a 75 percent decline in global airline activity since mid-March.

WingX said the U.S. was a key recovery market in May and June, and in the first two weeks of July activity was off by 17 percent despite an increase in coronavirus cases in the South and West and renewed stay-at-home orders.

Among aircraft types, activity was strongest for light jets, which were down by 8 percent. Midsize business jets were improving, with super-midsize jets activity at 85 percent of normal. Heavy jets were down by 30 percent and the decline for ultra-long-range jets was 36 percent.

KinectAir Plans To Operate VoltAero’s Electric Cassio

VoltAero is to work with on-demand charter provider KinectAir to explore possibilities for bringing its hybrid-electric Cassio fixed-wing aircraft into commercial service. U.S.-based KinectAir will explore ways to integrate its planned flight booking app with the Cassio’s cockpit to make it easier to track aircraft availability and utilization.

France-based VoltAero is developing a family of aircraft seating between four and 10 people that will be able to fly up to around 800 miles at speeds of around 200 knots. The aircraft are intended to be able to take off and land with no more than 1,800 feet of runway.

VoltAero plans to complete type certification under EASA’s CS-23 rules for its four-seat Cassio 330 in late 2022. On July 23, it intends to complete a first demonstration flight of the first Cassio prototype at its headquarters at Royan-Medis Airport in southwest France. This aircraft will be fitted with the 600-kW hybrid-electric powertrain for the 10-seat Cassio 600 model.

A spokesperson for KinectAir told AIN that the company intends to be a launch customer for VoltAero, with plans to order between 10 to 20 of the Cassio aircraft. Earlier this month, the startup announced plans to introduce a mix of charter and fractional ownership programs using various aircraft types, some of which would be leased. Eventually, it intends to include eVTOL aircraft in its fleet.

Bombardier Safety Standdown Going Virtual for 2020

Bombardier's Safety Standdown 2020, originally scheduled to take place August 25 to 27 in Wichita, will be held virtually this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company announced today. “Because of the importance of Safety Standdown among the aviation community, we are currently exploring ways to bring this must-attend event to you in a virtual format, enabling you to explore cutting-edge safety information in the comfort of your own home,” it said.

This year’s theme for the Safety Standdown is “Safety in Focus 20/20,” which Bombardier further explained as “keeping our focus on safety and helping promote specific goals and tangible outcomes to achieve…an improved safety culture and safety performance.”

Currently, Bombardier said it is working with aviation safety leaders “to build a program that highlights the safety information you need to change the relevant and thought-provoking principles of aviation safety to your operations.” It promised additional information on the virtual Safety Standdown will be forthcoming as details are finalized.

“Safety Standdown remains a pillar of the aviation community, and while this year’s edition will be presented in a different format due to the current pandemic, our modified event will continue to offer content that highlights the safety practices and mindset that are essential to our industry,” the company said.

West Star’s Missouri MRO Adds Airframe Credentials

The FAA has awarded West Star Aviation’s Perryville, Missouri facility approval for additional Bombardier and Embraer airframe maintenance capabilities after completing specific training, as well as acquiring the appropriate manuals and tooling. Specifically, the facility at Perryville Regional Airport (PCD) can now perform maintenance and repair on legacy Bombardier Globals and Embraer Phenom 100/300s and Legacy 600/650s.

The approvals build upon the site’s other approvals for Dassault Falcon, Gulfstream, Sabreliner, and Textron Aviation aircraft. “The addition of these capabilities will provide further service opportunities for our location while also benefiting the West Star company as a whole,” said West Star PCD general manager Kyle French.

West Star said the additional approvals reflect its continual focus on the development of airframe-specific capabilities throughout the Illinois-based company that operates four primary MRO facilities and six satellite locations in eight states.

NBAA Applauds Congress Actions To Help Bizav

A new funding bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations contains provisions that would promote transportation workforce opportunities, continue funding of the N-number blocking system, and support the ongoing modernization of the air traffic control system. NBAA welcomed the FY2021 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) bill’s potential to help the aviation industry, and especially its provisions to bolster business aviation’s workforce efforts. 

On the privacy front, the bill would mandate that the FAA continue operating the Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) N-number blocking program. LADD allows aircraft owners and operators to sign up for blocking registration numbers from being displayed by real-time tracking services that have agreements with the FAA. (It should be noted that some tracking services such as ADSB Exchange do not have agreements with the FAA or other air navigation service providers and thus do not participate in LADD. For this reason, aircraft blocked under LADD can still be viewed on some tracking websites.)

“With the House Committee on Appropriations’ successful markup of the fiscal 2021 THUD appropriations bill, congressional leaders are sending a clear message that the success and growth of general aviation are crucial to our nation’s economic recovery and future growth,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.

Nexa Teams With VFS To Support Urban Air Mobility Growth

The Vertical Flight Society (VFS) has teamed with Nexa Advisors to form a new company, UAM Geomatics, that will promote the development and operation of eVTOL aircraft and the infrastructure required to support them in applications such as urban air mobility. The Virginia-based company will produce data and research to guide prospective investors and stakeholders, including the Urban Air Mobility—Economics and Global Markets 2020-2040 study, which will now be produced each quarter.

The study has previously been produced solely by Nexa Advisors, which is a division of the Nexa Capital partners investment bank. UAM Geomatics intends to expand the data sets including new three-dimensional models of some of the cities identified as possible early adopters of eVTOL air-taxi services.

Each study provides updated forecasts for 75 metropolitan areas around the world, including projected costs for aircraft, infrastructure, air traffic management, as well as revenue by market for services including airport shuttles, on-demand air-taxi rides, and emergency medical support. This is supported by interactive online databases with ArcGIS maps of each city including thousands of geocoded data features, such as heliports, hospitals, corporate head offices, and power grid infrastructure.

UAM Geomatics president Eleanor Herman explained that the added models for some cities in the study have been created from stereo-orthophoto satellite maps to enable three-dimensional airspace design of new vertiport locations, tunnels in space, and noise acoustics.

Aircraft Painting Now Available at Banyan’s FXE Complex

Atlantic Jet Refinishing has joined the ecosystem of aviation-related businesses based at the Banyan Air Service FBO complex at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.

The company operates from a new 16,500-sq-ft, dual-bay EPA compliant downdraft paint facility that can accommodate aircraft up to a Gulfstream G650, and features the latest equipment in the field. It is the first facility of its type to be added in Southern Florida in many years.

This new partnership will allow customers undergoing aircraft MRO at Banyan’s Part 145 facility to receive complete exterior paint refurbishment during the same visit, further expanding on the one-stop-shop experience at the 100-acre location. Working with its partners on site, Banyan's team can also coordinate cabin upgrades, in addition to providing its own in-house maintenance and avionics services.

Count on AIN for Full Coverage of FIA Connect

You can count on AIN for full coverage of FIA Connect 2020 next week. Our team will publish a flip-through, digital Mid-Year Aerospace and Air Transport Report on July 23, and we will also have comprehensive real-time reporting of all the top news at AINonline and in special daily e-newsletters on July 20, 21, 22, and 23. If you are an exhibiting company that wants to share news or propose pre-show interviews and briefings, please contact show editor Gregory Polek.