P&WC Hybrid-electric System To Fly in a Dash 8 in 2024

Pratt & Whitney Canada is partnering with De Havilland of Canada in a program to test hybrid-electric propulsion technology in a Dash 8-100 flight demonstrator, the engine company said yesterday. Expected to undergo ground testing next year and fly in 2024, the demonstrator will include an electric motor and controller from Collins Aerospace, a P&WC sister company under the Raytheon Technologies umbrella.

The new hybrid-electric propulsion technology will help optimize performance across the different phases of flight, allowing the demonstrator to target a 30 percent reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions compared with current regional turboprops.

The governments of Canada and Quebec have committed to contributing roughly half of the program’s C$163 million investment. As part of Canada’s green recovery plan, the government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund is backing the technology demonstrator, while the government of Quebec is supporting the project through Investissement Quebec and the Ministère de l’Économie et de l'Innovation.

Combining advanced technologies developed by P&WC and Collins, the project serves as a successor to Project 804, launched in 2019 as a joint development program between the two companies.

AINsight: Diversity Hire vs ‘Best Candidate’ Status Quo

A colleague of mine recently heard a story involving an “aha” moment with a Fortune 500 CEO. Upon boarding the company jet and seeing an all-female flight crew, the CEO (a male) made a comment that questioned the safety of the flight. His female CFO was also on the airplane and promptly rebutted, saying, “Really? I’m good enough for the C-suite, yet you doubt their capabilities on the flight deck?”

Creating diverse workplaces is a hot topic in every industry. And such is the case in business aviation. Many of these Fortune employers, known for their diversity programs, are mandating that their flight department staff reflect their workforces.

There are at least two challenges to this mandate. First, there’s an overall lack of diverse talent throughout the business aviation industry. Second, there’s the mentality that aviation is a technical role and, as such, we shouldn’t need to worry about diversity. We just need to hire the “best” person for the job—the “qualified” candidate.

The trouble is that the “best” is very subjective. And we, as human beings, have a natural tendency to hire what feels familiar and comfortable—as opposed to challenging the status quo.

Push yourself to think more critically and strategically about our workforce development issues. And we must tap into these additional talent pipelines to help sustain our success and future growth.

WingX: U.S., European Bizav Activity Rising

Business aircraft flying worldwide is continuing its strong recovery in the post-Covid environment, according to the latest statistics released by industry observer WingX Advance. The company reported that, in the first 12 days of July, there were 177,000 business jet and turboprop flights, representing a more than 40 percent year-over-year increase and also 11 percent above pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

U.S. business jet demand was nearly 30 percent higher in the first half of July than in 2019, while European usage was up 9 percent over the same comparative period. Year-to-date European business jet activity lags its 2019 tally by 11 percent, while in the U.S. it is up 4 percent, buoyed by a Fourth of July surge in private leisure travel.

The company noted a strong recovery in domestic business jet travel for Brazil, China, India, Australia, Russia, Turkey, and Nigeria, with activity well ahead of pre-pandemic levels. Including international flights, the Middle East has also seen a consistent recovery.

“The business aviation recovery has stepped up in July, with the U.S. still dominating, heading into a summer season which is likely to surpass the normal seasonal peaks in spring and fall,” said WingX managing director Richard Koe. “European activity is finally on the rebound.”

Pilatus Constructing First U.S. Paint Facility

Twenty-five years after establishing a completions center at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, Colorado, Pilatus Business Aircraft is constructing its first paint facility there. The 28,455-sq-ft facility will include a down-draft paint bay, a cross-draft paint bay, and a dedicated preparation bay.

Pilatus v-p of marketing Tom Aniello told AIN that while the completions center does interior fabrication and installation for the Swiss airframer’s aircraft destined for North and South American markets, the company didn’t have a facility to apply a base coat of paint over primer nor add the final customer-specified striping scheme. Instead, the base coat of paint was generally applied at Pilatus’s Stans, Switzerland factory and third-party contractors in the U.S. applied the final striping.

“The decision to build our own paint facility was based on limited capacity at the factory paint facility in Switzerland, the schedule restrictions and cost of utilizing third-party painting partners, and a desire to reduce the time required to deliver an aircraft to its new owner,” he said.

Operations at the U.S. paint facility are expected to begin in June 2022.

Stratos 716X To Make Public Debut at AirVenture

Stratos Aircraft will publicly debut its $2.5 million 716X jet single later this month at EAA AirVenture. The numbers in the model name reflect its Mach 0.70 cruise speed, single turbofan engine, and six-seat cabin.

Initially offered as an experimental, kit-built aircraft, the 716X is designed to have a range of 1,500 nm and a ceiling of 41,000 feet. It is powered by an overhauled, 3,600-hour TBO Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D5 turbofan and features Garmin 3X avionics. Redmond, Oregon-based Stratos said it can be assembled “in as little as nine months,” using builder-assist affiliate firms. The company plans to offer 10 to 12 kits next year and considers the 716X a “stepping stone” toward eventually offering a certified version of the aircraft, the 716, that would sell for $1 million more. 

“At Stratos, our goal is to lower the cost of owning and operating a jet to turboprop levels,” said Carsten Sundin, Stratos Aircraft's president and chief technology officer. Stratos said it is continuing to make major investments in its manufacturing facility, including a computer design center, production-grade composites molds, a high-temperature curing oven, a full-service machine shop, static test fixtures, and new flight-test hangars.

Oklahoma Airport Finishes Runway Rebuild

Oklahoma’s Ponca City Regional Airport (KPNC) has completed the reconstruction of its 7,200-foot Runway 17/35. The $8.1 million project, which began last September, involved the milling and replacement of the runway surface and addressed drainage issues by grading off the sides of the runway. Runway lights and guidance signage were replaced as well.

“The construction completed at this airport will ensure the viability of the runway for the next 40-plus years and provide for a great aviation infrastructure asset for the north-central Oklahoma area,” said Tim Gatz, the state’s secretary of transportation, speaking at last week’s ribbon cutting.

Since 2000, KPNC has received more than $26 million in infrastructure funding, and this latest development represents one of the largest single-phase projects performed on a general aviation airport in state history.

“At 7,200 feet long, this runway is the ninth-longest civilian runway in the state,” noted Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma). “It can accommodate just about any aircraft in the business jet fleet, opening the airport and the surrounding region to future economic development.”

Charter Provider Buys Mississippi FBO

Aircraft charter, management, maintenance, and sales company Southern Sky Aviation has entered the FBO arena with its purchase of Sky Warrior Flight Support, the lone service provider at Trent Lott International Airport in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The facility includes a 4,300-sq-ft private terminal with a pilot lounge and snooze room, 10-seat conference room, and flight planning area, along with more than 20,000 sq ft of hangar space that can accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Cessna Citation Latitude. Amenities include a concierge and crew car. The FBO provides full-service fueling during normal operating hours, with self-serve avgas and call out available for jet-A after hours.

The airport is currently closed due to a resurfacing project on its 6,500-foot Runway 17/35. Southern Sky will take advantage of that pause to refurbish the terminal and install a new 20,000-gallon jet-A tank as it joins the Avfuel-branded dealer network. A grand re-opening event is planned to coincide with the completion of the runway project in October.

“We are a team that’s passionate about serving the aviation community and waited for the right opportunity to expand into the FBO business,” said Darryl Brewer, president of the company’s FBO operation. “We are honored to be the official gateway to the Pascagoula region and are ready to serve the airport’s tenants and guests with safe, quality services.”

AOPA’s Aviation Curriculum Receives STEM Accreditation

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Foundation obtained two accreditation recognitions for its high school aviation science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum from the independent credentialing and education research organization STEM (DotOrg).

The accrediting organization bestowed two “trustmarks” on AOPA’s STEM program, which is part of the association’s Learn to Fly Initiative, recognizing that it meets a range of objectives from developing critical thinking and communications skills to fostering STEM disciplines and strengthening capabilities for future careers.

AOPA’s curriculum involves six courses in two pathways (pilots and drones) for high school students. Schools may opt for a single course or a four-year program. The curriculum provides the material necessary to pass private pilot or remote pilot knowledge tests. More than 200 schools in 38 states used the AOPA Foundation curriculum this past school year and more than 8,000 students participated. AOPA said the curriculum is expanding in the coming years and attracting underrepresented backgrounds in aviation: 20 percent of the participants are female and 45 percent people of color.

“The opportunity to become accredited through STEM [DotOrg] is something that will elevate the AOPA Foundation’s curriculum to new heights,” said AOPA You Can Fly Program executive director Elizabeth Tennyson. “Many students don’t realize that being a pilot is an option for them and it really is very accessible. AOPA works hard to make it even more accessible."

Photo of the Week

Looking through a fishbowl. Today, AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter is sharing one of his favorite photos, taken by him at EBACE 2017 from inside the Gulfstream G650ER on static display. The image not only shows the breadth of the G650ER’s large oval windows, but also the packed EBACE static display area. Here’s to more views like these in the future as in-person airshows and conventions continue to ramp up post-pandemic.

If you'd like to submit an entry for Photo of the Week, email a high-resolution horizontal image (at least 2000 x 1200 pixels), along with your name, contact information, social media names, and info about it (including brief description, location, etc.) to photos@ainonline.com. Tail numbers can be removed upon request. Those submitting photos give AIN implied consent to publish them in its publications and social media channels.