Surf Air Mobility Bets Big on Hybrid-electric Caravan
Surf Air Mobility has committed to buying up to 150 Cessna Grand Caravan EX utility turboprop singles from Textron Aviation and plans to replace their Pratt & Whitney PT6 turbine engines with hybrid-electric propulsion systems beginning in 2024. The provisional order announced this morning is for 100 Grand Caravan EXs and options for 50 more, with deliveries to begin in the second quarter of 2022. The transaction is subject to it securing further financing, Surf Air Mobility said.
Surf Air Mobility plans to develop a hybrid-electric propulsion system and will seek an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) to install the system in its Caravan fleet. The powertrain will use a turbo-generator to charge batteries that run an electric motor-driven propeller. Surf Air Mobility is still in discussions with electric motor, the turbo-generator, and battery manufacturers.
Earlier this year, Surf Air Mobility acquired hybrid-electric aircraft developer Ampaire, which will drive technological development of the hybrid-electric Caravan STC. Ampaire has demonstrated the Electric EEL, a hybrid-electric conversion of a Cessna 337 Skymaster, and it had also planned to develop hybrid-electric propulsion for the De Havilland Twin Otter and Grand Caravan.
The company hasn’t applied to the FAA yet for the Caravan STC. After STC approval, Surf Air Mobility will also offer the hybrid-electric upgrade to existing Grand Caravan owners.
Cirrus Aircraft today unveiled the upgraded G2+ Vision Jet with optimized engine performance, Gogo in-flight connectivity, and new exterior paint options. Deliveries of the $2.98 million airplane are set to start next month.
This builds on the G2 version unveiled in 2019, which featured increased cruise altitude, speed, and range, along with a Garmin-based Perspective Touch+ flight deck and autothrottle. Last year, Cirrus added Safe Return Emergency Autoland, its branding for Garmin Autoland, to its jet.
“The G2+ Vision Jet is the next step in continuing to transform personal aviation,” said Cirrus Aircraft CEO Zean Nielsen. “The enhancements to both the takeoff performance capabilities in hot-and-high conditions and the in-flight Wi-Fi-connected passenger experience ensure that the Vision Jet continues to exceed the evolving needs of our owners.”
On the G2+, the Williams FJ33-5A engine has an optimized thrust profile that provides up to 20 percent increased performance during takeoff. Meanwhile, a Gogo Avance L3 system adds high-speed connectivity, while new USB-C ports keep Wi-Fi-connected devices charged.
To bolster the G2+’s “unmistakable” ramp presence, Cirrus has added new exterior color options—including Titan Grey, Volt, and Bimini Blue—as well as updated design lines that accentuate the curve of the jet’s carbon-fiber fuselage.
Garmin Autopilot Certified in Bell 505
Garmin has added the Bell 505 to the list of FAA approvals for its GFC 600H helicopter flight control system (HFCS). The first certification program for the GFC 600H was the Airbus Helicopters AS350 AStar, which received the agency's nod in February 2020.
In the Bell 505, Garmin added new features to the GFC 600H installation to continue improving safety and utility, including a new yaw trim switch, which allows the pilot to fly with the inclinometer (ball) out of trim—permitting an observer to get a better view, for example. Other features of the GFC 600H on the Bell 505 include attitude hold with speed stability, hover-assist mode, electronic stability and protection limit cueing, return-to-level (LVL) mode, overspeed and low-speed protections, and—with navigation input from the G1000H—fully coupled missed approach procedures, holds, and search-and-rescue patterns.
The GFC 600H is available in the Bell 505 in two- or three-axis configurations, with the optional yaw servo providing yaw control and the new yaw trim feature. The console-mounted mode controller has push-button controls and its display is night vision goggle compatible.
Bell is offering the GFC 600H as the “preferred factory-installed option” for new 505s, and next month Garmin dealers will make it available as a retrofit installation.
Hartzell Propeller has purchased the assets of Tanis Aircraft Products, a Minnesota-based manufacturer of engine and aircraft preheat systems for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. The Tanis brand will become part of Hartzell’s heated products, including systems for propeller de-ice and preheat for piston and turbine engines, helicopters, batteries, avionics, and aircraft cabins. Tanis engineering, sales, and administrative staff will continue to be based near the Anoka County Airport in suburban Minneapolis, but manufacturing operations will move to Hartzell in Piqua, Ohio.
Tanis has a wide range of piston and turbine engine preheat products that include preheat kits and systems for engines manufactured by Honeywell (Garrett), GE, Pratt & Whitney, Safran (Turbomeca), and Rolls-Royce (Allison), that are approved for fixed-wing aircraft, including Pilatus and Viking, and helicopters from manufacturers such as Airbus, Bell, Enstrom, Erickson, Hélicoptères Guimbal, Leonardo, MDHI, Robinson, and Sikorsky. Tanis also produces preconditioning systems for oil coolers, gearboxes, fuel control units, mod motors, and hydraulic units. Piston-engine products include systems developed for Austro, Continental, Franklin, Jabiru, Jacobs, Lycoming, and Rotax powerplants.
The Hartzell umbrella of companies includes Hartzell Propeller, Hartzell Engine Technologies, Quality Aircraft Accessories, and AWI-AMI (Aerospace Welding Minneapolis and Aerospace Manufacturing) that form the general aviation business unit of Tailwind Technologies.
Being Prepared Goes Beyond the Requirements
Simply meeting a regulatory minimum is not enough. Pilots must be trained to excel and command their aircraft with calm confidence. Proficient is capable. Prepared is unshakeable. Pilots and their passengers shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security that checking a box is the same as being prepared.
Florida’s Treasure Coast International Airport (KFPR) in Fort Pierce has issued an RFP for tenants looking to occupy a recently completed 28,500 sq-ft-hangar.
One of the few new facilities available in the area, the Group 1 hangar, which features a 44-foot-high and 170-foot-wide door, with a peak height of more than 59 feet, can accommodate aircraft up to an Airbus A320 with room to spare for an Embraer 175. It is protected by an automatic sprinkler/high-expansion foam system that can expand to eventually serve future adjoining hangars.
KFPR owner St. Lucie County sees the new hangar and its 28,500-sq-ft ramp as ideally suited as an MRO base and the centerpiece for further development on the east side of the field, which has three additional adjacent two-acre plots ready for immediate hangar construction. With its 6,490-foot main runway and aviation services provided by APP Jet Center, the lone FBO, the airport authority plans to develop a corporate hangar campus on the west side with a private-sector partner or partners.
Proposals to lease the new hangar must be submitted by Tuesday, August 31, at 4 p.m. local time.
South Africa’s ‘Rocket’ Air Ambulance Service Takes Off
South African helicopter EMS (HEMS) firm Rocket transported some 300 patients during its recently concluded first year of service, dispatching from bases in Johannesburg and Kimberley. The company's acronym stands for “rapid on-call emergency transport.”
A division of Henley Air, Rocket operates a mixed fleet of five Bell 222s and plans to add three Bell 230s in the coming months. Operating with a staff of 25, the company's two bases can cover roughly one-third of the country. Rocket is one of five HEMS/air ambulance firms currently operating in the country—the others are Netcare 911, HALO, Red Cross AMS, Black Eagle Aviation—and the entire venture is privately funded by two shareholders.
To date, Rocket has had no problems with sourcing parts for the vintage 222s, either from third-party providers or directly from Bell, according to Henley Air Group chairman Dr. Andre Coetzee, who said he literally scoured the globe to find the right machines. Coetzee said he came up with the idea to launch Rocket in 2011, but the “idea didn’t gain traction” until 2019.
A DOT Inspector General report released late last week found that the FAA “lacks sufficient oversight controls for managing its National Airspace System (NAS) parts inventory and continues to maintain excessive quantities of old and unserviceable parts.”
The report claims this alleged lack of oversight occurred partly “because the FAA lost automatic functionality for monitoring excess inventory levels after it transitioned to a new inventory management system” starting in 2016. “The transition also impacted the FAA’s ability to track excess, obsolete, or unserviceable items to final disposition and monitor exchange and repair parts shipped to and from the field.” Furthermore, the FAA faces about $1 million in quantity discrepancies, the DOT IG said.
Of the DOT IG’s seven recommendations, the FAA concurred with six. The agency partially concurred with one recommendation and provided an alternative action but did not describe the action it will take if parts are not returned or the effect of unreturned parts on financial statements. “Therefore, we consider that recommendation open and unresolved,” the report concluded.
The FAA’s NAS inventory is valued at $735 million, and each year the agency ships and receives approximately 200,000 parts to/from FAA field offices and other domestic and international customers.
Kit Copter Maker RX Enters eVTOL Market
A kit helicopter company is entering the eVTOL market. Rotor X (RX) is partnering on the development civilian and military multicopter aircraft that can be powered by either conventional internal combustion (ICE) or all-electric engines. In January, Rotor X acquired the assets of Chandler, Arizona-based Rotorway International, the long-time manufacturer of two-seat kit helicopters, including the A600 Talon Turbo.
In partnership with Advanced Tactics (AT) of Torrance, California, RX is now developing the quadrotor, six-seat RX eTransporter for passenger, medevac, search and rescue, and cargo operations. The eTransporter uses a small wing to enhance lift, can fly more than 1.5 hours or hover for up to 45 minutes on a single charge, and can safely fly with one engine out.
RX is targeting this fall to begin flight testing and 2022 for FAA certification for a cargo variant, with the passenger version to be approved by 2024. The company said the aircraft’s technology has been in development for “over a decade” and builds on AT’s eight-engine air-land vehicle, the “Black Knight Transformer” that first flew in 2014 and could be driven on the ground. AT is working with the USAF on two contracts related to the eTransporter. RX would build a civilian version of that aircraft.
People in Aviation
Aircraft managed co-ownership company Partners In Aviation hired aircraft finance, sales, and operations veteran Perry Bridges as its new v-p of operations. Bridges most recently served as v-p of aviation at Bank OZK, where he led turbine-lending efforts for the U.S. Midwest. He also previously was a Cessna Citation and Beechcraft King Air regional sales director at Textron Aviation.
Amber Langhart was appointed director of marketing for SolJets. Langhart previously spent 10 years as marketing manager of advertising and promotions for Pilatus Aircraft.
Ralph Henschen has joined Traxxall as regional sales director for the European region covering an area from Germany to Russia and Scandinavia to Turkey. Henschen, who previously was senior sales manager for EMEA at RocketRoute and continues to serve as a flight instructor for Airbus, also has held leadership roles with King Airlines and Arik Air.
Penny Pitts was named marketing manager for Epic Fuels. Pitts has a 15-year background working on regional, nationwide, and international marketing projects working with global brands such as Verizon, FedEx, and the American Heart Association, as well as a range of start-up and midsize businesses.
Heather Sermo joined Pentastar Aviation as v-p of human resources. Sermo previously was human resource director for RoboVent.
Duncan Aviation named Logan McCabe to lead the company’s newest satellite repair station at Chantilly Air in the Washington, D.C. area. McCabe has served with Duncan for more than seven years, beginning as an installations specialist at the company’s satellite in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and later becoming crew leader at the satellite in Austin, Texas.
Elliott Aviation hired Sorel Groesbeck to serve as a talent acquisition specialist. Sorel has a background in recruiting in a number of industries, including higher education, manufacturing, and insurance, and most recently worked with a large healthcare company.
Mente Group named Cole White managing director for the U.S. South. A former U.S. Army armor officer, White most recently was v-p of transactions for Mente and earned his certified broker designation from the International Aircraft Dealers Association in 2019.
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