Pilots in Delta Air Lines’ Propel college path program will be able to log flight hours with Wheels Up under a new partnership between the companies. Launched in 2018, Propel is aimed at identifying, selecting, and developing new pilots. So far, more than a dozen Propel graduates have become Delta pilots.
“The diverse type of flying operations and attentive customer service skills associated with Wheels Up’s on-demand charter operation will instill a foundation for Propel candidates to have a successful career ahead at Delta,” said Ashish Naran, a former corporate pilot who is now a Delta captain and lead pilot recruiter at the airline. “It’s all about getting the job done right and safely for the customer, and this partnership with Wheels Up will set that strong foundation for this next generation of Delta pilots.”
“We believe that working together we can provide meaningful and exciting assignments for pilots at every stage of their careers,” said Wheels Up chief people officer Stevens Saint-Rose. “We collectively want to innovate in how we attract, retain, and develop the very best pilots in the industry.”
Delta plans to hire and train more than 2,400 pilots this year.
AINsight: Who’s Responsible for Wake Vortex Avoidance?
Wake turbulence can be a threat on any flight. Every aircraft, both large and small, generates wake turbulence as a function of creating lift. Wake turbulence vortices can vary in strength, duration, and direction and if encountered can cause a loss of control inflight event or accident.
Notably, a pilot accepting a clearance to visually follow a preceding aircraft accepts the responsibility for traffic separation and wake turbulence avoidance. This is a common scenario for a wake turbulence encounter when pilots accept a clearance for a visual approach behind landing traffic. In this case, the pilot must maintain separation both vertically and horizontally from the preceding aircraft.
According to the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), the most common hazard of a wake turbulence encounter is associated with induced rolling moments that can exceed the roll control authority of an aircraft. In rare cases, the wake encounter can cause catastrophic in-flight structural damage.
An in-flight wake turbulence encounter close to the ground is almost always fatal. Wake turbulence encounters at higher altitudes can only be mitigated through proper and appropriate upset recovery training. But the trick to surviving a wake turbulence encounter is to avoid it altogether.
Being knowledgeable on avoidance procedures—especially those outlined in the AIM—and pilot responsibilities, including the acceptance of visual approaches, will help mitigate the risk of a wake turbulence encounter.
Dassault has completed wind tunnel tests and begun production of the first primary parts for its ultra-long-range Falcon 10X and is still aiming for the aircraft's service entry in late 2025. During the company's first-half results announcement on Wednesday, chairman and CEO Eric Trappier said these plans for service entry were ambitious as the aircraft remains on a tight schedule against the backdrop of industry-wide supply chain issues and lingering Covid difficulties.
He noted that given the 10X’s 7,500-nm range, Dassault has giventhe cabin—which will be the widest for a purpose-built business jet at nine-feet one-inch—particular attention to comfort and efficiency. He was pleased that the cabin, a mockup of which has been on tour, has already begun to capture accolades, including theRed Dot Award.
Trappier also gave updates regarding the Mach 0.925 aircraft’s Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X engines, which have now amassed more than1,000 hours, and said the program is progressing well.
The company's 5,500-nmFalcon 6X, meanwhile, is prepping for service entry around the middle of next year. Trappier noted that the company had announced the schedule slip in May as the Covid crisis pushed out the first delivery slightly. The aircraft is now wrapping up a four-week, 50-stop world tour that has involved 150 hours and three flight-test aircraft that as of late June had accrued 900 hours.
Signature Flight Support has agreed to publish its fee schedule in AOPA’s online airport directory in an apparent victory for the association, which has long advocated for FBO pricing transparency. The culmination of lengthy negotiations between the largest aviation service provider chain and AOPA, Signature's fee pricing at its U.S. locations went live yesterday on the AOPA site.
“Signature is committed to pricing transparency and is making significant investments to develop the technology infrastructure that make this possible,” Derek DeCross, Signature Aviation's SVP of global customer engagement, told AIN. “The launch of our retail pricing information via the AOPA directory is just the first step towards providing customers with comprehensive tools and information that simplify flight planning. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with AOPA and other industry partners, as we work towards achieving this mutually shared objective.”
Starting in 2018, Signature had published pricing but limited it to piston aircraft services at certain locations. The information now covers the entire spectrum of aircraft Signature services. It now joins fellow mega-chain Atlantic Aviation, which began providing its fee information in September, and smaller chains such as Cutter Aviation and Wilson Air Center, along with numerous independent and municipally-operated FBOs.
Gogo Business Aviation’s U.S. 5G network is on budget and on schedule for launch by the end of the year as the company hit the project’s halfway milestone with the installation of its 75th site. It noted that continuing tests of the system have been positive.
“Getting to the 50 percent mark for our 150-tower 5G nationwide network in a matter of months is an incredible accomplishment,” said Mike Rupert, the Colorado-based company’s v-p of network operations. “We have a team of network experts that have been working hard to bring the 5G network to life, building sites across the country.”
Gogo’s software-centric Avance platform allows customers to evolve their in-flight connectivity system with upgrade paths to the provider’s 5G network and future global low-earth orbit satellite-based product. Once operational, the 5G service is expected to deliver an average of 25 Mbps, with peak speeds up to 80 Mbps. It was designed to provide high throughput with very low latency as the demand for data-heavy services such as videoconferencing increases.
Duncan Aviation has been selected by Gogo to complete the first-article supplemental type certificate (STC) for the onboard 5G system hardware, in addition to follow-on STCs for more than 30 business aircraft models. Additional STCs are being developed by other authorized Gogo dealers for retrofit installations, as well as by airframers as factory-installed options.
Textron, the Rhode Island-based parent company of Textron Aviation, has made a $1 million donation to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Foundation to support its You Can Fly initiative and high school aviation STEM curriculum. AOPA intends to use the donation to broaden the reach of the programs to high school students.
More than 12,000 high school students in 44 states participate in the programs, which are aimed at building a workforce shortage in aviation. “It addresses one of the most pressing issues facing the entire aviation industry, and it puts high school students on a solid track to rewarding careers,” said AOPA Foundation and You Can Fly senior v-p Elizabeth Tennyson.
A pillar of You Can Fly, the STEM curriculum was launched in the 2017 to 2018 academic year and recently celebrated its first graduates, 58 percent of whom said they plan to pursue careers as pilots, aerospace engineers, and maintenance technicians. Forty percent of students are minorities, 21 percent are female, and 54 percent attend mid- to high-poverty schools.
Vertical Aerospace is expanding operational mission possibilities of its VX4 eVTOL vehicle under a new partnership with Babcock International, the companies said this week at the Farnborough Airshow. Vertical and Babcock will establish a joint working group to explore variants for applications such as emergency medical services and cargo transport.
Babcock, which counts 35 years of EMS experience, will provide its expertise in medical response and operations, as well as in support. The working group will examine the use of the VX4 for attending to accidents and providing emergency transport between hospitals, among other services.
Meanwhile, the two companies will jointly develop MRO capabilities that would provide cost-effective maintenance in remote and challenging environments. Other possibilities would include whether the eVTOL could support armed forces with medium-range logistics delivery and casualty evacuation services.
The working group will also look at how operators could use the V4X to reduce emissions and overall costs, the companies said. “As a business, we’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint, and this partnership is an exciting step into the world of electric aircraft,” said Phil Craig, managing director of UK aviation at Babcock. “Exploring V4X’s technological capabilities allows us to understand how it can be used to deliver critical care and logistical support in challenging environments with zero emissions.”
Milestone Aviation has delivered a second Leonardo AW169 to UK-based Sloane Helicopters. Sloane will operate the medium-twin helicopters on behalf of the Children’s Air Ambulance UK, an inter-hospital transfer service that flies critically ill children from bases in the North and South of England. The two aircraft are part of the charity’s fleet renewal program. Its first AW169 was delivered in December.
“The lease of these helicopters further strengthens our established and growing relationship with Milestone,” said Sloane managing director Jeremy Awenat. "The AW169 is the benchmark helicopter in its category offering performance, speed, and high safety standards, all of which will contribute to the crucial services provided by the Children’s Air Ambulance UK.”
Milestone supports more than 40 customers in more than 35 countries serving a variety of industries, including offshore oil and gas, search and rescue, emergency medical services, police surveillance, mining, firefighting, and other utility missions.
Photo of the Week
Spotted on the ramp. Corporate pilot Dan Busse snapped this image of his company’s Embraer Phenom 100 fueling up at Kit Carson airport (KITR) in Burlington, Colorado, at sunset. Airport flood lights provided the front lighting, he noted. Thanks for sharing, Dan!
Keep them coming. 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.
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