Bryan Willows, Bristow Group’s program manager for advanced air mobility, recently flew the Leonardo AW609 civil tiltrotor in Philadelphia. Willows is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with flight experience in the MV-22 Osprey military tiltrotor.
Bristow is the launch customer for the AW609 in the U.S. and is collaborating with Leonardo on modifications, operations, regulations, and maintenance related to the aircraft. The first Bristow AW609 is on the production line in Philadelphia. Willows said that “the AW609 is an important aircraft as Bristow helps advance vertical flight technology just like we have for the past 70 plus years.”
The helicopter operator has been flying Leonardo helicopters for 25 years and currently operates a fleet of 90 of the company’s aircraft, including AW139 and AW189 twins for missions such as offshore transport, search and rescue, and air ambulance in North and South America, Europe, and Africa.
AW609 flight-test aircraft have currently logged more than 1,700 hours. Leonardo opened a flight-training facility in Philadelphia last year that includes the world’s first AW609 full-flight simulator. The company said it expects the AW609 to enter service next year.
AINsight: A FAR Out Look at Part 91 Versus 135
New and repeat business aircraft buyers in the U.S. quickly realize when purchasing a business aircraft that the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) unavoidably and significantly impact a buyer’s business, tax, structuring, and other major decisions. The FARs even induce some buyers to purchase a different aircraft than they originally envisioned due to limits on flight operations at particular airports.
The key FARs for business aviation—14 CFR Part 91 and 14 CFR Part 135—also affect personal liability; taxes; aircraft operating expenses; employee, risk, and aircraft management; potential charter revenue; and flight support services. In other words, deciding whether to operate under Part 91 and Part 135 represents the takeoff—not the destination—for many essential structuring and planning aspects of aircraft ownership, operations, and management.
One of the most important decisions an owner makes other than acquiring the right aircraft is choosing to self-manage an aircraft in their own flight department under Part 91 or selecting a Part 135 commercial charter operator to manage the aircraft. The through-line for both Parts stems from the broad impact of applying Part 91 and Part 135 to virtually every major structuring, tax, risk management, and related business and legal decision.
Compliance with these Parts is not optional but working with a knowledgeable aviation team will help owners address the inherent complexities and achieve a positive experience as the owner or lessee of a business aircraft.
The “privacy inside a private jet” concept for Bombardier’s flagship Global 7500 by business aircraft interior design, finance, and management specialist Altea was named on Wednesday among the 2022 Best of the Best in Aviation Award winners from the Robb Report. The custom interior concept, aimed at younger customers, “breathes a relaxed air of familiarity for total immersion in ‘my space,’” and offers a “welcome alternative to the corporate, sterile look of many jets,” according to London-based Altea.
Its cabin concept includes individual “privacy zones” shielded by shell walls and smoky plexiglass that are both parts of and separate from the rest of the cabin zone. A “relax lounge” area that converts to a bedroom adds to the functional informality. In addition, the extensive use of vegan leathers and bio/natural materials throughout the interior enhances sustainability—a priority for Altea—and provides a 20 percent weight savings over conventional materials.
“We continuously research sustainability in luxury interiors,” said Altea founding partner and design specialist Robin Dunlop. “We look to alternative markets such as furniture production, automotive interiors, and other innovations with new materials for inspiration and knowledge.”
Altea unveiled the privacy inside a private jet concept earlier this year to coincide with a Global 7500 promotional tour. The company said the design is also compatible with Bombardier’s Global 8000, the Canadian airframer’s forthcoming flagship introduced at EBACE 2022.
With former Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz due to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 24, private aviation solutions provider Magellan Jets has teamed up on a charity contest with the Boston Red Sox Foundation and the David Ortiz Children’s Fund. They are sending one lucky winner and a guest on a private jet to accompany Ortiz, a 10-time all-star and World Series MVP nicknamed “Big Papi,” from Boston on his way to the induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York.
The package also includes three-night hotel accommodations for two, a pair of tickets to the Hall of Fame ceremony, and airfare back to Boston.
The window to enter the contest closes at 9 p.m. ET today. Net profits from the sweepstakes will benefit the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, which provides cardiac support services for needy children in the Dominican Republic and New England, and the Red Sox Foundation, which provides assistance to families and communities throughout the New England region.
While there is no cost to enter the sweepstakes, those making donations to the charity through the official website will receive more entries in the drawing pool depending on the amount of their contribution.
The European Parliament (EP) voted yesterday to support the European Commission’s ReFuelEU Aviation proposal to introduce an obligation to uplift an increasing percentage of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for all flights leaving the bloc starting in 2025. However, it decided to change some of the commission’s text and endorse most of the amendments put forward by its Transport and Tourism Committee late last month.
Amendments to the European Commission’s draft rules include more ambitious blending levels, a higher sub-mandate for synthetic fuels, and the possibility to establish a flexibility mechanism—including elements of a book-and-claim system—to enable fuel suppliers to provide SAF in the most cost-effective manner and to avoid imposing an “undue burden” on operations at small airports or airports in remote parts of the EU. The flexibility mechanism, which would remain in place for a 10-year transition period, would also prevent market players from abusing their market position.
European Parliament members increased the commission’s original proposal for the minimum share of SAF made available at EU airports from 5 percent in 2030, 32 percent in 2040, and 63 percent for 2050 to 6 percent, 37 percent, and 85 percent, respectively. The blending obligation starts in 2025 with a SAF share of 2 percent. In addition, the legislation would not allow national governments to impose higher SAF blending mandates.
Starting December 2, EASA Part 145 maintenance organizations will be required to meet revised regulations that require the implementation of a safety management system (SMS). Included in the new rules is a two-year transition period to Dec. 2, 2024, allowing time for maintenance organizations to correct any findings of noncompliance.
The SMS rules require maintenance organizations to implement hazard identification, risk management, and safety assurance processes, as well as the designation of a safety manager. To support the SMS processes, several other requirements have been changed, including the safety policy, internal occurrence reporting, competence of staff, and compliance monitoring, replacing quality assurance.
To verify that the maintenance organizations have a proper SMS, the regulation introduces requirements for each European state’s aviation authority. These new requirements “should enable the [authority] to verify and continuously monitor the effectiveness of the organization’s SMS and associated safety performance management,” EASA said.
The new sections of the regulation are intended to give individual aviation authorities the flexibility to customize the approval to any particular organization’s size, type of services offered, and if services extend beyond EU-certified aircraft.
A team of students at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands recently flew the first prototype of its Phoenix hydrogen-powered aircraft. The AeroDelft student team aims to promote the use of liquid hydrogen as an alternative to conventional aviation fuels by developing two hydrogen-powered aircraft: the remotely piloted Phoenix Prototype and the two-seat Phoenix Full Scale. The latter was revealed yesterday with a taxi run during the annual AeroDelft Summer Event at Breda International Airport.
Initial flights of the uncrewed prototype will be powered by electric batteries, but the team plans to shift to gaseous hydrogen, and then a piloted, liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft. The Phoenix prototype, a one-third scale model of the Phoenix Full Scale that looks like a glider, flew for the first time on June 14 for 14 minutes and reached an altitude of 350 meters (1,150 feet), AeroDelft chief prototype testing engineer Gerben Drijfhout told AIN.
“In the coming months, we will perform more flights on batteries to gather even more data and get comfortable with the aircraft,” Drijfhout said. “A gaseous hydrogen flight is then scheduled for 2023.” AeroDelft aims to fly the first full-scale version of its aircraft with a pilot on board in 2024 using hydrogen gas. Liquid hydrogen-powered flights of the full-size model are expected to begin in 2025.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
Airbus Helicopters has delivered its 7,000th aircraft from the Ecureuil family of single-engine models, which includes the H125 AStar and H130. The milestone helicopter—an H125 assembled in Marignane, France—was handed over to Blugeon Hélicoptères, a French company that specializes in high-altitude sling work.
It will join Blugeon’s existing fleet of five H125s located at three bases in the French Alps and a fourth in the Pyrenees. Each of Blugeon’s H125s flies an annual average of 600 hours performing passenger transport, power line surveillance, filmmaking, avalanche prevention, mountain rescue, and large-scale hoisting missions. The company has logged almost 45,000 hours on the type, and CEO Christian Blugeon has been flying the H125 for more than 20 years.
“Since the first Ecureuil took to the skies in 1974, this family of aircraft forever changed the light-helicopter market and the way aerial work is performed,” said Axel Aloccio, head of the light-helicopters program at Airbus. “Designed to be a simple, practical, and competitive aircraft, the secret of its success lies in its excellent performance and its incredible ability to adapt to operators’ needs.”
The Ecureuil is currently operated by 2,014 customers in 124 countries in both civil and military versions and has exceeded 37 million flight hours. It holds several altitude records, including on May 14, 2005, when Didier Delsalle landed an H125 on the summit of Mount Everest.
Photo of the Week
Reach for the Stars. Aviation communications veteran Mike Potts shared this photo of the “amazing” Milky Way taken at 39,000 feet over northern Arizona from a Southwest Airlines Boeing Max 8. A faint glow from Phoenix is captured at the bottom of the picture. Thanks for sharing, Mike!
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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