Bombardier is celebrating the 350th delivery of its super-midsize Challenger 350, a milestone reached some six years after the 3,200-nm-range twinjet entered service, it announced today. The Canadian business aircraft manufacturer launched the model at EBACE 2013 as an upgraded version of the Challenger 300 with a new wing, more powerful Honeywell HTF7350 engines, larger cabin windows, and a redesigned interior.
“The 350th delivery of a Challenger 350 aircraft, reached after only six years in service, speaks volumes,” said Bombardier Business Aircraft senior v-p of worldwide sales and marketing Peter Likoray. “This achievement shows the great confidence customers place in this aircraft and demonstrates Bombardier’s production proficiency and strong supplier base.”
The Challenger 350 also holds the title of best-selling super-midsize business jet for six consecutive years, capturing 43 percent of market share in the segment last year. Over the past six years, Bombardier has enhanced the twinjet, adding an optional HUD and EVS, better cabin sound-proofing, refined cockpit aesthetics, and a short-runway performance improvement package.
As of May 31, the worldwide fleet of Challenger 350s has logged more than 648,000 flight hours and more than 383,000 landings.
U.S. Bizav Flying Boosted by July 4 Holiday Traffic
On a year-over-year basis, business aviation traffic in the U.S. was down only 7 percent over the extended Independence Day holiday weekend (July 1 to July 5), according to data released today by WingX Advance. The company said the performance illustrates that the segment’s recovery in the world’s key market is running apace, despite rising Covid-19 contagion and resumption of travel restrictions in some states.
Over the past two weeks, U.S. business jet and prop activity has reached 85 percent of normal levels for the period. In fact, California has reclaimed its status as the busiest state, with around 10,000 business aircraft departures in that period—8 percent under par. Meanwhile, Florida has sustained its year-over-year growth trends from June and is up 12 percent, and Colorado, Montana, and Arizona have all seen about 5 percent growth in flights in the two weeks preceding the July 4 holiday. But the U.S East Coast is still suffering the biggest declines over the period, with New York and New Jersey down 23 percent and 40 percent year-over-year, respectively.
Globally, recovery in aircraft utilization has been encouraging, with Europe back to 77 percent of normal activity, while Oceania and South America have stabilized at around 93 percent of usual activity, WingX said. Asia is down 27 percent below normal and Africa is still trailing by 31 percent.
The FAA’s Pilot Records Database notice of proposed rulemaking drew hundreds of comments expressing concerns over the expanded electronic requirements and the extended applicability. Released at the end of March, the proposal would require air carriers, fractional operators, air tour operators, and corporate operators to submit information to a new electronic Pilot Records Database and would require commercial operators to review information in that database before hiring pilots.
NATA said the proposal doesn’t adequately address a number of concerns, such as the need to follow up on records from businesses that have closed or the handling of omissions, errors, and lost records. Further, the FAA is calling for carriers to formalize a dispute process but offers no guidance on how such a process could be structured, NATA said.
GAMA, meanwhile, questioned the agency’s planned extension of the applicability to corporate operators. GAMA noted the FAA explanation deeming corporate operators as “gateway operators” for pilots seeking to build hours to eventually work for air carriers, but called that assumption erroneous.
AOPA agreed, saying the FAA went beyond the congressional mandate for an electronic PRD. “This proposed rule casts a much wider non-mandated net of applicability than [the Pilot Records Improvement Act] and will unnecessarily create additional requirements that will negatively impact thousands of small and sole-practitioner Part 91 operators,” AOPA said.
Embraer has unveiled further enhancements to its Praetor 500 midsize and Praetor 600 super-midsize jet cabins that include a HEPA filter that’s now standard on the aircraft, as well as an optional electric lavatory pocket door and approved use of MicroShield 360.
The addition of a HEPA filter that will come standard on all Praetor jets builds on the ability to move 100 percent fresh air through the cabin, according to Embraer. With the ability to capture 99.97 percent of all particles—bacteria, viruses, and fungi—the HEPA filter will improve cabin air quality. Following testing, the Brazilian airframer also has approved the use of MicroShield 360, an FDA-approved antimicrobial coating that kills 99.99 percent of bacteria for one year after application, that is clear, colorless, odorless, non-toxic, and hypoallergenic.
In addition, Embraer certified through ANAC in June an optional electric lavatory pocket door—which can also be retrofit on in-service Praetor and Legacy 450s and 500s—that also has been validated by EASA and the FAA. With the addition of the door, available starting in the fourth quarter , the emergency exit moves to the lavatory. Moving the emergency exit cutout will enhance cabin aesthetics, as well as improve functionality by reducing noise, improving temperature management, and allow full seat and table functionality.
Jet Aviation has brought hullo Aircrew, a collaborative platform for flight-crew staffing services, to the U.S., the Switzerland-based subsidiary of General Dynamics announced today. The platform connects operators with freelance and contract crewmembers, while also helping crewmembers find their next job quickly at no cost to them.
“Through the platform, thousands of crew can be contacted with a few clicks of the mouse,” said hullo Aircrew co-founder and COO Steve Payne. “Moreover, the coverage is global and always available.” More than 3,000 crew have registered with the platform.
“The hullo Aircrew platform completely transforms the existing hiring business model by integrating the latest technology in the marketplace to offer the most advanced system to easily match experienced certified crew to open contract positions in an instant,” said Jet Aviation staffing v-p Elaine Lapotosky. “Using technology as a tool to source talent is relatively new in aviation, and we are proud to be an industry innovator in this space.”
Leonardo has logged the first commercial and EMS order for its IFR-certified AW119Kx single-engine helicopter. Life Link III, which already operates 10 VFR-equipped AW119Kxs, placed an order for one IFR-equipped helicopter and optioned a second. Delivery is expected from the AW119 final assembly line in Philadelphia in third-quarter 2021.
Operating from bases in Minnesota and Wisconsin, Life Link III has amassed more than 21,000 hours on its AW119Kx fleet since 2014. Company CEO Steve Sterner said, “Our decision to become the first civilian user of the IFR-certified AW119 fully supports our mission of providing safe and effective air medical transport.”
Leonardo's IFR-certified AW119Kx gained FAA approval in July 2019 and is the platform selected for the U.S. Navy’s new primary helicopter training aircraft, the TH-73A. The aircraft is fitted with Genesys Aerosystems glass panel avionics and redundant flight systems typically found in twin-engine aircraft. The initial contract for the Navy was awarded earlier this year and covers 32 aircraft. Subsequent individual-year contracts are expected to bring total deliveries to 130 aircraft by 2024, with a value of $648.1 million.
This week's order for the first commercial IFR AW119Kx adds to Leonardo’s share of the North American helicopter EMS market, which already numbers 113 across a variety of models, including the AW119, AW109, AW169, and AW139.
Kinect Air Prepares To Launch Charter, Frax Programs
Private aviation startup Kinect Air has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support its plans to provide a mix of on-demand, per-seat charter and fractional ownership. The company, which plans to offer a mixed fixed-wing fleet before later adding new hybrid electric and eVTOL aircraft as these enter service, is in the process of establishing air operator certificates in both the U.S. and UK.
In the second quarter of 2021, Kinect Air is aiming to launch charter operations through its Together program with a mix of leased aircraft. This fleet might include larger aircraft such as Bombardier Dash 8 twin turboprops seating up to 80 passengers that could be used for group travel.
In September, the U.S.-based company intends to offer new customers the chance to buy fractional shares in its Anywhere program, offering aircraft including the four-seat Cirrus SR22 and the eight-seat Pilatus PC-12. Owners will be able to give back hours from their allocation to be offered for third-party charter flights and earn rebates on their operating costs, with Kinect Air claiming they will have broken even on these after 20 hours are re-sold.
Horizon International Flight Academy in the UAE has logged more than 1,000 hours on its fleet of 12 Bell 505 light singles it received from January through April. Horizon is using its 505 fleet mainly to train military pilots. “We are proud to be operating Bell 505s in our training program,” said Horizon CEO Hareb Al Dhaheri. “With the integrated glass cockpit, it enables our pilots in training to experience modern controls on a single-engine aircraft.”
“Crossing the 1,000-flight hour threshold in less than three months from its latest aircraft registration is a testament to Horizon and the Bell 505's ability to quickly meet mission requirements,” said Bell managing director of Africa and the Middle East Sameer A. Rehman. “It’s a privilege to work with the Horizon team to redefine flight training for the next generation of military and commercial pilots with the Bell 505's proven operational capabilities in desert environments.”
Bell has delivered more than 250 of the type since 2017. The five-seat aircraft features a dual-channel Fadec Turbomeca Arrius 2R engine and Garmin G1000H glass-panel avionics. With a top speed of 125 knots, it boasts a useful load of 1,500 pounds and a maximum range of 306 nm. Last year, Bell received FAA approval to increase the performance information service ceiling of the 505 to a density altitude of 22,500 feet.
The Trouble with Hangar Foam Fire-suppression Systems
Many fire departments require aircraft hangars to be fitted with foam fire-suppression systems, but a new NATA study has shown that in the U.S. alone false discharges have been happening as often as every six weeks for the past 16 years. The damage results in big costs for operators and now the industry is pressing for changes to National Fire Protection Association standards.
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