NATA Offers Hangar Foam System Information

With accidental hangar foam discharges on the increase, NATA has released new online resources as part of its hangar foam fire suppression initiative. The Fire Marshal Toolkit educates those involved in setting local ordinances on hangar construction about factors affecting the decision to require foam fire suppression, such as aviation fuels, types of foam, possible environmental issues resulting from foam, causes of inadvertent system discharges, and insurance considerations.

It also outlines the trade organization’s proposed changes to the National Fire Protection Association’s 409 standard, which covers aviation hangar construction and is generally accepted as the industry standard in many jurisdictions. For FBOs and other hangar keepers, the Accidental Foam Discharge Checklist details steps they should take after such an unfortunate event, as well as what they shouldn’t do.

“NATA members have noted that hangar foam systems provide very little risk mitigation due to the very low incidence of hangar fuel fires, while dramatically increasing the cost of new hangar development,” said NATA president and CEO Timothy Obitts. “As part of our initiative to reduce the requirements for foam systems in aircraft hangars, we wanted to assist the industry by developing a resource guide for interacting with local fire officials during new hangar construction.”

For more on this issue, read AIN's just-published feature story, “Hangar Foam: A Solution Looking for a Problem?" If you've had an inadvertent hangar foam discharge and have an image of it you'd like share with AIN, please send it to editor in chief Matt Thurber.

Belgium Bizav Group ASL Ventures into Scheduled Service

Hasselt, Belgium-based ASL Group is branching out into scheduled flying and is launching a weekly flight from Brussels Airport to Ibiza on July 4 using an Embraer ERJ135 featuring a VIP cabin configuration with 30 seats. This will be followed by twice-weekly Antwerp-Innsbruck service over the winter months.

Dubbed ASL Fly Executive, the new concept is “placed somewhere between private charter flights and scheduled aviation,” said ASL Group founder and CEO Philippe Bodson. The company, which manages and operates 35 business jets, started analyzing the concept before Covid-19 as part of the growth ambitions of its Air Charters Europe (ACE) subsidiary, which it launched in 2018 and offers private jet charter flights for groups. The pandemic brought the project to the forefront, Bodson told AIN.

ASL Fly Executive operates from and to general aviation terminals, while the cabins of its ERJ135 and ERJ145 more easily enable social distancing with their 1+2 seating layout, allowing passengers to either sit alone or next to someone they know. ASL rigorously implements the EASA Covid-19 health safety guidelines across its operations, it said.

One day after opening bookings earlier this week, 40 percent of the inventory for the Brussels-Ibiza flight through the end of August was already sold. To be profitable ASL needs an 80 percent load factor, Bodson said. Prices start from €495 one-way.

France Funding Hybrid Airbus H125 Helicopter

Airbus Helicopters is poised to receive French government financial support to develop a hybrid powerplant for its H125 single. The financing is part of a $17 billion emergency infusion into the domestic aerospace industry triggered by the Covid-19 crisis. Beneficiaries include Airbus, Air France, Dassault, Safran, and Thales, and the aid is contingent on the recipients investing in environmentally “green” projects, including more efficient and lower-emission propulsion. The assistance also includes orders for 20 current-production Airbus helicopters, including eight H225Ms, 10 H160s, and two H145s.

Support for the hybrid project is part of France’s €300 million funding earmarked for aerospace research and development projects. The “Helybrid” H125 project appears to build on a previous program that incorporated backup electric propulsion into the slightly larger Airbus H130. The H130 shares a number of common drivetrain components with the H125. Revealed last year, the hybrid H130 is being developed in cooperation with Thales (electric motor) and Adeneo (electric converters). The hybrid H125 is targeting a 40 percent reduction in fuel consumption. A hydrogen-powered version is expected to fly by 2029.

Meanwhile, an Airbus spokesman told AIN that it still plans to receive EASA type certification approval for its H160 medium twin this year, although later than originally anticipated due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wisk Resumes Cora eVTOL Test Flights after Covid Halt

Wisk has resumed flying its Cora eVTOL aircraft after flight testing was interrupted by government restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 emergency. The company, which is a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, announced yesterday that it has restarted flights with four prototypes at its sites New Zealand and California.

Before the Covid pandemic, the Wisk development team had made more than 1,300 test flights in which it expanded the two-seater’s flight envelope and collected data to refine the design and develop procedures for operating the aircraft. According to flight-test director Carl Engel, the company has implemented some safety procedures and social distancing measures based on input from the local authorities. Over the past three months, Wisk has focused on work required to prepare for certification, software development, and operations.

In early February, the New Zealand government signed a memorandum of understanding with Wisk covering plans to conduct autonomous passenger-carrying flight trials in the Canterbury region. The agreement is part of the government’s industry-wide Airspace Integration Trials.

The company has not published a timeline for service entry for a model that it intends to be used for urban air mobility services. The all-electric Cora is expected to be able to fly up to around 62 miles at speeds of up to 112 mph.

Rural Orgs Urge Congress To Provide GA Fuel Tax Relief

A group of rural, agricultural, business, and public health organizations has joined the chorus of calls for the U.S. Congress to extend fuel tax relief to general aviation. Congress in March approved a temporary suspension of the aviation excise taxes, including the fuel taxes, on commercial aviation as part of the CARES Act. But the fuel taxes remained intact for non-commercial operators.

In a June 4 letter to the House and Senate leadership, 16 organizations praised the assistance provided through the Paycheck Protection Program, but said, “the general aviation industry, which includes all operations outside of commercial and military aviation, needs additional relief.”

The letter noted the plunge in general aviation operations, saying some airports have faced traffic declines of up to 95 percent. “Over a thousand rural communities have already been affected by this crisis, and this is exacerbated by the fact that over 11 million Americans live in a county that does not have a hospital, and an additional 18 million live in a county with no intensive care unit,” the letter states.

“General aviation and our network of airports support the health and economic well-being of communities across the country,” added Andrew Moore, executive director of the National Agricultural Aviation Association. “It is crucial that as businesses, farms and communities struggle to recover, that we support general aviation."

MRO Insider Expanding Network to Latin America

InterXtra is MRO Insider’s first affiliate for Mexico and Latin America under a new agreement between the companies. Led by CEO Luis Sanders, InterXtra will register new maintenance providers and aircraft operators in the region to MRO Insider’s aviation maintenance quoting network of service providers offering detailing, AOG, scheduled airframe and engine maintenance, avionics, paint, and interior modifications and refurbishment.

“Working with Luis and the InterXtra staff has brought tremendous value,” said MRO Insider co-founder Andy Nixon. “They have already signed up numerous XA-registered aircraft, as well as kept our team busy with Zoom demos for Mexican and Brazilian service providers. We look forward to building a long-lasting relationship that will benefit our two companies.”

InterXtra is a Mexico and Texas company that for the past 36 years has offered sales representation and business development consulting to aviation clients wanting to do business in Mexico and Latin America. “I met the MRO Insider team in 2019 and noticed the value it could provide to our friends, contacts, and clients in the region, so it made sense that InterXtra could assist within the territory for both Latin American MROs and operators,” Sanders said. “When we introduced the solution to a couple of people in Mexico, we received very positive feedback.”

Charter App Ascent Expands Helo Service to Thailand

Helicopter charter booking service Ascent is expanding its network to offer flights in Thailand. The Singapore-based company is starting services in partnership with local operators SFS Aviation and Advance Aviation.

Customers will be able to book flights either on a per-seat or whole-aircraft basis using Ascent’s app. Trips will be available within and between cities and regions, including the Thai capital of Bangkok, Chonburi, Rayong, Hua Hin, and Pattaya. Per-seat prices will start at around $260.

According to Ascent founder and CEO Lionel Sinai-Sinelnikoff, the new service is being introduced partly in response to the Thai government’s Eastern Economic Corridor, Thailand 4.0, and SmartCity initiatives. He said both operators have committed to follow Covid-19 safety protocols, including enhanced aircraft cleaning and frequent safety checks on crew.

Advance Aviation president and CEO Chai Nasylvanta said his company will offer customers direct helicopter connections in its all-Airbus fleet to and from private jet flights that it operates from its base at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport. SFS Aviation, which operates Sikorsky S-76C+ and Leonardo AW139 helicopters, is already active as a provider of flights for the oil and gas industry, as well as for emergency medical services.

Ascent already offers helicopter charter flights in the Philippines with local operator Inaec Aviation.

Jet Linx Applies Covid-killing Formula to Fleet

Jet card and aircraft management provider Jet Linx has begun applying the Bioprotectus System to its aircraft and at its network of private terminals. The system developed by ViaClean Technologies has been proven by two Centers of Excellence of the Global Virus Network to eliminate and provide protection against SARS-CoV-2, the unique coronavirus that causes Covid-19, for more than six weeks.

“Safety is always our utmost priority and there has never been a more significant impetus to utilize groundbreaking technologies such as the Bioprotectus System to safeguard our clients, flight crews, and ground personnel,” said Jet Linx president and CEO Jamie Walker. “We…believe that our ongoing application of the Bioprotectus System will enable us to navigate the road to recovery more confidently and rapidly.”

Jet Linx claims it is the first aviation operator to use the system that includes disinfectants, antimicrobial surface protectants, air filters, and hand sanitizers. In addition to using the system on its fleet and facilities, Jet Linx has installed Bioprotect hand purifier dispensers in its 19 private terminals and offers the product aboard its aircraft.

FBOs in Forefront of Bizav's Covid-19 Response

Traffic levels at FBOs remain well below recent trends due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but these facilities are thinking ahead to busier times and thus taking extra steps to keep passengers and crew safe. AIN senior editor Curt Epstein explains what this means for the industry.