Hansueli Loosli Takes Over as Chair of Pilatus

Pilatus Aircraft formally elected Hansueli Loosli to replace Oscar Schwenk as chairman, the Swiss company said today. Schwenk announced Loosli as his successor in April when he revealed plans to relinquish the position, which he'd held for 15 years.

Schwenk, who has been with Pilatus since 1978, previously held a variety of other roles with Pilatus, including CEO. Pilatus credited Schwenk for reshaping Pilatus, “turning the former company focused on subcontracting work into an aircraft manufacturing plant with a clear product strategy, namely, to build the world’s best aircraft in its niche.” This included the successful introductions of the PC-12 turboprop single, PC-21 military trainer, and PC-24 light jet.

Schwenk will continue to play a role in the company, supporting its strategic direction as honorary president. He also will continue as honorary chairman and chairman of the board of directors of subsidiary Pilatus Australia.

Loosli joined Pilatus's board in mid-2020 and has chaired numerous other boards, including those of Coop, Swisscom, Bell Food Group, and Transgourmet. Also during this month’s Pilatus Annual General Meeting, Martin Furrer and Mario Rossi were added to the board. Furrer is a member of the executive board and a partner of Baker & McKenzie Zurich, and Rossi has worked for Swisscom for more than 20 years, most recently as CFO.

SmartSky ATG Network Goes Live in Southeast Corridor

SmartSky has stood up its first fully operational coverage zone—a large contiguous portion of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina—for its air-to-ground broadband network, it said late last week. This enables route-based flight demonstrations for business jets and turboprops and puts the company closer to certification and commercial launch in most of the continental U.S. later this year.

“While our primary goal remains lighting up the remainder of the nationwide network in the coming months, we are now showcasing the inflight networking capabilities and services that SmartSky is bringing to market for the connected aircraft ecosystem of operators, manufacturers, service providers, and passengers,” said SmartSky CEO David Helfgott.

Months of successful field testing have ensured that the entire system performs to specification, SmartySky noted. Technical milestones achieved include seamless site-to-site handover across varying speeds, altitudes, and ranges with high data throughput above both rural and urban areas. “SmartSky’s patented beamforming and spectrum reuse technologies successfully performed across sectors and sites throughout the entire corridor, proving the novel network’s design functions well,” the company said.

Argus: European Bizav Ops Rebound 156% in May

Business aviation activity showed a sharp rebound across all categories in May in Europe with an overall 156.7 percent increase from a year earlier, when traffic had slowed to a trickle as the pandemic took root, according to the latest Argus TraqPak report.

Argus May 2021 data showed that the midsize jet category marked the largest resurgence in Europe, up 227.8 percent year-over-year. Looking at super-midsize jets alone, that increase is even greater at 282.5 percent. Activity was up 197.7 percent for “base” midsize jets. As for the other categories, large-jet activity increased 213.7 percent, while light-jet operations experienced a 168.1 percent rebound.

Turboprops, meanwhile, marked an 83.8 percent increase year-over-year, almost mirroring the 83.7 percent increase they experienced in April. Single-engine turboprops drove this gain in May, up 135.2 percent with multi-engine turboprops posting a more modest 59.3 percent increase in the month—the only category to come in under triple-digit gains.

May business aviation activity in Europe came in 39 percent higher than April and marked increases across all categories. Light-jet activity led the monthly increase at 53 percent with large jets up 33.5 percent and midsize jets higher at 48.5 percent. Turboprop activity further posted a 24.3 percent increase.

Argus expects business aviation activity to be up year-over-year by 52 percent in June.

Snorkel Suspect in Fatal Firefighting Copter Crash

A series of events that began with a swinging firefighting snorkel preceded the fatal crash of a 1981 Sikorsky UH-60A last month in Leesburg, Florida, that killed all four aboard, according to the NTSB’s preliminary report. N9FH, registered to Brainerd Helicopters, was conducting the first flight of a new STC-approved firefighting system.

After six uneventful water drops, things went askew on the seventh run, when the snorkel was observed swinging “violently” and then apparently hitting the main rotor blades, causing at least two of them to separate. Either the blades or the snorkel then caused the tail boom to also separate in flight. The main cabin wreckage was located in a wooded swamp 1,322 feet east of Runway 3, while other key components were located some distance away.

Before impact, the main cabin was observed to be spinning and after impact was consumed by a post-crash fire. Employees of the operator attempted to contact the pilot when the snorkel began to swing, both via the airport control tower and through hand signals. One employee telephoned the tower and requested a relay of instructions to slow down and land immediately. Another ran beside the helicopter and made urgent gestures to the pilot.

GAMA Forms Partnership with SAE International

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) signed an agreement with SAE International to collaborate on various general and business aviation technologies and activities, including advanced air mobility (AAM), electric/hybrid propulsion, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and rotorcraft.

Designed to increase coordination and foster innovation in new technologies, the collaboration will also encompass manufacturing, quality, maintenance, and repair and overhaul, among other areas. In addition, the organizations will work to develop SAE standards that serve members of both organizations. 

“The partnership between SAE International and GAMA provides a strong platform for collaboration between our organizations,” said David Alexander, director of aerospace standards at SAE International. “This strategic partnership is an important effort on behalf of our respective members to advance sustainable and practical flight and address the mobility needs of society.” 

GAMA added that the collaboration will provide benefits for the industry at large. “GAMA looks forward to working closely with SAE International to further advance environmental sustainability and new technologies in general aviation,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce. “Through this partnership, both GAMA and SAE International will be able to promote the important interests and activities of the aviation industry and our memberships.”

European Firm Offers Lower-cost Upset Recovery Training

Upset Training Solutions International (UTSI) is now offering lower-cost upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) for pilots in Europe at its facility at Breda International Airport in the Netherlands. The program has also been vetted and approved by Mesa, Arizona-based UPRT provider Aviation Performance Solutions.

According to UTSI, increasing demand for EASA Advanced UPRT FCL.745.A certificates is driving the need for lower-cost UPRT solutions in Europe. Thus, UTSI has partnered with the Test and Training Centre (TTC), a Netherlands-approved training organization to provide one- and two-day EASA Advanced UPRT solutions.

“UTSI aligns with TTC’s ongoing commitment to providing critical regulatory training services to European pilots,” said TTC general manager and co-owner Francois Jurres. “Our decision to go lean and provide a one-day EASA Advanced UPRT program is in response to the realities of the flight training industry in the EU as we transition through Covid-19 back to normal operations.”

Medway Expands Air Ambulance Fleet as Demand Rises

Seeing an increasing demand for domestic and international air medical transport, Georgia-based medevac provider Medway Air Ambulance is adding three Bombardier Learjet 45s to its owned fleet of Learjet 35s. The larger cabin of the Learjet 45s will accommodate the equipment needed to handle neonatal transports, the company added.

Neonatal and pediatric medevac flights are one area of growth for the Part 135 operator, which claims to be a preferred air ambulance provider for top children’s hospitals. Medway also partners with travel assistance insurance plans to transport ill or injured patients—especially those traveling in the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America—back to the U.S. or Canada. The Learjet 45s will be staffed with two pilots and two critical-care clinicians and outfitted with ICU capability to treat adult and pediatric patients.

“We have positioned Medway for growth in both our domestic and international markets,” said Medway flight operations v-p Matt Kinney. “We have invested in the aircraft, equipment, and personnel to expand our reach and help more patients than ever before. With greater flight capacity, we can increase patient access to specialty care, rehabilitation facilities, and children's hospitals across the country.”

Customs Will Investigate Helicopter Use on Protestors

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said it would evaluate its “policies and procedures” as part of an investigation into the use of one of its helicopters at an oil pipeline protest in Minnesota last Monday. Video posted to Twitter clearly showed the helicopter, a CBP AStar, maneuvering to “dust” protestors at altitudes witnesses said were as low as 20 feet agl.

The Northern Lights Task Force, a conglomeration of local and county law enforcement agencies tasked with providing security for construction of the Enbridge #3 pipeline in the area, said they had requested the helicopter to broadcast messages to the protestors encouraging them to disperse. In a statement, the task force blamed “extremely dry conditions” for the dust kicked up in the area and denied that it was “an intentional act to cause discomfort or intended as a dispersal mechanism.”

However, witnesses said the helicopter made multiple passes, with its rotor wash kicking up substantial dust and debris each time, and that any messages broadcast from the helicopter were inaudible. The task force said Monday’s protest resulted in the issue of 68 citations and another 179 persons taken into custody.