Avionics manufacturer Garmin is celebrating having achieved delivery of more than 25,000 integrated flight decks since launching the G1000 avionics suite in 2003. The systems have been installed as forward-fit and retrofit applications in regional airliners, business jets and turboprops, light airplanes, helicopters, and in military and government aircraft.
Garmin introduced the G1000 in March 2003; the avionics were first selected by Cessna for its Citation Mustang very light jet, which was certified on Sept. 8, 2006. The first in-service G1000 systems flew in Cessna and Diamond piston singles starting in June 2004. While Garmin has continuously upgraded the G1000 avionics—the current version is the NXi configuration—it also expanded the reach of its integrated flight decks by introducing the G3000 and G5000 for turbine aircraft in 2010. Honda Aircraft played a major role in development of the G3000, which it selected for the HondaJet.
The G3000/G5000 avionics adopted the first widespread application of touchscreens in the aviation market, using touchscreen controllers that simplified the way pilots interact with the avionics. Most significant, however, is that Garmin leapfrogged traditional avionics manufacturers with flight management system (FMS) design. Instead of replicating the challenging interface used on most FMSs, Garmin designed the touchscreen controllers with a simplified icon-based interface that eliminated the need to memorize complicated FMS commands.
Otto Aviation has confirmed plans for a 19-seat, hydrogen-powered version of its Celera aircraft that could be operated on flights of up to 1,000 nm. The Celera 750L is a stretched version of the 500L that the U.S. company has in development. It announced today that ZeroAvia will integrate its ZA600 hydrogen-electric powertrain as an alternative propulsion system to the Red A03 diesel engine being used for the 500L.
Its six-seat Celera 500L features a laminar-flow design that Otto claims will deliver 4,500-nm range at cruise speeds of 391 knots. The company has not provided more details about the projected performance for the 750L.
In December 2020, Otto announced plans to develop a zero-emissions version of the 500L and have it available by 2027. That is two years after the first Celera model is due to enter service.
According to ZeroAvia, the Celera 750L will provide even more competitive operating costs due to reduced maintenance expenses for the propulsion system and the lower price for hydrogen versus jet-A. Within the next few weeks, ZeroAvia expects to start flying a 19-seat Dornier 228 testbed aircraft fitted with the 600-kW ZA600 powertrain. It has a pair of the turboprop twins that it will work on at its facilities in California and the UK.
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.
NATA is transitioning its leadership with the decision of executive v-p Ryan Waguespack to leave the association in a full-time capacity at the end of this month to pursue another opportunity. Waguespack, however, has agreed to remain engaged with the association as a senior advisor effective June 30.
Along with the transition, NATA last month announced the promotion of Keith DeBerry from senior v-p of safety and education to COO and Karen Huggard to v-p of government affairs. In addition, the association retained FAA and industry veteran Ken Thompson as a senior advisor for maintenance.
Waguespack joined NATA in November 2018 as senior v-p of aircraft, management, and MROs, and has since led the association’s efforts to combat illegal charter, helped raised awareness of aviation businesses at general aviation airports, facilitated new safety collaborations, and oversaw the expansion of NATA’s training platforms.
“Ryan has been and will continue to be an important connection between the association and the aviation business industry. He has brought unmatched energy, enthusiasm, and industry insight to NATA’s efforts for many years and has worked tirelessly to make meaningful progress on multiple fronts,” said NATA president and CEO Timothy Obitts.
NATA will honor Waguespack during its annual meeting being held tomorrow in conjunction with the NATA Aviation Leadership Conference.
Private aviation safety risk management company Wyvern has been acquired by U.S.-based private investment firm Venturous Capital. The financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
According to Wyvern, the deal assures the continuation of its current leadership and staffing levels, guarantees uninterrupted service to customers, and provides financial resources required for future strategic growth. Founded in 1991, the aviation safety-focused company moved to Boston-area Laurence G. Hanscom Field Airport in 2018 and subsequently expanded to include safety management system certification for non-commercial operators and MRO locations, as well as Part 135 charter providers. A company spokeswoman said future growth plans include progressive safety risk management for air charter and private aviation, as well as manned and unmanned operational auditing.
“We are excited about the recent acquisition by Venturous Capital, a U.S. investment firm that passionately supports our mission to elevate safety and security worldwide,” said Wyvern CEO Sonnie Bates. “Venturous is committed to providing Wyvern with all the necessary resources to achieve our goals.”
He further added that Venturous “fully approves” Wyvern’s strategic objectives in private and commercial aviation, as well as manned and unmanned aircraft systems. Bates also said the company’s new owner “embraces our core values of integrity, innovation, excellence, and positive relationships to achieve our vision that every operator has an effective safety management system.”
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Rolls-Royce has signed the 1,000th CorporateCare Enhanced engine maintenance program contract since its initiation in 2019. The program covers a wide range of additional service items for the company’s AE3007 and Tay engines such as troubleshooting and mobile repair team travel costs.
It also covers maintenance for the whole powerplant—nacelle, engine build-up and thrust reverser, unit-related services, and erosion and corrosion on all engine and nacelle parts—on Rolls-Royce’s Pearl 15, Pearl 700, BR710, and BR725 engines. “Since we launched our pioneering CorporateCare Enhanced service, we have seen strong demand from customers around the world, who clearly recognize the value of this program,” said Rolls-Royce business aviation v-p of sales and marketing Megha Bhatia. “It offers comprehensive coverage for the full powerplant and priority access to our dedicated business aviation service network.”
More than 2,400 aircraft are covered by CorporateCare, with 70 percent of new-delivery Rolls-Royce-equipped aircraft enrolled in the Enhanced program.
FAA acting administrator Billy Nolen helped kick off the FAA-EASA Aviation Safety Conference yesterday emphasizing the need for the two organizations to work closely together on validations and other safety initiatives. Nolen also praised the progress made in expanding collaboration between the two entities, particularly in areas of pilot licensing and flight simulators.
In prepared remarks for the three-day event, Nolen said, “In aviation, [change is] happening faster and faster. We’re seeing tremendous levels of new technology and innovation in this industry.” The challenge, he added, is to enable “the tremendous innovation to safely occur that we’re seeing in aviation today.”
Nolen called the U.S.-EU Aviation Safety Agreement the bedrock of that partnership. The agreement, which enables the safety agencies to validate each other’s certifications of products and parts and maximize oversight, “is vital to maintaining a safe aerospace system on both continents,” Nolen said. “We must recommit ourselves to this framework.”
Encouraged by the expansion of the annexes to cover pilot licensing and flight simulators, he said, “Since last year, we have been aligning schedules on flight simulator evaluations, resulting in more timely completion, and less duplication, of these evaluations.” In addition, dozens of licenses have been issued to date under the Pilot Licensing Annex. “Best of all, this has been a smooth implementation process,” he noted.
With changes taking place in the latest edition of the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 409 Standard on Aircraft Hangars, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has released an educational guide for hangar owners and operators wishing to better understand the updated hangar foam suppression system requirements and options and how they could factor into new hangar construction.
Under the latest guidance from NFPA, Group II hangars where hazardous operations are not performed are now exempt from foam system requirements, so NATA developed the free aircraft hangar fire-protection guidance to educate its members on those effects. It includes hangar classification, code exceptions, how to determine if foam protection systems are required, and recommendations on foam systems. It also features a flow chart on various options to achieve code compliance relative to fire suppression systems based on the International Building Code (IBC), 2021 edition; International Fire Code (IFC), 2021 edition; and 2016 edition of NFPA 409.
“[NATA] has been on the front line in educating the NFPA Technical Committee on the unique operating environment of general aviation businesses,” said NATA president and CEO Timothy Obitts. “Just as importantly, we’ve continued to work alongside our members to guide them throughout the entire process of hangar fire protection and to inform them of how NFPA 409 developments and requirements impact their operations.”
The sixth annual Caribavia conference kicked off yesterday in St. Maarten with a keynote address from Silveria Jacobs, the island’s prime minister. She noted the problems that have been faced over the past two years of the pandemic.
“St. Maarten…a small island developing state whose economy is almost 100 percent based on tourism, has shown great resilience,” she said, noting the region still faces challenges in terms of aviation access. “If we as a government are to adopt economic and regulatory policies that encourage the development of air transport, demand could increase in our region.”
Vincent Vanderpool Wallace, former minister of tourism and aviation of the Bahamas and principal partner of travel industry consultancy Bedford Baker Group, described the Caribbean as the most tourism-dependent, and thus most aviation-dependent, region in the world. He acknowledged the huge boom in private aviation the Bahamas and many other islands are experiencing, which he attributed to avoidance of airlines during the pandemic, as well as the Bahamas' proximity to the U.S. and a robust pre-clearance program that facilitates easy entry and exit.
He also noted that despite the relaxation of many Covid-related travel restrictions, there has been no perceivable fall-off in terms of private aviation, and stressed that the islands need to ensure that the quality of their infrastructure and services is ready to cater to that surge.
Model(s): AS355E, AS355F/F1/F2, AS355N2, AS365N3, SA365N/N1, and EC155B/B1
Published: June 8, 2022
Effective: July 13, 2022
Requires a one-time inspection of certain part-numbered engine cowlings and any necessary corrective actions. Prompted by investigation results from an engine compartment fire that determined some of the internal parts of the engine upper fixed cowling were painted with finish paint on top of the primer layer.
Requires removing certain high-pressure turbine second-stage disks from service and replacing them with a serviceable part. Prompted by a finding that undetected subsurface material defect in these high-pressure turbine disks could affect the life of the part.
Requires updates to the limitation and emergency procedures of the aircraft flight manual to clarify applicable altitude capture modes used and annunciated in the affected fleet. Prompted by a determination that, during altitude capture flight, the flight guidance/autopilot does not account for engine failure while capturing an altitude. If an engine failure occurs during or before a climb while in altitude capture flight, the airspeed may drop significantly below the safe operating speed. Thus, prompt crew intervention to maintain a safe operating speed may be needed.
Adds new and/or more restrictive tasks and limitations for repetitive inspections of the horizontal stabilizer internal structure in the component limitations section of the aircraft maintenance manual.
Model(s): Global Express, XRS, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500
Published: June 14, 2022
Effective: July 19, 2022
Requires an inspection of the oxygen hose assembly to determine if an affected part number is installed and replacement of affected oxygen hoses. For certain airplanes, this AD allows repetitive testing of the oxygen system until affected hoses are replaced. Prompted by reports of oxygen leaks caused by cracked, brittle, or broken oxygen hoses that were found during scheduled maintenance tests of the airplane oxygen system.
Requires repetitive detailed inspections and proof load tests of the tail rotor drive system (TRDS) of helicopters with affected TRDSs installed. Prompted by several occurrences of TRDS adhesively-bonded joint failures.
Requires repetitive visual inspections of low-pressure compressor rotor disks for cracks and, depending on findings, replacement with a serviceable part. Prompted by reports of cracks on certain low-pressure compressor rotor disks.
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