Citing ADs’ Effects, Tamarack Aero Files for Bankruptcy

Sandpoint, Idaho-based Tamarack Aerospace announced early today that it voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month, "a direct result” of recent Airworthiness Directives from the FAA and EASA that have “effectively grounded” Cessna 525-series aircraft equipped with its active load-alleviation system (Atlas) winglets.

"The decision to enter Chapter 11 [reorganization] allows Tamarack to continue to operate and focus all activities on supporting the Atlas winglet customers and to support EASA and FAA as they consider the proposal for lifting the restrictions imposed by the ADs,” the company stated, adding it expects bankruptcy to be “a temporary state.”

EASA issued an emergency AD in late April, while the FAA followed suit May 24. The EASA directive included a mitigation path for continued flying of Atlas-equipped CitationJets/CJs, but the FAA action prohibited further operation except for ferry flights.

Tamarack continues to provide two key upgrades to customer aircraft to resolve control issues, free of charge, via Service Bulletins—one to replace a screw inside the Tamarack Active Camber Surfaces (TACS) actuator and the second for installation of aerodynamic centering strips on those surfaces. It expects compliance with the Service Bulletins will ultimately be approved by EASA and the FAA to resolve the ADs.

In conjunction with the Chapter 11 filing, Tamarack laid off president Brian Cox and v-p of marketing Paul Hathaway.

AINsight: Used Bizjet Market Must Adjust To Wind Shifts

Last year, the market saw inventory levels of quality preowned business jets dwindle and many pricing segments stabilize. Aircraft brokers all seemed desperate for quality inventory to satisfy buyers’ appetites. But everyone now wants to know if 2019 will be as robust as 2018.

For us, preowned sales transactions are the same quarter-over-quarter, if not even slightly higher, this year. But OEMs’ new aircraft entrants are actually adding to available inventory levels; as owners take delivery, they are putting their “old” aircraft up for sale—and prices do not seem as robust as last year.

If transactions are equal to or slightly better than those in 2018, then why are prices not as stable? I believe demand is down slightly, thereby not absorbing the supply as quickly as it was in 2018. It just goes to show that even a slight shift in either the demand or supply of a market can cause ripple effects—in this case, less stable pricing and longer days on the market.

As an industry, we can quickly fix this by pricing aircraft offerings correctly when initially listed. We must not act as if demand and supply are the same as they were last year. Also, we must remember the dynamic nature of our industry and shift early and slightly so we are not caught having to shift large later.

Ampaire Demonstrates Hybrid Motor with Public Flight

Los Angeles-based Ampaire publicly demonstrated its electric propulsion system with a 25-minute flight yesterday afternoon of its 337 Ampaire from Camarillo Airport (CMA), the company announced. The aircraft is a push-pull Cessna 337 Skymaster with a proprietary, battery-powered electric motor replacing one of its two combustion engines.

While yesterday marked the first public test flight of the 337 Ampaire, it’s not the airplane’s first flight. An earlier flight lasted one hour and 11 minutes, product manager Brice Nzeukou told AIN. 

Ampaire intends to offer its electric motor and lightweight battery system as a retrofit to certified aircraft, Nzeukou explained. A 50 to 70 percent reduction in fuel costs and a 25 to 50 percent savings in maintenance costs are expected with Ampaire’s hybrid-electric configuration, according to Nzeuko. Initially, the company plans to offer the system to short-haul regional airlines serving remote communities and island regions.

Later this year, Ampaire expects to begin a pilot project on a commercial route in Maui, Hawaii, using a newly retrofitted Cessna 337. It also will collaborate with Vieques Air Link, a regional airline in Puerto Rico, for a second pilot project. Combined, Ampaire has signed 16 letters of interest with 15 other airlines worldwide.

FAA OKs Chute-equipped Drone for Flight over People

The FAA has issued its first Part 107 waiver to allow operation of a parachute-equipped drone over people. It was issued to Hensel Phelps Construction of Greeley, Colorado, which plans to operate a parachute-equipped DJI Phantom 4 light drone to track construction projects and for building maintenance inspections, among other tasks.

This waiver is the first time the FAA has worked with industry to develop a publicly available standard, worked with an applicant to ensure the testing and data collected acceptably met the standard, and issued a waiver using an industry standard as a basis to determine that a proposed sUAS (small unmanned aircraft system) operation can be safely conducted under the terms and conditions of a waiver under Part 107.

The FAA did not certify or approve the parachute that will be used; however, the FAA determined that the waiver application sufficiently met the standard design specification (ASTM 3322-18) and that the proposed sUAS operation could be safely conducted under the terms and conditions of a waiver.

According to the FAA, the waiver is “scalable and available to other applicants who propose to use the same drone and parachute combination.” However, the agency noted that it will require each waiver applicant to provide testing, documentation, and compliance statements consistent with those listed in standard design specification. 

NATA Confab To Spotlight Illegal Charter, Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity threats, the evolution of technologies, and the fight against illegal charter are among the key topics that the National Air Transportation Association’s 2019 Annual Meeting and Aviation Business Conference will delve into this month. Scheduled from June 17 to 19 in Washington, D.C., the conference is tailored for aviation businesses—including charter operators, management companies, airports, MROs, FBOs, and flight-training providers, among others—and will cover a range of topics from general aviation advocacy and workforce development to ground handling safety and community outreach. It will also include meetings on Capitol Hill and discussions with key government officials from the FAA and TSA.

The cybersecurity session comes as the FAA and ICAO look into establishing cybersecurity standards. NATA notes that financial losses from cybercrime are estimated to cost $6 trillion annually by 2021 and said preparing for tomorrow's threats is the “next, most important frontier.” The emerging technologies session will delve into changes ahead for the industry and how it might evolve Part 135 businesses, while FAA officials and NATA Illegal Charter Task Force members will provide an update on the multi-pronged effort to step up education and address criminal activity.

NATA also will present its annual Industry Excellence Awards during the three-day event.

Ex-Im Backers Step Up Push for Reauthorization

A month after the Senate restored full financing capabilities of the U.S. Export-Import Bank with the confirmation of three board members, industry leaders are turning their focus to the next battle in the survival of the bank: reauthorization. The bank's current authorization is set to expire at the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

Noting that the Ex-Im’s Bank’s charter was permitted to expire for five months in 2015, House Financial Services Committee chair Maxine Waters (D-California) said during a hearing this week that the bank “has repeatedly been under attack,” but that failure to reauthorize would result in loss of jobs.

Aerospace Industries Association president and CEO Eric Fanning offered his association’s strong support for reauthorization in a letter to the committee, calling the hearing on June 4 a “first step toward ensuring the bank can continue leveling the playing field for U.S. exporters.” He pointed to 95 export credit agencies that exist worldwide and said, “the U.S. Export-Import Bank is a necessary equalizer in an increasingly competitive global market."

Committee ranking member Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina), however, is seeking changes that include modernization and diversification of the bank. He stressed the bank should be “a tool of our national interests, and even our national security interests” in light of China’s “unparalleled levels of export subsidies for its companies.”

Honeywell Develops Compact FBW for UAM Market

Honeywell has developed a compact fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system for urban air mobility (UAM) systems that is approximately the size of a paperback book, the company announced Monday. The system drives electric actuators and dynamically adjusts flight surfaces and motors, thereby eliminating the need for heavy hydraulics, control cables, or pushrods. 

Its flight control computer has features derived from Honeywell's fly-by-wire systems for airplanes and includes triplex architecture and lockstep processing, a two-channel system where one channel constantly checks the other’s work.

"Aircraft designers can use the compact flight control computer out of the box with easy-to-use development tools,” said Carl Esposito, Honeywell Aerospace's president of electronic solutions. “It was designed for connectivity to achieve better maintenance and improved fleet operations.” Honeywell plans to demonstrate the new system June 11 to 12 at the Uber Elevate Summit in Washington, D.C.

Honeywell has agreements to develop navigation and automatic landing systems with several UAM vehicle companies, including Volocopter, Pipistrel, and Eviation.  

Foundation Looks To Honor Hoover’s Legacy

An effort to have the U.S. Postal Service issue a stamp honoring the late legendary aviator Bob Hoover is gaining traction among the aviation industry, according to the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation. Among the latest organizations to lend their support is the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS). While Hoover was a WWII hero and test pilot, it was his aerobatic prowess with which most associated him.

“Bob Hoover was arguably the best pilot who ever lived,” noted ICAS president and CEO John Cudahy. “He was an American patriot and national legend who preached the gospel of aviation for nearly three-quarters of a century. It is our pleasure to endorse and support the efforts of the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation to issue a commemorative stamp in honor of the 100th birthday of Bob Hoover in 2022.”

The U.S. Postal service and members of the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee have basic criteria to determine the eligibility of subjects for commemoration, including honoring extraordinary and enduring contributions to American society, history, culture, or environment. Hoover established the foundation before his death in 2016 to continue his lifelong dedication to aviation learning and safety, and a spokesperson noted those criteria fit Hoover’s life and memory perfectly.

Skeyos Unveils One-stop-shop for Aircraft Parts

Skeyos, an independent spinoff of Lufthansa Technik, has launched Skeyos Marketplace, an online aircraft parts trading module that allows MRO buyers to search and compare new and used parts as well as associated repair services and their pricing with a single click, the Frankfurt, Germany-based company announced this week. The new feature is expected to eliminate time spent on generating requests for proposal and then collecting and reviewing them.

“Currently, purchasing managers have to manually compare the costs of repairing a part, buying used, or contacting the OEM directly for a replacement part, each time requiring contact with several points of sale,” Skeyos general manager Hans Bernd Schmidt said. “This is incredibly time-consuming. Using the Skeyos Marketplace, the various means can now be compared with just two clicks and resulting orders can be placed, tracked and managed directly via one consolidated channel.” 

Introduction of the feature gives parts and services purchasers access to 140,000 products, according to Skeyos. “MRO is a great example of an industry acknowledging the advantages afforded by digitalization to improve efficiency and transparency in their operations,” Schmidt added. “We are proud to be part of that movement and look forward to taking the lead in future innovations.”

Last Day To Rate Product Support: Make Your Voice Heard

Tell us about the product support you receive from business aviation OEMs. The 2019 AIN Product Support Survey is now online, ready for selected readers to rate aircraft, engine and avionics support. AIN readers who have been selected to participate in this year’s Product Support Survey should have received their account number and link to the online survey website by e-mail. The survey needs to be completed by midnight tonight. Visit this site for more information or if you want to participate in the survey.