UAE-based helicopter and business jet operator Falcon Aviation plans to launch eVTOL air taxi services from luxury resort Atlantis the Palm in Dubai starting in 2026. Under a partnership with Eve Urban Air Mobility announced on June 7, the company signed a letter of intent to buy 35 of the manufacturer’s planned four-passenger eVTOL aircraft.
Falcon believes that its track record as a launch operator for several new helicopter types makes it well qualified to be an early adopter of eVTOL vehicles. According to chief operating officer Raman Oberoi, Eve—which is majority-owned by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer following a recent initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange—approached Falcon with the proposal to launch services in the Gulf region.
“We were the launch customer for Leonardo on the AW189 and AW169 [helicopters],” Oberoi explained. “We are also talking to Leonardo on a new project, the AW09. We are also going to be the launch customer for that product. When Leonardo wants to launch a new product, they come to us. They depend a lot on our inputs because we know the industry very well.”
Eve, which says it is preparing to fly a full-scale prototype of its eVTOL model, is targeting type certification in 2025. Oberoi told FutureFlight that Falcon will be ready to take the aircraft as early as 2024.
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.
Constant Aviation is expanding its MRO services to include helicopters, drones, and other commercial unmanned aircraft systems, which positions the Cleveland-based business jet maintenance and repair provider to serve the emerging eVTOL market. The expansion follows the recent launch of a private helicopter division by sister-company and fractional-jet-share provider Flexjet. Directional Aviation is the parent company of Flexjet and Constant.
“Our expansion into these sectors positions us well for the future, including our ability to serve even newer emerging technologies such as eVTOL aircraft,” said Constant CEO David Davies. As part of the expansion, Constant’s Orlando, Florida facility is refurbishing the interiors of the new division’s Sikorsky S-76 helicopters, including refinishing their veneers and restoring their seats, carpets, and sidewalls with new materials. As well, the company is repainting the helicopters to mimic the liveries of Flexjet’s fixed-wing aircraft to feature a chameleon paint with a carbon fiber accent on the upper cowling and leading edge on the vertical tail.
Constant is already supporting drones—whose engineering, materials, and systems are similar to those employed for helicopters—after becoming an authorized UAS service center in 2017. More recently, the company renewed its partnership with Robotic Skies, a global marketplace for drone maintenance services.
Continuing their 70-year relationship, Rolls-Royce and Purdue University have signed a 10-year, $75 million research and testing agreement. Purdue called the deal the largest involving an industry partner in its history.
Under the agreement, Purdue will work with Rolls-Royce on research regarding gas turbine technology and electrical and digital technology, primarily at its Zucrow Laboratories in West Lafayette, Indiana. The lab is the world’s largest academic propulsion facility, the university said, noting that it provides research for advanced technologies in electrification, turbines, compressors, and combustion with sustainable fuels.
Over the years, the partnership with Rolls-Royce has involved millions of dollars in investments in aerospace testing technology, sponsorship of graduate student research fellowships, and recruitment of more than 600 Purdue graduates.
The agreement builds on the recent expansion of the partnership between the organizations covering work in hypersonics, cybersecurity, and digital technology. Purdue in April announced plans to build a $73 million, 55,000-sq-ft, high-speed propulsion laboratory for hypersonic technologies.
“We firmly believe in the innovative power that comes from strong collaboration between industry and academia,” said Warren White, Rolls-Royce's head of assembly and testing. “Over the next decade, we’ll explore transformative technologies like hybrid-electric and hypersonic propulsion that will help define the future of aerospace.”
Purdue University president Mitch Daniels added: “Purdue's research partnership with Rolls-Royce will address some of the greatest technology challenges facing the U.S.”
Sustainable fuel producer Gevo has signed an agreement with Google Cloud to measure and verify the environmental benefits of next-generation biofuels across their full life cycle, including stops throughout the supply chain.
The partnership will rely on technology developed by Gevo subsidiary Verity Tracking, combined with datasets and analytical tools provided by Google Cloud, to establish what is described as a more data-driven approach to understanding and lowering carbon emissions. Through the application, Gevo expects to be able to provide measured verification of asset-level atmospheric emission reductions, renewable electricity use, and land-use changes to support Gevo’s smart agriculture and carbon intensity claims.
“Understanding the full sustainability life cycle, especially that of greenhouse gasses, is critical for energy transmission because it provides the insight to solve the real problems, show proof of claims, and eliminate through data the speculation that occurs,” said Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber. “We expect to build the technology and tools to track carbon intensity of renewable natural gas, sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, farming, and eventually forestry and forest products.”
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MRO provider Elliott Aviation has completed its first Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics upgrade on a Cessna Citation CJ2+ at its Moline, Illinois facility. As a result of the project, which took 21 working days, the company will quote a four-week downtime for the installations. “The avionics team at Elliott Aviation was able to leverage their Collins experience to accomplish the short downtime,” said Elliott’s avionics sales manager Bill Forbes.
Pro Line Fusion offers reduced pilot workload using an integrated flight management system and improved situational awareness through 14.1-inch touchscreen LCD displays with interactive maps that provide information such as high-resolution topography and weather. Other features include controller pilot datalink communications and NextGen compatibility.
Elliott also offers the Fusion upgrade for the CJ1+ and CJ3. Besides Moline, Elliott operates MRO facilities in Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis; and Atlanta. The company estimates it completes 40 to 50 full-panel retrofits each year.
The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) is partnering with NextOp to assist veterans and active military personnel transition to civilian careers in avionics. NextOp is a nonprofit and AEA member that recruits, develops, and places middle-enlisted members into industry careers.
“This collaboration will help our member businesses find highly qualified technicians in a tight labor market and introduce these veterans to rewarding opportunities in the high-tech avionics industry,” said AEA president and CEO Mike Adamson.
Under the collaboration, NextOp will assist AEA member companies with developing veteran hiring and retention plans. It also will connect those companies with pre-screened candidates who have the skills needed by the company, as well as develop and facilitate tailored corporate training on best practices for veteran recruitment and retention. Additionally, NextOp will help those companies participate in events and programming that connect them with veterans and military members.
“There is a good percentage of aircraft mechanics and service members who are mechanically inclined and are quick learners transitioning out of the service,” said NextOp employment coordinator Patrick McManus. “NextOp partners with companies that have a need for avionics technicians and aircraft mechanics in the workforce and provide vetted quality candidates for open roles. With the AEA’s broad membership base across the U.S., this opens up a large number of opportunities for the veterans we serve.”
Nav Canada has deployed the digital time-based aircraft separation tool known as Intelligent Approach at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The country's ATC organization said it's the first air navigation service provider in North America to employ this feature.
The relatively new technology—first introduced at London Heathrow Airport in 2015—adds additional capacity across Pearson's five runways by optimizing the spacing between arriving aircraft to “help reduce delays, fuel burn, and CO2 emissions, particularly in high wind conditions,” according to Nav Canada.
Jointly developed by the U.K.'s NATS and Reston, Virginia-based Leidos, the system dynamically calculates the optimum time interval between arrivals based on live weather data and the aircraft type rather than relying on regulatory set distances. It then translates that into a graphical marker on a controller’s radar screen, helping to improve spacing consistency and maintain the landing rate even in strong headwinds.
Mark Cooper, vice president and chief technology and information officer for Nav Canada, said: “Nav Canada continues to collaborate with key partners, such as NATS and Leidos, to bring about the innovations to our processes and systems, such as the Intelligent Approach at Toronto Pearson, that we need to increase our operational efficiency and effectiveness.”
NATS and Leidos are working with Dutch air traffic service provider LVNL to implement Intelligent Approach at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
Business jet and military helicopter MRO General Atomics AeroTec Systems (GA-ATS) of Germany and Brazilian airframer Embraer have extended their service center contract by three years, the companies announced this month.
The extension of the contract was finalized at the 2022 edition of EBACE in Geneva. Based in Oberpfaffenhofen, GA-ATS has served as an Embraer authorized service center since 2010. This successful cooperation will now be continued over the next three years.
Formerly known as Ruag Aerospace Services Oberpfaffenhofen, GA-ATS employs technicians who perform maintenance and repairs on business jets using state-of-the-art equipment. GA-ATS offers line maintenance as well as base maintenance for the Embraer Legacy 600, Legacy 650, and Lineage 1000 series of super-midsize jets and bizliners. In addition to MRO, GA-ATS produces and maintains the Dornier 228. The company is a subsidiary of General Atomics Europe.
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Requires revising the existing airplane flight manual (AFM) to incorporate a limitation and procedure for the wing anti-ice (WAI) system in order to mitigate the risk of ice accumulation on the wing leading edges.This AD was prompted by a report of a wing stall (wing drop/un-commanded roll) during a landing flare.
Requires inspecting the MGB magnetic plugs and oil filter for particles and, depending on the outcome of the inspections, further inspections and replacing certain parts, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency AD, which is incorporated by reference. This AD was prompted by a Model EC225 helicopter accident and subsequent investigation that determined that the level of particles in certain main gearboxes (MGB) could lead to a planet gear seizure.
Requires borescope inspecting certain parts, and removing any foreign object if detected, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency AD, which is incorporated by reference. This AD was prompted by a report of a protective sheath installed around a fixed flight control rod that should have been removed during assembly.
Requires inspecting certain engine oil and fuel check valves, and depending on the results, repetitively inspecting and removing the check valve from service. This AD also prohibits installing affected engine oil and fuel check valves on any helicopter. This AD was prompted by a report of a cracked check valve.
Model(s): DHC-6-1, DHC-6-100, DHC-6-200, DHC-6-300, and DHC-6-400
Published: June 1, 2022
Effective: July 6, 2022
Requires visually inspecting the entire aileron internal structure, correcting any damage found, and reporting the inspection results to Viking. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information originated by an aviation authority of another country that identified concerns of cracks and corrosion damage to the aileron internal structure.
Calls for removing certain IFR screens and prohibits their installation. EASA has found that the use of the specified screens could lead to reduced situational awareness of the pilot, possibly resulting in a mid-air collision.
Requires the replacement of certain tension torsion (TT-Straps), implementation of storage life limits for TT-Straps, a prohibition on installing certain TT-Straps, and conditions for the installation of certain other TT-Straps, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This AD is prompted by the FAA's determination that aging of the elastomeric material of certain TT-Straps, during the period since manufacturing date up to the first flight on a helicopter, may affect its structural characteristics.
Model(s): S350B, AS350BA, AS350B1, AS350B2, AS350B3, AS350D, EC130B4, and EC130T2
Published: June 3, 2022
Effective: July 8, 2022
Requires incorporating into maintenance records requirements (airworthiness limitations), as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency AD. This AD was prompted by the identification of certain parts needing maintenance actions, including life limits and maintenance tasks.
Model(s): Global Express, XRS, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500
Published: June 3, 2022
Effective: June 17, 2022
Requires revising the aircraft flight manual (AFM) to revise the procedures addressing a flap, slat, or slat-flap failure warning. The revision removes the slat flap control unit in-flight reset from each set of affected procedures to avoid a stall protection computer issue where it sets the low-speed cue to the most conservative stall advance mode instead of that published in the AFM.
Requires revising the airplane flight manual to provide the flight crew with instructions for an expanded pre-flight check of the pitch trim, trim malfunction procedures, and revised AP STAB TRIM FAIL caution and STAB TRIM FAULT advisory procedures. Prompted by a report of multiple in-service events where, following a STAB TRIM FAULT advisory message and auto-pilot disconnect, flight crew commands for a nose-up trim resulted in nose-down trim movement of the horizontal stabilizer.
For helicopters except those with AH modification (mod) 99A05341, this action supersedes earlier ADs and includes additional inspection requirements for the horizontal stabilizer main spar and replacements as necessary.
Model(s): DHC-6-1, DHC-6-100, DHC-6-200, DHC-6-300, and DHC-6-400
Published: June 8, 2022
Effective: July 13, 2022
Requires performing tests, inspections, and lubrication of the fuel control unit (FCU) push-rod assemblies, and replacing them with improved parts as necessary. This AD was prompted by mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country that identified binding of the rod end bearing connecting the lower FCU push-rod assembly to the FCU power lever.
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