Less than two years after first flight, the 408 Cessna SkyCourier has received its FAA type certificate, Textron Aviation announced today. Certification of the high-wing, twin-turboprop utility airplane follows a flight-test program in which 2,100 hours were accumulated on three SkyCouriers.
The first delivery of the clean-sheet airplane is expected “soon” to launch customer FedEx Express, which has ordered 50 of the type in a cargo configuration with options for 50 more. Equipped with a 7-foot-3-inch by 5-foot-9-inch door, the SkyCourier can be configured as a cargo or 19-seat passenger airplane as well as in a combination passenger/cargo variation.
Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC turboprop engines with four-blade McCauley aluminum propellers, the airplane has a maximum cruise speed of 200 knots and a 900 nm range. The cockpit features Garmin G1000 NXi avionics. In a cargo configuration, the SkyCourier can hold up to three LD3 shipping containers with 6,000 pounds of payload capacity. The airplane is also certified for single-pilot operations.
“Our clean-sheet design brings to this segment what customers said they need: the ability to load, fly, unload and repeat with low operating costs and maximum cabin flexibility, and efficiency,” said Textron Aviation president and CEO Ron Draper.
ForeFlight has added new features for helicopter operators to its iOS app, including “advanced weather tools, briefing, filing, custom content, and powerful hazard awareness features.”
Flight operations can now create custom content containing important information and share mission-critical files with flight crews using ForeFlight’s Documents and Files system. Documents can be organized in Cloud Documents, and they are then accessible by iPad and iPhone users. In the Flights section of ForeFlight, files can be attached, viewed, and annotated.
With custom content, pilots can click on a heliport or waypoint associated with the information to view, for example, a landing zone database that can include PDFs containing images and text. ForeFlight said this feature is ideal for firefighting, mountain flying, law enforcement, disaster relief, search and rescue, survey work, and other missions. Additional custom content can include georeferenced procedure plates, static raster charts, and vector maps.
The 3D Preview and 3D Airports features in ForeFlight allow pilots to preview a route in the app, helping to visualize runway and obstacle lighting and obstacles. Profile View has been enhanced and includes terrain, obstacles, airspace, and forecast weather layers.
Search-and-rescue missions, survey flights, and other types of operations can benefit from ForeFlight’s ground track and breadcrumb features. In addition, address databases for U.S. states are downloadable so they can be accessed without a connection to the internet.
Startup hypersonic aircraft developer Hermeus is seeing its plans continue to take root, securing a $100 million Series B funding round that will be used to complete Quarterhorse, a remotely piloted small-size vehicle. The funding follows partnerships with the U.S. Air Force and NASA on research surrounding the development of hypersonic aircraft.
Led by entrepreneur Sam Altman, the funding brought in new investors Founder's Fund and In-Q-Tel (a strategic investor to U.S. Intelligence agencies and its allies), along with support from existing investors Khosla Ventures, Canaan Partners, Bling Capital, and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest.
Powered by Hermeus’s turbine-based combined cycle engines based on the GE J85, Quarterhorse is anticipated to fly in 2023, testing speeds of between Mach 3 and Mach 5.
In addition to completing Quarterhorse, Hermeus said the funding will provide resources for flight operations and enable the company to step up work on its next aircraft, Darkhorse. The company plans to take lessons learned from the uncrewed hypersonic Darkhorse to move forward on a commercial aircraft, Halycon.
Over the past year, Hermeus has begun to expand its operations by building out a 110,000-sq-ft factory in Atlanta, establishing a test facility, completing more than 100 engine tests, constructing a prototype of Quarterhorse, and doubling the size of its team.
United Rotorcraft has doubled its footprint in the U.S. with the addition of MROs in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, and Mesa, Arizona. These additions join facilities in Decatur, Texas, and Denver, providing the Air Methods unit the ability to expand its service outreach.
The company supports Air Methods’ fleet of more than 400 helicopters but said it is now able to provide maintenance and engineering expertise and services to operators throughout the country. “Our latest network expansion demonstrates our intention to continue to grow our portfolio of services,” said United Rotorcraft president Larry Alexandre. “We are excited to be able to serve operators throughout the U.S., helping them minimize downtime, reduce direct maintenance costs, and optimize mission readiness.”
United Rotorcraft provides services ranging from structural and composite repairs to avionics, engine maintenance, and paint. It also has in-house, FAA-designated engineering and design airworthiness representatives and organization designation authorization.
Separately, United Rotorcraft announced last week at Heli-Expo that it had delivered an HH-60 aerial fire system to Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s Air Support Unit. United Rotorcraft configured the helicopter with a 1,000-gallon water tank attached to the belly. The modification also included extended landing gear to accommodate the tank and a retractable snorkel that can refill the tank in 90 seconds.
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The Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) has suspended the airworthiness certificates of all Bermuda-registered airplanes based and operated in the Russian Federation. The so-called provisional suspension took effect on Saturday, effectively requiring what the BCAA characterized as “a significant number” of the more than 900 mostly commercial airplanes flying under the UK overseas territory’s oversight to re-register in Russia to operate.
In a statement, the BCAA said that international sanctions imposed on Russia have compromised its ability to properly oversee the airworthiness of Russian aircraft operating under its registry. The move further compromises the Russian airline industry’s ability to maintain viability and credibility amid the escalating conflict in Ukraine. It also affects an unknown number of Russian-owned, Bermuda-registered private jets.
The Kremlin is now considering nationalizing foreign assets in Russia, including aircraft owned by overseas banks and leasing companies, and will likely expedite any re-registration processes for its airlines.
Blackhawk Aerospace has signed a letter of intent to acquire controlling ownership of Recoil Aerospace, the manufacturer of Tsunami helicopter carbon-fiber fire-suppression tanks, Zeus ballistically tolerant auxiliary fuel tanks, and aerostructures.
The deal allows Blackhawk to further diversify and expand the market for Recoil’s products. Blackhawk develops, certifies, and manufactures aircraft performance enhancements.
"The fire-suppression market is growing with global demand increasing for new technology to replace aging products and solutions, which are 15 to 20 years old. Recoil is an innovative company with fresh, unique capabilities and solutions. Our two companies will combine efforts to accelerate delivery of new technology into this high-growing global market that needs new, diverse solutions immediately,” said Blackhawk chairman Matt Shieman.
Sheltair’s FBO at Florida's Daytona Beach International Airport saw a big boost from NASCAR’s recent Speedweek event, which culminated in the 64th edition of the Daytona 500 on February 20.
In preparation for the influx of aircraft for the sold-out event, the company recruited staff members from its nearby facilities at Lakeland, Orlando, Melbourne, and Jacksonville.
Welcoming more than 100 flights, the FBO hosted a “Pilot Pit Stop” with a hospitality tent for crews and guests to watch the races. Visitors to the tent enjoyed catered food and beverages and—due to the airport’s proximity to the Daytona International Speedway—were able to easily walk to the event.
As well, the location played host for a week to the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, which conducted a fly-over performance prior to the race.
“We’re thankful to our guests who entrusted the Sheltair team with their aviation needs for one of Daytona’s main events,” stated Erika Estrada, the facility’s general manager. “We take pride in the high-ranking services we provide to the aviation community in Daytona, supporting students, general aviators, airlines, and the U.S. military forces."
Nearly two weeks after Dart Aerospace announced its purchase of Paravion Technology and Century Helicopters, the Montreal-based mission equipment provider is being acquired by TransDigm Group for $360 million in cash. TransDigm is a Cleveland-based designer, producer, and supplier of engineered aircraft components used on commercial and military aircraft. Pending regulatory and other approvals, the acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter.
With the acquisition, TransDigm acquires Dart’s four facilities in Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada; Portland, Oregon; Chihuahua, Mexico; and Century MRO in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dart employs 400 people. The company, which was owned by Greenbriar Equity Group and First Aviation Services, is expected by TransDigm to generate $100 million in pro forma revenue this year. About 95 percent of Dart's revenue comes from the aftermarket sales of its products, which are primarily for rotorcraft.
“[Dart] has established positions on a diverse range of new and existing rotary-wing platforms, strong aftermarket content, and an outstanding reputation with its customers,” said TransDigm president and CEO Kevin Stein. “As with all TransDigm acquisitions, we expect the Dart acquisition to create equity value in line with our long-term…return objectives.”
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
While monitoring the execution of a final approach to land, a crewmember detects the speed is dropping below Vref. Of the alternatives below, which would be the most effective way of announcing this deviation to the other crewmember?
A. “Watch what you are doing!”
B. “Are we slow?”
C. “Watch your energy!”
D. “Thrust, Thrust!”
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