Enhanced Phenom 300E Wins Certification Trifecta

Embraer today gained a trio of certifications for the latest round of Phenom 300E enhancements that enable the aircraft to fly faster and farther, provide a quieter cabin, and upgrade the avionics. The Brazilian ANAC, U.S. FAA, and EASA all have signed off on the enhanced Phenom 300E.

Unveiled earlier this year, the enhancement package includes new Fadec-equipped Pratt & Whitney PW535E1 turbofans that produce 3,478 pounds of thrust each, 118 pounds more than the predecessor PW535E. The new turbofans boost the Phenom 300E's speed from the previous Mach 0.78 to Mach 0.80, and range is now 2,010 nm with NBAA IFR reserves, increased from 1,971 nm. 

As for avionics upgrades, the enhanced Phenom 300E is now equipped with capabilities including runway overrun awareness and alerting system (ROAAS), predictive wind shear, Emergency Descent Mode, PERF, TOLD, and FAA Datacom, among others. The flight deck is fitted with a Prodigy Touch Flight Deck that is based on the Garmin G3000 suite. Embraer adjusted the pilot and copilot seat tracking to provide more legroom.

In the cabin, Oval Lite features are enhanced to reduce cabin noise. Embraer is also offering an optional Bossa Nova Edition interior that was first designed for the Praetor 600.

AINsight: Pilot’s Survival Guide to a Global Pandemic

Life is completely different now. Covid-19 has required all of us to make significant adjustments in our daily routines. People are working from home. Kids are not in school. As my family and neighbors are stocking up, locking down, and staying home, I’m preparing for my next flight. As I begin to pack my bags, I realize that flying is different now.  

Social distancing and good hygiene, such as hand washing, are two practices that can help contain the spread of coronavirus and “flatten the curve.” This is all for the greater good, and we should all do our part.

But flight crews, in addition to health and safety concerns, now face significant logistical and operational challenges. The realities of a global pandemic include restrictive travel advisories, shelter-in-place orders, and air traffic disruptions; each requiring a lot more planning, preparation, and patience to operate safely during this crisis.

The entire world and aviation system are under stress. At a human level, crew members might become more stressed. In multi-crew operations, pilots need to check on one another. In addition to keeping their families safe and healthy, many now face economic uncertainties.

Flying is different now. The job is much harder now. It will continue to be different and become more challenging until Covid-19 is contained. For now, take care of the details and be patient.

FAA Provides Relief from Part 135 Currency Mandates

The FAA has issued four exemptions from certain recurrent and training requirements that are designed to ensure that Part 135 operators can continue to fly during the Covid-19 crisis. Coming at the request of industry groups, including NATA and Airlines for America and backed by NBAA, the exemptions were issued on Wednesday without publication in the Federal Register. “There is good cause not to publish a summary…because delaying action on the petition would have an adverse and potentially immediate impact on the petitioner’s ability to ensure continuity of critical aviation operations essential to the public interest,” the agency said.

In effect to May 31, the exemptions apply to most Part 135 operators, NBAA said. Two of the exemptions—one covering Part 135 and another Part 119 (including some Part 135)—are from requirements that crewmembers don protective breathing equipment or oxygen masks during recurrent and upgrade training, testing, and checking.

Similarly, two others—for Part 135 and Part 119—provide three-month extensions from ground personnel and crewmembers recurrent training and qualification requirements that come due before May 31.

These exemptions were designed to address currency matters, but NATA v-p John McGraw expects more to be issued in the coming days. In fact, the FAA today said it would grant temporary relief until June 30 for pilots with medicals that expire between March 31 and May 31.

To Save Helo Crew, SpaceX Dragon Lost in Drop Test

SpaceX lost a Crew Dragon spacecraft test article this week during a planned parachute drop test from a heavy-lift helicopter, according to a statement from the Hawthorne, California-based company. The incident occurred Tuesday when the test article, which was reportedly suspended underneath an Erickson S-64 Air Crane, became “unstable.”

“Out of an abundance of caution and to keep the helicopter crew safe, the pilot pulled the emergency release,” the statement said. Because the helicopter and test article were not at the specified drop zone, the test article was not armed to deploy its parachute system, which is intended to safely return to earth the Crew Dragon and its human crew from a space mission. As a result, the test article was destroyed.

“While the test article was lost, this was not a failure of the parachute system and most importantly no one was injured,” SpaceX said in its statement. It is working together with NASA to determine the testing program going forward. The program is expected to lead to Crew Dragon’s second demonstration mission. Crew Dragon is SpaceX’s next-generation spacecraft designed to carry humans to the International Space Station and other destinations.

Bizav Demand Dip Deepens as Covid-19 Closes Factories

Those looking for silver linings in the dark clouds over business aviation this week found themselves squinting to see any. If the Covid-19 pandemic’s repercussions for the industry still seemed ambiguous at the end of last week, there is now little doubt that the sector’s engines are spooling down and the industry is bracing for a period of inactivity. 

For now, the prospect of restrictions on domestic U.S. flights seems to have been averted. But elsewhere, the past few days have brought business aircraft factory closures at Bombardier and Embraer, on the heels of Textron’s earlier furlough announcement.

In the UK, Harrods Aviation announced the temporary closure of its FBOs at London Luton and Stansted Airports, and London City Airport has closed at least until the end of April. The British Business and General Aviation trade group warned that by the end of the month the country’s entire bizav fleet will likely be grounded.

More discouragingly, there are signs that Asia is bracing for a second wave of coronavirus cases and taking steps to block new sources of infection by further restricting travel from other countries.

As demand for passenger repatriation flights began to tail off towards the end of this week operators found themselves increasingly shifting to cargo-carrying roles and flights in support of emergency medical operations.

UTC, Raytheon Tie-up Gets Conditional DOJ Approval

The United Technologies Corp. (UTC) and Raytheon merger took a step forward yesterday with Department of Justice conditional approval that is contingent upon the sale of Raytheon’s military airborne radios business and UTC’s GPS business. In addition, under the DOJ conditions for approval, UTC must sell its optical systems business in Danbury, Connecticut.

The DOJ action comes less than a year after the two companies announced plans on June 9, 2019, for an all-stock “merger of equals” that would create a $166 billion entity known as Raytheon Technologies. Signed off by both boards of directors in October, the merger would bring together UTC’s Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney businesses with Raytheon’s Intelligence, Space, and Airborne Systems and Integrated Defense and Missile Systems divisions.

The DOJ specified the divestitures to ensure competition remains for military airborne radios and GPS products, as well as for components used in reconnaissance satellites, all of which are used by the U.S. Department of Defense.

BAE Systems announced plans in January to acquire Raytheon’s airborne radios business, which includes facilities in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Largo, Florida, for $275 million, as well as UTC’s military GPS unit, which currently is based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for $1.925 billion. The sale is subject to the closure of the Raytheon/UTC merger, BAE said.

Congress Clears Rescue Bill with Billions for Aviation

The U.S House of Representatives today approved the $2 trillion relief package that provides billions in loans and grants for aviation businesses and airports. House passage, by voice vote, followed Senate approval also this week, sending the measure, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (H.R.743), to the President’s desk for his signature.

Hailed as a roadmap for relief and recovery, the CARES Act has garnered nearly universal support from an aviation industry facing unprecedented losses. The bill provides nearly $80 billion in loan availability and employee salary/benefit grants directly to airlines, charter, and cargo operators and certain sectors of the industry, such as MROs and certain FBOs. In addition, $10 billion in grants would go to airports, with $100 billion set aside for general aviation businesses.

However, the package includes numerous other more broadly focused measures that could provide assistance to the spectrum of aviation businesses. Additional money includes $454 billion in economic stabilization funding available to businesses in general and upwards of $400 billion for small businesses. The bulk of that involves paycheck protection, but also includes interest-free loans and coverage for existing loan payments, among other measures. In addition, tax credits and deferred tax payments are included for distressed companies.

Tilton Out at MD Helicopters

Lynn Tilton appears to have relinquished control of MD Helicopters and other portfolio companies of Patriarch Partners following rulings by a Delaware bankruptcy court earlier this month. MD is continuing normal operations. Tilton served as CEO of both Patriarch and MD. 

Tilton consistently maintained that MD was owned by her personally as opposed to Patriarch. She acquired the company in 2005 and rebuilt it thanks in large part to substantial foreign military sales of militarized MD500 series single-engine helicopters whose design harkened back to the Vietnam War when the company was known as Hughes Helicopters. 

Those foreign military sales drew the attention of federal law enforcement when it was revealed that in 2012 Tilton had hired a former high-ranking Army officer who ran the service’s non-standard rotary wing office, the entity responsible for procuring MD 530F/G light attack scout helicopters for the Afghan Air Force. 

While Tilton did rejuvenate MD through foreign military sales, the company was less successful when it came to modernizing its civil helicopter offerings. Programs to launch new variants of the MD600 single and MD 902 twin stalled. MD also failed to win competitions for the Army’s Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programs.

Experts Offer Tips On Cleaning Aircraft for Covid-19

Two experts offered some thoughts on best practices for cleaning and disinfecting business aircraft during an NBAA webinar today. Titled “Covid-19 Cleaning Guidance” and moderated by NBAA v-p of educational strategy and workforce development Jo Damato, the webinar featured advice from AEM Logistics director of aircraft services Tyler Harper and Jet Logistics director of client relations Audrey Lambdin.

In terms of best products to use for cleaning aircraft cabins and cockpits, Harper pointed to aircraft OEM recommendations, as well as new NBAA guidance. He did name Celeste Sani-Cide EX3 as “one product we prefer and recommend” and is safe on carpets, soft and hard surfaces, and avionics. Lambdin, whose company does air medical transports, said Jet Logistics uses a 50-50 mix of bleach and warm water to clean its aircraft, noting that its cabin materials are not as delicate as those on typical business aircraft.

Lambdin and Harper also noted that once an aircraft has been cleaned and disinfected, it’s important to let it “air out” for several hours before its next mission or flight. Harper added that AEM’s cleaning crews’ personal protective equipment (PPE) consists of medical-grade disposable gloves, N95 or particulate masks, safety glasses or goggles, and a “hazmat-type suit.” They also recommended that once an aircraft has been cleaned, both materials and PPE equipment are disposed of together in a biohazard bag.