Bombardier has handed over the 50th Global 7500, marking a maturation in the production of the ultra-long-range twinjet that is a cornerstone for the company’s future. Announced today, the milestone delivery comes a little more than two years after the aircraft entered service in late 2018 and follows a year in which Bombardier had delivered 35 of the model, including 16 in the fourth quarter alone. Company president and CEO Éric Martel called the Global 7500 an “industry flagship and a key driver of our growth strategy.”
According to Bombardier, worldwide interest and market activity have remained strong for the 7,700-nm aircraft. The in-service fleet has achieved a dispatch reliability rate of 99.7 percent and has marked various speed and distance records, including the longest city-pair flown by a purpose-built business aircraft linking Sydney, Australia, and Detroit.
Importantly for Bombardier, Global 7500 deliveries are reaching a steady run-rate, the company said, adding it is progressing swiftly through the program’s learning curve. The aircraft is integral to the company’s plan to improving the company’s profitability long-term. As the Global 7500 reached its 50th delivery, it was turning “from negatively impacting earnings to being the biggest EBITDA contributor over the next five years,” Bombardier executives told analysts recently.
Aerion Targeting Mach 4 and 7,000-nm for 50-pax AS3
Aerion is taking the next step in its quest for a supersonic family, revealing today the initial details for its second aircraft—the 50-passenger, Mach 4-plus AS3. Fuller details of the airliner companion to its AS2 Mach 1.4 business jet are anticipated later this year, Aerion said, but sketched out a goal of reaching near-hypersonic speeds and a 7,000-nm range for the AS3.
The aircraft is anticipated to fly before the end of the decade, the company projected, adding that it will build on the AS2 that is anticipated to be in service by then. Aerion said the AS3 further will benefit from the fruits of its ongoing partnership with NASA’s Langley Research Center. Earlier this year, Aerion had announced an expansion of that partnership to study flight in the Mach 3 to 5 range.
“At Aerion, our vision is to build a future where humanity can travel between any two points on our planet within three hours,” reiterated Aerion chairman, president, and CEO Tom Vice, who outlined this vision during an AIAA Aviation Forum in June 2020. “Supersonic flight is the starting point, but it is just that—the beginning. To truly revolutionize global mobility as we know it today, we must push the boundaries of what is possible.”
Bell will begin incorporating sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in all operations at its helicopter training academy and for use by its customer demonstration fleet, the company announced late last week. The renewable drop-in blended fuel has previously not received much attention from the rotorcraft industry, and the Fort Worth, Texas-based OEM is the first helicopter operator to receive SAF shipments from global fuel distributor Avfuel.
As of March 25, the company’s 20-strong demonstration and training fleet will run on the fuel—a blend of 70 percent conventional jet-A and 30 percent SAF, the latter of which will account for the fuel’s lifecycle carbon emissions benefits.
“Bell is an active supporter of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s sustainable fuel initiative, and we are committed to seeking more eco-friendly solutions for rotorcraft,” said Michael Thacker, the Textron subsidiary’s executive v-p for technology and commercial business. “As the industry moves towards a greener future, Bell’s decision to introduce SAF in our training and demonstration aircraft is a reflection of our dedication to this shared goal and to providing clean alternatives for the environment.”
EASA Issues Guidance on Crew Vaccine Waiting Periods
Hoping to provide a more standardized approach to crew vaccinations, EASA is recommending that flight crewmembers receive a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as available to them and in new guidance states that those vaccinated should wait 48 hours after each dose before returning to flight duty. Released on March 25, the EASA Safety Information Bulletin (SIB 2021-06) outlines recommended aircrew vaccine waiting periods and appealed to national authorities to refrain from implementing different intervals unless justified by medical guidance.
EASA noted that various states have taken different approaches for prioritizing vaccinations, including placing helicopter emergency medical services and air ambulance services in the earliest categories.
These vaccines have been known to produce a range of side effects that are generally mild and typically are more frequent between 12 and 48 hours of the vaccines, but in some isolated cases have extended up to seven days. The safety agency expressed concern that some of these side effects may be “further enhanced by in-flight conditions while at cruise level.”
While the agency said flight crews should still become vaccinated as soon as possible, EASA is recommending crews wait 48 hours before returning to flight duty. EASA added the waiting interval could be extended to 72 hours for those in single-pilot operations.
Million Air’s newly-built El Paso facility—the chain’s 32nd location and its fifth in Texas—is the latest FBO to join the Avfuel branded dealer network. The complex at El Paso International Airport features a 10,000-sq-ft terminal with refreshment bar, pilot lounge, snooze rooms, flight planning room, four conference rooms, a café, and an aircraft arrivals canopy. A 20,000-sq-ft hangar can provide aircraft shelter for transient or based customers. Situated less than 10 miles from downtown El Paso, the airport sports a 12,000-foot-long main runway and U.S. Customs service.
To celebrate its recent opening and partnership with Avfuel, the facility is offering Avtrip members triple points per gallon on top-offs through April 15, in addition to deep discounts via Avfuel contract fuel for the first two weeks of April.
“The Million Air El Paso team is excited to greet traffic to our new facility for an unmatched experience in amenities and customer care,” said FBO general manager Adrian Salinas. “We’re passionate about serving the aviation community and proud to serve as both a first-class gateway to the El Paso community and a quick stopping point for reliable aviation care.”
GAMA Praises DOT Removal of Rulemaking Barriers
In a move lauded by GAMA, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is peeling back certain additional regulatory reviews put in place in late 2019. GAMA has been concerned that the added layers of reviews had impeded the release of key technical standards that are necessary for the development of new products.
On Dec. 27, 2019, the DOT issued “administrative rulemaking, guidance, and enforcement procedures,” changing how different agencies, including the FAA, promulgated rules. The rulemaking cast a wide net, leading to extended reviews for regulatory and guidance actions that previously did not need such scrutiny, GAMA v-p of engineering and maintenance Walter Desrosier told AIN last year. These included interpretive rules, implementing guidance, and implementing policy, such as advisory circulars, guidance, orders, and acceptance of standards—regulations and guidance that Desrosier had called “enablers” for technology and safety features.
However, the DOT is releasing a new rulemaking that will remove the required internal review policies and procedures for rulemaking and guidance issuance.
GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce said the association appreciated the step. “While some industries may have welcomed a dramatic slowdown in regulations under the previous administration’s philosophy, we believe the law of unintended consequences applies to the one-size-fits-all approach,” he said. “The aviation industry relies on technical standards to be routinely updated...to address safety and incorporate evolving technology.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating after five died and one was seriously injured following the crash of an Airbus Helicopters AS350B3e AStar on Saturday in Alaska. The helicopter went down near the Knik Glacier near Palmer at an estimated elevation of 5,000 to 6,000 feet. Weather at the time at Palmer (KPAQ, 242 feet msl) was reported as wind of five knots, broken clouds at 6,500 feet agl, and 10 miles visibility.
Operated for Tordrillo Mountain Lodge at Judd Lake by Soloy Helicopters of Wasilla, Alaska, the AStar was being used to support heli-skiing. In a prepared statement issued yesterday, the lodge said this was its first “event of this measure” in 17 years of operation.
The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center responded to the crash site late Saturday evening after the helicopter was reported missing. An FAA-imposed temporary flight restriction (TFR) was established above the crash site, but it expired yesterday. Among the dead were the pilot, both ski guides, and two passengers, including Czech billionaire Petr Kellner.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
A pilot hears or sees something that he or she expects to hear or see rather than what actually might be occurring. This description of human behavior is known as:
A. Expectation bias.
B. Confirmation bias.
C. Adequate situation awareness.
D. Attentional deficit.
ASECNA Expands Reach with Aireon’s Space-based ADS-B
Aireon’s space-based air traffic surveillance system for ADS-B equipped aircraft has expanded with the installation of a third service delivery point (SDP) in the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar’s (ASECNA) Dakar, Senegal operations center as part of the Single African Sky initiative. The installation enables ASECNA to receive triple-redundant data from all six of its flight information regions—Antananarivo, Brazzaville, Dakar Oceanic, Dakar Terrestrial, Niamey, and N'Djamena—by way of three independent telecommunications lines.
Each of those lines is also feeding data into the ASECNA African Indian Ocean Satellite Network very small aperture terminal (AFISNET VSAT) network, which Aireon said makes space-based ADS-B highly available in the region. ASECNA first marked operational deployment of the Aireon service in January 2020.
ASECNA director-general Mohamed Moussa said the service eliminates reliance on ground-based surveillance. “By deploying Aireon data throughout our region, we are maintaining the highest level of safety and providing the most robust data to all member states through the AFISNET VSAT network,” Moussa added.
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