Daher Unveils New TBM 940 at Owners Seminar

Daher launched the TBM 940, an upgraded version that succeeds its top-of-the-line 930 with new features that include an integrated autothrottle, automatic deicing system, and cabin improvements, the airframer announced today at the TBM Owners and Pilots Association Safety Seminar in Pompano Beach, Florida. “This newest TBM family member underscores our firm commitment to constant improvement for the ownership and operational experience with our very fast turboprop aircraft,” said Daher Airplane Business Unit senior v-p Nicolas Chabbert. 

The 940’s autothrottle is the first to be installed on a single-engine turboprop weighing less than 12,500 pounds, Daher claims, and adjusts the airplane’s speeds based on the preset flight profile. The autothrottle also allows the 940 to be operated at the edge of approved power regimes for the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D.

The airplane also gets more automation on the deicing system, which is automatically activated when icing or ice accumulation is detected and the pilot doesn’t take action. The cabin gets redesigned seats, a central shelf with side storage, an additional 115-volt electric outlet at the right rear seat panel, and a USB port bringing the total to six passenger and three pilot ports. 

The 940’s range of up to 1,730 nm is unchanged from the 930. FAA and EASA certification of the airplane, priced at $4.13 million with standard equipment, is expected next month.

Genav Terminal Opens at São Paulo Guarulhos Airport

Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) recently inaugurated a new general aviation terminal that is being operated by a consortium formed by CFly Aviation and Jetex Flight Support, with ground handling by Dnata. The dedicated general aviation terminal can handle up to 200 VIP passengers an hour, the companies said.

It opened as a “proof of concept” with a temporary structure assembled from 39 shipping containers in 45 days, with a permanent structure planned in mid-2020. The ramp area, previously rated for 12 business jets, can now handle 39 with the high-density parking techniques used by CFly for the 2014 World Cup in Rio. Expanded ramp area and a heliport await an environmental permit, while there are longer-term plans to build a hangar.

Business jet use of Guarulhos had been hindered by lack of parking, which required repositioning; lack of slots; and the need for passengers to take a van to the main terminal to pass through customs and immigration alongside airline passengers. The general aviation terminal contains physical facilities for immigration and customs, but availabilty of government personnel to run is still in negotiations with the respective agencies.

In collaboration with airspace control organization DECEA, the airport has increased the number of possible operations to 55 per hour, with new procedures allowing simultaneous use of both runways.

Airbus Offers More Details On New H145

Airbus Helicopters has revealed more details about the revised H145 it announced this week at Heli-Expo. Designated the H145D3, the new medium twin is expected to receive EASA and FAA certification in the first and second quarters of next year, respectively, with deliveries to follow in the third quarter.

The company plans to transition from the current H145 model, the D2, to the D3 throughout 2020 and end D2 production by the end of that year, according to Alex Humpert, program head for the H145. Its new model features a lightweight, foldable, five-blade main rotor system; Fadec; lower empty weight; and increased useful load. These upgrades will also be available as a factory-supplied retrofit for existing H145s (it is not available for BK117 or EC145 variants, however).

Humpert said the new foldable main blade system on the D3 takes only 10 minutes to stow/deploy, making it ideal for hangar or shipboard storage scenarios. All blades fold backward within the wingspan of the horizontal stabilizer by simply removing one bolt from each blade. Compared to the D2, the D3 has a slightly smaller main rotor disk, from 36 feet to 35.4 feet, and a 330-pound increase in useful load. The new bearingless design has no rotor head, requires no oil, no grease, and requires very little maintenance.

CHC Summit Aims To ‘Shine Light’ On Safety

CHC Helicopter announced the theme for the 2019 CHC Safety & Quality Summit and formally issued the call for papers for the event. The 15th annual Summit will take place at the Omni Dallas Hotel from October 1 to 3. This year’s theme is “Shining a Light on Safety: Are We Looking in the Right Places?” Potential speakers have until April 1 to submit entries to lead one or more of the 90-minute sessions during the three-day event. Submissions should be sent to summit@chcheli.com and include proposed titles, a description or outline, objectives and audience benefits, a brief speaker biography and contact information. Interested speakers are encouraged to visit www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com for additional information.

Relevant topics include (but are not limited to): proactive risk reporting; enterprise risk management; integrity and management; compliance monitoring; crisis management; future learnings through accident investigation; organizational leadership and visibility; fatigue risk management; human factors; risk assessment and hazard management; human error management; flight data monitoring; HUMS; organizational causes of accidents; sustaining and improving industry safety; management system for reducing safety risk and business risk; and crew resource management.

Invited speakers will lead approximately 100 concurrent sessions over a three-day period, addressing the theme and helping to contribute to the safety conversation in our industries, promoting excellence in safety and human factors and maintaining a robust safety environment.

Mente Adds Aircraft Portfolio Valuation Tool

Business aircraft broker and advisory firm Mente Group will be on site at the NBAA Regional Forum March 14 in Houston, Texas, to tout what it said is a recent and growing program, Mente Value Platform. It allows companies and financial institutions to track in real time the value of their aircraft portfolios, the Dallas, Texas-based company announced. Mente uses advanced financial processes, customized modeling, and staff business jet appraisers accredited by the American Society of Appraisers to help determine and track real-time valuations.

"This gives us the highest market awareness that benefits our clients directly,” said Mente v-p of asset management Jeff Dorrough.

Clients of the program so far include a food service producer and distributor, an international oil-and-gas company, a commercial bank, a defense contractor and a global insurance conglomerate. It launched the program in 2018.

HAI Hires JSfirm for Job Opportunities

A year after rolling out a study highlighting a looming workforce shortage, HAI unveiled a new partnership with job search specialist JSfirm to create a job bank on the association’s website. Under the agreement, the website will house JSfirm job listings, with member company postings highlighted. JSfirm has housed hundreds of thousands of jobs, said Abbey Hutter, JSfirm manager of marketing and partnerships, adding this will greatly expand the reach for helicopter professionals.

The listings are expected to go live on HAI's site this spring, with association member companies new to JSfirm getting a 90-day free listing and existing customers who are members receiving a 20 percent discount.

For HAI this presents an opportunity to tap into a significant employment resource at a time when worker shortages are intensifying. “We have a real concern about our future job shortages; we need pilots, we need maintenance technicians, we need engineers, we need management, we need all kinds of people to be involved in the future of our industry,” said Karen Gebhart, v-p of business development for HAI.

HAI president and CEO Matt Zuccaro further underscored the association’s concerns about workforce shortages. “The shortage of pilots and mechanics is real, it’s here and we’re trying to address it in an aggressive manner,” Zuccaro told AIN.

EmbraerX Sharing Interactive UAM Concepts at SXSW

Embraer will unveil its concept for urban air mobility (UAM) tomorrow at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, at the Hilton Downtown hotel, room 602. EmbraerX’s interactive “prototype room” will display the “collaborative ecosystem” and “human-centric” experience it envisions for UAM that it has developed with partner companies.

EmbraerX CEO Antonio Campello said, “The industry needs to build a collaborative ecosystem to reinvent mobility. But it will only be possible if we ignite people’s imagination and show we are not offering a product, but a social transformation.”

This year Embraer is presenting the tech industry and enterprise track and SXSW: It focuses on today’s innovations and tomorrow’s trends. EmbraerX will also participate in the “Mobility, Reimagined” panel. Embraer is part of the Uber Elevate network, a collaboration dedicated to developing urban on-demand air mobility using electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and developing a supporting ecosystem including ride-sharing platform, vertiport infrastructure, and air traffic management.  

LCI Adds To Australasia Leased Helicopter Fleet

Libra Group subsidiary Lease Corporation International (LCI) has expanded its relationship with Malaysia-based rotorcraft operator Weststar Aviation Services, through the delivery of two new helicopters: a Leonardo AW139 and an AW189. They will join a previously delivered LCI AW189, which is already in service. The new medium-twin helicopters will be used to support Weststar’s offshore operations in Kerteh and Miri.

The company also noted that its customer Babcock International Group has repositioned two AW139s from its operation in Aberdeen, UK, to Karratha, in western Australia, where they will be operated by Babcock’s Australasia concern in the offshore oil-and-gas role. The two helicopters will join LCI’s 12 AW139s already based in Australia, 10 of which are engaged in EMS operations, including six operated by Babcock for Air Ambulance Victoria.

In addition to Australia, the company’s helicopters are currently operating in the U.S., Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and as of this past year, China, which Crispin Maunder, the company's executive chairman, describes as a very exciting, yet challenging market. EMS provider Shanghai Kingwing, through its operator Weststar, took on the leases of three AW139s. “We see a steady growth in EMS,” Maunder told  AIN on the eve of Heli-Expo 2019.