The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has detained a Luxembourg-registered private jet at Farnborough Airport while it investigates possible breaches of sanctions against Russia. At 9:40 p.m. local time on March 8, officials issued a notam preventing the Bombardier Global Express from taking off, just a few hours after the government introduced legislation making it a criminal offense to breach a ban on any aircraft that has any connection to Russia through registration or ownership, or even if it is chartered by Russian travelers.
The aircraft (tail number: LX-FLY) is registered with the European management and charter group Global Jet Luxembourg. According to UK officials, it arrived at Farnborough on March 4, after a transatlantic flight from the New York-area Teterboro Airport. The operator company did not immediately respond to questions from AIN about the aircraft, which had been due to depart Farnborough enroute to Dubai. UK officials indicated that in addition to issuing the notam preventing takeoff, they had revoked the foreign carrier permit covering the aircraft. “It will remain at the airport whilst we investigate further whether it falls under the recent legislation banning all Russian-lined aircraft,” said a DfT spokesperson.
According to Farnborough Airport, the flight into the UK had been approved by National Air Traffic Services, which controls access to UK airspace.
The FAA’s Office of Airports is requesting comments on a draft engineering brief for vertiport and vertistop design standards to accommodate upcoming electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The deadline for comments on the brief is April 18, and the FAA will hold a virtual meeting on March 29 at 11 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the draft and answer questions.
According to the FAA, the engineering brief is written specifically for vertical takeoff and landing aircraft powered with electric motors and using distributed electric propulsion, in contrast to propulsion systems built solely around an internal combustion engine. Development of the final standards will lead to an eVTOL vertiport design advisory circular anticipated to be released in 2024.
“This engineering brief is part of an early stage of a process to define design standards for vertiports to support operations of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft being developed as part of the emerging advanced air mobility industry,” said Alex Gertsen, NBAA’s director of airports and ground infrastructure. “The initial guidance is the result of a multi-year effort for the FAA, during which the agency engaged with the NBAA and other stakeholders.”
Avionics manufacturer FreeFlight Systems has introduced an upgrade to its RA-4000 and RA-4500 radar altimeter that the company says offers a 5G mitigation solution. Like many other brands of currently installed radar altimeters, these older models are vulnerable to strong C-Band 5G RF interference from new-generation cell-phone frequencies.
"Our RA-4000 and RA-4500 units are currently safely supporting flight operations on over 5,000 aircraft worldwide,” said FreeFlight Systems’ president Anthony Rios. “However, having foreseen the potential deployment of C-Band 5G in 2019, we understood that our customers would need a robust, clean-sheet-designed radar altimeter that would be tolerant to C-Band 5G while being simple to install and cost-effective to upgrade from existing radar altimeters.”
The new RA-4500 MK II radar altimeter is a “simple drop-in replacement that uses the existing wiring, structural, and antenna provisions already on the aircraft,” said Rios. “This ensures operators can quickly address the risk of 5G interference and [compliance with] FAA ADs with no modifications to existing aircraft provisions.”
FreeFlight Systems reserved limited quantities for customers who place orders this week during HAI Heli-Expo in Dallas.
FAI Aviation Group, one of Europe’s largest private jets operators, has formed a partnership with Osprey Flight Solutions. FAI, which also offers air ambulance services, will integrate Osprey’s risk-management system into its activities.
Based at Albrecht Dürer International Airport in Nuremberg, Germany, FAI’s fleet of 21 jets last year tallied 14,000 flight hours for VIP charter, aeromedical transport, and special mission services. The company now utilizes Osprey’s risk-management platform, which was introduced in 2017 and uses real-time information and technology, amassing data from 200,000 open sources in more than 60 languages to formulate risk-management processes. This enables a swift response to emerging threats and enables safer flights to all of FAI's destinations.
“With our special mission profile and many flights to global crisis areas, we depend on a strong partner like Osprey,” said FAI safety manager Michael Wiegand. “In particular, I really appreciate the immediate availability of relevant data.”
Brightwater United Aero Group (UAG) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Advanced Composite Structures (ACS) Group of companies, including ACS and Rotor Tech International (RTI). Both companies have deep experience with rotor blade repair.
Based in Winnipeg in Canada, ACS has additional operations in Stockton, California; Sanford, Florida; and Brisbane, Australia. UAG is an OEM-authorized independent service provider focused on rotary-wing support for commercial and military markets worldwide. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of next month, when ACS and RTI will become fully owned subsidiaries of UAG, which was acquired by the Brightwater group of companies in 2019.
This acquisition will be the first for UAG, the company said. “The addition of their extensive repair capabilities and customer relationships will provide exponential growth to UAG,” said president and CEO Jamie Gelder. “Having the airworthiness approvals across almost every rotary platform is what excites us about the addition of ACS to our portfolio. Our global customer base will immediately benefit from the combined services of our group as we accelerate our growth plans.”
Romanian oil and gas services company Vega Offshore has chosen Switzerland-based Rusada’s Envision software to manage operations for its fleet of Airbus Helicopters H155s, the operator said on Wednesday. The Envision software will manage functions including continuing airworthiness, maintenance planning and tracking, and inventory management for Vega, which provides passenger and cargo flights from Constanta, Romania, for energy producers and offers medevac and SAR services.
“One of the key things we were looking for in a provider was a proven track record of success,” said Dana Claudia Glavan, managing director at Vega Offshore. “Rusada has been supporting rotor operators for over 30 years, and that gave us great confidence.”
Rusada’s European Client Services team integrated and implemented Envision over six months, while the team configured process flows, trained staff, and migrated over Vega’s existing data.
“We have a long-running history in the rotary industry,” said Rusada CEO Julian Stourton, "and I’m glad we can now add another important name to our heli-community.”
Rusada software supports more than 100 customers worldwide and manages 2,000 aircraft in over 40 countries.
StandardAero has begun the second phase of a program to upgrade the Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Department’s Bell UH-1H helicopter for hot, high, and heavy operations. The program, which is underway at StandardAero’s helicopter airframe facility in British Columbia, is expected to be completed in the next five to six months.
Included in the second phase are airframe modifications to the lift beam, main beams, and tail boom attach areas, as well as engine mount and main transmission mount areas. Main transmission and driveshaft assemblies also will be upgraded. Those modifications are designed for increasing horsepower and torque that are required to improve lift capability to 5,000 pounds of external cargo capacity and a 10,500-pound external gross weight limitation.
Recent upgrades are in addition to first-phase modifications for improved hover-hold, yaw control and reduced torque, tail rotor power requirements, and fuel consumption. First-phase upgrades also include an upgraded engine and transmission cooling system.
StandardAero launched the UH-1H airframe upgrade program in 1992 and since then has performed more than 150 upgrades for military and restricted-category operators. The sheriff’s department is considering a third phase for 2023, in which installation of Bell 212 main rotor blades would provide a 10,500-pound internal and 11,200-pound external gross weight on its UH-1H.
Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is seeking nominations for its inaugural Gloria Heath Trophy, which will be awarded annually to recognize a woman or specific group of women for notable achievements in civil aviation. Nominees must be women currently working in aviation who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and excellence in communication, collaboration, and mentoring, among other criteria.
The award is named to honor Gloria W. Heath, one of the founders of FSF. Heath was an aviator in the U.S. Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II. She was also a leader during the early days of the commercial aviation industry. At FSF, Heath developed the first formal course in aircraft accident investigation and served as a driving force behind the Foundation’s efforts to disseminate aviation safety information worldwide. Later, she pioneered methods used in search-and-rescue operations. Heath died in 2017 at age 95.
Nominations are now open for the award, which will be presented during the Foundation’s Networking and Awards Dinner on June 21 at the National Press Club in Washington. The deadline for submitting nominations is April 30, 2022.
Model(s): BR700-710A1-10/A2-20, BR700-710C4-11, and BR700-710D5-21
Published: March 3, 2022
Effective: March 17, 2022
According to EASA, "these engines are known to be installed on, but not limited to" the Bombardier Global Express, XRS, 5000, and 6000, and Gulfstream GV/SP and G550. Supersedes but retains the requirements of EASA AD 2012-0161R1, which mandated the replacement of the fuel pump splined coupling for certain engines. Updated AD expands the applicability to include BR700-710D5-21 engines and requires accomplishing the instructions specified and referenced in the time limits manual.
Model(s): A109E, A109LUH, A109S, AW109SP, A119, and AW119MKII
Published: March 7, 2022
Effective: March 21, 2022
Requires a one-time inspection of the main rotor rotating scissor assembly, any necessary corrective actions, and, thereafter, repetitive axial-play-check inspections. Prompted by occurrences of excessive axial play reported on the ball bearing of the lower half of the main rotor rotating scissor assembly. In some cases, this resulted in the dislodgement of the ball bearing from its seat without jeopardizing the functionality of the scissor assembly.
Supersedes but retains requirements of AD 2020-12-08, which mandated inspections of the mass-balance weights of the elevators, ailerons, and rudder and their attachment parts, and any necessary corrective actions, as well as revising the airworthiness limitation section of the maintenance manual or instructions for continued airworthiness to incorporate new airworthiness limitations. Updated AD also requires, for certain airplanes, cleaning and weighing certain mass-balances and installation or replacement, as applicable; for certain other airplanes, the AD requires replacement of those mass-balances.
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