Cessna SkyCourier Completes First Flight

The Cessna SkyCourier twin-turboprop prototype lifted off on its first flight Sunday morning from Beech Field at Textron Aviation’s east campus in Wichita. Piloted by senior test pilot Corey Eckhart and chief test pilot Aaron Tobias, the utility twin flew for two hours and 15 minutes.

“We were very pleased with how the Cessna SkyCourier performed throughout its first flight,” Eckhart said. “It was particularly impressive to see how stable the aircraft handled on takeoff and landing.”

With an initial order from FedEx for 50 copies of the high-wing airplane and options for 50 more, the SkyCourier is capable of flying 200 ktas powered by two 1,100-shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65SC turboprop engines driving 110-inch McCauley propellers. It also features a Garmin G1000 NXi flight deck.

Configurable for both cargo and commuter operations, the high-wing turboprop is designed to carry a payload of up to 6,000 pounds with an 87-inch cargo door, a flat floor, and a nearly 70-inch tall and wide cabin to accept three standard LD3 air cargo containers. In a passenger configuration, it will have seating for up to 19 passengers, with a netted rear cabin area for luggage and equipment. It also will be available in a mixed passenger/cargo combination.

Garmin Autoland Certified in Piper M600

The FAA has granted the first certification for Autoland, Garmin’s automatic landing technology. Specifically, the approval was for the Halo safety system in Piper’s M600/SLS turboprop single. The Daher TBM 940 and Cirrus Vision Jet are next in line for Autoland approvals, and other aircraft are slated to receive the system as well.

Autoland is designed to land the airplane at a suitable nearby airport without any intervention by pilot or passengers, other than engaging the system by pushing the Autoland button. Once activated, Autoland finds an airport and flies the airplane there while avoiding terrain and adverse weather, then it descends and slows down, flies an approach, and lands the airplane. After landing, Autoland applies the brakes until the M600 stops, then it shuts down the engine so passengers can exit safely.

Autoland is part of Garmin’s G3000 avionics suite and requires Garmin’s autothrottle system. In the M600/SLS, Autoland is part of Piper’s Halo package. This also includes automatic level mode, hypoxia recognition and emergency descent mode, and Garmin SafeTaxi, TerminalTraffic, SurfaceWatch, and Flight Stream 510 wireless gateway.

After pressing the Autoland button, the system will conduct the landing process until engine shutdown, however, a pilot can disengage Autoland at any time by pushing the autopilot disconnect switch on the yoke or the autopilot button on the mode control panel.

Aerion Paving Path To Bring AS2 to Market

With an eye on bringing a civil supersonic business jet to market around the 2026 timeframe, Aerion is laying the groundwork to shift from a design firm to a manufacturer. Aerion in late April announced it would break ground later this year on a $300 million facility at Florida’s Melbourne International Airport (MLB) to serve as the home for production of the Mach 1.4, 12-place AS2 trijet.

This announcement came as Aerion firmed up what the company believes is the final design configuration for the airplane, adopting a new look that sports a delta-shaped wing, revamped empennage, and new elongated nacelle shape that the company said incorporates new materials and technologies, yet provides a design that could ensure it meets timeline and production requirements.

While the specifications of the changed design are anticipated soon, the company did reveal that the length of the airplane is now shortened to 144 feet, 11 inches, with a 79-foot wingspan and 29-foot height.

“The airplane looks remarkably very different from what most people have become accustomed to seeing [with the AS2],” said Aerion executive v-p and chief sustainability officer Gene Holloway, referring to the move away from the more straight-line wing that incorporated supersonic natural laminar flow shapes refined over years of research and the previous T-tail empennage.

Charter Providers Roll Out New Covid Safety Measures

With the Covid-19 crisis severely curtailing commercial aviation traffic, private aircraft charter providers are eager to assure the traveling public that they are providing the latest in disinfection and sanitization measures, among them California providers Clay Lacy Aviation and Silver Air.

Van Nuys-based Clay Lacy introduced its “CleanCheck” standard after evaluating and implementing new technologies and best practices from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Transportation, FAA, OEMs, and other industries, such as bipolar ionization and ClearCabin antimicrobial barrier application. The charter operator's aircraft are cleaned and disinfected after each flight and the company has increased the cleaning frequency for its facilities.

“Health and safety is always our first priority,” said company president and CEO Brian Kirkdoffer. “We examined every department, facility, and process and asked how we could thoughtfully change to provide the absolute safest service and environment."

Meanwhile, private jet management and charter operator Silver Air developed its “Covid-19 Cleared” program in conjunction with medical professionals and infectious disease specialists, with the aim of reducing potential infectious touchpoints on its aircraft.

While safety has also been the company’s primary concern, “the current environment has challenged us to redefine what that means,” explained CEO Jason Middleton. In addition to aircraft sterilization, its protocol has medical professionals conduct virtual health screenings of passengers and crews before boarding.

U.S. Senators Propose Av Manufacturer Payroll Help

The U.S. Senate Aerospace Caucus co-chairs introduced a bipartisan bill that would provide for federal assistance to help aviation manufacturers maintain their employment levels during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kansas Republican Jerry Moran and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner unveiled the measure, S.3705, last week to create private-public partnerships to preserve jobs of employees that otherwise would be at risk for furlough or layoff.

Under the bill, the government would cover up to half of the salaries of the “at-risk” workers. Participating companies must demonstrate that these workers would be in danger of losing their jobs, must agree to pay for at least half of their compensation, and must keep covered workers on the payroll. Compensation assistance is limited to 25 percent of the workforce.

“The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a drastic decline in air travel, and as a result, aviation manufacturing has experienced significant financial losses resulting in widespread layoffs,” Moran said. “This legislation would create a program to temporarily support aviation manufacturing in order to prevent more layoffs and allow the industry to make a faster recovery once this crisis has passed.”

“This cost-sharing public-private partnership is an important step to support the aviation manufacturing, repair, and supply chain workforce,” added Warner. The program is designed to be a temporary measure, lasting up to a year.

India’s Book Air Ambulance Offers Affordable Membership

Having run an online air ambulance service targeting high-net-worth individuals with three King Air C90s for the past eight years, New Delhi-based Book Air Ambulance, a venture of Flaps Aviation, has introduced the first-ever membership in India that it calls “Cashless and Affordable Air Ambulance” service. The service has been started primarily to address serious medical issues of patients from small communities who need to travel to the country's five metros—Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai—for treatment.

The unique membership plan costs less than $70 a year for a family of six. It includes a free, bed-to-bed hospital transfer flight from one town or city to another. If used for a second time in the same year, a 50 percent discount is offered on the approximately $920 per hour fare, said Flaps Aviation founder and CEO Capt. Amit Kumar.

He told AIN that India loses 43,000 lives annually to heart attacks in smaller towns and cities with no access to advanced medical care. “The King Air is a proven aircraft that can land and take off at most of the 450 smaller airfields of the Airports Authority of India. It can fly high so turbulent weather does not affect the patient and operating costs are low,” Kumar explained.

The company is in discussion about collaborating with some insurance companies to cover air ambulance transfers. 

Japan Super Puma Fatal Crash Tied To Tail Rotor Mx

Japan’s Transportation Safety Board (JTSB) has concluded that incorrect tail rotor maintenance caused the fatal November 2017 crash of an Airbus Helicopters AS332L Super Puma. All four aboard were killed when the aircraft, operated by Toho Air Service, crashed while attempting to make an emergency landing following detection of abnormal vibration.

During the landing sequence, the tail rotor and tail boom departed the aircraft. The JTSB found that the tail rotor separated because a spindle bolt of its flapping hinge broke, causing it to become unbalanced. The bolt broke because flapping hinge bearing damage was undetected. That damage likely occurred due to incorrect lubrication procedures.

The aircraft's flapping hinge must be greased every 10 flying hours, at every 50- and 250-hour inspection, and daily if it is parked in hot/humid conditions. However, the JTSB found that this was not done while the aircraft was parked in such conditions during the summer of 2017 and that subsequent damage to the outer bearing was not detected and an associated seal was not replaced per the maintenance manual during a 250-hour inspection in September 2017. 

Subsequent to the accident, Airbus and EASA mandated inspection of the flapping hinges and replacement of related components on all Airbus AS 32C, AS332C1, AS332L, AS332L1, and SA330J model helicopters.

GE Partnership Helps ERAU’s Flight Analytics, Safety Ed

After working more than a year to identify a flight data monitoring tool for its use, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) has partnered with GE Aviation and selected its flight operation quality assurance (FOQA) program powered by GE’s Event Measurement System. In addition to giving ERAU students and faculty access to a flight data analytics platform, the platform offers additional applied learning and research opportunities.

“Embry-Riddle intends to use the software on all campuses in our aviation safety education courses and programs, and to improve operational efficiency for flight and fleet maintenance in our flight departments,” said Dr. Alan Stolzer, dean of the College of Aviation on Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Florida campus. “This software, in particular, gives us a huge competitive advantage over other flight and educational programs.”

GE’s FOQA platform gives students hands-on experience with a flight data analysis program that delivers data visualization with animation, allowing students to see trends and detect precursors to incidents or accidents, Embry-Riddle officials said, making them highly competitive for positions in the safety programs of major airlines. Stolzer added that the platform will also give the university “myriad opportunities for research in data analytics, fuel consumption modeling, and other areas.”

Are U.S. Covid Measures Enough To Help Bizav Survive?

With emergency legislation such as the CARES Act, the U.S. Congress and government have acted quickly to provide economic relief to the aviation sector. But the path for the business aviation sector to get the support it needs has not proved to be straightforward. AIN senior editor Kerry Lynch explains how the industry is seeking to maximise its access to support measures, as well as what further help is needed and how the industry is preparing to ramp up operations while guarding against Covid-19 infection.