Hermeus is de-risking the technical development of its hypersonic Quarterhorse remotely-piloted small vehicle and is expanding with new hires and facilities as it prepares for flight in 2024, according to analyst Jefferies.
Recently hosting Hermeus CEO A.J. Piplica in a discussion, Jefferies said the hypersonic developer is evolving, increasing from 60 employees to 100 already this year with plans to be at between 160 to 170 by year-end. In addition to its Atlanta headquarters, Hermeus has opened an office in Los Angeles and intends to open another in Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, Jefferies noted that Hermeus de-risked technical development “substantially” with a test campaign involving the Chimera engine that culminated in the transition from a turbojet to a pure ramjet operating at Mach 3. The Chimera uses a GE J85 that was modified to reach Mach 4. The company is now focused on building initial Quarterhorse prototypes this year with the first flight taking place early next year.
However, Hermeus plans for further de-risking by initially testing at subsonic speeds without the Chimera. The second aircraft is anticipated to be equipped with Chimera later in 2024, the analyst said.
The company envisions eventually bringing a commercial 4,000-nm, 20-passenger hypersonic Halycon to market for airline and business aviation customers.
‘Tis May, the height of the season for school commencement speeches that offer students everywhere aspirational advice on how to live their lives.
In that regard, some of you (of a certain age) may remember a hypothetical commencement speech from the 1990s that was published in the Chicago Tribune. It later became a spoken word song in 1999 by Baz Luhrmann called “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen).” One point of the song was actually great advice—urging young graduates everywhere to remember to protect themselves from the sun whenever possible.
My point to all this? It’s not to tout that I’m attending my son Peter’s graduation (go UVA class of 2023—Wa-Hoo-Wa!). Rather, it’s to share some key advice with my colleagues, especially my friends on the flight deck.
And that is to remind you, as well, to wear sunscreen—especially when flying. In fact, dermatologist Dr. Joyce Park went viral on TikTok for sharing why pilots have a higher risk of skin cancer than people in other occupations. As well, she suggests passengers wear sunscreen while seated next to a window—or pull down their shade.
Global business aircraft flight activity declined by 6.9 percent in April over the same month in 2022, results that were driven by a 7.7 percent year-over-year decrease in North America and a 16.7 percent drop in Europe, according to Argus International’s latest TraqPak report.
In North America, fractional activity logged the only yearly increase in April, up 8.1 percent. Part 91 was down across all four aircraft segments in the month for a combined decline of 6.3 percent while Part 135 operations continued their slide, down by 15 percent. As for the aircraft categories in April, turboprops saw the largest drop, down 11.3 percent, followed by midsize-cabin jets at 8 percent, large cabins at 5.8 percent, and small cabins at 4.9 percent.
In Europe, large-cabin jet operations led the decreases, plunging 36.9 percent year-over-year in April. All other aircraft categories saw drops as well, but in the single digits: midsize cabins at -7.7 percent, small cabins at -6.7 percent, and turboprops at -4.4 percent. In other parts of the world, activity was up 10.6 percent year-over-year with large-cabin jet activity up by 22.8 percent and turboprops by 19.3 percent.
Argus believes activity will continue to slow overall this month but at a more moderated pace. May activity in North America is anticipated to be down 2.4 percent year-over-year and Europe activity is poised to decrease by 12.2 percent.
Renewable fuels producer Neste has completed a multiyear, €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion) expansion at its Singapore refinery. The project doubled the facility’s total output capacity to 2.6 million tonnes of fuel a year, one million of which can be sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In addition, the expansion also enhanced the plant’s raw material pretreatment capability, allowing it to process more challenging waste and residue feedstocks.
“This marks another important milestone in our renewables growth strategy execution,” said Neste president and CEO Matti Lehmus. “The construction of the refinery is a remarkable achievement given the complexity of the project and as it was carried out during a global pandemic.”
By year-end, when modifications to the company’s Rotterdam production facility are completed, Neste’s total SAF production will be 1.5 million tonnes a year. When the expansion of the Rotterdam facility is finished in first-half 2026, that will rise to 2.2 million tons.
As part of this latest project, the company also established an integrated SAF supply chain to Singapore Changi Airport. In a deal that is pending regulatory approval, Neste agreed to acquire a stake as a minority shareholder in Changi Airport Fuel Hydrant Installation Co., the airport’s fuel storage and infrastructure joint venture. This would make the fifth airport the company is directly supplying with SAF, joining San Francisco International, Los Angeles International, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Finland's Helsinki Airport.
The Senate has advanced the Notam Improvement Act of 2023, which would establish a task force to recommend improvements to the notam system. Senate passage by unanimous consent last week follows House approval in late January.
However, the Senate-passed bill includes amendments to require the FAA to complete its implementation of the new, modernized Federal Notam System and have a backup system in place by Sept. 30, 2024, and to call on the FAA to brief Congress on a plan to improve the ability of the notam system to offer machine-readable and filterable information in the format used by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The two chambers now must either reconcile their bills or the House must pass the amended Senate version.
“The system failure that grounded all flights in January cannot happen again,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), who joined Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) in introducing the Senate version. “The bipartisan Notam Improvement Act creates a task force of experts to develop specific improvements for this critical system, and I’m glad to see it pass the U.S. Senate. I encourage the House to quickly pass this amended version and send it to the President’s desk so we can prevent similar outages in the future.”
Lincoln, Nebraska-based Duncan Aviation this week delivered a completely updated 2001 Bombardier Global Express from its Provo, Utah MRO—a refurbishment that involved every shop in the facility, according to lead designer Molly Pfeiffer. The owner’s vision of an all-white, bright, and cozy interior was two years in preparation and began with a complete gutting and paint stripping of the aircraft. The only feature retained from the original interior was blue stone inlays in the drink rails that have re-emerged as highlights against a light veneer.
The cabin features modern, clean lines and a mix of patterned fabrics and sheepskin seats that create texture, depth, and warmth in the all-white compartment. Bulkheads formerly incorporating rounded, hardwood bullnose trim were simplified to a squared-off fabric insert surrounded by new veneer.
Duncan’s Provo team also installed LED lighting, Honeywell RDR-7000 radar, and a Ka-band satcom system. It also performed a 240-month inspection on the Global Express.
Pfeiffer described the refurbished Bombardier as “a true Duncan Aviation-Provo airplane.” She collaborated on the interior with Olivia Putman at Studio Putman, which has a long relationship with the aircraft owner’s family. Putman’s mother, famed French designer Andrée Putman, designed the interior of the Concorde; the Bombardier was Olivia’s first aircraft interior project.
With annual general aviation “hangar rash” incidents estimated at more than $150 million a year in damages, recently launched Hangar Safe announced it will begin installations of its artificial-intelligence-powered hangar protection system to its first customers in the third quarter. The California-based company’s hangar rash prevention system monitors any aircraft movement in the hangar and uses patented technology along with a suite of installed sensors and cameras to provide operators with audio and visual warnings of impending collisions.
“The greatest system benefit is that there are no new employee procedures to teach,” said Ryan Crowl, company founder and owner of Bakersfield Jet Center, which was used as a testbed for the system. He noted the industry has been handling aircraft on the ground the same way for decades with little improvement in safety. “The system is actively watching, providing an extra layer of safety for the tug operator who carries out the task as usual.”
According to the company, it will complete the installations for its six initial customers by year-end and then begin focusing on reopening the order book starting in January.
Boeing released a free public version of its Cascade climate impact modeling tool on Wednesday. It allows users to explore strategies for making aviation more sustainable and quantify how different technologies might reduce, or even increase, the industry's carbon footprint.
”Cascade helps airline operators, industry partners, and policymakers see when, where, and how different fuel sources affect their sustainability goals,” said Neil Titchener, who leads the Cascade program at Boeing. “Our industry has really hard questions ahead of us, [and] we're going to have to make difficult choices. Cascade can be the conversation starter for how each decarbonization pathway can help us reach a more sustainable future.”
In the Cascade web app, users can manipulate sliding scales to explore the impact of “green” technologies, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and next-generation aircraft, such as those powered by hydrogen and electric batteries.
“The idea was really to bring together energy data and aviation data, and the fact that our flights are tracked means we could model the commercial aviation system,” said Boeing chief sustainability officer Chris Raymond. “Cascade sought to bring those two things together in a visual way with real energy and aviation information and then just allow the exploration of scenarios,” such as the rate of fleet renewal and the availability of SAF.
AIN reporter Mark Huber has been closely following the significant financial problems unfolding at Wheels Up, resulting in the recent resignation of CEO and founder Kenny Dichter. We asked Mark to talk us through the roots of these problems, what they could mean for Wheels Up customers, and whether the fallout could be felt in the wider business aviation industry.
Photo of the Week
Back in Business. After a two-year hiatus, the 2022 European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) drew crowds back to the exhibit halls of the Palexpo convention center and static display at Geneva International Airport in Switzerland, as captured here by AIN photographer David McIntosh. The 2023 event, kicking off on Tuesday, is expected to build on last year's event as people have become more comfortable with traveling and gathering. Thanks for sharing, David!
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