GAMA: Bizjets, Pistons Up; Turboprops, Rotorcraft Down in Q3

Private aircraft deliveries were a mixed bag in the third quarter, according to statistics released this morning by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Through the first nine months of the year, business jet deliveries were up by 15.4 percent over the same period in 2018, with OEMs handing over 69 additional aircraft, buoying the total airplane billings to $14.8 billion, a 16 percent rise over the previous year. All of the business jet airframers saw increases over 2018.

In the turboprop sector, however, results were down by 11.6 percent overall, while high-end pressurized turboprop deliveries were off by more than 8 percent year-over-year. Beechcraft handed over two additional King Airs during the first nine months of 2019, while Pilatus remained static in its PC-12 deliveries, with 51 in the first nine months of both years. Daher, Piper, and Piaggio all saw declines thus far in 2019. At the lower end of the scale, piston-powered aircraft deliveries increased by 12.3 percent during the first nine months of 2019.

The rotorcraft sector continues to experience headwinds, with overall deliveries down more than 22 percent year-over-year. Turbine helicopters were off by 15.4 percent through October of 2019.

“Despite these mixed results, our manufacturers continue their investments in advanced factory machinery, design software, and associated processes that keep product development cycles robust and in turn bring advances in fuel efficiency, capability, and safety to the global fleet,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce.

AINsight: Bizav Simultaneously Going Global and Local

Beyond the highly anticipated product development announcements at last month’s NBAA-BACE, less headline-worthy developments in play in and around NBAA-BACE 2019 could actually have even more profound and enduring impacts on business aviation’s image and future directions. It’s a comment on a maturing industry that serves a global network of customers with a fleet of more than 38,000 turbine-powered airplanes.

Flygskam—Swedish for “flight shame”—has certainly attracted attention and grabbed headlines both in and outside of Europe, part of a groundswell of efforts that collectively shine a spotlight on the aviation community for what is perceived to be a poor environmental record.

While some in our industry might brush off business aviation’s environmental impacts as rather inconsequential—an estimated 2 percent share of 2 percent of all man-made emissions, or about 0.04 percent of the global total—the environmental issue is exceedingly complex.

The business aviation industry has committed to an array of ambitious goals to achieve carbon-neutral growth by 2020 and an absolute reduction of 50 percent of CO₂ emissions by 2050 relative to 2005. These goals will be reached through airframe and aviation engine technology development; more widespread sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) adoption; next-generation air navigation and flight operations procedures; and market-based measures.

Expect to hear more and more about these developments as environmental topics evolve from “things to do” towards “what we do” in the future.

NATA Issues Recommendations in Hangar Foam Fight

With the window for industry comments on the revisions to the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 409 Standard on Aircraft Hangars due to close today, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has submitted its proposed changes to the organization.

NATA has been vocal in its opposition to the mandatory requirement for foam fire suppression systems, establishing an online petition and commissioning a research study from the University of Maryland’s department of fire protection engineering.

"The recent report from the University of Maryland confirms what our industry has known for years: that foam fire suppression systems are not necessary for most hangars,[are] incredibly burdensome, and end up being a costly solution in search of a problem,” said Tim Obitts, NATA’s COO. “The data shows that the risk of a fuel fire in a business aviation hangar is virtually nonexistent, while the risk of a foam system inadvertently discharging and damaging aircraft and the environment is incredibly high, amounting to 137 false discharges since 2004.”

In its comments, NATA suggests several changes such as the creation of a new category of hangar for hazardous operations, including doping, hot work, in-hangar fuel transfers, and spray finishing, which would require foam systems.

The NFPA 409 Technical Committee on Airport Facilities will meet early next year to review the comments. The next revision to the standard is slated for publication in 2021.

EASA Proposes Tighter Flight, Cockpit Recorder Measures

A notice of proposed amendment (NPA) from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) aims to improve the performance of flight data recorders (FDR) and cockpit voice recorders (CVR) on large airplanes (CS-25) and large rotorcraft (CS-29) by addressing the following subjects: datalink recording; the serviceability of flight recorders; and the quality of recording of CVRs.

The proposed changes to CS-25 and CS-29 are expected to “increase safety by addressing previously issued recommendations, contributing to facilitating investigations of accidents and incidents, and to ease the certification process of recorders for EASA state authorities and design organizations, thereby bringing an economic benefit for these stakeholders.”

According to EASA, one of the key factors leading to the NPA was the issue reported after some accidents on large airplanes in which the end of the recording was missing from the FDR due to the loss of normal electrical power. Consequently, the proposal mandates an alternate power source as a solution. Other objectives of the proposal include providing certification specifications to support compliance with the operational rules requiring the recording of datalink communications and improve the audio quality of CVR recordings.

Comments on the NPA are due on Feb. 13, 2020.

New Ground School Goes Beyond Pilot Training

Kirby and Teresa Ortega have combined their more than 50 years of experience with business aircraft maintenance programs and pilot training to establish Ortega Aviation Services (OAS), a flight training, testing and consulting company. It’s not a traditional flight school because OAS focuses on ground school and preparing private pilot students to pass the FAA knowledge test as well as the oral portion of their practical flight tests.

OAS managing partner Teresa Ortega said with a pilot shortage and the rise of accelerated and online ground school programs, she thinks there’s an opportunity to offer students a ground school that provides for a lot of give-and-take with instructors—i.e. asking and answering questions—that such programs might miss, and that some students need more than others. “[It] in my mind leaves room for a lot of unsafe pilots,” she told AIN. “I want them to learn how to fly an airplane safely.”

Located at Wichita Eisenhower National Airport (ICT), OAS operates from a nearly 3,000-sq-ft building that includes two classrooms equipped with smartboards and other electronic teaching devices as well as a room equipped with two flight simulators for transition training and other programs, including an aviation course for high school STEM teachers.  

OAS’s other training services include checkride preparation; G1000 transition; flight review; instrument proficiency check; 6158 single-pilot certification; commercial pilot license; certified flight instructor; and Part 107 remote pilot (drone) license. Students have access to airplanes and flight instructors through OAS’s 11 contract instructors as well as relationships the company has with various flight schools and aviation businesses. 

Duncan Formalizes Mx Tech Apprenticeship Program

Duncan Aviation officially rolled out a formalized airframe technician maintenance apprenticeship program during a ceremony this week at its Lincoln, Nebraska headquarters. The rollout included the awarding of a certificate marking the MRO provider’s program as nationally registered by the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Education.

“The aviation industry is currently seeing a workforce shortage for qualified aircraft technicians as the number of retiring certified airframe technicians is higher than the number of young adults expressing interest in the field of aircraft mechanics,” said Duncan chairman Todd Duncan. “In response, Duncan Aviation is educating young adults about the joys of choosing business aviation as a career and looking at new and different ways to introduce talented and motivated individuals to the company and the industry.”

For several years Duncan has offered apprenticeships that included on-the-job training and instruction, but no formal instruction program was in place until now. “Though it was successful, we identified areas of theoretical and practical training that would yield better results through standardization,” Duncan airframe manager Jeremy Rangel said. “We now have a true pathway to help new team members become knowledgeable, well-rounded aircraft technicians.”

Twenty-four apprentices at Duncan are currently working full-time while learning and preparing for their airframe technician certification test. They have up to two years to earn their certification under the program.

Safety Standdown Draws Visitors from 25 Countries

Bombardier yesterday wrapped up its three-day Safety Standdown in Fort Worth, Texas emphasizing elevating standards, managing risk, achieving measurable goals, and improving culture to more than 500 attendees and many more online.

By the opening of the third day, the webcast of the event had already attracted more than 1,500 visits online from 25 countries. While Safety Standdown made its first appearance in Fort Worth, it is anticipated to return to its home of Wichita, Kansas, where it had been held for decades.

This year’s event featured nearly 50 workshops spread out in the afternoons over three days, enabling attendees to take a deeper dive into a range of topics from CFIT and hypoxia awareness to international operations and runway surface risks, to name a few.

Andy Nureddin, v-p of customer support for Bombardier Business Aircraft, helped kick off the event, saying, “Safety Standdown continues to improve year after year. We all have a shared passion to enhance safety in this industry.” Attendees represent a range of geography and organizations from nearly every sector of the aviation industry: the military, commercial airlines, government, industry associations, law enforcement, private operators, OEMs, and flight departments. “One of the things that makes Safety Standdown special is it is both inclusive and agnostic,” Nureddin said. 

Altitude Angel Unveils Drone ‘Tactical Deconfliction’

Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) technology provider Altitude Angel has announced the second phase of its conflict resolution service (CRS), “tactical deconfliction.” Tactical deconfliction (Tactical CRS) provides live alerts when boundaries between remote ID transmitting drones intersect and offers alternative flight plans in real-time, enabling pilots to avoid in-air collisions. In the future, Tactical CRS will also help to deconflict drones against aircraft with transponders, as well as drones that don’t have remote ID flying in the vicinity of Altitude Angel’s planned sensor network, planned to come online in spring 2020.

Tactical CRS provides information to drone pilots or the drone itself to ensure in-flight separation is maintained. The system continuously monitors airspace around a drone for other air vehicles or changes to airspace (such as a TFR or a dynamic geofence around a police incident). After identifying a potential conflict, CRS makes the necessary routing adjustments via instructions or alerts that are communicated to the pilot in command or the drone’s control software, allowing the drone to maintain distance between other airspace users or fly around restricted airspace so it can continue safely to its destination. Tactical CRS supplements any onboard sense-and-avoid technologies, which typically operate only near other air traffic.

Garmin’s Autoland Can Land an Airplane with an Incapacitated Pilot

Garmin’s new Autoland system can safely fly an airplane from cruising altitude to finding a suitable runway, landing the airplane perfectly, applying brakes, then stopping the engine. Autoland is available for aircraft manufacturers to incorporate in their airplanes equipped with Garmin G3000 avionics and autothrottle. Piper is working on certifying Autoland in the M600, and Cirrus Aircraft will follow with Autoland in its Vision Jet.