Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft Denali turboprop single lifted off on its first flight this morning from Wichita Eisenhower National Airport on a flight over central and southern Kansas that lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes.
During the test flight, the clean-sheet airplane reached an altitude of 15,600 feet and a top speed of 180 ktas. The first flight comes after initial runs of the new GE Aviation Catalyst engine on the Denali prototype in late August. The 1,300-shp engine features Fadec and trend monitoring, which will provide on-condition maintenance with no required mid-life hot section inspection.
Originally branded as a Cessna airplane until mid-July, the Denali is equipped with Garmin G3000 touchscreen avionics, including three, 14-inch diagonal, wide-screen LCDs, synthetic vision, ADS-B In/Out and weather avoidance radar. With an expected range of 1,600 nm, a maximum cruise speed of 285 knots, and a full fuel payload of 1,100 pounds, the airplane is configurable for both passenger and cargo missions with its flat floor.
It includes a 53-by-59-inch rear cargo door, as well as executive features such as a digital pressurization system that maintains a 6,130-foot cabin to 31,000 feet.
Two other flight-test Denalis are in development and three additional ground articles will be used for airframe static and fatigue testing, as well as cabin interior development testing. Denali certification is expected in 2023.
The NASA and Lockheed Martin X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) research aircraft is moving toward final assembly and “stand[ing] on its own,” NASA reported. To be used to conduct noise trials involving quiet supersonic technology, the X-59 was recently removed from the jig and will be tested for its structural soundness and readiness for final assembly.
According to NASA, the aircraft will have its first “power-on” to test internal systems and then head to Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, for structural testing. First flight is planned for 2022.
Construction of the vehicle began in 2018 at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, but preparations have been ongoing for more than a decade involving research of quiet supersonic technology. “It’s pretty simple to move the jig away,” said David Richwine, NASA’s X-59 deputy project manager for technology. “It’s the preparation that’s more time-consuming.”
The aircraft will be flown to gather data on public reactions to the so-called supersonic “thump,” a quieter supersonic technology than the boom that has long been associated with such travel. NASA plans to furnish its findings to regulators internationally as they contemplate rules surrounding supersonic flight over land.
The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) is in the early stages of developing a flight data monitoring (FDM) program that could help small and medium-size operators remain proactive in gathering data, as well as fulfill a key component of safety management systems. ACSF has begun beta testing the program with three or four operators, Bryan Burns, the foundation’s president, told attendees at the recent Corporate Jet Investor Miami conference.
“The plan is for the Air Charter Safety Foundation to pick up the tab initially to get folks enrolled in the program,” he said, "so we could collect some data and get parameters of what the most common issues are that we’re facing, and then be the gatekeeper of the data.”
Overall, the idea is to help small and medium-size operators that lack the resources for an extensive FDM program to tap into such data. Burns said the program is designed to complement the foundation’s Aviation Safety Action Plan (ASAP) voluntary reporting program. “FDM will tell you what happened and ASAP will tell you why it happened,” he explained.
Recommended for Part 135 by the National Transportation Safety Board, FDM programs are “a great way to really determine exactly what is going on,” Burns concluded.
Phoenix-area Falcon Field Airport will gain a third FBO after the awarding of a new lease to aircraft brokerage Cunningham Aviation. As part of its five-acre leasehold, the company acquired a recently renovated, fully occupied 30,000-sq-ft hangar formerly operated by McDonnell Douglas. Cunningham is installing a fuel farm consisting of a 20,000-gallon jet-A tank and a same-sized avgas tank and, once that is operational by mid-2022, the location will begin providing fuel sales.
The company expects to break ground around that time on a $15 million FBO complex that will add a pair of 12,000-sq-ft hangars capable of sheltering the latest ultra-long-range business jets, along with a three-story terminal. With approximately 20,000 sq ft of space, it will offer the standard passenger and crew amenities, plus a rooftop bar/terrace and a gourmet restaurant.
The Mesa, Arizona facility is expected to open in late 2024 at the bustling GA gateway, which sees more than 850 flights a day.
Technology, Relationships Set Flightsafety Maintenance Training Apart
FlightSafety continually advances its training through innovation and expert instruction. It has relationships with major manufacturers, companies and OEMs built over decades. Maintenance technicians training with FlightSafety enjoy relationships built over decades with manufacturers and companies. The result is the best trained technicians in the industry, keeping aircraft airworthy and safe, and reducing downtime.
The new Kamov Ka-32A11M recently made its first flight at the Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise (KAPE) in Bashkortostan, Russia. Certification of the coaxial helicopter is expected in 2023.
Tailored for firefighting operations, the helicopter features new night vision goggle-compatible digital avionics, more powerful VK-2500PS-02 engines, and a new fire extinguishing system. Russian Helicopters said the new engines will significantly improve hot-and-high performance and are expected to increase useful load by up to 3,257 pounds.
The new firefighting system aboard the aircraft features a tank that holds up to four tons of water segmented into four compartments. A digitally-controlled, patented flap system allows the tank's flaps to be opened in pairs or alternately, as well as adjusting the opening angles of the flaps to increase water discharge time. The system can automatically draw four tons of water in 60 seconds and add up to 105 gallons of foam agent. It is adapted for the use of a water cannon and is electrically heated, allowing use in winter temperatures as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit.
KAPE has manufactured more than 240 Ka-32-series helicopters that are now in service in 30 countries worldwide.
The Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) is rolling out an Illegal Charter Reporting System as part of its effort to tackle what it sees as “the serious threats to air charter safety and the public that are often difficult to identify due to the use of deceptive and convoluted agreements.” AsBAA began formally collecting and reporting suspected illegal charter information to civil aviation authorities in August. A signatory to the global Air Charter Safety Alliance formed in 2020 to combat illegal operations, AsBAA said its efforts have the support of legal advisors, charter industry representatives, and the press.
In 2020, AsBAA and global law firm HFW jointly released the results of their illegal charter survey, which found that 71 percent of the respondents believed illegal charter had harmed their businesses and 90 percent believed that local authorities were not doing enough to combat such operations.
The hotline is part of an overarching strategy of AsBAA's Illegal Charter Task Force, which has laid out a number of goals. These include working with civil aviation authorities to provide guidance on avoiding illegal operations; working with legislative bodies to ensure civil aviation authorities have the right tools to address illegal charter; educating authorities and the public about illegal charter; and assisting enforcement efforts of civil aviation authorities through data collection and reporting.
NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen and former Gulfstream and Bombardier executive Bryan Moss are among the International Air & Space Hall of Fame Class of 2021 honorees.
Joining them this year are the Commemorative Air Force; Eileen Collins, the first female commander of the space shuttle; Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 lunar module pilot who became the youngest to walk on the surface of the moon; FedEx; and Dee O’Hara, who was the first aerospace nurse assigned to NASA’s first seven astronauts in 1959 and then participated in every launch in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.
Celebrated at the San Diego Air & Space Museum, the International Air & Space Hall of Fame has honored notable aerospace dignitaries since 1963.
Bolen has led NBAA since 2004 and before that spent eight years as president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. He also had served as legislative director for former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kansas), playing a key role in the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act.
Moss formerly was president and executive v-p of the aerospace group of General Dynamics, with responsibility for Gulfstream Aerospace. Previously he served as president of Bombardier’s business aircraft division and also had held roles with Lockheed-Georgia Company, selling various aircraft, including the Lockheed JetStar. Moss further had served on the Aerion board of directors.
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) will be the “launch collaborator” for ATP’s next generation of technical publications called interactive electronic technical manuals (IETM), the San Francisco-based aviation software and information services company announced Tuesday. “Through our long-standing collaboration, ATP customers stand to benefit significantly from these new tools that enable more efficient and effective use of their publications,” said Alexandre Gagnon, P&WC senior director of business development and government affairs.
The launch will focus on IETMs of P&WC’s PT6A turboprop engines and will expand as additional OEM engine content is added and upgraded in the ATP Libraries. IETM incorporates the expanded capabilities of HTML along with 3D imagery. The enhanced content also will be made available offline through ATP’s desktop and mobile applications.
“Modern users have certain expectations on how they interact with their applications and by adding the IETM capabilities, we are meeting these expectations and preparing for the future,” said ATP senior director of product management Jeff Seiler. “The ability to add rich content including hyperlinks, advanced graphic controls, and the ability to hide manual sections activates engagement and expands our ability to offer new tools and approaches directly to our users.”
People in Aviation
Airbus Helicopters named Christian Venzal managing director in Australia and New Zealand. A 30-year aerospace industry veteran, Venzal moves to the region from the company's headquarters in Marignane, France, where he was v-p of transversal coordination and business development and has had experience in general management, strategy, sales, customer relations, and procurement.
ACC Aviation appointed Andreas Pericleous as v-p of business development. Pericleous brings 10 years of international aviation experience to ACC Aviation, previously spending five years leading business development for international brokerage and charter firm Cyprus.
The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) has selected Steven Abreu-Hill as its new International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) audit manager. He succeeds Lawrence Fletcher, who is retiring after serving as audit manager for IS-BAO for the past 10 years, in addition for IS-BAH. Abreu-Hill, who has 16 years of combined experience in emergency response, safety, security, environmental, and SMS program development, helped coordinate emergency management programs for Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) and George Bush International Airport (IAH) and serves as an emergency management point of contact for FBOs at both airports.
Gianfranco Sottotetti has joined Blueberry Aviation’s commercial team. Sottotetti has a background in engines, fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles, holding sales and management positions at Piaggio Aviation, Rolls-Royce, and Leonardo.
Vertis Aviation appointed Daniella Dawson to the newly created position of head of sales as well as opened an office in Paris led by Margaux Laplaine and in Ljubljana, Slovenia led by Karmen Bukvic. Dawson has served with Vertis Aviation for more than four years and previously has held roles with VistaJet, World Fuel Services, and Ocean Sky. Laplaine formerly was with iXAir Business Jets and also has served with Helipass and British Airways, among others. Bukvic, meanwhile, joined Vertis from Elit’Avia where she had worked since 2012.
Terrell Siegfried was elected president of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association. Siegfried, who takes the volunteer leadership position after serving on the organization’s board for three years, is assistant general counsel and corporate secretary for the Nordam Group.
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