Ampaire’s Electric EEL Skymaster Makes Longest Flight Yet
Electric propulsion systems developer Ampaire last week achieved its longest flight with the Cessna 337 Skymaster that it has converted to hybrid-electric power. On Thursday, the six-seat, Electric EEL aircraft took off from the Los Angeles-area Camarillo Airport and made a 341-mile flight to Hayward Executive Airport in the San Francisco area in 2 hours and 35 minutes. Ampaire, claims this was the longest flight to date for what it defines as a “commercially relevant” aircraft using electric propulsion.
The Electric EEL is powered by a 310-hp Continental IO-550 engine installed in the tail of the aircraft and a 130-kW electric motor in the nose. According to Ampaire, the piston engine powered all taxiing, and then a combination of it and the electric motor were used for takeoff and climb. The cruise phase was mainly powered by the piston, while the motor was put in low power mode, before being switched to idle during descent and landing.
Piloted by test pilot Justin Gillen and flight-test engineer Russell Newman, the flight averaged 135 mph as it traversed California’s Central Valley at an altitude of 8,500 feet. “The mission was a quite normal cross-country flight that we could imagine electrified aircraft making every day just a few years from now,” said Gillen.
Sino Jet is continuing its expansion into mainland China with the first FBO at Nanchang Changbei International Airport. Jiangxi Airport VIP Service Company is developing and managing the FBO under a strategic partnership with Sino Jet. The companies recently held a grand opening ceremony at the airport.
A new FBO will be built in an independent terminal that will accompany dedicated business aircraft parking facilities and offer 24/7 ground handling, a passenger and crew lounge, baggage services, and a range of other services and amenities. Sino Jet will provide ground handling and personalized customer service.
“With the appropriate investment, Nanchang can become a regional hub for business aviation in southwest China,” Sino Jet said. “With Sino Jet’s global resources, and highly experienced, international team, we can offer flexible business jet management solutions to the region’s growing community of businesses and high-net-worth individuals.”
The rapidly growing Asian business aircraft charter and management firm said the investment is in preparation for an anticipated 20 percent year-over-year increase in business jet use in Jiangxi Province over the next three years. Nanchang Airport accounted for less than 1 percent of the 27,000 business jet movements in China in 2019, Sino Jet said, noting, “Despite the strong demand for business aviation in Nanchang, growth is slowed by a lack of facilities when compared with other regional airports.”
House Lawmakers Introduce Aviation Workforce Bill
As the congressional session is in its final months, lawmakers are signaling that they remain concerned about future workforce challenges with the introduction of the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation (NCAA) Act of 2020. Introduced last week by House aviation subcommittee chairman Rick Larsen (D-Washington) along with subcommittee members André Carson (D-Indiana) and Don Young (R-Alaska), the bipartisan bill, H.R.8532, is the House companion to similar legislation introduced in the Senate earlier this year by Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), who are both pilots.
H.R.8532 calls for the establishment of an independent center that would collaborate with the various sectors of aviation to address workforce challenges and facilitate the development of pilots, aerospace engineers, unmanned aircraft systems operators, and maintenance technicians, among others. The center would leverage industry knowledge and expertise to offer resources for curriculum developers, compile economic and safety data research, help expand apprenticeship opportunities, and offer transition assistance for military veterans.
More than 130 organizations immediately offered support for the bill. “As an industry, we must ensure that we are prepared to meet the demands for highly qualified professionals in all sectors of general, commercial, and military aviation—including pilots, mechanics, and technicians,” said AOPA president Mark Baker. “All are needed and vital to ensure the U.S. aviation industry remains competitive and prepared for the future.”
“Despite widespread misconceptions, the reality is that the aviation sector only contributes 2 percent to total global emissions worldwide. Business aviation accounts for 2 percent of that: 2 percent of 2 percent of greenhouse gasses.” This how the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) opens its new “Business aviation’s environmental and economic footprint in Canada” webpage.
To emphasize the contribution in reducing emissions by Canada’s own business aviation operations and the industry in general, the new site covers key indicators of the sector’s sustainability commitments, including aircraft efficiencies, advanced manufacturing, avionics technology, and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
“The site provides an excellent overview,” said CBAA president and CEO Anthony Norejko.“It’s engaging, dynamic, and lays out the facts in a highly readable and entertaining way.” It is also designed to dispel myths about aviation and the environment, Norejko emphasized.
CBAA recently became a member of the Sustainable Fuels Initiative, working with industry and government partners to advance the use and production of SAF as well as other carbon-reduction initiatives.
The insurance pain for the rotorcraft industry—and aviation in general—is likely to continue for at least another year or two, according to David Watkins, regional manager of general aviation for Allianz.
“Premiums are on the rise,” he said during a recent webinar hosted by Helicopter Association International (HAI). “We’re 18 months into a hard market” for aviation insurance, circumstances not seen since 9/11. While aviation insurance, at $4 billion to $5 billion per year, represents a relatively minuscule portion of the $800 billion annual insurance marketplace, the Boeing Max accidents and groundings and recent large awards for several fixed- and rotary-wing accidents resulted in big losses. Liabilities associated with the 737 Max already exceed $4.75 billion. Aviation insurance is currently unprofitable, reinsurance is harder to acquire, and brokers are scrambling to find multiple insurance companies to share client coverage for anything much above $5 million.
Since 2019, the aviation insurance industry has sustained 24 major losses above normal, and reserves are now depleted, according to Kevin Kovarik, an underwriter for USAIG who also participated in the webinar. And approximately one-quarter of those accidents involved rotorcraft.
Despite these factors, operators can use strategies to maintain their insurability and get the best possible rate. “Make a personal relationship with your underwriter,” counseled webinar panelist Joel Heining, a broker with Colorado-based AssuredPartners Aerospace.
Elliott Aviation has delivered the first of 23 TBM 940s to be equipped with Garmin’s Autoland system, which is branded by Daher as HomeSafe on these turboprop singles. Daher selected Elliott Aviation as the exclusive retrofitter in the U.S. for the recently certified autoland system in eligible TBM 940s.
The MRO will be installing the system in 23 U.S.-based aircraft sold by Daher to include HomeSafe once a service bulletin was approved. An additional 26 aircraft are eligible for the upgrade as a customer option, it added.
Elliott Aviation said it will contact all eligible U.S.-based aircraft that were sold with the HomeSafe system to schedule the upgrades. Installation of the upgrade in the TBM 940 will take place at Elliott's headquarters in Moline, Illinois, where it has one-stop-shop maintenance, avionics, paint, interior, and accessories capabilities.
The company has been a TBM-authorized service center since 2005 and its aircraft sales division, Elliott Jets, has been a dealer for new TBM aircraft just as long. As the leading Garmin aftermarket dealer, Elliott has been installing Garmin G1000NXi upgrades in TBMs since 2018.
It has also installed more G1000/G1000NXi retrofits in King Airs than all other Garmin dealers in the world combined. In addition, Elliott leads in G5000 retrofits—including on the Citation Excel/XLS and Beechjet 400A/400XP—at more than 50 such installations to date.
JSSI To Partner on Four-part Aircraft Appraisal Course
JSSI Advisory Services and the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) will jointly hold an online continuing education appraisal course for aircraft appraisers, lenders, insurers, and maintenance professionals. A four-part course, the first program is set for 2 to 4 p.m. ET on October 27.
“JSSI’s team of in-house appraisers are all accredited by ASA to ensure a fair evaluation and price for any aircraft purchase,” said George Kieros, Jet Support Services senior v-p of strategic event management and fleet support. “With this new training series, we’re proud to further strengthen that relationship and share decades of industry knowledge and expertise with the appraisal community.”
Topics to be covered include hard-time and on-condition engine maintenance, desktop appraisals, quantifying diminution in value, and the newest updates to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. Up to eight hours of ASA continuing education credits will be awarded to those completing all four courses, which consist of 90 minutes of teaching followed by 30 minutes of discussion.
“We are looking forward to partnering with JSSI in delivering these impactful virtual programs to the aircraft profession as it will help in elevating the knowledge and skills for all that are in the profession,” said ASA CEO Johnnie White.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
The statement “any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and takeoff of aircraft” is the ICAO definition of which occurrence?
A. Runway excursion.
B. Runway incursion.
C. Ramp/apron traffic violation.
D. Hot spot incursion.
Bristow’s UK SAR Contract Extended
Bristow’s contract to provide search and rescue (SAR) services in the UK has been extended through 2026. The company will continue to support HM Coastguard, the emergency response service of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), with a fleet of 11 Leonardo AW189 and 10 Sikorsky S-92A aircraft configured for SAR.
Bristow, which was originally awarded the contract in 2013, operates from 10 SAR helicopter bases around the UK on behalf of Her Majesty’s Coastguard to respond to all SAR incidents for the whole of the UK and employs 360. Since 1971, Bristow has flown more than 60,000 SAR operational hours in the UK and conducted more than 15,000 SAR missions, during which more than 7,000 people were rescued. For nearly 60 years, Bristow also has served the UK’s offshore oil transport industry.
“Our specialist teams have worked tirelessly, diligently and with unquestionable pride to ensure the transition from a military and coastguard operation to a fully commercialized SAR helicopter service,” said Alan Corbett, CEO of Bristow Helicopters Ltd. and senior v-p for Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, and search and rescue. “The extension of the current contract allows us to cost-effectively introduce new capabilities into the existing helicopter fleet and to explore technologies that may be of benefit in future contracts.”
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