First deliveries of the Beechcraft Denali turboprop single have been delayed by a year, Textron Aviation announced today at its NBAA-BACE 2022 news conference. The clean-sheet airplane poised to take market share from Pilatus Aircraft’s venerable PC-12 is now expected to be delivered in the second half of 2024.
The Wichita-based airframer said the delivery schedule that was earlier anticipated in 2023 was moved to align with the production of the airplane’s powerplant, the GE Aviation Catalyst. The Catalyst, an 850- to 1,600-shp engine, is the first clean-sheet business turboprop engine design in 50 years. The engine is also the first to use 3D-printed components. In May, Avio Aero, the GE Aviation unit developing and manufacturing the engine, said it had completed nearly 50 percent of certification testing.
As for testing, Textron Aviation also announced that the third and final flight-test Denali completed its first flight, achieving 250 knots and an altitude of 17,500 feet during the two-hour jaunt. In all, the Denali test fleet has accumulated about 600 flight hours.
The flight crew of a Bombardier Challenger 601 landed at Oxford Airport in the UK despite realizing that the aircraft was on an excessively high rate of descent and getting a ground proximity warning alert, according to a serious incident report published by the country’s Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) late on Friday. Investigators concluded that the captain should have followed the operations manual requirement for a maximum gradient climb or a go-around.
The report highlighted differing accounts from the pilot and copilot as to how the event unfolded, with the latter saying that he had urged the captain to go around. The investigation concluded that “fatigue and miscommunication were contributory factors” in the incident, which did not result in any damage to the aircraft.
Registered to Volare Aviation, the Challenger was arriving in Oxford after a flight from Guernsey on March 22. The 50-year-old captain, who was a freelance pilot, had 8,550 flight hours of past experience, including around 2,000 on the aircraft type. The copilot was employed by the operator.
The AAIB report concluded that investigators had insufficient information to explain why the high rate of descent occurred.“It was likely due to the way the flight management system was used to fly the approach,” the agency said.
Partial military mobilization in Russia has resulted in a significant increase in prices for business flights on both domestic and foreign routes from the country, according to business aviation brokers and media reports.
According to market participants, in recent weeks business aviation traffic in Russia has increased sharply with the biggest demand being observed on foreign routes. The most popular foreign destinations for Russian business flights are Yerevan and Istanbul, as well as Minsk, Baku, and Dubai.
The number of people using business aviation in Russia is estimated at 5,000 including their families. The start of the war in Ukraine in February has resulted in a sharp decline in the Russian business aviation fleet and major growth of prices for business flights in the country. While there were some signs of stabilization in the summer, military mobilization in Russia has resulted in a new wave of turbulence in the market for Russian business flights.
Still, analysts noted, the market artificially prevents a further decline in the number of business jets, which is offset by higher prices on existing business flights. As of now, prices on business flights are two to three times higher than a year ago, and prices continue to rise. Among the most popular business jets in the Russian fleet are Cessna Citations and Embraer Legacy 600/650s.
The Wichita Aero Club named John Tomblin the recipient of its 2023 trophy. Tomblin is senior v-p for industry and defense programs at Wichita State University (WSU) and executive director of the school’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). He will receive the trophy at the club’s gala in January.
“The Wichita Aero Club continues to build upon the tradition we began in 2010 by selecting a deserving candidate with solid ties to the Wichita and Kansas aviation community,” said Ashley Bowen Cook, aero club board chair and trophy committee chair. “Dr. Tomblin not only has exemplary achievements in this past year but has consistently raised the bar for our aerospace community for many years in his roles at WSU and NIAR. We are excited to celebrate his many contributions.”
He is credited with growing WSU’s aerospace research and development portfolio from $20 million in 2004 to more than $190 million. His other achievements include establishing and growing the Digital Twin Program at NIAR—leading to sustainment support and life extension for aircraft such as the F-18 Hornet, B-1 Lancer, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, and F-16 Viper—as well as the development and growth of the NIAR Werx MRO program, which last year began its first passenger-to-freighter conversion of a Boeing 777.
Atlantic Aviation now has four FBOs that have earned the highest certification under the National Air Transportation Association’s new Green Aviation Business Sustainability Standard. The Tier 3 locations consist of the company’s four facilities in Colorado at Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, Montrose Regional Airport, Yampa Valley Airport, and Rifle Garfield County Airport. These FBOs join five other Atlantic facilities as certified Green Aviation Businesses: Fresno, California; Lincoln, Nebraska; Sarasota, Florida; Scottsdale, Arizona; and White Plains, New York.
The certification process involves each location pursuing cost-effective options to lower their carbon footprint through solutions such as environmentally friendly energy sources, reduction of waste, and the adoption of a sustainability mindset. Each facility is required to provide an estimate of its annual carbon footprint and Atlantic purchased offsets to achieve carbon-neutral operations at all nine locations based on those emissions estimates. According to the company, more of its locations are expected to join the program in the coming months.
“Contributing to environmental sustainability for business aviation is vital to the success of our business, as well as to the positive societal impact of our industry,” explained Brian Corbett, Atlantic’s chief commercial and sustainability officer. “Creating and maintaining industry-leading climate, emissions, and energy transition initiatives is a key pillar of our company mission, and one we will continue to pursue across the ever-evolving spectrum of opportunities.”
TrustFlight, a provider of digital services to the aviation industry, has developed software to create and manage aircraft minimum equipment lists (MELs). The web-based software called MEL Manager creates templates for the most popular business jets on the market that can be modified online in a fraction of the time it would take to modify a PDF.
“I have personally felt the frustration that business jet operators have at managing MELs, especially with word processing software that is not fit for purpose,” said TrustFlight CEO Karl Steeves.
MEL Manager is designed especially for Part 91 operators needing to adopt customized aircraft MELs. Automatic formatting ensures compliance and provides for immediate download as a PDF or link for regulatory approval. They can also be integrated into TrustFlight’s Tech Log and Centrik applications. Each master MEL revision—change to a fleet of procedures—is easily adopted into an existing MEL, according to TrustFlight.
Pilatus plans to deliver its 2,000th PC-12 turboprop single and 200th PC-24 twinjet next year. Through the first nine moths of the year, the Swiss airframer had delivered 47 PC-12 NGXs and 27 PC-24s. Of those aircraft, 62 were completed by Pilatus at its Broomfield, Colorado facility, where it recently expanded facilities and added 22 new jobs.
Pilatus's total U.S. workforce has grown to more than 300, taking into account the September acquisition of long-term authorized service center Skytech.
The installed worldwide PC-12 fleet has accumulated 10 million flight hours, while the PC-24 fleet has flown 116,000 hours since 2017. The 2,000th PC-12 will be delivered next spring to long-time operator PlaneSense, the world’s largest Pilatus fleet operator with 41 PC-12s and eight PC-24s.
Pilatus CEO Markus Bucher said the company’s top priority right now is taking care of its current owners and those who have placed orders. “Like most companies, Pilatus has not been immune to the difficulties of ensuring a reliable supply of quality components to keep production running efficiently and customers flying without interruption,” he said.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
With respect to risk of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), which of the following statements is correct?
A. Terrain awareness warning system (TAWS) “PULL UP” warning is the best defense barrier against CFIT during the final approach to an airport.
B. TAWS may not provide a ground proximity warning (i.e. “PULL UP” alert) close to an airport when the aircraft is in the landing configuration.
C. The risk of setting incorrect QNH may increase considerably in a congested radio environment.
NBAA has launched a Legacy Society advanced-level membership as the association celebrates its 75th anniversary. The Legacy Society provides a venue for members to honor milestones and pledge commitments to NBAA and its charities supporting scholarships.
Members can designate where the scholarship funds are directed. Legacy Society members also will be recognized at all NBAA 75th anniversary events, including this week at NBAA-BACE 2022, as well as in future milestone years.
“The NBAA Legacy Society is an opportunity for member organizations to elevate their commitment to NBAA and business aviation,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “The society honors the past 75 years of industry achievements and growth while looking to the future of business aviation.”
Initial members include Airbus Corporate Jets, Textron Aviation, Raytheon Technologies, Boeing, ForeFlight, and Boeing Business Jets. NBAA, however, added that multiple organizations have provided a commemorative-level contribution, including those that have asked to remain anonymous.
“This anniversary year offers an opportunity for everyone to take part in telling our industry’s story of innovation and achievement so that business aviation is even stronger seven decades from today,” said Bolen. “In that spirit, this special anniversary-year membership is a way to recognize the industry’s past and ensure its continued success.”
CityHawk eVTOL Could Transform Air Ambulance Services
Urban Aeronautics has been flight testing a technology demonstrator for its planned CityHawk eVTOL aircraft, which it says will be safer and more reliable by having no external moving parts. Instead of rotors, the hydrogen-powered vehicle will have ducted fans installed in its fuselage, which the company says will make it more flexible when it comes to landing on city streets.
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