SpaceX, which operates the Starlink low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite network, has published a website with information about Starlink Aviation, the company’s satellite airborne connectivity system. Airborne hardware is expected to be available in mid-2023, according to SpaceX, and the LEO satcom network will provide worldwide coverage.
A Starlink installation will include an aero terminal box, power supply, two wireless access points, harnesses, and a phased-array antenna that mounts on the top of the fuselage. SpaceX is seeking partners to develop supplemental type certificate (STC) upgrades, but STCs are already underway for Bombardier Globals and Challenger 300/350s; Embraer ERJ-135/145s and Legacy 600/650s; Dassault Falcon 2000s; and Gulfstream G450s, G550s, and G650s. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has tested Starlink on his G650.
SpaceX said that latency is as low as 20 milliseconds and claims network speeds up to 350 Mbps to each airborne terminal. There will be no long-term service contracts, according to SpaceX, and “all plans include unlimited data.” The Starlink information on the website does not include any information about system capacity constraints.
Aircraft hardware will cost $150,000 and service plans range from $12,500 to $25,000 per month. Reservation for a future delivery slot requires a $5,000 payment.
The FAA has released the first of what is anticipated to be a number of aircraft-specific standardized training curricula for use in Part 135 operations. Published in the Federal Register on Thursday, the initial standardized curriculum is tailored for the Gulfstream V series but is anticipated to serve as a framework for future models, NATA said. Comments on the curricula are due by November 9.
A voluntary consensus-based program designed for training at Part 142 centers, the standardized curriculum concept was a recommendation that came out of the Air Carrier Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), which sought a means to ease paperwork burdens and staffing shortage concerns. In addition, the programs are portable, which addresses the issue of charter operators having to send pilots to initial training for the same model of aircraft for each operator they fly for, even if the pilots are current in that aircraft.
The concept is also intended to elevate safety by providing a standardized approach to training on specific aircraft that incorporates best practices. “It provides an efficient means for approving training curricula offered by Part 142 training centers while increasing the consistency of training, testing, and checking delivered to Part 135 operators with an emphasis on standardization,” the agency said.
Work has already begun on the next aircraft with the aim of developing curricula on the more commonly used aircraft in charter operations. The FAA said the initial program for the GV series includes recommended maneuvers, procedures, and functions to meet Part 135 requirements.
Textron Aviation’s Future Air Navigation System (FANS) upgrade for the Beechcraft Hawker 4000 and Cessna Citation Sovereign equipped with Honeywell Epic avionics will use Skytrac equipment for the satcom requirement. The supplemental type certificate (STC) program for the upgrade launches early next year and will feature Skytrac’s DL150 satellite data unit and SkyNode S200-012 air traffic safety services terminal.
The Skytrac equipment and FANS STC will enable flight crews to communicate via Iridium satcom with air traffic control, including over the North Atlantic where FANS is required, and using controller-pilot datalink communication text-style messaging and safety satvoice services. ADS-C low-latency position reporting is also supported. FANS allows pilots to use FAA Data Comm services in the U.S., including departure clearances at airports where this is enabled, as well as trajectory-based operations and improved rerouting around bad weather and traffic.
According to Skytrac, “Hawker 4000s and Citation Sovereigns flying across Europe will also be able to use these communication advances to receive the benefits of air traffic control prioritizing, delay avoidance, and optimal flight lengths.”
International Association of Machinists (IAM) at Bombardier’s U.S. headquarters in Wichita earlier this month ratified a new three-year contract. The contract calls for general wage increases of 6.5 percent in the first year, 4 percent in the second year, and 3 percent in the third year.
They also will receive an immediate 10 percent increase in maximum pay rates schedules for all hourly job classifications. Cost-of-living adjustments will be folded into base rates in two of the three years of the contract. In addition, step increases will increase in frequency, from 25 cents every 26 weeks to 30 cents every 20 weeks.
Other highlights include a 50 percent reduction in health care deductibles and improvements to severance pay. “We believe this to be an industry-leading contract and look forward to the continued success of the aircraft servicing business model created in the Wichita facility,” said IAM District 70 business representative Bobby Crawford.
NATA has released an update to its NATA Sustainability Standard for Aviation Businesses—the self-certification process it launched last year for companies looking to lower their carbon footprint. The most significant additions are the introduction of a second checklist option for companies with more than one location and the addition of a sustainability strategies supplement to further help organizations achieve the standard.
According to NATA, the voluntary standard is free to the industry and is designed to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through means such as the use of environmentally-friendly energy sources, reducing waste, and adopting operation-wide sustainability.
“The industry feedback we have received on the [standard] has been overwhelmingly positive,” said NATA working group chairman Patrick Moylan, adding it is a living document that will continue to evolve in response to industry needs. “Our goal is to expand its use in 2023, and we hope the addition of the multi-location checklist and other improvements will help serve as a catalyst for that growth.”
Heli-One has established in-house testing capability for the Leonardo AW139 intermediate and tail gearboxes at its Canadian MRO facility in Delta, British Columbia. The company is a Leonardo-authorized component repair and airframe service center and offers services ranging from major inspections to small component repair, including avionics and rescue equipment maintenance services, custom modifications, and repairs developed by Heli-One design engineers.
“The modification program to our gearbox test cell to incorporate the AW139 intermediate gearbox and tail gearbox adds a new dimension to our service offering,” said Carolyn Forsyth, Heli-One general manager of sales, commercial, and customer support. “It smooths and shortens the gearbox overhaul process, and in turn can enable operators to optimize their asset availability.”
More than 1,000 AW139s are in service worldwide including with militaries and para-public agencies that include the Los Angeles City Fire Department, Maryland State Police, Miami-Dade Fire Department, New Jersey State Police, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Aevex Aerospace’s supplemental type certificate (STC) for the DHC-6-300HG Twin Otter that increases the mtow from 12,500 to 14,000 pounds is now also available for DHC-6-400-series aircraft. The upgrade boosts available payload by 1,500 pounds based on an average empty weight of 7,700 pounds.
According to Aevex, the upgraded capabilities apply to aircraft operated in the standard commuter category and equipped with the Garmin G950 NXi/G1000 NXi avionics suite. The upgrade also allows utilization of the full 750 shp available from the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 engines combined with the efficiency of Raisbeck/Hartzell four-blade Scimitar propellers.
Capabilities of the Garmin system include Required Navigation Performance (RNP 0.3), WAAS/SBAS-certified GPS, and LPV approaches with minimums down to a 200-foot decision height and one-half mile visibility.
Aevex provides custom design and engineering, sensor integration and sustainment, aircraft modification and certification, and mission operations services.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
Which of the following are controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) defenses and controls?
A. Industry prevention strategies and best practices.
B. Adherence to SOPs (task sharing, briefings, use of checklists, standard calls and excessive-deviation callouts, mutual crosscheck and backup), including adherence to the sterile-cockpit rule.
C. Altimeter setting cross-check, as well as cross-checking cleared altitude versus minimum safe altitude.
Helicopter leasing company Milestone Aviation Group has signed lease agreements with operator PHI Aviation for three helicopters. The agreements include the placement and extension of two Sikorsky S-92s and one Leonardo AW139, bringing PHI’s total fleet on lease from Milestone to four, including the existing lease of one S-92.
All four helicopters are supporting passenger flights for PHI’s growing operations supporting oil and gas exploration and extraction in the Gulf of Mexico and Australia. Keith Mullett, PHI's managing director, said the leased helicopters will augment the company’s owned aircraft in “two of our most important markets.”
“Increased flying activity had meant PHI’s existing, and mostly owned fleet, was fully deployed. This arrangement with Milestone enables us to continue to meet the increased demands for the high-quality service our customers expect,” he said.
Founded in 2010, Milestone has the world’s largest owned civil helicopter fleet. In 2021, the company was acquired by AerCap, the largest owner of commercial aircraft in the world with a managed fleet of more than 2,000 aircraft.
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