For the past eight years, Garmin has secretly been working on an autoland function that can rescue an airplane with an incapacitated pilot or save a pilot when weather conditions present no other safe option. Autoland should soon receive its first FAA approval, with certification expected shortly in the Piper M600, followed by the Cirrus Vision Jet.
The Garmin Autoland system is part of Garmin’s Autonomi family of automation products, which includes Electronic Stability and Protection and Emergency Descent Mode. The Autoland system is designed to safely fly an airplane from cruising altitude to a suitable runway, then land the airplane, apply brakes, and stop the engine. Autoland can even switch on anti-/deicing systems if necessary.
Autoland is available for aircraft manufacturers to incorporate in their airplanes equipped with Garmin G3000 avionics and autothrottle. Piper Aircraft will make the system, branded as Halo, a standard feature in the new M600 SLS version of its single-engine turboprop. Cirrus is following suit with the Vision Jet, which will also offer Autoland branded as Safe Return.
The concept behind Autoland is to develop a system that can take control of a perfectly good airplane with a pilot who is no longer capable of flying and then land the airplane safely. Autoland is designed only for emergency use and not for pilots to use just because the weather is marginal or crosswinds too high.
Gulfstream has designated its Cahokia, Illinois MRO facility as a mid-cabin maintenance center of excellence, with a hangar, operations center, and technician team dedicated to its midsize business jets.
While Dallas will remain the airframer’s facility for mid-cabin completions, the location at St. Louis Downtown Airport will offer centralized support for the company’s fleet of 560 midsize aircraft including the G280, G200, G150, and G100, about 70 percent of which are based in the U.S. The 70,348-sq-ft hangar includes 30,000 sq ft of aircraft floor space and 20,000 sq ft of back shop space. It will be base for a service team manager and technicians responsible for airframe inspections and repair, avionics installations and upgrades, and interiors.
Refurbishment capabilities at the location include full cabinet fabrication and finish, upholstery, composites, and paint.
“The designation is our way of reinforcing our ongoing commitment to mid-cabin customers,” said Derek Zimmerman, president of the OEM’s customer support division, adding the location will become a one-stop MRO shop for the company’s mid-cabin airplanes. “The centrally located site has the personnel, skills, experience, tooling, manuals, and capability to produce the quality and efficient work expected by our customers.”
Jetex Tapped Again as Official FBO for Dubai Airshow
For the third consecutive time, Jetex has been selected as the official FBO service provider of the biennial Dubai Airshow which opens on November 17. In 2017, the show attracted 1,200 exhibitors from 65 countries and nearly 80,000 visitors. While that airshow featured 159 aircraft on static display, this year could attract as many as 165.
“The Dubai Airshow has grown every year in its 30-year history,” said Michele van Akelijen, managing director of show organizer Tarsus F&E LLC Middle East, adding this year’s show is expected to be the largest yet. “We are thrilled to have Jetex on board as the official FBO again as we prepare for the Dubai Airshow to open.”
Jetex's flagship location is in the private aviation terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), site of the Dubai Airshow. It offers five-star hospitality, with aircraft parking directly in front of the terminal, direct ramp access, concierge, passenger and crew lounges, showers, conference rooms, on-site customs and immigration service, and Rolls-Royce airside transfers. It is also the only FBO in the MENA region to earn IS-BAH Stage 2 registration.
“It is an honor to be the official FBO service provider for the Dubai Airshow as it represents the trust and respect that we have gained within the region,” said company founder and CEO Adel Nardini.
In an effort to bring down costs and downtime, MRO provider Duncan Aviation has invested in the tooling, equipment, and training to bring Honeywell HTF7000 series engine turbine blade changes and balancing capabilities in-house. Among its equipment investments are a new Schenck V2L/CAB925 vertical balancing machine that is accurate to 30 millionths of an inch, which Duncan said is critical for engines to be in the best-balanced condition possible when reassembled.
Duncan also has the capabilities to perform video boroscope inspections and all repairs on the engine’s LPT module assembly, including deblade, reblade, and balance of individual LPT disks. These new capabilities will cut downtime to 21 days.
“Having this capability in-house reduces shipping costs, potential damage to the module, and miscommunication,” Duncan engine tech rep Shawn Schmitz said. “We have better control of the entire engine event.” The HTF7000 is found on the Bombardier Challenger 300 and 350, Gulfstream G280, Embraer Legacy 450/500 and Praetor 500/600, as well as the recently certified Cessna Citation Longitude.
Jet-Care, Traxxall Merge Mx and Engine Trend Tracking
Engine trend monitoring service Spectro Jet-Care is integrating its webEcho online system with Traxxall’s aircraft maintenance tracking and inventory management service. WebEcho enables Jet-Care’s GPA (Gas Path Analysis) customers to view engine trend data results, and the integration with Traxxall’s dashboard provides “a one-stop-shop to view and manage the status of their engines,” said David Glass, managing director Spectro Jet-Care. “In addition, further engine trend information is available from the dashboard by clicking the webEcho button, allowing direct access to the Spectro Jet-Care system to view more detailed data including diagnostic comments, and download monitoring and current trends and reports.”
“The merging of maintenance tracking, inventory management, and engine trend monitoring creates a very useful tool for aircraft operators,” said Traxxall president Mark Steinbeck. “By working together, we are drawing from our complementary areas of expertise to deliver critical information in a simple and intuitive manner.”
Gogo Taps Three Partners for 5G Network Build
Onboard connectivity provider Gogo has announced three strategic development partners for its planned 5G system and network: Cisco, Airspan, and First RF. The new partner companies will create “the most capable network and systems in aviation,” said Gogo Business Aviation president Sergio Aguirre.
Gogo’s 5G network will use unlicensed spectrum in the 2.4GHz range and be built on Gogo’s existing infrastructure, comprising more than 250 towers. Designed for business aircraft and commercial regional jets operating within the contiguous U.S. and Canada, Gogo expects the 5G network to begin operations in 2021.
Cisco, selected for its expertise in providing 4G/5G solutions for major wireless communication companies, will handle the core network solutions powering the terrestrial air-to-ground (ATG) network. Airspan will provide the same carrier-grade technology as its Air5G product line, using virtualized-RAN base station technology employing Massive MIMO antenna arrays for increased capacity and beamforming and tracking techniques for communication with aircraft traveling in excess of 750 mph. RF, meanwhile, will provide the belly-mounted multi-band antennas that will connect Gogo’s onboard 5G system with its ATG network.
Accident investigators are on the scene in Colonia, New Jersey, where a Cessna 414 crashed into a house in a residential neighborhood approximately three miles from Linden Airport around 11 a.m. yesterday morning. The pilot, Michael Schloss, 74, a retired doctor with decades of flight experience, including piloting warbirds such as the Douglas Skyraider as a member of the EAA, was heading to New York City from Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia to give a lecture.
Schloss perished in the crash that set the home ablaze and damaged two neighboring houses. No one was home at the time of the accident, and there were no other injuries on the ground. Local officials reported the cabin-class piston twin plunged through the roof of the home.
According to the NTSB, the pilot was in communication with air traffic control and was cleared for an approach into Linden Airport. The aircraft subsequently lost radar contact and communications ceased without a distress call. Schloss had filed an IFR flight plan for the approximately one-hour trip before departure. Weather at the time of the accident was overcast and misty, with a ceiling below 1,000 feet.
Soloy Aviation Solutions Gets New Owners
Soloy Aviation Solutions, the Olympia, Washington-based fixed- and rotary-wing conversion specialist, is coming under a new ownership structure. Fifty-Ten Yankee, whose managing member Dave Stauffer has held leadership roles with Soloy for more than two decades, reached an agreement to acquire all the assets of Soloy. The company will continue to operate as Soloy Aviation Solutions, but will relocate to a new facility at Olympia (Washington) Airport (KOLM).
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Soloy will continue to support nearly all of its numerous STCs for airplanes, helicopters, and engines, with the exception of its AS350 Honeywell LTS, AS350 AllStar Rolls-Royce C30, and Bell 206 C20R engine conversions. New Zealand-based Airwork is supporting that work under an agreement announced earlier this month.
In addition to the current product lines, Fifty-Ten-Yankee has acquired all intellectual property and production lines for the twin-engine/single-propeller Soloy Dual Pac, the Soloy Pathfinder 21 modification, Soloy Enaer T35 Turbine conversion, and inlet design and tooling for the Williams FJ44 turbofan engine.
“Fifty-Ten-Yankee includes a dedicated team of highly skilled personnel that have over 100 years of combined experience with Soloy products and will continue to provide worldwide support and services under the new ownership for the STC conversion products,” Stauffer said. “We will continue to develop new products that enhance safety and increase utilization by improving performance and reducing operational costs.”
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Requires a one-time recalculation of the remaining service life of each affected high-pressure (HP) turbine disc and HP blade and, depending on the results, replacement with a serviceable part. Prompted by a manufacturing non-conformity of the HP turbine blades that was identified through quality control on a batch of blades during production. This non-conformity affects the service life of the affected blades and HP disk where the blades are installed and, consequently, of the modules M02 on which these blades are installed.
Requires a one-time inspection to verify, if the gasket is installed between the beacon release unit and the CPI 503 emergency locator transmitter (ELT) and, if missing, installation. In that case, this AD also requires inspection of the ELT connector and, depending on findings, the accomplishment of applicable corrective action(s).
Requires amendment of the aircraft flight manual to introduce additional limitations for operation within RVSM airspace and also modification of the airplane by installing improved air data computers (ADCs) and detachable configuration modules. Prompted by monitoring of P.180 Avanti II fleet by Eurocontrol that identified a mean altimetry system error and singular measurement exceedances outside of RVSM limits. Subsequent investigation determined that the static source error correction curves embedded in the pilot and copilot ADCs, as well as that in the standby instrument system, did not ensure the required RVSM performance of the airplane.
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