X-57 Experimental Electric Aircraft Lands at NASA

NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, took delivery of the agency’s X-57 all-electric experimental aircraft on Wednesday. This is the first of three configurations for an all-electric aircraft, known as Mod II, according to NASA.

Its Mod II aircraft replaces the traditional piston engines on a baseline Tecnam P2006T with electric motors. NASA engineers will now begin ground testing the X-57, to be followed by taxi and, eventually, flight tests.

While the Mod II aircraft begins systems validation testing on the ground, the Mod III and IV phases are already underway, including the recent successful completion of load testing on a new, high-aspect-ratio wing at NASA Armstrong. That wing will soon be fit-checked on a fuselage at Empirical Systems Aerospace, which is performing the modifications under a NASA contract, then to be mated to the X-57.

The X-57 project will help develop certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets, including urban air mobility vehicles. In addition, the X-57 team is using a “design driver” as a technical challenge for a 500 percent increase in high-speed cruise efficiency, zero in-flight carbon emissions, and a lower noise footprint.

AINsight: There’s Huge Value in Face-to-Face Meetings

Last month, two of the industry airframe manufacturers held their respective industry influencer gatherings. It is always so powerful for the industry insiders and professionals who earn their livings buying, selling, consulting, lending, managing, and providing legal expertise to the industry to get together to socialize and discuss best practices and new phenomena affecting the industry.

These events allow the host OEMs to spend time briefing and educating us about new products, improvements to customer service offerings, and deliverables that will help us help them in the markets we serve.

Most of the OEMs today are about to or have just started delivering new clean-sheet aircraft. There is so much to learn as we as the external voices for the OEMs go out into the marketplace to sell and represent these exciting entrants. New technology, which is introduced and built into these new products, is often not learned as easily by printed or electronic delivery methods as they are by face-to-face meetings with actual demonstrations of the products.

At the end of the gatherings, I leave with a better understanding of products. I am able to go out and provide factual intel to my market. Having the face-to-face with my great friends is beyond valuable. The industry is better as a result of these gatherings. I know everyone is looking forward to another great opportunity to see everyone later this month in Las Vegas at NBAA-BACE.

CAN Honors NetJets with Corporate Angel Award

The Corporate Angel Network (CAN) has selected fractional provider NetJets as a recipient of the 2019 Corporate Angel Award. “Organizations receiving this award go above and beyond to fulfill our mission of helping cancer patients access the best treatment centers in the country by arranging free travel on corporate aircraft,” CAN said.

“We are honored to accept this award, but most importantly, we’re pleased that our partnership is making a difference and helping to reduce the travel burden for patients with cancer across the country,” NetJets said.

Over the past 21 years, NetJets and its owners have donated hundreds of flight hours to CAN for this purpose. NetJets expanded this partnership earlier this year, giving CAN access to ferry flights and matching NetJets shareowner flight-hour donations up to 50 hours annually.

“The combination of services that NetJets is providing to CAN is without precedent among other participating companies,” CAN said earlier this year. NetJets is coordinating full flight operations information, allowing CAN to quickly secure positioning flights for patient travel. The fractional provider has also arranged for lodging providers Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton, and ground transportation companies Empire CLS and Savoya, to provide patients with free lodging and ground transportation when possible, CAN added.

PrimeFlight Aviation Services Acquires GSE Mx Company

Texas-based airline and airport services provider PrimeFlight Aviation Services has acquired ground service equipment maintenance specialist Global Aviation Services, a business unit of Air T, Inc.

Established in 2007, Global Aviation has grown to nearly 300 employees and services both commercial and general aviation FBO equipment. “PrimeFlight’s strong management team and focus on customer service match well with our best-in-class GSE maintenance services and customer-first culture,” noted Brad Osborn, Global’s CEO. “They bring immediate growth opportunities and a commitment to investment and expansion.”

For PrimeFlight, which offers a range of aviation services including ground handling, into-plane fueling, facilities management, and aircraft cleaning, this latest purchase allows it to move further into equipment support and repair.

“We are excited to improve our GSE maintenance capabilities by adding Global Aviation Services to the PrimeFlight network, said company CEO Dan Bucaro. “This acquisition allows us to serve our customers with GSE maintenance services at more than 80 airports in the U.S.”

First U.S. Female Fighter Pilot To Keynote NBAA

The nation’s first female fighter pilot, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, is set as the day-two keynote speaker on October 23 at NBAA-BACE. Commanding the Air Force Recruiting Service at San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, Leavitt has responsibility for more than 3,445 airmen and civilians, as well as thousands of recruiting offices globally, NBAA said. She joined the Air Force in 1992 after receiving a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas and master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University.

Making history in 1993, when she became a fighter pilot, Leavitt has accrued 3,000 hours and has been involved in operations including Southern Watch, Northern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. She has received numerous awards, including Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.

“We are honored that Maj. Gen. Leavitt, a groundbreaking leader, will join us at NBAA-BACE to share with attendees her experiences,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “She is an inspiration, especially those in aviation who have worked to break down barriers of all types. She exemplifies the dedication to duty, and love of country and aviation, that our industry personifies.”

Senate Aviation Panel Chair Cruz Seeks Consensus on ATC

Senate aviation subcommittee chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently resurrected the conversation about reform of the U.S. ATC system, expressing a belief that the U.S. could learn from ATC reforms conducted in numerous other countries and that a “win-win” scenario could be achieved. In a recent hearing on the status of the system, Cruz said he isn’t interested in a rehash of old fights surrounding proposals for privatization and/or user fees but in resetting the conversation. 

AOPA president Mark Baker agreed that the old fight “has and will continue to divide us” and added that the ATC system is a public system “that should benefit all users, not just some.” NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said NBAA supports “targeted solutions to identified problems” such as bills in both the House and Senate, the Aviation Funding Stability Act, that would enable trust fund dollars to continue funding the FAA should the federal government’s funding lapse again. A significant concern to Bolen, he added, was that privacy protections become implemented as the U.S. continues to transition into an ADS-B Out operating system.

Sharon Pinkerton, senior v-p of legislative and regulatory policy for Airlines for America, stressed the association hopes to work with stakeholders to drive consensus, but added, “We still believe the FAA needs to have clear and measurable goals for our ATC system."

Sheltair Announces Executive Additions

FBO chain and airport real estate developer Sheltair Aviation has announced some changes in its executive suite. Lisa Holland, daughter of company founder, chairman, and CEO Gerald Holland, has been named to the newly-created position of president of corporate strategies, providing high-level leadership for the future growth and organizational development of the company.

“It is important to me to know that Sheltair will continue to provide employment for our 500-plus employees in the future and that Sheltair will continue to be the leader in the aviation facility construction, property management, and general aviation industries in Florida, the eastern United States, and Colorado,” said Gerald Holland.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company also announced that Jack Tufano, formerly vice president of design and development with Cisneros Real Estate, has joined the company as vice president of design and construction. He recently spearheaded several major construction projects, including a $300 million resort and residential development in the Dominican Republic.

“A testament to our growth has been the great expansion, of not only our team, but at many of our locations where we have built numerous new hangars and office facilities, including our Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, New York, Savannah, and now Colorado locations,” said Warren Kroeppel, the company’s COO. “Jack’s role will be instrumental in our continued development and growth.”

EC Opens In-depth Probe of Boeing-Embraer Combination

Boeing has revised the timeline to close its proposed $4.75 billion acquisition of 80 percent of Embraer’s commercial aircraft division after the European Union’s anti-trust regulator informed the companies it would open an in-depth investigation into the deal. In a joint statement released yesterday, Boeing and Embraer said they now expect the transaction to close in early 2020 because the European Commission recently indicated it would open a second phase of an assessment in its review of the transaction.

The confirmation of the in-depth probe by the EU follows by one day the decision of the WTO to allow the U.S. to impose tariffs worth $7.5 billion annually on imports of products from the EU as a countermeasure for subsidies to Airbus. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer Wednesday evening said the U.S. will act on the authorization and begin applying tariffs on certain EU goods—including 10 percent on large civil aircraft—beginning October 18.

Boeing and Embraer announced their deal in July 2018 and the sides repeatedly said they expected the transaction to close by the end of 2019. Last month, Embraer Commercial Aircraft CEO John Slattery told AIN he recognized the large amount of work still needed to get the go-ahead from the regulatory bodies.

Boeing and Embraer said they have already obtained “a number of regulatory approvals,” including U.S. Federal Trade Commission nod.

Tales From the Flight Deck: Avoiding King Air Rollover Tragedies

Over the past five years, one of the world’s most popular, dependable aircraft has been involved in a series of accidents—all of them fatal, all of them on takeoff. In each case, the Beechcraft King Airs appeared to roll or yaw to the left during a possible engine malfunction and crashed within seconds. What might be happening here? And what can pilots do to save their airplanes, their passengers, and their lives?