Wichita Firm Looks To Improve Caravan with Wheel Pants

Whind LLC has developed wheel pants for Cessna Caravan-series aircraft that the Wichita-based company said will improve the performance of the 208 and 208B turboprop singles. Depending on initial configuration, the wheel pants reduced drag and showed a seven-knot true airspeed improvement in cruise during flight testing, according to the company.

Further, Whind said the addition of the wheel pants has shown an emission reduction “approaching 4 percent.” Developed through 3D printing and advanced CNC machining and fabrication, the wheel pants are designed for easy access with interchangeable, standardized parts. No jacking is required during installation.

The wheel pants are also durable. “You won’t find a ‘No Step’ placard on these wheel pants,” said Whind CEO Randy Whitson.

Full STC approval is under way, and completion and first delivery are expected in the fourth quarter. Whind's staff includes former Cessna employees with technical, marketing, and operational expertise with a focus on improving products from Textron Aviation.

IS&S Autothrottle Gains EASA, Transport Canada Nods

Transport Canada and EASA have granted certification to Innovative Solutions & Support for its ThrustSense Full Regime Autothrottle system for the King Air 200 and 300 series.

With these approvals, more than 40 countries outside the U.S. have now certified the IS&S autothrottle system, which also can be installed in King Airs configured for special missions, extended range, and heavy weight operations as well as those modified by Blackhawk Aerospace. The IS&S autothrottle is also standard equipment on new-production Beechcraft King Air 260s and 360s. IS&S has delivered more than 70 shipsets of the ThrustSense autothrottle to date.

In addition to the normal benefits of autothrottles, which make flying and changing altitudes in busy airspace easier, the King Air ThrustSense application can help prevent loss of control in Vmca situations. The IS&S LifeGuard Vmca mitigation feature automatically detects a failed engine in any phase of flight and manages the power on the good engine to prevent loss of directional control if the airplane gets too slow. IS&S has demonstrated this capability right down to stall warning in the King Air, with no tendency to roll, thanks to the autothrottle’s management of power output on the operating engine.

“We’re feeling a wave of greater acceptance in ThrustSense safety and performance by business aviation owners and operators on all seven continents,” the company said.

MRO Insider Extends Quoting Platform Reach to FBOs

MRO Insider has expanded its quoting platform to include FBO services. With the latest update, operators, schedulers, and dispatchers can use MRO Insider to request fuel pricing, ground transportation, hangar rental, and other services such as detailing and disinfecting service quotes. The FBO service quoting ability, which launched September 1, follows other expansions of the platform, which was originally designed as a forum for maintenance services and still serves that function.

“We have continually worked to expand the platform to meet the needs of our customers based on their feedback,” said MRO Insider president Andy Nixon. “Last year, we focused on our AOG feature that allows users to ‘ping’ out to multiple providers for quotes for maintenance, parts, or detailing. This year, we chose to expand this technology to include requests for fuel pricing, hangar rental, and ground transportation.”

The platform enables FBOs to provide quotes based on aircraft make, model, length of stay, and other factors. FBOs can customize their quote based on fuel cost, quantity, and other services requested to provide individual package deals, MRO Insider said. Fuel program subscribers are able to submit that information within their requests. Providers will be notified of operators seeking fuel or services within a 100-nm radius.

Safran Runs Makila 2 Helicopter Engine on 100% SAF

Safran has successfully test run one of its Makila 2 helicopter engines on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the French company announced today. For this ground test, Safran used a biofuel from TotalEnergies consisting of used cooking oil.

The test run is the beginning of a campaign Safran is launching to evaluate the operational impact of running a helicopter engine on 100 percent SAF using “Bearcat” (Banc d’Essai Avancé pour la Recherche en Combustion et Aérothermique des Turbomachines), an advanced test bench for turbomachinery combustion and aerothermal testing located at the company’s facility in Bordes, France.

Safran engines are already approved to operate with up to 50 percent SAF. Using 100 percent will lower life cycle CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent compared to traditional jet-A, Safran said. “After the first flight of a rescue helicopter using 40 percent SAF in June, and the fuel’s gradual introduction for engine tests at our sites, we are now taking a new step toward using fuel made entirely from renewable sources. These tests are a key step in the realization of future test flights with our helicopter partners,” said Safran Helicopter Engines CEO Franck Saudo.

A Retrofit Upgrade That’s Truly Worth Considering

Airplanes like the Pilatus PC-12 are built to operate for decades. Ideally, a well-maintained airplane can be active for years.  However, the longer an airplane stays in circulation, the more likely the cockpit will need an upgrade. Fast-moving technology, required safety mandates, and parts obsolescence, keeping your aircraft FAA compliant can be a challenge both in time and feasibility. For the PC-12, and other applicable aircraft, there is a retrofit upgrade that’s worth the consideration and the investment.

GA Telesis MRO Services Adds Radome Testing Facility

GA Telesis MRO Services Group has developed a transmissivity test cell for repairing and overhauling aircraft radomes at its FAA- and EASA-approved composite and aerostructures repair facility near Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport in Florida. The test cell is capable of testing radomes on a variety of aircraft, including models from Bombardier, Cessna, Embraer, and Gulfstream, as well as Airbus and Boeing.

MRO Services’ composite and aerostructures repair facility specializes in the overhaul and repair of structures and components such as engine nacelles and flight control structures. Development of the radome test cell follows the recent addition of a second, 37-foot autoclave.

“This new capability is critical in testing repaired and overhauled radomes before returning them to service, setting GA Telesis apart in the aftermarket segment of composites,” said MRO Services president Pastor Lopez. “Our engineering team formulated a design plan and executed it well.”

Becker Teams with Iris on Collision Warning System

Becker Avionics and Iris Automation have formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop a non-required safety-enhancing equipment (Norsee) collision avoidance safety system for general aviation aircraft and UAVs. It will use computer vision and machine learning to identify aircraft approaching from outside the pilot’s field of view that pose a potential risk and issue pertinent 3D audio warnings.

The opto-electric/audio system will augment ADS-B In traffic data, as well as pilot see-and-avoid visual scans, to further help avoid midair collisions, especially in airspace where ADS-B signals are not available. By providing warnings in time to take appropriate actions to avoid potential collisions, the companies said the system will improve safety with minimal impact on pilot workload.

“Partnering with Iris Automation will allow our customers to exploit advanced technology to fly safer, especially as airspace congestion increases,” said Becker Avionics chairman Roland Becker. “Client interest in this kind of solution is very high.”

AeroParts Now Forms Partnership with PartsBase

Aircraft parts management and sales software provider AeroParts Now (APN) has reached an integration agreement with aircraft parts marketplace PartsBase. The agreement enables APN customers to have their published parts appear higher in the PartsBase ranking in the parts locator system, providing for greater visibility and expanded detail of their listings.

"As we continually expand our technology partners to drive value and enhance user experience, the direct integration with APN immediately enriches the PartsBase results set with additional data from our customers such as images, traceability, serial numbers, and pricing,” said PartsBase president Greg Schmidt. “As suppliers compete for market share in this digital shift, we reward APN customers for their expanded data and drive their listings right to the top of the marketplace.”

Added APN CTO Will Dent: “We are really excited to be able to provide our customers with more than just the basic inventory push to PartsBase. We are always striving to offer our customers more agility in their parts sales process.”

A&P Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Parts Certification

A Florida aircraft mechanic indicted in February by a federal grand jury for false certification of commercial aircraft parts pleaded guilty to the allegations on August 17, according to the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG). The indictment alleged that David Alexander Barcena certified commercial aircraft parts as ready for service and installation using falsified FAA airworthiness approval tags during a period between December 2016 and May 2017.

Those parts included anti-icing valves, a hydraulic reservoir assembly, and landing gear actuator. Barcena was alleged in the indictment to have sourced the tags from an FAA Part 145 repair station that went out of business and where he had worked as a chief inspector.

The DOT-OIG led the investigation with assistance from the FAA Flight Standards Division Office in Miramar, Florida.

AIN Events: Building a Sustainable Flight Department

AIN is hosting four one-day regional conferences on sustainability and the modern flight department. Attendees will learn about aviation’s contribution to carbon emissions and the reductions due to the Covid pandemic;  regulator/government roles in minimizing aviation emissions (CORSIA, carbon credits); making sense of carbon offsets; building to LEED standards, and much more.  Locations in New York, Texas, Florida and California.  Register today