Farnborough Airport Not Resting on Its Green Laurels

As the 50th annual Earth Day is celebrated today, Farnborough Airport remains a beacon of sustainability for the business aviation sector. Rather than just deflect environmental criticism with lines about this mode of transportation’s balancing contribution to economic good, the UK airport decided in 2007 to aspire to a more definitive and voluntary response by going carbon neutral.

In June 2018, the privately-owned business aviation gateway achieved that goal when it became the first airport in the sector to achieve carbon-neutral status as defined by the Airport Council International Europe’s Level 3+ Airport Carbon Accreditation program. In the process, Farnborough cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 42 percent, reducing it by 2,183 tonnes per year, and this total has continued to fall since then.

The sustainability charter addressed just about every aspect of Farnborough’s operations, including carbon emissions, noise, air and water quality, and waste disposal. “You need to take a ‘no stone unturned’ approach to make this meaningful,” Farnborough Airport environment manager Miles Thomas told AIN.

Securing carbon neutrality isn’t the end of Farnborough Airport’s green ambitions—it is committed to continual improvement, especially as traffic levels increase. Thomas’s team is looking at improved space heating systems and is also considering more solar panels and a possible solar farm, as well as more electric vehicles to be used on the ramp.

Duncan Installing ACA Aircraft Air Purification System

Duncan Aviation is offering the installation of a chemical-free air purification system at its three main facilities and satellite shops. The MRO provider has installed the system in a Gulfstream and is working on approvals for other aircraft.

The purifier, from Aviation Clean Air (ACA), is an active air-filtration system installed in an aircraft’s environmental control system to improve cabin air quality, killing pathogens and removing odors and allergens, Duncan said. Components are housed in a black anodized aluminum box and weigh 1.34 pounds.

“Because it’s not a static air filter, the system actively kills viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens, such as those that cause the common cold, flu, MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), C. diff (clostridium difficile), E. coli (escherichia coli), pneumonia, polio, and mold,” the MRO provider said. In addition, it neutralizes gases resulting from fuel emissions and other volatile organic compounds, and odors caused by cooking, cleaning, cigarette smoke, stagnant air, pets, and lavatories.

ACA developed an ionization process that prevents the ability of pathogens to bond, said Duncan Aviation’s senior avionics sales rep Steve Elofson. “The ACA component, in a process involving cold plasma, causes a chemical reaction that changes the positive and negative ions, severing hydrogen bonds on the cell’s surface. Without these bonds, the pathogen will not be able to mutate or reproduce and will quickly die.”

FlightSafety Moves Closer To Using Smart Training Tool

Acceptance testing of FlightSafety International’s FlightSmart integrated pilot performance evaluation and training tool has been successfully completed at Columbus Air Force Base, the Mississippi home of the 14th Flying Training Wing. Unveiled in November following the awarding of a contract to implement the technology on 16 T-6A training devices at Columbus, FlightSmart was developed by FlightSafety and IBM, using the latter's advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI).

Using AI, machine learning, and evidence-based training methodologies, FlightSmart predicts the best approach to a pilot’s learning while providing instructors with what FlightSafety said is a comprehensive understanding of that pilot’s strengths and weaknesses. “FlightSmart collects and analyzes pilot performance data using advanced analytics that are presented on a real-time web-based dashboard,” said FlightSafety strategic management director Bert Sawyer. “FlightSmart facilitates a departure from qualitative-based instruction towards evidence and competency-based training.”

Now that acceptance testing is complete, FlightSafety is working with instructors at Columbus to optimize the design and development of the FlightSmart interface. Plans call for FlightSmart to be used for civilian pilot training.

“FlightSmart serves government and commercial customers alike,” FlightSafety operations special project manager Matt Littrell told AIN. “We are finalizing plans for rolling the product out to our commercial learning centers and are working with several commercial customers, representing multiple facets of the market, on agreements to implement FlightSmart within their training operations.”

Gogo Idles 60 Percent of Workers Due To Covid Impact

Airborne connectivity provider Gogo announced yesterday it would furlough 60 percent of its workforce—600 people—and cut pay for most of its other employees because of the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic. The furloughs will affect workers in all three of Gogo’s segments, including airlines and business aviation.

Sixty percent of Gogo’s revenue comes from its two airline segments, projections of which call for a 60 to 70 percent reduction in April sales. Its business aviation segment, representing the remaining 40 percent of Gogo’s revenue, has also been affected by a sharp downturn in flying and an increase in requests by business aircraft operators for one-month account suspensions.

In addition to the furloughs, president and CEO Oakleigh Thorne will take a 30 percent pay cut while his executive leadership team will see its pay trimmed by 20 percent. The percentage of pay cuts will be “feathered” for remaining employees according to their positions. Gogo's board also has agreed to reduce its compensation by 30 percent.

The Chicago-based company also announced it has applied for an $81 million grant and a $150 million loan under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Should Gogo receive assistance through the act, it said it would modify the job actions to comply with the terms of that financial assistance.

NBAA Asks YoPros To Contact Congress on Relief Debate

NBAA is encouraging young professionals to become engaged in advocacy to ensure lawmakers understand the need for industry relief as they weigh the next series of Covid-19-related assistance packages.

Speaking during a YoPro Legislative Update webinar on Monday, Christa Lucas, NBAA senior v-p of government affairs, noted that numerous industry small businesses applied for payroll assistance under the $349 billion paycheck protection program included in the CARES Act, but that program quickly ran out of money. The Senate yesterday finalized an agreement to provide an additional $320 billion—up from the originally discussed $250 billion—to provide access to further businesses. That measure is awaiting House approval.

Lawmakers are eyeing a further, much more comprehensive relief bill that industry groups are hoping will provide the possibility for relief from excise taxes on jet-A and aviation gasoline, she said. Congress has already temporarily suspended excises taxes for commercial aviation, and NBAA has appealed to House and Senate leadership to extend that to private aviation.

“Advocacy is important and it really helped make sure our community was included in [the CARES Act],” Lucas said. “The longer this pandemic ticks on, the more hurt that our community is feeling and the more economic tools they need at their disposal to try to get through this period.”

AMAC Sees Mx Rush on ACJs, Globals

It's been a busy month for AMAC Aerospace, which is taking on two Airbus ACJ projects and has a third in the pipeline, as well as work on a pair of Bombardier Global twins, the Switzerland-based MRO provider announced this week. “Despite the challenging times we are all going through, be it the logistical or manpower issues, we are working hard to implement all our customers’ requests,” said AMAC director of maintenance sales and key account management Alexis Ott.

The company has accepted two ACJ319s in Basel, one of which is undergoing a six-, 12-, and 24-month check, while the other also has a six- and 12-month check and ADS-B Out and Ka-Band system installations. By the end of summer, AMAC also will take on a Middle East customer’s ACJ319 project, though it didn’t detail the type of work it would be performing on that airplane.

Those projects are in addition to a Global XRS that AMAC received in February. The XRS’s work includes a 120-month inspection and a refurbishment of its cabin seats, divans, and carpet. Also, AMAC will upgrade the XRS’s avionics to Primus Elite and install ADS-B Out. Simultaneously, it is performing a 15- and 30-month check on a Global 6000.

NATA Forms Task Force To Prep for 135 Demand Return

NATA has established a new task force to ensure the Part 135 community is prepared once demand returns for charter. The Part 135 Covid-19 Task Force will address a range of concerns and develop best practices covering flight crew safety, aircraft sanitation, and the minimizing of contact between flight crews, passengers, and ground-handling service professionals, among other areas.

“This task force will complement the important work being done by NATA’s Safety Committee in addressing operational safety concerns during the course of the pandemic and those that may lie ahead as restrictions throughout the country are lifted,” said NATA senior v-p Ryan Waguespack. “NATA is pleased to serve as the bridge that unites these vital segments in ensuring the best possible operational flow for flight crew and ground-handling service professionals.”

NATA's task force, which is anticipated to begin holding weekly calls beginning this week, formalizes discussions that had been ongoing between charter executives, Waguespack added. A significant concern for the community is a lack of communications between operators and charter brokers on health and safety issues, particularly when extra health precautions might be necessary, he said. The task force further will look at basic practices, such as boarding an aircraft in a way the protects both the crew and passengers.

‘New Normal’ Could Bring Opportunity for Bizav in Asia

The Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) is hoping general aviation and business aviation stakeholders will seize the current opportunity to expand as governments around the region look at general/business aviation in a different light following the Covid-19 pandemic, AsBAA's board said yesterday during a webinar.

“Life is never the same after Covid-19,” said AsBAA chairman Wu Zhengdong, who is also Avlon Pacific’s chairman and CEO. “China is concerned about the second [virus] wave and many facilities are still under shutdown or only partially opened. General aviation companies are operating but not to a full scale. But we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.” Wu expects near normalcy to return in one to two months in China.

During the first quarter, around 80 percent of general/business aviation clients were central government or provincial governments mounting humanitarian flights, which Wu said is an encouraging sign as the governments now see the sector’s advantage. Company executives also see business jets as a safer way to fly versus sitting next to a stranger on an airliner.

Clarification

A story in yesterday's AINalerts, "FAA Updating Weight and Balance Program Guidance," discussed changes to inspector guidance on weight and balance programs. The guidance is aimed at 91K, 135, 121, and 135 program approvals, but does include a letter of authorization template for use in Part 91 and applies to inspectors that have responsibility for 91, 91K, 121, 125, and 135 operations.

AIN Webinar: Keeping Bizav’s Supply Chain Moving

Join us tomorrow (April 23) at 12:00 p.m. EDT as AIN senior editor Charles Alcock moderates a webinar discussion on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the business aviation supply chain and how the industry is responding. He will speak with three senior leaders from this sector—Marc Drobny, president of business aviation at StandardAero; Todd Winter, president and CEO of Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics; and Aaron Hollander, CEO of First Aviation Services. Register now for this FREE hour-long webinar.