April 13, 2017 - No. 030 In This Issue Airbus Faces Setback as Delta Reviews $14 Billion Jet Order FAA shows off new air-traffic communications at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Zunum's Hybrid Jet Could Finally Make Electric Flight a Reality We could cut particulate pollution from air travel by 60% - but the journey has run into turbulence Blended winglets rack up 7 billion gallons of jet fuel savings Remote Aircraft Maintenance Monitoring Made Easy With New Heritage Aware Dashboard Reporting Portal Rex fractured propeller part not in maintenance program, ATSB report says UND/NBAA Launch Fatigue Survey SpaceX doesn't scare Asia's space players Airbus Faces Setback as Delta Reviews $14 Billion Jet Order Airbus SE's expansion into Boeing Co.'s home market faces a potential setback as Delta Air Lines Inc. reviews a $14 billion purchase of the European planemaker's two newest wide-body models. The Atlanta-based carrier, known as an influential and shrewd aircraft buyer, is studying its twin- aisle orders amid signs the long-range travel market is saturated, Ed Bastian, Delta's chief executive officer, said during a quarterly earnings call Wednesday. While he didn't name Airbus, Delta has no twin-aisle orders pending with Boeing, according to the U.S. company's online database. "We continue to see excess capacity in wide-bodies as we look to the future for the industry," Bastian said, adding that Delta, which has orders for the Airbus A350 and A330neo, is in discussions with planemakers. "We continue to look internally as to what that means for Delta. You could anticipate some reductions, I think, broadly over the next several years." Word of the review intensifies concerns that demand for long-haul planes is weakening as a long jet-buying binge draws to close. American Airlines Group Inc. last year deferred its A350 order, while United Continental Holdings Inc. said it may swap its A350 purchase for smaller planes. Wide-Body Worry "It definitely contributes to what's been a building caution, or wall of worry around the wide-body market," said Ken Herbert, an aerospace analyst at Canaccord Genuity. Airbus shares traded 0.6 percent lower at 71.51 euros as of 9:29 a.m. Thursday in Paris. They closed 0.9 percent higher Wednesday after Bastian's remarks, paring earlier gains of as much as 1.5 percent. Boeing closed down 1.4 percent to $176.05, the second-biggest slide among the 30 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Airbus confirmed that it is in touch with Delta, while declining to go into detail. "It's not appropriate for us to comment on our customers' internal analysis," spokeswoman Mary Anne Greczyn said by email. "However, as a leading aircraft manufacturer, Airbus continually engages our customers around the world to help optimize their fleet needs." The Toulouse, France-based company out-dueled Boeing for Delta's 50-jet order in 2014 and is slated to begin delivering the first of 25 A350s later this year. They're intended to replace the Boeing 747 jumbos that once shuttled Delta's passengers to Asia. The airline has also ordered 25 A330neos, a model that's yet to fly, as a replacement for its oldest Boeing 767s. The prospect of Delta postponing or canceling the wide-body order adds to uncertainty over Airbus's efforts to make inroads in the U.S. with its next-generation models. American last year delayed its A350 deliveries by an average 26 months and is due to take the first of 22 planes next year, spokesman Joshua Freed said. The planes were ordered by US Airways Group, which merged with American in 2013. United said last year it was reviewing its purchase of A350-1000s. Delta, too, could defer orders to a schedule that better fits its demand forecasts, or shift the mix to other models, according to aviation consultant Scott Hamilton. The carrier may issue a request for proposals for single-aisle aircraft that would pit Boeing's 737 Max against Airbus's A321neo and will also need a mid-market planes, such as the lighter-weight regional A330 or the so-called 797 under consideration at Boeing, he said by email. "At face value, the Delta statement might seem alarming," Hamilton said. "But as so often becomes the case, the 'review' may not be what it seems." Sales of twin-aisle jets have slowed as the market absorbs a surplus after Boeing and Airbus boosted output at a 16 percent annual pace from 2011 through 2015, said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group. Late last year, Boeing announced a second cut to the production rate of its 777 jetliner amid a sales drought, while A330neo orders have stalled, he said. In December, Delta scrapped a longstanding order for 18 Boeing 787 Dreamliners that it inherited in its 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines. The airline said then that the decision was consistent with the need "to prudently address our wide-body aircraft needs." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-12/delta-reviewing-14-billion-wide-body-jet- deal-in-blow-to-airbus Back to Top FAA shows off new air-traffic communications at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Data intended to guide the Delta Air Lines 757 jet into the skies above the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport arrived in the cockpit Tuesday with a gentle ping. Delta Capt. Jon Pendleton studied a series of numbers and letters that appeared on a small screen and said it would make his life a whole lot easier - and the traveling public's, as well. Called Data Comm, the new technology employed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) permits air traffic controllers and pilots to communicate electronically, supplementing radio voice communications between the two. It's quicker and safer, according to the FAA. It's now being used for many of the 400,000 flights taking off and landing at MSP every year. To date, 55 airports across the country have adopted the Data Comm technology, including MSP, which came on line in November. It's unclear why the FAA is now touting the system five months after it was introduced; an FAA spokeswoman said "this is when the media day fell in the schedule." Data Comm "allows air traffic controllers and pilots to communicate with data communications, kind of like texting and e-mail, instead of having to talk [to the tower] using your voice," Pendleton said during a demonstration Tuesday. This is especially useful when weather - the wild card of aviation in Minnesota, whether it's snow or thunderstorms - routinely causes flights to be rerouted and delayed. Data Comm is part of a broader $35 billion FAA overhaul of the nation's airspace that involves switching from a radar-based navigation system to one guided by satellite. This effort, called the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), has been in the works for more than a decade, and marred by delay and controversy. Both the U.S. Department of Transportation's inspector general and the Government Accountability Office have characterized the NextGen project as one lacking focus and mired in bureaucracy. The media demonstration on Tuesday at MSP also comes at a time when President Donald Trump and some members of Congress have called for the air traffic control system to be privatized and transferred to a federally chartered nonprofit corporation (similar to one used in Canada). It's a proposal that has been spurned by some industry groups. When asked about possible privatization, FAA Assistant Administrator for Next Gen James Eck said, "there is interest in a new government model." But, he added, "we're continuing to move along with NextGen." FAA officials were quick to point out that the Data Comm part of NextGen has been implemented two years ahead of schedule and under budget. The current program covers communications, including clearances, revised flight plans and advisories, while aircraft are on the ground. An advanced system involving planes while they're actually in flight won't be rolled out until 2019. Under the old system (still in use), air traffic controllers use a two-way radio to transmit instructions to planes awaiting take off. Pilots jot down these notes on paper, then read the instructions back to the tower. If there's an error, the process must be repeated until it's correct. This can take 10 to 15 minutes - all while passengers sit in the cabin waiting to begin their trip. With Data Comm, air traffic controllers enter flight departure clearance instructions into a computer and send information electronically to the cockpit. Pilots confirm that they got the information, and press a button to enter the instructions to the aircraft's flight management system. Capt. Pendleton says this takes maybe two minutes. "If you send it electronically, you only send it once," said Pete Dwyer, an air traffic controller at MSP. "By voice, you can make change after change after change." Not all planes use the new system, and participation by airlines is voluntary. So far, the major airlines - United, American, Delta and Southwest - and others have signed on. Delta Capt. Rich Terry said nearly 300 aircraft in the Atlanta-based carrier's system have been outfitted with the Data Comm technology, with an additional 250 aircraft in the pipeline. Terry noted that the system will also yield environmental benefits, because it reduces the amount of time aircraft linger on the tarmac. "Obviously that's a benefit to us economically, but it also has a huge impact to the environment in reduced carbon emissions," he said. http://www.startribune.com/faa-shows-off-new-air-traffic-communications-at-msp/419214164/#1 Back to Top Zunum's Hybrid Jet Could Finally Make Electric Flight a Reality Say what you will about the electric Chevrolet Volt, but GM's engineers created a clever solution to the problem of battery range and recharge time: Give the car its own generator. When the battery winds down to nothing, a small gasoline engine generates the electricity to keep moving. The arrangement extends the car's range and saves gasoline. Aviation startup Zunum thinks General Motors' approach might be just the thing to bring electric propulsion to commercial aircraft. The company, based in Kirkland, Washington, is developing the flying equivalent of a Chevy Volt that uses a pair of ducted fans for propulsion. As the battery runs low, a jet fuel-burning turbine fires up to keep the juice flowing. As crazy as it sounds, the aviation industry finds itself fascinated by electric airplanes, which require less fuel and make less noise than conventional aircraft. So far, though, the technology remains hobbled by the limitations of battery technology. The most successful electric airplanes thus far are, like Solar Impulse, wildly impractical or, like the Airbus E-Fan, limited by their range and speed. That two-seater musters just 60 minutes of flight at 137 mph from its 350-pound battery. Zunum CEO Ashish Kumar says the hybrid approach could reduce noise by 75 percent and cut airline fuel costs by 40 to 80 percent, and he hopes to get a short-haul commercial plane with a seating capacity of 10 to 50 passengers into service within a decade. He figures the first planes will carry a battery pack good for 175 miles, with the generator extending the aircraft's range to 700 miles. But he sees that range climbing relatively quickly as battery technology improves. "Power density is growing every year," he says. Each time customers swap an aging battery for a new one, they'll see a bump. "For a single airplane flying for 20 years, it'll grow to 40 percent, 60 percent and eventually may not need the generator at all." Zunum is working with the University of Illinois to develop the battery technology, with funding from the venture capital arms at Boeing and JetBlue Technology Ventures, two companies exploring alternatives to jet fuel. Airbus, too, is exploring similar technology-called a serial hybrid-after deciding that batteries alone are impractical for large aircraft. But not everyone is optimistic. "The energy density for batteries isn't high enough to even get a couple of people off the ground, let alone 30 or 40," says aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. And if the hybridization scheme isn't as efficient as engineers hope, it could require just as much fuel as a conventional jet engine or turboprop-in a much newer, less proven, system. That means it might be wiser to focus on making conventional jet engines and the aircraft that use them more efficient through improved aerodynamics, composite materials, and the like. "Aircraft efficiency improves by one percent every year, as it has every year for the last 60, since the dawn of the jet age," Aboulafia says. "It will be very hard to suddenly generate double-digit improvements." What's more, Aboulafia says there is no market for the small commercial aircraft Zunum is proposing. Regional jets typically carry 60 to 160 passengers and carry passengers from smaller markets to major hubs like Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta. Kumar's answer? Remake the system. Small aircraft with low operating costs could allow airlines to fly shorter routes to the thousands of small airports commercial airlines usually ignore. Some 97 percent of air traffic passes through just 2 percent of the country's 5,000 airports, he says. Flying fewer passengers shorter distances to smaller airports could increase efficiency and reduce travel times. It might even reduce high congestion by encouraging people to fly instead drive. Boeing, at least, likes that idea. "Our interest in Zunum Aero is fundamentally about making sure we're engaged with promising emerging technologies and business models that could potentially change the marketplace-in this case the smaller regional aircraft transportation system," says Steve Norlund, head of Boeing's HorizonX VC arm. So if electric cars never quite offer the range for that annual trip to grandma's house, maybe it's time to consider flying instead. https://www.wired.com/2017/04/hybrid-jet-finally-make-electric-flight-reality/ Back to Top We could cut particulate pollution from air travel by 60% - but the journey has run into turbulence When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, one of the biggest hurdles is the world's addiction to flying. And this is only going to get more intense as developing countries grow bigger middle classes who want to explore the world for business and pleasure. In the UK, the climate change minister, Nick Hurd, has named transport as one of the two biggest environmental challenges facing the world. But while the government continues to invest in research and infrastructure for electric vehicles, clear action on addressing carbon dioxide for air transport has been lacking. Our researchin collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University and Missouri University of Science and Technology has shown that greener aviation fuels could cut not only carbon emissions but also reduce wider air pollution and improve air quality - a key issue in the ongoing debate around Heathrow's proposed expansion. The landmark 2015 Paris Agreement on addressing climate change did not include two sectors - aviation and maritime. This is despite aviation accounting for 2 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. This figure is growing by around 3 per cent a year. Attempts to decarbonise the aviation sector have so far proven complicated. The process has been delayed by governments trying to agree on how to account for emissions: if a Dutch airline takes off in America and lands in Brazil, which country should take the responsibility for those emissions? The good news is that, in the autumn of 2016, the world's governments came together under the UN's specialist agency for aviation, the ICAO and finally reached an agreement. But this agreement is still voluntary and allows airlines to "offset" their carbon emissions. Beyond this, the industry has set itself a targetto achieve carbon-neutral growth by 2020 and to halve emissions by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. This ambition can only be achieved by a combination of efforts including improvements in engine and airframes, such as new materials to make aircraft lighter, a more emissions-optimised approach to air traffic management and, crucially, by introducing greener alternatives to jet fuel. These alternative aviation fuels could offer the UK airline industry between 15 per cent and 24 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. The UK government is starting to take action, including issuing a consultation on whether to increase the obligation it puts on airlines to increase the level of so-called "renewable fuel" used currently. Running in parallel with this has been a consultation on the future growth of Heathrow airport - and, even in this, alternative fuels could play a part both in terms of lower CO2 emissions if alternative fuel use is increase, and because these fuels contain fewer particulates than conventional fuels. Our research has shown that particulates from air travel could be reduced by up to 60 per cent by using synthetically produced fuels from feedstocks such as old cooking oil. In simple terms, the oil- baring feedstock can be heated with a catalyst to change its structure and extract the useful chemicals to form a type of fuel that can be used to power jet aircraft. There are, of course, challenges which need to be overcome if the role of alternative aviation fuels in tackling climate change and air pollution is to be realised. Aviation fuel has not changed substantially since the 1960s. The focus of improvements in the efficiency of engines and airframes has been on the continued improvements to technology to the point where we have a highly optimised system based on the use of traditional fuels. If the industry adopted fuels developed from non-conventional sources such as bio-crops this may, in turn, make it possible for the indsutry to make further improvements in engine and airframe technologies based on new fuels. There are three major challenges facing the industry. Three challenges Safety: This is the most obvious problem to overcome. The approval process for new fuels is extremely rigorous - airlines will not use fuels unless they know they are completely safe and will not affect the operation and reliability of the aircraft. This process can take several years to complete. To date, only a handful of alternative production routes have been approvedand the sector's experience of dealing with new molecules in the jet fuel is increasing. Better modelling and earlier testing of fuels should help reduce the time, and cost, of this approvals process and efforts such as the US FAA and the ASCENT programme which aim to accelerate the approvals process in the future. Economics: The technology for producing alternative aviation fuels is still relatively immature and at a small scale which means that the cost remains higher than for fuel from conventional sources. Further research and development - and increasing the scale of production - will address these issues, as will the introduction of regulations which reward and incentivise airlines to use these fuels. Sustainability: We need to ensure that the production of alternative fuels works for the environment and people in the regions where these are produced. So, for example, in the case of biofuels, these shouldn't compete for land with vital food crops. The use of municipal waste or offgases from industrial processes are two alternatives which do not compete with land use are gaining some traction as alternative fuels. This is an issue that will only get more urgent as more people in developing economies choose to travel by air. We've already made a good start - since 2011, more than 2,200 commercial flights have used alternative fuels- but this has to be put in a context of more than 100,000 flights being made worldwide each day. While the current agreement is voluntary, ICAO has managed to create one of the first global agreements to apply to a specific sector on carbon emissions. Industry and academia now need to deliver the advancements - supported, needless to say, by national governments. That will be crucial if we are to see greener skies overhead any time soon. http://www.citymetric.com/transport/we-could-cut-particulate-pollution-air-travel-60-journey-has- run-turbulence-2843 Back to Top Blended winglets rack up 7 billion gallons of jet fuel savings Aviation Partners says the blended winglet technology it developed with Boeing has saved airlines and business jet operators an estimated seven billion gallons of jet fuel. Seattle-based Aviation Partners' trademarked blended winglets are airplane wing-tip additions that reduce drag to improve fuel efficiency Through a joint venture with Boeing (NYSE: BA), Aviation Partners' advanced winglets are equipped on some Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft and Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) planes. Winglets reduce drag caused by called "wingtip vortices," the twin tornados formed by the air pressure difference between the upper and lower surfaces of a jet wing. (NASA explains the technology here.) By reducing the drag, blended winglets increase fuel efficiency and thus boost the range of an aircraft equipped with them. The curved, blended winglets have proven to be 60 percent more effectiveness over conventional winglets that are angled rather than curved, Aviation Partners said. Aviation Partners offers a continuously rising fuel savings estimate on its website and expects the amount of aviation fuel saved to exceed 10 billion gallons by the end of 2019. Aviation Partners says its blended winglets now fly on more than 7,000 individual jets and over 20 airplane types, including the French Dassault Falcon 2000, 900 and 50 series, the Hawker 800 series, and Gulfstream II aircraft. http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2017/04/10/blended-winglets-rack-up-7-billion-gallons- of-jet.html Back to Top Remote Aircraft Maintenance Monitoring Made Easy With New Heritage Aware Dashboard Reporting Portal April 10, 2017, Burlington International Airport (BTV), Burlington, VT...Heritage Aviation, a leading aviation services provider, announced today the development of Heritage Aware, a remote aircraft maintenance monitoring portal that allows customers real-time access to updates and work-in- progress reporting. Utilizing proprietary software developed by Heritage Aviation, customers can easily check the status of their aircraft through a computer or smart hand-held device. A customized dashboard provides a top-line overview with the ability to drill down to the smallest detail in order to track and view any service event. "It's like having a desk right there on the hangar floor, next to the aircraft," said Dan Lathrop, chief pilot and operator of a King Air 250 which underwent a phase 1 and 2 inspection during the beta testing of the Heritage Aware program. "It's very convenient. I was able to keep track of every step during the maintenance event and kept our company's principal updated on the expected completion date with just a glance at my phone." At the heart of the Heritage Aware program is a dynamic interface which allows real-time interaction between the Heritage maintenance technician and the customer. Periodic updates, including in-process pictures of the customer's aircraft, are viewed on a customizable dashboard which includes a dialog box for instant two-way communication. Maintenance notifications are also posted and can be pushed to the customer's primary email address. "The Heritage Aware software allows for a significant amount of owner visibility into the maintenance process including the ability to view pictures and approve discrepancies as they occur," said Benjamin Myer, manager of sales and marketing for Heritage Aviation. "The customer can control the level of detail from at-a-glance summaries down to the status of individual inspection items. As each maintenance item is completed, the job status graphic is updated to indicate the percentage of job completion." According to Myer, digital photos of worn or damaged items can be easily shared with the customer through a data link and stored for future reference or for further action such as warranty claims. Along with the estimated time to completion, Myer said the customer also has access to cost estimating, budget allocation and billing information. "It's about as transparent as you can get," said Lathrop. "It increases my level of comfort knowing I'm in good hands. It gives me a sense of being in control with the ability to virtually see my aircraft and track everything that's going on." About Heritage Aviation Heritage Aviation is a Part 145 Certified Repair Station and a full service Fixed Base Operator located at Burlington International Airport (BTV), in Burlington, VT. As a leading alternative to service center maintenance in the Northeast, Heritage completes more than 50 major maintenance events per year for Citation model aircraft and is located next door to the Pratt & Whitney Canada facility, providing operators the ability to schedule simultaneous airframe and hot section events to minimize downtime. The Heritage Aviation maintenance department also supports Challenger, Gulfstream, Beachcraft, Embraer and Hawker product lines. Heritage Aviation's full service FBO contains a U.S. Customs facility on site and is LEED Gold Certified, offering New Englanders a world class home for their aircraft. Ph: 800-781-0773 www.flyheritage.com http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12324366/remote-aircraft-maintenance-monitoring- made-easy-with-new-heritage-aware-dashboard-reporting-portal Back to Top Rex fractured propeller part not in maintenance program, ATSB report says The fatigue fracture that caused a Rex plane to lose a propeller over southwest Sydney last month "may go undetected" because inspections of the part are not included in the regular maintenance program, Australia's safety authority has revealed. The preliminary report released today by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed the propeller came off because it suffered a fatigue fracture in the mounting flange. The ATSB confirmed a report in The Australian which said that the pilots took quick action to shut down the engine as soon as they became aware of the problem. The ATSB said that the propeller came off when this procedure was underway. The bureau has said that airlines using the same GE Aviation CT7 engine should "note the facts presented in this preliminary report with a view to addressing any risks to their own operation". This was the first known critical failure of this type initiating within the propeller hub flange of this engine, and the report added that current maintenance may allow the fault to go undetected. "The crack was found to be a fatigue fracture that had initiated within the propeller mounting flange, and then transitioned into the shaft section. The crack originated at the bore of a dowel pin near the forward face of the propeller hub flange. The dowel pin bore was corroded in parts, and corrosion pitting was found near the fracture, the report said. "There is currently no maintenance requirements specified in existing maintenance manuals for routine inspection within the dowel pin bores. Any corrosion or cracking within the bore may go undetected until it progresses to the surface of the flange." The ATSB said it was carrying out further work to ascertain whether the corrosion or other factors contributed to the fracture's initiation. The ATSB said it had sent the propeller flange and all required hardware to GE Aviation laboratories in Cincinnati for further metallurgical analysis. It said that GE Aviation recommends that all operators follow existing maintenance and inspection procedures. However, as the investigation progresses GE Aviation will release additional maintenance and inspection recommendations if they become necessary, the ATSB added. Last month, The Australian reported claims by veteran pilot Byron Bailey that had the pilots not taken action to shut down the engine, the propeller would have been spinning much faster and then impacted the plane, potentially causing catastrophe. Mr Bailey is a former RAAF pilot and is now a commercial pilot who has flown more than 26,000 hours during a career spanning 45 years. However, Rex deputy chairman John Sharp said Mr Bailey's assertion was "emotive and completely unfounded". "Further, the propeller only separated when the first officer selected 'fuel off', which also feathers the propeller," Mr Sharp said. He added that Rex had exercised an "abundance of caution" and replaced the gear boxes and shafts of five aircraft which were of the same series as the separated propeller. Mr Sharp also disputed the claim by Mr Bailey that the gearbox was a weak link in this type of engine and had been linked to the cause of the incident. "The General Electric engine fitted to the Saab 340 is a free power turbine and as such, the engine and gearbox have no mechanical connection as most industry professionals would be aware," Mr Sharp said. The ATSB report did not find that engine overheating, caused by problems within the gearbox, were linked to the loss of the propeller, as Mr Bailey had suggested. However, it does confirm that main thrust of Mr Bailey's analysis which was the pilots were shutting down the engine when the propeller came off. "While undertaking the checklist items, the crew experienced minor vibrations from the right engine. These vibrations worsened as the checklist progressed and became visually evident to the First Officer, the report said. "As a result the crew commenced the engine shutdown procedure. During the engine shutdown procedure, the propeller separated from the aircraft." A Rex spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. The ATSB said it will continue its investigation with a focus on maintenance procedures associated with the propeller gearbox shaft, and the factors that may have contributed to the fatigue fracture. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/aviation/rex-fractured-propeller-part-not-part-of- maintenance-program-atsb-report-says/news-story/2e4d5508640a57f3b8a927627b411cb5 Back to Top UND/NBAA Launch Fatigue Survey The business aviation industry believes 17 years is too long between updates about practical issues such as crew duty days, rest periods and other fatigue-related topics. The National Business Aviation Association, in cooperation with the John D. Odegaard School of Aerospace at the University of North Dakota, has commissioned a new survey to better understand how the business aviation's perspective on these operational issues has changed since 2000. For instance, 17 years ago there were about 100 ultra-long-range aircraft flying around the world. Today that number has climbed above the 1,000 mark. Then there's the dramatic increase in the number of high-performance turbine-powered aircraft being flown with just one pilot. New to this voluntary survey, too, is a call to hear from cabin attendants and aviation maintenance technicians. Once the study is complete, the results will be cross-referenced with data and findings from the 2000 survey, "Crew Factors in Flight Operations XIII: A Study of Fatigue Factors in Corporate/ Executive Aviation Operations." An NBAA spokesman said survey participants can expect to spend between 15-30 minutes on the questions depending upon their current job responsibilities and experience. The survey is available online here. The NBAA's safety committee will publish the results at a later date. Questions about the survey can be directed to the UND's Tim Wollmuth(timothy.wollmuth@und.edu) or the NBAA's Mark Larsen (mlarsen@nbaa.org). http://www.flyingmag.com/und-nbaa-launch-fatigue-survey Back to Top SpaceX doesn't scare Asia's space players The commercial space industry is dominated by Western heavyweights, such as Elon Musk's SpaceX, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. But players in Asia say they aren't worried about that competition. As corporate spending eclipses government activity throughout the global space sector, Japan's PD Aerospace and China's Kuang-Chi Science are among Asia's homegrown private firms planning to offer spaceflight services to civilians. Shuji Ogawa, CEO of PD Aerospace, acknowledges that it's unlikely Asian companies can rival SpaceX, Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin, but he said there's more than enough demand to go around. "When we have reached their present stage, they will have advanced further," he said. "Space tourism is a universal dream, not only for Japanese but for all people. It is important for us to view the Earth from space." His Nagoya-based company is currently developing a reusable sub-orbital space plane featuring a propulsion system that alternates between jet and rocket mode. It's expected to carry eight people - two pilots and six passengers - over 100 kilometers above the Earth. The Kármán line, which lies 100 km above sea level, is the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. PD Aerospace says it intends to conduct its first trial in 2020, with the hope of commencing tourism operations in 2023. Because Japan is small, securing testing areas has been a challenge, Ogawa said. The initial price tag for a trip is set at 14 million yen ($126,639) but Ogawa intends to eventually lower the cost to 398,000 yen ($3,600). "We want to offer space tours to ordinary people." In comparison, Virgin Galactic charges $250,000 for a voyage designed to exceed 100 km in altitude, according the company's website. Meanwhile, a trip to Mars - 54.6 million kilometers from Earth - could cost $200,000 with SpaceX. Blue Origin has yet to reveal pricing details. Those figures would mark a significant reduction from previous spaceflight costs. In 2011, the world's first space tourist, American Dennis Tito, paid $20 million to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), which typically orbits 350 km above the Earth. In 2008, England- born Richard Garriott de Cayeux paid $30 million to spend 12 days on the ISS. More recently, SpaceX announced it will fly two individuals to the moon next year but didn't reveal how much the duo would be forking out. In December, PD Aerospace received 20.4 million yen from ANA Holdings, Japan's largest airline group, and 30 million yen from one of the country's leading travel agencies H.I.S. for a 7 and 10.3 percent stake, respectively. Ogawa said more funding was in the pipeline but couldn't reveal any details. Near space travel "There is one very realistic factor that makes Asia the perfect market for space tourism: Asia is a heavily populated continent and in most cities, traffic gridlock is a headache," Liu Ruopeng, chairman of Kuang-Chi Science, told CNBC. The Shenzhen-based firm has built a capsule attached to a giant helium balloon that's capable of taking six passengers anywhere from 20 to 100 km above Earth - an area known as near space. "Near space is a highly undeveloped area and has great potential. Here, passengers don't need to be trained like astronauts to be physically qualified to travel. Everyone can go," said 34-year-old Liu. Called the "Traveler," the platform can also collect meteorological and agricultural data, deliver high-speed wireless network coverage and conduct high-precision ground monitoring. Ticket prices have yet to be decided, but Liu said the initial cost would be much lower than current prices. The Traveler has already undergone two unmanned test runs since 2015 - the second of which housed a live turtle - and a third is scheduled for later this year, according to the company. It hopes to complete a trial with humans on board by 2020. Like Ogawa, Liu doesn't view other spaceflight players as rivals - he calls them "complementary companies." A Duke University graduate, Liu was especially confident on demand from his home country. "People in China have witnessed great changes in their life in recent years. More and more Chinese travel abroad and one day, they will travel to space...Consumers are looking forward to this." Space is just one of the many sectors in Kuang-Chi Science's portfolio. Aside from the Traveler, the firm has also manufactured jetpacks for personal transportation, emergency rescue and military use. It also boasts a clean energy powered vehicle designed to transport goods to remote areas, with more flexibility than airplanes and a payload of 30 tons. These ambitions have earned Liu the nickname "Elon Musk of China." "Musk and I actually focus on different areas, but we are both innovators trying to expand possibilities for humans," he said. Elsewhere in Asia Outside of North Asia however, private space tourism has yet to take off. Companies in India, Asia's third-largest economy, lack the long-term vision for space tourism, according to Ajay Lele, senior fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, and author of "Asian Space Race: Rhetoric or Reality?" "Indian private industry is too profit driven and not yet capable of putting big ideas in reality like SpaceX." Malaysia's Independence-X, meanwhile, is the sole private space company in Southeast Asia. It's currently participating in the Google Lunar XPrize, a global competition for firms seeking to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon by end-2017. If more Asian countries wish to develop a space tourism market, they should look to their respective private sectors for help, Lele warned. "There is a requirement for governments to do some hand-holding. But there is also a need for the private industry to be bold and make its own investments too." http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/12/asias-space-tourism-players-arent-scared-of-spacex.html Curt Lewis