August 7, 2017 - No. 062 In This Issue Boeing and JAXA to Flight-test Technology to Improve Safety. U.S. Army Grounds DJI Drones Over 'Cyber Vulnerabilities' BOC Aviation to buy ten Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for $1.25bn FAA Is Taking Advice It Earlier Rejected to Prevent Jets Missing Runways Light, strong alloy may alter design of aircraft Wijet Re-ups with Gama Aviation on Fleet Maintenance A smart torque wrench and Google Glass improve GE Aviation mechanics' efficiency by 8-12%. Boeing Maintenance App Supports Air Canada's Non-Boeing Aircraft Boeing and JAXA to Flight-test Technology to Improve Safety SEATTLE, Aug. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will flight-test Long-range Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology next year. This remote-sensing technology could help commercial airplane pilots better detect and avoid weather disturbances to improve flight safety. Boeing and JAXA have been collaborating on the integration of LIDAR technology into a commercial airplane platform since 2010. The JAXA LIDAR technology offers the potential to accurately measure winds as much as 17.5 kilometers in front of airplanes and provide pilots with sufficient time to take appropriate action to avoid wind shear and clear air turbulence, which does not have any visual cues such as clouds. "Boeing is very pleased with the collaborative relationship we have had with JAXA," said Naveed Hussain, Boeing Research & Technology vice president, Aeromechanics Technology. "We look forward to demonstrating the benefits of LIDAR technology, which offers significant opportunities for aircraft safety and performance." This next phase of the JAXA-Boeing LIDAR research collaboration is possible thanks to Boeing's ecoDemonstrator flight-test research program. In 2018, Boeing and FedEx Express will work together for six weeks to flight-test more than 30 technologies including LIDAR aboard a new FedEx-owned 777 Freighter. FedEx and Boeing are committed to reducing the environmental impact of their products and advancing technology that will improve performance. "Boeing's ecoDemonstrator flight-test programs accelerate innovation that enhances the safety and efficiency of commercial flight," said Doug Christensen, ecoDemonstrator program manager. "We're eager to continue working with JAXA so that we can both learn more about LIDAR technology." The flight demonstration of LIDAR technology will involve emitting pulses of laser light, which will scatter off of small dust and other particulates. Observing the reflected light in segments from the start, the pulse provides measurement of the wind speed at increments all along the direction of the laser. "We are very pleased to take part in Boeing's ecoDemonstrator program. The onboard clear-air turbulence detection system to be tested in the program next year was established by JAXA as part of our SafeAvio R&D project on avionics safety technology to prevent turbulence-induced aircraft accidents," said Fumikazu Itoh, director general, JAXA Aeronautical Technology Directorate. "Boeing's ecoDemonstrator program provides us with valuable opportunity to evaluate our system's capability on large commercial aircraft, which will help accelerate practical implementation of our system in a real environment." Since 2012, the ecoDemonstrator program has used a series of flying testbeds to develop and test aviation technologies that enhance safety and environmental performance. The Boeing ecoDemonstrator program plays a key role in the company's environmental strategy by using flight testing to accelerate new technologies that can reduce emissions and noise, improve airlines' gate-to-gate efficiency and help meet other environmental goals. http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Boeing-and-JAXA-to-Flight-test- Technology-to-Improve-Safety-1002225773 Back to Top U.S. Army Grounds DJI Drones Over 'Cyber Vulnerabilities' The U.S. Army has directed its units to cease using drones manufactured by Shenzhen, China-based DJI out of concern for "cyber vulnerabilities." The order, contained in an August 2 memorandum, grounds products supplied by the leading manufacturer of small drones and camera systems. Issued by the Army office of the deputy chief of staff at the Pentagon, the memorandum orders units to "cease all use, uninstall all DJI applications, remove all batteries/storage media from devices, and secure equipment for follow-on direction." News service sUAS Newsposted a copy of the memorandum on its website, and it was widely distributed on social media. The Army did not immediately respond to an AIN request for a copy of the document, so its authenticity could not be confirmed. (After publication of this article, the Army issued the following statement: "We can confirm that guidance was issued; however, we are currently reviewing the guidance and cannot comment further at this time.) As references for the order, the memorandum lists a classified Army Research Laboratory report on DJIunmanned aircraft system (UAS) "technology threat and user vulnerabilities" and a Navy memorandum regarding operational risks of using DJI products. The Army's Aviation Engineering Directorate has issued more than 300 separate airworthiness releases for DJIproducts in support of multiple organizations, according to the memorandum. "Due to increased awareness of cyber vulnerabilities associated with DJI products, it is directed that the U.S. Army halt use of all DJI products," the document states. "The guidance applies to all DJI UAS and any system that employs DJI electrical components or software including, but not limited to, flight computers, cameras, radios, batteries, speed controllers, GPS units, handheld control stations, or devices with DJI software applications installed." DJI said that it was not notified in advance of the order. The company cautioned against "undue speculation" and said it was reaching out to the Army to confirm the memo and to understand what the service meant by the term "cyber vulnerabilities." In a statement, the company said, "People, businesses and governments around the world rely on DJI's products and technology for a variety of uses, including sensitive and mission critical operations...We are surprised and disappointed to read reports of the U.S. Army's unprompted restriction on DJI drones as we were not consulted during their decision. We are happy to work directly with any organization, including the U.S.Army, that has concerns about our management of cyber issues." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2017-08-04/us-army-grounds-dji- drones-over-cyber-vulnerabilities Back to Top BOC Aviation to buy ten Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for $1.25bn Singapore-based aircraft lessor BOC Aviation has finalised a deal with Boeing to buy ten 737 MAX 10 aircraft for an aggregate list price of $1.25bn. In June, both companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the deal. Deliveries of the new aircraft are scheduled to begin in 2021, reported New York Times. BOC Aviation managing director and CEO Robert Martin said: "As a launch customer for the programme, this demonstrates the strength of our relationship with Boeing and will help us continue to deliver superior solutions for our airline customers." As the newest member of Boeing's 737 MAX family of aircraft, the 737 MAX 10will be able to offer improved performance and efficiency, along with lower per-seat costs and an extended range that will help open up new destinations in the single-aisle market. The MAX 10 is equipped with new CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets and other improvements. In a separate development, Boeing has partnered with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to flight-test long-range light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology next year. The remote-sensing technology has the potential to help commercial airplane pilots better detect and avoid weather disturbances to improve flight safety. JAXA's LIDAR technology is also capable of measuring winds as much as 17.5km in front of aircraft and provides pilots with enough time to take suitable action to avoid wind shear and clear air turbulence. http://www.aerospace-technology.com/news/newsboc-aviation-to-buy-ten-boeing-737- max-aircraft-for-125bn-5891929 Back to Top FAA Is Taking Advice It Earlier Rejected to Prevent Jets Missing Runways The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is implementing recommendations it rejected six years ago that could have prevented pilots from nearly landing last month on a taxiway crowded with jetliners awaiting takeoff in San Francisco. The National Transportation Safety Board in 2011 recommended a software upgrade to ground radar systems that would warn when a plane is landing in the wrong place. But the FAA dismissed the recommendation, declining to even study whether it was feasible, according to government records. In an announcement issued since the San Francisco near-collision, the FAA says it has begun over the past year doing what the safety board recommended and testing could begin in a few months. "We believe recent technological advances may now enable us to modify our ground surveillance systems to detect aircraft that are lined up to land on taxiways," the agency said Friday in an emailed statement. Air Canada Flight 759 was approaching the San Francisco International Airport just before midnight on July 7. Instead of heading for the runway, pilots lined up about 500 feet to the right, aiming for a parallel stretch of pavement where four planes were preparing for takeoff, according to the NTSB. The tails of the first two planes on the ground were about 56 feet high, just three feet below the landing plane's lowest altitude, according to the safety board. "Where's this guy going?" a pilot in a United Airlines plane that was at the head of the line said in a radio call to the airport tower. The air-traffic controller didn't warn the Air Canada pilots until after the cockpit crew had already aborted the landing. The potential risks of such a collision have been highlighted by several similar instances in the past, including when actor Harrison Ford landed a small plane on a taxiway in February at John Wayne Airport in California. The NTSB examined the issue in 2009 after a Delta Air Lines Inc. plane touched down on a taxiway in Atlanta. No one was hurt because there were no other aircraft on the taxiway at the time. The safety board concluded the crew's abilities were degraded by fatigue after an all-night flight. As part of that investigation, the NTSB found that an existing radar system at major airports could be adapted to warn controllers if a landing plane was headed to a taxiway instead of a runway. This was critical, according to NTSB, because controllers stationed in airport towers often can't tell whether an arriving plane is properly lined up for a runway. Warning Opportunity Investigators contacted what is now Saab Sensis Corp., a division of Sweden-based Saab AB, to see if its system that tracks planes on the ground would help. Officials at Sensis concluded the technology, known as ASDE-X, could be programmed to detect a potential errant landing as far as 0.75 miles from the airport at Atlanta, according to a March 2, 2011, recommendation letter by NTSB. "Such a warning would afford air traffic controllers the opportunity to assess the situation and provide instructions to a flight crew that would prevent a taxiway landing or potential collision with aircraft or vehicles that may be on the taxiway," NTSB wrote. The safety board, which investigates accidents but has no regulatory authority, called on FAA to conduct a broader feasibility study and to upgrade the warning system where possible. Randolph Babbitt, the FAA's administrator at the time, responded later that year that the ASDE-X system wasn't up to the task, according to NTSB records of correspondence in the case. ASDE-X's primary job is to warn controllers when there's a risk of a plane colliding with another aircraft or vehicle on a runway. Adding a taxiway warning would degrade the system's primary mission of preventing runway collisions, Babbitt wrote. Read More: Air Canada Plane Averted Collision in San Francisco by Feet "Simply concluding that the performance tradeoffs would outweigh the safety benefits of providing the recommended capabilities without performing the review ... does not constitute an acceptable response to these recommendations," the NTSB wrote in response. As part of its formal system of tracking recommendations, the NTSB classified it as "closed -- unacceptable action." A more recent taxiway landing, this one involving an Alaska Air plane in Seattle in 2015, helped prompt the agency to refocus on trying to develop a technological solution, according to the FAA. No other planes were on the taxiway and there were no injuries. The upgrade was also made possible by recent software improvements in how the ASDE-X system tracked arrivals, the agency said. "The FAA since last year has been working to modify the systems so they will also capture aircraft that are lined up for taxiways," the agency said in an emailed statement. "The agency expects to begin testing some modified systems in a few months." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-04/faa-takes-advice-it-had-rejected- so-jets-don-t-miss-runways Back to Top Light, strong alloy may alter design of aircraft A new kind of nano material developed by domestic researchers is expected to become the next-generation aviation material and boost the development of the country's homegrown large passenger aircraft. The nano ceramic aluminum alloy was developed by the research team from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Light in weight, such new material has the characteristics of high rigidity, high strength, fatigue resistance, low expansion and high temperature resistance. Instead of the traditional physical method of mixing the ceramic and aluminum alloy, researchers put the nano ceramic particles into aluminum alloy through an innovative chemical process. During the process, the size, shape, and distribution of the particles were controlled. This helped improve the rigidity and strength of the new material. At the same time, the processing and manufacturing performance of aluminum alloy remains, said Professor Wang Haowei, who led the project. "The nano ceramic aluminum alloy material helps break the bottleneck of large-scale application in engineering," Wang said. The university's scientists started the basic research in the field in the early 1990s, Wang said, and they have made a lot of experiments in developing the new material over the years. "Compared with titanium alloy and high-temperature alloy, the performance of aluminum alloy with 3D printing technology is much lower. The 3D printing components made of nano ceramic aluminum alloy can achieve the performance of forgings," Wang said. So far, the new material has already been used in the Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 space labs, quantum satellites and meteorological satellites. It also has been used in key components of automotive internal-combustion engines, which not only reduces weight efficiency, but also saves energy, reduces emissions and improves safety. Wang said researchers are stepping up their cooperation with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China to promote the use of such new materials in large aircraft. "The advances in aviation development are closely connected to the progress of materials, and we are closely watching the development and performance of the new material," said Wu Guanghui, vice-president of COMAC, the general designer of C919, the first homegrown large passenger aircraft Wu said the nano ceramic aluminum alloy material is still being tested, and is expected to be used in the C919 aircraft, replacing some of current components, which were imported. A new material innovation center was established at the university last week, which aims to further boost the industrialization of the nano ceramic aluminum alloy material. Based on Wang's research team, the center was jointly established by the Huaibei government of Anhui province, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai JuneYao Group and Anhui Xiangbang Composite Material Co. In 2013, the Huaibei government established a midterm test and manufacturing base with an annual production capacity of more than 1,000 metric tons, and it also founded the Anhui Xiangbang Composite Material Co. The production of such material aims to meet large-scale applications in aerospace, aviation and auto industries. http://www.china.org.cn/china/2017-08/07/content_41362222.htm Back to Top Wijet Re-ups with Gama Aviation on Fleet Maintenance European jet taxi operator Wijet has extended its maintenance support agreement with Gama Aviationindefinitely. The deal covers base, line and AOG maintenance support for Wijet's fleet of 15 Cessna Mustang entry-level business jets, the largest such fleet in Europe. Wijet offers on-demand service to more than 1,200 airports in Europe and North Africa, using the four-passenger twinjets. "Over the last six months, we have worked hard with the Wijet team to ensure we meet their exacting standards and deliver high levels of aircraft availability," said Gama CEO Marwan Khalek. "The extension of the contract after a successful initial period demonstrates we have met, if not exceeded the expectations of Wijet, who operate in a highly competitive commercial space, where aircraft downtime has to be minimized, safely." Meanwhile, Gama also inked two new maintenance support agreements with European fleet operators this week. The deals cover 10 aircraft-five Bombardier Globals, two Bombardier Challengers, two Hawkers and a Beechjet-for services that range from inspections to AOG support for the two fleets. Gama said it will support both of these operators through its European jet maintenance team at Oxford Airport in the UK. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-08-02/wijet-re-ups- gama-aviation-fleet-maintenance Back to Top A smart torque wrench and Google Glass improve GE Aviation mechanics' efficiency by 8-12% Avoiding maintenance errors and improving efficiency are key ways to save money in a manufacturing environment, and GE Aviation recently found a way to do both by arming its mechanics with Google Glass and a smart wrench as part of a pilot program. GE Aviation partnered with Upskill, formerly APX Labs, on a pilot program that included 15 GE Aviation mechanics at its Cincinnati manufacturing facility. Each mechanic was given Google Glass Enterprise Edition using Upskill's Skylight industrial AR platform, and a Wi-Fi enabled Atlas Copco Saltus MWR-85 TA torque wrench. The key manufacturing point being measured was maintenance on B-nuts, which play a critical role in aircraft engine fluid lines and hoses, providing a sturdy, reliable seal if tightened and torqued properly. If they are too loose or too tight, the negative outcomes could be redoing the maintenance, cancelling a flight, or having an engine shut down during flight. In the pilot, mechanics wearing Skylight on Glass received step-by-step guided instructions and images in their line of sight while they performed various maintenance tasks. As the mechanics performed tasks, when they came to a step where they needed to apply the torque wrench, Skylight alerted them through the smart glasses and then verified the correct value in real time before the mechanic could move on."In the pilot, we captured survey data and time trials to see if there were reduced maintenance errors," explained Ted Robertson, manager of GE Aviation. The data showed that development and production assembly errors could be reduced as a result of the use of Google Glass and a smart tool. An unexpected but welcome result was discovering that productivity was improved as well, with mechanic's efficiency increasing an average of 8-12%. The pilot wasn't intended to improve efficiency-it was looking simply for error reduction. "It was a happy-to-have but not a mandatory," Robertson said. "We were looking more at the quality of the product and reducing maintenance errors in them." Brian Ballard, co-founder and CEO of Upskill, quickly interjected, "But we'll always take the speed improvement, too." Normally mechanics at GE Aviation do their job following instructions in paper binders or on a computer. After they complete each task, they have to leave the engine, walk to a table or monitor, and document their work. With the smart glasses, they can see instructions in their line of sight, and then they can document each B-nut installation via a photo, so there's no need to step away from the job and jot down additional documentation to meet FAA regulations. There was also more job satisfaction from the employees participating in the pilot. The 15 mechanics included in the study were surveyed on their impressions of the technology, and 60% of the participants said they preferred using the wearable technology compared to the traditional methods, and 85% of the mechanics said they believed the system would reduce manufacturing errors and that it was easy to use. An analysis by GE Aviation shows that Skylight with Glass could save millions of dollars, so GE is exploring where else AR could be applicable across their business. The use of Google Glass with Skylight is not a single-use application; it has broad applicability within GE Aviation on any type of engine they manufacture, Ballard said. Robertson agreed, saying, "We were initially targeting assembly, but this could be expanded to the repair and overhaul of the engines, and even wing support. Anytime a mechanic is touching an engine you can imagine them being able to use this." http://www.techrepublic.com/article/a-smart-torque-wrench-and-google-glass-improve- ge-aviation-mechanics-efficiency-by-8-12/ Back to Top Boeing Maintenance App Supports Air Canada's Non-Boeing Aircraft Air Canada now uses Boeing's Maintenance Performance Toolbox for non-Boeing airplanes, the manufacturer said. With an expanded agreement, Boeing now supports Air Canada's entire fleet. "Boeing is proud to support Air Canada's integrated systems efforts to ensure that mechanics for any of their airplanes have the right data at the right time," said David Longridge, VP of sales and marketing at Boeing Global Services. "Boeing Toolbox's compatibility with the airline's maintenance and engineering planning system completes the end-to-end value stream of maintenance data, delivering on core strengths with simplicity." The Maintenance Performance Toolbox suite allows engineers and mechanics to have real- time access to maintenance documents. Air Canada has been a customer of the solution since 2014. It has since created kiosks that mechanics can go to, to check out a tablet with Boeing's app and maintenance data. This is similar to the way the mechanics would check out other tools. http://www.aviationtoday.com/2017/08/03/boeing-maintenance-app-now-supports-air- canadas-non-boeing-aircraft/ Curt Lewis