JUNE 10, 2019 - No. 046 In This Issue Airlines are Increasingly Connecting Artificial Intelligence to Their MRO Strategies EmbraerX presents Beacon, a business platform to streamline the aviation services ecosystem Locatory.com Launches New Service - Aircraft Engine Stands Leasing for MROs and Airlines Ukrainian court orders seizure of 5 Volga-Dnepr An-124s How Lockheed Is Using Intermittent Detection to Diagnose Fighter Jet Faults New Mexico Delegation Announces $13.8 Million For Construction; Maintenance Projects At 16 Local Airports Ampaire Demonstrates Hybrid Motor with Public Flight Thai Airways Is Investing Millions in Predictive Maintenance, MRO Service Expansion The Mysterious And Potentially Revolutionary Celera 500L Aircraft May Fly Soon SpaceX Completes Falcon 9 Static Fire Test Ahead of RADARSAT Launch Airlines are Increasingly Connecting Artificial Intelligence to Their MRO Strategies Predictive maintenance is still in its infancy for commercial airlines, but in the future, predictive will evolve into intelligent maintenance for large-fleet commercial operators. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding as a decision-making tool for airline maintenance teams at large fleet commercial airlines. Airlines based in the U.S., Europe and Asia have been quietly adopting AI tools in the form of intelligent agents for data modeling and simulation to the use of cognitive computing. The use of AI within airline maintenance strategies is evolving into an advanced and expanded use of predictive data analytics. A challenge exists for airline maintenance teams dealing with the large amount of data being produced by newer generation aircraft: the need for an intelligent application, bot or computer program capable of generating a specific work order task for maintenance technicians, rather than large volumes of data that they have to aggregate and analyze to produce an actionable result. In some cases, an action isn't even taken, and a technician or engineer simply discovers a no-fault found situation. Right now, Delta Air Lines is working on adopting artificial intelligence and machine learning into its aircraft maintenance strategy. James Jackson, Delta Air Lines manager of predictive technology engineering, provided a look at how airlines are approaching the use of artificial intelligence within their maintenance strategies during an "intelligent maintenance" themed presentation at the 2019 AEEC/AMC and MMC general session. "We want to integrate some of the more advanced technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, natural language processing and deep learning into our predictive maintenance process. With the increased digitalization of data, we want to have our technical airplane specialists focusing more on validation rather than the aggregation and analysis of maintenance data," said Jackson. While Delta is not the only airline thinking about the use of artificial intelligence for maintenance, Jackson's approach to the use of AI shows how it can be an effective tool for airline mechanics well into the future. Jackson's presentation focused on the use of artificial intelligence primarily to replace today's human tasks of ingesting, aggregating and analyzing raw data transmitted by aircraft. Instead, Jackson wants to use artificial intelligence to generate an accurate work order straight from the analysis of the data. "If I have an alert that is a single failure mode, then why can't I automate that and have the alert trigger out prescriptive instruction in our [maintenance information system], to send those out to maintenance to include the parts, tooling, the routing of the aircraft. That way, we have our experts focused on responding to alerts that include instances where their specialized skills are needed, rather than a single failure alert," said Jackson. Jackson also explained how one of the primary reasons why Delta wants to adopt an intelligent maintenance strategy is a result of not only the amount of aircraft that the airline has within its fleet, but also the variety of their aircraft models as well. This is also a reflection of how and why the broader commercial airline industry is adopting AI as a decision tool for aircraft maintenance. Delta's global fleet, according to its annual report filed February 15, 2019, stands at well over 1,000 aircraft between their mainline and regional brands. According to Jackson, at peak operations the airline operates 3,500 flights per day. Their maintenance team is responsible for 23 individual aircraft types and 25 different engine models. Jackson said that historically, Delta's started to transition toward a digital and predictive-focused maintenance strategy when aircraft engines first began shipping with full authority digital engine controls and smarter sensors capable of capturing and transmitting larger amounts of data. Now, as onboard quick access recorder and data acquisition technologies make access to the rest of the airframe's data more ubiquitous and easier, their focus is on reducing the number of human maintenance technician and engineering labor hours being used for aggregation and analysis of data, replacing those hours with automated decision making. Delta has a five-year plan for officially adopting artificial intelligence into its predictive maintenance strategy, according to Jackson. Other presentations during the 2019 AEEC AMC and MMC conference included a predictive maintenance strategy outlined by Air France KLM Head of Strategy Vincent Metz. While Metz did not explicitly discuss the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning within Air France KLM's maintenance strategy, these are among the concepts being researched at the airline's MRO Innovation Lab. Air France KLM uses its MRO Lab to partner with universities, manufacturers and software developers within and outside of the aviation industry to explore how they can make new ideas and concepts a reality within aviation MRO. But the predictive maintenance strategy discussed by Metz already has the digital infrastructure - as do modern airplanes - to enable the future utilization of artificial intelligence for data mining by the Air France KLM. Developed in Air France KLM's MRO Lab, Prognos is a predictive maintenance software designed to capture data from aircraft in-flight and on the ground across available connectivity links. That data is then stored and analyzed using algorithms that trigger alerts for components according to a pre-defined set of a parameters. Those results are then uploaded in real time to an airline's maintenance control center, leading to a maintenance work order. "One of the things we really focus on in our models is we need to have more length in predicting. Because if we find out 30 cycles before it fails, then suddenly what happens is maintenance that was unplanned, we can turn it into a planned one and then we save a lot of costs," said Metz. EasyJet is also adopting AI tools for predicting maintenance, using London-based startup Aerogility's decision support tool set that features intelligent software agents capable of representing every aircraft in the low cost carrier's fleet. Every aircraft, including its individual software parts and upgrades, modifications and operating profiles are represented Aerogility's web- based application and SQL database capable of configuration and simulation output data, including analytics, schedules, and model configuration parameters. The tool is used by EasyJet to automate daily maintenance planning for its fleet, including the forecasting of heavy maintenance, while simultaneously factoring in existing plans with third-party suppliers and incorporating individual fleet modification and upgrade schedules. EasyJet first started using the new tool in December 2017 and has continuously upgraded its capabilities, which now include forecasting of engine shop visits and landing gear overhauls. On the aircraft manufacturing side of commercial aviation, Airbus has also emerged as an industry leader actively looking to introduce the increased use of artificial intelligence into airline maintenance operations. Airbus has already established Skywise as its official predictive maintenance and advanced data analytics platform. It serves as a singular access point to data analytics that combine multiple sources into one secure cloud-based platform, including work orders, spares consumption, components data, aircraft/fleet configuration, onboard sensor data and flight schedules. Las Vegas-based Allegiant became the most recent airline to adopt a new form of this platform, Skywise Health Monitoring. which itself has AI-like capabilities. Airbus has confirmed in testing of Skywise Health Monitoring that it can analyze up to 600,000 data occurrences within 0.1 seconds. That's an exponential improvement over Airbus' predecessor health monitoring technology, Airman, which was capable of handling just 7,000 events with a 30-second response time. Christian Toro, vice president of maintenance and engineering at Allegiant Air, said the airline is using the platform to provide its maintenance information system with predictive capabilities. "Allegiant uses Skywise to predict component failures and product maintenance actions within our aircraft pneumatics/bleed systems, anti ice system, hydraulics, gears and brakes and auxiliary power unit," said Toro. But Airbus is now taking its approach even further, establishing a new online platform, the Airbus AI Gym, seeking to identify new and unexpected changes in the behavior of monitored systems, as well as analyze suspicious behavior for potential faults and failures more efficiently. During an October 2018 speech at the 2018 Venture Beat Summit, Adam Bonnifield, VP of artificial intelligence at Airbus, summarized the company's future artificial intelligence goals - and they look very similar to the type of challenges Delta's predictive maintenance manager Jackson is looking to resolve. "We need help understanding how to [parse] ... technical diagrams that have a lot of captions and annotations," Bonnifield. "A key lesson we learned was that bringing ... data together is only solving the first part of the problem. The second part of the problem is understanding how that data interoperates." http://interactive.aviationtoday.com/avionicsmagazine/june-2019/airlines-are-increasingly- connecting-artificial-intelligence-to-their-mro-strategies/ Back to Top EmbraerX presents Beacon, a business platform to streamline the aviation services ecosystem SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, BRAZIL - The future of work, the sharing economy, and the ever-evolving digital environment have set the stage for a new business platform that will serve a diversified fleet of aircraft, designated Beacon, unveiled by EmbraerX. This innovative platform is designed to connect and synchronize industry resources, the aftermarket supply chain, and aviation services professionals in a more agile and efficient way, to keep aircraft flying. The launch customer is JetSuiteX, the innovative Dallas-based air carrier that operates 30-seat Embraer jets out of private terminals. Beacon aims to unleash high-value interactions and business opportunities to multiple stakeholders within the service ecosystem. The platform is initially focused on providing solutions to unscheduled aircraft maintenance interruptions. Tests have been conducted in several places since mid-2018, and Beacon proved to fulfill the main aspirations of aviation service communities, with positive results. "Beyond its broad capacity to meet the needs of existing aviation systems, Beacon was also designed to account for the future of urban air mobility," said Antonio Campello, President & CEO of EmbraerX. "The JetSuiteX spirit of innovation pairs well with Beacon's purpose, and we are thrilled to have them onboard with this personalized, agnostic, and collaborative services initiative." "The Beacon platform has the potential to bring connectivity to the aviation services industry in a way that is unprecedented," said Robert Hamel, Vice-President of Technical Operations, JetSuiteX. "As the launch customer for Beacon, we believe it will enhance JetSuiteX's operational efficiency and minimize aircraft downtime, thereby driving greater customer satisfaction and enhanced overall performance." Through an easily accessible digital web and mobile application (IOS and Android), EmbraerX is inviting companies and professionals to connect with one another in a revolutionary way. The technology triggers a network of accredited providers, fostering real-time collaboration during unplanned maintenance activities, accelerating the return to service of aircraft. https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/embraerx-presents-beacon-a-business-platform-to- streamline-the-aviation-services-ecosystem Back to Top Locatory.com Launches New Service - Aircraft Engine Stands Leasing for MROs and Airlines Locatory.com, an aviation IT company primarily acting as an aircraft parts locator, a part of Avia Solutions Group, is continuously looking for opportunities in rapidly growing aviation market and always suggest new solutions for its clients. The company is spreading its services portfolio not just with IT solutions but also with actual physical additions that would improve the work for MROs and airlines. Now, Locatory.com introduces their new service - aircraft engine stands leasing. "We are working with spare parts marketplace for quite some time, and the need for this particular service rose automatically from our clients as we were analyzing all the data coming into our platform. Data is a powerful tool in the dynamic aviation industry, and we are always looking for a way to implement new services in open areas in the industry. Our analysts did research and pointed out some new business opportunities, which gave us an idea to work more closely on this service. We have realized that engine stands, even if extremely valuable for any MRO or airline, is quite a luxurious addition for a hangar. Thus, we decide to investigate further the issue and the market which led us to believe that this service will be highly appreciated by all our clients, old and new, saving everyone's resources and finance," says Dainius Meilunas, CEO at Locatory.com. The company starts its service by providing two options - stands for CFM56A/B and CFM56-7 engines. Locatory.com will offer a high-quality equipment lease for a preferred period so that the clients all around the world could productively carry out maintenance operations. The engine stands will be checked and certified according to the highest standards and quality requirements. In addition, the company will offer worldwide shipping services for all leasing orders. "The leasing service will be a straightforward process and it will serve as an alternative for buying such equipment. The client will be able to make a request, and Locatory's staff will come to reach out immediately to learn where and when the stands have to be delivered, followed by basic agreement negotiations. Afterward - the only thing left is to choose the shipping service and voila! The shipping period of the engine stand depends solely on the urgency of the situation. Most MROs or airlines are planning their maintenance projects in advance, but sometimes there is an urgent matter and a need to have the stand as soon as possible. Our company has the solution to make it happen," says Sigitas Vicius, Product Owner at Locatory.com The first operations will be started in Europe and will advance soon enough as the first orders are being planned for Asia in August 2019. About Locatory.com Locatory.com is an aviation IT company primarily acting as an aircraft parts locator. It offers the most innovative tools for aircraft parts procurement and exploration via a broad aviation marketplace it manages. The company is #1 aircraft parts marketplace in the Eastern hemisphere and one of the 3 largest premium aircraft parts locator companies in the world. Locatory.com is a member of the Avia Solutions Group family - an international, publicly traded aviation holding company with over 20 subsidiaries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.locatory.com, www.aviasg.com https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/maintenance-providers/mro/press-release/21083805/avia- solutions-group-locatorycom-launches-new-service-aircraft-engine-stands-leasing-for-mros-and- airlines Back to Top Ukrainian court orders seizure of 5 Volga-Dnepr An-124s The Podolsky District Court of Kiev ordered the seizure of five An-124s operated by Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VI, Ulyanovsk Vostochny) for the alleged unauthorised maintenance checks performed by the Russian airline. "According to Antonov Design Bureau (ADB, Gostomel), the investigators, and the court, the admission of the An-124 to the further operation is a violation of the provisions of the ICAO Convention on International Civil Aviation and Airworthiness Guidelines. The seizure of property is allowed in order to ensure the safety of physical evidence and compensation for damage caused by the crime," said Roman Marchenko from the Ilyashev & Partners law firm, which represents the Ukrainian manufacturer. The court acted upon an earlier requested submitted by the Main Directorate of the Ukrainian police. The five aircraft affected by the order are: RA-82068 (msn 9773051359127), stored at Ulyanovsk Vostochny since November 2018, RA-82078 (msn 9773054559153), active and last seen at Abu Dhabi Int'l on June 9, 2019, RA-82045 (msn 9773052255113), stored at Leipzig/Halle since January 2019 and operating technical flights around the airport, RA-82046 (msn 9773052255117), stored at Tunis since June 2018, RA-82077 (msn 9773054459151), active and last seen at Milan Malpensa on June 6, 2019. While none of the aircraft is currently in Ukraine, the court appealed to international parties to execute the seizure and deny servicing the five aircraft. The appeal is not legally binding. Antonov previously alleged that Volga-Dnepr Airlines and its Leipzig/Halle-based MRO subsidiary, AMTES GmbH, performed unauthorised checks on the An-124s and subsequently extended the validity of type certificates of the said aircraft. The Ukrainian manufacturer said that such maintenance checks should not have been approved by the authorities as it was the world's only MRO centre authorised to conduct heavy checks on the type. Volga-Dnepr and AMTES denied executing unauthorised maintenance on the An-124s. The airline and the manufacturer have been deadlocked since 2014 after the Crimean Crisis and the ensuing civil war in the Donbass with pro-Russian separatists, led to the severing of all relations between Russia and Ukraine. The parties reportedly resumed talks about the extension of airworthiness certificates for the An- 124 in November 2017 but no deal has materialised to date. Any prospective checks would have to be conducted in Russia or elsewhere as Russian-registered aircraft are currently barred from operating in Ukrainian airspace. Volga-Dnepr Airlines is the largest operator of the An-124s with twelve such aircraft. The carrier did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment. https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/78883-ukrainian-court-orders-seizure-of-5-volga-dnepr- an-124s Back to Top How Lockheed Is Using Intermittent Detection to Diagnose Fighter Jet Faults Lockheed Martin is partnering with the only company with a practical intermittent fault detection solution to offer the military a panacea for an ailment costing it billions in inefficiency: the inability to diagnose intermittent faults in avionics. Military aircraft reporting electronics errors are later tested only to show no fault around half the time - a major contributor to U.S. Defense Department non-value costs on the order of $2 billion, according to Jason Brooks, Lockheed Martin's deputy program director of support equipment solutions. It's called an intermittent fault, and mounting frustration with equipment that "fails in a working environment" but shows nothing wrong when pulled for testing led the DoD to start a joint service effort in 2012 focused on addressing the problem, which really ramped up in recent years. "If you go back to the [General and former Secretary of Defense James] Mattis memo about 80 percent mission capability, this is a huge driver in being able to affect that," Brooks said. "If you think about a piece of equipment that goes up, goes into fail mode and you don't have that [line- replaceable unit] that you can plug in, that aircraft is down until you can replace that piece." The problem with intermittent fault detection is two-fold: First, common faults are caused by things such as a loose solder joint or ribbon cable that only reveal themselves to be problematic under certain vibrations or G-pulls -stresses that they're generally exposed to exclusively in-mission. Second, traditional testing entails the evaluation of one circuit at a time through the use of an oscilloscope, serially scanning each individual one. "That meant that the testing had to occur at the same time as the fault, and the chances of that are just infinitesimal," according to Ken Anderson, president and CEO of Universal Synaptics. Lockheed and Universal Synaptics are trying to change that with a partnership based around the latter's intermittent fault detection technology. Lockheed is the system integrator, provides the equipment and system analysis, working with the customer to tailor the solution to their needs. It will also lead program management and sustainment. The much-smaller Universal Synaptics - a company of about 20 people, half operations and half engineering or technology - provides the solution. Brooks said that Lockheed "watched this company for a while" because of the technology it was developing before they went into business together, while Anderson is aware of the benefits a small company like his can get from partnering with a global presence, from industry experience to brand awareness - and certainly resources. "But I think what really kicked it off and got it started for us - a lot of the platforms [that the intermittent fault detection technology has been used on] are Lockheed platforms," Anderson said. Universal Synaptics and Lockheed are offering two customizable options for intermittent fault detection in avionics and wiring systems: the portable Voyager and the rack-mounted intermittent fault detection & isolation system 2.0 (IFDIS), for use in shops. Compared to the normal one-point-at-a-time testing, Voyager can test up to 512 points, while IFDIS is expandable in 1,280-point increments with no functional limit - for more complicated systems, 8-to-10,000 might be required. Voyager, which travels in a large briefcase, is also available in 128- or 256-point configurations and provides the same real-time testing results as IFDIS. Where IFDIS has an advantage, beyond number of test points, is the testing environment. It is housed in a chamber that is designed to replicate some of the stressors a piece of equipment might experience in flight. If a ribbon cable only comes loose during high-vibrations, the testing environment can expose it to that to get the fault it is looking for. IFDIS and Voyager, which are the only automated test systems that currently meet the DoD's MIL- PRF-32516 standard for intermittent fault test equipment, can also leave the fault-found realm and drift into predictive functionality. "Since our capability is like a neural network, if it's got 500 or 8,000 test points, it sits on all those test points and waits for something to fail and waits for it to tell you 'On these 20 different connection points, you've got an issue,'" Brooks said. "And it will say 'On these next 20, you've got an issue where it's starting to get intermittent, starting to get loose, you may want to go ahead and address them.' So, it's not only solving the current problem, but it's also forward-looking." The Mattis memo Brooks referenced on mission capability specifically names the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II - all Lockheed Martin offerings - as well as Boeing's F/A- 18 Hornet/Super Hornet as targets for improved readiness to help with efficiency. "The great thing about this technology is, the tester itself is agnostic; it doesn't care what it's testing," Brooks said. "It's basically just the capability testing the number of circuits. The part that's unique to each piece of equipment is the adapter that Lockheed Martin provides. A customer may want to test F-16 and F-22 at a specific site, so we'd size the tester to meet both and the cables [for connecting to the equipment] would be different." Currently, six IFDIS platforms have been deployed to a Lockheed facility and "a dozen or so" Voyager units have been deployed for foreign military use. At a busy site, such as a regional repair center of certain bases, Lockheed would recommend multiple IFDIS units to handle the throughput, while some are fine with just one unit. The company is currently talking with "decision-makers with every branch of the U.S. military and some foreign militaries," and Brooks said it is targeting 2019 or 2020 to start delivering systems. "From a capability perspective, we're doing everything proactive to look at production lines on Voyager, IFDIS and [connector equipment], to make sure we're ready for when orders start pouring in," Brooks said. "There's a period of defining requirements, putting orders in and acquisition ... There are many in the U.S. government and foreign governments that want this capability right now." If people do want that capability, Lockheed and Universal Synaptics are pretty much the only game in town. "With our current capability, I believe we have the solution set for the no-fault-found problem," Anderson said. "One thing we have to be cognizant of is that nobody is really doing what we're doing, so we're sort of out-developing ourselves. There isn't really anybody knocking on our door." Anderson said there would be additional iterations in the product - miniaturization, perhaps - but that the company had to be careful about its development schedule. "We're talking about pacing ourselves, and we'll do this one in two years and this one in four years and that way we'll stay so far ahead of the innovation curve," he said. Already, Universal Synaptics has cut the shortest-duration intermittent fault it can detect from 300 to 50 nanoseconds, and Anderson said more is possible with some design enhancements. "I can pull the trigger tomorrow and we can get shorter-duration intermittent faults," he said. "But, when you look at what the next-closest piece of equipment is, the shortest they can do is 17 milliseconds, and that's if they happen to be on the failing circuit at that specific moment in time." http://interactive.aviationtoday.com/avionicsmagazine/june-2019/how-lockheed-is-using- intermittent-detection-to-diagnose-fighter-jet-faults/ Back to Top New Mexico Delegation Announces $13.8 Million For Construction; Maintenance Projects At 16 Local Airports WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján, Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small announced that the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration has awarded $13,810,189 in federal funding for construction and maintenance projects at 16 New Mexico airports. \The funding will support critical rehabilitation, construction, and maintenance projects to repair and improve local airports across New Mexico. "These regional airports are economic lifelines for their communities and these grants will help the airports continue to connect people to the beauty of New Mexico," U.S. House Assistant Speaker Luján said. "I am pleased these grants were awarded but remain steadfastly committed to passing a comprehensive infrastructure package that will rebuild America and create good-paying green jobs in rural communities and throughout New Mexico." "Local airports are engines of economic growth and shared prosperity for communities across New Mexico. This critical funding will bolster regional economies, boost tourism, and ensure that pilots and travelers can fly safely and easily," Udall said. "As a member of the Senate Appropriations and Commerce Committees, I'll keep fighting to secure strong federal investment to strengthen airport infrastructure and ensure access to safe, reliable air travel for each and every New Mexican." "Our local airports connect communities all across New Mexico to tourism, business opportunities, and commercial aviation," Heinrich said. "I'm pleased to announce federal funding to modernize New Mexico airports and make them safer for travelers and pilots. I will continue to fight for infrastructure investments like these that build the foundation for long-term economic growth and job creation in our state." "Connecting small communities in New Mexico to the state and the rest of the country can spur economic growth, but small communities often don't have the resources to fully fund local airports. These grant awards will help communities across the state boost tourism, market to businesses, and ensure folks can get from place to place more quickly," Haaland said. "Regional airports provide rural residents with more than just reliable air service, they are essential in drawing new businesses and services to southern New Mexico," Torres Small said. "These grants will enable our airports to modernize their infrastructure and enhance safety, while also strengthening local economies. I am pleased the FAA continues to prioritize these federal investments for southern New Mexico and as Congress begins to consider the next infrastructure package, I am committed to ensuring New Mexico's infrastructure needs and priorities are met." The 16 grants, totaling $13,810,189 will support the following projects across New Mexico: Doña Ana County International Jetport, Santa Teresa, NM - $4,914,603 to reconstruct 8,500 feet of the existing Runway 10/28 pavement Four Corners Regional Airport, Farmington, NM - $3,450,000 to improve the Runway 5/23 safety area and the Runway 7/25 safety area in order to enhance the safety of airport operations Lea County Regional Airport, Hobbs, NM - $1,998,315 to improvs the Runway 21 safety area to enhance the safety of operations Cavern City Air Terminal Airport, Carlsbad, NM - $798,000 to reconstruct 2,500 feet of the existing Taxiway B pavement Aztec Municipal Airport, Aztec, NM - $625,234 to install a new Runway 8 and new Runway 26 vertical/visual guidance system to make the airport more accessible and meet Federal Aviation Administration standards Deming Municipal Airport, Deming, NM - $416,700 to rehabilitate 5,675 feet of Runway 4/22 to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and to minimize foreign object debris Andrew Othole Memorial Airport, Zuni, NM - $294,753 to conduct a master plan study to show current and future needs of the airport Angel Fire Airport, Angel Fire, NM - $265,734 to rehabilitate 8,800 feet of the existing Taxiway A in order to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement Taos Regional Airport, Taos, NM - $250,000 to reconstruct 5,000 feet of the existing Taxiway A pavement Hatch Municipal Airport, Hatch, NM - $149,400 to rehabilitate 4,100 feet of Runway 11/29 in order to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and minimize debris Clayton Municipal Airpark Airport, Clayton, NM - $150,000 to rehabilitate approximately 7,500 feet of the existing parallel Taxiway A pavement Socorro Municipal Airport, Socorro, NM - $150,000 to acquire a vacuum sweeper to remove airfield foreign object debris from pavement surfaces and reduce safety hazards Grants-Milan Municipal Airport, Grants, NM - $126,000 to reconstruct 1,680 feet of the existing Taxiway A connector pavement Vaughn Municipal Airport, Vaughn, NM - $117,450 to rehabilitate 12,000 square yards of the existing East apron to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and rehabilitate 1,600 feet of the existing partial parallel Taxiway needed to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement Carrizozo Municipal Airport, Carrizozo, NM - $54,000 to reconstruct 6,000 square yards of the existing South apron pavement Grant County Airport, Silver City, NM - $50,000 to reconstruct 22,600 square yards of the existing terminal and general aviation apron pavements. https://www.ladailypost.com/content/new-mexico-delegation-announces-138-million-construction- maintenance-projects-16-local Back to Top Ampaire Demonstrates Hybrid Motor with Public Flight Los Angeles-based Ampaire publicly demonstrated its electric propulsion system with a 25-minute flight yesterday afternoon of its 337 Ampaire from Camarillo Airport (CMA), the company announced. The aircraft is a push-pull Cessna 337 Skymaster with a proprietary, battery-powered electric motor replacing one of its two combustion engines. While yesterday marked the first public test flight of the 337 Ampaire, it's not the airplane's first flight. An earlier flight lasted one hour and 11 minutes, product manager Brice Nzeukou told AIN. Ampaire intends to offer its electric motor and lightweight battery system as a retrofit to certified aircraft, Nzeukou explained. The 337 is a platform the company likes as a testbed because the combustion engine offers a "kind of risk reduction" in flight testing and the type makes it "really easy to test an electric propulsion system," he added. "For a development platform, it gives us a lot of flexibility." A 50 to 70 percent reduction in fuel costs and a 25 to 50 percent savings in maintenance costs are expected with Ampaire's hybrid-electric configuration, according to Nzeuko. Initially, the company plans to offer the system to short-haul regional airlines serving remote communities and island regions. Later this year, Ampaire expects to begin a pilot project on a commercial route in Maui, Hawaii, using a newly retrofitted Cessna 337. It also will collaborate with Vieques Air Link, a regional airline in Puerto Rico, for a second pilot project. Combined, Ampaire has signed 16 letters of interest with 15 other airlines across the world. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-06-07/ampaire-demonstrates- hybrid-motor-public-flight Back to Top Thai Airways Is Investing Millions in Predictive Maintenance, MRO Service Expansion Thai Airways, under a new partnership with Airbus and backed by Thailand's Board of Investment, is investing in the use of drones, robots and predictive maintenance technologies for the creation of a new maintenance, repair and overhaul hub at U-Tapao Airport to capture future increased demand for aircraft services that will result from the ongoing growth of the Asia Pacific commercial airline fleet. On May 6, 2019, Avionics International was one of several aerospace publications invited to experience a week-long tour providing an overview of Thailand's current aviation industry manufacturing and maintenance facilities and airports. The tour also featured presentations about investments being made to expand the MRO wing of Thai Airways and fulfill its goal of becoming a major provider of commercial airplane maintenance to Asia Pacific region carriers in the future. Right now, Thai Airways is investing $181 million into construction and civil works and another $114 million into tooling and equipment that will bring new digital technologies and a major expansion of the existing MRO hangar located at U-Tapao Airport. The new facility will span 84 acres, and be capable of servicing up to 12 narrow body or five wide body aircraft simultaneously, according to Catipod Keadmonkong, deputy director of Thai Technical's aircraft MRO department. During the media tour of U-Tapao, Thai Airways was celebrating that maintenance hangar's first completion of an Airbus A380 C-check. Due to the massive size of the A380, part of the hangar doors had to be cut to allow the aircraft to enter. U-Tapao currently services 3.7 million passengers per year, a number that Thailand's government wants to grow more than fifteen times over, to up to 60 million passengers per year. The airport's increased capacity - and the availability of land nearby for expansion - is critical to the Thai government's ambitions in the MRO sector. Thai Airways, AirAsia and others have maintenance facilities at Bangkok's oldest airport, Don Mueang, but no space is available there to increase capacity. In June 2018, Airbus and Thai Airways signed an agreement to establish a new 50-50 joint venture MRO located at U-Tapao, for which the government has reserved space in the planned MRO center expansion. The ambitious project seeks to capture 20 percent of the regional market for commercial maintenance needs. The new MRO facility at U-Tapao is expected to open for business in 2022, with a focus on widebody aircraft, according to Keadmonkong. The MRO will have the capacity to service the Airbus A380, A350, A330, and A320s, as well as Boeing 777, 787, 737 and 747 aircraft, for C- and D-level checks. The facility will also have a number of on-site workshops, including sheet metal, mechanical, passenger seat, plastics, fiberglass/plating, and painting and cleaning. Thai Technical is also looking to expand the use of predictive data analytics and smart technologies such as 3-D printing used as the facility as well. Expansion at U-Tapao and how it will occur is reflective of industry forecasts about the Asia Pacific region published by Airbus, Boeing and industry groups such as the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) in recent years. According to Boeing's 2018 pilot and technical outlook, the Asia Pacific region will require a combined 799,000 new commercial airline pilots, technicians and cabin crew members between 2019 and 2038. During that same period, IATA is forecasting that the number of routes to, from and within the Asia-Pacific region will grow by 4.8 percent annually to a market size of 3.9 billion passengers by 2037. Thailand is expected to add 116 million new passengers to carry a total of 214 passengers annually by 2037, entering the top 10 passenger markets in the world and bumping Italy from that list. The Thai Airways-Airbus team also plans to integrate a number of advanced technologies into its new facility to improve efficiency, including Airbus' proprietary Skywise data platform. Arriving airplanes will be inspected using Air-Cobot and other autonomous vehicles to inspect the upper surfaces of the aircraft. "For repetitive jobs, the robots are more consistent than people. People make more errors," said Keadmonkong. A major goal for the flight operational side of Thai Airways coincides with the coming expansion of the MRO hangar at U-Tapao as well. Outside of the joint venture to expand the hangar's size and mix of smart technologies, Airbus has also been in discussion with the airline for the eventual full adoption of their Skywise big data and predictive analytics platform. Some of that effort to adopt predictive maintenance will start with the acquisition of new aircraft designed to modernize the Thai Airways fleet, which currently sits at 82 aircraft. During a press conference on March 1, 2019, Thai Airways President Sumeth Damrongchaitham disclosed to reporters that airline suffered losses totaling $365 million in 2018, according to a report published by Bloomberg covering the event. Much of the losses were attributable to the airline's aging fleet. "Thai Airways is in a trap -- we have old aircraft that have endured heavy use and cause issues to operations," said Damrongchaitham. ""Many times we had to ground planes, do repairs, change flights." That will change with the airline's plan to acquire 38 new aircraft, although no details on what type or model airplanes those will be have yet been disclosed. During an interview following the tour, Ronnachai Wongchaoum, vice president of the MRO division of Thai Airways, told Avionics International that the addition of new aircraft will be key to transitioning the airline from its current reactive maintenance workflow to predictive maintenance operations. "Today, we can maintain the health of our fleet, we've been doing that for more than 40 years. But the objective with the older generation of aircraft was safety only, there is a rather limited amount of data that they're able to generate. That's why we have to modernize and embrace the newer generation of aircraft," said Wongchaoum. Wongchaoum, who said he is constantly in talks with representatives from Airbus discussing how they can become more digital, predictive maintenance-focused airline, sees the potential benefits of adopting Skywise. He said the introduction of more new generation aircraft such as the A350 and even the A380 - which was the first commercial airliner to feature a full duplex ethernet embedded network - will allow Thai Airways to digitize its maintenance information systems process. Like many other carriers adopting predictive maintenance strategies, Wongchaoum's goals is for his MRO team to be able to track the health of their entire fleet in real time, primarily from the new hangar at U-Tapao when it becomes operational. Specifically, he wants Thai Airways technicians located at the various airports that they serve to be able to walk up to their aircraft with an iPad, download the necessary maintenance data and immediately transfer that back to their maintenance experts at U-Tapao. Wongchaoum believes one of the key challenges for the airline will be their ability to combine the mechanical and technical engineering expertise of servicing aircraft that their existing workforce has with what he describes as the "iPad generation." "Right now we're trying to develop a really digitally focused training system for young people, using the technologies they're used to. A lot of them are into coding or using the iPad applications, and it's our job to blend their fixation on those smart technologies with our existing knowledge of the mechanical systems and physically servicing our airplanes," said Wongchaoum. "As the younger generation comes into our MRO organization, we know that people alone simply will not be enough," he said. "There's too many airplanes coming into the region's fleet, and that's why we're looking at how to use things like augmented reality to train them. We also want to make our servicing of the aircraft more digital and predictive, with work orders automatically generated so they already know what they need to do before they even get to the airplane." Augmented reality or not, Thai Airways will need to implement its plans for training personnel quickly. Just 30 percent of staff at the new U-Tapao facility will come from the existing hangar; the remaining 70 percent will be new employees, according to deputy director Keadmonkong. And with the airline's plans to purchase dozens of new aircraft capable of interacting with digital, predictive maintenance technologies, the success of the joint venture MRO with Airbus may prove critical to Thai Airways' return to profitability. http://interactive.aviationtoday.com/avionicsmagazine/june-2019/thai-airways-is-investing- millions-in-predictive-maintenance-mro-service-expansion/ Back to Top The Mysterious And Potentially Revolutionary Celera 500L Aircraft May Fly Soon More than two years after The War Zone was first to report on a mysterious bullet-shaped aircraft appearing at the Southern California Logistics Airport near Victorville, a refined version of the plane has conducted taxi tests and looks to be getting close to its first flight. Even though much about its design and purpose remain unclear, we do know now that the aircraft, which is called the Otto Aviation Celera 500L, is definitely focused on potentially game-changing high-efficiency flight that has the potential to disrupt the aerospace marketplace. In January 2019, new pictures of the pusher-propeller Celera 500L, which carries the U.S. civil registration code N818WM, emerged showing it in a markedly more mature state than what we had seen in the past. The plane now has winglets at the tips of both wings, but it's not clear if the wings themselves are entirely new. The aircraft also had a black propeller in place of the earlier white one and an aerodynamic spinner over the propeller hub. There's also a much better view of the trapeze- like landing gear assemblies, which are of the general style found in patent documents that Otto Aviation has submitted relating to a number of the aircraft's features. In addition, as compared to earlier images, the aircraft finally has conformal cowlings fitted in place over its rear-mounted engine compartment. Each one features a single large air intake and an exhaust port. In May of 2019, NASA pilot and photographer Scott Howe also spotted the Celera 500L doing high- speed taxi tests at the Southern California Logistics Airport as he flew by. This further supports the assessment that the aircraft is getting closer to a first flight. Beyond what we can see, there's still limited information about the aircraft's specifications or even its manufacturer, Otto Aviation Group, which has been operating virtually in secret on this project for around a decade. In April 2019, there was a public notice about the company renewing its lease on space at the Southern California Logistics Airport. Beyond that, the patent documents do lay out a case for disrupting traditional 'hub-and-spoke' commercial aviation models and offering improved efficiency in aircraft performance to, in turn, reduce inefficiencies in passenger air travel. "Such a transportation system requires a unique aircraft. It must be capable of operation from any current airfield," one of the patent documents says in its background section. "Preferably, it would have operating costs well below current costs and competitive with commercial airliners, cruise at higher system speed than current commercial aircraft, have a longer range with full passenger and luggage load than most current business aircraft, provide passenger comfort comparable to commercial aircraft, and be capable of all weather operation. The plane should also provide for ease of maintenance and require only a single pilot." The patent goes on to describe a notional aircraft that would cruise between 460 and 510 miles per hour at an altitude of up to 65,000 feet, yielding a fuel efficiency rate of between 30 and 42 miles per gallon. To put this in perspective, the Pilatus PC-12, a popular light, single-engine turboprop aircraft has a service ceiling of 30,000 feet, a cruising speed just under 330 miles per hour, and still burns, on average, 66 gallons of jet fuel per hour, for a fuel economy of roughly five miles to the gallon. Even going to a Learjet 70, which has similar speed performance to what's stated in the Celera patent documents, but still nowhere near as high a ceiling, we are talking about roughly three miles per gallon of gas at cruise. So, Otto Aviation is talking about performance that is at least 10 times more efficient than existing light business jets with similar cruise capabilities. New information in the plane's public profile on the Federal Aviation Administration website offers clues as to how the Celera 500L expects to offer this revolutionary new capability. Most importantly, FAA says that the aircraft's airworthiness was approved in February 2019 and that it uses the Raikhlin Aircraft Engine Developments (RED) A03 V12 engine. It is unclear from the available information whether the Celera 500L uses one or two A03 engines. The FAA's profile describes the aircraft as a "single engine," but patent documents had described two engines driving a single propeller. Of course, they had also said these would be diesel engines with multi-stage turbochargers and intercoolers, the latter of which redirect heat to improve efficiency and keep the entire system cool while the former would theoretically provide enough power even at very high altitudes where super-efficient flight can be realized. The engine type and configuration may not be final, either. Otto Aviation has been working on the aircraft for nearly a decade already and it is clear the company has been considering different engine arrangements in that time. A source has told The War Zone that a single V8 engine from now-defunct TRACE Engines was originally supposed to power the aircraft via a reduction drive. TRACE's engine was derived from the high-efficiency OE600 design, which another company, Orenda, had first begun work on in the 1990s. RED promotes its A03, a kerosene-powered 500-horsepower water-cooled design, which also uses a multi-stage turbocharger, as offering high fuel efficiency, low fuel consumption, and excellent reliability with limited maintenance as compared to more traditional piston engines with similar horsepower ratings. The German company also says it can configure the engine itself for "optimal" performance in "close cooperation with the airframe manufacture [sic; manufacturer]." Initial flight testing of the engine began in 2012 using a modified Yakovlev Yak-52 aircraft and the A03 received European Aviation Safety Agency approval in 2014. The engine is now set to power the new Yak- 152, which the Russian Air Force plans to purchase as replacements for its Yak-52s. RED aircraft Engine One of Otto Aviation's patents also says that the intakes and exhausts we mentioned before are supposed to help leverage this engine design to provide even greater efficiency. The exhaust setup is also supposed to include a novel heat exchanger that combines heated cooling air with exhaust gases provide a small additional boost in thrust. It all remains to be seen whether or not the combination of an A03 optimized for the Celera 500L specifically, together with intercoolers and specialized exhausts, will be enough to get the plane anywhere close to the kind of high-altitude performance Otto is clearly aiming for broadly. The Celera 500L's other design features are certainly also meant to help with highly efficient flight, including its teardrop fuselage which offers aerodynamic efficiency while maintaining a large internal volume. Schematics and other details in the patent describe the use of composite materials and a single primary center spar for structural stability, all of which helps keep the aircraft light, too. It's not clear from the pictures available what the final wing configuration might look like, but those same patents indicate that Otto Aviation has been working on an advanced, multi-part flap arrangement. This could give the Celera 500L acceptable takeoff characteristics from smaller runways-as short as 3,000 feet-while still offering optimal efficiency in other flight regimes, including high-altitude flight. This is something that would be extremely valuable for commercial aviation applications since the aircraft could operate from small airports and still retain the ability to conduct non-stop flights to destinations a significant distance away. All told, it's not clear whether Otto Aviation expects the Celera 500L design to actually serve as the basis for a new kind of passenger aircraft design or whether it is more of a technology testbed to prove certain parts of a future aircraft. But the patent drawings do show a similarly sized version with passenger windows and what appears to be a side-mounted emergency exit. It's still hard to say for sure given the remarkable amount of secrecy surrounding the aircraft. Regardless, by all indications, Otto Aviation is working on what could be a very exciting and potentially revolutionary design. Being able to fly direct to smaller airfields near one's destination on smaller aircraft at a very low cost could open up private-like air travel to the masses. With taxi tests already underway, and possibly complete, a first light could be just around the corner. We will be definitely be keeping a close eye out for when the bullet-shaped aircraft takes to the skies for the first time, which will hopefully lead to more information about just what it can really do. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/28409/the-mysterious-and-potentially-revolutionary- celera-500l-aircraft-may-fly-soon Back to Top SpaceX Completes Falcon 9 Static Fire Test Ahead of RADARSAT Launch SpaceX has confirmed a successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket that will carry three Canadian Earth observation satellites to orbit. The static fire test of the Falcon 9 was completed on June 8 and confirmed by SpaceX on the company's Twitter account. The rocket is expected to lift off carrying the RADARSAT Constellation at 14:17 UTC on June 12 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In addition to confirming the static fire test, SpaceX also revealed that the Falcon 9 booster set to be used for Wednesday's launch is B1051. The booster is flight-proven and was previously used to launch the first demonstration mission of the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft in March. The mission was initially slated to be launched aboard B1050. However, after launching the CRS-16 Dragon spacecraft in December 2018, the booster experienced a grid fin hydraulic pump stall on reentry and was damaged after touching down in the ocean. The RADARSAT Constellation Mission is being launched on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency. The constellation consists of three Earth observation satellites developed by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, a subsidiary of Maxar Technologies. Once operational, the constellation will provide C-band data to the Canadian government and offer maritime surveillance, disaster management, and ecosystem monitoring. Wednesday's RADARSAT launch is the last SpaceX mission scheduled to lift off from the West Coast this year. Currently, SpaceX has 11 missions scheduled for the rest of 2019 all of which are to be launched from either Cape Canaveral or the Kennedy Space Center. https://rocketrundown.com/spacex-completes-falcon-9-static-fire-test-ahead-of-radarsat-launch/ Curt Lewis