AUGUST 29, 2019 - No. 069 In This Issue Aviation industry labor shortage hits Canadian companies trying to replace grounded Boeing jets American Hiring More Than 400 New Workers for Tulsa Maintenance Base MRO software solutions for airborne special missions S7 Technics Will Maintain E170s at Irkutsk DGCA asks P&W to deliver modified A320, A321 Neo engines in advance Utair Chooses Avionica for Flight Data Collection. Sun Country cuts unit costs as growth drive continues The Competition to Bring Back Supersonic Flight Is Heating Up Britannica Knowledge Systems to Reveal New Capabilities at the Asia Pacific Airline Training Summit SpaceX's Starhopper prototype soars in 150-meter 'hop test' Aviation industry labor shortage hits Canadian companies trying to replace grounded Boeing jets MONTREAL (Reuters) - A global shortage of pilots and mechanics is preventing some Canadian aviation service companies from meeting the needs of airlines and other customers scrambling to secure replacements for grounded Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX jets. North American airlines have canceled thousands of flights since the March grounding of the 737 MAX following two fatal crashes involving the model. In an already busy industry, this has stoked demand for replacement aircraft, and several Canadian companies are eager to oblige. But the industry-wide labor shortage has complicated matters, companies said. "I have the planes but I don't have enough pilots to do all the flights," said Marco Prud'Homme, vice-president of Montreal-area Nolinor Aviation. The charter company has had to refuse some of the surging number of client requests in the wake of the MAX grounding because of the pilot shortage. Globally, many large lessors and aftermarket service providers who do plane maintenance have generally seen muted impact from the grounding because they are already fully booked, analysts and executives say. The aviation industry has long been wrestling with a shortage of pilots and mechanics. A 2017 report by training company CAE (CAE.TO) forecasts the need for an extra 255,000 pilots by 2027 to sustain passenger traffic which is expected to double in the next 20 years. Stephen Lim, president of ST Engineering Aerospace America, said by email that any longer-term upward pressure on MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) pricing could "come from increasing labor costs, primarily due to an industry-wide shortage of experienced mechanics." In Canada, labor concerns have emerged in the province of Quebec, home to most of Canada's aviation industry. When the provincial government announced plans to scale back accepted immigrants by 20% this year, as part of a broader system overhaul, employers' groups warned it could make it harder to fill vacancies in multiple sectors. TIGHT LABOR MARKET According to an August report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Quebec had a job vacancy rate of 3.2%, one of the highest in the country alongside British Columbia. Canada's overall unemployment rate edged up to 5.7% in July after slipping to 5.4% in May - its lowest recorded rate since comparable data became available in 1976. Earl Diamond, chief executive of Avianor, which specializes in aircraft maintenance and cabin integration, said meeting rising demand from clients hinges on staffing and space, which are at a premium in the company's bustling Montreal-area facility. A recent spate of airline bankruptcies from India to Iceland, combined with the MAX grounding, have thrust privately held Avianor into the center of the scramble for replacement planes. The company is removing the purple seat covers and carpets from an A320 formerly operated by now defunct WOW Air of Iceland, and reconfiguring the cabin for Air Canada's (AC.TO) leisure carrier Rouge. "For them it's getting the planes into their fleets as soon as possible," Diamond told Reuters during a recent visit to the company's facility. FILE PHOTO: Two Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircrafts are seen on the ground as Air Canada Embraer aircraft flies in the background at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Helgren To meet higher-than-usual demand from lessors and airlines, Avianor had to call back some of its workers from vacation this summer, Diamond said. Avianor is trying to add another 70 workers, and had already taken on temporary labor from Mexico to supplement its existing staff of 400 employees. In Quebec, aviation companies are taking steps to find workers, with Nolinor holding a Sept. 7 career day to attract mechanics. The company has also offered to fund the C$100,000 retraining cost for each of two employees chosen to become pilots, Prud'Homme said. "It's one of the biggest problems we have in the industry." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airplane-canada-labor/aviation-industry-labor-shortage-hits-canadian-companies-trying-to-replace-grounded-boeing-jets-idUSKCN1VI19N Back to Top American Hiring More Than 400 New Workers for Tulsa Maintenance Base More work at American Airline's maintenance base in Tulsa means the company needs more workers. American will hire more than 400 new employees in the coming months to deal with an increased workload, including scheduled maintenance work on its fleet of Boeing 787s that will start coming in later this year. "This is the first time in more than a decade that we've hired this many team members simultaneously, which underscores our long-term commitment to Tulsa," said Managing Director of Base Maintenance Erik Olund in a news release. "The Tulsa team continues to do great work by ensuring the safe operation of our fleet, and we look forward to bringing more of our aircraft to the base." Most of the new workers will be licensed mechanics. "For 73 years, American has operated the largest commercial aviation maintenance base in the world here in Tulsa," said Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum in a news release. "This announcement not only reaffirms American's continuing commitment to Tulsa, but also the great benefit our community receives from investments like this. I'm grateful to the hard-working team at American for their partnership and am excited to see the impact of this work." More than 5,200 people currently work at the base, which includes 22 buildings on the main base and 3.3 million square feet of hangar and shop space sitting on 330 acres. https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/american-hiring-more-400-new-workers-tulsa-maintenance-base Back to Top MRO software solutions for airborne special missions Thousands of individual parts have to work together to keep a helicopter pilot and crew in the air; thus, the staff that look after helicopters take a highly systematic and pro-active approach to maintenance and repair. For example, many parts are replaced when they reach a service life limit, and this has to be scheduled well in advance of any likely failure. In the past, record keeping and scheduling all had to be done using paper. Thankfully, software is now available that simplifies the process, allowing staff to stop chasing paper and get on with maintaining the aircraft. This software can eliminate bureaucracy and automates processes, helping to anticipate and prevent problems, said Steven Cespedes, Head of Aviation for Ideagen, developers of the Q-Pulse software. Adam Clegg, Manager of Engineering Operations, Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section), spoke to AirMed&Rescue about the need for software that can make the maintenance process more efficient. He explained: "Our aircraft cover a lot of miles, but those miles can be very ad hoc. One week an aircraft could fly 40 hours, and the next week it could fly two hours. This can make it extremely difficult to predict maintenance windows for that aircraft. And that is just one aircraft out of a fleet of 20. We also face the challenge of inspections of the medical fit out of our aircraft. These are obviously crucial to our business; however, they can interrupt maintenance schedules. Our goal in addressing these issues is to get to a stage where, through using the right piece of software, we can have an efficient movement of data between our three main MRO functions; parts and logistics, airworthiness and service delivery on the hangar floor." Introduction of digital solutions Although Hospital Wing was billed as the first helicopter air ambulance provider in the US to go fully paperless as recently as 2018 (see side bar below), software aimed at the MRO sector has been on the available for some time. Flightdocs (Hospital Wing's MRO software provider), offers its Enterprise system, which combines maintenance, inventory and flight operations into one integrated platform. Lee Brewster, Director of Product Marketing, said that since 2003, the company has been developing software solutions for the aviation industry, adding: "The 2017 introduction of HMX was in direct response to the unique needs of tracking both rotorcraft maintenance and usage. These tools took flight departments from the era of hard copies and spreadsheets to the modern world of cloud-based applications and mobile accessibility." Software provider Ramco entered the aviation sector in the 1990s with its Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) offering, with orders from companies such as Columbia Helicopters. Sam Jacob, Vice-President and SBU Head - Aviation Solution at Ramco Systems, said: "While addressing the needs of the early set of customers, we realised that a generic EAM solution was not able to address the unique needs of aviation maintenance. Apart from terminology, the industry has highly specialised practices in areas such as configuration management, maintenance programme, certifications and task signoffs, quality assurance, compliance reporting, reliability analysis etc." The big breakthrough came in 2003, said Jacob, when 'a large rotor-wing operator in the US' chose Ramco for its maintenance needs: "The large and complex nature of the implementation which covered bases around the world with over 800 users and over 200 aircraft set the base for future growth in the rotor segment." Rusada entered the aviation sector even earlier, releasing its first MRO software back in 1987. Ian Kent, Product Manager, said of the first version: "[It] was a DOS-based solution developed for a single customer. The product quickly caught on, and as our customer base started to grow, we released RAL Professional in 1990, and then ENVISION in 1993. This built upon the success of our first two products and contained a significantly enhanced user-interface along with an array of extra functionality." Accuracy and efficiency LTB400 Aviation Software has customers including DRF Luftrettung. Maximilian Schmitt, Business Development, described how the company's LTB/400 Maintenance Management System covers all functions of a Part-145 organisation including CAMO (continuing airworthiness management organisation) and flight operations modules. He said: "With our CAMO modules, you are able to track the complete aircraft/helicopter with all the components, LLP and inspections (including findings, AD&SB, etc.). With the maintenance modules, you can directly create a work order out of the due list (from the CAMO section) and you can work paperless via a digital job card." Ornge, the provider of air ambulance and related services for the Canadian province of Ontario, has been using Ramco aviation software for its MRO platform since 2012. The advantages of a digital system over paper are many, explained James MacDonald, Ornge Director of Communications and Public Affairs: "The use of paper and spreadsheets leaves room for human error, particularly as information is transposed from one document to another. Ramco provides us real-time visibility on maintenance activities - essentially, a live picture of what equipment, what's being done and where. It improves efficiency from both a materials and reporting perspective, ensuring all of the maintenance is done on time and as required." When maintenance was paper based, added Kent of Rusada, documentation tended to be out of date, so engineers and maintenance staff were not always working with accurate information: "For example, technical logs and completed work packs could often take days, if not weeks, to process. MRO software solutions have enabled organisations to improve on this, but the use of paper is still very prevalent in maintenance operations today, particularly when it comes to issuing work instructions and recording and certifying work carried out. The latest release of ENVISION enables true paperless operations by addressing the certification issues that have long been a barrier to digital MRO." Software eliminates duplication of records and effort, said Ideagen's Cespedes. He added: "Paper-based maintenance would have been done using spreadsheets and physical word documents saved in filing cabinets and electronic folders. This presented a number of issues, mainly around the lack of control of processes and difficulties in maintaining records and achieving and maintaining compliance." The difficulty of getting your hands on essential management information is a key drawback to paper-based systems, continued Cespedes: "You need to go looking in three or four different places to get information. There are often references and signposts, but not the actual information, so you end up following a paper trail. The same information can be stored in different places with minor variations and the overall picture is fuzzy and liable to misinterpretation. This can lead to wasting time, missing opportunities to do something important, low performance and risk. Sometimes you can't get the information you need to go ahead with something: wasted opportunities. Sometimes you misinterpret and go ahead at risk." Thus, the ability for multiple personnel to access the same data is a major plus for digital systems, said Jeff Shearer, a licensed helicopter mechanic and Chief Engineer for a rescue helicopter operator in new Zealand. He developed aircraft maintenance tracking and scheduling software Flightcert predominately so that pilots can always know the airworthiness of their aircraft, he explained, adding: "Maintenance tasks comprising of inspections, part replacements, airworthiness directives and service bulletins are tracked by various parameters, such as airframe hours, engine hours, airworthiness directives, service bulletins, landings, hoist cycles and engine cycles to ensure continued airworthiness of your aircraft. These are all tracked and notified to users through both software flags and emails as required." By being cloud-based, the Flightcert system makes data easily accessible to any user (controlled to access rights and viewing permissions granted by the system administrator), whether pilots, engineers and administration personnel. LTB has seen the popularity of its LTB400 Aviation Software grow consistently since the company was founded in 1984, said Maximilian Schmitt. "LTB's system allows users to work 'in-time' and cost [effectively]. Furthermore, we shorten the ground time enormously and ensure that the aircraft is back in the air as quickly as possible," he told AirMed&Rescue. Like Flightcert, LTB's system facilitates information sharing across departments. MRO Insider is a web-based resource that allows operators to issue requests for aircraft maintenance and upgrade needs and receive quotes from multiple facilities. For Lindsay Nixon, President of the service, the key benefit of going paperless is efficiency. He said: "The digitalisation of all of this technology and trends have had a significant impact on efficiency. Given the mechanic shortage, the MRO industry needs efficiency more than ever. By adapting to new methods and processes that incorporate these technological advancements, MROs have a great opportunity to streamline their operation and work smarter with the resources they have." Human input Ultimately, the software still relies (to a certain degree) upon humans to input accurate data, so correct training of staff is absolutely essential. Kyle Vergeer, Managing Director at WinAir, believes that MRO software companies must offer a variety of training options based on the client's particular needs. He explained: "Training should be available as classroom-based training either at their facility or the customer's, online instructor-led training, and on-demand Learning Management System (LMS) video tutorials. Training must be facilitated during the product implementation phase and be available on an ongoing basis. In addition, comprehensive online help should be available for all users." Going from paper to cloud-based doesn't come without its risks, and again, humans are a part of this risk, in the form of data security. Vergeer told AirMed&Rescue that this risk is mitigated through a 'robust back-end structure', while WinAir, through the company's MRO software, supports the latest web browsers and most recent versions of Java and Microsoft SQL Server. He added: "We utilize data transport encryption with support for the latest TLS/SSL versions and encryption ciphers to ensure data integrity. We also use password management and external directory integration to safeguard against unwanted intrusions." Miles to go Looking at future developments, LTB is working on aspects including an improved user interface. Schmitt revealed that the 'next generation' of the software is being planned, but no details are being released as yet. Over at Ornge, a project is underway to integrate the organisation's currently separate digital systems, said MacDonald: "We are presently working on integrating the Ramco technology with our dispatch software, FlightVector, to further improve efficiency. For example, at present our aircraft maintenance engineers need to enter flight-related data into Ramco at the start of each day covering our aircraft activity over the previous 24 hours. Once the integration of these two platforms is complete, this information will be pushed automatically from one system to the other. This will allow us to constantly monitor the progress of when things are coming due, and will reduce data entry time on task for the AMEs." Meanwhile, Rusada is working on solutions that work offline. Ian Kent said: "We are currently developing a suite of native mobile apps featuring offline capability. This will allow users to continue working without an internet connection, dramatically reducing the time it takes to complete tasks." The first such app to be released is designed for engineers, allowing them to perform day-to-day tasks without being tied to a PC. The next step for Ramco could be to remove the need to manually enter data. Jacob said: "Ramco's aviation roadmap is laid out to achieve zero data entry by extensively leveraging the capabilities of artificial intelligence/machine learning. Ramco's Voice as a new UI project leverages devices like Google Home and Alexa, enabling users to perform tasks through voice conversations. Current capabilities allow users to perform various tasks ranging from stock enquiry to approvals. We are continuously working with our customers to improve the effectiveness in busy noise-prone shop floor environments." Another area of focus at Ramco is on building the APIs to seamlessly connect with any third-party systems including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), part suppliers and shipping agencies, said Jacob. Overall, Nixon of MRO Insider predicts that the general MRO industry will become even less paper-based and more digital going forward: "The MRO industry as a whole is just beginning to shy away from paper. A great example is through maintenance quoting. Instead of calling around and getting paper quotes for maintenance, they can complete that entire process online. The use of blockchain in aviation maintenance is starting to gain traction as well for improved tracking and monitoring of parts and components. The simple habit of using computer programs or CRM software to track customer information, keep up-to-date records between shifts and departments in an MRO setting is great for customer service and customer experience. The use of technology on the shop floor itself is improving as well - allowing technicians to scan in and out of jobs, scanning tool and part inventory, and using all of that information to create invoices for customers. Within the last decade, the quality of technology available to MROs has improved significantly." Vergeer of WinAir pointed out that while there are doubtless many safety benefits of going paperless, there remains work to be done with system integration: "Aviation operations can actively integrate their maintenance software with any third-party flight-ops system to provide dispatch information. They can also expand this paperless approach to other areas of their operation to allow for greater situational awareness with respect to aircraft maintenance. By integrating all aviation maintenance processes into comprehensive and robust aviation management software, operations will gain from total transparency between departments and easy access to trustworthy data." https://www.airmedandrescue.com/latest/long-read/mro-software-solutions-airborne-special-missions Back to Top S7 Technics Will Maintain E170s at Irkutsk S7 Technics has won regulatory approval from the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) to provide line maintenance services on Embraer 170 aircraft at its line station at Irkutsk airport. The BCAA approval, awarded to the Russian maintenance provider earlier this month following an audit process, is the second S7 base located in the Siberia and the Russian Far East region to repair the Brazilian-made aircraft - the company has repaired the E170 at Tolmachevo airport in Novosibirk for around two years. S7 will begin maintaining the aircraft next month for its S7 Airlines affiliate - the only Russian operator of the E170 with 17 in its fleet. This follows the ramp-up period for the aircraft, which consisted of investment in equipment and tools including spare parts and consumables, along with technician training at centers in Russia and Poland. Since commencing operation at the airport in 2006, S7 has added new capabilities in the following 13 years, with line maintenance offerings for the Boeing 737 classic and NG, the 767 and Airbus A320ceo and neo family aircraft. It is one of six S7 locations across Russia, with bases also at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo in Moscow, Tolmachevo in Novosibir, Vladivostok near Artyom and Yakutsk in East Siberia. "Approval for the provision of maintenance works on the Embraer E170 at our acting line station at Irkutsk airport now allows S7 Airlines to schedule flights of these regional aircraft from Irkutsk to non-base airports," Sergey Kravchenko, S7 Technics' regional sales director, said in a statement released by the MRO on Tuesday (August 27). https://www.mro-network.com/maintenance-repair-overhaul/s7-technics-will-maintain-e170s-irkutsk Back to Top DGCA asks P&W to deliver modified A320, A321 Neo engines in advance The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a warning, stating that the Airbus A320neo aircraft - powered by Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines - will not be allowed to fly unless they come with modified components. Among the major components that the DGCA has asked the engine maker to change are the main gear box and low pressure turbine blades. "No engines from the maintenance unit or any new induction of Airbus A320 and A321neo will be accepted, unless fitted with the new modified gear box and third stage low-pressure turbine blades. There will be a restriction on acceptance of lease engines, too, without the modifications," the DGCA said in a statement. While the engine manufacturer said it will be able to deliver the modified engines from March next year, DGCA head Arun Kumar refused to budge on the August deadline considering the repeated incidents caused by the engines. However, since there were no cases of accident in any part of the world, and with global regulators Federal Aviation Administration and European Union Aviation Safety Agency not having raised any flag, the DGCA refrained from grounding the planes. "About 40 per cent of the domestic seat capacity of India is powered by Neo engines; any knee-jerk reaction to completely ground operations will have serious consequences. As there are no reported cases of accident involving these engines in any part of the world, will it be prudent to shut their operations?" the DGCA said in its note. The direction came after an hour-long meeting with executives of Airbus, Pratt & Whitney, IndiGo, and GoAir. IndiGo and GoAir together operate 127 A320neo aircraft fitted with P&W engines. The meeting was called after the regulator took notice of increasing incidents over the last one month. The DGCA has been stricter than other international regulators with its directions regarding the engines. For instance, it has fixed compulsory boroscopy inspection of engines after 375 hours, and has asked airlines to replace the engines in case of any malfunction. In boroscopy examination, aircraft engines are remotely checked for defect. The extra scrutiny led to a sharp rise in the engine replacement rate for IndiGo and GoAir, which caused increased grounding and higher maintenance costs. Further, the regulator hasn't allowed ETOPS (Extended Range Twin Operational Performance Standard) approval to A320/A321 Neo with P&W engines, yet. This approval is required for twin-engine aircraft to take routes for which the nearest suitable airport, to make an emergency landing, is more than 60 minutes away. However, global regulators have given ETOPs certification to the engines. "India is a conservative country regarding passenger safety. We don't take any risk that could lead to loss of life. So we have directed extra scrutiny even though there is no such precedence globally," said a senior DGCA official. The geared turbofan has been hit by a slew of design flaws which has caused planes to be grounded, delayed deliveries, and has prompted millions of dollars in compensations. In 2016, the aircraft started reporting oil metal detector warnings. The third engine-bearing compartment had a seal that did not work correctly at high flight levels. The third problem pertained to combustion chamber linings, which had unforeseen hot spots, thus reducing operational life. The fix provided was a combustion chamber with more pores that could provide more cooling. https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/dgca-asks-p-w-to-deliver-modified-a320-a321-neo-engines-in-advance-119082801672_1.html Back to Top Utair Chooses Avionica for Flight Data Collection Russian carrier Utair has selected wireless mini Quick Access Recorders (QAR) from Avionica to reduce maintenance workload and meet flight data collection requirements from the Civil Aviation Authority of Russia. The miniQARs will be installed in the airline's fleet of 43 Boeing 737 and 767 aircraft, with deliveries currently taking place. According to Avionica parent company GE Aviation, the miniQARs require minimal setup and configuration requirements, and can also be transitioned to new aircraft in the future if required. Utair operations director Andrey Semenov says the airline chose the miniQAR after a feasibility study that determined the product would provide lower cost of ownership, real time data availability for flight analytics and maintenance troubleshooting. According to John Mansfield, chief digital officer, GE Aviation, the miniQAR will help Utair streamline its processes, increase the amount of available, usable data and reduce workload for its maintenance and engineering teams. GE Aviation purchased an equity stake in Avionica last year to form a joint venture, which enables the combination of Avionica's flight data management products with GE's analytics and digital products. According to GE, more than 9,000 of Avionica's wireless QARs have been delivered worldwide and the company has earned supplemental type certificates on more than 300 models of commercial, business and general aviation aircraft. https://www.mro-network.com/airlines/utair-chooses-avionica-flight-data-collection Back to Top Sun Country cuts unit costs as growth drive continues The transformation and expansion of US discount carrier Sun Country continues, with its chief executive saying his airline will expand 35% this year while reducing seat-per-mile costs to less than six cents. "We've cut about 30% of our unit costs over the last two years. That is a pretty dramatic transition," says chief executive Jude Bricker, speaking at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Las Vegas on 26 August. "We will be cost competitive, at six cents or below, this year," he says of Sun Country's unit cost. That figure could hit 5.8 cents next year, down from an average of 6.25 cents during the last 12 months. A sub-6-cent unit cost would make Sun Country cost competitive with US ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs) Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air, where Bricker previously worked. Spirit and Allegiant each reported unit costs (excluding fuel and special item expenses) of less than 6 cents in the second quarter of 2019. Bricker's business update comes about two years after he took the reins of the leisure-focused carrier, which private equity firm Apollo Global Management acquired in 2018. Under Bricker, Sun Country overhauled its fare structure, added ancillary fees and embarked on fleet expansion and cost cutting. It expanded its network with new flights to Hawaii, the Caribbean and several destinations along the US East and West Coasts. The airline is based near Minneapolis. "My management team saw an opportunity to change the business substantially and put it on the right path and make it a valuable enterprise," says Bricker. About half of Sun Country's recent cost cutting reflects the addition of seats to its aircraft and the acquisition of more Boeing 737-800s, Bricker says. Bricker's team expanded Sun Country's fleet from 22 to 30 737NGs. They have acquired more 737-800s in a move away from smaller 737-700s. The airline has also shifted to owning more aircraft and leasing fewer. "When [you] own you can use the maintenance value of the aircraft for your own benefit, while if you lease it you have to return that value, typically, to the lessor," Bricker says. Sun Country's third quarter available seat miles will increase 45% year-on-year, according to Cirium schedules data. The fleet will soon hit 35 aircraft, and Bricker sees an opportunity for Sun Country to eventually operate 50 aircraft. Bricker notes that some ULCCs operate aircraft up to 14h daily in an effort to squeeze maximum revenue out of expensive new aircraft. But Sun Country aims to operate its less-expensive, used fleet 9.5-10h daily, and only on routes and at times where it can make money. "When the flying is really bad, I think the most appropriate response... is not flying at all," Bricker says. Sun Country has also updated its aircraft cabins, equipping them with free inflight entertainment, at-seat electric outlets and more-comfortable Collins Aerospace seats, says Bricker. The airline has also shifted from a Sabre ticket distribution system to a Navitaire system and rolled out a new website. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/sun-country-cuts-unit-costs-as-growth-drive-continue-460530/ Back to Top The Competition to Bring Back Supersonic Flight Is Heating Up It's been 16 years since the last commercial supersonic flight, operated by Concorde, zoomed across the Atlantic. Concorde carried travelers from London and Paris to places like New York, Dakar, Senegal, Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico City in half the time of traditional aircraft and was the darling of the elite jet set. It operated for nearly three decades with a small fleet of 14 aircraft-seven planes flown by British Airways and seven by Air France. The aircraft was grounded for good in 2003 due to rising maintenance costs, marking the end of supersonic airline service. But aside from its high cost to maintain, Concorde had another complication with its operation: the supersonic aircraft could only reach its top speed of Mach 2.04-or twice the speed of sound-while flying over water due to noise regulations enacted in response to its loud sonic boom, the atmospheric roar that erupts when the sound barrier is broken. While the idea of supersonic flight has captivated travelers ever since Concorde's swan song, the problem of a loud sonic boom has persisted and prevented potential successors from ferrying passengers at supersonic speeds. But over the past year or so, several companies-and NASA-have made significant strides in finding a way to become the next go-to supersonic aircraft for paying passengers. It's a feat that will require a delicate balance. "To be commercially viable, the aircraft has to be capable of long range, efficient supersonic cruise that produces an acceptable sonic boom," says Guy Norris, senior editor for Aviation Week & Space Technology. At least three companies are competing to be the first to meet that objective, some with plans to fly faster and farther than the Concorde ever did-and soon. A "quiet boom" as soon as 2021 Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and NASA are working together on a new experimental supersonic aircraft dubbed X-59. Under construction in the storied Skunk Works plant in Palmdale, California, the X-59's radical design is intended to mute the aircraft's noise by "shaping" its sonic boom. "The key thing there is that currently [you're] not allowed to fly supersonic over land even if you're very quiet," says Mike Buonanno, Lockheed Martin's X-59 program lead. "That's why the work that we're doing with NASA on X-59 is so important." Instead of house-shaking shockwaves, people on the ground may barely hear the X-59 zipping overhead. "The closest analogy I can make to what it would sound like is your neighbor closing their car door," Buonanno says. The X-59's needle nose makes up over a third of the test plane's 97-foot length. The unique aerodynamics and characteristics of the design-combined with a high-mounted engine that masks its noise-will limit the plane's sound levels. But the actual use of the new technology is still years away: the first flight of the X-59 is planned for 2021, followed by several years of NASA test campaigns over the United States to collect noise data. Using the same technologies that will fly in the X-59, Lockheed Martin has also unveiled another design concept for a Quiet Supersonic Technology Airliner (QSTA). Seating 40 passengers, the aircraft would cruise at Mach 1.8, more than double the speed of today's average wide-body passenger jets, like the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A350. Transatlantic flights in just three hours by the mid-2020s While NASA and Lockheed Martin are working on a quiet sonic boom, Denver-based Boom Supersonic is moving forward with the design phase of Overture, a commercial supersonic aircraft that will seat 55 to 75 passengers. According to Boom, Overture will produce a sonic boom "at least 30 times quieter than Concorde," and fly at Mach 2.2 speeds. At that speed, Boom says it will fly passengers from San Francisco to Tokyo in five and half hours, while a New-York-to-London route would last just over three hours. Like Concorde, Boom's aircraft will only fly at supersonic speeds on transoceanic routes, while cruising at subsonic speeds over land. That's because Overture still lacks an efficient engine that both pushes the aircraft to supersonic speeds and is a good airport neighbor with law-abiding noise levels over land-even if its noise levels are much quieter than Concorde's. Boom has announced $6 billion in preorders for 20 Overture airliners from Japan Airlines (a strategic partner that invested $10 million in the company in 2017) and 10 aircraft from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Targeting a mid-2020s entry into commercial service, Boom's Overture cabin will be about the size of a regional jet and entirely business class. Seats will be laid out in a 1-1 configuration, meaning every passenger will have a window and access to the aisle. Boom says that it's "spending a lot of time optimizing the feel and comfort of Overture's interior," by eliminating things like overhead bins, instead installing under-seat storage "to make the cabin feel more open and airy." The company's smaller, two-seat prototype of the plane, called XB-1 and nicknamed "Baby Boom" is now being built in Denver. Baby Boom will begin test flights next year, the company says. A private, supersonic jet for business travelers in 2023 Boom might be marketing to business class fliers, but another company, Aerion Supersonic, is targeting businesses themselves with a concept for a supersonic luxury corporate jet named AS2. With cruising speeds at Mach 1.4, or more than 1,000 mph, the plane has "the ability to fly up to 70 percent faster than today's business jets," says Boeing, which invested in the company in February and is providing engineering, manufacturing, and flight test resources to get the jet up and running. AS2 will shave about three hours off of transatlantic flights. With a first flight planned for 2023, AS2's will fly up to 11 passengers who will be pampered in the plane's sumptuous, custom-outfitted cabin. "Aerion's project," Norris says, "could potentially open the floodgates to a wider industry return to high-speed commercial flight." https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-competition-to-bring-back-supersonic-flight-is-heating-up Back to Top Britannica Knowledge Systems to Reveal New Capabilities at the Asia Pacific Airline Training Summit SINGAPORE, August 28, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Britannica Knowledge Systems is featuring new Fox Training Management System capabilities in self-service show demos at this year's 16th annual Asia Pacific Airline Training Summit (APATS) in Singapore. Attendees will be able to simulate their training management tasks on mobile devices to see for themselves how the intuitive, user friendly Fox system can improve their organizational process efficiency. The new capabilities are products of Britannica's recently launched "Fox-for-All" approach, which combines dedicated industry segmented solutions, new user-friendly experience, cost-efficient self-implementation tools and tiered support packages. The approach leverages the Fox training management system's robust aviation features (serving United Airlines, American Airlines, Boeing and other large entities) to support and optimize the special processes of airlines, flight schools, training centers, cabin crew and maintenance. The new features that will be demonstrated at APATS were built for Fox's dedicated solution for flight schools. They provide efficient systemized processes in the areas of aircraft and instructor dispatch and well as customer financial management. For flight dispatches and returns, Fox provides a daily flight management dashboard to easily allocate the relevant and available aircraft. It manages a flight log process -- capturing pilot, cadet and flight details, aircraft issues and squawk information -- to ensure safety and initiate maintenance events. For finance and billing, Fox enables flight schools to customize pricing per customer, track training hours for billing, and oversee the entire payment process. "Our new features save time, improve safety, enhance recordkeeping and ensure accurate billing," said Miki Ringelhim, VP, Sales. "They complete the package in delivering a cost-effective, all-in-one solution for managing a flight school's entire training operation." Visitors to Britannica's APATS Booth 504 will be able to test Fox's specialized solutions for airlines, flight schools, training centers, cabin crew and maintenance on either a tablet, cell phone or laptop. The booth will also feature an exciting airplane flying video game with the opportunity to win big prizes. About Britannica Knowledge Systems (www.britannica-ks.com) At Britannica Knowledge Systems, we develop industry-leading visionary solutions to optimize training operations. Our flagship product, Fox, the sophisticated algorithm-based training management system, helps small to large and complex training organizations systemize processes, reduce costs and improve throughput. We listen closely to our customers and continuously enhance Fox with cutting-edge technology to meet evolving needs. Our talented and experienced professionals apply proven methodologies to ensure complete customer success. https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/494821970/britannica-knowledge-systems-to-reveal-new-capabilities-at-the-asia-pacific-airline-training-summit Back to Top SpaceX's Starhopper prototype soars in 150-meter 'hop test' New York (CNN Business)An early prototype of the spacecraft that SpaceX hopes will one day shuttle people deep into the solar system just completed its highest and most intense test yet. The craft, called Starhopper, fired up its engine for roughly one minute and soared high above the South Texas landscape before landing upright nearby on Tuesday evening. Starhopper has undergone a series of very brief "hop tests." They're meant to collect data and help engineers hash out how they'll land a spacecraft on another planet. Tuesday's "hop" was by far the highest. The Starhopper vehicle climbed above the plume of smoke put off by its Raptor engine, and a livestream of the test showed it hovering over the dusty floor of SpaceX's test site in Boca Chica, Texas, a remote border community on the Gulf Coast. The craft throttled its engine and maneuvered eastward, taking a parabolic path to a pinpoint landing on a nearby ground pad. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had said SpaceX planned to lift the vehicle about 150 meters, or about 50 stories high. Musk congratulated his rocket company on the successful test in a tweet Tuesday. Musk also previously confirmed on Twitter that the latest test would be the last for this Starhopper. Starhopper is an early precursor to Starship, a spaceship design proposed by Musk that would blast off from Earth riding atop an enormous rocket, called Super Heavy, which is slated to be by far the most powerful launch vehicle ever created. The Starship and Super Heavy system is at the core of SpaceX stated mission: to colonize Mars. Musk said that Space X planned to start investing heavily this year in developing the hardware it needs to send people to the Red Planet. "Hop tests" are not new for the company. SpaceX used another prototype vehicle, called Grasshopper, to conduct similar tests in the years before the company figured out how to land its Falcon 9 rockets safely back on Earth after launching. Musk's rocket company stands alone in its ability to guide a first-stage booster, by far the largest and most expensive portion of the rocket, back to a landing pad so it can be refurbished and used again on future orbital missions. SpaceX says its reusable rocket technology has allowed it to drastically reduce the cost of spaceflight. SpaceX and Boca Chica Village SpaceX began testing Starhopper in Boca Chica earlier this year. This latest test marked the first time that residents in the tiny community of nearby Boca Chica Village, where roughly 30 homes are located, were given a notice ahead of a SpaceX test. Warnings passed out to the residents stated that a siren would sound at the time of liftoff. It advised people to exit their houses with their pets because of a risk that "a malfunction of the SpaceX vehicle during flight will create a overpressure event that can break windows." They received the notices on Monday, before a hop test attempt that was ultimately aborted, and ahead of the successful flight on Tuesday. Eddie Treviņo, the local county judge, said he issued the warnings after discussing the risks with SpaceX and federal authorities. The risk of casualties was said to be negligible. Treviņo said there's a "huge, huge sense of excitement" about SpaceX in Boca Chica and the nearby city of Brownsville. The company, he said, is expected to draw tourists to the area and help stimulate the local economy. He added that the Boca Chica Village community is largely retirees who moved to the remote location to "get away from it all." "And that's become harder to do because of SpaceX moving the operations in," he told CNN Business. "Hopefully we can continue to come up with a win-win protocol" of alerting residents before potentially disruptive tests. As SpaceX continues tests, and potentially introduces a more powerful prototype vehicle, it's not clear how the county will issue warnings. "We're kind of inventing the wheel," Treviņo said, adding that he will continue discussions with SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/28/business/spacex-starhopper-starship-hop-150-meter-test/index.html Curt Lewis