December 5, 2019 - No. 095 In This Issue Industry Forces Congressional Action On Maintenance Training Standards PRCC breaks ground on Aviation and Aerospace Academy in Hancock County Raytheon Unveils Virtual Reality Trainer for V-22 Maintainers Air Astana Completes First C-Check on Airbus A320 Neo at Almaty Airport Base Boeing to Give $48 Million in Grants to More Than 400 Global Charitable Organizations AMAC Sees Influx of Completions, Mx Projects Repair costs for Kentucky planes have some lawmakers wondering whether they're worth it APiJET lands first commercial license for NASA TASAR technology MOONEY AGAIN MAKING PARTS, AIRCRAFT EASA advises inspection of Xtra Aerospace parts "Robot Hotel" Launching to the International Space Station on SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Industry Forces Congressional Action On Maintenance Training Standards Industry has long advocated for an update to regulations that govern aviation maintenance training schools (AMTS). Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 147 was originally established under the Civil Aeronautics Administration, circa 1958, and recodified into 14 CFR in 1962. Since that time, neither the regulation nor the subject areas it mandates schools to teach have significantly changed. Given the technological advances the aviation industry has made since then, 1950s teaching standards for would-be maintenance personnel are grossly inadequate. While schools have and do provide training above and beyond what is required for a mechanic airframe and/or powerplant (A&P) program, the part 147, 1,900-hr. seat-time mandate limits how much "extra" content a school can incorporate and remain marketable. FAA-certificated schools that offer the A&P as part of a degree program have the added challenge of competing with other occupational pathway programs. Common educational standards set the minimum number of credits required for an associate's degree at 60 semester hours-or 1,800 clock hours-making it difficult for an AMTS to justify adding more coursework to an already credit-heavy AMT degree. Regulatory relief has been slow in coming. A 2015 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) came eight years after an Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee submitted a formal recommendation to revise the rule. It took another four years for the FAA to publish a supplemental proposal, an extra step to make adjustments to the NPRM in response to industry feedback. FAA officials have said they are still two years away from issuing the final rule, targeting publication in 2022. Adding insult to the glacial pace, industry has serious concerns with the FAA's proposed revisions to the rule. Comments submitted by the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC)-and supported by a coalition of trade groups including the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, Airlines for America and the Regional Airline Association-beseech the agency to adopt a performance-based approach that defers to U.S. Education Department oversight for all matters concerning quality of education. ATEC says the FAA's proposed rule is too restrictive, overly prescriptive and would stifle an already inadequate pipeline of workforce personnel. Given the anticipated timeline and the high-stakes need for the new rule to withstand another 50 years of innovative technological advances, industry has asked Congress to step in. The Promoting Aviation Regulations for Technical Training (PARTT) 147 Act-a bipartisan and bicameral bill championed by Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Tommy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Reps. Don Young (R-Alaska) and Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.)-would direct the FAA to replace the current part 147 with a new, community-draft rule. Language in the PARTT 147 Act is largely derived from regulatory text offered by ATEC in its comments to the original and supplemental FAA proposals. If it goes into effect, the law would give the FAA oversight responsibility for a program's facilities, equipment and instructor qualifications. Accredited institutions could rely on the quality systems approved under Education Department regulations, without having to go through duplicative FAA approvals that exist under today's regulations and in the agency's proposed revisions. The draft language would also implement a community request for the FAA to change the way it approaches dual enrollment programs and allow AMTS to provide A&P content away from their primary locations (at a high school, for instance). Many aviation technical schools are prevented from expanding their programs through off-site offerings under the current regulatory structure, a problem the community says is easily remedied through utilization of additional fixed locations, something not currently available to part 147 certificate holders. The direct rule language relies heavily on imminent FAA airman certification standards (ACS) as a check on quality. The new testing standard-being developed by an industry-FAA working group and slated for publication in the summer of 2020-will set forth the knowledge and skills required to safely and adequately perform work on aircraft and components and to act as the basis for the FAA written, oral, and practical mechanic tests. Under the proposed framework, schools would use the testing standard as the basis for their curriculum, which would ensure training and FAA testing are correlated and that A&P programs continue to evolve as the FAA continually revises the testing standards in line with industry needs. The agency would use FAA mechanic testing results to assess a school's mechanic program and set a 70% target passage rate for all AMTS students taking the FAA mechanic test. The PARTT 147 Act has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Those bodies will ultimately decide whether the legislation goes to the House and Senate floors for a vote. https://www.mro-network.com/safety-regulatory/industry-forces-congressional-action- maintenance-training-standards Back to Top PRCC breaks ground on Aviation and Aerospace Academy in Hancock County HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - Pearl River Community College will break ground Tuesday morning on the Phil Bryant Aviation and Aerospace Technology Academy in Hancock County. The facility is being built at Stennis International Airport and is possible thanks to a $2 million grant from the Department of Economic Development Administration (EDA). That grant will be matched with more than $3.9 million in state and local investments and is expected to help create 469 jobs, retain 550 jobs, and generate $5 million in private investments. Leaders of the community college say this program will help provide more skilled employees for the workforce which, in turn, will hopefully bring new companies to the area. Students will be able to study things like welding, precision manufacturing, instrumentation, industrial electronics, and more. Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission CEO Bill Cork says that Tuesday's groundbreaking is a big step in the right direction for Mississippi's space industry. "As we have great ambitions to convert Stennis International Airport into a global air and space port, you're gonna have to have a specialized workforce to address the life cycle needs of those companies. This is a first step in the workforce development arena to try to build those programs," said Cork. The academy will by an estimated 25,000 square feet and will consist of eight classrooms, five labs, lobby with reception area, faculty and staff offices, break room/kitchenette for staff, indoor sitting/vending area for students and an outdoor courtyard sitting area. That facility is expected to be complete in 2021. "The PRCC Hancock Aviation Aerospace Workforce Academy will not only be a state-of-the-art, accessible and affordable campus for the students in Hancock County, but it will also provide a steady pipeline of skilled workers to our local businesses and industries today and in the future," PRCC Director of Government and Community Relations Angie Kothmann said. The hangar, which should be finished by the end of 2020, will be an estimated 18,000 square feet and will consist of: two classrooms with labs, open hangar area with hands-on lab stations, outdoor covered area for equipment training, lobby with reception area, faculty and staff offices, break room/kitchenette for staff, small vending area for students. The hangar will offer the following programs: Airframe & Propulsion Technology, Unmanned Arial Systems and Precision Manufacturing. Every classroom and lab will be designed to be multi-functional and versatile to constantly fit the changing needs of the businesses and industries in this area. Programs listed are the core offerings to start, but they can be changed and added to at any time. The academy will offer diverse educational opportunities including academic, career and technical and workforce programs. The academy will offer the following programs: Instrumentation, Industrial Electronics Technology, Practical Nursing, Welding & Cutting Technology, Computer Aided Design & Drafting, Business Management Technology, Academic Courses, Workforce Programs, Adult Education/GED. The programs that will be new to the Hancock location upon its opening are Instrumentation, Airframe & Propulsion Technology, Industrial Electronics Technology, Precision Manufacturing, Computer Aided Design & Drafting and Business Management Technology. The Aviation Maintenance Technology program is an instructional program that prepares individuals to inspect, repair, service, and overhaul aircraft engine components and systems. This program is designed to prepare the student for the Federal Aviation Administration exams for certification as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician. Industry standards referenced are from the Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 147, Aviation Maintenance Technician Schools (Airframes and Power Plants). Congressman Palazzo and Sens. Cindy-Hyde Smith and Roger Wicker all worked together to secure the funding and make the project a reality. "Workforce training and development have become a critical part of sustaining Mississippi's leadership in the aviation and aerospace industries," Wicker said. "I appreciate President Trump and the Department of Commerce for making technical training a priority across our country. The students trained at this new facility at Stennis will graduate with the skills they need to be successful and contribute to our state's economic growth." "This Aviation and Aerospace Workforce Academy will be an exciting and concrete example of what can be accomplished through a solid vision and strong public-private partnerships," Hyde-Smith said. "The EDA award complements local, state, and private investments that support the jobs in the growing aerospace industry in Mississippi." "Pearl River Community College is committed to strengthening and training Mississippi's workforce and this grant will only further that support to our state," Palazzo said. "Many advancements in aerospace have come from or through Mississippi and I look forward to this grant continuing that progress." This type of cutting-edge work, Governor Phil Bryant said, is nothing new to the state. "We've been testing for Apollo and the Shuttle program and we will help send man and woman to the moon one day starting right here in Hancock County," Bryant said. Not unlike the Apollo and shuttle vehicles, these students' space education will start in Mississippi too. "Just to think that young men and women, when they're working on the moon one day, when they're there at that base that we will stop off until we go to Mars, they will be talking about when they were educated here in Hancock County, at this facility. Others will come up and say that's exactly where I went to school. It's gonna be an exciting future for the young men and women, that come here at this Pearl River facility for aerospace and aviation," Bryant said. https://www.wdam.com/2019/12/03/prcc-breaks-ground-aviation-aerospace-academy-hancock- county/ Back to Top Raytheon Unveils Virtual Reality Trainer for V-22 Maintainers Raytheon unveiled a virtual reality (VR) version of its portable V-22 trainer on Dec. 2 at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, Fla. The Aircraft Functional V-22 Trainer-Virtual Reality "is a fully immersive system that provides hyper-realistic training across all experience levels, including early-career aviation maintenance students and those engaged in continuing education," Raytheon said. The company has said that such VR training can reduce workplace injuries by 25 percent or more. Wendell Bradshaw, the director of Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services business, said in a statement that the Aircraft Functional V-22 Trainer-Virtual Reality system "is intuitive and realistic, making the training sessions more productive and meaningful." "Adding the virtual reality element further increases the training's realism and the students' mission readiness," he said. The system is to add training depth, as students are able to access integrated interactive electronics technical manuals and 41 different operational aircrew and maintainer checklists for navigating the fully interactive cockpit, cabin, and exterior, and instructors can insert up to 81 unique system failures, such as electrical power, navigation, blade-fold, and electronic warfare, into the training scenarios, according to Raytheon. "The trainer also supports multiplayer collaboration with directional audio and two-way communications with instructors and other students," the company said. I/ITSEC takes place this week at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. https://www.aviationtoday.com/2019/12/04/raytheon-unveils-virtual-reality-trainer-v-22- maintainers/ Back to Top Air Astana Completes First C-Check on Airbus A320 Neo at Almaty Airport Base Air Astana completed its first independent C-check at its base at Almaty Airport in November 2019. An Airbus A320neo aircraft, registration P4-KBH was selected for this C-check. Air Astana received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in October to perform this advanced level of maintenance. The certificate allows Air Astana to perform heavy maintenance (C-check) on Airbus A319/A320/A321 aircraft. The C-check which was performed in 10 days under the guidance of S7 Technics specialists, with Air Astana engineers and support teams successfully carrying out over 170 safety checks, as well as minor cabin restoration. In preparation for this significant maintenance work over the past 11 months, Air Astana engineers have received training at S7 Technics' base in Moscow. Last year Air Astana and S7 Technics signed a memorandum of understanding to establish C-check maintenance at Air Astana's bases in Almaty and Nur-Sultan. Under the agreement, S7 Technics provides consulting services as well as training of Air Astana specialists to expand their repair capabilities. The partnership involves the sharing and exchange of tools and equipment between the Air Astana maintenance base and S7 Technics' bases. "Our primary goal is to minimize airline costs by independently performing heavy aircraft maintenance. With the expansion of our experience and capability, we also see the possibility of carrying out maintenance for external customers. This in turn will increase revenue and offset part of the cost of performing our own C-checks. We expect this to happen in the coming years," said Keith Wardle, Vice President, Maintenance and Engineering, Air Astana. "In the history of S7 Technics, this is the first such project. But there are examples in the aviation industry when a provider helps a customer develop their own competencies. For an airline of the scale of Air Astana, the development of its own competencies in the field of basic maintenance is not a whim, but a logical step to reduce costs," commented Igor Panshin, Deputy General Director for Marketing and Sales, S7 Technics. Air Astana will significantly increase its maintenance capability at the Nur-Sultan base ready for the first C-check there in 2020. https://www.aviationpros.com/airlines/press-release/21116682/air-astana-air-astana-completes- first-ccheck-on-airbus-a320-neo-at-almaty-airport-base Back to Top Boeing to Give $48 Million in Grants to More Than 400 Global Charitable Organizations CHICAGO, Dec. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In observance of Giving Tuesday, Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced a 2019 charitable grants package totaling more than $48 million. The grants will support 404 charitable organizations in 50 countries, funding programs through 2020 and beyond. This latest investment puts Boeing on track to surpass $230 million in total corporate giving in 2019. This sum includes charitable giving, company business contributions, employee giving and employee gift match. Boeing corporate charitable investments are amplified by employee giving. In 2019, Boeing employees will donate nearly $40 million to charitable causes - bringing total employee giving to more than $350 million over the last ten years. "Boeing's people bring to life our values and our enduring commitment to supporting the communities where we live and work," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing president and CEO. "Through their close collaboration, our teams and community partners are working to inspire the next generation of aerospace innovators, support our veterans and create lasting change in the communities we call home." The charitable grants package includes $8 million for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and workforce development programs aimed at building a robust talent pipeline of civil aviation pilots and maintenance technicians. Boeing forecasts demand for 804,000 new civil aviation pilots and 769,000 new maintenance technicians to fly and maintain the world's fleet over the next 20 years. Boeing will also commit $800,000 to launch the first Newton Flight Academy in Turkey in 2020. This funding builds on the company's previous $5 million investment and successful launch of Newton Europe in Spain and Poland in 2019. The Newton Flight Academy teaches STEM skills to secondary school students through hands-on application of the math and physics of flight. Grant dollars will help fund a permanent, experiential classroom that includes three full-motion Boeing flight simulators. "At Boeing, we're committed helping students succeed. We want students to know that their future belongs to them-it has no boundaries," said Cheri Carter, vice president of Boeing Global Engagement. "We believe our success as innovators depends on everyone coming together to inspire the next generation to share in our aerospace advancements. That's why we're investing more than 50 percent of our philanthropic dollars to fund high-impact education programs in the U.S. and abroad." Also included in the package is a previously announced $10 million investment for veterans' recovery and rehabilitation programs and workforce transition services. Anchored by local and regional employee engagement activities, Boeing corporate giving is focused on increasing access to globally competitive STEM learning in underserved and underrepresented communities, improving technical workforce skills and supporting military families and veterans. Boeing investments also address unique local challenges critical to communities where the company operates. A full list of Boeing's grant partners can be found here. About Boeing Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As the top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries. Boeing employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and leverages the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth. About Newton Flight Academy Pioneered by nonprofit organization FIRST Scandinavia, the Newton Flight Academy teaches students aviation-related STEM concepts, reinforced with full-motion flight simulators. Through practical learning activities, and the opportunity to fly an airplane in realistic flight simulators, visitors of the Newton Flight Academy get a unique insight into the multifaceted world of aviation. http://www.newsbug.info/news/national/illinois/boeing-to-give-million-in-grants-to-more-than- global/article_7442022a-05ab-5d8d-8c2a-d04ff48eef42.html Back to Top AMAC Sees Influx of Completions, Mx Projects AMAC Aerospace has seen a recent influx of maintenance and completions projects on aircraft ranging from Airbus and Boeing narrowbody aircraft to Bombardier Globals, the Basel, Switzerland- based MRO provider and completions center announced today. In all, the company has secured work on four privately-owned Boeing 737s, three Airbus A319s, and a Bombardier Global 5000 and 6000. The first of four Boeing 737s will arrive in the next few weeks for a pre-purchase inspection. It will be joined by a 737 needing a base maintenance check and another scheduled for A1 and B1 due maintenance. A fourth 737 is slated to arrive in February for a C3 check. On that airplane, Amac also will carry out a landing gear overhaul, installation of ADS-B Out and future air navigation system (FANS), and a partial cabin refurbishment. For the three A319s, one will receive six- and 18-month due maintenance, arriving before year-end. A second one arriving just after the new year will receive Ka-band satcom connectivity, while a third A319 will undergo 1A, 2A, and 1C checks, as well as receive ADS-B Out and FANS. A Global 5000 that received major maintenance in October has returned to its facility for a cabin refurbishment, while a Global 6000 is slated for cabin interior work, AMAC said. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-12-03/amac-sees-influx- completions-mx-projects Back to Top Repair costs for Kentucky planes have some lawmakers wondering whether they're worth it Maintenance costs for two state-owned planes primarily used by the governor topped $872,000 over the past two years, leading the state Senate president to question whether Kentucky should consider selling one of the aircraft. "We have to be good stewards of state taxpayer dollars," said Sen. Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, who said he would support a financial analysis of the costs and benefits of owning and maintaining the planes. Stivers stressed that any analysis should be "more than just simple raw dollar costs," including concerns about security and economic development opportunities that necessitate quick action. According to work orders provided by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet through an open records request, more than 63% of the repair, parts and labor costs borne by the state through Oct. 1 were billed to outside companies for labor, although the state employs mechanics at the Capital City Airport Division. A large majority of the $455,531 in repair, parts and labor costs since July 2018 for the Beechcraft King Air plane owned by the Kentucky State Police were payments to private aircraft repair companies. Cabinet work orders also show $416,790 in maintenance costs for the state police-owned Learjet from January 2018 through Oct. 1 of this year, which is also primarily used by the governor. Nearly 82% of those costs were billed for the labor of outside companies. According to Kentucky State Police flight records, Gov. Matt Bevin has flown aboard the 47-year old Beechcraft plane on at least 131 days and the 34-year old Learjet at least 97 days in his term as governor through September. Like past governors, Bevin faced criticism over using state-owned aircraft for personal and political trips during his term, as well as not revealing the purpose of certain out-of-state flights. Transportation Cabinet spokesperson Naitore Djigbenou stated in an email that the age of the two planes contributed to the increased cost of their maintenance, along with federally required upgrades. "Similar to an old vehicle, aircraft maintenance expenses fluctuate year to year and repairs can become more costly the older the equipment becomes, due to major replacements and technology upgrades," Djigbenou stated. Spokespersons for the cabinet and state police have not responded to an email asking what the annual insurance payments are to cover each of the planes, and an open records request is pending. Denny Goodman - the avionics manager at Aviation Technology, a Louisville aircraft maintenance company - reviewed the work orders and said the total spent by the state for these repairs was "pretty much" what he would expect for planes of that age sent to outside vendors. He said it appears the Beechcraft and Learjet ran into particularly costly expenses in this period with a landing gear replacement and one-time avionics upgrade - a federally-required mandate for all planes by Jan. 1 next year. "Some years are a lot worse than other ones," said Goodman about the maintenance costs, "and it looks like this one was a bad year for them." Senate President Stivers told The Courier Journal it's worth doing a financial analysis of maintaining the planes, saying: "I'm not certain why we need two planes." This financial analysis should include security concerns for the governor, which Stivers said are considerable, as well as opportunities that could be lost if there was an urgent economic development situation where the governor needed to fly someone in quickly to secure business for the state. "Can they get a charter plane in there to make that happen?" Stivers asked. "It's not an easy question to answer, but it's one that I think could be answered. But there are certain things that happen (quickly) and you do not want to miss those opportunities." According to Goodman, big local companies like Humana have their own fleet of aircraft to fly executives around the country and back again quickly, but some have also sold off planes when their accountants crunched the numbers and found the benefits of maintaining a fleet was no longer worth the costs. "Once their flying goes down or if commercial flights will suit their needs, I've seen them get rid of flight departments and just fly everybody on commercial," Goodman said. "It's tailored to the company." In addition to using state aircraft for official business, Bevin took criticism for taking flights for personal or political purposes, including trips to attend 24 campaign fundraisers where he raised $915,299. Though Bevin's campaign, Republican groups, and outside political organizations reimbursed the state for personal flights, Bevin also took criticism for not revealing the purpose of several out-of- state flights, saying it was none of taxpayers' business as long as the state was eventually reimbursed. Stivers had a difference of opinion, saying "if there is a personal use or political use, that needs to be fully disclosed, why we're using state property, even though you're reimbursing." State Rep. Angie Hatton, D-Whitesburg, has filed a bill for the upcoming session of the Kentucky General Assembly in response to Bevin's refusal to disclose the purpose of some personal trips using state planes, making such disclosure mandatory. The bill would require constitutional officers to submit to the Executive Ethics Commission a detailed description of their use of state-owned vehicles for "nonpublic purposes" within 30 days. In a statement to The Courier Journal, Hatton said while she is an attorney and "not an aviation expert," these maintenance costs "indicate it may be time to see if we're better served by making continued repairs or whether we should look at other options that may save us more in the long run." As for governors using state aircraft to attend political fundraisers - a tactic used by former governors Ernie Fletcher and Steve Beshear before Bevin - Stivers said that should not happen if politics are the only purpose of the trip and nothing involving official duties. "If it is purely a political function, I don't think they should use it," Stivers said. "I don't think that you should sit there and say, all right ... you're going to have a fundraiser in Paducah, so we're just going to fly down and fly back for a fundraiser. No, that's not appropriate." Stivers added that the same principle should apply to political events in the governor's mansion, as "I don't think you should be having a big Republican fundraiser up there or a big Democratic fundraiser up there. That's not the purpose of (the mansion)." Fight records maintained by the state police show that Bevin, Stivers, and Sen. Ralph Alvarado - the governor's running mate in his reelection race this year - flew in the Beechcraft to West Virginia in July to attend a political fundraiser for President Donald Trump's reelection campaign. The trip was not included in Bevin's list of "official" travel using state aircraft and its $1,750 cost was reimbursed by the Republican Party of Kentucky a month later. Bevin appears to still be using state aircraft, even after conceding defeat to Gov.-elect Andy Beshear, who takes office Dec. 10. Flight-tracking website FlightAware shows that the Beechcraft left Frankfort and landed in Boca Raton, Florida, on the morning of Nov. 19, returning to Kentucky three days later. While Bevin's spokesperson never replied to questions asking if Bevin was on the plane and, if so, what was the purpose of the trip, the Republican Governors Association held its annual conference in Boca Raton on Nov. 20-21, and one of the governors tweeted that he had spoken to Bevin there. Plane repairs and upgrades State records show that Bevin did not fly aboard the Beechcraft until late August in 2018, with a work order that same month showing the state paid $381,436 in parts, repair and labor services for the plane, mostly to Wichita-based Beechcraft manufacturer and service provider Textron Aviation. In this period, Djigbenou indicated the Beechcraft had two required inspections and a landing gear replacement at this service center, which was "one of a few authorized service centers in the country that can perform the work and the low bidder on the job." During this inspection, additional repairs were identified that needed to be addressed before the Beechcraft could fly safely, including the repair of an engine cover. Djigbenou said the plane also had a new avionics system installed that is federally required of all aircraft starting next year, though this was not itemized on any work order. Bevin did not fly aboard the Learjet from late May until October of this year, as it spent most of the summer at an aircraft repair company in Kansas. An Oct. 1 work order for the Learjet shows the state spent $283,109 on outside labor to this company, which replaced the avionics system and removed old wiring. The governor began using the Learjet shortly after it returned to Kentucky, flying to West Virginia and New Jersey on Oct. 1 and to Washington, D.C., two weeks later. Djigbenou said "regardless of the frequency of use," the Learjet had three mandatory inspections in this time period, plus additional work like the new avionics system and the replacement of two batteries. Stivers said he was told the Learjet had major problems and had almost crashed earlier in the year, but did not have any specific details. Requests for comment regarding that statement sent to the Transportation Cabinet and the state police were not immediately returned. https://forwardky.com/repair-costs-for-kentucky-planes-have-some-lawmakers-wondering- whether-theyre-worth-it/ Back to Top APiJET lands first commercial license for NASA TASAR technology SEATTLE, Dec. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- APiJET, a pioneer in real-time aircraft data analytics, today announced that it has become the first to obtain a commercial license to offer Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) NASA technology. On April 26, 2019, APiJET announced its development partnership with Alaska Airlines based upon TASAR technology that had been the focus of a NASA trial over the past few years. On November 12, 2019, NASA and APiJET finalized the first commercial agreement enabling APiJET to offer solutions based upon TASAR technology. We are pleased that APiJET is the first company to commercialize NASA's TASAR technology and will bring it to market. With its flight optimization capabilities validated by NASA in an operational trial with Alaska Airlines, aircraft operators across the board can now benefit from this innovative new technology in their cockpits. TASAR is also ripe for further growth with the potential to add more data sources and derivative functionality to enhance its operational benefits," said David Wing, TASAR Principal Investigator, NASA Langley Research Center. TASAR has many similarities to the popular Waze-app but is intended for the cockpit and complex operating environments faced by pilots and airlines every day. TASAR algorithms identify fuel and time saving flight trajectories and provides recommendations to pilots through an Electronic Flight Bag app. These recommendations factor in multiple real-time data feeds, including traffic, resulting in the more efficient flight trajectories saving fuel and time, yielding an estimated savings of $14.97M/year for Alaska Airlines1. "This license is a great example of how our mission work benefits the nation and the world. The Technology Transfer Program's Patent Portfolio is making these kinds of technologies more accessible to companies than ever before. It's great to look up in the sky and see NASA technology at work reducing emissions and making air travel more affordable," said Jesse Midgett, technology transfer specialist at NASA Langley. "I am particularly proud of the work done jointly between APiJET, NASA and Alaska Airlines over the last 15 months to move the TASAR experience from a proof-of-concept towards a production-ready system," said Stephen Elop, CEO of APiJET. "This has involved the development of new in-cockpit application capability, the development of new data feeds to/from the airplane, aircraft integration, the incorporation of Aviation Partners' proprietary aircraft performance models and numerous other elements. The journey from concept to production-ready has positioned us for successful 2020 airline deployments", added Elop. APiJET is marketing this new offering under the name Digital Winglets™ with NASA TASAR inside. APiJET gets part of its name from being associated with Aviation Partners, Inc., the Seattle-based company, led by aviation pioneer Joe Clark, that successfully developed Blended and Split Scimitar Winglets™ which have led to over 10 billion gallons in fuel savings to date. In 2018, Aviation Partners created a joint venture with iJET Technologies which had been driving for operational efficiencies with its Smart Aircraft™ System. APiJET's extensive real-time aircraft data experience combined with Aviation Partner's, Inc. aircraft performance background results in the perfect combination for advancing the NASA TASAR technology into this new offering. About APiJET APiJET is a Seattle-based joint venture of Aviation Partners, Inc. and iJet Technologies. APiJET offers improved operational efficiency through its Smart Aircraft™ System. It supports smart flight and ground operations as well as maintenance in real-time, anywhere in the world. Launch customer, Icelandair, has fully deployed APiJET's analytics service across its entire fleet of Boeing aircraft. https://www.wfmj.com/story/41408367/apijet-lands-first-commercial-license-for-nasa-tasar- technology Back to Top MOONEY AGAIN MAKING PARTS, AIRCRAFT TEXAS PLANT 'ACTUALLY NEVER CLOSED' Workers are again hand-driving rivets and curving sheet metal in a Kerrville, Texas, general aviation manufacturing facility at the venerable Mooney International Corp. "They actually never closed," said Don Maxwell, a respected Mooney service expert who leads owner maintenance clinics. "Mooney is in my blood," said Maxwell, who was reached by telephone at his East Texas service facility. He explained that a skeleton crew "actually never quit selling parts" for the estimated 11,000 legacy aircraft in the fleet or handling warranty claims for newer aircraft. Maxwell took the latest woes in stride. "It's just another cycle in the life of Mooney. I've been with them since 1968 and I've seen lots of ups and downs." He learned that no new parts were made for about three weeks and other facets of the operation were idled, although he was in touch with parts department employees throughout the duration. It's not the first time a few dedicated employees returned to work to keep the lights on while management struggled to find a footing for the sleek, speedy, crisp-handling aircraft that return a lot of range and value for the buck. Albert Mooney established the brand 90 years ago, and the namesake aircraft company suffered its first of many financial blows in 1930, just a year after it was born. Over the past few decades a rotation of U.S. and international ownership groups from France, Germany, and China have weathered continued financial pressure to update the model in the face of competition from industry-leading Cirrus Aircraft-adding a second entry door and a composite cabin to its flagship M20 Ovation and $800,000 Acclaim Ultra models in 2017. Mooney pilots prize their aircraft for their economy and their stoutness. The Mooney M20J 201 model was touted for coaxing 201 miles per hour from a fuel-injected 200-horsepower Lycoming four-cylinder engine-on about 10 gallons of fuel per hour. A company advertising campaign during aviation's heyday showed dozens of employees sitting and standing atop the aircraft's one-piece wing and tube reinforced roll-cage-constructed fuselage. One aircraft owner and his family walked away without a scratch after slamming a wing into a pickup truck bed during an emergency landing on a highway. The Kerrville Daily Times reported that staff were called into work December 2, nearly three weeks after the latest idling on November 12. "At this time there are negotiations with an additional investor," Mooney representative Devan Burns wrote to the newspaper in an email. Maxwell said the manufacturing plant "is in good shape" and added that future owners would benefit from recent upgrades in tooling and design. "You know it's a good airplane because it's survived all these years," said Maxwell. "We are tickled that they are back at work." https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/december/04/mooney-again-making-parts- aircraft Back to Top EASA advises inspection of Xtra Aerospace parts Europe's safety regulator is drawing operators' attention to the possibility that items improperly approved by US firm Xtra Aerospace may have been installed on European-registered aircraft. Xtra Aerospace's repair station certificate was revoked by the US FAA following the discovery that a crucial angle-of-attack sensor was improperly calibrated before it was fitted to the Lion Air Boeing 737 Max which crashed in October last year. The Indonesian inquiry found that "inadequacy" of FAA oversight allowed Florida-based Xtra to carry out incorrect maintenance work. In a 2 December bulletin the European Union Aviation Safety Agency says Xtra was found, by the FAA, to have systemically approved certain items for return to service without those items being included on its capabilities list. The FAA discovered that Xtra did so without conducting self-evaluation to determine properly whether it had the appropriate and equivalent test equipment or tooling. While EASA has stopped short of issuing an airworthiness directive on the matter, it says aircraft operators, maintenance organisations and parts suppliers should inspect their fleets and inventories for any items approved for return-to-service by Xtra. "An appropriately-certificated person should carefully scrutinise these articles [or] parts to determine airworthiness," it adds. EASA's measure echoes a similar caution from the FAA - issued through a safety alert for operators - in early November. Xtra Aerospace stresses that it co-operated with both US and Indonesian investigators during the Lion Air probe, and states that the FAA's separate findings "do not reference" the accident and are "not indications that Xtra was responsible" for the crash. "While we recognise and respect the FAA's regulatory oversight, we disagree with the agency's findings," adds Xtra. "An important consideration in reaching a settlement with the FAA was to minimise potential disruptions for Xtra's customers." It says the FAA's order was based on "procedural non-compliance" and points out that neither the order nor the safety alert identifies any specific unsafe conditions or particular instances of improper maintenance. "The order did not include any findings that Xtra lacked adequate housing, facilities, technical publications, tools, material, test equipment or trained and qualified personnel for the articles it maintained," the company adds. Xtra says that all FAA airworthiness approval tags it has issued remain valid. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/easa-advises-inspection-of-xtra-aerospace-parts- 462677/ Back to Top "Robot Hotel" Launching to the International Space Station on SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Sometimes robots need a place to stay in space, too. NASA is attaching a "robot hotel" to the outside of the International Space Station with the upcoming launch of the Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS), a protective storage unit for critical robotic tools. RiTS is set to launch on December 4, 2019, aboard the 19th SpaceX commercial resupply mission. Its first residents will be two Robotic External Leak Locators (RELL). Outfitted with mass spectrometers capable of "sniffing" out the presence of gases such as ammonia, these robotic tools are used to detect leaks from the station. Two RELL units are on board the station right now: the first RELL launched in 2015, and it proved to be such a success that a second RELL was launched as a backup earlier this year. "For each of its stored tools, RiTS will provide heat and physical protection from radiation and micrometeroids, or tiny, high-speed objects hurtling through space," said Mark Neuman, RiTS hardware manager. "Its thermal system maintains ideal temperatures for the instruments, helping them stay functional." Having this housing unit in place will also help the space station's robotic arm, Dextre, easily locate, grab and put back these important tools. In space, storage is especially important. Keeping RELL inside the station takes up space that could be used for other scientific hardware and experiments. Additionally, the process of deploying RELL takes much longer when the tool is not externally stored. RELL is a robotic tool operated remotely by mission controllers on the ground, created to facilitate space station repairs, but requires crew schedule and airlock availability to bring RELL outside the station with the use of station's Dextre robotic tool. Once outside the station, RELL currently needs to wait 12 hours in space before it can be used. This allows for RELL's extremely sensitive gas analyzer to clear itself of water vapor and other gases from inside the station, essentially giving the instruments a clean slate. Because of this extensive process, it could take multiple weeks or even months from the time a leak is suspected, to the time RELL is deployed, to then find out where it is coming from. With RiTS, this entire process would only depend on Dextre's availability, greatly expediting the search for leaks. To keep spacecraft like the International Space Station cool, NASA uses a complicated network of ammonia pumps, reservoirs and radiators - like a much more advanced housing air conditioning system. This vast network has thousands of feet of tubing and hundreds of joints. However, over its lifetime, the space station has accumulated occasional small ammonia leaks at its joints, often as a result of micrometeroids. While not a safety risk to the crew, these microscopic leaks can impact the cooling system's efficiency, which relies on ammonia to maintain habitable temperatures for the crew and equipment on board. "This hardware will significantly reduce time and cost for the station crew to deploy leak detection capabilities using Dextre." said NASA Senior Systems Integration Lead Chris Craw. "With RiTS, we'll have easier and faster access to RELL, which can help ensure our astronauts' safety in space." After its launch, RiTS will be installed through a special spacewalk by astronauts, and it will then stay on the outside of the station. RiTS even mounts to the robotic platform that moves Dextre up and down the external rails on station and ensures a RELL tool will always be accessible. Human and robotic collaborations like these can be applied to more than just the space station, including potential exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond. For example, RiTS and RELL's capabilities could be employed to detect potential leaks occurring from future human habitats on lunar and other planetary surfaces, as well as the Lunar Gateway. RiTS was developed by the Satellite Servicing Projects Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in partnership with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. https://scitechdaily.com/robot-hotel-launching-to-the-international-space-station-on-spacex-falcon- 9-rocket/ Curt Lewis