September 14, 2020 - No. 069 In This Issue Bell Adds Its First European Authorized Maintenance Center to its Support Network Airliner parts boom could follow Covid crisis THRUSH LAUNCHES ONLINE ILLUSTRATED PARTS CATALOG AND SERVICE PUBLICATION LIBRARIES DC Aviation Signs General Agreement with AeroVisto Interior Services AG Honeywell & Aerion Advance Revolutionary Flight Deck for New AS2 Supersonic Jet Cathay Pacific To Park 40% Of Its Fleet Outside Of Hong Kong FAA Proposes Extension of Slot Relief Lifting off in a storm: How Salt Lake City's new airport is ushering in the future of air travel Getting an airline communication system off the ground in real-time SpaceX gearing up for 12-mile-high test flight with Starship SN8 prototype Bell Adds Its First European Authorized Maintenance Center to its Support Network Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, announced its first ever Authorized Maintenance Center (AMC) in Europe. The new AMC will provide maintenance for the Bell 505 and Bell 407 and is located near downtown Warsaw in Konstancin-Jeziorna, Poland. "We are excited to announce Bell's first AMC in Europe," said Duncan Van De Velde. "It's important to ensure local support to our customers, and with this new Polish AMC, it provides Bell operators a sense of security that they can have maintenance or work performed on their aircraft that has been vetted and approved by Bell. We are glad Aero Club will be providing local maintenance and support to customers. This added support is in addition to the services Bell's Prague Service Center offers for heavier maintenance needs." Aero Club is one of the largest general aviation maintenance stations in Poland. It started its operations in 2001 and was granted maintenance organization Part-145 in 2004. Aero Club offers professional level of services and has long-standing experience in servicing various types of aircraft. The Aero Club is a sister company with the same ownership as JB Investments Sp. z o.o., a Bell Independent Representative (IR) in Poland since 2007. "We are proud to provide maintenance services for Bell," said Jan Borowski, president of Aero Club and JB Investments companies. "It's exciting to be a part of Bell's AMC network and to continue its excellency of providing unmatched support and service to its Polish customers. We are confident that combining our sales efforts with professional technical support will result in growing the Bell fleet in Poland." Bell established the AMC network to reinforce its commitment to enhancing local support to customers, so they can quickly and efficiently continue their operations. Bell supports customers in more than 50 countries in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/maintenance-providers/press-release/21154078/bell-bell-adds-its-first-european-authorized-maintenance-center-to-its-support-network Back to Top Airliner parts boom could follow Covid crisis While airlines suffer terrible losses under the scourge of Covid-19, companies that profit off the dismantling of aircraft parts are poised for a major shift in the industry. Companies that store, dismantle and buy and sell used aircraft parts see opportunity in parked planes, fear a sudden increase in the supply of used parts risks depressing prices in the estimated US$3 billion a year industry, despite demand from airlines seeking to lower maintenance costs, CGTN.com reported. Even as aviation remains in a slump because of the pandemic, the head of US commercial aerospace company GA Telesis was made aware of five airlines calling for offers to dismantle planes. Across the border, Canada's Aerocycle is bidding to buy grounded planes for the first time to dismantle and resell for parts, instead of just recycling aircraft on consignment from carriers, the report said. Like vultures swooping in on a carcass, the fate of the world's pool of grounded planes is being closely watched by players in the market for used-serviceable material, with one report from consultants Oliver Wyman forecasting "a tsunami of demand" for such parts, as airlines seek to lower costs. Used materials could compete with new parts and defer immediate airline demand for "aftermarket" spend, referring to the maintenance, repair and overhaul sector, now estimated by Naveo Consultancy at US$50 billion, the report said. As a result, one industry executive said he has avoided buying parts, fearing a slump if too many planes are dismantled. "I think we're going to see a rapid decrease in pricing," said the executive, speaking on condition of anonymity. The number of planes dismantled for parts or scrap could double to 1,000 annually through 2023, up from roughly 400 to 500 planes a year since 2016, according to data firm Cirium, the report said. Naveo estimates 60% of global passenger and cargo fleets are currently flying. In 2020, Naveo expects 2,000 aircraft will be retired or parked and not returned to service, up from 680 in 2019. But those planes would not all be immediately dismantled, as some carriers wait in case market conditions improve, Managing Director Richard Brown said. Indeed, UK-based Air Salvage International, which normally dismantles between 40 and 50 aircraft a year, has parked more planes without a buyer for their parts since the Covid-19 outbreak. Founder Mark Gregory expects most will eventually be dismantled, the report said. Before the pandemic, planes arrived at Air Salvage with a buyer, reflecting healthy demand for coveted parts like engines. Airlines seek viable used parts from retired aircraft for their younger planes that are due for heavy maintenance. That allows airlines to avoid costly repairs and keep their aircraft flying. GA Telesis, which counts Tokyo Century Corp as its largest shareholder, has seen airlines use spare parts from their grounded aircraft to put off maintenance at the company's repair business, Chief Executive Abdol Moabery said. https://asiatimes.com/2020/09/airliner-parts-boom-could-follow-covid-crisis/ Back to Top THRUSH LAUNCHES ONLINE ILLUSTRATED PARTS CATALOG AND SERVICE PUBLICATION LIBRARIES (Albany, Georgia) Thrush Aircraft customers, Dealers, and Service Centers will now have online access to a new Illustrated Parts Catalog with online ordering capability - as well as digital libraries containing the very latest service manuals and regulatory information for their aircraft and its components - thanks to an exclusive agreement signed with ATP, a leading provider of information services and software solutions for the aviation industry. This new online ordering capability is a first for the agricultural aviation industry. ATP's proven cloud-based Aviation Hub™ platform will give Thrush customers, Dealers, and Service Centers access to online parts information, availability and electronic ordering. It will also provide continuously updated service-related publications and technical and regulatory information for all Thrush aircraft and their components, including: Airframe, engine, prop, wheels, brakes, batteries, starters, heaters and air filters, to name a few. "Our commitment to safety and operational integrity extends well beyond delivery of our aircraft" said Mark McDonald, chief executive officer of Thrush Aircraft. "It also includes ensuring our customers, Dealers, and Service Centers have easy access to the very latest information from technical and regulatory perspectives, as well as the ability to keep their aircraft well maintained through access to rapid parts identification and availability. Our work with ATP ensures both" he continued, "and we're proud to be leading the industry with this advanced level of support." The ATP Aviation Hub for Thrush customers is available anytime and anywhere on several platforms, including desktop, laptop and mobile devices. In addition to the Illustrated Parts Catalog and online ordering, a variety of service manuals and regulatory and technical publications packages are available. These will include a full Thrush Aircraft library bundle, individual bundles for the Thrush 510P, 510G and 710P, and a legacy bundle which includes all other Thrush Aircraft models from the very beginning of the company. "The trusted and consistently current information available through our ATP Aviation Hub offers a rich set of technical and regulatory resources that are invaluable to keeping an aircraft airworthy and safe, while also simplifying information access and increasing productivity in everyday operations" said Rick Noble, chief executive officer of ATP. Continued Mr. Noble: "We're excited to be adding Thrush customers to the thousands of aircraft maintenance professionals who already utilize our services, and it is a privilege to be supporting both agricultural aviation and the vital role it plays in the world." The Illustrated Parts Catalog and online ordering capability, along with the service and regulatory publications program, are subscription-based and available to Thrush customers through, the Thrush Aircraft website, or through ATP directly. To learn more, customers are invited to call their Thrush Dealer, or to contact Kevin Pierce, director of services at Thrush at (229) 317-8222 or to visit the new ATP access portal at thrushaircraft.com/ATP. About Thrush Aircraft Company Headquartered in Albany, Georgia, Thrush Aircraft LLC manufactures a full range of aerial application aircraft used in agriculture, forestry and firefighting roles worldwide. Thrush is well-known for building the most durable aircraft in the aerial application and firefighting industries - as well as the best flying - from both pilot and operator perspectives. All Thrush models provide superb visibility, light control response, and a high degree of maneuverability and speed, along with superior efficiency and low direct operating costs. Today there are more than 2,400 Thrush aircraft operating in some 80 countries around the world. About ATP ATP is a global information services and software solutions company focused on making flying safer and more reliable. ATP Information Services is the general and business aviation industry's source for aircraft technical publications and real-time regulatory information. ATP Software Solutions is the leading provider of maintenance tracking, flight operations, inventory management, repetitive defect analysis, and troubleshooting software. The company's applications help reduce operating costs, improve aircraft reliability, and supports technical knowledge sharing and collaboration within the general and business aviation, military/defense, commercial aviation, and OEM industries. https://www.agairupdate.com/thrush-launches-online-illustrated-parts-catalog-and-service-publication-libraries/ Back to Top DC Aviation Signs General Agreement with AeroVisto Interior Services AG DC Aviation has signed a general agreement with AeroVisto Group. AeroVisto is specialized in the field of certified interior refurbishment and technology solutions for business and commercial aircraft. AeroVisto will supply all aircraft interior services required by DC Aviation. The works will include cabin refurbishment, repairs, cabin modifications and upgrades with latest cabin technologies. Juergen Sehne, vice president maintenance & CAMO of DC Aviation said, "Our aim is to enable top quality work on the interior of our managed fleet and to aircraft of third party customers. We are very pleased that with this agreement we are able to offer our clients the whole range of interior refurbishment and renovation services. With AeroVisto we have a very experienced and flexible partner at our side with large technical know-how and the highest level of craftsmanship. The cooperation with AeroVisto underscores the high quality standard we apply to our business jets." https://www.aviationpros.com/engines-components/aircraft-airframe-accessories/interiors/press-release/21154041/dc-aviation-alfuttaim-dc-aviation-signs-general-agreement-with-aerovisto-interior-services-ag Back to Top Honeywell & Aerion Advance Revolutionary Flight Deck for New AS2 Supersonic Jet Supersonic aircraft company Aerion, the leader in supersonic technology, and Honeywell Aerospace, the global benchmark in connected cockpit technology, are progressing through the joint definition phase for the Avionics and Connectivity suite of the new AS2 Supersonic Business Jet. "Honeywell Aerospace is the definitive leader in cutting-edge avionics technology, and we are delighted to continue our long-standing collaboration," says Aerion's CEO, chairman & president, Tom Vice. "We appreciate the considerable investment in resource that Honeywell has made in our program, and we look forward to continued collaboration as we work with our global supply team to bring the AS2 into production." Upon completion of commercial and programmatic agreement, the avionics suite being developed for the AS2 will represent the next generation of avionics suites for business aircraft featuring: Honeywell's next-generation, state-of-the-art flight deck - an advanced display system incorporating intuitive symbology, advanced communication and navigation systems, plus flight guidance and management systems. All aspects of the new avionics will support supersonic flight and Aerion's revolutionary Boomless Cruise technology, which enables the AS2 to fly at both transonic and supersonic speeds over land with no perceived noise reaching the ground. Honeywell's advanced connectivity solutions and Honeywell Forge platform, which will enable the AS2 to deliver safety-critical communications, as well as critical aircraft data into information to revolutionize management of aircraft operations and maintenance. "Honeywell is committed to advancing the future of flight, and our work with Aerion is paving the way for the return of supersonic travel," said Mike Madsen, Honeywell Aerospace president and CEO. "Our avionics and connectivity solutions will help define the next era of air travel, and make it safer and more efficient than ever before." Aerion and Honeywell began their formal collaboration in 2018, working on preliminary design of the AS2's avionics systems. Joining the project in the formative stages, Honeywell's expertise is helping shape a new bespoke avionics system for the AS2. Honeywell is uniquely positioned to provide avionics for the world's first supersonic business jet. Honeywell Primus Epic avionics are currently standard equipment on leading business and regional jet OEM platforms and in service on more than 6,000 aircraft in 20 different models. Primus Epic has accrued nearly 30+ million total flight hours. Similarly, Honeywell mission processors, displays, sensors, radio altimeters, radar, and flight control systems have been enabling thousands of supersonic military jets for decades. Most supersonic aircraft in the free world utilize various Honeywell avionics systems and components. This unique combination of business jet and supersonic experience enables Honeywell to develop an innovative supersonic business jet cockpit for the AS2. Aerion's pursuit of faster point-to-point travel begins with the launch of the new AS2 supersonic private jet. Designed to be inherently environmentally responsible from first flight, the AS2 is the first supersonic jet designed to be powered by 100% synthetic fuel and reach supersonic speeds without the need for an afterburner. The AS2 will be the first aircraft to be assembled at Aerion's new global headquarters in Melbourne, Florida - Aerion Park. The state-of-the-art development, powered by clean energy, will incorporate headquarters operations plus an integrated campus for research, design, build and support of the company's new supersonic aircraft. https://www.aviationpros.com/engines-components/aircraft-airframe-accessories/avionics/press-release/21154031/honeywell-aerospace-honeywell-aerion-advance-revolutionary-flight-deck-for-new-as2-supersonic-jet Back to Top Cathay Pacific To Park 40% Of Its Fleet Outside Of Hong Kong Today, Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific released its August 2020 figures. While the airline is focusing on its passenger numbers, capacities, and load factors, part of the report mentions another intriguing fact that will be of interest to aviation enthusiasts: 40% of the Cathay Pacific Group's fleet is parked outside of Hong Kong. Let's look into this a little more. Given that we will be operating just a fraction of our services in the foreseeable future, we will continue to transfer some of our passenger fleet - approximately 40% - to locations outside of Hong Kong in keeping with prudent operational and asset management considerations." - Cathay Pacific 40% of 226 aircraft With Planespotters.net reporting a fleet of 153 aircraft for Cathay Pacific, 47 for Cathay Dragon, and 26 for HK Express, 40% represents 90 aircraft sitting outside of Hong Kong. The major East Asian carrier, as well as its regional arm and budget brand, have been hard hit by multiple global events. The Group has experienced a massive downturn in passenger traffic in recent months. Not only is it dealing with the coronavirus and travel restrictions related to it, but the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong has also been struggling with civil unrest and protests against the Chinese government. Cathay Pacific cited these geopolitical tensions in previous and current reporting. "Regional geopolitical tensions and the ongoing China-US trade dispute could have a significant adverse effect on airfreight demand, and the situation has the potential to deteriorate rapidly." Where are these aircraft? In August, we reported that the airline was parking many of its aircraft in the arid, non-corrosive climate of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. As far as we know, this is the only location the airline group is storing its aircraft outside of Hong Kong. The dry desert of the Australian outback has become a common site for aircraft storage as Cathay Pacific Group's aircraft are joined by other carriers like Cebu Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Fiji Airways, and Nok Air. Last week we reported that sources familiar with the matter said that the Cathay Group, including its regional arm, Cathay Dragon, could send 50% of its aircraft to be mothballed in the future. "We are weathering the storm for now, but the fact remains that we simply will not survive unless we adapt our airlines for the new travel market...We continue to move forward with our comprehensive review of all aspects of the business, and will make our recommendations to the board in the fourth quarter on the size and shape of the company to allow us to survive and thrive in this new environment." Hong Kong's less than ideal climate As the situation drags on, aircraft will be sitting parked for long periods of time. This could be as long as multiple months or even a full year. Hong Kong's climate is less than ideal for long-term aircraft storage due to its humidity and frequent rainfall. As we've written in numerous previous articles, this time of environment increases corrosion and increases maintenance costs for airlines. Therefore, storing aircraft in a dry climate like the Australian desert is much better for aircraft - especially if it has been decided that they will be there for a long time. https://simpleflying.com/cathay-pacific-parking-40percent/ Back to Top FAA Proposes Extension of Slot Relief On Sept. 11, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it would propose an extension for relief of flight requirements at slot restricted airports. The current relief of the minimum flight requirements is due to expire in October, and the extension would last until March 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand is not sufficient for airlines to meet the minimum flight requirement to hold onto their slots. The move is supported by major airlines, which are seeing a record drop in demand. The extension of the waiver will apply to New York's LaGuardia and John F. Kenedy International Airports, and Ronald Regan Washington National Airport. Before the pandemic began, airlines would have to utilize a slot 80% of the time or risk it being forfeited to the FAA. Airport slots are highly valuable and sought after by airlines. At slot restricted airports, airlines cannot operate flights to the airport or during certain time periods without a valid slot. Four other airports in the U.S. that are under schedule review by the FAA will also see some relief for airlines. At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport, airlines would receive credit towards slots for flights that were canceled due to the pandemic. In addition, the FAA is proposing conditions on the waiver, that slots not used for an extended period would be made available to other airlines on a temporary basis. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Jetblue Airways all support the extension of waivers for slot requirements. Airlines have seen a historic drop in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bookings are down 82% from last year and schedule flexibility has become key as supply constantly changes to match consumer demand. Spirit Airlines opposes the extension to the slot waiver, citing the free market allowing consumers more options in slot restricted airports as slots become reassigned to other airlines. The FAA has stated that its proposal for an extension provides the best balance between new carriers wishing to add flights and existing carriers seek ing schedule flexibility. Delta Air Lines, a large operator in New York and Washington, D.C, has told the FAA it projects to operate just over half of its total slot portfolio in November for the airports in the region. Demand for the northeast has plummeted as the area was an early epicenter for the pandemic in the U.S. The effects are being felt as American Airlines regional carrier, Envoy Airways, will close its New York base due to the pandemic. The move will affect both flight crews and maintenance teams in the city, which is a shared base between LaGuardia and JFK. https://airlinegeeks.com/2020/09/13/faa-proposes-extension-of-slot-relief/ Back to Top Lifting off in a storm: How Salt Lake City's new airport is ushering in the future of air travel SALT LAKE CITY - It's something no other hub airport in the U.S. has pulled off in the current century. After a span of six years of construction - preceded by about two decades of planning - the Salt Lake City International Airport is about to open its brand-new, $4.1 billion airport on Tuesday, starting with a massive new terminal and its first concourse. By the end of the year, a second concourse will open, and the old airport will begin to be razed to make way for the east side of Concourse A to be built right over the top of it. What this means for Utahns and travelers across the globe isn't just a brand-new, shiny building to replace a more inefficient and aging facility. To airport officials here and nationally, it's so much more. "I would dream to see in my career other cities across the country replicate what Salt Lake City has done," said Kevin Burke, president and CEO of Airports Council International-North America, a national organization based in Washington, D.C., that represents U.S. and Canadian airports. "Salt Lake City has taken an airport and turned it into a modern, 21st century facility," Burke said. "America's airports need to be modernized, and Salt Lake City has been on the cutting-edge of that." To Burke - and Utah government officials - Salt Lake City's new airport means the portal from Utah to the rest of the world just got much bigger - and with so much more room to grow. It means the state has solidified its foothold in the global air travel industry - and therefore positioned itself well for future economic growth as a now much more appealing travel touch point, destination, and home base for businesses. To state leaders, that's a huge step for their ambitions to brand Utah as not just the "Crossroads of the West," but the "Crossroads of the World." But as masterfully designed, impressive and beautiful as Salt Lake City's new airport is, an invisible force has sucked some of the air out of its grand opening. The global coronavirus pandemic has led nationwide flights to plummet, threatening the entire airline industry. After a year of averaging about 2.4 million passengers a day nationwide, that dropped to a low of 87,534 passengers nationwide during the height of COVID-19 closures on April 14, according to Transportation Security Administration checkpoint travel numbers. In February, Salt Lake City International Airport saw a record high of 30,000 passengers each weekend. But when the pandemic hit home in Utah and the rest of the U.S., that number death spiraled to barely 1,500. Over the past several months, more travelers have begun trickling back to airplanes. On Aug. 31, nationwide air travel was up to 711,178 passengers, according to the TSA. But that's still less than a third of the demand U.S. airports were seeing this time last year. To Bill Wyatt, executive director of the Salt Lake City International Airport, the COVID-19 pandemic is worse than either of the two other major disruptions to the commercial aviation industry that he's lived through as an airport director. Worse than 9/11. Worse than the Great Recession. The pandemic has brought on not just economic hardship that's similar to what airlines and travelers experienced during the Great Recession, but also the fear and uncertainty of air travel that followed Sept. 11, 2001 - but on a much more long-term basis, Wyatt said. "The thing about the pandemic is it's global - it's affecting everybody all at the same time. And it's invisible. You don't see the virus, but it's everywhere around us, and so that has really affected the confidence of the traveling public," Wyatt said. But still, as he has lived through other downturns, Wyatt said he feels "pretty bullish about our future." "This isn't going to last forever," he said. "I don't have any doubt the industry will survive, because I think it's just too important to the U.S. and the world, really, to have commercial aviation. So I think probably the biggest question is, 'What's it going to look like?'" Silver linings Airlines and airports have been forced to confront a new reality: one that requires them to take extraordinary measures like drastically reducing aircraft maximum capacity so there is enough space between seats to give travelers reassurance that their flights are safe. And most airlines have now begun requiring face coverings, making masks the new normal in airports across the country. To Burke, Salt Lake City's new airport opening comes at a perfect time - when space and cleanliness are more important than ever. "Your timing was impeccable," he said. In a strange way, Salt Lake City's new airport is ushering a new era of air travel, when the importance of personal space, cleanliness and hygiene will likely outlive the COVID-19 crisis. So there have been a number of happy coincidences and silver linings that have surfaced as the COVID-19 pandemic aligned with Salt Lake City's new airport opening. For travelers traveling to, from and through Salt Lake City's new airport, space will not be an issue in the massive new terminal and concourses. Everything is spacious - from the bathrooms, to the seating areas, to the unique Greeting Room designed especially for large family greeting parties that are common in Utah, especially for families welcoming home loved ones returning from missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There's also been logistical and budgetary silver linings. The dramatic drop in passenger numbers allowed Salt Lake airport officials to bump up the next phase of the airport's construction by two years - now on track to save about $300 million. Instead of having to operate both the new and old airport as previously planned, the lower demand will allow all operations to move into the new facility by the end of October and pave the way for demolition of the old airport to begin sooner. But looking beyond the pandemic, Burke said Salt Lake City's grand airport opening has positioned Utah's capital well into the future for air travel - meaning the state will reap economic benefits in the form of business and tourism growth for decades to come while other airports will struggle to keep up. "The reality is, air travel will come back," Burke said. "People will begin to travel. A vaccine will be found. ... The good news for Salt Lake City: You now have an airport that can handle it all. It might not be full now, but it will be full soon." Wyatt predicts the new airport, which is Delta's fourth-largest hub, will help usher in nonstop flights to Asia. "That's something I can imagine in our future," Wyatt said. "The natural assets of Utah will attract more tourism, and the burgeoning tech community here will definitely drive more traffic as well. But if we don't have a new facility that's efficient, we just can't handle it all." Wyatt also predicted that airlines will likely scrap smaller, older aircraft to consolidate their maintenance costs. "When the green light comes on again, the industry is going to be a lot smarter, and it's going to get a lot smaller," Wyatt said. "So Delta and big carriers are getting rid of their older aircraft, older planes that aren't as efficient. It's a good opportunity to reduce their fleet size." That could mean plane tickets are going to get more expensive as airlines must establish a new pricing structure when they're expected to keep middle seats open to maintain passenger confidence in safety and cleanliness, Wyatt said. "If the industry is smaller and demand rebuilds quickly, there will be more passengers than seats, and it's entirely possible it could be more expensive," he said, though he added he's confident that when a vaccine is established airlines will likely "go back to flying relatively full planes." Burke said any city with a brand-new airport has a competitive "advantage." Businesses "want to know that you can get your people and cargo in and out safely and efficiently, so a new airport is an asset to your company no matter what industry you're in," he said. Still today, airports across the country struggle to provide comfortable, efficient and modern spaces for passengers to enjoy rather than just endure in their travels, Burke said. He called Salt Lake City's new airport " a window into what airports should look like." "Having a brand-spanking-new airport in Salt Lake City is a great example of what a community can do to work together to create an airport of the future," Burke said. "The reality is in the airport system in this country, the average terminal is about 40 years old. "And that was all pre-9/11," he said, noting that passenger traffic and expectations surrounding air travel have soared since then. Up until now, Denver's International Airport that opened in 1995 has been the U.S.'s newest large hub airport built from scratch. Other airports like the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport- which opened its newest terminal in 2008 - have a similar linear layout to Salt Lake City's new airport, with underground tunnels connecting parallel concourses (through Detroit has something Salt Lake City doesn't: an indoor train). Airport officials consider the long, straight concourse design a "gold standard" for efficiently moving planes to and from gates while avoiding wait times and bottlenecks. The new airport was designed by the global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm HOK, which has been behind multiple state-of-the-art projects, including New York City's LaGuardia Airport's new Terminal B. Delta and Salt Lake City Moments before the curtain was about to drop during an opening ceremony for Salt Lake City's new airport last month, Wyatt admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic - which he called the "single-biggest financial hit to the commercial aviation industry in history" - gave him "feelings of concern" and doubts of whether the new airport would finish on time. It would really come down to Delta, Salt Lake City's largest stakeholder in the project, which calls Salt Lake City home to its fourth-largest hub. "After consulting with Delta, the answer from Atlanta was, 'Put your foot on the gas pedal," Wyatt said. Scott Santoro, vice president of sales for Delta's West Coast, said the new airport "solidifies Delta as the airline for passengers to, from or through Salt Lake City for business and leisure travelers for many, many years to come." "It's been very easy for us to look at this and slow it down due to the pandemic, but although the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our day-to-day business, it has not impacted our commitments to you, commitments to the community that we serve," Santoro said during a recent opening ceremony for the airport. "Regardless of the level of service that we provide, the promises that we made to you and those we partner with we kept." Santoro said the pandemic has "allowed us to reprioritize our efforts and ... throttle forward and accelerate projects like this one." About 19,000 Delta employees took early retirement packages in July to "help Delta through this crisis," he said. In written responses to the Deseret News for this story, Santoro said Delta has "remained a dedicated and strategic partner to Salt Lake City" for the past 60 years, and intends to continue that relationship for another 60 years. He said Salt Lake City's new airport "marks the first strategic milestone within our $12 billion investment to modernize our nation's aviation infrastructure." "The SLC airport has and continues to be a valued hub for our network, enabling our customers to reach their travel destination with ease and comfort," Santoro said." This new SLC airport affords customers a more convenient travel experience, intertwined with luxury and innovation. We are so proud to have been a strong, strategic partner to the SLC airport and look forward to only strengthening our relationship with them, the city of Salt Lake, and the people of Utah for years to come." While the pandemic has "brought about challenges," Santoro said, "Delta continues to deliver on strategies that streamline our business and operations." In a way, COVID-19 has allowed the airline to take a breath and look the future, he said. "This period of time has allowed for us not to pause, but pull the future forward in a way we may have not been able to do so in the past," he said, calling the new airport "one such example, and we were able to deliver this project both on budget and on time. As a significant hub location for our network, this new SLC airport holds tremendous value for our network at large and has and will continue to give Delta a competitive advantage in the region." To Burke, Delta doubled down on its commitment to Salt Lake City as an investment in the future - positioning itself to rebound swifter with a major hub that will be appealing to travelers as the economy bounces back. Burke and Wyatt said Salt Lake City also has an advantage of being home to a hub airport - since hub airports have been better off financially amid the crisis than smaller airports throughout the country. Delta carries about 60% of Salt Lake City's total airport traffic. Wyatt acknowledged Salt Lake City has put "a lot of our eggs in one basket" with Delta, but he said if he were to choose any partner, it would be that airline. "I would much rather be in our position than almost anyone else," Wyatt said. "If you're going to identify a carrier ... I think they're the strongest at the moment. They're incredibly well managed. They made a really big commitment here, which I think is very important, but they're also just a great hub carrier." 'Very big dream' Maureen Riley, who was executive director of the Salt Lake City International Airport before she retired in 2017, is given much of the credit for the foresight and financial planning that enabled Utah's capital to make the new airport possible. Wyatt credited her, his predecessor, with "squirreling away a big bundle of cash" so the airport could start the project in a financially strong position. "I don't think very many people get to experience what I've experienced - to see a dream come true," said Riley, who anticipated when she began saving money for the project in 2008 that she likely would retire before its completion. But she got to attend last month's opening ceremony, where she was repeatedly credited for making it possible. "It was a very big dream," she said, crediting "so many other people involved," their teamwork, and "untold hours of planning" bring it to fruition. In 2014, when construction began, the Salt Lake airport was the only hub airport in the U.S. without debt. Now, Salt Lake City does have a fair amount of debt to help pay for it, but 19% was paid for with cash. Of the $4.1 billion price tag, over 60% is paid for using bonds, 5% is paid for with rental car fees, 4.5% is paid for by the Transportation Security Administration, which will provide funding for the baggage system, and 7.2% is paid for by fees collected from passenger airline tickets, according to airport officials. Federal COVID-19 relief, through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, provided the Salt Lake City International Airport with a year's worth of debt service payments, Wyatt said, which helps bring financial stability for the project. By the time phase two, which includes Concourse B, opens in 2024, Wyatt said he's "pretty confident that the COVID-19 situation is going to be well resolved by that time." "So I would say we're in a pretty enviable position," he said. "We're opening the new facility just as this business gets to take off again, literally and figuratively." Riley said when the pandemic hit and she pondered its impact on the project, she recalled that airport officials had "built in a couple of discrete stopping points" in case of an economic downtown, including one that could have been this fall with the opening of the first concourse. "I thought, 'Well, if they need to stop, they can stop,'" she said. But word of Delta's commitment was "very encouraging." "All of us want to believe there will be a vaccine and we will get through this, and it may take longer than we know," she said. "But this is a project of the future." https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/9/12/21408674/new-salt-lake-city-international-airport-rebuild-opening-pandemic-covid-19-future-air-travel Back to Top Getting an airline communication system off the ground in real-time The grounding of the global airline industry is not too much of a concern for Justin Perry, whose aviation tech start-up Frequency has just closed a €600,000 seed funding round. The 33-year-old pilot recently took a sabbatical from Aer Lingus to focus solely on developing the product, an internet-based communication system for the aviation sector. Perry founded Frequency in early 2018 Darach Ó Comhraí and Kris Vansteenkiste, both fellow Aer Lingus pilots. The idea for the start-up was born out of their own frustration using outdated systems for critical communication with their colleagues in line maintenance and operations control. "When you think of aviation, the perception is that it's generally at the forefront of technology but, in terms of communications, we are decades behind. We thought 'there has to be a better way to do this'," Perry said. The Frequency system combines VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and multimedia technology to allow airline crews to communicate with ground staff in real-time. "It's a combination of Skype and WhatsApp with a bit of Microsoft Teams thrown in," Perry said. "You can install the software on mobile phones or tablets and use it to call colleagues or send text messages with files and photos attached, which is critical when you're talking to engineers." Perry sees Frequency as a more efficient alternative to the internal communication systems currently used by airlines. These range from high-frequency radios, mobile, landline and satellite phones to ACARS, the system commonly used by airline crews to send short messages to ground stations. "Ultimately, it's about efficiency. The easier it is for everyone to communicate when there is an issue, the more quickly it can be resolved and the higher the likelihood that flight delays can be avoided or shortened," Perry said. "When airlines get back up and running, efficiency will be critical. It will be one of the major factors that sets one airline apart from another, so it will come down to competitive advantage." Frequency has been in development for the past two years and, in that time, has received funding and grant support of about €160,000 from sources including Fingal Local Enterprise Office, Propeller Shannon, the European Space Agency and Enterprise Ireland, the state agency. The start-up's newly closed €600,000 seed round will allow Perry, Ó Comhraí and Vansteenkiste to begin the next phase of development. "It's taken us two years to develop the technology so far," Perry, who is originally from Sutton in north Dublin, said. "Starting off, we just wanted VoIP. Then we decided to incorporate a messenger system for sending text, photos and files. We trialled last year with Aer Lingus and, based on their feedback, we realised we needed to incorporate a collaboration system along the lines of Microsoft Teams. That's what we've been working on for the past year." The collaboration tool will be key to the start-up's commercial launch, Perry said. "It will really facilitate real-time communication between an airline's operations control centre and all of the various individuals on a team that need to be in contact to resolve an issue. It will take us from an MVP [minimum viable product] to a commercial product," he said. Participants in Frequency's seed fund included Zoosh Ventures and Enterprise Ireland. The start-up also raised €150,000 through Spark Crowdfunding. Perry said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global aviation had yielded an unexpected benefit for the start-up. "Covid has crippled aviation. It has absolutely smashed the sector, but for us what we're seeing strangely enough is a net positive outcome," he said. "Last year, when we were trying to start a conversation with airlines, they didn't have the time to talk to us. They were just out-the-door busy. Now, they've got time. They're much more open to talking about new technologies and processes. "We expect to have our product market-ready in the first or second quarter of next year. Hopefully, at that stage, we'll be starting to see the market ramp up again for the summer." https://www.businesspost.ie/smes/getting-an-airline-communication-system-off-the-ground-in-real-time-51a1b67d Back to Top SpaceX gearing up for 12-mile-high test flight with Starship SN8 prototype The next big leap for SpaceX's Mars-colonizing Starship spacecraft appears to be right around the corner. Two full-size Starship prototypes, known as SN5 and SN6, recently performed 500-foot-high (150 meters) test hops at SpaceX's South Texas facilities, near the village of Boca Chica. And the next vehicle in line is nearly ready to soar much higher, company founder and CEO Elon Musk said. "SN8 Starship with flaps & nosecone should be done in about a week. Then static fire, checkouts, static fire, fly to 60,000 ft [18,300 m] & back," Musk said via Twitter on Saturday (Sept. 12). Static fires are routine engine tests conducted while a vehicle is tethered to the ground. The engines that will be tested in this case are SpaceX's next-generation Raptors - likely three of them, to get the SN8 up so high. SN5 and SN6 sported only a single Raptor, and those vehicles didn't have nosecones or control-improving body flaps, either. (SN7 was a test tank that SpaceX intentionally burst during a pressure trial this past June, in case you were wondering.) SpaceX is iterating toward a final version of Starship that will feature six Raptors and, Musk has said, be capable of carrying up to 100 people to the moon, Mars and other distant destinations. The 165-foot-tall (50 m) Starship will launch from Earth atop a gigantic rocket known as Super Heavy, which will be powered by about 30 Raptors of its own. The Starship vehicle will be powerful enough to blast itself off the moon and Mars, whose gravitational pulls are much weaker than that of our planet, Musk has said. Both Starship and Super Heavy are designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, a technological breakthrough that SpaceX believes will make ambitious exploration feats such as Mars colonization economically feasible. SpaceX has already booked one Starship customer - Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who will fly around the moon on the vehicle. The target launch date for that mission is 2023. Starship is also in the running to land NASA astronauts on the moon, as part of the space agency's Artemis program. Artemis aims to put two astronauts down near the lunar south pole in 2024 and establish a sustainable human presence on and around the moon by the end of the decade. Starship will fly a wide variety of missions to many different destinations, if all goes according to plan. SpaceX plans to phase out all of its other spaceflight hardware over time, handing all duties over to Starship and Super Heavy eventually. https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn8-prototype-test-flight-soon.html Curt Lewis