August 9, 2021 - No. 61 In This Issue : Major Milestone As NASA’s X-59 QueSST Quiet SuperSonic Technology Aircraft Comes Together : Nexteon Technologies Announces Technology Agreement With The Innovation Laboratory : ZAL installs new 20 metre hydrogen tank to expand aviation capabilities by twenty-fold : Erickson Puts Itself in Play : Augmented Safety: How AR Technology Helps Reduce the Risk in Aviation : Why two aircraft lessors have not jumped into the electric-aircraft craze : Airlines choking on high repair, fuel costs — REPORT : EasyJet Cabin Crew and Pilots to Wear Plastic Uniforms Made Out of 45 Recycled Bottles : Serious Airline Delays Will Only Get Worse With Climate Change : Turkish Aerospace to manufacture Boeing 737 fan cowls : SPACEX LAUNCHING SATELLITE TO DISPLAY BILLBOARD ADS IN SPACE Major Milestone As NASA’s X-59 QueSST Quiet SuperSonic Technology Aircraft Comes Together A heavy chorus of bolting and machinery filled the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology, or QueSST, assembly building as engineers, system technicians, and aircraft fabricators worked to merge the major aircraft sections together, making it look like an actual aircraft for the first time since the initial cut of metal in 2018. “We’ve now transitioned from being a bunch of separate parts sitting around on different parts of the production floor to an airplane,” said Jay Brandon, NASA chief engineer for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD) project. NASA’s X-59 QueSST is under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, and is designed to fly at supersonic speeds – approximately 660 mph at sea level — without producing a startling sonic boom for people on the ground. NASA will work with U.S. communities to understand their response to the aircraft’s sound and provide that data to regulators, which could change the rules that currently ban supersonic flight over land, cutting travel time in half for air travelers in the near future. The Merger With great precision and accuracy, the team used features on the structure to precisely self-locate the aircraft’s wing, tail assembly, and fuselage or forward section, then employed a series of laser projections to verify the precise fit. “The extensive use of features and pre-drilled, full-size fastener holes has significantly reduced the time it takes to locate and fit parts, especially mating large assemblies like this,” said David Richardson, Lockheed Martin program director. “It is sort of like how Legos go together. We used the laser tracker to make sure it is all aligned per the engineering specs before we permanently bolted it all together.” The mating of these major hardware components was a breath of fresh air for the team. “A milestone like this — seeing the airplane coming together as a single unit — really reinvigorates and motivates the team,” said Dave Richwine, NASA’s LBFD deputy project manager for technology. Fuselage The aircraft’s fuselage contains the cockpit and helps define the shape of the X-59. Eventually the 30-foot-long nose of the aircraft will be mounted to the fuselage. Part of the cockpit is something you might see in an office. The pilot will see the sky ahead through a 4K computer monitor, which will display complex computer-processed imagery from two cameras mounted above and below the X-59’s nose. NASA calls this forward-facing “window” the eXternal Vision System or XVS. The XVS serves as an additional safety aid to help the pilot maneuver safely through the skies. This cutting-edge vision system is necessary because the desired shape and long nose of the X-59 won’t allow for a protruding cockpit canopy. The X-59’s unique shape controls the way the air moves away from the plane, ultimately preventing a sonic boom from disturbing communities on the ground. Wing The most recognizable part of the airplane – the wing – was “the most complicated section and first section of the X-59 that was fabricated by Lockheed Martin,” explained Richwine. Housed within the 29.5-foot-wide wing are the aircraft’s fuel systems and a large portion of its control systems. The Lockheed Martin team used robotic machines with names that sound like pilot call signs – Mongoose and COBRA – to manufacture the wing before its mate to the tail assembly and fuselage. Mongoose is a tool with the ability to weave together composite wing skins using ultraviolet light to bind the composite material. COBRA — Combined Operation: Bolting and Robotic AutoDrill – efficiently created holes that allowed the team to attach the wing skins to the wing frame. Tail Assembly The tail assembly contains the engine compartment. This section is built with heat resistant materials that protect the aircraft from the heat given off by the X-59’s GE F414 engine. The engine is in the upper section of the X-59. Similar to the XVS, it is one of many purposeful design elements that ensure the aircraft is shaped as desired to produce a quieter noise to people below. What’s the point of the X-59 – apart from it just being ‘plane’ cool? The X-59 – the visual centerpiece of the mission — definitely brings in the cool factor, but the data part of NASA’s mission — the nerdy part – is what will revolutionize speedy commercial air travel over land. NASA’s quiet supersonic mission involves building the X-59 (happening now) and conducting initial flight tests starting in 2022. In 2023, NASA will fly the X-59 over the test range at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California to prove it can produce a quieter sonic thump and is safe to operate in the National Airspace System. More than 175 ground recording systems will measure the sound coming from the X-59. In 2024, NASA will fly the X-59 over several communities around the nation to gauge people’s response to the sonic thump sound produced by the aircraft – if they hear anything at all. The data collected will be given to the Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organization for their consideration in changing the existing bans on supersonic flight over land. That ban went into effect in 1973 and has plagued commercial supersonic ventures ever since, restricting faster-than-sound travel only to flights over the ocean. British Airways and Air France flying the Concorde were two airlines that offered such service between 1976 and 2003. If rules change because of NASA’s data, a new fleet of commercial supersonic aircraft become viable, allowing passengers to hop on a plane and arrive from distant destinations in half the time. Though the single-piloted X-59 will never carry passengers, aircraft manufacturers may choose to incorporate its technology into their own designs. The Future Awaits With an eye to the future, the team is rigorously working on final assembly of the X-59, which will mark the end of manufacturing. In late 2021, Lockheed Martin will ship the X-59 to a sister facility in Ft. Worth, Texas, where ground testing will be done to ensure the aircraft can withstand the loads and stresses that typically occur during flight. There, the team also will calibrate and test the fuel systems before the X-59 makes the journey back to California for more tests. Though seemingly a long way away, community overflights, data collection and a possible new commercial market for supersonic flight over land is just around the corner. https://scitechdaily.com/major-milestone-as-nasas-x-59-quesst-quiet-supersonic-technology-aircraft-comes-together/ Nexteon Technologies Announces Technology Agreement With The Innovation Laboratory AMBLER, Pa., Aug. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Nexteon Technologies, Inc., a leader in advanced aviation technologies, announced today that it has signed an exclusive technology agreement with Portland, Oregon-based The Innovation Laboratory, Inc. (TIL). Through this new partnership, the companies will collaborate to evaluate Nexteon's SecureTrack™ technology. This includes collecting and sharing surveillance data from Nexteon's prototype ADS-B receiver network and developing algorithms that extract turbulence impact information. TIL will also support Nexteon's flight testing and verification of SecureTrack's capabilities. Nexteon is developing technologies that will enable Global Optimized Routing. When combined, the company's SecureTrack data and SmartRoutes™ route optimization solutions will work together to harmonize the global airspace. This will yield significant fuel and operational efficiencies for airlines, as well as reduced emissions that benefit the environment. "Nexteon continues to build momentum in the development of our SecureTrack technology," said Rob Kaimowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Nexteon Technologies. "By working with The Innovation Laboratory, we will be able to enhance our capabilities and increase the value of our SmartRoutes service to airlines around the world." "TIL is excited to work on this project with Nexteon," said Dr. Jimmy Krozel, Chief Scientist of The Innovation Laboratory. "With our expertise in air traffic management and turbulence impact assessment in air navigation, they are the perfect partner for us to collaborate with to develop innovative technologies that will improve situational awareness and efficiency in aviation." About The Innovation Laboratory The Innovation Laboratory, founded in 2007, specializes in advancing basic aviation innovations through research and development to prototype demonstration systems ready to transition into government and commercial systems. About Nexteon Technologies Nexteon Technologies is modernizing global aviation with best-in-class talent and technologies. Its innovative SecureTrack™ surveillance and SmartRoutes™ dynamic route optimization solutions enable more efficient, greener and more secure global aviation for ANSPs, commercial and general aviation fleets, and government agencies. The company was founded in 2017 as Route Dynamics Corp and changed its name to Nexteon in 2021. For more information, visit http://www.nexteon.aero. https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_travel/nexteon-technologies-announces-technology-agreement-with-the-innovation-laboratory/article_073dd1e4-08ea-5128-be56-b33ba74a96c2.html ZAL installs new 20 metre hydrogen tank to expand aviation capabilities by twenty-fold The ZAL Centre of Applied Aeronautical Research has received a huge boost to its hydrogen capabilities with the integration of a new 20 metre high, 100m³ tank. Supplied by Air Products, the tank will store gaseous hydrogen to increase the capacity of the research centre 20-fold. The 100 cubic metre storage tank will contain around 400kg of hydrogen on site with the gas set to be delivered from the Air Products plant in Stade, 30km away. It is expected that the new hydrogen tank will enable further research into utilising the clean gas in the aviation sector and potentially unravel the potential of zero emission aircraft. With ZAL being a member of the Hamburg Aviation cluster and active in the field of hydrogen since 2009, its’ fuel cell lab is a cross-sector research laboratory, both for aviation and other mobility applications. The 11 laboratories for fuel cell technology research are allowing several different aspects of fuel cell in aviation. This includes development of fuel cell technologies, design of hydrogen infrastructures, secure supply of hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen from pressure vessels and provision of compressed air; air extraction system for up to 1,800 m³/h per test stand as well as cooling water supply up to 540 kWtherm. In addition, the laboratory also allows environmentally friendly energy recovery into the Hamburg grid of up to 200kWel and, hangars for test stands capable of accommodating complete aircraft segments. Michael Westhagemann, Hamburg’s Senator for Economics and Innovation, said, “Hydrogen is the future. And the inauguration of the new tank architecture at ZAL is one of the pillars we need in the transformation towards green flying. “The new hydrogen storage tank shows that Hamburg as an aviation centre is moving towards sustainability and zero emissions by investing in concrete projects and measures.” Roland Gerhards, CEO of ZAL, said, “Hydrogen as an energy carrier is the central key technology when it comes to making aviation more sustainable. “The idea of utilising regenerative hydrogen has been around for decades, but it is only the combination of today’s technologies and the public demand for greater sustainability that is enabling the transformation of air transport. “I am proud that as a research topic hydrogen already has a long history at ZAL, and that we are driving the development of this important technology with our facilities and the new H2 tank at the ZAL TechCenter.” https://www.h2-view.com/story/zal-installs-new-20-metre-hydrogen-tank-to-expand-aviation-capabilities-by-twenty-fold/ Erickson Puts Itself in Play MRO, OEM, and helicopter services company Erickson—best known for its fleet of brightly-painted orange Air Cranes—has hired financial consulting firm Houlihan Lokey to help it explore “strategic alternatives.” Houlihan most recently guided Bristow Group through bankruptcy reorganization and its subsequent merger with Era. In a statement issued late last week, Erickson CEO Doug Kitani said the company is “seeking a strategic partner who shares our vision” and, via implication, could provide needed capital. "Our aim is to upgrade Erickson's great assets, including technology advances in the S-64 Super Air Crane, and expand our capabilities in MRO,” Kitani said. “A new strategic partner will complement our strengths, propel Erickson to the next level, and position the company, with its legacy and expertise, as the first-choice leader in the most demanding air operations and OEM-level MRO support." In February, Erickson said it planned to make the first flight of its optionally-piloted S-64F+ Air Crane next year, with customer deliveries of the new helicopter variant to begin as early as 2024. The aircraft will be equipped with all-composite main rotor blades that Erickson certified late last year, as well as Sikorsky’s Matrix optional pilot technology and new turboshaft engines with Fadec. A HUD might also be available for the F+ in concert with Erickson’s new aerial water cannon. Erickson said high/hot performance of the F+ will be improved over the current-production model. The new composite main rotor blades alone will increase the payload at 25 degrees C and 8,000 feet by 88 percent—offering an additional 755 pounds—while climb rate at max gross weight and 2,000 feet will rise 69.2 percent, from 1,300 fpm to 2,200 fpm. Those numbers will improve further with the new engine. In September, Erickson acquired the type certificate for the Bell 214ST and B/B1 helicopters. An estimated forty 214Bs remain in service. The B was produced between 1976 and 1981 and is powered by a 2,930-shp Lycoming T5508D. Bell produced ninety-six 214STs between 1979 and 1993. The 18-passenger 214ST features a 30-inch fuselage stretch and is powered by two 1,625-shp General Electric T700 engines. Erickson noted that it is one of the largest fleet operators of the Bell 214. Erickson emerged from bankruptcy in 2017 after listing debts of $561 million, largely resulting from its 2013 acquisitions of Evergreen Helicopters and Air Amazonia, as well as government and oil services contracts that either folded or never materialized. As part of the reorganization, Erickson divested itself of Air Amazonia and most of the mixed fleet of helicopters that came with the Evergreen acquisition. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2021-08-09/erickson-puts-itself-play Augmented Safety: How AR Technology Helps Reduce the Risk in Aviation The aviation division of bp, Air bp is one of the world’s leading suppliers of aviation fuel products and services. The company is known for its innovative approach and sought an engineering solution to protect its operators against making mistakes. After many years of search, the company seems to have found a solution in AR technology. The Misfuelling Challenge When ground crew operators are fueling a small aircraft, they are constantly facing a menacing risk of putting in the wrong grade of fuel. While using the wrong fuel grade for the car is quite common, in aviation misfuelling can potentially bring catastrophic consequences and cost human lives. The misfuelling challenge thus stays one of the most crucial for the entire industry. For many years Air bp was reliant on ground workers following the operational procedure. Still, despite the best training for operators, the human error factor is always present and poses a significant risk. The company’s goal has been to find an automatic way to help operators. AR Technology Enables the Solution As the handheld device became less expensive and widespread, the team behind the Airfield Automation safe2go solution tried to find a way to use computer vision to recognize fuel-grade labels (decals) placed next to the aircraft fuel tank orifice. Their goal was to get technology to work with something the aircraft already has without modifying its construction. The team has identified two success factors: the AR technology must never give the wrong fuel grade and have a high success rate of recognizing a decal. The prototype was rolled out and tested in over 40 airports around the world. To find a reliable solution, Air bp has worked together with AR technology provider Wikitude. The success of the prototype has allowed the whole project to proceed as a safety-critical application. Good For Safety, Good For Processes Airfield Automation safe2go is a cloud-based safety-critical application that relies on Image Tracking AR technology to help operators recognize decals representing various types of fuels and help the ground crew avoid making grave mistakes. Four hundred and ninety-six vehicles at 126 airports are equipped with the AA safe2go app (powered with AR), completing over 12,500 fuellings per week (more than 1 aircraft per minute). The team soon found out there is a considerable benefit in capturing data in real-time through augmented reality. Previously, the data transmission from the airport to Air bp’s invoicing system was taking almost two days. Now, it is coming through in real-time. Using the versatile functionality of image tracking, the airline can now send an order electronically, notifying the operators in advance which fuel they need to deliver. Additional benefits allowed Air bp to expand its digital offering. Award-Winning AR Solution Manifesting the product’s maturity for market deployment, Air bp’s Airfield Automation has been recognized by the prestigious bp Helios Safety Award and won the UK Real IT Award (including Excellence in Application Modernisation and the Product Innovation awards). The solution has also had its first granted patent. But most importantly, this use case shows how the long-debated utility of AR technology turns into reality and serves to automate processes and establish a new standard in safety. https://arpost.co/2021/08/09/safety-ar-technology-reduce-risk-aviation/ Why two aircraft lessors have not jumped into the electric-aircraft craze Some top aircraft lessors remain unconvinced about the viability of electric passenger aircraft and whether in-development air taxis and other first-generation electric types even fit within their leasing business models. Those companies are Air Lease and AerCap, whose executives in recent days expressed hesitancy about jumping into the electric aircraft segment, which has recently attracted massive investment amid promises of transforming urban and regional travel. At least one aircraft lessor – Avolon – recently threw itself into the electric aircraft ring by committing to purchase an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft being developed by UK firm Vertical Aerospace. “We just don’t see the business case yet. We don’t have enough information to really make a meaningful determination,” Air Lease chief executive John Plueger said of electric aircraft during that company’s second-quarter earnings call on 5 August. Still, he says Los Angeles-based Air Lease continues “to look seriously” at the segment. Air Lease executive chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy notes that in-development electric aircraft sit outside Air Lease’s prime market – leasing large jet aircraft with more than 150 seats. “We just don’t see any current [electric aircraft] technology that can address that,” Udvar-Hazy adds. “It’s at the very early embryonic stages, and only addresses very short-haul opportunities.” On 29 July, Aengus Kelly, chief executive of Irish lessor AerCap, said lessors need aircraft they can economically transfer between airline customers, including those in different regions of the world. Its not clear eVTOLs fit within that model. “A lessor wants an asset that can be transition to amongst customers around the globe… maybe from Canada to Jakarta,” says Kelly. “That’s what you need to be able to do for lessor’s product to work”. He thinks “electric powered vehicles are coming”. But when, and what missions they will ultimately perform, remains unclear, he says. “The timeframe, and to what the missions will be, and as to whether or not they can be commercially sized aircraft that can carry humans – that’s another matter altogether,” Kelly says. Their comments come as countless start-ups are seeking to achieve certification for electric aircraft. Those companies include eVTOL makers like Joby Aviation, Wisk Aero, Archer Aviation, Vertical Aerospace and Volocopter. Other companies like Eviation and Heart Aerospace are working to developed fixed-wing electric or hybrid-electric aircraft. In Canada, commuter carrier Harbour Air is working to certify a De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver modified to have an electric motor. Many of the start-ups have in recent years attracted sizeable investments and unveiled plans to become publicly traded companies. In June, Dublin-based aircraft lessor Avolon made a move, ordering up to 500 of Vertical’s VA-X4, a five-person, winged eVTOL. Avolon, which pegged the deal’s potential value at $1.25 billion, also said it would become an equity investor in Vertical but has not disclosed the amount of investment. https://www.flightglobal.com/orders-and-deliveries/why-two-aircraft-lessors-have-not-jumped-into-the-electric-aircraft-craze/144987.article Airlines choking on high repair, fuel costs — REPORT Failure to establish a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility, MRO, that can carry out comprehensive maintenance and checks on aircraft operating in the country has been identified as a major factor stifling the growth of domestic airlines in the country. It has also been established by stakeholders that aside from aviation fuel, maintenance remains the second major cost to airlines operating in the country, stifling their growth. However, there appears to be no end to this, as the Federal Government’s proposed MRO facility is still at negotiation stage, according to Aviation Ministry officials. It will be recalled that the federal administration had for over two decades nursed the ambition of setting up a maintenance facility in Nigeria to position the country as aircraft repair hub in West and Central Africa, but has so far failed to muster the necessary political will to bring it about. The only two MRO centres in the country at present, Aero Contractors and 7 Star Global Hangar Limited, lack the capacity to meet the demands of operators. The harsh business environment in the country has also not helped their efforts to expand and acquire the necessary equipment for maintenance. Airlines incur heavy costs Experts, who spoke with Vanguard were unanimous that domestic airlines incur heavy costs taking their aircraft overseas for maintenance, especially as they have to pay allowances to pilots who will fly the aircraft to the MROs, pay for hotel accommodation, fuelling as well as airport charges. It was learned that some of these expenses could have been avoided, if there were maintenance facilities in the country. Vanguard learned that of the four aircraft maintenance regimes — A, B, C, and D-checks, only the first two can be conveniently done in the country, while for the last two stages, operators have no option but to take their planes abroad. According to current NCAA regulation, every aircraft operating in Nigeria is mandated to go for a C-Check after every 18 months. For Boeing 737-300 and 737-500, the C-check is conducted after every 4,000 flight hours, while for Boeing 737-400 and Boeing 747-400 it is conducted after 4,500 and 6,400 flight hours respectively. In the case of Airbus A-330-341 this check is done every 21 months The most detailed inspection is the D-check. This inspection is generally an overhaul. For Boeing 737-300, 737-400 and 737-500, this inspection is conducted after 24,000 flight hours. Boeing 747-400 requires a D-check after 28,000 flight hours, while for Airbus A-330-341, after six years. Note that the commonest aircraft type used by operators in the country is the B-737 series because it is strong and rugged. $200m spent annually on aircraft checks Vanguard investigation and interaction with some operators revealed that Nigerian airlines spend more than $200 million dollars annually on maintenance of their aircraft abroad. This constitutes huge capital flight and heavy financial burden on operators, considering the difficulty of accessing foreign exchange even as rates race upwards. ‘FG working on an MRO’ Right now, there is no government-owned MRO facility currently in the country . The Federal Government recently came up with an advertorial that it intends to establish an MRO facility in Nigeria, stating that it had identified the need for the establishment of such facility. It read: “The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) through the Federal Ministry of Transportation (Aviation) has identified the need for the establishment of Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul (MRO) Facility in Nigeria, as currently there is none in the West and Central African regions. “The availability of this facility would help to achieve the following objectives: establish the first MRO facility in West and Central Africa that will address the demand in the region; optimize foreign exchange expenses for major aircraft maintenance; generate more employment opportunities for Nigerians and Nigerian companies; enhance knowledge and technology transfer and support aviation value chain contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.” The ministry noted that due to the sizable investment and technical expertise required in setting up the MRO facility, FGN was exploring the possibility of entering into a Public-Private Partnership, PPP via a Build-Operate-Transfer, BOT, model, whereby a private sector partner will develop and operate the MRO facility, while the government provides the required support to facilitate its establishment. The proposed MRO will have the capacity to serve both Narrow Body (Jet and Turbo Prop) and Wide Body aircraft maintenance requirements and may be located at either the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja or Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos,” the notice also read. ‘Project on, at advanced stage’ Speaking with Vanguard about the current status of the proposed federal government-owned MRO, the Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Aviation, Dr James Odaudu, said the project was still on track. According to Odaudu, “the project is in advanced stage in the procurement phase. A preferred partner has been selected, negotiations will commence soon. “The next step will be commencement of negotiation with preferred partner and finalisation of Full Business Case, FBC.” Airline operators lament Some operators noted the debilitating effects the problem of inadequate maintenance facility in the country was having on their operations. The General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Dana Air, Mr Kingsley Ezenwa, said: “It’s affecting all airlines, not just Dana Air; and we are taking the initiative to build ours because our engineers have the capacity for such maintenance here in Nigeria. The only thing affecting it is just the huge cost of taking the aircraft outside and bringing them back. “We also work with Aero when necessary and it has been good. If we have more functional ones in Nigeria, it will help a great deal but while we are working towards this, we would continue the maintenance schedule abroad and partner Aero where necessary also.” COVID-19 worsened things, says Air Peace COO Reacting in a similar manner, the Chief Operating Officer, COO, Air Peace, Mrs. Toyin Olajide, said the coming of COVID-19 devastated airlines worldwide. She explained that Air Peace had several aircraft out on C-check maintenance abroad before COVID-19 and were caught up with the Covid-19 lockdown globally. “In our own case, we had several aircraft out on C-check maintenance abroad before COVID-19. These aircraft were supposed to have since come back, one after the other, but because of lock-down in those countries since February, the maintenance facilities shut down too. There was no maintenance. “The Nigerian C-check regime is driven by calendar, which implies that every aircraft has a time frame they must go for mandatory checks, which is usually between 18 and 24 months. “Out of 25 aircraft in our fleet, several aircraft were out on one maintenance or another. This is the reason for our cutting down on our frequencies and the destinations we serve. “However, the good news is that most of the planes have started returning to the country after the maintenance and we have started returning to our old routes and opening new ones.” Only 2 MROsin Nigeria In spite of Nigeria being aviation hub in West Africa, there are only two maintenance facilities in the country licensed by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA. They are Aero Contractors and 7 Star Global Hangar Limited, a start-up facility. But their capacity in aircraft maintenance is limited and not comprehensive, as they can only conduct the first two stages of repairs, A and B-checks. Speaking with Vanguard, the Base Maintenance Manager/Head, AMO, Aero Contractors MRO, James Ominyi said the current cost of carrying out C-Checks on a Boeing 737 series depends on the state of the aircraft. “There are so many factors involved. The first is the type of aircraft; second is the type of C-check, age of aircraft, and work scope for the C-check,” he said. One of the domestic airlines’ maintenance engineers who preferred anonymity, told Vanguard that “depending on the scope of work to be done, an average C-check costs about $1.8 million, which is conservatively about N500 million per aircraft based on the current exchange rate.” Costly maintenance abroad Further investigations revealed that to carry out a C-check on a B737-300 aircraft outside the country costs between $320,000 and $350,000 per plane, while the changing of a landing gear of the same aircraft type costs around $90,000. D-check, which is almost complete overhaul, costs much more. Speaking about the urgent need for an MRO in the country, the Accountable Manager of 7 Star Global Hangar Ltd, Isaac Balami, said the total cost of aircraft maintenance in West Africa is over $1 billion dollars annually, adding that Nigeria, with the highest number of aircraft taken overseas for maintenance, bears about 75 per cent of the said amount. Balami said: “When you talk about Nigerian airlines, you are talking about West Africa because Nigeria is actually West Africa, whether you like it or not. Across the sub-region, over $1 billion is spent annually on aircraft maintenance and that is a fact. Nigeria contributes about 75 per cent of this expenditure. “That is huge capital flight. Those of us in the sector and in MRO business feel frustrated about it. This is obviously a serious blow to Nigeria’s economy because I think that if the Aviation industry has $1 billion, you can imagine what they will do with it. ‘’So the point is that we must stop that leakage. It is not a matter of let’s try; we have to stop it. The private sector has to be involved because government cannot do it alone. “Yes, there is 100 per cent interrelationship between cost of airline failure and cost of maintenance overseas. Aside from aviation fuel, maintenance is the second biggest cost for Nigerian airlines and it is affecting our airlines badly. “The issue is when you put Boeing-737 on the ground and it is not flying, you will be losing over $100,000 every day. This is because your fixed and variable costs are known. You cannot change it because whether you fly or you don’t fly, you will still do maintenance; whether it is after 500 hours, 1,000 hours or 18 months, whether it is D-check, whether it is C-check; that you are not flying does not mean you won’t conduct checks on the aircraft.’’ He also identified high cost of maintenance overseas as the major reason Nigerian airlines go under after a short period of operation. “Aircraft maintenance is determined by calendar and cycles. So when you are not flying, you may not be getting the cycles, but the calendar is affecting it, so at the end of 18 months, you must do it. “When you do it overseas, you spend extra cost, including visa for your crew, allowances you have to pay to the crew, hotel accommodation, among others. You are also going to pay for navigational charges. If you are going to the US, you will be losing about three to four days. You will stop and refuel. What you will spend on your aircraft taking them overseas will be enough to pay your staff for a certain period,” he explained. There is, therefore, an urgent need for Nigerian MROs to upgrade their facilities so that Nigerian airlines will not be taking their aircraft abroad. Modern equipment needed The head of Aero Contractors MRO, James Ominyi, while speaking on this, said for Nigerian MROs to develop the capacity to take over the maintenance of aircraft and stop airlines from taking their equipment overseas, they have to ensure that they had modern equipment and personnel. “MROs in Nigeria first need to spend money to improve their equipment, training, tools to be able to compete with MROs outside the country. One thing airlines think about is if I go to Aero, will they have everything to do what they need to do? But thank God that our chief executive officer has been buying new equipment every month. “Last month, our set of jacks came in. So the truth of the matter is that in Aero MRO and other MROs locally, once you patronise us, your man-hour rate is lower than you can get in Europe. That is already big savings. If an airline has to leave Nigeria and fly six hours to Europe; that is a huge cost you would have saved if you towed your aircraft to Aero Contractors’ hangar. “The growing MRO sub-sector in Africa is a $3 billion business. Most of that business is going outside. We need to retain that business within Africa. For Nigerian airlines, they need to retain their hard-earned foreign currency by patronising Nigerian MROs,” Ominyi said. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/08/airlines-choking-on-high-repair-fuel-costs-report/ EasyJet Cabin Crew and Pilots to Wear Plastic Uniforms Made Out of 45 Recycled Bottles British low-cost airline easyJet plans to divert 2,700,000 plastic bottles from landfill over the next five years by turning them into cabin crew and pilot uniforms. Based on the same design as the current uniform, the new garments will be made with a high tech material woven from recycled plastic bottles which the airline claims is more comfortable than the current polyester uniforms. A complete uniform will use around 45 plastic bottles and the first garments are set to be rolled out to cabin crew in the next few weeks. The uniforms will be manufactured in Northern Ireland using electricity from renewable energy sources that has a 75 per cent lower carbon footprint than the old uniform. Trialled by cabin crew and pilots last year, the fabric passed the fit-test due to its four-way stretch and abrasion resistance. Compared to polyester, the fabric should not only improve comfort and durability but also last a lot longer. Tina Milton, director of cabin services at easyJet said the airline was looking at every part of its operation to reduce both carbon emissions and waste. The announcement came on the same day that a United Nations scientific report on climate change was described by Secretary-General António Guterres as “a code red for humanity”. Rising temperatures and the devastating impact of climate change could be stabilised with a dramatic cut in emissions of greenhouse gases, scientists from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded on Monday. easyJet says it is still working on a zero-emission aircraft project. “We continue to work with innovative technology partners Wright Electric and Airbus. Each of them has set out its ambitious timetables for bringing zero-emission aircraft into commercial service to become a reality,” Milton explained. The airline has set itself the goal of becoming a net-zero emissions carrier by 2050 but campaigners say the aviation industry must go much further and that we must all radically reduce the amount we travel if we are to reverse the climate emergency. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2021/08/09/easyjet-cabin-crew-and-pilots-to-wear-plastic-uniforms-made-out-of-45-recycled-bottles/ Serious Airline Delays Will Only Get Worse With Climate Change As my husband drove me to the San Antonio airport in the wee hours of a Tuesday morning, streaks of lightning dappled the sky so regularly that I thought I was still dreaming. We pulled into the departure lanes to find a startling number of people curled up outside, asleep, while the baggage check line snaked through Terminal B with an intensity I’ve never seen so early in the morning. Normally, you’d expect the first flight of the morning to be packed with business travelers. Instead, these were haggard families, tired couples, and disheveled folks still wearing their work clothes. I didn’t think twice; with no luggage to check, I breezed through the TSA checkpoint. It wasn’t until I boarded my flight to Dallas/Fort Worth that I found out what had happened. Ours was the first flight to the Texas hub in over 14 hours. Uncharacteristic tornadoes and severe thunderstorms had wracked the northern part of the state, grounding hundreds of planes and causing hundreds of others to be diverted. People had waited in American Airlines queues for hours trying to get rebooked on a different flight, or to get a refund, or to be directed to a hotel, or to just get a coupon for a compensated snack. When we arrived in Dallas, the crews that were supposed to have been delivered on a previous flight hadn’t made it, exacerbating an already difficult employee shortage. We sat our gate for a half an hour, waiting for an available gate agent to come open the door. I’ve had my fair share of shitty flights and unexpected weather delays in my day, but the Dallas situation was especially concerning. Friends in the area said they lost count of how many tornadoes they either were warned about or had seen spiraling up in the clouds. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” one Dallas native said, shaking her head. “It totally disrupted DFW.” “Same in Houston, too,” another Texan piped up. She’d had the misfortune of having a layover delayed there because of the weather. And this isn’t anything new. “Unprecedented weather” has been the culprit of delays all year long as air travel recovers from its post-COVID slump. So, increasing numbers of severe storms in places that previously didn’t see that kind of weather, or rapidly spreading wildfires, or rising seas, or extreme heat can result in your flights being cancelled more frequently than you might be used to. We’re even likely to start facing more stringent weight regulations on flights because hotter weather means less dense air, which means planes need to be going faster to take off, which means we’ll end up shaving weight. Or, as Airport Technology put it: ...The other half [of the changes to air travel], which tends to be less openly discussed, is adapting airports and the commercial aviation sector as a whole to the environmental consequences of climate change. These impacts include a greater frequency of delayed and cancelled flights due to more severe weather conditions and changing wind patterns; damage to key airport infrastructure as a result of higher summer temperatures; and flooding of runways and taxiways from increased precipitation and the impact of sea-level rises, some degree of which looks inevitable at this point. The article further states that it's difficult to prepare for or mitigate disaster when many of these weather patterns strike with little warning or evolve much differently than expected. And if things continue on this path, climate-related disruptions are going to be as regular a part of air travel as overpriced airport food. https://jalopnik.com/serious-airline-delays-will-only-get-worse-with-climate-1847443408 Turkish Aerospace to manufacture Boeing 737 fan cowls Turkish Aerospace will be responsible for 50% of the monthly 737 Fan Cowl requirements starting in 2025. The agreement between Boeing and TUSAŞ expands the portfolio of Boeing Commercial Airplane products manufactured by TUSAŞ. The two companies’ close industrial collaboration supports the 737 program’s performance and affordability while furthering the longstanding relationship between Boeing and Turkey’s aerospace industry. Fan cowl doors provide an aerodynamic surface over the fan case of the engine between the inlet and the thrust reverser and protect engine mounted components and accessories. There are two fan cowl doors (left and right) around each engine that can be opened to provide access for service and maintenance of the engine components and accessories on the fan case of the engine. Prof. Temel Kotil, President & CEO, Turkish Aerospace, evaluated about the agreement and said, “Our company continues to be among the manufacturers that have proven in the field of aerostructure with its half a century of experience. In this context, while we continue to produce national projects in the field of aviation industry in our country, We also carry out high-quality critical productions for the world's leading aerial platform manufacturers. We are delighted for the fan cowl production for BOEING as part of the agreement. We bring a new ability to our company. I congratulate all my colleagues and BOEING authorities who contributed to this cooperation.” Aysem Sargın, managing director, Boeing Turkey, said: “Turkey is one of Boeing’s strategic growth countries, and we see tremendous potential for the country to contribute to the global aerospace industry as an industrial and technology partner. With the launch of Boeing Turkey National Aerospace Industry (NAI) by Boeing and Turkey several years ago, Boeing has expanded its investments, footprint and supply chain in Turkey. The award of the 737 Fan Cowl work package to TUSAŞ is a reflection of our continued commitment to Turkey and the wo rld-class capability of our industrial partners in Turkey.” Fan cowls will be manufactured at the state-of-the-art TUSAŞ premises in Ankara-Turkey, where the Company is already contracted from Boeing to manufacture the Boeing 787 Dreamliner elevator, cargo barrier, horizontal leading edge, and 737 elevator, along with the deliveries of thousands of parts/components that are flying in Boeing airplanes for years. https://www.arabianaerospace.aero/turkish-aerospace-to-manufacture-boeing-737-fan-cowls.html SPACEX LAUNCHING SATELLITE TO DISPLAY BILLBOARD ADS IN SPACE SpaceX is partnering with a Canadian tech startup to launch a digital billboard into orbit. Samuel Reid, CEO and co-founder of Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC), said that his company is partnering with SpaceX to launch a small advertisement satellite into space, according to Insider. The satellite will have a screen on one side where people and companies can bid to have their logos and advertisements displayed, along with a “selfie stick” that’ll snap photos of the ads with the Earth in the background. Thankfully, the system won’t be visible from the ground — though others have pondered a system like that. “There might be companies which want to depict their logo… or it might end up being a bit more personal and artistic,” Reid said to Insider. “Maybe Coca-Cola and Pepsi will fight over their logo and reclaim over each other.” Crypto for Tokens for Pixels The process of purchasing advertising space on the satellite is a bit complex but fairly interesting. For one, anyone will be able to purchase digital advertising space so long as you pay more than someone else bidding. “I’m trying to achieve something that can democratize access to space and allow for decentralized participation,” Reid said to Insider. “Hopefully, people don’t waste money on something inappropriate, insulting or offensive.” Yeah, we wouldn’t hold our breath for that. You’ll also have to purchase tokens in order to stake pixel space on the satellite. There are five tokens you’ll be able to buy: Gamma, which determines the brightness of the display; Kappa, which determines the color; Beta, which determines the X coordinate; Rhoe, which determines the Y coordinate; and Xi, which determines the time your ad will be displayed. Folks will also be able to purchase tokens using cryptocurrencies. Reid said that he wants to eventually have Dogecoin be an acceptable form of payment. Lucrative Partnership SpaceX has yet to comment on this partnership — so there’s a chance that it might not even come to fruition. However, Reid said that GEC had been vying for the aeronautics company’s attention since 2018. It wasn’t until Reid taught a few of Musk’s kids at the Ad Astra school that the company heard his proposal, according to Insider. So take this all with a grain of salt. However, if it goes through, it’ll mark a rather foreboding milestone. After all, not even the stars and galaxies we all gaze at will be safe from the dark maw of capitalism. https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-billboard-ads-space Curt Lewis