EASA and CAAC Clear the Viking High-Altitude and Seaplane Simulator for Training

Pacific Sky Aviation’s new Twin Otter flight simulator was recently certified by both the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Civil Aviation Administration of China, following Transport Canada’s certification of the simulator last December. The simulator was installed in Pacific Sky Aviation’s Calgary location. The simulator, built by TRU Simulation+Training of Montreal, recreates the flight envelope of the Viking 400 Twin Otter, the newly produced Honeywell Apex glass cockpit version of the original deHavilland Twin Otter series that first flew in 1965.

Michael Coughlin, CEO of Pacific Sky Aviation, spoke to one of the TRU simulator’s important benefits. “The high-altitude training is particularly applicable to customers who operate in the Andes mountains. For these customers, Pacific Sky Aviation is able to offer courses using advanced geodetic technology in the simulator’s visual system. Pacific Sky Aviation instructors are able to provide customers with the exact conditions from operating bases at altitudes of over 3,000 meters in order to evaluate the best approaches and departures given the terrain and aircraft performance. The new Viking 400 aircraft sports a 25,000-foot service ceiling.

Pacific Sky Aviation simulator claims to be the world’s first true seaplane trainer, using the same level-D visual and motion capabilities to provide Twin Otter seaplane pilots with the opportunity to safely practice takeoffs and landings in a range of sea states, winds and water conditions including glassy water. Elements necessary to make the Twin Otter simulator operate as a seaplane trainer are expected to be operational later this year.

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Dassault and Airbus Team Up on Long-Term Air Combat Project

Dassault Aviation and Airbus have teamed up to develop new fighter jets as part of what is being called Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS). The systems will be designed to work together for military missions.

In addition to next-generation fighter aircraft, FCAS will include cruise missiles, medium-altitude long-endurance UAVs and other drones. “The overall system will be interoperable and connected in a larger perimeter with mission aircraft, satellites, NATO systems and land and naval combat systems,” the companies said in a press release.

“The vision that France and Germany have set forth with FCAS is a bold one and it’s an important signal in, and for, Europe,” said Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier. “The FCAS program will strengthen the political and military ties between Europe’s core nations and it will reinvigorate its aerospace industry.”

The new aircraft are projected to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale fighters, beginning some time between 2035 and 2040.

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Build A Plane to Use XCOR Assets for Build A Rocket Project

Non-profit organization Build A Plane has acquired the assets of Mojave, California-based commercial space flight company XCOR, which filed for bankruptcy last year. Build A Plane will use the assets to build a school and to support its latest project: Build A Rocket, which is set to launch next year. According to a report by Space.com, the non-profit bought XCOR’s assets for just over $1 million, beating out Space Florida, which put a bid in for $1 million. Sage Cheshire Aerospace, which built the Red Bull Stratos capsule that Felix Baumgartner famously jumped out of in 2012, has partnered with Build A Plane for the project.

Build A Plane’s Build A Rocket project was launched recently and aims to provide an opportunity for high schools and college students to build high performance, 18-foot, high-powered rockets. Build A Rocket will soon be offering pre-maunfactured rocket kits to STEM education programs. The kits will be easily manufactured with the use of common tools, such as screwdrivers and wrenches, according to a statement on the Build A Plane’s website. These rocket kits will cost approximately $5,000 and should be available next year.

As with Build A Plane’s collaborative project with the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Glasair Aviation, which sends high school students who win an aircraft design contest to Arlington, Washington, to build a Glasair Sportsman, Build A Rocket will select students to come to California to build “one very special rocket,” according to the statement. The project is slated to begin next year and students can sign up here.

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US policy shift could open door for Israeli UAV sales

Israeli manufacturers could benefit from a decision by Washington to ease restrictions on the US defence industry's sale of armed unmanned air vehicles, although they are likely to face increased competition.

The Trump administration in mid-April announced that a new policy will allow US contractors to offer armed UAVs under direct commercial sale, rather than via the Foreign Military Sales mechanism.

"This change in policy is the beginning of a new era that has many unclear sections in it," an Israeli source tells FlightGlobal.

While Israeli companies and the nation's defence ministry decline to comment on the policy shift, another source notes that while it will "open a door" for exports. "This door will be blocked by many who want to get in," the source says.

Israel is not a signatory to the international Missile Technology Control Regime, which prevents the sale of large UAVs with heavy payload capacity, but adheres to its regulations. This requirement has, for example, seen Israel Aerospace Industries develop an export-specific Heron TP-XP product in pursuit of a sales opportunity in India.

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Spirit AeroSystems to acquire Asco Industries

Spirit AeroSystems has agreed to acquire SRIF, the parent company of family-owned Belgian aerostructure specialist Asco Industries, for a cash sum of $650 million.

The US aerostructures manufacturer says the transaction will be financed through debt and be completed during the second half of 2018.

Asco designs and manufactures wing components – especially slat and flap equipment – and other structures and assemblies. The company supplies equipment for the Airbus A320, A350 and A380, Boeing 737 and 787, Bombardier CSeries, and Embraer E2 E-Jets, and for military programmes including the Airbus Defence & Space A400M, Embraer KC-390 and Lockheed Martin F-35.

Some 1,400 staff members are employed across Asco's Zaventem headquarters – near Brussels – and manufacturing facilities in Canada, Germany and the USA.

This year, the manufacturer is set to generate $400 million in revenue, Spirit says.

Tom Gentile, Spirit's chief executive, states that Asco is a "compelling fit" and "aligns extremely well" with the US supplier’s strategic priorities. "It expands our Airbus content on A320 and A350 wings, adds new defence content on the F-35, and broadens our commercial capabilities to help grow our fabrication business," he adds.

Spirit says Asco has "highly automated, state-of-the-art facilities with available capacity to support rate increases and future growth". Furthermore, the Belgian manufacturer has "well-established customer relationships in its markets with high-value single-source products", Spirit adds.

Asco chief executive Christian Boas, who will stay with the business under the deal, describes the transaction as an "excellent outcome" for the European supplier, "as we become part of a larger, global enterprise with greater combined expertise and resources".

Noting that airframers have been "pushing for a consolidation of the highly fragmented aerostructures supply base" over the last decade, Asco says the tie-up will create "new and lasting opportunities for growth and will allow our talented people to expand the business".

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

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R-R reviewing Trent 700 design after A330 birdstrike

Rolls-Royce is reviewing the design of some components of the Trent 700 engine, following a probe into a birdstrike and engine failure involving an AirAsia X A330-300 on 3 July 2017.

The A330, registered 9M-XXT, was taking off from Gold Coast airport enroute to Kuala Lumpur when its starboard engine ingested three small birds, causing it to stall and fail. Cabin crew reported a starboard engine fire to the pilots, and the crew carried out their procedures, including discharging the fire suppression system.

The crew made a mayday call and diverted to Brisbane airport, where it made an overweight, single-engine landing. The A330 landed safely, and no injuries to the 12 crew and 345 passengers were reported.

In its final report on the incident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found that the birdstrike caused the release of a small section of a fan blade. This resulted in it running out of balance while at take-off thrust, causing major vibration and the outboard section of the fan rear seal to be released, significantly damaging the engine compressors.

Around the same time, an oil leak started from a bolt unwinding in the affected engine, resulting in the engine fire.

“This fire caused failure and melting of aluminium alloy components in this cavity but was not sufficient to affect the structural engine parts made from materials with higher melting points that were in the same region,” the ATSB says.

R-R met with the European Aviation Safety Agency to discuss the matter following the incident. The ATSB says the manufacturer “will review the design of the fan rear seal and the low pressure roller bearing bolts to determine if there is a feasible solution to prevent the loss of a small section of fan blade leading imminently to an engine shutdown”.

In its final comment, the ATSB says the incident highlights the importance of effective crew resource management, and the benefit of regular proficiency checks in the simulator in allowing them to handle emergency situations.

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Comac starts concept definition for CR929 fuselage, tail

Comac has started the concept definition phase with suppliers on the fuselage and tail of the Chinese-Russian CR929 widebody.

The focus will be on the design requirements and optimising technical solutions, says China-Russia Commercial Aircraft Corporation (CRAIC) general manager Guo Bozhi.

In a statement, the Chinese manufacturer says 29 potential local and foreign suppliers attended a kick-off meeting held in Shanghai on 27 April.

It adds that teams from both countries are stepping up efforts to formulate the overall technical plan for the widebody, which will make large use of composites in its structure.

In March, United Aircraft Corporation announced that CRAIC will begin working with suppliers on defining the requirements for the major aircraft systems, including the landing gear, environmental control systems and avionics.

GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce are expected to submit bids by May for the 75,000lb-thrust turbofans planned for the twin-engined widebody.

The aircraft’s wings, centre section and fairings will be manufactured in Russia, while work on its fuselage and final assembly will be carried out in Shanghai.

CRAIC is developing a 280-seater aircraft with a range of 12,000km. If introduced in the 2025-2028 timeframe as scheduled, the aircraft would become the first twin-engined widebody aircraft produced by either country.

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