Brazil approves composite, swept propeller for King Air 350

Hartzell Propeller and Raisbeck Engineering have secured a supplemental type certificate (STC) from Brazil for a swept-blade turbofan propeller on the Beechcraft KingAir 350 series.

The approval comes less than eight months after the US Federal Aviation Administration became the first civil aviation authority to approve the $150,000 system for the twin-engined turboprop. Since then, six propellers have been delivered and installed for US owners, says Raisbeck.

Approval is expected imminently from Canada and Europe, “where a number of potential customers are waiting for the upgrade”, adds the Seattle, Washington-based company.

While owner-flyers and commercial operators account for the bulk of the sales and demand to date, Raisbeck says it is receiving “some interest” in the modification from government agencies.

The composite, five-blade, 106in (265cm) lightweight propeller has an advanced swept blade design, and offers improved take-off acceleration, better time-to-climb, and a reduced level of sound in the cabin and cockpit, Raisbeck says.

Flight Fleets Analyzer records a global fleet of more than 1,100 King Air 350s. The USA has the largest installed base, with around 670 examples, followed by Canada with 45 and Brazil with 33. The European inventory of King Air 350s totals 90 units.

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India expands Dhruv cockpit upgrade

Israel Aerospace Industries' Lahav division has received a follow-on contract to continue an avionics upgrade on the Indian armed forces' Hindustan Aeronautics Dhruv advanced light helicopters.

An initial award covered work on 50 of the twin-engined rotorcraft, with the latest deal concerning a further 150 examples. Work is already under way.

Benjamin Cohen, vice-president and general manager of the Lahav division, says the follow-on contract includes Dhruvs that are used for both land-based and maritime missions.

Cohen says modification kits are produced in Israel, before being shipped to India. "The upgrade kits are made according to the mission of the helicopter," he notes.

Elements of the enhancement package include installing a full glass cockpit with a moving map display. These features are part of an integrated architecture display system, which Lahav says is aimed at optimising the operational performance of the helicopter and its pilots.

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Gulfstream revenues slide but 2018 outlook remains good

General Dynamics' aerospace division recorded a 12% slide in first-quarter revenues, thanks to lower-than-predicted delivery output at Gulfstream.

The unit – which also includes completions and fixed-base operation provider Jet Aviation – saw revenues tumble from $2.07 billion in the three months ended 31 March 2017, to $1.82 billion this year. Earnings slipped by 21% to $346 million, from $439 million in the same period a year earlier.

Gulfstream delivered 26 jets during the quarter: 19 large-cabin G550 and G650/ERs – four fewer than the same period in 2017 – while G280 shipments remained unchanged at seven.

During a 25 April earnings call, General Dynamics chief executive Phebe Novakovic played down the Gulfstream blip, calling it "consistent with our guidance, and pretty much as anticipated".

She notes that Gulfstream had planned to hand over two more units during the first quarter – a G280 and a special mission G550. However, their respective deliveries were pushed back to April and May "for the convenience of the customer".

"If we had managed those deliveries as planned, we would have been consistent with, or slightly ahead of revenue expectations," Novakovic says.

Gulfstream's order backlog fell by more than $400 million in the first quarter, to $12.5bn, and the book-to-bill ratio – or the number of orders against deliveries – stood at 0.8:1, slightly higher than the 0.7:1 figure that the company has recorded year on year since 2013.

New orders between January and March totalled $1.4 billion – also on a par with the previous five years, and what Novakovic describes as "part of the normal cycle after a very strong fourth quarter". She says activity picked up in April, with "strong interest" in North America and Europe.

The outlook for Gulfstream in 2018 is positive, she says, with scheduled service entry of the new super-large-cabin G500 in the third quarter, helping to "back-load" revenues to the latter half of the year.

Gulfstream has secured "well over 50 orders" for the 5,200nm (9,630km)-range twin, says Novakovic, adding that it will "come pretty quickly off the line", once certification has been secured.

The G500 is now in the final phase of its flight-test campaign, and is earmarked to gain US and European validation by July. "The 300h function and reliability testing will complete the flying portion of the programme," says Novakovic, with the five-strong flight-test fleet having logged over 4,000h to date. "[We] will then shift to final document approval by the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration]," she adds.

Certification of the larger and faster G600 – for which Gulfstream has an order backlog of "close to 50 units" – will be wrapped up in the second half of 2018, Novakovic notes, with deliveries set to begin in 2019.

General Dynamics also expects strong performance from Jet Aviation in 2018. Novakovic says the recent acquisition of Hawker Pacific – which is expected to be concluded in early May – will expand the division's service capacity and help support Gulfstream's growing fleet, particularly outside the USA.

"I like our services business," she says, describing the unit as "low risk, with very nice margins and [a] great cash flow".

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Embraer Executive Jets 'coming out of the woods' after soft first quarter

Embraer Executive Jets recorded a 27% fall in revenues in the first quarter of 2018 as aircraft output fell, but the airframer is confident it will reach its delivery guidance for the year as sales activity gathers pace.

For the three months ended 31 March, the Brazilian airframer shipped 11 aircraft. This comprised eight light jets: five Phenom300s – including the first example of the upgraded E variant – and three Phenom 100s. A pair of Legacy 450s and a single Legacy 500 made up the large-jet deliveries.

This performance compared with 11 light jets and four large jets shipped during the first quarter of 2017: eight Phenom 300s and three Phenom 100s, and one each of the Legacy 450, 500, 650 and Lineage 1000E.

The dip in output contributed to a $47 million year-on-year fall in revenues for the quarter to $128 million.

Speaking on a 27 April earnings call, Embraer chief executive Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva said customer rescheduling pushed backed delivery of five business aircraft from the first to the second quarter, which had a "major impact" on the performance of the division.

Despite the "soft deliveries", he is confident that the unit will hit its 2018 guidance of 105-125 aircraft. Silva points to a stabilisation of new aircraft prices, a reduction in the pre-owned inventory and an increase in sales activity – particularly in the US and European markets – as reasons for his optimism."We are more positive this year," he says. "So I think we are coming out of the woods finally."

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Bell takes cautious approach to 525 service entry

Bell plans a "soft" service debut in 2019 for its super-medium 525 Relentless helicopter as it continues to eye an oil and gas market that is still dealing with a significant oversupply of rotorcraft.

First delivery of the fly-by-wire Relentless is due in late 2019, but the company estimates it will take "a couple of years" before the industry fully absorbs the "many second-hand aircraft that are standing idle", says Patrick Moulay, Bell senior vice-president commercial business – international.

That figure of "over 100" aircraft includes Airbus Helicopters H225s and AS332 L2s, Sikorsky S-92s and "to some degree the [Leonardo] AW139 as well", says Moulay.

Moulay says the large idle fleet is a "significant issue for the industry", with oil and gas companies much more likely to select the "easy, ready-to-go option" over new orders.

He stresses that Bell has already "made a decision to adjust" initial output on the late-running 525 "to make sure we had a soft launch" and that production "ramps up gently".

"We have been extremely cautious on that aspect," he says. "We don't want by any means to participate in this over-supply. I invite all my colleagues from Airbus and Leonardo to take the same approach.

"We need to make sure the industry absorbs those [parked] aircraft first."

Deliveries of the 525 in 2019 – initially in the VIP and offshore segments – "will be a very low number", with output ramping up in 2020-2021.

Certification of the 9.3t Relentless is due next year, around four years later than originally planned, but approval of the helicopter's full ice protection system – crucial for some offshore and search and rescue (SAR) applications – is not scheduled until 2021, says Moulay.

In addition, approval for SAR or military mission equipment will take a similar timeframe to obtain.

To date, the programme has accumulated 270h, with the two remaining 525 prototypes both back in the air; the initial aircraft was written off in a 2016 crash which killed two pilots and brought flight tests to a halt for 12 months.

Two further examples of the GE Aviation CT7-powered twin are in various stages of assembly ahead of first flights later this year.

Meanwhile, Bell is gearing up to deliver the first light-single 505 Jet Ranger X into China, with certification from the country's civil aviation regulator due in the coming weeks.

Last year, Bell secured deals for 110 units from Chinese firm Reignwood International Investment Group, with will act as exclusive distributor for the type.

The company will receive 11-12 505s this year, says Moulay, with another 25 earmarked for China in 2019.

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Airbus Helicopters sees first-quarter orders jump on Lakota deals

Airbus Helicopters saw net order intake rise by 73% in the three months to 31 March, although the bulk of the increase, to 104 units, was accounted for by commitments for a total of 51 UH-72A Lakotas for the US Army.

In the same period last year, the France-headquartered manufacturer recorded 60 net orders.

Also included in this year's first-quarter total are 10 orders for the developmental H160 medium-twin, including a framework deal with launch operator Babcock.

Airbus Helicopters has not previously disclosed the size of the initial order from UK-headquartered Babcock, but the only other declared commitment for the type in the first quarter was a four-unit deal with a US operator.

Although rival Leonardo has yet to reveal its first-quarter performance, announced orders for the AW139, the H160's chief in-service competitor, are understood to be at a similar level.

Speaking on a 27 April earnings call, group chief financial officer Harald Wilhelm said Airbus Helicopters had performed well despite the "soft civil and parapublic market".

Revenue for the three-month period was €961 million, down 18% on the €1.17 billion recorded a year earlier, partly driven by the 2017 divestment of maintenance provider Vector Aerospace.

The airframer’s backlog, at 744 units, was flat against last year's figure of 748 helicopters, although its value crept up by 1.6%, to €13.1 billion, from €12.9 billion in 2017.

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Zodiac interiors division showing gradual financial improvement

Zodiac Aerospace's troubled seating business is showing signs of recovery despite sales over the first half deteriorating by more than a quarter.

The company says sales for its seats branch – part of its aircraft interiors division – were down by 26% to €449 million ($548 million). This included an organic decline of 21.8%.

Zodiac says it had been expecting the slump, because the figures were affected by commercial impact from "previous design and execution issues".

The company had been forced to take action after serious production problems emerged in 2015.

But Zodiac, which was taken over by French aerospace firm Safran earlier this year, says the seats branch "contributed positively" to the first-half operating income of the interiors division.

It says operational changes led to a "better performance", particularly at its Seats UK and Seat Shells arms.

While the interiors division turned in an operating loss of €97.3 million, this amounted to a €31.6 million improvement.

Zodiac says the result is partly due to cost-reduction initiatives on programmes including the Airbus A350, the A320 Space-Flex modules, and the Bombardier CSeries, although the division was affected by lower volumes and "persistent" delays to VIP and business jet programmes.

Overall aircraft interiors sales were down by nearly 20% to €1.13 billion, of which almost 14% was organic.

Zodiac's aerosystems division performed better, with increased profits over the first half, which enabled Zodiac Aerospace as a whole to turn in a small operating profit of €35 million, in contrast to last year's interim loss of €11.5 million.

It is forecasting a "significantly stronger" performance in the second half in terms of revenues, operating income and cash generation.

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