FlightGlobal.

com October 2021

We put sharpest
Vision Jet to
the test

Dream
start?
UK gets ready for
Protector shift p22

Our new training and

development guide p64
How 787 fared during
colourful first decade p60
9

£4.99
770015 371327

High stakes Export lift

Business jet Kazakh buy
makers head gives A400M
for Las Vegas a sales boost
p40 p30
1 0

Glory days
Motive56/Shutterstock
As the first decade of service from the 787 nears an end, can
Boeing overcome sluggish demand and production snags to
revive its early magic experience with the Dreamliner?
B
oeing’s 787 is about to
pass a significant milestone
in its already remarkable
programme history, with 26
October to bring the 10th anniver-
sary of the Dreamliner’s entry into
revenue service.
With the passing of time it is per-
haps hard to remember now the
fervour with which every step of
the revolutionary twinjet’s develop-
ment and production was followed
after the programme launched in
2004 with a 50-aircraft order from
All Nippon Airways (ANA).
Every schedule slip and techni-
cal snag was seized upon by the
world’s media, which sensed the
importance of Seattle’s latest and
greatest product.
Beyond its cutting-edge adop-
tion of composite materials and re-
liance on a global supply chain, the
Dreamliner offered something new
for passengers, with a more pleas-
ant onboard experience thanks to a
cabin pressure altitude capable of
reducing fatigue and a wider view
of the world from larger windows.
Its performance has been closely
scrutinised since that first opera-
tional flight by ANA, and teething
problems such as the onboard lith-
ium-ion battery fire which affected
a Japan Airlines jet in 2013 grabbed
many headlines.
But over the years, the broader
level of interest in the Dreamlin-
er has waned, as many travellers
have been able to experience the
type first-hand and other stories –
such as the troubles affecting its
737 Max stablemate – have come
to dominate.
Boeing has now delivered
more than 1,000 787s across a
three-model family: a remarkable
achievement for a widebody of-
fering which is capable of opening
up new long-range point-to-point
routes or, in the case of Japan, even
serving domestic pairings.
The company has an expected
firm backlog of another 421 Dream-
liners, representing many more
years of production and assembly
in South Charleston, North Carolina.
But even before the Covid-19 pan-
demic, Boeing was facing sluggish
demand for widebody products,
prompting it to slash monthly out-
put. More recently, quality control
issues affecting aircraft finishing
have twice halted production, and
while back under way, build work
now takes place at an unspecified
rate of below five per month: down
from a programme high of 14.
Due in no small part to the pan-
demic’s effect, just 53 examples
were handed over last year – down
from a record 158 in 2019 – and in
Comment
the first seven months of this year
only 14 were delivered.
In an unwelcome parallel with the
737 Max programme during the
single-aisle’s grounding period, 787
delivery delays stretching beyond
the 12-month mark could open the
way for customers pressured by
the global health crisis and weak-
ened long-haul travel demand to
cancel orders without penalty, eat-
ing into the production backlog.
Is this a temporary crisis for the
Dreamliner, and can Boeing revive
its stunning past performance with
the type once the industry can
break free of the pandemic?
Naturally, the airframer believes
that its 787 remains “the plane of
the future”, but some are calling for
it to revitalise the product, perhaps
by developing a new variant opti-
mised for the regional travel sector.
Viewed against the market capi-
talisation-bruising impact of the 737
Max’s difficulties, it is unlikely that
the Dreamliner will again cause any-
thing like the headaches of its heav-
ily-scrutinised service introduction.
For Boeing, the priority now must
be to resolve any lingering produc-
tion and quality control issues and
get back to delivering a transfor-
mational experience for airlines
and passengers alike. ◗
See p60
October 2021 Flight International 3
 In focus
Delta makes the difference 6 Northrop eyes loyal wingman 18 Communications breakdown
Rivals set for NMH contest 8 Flightcrew failed to notice led to runway incursion 28
Joint vision key to Tempest 10 A318’s levelling 20 A320 stall-protection activated
Air India Express captain did not RAF takes lead on Protector 22 after idle-thrust handover 29
respond to go-around call 12 Racer nears final straight 24 Kabul airlift buoys Airbus 30
Bombardier’s new era 16 Ryanair’s pilot push 26 New Challenger 34

56

A spin around town

Eve Urban Air Mobility is aiming
for service entry in 2026

42
FlightGlobal.com October 2021

We put sharpest
Vision Jet to
the test

Dream
start?
UK gets ready for
Protector shift p22

Our new training and

development guide p64
How 787 fared during
AirTeamImages

colourful first decade p60

9

£4.99
770015 371327

High stakes Export lift

Business jet Kazakh buy
makers head gives A400M
for Las Vegas a sales boost
1 0

p40 p30

Regulars Comment 3 Best of the rest 36 Straight & Level 74 Letters 76 Jobs 81 Women in aviation 82

4 Flight International October 2021


In depth
Betting on BACE 40
Distance prospects 42
Demand for the biggest
business jets is rising
Vision of success 46
Cirrus has raised the bar with
the G2+ model of its Vision Jet
30
Green shoots 52
BACE will place more emphasis
than ever before on the
environment and sustainability
Ready to rise? 56
Air taxi developers plan for
certification and service entry
Contents
A dream first decade? 60
787’s first 10 years of service
have represented a major
learning curve for Boeing
Pilot re-shortage 64
Trained flightcrew are in high
demand in the USA once again
18
46
October 2021 Flight International 5
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com

Delta makes the difference

US carriers hoped summer leisure demand would also bring
a return of business passengers, but Covid-19 and a complex
transatlantic market has forced a downgrade in expectations
Jon Hemmerdinger Tampa In September, Atlanta-based Del- Likewise, United Airlines has seen
ta’s business travel was just 40% of a “deceleration” in third-quarter
2019 levels – roughly unchanged bookings, and forecasts revenue for

T
he second half of 2021 was
meant to bring much-need-
ed positive momentum to
the US airline industry.
Executives had predicted that
leisure travel demand would re-
bound in the summer, heralding a
broad return of business travel in
the autumn.
On the plus side, the first part of
that prediction proved prescient,
even understated; on some days,
the number of air travellers moving
through US airports neared levels
last seen in the summer of 2019,
prior to the coronavirus crisis.
But the recovery in business
travel has not materialised. The
Delta variant of Covid-19 current-
ly sweeping through the USA has
caused business travellers to post-
pone getting back on the road, in
turn forcing airlines to pare back
financial projections.
since the summer, Bastian says.
Some business users have returned,
but “they are not travelling in the
volumes necessary yet to get our
business back where it needs to be”.
Delta had previously predicted
third-quarter revenue would be 30-
35% lower than the same period of
2019, but now says this will likely
be at the “lower end” of that range.
American Airlines too has scaled
back its third-quarter revenue es-
timate: the figure will now be 24-
28% less than in 2019, not 20% less,
as previously predicted.
American was profitable in
July, but results from August and
September are “trending below
forecast”, says chief financial of-
ficer Derek Kerr. “We expected the
recovery would be choppy and un-
predictable,” he notes.
the period will be down 33% from
the same period of 2019.
JetBlue Airways has also adjust-
ed its estimate, believing revenue
for the July-September period will
be 6-9% lower than the third quar-
ter of 2019, changed from a previ-
ously estimated 4-9% decline.
“Given the recent uptick in
Covid-19 case counts, JetBlue
has experienced some softness
in bookings and an increase in
customer cancellations, which has
impacted revenue for the third
quarter,” the New York-based
carrier adds.
Stalled recovery
Airline executives are quick to point
a finger at the Delta variant as the
reason the recovery has stalled.
But carriers have also been ham-
strung by political forces – includ-
ing travel restrictions, in particular

Weaker bookings
“Eight airlines updated Q3 guid-
ance for the impact of the Delta
variant on bookings and cancella-
3,900
Total aircraft in service with major
the USA’s ongoing denial of en-
try to European travellers. While
much of Europe has been open
to American travellers, only in late
September did the administration
tions,” points out a research note US airlines as of September 2021, of president Joe Biden say it would
from financial firm Jefferies. “While representing 87% of combined fleet reciprocate from November.
July trended better than expected,
August started to see headwinds
from the weaker bookings and
close-in cancellations.”
Unfortunately, Covid-19 has
shown itself to be a resilient foe,
and as summer ended, US airlines –
one after the other – reported the
recovery had slowed.
“We were anticipating, as we
got into the post-Labor Day travel
[period], seeing a step-up in busi-
ness travel,” Delta Air Lines chief
executive Ed Bastian said on 9
September during a transporta-
tion conference hosted by invest-
Spirit Airlines

ment bank Cowen.

Instead, “many of those have
pushed [travel plans] back into the
latter part of the year or early next
Domestic US carriers such as Spirit
year”, he says. “The delay is in the
are now operating nearly all their jets
90- [to] 120-day timeframe.”

6 Flight International October 2021


US carriers’ return to service
Carrier In service
Alaska Airlines
Allegiant Air
American Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Frontier Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines
JetBlue Airways
Southwest Airlines
Spirit Airlines
United Airlines
Total
Source: Cirium fleet data. Note: As of 10 September
In July, Airlines for America had
joined many other industry groups
in releasing a plan for the “safe reo-
pening of international travel”. The
plan urged the US government to
grant entry to vaccinated travel-
lers, including those from the EU.
“It is time, if not past the time,
for the US government to… reopen
travel between the US and low-risk
countries,” the letter said.
Though full recovery remains elu-
sive, US carriers have returned most
of their aircraft to active duty after
storing jets due to the pandemic.
In September, the 10 major US
airlines had nearly 3,900 jets in
service – 87% of their fleets, with
Airlines Recovery
AirTeamImages
Delta’s business travel is currently
at around 40% of 2019 levels
signs. Leisure travel bookings were
up; revenue intake accelerated.
The May-to-June quarter was not
anywhere near as good, financial-
Storage Percent in service Total
ly speaking, as in 2019. But it was
200 29 87% 229 miles better than during 2020.
106 10 91% 116 American, for instance, logged
846 120 88% 966 $7.5 billion in second-quarter 2021
764 139 85% 903 revenue – down 37% on the same
111 - 100% 111 period in 2019, but nearly five times
59 2 97% 61 the 2020 figure.
271 9 97% 280
693 63 92% 756 Resource constraints
164 4 98% 168 As demand rebounded, airlines
662 198 77% 860 raced to get more jets in service
3,876 574 87% 4,450 – and to refill employment roles
eroded by staff cuts, many of them
voluntary measures. Some carri-
ers met the challenge better than
the balance in storage, accord- others; American and Spirit, for in-
ing to Cirium data. That is a major stance, proved themselves some-
improvement from the industry’s what unprepared, having to cancel
nadir in May 2020, when those air- hundreds of flights due partly to
lines had about 1,900 jets in service resource constraints.
– just 43% of the fleet. Airports were packed as holi-
Carriers including Allegiant Air, day-starved Americans jetted to
Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue and Spir- popular domestic vacation spots.
it Airlines are now operating nearly And two new US leisure carriers
all their jets. Likewise, the 10 largest started flying just in time to tap
US regional airlines (by fleet count) swelling demand: Avelo Airlines,
now have 81% of their aircraft fly- founded by former Allegiant and
ing, up from 60% in May 2020. United executive Andrew Levy,
Although the end of the quarter and Breeze Airways, the latest
is shrouded in uncertainty, summer project from David Neeleman. The
2021 was a bonanza for carriers. carriers see opportunity in flying
It was around March that the to smaller cities, some of which
sector began reporting promising have lost other air services. ◗
October 2021 Flight International 7
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com
Airbus Helicopters has promised to
build its H175M in the UK if selected
Rivals ready for NMH contest
The continued absence of a formal requirement to replace
Airbus Helicopters
the UK’s aged Puma helicopters did not stop rival bidders
from touting their products at London’s DSEI show
Dominic Perry London
A
lthough the requirements
for the UK military’s New
Medium Helicopter (NMH)
fleet have yet to be final-
ised, two of the main contenders
for the competition used the 14-17
September DSEI show in London
to burnish their domestic manufac-
turing credentials.
The UK Ministry of Defence
(MoD) announced in March that the
NMH was to replace the Royal Air
Force’s Puma HC2 transports from
mid-decade, along with three other
types operated by the British Army.
But while matching the 7.4t
Puma’s capabilities will be key,
all potential bidders are acutely
aware that in the post-Brexit and
post-Covid-19 environment bring-
ing value to ‘UK plc’ is likely to be
a high priority. That change of em-
phasis was signalled by the MoD’s
Defence and Security Industrial
Strategy publication that accompa-
nied its recent equipment review.
Likely candidates for the NMH
requirement are the Airbus
Helicopters H175M, Leonardo
8 Flight International October 2021
Helicopters’ AW149, and Sikor-
sky’s UH-60M/S-70i Black Hawk.
Leonardo Helicopters is the UK’s
only rotorcraft manufacturer, with
a long-established factory in Yeovil
in southwest England. Should the
AW149 be selected as the NMH, the
airframer promises to establish an
assembly line at the site, building
the super-medium-type for the UK
and export customers.
Local production
Airbus Helicopters is anxious
that the status quo is not main-
tained, however. Earlier this year it
promised it would build the H175M
in the UK, but gave no details
on the proposed location of the
production site.
Speaking on 10 September,
Colin James, managing director of
Airbus Helicopters UK, said that
basing the final assembly line at
Airbus’s Broughton site in North
Wales will allow the helicopter
division to “benefit from all the
commercial manufacturing and
supply chain knowledge from the
bigger Airbus group”.
He anticipates that a final as-
sembly line for the H175M could be
established within 12 months of a
contract signature.
While Leonardo Helicopters has a
larger UK domestic presence than
its rival, Airbus points to its overall
group presence in the country: in
2020, turnover stood at £3.9 billion
($5.3 billion), with a workforce of
11,200 across more than 25 sites,
including 7,000 in Broughton.
James notes that having another
advanced helicopter manufactur-
ing facility in the UK would allow
the country to take a significant
role in NATO’s emerging Next Gen-
eration Rotorcraft Capability pro-
ject (see box opposite). Currently
involving seven European nations,
this is seeking to develop a clean-
sheet military helicopter to enter
use from the mid-2030s.
Although initially building
H175Ms for the UK, James stresses
that the Broughton site would also
assemble examples for the export
market, which he believes could
number around 250 aircraft over
the coming years.
Leonardo Helicopters, mean-
while, has bolstered the domestic
supply chain for its platform un-
der the “Team AW149 UK” banner,

which “represents a cross-section
of the best in British engineering
and manufacturing”, says its UK
managing director, Nick Whitney.
With the type’s rotor blades and
transmission already made in Yeovil,
it is aiming to increase the propor-
tion of UK content to 60%, includ-
ing the final assembly activity. The
domestic value of through-life sup-
port will be at a similar level, it says.
Work placed with 70 companies
would represent around half of the
60% goal, says Mike Morrisoe, head
of UK campaigns at the airframer.
“We are looking at further equip-
ment to onshore,” he adds. “We
have a list of candidate items and
there will be more focused supply
chain engagement sessions within
the next few months.”
Team players
New joiners to Team AW149 UK in-
clude Abaco Systems, Aerco, Chel-
ton (formerly Cobham Aerospace
Connectivity), Ford Aerospace,
Forged Solutions Group, Incora,
LFD, RDDS Avionics and Techtest.
Sikorsky, for its part, points out
that its UH-60M is the only “com-
bat-proven” helicopter being pro-
posed for the UK requirement. Al-
though vague about its plans, due
to the absence of a formal set of re-
quirements, the company does not
rule out completing the rotorcraft in
the UK – potentially in collaboration
with a rival bidder – if selected.
Robert Mathers, Sikorsky regional
manager, Europe and Eurasia, strat-
egy and business development, ac-
knowledges the “strong pressure
for UK industrial participation in any
helicopter procurement”.
He notes Sikorsky has “produced
several hundred helicopters in the
UK at Yeovil” in the past, under an
Helicopters Requirement
NATO rotorcraft project nears concept phase approval
An expanded group of seven NATO member countries has thrashed out
the wording of an agreement to allow early work to start on a clean-
sheet medium-class military helicopter to enter use in the mid-2030s.
Negotiations covering the text of the legally-binding memorandum of
understanding for the concept phase of the Next Generation Rotorcraft
Capability (NGRC) project were concluded on 8 September, NATO says.
Participants in the two-day process included “NATO staff, as well as
legal advisors and experts from seven nations”, the alliance adds. “We
are looking to have the document signed during the first half of 2022
in order to kick off the concept phase.”
In November 2020, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and the UK
signed a letter of intent signalling their participation in the NGRC
project. They have now been joined by the Netherlands and Spain.
NATO earlier this year released details of the “required attributes”
for the NGRC platform, which include a common baseline airframe for
a variety of missions.
“We would like to get away from multiple variants of the same
basic airframe as far as possible,” Pat Collins, joint chair of the NATO
vertical lift capability group, told the Royal Aeronautical Society’s
annual European Rotorcraft Forum on 8 September.
NATO analysis shows there are almost 1,000 helicopters in the 11-15t
maximum take-off weight range operated by non-US NATO members
which will need replacing by 2050, although Collins believes the
eventual number could be “very much higher”.
The new rotorcraft should be “much more cost-effective than current
fleets”, with a fly-away cost of no more than €35 million ($41.3 million)
and an operating cost below €10,000 per flight hour. An availability
target of 75% for the operational/forward fleet has also been set.
NATO is seeking a cruise speed of 220kt (407km/h), which would
need to be achieved through an “advanced configuration”. However,
it has also set a minimum speed threshold of 180kt, which Collins says
could allow more conventional designs to be offered.
Around 50 companies with an interest in the NGRC project attended
industry day events staged in Luxembourg on 21-22 September.
agreement that saw the then-West- Sikorsky could look to replicate
land Helicopters – a forerunner of its proposal for the Romanian min-
Leonardo Helicopters – manufac- istry of the interior, which would
ture several types under licence. see Black Hawks partially built at
“We hope to be able to give [the its PZL Mielec subsidiary in Poland
MoD] a combat-proven, reliable and then shipped to the customer
platform that also has an economic nation for local completion.
benefit for the UK,” Mathers says. However, with the Mielec produc-
tion line already assembling the
S-70i variant of the Black Hawk,
The Royal Air Force’s Puma HC2 plus Turkish Aerospace also able
transports are set to be retired to sell its licence-built T-70 interna-
tionally, it is uncertain what export
opportunities there would be for
UK-produced examples.
Regardless, Mathers says the
Black Hawk is the strongest con-
tender from an operational per-
spective. “Just because you paint
something green does not make it
a military helicopter,” he says – a
Ian Sherriff/Shutterstock
sideswipe at the two rival platforms,
both of which have strong com-
monality with their civil siblings.
“The Black Hawk was designed
from the very beginning as a
military helicopter.” ◗
October 2021 Flight International 9
 Defence Development
Joint vision key to Tempest success
Partners on UK-led future combat air system project say new
BAE Systems
collaboration model will avoid workshare duplication of past
Craig Hoyle & Dominic Perry London
M
aintaining momentum on
the UK-led Tempest future
combat air system (FCAS)
programme will require
the adoption of a joint venture
culture across its current three,
and potentially additional partner
nations, according to industry and
military officials.
Michael Christie, director of FCAS
at BAE Systems Air, says the activi-
ty – which also involves the defence
ministries and industry champions
of Italy and Sweden – will advance
as “a single programme at multiple
sites”, instead of replicating the
duplicated structure of previous
multinational ventures.
“We are going to create a new
culture, not battle for who is best,”
Christie says. This will be achieved
by establishing a joint venture
model; each of the parties will con-
tribute its “best capabilities”.
Launched in 2018, the project
aims to introduce a sixth-genera-
tion Tempest fighter to Royal Air
Force (RAF) service from 2035,
along with supporting elements
such as an unmanned loyal wing-
man platform, precision-guided
weapons and an underpinning
combat cloud network.
Work is progressing within a
recently launched concept and
assessment phase, with a new
programme office structure also
having been introduced.
“We have to transform in every
Leonardo
way within our enterprise,” Air
Commodore Jonny Moreton, the
10 Flight International October 2021
RAF’s director future combat air,
said during a panel discussion at
the DSEI exhibition in London on
15 September.
“We are focused within our pro-
gramme and our partnership on
freedom of action, freedom of mod-
ification and sovereign control. Now
we need to understand how to de-
liver to cost, time and capability.”
Moreton confirms that former
US Air Force aircraft development
and acquisition chief Will Roper has
been engaged by Team Tempest,
“to ask challenging questions of us”.
A clearer indication of the
proposed FCAS mix will be out-
lined when the current phase con-
cludes. “In late 2024 we will go to
our governments and say ‘This is
what we can deliver: this is the ca-
pability’,” Moreton says.
The UK government’s advanced
fighter technology relationship
with Japan could also open further
opportunities to expand the cur-
rent three-nation FCAS framework.
“Team Tempest must be open to
future partnerships, so everyone
Sixth-generation fighter is to replace
Typhoon in service from 2035
feels that they are getting signifi-
cant value,” Christie says.
Meanwhile, 2Excel Aviation has
detailed a conversion activity con-
tracted by Leonardo that will see
it transform a Boeing 757-200 into
a flying testbed in support of the
programme. Formerly operated
by TUI and currently in storage at
Lasham airfield in Hampshire, the
1995-built twinjet (G-BYAW) has
been dubbed Excalibur.
The testbed is needed to evaluate
and mature a suite of next-genera-
tion sensors, including a proposed
Multi Function Radio Frequency
System radar, plus communications
and electronic warfare equipment,
“in a real environment at the same
time”, says Leonardo UK capability
manager Martin Downes.
Internal modifications will include
the installation of about a dozen
operator stations and potentially
a “representative-type cockpit” to
test how sensor data is presented
to the pilot. Utilities such as pow-
er, cooling, racking, computing and
data recording will be added.Z
Excalibur will help assess next-generation
sensors and electronic warfare equipment
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com
Air India Express 737 crash captain
did not respond to go-around call
Twinjet overran after landing long in rain and with tailwind as
crew maintained unstabilised approach to Kozhikode
David Kaminski-Morrow London
T
he first officer of an Air In-
dia Express Boeing 737-
800 unsuccessfully tried
to convince the captain to
abort an unstable second approach
to Kozhikode before the jet landed
long in a tailwind and fatally over-
ran, an inquiry has revealed.
Investigators believe the captain
was under “misplaced motivation”
pressure to land at Kozhikode on
7 August last year because he had
been rostered at the “last minute” to
operate another flight the next day,
and the airline – owing to “faulty”
human resources planning – had too
few captains available at the airport.
India’s aircraft accident investi-
gation bureau states that this situ-
ation was exacerbated by a steep
cockpit authority gradient. The
captain had close to 11,000h total
time, against fewer than 2,000h for
the first officer.
The captain was also experienced
in operating to Kozhikode, with 36
flights to the airport in the previ-
ous year, which probably resulted
in “overconfidence” and “compla-
cency”, says the inquiry, while the
first officer demonstrated a “meek
and unassertive demeanour” in the
captain’s presence.
Cocktail of anti-diabetic drugs may have impaired captain’s performance
One possibility raised by
investigators is that the captain’s
decision-making might have been
impaired by hypoglycaemia, a
reduction in blood-sugar levels.
The Indian aircraft accident
investigation bureau says the
captain was diabetic and was
treating this with a prescribed
drug, metformin, which the
inquiry describes as “acceptable”
for pilots to take because it
carries only a “minimal risk” of
causing serious hypoglycaemia.
12 Flight International October 2021
While carrying out the initial ap-
proach to the wet runway in rain
– during which the captain’s wind-
screen wiper failed – the crew ex-
ecuted a missed approach to run-
way 28, because it was not in sight
at minimums.
As the first officer was looking to
set the aircraft up for a second ap-
proach, an Air India flight departing
for Delhi requested to take off from
the opposite-direction runway 10 –
even though the prevailing winds
favoured runway 28.
Alternative runway
Air traffic control asked the Air
India Express pilots whether they
would also like to use runway 10 for
the arrival.
“Despite the unserviceable wiper
on the captain’s side, [the crew] did
not consider a diversion to an alter-
nate airfield,” the inquiry says. Af-
ter receiving weather information
“Despite the unserviceable wiper
on the captain’s side, [the crew]
did not consider a diversion to an
alternate airfield”
Indian aircraft accident investigation bureau
But circumstantial evidence
points to his also taking
“multiple” non-prescribed
anti-diabetic drugs which, the
inquiry says, could probably
have caused “subtle cognitive
deficits” as a consequence of
mild hypoglycaemia, contributing
to “errors in complex decision-
making” and a susceptibility to
errors of perception.
The inquiry says the captain
was in possession, in his bag and
on his person, of several types
from air traffic control, including
the wind direction, the crew ac-
cepted a runway 10 approach.
The pilots did not carry out a
mandatory calculation of required
landing distance, despite the wet
runway and tailwind.
Cockpit-voice recorder informa-
tion shows the captain had been
apprehensive over the reliability
of the windshield wiper, stating: “I
hope it works.” Although the wip-
er appeared to start functioning,
it operated at a slower speed than
that selected.
The crew had often operated in
Indian monsoon conditions, says
the inquiry, but the captain opted
to make the second approach to
Kozhikode “without any risk as-
sessment” even though the jet had
sufficient fuel to divert to alternate
airports in close proximity.
It says this amounted to a “gross
violation” of standard operating
of anti-diabetic drug – including
glimepiride, pioglitazone, and
dapagliflozin – alongside the
prescribed metformin.
“These drugs were in blister
packs and a few tablets had been
consumed from each strip,” it
states, adding that toxicology
analysis revealed the presence of
both metformin and pioglitazone
in the blood.
While glimepiride was not
detected, the inquiry points out
that the efficacy of this drug in

procedures, but the first officer –
confronted by the steep authority
gradient – “did not give any input”
about the situation.
The aircraft captured the ILS glide-
slope at 2,200ft and was cleared for
landing, but the captain delayed the
flap selection until 1,700ft, opting
eventually for ‘flap 30’ rather than
‘flap 40’ owing to turbulence.
“This [flap position] decision in
itself was justified but the delayed
flap approach was not correct,” the
inquiry says. It also says the ‘flap
30’ landing was “at variance” with
the airline’s standard procedures,
which recommended landing with
‘flap 40’ at Kozhikode, especial-
ly when the available landing dis-
tance was marginal.
The crew disengaged the au-
topilot at 500ft but not the
lowering blood sugar persists
even at low concentrations. The
Bengaluru aviation medicine
testing institute could not check
for dapagliflozin, as it was a
newer drug.
Cabin crew told the inquiry that
the captain “routinely” consumed
only specially-prepared “bland,
low-calorie” meals during flights
and while staying at a hotel.
Investigators add that, by
the time of the approach to
Kozhikode following the service
from Dubai, the captain had been
fasting for around 5h.
Accident Investigation
Application of manual thrust –
counter to autothrottle commands
– gradually reduced the sink rate
but increased the aircraft’s air-
speed, with the engine thrust
still rising even as the 737 float-
ed at 20ft at a point nearly 430m
(1,400ft) beyond the threshold.
Only when the 737 was more
than 915m beyond the threshold
– on a table-top runway that is
2,700m in length – was the engine
thrust reduced.
Cockpit-voice recordings show
the first officer made a couple of
attempts to draw the captain’s at-
Shijith Sreedhar/AP/Shutterstock
tention to the unstable approach
and, at 1,280m beyond the thresh-
old, called for a go-around.
But this was not heeded by the
captain. The first officer did not take
over the controls and, as a result of
Twenty-one of the 190 people on board
the long float, the aircraft touched
– including both pilots – were killed
down at 1,350m – halfway along the
runway – at an airspeed of 150kt but
a groundspeed of 165kt.
autothrottle. The pitch attitude re- Reverse-thrust was command-
duced and the 737’s descent rate ed 3s later but the reversers were
started to increase, reaching up to then stowed “before [they] could
1,500ft/min. take any effect”, says the inquiry,
only being deployed again 15s
Warning system after touchdown.
Analysis shows the approach “soon The captain was largely unre-
became unstabilised”, says the in- sponsive during the landing roll,
quiry, with the rate of descent and a failing to acknowledge any of the
deviation below the glideslope ex- standard calls from the first officer.
ceeding criteria. The ground-prox- Unable to decelerate in time, the
imity warning system twice cau- aircraft overran at 85kt, travelled
tioned over the glideslope but through the runway-end safety
while the captain increased pitch, area, and collided with the ILS an-
momentarily slowing the descent, tenna and a fence before falling
the rate subsequently began in- more than 30m down the table-top
creasing again. embankment and encountering the
The 737 crossed the runway perimeter road.
threshold at 92ft with a tailwind Twenty-one of the 190 occupants,
component of more than 14kt including both pilots, were fatally
(26km/h), as well as a crosswind injured in the accident, while anoth-
component of 6kt. er 76 received serious injuries. ◗
“It is an established fact that a “All this can result in decrement
diabetic individual, on multiple of flying performance, which
anti-diabetic drugs, is susceptible deteriorates further with the
to hypoglycaemia,” it says. complexity of the task at hand,”
Although investigators found no says the investigation. “Complex
evidence from the cockpit-voice decision-making is [known to be]
recorder of overt incapacitation disrupted during hypoglycaemia.”
of the captain – both pilots were Air India Express had no
conscious and speech was not aerospace medicine specialists,
slurred – the inquiry points out says the inquiry, despite a 2011
that mild hypoglycaemia might advisory from the Indian civil
not produce overt symptoms, aviation regulator that carriers
but could show up in cognitive should employ such personnel.
effects such as mental confusion, Neither the captain nor the first
light-headedness and sluggish officer were found to have alcohol
psychomotor response. in their systems.
October 2021 Flight International 13

EasyJet sets course for net zero
Chief executive Johan Lundgren says carrier is already looking
beyond interim measures to hit its 2050 sustainability target
Mark Pilling Toulouse
L
ow-cost carrier EasyJet is
stressing the development of
zero-emission aircraft as the
solution for the narrowbody
airliner of the future to meet its
commitment of achieving net-zero
carbon emissions by 2050.
“We are very optimistic about
zero emissions flight for the future
– we can see there is a credible
pathway,” David Morgan, the car-
rier’s director of flight operations,
said during a Pioneering Sustain-
able Aerospace summit hosted by
Airbus in Toulouse on 21 September.
EasyJet will use sustainable
aviation fuels (SAFs) as part of its
strategy to reduce emissions, but
“we can’t see SAF as a long-term
solution for short-haul aviation”,
chief executive Johan Lundgren
said during the same event.
Lundgren notes that SAF is an
“offset mechanism”, as it has “sim-
ilar qualities to kerosene when you
burn it”, and he believes that too
much focus on SAF could “hinder
progress” to zero-emission aircraft.
“This does not mean EasyJet is
anti-SAF at all”, says Morgan, add-
ing that it has an important role
to play as one of the pathways to
net-zero emissions – but he de-
scribes it as “an interim measure”.
The airline will fly with SAF where
it is mandated in Europe, with op-
erations in France being an early
Wright Electric
application as new SAF usage rules
are introduced there in 2022.
Barry Biffle, chief executive of
US low-fare carrier Frontier Air-
lines, speaking via video link dur-
ing the summit, agreed that SAFs
have a role to play on the pathway
to net-zero, but says his carrier is
focused today on improving fuel
efficiency via its investment in new
Airbus A320neos and by encour-
aging operational efficiencies in
the air traffic control system. He lik-
ens SAFs to the marketing of clean
coal or filtered cigarettes.
EasyJet is in talks with SAF pro-
ducers about offtakes, says Mor-
gan, who adds it is “important that
we test the supply chain”.
Proven technology
The carrier is calling for investment
and support for the development
of zero-emission aircraft, with hy-
drogen as the key fuel opportunity
because it is a proven technology
compared to that of batteries, says
Lundgren. “True zero-emission air-
craft are way more exciting than
SAFs,” he says.
EasyJet is convinced that ze-
ro-emission aircraft are essential,
Morgan says, because “we believe
burning carbon in any form will be
unacceptable in the future”.
The company has been work-
ing with US-based Wright Electric
on a single-aisle concept named
Wright 1 as part of its investigation
of future technology.
There are significant challenges
and questions with transitioning
from a conventionally-powered air-
craft fleet to one with zero-emission
Airline Technology
Company has backed
future single-aisle study
with Wright Electric
aircraft, and for a period operating
with both types and the complexi-
ties that means, Lundgren says. For
instance, it could be that zero-emis-
sion aircraft are introduced on a
base-by-base, route-by-route basis.
With a zero-emission aircraft
unlikely to be in service any time
before 2035, EasyJet’s growth in
this decade and beyond will come
from adding further current-gen-
eration narrowbodies. “It’s more
likely there will be more orders for
traditional technologies,” says Lun-
dgren, before the carrier makes its
first order for a future type.
Lundgren used the summit to
urge industry and government to
work closely together to deliver on
the zero-emission technology need-
ed to transform the industry over
the coming decade and beyond.
“This is an exciting time for the
industry, where true zero-emis-
sion flight is within reach,” he says.
“Hydrogen- and electric-powered
aircraft are already flying, with
companies like Airbus committed
to scaling the technology for com-
mercial flights and aiming for entry
into service in the 2030s. So we all
need to play our role to ensure that
the infrastructure is ready for these
exciting new aircraft.
“But the industry can’t do it
alone,” Lundgren says. “We need
governments to help the industry
meet ambitious emissions reduc-
tion goals by championing financial
and regulatory support for green
technologies and investments in
zero-emission aircraft.” ◗
October 2021 Flight International 15
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com

Updated Challenger 3500 will enter

service in second half of 2022

Jon Hemmerdinger Montreal

B
ombardier’s chief execu-
tive has a relaxed, engaging
style. He is optimistic, and
leans forward in his chair
when he speaks. He smiles as he
discusses the company’s recent
transformation, which he insists
will leave it leaner, more focused
and financially secure.
Eric Martel took Bombardier’s
top job in March 2020, succeeding
Alain Bellemare and arriving as the
pandemic cloud descended.
During the past 18 months, he has
overseen the final stages of a years-
long restructuring that has left the
company focused exclusively on
selling and servicing business jets.
The transformation will be close
Bombardier chief
to complete early next year, when
production of the Learjet family
ends. And although Martel declines
powers into new era
to specify where its engineering
heft might next be deployed, he Now the head of a business jet-only
says the company is evaluating
several potential new jets. manufacturer, Eric Martel is looking to
“We’re at least looking at… four
or five possibilities,” he told Flight- build for the future with a streamlined
Global during a 13 September in-
terview. “Eventually, we’re going to portfolio, while also developing an
Bombardier

say, ‘It’s this one’, and we’re going to

put the entire company behind it.”
Bombardier’s move away from
everything not business jets began
before Martel took the reins. After
struggling for years under finan-
cial strain brought about by the
CSeries development programme,
it handed majority control of the
now-A220 to Airbus in 2018.
It sold the Dash 8 turboprop
programme to Longview Aviation
Capital in 2019, and last year di-
vested its CRJ regional jet activi-
ties to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
and its aerostructures manufactur-
ing business to Spirit AeroSystems.
The divestitures were completed
with the January 2021 sale of its rail
business to Alstom.
The moves left Bombardier as a
“pure-play” business jet company –
but Martel was not done.
In February, Bombardier an-
nounced a new restructuring: it
would end Learjet production, con-
centrate aircraft completions work
in Montreal, cut 1,600 jobs (mostly
office workers) and reduce its in-
dustrial footprint – changes aimed
at saving hundreds of millions of
dollars annually.
Efficiency improvements and
the end of CRJ production left
enhanced global support network
Bombardier with too much space in
Montreal, Martel says. The company
is divesting land and buildings at its
“Plant 1” manufacturing site in the
Saint-Laurent suburb, where it pro-
duces Global and Challenger com-
ponents. It may retain just 40% of
its current footprint at the site.
Under construction
The company intends to use pro-
ceeds from the sales to help finance
its new Global production facility,
now under construction at Toronto
Pearson International airport.
The decision to wind down the
Learjet programme stemmed from
the simple fact that Bombardier’s
medium-cabin Challenger-series
jets and large-cabin Global family
generate 90% of its business jet
revenue, Martel says.
“Learjet was a smaller piece” in a
“more-competitive, more-crowded”
market, he adds. “When I have $1 to
invest, where do I put that dollar?
Today, it’s pretty clear… it’s either on
the Global, either on the Challenger,
or in the service business.”
But Bombardier insists it will con-
tinue to make good use of its Lear-
jet facilities and staff in Kansas.
“Wichita has a lot of talented
people,” says Martel. “We are keep-
ing the workforce busy.”
Bombardier plans to “pivot” the
Wichita site into a Learjet centre of
excellence – an aftermarket hub for
the roughly 2,000 examples still fly-
ing, says Chris Debergh, vice-presi-
dent of OEM parts and services.
The company is transitioning
Learjet production hangars into ser-
vice bays and expanding Wichita’s
aftermarket capabilities: this will
give it capacity to also serve Chal-
lengers and Globals, he says.
Wichita will remain home to Bom-
bardier’s flight-test programme and
its special-mission aircraft work.
The reshuffle aligns with Bom-
bardier’s broader goal of expand-
ing its aftermarket business. It aims
for such activity to generate 27% of
revenues by 2025 – around $2 bil-
lion, up from $1.2 billion in 2019.
But in order to hit that goal, the
company must capture about half

16 Flight International October 2021


of all Learjet, Challenger and Glob-
al aftermarket work.
“It’s about bringing jets
back home to the OEM,” says
Jean-Christophe Gallagher, exec-
utive vice-president of services,
support and strategy. “That [is] a
direct consequence of us having
the necessary space, manpower
and, obviously, the expertise.”
Bombardier plans to increase
its aftermarket hangar space from
about 186,000sq m (2 million sq ft)
today to 279,000sq m. It has ex-
panded its presence in locations like
Opa-locka in Florida, Berlin, Dubai,
London, Melbourne in Australia, and
Singapore. Its aftermarket work-
force is set to rise from 2,500 peo-
ple today to near 3,000 by 2022.
“We are into a massive recruit-
ment campaign around the world
for technicians,” Gallagher says.
The business jet industry, like the
broader aerospace sector, sagged
as Covid-19 took hold last year. But
demand has since returned, leaving
Martel optimistic.
“We’ve seen a trend [of] more
people flying business” jets, he says,
in part due to airlines slashing their
schedules during the pandemic.
“And we believe it’s going to stay.”
In August, Martel described Bom-
bardier’s second-quarter results
as “exceptional on all fronts”, with
Bombardier
improved revenue, profitability and
sales – and the company upped its
2021 revenue expectation by $200
million, to more than $5.8 billion.
Demand has likewise buoyed the
used-aircraft market, to where only
3-4% of the global fleet is up for
sale, says Martel. Previously, he had
not seen that figure below 7%.
“The other day, I was trying to
find a Challenger 350 for a cus-
tomer – there [were] three for sale
in the entire world,” he says. “And
they’re selling at a very high price.”
That anecdote suggests that
Bombardier may have perfectly
timed the July launch of its “Cer-
tified pre-owned aircraft pro-
gramme”. The airframer has long
brokered used jets, but the new
endeavour marks its official entry
into the business of buying, fixing
up and selling pre-owned jets.
This “fixing up” goes well beyond
a bit of maintenance and a shine,
says Chris Milligan, the company’s
vice-president of pre-owned air-
craft services. Rather, Bombardier
makes the jets “look and feel new”,
with fresh paint, refurbished cabins,
updated avionics and connectivity
systems, and a one-year warranty.
By the end of September, the
company expected to have de-
livered four certified pre-owned
Challengers, and one Global.
“The majority
of our R&D
spending is
focused on
how… we get an
airplane flying
with much
less [carbon]
emissions”
Eric Martel Chief executive, Bombardier
Interview Eric Martel
In recent years, well before the
decision to shutter Learjet produc-
tion, Bombardier’s business aircraft
division had been pumping much
of its resources into its larger jets.
It brought the $75 million, 7,700nm
(14,200km)-range Global 7500 to
market in 2018, and achieved cer-
tifications the same year for its
5,900nm-range Global 5500 and
6,600nm-capable Global 6500.
On 13 September, the company
revealed that it is updating its Chal-
lenger 350 to a new 3500-stand-
ard, to enter service in the second
half of 2022.
New product
“There’ll be a time [when] we’ll say,
‘OK, the market is ready [for] a new
product,’” Martel says. “I’m studying
all kinds of options.”
The company must “understand
where the market is going”, he
says, meaning his team must iden-
tify the features – range and num-
ber of cabin zones, for instance –
that customers most value.
“The challenge with our indus-
try [is], you don’t design this for
the next five years,” he says. “You
design this for the next 30 to 35
[years], so you need to anticipate.”
He sees potential for Bombar-
dier’s next aircraft to fill gaps in the
existing market, perhaps by pro-
viding an aircraft with capabilities
differing from today’s products.
Martel does not discount moving
forward with development of the
Global 8000, the intended sister
ship to the 7500. It launched the
7,900nm-range model in 2010, but
development has since stalled.
“We’re looking into this. That’s an
option,” he says. “There’s a remain-
ing option… on the Challenger also.”
Martel thinks Bombardier could,
within 10 years, develop a jet that
burns 40% less fuel through great-
er use of sustainable aviation fuel,
aerodynamic improvements and
advances in engine technology.
“We believe it’s possible,” he says.
“The majority of our R&D spending
is focused on how… we get an air-
plane flying with much less [car-
bon] emissions.”
Exactly when Bombardier might
launch its next clean-sheet product
remains unclear, but such a move
may not be imminent.
“We’re not there yet,” Martel says.
“I promised the… financial market
to be very disciplined in the next
five years.” ◗
See p34, p42
October 2021 Flight International 17
 Unmanned systems Development
Northrop pursues loyal wingman
Company proposes ‘attritable’ platform for US Air Force need
using evolution of Scaled Composites-built demonstrator
Garrett Reim Palmdale
N
orthrop Grumman has un-
veiled an unmanned air ve-
hicle (UAV) concept named
Model 437, targeting the
US Air Force’s (USAF’s) Skyborg
programme and international loyal
wingman development efforts.
Based on the Model 401 Sierra; a
low-cost manufacturing technolo-
gy demonstrator developed by the
company’s Scaled Composites unit
in Mojave, California, the design
was revealed at Northrop’s nearby
Palmdale site on 8 September.
Designed, built and flown within
about 24 months, the Model 401
has been flight tested over the
past several years using “gener-
ous” funding from an undisclosed
customer, says Cory Bird, Scaled
Composites president. Its two ex-
amples have been used since 2017
and 2018, respectively.
The Model 437 would be larger
and capable of carrying more pay-
load and fuel, with its final config-
uration depending on the USAF’s
Skyborg programme requirements.
With funding from the service,
Northrop is proposing develop-
ment of an unmanned version of
the Model 401 that could be built in
about 14 months and test flown to
Northrop Grumman
advance its new concept.
Northrop has studied how the
Model 401 could carry a variety
of payloads, such as side-looking
18 Flight International October 2021
radar, and two Raytheon AIM-120
AMRAAM air-to-air missiles in an
internal weapons bay. It currently
has 2.67cb m (80cb ft) of internal
payload space, “including the nose,
leading edges, wing-tips, and tail-
tips”, and can carry a maximum of
907kg (2,000lb).
“Both vehicles are also capable
of [carrying] external stores on the
centreline and on the wings,” the
company adds.
With a maximum take-off weight
of 3,630kg, the Model 401 is
powered by a Pratt & Whitney JTD-
15D-5 engine generating 2,960lb
(13.2kN) of thrust, enabling a cruise
speed of 400kt (740km/h). Flight
endurance is about 4h with 907kg
of fuel, and its single-seat cockpit
is unpressurised, restricting oper-
ations to altitudes up to 25,000ft.
Stealthy shape
The airframe has an 11.6m (38ft)
wingspan and fuselage length,
and is primarily made of bonded
composites. Its stealthy shape in-
corporates a V-tail and a recessed
air intake on the upper fuselage.
Bird declines to discuss the air-
craft’s radar cross section.
Northrop’s proposed unmanned
Model 401 is intended initially as
a demonstrator, but it is open to
making a production version if de-
sired by a customer. This could be
used for intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance (ISR), as well
as high-value asset protection.
Model 437’s configuration
will depend on Skyborg
programme requirements
But with the Model 437, Northrop
and Scaled Composites see an
opportunity to go beyond devel-
opment into production, perhaps
manufacturing several hundred
examples of the low-cost, or “at-
tritable” aircraft.
Northrop is aiming for a unit
price of $5-6 million. The bulk of
that cost would come from using
a Williams International FJ44-4A
turbofan, which the firm says is
priced at around $2.4 million.
Integrating the more powerful
engine is necessary to achieve the
USAF’s goal of having a UAV with
a 2,600nm (4,830km) range and
533kt cruise speed. That would
allow such assets to keep pace
with a Lockheed Martin F-35A
stealth fighter, which would play a
role in their command and control
during operations.
Bird says the Model 437 would
have a dash speed of 567kt, ena-
bling it to sprint ahead of manned
combat aircraft to probe ene-
my airspace acting as a forward
sensor. It also might act as a
missile “carriage extension” for its
manned wingman.
Northrop envisions that the
Model 437 will be able to take off
from a 914m-long, 15m-wide run-
way or straight section of road.
Its removable wings also could be
replaced with ones with a higher
aspect ratio for longer endurance
flights, perhaps such as ISR mis-
sions, the company says. ◗
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com
Crew ‘underestimated’
effect of tailwind
Air France
Flightcrew missed A318’s levelling
before false-glideslope intercept
Pilots lost situational awareness under pressure on approach
to Toulon-Hyeres and did not see autopilot’s change of mode
David Kaminski-Morrow London
I
nvestigators have found that
an Air France Airbus A318’s
stall-protection system activat-
ed when the aircraft captured
a false glideslope, after its crew
lost situational awareness while
dealing with a rushed approach to
Toulon-Hyeres airport.
The aircraft (F-GUGD) had been
arriving from Paris Orly on 20 De-
cember 2019.
It had been cleared to descend
to from 11,000ft to 1,900ft and the
crew selected this assigned alti-
tude on the flight control panel.
Although Toulon’s runway 23
was in use, the controller had re-
marked about meteorological
conditions and the crew – believ-
ing the minima would exclude a
20 Flight International October 2021
runway 23 approach – opted in-
stead for runway 05.
The aircraft, heading south-
east, turned left to head northeast
for the initial approach fix at the
PALME waypoint.
But during the turn the A318
became subject to a strong tail-
wind component, initially rising
from zero to 50kt (92km/h) and
remaining above 40kt during the
descent to around 3,000ft. This
tailwind reduced the time win-
dow available before the aircraft
reached the runway.
Offered orbit
The crew was offered an orbit to
provide distance to reduce altitude,
but this was turned down in favour
of a straight-in approach.
French investigation authority
BEA says the first officer, who was
flying, knew the approach could be
aborted if it became unstable and
the captain backed this reasoning.
But the crew “underestimated”
the effect of the tailwind on the
approach path, it says, and “did not
sufficiently assess” the feasibility
of capturing the runway 05 glide-
slope from above. It adds that the
pilots paid attention to the indicat-
ed airspeed but “did not take into
account” the high groundspeed
and descent rate.
While 12nm (22km) from the run-
way the aircraft was still at 5,170ft
– about 1,350ft above the level ex-
pected for a standard 3° glideslope
– and travelling with an airspeed of
237kt but a groundspeed of 307kt.
The crew, cleared for the ap-
proach and established on the
localiser, started configuring the
A318 for landing.
 Safety Investigation

But the pilots did not realise that
the aircraft was still set up to lev-
el off at 1,900ft – the altitude to
which it had earlier been cleared –
and did not detect the autopilot’s
change of mode when it switched
to capture this selected height.
The aircraft passed the final ap-
proach fix, 5.3nm from the runway,
at 2,200ft. This was still 500ft above
the published altitude of 1,700ft.
But it levelled at 1,900ft, with the
result that it stopped closing in on
the glideslope from above and in-
stead deviated further from it.
The BEA says the crew, finalising
the landing configuration, “did not
realise the aircraft was level” and
did not have the runway in sight,
because it was obscured by cloud.
Having failed to reach the prop-
er 3° glideslope the aircraft instead
intercepted the false 9° glideslope
signal, a phenomenon created by
the nature of the ILS’s electromag-
netic lobes. This phenomenon re-
verses the signals to the aircraft’s
guidance systems, thereby causing
the autopilot to generate pitch axis
commands in the wrong direction.
Upon encountering the false
glideslope, the A318’s autopilot
commanded nose-up attitude and
its pitch rose from 1° to 30° in the
space of 20s. The pitch-up caused
the airspeed to fall and the auto-
thrust commanded higher engine
power, until the increasing an-
gle-of-attack and low-energy state
triggered an audible speed warn-
ing to the crew and the stall-pro-
tection system engaged.
Abort order
The BEA remarks that, as the air-
craft had pitched up, an air traffic
controller had ordered the crew to
abort the approach but this was
not read back by the pilots.
The crew disengaged the auto-
pilots and set the engine thrust to
go-around power, while the first of-
ficer made nose-down inputs. The
BEA says the airspeed declined to
a minimum of 96kt.
While the aircraft climbed at
about 1,000ft/min along the runway
centreline, the first officer initially
maintained a 15° nose-up attitude.
But this allowed the aircraft again to
exceed the angle-of-attack thresh-
old, triggering the stall-protection
system again for a few seconds.
The crew started retracting the
A318’s flaps and the aircraft’s air-
speed rose above the ‘VLS’ level
– the lowest speed the autothrust
can be ordered to follow – where it
had languished for 46s.
After stabilising the aircraft at
4,000ft the crew was offered ra-
dar vectors for a second ILS ap-
proach to runway 05, and the
jet subsequently landed without
further incident. None of the 114
passengers and five crew mem-
bers were injured.
The BEA says the crew identified
the presence of the tailwind but fo-
cused on its effect on landing per-
formance rather than the impact
on the A318’s trajectory. The pilots’
attempt to catch up with the glide-
slope from above, combined with
the tailwind’s reducing the time to
reach the runway, resulted in the
crew’s losing situational aware-
ness and failing to realise the air-
craft was still set up to level before
reaching the glideslope. ◗

INERTIAL SYSTEMS

ENSURING SAFETY AND

PERFORMANCE FOR
TODAY AND TOMORROW

With light weight, small volume, outstanding

environmental robustness and unmatched
performance LITEF’s Attitude and Heading
Reference Systems deliver value to the operators
of all types of civil and military aircraft.

LITEF.COM
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com
RAF takes lead on
Protector training
Launch customer for MQ-9B names
Belgium as first instruction partner,
while General Atomics’ SeaGuardian
demonstrator makes milestone flight
in non-segregated airspace
Craig Hoyle RAF Waddington
T
he UK Royal Air Force (RAF)
has laid out its ambition to
be at the forefront of inter-
national operations with
General Atomics Aeronautical Sys-
tems’ MQ-9B SkyGuardian remote-
ly piloted air system, after signing
Belgium as its first training partner
for the type – which it will operate
using the name Protector.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace on
9 September announced that a Pro-
tector International Training Centre
is to be built at RAF Waddington
in Lincolnshire, under a fresh in-
vestment worth £94 million ($130
million). The base will from later
this decade be home to the UK’s
16-strong fleet of the medium-alti-
tude, long-endurance aircraft.
Speaking at Waddington dur-
ing a flight demonstration event
involving a maritime search ra-
dar-equipped MQ-9B SeaGuard-
ian, RAF chief of the air staff Air
Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston de-
scribed the commitment as “a clear
demonstration of our ambition to
be the international training centre
for some of the 30 allied air forces
who have already expressed inter-
est in Protector and SkyGuardian”.
Military personnel from several
nations were also visiting the base,
to get updates on the air vehicle’s
development and UK training offer.
CAE – Your worldwide training partner of choice
22 Flight International October 2021
“The opportunities for future col-
laboration are vast,” Wigston says,
pointing to the opportunity for the
RAF “to pass on our years of com-
bat experience” while operating
the MQ-9A Reaper.
Brussels in August 2020 signed a
roughly $189 million deal to acquire
four MQ-9Bs and two ground con-
trol stations (GCS), with its lead air
vehicle currently in production.
Secure learning
“Housing the synthetic training
system for the [Protector] aircraft,
the centre will enable crews from
the RAF and international partners
to conduct a significant amount of
their training in a secure environ-
ment,” the UK Ministry of Defence
says. The facility also will be linked
to its future Defence Collective
Training environment and Gladia-
tor distributed simulator network.
In addition to housing five
synthetic training systems, the
training campus infrastructure will
also include a new hangar and liv-
ing accommodation.
General Atomics in August de-
ployed its MQ-9B prototype to
the UK aboard a freighter to sup-
port testing in advance of the RAF
fielding its Protector derivative
operationally from 2024. A more
than two-week airspace integra-
tion trials activity included per-
forming what the partners claim to
be the first flight by an unmanned
Download the Military
Simulator Census online now.
ZZZȵLJKWJOREDOFRPPLOLVLP
air vehicle in its class in non-segre-
gated airspace.
Conducted on 1 September,
the milestone sortie involved the
SeaGuardian taking off from Wad-
dington and crossing the North
Sea to fly above Leeuwarden air
base in the Netherlands. General
Atomics is due to deliver the Royal
Netherlands Air Force’s first of four
MQ-9A Reapers before year-end,
with the vehicle currently undergo-
ing type acceptance in the USA.
The flight was the result of exten-
sive work carried out in conjunction
with the UK Civil Aviation Authori-
ty, which will be responsible for the
Protector platform’s certification.
Describing the event as hav-
ing been enabled by “the biggest
airspace change notice in UK
peacetime”, Group Captain Shaun
Gee, programme director for the
Protector RG1’s introduction to ser-
vice, notes: “Other players, and air
traffic control systems – both here
and in Europe, as it transited to
Leeuwarden – interacted with this
aircraft seamlessly, as if it was like
any other.”

UK-based trials used aircraft
fitted with maritime search radar
Crown Copyright
He notes that in addition to ad-
vancing the RAF’s programme, such
achievements should “help assure
the public, as well as the regulator,
that this system is absolutely safe to
fly like any other aircraft”.
Self-deployed
Gee notes that the ability to fly
Protector internationally using
civil airspace is key to the RAF’s
operating concept. General Atom-
ics’ longest flight with the MQ-9B
has totalled more than 40h, with
the Honeywell TPE331-10 turbo-
prop-engined type having a 210kt
(388km/h) cruise speed and an
operational ceiling of 40,000ft.
Rather than relying on the pres-
ence of forward-deployed launch
and recovery element personnel,
as is the case with the service’s
Unmanned systems Collaboration
current Reapers, the new model air-to-surface missiles and Ray-
could be self-deployed, following theon Systems Paveway IV pre-
a small support team which would cision-guided bombs. The plat-
set up the required equipment for form has eight under-wing pylon
it to take off and land automatically positions, as well as the ability to
once in theatre. carry stores or a large sensor be-
The airspace integration trials neath its centreline.
involved using a General Atomics A UK trials campaign is due to
detect and avoid radar employing be performed in the USA in 2022-
two active electronically scanned 2023, before the arrival of the
arrays in the aircraft’s nose, in com- first RAF aircraft at Waddington.
bination with ADS-B technology Instructor crews also will receive
and other onboard sensors. training at General Atomics’ Grand
The test platform also is Forks facility in North Dakota, be-
equipped with a back-up satellite fore the UK training centre be-
communication system, supplied comes operational.
by Inmarsat, and carries Leonar- Gee says that the RAF’s ear-
do’s Sage electronic support meas- ly-2024 entry into service milestone
ures equipment on its wingtips. will represent the operational avail-
Additional work during the ability of one 24/7 “task line” with
SeaGuardian deployment involved its 31 Sqn and the UK-based training
using the Raytheon SeaVue mari- system. Full operational capability
time search radar housed within a is due to be declared in 2026, with
radome beneath its fuselage. The three task lines and a second unit, 13
UK has declared strong interest in Sqn, at readiness.
adding such a capability to its Pro-
tector fleet, with Leonardo’s Sea- Smaller team
spray 7500E sensor its favoured Once at full strength, the RAF ex-
candidate for a requirement that is pects its Protector force will total
not yet backed by firm funding. 501 personnel: fewer than for its
From mid-September, the Sky- smaller number of Reapers. Each
Guardian also participated in the three-person crew will have a pilot,
multinational Joint Warrior exer- sensor operator and mission intelli-
cise, staged from RAF Lossiemouth gence co-ordinator.
in Scotland, where its GCS equip- “We are building on 10 years of
ment was installed for the duration Reaper operations, where we have
of the UK deployment. The service learned a hell of a lot about how to
says the system’s contribution was use these types of systems, either
in “the surface, sub-surface and in an intelligence, surveillance and
amphibious domains”. reconnaissance role or – if we need
The UK has ordered its air vehi- to – to prosecute with kinetic ef-
cles and seven GCS for £260 mil- fects,” Gee says.
lion, as part of a Protector pro- As well as offering the RAF a
gramme worth an overall £1.1 billion. more capable replacement for
General Atomics has already its current Reapers, the civil air-
flown four of its MQ-9B launch space-approved Protector is also
customer’s aircraft, including expected to support a range of
while performing captive carriage so-called Military Aid to Civil Au-
sorties with MBDA Brimstone 3 thorities duties in the UK, such as
disaster relief or search and rescue.
“My instinct tells me that as we
The RAF’s future fleet of 16 Protectors begin to understand the utility of
will be part of a £1.1 billion programme this platform, as we see its role de-
veloping in maritime patrol, in en-
vironmental monitoring, and all the
other range of missions it can do,
future [UK] government decisions
will actively consider [acquiring]
more Protectors,” Wigston says.
In addition to Belgium and the
UK, Australia is General Atomics’
Craig Hoyle/FlightGlobal
other current confirmed customer
for the MQ-9B, with plans to buy 12.
Taiwan and the United Arab Emir-
ates also last year received approv-
al from the US Department of State
to obtain SkyGuardians. Z
October 2021 Flight International 23
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com
Racer approaches final straight
Technology demonstrator nears final assembly as structural
parts arrive at Airbus Helicopters’ site in Marignane
Dominic Perry London
A
irbus Helicopters has de-
tailed fresh progress on its
Racer high-speed demon-
strator as the airframer
pushes to meet a first flight target
now set for the end of 2022.
While the date for the maid-
en sortie appears to have slipped
again – it was previously sched-
uled for early in the second half of
next year – major structural parts
are now being shipped to the man-
ufacturer’s Marignane final assem-
bly line in the south of France.
Speaking at the Royal Aero-
nautical Society’s annual Euro-
pean Rotorcraft Forum event on
7 September, Tomasz Krysinski,
vice-president of research and
innovation at Airbus Helicopters,
said the completed main fuselage
had been delivered to Marignane
“two weeks ago”.
This was shipped from its facility
at Donauworth in Germany, which
had joined and equipped the cen-
tre fuselage and nose sections.
In addition, Airbus Helicopters
has received the Racer’s landing
gear and the first of its twin Safran
Aneto-1X engines, says Krysinski.
“All the pieces are coming togeth-
er,” he says.
A paper presented separately
at the same conference by a team
drawn from the airframer and wing
Airbus Helicopters
Completion of main fuselage was
performed at Donauworth site
24 Flight International October 2021
supplier Hamble Aerostructures
notes that “almost all of the main
structural components [had been]
manufactured” by June this year.
At that point, the wings and tail
parts were also “in final assembly”
and are due to be shipped to the
final assembly line “in the second
half of 2021”.
Krysinski expects that by year-
end the majority of components
will have been received at Marig-
nane, allowing ground tests to
start by mid-2022, paving the way
for first flight later that year.
15%
Anticipated fuel-burn saving from
ability to idle one of Racer’s two
Aneto-1X engines in cruise phase
Airbus Helicopters does not plan
rig tests of the entire helicopter,
instead the company or suppliers
will perform full-scale load limit
tests for certain key components
such as the main fuselage me-
chanical deck, stub wings, wings,
and tail and empennage. These are
due to get under way in late 2021,
the paper reveals.
Developed as part of the
EU-funded Clean Sky 2 pro-
gramme, the Racer’s compound
architecture builds on the airfram-
er’s earlier X3 design, incorporat-
ing twin pusher propellers mount-
ed on the tips of the V-shaped
“joined wings”, with the upper and
lower wing surfaces configued in a
“staggered” arrangement.
In high-speed forward flight, the
main rotor is slowed and unload-
ed and effectively acts as a wing,
providing around 50% of the re-
quired lift, with the V-wings sup-
plying the remainder.
Anti-torque control comes from
the lateral propellers in the hov-
er, while at higher speeds this
is “passively generated” by the
H-shaped vertical tail, the paper
says. This features a unique “dou-
ble kinked” layout thanks to the
canting and sweep of the upper
and lower vertical fins.
Additionally, the tail boom is
asymmetric; one side is cambered
and uses the downwash from the
main rotor to generate an an-
ti-torque contribution, increasing
hover flight efficiency by about
10%, the presentation states.
Krysinski says the Racer is “a
very simple solution” which is “not
more complicated than a normal
helicopter”, adding that it will
achieve its high-speed cruise tar-
get of 220kt (407km/h) in a “very
cost-efficient way”.
Drag has been reduced by 45%
over a conventional helicopter of
the same size, he says, with the
contra-rotating pusher config-
uration also contributing to the
overall efficiency.
On top of that, one of the two
Aneto-1X engines is capable of
being idled in the cruise phase,
contributing a 15% fuel-burn re-
duction, while still capable of
flying at 180kt. Krysinski points
out that a single engine operating
at full power is more efficient than
two powerplants each running at
50%. A high-voltage electrical sys-
tem will be used to rapidly restart
the idled engine.
Maximum take-off weight for the
Racer is in the 7-8t range, with a
cabin size similar to that of the
8-10-passenger H145 light-twin. ◗

Patent details how compound helicopter could power away from engine failure
One previously undisclosed feature Airbus
Helicopters may be considering for the Racer is a
new automated safety system that would use the
compound rotorcraft’s twin propellers to provide
power to the main rotor in the case of a double
engine failure.
Compound helicopters are designed to overcome
the speed limitations of conventional rotorcraft,
using propellers for thrust and a small wing to
provide lift – around 50% of the requirement in this
case – for high-speed flight, allowing the main rotor
to be unloaded and slowed.
In addition, absent a tail rotor, differential thrust
from the propellers is used to counter the torque
effect from the main rotor while hovering.
Unfortunately, that extra complexity means a
double engine failure is much harder to manage.
While an autorotative landing is still possible in a
compound helicopter, it presents a greater challenge
to the pilot.
This is particularly true at high speed, where
lowering the collective pitch of the rotor blades
to maintain their rotation speed can generate
substantial levels of vibration and high aerodynamic
loads on the main rotor.
But Airbus Helicopters thinks it may have found
a solution. According to the details of a European
patent application – published on 25 August
but filed in November 2020 – the system would
automatically activate if the helicopter is travelling
Airbus Helicopters
above a certain speed.
In that scenario, the pitch of the propellers would
be reduced to a point “so that each propeller
Rotorcraft Development
no longer consumes power, but on the contrary
provides motive power” to the transmission.
That would mean the rotation speed of the main
rotor is slowed “as little as possible”, the patent says.
As an example, Airbus Helicopters says the
propellers of a compound helicopter can each
consume around 1,000kW of power, and the
main rotor a further 500kW. Using its system, the
propellers could be used to each provide 250kW to
the main rotor, the application says.
But it notes that the overall powertrain, notably
certain gears, would need to be “sized to support the
reversible function” of the system.
In addition, because the system activates
automatically, “the speed of rotation of the lift rotor
does not drop immediately and rapidly following the
engine failure”.
This, it says, reduces pilot workload and gives the
option of either slowly decelerating the aircraft until
a normal autorotation can be initiated, or diving the
helicopter to maintain forward speed.
At lower forward speeds, the system would instead
automatically lower the collective pitch of the
main rotor and adjust the pitch of the propellers to
provide only enough thrust to counter any torque-
induced yaw movement.
Automated systems would also work to maintain
rotor or propeller speeds at the required levels, while
also providing the pilot with sufficient control to land
the helicopter safely, the patent application says.
The application does not mention the Racer by
name, but says the project that led to the airframer’s
invention was funded by the Clean Sky 2 programme.
October 2021 Flight International 25
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com

Ryanair’s pilot push

Low-cost carrier needs crews, but chief executive O’Leary
suggests the value of UK licence has fallen in wake of Brexit
David Kaminski-Morrow London O’Leary points out that the car- highlighting strains in various sup-
rier still needs to hire UK-licensed ply chains, and adds that the UK’s
pilots to operate non-EU routes separation from EASA could also

R
yanair chief executive
Michael O’Leary insists the
airline is still interested
in recruiting UK-licensed
cockpit crews, although he sug-
gests the value of a UK licence has
deteriorated in the wake of Brexit.
UK cockpit union BALPA recent-
ly urged the government to restore
mutual recognition of pilot licences
between the UK and EU, a status
ended by the post-Brexit with-
drawal agreement.
Ryanair operating subsidiary
Lauda Europe recently sought
crews for a UK base but required
European Union Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA) licences.
from its UK bases, and adds that
the company is also “growing” the
Ryanair UK division it set up to
cope with Brexit disruption.
Route expansion
“UK licences are not that valuable,”
he said during a briefing on 31 Au-
gust at which Ryanair unveiled a
winter route expansion from Lon-
don’s Luton and Stansted airports.
“But we don’t care whether [pilots
have a] UK licence or EU licence, we
can operate with both. What we
want is well-trained, hard-working
pilots and cabin crew.”
He sardonically refers to Brexit as
having been a “stunning success”,
pose operational difficulties.
“We fear a kind of divergence be-
tween [UK Civil Aviation Authority]
regulations on pilots and cabin crew
training and EU regulations on pilot
and cabin crew training,” he says.
O’Leary claims the airline has
been able to recover quickly by
retaining pilots and cabin crew, on
reduced pay, and allowing them to
stay current.
But the carrier is expanding its
fleet with the introduction of Boe-
ing 737 Max 8-200 jets, and he
states: “There’s a bit of a training
mountain for us to climb this win-
ter. We need to train a lot of people
to crew 55 aircraft next summer.”

Airline ‘disappointed’ as Boeing fails to close pricing gap for Max 10

Boeing and Ryanair have ended discussions over disciplined track record of not paying high prices
a potential 737 Max 10 order, citing an inability to for aircraft.”
reach agreement on pricing for the variant. The Max 8-200 deliveries will take the airline’s
The budget airline’s chief executive, Michael fleet to over 600 aircraft by mid-decade.
O’Leary, had indicated on 31 August that the two “We have a more-than-sufficient order pipeline to
sides were not making much progress on closing a allow us to grow strongly over the next five years,”
“gap” on price expectations. O’Leary says.
Ryanair says a Max 10 agreement would have
followed the deliveries of its current fleet of 737
Max 8-200 jets, of which it has 210 on order.
While O’Leary had not specified the scale of a
Max 10 deal, he had pointed out that the airline
would typically “like to see” the introduction of 50
aircraft per year over four or five years.
But Ryanair on 6 September said the two sides
have agreed “to waste no more time” on the
pricing negotiations.
AirTeamImages

“We are disappointed we couldn’t reach

agreement with Boeing on a Max 10 order,” says
O’Leary. “Boeing has a more optimistic outlook
Airline has 210 Max 8-200 jets on order
on aircraft pricing than we do, and we have a

nload the new

Download theCommercial Engines
2021 Commercial Directory
Engines Report
wnload The Engine Directory.
with enhanced
now dataenhanced
with updated and in-depth market
data and analysis
in-depth market analysis
htglobal.com/ComEngDirectory
FlightGlobal.com/commengines
KWJOREDOFRPFRPPHQJLQHV
26 Flight International October 2021

He says about 450 pilot cadets
are passing through training bases,
but adds that the airline’s applica-
tion list for qualified 737 pilots is
“nearing two or three thousand”.
“There’s a lot of pilots out there,”
he says, highlighting the number of
cockpit crew shed by crisis-driv-
en job cuts. “There’s [also] a lot of
cabin crew out there – less so in the
UK, but we’re a relatively high-pay-
ing employer in the UK on the cabin
crew side, so we’re not seeing any
great difficulty.”
Meanwhile, O’Leary has scorned
British Airways’ proposals to estab-
lish a lower-cost short-haul subsidi-
ary at London Gatwick.
BA’s short-haul operation at
Gatwick has been on hold as a
consequence of the air transport
crisis, but the suspension is com-
plicated by the reinstatement of
slot-utilisation thresholds.
BA chief executive Sean Doyle
said at the end of July that the
“If you were setting up a low-cost
airline in London the last airport
you’d set up in is Gatwick”
Michael O’Leary Chief executive, Ryanair
airline had the “flexibility” to “hold
the slot portfolio” at Gatwick for the
winter, but was looking at “options”
for summer 2022.
“We need to be competitive
because the market will be very
competitive coming out of the
pandemic,” he said. “We are proba-
bly going to communicate plans in
relation to Gatwick, dependent on
discussions with our stakeholders.”
New subsidiary
BA has yet to confirm details of the
Gatwick strategy, but union repre-
sentatives indicate discussions in-
volve a new short-haul subsidiary.
The airline had tentatively
agreed, at the 2019 Paris air show –
prior to the crisis – to acquire up to
200 737 Max jets, signalling that a
number would be deployed at Gat-
wick for short-haul services.
But O’Leary scoffs at BA’s Gat-
wick plan, describing its repeated
attempts to set up UK low-cost
Airline Strategy
Stephanie Lecocq/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
O’Leary has scorned BA’s plans for
short-haul opereration at Gatwick
operations – such as Go – as “the
very definition of insanity”.
“If you were setting up a low-cost
airline in London the last airport
you’d set up in is Gatwick,” he says.
“It won’t work and they’ll lose more
money doing it.”
O’Leary says BA does not want
to surrender its slots to Gatwick
budget carriers such as Wizz Air or
EasyJet – which ultimately bought
Go, after BA decided the airline did
not fit with its strategy.
“The problem for BA is that, to
have a successful low-cost short-
haul airline in Gatwick, you have to
compete with yourself at Heath-
row,” he says. “And BA doesn’t want
to compete with itself at Heathrow.”
But HSBC analysts, in contrast,
are encouraged by BA’s Gatwick re-
structuring, expecting it to be “con-
structive” and supportive of mid-
term profitability for parent IAG.
“We see the logic for IAG in oc-
cupying its Gatwick slot portfolio
with an efficient low-cost carrier
rather than mainline BA,” the bank
says in a research note. “On a medi-
um-term basis, we think this should
be profit-accretive.”
IAG already has low-cost
operations in Spain, with Vueling,
Iberia Express and its long-haul
operation Level. ◗
October 2021 Flight International 27
 Safety Report
Communications breakdown led
to snowplough runway incursion
Different radio frequencies between local controller and staff
clearing snow contributed to incident involving Air Algerie 737
David Kaminski-Morrow London
L
ack of co-ordination be-
tween Lyon airport’s ground
and local controllers has
been cited as leading to
an Air Algerie Boeing 737-800’s
commencing its take-off roll while
snowploughs occupied the runway.
French investigation authori-
ty BEA specifically highlights the
decision to keep the snowplough
communications on the ground
controller’s radio frequency rath-
er than that of the local controller
overseeing the runways.
Co-ordination between the two
controllers, it adds, was “compro-
mised” by the use of “unusual and
ambiguous vocabulary” and a lack
of updates.
Low-visibility procedures were
in effect at the airport before the
14 November 2019
incident, as a
Vytautas Kielaitis/Shutterstock
Aircraft was ordered to halt its
departure and took off from the
same point a few minutes later
Harness the power of analytics with
CAE RiseTM IRUPRUHH΍HFWLYHSLORWWUDLQLQJ
28 Flight International October 2021
result of low cloud base and the
presence of snowfall and mist.
Landings were being conducted
on runway 35R with departures
carried out on 35L.
The 737 (7T-VKR), bound for
Annaba, was transferred from the
ground frequency to the tower’s
local controller frequency as it
waited at a holding point near in-
tersection A9 at the southern end
of 35L. This controller cleared the
aircraft to line up and take off.
Permission granted
Just 6s later the lead snowplough
driver was granted permission from
the ground controller to “make the
junction” with runway 35L in order
to clear snow from intersection A4,
some 2,100m (6,890ft) along the
runway from A9.
About 30s after the lead vehi-
cle entered the runway area, the
737 crew began the take-off roll,
travelling for 5s and reaching a
speed of 63kt (116km/h) before the
local controller ordered its crew
to halt the departure. The aircraft
slowed to 10kt and left the runway
at intersection A6.
The BEA notes that the 737 sub-
sequently departed from the same
point a few minutes later, becom-
ing airborne by the A5 intersection
located about 670m before A4.
Investigators point out that the
snowfall had been underestimated
and that, although a suspension of
operations was considered, no de-
cision on this was taken. High work-
load and the re-opening of a runway
while snow clearance still required
entry of vehicles to its intersections
contributed to the incident, says
the BEA, which adds that stop-bar
configurations were “incompatible”
with snow-removal circuits followed
by the snowploughs.
The BEA says the incursion was
“symptomatic” of “confusion and
disorganisation” in relation to man-
aging the snowfall.
New instructions were issued
in the aftermath of the incident
requiring clearances to enter the
runway intersection area to be giv-
en on control tower frequencies.
The BEA is recommending that
clear guidance should be given to
ease decisions on restricting Lyon
operations – including limiting
traffic or suspending flights –
in poor conditions, and adds
that similar consideration
should be given to oth-
er airports given
that French civil
aviation authori-
ty databases list at
least 14 other snow-
clearance incursion
incidents in the
five years from
2015 to 2019. ◗

Orange2Fly A320 stall-protection
activated after idle-thrust handover
Flightcrew allowed jet’s airspeed to decline on approach after
captain disconnected autothrust without first officer realising
David Kaminski-Morrow London
G
reek investigators have
disclosed that the crew of
an Airbus A320 allowed
the aircraft’s airspeed to
decay to the point where its auto-
matic stall-protection system acti-
vated on approach to Muscat.
Operating for Oman’s SalamAir,
the Greek-registered Orange2Fly
A320 (SX-ODS) had been arriving
from Dubai on 28 January 2019.
Although the first officer of the jet
– which was vectoring for an ILS ap-
proach to runway 26R – had initially
been flying, the captain temporarily
took control at about 2,260ft as the
aircraft manoeuvred to intercept
the final approach path.
He disconnected the autopilot
and autothrust, and selected idle
thrust, at about 1,840ft. The aircraft
entered a steep right turn at 1,480ft
with a bank angle of nearly 38°.
The aircraft continued to descend
and decelerate until, at 920ft and
an airspeed of 145kt (270km/h),
the captain handed control back to
the first officer – with the thrust le-
vers still in the ‘idle’ setting.
But Greece’s air accident inves-
tigation and aviation safety board
says the first officer testified that he
“never realised” the autothrust was
disconnected, claiming there had
been no call-out, and added he had
“never previously flown the aircraft”
with its autothrust disengaged.
The inquiry says the captain had
“no real reason” to disconnect the
autothrust in order to manage the
aircraft. It says the captain had
accumulated more than 13,500h
total flight time, while the first of-
ficer had nearly 1,500h.
With the first officer unaware that
the thrust needed to be controlled
manually, the aircraft’s airspeed
bled away. Just below 500ft the
captain intervened with nose-down
sidestick, while the first officer was
applying nose-up, resulting in dual
inputs until the jet reached 350ft.
The thrust remained at idle until
the airspeed declined to 116kt and
the aircraft, descending at 1,200ft/
min, reached 290ft – at which point
the aircraft’s ‘alpha floor’ stall-pro-
tection activated and take-off pow-
er was applied by the autothrust.
Pitch attitude
Flight-data analysis shows the air-
craft reached a minimum altitude
of 210ft and pitched 14.8° nose-up
before it began to accelerate and
climb. The first officer’s sidestick
initially registered pitch-up and the
aircraft’s pitch attitude reached
16.5° before both pilots applied dual
nose-down sidestick input. The air-
craft levelled off and its autothrust
disconnected at 134kt.
One of the senior cabin crew
members testified that she had no-
ticed the aircraft was “very close
to the ground” with “loud [beep-
ing] noises” from the cockpit, after
which the engines increased power
and the aircraft gained height, be-
fore touching down about 30s later.
Investigators state that the A320,
with the captain flying, crossed the
runway threshold at 70ft and land-
ed without further incident. None
of those on board were injured.
But the inquiry points out that
Greek investigators were not
Incident Inquiry
Marvin Mutz/Wikimedia Commons
initially notified of the seriousness
of the event.
The investigation board received
an occurrence report from the
carrier on 6 February 2019 – nine
days after the event – which “did
not contain any evidence” of a
serious incident.
Only after the board received
an internal investigation report
from the carrier on 28 March did
it upgrade the classification of the
event, but an inquiry was delayed
by communication issues with
Oman and the decision by Oma-
ni authorities – relayed to Greek
counterparts at the end of May –
not to investigate owing a lack of
sufficient information.
Greek investigators notified rele-
vant parties of its investigation in
November 2019.
The investigators’ newly pub-
lished findings state that the
cockpit voice recorder had been
erased before the inquiry could ob-
tain information on the pilots’ dis-
cussions. However, they describe
cockpit-resource management
during the incident as “poor”.
There was non-compliance with
standard operating procedures
during “all phases” of the initial
and final approach, the inquiry
says, including handover control,
bank angles, vertical speed, and
glideslope deviation.
Pilots did not read out and con-
firm mode changes, and the hand-
over from the captain to the first
officer took place below 1,000ft
without the aircraft being fully sta-
bilised, its thrust at idle.
Orange2Fly suspended opera-
tions in January this year. ◗
October 2021 Flight International 29
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com

Kabul airlift buoys Airbus

Atlas and MRTT fleets impress in Afghanistan evacuation
role, as Kazakhstan deal ends A400M export order drought
Craig Hoyle London and the NATO Multinational MRTT says Kazakhstan’s contract to ac-
Fleet (MMF), based at Eindhoven quire two A400Ms represents “a
in the Netherlands. turning point for the programme”.

A
irbus Defence & Space’s Dumont says that while well-doc- “It’s a very strong success for us,
new head of military air- umented availability issues that [with] the first export contract in
craft has hailed the per- have affected Atlas operators since so long,” he says. “They want to go
formance of its A400M its entry into service in 2013 “are not to the next level of military trans-
Atlas and A330 multi-role tanker behind us, we are on top of them”. portation – my question is when
transport (MRTT) during the coali- “It’s more now a question of plan- they will buy more.”
tion evacuation of personnel from ning with the users” to ensure re-
Afghanistan, and voiced fresh op- quired modifications are performed Rapid response
timism about further sales pros- in the least disruptive way, he adds. To be delivered from 2024, the
pects following a breakthrough “The capabilities of the A400M tactical transports will enable the
deal with Kazakhstan. are getting much closer to what nation to “conduct military, civil
Some 25 A400Ms and nine was expected of us as per the con- and humanitarian missions”, Airbus
MRTTs flew a combined 120 mis- tract. Now it’s a matter of quar- said in announcing the order on 1
sions during the late-August airlift, ters, maybe a year or two, until we September. The company adds
which rescued stranded nationals really have given the full capability that the pair will “quickly respond
and Afghan civilians from Kabul to our customers,” he says. While to any mission by rapidly deploying
after the Taliban regained power conceding that the Atlas “has tak- game-changing capabilities over
of the country. en time to gain maturity”, he adds: long distances and enabling effec-
Describing the flights as “oper- “Try to find another achieving that tive access to remote areas.”
ationally demanding”, Jean-Brice level of performance.” The deal – for aircraft lacking an
Dumont notes that the sorties In addition to its recent strong air-to-air refuelling receiver ca-
were flown “without a techni- showing in Afghanistan, Dumont pability – also includes personnel
cal event”. Only one planned de-
parture was disrupted, when an
A400M crew was forced to reject UK Royal Air Force used its A330
a take-off run due to civilians en- Voyagers to transport passengers
croaching on the runway at Hamid
Karzai International airport.

Operationally demanding
Involving roughly one-quarter of
the type’s current active fleet,
activities with the A400M were
performed by “all our customers
but one”, says Dumont, adding: “It
was not an easy, peaceful evacua-
tion mission. These missions could
not have been done with the pre-
decessor/competitor,” he notes,
without naming the rival Lockheed
Martin C-130 directly.
Crown Copyright

The coalition airbridge was also

supported by A330 tanker/trans-
ports, including from the Aus-
tralian, French and UK air forces,

Download the 2021

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Wo r l d A i r Fo r c e s R e p o r t
FlightGlobal.com/waf
30 Flight International October 2021

“The capabilities of the
A400M are getting much
closer to what was expected
of us as per the contract”
Jean-Brice Dumont Head of military aircraft, Airbus Defence & Space
training and maintenance support,
while a related memorandum of un-
derstanding has also been signed
covering the establishment of an
in-country maintenance facility for
the Airbus C295 tactical transport.
Cirium fleets data shows that the
Kazakhstan air force’s current eight
C295s are aged between three and
eight years, with the nation’s Bor-
der Guards also operating a single
example. Dumont believes that
more of the twin-turboprops could
be required, with talks having tak-
en place. Cirium data shows that
the air force also has seven An-
tonov An-24/26s, one An-12 and a
single An-72 in service.
Belgium, France, Germany, Lux-
embourg, Spain, Turkey, the UK and
previous lone international buyer
Malaysia – which secured industrial
workshare on the A400M project
as part of a four-aircraft deal – have
so far received more than 100 Atlas
transports combined, from previ-
ous orders for 174.
Airbus Defence & Space chief
executive Michael Schoellhorn
Transports Operations
Kazakhstan will field two
A400Ms from 2024
production of the A330-200 as the
basis for its MRTT offering. In ad-
dition to remaining on-order exam-
ples for France and the MMF, the
company also has been selected
for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s
future tanker requirement.
Some future MRTT modifications
are likely to involve secondhand
aircraft, with Spain expected to
finalise a deal before year-end to
convert three examples formerly
operated by Iberia.
However, Dumont notes: “The
majority of the [potential] cus-
tomers that we are discussing with
are more inclined towards new
aircraft.” The company currently
has “a couple of years of backlog”,
and a minimum rate of around
two MRTT conversions per annum
could be sustained, he believes.
Production continuity
“We want to continue with the
[A330] Ceo. The question of con-
verting [the MRTT product] to the
Neo is a permanent question, but
as long as we are with a couple of
aircraft per year and have rate 3, 4
Airbus Defence & Space
or 5 then we don’t believe it makes
sense to go to Neo.”
Airbus is, meanwhile, teamed
with local prime Lockheed in pur-
suit of the US Air Force’s (USAF’s)
KC-Y tanker requirement, a request
for information (RFI) about which
was released earlier this year.
confirms that the Kazakh commit- “In terms of quantity it’s lev-
ment will increase the total to 176. els higher – it’s a different step,”
“We know that others are inter- Dumont says, adding that the
ested… some [deals] not being far partnership with Lockheed “is
from conclusion,” Dumont says. taking a new shape” following the
Meanwhile, Airbus has handed RFI release.
over its fifth examples of the A330 “We are engaged in a partner-
tanker each to the French air force ship that is stronger than ever. And
we believe our aircraft has demon-
strated its superior capabilities on
120
Missions flown from Afghan capital
the market overall,” he says.
Representing the next phase
of the USAF’s in-flight refuel-
ling recapitalisation plan after
completing its acquisition of 179
by 25 A400Ms and nine A330 MRTTs Boeing 767-based KC-46As in
during late-August operation 2029, the future requirement is ex-
pected to seek 140-160 so-called
“Bridge” tankers.
and NATO’s MMF. The transfers According to an outline released
mean that it has now delivered 50 by the service in June, the new
of the adapted widebodies to mili- assets would provide a gap-filler
tary customers for air-to-air refuel- capability until it finalises a subse-
ling and airlift tasks. quent ‘Advanced Aerial Refueling
Dumont – who was previously Tanker’ procurement.
executive vice-president of engi- A final request for proposals for
neering for Airbus’s commercial the Bridge tanker requirement is
business – confirms that the com- expected to be released in 2022,
pany’s preference is to continue the USAF says. ◗
October 2021 Flight International 31
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com
Future focused
Innovation programme designed to position UK as leader
in advanced aviation solutions starts third funding contest
Ampaire
Dominic Perry London
T
he UK government-backed
Future Flight Challenge
(FFC) on 6 September
began accepting submis-
sions from projects seeking a
share of £65 million ($90 million)
under the third and final phase of
its innovation programme.
Running for two years from April
2022, the Phase 3 effort will culmi-
nate in large-scale demonstrations
of both air vehicles – ranging from
drones to urban air mobility vehicles
and electric or hybrid sub-region-
al aircraft – and the future aviation
ecosystems in which they will oper-
ate. In each case, industry matches
the FFC’s financial contribution.
For certain of the 34 main pro-
jects selected last year for the
Phase 2 programme, flight test ac-
tivities are only now getting under
way. For example, in recent weeks,
US-headquartered electric aircraft
developer Ampaire has flown its
Electric EEL, a modified Cessna
337 Skymaster, in two separate
FFC-backed initiatives at either
end of the UK – SATE and 2ZERO.
Gary Cutts, challenge director, is
pleased by the progress so far, with
most projects running to schedule
despite the logistical brake applied
by Covid-19. What has particular-
ly heartened him is the desire to
32 Flight International October 2021
innovate – and quickly – in an in-
dustry that is “one of the worst af-
fected on the planet” by the eco-
nomic effects of the pandemic.
Although the sector has clearly
been focused on cash conserva-
tion, this has not had a chilling ef-
fect on research and development.
“The message is the opposite
one – what we are seeing here is an
appetite for innovation in the midst
of the pandemic”, says Cutts. In-
dustry, he says, “has been triggered
by this emergency”.
£300m
Budget for Future Flight Challenge –
£125 million from the UK government
and £175 million from industry
The FFC has a total budget of
£300 million: £125 million from the
government, provided through the
UK Research and Innovation body,
and a further £175 million coming
from industry.
According to the FFC’s timeline,
contained in its recently-published
roadmap document, during Phase
2 “Services are developed and sim-
ulated, unlocking a path to certi-
fication and social acceptance.”
Phase 3, meanwhile, envisions that
“Services are demonstrated in re-
al-world, large-scale and integrat-
ed activities with strong socio-eco-
nomic value propositions.”
That leads to industrialisation and
commercialisation from 2026, scal-
ing up, so that by 2030 “fully inte-
grated mobility-as-a-service opera-
tions provide seamless, sustainable
and rapid transport for all”.
Its ambition for 2024 – for which
read the end of Phase 3 – is to see
demonstrations across a broad
stream of activities enabling the
development of an entire aviation
ecosystem for the future. There are
a total of 46 demonstration ob-
jectives across three categories:
infrastructure (airports, booking
systems, air traffic management);
air vehicles; and “regulatory/knowl-
edge-based infrastructure”.
What that means is that aero-
space technology projects are not
funded in isolation. For example,
the Phase 2 work undertaken by
the Ampaire-led 2ZERO consor-
tium includes hardware providers
such as itself and Rolls-Royce, but
also airports and local authorities
across southwest England, and re-
searchers from the University of
Nottingham to model the impact of
introducing point-to-point aviation
services in the sub-regional market.
Or to quote the application form
for Phase 3: “For [the aircraft]
strand of the competition your

Ampaire has flown its Electric EEL – a
modified Cessna 337 – in two projects
project must include a means of
demonstration of one or more of
these classes of aircraft and ena-
bling systems, operating in a repre-
sentative environment.”
As Cutts puts it, the goal is not
“decarbonising aircraft and carry-
ing on as we were” – but using the
significant improvements in oper-
ating economics promised by air-
craft with novel powertrains “to en-
able air services”, thus connecting
people and places that were previ-
ously not served by air transport.
Phase 3 is split into two strands.
Strand 1 will focus on demonstrating
novel air vehicles, and Strand 2 will
Technology Research
“What we are seeing here is an
appetite for innovation in the midst
of the pandemic. Industry has been
triggered by this emergency”
Gary Cutts Director, Future Flight Challenge
focus on developing the systems to employees. Ampaire has also been
support their deployment. vague on its plans for growing its
Assuming they are selected, cer- operation outside the USA.
tain of the Phase 2 programmes On the first point, Cutts con-
are sufficiently comprehensive cedes that the test flights will of-
to roll straight into Phase 3, while fer few insights into the operation
others may need to merge to meet of the vehicle itself, but he argues
the selection criteria, says Cutts. In that the Electric EEL’s presence
addition, companies or consortia will allow airports, local authorities
that have not participated in the and the public – to an extent – “to
two earlier phases are not exclud- engage with such an aircraft” and
ed from the process, he points out. then come up with “the questions
2ZERO likely falls into the former that need to be answered” before
category as the project contains an an electric-powered aircraft could
element of pump-priming, funding begin sub-regional services.
R-R to develop a suitable electric
powertrain for a 19-seat, twin-en- Differing standards
gined sub-regional aircraft intend- Cutts highlights the issues that
ed for Phase 3 demonstrations. larger airports may have in dealing
But that project – and SATE to a with small aircraft, or the multiple
lesser extent – has attracted criti- standards of charging equipment
cism on two levels. First, detractors needed, as potential obstacles that
ask, what is the point of performing need to be considered.
demonstrations with the Electric And although the modified Sky-
EEL? By Ampaire’s own admission, master will likely never fly commer-
it is unlikely to ever enter service cially, “it is representative enough
and, besides, has already been the [of a production aircraft] that it en-
subject of airline route-proving gages the community”, he argues.
tests in the USA. As to Ampaire’s UK credentials,
Secondly, there is the question Cutts is at pains to stress that its
of Ampaire’s presence in the UK: bid was compliant with the entry
although it meets the FFC’s crite- criteria. He adds: “The small team
ria through its Ampaire UK subsid- they have created didn’t used to
iary, that is a business with just five exist in the UK. It is small, but un-
doubtedly doing highly technical
work here. [But] if they took further
money [we would expect] them to
put more roots down.”
Nonetheless, he notes that fund-
ing, like that from the FFC, opens
up the opportunity for “quite sub-
stantial” foreign direct investment
in the UK in the future.
Phase 3 applications are due by 3
November and Cutts hopes to con-
clude the selection process in time
for contracts to signed by April next
Future Flight Challenge
year, giving those rolling over from
Phase 2 an element of continuity.
He says there has been no deci-
sion yet on the number of projects
to be funded, but given the larger
scale of the demonstrations, the
Infrastructure as well as air vehicles
final number is likely to be lower
will be demonstrated by programme
than the 34 backed in Phase 2. ◗
October 2021 Flight International 33
 Business aviation Development
Super-midsize market
gains new Challenger
Bombardier updates business jet
line-up to bring smaller aircraft more
Bombardier
in line with large-cabin offerings
Jon Hemmerdinger Montreal
B
ombardier has dropped the
curtain on a cabin mock-up
of a refreshed version of its
Challenger 350 super-mid-
size business jet – the Challeng-
er 3500 – for service entry in the
second half of 2022.
Revealed on 14 September dur-
ing an event at the jet’s production
facility in Montreal, the update sees
the Challenger gain a modernised
cabin, more in keeping with other
aircraft in the manufacturer’s line-
up, notably the larger Global family.
The jet also has a lower
cabin-pressure altitude and its first
auto-throttle system.
Overall, the 3500’s performance
specifications remain unchanged
from those of its predecessor,
which entered service in 2014.
The 3500 will be a 10-passenger
jet powered by twin Honeywell
HTF7350 engines, with a 3,200nm
(5,920km) range and top speed
of Mach 0.83. The 3500 will cost
$26.7 million.
“We are raising the bar on our
competition with a refreshed prod-
uct,” says Bombardier chief execu-
tive Eric Martel.
Business jet manufacturers often
focus on the range and speed of
their products, but, argues Martel,
Bombardier
for the end-user, the “cabin is the
most important [factor]”.
The 3500 programme repre-
sents renewed attention from
34 Flight International October 2021
Cruising at 41,000ft, cabin-pressure
altitude will be 4,850ft
Bombardier on the super-midsize
segment, following several years
during which its focus was its Glob-
al large-cabin jets. Bombardier
recently divested its commercial
aviation businesses and intends
to end production of Learjets next
year. These changes will mean the
Canadian airframer is solely invest-
ed in the medium- and large-cabin
segments, which, it says, are the
most-profitable and fastest-grow-
ing in the business jet market.
“We have been leading that mar-
ket segment,” Martel says of the me-
dium-cabin space. “The changes we
are making now will keep us leaders
in that position for a long time.”
One noticeable difference will be
the change in cabin-pressure alti-
tude: when cruising at 41,000ft, it
will be equivalent to 4,850ft – about
2,000ft less than the Challenger
350. Bombardier will achieve the
modification by reinforcing the
jet’s baggage compartment bulk-
head, says manager of sales engi-
neering Mathieu St-Cyr.
Nuage seats add ‘spaciousness and balance’
“We are pumping more air into
the bubble,” he adds. “At 41,000ft,
it is going to feel as if you are sit-
ting on the ground in Denver.”
Bombardier is giving the 3500 its
“Nuage” leather seat, introduced
on the Global 7500 in 2018.
“We wanted to make something
more sculptural – automotive, al-
most,” says Laurence Casia, Bom-
bardier manager of industrial de-
sign and cabin innovation.
Bombardier will not simply pull
the same seat from the 7500 for
the 3500, but has rather “refined”
the design to make it “perfectly
suited” for the smaller jet.
“It’s the first time that a seat of
this calibre has been used in the
medium category,” says Casia. The
Nuage seat has more angles and
is more sculpted than traditional
business-jet seats, which can be
“boxy”, he adds. “It adds a feeling
of spaciousness and balance.”
In addition, Bombardier is updat-
ing the Challenger’s entertainment
system to reflect advances in tech-
nology such as voice control via an
app for the cabin systems.
Technical evolution
It will also have Ka-band connec-
tivity, a 24in, 4K-definition monitor
in the forward cabin (and an op-
tional second aft-cabin monitor),
and wireless phone chargers.
“What we are doing today is a
major improvement. Technology is
evolving so fast,” Martel says.
Alterations are also being made
to other elements of the cabin
design, plus a reshaped galley
area, with room for high-end coffee
machines, plus “soft-close” draw-
ers and a new bi-fold door.
Bombardier is developing the
Challenger 3500 with an eye on
sustainability. The flight-test pro-
gramme will be “carbon neutral”
(via use of carbon offsets and sus-
tainable aviation fuel), and it will
offer the aircraft with cabin mate-
rials that have low environmental
impact. These include veneer made
from eucalyptus (which grows
quickly and requires little water)
and upcycled wool and polyester.
The Challenger 3500 will also
be the first super-midsize jet sold
with an “Environmental Product
Declaration”, a document summa-
rising its “complete environment
impact”, Bombardier says. The
company introduced that docu-
ment with the Global 7500.Z
See p40
 Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com

Lockheed Martin has unveiled its KC-Y tanker candidate

for the US Air Force. The A330-200-based LMXT will
have a 123t fuel capacity – 12t more than Airbus’s MRTT

Rome plans to equip its Eurofighters

with Leonardo-built ECRS Mk2 active
electronically scanned array radars,
via an agreement with the UK

Lockheed Martin
Peter Foster/Shutterstock

Breeze Airways has revealed a new livery on its first of 80 Airbus

Airbus

A220-300s, with service entry due in the second quarter of 2022

Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Innovation

made a 15min debut flight from
Boscombe Down airfield ahead of
an all-electric speed-record attempt
Rolls-Royce

36 Flight International October 2021

 Highlights

London City airport

Helvetic Airways on 2 September conducted
its first commercial service with an Embraer
190-E2 into London City airport, from Zurich

A lead pair of Pilatus PC-21s

have been delivered to the
Spanish air force. Another 22
Best of the rest
will follow by next June
We showcase some of the other
notable events covered by the
FlightGlobal team between issues

Omani low-cost carrier SalamAir has

introduced its first 212-seat Airbus
A321neo: a CFM International Leap-1A-
powered example, registered A4O-OXA
Pilatus

Airbus

October 2021 Flight International 37

 November’s issue

Next month Our Dubai

preview
checks health
of Emirates’
superhub On sale
model 28 October

Big deal New ally

Why F-35 How Israeli
purchase partnership
Israel Aerospace Industries
Mehdi Photos/Shutterstock

is key to will help

the UAE’s Abu Dhabi
US Air Force

military develop
renewal industry

38 Flight International October 2021

 Despite worries about the pandemic’s effect on
attendance, this year’s business aviation event in
Las Vegas will cater for a booming sector awaiting
a number of potentially disruptive developments
Betting
on BACE
Murdo Morrison London
T
he National Business Aviation Association con-
ference and exhibition is back for the first time
in two years. However, BACE – which returns
to the USA’s fun capital, Las Vegas – will take
place from 12-14 October against the backdrop of a
fast-spreading Delta variant that has slowed the coun-
try’s impressive economic recovery from the Covid-19
crisis, and has already caused another major exhibition
taking place next to BACE to be cancelled.
The USA’s bar on travel from many parts of the
world, including Europe, will also have an impact on
attendance at the sector’s biggest gathering. While
the annual event caters for a largely US-based audi-
ence – the domestic business aviation market is rough-
ly the same size as the rest put together – it does
attract visitors and exhibitors from dozens of coun-
tries. Most of them will be unable to attend this year.
At the same time, business aviation seems to have
shrugged off any negative effects from the pandemic.
Traffic levels – especially in the USA – have returned
to 2019 levels, and in some cases improved on them,
as those who can afford it have shunned the premium
cabins of commercial airliners for what they perceive
as the more secure confines of a business aircraft.
The health of the sector is reflected in the latest fig-
ures from the General Aviation Manufacturers Associ-
ation, which reported a 16.8% increase in total aircraft
deliveries to 1,050 units in the first half of 2021, com-
pared with the same period in 2020 (bearing in mind
that the first two months of last year were unaffected
by Covid-19 restrictions). The amount billed rose 9.4%
to $8.6 billion, suggesting that manufacturers were not
having to discount too heavily to achieve these sales.
40 Flight International October 2021
While business jet shipments were up 8.2% in the
first half of this year, those of turboprops were 45.4%
higher. Helicopter deliveries rose by 37.7%. While these
figures include aircraft being deployed not just for
business travel – such as medevac or law enforcement
– they indicate an industry brimming with enough con-
fidence to invest in new equipment from the airfram-
ers themselves, and also from the long supply chain.
As our reports in the following pages make clear,
rather than preserving cash, the manufacturers have
continued to develop platforms during the crisis,
with Dassault Aviation’s Falcon 10X the latest to
join an ultra-long-range, ultra-large-cabin segment
that we examine the prospects for (see p42). At the
other end of the business jet spectrum, our test pilot
Michael Gerzanics flies the new G2+ version of the
award-winning Cirrus Aircraft Vision Jet (see p46).
New breed
Even further down the weight categories of business
aviation comes the new breed of air mobility plat-
forms, with several electric vertical take-off and land-
ing (eVTOL) developers to show their wares at BACE.
More than a decade after the financial crisis ended the
very-light jet air taxi revolution, we look at the pros-
pects of this emerging category of aviation for dis-
rupting the world of personal urban travel (see p56).
Part of the case for eVTOL aircraft is their apparent
environmental friendliness. How to reduce the indus-
try’s sizeable carbon footprint will be a huge theme
of the show, and we look at what part innovations
such as sustainable aviation fuel could play in the ef-
fort (see p52). The focus for many of those attending
this year’s BACE will not be the immediate crisis and
the short-term recovery, but the shape of business
aviation in the years and decades to come. ◗
Business aviation Overview

Main image: BillyPix. Insert images (clockwise from top left): Dassault Aviation/Bombardier/Cirrus Aircraft/BAE Systems

The business aviation sector has

been expanding and developing

October 2021 Flight International 41

 Covid-19 may be making long-haul travel difficult,
but demand for the biggest business jets is rising.
And with three new entrants to the market,
competition is heating up in this profitable segment

Distance
prospects
Dassault Aviation

Dassault Aviation unveiled development

of its flagship Falcon 10X in May

42 Flight International October 2021


Jon Hemmerdinger Tampa
T
hink back to the last NBAA-BACE – October
2019, also in Las Vegas. Before the world
changed so dramatically.
That was a time of optimism for the
companies that produce the largest business jets –
the ultra-long-range types that can fly nearly any-
where on a single tank of fuel.
Those companies were riding a wave of demand,
with business jet deliveries in 2019 jumping 15% year-
on-year, according to the General Aviation Manufac-
turers Association (GAMA).
At 2019’s BACE, Gulfstream launched its G700,
a competitor to Bombardier’s standard-setting
large-cabin Global 7500.
Then came Covid-19, which changed everything.
The industry sank into a dark place from which escape
seemed uncertain. Manufacturers cut staff, wound
down production, and restructured operations.
But a curious thing happened in 2021: the large-
cabin business jet market snapped back. For various
reasons – many pandemic-related – buyers are again
eagerly placing deposits on the world’s fastest, largest,
priciest and most-capable business jets.
Much has changed with the pandemic. But to a
large degree, trends that defined the upper eche-
lon of the business jet market prior to Covid-19 also
define its 2021 recovery. Some of those trends have
actually accelerated – competition, for instance. In
May, Dassault Aviation unveiled development of its
Falcon 10X, a jet aimed squarely at countering the
Global 7500 and in-development G700.
Inelastic demand
“It just goes to show that the top market is, as econ-
omists say, completely inelastic,” says Richard Abou-
lafia, vice-president of analysis at Teal Group, mean-
ing manufacturers seem able to charge “whatever
price [they] like” – and buyers will still line up.
Bombardier
Commercial aircraft producers also compete in the
large-cabin business jet segment, though they tend
to deliver far fewer executive jets than do the busi-
ness aircraft-dedicated airframers.
Airbus has been vocal in promoting its ACJ
TwoTwenty, a 5,650nm (10,500km)-range variant
of its A220-100 jetliner. Earlier this year, Airbus said
it had started assembling the first TwoTwenty at its
Montreal site. It aims to fly the aircraft for the first
time before year-end and to deliver the lead example
to launch customer Comlux early next year.
Other competitors include Embraer, with its E190-
based, 4,600nm-range Lineage 1000E, and Boeing
Business Jets, which sells executive variants of its 737
Max, including the 7,000nm-range BBJ 737 Max 7.
The business jet market has not fully recovered.
With Covid-19 continuing its global sweep, the sector
is far from its usual self. Layoffs and production cuts
will have lingering effects.
But things are looking up.
“The second quarter was exceptional on all fronts.
Better revenue, better profitability, better cash gen-
eration, better service revenue and perhaps most
importantly, better aircraft sales,” Bombardier chief
executive Eric Martel said on 5 August.
Who would have thought?
Business aviation Large-cabin jets
The market for business jets never suffered as
mightily from the pandemic as its commercial avia-
tion sibling. Indeed, in early 2020, as Covid-19 arrived
and airline operations fell into disarray, business jets
were suddenly in high demand.
Plenty of people wanted to travel – either domes-
tically, or to escape whatever country in which they
found themselves marooned. If you wanted or need-
ed to travel, and if you had the money, you might
have chartered a jet.
“They [business jet operators] were flying the pants
off them up to the March [2020] timeframe,” says
Brian Foley, founder of aerospace consultancy Brian
Foley Associates.
The boom was short lived, ending as the world hun-
kered down to wait out the pandemic. Airframers cut
staff and production. Deliveries slowed to 130 busi-
ness jets in the second quarter of 2020, fewer than
half as many as were delivered in the same period of
2019, according to GAMA.
But all was not lost. Amid the pandemic, demand
“percolated” for small and mid-size jets, say Foley
Bombardier delivered 11 examples of
its Global 7500 in the second quarter
– aircraft perfect for the only travel that was still
permitted: domestic. But still, at the end of last year,
large-cabin jets “weren’t moving at all – the big-cabin
stuff practically ground to a halt”.
The large-cabin market was not sour for long, how-
ever. Recovery took hold in early 2021 and demand
returned. Airframers delivered more jets and new
orders filled their backlogs. By mid-year 2021, some
companies were delivering jets at a faster pace than
in pre-Covid 2019, and upping revenue expectations.
“At first, it looked like the small- and medium-cabin
segments were doing best, but now a rising tide [is]
lifting all boats,” says Aboulafia. “No-one thought
everything would come back on a dime, but it did.
Now they have to bring production up again.”
He estimates Bombardier, Dassault and Gulfstream
will, in 2021, deliver a combined 196 large-cabin jets
(defined as those costing at least $35 million) for a
total delivery value of $11.7 billion. He expects deliv-
eries will increase steadily – hitting 250 jets, worth
$14.7 billion, in 2025.
October 2021 Flight International 43
Gulfstream

Gulfstream has staked much on the

19-passenger, 7,500nm-range G700

Bombardier delivered 17 large-cabin business jets
(including 11 of its flagship Global 7500) in the sec-
ond quarter – one more even than the 16 large-cabin
jets it delivered in the second quarter of 2019.
The company, fresh from a restructuring that
involved divesting non-aviation businesses, recently
upped its 2021 revenue expectation by $200 million
to more than $5.8 billion. It also tweaked its 2021
delivery expectation to 120 aircraft, revised from a
previous estimate of 110-120 deliveries.
Bombardier has a bit of a head start over competing
ultra-long-range products, having beat competitors
to market with the late 2018 service entry of its Global
7500. Powered by twin 18,900lb (84.2kN)-thrust GE
Aviation Passport turbofans, that $75 million jet can
carry 19 passengers and has 7,700nm range.
The next move for the Montreal airframer is
somewhat unclear, although executives say their
focus lies on maturing the Global 7500 programme.
They also continue to evaluate the feasibility of
launching the long-stalled Global 8000, which Bom-
bardier launched in 2010 alongside the Global 7000,
which became the 7500.
Competitors Gulfstream and
Dassault – which have each
countered the Global 7500
with clean-sheet behemoths
– have likewise reported en- How the newest large-cabin business jets stack up
couraging market conditions.
“Sales activity truly acceler- Specifications
“If all goes well, we may be able to bring a few
more forward from the first quarter [of] 2022 to meet
current demand,” adds Novakovic. “You will see more
deliveries, revenue and operating earnings in the sec-
ond half as a result.”
Gulfstream’s hands are full with the work of
certificating the jet it has staked much of its fu-
ture on: the 19-passenger, 7,500nm-range G700.
The airframer revealed the Rolls-Royce Pearl
700-powered G700 at 2019’s NBAA. It targets a late
2022 service entry.
Within range
Priced at $78 million, the G700’s range is the same
as Gulfstream’s previous standard bearing G650ER –
and 200nm less than the Global 7500. But customers
are not clamouring for more range – 7,500nm will
get you nearly anywhere you want to go in the world,
Gulfstream has said.
But buyers really want more space, which is
where the G700 delivers, according to Gulfstream,
which calls the G700’s cabin the industry’s “most
spacious” – Dassault makes a similar claim for its
Bombardier Global 7500 Dassault Falcon 10X Gulfstream G700

ated in the middle of Febru- In-service date December 2018 Scheduled: end of 2025 Scheduled: late 2022
ary” – a trend that continued Price $75m $75m $78m
in the second quarter, Phebe Passengers up to 19 Not disclosed up to 19
Novakovic, chief executive Range 7,700nm 7,500nm 7,500nm
of Gulfstream parent General Top speed M0.925 M0.925 M0.925
Dynamics, said in July. Operating ceiling 51,000ft 51,000ft 51,000ft
Savannah-based Gulfstream Cabin height 1.88m 2.03m 1.91m
delivered only 21 aircraft in the Cabin length 16.6m 16.4m 17.3m
second quarter, 11 fewer than Cabin width 2.44m 2.77m 2.49m
the same period last year. But Wingspan 31.7m 33.6m 31.4m
it aims to hike deliveries to 32 Engines 2 x GE Aviation Passport 2 x Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X 2 x Rolls-Royce Pearl 700
aircraft in the third quarter and Thrust (per engine) 18,900lb 18,000lb 18,250lb
37 in the fourth. Source: Manufacturers

44 Flight International October 2021


in-development Falcon 10X, which has a slightly
higher and wider cabin.
Excluding baggage areas, the G700’s cabin stretch-
es 17.3m (56ft 11in). That is a smidgen more than
competing jets’ cabins and sufficient for five “living
areas” – one more than in the G650ER.
Gulfstream also highlights the G700’s technology.
Fly-by-wire controls. Active-control side sticks. A
Honeywell Primus Epic-based Symmetry flightdeck
with touch-screen avionics, moving maps, head-up
displays, synthetic and enhanced vision systems and
a predictive landing system.
The G700’s 18,250lb-thrust Pearl 700s will also
burn 2-3% less fuel than the G650ER’s R-R BR725s,
the airframer claims.
As of late July, Gulfstream had completed
some 1,600h of testing across five G700 test jets.
However, “there is much that remains to be ac-
complished” with the certification effort, Novak-
ovic said at the time, observing that “new engine
Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty is
based on the A220-100
Airbus
development programmes… are always difficult to
get through certification.”
For a while, it seemed Bombardier would only have
to contend with Gulfstream in the ultra-long-range
space. But with large-cabin business jets being as
profitable as they are, Dassault could not have been
expected to sit on the sidelines forever.
In May, the French company jumped into the ring,
revealing it is developing its largest-ever business
jet, the $75 million Falcon 10X. Powered by 18,000lb-
thrust R-R Pearl 10X turbofans, the 10X will have
7,500nm range with eight passengers and four crew.
Dassault is working to bring the aircraft through
certification in time for service entry at the end of
2025, three years behind Gulfstream’s G700 timeline.
In July, the company revealed it had landed its first
10X orders, although it did not disclose how many.
In the first half of 2021, it took orders for 25 Falcon
jets of all models – up from five for the same period
of 2020.
“For the past 25 years, they have been absent
from the very top,” Aboulafia says of Dassault. “Will
they be able to gouge out a presence? That is the
single biggest question.”
Business aviation Large-cabin jets
“Its getting a little crowded in the market, with the
three contenders,” adds Foley. “That’s a lot of air-
planes in a pretty niche market, but it’s also one of
the more-profitable segments.”
With the Lineage 1000E and executive variants of
the 737 Max also battling for large-cabin business jet
buyers, it is worth asking if demand can support all
that production.
In the long term, analysts are unsure – but at the mo-
ment the answer is yes. Underlying economic condi-
tions indicate no shortage of willing buyers, they say.
Strong corporate profits and roaring equities mar-
kets have left buyers flush with cash, says Aboulafia.
And oil prices are up – good for business jet makers
because a large number of buyers are either oil com-
panies or from oil-rich countries, he adds.
Another encouraging factor is that the used aircraft
market is booming, with very few aircraft for sale.
“When there is nothing left in the pre-owned market
and people are itching to buy… there is only one other
place to look, and that’s new aircraft sales,” Foley says.
In July, Bombardier’s Martel cited the health of the
used-aircraft market, noting only 4-5% of the global
used aircraft fleet is up for sale – a two-decade low.
“Typically, the percent of the fleet for sale, in a nor-
mal time, is 10-12%,” says Foley, noting that about 18%
of the used fleet was available following the 2007-
2009 recession.
As a result, orders are coming in and airframers are
reporting higher book-to-bill ratios – the balance of
a company’s orders to deliveries – a higher number
4-5%
Percentage of global fleet of used aircraft currently up for
sale – down from 10-12% and driving demand for new jets
is better, meaning a company is landing orders faster
than it is delivering jets, thereby building its backlog.
Bombardier reported a second-quarter book-
to-bill ratio of 1.8:1 (in aircraft units), adding $300
million worth of orders to its backlog in the period.
Gulfstream’s second-quarter ratio meanwhile was
2.1:1 (in dollar value).
“From an order perspective, the quarter bordered
on spectacular,” Novakovic said of Gulfstream in July.
“This is the strongest-order quarter in number of
units in quite some time.”
The way things look, Foley wonders if demand
for large-cabin jets might actually outstrip supply
for several years. He notes that manufacturing and
supply-chain limitations will probably preclude
significant production rate hikes. That is likely to
be fine for manufacturers; they will not soon forget
being stuck with unsold inventory following the last
recession, he says.
“I could make the argument that there could be a
scarcity coming up, at least initially,” Foley says of
new jet availability. “If I have to make a prediction –
all three of those manufacturers will be facing a nice
problem to have.” ◗
October 2021 Flight International 45
 Having already impressed with earlier versions
of its SF50 Vision Jet, Cirrus has again raised the
bar with the newly available G2+ model, offering
enhanced performance and new safety features
Vision
of success
Michael Gerzanics San Jose
C
irrus Aircraft launched its ground-breaking,
single-engined SF50 Vision Jet in 2006. It
received US Federal Aviation Administration
certification in October 2016, with European
Union Aviation Safety Agency approval secured the
following May.
The world’s most affordable light jet enjoyed
immediate market success, and more than 260 have
been delivered to date.
I was fortunate to fly the original Vision Jet in July
2017 for Flight International. Since then, Cirrus has
not stood still, offering a major upgrade with its Gen-
eration 2 (G2). Launched in early 2019, this standard
increased the jet’s operating ceiling from 28,000ft
to 31,000ft, made possible by upping the Williams
International FJ33 engine’s thrust output at altitudes
above 24,000ft.
The Vision Jet’s composite fuselage was also rein-
forced, so that the original G1 version’s 8,000ft cabin
altitude pressure could be maintained. This higher
altitude and thrust capability pushed maximum range
out to 920nm (1,700km) with four occupants. Stated
in other terms, the G2 could carry 68kg (145lb) more
payload than the G1 over 800nm.
Aside from its increased performance, the G2 also
gained an auto-throttle (AT), a welcome addition that
reduces pilot workload.
In July 2021, Cirrus announced the latest upgrade
to the SF50, the Vision Jet G2+, offering what might
be best characterised as increased bandwidth.
The major update is in enhanced hot and high op-
erating performance. Changes to the FJ33’s FADEC
46 Flight International October 2021
increase available thrust for take-off, allowing more
range and/or payload compared with the G2. The
next bandwidth increase is actual in-flight connectivi-
ty, using Gogo’s Avance L3 3G broadband system. This
keeps pilots and passengers connected in real time,
improving productivity.
Enhancements to passive sound deadening from the
G1 to the G2 reduced ambient cabin noise levels by up
to 3dB. Matthew Bergwall, Cirrus’s director of Vision
Jet product line, says this reduction allows him to
characterise the type’s cabin as a headset-free zone.
Recently, Flight International was invited to fly the
Vision Jet G2+ out of San Jose’s Norman Y Mineta
International airport. Cirrus’s piston product line fea-
tures large and airy cabins, and the Vision Jet contin-
ued this feature. As I had noted before my flight four
years ago, the Vision Jet has a certain ramp presence
driven by its sizeable cabin with large windows,
and the single jet engine mounted prominently on
its fuselage’s dorsal spine. Finally, the large V-tail,
employed so that engine exhaust would not impinge
on the empennage, shouts: “Look at me!”
I accompanied Bergwall as he performed the
pre-flight walk-around inspection of our preview
aircraft, N275CM; a production-representative G2+.
There was little to visually differentiate this from the
original variant, but keen eyes might notice the two
broadband antennae mounted on the underside of
the fuselage. As we circled the jet, Bergwall pointed
out where minor aerodynamic refinements had been
made to reduce drag.
The original Vision Jet had Boundary Layer Ener-
gisers (BLEs) installed before the ailerons to improve
handling at high angles of attack. Follow-on testing
for the G2 showed they could be removed with no
 Flight test Cirrus Vision Jet G2+

Increase in available thrust from Williams FJ33

engine enables greater range and/or payload

920nm
Cirrus Aircraft

Range of Vision Jet G2+ at maximum take-off weight

(2,722kg) and with four occupants aboard

October 2021 Flight International 47

Cirrus Aircraft
Cabin can accommodate up to
five adults and two children
adverse effect. As I would find out later while in
flight, the BLE-free wing provides for lighter lateral
control stick forces and crisper roll performance. Few-
er parts and better performance equals a win-win.
Integral steps on the lower half of the clamshell
door aided entry to the large, airy cabin. Before
settling into the left-hand pilot seat, I took note of the
passenger accommodation. The cabin is fitted with
three seating rows, with removable seats. The dens-
est configuration offers seating for seven: five adults
and two children. Ours featured two middle-row
seats, separated by a console, and two children’s
seats in the third row. A 51cm (20in) LCD display
viewable from the aft two rows was a feature sure to
put the in-flight broadband to good use.
One unique aspect of the Vision Jet’s layout is
where the emergency switches are located. Engine
fire control switches, emergency locator transmitter,
quick-don crew oxygen masks, as well as several
other emergency controls, are conveniently placed
on the overhead above the flight deck. The Cirrus
Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) actuation handle
is nestled between the oxygen masks.
Standard across the whole Cirrus offering, CAPS
is a hallmark of the airframer’s dedication to provid-
ing industry-leading safety features. Just aft of the
CAPS handle is the autoland activation panel, with
its large recessed red activation button accessible to
the first-row passengers.
Safe Return is Cirrus’s implementation of Garmin’s
Autoland system, which was awarded the 2020
Collier Trophy, recognising it as the greatest accom-
plishment in aeronautics or astronautics in the USA
48 Flight International October 2021
that year. According to Garmin, Autoland is “the
world’s first certified autonomous system designed
to activate during an emergency to safely fly and
land an aircraft without human intervention”. One
of three aircraft types so far to be certificated with
Autoland – along with the Daher TBM 940 and Piper
M600 SLS – the SF50 is the only jet.
Safe Return is armed by pushing the ceiling-mount-
ed button. At altitudes of more than 600ft above
ground level (AGL) this will engage the system after
a 10s delay. A green “landing airplane” icon illumi-
nates on the panel to show activation. At any time,
pushing the yoke-mounted autopilot (AP) disconnect
switch will disengage Safe Return.
Safety first
Designed primarily for cases when the pilot is inca-
pacitated or unable to land the aircraft, Safe Return
turns the Vision Jet into an autonomous air vehicle.
The system uses all available resources to find the
nearest suitable airport to land safely. The transpond-
er is automatically set to 7700, with advisory radio
broadcasts made on air traffic control and Emergen-
cy Guard frequencies. During the emergency recov-
ery, passengers are informed of the time remaining
to landing. Once on the ground, the Vision Jet brakes
itself to a stop on the runway.
It should be noted that operation of Safe Return is
predicated on good GPS data, and degraded opera-
tions can result if there are aircraft system failures.
This revolutionary enhancement provides an addi-
tional layer of safety to operations of the Vision Jet,
which was itself a Collier Trophy winner in 2017.
 Flight test Cirrus Vision Jet G2+

As Bergwall strapped into the right-hand pilot seat,

I reacquainted myself with the Vision Jet’s flightdeck.
When I had first sat in the type four years earlier, I
noted that the flightdeck was “arranged in a some-
what unique manner”. The forward panel was unlike
any aircraft I had flown before, looking like it came
from a car of the future.
Over the intervening years the design has grown
on me. It is anchored by two 35cm GDU 1400 dis-

Cirrus Aircraft
play units, for the primary and multi-function flight
displays. A bolster forward of the screens gives
Ken Hall

the flightdeck its unique look, with three GTC 580

touchscreen controllers placed below it. The number
one (leftmost) screen also serves as a standby flight
First-row passengers display. The AP control panel is placed below the
can reach Autoland controllers, with the single thrust lever (TL) on the
activation button small centre console.
Engine start controls are located just forward of
the sidestick. Placing the engine knob to RUN and
depressing the engine button initiated the start se-
quence. The FADEC-controlled start was essentially
automatic, with the pilots monitoring for an abnormal
start. Time to IDLE was 25s, with interstage turbine
temperature peaking at 655°C (1,210°F); well below
the 1,000°C start limit.
The flaps were set to the take-off setting (50%)
before the taxi to San Jose’s runway 30L. Taxiing
the Vision Jet would turn out to be the hardest task

M0.53
Cirrus Aircraft

Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet G2+ specifications Maximum operating Mach speed

Dimensions

Length 9.3m I would perform on the preview flight, owing to its

Height 3.3m fully-castoring nose wheel. Cirrus ecosystem pilots are
Wingspan 11.7m used to this, but for me it was a bit of a learning curve,
Wing area 18.18sq m especially as the Vision Jet tried to weather vane into
the 13kt (24km/h) crosswind. However, by the time
Passenger cabin
we reached the runway I had gained confidence in my
Length 3.5m ability to keep the G2+ on taxiway centrelines.
Width 1.56m Before lining up on the runway, Bergwall reviewed
Height 1.24m take-off contingencies. Response to an engine failure
Cabin volume 4.81cb m would be guided by altitude. Below 600ft AGL: land
Baggage stowage* 0.63cb m/136kg straight ahead; between 600ft and 2,000ft AGL: de-
ploy the CAPS; and above 2,000ft: initiate an air start
Weights**
while turning towards an emergency landing field.
Maximum take-off weight 2,722kg Cleared for take-off, I advanced the TL to the full
Maximum landing weight 2,517kg forward take-off (TO) detent. On the 24°C day TO
Basic empty weight 1,610kg power stabilised at 98% of rated (SL STD Day). Dif-
Useful load 1,112kg ferential braking was used to maintain the centreline
Usable fuel capacity 907kg until the rudder become effective at around 40kt
Full fuel payload 205kg indicated airspeed. At 85kt, a moderate aft pull was
needed to establish the 5° nose-up TO attitude.
Performance
Pitch trim easily removed yoke force chang-
Take-off distance** 973m es caused by flap retraction during acceleration
Operating ceiling 31,000ft through 115kt. At 5,000ft, I retarded the TL to the
Range*** 920nm MCT detent, (62% thrust for that day) and estab-
Maximum operating Mach speed M0.53 lished a 150kt en route climb. I referenced the flight
Landing distance**** 918m director’s (FD’s) ‘Highway in the Sky’ boxes to keep
Notes: *Plus optional 0.11cb m/18kg **MTOW, SL, ISA ***MTOW, IFR reserves, four occupants
****MLW, SL, ISA
the Vision Jet on the published ground track and at
desired climb speed.

October 2021 Flight International 49

 During the climb I engaged the AP and familiar-
ised myself with the Perspective Touch+ flight deck.
Time to level off at 31,000ft was slightly over 25min.
During the climb, temperature was about 10°C hot-
ter than standard. With three occupants, book data
for the G2 showed the time needed as 32min, so our
G2+ had reached its operating ceiling 6min sooner
than its predecessor.
The first leg of my preview flight was to Bishop,
California. Increased TO thrust is the main perfor-
mance improvement offered by the Gen 2+, unless
you are glued to a screen. Bishop sits at 4,124ft
mean sea level (MSL), at the northern end of the
Owens Valley, and forecast high temperatures would
make it an ideal place to demonstrate the G2+’s
increased performance.
Cruising at 31,000ft en route to Bishop I left the TL
First-row passengers
in the MCT detent (34% thrust), to see how fast the
Nose
canhouses
reach Autoland
G2+ would go. After 5min of slow acceleration, it set- Ken Hall
recovery parachute
activation button
tled at 188kt indicated airspeed. Cirrus lists 305kt for
high-speed cruise, but this is predicated on standard
day temperatures. On our test day it was 10°C hotter,
yet our true airspeed was 313kt (Mach 0.52). Fuel with gear down and flaps at 100%, the Vision Jet had
flow was just 65gal/h. As with the climb performance, a reference speed of only 85kt indicated airspeed.
Cirrus had under-promised and over-delivered. When MINIMUMS was announced by the flight man-
agement system, I pushed the TO/GA button on the
Conversation point TL. I sat back and watched as the aircraft pitched to
While in cruise I also noted the 6.7psi/462hPa delta 7° nose up. I immediately retracted the flaps to 50%,
p pressurisation system was maintaining a cabin alti- followed by the gear when a positive rate of climb
tude of 8,000ft, comparable to that of many airliners was established. Passing 115kt I retracted the flaps and
at cruise altitude. I also took off the noise-cancelling clicked off the AP and AT to hand-fly the circuit to
headset to assess ambient flightdeck noise level. It runway 17, as the winds were 180°, 17kt, gusting 23kt.
would be a bit of a stretch to compare it to my flight Despite the bumpy conditions, the Vision Jet
four years ago, but I did note that we could converse was a pleasure to fly in the circuit. On short final
easily over the background noise. I retarded the TL to IDLE at 30ft, and the flare
With my headset back on, we prepared for the manoeuvre, started a few feet above the runway,
RNAV (GPS) runway 12 approach, to be followed by resulted in a soft touchdown. Light toe-braking
a low approach and visual circuit to runway 17 to a slowed the Vision Jet for runway turn-off and taxi
full stop. Bergwall guided me through, loading the back to runway 12 for our flight back to San Jose.
approach and setting our minimum descent altitude Lining up for take-off on runway 12, I advanced the
at 6,600ft MSL. With the AP and AT engaged, we TL to the TO stop and noted available thrust was
descended in Vertical Speed mode to the Final Ap- about 93% – a sizeable increase over the G2’s. FADEC
proach Fix (JAAKE) altitude of 7,900ft sea level just changes – akin to the automatic thrust reserve feature
outside of JAAKE. available on some twin-engined jets, which boosts
Established on final, the AP and AT did an excellent thrust on the good engine in the event of a failure to
job of tracking the approach path. Fully configured, the other – deliver the additional thrust. On the 38°C

Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet G2+ versus competitors

SF50 Vision Jet Eclipse 500* Piper M600

Cabin (L x W x H) 3.5 x 1.56 x 1.24m 3.75 x 1.43 x 1.28m 3.76 x 1.25 x 1.18m
Range (four occupants, NBAA IFR) 920nm 1,125nm 1,484nm
Operating ceiling 31,000ft 41,000ft 30,000ft
Engine/s 1 x Williams International FJ33 2 x P&W Canada PW610F 1 x P&W Canada PT6A
Maximum take-off weight 2,722kg 2,722kg 2,722kg
Useful load 1,112kg 1,089kg 1,089kg
Take-off distance 973m 742m 803m
Landing distance 918m 850m 810m
Maximum cruise speed 311kt 375kt 274kt
Stall speed 67kt 69kt 62kt
Thrust-to-weight ratio 31% 30% n/a
Wing loading (kg/sq m) 150 203 140
Price (typical) $2.98m n/a $2.85m
Source: Manufacturers Note: *Used example

50 Flight International October 2021

 Flight test Cirrus Vision Jet G2+

plenty of visual and aural cautions/warnings provided

to alert the pilot of the slow speed condition.
At shaker activation, the Vision Jet was stable,
with little if any wing rock. Additionally, the jet was
responsive to small control inputs at this low-speed
condition. The AT will prevent slowing to an unsafe
speed, waking up if not engaged to keep the Vision
Jet out of the shaker situation.
With the slow-speed manoeuvring complete,
I started a descent for the ILS approach to runway
30L. During the descent I executed a number of 45°
to 60° angle of bank (AoB) turns. The Vision Jet’s
Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP) system
kicked in as the AoB exceeded 45°. ESP is a great
safety feature, helping to prevent an unusual attitude
from upsetting the pilot’s day.

Distinctive V-tail contributes

Soft landing
Ken Hall
to light jet’s ramp presence
The final event of the preview flight was a hand-
flown ILS approach to a full stop landing. During the

30s
approach to runway 30L, I found the FD provided
intuitive guidance to help me keep the Vision Jet on
course and on glide slope. Approximately 30% thrust
held our target speed, again just 85kt. As was the
case at Bishop, the touchdown was a smooth one,
no doubt aided by the trailing link main landing gear.
Moderate braking slowed the Vision Jet to taxi speed.
My flight in the upgraded Vision Jet G2+ revealed a
Time for Safe Return system to activate if there is no pilot single-engined jet with docile handling qualities and
activity following emergency descent to 14,000ft a remarkable number of safety features. Increased
take-off thrust markedly increases the type’s capabili-
ties in hot and high conditions.
day, book take-off roll for a G2 is 3,600ft, while our The Perspective Touch+ avionics package is an ex-
G2+ lifted off in only 3,000ft. tremely capable one, with safety features such as the
The FADEC remapping provides a 4% thrust in- blue LVL button and ESP, which in addition to its roll
crease at SL STD Day, and up to 20% more at higher protections also offers low- and high-speed protec-
temperatures and elevations. According to Bergwall, tions. CAPS is a proven safety system that has saved
this now opens up 4,000ft-long East Coast airfields to numerous lives. Finally, Safe Return adds an entire
maximum gross weight take-offs in typical hot sum- other layer of safety, virtually eliminating the risks
mer temperatures. Out of Henderson, Nevada – Las posed by pilot incapacitation.
Vegas’s general aviation/executive airport – at 41°C the The Vision Jet G2+ offers marked performance im-
G2+ can carry 227kg more payload than the G2. This provements over the G2, along with in-flight broad-
additional capability will no doubt be appreciated by band which is sure to please pilots and passengers
Vision Jet pilots, with the only downside being a slight alike. More capability in a safer package is a sure
increase in Cirrus’s Jet Stream hourly cost. recipe for success, and Cirrus has cooked up another
I hand-flew the climb out of Bishop as we circled to winner with its Vision Jet G2+. Z
gain altitude to cross the Sierras at 16,500ft MSL. At
this lower-altitude transit, a fuel flow of 81gal/h was
needed to maintain 215kt indicated, with a resultant
true airspeed of 285kt. During the medium-altitude
cruise, Bergwall discussed the Vision Jet’s emergen-
cy descent mode (EDM), an automated descent to a
safe altitude in the event of cabin pressure loss.
The Vision Jet’s AT and Safe Return features greatly
enhance the effectiveness of EDM. The AT allows the
thrust to be reduced, expediting the EDM’s descent
to 14,000ft. Safe Return adds a new safety net. After
levelling at 14,000ft, if there is no indication of pilot
activity within 30s, Safe Return activates on the as-
sumption that the pilot is incapacitated.
Before descending into San Jose I was able to
explore the Vision Jet’s slow-speed handling char-
acteristics. I accomplished two approach to stall
manoeuvres; one clean and the other in a landing
configuration, with gear down and flaps at 100%. In Gerzanics (left) with Cirrus Vision Jet
Ken Hall

both manoeuvres I held aft sidestick until the stick product director Matthew Bergwall
shaker activated. Before shaker activation there were

October 2021 Flight International 51

 Technologies and programmes for cutting carbon
emissions will feature at latest NBAA event
BillyPix
Mark Pilling London
W
hether it is devastating forest fires in
Siberia, a decade-long drought in Chile,
or unprecedented floods in China’s
Henan province and in Germany, the
evidence of rising greenhouse gas emissions on our
planet is plain to see.
For many, at both an individual and business level,
the issue of tackling climate change and what that
means to our behaviour is increasingly becoming part
of our daily lives and workplace agendas.
2021 may be looked back upon as the year when not
only did the Covid-19 pandemic finally come under
control, but also the point when climate change was
properly recognised as a crisis requiring urgent action.
In aerospace, where all sectors are working towards
a world where they use less fossil fuel and pay for the
carbon they emit, the business and general aviation
industry believes it is playing its part, and will use the
NBAA-BACE event to demonstrate its commitment
and leadership on sustainability.
It is an issue that has seen the industry globally
coalesce as one, especially around the need to devel-
op and promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel
(SAF). “When you see the business aviation associa-
tions of Europe, North America, at the international
level, GAMA [the General Aviation Manufacturers
Association], the OEMs and many others, coming
together with one voice on sustainability, that is a
huge indication of the support behind this important
52 Flight International October 2021
technology to deliver sustainable aviation,” Kurt Ed-
wards, director general at the International Business
Aviation Council (IBAC), tells FlightGlobal.
Business aviation leaders are quick to point out that
the industry has taken a leadership stance on sustain-
ability for years, delivering the “important milestone”
of the Business Aviation Commitment on Climate
Change (BACCC) – promising to reduce the sector’s
impact – as long ago as 2009, explains Edwards.
The sector’s association heads and thought-leaders
across industry are discussing – with the emphasis on
doing “our best to provide some level of analysis” –
whether the 2009 commitment should be updated,
and made more ambitious, says Edwards.
Standard target
There are two main issues. The first is whether
business aviation should align its commitment with
what is fast becoming the standard – net zero green-
house gas emissions by 2050. As it stands today, the
BACCC commits to halving CO2 emissions by 2050
relative to 2005 levels.
That goal is a challenge, considering the progress
of SAF and technologies envisaged at present, but
is possible, says Edwards. Today, he notes, although
the analysis is “terribly fuzzy” looking 30 years ahead,
the industry’s thinking is that net zero could possibly
be achieved by 2060-2065 without using carbon
offsetting, according to the BACCC assumptions.
This brings about the second issue. For business
aviation to commit to an ambition of net zero by 2050,
“we would need much greater availability of SAF,

The business aviation industry will use this year’s
gathering to take stock of its sustainability
credentials at a show expected to place more
emphasis on the environment than ever before
Green
shoots
important leaps in aircraft technology and be able
to use offsets to some degree,” says Edwards. In real
terms, this would mean the sector using all these tools
to eliminate far more CO2 emissions than planned.
Explaining the targets and ambitions – and how to
meet them – to the sector is the critical, and complex,
job of the IBAC and all the associations. “Our message
to operators is we need to find some way to make this
not just affordable to them, but deliverable to them.
They need the ability to operate to their sustainable
goals and work with [SAF] producers to make this
happen. We can set the targets, but ultimately every-
one will have to agree to that ambition,” says Edwards.
Discussions are under way about updating the in-
dustry’s sustainability commitments and the question
will be prominent at the show. In that respect, and
for an industry super-keen to meet face-to-face once
again and to show off its green credentials, NBAA
2021 comes at a good time.
Stewart D’Leon, director, technical operations at
NBAA, says there are three sustainability initiatives
planned at the show. The first will see the third summit
2060
Earliest date to achieve net zero emissions without using
carbon offsetting, according to BACCC assumptions
Business aviation Sustainability
meeting of the Business Aviation Coalition for SAF,
made up of all the associations plus leading industry
players; an in-person event in Las Vegas to educate
and promote the use of SAF.
The second will be the launch of an NBAA ac-
creditation programme, to “further advance a sus-
tainability culture in business aviation organisations
and recognise those that meet or exceed specified
criteria”. Organisations will be able to obtain separate
accreditations in four areas: flight, operations, ground
support and infrastructure.
Practical help
“We have been working on the NBAA Sustainable
Flight Department Accreditation Program for over a
year with a pilot programme featuring a number of
operators,” says D’Leon. Two of these have been the
flight departments at US corporations Adobe and
Starbucks. “They have been helping us refine the pro-
gramme. We have been getting significant interest.”
The development of the first, formalised programme
for sustainability is exactly the type of work NBAA is
renowned for with its practical assistance for opera-
tors, and will help make it a regular “doing business”
topic, rather than something out of the ordinary.
The third feature of NBAA will be a practical one
for exhibitors, who will be encouraged to sign up to
a “green pledge” to help make the actual show more
environmentally friendly (see p55).
After a two-year hiatus, NBAA offers an in-person
opportunity for all to provide updates on their sus-
tainability progress.
October 2021 Flight International 53
 “Bombardier expects environmental issues to be
front and centre at NBAA-BACE this year – and as
an active member of the SAF Coalition, we recog-
nise how increasingly important the environment has
become to CEOs and flight departments, airframe
and powerplant manufacturers, suppliers and indeed
across the entire general aviation segment and busi-
ness aviation sector,” the airframer says.
While Bombardier will keep the specifics back for
the show, “our overall engagement at NBAA-BACE
and our announcements will demonstrate the compa-
ny’s unrelenting commitment to sustainability”, it says.
“Sustainability and the journey to net zero will
be an essential part of our show appearance,” says
Rolls-Royce. “Of course, our Pearl engine family and
its newest members, the Pearl 700 for the Gulfstream
G700 and the Pearl 10X for the Dassault Falcon 10X,
will be the focus of interest for our customers.”
With its PW800 family of engines, used on
Gulfstream’s G500 and G600 and the Falcon 6X,
Hall. The pace of development will not necessarily
slow down, he believes, but with the range and size
targets achieved, there is an opportunity for a switch
to environmentally-focused initiatives.
“What is the next battleground? It is not going to
be an operating cost issue, it is going to be in green
technology,” believes Hall.
The engine OEMs are working hard on two sustain-
ability-related fronts: research and development into
hybrid and electric engines, and pursuing the approv-
al of their engines for use with 100% SAF.
Although announcements specific to business avia-
tion are scarce, the R&D efforts can be applicable to
all aircraft classes.
“Most recently, we announced a $163 million in-
vestment in a hybrid-electric demonstrator project
for regional aviation, backed by the governments
of Canada and Quebec,” says Makris. “Targeting a
30% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, and
flight testing in 2024, this demonstrator will show the
potential of hybrid-electric propulsion technology to

30
Number of green guidelines prepared by NBAA to help
exhibitors lessen the impact of their show attendance
set new standards for sustainable aviation. We are
confident this potential will eventually extend beyond
regional aviation to other segments as well.”
R-R has been busy in the urban air mobility (UAM)
and commuter markets. “We announced that we will
power Vertical Aerospace’s new [VA-X4] all-electric
UAM aircraft and that we joined forces with Tecnam
and Wideroe to deliver an all-electric [P-Volt] passen-
ger aircraft ready for service in 2026.”

delivering a 10% increase in fuel efficiency, Pratt &

Whitney Canada (P&WC) is 100% committed to the
industry’s goals to “significantly reduce CO2 emis-
sions and to drive even further efficiency from pro-
pulsion technology”, says vice-president marketing
Irene Makris.
“This commitment is demonstrated in our efforts to
make current products environmentally ‘best in class’,
bring customers options through our carbon offset
programme, maximise the use of SAFs and invest
in new technologies and architectures that increase
engine efficiency,” says Makris.
Pratt & Whitney Canada

Absent giant
Gulfstream, which has been pioneering sustainability
for years and was an early adopter of SAF, has
chosen not to attend NBAA this year, although it will
return. “Gulfstream has made the decision to not
attend NBAA-BACE or any large event this year. Our
customers have shared that their preference is for
smaller events right now, and we are hosting those “We announced a
accordingly,” it says.
NBAA has always been the fairground for major $163 million investment
aircraft launches, with business jet makers working
on a cycle of a new airframe every decade or so, in a hybrid-electric
compared with the 20- to 25-year cycle of Airbus and
Boeing. “The competitive side of business aviation, demonstrator project for
with five mainstream OEMs and two to three pe-
ripheral ones, has undoubtedly driven development regional aviation, backed
at such a pace,” explains Dan Hall, senior valuations
consultant at Ascend by Cirium. by the governments of
“The latest advances in aircraft development have
been about greater range and greater size. With Canada and Quebec”
aircraft such as the G700 and Bombardier Global
7500 the industry has finished that mission,” says Irene Makris Vice-president marketing, Pratt & Whitney Canada

54 Flight International October 2021


“We are also quite busy in the electrification of the
small propeller market. The impact in the long-range,
large-cabin business aviation market will be rather
evolutionary,” R-R says. “We will see SAF-powered,
‘more electric’ engines that are able to deliver more
electrical power which can then be used to power
certain secondary systems – for example, mechani-
cal/hydraulic systems. We are well positioned for all
the coming opportunities.”
Offsetting course
Several of the OEMs also offer carbon offsetting
services. In May, R-R launched SAFinity, which will in-
itially cater for business aviation users, enabling them
to invest directly in SAF. P&WC recently launched a
Carbon Offset Service, tied to its Eagle Service Plan
maintenance programme for business jet engines. “We
expect demand for carbon offsetting to grow, and we
are actively working on expanding this service to other
engines within our portfolio,” says Makris.
There will be plenty of SAF-related news at NBAA,
as more fixed-base operators, such as Signature
Flight Services, and fractional operators like NetJets,
move as quickly as possible to offer it to customers.
Users, too, as they seek to meet their Environmental,
Social and Governance targets and drive towards
net zero by 2050, will be asking how the industry is
able to help them.
After a long wait, the show will be a celebration as
the industry gathers once again. However, amid the
talk of new aircraft orders and a return to growth,
the discussion around sustainability and the environ-
ment will never be far away. Z
Business aviation Sustainability
Anthony Pecchi/Dassault Aviation
PW800 engines deliver a 10% increase
in fuel efficiency for the Falcon 6X
NBAA builds on environmental pledge
Shows and exhibitions can represent something
of a throwaway affair – a lot of people travel
to a pop-up event for a few days and then it
disappears, leaving a lot behind (and material
that is rarely used again). NBAA is taking a lead
as a show organiser, to bring a greater degree of
sustainability to events with its “green pledge”.
“NBAA is engaging its exhibitors to be more
sustainable – shows can produce a lot of waste,
but it doesn’t have to be that way,” says Edward
Bagsic, its senior manager of conventions, VIPs
and budgets.
The organiser has produced 30 guidelines
that exhibitors can follow to reduce their carbon
footprint – such as ordering local food for their
chalets, or not using “build and burn” booths –
and is asking participants to pledge to use at least
five of them.
About 30 companies had signed up to the
initiative by mid-August, and more will join as the
green pledge scheme expands both at this show
and at future events.
“When we started thinking about the 2020 show
it was always top of mind to make a meaningful
sustainability project on the ground to match the
industry’s sustainable initiatives in the air,” says
Bagsic. “NBAA 2021 will be the most sustainable
show we have done, and we believe we are one
of the first shows in aviation to be doing this.”
October 2021 Flight International 55
 Air taxi developers have been buoyed by major
recent investments in their advanced air mobility
projects, but now the hard work begins on the path
to achieving certification and service entry
Ready
to rise?
Jon Hemmerdinger Tampa
I
nvestors have long flocked to aerospace companies,
eager to back visionary projects that may or may not
get airborne. The romanticism of flight draws the dol-
lars. So does the sector’s ability to connect the world,
and the sheer marvel of soaring above the earth.
In recent times, the start-ups du jour have been
developers of electric aircraft, including fixed-wing
types and electric vertical take-off and landing
(eVTOL) models. The companies say their concepts
can transform short-distance travel.
The visionaries will be back at NBAA-BACE in
Las Vegas, grouped in the northwest corner of the
show floor in a section called the “AAM & Emerging
Technologies Zone”.
Such entrepreneurs have been mainstays at NBAA
shows for several years. But since 2019, despite the
56 Flight International October 2021
pandemic, the electric-aircraft sector – also known as
advanced air mobility (AAM) – has expanded rapidly.
Easy access to capital, technology improvements and
social pressure to curb carbon emissions have helped
to fuel the rise.
Developers, now racing towards ambitious
service-entry goals, have recently announced billions
of dollars in new investments and billions more
in purchase commitments. Several have recently
embarked on efforts to become publicly traded,
jumping aboard the so-called “SPAC” – special-
purpose acquisition company – bandwagon. These
entities are shell companies established to bring
promising start-ups public.
Still, much about electric aircraft remains unproven.
Analysts question whether designs can be financially
successful, either as air taxis or business or executive
transports. They cite technology and infrastructure
hurdles, certification challenges, questions of public

Embraer subsidiary Eve Urban Air Mobility plans to
Embraer
have its eVTOL aircraft flying passengers by 2026
acceptance and the enormous cost of developing and
producing a new breed of aircraft.
“Thanks to vast pools of cash sloshing around in
the economy, AAM concepts are now proliferating,”
Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia wrote in a July
paper. However, he notes: “The bigger the bubble, the
bigger the collapse.”
Aboulafia questions whether start-ups can ever sell
enough eVTOL aircraft to offset steep development
and production costs.
Exhibitors at the show this year will include
electric aircraft developers Bell, Jaunt Air Mobility,
Kitty Hawk, Overair, Samad Aerospace and XTI Air-
craft, according to NBAA.
The companies are targeting similar markets, but
with differing designs.
Jaunt, for instance, is developing Journey, a
“slowed-rotor compound” all-electric aircraft designed
to take off vertically using a main rotor, then transition
Business aviation eVTOL
XTI Aircraft is developing
hybrid-electric TriFan 600
XTI Aircraft
to forward flight, propelled by wing-integrated pro-
pellers. It will have a 70-87nm (129-161km) range and a
top speed of 152kt (282km/h), Jaunt says.
Jaunt’s partners include BAE Systems, which is
helping with flight controls, power management and
energy storage, and CAE, which is developing an
engineering simulator. Jaunt aims for Journey to be
certificated in 2026 and to enter service in 2027.
Bell, which made a splash unveiling its air taxi con-
cept, Nexus, in 2019, will be back at NBAA. Nexus was
originally designed as a hybrid-electric aircraft with
six ducted fans. Bell has since tweaked to its latest
“4EX” variant, which has four fans and an all-electric
propulsion system.
Kitty Hawk is developing a single-passenger,
eight-propeller eVTOL called Heaviside. Kitty Hawk
also formed California eVTOL maker Wisk Aero
through a joint venture with Boeing in 2019. Wisk is
developing a passenger eVTOL model and plans to
start a trial programme in New Zealand.
Business angle
California-based Overair is developing a five-passen-
ger, four-propeller eVTOL platform called Butterfly,
targeting first flight in 2023, US Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration (FAA) certification in 2025 and service
entry in 2026.
UK company Samad, meanwhile, is developing
e-Starling, which it calls the “world’s first hybrid-elec-
tric business jet”. The five-passenger aircraft will have
four ducted fans, cruise at 250kt and have 540nm of
range, the company says.
Another exhibitor, Colorado-based XTI, partnered
this year with public holding company Xeriant Aero-
space to help develop a fixed-wing, hybrid-electric
aircraft called the TriFan 600.
In a January report, consultancy Deloitte estimates
the US AAM market will be worth $115 billion annually
by 2035, with passenger and cargo operations each
accounting for about half. More than 200 companies
globally are developing eVTOL aircraft, and private
eVTOL players had invested $2 billion in such pro-
jects as of September 2020, Deloitte says.
The consultancy and others stress that the sector
needs government support with regard to certifica-
tion, standards development and airspace integration.
Alex Krutz, managing director of aerospace and
defence advisory firm Patriot Industrial Partners,
notes that there are numerous hurdles facing elec-
tric aircraft developers.
October 2021 Flight International 57
 “All that air taxi nonsense is flooding back, albeit
with much shorter aircraft ranges,” says Aboulafia.
Comparing eVTOL operations to Uber “neglects the
fact” that Uber cars might cost only $10,000, while
eVTOL aircraft are expected to cost several million
dollars each, he adds. Securities documents show
that Lilium has pegged the price of its Lilium Jet at
$2.5 million, and Archer Aviation has suggested a
$5 million price tag for its eVTOL offering.
Countless other electric-aircraft developers have
made news this year. US company Eviation tweaked
the design of Alice, an in-development, clean-sheet,
fixed-wing electric aircraft. Alice now has a T-tail,
changed from a V-tail, two aft-fuselage-mounted pro-
pellers, instead of an earlier configuration with one
on each wingtip and also on the aft fuselage, and will

Joby Aviation
Joby Aviation is involved in joint
use two 850hp (634kW) Magnix Magni650 electric
flight-test activity with NASA
powerplants: it initially had three 375hp Magni250s.
The nine-passenger Alice will have a 440nm range,
250kt maximum cruise speed and enter service in
2024, the company has said.
They must meet stringent certification standards,
develop sophisticated supply and production sys- Public benefit
tems, deal with local noise regulations and address Embraer also has skin in the game, having in 2020
battery density and infrastructure challenges. Com- formed Eve Urban Air Mobility, a subsidiary aiming to
mercial success requires their aircraft to be competi- have its eVTOL aircraft flying passengers by 2026. Eve
tive with established transportation options, meaning has landed orders for hundreds of aircraft and signed
developers must keep a lid on costs – a difficult task, operating partnerships with companies worldwide.
because initial designs are intended to be piloted, California electric aircraft developer Joby Aviation
says Krutz. Eventually, developers hope to transition became a public company in August after merging
to full autonomy, which will reduce expenses and with a SPAC called Reinvent Technology Partners. The
open an extra passenger seat. deal left Joby with $1.6 billion in cash and proceeds.
Developers say eVTOL designs will be financially Joby is developing a single-pilot, four-passenger
viable as air taxis partly because they will be less eVTOL platform that will fly at up to 174kt and have
expensive to operate than conventional aircraft. more than 130nm range. It aims for 2023 certification
But Aboulafia says operating expenses are only and to begin commercial flights in 2024.
part of the equation. On 1 September, Joby kicked off a 10-day flight-
test programme in partnership with NASA, which is
working with several eVTOL developers as part of an
“The gap between effort to advance the technology.
The Joby-NASA tests “will help identify gaps in
manufacturing costs and current Federal Aviation Administration regulations
and policies to help incorporate AAM aircraft” into
sales prices obliterates national airspace, NASA says.
The FAA has also been collaborating with NASA,
manufacturers" and in 2020 released its urban air mobility “Concept
of Operations”, a document broadly describing the
Richard Aboulafia Analyst, Teal Group envisioned air taxi ecosystem and the FAA’s role.

“AAM backers focus on operating costs because

they look great,” he says. “But capital costs are the
real problem.”
Certificating an eVTOL aircraft will probably cost
several hundred million dollars, and manufacturing
costs will be steep, Aboulafia says.
“The gap between manufacturing costs and sales
prices obliterates manufacturers,” he adds. “With AAM,
everyone pretends that… capital costs aren’t a problem
at all. The result is a market valued in the trillions.”
Business aviation consultant Brian Foley sees paral-
lels between eVTOL products and the very light jets
developed in the early 2000s. Those aircraft – types
Archer Aviation

such as Cirrus Aircraft’s SF50 Vision Jet, Cessna’s

Citation Mustang, Eclipse Aerospace’s Eclipse 500
and Honda Aircraft’s HondaJet – were also envisioned Archer’s technology has
as air taxis. That dream never materialised. attracted United Airlines

58 Flight International October 2021


The administration says it can certificate electric
aircraft through existing regulations, though “some
certifications could require the FAA to issue special
conditions or additional airworthiness criteria, de-
pending on the type of project”.
The FAA has also established a “Center for Emerg-
ing Concepts and Innovation”, through which it helps
certificate applicants meet requirements.
Several other eVTOL developers are pursuing
SPAC-enabled go-public plans. They include Archer,
which in February agreed to complete the process by
merging with SPAC Atlas Crest Investment. The com-
panies previously pegged Archer’s enterprise value at
$2.7 billion, but in July slashed the figure by 38%, to
$1.7 billion. Despite the shift, Archer says its manufac-
turing, sales and pricing plans remain unchanged.
Also in February, Archer said United Airlines had
committed to buy up to 200 of its in-development
aircraft, a deal potentially worth $1 billion. Aboulafia
notes though that commitments to purchase such
in-development products often involve little or no
money changing hands.
On target?
Archer aims to achieve certification of its four-pas-
senger eVTOL platform in 2024. In June, the compa-
ny unveiled a two-seat demonstrator called Maker,
which has 12 wing-mounted rotors, a 52nm range and
can cruise at up to 130kt.
Archer has partnered with auto giant Stellantis,
which will assist with manufacturing and supply, and
with Reef Technology, which operates parking facili-
ties – possible eVTOL operating bases. On 2 Septem-
ber, Archer co-founder and co-chief executive Adam
Goldstein said he expects passengers will pay $3-4
per mile to travel on Archer’s air taxis. The company
has also been embroiled in a lawsuit with Wisk, which
sued Archer earlier this year, alleging patent infringe-
ment and trade secret theft.
Lilium’s go-public plan, disclosed in March, involves
merging with a SPAC called Qell Acquisition. The
Business aviation eVTOL
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic will be a customer for
Vertical Aerospace’s VA-X4 air taxi
eVTOL developer has targeted a 2024 service entry
for its six-passenger Lilium Jet, which will have a
135nm range and 152kt cruise speed. In September,
Lilium said David Neeleman, founder of Azul, Breeze
Airways and JetBlue Airways, will join its board.
UK company Vertical Aerospace made big news
in June, announcing that American Airlines, Virgin
Atlantic and aircraft lessor Avolon had agreed to
purchase up to 1,000 of its in-development VA-X4 air
taxis. American and Avolon also said they intend to
become equity investors in Vertical.
On the same day, Vertical became the latest eVTOL
developer to reveal a go-public plan, saying it intends
to merge with Broadstone Acquisition. The five-seat
VA-X4 will have about 87nm of range and a top
speed of 176kt. Vertical aims to achieve type certifica-
tion in 2024.
Other US players include eVTOL developer Beta
Technologies and two developers of electric short
take-off and landing aircraft: Airflow and Electra Aero.
UK-based Faradair Aerospace, Sweden’s Heart Aer-
ospace and France’s Aura Aero are working to bring
electric or hybrid-electric commuter aircraft to market.
If the developers are right, electric aircraft might
actually be shuttling passengers within a few years.
But Aboulafia notes that start-ups can become more
financially precarious as they near “the finish line” –
that is, when they start shelling out big money to fund
development, certification and production. Indeed,
supersonic aircraft developer Aerion shuttered in 2021.
“Carnage is guaranteed,” Aboulafia says. Z
$3-4
Amount per mile passengers will pay to travel on
Archer Aviation’s air taxis, according to the company
October 2021 Flight International 59
 Launch customer All Nippon Airways put
Dreamliner into service on 26 October 2011
Boeing
Jon Hemmerdinger Tampa
O
n 26 October 2011, an All Nippon Airways
(ANA) Boeing 787-8 roared off a Tokyo
Narita runway, marking the first passenger
flight of a jet that changed so much about
long-haul travel.
The 787 pushed technological boundaries.
Airlines used the jet to launch hundreds of formerly
uneconomical routes. With the 787, Boeing jumped
headlong into composite manufacturing and trans-
formed its supply chain. Passengers benefited from a
reduced cabin-pressure altitude and larger windows.
Yet Boeing’s execution can be called anything but
flawless. Countless troubles, many related to out-
sourcing an immense amount of 787 work, plagued
the programme from its start to the present day.
Ten years in, the 787’s legacy continues unfolding,
defined to date by transformative accomplishments
and notable setbacks. Boeing says the jet’s merits
will propel it well into the future. But production
cuts, a delivery halt and slumping demand leave
uncertain whether the programme will rebound to
its pre-pandemic heyday.
“I think it is the plane of the future, because the first
10 years is just the beginning,” Boeing vice-president
of commercial marketing Darren Hulst says. “Long-
haul travel requires connectivity… What the 787 did
was allow airlines to fly to more points via hubs.”
The jet’s sales success is undeniable. At the end of
July, Boeing had logged 1,423 cumulative firm orders
for the 787 family, including more than 400 still-un-
delivered jets.
“From a product and technology standpoint, the
787 changed our industry and it took the customer
60 Flight International October 2021
experience to a whole new level,” says Alex Krutz,
managing director of aerospace advisory firm Patriot
Industrial Partners. “There were many advancements,
such as the composite technology, cabin noise re-
duction, improved cabin pressurisation and systems
advancements, with the 787.”
But the 787 also demonstrated the difficulty of
keeping development of wholly new technologies on
track, especially when relying on suppliers, he adds.
“Operating metrics are very strong, passen-
ger comfort is excellent – but all this [is] clearly
1,423
Cumulative firm orders for all variants of the 787,
as at the end of June 2021
overshadowed by quality and execution issues,” says
Michel Merluzeau, aerospace analyst with consultan-
cy AIR. “Ten years on, the 787 looks like it has fallen
short of expectations.”
Specifically, he says, the jet has not delivered
promised reduced maintenance costs, citing 787
structural issues.
In December 2003, after abandoning its Sonic
Cruiser project, Boeing’s board approved plans for
the “7E7 Dreamliner”, which it would rename the 787.
The programme’s official launch came in April 2004
with a 50-strong order from ANA. The project called
for a 200- to 300-seat family of airliners designed to

With its manufacturing innovation and use of a
global supply chain, the 787 has been a big sales
success. But its first 10 years of service have also
represented a major learning curve for Boeing
A dream
first decade?
operate 3,500-8,500nm (6,480-15,700km) routes.
The airframer aimed to achieve first flight in 2007
and first delivery and service entry in 2008.
At the time, Airbus was heading in the opposite
direction, developing the much larger A380; Boeing
thought the market needed something smaller that
would be profitable on a wider range of routes.
Powered by either GE Aviation GEnx or Rolls-Royce
Trent 1000 turbofans, 787s would be different. Boeing
gave the jet a composite fuselage composed of sin-
gle-piece barrels, a design the airframer says is about
20% lighter than an aluminium fuselage and contrib-
utes to a 30% reduction in airframe maintenance costs.
Under pressure
Thanks to the composite fuselage, the jet’s cabin is
pressurised to the equivalent of 6,000ft (not 8,000ft,
as with older jets) – a difference Boeing says reduces
headaches and fatigue.
Additionally, the 787 relies more on electricity to
power its systems. Older jets use pneumatic systems
which take bleed air from the engines, robbing the
powerplants of air that could otherwise be used to
produce thrust. The bleedless technology boosts effi-
ciency and enables weight saving through eliminating
heavy components.
Notably, with the 787 Boeing revamped its design,
engineering and production strategy by handing a
big portion of the work to a global cadre of suppliers.
“The 787 was very much an outsourced airplane, ver-
sus the 777,” says Krutz. Joining the programme under
“risk-revenue partnerships”, suppliers took on devel-
opment of entire systems, advancing technically in the
process. “It really created large systems providers.”
First flight did not happen in 2007 as hoped, nor
in 2008. Boeing delayed the milestone amid issues
Cover story 787 anniversary
including software problems, improperly installed
fasteners, the need for wing-to-body reinforcements
and a mechanics’ strike.
On 15 December 2009, the first 787 (a -8) lifted
off the earth. Boeing hoped to push the programme
through certification in eight and a half months, but it
took about 20 months as hiccups continued – includ-
ing an electrical fire and a Trent 1000 failure.
In August 2011, the US Federal Aviation Administra-
tion (FAA) certificated the 787-8, a 248-passenger
variant (in two classes) with 7,305nm of range.
“Boeing tried to do too much too soon,” Merluzeau
says, citing difficulties with integrating advanced sys-
tems. “Boeing also learned a hard lesson about relying
extensively on suppliers that did not have the exper-
tise [or] experience to lead integrated teams.”
There were delivery delays after certification, as
Boeing had to incorporate design changes and retrofit
already-completed jets – a substantial job because it
had ramped up production before certification was
finished. It delivered just three 787s in 2011.
“Boeing learned a hard
lesson about relying
extensively on suppliers
that did not have the
expertise or experience
to lead integrated teams”
Michel Merluzeau Aerospace analyst, AIR
October 2021 Flight International 61
 The “787’s new technology and systems did take
longer to qualify for a variety of reasons. There were
many lessons learned,” Krutz says.
The programme also made clear that aircraft with
advanced technologies might require eight or nine
years to develop and certify, not the seven years ex-
pected for previous conventional aircraft, Krutz adds.
On 25 September 2011, Boeing delivered the first
787, powered by Trent 1000s, to ANA. In 2012, the
carrier reported that its 787-8s had been burning

Stephan Savoia/AP/Shutterstock
17% less fuel per seat on domestic hops, and 21% less
on long-haul flights than 767s – figures that aligned
with Boeing’s promises.
In 2012, Boeing delivered 46 787s, including the
first produced at its new, second production site in
North Charleston, South Carolina. Its prime 787 site
was in Everett, Washington.
Problems persisted. Regulators grounded 787s for
four months in early 2013 following two lithium-ion Safety incidents included battery fire in a Japan Airlines jet in 2013
battery incidents.

5
entered service. Suddenly, carriers could make money
flying from major hubs to distant smaller cities –
routes that were unprofitable with larger widebodies.
The jets likewise proved successful on long-
established routes, such as between New York and
London, he adds. Japan Airlines flew 787s domes-
tically. Discounters built long-haul networks with
Monthly output of the 787 during the Covid pandemic, 787s. The type’s three variants ensure operators
down from peak production of 14 in 2019 have a jet for a variety of jobs, says Hulst, noting
that about 30 of the roughly 80 787 operators have
ordered multiple versions.
Deliveries jumped to 114 in 2014 and continued “Versatility… was something that really changed
an upward swing, hitting 158 aircraft in 2019, when networks for ever. That’s where the 787 made its
Boeing was ramping production to a programme high mark in history,” Hulst says. “You have hub and
of 14 jets monthly. More quality concerns arose that spoke, and you have airlines using it for ultra-long
year, including reports of foreign object debris in jets haul. And domestic.”
delivered from South Carolina. The boom years would not last. In January 2020
Along the way, Boeing brought two other variants – just before the world awakened to the Covid-19
to market, delivering the first 787-9 (296 passengers, threat – Boeing cut 787 production from 14 to 10 jets
7,530nm of range) in 2014, and the first 787-10 (336 monthly, citing the “near-term market outlook”.
passengers, 6,350nm range) in 2018.
Hulst says the 787’s economics, capabilities and Quality control
versatility allowed airlines to transform long-haul Then the pandemic descended, erasing demand for
networks, adding some 300 new routes since the jet travel on the international routes for which Boeing
designed 787s. Executives slashed output to six
examples monthly, then to five. Boeing also set in
motion a major manufacturing overhaul – it would
stop making 787s in Everett and shift all production
787 annual deliveries to the lower-cost South Carolina site, a consolidation
completed this year.
160 More qualities issues followed. In October 2020,
150
140
787 deliveries were halted because “skin flatness”
130 on undelivered jets did not meet precise tolerances.
120 Boeing has said the issue does not affect flight safety
110 and that it is performing rework to ensure its prod-
100 ucts meet quality standards.
90
The airframer delivered just 53 787s in 2020.
80
70
Boeing resumed deliveries in March 2021, then
60 halted them again in May after the FAA declined to
50 approve a Boeing-proposed algorithm related to fu-
40 selage inspections. Regulations require manufacturers
30
develop fixes before resuming deliveries, the FAA says.
20
10
Meanwhile, Boeing accumulated a stockpile
0 of about 100 undelivered 787s, it has said.
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021* In July came another issue. Boeing said gaps in
Source: Boeing Note: *Through July
forward-pressure bulkheads of undelivered 787s did

62 Flight International October 2021

 Cover story 787 anniversary

not meet tolerances – a problem also not affecting

flight safety. At the time, Boeing said it was reducing
production to less than five jets monthly, but has not Leading 787 operators
specified the new rate. The company has not said if
delivered jets have similar structural issues. Airline In use* Variants flown

“We have very stringent design standards,” Hulst All Nippon Airways 74 -8/-9/-10
says of the issues. “This is us… making sure we are United Airlines 61 -8/-9/-10
designing and building it to the specifications. We are Japan Airlines 48 -8/-9
looking forward to managing this process and getting American Airlines 46 -8/-9
back to deliveries.” Etihad Airways 39 -9/-10
In 2021 through July, Boeing delivered only 14 787s. Air Canada 37 -8/-9
It also logged 27 order cancellations, including 19 Qatar Airways 37 -8/-9
787-10s due to Singapore Airlines, which swapped British Airways 31 -8/-9/-10
some to 777-9 orders. China Southern Airlines 27 -8/-9
Hulst says the 787’s economics have made it a Ethiopian Airlines 27 -8/-9
relative winner amid the pandemic. Although airlines Air India 22 -8
grounded swaths of jets 90% of 787s remain “active Hainan Airlines 22 -8/-9
and flying” – a percentage figure greater than other LATAM Airlines Chile 21 -8/-9
widebodies, he says, because of the 787’s efficiency. Source: Cirium fleets data Note: *As of 8 September 2021

Sales success
As of July, Boeing had delivered a cumulative 1,006
787s – 377 -8s, 568 -9s and 61 -10s. ANA has the
most, with 77, followed by United Airlines with 63
and Japan Airlines with 49, Cirium fleets data shows.
Other top operators include Air Canada, American
Airlines, British Airways, Etihad Airways, Hainan Air-
lines and Qatar Airways.
Boeing still holds unfilled orders for 486 787s
– 40 -8s, 320 -9s and 126 -10s. Of those, 421 are what
Boeing considers “firm” orders, the balance being
orders it suspects may not close owing to reasons
including the financial condition of the buyer.
As delays continue, Boeing increasingly faces the
risk of customers making penalty-free cancellations.
That is because sales contracts typically include
clauses that allow customers to walk away from
orders when deliveries are more than one year late
United is the 787’s second-biggest
customer, having acquired 63
– contractual provisions that spurred a large number
of 737 Max cancellations.
In normal times, few airlines might actually exercise
such cancellations. But now is not a normal time, and
analysts suspect long-haul international travel will
take several years to recover.
“As more and more aircraft hit that 12-month
point, where the customer has the right to cancel,
it’s certainly going to increase pressure on Boeing to
come up with solutions not to be left ‘white tails’,”
Air Lease executive chair Steven Udvar-Hazy said in
August, referring to completed jets without buyers.
BofA financial analyst Ron Epstein has estimated
that one-third of Boeing’s undelivered 787s could be
subject to delay-induced free cancellations. Analysts
have suggested the recent issues could force Boeing
to take a forward loss on the 787 programme.
Still, optimism abounds. Boeing has offset some
cancellations with recent sales, booking 14 new 787
orders in 2021 through July, including five jets ordered
by Lufthansa. The airframer’s market outlook predicts
global demand for 7,480 new widebodies to 2039.

Regional revival
As recently as June, Boeing chief executive David
Calhoun predicted the programme could return to
producing 14 jets monthly – all at the single manufac-
turing site – once demand rebounds.
Analysts have their doubts. The Teal Group’s Rich-
ard Aboulafia thinks 14 per month was too many even
in 2019. Merluzeau suspects that only by developing
new 787 variants – perhaps a derivative optimised
for regional travel – can Boeing reasonably expect to
return to the heady 2019 levels.
“The 787 is the most “Without those, there is little chance to witness a re-
turn to the unsustainable rates of the past. A regional
versatile widebody variant might gain significant traction,” he says.
Hulst dismisses that suggestion, insisting the exist-
family in a market that ing 787 family will meet market needs.
Markus Mainka/Shutterstock

“I don’t think we are looking at other variants,”

is increasingly focused he says. “The 787 is the most versatile widebody family
in a market that is increasingly focused on versatility.”
on versatility” Rather, Boeing’s focus will be, “How can we best
provide what our customers need with the platform
Darren Hulst we have?” Hulst says. “I think there is continued abili-
Vice-president commercial marketing, Boeing ty to make these aircraft a leader in the segment.” Z

October 2021 Flight International 63

 In the USA 2021 has seen the return of a
phenomenon many thought had vanished for
several years at least: a lack of trained flightcrew.
How has this remarkable turnaround happened?
Pilot
re-shortage
Pilar Wolfstellar Las Vegas
A
year ago, Cameron Lampert, a flight
instructor in the San Francisco Bay area,
thought his path to the cockpit of a
commercial airliner had hit a brick wall.
With the world in the throes of the global pandem-
ic, passenger carriers went into financial meltdown.
The industry seemed likely to face years of hiberna-
tion before recovering from the effects of Covid-19.
But in early 2021, as vaccinations ramped up,
air travel – especially in the USA – returned with a
vengeance. Passenger traffic climbed dramatically,
blowing away expectations, as customers scrambled
to book flights after governments eased shelter-in-
place orders and other travel restrictions.
So Lampert, who had spent two years shepherding
dozens of students through training, went looking for
an airline job.
To his surprise, he found open doors.
“Airlines are hiring like mad right now,” he says.
Within a few weeks of applying earlier this summer,
he secured a first officer job at a regional airline and
began training in September.
In pre-pandemic 2019, with demand for air trans-
port at historic highs and that growth forecast to
continue, the industry’s biggest pilot problem was
trying to find enough of them.
Looming age-driven retirements at many carriers –
about 38% of commercial pilots are over the age of
50, according to simulator and training provider CAE
– coupled with an air travel boom, a weak pilot pipe-
line and staggeringly high training costs, suggested
64 Flight International October 2021
demand would rapidly outstrip the one human
resource that makes it all possible: the individuals at
the front of the aircraft.
In 2019, then-Boeing chief executive Dennis
Muilenburg warned that a growing shortage of
flightcrew was “one of the biggest challenges”
facing the airline sector.
CAE echoed this assessment in a study released in
November 2020, a time when many in the industry
were still convinced the pandemic would take years
to overcome.
The company put the professional pilot deficit
across civil aviation at 264,000 by 2029. In 2021
alone, the company said, 27,000 additional pilots
would be needed to accommodate the rebound
worldwide.
With at least 3.8% of airline pilots retiring every
year for the next 10 years, 126,000 new ones will be
needed to offset those retirements and attrition, and
another 93,000 to accommodate the industry’s ex-
pansion, CAE said. Its analysis added that the global
commercial aviation fleet would increase by at least
7,800 aircraft in that period.
38%
Proportion of commercial pilots over the age of 50,
according to simulator and training provider CAE

After a year of pain, the industry has again
launched a massive effort to recruit pilots to fly those
aircraft. It turns out that CAE might have been right.
The path to becoming a professional pilot is ar-
duous, lengthy and costly. The US Federal Aviation
Administration tightened rules in 2013 to require that
commercial pilots have – in addition to their certifi-
cate – at least 1,500h of flight time before qualifying
to fly for passenger or cargo carriers, up from 250h.
Recurring training and regular medical check-ups are
also needed to keep those certificates valid.
Pilot education, including private and commercial
licences, can easily cost $100,000. After initial train-
ing, many aspiring commercial pilots, like Lampert,
earn instructor certificates, then teach for several
years to log the required flight time.
Carrier schemes
Prior to the global health crisis, airlines had set up
their own training schemes to alleviate the looming
pilot shortage. United Airlines launched “Aviate”, Del-
ta Air Lines has “Propel” and Southwest Airlines set
up “Destination 225”.
Desperate to attract candidates, airlines had been
luring recruits with generous incentives. Sign-on bo-
nuses were common, as were partial scholarships and
low-interest loans to soften the financial burden.
But in March 2020, talk of a pilot shortage vanished
as Covid-19 brought the industry to its knees.
As the virus spread and governments imposed
lockdowns, air travel demand plunged. Airlines could
not cut costs – or shed pilots – fast enough. They
slashed networks, sent jets into long-term storage,
Training Pilot demand
The path to becoming a professional
pilot is arduous, lengthy and costly
Thiago B Trevisan/Shutterstock
7,800
Increase in number of aircraft in commercial airline fleet by
2029, when CAE estimates a pilot deficit of 264,000
furloughed staff and offered others voluntary leave
and early retirement.
Within weeks, pilots who had spent decades
training, flying and keeping current, found their
careers decimated; their certificates worth less than
the paper or plastic they were printed on.
Indeed, for the first few months of the pandemic,
some airlines and pilot unions encouraged aspir-
ing aviators to pursue other careers, warning of the
sector’s uncertainty and instability.
All that changed in early 2021, when much of the
world decided it had had enough of lockdowns,
Covid-19 be damned. With the success of vacci-
nation efforts, demand for domestic air transport
quickly returned, especially in North America, catch-
ing airlines unprepared.
This rapid growth created what Geoff Murray, avia-
tion consultant at Oliver Wyman, calls a “pilot re-short-
age”. “Airlines had to adopt some different strategies
when this crisis hit,” he says. “Early retirement seemed
like an easy one, as did the leave programmes.”
But these retirements, Murray says, accounted
for as much as 15% or even 20% of the airlines’
October 2021 Flight International 65
Skycolors/Shutterstock Training Pilot demand
A long-term post-pandemic pilot
shortage seems all but inevitable
seniority lists, leaving pilot ranks gutted of
experienced aviators.
“Unlike previous recoveries – where [airlines] could
recall people and pretty much put them right back
into the seat they left – this time the airlines are say-
ing, ‘Holy smokes, we lost all of the senior captains.
So we need to take the senior first officers, and move
them into junior captain seats’,” he says.
Recalling pilots is more complex than other work
groups due to strict regulatory currency require-
ments and medical assessments. After months away
from the cockpit, pilots must complete recurrent
training in their aircraft – or new training if shifting to
a different type.
And for the open positions, airlines now must train
two pilots: the replacement and the replacement’s
replacement, Murray says. Such factors have creat-
ed a training bottleneck that has proved difficult to
alleviate – even with simulators working 24h a day, he
adds. “It’s a training conundrum.”
Thousands of airline passengers have in recent
weeks experienced the ripple effects.
American Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights in
July, and Spirit Airlines scrapped 2,826 flights during
10 days in early August – knocking $50 million off
that company’s third-quarter revenue forecast. The
airlines have cited staffing issues as contributing to
their operational problems.
“The airlines are saying,
‘Holy smokes, we lost all
of the senior captains.
So we need to take the
senior first officers, and
move them into junior
captain seats’”
Geoff Murray Aviation consultant, Oliver Wyman
66 Flight International October 2021
Both carriers have since recovered from those
temporary disruptions and US airlines continue
recalling pilots and ramping up hiring. Still, a longer-
term post-pandemic pilot shortage remains all but
inevitable, and could make itself felt as soon as
2023, analysts say.
According to pilot consultancy Future and Active
Pilot Advisory (FAPA), major US carriers hired just
1,685 new pilots between January and July 2021, with
half of those going to cargo companies Atlas Air,
FedEx and UPS.
But while the numbers are progressively rising, they
remain far from enough to satisfy the industry’s needs.
In its most recent pilot hiring bulletin, published on
25 August, FAPA says that “pilot interview and hiring
numbers keep climbing”.
“The 12 major [US] airlines continue to recruit pilots
and celebrate increased hiring numbers,” it says. “At
this time, only three of our major airlines have yet
to announce new pilot hiring numbers in 2021, all
evidence points to the likelihood that they will in the
coming months.”
Uneven recovery
But as the industry scrambles to get pilot recruitment
up to speed, airlines must remain mindful of poten-
tial pitfalls accompanying what has proven to be an
uneven recovery.
The rapid spread of the virus’s Delta variant during
the summer travel months showed just how tenuous
the rebound remains.
In early August, airlines cut earnings forecasts for
the third quarter as cancellations increased, bookings
fell and fears of new restrictions sent a shiver through
the sector.
At the end of the same month, the EU once again
recommended that its member states re-impose
restrictions for US travellers, delivering a blow to the
industry, which had expected to welcome back more
long-haul corporate travellers in the coming weeks.
Eric Rhea, a flight instructor in Las Vegas, is also
on the hunt for his next aviation job. To him, the
post-pandemic era feels like a bit like a gold rush,
tempered by short-term apprehension that the virus
could again strike a blow to the industry.
 Training Pilot demand
Sorbis/Shutterstock
Regional carriers need to replace pilots leaving for mainline airlines
Rhea’s sights are set on the cockpit of a business
jet – also a good choice, according to CAE. With the
global business jet fleet set to increase by about 3,600
aircraft in the next decade, it estimates the segment
will need 45,000 new cockpit crew by 2029.
Here too, at least 7.6% of pilots will exit the ranks
into retirement or the commercial airline sector annu-
ally, making room for many more, the company says.
“There’s still a fair number of places hiring, but it
feels like it’s slowed down a little bit as people are
worried about another shutdown,” Rhea says. “It
almost feels like everyone’s kind of just pausing and
holding their breath as this Delta variant passes, as
opposed to the big mad rush that there was two
months ago.”
Strong alternatives
FAPA says that Part 135 carriers – named for the sec-
tion of US regulations that governs most business jet
charter and air taxi operations – “remain strong alter-
natives to flying for the airlines”. Of the 113 operators
it monitors, 99 of them are hiring, it adds.
Murray notes that as the recovery has shown to be
uneven – across North America and around the world
– so too is demand for cockpit crew.
“North America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East
are likely to see the largest shortages, while Europe,
Africa and Latin America remain closer to equilibri-
um,” he wrote in a recent Oliver Wyman study.
Causes vary across geographies. An ageing work-
force and barriers to training are affecting the North
American market, while operators in China and other
regions face surging demand driven by a burgeoning
middle class. Murray estimates North America and
Asia together will have a deficit of almost 45,000
pilots by 2029 if no mitigating action is taken.
And he anticipates the biggest losers in this war
for aviation talent in North America will be regional
airlines that fly smaller aircraft on shorter routes for
major legacy carriers.
45,000
Number of new pilots CAE estimates to be required by the
business jet segment by the end of the decade
68 Flight International October 2021
“The mainline airlines primarily draw from the re-
gionals,” Murray says. “So the majors are going to be
able to find pilots. Where we will feel the pain from
the shortage first is with the regionals.”
Oliver Wyman expects annual regional carrier pilot
turnover to rise as high as 40%. Under normal circum-
stances, that number would be in the teens.
The problem may become so critical, Murray adds,
that some regional carriers may cease operations or
consolidate with others because they cannot find
enough qualified flightcrew.
FAPA’s August hiring bulletin notes that some re-
gional airlines are currently offering sign-on bonuses
as high as $15,000, and referral bonuses of $10,000.
On 31 August, Envoy Air, a regional carrier affiliated
with American, announced a programme by which
pilots can earn up to $150,000 in retention compen-
sation and captain bonuses.
But the high cost of training – going from zero hours
to a plateau that makes an aspiring commercial pilot
employable – remains a significant barrier to entry.
Murray says in the USA there were traditionally two
ways to a commercial cockpit career. The first was via
the military, which covers all training costs in return
for a service commitment, and the second is going it
– and paying for it – alone.
“There’s a whole
untapped pool of capable,
talented young people
who need encouragement
and sponsorship to make
their way into the airline
flight deck”
Geoff Murray Aviation consultant, Oliver Wyman
“Historically there was never a middle ground be-
tween those two paths,” Murray says.
But CAE says that less than 10% of aspiring pilots
in North America have access to sufficient funding.
Many would-be pilots raid their savings, borrow from
family or friends and take out substantial loans to
pay for training.
“If you look at other regions in the world – Western
Europe, Asia – the airlines there sponsor students,”
Murray notes. “I think we are going to see models like
that evolving in the United States and it will benefit
the industry tremendously.
“There’s a whole untapped pool of capable, talented
young people who need encouragement and sponsor-
ship to make their way into the airline flight deck.”
United’s Aviate, which is looking to train 5,000
pilots in the next 10 years, is already going there. The
programme offered more than $2 million in scholar-
ships this year to help finance training for candidates
who might otherwise struggle to afford the educa-
tion. United also partners with financial institutions to
offer loans at favourable conditions.
 UK-based flight school Skybourne Academy,
which trains pilots for British Airways, EasyJet and In-
dia’s IndiGo, recently acquired a flight school in Vero
Beach, Florida, and is working on bringing its Europe-
an model to the USA.
“Every pilot at Skybourne is heading towards an air-
line,” says chief executive Lee Woodward. While can-
didates do not receive a guaranteed job offer from
the outset, the school makes sure they are suited to
an aviation career before taking their first lesson.
“Our focus is driven by quality. We are very selec-
tive about who we take in, which is what our partner
airlines want us to do.” This professionalisation of the
selection process gives the school’s airline partners the
confidence to grant conditional offers, as well as some
financial support, without much risk.
Woodward says the 18-month coronavirus crisis
has given the industry time to rethink how it sources
pilots and to consider improvements.
“There will be no pilot shortage if we remove the
barriers to entry,” Woodward says. “We need more
creative, innovative and equitable funding solutions,
and to find ways of better diversifying what we do.”
But after the repeated shocks of the past 20 years
– 9/11, the global financial crisis and now the Covid-19
Skybourne Academy
UK-based Skybourne Academy is
bringing its training model to Florida
pandemic – is aviation as stable and attractive a ca-
reer as the industry likes to think it is?
“Aviation is an extremely resilient industry,” Wood-
ward says, adding that after every crisis the sector
has returned to a growth trajectory, and come back
stronger.
“The pilot profession is as attractive, maybe even
more attractive, than ever,” says Murray. Career pros-
pects today, he says, are “unlike anything we have
seen in decades”.
Both Rhea and Lampert, on the cusp of launching
into aviation’s big leagues, agree.
“This is a very stable career,” says Rhea. “You
might bounce around a little bit at first. It’s hard to
get that first break because everyone wants the bare
minimum of 1,500h. But once you get in that first
job, then the world’s really your oyster in terms of
where you want to go.”
“Nothing’s changed for me,” Lampert adds. “If you
want to go do it, you just do it. And now is probably
the best time to give it a shot.” ◗
70 Flight International October 2021
CASE STUDY: UK
Global Britain
gated and
grounded
The UK’s job-seeking pilots
have arguably been affected
by the crisis more than most,
due to tough travel rules and
their licences no longer being
recognised in EU countries
Murdo Morrison London
J
ob prospects for out-of-work or would-be pilots
in the USA and a handful of other countries are
looking up. However, in much of Europe, and
particularly the UK – where complicated and
ever-changing Covid-19 travel rules put a dampener
on hopes for a summer overseas tourism boost – the
situation could hardly be more different.
The reliance of the UK aviation sector on long-
haul markets such as Australia and the USA, which
have largely shut their borders, has compounded the
problem. This is despite the aspirations of the Boris
Johnson government to create a free-trading “global
Britain” following the country’s vote to leave the EU.
A further blow for pilots will come from the wind-
ing up of the government’s furlough scheme at the
end of September. The British Airline Pilots’ Associa-
tion (BALPA) has estimated that 51% of air transport
workers were on the programme on 31 July – the
highest percentage of any industry. “While other
sectors have been able to get up and running, avia-
tion is still essentially in lockdown,” observes BALPA
acting general secretary Martin Chalk.
UK carriers, aware of the challenges of recruiting
or training experienced replacements when recovery
comes, have largely avoided mass lay-offs by using the
furlough scheme or asking pilots to accept temporary
part-time contracts – or reduced salaries. Chalk is sym-
pathetic to the employers’ plight. “Pilots are desperate
to get back to work, but unless airlines can get back
to something like they were operating in 2019, it’s diffi-
cult to see how that can happen,” he says.
Aviation is one of the few sectors where businesses
are still being asked to “take steps to protect the rest
of society”, says Chalk, but “we feel abandoned by
the government right now”. While other European
 Training Pilot demand

The crisis has compounded

mental health concerns
for some flightcrew, says
charity Pilots Together

have been put on hold by the crisis in touch with

mentors. Also offered are discounted refresher
training through partners, as well as regular career
webinars. Pilots pay a small monthly membership fee.
The organisation’s aim is to help recently-qualified
pilots “stay connected with the industry and ready
for the ramp-up”, says chief executive and founder
Karen Bath.
Despite the grim situation, there have been pos-
itive signs. Wizz Air said on 13 September that it is
reinstating pilot salaries to pre-Covid-19 levels from 1
October. Like many of its counterparts, the Hungar-
ian low-cost carrier had agreed pay cuts with pilots
in lieu of redundancies. Wizz is also recruiting 200
pilots by December as it looks to triple the size of its
fleet to 500 Airbus narrowbody aircraft. It follows an
announcement in July by rival Ryanair that it plans to
recruit 2,000 pilots.
However, for UK pilots simply moving to where
the work is may be tricky. The Brexit agreement that
Christina Rose Pix/Shutterstock

followed the country’s formal withdrawal from the

EU in January 2021 does not include full mutual rec-
ognition of pilot licences. UK-issued licences – even
if they were obtained while the nation was a mem-
ber of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency

Wizz Air is recruiting pilots this year and

has restored salaries to pre-crisis levels
markets such as France and Germany saw traffic
levels return to between 40% and 60% of 2019 levels
over the summer, the UK was stuck at way below
even that. Many pilots, he says, have survived the
crisis so far – but some are running out of cash, and
“getting through winter will be difficult”.
The hardships facing many pilots has led to the
launch of at least two support groups in the UK. When
Sanja Radivojevic/Shutterstock

airline pilot Scott Bateman helped found the Pilots

Together charity in mid-2020 to support industry
colleagues who had lost their jobs, he thought it would
“last a year”.
Eighteen months or so later, he admits that “as time
has gone on, we have realised that there are elements
of our community who are just not being supported.
We are planning for a long term future.”

Career advice (EASA) – are no longer valid for EU-registered air-

So far, the organisation, which raises funds from craft, and vice versa. The same applies to cabin crew
contributions, has helped around 350 pilots with and maintenance engineers.
everything from career advice to financial support to Pilots can apply for an EU licence through an EASA
stay current on type or retrain, including for non-avia- member state’s national aviation authority, and several
tion jobs such as driving trucks or trains. While some Britons did this before Brexit took effect. UK pilots still
pilots, deep into careers and well-paid, can afford to can, but backlogs mean the process can be time-con-
retire or take a sabbatical, this does not apply to all, suming. In September, Ryanair chief executive Michael
says Bateman: “A lot of pilots we are helping are new O’Leary said the Irish-headquartered carrier would
starters, with high levels of debt and certainly not on still be recruiting UK-licensed pilots to operate non-EU
pop star wages.” routes from UK bases, but suggested that the value of
The charity’s aid goes beyond career coaching. a UK licence had deteriorated after Brexit.
In August it launched a text-based support service, With European markets recovering faster than the
staffed by volunteers, called #WePilots, for colleagues UK, and airlines in the USA and elsewhere recruit-
struggling with their mental health. It is free and avail- ing again, for British pilots simply “getting on one’s
able 24 hours, every day of the year. As a result of the bike” to find a job is not possible, in the short term at
crisis, many pilots are experiencing anxiety, depression least. This is why BALPA has urged the government
and loneliness, “issues that are often taboo or stigma- to restore mutual recognition of EU and UK licences.
tised in the profession”, says Pilots Together. The restriction is a major barrier to mobility, believes
Resilient Pilot is another initiative, a not-for-profit Bateman. “If we could transfer licences, people would
venture intended to put new pilots whose careers be leaving in their droves,” he says. ◗

October 2021 Flight International 71

 Training

PROFILE
As the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (UK CAA) technical cooperation and
training arm, we unite and export UK CAA know-how to help National
Aviation Authorities and industry organisations enhance their aviation
and aerospace standards.

By connecting the global aviation family to the UK CAA, our training

programmes help cultivate high-performing, future-focused regulators
and entities that enables aviation and aerospace to thrive.

Based on the UK, ICAO and European standards, our training courses
cover all aspects of aviation safety, security and environmental
CONTACT regulation and oversight.

INFORMATION
CAA International HIGHLIGHTS
– Part of the UK CAA
■ Classroom, virtual, in-company and Qualified Technical Personnel and
Civil Aviation Authority, e-Learning Training compliance
Aviation House, ■ +60 courses based on UK, EASA, and ■ Training consultancy; training needs
Beehive Ring Road, ICAO standards analysis, training strategy and training
■ ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS Corporate plans
Crawley, West Sussex Partner ■ Accredited provider of short courses
RH6 0YR ■ On-the-job and tailored training by British Accredited Council and ISO
United Kingdom ■ Programmes that support ICAO CE-4 9001:2015 certified
caainternational.com

Explore the latest aviation regulations

with training by the UK CAA
Classroom | Virtual | In-company | e-Learning

Based on the UK, EASA and ICAO standards, our courses provide the highest
level of practical training for aviation professionals and organisations.
Our courses cover multiple aspects of aviation regulation and oversight, including:

• Aviation Security • Flight Simulator Training Devices

• Accountable Manager • Human Factors
• Aerodromes and Air Traffic Services • International Air Law
• Airworthiness & UK CAA/EASA • Inspector Theory
Approvals • Safety and Risk Management
• Cyber Security Oversight • State Safety Programmes
• Auditing & Compliance Monitoring • Unmanned Aircraft Systems
• Environment and Noise
Management

To book now or for more information, please visit:

www.caainternational.com/training or contact us at
E: training@caainternational.com or T: +44 (0) 330 0224401
www.caainternational.com
Part of the UK CAA International Group Together for better aviation

72 Flight International October 2021

 Training

PROFILE
IALTA – the digital learning platform for aviation and aerospace
professionals.
<RXU IALTA is dedicated to building knowledge and setting the standard in
the aircraft lease transition sector.
/HDVH
Our efficient transfer of knowledge and expertise will demonstrate “how
7UDLQLQJ to” transition aircraft on behalf of lessors, airlines or financial institutions.
3DUWQHU Our courses are designed so you can “self learn” at your own pace, in
your own time and on successful completion gain a verifiable certificate.

CONTACT
INFORMATION
Email: info@ialta.aero
www.ialta.aero HIGHLIGHTS
■ How to review aircraft technical ■ How to review structures and
records sheetmetal
■ How to review engines and landing ■ How to prepare and manage a lease
gear records transition

The programme and courses are a blend of practical and learning experiences that demonstrate
how to perform technical redelivery of an aircraft, engines and their associated technical records
at the end of the lease (EOL).

2XUWUDLQLQJSRUWIROLRLQFOXGHV
Technical Lease Training Program (Full Course) Structures & Sheetmetal Course

Technical Records Course Lease Transition Awareness Course

Engines & Landing Gear Records Course Introduction to Aviation Leasing

)OLJKWΖQWHUQDWLRQDOUHDGHUVFDQDSSO\GLVFRXQWFRGH)/Ζ*+7IRUDGLVFRXQW

To find out more or to enquire about our courses and services, please email LQIR#LDOWDDHUR
ZZZLDOWDDHUR

October 2021 Flight International 73

 From yuckspeak to tales of yore, send your offcuts to murdo.morrison@flightglobal.com

Top that
Emirates’ latest TV commercial is not for those lacking
a head for heights. The 30s clip shows a close-up of
an Emirates cabin crew member holding up various
messages on cardboard signs (Love Actually or Bob
Dylan-style, depending on your era) highlighting the
easing of travel restrictions to the UAE.
Fairly unremarkable, until the camera pans out and
the audience sees that she is actually standing on the
needle-like pinnacle of the Burj Khalifa, 828m above
ground – behind her an awe-inspiring or stomach-
churning panoramic view of Dubai’s skyline, depending
on your attitude to altitude.
The press release says the cabin crew member’s
vertigo-defying achievement – filmed without any
special effects – puts her among a select few who have
perched on top of the world’s tallest building, including
Tom Cruise and the Crown Prince of Dubai.
But why no namecheck for the brave Emirates
employee, surely going very much above the call of
duty? The text accompanying a behind-the-scenes
video explains:
Artmark

“A casting call was put out to Emirates’ very own

cabin crew team and while there were some willing and
The licence-built BAC One-Eleven
capable candidates, a professional skydiving instructor
is now a ‘national heritage treasure’
was cast to ensure the highest levels of safety.”

Happy ending
From the US FAA’s preliminary accident notifications
for 4 August: Neither the 15 passengers nor the two
crew members on a Transnorthern Aviation Douglas
DC-3 were injured when the aircraft suffered an
excursion after touchdown in Alaska. And although
it “veered off” the runway “into the mud”, says the
authority, the aircraft escaped with only minor damage.
Emirates

Quite the relief, but you would surely expect nothing

less from, er, Goodnews airport.

From the archive

1921 Pescara’s garden 1946 Job requirements

After numerous trials, and after having rebuilt his
transmission and other details of his helicopter,
M. Pateras Pescara is now reported to be satisfied
with the behaviour of the machine, and to have
succeeded not only in making it rise on several
occasions, but also in lifting at will one end or the
other, in turning, and in descending slowly. No
attempt has yet been made at high flights, nor at
completing a circuit, as the garden in which the
machine is being tried is too small to allow of this.
We understand, however, that the machine is being
dismantled, and will be exhibited at the forthcoming
Paris Aero Show. After the closing of the show it is to
be thoroughly tested in France, at Villacoublay, when
prolonged flights will, presumably, be attempted.
Hundreds of applications are being received every
week by British European Airways from girls in every
walk of life who want to be stewardesses on the
Continental air routes, and many of them are seeking
the job because they want to travel, or to meet
famous people, or just because the job is “different.”
But B.E.A. has made it clear that such jobs are for
serious-minded working girls; glamour girls need not
apply. Applicants must have intelligence, courtesy,
and know at least one foreign language besides
being of good appearance. Most of all, they must
have “the right attitude of mind” towards the job;
they must regard themselves as “true servants of the
public” and be prepared to wear the airline’s uniform,
salute senior officers—and forgo nail-varnish!

74 Flight International October 2021


Ceausescu: the
not-so-great
dictator
Nest of luck
Technicians inspecting an Airbus A320, brought in for
maintenance after sitting at St Athan airport for almost
a year, were surprised to find a pair of kestrel chicks
nesting in the APU exhaust system.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals was alerted to the discovery in the hangar of
MRO specialist Caerdav. Its inspector, Simon Evans, and
engineer Colin Harrison were able to extract the baby
kestrels, who had not eaten for several days.
1971 German getaways
Charter business is booming in Germany. About
60 jets are at present operated by German charter
carriers, mainly to the Mediterranean. The number
of charter passengers carried in 1971 is expected to
be about 35 per cent greater than the 1970 figure.
Aeroflug of Dusseldorf intends to buy two second-
hand BAC One-Elevens and to operate them through
a subsidiary company under the name “Interfly”.
Later the fleet is expected to be expanded to five
jets. At the moment this company is operating
business aircraft from Dusseldorf airport. Central
Air Luftfahrtgesellschaft of Hannover has even more
ambitious plans. Although this company has not yet
been active in the air transport field it wants to buy
five second-hand Boeing 727s and 707s.
Straight & Level
Transport
of a tyrant
You can’t really call yourself a dictator if you
don’t have your own personal jet and, as unlikely
as it seems, former communist Romanian leader
Nicolae Ceausescu’s was a British BAC One-Eleven,
licence-built in the Warsaw Pact state.
His presidential aircraft – manufactured in 1986
under the Rombac programme – came up for
auction in May and, after being purchased by a US
citizen, was donated in July to Romania’s national
aviation museum.
Auction house Artmark says the twinjet (YR-BRE),
parked at Bucharest airport, served as the leader’s
shuttle until 1989. The ministry of culture has
classified it as a mobile national heritage treasure.
One of two on offer, alongside YR-BRI, it was
sold among other lots including a less extravagant
presidential transport – a 1974 Hillman Hunter given
to Ceausescu by the Shah of Iran.
Only nine Rombac One-Elevens were built –
YR-BRI was the last – but they were still more
popular than Ceausescu. After he was arrested
and sentenced to death, hundreds are said to have
volunteered for his firing squad.
The chicks were named Umit and Lucky after the two
men who found them. Lucky is certainly apt. As base
maintenance manager Paul Nash explains:
“Umit and Luciano, known as Lucky, put some
water in a bowl and some pieces of cooked chicken in
another in the hope the chicks would feed. When they
checked 15 minutes later, the food and water was gone.
“We were all relieved to see the chicks removed
without harm. Normally we would operate the APU
before entering the hangar to carry out function
checks – this wasn’t needed, otherwise the chicks
would have met an untimely and scary end.”
1996 Floating coaches
A Dutch transport ministry report says that airships
could be used as an alternative to coaches in
the long-distance holiday market. Researchers
at the local Delft university have come to the
same conclusion. The government ministers and
university researchers both see the airship as a
potential way to solve traffic jams on European
motorways, where it could be an alternative
to long-distance coach services which carry
holidaymakers as far as the Mediterranean. A poll
among Dutch coach-users indicates that there is an
interest in travelling by airships instead of by bus.
The researchers believe that there is a future for an
airship which can carry up to 400 passengers at a
speed of 70kt (130km/h).
October 2021 Flight International 75
 Letters

Going for woke

It is disappointing to see that your
publication has joined the legions
who have been drinking the ‘woke’
Kool-Aid.
By this I mean the fact that you
felt it necessary to comment about,
if not rebut, Peter Parsons’ letter
‘Emissions: impossible?’ (Flight
International, August 2021).
The point Mr Parsons was
making is that of all the CO2 in the
atmosphere, only 3% comes as the
result of human activity.
Commonwealth of Australia

So continuing to focus on
“exciting developments and
innovations”, as you say, will be a
great way to reduce costs, reduce
Many nations joined forces for the noise and emissions – but none of
Kabul airlift at the end of August this will make a jot of difference
to the amount of carbon in the
atmosphere.
Call for a real ‘International Rescue’ Peter Mountfort
The TV puppet show of olden days Thunderbirds was clever, entertaining Auckland, New Zealand
and yet prophetic. The problems of today mean the need for rapid
response to communities and natural environments in distress has never
been greater.
Air power, although rubbished by ‘populists’ and ‘experts’ (no doubt The Hunter’s
sincerely trying to save planet Earth and the lifeforms thereon) is the
only way to win time and save thousands of lives (Flight International,
September 2021).
lasting quality
Modern air forces operate large fleets of very capable airlifters for I recently saw the aircraft of
strategic and tactical delivery, some amazingly effective at both, and yet Hawker Hunter Aviation in action
efficient international teamwork and fundraising is not always there to and must admit to being in awe
use them for humanitarian purposes. of them. Despite being a design
What about an independent, non-political central body – generally that is 70 years old, the Hunter
along the proven and amazingly successful format of the UK’s Royal can still show a clean pair of heels
National Lifeboat Institution – for taking full, publicly and corporately- to many more modern types: its
gifted control for bringing aerial assets and funding together? flight duration being far higher
What a fantastic chance for nations, manufacturers and politicians to than that of a BAE Systems Hawk,
combine their skills and resources, forget self-interest and fly flat-out for for example.
the good of our future and our fragile globe. Vintage jets also have one thing
which the modern types don’t:
David Stevens they are built like a brick privy! This
Woking, Surrey, UK includes the Hunter’s Rolls-Royce
Avon engine.
In the quest for lighter,
cheaper and more fuel-efficient
performance, it seems toughness
has been sacrificed on the
engineering altar.
Years from now, when the last
Lockheed Martin F-35 goes to the
Craig Hoyle/FlightGlobal

breakers, I bet that the distinctive

sound of an Avon will still be heard
in the sky.
Sir Sydney Camm would be
proud!

Hunter: still going strong

Edward Philpott
Neston, South Wirral, UK

We welcome your letters about our coverage, or any other aerospace-related topic. Please email flight.international@flightglobal.com, or write to: The Editor,
Flight International, 1st Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1JB. Letters should be no longer than 350 words in length, and supplied with
the correspondent’s name and location. Letters may also be published on FlightGlobal.com, and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor.

76 Flight International October 2021

 Reader Services
EDITORIAL
1st Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way,
Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1JB, UK
flight.international@flightglobal.com
Editor Craig Hoyle
+44 7795 486691
craig.hoyle@flightglobal.com
Deputy Editor Dominic Perry
+44 20 8912 2164
dominic.perry@flightglobal.com
Head of Strategic Content
Murdo Morrison FRAeS
+44 20 8722 8389
murdo.morrison@flightglobal.com
Consulting Editor David Learmount
+44 7785 901787
david.learmount@ntlworld.com
Contributing Editor Mark Pilling
markpilling55@gmail.com
Magazine Enquiries
flight.international@flightglobal.com
AIR TRANSPORT TEAM
Executive Editor Graham Dunn
graham.dunn@flightglobal.com
Editor – Airline Business Lewis Harper
lewis.harper@flightglobal.com
Air Transport Editor David Kaminski-Morrow
david.kaminski-morrow@flightglobal.com
AMERICAS
Americas Managing Editor
Jon Hemmerdinger
+1 617 397 2809
jon.hemmerdinger@flightglobal.com
Americas Air Transport Editor
Pilar Wolfsteller
+1 510 634 3496
pilar.wolfsteller@flightglobal.com
Aviation Reporter Garrett Reim
+1 571 216 5327 garrett.reim@flightglobal.com
ASIA/PACIFIC
Asia Editor Greg Waldron
+65 9489 4153
greg.waldron@flightglobal.com
Reporter Alfred Chua
+65 9643 4228 alfred.chua@flightglobal.com
FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM
Online Content Manager Amber Elias
+44 7816 991648
amber.elias@flightglobal.com
EDITORIAL PRODUCTION
Group Production Manager Isabel Burton
Art Editor Tim Noonan
Layout Copy Editor Tim Norman
Consulting Technical Artist Tim Hall
DISPLAY ADVERTISEMENT SALES
1st Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way,
Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1JB, UK
EUROPE
Business Development Manager
Victoria Hadden
+44 7818 160613
victoria.hadden@flightglobal.com
Sales Support Gillian Cumming
+44 20 8092 4082
%JGEMQWV(NKIJV+PVGTPCVKQPCNoU+OCIG5VQTG
Browse or customise a gift or memento from our %76#9#;#4%*+8'
78 Flight International October 2021
NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA
Vice-President, North & South America
Rob Hancock +1 703 795 5155
robert.hancock@flightglobal.com
Sales Director, USA & Canada Brett Ryden
+1 630 450 1164 brett.ryden@flightglobal.com
ITALY
Sales Manager Riccardo Laureri
+39 (02) 236 2500 media@laureriassociates.it
Laureri Associates SRL, Via Alessandro Volta,
40, 22100 Como, Italy
ISRAEL
Sales Executive Asa Talbar +972 77 562 1900
Fax: +972 77 562 1903 talbar@talbar.co.il
Talbar Media, 41 HaGiva’a St, PO Box 3184,
Givat Ada 37808, Israel
RUSSIA & CIS
Director Arkady Komarov
Tel/Fax: +7 (495) 987 3800
komarov@worldbusinessmedia.ru
World Business Media, Leningradsky
Prospekt, 80, Korpus G, Office 807, Moscow
125190, Russia
RECRUITMENT
Business Development Manager
Joseph Henrit
+44 7503 644895
joseph.henrit@flightglobal.com
Business Development Manager
Lauren Cooper
+44 20 8092 4085
lauren.cooper@flightglobal.com
CLASSIFIED
Business Development Manager
Victoria Hadden
+44 7818 160613
victoria.hadden@flightglobal.com
ADVERTISEMENT PRODUCTION
Production Manager Sean Behan
+44 20 8092 4078
DATA
Data cited in Flight International is sourced
from Cirium, a data and analytics company
in the wider travel industry.
For Cirium’s data team, contact:
Trevor Mountford
trevor.mountford@cirium.com
PUBLISHING MANAGEMENT
Managing Director Andy Salter
Divisional Director Sophie Wild
+44 7715 364765
sophie.wild@flightglobal.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Flight International Subscriptions,
Abacus, 107-111 Fleet Street,
London, EC4A 2AB
Subscription Enquiries
If you have any subscription queries, please
contact customer service: +44 20 8955 7034
FlightGlobal@abacusemedia.zendesk.com
To purchase a FlightGlobal Premium
subscription, visit FlightGlobal.com/subscribe
of more than 1000 aircraft drawings
YYYƃKIJVINQDCNKOCIGUEQO
Print & Digital Subscription Rates
(best rates are quoted)
1 year: £212.50/€229/$293.25 Save up to 15%
2 years: £450/€484.50/$621 Save up to 10%
3 years: £600/€645.85/$828 Save up to 20%
Digital Subscription Rates
(best rates are quoted)
1 year: £187/€205.78/$263.50 Save up to 15%
2 years: £396/€435.80/$558 Save up to 10%
3 years: £528/€581/$744 Save up to 20%
Only paid subscriptions available.
Cheques payable to Flight International
Flight International is one of FlightGlobal’s
(publishing, events and FlightJobs) products
and services.
FlightGlobal uses data and analytics sourced
from Cirium. www.cirium.com
Flight International welcomes unsolicited
contributions from readers but cannot
guarantee to return photographs safely.
© and Database Rights 2021 DVV Media
International Ltd. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission in writing of the publishers.
Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper
Published by DVV Media International Ltd,
1st Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way,
Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1JB, UK.
Newstrade distributed by Marketforce (UK),
2nd Floor, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf,
London, E14 5HU, UK. Tel: +44 20 3787 9001
Classified advertising prepress by CCM.
Printed in Great Britain by William Gibbons
and Sons
Flight International published monthly 12 issues
a year.
This periodical is sold subject to the following
conditions: namely that it is not, without the
written consent of the publishers first given,
lent, re-sold, hired out or in any unauthorised
cover by way of trade, or affixed to, or as
part of, any publication of advertising, literary
or pictorial matter whatsoever. No part of
the content may be stored electronically, or
reproduced or transmitted in any form without
the written permission of the Publisher.
ISSN 0015-3710 (Print)
ISSN 2059-3864 (Online)
 Having been the first female cadet pilot for
Singaporean low-cost carrier Scoot, Nicole Chee
is blazing a trail in the right-hand seat of a 787 and
hoping to inspire others to realise their potential

Spotting an
opportunity
Greg Waldron Singapore of the Dreamliner is its performance, given its typical
cruising altitude is 41,000-43,000ft.
“What you enjoy as the pilot is how clean and

S
coot first officer Nicole Chee always had efficient she is,” says Chee. “We can climb higher and
a passion for aviation, but it was only the fly faster… because of how the 787 is made, with the
disappearance of a single word from a job composites and wing. Therefore, we are not involved
advertisement that opened the path to the in a lot of the traffic jams that you find up there.”
right-hand seat of a Boeing 787.
Chee fondly recalls childhood outings to Singa- Breathtaking views
pore’s Changi beach, which lies squarely on the Across the Scoot network, Chee’s favourite arrival
approach for the airport’s two parallel runways. She destination is Australia’s Gold Coast airport, given the
soon discovered that she was an avid plane spotter. challenges involved in the non-precision approach to
“Every weekend, I was looking at aircraft coming in runway 32. This requires flying over the coast, fol-
and out,” she says. lowed by a sharp turn to line up with the runway.
Yet, the path to becoming a pilot took many turns. “The view is really breathtaking,” says Chee. “Once
As a teenager she considered joining her school’s you are visual with the runway, you see the runway
youth flying club, but schedule clashes prevented with the backdrop of a coastline just beyond that.”
this. After graduating from university, she worked
in marketing for a while, before joining Singapore
Airlines (SIA) as a flight attendant.
After five years as cabin crew, Chee took up an
office job at SIA, amid a general hiring freeze for new
cadets. Then, in 2015, the freeze was lifted, and Chee
spotted something unusual about a job advertise-
ment for pilots from Scoot, SIA’s low-cost unit.

Hiring surprise
“I saw that they had removed the one very key word,
and they were no longer looking [only] for male can-
didates. Before that, [airlines] had always said ‘we are
looking for male candidates’, but in 2015, when they
started hiring after the freeze, they removed that one
small word – ‘male’. I applied and never looked back.”
Not only was Chee the only woman in her cohort of
25 cadets, but she was also Scoot’s first female cadet
pilot. Her training involved considerable time study-
ing in Singapore, as well as flight training in Western
Australia. Finally, after two challenging years, Chee
Nicole Chee/Scoot

realised her ambition of becoming an airline pilot

aboard the 787. Chee was the first woman on
Chee has warm words for the Boeing type. She Scoot’s pilot training programme
likes the spacious cockpit, but her favourite aspect

82 Flight International October 2021

 Women in aviation

Chee enjoys the Dreamliner’s spacious

Another favourite is Japan’s Osaka Kansai, also
cockpit – and its smooth performance
characterised by its over-water approaches, and
Honolulu, Hawaii.
Chee could not have anticipated that three years
into her career as a pilot the industry would confront
its greatest crisis, in the form of the Covid-19 pandem-
ic. When the virus first emerged in Wuhan in early
2020, Scoot was immediately affected, given that the
Chinese city is part of the carrier’s 787 network.
Chee has been fortunate to keep flying during
the pandemic period. She also states that although
the crisis has been hard on pilots and the aviation
industry, it should in no way discourage aspiring
candidates. She points out that aviation is but one of
several industries that have been deeply affected by
Covid-19, but that it remains essential.
“If you have the passion to be a pilot, there
shouldn’t be anything stopping you – things will
improve and things are actually recovering. Pilots fill
a very necessary role for transportation.”

Vital service
She notes that Scoot is using some of its 787s for
cargo flights, delivering essential goods, and points
out the key role that aviation is playing in the distri-
bution of Covid-19 vaccines.
Chee also has perspectives on getting more girls
interested in flying. When she was young, she recalls
Nicole Chee/Scoot

that the media drove the impression that being a pi-

lot was strictly for men. Newspapers, magazines and
television programmes invariably portrayed pilots as
male. While consumption has changed with the rise
of social media, Chee feels it is important to provide
visibility of women working in the cockpit.
“One thing I’ve always “When you talk about reaching out to the girls who
are now in primary and secondary school and the
believed from the start younger generation, it’s just about letting them know
it’s possible, showing them that there are women
is that the aircraft doesn’t pilots, and it’s a possibility.”
Chee adds that an aircraft, being a machine,
know whether you are is entirely indifferent to whether a man or a woman
is at the controls.
male or female. It will do “One thing I’ve always believed from the start is
that the aircraft doesn’t know whether you are male
whatever you tell it to do” or female. It will do whatever you tell it to do.” Z

Access all areas

Subscribe to FlightGlobal Premium
Get unrestricted access to all FlightGlobal content, including Subscribe now at
the latest from Flight International and Airline Business, plus more. FlightGlobal.com/subscribe

October 2021 Flight International 83