Rolls-Royce successfully completes ground testing of world’s fastest all-electric plane

Rolls-Royce ACCEL plane

Rolls-Royce’s aerospace division has announced the completion of ground testing for the U.K.-government-backed ACCEL program – ACCEL being short for ‘Accelerating the Electrification of Flight – for its 500hp electric powertrain ‘ionBird’. The engine will be used early next year in an attempt to break world speed records in its ‘Spirit of Innovation’ plane which will be equipped with a battery that has sufficient energy to power 250 homes. When operating at full speed the plane will be able to fly at speeds up to 300mph while the propellor rotates at 2,400 rpm. Rob Watson, Director – Rolls-Royce Electrical, said: Read more

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EASA enters strategic cooperation with Germany’s BSI on cyber security

©EASA and BSI sign contract to enhance cyber security

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) agreed to work together to enhance cyber security in international aviation, tackling the threats to flight safety posed by the increased digitization of aircraft and inter-connectivity of aviation systems.  EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky and President of the BSI Arne Schönbohm signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to this effect at the BSI offices in Bonn.  In the agreement, the BSI and EASA agree to exchange relevant information on security incidents and threats and to cooperate on managing cyber attacks and information security incidents within their Read more

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Spirit AeroSystems reinvigorates its commitment to aftermarket presence in Asia

©Spirit AeroSystems enhances MRO services and rotable support in Asia through new MRO agreements with EGAT and EVA Air

Spirit AeroSystems has expanded its aftermarket footprint in Asia through a multi-year partnership with Evergreen Aviation Technologies (EGAT) and a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) customer agreement with EVA Air for Boeing 777 GE90 nacelles. EGAT, an aircraft MRO facility based in Taiwan, is highly-proficient in airframe component and composite repairs. The agreements position Spirit for growth and significantly reduce MRO costs for passenger and freight carriers in the region by keeping repairs local. Through these relationships, the company will provide maintenance services on the products it manufactures – with core capabilities on the Boeing 777 GE90/Trent800 nacelle and Boeing 737 CFM56-7B thrust reverser, and on flight Read more

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Israel Aerospace Industries expands tactical UAV activity, acquires 50% of BlueBird Aero Systems

Contract signing between Nimrod Sheffer, IAI CEO & President (l) and Ronen Nadir, CEO of BlueBird Aero Systems (r) ©IAI

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed an agreement to acquire 50% of the equity of BlueBird Aero Systems. Bluebird, a leading UAS developer and integrator in the small tactical arena, has been providing its solutions to Israeli forces and worldwide customers for close to two decades. As part of the transaction, IAI is acquiring the holdings of Piramal Technologies SA from India, as well as additional shares from Fiberless Access and Ronen Nadir. Ronen Nadir will continue to hold 50% of BlueBird shares and continue to serve as the company’s CEO. In recent years, both IAI and BlueBird have focused Read more

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Embraer appoints Marcel Santiago to lead Contracts and Asset Management team

Marcelo Santiago has been appointed to lead the Contracts and Asset Management team of Embraer’s commercial aviation business unit per October 1. In this critical role, he will report directly to Arjan Meijer, President and CEO Embraer Commercial Aviation. Having joined Embraer on the E-Jet program in 2001, Santiago has, for the last seven years, been Managing Director Customer Finance and Credit Risk Management, overseeing the needs of all Embraer business units. His expertise covers structured and aviation finance, sales, leasing, debt financing, capital markets, risk management, credit analysis, securitization, export and trade finance.

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SITA helps Lufthansa Group deliver contactless, mobile way to report and track delayed baggage

Lufthansa Group now offers contactless, mobile baggage tracking ©SITA

Lufthansa Group has launched a completely contactless way for passengers to report delayed baggage from their mobile device, avoiding long queues at busy baggage service counters or offices. SITA’s initial trials of WorldTracer® Self Service showed that the service has already proved to be popular with travelers, with two-thirds opting to use this service instead of visiting a baggage counter.   In addition to meeting new COVID-19 hygiene requirements, WorldTracer Self Service saves airlines on average US$10 for every mishandled bag reported by eliminating the need for additional infrastructure to manage the reporting of delayed bags. The latest figures from Read more

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Airbus struggling to avoid compulsory layoffs as pandemic continues

©Airbus

Talking on French radio station RTL, Guillaume Faury, CEO of Europe’s Airbus, the world’s largest commercial plane manufacturer, confirmed that the company cannot guarantee there will be no compulsory redundancies as it struggles to deal with the fallout from a continuation of the global pandemic. As many airlines are only operating at a fraction of normal capacity, Airbus has been hard hit by the number of deliveries that have been delayed at the request of numerous carriers. Currently, Airbus is looking at trimming its global workforce by 15,000 members of staff. “The crisis is existential. Our life as a business Read more

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Austrian Airlines resumes flights to Shanghai

Austrian Airlines ©AirTeamImages

Austrian Airlines will fly to Shanghai again from October 2. After several postponements of the resumption due to the dynamic market situation, the return to China is now fixed. A Boeing 767 will fly from Vienna to Shanghai every Friday. The return flight will take place the following Sunday. Further connections to China are a conceivable option for Austrian Airlines. “We are very pleased to be able to return to China with regular passenger flights”, says Austrian Airlines board member Andreas Otto. “A second weekly flight to Shanghai is on our wish list.” The long-haul portfolio of Austrian Airlines is Read more

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Army Chinook takes flight with GE Aviation T408 engine

The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center achieved its first flight of a Chinook with GE Aviation’s T408 engines, a milestone that could expand the capabilities of future Chinook heavy-lift missions. This first flight is the culmination of a five-year effort under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between AvMC, Boeing and GE Aviation to evaluate the feasibility and benefits of higher-power engines while assessing and reducing the technical risks of integrating advanced engines in a Chinook aircraft. This flight demonstration, which consisted of hover and pedal turn testing to assess multiple critical aircraft parameters supported Read more

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Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen and CASC agree on component support

©Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen

China Aviation Supplies (CASC) and Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen have signed a long-term Total Component Maintenance contract in Beijing. The contract extends a comprehensive component maintenance and material support concept by more than 40 Airbus A320 aircraft operated by Qingdao Airlines. CASC, a long-standing partner of Lufthansa Technik, will provide Qingdao with component management; Lufthansa Technik will provide Total Component Maintenance (TCM). TCM includes comprehensive closed-loop component repair and overhaul service for selected parts or the entire aircraft – with the cost benefits of a per-flight-hour payment. Especially during the current COVID crisis, this component support concept ensures that the fleets Read more

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