New Cessna twin turboprop unveiled for cargo and commuter operations

The SkyCourier is a clean-sheet design and is expected to enter service in 2020. It will come in both cargo and commuter options. In its passenger format it will be able to carry 19 passengers.

“With our depth of expertise and proven success in new product development, we were eager to work directly with a world-class company like FedEx Express to jointly develop the Cessna SkyCourier,” said Scott Ernest, president and CEO of Textron Aviation. “The aircraft will fulfill a gap in this market segment with its superior performance and low operating costs in combination with the cabin flexibility, payload capability and efficiency only a clean-sheet design can offer.”
The cargo variant will feature a large cargo door and a flat floor cabin that is sized to handle up to three LD3 shipping containers with an impressive 6,000 pounds of maximum payload capability. The aircraft will also afford a maximum cruise speed of up to 200 ktas and a 900 nautical-mile maximum range.
The 19-passenger variant will include crew and passenger doors for smooth boarding, as well as large cabin windows for great natural light and views. Both configurations will offer single-point pressure refueling to enable faster turnarounds.
When Textron brought Beechcraft and Cessna together, there were drawings of a new twin turboprop from Beechcraft but Textron marketeers argue that the Cessna Caravan platform set the standard in the single-engine utility category for decades say the SkyCourier will build on that proven success in the large-utility category, offering even greater capability and mission flexibility.
Computer graphics from Textron show just how much larger the new SkyCourier is, compared to the Caravan. With its 54’10” length (16.71m) it is almost a metre longer than the Viking Twin Otter 400 with which it will compete
It will be powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC engines providing 1,100 SHP each. It also features McCauley 4-blade Blackmac propellers.

With a 5.000lb payload it will have a 400nm mile “perfect for feeder operations” FedEx said.Textron Aviation and FedEx leadership at today's signing ceremony (from left to right: David L. Cunningham, president and CEO, FedEx Express; David J. Bronczek, president and COO, FedEx Corp.; Scott Donnelly, chairman, president and CEO, Textron Inc.; Scott Ernest, president and CEO, Textron Aviation)

Airbus Foundation and Air Mauritius team up for goodwill flight

The Airbus Foundation and the Air Mauritius Foundation have operated a humanitarian flight comprising 3.5 tonnes of medical equipment on board the airline's latest A350-900 aircraft.

The cargo, which consisted of medical equipment including examination tables, wheelchairs, mattresses and medical beds, will help Mauritian NGOs that provide health care services to the community. Equipment will also be flown to Madagascar in order to ease the tense health care situation in the country.  

The aircraft took off from Toulouse on 25 November flying the goods to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, the home base of Air Mauritius. This is a joint humanitarian initiative facilitated by Aviation sans Frontières, the Airbus Foundation and the Air Mauritius Foundation.  

 

“It is a great honour for us and our Air Mauritius Foundation to be working shoulder to shoulder with the Airbus Foundation and Aviation Sans Frontières to make this humanitarian flight a reality,” said Somas Appavou, Chief Executive Officer of Air Mauritius. “The Air Mauritius Foundation was launched to strengthen our company’s social engagement. Every year, we help thousands of Mauritians in the fields of health, education, sports and culture. This mission is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the power of cooperation in aviation to bring much needed relief to people in the region.” 

 

“I am proud to see that yet another brand new customer aircraft is being delivered with humanitarian goods on board,” said Fabrice Brégier, President Airbus Commercial Aircraft and a Member of the Airbus Foundation’s Board of Directors. “I wish to thank Air Mauritius and all partners involved for their truly tremendous and tireless efforts to conduct this mission.”

 

Air Mauritius has also received its second Airbus A350-900 in Toulouse on November 25, 2017. It has made its first commercial flight from Paris CDG to Mauritius.

 

Bombardier cements Q400 deal with South Africa's Cem Air

At an event in Johannesburg last night, Bombardier confirmed this orderfollowed a letter of intent signed at the Paris Airshow, earlier this year and is valued at $66million at list price.

"CemAir has enjoyed significant growth in the last few years and this has come from our focused approach on selecting the right aircraft for our operation", said Miles van der Molen, the airline’s CEO. "The Q400 is a fantastic performer especially in our environment of high altitudes and hot operating temperatures. It is really an unbeatable turboprop that brings so many jet-like features to ensure a competitive and operational advantage in our market. We see the Q400 as the ideal growth solution for our scheduled and charter operations as we continue to strengthen our relationship with Bombardier. We are working to expand our scheduled operations beyond South Africa and continuing to support new opportunities across the continent."

With these Q400 aircraft, CemAir sees an increase its current fleet of Bombardier aircraft to 17 - including five Q Series turboprops and 12 CRJ Series aircraft. CemAir recently added a used CRJ900 aircraft to its fleet, the first in South Africa.

The company has operating and leasing experience throughout Africa and the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Kenya, Mali, Gabon, Ghana, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Sudan, Zambia, as well as South Africa.

Speaking at the event, Bombardier’s Jean-Paul Boutibou, vice president, sales, Middle-East and Africa said: "The Q400 is the next natural step in the growth of CemAir's fleet as it brings more flexibility to increase the capacity on key routes. The Q400 will open several market opportunities to CemAir on domestic and future regional routes." 

Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens to develop hybrid-electric aircraft power

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens have formed a partnership which aims at developing a near-term flight demonstrator which will be a significant step forward in hybrid-electric propulsion for commercial aircraft.

The three companies together announced the groundbreaking collaboration, bringing together some of the world’s foremost experts in electrical and propulsion technologies, at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London. 
 
The E-Fan X hybrid-electric technology demonstrator is anticipated to fly in 2020 following a comprehensive ground test campaign, provisionally on a BAe 146 flying testbed, with one of the aircraft’s four gas turbine engines replaced by a two megawatt electric motor. Provisions will be made to replace a second gas turbine with an electric motor once system maturity has been proven.
 
“The E-Fan X is an important next step in our goal of making electric flight a reality in the foreseeable future. The lessons we learned from a long history of electric flight demonstrators, starting with the Cri-Cri, including the e-Genius, E-Star, and culminating most recently with the E-Fan 1.2, as well as the fruits of the E-Aircraft Systems House collaboration with Siemens, will pave the way to a hybrid single-aisle commercial aircraft that is safe, efficient, and cost-effective,” said Paul Eremenko, Airbus’ Chief Technology Officer. “We see hybrid-electric propulsion as a compelling technology for the future of aviation.”
 
The E-Fan X demonstrator will explore the challenges of high-power propulsion systems, such as thermal effects, electric thrust management, altitude and dynamic effects on electric systems and electromagnetic compatibility issues. The objective is to push and mature the technology, performance, safety and reliability enabling quick progress on the hybrid electric technology. The programme also aims at establishing the requirements for future certification of electrically powered aircraft while training a new generation of designers and engineers to bring hybrid-electric commercial aircraft one step closer to reality.
 
As part of the E-Fan X programme, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens will each contribute with their extensive experience and know-how in their respective fields of expertise:
 
-       Airbus will be responsible for overall integration as well as the control architecture of the hybrid-electric propulsion system and batteries, and its integration with flight controls.
-       Rolls-Royce will be responsible for the turbo-shaft engine, two megawatt generator, and power electronics. Along with Airbus, Rolls-Royce will also work on the fan adaptation to the existing nacelle and the Siemens electric motor.
-       Siemens will deliver the two megawatt electric motors and their power electronic control unit, as well as the inverter, DC/DC converter, and power distribution system. This comes on top of the E-Aircraft Systems House collaboration between Airbus and Siemens, launched in 2016, which aims at development and maturation of various electric propulsion system components and their terrestrial demonstraion across various power classes.
 
Paul Stein, Rolls-Royce, Chief Technology Officer, said: “The E-Fan X enables us to build on our wealth of electrical expertise to revolutionise flight and welcome in the third generation of aviation. This is an exciting time for us as this technological advancement will result in Rolls-Royce creating the world’s most powerful flying generator.
 
“Siemens has been driving innovation in core technology fields at full speed,” said Roland Busch, Chief Technology Officer of Siemens. “In April 2016 we opened a new chapter in electric-mobility with the collaboration with Airbus. Building up electric propulsion for aircraft, we are creating new perspectives for our company and also for our customers and society. With the E-Fan X partnership, we now take the next step to demonstrate the technology in the air.”
 
Among the top challenges for today’s aviation sector is to move towards a means of transport with improved environmental performance, that is more efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels. The partners are committed to meeting the EU technical environmental goals of the European Commission’s Flightpath 2050 Vision for Aviation (reduction of CO2 by 60%, reduction of NOx by 90% and noise reduction by 75%). These cannot be achieved with the technologies existing today. Therefore, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens are investing in and focusing research work in different technology areas including electrification. Electric and hybrid-electric propulsion are seen today as among the most promising technologies for addressing these challenges.

Airlander returns to the skies

All objectives of the planned flight were accomplished and the aircraft is now safely back at its masting site. The Airlander was taken off its mooring mast at 17:20 last night and took off at 17:28. It flew for a total of 180 minutes before landing at 20:15 and was secured safely on the mast at 20:20. 

“It was truly amazing to be back in the air. I loved every minute of the flight and the Airlander itself handled superbly. I am eager to get back into the cockpit and take her flying again,” said chief test pilot, Dave Burns.

Also on board was experimental test Pilot, Simon Davies.

This marks the return to the skies of the world’s largest aircraft, the Airlander 10, and draws a line under the heavy landing it experienced last August.  

The Airlander has now flown three times in addition to a successful flight as HAV-304 during the US Army’s Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle program in 2012.  There were considerable modifications since it was the HAV-304 and the Hybrid Air Vehicles team have made a number of additional modifications since last August, the main ones visible today being a new more powerful and more manoeuvrable Mobile Mooring Mast (MMM), and the additional “landing feet” of the Auxiliary Landing System (ALS).

Lufthansa Technik sign contract with Mango Airlines

Lufthansa Technik AG and Mango Airlines from South Africa have signed an exclusive contract for the maintenance of CFM56-7B engines, which power the airline's fleet of ten Boeing 737NG aircraft.

Within the framework of the agreement, Lufthansa Technik will provide overhaulservices for the engines at its German locations until 2022.

Mango Airlines' parent company, South African Airways, has been receiving exclusive support from Lufthansa Technik for the CFM56-7B engines of its Boeing 737NG fleet for more than 15 years already.

This new agreement now comprises at least 19 overhaul events over the next five years, with billing on a power-by-the-hour basis.

"We are very pleased to expand our footprint in South Africa by adding Mango Airlines to our customers," said Robert Gaag, Vice President Corporate Sales Europe, Middle East & Africa at Lufthansa Technik. "Lufthansa Technik has a long lasting presence in thisregion and this agreement is a further proof that our services can betailor-made to the different needs of this market."

The newly signed contract with Mango Airlines means that Lufthansa Technik is adding another South African customer to its base and now has long-term maintenance contracts with all major airlines in the country. Besides South African Airways (SAA) and SAA-Technical, its customers also include the airlines Comair and Safair.

Cargolux increases market presence in Africa

Cargolux Airlines has introduced two new destinations in Africa, Douala in Cameroon and Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The first Cargolux cargo plane to Lubumbashi will take off on 15 September, while Douala will be served from 3 October.

Flights to Lubumbashi leaving Luxembourg every Friday night and come in the DRC on Saturday morning at 05:25 at. The return flight via Johannesburg, Nairobi and Stansted in the UK. Arrival in Luxembourg on Sunday at 13:25 (both local time).

The Douala flights lift every Wednesday at 16:15 of Luxembourg and passed over Bamako. You arrive at 01:55 in Cameroon on Thursday. The return flight lands on Friday at 10.55 am in Luxembourg.

Lubumbashi is, after the capital Kinshasa, the second largest city of the DRC and acts as a hub for the mining industry of the country. The city is an important commercial and industrial center known for the production of textiles, food and beverages as well as copper processing. It is also home to one of the largest banks in the country. In Lubumbashi estimated that more than 3 percent of the world's copper and cobalt half its inventory is produced.

Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the home to the largest port in Central Africa. The town is economically and commercially seen the capital of the country, because that's where most of the country's exports are handled, including oil, cocoa, coffee, fruit, metal and wood. The European countries are the main export and import partner for Cameroon, followed by Asia.

Cargolux looks promising growth potential in the region. With its own feeder services, the company is also capable of fast and efficient connections to Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital and the second largest city to offer. To Cargolux imports are high-tech products, agricultural products and machinery, while especially perishable goods such as fruit and vegetables for European consumers, are exported.

Douala and Lubumbashi be added to the existing 33 destinations Cargolux on the African continent. This extensive network has a long history and Cargolux enjoys the continued loyalty and support of carriers and shippers in this market. The carrier is a proven expert in a number of different shipments of perishable goods such as fruit and flowers to heavy equipment for the oil and gas industry on the continent.

"Africa has been and will always be an important market for Cargolux, and we are pleased to be supporting the trade routes of the continent to Europe, the US and Asia as well as the global Cargolux network," said Jonathan Clark, Regional Director Africa at Cargolux.