The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) invited Massey’s deputy chief flight instructor, Paul Kearney, to give a guest speech at the National Chief Flying Instructors’ Conference in Canberra last month.

Mr Kearney said Massey’s School of Aviation, which celebrates its 25^th anniversary next year, took the initiative to develop what is known as threat and error management (TEM) into its training programme at the same time as it purchased a new fleet of Diamond aircraft two years ago.

He said the principles of TEM were embedded in a number of existing procedures in the school and, working alongside the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute, the process was formalised. This predated the legislative requirement for TEM that took effect in New Zealand last year.

“While most commercial aircraft utilise two-pilot operations, we had to develop this process and apply it to a single-pilot model,” Mr Kearney said.

The School published standard operating procedures for all flight operations, which introduced scenario-based training for every flight lesson, and developed a model for “before start” and “top of descent” checklists.

As a result of his research, the school’s chief flight examiner, Dr Ritchie de Montalk, also developed a crew concept that identified the need to teach “soft” skills such as teamwork, leadership and customer awareness during flight training because of the importance of these things to the role of modern airline pilots.

At Massey, students fly in pairs like airline crews during all training flights, and share jobs such as checking weather, planning flights, ordering fuel and doing pre-flight checks on the aircraft.

Traditionally, when instructors teach someone to fly, the instructor goes through each individual procedure or skill in turn. For example, if an instructor were teaching a student how to land, the instructor would demonstrate the process and the student would then attempt to emulate it. “We take a scenario-based approach from day one,” Mr Kearney says. “For example, an exercise might be designed as if a pilot were taking friends to a rugby match in New Plymouth. This would test his or her time management and fuel skills. During the flight, the scenario might change to represent the weather closing in, which would force a return to Palmerston North using the instruments. This is the type of threat and error management we are including.”

Mr Kearney, who is also the school’s quality assurance manager, says scenario-based training is seldom used in the Asia-Pacific region and, as a result, the delegates at the conference—including aeroplane and helicopter chief flying instructors, chief pilots and chief ground instructors—were very interested in Massey’s approach.

Mr Kearney said the project had been an exciting challenge with encouraging results. He said he had had several people approach him after his presentation to comment about how much they had enjoyed it. More importantly, they had asked lots of questions about the scenario-based training being done and TEM at Massey.

On 10 November 2011, the Robinson Helicopter company reached a historic milestone in delivering its 10,000^th helicopter—an R44 (S/N 13217). The company held a celebration at its Torrance, California, factory in honour of the occasion. In addition to the company employees, representatives from the city, the FAA and many of Robinson’s vendors attended.

Frank Robinson, the company’s founder, spoke briefly to the assembled audience about the company’s humble beginnings. The company was founded in 1973 and delivered its first helicopter in 1979. Today, Robinson Helicopter manufactures more civilian helicopters than any other helicopter manufacturer in the world.

Frank Robinson thanked the city of Torrance for its unwavering support in the early years, which, he said, convinced him to keep the company in Torrance. He went on to describe leaner times and made a special point of the fact that “unlike other helicopter manufacturers, Robinson has never received a dime of government money or relied on government contracts.”

Kurt Robinson, Frank Robinson’s son and now the company’s president, also spoke. He thanked employees for making “what we believe are the highest quality helicopters in the world.” He highlighted the fact that, according to statistics provided by the Aerospace Industries Association, since the early 80s, Robinson has produced more civil helicopters than all other US manufacturers combined. The company’s current production rate is ten helicopters a week and Robinson predicts that its total aircraft production for 2011 will more than double its last year’s production.

The keys to the 10,000^th helicopter were presented to Robinson’s Brazilian dealer, Audi Helicopters. Audi has been a Robinson dealer for 25 years and is one of two Robinson dealers in Brazil. Foreign orders have consistently represented more than 50% of Robinson Helicopters’ total sales.

Late last month, the RNZAF’s Chief of Air Force, Air Vice-Marshal Peter Stockwell, commissioned a new flight simulator complex at Ohakea.

“The A109 simulator and accompanying Virtual Interactive Procedure Trainer (VIPT) are critical components of the newly introduced integrated training system for future New Zealand Defence Force helicopter aircrew,” said Air Vice-Marshal Stockwell.

As a part of that training system, the simulator will provide the RNZAF with a cost-effective means of training its A109 aircrew, and those destined to fly the NH90 and SH2G helicopters. The Air Force says the simulator will provide significant financial savings, as its operating cost is approximately 10% of that of the A109 helicopter.

The simulator cost €9.3 million and has an expected service life of at least 30 years. According to the Air Force, it will provide approximately 1,400 hours of training a year but it has the capacity to provide more than twice this, if required. “At the planned rate, the simulator will effectively pay for itself in less than five years,” said Air Vice-Marshal Stockwell.

One of the primary functions of the recently introduced A109LUH helicopters is as a training platform for New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) NH90 and SH2G aircrews.

AgustaWestland, the company which produces the A109 helicopters, also provided the Virtual Interactive Procedure Trainer and the Flight Simulator.

“The simulator is an excellent training platform as it allows high risk exercises (such as engine and other equipment failures) to be conducted safely. It also allows flying training in bad weather and poor visibility conditions as we can simulate the external environment to suit our training requirements,” Air Vice-Marshal Stockwell said.

“Both training devices will be housed at Ohakea and used for training NZDF helicopter pilots and crewmen. Approximately 50% of all A109 helicopter training will be conducted in the simulator, making significant training efficiencies and cost savings.”

Virtual Interactive Procedures Trainer (VIPT)

The VIPT is a PC-based system that replicates the A109LUH cockpit using touch screens and allows training in the use of individual systems—for example, the autopilot—and of integrated systems, such as how the autopilot affects navigation and flight displays.  The VIPT is capable of simulating all aspects of instrument flight using the aircraft’s automatic flight control system.

Flight Simulator

This is a full reproduction of the A109LUH cockpit within a cabin containing a semi-spherical screen and a visual system comprising seven projectors. The visual system displays an external view of the synthetic world onto a 220^o x 60^o screen.  The simulator includes a six-axis electro-pneumatic motion system, a seat vibration system and a sound system that models aircraft and environmental sounds. The simulator is capable of simulating flight by day and night, and is night vision goggle compatible. The control station allows the instructor to set and change weather and sea conditions, change the time of day, reposition the aircraft instantly, insert fixed or moving models (such as aircraft, vehicles or ships), and inject a wide range of malfunctions and emergencies.

Last month, Air New Zealand announced it had ordered seven new-generation ATR 72-600 aircraft with purchase options for a further five, worth a total of US$270 million at current list prices.

Air New Zealand’s CEO, Rob Fyfe, said the announcement of the deal, which is subject to contract signing, would boost air service connections to regional New Zealand significantly.

Air New Zealand’s subsidiary airline, Mount Cook Airline, currently operates 11 ATR 72-500 aircraft (see Pacific Wings’ August issue for a feature article on Mt Cook Airline and the ATR 72).

Mr Fyfe pointed out that the order “potentially doubles the size of Air New Zealand’s ATR fleet” and he said it would add as many as an additional two million seats into the New Zealand regional market annually. “For our customers, that will mean a big increase in the number of business timed seats and seriously cheap ‘grabaseat’ fares we have on regional routes every day,” he said.

Mr Fyfe said the ATR 72 had been a core part of the airline’s regional operations since 1999 and had proved to be both popular with customers and cost-effective to operate.

“We now need to expand our fleet—not only to add frequencies on existing routes but also to step up from smaller aircraft types. We know the ATR product well and, after careful consideration of several options, we believe it is the most cost-effective, environmentally conscious and customer-friendly aircraft available in its market segment,” Mr Fyfe said.

Air New Zealand will receive the first of the 68-seat ATR 72-600 aircraft in October 2012 followed by a second in December that year, two in 2013 and another each year for three years. The five purchase options are available for delivery between 2014 and 2016.

This latest order for ATR aircraft follows Air New Zealand’s investment in 23 Bombardier Q300 aircraft during the past six years (worth more than NZ$450 million at list prices) and the purchase from lease of the majority of its existing ATR 72-500 fleet during the past eighteen months.

Mr Fyfe said that at a time when other businesses have demonstrated little appetite for significant investment in assets—particularly where revenue is derived from regional New Zealand—Air New Zealand has not wavered in its belief in the long-term strength of the domestic economy.

“Thanks to the purchase of larger aircraft and the lowering of fares, we have seen regional passenger numbers increase by an average 5.6% annually since 2003, resulting in our regional airlines carrying 54% more passengers to 4.3 million in the year ended September,” said Mr Fyfe.

“This significant capital investment also signals that we will be upping our promotion of key regional centres at home and overseas, as we will need to encourage even more people to fill those two million more seats coming on stream over the next few years.”

ATR promotes its new-generation ATR 72-600 as the most efficient aircraft in its class. It features a new cabin layout with larger overhead bins, improved seating and advanced cockpit technology, including Required Navigation Performance (RNP) technology.

The introduction of RNP will further enhance Air New Zealand’s ability to maintain services during inclement weather to and from destinations like Queenstown, Rotorua and Wellington.

Bruce Parton, Air New Zealand’s Australasia Airline Group General Manager, said the current ATR 72-500—which sits alongside Air New Zealand’s Q300s and Beech 1900Ds—has been a core part of the airline’s regional operations since 1999 and has been popular with customers, serving 14 different domestic routes.

He said the new ATR 72-600 aircraft would give Air New Zealand the means to “up-gauge Q300-operated routes” that he said would require more capacity in the coming years. In turn, this will release Q300 aircraft to up-gauge some routes currently flown by Beech 1900Ds and would also enable Air New Zealand to look at new start-up routes. “So there is benefit in bringing in the larger turbo-props and cascading growth down throughout our regional operation,” he said.

It is likely that some routes currently serviced by the smaller Q300, such as Nelson–Auckland and New Plymouth–Auckland, would see the larger ATR 72 being used.

Mr Parton said it was likely that the new fleet would be Auckland-based, which would provide the airline with “an excellent spread of regional aircraft including bases in Christchurch, Nelson and Hamilton.” He added that this would give the airline a “solid platform for regional growth, particularly into and out of Auckland.”

ATR’s CEO, Mr Filippo Bagnato, said he was very pleased ATR was able to help Air New Zealand grow its fleet further, noting that the airline was the largest operator of ATR regional aircraft in the Pacific market.

“It is always exciting to secure a new customer for our aircraft. But it is an even greater endorsement of ATR when a major, world-class airline that has been a long-term ATR customer returns to place new orders.

“It is the ideal aircraft for Air New Zealand’s next phase of domestic growth and has a great reputation as the greenest turboprop airliner of its size in the market today.”

Heliflite Pty Ltd, the Australasian distributor for AgustaWestland helicopters, has announced that the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust has signed a contract for two new AW169 helicopters, which will be delivered in 2015. The aircraft will be used to perform a wide range of emergency medical service and search and rescue (SAR) missions in New Zealand.

The contract marks the entrance of the AW169 into the Australasian helicopter market and Heliflite says it represents another success for the all-new helicopter. A significant number of firm orders have already been logged worldwide for a range of commercial and public service applications, many of them for rescue duties. AgustaWestland says the AW169 programme—which was unveiled at the Farnborough International Air Show in July 2010—is progressing as planned, with the first flight of the new aircraft scheduled in 2012.

The AW169 is a new generation twin-engine light intermediate category helicopter, which AgustaWestland says has been designed in response to the growing market demand for an aircraft that delivers high performance, meets all the latest safety standards and has multi-role capabilities.

The 4.5-tonne AW169 incorporates several new technology features in the rotor system, engines, avionics, transmission, and electric power generation and distribution systems. AgustaWestland is promoting the AW169 as “the most advanced and cost-effective helicopter in its class for EMS, SAR, law enforcement, passenger and offshore transport and utility missions.”

Heliflite Pty Ltd is the Australasian agent for AgustaWestland helicopters and has been the exclusive AgustaWestland distributor since 1997. Heliflite has sales and support bases in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Auckland.

Air New Zealand has re-signed as a major sponsor of the New Zealand Rugby Union for another four years, extending its long-term support for the All Blacks until 2015.

The re-signing continues a 16-year relationship between Air New Zealand and the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and maintains the airline’s status as official sponsor of the All Blacks.

To celebrate this successful partnership, Air New Zealand has announced it will be making more of its aircraft fleet “all black”.

A new A320 aircraft—due for delivery about now—will be the second of the airline’s A320s to wear the “Crazy About Rugby” black livery. In addition, the company’s regional airline, Eagle Air, will be painting three of its existing fleet of Beech 1900D turbo-props black early next year.

However, the biggest all black paint job is being saved for Air New Zealand’s fifth and final Boeing 777-300ER aircraft that will be delivered to the airline in January next year. This is the longest aircraft in Air New Zealand’s fleet and it is believed it will be the largest ever commercial aircraft to sport an all black livery.

Air New Zealand’s chief executive officer, Rob Fyfe, says the airline’s partnership with the NZRU is its single largest sponsorship commitment.

At the time Air New Zealand announced its continuing sponsorship, there were two days to go until the Rugby World Cup final. Rob Fyfe said, “Not only are we backing black all the way this weekend, we’re committed to helping ensure the All Blacks are well placed to do it again in 2015.”

Steve Tew, the NZRU’s chief executive, welcomed the extended partnership with Air New Zealand.

“New Zealand Rugby, the All Blacks and our national carrier share a distinctly Kiwi identity and pride, as well as sharing a drive for excellence and determination to be the best. We’re excited to be on board with Air New Zealand for the next four years,” he said.

As part of the deal, the Air New Zealand logo will continue to take pride of place on the All Blacks training jersey and the airline will also be the lead partner on the All Blacks end-of-year tour. The deal also includes support for the ITM cup and the New Zealand Sevens teams.

At the end of last month, Cessna announced the launch of a new light business jet— the Citation M2—intended to “fill the gap” between its Citation Mustang and its Citation CJ family.

The Citation M2 features Garmin G3000 avionics, engines similar to those found in the Citation CJ series and a new cabin design. The aircraft has an aluminium airframe with a T-tail and a straight wing that includes LED lights. Cessna is exhibiting a cabin mock-up of the Citation M2 at its exhibit in the Las Vegas Convention Centre during the 64^th NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention, October 10–12.

With a price of US $4.195 million, the Citation M2 can carry two crew and up to six passengers. It will have a maximum cruise speed of 400 knots and a range of 1,300 nautical miles (2,408 kilometres). The aircraft will be able to operate at airports with runways as short as 3,250 feet (991 metres) and Cessna says it will be able to climb to 41,000 feet (12,497 metres) in 24 minutes.

According to Cessna, “operator feedback and owner insight” indicated a market for a Citation with the size, speed and range of the Citation M2. Scott Ernest, Cessna’s president and CEO, said Cessna expects the M2 to attract new customers to the Citation family, Mustang owners looking for a logical next step, or CJ1+ operators looking for “a new, more advanced Citation.”

The Citation M2 will be powered by a pair of FADEC-controlled Williams International FJ44-1AP-21 turbofan engines, each producing 1,965 pounds of thrust. This new version of Williams’ FJ44 engine incorporates improvements gleaned from more than six million hours of operation of the 4,000 FJ44 engines in service. The FJ44-1AP-21 produces 10–15% more altitude thrust (depending on conditions) and consumes less fuel at long-range cruise than the previous version. Importantly, the engine also provides significantly higher performance in hot and high conditions and an increase in the time between overhaul (TBO) from 3,500 to 4,000 hours.

Central to the Citation M2’s cockpit design is the fully integrated Garmin G3000 avionics suite that integrates numerous system components to simplify operation and enhance situational awareness for pilots during flight and when taxiing. The G3000 system centres on three 14.1-inch LCD primary and multifunction displays (PFD and MFD) and two infrared touch-screen control panels. The touch-screen controllers react to changes in an infrared grid rather than traditional surface resistance sensors for better response under a variety of conditions. The controllers allow multi-function display page navigation as well as audio and FMS control. The MFD and PFD provide split-screen capability so that two separate vertical pages may be viewed side-by-side. Pilots may view maps, charts, terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), flight planning or weather simultaneously.

The Citation M2 will feature, as standard, features that have proved popular as options in other Citation models. Among the standard features of the M2’s avionics system are weather radar, TCAS I, TAWS and ADS-B Out.

The main passenger cabin of the Citation M2, from the cockpit divider aft through the rear lavatory, is 58 inches wide (1.47 metres) and 11 feet (3.3 metres) long with a 5-inch dropped aisle providing a cabin height of 57 inches (1.45 metres), and features eight large windows.

The first flight of the new Citation M2 will be in the first half of 2012, with FAA certification (Part 23) expected in the first half of 2013, followed by deliveries beginning in the second half of 2013.

On 26 September, the day after completion of its contractual delivery, Boeing delivered its first 787 Dreamliner today to the launch customer for the type, the Japanese airline ANA. The delivery ceremony took place adjacent to the factory where the aeroplane was assembled. In front of thousands of onlookers, more than 500 Boeing employees representing the 787 programme walked alongside the new aircraft to present it to ANA executives.

Jim McNerney, Boeing’s chairman, president and CEO, said, “Today we celebrate a significant moment in the history of flight. The 787 Dreamliner is the biggest innovation in commercial aviation since the Boeing 707 introduced the world to passenger jet travel more than 50 years ago.” Mr McNerney thanked ANA and all the employees of Boeing and its partner companies for “the talent, technology and teamwork that have brought this game-changing airplane to life.”

During the ceremony, Jim Albaugh, the president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, presented a ceremonial key to Shinichiro Ito, the president and CEO of ANA.

“It’s not often that we have the chance to make history, [and] do something big and bold that will change the world in untold ways and endure long after we are gone,” said Albaugh. “That’s what the 787 Dreamliner is, and what ANA and Boeing have done together—build what truly is the first new airplane of the 21st century.”

Pat Shanahan, the vice president and general manager of Programmes for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said, “I have no doubt that 30 or 40 years from now, another outstanding Boeing team will be celebrating a new version of the 787 Dreamliner. They will struggle to find the words to express their deep respect and admiration for the hard work you have done in getting us to this day and laying the foundation for a strong future for Boeing and for our industry.”

Meanwhile, the vice president and general manager of the 787 programme, Scott Francher, said he had be been inspired by the passion, commitment and dedication of those who had made the 787 Dreamliner a reality.

ZuluLog.com, which describes itself as “a leading provider of Web-based aviation record keeping services and software”, announced last month that it had released a new Android application for pilots.

While the ZuluLog Android app is designed to work with customer accounts at ZuluLog.com, it can be used as a standalone pilot logbook. Users can enter, edit and view flights from anywhere, with or without a data connection, from any compatible Android device. Once back online, syncing with the online logbook at ZuluLog.com is done through a single click.

The Android app also includes features such as tracking of PIC currency, instrument currency and NVG currency. Customers are also able to create custom fields for flight entry through their ZuluLog.com accounts, and have the fields available in the app.

Also included is a “Flight Counters” screen that can track takeoffs, landings, approaches and holds in real time, as well as total flight time, simulated instrument time and actual instrument time. These totals can be transferred to the Flight Entry screen with a single click. ZuluLog.com says makes it an invaluable tool for student pilots, CFIs and instrument-rated pilots.

Customers can also use the app’s dedicated screens to track notes, squawks, nav/comm frequencies, transponder codes and IFR clearances. The app also includes reference information useful to pilots, such a light gun signal chart, VFR visibility requirements, IFR alternate airport requirements, Morse code and more.

Other features include a set of pilot tools such as red and white flashlights and a magnetic compass with a heading bug, and also a night mode setting to help preserve night vision adaptation in low-light operational conditions.

Kelly J. Bonner, the vice president of customer relations for ZuluLog.com, says that the company’s customers “love the security and flexibility of keeping their flight records online at ZuluLog.com, but they also want to be able to log and view flight details and currency information when they’re in remote locations, away from an active Internet connection. Our new Android app gives them the best of both worlds.”

She said that during the past 12 months, the company had seen “an explosion of demand for mobile apps by customers who take their smartphones and tablets with them when they fly.” She said this new app was the company’s response to this demand and she described it as “the most useful and functional pilot logbook app on the market today.”

The ZuluLog Android app is currently free for all users, although future releases are expected to be made available only to active ZuluLog.com customers. The company is also developing dedicated apps for iPhone and iPad, which are due for release by late 2011.

More information is available on the company’s website at https://www.zululog.com

By establishing a new facility at Massey University, Airways New Zealand was able to secure the Saudi students’ return to New Zealand to complete their training.

Airways’ Group Manager Training, Sharon Cooke, said that the fact Airways had been able to secure the students’ return to New Zealand was “testament to the value of our relationship-building efforts in the Middle East, but it was also helped because we were able to secure space in the heart of an education facility that has a reputation for excellence in aviation.”

At the time of the major earthquake, the Saudi students were just six months into a two-year air traffic control diploma course and, according to Airways, their departure threatened the viability of Airways’ international training business and “came as a significant blow to the many Airways staff who had worked tirelessly to secure the contract and to ensure the wellbeing of the students in Christchurch.”

Airways had been hoping for a successful conclusion to the multi-million dollar Saudi contract, in order to extend its reach into key Middle East and Asian markets. Ms Cooke said that the return of the students after the earthquake, and the revival of the contract took many weeks of negotiations with the students, their families and Saudi government representatives to convince everyone concerned that Airways could provide for the students’ security and wellbeing outside Christchurch, as well as delivering them a world-class education.

The current batch of 28 students completed their first year of English language training at Kaplan International College in Auckland after the Christchurch campus became unavailable. At the same time, Airways undertook refurbishment of its “permanent” ATC training site at Massey University’s Palmerston North campus. The next contingent of Saudi students arriving in New Zealand in October will also undertake their English language training at Kaplan in Auckland during their first year before relocating to Palmerston North for their ATC training.

Ms Cooke says that eventually, Airways expects to reinstate its training facility for international students in Christchurch. “It’s a purpose- built facility that delivers air traffic controller training right in the heart of our radar centre, simulators and main business campus.”

However, she said there were key advantages for Airways in establishing links with a university. “Massey University School of Aviation, in particular, offers the opportunity for us to pursue an academic partnership based around the concept of an aviation centre for excellence,” she said.  “This is the sort of model we’re looking at internationally and already, we’ve been approached by CAPA Aeropark in India to bid for the ATC training contract in what will be the world’s first dedicated aviation university.”