Industry Updates - IAPBA - International Association of Private & Business Aviation

Virgin Galactic unveils the first of its next-generation spaceship series.

a future virgin galactic supersonic aircraft

On March 30, 20201 Virgin Galactic unveiled its latest spacecraft addition to its fleet, named ‘VSS Imagine’.

The spacecraft represents the first of its next-generation SpaceShip III class of vehicles.

The rollout of VSS Imagine gives the space tourism company a second spacecraft to begin testing, as Virgin Galactic continues to work through final development testing of VSS Unity, with its next spaceflight test expected in May.

Interviewed by CNBC, Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier told viewers: “For us to make the business start to scale, at the places that we’re aspiring towards, we need two things: We need many more ships than we have right now and we also need the ships that we bring forward to be built in a way that they’re able to be maintained in a way that we can have much quicker [turnaround times between flights] than what we have with Unity,” .

VSS Imagine is the third spacecraft the company has built,.

The VSS Enterprise was destroyed in a fatal test flight accident in 2014, while the VSS Unity has flown two spaceflights, most recently in February 2019.

Virgins’ Colglazier emphasized that VSS Imagine “has been designed in a way that’s taken the learning we’ve had from all the flight testing on Unity.”

“That allows us to access things in the right way — we know what things need to be tackled on a routine basis, so that we can give people easy access,” Colglazier said.

SpaceShip III Generation

Colglazier said the VSS Imagine is the first of the company’s SpaceShip III generation.

It adds that it is already it is already working on the next spacecraft, which has been named ‘VSS Inspire’.

The biggest improvement between the SpaceShip II and SpaceShip III classes is that SpaceShip III has been designed with a more “modular” approach than the previous generation, improving turnaround time, both in terms of manufacturing each spacecraft and the amount of maintenance needed between each flight.

Where as VSS Unity “was basically built in place,” which is “a slower process.”

Modular build

Virgin Galactic President Mike Moses defined the “modular” advances of VSS Imagine as breaking production down into sections: “The fuselage, cabin, the wing body, the flat plane form of the wings, and then the tail booms – all were built separately.”

The company has yet to identify how many SpaceShip III vehicles it plans to build, but Coglazier said more spacecraft will be needed to fulfill the company’s demand backlog.

Virgin Galactic also plans to reopen ticket sales fully after flight test with founder Sir Richard Branson, expected this summer.

Whilst SpaceShip III features a variety of improvements, Virgin say it is still “a fairly handcrafted piece,” and manufacturing does not yet have production level tooling.

Delta Class

Virgin Galactic has created a new internal program called the Delta class, which the company is designing with the goal of being able to “build spaceships in parallel.”

While the Delta class will functionally be the same as the SpaceShip III vehicles, Virgin say the Deltas are where they scale on the manufacturing front.

Additionally, Virgin Galactic is evaluating possible partners to effectively accelerate its program.

Virgin Galactic believes it is likely Virgin Galactic could “find some great partnerships” among aerospace companies to build the next carrier aircraft, as opposed to the company building its own dedicated assembly factory.

two aircraft in the virgin galactic factory

The government opens up aerospace innovation

Virgin Galactic went public through a special purpose acquisition company in 2019.

Virgin Galactic believes that the U.S. government has opened up markets for space, making a pathway for commercial businesses to come in and bring a degree of innovation that probably didn’t exist before.

Moreover, we are now seeing technology coming to where innovation and entrepreneurial focus is able to find more and more opportunities.

These factors are combining with a good capital market environment to create a growth industry here that didn’t exist just a few years ago.

Space is back in the consumer mind.

European proposed rule making for regulating drones

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has proposed rule making to regulate the operation of small drones in Europe. The rule making regarding the regulation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) with a maximum take-off mass (MTOM) of less than 150kg. The proposed rule would require a system that ensures drones do not enter a prohibited zone; particularly addressing pilot qualifications and requiring pilots to register before they operate drones heavier than nine ounces. The proposal provides alleviations for people flying model aircraft. At the end of this year, the EASA will submit a final recommendation to the European Commission.

The specific objectives of the proposal related to UAS, as defined in the IA, are:

— to ensure an operation-centric, proportionate, risk and performance based regulatory framework;
— to ensure a high and uniform level of safety for UAS;
— to foster the development of the UAS market; and
— to contribute to enhancing privacy, data protection, and security

Comments are due by August 12 this year.

Further information: EASA framework for the operation of drones

Part 23 rules mark a new dawn for general aviation

After years in the making the FAA have released its rewrite of the Part 23 regulations governing small aircraft, making them more performance based and less prescriptive.

The new rules for Part 23 make a lot of sense and have drawn universal praise by the private and business aviation industry.

The rule takes effect in eight months, has been worked up between the FAA and EASA, and moves the away from its history of establishing detailed prescriptive standards for new products moving to a performance-based approach.

This new certification ruling establishes performance objectives for new products and gives the manufacturer flexibility on how it meets those objectives.

The thinking behind the new rules is that the FAA no longer want to tell manufacturers how to build things. The FAA and indeed EASA know they are not in the engineering business of design and manufacture, and instead of requiring certain technologies or designs, they are defining the performance objectives they want to be achieved.

The rule applies to aircraft that weigh less than 19,000 pounds and with 19 or fewer seats. It opens the door for the use of standards established by an international ASTM committee. More than 300 people representing aviation authorities from seven countries, manufacturers, design specialists and a range of other interested parties are part of the ASTM committee. In the past three years alone, that committee has agreed upon 21 standards and is ready to review its next set of technologies.

Link: FAA small aircraft

Medical Certification for Certain Private Pilots

Pilots who meet eligibility requirements and qualify for an FAA medical exemption are limited to fly small airplanes under limited conditions without having to meet FAA medical certification requirements under this new rule.

The ruling applies to small turbine or non-turbine aircaft with no more than six seats, a maximum airspeed of 250 kias and a maximum altitude of 18,000 ft msl. The flight may be flown IFR or VFR but may not be for hire or compensation.

This final rule will allow airmen to exercise pilot in command privileges in certain aircraft without holding a current medical certificate. and is intended to ensure that pilots who complete a medical education course, meet certain medical requirements, and comply with aircraft and operating restrictions are allowed to act as pilot in command for most part 91 operations.

Effective: 1 May 2017

FAA rewrite of Part 23 for small airplanes

The FAA has amended its airworthiness standards for normal, utility, acrobatic, and commuter category airplanes by replacing current prescriptive design requirements with performance-based airworthiness standards. The FAA’s rewrite of Part 23 small airplane certification rule also replace the current weight and propulsion divisions in small airplane regulations with performance- and risk-based divisions for airplanes with a maximum seating capacity of 19 passengers or less and a maximum takeoff weight of 19,000 pounds or less.

The new rules amend Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 23 enact additional airworthiness standards to address certification for flight in icing conditions, enhanced stall characteristics, and minimum control speeds for multiengine airplanes. Additionally, revised rules will apply to Part 91, 121 and 135 operations to correspond with the new airworthiness standards.

Effective: 30 August 2017.

EASA Wind Shear

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) say there should be no changes to current regulations on wind shear warning equipment and pilot training.

EASA ave concluded “that no regulatory action is needed to require wind shear equipment on European-registered aircraft, with present requirements “expected to maintain the current level of safety”.

In the Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) from EASA issued in response to an ICAO safety recommendation that all turbine airplanes in excess of 12,500 pounds mtow or authorized to carry more than nine passengers be equipped with a wind shear warning system.

The objective of this NPA is to mitigate the risks linked to the effect of wind shear during a take-off from, approach to and landing at an airport.

Comments on the NPA are due Feb. 15, 2017.

Enhanced flight vision systems

Enhanced flight vision systems (EFVS) have been approved by the FAA to fly certain IFR (instrument flight rule) approaches to landing in lieu of “natural vision” from the previously allowed elevation of 100 feet above the touchdown.

Prior to this final rule, persons could only use an Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) in lieu of natural vision to descend below the decision altitude to 100 feet

The new rule goes into effect March 21, 2017.

European 8.33-kHz Deadline

Starting Jan. 1, 2018, aircraft will need communications systems that have 8.33-kHz voice-channel spacing capability otherwise they might not be able to operate in any EU member states’ controlled airspace. Eurocontrol says extending 8.33 kHz below FL195 down to ground level is important, and that the 8.33-kHz requirement for higher altitudes in controlled airspace has been in effect for some time. Should the shortage of com frequencies not be addressed there will be potential for more air traffic delays; and it will be harder to implement safety improvements, according to Eurocontrol.

See document

ICAO tracking of international flights

The International Civil Aviation Organization Council tracking for certain international flights that requires crews to report their aircraft’s position at least every 15 minutes will become effective in March 2016 and applicable Nov. 8, 2018. The requirement will be formalized as Amendment 39 to Annex 6–Operation of Aircraft, Part I. See link

This new standard is the outcome of recommendations following the review of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 while en-route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China, on March 8, 2014.

Australian ADS-B Equipment Mandate

New rules from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia contain a number of equipment mandates that culminate on Feb. 2, 2017. After that date IFR-rated pilots and aircraft must comply with ADS-B equipment and operational requirements to fly in Australia. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia is implementing new regulations and aircraft equipment mandates to align the nation’s operations with global standards set by ICAO.

See mandate