Source: Bell Helicopter Textron Source: Bell Helicopter Textron Close

"Bell is at the forefront of on-demand mobility - ushering a new era of flight where the benefits of aviation are accessible to more people in more places," said Scott Drennan, Bell's director of Innovation, while speaking at the Transportation Conference. "This announcement is another proof point of our commitment to providing transportation of people and logistics in new, innovative and more efficient ways; our work with Safran is a historical milestone for future transport solutions."

For several years, Safran innovation teams have been actively exploring the potential of hybrid solutions for future propulsion systems. Bell and Safran's shared vision for electric and hybrid electric aircraft is to strive for the successful deployment of Bell Air Taxis and new on demand mobility systems in the future.

"Thanks to the long and sustained technology-development strategy conducted within Safran, we can now offer Bell our hybrid electric power solutions for their next generation products that result in improved performance giving more value to our customers," said Stéphane Cueille, Safran senior executive vice president, R&T and Innovation.

In this collaboration, Bell will lead the design, development and production of VTOL systems, and Safran will bring its technical expertise to bear in the development of a disruptive propulsion system.

Source: Airbus Source: Airbus Close

The aircraft is the first of 20 A350-1000s ordered by Cathay Pacific and will join the carrier’s growing fleet of A350 XWB aircraft, which already includes 22 A350-900s. With its long-range capability, the A350-1000 will form an important part of Cathay Pacific long-haul operations. The aircraft will be deployed on the airline’s new non-stop route from Hong-Kong to Washington DC, representing the longest flight - approximately 17 hours - performed by any airline out of Hong Kong.

Paul Loo, Cathay Pacific Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, said, "We already have one of the youngest long-haul fleets in the sky, and with the arrival of the A350-1000, our fleet is only going to get younger. The aircraft follows the successful entry of the A350-900 variant which has enabled us to expand our long-haul network at a near unprecedented rate."

The A350-1000 is the latest member of Airbus’ leading widebody family, showing high level of commonality with the A350-900 with 95 percent common systems part numbers and a Same Type Rating. It has a longer fuselage to accommodate 40 percent more premium seating compared to the A350-900. The A350-1000 also features a modified wing trailing-edge, new six-wheel main landing gears and more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines.

To date 11 customers from five continents have ordered a total of 168 A350-1000s.

Source: RUAG Group Source: RUAG Group Close

The Swiss Air Force has more than 20 of these helicopters, which are still listed under their former name "EC635". Each of these helicopters is provided with two Pratt & Whitney PW206 turboshafts. In the coming years, all of the engines of the Swiss Air Force’s EC635 are to be maintained by RUAG Aviation in Stans.

As the Swiss Air Force’s industry partner and independent center of excellence, RUAG Aviation is tasked with the maintenance of the Swiss EC635 fleet. "It is part of our core mission to ensure the readiness of the EC635. Making sure that our military and civil customers benefit from maximum availability and the shortest possible downtime of their aircraft is our top priority," says Heinz Scholl, Senior Vice President Military Aviation, RUAG Aviation. The ability to maintain and test the engines in-house greatly contributes to reaching this goal, Heinz Scholl continues: "We no longer depend on outside service providers and are therefore able to substantially reduce the lead time required for the maintenance of the helicopters and to increase the availability of the Swiss EC635 fleet."

In Stans, RUAG Aviation has a modern engine maintenance shop that is organized according to lean manufacturing principles and that maintains the F-5 and F/A-18 jet engines, Safran’s Makila engines of the Swiss Super Puma transport helicopters as well as the Honeywell TPE331 turboprop engines. The third engine type is used in various aircraft including the Dornier 228, which is built by RUAG. "By extending our range of services to cover other engine types, we strengthen the site’s competitive position sustainably," explains Volker Wallrodt, Vice President Business Jets, Dornier 228 & Components.

Experts from Pratt & Whitney, the engine’s manufacturer, provided the RUAG Aviation employees with an intensive 3-week training to prepare them for the PW206 maintenance work. In the past, the EC635’s engine had to be sent to Germany or Spain if major maintenance work had to be carried out. Now, all maintenance and servicing tasks applicable to the PW206 engine can be accomplished by RUAG Aviation in Stans.

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