On the third of this new four-part podcast series, we discuss the operational impact of the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus global pandemic on business aviation.
On the third of this new four-part podcast series, we discuss some solutions that can help operators work through the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus global pandemic.
Guests on this episode include the following:
- Nicole Noack, head of the Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance (IAMA)
- Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO, ZeroAvia
- Harvey Meharry, Chief Pilot, Flight Department Manager, Southern Multifoods Inc.
At 2:04, Noack describes how the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has impacted aircraft modifications and how her organization is helping airlines update paperwork associated with maintaining the airworthiness of their airplanes while they’re grounded. IAMA has established a virtual think tank to keep its aircraft modification companies connected to airlines remotely.
At 22:22, Miftakhov provides some perspective on how the COVID-19 travel restrictions have impacted its ability to research and develop a hydrogen-powered electric powertrain as an alternative to both conventional aircraft engines and battery-based electric motors. And what you’ll learn from this discussion is how the coronavirus has impacted companies that are developing innovative future facing technologies, as well as how the use of the technology ZeroAvia is developing could potentially lower the cost of operating an aircraft in the future.
At 38:09, Meharry provides the perspective of a Hawker Beechcraft 400A pilot and corporate flight department manager whose operations have been grounded by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and how he and other pilots are still flying and maintaining their currency under the new social distancing and work-from-home policies implemented in Texas, where Southern Multifoods Inc. operates from.
Have suggestions or topics we should focus on in the next episode as part of this new series? Email the host, Woodrow Bellamy at [email protected], or drop him a line on Twitter @WbellamyIIIAC.
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