PRESS RELEASES

In an effort to spearhead sustainable business practices in the aviation sector, Fireblade Aviation, a leading private aviation company, has carved a noteworthy path by becoming the first aviation company to join The Long Run. The Long Run stands as a global membership community uniting nature-based tourism entities dedicated to propelling holistic sustainability.

Charlotte Winnan, General Office Manager at Fireblade Aviation, elucidates: “Every member of The Long Run is dedicated to preserving a thriving and productive planet for generations to come. We are embracing The Long Run’s guiding principles, epitomised by the 4C framework: Conservation, Community, Culture, and Commerce.”

“As a member of The Long Run, we are relentlessly pursuing recognition under the aegis of Global Ecosphere Retreats (GER)®. This rigorous standard, accredited by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, is bestowed only upon organisations that showcase an all-encompassing embodiment of the 4Cs, encompassing nature preservation and community enhancement,” asserts Winnan. She underscores that the GER® standard serves as an ongoing transformative tool, tailored to each entity’s unique context.

The 4Cs framework signifies a commitment to Conservation, safeguarding biodiversity; Community, prioritising fundamental human rights; Culture, which reveres diversity; and Commerce, the bedrock of progressive development. In an effort to actualise these principles, Fireblade Aviation has embraced the Weeva digital platform, specifically tailored for tourism businesses to streamline sustainability management. Winnan explains: “Weeva empowers us to tangibly measure and monitor our strides toward sustainability. Its structure revolves around the 4C framework, instilling a science-based and data-driven approach.”

Weeva, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, equips tourism establishments with a comprehensive toolset to quantitatively assess and enhance their performance across 18 distinct sustainability domains – prerequisites for building resilient and sustainable businesses. This platform was designed to democratise sustainability, bridging science and accessibility in the tourism realm.

She adds that the worldwide shift toward aviation sustainability and the embrace of Environmental, Social, and Governance -ESG – criteria are gaining global traction among stakeholders, investors, and regulators. “The aviation industry’s stride towards sustainability is of paramount significance,” she adds.

Winnan underscores the pertinence of these transformations, particularly in the African context, where smaller airports predominate. Highlighting the proactive stance of numerous airports in committing to the Airport Carbon Accreditation initiative of the ACI (Airport Council International), she underscores Fireblade Aviation’s aspiration to take a pioneering role in this determined drive for sustainability – not just for their enterprise and sector but also for the enduring well-being of the planet.

ENDS

About Fireblade Aviation:

The Leading Edge of private aviation – Fireblade Aviation provides world-class aviation services. With Fireblade Aviation, travelling, flying, operating, and owning an aircraft has never been easier. Based at OR Tambo International Airport, we offer a complete private aviation travel experience with a personal touch and remain the FBO that pilots prefer.  Our wide range of amenities and flight services include on-site customs and immigration, private lounges and meeting rooms, dedicated pilot facilities, corporate and leisure charters, FBO, MRO and AOC services, and aircraft management services. For more information, visit: https://www.firebladeaviation.com

Fireblade Aviation hosted a successful Girls in Aviation Day (GIAD) event today in partnership with the Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO), a division of international consulting engineers, Royal HaskoningDHV, with the aim of promoting aviation as a viable and exciting profession for young female students.

Aviation offers a vibrant landscape of interesting careers, from becoming an engineer, aircraft maintenance technician, pilot, dispatcher, and air traffic controller to pursuing roles as airport designers and numerous other professions within the aviation realm.

These outreach events are meticulously crafted to ignite inspiration in the upcoming generation of women in aviation, explained Renee Smith, an Airport Designer at NACO and an alumnus of McAuley House School. “Our vision is for young girls to be able to engage with positive role models and consider aviation as they navigate decisions regarding university and career paths.” NACO has spearheaded a training programme, which has a clear and specific purpose – to inspire and introduce young females to the vast array of career possibilities within the aviation industry.

In sharing the organisation’s vision for GIAD, Sharlenee Naidoo, Marketing  Manager at Fireblade Aviation, emphasized the central focus on inspiring and upskilling the next generation of aviation industry professionals while actively fostering diversity within the sector. “Aviation has historically been male-dominated, and it’s high time for a change. Establishing a more inclusive and diverse workforce is not only the right thing to do, but it’s also a key differentiator for any successful business. Embracing a diversity of ideas and people leads to innovative and improved solutions.”

Thilisha Moodley, a passionate Aeronautical Engineering student at the University of Witwatersrand, emphasized the tremendous significance of this initiative, expressing: “I cannot stress enough how crucial such an event is. When I began my journey in university, I realized the importance of having exposure and a clear understanding of aeronautical engineering – which I was initially not privy to. This event provides the perfect platform to inspire and guide young girls, fostering their interest in this field and empowering their future pursuits.”

Marcel Langeslag, Aviation Africa Director at NACO, also stressed the significance of young minds in driving innovation for the future of aviation: “Sustainability in aviation will rely heavily on the ingenuity and creativity of the next generation. Young minds will play a pivotal role in developing cutting-edge solutions, pushing the boundaries of aviation technology, and shaping a more sustainable and environmentally-conscious industry.”

Naidoo concurred and added that the commitment to innovation presents a tremendous platform for aspiring aviation professionals, irrespective of gender, to contribute their unique perspectives and ideas in making aviation a key player in building a greener future.

Meanwhile, both Smith and Naidoo highlighted that to open the door to numerous new career opportunities for girls and youth in general in the aviation industry, collaboration remained critical, mentioning the partnership between the two organisations. Gates of Olympus APK

“Supporting an awareness campaign like the GIAD not only showcases the possibilities to young girls but also sends a powerful message to the entire aviation industry, urging a shift towards greater inclusivity,” Smith added.

Naidoo concluded: “As the aviation industry strives for progress and inclusivity, Fireblade Aviation is dedicated to playing a leading role in empowering girls to pursue their dreams and aspirations in aviation in collaboration with key industry partners such as NACO. The second GIAD event hosted at Fireblade Aviation was a transformative event, inspiring a new, future generation of talented and diverse professionals to take flight in the world of aviation.”

Spaces where air transportation vehicles can be kept, such as aircraft and helicopter hangars, are places where the risk of fire is always at a high level. Automatic fire extinguishing systems must be installed in such aircraft and helicopter hangars due to both the financial value of the aircraft in these spaces and the high risk of fire due to the possible presence of jet fuel. The choice of automatic fire extinguishing systems type of aircraft hangars is decided according to many inputs and designs can be made accordingly. Today, although there are applications such as traditional water extinguishing systems and water mist extinguishing systems for the protection of hangars, the most frequently applied system is foam type extinguishing systems due to its ability to control and extinguish the fire and system effectiveness. In addition, these systems appear as the type of extinguishing systems with the most detailed standard created in this regard; This is a reason why systems are the most applied to structures of this type.

There are a number of standards that can be used as a basis for aircraft and helicopter hangar suppression systems. Some of these are European standards and some are American standards. The most detailed standard created on the subject is NFPA 409: Standard on Aircraft Hangars. Along with this standard, the “NFPA 11 Standard For Low-Medium-And High-Expansion Foam” standards to which the standard refers should also be taken into account while designing.

The NFPA 409 standard has grouped aircraft hangars into 4 classes according to their characteristics. This classification is Group I Hangars, Group II Hangars, Group III Hangars and Group IV Hangars, respectively, starting from the most dangerous group.

Group I Hangars refer to hangars with a hangar door height above 8.5 meters or with a single fire area above 3716 m² or with a capacity to accommodate aircraft with a tail height of more than 8.5 meters.

Group II Hangars refer to hangars with hangar door height less than 8.5 meters and whose construction type has the table specified in NFPA 409.

Group III Hangars; It refers to hangars whose hangar door height is below 8.5 meters and whose construction type does not exceed the values in the relevant table specified in NFPA 409.

Group IV Hangars, on the other hand, refer to membrane-enclosed hangars with steel construction.

The first input data to be used while designing are the properties of the hangars. In this direction, it is necessary to determine which type of hangars are and to carry out the design in this direction. NFPA 409 has determined different types of extinguishing types and design data according to hangar groups. Since the most dangerous hangar type is Group I Hangar, the highest level of protection parameters have been determined for this type of hangar. Although it varies according to hangar groups, systems such as high expansion type foam extinguishing systems, low expansion type foam extinguishing systems, closed head water extinguishing systems, manual systems can be designed alone or in combination with each other. It is defined in NFPA 409 which systems can be at a sufficient level of protection alone or which systems should be designed in combination with each other.

Another system that is at least as important as these systems, together with its design with extinguishing systems, is fire detection systems. The correct installation of detection systems that will enable the activation of the relevant raid and auxiliary extinguishing systems is also of vital importance for these hangars. In detector selection; Attention should be paid to the importance of early detection, the absence of erroneous and false perception. Some of the most frequently used detection detectors in aircraft and helicopter hangars are; flame detectors, air sampling detection systems and CCTV type detection systems detectors.

Automatic activation, a control station that will enable manual activation of related systems and be easy to access should be installed at the relevant point or points.

In addition to all these, for aircraft and helicopter hangars; In order to maximize the effectiveness of the extinguishing and detection capability of the applied system and to maximize the system performance, it is one of the most essential requirements to work with companies that are experts in their fields and to design the system by adheri