Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

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ST Engineering, Airbus, and their Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) joint venture&nbsp;achieved new milestones for their A321 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion with the first post-conversion flight test for the prototype A321P2F and new orders.

 


The first flight test for the prototype, scheduled for redelivery to launch customer Vallair, took place on January 22 after undergoing conversion at ST Engineering’s facility in Singapore. ST Engineering expects to receive a supplemental type certificate (STC) from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) by the end of this year’s first quarter.

 


“After our A321P2F unit receives certification and starts operating, we expect our program to gain greater traction, joining our pool of Airbus P2F platforms to provide the global air cargo market with cost and fuel-efficient freighter options,” said Lim Serh Ghee, president of ST Engineering’s aerospace sector.

 


Under the terms of the joint venture contract signed in 2015, ST Engineering assumed responsibility for the engineering development phase, up to obtaining the STC from EASA and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Airbus contributes to the program with OEM data and certification support, onboard computer&nbsp;development, airframe engineering, flight physics, and flight-testing expertise, while EFW serves as the STC holder, leads the overall program, and does marketing and sales.

 


In other significant milestones, the program gained traction among operators and lessors with a letter of intent between Keystone Holdings—an ST Engineering aircraft leasing joint venture—and Qantas for the conversion and leasing of an A321P2F. The aircraft, slated for conversion at ST Engineering’s facility in Singapore and delivery at the end 2021, now operates under lease in passenger duty for Qantas.

 


Meanwhile, two new orders from BBAM, a global aircraft lease management firm, mark another milestone for the A321P2F program. Following an LOI announced on June 20, 2019, BBAM signed an agreement in December for several A321P2F conversions. The first A321P2F unit for BBAM arrived for conversion at ST Engineering’s facility&nbsp;last month, and conversion of the second unit will start in March.&nbsp;

 


ST Engineering is showcasing its P2F solutions together with other aerospace capabilities at the aviation cluster of the ST Engineering Pavilion (G01).

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