NASA officials and engineers are prepping to fly the agency’s F/A-18 research aircraft over Galveston, Texas, using a “quiet thump” technique designed to reduce loud sonic booms typically associated with supersonic flight. This week’s test flight sets off a series of quiet supersonic research flights off the coast of Texas to test ways to measure supersonic aircraft sound levels and the community’s response to the supersonic acoustic experience.
The search for ever-lower emission technology for future generations of aircraft engines is actively progressing on both sides of the Atlantic. Tucked away on a modest-size stand at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow was a highly varied collection of unconventional engine technology displays – a clear indication of radical innovation already being investigated as a part of Ultimate, the European Horizon 2020 research and innovation project.
Aerospace professionals will gather at the SAE 2018 Aerospace Standards Summit to focus on “Humans on the Loop — The Role of Humans in Automated Systems” Oct. 2-3, 2018 in Tysons Corner, Va. This year’s event will focus on how automated systems and artificial intelligence will impact the role of humans in aerospace systems.
The Boston-based start-up successfully completed test flights of the SX-1.2—a subscale, subsonic, unmanned demonstrator for its S-512 Quest Supersonic Jet. Competition from Aerion, HyperMach, and Boom points to supersonic commercial flight arriving earlier than thought.
Pratt & Whitney was awarded the contract modification by the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center for the Adaptive Engine Transition Program. Through AETP, Pratt & Whitney was tasked with designing, fabricating, integrating, and testing complete, flight-weight adaptive engines – the contract modification allocates funding for “risk reduction” activities related to adaptive engine development.
Hundreds of flight simulation experts from aerospace organizations worldwide – including airframe manufacturers, training device manufacturers (TDM), airlines, operators, and suppliers – will convene at RSi Visual Systems in Coppell, Texas, in September for the 2018 Flight Simulator Engineering and Maintenance Conference (FSEMC). Virtual reality (VR), motion cueing, ADS-B, pilot training for NextGen and SESAR, flight simulation training device (FSTD) technology insertion, and the pros and cons of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components top the list of discussion points for the annual conference.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 7 lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 2:54:27 Japan Standard Time (JST) on September 23, carrying the KOUNOTORI7 (HTV7) cargo transporter into orbit to start its journey to the International Space Station (ISS).
SAE International in Warrendale, Pa., has published AS13006: Process Control Methods, a new standard with guidance material to support specific aerospace engine applications, with a focus on the practical application of control methods for many different situations, to improve process control, process capability, and product quality, benefiting both the organization applying it and its customers.
Demand for high-performance plastics (HPPs) is up across the aerospace industry, driven by such key trends as growing performance requirements, increased use of additive manufacturing or 3D printing, supply chain globalization, and tightening environmental regulations. Growing passenger traffic coupled with the need to reduce emissions – being accomplished through lightweighting, engine downsizing, and vehicle electrification – present opportunities for HPPs, research analysts at Frost & Sullivan in San Antonio, Texas, explain.
Officials at SAE International in Warrendale, Pa., and Airlines for America (A4A) in Washington are recognizing Karsten Kaiser of Lufthansa Technik and Michael Ernst of subsidiary 3D.aero for furthering the science and efficacy of nondestructive testing (NDT), having presented them with the 16th annual Nondestructive Testing (NDT) Innovation Award at A4A’s annual NDT Forum last week in Seattle.
Aireon LLC, a global aircraft tracking and surveillance company in McLean, Va., is inviting aircraft operators, regulators, search-and-rescue organizations, and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) to pre-register for Aireon Aircraft Locating and Emergency Response Tracking (ALERT). Aireon ALERT, operated by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), is being touted as the aviation industry’s first and only free, global, real-time emergency aircraft location service, which is slated to begin service in Q1 2019.
In part two of a two-part series, Richard Gardner discusses various aerospace propulsion innovations and continued work by aerospace engineers and scientists to advance aircraft engine technologies to increase efficiency and lower emissions.
Engineers at Jetoptera in Edmonds, Washington, and GE Aviation in Evandale, Ohio, are collaborating on a 500 pound-force (lbf) class fluidic propulsion system leveraging a gas generator based on GE Aviation’s H-Series turboprop engine. Jetoptera’s Fluidic Propulsion System is, officials say, both revolutionary and a remarkably simple approach to producing thrust for powerful, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL)-capable aircraft.
Engineers at AeroMobil in Slovakia have developed a special edition of the company’s personal aerial vehicles targeted exclusively at the rapidly growing personal air transportation market in China. AeroMobil has unveiled two Sky Dragon roadable aircraft or flying car concepts, specifically designed for China, based on the AeroMobil 4.0 short takeoff and landing (STOL) and 5.0 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft.
Today’s airframe manufacturers have taken on more of the role of systems integrators, putting the focus on the aircraft as a system-of-many-systems. Sean Barker, FBCS CEng and a former research scientist at BAE Systems in the UK, approaches aircraft as a system of systems (SoS) from a business process perspective in his new book from SAE International in Warrendale, Pa.
Aerion Supersonic in Reno, Nevada, and Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix are collaborating on a revolutionary, connected cockpit for the Aerion AS2, regarded as the first supersonic business jet in history.
EOS GmbH and Etihad Airways will partner to significantly expand local capabilities for industrial additive manufacturing – also known as 3D printing – in aviation. The partnership will enable Etihad Airways Engineering to produce 3D-printed aircraft parts at their facility in Abu Dhabi.