Chicago-based Boeing recently completed a “demo flight” of a 737 MAX 7 narrow-body airliner equipped with updated Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) software.
SAE International is partnering with Ford, General Motors (GM), and Toyota to form the Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium (AVSC), which will work to help safely advance the testing, precompetitive development, and deployment of SAE Level 4 and 5 automated vehicles. The AVSC will provide a safety framework around which autonomous technology can responsibly evolve in advance of broad deployment, ultimately helping to inform and accelerate the development of industry standards for autonomous vehicles (AVs) and harmonize with efforts of other consortia and standards bodies.
AeroVonics LLC, an aerospace startup based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for its initial launch product: a two-inch, twelve-function flight avionics instrument for light general aviation aircraft.
Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (UTC), has laid out its plans for what is calling “The Grid” – an 25,000-square-foot advanced electric power systems laboratory for designing and testing next-generation, more-electric aircraft technologies for commercial, military, and business aviation.
Leveraging expansive networking and traceability, Ford has transformed its manufacturing spaces with data wellsprings that drive quality and productivity.
Future airspace will be filled with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones, commercial aircraft, helicopters, and more. Several prototypes are currently targeting urban air mobility (UAM) platforms, such as air taxis, and revolutionary aircraft models like next-generation commercial supersonic aircraft. Add to this autonomous swarm technologies, enabling manned-unmanned teaming, and systems for future vertical lift and it’s clear that the technology wave can easily become overwhelming.
The latest version of Honeywell Aerospace’s seven-stage axial compressor T55 turboshaft engine is nearing the final phase of development. Designed with next-generation technology to increase reliability, power, and fuel economy, the Honeywell T55-L-71X will find a home onboard the medium-lift Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant compound helicopter demonstrator.
Stratolaunch Systems Corp., founded by Paul G. Allen, in Seattle, Washington, has completed the first flight of the Stratolaunch, the world’s largest all-composite aircraft, with a dual-fuselage design and wingspan greater than the length of an American football field. The Stratolaunch aircraft took flight on April 13 at 0658 PDT from the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California; achieved a maximum speed of 189 miles per hour; and flew for 2.5 hours over the Mojave Desert at altitudes up to 17,000 feet.
Officials at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota Motor Corp. in Tokyo have taken a first step toward collaborating on international space exploration, having agreed to accelerate their ongoing joint study of a manned, pressurized rover powered by fuel cell technologies to enable lunar mobility.
The National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP) of Wichita State University (WSU) is partnering with SAE International to develop globally harmonized aerospace material and process specifications for advanced composites and non-metal additive manufacturing (AM) materials in the aerospace and air transport industries.
The solutions – which have already received nationwide approval from multiple UAM operators – provide scalable and secure end-to-end infrastructure and applications to help organizations and governments manage data and capitalize on the UAM economy.