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.
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.
This week, Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (UTC), announced the establishment of GatorWorks, a newly formed prototyping arm that will focus on the rapid and agile development of dependable, lower cost military engines.
AKG of America’s research and development center at its Mebane, North Carolina, facility hosted a grand opening in February that features a new water/glycol thermal shock test stand for product validation.
Continental Aerospace Technologies is partnering with Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH of Austria to provide a new powerplant for the DA50 general aviation aircraft. Continental also recently expanded its portfolio with a “cash and in-kind contribution” investment in Ampaire Inc., an electric aircraft and propulsion company.
Hardware and software engineers at AVIO, a global aerospace company engaged in the construction and development of space launchers and solid and liquid propulsion systems for space travel, with facilities in Italy, France, and French Guyana are actively enhancing the design of the Vega space launcher, with a focus on evolving the design with enhanced avionics and propulsion technologies while also maximizing subsystem reuse and reorganizing production processes for a more efficient production chain.
Software engineers engaged in the construction and development of space launchers and solid and liquid propulsion systems for space travel at AVIO – a global aerospace company with five facilities in Italy, France, and French Guyana – are leveraging the GNAT Pro Assurance and GNATemulator from AdaCore, a provider of software development and verification tools, with headquarters in Paris and New York to develop and expedite testing of safety-critical, on-board software for the Vega C launcher.
The AS2 industry team – comprising Aerion in Reno, Nevada; Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, Maryland; GE Aviation in Evendale, Ohio; and Honeywell in Morris Plains, New Jersey – has finished the conceptual design phase and launched the preliminary design phase, slated to conclude in June 2020, of the Aerion A2 supersonic business jet.
Hundreds of aerospace executives, engineers, scientists, and academics are gathering in London this week for Aerospace Systems and Technology Conference (ASTC) 2018 from SAE International in Warrendale, Pennsylvania. Discussions during the three-day industry event center on the theme of innovating air mobility. Aerospace thought leaders are at ASTC discussing current challenges, the latest enabling technologies, and future opportunities, including those related to urban air mobility (UAM) and supersonic aircraft.
After taking off on July 11 in Arizona, the Zephyr S unmanned aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space logged a maiden flight of over 25 days – the longest-duration flight ever made without refueling.
Aircraft orders exceed $95 billion in value and are complemented by roughly $3 billion in aircraft engine and engine service agreement contracts announced in the first two days of the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow. “The future starts at Farnborough; our exhibition halls are full of innovation that will shape how we fly, enabling us to go further, faster, and with less environmental impact,” says Farnborough International Commercial Director Amanda Stainer.
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.
By using three hydrogen fuel cells, the five-passenger Skai can carry up to 1,000 pounds and fly for up to four hours, or approximately 400 miles, in between 10-minute refueling periods.
Originally published in 1995, now updated and expanded with new specifications, this seminal work focuses on the development of Allied aircraft engines that helped turn the tide of World War II.
ARCONIC-THOR –designed for higher temperature applications in next generation aero engines and adjacent structures. The ARCONIC-THOR alooy is nearly 50 percent lighter than incumbent nickel-based superalloys.