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Aero Gizmo
US Air Force invites RFP for tanker replacement
By Mike Hanlon
February 14, 2007 With the U.S. Air Force officially releasing a request for proposal for a replacement tanker aircraft, the competition is now preparing for battle in the KC-X Tanker competition. While the USAF has a number of urgent acquisition priorities such as a new combat rescue helicopter, space-based early warning and communications satellites, the F-35 Lightning II and the next-generation, long-range strike bomber, the number one priority is seen as the replacement for the Air Force's aging "Eisenhower-era" fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers, which have been in service since 1959. The Air Force intends to replace about 500 KC-135s with a smaller number of new aircraft, with the major contender being the Airbus-built KC-30 from EADS and Northrop Grumman. Boeing announced this week that it will offer the KC-767 Advanced Tanker, an advanced derivative of the future 767-200 Long Range Freighter. Read More
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor wins Collier Trophy
By Mike Hanlon
February 10, 2007 The Lockheed Martin-led F-22 Raptor aircraft team is the recipient of the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) 2006 Robert J. Collier Trophy, considered America's most prestigious award for aeronautical and space development. The NAA is the oldest national aviation organization in the United States dedicated to the advancement of the art, sport and science of aviation in the U.S. The Collier Trophy was established in 1911 and is granted each year "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America... during the preceding year." The list of previous winners reads as a who’s who of aviation including Orville Wright, Howard Hughes, Chuck Yeager, Scott Crossfield, the crew of Apollo 11, and SpaceShipOne. Team members include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and BAE Systems. NAA President and CEO David Ivey called the F-22 “a revolution in aeronautics,” and pointed out the fighter’s performance in the 2006 Northern Edge military exercise, saying it “established the unquestionable superiority of the Raptor, a culmination of years of visionary design, rigorous testing, and innovative manufacturing.” Fantastic image gallery Read More
AeroVironment Aqua Puma UAV completes Royal Australian Navy Sea trials
By Mike Hanlon
February 9, 2007 AeroVironment's Aqua Puma small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS) has successfully completed sea trials for the Royal Australian Navy to explore adding a UAS capability to the Navy’s new Armidale class patrol boats. AV’s Aqua Puma is launched by hand, lands directly onto the sea surface and is recovered by hand from vessels. It is a next-generation FQM-151 Pointer, with the same form factor but increased endurance (1.5 hours) and enhanced sensor capability. Adding the Aqua Puma to the Armidales will require no ship modifications and will add significant day and night reconnaissance and surveillance capability. Read More
Unmanned helicopter rescue service for Mount Everest
By Mike Hanlon
February 7, 2007 One of the many problems of climbing a mountain as tall as Mount Everest, is that once you’re up there, there’s not much help available if things go wrong. Most helicopters are not designed to operate above a ceiling of about 14,000ft (4,300m), yet Base Camp on Everest is at nearly 18,000ft (5364m) and the summit is another 11,500ft (3,486m) above that. Now UAV specialist TGR Helicorp, creators of the Snark, has developed an unpiloted full-size alpine rescue helicopter; the Alpine Wasp, which will be able to operate safely and autonomously at altitudes up to and beyond 30,000ft (over 9000m). The company will be donating the Alpine Wasp to the Everest Rescue Trust after it has undergone testing and systems evaluation in the harsh mountain environment of the Mt Cook region of New Zealand during 2007. It will be capable of airlifting up to two sick or injured climbers at a time from extreme altitude, using ultra-modern composite technologies, a revolutionary diesel helicopter engine and rotor blades designed especially for maximum performance in thin air. The Everest Trust is to use the Alpine Wasp as its key technology in building and operating a self-funding unmanned rescue helicopter service for the extreme altitude regions of Nepal. This humanitarian project aims to save lives on Everest and improve the safety and emergency services in Nepal, while directly benefiting the Nepalese people. Read More
AeroTwin engine lands second patent
By Mike Hanlon
February 6, 2007 We first wrote about AirScooter two years ago, characterising the company’s low-cost, easy-to-fly, ultra-lightweight coaxial rotorcraft helicopter as “a helicopter for the home". Now the company is making headlines not just for its innovative helicopter but also for the helicopter’s powerplant – the AeroTwin four-stroke aircraft engine. The second U.S. patent granted for the engine includes 23 claims focusing on the innovative lightweight one-piece head/cylinder design and related circulation and cooling methods. The AeroTwin produces 65 hp at 4200 rpm, and has a smooth/flat torque curve ideal for a wide range of sport vehicles and military applications, filling the niche between high-end hobby craft and expensive military UAVs. The company’s hobby models have now been dropped to focus resources on the engine, UAV and AirScooter segments. The knowledge obtained from hobby development contributed to the design and performance of the Company’s six-foot coaxial G70 UAV. Read More
Eclipse delivers first Very Light Jet
By Mike Hanlon
January 19, 2007 Eclipse Aviation delivered the world’s first very light jet (VLJ) customer aircraft earlier this month, intent on clearing the waiting list of more than 2,500 aircraft. Given the company’s current facilities are designed to support the production of approximately 1,000 aircraft a year, it’s unlikely that joining the waiting list for the US$1.5 million Eclipse 500 will get you one this side of late 2009, but the market for very light jets seems to be getting a lot of attention and we suspect this is just the beginning of a whole new era of personal flight. Read More
Boeing Dreamlifter Delivers First Assemblies for 787 Dreamliner
By Mike Hanlon
January 17, 2007 Given that we’ve been reporting on Boeing’s swing-tail Large Cargo Freighter known as the Dreamlifter since the project began (here, here, and here), we’re pleased to announce that Boeing yesterday delivered the first major assemblies for the all-new 787 Dreamliner to its partner Global Aeronautica, completing the first-ever delivery cycle using the Dreamlifter, a specially modified 747-400. Read More
Rockwell Collins’ Enhanced Vision System
By Mike Hanlon
January 11, 2007 Rockwell Collins’ Enhanced Vision System (EVS) is to be offered to Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) operators in early 2008 and its capabilities are quite remarkable – the EVS presents an image of the external environment on the Head-up Guidance System (HGS) and head-down displays to enhance pilot situational awareness of terrain and the airport environment in low-visibility situations. When displayed on the HGS, EVS allows the pilot to descend below minimums, if the visual references to the intended runway are visible using the EVS. Read More
NASA STEREO sees first light
By Mike Hanlon
December 21, 2006 NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatories (with appropriate acronym of STEREO) sent back their first images of the sun this week and with them a view into the sun's mounting activity. STEREO utilizes two nearly identical spacecraft on different trajectories to study the most energetic events on the surface and in the lower atmosphere of the Sun, and their travel through interplanetary space. Data from the spacecraft will allow scientists to construct the first ever three-dimensional views of the Sun, providing a new perspective on Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). CMEs are violent explosions on the surface of the Sun that can propel up to 10 billion tons of the Sun's atmosphere, at a million miles an hour, out through the corona and into space. Read More
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Stealth Fighter First Flight
By Mike Hanlon
December 17, 2006 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II lifted into the skies for the first time on Friday, completing a successful inaugural flight and initiating the most comprehensive flight test program in military aviation history. The stealthy, multi-service F-35 is the most powerful single-engine fighter in history, and is designed to replace the F-16, F/A-18 Hornet, the Harrier and the A-10. The Lightning’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine is the most powerful engine ever used in a jet fighter, producing 40,000 pounds of thrust. Read More
The sub US$200,000 family aircraft – the Sky Yacht
By Mike Hanlon
December 12, 2006 Skyacht Aircraft has created a whisper quiet, steerable, Personal Blimp capable of sustained and affordable flight. Under development for four years, the first Personal Blimp, named Airship Alberto, made its first flight on October 27, 2006, becoming the first and only aircraft to meet this seemingly straightforward goal. The Personal Blimp uses hot air (rather than Helium) for lift and silent electric motors for propulsion and is hence a hot air balloon that can be flown, steered and landed in perfect quiet offering passengers a serene flight experience. It can hover and steer around objects making it ideal for, amongst other things, eco-tourism, aerial photography and film-making. It’s due at market in about two years for a price under US$200,000 compared to the smallest helium airship which costs US$2,000,000+ while a top-notch helium ship costs more than US$12 million. When not in use, the Personal Blimp can be deflated and folded for storage (much like a hot air balloon.) The combination of ready buoyancy control and rapid deflation eliminates not only costly hangars but also the large ground crews typically required for helium airships. Read More
RCV awarded engine contract for Micro Air Vehicle
By Mike Hanlon
December 8, 2006 There’s a delicious irony about the success of UK-based RCV Engines. The company achieved international recognition for its range of model aircraft engines then moved into a new market earlier this year with the development of its proprietary Rotating Cylinder Valve (RCV) engine for sub-250cc applications such as motorcycles, scooters and power tools where it offers 100PS/litre performance and manufacturing costs akin to those of a two-stroke, with the emission levels and fuel consumption of a four-stroke. The engine is so promising that it has been selected by Honeywell to produce a demonstrator engine based on RCV technology for use in Honeywell’s backpack-sized Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) – the irony is of course that the company is effectively back in the same domain it started from, though model aircraft enthusiasts who own one of RCV’s traditional SP or CD Series engines can rejoice in knowing that company is also powering some of the most innovative flying machines ever built. Another plus for the Rotating Cylinder Valve (RCV) engine is its exceptional power to weight ratio and it’s ability to run on a variety of fuels. The MAV autonomous surveillance aircraft has been developed as part of the US Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) MAV Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration programme and is small enough for a foot soldier to carry. It is designed to provide soldiers with improved situational awareness without exposing them to enemy fire through forward- and downward-looking video cameras that relay information to a remote ground station video terminal. Read More
NASA unveils plan to return humans to the moon
By Mike Hanlon
December 6, 2006 NASA on Monday unveiled the initial elements of the Global Exploration Strategy and a proposed U.S. lunar architecture, two critical tools for achieving the nation's vision of returning humans to the moon. The Global Exploration Strategy focuses on two overarching issues: Why we are returning to the moon and what we plan to do when we get there. The strategy includes a comprehensive set of the reasons for embarking upon human and robotic exploration of the moon. NASA's proposed lunar architecture focuses on a third issue: How humans might accomplish the mission of exploring the moon. Read More
Special Forces get the first CV-22 Ospreys
By Mike Hanlon
November 18, 2006 The United States Special Forces have been the best equipped in the world for a long time, though the gap widened considerably on Thursday with the first delivery of the CV-22 Osprey to the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The CV-22 is the Air Force version of the V-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft that combines the speed and range of fixed wing aircraft with the vertical flight performance of a helicopter. With its engine nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter, but once airborne its engine nacelles can be rotated to convert the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. The CV-22 offers unprecedented speed in the ingress and extraction of special forces into any terrain. Just in case the advantages of the CV-22 and its almost identical brethren the V-22 aren’t entirely obvious, the following recently published briefing by Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute highlights why the Osprey is one system the military needs more of right now. Read More
DoubleDocker automated gate system saves everyone time and money
By Mike Hanlon
November 12, 2006 The DoubleDocker is a very clever idea – it’s the world’s first fully automated dual-end jet bridge – as all passenger jets have two doors, it automatically docks to both doors and halves the boarding or deplaning time, offering passengers a significant reason to fly with airlines that offer the service. For the airline, it means an extra few minutes of productivity for their US$250+ million asset. The DoubleDocker is the invention of Dewbridge Airport Systems and the first one went into service in August at Denver International Airport with United Airlines. By the end of the year five gates will be operating and it’ll be interesting to see how the system fares. Read More
Revolutionary New 'Cockpit' for UAVs dramatically improves operator performance
By Mike Hanlon
November 2, 2006 Raytheon has unveiled what it calls its Universal Control System (UCS) - a first of its kind unmanned aerial system (UAS) "cockpit" that revolutionizes operator awareness and efficiency, while providing the ability to control multiple unmanned aircraft, reduce potential accidents, improve training, and decrease costs. The announcement was made during the Shephard UV North America 2006 conference in Tysons Corner, Va. Read More
Ground testing begins for X-48B Blended Wing Body Concept
By Mike Hanlon
November 1, 2006 Ground testing of the X-48B Blended Wing Body (BWB) concept will start in the near future in preparation for flight testing early next year. The X-48B ground and flight testing will take place at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where two high-fidelity 21-foot wingspan prototypes have been delivered. The prototypes were produced to explore and validate the structural, aerodynamic and operational advantages of the BWB concept and were designated X-48B by the U.S. Air Force based on its interest in the design's potential as a future military aircraft. The X-48B's three turbojet engines will allow the 500-pound, composite-skinned, 21-foot wingspan prototype to fly up to 120 knots and 10,000 feet in altitude during flight testing. Read More
I-GNAT ER breaks Predator UAS Series Record - 5,000 Flight & Combat Hours in 2.5 years
By Mike Hanlon
October 20, 2006 Aircraft AI-001, the first Army I-GNAT ER unmanned aircraft produced for the U.S. Army, is continuing the illustrious General Atomics Predator family tradition, recently passing 5,000 flight hours. Initially deployed in March 2004, the aircraft has been involved in continuous operations ever since, and achieved this major milestone on its 428th combat mission. Its key attributes of long endurance (over 40 hours), large payload capacity, ease of use, low maintenance and very low cost-per-flight-hour make it one of the most durable and operationally flexible UAS ever built. The I-GNAT is an improved version of the original GNAT-750 began operation in 1989 and is designed to takeoff and land conventionally from any hard surface. Read More
Stratellite first structural float test
By Mike Hanlon
October 20, 2006 Sanswire’s vision for mass deployment of its specialized Stratellite airship have moved a step closer when its Sanswire 2A technology demonstrator completed its first outdoor, low altitude, float test. The company’s concept of placing a communications platform into the stratosphere can fundamentally change how the world delivers wireless telecommunications, and the way we communicate. Advances in composite structures, photovoltaics, man-made fabrics, electric motors and energy storage technologies have propelled today’s stratellite far above the great, rigid airships of the early 20th century from which it is descendent, and have put the near-space altitude of 65,000 feet within reach. The solar-powered Stratellite is an advanced rigid composite lighter-than-air vehicle designed to operate either as an unmanned autonomous or remotely piloted system at stratospheric altitudes in geostationary locations. Due to their operating altitudes of 12-13 miles from earth, as opposed to satellites that operate from a distant 22,000 miles away, Stratellites can provide a superior and fully reclaimable method for operating advanced wireless communications and monitoring services. With payload capacities measured in tons, and the ability to return to its base station on command, the Stratellite provides a cost-effective delivery system for broadband voice, data and video services, reducing reliance on “near real time” capabilities of satellites and the slow download speeds of copper based terrestrial networks. Read More
US$3.65 million HondaJet sales begin for 2010 deliveries
By Mike Hanlon
October 18, 2006 Honda Aircraft Company today began sales of HondaJet with the standard configuration selling for US$3.65 million with first deliveries in 2010. Carrying over the company’s automotive brand values, the HondaJet will be the fastest and most fuel efficient aircraft in its class with a 420 knot cruise speed, a range of 1180 nautical miles, and a 30-35 percent better fuel efficiency at cruise speed versus other jets of comparable performance. HondaJet’s cabin is the clincher as it sets a new standard for interior space and comfort being longer than even larger ‘light jet’ offerings with space for a fully-private lavatory and a 57-cubic foot aft cargo hold. Read More
UK's VTOL Harrier Jets upgraded
By Mike Hanlon
October 11, 2006 An upgraded version of the iconic Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Harrier GR9 aircraft has entered service with the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force after a GBP500 million improvement package. The GR9 programme provides updated digital systems and enhanced operational capability that will allow the RAF to hit a wider range of targets harder, at longer range, with greater precision and with less risk to aircrew. A number of new systems have been or will be integrated onto the GR9, linked by a new on-board computer. These include the Precision Guided Bomb and infra red & television variants of the Maverick missile. Also included is the Successor Identification Friend or Foe (SIFF) system, which will make the aircraft less vulnerable in an operational environment. The GR9 will also carry the Brimstone missile which will enable it to attack up to 12 ground targets simultaneously compared with just two with the GR7. Read More
Hybrid Manned/Unmanned Light Helicopter Makes First Flight
By Mike Hanlon
October 10, 2006 This photo shows the first of two newly designed A/MH-6X light-turbine helicopters lifting off for the first time late last month at Boeing’s Rotorcraft Systems facility in Mesa, Arizona. The flight was a significant milestone in the continuing development of the versatile hybrid manned/unmanned military aircraft which combines the proven performance of the A/MH-6M Mission Enhanced Little Bird (MELB) with the unmanned aerial vehicle technologies of the Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) Demonstrator, a modified MD 530F civil helicopter that has been in development since 2004. Aircraft performance will be similar to the ULB Demonstrator with an additional 1,000 pounds of payload that can be used for increased range, endurance or mission hardware. Total payload for the ULB Demonstrator is greater than 2,400 pounds. Read More
Onyx Swarming Precision Parachutes
By Mike Hanlon
October 6, 2006 The shape of military technology continues to evolve in all directions and one of the most interesting we’ve seen in recent times comes from Atair Aerospace in the form of its inventive Onyx precision guided parachute systems. Onyx systems are autonomously guided parafoil systems designed to allow military cargo to be parachuted from high altitudes of up to 35,000 ft, autonomously glide for 30 miles, and land within 50 metres of a preprogrammed target. Atair is the first company to successfully develop autonomous agent swarming UAVs so the Onyx system includes Adaptive Control, Flocking/Swarming and Active Collision Avoidance capabilities which means in laymans terms that 50+ parachutes can be deployed in the same airspace, guiding to one or multiple targets without the possibility of midair collisions. Read More
Swiss Rocketman develops Rocketbelt with six minute flight duration
By Mike Hanlon
October 7, 2006 Exotic Thermo Engineering (aka the Swiss Rocketman, Arnold Neracher) looks set to put rocketbelts seriously on the map in the near future when he unveils a rocketbelt that will fly for a full six minutes. Neracher recently set a record for rocketbelt flight duration when one of his designs flew for a full minute, more than double the traditional maximum, but earlier this week he confirmed that he is constructing a rocketbelt that will fly for six minutes. Neracher is currently testing the new machine under tethered flight conditions with pilot Yves Rossi but did not confirm whether the video posted on his site was the machine he expected to fly for six minutes. A Swiss medical and chemical engineering consultant, Neracher has been working on rocket engines for two decades and even makes his own hydrogen peroxide fuel – it is his knowledge of exotic fuels which is believed to be the secret to the flight duration. His engines and advanced technologies have powered go-karts, bicycles (amazing video here), dragsters, motorcycles and jet belts previously, but if Neracher achieves this goal, and we have no reason to doubt him as he generally hits his targets, the rocketbelt could finally achieve viability and would almost certainly find military application. Building a viable rocketbelt was first attempted by the German Army during WWII as the "Himmelsturmer" (Skystormer) and the first working rocket belt was built by Bell for the U.S. Army in the 1950s. Bell’s rocketbelt created mainstream awareness in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball and raised expectations of consumer versions when it was used in the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympics. But 50 years after the Bell Rocket Belt was built, only a handful of people have flown a one, only one commercial version is available (at US$250,000) and only two companies (here and here) have successfully commercialised demonstrations. Neracher will change all that if he can achieve six minutes of powered flight. Gizmag’s Billy Paul recently attended the First Annual Rocketbelt Convention at the Niagara Falls Aerospace Museum in New York, USA. Read his report here. Read More
CityCab - creative rethink on Taxi Cab design
By Mike Hanlon
October 2, 2006 The best known taxi design in the world is the London Cab, and competitors for the purpose-built design have been remarkably rare. Which kinda makes the CityCab significant, because it offers a vehicle that is clearly better suited for transporting commercial passengers than 99% of taxis in use worldwide. Helsinki Polytechnic and the University of Art and Design Helsinki developed the CityCab based on a detailed passenger survey. Designed for five passengers with an option for one passenger using a wheel chair, the CityCab employs a hybrid powertrain from Toyota and simply bristles with good ideas (for a taxi cab). Read More
Freedom Glen
- November 25, 2009 @ 02:47 UTC
