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Aero Gizmo
Boeing begins assembly on third flight-test 787 Dreamliner
By Kyle Sherer
21:57 May 7, 2008 PDT
Boeing has begun assembly on the third flight-test airplane for the 787 Dreamliner. The Dreamliner is the first aircraft to be 80% composite by volume, making it lighter and more efficient than competitors. The first airplane to fly is on track for "power on" in June. Read More
Odysseus: Aurora's radical, unlimited endurance, solar powered aircraft
21:04 May 1, 2008 PDT
May 2, 2008 Aurora Flight Sciences has revealed the design of the aircraft it hopes will achieve the ambitious goals set out in DARPA's ambitious Vulture program: sustained uninterrupted flight for over five years at altitudes of 60,000-90,000 feet. Known as Odysseus, the solar-powered concept aircraft is as radical as the mission it is designed to accomplish, combining three self-sufficient “constituent aircraft” in a unique Z wing configuration that spans almost 500 feet (150 meters). The modular design provides several advantages - the shape of the aircraft can be adjusted to maximize the solar collection properties during the day and spread flat for aerodynamic efficiency at night-time, and because each of the constituent vehicles is capable of autonomously docking at altitude, the design also facilitates the replacement of one section of the plane whilst it is still aloft. Read More
Falx to debut hybrid-electric tilt-rotor aircraft with inbuilt solar charging
By Loz Blain
04:21 April 28, 2008 PDT
Tilt-rotor aircraft have been around since the 1950s, offering the vertical take-off, hovering and landing abilities of a helicopter with the range, high flight ceiling, speed and fuel economy of a turboprop aeroplane. Now a new venture from Falx Air Vehicles is planning to push the fuel economy angle even further by using a hybrid-electric motor and inbuilt solar arrays. The company expects its upcoming compact single and double-seater tiltrotor aircraft to use as little as 10 litres of fuel per hour airborne, and the quiet electric operation should see these small, light and manoeuvrable aircraft make solid stealth vehicles for military uses. Though not yet confirmed, we may see a full-size prototype as early as the Farnsworth air show this year, and Falx is aiming to have the craft fully certified by the end of 2009. Read More
Vintage aircraft fest at Goodwood 2008
00:30 April 28, 2008 PDT
April 28, 2008 UK classic aircraft fans are in for a treat next month as more than 70 pre-1967 planes take to the skies at the 2008 Goodwood Aero Club Vintage Fly-In and Air Display. Read More
DARPA advances plans for five year non-stop flying machine
19:07 April 21, 2008 PDT
April 22, 2008 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected Aurora Flight Sciences, Boeing and Lockheed Martin as the contractors for the first phase of its Vulture program - a project which aims to design and develop a new breed of solar-powered unmanned aircraft that can remain airborne without interruption for an incredible five years. Read More
Next-generation Sky Warrior unmanned aircraft takes flight
19:48 April 17, 2008 PDT
April 18, 2008 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GAASI) has announced the successful flight of the first Sky Warrior® Block 1 aircraft for the U.S. Army’s Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program. Derived from the Predator UAV which has been deployed in Iraq, but with double the weapons capacity, the Sky Warrior is a multi-mission aircraft designed to perform long-endurance, surveillance, communications relay and tactical strike missions. It offers increased range, greater payload flexibility (including the ability to carry four Hellfire missiles) and can remain airborne for 30 hours at a time at altitudes above 25,000 feet. Read More
Embraer completes assembly of US$6.65 million Phenom 300 jet
By Kyle Sherer
19:03 April 16, 2008 PDT
April 16, 2008 Brazilian Aircraft manufacturer Embraer has finished assembling its first Phenom 300 light-jet. The US$6.65 million plane expected to enter service in the second half of 2009 following a planned series of tests before its first flight. Read More
Final assembly begins on P-8A Poseidon anti-sub plane
By Kyle Sherer
16:02 April 10, 2008 PDT
April 11, 2008 Boeing has begun final assembly of the first P-8A Poseidon, the long-range anti-submarine plane that will replace the P-3 Orion. The US Navy plans to purchase 108 P-8As, and initial operational capability is scheduled to begin in 2013. The P-8A will have anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. Read More
Aeroscraft ML866 Milestone
23:51 April 7, 2008 PDT
April 8, 2008 A spectacular new type of aircraft is one step closer to take-off with the announcement that the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has accepted the type certification application for the Aeroscraft model Aeros ML866. Read More
First manned fuel-cell flight
By Mike Hanlon
20:41 April 6, 2008 PDT
April 7, 2008 Boeing has added another chapter to aviation history by flying a manned airplane powered by hydrogen fuel cells (preview article here). The milestone is the work of Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BR&TE is part of the legendary Phantom Works advanced R&D unit) in Madrid, working with a raft of industry partners across the world. A two-seat Dimona motor-glider with a 16.3 meter (53.5 foot) wingspan was used as the airframe . Read More
Guardian system protects commercial flights from terrorist missile threats
By Loz Blain
23:54 April 2, 2008 PDT
Being shot out of the sky with a surface-to-air missile might not be at the forefront of your mind when traveling on a commercial airliner, but with shoulder-mounted, infra-red anti-aircraft rockets selling for as little as US$5000 in trouble spots around the world, it's perhaps surprising that it's only happened a few dozen times in recent years. Once launched, such a missile travels at twice the speed of sound towards its target, so countermeasures must be automatic and instant - which brings us to Northrop Grumman's GUARDIAN system. This anonymous-looking pod provides 360-degree laser-based missile defense for commercial airliners for a total cost of around a dollar per passenger over the aircraft's service life. Read More
Global Hawk UAV achieves record 33-hour flight
23:27 March 27, 2008 PDT
March 28, 2008 Northrop Grumman Corporation's RQ-4 Global Hawk has successfully completed a flight lasting 33.1 hours at altitudes up to 60,000. While the milestone does not match the 54 hour flight achieved by QinetiQ’s Zephyr in 2007, it is a record for a full-scale, operational unmanned aircraft - and there was still fuel left in the tank. Read More
The Lynx: new player enters space-tourism race
22:46 March 27, 2008 PDT
March 28, 2008 Back in 2001 Californian millionaire Denis Tito made headlines as the worlds' first space tourist - shelling out around US$20 million for the privilege. Seven years on, the competition to offer such an out-of-this-world experience to a broader range of paying customers (and capitalize on what is expected to become a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade) is heating up. Earlier this year fledgling spaceline Virgin Galactic revealed designs for what will become its flagship -SpaceShipTwo, now Californian based XCOR Aerospace has unveiled a two-seater suborbital spaceship the size of a small private plane that the company expects to have airborne in 2010. Read More
ScanEagle UAV gets Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
By Mike Hanlon
20:21 March 18, 2008 PDT
March 18, 2008 The ScanEagle UAV has proven a revelation in Iraq and Afghanistan, offering another key informational input on the battlefield to help soldiers under fire make better decisions. The bad news for enemies of the United States is that the miniature UAV can now carry Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) which can pick out man made objects not readily visible to IR or EO cameras. Read More
Mack debuts new 16-liter, 2,060 lb-ft Titan
By Mike Hanlon
20:25 March 17, 2008 PDT
March 18, 2008 Mack Trucks unveiled the most powerful truck in its century-long history last week in Las Vegas. The appropriately named Titan is a derivative of the truck built by Mack Australia specifically to pull road trains in the vast and rugged Australian “outback.” The 16-liter inline six-cylinder diesel MP10 engine can deliver 2,060 lb-ft of torque at just 1200 rpm and runs through an 18-speed transmission. Read More
The 800mph Gulfstream G650 - fastest civil aircraft ever
By Mike Hanlon
20:13 March 17, 2008 PDT
March 18, 2008 Since the 1960s, the Gulfstream jet has been synonymous with the fastest, ultra luxury business travel regardless of cost – only 1600 have ever been made but now, the company is raising the bar with a new ultra-large cabin G650 due in 2012. The US$58.5 million G650 is capable of traveling 7,000 nautical miles (8055 miles) at 0.85 Mach or 5,000 nautical miles (5,753 miles) at 0.90 Mach and has a top speed of 0.925 Mach, which will make it the fastest non-military aircraft flying. It will even cruise at 51,000 ft, in order to avoid airline-traffic congestion and adverse weather. Read More
Continental Airlines to conduct biofuel test flight
By Emily Clark
17:32 March 17, 2008 PDT
Continental Airlines, in conjunction with Boeing and GE Aviation, has announced plans to conduct a biofuel demonstration flight in the first half of 2009. Continental will be the first major U.S. carrier to undertake such a flight in an effort to identify sustainable fuel solutions for the aviation industry. Read More
Gulfstream introduces G650 flagship business jet
19:27 March 13, 2008 PDT
Gulfstream Aerospace has announced its new flagship business jet - the G650. Propelled by the new Rolls-Royce BR725 engine, the aerodynamically advanced G650 can climb above air traffic congestion and bad weather to an altitude of 51,000 feet and has a range of 7,000 nautical miles at speeds of 0.85 Mach, with a maximum operating speed of 0.925 Mach - fast enough to claim the title of the fastest civil aircraft flying. The new jet, which also leads the Gulfstream fleet in terms of cabin space, passenger comfort, reliability and enhanced cockpit technology, is expected to take to the skies for its first flight in the second half of 2009 with customer deliveries slated to begin in 2012. Read More
AeroVironment's hybrid fuel cell UAV sets flight record
17:25 March 6, 2008 PST
March 7, 2008 AeroVironment (AV) has achieved a new long-duration flight record with its hand-launched Puma small unmanned air vehicle (SUAV). The fuel cell hybrid-powered Puma flew for over nine-hours eclipsing the previous record of seven hours set by the same craft in July 2007. Read More
Lockheed Martin receives DARPA grant for modular, networked satellite system
By Kyle Sherer
15:36 March 6, 2008 PST
March 7, 2008 Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company has received a $5.7 million contract from DARPA to head a team to compete in Phase 1 of the System F6 space technology program. F6 - meaning Future, Fast, Flexible, Fractioned, Free-Flying Spacecraft United by Information Exchange – is an attempt to construct a networked, module-based alternative to singular, monolithic satellites. Read More
Google Lunar X PRIZE announces first ten teams
By Emily Clark
22:35 March 4, 2008 PST
March 5, 2008 In September 2007 the X PRIZE Foundation announced a $30million prize purse for the Google Lunar X PRIZE, a robotic race to the moon. Now the Foundation has released details of the first ten teams to register for this amazing space race. Read More
Boeing completes 787 Dreamliner fuselage tests
By Kyle Sherer
17:35 March 4, 2008 PST
March 5, 2008 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has successfully completed a series of tests revealing how the composite barrel design will fare in extreme weather conditions as part of achieving certification for the 787. Read More
Virgin flight into bold biofuel territory
By Emily Clark
20:30 February 26, 2008 PST
Dubbed a “scam” and a “stunt” by environmental groups and sections of the media, the fact remains that Virgin Atlantic has become the world's first airline to fly one of its commercial planes on biofuel. A mix of standard jet fuel, coconut and babassu oils powered the Boeing 747 jumbo jet from London Heathrow to Amsterdam. Read More
Cessna SkyCatcher prototype nears completion
By Kyle Sherer
16:13 February 26, 2008 PST
February 27, 2008 The Cessna SkyCatcher, which has been attracting a steady stream of attention since the program was officially launched last year, will have a prototype ready to fly in the coming months. Read More
Imitating nature in flight: University of Michigan research explores flap-wing micro UAVs
By Kyle Sherer
17:51 February 19, 2008 PST
February 20, 2008 The University of Michigan is designing a new generation of flapping-wing UAVs with wingspans smaller than a deck of cards, based on the efficient and adaptive movements of birds, bats and insects. Read More
Gary Noel
- November 22, 2009 @ 06:20 UTC
