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Aeroplanes
Beijing's gargantuan Capital International Airport
By Kyle Sherer
21:11 April 22, 2008 PDT
Terminal 3 of the Beijing Capital International Airport became fully operational on March 26, becoming the largest airport terminal complex built in a single phase. The US$3.5 billion expansion commenced in March 2004, and the 986,000 square meter airport can now absorb all five of Heathrow’s terminals with 17% left to spare. 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
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
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
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
Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod gets two-way video data link
By Kyle Sherer
22:37 February 24, 2008 PST
Lockheed Martin has integrated a prototype two-way video data link into the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod, providing it with roughly twice the data range of any other fielded targeting pod. The VDL, which provides forward deployed troops with the Sniper ATP’s real-time full resolution streaming video, was successfully demonstrated at the US Air Force Sniper user’s conference. 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
Airbus completes world first GTL powered flight
By Kyle Sherer
16:44 February 4, 2008 PST
February 5, 2008 The Airbus A380 has become the first commercial aircraft to complete a flight using liquid fuel processed from gas. GTL involves converting natural gas, which emits the least carbon of all the fossil fuels, to a liquid fuel oil, which can be used as a fuel substitute, or mixed with regular fuel. The three-hour flight from the UK to France was the first stage of a test flight program to evaluate the environmental impact of alternative fuels in the airline market. Read More
SpaceShipTwo heading for 2008 test flight
22:08 February 3, 2008 PST
February 4, 2008 The era of private space travel is another step closer to reality with Virgin Galactic revealing designs for the craft set to become the flagship of the world's first spaceline. Based on SpaceShipOne, which claimed the $10 million Ansari X Prize in October 2004 by successfully becoming the first private manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 feet twice within the span of a 14 day period, SpaceShipTwo and its carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo are now approaching completion at Scaled Composites in Mojave, California. Flight testing set to get underway towards the middle of this year for what will be the world’s largest all carbon composite aircraft, capable of carrying eight astronauts or other payloads into sub-orbital space. Read More
Boeing KC-767 refuels an F-15E in night conditions
By Kyle Sherer
00:39 January 31, 2008 PST
January 31, 2008 The Boeing KC-767 tanker aircraft has successfully transferred fuel to an F-15E at night – a world first manoeuvre for that model. Transferring fuel through a boom, via the remote vision system, and during night-time conditions, will significantly reduce risk for future tanker customers like the U.S. Air Force. Read More
BATMAV System with AeroVironment's Wasp III Micro Air Vehicle achieves full rate production
21:31 January 8, 2008 PST
January 9, 2008 The United States Air Force BATMAV (Battlefield Air Targeting Micro Air Vehicle) program with AeroVironment's Wasp III Micro Air Vehicle has received approval for Full Rate Production. The Wasp is a portable, 16 inche (38 cm) long, rugged unmanned aerial platform designed for front-line reconnaissance and surveillance. Read More
Sportcopter Super Sport Gyroplane set to launch – bridging the gap between plane and helicopter
By Loz Blain
16:52 January 5, 2008 PST
January 6, 2008 Simple to build, easy to fly, faster than helicopters and arguably safer than anything else in the sky: gyroplanes are a long-overlooked segment of the personal aviation industry, but as innovators like Sportcopter bring the entry price down to family car levels, these fun little aircraft are finally starting to get some of the popularity they deserve. Sportcopter's highly anticipated Super Sport is currently undergoing flight testing - a roomy, weatherproof, fully enclosed twin-seater with space for cargo and a full set of controls and instrumentation for each seat, making it an ideal training craft, the agile little gyroplane is powered by a 2.5 litre Subaru engine producing 190hp and propelling it to well over 100mph with a range of between 300 and 400 miles. Read More
Sky-high designs for a flying car
By Loz Blain
20:35 December 13, 2007 PST
Nearly eight years into the 21st century and we still don't have flying cars… frankly, it's disgraceful. No point complaining about it though - while Dr. Paul Moller continues development of the intriguing and exciting M400 Skycar, others around the world are also working to turn the cogs that will set the personal flight revolution in motion. One of them is Italian Gino d'Ignazio Gizio, a helicopter pilot and designer whose Cell Craft designs are reminiscent of the Skycar with a few touches of his own. Read More
Production begins on Boeing P-8A fuselage
By Kyle Sherer
21:33 December 12, 2007 PST
December 13, 2007 Boeing has started production on its P-8A Poseidon fuselage, the anti-submarine test plane that will replace the P-3 Orion. The first fuselage components were loaded into a holding fixture on the factory floor of the Spirit AeroSystems’ Wichita facility, in a ceremony that included U.S. Navy Personnel. Read More
Autonomous aerial refueling of UAVs demonstrated
21:01 December 4, 2007 PST
December 5, 2007 Recent flight tests by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Boeing have demonstrated that unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are capable of autonomous rendezvous with a tanker aircraft for refueling. Given their limited in size and payload capacity compared to larger manned aircraft, the development promises to significantly increase the the flight-times and range of of UAVs. Read More
Freedom Glen
- November 25, 2009 @ 02:47 UTC
