Eurocopter pays its respects to its long-time test pilot Jean Boulet. His legendary piloting skills and passion for flying established the Group's place in the history of rotorcraft.
First hired in 1947 by the SNCASE, which would later become Sud Aviation and then the Helicopter division of the Aerospatiale Group, Jean Boulet was one of the greatest pioneers in the history of rotorcraft flight testing.
Just a few highlights from his illustrious career include the first flights of the SE3000, the SE3101, the Alouette, Frelon, Puma, Gazelle families and the Lama. The records he established are no less impressive. Jean Boulet would set 17 world records during his career, including the record for the highest altitude. Behind the controls of a Lama, Jean Boulet reached an altitude of 12,442 meters on June 21, 1972. His record still stands today. Jean Boulet received the prestigious "X Supaéro" engineering degree from the French aeronautics institute in Toulouse, and chalked up more than 9,000 flight hours during the course of his career—including over 8,000 in helicopters. The courageous pilot was well known for his love of flying and derring-do, but was also widely respected for his modesty and unassuming nature.
Skymark Airlines, Japan's third largest and fast growing airline, signed a contract for four A380s with Airbus, firming up a Memorandum of Understanding announced in November 2010.
The contract was signed on Thursday, 17th February, during a ceremony held at Airbus' headquarters in Toulouse, France, in the presence of Skymark Airlines President, Shinichi Nishikubo, Airbus President and CEO, Tom Enders, and Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers, John Leahy, together with Airbus Japan CEO, Stephane Ginoux.
At the signing ceremony Shinichi Nishikubo said, "We believe that the A380, the world's most cost-efficient, modern and environmentally friendly aircraft with cutting-edge technologies, will provide us with a strong competitive advantage and safe operation. We will become the very first Japanese airline to offer our passengers a unique and new experience of flying – more space, more comfort and a quieter cabin. With the four-engined A380, we are free from ETOPS constraints and can provide flexible operations."
"We are pleased to welcome Skymark as our newest and first Japanese A380 customer," said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO. "The A380 is the most eco-efficient solution to allow Japan's air traffic to grow in a capacity constrained environment."
The A380 is the most advanced, spacious and eco-efficient airliner in service today. Over ten million passengers have already enjoyed the unique experience of flying on board the all-new aircraft. The in-service fleet has accumulated by now almost 250,000 revenue flight hours in nearly 28,000 commercial flights. 20 major airports are currently served by the flagship of the 21st century.
Today, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, and Air France operate the aircraft on daily services to Narita Airport. Starting from March 27, 2011, Singapore Airlines will extend its A380 operation from Narita to Los Angeles, while Korean Air's first A380 service to Narita is scheduled on June 1 this year.
Following today's announcement, total firm orders for the A380 stand at 244 from 19 customers worldwide and 43 aircraft have been delivered to five customers.
For broadcasters:
Video and soundbites with Tom Enders, John Leahy and Shinichi Nishikubo are available on www.airbus.com/broadcastroom
• Two-wing, Flapping Aircraft Hovers and Flies in Any Direction
• Total Weight of Two-thirds of an Ounce Includes Batteries and Video Camera
WASHINGTON, at AAAS Conference, Feb. 17, 2011 – AeroVironment, Inc. (AV)(NASDAQ: AVAV) today announced it has accomplished a technical milestone never before achieved -- controlled precision hovering and fast-forward flight of a two-wing, flapping wing aircraft that carries its own energy source, and uses only the flapping wings for propulsion and control.
The milestone was part of the Phase II contract awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to AV to design and build a flying prototype "hummingbird-like" aircraft for the Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program.
The final concept demonstrator is called the 'Nano Hummingbird' and is capable of climbing and descending vertically, flying sideways left and right, flying forward and backward, as well as rotating clockwise and counter-clockwise, under remote control and carrying a video camera payload. During the demonstration the Nano Hummingbird flew in and out of a building through a normal-size doorway.
“The historic achievement made by the Nano Hummingbird is an example of the leading-edge innovations introduced and deployed almost routinely by the AeroVironment UAS team,” said Tom Herring, AV senior vice president and general manager of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “From the battle-proven Raven, Wasp and Puma small UAS to the tiny Nano Hummingbird to Global Observer, the largest, highest and longest flying UAS, AeroVironment continues to define the future of unmanned aircraft systems. Our mission in doing so is to provide our customers with advanced tools that help them succeed.”
The hand-made prototype aircraft has a wingspan of 16 centimeters (6.5 inches) tip-to-tip and has a total flying weight of 19 grams (2/3 ounce), which is less than the weight of a common AA battery. This includes all the systems required for flight; batteries, motors, communications systems and video camera. The aircraft can be fitted with a removable body fairing, which is shaped to have the appearance of a real hummingbird. The aircraft is larger and heavier than an average hummingbird, but is smaller and lighter than the largest hummingbird currently found in nature.
"The success of the Nano Hummingbird was highly dependent on the intense combination of creative, scientific, and artistic problem-solving skills from the many AV team members, aided by a philosophy of continuous learning, which we feel was only possible due to the unique R&D environment here at AV," said Matt Keennon, AV's project manager and principal investigator on the NAV project.
The technical goals for the Phase II effort were set out by DARPA as flight test milestones for the aircraft to achieve by the end of the contract effort. The Nano Hummingbird met all, and exceeded many, of the milestones:
1. Demonstrate precision hover flight within a virtual two-meter diameter sphere for one minute.
2. Demonstrate hover stability in a wind gust flight which required the aircraft to hover and tolerate a two-meter per second (five miles per hour) wind gust from the side, without drifting downwind more than one meter.
3. Demonstrate a continuous hover endurance of eight minutes with no external power source.
4. Fly and demonstrate controlled, transition flight from hover to 11 miles per hour fast forward flight and back to hover flight.
5. Demonstrate flying from outdoors to indoors, and back outdoors through a normal-size doorway.
6. Demonstrate flying indoors 'heads-down' where the pilot operates the aircraft only looking at the live video image stream from the aircraft, without looking at or hearing the aircraft directly.
7. Fly the aircraft in hover and fast forward flight with bird-shaped body and bird-shaped wings.
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About AeroVironment, Inc. (AV)
AV is a technology solutions provider that designs, develops, produces and supports an advanced portfolio of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and electric transportation solutions. Agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense and allied military services use the company’s battery-powered, hand-launched unmanned aircraft systems extensively to provide situational awareness to tactical operating units through real-time, airborne reconnaissance, surveillance and communication. Switchblade is a small UAS designed to provide a rapid, lethal, pinpoint precision strike capability with minimal collateral damage. AV’s electric transportation solutions include a comprehensive suite of electric vehicle (EV) charging systems and installation services for consumers, automakers, utilities and government agencies, power cycling and test systems for EV developers and industrial electric vehicle charging systems for commercial fleets. More information about AV is available at www.avinc.com.
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