First F-35 For The Netherlands Rolls Out Of F-35 Production Facility

The first F-35 Lightning II for The Netherlands rolled out of the F-35 production facility on April 1. This is the latest step in the production process leading to its eventual assignment to Eglin AFB, Fla., later this summer. The Netherlands will use the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) jet, known as AN-1, for training and operational tests for pilots and maintainers. AN-1 will undergo functional fuel system checks before being transported to the flight line for ground and flight tests in the coming weeks. The Royal Netherlands Air Force continues to be at the forefront of flight testing and pilot training and remains at the leading edge of advanced 5th Generation fighter technology.

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Boeing Successfully Completes Parachute Drop Test of Crew Space Transportation Spacecraft

1st test of fully combined vehicle landing system

HOUSTON, April 3, 2012 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] successfully completed a parachute drop test of the company's Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft today at the Delamar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nev. CST-100 is part of the Boeing Commercial Crew Transportation System (CCTS), which will provide the United States with the capability to transport people and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), the Bigelow Aerospace Complex and other destinations in low Earth orbit.

An Erickson Sky Crane helicopter lifted the CST-100 test article to about 11,000 feet and released it. Three main parachutes deployed to slow the capsule's descent before six airbags inflated, providing a smooth ground landing. The event was the first drop test of the fully combined vehicle landing system, including all elements.

"This successful test is a tremendous milestone that brings Boeing one step closer to completing development of a system that will provide safe, reliable and affordable crewed access to space," said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Programs.

Boeing is drawing on its significant knowledge, testing and experience gained from the Apollo missions as it develops and tests the CCTS. Leveraging re-entry and ocean landing data from the Apollo program, the rigorous CST-100 landing tests will reduce risk and validate the post re-entry landing and recovery capability of this system.

As part of the Boeing Commercial Crew team, Bigelow Aerospace played a key role by providing the capsule test article and associated electronics and supporting the test itself. Bigelow Aerospace is a Boeing customer, with plans to use the CCTS for transportation to and from Bigelow on-orbit platforms. Boeing and Bigelow Aerospace are partnering to advance the commercial space market by offering opportunities for integrated transportation and on-orbit platform capabilities and services to new customers.

The team is planning a second test later this month, following parachute inspection and re-packing. This second drop test will include a drogue parachute deployment sequence on top of the main parachute deployment, demonstrating the full, nominal parachute system performance.

Boeing has scheduled additional tests to be performed in 2012, including a landing air bag test series in May, a forward heat shield jettison test in June, and an orbital maneuvering/attitude control engine hot fire test in June -- all to gather additional data on key functional elements of the spacecraft design.

The Boeing Commercial Crew program includes the design, manufacture, test and evaluation, and demonstration of the CST-100 spacecraft, launch vehicle and mission operations -- all part of Boeing's Commercial Crew Transportation System -- for NASA's Commercial Crew Development program.

The CST-100 is a reusable capsule-shaped spacecraft based on proven materials and subsystem technologies that can transport up to seven people, or a combination of people and cargo. Boeing has designed the spacecraft to be compatible with a variety of expendable rockets. The company has selected United Launch Alliance's Atlas V launch vehicle for initial CST-100 test flights in 2015-16.

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Boeing Delivers Air France's 60th 777 Passenger Jetliner

Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Air France are celebrating the delivery of Air France's 60th Boeing 777 passenger jetliner. The airplane, a 777-300ER (Extended Range) model, landed in Paris this morning.

Air France's newest 777-300ER seats 468 passengers in a three-class configuration. The brand-new cabin includes 14 business class lie-flat seat beds measuring over 78.74 inches (2 m) in length, plus an in-seat entertainment system with 15-inch (38 cm) wide screens in 16:9 format. It also features 32 "Alize" new premium economy fixed-shell seats offering 40 percent additional space compared with seats in economy class.

Air France, a member of Sky Team, will operate this 777-300ER between Paris and the French Overseas Departments in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean regions, including Fort de France, Pointe a Pitre and St-Denis de la Reunion.

By summer 2012, Air France will operate a total of 62 777 passenger jetliners and two 777 Freighters.

The 777-300ER is 19 percent lighter than its closest competitor, greatly reducing its fuel requirement. It produces 22 percent less carbon dioxide per seat and costs 20 percent less to operate per seat.

Last year was the best year on record for 777 sales with 200 orders from 24 customers, topping the previous record of 154 set in 2005. Production is at an all-time high for the program and a 20 percent rate increase begins this fall, increasing from seven to 8.3 airplanes per month. The program will begin building 100 airplanes per year beginning in 2013.  

To date, Boeing has recorded orders for 1,367 777s to 64 customers around the globe

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New Boeing 747-8 Freighter Hits High Marks with Six Months in Service

World's most efficient large cargo airplane is performing at high levels of reliability, efficiency and environmental performance

EVERETT, Wash., April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The new Boeing (NYSE: BA) 747-8 Freighter reaches six months in service this month, and the airplane is setting new standards of efficiency and performance – meeting or exceeding expectations in service reliability, fuel burn, and payload capacity.

The airplane entered service in October 2011 with launch customer Cargolux.  Boeing has delivered 14 747-8 Freighters to five airlines (Cargolux, Cathay Pacific, Atlas, AirBridgeCargo and Korean Airlines) around the world.

"The 747-8 Freighter was designed to give airlines more of everything they loved about the 747-400 Freighter," said Elizabeth Lund, Boeing vice president and general manager, 747 Program. "It gives them more capacity, more range, more efficiency. And it gives them less of what they don't want – less fuel burn, less emissions, less noise and less cost."

The new 747-8 Freighter has exceeded dispatch reliability targets for its first six months of operation, and it's doing so in five different airline operating systems.

To help make the airplane as reliable as possible from the very start, Boeing spent hundreds of hours getting the carriers ready to take the airplane. Boeing's 747-8 entry-into-service team worked with the airlines to understand how they would operate the airplane, and made sure they had what they needed from day one -- from spares support to flight manuals to training to engineering.

The first 747-8 Freighters delivered are operating even more economically than predicted.

"We knew these first airplanes would give our customers double-digit improvements in fuel burn over the 747-400," said Bruce Dickinson, vice president and chief project engineer for the 747-8. "But our in-service performance numbers show that these airplanes are a full percentage point more efficient than even we predicted. That might not sound like much, but that can save an airline millions of dollars a year."

The airplane also is giving great improvements to airlines in capacity, allowing them to carry more – 16 percent more – revenue-producing freight than the 747-400 Freighter, while still retaining such advantages as the 747-400's nose door, which allows the airplane to carry outsized loads no other commercially produced airplane can carry.

And, after testing showed the 747-8 Freighter has a stronger structure than expected, Boeing's engineers gave that improvement back to customers, adding 12,000 lbs. to the airplane's operating design weights – meaning more payload and more customer revenue.

Recently, the airplane received approval to operate at London Heathrow Airport – the 200th airport around the world to permit 747-8 operations. It has flown revenue flights to more than 60 airports around the world – more than its closest competitor is even permitted to serve.

The 747-8 Freighter gives cargo operators the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large freighter airplane while providing enhanced environmental performance. At 250 feet, 2 inches (76.3 m) long -- 18 feet, 4 inches (5.6 m) longer than the 747-400 Freighter -- the 747-8 Freighter gives customers 16 percent more revenue cargo volume compared to its predecessor. That translates to four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets. The 747-8 Freighters are powered with GE Aviation's GEnx-2B engines.

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Boeing, US Navy Conduct Networked Distributed Targeting Capability Flight Test on Super Hornet

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Navy have successfully completed a flight test of the prototype Distributed Targeting System-Networked (DTS-N) on a Super Hornet. The system is designed to enhance the F/A-18E/F fighter jet’s targeting capabilities.

The test took place in late 2011 at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division Advanced Weapons Lab in China Lake, Calif., and was conducted by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron VX-31.

DTS-N is based on the Boeing Adaptive Architecture developed by the company’s Phantom Works division. It expands the capabilities of the soon-to-be-operational F/A-18E/F Distributed Targeting System by providing a dramatic increase in processing power and the ability to securely connect to advanced airborne networks. The framework is an open systems environment that allows for the swift interchange of software and hardware to support multiple missions.

“The success of this test validates the rapid prototyping work being carried out by our Phantom Works teams,” said James Dodd, vice president, Advanced Boeing Military Aircraft, a division of Boeing Phantom Works. “This leading-edge networking architecture will support our advanced aircraft and systems to better meet the needs of our customers and ensure the success of critical missions.”
The DTS-N test was the first major activity completed under the F/A-18 Flight Plan Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division (NAWC-WD) and Boeing.

“This unprecedented approach to cooperative cost-sharing and development is a tremendous step toward demonstrating open systems architecture that meets the customer’s needs in the 21st century,” said Shelley Lavender, Boeing vice president and general manager of Global Strike.

“With the successful first flight of the DTS-N under the CRADA, the Navy, Boeing, and its industry team have laid the groundwork for a technical and business environment that supports prototyping future flight plan acceleration initiatives,” said Harlan Kooima, the F-18 Integrated Product Team lead at Naval Air
Weapons Station China Lake.

During the flight test, an application developed by Phantom Works provided an auto-routing capability, while a separate Navy application developed by the NAWC-WD Weapon Engagement Office was used to generate Autonomous Target Acquisition templates for a captive-carried Joint Standoff weapon. The system also has robust provisions to address emerging information assurance and network security requirements. Harris Corp. provided flight-qualified hardware in support of the test.

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Alava Ingenieros presenta a su nuevo socio tecnológico HeadWall Photonics, que suministra cámaras hiperespectrales y sistemas de imagen hiperespectral de alta calidad.

Headwall Photonics acumula más de 33 años de experiencia diseñando espectrómetros de
altas prestaciones para distintos clientes OEM, y más de 15 años en el suministro de sistemas
de imagen hiperespectral de precisión para aplicaciones espaciales, militares y civiles, tanto
aéreas como basadas en tierra, así como investigación, desarrollo académico y control de
procesos industriales.

Diseñadas para su uso en laboratorio o en los ambientes más hostiles (UAVs por ejemplo), las
cámaras hiperespectrales Hyperspec™ y Micro-Hyperspec™ de Headwall lideran la industria
en cuanto a sus prestaciones tanto a nivel espectral como espacial.
Las propiedades ópticas del sistema único de rejillas holográficas original de las cámaras
hiperespectrales de Headwall proporcionan una característica exclusiva y fundamental para
asegurar unos resultados de medida excelentes.

Las áreas de aplicación para estas cámaras hiperespectrales son muy numerosas, variando
desde la creación en laboratorio de bibliotecas de imágenes hiperespectrales en distintos
campos de investigación hasta la teledetección, vigilancia perimetral o la minería.
• Investigación Agrícola, Gestión y monitorización de Cultivos
• Investigación forense
• Ingeniería Química , Biología y Biotecnología:
• Medicina:
• Restauración, antigüedades y pintura:
• Militar y defensa
• Explotaciones mineras
• Procesos Industriales
• Sensorización remota
• Aeroespacial

Desde Alava Ingenieros le ofreceremos asesoramiento técnico especializado para ayudarle a
seleccionar el equipo que más se ajuste a sus necesidades.

Nota de prensa y fotos

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Su-35 fighters made 500 test flights

Moscow, April 4. The 500th test flight was made on the Su-35 flight tests program. The aircraft was piloted by the Hero of Russia colonel Sergei Bogdan, the distinguished test pilot. In February 2008 it was him who took off for the first time in that modern super-maneuverable multi-functional fighter.

At present, the Joint State Tests (JST) of the airplane are going on. In March this year the fourth production Su-35S was delivered to the JST. The Su-35-1 and 2 carried out preliminary flight tests, during which the main established flight and technical characteristics of the on-board equipment and super maneuverability features were fully confirmed, stability and controllability characteristics, the characteristics of the power plant and the work of the navigation system were tested.

The plane reached the maximum ground-level speed of 1,400 km/h, speed at altitude — 2400 km/h, the ceiling — 18 thousand meters. The detection range of targets in the “air-to-air” mode is over 400 km. This is significantly higher than that of the combat aircraft currently in service. The onboard OLS (optical locator station) can detect and track multiple targets at ranges exceeding 80 km. The aircraft complex is ready to undergo tests for combat use.

The analysis of the amount of work already done allows a conclusion that Su-35/Su-35S has a much better flight characteristics compared to analogue aircraft in service. The airborne equipment of the plane allows solving a wider range of tasks set by tactical and technical requirements.

The potential characteristics incorporated in the aircraft will allow it to exceed all tactical fighters of the 4th and 4 + generations, such as “Rafale” and EF 2000, modernized fighters like the F-15, F-16, F-18, F-35 and to counter the F-22A fighter.

The serial production of the Su-35S is going on at the Sukhoi’s Y.A.Gagarin Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KNAAPO) in accordance with the state contract signed in 2009 to deliver 48 aircraft to the Russian Ministry of Defence by the year 2015.

 PR

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Insitu's Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated with Hydrogen Fuel Cell - AZoRobotics

Insitu's Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated with Hydrogen Fuel Cell - AZoRobotics:

Insitu's Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated with Hydrogen Fuel Cell AZoRobotics By Andy Choi Insitu, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, has declared that its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS) with hydrogen fuel cell has completed its two-and-a-half-hour flight test successfully. y más »

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Embraer se instalaría en Colombia - Publimetro Chile

Empresa aeronáutica brasileña se instalaría en Colombia - Publimetro Chile:

Empresa aeronáutica brasileña se instalaría en Colombia Publimetro Chile Un proyecto empresarial prevé instalar en el puerto de Buenaventura una industria de partes de avión para la fábrica estatal brasileña Embraer. El alcalde del municipio Bartolo Valencia dijo que la iniciativa sería muy importante para la ciudad y su ... y más »

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La crisis también tumba la entrada del fondo Mubadala en Aernnova - Noticias de Álava

La crisis también tumba la entrada del fondo Mubadala en Aernnova - Noticias de Álava:

Noticias de Álava

La crisis también tumba la entrada del fondo Mubadala en Aernnova Noticias de Álava El presidente de Aernnova, Iñaki López Gandásegui, en la presentación de la nueva sede. (Foto: p. oribe) Vitoria. Doce meses y una crisis interminable después han terminado por enviar al cajón también la operación de Aernnova para vender el 71% de su ... y más »

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Aernnova presenta un ERE en una de sus tres plantas de Álava y pide horas extra en las demás - El Correo Digital (Álava)

Aernnova presenta un ERE en una de sus tres plantas de Álava y ... - El Correo Digital (Álava):

Aernnova presenta un ERE en una de sus tres plantas de Álava y ... El Correo Digital (Álava) Los trabajadores del grupo Aernnova de Álava denunciaron ayer la situación «inmoral» que sufren en Berantevilla, donde la compañía tiene tres plantas: Fuasa, Moasa y Hegal. Según explicaron los comités de empresa, la primera de ellas ha presentado un ... Denuncian un ERE en Aernnova mientras se piden horas extraABC.es los 3 artículos informativos »

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Aernnova entrega el primer timón de profundidad del Airbus A350 - Fly-News

Aernnova entrega el primer timón de profundidad del Airbus A350 - Fly-News:

Aernnova entrega el primer timón de profundidad del Airbus A350 Fly-News El primer timón de profundidad fabricado por Aernnova para el nuevo avión Airbus A350 ya está en Getafe para su integración en el estabilizador horizontal y su envío a Toulouse. La factoría de Aernnova en Berantevilla (Álava) ha hecho entrega a Airbus ...

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