www.Noticias-Aero.info: 2015/04/27

lunes, 27 de abril de 2015

NASA, Boeing ecoDemonstrator Jet Comes to Shreveport for Anti-Bug Research

press release

NASA will test non-stick wing coatings designed to minimize insect residue and help reduce aircraft fuel consumption during flights in Shreveport, Louisiana during the next two weeks.

The Boeing ecoDemonstrator 757 flight test jet is scheduled to arrive at the Shreveport Regional Airport after flying from Seattle Monday afternoon. To track its progress, go to:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/BOE016

Media interested in seeing the airplane's arrival should contact Mark Crawford at 318-780-7080. Media will gather at the TacAir Facility located at 6209 Interstate Drive, Shreveport, Louisiana, and be escorted to the plane.

During 15 planned ecoDemonstrator flights through May 15, NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project will assess how well five different coatings prevent insect remains from sticking to the leading edge of the 757's right wing. Bug residue is a nuisance on cars, but on some aircraft designs it is also a drag, literally. Studies have shown that keeping the flow smooth, or laminar, over a wing can reduce fuel consumption as much as six percent. Even something as small as a bug on a leading edge can cause turbulent wedges that interrupt laminar flow, resulting in an increase in drag and fuel use.

Engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, developed and tested several non-stick coatings in a small wind tunnel and on the wing of a Langley jet. They selected the best candidates to test on the ecoDemonstrator 757, while a NASA, Boeing, U.S. Department of Transportation (Volpe), and University of California-Davis team looked for an area with a large bug population to flight test the surfaces. After narrowing the list of 90 airports to six, Shreveport was chosen based on runway length, temperature, humidity, weather, the ability to handle a 757 aircraft and thunderstorm frequency.

The Langley researchers will work with Boeing pilots and engineers to test the coatings on two of the leading edge slats on the jet’s right wing during the Louisiana flights. The team will establish a bug baseline by using uncoated surfaces to capture insect accumulation rates. Then they will fly untreated control surfaces along with engineered surface samples of the five coatings being tested.

NASA's goals are not only to determine which coating is most effective in decreasing the amount of bug residue, but also to provide data that will allow engineers to measure how reducing the size and specific locations of bug strikes affect laminar flow and help improve fuel efficiency.

According to Boeing, the ecoDemonstrator Program plays a key role in the company’s environmental strategy by testing and accelerating new technologies that can reduce fuel use, carbon emissions and noise. In collaboration with NASA and TUI Group, Europe’s leading travel group, the ecoDemonstrator 757 began flight tests in March with a focus on improving aerodynamic efficiency. In 2014, the company tested more than 25 technologies on the ecoDemonstrator 787. In 2012, Boeing tested 15 ecoDemonstrator technologies on an American Airlines 737-800.

With the exception of Boeing proprietary technology, NASA knowledge gained through the ecoDemonstrator research will be publicly available to benefit industry.

For more information about ecoDemonstrator 757 tests and a photograph of the plane, see:

http://go.nasa.gov/1GAf7rv

New funds to aid Coast Guard in adopting a UAV

http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/coast-guard/2015/04/25/coast-guard-drone-uav-budget-surveillance/26193019/

The service needs something that can fly in terrible weather, at high altitudes and for days on end to aid in drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue, and other missions, the unmanned aerial system program manager told an audience recently at the annual Sea Air Space Exposition outside Washington, D.C.

Without funds for its own acquisition program, the Coast Guard is hoping to pick up a modified version of an existing platform, or help facilitate a new drone through the Defense Department's Join Tactical UAV program office.

"We're really agnostic with what it is — whether it's fixed-wing, rotary-wing," Lt. Cmdr. Dan Broadhurst said. "But what we need is a tactical, local asset that we can send out for up to 12 hours and probably up to about 5,000 feet."

New docking system means drones can re-charge their batteriesl in mid-air

http://mashable.com/2015/04/27/new-drone-docking-system/

https://youtu.be/qQrVQ-wpUfM

One New Zealand-born man may have come up with a system to change that. Daniel Wilson, a researcher at the University of Sydney's Australian Centre for Field Robotics, has developed a method to allow UAVs to dock and recharge in mid-air, much like military jets do. He believes his team's successful UAV docking in November last year was a world first.

Space Solar Power Initiative Established by Northrop Grumman and Caltech

PASADENA, Calif. – April 20, 2015 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has signed a sponsored research agreement with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for the development of the Space Solar Power Initiative (SSPI). Under the terms of the agreement, Northrop Grumman will provide up to $17.5 million to the initiative over three years.

Working together, the team will develop the scientific and technological innovations necessary to enable a space-based solar power system capable of generating electric power at cost parity with grid-connected fossil fuel power plants. SSPI responds to the engineering challenge of providing a cost-competitive source of sustainable energy. SSPI will develop technologies in three areas: high-efficiency ultralight photovoltaics; ultralight deployable space structures; and phased array and power transmission.

SSPI was conceived by three principal investigators from Caltech's Division of Engineering and Applied Science (EAS) who jointly lead the initiative:

Harry A. Atwater, Jr., Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science, Director of the Resnick Sustainability Institute;
Ali Hajimiri, Thomas G. Myers Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering; and
Sergio Pellegrino, Joyce and Kent Kresa Professor of Aeronautics, Professor of Civil Engineering and Jet Propulsion Laboratory Senior Research Scientist.

Atwater, Hajimiri and Pellegrino have assembled a team of students, postdoctoral scholars, and senior researchers that will eventually exceed 50 members. EAS is building specialized laboratory facilities to support this team. Northrop Grumman engineers and scientists will collaborate with the team at Caltech to develop solutions, build prototypes and obtain experimental and numerical validation of concepts that could allow development to proceed toward eventual implementation.

"By working together with Caltech, Northrop Grumman extends its long heritage of innovation in space-based technologies and mission solutions," said Joseph Ensor, vice president and general manager, Space Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems, Northrop Grumman. "The potential breakthroughs from this research could have extensive applications across a number of related power use challenges."

"This initiative is a great example of how Caltech engineers are working at the leading edges of fundamental science to invent the technologies of the future," said Ares Rosakis, Otis Booth Leadership Chair of the Caltech Division of Engineering and Applied Science and the Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering. "The Space Solar Power Initiative brings together electrical engineers, applied physicists, and aerospace engineers in the type of profound interdisciplinary collaboration that is seamlessly enhanced at a small place like Caltech. I believe it also demonstrates the value of industry and academic partnerships. We are working on extremely difficult problems that could eventually provide the foundations for new industries."

Caltech and Northrop Grumman have a long history of collaboration, dating back decades to joint work between Professor Theodore von Kármán and Jack Northrop. Von Kármán was a scientist and engineer who directed Caltech's Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory during the 1930s and later co-founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Northrop was an aviation pioneer who in 1939 founded the Northrop Corporation, one of the legacy companies that united to become Northrop Grumman. This unique $17.5 million initiative is one of the largest corporate sponsored research projects Caltech has undertaken in recent years.

Caltech (www.caltech.edu) is a world-renowned research and education institution focused on science and engineering, where faculty and students pursue new knowledge about our world and search for the kinds of bold and innovative advances that will transform our future. The scientific, engineering, and technological contributions of Caltech's faculty and alumni have earned national and international recognition. Caltech's 124-acre campus is located in Pasadena, California. The Institute manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (www.jpl.nasa.gov) for NASA, and owns and operates several large-scale research facilities. The Caltech Division of Engineering and Applied Science (www.eas.caltech.edu) consists of seven departments and supports teaching and research faculty who work with internationally diverse and extremely talented students, postdoctoral scholars, and colleagues.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

USAF uses new 3D laser technology to maintain ageing KC-135 Stratotankers [feedly]

http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/newsusaf-uses-new-3-d-laser-technology-to-maintain-ageing-kc-135-stratotankers-4562762

THY A320 at Istanbul on Apr 25th 2015, hard landing, go-around, engine problem, gear problem, gear collapse, runway excursion [feedly]

THY A320 at Istanbul on Apr 25th 2015, hard landing, go-around, engine problem, gear problem, gear collapse, runway excursion
https://feedity.com/hop.aspx?MzI1NzI25OXKKCkpsNLXTyzLSC1KzEnRS87P1c%2bwTywqyUzOSbU1sTA1MUtNMlPLLyixNQAA

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Some interesting photos of the impressive Israel’s 67th Independence Day flypast [feedly]

Some interesting photos of the impressive Israel's 67th Independence Day flypast
http://theaviationist.com/2015/04/24/israel-flyover-for-67-independence-day/

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BAE selling part of their US branches

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2015/04/bae-looks-to-sell-1-5services-consolidate.html

The plan is to sell most of the services businesses in the U.S. subsidiary’s intelligence and security sector, while shifting its geospatial-intelligence unit to the electronics sector,” said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer for the Arlington-based think tank Lexington Institute, who is a consultant to BAE.

Airbus moves ahead with defence electronics, other asset sales

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/04/23/airbus-m-a-units-idINKBN0NE1A320150423

Europe's defence industry is struggling as cash-strapped governments cut military spending, and the asset sales are part of efforts announced by Airbus last year to sell half a dozen businesses with combined annual revenues of around 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion).

US Navy Leans Toward Building More Super Hornets After F-35C Delays

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/04/22/navy-leans-toward-building-more-super-hornets-after-f35c-delays.html

"We have looked at the F-18 inventory as part of our overall inventory management. The CNO (Chief of Naval Operations) has testified that looking at our inventory from now into the mid-2020s and 2030s -- we need about two to three squadrons of Super Hornets to really reduce risk going forward as we procure F-35Cs," Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, airector of air warfare, told Military.com in an interview.

Video: X-47B First to Complete Autonomous Aerial Refueling

Ryanair's O'Leary Says Biofuel Use Is A 'PR Stunt' [feedly]

Ryanair's O'Leary Says Biofuel Use Is A 'PR Stunt'
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=565a1fde-01bd-4062-86d7-dc2b8360b147

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Skylon's SABRE engine concept passes US Air Force feasibilty test [feedly]

http://www.gizmag.com/sabre-engine-afrl-feasibility-study/37092/

Reaction Engines' Skylon reusable spaceplane project has been given a boost, with analysis by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) confirming the feasibility of the SABRE engine cycle concept that lies at its heart. .. Continue Reading SABRE engine concept passes US Air Force feasibilty test

Audi just created diesel fuel from air and water [feedly]

http://www.gizmag.com/audi-creates-e-diesel-from-co2/37130/

Audi is looking to fuel the future without fossil fuels. One of the company's pilot plants in Germany has just produced the first batches of a synthetic diesel made using only water and air. The company's pilot plant, which is operated by German startup Sunfire, produced its first batches of the "e-diesel" this month. German Federal Minister of Education and Research Johanna Wanka put a few liters of the fuel in her work car, an Audi A8, to commemorate the accomplishment... Continue Reading Audi just created diesel fuel from air and water

Porsche working on variable-compression engine [feedly]

http://www.gizmag.com/porsche-variable-compression-engine-patent/37186/

While the fashion in high-tech automotive developments might lean towards hybrids and electric vehicles at the moment, there's still plenty of scope to improve the good old internal combustion engine and one of the holy grails of such development is the creation of a viable variable-compression-ratio system. Now Porsche is working on just such an engine, revealed in the form of a newly-published patent, which will be able to alter its compression ratio. .. Continue Reading Porsche working on variable-compression engine