viernes, 31 de marzo de 2017
ACSS, NASA plan UAS collision avoidance flight tests this summer
“I think this is really going to open up a whole new avenue for the industry as far as being able to fly in the national airspace,” he said. “It will start with large UASs and evolve down to smaller UASs as we develop hardware that can be smaller and consume less power. For some of the medium-sized UASs, you’ll see this technology enabled more and more for commercial operations.” http://www.uasmagazine.com/articles/1674/
France says Indonesia signs tentative deal to buy A400M
Indonesia has signed a letter of intent to buy Airbus A400M military aircraft, the office of French President Francois Hollande said on Wednesday. http://www.reuters.com/article/airbus-indonesia-a400m-idUSL5N1H654L
Latin America fleet to more than double during the next 20 years
PRESS RELEASE
From 2016-2035, Latin America will require 2,570 new passenger and freighter aircraft, including 2,030 single-aisle and 540 widebody, worth an estimated US$350 billion. According to the most recent Airbus Global Market Forecast presented by Rafael Alonso, President of Airbus Latin America and Caribbean, at the International Brazil Air Show, Latin America’s passenger and freighter fleet will surpass 3,000 in the next 20 years, more than double the fleet in-service today.
Fueling this aircraft demand is Latin America’s passenger traffic growth, which is forecast to grow on par with the world average by 4.5 percent annually until 2035. This growth rate takes into account the 3.8 percent increase traffic between Latin America and other continents as well as the 4.9 percent increase in Latin America’s domestic and intra-regional traffic in the next 20 years. Latin America’s middle classes will also play a role in prompting growth, reaching half a billion people by 2035, more than double the number in 2006.
Rafael Alonso said: “There’s no doubt that solid long-term growth is in store for Latin America, and we see single-aisle aircraft leading the demand. We believe the A320neo Family, already flying with Latin America’s top carriers, remains perfectly suited to deliver on future growth and efficiency demands in the region, given its superior performance and comfort.”
Alonso added: “In the next 20 years Latin America will also be impacted by the rise of low-cost carriers in key markets such as Colombia, Chile, and Peru. This business model will impact market dynamics in the years to come, especially in domestic and intra-regional travel. Looking ahead, we also see a good opportunity for the region’s carriers to be more bullish on developing intra-regional routes, a space in which Latin America is less developed than other regions.”
In Brazil, where the aviation industry contributes over US$32 billion to the country’s GDP, fleets serving the country will require over 1,400 aircraft by 2035 to meet market demand. This will be driven by an increase in Brazilians’ propensity to travel, predicted to double the amount of trips per capita, and the acceleration of traffic growth which is forecasted to increase by 4.8 percent annually in the next 20 years, above the region’s and world’s rates.
With over 1,000 aircraft sold and a backlog of nearly 450, almost 650 Airbus aircraft are in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, representing a 53 percent market share of in-service fleet. Since 1990, Airbus has secured more than 60 percent of net orders in the region and in the past 10 years, Airbus has tripled its in-service fleet in Latin America.
From 2016-2035, Latin America will require 2,570 new passenger and freighter aircraft, including 2,030 single-aisle and 540 widebody, worth an estimated US$350 billion. According to the most recent Airbus Global Market Forecast presented by Rafael Alonso, President of Airbus Latin America and Caribbean, at the International Brazil Air Show, Latin America’s passenger and freighter fleet will surpass 3,000 in the next 20 years, more than double the fleet in-service today.
Fueling this aircraft demand is Latin America’s passenger traffic growth, which is forecast to grow on par with the world average by 4.5 percent annually until 2035. This growth rate takes into account the 3.8 percent increase traffic between Latin America and other continents as well as the 4.9 percent increase in Latin America’s domestic and intra-regional traffic in the next 20 years. Latin America’s middle classes will also play a role in prompting growth, reaching half a billion people by 2035, more than double the number in 2006.
Rafael Alonso said: “There’s no doubt that solid long-term growth is in store for Latin America, and we see single-aisle aircraft leading the demand. We believe the A320neo Family, already flying with Latin America’s top carriers, remains perfectly suited to deliver on future growth and efficiency demands in the region, given its superior performance and comfort.”
Alonso added: “In the next 20 years Latin America will also be impacted by the rise of low-cost carriers in key markets such as Colombia, Chile, and Peru. This business model will impact market dynamics in the years to come, especially in domestic and intra-regional travel. Looking ahead, we also see a good opportunity for the region’s carriers to be more bullish on developing intra-regional routes, a space in which Latin America is less developed than other regions.”
In Brazil, where the aviation industry contributes over US$32 billion to the country’s GDP, fleets serving the country will require over 1,400 aircraft by 2035 to meet market demand. This will be driven by an increase in Brazilians’ propensity to travel, predicted to double the amount of trips per capita, and the acceleration of traffic growth which is forecasted to increase by 4.8 percent annually in the next 20 years, above the region’s and world’s rates.
With over 1,000 aircraft sold and a backlog of nearly 450, almost 650 Airbus aircraft are in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, representing a 53 percent market share of in-service fleet. Since 1990, Airbus has secured more than 60 percent of net orders in the region and in the past 10 years, Airbus has tripled its in-service fleet in Latin America.
Aircraft Interiors Expo 2017: Focusing on cabin efficiency, passenger comfort and cabin upgrades services
PRESS RELEASE
Hamburg - Airbus showcases its new cabin innovations at this years’ Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany – the world’s largest event dedicated to the aircraft interiors industry, in-flight entertainment, connectivity and passenger services.
Journalists who attend the Airbus Media Briefing at our stand will be able to learn about several new A380 cabin efficiency enablers – including new space-creating staircase and crew-rest arrangements – and also visualise them thanks to a large four-metre long cutaway model of the entire A380 interior containing these enablers.
For the Widebody A330neo and A350 XWB, Airbus will showcase the latest amenities and comfort of the Airspace cabin, with two full-scale cabin cross-section mockups. Visitors will be able to further explore these as well as our other aircraft cabins in full immersive 3D ‘walk-thru’ virtual reality. Moreover, for our industry leading Single-Aisle cabin product, Airbus will also display some new seat innovations.
In addition, representatives from Airbus and *Inflight VR will also demonstrate how we will be ready to take virtual reality IFE to the next level – into the sky for a true digital “Airbus VR Passenger Experience”.
Airbus’ cabin innovations concepts go beyond new products and technologies: There will be some significant news about Airbus’ new dedicated cabin upgrade offerings.
For the media attending the show, our cabin experts and executives will be available for dedicated briefings and interview opportunities each day.
Following the dedicated Airbus cabin press briefing on Tuesday April 4th at 09h30-10.30hrs, Expo trade media are also invited to our cabin mock-ups / demo tours and expert interviews. On the same day at 13.50hrs there will also be a new cabin supplier + product announcement.
* Inflight VR is part of the Airbus BizLab accelerator programme.
Hamburg - Airbus showcases its new cabin innovations at this years’ Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany – the world’s largest event dedicated to the aircraft interiors industry, in-flight entertainment, connectivity and passenger services.
Journalists who attend the Airbus Media Briefing at our stand will be able to learn about several new A380 cabin efficiency enablers – including new space-creating staircase and crew-rest arrangements – and also visualise them thanks to a large four-metre long cutaway model of the entire A380 interior containing these enablers.
For the Widebody A330neo and A350 XWB, Airbus will showcase the latest amenities and comfort of the Airspace cabin, with two full-scale cabin cross-section mockups. Visitors will be able to further explore these as well as our other aircraft cabins in full immersive 3D ‘walk-thru’ virtual reality. Moreover, for our industry leading Single-Aisle cabin product, Airbus will also display some new seat innovations.
In addition, representatives from Airbus and *Inflight VR will also demonstrate how we will be ready to take virtual reality IFE to the next level – into the sky for a true digital “Airbus VR Passenger Experience”.
Airbus’ cabin innovations concepts go beyond new products and technologies: There will be some significant news about Airbus’ new dedicated cabin upgrade offerings.
For the media attending the show, our cabin experts and executives will be available for dedicated briefings and interview opportunities each day.
Following the dedicated Airbus cabin press briefing on Tuesday April 4th at 09h30-10.30hrs, Expo trade media are also invited to our cabin mock-ups / demo tours and expert interviews. On the same day at 13.50hrs there will also be a new cabin supplier + product announcement.
* Inflight VR is part of the Airbus BizLab accelerator programme.
A350-1000 performed ‘High and Warm’ flight test campaign in Latin America
PRESS RELEASE
With the objective of conducting a ‘High and Warm’ flight test campaign to check aircraft and engine performance in high-altitude, warm and humid conditions, the A350-1000 MSN071 test aircraft flew first to Bolivia before completing its tour in Colombia and then returning to Toulouse, France, after 10 days of flight and ground tests.
The flight test campaign took place at three different airports:
· Cochabamba at an altitude of 8,300ft (2,350m)
· La Paz at 13,300ft (4,054m)
· Barranquilla at sea level, with temperatures ranging between 8°C and 32°C
The aircraft took-off and landed several times at each airport to collect data.
Early test results confirm the good performance and behavior of both the aircraft and its Trent XWB-97 engines. This is a major successful milestone in the aircraft certification flight test campaign.
The A350-1000 is ready for high altitude operations from Entry Into Service later this year.
All three A350-1000 flight test aircraft (MSN059, MSN071 and MSN065) are engaged in the ongoing Type Certification campaign, during which the aircraft is pushed to extreme limits well beyond what they should ever face during normal in-service operations.
With over 1,000 aircraft sold and a backlog of nearly 450, almost 650 Airbus aircraft are in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, representing a dominant market share of 53 percent of the region’s in-service fleet. Since 1990, Airbus has secured more than 60 percent of net orders in the region and in the past 10 years, Airbus has tripled its in-service fleet.
About Airbus
Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2016 it generated revenues of €67 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as Europe’s number one space enterprise and the world’s second largest space business. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.
With the objective of conducting a ‘High and Warm’ flight test campaign to check aircraft and engine performance in high-altitude, warm and humid conditions, the A350-1000 MSN071 test aircraft flew first to Bolivia before completing its tour in Colombia and then returning to Toulouse, France, after 10 days of flight and ground tests.
The flight test campaign took place at three different airports:
· Cochabamba at an altitude of 8,300ft (2,350m)
· La Paz at 13,300ft (4,054m)
· Barranquilla at sea level, with temperatures ranging between 8°C and 32°C
The aircraft took-off and landed several times at each airport to collect data.
Early test results confirm the good performance and behavior of both the aircraft and its Trent XWB-97 engines. This is a major successful milestone in the aircraft certification flight test campaign.
The A350-1000 is ready for high altitude operations from Entry Into Service later this year.
All three A350-1000 flight test aircraft (MSN059, MSN071 and MSN065) are engaged in the ongoing Type Certification campaign, during which the aircraft is pushed to extreme limits well beyond what they should ever face during normal in-service operations.
With over 1,000 aircraft sold and a backlog of nearly 450, almost 650 Airbus aircraft are in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, representing a dominant market share of 53 percent of the region’s in-service fleet. Since 1990, Airbus has secured more than 60 percent of net orders in the region and in the past 10 years, Airbus has tripled its in-service fleet.
About Airbus
Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2016 it generated revenues of €67 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as Europe’s number one space enterprise and the world’s second largest space business. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.
Iowa State engineers test heated pavement technology at Des Moines International Airport
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University’s Halil Ceylan picked up his smartphone, opened up an app and called up the remote controls for the first full-scale test slabs of electrically conductive concrete installed at an American airport.
When a winter storm approaches, Ceylan can use that app to turn on the heated pavement system and, thanks to real-time video capability, watch as snow and ice melts away.
Late last fall Ceylan and his research team from Iowa State’s Program for Sustainable Pavement Engineering and Research installed two, 15-by-13.5-foot test slabs of electrically conductive concrete into the apron at the southwest corner of the Elliott Aviation hangar on the north side of the Des Moines International Airport. The hangar is in the middle of the general aviation apron devoted to smaller aircraft.
Ceylan, an Iowa State professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, still working the system’s phone app, called up pictures of the slabs during one of this winter’s rare snowfalls. The apron all around the test slabs was covered with an inch or two of white snow; the two slabs, marked by diagonally painted red stripes, were clear and drying.
“We have proven this technology does work,” Ceylan said. “Our goal is to keep airports open, safe and accessible. We don’t want any slips or falls, or any aircraft skidding off runways. Our technologies can contribute to providing a safe environment and fewer delays.”
The cost of heating pavement
It’s the first thing Ceylan brings up after noting the success of the test slabs at the Des Moines airport: “People wonder how much this costs.”
Ceylan and his research group have run the numbers: Using 333 watts per square meter (about the energy used by three light bulbs) for seven hours, the operating cost is about 19 cents per square meter.
Seven hours “is way more than enough to melt an inch of ice or snow,” Ceylan said.
While the installation costs would be higher than regular pavements, the heated pavement technology also saves on the cost of plows, de-icing chemicals and wastewater treatment of chemical runoff.
Ali Nahvi, a graduate student in civil, construction and environmental engineering and part of Ceylan’s research group, has been analyzing the economics of heated runways at airports.
And so far, Ceylan said Nahvi’s data say the benefits are greater than the costs.
How it works
Ceylan, calling up video of the test slabs the day after a light snowfall, noted how dry they were.
“It’s not snowing right now, but it’s still cold with snow and ice on the ground,” he said. “It’s really neat how it works.”
The test slabs of electrically conductive concrete are made up of 1 percent carbon fiber and a special mix of cement, sand and rocks. The carbon fiber allows the concrete to conduct electricity, but there is some resistance to the moving electrons, which creates heat.
Alireza Sassani, a doctoral student in civil, construction and environmental engineering, led studies of the concrete mix. With help from the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center based at Iowa State, he prepared hundreds of concrete samples in the lab to find just the right combination of compressive strength, tensile strength, workability, durability and electrical conductivity.
The test slabs at the Des Moines airport are 7.5 inches thick in two layers – the bottom 4 inches are regular concrete, the top 3.5 are electrically conductive concrete. Between the layers are twelve metal electrodes, six per slab, running the width of each slab. The electrodes are wired to the nearby hangar’s power supply.
The slabs are also wired with various sensors: temperature probes, strain gauges, humidity sensors and more. There are two surveillance cameras mounted nearby. And the team just acquired its newest research tool – a high-grade thermal camera.
Hesham Abdualla and Sajed Sadati, doctoral students in civil, construction and environmental engineering, recently demonstrated the camera by sending 70 volts of power through a test sample of electrically conductive concrete that was 14 inches long, 4 inches wide and 4 inches thick.
Ali Arabzadeh, another doctoral student in civil, construction and environmental engineering, set the thermal camera nearby and you could watch the electrodes heat up, creating thermal images in reds and whites. Then, as the carbon fibers in the test sample spread electricity and heat, the camera’s images turned from blues to greens to yellows. After several minutes, the camera recorded a sample temperature of about 75 degrees.
Airport perspective
Ceylan’s heated pavement research is part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability, or PEGASAS. The partnership was established in 2012 and is led by researchers at Purdue University. Other core members are from Iowa State, The Ohio State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida Institute of Technology and Texas A&M University.
The FAA’s centers of excellence establish cost-sharing research partnerships with the federal government, universities and industry. PEGASAS researchers are studying a variety of general aviation issues including airport technology, flight safety and adverse weather operations.
The program is providing about $2.2 million for Iowa State’s full-scale demonstration of snow- and ice-free airfield pavements and other studies of heated pavements. The university is matching those funds.
After early success with heated pavements in his campus lab, Ceylan and his research group were ready to move on to larger-scale studies. That led to discussions about airport tests with Bryan Belt, the director of engineering and planning at the Des Moines International Airport.
Belt said this is the first major research project at the airport. With Ames and Iowa State only about 40 miles away and the FAA as a major partner of the airport, he thought the airport should find a way to participate.
“It’s a major accomplishment to coordinate with the airport,” Ceylan said. “We really appreciate the cooperation.”
Through their discussions, Ceylan and Belt thought it would be better and safer for the initial tests to be on a section of airport apron before trying this technology at other areas of the airport.
Ceylan noted that aprons are the most congested areas at airports and it takes a long time to clear them of snow and ice because big plows and other heavy equipment can’t work in such busy areas.
So Belt identified a site and with the help of a project team from Foth Infrastructure and Environment, the test slabs were installed last October and November. Belt has checked on the test slabs three times during snowy or icy weather.
“It was fascinating to see that it worked,” Belt said, noting Ceylan is now “trying to beat the weather to the punch” by turning on the heated pavements even before the snow starts flying.
Belt said he can see the technology being useful in and around gates where there are lots of airport ground-handling equipment and employee activity. He also said heated pavements would be a big help at the front of the terminal with its sidewalks, crosswalks and ramps – he said it takes a lot of work to keep the areas clear and safe.
“There are definitely some opportunities for the technology,” he said.
But, he said he’s going to take a wait-and-see approach until there’s more testing and there’s more information about installation and operating costs.
The testing is hardly over, Ceylan said.
In addition to collecting more data on the electrically conductive concrete, he said the team will soon be adding a hydrophobic coating to one of the test slabs. The water-repelling coating is designed to keep snow and ice from sticking to the pavement, making it much easier to keep clear and dry.
“We’re looking at hybrid heated pavements systems,” Ceylan said. “We think we can take advantage of multiple technologies to keep airports open and safe during the winter.”
New study sheds light on how mosquitoes wing it
Oxford University Press Release
The unique mechanisms involved in mosquito flight have been shared for the first time in a new Oxford University collaboration, which could inform future aerodynamic innovations, including tiny scale flying tech.
Much is known about mosquito behaviour but scientists have long had questions about the aerodynamics of how they manage to fly. In the past technology has not been capable of capturing high speed wing movements, but recent science developments have made it possible to track and understand the wing movements of flies.
In partnership with the Royal Veterinary College and Chiba University, scientists from Oxford’s Department of Zoology analysed the insects’ every movement to understand how mosquitoes fly. Well known carriers of diseases, mosquitoes’ abnormally long, narrow wings and distinctive flight behaviour set them apart from other insects. Not only that, but when flapped, these wings move back and forth approximately 800 times each second - far faster than any other insect of comparable size. To compensate for these rapid movements, their stroke amplitude (the angle through which the wing sweeps) is less than half that of any other insect measured to date.
Using a combination of high-speed cameras set up in a miniature film studio, designed specifically for the project and computer simulations, the team recorded the mosquitoes’ subtle three-dimensional wing movements and mapped their complex aerodynamics. The insects’ insects’ flight was captured using eight cameras, each recording at 10,000 frames per second. The equipment used allowed the researchers to observe the insect’s subtlest movements and these motions were replicated via computer simulation, to show the airflow produced by their beating wings, revealing that mosquitoes enhance their flight forces using two novel aerodynamic mechanisms that make use of rapid and exquisitely controlled wing rotations.
In addition to generating lift by leading-edge vortices, which are rotational, bubbles of low pressure created along the edge of the wing, mosquitoes use two novel aerodynamic mechanisms to make them fly; trailing edge vortices and rotational drag. The trailing-edge vortex is a new form of ‘wake capture’, where the mosquitoes align their wings with the fluid flows they created during the previous wingbeat, recycling energy that would otherwise be lost to the environment.
‘The usual flapping pattern of short, fast sweeps means that mosquitoes cannot rely on conventional aerodynamic mechanisms that most insects and helicopters use.” says Dr Richard Bomphrey of the Royal Veterinary College, who led the study, published this week in the journal Nature. “Instead, we predicted that they must make use of clever tricks as the wings reverse their direction at the end of each half-stroke.’
Of the challenges faced during the project, Dr Simon Walker, of the Oxford Animal Flight Group in Oxford’s Department of Zoology and co-author of the study said: ‘Recording mosquitoes during free-flight represented a huge technical challenge due to their small size, extreme wing-beat frequency, and the presence of large antennae and legs, that can mask the view of their wings.’
These new aerodynamic mechanisms help explain the unusual shape of mosquito wings. ‘In most insects, aerodynamic forces increase as you move out along the wing length because the wing tip travels faster than the wing root,’ says Dr Toshiyuki Nakata, from Chiba, who ran the computer simulations. ‘However, by exploiting aerodynamics that rely on rapid pitching of the wing, the force can be produced along the entire length. Having a long slender wing can therefore increase lift force and simultaneously reduce the cost of flight.’
Understanding the mechanisms that enable mosquitoes and other flying insects to fly in their unique way, could support the development of aerodynamic innovations such as tiny scale flying tech, like piezoelectric actuators.
Speaking on how the findings can be built on with future research, Dr Walker said: ‘Understanding the genetic make-up and physiology of mosquitoes tells us how they are able to fly, but it is also the first step to understanding why. There is still much to learn from flying insects, the more we know about them, the better our chance of understanding their flight behaviour, how they carry disease and eventually how to stop them from doing so.’
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Center Fuselage Rebuild Could Be F-15C/D Achilles’ Heel [feedly]
U.S. Air Force considers major F-15C life-extension too costly
The U.S. Air Force says it needs a minimum of 100 new fighters per year to begin rejuvenating the force as it considers retiring the F-15C Eagle.
read more
http://aviationweek.com/defense/center-fuselage-rebuild-could-be-f-15cd-achilles-heel
-- via my feedly newsfeed
The U.S. Air Force says it needs a minimum of 100 new fighters per year to begin rejuvenating the force as it considers retiring the F-15C Eagle.
read more
http://aviationweek.com/defense/center-fuselage-rebuild-could-be-f-15cd-achilles-heel
-- via my feedly newsfeed
SpaceX makes history by launching and returning first reusable rocket
SpaceX launches first reused rocket, testing cost-cutting model
CBC.ca-hace 6 horas
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from the pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Thursday evening. It was the first time SpaceX founder Elon ...