Get ready for the brand new A330neo first flight

Airbus’ latest A330 version prepares for its initial take-off

The new generation of Airbus’ popular A330 jetliner family is ready for its maiden flight this week. The A330neo features extensive technology transfers from the A350XWB, including new engines, wings, and systems as well as the signature Airspace cabin. These new features will provide significantly enhanced operating efficiency for airlines, and best-in-class comfort for passengers as well as impeccable environmental characteristics.


Slated for take-off from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in southwestern France – home to the A330 final assembly line – the initial aircraft is one of three jetliners earmarked for flight tests and certification of Airbus’ two A330neo variants: the A330-900, and the smaller A330-800.


A330neo attributes: advanced technology, maturity, and commonality


The A330neo integrates many of the technological advances of the A350 XWB while building upon the popularity and maturity of Airbus’ A330 airliner family (the world’s most-flown widebody aircraft series: more than 1,360 jetliners delivered; in-service operational reliability of 99.5 percent).


Key features of A330neo new generation technology include Rolls-Royce’s new Trent 7000 turbofan engines, themselves incorporating technology from the Trent XWB that power the A350 and new high-span wings incorporating optimised aerodynamics with new composite Sharklets. The result is new generation efficiency, with the A330neo offering 25% lower fuel burn than previous generation competitors.


In keeping with the Airbus philosophy of commonality across its product lines, pilots will be able to fly the A330neo, A350 XWB and A330 with one single license. And thanks to the Airspace cabin, passengers too will enjoy a seamless experience across the entire Airbus aircraft family.


Performing this week’s maiden flight will be an A330-900 variant, to be joined by one more A330-900 and one A330-800 version. Altogether, they are to accumulate some 1,400 hours of flight time, validating their handling characteristics, system operations, engine performance, cabin functionality and compatibility on airline-type routes.
The A330-900 is planned to receive type certification and enter service with TAP Portugal as the initial airline operator by mid-2018.

Read more...

Boeing, Air Force Test Team Completes First KC-46 to KC-46 Refueling

EVERETT, Wash., Oct. 11, 2017 – A Boeing [NYSE: BA]-U.S. Air Force test team recently refueled a KC-46A tanker from another KC-46A tanker for the first time.

During the four-hour flight, the two aircraft successfully refueled each other and achieved the maximum fuel offload rate of 1,200 gallons per minute. The program’s first and second tankers transferred a total of 38,100 pounds of fuel over the course of the flight. Both aircraft took off and landed at Boeing Field, south of Seattle.

The milestone flight helps pave the way for the next phases of certification and specification compliance testing.

The KC-46 will refuel U.S., allied and coalition military aircraft using both its boom and hose and drogue systems. The boom allows the tanker to transfer up to 1,200 gallons of fuel per minute, while the plane’s hose and drogue systems, located on both the plane’s wing and centerline, enables the KC-46 to refuel smaller aircraft with up to 400 gallons of fuel per minute.

To date, the program’s test aircraft have completed 2,000 flight hours and more than 1,300 contacts during refueling flights with F-16, F/A-18, AV-8B, C-17, A-10 and KC-10 aircraft.

Read more...

Flexrotor VTOL UAV Stays Aloft For 32 Hr.

http://aviationweek.com/awindefense/flexrotor-vtol-uav-stays-aloft-32-hr

Read more...

Indra developing new simulator for A330 MRTT refueling

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2017/10/17/Indra-developing-new-simulator-for-A330-MRTT-refueling/3811508254835/

Read more...

Spike Aerospace flies supersonic unmanned test flight

Next big future
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/10/spike-aerospace-flies-supersonic-unmanned-test-flight.html


Press Release

Boston, MA, Oct 09, 2017 — Early Saturday morning Oct 07, 2017, Spike Aerospace successfully test flew the subsonic subscale SX-1.2 demonstrator aircraft for the first time. The jet is an early unmanned prototype of the company’s 18 passenger S-512 Quiet Supersonic Jet. The SX-1.2 test flights proved that the aerodynamic design of the aircraft is valid and provided a tremendous amount of data regarding the flight characteristics of the aircraft.

In total, seven short flights were performed to test the design and flight controls of the jet. Between each test flight, adjustments were made to the aircraft’s center of mass, balance and control surfaces. Additional performance data was observed and collected.

KrishnaKumar Malu piloted the aircraft, assisted by Mike Ridlon, at a private airfield in New England. Mr. Malu said “These test flights are providing incredibly valuable information which we can use to refine the design. I am very excited about how helpful these tests will be to our supersonic development program.”

Vik Kachoria, President and CEO said “The SX-1.2 test flights were conducted in a real world situation, and provide significantly more data than wind tunnel tests done in an artificial environment. We were able to test not only handling, but also a range of other considerations.”

The weather was absolutely perfect, with winds at 7-10 mph and temperature near 70 F. The company is planning to make additional modifications based on data collected from the initial tests and will conduct more test flights on the SX-1.2 in early November. Work on SX-1.3, the next in the demonstrator series, has also begun.

Significant engineering resources and assistance was provided by Siemens, Quartus, Aernnova, Greenpoint, BRPH and others who have all been part of the development efforts to date.

Spike intends to have the S-512 aircraft flying by early 2021, with customer deliveries beginning in 2023. The S-512 will seat up to 22 passengers, with a range of 6200 miles and a cruise speed of Mach 1.6, saving 50% on flight times. And due to the aircraft’s low-boom signature, it will be able to fly overland without creating disturbing sonic booms.



About Spike Aerospace

Spike Aerospace is leading a global collaboration to develop the world’s first supersonic business jet, the Spike S-512 Quiet Supersonic Jet. This advanced next-generation aircraft can fly from NYC to LAX or London to Dubai in 3 hours with almost no sonic boom.

A world-class team of senior engineers with backgrounds from leading aerospace companies are developing the high-level conceptual design of the supersonic aircraft. Top aerospace firms, like Siemens, Quartus, Aernnova, Greenpoint, BRPH and others are providing their expertise in aircraft design, engineering, manufacturing and testing. Fly Supersonic. Do More. http://www.spikeaerospace.com/

Read more...

Drone delivery system tethers packages to any customer location

http://www.uasmagazine.com/articles/1759/drone-delivery-system-tethers-packages-to-any-customer-location

Read more...

Assessing the Airbus-Bombardier deal

• Stability for the Program
• Product support
• China
• Elsewhere
• Synergies

Continue reading https://leehamnews.com/2017/10/17/assessing-airbus-bombardier-deal/

• Airbus-Bombardier CSeries deal means no tariffs on US-assembled aircraft, says CEO

Continue reading https://leehamnews.com/2017/10/16/airbus-bombardier-cseries-deal-means-no-tariffs-us-assembled-aircraft-says-ceo/

• Bombardier and Airbus changed the airliner landscape yesterday. Analysts say it’s the largest industry change since Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas in 1997. o, what has Airbus bought for no money? A me-too, or a world-beater?

Continue reading https://leehamnews.com/2017/10/18/airbus-got-cseries/

Read more...

The Enigmatic SR-72 And the Palmdale Sightings: What Do They Tell Us About America’s Secret Hypersonic Program?

https://theaviationist.com/2017/10/12/the-enigmatic-sr-72-and-the-palmdale-sightings-what-do-they-tell-us-about-americas-secret-hypersonic-program/

Read more...

TsAGI completes Yak-152 strength tests

PR




At the beginning of September, the specialists of the Zhukovsky Central AeroHydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI, a member of the National Research Center" Institute named after N.E.Zhukovsky") completed another stage of static strength testing of the Yak-152 training aircraft.

The scientists investigated the behavior of the aircraft components under structural stress and deformations, receiving positive results for the wing and pilot’s canopy. They finished preparations for the joint static tests of wing mechanization (flaps and aileron), as well as the rudder and horizontal tail assembly. The undercarriage, engine hinge fittings and steering linkage will be studied in the future.

“We simulate aerodynamic effect on the individual structural components, and then on the entire machine,” stressed Victor Tsygankov, the head of TsAGI’s Static and Thermal Strength Department. “If a wing successfully withstands the loads equal to operation and close to computed values, this allows us to remove some maneuver limitations on an aircraft.”

The Yak-152 is a flight-training, single-engine two-seater aircraft used for initial training and professional selection of pilots. It is expected that students in training establishments will be able to learn entry level flight technique, navigation fundamentals and the principles of group flights. The aircraft development project started in 2014 and the first aircraft flew in September 2016.

Read more...

Kobe Steel has delivered material with falsified certificates to ~500 companies, including Boeing

Kobe has said some 500 companies worldwide are in a supply chain tainted by admissions that it falsified certifications on the strength and durability of metals going back to 2007, including automotive giants Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. and the U.S.’s biggest plane maker, Boeing Co. The besieged Japanese company said in a statement it can’t yet quantify the impact of the crisis on its earnings.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-17/kobe-steel-is-said-to-have-likely-faked-data-for-over-a-decade

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/16/news/companies/kobe-steel-scandal-what-we-know/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/business/kobe-steel-justice-department.html

Read more...

DJI's AeroScope tech identifies and tracks drones in flight

DJI has moved to allay some of the privacy concerns surrounding drones, introducing a new feature designed to identify its unmanned aircraft as they buzz about overhead. Dubbed AeroScope, the technology broadcasts information such as serial numbers and altitude to help authorities monitor the whereabouts of individual airborne drones.
.. Continue Reading DJI's AeroScope tech identifies and tracks drones in flight

Read more...