China is making 1,000-UAV drone swarms now

These autonomous swarms can make decisions on how and when to repair themselves. At the close of the Global Fortune Forum in Guangzhou on Dec. 7, the event's hosts set a world record for the largest drone swarm ever deployed. For 9 minutes, 1,180 drones danced and blinked out an aerial show. It w...

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Boeing Reports Fourth-Quarter Deliveries

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Boeing Reports Fourth-Quarter Deliveries // MediaRoom
http://boeing.mediaroom.com/2018-01-09-Boeing-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-Deliveries


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Boeing Sets Airplane Delivery Record, Finishes 2017 with Larger Order Book

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Boeing Sets Airplane Delivery Record, Finishes 2017 with Larger Order Book // MediaRoom
http://boeing.mediaroom.com/2018-01-09-Boeing-Sets-Airplane-Delivery-Record-Finishes-2017-with-Larger-Order-Book

- Delivered 763 commercial airplanes to lead industry for sixth straight year
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​Unionised Ryanair will be 'markedly different': HSBC

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​Unionised Ryanair will be 'markedly different': HSBC // Airlines news
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/unionised-ryanair-will-be-markedly-different-hsb-444654/

Ryanair's decision to enter talks on recognising unions for both pilots and cabin crew, disclosed last month, will create a "markedly different" company, HSBC has predicted in an analyst note.
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Innovation at Bell: HYDRA Demonstration; FCX-001 Concept Helicopter

HYDRA 
http://news.bellhelicopter.com/en-US/162794-hydra-a-mission-of-movement

https://youtu.be/q8MLVIlCsc8

FCX-001 Concept Helicopter
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/company/innovation/fcx-001

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Bell Unveils Air Taxi Approach With Cabin Demo

http://aviationweek.com/future-aerospace/bell-unveils-air-taxi-approach-cabin-demo

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/8/16865404/bell-helicopter-electric-air-taxi-uber-ces-2018

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Defining Asymmetrical Warfare: Extremists Use Retail Drones to Attack Russian Air Base in Syria

One Aircraft Heavily Damaged in Most Recent in String of Low-Cost Insurgent Drone Attacks. It is the definition of asymmetrical warfare: a fast-moving, lightly armed insurgency fueled by a radical doctrine uses simple weapons to attack a larger, seemingly more capable occupying force. Taking inspiration from the doctrines of T.E. Lawrence, Sun Tzu, Che Guevara […]

https://theaviationist.com/2018/01/08/defining-asymmetrical-warfare-extremists-use-retail-drones-to-attack-russian-air-base-in-syria/

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Virgin Hyperloop One Shares First Look at the Hyperloop End-to-End Passenger Experience and Publicly Unveils Test Pod Fresh from Historic Test Run

Press Release

• Virgin Hyperloop One Partners with HERE Technologies to Power New Multimodal Navigation App

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, January 8, 2018—Virgin Hyperloop One, the only company in the world that has built a full-scale hyperloop system, is sharing its vision for a seamless travel experience through the first-ever hyperloop passenger application demo, powered by HERE Technologies, and publicly unveiling its first-generation pod at CES 2018.

In the first demonstration of the Virgin Hyperloop One passenger experience, the company is showcasing its application designed for real-time, on demand travel, throughout the transportation ecosystem. Passengers will be able to plan, book, and pay for a hyperloop journey and other modes of transportation including public, private, and ride-shares using the application. The application is the latest to be released using HERE Technologies’ Mobile Software Development Kit for Business which enables detailed location, mapping, and navigation capabilities for 136 countries, public transit information for more than 1,300 cities, and 3D indoor and venue maps.

The application will feature end-to-end route navigation including, for the first time, turn-by-turn indoor walking directions to help passengers negotiate large transit centers, venues, shopping centers, and airports. Passengers can customize their travel preferences by choosing route example options such as the fastest, cheapest, and greenest. The application will be made available to the public in 2018.

“Hyperloop is not just about A to B, it’s an end-to-end passenger experience -- that means no waiting at any point along the journey,” said Matt Jones, Virgin Hyperloop One’s SVP Software Engineering. “HERE shares our vision for optimizing travel. We will redefine the passenger experience by offering real time, on demand travel connecting hyperloop, other modes, and even indoor walking directions.”

“This collaboration demonstrates the future of transportation and mobility,” said CEO of HERE Technologies, Edzard Overbeek. “Supported by our open location platform, Virgin Hyperloop One is showing how its groundbreaking mode of transportation will be seamlessly integrated into an end-to-end, multimodal travel experience that will redefine all notions of personal mobility.”

Additionally, the Virgin Hyperloop One XP-1 pod used in recent phase three testing where the company achieved record speeds of 387 kilometers per hour (240 miles per hour) will be unveiled to the public for the first time at CES at the HERE Technologies Booth (#CP-2). The Virgin Hyperloop One XP-1 Pod is the first-generation design of the passenger or cargo pod of a Virgin Hyperloop One system. It is the only full-scale pod in the world that, combined with the company’s proprietary electric motor, achieves autonomous high-speed propulsion and levitation in a controlled low-pressure environment.

“We’re giving the public a taste of what a Virgin Hyperloop One experience will be like by publicly unveiling our pod and demonstrating how passengers will experience booking a hyperloop trip from their pocket,” said CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One, Rob Lloyd. “Every hardware and software milestone brings us closer to commercializing hyperloop.”

About Virgin Hyperloop One

Virgin Hyperloop One is the only company in the world that has built a fully operational hyperloop system. Our team has the world's leading experts in engineering, technology, and transport project delivery, working in tandem with global partners and investors to make hyperloop a reality, now. For more information, visit www.hyperloop-one.com.

About HERE Technologies

HERE, the Open Location Platform company, enables people, enterprises and cities to harness the power of location. By making sense of the world through the lens of location we empower our customers to achieve better outcomes – from helping a city manage its infrastructure or an enterprise optimize its assets to guiding drivers to their destination safely. To learn more about HERE, including our new generation of cloud-based location platform services, visit http://360.here.com and www.here.com

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U.K. Drone Collision Study Called Into Question

Report Shows Risks To Airliners May Not Be As Serious As The Government Claimed


http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=998ad32c-55c6-4042-835a-ee89d51d37ac

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/04/qinetic_drone_collision_study_airliner_windows/

https://regmedia.co.uk/2018/01/04/qinetic_drone_collision_study_redacted.pdf 

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Volocopter flying taxi lifts off onstage at CES

https://newatlas.com/volocopter-ces-intel/52882/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb3_K7v1Pds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlJ9zB74G_U

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Boeing, Turkish Airlines Announce Order for Three 777 Freighters

PR




SEATTLE, Jan. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE:BA] and Turkish Airlines announced that the carrier ordered three more 777 Freighters in December 2017. The new order came weeks after the carrier took delivery of two of the large cargo jets as part of its plan to further expand its freight business.

"These freighter orders will surely contribute to our significant target for establishing a young and efficient cargo fleet," said M. İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines. "The new aircraft will be delivered this year and will provide us with additional flexibility to serve more destinations while we continue to develop our global freight service."

"The 777 Freighter is the largest and most capable twin-engine freighter in the world today," said Marty Bentrott, senior vice president of Sales, Middle East, Turkey, Russia, Central Asia and Africa, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We're pleased world-class customers like Turkish Airlines recognize the value of the 777 Freighter's long range and large payload capability."

The 777 Freighter is the world's longest-range twin-engine freighter and is based on the 777-200LR (Longer Range) passenger airplane. The jet can fly 4,900 nautical miles (9,070 kilometers) with a full payload of 112 tons (102 metric tonnes or 102,000 kg).

The airplane's range capability translates into significant savings for airlines: fewer stops and associated landing fees, less congestion at transfer hubs, lower cargo handling costs and shorter cargo delivery times.

About Turkish Airlines
Based in Istanbul, Turkish Airlines is one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. It carries over 60 million passengers a year, with direct flights to 300 destinations in 120 countries. The airline made its first domestic flight in 1933 and the first international flight in 1947. Turkish Airlines was founded in 1933 with a fleet of five airplanes that carried a total of 28 passengers, expanding to 331 aircraft today.

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[PHOTOS] First BelugaXL transporter rolls off assembly line

Press Release

This next-generation super transporter is one of the largest aircraft in existence

The first structurally complete airframe for the new BelugaXL rolled out from its assembly hangar in Toulouse, France this month. Once operational, a fleet of these next-generation airlifters will be used to transport completed sections of Airbus aircraft among the company’s European production sites and to its final assembly lines in France, Germany and Spain.

The BelugaXL is one of the most voluminous aircraft in existence, and everything about it speaks to that fact. With a bulging upper forward fuselage and enormous cargo area, the BelugaXL is hardly recognizable as the outsized airlifter version of the Airbus A330-200 jetliner from which it is derived. “We have the A330 as a foundation,” said Bertrand George, head of the BelugaXL programme, “but many changes have been successfully designed, introduced into the aircraft and tested. Transforming an existing product into a super transporter is not a simple task.”

This initial BelugaXL is expected to be flying by mid-2018. “The whole team is really looking forward to seeing its first flight and, of course, its smiling livery,” said George, referring to the supersized smile that will be painted across the ‘face’ of the transporter, the winning design of six options presented to Airbus employees for a vote in early 2017.

Ground testing for the No. 1 BelugaXL before first flight

Before that can happen, the aircraft will undergo a months-long battery of tests after installation of its two jet engines, ensuring each of the BelugaXL’s systems function as intended. All the while, said George, “We will perform bench tests in Toulouse and Hamburg, Germany – testing our systems on flight simulators and in laboratories” as well as using hydraulic jacks to simulate flight loads on full-scale copies of specific joints between the new upper bubble and A330’s lower fuselage.

“The data from these tests will be used to clear the aircraft for flight and, later on, to attain type certification,” the official pronouncement of the aircraft’s safety and airworthiness, said George.

While the first structurally complete BelugaXL moves into its testing phase, the second A330 to be converted into a BelugaXL arrived on schedule in Toulouse to begin its integration process. George noted that with lessons learned from the production of the first transporter, the assembly time for the second is expected to be about two months shorter. The BelugaXL programme was launched in November 2014 to address Airbus’ increasing transport requirements. At six metres longer, one metre wider and with a payload lifting capacity six tonnes greater than the BelugaST transporter version it is replacing, the BelugaXL will be able to transport both wings of the A350 XWB jetliner at once, instead of the single wing currently accommodated on the BelugaST. All told, five BelugaXLs are scheduled to enter service for Airbus’ airlift needs

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TECNAM P2012 TRAVELLER S/N 002 ACHIEVES FIRST FLIGHT MILESTONE

press release




Tecnam announced the successful first flight of a second P2012 Traveller aircraft occurred on December 22nd. Serial number 002 will be configured as the “Conforming Production Aircraft’ and will be the template for all P2012 customer production aircraft.

The arrival into service of the next-generation 11 seat P2012 Traveller is highly anticipated by airlines who have been demanding a replacement for the many hundreds of ‘heritage’ aeroplanes in the FAR23/CS23 category currently in service around the world.

P2012 serial number 001 first flew on 21 July 2016. Since the maiden flight, the prototype has accumulated more than 250 flight test hours.

Serial number 002 further facilitates the Tecnam Flight Test & Development teams ability to stay on track for both EASA and FAA certification during 2018, thereby enabling deliveries to commence in 2019.

The 11-seat P2012 Traveller is equipped with latest avionics from Garmin, the new G1000 Nxi and powered by two 375 HP Lycoming piston engines. The Tecnam P2012 Traveller will enter revenue service with US based Cape Air in early 2019 with the delivery of the first of 100 aircraft ordered.

The Traveller has been designed from the start to be a very versatile and flexible aerial platform, offering multi role opportunities including VIP, cargo, parachuting, medevac and amphibious.

“We are pleased to have achieved this significant milestone. The tremendous worldwide interest and demand for the P2012 keeps us focused on staying on track with the development and certification program.” said Paolo Pascale, Tecnam’s CEO.

More info on the P2012: p2012.tecnam.org

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