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BLADE RUNNEREUROPE GETS SET TO FLY ITS MOST ADVANCED AERODYNAMIC TESTBED October 2017
BUSINESS AVIATION IN AFRICA
HYBRID-ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION
F-35B – ON FINAL APPROACH TO QEC
www.aerosociety.com
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OCTOBER 2017@aerosociety Find us on LinkedIn Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com
Contents
Comment
Aftermarket and supply chain clash
Regulars
Afterburner
BLADE Runner Europe’s most advanced aerodynamic demonstrator gets set to make its first flight.
Switching on electric flightPreparing the way for the development of large commercial all-electric powered aircraft.
4 Radome The latest aviation and aeronautical intelligence, analysis and comment.
10 Antenna Howard Wheeldon looks at the different factors contributing to civil aircraft safety.
12 TransmissionYour letters, emails, tweets and feedback.
58 The Last WordKeith Hayward on Airbus at 50.
41
Features
First in the classGetting the Lockheed Martin F-35B ready for the Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
Out of AfricaThe African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA)celebrates its first five years.
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Volume 44 Number 10 October 2017
Correspondence on all aerospace matters is welcome at: The Editor, AEROSPACE, No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK [email protected]
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Taiwan aims for space at latest showA report from the TADTE aerospace and defence technology show in Taipei.
Swedish air controlAEROSPACE tours the production facility of Swedish aircraft cabin humidity system specialists CTT.
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Front cover: CleanSky2 BLADE aircraft demonstrator. (Airbus)
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Earlier this year saw OEMs Airbus and Boeing launch new initiatives to grab a bigger share of the projected $3.2tr services and and support business. At Le Bourget, Airbus unveiled a set of new partnerships to harness and exploit Big Data and the Internet of Things. In early July, Boeing’s new Global Services division was launched and the airframer also announced an intention to in-source its avionics – a shot across the bows to existing suppliers. Meanwhile, the acquisition of Rockwell Collins by UTC in what would be the world’s biggest ($23bn) aerospace deal has put the OEMs on collision course with their biggest suppliers. On paper, this marriage should be an easy match – with little if any overlap between Rockwell’s avionics, IFE and seats business and UTC’s engines and propellers – creating a one-stop super-Tier One supplier. Yet the response from the airframers to news of the arrival of this super-supplier has been frosty. Airbus has cautioned UTC to keep its focus on meeting P&W GTF delivery and reliability targets – a sore point for those airlines that have ordered the geared turbofan engine option for their A320neos. Boeing has been even blunter, saying in a statement: “We are skeptical that it would be in the best interest of – or add value to – our customers and industry,” hinting that it could ask regulators to block the deal or renegotiate existing contracts if it concluded the merger is not in its best interests. Ironically, it is the continued OEM pressure on Tier One and below suppliers to cut costs, drive efficiencies and raise production rates that is helping to drive this mega-merger of aerospace suppliers. Yet a combined giant with this much influence over the supply chain (and aftermarket – a top growth area identified by airframers) is now raising alarms that the OEMs have spawned a monster that they can’t control. What happens when a large force meets an immovable object? We may be about to find out.
Tim Robinson, Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief Tim Robinson +44 (0)20 7670 4353 [email protected]
Deputy Editor Bill Read +44 (0)20 7670 4351 [email protected]
Publications Manager Chris Male +44 (0)20 7670 4352 [email protected]
Production Editor Wayne J Davis +44 (0)20 7670 4354 [email protected]
Book Review EditorBrian Riddle
Editorial Office Royal Aeronautical Society No.4 Hamilton Place London W1J 7BQ, UK +44 (0)20 7670 4300 [email protected]
AEROSPACE is published by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).
Chief Executive Simon C Luxmoore
Advertising Simon Levy +44 (0)20 7670 4346 [email protected]
Unless specifically attributed, no material in AEROSPACE shall be taken to represent the opinion of the RAeS.
Reproduction of material used in this publication is not permitted without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief.
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Distributed by Royal Mail
2017 AEROSPACE subscription rates: Non-members, £160
Please send your order to: Chris Male, RAeS, No4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK. +44 (0)20 7670 4352 [email protected]
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ISSN 2052-451X
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42 Message from our President
43 Message from our Chief Executive
44 Book Reviews
47 Library Additions
48 IT FLIES UK
50 Corporate Partners
52 Diary
56 RAeS Elections
OnlineAdditional features and content are available to view online on www.media.aerosociety.com/
aerospace-insightIncluding: UK F-35B – on final approach
to QEC, Preparing for electric flight, Wanted: digital natives, In the September issue of
AEROSPACE, Greener biofuels?, Workers at the dawn of the new aerospace,
BLADE runner – wake-up, time to fly, Flying for the Dark Side.
Pilatus A
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AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT
Safety firstThe designers plan to incorporate a number of safety features into the hoverbike. In the event of main engine failure (or fuel exhaustion), the ‘PowerGuard’ system, will use battery electrical power to drive the main lift fans and safely land. For the US mar-ket, the altitude will be electronically limited to 3.7m – the maximum height for which certification is not required. It will also incorporate an emergency ballistic para-chute recovery system
NE
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StructureThe Raptor is constructed from hybrid carbon composite, resistant to an 8G impact force. Small wheeled landing gear, mean-while can absorbed shocks of up to 10G.
Flight controlRidden like a motorcycle, the Raptor would also include intelligent algorithms, an automatic stabilisation system, as well as a 3D moving map, terrain and weather awareness system, along with fuel and battery monitoring parameters.
GENERAL AVIATION
Hoverbike from PolandRevealed as a full-scale mock-up at Poland’s MPSO defence exhibition in September was this Raptor VTOL ‘hover bike’ from Wojnicz-based NEWind Energy. Inspired by the ‘speeder bikes’; from Star Wars, the designers envisage a number of applications for this one-person ducted fan aerial bike, including military, urban EMS and aero-trekking or extreme sports. Powered by hybrid 1,300cc Suzuki engine/electric batteries NEWind Energy says that it is already thinking about a larger two/three person hoverbike. With an estimated price tag of $65,000, the Raptor is set to be on display at the Dubai Air Show next month.
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Specifications Passenger capacity OneLength 4.9mEngines 330hp Weight 300kgTop speed 110km/hMax hover altitude 900mRange 150km
Power shiftThe Raptor will use a hybrid power system incorporating a 1,300cc Suzuki Hayabusa sports bike engine, along with a 30kw generator. While the petrol engine will drive the main ducted fans for hovering, the manoeuvring fans are electric. Both, along with stabilisation and steering, are controlled by a central control unit.
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Radome
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
NEWS IN BRIEF
Boeing has broken ground on its new £40m Sheffield factory, its first manufacturing facility in Europe. The plant, set to open at the end of 2018, will supply actuator components for 737s and 777s.
On 7 September Airbus delivered the first Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered A321neo to launch customer All Nippon Airlines.
On 5 September a USAF test pilot Lt Col Eric Schultz was killed in the crash of an unknown ‘classified’ aircraft on the Nevada Test and Training Range, northwest of Nellis AFB. No other details have been revealed, apart from the USAF Chief of Staff stating that it ‘was not an F-35’.
ArianeGroup’s new heavylift Ariane 6 rocket has signed up its first
customer, with ESA agreeing to launch four Galileo satellites with the launcher. They will be launched by the Ariane 62 variant in 2020 and 2021.
Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft is to end production of the Porter PC-6 STOL utility aircraft in early 2019. The aircraft has been in production since 1959 with over 500 produced.
United Technologies (UTC) is to acquire aerospace
company Rockwell Collins in a deal worth $30bn. The combined company is to be called Collins Aerospace Systems. The deal is expected to be finalised in Q3 of 2018, subject to shareholder approval.
Thomas Cook Airlines pilots have carried out the first British pilots’ strike since 1974 with a one-day strike on 7 September in a dispute over pay. As AEROSPACE goes to press, BALPA pilots
working for the airline are set to conduct three more one-day strikes.
North Korea has conducted two more provocative missile tests, firing them over Japan. On 29 August it launched what was thought to be a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile over Northern Japan which splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Then on 15 September, it tested a longer-range ICBM
SPACEFLIGHTPower on for Orion
German airline Air Berlin has declared insolvency after its main shareholder, Etihad, said it would cease financial support for the carrier. Other partners in the airline, including Lufthansa and the German Government, have said they will continue supporting Air Berlin. The airline reported a loss of $919m in 2016. With the airline close to collapse, 200 of its pilots staged a ‘sick-out’, calling in sick on 12 September in protest about possible new terms.
AEROSPACE
GENERAL AVIATION
MoD AIR TRANSPORT
Tropical hurricanes Harvey and Irma have caused disruption and devastation in Texas and Florida, US, and the Caribbean. Air travel was disrupted by Hurricane Harvey causing flooding in Texas, with Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport shut down in late August. A follow-on storm, Hurricane Irma, caused chaos in the Caribbean and south Florida with airports closed and air travel shut down. The famous planespotter airport on the island of St Maarten, Princess Juliana Airport suffered extensive damage. Rescue and
relief efforts included US Coast Guard and Air National Guard Helicopters rescued 1,000s in Texas. Meanwhile, relief efforts for the aftermath of Irma in the Caribbean have seen UK C-17s, A400Ms and Pumas, as well as RCAF C-17s and an Airbus Foundation A350XWB test aircraft, deliver urgent aid.
On 18 August, NASA announced the milestone that it has powered up its Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center for the very first time.Orion is a crewed spacecraft being developed for NASA by Lockheed Martin (with Airbus Defence & Space providing the rear Service Module) for deep space exploration missions
New piston engine speed record
NASAAviation responds after hurricanes
Ailing Air Berlin on
life support On 2 September in Idaho, warbird pilot Steve Hinton Jr set a new Class C-1e world speed record for piston-powered aircraft of 531mph, with his highly modified P-51 ‘Voodoo’. The attempt,
beyond Earth orbit. Its first unmanned flight, EM-1, is scheduled for 2019 and
will see the Orion capsule spend
three weeks in space on a flight around the Moon after
being launched by NASA’s new SLS
(Space Launch System) rocket. The first crewed flight of Orion EM-2, is currently scheduled for August 2021.
sponsored by winglet manufacturers,
Aviation Partners, also saw the company contribute CFD
modelling to modify the wing
aerofoils and delay Mach shockwave rise.
Aviation Partneras
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which flew 3,700km over Hokkado, to land in the northern Pacific. Russia has launched the first Blagovest Internet and TV communications satellite into orbit from Baikonur spaceport, Kazakhstan. It was launched on 16 August by a three-stage Proton booster carrying a Breeze M upper stage rocket.
French manufacturer Elixir Aircraft has announced
the first flight of its new single-engine Elixir light aircraft. The 45-minute maiden flight took off from La Rochelle airport on 31 August and was followed by a second flight to the ULM Blois airshow at Aérodrome de Blois-le Breuil.
Airbus’s Perlan II stratospheric glider has set a new altitude record for soaring of 52,172ft. As AEROSPACE goes to press, the Perlan II team
is currently in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina hoping to take the glider to the ‘edge of space’ at a height of 90,000ft.
Taiwanese carrier Eva Air has retired its last Boeing 747-400 on a passenger flight on 21 August from Hong Kong to Taipei.In service with Eva since 1992, the airline is the latest carrier to retire the passenger 747 model, with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines to phase their
747s out by the end of the year.
Indonesia is set to acquire 11 Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighters as part of a $1.1bn complex offset trade agreement with Russia. Half of the contract’s value is to be financed through a reciprocal trade agreement, with a further 35% to be paid via offsets. .Two NASA astronauts (including new US time-in-space record holder
Peggy Whitson) and one Russian cosmonaut from the ISS, returned to Earth on 2 September aboard a Soyuz capsule landing in Kazakhstan. A replacement ISS crew of two NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut lifted off using a Soyuz on 12 September.
On 18 August, Dornier Seawings rolled out the first next-gen Seastar amphibian at its facility in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
It has emerged that UK Prime Minister Theresa May has personally lobbied President Donald Trump to help protect 4,500 UK Bombardier jobs in Belfast, after Boeing pressed for legal action against the Canadian manufacturer due to alleged CSeries airliner price-dumping. Newspaper, The Times, reported that the PM
AIR TRANSPORT
SPACEFLIGHT
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Saa
b
DEFENCE
First news from DSEIUS regional airline group SkyWest Airlines has signed a deal to acquire 25 Embraer E-175 E jets. The first 15 will be in an 70-seat configuration called 175SC, with the rest to be in a 76-seat layout. Fifteen of the new aircraft will be operated by Sky
SkyWest opts for E-175s
CSeries price dumping row escalates
Em
braer
West Airlines on behalf of Delta Air Lines, while the
remaining ten will be operated for
Alaska Airlines. The 175SC will be able to be upgraded to
the traditional 76-seat layout
at a later date. The deal, worth $1.1bn at list prices, will see the E Jets delivered in 2018.
AEROSPACE
had asked Trump to encourage Boeing to drop its complaint. For its part, Boeing responded to the news by stating: “Boeing had to take action, as subsidised competition has hurt us now and will continue to hurt us for years to come, and we could not stand by given this clear case of illegal dumping.”
NASA WB-57s chase solar eclipse
During the solar eclipse of 21 August, NASA used two of its high-altitude WB-57F research aircraft to chase the phenomena across the US and gather scientific data. The two much-modified Martin B-57s observed the eclipse using powerful nose-mounted telescopes, above much of the Earth's atmosphere.
Saab exhibited a full-scale mock-up of its Gripen Aggressor trainer featuring some memorable tail art. The aircraft, an unarmed new-build C variant is aimed at the growing ‘Red Air’ training market. DPM Drone Division has revealed that an eHang autonomous flying taxi is to be tested for the first time in the UK in early 2018.
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 20178
Airbus is planning to begin flight testing its Vahana VTOL air-taxi in November, in Pendleton, Oregon.
Budget carrier Ryanair has begun cancelling between 40-50 flights a day in a bid to improve punctuality, (down to 80%) which it says is to due a large backup of staff leave.
The UK MoD has revealed that the British Army's Watchkeeper UAV fleet is
now back in the air after two previously unreported crashes of the drone lead to a temporary grounding.
SpaceX’s Elon Musk has teased the first image of the company’s new spacesuit for its human-rated Dragon 2 spacecraft which will take NASA astronauts to the ISS. Previewing the new design on Instagram, he said “Worth noting that this actually works (not a mockup).”
The Air Charter Association, BACA, has called for an urgent review into the regulations surrounding private flight cost-sharing apps and websites. While BACA says it welcomes innovation and, while genuine cost-sharing is legal, the organisation is “concerned that, without proper regulation, commercial flights will be flown without an AOC, thus compromising flight legality and safety.”
Engineers at BAE Systems have developed a cockpit windshield filter that can block lasers beams and protect pilots and flight crew from laser attacks.
Cathay Pacific and United Airlines have both converted Airbus A350-1000 orders to the smaller A350-900. Cathay switched six to the -900, while deferring a further five. Meanwhile, United has swapped an existing
order for 35 -1000s to 45 -900s.
A Royal Saudi Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon crashed in southern Yemen on 13 September with the pilot being killed. Initial reports suggested it was not due to enemy action..Orbital ATK launched a Minotaur IV rocket from Cape Canaveral on 26 August. The rocket was carrying an ORS-5 satellite for the US Air Force.
AIR TRANSPORT
Bel
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icop
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easyJet and Norwegian forge network alliance
Flight testing of Mitsubishi's MRJ regional airliner has restarted after one of the four prototypes suffered an in-flight uncommanded shutdown of its left Pratt & Whitney PW1200G engine. The incident, on 21 August, occurred west of Portland, Washington
DEFENCE
UK low-cost airline easyJet has announced the launch of 'Worldwide by easyJet' – a global self-connecting airline partnership. The digital codeshare – style partnership, with launch airlines Norwegian Airlines and Canada's WestJet, along with Gatwick Airport, opens up long-haul
AEROSPACE
Radome
connections and flights through easyJet's booking
system. Seats are already available for North and South America, with the airline
saying it is already in talks to add other
airlines, including Middle East and Asia-Pacific carriers to 'Worldwide by easyJet'.
Satellite operator SES is to launch what it describes as the 'first multi-terabit constellation' with seven Boeing high-capacity broadband O3b mPower satellites. The satellite constellation with 30,000 fully shapeable and steerable beams will be placed in medium Earth orbit (MEO) some 5,000miles above the equator. First launch is scheduled for 2021.
easyJet
SPACEFLIGHT
Boe
ing
NEWS IN BRIEF
MRJ flight test hits hitchSES reveals next-gen satellite network state, and saw the second
prototype FTA-2 divert to Portland International
Airport. The MRJ flight test flight,
based at Moses Lake Washington, returned to
flight on 6 September. The
delayed MRJ is expected to wrap-up flight test by the end of 2018.
Valor gets ready to spread its wings
Bell Helicopter has announced that its next-generation V-280 tiltrotor prototype is now 100% complete and ready for its first flight this autumn. One of two contenders for the US Army's Joint Multirole Technology Demonstration (JMR-TD), it is now set to undergo ground runs at Bell's facility in Amarillo, Texas.
Mitsubishi A
ircraft Corp
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NA
SA
Nok Air CEO Patee Sarasin has resigned. He is replaced by NokScoot's chief executive Piya Yodmani.
United Aircraft President Yuri Slyusar will take over as President of Irkut.
Qatar Airways Group CE Akbar Al Baker is to be the next Chairman of IATA’s Board of Governors from June 2018.
ON THE MOVE
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INFOGRAPHIC: Cassini ends epic 20year voyage with Saturn plunge
Rolls-Royce certification on the double
SPACEFLIGHT
Russian Helicopters’ Kamov Ka-226T light utility helicopter is undergoing testing in Iran, with a focus on evaluating the coaxial helicopter at very high temperatures – up to 50°C.
AEROSPACE
DEFENCE Honeywell launches UAV inspectionsHoneywell has launched its first commerical UAV inspection service. Honeywell's InView will use the Intel Falcon 8+ UAV and is aimed at the utility, energy, infrastructure, and oil and gas industries.
KLM
Rolls-R
oyce
DA
RPA
AIR TRANSPORT
Boeing has elected Caroline Kennedy as a new Director on the Audit and Finance committees.
UK Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach RAF has been elected Chairman of NATOs Military Committee, taking over in June 2018.
Qantas Group has moved Qantas International CE Gareth Evans to head the Jetstar Group.
DARPA imagines disposable missile rails
On 18 August, Rolls-Royce received EASA full flight certification for its Trent 1000 TEN engine for all variants of the Boeing 787. First engines have been delivered to Boeing, ready for entry into service this year.
Meanwhile, on 31 August, the company also
was awarded EASA certification for its 97,000lb
thrust Trent XWB-97 which
will power the latest Airbus A350-1000, which is set to enter service this year with Qatar Airways.
US defence research agency DARPA has unveiled a technology challenge to industry to develop a low-cost, mass produced ''flying missile rail' able to extend the weapon range of tactical fighter aircraft. The concept asks for rapid
manufacturing of up to 500 rails a month. These rails would be armed with
either one or two AIM-120s and used as disposable, cheap mini-
UCAVs to fly for 20mins
at 690mph to keep US fighters out of enemy weapon kill zones.
After 97 years KLM bids Fokker fond farewell
Dutch flag carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is preparing to bid farewell to its 97-year association with Fokker Aircraft, with the last Fokker 70 flights set to take place this month. The final flight of a KLM Cityhopper Fokker 70 is scheduled for 28 October, with a London to Amsterdam service. The airline’s first Fokker IIs were the first passenger aircraft operated by KLM, entering service in 1920.
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 201710
antenna:
The recent near miss incident between a landing Air Canada flight at San Francisco International Airport which mistakenly lined up with a taxiway on which four aircraft were waiting to take
off, instead of the runway, before the pilot aborted the landing, highlights that, no matter how much effort is put into training and that air accidents have continued to reduce, there is no room for complacency when it comes to aviation safety.
Air accidents are, however, increasingly rare. In the executive summary of its 2017 report, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) says that: “Accident statistics as reported by the ICAO in its 2017 annual report showed a further decrease in both number of accidents, as well as accident rate and that, during 2016, the downward trend in the number of [scheduled commercial flight] accidents fell to 75 from the 182 reported for 2015.” This, according to ICAO, represented an 18% decrease.
Given that the number of scheduled commercial departures continues to increase, a further decline in air accident numbers is positive. Airline claims that safety comes first are real but that doesn’t mean that the reasons why 182 people lost their lives on commercial aircraft flights last year can be glossed over.
Putting the accident rate into perspective, ICAO estimated that 0.0001% of flights have crashed in the past ten years and that this resulted in one death for every 38,549 flights. While it is certainly true that the number of air accidents caused by aircraft technology issues, poor maintenance, pilot error and lack of training, has declined, it is also true that the number of incidents related to terrorist actions has risen. These, along with increased fears related to lack of global regulation in respect of ‘drones’ and the increase in reported near incidents, remain a cause of considerable concern. So too does the fact that, as skies become increasingly crowded and with some countries’ ATM systems already near to capacity, the potential for air accidents is growing rather than subsiding.
The shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in July 2014 with the loss of 298 passengers and crew, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March 2014 and the seemingly deliberate crash by the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 into the Alps in
NTS
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Global Outlook and Analysis with HOWARD WHEELDON
Aviation safety: no time for complacency
March 2015 highlight other reasons that crashes occurred. True, hijacking of aircraft is nothing new and governments and airlines have taken significant action to make sure aircraft cockpits are more secure. Airports and airlines have done a considerable amount of work to ensure that bombs and other devices do not get onto planes and passenger security checks today have never been more thorough.
While it is often difficult to perceive what else airlines and airports might reasonably do in respect of further improving passenger security, aircraft maintenance, operational flight safety and training, more still needs to be done. Flight safety is increasingly impacted today by a range of potential indirect issues, such as terrorist related actions, on-board actions by passengers themselves and one other large issue – growing concerns in relation to mental health of pilots. None of these concerns are likely to diminish.
In recent years there has been an alarming increase in passengers required to be removed from aircraft due to drunken or threatening behaviour. Passengers are not the only ones, as there have also been a noticeable increase in reported incidents of commercial airline pilots removed from aircraft, the most recent reported example being a pilot who was prosecuted for turning up at Glasgow Airport reeking of alcohol. While such incidents are still to be considered very rare, they can and do occur.
On 7 July an Air Canada A320 performed a late go-around after nearly landing on a taxiway with four other airliners awaiting take-off. With over 1,000 passengers on all the aircraft this could have been the worst ever aviation disaster.
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THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY IS WELL AWARE THAT COMPLACENCY REMAINS THE BIGGEST ENEMY
The mental health factor
Incidents such as that at Glasgow Airport, together with the dreadful Germanwings aircraft crash in 2015 have highlighted another growing problem for the civil airline industry – that of mental health of pilots and the need to ensure that they are always fit and mentally safe to fly.
A cross-sectional descriptive study BioMed Central in 2016 entitled ‘Airplane pilot mental health and suicidal thoughts’ concluded that hundreds of pilots that are currently flying are managing depressive symptoms, perhaps without the possibility of treatment due to fear of negative career impacts. While a study of 3,485 pilots, of whom 1,866 had completed the study, is limited in value, it does confirm that a potentially serious problem exists.
Clearly, physiological screening of pilots ahead of every flight is both impractical, unnecessary and risks do more harm than good because of causing potential passenger alarm. In the UK, Class One Medical certificates are mandatory for all flight crew. Annual medicals are required by pilots up to the age of 45 and then every six months up to the age of 65. Initial medical examinations include eye, hearing test, physical examination, ECG, lung function spirometry test, urine and haemoglobin blood test. There is no mandatory requirement for psychological screening whatsoever.
In the wake of the Germanwings crash, the CAA announced an intention to review all pilot screening procedures, that this would be co-ordinated with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and that it has requested all UK commercial airlines to review relevant procedures. Clearly, the outcome of any review should require not only that mood, sleep and alcohol usage be checked but also that cognitive issues, such as speech, mood, relationships and lifestyle of pilots in particular, need to be better understood.
In recent years considerable effort has been put into crew/cockpit resource management and the monitoring of data, which are aimed at reducing
the risk of human error. Cockpit data monitoring systems, including digital audio and visual recording equipment, are all widely used to identify safety trends that can be addressed by further training, as well as being used by air accident investigators to assist in specific crash incidents.
A wider concern and one that commercial airlines must show greater concern, is the growing shortage of pilots. Estimates suggesting a global shortage of pilots likely to reach 50,000 by 2030 inevitably give rise to fears that some airlines might take short cuts in training. The bigger fear is that the pressure on trained pilots could further increase, unless the industry embraces the problem of pilot shortage and invests.
Welcome as the 25% fall in the global accident rate to 2.1 accidents per million departures from the previous year’s 2.8 is, a degree of care is needed when looking at the figures. Airline industry accident records are littered with unfortunate spikes and it only takes one large accident to throw everything off-course.
The biggest enemy
Even so, compared to the dim and distant past, an accident rate of 2.1 per million departures is remarkable, particularly when compared to figures 40 years ago that, if they really were comparable, would show a figure close to four times higher. Indeed, back in 1964 when airlines carried 141 million passengers there had been a total of 87 commercial aircraft crashes and 1,597 people killed. Last year according to the ICAO, 182 people lost their lives in a similar number of aircraft accidents.
Improved though they certainly are, the airline industry is well aware that complacency remains the biggest enemy in all forms of aviation transport. We are also reminded of the now infamous quote: “If you think health and safety is expensive, try an accident.” Attributed to Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of EasyJet, and used by him not in the context of a specific air accident but rather, the Troodos Shipping Co incident in 1991 when six people lost their lives and more than 50,000 tonnes of crude oil spilt into the Mediterranean Sea, such words are equally poignant in the aviation industry just as they are across all forms of transport.
‘They’ say that something is learned from every aircraft crash and there is no doubt that the sophistication and expertise that allows investigators to get to the bottom of accident causes has never been better. Today’s technology, added to experience gained and constant improvement in engineering and flight safety requirement, together with a far better understanding of human factors, have contributed to the significant reduction in air accidents. Safety management systems, be they on the aircraft or at airports and air traffic control, have also contributed.
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 201712
TransmissionLETTERS AND ONLINE
fI read your obituary of Ron Howard(1) with interest and was surprised that it did not include his very valuable contribution to the UK avionics industry as a whole. Having been President of the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), Ron recognised that avionics needed a way of marrying the emerging concepts of the avionics industry with those of Government at the executive level with the aim of establishing co-ordinated research programmes. In this context he took a major lead in encouraging effective collaboration within the avionics industry. It is all a long time ago but Ron brought together the Electronic Engineering Association (EEA) and the SBAC in establishing the EEA/SBAC Avionics Systems
Ron Howard
xxx
Third British offset(2)
It would depend on a number of factors... purpose of aircraft, future environmental restrictions, cost of oil, technological development rate in electrical components, etc. The list is fairly long. Solar will only ever be supplementary power in civil aviation. Batteries need to get a LOT more power and energy dense (note the distinction between the two!), and hybrid technology needs to make gains elsewhere (aerodynamics, weight savings) where losses are inevitable (ie between engine and fan). One thing is for sure, we need more interdisciplinary engineers. Electrical and mechanical engineers are all well and good, but when you have complex trade-offs that exist between electrical and mechanical systems as with electric flight, the lack of knowledge on either discipline about the other can make progress slow.
Joe Palmer
Committee (ESASC) as the industry vehicle to work with Government. The dialogue between Government and ESASC was very wide ranging and, as one-time Chairman, I always found Ron to be hugely supportive. I should also add that he had the most wonderful sense of humour and a fine sense of the ridiculous – both very important in the aerospace industry!
Bruce Adams FRAeSformerly of Smiths
Industries
I think the bits about 17- year old LEET hackers are ridiculous. Sorry. Might as well go on about 17-year-old missile engineers. Such people are always using tools made by their elders and betters.
Tim Murphy
An excellent article. As a former AD nav now working in digital on the fringes of cyber security, it cannot be underestimated how serious this threat is.
Webspresso
RAF arguing for a bigger share of the defence budget, how unusual.
Ron5
The HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier(3)
represents a singular achievement of the British sovereign industry and the Royal Navy. All involved with this project could rightly be proud of the impressive and graceful 21st century carrier. It means that the British shipbuilding and ancillary industry is fully competent and capable of undertaking such gigantic naval construction projects in tune with the demands of the modern sea warfare. What a proud moment for all those who burnt midnight oil to demonstrate this marvelous feat. A ship worthy of its great name.
Salim Mehmud
HMS Queen Elizabeth
All-electric flight(4)
Airport Art (5)
A huge 35-40 feet tall Teddy Bear at Hamad International Airport in 2015.
Sachin Ramesh
wikim
edia/Bjørn C
hristian Tørrissen
BLADE runner(6)
F-35 and QE carriers
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Artist’s impression of F-35B taking off from deck of QE-class carrier.McParlinStephen [On
Airbus laminar wing flow research] I remember the early days of the programme definition well. Keeping the attachment line clean is an issue for laminar flow wing designs.
@Boba_H_Fett Have they solved the flies/bugs/rain problem?
@StTim Not sure I would like being in an inherently unstable aircraft. Unlike fighter jets, we don’t get ejection seats.
@NuffSaidThis Can CFD always tell the truth?
@ProfAtkin No, not enough conceptual work into how best to extend laminarity while maintaining a customer-friendly aircraft. Non-optimal solution IMO! More context: in 1996 I was shouted down for suggest-ing that LFC might deliver only 10% fuel burn reduction cf 40% claimed by others.
@luimnea I actually am in-clined to agree with you and the practicalities of NLF will show it’s a technology that’s too ‘high-maintenance’.
@MiguelCastill93 The two exterior NLF wings where integrated by Aernnova, not by Saab and GKN, that supplied just leading edges and upper skins of the wings.
@Scottmox UK [On F-35B – on final approach to QEC(7)]. Easily the best article on F-35B I’ve had the pleasure to read. Balanced and accurate.
@thepublicgets Also good reminder that total work on global develop-ment and manufacture will be 3 x value of our own aircraft purchases.
@GoddersTwit Agreed – a great article by @RAeSTimR ... I like it when he says ‘Jedi-like skills’ were required to hover a Harrier – them were the days...
@kilo_delta_papa Sea Harriers were much prettier. Are we going to see the old FAA insignia revived? Mailed fist? The O?
@rn198386 Roll on. Then all the moans and groans about no aircraft for the carriers can stop. Pity we couldn’t get the planes quicker though!
@jamesbird Ha! It is great but the flexibility of a cats and traps carrier still would have preferred the C variant personally!
i f@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.com 13OCTOBER 2017
OnlineAdditional features and content are available to view online at http://media.aerosociety.com/aerospace-insight
1. AEROSPACE, September 2017, p 54, Obituaries2. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/time-for-a-british-third-offset/3. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/hms-queen-elizabeth-home-in-portsmouth-naval-base/4. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/preparing-for-electric-flight/5. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/airport-art/6. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/blade-runner-wake-up-time-to-fly/7. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/uk-f-35b-on-final-approach-to-qec/8. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/flying-for-the-dark-side/9. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/greener-biofuels/
@aerosociety Find us on LinkedIn Find us on Facebook. www.aerosociety.comi f
@paul2020 Clear @AeroSociety paper on benefit of staying in EASA post Brexit. Vital for successful UK aerospace industry lnkd.in/g86g7rQ
@sheen_alexander @AeroSociety concludes @EASA Membership critical for future #UK aerospace industry (230,000 direct and indirect jobs) post #Brexit
D P Davies Handling the Big Jets
Cobham special missions Falcon 20 and RAF Typhoons.
Perlan 2 glider record
RAeS at Scampton DLR biofuel contrails(9) RAeS Canberra Branch
Brexit and EASA
An archive audio recording of a technical interview with D P Davies is shortly to be made available on the RAeS website.
Cob
ham
Air Marshal Julian Young, RAF Air Member for Materiel and Chief of Materiel (Air)with Rosalind Azouzi and Aditee Desurkar at RAF Scampton Air Show. Combating air rage
@SBAP1 Honoured to welcome @Chf_Eng_Air to our stand this morning! Absolute highlight of our show! #engineering #STEM @AeroSociety @BoeingUK
@Chf_Eng_Air I believe the honour was all mine! Great STEM activity at @ScampAirshow from @AeroSociety @BoeingUK boeinguk #STEM #Engineering
@JeffGazzard Less. Not zero. Impact on contrail formation and longevity? Who knows? And still no sign of alternative aviation fuel at scale anywhere.
@eqloprtntyhtr I’d be more impressed if they could stop making conspiracy theorists think they were chem trails.
@WayneLCarson [On Panorama TV documentary on drunken passengers] Ban selling alcohol at airports. Enforce no fly on drunk pax trying to board. Two drink max on aircraft. Simple really.
@Mr_Bingo_Little That’s incredible!!! Getting a soaring licence is a huge dream of mine.
@kerinjoyce Great @AeroSociety Canberra brief on @DeptDefence Joint Helo School from CO and Contract Manager. Thanks Bruce and Mark! @aiaa
@dda951 I read Handling the Big Jets years ago. Possibly an earlier edition. Very spot on.
@GolddogAndrew Read it!!! I practically know it by heart!
@MaxK_J My copy has a BOAC 747 on it!
@felipeherrera43 A must have! Great resource, some items are very engineer-oriented but nonetheless great for a curious pilot!
@2049197cfi Great book. Used it when instructing in C-5 Galaxy at School House in Altus, OK. Even used it when investigating wing scrape incident.
@ContractDog Yes I have. It’s pretty much a must read for any aspiring jet pilot but agreed it does need updating.
@TWPILOT1 Yes I have read it and there is a real need for somebody to write an updated version dealing with #automation I very much doubt that there is anybody in the #CAA who could write a new version.
@RAF_Simmer And who said flying multis was boring!?
@egfe Great insight Tim !
@craig73webster The guys there are brilliant, jamming of all kinds
@JonLake1 Nice piece, Tim!
@dauphinsky Great to see what our airfield buddies get up to. Vital training for a very changing world!
@thomas_embleton Wish NATO had an aggressors unit equipped with a mix of jets and pilots get some Polish MiGs, RAF Typhoon Tranche 1, some Mirages and F4s.
@Casey_stedman My squadron uses the ‘VADER’ call sign as well (757th AS).
@KevMarsh An excellent article Tim. Cobham provides excellent training but ASDOT and DOTC(Air) are well overdue. Let’s hope it happens as planned!
@4Gleavy 4/5th Gen training environment has to be so much better than this... #legacy
Flying for the Dark Side(8)
Go with the flow
Advances by civil aircraft manufacturers are sometimes taken for granted. Notes Axel Flaig, Head of R&T, Airbus, which is the leader on this project: “Aviation has achieved a lot in the past 50 years with more than a 70% reduction in fuel flow, and noise down by 90%.” These advances have, however, been mostly driven by engine manufacturers, developing, cleaner, quieter, fuel-sipping turbofans. With aero engine development (at least for conventional kerosene-powered turbofans) now plateauing in terms of efficiency: “The next big step is to look at friction" says Flaig. The ball is now in the airframers’ court. Flaig says that BLADE’s goal is to reduce wing friction drag by a whopping 50%.
Harnessing natural laminar flow, of course, is not a new idea and has been around for decades, with perhaps one of the first attempts being the North American P-51 Mustang. Simply put, a laminar flow wing, with a different side-on profile and extremely
14 AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
AEROSPACEA340 BLADE laminar flow demonstrator
TIM ROBINSON reports from Tarbes, France, as Europe's most ambitiousaerospace demonstrator gets set to take on the final frontier of aerodynamics – natural laminar flow.
BLADE Runner
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Almost ten years after the start of the project, a European flying lab will take-off later this month to explore and research the Holy Grail of aerodynamics – natural laminar flow
(NLF).The Clean Sky 2 BLADE (Breakthrough
Laminar Aircraft Demonstrator in Europe) demonstrator, was rolled out of its hangar in Tarbes in the south of France at the start of September. BLADE is a highly-modified Airbus A340 airliner and the culmination of nearly ten years of research, planning and ground tests by Airbus and its industrial and academic partners on this pan-European aerospace project. With its outer wings removed and replaced by two new panels packed with sensors, BLADE is set to study laminar flow in flight to a level of detail never seen before.
If successful, its flight tests could lead the way to a step-change in NLF aerodynamics for civil airliners with up to 8% drag reduction for a short-range airliner. This would translate into 5% block fuel burn saving on a typical 800nm single-aisle mission. Given that millions are invested each year to improve engine fuel efficiency by an average of 1%, exploiting NLF represents a tantalising goal for the industry in helping to meet the challenging environmental targets set by Europe’s ACARE 2020.
BLADE is a Clean Sky project, with the A340 part of Airbus’ new in-house FlightLab technology demonstrator arm.
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In addition, the wing sections are separated and bookended by aerodynamic pods that both keep the NLF airflow separate from the inner wing section and are also packed with advanced sensors (see below). The A340 BLADE also features a pod on the vertical tail that houses thermal sensors looking down onto the wings. This pod is a more elegant and easier location than an earlier concept which would have seen a sensor pod mounted on struts above the centre fuselage.
But if the wings being tested are for a single-aisle airliner, why use an A340? Using a large four-engine design like this offers some advantages, says Airbus. For one, the A340 has a natural junction outboard of the outer engines where a new wing can be installed. Secondly, replacing part of a larger aircraft's wing in an inflight flying lab, will give more predictive and better safety margins than if, for example, a smaller entire wing was swapped. Should the results prove unexpected in some way, the aircraft will still have most of its wing producing lift. It is worth noting that a laminar flow wing changes the handling qualities and performance (stall speeds etc) and thus adding a wing to a larger airliner provides an additional safety margin. Finally, replacing the outer wings on an existing larger airliner is a cheaper solution than building entirely new wings for a smaller airliner. An A320 NLF demonstrator, for example, would also need new nacelles and pylons integrated – a far more complex and expensive project.
A flood of data
While Airbus test aircraft are no stranger to advanced sensors – the measurements being taken by the A340 BLADE test aircraft will break new ground in accuracy with 87,000 parameters measured by some 2,700 sensors. Indeed, some measure of how precise measurements of NLF and laminar/turbulent separation need to be can
Far left, Airbus A340 MSN001 has had major surgery to turn it into a laminar flow demonstrator. Above: The prototype was rolled out of its hangar at Tarbes, France, at the beginning of September.
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smooth surface, aims to delay the separation of the air as it races across the top of the wing – greatly reducing drag. The longer the flow over the wing can be smoothly laminar, ‘sticking’ to the wings surface, as opposed to turbulent, the better.
Though the basics are well understood, converting NLF from laboratory or wind-tunnel tests into a practical wing able to be built and survive the rigours of everyday airline operations has proved frustratingly elusive. NLF over a wing in the air exists in a very fickle state and can separate into turbulent flow by a whole range of microscopic flaws or tiny movements, including wing contamination (ice, grease, insects, dents) deformation (wing flexing, joints), loose fastener heads and even acoustic disturbances and vibrations.
These demanding requirements for an ultra-smooth surface and stiffer wing also mean that new design and manufacturing techniques are needed to first, create a wing that is super slippery, and second, build one that can be mass-produced, can be easily maintained and retains its NLF qualities in regular airline operations.
These challenging requirements for an ‘industrial wing’ to be used in everyday service (as opposed to a highly prepared wing in wind-tunnel testing in controlled conditions) explains why it is only now, with today’s sophisticated CFD flow simulation and advances in precision manufacturing, an optimised industrial-quality natural laminar flow wing is now almost within aerospace’s grasp. With BLADE, Airbus is aiming for laminar flow from the leading edge to 50% chord.
Enter BLADE
To test this, Airbus and its partners will use a heavily modified four-engine A340 airliner (in reality MSN001, the first A340 prototype). This has had its outer wings replaced by two reduced sweep (20 deg) laminar flow outer wings, that are designed to be two-thirds the size of a single-aisle airliner wings. Each of the outer NLF wing upper skins and leading edges (both wing sections integrated by Aernnova) are supplied by two different manufacturers (GKN Aerospace and Saab) with each featuring a different construction and assembly. GKN’s wing, on the starboard, features a more conventional architecture with a metal leading edge and composite cover. Saab’s wing on the port wing, on the other hand, features a one-piece composite surface, with integrated rib feets and spar cap.
No wool tufts measuring airflow here – the end pod will use HD cameras to detect laminar flow.
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be gained in that lasers were rejected as not being accurate enough. “It is the most advanced flight test installation we have ever done at Airbus” says Daniel Keirbel, the BLADE Project Leader since 2015.
To study NLF and measure laminar/turbulent transition on the new wing test sections, thermal cameras in a pod installed on the vertical tail will measure tiny differences in temperature that show where the cooler laminar-flow air breaks down into a hotter turbulent flow.
But this is only half the story. To cross check this laminar flow, HD cameras in the wing pods will use reflectology to watch a zebra-like test pattern reflected in the mirror-like wing surfaces looking to see if separation is being caused by tiny flexes or deformation in the wing’s surface. Eight cameras will be able to see disturbances on the skin as small as 20 microns, or almost a quarter of the width of a human hair. Meanwhile, spread out underneath the wings’ skin are waviness sensors which, like the inside of Yale locks, can measure whether the wing itself is distorting in tiny imperceptible ways.
Other sensors include 1,200 pressure sensors and accelerometers with the aircraft itself is expected to generate a staggering 4TB of data each flight, the majority (75%) of this from the reflectology HD cameras that will scan for tiny changes in the aircraft’s skin.
Microphones are also fitted to measure acoustic disturbances and the A340 BLADE is also fitted with an extremely unusual piece of equipment for a test aircraft – a loudspeaker. Such is the sensitivity of NLF that turbulent separation can be triggered by acoustics. Therefore Airbus will test to see what the effect of noisy engines are on laminar flow with a series of pure tones.
The road to Cleaner Skies
It has been a long and winding road to get here. The BLADE technology project, as part of the EU’s Clean Sky's Smart Fixed-Wing Aircraft Integrated Technology Demonstrator (SFW-ITD), has involved a large number of industrial and academic partners from around Europe, from Spain to Sweden, and from Romania to the UK. All told, BLADE features 21 partners from across Europe including Airbus, Dassault, Saab, Safran, Aernnova, GKN Aerospace, Romaero and EURECAT, as well as SMEs' such as Sertc, Asco, Aritx, FTI-Engineering and research bodies like DLR, NLR and ONERA.
Launched in 2008, BLADE saw a concept freeze review in 2010, maturity reviews of the wings between 2010 and 2014. Manufacturing of the upper covers began in 2015, while the existing wings were removed and new ones joined in 2016. This year saw aircraft power on in February and flight test instrumentation integration completed in August.
The extensive preparation has also included CFD testing, low-speed wind-tunnel testing, as well as developing the flight test anti-contamination device.
Flight test
With BLADE now handed over to the flight test team, the aircraft is set to fly for the first time as AEROSPACE goes to press. The flight test campaign will consist of two phases, in 2017 and in 2018, with the goal of flying around 120-150 hours. The first phase, in Q4 of 2017, will see aircraft handling qualities assessed and the flight envelope opened out to obtain initial results from the NLF wing sections.
Stalls will be tested as the modification to a new aerofoil section will change the aircraft’s handling, necessitating a careful approach. To incorporate the NLF sections, the existing wings have also had their slats disabled, making for a higher landing speed. As one Airbus source noted, it will be a ‘bizarre aircraft to fly’ with wings that are two-thirds 1980’s technology and one-third, the latest cutting-edge. optimised laminar flow design.
Interestingly, the reflectology measuring sensors means that there are limitations due to the angle of the Sun, with a four-hour sweet spot either side of the zenith where the miniscule deformations in the skin can be observed by the cameras. For this reason, from around late October onward, the aircraft will have to curtail flight testing (or move south) during winter as the Sun will not be at the correct angle.
Project engineers will start slowly, with the goal of flying at the sweet spot for NLF – Mach 0.75. Then the speed will be increased to 0.79 and above,
AEROSPACEA340 BLADE laminar flow demonstrator
IT IS THE MOST ADVANCED FLIGHT TEST INSTALLATION WE HAVE EVER DONE AT AIRBUSDaniel KeirbelBLADE Project Leader, Airbus
Flight Test Engineers’ station. BLADE will generate up to 4TB of data each flight.
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with the goal of measuring in detail never-before recorded when separation happens on a full-size wing in flight.
Sharp-eyed observers will notice that the wing sweep of the outer test NLF wings are around 20°, compared with 30° for the rest of the swept wing. The reason highlights a tricky compromise for future airliner designers – optimise a wing with (shallower sweep) that maintains laminar flow at around Mach 0.75 and save fuel, or fly faster at the usual cruising speed of Mach 0.82-0.85 and see boundary-layer separation as the aircraft goes faster. One solution might be hybrid laminar-flow, either passive or active, to ‘suck’ the airflow to the wing and keep the drag down at higher speeds. A slower, but more fuel efficient, straighter wing thus means that the first applications could be in narrowbody airliners on short-haul routes, where slower cruise speeds may not make too much of a difference compared to long-haul.
A second phase of flight testing, in 2018, will test the robustness of laminarity in representative operational conditions. This will include artificially introducing contaminants such as grease, or finding concentrations of insects to dirty the wing, with the goal of seeing when NLF breaks down. A 2m fixed Krueger flap section will also be tested to act as a possible anti-contamination device that could be a solution for protecting the wing from insects on take-off and landing in regular operations. A peel-off paper strip, activated by pilots using a cable after take-off will protect the leading edge from dead bugs during flight tests.
BLADE also includes aspects of maintainability – with Airbus drawing on its in-house maintenance experts to judge whether a contaminated wing can be recognised by eyesight alone and to help define what airline maintenance requirements might be.
Ease of maintainability will thus be a crucial factor in selling an airliner with NLF to airline customers in the future. Oddly, one unexpected spin-off of Lockheed Martin F-35 in the future will be a global pool of military maintenance technicians with experience of looking after an aircraft with unique coatings and a need to keep the surface extremely smooth. Some of these will naturally migrate to the civil sector and therefore there may
be a body of experience well versed already in some of the requirements for supporting NLF-winged airliners – when it finally enters the market.
Clipped wings?
Readers from the UK may note the irony that, just as wing design, testing and development is set to enter a new era of aerodynamics, Britain is set to exit the EU in two years time, potentially hampering a field in which otherwise it would be considered a natural leader in commercialising and productionising this technology. Airbus in the UK, with its Wing of the Future project, is still set to play a central role and, indeed, should BLADE prove successful, then it is highly likely this technology could find its way onto Airbus’ next generation single-aisle product. However, as an EU project, it is unclear what access UK companies and academic institutions may have in the follow-on Clean Sky 3. Some companies have already begun highlighting their European facilities and factories and stressing that they should be considered European, rather than UK entities.
Summary
The A340 BLADE flight tests, on Europe’s largest ever flight test demonstrator are thus set to be a landmark in aerodynamics research – as the first industrial transonic laminar flow flight test. The sheer amount and granularity of data expected from this testbed should prove invaluable in helping engineers design ultra-efficient wings and airframes for the next generation of airliners. This sort of research, with a large flying demonstrator or ‘X-plane’, will also help keep Airbus and the European aerospace sector ahead of rivals, just as the duopoly faces new entrants keen to muscle in on Toulouse and Seattle’s turf.
Another spin-off benefit is that, having developed this flying, instrumented testbed, it could form the basis to explore laminar flow even further, for example, with active or passive hybrid flow solutions, or perhaps even self-cleaning nanotechnology coatings in follow-on trials.
Left: close-up of the Saab (port) one-piece NLF wing section. Black stripes on pod help HD cameras measure tiny deformations of the upper skin.
Thermal cameras on the vertical tail pod will detect cooler laminar flow airflow compared to hotter turbulent areas.
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DEFENCEF-35B flight testing
In just over a year's time, one lucky UK test pilot is set to perform a historic flight – the first landing of a new fighter aircraft on a brand-new aircraft carrier – a double first that is a major milestone. "This is the SuperBowl
of flight test – a once in a lifetime opportunity," enthuses RAF F-35B test pilot Squadron Leader Andy Edgell. The majestic entrance of HMS Queen Elizabeth into Portsmouth in August and the pride and excitement surrounding it, is an indicator of the importance that the first F-35B landing on the carrier will carry.
Indeed, while next year it will be eight years since the retirement of the iconic Harrier, you have to go back over 50 years to 1963 when Hawker test pilot Bill Bedford made the first jet fighter vertical landing on an aircraft carrier on HMS Ark Royal in the P.1127. The rest, as they say, is history with the Harrier, Sea Harrier and AV-8 being adopted for shipborne operations by the UK, USMC, Italy, India, Spain and Thailand.
Fast forward to 2017 and Edgell (UK MoD First of Class Flight Trials (FOCFT) Lead Test Pilot) is one of the UK F-35B test pilots embedded into the JSF Integrated Test Force at the US Navy’s
The countdown is now on for the return of UK Carrier Strike.TIM ROBINSON reports from BAE Systems Warton on the behind thescenes activity to make the Lockheed Martin F-35B ready for the RoyalNavy’s new Queen Elizabeth class.
First in the class
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Patuxent River flight test centre in Maryland.His role in the US, (like his colleagues Cdr Steve
Crockatt (RN and Team Leader), Cdr Nath Gray (RN), Sqn Ldr Ben Hullah (RAF) and BAE Systems’ own Pete ‘Wizzer’ Wilson) as a developmental test pilot is to define the edges of the envelope, investigate handling and focus on safety.
Edgell stresses that this developmental testing (higher, faster and, occasionally, slowest) is
separate from the F-35 work undertaken from the RAF's 17(R) Sqn at Edwards AFB that
concentrates on weapon employment, combat tactics and how to use the
fighter operationally.This team (along with UK
engineers, maintainers and support personnel from the RN, RAF and industry) have been
busy this year conducting the second phase of land-based F-35B
ski-jump testing at Pax River – a critical stage in proving that the F-35B is ready to go to sea in 2018. Over 70% of the ski-jumps needed have now been completed with the team working on the toughest challenges, such as maximum stores asymmetry and crosswinds (one drawback of the land-based ski jump testing at Pax River is that the team have to wait for the wind conditions to co-operate for the correct speed and direction.)
These pilots are also tasked with developing and de-risking the new shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) technique which will allow higher bring-back of stores in hot climates than the traditional hover. This uses a straight-in approach with the aircraft slowing from about 140kt to approximately 60kt over the carrier’s stern – with the aircraft still getting some aerodynamic lift from the wings. As well as allowing higher bring-back weights, SRVL also has side benefits, such as reduced wear and tear on the LiftFan and less damage on the same landing deck ‘spot’ from the powerful rear-nozzle exhaust.
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squadron expected to have 14 by the end of this year. In another sign of a transition to a front-line operational squadron, the first four UK ab-initio pilots, direct from fast-jet training at RAF Valley, have just joined the squadron. Initial Operating Capability is expected at RAF Marham by the end of 2018.
These are the final steps in a journey that started decades ago with the question: ‘What replaces the Harrier?’ and has passed through projects like JAST, CALF, X-35/X-32 and now the JSF are nearing the finish line and will see the RN, RAF, MoD and industry working together to deliver the UK’s new potent carrier strike in around 2020.
Honing vertical landings in Warton
Supporting the UK developmental flight test team at Pax River is BAE Systems, where some 50+ years of Harrier experience is being brought together to make the F-35B the easiest and safest VTOL fighter ever to operate from a ship. Just opened earlier in March, BAE Systems’ F-35/QEC simulation facility at Warton, Lancashire, is a key part in testing and de-risking fixed-wing naval operations. Simulation and modelling is highly critical for QE and F-35B, not just because of the increased fidelity and processing power available but also with the UK having been out of the fixed-wing carrier game for seven years – nothing and no detail too small is being taken for granted. For example, CFD modelling of wind interaction around the distinctive twin islands is incorporated in the simulator.
The most challenging area to model, notes BAE’s David Atkinson in charge of the new facility, is in the F-35B’s transition phase between conventional wing-borne and vertical flight.
BAE says that the £2m facility, which includes a moving platform F-35 cockpit, dome visual system and a simulated QEC FLYCO (Flying Control), is its most sophisticated flight simulator yet. It uses 64 processors and 1TB RAM and allows test pilots to practice, train and rehearse safely before they even get to the ship. The inclusion of a FLYCO in the room next door also allows Royal Navy LSO (Landing Signal Officers) to experience, train and develop CONOPS in controlling F-35B launch and recovery operations. Cameras give a gyro-stabilised view of pilots’ approach with gradient and centreline guides marked. BAE is also trialling video gaming
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Inside the new F-35B/QEC integration simulator at BAE Systems Warton.
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While some critics worry that it could be more workload-intensive in bad weather or a fouled deck, others describe it as a ‘doddle’ in the sim. One F-35B pilot is sanguine about the technique, pointing out that a short, slow landing is nothing new for land-based Harriers and observes: “In fact, if we were still operating Harriers now, we'd probably be using it.” It will thus be for Edgell, Wizzer and the rest of the team to prove this concept at sea.
STOVL comes home
Then, in the fourth quarter of 2018, off the east coast of the US, will be the main event – the first F-35B at sea testing aboard the Queen Elizabeth. Edgell says that four pilots will be assigned to the task, with two aircraft to be used over two four-week periods with a break in between. With a heavy flying schedule, a break in the middle will be welcome for pilots, engineers and deck crew to keep concentration at the highest. He expects that, after getting to grips with the ship and carrier qualifications for the pilots, the first four weeks will see ski-jump take-offs and vertical landings during the day/night and with the deck dry and wet to get comfortable.
The next phase in the second four-week period, will hopefully see the SRVL testing for real, as well as more challenging testing, including stores, asymmetric loads and high-deck motion STOVL operations. Inert stores will be used in these trials, as there is no requirement to conduct the testing with live weapons or do firings: “We’ve already proved live weapons will fall off this jet” says Edgell. Following these two trials next year, a third development period is scheduled some nine months later in 2019.
While this testing will mark a milestone in the RN’s next-generation Carrier Strike capability, early in 2018 will also see the first UK F-35Bs with 617 Sqn roar into RAF Marham. This opens a new stealth chapter in the Services history and, appropriately enough, the RAF’s 100th anniversary year. In July saw another UK aircraft (BK-11) delivered to 617 at MCAS Beaufort, with the
BAE Systems’ test pilot Pete ‘Wizzer’ Wilson makes a ski-jump with a fully-loaded F-35B at Pax River.
20 AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
virtual reality headsets to allow LSOs to immerse themselves in a virtual FLYCO and see exactly what they would see onboard the real ship.
So, what is the value of this facility to highly experienced test pilots, some of whom have already taken the F-35B to sea, albeit on US Navy assault ships? Says Sqn Ldr Edgell: “As testers you are inherently cynical. However good the modelling is, we have to do it for real. However, it builds confidence and tells us where we need to focus our efforts. It also potentially allows us to take bigger steps towards the edge of the envelope.”
Hands on with the F-35B
So, what is the F-35B like to fly? Thanks to the pioneering work of UK’s DERA (now DSTL/QinetiQ) VAAC Harrier testbeds and test pilots like Justin Paines and John Farley in developing advanced FBW software for VTOL aircraft – it is extremely simple. Whereas the Jedi-like skills needed to control the Harrier in the hover requires movement of throttle, nozzle control and stick and has been likened to ‘balancing on the top of a pencil while needing three hands’, the F-35B’s fly-by-wire controls are just a sidestick and throttle HOTAS – with the flight computers doing all the hard work, (it is noteworthy that the UK is the only country after the US to have its own lines of code in the F-35 software).
To assist pilots coming into land, there are two velocity vectors – a traditional one,and a ship-shaped one – showing where the ship will be. The ship’s speed is also entered into the flight management computer via the touchscreen display.
Approaching the ship from behind at around 170kt and 500ft, once at 200ft the pilot hits the 'brake' deceleration button and the aircraft begins slowing and transitioning to a hover, with the LiftFan engaging and the rear nozzle swivelling down for vertical flight. Once slowed, the pilot can swing to the left side of the ship. The aircraft's flight computers now cleverly match the ship's speed, with the pilot pushing forward on the control sidestick (or inceptor) to go down. At 100ft and about a wingspan across from the deck, the pilot is thus ready to transition sideways over the deck, with fine hovering control being provided by the moving rear nozzle, LiftFan and the STOVL roll jets at the tips of the wings. At this point, with the flight controls
engaged and the aircraft happily matching speed with the ship, the pilot can even take their hands off the controls – a move that would most likely be suicidal in the Harrier for the average squadron pilot.
Hitting another thumb switch on the HOTAS throttle engages a translational controller mode, enabling the pilot to slide across in the hover and line up with the centreline. Once in position – it is a case of pushing forward on the sidestick to a software-controlled stop to descend and put the aircraft firmly on the deck. At this point, control of the engine thrust and vertical motion has passed to the right hand, rather than the left hand – which on the first occasion is slightly disconcerting to push full forward on what is normally a pitch control, some 50ft above a deck.
Then, feet on the brakes and the aircraft lands itself. Effectively with these flight controls you are flying an aeroplane that cannot stall and where intuitive pull back/go up and push forward/go down still work – even when hovering. Says BAE: “The control philosophy is such that the left-hand commands go-faster/go-slower while the right-hand commands the aircraft to go-up/go-down and go-left/go-right. Each hand commands a response in the same axis in both wing-borne and jet-borne flight.”
Taking off is even simpler. Line up on the centreline for the ramp. Hold feet on brakes – move throttle to detent and then to full and it will take-off, with just rudder pedals used to keep on track. No sidestick control movements are needed – although pilots will guard the control stick with a hand.
Interestingly, for those wondering about the SRVL and stopping a heavy aircraft without an arrestor wire on a short deck, this correspondent found that the carrier’s deck proved remarkably ‘sticky’ with a fair bit of throttle needed to get the aircraft moving. BAE says the modelling in the simulator includes dry, wet and flooded decks – and it has also carried out friction studies with F-35 tyres and the deck material.
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The BAE F-35/QEC integration facility also has a virtual FLYCO to help develop CONOPS before the first F-35B at sea trials with QEC next year.
HOWEVER GOOD THE MODELLING IS, WE HAVE TO DO IT FOR REAL. HOWEVER, IT BUILDS CONFIDENCE AND TELLS WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS. IT ALSO POTENTIALLY ALLOWS US TO TAKE BIGGER STEPS TOWARDS THE EDGE OF THE ENVELOPESqn Ldr Andy EdgellUK MoD First Of Class Flight Trials (FOCFT) Lead Test PilotF-35 Integrated Test ForceNAS Paxutent River
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The UK F-35 supply chain
It is not just in-flight testing where the UK is deeply involved with F-35. Down the road from Warton at BAE Systems’ factory in Samlesbury is evidence of the huge industrial and supply chain involvement in this programme – with the company machining and building aft fuselages, horizontal and vertical tails for almost every F-35 made. This August saw a significant industrial milestone passed for the F-35 – with the 318th rear fuselage section produced at Samlesbury rolled off the production line. This represents just 10% of the final production total.
Inside BAE's Samlesbury facility, a highly automated, cutting-edge facility building and assembling precision components for F-35 the sheer scale of the programme is apparent. After a slow start, Samlesbury is now in the middle of production ramp-up, as the F-35 programme goes into high-gear – supplying assembly lines in Fort Worth, Texas, Italy and now Japan. This year it will ship 92 aft fuselages, 78 horizontal tails and 83 vertical tails (other facilities in Australia and Canada building the difference in HT/VT and aft fuselages). This represents a 30% increase in the production rate, with another 30% increase in 2018.
This is just part of the UK's involvement in the gigantic global F-35 programme – which eventually could see over 3,000 aircraft produced. As well as the aft empennage and wingfold for the F-35C carrier variant, BAE provides the EW system, HOTAS (or active inceptors) and vehicle management computer, as well as being the lead design authority for the fuel system, crew escape system and life support, with 1,525 people directly employed by BAE on the F-35. Looking wider, it is estimated that the F-35 will sustain some 25,000 UK jobs in 500 companies when it hits peak production rate in 2020. These range from big names like Rolls-Royce (LiftFan), Martin-Baker (ejection seat) and MBDA/Raytheon (UK weapons integration) to smaller SMEs.
With Britain set to be the home for F-35 avionics MRO in Europe, sustainment and upgrades will also be key opportunities over the long life of the programme. Steve Simm, from UK defence lab DSTL, which has been involved from even before F-35 in giving independent technical evaluations, airworthiness and projects like VAAC, notes that there are three areas that might offer opportunities for the UK in future F-35 upgrades – sensors, all round survivability and interoperability. Can the UK exploit some of its aerospace and defence technology innovation to keep the F-35 at the very tip of spear over the rest of what could be a long service career?
Summary
This is not to say that it will all be plain sailing for the UK and F-35. Questions still remain about the affordability of the full buy of 138 F-35s – particularly given that being priced in US dollars means that the jet is getting more expensive for Britain – with the MoD spending on the jet rising by 10% in the past year.
Yet the return of Carrier Strike marks a new chapter for the UK. QE and Prince of Wales will give the country a multirole floating airbase, able to project power, deploy transport and attack helicopters and operate fixed wing aircraft – and, most probably one day, UAVs. The road has been a long one and is not over yet but, finally Great Britain is set to return to its place as a foremost exponent of naval air power. The UK, which in the post-WW2 era invented the steam catapult, carrier angled deck and landing mirror – making jet carrier aviation at sea viable, along with the iconic jump jet which provided a flexibility never seen before, is thus on the final circuit and approach to Carrier Strike. Indeed, it needs to be remembered that smaller, cheaper Harrier and Invincible-class were originally consolation prizes for the supersonic, radar-equipped Hawker P.1154 jump-jet and the RN’s CVA-01 super carrier being axed in the 1960s. Half a century later, with F-35B and QEC, the wheel has come full circle.
Above: BAE Systems F-35 rear fuselage and empennage factory at Samlesbury, Lancashire, is currently ramping up production.
Left: The final ASRAAM launch as part of the MBDA AAM's UK F-35B integration testing was caught on camera. Note Paveway IV PGMs, also to equip UK F-35s in service.
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Zunum Aerospace’s concept for electric commuter/business aircraft variants.
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(Taurus G4, EADS/Airbus Cri-Cri and E-Fan2.0), ultralights (ElectraFlyer Trike), multiple rotor rotary wing (Volocopter) and even a VTOL jet (Lilium).
Up to now, all these electrically-powered aircraft have been relatively small in size, either being unmanned or only able to carry a limited number of people. However, plans are now afoot to develop much larger electric-powered aircraft. Airbus has abandoned plans to develop a larger version of the E-Fan to work on a project to develop a hybrid-electric version of a demonstrator using a BAE 146 regional jet. Meanwhile, Boeing is one of a number of companies supporting Zunum Aerospace in its development of a hybrid business aircraft.
More-electric aircraft
Meanwhile, the development of small electric aircraft has been accompanied by technological upgrades to larger commercial aircraft in which electrically-powered systems have been used to replace equipment previously powered by bleed air
22 AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
AEROSPACEElectric flight standards
Switching onelectric flight
Following widespread publicity generated by the 40,000km round the world odyssey of the Solar Impulse 2 experimental solar-powered aircraft in 2015-2016, one of the most asked questions from the general
public was: ‘When will we see the introduction of large passenger-carrying electric-powered aircraft?’ The answer given by informed experts who knew something about the research and technical advancements still needed before commercial electric aircraft become a practical proposition, was: ‘no time soon’. However, while the first commercial passenger flight on an all-electric aircraft is still some way off into the future, development of electrically-powered aircraft has begun to move much faster than was originally anticipated.
The past ten years has seen the development of a series of new electrically-powered aircraft, powered either by batteries, solar cells or a combination of both. These new aircraft have included solar-powered UAVs (QinetiQ/Airbus Defence Zephyr), power-assisted gliders (EGenius), fixed-wing light aircraft
In recent years standards and regulations have lagged behind changes in new technology but, with passenger-carrying all-electric aircraft, the regulators are hoping to keep pace to smooth the way for their introduction. BILL READ FRAeS reports.
Top from clockwise: The XV-24A LightningStrike Created by Aurora Flight Sciences and partners Rolls-Royce and Honeywell, the Solar Impulse and its solar skin and the Zunum Aero-4 hybrid-electric airplane.
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them to address that or approve that particular technology or product or whether they should start thinking of something a bit more creative.”
Sharing knowledge
There are sometimes problems when companies researching new technology are not keen to share their findings with each other which may result in duplication of effort. “That is definitely an issue,” agrees Alexander. “Different companies have different cultures regarding intellectual property (IP) and sharing. It’s natural. Technology developments in industry will happen at a different pace with different objectives depending on the organisation and their ambitions. There’s always a sweet spot in standardisation where it’s early enough in the development of a particular technology, product or process for the standardisation process to be used in a very productive way for the industry to set out some basic principles that will enable all of them to be faster, particularly when you’re looking ahead to certification but late enough in the process that companies are willing to come together and sit round the table and share what they have with partners, customers and suppliers.
Steering towards electric aircraft
To facilitate the development of new commercial electric aircraft, SAE International has created the Electric Aircraft Steering Group (EASG). The Group meets online every month and twice a year face to face and includes representatives from major aerospace companies and organisations, including Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer, EASA, FAA, GE, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin and Rolls-Royce. The aim of the Group is to: ‘strategically identify, landscape and co-ordinate the various standardisation activities necessary to support full-electric and more electric aircraft applications at the top level system, subsystem and component levels.’
Currently, the EASG is working on defining the ‘standardisation landscape’ needed to support the power and infrastructure ‘backbone’ for electric aircraft and system functions, to develop a matrix of existing or in-progress standards which will highlight where work is still needed and to liaise with existing standard developing committees. The EASG is looking at such subjects as types of vehicle, energy and power storage, hybrid/electrical propulsion, more electric engines, safety, power generation, maintenance, operations, testing, controls, power electronics and modular open architecture.
Work in progress
The development of larger all-electric aircraft is already well advanced. “The more that people are working on the ‘more-electric’ systems, the more
from the engines, including cabin pressurisation, air conditioning and de-icing. Electric power is also being used to replace pneumatic and hydraulic systems, such as flight controls, brakes and landing gear. One of the major pioneers of these ‘more-electric aircraft’ systems has been the Boeing 787 which uses electric systems to replace those previously powered by hydraulics or bleed air from the engines.
The dead hand of regulation?
A complaint often heard in discussions about new aerospace research and technology has been the slow development of regulations. While new technology can develop at a fast pace, the time needed to develop new production standards and introduce new safety and certification rules by the regulators which will actually permit the new product or process to be used in a commercial aircraft are much slower. Examples of this in the aerospace industry have been seen in the development of composites, 3D printing and in ‘flying cars’.
Standards to the rescue
However, in the case of fully-electric aircraft, the standards and regulatory authorities are planning to keep pace with the ‘cutting edge’ of technology, to help co-ordinate their development and reduce the time needed for their introduction into service. One organisation current very active in the development of electric aircraft is SAE International, an international global standards developing organisation that ‘advances self-propelled vehicle and system knowledge in a neutral forum for the benefit of society’.
David Alexander, Director of Aerospace Standards at SAE, explains how the organisation is helping to pave the way for electric aircraft: “While standardisation may not be seen as one of the most exciting aspects of aviation, it is becoming more high profile, as it is more used and needed by the regulatory authorities. Certification authorities are looking towards more performance-based industry standards and industry is playing a much greater role in the regulatory process. Rather than waiting until a product is mature and then describing it, industry is using the standardisation process to develop a consensus on practices and standards for technology that is not yet proven. It’s an environment in which industry is working collaboratively with various industry stakeholders, regulatory authorities and responsible military agencies.”
“One of the great things about our work is that we have the regulators and industry together. Regulators such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are very keen to meet industry as early as possible in the process to hear what they’re looking at and what they’re hoping to do and then starting thinking about whether the existing regulatory framework and existing rules will allow
WHILE STANDARD-ISATION MAY NOT BE SEEN AS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING ASPECTS OF AVIATION, IT IS BECOMING MORE HIGH PROFILE, AS IT IS MORE USED AND NEEDED BY THE REGULATORY AUTHORITIESDavid AlexanderDirector of Aerospace Standards,SAE
24 AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
progress we are making towards an eventual ‘all-electric’ aircraft,” said Alexander. “We already have many electric systems on aircraft, including electric actuators for flight controls, brakes and landing gear, as well as (on bleedless engines) APU start, cabin pressurisation, engine start and ice protection systems. One recent example is the electric brakes on the new Bombardier CSeries regional jet. Bombardier says that these brakes have proved more reliable compared to hydraulic systems – which is very promising for the future.
“We’ve already started with the use of electric power in more-electric aircraft,” says Alexander. “Already we’ve produced reports, recommended practices and some standards on such topics as higher voltage applications, electric braking and electric acuation.
The shape of electric aircraft to come
While it is not the purpose of this article to look in detail how a future all-electric aircraft might look, the current focus of the SAE’s deliberations does provide some general pointers.
It is likely that the engines will be mounted in different places on the wing or fuselage with, possibly, a number of multiple ‘distributed power’ electric engines. The electric engines will turn propellers which will make the aircraft fly slower than a jet aircraft.
Power of the Sun?
Where will the electricity come from – from batteries or from solar-electric cells? “Currently, it’s likely to come mostly from batteries,” says Alexander. “Power generated from solar cells is limited by the amount of surface area you can fit them onto and also the availability of sunlight. A commercial electric aircraft will have to fly at night as well as in the day.”
The shape of the wings is also under discussion. Pure solar-powered aircraft, such as the Solar Impulse 2, were fitted with very long thin wings designed both to keep the aircraft aloft and to maximise the number of solar cells. However, such long straight wings would make an aircraft very slow
AEROSPACEElectric flight standards
and also have a very wide wingspan which might not fit into a conventional airport gate. “Airport space is going to still be at a premium,” said Alexander.
Hybrid aircraft
As more research is conducted into larger electric aircraft, one factor that is becoming clearer is that the first passenger-carrying designs are unlikely to rely solely on electric power due to safety considerations. What happens should the batteries run out or fail to work? How could an electric aircraft cope with a longer route diversion as a result of an airport or airspace closure? There is also the problem that aircraft need to use a lot of power for take-off and climb out which would take a lot of power from the batteries at the beginning of a flight. It would also take longer to reach take-off speeds, so an all-electric aircraft might require a longer runway.
Because of these concerns, current research is focusing on ‘hybrid’ designs which would also have conventionally powered engines as well as electric engines. Because a hybrid aircraft does not rely on one source of power, it would be easier to certify from a safety point of view. “The need for redundant systems is certainly there,” says Alexander. “No matter how proven battery technology is in 15 or 20 years, you’ve still got that ability to switch should anything happen.
An example of a hybrid design can be seen with Airbus’ development of the E-Fan into the hybrid power E-Fan Plus which flew in the summer of 2016. Fitted with a thermal combustion engine in the rear cockpit that can generate enough electricity to sustain the E-Fan Plus in level flight at maximum cruise speed in addition to charging its lithium-ion batteries.
Size is everything
Another characteristic of a future all-electric aircraft would be its size and range. Current research suggests that, while electric propulsion is feasible for larger aircraft, there is an upper limit beyond which they would become technologically and economically impossible. “At the moment we are
The Airbus E-Fan.
Florida’s Electric Aircraft Corporation has developed a set of pioneering electrically-powered aircraft.Top: ElectraFlyer-ULS, ElectraFlyer Trike, ElectraFlyer-C Prototype.
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only focusing our attention on medium-sized short range aircraft,” said David Alexander. “Nothing that I’ve seen or heard suggests that industry would be confident to develop anything above a short-range regional aircraft running with some form of hybrid power. While the E-Fan is propelled by two 60Kw power fans, a 747-sized aircraft would need up to 90Mw to take-off, which one of my colleagues has calculated would need a power equivalent to 4m laptop batteries.”
Where do the batteries go?
Another area of research is where the batteries to power the aircraft might go. Should they be in the wings – where jet fuel is stored in conventionally-powered aircraft – or in the fuselage? In a hybrid powered aircraft, batteries in the wings would make the wings heavier and space there might still be needed for liquid fuel. Storing batteries in the fuselage would take up space which could be used for seating passengers or storing luggage. David Alexander says that the answers to such questions still lie in the future. “The jury is still out there in terms of what the manufacturers want,” he said. “At present we’re not particularly concerned with how the shape of the aircraft might look but we are interested in safety and operational considerations. Should the batteries be recharged in situ on the ground or taken out to be replaced by fresh batteries? How easy will it be to install or remove batteries for recharging? In terms of battery life, it is better to have a slower recharge to maximise battery life. Recharging the batteries within the aircraft will take time and low-cost operators like to utilise aircraft several times a day.”
“We also have to consider the concentration and proximity of batteries to other critical systems. Currently, our standardisation work is looking at environmental and installation requirements rather than on physical fitting. While operators and manufacturers would eventually like to have a choice of interchangeable batteries, that is a later consideration.”
Battery safety
Related to this issue are concerns over battery safety, particularly with high energy batteries, such as lithium ion which run the risk (as was evident in the early days of the 787 in service) of catching fire. “A lot of work is being done now to ensure the safety of batteries,” assures David Alexander. “The 787 did have problems with lithium batteries and that is still a concern. It’s not so much that the battery technology itself is not safe but the way they are used. The battery manufacturers are working hard and we have hope and expectation that they will find a solution. Interestingly, one of the most high profile activities that we’ve been working on over the past
couple of years is looking at the transport of lithium batteries in air cargo and ICAO asked us to develop a packaging standard for which we are hoping for a final draft by the end of the year.”
Technology breakthroughs needed
However, the development of standards cannot guarantee the creation of larger electric-powered aircraft. The development of such aircraft also depends on the development of new technology which does not yet exist, including major improvements in the energy density of batteries and even high efficiency, more powerful electric motors capable of producing jet-like propulsion. “New designs will depend on new batteries being
The e-Genius is a manned electric aircraft, developed by the Institute of Aircraft Design at the University of Stuttgart.
developed which do not exist at present,” says Alexander.
Other technical advances are also needed in cooling technologies, high power density electronics and new high temperature-resistant lightweight materials.
But will they make money?
A final important factor is that of economics. Not only must a commercial electric aircraft be safe to fly, it must also make money for an airline. “Investing in a completely new paradigm for air travel must make economic sense,” said Alexander. He admits that current low oil prices are not helping. “Talking to people in the industry, there is obviously a lot of thrust towards electric aircraft when fuel price is high,” he says. “With low oil prices, fuel consumption is less of an economic driver and an all-electric aircraft is not currently going to be competitive. However, this may change in the future as fuel becomes more expensive.”
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The Association uses a variety of mediums including advocacy, events, communications and networking relationships, to promote the understanding and benefits that the industry brings to the continent’s economic development and prosperity.
Development potential
Africa remains a continent with the potential for significant development. The African Economic Outlook 2017 states that medium term prospects are favourable and notes that entrepreneurs have a key role to play in its economic acceleration. As with many international countries, several African nations have suffered from the fall in commodity prices, yet the majority of the continent’s non-commodity based economies continue to grow. Data coming
26 AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
BUSINESS AVIATIONAfrica
Out of Africa
Five years ago, the African Business Aviation Association was launched at the business aviation industry’s leading European event, the European Business Aviation Conference and Expo, EBACE.
Joined by ten fellow founding members, the Founding Chairman Tarek Ragheb and myself, Chief Executive Officer, Rady Fahmy, announced the formation of an Association that would act as a pan-African voice to advocate the benefits of business aviation to the continent’s nations.
The Association’s vision is focused on establishing business aviation as an asset that is recognised, valued and supported by governments, their respective Civil Aviation Authorities, enterprises, entrepreneurs and business leaders across Africa, from north to south, and east to west.
How business aviation in the fast-growing African market is set to soar.RADY FAHMY, CEO African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA),reflects on the first five years of this organisation.
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the commodity price downturn. In Nigeria, the mining business is
beginning to really develop and we imagine that we’ll see a higher call for rotary services in this area as exploration continues. Angola is upping its interests in agriculture
which, with vast swathes of land to be managed, requires aerial transportation.
The diversification within industries such as mining, agriculture,
finance, construction and telephony are also maximising the
efficiencies offered.One of the fascinating
things about Africa is that it is made up of 54 countries, it is
not one country, and consequently the countries developmental pace surges and recedes at different rates
making it a challenge to always predict where the next growth element will come from.
East African lead
The landscape has shifted recently with East Africa undergoing
economic development. With less dependency on hydrocarbon wealth it has perhaps even more opportunities than in other ‘established’ business aviation markets like Western Africa or Southern Africa.
In fact, according to the WEF Ethiopia is the world’s fastest growing economy and it is therefore no surprise that AfBAA launched its first Country Chapter in Addis Ababa in 2016. When AfBAA launched, Ethiopia wasn’t deemed to be an active area but it has become incredibly vibrant and we want to support the potential. The Ethiopian country chapter operates under the guidance of AfBAA, but focuses on supporting and enabling the predicted development by providing a platform for stakeholders who have an interest in the country to debate and discuss challenges and solutions for sustainable development.
Ethiopia is home to the African Union (AU) and is increasingly attracting business interest from the international community, partly fuelled by the rapid growth of its national carrier Ethiopian Airlines. AfBAA held its third regional symposium in Addis Ababa and it was clear that the AU had focused on commercial aviation development, as opposed to business aviation. After attending our symposium, ministers openly agreed that business aviation was an area that needed their attention. This change in Ethiopia perfectly reflects the power of AfBAA and our approach to advocating for the sector.
out of the World Bank and the World Economic Forum this year both indicate that a number of non-commodity producing countries including Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal and Tanzania are exhibiting economic resilience. These nations are recognising that diversification is key to economic growth and looking to renewable energy, manufacturing and industrialisation as platforms for success.
Africa is also experiencing a rapid urbanisation with the WEF suggesting that by 2050 the African population will have grown to 2.2bn, of which 80% will be living in cities. The population continues to get younger with 70% of the population aged under 30 years of age. The WEF also notes that there are around 200 African innovation hubs, 3,500 new tech-related ventures and $1bn spent in venture capital each year indicating an innovative business community. Africa will continue to grow and the opportunities are abundant for international and continental business.
Oil power
In terms of business aviation, it was initially the hydrocarbon markets that spurred the sector’s growth. There was a rapid rise in business jet use in countries such as Nigeria and Angola until fluctuating oil prices took their toll. Jet sales have slowed, partly due to slowing economies in these nations, but also because the initial capital expenditure had been made investing in new aircraft in the previous decade. Prior to this, Africa was a dumping ground for old jets, however, these days serious businesses maximise their jets, not buying a new one each year, but making sure the assets are delivering good returns on their investment.
We are also seeing business aviation growth from other sectors. Medevac operations delivering passengers to centres of medical expertise; a rise in UAVs being used for functional tasks such as surveying, mapping, delivering badly needed medical supplies; and within tourism itself there’s increasing demand for sight-seeing flights and shuttle services between safari destinations and principal airports. There is also diversification in the regions hit by
Total number of business jets operating in African countries in 2015 (from ASG Africa Business Jet Fleet Report).
Asian Sky GroupOpposite page; Main picture: Pilatus PC-24Lower pictures (from left to right): AfBAA Founding Chairman Taerek Ragheb; CEO AfBAA Rady Fahmy;AfBAA launches the Ethiopia Chapter at its first Country Roundtable; andSegun Demuren, Nuno Pereira, Gavin Kiggen and Rady Fahmy.
28 AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
Commercial growth
Commercial airline growth is also one of the strongest factors supporting the sustained development of business aviation in Africa as business and leisure travel is developing beyond country borders. With a burgeoning middle-class analysts suggest that well over 100m Africans now manage discretionary income and have heightened travel requirements. This in turn drives economic growth that requires infrastructure support. However, commercial aviation is still very restricted on the routes that can be flown. Often if you need to get from point A to point B you must fly via point C and D. What should be a simple two-hour flight between countries can turn into a day-long voyage. This is driving a rising demand for the benefits of business aviation from those developing commercial enterprises.
Business facilitator
The continent’s executives are realising that executive aviation is not a luxury but a facilitator in conducting business as the benefits of privacy, security, time saving, efficiency and productivity are realised. Conversely the legacy of these strong airlines, including Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, and the upcoming RwandAir, equates to the need for highly trained and qualified human resources.
This remains a key theme for AfBAA, the recruiting, training and retention of skilled workers. The association has a very active training committee which has made great strides in the past year as it has drawn attention to the needs of the market. It is an area full of challenges, that we share with the commercial airline sector. Finding the right people, with the right skills to build the African aviation community.
The continent’s business aviation sector is often held back owing to a lack of understanding of its benefits, sometimes from within aviation itself. To strengthen our commitment to educating the African business aviation sector AfBAA signed two significant Memos of Understanding (MoU), with leading international aviation training organisations earlier in 2017. The agreements with the Association of African Aviation Training Organizations, AATO and the Joint Aviation Authorities Training Organisation, JAA TO, enable AfBAA to identify, design and
BUSINESS AVIATIONAfrica
develop training offerings that can be delivered through credible training organisations at international and continental levels.
JAA TO and AATO are well known, active entities in Africa, and it is anticipated the MoUs will support AfBAA’s ongoing aim of developing the understanding by African operators, regulators and governments about the value of business aviation. AfBAA plans to initiate a signature ‘Business Aviation 101’ course, that will create awareness about the specific requirements of the business aviation sector in Africa, and how it differs from the commercial market.
With these new relationships in place we are better positioned to improve access to standardised information, provide credible courses continent wide, and encourage African professionals to be trained in, and then subsequently work in, African business aviation. As part of our training commitment we have encouraged our members to adopt and adapt international safety standards to convey the commitment the continent’s suppliers have to providing international levels of service.
Nigeria’s EAN Aviation offers a modern FBO lounge and holds IS BAH status.
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THE CONTINENT’S BUSINESS AVIATION SECTOR IS OFTEN HELD BACK OWING TO A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF ITS BENEFITS, SOMETIMES FROM WITHIN AVIATION ITSELF
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Improving safety
We’ve seen significant improvements in the ground infrastructure in some countries since we launched, while in others nothing has changed at all. However, if we talk generically there is certainly a greater awareness about safety, the value of safety management systems and how to effectively use them. We are delighted to see that a couple of our members have invested time, money and training into improving their offering. Bestfly now holds IS-BAO accreditation while EAN, and ExecuJet hold IS-BAH accreditation. The value of safety cannot be underestimated and there is a perception that African safety standards are lower than elsewhere, our mission is to alter this perception and support our members in reaching world-class operating standards.
Passion continues to support the growth of business aviation in Africa. We are pleasantly surprised to receive feedback about the dynamism of our conferences and events, that the rooms are always full not just of people, but of people with passion for what they do. They are committed to making Africa respected as an aviation community and will continue to contribute their own valuable time, as well as their business acumen, to improving the industry.
Wide membership
Five years on, AfBAA welcomes 119 members representing the full gamete of aviation. OEMs, international trip planners, fuel providers and manufacturers sit alongside Africa-based operators, FBOs and suppliers. Many have continued to grow and evolve along with the Association by augmenting the network, experience and knowledge AfBAA brings to them. One of our proudest achievements is the networking opportunities we provide through the series of symposia, forums and events that we organise which brings together stakeholders to be educated, informed and inspired. Informal information exchange is vital.
AfBAA’s sterling portfolio of events which launched in Morocco four years ago with our first regional symposium, really adds value to member networking and expands the knowledge base. This year, to mark our fifth anniversary, we launched AfBAC Expo, Africa’s first dedicated exhibition, static and conference which will take place at Lanseria International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa, from 29 November until 1 December 2017. The conference objective is to inspire and inform through a variety of mediums including presentations from industry leaders, dynamic panel discussions from experts in their field, as well as a selection of workshops that will discuss current topics affecting business aviation development in Africa. Training sessions on safety and regulation
will run in parallel, as will an afternoon session dedicated to the booming area of remotely piloted aerial systems, RPAS.
Five years of progress
In our five years, we have achieved much, and brightly shone the spotlight on the potential for business aviation in Africa. We have generated collective energy, experience, and resources to support, improve, and fuel the continued growth of African Business Aviation. We have achieved this thanks to the participation of our members both national and international. After all, Africa does not operate in global isolation. All have contributed to creating a professional, effective, credible organisation that is dedicated to upholding the long-term vision and values of AfBAA, and all those it represents. To ensure this continued development into the future, we believe it is crucial that we continue to create frameworks on which the future of African business aviation can be laid out. The Association is committed to identifying, addressing and implementing solutions across a range of critical issues, which support the sustainable growth of our industry.
We are actively seeking solutions to simplify the aviation experience for business aviation users. We recognise the need to improve the quality of human capital through efficient access to safety management system information and specialised training. We will continue to advocate on behalf of our industry at national, regional, intra-continental and international levels. Most importantly, as business cannot develop strategy without facts, we will continue to identify and report on industry trends and topics
Sunny future
Looking forward we only see sunshine on the horizon. We are working closely with IBAC to become members, we will continue to expand our events collection and for our members we will be creating new benefits. We plan to establish several valuable white papers and research projects that will enhance strategic decision making. We will continue to remain focused on our overall guiding vision, and are committed to the continent for the long term.
Zipline
Zipline humanitarian medical UAV delivery service is an example of aviation innovation now taking place in Africa.
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The first dedicated African business aviation show, AfBAC EXPO will take place at ExecuJet South Africa’s Lanseria’s facility on 29 Nov -1 Dec.
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SHOW REPORTTADTE 2017
The 14th biennial Taipei Aerospace & Defence Technology Exhibition (TADTE) was staged at the Taipei World Trade Centre (17-19 August) and organised by the Taiwan External Trade
Development Council (TAITRA). The show featured 141 national and international exhibiting companies that are predominantly involved in air, naval, land, unmanned and space. International participants included Rockwell Collins, Harris, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics Mission Systems, Honeywell Aerospace and Chemring, among others.
One of the main special interest exhibits was the SpaceTech area, which comprised organisations, companies and universities involved in all aspects of satellite development, sensor development and space research. Other areas included Drone Taiwan 2017, which was dedicated to unmanned systems for mainly civil applications and featured a netted UAV flying zone.
The opening was performed by Vice President Chien-Jen Chen who gave a welcome address in which he stated that technological developments made by TADTE companies gave him confidence about the future contribution of aviation and defence towards the nation’s economy. In the area of general
defence development, he praised the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), noting that many new projects were on show at the exhibition, including a Taiwanese-made submarine which would be operating within a decade (a model of it was being shown in the dedicated NCSIST diplay area for the first time).
Taiwan’s NCSIST area presented numerous displays, including a model of the XAT-5 Blue Magpie advanced jet trainer which is scheduled for service entry in 2019. In February this year, $2.2bn of contracts were signed between the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF), the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCIST) iNCSIST and Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) for the development and production of 66 jet trainers. Based on the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching Kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF). It still requires some structural modifications to reduce weight and up to four wing-tip configurations are currently under review.
Also on display was an NCSIST ASRD MALE UAV, together with a Taiwanese-developed simulation system for ground control operators and pilots.Vi
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At the TADTE (Taipei Aerospace & Defence Technology Exhibition)show held recently in Taipei, a focus on finding joint partners, as well asdeveloping national capabilities to conduct low-cost space research, wasvery much in evidence. ANDREW DRWIEGA reports.
Taiwan aims for space at latest show
Shiann Jung Yu, Deputy Director General, National Applied Research Laboratories stands by a full-size model of the recently launched Formosat-5 satellite.
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Upward to the starsThe Taiwanese government has set a course to grow its indigenous defence and aerospace platforms, often as a result of frustrations caused by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). While it has a plethora of defence ambitions, one sector that is visibly taking off is its satellite development programme which has been under way for over two decades.
On 24 August at 11:51am Taiwan’s latest Earth observation satellite was blasted into orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base (AFB) in California. It was deployed using a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle which deployed the satellite approximately 11 minutes after launch into its targeted orbit.
The Formosat-5 satellite is the latest of its kind to be sent into space by Taiwan's National Space Organisation (NSPO) and replaces the older Formosat-2 which was launched in May 2004 and is now at the end of its lifetime. It is unique in being the first satellite to be completely designed by Taiwanese industry through NSPO.
The cost of the launch was around $23m with the Taiwanese satellite being the only payload onboard. Weighing around 450kg, it is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite and will operate around 720km from Earth. There was originally another satellite due to go on the same launch but its timeline was advanced and moved to an Indian launcher instead.
Formosa-5 is a high resolution, Earth remote optical sensing satellite that uses a remote sensing imager (RSI) to provide two-metre panachronic and
four-metre multi-spectral resolution images. The main payload was developed domestically by a team including NSPO institutions and commercial partners: ITRC (Instrument Technology Research Center), CIC (National Chip Implementation Center), CSIST (Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology), AIDC (Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation), CIS (CMOS Sensor Inc), and CAMELS Vision Technologies.
The new Advanced Jet Trainer – a collaboration between ASRD within NCSIST. Contracts for the new Advanced Jet Trainer for the Taiwan Air Force were signed between the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCIST) in February this year. The ROCAF require around 66 trainers which are based on the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF). As yet there is no set date for first flight.
Advanced Jet Trainer
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Taiwan’s satellite programmeNSPO was founded in 1991 by the Taiwan government under the Ministry of Science and Technology with the aim of developing a national space programme for Taiwan, explained Shiann-Jeng Yu, Deputy Director General of NSPO, talking to AEROSPACE at the organisation’s stand at this year’s Taipei Aerospace & Defence Technology Exhibition (TADTE 2017).
Yu explained that the Formosat-5 project began in 2009. “The bus and payload are both built by NSPO. The sensor is the most critical element and the hardest part that had to be built by Taiwan’s industry.” He revealed that one satellite programme typically takes around five years to develop through to launch. “NSPO does not build satellites specifically for military use,” said Yu. There was hope that the Formosat-6 satellite would have a launcher built by the Ministry of Defence but that did not happen.
The original plan was to source the sensor from the international community but, due to ITAR restrictions, it meant that internal resources had to be identified and used. In addition to the main sensor payload, an advanced ionospheric probe (AIP) has been included which was developed by the National Central University (NCU). This will be used to examine the influence of the ionospheric physical parameters on space climate and communication.
“Most of the research is for government, around 90%, with only 10% being open to domestic and international users,” said Yu.
The sequence of satellite development has progressed numerically. Formosat-1, an Earth observation satellite weighing just over 400kg, was launched by Lockheed Martin in January 1999 and was decommissioned in July 2004. As Yu points out: “it was a science experiment, with a colour motion sensor to monitor oceans, a developmental step towards Ka-band communications, as well as ionosphere research.”
Formosat-2 (being replaced by Formosat-5) was a high-resolution photographic surveillance satellite launched in May 2004 on a Taurus XL rocket. It had a remote sensing imager that could provide resolution to 8m, and black and white resolution to 2m. Formosat-2 was very successful in that it produced
more than 2.5m images over 12 years of operation before it was decommissioned in August last year.
Formosat-3, a collaborative project between NSPO and UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) in the US, was initiated in December 1997 to launch a constellation of six micro satellites which would collect atmospheric remote sensing data for operational weather prediction, climate, ionospheric and geodesy research (and which is now being replaced by Formosat-7).
Formosat-7 is a joint project between the United States and Taiwan which supplied the space bus and satellite operation control centre. “We wanted to build a high resolution satellite with a synthetic aperture radar with both civil and military applications. It still weighs less than 450kg and uses a constellation of 12 remote sensing micro satellites to collect atmospheric data for weather prediction and for ionosphere, climate and gravity research.”
The programme will eventually comprise a 12-satellite constellation for atmospheric and ionospheric measurement (replacing the six satellites of Formosat-3). Another US satellite will make up the other part of the payload which will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The projects cost is estimated at around $3bn Taiwanese dollars ($100m).
Software development has been key to the whole satellite programme, said Yu. “Miniaturisation has played an important part in terms of software for the satellite and the Taiwanese ground control centre has also benefited from a software upgrade which will carry it through the Formosat-5 and Formosat-7 projects.
One of the main missions Formosat-7 will deliver is to further advance global weather analysis and prediction. This will again be achieved through the collection of atmospheric and ionospheric data. The 12-satellites constellation for an operation mission."
As for the future, Yu said: “We are trying to get approval for our future programme. We want to build a micro satellite weighing only 200kg. It will give a 1m resolution for civil use but cannot comment on any possible military application. We want to build higher resolution satellite with SAR application for combined civil/military use. The launch vehicle for future projects is likely to be SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, which was chosen by the US Air Force.”
SHOW REPORTTADTE 2017
A Reconfigurable Combat Simulation System (RCSS) from NCSIST based on a generic helicopter cockpit features a cylindrical screen with 7 metre diameter and 200 degrees horizontal field of view.
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The Formosat-7 is a Taiwan-US collaboration between Taiwan's National Space Organisation and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide a 12-satellite constellation measuring atmospheric and ionosphere soundings.
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SHOW REPORTTADTE 2017
Sounding rocket researchThe HTTP-3 Sounding Rocket Project, backed by the Advanced Rocket Research Centre (ARRC), is a collaboration between professors and students of the National Chiao Tung University to produce a two-stage rocket that will reach 100km. Sounding rockets typically fill the research void from the maximum height of weather balloons that go up to 50km above the Earth, to beyond 300km where regular space activity takes over.
Although Taiwan’s rocket research programme began in 1997 under the NSPO, it can be categorised into three phases. The first ran from the inception date to 2003 and involved three sounding rocket launches. The second, from 2003 until the end of 2018, saw 10-15 launches in the early days with many failures and has been hampered by a lack of funding which has gradually seen it devolve to a relatively amateur team of professors and students. In recent times there has only been one successful launch three years ago of a single stage rocket which achieved a height of several tens of kilometres.
However, the team is currently working towards a more reliable two-stage rocket for a possible launch date to be established next year. If the project is successful, it would be used to launch cube sats and
micro sats (cube sats are miniaturised satellites for space research that are made up of multiples of 10 × 10 ×10cm cubic units).
Tsung-Lin Chen, one of the project leaders within the department of engineering and science at the Chiao Tung University, explained that: “we see the future space market for this type of rocket as huge – launching small satellites up to around 500km. Next year’s launch of a two-stage rocket will reach over 100km.”
The project has involved a core of six to seven professors in the university backed by a variety of students as they pass through during their academic lives. Being academic and not commercial, they always face the twin challenges of lack of funding and not having teams working all day, every day on the project.”
Alongside NSPO in the SpaceTech area of TADTE was a company called Liscotech, who are producing a MicroEye high performance camera system for use in micro sats.
The MicroEye imaging system can provide 5.5m monochrome image or 11m colour at a distance of around 500km through an 8 megapixel colour sensor. It would be installed in a 2U CubeSat alongside NSPO’s x-band transmitter. Applications would include disaster warning, farming, environmental management, as well as military surveillance.
Right: An anti-UAV Defence System (AUDS) based on an integrated UAV catcher vehicle with threat alert radar detection, electro-optical imaging and GPS/RC jamming in a management system. The detection will operate up to 4km while the remote system suppression is up to 2km although GPS signal interference reaches out to 10km. The UAV catcher has a range of 1km.
Formosat-5 is deployed in sun synchronous orbit at 723km.
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BILL READ FRAeS visits Swedish aircraft cabin humidity control specialistsCTT Systems to see the products being made and to discover the secrets of the company’s success.
products – the zonal drying system which prevents condensation from forming inside aircraft structures and the humidification system which increases humidity inside the aircraft cabin to improve passenger comfort. The company supplies systems for installation on new aircraft, retrofits for aircraft already in service and systems for VIP aircraft. These include zonal dryers for the Boeing 737, 787, 777X, Airbus A320, A350 and A380 and humidifiers for the 787, 777X, A320, A350 and Irkhut MC-21. Despite its relatively small size, CTT now has OEM 2000 products installed in aircraft operated by 50 airlines and on more than 600 products retrofitted in 30 airlines.
36 AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
TECHNOLOGYAircraft humidity systems
Swedish air control
Nyköping is a small town in central Sweden near the Baltic coast between Norrköping and Stockholm. The town boasts a picturesque river, a medieval castle – and
the headquarters of CTT Systems, a Swedish company specialising in the manufacture of aircraft humidification and dehumidification systems. Tucked away in a small industrial estate, CTT’s facility is responsible for the management, marketing, testing, final assembly and after-sales service for all its aircraft systems.
CTT manufactures two different but complementary aerospace humidity control
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on the use of an aircraft – the more passengers you have, the higher the humidity level you get,” comments Peter Landquist. “If you are operating in Northern Europe where you have long cold winters, then the aircraft never dries out. The fuselage material doesn’t make much difference – you still get condensation forming on both metal and composite surfaces.”
CTT has tackled this problem with its Zonal Drying System which prevents excess moisture from being formed by producing dry air with a low dewpoint. “Using the drying system we prevent the moist air from reaching the aircraft structure,” explains Landquist. “We do this by taking the moisture out of the crown area and creating a constant flow of air. The process can be compared to what happens when you dry out a wet towel outside – the reason it is drying is because dry air is passing through it.”
Zonal dryers consist of a cylinder fitted to a fan which draws in air through one end. The air is diverted into two streams, 80% of the air passing through a rotating glass fibre ‘sorption rotor’ fitted with axial holes. The holes are filled with silica gel crystals which absorb moisture, so that dry air emerges from the other end. The remaining 20% of the air is heated up to around 110deg C which also passes through the drum. As the drum slowly rotates at around 10-11 laps per hour, water from the moist air is absorbed into the crystals which are then dried out again by the heated air.
“It is a constant process, producing dry air and regenerating the rotor,” Landquist explains. “The water remains in the aircraft but it is vapour rather than liquid. When the aircraft is in flight, the trick is to produce air with a dewpoint lower than the -25deg C outside. Our system can reduce condensation by 75-80% but there will still be some condensation because the dry air cannot reach all the areas of the aircraft. However, once the aircraft lands, the system is operating as long as there is power on the aircraft and continues to evaporate the condensation.”
Many aircraft fitted with CTT’s zonal drying system only need one basic unit but the ducting needs to be customised for different aircraft. The A320, 737 and 757 only need one unit but the A330 and the 787 use two and the 747-8 four.
Everything under one roof
The top floor of the building contains CTT’s administrative departments, including technical, finance, quality, engineering, customer support and product design. “We are not a design organisation but we do all the design ourselves,” explains CTT’s VP Sales & Marketing Peter Landquist. “When we’re working on a system for a new aircraft type we design everything in CAD. Using Pro Engineer 3D software, we can create designs for units in different aircraft, together with structural and electrical installation, as well as testing. We talk to aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus to try to get as much information from them as possible and ask if we can send a team to see the aircraft. Sometimes we have to buy technical drawings but the problem is that you can’t see all the different design options. It is often faster if you go to the aircraft where you can get more accurate information.”
CTT is also an EASA 21 production facility. “When we do retrofits, we work with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) in Hamburg which acts as our design organisation,” says Peter Landquist. “We do the work, LHT looks at what we have done and then they seek the necessary approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).”
Water on the plane
The first humidity control product made by CTT is the zonal drying system. During flight, the differences in temperature between the inside and outside of an aircraft create large amounts of condensation. Each passenger adds to this by exhaling around 70 grams of water an hour. Water created on the inside skin of the aircraft can cause damage to the insulation and be a nuisance to both passengers and crew, while the extra weight of water costs the airline in higher fuel consumption.
Depending on the number of passengers, operation and climate zone, condensation can increase the aircraft weight by over half a ton. “How much water you have in an aircraft depends
Above: More passengers create more water.
Left, opposite page: Cutaway of a CTT zonal dryer.
Zonal drying units are often installed in the crown area for widebodies and in the cargo area on narrowbodies.
From top: Absorption rotors waiting to be fitted into zonal drying units; An empty zonal drying rotor; A digital plan for a retrofit designed to fit into the crown of a Boeing 777; Retrofit zonal dryer for the Boeing 787 showing the exits for dry air and heated air; Zonal dryers for the Airbus A350.
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Comforting first class and business passengers
The second of CTT’s product line are humidifiers. While the job of zonal dryers is to remove water from inside cabin structures, the aim of the humidifier unit is to put it back again into areas of the passenger cabin which are too dry. “Cabin humidity is dictated by the number of people within the cabin,” explains Landquist. “It’s a little-known fact that the air quality in Economy class is generally a lot better than that in Business or First. The optimum comfort zone is between 20 to 50% relative humidity but in most First class cabins it is around 5%, 7-10% in Business and 12% in Economy. A large VIP aircraft cabin will have significantly lower humidity than a first class cabin due to the fewer number of passengers.” CTT claims that its CAIR Humidification System can change the relative humidity to 22% in First and Business and 16% in Economy.”
The heart of a humidifier unit is a glass fibre honeycomb pad through which the air passes. The pad is fitted with a tubing system which sprays water onto the pad from the aircraft’s potable water supply. To avoid the risk of refilling the whole aircraft with moist air, the unit is fitted with a software controller that speaks to the main controller located on the zonal dryer, so the drying system needs to
TECHNOLOGYAircraft humidity systems
function to enable the humidifier to operate. “The water is sprayed on the pad for 1-1.5 seconds and then the pad is dried,” says Landquist.
The humidifiers are controlled by a CAIR control unit (CCU) that can communicate with the aircraft system or with a cabin-management system. The CCU also communicates with the zonal drying system for on/off functions. Some of the water is automatically drained after each operation to ensure no build-up of any bacteria while the complete water system is disinfected and drained at regular intervals.
Under test
CTT’s Nyköping facility also includes areas dedicated to testing, both for developing new products and for testing existing ones. “We test everything very carefully before we deliver it,” says Landquist. “In the testing area we can create different temperature and humidity conditions. We have to do this because the big OEMs, such as Airbus and Boeing, require that we do significant testing to see how the unit performs under different conditions. We have to design the system so we don’t get too much of a pressure drop, so every system is designed with a margin. If you go above that margin, then you have to recalibrate that system. Sometimes airlines have to cool down the
Left: A diagram showing the principle of a humidifier adding moisture to dry air.
Right: The cabin humidification system is only used during flight while the zonal drying system is used both in the air and on the ground.
From left to right: A CTT humidifier unit case being assembled by hand; A pad ready for insertion into a humidifier; Peter Landquist demonstrates how the pad is inserted into the humidifier case.
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cabin and we have to test that this won’t cause any freezing conditions. When we retrofit aircraft we have to know what limits we have to work within, such as pressure, temperature and humidity levels. We also look at the lifetime of pads and for any signs of leakage. In addition to proving the system to the OEMs and airlines, we learn from the testing as well and the more testing we can do, the better we can develop.”
There are also testing areas where the humidity systems are shaken for prolonged periods of time or subjected to very cold temperatures to simulate the conditions that might be experienced in flight.
CTT also has a computer programme which can calculate different humidity levels for aircraft not fitted with its systems, compared to aircraft with the system. “We can enter numbers for the airflow, relative humidity, cabin pressure and number of passengers per cabin zone - allowing for a 70g evaporation rate for each passenger,” Landquist remarks. “Using this programme, we can show airlines not only that their premium cabin area is dry but also how dry.”
Free maintenance
CTT’s Nyköping facility also includes a maintenance department which repairs used units and then tests them on its own test rig. Typical repairs include fixing issues such as broken fans, gearboxes or heaters. “This department is deliberately separate from the production area, so that there is no risk of an old part being used in a new unit,” states Landquist. “Some airlines can get their units repaired for free if they are still under warranty (the one for the 787 is four years) while those carriers with units more than four years old have to pay for repairs.”
OEM options
CTT’s systems are either installed new by the OEM or as retrofits. “Our systems don’t come as standard on new aircraft except for the 787, airlines still have to order the system separately,” Landquist explains. “For example, our equipment can now be ordered with the 737NG and Boeing will install it as BFE on the production line. We are hoping that it will also be available as an option for the 737 MAX, as we’ve got MAX operators interested in buying the system.”
Air drying is good business
Business for CTT continues to look good with the company winning a number of additional new contracts this year. In January CTT was selected by Boeing to provide humidification systems for the flight deck, crew rests and premier class cabin zones for the new 777X. Orders for zonal drying systems were received in May from AZUR Aviation for two Boeing 757-200s and seven Boeing 767-
300s, in July from Pobeda Airlines for 14 Boeing 737-800s and in August from Novair for two Airbus A321neos.
“Our business case to airlines is based on fuel savings and increased lifetime of aircraft components and insulation,” concludes Peter Landquist. “However, we are having some problems because the fuel price is too low, so the savings made by reducing aircraft weight are not high enough. We are currently concentrating on the low-cost airlines that operate in a cold environment where more condensation is generated. However, we think our time is coming for other parts of the world, as more airlines are flying high density aircraft which carry an excess of between 300-350kg of water.”
Top right: An A350 cabin humidifier and cabin crew rest humidifier under test.Lower right: Zonal drying systems fitted to different aircraft types.
OUR BUSINESS CASE TO AIRLINES IS BASED ON FUEL SAVINGS AND INCREASED LIFETIME OF AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS AND INSULATIONPeter LandquistCTT, VP Sales & Marketing
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Afterburner
42 Message from RAeS- President“I would like to encourage all of our members to consider how our programme of events can be more inclusive and hence more effective for all of us. For example, last year the Presidents’ Conference on ‘Technology in Aerospace’, raised a wide range of issues for the future.”
- Chief Executive“Coming up this month we have the Sopwith Lecture in London when Tony Wood FRAeS, COO at Meggitt, will look at the concepts of uncertainty and disruption and how the aerospace and defence industry are facing those challenges.”
44 Book ReviewsRussian Aviation, Space Flight, and Visual Culture, VC10 – Icon of the Skies and The Avro 748.
47 Library AdditionsBooks submitted to the National Aerospace Library.
48 IT FLIES UKThe 2017 IT FLIES UK competition at The University of Manchester was the most international yet.
50 New Corporate PartnersTwo new companies join the Society’s Corporate Partner Scheme.
52 DiaryFind out when and where around the world the latest aeronautical and aerospace lectures and events are happening.
56 ElectionsNew Society members elected in the past month.
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SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft is seen during final approach to the International Space Station. The commercial spacecraft launched on 19 February and carried about 5,500lb of experiments and supplies. NASA.
Diary 21-22 November
Commercialisation of Space: Realising UK Goals for Innovation and Growth 2017 President’s Conference
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Message from RAeSOUR PRESIDENT
ACM Sir Stephen Dalton
THE ROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROJECT THE FUTURE USES OF SPACE AND TO RAISE THOSE ISSUES THAT NEED ADDRESSING INTERNATIONALLY
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
Afterburner
A feature on Saturn’s rings known informally as Bleriot’s propeller. The photograph was taken by the Cassini probe on 12 April. Are the last few days of the Cassini mission the end of the beginning to one aspect of early spaceflight?
This summer has seen a fascinating range of developing aerospace concepts take significant steps forward and many of them have been showcased at the various airshows around the globe. With the first deployment of the Lightning IIs (F-35) here in the UK and Europe, the demonstrations of new airliners, such as the Airbus A350 variants, and the announcement that new corporate jets, such as the Gulfstream 600, are in production, the aviation industry is clearly still growing and developing.
Indeed, there are a number of major trade shows, such as Dubai 2017, still to come this year and in Singapore in early 2018. The big aircraft and aero-engine manufacturers use these shows to demonstrate their aircraft/engine’s performance and, while any potential purchaser will look to analyse the performance figures in much more detail away from the air show, the smaller component level manufacturers and suppliers value and use these shows to raise their profile. These trade shows allow the SMEs to demonstrate to manufacturers and customers alike that they have a great deal to offer and can be effective and valuable partners by using innovation and employing unique skills and knowledge to enhance aircraft and business performance. Equally, the Royal Aeronautical Society uses its extensive programme of lectures, conferences and seminars to offer ALL operators, manufacturers, suppliers, logistics companies and academics the opportunity to raise and discuss relevant issues with their peer groups across the aerospace discipline and beyond.
I would like to encourage all of our members to consider how our programme of events can be more inclusive and hence more effective for all of us. For example, last year the Presidents’ Conference on ‘Technology in Aerospace’, raised a wide range of issues for the future. Of particular note was the fascinating session on safety and non-cognitive failure among decision makers and operators, leading to an animated discussion on the role of pilots and computers in safely handling aircraft emergencies. As we prepare for this years’ Conference on ‘Greater Commercialisation of Space’ and the broader access to space that technology is increasingly going to allow, I would like to think that our membership has a great deal to offer. Many of our members have the expertise to help ensure that the global community is ready and prepared for greater and greater use of space. We should be able to put forward coherent advice and impartial opinion on what is needed to guide and assist governments, manufacturers and commercial operators as they seek to propel more and more of us into the space dimension and to take advantage, responsibly, of
the, as yet unrealised, opportunities that will come from greater commercial approaches to the use of space. As we watch the amazing images of Saturn taken in the last few orbits of the Cassini probe, we are watching the end of the beginning to one aspect of early spaceflight. Over the next few years, there will be many more nations and commercial players seeking to maximise the use of space – vis-à-vis the UK’s Government intent to establish a commercial spaceport – and for such actors to take advantage of what space offers, scientifically, technologically and yes, economically as well. The Royal Aeronautical Society has the opportunity to project the future uses of space and to raise those issues that need addressing internationally, if the drive for greater commercial use of space is to be to the benefit of all and not the source of unnecessary and wasteful disagreement among those entering this fantastic world of discovery and potential.
At the recent New Fellows Reception, I and members of the Council had the opportunity to personally welcome the newly elected Fellows to the Society. In discussions, we identified to them that the Council and the Medals and Awards Committee are constantly looking for opportunities to recognise the extra work of RAeS members in promoting the aerospace community and our Society. While not every case/individual contribution can be recognised, we are keen to seek recommendations, particularly from the Society’s Fellows and then, judged against the excellent work of our members, to identify and honour those specific members who have made an extraordinary contribution to our profession and/or our Society. I would like to encourage such nominations by and across our membership; there is so much great work being done and so few opportunities to recognise those special contributions by our members.
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Simon C Luxmoore
THE 2017 YOUNG PERSONS CONFERENCE TOOK PLACE ON 6 SEPTEMBER AND WAS ENTITLED ‘THE FUTURE AEROSPACE WORKPLACE’
OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OCTOBER 2017 43
As Sir Stephen has referred to in his editorial, this year’s RAeS President’s Conference will explore the key role space plays for the wider society and role of commercial space activities in contributing to government ambitions for innovation and growth in the UK space economy. I hope many of our members will join us in London from 21-22 November, especially as we will host the 2017 RAeS Awards Ceremony on the evening of 21 November to celebrate excellence and achievement across the global industry.
Coming up this month we have the Sopwith Lecture in London when Tony Wood FRAeS, COO at Meggitt, will look at the concepts of uncertainty and disruption and how the aerospace and defence industry are facing those challenges. The following month we welcome Alan Joyce FRAeS, CEO of Qantas to give the Brabazon Lecture. I hope many of our members will be able to join us for these events and participate in some interesting discussions and networking.
The 2017 Young Persons Conference took place on 6 September and was entitled ‘The
Future Aerospace Workplace’. The conference programme provided delegates with a series of interactive lectures delivered by a wide range of experienced speakers from across the aerospace industry. Workshops and presentations managed to cover a huge variety of subjects, including aircraft maintenance, cockpit design, additive layer manufacturing and 3D design. The event was a great success and attracted over 100 early-career professionals from a diverse range of aerospace organisations. Many thanks, once again, to Willis Lease Finance Corporation for kindly sponsoring the event.
Although autumn is only just beginning, we’re starting to get ready for Christmas with our range of merchandise and Christmas cards on sale via our online shop at www.aerosociety.com/shop and we’ll be hosting Christmas parties at No.4 Hamilton Place throughout the festive season. If you are looking to organise an event for your clients or colleagues, then get in touch to find out about our delicious seasonal menus to celebrate the end of the year.
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Notes1. CPI Rate – Average 12 months to July 2017 – 1.9%.2. 2017 Membership Subscriptions increased by CPI (rounded up/down to
nearest £).3. Members who have or will be reaching normal retirement age in 2018 are
entitled to pay subscriptions at the Baseline Rate.4. Members who have or will be retiring during the course of the year can apply
for the 20% discount on their subscriptions. Note – if the 20% discount takes the subscription below the Baseline Rate then the Baseline Rate will apply.
5. Student (full time) and Apprentice Affiliates can either choose online membership only (Free) or membership which includes a subscription to the Society’s AEROSPACE publication at £45pa – see the Society’s website for more information.
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Book Reviews
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 201744
Afterburner
RUSSIAN AVIATION, SPACE FLIGHT, AND VISUAL CULTURE
Edited by V Strukov and H Gosclio
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN, UK. 2017. 295pp. £100. ISBN 978-1-1389-5198-3.
Between the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903 and Lindbergh’s solo Atlantic crossing in 1927, air transportation came of age. In Russia, another upheaval was in progress that had far-reaching political and social consequences. After the failure of 1905, in 1917 the Bolshevik revolution succeeded and, by the mid-1920s, Stalin ruled. In the years that followed, the USSR sought to use aviation and then space as symbols of Soviet modernity.
Russian Aviation, Space Flight, and Visual Culture explores how these themes have been depicted in Russian films, animation, art, architecture and digital media. The extended introduction by the editors Vlad Strukov and Helena Goscilo traces a coherent path from the ancients’ association of the sky with divinity, via the Icarus myth, avian symbolism in literature and the modernity of the avant-garde. They conclude with the hypothesis that flight in Russian culture not only defines the celestial space but, more pragmatically, has been used to expand the ideology and represent geopolitical aspiration.
The case studies that make up the remainder of the anthology attempt to theorise visual culture in an era of transition from analogue to digital technologies and propose ideas about the relationship of contemporary Russia, both with its own past and with other countries and their pictorial traditions.
Soviet and post-Soviet eras are treated separately. Part one of the book chronicles the saga of flight expressed in painting, drawing, sculpture and architecture. Part two concentrates on the narrative found in the moving images of film, animation and computer gaming.
This rather esoteric collection of essays recalls that among the many triumphs of Soviet aviation and space flight there have also been some tragic failures. But aviators and cosmonauts have always been held in high regard, in part because they have provided the Soviet state and its successor with iconic heroes with which to promote the governing regime as forward-looking and futuristic.
Andrew LovettFRAeS
ROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETYNo.4 Hamilton Place, London W1
Aviation Book FairMonday, 20 November 2017 11am – 6pm
100s of donated aviation books, biographies, memoirs and magazines for sale
FREE ADMISSION
T +44 (0)20 7670 4345 E [email protected]
Left: Front cover of First International Aeronautical Exhibition held in St Petersburg 1911 organised by the Imperial Russian
Technical Society. Right: Front cover of Nasha Stikhia (Our Sphere) No1 August 1920 published by the Air Department of the South Russian Army. RAeS (NAL).
OCTOBER 2017 45i fFind us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com
The author’s strongest chapters are in his description of the design and development process – the critical interplay of some gifted individuals and a design team working at the top of its game. I would have liked some insight into Vickers’ cost estimation problems that Sir George Edwards admitted the company got so very wrong and which formed the heart of later problems with both customer and the Government.
The political context is not so well drawn and less than dispassionate. In particular, I was disappointed that the author did not get to grips with the links between the VC10 and Vickers’ growing financial problems and the merger with English Electric to form British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) and the pressure applied on BOAC to adapt its order. The author might well have looked to the National Archives at Kew for some of these aspects.
But this is to carp too much. Cole’s book ends strongly with what is the wonderful paradox of the VC10. Although not a commercial success for the manufacturers and bad-mouthed by the customer in its early days, it was a truly wonderful aircraft to fly and fly in!
Professor Keith HaywardFRAeS FAAEF
The author’s strongest chapters are in his description of the design and development process – the critical interplay of some gifted individuals and a design team working at the top of its game
VC10 – ICON OF THE SKIES
BOAC, Boeing and a Jet Age BattleBy L ColePen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Books, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, S Yorkshire S70 2AS, UK. 2017. 240pp. Illustrated. £25. ISBN 978-1-47387-532-6.
This is an enthusiast’s book written by an enthusiast – albeit a well-informed and diligent researcher. The technical evolution of the VC10 is superbly detailed and full of insight. Its weakness as a book on the British aircraft industry in the 1950s and 1960s is to fall into the trap of so many books about the period – to lament the ‘what might have been’ and to assert an alternative future centred on a series of cancelled aircraft projects.
Lance Cole starts with a solid review of the context in which the VC10 was launched, primarily the impact on industry and of BOAC of the combined affect of the Comet failure and the cancellation of the Vickers V.1000. He also sets the scene for the problematic relationship between Vickers and BOAC with a brief history of the airline’s imperial roots.
The first Vickers VC10, G-ARTA, makes its maiden flight at Weybridge on 29 June 1962. RAeS (NAL).
46
Book ReviewsAfterburner
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
THE AVRO 748
With the ATP (Advanced Turboprop) BAe sought to emulate the solid success of the 748. The ATP was a larger, re-engined and updated aircraft but entered a competitive market in which it failed to make much headway. A small number remain in passenger service but with the addition of a freight door the ATP has shown its mettle. The author provides a similarly detailed and well-illustrated survey of the ATP as he has done for the 748.
Richard Church’s comprehensive, well-illustrated history of the 748, Andover and the ATP does full justice to them. I strongly recommend this book to those interested in the types.
Stephen Skinner
The Full Story of the 748, Andover and ATPBy R J Church
Air-Britain (Historians), Unit 1A, Munday Works Industrial Estate, 58-66 Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1RA, UK. 2017. 304pp + diskette. Illustrated. £34.95 (Air-Britain members); £47.50 (non-members). ISBN 978-0-85130-492-2.
When the prototype Avro 748 took to the air on 24 June 1960 few would have predicted that, over the next 28 years, the 748 would prove so successful that a total of 381 civil and military versions of the aircraft would be manufactured. Regrettably, the 748’s successor, the ATP, failed to emulate it and only 65 were built.
This large tome details the history, flight testing, production, sales, airline service and continuing development of the 748 and the RAF’s Andover under Hawker Siddeley and British Aerospace. It further examines and amply illustrates 748 licence production agreed in July 1959 with the Indian Government, even before the 748 had flown. The Indian aircraft were initially provided in kit form but later full-scale manufacture was taken on by Hindustan Aeronautics. A total of 88 were constructed in India, many of which are still active.
Projected versions of the 748 and the ATP are not overlooked and three-view drawings show examples of civil, military, STOL and jet 748 variants that never left the drawing board.
Main picture: The prototype British Aerospace 748-2B, G-BGJV.Above: Merpati Nusantara Airlines put its first of five ATPs into service on Indonesian domestic routes on 4 March 1992. RAeS (NAL).
OCTOBER 2017 47
Library Additions
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AERODYNAMICS
Advanced Flight Dynamics with Elements of Flight Control. N K Sinha and N Ananthkrishnan. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL, 33487-2742, USA. 2017. Distributed by Taylor & Francis Group, 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN, UK. 348pp. £60. [20% discount available to RAeS members via www.crcpress.com using AKQ07 promotion code]. ISBN 978-1-138-74603-9.
AIR TRANSPORT
Missing Aircraft: an Issue Facing Air Transport (English-French text). AAE Dossier 41. Academie de l’Air et de l’Espace (AAE), Ancien observatoire de Jolimont, 1 avenue Camille Flammarion, 31500 Toulouse, France (http://www.academie-air-espace.com). 2017. 42pp. €15. ISBN 978-2-913331-70-9.
In response to the inflight disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines MH370 Boeing 777 on 8 March 2014, the findings of an AAE working group established to reviewed issues concerning the technical status of aircraft positioning systems and air-ground aircraft communications.
FLIGHT TESTING
Hucknall: the Rolls-Royce Flight Test Establishment. D Birch. The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, PO Box 31, Derby, DE24 8BJ (E [email protected]; T +44 (0)1332 240340). 2017. 414pp. Illustrated. £45 (Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust members), £60 (non-members) inclusive of postage/packing. ISBN 978-1-872922-43-0.
GAS DYNAMICS
Real Gas Flows with High Velocities. V Lunev. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL, 33487-2742, USA. 2017. Distributed by Taylor & Francis Group, 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN, UK. 735pp. £59.99. [20% discount available to RAeS members via www.crcpress.com using AKQ07 promotion code]. ISBN 978-1-138-11614-6.
HISTORICAL
Reinventing the Propeller: Aeronautical Speciality and the Triumph of the Modern Airplane. Cambridge University Press, University Printing House, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BS, UK. 2017. 368pp. Illustrated. £90. ISBN 978-110-714286-2.
R J Mitchell at Supermarine: from Schneider Trophy to Spitfire – Revised edition. J K Shelton. Standon Books, The Lodge, Standon Hall, Maer Lane, Standon, Staffordshire ST21 6QZ, UK. 2017. xviii; 353pp. Illustrated. £27.50. ISBN 978-0-9956781-0-1.
George Hartley Bryan – Prophet without Honour?: Ballard Matthews Lecture, Bangor University, 2 November 2011. T J M Boyd. Orphean Press, 10 Heath Close, Polstead Heath, Colchester CO6 5BE, UK. 2017. 42pp. Illustrated. ISBN 978-1-908198-18-1.
A concise biography of G H Bryan and his pioneering research undertaken with William Ellis Williams into aerodynamic stability which culminated in the publication of his classic book Stability in Aviation (Macmillan and Co, Limited. 1911) and of his relations with F W Lanchester.
HUMAN FACTORS
Aviation Psychology and Human Factors – Second edition. M Martinussen and D R Hunter. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL, 33487-2742, USA. 2017. Distributed by Taylor & Francis Group, 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN, UK. 347pp. £92. [20% discount available to RAeS members via www.crcpress.com using AKQ07 promotion code]. ISBN 978-1-4987-5752-2.
PROPULSION
Fundamentals of Rocket Propulsion. D P Mishra. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL, 33487-2742, USA. 2017. Distributed by Taylor & Francis Group, 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN, UK. 461pp. Illustrated. £89. [20% discount available to RAeS members via www.crcpress.com using AKQ07 promotion code]. ISBN 978-1-4987-8535-8.
Powering the Eagle ... Over 90 Years and Counting: Pratt & Whitney’s Inspirational Women. N Allen. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Reston, VA. 2017. 139pp. Illustrated. ISBN 978-162410-383-4.
A pictorial history of the key contribution which the female employees of Pratt & Whitney have made over the decades to the success and development of the company, concluding with concise biographical profiles of the company’s current and recent eminent women managers and engineers.
SERVICE AVIATION
The Royal Flying Corps, the Western Front and the Control of the Air, 1914-1918. J Pugh. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN, UK. 2017. xviii; 190pp. Illustrated. £105. ISBN 978-1-1389-5198-3. 978-1-472-45972-5
SPACE
NASA Mercury – 1956 to 1963 (all models): an insight into the design and engineering of Project Mercury – America’s first manned space programme. Owner’s
Workshop Manual series. D Baker. Haynes Publishing, Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 7JJ. 2017. 204pp. Illustrated. £22.99. ISBN 978-1-78521-064-8.
Illustrated throughout with numerous photographs and other diagrams, a detailed description of the engineering design of the pioneering American space capsule (including its structure and electrical/environmental control/attitude control/communications/rocket/astronaut systems), concluding with a chronological summary of its missions and the launch vehicles used.
Outposts on the Frontier: a Fifty-Year History of Space Stations. J Chladek. University of Nebraska Press, 1111 Lincoln Mall, Lincoln NE 68588-0630, USA. 2016. Distributed by Combined Academic Publishers Ltd, Windsor House, Cornwall Road, Harrogate HG1 2PW, UK. 494pp. Illustrated. £33. [25% discount available to RAeS members via www.combinedacademic.co.uk using CS314FLIGHT promotion code]. ISBN 978-0-8032-2292-2.
STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS
Aerospace Materials and Technologies. Vol 1: Aerospace Materials. Edited by N E Prasad and R J H Wanhill. Springer. 2017. 586pp. Illustrated. £112. ISBN 978-981-10-2133-6.
Additive Manufacturing of Metals: the Technology, Materials, Design and Production. L Yang et al. Springer. 2017. 168pp. Illustrated. £64.99. ISBN 978-3-319-55127-2.
SYMPOSIA
Guidance, Navigation and Spaceflight Mechanics
2016: Proceedings of the 26th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting held 14-18 February 2016, Napa, CA (4 vols). Advances in the Astronautical Sciences Vol 158. Edited by R Zanetti et al. Univelt, PO Box 28130, San Diego, CA 92198, USA. 2016. 4762pp + CD-ROM. Illustrated. $810. ISBN 978-0-87703-633-3.
‘Attitude Determination and Control of ITASAT CubeSat’, ‘Unscented Evolution Strategies for Solving Trajectory Optimization Problems’, ‘Interplanetary Parking Method and its Application to Dual Launch Trajectory Design of Multiple Explorers’, ‘Potential Effects of a Realistic Solar Sail and Comparison to an Ideal Sail’, ‘A Nonlinear Controller for Low Thrust Stabilization of Spacecraft on CRTBP Orbits’, ‘Feasibility Regions of Boundary Value Problems of Low-Thrust Trajectories’, ‘Transfers to a Sun-Earth Saddle Point: An Extended Mission Design Option for LISA Pathfinder’, ‘Active Vibration Suppression in Flexible Spacecraft during Attitude Maneuver’, ‘Interplanetary Nanospacecraft Travel Capabilities’, ‘Maven Navigation Overview’, ‘Mission Design Considerations for Mars Cargo of the Human Spaceflight Architecture Team’s Evolvable Mars Campaign’, ‘Jupiter Tour of the Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer’, ‘Trojan Asteroid Mission Design’, ‘Orion Entry Monitor’, ‘Boundary Model for Satellite Breakup Debris Clouds’, ‘Control of High Fidelity Linearized Model for Satellite Formation Flight Using Aerodynamic Drag’, ‘Study on Impact Experiment of Hayabusa2 Mission’, ‘Delta-V Assisted Periodic Orbits around Small Bodies’, ‘Initial Navigation Analysis for the Europa Multiple Flyby Mission Concept’, ‘Space Object Collision Probability via Monte Carlo on the Graphics Processing Unit’, ‘GTOC8’ and ‘Absolute Navigation Performance of the Orion Exploration Flight Test 1’ are among the subjects discussed.
BOOKS
For further information contact the National Aerospace Library.T +44 (0)1252 701038 or 701060E [email protected]
Society NewsAfterburner
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 201748
THIS VARIETY ADDED SO MUCH TO THE RICHNESS OF THE COMPETITION. AS EVER, THE SCOPE OF THE AIRCRAFT TYPES MODELLED RESULTED IN MARKED DIFFERENCES IN WHAT THE STUDENTS MANAGED TO ACHIEVE IN THE TIME AVAILABLE
control characteristics over a wider flight envelope. This competition was, once again, a fascinating flight testing opportunity for the judges.”
Students from The University of Manchester’s Flight Simulation Society played a large role in the organisation of the day – and also rounded up the international and visiting UK teams for a meal the evening before.
The winner was Sam Le Poole from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences with ATLAS, an unmanned blended wing body cargo freighter. This was the first time that students from Amsterdam had competed in an IT FLIES competition. Sam said:
“I am very honoured to say that I won the IT FLIES competition 2017 in Manchester. It was the first time the University of Applied Sciences of Amsterdam took part in this competition.
After a great educational day with presentations and flight testing of seven different models, it turned out that the ATLAS had the best handling qualities and won the competition.
This success, of course, also reflects on the students of the Faculty of Aerospace of the Technical University of Delft, who made the original design. Another factor of success is the tests which were performed on the simulators in Amsterdam. The flight tests were executed by a real (test) pilot. Because of the test by real pilots, the feedback is very useful and is used to improve the handling qualities. It was a great learning experience.”
Second place went to the other Amsterdam entry, Mike Hartman’s E-SPARC – an electrically sustainable propelled aerobatic racing aircraft designed with Red Bull Air Races in mind. Gordon McClymont’s test pilot’s notes on this design ended with: ‘Would like to buy one’!!
Sam and Mike’s aero lecturer at AUAS is Raymond Teunissen who is a member of the RAeS Flight Simulation Group and an ex-KLM training captain.
ATLAS carries off first prize
IT FLIES UK
IT FLIES – since its inception in 2000, has been held at several different locations, including universities, the Empire Test Pilots’ School and the Royal Aeronautical Society. The competition format of the entries giving a ten-minute design project presentation followed by a test flight of their aircraft design is challenging, and has produced some great, practical and innovative ideas, especially in the past two years.
This year’s Competition was held for the first time at The University of Manchester. As three teams from the US and The Netherlands flew in to compete, this proved to be an excellent location with great facilities and the international airport close by. With students from several different countries present a friendly, international atmosphere was prevalent during the day, conversations were in English, French, Dutch, and Spanish – but the students had a common thread – the love of aircraft.
As usual, a brilliant competition, this time with students from The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences winning three prizes. Test pilot judges were Dave Southwood and Gordon McClymont from The Empire Test Pilots School. Our judge for the project presentations was Mike Southworth from the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Flight Simulation Group.
Dave Southwood, who has judged for a number of years, remarked: “This year’s IT FLIES competition featured some very strong and fascinating entries. It was a multi-national event with teams from The Netherlands and the US, as well as from the full range of the UK. There was a philosophical difference in the context of the entries from each nation. The UK entries were models derived from internal university department requirements, the original concept for the competition. The Netherlands entries were simulator models of designs from a different university and the US entry from Dayton was a model developed as part of the design process for a future crop spraying aircraft. This variety added so much to the richness of the competition. As ever, the scope of the aircraft types modelled resulted in marked differences in what the students managed to achieve in the time available. Simpler, low-speed aircraft models were able to be developed in greater depth to a higher level of fidelity than the supersonic and variable geometry types. However, the teams that attempted to come to terms with the very capable supersonic modelling of the current Excalibur software learned at least as much by tackling a greater breadth of stability and
Dave Southwood in the ‘cockpit’.
49OCTOBER 2017i fFind us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com
Hunter Johnston and Jacob Korczyk from The University of Dayton, Ohio, brought over their entry from IT FLIES USA this year – the appropriately named ‘SWARM’, a crop duster aircraft created and designed for an industrial client. This design was entered over at Dayton in April but, having refined the design from the US test pilot’s comments, it enabled Dave Southwood to make a couple of low altitude spray runs over Heathrow!
Very many thanks to our sponsors this year, the Royal Aeronautical Society Flight Simulation Group (second and most innovative design prizes), and The Aviation Historian (third prize).
As ever, the combination of their project presentations, plus the test flights of their aircraft designs, showed the students more of a ‘real world’ scenario – after all, paper designs don’t always translate into practical solutions. It is also noticeable that, over the 17 years that the Competition has been running, there is a growing interest in flight simulation and its purposes and even as a career opportunity. This year, in particular, it has been a real pleasure to work with so many talented and capable students.
The official results
First Prize£1,000 from Merlin Products Ltd, the Harrier Trophy
and student membership of The Royal Aeronautical Society – Sam Le Poole, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Second Prize£300 and also the £200 prize for The Most Innovative DesignMike Hartman, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Third PrizeCopies of The Aviation HistorianUgne Kiudulaite and Ruta Marcinkeviciute, The University of Manchester, single-engine, closed-wing aircraft.
Prize for the Best Project PresentationCopies of John Farley’s book A View from the HoverHunter Johnston and Jacob Korczyk, The University of Dayton
Finally, a huge thank you to all our judges for giving up their time, and to the University of Manchester for hosting the lunch, and for their impeccable organisation of the day.
Marion NealMarketing DirectorMerlin Flight Simulation Group
The Harrier Trophy is presented to Sam Le Poole.
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Corporate Partners
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
Afterburner
NEW PARTNERS
FROST & SULLIVANChiswick Park Building, 566 Chiswick High Road, London W4 5YF, UKT +44 (0)20 8996 8500E [email protected] www.frost.comContact Scott Clark, VP Consulting Aerospace, Defence & SecurityThe Frost & Sullivan Aerospace, Defence and Security (AD&S) business works with both government organisations and aerospace and defence companies, from platform primes, subsystem suppliers through to the supply chain, providing market research and insights to support planning, new product development and business capture. Our research programme is exclusively focused on growth opportunities for our clients, requiring an innate understanding of our customers’ capabilities and portfolio. The breadth of industry coverage means we can take learnings across multiple sectors and apply them to an AD&S context and real-world situations.
ORIENS AVIATION LTDBuilding 510, Churchill Way, London Biggin Hill Airport, Kent TN16 3BN, UKT +44 (0)20 3770 3828E [email protected] www.oriensaviation.comContact Charlotte Wroe, Office Manager
As exclusive, British Isles, Pilatus distributor, Oriens Aviation is a relatively new business, founded and run by an experienced aircraft owner and pilot, with a passion for flying, quality, value and exceptional customer service. We are ready and keen, to exceed your expectations!
Here’s why the Swiss-built Pilatus was, hands-down, the winning product for us to support: The Swiss as a national, pride themselves in producing products of the highest quality in a competitive, global market and they pride themselves in Pilatus, which is a revered household name, with the average Swiss citizen.
EVENTSPlease note: Attendance at Corporate Partner Briefings is strictly exclusive to staff of RAeS Corporate Partners.
Monday 2 October 2017 / LondonPunching above our weight – the role of Flybe and the regional airline industry in a rapidly evolving European airline marketCorporate Partner Briefing by Christine Ourmières-Widener FRAeS, Chief Executive Officer, Flybe
Wednesday 8 November 2017 / LondonPartnering with UK MoD to deliver weapon capability now and into the futureCorporate Partner Briefing by Keith Garden BA FRAeS, Portfolio Programme Director & Deputy MD UK and Rear Admiral Simon Charlier CBE FRAeS, Senior Defence & Political Adviser UK, MBDA Missile SystemsSponsor:
Thursday 23 November 2017 / LondonOverview of the sub 150-seat market (title tbc) Corporate Partner Briefing by John Slattery FRAeS, President & Chief Executive Officer, Embraer Commercial Aviation
Monday 4 December 2017 / LondonCorporate Partner Parliamentary ReceptionHouse of Commons
www.aerosociety.com/eventsFor further information, please contact Gail WardE [email protected] or T +44 (0)1491 629912
THE AIM OF THE CORPORATE PARTNER SCHEME IS TO BRING TOGETHER ORGANISATIONS TO PROMOTE BEST PRACTICE WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL AEROSPACE SECTOR
Contact:Simon LevyHead of Business DevelopmentE [email protected] +44 (0)20 7670 4346M +44 (0)7775 701153
RAeS Corporate Partner Scheme
The RAeS is the ONLY professional body dedicated to the entire aerospace community.
It retains a sense of history and tradition, while maintaining its energy and relevance and ability to contribute to today’s environment and is ideally placed to face the challenges of the future.
By joining the Society’s Corporate Partner Scheme, your organisation aligns itself to the Charter of the Royal Aeronautical Society and demonstrates a commitment to professional development of engineering and technical staff within the aerospace community.
AIMThe aim of the Corporate Partner Scheme is to bring together organisations to promote best practice within the international aerospace sector. With over 200 members worldwide, the scheme provides a respected and recognised independent forum of discussion and information exchange on issues facing the aerospace sector, as well as providing unique networking opportunities with influential figures in the industry, government and public sector.
THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED
OCTOBER 2017 51i fFind us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com
GENERAL AVIATION GROUP
This is the second in a series of competitions aimed at promoting major innovation in the General Aviation aircraft sector.
The task is to demonstrate design innovation either for an existing or potentially new general aviation market. The competition focus is manned flying machines. (They could be autonomous but passenger-carrying). The scope of the innovation can range from an entire aircraft to a specific component or system which could be incorporated into an existing airframe. Propulsive and lift generation systems may be of any type.
The scope is constrained to meeting the requirements of the CAA’s E Conditions which enable the rapid design, build and experimental flight testing of piloted aircraft up to 2,000kg maximum mass within the UK.
Entries are invited for this competition from everyone; students, enthusiasts and professionals. You may enter as an individual or a team. We encourage entries from teams of engineering students and youth organisations.
Want to enter?Just send an email titled ‘design competition’ to [email protected] to receive an entry pack
Royal Aeronautical Society International General Aviation Design Competition 2017/2018
Your entry will be assessed using the following criteria: Radical innovation Potential application or market Industrial design (including functionality, aesthetics
and ergonomics) Reasonable estimates of mass, aerodynamics,
stability, control, performance, life-cycle costs and environmental impact.
You don’t have to address all of these issues but will score better if you do.
However, account will be taken of the entrant’s background experience, so all can win a prize.
The entries will be judged by a team of professional aeronautical engineers. The winners will be announced at the RAeS General Aviation Group’s Design Conference in November 2018.
The final date for entries is midnight on 30 June 2018.
Afterburner
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
DiaryEVENTS
5 OctoberTechnologies Against Late Detected Earth Impacting BodiesJohn R Pearce, Corresponding Member of RAeS WS&T CommitteeWeapon Systems & Technology Group Lecture
9 OctoberDigitalisationConference
11 OctoberHandley Page LectureDr Bill Brooks, Technical Director, P&M AviationNamed Lecture
12 OctoberAircraft Noise – Can we Build Community Tolerance?Conference
16-17 OctoberCFD and MDO – State of the Art and the FutureAerodynamics Group Conference
16 OctoberLanchester Lecture: The Discovery and Prediction of Vortex Flow AerodynamicsDr James Luckring, Senior Research Engineer, NASA Langley Research CenterAerodynamics Group Named Lecture
18 OctoberSopwith Lecture: The concepts of uncertainty and disruption and how history has much to teach usTony Wood, Chief Operating Officer, MeggittNamed Lecture
18-19 OctoberRealising Market OpportunitiesUAS Group Conference
24 OctoberFuture of UK AirfieldsConference
24 OctoberThe 1957 Defence Review: The Riddle of the SandysHistorical Group Seminar
10 NovemberCareers in Aerospace LIVE
All lectures start at 18.00hrs unless otherwise stated. Conference proceedings are available at www.aerosociety.com/news/proceedings
www.aerosociety/events
52
19 OctoberWatching, Killing: The Evolution of RAF Drone Warfare in the 21st CenturyDr Peter Lee, University of Portsmouth Reader in Politics and Ethics and Assistant Director (Academic) at Royal Air Force College CranwellAir Power Group Lecture
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LECTURES
Systems, 5000 Solihull Parkway, Birmingham Business Park, Birmingham B37 7YN. Pre-registration and photo ID required.21 December — Development and operation of the English Electric Lightning. Richard Norris, Founder member, Lightning Preservation Group.
BOSCOMBE DOWNLecture Theatre, MoD Boscombe Down. 5.15pm. Visitors please register at least four days in advance (name and car registration required) E [email protected] October — 30th Sir Henry Tizard Lecture: Britain and the Jet Age: 1945 to 1965. James Holland.7 November — Competition gliding. Brian Birlison.21 November — F-35B ski jump testing. Gordon Stewart.5 December — Reaction Engines. Gerrie Mullen.
BRISTOLConcorde Room, BAWA Leisure Centre, 589 Southmead Road, Filton, Bristol. 6.30pm. Anna Pugh, T +44 (0)117 9361643.19 October — The Faradair BEHA: The future of domestic air travel. Neil Cloughley, Managing Director, Faradair.
BROUGHCottingham Parks Golf Club. 7.30pm. Ben Groves, T +44 (0)1482 663938.11 October — 63rd Sir George Cayley Lecture. From VSTOL to ASTOVL and stealth.
ADELAIDEUniversity of South Australia, Building MM 1-05, Mawson Lakes Boulevard, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095. 5.30pm.24 October — State rescue helicopter pilot. Kevin Berry, Pilot, MAC State Rescue Helicopter Service.28 November — Adelaide Airport airside tour.
BEDFORDARA Social Club, Manton Lane, Bedford. 7pm. Marylyn Wood, T +44 (0)1933 353517.11 October — Technology, innovation and changing product strategies in aeronautics and aviation. Prof Chris Atkin, RAeS Past-President.8 November — Lights, camera, data – optical measurement techniques for the modern wind tunnel. Neil Stokes, Aircraft Research Ltd.13 December — Airlander: imagine the possibilities. Paul Hammond, Hybrid Air Vehicles.
BIRMINGHAM, WOLVERHAMPTON AND COSFORDNational Cold War Museum, RAF Museum Cosford, Shifnal, Shropshire. 7pm. Chris Hughes, T +44 (0)1902 844523.19 October — Regaining the World Water Speed Record for Britain. Nigel MacKnight.16 November — The development of aero engine control systems. Chris Weir, Engineering and Technology Executive, Rolls-Royce Control Systems. Rolls-Royce Control
Michael Mansell. 7pm.8 November — Branch AGM followed by The filmmaker pilot – how drone technology has opened our eyes. Jonathan Richards, cameraman, director and editor.13 December — Trawler Man Memorial. Peter Naylor. Joint lecture with IMechE. Robert Blackburn Building, Hull Univesity. 7pm.
CAMBRIDGELecture Theatre ‘0’, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge. 7.30pm. Jin-Hyun Yu, T +44 (0)1223 373129.12 October — Tiltrotor technologies. Dr Andrea Angelo, Leonardo.2 November — Gravitational waves – Pathfinder and LISA. by Christian Trenkel, Airbus Defense & Space. Joint lecture with IMechE and IET.23 November — Advanced fast-jet helmets – STRIKER II. Kevin Hill, BAE Systems, Rochester.14 December — The C-17 and aeromedical airlift. Sqn Ldrs Chris Powell and Jon Vollam, No99 Squadron, RAF.
CANBERRAMilitary Lecture Theatre, ADFA. 6pm.10 October — Joint briefing by CASA and ADF on regulating unmanned aircraft.14 November — Branch AGM.
CARDIFFSwansea University. 7pm. E [email protected] October — RR F-35B lift
The Lockheed Martin F-35 assembly line at Fort Worth, Texas. Jonathan Evans will discuss F-35 manufacture and delivery at Farnborough on 17 October and in the John Boyd Dunlop Lecture at Coventry on 18 October. Lockheed Martin.
www.aerosociety/events
53OCTOBER 2017i fFind us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com
system. Gareth Jones, Rolls-Royce.15 November — Airlander. Chris Daniels, Hybrid Air Vehicles. USW Conference & Events Services, University of South Wales, Pontypridd. 6 December — Lightning. Rhys Phillips. Queens Campus, Cardiff University.
CHESTERRoom 017, Beswick Building, University of Chester, Parkgate Road. 7.30pm. Keith Housely, T +44 (0)151 348 4480.11 October — XX177 – Hibernations in the machine. Alan O’Connor, former MoD Type Airworthiness Authority (TAA) for the Hawk T1.8 November — Beluga XL – oversize transport for the 21st century. Mark Cousin, former Head of Directorate and Beluga Chief Engineer and currently Head of Group Demonstrators, Airbus CTO, Airbus.
CHRISTCHURCHCobham Lecture Theatre, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Wallisdown. 7.30pm. Roger Starling, E [email protected] October — How the UK investigates aircraft accidents and serious incidents. Scott Wilson, Senior Inspector, AAIB.23 November — The quest for a flyable spacecraft. John Gough, Weybridge Branch.14 December — The Icarus Project. Dr Angelo Niko GrubiŠic�, University of Southamption.
COVENTRYLecture Theatre ECG26, Engineering & Computing Building, Coventry University, Coventry. 7.30pm. Janet Owen, T +44 (0)2476 464079.18 October — John Boyd Dunlop Lecture. F-35 manufacture and delivery the current situation. Jonathan Evans, Operations Manager F-35 Assembly, BAE Systems.9 November — Annual Dinner and Talk. Capt Bryan Pill, Mission Aviation Fellowship. Citrus Hotel, London Road, Ryton on Dunsmore, Coventry.6 December — Powering the Airbus A400M, the Rolls-Royce TP400. Jerry Goodwin, Chif Engineer, Rolls-Royce TP400.
CRANFIELDVincent Auditorium, Building 52a, Cranfield University. 6pm. Craig Lawson, E [email protected] October — Reaction Engines hypersonic propulsion. Rob Davies.
DERBYNightingale Hall, Moor Lane, Derby. 5.30pm. Chris Sheaf, T +44 (0)1332 269368.18 October — The Rise of the bomber (how Britain nearly lost the Battle of Britain). Greg Baughen.15 November — Queen Elizabeth-Class aircraft carriers – Flagships for the Future. T M Dannatt. Joint lecture with EMESP.
FARNBOROUGHBAE Systems Park Centre, Farnborough Aerospace Centre. 7.30pm. Dr Mike Philpot, T +44 (0)1252 614618.17 October — F-35: the challenges of one-a-day manufacture. Jon Evans, BAE Systems, Military Air (Samlesbury).14 November — Green Lecture. The MoD Aircrew
Systems research programme. Prof Chris Goff, DSTL and Sarah Day, QinetiQ.5 December — Aerodynamics of future commercial aircraft. Rob Greg III, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
GLOUCESTER AND CHELTENHAMSafran Landing Systems, Restaurant Conference Room, off Down Hatherley Lane. 7.30pm. Gary Murden, T +44 (0)1452 71516517 October — F-35B Lightning II Rolls-Royce Lift System, Gareth D Jones, Head of Engineering, Rolls-Royce Defence UK.21 November — Airlander, Chris Daniels, Head of Partnerships and Communications, Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd.19 December — Electroflight
high performance electric flight. Roger Targett, CEO, Electroflight.
HAMBURGHochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg, Hörsaal 01.12 Berliner Tor 5 (Neubau), 20099 Hamburg. 6pm.12 October — Hybrid Air Vehicles – the Airlander project. Chris Daniels, Head of Partnerships and Communications Hybrid Air Vehicles. Joint lecture with DGLR, VDI and HAW.
HATFIELDLindop Building, Room A166, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield. 7pm.Maurice James, T +44 (0)7958 775441.25 October — Modern ejection seats. Dave Robinson, Martin-Baker.
22 November — From Easy Jet to Costa Froth. Andrew Harrison, ex CEO, easyJet and Whitbread.13 December — African bush flying. Capt Brian Pill, MAF.
HEATHROWBritish Airways Theatre, Waterside, Harmondsworth. 6.15pm. For security passes please contact Dr Ana Pedraz, E [email protected] or T +44 (0)7936 392799.12 October — Future space strategy. Mark Swan, CAA Director and Group Director of Airspace Policy.9 November — Personal experiences of the T2 and T5 openings. Andy Garner, LHR T2 Operations & Programme Director.14 December — The role of a Rolls-Royce test pilot. Phil O’Dell, Rolls-Royce.
LOUGHBOROUGHRoom U020, Brockington Building, Loughborough University. 7.30pm. Colin Moss, T +44 (0)1509 239962.10 October — MQ-9 Reaper UAV operations. Paul Clark, UAS Flight Operations Manager, QinetiQ.7 November — Bloodhound Land Speed Record. Daniel Jubb.5 December — Corporate jet cabin evolution. David Velupillai, Marketing Director, Airbus Corporate Jets, Toulouse.
MANCHESTER7pm. Bryan Cowin, T +44 (0)161 799 8979.4 October — UAS – technologies past, present and future. Dr Rashid Ali. Salford University, Newton Building, Room 233. 5pm.22 November — Flying for science. Prof Guy Gratton. Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). 6pm.6 December — Recent developments in Martin-Baker ejection seats. Phil Rowles. Manchester University.
MEDWAYStaff Restaurant, BAE Systems, Marconi Way, Rochester. 7pm. Robin Heaps, T +44 (0)1634 377973.
The Airbus family of commercial jet aircraft. Jürgen Thomas HonFRAeS, will describe Airbus, the realisation of a visionary dream, in the Willy Messerschmitt Lecture in Munich on 22 November. Airbus.
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 201754
Diary18 October — Airfix modelling.15 November — John Shepherd Lecture. BAE Systems Hawk.
MELBOURNEFlight Deck Bar and Grill, 37 First Avenue, Moorabbin, Vic 3194. 7pm.11 October — Hargrave Lecture. Starlets and Australian aerospace. John Corby, designer of the Starlet light aircraft.
MONTREALConference Room 3 (CR3), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) headquarters, 999 Robert-Bourassa Boulevard, Montréal, Québec H3C 5H7. 6pm.7 December — 14th Assad Kotaite Lecture. The Honorable Robert L Sumwalt III, Chairman, United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
MUNICHDeutsches Museum München, Ehrensaal. 7pm.22 November — Willy Messerschmitt Lecture. Airbus – Von der Realisierung eines visionären Traumes. Herr Dipl-Ing Jürgen Thomas. Voranmeldungen an Hon Secretary ([email protected]) bis zum 15 November notwendig. Begrenzte Anzahl von Plätzen.
OXFORDMagdalen Centre, Oxford Science Park, Oxford. 7pm. Nigel Randall, E [email protected] November — IAF Vintage Flight. Mike Edwards, Chief Adviser to Indian Air Force and Royal Jordanian Air Force.
PRESTONPersonnel and Conference Centre, BAE Systems, Warton. 7.30pm. Alan Matthews, T +44 (0)1995 61470.11 October — BAE Systems future or similar. Dave Short, Engineering Director, Combat Air, BAE Systems.8 November — Synergistic Air Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE). Sophie Harker, BAE Systems Warton.13 December — Memories of the Moor flight testing for the Cold War. Dennis Morley, ex Flight Test Engineer HSA/BAe Holme Upon Spalding Moor.
PRESTWICKThe Aviator Suite, 1st Floor, Terminal Building, Prestwick Airport. 7.30pm. John Wragg, T +44 (0)1655 750270.9 October — Post WW2 aircraft development. Richard Gardner.13 November — Taranis flight testing. Jon Wiggall. Joint
lecture with IMechE.11 December — Flying for life. Tim Allen.
QUEENSLANDHawken Auditorium, Engineering House, 447 Upper Edward Street, Spring Hill, QLD 4000. 6.30pm.21 November — Flight planning – yesterday, today and tomorrow. Capt Allen Dickinson, Head of Flight Operations Systems, Flight Operations, Qantas Airways.
SHEFFIELDAMRC Knowledge Transfer Centre, Brunel Way, Advanced Manufacturing Park, Rotherham. 7pm. E [email protected] October — 100 years of Brough John Newton and Steve Blee, BAE Systems.28 November — Inaugural Sir Eric Mensforth Lecture. From ancient origins to the world’s most advanced SX casting foundry. Steve Irwin, Associate Fellow: Manufacturing – Casting Processes, Rolls-Royce. Sir Eric Mensforth Building, Sheffield Hallam University.12 December — Yorkshire Air Ambulance Service. Tracey Gregory.
SOUTHENDThe Royal Naval Association, 79 East Street, Southend-on-
Sea. 8pm. Sean Corr, T +44 (0)20 7929 3400.10 October — An independent RAF, inspiration or aberration? Greg Baughen, Author and Historian.14 November — The air war over Korea 1950-1953. Sqn Ldr Mike Pugh-Davies (Retd).12 December — Gone bush! – recollections of a bush pilot. Capt Paul Catanach, Line Training Captain, TAG Aviation.
SWINDONThe Montgomery Theatre, The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Joint Services Command Staff College, Shrivenham. 7.30pm. New attendees must provide details of the vehicle they will be using not later than five days before the event. Photo ID will be required at the gate (Driving Licence/Passport). Advise attendance preferably via email to [email protected] or Branch Secretary Colin Irvin, T +44 (0)7740 136609.4 October — The Rosetta mission – landing on a comet. Dr Andrew Morse, University of Southampton.1 November — PanAm 103 Lockerbie accident investigation. Mike Charles, Lead Investigator AAIB.6 December — Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly. Sqn Ldr (ret’d) Derek J Sharpe.
British Embassy, 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC.
WELLINGTON26 October — The Skyhawk in RNZAF service post-Kahu update. Steve Moore.
YEOVILDallas Conference Room 1A, Leonardo Helicopters, Yeovil. 6.30pm. David Mccallum, E [email protected] October — The RAF Halton Aircraft Apprentice Scheme. Gp Capt Min Larkin.16 November — The AW101 for Norway. Steve Vellacott.
YEOVILTONThe Nuffield Sports Centre, RNAS Yeovilton. 6.30pm. Lt Marc Stone RN, T +44 (0)1935 456241.28 November — Bush flying operations. Bryan Pill.
SYDNEYThe Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo, NSW 2007. 6pm.18 October — 59th Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Lecture and Annual Branch Dinner. Future direction of commercial aviation, including the developing trends in low-cost carrier operations and the inter-relationship with full-service operators. Jayne Hrdlicka, CEO, Jetstar Group.
TOULOUSESymposium Room, B01, Airbus HQ/SAS, 1 rond point Maurice Bellonte, 31707 Blagnac. 6pm. Contact: [email protected] for a security pass.17 October — Drones Ethics. Prof Jean-Marc Moschetta, Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE). Joint Lecture with the 3AF Région Midi-Pyrénées.14 November — Subject and speaker TBC.12 December — Flight tracking. Claude Pichavant, Airbus.
WASHINGTON DCEmbassy of New Zealand, 37 Observatory Cir NW, Washington, DC. 6pm.5 October — Commercial unmanned systems. Panel Discussion.9 November — Counter-UAS (military) panel discussion.
Hawker P1067 Hunter prototype, WB188, the first of nearly 2,000 produced. Richard Gardner will discuss post-WW2 aircraft development at Prestwick on 9 October. James Holland will discuss Britain and the jet age in the Sir Henry Tizard Lecture at Boscombe Down on 10 October. RAeS (NAL)..
Copy datefor the next issue of AEROSPACE is 3 October.
Meeting your event needs in the heart of LondonHome to the Royal Aeronautical Society, No. 4 Hamilton Place is a stunning venue, centrally located in Mayfair, with a choice of event spaces. The venue offers:
• Edwardian elegance• State of the art conference facilities for up to 250• Versatile meeting rooms• A beautiful west facing terrace• Catering by foodbydish, one of London’s leading
contemporary caterers
Let our dedicated team take care of your event requirements.
For more information visit www.4hp.org.uk or contact the Venue Team on 020 7670 4314 or [email protected]
No. 4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ
Westland WS-55 Series 2.Avro Lancastrian, G-AGLS, Nelson, takes off from Heathrow on the first commercial flight. Miles M39B Libellula, U-0244.
The aim of the online Journal of Aeronautical History is to cover topics particularly relating to the history of aeronautics and space science. These include the history of air and space vehicles, power plants and equipment, histories of aeronautical organisations and enterprises, biographies of people who have contributed to aeronautical and space activities, accounts of particular episodes, incidents, campaigns and commercial developments, and the development of aeronautical knowledge and space science. Since 2010 it has published 29 papers on topics ranging from Halley’s calculations in 1691 on the feasibility of manned flight to the development of satellite communications systems for civil aviation and all of these are freely available on the publications page of the Society’s website.
The editors would welcome more material and encourage authors to submit papers. All contributions are reviewed, and to date the great majority have been judged suitable for publication.
If you are interested, please contact Dr Kit Mitchell at [email protected]
The Journal of Aeronautical History
56
Elections
AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
SOCIETY OFFICERSPresident: ACM Sir Stephen DaltonPresident-Elect: Rear Admiral Simon Henley
BOARD CHAIRMEN
Learned Society Chairman: Air Cdre Peter Round
Membership Services Chairman: Philip Spiers
Professional Standards Chairman: Prof Jonathan Cooper
DIVISION PRESIDENTS
Australia: Andrew NeelyNew Zealand: John MaciIreePakistan: AM Salim ArshadSouth African: Dr Glen Snedden
Afterburner
Gordon AndrewsJonathan BaliffJohn BayleyBicky BhanguEamonn BrennanIan FaircloughMichael GaddStuart HillSimon HocquardRodney IrvineThomas JordanNigel McKennaDean MooreSteven MurrayNigel PambyKirsten RiensemaAnil SabharwalBob SimmonsRichard Varvill
Sakhr Abu DaragAndrew Arnold
FELLOWS Charles CadeKahagala Hewage
Damith Thilanka Kasagala
Simon DixonLucy EnglandNeil FlemingJason GillDamion HadcroftJordan HunterDavid LednicerAlessandro MigliaccioPhilip MooreMatthew ShieldsRichard SimkinsJohn TennickDaniel Wilkie
Naree McNeillCameron Stewart
Richard Lynch
Ciaran McAndrewHarry Price
Irisa ChiuVincente D’AmbrosioChristopher FrazerBen GibsonThomas GrantPhillip KnightJoshrun MannRyan MasonOliver SpriggsMatthew StubbsEddie Wilson-Chalon
Joerg Oberhofer
Isaac Caletrio BerridgeSacha GhebaliMartin Mitev
STUDENT AFFILIATES
WITH REGRET
Alwyn Edward Atkinson Affiliate 95
Eric John Butcher IEng AMRAeS 88
Peter John Gerard Hollier MRAeS 86
David Henry Gason Ince DFC FRAeS 96
Alan Jones MRAeS 57
Bruce Kevin Jones FRAeS 63
Roy Clifford Parsons CEng MRAeS 90
John David Price MRAeS 81
David John Smith AMRAeS 52
John Peter Tanswell Affiliate 91
Michael Henry Lewin Waters CEng MRAeS 89
The RAeS announces with regret the deaths of the following members:
ASSOCIATES
AFFILIATESASSOCIATE
MEMBERS
E-ASSOCIATES
MEMBERS
TRUSTEE TALK
At the Trustees second meeting of the Council year and my second meeting as Chair, I am pleased to report that the Society continues to maintain a strong and stable position in its financial reporting.
The Trustees reviewed its governance position against the now-published third edition of the Charity Governance Code (the Code) and I am happy to report that following a mapping exercise against the key recommendations, the Society can demonstrate its compliance. To maintain governance best practice, we would continue to monitor our progress against the Code making improvements where appropriate.
Following on from the last Trustees meeting, there was a continued discussion around the Society’s risks. The Trustees agreed to hold annual and detailed discussions around risks to ensure we are mitigating but also accepting certain risks in meeting the Society’s strategic goals and by extension our Charitable Purpose and Objects. The Trustees also approved the Risk Register presented at the meeting.
At the last Trustees meeting, we approved the Society’s registration as an End Point Assessment for the Trailblazer Apprenticeship initiative – we have been successful in our application and will be shortly included on the register.
The Trustees received its standard reports from the Boards and Committees of the Board of Trustees.
Martin Broadhurst OBE MA CDir FIoD FRAeSChairman, Board of Trustees
The newly reassembled French Air Force Mirage IV was on show at the Yorkshire Air Museum’s annual Allied Armed Forces Memorial Day on 3 September. The event included representatives from the US, Russia, France, Germany, Finland, The Netherlands and the Commonwealth.
The RAeS was among the exhibitors at the DSEI (Defence and Security International) show at the London ExCel on 12-14 September. Seen here answering an enquiry from a visitor to the stand are RAeS Membership Development Officers, Neeral Patel (left) and Emily Self.
www.aerosociety.com/events
Greener by Design Conference
AIRCRAFT NOISE - HOW CAN WE BUILD COMMUNITY TOLERANCE?
LONDON / 12 OCTOBER 2017
Sponsor
This one-day conference focusses on aircraft noise and the challenge of getting community engagement, understanding and ultimately tolerance at a time of growing and modernised airspace operation near our busiest airports.
Keynote Speaker:Lord Callanan, Aviation Minister, Department for Transport
www.aerosociety.com/events
REALISING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES FOR DRONES
LONDON / 18 - 19 OCTOBER 2017
Sponsors
For nearly 10 years Unmanned Aircraft have been seen, at least by some, as the major new growth sector in aviation.
The annual UAS Group conference will include presentations from the organisations that are leading these developments as well as those that are building commercial success upon the results.
UAS Conference
www.aerosociety.com/space2017
President’s Conference
COMMERCIALISATION OF SPACE
REALISING UK GOALS FOR INNOVATION AND GROWTH
LONDON / 21 - 22 NOVEMBER 2017
Sponsors
The 2017 President’s conference will give innovators, manufacturers, operators and users the opportunity to engage in an unbiased discussion with government, regulators, investors and educators on the growing impact of commercial space activities to the benefit of the UK economy and society in general.
www.aerosociety.com/UKAirfields
Society Conference
FUTURE OF UK AIRFIELDS
LONDON / 24 OCTOBER 2017
Sponsorship opportunities are available for this conference.
Please contact [email protected] for more information.
The Society wants to help the sector answer some of the key questions outlined in the UK Government’s draft Aviation Strategy.
We are pleased that Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP will open this conference and we will cover the key issues facing UK airfields and aim to provide practical solutions and ways forward.
a policy of ‘picking winners’ – and the history of UK public investments in high technology has had too many losers for comfort. However collaborative civil aerospace bidding for a mainstream airline market intuitively offered the right combination of high value technological returns and profitability.
Such engagement is anathema to the Chicago School economic theory that infused the World Trade Organization (WTO) subsidy code and drove US opposition to European repayable launch investment schemes. Yet, as several recent studies have noted (echoing arguments presented back in the 1970s), even the US has actively stimulated technological innovation through Federal funding – largely in the form of a defence R&D budget. The results have included much of solid-state electronics and many of the building blocks of the IT age.
Airbus looking at a centenary of production
As far as Airbus is concerned, it has become one arm of a global duopoly and a core European aerospace-defence transnational company. Direct political engagement has diminished (although perhaps not without some fundamental long-term consequences which, as seen in retrospect, a German veto in the naughties of a possible merger with BAeS might prove to have been).
Half a century onward, Airbus might yet have to face the ultimate test of a politically independent company: to terminate a member of its airliner family before its technological time. Ending the A380 may still be a long way off but time and money is running out. There would be political consequences – driven by lost employment and a bundle of public money – will ensure that Heads of Government will have interests in maintaining the status quo. But this is neither 1967 nor 1971: Airbus is more than one aircraft and has an order book worth billions of dollars stretching out decades ahead. With or without the A380, Airbus has more than enough to keep it in the ‘Sporty Game’ for the foreseeable future.
Just over 50 years ago, France, Britain and Germany signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) launching a 250-seat airliner designated A300, the Airbus. It would have two newly designed Roll-Royce
engines and the three nationalised airlines would buy it. With little ceremony (but some protests from BEA) a potential all-British competitor, the BAC 2-11 was quickly dumped. Three years later the same Labour Government bailed out of the programme and was a whisker away from supporting a more direct competitor the BAC 3-11.
With Concorde costs hurtling skywards and sales prospects moving in a diametrically opposite direction and, facing the appalling consequences of the Rolls-Royce bankruptcy, the new Conservative Government kicked the 3-11 into touch. The two remaining Airbus governments stuck with the A300 and paid for a lovely Hatfield-designed wing to keep it in the air.
Ten years later, with a newly nationalised company looking for a civil project, a Labour Government ‘placeman’ as chairman of British Aerospace backed his professional board and chose officially to re-join the Airbus instead of a politically better favoured American option. Within another decade, convincing a highly sceptical Mrs Thatcher that even more money for a ‘fly-by-wire’ Airbus A320 was not going to be another Concorde, Chester and Bristol were up and running towards a massive commercial success.
A personal interest
I must declare an interest: the Airbus programme provided me with material for two peer-reviewed articles and a substantial chunk of two books, as well as some media exposure. Visiting Toulouse provided my first factory tour and an extraordinary good lunch. As a result I have been observing Airbus for all of my professional life.
More than just a subject, the programme has also satisfied an ideological preference for advocating appropriate investment by the state in high technology activity. This can get dangerously close to
The Last Word
Airbus – 50 Years of Collaboration
Professor Keith HaywardFRAeS
COMMENTARY FROM
DIRECT POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT HAS DIMINISHED (ALTHOUGH PERHAPS NOT WITHOUT SOME FUNDAMENTAL LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES, WHICH AS SEEN IN RETROSPECT, A GERMAN VETO IN THE NAUGHTIES OF A POSSIBLE MERGER WITH BAES MIGHT PROVE TO HAVE BEEN
58 AEROSPACE / OCTOBER 2017
15th Reinventing SpaceConference
24–26 October 2017 • Glasgow, Scotland
www.rispace.org
The Space Industry is constantly changing – how do we keep up to date with current thinking and innovations?RISpace focuses on technological
trends and how they are increasing the commercialisation of space. Sessions include lower cost launch systems, mega-constellations and a range of novel satellite applications for LEO and beyond.
RISpace brings together industry, agency, government, financiers, academia, and end users in an unparalleled, catalytic environment.
Reinventing Space is organised by The British Interplanetary Society27–29 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7735 3160 • www.bis-space.com
City of Glasgow
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