In past year, the total program cost of the Orbital Control System network has grown 16% to more than $4.1 billion, largely to software development issues.
A philanthropic business aviation group—Corporate Angel Network—marks a major “miracle” milestone, transporting its 50,000th cancer patient for treatment free of charge.
More important than the political struggle over how many Russian RD-180 engines to allow for national security launches is the intense commercial competition to replace it altogether.
The choice is effectively between market potential maximization and operating economics: A single-aisle jet offers lower production and operating costs but would miss much of the replacement market; a twin-aisle could stimulate new demand but would be more expensive to produce and operate.
NASA researchers, together with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are planning demonstrations of an autonomous unmanned aircraft system (UAS) capable of planning, launching, navigating and refueling itself.
A mission to count moose footprints is the first commercial unmanned-aircraft mission in Canada to be approved for beyond-visual-line-of-sight operation.
Pilot warns of dangers from drones | Need for artificial gravity on long space missions noted | Proponent of U.S. opposition to expansion of Gulf carriers’ U.S. routes
Aerospace and Defense is confronting human-replacing advances such as digitization, 3-D printing, automation, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and connectivity, all of which are likely to reduce jobs in the industry.
Frontier Airlines has promoted Barry Biffle to chief executive officer; he will remain president, a position he has held since 2014. Before joining Frontier, Biffle was CEO of VivaColombia, the first ultra-low-cost carrier in South America, and prior to that had been executive vice president of Spirit Airlines.
April 1-2—Pilots Review of Proficiency (PROP) 2016. Dallas/Addison Marriott. Dallas. See turbineair.com/prop-2016 April 4-8—Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference. European Space Agency. Noordwijk aan Zee, Netherlands. See congrexprojects.com/2016-events/14sctc/introduction
Barring a breakthrough worthy of a Nobel Prize, it is extremely unlikely electric and solar will play a significant role in reducing aviation’s environmental footprint anytime soon.
The methods, modes and materials that go into creating an airframe have evolved throughout the years through trial and error and technological advances. Highlights of this evolution are featured.
The first Airbus assembled in the U.S., an A321 for JetBlue Airways, made its first flight from the Mobile, Alabama, plant on March 21. The aircraft is scheduled for delivery after a few more weeks in final production.
The extremely thin wing of the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing 4.5%-scale model meant the test team had to use pressure-sensitive paint, which can acquire data in areas inaccessible to conventional pressure measurements.
Phase 1, completed in 2010, indicated a TTBW design could reduce fuel consumption by 5-10% over a conventional cantilevered wing. Now Phase 3 tackles transonic capabilities.
