Aerospace

Unmanned aircraft in the news: BNSF flies true BVLOS; Satcom for small UAS; Swift flies over water; Snipe nano-UAS delivered; Indago quadcopter upgraded; Redkite wide-area imagery from small UAS.

Boeing says it remains confident that delivery of the first 737-8 to Lion Air Group carrier Malindo Air will take place by month’s end.

Major aerospace manufacturers aim to provide commercial drone operating and data processing services to large customers beyond the military UAS market.

New-generation aircraft promise to provide a wealth of information helpful for MRO, but data analysis and ownership issues remain.

Aviation Week’s pilot notes Boeing’s Leap-engined 737-8 has bigger displays and refinements such as fly-by-wire spoilers. Only a short training course is needed to upgrade from the 737NG.

A series of diamond shapes over the ocean—areas where there is no air traffic—signals room for improvement in cruise efficiency for airlines.

BAE Systems and Gulfstream design inceptors that ensure each pilot is immediately aware of any flight-control inputs by the other pilot or the autopilot.

Computational fluid dynamics is the relatively new kid on the development block, but the old standby wind tunnels still play a key role in testing.

The hyper political sensitivity over air safety in China helps to explain the CAAC’s willingness to take the worldwide lead in mandatory HUD installations for airlines.

The adaptive cycle engine as a new class of combat aircraft propulsive system in its own right is edging closer to reality.

Gryphon detects drones for FAA; Marines pick Finland’s Sensofusion; ScanEagle flies on fuel cell; Ligado/Harris team on BVLOS; other UAS news.

Regardless of the U.S. International Trade Commission’s final ruling, there is a pervasive sense that Boeing has made a tactical if not a strategic blunder.

Academic study of electric VTOL configurations suggests Uber’s vision for a network of on-demand urban air taxis is technologically feasible from an energy-source perspective.

For now, hybrid jets that can switch between supersonic over water and subsonic over land are key to the plans.

Road map could deliver further improvements for piston-powered H120.

Ride-hailing giant Uber planes to launch in-demand electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing air-taxi service in Dallas and Dubai in 2020, and has selected partners for development of the technology and infrastructure.

Reaction Engines has begun construction of a test facility where it plans to perform the first ground-based demonstration of its Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine.

Results of newly completed water-tunnel tests indicate that a cargo door-configured BWB design is viable, providing a vital boost to the project.

Aurora flies eVTOL for Uber; Carter unveils SR/C air taxi; AirspaceX develops modular eVTOL; NASA X-57 takes shape.

Though at least 18 months late to market, Sandel Avionics’ new Avilon cockpit will still shake up the state of the art for guidance and navigation.

Airbus’s Silicon Valley outpost is on track to fly its full-scale electric VTOL demonstrator by year-end as airframe components arrive at A3.

Demonstration flights and limited operational approvals are building experience and confidence in flying drones safely beyond visual line of sight of the operator.

Customers needed to counter the threat from small unmanned aircraft face a bewildering array of choices, but bands of capability are beginning to emerge as threats and countermeasures become more clearly understood.

More than 25% of widebody backlogs are from Middle Eastern orders and a slowdown for the Gulf carriers could have ramifications for the aerospace sector.

How technical advances are enabling space-based challengers to take on terrestrial internet services.