As Boeing rolls out the first 737 MAX, our editors discuss what the re-engined airliner means to Boeing, and whether Airbus can hold on to the neo’s 60/40 advantage in orders.
Clean Sky 2’s Airframe integrated technology demo will mature a wave of advances for the next generation of passenger airliners, fast rotorcraft and regional aircraft.
As the GTF readies to enter service, editors Guy Norris and Graham Warwick discuss the state of engine technology, the next advances on the horizon and how propulsion has shaped the aviation industry over the last 100 years.
The aircraft industry should enjoy the remarkable wave of disruption starting with the A320neo’s arrival. But after this wave, our industry risks stagnation.
Ever since the birth of the Aviation era at the turn of the 19th-century, the quest for sustainable propulsion has been a key drive. We sample the highlights.
Frank Whittle and Hans von Ohain were major contributors to the creation of gas turbine engine-powered aircraft and the world of airpower we know today.
The modified passenger 747-400 will be used to carry the space company’s LauncherOne vehicle to 35,000-40,000-ft. altitude from which it will be air-dropped and launched into orbit.
Approval of certification plan takes Lockheed Martin a step closer to launching development of a commercial hybrid airship for cargo transport to remote locations.
Task force set up to make recommendations for registration of small unmanned aircraft sets minimum size at 0.55 lb., potentially bringing toy drones under the FAA’s new rule.
Given the huge number of lithium-ion batteries being shipped by air, some will eventually short-circuit and go into thermal runaway. Industry and regulators are considering some box-level solutions.
The small lithium-metal and lithium-ion batteries we use everyday can pose big safety problems on aircraft, especially when carried as bulk cargo. This video shows the intensity of those fires when just a few batteries enter a state known as thermal runaway. FAA engineers at the William J. Hughes Technical Center have quantified the risks and are now testing methods to potentially mitigate them.
Pratt & Whitney is poised to realize its decades-long goal of introducing the geared turbofan into commercial service, with certification of the PW1100G-powered Airbus A320neo achieved on November 24, and the PW1500G-powered Bombardier CSeries expected to follow within weeks.
Lightweight textile-based approach to blastproofing baggage containers could lead to wider market acceptance of device to protect airliners from terrorist bombs.
Flutter-suppression X-56 crashes; laser IDs target by vibrations; new venture to commercialize morphing structures; Airbus helo R&D in the U.K.; Iceye’s low-cost radar imaging from space.
