Aviation

The category that features all aviation related posts.

Stairway to Heaven
Aviation

Stairway to Heaven

Interview with Sean Fisher on his ladder plane Author: Roosa Joensuu, Leonardo Times Editor Sean Fisher is an artist with a background in engineering and recently graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven with a Master of Arts. Sean started building airplane parts out of molten ladders for his graduation project and is now slowly collecting material and casting parts with the support of the community he has built around ladders - “The Ladder Research Observatory”. The project entitled ‘My Second Plane’ dives into pataphysics – the science of imaginary solutions. Q: What exactly is pataphysical engineering? SF: I came up with the term pataphysical engineering when I did some research for my thesis. I discovered James Donohue, who attached an iMac G3 as a fairing to his bike t...
Heroes of the Sky
Aviation

Heroes of the Sky

Shedding some light on the stories of extraordinary individuals Authors: Muhammad Arham Elahi, James Perry, Leonardo Times Editors Few have the nerves to stay composed in such life-threatening situations as some pilots encounter. Here we explore a few cases of exceptional individuals who demonstrated incredible skill under immense pressure. Gimli Glider BACKGROUND Air Canada Flight 143, a brand new Boeing 767 was flying from Montreal to Edmonton on 23, July, 1983 with 69 people on board. The brand-new plane was in tip-top condition except for a small error in the fuel quantity indication system (FQIS). The pilots received instructions to ensure sufficient fuel board by performing a dripstick test. They took a reading from a tube installed in the wing (given in centimete...
AeroDelft : mission, vision and progress
Aviation

AeroDelft : mission, vision and progress

Interview with Aerodelft Managers of year ‘21 and ‘22 Author: Chaitanya Dongre, Kamalesh S. Ganapathy, Leonardo Times Editors AeroDelft team members 2022-23 AeroDelft was founded on the principle of rethinking the way we propel our aircraft. They strive to prove and promote liquid hydrogen as an alternative to conventional fuels in aviation. We interviewed Rahiq Ullah, the Team manager of AeroDelft ‘21/22,  and Wouter van Der Linden, the Team manager of AeroDelft ‘22/23. The interview was focused on their experiences, progress and goals. Q. Everyone has heard or read about Project Phoenix. As the current manager, how do you look at this project? What are some of the fundamentals that you believe can be achieved by this project? Wouter: We intend to build a liquid hydro...
Higher, Faster, Further
Aviation, Featured

Higher, Faster, Further

The history of Aéro-Club de France Authors: Marcos Talocchi and Tuomas Simula, Editors Leonardo Times The 14-bis of Santos-Dumont in flight. The Aéro-Club de France was one of the first aeronautical associations in the world, having been founded over a hundred years ago. We explore its history and contributions to aviation, while diving deeper into the life of one of its founding members. CREATION OF THE CLUB Near the end of the 19th century, there were first hints of aviation becoming a feasible means of transport. The first powered and controllable airships were developed, and the first heavier-than-air flights were done using gliders. In Paris, a collective of inventors, industrialists and early aviation enthusiasts saw the need for an organization developing and promoti...
Eyes in the skies
Aviation, Dynamics and control

Eyes in the skies

Investigating the ever-growing and flourishing uses of UAVs in agriculture Author: Arham Elahi, Leonardo Times Editor and Naomi Lijesen, Final Editor EAvision’s 30X agricultural drone demonstrating spraying capabilities. Optimizing the agricultural industry is of the utmost importance. Currently, we technically have enough food on the planet to sustain everyone, even though it is tragic that it is not equally distributed. However, the current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to grow by a third, or 2.3 billion, by 2050 - thus, global food production must rise by about 70% to meet this demand [1][2]. Of course, clearing such an enormous area of land to facilitate more agriculture is not a sustainable solution when considering climate change and the strain humans put on t...
Amelia: A Look Back at the Pioneering Aviator.
Aviation

Amelia: A Look Back at the Pioneering Aviator.

Author : Katharina Ertman, Editor Leonardo Times On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart, in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe, disappeared mysteriously into the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Somewhere en route from Lae, Papua New Guinea, and Howland Island, she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, lost communications with those on the ground. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance have been the subject of years of speculation and fruitless efforts to determine Earhart and Noonan’s fate. Numerous theories, from sensational rumors, claiming Earhart was a spy for the US government or even she was working for the Japanese government, to more technical speculation, such as the crash-and-sink theory or that she landed on a different island, continue to fuel curiosity. However, the stor...
B-52 Re-engine program
Aviation, Manufacturing, News, Operations, Propulsion

B-52 Re-engine program

The iconic Cold-war era Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bomber is getting its 1960s-vintage Pratt & Whitney TF33-103 engines replaced by more-efficient commercial replacements. The re-engine program will keep the colossal aircraft operational until 2050 and meet the high-power demands for next-generation weapons, a fire control radar, and other electrical systems. The B-52 is the most combat capable bomber in the U.S. inventory with 76 units completely operational. Due to its high mission-capable rate, large payload, long range, persistence and ability to employ both nuclear and conventional precision standoff weapons. The B-52s has eight engines in four pods, two under each wing. the Air Force overhauls each TF33 every 6,000 flight hours, as a rule, a process that costs $2 million per ...
Boeing shows UAV which can Refuel Fighter Jets in Mid-Air
Aviation, Manufacturing, Uncategorized

Boeing shows UAV which can Refuel Fighter Jets in Mid-Air

Past Tuesday, Boeing Phantom Works, Boeing's secretive design department, announced a new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Its function is to refuel jets mid-air in order to enlarge the range of combat aircraft of the US Navy. One picture was presented of Boeings MQ-25, showing a slightly blended wing-fuselage design, probably to contain as much fuel as possible. Its V-tail stands out as well suggested to satisfy with the little space available on a carrier deck. While engines are being tested right now, flight testing will be done early 2018.   Boeing’s MQ-25 design is their submission for a competition from the U.S. Navy to design a UAV which can refuel fighter jets in mid-air, in particular, to refuel the F/A-18 Super Hornet and F-35,  which are already used in the U.S. ...
Drone Collisions More Damaging Than Birdstrikes
Aviation

Drone Collisions More Damaging Than Birdstrikes

Author: Maurits Rietveld, Editor Leonardo Times Birdstrikes have already been an important topic in aviation's safety for a long time. Considering the global rise of drones, collisions between drones and aircraft are starting to play a role in aviation safety as well. New studies have shed light on this issue. A study carried out by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showed that small drones are more damaging to planes than birds. Simulations reinforced by physical material tests were done on aircrafts colliding with drones, varying in weight from 1.2 to 3.6 kilograms. The wing's leading edge, windshield and horizontal and vertical stabilizers were investigated as critical locations. Results showed that the horizontal stabilizer suffered most of the damage and the cockpit’s winds...
Revival of Voyager 1 after 37 years
News, Operations, Propulsion, Space engineering, Space flight, Uncategorized

Revival of Voyager 1 after 37 years

The backup thrusters on the Voyager 1 spacecraft fired up after staggering 37 years. It took 19h and 35 min through space for the signal to reach an antenna in Goldstone, California, US, which is a part of NASA’s Deep Space Network. Voyager 1 was launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, 16 days after its twin, Voyager 2. Both these spacecraft are a part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System. On August 25, 2012, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to cross the heliosphere and thereby making it the farthest a man-made object has ever traveled.  Voyager 1 traveling past the edge of the Solar System. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/ After staying in dormant for 13 billion miles, on November 28, the spacecraft’s four backup Trajectory Course Manoeuvring thrusters were...