Aviation

The category that features all aviation related posts.

The Current State of Electric Aircraft
Aviation, Propulsion

The Current State of Electric Aircraft

As the Solar Impulse arrives in Abu Dhabi, it is interesting to examine the electric aircraft on a conceptual level, as well as its current progress. Without judging the Solar Impulse team’s achievements, it is fair to say their main drivers were most certainly adventure and innovation. The latter being a pillar of aerospace engineering. It is the reason why aircraft continue to become more efficient year after year, and allow more and more people to reach distant places throughout the world. Electric aircraft are one of the newest domains upon which innovation is focused. Few can predict how far they will go. This article presents the Solar Impulse along with a history of electric aircraft, their uses and the challenges to come.   Solar Impulse The Solar Impulse adventure wa...
Airfoil Design for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Aerodynamics and wind energy, Aviation

Airfoil Design for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

With the depletion of fossil fuels, increasing emissions, and the inevitability of global warming, the interest in renewable energy grows. Conventional solutions, like horizontal axis wind turbines, are reaching the limits of their capabilities. Therefore, there is renewed interest in other models, such as the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). While there are multiple variations on the VAWT, the most viable one is the Darrieus turbine, patented in 1932 (Darrieus, 1931). This turbine operates on the principle of aerodynamic forces acting on vertically placed blades, spinning around an offset center. When enough torque is generated, power is produced. The advantages of this configuration are that it is easily scalable, will not suffer from gravitational loads and ha...
The Bombardier CSeries – A Review
Aviation, Operations

The Bombardier CSeries – A Review

There is a new aircraft on the block: the CS100. The CS100 and its sister aircraft, the CS300, are part of the CSeries aircraft family by Bombardier. These narrow bodies were designed to compete with the biggest best sellers: the A320 and B737 series. In the aerospace industry this is possibly one of the hardest challenges. Only one company has ever managed to do it: Airbus. It was back when Boeing had total hegemony over the market and did not take Airbus seriously. What a huge mistake that was- Airbus managed to sell its aircraft and thirty years later, it is now selling more narrow bodies than Boeing on a yearly basis. Airbus having the experience and Boeing having been duped already once, both companies are not about to let Bombardier off the hook so easily.   The CSeries ...
Supersonic Commercial Travel: the Past, the Present, and the Future
Aviation, Operations, Specials, Time Flies

Supersonic Commercial Travel: the Past, the Present, and the Future

The Concorde is a widely recognized plane, perhaps even more than the Boeing 747. To this day, it remains the only supersonic plane that operated commercial flights, despite a disastrous attempt from Tupolev to imitate the Anglo-French plane. Since its last flight in 2003, no commercial passenger has flown past the speed of sound. This could all be changing in the coming years as more and more private companies are investing in supersonic private jets, along with NASA’s recent announcement. Gone are the days where any passenger could travel from Paris or London to New York in a little over three hours. These days, any traveler will have to take anywhere between five and a half and over nine hours. Whether you blame it on FAA noise regulations or the economy, the final outcome re...
Airbus Pushes Towards High-Speed Compound Helicopter
Aviation, News, Operations, Propulsion

Airbus Pushes Towards High-Speed Compound Helicopter

Helicopters are fantastic. They can easily access remote areas, and are capable of vertical takeoff and landing. However, what they seem to be lacking is speed when in forward flight. A few aerospace companies have taken to combining the VTOL capabilities of rotary aircraft, with the the forward speed that turboprop airplanes offer. Although there are many challenges, one of the biggest is keeping the price down . Three years after ending flight tests of its X3 high-speed demonstrator, Airbus Helicopters has been putting the final touches on a new compound helicopter design that could pave the way for a high-speed rotary-wing aircraft product in the 2020s. The company has completed wind-tunnel tests on the compound helicopter architecture, developed as part of the company’s contribution...
Aviation, News, Operations

Embraer’s E190-E2 Takes to the Skies

Last week, Embraer’s E190-E2 took to the skies several months ahead of the internal schedule, making it the only new airplane program in recent history to be significantly ahead. The E2 is Embraer’s entry into the next phase of the E-Jet development being powered by Pratt & Whitney's GTF engines. A gearbox located within the shaft of the engine permits the compressor to run at a different regime than the fan. Conventional turbofans have both components attached to each other, and hence, running at the same velocity. The GTF engine allows for them to be dissociated and operate at their optimal speeds. Consequently, the turbofan consumes 15% less fuel, pollutes less, and is 75% quieter. In addition to its propulsion system, the airplane has new wings, a new empennage, enclosed main gear,...
Exploring Human-like Automation in Air Traffic Management
Aviation, Operations

Exploring Human-like Automation in Air Traffic Management

Would you prefer to work with automation that solves problems just like yourself? Would such individual-sensitive automation be able to overcome the acceptance issues observed with the introduction of new decision-support automation? This PhD research aims to find out. In the Air Traffic Management domain, automation is expected to enable the necessary traffic capacity that is needed to meet the future demand for air travel. However,  introduction of increasingly sophisticated automation is at risk of being rejected, and threatening the required growth. This article discusses ongoing PhD research that is exploring the benefits of individual-sensitive automation capable to solve conflicts between aircraft as intelligently as an air traffic controller. Exploring automation bias We have re...
Boeing signs $11.3B contract with VietJet Air
Aviation, News, Operations

Boeing signs $11.3B contract with VietJet Air

  Just as the speculations were getting heated about Boeing’s stocks falling in value, the American multinational corporation signed an $11.3B contract with VietJet. The Vietnamese budget airline VietJet Air is looking for a replacement for its aging fleet, mostly comprised of refurbished old Airbus A320 variants. They are also awaiting 85 more deliveries from Airbus, altogether leading to a diverse fleet. Boeing 737 Max 200 was the aircraft of choice for VietJet, with a single-class configuration that seats up to 200 passengers, these birds (100 of them, to be precise) will provide a solid fleet for the low-cost operations. The contract was signed during President Obama’s visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, and the deliveries are expected to roll in from 2019, up until 2023. The Max 20...
A Floating Wind Farm
Aerodynamics and wind energy, Aviation, News

A Floating Wind Farm

With a focus shifting towards global sustainability, more effort is being put into improving the efficiency of renewable energy technologies. Wind energy is a predominant area of interest and now it takes on a new twist.   In July 2015, we published an article on the different ways to make a wind turbine float. Many pilot projects have been conducted to test which ones were the most effective. Statoil was the first company to makes significant strides in the area, and now that they have refined their design, a new project is about to set sail.   The Hywind Park has recently been approved to develop the world’s first, and largest, floating wind farm. The ocean off the coast of Scotland will soon be welcoming five floating six-megawatt turbines, anchored 24-35km from la...
Self-Destructible Unmanned Aircraft
Aviation, Manufacturing, Operations

Self-Destructible Unmanned Aircraft

Transporting supplies to emergency personnel and military teams that are based in difficult to access areas has been possible for quite some time. However, contemporary solutions require extra logistic efforts to realize the cleanup and disposal of the unmanned aircraft that accompanies the supplies. In order to eliminate this extra labor, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initiated the ICARUS program.   Greek Mythology One might know the name Icarus (Ikaros) from Greek mythology. Icarus was the son of Daedalus, and together they escaped imprisonment by implementing the principles of flight with self-made wings. Unfortunately, Icarus flew too close to the sun, causing the wax in his wings to melt, thereby losing all the feathers attached to it. As a result...