Aircraft – Leonardo Times

China’s C919 Completes Its Maiden Flight

5May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, News, Operations

China’s C919 Completes Its Maiden Flight

Today, China’s C919 completed its maiden flight, bringing China one step closer to realising their long-standing dreams of having their own home-grown commercial aircraft. The narrow-body aircraft was in the air for 90 minutes before it returned safely to the Pudong airport in Shanghai. Prior to the flight, state television announced that it would be flown at an altitude of 3000 meters and achieve a speed of 300kmph. The flight was cheered on by thousands including dignitaries and enthusiasts. China has hoped to build its own commercial airplanes since the 1970s when Chairman Mao Zedong’s wife, Jiang Qing, backed a project. The C919 was announced by China nearly a decade ago in May 2008, when they set up the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). It was initially in...

Printed titanium parts to reduce costs on the Dreamliner

13Apr

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, Manufacturing, News

Printed titanium parts to reduce costs on the Dreamliner

Norsk Titanium AS, a Norwegian 3D printing company, has been hired by Boeing Co. to 3D print structural titanium parts for its Dreamliner. Titanium parts alone cost about $17 million out of the total $265 million cost of the plane. This is due to the 787’s carbon fiber fuselage and wings and result in a higher titanium requirement. This is obviously a sizeable portion of the costs and Boeing has been looking for ways to reduce these costs. Norsk Titanium Vice President, Chip Yates, claims that by 3D printing these, as opposed to manufacturing them the traditional way (with forging and machining), they will be able to cut down the costs of each 787 Dreamliner by around $2-3 million. Considering that Boeing produces around 144 Dreamliners each year on average, this will lead to a sizeable...

11Aug

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

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...

24Jun

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

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 ...

Boeing signs $11.3B contract with VietJet Air

23May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

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...

Internationally Recognized Dutch Designs

21Feb

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, Specials, Student projects

Internationally Recognized Dutch Designs

Students from the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft, Netherlands have been actively competing in prestigious International design competitions that are organised by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). This year, two teams, one undergraduate and the other graduate, both achieved second places in the competitions. Dutch Designs can be typically characterized as minimalist, experimental and innovative. Not only do these traits apply to chairs and buildings designed by famous Dutch engineers, they also extend to aircraft designs created by students of the Aerospace faculty. Every year AIAA organizes aircraft design competitions in three different categories: undergraduate, undergraduate individual, and graduate. Students are asked to submit a proposal for a n...

20Sep

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, Propulsion

A Nuclear-Powered Passenger Aircraft

Could the RECREATE cruiser fly us into the future? A thorough rethinking in the working of the aircraft industry is required to cope up with diminishing fossil fuel reserves, including aircraft design, propulsion systems and operation,. The European Commission sponsors the RECREATE research project to investigate the cruiser-feeder set-up, in which cruise-optimized aircraft stay aloft for extended periods while feeder aircraft transport passengers between airports and the cruiser. This study focuses on the design of a cruiser aircraft that uses nuclear power to transport up to 1000 passengers. A nuclear-powered passenger aircraft requires extensive safety considerations to be operated with minimal danger to its passengers as well as the environment. Even though the Cold War era, rese...