Aircraft & Propulsion

Bell’s V-247 unmanned tiltrotor; NASA seeks electric ideas; quieter approaches with DLR’s LNAS; JP Aerospace flies Ascender airship.

Double-bubble D8, Blended Wing Body, Transonic Truss-Braced Wing, Hybrid Wing Body and a small-airliner-size BWB – the configurations NASA is considering for planned ultra-efficient subsonic transport demonstrators.

As NASA widens its search for ultra-efficient X-plane demonstrators, little-known design house Dzyne Technologies unveils its proposal for a blended wing-body business jet and small airliner.

Risk of injury from drones falling on people’s heads appears to be less than expected, but a small UAS hitting an aircraft will not be the same as a birdstrike, initial research indicates.

Israel’s ducted-rotor cargo UAS; distributed flaps improve efficiency; submarine-launched drone tested; Prodrone’s grasping, clinging UAS; DARPA’s counter-UAS Dragnet.

Bell Helicopter plans to offer tiltrotors for almost every anticipated U.S. military requirement as its V-280 Valor prototype comes together in Amarillo, Texas.

With about $40 million a year to spend, the agency’s Convergent Aeronautics Solutions project has so far funded 15 subprojects in three annual selection rounds.

Double-bubble, blended wing-body, truss-braced wing, hybrid wing-body—they all sound tempting, but which will NASA pick for its next X-plane and what can it afford?

UAS in the news: Mercedes and Matternet team on drone logistics; Google’s Project Wing delivers burritos; Mitre names counter-UAS winners; Vayu flies medical samples in Madagascar; DJI tests show value of drones for search and rescue.

Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft deliveries for 2016 year-to-date, sorted by most-recent delivery date.

Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft gross orders for 2016 year-to-date, sorted by most-recent date of order placement with manufacturer.

The tests could be a small but important stepping-stone toward further development of the BWB concept as a military tanker-transport.

Rockwell Collins is planning to deliver the final software load to Boeing for 737 MAX cockpit displays in mid-September, followed by initial deliveries of the final hardware components by year-end.

The first draft of a performance-based packaging standard for lithium-ion batteries will not be ready by November and will likely slip into early 2017, an Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) committee member said Aug. 24.

Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft gross orders for 2016 year-to-date, sorted by most-recent date of order placement with manufacturer.

Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft deliveries for 2016 year-to-date, sorted by most-recent delivery date.

Alaska Airlines will retrofit all 34 of its Boeing Sky Interior 737s with Space Bins, the larger overhead bins created by Boeing.

Farnborough Airshow Briefs-July 14, 2016

New Turkish manufacturer TRJet has announced suppliers for its new regional aircraft program—TRJ328—the updated, re-engined version of the former Dornier turboprop and jet variants that will form the basis of a new Turkish airliner production industry.

Airbus will more than halve production of the A380 as the manufacturer continues to struggle to secure additional sales for its largest aircraft.

Embraer Commercial Aviation president and CEO John Slattery talks with ATW European Editor Victoria Moores on his priorities after taking up his new role just ahead of the Farnborough Airshow.

On board the Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough Airshow

Sukhoi is pressing ahead with modifications to improve its Superjet SSJ100 and may certificate some or all the modifications earlier than the late-2018 timeframe to which it has committed.

UK-based manufacturer GKN Aerospace has signed a long-term agreement with Wichita, Kansas-based fuselage and cockpit manufacturer Spirit Aerosystems to supply windows for the cabins of Boeing next-generation 737 and 737 MAX aircraft through 2025.

Airbus has chosen Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) service as a cockpit communications solution for the A320 and A330 aircraft families.