Tag: Aeronautical

Joby Aviation eVTOL Awarded FAA, USAF Certification

Aviation Today reports that “FAA Special Airworthiness Certification and U.S. Air Force Airworthiness Approval were both awarded to Joby Aviation for the company’s second pre-production prototype aircraft.” Due to the certification, Joby “will be able to ramp up flight testing in 2022 and continue working towards a commercial operations launch date in 2024.”
Full Story (Aviation Today)

Rolls-Royce Says its All-Electric Aircraft is World’s Fastest

CNN reported that Rolls-Royce has said it has developed the “world’s fastest all-electric aircraft.” The “Spirit of Innovation” aircraft reportedly “attained a maximum speed of 387.4 mph (623km/h) in flight.” The aircraft “flew 300 mph over 9.32 miles in Wiltshire at the UK Ministry of Defence’s military aircraft testing site, which is 182 mph quicker than the previous record.”
Full Story (CNN)

Lockheed Martin’s SR-72 Revolutionary

The National Interest reports on the continued development of Lockheed Martin’s SR-72 uncrewed hypersonic aircraft. Referring to a digital rendering that had been presented at 2018 AIAA SciTech Forum, Lockheed Martin Vice President Jack O’Banion said, “Without the digital transformation[,] the aircraft you see there could not have been made. In fact, five years ago, it could not have been made.”
Full Story (National Interest)

Joby’s eVTOL Seeks Solution to Air Travel

CNN reports that Joby detailed how its new eVTOL aircraft “could be the solution for a cheaper, quieter and greener means of commercial flying.” Joby’s partnership with Uber “will allow the company to offer its eVTOL service directly in the Uber app, but Joby also plans to have a direct-to-consumer app of its own.” Joby expects to launch its commercial operation by 2024.
Full Story (CNN)

Air France Takes Delivery of its First Airbus A220

Aviation International News reports that “Air France took delivery of its first A220-300 from an order for 60 of the type from Airbus’s final assembly line in Mirabel, Quebec, and officially unveiled the 148-passenger narrowbody to the public during a Wednesday ceremony at Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport.” AIN reports that “since introducing the Airbus A350 on its long-haul network in September 2019, Air France has continued its fleet renewal and, by 2025, it plans to have added the 60 A220-300s on order to replace its Airbus A318s and A319s as well as several Airbus A320s.” The A220 order “includes an additional mix of 30 options and 30 purchase rights.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Rolls-Royce Accel Completes First Flight

Aviation Week reports that Rolls-Royce “has completed the first flight of its electric-powered Spirit of Innovation aircraft, also known as Accel.” The electric-powered Accel conducted its first flight at Boscombe Down airfield in Wiltshire.
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Lockheed Martin Tapped by DARPA for Next Design Phase for Aircraft Using “Active Flow Control”

Politico reports that Lockheed Martin and Aurora Flight Sciences “have been tapped by DARPA for the next design phase for an aircraft using ‘active flow control,’ which replaces traditional features such as rudders and flaps with actuators or effectors.” Both companies have already “completed conceptual designs of a flight demonstrator for the Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors project.” DARPA also announced that it has “selected BAE Systems to develop a conceptual design.” Lockheed Martin and Aurora, a subsidiary of Boeing, are “expected to wrap up work next year, when DARPA will award an undetermined number of contracts for continued development.”
Full Story (Politico)