CNN reported that three engineers from The Boeing Company broke the world record for the farthest flight by paper airplane with a new distance of 289 feet, 9 inches, beating out the previous record of 252 feet, 7 inches. The success came after months of effort, including nearly 500 hours of studying origami and aerodynamics, and of testing multiple prototypes. The engineers’ design focused on speed and on minimizing drag.
Full Story (CNN)
Tag: Aeronautical
AIAA Seeks Editor-in-Chief for the Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics Series
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is seeking an outstanding candidate to assume the responsibilities of editor-in-chief for the Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics Series. The chosen candidate will assume the editorship at an exciting time as AIAA continues to expand its ability to support eBooks and other electronic content, along with publishing a range of titles in traditional print format. The next Editor-in-Chief will have an opportunity to create a lasting influence on championing emerging topics in the field into definitive publications that impact the aerospace profession. Applications are due by 14 April.
The Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics series is devoted to books that present a particular well-defined subject reflecting advances in the fields of aerospace science, engineering, and/or technology. In many cases, these are edited collections of papers with multiple chapter contributors.
Interested candidates can read more here on the application process. While the deadline to apply for full consideration is 30 April, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For more information, contact David Arthur, director, Publications Strategy and Acquisition.
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
P&W Awarded $5.2B to Support Production of 15th, 16th Lots of F135 Engines
Reuters reports that Pratt & Whitney “said on Monday it has been awarded a $5.2 billion contract to support production of the 15th and 16th lots of F135 engines, with an option to award a 17th lot, powering all three variants of the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft.” P&W said that the “total contract value for lots 15-17, with exercised options, is about $8 billion and will fund over 418 F135 engines.” According to Reuters, the “contract funds production of 278 F135 engines with an option to order up to 518 engines. It also includes program management, engineering support, production support and tooling.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Pratt & Whitney Cleared to Resume F-135 Engine Deliveries
Reuters reported that Raytheon Technologies Corp. said Friday that the US government has “cleared its Pratt and Whitney unit to resume deliveries of its F-135 engine for the F-35 fighter jet, after a halt was put in place in December following the discovery of a safety concern.” In a statement, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) said that its “engineers worked alongside Pratt & Whitney and Lockheed Martin to develop ‘mitigations for a rare system phenomenon involving harmonic resonance to develop a path forward for safe operation of the F135 in flight.’” The JPO added that the “actions the government and industry team are taking will ensure incorporation of mitigation measures that will fully address/resolve this rare phenomenon in impacted F135 engines.” The JPO also said that the “government was working on drawing up instructions for safely resuming flight operations for impacted and new production aircraft.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Gulfstream Wins USAF Contract Modifications
Aviation International News reports that the US Air Force “plans to fly its Gulfstreams for a while longer.” On January 27, the Air Force “announced that Gulfstream Aerospace had been awarded a variety of contract modifications to support the service’s fleet of C-20 and C-37 (Gulfstream III, IV, V, and 550) models.” The modifications “have a combined value of $124 million.” The awards include an $87 million modification “for contract logistics support services, bringing the cumulative value of the contract to $594 million, and $37 million for C-20 and C-37 engineering support contract services, bringing the cumulative value of that contract to $612 million.” The work will be “performed in Savannah, Georgia; at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland; Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii; and Ramstein Air Base in Germany.” The work is being “contracted by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.” The comparatively newer C-37As (GV) and C-37Bs (G550) “are based at the 89th Airlift Wing, 99th Airlift Squadron, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; the 15th Airlift Wing, 65th Airlift Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; and the 86th Airlift Wing, 76th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
KF-21 Succeeds in Breaking Sound Barrier
Aviation Week reports that the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 test-flight program “has passed another milestone as the aircraft reached Mach 1 for the first time since taking to the skies in July 2022.” This marks the first time a South Korean-built aircraft has broken the sound barrier.
Full Story (Aviation Week)
World’s Largest Aircraft Flies Record Test Flight Carrying Hypersonic Talon-A
The Daily Mail (UK) reports that the world’s largest aircraft “with a 383-foot wingspan recently took to the skies over the Mojave Desert in California to complete a six-hour test flight for a new record.” The Stratolaunch Roc carrier plane “conducted its second test flight Friday morning while carrying the Talon-A separation test vehicle.” The flight is “a significant step for the company’s progress toward the separation test and its first hypersonic flight of TA-1 within the first half of 2023.” The primary objectives “for Friday’s flight, which is the craft’s ninth take off, included flight outside of the local Mojave area for the first time and evaluation of the separation environment.” Zachary Krevor, chief executive officer and president of Stratolaunch, said in a statement: “Our amazing team is continuing to make progress on our test timeline, and it is through their hard work that we grow closer than ever to safe separation and our first hypersonic flight tests.”
Full Story (Daily Mail)
SpaceX Targeting December 11 for Japanese Moon Lander Launch
SPACE reports that SpaceX is “now targeting Sunday (Dec. 11) for the launch of a private Japanese moon lander after a series of delays.” If all goes according to plan, a Falcon 9 rocket “will launch the Tokyo-based company ispace’s Hakuto-R lander toward the moon on Sunday at 2:38 a.m. EST (0738 GMT), SpaceX announced today.” Sunday will be “a big day for space fans: NASA’s Orion capsule is scheduled to return to Earth that afternoon, wrapping up the agency’s Artemis 1 moon mission.” The coming SpaceX flight, “which will kick off ispace’s Mission 1, was originally supposed to get off the ground last month. It has been pushed back several times, however, so SpaceX could perform additional checks on the Falcon 9.” The company said “in today’s update that the Falcon 9 and the Hakuto-R lander, which is also carrying a small United Arab Emirates moon rover, are both ‘looking good for launch’ no earlier than Sunday.”
Full Story (SPACE)
SpaceX Launch Aims to Send Private Lander to the Moon
The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports that a Falcon 9 rocket “is carrying private Japanese company ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander, the first of a planned series of landers that if successful will make it the first commercial soft landing ever on the moon.” Also on board is “NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s briefcase-sized Lunar Flashlight, that plans to map ice in the permanently shadowed spaces near the moon’s south pole.” Liftoff from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 “is set for…Thursday at 3:37 a.m.” The HAKUTO-R series lander is “small, less than 8 feet tall weighing around 750 pounds at landing including space for about 66 pounds of customer cargo.” It’s taking the long way “around to the moon after launch using the gravity of Earth and the sun for an assist before a planned touchdown five months after launch in April 2023, an effort to trade off costly fuel for payload space.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)
Delta Seeks Drag Reduction with Boeing Aero Design Lab Kits
Aviation Week reports, “Delta Air Lines has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Aero Design Lab (ADL), targeting supplemental type certification (STC) of the Texas-based company’s drag reduction modification kits on its Boeing 737-800 and 900 fleets.” The agreement covers testing along with FAA certification.
Full Story (Aviation Week)