SPACE reports that Boom Supersonic and Northrop Grumman announced Tuesday a collaboration to develop “variants of Boom’s supersonic ‘Overture’ aircraft for military and emergency response.” Boom “emphasized its so-far unproven fleet will be able to support vital missions at high speed, bringing passengers and equipment to critical locations faster than the speed of sound.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Tag: aircraft
Dovetail Electric to Offer Electric, Hydrogen Refits to Turboprop Aircraft
Aviation Week reports that Dovetail Electric Aviation has been formed to “develop and offer battery-electric and hydrogen-electric powertrain retrofits for a range of turboprop commuter aircraft.”
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Aurora Flight Sciences to Build Spaceplane Launch Platform Aircraft for Virgin Galactic
Space News reports that Virgin Galactic announced Wednesday it signed an agreement with Aurora Flight Sciences “to build two new aircraft that will be used as launch platforms for its next-generation suborbital spaceplanes.” The carrier aircraft “will succeed the original WhiteKnightTwo aircraft.” Aurora “will manufacture components of the aircraft at its factories in Columbus, Mississippi, and Bridgeport, West Virginia. Final assembly of the planes will take place at Virgin’s production facility in Mojave, California.” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said, “Our next-generation motherships are integral to scaling our operations. They will be faster to produce, easier to maintain and will allow us to fly substantially more missions each year.”
Full Story (Space News)
DARPA Envisions KC-46 as Recharger for UAVs
Aviation Week reports that DARPA “has launched a new project that sees a fresh role for the U.S. Air Force fleet of aerial tankers as airborne recharging points for networks of electric-powered UAS by adding a wing-mounted laser pod.”
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GAMA Reports Q1 Increase in Plane Deliveries, Led by Small Aircraft
Aviation International News reports that according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, “the first quarter brought good news for the general aviation industry in terms of deliveries,” as “overall airplane deliveries rose nearly 15 percent year-over-year, while helicopters handovers climbed 7 percent” and airplane deliveries “were led by smaller aircraft, causing a $300 million decline in billings from a year ago, to $3.7 billion.” GAMA found that “turboprop airplanes saw the largest gain, soaring by more than 30 percent over the first three months of 2021, with higher-end pressurized models receiving a 39 percent boost.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
KC-46’s Faulty Trim Kept Emergency Door from Opening
Air Force Times reported that a “problem with the trim on the KC-46A Pegasus’ overwing exit doors kept it from being able to open, which could have hindered passengers’ ability to escape during an emergency.” The US Air Force’s engineers “worked with KC-46 manufacturer” The Boeing Company “to create and issue a time compliance technical order to modify the refueling tankers’ doors in the field.”
Full Story (Air Force Times)
Boeing Aircraft Delivers 22 Jets in February
Reuters reports that The Boeing Company said it delivered 20 of its 737 MAX aircraft and two freighters to customers in February, indicating rebounding travel and pandemic-era cargo demand, but its 787 Dreamliner freeze continued. The Boeing 737 MAX and the 787 Dreamliner are crucial to the company’s ability to recover from the pandemic and catch up with Airbus, having lost the delivery race for a third consecutive year. Boeing said it also booked 32 orders for the 737 MAX aircraft, 18 of which were for Air Lease Corp. Deliveries of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner have been frozen for months as the company conducts strenuous inspections and repairs to address production-related structural defects.
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First B-21 Aircraft Starts Ground Testing, Assembly Begins on Sixth Bomber
Aviation Week reports that the first B-21 Raider “test aircraft has started ground evaluations, and the sixth example of the next-generation bomber has started production.” The announcement was made by the US Air Force at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium on Thursday.
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KC-46 Cleared to Refuel More Aircraft
Aviation Week reports that the US Air Force “has cleared the KC-46 to refuel five more aircraft types as part of a rollout of interim capabilities before the tanker is fully operational. U.S. Transportation Command can now task the KC-46 to refuel AC-130Js, HC-130Js, MC-130Js, C-5Ms and E-3Gs.”
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Airbus Predicts Demand for 39,000 New Airliners by 2040
Aviation Week reported that Airbus forecasted that some “39,000 new airliners will be needed worldwide over the next 20 years.” Airbus “believes there will be demand by 2040 for around 29,700 small aircraft like the Airbus A220, A320 family or Boeing 737 MAX, and for about 5,300 medium-sized aircraft like the Airbus A321XLR, A330neo or Boeing 787-8,” in addition to demand for about 4,000 large aircraft “like the Airbus A350 or Boeing 787-10 and 777X.” Airbus also expects “to see demand for 880 new freighters.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)