Tag: April 2024

NASA and Rocket Lab Launch Solar Sail

The New Zealand Herald reports, “NASA has launched its new solar sail mission from Mahia Peninsula. Once at a Sun-synchronous orbit, about 1000 km above Earth, the spacecraft will deploy its sails and use the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, instead of rocket fuel. If the microwave oven-sized CubeSat is successfully deployed, the operation would be a precursor to larger-scale missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA said.”
Full Story (New Zealand Herald)

Beta Performs Piloted eVTOL Aircraft Transition Flight

Aviation International News reports, “Beta Technologies has achieved the first piloted transition flights with a prototype of its Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft prototype, the Vermont-based aircraft developer announced today. A successful transition flight marks a significant milestone in the development of any eVTOL aircraft, demonstrating the core capabilities of vertical lift and horizontal cruise in combination.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

US Navy Receives First Two Textron T-54s

Janes reports, “US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) accepted delivery of the first two Textron T-54 Multi-Engine Training System (METS) aircraft at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas, the service announced on 22 April. The aircraft are set to begin training students at NAS Corpus Christi’s Training Air Wing Four in boreal spring 2025.”
Full Story (Janes)

NASA Might Adjust Artemis III to Have Starship and Orion Dock in Low-Earth Orbit

Ars Technica reports that NASA “is privately considering modifications to its Artemis plan to land astronauts on the surface of the Moon later this decade. Multiple sources have confirmed that NASA is studying alternatives to the planned Artemis III landing of two astronauts on the Moon, nominally scheduled for September 2026, due to concerns about hardware readiness and mission complexity.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

AIAA Announces 2024 Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 22, 2024 – Wichita, Kan. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced the winners of the 28th Annual AIAA DBF Competition:

  • 1st Place ($3,000): Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Place ($2,000): Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 3rd Place ($1,500): University of Washington, Seattle
  • Best Design Report ($100): University of Southern California

This year marks the largest-ever flyoff participation, with more than 1,000 students on 93 university teams attending onsite. The flyoff was hosted by AIAA Corporate Member Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kan. Teams from 12 countries, including 32 US states participated in the full DBF Competition, including submitting design reports and attending the flyoff.

This year’s flight objective was to design, build, and test a remotely operated radio control airplane for Urban Air Mobility. The airplane must be able to conduct a delivery flight, a medical transport flight, and an urban taxi flight. Teams also conducted a ground mission demonstrating how quickly they can change their aircraft configuration from delivery to medical transport to urban air taxi.

“Design/Build/Fly is a highlight of the year,” said AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher. “Aerospace teaches us to adapt to the unexpected. It’s a great lesson for students as they prepare to enter this vibrant and meaningful field. The lessons learned and connections made here will be the foundation for their future careers. Congratulations to the winning teams and all the teams that made it here to the DBF flyoff!”

Russ Althof, director of the DBF Organizing Committee, said, “We owe our thanks for the success of the DBF Competition to the efforts of many volunteers from Textron Aviation, Raytheon, and the AIAA sponsoring Technical Committees: Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Flight Test, and Design Engineering. These volunteers collectively set the rules for the contest, publicize the event, gather entries, judge the written proposals and reports, and execute the flyoff.

The 2025 AIAA DBF Competition will be held in April 2025 hosted in Tucson, Ariz., by Raytheon.

Media contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

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.

Army Partners with Electra.aero for Electric Aircraft Testing

Flying Magazine reports, “The Army on Thursday awarded a $1.9 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Electra.aero, the manufacturer of a nine-passenger, hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) design, to perform powered wind tunnel testing. The manufacturer’s flagship, hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft requires only the space of a soccer field to launch and touch down.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

FAA to Allow Boom Supersonic to Break Sound Barrier

Flying Magazine reports, “For the first time in its history, the FAA has issued a special flight authorization to allow Boom Supersonic to break the sound barrier. The approval will allow the Colorado startup to fly its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft faster than Mach 1 up to 20 times over the next year in the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor in Mojave, California.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

U.S. Coast Guard Re-ups Arriel Support Contract with Safran

Aviation International News reports, “Safran Helicopter Engines will continue to support its Arriel engines powering U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) MH-65 helicopters, following the renewal of its support-by-the-hour (SBH) contract. More than 240 Arriel engines are covered under the five-year renewal period.  Engine support will be provided by Safran Helicopter Engines USA in Grand Prairie, Texas.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)