Tag: Completes

Rolls-Royce Completes Pearl 10X Test Flights

Flight Global reports, “Rolls-Royce has completed flight testing of the Pearl 10X engine it is developing for the Dassault Aviation Falcon 10X business jet after a six-month campaign. Installed on the propulsion specialist’s Boeing 747-200 testbed – contributing to the jet’s unique five-engine configuration – the powerplant has been in flight test since 29 March.”
Full Story (Flight Global)

Video

Rolls-Royce’s Most Powerful Pearl 10X Engine Getting Ready for First Flight
(Global Update; YouTube)

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 Makes 4th Successful Test Flight

Simple Flying reports, “Boom Supersonic conducted a fourth and successful Boom XB-1test flight, this time reaching an altitude of 16,150 feet and a speed of Mach 0.617 (about 313 knots equivalent airspeed) during tests for flutter, g-forces, handling, and landing gear. The proof-of-concept XB-1 is helping educate Boom Supersonic on how to build and test supersonic aircraft in the lead-up to building Boom Overture.”
Full Story (Simple Flying)

Vertical Aerospace Completes VX4 Phase One Testing

Reuters reports, “UK-based Vertical Aerospace has completed the first phase of piloted testing of a prototype of its air-taxi, VX4, it said on Thursday, sending the company’s shares up 3.9% in U.S. premarket trading. The VX4 has 1,500 pre-orders worth $6 billion from companies including Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines and Japan Airlines. The phase one testing included multiple piloted tethered flights and ground runs. It completed 70 individual test points to validate its safety in the real-world flight scenarios.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Archer Performs Battery Pack Drop Test for Midnight Air Taxi

Flying Magazine reports, “Air taxi manufacturer Archer Aviation has reached what it says is a crucial milestone in its test campaign—one that could prove valuable as it pursues type certification for its flagship Midnight aircraft. The company on Friday said it successfully completed a series of drop tests on Midnight’s battery packs, an evaluation it will need to complete again during for-credit testing with the FAA.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

T-7A Red Hawk Trainer Wraps Up Extreme Temperature Testing

Flying Magazine reports that the U.S. Air Force’s new Boeing T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer has finished extreme temperature testing to evaluate “its endurance from hot deserts to deep-freeze conditions.” The monthlong trial, conducted at the McKinley Climatic Lab at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, included testing the aircraft’s electronics and instrumentation “in temperatures ranging from 110 degrees to minus-25 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

Joby Aviation Achieves Key Air Taxi Certification Milestone

Flying Magazine reports “It’s full steam ahead for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi manufacturer Joby Aviation.”  The company recently reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings and revealed “that it recorded revenue for the first time” while “announcing plans to ramp up testing, certification, and manufacturing activities.” Joby is “the first eVTOL manufacturer to complete the third of five stages in FAA type certification, and the firm is now turning to stage four: for-credit flight testing with the regulator.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

GE Aerospace’s XA100 Engine Completes Third Phase of Ground Tests

Aviation Week reports that “GE Aerospace has wrapped a third phase of ground tests on its XA100 adaptive turbofan engine, as it continues to press for support to re-engine the F-35 with its proposal.” Breaking Defense reports that according to David Tweedie, GE Aerospace Vice President and General Manager for Advanced Defense Products, the third phase of testing, “conducted in the company’s Evendale test cell, ran between April and June 2023. Through it, GE engineers collected reams of new data and pursued some new approaches. For example, the company tested different elements of the flight envelope, and Tweedie said that ‘there’s ways to reconfigure the engine to go exercise it in different ways to understand performance derivatives, and other things.’” GE hopes that the data gathered from the “third round of testing will bolster its efforts to mature adaptive engine technology – cutting edge propulsion that can offer capability improvements like greater fuel efficiency and more thrust over legacy engines.”
Full Story (Aviation Week); More Info (Breaking Defense)