Tag: First Flight

Megawatt Electrical Motor Could Electrify Aviation

CleanTechnica reported that a team of MIT engineers “is now creating a 1-megawatt motor that could be a key stepping-stone toward electrifying larger aircraft.” The team has “designed and tested the major components of the motor, and shown through detailed computations that the coupled components can work as a whole to generate one megawatt of power, at a weight and size competitive with current small aero-engines.” T. Wilson Professor in Aeronautics and the Director of the Gas Turbine Laboratory (GTL) at MIT Zoltan Spakovszky, who leads the project, said, “No matter what we use as an energy carrier – batteries, hydrogen, ammonia, or sustainable aviation fuel – independent of all that, megawatt-class motors will be a key enabler for greening aviation.” Spakovszky and members of his team, along with industry collaborators, “will present their work at a special session of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – Electric Aircraft Technologies Symposium (EATS) at [AIAA AVIATION Forum this week].”
More Info (Clean Technica)

Virgin Galactic Aircraft Makes First Flight in Over a Year

Space News reports that Virgin Galactic’s carrier aircraft made its first flight in more than a year on Wednesday as the company looks to start commercial service. The VMS Eve left the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for a flight lasting more than two and a half hours before returning to the airport. This was the first flight for VMS Eve “since it flew to Mojave from Spaceport America in New Mexico in October 2021.” The company “performed an extensive overhaul of the plane while in Mojave, including replacing the center pylon where the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane is attached.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA, Lockheed Expect X-59 Quesst Aircraft to Make First Flight This Year

FlightGlobal reported that NASA “now expects its delayed X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology (Quesst) demonstrator aircraft will make first flight in 2023 following completion of still-outstanding system evaluations.” The government agency, with partner Lockheed Martin, “confirm the 2023 first-flight target.” However, one industry advocacy group is calling on NASA to review the X-59 program “on ground that its conflicts with the US government’s goal of reducing aviation’s carbon footprint.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

Ampaire’s Grand Caravan Makes First Flight

Aviation Today reported that Ampaire’s Eco Caravan aircraft, “an upgraded Cessna Grand Caravan, made its first flight last week on a fully-integrated hybrid-electric propulsion system.” The Los Angeles-based electric aircraft developer “flew its first hybrid-electric regional aircraft on a 30-minute test flight above southern California during the early morning hours of Friday, Nov. 18.” This test flight shows “promising success for the developer’s integrated propulsion system.”
Aviation Today (Aviation Today)

Tengden Scorpion D Cargo UAV Takes First Flight

Aviation Week reports, “Another design has been added to the list of large uncrewed cargo aircraft under development in China, with Sichuan Tengden Science & Technology conducting the first flight of its Twin-Tailed Scorpion D on Oct. 25.” The uncrewed cargo aircraft operates with four engines under a twin-boom configuration.
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Eviation Alice Performs First Flight

The AP reports that Eviation’s prototype electric aircraft took its first flight Tuesday. Aviation Week reports that the Alice prototype made its first flight from Moses Lake, Washington, “marking a major milestone on the road towards the fielding of a new generation of sustainable air vehicles.”
Full Story (Associated Press)
More Info (Aviation Week)

Gulfstream G800 Completes First Flight

Aviation International News reports that the first “Gulfstream G800 – registered as N800G – completed its inaugural flight this morning, officially launching the flight-test program for the 8,000-nm twinjet.” N800G “lifted off from Gulfstream Aerospace’s headquarters at Georgia’s Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (KSAV) at 9 a.m. and landed back at the field two hours later. It made the flight using a blend of sustainable aviation fuel.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Robinson R44 Conducts First Flight with MagniX EPU

Aviation International News reports that Tier 1 Engineering “conducted the first flight of an all-electric Robinson R44 using the MagniX electric propulsion unit (EPU)” on Saturday. Tier 1 President Glen Dromgoole said, “This historic flight, of an all-electric helicopter with a certifiable electric engine, was an important step towards obtaining aircraft certification. We are excited to expand the flight tests to greater distances and demonstrate safe, reliable all-electric flight.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)