The global competition in the 20-ton air transport segment continues to intensify, with Embraer’s launch of its KC-390 program.
It will develop a jet powered transport that will compete with Lockheed Martin’s C-130J,the larger Airbus A400M, Russia’s AN-12 and its Chinese copy YUN-8/9. Smaller aircraft like the EADS-CASA C-295M and Alenia C-27J could also become indirect competition.
Embraer seeks now to extend its efforts and markets by crafting a jet-powered medium transport with cargo capacity of about 25 tons, that can be refueled in the air, and can provide refueling services to other aircraft by adding dedicated pods.
Full text
domingo, 26 de septiembre de 2010
Proponen un satélite que captaría la energía del Sol y cubriría las necesidades energéticas de nuestro planeta.
El concepto para un satélite llamado Dyson-Harrop comienza con un bucle de alambre de metal largo y puntiagudo enfocado hacia el sol. Este cable es el encargado de generar un campo magnético cilíndrico que captura los electrones que suponen la mitad del viento solar. Estos electrones son canalizados hacia un receptor esférico de metal para producir corriente que alimenta el campo magnético del alambre, consiguiendo así que el sistema auto-sostenible.
La corriente que no es necesaria para alimentar el campo magnético alimenta un láser infrarrojo que apunta a las antenas parabólicas en la Tierra diseñadas para capturar energía que apuntan a la Tierra. El aire es transparente a los rayos infrarrojos y la atmósfera terrestre no se absorbe la energía del haz antes de llegar al suelo.
La corriente que no es necesaria para alimentar el campo magnético alimenta un láser infrarrojo que apunta a las antenas parabólicas en la Tierra diseñadas para capturar energía que apuntan a la Tierra. El aire es transparente a los rayos infrarrojos y la atmósfera terrestre no se absorbe la energía del haz antes de llegar al suelo.
viernes, 24 de septiembre de 2010
BinterCanarias galardonada por la ERA como mejor Aerolínea del Año
El jurado independiente ha valorado especialmente su expansión en tiempos de crisis, la calidad de sus servicios, el cuidado del medio ambiente, su modernidad y estructura.
El galardón fue entregado al presidente de BinterCanarias, Pedro Agustín del Castillo, y a uno de sus consejeros delegados, Alfredo Morales. Pedro Agustín del Castillo ha manifestado: "Es emocionante y gratificante conseguir este galardón que reconoce el trabajo de todos los profesionales que componen BinterCanarias en beneficio de nuestros pasajeros, especialmente en un entorno económico tan difícil para el mundo y, especialmente, para Europa y España. Es un estímulo para seguir trabajando mejor y poder conseguir todavía un mayor grado de satisfacción para nuestros clientes". Se trata de la cuarta vez en su historia que la aerolínea obtiene el máximo galardón de la European Regions Airline Association".
BinterCanarias celebró el año pasado su 20 aniversario. Es una aerolínea privada, cuya totalidad del capital está aportado por inversores de las Islas Canarias. Cuenta con una moderna flota de 19 aviones ATR 72 de fabricación francoitaliana y es la única compañía aérea que opera en los ocho aeropuertos canarios, además de rutas internacionales al Norte de África y a Madeira. La plantilla de BinterCanarias consta de 1.000 profesionales, que se distribuyen entre las diferentes compañías (NAYSA, BinterTechnic, Binterswift, Atlántica Handling, BinterVende, etc.).
Lufthansa volará con un A380 entre Frankfurt y Mallorca
http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=528050
La compañía aérea alemana Lufthansa anunció hoy que el primer fin de semana de octubre cubrirá la ruta entre Fráncfort y Palma de Mallorca con su Airbus 380, el mayor avión comercial del mercado, por un repunte de la demanda.
La aeronave, con capacidad máxima de 526 asientos, hará sendos viajes de mañana el 2 y el 3 del próximo mes entre la capital económica alemana y el aeropuerto internacional de Son Sant Joan, coincidiendo con el Día de la Unidad Alemana, festivo en Alemania.
La compañía aérea alemana Lufthansa anunció hoy que el primer fin de semana de octubre cubrirá la ruta entre Fráncfort y Palma de Mallorca con su Airbus 380, el mayor avión comercial del mercado, por un repunte de la demanda.
La aeronave, con capacidad máxima de 526 asientos, hará sendos viajes de mañana el 2 y el 3 del próximo mes entre la capital económica alemana y el aeropuerto internacional de Son Sant Joan, coincidiendo con el Día de la Unidad Alemana, festivo en Alemania.
Boeing promete ahorros de hasta 27.000 millones con sus tanqueros frente a EADS
http://www.cincodias.com/articulo/empresas/Boeing-promete-ahorros-27000-millones-tanqueros-frente-EADS/20100924cdscdiemp_13/cdsemp/
Según el informe, una flota de 179 aviones cisterna fabricados por Boeing (a partir de su modelo 767) sería entre un 20% y un 25% más barata que otra compuesta por aparatos de EADS (a partir del A-330 de Airbus), con unos ahorros que oscilarían entre los 11.000 y los 36.000 millones de dólares (entre 8.250 y 27.010 millones de euros)
Dudas que me surgen: ¿hablan solo de precio de compra, o bien de dinero ahorrado en toda la vida operativa, bajo qué hipótesis se hace esto?
Según el informe, una flota de 179 aviones cisterna fabricados por Boeing (a partir de su modelo 767) sería entre un 20% y un 25% más barata que otra compuesta por aparatos de EADS (a partir del A-330 de Airbus), con unos ahorros que oscilarían entre los 11.000 y los 36.000 millones de dólares (entre 8.250 y 27.010 millones de euros)
Dudas que me surgen: ¿hablan solo de precio de compra, o bien de dinero ahorrado en toda la vida operativa, bajo qué hipótesis se hace esto?
UAVs Pushed For Missile Defense
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/awst/2010/09/20/AW_09_20_2010_p72-253599.xml&headline=UAVs%20Pushed%20For%20Missile%20Defense
Advocacy of an air-launched, missile defense system is being proposed by two veterans of the Pentagon’s “Star Wars” era and a 1990s program to mate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and long-range air-to-air weapons.
Len Caveny, a former director of science and technology, and Dale Tietz, a retired U.S. Air Force officer who focused on unmanned aircraft, were part of the Pentagon’s Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO). Now they are offering a new concept—backed up with several decades of research—to kill theater ballistic missiles (TBMs) soon after launch when they are slow, bright targets.
Advocacy of an air-launched, missile defense system is being proposed by two veterans of the Pentagon’s “Star Wars” era and a 1990s program to mate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and long-range air-to-air weapons.
Len Caveny, a former director of science and technology, and Dale Tietz, a retired U.S. Air Force officer who focused on unmanned aircraft, were part of the Pentagon’s Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO). Now they are offering a new concept—backed up with several decades of research—to kill theater ballistic missiles (TBMs) soon after launch when they are slow, bright targets.
Aernnova cierra su primer contrato con el grupo italiano AgustaWestland
http://www.cincodias.com/articulo/empresas/Aernnova-cierra-primer-contrato-grupo-italiano-AgustaWestland/20100923cdscdsemp_9/cdsemp/
Este contrato, para el periodo 2011-2016, supondrá el suministro de estructuras para 141 unidades del NH90 del constructor italiano. Las estructuras se fabricarán en Álava y Andalucía. Este acuerdo se suma a los que Arnova ya tenía con fabricantes de helicópteros como el consorcio europeo Eurocopter para el superpuma Sikorsky.
Este contrato, para el periodo 2011-2016, supondrá el suministro de estructuras para 141 unidades del NH90 del constructor italiano. Las estructuras se fabricarán en Álava y Andalucía. Este acuerdo se suma a los que Arnova ya tenía con fabricantes de helicópteros como el consorcio europeo Eurocopter para el superpuma Sikorsky.
jueves, 23 de septiembre de 2010
Competitition starts to demonstrate close air support by UAVs
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/09/23/347692/competitition-starts-to-demonstrate-close-air-support-by.html
A $47 million contract now in competition will challenge defence companies to prove that even unmanned air vehicles can be trusted to strike targets close to friendly troops.
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has issued a request for proposals for the persistent close air support (PCAS) project, which could lead to a live-fire demonstration in four years.
A $47 million contract now in competition will challenge defence companies to prove that even unmanned air vehicles can be trusted to strike targets close to friendly troops.
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has issued a request for proposals for the persistent close air support (PCAS) project, which could lead to a live-fire demonstration in four years.
DARPA Aims to Revolutionize Defense Manufacturing
Approach may compress systems delivery times by at least a factor of five
Agile and flexible design and manufacturing approaches are needed to meet the demands of rapidly changing threats to national security, declining defense budgets and the increasing complexity of systems. Current approaches to the development of defense systems and vehicles have proven inadequate for the timely delivery of much needed capability for the warfighter. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched a portfolio of programs aimed at dramatically compressing development timelines for complex defense systems. DARPA’s Adaptive Vehicle Make (AVM) portfolio will fundamentally alter the way systems are designed, built and verified, significantly improving the capacity to handle complexity—which has been rapidly outpacing existing 1960s-vintage approaches to managing it.
According to Paul Eremenko, DARPA program manager, “DARPA’s goal is to replicate the success of the integrated circuit industry in coping with rapidly growing product complexity by moving to higher levels of abstraction in design, introducing design automation and model-based verification and decoupling the design and build phases of the development process.”
The AVM portfolio is composed of four synergistic efforts: META, Instant Foundry Adaptive through Bits (iFAB), Fast Adaptive Next-Generation Ground Combat Vehicle (FANG) and Manufacturing Experimentation and Outreach (MENTOR), which will culminate in the development of a next generation infantry fighting vehicle. “The aggregate aim is to compress development timelines by at least 5X, shift the product value chain toward high-value-added design activities drastically democratize the innovation process and build the next generation cadre of manufacturing innovators—starting at the high school level,” said Eremenko.
Earlier this year, DARPA launched the first of the AVM efforts—META—a program to develop metrics, a representation metalanguage, design tools, and verification techniques to enable the synthesis of vehicle designs that are correct-by-construction. “META will create a toolset that enables the development of complex military vehicles and avoids the design-build-test-redesign loop that tends to lead to cost and schedule growth as we chase unanticipated interactions within the system,” said Eremenko.
iFAB complements META’s “fab-less” design capability with a “foundry-style” manufacturing approach. “The ultimate vision,” explained Eremenko, “is for a bitstream-programmable manufacturing facility that can be rapidly configured to produce a new design or design variation with nearly zero learning curve,” adding: “We call this large-scale manufacturing in quantities of one.” An iFAB-style facility is the defense industry’s analog to modern integrated circuit manufacturing plants, which are automated, adaptable and capable of producing a broad spectrum of products.
The culmination of AVM is the FANG program which will leverage the META and iFAB capabilities to produce an infantry fighting vehicle. But FANG has yet another objective in mind. “We are looking to expand the number of contributors in the design process by orders of magnitude—we call this ‘democratizing innovation’,” said Eremenko. To that end, DARPA will develop a collaborative infrastructure for crowd-sourcing vehicle designs, called vehicleforge.mil. DARPA expects that the site will employ the META metalanguage to represent designs and will include version control and “branching” features similar to those found in open-source software forge sites—all in an effort to enable thousands across the globe to contribute to vehicle designs. “Naturally, we are also investigating novel mechanisms for credentialing users and for ensuring the integrity of the final design,” Eremenko noted. After vehicleforge.mil goes operational in 2011-12,
DARPA envisions a series of Adaptive Make Challenges—prize-based competitions of increasing complexity with winning designs manufactured in iFAB—the output of which may ultimately be evaluated against Army prototypes.
As AVM engages non-traditional participants in the making of defense vehicles, DARPA hopes to generate a renewed interest in the manufacturing field and foster the next generation cadre of innovators. “DARPA will deploy a variety of 3D printers to high schools across the country,” said Eremenko, “our goal is a thousand schools within three years.” Under the MENTOR effort, students will engage in a distributed design and manufacturing experiment using conventional social media to collaborate across schools to develop and build vehicles such as mobile robots, go carts, etc.
Eremenko is under no illusion that the leap from integrated circuits to an infantry fighting vehicle is an easy one. “The diversity of components and interactions among them is much richer and much more dynamic, and the environment context in which vehicles operate is also significantly more complex—there is no doubt that this is a DARPA-hard problem, but the pay-off for success would be immense,” he said.
http://www.darpa.mil/
Agile and flexible design and manufacturing approaches are needed to meet the demands of rapidly changing threats to national security, declining defense budgets and the increasing complexity of systems. Current approaches to the development of defense systems and vehicles have proven inadequate for the timely delivery of much needed capability for the warfighter. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched a portfolio of programs aimed at dramatically compressing development timelines for complex defense systems. DARPA’s Adaptive Vehicle Make (AVM) portfolio will fundamentally alter the way systems are designed, built and verified, significantly improving the capacity to handle complexity—which has been rapidly outpacing existing 1960s-vintage approaches to managing it.
According to Paul Eremenko, DARPA program manager, “DARPA’s goal is to replicate the success of the integrated circuit industry in coping with rapidly growing product complexity by moving to higher levels of abstraction in design, introducing design automation and model-based verification and decoupling the design and build phases of the development process.”
The AVM portfolio is composed of four synergistic efforts: META, Instant Foundry Adaptive through Bits (iFAB), Fast Adaptive Next-Generation Ground Combat Vehicle (FANG) and Manufacturing Experimentation and Outreach (MENTOR), which will culminate in the development of a next generation infantry fighting vehicle. “The aggregate aim is to compress development timelines by at least 5X, shift the product value chain toward high-value-added design activities drastically democratize the innovation process and build the next generation cadre of manufacturing innovators—starting at the high school level,” said Eremenko.
Earlier this year, DARPA launched the first of the AVM efforts—META—a program to develop metrics, a representation metalanguage, design tools, and verification techniques to enable the synthesis of vehicle designs that are correct-by-construction. “META will create a toolset that enables the development of complex military vehicles and avoids the design-build-test-redesign loop that tends to lead to cost and schedule growth as we chase unanticipated interactions within the system,” said Eremenko.
iFAB complements META’s “fab-less” design capability with a “foundry-style” manufacturing approach. “The ultimate vision,” explained Eremenko, “is for a bitstream-programmable manufacturing facility that can be rapidly configured to produce a new design or design variation with nearly zero learning curve,” adding: “We call this large-scale manufacturing in quantities of one.” An iFAB-style facility is the defense industry’s analog to modern integrated circuit manufacturing plants, which are automated, adaptable and capable of producing a broad spectrum of products.
The culmination of AVM is the FANG program which will leverage the META and iFAB capabilities to produce an infantry fighting vehicle. But FANG has yet another objective in mind. “We are looking to expand the number of contributors in the design process by orders of magnitude—we call this ‘democratizing innovation’,” said Eremenko. To that end, DARPA will develop a collaborative infrastructure for crowd-sourcing vehicle designs, called vehicleforge.mil. DARPA expects that the site will employ the META metalanguage to represent designs and will include version control and “branching” features similar to those found in open-source software forge sites—all in an effort to enable thousands across the globe to contribute to vehicle designs. “Naturally, we are also investigating novel mechanisms for credentialing users and for ensuring the integrity of the final design,” Eremenko noted. After vehicleforge.mil goes operational in 2011-12,
DARPA envisions a series of Adaptive Make Challenges—prize-based competitions of increasing complexity with winning designs manufactured in iFAB—the output of which may ultimately be evaluated against Army prototypes.
As AVM engages non-traditional participants in the making of defense vehicles, DARPA hopes to generate a renewed interest in the manufacturing field and foster the next generation cadre of innovators. “DARPA will deploy a variety of 3D printers to high schools across the country,” said Eremenko, “our goal is a thousand schools within three years.” Under the MENTOR effort, students will engage in a distributed design and manufacturing experiment using conventional social media to collaborate across schools to develop and build vehicles such as mobile robots, go carts, etc.
Eremenko is under no illusion that the leap from integrated circuits to an infantry fighting vehicle is an easy one. “The diversity of components and interactions among them is much richer and much more dynamic, and the environment context in which vehicles operate is also significantly more complex—there is no doubt that this is a DARPA-hard problem, but the pay-off for success would be immense,” he said.
http://www.darpa.mil/
Companies Introduce Sustainable Aircraft Deicing Process
http://www.aero-news.net/news/commair.cfm?ContentBlockID=6fa88330-7f59-4ae2-b9b9-eb5fb4918df0&Dynamic=1
System Collects Glycol Solution For Recycling To Near 100% Purity
A pair of companies has gotten together to develop an environmentally-friendly system for deicing commercial aircraft. ThermoEnergy Corporation, a maker of wastewater recovery technology and systems, announced a strategic alliance Tuesday with Contego Systems, which provides EPA approved aircraft deicing services to more than 30 airline companies located at major airport hubs around the U.S.
System Collects Glycol Solution For Recycling To Near 100% Purity
A pair of companies has gotten together to develop an environmentally-friendly system for deicing commercial aircraft. ThermoEnergy Corporation, a maker of wastewater recovery technology and systems, announced a strategic alliance Tuesday with Contego Systems, which provides EPA approved aircraft deicing services to more than 30 airline companies located at major airport hubs around the U.S.
United Arab Eemirates & Brazil in talks for Embraer KC-390
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/09/23/347720/uae-brazil-in-talks-for-embraer-kc-390.html
Brazilian defence minister Nelson Jobim on 19 September met with Gen H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces.
Jobim says a possible agreement on military co-operation in negotiation between the countries could include Abu Dhabi's participation in the KC-390 programme. Such a deal also would involve UAE interest in the Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano, he says.
Brazilian defence minister Nelson Jobim on 19 September met with Gen H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces.
Jobim says a possible agreement on military co-operation in negotiation between the countries could include Abu Dhabi's participation in the KC-390 programme. Such a deal also would involve UAE interest in the Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano, he says.
Back in the Air: X-48B Blended Wing Body Resumes Flight Tests at NASA Dryden
After undergoing a major overhaul and upgrades, the Boeing / NASA X-48B Blended Wing Body research aircraft resumed flight tests with a checkout flight Sept. 21 from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
The subscale, manta ray-shaped, remotely piloted airplane, also called a hybrid wing body, is a tool of NASA's new Environmentally Responsible Aviation, or ERA, project. ERA aims to develop the technology needed to create quieter, cleaner, and more fuel-efficient airplanes for the future.
After completion of its first phase of flight testing, the airplane was disassembled for a complete inspection and refurbishment. This new series of flight tests will focus on additional parameter identification investigations following installation and checkout of a new flight computer. The parameter identification work will evaluate the new computer’s control of the aircraft’s flight control surfaces and the airplane's performance.
In addition to NASA and Boeing, the X-48B team includes Cranfield Aerospace Ltd. in the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio.
The team completed the 80th and last flight of the project's first phase on March 19, 2010, almost three years after the X-48B's first flight on July 20, 2007.
NASA
The subscale, manta ray-shaped, remotely piloted airplane, also called a hybrid wing body, is a tool of NASA's new Environmentally Responsible Aviation, or ERA, project. ERA aims to develop the technology needed to create quieter, cleaner, and more fuel-efficient airplanes for the future.
After completion of its first phase of flight testing, the airplane was disassembled for a complete inspection and refurbishment. This new series of flight tests will focus on additional parameter identification investigations following installation and checkout of a new flight computer. The parameter identification work will evaluate the new computer’s control of the aircraft’s flight control surfaces and the airplane's performance.
In addition to NASA and Boeing, the X-48B team includes Cranfield Aerospace Ltd. in the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio.
The team completed the 80th and last flight of the project's first phase on March 19, 2010, almost three years after the X-48B's first flight on July 20, 2007.
NASA
Remove Before Flight (www.rbf.com.es), tu podcast aeronáutico, en Premios Bitácoras 2010
¡No podíamos faltar en estos premios!
miércoles, 22 de septiembre de 2010
Ukraine hopes to set up joint aircraft venture with Russia in October
http://en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100922/160682015.html
Ukraine hopes that a joint venture with Russia to build Antonov aircraft will be set up in Russia as soon as October, the country's Minister of Industrial Policy said on Wednesday.
The two countries discussed the structure of the venture last week, and Russia "fully agreed" with the Ukrainian proposals, Dmytro Kolyesnikov said.
Ukraine hopes that a joint venture with Russia to build Antonov aircraft will be set up in Russia as soon as October, the country's Minister of Industrial Policy said on Wednesday.
The two countries discussed the structure of the venture last week, and Russia "fully agreed" with the Ukrainian proposals, Dmytro Kolyesnikov said.
Sasol takes to the skies with the world’s first fully synthetic jet fuel
Lanseria, Johannesburg – Sasol, the world’s leading producer of synthetic fuels from coal and natural gas, today flew the world’s first passenger aircraft exclusively using the company’s own-developed and internationally approved fully synthetic jet fuel.
The fuel, produced by Sasol’s proprietary Coal to Liquids (CTL) process, is the world’s only fully synthetic jet fuel to have received international approval as a commercial aviation turbine fuel.
Sanctioned by the global aviation fuel specification authorities the jet fuel is the first fully synthetic fuel to be approved for use in commercial airliners. This marks a significant development in the adoption of clean burning alternate fuels for the aviation industry. The engine-out emissions of Sasol’s synthetic jet fuel, are lower than those from jet fuel derived from crude oil, due to its limited sulphur content.
The historic flights, from Lanseria Airport in Gauteng to Cape Town, kicked-off Sasol’s 60th birthday celebrations, by staging a fly-past at the opening of the Africa Aerospace and Defense (AAD) 2010 exhibition at Cape Town’s Ysterplaat Air Force Base.
Speaking from the air force base, where he landed on one of the inaugural flights, Sasol Chief executive, Pat Davies, said the event was a fitting manner to celebrate the company’s diamond anniversary.
"The development and approval of this fuel is a testament to Sasol’s 60 years of technical innovation and is an important milestone in the company’s history. The approval by the international aviation fuel authorities, of this product, recognises the need to develop aviation fuel from feedstocks other than crude-oil, in order to meet the world’s growing needs", Davies said.
"Sasol’s advances in synthetic fuel technology have brought us even closer to integrating viable alternate transportation fuel into the energy mix", he said. In 1998, Sasol became the first company in the world to gain approval for the commercial use of a 50% synthetic jet fuel component, which was blended with petroleum kerosene. To date, most of the aircraft leaving O.R Tambo International Airport have flown using Sasol’s semi-synthetic jet fuel.
Spurred on by the world’s growing need for alternative fuels, Sasol continued with years of extensive test work and research that culminated in the production of the 100% synthetic jet fuel.
In 2008, international aviation fuel authorities, including the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (UK MoD), governing the Defence Standard DEFSTAN 91-91, approved Sasol’s wholly synthetic jet fuel as Jet A-1 fuel, for commercial use in all types of turbine aircraft.
Managing director of Sasol Technology, Willem Louw, said the approval process was stringent.
"A number of aviation stakeholders, including airframe, engine and ancillary equipment manufacturers; airlines and aviation authorities such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA); and relevant oil companies, were involved in the approval of this fuel", he said.
"While this has been a long journey, the delivery of a viable alternate jet fuel solution that meets with the strict specifications of global aviation authorities, is a proud acknowledgement of the enormous talent and expertise within the Sasol Technology business", he said.
The fuel is fully fungible and aligned with the current aviation infrastructure through its compatibility with the existing engine requirements and can be used with conventional crude oil-derived jet fuelling systems.
"Through Sasol’s advanced technology and our innovative spirit, we have delivered a world first and, as we enter our 60th year, we look forward to the many innovations that lie ahead", Davies said.
Sasol’s exhibit at AAD 2010 showcases the company’s fascinating innovative developments over the past 60 years and is open to the public from 21-25 September.
The fuel, produced by Sasol’s proprietary Coal to Liquids (CTL) process, is the world’s only fully synthetic jet fuel to have received international approval as a commercial aviation turbine fuel.
Sanctioned by the global aviation fuel specification authorities the jet fuel is the first fully synthetic fuel to be approved for use in commercial airliners. This marks a significant development in the adoption of clean burning alternate fuels for the aviation industry. The engine-out emissions of Sasol’s synthetic jet fuel, are lower than those from jet fuel derived from crude oil, due to its limited sulphur content.
The historic flights, from Lanseria Airport in Gauteng to Cape Town, kicked-off Sasol’s 60th birthday celebrations, by staging a fly-past at the opening of the Africa Aerospace and Defense (AAD) 2010 exhibition at Cape Town’s Ysterplaat Air Force Base.
Speaking from the air force base, where he landed on one of the inaugural flights, Sasol Chief executive, Pat Davies, said the event was a fitting manner to celebrate the company’s diamond anniversary.
"The development and approval of this fuel is a testament to Sasol’s 60 years of technical innovation and is an important milestone in the company’s history. The approval by the international aviation fuel authorities, of this product, recognises the need to develop aviation fuel from feedstocks other than crude-oil, in order to meet the world’s growing needs", Davies said.
"Sasol’s advances in synthetic fuel technology have brought us even closer to integrating viable alternate transportation fuel into the energy mix", he said. In 1998, Sasol became the first company in the world to gain approval for the commercial use of a 50% synthetic jet fuel component, which was blended with petroleum kerosene. To date, most of the aircraft leaving O.R Tambo International Airport have flown using Sasol’s semi-synthetic jet fuel.
Spurred on by the world’s growing need for alternative fuels, Sasol continued with years of extensive test work and research that culminated in the production of the 100% synthetic jet fuel.
In 2008, international aviation fuel authorities, including the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (UK MoD), governing the Defence Standard DEFSTAN 91-91, approved Sasol’s wholly synthetic jet fuel as Jet A-1 fuel, for commercial use in all types of turbine aircraft.
Managing director of Sasol Technology, Willem Louw, said the approval process was stringent.
"A number of aviation stakeholders, including airframe, engine and ancillary equipment manufacturers; airlines and aviation authorities such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA); and relevant oil companies, were involved in the approval of this fuel", he said.
"While this has been a long journey, the delivery of a viable alternate jet fuel solution that meets with the strict specifications of global aviation authorities, is a proud acknowledgement of the enormous talent and expertise within the Sasol Technology business", he said.
The fuel is fully fungible and aligned with the current aviation infrastructure through its compatibility with the existing engine requirements and can be used with conventional crude oil-derived jet fuelling systems.
"Through Sasol’s advanced technology and our innovative spirit, we have delivered a world first and, as we enter our 60th year, we look forward to the many innovations that lie ahead", Davies said.
Sasol’s exhibit at AAD 2010 showcases the company’s fascinating innovative developments over the past 60 years and is open to the public from 21-25 September.
S&P eleva el 'rating' del consorcio EADS que pasa de 'BBB+' a 'A-' con perspectiva estable
http://www.europapress.es/economia/noticia-economia-empresas-sp-eleva-rating-consorcio-eads-pasa-bbb-perspectiva-estable-20100922185618.html
"La mejora refleja nuestra visión de que EADS ha afrontado en los últimos tres años los riesgos de proyectos como el avión militar A400M y el A380, así como los progresos del programa de reducción de costes del constructor conocido como Power 8", indica en una nota el analista de la firma Werner Staeblein.
"La mejora refleja nuestra visión de que EADS ha afrontado en los últimos tres años los riesgos de proyectos como el avión militar A400M y el A380, así como los progresos del programa de reducción de costes del constructor conocido como Power 8", indica en una nota el analista de la firma Werner Staeblein.
IAI reveals plans for K-80 tiltrotor UAV
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/09/21/347638/iai-reveals-plans-for-k-80-tiltrotor-uav.html
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/asd/2010/09/22/01.xml
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/asd/2010/09/22/01.xml
- MTOW 60kg (132lb)
- Endurance: 6h
- VTOL
- Engines: electric, 2 @wings + 1 @aft fuselage
- Take-off and landing fully automatic
Orion Spacecraft on the Path to Future Flight
Production Operations Now Under Way at Kennedy Space Center
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL , September 21st, 2010 -- Preparations for Orion’s first mission in 2013 are well under way as a Lockheed Martin-led crew begins lean assembly pathfinding operations for the spacecraft. The crew is conducting simulated manufacturing and assembly operations with a full-scale Orion mockup to verify the tools, processes and spacecraft integration procedures work as expected.
As the nation’s next generation spacecraft for human spaceflight, the Orion crew exploration vehicle is designed to support missions to the International Space Station and far beyond into deep space. The Orion spacecraft will be fully assembled and integrated on site in the Operations & Checkout (O&C) Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, a capability that provides significant time and cost savings.
“The unique benefit of this complete on-site operation is that we will build the spacecraft and then move it directly onto the launch vehicle at KSC, which saves the government transportation costs associated with tests and checkout prior to launch,” said Lockheed Martin Orion Deputy Program Manager for production operations Richard Harris. “This capability also facilitates the KSC workforce transition efforts by providing new job opportunities for those employees completing their shuttle program assignments.”
Dubbed the “the spacecraft factory of the future”, the O&C, underwent a two-year renovation effort led by Lockheed Martin with support from Space Florida and NASA. The collaborative effort created a state-of-the-art complex designed with the flexibility to support NASA’s next generation spacecraft fleet.
Orion Spacecraft on the Path to Future Flight - 2
Technical innovations incorporated into the O&C include 90,000 square feet of air-bearing floor space, paperless work stations, a portable clean room system, and specialized lifting/lowering and support tools that were designed by United Space Alliance (USA). Specially designed air-bearing pallets will enable a small crew to effortlessly maneuver spacecraft hardware across the factory floor. The building renovation also incorporated modern energy efficient HVAC and electrical systems which will further enhance cost savings for the life cycle of the facility.
With the help of an advanced crane that can position the spacecraft within millimeters of its target, the crew module, heat shield and service module will be integrated in tooling stations located on the O&C’s factory floor. These tooling stations are portable and will be moved to various Orion facilities around the country to provide low-cost and affordable vehicle processing on the Orion project.
The industry team supporting O&C tooling station operations include Lockheed Martin, USA and EMF, Inc. a small business based in Merritt Island, Fla., that built the tooling station and support pallets.
According to EMF Vice President Jeff Flick, the Orion program has been a “bright spot” in the space industry. “As a small business owner that supports NASA and the Department of Defense, I believe it is critical for our country to retain the unique skill mix of expertise that supports key national programs such as human space flight and defense initiatives.”
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor to NASA for the Orion Project and leads the industry team that includes major subcontractors as well as a network of minor subcontractors and small businesses working at 88 facilities in 28 states. In addition, the program contracts with more than 500 small businesses across the United States through its expansive supply chain network.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin (LMT: NYSE) is a global security company that employs about 136,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion. http://www.lockheedmartin.com
First Production C-5M Super Galaxy Takes Flight
C-5M Super Galaxy made its first flight here Sept. 19 sporting the new “Super Galaxy” tail flash and nose art. It is set to be delivered Sept. 30 and will arrive for duty at Dover Air Force Base, Del., in November.
New Russian Missile Could Land With Hezbollah
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/asd/2010/09/22/05.xml
Russia is planning to sell Syria the P-800 Yakhont anti-ship cruise missile, which Israeli officials believe will be transferred to Hezbollah armed forces and used to threaten Tel Aviv’s navy warships.
Russia previously sold sophisticated, supersonic Kornet (9M133) AT-14 anti-tank missiles to Syria that were then supplied to Hezbollah.
The weapons were used to destroy and damage a number of Merkava 3 main battle tanks and blunt the Israeli armored attack into Southern Lebanon in 2006.
Syrian missile deal threatens Russian/Israeli UAV pact
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/09/22/347670/syrian-missile-deal-threatens-russianisraeli-uav-pact.html
Russia is planning to sell Syria the P-800 Yakhont anti-ship cruise missile, which Israeli officials believe will be transferred to Hezbollah armed forces and used to threaten Tel Aviv’s navy warships.
Russia previously sold sophisticated, supersonic Kornet (9M133) AT-14 anti-tank missiles to Syria that were then supplied to Hezbollah.
The weapons were used to destroy and damage a number of Merkava 3 main battle tanks and blunt the Israeli armored attack into Southern Lebanon in 2006.
Syrian missile deal threatens Russian/Israeli UAV pact
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/09/22/347670/syrian-missile-deal-threatens-russianisraeli-uav-pact.html
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