The reusable spaceplane launched inside a rocket

Since the Space Shuttle was retired, we have been lacking a multi-mission spacecraft. Could Europe's Space Rider be the answer? Spacecraft are expensive things. They can take decades to design, and test, and build. And then, apart from the modules that carry their crew back to terra firma, they a...

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Why NASA is going to vaporize one of its best spacecraft

Cassini's "grand finale" begins April 23 All good things must come to an end. On April 23, Cassini will begin its final quest into oblivion. Flying at over 76,000 miles per hour, the spacecraft will zip through an uncharted gap between Saturn and its rings, where no spacecraft has flown before. I...

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Consíguela gratis para mantenerte al día con las noticias que te interesan.

Watch the Soyuz 50 spacecraft land pretty much perfectly

They make spaceflight look easy If space travel were gymnastics, we'd say that Expedition 50—which returned early Monday morning from the International Space Station (ISS), stuck the landing. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, along with Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of the Russian space agen...

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Revista del Ejército del Aire Aeronáutica y Astronáutica abril 2017 ya disponible en PDF

Link de descarga directa

abajo portada e índice, pinchad sobre las imágenes para abrirlas en grande

Aerojet Rocketdyne achieves 3-D printing milestone

Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD) has successfully hot-fire tested a full-scale, additively manufactured thrust chamber assembly for the RL10 rocket engine that was built from a copper alloy using selective laser melting (SLM) technology, which is often referred to as 3-D printing.

"We believe this is the largest copper-alloy thrust chamber ever built with 3-D printing and successfully tested," said Additive Manufacturing Program Manager Jeff Haynes. "Producing aerospace-quality components with additive manufacturing is challenging. Producing them with a high-thermal-conductivity copper alloy using SLM technology is even more difficult. Infusing this technology into full-scale rocket engines is truly transformative as it opens up new design possibilities for our engineers and paves the way for a new generation of low-cost rocket engines."

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Aerojet_Rocketdyne_achieves_3_D_printing_milestone_999.html

Report: Military VTOL UAV Market To Grow Over 400% In The Next Five Years [feedly]

Projected To Reach $392.8 Million By 2022 According to a new military UAV market study launched by MarketForecast.com, the Military VTOL UAV market is projected to grow from $81 million in 2016 to $392.8 million in 2022, or over 400%.



http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=a5c7d277-8e66-45fb-9acf-176f2bd8c6c5

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Diamond enters helicopter market with DART 280 unveiling

Austrian manufacturer Diamond Aircraft is making its first foray into the helicopter market, with the unveiling at Aero of the DART 280 light-single piston-engined rotorcraft concept.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/aero-diamond-enters-helicopter-market-with-dart-280-435959/

Electric aerobatic (look-alike mini Spitfire) Hamilton aEro Takes Off

In news:
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/04/10/final-frontier-electric-airplane-hamilton-aero-takes-off/


Manufacturer webpage
http://www.hamiltonwatchaero.com/

The Hamilton aEro Twister is a very light and efficient aircraft certified to fly aerobatics between +6 and -4 G. The fiberglass airframe is stiffened and strengthened by carbon elements, while the engine provides up to 100 KW power and a 45 minute-flight autonomy, including 15 minutes of aerobatics. The weight/power ratio is 4.2kg per KW, a ratio quite similar to an Extra 200, providing the required performance needed for aerobatic training.
Safety is a main topic topic as the plane can be used for demonstrations but also for beginners to train and therefore needs to be easy to operate. The Siemens engine proved its ability already in the air and is very reliable. Each battery cell has its own processor to control and monitor the situation: in case of overheating, up to 10% of cells can be switched off independently, allowing the pilot to fly back to the airport safely.
Another key aspect is sustainability and ecology. The plane defines a new way of flying by being CO2 neutral and emitting a very low noise profile. Together with other developments, this project supports the future of aviation through environmental-friendly initiatives and a long term vision. Finally, cost is also lower – about 2/5th of a regular aerobatic plane – and is aimed at attracting not only experienced aerobatic pilots but also young people who cannot currently afford to start the immense adventure of flying a plane upside down.

Manned Electric Aircraft Market 2017-2027 & 2031: Hybrid & Pure Electric Technology Roadmap, Market Forecasts, Companies, Models, MEA

Dublin, April 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Manned Electric Aircraft 2017-2027 Hybrid & Pure Electric Technology Roadmap, Market Forecasts, Companies, Models, MEA" report to their offering.

The coverage in the report includes 2017-2027 forecasts of low and high priced electric aircraft sales by number, unit price and market value and a view of figures up to 2031 including assessments by several leading players. The subject matter includes looking at how electric aircraft have largely followed electric land and water vehicles. Pure electric small ones appeared first, about 50 years after the first electric boats and cars. Hybrid ones are needed for the longer distances and tougher duty cycles and only now are these getting serious investment.

The report finds that the delays are only partly explained by the tougher demands and regulatory requirements of aircraft and how things are now changing with much larger commitments. In 2016, Siemens and Airbus agreed to pool 200 engineers to work on them, the level of effort Toyota allotted to hybrid cars twenty years earlier, with major commercial success resulting today. Toyota enjoys well over $20 billion dollars of sales of electric cars, buses and forklifts with Honda and BMW successful too - interesting because all three are now tackling aircraft. Indeed, Google and Facebook are involved in electric cars and aircraft and Apple is interested so it is wake up time. The report analyses the opportunities in new aircraft and their changing key components.


This report of over 190 slide format pages is replete with new forecasts, analysis and infographics seeing the future. The key parts of recent presentations by all the key players are embedded in this work, almost entirely researched in 2016 and early 2017 by award winning PhD level analysts travelling worldwide. Interviews, analyst databases, web searches and conference attendance were extensively used. Old information is useless in this now fast moving field.


Key Topics Covered:

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
1.1. Unique approach of this report
1.2. Some important findings
1.3. Why go electric for manned aircraft?
1.4. How to transition to electric aircraft: MEA, hybrid, pure electric
1.4.1. Airbus Vahana flying car announcement 2017
1.5. MEA issues and opportunities
1.6. Where electric aircraft are headed: range anxiety to range superiority
1.7. Manned aircraft lagged land-based electric vehicles
1.7.1. Great achievements
1.7.2. Little business
1.7.3. Hybrids should have been first
1.7.4. Hybrids: running before you can walk
1.8. Trend to larger electric aircraft
1.8.1. Overview of major issues
1.8.2. Viability of pure electric larger aircraft: timeline
1.9. Electrification of aircraft in general: rapid progress
1.10. Electric aircraft already commercialised
1.10.1. Examples
1.10.2. Viability of electric primary trainers already
1.11. Routes to further commercialisation of electric aircraft
1.12. Pure electric manned aircraft arriving
1.13. Hybrid electric aircraft arriving
1.13.1. HYPSTAIR powertrain for general aviation
1.13.2. Hybrid electric helicopters, multicopters
1.13.3. Airbus eThrust concept with DEP
1.13.4. NASA Sceptor concept with DEP
1.14. Flying cars: needed or possible?
1.14.1. Flying cars using airports
1.14.2. Only single seat is viable?
1.14.3. Combatting urban gridlock: better alternatives
1.14.4. Hybrid VTOL flying car feasibility
1.14.5. Elon Musk, Larry Page and Nikhil Goel
1.15. Choice of powertrains is influenced by many factors
1.16. New end game: Energy Independent Vehicles EIV
1.17. Key enabling technologies in future: examples
1.17.1. Energy harvesting including regeneration
1.17.2. Structural electronics tears up the rule book
1.17.3. Power electronics and other key enablers
1.18. Less mechanics: more electronics
1.19. Becoming one business land, water, air - hybrid and pure electric
1.20. Regulations have impeded small e-aircraft in the USA
1.21. Ambition and freedom in Europe
1.22. Progress in East Asia
1.22.1. China
1.22.2. Japan
1.23. Market forecasts
1.23.1. Timelines 2016-2031: Airbus, Rolls Royce, others
1.23.2. Rolls Royce timeline
1.23.3. MEA target and roadmaps converge to EV for 2035
1.23.4. Manned electric aircraft and airliner forecasts
1.23.5. Manned electric aircraft market forecasts 2016-2026 including hybrid

2. INTRODUCTION
2.1. Lessons from the past
2.2. Situation today
2.3. Other examples: trend to offering several powertrain options in one airframe
2.4. First commercial four seat hybrid
2.5. Contest in 2015: new battery and fuel cell planes
2.6. DLR project for HY4 four-passenger fuel cell aircraft
2.7. New Airbus autonomous aircraft November 2016
2.8. Zero-emission air transport - first flight of four-seat passenger aircraft HY4 - September 2016
2.9. The first electric and VTOL aircraft by Zee.Aero - October 2016
2.10. Hamilton aerobatic aircraft
2.11. Airbus flying car prototype ready by the end of 2017

3. TYPES OF POWERTRAIN
3.1. What is an electric powertrain?
3.2. Pure electric or hybrid
3.2.1. Example: PC Aero Elektra One
3.2.2. Examples: E-Genius, SUGAR Volt
3.3. Types of hybrid electric aircraft
3.3.1. Parallel hybrid
3.3.2. Series hybrid
3.4. Typical hybrid duty cycle and examples
3.4.1. Duty cycle
3.4.2. Cambridge University Song hybrid
3.4.3. Equator P2 Xcursion amphibious aircraft
3.4.4. Biofuel solar hybrid
3.4.5. DARPA VTOL
3.5. Airbus overview of hybrid electric aircraft
3.6. Mild vs strong hybrid: lessons from land vehicles
3.7. EV powertrains and technology forecasts: 2000
3.8. EV powertrains and technology forecasts: 2016
3.9. EV powertrains and technology forecasts: 2017 onwards
3.10. Energy independent electric vehicles EIV operational choices
3.11. Key EIV technologies
3.12. Motors and motor generators
3.12.1. Trend to higher power to weight ratio
3.12.2. Technologies in context of all EVs
3.12.3. Electrical engine start for hybrid electric aircraft
3.12.4. Integrated components - in-wheel
3.12.5. Multimotor designs
3.12.6. Superconducting propulsors and interconnects
3.13. Range extenders
3.13.1. Overview
3.13.2. Gas turbines and rotary combustion engines
3.13.3. Fuel cells

4. ENERGY STORAGE
4.1. Options
4.2. The role of energy storage technologies in electric vehicles
4.3. Making lithium-ion batteries safer
4.4. Operational Principles of Different Systems
4.5. Supercapacitors to Li-ion batteries - a spectrum of functional tailoring
4.6. Matching future hybrid and pure electric aircraft to energy storage choices. Learning from other industries
4.6.1. Map of energy storage choices 2026-2036
4.7. Supercapacitors across lithium-ion batteries
4.8. Extreme lightweighting by structural electronics
4.8.1. Earlier attempts at structural fuel; cells, batteries and capacitors
4.8.2. Successful supercapacitor bodywork
4.8.3. Many other types of structural electronics for aircraft

5. ENERGY HARVESTING AND REGENERATION
5.1. Definitions and background
5.2. Faradair BEHA

6. ENERGY INDEPENDENT VEHICLES EIV
6.1. Energy independent electric vehicles
6.1.1. Why we want more than mechanical energy independence
6.1.2. The EIV powertrain
6.1.3. EIV operational choices
6.1.4. Turtle airship USA
6.1.5. Solar Impulse Switzerland
6.1.6. Solar Ship inflatable fixed wing aircraft Canada
6.1.7. Sunstar USA
6.1.8. Sunseeker Duo USA
6.1.9. The More Electric Aircraft MEA
6.2. Not there yet for large hybrids
6.3. Power electronics in conventional aircraft
6.4. Airliner becomes an electric vehicle when on the ground
6.5. Great potential to improve rotating electrical machines and power electronics
6.6. Future design space: NASA view

7. CAFE TENTH ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT SYMPOSIUM REPORT 2016

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/zkkfk6/manned_electric

ANALYSIS: Boeing prepares for unprecedented 737 Max ramp-up [feedly]

ANALYSIS: Boeing prepares for unprecedented 737 Max ramp-up
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-boeing-prepares-for-unprecedented-737-max-434881/

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New method for recording bird flight in 3-D

https://youtu.be/4rVJDjbJioQ

Birds morph their wings through an incredible range of shapes, but until now we've known little about the angle, twist and asymmetries of each wing beat. After seven years of development, the Lentink lab may have figured out how to more closely observe birds' morphing skills. They've created a new way of automatically recording wing shape that works at high speeds and results in high-definition 3-D reconstructions.



Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-04-method-bird-flight-d.html#jCp



Stanford University press release:






Researchers in the Lentink lab developed a new way to record wing shape during bird flight in 3D. This high-resolution, high-speed, automated reconstruction method could be applied to any studies of movement.




The wind rushing between skyscrapers is a substantial hurdle for anyone interested in operating small drones in urban areas. Yet, pigeons seem to have little trouble maneuvering through turbulent city skies. With sights set on unlocking the secrets of birds’ smooth sailing, researchers at Stanford University have developed a new method for recording the shape of birds’ wings during flight.

“We’re trying to figure out how birds are capable of flying so well in these complex, turbulent environments and a lot of that comes from how they deform the shape of their wings, left versus right, to adjust to gusts quickly,” said David Lentink, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

Birds morph their wings through an incredible range of shapes, but until now we’ve known little about the angle, twist and asymmetries of each wing beat. After seven years of development, the Lentink lab may have figured out how to more closely observe birds’ morphing skills. They’ve created a new way of automatically recording wing shape that works at high speeds and results in high-definition 3D reconstructions. Details of their work are published in the Mar. 27 issue Journal of Experimental Biology.
Recording animal movement

Current techniques for recording animals in motion often rely on tracking markers attached to the animal or features of the animal like stripes or spots, an approach that can’t directly or automatically reconstruct an entire wing surface at high resolution. Other methods, which use patterned light, are more easily automated but are too slow to record bird flight.

The Lentink lab has built on previous structured-light techniques, but their version automatically resolves body shape changes at high speed and in high resolution.

“The great thing about this system is it’s the first fully-automated, high-speed reconstruction of birds in the world,” said Marc Deetjen, a graduate student in the Lentink lab and senior author of the paper.

The group’s setup consists of a video camera synced with a projector that projects two overlapping patterns of light. The first layer is a dense grid which, by covering much of the surface of the bird, gives the researchers a high resolution image. The second is a set of unequally spaced lines, like a barcode, projected perpendicular to the first. The irregular second pattern assures that no two areas of the light field look alike. When the bird flies through these patterns, its body acts like a projector screen and the straight lines of light deform based on the bird’s shape.

An algorithm developed by Deetjen matches the deformed pattern on the bird that is captured by the camera with the original projected pattern. It then produces a detailed 3D reconstruction of how the bird moved through the light field.
Test flight

To test their technique, the researchers trained Gary, a 4-year-old parrotlet to fly from one perch to another, with the light grid projected onto the bird as it took off. Gary’s light coloring allowed the camera to capture a clear light pattern, like a near-white projector screen. For this paper, the group only recorded the top surface of the bird, but multiple cameras could create a full-body reconstruction in the future.





The researchers intended this as a simple test of their system but ended up with an insight so unexpected and intriguing, they thought it was a mistake. After recording a portion of four of Gary’s downstrokes, they computed the bird’s effective aerodynamic angle of attack – how much the wing flips backward – and found it was consistently between 55 degrees and 75 degrees in the first downstroke and 45 degrees and 60 degrees in the second. Most airplanes stall when the angle of attack reaches about 15 degrees because even this angle can create drag so significant that the airflow becomes separated from the wing, resulting in reduced lift. The researchers concluded that the bird is actually supporting its body weight using drag oriented upward. In addition, the lift it generates is rotated forward so it functions as thrust.

“They’re actually able to generate more total force on lift off,” said Deetjen. “That enables them to not only push up and overcome gravity but to accelerate forward.”

Details like this could bring us closer to replicating the efficient and acute takeoff of birds in small flying machines, like drones, which are a specialty of the Lentink lab. For their next step, the researchers are planning to apply this technique in a specialized bird wind tunnel to investigate the many mysteries of bird flight in turbulence.

Although the team tested the technique on bird flight, it could be applied to many forms of movement. For example, it could show what happens to a car’s shape during a simulated crash. Lentink says he’s also been talking with a scientist who studies flying snakes in Borneo who might want to give the technique a try.

“This is a technique that goes all the way from animal locomotion to direct applications in engineering, where things deform fast,” said Lentink. “We only need to create one frame and then we can reconstruct the shape in 3D. This technique, in principle, does not have a speed limit.”

Andrew A. Biewener is also co-author on this paper. Lentink is also a member of Stanford Bio-X.

This work was funded by The National Science Foundation and Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology at the Army Research Laboratory.

Pontifications: 787 production rate remains a question [feedly]

Officials said on the January earnings call, for year-end 2016, that they will decide this year whether to increase the 787 production rate to 14/mo by the end of the decade.

LNC has long believed this won't happen. In fact, we predicted last September Boeing will have to lower the production rate from 2020.

https://leehamnews.com/2017/04/10/pontifications-787-production-rate-remains-question/

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Quest Aircraft Receives EASA Certification For The Kodiak

Press Release




Friedrichshafen, Germany – Quest Aircraft is pleased to announce that it has received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the Kodiak 100, pushing the total number of countries that the Kodiak is certified in to over 50.

“This is a significant milestone for the Kodiak 100 program. With its STOL capabilities the Kodiak will allow European operators with large payloads to access many more airstrips and locations that would previously have proven difficult,” said Rob Wells, CEO of Quest Aircraft. “We anticipate that Europe will play an important role in the continued growth of our company, even more so now with the recent and very welcome regulation changes in regards to single-engine turboprop commercial operations.”

The Quest Kodiak will be sold and supported throughout Europe by appointed Quest Dealer Rheinland Air Service GmbH (RAS), headquartered at Mönchengladbach Airport near Düsseldorf, Germany. RAS is a recognized leader in aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), as well as aircraft sales, support, and fueling. With over 40 years of technical expertise, including both EASA, FAA Part 145 and many more certifications, RAS employs 250 people across Europe and Africa.

“With its outstanding versatility and performance, the now EASA certified KODIAK is already of great interest to many of our customers since we started promoting the aircraft in 2015,” said RAS CEO Johannes Graf von Schaesberg. “Single-engine commercial IFR operations in Europe, which only were approved a few weeks ago, will add enormous benefit to our customers and open up potential which has been untapped before.”

The Kodiak’s rugged aluminum construction combines superior STOL performance and high useful load. It offers proven turbine reliability with the Pratt & Whitney PT6 turbine engine, has the ability to land and take off from unimproved surfaces and is capable of working off floats without structural upgrades. The Kodiak can take off in under 1,000 feet at full gross takeoff weight of 7,255 lbs and climb at over 1,300 feet per minute. Three interior packages are available along with a wide range of factory-installed options.

About Quest Aircraft Company
The Quest Aircraft Company is dedicated to providing access to more people and more places by building the most rugged, reliable, turbine STOL aircraft in the business. For the past decade, the 10-seat Kodiak 100 has proven its versatility in a wide range of public, private, business and humanitarian applications. Additionally, Quest’s continuously growing dealer and global support network provides customer assurance that their missions will be accomplished. The Kodiak is proudly built in Sandpoint Idaho, with a fleet of over 200 aircraft certified in over 50 countries around the globe. For additional information on Quest and the Kodiak, please visit questaircraft.com.

Opinion: A Map Of Aerospace Mergers And Acquisitions

In mature industries such as aerospace and defense, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are primary tools of corporate strategy. The race for competitive advantage increasingly relies on initiatives to reshape the scale, scope and vertical depth of a company’s structure as the bases of competition for product and service offerings become ever more firmly established. More specifically, corporate development initiatives are how companies in mature industries adapt to change—inflections in demand, technology perturbations, capital markets, politics, etc.

Continue reading http://aviationweek.com/defense/opinion-map-aerospace-mergers-and-acquisitions

History Hour: First flight of B737

https://www.aerotime.aero/en/did-you-know/18185-history-hour-first-flight-of-b737

EASA confirms A321neo Leap as quiet as PW1100G [feedly]

EASA confirms A321neo Leap as quiet as PW1100G
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/easa-confirms-a321neo-leap-as-quiet-as-pw1100g-436077/

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BLACKSHAPE LAUNCHES THE BK160 – GABRIÉL

Friedrichshafen, AERO 2017

Blackshape launches the Bk160 – Gabriél, a disruptive two-seat tandem aircraft with outstanding performance and EASA CS-VLA certification.

Born with a passion to innovate, Blackshape successfully developed and sold its first light aircraft, the Bk100 – Prime. Now with 58 units in 18 countries and counting and with special configurations successfully in operation also among military operators, the Bk100 – Prime confirms its place as the bestselling aircraft in the tandem-seat light aircraft category.
Following the same cutting-edge path, the Bk160 – Gabriél represents a major milestone in the small aircraft panorama with its unparalleled human-machine interface, completely relying on a full glass-cockpit resembling modern military trainers, its aggressive attitude with sporty finishing inspired by the hand-made tailor style and a glyph of Italianness in its design.




Its performance exceeding by far those of the category, with a top speed of 164kts and a generous flight envelope of +5 -2,5g to manoeuvre the aircraft while enjoying its crisp flying qualities.
The manufacturing of the Bk160 – Gabriél relies on modern and robust technologies, already a legacy in Blackshape’s experience, such as its full pre-impregnated carbon fibre airframe as well as robotized assembly and a lean smart factory approach.



Upon the unveiling of the aircraft, Blackshape already obtained its Design Organization Approval together with its first Type Certificate in the EASA CS-VLA category, with the aircraft now available to the market and the objective either to deliver fast traveller aircraft and unparalleled flying emotion to even the most experienced pilot or to offer unexpected ease-of-maintenance and direct operating costs to flight organizations wishing to train their students to the most advanced level.

World-record electric motor for aircraft sets new records

Photo: Copyright: Jean-Marie Urlacher

Munich, 2017-Apr-04


Extra 330LE electric plane – powered by a Siemens motor – sets another world record
Top speed above 340 km/h in straight flight
World's first aerotow with an electric plane
On Thursday, March 23, 2017, the Extra 330LE aerobatic plane, powered by a propulsion system from Siemens, set two new speed records. At the Dinslaken Schwarze Heide airfield in Germany, the electric aircraft reached a top speed of around 337.50 kilometers per hour (km/h) over a distance of three kilometers. The speed achieved by pilot Walter Extra was 13.48 km/h faster than the previous record, which had been set by U.S. pilot William M. Yates in 2013. The World Air Sports Federation (FAI) officially recognized the record flight in the category "Electric airplanes with a take-off weight less than 1,000 kilograms." The Extra also set a new FAI world record in the category "above 1,000 kilograms": in a slightly modified configuration with an overall weight exceeding one metric ton, test pilot Walter Kampsmann flew the electrically powered plane at a speed of 342.86 km/h.




On Friday, March 24, 2017, the Extra 330LE gave another premiere performance by becoming the world's first electric aircraft to tow a glider into the sky. The nearly silent aerotow piloted by Walter Extra took a type LS8-neo glider up to a height of 600 meters in only 76 seconds. "This aerotow provides further highly visible evidence of our record-setting motor's performance capabilities," said Frank Anton, head of eAircraft at the Siemens venture capital unit next47. "Just six such propulsion units would be sufficient to power a typical 19-seat hybrid-electric airplane."

The new propulsion system from Siemens only recently completed its maiden flight, which took place in July 2016. In addition, the lightweight electric motor for aircraft already held a world record for power-to-weight ratio: weighing just 50 kilograms, it supplies a constant electric output of 260 kilowatts, which is five times more than comparable propulsion systems.

The Extra 330LE, which weighs about 1,000 kilograms, serves as the flying test bed for the new propulsion system. As an aerobatic plane, it is particularly well suited for taking the components to their stress limits and for testing and enhancing them. Currently, there are no plans for series production of this electric plane. Siemens is also contributing this technology to its joint project with Airbus in the area of electrically powered flight. In this connection, the two companies signed a collaboration agreement in April 2016. Electric propulsion systems are scalable, and Siemens and Airbus intend to develop hybrid-electric regional aircraft on the basis of this record-setting motor. "By 2030, we expect to see the first planes carrying up to 100 passengers and having a range of about 1,000 kilometers," explained Anton. Siemens is determined to establish hybrid-electric propulsion systems for aircraft as a future area of business.



This press release, images and additional material is available at www.siemens.com/press/electric-aircraft

[PART 23]: EASA LINES UP CERTIFICATION REFORM

• COST SAVINGS, SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS TO FOLLOW
• Europe will implement aircraft certification reforms on the same timeline as the FAA’s Part 23 rewrite announced in December, officials announced as Europe’s largest general aviation show began April 5.

Continue Reading: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/april/06/easa-lines-up-certification-reform

Boeing Energy Conservation Program Lauded by EPA

CHICAGO, April 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] will be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a 2017 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for the company's continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency. Boeing will receive the award April 26 in Washington, D.C. This is the seventh consecutive year Boeing has been recognized by ENERGY STAR.

"We know that strong environmental performance is good for the planet and key to long-term business success. We are excited to build on the progress we have made and to further improve the efficiency of our products and our operations," said Ursula English, Boeing vice president of Environment, Health & Safety. "In our second century, we're aiming to be the most environmentally progressive company in the aerospace industry and to be a leader among our industrial peers."

Beverly Wyse, president of Boeing Shared Services Group, will accept the ENERGY STAR award on behalf of Boeing.

"We're thankful to the EPA for this recognition, but the greater thanks truly belongs to our Boeing employees who bring a strong commitment to environmental leadership to work with them every day," said Wyse. "It is their inspiration and innovation that allows us to keep incorporating new efficiencies and energy conservation technologies into our processes and operations."

During 2016, Boeing improved energy efficiency, invested in key energy infrastructure and continued public outreach with its conservation message. Boeing's key 2016 accomplishments in the U.S. include:
Improving energy efficiency by 4.1 percent, a cumulative improvement of over 40 percent since 2009, all while reducing absolute energy consumption in 2016 by 2 percent and still delivering commercial aircraft at near-record levels.
Absolute energy reduction of 863,000 MMBtu — equivalent to the annual energy use for 23,000 average U. S. homes.
Replacing over 6,000 inefficient lighting fixtures with more energy-saving LEDs and making direct energy conservation investments of $6.7 million to reduce energy use by over 77,000 MMBtu annually.
Expanding the company's environmental "Build a Better Planet" website to enhance employee engagement and share conservation messages and best practices in key forums and conferences.
Expanding the Everett, Wash., site by 1.5 million square feet to include a new composite wing center built to LEED Silver specifications. Everett is home to the largest contiguous building by volume in the world.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent or 228,000 metric tons and water intake by 6 percent or 517 million gallons since 2012.

The 2017 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a variety of organizations that have demonstrated continued leadership in energy efficiency. Winners comprise a spectrum from small, family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 organizations — representing energy-efficient products, services, new homes, and buildings in the commercial, industrial, and public sectors.

For a complete list of 2017 winners and more information about ENERGY STAR's awards program, visit www.energystar.gov/awardwinners.