Rain Industries recently demonstrated the ability to remotely command a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk via satellite link from its California command center to the aircraft, located in Tennessee. With safety pilots aboard, the Black Hawk self-dispatched and flew to a hypothetical destination as part of a fire-response demonstration.
“This is a critical first proof-of-concept to illustrate how our software will allow uncrewed aircraft to support firefighting missions,” said Ephraim Nowak, Rain’s chief engineer. The demonstration flight that occured in April is one of several projects with customer fire agencies scheduled in 2023, Rain said.
My first introduction to the Learjet 35 came in the form of an engineering drawing while I was employed with an aircraft seating company. The drawing was of a single, side-facing seat opposite the airplane’s entry door. Lifting its cushion revealed a commode seat atop a too-small stainless-steel bowl that could be filled with blue-water disinfectant.
From the Archives: Sustainability Takes New Urgency in Paris
Sustainability played a major role during the 2019 Paris Air Show as the global aviation market expresses an increasing recognition that new technologies, biofuels, and operational procedures must become more environmentally friendly. “We think it [is] clear the Paris Air Show is displaying something completely new,” said analyst Jefferies.
Jefferies earlier had identified the environment as a new risk to aircraft deliveries, alongside conflict and trade war. “We felt something had changed” and had wondered whether that would be evident at the Paris Air Show, the firm said.
The first serial production USAF MH-139A “Grey Wolf” has entered final assembly at Leonardo’s Philadelphia plant. The helicopter is the first in an initial batch of 13. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2024.
Derived from the civilian Leonardo Helicopters AW139 intermediate twin, the Boeing-Leonardo MH-139A is intended to replace the USAF’s aging fleet of Bell UH-1Ns, which are used for security patrol at nuclear missile sites and to transport VIPs in the Washington, D.C. region. Boeing was awarded a $2.4 billion contract in September 2018 for up to 84 helicopters, training systems, and associated support equipment. While subcontractor Leonardo manufactures the airframe, prime contractor Boeing is responsible for military equipment procurement, installation, and post-delivery support of the aircraft from its facility in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania.
When the Provo Air Center (PAC) first opened its doors in 2001, aside from knowledgeable scuba divers, few could place the Turks and Caicos Islands on a map. But these days it has become one of the region’s busiest destinations for private aviation.
Located at Providenciales International Airport, the full-service FBO—one of two service providers on the field—moved into its current 9,350-sq-ft terminal in 2015. “We’re very big on privacy here, so we tried to design the building so that upon arrivals and departures everyone can have their own space,” explained PAC CEO Deborah Aharon, who has been with the company since its founding. “Customers have four different lounges to themselves; we even have a special lounge just for kids with a pirate cave.”
Wine-tasting events can be fun—especially when they take place in memorable environments.
Seven of our favorites range from a tour of vineyards overlooking Italy’s Amalfi Coast to a wine tram in South Africa. They provide samples of whites and reds in everything from a WWII submarine-like training vessel to cellars once used by French King Louis XV.
Whisper Aero has lifted the curtains on an aircraft concept known as the Whisper Jet, which utilizes the company’s next-generation, ultraquiet propulsion system. For more than two years, the secretive Tennessee-based start-up has been developing what it claims will be the quietest and most efficient propulsion system on the market.
Just a few weeks ago, Whisper revealed that its propulsion system uses a special type of electric ducted fan, but the company was not yet ready to divulge exactly what makes its ducted fans quieter and more efficient than any other. Now Whisper is finally sharing some more of the recipe for its secret sauce.
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