Future of aviation
A consortium of European designers and companies are working on a radical redefinition of what a general aviation aircraft is. Modeled after a tuna, the SmartFish flies without slats, spoilers or flaps.
The SmartFish project intends to create a totally new kind of airplane type that can be used for everything from light sport aircraft to business jets to commercial puddle jumpers that carry up to 20 passengers. The goals include fuel economy, safety, visual beauty and a minimization of moving parts. Who’s involved? According to the SmartFish web site:
The SmartFish proof of concept will be realized in collaboration with following companies: Extra (world leader in aerobatic aircraft) for system integration and test flights, Leichtwerk for interpretation statics and dynamics, LTB Borowski for composite manufacturing, Liebherr Aerospace for Landing Gear System development, DLR (German Aerospace Center) for flutter analysis and inlet optimization, RUAG Aerospace for wind tunnel testing, and EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (they did a great job for Alinghi) for overall design optimization.
The group even has a working prototype. They’re also working on a fuel-cell version.
Boeing Delivers Super Hornet Proposal to Brazil For F-X2
he Boeing Company delivered a detailed proposal July 30 offering its advanced F/A-18E/F Super Hornet to the Brazilian Air Force as part of Brazil’s F-X2 fighter competition.
“International interest in the combat-proven Super Hornet continues to increase, and Boeing is honored Brazil is considering the Super Hornet to meet its near-term defense requirements,” said Bob Gower, F/A-18 and EA-18 Programs vice president, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.
Boeing received a Request for Information from the government of Brazil on June 12. The stated initial requirement is for 36 aircraft, with the potential for up to 120 aircraft.
The Super Hornet variant Boeing is offering to Brazil is based on the Block II F/A-18E/F model flown by the U.S. Navy and currently being built for the Royal Australian Air Force. Advanced technology — such as Raytheon’s APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar — and proven reliability are drawing increasing international interest in the aircraft as a cost-effective and lethal air defense solution.
“The Super Hornet we are proposing for Brazil delivers cutting-edge, multi-role strike fighter capability that is ready today,” said Gower. “With the Block II enhancements, the Super Hornet’s combat capabilities continue to grow, offering a comprehensive multi-role solution at an affordable price.”
Boeing has delivered more than 360 Super Hornets to the U.S. Navy. Australia has ordered 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets to bolster its fleet of F/A-18 Hornets. Boeing is in discussions with several other international customers about their interest in procuring the F/A-18E/F.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32.1 billion business with 71,000 employees worldwide.
Air Force: disputed $15B helicopter deal nears end
The Air Force is on track to select a winner this fall on a disputed $15 billion helicopter deal originally won by Boeing, despite an ongoing review by Pentagon investigators, a senior service official said Tuesday.
The Pentagon inspector general’s office has been investigating whether program requirements revised by the Air Force met both its and the service’s guidelines — and did not benefit any particular competitor — which could have ultimately swayed the award to Boeing Co. in 2006.
A draft of the IG’s report is due out in September, but a final version will not be released until February, Air Force Maj. Gen. David “Scott” Gray told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.
The Air Force has yet to see an interim report, but Gray said no concerns have been raised during its ongoing discussions with the IG’s office. If there are any questions that could delay the contract, they will be directed to acting Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Sue Payton, the service’s acquisition chief.
In November 2006, Chicago-based Boeing beat Lockheed Martin Corp. and United Technologies Corp.’s Sikorsky Aircraft for a deal to upgrade 141 Sikorsky helicopters used to recover troops caught behind enemy lines. Both losing bidders successfully protested the Air Force’s decision claiming the service unfairly evaluated the bids. All three companies submitted their most recent proposals in May.
There is no point in further delaying a contract on a program needed by soldiers and airmen in current war operations, said Gray, who works in Payton’s office.
But the rescue helicopter dispute is not the Air Force’s only tarnished competition.
In the past year, the service has been caught in a firestorm over a highly politicized award of $35 billion contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. over Boeing to replace 179 Eisenhower-era aerial refueling planes.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates last month said the Air Force would no longer oversee that competition, handing over the responsibility to Pentagon acquisition chief John Young.
Gates’ decision followed a June report by the Government Accountability Office that detailed “significant errors” in how the service made its original award.
Shares of Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin dipped 43 cents to $114.82 in afternoon trading, while Boeing fell 60 cents to $63.04 and Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies tumbled 61 cents to $65.22.
More than 50 reserve ‘roadable aircraft’
A Woburn, Mass., company says it has already received more than 50 orders for a two-seater car designed to leave the road and take to the skies.Terrafugia said the “roadable aircraft” is closer to a plane that can be driven to the airport before takeoff than a way to avoid traffic by flying over it, USA Today reported Monday.
“You get a lot of people who have the ‘Jetsons’ dream of one of these things in everyone’s driveway. Maybe that will happen someday, but it’s not something you can build a business on now,” said Carl Dietrich, chief executive of Terrafugia.
Dietrich said design goals for the Terrafugia Transition, which has been under development since 2004, include a range of 500 miles across the air and a 15-second conversion time from car to aircraft.
He said the company expected most of its interest to come from “wealthy playboy types. We have a couple of those but have a lot of retired couples who want to use it to fly around for fun.”
Dietrich said he expects to have the first Terrafugia Transition in the air by the end of the year and begin delivering on the more then 50 orders that have already been placed by 2010.
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