Over 30,000 Homebuilders Gotta Be Up To Something…

This year’s rendition of the Annual Oshkosh Aerial Love-Fest was a watershed event for all things homebuilding. In addition to the usual ortment of THOUSANDS of amazing personally-crafted experimental aircraft in attendance, the 30,000th such bird was found and celebrated.

Yuma, AZ homebuilder Bob Noll’s RV-9A airplane was recognized as the honorary 30,000th US-registered homebuilt at a ceremony at AirVenture 2008. Standing on stage with his daughter Katrina who came to AirVenture with him, acting FAA Administrator Bobby Sturgell, FAA ociate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nick Sabatini, EAA President Tom Poberezny and EAA Founder Paul Poberezny were on hand to recognize the milestone of 30,000 homebuilt airplanes registered.

Paul Poberezny was asked how he felt about the milestone after 55 years since he founded EAA. His answer, “unbelievable, simply unbelievable.” to which he gave a thumbs up. EAA Founder Paul Poberezny commented that he came along at the “right time” back in 1953, that the (then) CAA supported the movement. Now, 55 years later, the work was “worthwhile.”

Even FAA Boss, Bobby Sturgell, commented the first homebuilders were the Wright Brothers. He went on to say that the FAA is a willing participant in the homebuilt movement which supports homebuilding as recreational, educational as well as fun. He cited the example of winglets and Wittman-style landing gear as being technology which flowed from the homebuilt airplane. (At the subsequent “Meet the Boss” forum, Administrator Sturgell additionally commented that the number 30,000 represents 10 percent of the registered airplanes in the US.)

EAA President Tom Poberezny commented that the homebuilt movement was, “a living partnership between industry, community and the CAA then FAA. The freedom to fly in the US fosters the movement and allows ingenious builders to craft machines which hardly could be envisioned back in 1953.”

While all these milestones are …

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The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. Dryden, a prominent aeronautical engineer who at the time of his death in 1965 was NASA’s deputy administrator. First known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Muroc Flight Test Unit, the DFRC has also been known as the High-Speed Flight Research Station (1949) and the High-Speed Flight Station (1954). Dryden is NASA’s premier site for aeronautical research and operates some of the most advanced aircraft in the world. It is also the home of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747 designed to carry a Space Shuttle orbiter back to Kennedy Space Center if one lands at Edwards. Kevin Petersen is currently the Center’s Director. Until 2004, Dryden operated the oldest B-52 Stratofortress bomber, a B-52B model (tail number 008) which had been converted to drop test aircraft, dubbed ‘Balls 8.’ It dropped a large number of supersonic test vehicles, ranging from the X-15 to its last research program, the hypersonic X-43A, powered by a Pegasus rocket. It was also the last B-52B still flying, but had the fewest flight hours of any existing B-52 bomber. The aircraft was retired and will eventually find a permanent home at the North Gate of Edwards; a fitting location for an aircraft that was arguably the greatest contributor to aerospace and flight test development.

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This is the first flight of Loki, the UAV that my design team has been designing and building since August 2006.

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Hughes Aircraft Company Hughes AirWest

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NASA, FAA, and others met the public this week at an Aerospace Technology Fair in Atlantic City with an airshow and inside look behind the scenes.

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Hughes Aircraft Company Hughes AirWest

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The Abrams Explorer is a unique aircraft specifically designed for aerial survey and mapping functions. Built in 1937, the aircraft was designed by Kenneth Ronan, former chief designer for Stinson, and Edward Kunzl, also of Stinson. Dr. Talbert Abrams, founder and CEO of the then newly-formed Abrams Air Craft Corporation and the established Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation of Lansing, Michigan, envisioned the aircraft as an obstruction-free camera platform for survey and mapping businesses, a design in which the U.S. Army showed interest. The initial requirement was to provide the capability for aerial photography, aerial survey, and mapping from near sea level up to an operating altitude of 20,000 feet. It was to provide an unobstructed field of view for the several cameras which meant displacing the usual struts, wing panels, engine cowls, and propeller arc away from the cameraman’s normal line of sight. The aircraft was to have an endurance of at least eight hours, climb quickly to altitude, and cruise at a speed of 180 to 200 knots.

The resulting configuration was a specially designed two-place non-conventional mid-wing pusher monoplane which had twin booms extending back from the wing trailing edge to support the tail embly. The-two place crew nacelle was located entirely forward of the wing leading edge and included clear safety glass windows over most of area above the pit floor. This is similar to the bombardier’s nose section of a World War II medium bomber. The placement of the crew nacelle permitted an almost unobstructed view for photography except for a direct rear view past the engine, propeller and tail structure. The nacelle was pressurized and carried oxygen for crew comfort and operating efficiency at the 20,000 foot operating altitude. The nacelle was faired back over the wing center section to the engine compartment where the Wright R975-E.1 330 hp radial engine, equipped with a NACA cowl and Hamilton Standard controllable pitch propeller, were mounted just aft of the wing’s trailing edge. The engine embly was located between the two fuselage booms that extended back to support the horizontal tail with two vertical tail emblies.

Hermetically-sealed camera ports were provided to permit unobstructed camera operation at those higher operating altitudes while still maintaining proper cabin pressure. The airplane has a fixed tricycle landing gear with low drag streamlined wheel fairings. The structure is of welded steel tubing and the combined crew nacelle and wing center section are covered with sheet aluminum panels. The twin tail booms are of semi-monocoque sheet aluminum construction and the tail embly and outer wing panels are covered with fabric. The structure is stressed to handle engines of up to 1,000 hp for possible future production models.

The first flight was made in November 1937 and the Abrams company flew the airplane, with a full array of cameras, for government contract survey work until the beginning of World War II. The first Wright engine was replaced by a Wright Whirlwind 450 hp engine that raised the maximum speed to more than 200 mph and the performance ceiling to 25,000 feet. It had a rate of climb of 1,500 feet per minute. Unfortunately, Dr. Abrams’ plans to produce and sell the airplane to the armed forces and to civilian aerial mapping companies were not successful. His timing was bad for the civilian applications because of the war and the military opted for the more survivable, converted high-speed fighter aircraft for photo reconnaissance. The good performance figures of 1938 were not enough for wartime reconnaissance and a single-purpose aircraft was no longer desirable. As a result, the airplane currently in the possession of the Smithsonian was the only example built.

Dr. Abrams lent the Explorer to the National Air Museum in 1948 and, although it was accessioned at that time, the “official” donation was not until 1973. It was acquired as one of the few aircraft designed and used specifically for aerial photography, and it was one of the first U.S. aircraft to employ a tricycle landing gear and the twin boom pusher concept. The aircraft was received with the Wright R-975-E3 450 hp engine and a plastic-covered cabin nacelle. It was transported by military air to Washington and was stored for several years at the Paul E. Garber Restoration and Preservation Facility in Suitland, Maryland. In 1975, the Museum lent the Explorer to the Michigan Aerospace Education ociation in Lansing, Michigan, for restoration by students at the Lansing Community College, but, unfortunately, the restoration was not fully completed. In 1981 the airplane was returned to the Garber Facility where it awaits further restoration.

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The Russian MiG-35 (Микоян МиГ-35 or Mikoyan-Gurevich-35) is one of Russia’s most advanced fighter jets. Developed from the MiG-29M2 and MiG-29KUB models, the MiG-35 is a massive upgrade that incorporates some of the most advanced avionics and weapons systems in the Russian inventory. The MiG-35 uses the Phazotron-Zuk AE AESA radar. Thrust vectoring nozzles may also be added. This baby represents the marvel of modern-day technology. This plane is unrivalled by any other plane in the MiG inventory.

SPECIFICATIONS:
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.4
- Range: 2,000 km
- Ferry range: 3,100 km
- Service ceiling: 18,900 m
- Rate of climb: 330 m/s
- Thrust-to-weight ratio: 1.1
- Weapons load: 6+ tonnes

COMPARABLE AIRCRAFT:
- F-35 Lightning II
- Chengdu J-10B
- Shenyang J-11B
- Eurofighter Typhoon
- Sukhoi Su-30MKI
- Dassault Rafale

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Canadian Search and Rescue helicopter coming in for a slow landing on an unprepared landing site.

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The Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master is a military transonic trainer aircraft. It is based on work done by Aermacchi while working on the Yak-130 as a joint venture with Yakovlev. In 1993, Aermacchi signed an agreement to partner with Yakovlev on the new trainer the firm was developing for the Russian Air Force. The resulting aircraft first flew in 1996 and was brought to Italy the following year to substitute the aging MB-339. At the time, the aircraft was marketed as the Yak/AEM-130, however, by 2000, differences in priorities between the two firms brought about an end to the partnership, with each developing the aircraft independently, with Aermacchi retaining worldwide marketing rights except for Russia and the other CIS nations. A Russian version is also being pursued by Yakovlev and Sokol, under a different time schedule.
The M-346 is a highly modified version of the aircraft the joint venture was producing, and uses equipment exclusively from Western manufacturers. The first prototype rolled out on 7 June 2003 and flew for the first time on 15 July 2004. In January 2005, the Greek Ministry of Defence signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to become a partner in the programme and, in 2006, Aermacchi signed an industrial cooperation agreement with enic Aerospace Industry. In July 2007, the M-346 flew to the United Arab Emirates for hot weather tests and operational evaluation by the UAE Air Force. In March 2008 the Chilean ENAER signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Alenia Aermacchi at the FIDAE air show. On 10 April 2008 one further prototype in the final configuration (new landing gear and air brake, more composite parts) was rolled out: first flight of this “Industrial Baseline Configuration” is expected in June. In May 2008 Boeing signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on the marketing, sales, training and support of two Aermacchi trainers, the M-346 and the M-311. On 18 December 2008, the M-346 reached a maximum speed of Mach 1.15 (or 1,255 km/h, that is 677.75 knots or 779.82 mph). The Italian air force intend to acquire a first batch of 14 low rate production M-346 advanced fighter trainer aircraft.

Performance

* Never exceed speed: Mach 1.2 (1,460 km/h, 915 mph)
* Maximum speed: 1,092 km/h (679 mph)
* Stall speed: 166 km/h (104 mph)
* Range: 1,890 km (1,181 miles)
* Service ceiling 13,715 m (45,000 ft)
* Rate of climb: 6,401 m/min (21,000 ft/min)
* Wing loading: 285 kg/m² (58.3 lb/ft²)
* Thrust/weight: 0.84
* Levelled speed record: Mach 0.96

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