Airline Industry
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2022 2:41 pm
(original: Popular Mechanics)Quarterhorse, the Air Force’s Next Hypersonic Aircraft, Has Taken an Epic Leap
Darren Orf
Wed, January 25, 2023 at 4:00 PM GMT+1
Hypersonic flight (speeds faster than Mach 5) is the perceived future of human aviation.
In order to achieve that vision, engineers need to develop hybrid engines capable of handling subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic speeds.
Aviation company Hermeus successfully demonstrated mode transition between turbojet and ramjet engines for the Air Force’s Quarterhorse hypersonic aircraft, a major hypersonic flight milestone.
Few planes ignite the awe-inspiring passions of aviation nerds quite like the SR-71 Blackbird. From its stealthy design to its secretive history, the Blackbird simply screams cool—and it also helps that it’s the fastest air-breathing (a.k.a. “not a rocket”) crewed aircraft in human history.
Capable of flying in excess of Mach 3.2 (around 2,200 mph), the SR-71 has been the pinnacle of aviation speed for nearly half a century, but the Atlanta-based aviation company Hermeus thinks it’s time for a little competition. The company’s vision of hypersonic flight (meaning speeds faster than Mach 5) isn’t one reserved for clandestine spy missions, however. That’s because Hermeus wants to bring hypersonic airliners to an airport near you.
In 2021, the Air Force awarded Hermeus a $60 million contract to develop three uncrewed concept aircraft, including the hypersonic “Quarterhorse.” Late last year, Hermeus passed a major milestone by successfully firing a turbojet-ramjet hybrid engine, known as “Chimera.”
The air-breathing monster behind the powerful SR-71 is a Pratt & Whitney J58 turbojet engine, which maxes out at speeds around Mach 3. In Hermeus’s hypersonic design, a ramjet, which can only operate at high speeds as it uses this air to pressurize air and fuel in the combustion chamber, kicks in and carries the theoretical Quarterhorse aircraft to Mach 5 and beyond. For any plane hoping to dethrone the Blackbird, its engine needs to somehow seamlessly transition between turbojet, ramjet, and back to turbojet—and Hermeus has already pulled off that delicate piece of aviation engineering.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/quar ... 00236.html
(original: Robb Report)The Largest Hydrogen-Powered Plane Yet Just Flew a Successful Test Flight
Michael Verdon
Mon, January 23, 2023 at 4:00 PM GMT+1
The future of low-carbon aviation received a big boost on Friday when ZeroAvia completed a 10-minute test flight with hydrogen fuel cells. The 19-seater is the largest aircraft that has flown with hydrogen.
The modified Dornier 228’s propulsion system was actually hybrid, a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and batteries, which powered the plane’s left engine. The right engine used conventional aircraft fuel. The aircraft is part of the company’s HyFlyer II project.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/largest ... 00346.html
United Airlines Has a Boarding Problem Designed to Punish Budget FlyersDANIEL KLINESouthwest Airlines has some major problems and passengers may be wary of flying the airline, but its current problems don't tell the whole story.
8 HOURS AGO
Basic economy fares have become an increasingly popular way for full-fare airlines to rival budget, low-cost airlines. Basically, these fares offer nothing except the right to a seat on the plane. You don't get to bring a carry-on, check a bag, or even get a seat assignment.
In most cases, basic economy is simply a way for higher-end airlines like Delta (DAL) - Get Free Report and United (UAL) - Get Free Report to show up at the top of the list when people sort by price on sites like Priceline or Expedia. Low-cost carriers including Spirit (SAVE) - Get Free Report and Frontier (ULCC) - Get Free Report use similar tactics while Southwest Airlines (LUV) - Get Free Report and JetBlue (JBLU) - Get Free Report offer prices that more closely reflect what your final price will be.
Basic economy or the basic fares offered by Spirit and Frontier allow or force customers to pay for everything they need on their flight. If you want a carry-on or a seat assignment you will pay more. And, in a broad sense, the more you pay, the earlier you will get on the plane.
That makes sense as people paying more money should reasonably expect better treatment. United Airlines, however, has created a system on its flight where passengers who don't pay to be in a top boarding group face an unpleasant, intentionally terrible situation.
https://www.thestreet.com/travel/united ... lame-greed
Boeing's last 747 takes flight in Washington state
Thu, February 2, 2023 at 8:26 AM GMT+1
STORY: It marked the end of an era when the first-ever "jumbo jet" ruled the skies for the jumbo jet known as the "Queen of the Skies," the 747 was the world's first twin-aisle jetliner, which Boeing designed and built in 28 months and Pan Am introduced in 1970.
David Layland made the hours long trip from Vancouver, British Columbia, early this morning to see the freshly-built plane leave Boeing's plant one last time.
"The 747 is such an amazing airplane, and to see the last one with all the people that were here was a really next experience." said Layland.
Boeing's Everett, Washington, facility has been the 747's production site since the plane's conception. Built in 1967 to produce the mammoth jet, it remains the world's largest manufacturing plant according to Boeing.
But after five decades, customer demand for the 747 eroded as Boeing and Airbus developed more fuel efficient two-engine widebody planes. When Boeing confirmed in July 2020 that it would end 747 production, it was already only producing at a rate of half an aircraft a month.
Boeing delivered five 747s in 2022, while in 1990, the peak delivery year of the bestselling 747-400 version, Boeing delivered 70 747s.
As different sections of the last 747 – the wings or fuselage structures, for example – were complete, the production line "just slowly started to shut down," a Boeing official recently told Reuters.
While Boeing also builds the 767 and 777 in Everett, the company has yet to decide which program will permanently take over the 747 production bay, which is currently being used for 787 inventory and 777X work, Smith said.
Boeing will remain tied to the 747 through the aftermarket business and the Air Force One replacement program, which Boeing won in 2018.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/boeings-last ... 56154.html
China’s First Domestically Made Passenger Plane Completes Maiden Commercial Flight
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
MAY 28, 2023 2:28 PM EDT
BEIJING — China’s first domestically made passenger jet flew its maiden commercial flight on Sunday, as China looks to compete with industry giants such as Boeing and Airbus in the global aircraft market.
The C919 plane, built by the Commercial Aviation Corporation of China, carried about 130 passengers on the flight, according to state-owned newspaper China Daily. The jet took off Sunday morning from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and landed less than two hours later in Beijing.
The flight was operated by state-owned China Eastern Airlines and the side of the plane was emblazoned with the words: “The World’s First C919.”
The inaugural flight comes as COMAC looks to break into the single-aisle jet market in a direct challenge to Airbus and Boeing. Airbus’s A320 and Boeing’s B737 jets are the most popular aircrafts typically used for domestic and regional flights.
While COMAC designed many of the C919’s parts, some of its key components are still sourced from the West, including its engine.
The company plans to build 150 C919 planes each year for the next five years, according to earlier state media reports.
The C919, which had been in development for 16 years, has a maximum range of about 3,500 miles (5,630 kilometers) and is designed to carry between 158 and 168 passengers.
Over 1,200 C919 jetliners have been ordered, COMAC says, with China Eastern Airlines under contract to buy five of them.
https://time.com/6283218/chinas-first-d ... ial-flight
Reading the story, I knew that was coming because of what JPC has taught us.While COMAC designed many of the C919’s parts, some of its key components are still sourced from the West, including its engine.
Escalating scandal grips airlines including American and Southwest, wreaking havoc on flight delays and cancellations as nearly 100 planes find fake parts from company with fake employees that vanished overnight
The parts scandal comes as the latest development in a series of difficulties that have embroiled the airline industry, Paolo Confino reports for Fortune.
BYPAOLO CONFINO
September 22, 2023 at 9:05 PM GMT+2
WASHINGTON - About 100 planes around the world have been caught up in a scandal that would be cartoonish if it weren’t so terrifying. It saw a dubious company, with fake employees and an address that was a glorified PO box, sell and distribute fake airplane parts that ended up in planes belonging to some of the world’s biggest airlines. On Thursday night, American Airlines became the fourth, and so far final, airline to have found parts from AOG Technics in its aircraft. Southwest kicked off the disclosures from various airlines around the world in early September, when it became the first to announce it had located an unregistered part from AOG Technics,
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
26 September 2023 - Last week, CFM International in Cincinnati reported that "thousands" of engine components may have been sold with forged paperwork by AOG Technics in London. This comes following a report earlier this month regarding the same concern.
Matthew Reeve, a lawyer for CFM and its co-owners General Electric and Safran, said AOG Technics had engaged in a "deliberate, dishonest and sophisticated scheme to deceive the market with falsified documents on an industrial scale".
A probe into the accused forged parts is ongoing. Reuters reports that 96 of the some 23,000 CFM56 engines in service have been affected.
https://www.militaryaerospace.com/comme ... -overnight
and originally in
https://fortune.com/2023/09/22/why-so-m ... -airlines/
Alaska Airlines grounds Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after mid-air window blowout
Chunk of fuselage also broke away, forcing emergency landing shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon
Associated Press in Portland
Sat 6 Jan 2024 09.52 CET
Alaska Airlines has grounded all Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after a window and a chunk of fuselage blew out on one of the aircraft in mid-air shortly after takeoff.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 had to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Portland, Oregon, on Friday.
The airline said the plane, carrying 174 passengers and six crew members, landed safely.
“Alaska Airlines flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, experienced an incident this evening soon after departure,” the company said.
On Saturday morning the company said it had taken the “precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing Max-9 aircraft”.
A passenger sent a photo to the KATU-TV news outlet showing a gaping hole in the side of the plane next to passenger seats.
Another outlet, KPTV-TV, reported photos sent in by a passenger showing a large section of the plane’s fuselage missing.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane landed safely after the crew reported a pressurisation issue. The agency was investigating.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X that it was investigating an event on the flight and would post updates when they were available.
That particular Boeing 737 Max 9 rolled off the assembly line and received its certification two months ago, according to online FAA records.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ow-blowout
The US airline regulator has ordered the temporary grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after an outer section of one of the planes fell off during an Alaska Airlines flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the inspections will affect 171 airplanes.