AER October 2020 OSPACE DOES AEROSPACE HAVE A RACE PROBLEM? SECRETS FROM THE FALKLANDS AIR WAR POWERING UP ELECTRIC FLIGHT

www.aerosociety.com

October 2020 GETTING

SHIPSHAPE

Volume 47 Number 10 UK F-35B FORCE GETS READY FOR FIRST OPERATIONAL CARRIER DEPLOYMENT

Royal AeronauticaSociety

OCTOBER 2020 AEROSPACE COVER FINAL.indd 1 18/09/2020 14:59 RAeS 2020 Virtual Conference Programme

Join us from wherever you are in the world to experience high quality, informative content. Book early for our special introductory offer rates.

STRUCTURES & MATERIALS UAS / ROTORCRAFT / AIR TRANSPORT GREENER BY DESIGN 7th Aircraft Structural Urban Air Mobility RAeS Climate Change Design Conference Conference 2020 Conference 2020

DATE NEW DATE DATE 8 October 22 - 23 October 3 - 4 November TIME TIME TIME 14:00 - 17:00 13:00 - 18:00 13:00 - 18:00

SCAN USING SCAN USING SCAN USING YOUR PHONE YOUR PHONE YOUR PHONE FOR MORE INFO FOR MORE INFO FOR MORE INFO

Embark on your virtual learning journey with the RAeS

Connect and interact with our speakers and ask questions live Engage and network with other professionals from across the world Meet our sponsors at our virtual exhibitor booths Access content post-event to continue your professional development For the full virtual conference programme and further details on what to expect visit aerosociety.com/VCP Volume 47 Number 10 October 2020

EDITORIAL Contents When global rules unravel Regulars 4 Radome 12 Transmission What price global standards, rules and regulations? Pre-pandemic there were The latest aviation and Your letters, emails, tweets aeronautical intelligence, and social media feedback. many who argued that globalisation had gone too far. However, the effect analysis and comment. of Covid-19 on aviation, which relies on seamless connectivity, common 58 The Last Word standards and single markets, has been crippling with only domestic air travel 11 Pushing the Envelope Keith Hayward compares in China to return to anything like normality. Elsewhere, hopes that a gradual Rob Coppinger looks at the and contrasts the collapse progress in the development of Rolls-Royce in January easing of restrictions from the tight lockdown in March would bring a recovery of engines for the new 1971 with its present in passenger numbers have now been dashed, and airlines are facing the generation of supersonic diffi culties in the wake of complete collapse of long-haul travel. In the UK, air bridges, uncertainty over civil aircraft. Covid-19. countries on the 14-day quarantine list and last-minute Government U-turns Features are undermining any demand for intra-European air travel. Without a vaccine 26 Lightning pathfi nders being quickly rolled out, this could well mean a slow and painful recovery – 14 The experience of introducing one estimate is that airlines will not recover to 2019 traffi c levels until 2028. the F-35B Lightning II onto The scale of job losses to the aviation industry has also distracted attention the UK’s new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier. from an arguably bigger issue – the way in which aviation and air travel is the

vital lubricant that keeps the motor of global trade and commerce running. Lufthansa Although the world has adapted remarkably swiftly to remote collaboration and online working, the absence of business-class travel to help power the Plugging into the electric 30 global economy, means the risk of the engine is in danger of seizing-up. aircraft revolution Part 1 of a two-part analysis Simply put, if the world’s nations want to avoid a prolonged global depression, into the economic realities of there needs to be urgent high-level global agreement on common health developing and operating all- electric commercial aircraft. standards for air travel, airport checks, passenger screening, etc to allow Clipped wings aviation to continue to generate this wider employment and wealth. Although 19 21 things I discovered The practicalities of keeping countries are creating their own national ‘aviation plans’, airlines desperately while writing Harrier 809 civil aircraft in long and Rowland White describes short-term storage. need a global recovery plan just to survive, let alone thrive, in a confusing previous secret plans mishmash of pandemic travel rules and restrictions. and unusual facts when 36 Beyond safety researching his latest book How aviation organisations Tim Robinson FRAeS, Editor-in-Chief on the Falklands Air War. need not just to meet but to [email protected] exceed safety standards.

Correspondence on all aerospace matters is welcome at: [email protected] Microsoft 22 40 Editor-in-Chief Editorial Offi ce 2020 AEROSPACE subscription Tim Robinson, FRAeS Royal Aeronautical Society rates: Non-members, £180 +44 (0)20 7670 4353 No.4 Hamilton Place Please send your order to: [email protected] London W1J 7BQ, UK Wayne J Davis, RAeS, No.4 Hamilton +44 (0)20 7670 4300 Deputy Editor Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK. [email protected] Bill Read, FRAeS +44 (0)20 7670 4354 Broadening the palette +44 (0)20 7670 4351 www.aerosociety.com [email protected] Return of the king [email protected] AEROSPACE is published by the Royal Any member not requiring a print Has aviation and aerospace Aeronautical Society (RAeS). version of this magazine should got a racism problem and A review of Microsoft’s new Production Manager contact: [email protected] what can be done about it? Flight Simulator. Wayne J Davis Chief Executive +44 (0)20 7670 4354 Sir Brian Burridge CBE FRAeS USA: Periodical postage paid at [email protected] Advertising Champlain New York and additional offi ces. Publications Executive +44 (0)20 7670 4346 Afterburner [email protected] Chris Male, MRAeS Postmaster: Send address changes to IMS of New York, PO Box 1518, 46 Message from our President +44 (0)20 7670 4352 Unless specifi cally attributed, no Champlain NY 12919-1518, USA. [email protected] material in AEROSPACE shall be taken 47 Message from our Chief Executive Production Executive to represent the opinion of the RAeS. ISSN 2052-451X 48 Book Reviews Annabel Hallam Reproduction of material used in this 52 New Member Spotlight +44 (0)20 7670 4361 publication is not permitted without the [email protected] written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. 53 2021 Membership subscriptions Book Review Editor Printed by Buxton Press Limited, 54 Black History Month Brian Riddle Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire [email protected] SK17 6AE, UK 56 Elections Distributed by Royal Mail

Additional content is available to view online at: www.aerosociety.com/aerospaceinsight Read AEROSPACE magazine and the Insight Including: Economics of electric aircraft – Parts 1 and 2, Air ambulance of the future, blog on your smartphone, tablet or digital Wake-up call for space threats, Has aviation and aerospace got a racism problem?, devices with the AEROSPACE app - available Online Review of Microsoft’s new Flight Simulator. APP on iTunes and Google Play.

Front cover: UK Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II on HMS Queen Elizabeth. (Lockheed Martin)

@aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com OCTOBER 2020 13 Blueprint

INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT Blade runner The HX50 is set to benefit from a new approach in rotor and hub design, with its three-blade configuration providing benign handling, increased flight performance and advanced wire-strike protection.

Composite structure The HX50 will feature a composite structure, giving a lightweight, damage-tolerant and crashworthy protection for a pilot and four passengers.

Retractable undercarriage Unusually for a single-engine light helicopter in this class, the landing gear will be retractable. The sleek design will help achieve lower aerodynamic drag, giving reduced fuel consumption. Hill Helicopters

4 AEROSPACE

OCTOBER 2020 News.indd 2 18/09/2020 13:58:42 Specifi cations

Passengers: fi ve including pilot Gross weight: 3,630lb Empty weight: 1,870lb Payload: 1,760lb Cargo: 60lb Max cruise speed: 140kt Fuel burn: 35gph at 140kt 22gph at 110kt

Mystery engine Hill Helicopters remains coy about the 500shp turbine powerplant it will use for the HX50 but there is speculation that it is developing its own powerplant in-house with input from founder Jason Hill’s engineering company DynamiQ Engineering. The engine is described as being multifuel (including biofuels) with advanced inlets and noise- suppression and delivering a high power-to-weight ratio.

GENERAL AVIATION Light chopper aims to disrupt A previously unknown UK company has revealed that it is developing a new light helicopter for the private market. The Hill Helicopters HX50 is a single-engine light helicopter powered by an as-yet-unnamed 500shp powerplant and will carry four passengers and a pilot. It is aiming to compete with the Bell 505, Robinson R66 and Airbus H120 with low running costs of £15k a year – and address a market not yet served. The company aims to fl y the helicopter in 2022, with deliveries to follow the following year.

OCTOBER 2020 5

OCTOBER 2020 News.indd 3 18/09/2020 13:58:50 Radome COVID-19

AEROSPACE AIR TRANSPORT ATC trainees latest casualty of Airlines adapt with Covid-19 fallout sightseeing fl ights

Faced with restrictions at full capacity. Royal on international fl ights Brunei Airlines, also due to the Covid-19, operated a 85min some airlines have now sightseeing ‘dine and fl y’ begun offering scenic fl ight in August using an sightseeing fl ights to A320. Meanwhile, other cater for passengers airlines including Japan’s

NATS desperate to fl y. Taiwan’s All Nippon Airlines Over 120 trainee air traffi c controllers from the UK NATS air service provider are to Eva Air, for example, fl ew (ANA), Japan Airlines, lose their jobs just weeks before graduation and being posted to operational units. Due scenic charter fl ights Singapore Airlines to the sharp decline in air traffi c, training has now been paused. Students will have a in August using an and Qantas are set to guaranteed right to return once it re-opens but the decision was slammed by union A330, with the aircraft follow suit with scenic Prospect who said it was “disastrously short-sighted”. reportedly operating sightseeing fl ights.

AEROSPACE AIR TRANSPORT Bahrain airshow axed, IATA suggests 4-point plan to Zhuhai back on rescue UK aviation

The Bahrain International trade exhibition, set for Air Show, which was 10-15 November, would scheduled for 18-20 be cancelled due to November, has been Covid-19. A representative cancelled due to the of the show had orginallly continuation of the emailed media outlets Coronavirus pandemic. to say that the show

The organisers hope was cancelled before AirportHeathrow to hold the next show sending another email Global airline body the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has proposed in 2022. Meanwhile, only to request that outlets an urgent rescue plan for UK aviation after it detailed how stop-start quarantine organisers of China’s withdraw their coverage measures are killing demand for air travel. The body warns that government policies Zhuhai Air Show have of this news and that are putting 820,000 jobs at risk, and proposes: a testing regime at airports, a review backtracked on an earlier the show was still going of the infection threshold that triggers quarantine, a suspension of APD duty and an announcement that the ahead. extension of the furlough scheme for the airline sector.

NEWS IN BRIEF

performance. Flight testing health checks, passenger role. The PC-12NGs Slovenia, Thailand and Airbus has signed using two Airbus A350s refunds, CAA enforcement will replace fi ve Cessna Spain. agreements with is scheduled to begin powers, aviation reform FR172 aircraft previously Frenchbee and SAS later this year with the and business rates with used for patrol. The European Union Scandinavian Airlines, new partners becoming airports. Aviation Safety Agency together with three involved in 2021. Arianespace launched (EASA) has awarded fl ight air navigation service The Irish Air Corps a Vega rocket on 2 certifi cation for Diamond providers, DSNA, NATS The UK Government has taken delivery September from French Aircraft’s single engine and Eurocontrol, for has announced that it of three PC-12NG Guiana, carrying 53 DA50 RG. First fl own in feasibility studies of is to publish an aviation Spectre special mission small satellites from 13 October 2019, deliveries its fello’fl y emissions recovery plan later this turboprops. The aircraft countries. The payload of the fi rst aircraft are due reduction project. Inspired autumn. The report, touched down in included satellites for to begin in early 2021 with by the fl ight patterns of which will give details of Baldonnel, Ireland, on 10 the European Space FAA certifi cation in the birds, the fello’fl y concept a fi ve-year strategy up to September after fl ying in Agency, CubeSats same year. involves fl ying two aircraft 2025, is expected to cover from Denver, Colorado, for Planet and Spire, close together for long- policies on such topics US, where they were Satellogic, PointView, UK next-generation haul fl ights to improve as travel corridors, border converted for the ISR Kepler Communications, airship manufacturer

6 AEROSPACE

OCTOBER 2020 News.indd 4 18/09/2020 13:58:51 Evacuation report puts hand lugagge in spotlight

AEROSPACE DEFENCE Congress publishes final US flies new fighter X-plane in 737 MAX report secret testing

On 16 September, assumptions, a ‘culture the US Congress of concealment’ with House Committee on Boeing withholding Transportation and critical information Infrastructure published from the FAA, airlines its final report into the and 737 MAX pilots, development of the conflicts of interest and

Boeing 737 MAX – conflicted representation USAF Lab Research strongly criticising both between manufacturer The USAF has revealed that it has flown a demonstrator X-plane in secret for its Next the manufacturer and and regulator, as well as Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) future fighter. Speaking at the Air Force Association the Federal Aviation Boeing’s influence over the conference, Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Administration (FAA) for FAA’s oversight function. Logistics, revealed that a NGAD full-scale demonstrator had begun flight testing and “we their part in allowing an Chair of the Committee, broke records doing it”, according to an interview in Defense News. No other details, such unsafe aircraft to enter Congressman Peter as manufacturer, or location of flights were given. service and one that DeFazio said that: “our killed 346 people in two report gives Congress GENERAL AVIATION separate accidents. The a roadmap on the steps Vertical Aerospace adds wings for investigation, which took we must take to reinforce 18 months to put together, aviation safety and its new five-person eVTOL said that the crashes were regulatory transparency, a ‘horrific culmination of a increase Federal oversight, series of faulty technical and improve corporate assumptions by Boeing’s accountability to help engineers, a lack of ensure the story of the transparency on the part Boeing 737 MAX is never, of Boeing’s management, ever repeated.” and grossly insufficient  European aviation oversight by the FAA’. The safety agency EASA has report found that there completed flight testing Vertical Aerospace Vertical was extensive pressure to of the Boeing 737 MAX cut costs and schedule, as part of its return to UK-based eVTOL developer Vertical Aerospace has revealed a new winged design for a to compete with the rival flight. Testing took place in five-person electric aerial taxi – the VA-1X. The vehicle would carry four passengers and Airbus A320neo, faulty Vancouver, Canada, due to one pilot and have a range of 100miles and a cruising speed of 100mph. The company design and performance Covid-19 restrictions. is aiming for entry into service in 2024.

Hybrid Air Vehicles has The eight-hour flight enter service in 2023. announced that it is Greece announced on Under plans to help demonstration took place Named the V300, the forming a partnership with 12 September that it will commercialise space, over September from aircraft is fitted with four 2Excel Aviation to offer buy 18 Dassault Rafale NASA is to incentivise Wales, with the MALE vertical-thrust electric customers joint proposals fighters to boost its air private companies to UAV flying the first drone motors on twin booms for operating the Airlander power. The acquisition is collect Moon rocks and flight in unsegregated with a conventional 10 airship in a variety of part of a rise in defence lunar dust. The initiative airspace since 2015 – engine powering a pusher roles. spending, driven by seeks to open up the and the first UAV flight to propeller. According to increased tensions with Moon to future mining take-off, fly in international the company, the V300 United Airlines is to Turkey, that will also see and resource extraction. airspace and land back in could carry up to 1,000lb furlough about 20% Athens acquire four new the UK. (460kg) with room for (16,370) of its employees. frigates and SH-60R The UK’s Maritime and three EPAL standard The action is to come naval helicopters, as Coastguard Agency Slovenian electric aircraft pallets. A smaller V20 into force on 1 October well as anti-tank missiles (MCA) has announced it specialist Pipistrel, has variant could carry when payroll restrictions and torpedoes, plus an has carried out a trial of announced the launch payloads up to 44lb attached to a Federal upgrade for ten Mirage UAVs for SAR using the of a new hybrid-electric (20kg) over shorter bailout expires. 2000s. Hermes 900 drone. eVTOL cargo aircraft to distances.

OCTOBER 2020 7

OCTOBER 2020 News.indd 5 18/09/2020 13:58:52 Radome

SPACEFLIGHT AIR TRANSPORT China flies mystery First El Al direct flight between Israel winged spacecraft and UAE makes history

China has launched and test runway at Lop Nur On 31 August the first returned to Earth an airbase. The state-run direct service between experimental reusable news Xinhua News Israel and the United Arab spacecraft. The spacecraft Agency later confirmed Emirates (UAE) landed in took off onboard a Long the mission was testing Abu Dhabi after a three- March 2F rocket on 4 ‘reusable technologies hour flight from Tel Aviv. September from Jiuquan during its flight, providing The chartered El Al flight, launch base in the Gobi technological support for using a Boeing 737 with Desert which then landed the peaceful use of space’. ‘peace’ written in Arabic, on 6 September after two Details of the spacecraft English and Hebrew on days in orbit and reaching are unknown but some El Al it, carried Israeli and US an altitude of 350km. It analysts claim that it is a diplomats and also made history by routing over Saudi airspace – previously banned to is then believed to have winged vehicle, similar to Israeli airliners. The flight follows the surprise signing of a Middle East peace deal, with landed at a secretive the USAF’s X-37B. the UAE normalising relations with Israel.

AEROSPACE DEFENCE Laminar-flow fuel-sipping bullet MoD approves Typhoon aircraft promises jet speeds AESA radar upgrade

The UK Ministry of which will go onto 40 Defence (MoD) has Tranche 3 Typhoons with given the go-ahead for the option to also retrofit a £317m contract to the radar into Tranche install the European 2s. Flight testing will Common Radar System commence in 2022 with (ECRS) Mk 2 active IOC in 2025. Once in

Otto Aviation electronically scanned- service, the ECRS Mk2 Secretive US-start-up Otto Aviation has finally revealed its revolutionary Cerelon 500L array (AESA) radar will be ‘the world’s most six-person aircraft, which offers jet-like (450mph) speeds and range (4,500nm) but onto the RAF Typhoons. capable fighter radar’ able achieves a staggering 18-24miles to the gallon thanks to its laminar flow shaping, which The development and to simultaneously perform produces 59% less drag than comparable aircraft and its RED A03 V12 piston engine. integration will be air and surface search and The Cerelon, which was first spotted in 2017 in Victorville, California, has now flown 31 conducted by BAE track, as well as electronic times, according to the manufacturer. Systems and Leonardo warfare and attack. NEWS IN BRIEF

multi-domain information Two smaller satellites, reached an agreement Taiwanese carrier portal, designed to take GNOMES 1 and Tyvak An Israeli company, with airline management STARLUX airlines is data from multiple sources 0172, were also placed Atlas LTA Advanced to prevent 600 pilots from to lease eight Airbus and share it as part of the into orbit. Technology, is aiming being furloughed from 1 A330-900s from Air future ‘Combat Cloud’ to introduce a new October. Around half of Lease Corporation. The battlespace network. As AEROSPACE goes generation of ‘green’ high Spirit’s 2,500 Spirit pilots first aircraft are due to be to press, general aviation altitude and long-range have agreed to temporarily delivered in late 2021. SpaceX launched manufacturer Piper airships and aerostats. work fewer hours each an Argentine radar Aircraft is set to fly the Atlas plans to build a month. On 15 September the observation satellite on 5,000th example of its range of large-capacity RAF conducted an 30 August on its 100th popular Archer single- transport ATLANT helium- Korea Aerospace airborne trial of its new launch. Lifted aboard engine light aircraft. filled, hydrogen-powered Industries (KAI) has Nexus AI data sharing a Falcon 9 rocket from First named the Archer airships, capable of unveiled the first prototype platform onboard a Cape Canaveral on a in 1972, the aircraft is a carrying oversized cargo of its indigenous KF-X Voyager tanker with multi- southerly trajectory, the variant of the best-selling up to 165 tons. fighter aircraft. The first of service observers from the SAOCOM 1B satellite PA-28 family and was put six prototypes is currently British Army and Royal was placed into an back into production in Pilots working for US under assembly with Navy onboard. Nexus is a orbit over Earth’s poles. 2010. carrier Spirit Airlines have completion scheduled

8 AEROSPACE

OCTOBER 2020 News.indd 6 18/09/2020 13:58:53 DEFENCE AEROSPACE AI fighter pilot to take on A320 family reaches 10,000th human in dogfight test After AI vs human the DARPA AlphaDogfight simulated dogfights, the challenge this year which US is set to put AI aces saw a computer triumph in real aircraft to go head- against a human F-16 to-head in air combat pilot in simulated air trials with human pilots combat – winning 5-0. in 2024. Speaking at a The AI Top Gun developed US DoD AI symposium, by Heron Systems had Secretary of Defense already beaten other Mark Esper revealed that artificial agents in the

a real-world trial in 2024 AlphaDogfight challenge, Airbus of an AI vs human fighter including Aurora Flight On 11 September, Airbus announced through social media that the 10,000th example pilot will take place in Sciences and Lockheed of its A320 single-aisle family airliner – an A321neo – had made its first flight from its 2024, following on from Martin. Hamburg factory.The milestone airframe will go to Middle East Airlines (MEA).

SPACEFLIGHT GENERAL AVIATION New entrant Astra fails to reach Flying Legends parts orbit company with Duxford After 30 years the annual Covid-19 and financial Flying Legends vintage constraints and said the warbird show will no decision was by ‘mutual longer be held at the agreement’ with the Flying historic Duxford airfield Legends organisers and in Cambridgeshire, it has vintage aircraft operator been announced. The The Fighter Collection, 2020 Flying Legends did which will continue to not take place this year be based at Duxford. Astra due to the Coronavirus Meanwhile, planning A rocket launched by new US commercial space company Astra failed to make orbit on pandemic. Meanwhile, the approval for a new 168- 11 September. The 38ft two-stage Rocket 3.1 launcher designed to carry microsatellites Imperial War Museum, room Hilton hotel on the and CubeSats into orbit lifted off from its space port at Kodiak, Alaska but suffered what responsible for Duxford Duxford site was given the is reported to be an engine shutdown shortly afterwards. aerodrome, blamed go-ahead in June.

for 2021, first flight in vehicle, Skyrora XL, in funding from the USAF to 2022 and manufacturing 2023. study its Overture SST as ON THE MOVE to begin in 2026. South a possible US government former British Airways Korea plans to have 120 Russian Helicopters transport. The funding Bruce Landsberg has been chief, Willie Walsh, has KF-Xs in service by 2032. has delivered a Mi-171 comes from the USAF appointed for a second stepped down after nine helicopter to China. Built Presidential & Executive term as Vice Chairman of years in the position. Icelandic space company, at the Ulan-Ude Aviation Airlift Directorate to the National Transportation Iberia Chairman and Chief Skyrora has conducted Plant, the aircraft has explore configurations Safety Board (NTSB). Executive Luis Gallego is a test launch of a small been acquired for an of the Overture as a now IAG CE. two-stage sub-orbital unspecified Chinese civil potential VIP executive or Greg Jones is the new rocket, Skylark Micro, from aviation company. China Presidential transport. CEO of Salus Aviation. NASA has named the Langanes Peninsula already operates around Catherine Koerner as in Iceland. The rocket 200 Mi-171 helicopters. Finnish flag carrier, Finnair Max Kingsley-Jones, the new Orion Progam ascended to 26.86km is slashing its flight formerly at Flight Global, is Manager. She previously before both stages were Supersonic airliner schedule for October by now Senior Consultant at led the Human Health and parachuted back down to start-up, Boom is the nearly half as the recovery Cirium. Performance Directorate at sea. Skyrora is planning latest high-speed aircraft of passenger traffic stalls NASA Johnson. to launch a larger orbital developer to receive out. IAG’s Chief Executive and

OCTOBER 2020 9

OCTOBER 2020 News.indd 7 18/09/2020 13:58:55 By the Numbers Understanding the world of Aerospace through data Passenger airliners in service/storage Cirium Cirium Cirium Statista

10 AEROSPACE

Oct 2020 By the Numbers.indd 2 18/09/2020 16:23 Pushing the Envelope Exploring advances on the leading edge of aerospace Robert Coppinger Accelerating civil propulsion

our supersonic civil transport Carlisle said, in supersonic cruise speed have, “quite announcements were made in August big impacts on time on wing.” This is where Reaction and all but one of them involved Rolls- Engines’ heat exchanger technology would be Royce. Almost 17 years since the helpful. The technology is now light enough so that retirement of Concorde, and its Olympus it can be incorporated into the heart of the engine. F593 powerplants, opinion from Rolls-Royce is that Virgin Galactic’s plan is for a Mach 3 plus transport building an engine in 2020 for supersonic travel is and the SABRE cooling technology can also help not a challenge. The challenge today is developing there. Thomas points out that, between Mach 3 and a supersonic engine that meets environmental 4, its heat exchanger can rapidly cool the incoming regulations and is still economically viable at air, reducing the engine temperature and avoiding business class seat prices; that is the view of Rolls- the need for using exotic materials. Avoiding Royce’s Strategy Director For Civil Aerospace, Simon more carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the Carlisle. atmosphere is another goal for supersonic aircraft developers. Boom and Nevada-based Aerion, which Supersonic united is creating its AS2 supersonic business jet, both see carbon neutrality as important for faster-than-sound The Derby-based propulsion firm is working with travel’s environmental case. supersonic airliner developer Boom, Virgin Galactic and Reaction Engines, which is advancing its Synthetic fuels synergetic air breathing rocket engine (SABRE) for Mach 5 travel. On 3 August, Virgin Galactic In February, Boom announced that its test announced a non-binding memorandum of programme will be carbon neutral by using understanding with Rolls-Royce to collaborate sustainable fuels. Aerion announced in October 2018 in designing and developing engine propulsion that its AS2 jet would be using GE Aviation’s Affinity, technology – that work involves Derby’s US arm. a medium bypass ratio engine with a twin-shaft, twin- Two days later, Rolls-Royce and Boom announced fan turbofan, which can use synthetic fuels. that they had launched a new agreement to advance Aerion Chief Sustainability Officer, Gene engine design for Boom’s Overture airliner. Holloway, explained that his firm is also working with The third and fourth announcements came on British Columbia-based carbon capture specialist, 21 and 31 August. Of those two, Reaction Engines Carbon Engineering. It is developing technology to and Rolls-Royce were first, announcing a strategic capture carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into a partnership agreement to develop high-speed synthetic aviation fuel. CARBON aircraft propulsion systems. The second came from Meanwhile, Boom is also working with a direct CAPTURE the US military and involved a previously unknown carbon capture, fuel producing company, California’s SPECIALIST company, Exosonic, but not Rolls-Royce. Exosonic Prometheus Fuels. While synthetic fuels are more CARBON has a contract with the US Government for a expensive than conventional hydrocarbon-based supersonic Air Force One. While little is known about ones, Holloway states that they have a higher specific ENGINEERING. Exosonic’s plans, Reaction Engine’s technology for energy, 3-4%, compared to JP-1, and they have IS DEVELOPING high-speed propulsion is its proven SABRE heat no sulphur content; so no sulphur oxide emissions. TECHNOLOGY exchanger and this is expected to be important for He added that an aircraft can be carbon neutral if it TO CAPTURE Rolls-Royce’s intentions. Reaction Engines’ Chief maximises its use of such fuels. Despite the spate of CARBON Executive, Mark Thomas, said that his company’s August announcements, Carlisle is under no illusion DIOXIDE FROM heat exchanger could help realise an economically about the challenge; in his view there is a long way viable supersonic engine. Carlisle explained that to go to concluding that an environmentally friendly, THE AIR AND supersonic propulsion operates at high temperatures economically viable supersonic engine is possible. TURN IT INTO which, while also experienced by today’s airliner Looking back on Concorde, Carlisle said everything A SYNTHETIC engines, will last a lot longer. Small differences, has moved on a long way. AVIATION FUEL

OCTOBER 2020 11

Pushing the Envelope A B.indd 1 18/09/2020 16:25 F, Transmission

LETTERS AND ONLINE @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com

. Can the Royal Navy afford two aircraft carriers? Racism is a problem Crown copyright The National Audit Offi ce sharing. CEPP and Carrier Raphael D [On Is there (NAO) published Carrier Strike appear to have a racism problem in Strike – Preparing for stymied this maritime-air aerospace?(1)] There’s a huge Deployment on 26 June imperative and stumped problem in aviation with this 2020 and it concerns the development of a best issue but it’s more comfortable current status of the UK’s system of systems ASTOVL/ to sweep it under the carpet, approach to developing Carrier ship approach. A carrier rather than having open Strike capability; essentially size-misfi t has resulted, and honest conversations. the ability to conduct military predisposed to serious Putting a photo of a female operations with fi xed-wing operational shortcomings. pilot and the ‘token’ black aircraft launched from CVF, Simply, full capability man in a recruitment website Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft may not be achieved and doesn’t make a business more ‘inclusive’. Unfortunately, as carriers. It presents a damning A UK F-35B Lightning II on the fl ight deck of HMS Queen lethality, supportability, a recruiter, cabin crew and picture. Poorly considered Elizabeth in November 2019 as part of the WESTLANT 19 survivability, vulnerability then airline pilot, I have seen government ‘gunboat’ power Exercise off the US coast. and independent operating projection ambitions, mission capability will be severely enough to categorically say and capability woolliness, bold and innovative solution projection (CEPP). However, compromised because that - yes, there is a racism murky command and fi nancial that might have marked the huge resources to mount recovery is unaffordable. problem in aviation. responsibility, artless systems’ re-entry into 21st century and sustain the Carrier Strike The NAO points out the integration, compromised fi xed wing maritime aviation. capability do not appear to affordability problem and warfi ghting effectiveness, Furthermore, an ASTOVL have been properly planned something will have to give. Dr Susanne Svensdotter unresolved confl icting military aircraft denies the RAF the or indeed accepted by the Perhaps it will be the early loss Agree completely. needs and plain unaffordability best available strike fi ghter for services themselves and the of one carrier and a change contrive the subplot of the multi-operational needs. effort is evidently distorting to the F-35 procurement plan. RAF refl ections NAO report. Politically, the UK re- the overall total armed forces Hopefully, looking back these The F-35B aircraft gives introduction of carriers equipment budget. past 50 years, it will be third Philip Day [On Sir Glenn the RN an absolute winner and air wings is pinned on The raison d’être of time lucky for the Fleet Air Torphy’s refl ections on but, by integrating an ASTOVL establishing a national military maritime fi xed wing aviation Arm and fi xed-wing will not be changes to the RAF(2)] Nice and fi fth-generation fi ghter capability to mount global is fl eet air defence. Equal, lost this time. to see a useful article put in such large ships, the sum operations at short notice but lesser, are strike and into bullet points too. Not of the whole falls short of the as carrier enabled power ISR and modern data Philip V Hunt FRAeS everything benefi ts from masses of prose! Thank you for saving me some time and delivering the same impact. RAeS wins engineering diversity award Thank you Spitfi re George Romain/ARCo

The Royal Aeronautical Society has won the Best Professional f i Engineering Institution of the Year award for 2020. Organised by EqualEngineers, The Engineering Talent Awards 2020 are a new set of awards to celebrate the diversity of the Lifetime with the RAeS Reclassifying airspace engineering and technology profession. Alex Berry [On RAeS Jacob Pompe [On NHS Bishnujee Singh Capt Don Van Dyke Well- response to CAA consultation Spitfi re(3) It is wonderful how, Congratulations Royal earned, well-deserved! on new draft procedure for to this day, the Spitfi re remains Aeronautical Society team! reviewing the classifi cation of to be such an iconic aircraft. I predicted correctly the airspace] An interesting read I recommend watching The previous day that the RAeS is Christopher Miah with most valid points around First of the Few about how it going to walk away with the Congratulations to the Anthonile Greenman The the issue of compromised all started! RAeS is a lifetime association. safety. In my view, anything award. It’s almost going to be Royal Aeronautical Society. Today I came across this book that simplifi es sub-4,000ft my 25 years of association A wonderful achievement with the RAeS. most fi tting for a world class in our library. The RAeS has is sure to get a decent Captain Ameen Budagher professional engineering body. been around before I was round of applause from a The Royal Air Force was born and it shall still be there high proportion of the GA instrumental in changing Mariya Tarabanovska in many years to come. I salute community. The CAA have positively the outcome of the Congratulations to everyone Peter Round Fabulous everyone who has made made some welcome changes Second World War. Glorious in RAeS! news. Well done all of you. this Society a world-class of late, hopefully this trend will day for the RAF. professional body. continue.

12 AEROSPACE F,

Aviation accolade Short-haul e-aircraft Designing fi ghters From the RAeS photo archives for Editor @BladeIndia [On Wiring @marauder2048 [On 21st RAeS/NAL up the electric aviation Century Boyd’s(5)] A piece revolution(4)] Rightly said, that wilfully mischaracterises introduction of eVTOLs is Schriever’s approach to a plausible reality for short- fi ghters. His whole point haul fl ights where public was that you had to consider concerns over safety is a big the ground and support challenge. Long-haul aircraft equipment and the other will take longer. components as a total package which meant that AEROSPACE Editor Tim introducing new types had Robinson FRAeS has won Digital design to be carefully planned and The Honourable Company executed. @BryanHomey of Air Pilots Award for [On USAF Aviation Journalism 2020. announcing that the T-7A ‘This award is given to will be designated the eT-7A @BurkhardDomke A tool due to having been digitally doesn’t yet make a good an individual journalist, de Havilland DH98 Mosquito TT35 ‘converted’ to a FBVI for designed] Will it phone design. At best, the digital publication or organisation for the fi lm 633 Squadron in 1963. The fi rst Mosquito prototype home? Hahaha. modelling and simulation an outstanding contribution completed its maiden fl ight nearly 80 years ago on 25 approach abstractedly to the promotion or public November 1940. Over 7,700 were built and the ‘Wooden refl ects only what is awareness of aviation in Wonder’ remained in service from 1941 to 1961. The @TheDewLine And SR-71 known and thought to be general or of any important original prototype is on display at the de Havilland Aircraft stood for ‘slide rule’, then, understood. Beyond that, aspect of aviation activity.’ Museum at London Colney and is the only surviving WW2 apparently. it is fed with assumptions. prototype to be preserved in the world. The real challenges are in organisation and culture. @DefenseWag Thank heavens the E is silent.

Cranfi eld asks for Flying Classroom memories RAeS virtual space conference Cranfi eld University is appealing to students and visitors who have fl own in the National Flying Laboratory Centre (NFLC) Jetstream 31 turboprop ‘Flying Classroom’ to share their anecdotes and experiences of their fl ights. The aircraft is soon (1) BAME webinar due to be retired and replaced with a larger Saab 340B fl ying @sophielharker Really laboratory and classroom. Contact: nfl cmemories@cranfi eld. happy to have published my CranfiUniversity eld fi rst article on the @AeroSociety blog (and eventually magazine), but I’m even happier that it was on such an important topic. It’s just the start and looking On 9-10 September the RAeS held its fi rst conference using its new forward to seeing the virtual event platform for a two-day online conference on Safeguarding Society take its next steps. Earth’s Space Environment on the challenge of orbital space debris. @OwensRayna [On First @adelegammarano @hoang_laura Fantastic RAeS virtual conference Thank you @AeroSociety piece of writing refl ecting on on Safeguarding Space] really enjoyed the fi rst day the brilliant @AeroSociety Fabulous session on of this conference, very BAME webinar and more. international collaboration well organised and great Delving into important this afternoon at speakers! issues and how we move AEROSPACE Deputy Editor Bill Read was among a group @AeroSociety forward. Well done who fl ew in Cranfi eld University’s NFLC Jetstream 31 Flying @sophielharker Classroom in November 2019.

1. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/only-0-is-acceptable/ 2. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/bringing-balance-to-the-air-force/ 3. AEROSPACE, September 2020, p 24, Signed Spitfi re scrambles to lift nation’s spirits 4. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/wiring-up-the-electric-aviation-revolution/ 5. https://www.aerosociety.com/news/21st-century-boyds-us-goes-back-to-the-future/

@aerosociety i linkedin.com/raes f facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.com OCTOBER 2020 13 AEROSPACE The economics of electric aircraft – part 1

Plugging into the electric aircraft revolution Recent months have seen a renewed interest in accelerating the development of passenger aircraft powered by electric or hybrid-electric power. But will these aircraft make money in commercial operation? BILL READ FRAeS looks at the financial challenges faced by electric aircraft designers.

he zero-emissions passenger aircraft plans to debut a carbon neutral aircraft by 2035 is coming. In the not too distant while British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson future, we are told, fleets of quiet, vowed that the UK would be the first to develop non-polluting, super-efficient battery a zero-emission long-haul passenger aircraft. or even hydrogen-powered powered However, while remarkable progress has been aircraft will replace noisy CO and NO -emitting made in recent years on the development of T 2 x jets, continuing the role of aviation in connecting smaller electrically-powered aircraft and eVTOLs, people across the world but without the risk of the advent of larger e-aircraft for commercial adding to global warming. While much has been passenger transport still has a long way to WILL IT BE EASY written about the different futuristic designs go. Many technical hurdles still need to be TO INCORPORATE proposed by developers of e-aircraft, less has overcome, in particular those relating to the been said about how these new aircraft will cope power and duration of batteries. Battery INTO EXISTING with the competitive realities of commercial air technology still has much to do before it can AIRPORT transport. Part 1 of this two-part report into the compete with jet fuel as a source of energy. INFRASTRUCTURE economics of electric aircraft will look first at the There has also been talk of the potential AND GROUND- challenges of selling commercial electric aircraft of hydrogen to power larger aircraft but HANDLING to operators and the implications for airport this technology also faces challenges in EQUIPMENT? operators and service providers. developing a hydrogen fuel cell which is Recent months have seen a renewed interest small, light and safe enough to be fitted on in accelerating the development of passenger board an aircraft. aircraft driven by electric or hybrid-electric While-e-aircraft have the advantage that power. The French government has announced they are less polluting and cleaner, they also

14 AEROSPACE

Wiring up the electric aircraft revolution A B f.indd 2 18/09/2020 17:00 utilise a less efficient power source than flying to operate than jet aircraft, they will fly more slowly an aircraft using kerosene, as charging batteries and will not have sufficient battery life to stay in is less efficient than using the fuel directly. An the air for long distances. Unless new technology all-electric aircraft will also weigh the same at the is developed to reduce these restrictions, industry end of a flight as it did at the beginning – unlike experts are currently predicting that electric a conventional jet aircraft, which gets lighter as it aircraft will only replace commercial jet aircraft on uses up fuel. short-haul regional routes. As a result, a two-tier Because the reliability of batteries is not yet system may evolve with e-aircraft operating on assured, current thinking is that, in order to satisfy short-haul and regional routes while jet turbine flight safety regulations, the first generation of aircraft (using more efficient environmentally- electric aircraft is likely to be a ‘hybrid-electric’ friendly engines and sustainable fuels) continue to design fitted with a supplemental fossil fuel fly on long distance routes. engine to act as an emergency back-up generator, recharging the electric batteries to Developing an e-aircraft A RADICAL extend range. However, such hybrid aircraft, NEW AIRFRAME although they may be safer, will not be as As with electric cars, the development of the DESIGN efficient to operate as either all-jet or all electric aircraft is expected to progress in MIGHT LOOK electric-motor aircraft. The back-up motor stages. In the electric aircraft market, the current FUTURISTIC AND will take up payload space and add weight, buzzword is urban air mobility (UAM); many EYE-CATCHING while the aircraft will need to carry both companies are busy working on new designs for BUT HOW batteries and liquid fuels, which will need to small eVTOLs designed to carry small numbers of PRACTICAL WILL be refuelled and recharged between flights. passengers on short routes. This pioneering work As batteries become more efficient, is helping to accelerate technology and systems IT BE IN DAY- future all-electric designs may have which can be used for the development of larger TO-DAY AIRLINE different shapes but, in the interim, electric aircraft similar in capacity to regional OPERATIONS? e-aircraft might look similar to current turboprops and jets. regional turboprop designs with long While there are a number of companies straight wings fitted with either two or multiple currently working on larger e-aircraft designs, propellers. it is not the aim of this article to look at specific projects or technical challenges. Instead, the focus Short-haul replacement will be on the wider operational and economic aspects of operating such a new type of aircraft. The electric aircraft start-up Even with the hoped-for advances in battery and Imagine that you are a start-up company Wright Electric has started electric engine technology, experts believe that developing a new electric passenger-carrying to develop the electric propulsion system for a battery-powered aircraft will not be able to replace aircraft. How can you bring your design to 186-seat electric aircraft all jet-powered aircraft. Although e-aircraft are market and compete for orders against other called Wright 1. expected to be quieter, non-polluting and cheaper manufacturers? Wright Electric

OCTOBER 2020 15

Wiring up the electric aircraft revolution A B f.indd 3 18/09/2020 17:00 AEROSPACE The economics of electric aircraft – part 1 Raytheon TechnologiesRaytheon

The first obstacle is finance. Even before Engines, airframes and batteries Rendering of the Project the onset of Covid-19, developers of electric 804 X plane being aircraft were having difficulties staying The next problem is that of design. What will developed by Raytheon Technologies. in business, as it was taking so long HOW CAN YOU the new aircraft look like? A radical to bring a design to the point where ENSURE THAT new airframe design might look it could actually start earning money. futuristic and eye-catching but how THE AIRCRAFT This process has since accelerated practical will it be in day-to-day BATTERIES ARE as developing a new electric aircraft airline operations? Will it be easy design requires a substantial quantity SAFE? to incorporate into existing airport of investment. As with all innovative infrastructure and ground-handling projects, there is an element of risk in that equipment? How easy and economic development may encounter unforeseen costs, will it be to service and maintain? time delays, safety issues or lack of demand. There is also the issue of engines. Will the Because so much about the future of e-aircraft engines be purchased separately from the is still uncertain, banks and investors tend to be airframe (as they often are with current jet- reluctant to risk money in unproven technology powered airliners or will they have to be developed and markets. An e-aircraft developer will as an integrated unit by the aircraft manufacturer? therefore need to have deep pockets and a strong The same challenge applies to the incorporation of commitment to investing over the long term. batteries. Traditionally, new aviation technologies Then there is standardisation. While it is have been developed by OEMs and engine tempting for e-aircraft designers to produce all manufacturers, often with support from national their own designs which are different from those governments. However, in the case of e-aircraft, of their competitors, there is a commercial and more stakeholders will also be involved in creating practical need to standardise some components, the infrastructure needed to operate such new such as battery sizes and charging plugs, so that aircraft – including airports, pilot trainers, air they are easy to use and replace. traffic managers, components suppliers and MRO providers. Flight safety certification Existing aviation regulations are based on conventional liquid-fuelled aircraft. The Another problem is that of safety. Competent introduction of hybrid and electric aircraft may authorities will only grant flight certification to a require new regulations regarding safety, flight new electric aircraft it they are convinced that it certification, training and maintenance, all of which is safe to carry passengers. How will your new could take time to evolve. aircraft cope with the rigours and hazards of

16 AEROSPACE

Wiring up the electric aircraft revolution A B f.indd 4 18/09/2020 17:00 flight, such as high winds, turbulence, ice, rain, airport’s carbon footprint. Electric aircraft would high and low temperatures, lightning strikes or be both non-polluting and quieter, meaning that bird and drone strikes? How can you ensure that airports close to populated areas could operate for the aircraft batteries are safe? High-performance longer hours or overnight without disturbing local batteries need cooling and must be ensured residents. It would also do wonders for the airport’s against the risk of fire (as shown by the problems environmental image. In October 2018, Heathrow faced by Boeing with battery fires after the Airport announced that the first electric-hybrid introduction of the first 787s and the fire of aircraft to use its facilities will not have to pay the first prototype of the Eviation Alice electric Heathrow’s landing charges for an entire year if it aircraft), was operated in a regular service hub – an offer In addition, there are operational issues to be valued at nearly £1m. resolved. Will your passenger-carrying e-aircraft There would also be disadvantages. Current have two pilots or one, or perhaps be flown jet-powered passenger aircraft all share a autonomously? How will this decision affect the common ‘tube and wing’ shape which may IN A FUTURE attitudes of safety authorities and pilot unions, as vary in size but which can be loaded or well as passenger confidence? unloaded using existing airport equipment. WHERE THERE ARE Airport ground-handling services are NOW E-AIRCRAFT Sustained volume production geared up to working with conventional DESIGNS READY designs. “Introducing electric aircraft TO FLY, THE NEXT Assuming that your e-aircraft design is certificated, would involve new interfaces between QUESTION IS the next problem is production. Should serial airport and aircraft and ground-handling WHO WILL BUY production be attempted by the same start-up systems,” concluded Jean-Brice Dumont, THEM AND HOW company that designed the aircraft or should the EVP engineering at Airbus, speaking at the WILL THEY BE responsibility of volume production be handed 2020 Singapore SATLF conference. OPERATED? over to a larger OEM with experience in this area? However, the advent of passenger- Alternatively, the OEMs may decide to play catch- carrying electric aircraft with new shapes up by buying up the start-up company. and characteristics would require the learning of Decisions will also need to be made about new skills. Ground-handling infrastructure may spare parts and aftermarket support. Aircraft have to be created to manage e-aircraft with OEMs and engine manufacturers make as much, if unconventional shapes, such as long thin wings not more, money from support services than from requiring more space between parked and moving original equipment sales. As an e-aircraft designer, aircraft. would you want to try to cash in on this market, or would it be less effort to hand this responsibility Compatibility over to a third party? Airports may also have to cater for two different Airports types of electric aircraft needing to be refuelled Airbus and Rolls-Royce or recharged. Pure electric aircraft would require made the joint decision to bring the hybrid-electric In a future where there are now e-aircraft designs battery changes while hybrid-electric aircraft will propulsion E-Fan X ready to fly, the next question is who will buy them have two sets of engines, one needing fuel and demonstrator to an end in and how will they be operated? But first, it could the other batteries. Airport ground-handling staff April 2020. be instructive to look at the airport infrastructure and support services in which electric aircraft will operate. As with much new technology, there is the question of who jumps first. Airlines will not acquire e-aircraft if there are no airports they can operate from. Similarly, airports will not commit to building electric aircraft infrastructure until they are sure that such aircraft will be introduced in sufficient numbers to justify the investment in new facilities (a dilemma faced by several airports when the Airbus A380 was first introduced). Imagine that you are an airport operator deciding how best to invest for the future. You know that electric passenger aircraft will be coming in the future, so how best can you attract airlines operating e-aircraft to base at your airport or to use your facilities? There would certainly be advantages. Operating electric aircraft would greatly reduce the Airbus

OCTOBER 2020 17

Wiring up the electric aircraft revolution A B f.indd 5 18/09/2020 17:00 AEROSPACE The economics of electric aircraft – part 1 Eviation

would have to become familiar with the workings of a wide variety of different e-aircraft designs MRO and have all the different types of batteries and associated equipment on hand needed to service Turning to the them. The batteries may be stored in different question of support services, places on the aircraft, possibly in the wings or imagine that you are an MRO within the fuselage. Some e-aircraft may be provider keen to profit from the recharged with the batteries in situ, while others growing market for servicing will have their used batteries swapped electric aircraft. out for a new fully-charged set. The It is predicted that WILL YOUR size and shape of batteries may servicing costs for e-aircraft will be also vary between each aircraft PASSENGER- lower, at least for engines, as electric CARRYING design, as might the connectors motors are less complicated than Eviation’s Alice, a light needed to recharge them (a problem E-AIRCRAFT HAVE jet turbines and should require less nine-seater all-electric experienced in miniature by every TWO PILOTS OR maintenance. Airframes, on the other plane designed to service owner of a mobile phone). ONE, OR PERHAPS hand, may have higher maintenance regional areas. Air traffic managers would BE FLOWN costs depending on how they are also have to learn new methods AUTONOMOUSLY? constructed, such as is already being of operation, co-ordinating the experienced with the increased use of movements of fast jet airliners with composite structures where damage is slower e-aircraft. There are also operational safety more difficult to detect and repair. Standardisation issues as to the potential restrictions on e-aircraft of components and the availability of spares would operations of adverse weather or how airport fire also have an effect on costs and time scales. crews and emergency services should react to a MRO providers will also have to adapt to take-off or landing accident or a battery fire on the new norms as e-aircraft are expected to have a ground. different operating cost structure than jet aircraft. An all-electric aircraft will not require a fuel Regional airport market system but would require the regular replacement of batteries. However, what is not yet known is One prediction for the future of electric aircraft how the experience of using electric aircraft in is that they could be operated from smaller regular commercial operations may throw up new airports which previously could not cope with the maintenance issues not yet thought of, as batteries economics of commercial flights – thus generating and motors are exposed to heat, cold, sunlight, a totally new market. However, this would only ice, turbulence and all the other rigours of flight. be possible if these airports have the necessary Many MRO providers, engine manufacturers and infrastructure to cater for e-aircraft – such as OEMs are taking full advantage of digital systems battery chargers, ground crew to change or to record multiple parameters of aircraft in flight, recharge batteries and MRO service providers with predictive maintenance, flight testing and digital the relevant technical knowledge and access to twins. Once the designs for electric aircraft and spare parts. If e-aircraft did generate a demand motors have become clearer, MRO providers can for the more intensive use of regional airports, start working on the most efficient ways to maintain these airports would also need to invest in new them – most likely with the assistance of digital passenger and transport infrastructure, such as modelling, robotic inspection systems and digital new terminals, roads and parking. printing already being used on existing airframes.

RAeS Urban Air Mobility, Virtual Conference; 30 September 2020 – 1 October 2020 Part 2 of this report into the economics of electric aircraft will consider how airlines could be persuaded that there is money to be made in game-changing new e-aircraft designs and how will they might be operated in commercial service.

18 AEROSPACE

Wiring up the electric aircraft revolution A B f.indd 6 18/09/2020 17:00 Harrier 809 by Rowland White and published by Bantam Press will be available from 15 October 2020. 21 things I discovered while writing Harrier 809

Ahead of the release of his latest aviation book, Harrier 809, which looks at the events of the Falklands War and the BAe Sea Harrier’s part in it – ROWLAND WHITE reveals some fascinating facts from his research.

1. A handful of 809 Naval Air Squadron’s pilots, 3. As a project pilot at China Lake, Mercury 7 who had been urgently recalled to Yeovilton astronaut Wally Schirra was the first pilot to fire from as far afield as Arizona, California, a Sidewinder missile – a weapon that, in the Germany and Australia, had fewer than ten AIM-9L version used by Sea Harrier in the hours in the cockpit of a Sea Harrier when they Falklands, was so lethal that it was described Above: Shortly before went to war – less front-line training than was by one of the development team as ‘a death flying south during the given to a Spitfire or Hurricane pilot in WWII. ray’. Falklands War, 809 2. Two Anglo-Argentinian veterans of RAF 4. During fighter direction trials at RNAS Squadron flew a photo Bomber Command’s WWII campaign against Yeovilton prior to 809 Naval Air Squadron’s sortie over southern Nazi Germany, volunteered to fly against the deployment, it was discovered that the England designed to signal strength in depth to an British during the Falklands War as part of liberal application of WD40 lubricant greatly enemy that would soon Escuadrón Fénix, a paramilitary unit set up to increased the Sea Harrier’s radar signature. meet the Sea Harrier in fly business jets in support of Argentinian Air 5. Before settling on development of the Sea battle. Force operations. King AEW.2, the Department of Naval Air Main image via author.

OCTOBER 2020 19

21 Things learned about Harriers B A 3pp f.indd 3 18/09/2020 16:20 DEFENCE Falklands Air War

Crown copyright Warfare explored the possibility of reviving late as 1979, British Aerospace was trying – the Fairey Gannet AEW.3, equipping either with the blessing of the Foreign Office – to sell the Hercules, BAe Coastguarder (itself a it the Sea Harrier as a replacement for the A-4 development of the HS748), and Chinook with Skyhawk. AEW radar. Also considered was the Skyship 10. The Royal Aircraft Establishment at 500 airship that featured in the James Bond Farnborough employed modelmakers to build movie, A View to a Kill. 1:24 scale Airfix kits of the Harrier GR.1 that 6. One plan considered by the Ministry of were then used to trial the effectiveness of Defence prior to launching Operation new camouflage schemes devised by the Corporate was to seize and hold mainland RAE’s Defensive Weapons department. Argentinian territory in Tierra del Fuego and 11. In order for the RAF’s 39 Squadron Canberra The 809 Naval Air then use it as a stronghold from which to PR.9s to have the range to reach Punta Squadron crest. launch the campaign to retake the Falkland Arenas in Chile as part of Operation Folklore, Islands. they were fitted with hastily designed new 7. The RAF’s Alert Measures Committee argued internal fuel tanks. The flight plan required for the introduction of an ‘RAF flat-top’, an them to land on a section of the Pan American aircraft-carrying ship from which it could fly Highway in northern Chile to refuel from aircraft under Air Force, rather than Navy a waiting RAF C-130 Hercules before command and control. Members of the RAF continuing their journey south. Marine Branch, it suggested, might be used to 12. 809 Squadron kept a Sea Harrier on Quick help crew it. Reaction Alert during Atlantic Conveyor’s 8. During trials conducted by the US Marine journey south. After a vertical take-off, it was Corps, a clean AV-8A Harrier was capable of calculated that it was capable of shooting climbing to an altitude of 30,000ft 13 seconds down the shadowing Argentian 707 at a Below: A 809 Squadron faster than a clean F-4 Phantom. The Marine maximum range of 183 miles. London had Harrier on Atlantic Corps also tested the Harrier against US- a pre-prepared press release written in Conveyor’s pad during operated MiGs in dissimilar air combat at Area anticipation of this happening. the trip south. The aircraft was on alert to intercept 51 in Nevada. 13. The first enemy aircraft shot down by a Fleet Argentian spyplanes 9. The Argentinian Navy tried to buy Falklands Air Arm fighter launched from a merchant ship tracking the Task Force. flagship HMS Hermes in the 1960s and, as drafted into naval service was a Focke-Wulf Via author

20 AEROSPACE

21 Things learned about Harriers B A 3pp f.indd 4 18/09/2020 16:20 take over Fw-200 Condor in 1941. The pilot of the ‘Hurricat’, Lt Bob Everett RNVR, was a former Grand National winning jockey. 14. Worried about the ‘thin blue line’ of Sea Harriers, US Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger suggested letting the British use the 100,000t supercarrier, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, as a ‘mobile runway’. Unfamiliar with the complexities of naval aviation, an enthusiastic British Ambassador suggested that the RAF might fly Buccaneers from Ike’s deck. 15. There was a proposal to develop a Harrier T.4 into night-attack ‘Pathfinder’. Fitted with a forward-looking infra-red system operated by a crewman in the rear seat, the T-bird could either have mounted solo precision attacks at night or lead a flight of GR.3s flown by pilots wearing night-vision goggles. 16. During Operation ACME, a 51 Squadron Nimrod R.1 suffered an engine failure while conducting a covert intelligence-gathering mission from a Chilean airfield. During the subsequent emergency landing on a remote South Pacific island, two tyres burst and a main undercarriage assembly was wrecked. On a subsequent mission, the same Nimrod was forced to evade an intercepting Mirage. A senior Chilean Naval Officer was on board the RAF spyplane during both incidents. 17. Ordered to leave Chile at short notice, an RAF C-130 Hercules, operating in support of Operation Folklore, was delayed for a few days in Tahiti by the French for arriving unannounced from Easter Island without the right diplomatic clearances. Tough work but someone’s got to do it. 18. Under the codename Operation Fingent, a Marconi S259 mobile radar from RAF Wattisham with a ten-man team of RAF operators was flown out to Chile to monitor Argentine air movements aboard a Flying Tiger Line Boeing 747. Always a stylish outfit, the airfreight company once set up a record company, Happy Tiger Records. Their final release, Mason Proffit’s 1971 album, ‘Movin’ author Via Towards Happiness’, is actually pretty good... 19. Between 1962 and 1996 the King William Above: Map of the top innovation at the heart of Blue Vixen occured Building at the Royal Naval College in secret ACME Nimrod to its designer, Ferranti’s John Roulston, while Greenwich was home to an operational spyplane flights, carried out waiting for a snow-delayed flight at Logan from Chilean territory. nuclear reactor called JASON. So far, at Airport in Boston. least it remains the only 17th Century, Sir 21. Internet speculation that the long runway at Christopher Wren masterpiece to have been Banjul in The Gambia – used as a stopover used for this purpose. by 809 Squadron’s Sea Harriers on their way 20. The Blue Vixen radar designed for the Sea south – was originally built by aliens seems Harrier FA.2 was so good that, when it was unlikely. However, the West African airport first used on operations in Bosnia, claims was designated as an official diversion field of contacts by SHAR not picked up by for the Space Shuttle in the event that a AWACS were not believed. The technological ‘Transoceanic Abort Landing’ was required.

OCTOBER 2020 21

21 Things learned about Harriers B A 3pp f.indd 5 18/09/2020 16:20 AEROSPACE Diversity and inclusion

Broadening the palette

Does aviation and aerospace have a racism problem? SOPHIE HARKER reports from a recent RAeS webinar that highlighted some uncomfortable questions that the industry urgently needs to address and which the Royal Aeronautical Society is aiming to lead the debate on.

ollowing the release of the RAeS’ diverse panel of representatives from across the statement and action plan on the Black aerospace, aviation and space sectors, as well as Lives Matter (BLM) movement, the representatives from the Association for Black and Diversity & Inclusion Working Group Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK): (D&I WG) hosted a webinar to start ● Halimatu Abubakar, Engineering Operations Fthe discussion around how the Society and wider Manager, Aerospace Sector aerospace sectors can work to be more inclusive ● Shahida Barick FRAeS, Strategic Advisor, Space for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Sector members and colleagues. During the panel the audience was asked the following question: ● Rachna Reiter, Airline Pilot, Aviation Sector ‘Have you experienced racism in the workplace or ● Sheila Sousa, Senior Telecommunications other professional setting?’, to which 40% of the Expert, AFBE-UK attendees replied ‘yes’. The webinar titled ‘BAME Perspectives on Aerospace and Aviation: Shaping Recognising race the Future’ aimed to put the focus on looking ahead on a variety of topics and opening the floor In recent history some have found it difficult to to ask the difficult questions on racism in industry talk about race, however it is becoming clear that and academia. Elvis Tinago ARAeS, Thermofluids the ‘I don’t see colour’ assertion is actually doing Summer Intern and D&I WG member, chaired a more harm than good. Reiter described her race as

22 AEROSPACE

BAME Webinar Rep A B f.indd 2 18/09/2020 17:05 ‘HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED RACISM IN THE WORKPLACE OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SETTING?’ 40% OF THE ATTENDEES Clockwise from directly above: REPLIED ‘YES’ Webinar host; Elvis Tinago EngTech ARAeS – Fluid dynamics engineer, RAEng Scholar. The panel: Rachna Reiter BE, MBA – Airline Pilot; Shahida Barick BEng, FRAeS – Strategic Advisor, Space Sector; Sheila Sousa – Senior Telecommunications Consultant (AFBE) and Halimatu Abubakar MIET – Engineering Operations Manager (AFBE).

part of her individual personality and that, by not that we should endeavour to use labels less, it recognising her race, it is ignoring an important was highlighted that there is merit in using them part of her, commenting: “It’s who I am, I’m Asian to recognise and tackle some of the issues that and proud to be, I acknowledge it and I celebrate affect individuals from BAME communities. it.” Our panellists discussed how addressing race Racism in the workplace does matter and the importance of having these open dialogues. It is essential to acknowledge race Two polls were held during the webinar. The first in order to have a productive discussion about it, identified that 83% of the audience members even if these are uncomfortable conversations. were currently or planning to work or study in the The webinar was hosted by aerospace, aviation and space sectors. The second the Society online. Introducing ‘BAME’ asked the audience if they had ever experienced racism in the workplace or another professional ‘BAME’ is an acronym for Black, Asian and setting. The poll results showed 40% of the Minority Ethnic. Although often used in efforts attendees responded that they had experienced to improve the lack of diversity and inclusion racism. Sousa, who represented AFBE-UK (an in society, the term ‘BAME’ itself causes organisation dedicated to providing support and disagreement, due to the perception that it groups promoting higher achievement among students together all individuals who are ‘non-white’ without and professionals in engineering), identified this recognising the individual challenges and differing shocking statistic as a very high percentage cultures of certain communities under the BAME that cannot be ignored. Among the panel it was banner. This was a running theme throughout the agreed that it shows there is a lot of work that webinar with debate around why society feels the needs to be done and that only a response of need to label anyone in the 21st century (be it with 0% is acceptable. This statistic also highlighted the BAME tag or their gender, sexual orientation that it is not enough to just ‘recruit more diverse or other characteristics). Although our panellists candidates’; employers need to make efforts to agreed that this was not the ideal situation and create an inclusive environment to allow these

OCTOBER 2020 23

BAME Webinar Rep A B f.indd 3 18/09/2020 17:05 18/09/2020 17:0518/09/2020 17:05

To reach different audiences and schools audiences and schools different reach To Numerous different actions were covered by Numerous different Making sure the information and resources thatMaking sure the information and resources thereare put out on the topic are positive and are toto educate on the way forward, rather than reprimand mistakes. andOrganisations assessing their current state setting up targets using industry benchmarking frameworks. Releasing action plans to make the organisation publicly accountable. diversity statistics abovePublish and beyond the government mandated gender pay-gap statistics. ‘Blind CVs’ where names are left off entirely to where names are left off entirely ‘Blind CVs’ of bias in recruitment processes. reduce the effect Analysing the diversity of speakers and panellists toat events and webinars and notifying organisers help them improve.      

ACCESS.A Sousa to AFBE-UK pointed ACCESS.A ‘ Scotland’s Action Plan’ – an action plan for some simple and important steps that any organisation can take. ● ● ● ● Encouraging the next generation Many of the actions suggested by the panel had generation, including a focus on inspiring the next under-represented groups, to consider a career in STEM and aviation by presenting them as careers they can see themselves thrive in. It is important to show that aerospace, aviation and space are everyone is welcome. global industries in which to across all ages, from primary school Promotion university level, was frequently stressed and the programmes with a wide variety push for extensive of opportunities was encouraged. who have not had visibility of STEM initiatives before, Abubakar recommended a prominent use of social media aimed at generating widespread younger generations use a myriad awareness. The of social media platforms that can be leveraged Actions not statements Actions panel discussion theme throughout the A common on identifying the specific and Q&A was focused to address issues faced actions that can be taken by the BAME the unlawful communities. Following and the subsequent global killing of George Floyd organisations and Lives Matter protests, many Black statements in support. institutions released public made abundantly clear that it has been However, meaningless without action. these statements are only way real progress can Not only is action the statement without following be made but a public actions is perceived to be through with subsequent following a trend, as opposed an act of publicity or to representing the true morals of the organisation. small the panellists who emphasised that lots of for all. These steps by many can lead to big change smaller actions included: ● ● The panel also discussed what organisations, panel also discussed what organisations, The candidates to succeed and feel like they belong, belong, like they to succeed and feel candidates impact experiencing understanding what as well as and ability to on their well-being racism has perform in the workplace. D&I in a post-Covid world socio-economic pandemic has exposed The imbalance issues in more ways than previously publicised. On 16 June 2020 the UK Government released a report revealing the negatively of Covid-19 on the BAMEdisproportionate effect topic was deliberated on by communities. This the panellists who called on organisations to recognise that there is a problem and to embed diversity & inclusion (D&I) as part of the social and economic recovery from the pandemic. The panellists particularly advocated for a shift in recruitment and promotion to showcase what is method discussed in the session possible. The at all levels within involved instigating a change an organisation with recognition of role models career stages being key to this at different panel also addressed the fact that The change. particularly the economic climate has changed, within aviation and, while many of these changes recovery can be are heartbreaking, the industry’s that treated as an opportunity to enact the change is required in a way that makes it resilient to future and avoids repeating history. challenges groups and societies can do in order to create groups and societies can do in order to create safe everyone feels an environment in which speaking up about banter and other associated in behaviours. Abubakar raised the issue that, up can have an speaking many situations today, where the individual is labelled and adverse effect panel discussed this stigmatised for doing so. The stressing that representation in HR further, is as important as representation within the technical fields. Ensuring diversity among those responsible creates for dealing with reports of discrimination a comfortable space for empathy and compassion where concerns are understood and taken seriously. When is banter not banter? not banter? When is banter has been racism One of the ways in which the guise of ‘banter’. by many is under experienced for individuals described banter as a way Barick and derogatory remarks to freely make offensive just banter’ behind the ‘it’s comments, while hiding the route forward panel all agreed that tagline. The is an This it out’. this issue is by ‘calling to tackling only for those who are the important action not witness it. targets of ‘banter’ but also for those who Sousa “any of us can do this… call it out iterated: behaviours unless we because we won’t change accept that something is wrong.”

US Air Force AEROSPACE inclusion Diversity and AEROSPACE IMPROVING IMPROVING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IS ONE OF THE STRATEGIC AIMS OF THE ROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY AND IS A FUNDAMENTAL CONTRIBUTOR THE TO FUTURE THE OF ORGANISATION The inspirational General The Charles Q Brown, Jr is the new Chief of Staff of the US Air Force. 24 BAME Webinar Rep A B f.indd 4BAME Webinar Rep A B f.indd 4 NASA

by the Society and the aerospace sectors to show as reflecting the changes taking place within our NASA-TV featured two that anyone and everyone can succeed in these Corporate Partners. Following the release of the black co-hosts; retired industries. She also called on large organisations Society’s statement on BLM (available to view astronaut Leland D. Melvin and government to sponsor and support these on the RAeS website), the ‘BAME Perspectives and SpaceX Mission Integration Engineer, programmes to enable their success. on Aerospace and Aviation: Shaping the Future’ Lauren Lyons, for their live- webinar was designed to be a starting point streamed launch program, Diversity does not work without to enable further discussions and debates on covering SpaceX’s inclusion race-related matters and to ensure that these successfully launched issues are not overlooked or forgotten. The points manned commercial Attracting and recruiting a more diverse workforce raised throughout the panel discussion and all the expedition into space back in May 2020. is only half the story – how do organisations keep questions submitted to the Q&A have been and will their recruits and enable them to succeed in the be used to inform further activities, drive action for workplace? Reiter advocated for internal support change and improve the inclusivitly of the Society. groups, stating that the Society’s D&I WG was a The D&I WG would like to thank the panellists great initiative, as it allows the Society’s members to and chair for their time and expertise contributing to come together and work through solutions on how the first event of this type for the Royal Aeronautical to diversify the Society’s membership – a critical Society. Thank you also to Rishi Radia, RAeS component to ensuring the Society’s longevity and Education and Diversity Officer, who was the MC relevance in ‘tomorrow’s world’. for the event. For those that missed it, the webinar Abubakar also praised training and was recorded and can be viewed on the Society’s development schemes for managers to help them YouTube channel. Further information on the understand all of their employees and what those Society’s D&I activities, as well as the D&I WG, can employees uniquely need to be able to contribute be found here. The group welcomes any thoughts their best to their teams and thrive, not just survive, and suggestions and will be running further in the workplace. webinars to pick up on related topics in the coming months. If you would like to be involved in any future What next? events, please contact [email protected]. As aerospace faces its biggest challenge yet, Improving diversity and inclusion is one the we should not forget the struggles that many strategic aims of the Royal Aeronautical Society people within our talented workforce face on a and is a fundamental contributor to the future of daily basis. Getting from 40% to 0% is not an easy the organisation. The future viability of the Society endeavour but, in the words of Eddie Rickenbacker: as a membership organisation is predicated on ‘aviation is proof that, given the will, we have the being attractive to the widest audience, as well capacity to achieve the impossible’.

If you would like to be involved in any Diversity and Inclusion future events or discuss employment issues, please contact: [email protected] This Webinar is available to view on the aerosociety channel: youtube.com/user/AeroSocietyChannel

OCTOBER 2020 25

BAME Webinar Rep A B f.indd 5 18/09/2020 17:05 DEFENCE F-35B training Lightning Pathfinders Ahead of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s first operational cruise next year, ALAN WARNES goes behind the scenes with 207 Sqn RAF – the Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) responsible for turning UK pilots into F-35B fighter pilots and readying them for carrier strike.

on’t ever underestimate the difficulties ‘The Dambusters’ and 207 Sqn based at RAF of introducing new capabilities, Marham, Norfolk. While 617 Sqn gets on with particularly when they include the new sharpening its operational capabilities, 207 Sqn is F-35B Lightning on a new aircraft the F-35B Operational Conversion Unit. Air Cdre carrier as Alan Warnes has discovered. David ‘Bradders’ Bradshaw, previously Lightning DNext year there will be a seismic shift in UK Force Commander and now the RAF’s Head of UK capabilities, when the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft Combat Air, said of 207: “As our F-35B training unit, carrier embarks upon its first operational tour – the squadron qualifies its staff, instructs the front known as Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21). With line pilots and eventually new ab-initio pilots as they it comes a plethora of new military systems but come through the training system.” arguably the most important is the fifth generation There is a requirement for 138 F-35s and, to F-35B Lightning II combat aircraft. All hands-are- date, 48 F-35Bs have been approved. Eighteen now-on–deck (excuse the pun) to ensure they, like have been delivered, three to Edwards AFB flying the rest of the aircraft are combat-ready when the with 17 Sqn and 15 to RAF Marham. Another three ship slips anchor from Portsmouth in mid-2021. are expected by the end of the year. Spearheading the F-35B’s introduction into In late-2019, just 18 months after the first service is the Lightning Force, a joint Royal Navy 617 Sqn F-35B Lightning IIs arrived in the UK, the Main: The F-35Bs arrived and RAF command organisation. There are currently embryonic F-35B Lightning Force was declared at RAF Marham in June two UK F-35B Lightning squadrons, 617 Squadron IOC (initial operational capability) – Land. Air Cdre 2018. Alan Warnes

26 AEROSPACE

Lightning Pathfinders A B f.indd 2 18/09/2020 15:13 Bradshaw explains as: “Deploying for any land- from the ship, the unit returned to RAF Marham. based warfighting missions directed by the UK Back home the pilots trained on full mission Government.” simulators, bringing wider ship procedures into play Having overcome that hurdle, the Air Cdre now that can’t be replicated at Warton. The unit then has to guarantee IOC – Carrier by the end of deployed to the ship to qualify seven instructors in Wg C 2020. “Our near-term focus is to ensure the dr day and night ops, while 617 Sqn qualified Sc ot t Lightning Force can fight effectively from ‘M eight pilots in June during Carrier o x the Queen Elizabeth carrier. That’s why ’ Qualification 2 (CQ-2) – four in day W

i l l i 207 Squadron deployed to the ship a and night operations, and four day-

m

s

with its F-35Bs for Exercise Lightning , only. The remaining four will persevere

2 0

Fury in late January for nearly two 7 with their night needs during the next

S

q

weeks.” n carrier qualification (CQ) in September/

(

U

K

M October. o D Working Up ) In addition to qualifying instructors during Exercise Lightning Fury, the unit also Commanded by Wg Cdr Scott ‘Mox’ Williams, 207 checked-out an untested carrier syllabus. “We had Sqn deployed to the carrier on January 28, marking to provide an objective Central Flying School (CFS) the culmination of a three-part work up. The unit accredited view on the content and syllabus, to had spent two weeks at BAE Systems Warton, see how difficult it was and what pertinent lessons Lancashire training at the F-35/Queen Elizabeth we could bring back and spread to the force”, Wg Carrier (QEC) Integration Simulator facility. This is Cdr Williams said, then adding, “We also had to here the cockpit of the F-35 and the flying control build the right supervision levels with our Landing tower (FLYCO) on board HMS Queen Elizabeth Signals Officers (LSOs), allowing us to prepare

are replicated to provide a complete 360-degree and build 617 Sqn in preparation for their June immersive experience for pilots. It has been used to CQ deployment. From a force perspective we simulate thousands of take-offs and landings and were effectively pathfinders in generating core uses highly specialised computational engineering carrier flying skills for 617 to get them ready for to model the air wake of the ship, which is the way going on CSG21 next year. That was key, because air moves around and behind the carrier and flight it is a massive force effort to generate a carrier deck, to replicate the motions that F-35 pilots will capability.” feel in real life. Wg Cdr Williams, who previously had three Lightning Operational Conversion Unit tours flying the Harrier GR7/9 before converting to Tornado GR4 and then F-35B in 2017, continued: No 207 Sqn is the Lightning Operational “We also train LSOs in a separate room, which Conversion Unit, responsible for training pilots to mimics the FLYCO part of the carrier. We have a fly the F-35B Lightning. Since standing up on 1 person in the loop in the aircraft cockpit, with an July 2019, much of the OCU’s time has been taken LSO looking on in the simulated world from the up training the broader F-35B force safely and FLYCO real-time. So any mistakes the pilots make, effectively from the aircraft carrier. As an OCU there tests the supervision of the LSO. We get twice as are many more Qualified Flying Instructors (QFIs) much out of the training during an event when we on the unit compared to an operational squadron go up there. It really immerses you into the ship and Qualified Weapons Instructors (QWIs) too. QFIs environment day and night and recreates the real concentrate on teaching pilots to fly the F-35B experience by more than 90%.” and QWIs teach how to tactically use the weapons Once the training at Warton was complete and carried by the jet. On 207 Sqn, all of the instructor all the personnel were fully conversant with flying pilots are QFIs but there are three QWIs, including

OCTOBER 2020 27

Lightning Pathfinders A B f.indd 3 18/09/2020 15:13 DEFENCE F-35B Lightning

Alan Warnes the OC; “I am a Harrier QWI, while the other two are from the Typhoon and Tornado GR4. We have the QWI qualification but it is not necessarily transferrable to being the tactical expert on F-35 that would be expected.” That won’t be the case for too much longer, as Wg Cdr Williams explained; “We will fix that in 2022 by running the first Lightning QWI course at RAF Marham in tandem with the Typhoon QWI course, allowing us to blend the 4th and 5th gen capabilities. It will run for 10-11 months and the product you get at the end of the course should be extremely good.” Today there are currently eight QFIs on the unit, six are RAF and two RN but the latter are now growing and the mix should eventually be six/ four broadly in line with the official 58%-42% Joint Lightning Force split. Above: The F-35B in the Eight ab-initio pilots, have progressed through the the hover showing the training stream, rather than from another front-line doors and inlets for its LiftFan. aircraft, to join the Lightning Force. The first four went through RAF Valley, flying the Hawk T2 in Below: F-35B pilots also train on the F-35B/QEC 2017 before being posted to VMFAT-501 at MCAS simulator at the same Beaufort, South Carolina where they converted to the time, before flying from the F-35B. All four are now on the front line with 617 aircraft carrier. Sqn, two being candidates for the 2022 QWI course. Bottom: The F-35B/QEC There are currently four ab-initio pilots simulator at BAE Systems, progressing through 207 Sqn – two are well into Warton is where LSOs can their flying syllabus and the other pair have just practise their skills before started their ground school during early July. going to the carrier. Wg Cdr Williams commented, “We feed back to

BAE Systems MFTS the essential attributes that we are looking for in students; namely good captaincy, high levels of mental capacity and the ability to fly accurately whilst operating a high-performance aircraft.” When arriving at RAF Marham to join the Lightning Force, students undergo seven weeks of ground school at the Integrated Training Centre. In the facility, next door to the unit, pilots, engineers and mission support staff learn their trade. Pilot training aids (PTAs), essentially touch screen cockpit trainers – monitors with PCs and joy-stick/ throttle systems are essential tools. Then there is a four-week phase on full mission simulators (FMS) – with each student facing 20 different scenarios to build their knowledge. This includes practising the

BAE Systems STOVL (short take-off and vertical landing) regime, so covering short take-offs, slow landings, rolling vertical landings and vertical landings on the pads. To make things a little easier when it comes to flying the aircraft, the FMS’ mirror RAF Marham’s layout. Once completed, the students then face eight dedicated emergency simulations, like engine flame-out procedures. With a better than 1:1 glide ratio, the F-35 can glide pretty well, so they are taught the art of safely recovering an F-35B without a working engine! Wg Cdr Williams explained; “We want students to make a decision as to whether they have the energy to safely glide the jet back; if they can, great. If not, we want students to make a safe decision to eject.”

28 AEROSPACE

Lightning Pathfinders A B f.indd 4 18/09/2020 15:13 UK Mod UK

Completing the simulation work culminates in Ensuring the F-35B is trials aboard the French Navy’s Charles de Gaulle an emergency procedures validation (EPVal). Until qualified to operate from carrier in 2007. When returning to the carrier, an then, pilots have been taught by contracted BAE the Queen Elizabeth aircraft operational airborne Harrier would normally pull up instructor pilots at the ITC. Come the EPVal, a carrier is a major landmark beside the ship and then hover sideways across the military instructor steps in for the first time, to check for the fifth gen jet. deck and land, just as the F-35 does. SRVL allows the student’s emergency and general handling the aircraft to keep the forward speed, with the on- capabilities and, if that’s not at the level expected, board computers able to help the jet create wing lift. they will get more time. An instrument rating test At the same time, the thrust from its engine and lift immediately follows and, if they pass both, they re- fan creates the forward momentum that can directly join 207 Sqn to commence live flying on the F-35B. translate to a bring back capability. This allows the “Once the students have successfully completed aircraft to accomplish a slow landing speed of 57 the EPVal and general handling check they then knots and the ability to return with more weapons become part of the unit. Until then they may have and fuel, especially in hot temperatures. worn a 207 Sqn patch but will only have joined us at The SRVL system is intrinsically designed into social events.” the F-35B’s control laws, so if you press the button to go from conventional flight to STOVL, all the Landing on a carrier aircraft’s [engine] doors open up, as Wg Cdr William explains; “Below approximately 45kt air speed You might have thought being an ex-Harrier GR7/9 you enter the jet borne flight regime and the flight pilot would be an advantage when flying the F-35B controls behave slightly differently. For instance, but Wg Cdr Williams didn’t necessarily agree; “only pulling or pushing the stick no longer commands 5% of what I learnt flying the STOVL Harrier is any a pitch rate but instead commands a vertical use on the STOVL F-35B.” climb or descent rate. Applying rudder pedal input He continued; “One thing is for sure, it’s much generates side-slip ordinarily but in jet borne flight it easier flying a F-35 onto a carrier than a Harrier. I commands a yaw rate. Throttle movement demands flew day and night ops from the HMS Illustrious acceleration forward or rearwards from a central and HMS Invincible in my Harrier days. Landing at detent position.” night with winds up to 35 knots with bad weather It was a different story on the Harrier, as the and limited visibility on a big pitching deck is the OC explains; “With Harrier you controlled height scariest thing I’ve ever done in an aircraft! It was all with the throttle – a little power off and back on so manual, with the stick, throttle and nozzle controls to descend. However, if you tried that in F-35 – needing frequent adjustment.” where, as explained, the throttle controls forward Wg Cdr Williams added; “In the F-35B you could and backward movement – you’d end up darting take your hands off the the aircraft’s controls in the forwards or backwards. So, having other STOVL hover day or night while alongside the ship and, as aircraft handling experience can be rather counter- long as you have set the system up correctly the productive.” aircraft will hardly move.” The Wg Cdr admitted that landing the F-35 on a The shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) carrier at night is one of the most challenging things concept, as the system is termed, was invented from a handling perspective. “But there are lots of by the UK on the VAAC (Vectored Thrust Aircraft things we do tactically that are more challenging for Advanced Control) Harrier, which was proved during the pilots as they come through.”

OCTOBER 2020 29

Lightning Pathfinders A B f.indd 5 18/09/2020 15:13 AIR TRANSPORT Airliner storage Clipped wings

With thousands of the world’s airliners currently grounded, JOHN WALTON looks at the challenges of keeping these aircraft stored and maintained. or those of us for whom seeing TARMAC stores aircraft at its headquarters in commercial aircraft soaring overhead Tarbes, near Lourdes in France’s southwest, at is a part of life – or indeed a part of our nearby Toulouse-Francazal (the first airport in lives – Covid-19 has been a very visible what is now France’s aerospace capital), at Vatry change. That is true for the airlines that airport some two hours to the east of Paris in Foperate them too and indeed aircraft that many northeastern France, and at Teruel in the high people consider old friends have been retired, mountains of eastern Spain. Its shareholders often unceremoniously. are Airbus, Safran and French water and waste Whether it is the last departure of an iconic 747 management utility Suez, which each hold roughly or a flagship A380, the niche A340-600 or the a third of the company. last few MD-80 and -90 T-tails, all the way to more However, there is a crucial difference between surprising final acts for jets like Delta Air Lines’ ‘active storage’ and ‘prolonged storage’, Lecer Boeing 777 fleet, the shape of the aircraft we fly on tells AEROSPACE. When active, engineers keep has been changed by this crisis. the aircraft in flight-ready condition for up to But after those aircraft head off for a well- approximately three months, after which it goes earned rest to the proverbial or literal desert, what into long-term storage, where a range of tests are about the far greater number of those that are left performed on a regular basis. behind, whether that is a long-term storage until the United Airlines’ Vice President for Technical industry has recovered significantly, or a shorter- Operations Planning and Strategy, Kurt Carpenter term parking to be part of the immediate response? explains that; “‘active storage’ can preserve an aircraft safely for a few months while ‘prolonged The first big question: to park or to storage’ can preserve an aircraft safely much store? longer. It involves covering windshields, landing gears, dispensing a moisture remover in the cabin, “Storing an aircraft means keeping it alive,” anti-growth agent in fuel tanks, openings are explains Patrick Lecer, president of French covered, [and] applying lubricant to cables and the aeronautical services company TARMAC Aerosave. deactivation of certain systems.”

30 AEROSPACE

Airline Storage A B f.indd 2 18/09/2020 17:08 Oliver Roesler/Lufthansa 31 18/09/2020 17:0918/09/2020 17:09 OCTOBER 2020 substances are placed cabin, in engines and aircraft, while batteries and treatments tanks to prevent any growth. basis, the procedures the aircraft every . “The most interesting Parking an aircraft, says Tarmac’s Patrick Lecer, Lecer, Patrick an aircraft, says Tarmac’s Parking Flight controls, landing gears and other surfaces On an ongoing “The parking and storage the of aircraft is an include checking include checking part has been seeing how these methods and procedures have developed and adapted to the global pandemic, and how manufacturers and operators have workedtogether to improve how we park and store aircraft for the yearsto come.” depending on the protocol.“takes days to weeks it arrives on our sites, first we park it on hard When weight.paved dedicated parking, depending on its empty the liquids do a complete inspection, tests, We sensitive – fuel, hydraulic, etc – and we protect each wheels,part: windows, landing gears, probes, engines, tires, brakes, seats, floor and all openings.” are are lubricated. Maintenance manual procedures applied and dessicant throughout the other spaces in the are disconnected applied to the fuel microbiological stopgap replacements forthe Dreamliner during the latter’s extensive Rolls-Royce engine reliability fleet will not return to service andissues) 747 with the airline. extremely complex and detailed process,” Denis Brailsford, Virgin Atlantic’s Manager for Aircraft Assets, tells AEROSPACE “The mix of aircraft in the storage program will mix of aircraft in the storage “The United parking from 700 aircraft parked approximately United has like The carrier, both fleets. its mainline and express a substantial proportion of most US airlines, sells or contract regional airlines, its flights on subsidiary brand. using the United Express United operates type of aircraft that include each in storage will vary based and the quantity of aircraft Carpenter explains to our capacity,” on changes majority were stored where . “The to AEROSPACE maintenance facilities and United has in-house tend to be the These aircraft appropriate staffing. that make a manner in such ones that are stored them less labour intensive to return to service when demand returns. A smaller portion of the fleet, to requiring more substantial maintenance prior facilities returning to service, will be stored in offsite Arizona and Roswell, New Mexico.” in Goodyear, storage Virgin Since hitting pause on its passenger flights in April, VirginAtlantic 1,000 flew over cargo-only flights during the months May of and June. The airline consolidated these operations, simplifying its fleet onto and the Airbus Boeing A350-1000, 787-9 while putting its Airbus A330-200 and -300 and aircraft intoBoeing storage. 747 The A330-200 (formerfleet Air Berlin aircraft introduced as Airline Storage A B f.indd 3Airline Storage A B f.indd 3 AIR TRANSPORT Airliner storage

week, performing inspections, adding lubricant and been travelling to parked aircraft in Glasgow and running tests. Doncaster every seven days. “We carry out maintenance checks every seven days,” explains Virgin Atlantic’s Matt Sharp, Senior Airlines scrambled to park and store Manager for Aircraft Maintenance at the airline’s London Heathrow hub. “This is quite a simple Inside company war rooms and emergency strategy inspection where the aircraft is powered up and a sessions, airlines were forced to respond to the few checks are carried out, fluid levels, battery power Covid-19 crisis in ways that few had prepared for, and any status messages. We also perform a walk both in terms of grounding their aircraft and then around, both internally and externally, to check for any reactivating them to serve urgent needs like skeleton leaks or damage to ensure the aircraft is still correctly essential services and medical cargo transportation. blanked.” Blanking is the process by which all external A tale of two parking cities

“At a time in which the global pandemic had an Lufthansa unprecedented impact upon the aviation industry, our home bases of Manchester and London Heathrow (were) incredible in supporting our parking requests,” says Virgin’s Brailsford. “However, with the majority of the European fleet grounded, tarmac was limited, resulting in parking at a number of locations. Doncaster immediately stood out as a perfect match, allowing us to park our aircraft while using our maintenance teams from Manchester to perform periodic parking checks.” The two cities’ airports are separated by roughly an hour and a half by car: important, says Brailsford, so that engineers “can regularly perform checks to ensure our fleet is airworthy and ready to return Oliver Roesler/Lufthansa to service when required. Further maintenance requirements are another factor, while we had all seven of our B747 fleet on the ground in Manchester is a great example of this. They underwent a programme of engine changes and other activity in readiness for them to retire from our fleet. It was necessary to reunite engines with their original airframes ahead of the sale or return to the lessor of each aircraft. “ “There are a number of considerations that need to be taken into account when storing aircraft. Key factors include humidity and weather conditions,” Brailsford explains. “For example, the dry air at Ciudad Real (CQM, the somewhat infamous ‘south Madrid’ airport) where we have stored some of our 747s and A330s, is ideal.” openings of the aircraft, everything from engine intakes to pitot tubes and beyond, are covered up. A finnished fleet Further checks are then carried out at 14, 30, 60 and 180 days. The 30-day checks include removing Finnair parked the majority of its fleet, including blanks, running the engines at idle, turning the air most of its Airbus narrowbody aircraft, while conditioning system on, and moving the aircraft serving strongly reduced domestic Finland demand in order to rotate the wheels and power up the for urgent travel – some 5% of normal – with brakes. These checks take some 60 person-hours to its fleets of Embraer E190 and ATR 72 aircraft. complete. Internationally, meanwhile, it operated both its At 180 days, the aircraft enters a maintenance widebody types, the Airbus A350 and A330, with hangar for a full check and inspection: lubrication of varying mixes of passenger and cargo payloads. flight controls, removal of wheels for axle inspections, “For our long-haul fleets,” Finnair’s A350 and so on, taking some 300 person-hours. Programme Manager Sara Mosebar explains, “we This can be complex logistically, Virgin have our newer A350 fleet which, of course, is Atlantic’s maintenance staff in Manchester have more fuel-efficient, more economical to operate

32 AEROSPACE

Airline Storage A B f.indd 4 18/09/2020 17:09 and with a larger cargo capacity. The A350 was the or leased also comes into play. “We think about obvious choice for most of our cargo operation. It’s the leasing conditions we have for certain aircraft, highly dependent on the distances you’re flying and we see costs of utilisation but primarily one of the then the size and capacity of what you’re carrying. things we took into consideration with the A330 It is like any normal operation but then it’s highly modification was that we have half of our A330 specific: where could we fly our customers? Where fleet as owned and half of it as leased,” Mosebar was the cargo demand?” notes. “For Finnair, it was easier to do the cargo The A350 operated with belly cargo and, for the modification in terms of changing the passenger most part, passengers in the passenger cabin but configuration into cargo for the aircraft that we own some flights were in an EASA-approved all-cargo versus those that we lease. For the A350 there layout, where lightweight freight – usually Covid- were a lot of fuel conditions, weight savings, leasing 19-related items like personal protective equipment terms – while, on the A330 it was primarily the lease (PPE) – was shipped in boxes on passenger seats conditions we were looking at.” in the main cabin. For those missions, Mosebar says; “we primarily focused on hubs where we already had established Finnair route structures, because there is a lot that goes into an aircraft to any hub. Do you have the appropriate maintenance personnel available? Is there someone available to service the aircraft? Do we have all the flight permissions to go to certain airfields? All of that is already in place when we focus on places where we are already operating.” Some of Finnair’s A330s, meanwhile, saw passenger seats removed to become all-freight aircraft, allowing the transportation of even more lightweight cargo in the passenger cabin. “The seats were removed, carpeting put down over the rails that you would normally have exposed, and then points Finnair were made for the attachment points for netting, so that way everything could be secured,” Mosebar explains. “One of the interesting things about that is that in the cargo hold of a normal commercial aircraft there are smoke detection systems installed. In the interior of the aircraft, it’s mostly reliant on the fact that people are present most of the time, so the smoke detection is only in the lavatories and in specific areas in the passenger compartment. So we had to have someone monitoring the interior of the cabin and the load during the flight for smoke detection purposes.”

Which to store?

Nonetheless, almost every Finnair aircraft, including the widebodies, have been stored at some point, As the crisis continued, it became clear that a key with only three A350s flying at the nadir of part of the puzzle is not storing any one aircraft for operations. But how does an airline decide which too long. Aircraft are, after all, made for flying and, the aircraft to store? longer they sit on the ground, the more maintenance “For the A350s, there’s a lot that goes into it,” they require, both to be kept in readiness and to Mosebar says. “Some of the aircraft are heavier than return to service. As a result, Finnair had a crack team the others, so obviously that immediately impacts of specialists deciding which particular tail numbers fuel efficiency. The older aircraft, specifically our first would be passing in and out of service. three aircraft, are line numbers 18, 19 and 20, so “At the very beginning,” Mosebar explains, ‘it they’re something like four tonnes heavier than the seemed as though it would be as simple as ‘okay, latest standard of the A350s coming off the line. we’re going to store those, we’re going to operate So those were some of the earliest aircraft parked, these three. Then it very quickly evolved into a and will continue to be parked until we return to full regular process of trying to rotate the tails as much long-haul operations for the A350s.” as possible to minimise the amount of manpower The question of whether aircraft are owned utilisation from the maintenance perspective.”

OCTOBER 2020 33

Airline Storage A B f.indd 5 18/09/2020 17:09 Airline Storage AB f.indd 6 34

ECTran71/WikipediaCommons AEROSPACE and thenyoucanchoose toparkitforthreemonths. can choose upto15daysoronemonthprocedure, beginning. For instance,theA320sandA330s,you type, youcanchoose yourparkingperiodatthe parking procedure,dependingontheaircraft the safety,” Mosebarsays.“Intermsoftheinitial and protectingtheaircraft,aswellmaintaining you havetoconsiderismaintainingtheassetvalue unprecedented numberofaircraft,atspeed. airframers, andtooptimiseprocessesparkan foroperators and review everytaskrequired,both what doesgointoparking.” end, reviewalltheproceduresandfigureout exactly in oursystem:wehadtodevelopallofthaton just hadtheseregularjobcardtemplatesavailable we generallywouldhaveused.It’s notasthoughwe maintenance documentationbutit’s notsomething procedures foreveryaircraftaspartoftheir manufacturer) –haspublishedstorageandparking seen thisscaleofparkingforperiodtime.” this scaleofparkinganywhere.The worldhas never aircraft historically, becausenormallyyoudon’tsee a lotofconsiderationhasgoneintotheparking revelations thatwehadduringthisperiodisnot Mosebar jokes:“verycarefully!Oneofthe howdoyouparkanaircraft?Finnair’sSo, Sara A gianttask “When youparkanaircraft,thefirstthingthat An immenseamountofworkwasneededto “Airbus (originalequipment –andanyOEM Airliner storage TRANSPORT AIR 500 CHOCKS? GET GOING TO ARE WE WHERE THIS.THINK: YOU GOING INTO THINK ABOUT NORMALLY EVEN WOULDN’T THAT YOU PROBLEMS ARE THESE THERE – especiallythoseinunusualplaces,asthevarious ballet ofparkingonaprons,taxiwaysandrunways there tobeparkednormally. a delicate That isboth have spaceforalltheaircraftnotionallybased to keepaircraftintheairandmosthubsdonot entire fleetsatonce.Airlineschedules aredesigned aircraft. calendar day, withteamsworkingatpacetoparkan aircraft per work arerequiredtostoreawidebody ready forstorage,”Mosebarexplains. drained. Everythingischecked, preserved,andthen cleaned anddrained.The potablewater systemis the parkingperiodaswell.The waste systemis microbial growth,andthat’s monitoredthroughout the fueltankstomakesurethereisnopresent in termsoflubrication.Fuel samples are takenfrom covered. Landinggearsarechecked andprotected be lubricated.Everyexternal probeis cappedand protectionisinstalled.The doorsneedto that. APU covered –engines,thrustreversers,inlets,allof have tobeapplied,everypartoftheengine That listiscertainlyextensive. “Externalprotections External protections involved.” There’s nottoomuch difference intermsofwhat’s that allowsyoutostoreforupthreemonths. For theA350,there’s asingleparkingprocedure But few airlineswerepreparedtoparktheir Finnair estimatesthatsome30person-hoursof 18/09/2020 17:09 pictures of aircraft sinking through the surface of rectify faults that may occur in the context of taxiways show – and a need for hardware. storage and its monitoring.” As the fleet took to the ground, Mosebar That work can be performed by a storage recounts; “there are these problems that you specialist such as TARMAC, by an airline’s own wouldn’t even normally think about going into this. maintenance staff, or by a combination of the two. You think: where are we going to get 500 chocks?” “United Tech Ops technicians, engineering, “Finnair”, Mosebar says, “needed chocks for quality control personnel and others are every single airplane: almost for the whole grounded responsible for performing and overseeing the fleet and, of course we don’t have that many storage of our aircraft at our in-house locations,” chocks. So Finnair Engineering commissioned United’s Carpenter explains, noting that “at the off- what we call our Corona Chocks, made by local site locations where work is being performed by Finnish carpenters. That was a great example of our FAA approved essential maintenance providers, the resourcefulness of engineering and of the United has a vendor management team providing cooperation here in general.” oversight of all maintenance activity being performed. This includes ongoing quality assurance Keeping aircraft maintained is a audits that ensure adherence to proper procedures complicated endeavour while maintaining the integrity and safety of the fleet.” There is a reason why the famous boneyard Modern technology is certainly helping storage sites are in the desert, explains TARMAC engineers: tablets mean that critical information Aerosave’s Patrick Lecer. “Moisture, condensation about processes and procedures are at and salt are the enemies of storage, which can maintenance teams’ fingertips, while online lead to corrosion. A temperate environment, databases can show the condition and status of far from the salt air without strong temperature aircraft in storage, scheduled for storage, scheduled variations, is therefore recommended but, above to return for storage, or in active service. all extensive monitoring, in order to anticipate It is technology – or, more accurately, the premature aging, is essential. The protection expertise that it amplifies and multiplies in terms and associated periodic checks of the aircraft of person-hours, management information and are also very important to avoid intrusions of all other advantages – that will help airlines to make kinds – animals, objects, etc. In addition, heavier informed choices about aircraft as they start maintenance expertise is essential to control and returning to our skies.

OCTOBER 2020 35

Airline Storage A B f.indd 7 18/09/2020 17:09 AIR TRANSPORT Investing in safety American Airlines

Beyond safety The Royal Aeronautical Society HUMAN FACTORS in FLIGHT OPERATIONS and TRAINING GROUP explains, why, despite these unprecedented times, aviation organisations need to aim to exceed, not just meet safety standards. n these unprecedented times for the aviation project can have far less distinct markers of industry, many airlines are desperately trying success. Is it an absence of accidents or incidents? to survive and are reviewing the investments These are usually rare enough that their perceived they make in different areas of their operation. absence may be a statistical anomaly. A decrease in So, what are the considerations that drive safety reports? Perhaps something has happened Iinvestment in the airline industry? Load factors, in the company that has made employees less likely certainly. Profit, most definitely. Safety, absolutely. to file reports. These problems can often make it Since the advent of human factors (HF) and, more tricky for operators and instructors at the sharp specifically, crew resource management (CRM), end of the organisation to convince stakeholders safety and training departments within airlines have to make, maintain or increase investment in these made their case for investment in this area on the areas. The best organisations account for this and basis of improving safety. invest anyway and it is to their credit that they do. Demonstrating a return on investment in However, in this article we hope to demonstrate that safety-related areas can be difficult because the there are tangible benefits to investing in human endpoints which demonstrate success can be far factors beyond improving safety. more abstract and nebulous than the bottom line. An investment in marketing, for example, can be Investing in people seen to have worked if there is an increase in public awareness of the company and a corresponding In order to define the scope of this article a little increase in sales. An investment in a safety-related more clearly, we are looking at the non-safety

36 AEROSPACE

Beyond Safety B A f.indd 2 18/09/2020 17:10 related benefits of CRM/HF training in airlines. irrespective of whether that runway is at an airport The table below shows a selection of the topics/ served by their airline, is close to the planned competencies in the regulatory guidance that are destination or has effective engineering support required to be covered during classroom, simulator which will get the aircraft back into service again and line training for pilots and cabin crew. These quickly. A more nuanced decision-making process topics have been selected as they illustrate how this that factors in the input from ground operations, kind of training can confer benefits to the airline in engineering support and flight operations control addition to improving safety: may lead crews to select an airport with a shorter runway (but still long enough to land safely) but which offers far more chance of getting the Classroom Simulator and Line Training passengers to their destination efficiently and the Human performance and limitations Communication aircraft back into operation quickly. All other things Personality awareness Leadership and teamwork being equal, a longer runway is theoretically ‘safer’ Attitudes and behaviours Problem solving/decision making than a shorter one (for example, a grossly unstable approach that lands well outside the touchdown Self-assessment Workload management zone would have a better chance of avoiding an Stress management overrun on a longer runway). Why then would it be Information acquisition and processing acceptable for crews to land on a shorter one? The Fatigue nature of commercial aviation requires operators Effective communication and co-ordination to balance safety and efficiency. It is theoretically Leadership, co-operation, synergy safer from a fatigue point of view that pilots only and delegation operate one flight per day. However, this would be highly inefficient and so, a trade-off between Resilience development efficiency and safety needs to be made. A longer Organisational factors and safety culture runway may be safer but this doesn’t necessarily Cultural differences mean a shorter runway is ‘unsafe’. If a landing distance calculation can be made accurately and the input of other parties be solicited, a robust and defensible decision may be to continue to the To construct this article, the members of the planned destination or divert to an airport that is Royal Aeronautical Society standing group for an engineering base and offers transit links for Human Factors in Flight Operations and Training the passengers, despite it not having the longest were asked to look into ways in which investment in runway of the potential diversion options. human factors training benefits organisations with The role of the airline is to make sure that the exception of the obvious safety benefits. As we crews are equipped with tools to allow them to have worked on this as a team, it is being published make these decisions and to ensure that they are without the names of the individual members. trained to use them effectively. Formal decision- making tools can be taught in the classroom and Operational efficiency reinforced in the simulator and on the line. These skills may also be of benefit to employees in other When managing non-normal situations on board departments and several members of the Human aircraft, in all likelihood one of the decisions which Factors Group who work with organisations in this will need to be made either explicitly or implicitly way have reported great success when training is whether the flight will continue, divert or return groups comprising employees from all departments to the departure airport. Such situations may arise within the organisation, not only the flight because of technical failures, changes in the operations department. weather or, indeed, events in the cabin (medical issues, disruptive passengers, etc). In all but the Crew management, absenteeism most critical emergencies (for example, where and retention getting to an airport is not an option), the flight will do one of these three things – continue, divert or Estimates suggest that the number of pilots and return. Experienced pilots will be aware that there cabin crew working in the aviation industry pre- are a huge number of variables that affect this Covid-19 amount to just over one million. That decision but, as any simulator instructor will tell you, number approaches two million when other airline different crews often arrive at different conclusions employees are included. The working environment based on how they have carried out the decision- on an aircraft is somewhat unique given that making process. one crew member must work for extended A technical failure resulting in an increase in periods of time and in close proximity to other the length of runway required for landing may lead crew members whom they may have only met crews to seek out the longest runway available, for the first time at the start of the duty. In other

OCTOBER 2020 37

Beyond Safety B A f.indd 3 18/09/2020 17:10 AIR TRANSPORT Investing in safety

environments, one gets to know one’s colleagues Reducing absenteeism and this increasing familiarity can help the working relationship, as people get accustomed to each Absenteeism due to stress and fatigue can be other’s personalities. In the dynamic, multi-cultural, partly addressed through CRM training and other multi-generational, increasingly diverse and related human factors interventions. Employee frequently stressful world of commercial aviation, morale and the perceived friendliness of the THE CULTURE this familiarity may be missing, which presents workplace is undoubtedly going to affect an OF AN AIRLINE, a greater opportunity for misunderstanding and, individual’s level of work-related stress. Since the potentially, conflict. advent of fatigue risk management, crew are a OR A BASE While such conflict will have an adverse effect lot more aware of how best to ensure they get an WITHIN AN on team cohesion and overall safety, it can spill adequate amount of restful sleep. Additionally, peer AIRLINE, MAY over into more formal recrimination. The culture support programmes are being introduced across BE SUCH THAT of an airline, or a base within an airline, may be the industry. Some organisations are going further such that crew engage in tit-for-tat reporting of than the regulations require and are implementing CREW ENGAGE colleagues which increases workload for crew them for all staff, not only flight crew. This IN TIT-FOR-TAT managers. The European syllabus for CRM training investment clearly demonstrates a commitment REPORTING OF contains many topics which relate to this problem towards employee’s well-being. A study by Deloitte and the regulations give operators quite a lot of found that, for every £1 an employer invests in COLLEAGUES scope in how they cover these topics. For example, mental health and wellbeing programmes for WHICH a training session on ‘effective communication’ may their employees, they receive a £5 return on that INCREASES include guidance on how best to give feedback. investment through decreased absenteeism and WORKLOAD A session on ‘leadership and co-operation’ may increased productivity and retention. cover guidance on conflict solving. These are There are significant costs connected with the FOR CREW skills that not only have safety advantages when turnover of crew in an airline associated with the MANAGERS. employed in non-normal situations but can also recruitment and training processes, as well as the equip airline employees with the tools they need to time that this takes. Some studies suggest that successfully manage other work-related difficulties the cost of replacing a pilot may be 50% of that without the need for higher level intervention. pilot’s annual salary and that some companies Employees who are well-trained in these areas experience a turnover of more than 30% of their are more likely to have the capacity to deal with workforce annually. Various studies in aviation and complex, dynamic situations. This ability increases non-aviation companies have tried to determine the resilience on the individual level and, once well the factors that affect an individual’s desire to established, increases the resilience of the team/s leave a company. In one study of airline pilots, job that employee is a part of and, ultimately, the satisfaction was a stronger predictor of a pilot’s organisation as a whole. intention to leave a company than annual salary

38 AEROSPACE

Beyond Safety B A f.indd 4 18/09/2020 17:10 Embraer

alone. In this study, job satisfaction increased Only with an understanding of passenger and with factors such as organisational commitment, crew human factors can the next generation of ultra- supportive management and interpersonal long-haul flights be successful. Qantas has recently relationships. For example, an organisation that can been investigating this in advance of its planned demonstrate a commitment to improve and invest ultra-long-haul flights from Sydney to Europe and the in safety will reap the additional benefit that this east coast of the US. Project Sunrise was established demonstration of commitment brings to employee to determine how to maximise crew and passenger job satisfaction. well-being during ultra-long-haul flights, although Covid-19 means this project may well be delayed. Brand reputation and customer engagement Conclusion

Airline employees, especially cabin crew, are It can be difficult to present evidence for the safety increasingly aware that potentially any inflight benefits of CRM training. It can be even harder to event may end up being recorded by one or more do so for the non-safety related benefits. The skills passengers. The announcements made by pilots and taught in the classroom and consolidated in the cabin crew, how the crew appear to interact with simulator and on the line are elaborations on what each other and how passengers are treated may all we do every day. be uploaded to social media and beyond incredibly We all make decisions but how well do we quickly. As such, the performance indicators which make them? We all have to manage disagreement demonstrate the presence (or absence) of particular in the workplace but how well do we manage it? human factors competencies may be on display There is no denying that CRM training came into to the world. In one particular case, would greater being to address the human element in aviation cultural awareness have prevented a pilot from accidents and incidents but it also presents another suggesting that passengers pray for a successful opportunity for us. It would be wrong to suggest landing? Conversely, the actions and behaviour of that an airline should shift focus away from CRM the cabin crew of Asiana Flight 214 that crashed on training being primarily about improving safety but approach to San Francisco International were widely the techniques taught are more widely applicable. and positively reported in the media. There have also While it is good to know that crew have these skills been cases where disagreements between crew at hand when things go wrong, these same skills members have become apparent to passengers with can be applied far more frequently to benefit an some media reports of physical aggression between airline beyond safety, a fact that might be useful to crew members in flight. remember during these unprecedented times.

RAeS Human Factors in Flight Operations and Training (HFG[Ops]): www.raes-hfg.com/hfg-ops-membership LinkedIn group: Royal Aeronautical Society Human Factors Group – Flight Operations and Training

OCTOBER 2020 39

Beyond Safety B A f.indd 5 18/09/2020 17:10 AEROSPACE Microsoft Flight Simulator review

Return of the king

The biggest name in PC flight simulation has returned. TIM ROBINSON FRAeS casts a critical eye over the latest 2020 reboot of Microsoft’s long-running Flight Simulator series. Why is this one so significant?

he big news is that, after 14 years, flight simulation that is not only the best looking software giant Microsoft has returned sim available but possibly the best looking current to flight simulation – a genre that it first video game as well. In screenshots it is sometimes pioneered back in 1982. impossible to tell it apart from a real photo. Its latest offering, developed by Key to its appeal is how it deals with scenery Above: The most TFrench games studio Asobo, features 30 aircraft allowing for low-level VFR flight anywhere on the spectacular journeys in the Premium Deluxe edition, ranging from the globe by using Microsoft’s Azure Cloud AI, Bing aerial are possible including a Zlin Savage Cub and Cirrus SR22 to the A320neo and satellite images and Black Shark AI to create meeting with Christ the and 787 Dreamliner. Meanwhile, more than 37,000 an immersive and highly realistic world – that is so Redeemer statue in Rio de airports and airfields across the entire globe are detailed that you will be able to find your street and Janeiro. modelled – with 40 hand-crafted ones, including house. Below: Athens and the In the cockpit of global hubs like JFK, Heathrow and Dubai in the Photo or satellite scenery is not new but used Acropolis in MSFS. Note how the autogen AI renders Premium Deluxe version, as well as smaller but iconic to be limited to 2D overlays over 3D terrain meshes. the buildings as typical MS Flight Simulator ones, such as Courchevel, Gibraltar and Aspen. In recent years, sims have tried blending generic Mediterranean sun- But why is this version causing such a stir? Let’s autogen buildings with satellite imagery, with varying bleached white. Recommended System Specs (high graphics): take a look at the top ten reasons. results, as one style of architecture looks completely ● OS: Windows 10 out of place in other parts of the world. Using ● Processor: Intel i5-8400 | AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 1. T he entire world to explore in VFR AI though, you can train agents to interpret and ● Memory: 16 GB RAM flight recognise not only houses, flats and factories and ● Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 970 | AMD Radeon RX 590 render their shape but also to know that a Middle- ● DirectX: Version 11 The last Microsoft flightsim, FSX, was released back Eastern dwelling will be different to an LA suburb ● Storage: 150GB available space in 2006 and the jump in PC graphics, processing and apply details. The result then is spellbinding, with Joystick, internet power in the past 14 years has meant the Asobo red tiled roofs in Italy, slums in Mumbai, chalets in has been able to produce a truly next-generation Switzerland and so forth. Night lighting too has been Stream £59 Standard/£79.99 Deluxe/£109.99 Premium Deluxe

40 AEROSPACE

MS Flight Sim Gamechanger f.indd 2 18/09/2020 17:14 carefully colour-matched so that a UK city at night See the world with MS looks different to Singapore, for example. Flight simulator! From Some 300 cities (such as New York and Las top: Flying over Dubai, Egypt’s Pyramids, New Vegas) also benefit from additional photogrammetry York city and Uluru in which uses low-level oblique aerial photos taken from Australia. various angles to construct a virtual 3D model of the city. However, the biggest stumbling block to using high-resolution satellite images in flight sims until now has been disk space. The solution is to stream the data directly from cloud servers – allowing simmers to fly over any part of the world in incredible detail. On Microsoft’s cloud system, there are two petabytes of satellite data that cover the entire planet. (One petabyte is 1,000,000Gb). This obviously needs an always-on online connection for it to work properly but the sim can be run offline, in which case it reverts to FSX-style ‘autogen’ scenery. However, this does not mean that the scenery is perfect and much amusement can be had by finding glitches in the terrain and rendering, including a giant tower in Melbourne, roads that go vertical and buildings that the AI renders as vegetation. In particular, the AI seems to have difficulty in recognising bridges, cranes, aerials and vertical objects – church steeples, for example, in the UK and northern Europe are missing. These however are minor quibbles and make no mistake – MSFS is an absolutely jaw-droppingly beautiful piece of software, prompting a huge surge in PC hardware as people rush out to upgrade their computers and explore the world. One estimate that this could lead to $2.6bn in PC hardware and peripherals.

2. Weather is now scary

If terrain looks amazing – the lighting and weather system is phenomenal – with atmospheric scattering and 3D volumetric clouds that make the landscape change with the weather. Breaking through thick overcast into bright sunlight and seeing towering canyons of cloud around you produces a ‘wow’

In the cockpit of MS Flight Simulator Recommended System Specs (high graphics): ● OS: Windows 10 ● Processor: Intel i5-8400 | AMD Ryzen 5 1500X ● Memory: 16 GB RAM ● Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 970 | AMD Radeon RX 590 ● DirectX: Version 11 ● Storage: 150GB available space Joystick, internet Stream £59 Standard/£79.99 Deluxe/£109.99 Premium Deluxe

OCTOBER 2020 41

MS Flight Sim Gamechanger f.indd 3 18/09/2020 17:14 AEROSPACE Microsoft Flight Simulator review

distance would be welcome, although low visibility Above: More cities seems to work fine when using live weather. Oddly, are likely to get the despite the amazing cloudscapes, high-level cirrus photogrammetry treatment as Bing maps and data clouds also seem to be missing. sources get updates. Top left: Portsmouth’s 3. Improved FMs harbour, rendered using this method. Premiership Perhaps the weakest part of Microsoft’s previous champions, Liverpool FSX vs its X-Plane rival was in the flight modelling. FC’s Anfield Stadium and Previous legacy editions of the sim featured look-up Cherynobl use AI and tables that meant that, as long as the virtual pilot kept autogen but the effect is still convincing. moment similar to the real experience. What’s more within the centre of the flight envelope, a convincing in that there are no sudden transitions from fog recreation of published performance figures could Left: Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the sim. to clear skies – everything is natural. Hit the right be simulated. However, this started to break down conditions and rainbows will appear. where stalls, spins and unusual attitudes at the edge This means the weather now demands your or even beyond the envelope occurred. It was left for utmost respect as a virtual pilot – especially in light third party developers to improve and produce more aircraft. In MSFS even the hint of dark clouds on the aerobatic aircraft and realistic flight modelling. horizon becomes a cause for concern – especially if In MSFS, this has now been rectified and aircraft you are flying in a small aeroplane with ‘live weather’ are now split up into 1,000 surfaces – each reacting drawn from real-world weather stations. Can you fly with airflow, air pressure and temperature separately. through? Go round? Divert? Venture into storms and This approach of ‘blade element theory’ allows wings you can enter a world of hurt. The aircraft shakes, the to stall and rudders to be blanked from airflow. airframe creaks and icing can obscure your vision and The result is that aircraft now demonstrate highly build up on your wings. MSFS becomes a valuable convincing dynamic and fluid manoeuvres in a much interactive lesson in the dangers of scud-running. wider envelope. Stalls and spins are now possible and Even in clear conditions, fly too close to aerobatics a joy to fly and experience. mountains and updrafts and downdrafts can catch On larger aircraft, such as the business jets and you – and the developers have now modelled the airliners, however, this is more of a work in progress. air mass reacting with mountains, terrain and even Some seem overpowered and have a disinclination buildings. There are also subtle visual cues on the to lose speed, even with the throttle in idle. The glass strength of wind. Waves and whitecaps at sea give cockpits, autopilot and FMS systems that are included an indication on speed and direction. For hands-on, in many of the aircraft are extremely useful but do not seat-of-the-pants flying in a small aircraft, windy and have the deep systems modelling of some payware stormy conditions constitute a real challenge. add-ons – and some functions seem to be missing. You can, of course, set whatever weather you like, and part of the fun of this for many is playing 4. Regular updates to look forward to ‘weather God’ and creating the perfect conditions for screenshots. Another way in which this differs from previous One or two minor points remain. Ground fog or versions is that it is a living, evolving product. Unlike CAT III conditions seem difficult to achieve in the previous boxed versions of the sim, the ‘always on’ custom settings – a visibility slider to set the exact broadband world we now live in means that MSFS

42 AEROSPACE

MS Flight Sim Gamechanger f.indd 4 18/09/2020 17:14 can be constantly upgraded with regular updates, a chore. While more experienced users can still patches and improvements. In fact, it is designed download and install from third parties, there is now this way. The navigation data from NavBlue for an inbuilt marketplace that allows new simmers to example, will be updated (in line with real-world quickly and easily browse and buy add-on content. flight data) every 28 days. The satellite and aerial Spotted your favourite airport or aircraft in the in- photography via Bing maps will only get more game shop? (Almost) one click and you can add it to accurate and higher resolution over time. The your base game and never have to worry about extra developers meanwhile, say that they plan to support add-on codes, passwords or keeping it up to date. MSFS and its massive and highly talented flightsim community too, is also expected to fill out missing 6. Living world, multiplayer landmarks, bridges, castles, extra aircraft etc. In short, we can look forward to years of support and This edition of MSFS also fills out the simulation this simulation getting even better. to create a living breathing world, with AI aircraft,

Right: The in-game marketplace streamlines hunting for new add-ons and means keeping these up to date will be easy. Far right: Animated airport ground vehicles and marshallers can be seen going about their business at airfields. 5. Integrated marketplace cars, ships, airport ground vehicles and even herds or flocks of animals to share your flights and find. For third-party developers too, MSFS represents Again, this is nothing new and third party add-ons the next level and a massive opportunity to put in previous versions could enhance your simming your airport, aircraft or utility in front of many more experience by adding real-world airliners and their customers with an ‘in-game’ marketplace. Previously, schedules. However, with MSFS this has been taken the huge ecosystem of thousands of add-ons that to new heights by pulling live ADS-B data into the MSFS required either the consumer to buy hard sim to generate AI traffic in the world. copies in the form of CDs or DVDs to install, or more There is also multiplayer – which has expanded recently digital downloads. However, installation massively in the past 16 years. People now want to could be tricky and keeping it up to date was often game, share and stream with their friends. It is no

OCTOBER 2020 43

MS Flight Sim Gamechanger f.indd 5 18/09/2020 17:14 AEROSPACE Microsoft Flight Simulator review

surprise that multiplayer mode is included, allowing Above left: Aerobatics 9. Virtual reality is coming people to fly with their friends. Of course, you can turn over Paris – imagine this in it completely off to fly solo, or there is a third setting virtual reality! MSFS has also been released at a very exciting that locks any human players in the world to use the Above right: Flying over a time in that it is set to take advantage of the second same real-world time and live weather settings. volcano in Japan. generation of Virtual Reality (VR) devices, such as However, while players can fly formation, perform the HP Reverb G2, that will be released this autumn. landing challenges and have virtual fly-ins together, These feature a higher resolution than the original one aspect of FSX that is still missing shared Oculus devices and thus are even more suited to flight cockpits – allowing players to share the same aircraft. simulation where complex displays and instruments are present. In particular, the clouds, terrain, airports 7. Professional applications and cockpits of MSFS in virtual reality will take this already stunning simulator to breathtaking levels. Flight Although Microsoft has sold the licence for simulation fans already have been eager adopters of professional commercial usage of its previous sim, VR for sims such as DCS World, IL-2 and X-Plane but, FSX to Lockheed Martin to develop into P3D, time on so far, VR has been missing a ‘killer app’ that rewards MSFS hours does not count towards flight training the cost and bulkiness of headsets. However, judging hours. It is not hard to foresee that real-world aviators by the response to MSFS already, this well could be and the aerospace industry could take advantage the software product that sends VR sales through the of this sim. This could include using it to brush up roof. knowledge of VFR landmarks at a local flying club, licensing the Azure Cloud AI for another simulator, 10. A taste of the freedom of flight or using the amazing graphics to market airline livery designs or new aircraft concepts or renders of Finally, there is also the fact that MSFS comes at a airports. The possibilities could be endless. time when much of the world is restricted from travel, especially internationally. Holidays have been on hold 8. P otential to inspire wider and people have been yearning for a taste of the audiences freedom of flight that is now denied. Indeed, whether it is jumping in a Piper Cub to fly around a local area, or One of the most exciting aspects of this latest staring out of the window of an airliner on your way to incarnation is that it is causing jaws to drop of your holidays, both experiences tap into the freedom gamers and consumers who would normally steer to travel and escape that flight provides. MSFS then, well clear of anything marked PC ‘flight simulation’ in does not replace actual travel but for millions of us it online stores. Media coverage has hit the mainstream does remind us of what we are missing. and the sim is also set to be released on Xbox – In summary then, MSFS (or FS2020) is a potentially opening up thousands, if not millions, of landmark for PC flight simulation and video games young eyes to the beauty and magic of flight. There and something that is right at the start of a very is already anecdotal evidence that children are being exciting journey. In these dark times, it also has the captivated by a ‘video game where you can fly over ability to excite and create a wonder about flight your own home’. that could well inspire a whole new generation into For an industry that, pre-Covid-19, has been learning more about aerospace and aviation. The struggling with a pilot shortage, this is a welcome technology meanwhile, drawn from AI, satellite and shot in the arm that makes the flightdeck office look aerial photos, also has other applications across like an incredible place to work. aerospace and beyond.

44 AEROSPACE

MS Flight Sim Gamechanger f.indd 6 18/09/2020 17:14 Afterburner www.aerosociety.com

Diary 3-4 November 2020 Recovery strategy with climate gain Online RAeS Climate Change Conference 2020

Harbour Air DHC-2 Beaver fitted with Magnix all-electric motor. Harbour Air.

46 Message from RAeS 48 Book Reviews – President American Aircraft Development of the Second World War, From Kites to Cold War, The Challenges of “In these challenging times there has been a Fly-by-Wire and Winning Armageddon. scarcity of good news, so it was very pleasing to hear that the Society has been awarded the Best Professional Engineering Institution Prize as one of 52 New Member Spotlight the inaugural Engineering Talent Awards.” 54 No dream is beyond reach – Chief Executive For Black History Month, Dr Onalenna Nako-Phuthego describes her personal story from “Staying with young professionals, their annual an African village to becoming Botswana’s first conference has been replaced by a video series, ever aerospace medicine specialist with a Masters Aerospace and Aviation until 2050: What’s Next? degree. with some really inspirational speakers. There will be five weekly inputs on our YouTube and Instagram TV channels from the 30 September.” 56 Elections

OCTOBER 2020 45 Message from RAeS OUR PRESIDENT

Prof Jonathan Cooper In these challenging times there has been a scarcity they are putting on and to share them digitally. One of good news, so it was very pleasing to hear that positive outcome with the move to a digital lecture the Society has been awarded the Best Professional programme has meant that we now have had many Engineering Institution Prize as one of the inaugural 100s of attendees to lectures in Hamilton Place Engineering Talent Awards. The award ‘recognises that would have not been able to travel to London in PEIs who go above and beyond to support their normal times. I hope that this is will be the case with members and who are particularly increasing future branch lectures. awareness of D&I and positive mental wellbeing’. We In my last column I mentioned the homework were shortlisted against two of the larger professional that I had set Council over the summer to consider institutions, so this outcome is particularly welcome. the future operation of the Society and September’s The award highlights some of the exceptional Council meeting included a very useful discussion work that is being done by the Headquarters staff about the outcomes from this exercise. Bearing and many of our volunteers. Many thanks must in mind that we don’t have the resources to tackle go to Lt Cdr Richard Gearing FRAeS and the D&I everything, it was considered that the most important Working Group who put the nomination together. areas where focus is needed to meet the Society’s Congratulations to all involved. strategic aims (outlined in the October 2019 issue of I am continuingly impressed as to how most of AEROSPACE) are: the Society’s activities are continuing to flourish, albeit ● Become genuinely international with more in a digital format, and this includes our publications. international reach by increasing global and diverse The Aeronautical Journal continues to publish participation in activities with target audiences high quality research papers covering all forms of around the globe, remaining relevant and in the aerospace vehicles. As well as a continuing expansion forefront of global aviation (in totality) as a Think of the number of internationally renowned Associate Tank for generating new ideas and providing Editors, who co-ordinate the manuscript review well-considered professional advice, and enabling process, it is satisfying to note that downloads from greater international participation in the Society’s the Journal have increased by a third in the past year Specialist Groups and Committees. – a substantial rise. We are always looking for ideas ● Digitisation of the Society needs to improve for review articles or subject-based special issues, so further so that digital delivery becomes an integral if you have any suggestions for good topics and/or part of our day-to-day business facilitating individuals whom we should approach, please contact meetings, interviews, workshops, conferences and the editor Prof Holger Babinsky FRAeS journal. lectures, etc, making more of our own important [email protected] historical information assets widely available As I mentioned in the last edition of AEROSPACE, via digital means, using digital technologies the Society has started its virtual conference to encourage individuals to join the Society or programme using the new digital platform. I tuned volunteering their time to support its activities. into both days of the Safeguarding Earth’s Space ● Our volunteer strategy needs considerable work Environment conference and was very impressed so that a larger diverse, engaged, and inclusive I AM with the number of excellent speakers and panel global group of volunteers are recruited across members from across the world who participated. the aviation and aerospace sectors for different CONTINUINGLY The conference addressed the increasing amount types of volunteering experiences. We need to IMPRESSED of debris and defunct objects in Earth orbit, which is support, inform and develop these volunteers and AS TO HOW likely to constrain our future exploration of space, and encourage them to be true ambassadors of the MOST OF THE discussed both the technical approaches to tracking, Society and enable volunteers to take a more avoiding collisions and de-orbiting large objects and leading role in delivering activity. SOCIETY’S the need for enhanced international regulations and ● The Society still needs much improvement in our ACTIVITIES ARE global collaboration. I would like to thank President- progress to meet our aspirations to be a truly CONTINUING Elect Howard Nye FRAeS and the Space Specialist diverse and inclusive organisation in both TO FLOURISH, Group for organising such an excellent event. word and deed by reaching out to a much wider I also recently attended the committee meeting of talent pool, increasing the D&I both within our ALBEIT IN my local RAeS Branch and was pleased to see that membership and the Sector at large. The Society’s A DIGITAL a programme of lectures was being put together for regulation and governance needs to embrace D&I FORMAT, the coming season, of course in an online mode. The by pushing D&I within its Boards and Committees AND THIS intention is to provide a mixture of local presentations and showcasing D&I role models within its Boards. coupled with offerings from the main Society and In the coming months I will let you know about INCLUDES OUR other Branches. I would encourage all our local some of the specific actions that are going to be PUBLICATIONS Branches to make each other aware of events that brought in across the Society to enable the above.

46 AEROSPACE OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Sir Brian Burridge ● The President has highlighted our selection as members now have access to a new collection of the ‘Best Professional Engineering Institution material aimed at young professionals. of the Year’ at the inaugural Engineering Talent ● Staying with young professionals, their annual Awards. This justly recognises the effort that we conference has been replaced by a video series, are putting into diversity and inclusion largely Aerospace and Aviation until 2050: What’s Next? through the compelling contribution of volunteers. with some really inspirational speakers. There Elsewhere in this issue there is a report on will be five weekly broadcasts on our YouTube our recent BAME webinar but October is also and Instagram TV channels from 30 September. Black History Month in the UK. As such, the Soon afterwards comes our autumn careers fair. Learned Society Board (again volunteers) has In these difficult times, we want to increase our approved a new Named Lecture to be known reach to young people so Careers in Aerospace as the Mary Jackson Lecture in honour of the & Aviation LIVE 2020 will take place as a virtual first black female aerospace engineer to work event on 4 November using a new platform to at NASA. Meanwhile, food for thought from the retain interaction between exhibitors and visitors, Royal Academy of Engineering: only 37% of run competitions and deliver a great programme black engineering graduates enter engineering of insight talks for all career levels. We are very occupations, compared with 60% of their white grateful to the support of Boeing for this event. To counterparts. Moreover, only 8% of apprentices register your interest as a visitor please contact in engineering and associated subjects are [email protected]. For Exhibitor female while just 6.5% are from Black, Asian and package details, please contact rosalind. minority ethnic groups. These are good enough [email protected] and help us come reasons for the Council telling us to do more and together to support the future needs of the do it faster, particularly in addressing unconscious industry and its recovery. bias. ● As for Corporate Partners, Monday 12 October ● On External Affairs, we submitted a critical sees Glenn Llewellyn from Airbus briefing on response to the CAA on its proposals for zero emissions research. In November we have the classification of airspace courtesy of our Professor Sir Charlie Bean from LSE and formerly volunteer specialist experts (www.aerosociety. the OBR to talk about the post-budget and post- com/policy). In Parliament, our input to Brexit economy. In December, Professor Mike the Defence Select Committee featured in Clarke, formerly Director-General at RUSI, will their report In Search of Strategy – The 2020 give an analysis of the Integrated Defence and Integrated Review which is available on the link Security review. The dates will be firmed-up as above. The UAS Specialist Group also provided the Government’s timetable becomes clearer. expert opinion to ICAO where we are privileged ● Finally, some special recognition: Keeley Scott to be an ‘approved organisation’. In addition, both and her team have delivered the transition staff and volunteers have been working with to virtual conferences with great success. the Department for Transport on decarbonising Congratulations also goes to Tim Robinson, the aircraft and on roundtables with the Secretary AEROSPACE Editor-in-Chief, on receiving the of State on skills and future aviation. Meanwhile, Honourable Company of Air Pilots Award for August saw extensive news coverage of the Aviation Journalism. In terms of long-serving Flight Operations Group’s Evacuation Report, volunteers, Sir Peter Norriss was the inaugural tied to an emergency at Stansted Airport where chair at the 2003 creation of the Centennial passengers carrying cabin baggage hindered Fund panel and is now handing over. The fund escape: the report has stimulated further AAIB has since provided over 390 awards with a value research on the issue. of some £940,000 to individuals and teams. ● We are also pleased that the National Aerospace Meanwhile, Dr Kit Mitchell was the founding Library has re-opened such that members and editor in 2009 of the Society’s Journal of non-members alike can make an appointment Aeronautical History which has since gone from AND A LAST to consult our contemporary and historical strength-to-strength. In his place, we welcome Dr PIECE OF GOOD collections in person. To book, visit www. Robert Hopkins who is an eminent and widely- NEWS: 2021 aerosociety.com/nal and follow the links. published aviation historian. Finally, thanks to all FEES HAVE BEEN As ever, you can consult our e-books and new our volunteers, without whom little of what I have e-journals collection at www.aerosociety.com/ written could have been a reality. And a last piece FROZEN AT 2020 elibrary. As well keeping up-to-date with a range of good news: 2021 fees have been frozen at LEVELS! of papers and articles via the e-journals package, 2020 levels!

OCTOBER 2020 47 Book Reviews AMERICAN AIRCRAFT DEVELOPMENT OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Research, Experimentation and Modification 1939-1945 By B Norton

Fonthill Media Limited, Millview House, Toadsmoor Road, Stroud GL5 2TB, UK. 2019. 446pp. Illustrated. £45. ISBN 978-1-78155-725-9.

As the latest in a series of books, following on from volumes on WW2 fighters, bombers, gliders and special types, this publication – as suggested by its title – deals with a far more diverse area, much of which has received little exposure elsewhere. The first chapter sets the scene by describing the existing structure of research facilities at the start of the war, including those of NACA, the Army Air Corps, US Navy and private industry. It also introduces some of the major personalities including Theodore von Karman, Hap Arnold and Jimmy Doolittle. One of the more familiar topics Above: A captured Focke- addressed is laminar flow, which was investigated Wulf Fw190 in US markings in wind tunnels and by airborne test beds, before over North Africa. RAeS (NAL). being applied to production types, notably the Right: By testing a North American XP-51B Mustang North American Mustang, albeit with less than with cropped wings in the the anticipated success. However, many of the 16ft High-Speed Tunnel, programmes described never saw full production, researchers at Ames traced including such radical ideas as the Custer Channel the source of a serious rumble Wing, tracked undercarriages and the launch and to the location of the aircraft’s radiator cooling scoop below recovery of light aircraft from a suspended cable the fuselage. NASA. (The Brodie system). Other innovations, including pressurised cabins, jet engines, ejection seats and air-to-air refuelling, did not see full scale use until after the conflict. One chapter is dedicated to the efforts to One category of aircraft that is dealt with in some improve propulsion, including superchargers, detail is army co-operation aircraft, which evolved methanol-water injection, high octane fuels and from large dedicated designs to smaller aircraft propeller design for piston engines and early efforts adapted from commercially available types. The with turbojets. Another chapter deals with the contributions of foreign nations, primarily the UK, are development of both solid and liquid fuelled rockets acknowledged, ranging from well-known areas, such primarily to boost take off performance but also, in as aerial refuelling and jet engines, to less recognised the later stages, for primary propulsion. Moving on contributions, including the use of papier-mâché to the problems of near sonic speeds, the issue of drop tanks. Considerable efforts were also expended conventional aircraft avoiding compressibility effects on the test and evaluation of enemy aircraft and is addressed, before efforts to reach and exceed weapons and the US even produced substantial sonic velocities are described, including the initial The book numbers of a copy of the German V-1 flying bomb. designs for the Bell XS-1. More obscure, but often contains many The book contains many photographs and other just as important subjects, include cockpit design, photographs illustrations, including those of little-known test aircraft ditching (including full scale tests), icing, and other and prototypes aircraft and the text contains liberal casualty evacuation and others too numerous to amounts of data on weights, performance and the mention. illustrations, costs of most of the projects. In summary this book One actual operation that is dealt with in including presents tantalising glimpses into a vast range some detail is the April 1942 Doolittle raid on those of little- of topics, most of which have received little if any Japan, concentrating on the improvements and known test and attention in previous publications. modifications required to the aircraft involved. The preparations for the use of atomic bombs against prototypes Colin Frazer Japan are also addressed. aircraft AMRAeS

48 AEROSPACE FROM KITES TO COLD WAR

The Evolution of Manned Above left: Samuel Cody on balloons and onwards to sophisticated manned horseback with one of his aircraft. He points to the fact that in drawdowns Airborne Reconnaissance man-lifting kites in 1901. RAeS NAL. after war, reconnaissance assets are often the first By T Morton Above right: USAF Lockheed to go, and the last to be redeveloped, even when Martin U-2 Dragon Lady the contingencies of war demand such action. This high-altitude reconnaissance lesson was not learned both before and after the Naval Institute Press, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD aircraft. Lockheed Martin. 21402, USA. 2019.xvii; 305pp. Illustrated. $49.95. two World Wars, and for that matter various conflicts ISBN 978-1-68247-465-5. since. Nevertheless, in his historical narrative, he covers well the development and the innovation and energy which engineers and operators gave to their I was very impressed with this book. As one would projects. Particularly, he relates how fittingly British expect from a Naval Institute Press publication it is and US reconnaissance intelligence co-operated well shaped to provide researchers, aficionados or effectively to speed the process. Although, he writes just interested readers with what they require. There more fully about advances within the US forces, the is a comprehensive introduction with a description of author doesn’t neglect the important historical roles the story, as well as the author’s explanation of the played by the RAF, the French and the Germans. scope and intention. The book concentrates on piloted reconnaissance Conveniently divided into sections in a systems and, for security reasons, only alludes chronological order, the book covers a large briefly to satellite reconnaissance. However, as time and essential period in the story of airborne progresses, more and more information is released reconnaissance. It was commissioned as part of from security caveats and constraints and it is to be the History of Air Power series, also published hoped that space reconnaissance will soon be the by the Naval Institute Press and edited by Paul subject of another book in this excellent airpower Springer. The book has thorough notes expanding series. on issues covered in the main narrative, as well This makes If there is a minor criticism it is that, although the as a comprehensive bibliography and a very good it ideal as a author provides comprehensive coverage of photo index. This makes it ideal as a reference book for reference book reconnaissance, airborne SIGINT and ELINT, he military libraries, as well as for those wishing to does not, in my view, cover well the difficulties of research further the absorbing topic of airborne for Military integrating the intelligence from these assets. This reconnaissance. Libraries as was primarily caused by security compartmentation In handling such a far-reaching subject, the well as for and it often had an adverse impact at national author keeps within his intended boundaries and level during the Cold War. Nevertheless, this is a does not stray elsewhere. those wishing relatively small point in what is a very readable and a The book starts with man’s need to gain altitude to research thoroughly enjoyable book which I commend to you. to increase surveillance capability. It covers the further the important point that without adequate surveillance absorbing topic Geoffrey Oxlee and the intelligence it provides, both defence and OBE offence are largely ineffective. In the main narrative, of airborne Former Commanding Officer of The Joint Air Tyler Morton embraces the histories of kites, reconnaissance Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre

OCTOBER 2020 49 - Book Reviews THE CHALLENGES OF FLY-BY-WIRE The Role of the Royal Aircraft Establishment By G T Shanks

Published by the author, Bedford. 2018. 173pp. Illustrated. £20 plus £5 postage/packing (Available from the Bedford Aeronautical Heritage Group E [email protected]).

This account of the research into fly-by-wire (FBW) in the UK is a good historic and detailed record of the work that spans a generation. It mainly covers the work at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Bedford and its collaboration with industry. Later, after privatisation, the scene continues at Boscombe Short SC1, XG905, left, and the book the author starts the discussion of each Down. The author is authoritative, as he was part of Rolls-Royce Flying Bedstead aircraft programme with a short description of the the research teams for a number of these projects. experimental VTOL aircraft at RAE, Bedford. RAeS (NAL). aircraft enough to situate the technical discussion The book is self-published but is not, as one on FBW. He concludes each chapter by collecting might fear, a self indulgent account of the writer’s the summary of the outcomes of the experiments to working life, but stands as a well-balanced, detailed show the positive results of the programme. and reliable account of each programme the RAE The digital era starts with the two-seater ‘Green was involved with. It gives the details of what was Hunter’ rewired for digital control but retaining the actually done in each programme and the results mechanical control links for safety. Apart for the obtained but given at a level that was informative demonstrably improved flying performance of digital but not soporific. Of importance is that the learning aircraft, this programme included research into from each of the research programmes was used to different ‘inceptors’ or hand controllers (‘sticks’) for inform the next and this is clearly shown. Thus it is controlling the aircraft. easy to see the development route in FBW aircraft All these RAE aircraft retained the mechanical control. control links and the two seaters had a safety pilot The pictures on the front cover of the book gives who used the mechanical system. you an expectation of the contents of the book In a similar vein a Jaguar was taken out of with pictures of the Rolls-Royce ‘Flying Bedstead’, service, stripped down and rewired as a digitally- Short SC1, Avro 707C, the ‘Green Hunter’, FBW controlled aircraft. The leap forward on this aircraft Jaguar, the Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) and finally the VAAC (Vectored Thrust Aircraft was that there was no mechanical backup or safety Advanced Flight Control) Harrier. Each of these pilot. Instead everything was quadruplex redundant flying programmes is covered by chapters in the and the work with this aircraft informed the great book. There are also pictures of the Tornado, F-35B leap of faith to remove mechanical control system STOVL (short take-off and vertical landing) variant from future systems. and Typhoon but no chapters are included on these The FBW research moved on to the EAP aircraft aircraft. This might be considered a cheat but we with the statically unstable longitudinal axis. The learn in this book how the research informed the programme de-risked the next generation highly development of these aircraft. This is the payback to This book manoeuvrable fighter that became the Typhoon. industry. should be read The final programme was the VAAC Harrier FBW was necessary for the autostabilisation which was a two-seater. It retained the safety pilot of the early experimental hover machines because by aviation and mechanical control systems but was rewired by of the high workload. The story starts with the historians Cranfield for digital FBW flying. The main objective Flying Bedstead and the electrical signalling for with technical was to make flying the Harrier that much easier autostabilisation. Some purist might feel that knowledge. and particularly in the STOVL regime. Interestingly this is not genuine FBW but it is the start. It had a dichotomy arose. Inexperienced pilots found the an analogue signalling systems as digital flight It is a very process difficult in the normal Harrier and a few computer did not exist for some time after this important got bent in training. Experienced pilots loved their programme. contribution to Harriers with its three inceptor controls (for two The next programmes were the VTOL Short the history of hands!) and they did not want anything changed. Yet SC1 and followed by the Avro 707C. These were the inexperienced pilots loved the new two inceptor again stabilised through an analogue controller aviation in this FBW system. This made test pilot assessment with analogue signalling to actuators. Throughout country interesting. The research tried out various controlling

50 AEROSPACE -

regimes and the two inceptor winner informed the F-35B for STOVL operation. This work of the RAE should be known about and have a wide audience. The book gives a good historical account of the technology and the testing tribulations of each aircraft as it contributed to the pool of knowledge. Effectively, it shows how the UK was leading the world in FBW research and the results can be seen in modern-day aircraft. This book should be read by aviation historians with technical knowledge. It is a very important contribution to the history of aviation in this country. It should also be read by modern day practitioners of aircraft control, so that they know and understand DERA/QinetiQ VAAC If I have to find criticism with this book the the roots of their trade and why things are as they (Vectored thrust Aircraft language construction is sometime a bit ‘clunky’ and are today, particularly relating to the overarching Advanced Control) two-seat the block diagrams a bit fuzzy for studying. However, Harrier. QinetiQ. problem of safety. Of course, all technical there are plenty of photos of each of the aircraft and ‘aeroheads’ should enjoy this book, as should test lots of cockpit shots to show the layouts under test. pilots who will discover that pilot assessment was There are no formulae to faze the reader but a nice the main feedback from a test flight. They should lot of block diagrams to show the different control also note that the test pilot’s clothing of choice in arrangements. the Short SC1 was white shirt and bow tie. The author is to be thanked for the great effort The book will be understandable to those that he has put into providing this authoritative account know the difference between an analogue and of FBW research in the UK. digital computer and the advantages that each brings to the control application. They should also be Eur Ing Mike Stanberry comfortable with the use of gyros in stabilisation. FRAeS

WINNING ARMAGEDDON

Curtis LeMay and Strategic enemy countries, populations and economies, to the later definition which encompassed the use Air Command 1948-1957 of nuclear weapons. At the beginning of LeMay’s By T Albertson tenure, the US only had a limited number of these weapons and of the specially modified aircraft that could deliver them. One of LeMay’s key tasks Naval Institute Press, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, from the outset was to ensure that the weapons MD 21402, USA. 2019. xxii; 279pp. Illustrated. $40. were targeted as efficiently as possible. As the ISBN 978-168247-422-8. Soviet Union acquired its own nuclear capability, LeMay became a leading exponent of using nuclear Trevor Albertson is a former assistant professor on weapons in a pre-emptive strike to prevent the the Air Command and Staff Course at Maxwell Air Soviets from gaining a matching capability. Force Base in Alabama. His wider research focuses Albertson expertly charts the rise of this theory on diplomatic and political history of the US. This and LeMay’s efforts to get his controversial theory book was based on an earlier dissertation and is accepted at the highest levels of US decision extremely well researched. making. The early period of the Cold War deserves Curtis LeMay is one of the legendary high General Curtis Emerson far more scholarly attention than it has received commanders to have come out of WW2 where he LeMay (1906-1990). USAF. hitherto and this book makes a valuable contribution established a reputation as a leader who could be to the body of knowledge. In an ideal world more relied upon to get things done, almost at whatever could have been made of the relationship with cost. Although this book does not attempt to cover the UK in general and with Slessor in particular LeMay’s entire career, it takes the firebombing of (see the various articles by Ken Young to remedy Japan as its starting point and quickly transitions to his this) but this is a minor criticism. Overall Winning prolonged command of the Strategic Air Command. Armageddon is essential reading for the study of the At this time ‘strategic’ as a term in the military early Cold War. lexicon was also changing from its traditional meaning, implying long-range bombing aircraft Professor Peter Gray FRAeS through their ability to have strategic effect on University of Wolverhampton

OCTOBER 2020 51 -

NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Didunoluwa Obilanade MRAeS, 28 networking opportunities and the many careers Location: Bristol, UK advice events. Job Title: Aerospace Growth Partnership What do you hope to get out of your Programme Manager, GKN Aerospace Secondee. membership? I am still making fantastic use of Additionally, incoming Doktorand (PhD candidate) the networking and career advice opportunities, at Luleå University of Technology researching through being a part of the Young Persons’ Additive Manufacturing for Space Applications. Committee and attending the professional registration events. My next step is to submit my What inspired you into aerospace? My application to become a Chartered Engineer and childhood next-door neighbour as, when I was very use this to get the professional recognition for the little, I lived next to a WW2 RAF veteran named work that I have done in my career so far. I hope Ozzy. He used to tell me across our wall about all to then develop my mentorship skills through the the planes he flew and worked on throughout his Society and pass down the good advice I’ve been career, while I listened absolutely fascinated. The given so far from my mentors. day we moved, he came over to our house and What’s your favourite aircraft and why? gave me a model Spitfire and one of my earliest Going childhood books, an illustrated guide to the US Air for a bit of a workhorse, the A320 family. I have Force which I still have to this day. spent most of my flying time on these beauties and it was the first aircraft that I got a basic What is the best thing about your current maintenance certification on during my grad role? Working for the Aerospace Growth scheme. Partnership (AGP) I have seen the big picture of Who is your biggest inspiration? My biggest the UK aerospace industry through its interactions inspiration is my parents. They came to the UK with Government. I have worked with senior from Mauritius and worked extremely hard to build leaders of industry and government on a range of the life that they wanted. My mum studied for her activities that focus on improving the skills of the degree while caring for my brother and me and industry, the competitiveness of the manufacturing working part time. They showed me that hard work supply chain and the industries engagement with pays off and their mentality has stuck with me. the nation. This has given me opportunities to visit amazing sites across the UK such as Bombardier Who is your biggest inspiration? Leland Melvin in Northern Ireland, the Airbus facilities at the and Charles Bolden. Both are black American AMRC in Wales, Spirit AeroSystems in Scotland astronauts who have achieved fantastic things and Collins in England. throughout their careers, Charles becoming the NASA Administrator and Leland playing in the What challenges have you faced and what NFL prior to becoming an astronaut. I am a firm do you feel is the biggest challenge for the believer in ‘If you can see it, you can be it’ and industry (if any)? My undergraduate degree was that representation truly leads to aspirations. a challenge for me, as imposter syndrome mixed Both of these men gave me the ability to with a variety of other things led to me failing my see myself in high positions of science and fair share of exams. However, after each hurdle engineering, not just by looking like me, but by and through asking for help, I worked harder being fantastic ambassadors for the industry and the next time to pass and was encouraged that actively encouraging the next generation space I belonged. My mantra becoming ‘Fail fast, Fail engineers. forward’. Accepting quickly where I had made Piece of advice for someone looking to enter mistakes and looking at how I can turn that your field? mistake in to a lesson that moves me forward. Try to attend and apply for everything that you find interesting! Be it that seminar, I think the biggest challenge facing the internship, apprenticeship, grad scheme, university industry is the downturn in air traffic due to the course or secondment. One can be interested in pandemic. This downturn in traffic cascades many different things with lots of options, often through the industry into reduction in revenues leading to choice paralysis or worry if you have due to cancelation of orders, reduction in MRO made the right choice. The only way to know is and, inevitably, loss of jobs. As an industry, we to try! By attending events it will give you a taster need to improve the public’s confidence in flying of what could be in store. Also, if under 35 and and work with the government to get planes back interested in the space industry, join the Space in the air and provide work to the SME community. Generation Advisory Council – a fantastic network What made you join the Royal Aeronautical of space professionals conducting a variety of Society? I joined the RAeS as a student for its space projects.

52 AEROSPACE -

NATIONAL AEROSPACE LIBRARY NOW OPEN

The National Aerospace Library has re-opened to member and non-member visitors on Wednesdays and Thursdays. To book a visit please go to the NAL website. Online services remain available so you can continue to browse the catalogue and download e-books and e-journals as well as contact our expert Librarians for advice and enquiries. E [email protected] NAL www.aerosociety.com/nal Catalogue www.aerosociety.com/catalogue Film Archive www.aerosociety.com/movies e-library www.aerosociety.com/elibrary

FEES HELD AT 2020 RATES RAeS 2021 MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS

Membership Grade 2021 Notes Subscription Rate 1. CPIH Rate: Average 12 months to July 2020 – 1.4%. £ 2. 2021 Membership Subscriptions held at 2020 rates. Fellow or Companion 363 3. Members who have reached normal retirement age in 2021 are entitled to Fellow or Companion – 20% discount 290 pay subscriptions at the Baseline Rate. Member 245 4. Members who have will be retiring during the course of the year can apply for Member – 20% discount 196 the 20% discount on their subscriptions. Note – if the 20% discount takes Associate Member 152 the subscription below the Baseline Rate then the Baseline Rate will apply. Associate 139 5. Members have the option to pay their subscriptions by Direct Debits either in E-Associate 49 one sum in January 2021 or in ten monthly instalments from January 2021. Affiliate 125 Administration Fees Student Affiliate 47 Grade Application Transfer Apprentice Affiliate 0 Fee Fee Baseline Rate 125 Fellow or Companion £153 £55 All other grades £77 £55

2021 Engineering Council Registration Fees 2021 Annual Fees 2021 Entry Fees Category CEng IEng EngTech/ CEng IEng EngTech/ ICTTech ICTTech Full £40.90 £34.70 £19.90 £53.20 £44.90 £18.40 Interim £14.60 £14.60 £14.60 £10.90 £10.90 £10.90 Reduced £18.50 £15.40 £8.82 – – –

OCTOBER 2020 53 BLACK HISTORY MONTH No dream is beyond reach

For Black History Month, Dr Onalenna Nako- Phuthego describes her personal story from an African village to becoming Botswana’s first ever aerospace medicine specialist with a Masters degree.

I am a 32-year-old aerospace medicine specialist working for my country’s military organization on aviation health matters, the first and only doctor in Botswana, (possibly in the whole of Africa) to hold a Master’s degree in Aerospace Medicine, acquired at King’s College London. I hold a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and degree in teaching Russian Language (Rostov State Medical University, Russian Federation). I was the first female in my country to join the military as a fully qualified and registered doctor with Botswana Health Professions Council. I am also the first and perhaps the only Motswana to ever visit this, I acquired confidence and a positive mind that the European Space Agency (European Astronaut propelled me through life. Centre) in Germany, Koln, where I had the privilege But this was not without hardship and my to meet astronauts such as Tim Peake. I am a high school years were particularly difficult. I had member of the Aerospace Medicine Association been enrolled in the country’s top high school (AsMA) and currently actively involved with the (St Joseph’s College) where I was now amid UK’s Royal Aeronautical Society in improving my academically stronger students. In this new setting, professional development. I was unaccustomed to being outsmarted and that became a challenge. I had to develop a survival Per Aspera Ad Astra strategy and I learned that competition can either encourage or demoralise you. It is critical to identify I was born in Ramotswa village, South Eastern part which category you belong to, that can best work of Botswana in Africa. I grew up underprivileged, for you based on your capabilities to ensure that with a single mother and my amazing late either way you excel. I realised that it is important

grandmother in an extended family. Like most Top: Onalenna talks with UK to sometimes escape the land of competition, focus households at the time, we had no electricity, astronaut Major Tim Peake on your uniqueness, abilities and your strengths to running water nor television in the house. Things HonFRAeS during a visit to become the best version of yourself. improved at the age of 12, when my mother ESA. From that point on, my goals were dominated by acquired a home with all basic life necessities. My Above: Onalenna during her always identifying and focusing on things that were source of entertainment has always been books studies at King’s College distinct from what everyone else would normally go London. that I initially read through a candlelight. Just going for, no matter how challenging. Hence why I chose to school meant a 14km walk each day. Russia for my medical education after winning a These early hardships only motivated me Russian sponsorship, which not only earned me even more to study and excel, keeping in mind an MD (Doctor of Medicine) but also a Degree in the common mantra, “education is the way to a teaching Russian language. Studying medicine better life” and I applaud my mother for nurturing in Russia was exceptionally difficult but adjusting my ambitions by being a good provider without back to medical English after returning home fail. My basic education began with kindergarten presented an even greater challenge. I found myself and proceeded to free government education. I struggling with speaking and writing English as never attended private school and I never took fluently as before as my vocabulary was insufficient. for granted the free education opportunity our My confidence was dented and I felt inadequate government provided. I studied hard with the result especially during my medical internship year. that I excelled academically and was elected for However, I didn’t give up, I worked hard the best student leadership roles in school. Because of way I knew how, until my English improved again.

54 AEROSPACE Thereafter, I joined the military; something unusual Aspirations for female doctors in my country and then choosing a medical speciality that is niche and unfamiliar to My dream is not over yet. My approach is different most, which I studied at one of UK’s top universities. from what is generally the existing practice in aviation medicine in our region because of the The start of my aviation medicine career influence and the education I received from Europe. I hope to bring change to the way aerospace My interest in aerospace medicine began medicine is perceived in Africa. when I was still in medical school. My thoughts, My current focus is raising awareness on however, were that, given that in my country and aerospace medicine and its role in aviation safety. I continent, this avenue of medicine is unexplored, aspire to work not just within the military but hope to underestimated and overlooked, my chances of ever see integration and collaboration between military pursuing it were close to zero. Joining the military and civilian aviation medicine in addressing unique seemed as the only way to achieving this and in health needs of aviation professionals in my region 2016 I was commissioned at a rank of Captain into as seen in first world countries. I hope to establish a the Botswana Defence Forces. fully functional Aviation Medicine Society within the However, the road ahead was still unclear and, organisational structure of SADC Aviation Safety to realise my ultimate goals, in 2017 I self-funded Above: Onalenna at King’s Organization (SASO), ran by rightfully qualified a flight surgeon course in South Africa. With no College London. aviation medicine specialists. clear path ahead of me, my journey a that time was I also dream to establish a Centre of Excellence filled with discouragement including words like “it’s in Aviation Medicine in Botswana, with state-of-the- not a speciality, don’t waste your time”. However, art and fully-fledged clinic to cater for health needs I didn’t deter. Later on, my employer sent me for of our aviation professionals and ensuring a ‘unique a Postgraduate Diploma in Aerospace Medicine to aviation holistic approach’ to their entire well-being, in UK and my good academic performance eventually extending such services to the entire allowed for my transfer into the Master of Science Africa, in accordance with international standards. programme. What I am grateful for is the opportunity I acknowledge how challenging it will be. to have studied my dream course in the UK where However, I am counting on the support from aerospace medicine is a speciality. international societies of relevance to health and My challenges were further compounded by aviation safety, such as the RAeS, to assist in that I had left my three months old daughter and getting my voice heard and my efforts recognised. my fiancé (now husband), to go for my studies. My story shows no dream is beyond reach, Being post-partum and away from my loved ones, no matter where you are from in the world. Your simultaneously pursuing the most challenging background and your past do not dictate your future. course was the hardest thing I have ever done, All it takes is a dream, determination, hard work however, through hard work I managed to towards it and a positive mind. These are the forces successfully complete my Master’s Degree. that will propel you to your success.

Podcast by RAeS Council Inaugural Mary Member Kerissa Khan Jackson Lecture

As part of our activities to celebrate Black We are also delighted to announce that the LSB History Month this October, we have recorded a approved a request by the Society’s Diversity and podcast with Kerissa Khan MRAeS, right, RAeS Inclusion Working Group to create a new annual Council Member and Innovation Lead for the UK Named Lecture. This will be the Mary Jackson FutureFlight. Tune in now to hear more about Lecture in honour of Mary Jackson (1921-2005), her career story, what drew her to aerospace who became the first female black aerospace engineering, future technologies and meeting the engineer at NASA in 1958 and was featured in the green challenge. Kerissa also talks about the impact film Hidden Figures. We are aiming to launch the of Covid-19 and why diversity and inclusion matters, inaugural event in late October which will be held including what industry leaders can do to create and online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you would sustain a more diverse and inclusive workforce. like to be put on the mailing list for further details https://www.careersinaerospace.com/news/ please contact [email protected]

OCTOBER 2020 55 Elections

FELLOWS Dinesh Bhatia Laurie Marchant Gavin Bishop John Markow WITH REGRET Brian Beesley Neil Brizland Mark Martin Sriram Bellamkonda Geoff Brown Dennys Mayer The RAeS announces with regret the deaths of the Andrew Belshaw Nicholas Brusby Paul McCarney following members: Joanna Boundy William Camilleri Jesus Valentin Medina Eric Norman Allen Shawn Bullard Antonio Carannate Sandoval CEng MRAeS 90 Fernando Cruz Charlene Careless Letsika Mokoena Stanley Murrey Fletcher Affiliate 86 Phil Cullen Alexander Chapman Daniel Olaiya Elling Halvorson FRAeS 88 Roderick Dennis Thomas Chatterton Adrian Oliver Colin Dobson Kudzanai Chikohora Thomas Onnink Nigel John Pearson FRAeS 74 Tanya Dolan David Clarke David Orr Christian Fahey Matthew Cockram Jeffrey Payne Thomas Gunyon Jack Ingleby Ronald Frost Jack Coleman Matthew Pearson Blessen Joseph Mark Ingram Sanjiv Ghuratia Christopher Conroy Jeremy Pretty Ariel Levien Samith Jeanando Warren Gravell James Cornick Fares Qatarneh Joseph Palmer Hemant Joshi John Holmes Edward Courtley Muhammad Rasool Stephen Peake Charlotte Keenan Robert Howell Andreea Cristoloveanu Ravinder Singh Rathore Ali Bin Qamar Jeremy Kimmons Paul Hurst Akshay Dewan Owen Rees Erika Ramos da Silva Sam Lawton Bruce Jackson Gareth Dixon Simon Reeve Teixeira Elliot Morris Glenn Johnson Phillip Duncan Christo Ambrose Giacomo Sartor Matthew Nash Tracy Lamb John Dwyer Retnaraj Scott Shevels David Newbrook- Glenn Littlejohns Dave Farrell Colin Robertson Fahad Tariq Greene John McFall Robin Fell Thusitha Rodrigo Andrew White Christopher Pad Brian Millen Cristina Garcia Duffy Andrew Rotheroe Alastair Wyatt Macaulay Rhind Duncan Mitchell Enrique Gómez Sancha Shem Sasi Christopher Young Ewan Roberts-Ellis Jeremy Morgan Daniel Habashi Emily Self Stephen Ross Stephanie Morgan Benjamin Hall Prathikshen Selvadorai ASSOCIATES Joanna Savage Richard (Rick) Newson Qazi Mansoor Hameed Timothy Simpson James Shipway Howard Povey Mike Irving Gary Sizemore Daniel Bloch James Thomas Rohit Ramachandran Subash P John Charles Skilton Anthony Fenwick Matthew Walmsley Mohammed Rasheed Leighton Jordan Anthony Snook Tinashe Gwaringa Jeremy Remacha Pujit Kanabar Frank Stefan Huzafa Khan AFFILIATES Fiona Smith Stuart Kay Emma Stringer Thomas Miller Malcolm Terry Muhammad Khalid Dennis Sumner Azeem Ghulam Nabi Robin Brand Mike Thrower Kieran Kilroy Snijith Roop Surendran Daniel Sandom Tim Bridge Andrew Tiede Edward Kingham Daniel Tadic David Stone Ed Parsons Brian Wheeler Heather Lawton Alessio Tarantino Chris Wallis Michael Wiggins Sarah Lay Nicholas Treglia Alex Wright STUDENT AFFILIATES Benjamin Wilson Andrew Llewellyn Gary Whitecunas Dustin Loudon Alan Wotton E-ASSOCIATES Matthew Arnaoutis MEMBERS Daniel Lundon Leon Chambers Mark Lynott ASSOCIATE Jack Anderson Abdullah Ehsan Sohail Ahmed Kenneth Macdonald MEMBERS Daniel Booth Allison King Rafic Ajaj Louise MacLeod James Calford Muhammad Issam Richard Alexander Richard MacPherson Omer Aamir Rebecca Caulfield Paracha Stephen Ashworth Michael Madden Enrico De Donati Hei Nam Janice Choi Pui Lam Tang Christopher Bacskos Konstantinos Ronan Doherty Lauren Duggan Ken Yau James Barnett Malandrakis Jennifer Edwards Pierre Ghali Jason Zhang David Baty Giulio Malinverno Chatura Gunaratne Joseph Holden

improve the Society’s own approach, alongside providing wider RAeS wins Award leadership on the subject. A few of the milestones the RAeS reached in 2019 are: ●  The launch of Alta, a mentoring platform for women. The Royal Aeronautical Society is celebrating being named Best ● The continued success of the Amy Johnson Lecture, which Professional Engineering Institution of the Year at the Engineering draws in senior women from across the aviation and aerospace Talent Awards in September 2020. sector. The award recognises Professional Engineering Institutions ● The Society’s Women in Aviation and Aerospace Group who go above and beyond to support their members, and who are celebrated its tenth anniversary, and is a founding member of particularly increasing awareness of diversity, inclusion and positive the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter which now has mental wellbeing. over 200 signatories. The RAeS has a multi-strand Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, ● Cool Aeronautics, the Society’s school outreach programme, led by its Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, which aims to engaged with almost 2,000 children in 2019.

56 AEROSPACE 24 November Final closing date for 2020 Apply now for Membership and Professional Registration

Do you need guidance on applying for membership, upgrading or professional registration with the Engineering Council?

Join us for a webinar, a one-to-one support appointment or contact the membership team for guidance on: • Requirements for membership grades or CEng, IEng & EngTech registration • Information on benefits and the Society • How to apply and documents required Find out more: www.aerosociety.com/support To apply login here: www.aerosociety.com/login Contact us: [email protected] or +44 (0)20 7670 4384 or 4400

Have you graduated or completed your apprenticeship this year?

Your qualification may mean you are eligible for Associate membership meaning instant recognition and the use of ARAeS postnominal letters

If you are a student member you can upgrade to e-Associate at a discounted rate

Access career services including one-to-one appointments Online events including lectures, webinars and conferences Exclusive access to the AEROSPACE APP Recognition via our membership graded structure Online e-book and library services Join our Young Professionals Network Support for engineers working towards professional registration with the Engineering Council UK*

*If you have completed an accredited degree you are eligible to apply for Interim IEng or CEng registration now.

To upgrade visit: www.aerosociety.com/eassociate and download the form. Then email this to [email protected]

OCTOBER 2020 57

Afterburner_October2020.indd 15 18/09/2020 15:59 The Last Word Commentary from Professor Keith Hayward FRAeS

An unfortunate historical symmetry?

ifty years ago this autumn, Rolls-Royce hour’ service-based contracts; airlines are delaying was struggling for survival. Borne new orders and retiring larger aircraft. down by the costs of developing its innovative three-shaft RB.211 engine Not the same company now as in for Lockheed, it looked to a combination 1970 Fof private and government funding as part of a £70m bailout. This would be worth some £1.2bn Yet the contemporary Rolls-Royce is a global in today’s money. The roots of this saga are ‘energy generation’ company. It has a stable complex, encompassing some poorly negotiated defence business, especially from inside the US contract details with Lockheed, a huge belief in market, thanks to its mid-90s acquisition of Allison an ability to deliver the RB.211 on time and a and a share in F-35 contracts. Non-aerospace misperception that any British Government (Labour activities have bolstered its fortunes, even if some or Conservative) would not abandon the most of these are now vulnerable to sell-off pressures. successful post-war UK aerospace company to On a parochial note, the globalisation of operations bankruptcy. affords some protection for core facilities in the UK In the event, the collapse in January 1971 (a warning perhaps where the boot is on the other was left to the Heath administration to sort out. foot for UK-located, foreign-owned firms). Nationalisation was the immediate route out of the If one is also looking for some Job’s comfort crisis – if only to protect core defence contracts – from the Covid-induced aviation recession, delays but it was another two months before the RB.211 in new airliner launches may take some of the and Rolls’ civil business was saved. And saved only investment pressure off Rolls to develop a range of after direct negotiations between No.10 and the new engines. However, future survival will still need White House and a nerve-wracking single vote an R&D programme – again the part MoD-funded majority in the US Senate for a rescue loan to Tempest programme will bring some relief in this Lockheed. respect. Still, there will be a need in the medium term to ramp up commitments to new products at a time History repeating itself? when Rolls’ finances could still be in recovery. BUT THERE IS NO ESCAPING Flash forward those fifty years and Rolls-Royce is The shades of January 1971 still THE FACT THAT looking to raise £2bn to keep afloat after declaring beckon a record £5.4bn loss for the first half of 2020. It ROLLS-ROYCE is also having some expensive problems with its There is no escaping the fact that Rolls-Royce is IS STILL THE latest engines – another unfortunate echo of 50 still the smallest of the world’s ‘Big Three’ engine SMALLEST OF years ago. A premature end to currency hedging manufacturers and lacks the protection of a THE WORLD’S ‘BIG contracts accounts for some of the losses but conglomerate’s embrace. Its travails have already the main cause of the company’s travails is the reduced share valuations to junk status. So far THREE’ ENGINE Covid-19 crisis. Nobody is flying; nobody is buying the management team has ruled out the need for MANUFACTUR- – well, in very much fewer numbers than forecast. even a temporary injection of public money but the ERS AND LACKS Rolls-Royce has been especially hard hit by the fact company (along with the rest of the UK aerospace THE PROTECTION that the worst affected sector has been long-haul industry) may need a dedicated support programme OF A CONGLO- and the world fleet of widebodies on which Rolls from the British Government à la française focused has focussed for over a decade. Both aspects on next-generation civil technology acquisition. No MERATE’S of the crisis are causing pain to Rolls; aircraft need yet to brush off the play book for 1971 but us EMBRACE grounded means less revenue from ‘Power-by-the- historians are not crossing their fingers.

58 AEROSPACE

The Last Word Oct A B f.indd 1 18/09/2020 14:57 Going virtual on 4 November 2020! Register now for the RAeS careers and recruitment fair dedicated to supporting current and future aerospace and aviation professionals

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the aerospace and aviation industry and this year our event will be very different. To keep people safe, we will be holding our annual careers fair online using new technology to retain interaction between exhibitors and visitors, with competitions and a fantastic programme of insight talks for all career levels, from early talent to experienced. Despite the challenges many employers currently face, we hope to highlight opportunities in the industry including future tech, emerging aviation and space tech, as well as career transition roles and training opportunities to capitalise on the incredible skills and knowledge that our people can offer. Help us come together to support the future needs of the industry and ensure we are ready for future technological challenges and recovery. Our thanks to Club Class partner, Boeing, for their support in moving the event online. For visitor registration please contact [email protected]. For exhibitor packages please contact [email protected]

Club Class Event Partner

RAeSCareers www.careersinaerospace.com #CIAALIVE20 www.aerosocietycom/events

Careers in Aerospace Advert FP 2020 FINAL.indd 1 18/09/2020 13:57 Your parts have a destination We know the way

Do you have an urgent transportation challenge?

We’re here for you 24 hours a day 365 days a year

Contact us now on 24/7/365 AOG Hotline: www.aln.aero 00 8000 264 8326