THE NEW NORMAL AIR TRAVEL in the POST CORONAVIRUS AGE Royal a Eronautical Society NEW for MEMBERS in 2020
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AE July 2020 ROSPACE EXTREME DEFENCE THREATS IN 2060 ELECTRIC GA FLIGHT: A PILOT’S VIEW TAMING THE WILDCAT www.aerosociety.com July 2020 V olume 47 Number 7 WELCOME TO THE NEW NORMAL AIR TRAVEL IN THE POST CORONAVIRUS AGE Royal A eronautical Society NEW FOR MEMBERS IN 2020 Bringing the world of aerospace to your door... ...and now to your phone and tablet! Prepare for an awesome launch! AEROSPACE is now available as an app! AEROSPACE has continued to grow in stature and influence as the informative and expert source of aviation, aerospace and space news, opinion and analysis. Revitalised from a design refresh, the clearer sharper magazine now presents key stories in a crisp stylish setting now seamlessly integrated into a convenient app. Notifications when new issue is available Download and browse past issues from the previous two years Download issues to read offline Search function Includes the twice weekly AEROSPACE Insight blog Available on Android and Apple devices. Search AEROSPACE on Google Play or iTunes, Download the app and log in using your aerosociety.com member portal username and password. The AEROSPACE App is the one-stop destination to the latest news in the fast-moving world of aerospace from The Royal Aeronautical Society. Download a copy now! [email protected] +44 (0)20 7670 4300 @aerosociety Correspondence on all aerospace matters is welcome at: The Editor, AEROSPACE, No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK [email protected] Volume 47 Number 7 July 2020 EDITORIAL Contents Making space matter Regulars 4 Radome 12 Transmission Race riots, political turmoil and historic space fl ights. There were many who The latest aviation and Your letters, emails, tweets aeronautical intelligence, and social media feedback. noted the similarities between 1968 and 2020 when, in May, NASA sent two analysis and comment. astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a US-built spacecraft, 58 The Last Word launched from US soil – the fi rst time in almost a decade. Back in 1968, just 11 Pushing the Envelope Keith Hayward considers the a year before Armstrong and Aldrin would unite the world by stepping on the Rob Coppinger analyses implications of the advent how cabin air systems of commercial manned Moon, America seemed to be tearing itself apart with the assassinations of and new aircraft cleaning spacefl ight following the Martin Luther King and Robert F Kennedy, civil disturbances, protests and the technology can combat the launch of SpaceX’s mission Vietnam War. Fast forward to 2020 and this historic space launch came at a spread of Covid-19. to the ISS.. time of protests against police brutality, political schisms, a global pandemic Features and an economic downturn that the US has not experienced since the Great Emirates 26 Electric fl ight, a pilot’s- Depression. It is no wonder, therefore that the Launch America slogan and the 14 eye view use of the event in President Trump’s re-election adverts left some normally An acrobatic display pilot enthusiastic space fans feeling uncomfortable watching this spectacle of gives a pilot’s perspective on the revolution in electric fl ight clean, white-suited astronauts climb aboard a shiny new spacecraft while for general aviation. seemingly the rest of America burned. Space of course, is a long-term NATO business and thus missions and ambitions outlast political administrations. However, in 1968, despite the divisions in US society (and around the globe) Covid-19 The new normal 30 Apollo was reaching for a common and well understood goal – landing a How airlines are grappling with the challenges of human on the Moon – before a bitter ideological rival – the USSR. Today, resuming passenger fl ights in the goals are more abstract (commercial exploitation of space), longer term the post Covid-19 era. Forecasting extreme threats to the UK (a human mission to Mars) or have a ‘been there, done that’ (landing on Nuclear, cyber, space, 20 Boeing and Embraer – the Moon) feel to them. What that means is that the space sector needs to biological and other long term jilted at the altar redouble its efforts to explain to the public, politicians and media why human threats to the UK. What happens next after exploration of space is worth it and deserves their support in a time when many Boeing terminated a deal 32 Taming the Wildcat people’s eyes are focused on social and economic injustice here on Earth. to acquire Embraer’s commercial aircraft division. The challenge of adding a ‘pseudo-FBW’ system Tim Robinson FRAeS, Editor-in-Chief to Leonardo’s AW159 [email protected] helicopter. 22 SpiceJet Editor-in-Chief Editorial Offi ce 2020 AEROSPACE subscription Tim Robinson, FRAeS rates: Royal Aeronautical Society Non-members, £180 Siemens 36 +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 Indian aviation’s invisible Digital aerospace www.aerosociety.com [email protected] +44 (0)20 7670 4351 force How digital data analytics [email protected] AEROSPACE is published by the Royal Any member not requiring a print Aeronautical Society (RAeS). version of this magazine should Why does India lead the and artifi cial intelligence Production Manager world in female equality on are transforming aerospace Chief Executive contact: [email protected] Wayne J Davis the fl ightdeck? manufacturing and MRO. +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 [email protected] Chris Male, MRAeS Postmaster: Send address changes to IMS of New York, PO Box 1518, +44 (0)20 7670 4352 Unless specifi cally attributed, no Champlain NY 12919-1518, USA. Afterburner [email protected] material in AEROSPACE shall be taken Publications Executive to represent the opinion of the RAeS. ISSN 2052-451X 42 Message from our President Annabel Hallam Reproduction of material used in this 43 Message from our Chief Executive +44 (0)20 7670 4361 publication is not permitted without the [email protected] written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. 44 Book Reviews Book Review Editor Printed by Buxton Press Limited, 48 Library Additions Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire Brian Riddle 50 NAL Heritage Website [email protected] SK17 6AE, UK Distributed by Royal Mail 52 NAL e-book service 53 RAeS statement on Black Lives Matter Additional content is available to view online at: www.aerosociety.com/aerospaceinsight 54 New Member spotlight Including: The fi rst SpaceX Crew Dragon fl ight to the ISS, Extreme threats to the UK, Air travel in the post Covid-19 age, In the June issue of AEROSPACE, New Member spotlight, 56 Elections/Corporate Partners Online Preserving aviation heritage, An analysis of the Superjet Moscow crash. Front cover: Airlines are now adapting their cabin service in the light of Covid-19 pandemic. (Air Canada) @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com JULY 2020 13 Blueprint INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT Distributed power Airflow’s eSTOL features ten electric motors on the wings, as well as rear propulsor between the twin tail booms. Cruise speed would be around 115mph. W AEROSPACE eSTOL for packages A team that previously worked on Airbus’ Vahana eVTOL project has unveiled a new concept for an electric-powered short take-off and landing (eSTOL) cargo aircraft to revolutionise distribution networks for ‘middle mile’ logistics. The start- up, Airfl ow, envisages a single-pilot aircraft that would use distributed propulsion to take off and land in short spaces and fl y routes of up to 250miles. Using eSTOL rather Single pilot than VTOL, says the team, means Airflow’s concept would use a single pilot to that the operating costs will be reduce operating costs. They would be one third of a helicopter or eVTOL assisted by a ‘virtual tailhook’ system to allow vehicle. A prototype is planned to precision approaches and landings into short fl y in 2023. runways and airstrips. 4 AEROSPACE JULY 2020 News.indd 2 19/06/2020 14:30:30 Airfl ow Airfl Super STOL The distributed propulsion would allow for ultra-short (150ft) take- off and landings with more control at low airspeeds. Accessing smaller airstrips will open up same day ‘middle mile’ logistics and replace slower gas-guzzling trucks on roads. Aerial operating system As well as the air vehicle itself, Airflow says the aircraft would also be linked into an ‘aerial operating system’ to allow fleet operators to manage scheduling in real time. Airfl ow specifi cations Crew One Payload 500lb Cargo space 90ft³ Range 250nm Cruise speed 115mph Take-off/landing distance 150ft JULY 2020 5 JULY 2020 News.indd 3 19/06/2020 14:30:34 Radome COVID-19 AEROSPACE AIR TRANSPORT France to fast-track hydrogen BA a ‘national disgrace’, aircraft in €15bn rescue deal Enable H2 says Parliament In a report by the UK for its proposals which, Parliamentary Transport it argued, are trying Committee into the effect to take advantage of of Coronavirus on the the Covid-19 crisis to aviation sector, MPs have restructure itself and cut slammed fl ag carrier costs. IAG CEO Willie British Airways’ plans to Walsh defended the cut 12,000 jobs and sack, proposals, saying that The French Government has unveiled a €15bn fi nancial support programme for the then rehire 35,000 staff, the carrier was “fi ghting aerospace sector, comprised of investment, loan guarantees and subsidies.