AE April 2019 ROSPACE RUSSIAN HYPERSONICS THE TURBOPROP REVIVAL THE RISE OF COMMERCIAL NEWSPACE www.aerosociety.com A pril 2019 V olume 46 Number 4 Royal A DRONE ACADEMY eronautical Society PLACING AIRMANSHIP AT THE HEART OF UAV TRAINING ATR Volume 46 Number 4 Drones HALO School of drones Return of the April 2019 Tim Robinson joins turboprop a commercial drone Can the commercial training course with turboprop still 14 HALO Drones. 26 compete with new regional jet designs? Contents Correspondence on all aerospace matters is welcome at: The Editor, AEROSPACE, No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK [email protected] Comment Regulars 4 Radome 12 Transmission The latest aviation and Your letters, emails, tweets aeronautical intelligence, and feedback. analysis and comment. 58 The Last Word 10 Antenna Keith Hayward reviews the End of an era at Farnborough Howard Wheeldon looks future prospects for the UK back at the achievements of aerospace industry post the RAF Tornado fighter. Brexit. On 5 March the organisers of the Farnborough Air Show announced that the public flying days, held on the weekend, would now be discontinued, although the Friday of the show would now be fully opened up to the public. Features A spokesperson also blamed ‘negative’ feedback from a dwindling number MoD of the Russia Federation of visitors on the public days as being behind the move. Predictably this 30 announcement led to yet more negative feedback and criticism – with the feeling that Farnborough is set to lose an important part of its show. But this decision has been a long time coming and owes more to the urban growth of London and its suburbs over the past 70 years than malice. What was once MoD the home of the RAE and a sleepy town centred on aeronautics has become 18 Sharing the skies encroached on all sides by housing estates and business parks. Increased The latest progress on health and safety considerations has led to a progressively smaller airspace Russia accelerates integrating UAVs into both hypersonics race to display aircraft, as well as fewer new types of aircraft to showcase – with military and commercial Russia is currently working airspace. the Shoreham tragedy in 2015 being the final straw. However, a thought on a range of hypersonic occurs. Why not make the whole week open to the public? Although vehicle projects, including 34 NewSpace matures missiles, airliners and drones. exhibitors might grumble that this would detract from the B2B trade aspect, NewSpace start-ups promise affordable launches and it perhaps is worth considering. It would let people see the latest aircraft smallsats constellations. before they depart to resume busy testing schedules and allow companies Thales to have their STEM and careers opportunities every day. Farnborough is the showcase for global aerospace innovation and technology and if this Operation Migration can be communicated by allowing keen young people to directly interact with workers on exhibition stands, then surely this is a small price to pay for running out of a few extra corporate pens and badges? 22 Tim Robinson, Editor-in-Chief Under pressure 38 [email protected] The RAF now has a new Flocks away training centrifuge which can How drones can be used replicate the high-G forces to divert birds away from which pilots will experience airports and how microlights NEWS IN BRIEF flying modern fighters. are used to encourage bird Editor-in-Chief Editorial Office Printed by Buxton Press Limited, migration. Tim Robinson Royal Aeronautical Society Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire +44 (0)20 7670 4353 No.4 Hamilton Place SK17 6AE, UK [email protected] London W1J 7BQ, UK Distributed by Royal Mail Deputy Editor +44 (0)20 7670 4300 [email protected] 2019 AEROSPACE subscription 41 Afterburner Bill Read rates: Non-members, £170 +44 (0)20 7670 4351 www.aerosociety.com [email protected] AEROSPACE is published by the Royal Please send your order to: Wayne J Davis, RAeS, No.4 Hamilton 42 Message from our President Production Manager Aeronautical Society (RAeS). 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Postmaster: Send address changes 52 Diary The role of business and GA in aircraft to IMS of New York, PO Box 1518, [email protected] Reproduction of material used in this 54 2019 Anniversaries engineering, Flying the connected skies, In the Champlain NY 12919-1518, USA. March issue of AEROSPACE, New RAF pilot Book Review Editor publication is not permitted without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. 56 Elections training centrifuge, Turboprop revival?, Brian Riddle ISSN 2052-451X Requiem for a superjumbo, Space in 2019 – a look ahead, EASA’s new rules on pilot mental fitness. Front cover: UAV training course. (HALO Drones) @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com APRIL 2019 13 Radome INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT Specifications Length 38ft Range 2,000+nm Testing in the outback Three ATS prototypes will be built and tested in Australia, with the large airspace ranges and low-population density ideal for flight testing advanced military UCAVs. Keeping the cost down Key to ‘attritable’ UCAVs is making them affordable to field in large numbers along- side manned aircraft. For ATS, Boeing says it plans to use an undisclosed commercial turbofan engine to reduce costs. 4 AEROSPACE / APRIL 2019 W DEFENCE Boeing’s loyal wingman Unveiled at the 2019 Avalon air show in Australia on 26 February was a mock-up of a new UCAV from Boeing designed to act as a 'Loyal Wingman' with piloted platforms. The Airpower Teaming System (ATS) is a long-range, high-speed, fighter-sized stealth drone and will be developed in a partnership between Boeing Defense and the Australian Government, which is putting up to A$40m torwards the project. This will be the first Boeing unmanned system to be built outside the US. First flight is aimed for 2020. Long range The ATS will have a long reach with a range of over 2,000nm − ideal for Australia’s requirements in the large Asia-Pacific region. Advanced AI Described as a ‘game-changer’ by Boeing, the ATS would use advanced autonomy to allow it to fly independent missions or act as support/escort with manned platforms, such as the F-35, E/A-18G Growler, E-7 Wedgetail or P-8 Poseidon. Modular payload No weapons or sensors have been described yet but the company has revealed the ATS will be designed so that payloads (such as ISR or EW) can be swapped around for other customers. Some Loyal Wingman concepts also see UCAVs acting as airborne ‘reloads’ for air- to-air or air-to-surface weapons. Boeing @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com APRIL 2019 5 Radome AEROSPACE GENERAL Nations race to ground 737 MAX after second AVIATION fatal MAX accident in four months Shoreham As AEROSPACE goes accident follows the pilot to press, the global fleet October 2018 crash of acquitted of over 370 Boeing 737 a Lion Air 737 MAX 8 MAX airliners has been which killed 189. Ethiopia Andy Hill, the pilot of the grounded in the wake has grounded the 737 Hawker Hunter that crashed of a fatal accident on MAX along with national at Shoreham in 2015, and 10 March, involving an aviation authorities which killed 11 people Ethiopian Airlines 737 including Australia, on the ground, has been MAX 8 which killed all Canada, China, Oman, acquitted of manslaughter 149 on board. The aircraft Malaysia, South Korea, UK at a trial at the Old Bailey. had departed from Addis and EASA. On 13 March The jury cleared Hill after Ababa airport when it the US FAA followed suit. the defence argued he had plunged into the ground An investigation into the been ‘cognitively impaired’ during the incident. Ethiopian Airlines after six minutes. This crash is underway. AIR TRANSPORT DEFENCE Agreement on UK-EU IAF MiG-21 Bison shot down in no-deal flights reached skirmish over Kashmir The UK has reached a EU-licensed airlines temporary agreement continued access to the with the European Union UK as the EU proposes that will permit flights to give to UK B r it between the UK is airlines in Europe. h A i and the EU to r This reciprocal w a y continue after s agreement 29 March, even would apply An Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison was shot down by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) if there is no deal for a year up to fighters and its pilot captured during two days of aerial skirmishes over Kashmir on Brexit. The UK 29 March 2020, or in late February. The shootdown happened during a PAF strike aimed at Indian Department for Transport until the negotiation of a targets, in retaliation for an earlier IAF raid on suspected terrorist camps.