AE April 2020 ROSPACE END OF AN ERA FOR THE FIGHTER PILOT? SPACEFLIGHT IN 2020 KING AIRS TO THE RESCUE www.aerosociety.com A pril 2020 V olume 47 Number 4 Royal A A BIOSHOCK TO AVIATION COVID-19: THE GLOBAL AEROSPACE INDUSTRY FACES ITS TOUGHEST CHALLENGE YET eronautical Society APRIL 2020 AEROSPACE COVER FINAL.indd 1 23/03/2020 12:55 @ROYAL AIRFORCE Brought to you by In partnership with Sponsored by �AIR&SPACE ��LEONARDO NORTHROP-, LOCKHEEDM� ER ASSOCIATION GRUMMAN I � BAE SYSTEMS Correspondence on all aerospace matters is welcome at: The Editor, AEROSPACE, No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK [email protected] Volume 47 Number 4 April 2020 EDITORIAL Contents A ock of ‘Black Swans’ Regulars 4 Radome 12 Transmission Just how resilient is global aerospace and aviation to external shocks and The latest aviation and Your letters, emails, tweets disruption? We may be about to fi nd out. So far it has coped with ‘Black aeronautical intelligence, and social media feedback. analysis and comment. Swan’ events of the 1991 Gulf War, 9/11, SARS, the 2008 fi nancial crisis 58 The Last Word and the Icelandic volcano. Each time, passenger growth dipped but then 11 Pushing the Envelope Keith Hayward considers quickly recovered as the insatiable demand for air travel returned even Rob Coppinger on how the the wider implications for 5G telecommunications the aerospace industry in stronger than before. Today, however, the engines that power the global revolution can benefi t the the wake of the Coronavirus aviation industry seem to have ingested several Black Swans at once leading aerospace industry. outbreak. to fears that the entire sector could stall. Aviation was already struggling with Boeing’s 737 MAX crisis – which sees one half of the mega-duopoly in limbo Features as its single-aisle line is grounded for over 12 months. Meanwhile concerns Air Korean over climate change and ‘fl ight shaming’ were gaining ground among consumers. Last month, came the news that the UK will leave EASA – something that had previously only been envisaged in ‘worst-case’ scenarios. 14 In normal times, each of these ‘Black Swans’ would be headline news but 32 all are now overshadowed by the biggest and most signifi cant Swan – the global Coronavirus pandemic, which has led to grounded fl eets, closed Bioshock to aviation – what next? The show must go on borders and passenger demand going off a cliff edge – in an unprecedented What is the impact on the A report from the 2020 crisis in aviation’s history. Flight schedules now look like something from the aerospace industry of the Singapore Air Show. 1960s and the dawn of the jet age. That aviation will eventually come back is Coronavirus pandemic? not in question but in what form? Civil aviation is the lifeblood of the world’s 20 Breaking through the globalised economy, the sinews of commerce and a sector that has lifted HUD glass ceiling the horizons of millions of people around the world. If anything, this crisis is Does the Chief of an Air demonstrating that, however high-resolution a screen, or fast the bandwidth, Force necessarily need to be 36 a pilot? people crave face-to-face contact. 2Excel Aviation 36 Wings of change Tim Robinson, Editor-in-Chief 25 The RAeS Global [email protected] Megatrends conference looks at the longer-term future of aerospace. Firefl y Aerospace Firefl Editor-in-Chief Editorial Offi ce 2020 AEROSPACE subscription Tim Robinson Royal Aeronautical Society rates: Non-members, £180 King Airs to the rescue +44 (0)20 7670 4353 No.4 Hamilton Place Please send your order to: Two new customised King [email protected] London W1J 7BQ, UK Wayne J Davis, RAeS, No.4 Hamilton Air 200s have enhanced the 38 +44 (0)20 7670 4300 Deputy Editor Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK. UK Coastguard’s maritime [email protected] Bill Read +44 (0)20 7670 4354 mission capability. +44 (0)20 7670 4351 www.aerosociety.com [email protected] [email protected] AEROSPACE is published by the Royal Any member not requiring a print Space 2020 – a look Aeronautical Society (RAeS). version of this magazine should 28 Space debris Production Manager ahead contact: [email protected] Wayne J Davis Chief Executive Can we solve the Sir Brian Burridge CBE FRAeS USA: Periodical postage paid at environmental crisis of The RAeS Space Group +44 (0)20 7670 4354 previews the space missions [email protected] Advertising Champlain New York and additional space? offi ces. planned for this year. Publications Executive +44 (0)20 7670 4346 [email protected] Chris Male 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. [email protected] material in AEROSPACE shall be taken Afterburner to represent the opinion of the RAeS. Publications Executive ISSN 2052-451X 42 Message from our President Annabel Hallam Reproduction of material used in this +44 (0)20 7670 4361 publication is not permitted without the 43 Message from our Chief Executive written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. [email protected] 44 Book Reviews Printed by Buxton Press Limited, Book Review Editor Library Additions Brian Riddle Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire 48 [email protected] SK17 6AE, UK 50 NAL Sound Archive Distributed by Royal Mail 52 Society news Additional content is available to view online at: www.aerosociety.com/aerospaceinsight 54 Obituary Including: New Member Spotlight – Shumit Das, NATO’s new capability acquisition programme, Can 55 Paris Branch the UK join the hypersonics race?, Covid 19 - a pandemic hits aviation, King Air 200s add mission 56 New Members Spotlight Online capability to UK Coast Guard, Should CAS be a pilot?, Space missions for 2020. @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com APRIL 2020 13 Blueprint INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT Quieter tail rotor The shrouded tail rotor design has been redefined to optimise the noise signature, as well as to improve the service life and ease of maintenance. Larger cabin The rear cabin has been enlarged to give an additional seat – allowing for eight passengers plus a single pilot. Part of the fuel cells have been relocated from the rear cabin wall to the cabin fl oor. W GENERAL AVIATION SH09 design tweaked Switzerland's Kopter, which in January, announced it would be acquired by Leonardo, has revealed fi nal design features to its SH09 single-engined light helicopter. The tweaks come from lessons learned from the fl ight testing of its P3 prototype. The company expects to assemble its fi rst production SH09 later this year. The SH09 will be manufactured in Lafayette, Louisiana, US, as well as a new facility in Mollis, Switzerland. Deliveries are set to begin in 2021, with the company saying that it has orders for more than 70 helicopters. Kopter 4 AEROSPACE Optimised main rotor SH09 specifications Crew/passengers 5-9 The main rotor mast has been elongated to Range 430nm improve handling qualities, while the blade Max cruise speed 140kt shape has been optimised to enhance MTOW 6,283lb performance. The architecture features inter-blade elastomeric dampers and external flight control lines to ease maintenance. Glass cockpit The SH09 features a Garmin G3000H glass-cockpit with two 12in touch-screen displays. The avionics suite has the capability to integrate a four-axis autopilot to allow for IFR operations. W Skids updated Landing skids have been updated with a modified geometry and a simpler attachment to the fuselage. APRIL 2020 5 Radome COVID-19 DEFENCE AEROSPACE Military exercises curtailed Farnborough cancelled Military exercises and has also been cancelled. routine operations are International exercises in now being affected by Morocco, South Korea the Coronavirus outbreak. and Israel have also been On 11 March, NATO cancelled or scaled back. closed the Norway- Meanwhile, air based exercise Cold forces have been busy in Response, which would transporting vital medical Farnborough International have involved 15,000 supplies, including virus On 20 March, Farnborough International Air Show announced that this year's global troops. NATO's tactical air testing kits, patients from aerospace trade exhibition and air show, set for 20-24 July, would now be cancelled warfare exercise, Frisian worst affected areas to due to the Coronavirus. The organisers say the show will return in 2022. The move Flag, set to take place ones with more capacity, came on the same day that the Royal International Air Tattoo reached a similar decision in The Netherlands from as well as helping and cancelled its 2020 air show. Other trade shows and exhibitions cancelled or 23 March - 4 April and repatriate tourists stuck postponed include AERO Friedrichshafen, ILA Berlin, EBACE and the Hamburg involving around 50 aircraft overseas. Aircraft Interiors show as well as Cosford and Yeovilton air displays. AIR TRANSPORT SPACEFLIGHT COVID-19: airlines go into full ESA closes spaceport, lockdown mode NASA halts work on SLS As AEROSPACE goes On 16 March the home working. In the US, to press in mid-March, European Space Agency NASA has yet to cancel the world's airlines (ESA) announced that launches, including the have begun cancelling all launches from its fi rst SpaceX Crewed services and grounding spaceport in French Dragon mission in May fl eets as the COVID-19 Guiana, South America, but has instituted remote ICAO pandemic has closed were suspended working plans for its international borders and load factors have plummented. In the US, United has indefi nitely due to the employees. It has also reduced its international services by 95%, while in Europe, budget carrier Ryanair is Coronavirus pandemic.