AE August 2020 ROSPACE MALE ALLIES IN AEROSPACE SPACEX AMBITIONS THE IMMORTAL DC-3 www.aerosociety.com A ugust 2020 TEMPEST FUGIT V olume 47 Number 8 HOW THE UK’S NEXT FIGHTER IS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE Royal A eronauticaSociety AUGUST 2020 AEROSPACE COVER FINAL.indd 1 17/07/2020 14:13 RAeS Careers Service The RAeS Careers Team – We are here for you! Established in 1997, The Royal Aeronautical Society Careers Team are your one-stop-shop for FREE impartial and specialist advice. While the service has lived through many crises, Covid-19 sees the industry’s biggest challenge yet and we are here to provide specific support. We have a vast range of resources and materials on careers in aerospace and aviation – from civil, military, engineering and maintenance through to pilots, cabin crew, business and operations. We are here to support anyone, whether you are new to the sector or an experienced professional looking for further development. FREE 1-2-1 careers advice available online via webinar or by phone, with impartial advice on aerospace & aviation careers routes, CVs and job hunting advice. Our team are available Monday to Friday to provide specialist advice, prepare for the upturn in our sector by contacting us to arrange an appointment Annual recruitment fair dedicated to aerospace and aviation - Careers in AEROSPACE & AVIATION LIVE taking place on the 6th November 2020 (subject to the Covid-19 situation) Apply for financial support for tuition fees from Centennial Scholarship Fund Join our first Careers Webinars The Careers Team, along with experts from the Society’s membership, are running a series of FREE online webinars this month. 6th May – How to best prepare for a career in aerospace & aviation following a crisis 13th May – Covid-19 and Career Reinvention. How to re-invent yourself, so you emerge strong and ready to make your next career move We will be joined by some expert panelists and there will be a Q&A opportunity at the end. Sign up by contacting [email protected] Find out more: careersinaerospace.com Get in touch: [email protected] +44 (0)20 7670 4326 @RAeSCareers Careers 5_2020 280x210 Adv FINAL.indd 1 18/06/2020 12:44 Volume 47 Number 8 August 2020 EDITORIAL Contents Accelerating change Regulars 4 Radome 12 Transmission The news of the cessation of Boeing 747 production should come as no The latest aviation and Your letters, emails, tweets aeronautical intelligence, and social media feedback. surprise, even if, after over half a century, the end of the ‘Jumbo Jet’ – an analysis and comment. airliner that changed the world – makes many eyes grow moist. Due to 58 The Last Word its freighter origins, the 747 outlasted its upstart rival, the Airbus A380, 11 Pushing the Envelope Keith Hayward compares although future orders were already looking scarce – thanks to the rise of Rob Coppinger looks at the approach of the French progress in enabling in-orbit and UK governments on a new generation of big-twins such as the 787 and A350. However, like servicing of satellites and encouraging their national the A380, it is the coronavirus that has accelerated and brought forward removal of space debris. aerospace industries and early retirements of the 747 by operators facing evaporating demand for promoting green initiatives. long-haul air travel. Elsewhere, airlines which were marginal concerns are Features also restructuring or cutting costs in a desperate race to survive. Oddly, SpaceX 28 Harnessing allies’ this deadly pandemic may also be forcing through new, more agile ways of voices collaboration and working too – as the UK’s Tempest programme (p 32) 14 Engaging men in advocating is fi nding out. These changes may be painful to those involved but the end female equality and inclusion in the aerospace industry. result could be fi tter, leaner enterprises that are more resilient and better able to respond to the challenges of the 21st century. The impact of coronavirus, BAE Systems although undoubtedly a sledgehammer to aviation and aerospace, is arguably accelerating existing trends and changes that were already inherent and Live from Mars! 32 visible – whether it is the switch from four-engine airliners to twin-engine SpaceX’s out-of-this-world plans to send humans to types or increases in virtual collaboration and home working. Those Mars. organisations already on this path will thus fi nd it much easier than those that Tempest fugit 20 The immortal DC-3 have been hoping that change leaves them alone. However, in this issue is How the UK-led Tempest the one exception that proves the rule. With 172 aircraft still fl ying in service Some 85 years after it fi rst future combat aircraft project fl ew, the Douglas DC-3 around the world and another 150-200 airframes ripe for conversion to could accelerate the pace still fl ies on in commercial of aircraft development and turboprops, the 85-year old Douglas DC-3 (p 20) could conceivably outlast service. revitalise Britain’s aerospace both the A380 and coronavirus. Some things never change. capabilities. Bristow Tim Robinson FRAeS, Editor-in-Chief 24 [email protected] Correspondence on all aerospace matters is welcome at: [email protected] 36 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 Helicopters rise to the Please send your order to: Turning aviation green [email protected] London W1J 7BQ, UK Wayne J Davis, RAeS, No.4 Hamilton challenge +44 (0)20 7670 4300 Deputy Editor Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK. Helicopter operators adapt New aircraft designs, [email protected] Bill Read, FRAeS +44 (0)20 7670 4354 both aircraft and operating operations and power +44 (0)20 7670 4351 www.aerosociety.com [email protected] procedures to provide sources which could solve [email protected] AEROSPACE is published by the Royal Any member not requiring a print medical evacuation during the environmental challenges Aeronautical Society (RAeS). version of this magazine should Production Manager the Covid-19 outbreak. faced by aviation. contact: [email protected] 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, 42 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 43 Message from our Chief Executive Production Executive to represent the opinion of the RAeS. ISSN 2052-451X 44 Book Reviews Annabel Hallam Reproduction of material used in this 48 New Member spotlight +44 (0)20 7670 4361 publication is not permitted without the [email protected] written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. 50 NAL Archive Hub Book Review Editor Printed by Buxton Press Limited, 52 RAeS Careers Webinars Brian Riddle Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire [email protected] SK17 6AE, UK 56 Elections/Obituaries Distributed by Royal Mail 57 New Corporate Partners Additional content is available to view online at: www.aerosociety.com/aerospaceinsight Including: UK invests in OneWeb, Emergency evacuation of commercial aircraft, Why Germany selected the Boeing F/A-18, In the July issue of AEROSPACE, Working with China, New Members’ Online Spotlight, Helicopter Covid-19 med-evac operations, Pilot error! What about pilot saves? Front cover: The Tempest, an artist’s impression. (BAE Systems) @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com AUGUST 2020 13 Blueprint INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT Hydrogen envelope The football stadium-sized balloon would be fi lled with hydrogen for buoyancy and lift. Safety In the unlikely event of a problem with the balloon, the capsule will also be equipped with a parachute as a reserve descent system. Live-streaming your experience As well as the flight itself, Space Perspective is promoting the capsule as roomy enough for concerts, weddings or corporate events, with the connectivity to stream these to the ground. 4 AEROSPACE AUGUST 2020 News wjd.indd 2 17/07/2020 14:25:07 Flight profi le Total flight time aloft would be six hours with the pressurised capsule spending two hours at 100,000ft. The capsule would then recover to a water landing. Room with a view The Neptune Capsule with eight passengers and a pilot would launch appropriately from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. As well as ‘edge of space’ tourists, the company is also promoting it as a plat- form for research and science flights. W SPACEFLIGHT A higher perspective US company Space Perspective has announced plans to fl y passengers and research payloads to the edge of space using a ‘Spaceship Neptune’ high- altitude balloon carrying a pressurised capsule. Carrying one pilot and up to eight passengers, the balloon would ascend to 100,000ft where it would remain for two hours before descending to sea level where the passengers would be picked up by a ship. Space Perspective plans to launch the balloon from the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The fi rst uncrewed test fl ight of the balloon is scheduled for early 2021. AUGUST 2020 5 AUGUST 2020 News wjd.indd 3 17/07/2020 14:25:14 Radome COVID-19 AIR TRANSPORT AEROSPACE Virgin Atlantic saved with Airbus to axe 15,000 jobs as it faces £1.2bn rescue deal ‘gravest crisis’ in aviation history Troubled Virgin Atlantic deferrals from creditors Airways, which had and suppliers.