June 2021 VACCINE AIR LOGISTICS AIR VACCINE INTEGRATED REVIEW ON MARS FLYING HOW AVIATION COULD SLASH AVIATION ITS HOW ENVIRONMENTAL TOMORROW IMPACT RIGHT NOW? RIGHT HERE, HERE, RIGHT www.aerosociety.com AEROSPACE June 2021 Volume 48 Number 6 Royal Aeronautical Society AVAILABLE TO ALL MEMBERS Learn, develop and elevate with Aeroversity Introducing Aeroversity, our brand new integrated learning and professional development system, now exclusively available to all members. As a member of the Society, Aeroversity enables you to continue to develop your knowledge through informative courses, lecture videos and insightful podcasts along with specialist materials suited to your industry. Resources include: Webinars Lectures from our network of branches and divisions, available by video and podcast eLearning modules and courses eBooks library Advanced Technologies and Aerospace Database Briefing papers ..and much more! As a member of the Society, Aeroversity is the ideal place for you to record your initial and continuing professional development using MAPD - My Aero Professional Development. MAPD is a 2-way professional development platform, enabling members to access their CPD record and share with their mentors, colleagues and management for comments and feedback. Download the app or access via your desktop to explore the full range of resources available. Use your Society login to access here: www.aerosociety.com/aeroversity Volume 48 Number 6 June 2021 EDITORIAL Contents Grabbing the low-hanging Regulars 4 Radome 12 Transmission fruit The latest aviation and Your letters, emails, tweets aeronautical intelligence, and social media feedback. Faced with the immense challenge that is climate change and the seemingly analysis and comment. impossible goal of halting or slowing it, it is no wonder that some people throw 58 The Last Word 11 Pushing the Envelope Keith Hayward questions their hands up in despair that ‘nothing we can do can make a difference’. Rob Coppinger examines the rationale behind the ATI’s For aviation, this challenge is particularly acute – as there are signs now that the challenge of flight safety recent suspension of new aviation and air travel are rebounding after Covid-19. In the US, airlines are certification for passenger- projects relating to zero- carbon targets. recalling furloughed pilots while, in the UK, foreign holidays have returned to a carrying eVTOLS. limited number of destinations. Meanwhile, Airbus is reported to be planning to ramp up single aisle production rates while more than 90 new airlines are set to Features launch this year. This is not to say that the crisis is over but it does indicate that MoD 28 the environment and sustainability will again move centre stage as aviation’s number one challenge. However, while electric commuter aircraft, eVTOL point- 14 to-point travel and hydrogen-powered airliners could still be some way off, this Urban Air Port issue shows that there is ‘low-hanging fruit’ that could have a massive impact by rerouting a fraction of airliners to avoid creating the most damaging and persistent type of contrails in the evening and night-time. Intriguingly, a report The UK’s defence and The future is vertical by Past President John Green from the RAeS Climate impact of non-CO security posture on the 2 move Recent UK developments conference (p 24) also raises the possibility that airliners deliberately creating in urban air mobility and An analysis of the UK’s 2021 contrails in the morning could counterintuitively have the opposite effect and their effect on transforming Integrated Review of Security, aerospace supply chains. help cool the planet by reflecting sunlight into space. This large-scale ‘solar Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. geoengineering’ though, has social and political ramifications – and therefore 30 Briefing better – three requires further debate and research. However, with time ticking on, and growth years on in air transport seemingly set to return to its usual expansion, there may be 20 Reshaping the Middle Developing a new approach East aviation landscape to flight crew arrival and no time to lose in fast-tracking contrail reduction as a quick and easy win for departure briefings. Could the Abraham Accords sustainable aviation. reshape Middle East air NASA travel? Tim Robinson FRAeS, Editor-in-Chief [email protected] @RAeSTimR 24 34 Correspondence on all aerospace matters is welcome at: [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Editorial Office 2021 AEROSPACE subscription Flying over Mars Tim Robinson FRAeS Royal Aeronautical Society rates: Non-members, £190 NASA has successfully flown +44 (0)20 7670 4353 No.4 Hamilton Place To place your order, contact: [email protected] London W1J 7BQ, UK Wayne J Davis the first-ever helicopter on +44 (0)20 7670 4300 Deputy Editor +44 (0)20 7670 4354 Mars. [email protected] [email protected] Easy does it for greener Bill Read FRAeS skies +44 (0)20 7670 4351 www.aerosociety.com Any member not requiring a print 38 Getting the vaccines [email protected] AEROSPACE is published by the Royal version of this magazine should Report on the RAeS out: from 747 to drone Aeronautical Society (RAeS). contact: [email protected] conference on mitigating the Production Manager How air transport is flying Wayne J Davis FRAeS Chief Executive USA: Periodical postage paid at climate impact of non-CO2 Covid-19 vaccines around the +44 (0)20 7670 4354 Sir Brian Burridge CBE FRAeS Champlain New York and additional gases. world to point of use. [email protected] Advertising offices. +44 (0)20 7670 4346 Publications Executive Postmaster: Send address changes [email protected] Chris Male FRAeS to IMS of New York, PO Box 1518, Afterburner Champlain NY 12919-1518, USA. +44 (0)20 7670 4352 Unless specifically attributed, no 44 Message from our President [email protected] material in AEROSPACE shall be taken ISSN 2052-451X 45 Message from our Chief Executive Production Executive to represent the opinion of the RAeS. Annabel Hallam Reproduction of material used in this 46 Book Reviews +44 (0)20 7670 4361 publication is not permitted without the [email protected] written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. 49 Library Additions Book Review Editors Printed by Buxton Press Limited, 51 New guide to UK archives Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire Tony Pilmer and Katrina Sudell Obituaries [email protected] SK17 6AE, UK 52 54 RAeS Diary & New Member Spotlight Distributed by Royal Mail 56 Elections Additional content is available to view online at: aerosociety.com/aerospaceinsight Read AEROSPACE and the Insight blog on your Including: UK spacepower conference preview, Mitigating the impact of non CO2 gases on the environment, Flying a helicopter over Mars, New Member Spotlight, Controlling satellites from the UK, smartphone or tablet with the AEROSPACE app Online Supersonic and hypersonic passenger flights. APP available from iTunes and Google Play Front cover: Flickr/James Havard @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com JUNE 2021 13 Blueprint INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT Low-level piloting Flight safety while skimming over the water would be provided by a multiple-redundant, state-of-the-art navigation and control system. Bigger plans While Regent aims to fly a quarter scale 15ft wingspan demonstrator by the end of the year, it has its sights on bigger WIG vehicles beyond a ten-seat aircraft, with renderings (left) of a proposed 50- seat Seaglider. Regent 4 AEROSPACE Specifications Cruise speed 180mph Range 180nm Passengers 10 Efficient electric Regent says that, by utilising ground effect, the Seaglider will have double the range of other electric aircraft, as well as being six times faster than ferries. Existing dock infrastructure Regent sees the Seaglider using existing docks and harbours, using its hydrofoils to taxi at lower speeds before accelerating in open water. AEROSPACE Meet the e-WIG US start-up Regent has revealed its design for a ten-seat all-electric wing-in-ground (WIG) effect vehicle, aimed at high-speed coastal passenger travel. The Seaglider would use distributed electric propulsion and hydrofoils to accelerate to over 45mph, before taking off to fly at low level within a wingspan of the water’s surface to utilise ground effect. Aiming for half the operating costs of traditional aircraft, the company has already taken $465m in provisional orders from existing seaplane and ferry operators. JUNE 2021 5 Radome COVID-19 AEROSPACE AIR TRANSPORT Industry to lose almost UK opens holiday flights to limited $48bn in 2021, says IATA destinations Gatwick Airport Airline industry group IATA an improvement on the has deepened its forecast estimated $126.5bn net 2021 losses for global industry losses suffered airlines as the global by the aviation industry pandemic continues in 2020. IATA’s Director to slow recovery in air General Willie Walsh travel. IATA now says said that: “Losses will that the world’s airlines be reduced from 2020 are estimated to lose but the pain of the crisis $47.7bn in total through increases,” adding that 2021, worse than the government restrictions On 17 May, the UK relaxed Covid-19 travel restrictions for leisure passengers, $38bn that it originally will continue to dampen allowing quarantine-free travel to 12 ‘green’ destinations, including Israel, Iceland predicted in November strong underlying and Portugal. The loosening of travel rules saw flights from the UK to Portugal jump 2020. However, this is demand. from around 10-15 a day during lockdown to 78 on the first day. AIR TRANSPORT AEROSPACE EU grants more money to Alitalia No flights to Australia Alitalia until 2022? The government of Australia Zealand. The airline has now has hinted that international pushed back the resumption travel may not fully resume of international flights until until 2022 due to fresh late December. uncertainties related to Meanwhile, in response the spread of Covid-19.