AEROSPACE June 2017 44 Number 6 Volume Society Royal Aeronautical www.aerosociety.com June 2017 TRAIN VIRTUAL, FIGHT EASY WILL LONG-HAUL, LOW- COST WORK THIS TIME? MIRAGE IV – FRANCE’S NUCLEAR STRIKER FRATERNITÉ IN FRANCE PARIS AIR SHOW PREVIEW Images courtesy of www.defencephotography.com Images courtesy of www.defencephotography.com 34,038 VISITORS FROM ACCESS THE REGISTER TO 108 COUNTRIES GLOBAL MARKET ATTEND TODAY (6% INCREASE IN 2015) 76% AT THE WORLD OF ATTENDEES DECISION MAKERS OR AIR LEADING DEFENCE SPECIFIERS (DSEI 2015) & SECURITY EVENT LAND 1,683 N AVA L EXHIBITORS To enquire and reserve your exhibition space contact: REPRESENTING THE T: +44 (0)20 7384 7770 E: [email protected] SECURITY WHOLE SUPPLY CHAIN Register to attend: WWW.DSEI.CO.UK/RAES JOINT 42 INTERNATIONAL Supported by Platinum Sponsors Organised by PAVILIONS Volume 44 Number 6 SIAE June 2017 French connection Train virtual, fi ght A preview of the easy 52nd Paris Air Show How Inzpire is 14 which will be held 16 revolutionising UK at Le Bourget from defence training. 19-25 June. Contents Inzpire 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. 62 The Last Word A great leap forward? 10 Antenna Keith Hayward on Airbus’ Howard Wheeldon on the fi rst half century. implications of Brexit and the To outsiders, the world of Chinese aerospace may seem opaque at times. British General Election for Language differences, unfamiliar companies and natural secrecy about UK aerospace in Europe. military projects mean that, to some Western observers, aeronautical goings- on behind the ‘bamboo curtain’ can at times present a mystery wrapped in Features ASI a riddle. Yet, in the fi rst fl ight of COMAC’s C919 airliner on 5 May, China BAE stunned the world by bringing unprecedented transparency to a fi rst fl ight, by live-streaming video from the fl ight deck. True, this is not a military project but it still represents a historic aviation fi rst and a measure of confi dence in the aircraft. Yet, ironically, this symbol of national aerospace pride and achievement is also representative of today’s globalised economy – where the manufacturer integrates a number of different international suppliers. 32 Like Airbus and Boeing, who use the same suppliers, the key part is the high 20 value design, the integration and fi nal assembly. Yet, while the achievement Jet cemetery of the C919 also highlights some of China’s key weaknesses – particularly Plane Speaking Recycling life-expired in powerplants which are dependent on materials technology and R&D that An interview with Nigel aircraft. Whitehead, Group MD, goes back 40 years or more. The rise of China as a juggernaut of aerospace Programmes and Support, power thus represents a quandary to western aerospace players – compete BAE Systems. 36 Carnival of fl ight or co-operate? Sometimes it will be both at the same time. Though the West A report from Brazil on the 24 In for the low-cost 2017 LAAD defence and still has the edge, particularly in aeroengines, avionics, advanced materials long-haul security show. and connectivity/netcentric warfare, the gap is now closing fast. While covert Can the low-cost airline espionage and overt industrial partnerships have certainly helped Chinese model be adapted for long- haul operations? YAM aircraft designers, the latest designs show they are now exploring their own Rulexip innovation path. For European, US and other countries, intensifi ed competition, in civil as well as military aerospace, will help sharpen and push the boundaries of aviation and aerospace. Tim Robinson Editor-in-Chief 28 40 [email protected] Entering the fi fth A distant Mirage NEWS IN BRIEF dimension The inside story of the French air force’s Mirage IVA AEROSPACE How hard is it to develop a Editor-in-Chief is published by the Royal 2017 AEROSPACE subscription supersonic nuclear bomber. Tim Robinson Aeronautical Society (RAeS). rates: Non-members, £160 fi fth generation fi ghter? +44 (0)20 7670 4353 Chief Executive Please send your order to: [email protected] Simon C Luxmoore Dovetail Services Ltd, 800 Guillat Deputy Editor Advertising Avenue, Kent Science Park, 41 Bill Read Simon Levy Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8GU, UK. 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Champlain New York and additional Additional features and content +44 (0)20 7670 4354 offi ces. 51 Library additions [email protected] Printed by Buxton Press Limited, are available to view online on Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire Postmaster: Send address changes 52 Percy Pilcher’s Hawk glider www.media.aerosociety.com/ Book Review Editor SK17 6AE, UK to IMS of New York, PO Box 1518, aerospace-insight Brian Riddle Champlain NY 12919-1518, USA. 54 Corporate Partners Including: Train virtual, fi ght easy, China’s Editorial Offi ce Distributed by Royal Mail 56 Diary C919, Spy plane for hire, Business aviation Royal Aeronautical Society ISSN 2052-451X – emerging from a lost decade, The only way No.4 Hamilton Place 58 Cambridge Branch is Oxford, An end to getting lost at the airport, London W1J 7BQ, UK 59 YPN in the spotlight Achieving peak safety performance: +44 (0)20 7670 4300 [email protected] 60 RAeS elections listening and learning, A new age of aerospace innovation. www.aerosociety.com 61 Obituaries @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com JUNE 2017 13 Radome INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT Future fuels While Clip-Air would initially use existing narrowbody class turbo- fans, researchers point out that the unique confi guration would also be suitable for alternative fuels – particularly if a pod was swapped out for a cryogenic tank with hydrogen. Boarding the sky-train One way that the system could be used is that passengers could board one or more of the capsules in the same way that they would board a train. This boarding could either be at an airport or from a railway station and the passengers could be transported by rail as part of their journey. Once at the airport, the capsules would be fi tted beneath the Clip-Air which would carry them for the air part of the journey. The passengers could then remain in the capsule either for transfer to the airport or by rail to another station. As well as increasing effi ciency one other advantage from separating passenger pods from the fl ightdeck would be increased security. EPFL / TRANSP-OR / LIV ICOM AIR TRANSPORT Multi-modal air transport A research project conducted by Prof Michel Bierlaire at the Transport and Mobility Laboratory at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, the modular Clip-Air is a fl ying wing fi tted with engines which can carry between and one to three tubular capsules containing passengers, freight or fuel. Each capsule would be around 30m long and weigh around 30t. Passenger capsules would be similar to an aircraft fuselage in that they would be pressurised. The aim is that the capsules can be also be used for other modes of transport, such as railways and transit systems without loading the passengers or cargo – saving time and money. 4 AEROSPACE / JUNE 2017 A phased approach While the 60m wingspan, three capsule modular transport is some 40-50 years away, Clip-Air researchers believe that a modular air transport system could be developed in a phased approach – starting with light aircraft or reduced scale mode, before moving on to a bizjet and then an A320-sized aircraft in 10-15 years. Clip-Air specifi cations Maximum passenger capacity 3 × 150 (450 seats) Wingspan 60m Engines 3 Max aircraft weight: 1 (aircraft/capsule) 139t × 78t 2 (aircraft/capsules) 173.5t 2 × 78t (156t) 3 (aircraft/capsules) 208t 3 × 78t (234t) @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com JUNE 2017 5 Radome AEROSPACE AIR TRANSPORT C919 maiden fl ight livestreamed from Overbooking own goal fl ightdeck from United United Airlines has adjusted and apologising after its overbooking policy and further outrage. Its new compensation rules after overbooking policies smartphone video of a include not involving 69-year-old doctor forcibily law enforcement unless being removed from a fl ight they are actually needed, at Chicago’s O’Hare airport increased compensation of on 10 April went viral on up to $10,000 for bumped social media. The airline passengers, extra training initially defended the ‘re- for staff and at least 60min accommodation’ by airport notice for crew members CCTV police before backtracking requiring staff travel. On 5 May, China’s COMAC conducted the fi rst fl ight of its new C919 158-seat narrowbody airliner from Pudong SPACEFLIGHT International Airport, Shanghai. In an aviation fi rst, the fl ightdeck was livestreamed over the Internet during the 79min test fl ight.