AE ROSPACE www.aerosociety.com May 2020 V olume 47 Number 5 May 2020 QANTAS PROJECT SUNRISE THE COST OF MODERN FIGHTERS UK AND EASA – Royal A GOING SOLO? INTERNATIONAL RESCUE eronautical Society AVIATION MOBILISES TO FIGHT COVID-19 PANDEMIC NEW FOR MEMBERS IN 2020 Bringing the world of aerospace to your door... ...and now to your phone and tablet! Prepare for an awesome launch! AEROSPACE is now available as an app! AEROSPACE has continued to grow in stature and influence as the informative and expert source of aviation, aerospace and space news, opinion and analysis. Revitalised from a design refresh, the clearer sharper magazine now presents key stories in a crisp stylish setting now seamlessly integrated into a convenient app. Notifications when new issue is available Download and browse past issues from the previous two years Download issues to read offline Search function Includes the twice weekly AEROSPACE Insight blog Available on Android and Apple devices. Search AEROSPACE on Google Play or iTunes, Download the app and log in using your aerosociety.com member portal username and password. The AEROSPACE App is the one-stop destination to the latest news in the fast-moving world of aerospace from The Royal Aeronautical Society. Download a copy now! [email protected] +44 (0)20 7670 4300 @aerosociety Correspondence on all aerospace matters is welcome at: The Editor, AEROSPACE, No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK [email protected] Volume 47 Number 5 May 2020 EDITORIAL Contents A V-shaped or U-shaped Regulars 4 Radome 12 Transmission recovery? The latest aviation and Your letters, emails, tweets aeronautical intelligence, and social media feedback. analysis and comment. As AEROSPACE goes to press – the global aviation industry, like much 58 The Last Word of the world’s population, is locked down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 11 Pushing the Envelope Keith Hayward considers the Over half of all Boeing airliners are grounded and traffi c levels have fallen Rob Coppinger looks at the lessons learned regarding technical challenges involved export subsidies from Airbus’ to 1990’s levels. Plying the empty skies now, passenger airliners have with designing high-altitude fi rst major aircraft order in been pressed into service as vital cargo aircraft, delivering much-needed platforms (HAPS). 1977. medical supplies around the world. One bright spot from this dark time for air transport is that, reaching rock bottom, the only way now is up. Domestic Features Leonardo air travel in China is slowly returning, while some European countries are LHT now taking steps to loosen their lockdowns. Though this is likely to be done 14 28 in a phased and measured way, it opens up a route in which life (including air travel) might return to some semblance of normality (albeit with some restrictions). So what might any recovery in passenger air traffi c look like? A V-shaped quick bounce-back seems highly optimistic. Yet a U-shaped crawl along the bottom for years also seems too pessimistic – given the pent-up Hope given wings Maintenance errors: are we demand for business travel and holidays. Yet a word of caution is required How airlines and the learning? here. Fewer passengers, along with cabin ‘social distancing’ measures aerospace industry are Investigating the human (blocked off middle seats), also means that ticket prices could rise steeply. helping to fi ght back against factors in aircraft the Coronavirus outbreak. Short-haul, regional aviation is thus likely to power any climb in growth. maintenance. Current low oil prices too, will aid airlines strong enough to ride this crisis out. 18 The price is fl ight 32 Navigating proof The recovery then, may be more like a Nike-swoosh or a tick-mark than a U- How much does a modern Who bears the cost of claims or V-shaped recovery – a constant gradient climb for an embattled aviation fi ghter actually cost? in the event of an aircraft crash? industry. Qantas Airbus Tim Robinson, Editor-in-Chief 22 [email protected] 34 Editor-in-Chief Editorial Offi ce 2020 AEROSPACE subscription The fi nal frontier for jet-lag? Tim Robinson Royal Aeronautical Society rates: Non-members, £180 The UK and EASA – +44 (0)20 7670 4353 No.4 Hamilton Place An analysis of the human Please send your order to: factors involved in Qantas’ breaking formation? [email protected] London W1J 7BQ, UK Wayne J Davis, RAeS, No.4 Hamilton +44 (0)20 7670 4300 Project Sunrise ultra long- What the UK’s approach Deputy Editor Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK. [email protected] distance fl ights. towards the end of the Brexit Bill Read +44 (0)20 7670 4354 www.aerosociety.com [email protected] transition period means for +44 (0)20 7670 4351 aviation and regulation. [email protected] AEROSPACE is published by the Royal Any member not requiring a print 26 Mitigating risk, Aeronautical Society (RAeS). version of this magazine should Production Manager prepping for recovery contact: [email protected] 36 Looking to a blended Wayne J Davis Chief Executive How aerospace supply chain future Sir Brian Burridge CBE FRAeS +44 (0)20 7670 4354 USA: Periodical postage paid at companies can cope with the [email protected] Advertising Champlain New York and additional An analysis of Airbus’ new offi ces. Covid-19 crisis and plan for MAVERIC blended wing Publications Executive +44 (0)20 7670 4346 [email protected] the future. design concept. 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 49 Trustee Talk Distributed by Royal Mail 50 NAL Platt-LePage and Piasecki Rotorcraft fi lms Additional content is available to view online at: www.aerosociety.com/aerospaceinsight 52 Cool Aeronautics Including: Stimulating the urban air mobility revolution, The UK and EASA – breaking formation?, 55 Corporate Partners A new British electric aircraft, In the April issue of AEROSPACE, New Member spotlight – Oliver 56 Elections Online Westcott, A bioshock to aviation – what next? 57 New Members Spotlight @aerosociety i Find us on LinkedIn f Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com MAY 2020 13 Blueprint INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT X-57 specifi cations Critical take-off speed 67mph Max cruise speed 172mph MTOW 3,000lb Battery power Operational ceiling 14,000ft. The X-57 is powered by lithium-ion batteries weighing 680lb producing 69.1kW hours (with 47kW hours being usable). As part of the safety validation, NASA has also redesigned the batteries to prevent any 'thermal runaway' in all phases of flight. W AEROSPACE X-57 gets smarter NASA has released new images of the fi nal Mod IV confi guration of its X-57 Maxwell all-electric-distributed propulsion test aircraft – the fi rst piloted NASA X-plane in 20 years. The X-57 uses an Italian Tecnam P2006T which is being heavily modifi ed in phases with the fi nal confi guration featuring an electric distributed propulsion system, with 14 electric motors and propellers (two cruise motors and 12 high-lift motors) and a new high-effi ciency wing. The goal is a 500% increase in cruise fl ight effi ciency, zero-carbon emissions and quieter operations. NASA estimates that the electric propulsion system could save $165 per hour compared to internal combustion engines and decrease hourly energy operating costs from 45% to 9%. Telemetry testing on the X-57 has now been completed at NASA Armstrong at Edwards AFB, ahead of a fi rst fl ight later this year. NASAr 4 AEROSPACE MAY 2020 News.indd 2 21/04/2020 15:24:45 Props away In the final Mod IV configuration of the X-57, the X-plane will feature 14 electric motors, with two larger wingtip cruise motors and 12 high- lift motors. The Tecam's 100hp Rotax 912S engines, weighing 125lb are replaced by 60kW electric motors weighing 57lb, allowing them to be relocated to the wingtip to drive 5ft propellers. Meanwhile 12 10.5kW motors drive the 1.9ft high-lift propellers, which in cruise mode, will fold back into the nacelles, reducing drag. Getting the data NASA has already flight-tested the baseline Tecam P2006T to provide data to New wing compare internal combustion engine with the all-electric X-57. During flight testing The ultimate test configuration will of the Maxwell, flight data telemetry will be also include a new high-efficiency, downlinked using two antennas. This data high-aspect ratio wing with the wing- will also include voltage, power tip cruise motors recovering energy consumption and structural integrity. usually lost in tip vortices. Wing load- ing has increased from 17lb per sq ft to 45lb per sq ft, with NASA also saying that the new wing will be more gust-resistent and provide a smoother ride. The distributed power configura- tion has already been tested on the ground using a truck with 18 motors which generated more than double the lift of an unblown wing. MAY 2020 5 MAY 2020 News.indd 3 21/04/2020 15:24:51 Radome COVID-19 AEROSPACE AIR TRANSPORT Industry retools to fi ght Air traffi c falls to 1990’s levels global pandemic Aerospace, defence and clothing – with GE space companies around partnering with Ford the world are mobilising and 3M in the US to to assist in producing produce ventilators and vital medical and PPE.