The Black Knight Transformer has recently completed its driving tests to become the first ever hybrid helicopter truck in the world. This truck has been designed mainly for military purpose with the hope that one day this new concept truck will be able to one day in the future assist the army in conflict. The transformer truck can be driven by a pilot or even operated remotely. This means that it can be flown with people sitting inside it or it can even be sent out without anyone inside it during dangerous missions. During the testing stage, it was remotely piloted and at this time it managed to achieve a height of a little less than ten feet from the ground. Even though this prototype is still far away from actually hitting the streets and being of service to the military, the fact is that it is slowly becoming a reality. The concept already works at a human scale and it is not just a design on paper any more. If all goes well, the Black Knight will be used for rescue missions and to carry troops during battle. The major advantage of this transformer will be that it has the ability to fly over mines, canyons and other places that are inaccessible by road. Once it clears these obstacles, it will be able to drive to its destination and help troops to evacuate from areas of battle. The Transformer will provide an all-in-one solution for the military thanks to its ability to be piloted remotely. Incredible First Flight of the AT Black Knight Transformer
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HondaJet Honda HA-420 in the Market Honda announced that the US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the airworthiness certificate for the HA-420 was approved on December 8, 2015 and on December 23, 2015 Honda delivered the first customer aircraft at its world headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. The HondaJets are expected to be priced around $4.5M US (£2.67M). This announcement was only recently made by Honda at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition held in Geneva, Switzerland. This cool machine is spacious, quiet and can cruises at an average of 483 mph (777 km/h) HondaJet Key Innovation It is in the true sense of the word; this will be the new sports car of the skies. This highly innovative, light business jet is designed to carry 6-7 people. One of the key innovations that HondaJet has brought to this very special jet is an “over-the-wing” engine mount, versus majority of small jets that have their engines mounted at the back. As per its creators, it is definitely a breakthrough in aeronautics engineering and is the culmination of over 2 decades of extensive R&D. The Fuel-Efficient Aircraft In addition to Natural Laminar Flow technology, its over-the-wing engine mount also provides category-leading advancements such as noise reduction, a more spacious cabin as well as increased fuel efficiency. Once its factory at Greensboro touches full production schedules, Honda Aircraft Company plans on producing and selling 70 -100 jets annually. Get ready to see the hi-flyers cruising around in their HondaJets. HondaJet – To Be Commercialized To The Public SectorBuilt to carry large and heavy equipmentAN-124-100 kneeling with front ramp down (note tilt of aircraft fuselage and retraction of front wheels)The Maximum Take-Off Weigh (MTOW) of an aircraft is the criteria used to determine the size and weight of the aircraft. Some of the largest aircraft in the world such as the AN-124 Ruslan, the C-17 Globemaster III and the C-5M Super Galaxy were built for the military to transport heavy equipment such as other aircraft, aircraft fuselage, tanks, helicopters, vehicles, military troops and other commodities. These large aircraft are also occasionally used by governments and private companies around the world to transport locomotives, Yachts, Buses, cars and other commodities used by the civilian population. Let’s take a look at the AN-124 Ruslan considered as the second largest airlift aircraft in the world after the AN-225 Mriya. Designed by Antonov Design BureauThe AN-124 with a unit cost of 70 to 100 million USD was designed by the Antonov design bureau and manufactured in Ukraine SSR, by two companies called Antonov, and Aviastar-SP. The maiden flight was on the 26th of December 1982, and it was introduced to the world in 1985 at the Paris air show. It is a Russian strategic airlift jet aircraft, developed primarily as a strategic military freighter for the USSR Air Force to carry missile units and main battle tanks. AN-124 Ruslan, Nickname Condor by NATOThis huge monster nicknamed the Condor by NATO is powered by four Ivchenko Progress D-18T turbofan engines and has a maximum take-off weight of 392 tons with a payload capacity of 120 tons. The Multi-leg landing gears on the AN-124 is equipped with 24 wheels allowing it to land on unpaved runways and change the angle of the fuselage for easy loading operation. Cargo can be loaded via the tail of the aircraft and the nose opening which can kneel to allow easier loading. The Condor, breaking world recordsThe AN-124 set many world records. In 1985, it reached an altitude of 10,750 meters with a payload of 171,129 kg. And in 1987 it covered a distance of 20,151 km with a weight of 455 tons without having to refuel, besides breaking performance records. The AN-124 also broke other major records by transporting some of the largest cargo in the world. Significant activities performed by the AN-1241994 June, a train locomotive, airlifted from Canada to Ireland weight 110 Tons. 2001 July, the EP-3E Aries II electronic intelligence, airlifted from China to the U.S.A weight 49 tons 2005 April, the Obelisk of Axum, airlifted from Rome to Ethiopia weight 160 tons. 2010 July, four 35-foot and three 21-foot skimmer boats, airlifted from France to the USA weight 21 tons. 2011 April, a large Putzmeister concrete pump, airlifted from Germany to Japan weight 86 tons. The AN-124 in Die another dayThe AN-124 is also known for airlifting zoo animals such as Elephants, Whales and Giraffes. This magnificent aircraft has even been used in some famous movies. Next time you have a chance to look at the James Bond movie film “Die another day” look for the AN-124 shots that were taken during the filming. Die another day actor Gustav Grave uses an unmarked AN-124 from the North Korean army as a flying headquarter. The plane causes damage when Jinx flies it through the “Ikarus”-system, then it goes down. But before this, Grave kills his father, General Moon in the command center, Jinx kills Miranda Frost with a knife, and Bond fights Graves, he ends up in the turbine. Antonov An-124 “Ruslan” – Take-Off from Leipzig/Halle airportBird-Like Drones Battery Charge Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, more popularly called UAVs, are increasingly becoming the favored option for a number of functions right from military surveillance work to taking wedding pictures! However, the one drawback of using these drones is the limited time they can stay airborne. UAVs generally cannot stay in flight for more than ten to thirty minutes, depending on the strength of their batteries. After this, they need to be recharged before they can be airborne again. This is a huge problem because it gives the drone a serious handicap and limits the number of things it can do. Self-Recharging Drone Fortunately, when there is a problem, a few people love to take up the challenge and look for ways to resolve it. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are now working on designing drones that are capable of recharging themselves by sitting on an electric wire! So like a bird, this drone will perch itself onto a power line when its battery is getting low and it will be able to use the emitted magnetic fields to recharge its batteries. However, there is a lot of research and technological advancement which will be necessary for this to become feasible. Fixed winged models of drones are usually a lot faster and more energy efficient as compared to multi-rotor UAVs, but the fixed wing models have trouble perching onto power lines. Testing the possibilities with Miniature Glider The MIT team studied a number of birds in order to try and understand the way they balance and realized that they use their tails in combination with their wings and adjust the orientation of their body accordingly in order to be able to perch on the wire. Based on this information, they worked on designing a computer model that would help UAVs do the same with the help of cameras and sensors. Till date, they have managed to build a miniature glider that can hook itself onto a string that is adjacent to a power line. There’s no doubt, one step at a time is the way to go. Perching with a Simple Fixed-Wing Glider Releasing the stress of an aircraftEngineers together with well-equipped British experts at BAE Systems Advanced Technology Center are in the process of developing a human-like skin for aircraft. They are looking at the possibility of embedding thousands of micro sensors onto the body of an aircraft for the primary purpose to detect any damages or stress in an aircraft. The idea is to come up with an aircraft that could feel in some ways the same way that humans feel under stress. A senior BAE scientist “tumble dryer” revealed this technologyLydia Hyde, the senior scientist of BAE Systems, had her moment of “Eureka” while watching her tumble dryer that uses a sensor to prevent overheating. She noticed that a simple sensor inbuilt in the tumble dryer prevented the appliance from overheating. Her observation led her to the idea of using the same application of the sensor to Hyde’s work and creates miniature sensors to have the same effect in multiple layers. As mentioned by Ms. Hyde, “Observing how a simple sensor can be used to stop a domestic appliance overheating got me thinking about how this could be applied to my work and how we could replace bulky, expensive sensors with cheap, miniature, multi-function sensors. This innovative thought led to the idea that an aircraft could be layered by thousands of miniature sensors to create a ‘smart skin’ that can sense the ambience. And monitor the conditions by allowing the multilayer sensory skin to detect any stress, heat or damage,” she added. Contribution to the Aviation IndustryWhen these “smart “sensors are applied to an aircraft, the sensors allow the aircraft to feel its natural state, such as the changes in temperature, wind speed and physical strain. The size of the sensors could be about the size of a grain of sand at less than one [millimeter] of squared particles. Each particle would be individually powered, and when paired with an appropriate program, the individual sensory particles would be able to communicate in a similar manner to that of the human skin sensor that alerts the brain when something is not right. The sensors are so tiny that the scientists working on this project at BAE are exhausting their minds, exploring ways to fit or place these small particle sensors to aircraft. The thought of using a spray gun to spray these sensory particles on aircraft frames is part of their latest experiment. The benefits of the Smart SkinThe groundbreaking technology from BAE Systems would benefit the engineers and maintenance crews because problems are reported to them as soon as detected by the sensors. The data collected by the sensors is used to notify them about the damage in the aircraft, thus, reducing the need for regular and frequent maintenance check. As mentioned by Hyde, the “smart” skin would provide a comfortable experience for pilots and the passengers because it detects airflow across the surface of the plane and automatically adjusts the airflow to the right conditions. The “smart” Sensor skin connection to flight computers that rely on detecting fresh data would save time in detecting faults. Standard pre-flight check of the plane body frame would be lessened, allowing pilots to stay on schedule. It goes without saying that pilots would feel safer by having real-time data that can detect vital faults that could be missed by pre-flight surface checks. This new technology would also be of benefits to aerospace companies, helping them to save money and time by detecting and repairing any faults before it could cause grave concerns. The “smart” Sensor skin technology would assure our next future generation a much safer and comfortable flight. Imagine aircraft flying without pilots, aircraft with smart sensor human skin like. Who would have ever thought of that a few years ago? What is next? I guess Star Trek could soon become a reality “Beam me up Scotty”. Smart Skin TechnologyAuthor: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/military-aircraft-made-to-feel-like-humans/ Telepathic TechnologyIt might seem like sci-fi, but researchers are now experimenting with a new mind-controlled device that allows users to fly a small model helicopter with their thoughts. University of Minnesota researchers have created a brain-computer-interface. This system allows the human brain to directly communicate with the external device, and the user is able to control the flight path of the object that is airborne. This flying device is called a quad-copter and can be controlled only by thinking about certain movements. Scientists say that one day; this futuristic technology might just help individuals with disabilities to lead more quality-filled and independent lives. The Smart CapThis specially designed interface is non-invasive. What this means is that it doesn’t make use of any implanted devices. Instead, the users have to simply wear an electro-encephalography cap that has 64 electrodes attached to it. These electrodes pick up the signals that are sent out by the brain. When the wearer thinks about any specific movement- right, left, up or down, the neurons in the motor cortex of the brain produce various tiny electric signals that get transmitted to a computer, said the lead scientist of the project, Bin who is a biomedical engineer. Brain SignalsThe signal that is sent from the brain is picked up by the sensors, decoded and then transmitted via a Wi-Fi system to actually control the quad-copter. Researcher Bin and his colleagues have been testing this new system on students. They are first trained for 10-20 hours, to use their thoughts to distinguish between various movements. Post this training, they are then permitted to wear the cap with the electrodes and test their mind power on the quad-copter. No doubt, the mind is a powerful tool, but who would have dreamt that thought waves would one day be used to man flying devices? Mind-controlled quadcopter new possibilities – Science Nation – NSF Author: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/mind-power-to-control-helicopters/ Flying Saucers?The 1955 Avrocar is unarguably one of the most unusual flying machines that has ever been built to date. This is not surprising considering the fact that the attempt was to build a real “flying saucer” that was based on specific ducted-fan principles. It is extremely difficult to call it either a flying platform or jeep. This unique machine the Avrocar was created by John Frost who was an aeronautical engineer at Avro Canada’s Malton-Toronto plant. In the early 1950’s, he conducted studies on the extremely unorthodox & unusual vertical-take-off aircraft. The TransitionJohn Frost started with a design which looked very much like a shovel blade and dubbed it the “Avro Ace” /”Project Y-1″. Before long, the design transitioned to a saucer-shaped aircraft, which was named “Project Y-2”. Soon, John Frost thought that these aircraft would be able to offer vertical take-off capability and high-speed forward flight. Somewhere along the way, the military started looking at this concept with greater interest. In 1955, the company was awarded the US Air Force contract for experimental development of this aircraft. Top Secret ProjectAt the outset, this entire project was top secret as it was believed that the technology was a major breakthrough. Eventually, the U.S Army and the Air Force funded a joint project called “The Frisbee shaped craft that evolved which was 5.5 meter (18 ft.) in diameter & 1.1 meter (3 ft.5 inch) thick at the center. Eventually, the interceptor program was cancelled which led to disruption in the Avro program and in 1961, the military axed the entire program. Today, the 1st prototype of the Avrocar sits at the US Army Transportation Museum. Avrocar Test Program, 01 June 1960 & Terrain test, 14 June 1961Author: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/flying-saucer-avrocar/ Travelers using Wi-Fi On-board Passenger AirlinesRecently, American flyers have been permitted to browse Wi-Fi via their smart phones during landing and take-off. Even a year ago, this seemed to be an unrealistic expectation. Over 93 years, in-flight entertainment experiences have moved from the silent B&W films that were projected on white cloth screens to streaming the latest Netflix series onto iPads. In-flight entertainment has come a long way, and how! So, if Wi-Fi on flights is not a big no-no, what is next in line? What surprises does the future hold for flyers? West Jet unveils its latest in-flight entertainment systemWell, maybe flyers will soon be able to watch the content that airlines provide, on the personal devices they carry and maybe free, in-flight Wi-Fi in is the offering as well? Most airlines have jumped onto the Wi-Fi bandwagon and West Jet Airlines Ltd. is one of the latest companies to have unveiled details of its latest in-flight entertainment system. It will wirelessly stream the stored content, live TV and provide Wi-Fi connectivity to flyers. Last week, West Jet Airlines signed a deal with new exW inflight entertainment system on its flights. West Jet Airlines will be replacing its current seat back TV setup with Panasonic’s inflight entertainment system, set to feature a combination of free and paid content including live TV, movies, and more. Time for take-offWhen this new system eventually gets installed later in 2014, it will enable Wi-Fi, and stream Live-TV content on personal devices, like laptops and tablets that passengers are carrying. The airline said that they will also be renting tablets to customers who wish to use them, for a nominal fee. Executives at the company have welcomed this decision as some of the flights had been left sans any in-flight entertainment while the airline was contemplating which service they should use. This had led to a drop in customer satisfaction levels and the company is now very eager to get back on track in this aspect. This new service plan had been in the pipeline for a long time and it is finally going to take off. Inflight Entertainment SystemAuthor: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/american-flyer-browsing-wi-fi-on-board-aircraft/ |
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