Category: Aviation

· by Otilia Drăgan

Supersonic flight is old news, hypersonic is the future – we could be able to cross the Atlantic in 90 minutes sooner that we might think. Plus, the line between military and civilian applications is also getting blurred. Game-changing technology is not only available for top defense projects, but can serve a dual purpose and bring forth benefits that we can all enjoy. 

If you were impressed by Virgin Galactic’s Mach 3 speed, hear this – there’s another hypersonic aircraft on the block, that takes it up to 5. That’s more than 3,800 mph (6,100 km/h), meaning that it could get from New York to London almost 7 times faster than current commercial airlines. 

The small team at Hermeus Corporation, a Georgia-based aerospace start-up, wanted to develop a groundbreaking Mach 5 commercial aircraft, and they already scored partnerships with none other than NASA and the U.S. Air Force(USAF). After successfully demonstrating their Mach 5 engine last year, now it’s time for another milestone, flight testing this cutting-edge aircraft, under a $60 million contract with USAF.

Not too many details have been revealed about the Quarterhorse, other that it will become the world’s fastest aircraft (flying at Mach 5 hypersonic speeds), it will be fully reusable, and it will also be autonomous (with the option of being remotely piloted), with an outstanding 4,600-mile (7,403 km) range. 

Cars could be taking to the air towards the end of this decade, according to Michael Cole, chief executive for European operations at world-leading South Korean automaker Hyundai.

Addressing a conference organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a trade association for the UK motor industry, Cole said that Hyundai has made some “very significant investments” in urban air mobility.

However, it will take some time before these plans get off the ground, he said.

Image: Airspeeder

By Lauren Rouse

We are officially living in the future because the world’s first flying race car has just taken off.

Airspeeder announced that its remotely piloted Alauda Mk3 models have taken their first successful flight. The eVTOLs are being tested in anticipation of electric flying car races that will be held later in the year.

Japan Supersonic Research wants to be in the air by 2030

By Laura Dobberstein

Japan has a assembled a supergroup of aviation, industrial, and space organisations to build a supersonic passenger jet.

The new organisation, Japan Supersonic Research (JSR), quietly signed itself into existence on March 31st. Yesterday, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that it is a member, alongside Japan Aircraft Development Association, Japan Aerospace Exploration Association, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries), IHI Corporation, and Subaru.

Japan’s aerospace industry currently focuses on manufacturing components for aircrafts and engines, including wings and fuselages. Mitsubishi recently hangared plans to build its own mid-size passenger jet. Another more successful exception is Subaru’s joint manufacturing deal for the Bell 412 helicopter, sold locally in modified versions called the Subaru Bell 412EPX and XUH-2.

JSR’s vision is to engage in international joint development of supersonic aircraft by 2030.

An MQ-25 refuels an F/A-18. 

By Ryan Pickrell

• A drone has refueled a US Navy fighter jet for the first time, the Navy said Monday.
• Boeing’s MQ-25 provided refueled an F/A-18 Super Hornet on Friday.
• The drone will extend the reach of carrier-based fighters as the Navy changes the way it fights.

An unmanned tanker aircraft has successfully refueled a US Navy carrier-based fighter jet for the first time, the Navy announced Monday.

A Boeing MQ-25 Stingray test drone refueled an F/A-18 Super Hornet on Friday near MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, demonstrating that the new unmanned aircraft “can fulfill its tanker mission,” the Navy said.

A rendering of a United Supersonic JetSource: United Airlines

Phil LeBeau@LEBEAUCARNEWS

KEY POINTS

• The carrier is buying 15 planes from Boom Supersonic with the option to purchase 35 more at some point.  
• Boom’s first commercial supersonic jet, the Overture, has not been built or certified yet.
• Boom is targeting the start of passenger service in 2029 with a plane that could fly at Mach 1.7 and cut some flight times in half.

United Airlines is planning to turn the friendly skies into the ultrafast skies with the addition of supersonic jets.

The carrier announced Thursday it’s buying 15 planes from Boom Supersonic with the option to purchase 35 more at some point.  

Boom’s first commercial supersonic jet, the Overture, has not been built or certified yet. It is targeting the start of passenger service in 2029 with a plane that could fly at Mach 1.7 and cut some flight times in half. That means a flight from New York to London that typically lasts seven hours would only take 3½ hours.

By Anupama Ghosh

A US-based start-up is designing a hypersonic space plane that could enable people to travel anywhere around the world in just one hour.

Venus Aerospace, a hypersonic space plane start-up, will begin testing three scale models this summer, Bloomberg reported.

Travel on a space plane may seem like a regular airplane journey till the plane reaches cruising altitude. Once at that altitude, the pilot then enables the rocket boosters and the aircraft zooms to the edge of the space at a lightning speed of more than 9,000 mph or about 12 times the speed of sound.

This is the speed that the plane maintains for the next 15 minutes. Soaring through the atmosphere again, the plane slows down, cruises back to the earth, and lands at its destination airport.

In all probability, the hypersonic space plane to be developed by Venus Aerospace will complete these functions in one hour.

Based in the US, Venus Aerospace was founded by the Duggleby couple, Sarah and Andrew Duggleby in 2020. Sarah worked as a code-writing launch engineer at the Virgin Orbit, while Andrew handled the launch, payload, and propulsion operations at the same organization.

By Elena Gorgan

The electric revolution is slow in coming to the automotive industry, but that’s nothing compared to the snail-like crawl it’s displaying in aviation. Alice wants to change all that and, in the process, shake up the game.

Alice is dubbed the world’s first electric luxury commuter airplane. It’s the first aircraft from Israeli-American company Eviation, and it comes with an estimated delivery date for 2024. This year, Eviation hopes to take Alice on its first test flights ahead of a 2023 certification. 

Alice has been around for years, in one form or another, and it’s one of those few projects of this type that are both instantly memorable and extremely promising. It’s a proper passenger plane, so not an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft), and it’s meant for commuting across short distances. It’s also very luxurious and quite beautiful. 

First announced in 2017, Alice is now officially gearing up to take to the skies. A prototype was developed and unveiled in 2019, but it burned down in a fire in 2020. A static model was presented at the Paris Air Show and, had it not been for the health crisis of 2020, Alice would have started test flights. Not that 2020 was able to put a damper on its progress: Eviation has been working hard to advance the project and, at the same time, keep investors and potential customers in the loop.

By Cristina Mircea

Regent plans to take the seas by storm and revolutionize maritime transportation with a new concept of electric vehicle that’s part aircraft, part boat.

The Seaglider is Regent’s new project that promises to combine the technology, speed, and comfort of an aircraft with the convenience and affordability of a boat, as stated in a recent press release (attached below the article). This hybrid vehicle will be an all-electric flying machine capable of reaching speeds of 180 mph (approximately 290 kph). It will be suitable for both passenger transportation and cargo.

The Seaglider will use the wing-in-ground effect and fly at low altitudes, staying within one wingspan of the surface of the water. It will have double the range of an electric aircraft, promising to cover 180 miles (290 km) at the aforementioned speed, with the existing battery technology. But Regent hopes routes will extend to up to 500 miles (805 km), with next-gen batteries.

Also, with the Seaglider being fully electric, it means it will also be a clean, zero-emissions vehicle.