Vertical lift reaches New Heights

This year the F-35B expanded its role as the training platform for the next generation of V/STOL fighter pilots. Aircrew training is ongoing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. As of August, more than 65 percent of the F-35B flight test program was completed. The U.S. Marine Corps has been introducing the F- 35B into its training pipeline and will eventually field 340 of the aircraft. These scheduled deliveries do not reflect planned orders from the United Kingdom (138) and Italy (69). In July, the United Kingdom launched the newdesign aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, which will operate Royal Navy F-35Bs. The

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey team continues to pursue new capabilities for the tilt-rotor
fleet, including air refueling demonstrations. Bell is also marketing the aircraft to foreign governments. As of April, the Bell Boeing team delivered more than 200 V-22s in both production versions. During the summer, V- 22s conducted highly publicized humanitarian
and search-and-rescue operations in the Far East and Africa. The rotorcraft company AgustaWestland
continues certification and production efforts for AW609 civil tilt-rotor. In March and April
more than 70 autorotations were conducted on one of the AW609 prototypes. Two of the
aircraft are supporting the flight test program. The U.S. Marine Corps vertical-lift fleet reached a major milestone with the May rollout out of the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter.

 This new, powerful aircraft will replace the CH-53s and CH-53Es, both of which are nearing the end of their service life. A production-representative ground vehicle is being tested at Sikorsky’s
West Palm Beach, Florida, facilities, and a first flight is scheduled for late 2014. In late July, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineer-ing Center down-selected two contestants for the Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator program. Two teams, Sikorsky Boeing
and Bell Helicopter, were selected to build flying technology demonstrators by 2017. Sikorsky Boeing is offering the SB-1 Defiant, a larger version of the X2, an experimental compound helicopter with coaxial rotors; and Bell is working on a clean-sheet tilt-rotor design, the V-280 Valor. Both designs will be capable of speeds greater than current Army rotorcraft. The long-term goal of the JMR program is to mature the technologies planned to be applied to a family of rotorcraft under the
Future Vertical Lift program. It is expected that the other two contenders, AVX and Karem
Aircraft, will continue to receive funding for technology risk reduction. In March, DARPA completed its selection of four contenders for its VTOL X-Plane. Aurora Flight Sciences,
Boeing, Sikorsky and Karem Aircraft were awarded Phase 1 preliminary design contracts for the
development of a VTOL aircraft capable of speeds up to 400 knots and gross weights up to 12,000 pounds. Boeing has already flown a 17 percent-scale unmanned demonstrator. Phase 2 of the program will be awarded to one of the aforementioned competitors. NASA’s unmanned GL-10 Greased Lightning made a tethered flight test in August with free-flight tests planned for later in the
year. The aircraft combines a vertical takeoff and landing capability with the cruise efficiency
of a long-endurance airplane. The aircraft’s tilt-wing configuration is based on lessons learned from the previous concepts tested during the project and from VTOL research
aircraft from the 1960s and 1970s

Flight mechanics aims farther, higher

The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft completed initial envelope expansion tests in March. Thirteen flights totaling 81 hours were completed, and altitudes of 59,900 feet were achieved. Only one test point out of 568 needed to be repeated. The Triton will be flown by the U.S. Navy for real-time intelligence and reconnaissance over ocean and coastal regions, maritime surveillance, and search and rescue. The first flight
was on May 22, 2013. On June 2, the Solar Impulse 2 made its first flight, from Payerne, Switzerland, with Markus Scherdel at the controls. The Si2 is the second-generation aircraft from Solar Impulse, a project by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg to circumnavigate the Earth using a piloted fixed-wing aircraft under solar power. The Si2 flew for two hours and 17 minutes using stored battery power, and achieved a speed of 30 knots and an altitude of 5,500 feet
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory completed flight tests on June 28 for the Low- Density Supersonic Decelerator at the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. The LDSD is a space vehicle with a doughnutshaped balloon that inflates around the vehicle during re-entry to generate atmospheric drag and decelerate the vehicle. For the tests, a high-altitude helium balloon carried the vehicle to 120,000 feet, where it was released and powered to Mach 4 at 180,000 feet. At
Mach 3.8, the 20-foot Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator slowed the vehicle
to Mach 2.5 in 107 seconds. A parachute was also deployed but tore. The vehicle impacted the Pacific Ocean at between 20 and 30 mph, and all flight hardware was recovered. More
tests are scheduled for 2015 and will incorporate a redesigned parachute. The GL-10 Greased Lightning unmanned aircraft made its first flight in August, at NASA’s Langley Research Center. The GL-10 attempts to fulfill a need for an unmanned aircraft with long endurance and a vertical
takeoff and landing capability. The aircraft has 10 electric-powered propellers — eight on a wing and two on a tail that both rotate relative to the fuselage.

Keeping the noise down

Aeroacoustics is a Dangerous  area in the development of aerospace products, as the demand for low noise remains important in both military and commercial applications. Controlling acoustic emissions at the source requirement of  engineers to design for low noise from the start. Aeroacoustics research conducted in 2014 responded to this challenge, highlighted by progress made in understanding complex features in the jet plumes of tactical military aircraft and launch vehicles. Also noteworthy are recent improvements to aero acoustic measurement systems and Check  facilities that provide more insight into noise source characterization of aerospace products.important area of Development  for military applications is noise reduction in supersonic exhaust. The objective is to mitigate noise-induced hearing loss and improve the safety of Recent experiments demonstrated that the device also worked in the presence of forward flight. Larger-scale experiments are being planned at a General Electric facility, while small-scale tests and simulations continue at Penn State. Aeroacoustics research continued to aid development of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin teamed with colleagues from the University of Mississippi to investigate the vibro-acoustic loads that form during ignition to develop accurate predictions of the launch pad environment. A shadowgraph system synchronized with a microphone recording system provided understanding of aeroacoustic sources generated by ignition of various rocket clusters. The work was featured on Discovery Channel’s “Daily Planet.”

people operating near tactical aircraft. A team of engineers from Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and the U.S. government continued the investigation of noise generated by all three variants of the F-35 fighter aircraft. Noise data was recorded in the near and far fields for static engine tests, conventional flight and short-takeoff/vertical-landing operations to characterize the external sound generated by the aircraft. Researchers at Penn State University developed a novel jet noise reduction system for high-performance aircraft. The patented method injects “fluidic inserts” in the diverging section of a supersonic exhaust nozzle. The inserts generate stream wise vorticity in the plume, which enhances jet mixing and reduces broadband shock-associated noise. Early experiments resulted in a 4-decibel overall sound pressure level reduction in the peak noise radiation direction using moderate amounts of bypass air to generate the inserts At Georgia Tech Research Institute, researchers investigated the acoustic response of impulsive blast waves generated by firing a starter’s pistol into subsonic and supersonic jet plumes. The acoustic measurements and flow visualizations will give insight into ignition over pressure waves generated by the SLS solid rocket booster. Honeywell evaluated in-duct fan noise of advanced turbofan engines in a new open circuit rig test facility using the functional acoustic beam form method developed by Optinav Inc. The facility accommodates two phased pressure transducer arrays installed in the fan inlet and bypass ducts. The method simultaneously measures and identifies up to 50 acoustic spinning mode orders as well as radial mode orders and direction of propagation without aliasing. Mode identification agreed with Actran DGM fan noise acoustic simulations without interference
from the rig.

Lake owners reunite for fun in the sun

The 27th Annual Lake Aircraft Safety Seminar and Fly-in, held in late February, attracted owners and enthusiasts from
throughout the U.S. and several foreign countries. Sponsored by the Lake Amphibian Flyers Club, the event was located, appropriately
enough, in Lakeland, Florida. Since Lake production ended about 10 years ago and most of the fleet is now 30
or more years old, flying and maintaining an aging and out-of-production airplane tends to draw owners together. And with
winter blizzards raging up north, the event attracted 145 people and about 45 planes to the sunny south.
An additional draw was that two of the best known Lake maintenance facilities are in central Florida near Lakeland. Very
few shops specialize in the 180- and 200- horsepower Lake Buccaneers and the 250-
horsepower Lake Renegades. Lakes are not known for cross-country speed, so many attendees traveled by airline
to the event, which was conveniently located between Tampa and Orlando. However, Gary Silver and Russell Ence
of Farmington, Utah, near Salt Lake City, flew over 16 hours each way to attend the fly-in. Another Lake pilot from the Northwest
laughed and said he “took about a month” to get there. Lake owners are a friendly bunch and many of the attendees have been members
of the club for years, so the fly-in had the feel of a big family reunion, with hand shakes and hugs all around.
And, like most pilot get-togethers, the best place to meet and greet one another was at the bar of the Lakeland Hilton Garden Inn, the event’s headquarters hotel located adjacent to the airport terminal.
Founded in 1988 by Bill and Louise Goddard, the 2015 edition of the annual “Lakeathon” was organized by Marc and
Jill Rodstein, who took over the club in 2000. Following this year’s event, the Rodsteins handed leadership of the club over
to Bill Schmalz, who has been attending since 1990. The club has around 500 members worldwide
and Schmalz says his number one priority is to keep the group going. However, of concern is that the average Lake owner is aging … just like the fleet of planes.
Schmalz keeps a Renegade in the back yard of his waterfront home in Winter Haven, Florida, and is also the Florida field
director for the Seaplane Pilots Association (SPA) and coordinator of this year’s SUN ’n FUN Seabird Fly-in at Fantasy of
Flight. With interesting seminars each morning and opportunities to fly each afternoon, the four-day Lakeathon was an ideal opportunity
for owners to learn about their unique flying boats and to explore the numerous lakes in the area. Those with open seats gave rides to pilots
who did not bring planes and several instructors were available for recurrent training. Due to its pusher configuration,
type-specific instruction is recommended to safely fly a Lake, even if you already have a seaplane rating.
Seaplanes have always been expensive to insure because, unlike an airport, water landings are not in a controlled environment.
To address this challenge, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Insurance
Services, which has about a fourth of the 408 Lakes on the U.S. registry under its wing, insures new owners to solo only after
25 flight hours with one of its approved Lake-specific instructors. After that, annual recurrency training consisting of four flight
hours and two hours of ground instruction is required to retain coverage.
Since this program has reduced the number of Lake Aircraft accidents and made insurance more affordable, it is currently
being adopted by instructors and insurers specializing in the Searey amphibian, a
Light-Sport flying boat with a pusher configuration similar to Lakes. Jim Campbell, an aircraft broker doing
business as The Lake Connection, has specialized in Lakes for many years. He sells between six and 10 of the unique
planes each year and reports that prices have firmed and are going up. However, a disturbing market trend is the number of
Lakes being exported, with a half-dozen.

RPA-free airspace coming soon

“The drone industry — in 2014 — delivered enough units to more than double the entire number of aircraft in the United States,” says NoFlyZone.org founder Ben Marcus. “And that, for many people, is a privacy issue.” With that, Marcus — an ATP-rated pilot, flight instructor and co-founder of aircraft brokerage firm jetAVIVA, launched NoFlyZone. org. “Most of the major drone manufacturers are including a no-fly database of airports in their software,” he noted. “We are adding other types of sites to the no-fly database, including individually opted-out properties.” Anyone interested in creating a “No Fly Zone” over their home can go to No- FlyZone.org, provide their name, address and email. That information will be entered into a database remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA) makers are baking into their controller software. Once built out, RPA that include No- FlyZone data will not be able to takeoff within or if already airborne not be able to penetrate the airspace over individually opted-out properties. “The RPA industry has safety in mind and is taking a leadership role to integrate into the National Airspace System (NAS),” noted Marcus. “We are not dependent on regulators. We are willing — in fact, need — to self-regulate.” Self-regulation has worked in the radio controlled model industry for decades. But as the RPA industry has taken off in recent years, the mainstream media — doing what it does best — highlights the negative rather than the positives and potential of RPA. “I had a great time at jetAVIVA. We had a great team and lots of fun. Flying single-pilot jets all over the world was an honor and pleasure,” continued Marcus.
“But seeing the explosive growth of the drones, I yearned for something truly significant
in my career.” Marcus has owned a Yuneec Q500 quadcopter for awhile. He’s enjoyed teaching
lots of people how to fly it. “Invariably, the first thing they ask after a short flight is, ‘what about privacy?’” he noted. Whether a person’s privacy concern is real or perceived, Marcus desires to “create a solution.” From a TechCrunch story on NoFlyZone’s launch: “Among the partners
in this effort are EHANG (the company behind the Ghost drone), Horizon Hobby, DroneDeploy, YUNEEC, HEXO+, Pixie- Path and RCFlyMaps.” And they won’t be the only ones. As NoFlyZone gains more momentum, others will no doubt sign on. The data needs of the RPA industry are different than full-scale aviation. Once airborne, full-scale aircraft are — typically — far above sensitive airspace. NoFlyZone has built up a “highly accurate database of civil and military airspace, as well as schools, industrial sites, power plants and more,” according to Marcus. Ultimately, he said he would like to see NoFlyZone become the Jeppesen of RPA
data.

A DJI Vision 2 RPA

Airplanes vs. animals

How many of you have hit a bird or anothertype of animal with your airplane? How many of you know someone who has? If you have, you’re not alone. According
to the FAA, there were some 142,000 wildlife strikes involving civilian aircraft reported in the United States between 1990 and 2013. The FAA’s wildlife strike database breaks the occurrences down state by state and indicates if the wildlife involved were avian, mammal or reptile. Birds are the most commonly reported wildlife strikes. About 92% of bird strikes happen below 3,500 feet AGL during the day, according to FAA statistics. Most of those — 60% — are during the landing phase of flight. Time of year also plays into the number of incidents, as about 52% of bird strikes occur from July to October when young birds leave the nest and fall migration occurs. Gulls are the mostly commonly encountered birds, although ducks and geese are apparently the most destructive when they collide with an airplane. Florida, which has the American Alligator as its state reptile, leads the nation in the
occurrence of reptile incidents with 40. My home state of Washington had 785 wildlife strikes reported, of which just 11 were mammals. I must claim two of those: An unfortunate encounter with a pair of porcupines during a night landing in 2001, and the Kamikaze Bat Strike of 2002. The events took place at two different airports. With the exception of one popped tire, there was no damage to the aircraft. The animals weren’t so lucky. Other mammals involved in wildlife strikes include skunks, possums, raccoons, coyotes, deer, elk, and rabbits. If you hit an animal or bird with your airplane, the FAA wants to know. It has a Wildlife Strike Report form on its website at FAA.gov that asks for details of the incident, including the date, time and place, the weather conditions, phase of flight, if the remains were collected and submitted to the Smithsonian for positive identification, damage to the aircraft, effect on the flight, and the cost, if any, of repairs. The information then goes into a database of wildlife strike reports. The purpose of the database is to keep track of these
occurrences in order to find better ways to mitigate them.
It’s important to report the type of animal involved, noted Ian Gregor, public affairs manager for the FAA Pacific Division, because it helps with the development of mitigation plans. “A few years ago the FAA encouraged all Part 139 airports to conduct Wildlife Hazard Assessments and follow up
with a Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Plan,” Gregor said. “To date, all Part 139 certificated airports have completed or initiated a Wildlife Hazard Assessments. During our annual inspections of Part 139 airports, the FAA reviews the Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Plan and identifies the specific actions which the airport will take to mitigate the risk of wildlife strikes on or near the airport. The inspector also discusses any known wildlife strikes, observes any wildlife on or around the airfield, and will bring up his observations with the airport operator.” The FAA supplies guidelines for the mitigation of the wildlife, which can include installing deer-proof fencing, using noise cannons to disperse birds, or making ponds of water less attractive to water fowl by covering them with black plastic balls to make the ponds look like asphalt to the birds. Sometimes the nuisance animals are recaptured and relocated to a less aircraftrich environment. Animals are attracted to airports because of habitat or as a food source. The latter can increase seasonally. For example, you may notice an increase in coyotes, hawks.

Wreckage of a Cessna 172 that

crashed in Texas after hitting a bird.

Damage to the ceiling of a Comanche

after being struck by a bald eagle.

Tecnam twin tapped for NASA project

NASA has selected the Tecnam P2006T twin as the airframe on which it will evaluatethe potential of LEAPTech (Leadin Edge Asynchronous Technology).LEAPTech is a key element of NASA’splan to help a significant portion of the generalaircraft industry transition to electrical
propulsion within the next decade, according to NASA and Tecnam officials.Over the next several months, NASA researchers will perform ground testing of a 31-foot, carbon composite wing section
with 18 electric motors powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries at its Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. The experimental wing, called the Hybrid-
Electric Integrated Systems Testbed (HEIST), is mounted on a specially modified
truck. Instead of being installed in awind tunnel, the HEIST wing section will remain attached to load cells on a supporting truss while the vehicle is driven at speeds up to 70 miles an hour across a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base. Preliminary testing, up to 40 mph, took place in January at Oceano County Airport on California’s Central Coast. The truck experiment is a precursor to development of a small X-plane demonstrator proposed under NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts program. Researchers hope to fly a piloted X-plane within the next couple years after removing the wings and engines from an Italianbuilt Tecnam P2006T and replacing them with the LEAPTech wing and motors. Using an existing airframe will allow engineers to easily compare the performance of the X-plane with the original P2006T, NASA officials noted. The wing and electric motors will be manufactured and integrated on the P2006T airframe by the US companies ESAero and Joby Aviation.

The experimental wing is being tested on a truck (left), then will be tested on

the Tecnam twin airframe as shown in the artist’s rendering above