onsdag 30. september 2015

Ryanair with defibrilators - Curt Lewis

 
Ryanair to install defibrillators on all their aircraft following tragic death of woman on flight
















BUDGET airline Ryanair are to install lifesaving defibrillators on all their planes after a woman died on one of their flights.

Boss Michael O'Leary confirmed their fleet of 400 planes will carry the devices from next year.

The move follows the death of Davina Tavener, 47, from Bolton, who collapsed three hours into a flight to Lanzarote in November last year.

Airlines don't have to carry defibrillators by law, but in July a coroner called on authorities to make them a requirement following an inquest into Davina's Death.

Stuck in Las Vegas - BA B777 - Curt Lewis

 
Jet that caught fire at McCarran apparently not leaving Las Vegas















A British Airways passenger jet is parked on the runway after an onboard fire broken out at McCarran International Airport on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. The Boeing 777-200 was headed to Gatwick Airport in London on flight 2276.

The British Airways Boeing 777-200ER jet that caught fire during an aborted takeoff from McCarran International Airport earlier this month seems destined to stay in Las Vegas for awhile.

Now parked near McCarran's air cargo facility east of Terminal 3, the jet, sources say, is no longer airworthy. The airline is being charged $375 a day for parking.

British Airways, insurer American International Group, Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board haven't confirmed that the airliner suffered a "hull loss" - a term for an aircraft that is too uneconomical to repair - and officials haven't determined yet how they would get the 304,000-pound jet off airport grounds if it can't fly.

Airbus A320neo with engine problems - Curt Lewis

 
Airbus A320neo Test Aircraft Suffers Engine Damage

Previous problem with Pratt & Whitney engine delayed test program earlier this year









 

A file picture of the new Airbus A320neo aircraft taking off for its first flight from the airport of Toulouse-Blagnac, southern France, last year. 

By ROBERT WALL and JON OSTROWER

Airbus Group SE said on Wednesday that one of its A320neo test aircraft has suffered engine damage, a sign of further pressure on the European plane maker to meet an end-of-year deadline to bring the latest model of its ubiquitous single-aisle jetliner into commercial service.

The A320neo test plane was undergoing hot-weather testing in the Middle East when the incident occurred in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

Airbus found damage to one of the plane's two engines last week at the end of the trial, a spokeswoman said. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, Airbus said.

The PW1100G geared turbofan engines are built by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. Pratt & Whitney couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

A planespotters` debut - Curt Lewis

 
Regional Jet Scrapes Wing on Runway During Texas Landing













An American Eagle flight tilted to its side during landing at McAllen International Airport Tuesday morning, dipping a wing onto the runway. (Published Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015)

An American Eagle flight tilted to its side during landing at McAllen International Airport Tuesday morning, dipping a wing onto the runway, and the frightening moment was captured by a plane spotter.
American Eagle flight 5786, a Bombardier CRJ900 regional jet operated by Mesa Airlines, departed Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport en route to McAllen International Airport in McAllen, Texas.


Juan De La Garza, of Los Fresnos, Texas, tells NBC 5 he was in the area of the airport and decided to test out his new camera as a novice plane spotter.


He said he watched the plane on approach through the viewfinder but noticed the right side of the plane dip toward the runway when landing.


He said saw the wing make contact when he uploaded the pictures onto his computer.

In a statement to NBC 5, Mesa Airlines officials said, in part:


"Due to concerns about possible damage incurred on landing, the aircraft was removed from service for inspection. Passengers exited the aircraft normally and there were no reported injuries. Mesa Airlines is conducting an investigation."

MPA - P-3 Orion kan ikke byttes med droner uten videre - NRK

Forsker advarer mot å bytte ut overvåkningsfly med droner i nord

Forsvarsanalytiker Harald Håvoll advarer mot å erstatte Orion-flyene på Andenes med ubemannede fartøy. – Uten disse flyene vil det være umulig å overvåke ubåttrafikken i nord, sier han.
Orionfly
Orion-flyene kan bli erstattet av ubemannede droner når fremtidens forsvar skal tegnes. Det kan få store konsekvenser, advarer forsvarsanalytiker Harald Håvoll.



I dag er det overvåkingsflyene Orion som driver maritim overvåkning i nordområdene fra sin base på Andøya. Men som NRK tidligere har fortalt, kan flystasjonen bli lagt ned og erstattet med ubemannede overvåkningsdroner plassert på Evenes.
Forsvarsanalytiker Harald Håvoll ved Senter for internasjonal og strategisk analyse i Oslo mener det kan øke spenningen i nordområdene.
– Ingen droner har i dag evne til å overvåke ubåttrafikk. Det er det kun maritime patruljefly av type Orion og Poseidon som har, forklarer han.
Med en situasjon der ubemannede overvåkningsdroner overtar, må Norge være forberedt på at USA vil ønske å drive slik overvåkning i Barentshavet selv, hvor Russland tester nye ubåter.
– Norge har stort sett vært den eneste aktøren fra vestlig side som har drevet etterretning og overvåkning i Barentshavet, noe som har bidratt til lavspenning. Med en situasjon der man må tillate at andre overtar, kan resultatet bli økt spenning i det som i dag er et lavspenningsområde, sier Håvoll.

– Droner alene ikke et fullverdig alternativ

Ordfører Jonni Solsvik Andøy kommune
Ordfører Jonni Solsvik Andøy kommune.
Foto: Håkon Jacobsen / NRK

Håvoll får støtte fra Andøy-ordfører Jonni Solsvik, som er spent før forsvarssjefen torsdag legger fram sitt fagmilitære råd til forsvarsministeren. Solsvik er klar på at Norge må opprettholde forpliktelsen overfor NATO-alliansen, og at droner alene ikke er løsningen.

– Jeg har en forventning om at forsvarssjefen i sitt fagmilitære råd sier at luftbåren maritim overvåkning i nordområdene vil være en prioritert oppgave også i fremtiden. Droner alene representerer ikke et fullverdig alternativ.
Han sier at dette er et av de viktigste bidragene Norge har gitt Nato, og at medlemslandene har en forventning om at Norge har en fullverdig maritim overvåkning i nordområdene i årene som kommer.
– Alle de faglige innspillene sier at droneteknologien som finnes i dag ikke vil kunne erstatte de maritime overvåkningsflyene. I beste fall vil dagens droneteknologi være et supplement til maritime overvåkningsfly.

Mulig å kombinere

Forsvarsanalytiker Harald Håvoll tror det optimale for Norge vil være en kombinasjon, og forteller at andre land som det er naturlig å sammenligne seg med – USA, Australia, Japan, Kina og Russland – alle erstatter systemene sine med en blanding av bemannede og ubemannede fly.
Han sier at det koker ned til hvorvidt Norge fortsatt skal ha en ambisjon om å drive undervannsovervåking i fred, og anti ubåt-krigføring i krigstid.
– Det er utenkelig at vi ikke har noen form for luftbåren overvåking i havområdene. Spørsmålet er på hvilket nivå det skal være, og det er en politisk og økonomisk vurdering, sier han.
Forsvaret ønsker ikke å kommentere innholdet i forsvarssjefens fagmilitære råd før det legges fram 1. oktober.

Drone - Det finnes store penger i forskningsmiljøet i USA - UAS Vision

University of Minnesota to Develop World’s Smallest Solar-Powered UAV

suav_frontpageThe National Science Foundation has awarded a grant of $1,525,000 to a University of Minnesota team led by Prof. Nikos Papanikolopoulos to develop the world’s smallest solar-powered unmanned air vehicle (UAV) capable of multi-day flight.
Equipped with environmental sensors, the solar powered UAV will facilitate optimal energy production by wind, maximal crop yield on agricultural landscapes, and safe aquatic ecosystems for recreation and water supply uses. Specific research activities that will be enabled by a solar UAV include renewable energy, atmospheric turbulence in wind farms, food production/precision agriculture, and environmental conservation/detection of harmful algal blooms. In each of these cases the small scale and long duration flight capability of the solar UAV are what make them practical concepts.
The team members include  Fotis Sotiropoulos, Miki Hondzo, and Jiarong Hong (St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, UMN), Maria Gini, Tian He, and Vassilios Morellas (Dept.of Computer Science and Engineering, UMN), Demoz Gebre-Egziabher (Dept. of Aerospace Engineering,  and Mechanics, UMN), and David Mulla (Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, UMN).

tirsdag 29. september 2015

Surveillance the US way - Curt Lewis


DEA Operating Surveillance Aircraft Fleet Over U.S. And Abroad

New evidence indicates that the FBI is not the only federal agency using aircraft to conduct surveillance on Americans.

N1338B - DEA Surveillance Aircraft registered to fake company.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is operating a fleet of surveillance aircraft over locations within the United States as well as "foreign environments," according to Jeffrey Stramm special agent in charge of DEA aviation division.

The Administration does not "get warrants for public space surveillance," Stramm said in a phone call with The Post. He went on to say that this surveillance program is in accordance with Title 21 United States Code.

While Stramm wouldn't confirm the number of aircraft that make up the fleet, our investigation identified 92 aircraft (as of 2011), much like those belonging to the FBI surveillance fleet. An Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report indicated that the FY2010 budget for DEA aviation operations was $47.6 million. The report also stated that DEA employed 108 Special Agent Pilots as of June 2011.

The DEA surveillance fleet "engage[s] in daily activities," said Stramm, and "all aviation support requests are initiated by field office supervisors," according to the OIG report.

The DEA registered 30 aircraft of their fleet to a post office box in Houston, Texas under the corporate name of "Silver Creek Aviation Services," a company that does not exist beyond registering these aircraft. Another non existent company used for the sake of registering aircraft is "Lindsey Aviation Services," which houses an additional 10 surveillance aircraft.

Drones galore - Merry f...... Christmas - Curt Lewis

FAA warns of 'a million drones under people's Christmas trees'

A top FAA official said as many as one million small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could be sold during the upcoming US holiday season.

"The talking point is that there will be a million drones under people's Christmas trees this year," FAA assistant administrator-policy, international affairs and environment Rich Swayze said, adding that he has heard the one-million figure "from several sources."

Speaking at the Airlines for America (A4A) Commercial Aviation Industry Summit in Washington DC, Swayze said FAA is trying to get in front of the sales surge to inform the public about safety issues associated with small UAVs. "We're trying to get out and educate people about potential dangers," he said.

Swayze explained that FAA plans to send a representative to a pre-Christmas staff meeting at US retail giant Walmart to educate sales people selling small UAVs on how to inform consumers about operating UAVs safely. Walmart advertises 19 different "drones" online, ranging in price from $19.99 to $274.95. "A lot of people who don't have a pilot background are operating these things in the airspace," Swayze said.

MiG-21 - Once a formidable foe, now nearly extinct - AW&ST

Up Close and Personal with the MiG-21

RSS1
Mikoyan’s MiG-21 is an extraordinary aircraft. Built in vast numbers for the Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact states and other countries with close ties to the Reds during the 60s and 70s, the type is now becoming an increasingly rare sight in our skies.

A Campia Turzii-based jet taxies in after its mission. All photos: Tony Osborne/Aviation Week
Here in Europe, four countries continue to fly the type, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Romania, but only the latter is still flying the jet in significant numbers.
In the 1990s, Romania contracted Israel’s Elbit to modernize 110 of the MiG-21s to Lancer standard giving them new avionics, a more modern radar and the ability to drop precision-guided munitions. The Lancers were seen as a lower-risk and easier and cheaper to maintain than the MiG-29.

Romanian Lancers can fire a range of munitions but often train to fire unguided rockets. 
Now as Romania prepares to receive the F-16 from Portuguese and U.S. stocks, the MiG-21 fleet is shrinking. It still provides the backbone of the country’s air defenses, with aircraft holding Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) in the west from Campia Turzii and on the Black Sea coast from Mihail Kogălniceanu airport, near Constanta.
Aviation Week was able to get up close to MiG-21 operations during a visit to the two bases in late September. At Campia Turzii, the MiGs shared the ramp with U.S. Air Force F-15Cs from the 132nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, which have been deployed at the base as part of the Operation Atlantic Resolve European theater security package.

One of two twin-stick jets flying at Campia Turzii.
For an outsider looking in, MiG operations follow a very different approach from their western counterparts. The MiGs generally will not fly every day, but on selected days of the week depending on the weather. A small number of jets flown heavily throughout the day, rather than a handful of missions flown in morning and afternoons by Western air arms.
Trainee pilots, new to the MiG, go to operational squadrons rather than an operational conversion unit for their development. Once a sortie lands, the aircraft is quickly refueled and prepared for the next mission to be flown by a different pilot and this cycle can go on into the evening. Operations at night, notably at Campia Turzii, see the use of Soviet-era spot lamps, positioned at the end of and alongside the runway, light up the end of the runway to assist recovery.

One of the Lancers is caught in the spotlight as it lands at Campia Turzii
Most landings involve the use of a break parachute.
“We don’t have the endurance of the western fighters like the F-16,” says Capt. Cmdr. Daniel ‘Motanu’ Moise, one of the most experienced MiG pilots in the Romanian Air Force.
“Our missions are 30-45 minutes, so we need to fly twice to achieve the same number of hours.”

Brake parachutes are needed with a landing speed of 190 kts.
Pilots are managing to fly around 120 hours per years, but this results in a considerable number of sorties.
The avionics upgrade has made flying the MiG-21 a less stressful task, systems warn the pilot about various in-flight limits. A voice-warning system the pilots call Rachela delivers audio cues, but there are no flight computer controls linkages, it is very much a pilot’s aircraft.
“In this aircraft, the pilot is the brain, but the jet is the muscle,” said one Romanian Air Force officer.
Romania’s MiGs are in regular demand as a simulated threat, and have gone up against U.S. F-16s, F-15s, F/A-18s and A-10s, as well as the many different European fighter types. Romanian pilots use “hit and run” style tactics to deal with air threats. While the Romanian jets lack a beyond-visual range missile, although they could carry one, they have the ability to carry to carry a range of different short-range air-to-air missiles from the Israeli Python to the Russian R-73.

The view from the rear cockpit of the MiG-21 Lancer UM is rather limited.
QRA missions – so-called Alpha Scrambles - have also been on the rise thanks to the Russia’s increased aggression towards NATO. The MiG’s have regularly launched to shadow Russian Air Force Il-20 intelligence gathering aircraft over the Black Sea and some Sukhoi Su-27s.
Romania will begin taking delivery of its first batch of ex-Portuguese F-16s in 2016. The airbase at Fetesti, inland from Constanta will be the first base for the type.

Høststormene setter inn - ENAN med sterk storm i kastene

TAF: ENAN 290800Z 2909/3009 22025KT 9999 -RA FEW012 BKN025 TEMPO 2909/2918 4000 RADZ BKN012 TEMPO 2909/2912 22030G40KT TEMPO 2912/2921 24040G55KT TEMPO 2918/3009 26025G35KT SHRA BKN015CB

Oppdatering:
METAR: ENAN 291450Z 21023G33KT 8000 -RA FEW015 BKN030 12/10 Q1003 TEMPO 24045G60KT 4000 RADZ BKN012

Drone inn i kraftspenn - New Zealand - UAS Vision

New Zealand Drone Takes Out Powerlines

power lines uav
A Whangarei drone operator is being investigated by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority after his machine hit powerlines, causing a power cut to about 200 properties and the loss of at least 1000 man-hours of productivity for the businesses affected.
Northpower spokesman Steve McMillan said the drone, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), was being used to take an image of a commercial property on Thursday morning when the machine hit an 11kv electricity line on Kioreroa Rd.
Mr McMillan said the drone’s contact with the line caused a flashover, making the circuit “trip” and cutting supply.
The UAV broke up and fell to the ground.
“Fortunately, no one was injured and the line did not come down, but this risk could have been avoided had the operator been aware of the lines and complied with minimum safety distances. Around 200 commercial and industrial businesses had to stop work over that period and we suspect a loss of at least 1000 man-hours of productivity for the businesses affected – a very significant cost,” Mr McMillan said.
Drone operators should keep their machines at least 20m from overhead electrical lines to prevent accidents, he said. The outage affected more than 200 commercial and industrial customers for 19 minutes and Northpower reported the incident to the CAA.
The authority confirmed the incident was the first complaint it had received under new legislation – Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Rule Part 102) – that came into effect on August 1 and covers drones.
“We understand there were several witnesses to the accident which will undoubtedly assist the CAA’s investigators in the early stages of its inquiries,” a spokesman said. “We are naturally concerned where there is any potential risk or threat to public safety and are taking this matter very seriously.”
Mr McMillan said if a car took out powerlines Northpower generally tried to recoup the costs of any damage from the driver, but as the drone situation was relatively new the company would look at cost recovery on a case-by-case basis.

Drones - Check this autonomous construction work - Video - UAS Vision

Quadcopters Weave a Rope Bridge


Using quadrocopters and some rope, researchers have woven together a bridge strong enough to walk across.  Made at the ETH Zurich Flying Machine Arena in Switzerland, the bridge joins two scaffolds, and is the first full-scale load-bearing structure autonomously built by flying machines. The feat represents one more step in the field of robotic aerial construction.
Except for the metal scaffolding at either end of the structure, the bridge itself consists exclusively of Dyneema rope, a tensile material with a low weight-to-strength ratio that makes it ideal for aerial construction. Weighing just 7 grams per meter, a 4 mm diameter Dyneema rope can sustain up to 1300 kg. The 7.4 m long bridge uses various rope techniques – knots, links and braids [3] – and has a total rope length of about 120 m.
How it works
The project was developed at the Flying Machine Arena , a research and demonstration platform for aerial robotics. The arena is equipped with a motion capture system that provides vehicle position and attitude measurements for the small custom quadrocopters. An offboard computer runs the algorithms and sends commands out to the flying machines via a customized wireless infrastructure.
Before construction begins, the location of the scaffolding is measured and input to the system. Once the anchor point locations for the rope are known, all the connections and links of the bridge’s primary and bracing sections are — without human intervention — autonomously woven and secured into place by the quadrocopters, which are each equipped with a motorized spool that allows them to control the tension of the rope.
A plastic tube guides the rope to a release point located between two propellers. The system estimates the external forces and torques exerted on the quadrocopter by the rope during deployment, and takes this into account in order to ensure that the quadrocopters behave as desired [5].
The researchers then walk across the bridge to demonstrate its load-bearing ability.
RopeBridge07
Once the bridge itself is constructed, stabilizers are added to make it easier for a person to cross. Because there are no sensors to detect the rope’s configuration, the locations of the narrow openings of the bridge must be measured and input to the system, which then adapts the quadrocopters’ trajectories in order to weave the stabilizers.
The team also developed a series of computational tools to help identify and design the kinds of novel structures that are buildable using flying robots. Using these tools, the researchers can simulate their designs, determine feasible construction sequences, and evaluate the structure before they begin building .

Helicopter - Limited icing certificated for the AW189 - Avionics & R&W

Photo: AW

EASA Certifies Limited Ice Protection for AW189

EASA has certified a limited ice protection system for the AW189 as AgustaWestland works toward making the super medium twin suitable for operations in the most adverse and harsh environmental conditions. Certification of the system, which does not require heated rotor blades and associated equipment, permits the AW189 to fly "within a known and defined envelope of icing conditions," provided that it can "descend into a known band of positive temperature" and can do so "throughout the intended route." Such conditions are typical over the North Sea, AgustaWestland said, and the newly certified system "is optimal for flight in limited icing conditions for operations such as offshore and passenger transport as well as search and rescue." The limited ice protection system is available as an option; an AW189 equipped with the system retains the performance and procedures for Category A operations, the manufacturer said. An engine air intake heating system is standard on the AW189. 

NAMMO med rakettsystem i forskningsøymed - AW&ST


mandag 28. september 2015

C-46 i trouble - AVweb



One of the last flying C-46 Commandos was likely written off in an 

off-airport landing in Canada's Northwest Territories on Friday. A 
Buffalo Airways Commando suffered engine trouble on a cargo flight 
from Yellowknife to Norman Wells. The crew tried to divert to Deline, 
NWT, but apparently didn't make the airport. The aircraft was belly 
landed in a bushy but flat area next to a road and was extensively 
damaged. None of the four crew members was hurt. Buffalo Airways, 
which was the star of a History Chanel reality show for six years, 
operates three Commandos and is likely the last commercial 
operator of the type. The company didn't comment on the mishap.
Curtiss originally built the aircraft as an airliner to compete with the 

DC-3 but like the DC-3 it was pressed into service in the Second 
World War where it earned a reputation as a troublesome but 
capacious cargo and troop carrier. At the time, it was the largest 
twin-engine aircraft in the world. It never caught on like the DC-3 
and most faded from service by the 1970s. Video below has 
footage of flying the C-46 in the 21st Century.


Red Bull - AVweb



The U.K.'s Paul Bonhomme raced to his fourth Red Bull Air Race victory of the season with a narrow victory over Australia's Matt Hall in the first North American stop of the year. Japan's Yoshi Muroya took third place in the blistering heat at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. “It was really hard work today and we put a lot of hard work into winning this,” said Bonhomme. Bonhomme is this year's points leader going into the eighth and final race in Las Vegas next month.
Hall has a mathematical chance of knocking Bonhomme out of top spot in the last race. With his victory in Fort Worth, Bonhomme earned 12 points and is at 67 points on the season. Hall, who has a win and four second-place finishes, is eight points behind and is looking at the Vegas race to take his first championship. “We’ve been consistent all year so we’ll keep pushing him,” said Hall. There's also a potential five-way race for third place overall at the Vegas race.

Fjernstyrte tårn - Teknisk Ukeblad

FJERNSTYRTE TÅRN

Slik blir utsikten med Avinors fjernstyrte tårn

Sensorer hentet fra Kongsbergs missiler og fjernstyrte våpenstasjon.


360-gradersbildet øverst er et stillbilde hentet fra Avinors nye fjernstyrte tårntjeneste.
I dag er dette en prototyp midlertidig plassert på Oslo lufthavn tidligere denne måneden.
Men om to år vil systemet settes i drift og de fem første flyplassene i Norge styres fra ett og samme kontrollsenter.
Les også: Norsk missilteknologi bak verdens største satsing på fjernstyrte flytårn


For en måned siden ble det klart at Kongsberggruppen i samarbeid med Indra Navia AS skal levere den komplette løsningen i det som kalles verdens største satsing på fjernstyrt tårntjeneste.Kongsberg og Indra Navia

Et nytt samarbeid og et helt nytt område for den norske industrikjempen Kongsberg, som i stor grad benytter sin spisskompetanse på militærteknologi i det nye systemet.
Mandag formiddag var pressen og samferdselsminister Ketil Solvik-Olsen invitert for å se demonstrasjonssystemet hos Kongsberg Defence Systems (KDS) på Kjeller.
Kremen av norsk forsvarsindustri og båtbygging har gått sammen: Dette er resultatet

Øyeoppløsning

Kontrollpanelet er inndelt i det som kalles «head down-display», bestående av blant annet radarskjerm, stemmekontrollsystem og bakkeradar inkludert meteorologisk informasjon, og et «head up-display» som altså er en 360-graders skjerm som skal tilsvare det å se ut av tårnet.
At skjermens oppløsning tilsvarer menneskeøyets, er essensielt for at innholdet skal gjengis med riktige vinkler og størrelser, forklarer Bjørn Olav Bakka som har vært forprosjektleder for dette i Kongsberg Defence Systems.
– Et godt øye ser 26 cm på 1 km avstand, og det er nettopp dette ett piksel på denne skjermen tilsvarer, sier Bakka som til daglig er avdelingsleder i KDS på Kjeller.
Kameraet er en roterende sensor som bygger bildet stripe for stripe.
Bakke peker på to gevinster dette gir sammenlignet med å sette opp en rekke HD-kameraer: Man slipper overlapp-problematikk, som kunne blitt løst med signalbehandling men på bekostning av oppløsningen, og at dataene kan sendes fra flyplass til sentral mer smalbåndet.
Les også: Norge kan ha 20 års forsprang med dette missilet 

FJERNSTYRT: Prosjektleder Bjørn Olav Bakka i Kongsberg Defence Systems demonstrerer hvordan fjernstyrte tårn fungerer. Foto: Eirik Helland Urke

Missiler og våpenstasjon

Bakka forklarer til Teknisk Ukeblad at denne sensorteknologien har sin stamfar i målsøkeren fra det velkjente Pingvin-missilet og er enda nærere beslektet med det fortsatt nye sjømålmissilet NSM. Missilene har også bidratt med navigasjonsenheten til den nye tårninstallasjonen.
I tillegg til dette kameraet har tårnløsningen en IR/EO-sensor (infrarød/elektrooptisk) som stammer fra Kongsbergs fjernstyrte våpenstasjon Protector RWS. Det samme gjør laseravstandsmåleren.
På samme måte som en våpentasjonsoperatør kan låse et mål, kan flygelederne her zoome inn og markere et fly som kameraet deretter følger automatisk.
Det er også et element av «augmented reality» (AR, utvidet virkelighet på norsk) i systemet i den forstand at flightdata og en del annen grafisk informasjon kan vises på storskjermen (se eksempelet øverst).
I tillegg kan IR-kameraet brukes på dagtid og se etter hotspots.
Alt dette er verktøy som ikke er tilgjengelig i de bemannede flytårnene i dag.
Les mer om et annet AR-prosjekt: Slik vil siktet for en norsk stridsvogn-skytter snart se ut

De fem første

Avinor-styret vedtok i sommer å investere en milliard kroner i prosjektet.
Det er fra før kjent at de første fem flyplassene som skal fjernstyres fra Bodø fra 2017 er Mehamn, Berlevåg, Værøy, Røst og Hasvik.
Konsernsjef Dag Falk-Petersen i Avinor sier til Teknisk Ukeblad at det gjenstår en del samtaler med berørte parter før de kan gå ut med hvilke ti flyplasser som deretter følger og i hvilken rekkefølge.
På presentasjonen påpekte han at selv om trafikkutviklingen har gått fra 10 millioner passasjerer i 1981 til 50 millioner i fjor, er det slik at flere av Avinors 46 lufthavner har så lavt trafikkgrunnlag at de konstant står i fare for å bli lagt ned. Fjernstyring kan med andre ord være redninga.
– Første gang jeg var oppe i et slikt tårn i 1973 besto teknologien av en VHF-radio og en kikkert. Det samme er tilfelle i dag. Nå kommer den første virkelig store forandringen. Dette er teknologi for framtida, sa Falk-Petersen.
Han sa også at fjernstyring på sikt også vil komme helikoptertrafikken offshore til gode.

GA USA - Elektriske fly er ulovlig - Curt Lewis


Blame an FAA Blunder for the Lack of Electric Airplanes


THERE'S A KIND of beauty in electric planes you don't get from their gas-powered counterparts. They're quiet. They don't vibrate or require expensive fuel. They're great for training pilots.

So you'd think we'd have lots of battery-powered airplanes on the market by now, but we don't. The reason, according to industry insiders, is not because of technological issues or safety concerns.

It's because of a single phrase in the government's seemingly endless list of rules that must be followed to certify a new airplane design as safe to fly. The rule was written before electric powerplants for aviation were taken seriously, but the government won't change it.

In 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration created a new category of airplanes, called Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), to make it easier and cheaper for manufacturers to certify simple, fun-to-fly airplanes.

The new rules have allowed for the creation of dozens of new two-seat airplane designs. None of these are electric, however, because in the preamble to the rule, the FAA wrote that all planes in this class must have "a single, reciprocating engine, if powered."

The point of the rule, FAA officials acknowledge, was to keep more powerful turbine engines out of the picture. The banning of electric powertrains is unfortunate collateral damage.

"This is the thing that has scuttled electric aircraft's significant development, for years," says Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturing Association, a trade group. "Just by changing six or eight words, you could undo the problem - but we can't get there."

Guns in carry on luggage - USA - Curt Lewis


TSA finds record number of guns in US airplane carry on luggage

67 firearms found in week ending 17 September - 56 of them loaded
Record comes after Congress opens hearing on security test failures

A Glock 17 9mm semi-auto pistol.

US airport security agents discovered a record 67 firearms in luggage passengers intended to carry on to airplanes during one week in September, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

US airport screenings fail to detect mock weapons in 95% of tests

Ukraina vs. Russland - Curt Lewis


UKRAINE BANS RUSSIAN AIRLINES FROM AIRSPACE

Starting October 25, Ukraine will not allow any Russian airlines to fly in their airspace. The ban includes major airlines Aeroflot and Transaero.

"In accordance with a decision by the Security Council, the government of Ukraine is adopting a decision to ban flights by Russian companies, primarily Aeroflot and Transaero, to Ukraine," stated Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. "Airlines with the Russian tricolor have no reason to be in Ukrainian airports."

The government also said they will ban any flights "if they contain military goods, dual use or Russian military manpower."

"Only when and if Aeroflot receives official notification from the aviation authorities of Ukraine that flights have been canceled will the company inform passengers and explain the rules on ticket reimbursement," stated the airline in an official statement.

The former Soviet republic has been at war with Russia since March 2014 when the Kremlin annexed Crimea and invaded east Ukraine.

The Russian government quickly fired back at Ukraine.

"Suspension of air service between Russia and Ukraine would be another act of insanity," said Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for President Vladimir Putin. "Looking back at the past 20 months, we cannot deny a hypothetical possibility of such acts of lunacy on the part of Kiev."

Maxim Sokolov, the Russian Transportation Minister, said the "authorities will be compelled to take countermeasures" while insisting the "Ukrainian citizens would suffer first and foremost."

Christopher Miller at Mashable reports Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet in Paris with French and German leaders on October 2. Both will be present at the UN General Assembly in New York next week, but they do not plan to meet then.

However, President Barack Obama and Putin will set aside time to speak next week.

"Given the situations in Ukraine and Syria, despite our profound differences with Moscow, the president believes that it would be irresponsible not to test whether we can make progress through high-level engagement with the Russians," claimed White House officials.

Seilflyet er funnet - Flygeren er omkommet - NRK

 

Har funnet det savnede seilflyet

Letemannskaper har funnet seilflyet som har vært borte ved Bjorli siden torsdag.

Seilfly funnet
HELIKOPTERSØK: To Bell 412-helikoptre fra Forsvaret samt 6-7 småfly deltok mandag i letingen etter den savnede seilfly-piloten mandag.
Foto: Geir Olav Slåen / NRK



Det bekrefter Hovedredningssentralen til NRK klokka 12:20.
– For ikke så mange minuttene siden gjorde vi en observasjon av det savnede flyet. Det er gjort i Dalsida nord for Lesja. Vi har nå letemannskaper på vei dit for å verifisere funnstedet, sier vakthavende redningsleder Nils Ole Sunde ved Hovedredingssentralen.

Savanet siden torsdag

Det var klokka 19.19 torsdag at piloten på seilflyet sendte ut nødmelding. Piloten er en mann i 30-årene fra Polen får NRK opplyst ved Hovedredningssentralen.
Seilfly savnet: – Miljøet preges sterkt
To helikoptre fra Forsvaret samt 6-7 småfly har deltatt i letingen mandag. Søkearbeidet har vært konsentrert om et område øst for Aursjøen mot Dovrefjell, så langt øst som Drivdalen. I tillegg til det søkt med frivillige mannskaper i noen områder opp Skamsdalen.
Den savnede seilflypiloten deltok på en høstleir i regi av NTNU Flyklubb. Venner og bekjente fra seilfly- og flymiljøet har deltatt i den omfattende letingen fra lufta.

Norwegian med transatlantiske flyginger fra Cork - Anna-Aero

 

Norwegian to launch transatlantic 737 flights from Cork


Norwegian Cork Airport Twin US routes
Twin US routes. Cork Airport has landed a pair of US routes – namely to Boston (launching next May) and New York (launching in 2017) – making the battle for US to Ireland passengers a three-airport competition with Dublin and Shannon. Listen up Cork Airport and Norwegian ‒ whatever ludicrously cheap rate Jedward offers you to attend the launch of the services, please, please, please don’t book them.
Norwegian has today announced plans to launch new direct low-cost transatlantic services from Cork to Boston (next May) and New York (in 2017). The new routes will be the only transatlantic flights to operate from Cork, in an Irish-US market that has been traditionally dominated by Dublin and Shannon. In addition, a new Cork to Barcelona route, to be operated up to five times weekly, will also be launched by Norwegian next summer. Rather than utilise Europe’s third largest LCC’s fleet of 787s for the job, Norwegian will seek to extract the benefit of Ireland’s most-westerly location on the fringes of Europe, and use 737 equipment for its US services.
Only two airports in Ireland currently have direct non-stop services to the US ‒ Dublin and Shannon ‒ with the former commanding 83% of weekly seats, using OAG Schedules Analyser data.

Drone som kan erstatte Orion - UASVision

MQ-9 Guardian Gets New Maritime Capability

MQ-9 BouysGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. has introduced a new sonobuoy capability for its MQ-9 Guardian maritime unmanned air vehicle which, alongside a number of other developing technologies, could make it a contender to help fill the UK’s maritime patrol gap.
A concept was presented at the Royal Navy’s maritime awareness conference at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall on 24 September, which showed a number of sonobuoys being released from a bay on the UAV.
While a requirement for a maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) acquisition has yet to be released from the UK government, the developments that General Atomics is incorporating into the MQ-9 suggests that it will look to offer a modified Guardian to complement a manned MPA that is expected to be procured.
The new sonobuoy capability has been developed alongside Ultra Electronics over two years, Jonny King, director for General Atomics’ UK division, says.
“What we’re really looking at is a Predator B carrying sonobuoys, controlling them, and sending sonobuoy information back to the ground station over a SATCOM link,” King says.
“The work has seen us put the system together in a lab and carry out ground testing and prove it end to end. We were ready to go flying in 2015, but the aircraft were diverted to more urgent work. So we will be flying this early in the new year to prove the system.”
The first demonstration will see the aircraft fly over sonobuoy emulators that are placed on land, and then send data back over the SATCOM link to an acoustic receiver on the ground.
“It won’t be the final system, but is the first step,” King says.
In 2012 the company worked with Selex to integrate the Seaspray 7500E multimode active electronically scanned array radar onto the MQ-9. Maritime AIS and identification friend or foe transponders can also be integrated to add to the capability.
“The Reaper could be re-roled at any stage for the maritime mission, it takes about 12h to put the maritime pod on,” King adds.
Other technology developments that the company is advancing include extended-range wings with external fuel tanks – something that has just been fielded with the US Air Force for the first time. These can be retrofitted onto the MQ-9, and the sonobuoy-integrated concept was shown with the extended-range wings and winglets.
The Guardian has a 1,000nm (1,850km) range and can stay on station for a further 10h, while the extended range variant has a 1,900nm range plus 10h on station.
Meanwhile, the company is developing a certifiable variant of the MQ-9 that will be able to fly in national airspace. This includes integration of the company’s detect and avoid Due Regard Radar system – for which it has been working with NASA and the US Federal Aviation Administration – into a modified MQ-9 nose, plus de-icing, lightning protection and a composite make-up similar to that on a Boeing 787.
MQ-9 with Due Regard Radar
MQ-9 with Due Regard Radar
A prototype of the detect and avoid system has just completed the third round of testing with NASA’s MQ-9-based Ikhana UAV, and testing using a certifiable system is expected to take place next year and be ready for certification in 2017.
More details on the UK’s Scavenger requirement, which is expected to source a new, armed surveillance UAV from 2018, are expected to be released early next year, and King notes that the certifiable variant of the MQ-9 will be ready in time for that schedule.
King notes that there is UK technology that can be integrated onto the MQ-9, including the already-proven Selex radar and MBDA’s dual-mode Brimstone air-to-surface missile, which could be a future option.
“We’re now working towards a certifiable system and it will be able to complement other maritime assets,” King notes.

søndag 27. september 2015

F-35 - Nederland kjøper 37, kanskje flere - Reuters

UPDATE 2-Dutch government says to purchase 37 F-35 fighter planes* Costs seen coming down from Pentagon projections


* Dutch F-16s being phased out by 2023
* Netherlands joins six countries in Lockheed project
By Anthony Deutsch and Andrea Shalal-Esa

AMSTERDAM/WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The Netherlands said it will buy 37 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes and may order more if funds become available, in a decision that should end years of political wrangling over ballooning costs and delays.
The Dutch government's announcement in its budget for next year was a boost for Lockheed Martin and Washington, which had urged the Netherlands in April not to turn to other suppliers because of fears of rising costs in a project that has been blighted by technical faults and delays.
"The government has decided, on operational, financial and economic grounds, to select the F-35 as the new fighter aircraft for the Netherlands armed forces," Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said in a policy paper setting out her long-term vision for the armed forces.
She said the government had the resources to order 37 fighters initially and could add more, finances permitting.
"If, within the given financial parameters, room is created in the coming years to purchase more aircraft, the Defence organisation will do so. This may be the case if the contingency reserve is not used in full and if the price per unit of the F-35 turns out to be lower than is currently expected."
The decision brings the number of countries with firm commitments to purchase the F-35 to seven after Britain, Australia, Italy, Norway, Israel and Japan also placed orders.
The F-35 is designed to be the next-generation fighter for decades to come for U.S. forces and their allies in NATO.
The F-35 programme, hit by technical faults, is several years behind schedule and 70 percent above early cost estimates.
The Dutch, who are phasing out their F-16s by 2023, had initially planned to buy 85 F-35s, but people close to the discussions said earlier this year they wanted to scale back the order to between 52 and 68 amid deep budget cuts.
Some Dutch politicians, concerned about rising costs, had suggested going for an alternative such as Saab AB's Gripen, Boeing Co's F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, or the EADS Eurofighter.
The reluctance by the Netherlands prompted the U.S. Department of Defense in April to urge The Hague to reconsider, saying it could end up paying more in the long run.
The price of the jets would be around $85 million, including inflation, according to the most recent Pentagon projections.
But actual prices for the F-35 have been coming in about 10 percent lower than that figure, one source familiar with the programme said.
The Dutch government has budgeted 4.5 billion euros ($6.01 billion) for the warplanes and an additional 270 million euros per year in operating costs.


BELGIAN DECISION NEXT YEAR
The Dutch announcement could help strengthen Belgium's interest in the F-35.
A Belgian defence ministry spokesman said existing jets would have to be replaced at some stage, but no decision would be taken before the new government took office.
Belgium had not joined the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway in helping fund development of the F-35, although it was one of the first NATO countries to buy the Lockheed F-16 fighter.
Richard Aboulafia, aerospace analyst with the Virginia-based Teal Group, said the Dutch announcement and news of Belgium's interest in the F-35 were good news for Lockheed, which has sought to shore up commitments from international partners despite moves by the U.S. government to defer production in recent years, leading to some price increases.
It also comes as South Korea is nearing a decision to buy Boeing Co's F-15 fighter, and while Denmark and Canada, two countries that helped fund the jet's development, have restarted their fighter competitions.
"It's a boost to the program to have the Netherlands back in the fold," Aboulafia said, noting that the real threat had been that the Netherlands would follow Denmark's lead and launch a fresh competition.