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The UK airline and travel industry has welcomed changes to Britain’s Covid-19 testing requirements by the government, which relaxes rules imposed in November when the Omicron variant was considered a major threat. Pre-departure tests for international arrivals will now be scrapped while Day 2 PCR lab tests will be replaced by the cheaper lateral flow test.
The annual Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE), due to be held in April in Shanghai, has been cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and strict restrictions in China. This is the third time that the trade event has been cancelled due to Covid, after previous shows in 2020 and 2021 were axed.
- Meanwhile, as AEROSPACE goes to press in mid-January, the biennial Singapore Air Show is still set to take place on 15-18 February under tight Covid restrictions, with the traditional public days of the air show now being omitted.
Eviation’s Alice all-electric prototype has been spotted undergoing engine runs and taxi tests – ahead of an imminent first flight. The commuter aircraft is being tested at Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO), north of Seattle, Washington state. First unveiled at the Paris Air Show in 2019, the nine-passenger and two pilot aircraft has seen its configuration change from the original tail-sitter design, a V-tail and propellers on wingtips to a more conventional layout with two rear-fuselage mounted electric engines, a tricycle undercarriage and a T-tail. The zero-emission aircraft is expected to have a range of 440nm, and a maximum cruise speed of 250kt. Certification is expected in 2024.
Scaled Composites has revealed a new design for an optionally piloted high-altitude platform called Encore. Revealed as a 3D printed model at the AIAASciTech Forum in San Diego, California, the Encore, which is currently in the preliminary design phase, features a configuration similar to the company’s Proteus. The platform, with an operational altitude of 70,000ft and payload of 10,000lb is being aimed at ISR and experimental test missions.
- Also unveiled at the same Forum was a new Boeing concept for a reusable Mach 5 hypersonic vehicle. The twin-tailed vehicle features two air-breathing engines underneath the fuselage and a unique fuselage/wing ‘notch’.
Airbus has announced its 2021 delivery figures for commercial aircraft, reporting that it delivered 611 airliners last year – up 8% from 2020. The company recorded 771 gross and 507 net orders in 2021 – bringing its civil airliner backlog up to 7,082 aircraft. Meanwhile, Boeing announced its commercial aircraft delivery figures for 2021, with 340 aircraft handed over as the 737 MAX ungrounding around the world boosted deliveries of the single-aisle airliner. The number of deliveries was a sharp rise compared to 2020, when the company only handed over 157. Boeing secured 909 gross and 535 net orders in 2021, including more than 700 for the 737 MAX.
Airbus
Thales has announced that its FlytLink satcom link will fly on the Perlan II stratospheric glider this year, which will allow live streaming of its atmospheric science mission at altitudes of 70,000ft and above. The Perlan II glider has been designed to break the record for the highest-ever piloted fixed-wing aircraft, using high-altitude mountain waves and in 2018 reached 76,000ft. Experimental flights are planned this year in the US and Argentina, Covid permitting.
Boeing
All-Airbus US operator Allegiant has ordered 50 Boeing 737 MAXs. Estimated at $5.5bn, the order comprises 30 737 MAX 7s and 20 MAX 8-200s. Allegiant currently operates a fleet of 110 Airbus A319 and A320s.
Airbus
On 16 December Airbus handed over the 251st and final A380 superjumbo to Emirates at its factory in Hamburg. With production now complete, the handover of the 123rd Emirates A380 brings to an end 14 years of A380 deliveries that began in 2008.
On 11 January, Australian flag carrier Qantas returned the Airbus A380 to commercial passenger service for the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic had forced the airline to ground the superjumbo.
Glenn Bektz/Flickr
On 18 January, a number of international airlines, including Emirates, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airlines and Air India suspended services to selected US airports (including Boston, Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Miami, Newark, Orlando, San Francisco and Seattle) due to safety concerns that the rollout of C-band 5G cellular networks could interfere with radio altimeters. The US FAA issued 1,400 NOTAMs for 100 airports on 12 January ahead of the planned rollout on 19 January, with the Airlines for America trade body warning that the introduction of 5G would cause ‘catastrophic disruption’ for air travel. AT&T and Verizon have now said they will pause the rollout at key airports.
Safety officials are now investigating an incident on 20 December in which an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER came within 175ft from impacting the ground after taking off from Dubai International Airport. Instead of climbing after take-off, the 777 accelerated to over 260kt less than 200 feet from the ground over the seafront area of Deira. According to news reports, there is speculation that the pilots may have incorrectly set the aircraft’s autopilot to fly at an altitude of zero feet, with an Emirates company memo sent on 27 December reminding pilots not to set the altitude to airport elevation on the MCP control panel on shutdown.
NASA
NASA has reported that the primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope has been successfully deployed. The primary mirror consists of 18 1.3m wide hexagonal beryllium mirror segments, covered in a thin coating of gold which is highly reflective of infrared light. The space observatory is on course for an orbit around the second Lagrange point nearly 1m miles from Earth. Launched on 25 December from Arianespace Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, Webb is now expected to last twice its predicted lifespan of ten years to two decades, thanks to an ultra-precise burn from Ariane 5.
Fears are growing for ESA’s Sentinel 1B Earth observation satellite, which has suffered a power anomaly in orbit. A first attempt to fix the issue has failed with no data being received from the radar satellite, since 23 December. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, said on 13 January that investigations were under way to identify and remedy the root cause, saying: “the satellite is under control, the thermal control system is properly working and the regular orbit control manoeuvres are routinely performed.” He added: “I am aware of the pressure this puts on many stakeholders around the world who depend on the data for which the Sentinel-1 constellation is known.”
Hungary is to upgrade its Saab Gripen C/D multirole fighter fleet to the latest MS20 Block 2 standard – which features enhancements in its combat and communications capability. The PS-05A radar will be upgraded, which will increase the air-to-air tracking range and performance against small targets. Saab will also improve the aircraft’s Link 16 datalink and integrate the latest NATO Mode 5 IFF system. The MS20 Blk 2 standard will also allow Hungarian Gripens to utilise a wider range of weapons, including the Diehl IRIS-T and MDBA Meteor AAM, as well as the Raytheon GBU-49 precision-guided bomb. Hungary currently operates a fleet of 12 single-seat Gripen C and one twin-seat Gripen D fighters.
UAC
The latest version of Russia’s strategic bomber, the Tu-160M, made its first flight on 12 January, with a 30min flight from Kazan Aviation Plant. The Tu-160M is a modernised version of the Blackjack swing-wing bomber, with updated engines, flight controls and avionics and systems – with 80% new systems and equipment.
On 11 January, the ninth Boeing P-8A Poseidon MRA1 maritime patrol aircraft for the RAF touched down at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, after a delivery flight from Seattle, completing two years of deliveries. The ninth P-8A is the final Poseidon for the RAF, with the first aircraft in the fleet delivered in February 2020 and IOC declared two months later. As the Poseidon’s main operating base, RAF Lossiemouth was upgraded with a £100m joint MoD/ Boeing P-8A facility which includes a three-aircraft hangar and simulators. In December 2020, it was announced by MoD that Lossiemouth would also become the new base of the RAF’s Wedgetail AEW fleet in 2023.
Cirrus Aircraft
Light aircraft manufacturer Cirrus Aircraft has unveiled the latest line-up in its single-engine family with the 2022 G6 SR series. The G6 update, which spans the SR20, SR22 and SR22T models, features aerodynamic improvements that confer a speed increase of 9kts in the cruise, as well as updates to the Cirrus IQ app and interiors.