A new supersonic corridor unveiled?

During the 75th Anniversary of Supersonic Flight Ceremony at the 2022 Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show & STEM Expo, a new supersonic corridor was announced.

The Aviation Geek Club

This supersonic tunnel was dubbed in honor of the valiant group who helped push humanity to new heights of success. In the newly dubbed "Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor," Maj. Alex "Brick" Shuler, an F-22 Test Pilot, became the first pilot to breach the sound barrier.

A trip down the memory lane

Chuck Yeager, who was born on February 13th, 1923, in Myra, West Virginia, joined the US Army in September 1941, just after finishing high school, and was enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

The Aviationist

Yeager was chosen to pilot the Bell X-1, a classified experimental aircraft designed to test the human pilot's capabilities and the fixed-wing aircraft's resistance to the extreme aerodynamic forces of supersonic flight. He rode the X-1 while attached to a B-29 mother ship on October 14, 1947, over Rogers Dry Lake in southern California, reaching a height of 25,000 feet (7,600 metres). Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier when the X-1 launched independently to 40,000 feet (12,000 meters), which is equivalent to an altitude of 662 miles (1,066 kilometers) per hour.

Yeager flew in an F-15 Eagle to mark the 50th anniversary of his historic X-1 flight in 1997 when he was 74 years old.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California

Maj. Shuler, who is currently a test pilot for the F-22 at Edwards Air Force Base, would hold the incredible honor of becoming the first pilot to break the sound barrier in a new era of supersonic flying.

F-22 Test Pilot Maj. Alex “Brick” Shuler | The Aviation Geek Club

This is the only base where I have been stationed where you can go out and do a supersonic test and then come home and have your wife complain that you sonic boomed the house. When I request instead of the High Altitude Supersonic Corridor, I will request the Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor. I think it will be cool to say on the radioMaj. Shuler jokingly explained

We are proud of our past collaboration and resiliency successes, and we look forward to building on our historic past to advance aviation technology and innovation both at Edwards Air Force Base and everywhere else- Brig. Gen. Matthew Higer, Commander, 412th Test Wing said.

A group of Airmen demonstrated that the sound barrier was not impenetrable less than a month after the Air Force became a separate service. They broke Mach 2 through 6 above Edwards AFB during the following 15 years thanks to continuing collaboration between the Air Force, NASA, and other contractors, and their accomplishment signaled the start of a new era in aviation.

The High Altitude Supersonic Corridor is officially dead. We rename that chunk of airspace, that critical piece of our infrastructure in the test and training environment in honor of the team of Big A Airmen whose collective individual contributions join into something much powerful than they could have ever imaginedBrig. Gen. Matthew Higer

Thousands of young students had the opportunity to witness the innovative spirit of forerunners like Charles Yeager, Jack Ridley, Robert Cardenas, and Jack Russell still permeate the remote area of the Mojave Desert where they made history shortly after the first sonic boom in the renamed Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor sounded above Edwards.

F22 Raptor | Representative | Source

We are going to use the supersonic corridor every week to go out and do envelope expansion missions, we got new hardware we are putting on the F-22. This jet is our air dominance fighter that we will be using for the next decade. There is a lot of work left to do. Hopefully, we can inspire the next generation to study hard and build the next thing- he further added.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: NASA

Varun Berry has been appointed chairman of Go First (formerly Go Air), weeks after he was named vice chairman and managing director of Wadia Group flagship Britannia, said people with knowledge of the matter.

Berry, 61, who was a director at the carrier, will steer the company in a challenging environment for aviation ahead of plans to tap the capital market. He succeeds group promoter Nusli Wadia, 78, who becomes chairman emeritus. Ben Baldanza, the former CEO of US carrier Spirit Airlines, will continue as vice chairman of GoAir, having come on board in March last year.

Almost 10 years since Wadia handpicked Berry as CEO to transform sluggish biscuit maker Britannia into a profitable foods company, he has emerged as the patriarch's key strategist. Berry is also expected to play a significant role in other Wadia Group entities such as Bombay Dyeing.

Varun Berry appointed as the chairman of Go First

As chairman of Go First, Varun Berry will work with the top management team, said people with knowledge of the matter. Berry declined to comment on his group role while Nusli Wadia was unreachable for comment.

ALSO READ - Go First to postpone IPO again till November

Go First has been deferring its planned initial public offering (IPO) to raise INR 3,600 crore due to the weak consumer sentiment on aviation stocks, buffeted by the pandemic and surging jet fuel costs.

ALSO READ – Go First files for IPO at INR 3,600 crore valuation

Berry will also handhold new Britannia CEO Rajneet Kohli, formerly of Jubilant FoodWorks, who has been mandated to use his e-commerce experience to make the foods major a digital data-driven company.

Vice chairman Berry will continue to handle marketing for Britannia and additionally focus on government relations, diversity, inclusion and corporate social responsibility, an area Britannia could do a lot more, he has said. Jeh Wadia, the younger son of Nusli Wadia, had been at the helm of affairs at the carrier since its inception in 2005 before stepping down as MD in March 2021.

As chairman of Go First, Varun Berry will work with the top management team

ALSO READ – Go First plans to launch the IPO by July after months of deliberation; mulls inducting more aircraft

The airline plans to convert its entire fleet of Airbus A320 Neos and Airbus A320 Ceos to Airbus A321 Neos. The airline currently has 52 A320 Neos and 6 A320 Ceos in its fleet.

Go First plans to take deliveries of 10 aircraft per year until 2023-24 and another 72 aircraft will be delivered between 2023-24 and 2026-27.

ALSO READ – Go First grounds over a fifth of its fleet due to delayed deliveries of engines by Pratt & Whitney

Go First has also grounded more than a fifth of its fleet due to delayed deliveries of aircraft engines by Pratt & Whitney. The airline has grounded about a dozen of its 57 planes for weeks as it awaits delivery of the upgraded versions of the PW1100G geared turbofan engines which power the A320neo aircraft.

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

European aviation major Airbus on Thursday said it received regulatory approval from the Indian regulator (DGCA) for its C295 aircraft programme, becoming the first foreign original equipment maker to get such a nod.

In September last year, India sealed a nearly Rs 21,000 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C295 transport aircraft to replace the ageing Avro-748 planes of the IAF under a project that entails manufacturing military aircraft in India for the first time by a private company.

The regulatory approval for the ambitious programme was accorded by the Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA).

Airbus Receives Nod For Programme To Manufacture C295 Military Aircraft In India.

Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in 'fly-away' condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain within four years and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.

ALSO READ - TATA to collaborate with Airbus for the acquisition of 56 C-295 aircraft

This is a significant first step of a comprehensive quality assurance roadmap agreed upon between Airbus and DGAQA (the Indian regulatory authority for aeronautical quality assurance) for the C295 'Make in India' programme.

The C295 is known to be a superior aircraft used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers, and logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft.

The C295 is known to be a superior aircraft used for tactical transport.

The aircraft can airdrop paratroops and loads and be used for casualty or medical evacuation. The aircraft can perform special missions as well as disaster response and maritime patrol duties.

After the mega deal was finalised last year, Airbus said the C295 programme would see the company bring its complete bouquet of world-class aircraft manufacturing and servicing to India in collaboration with its industrial partners, including the Tatas and leading defence public sectors units such as Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Ltd.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday granted aerodrome licence to Odisha’s Jeypore airport.

The airport will now be able to handle scheduled commercial flights under the government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN, or Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik

The airstrip at Jeypore had became functional in 1962 at the time of inception of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at Sunabeda. Scheduled flight operation from Jeypore Airport in Koraput district is expected to begin soon.

This will help boost tourism and development of this tribal region.

As of August 2022, Odisha has just one airport under UDAN - the Jharsuguda airport. Recently, the civil aviation ministry has been exploring more airstrips in Odisha for promoting wildlife and tourism in the state.

For the purpose of tourism, the ministry has considered Malkangiri and Hirakud under the next phase of UDAN. Similarly, the government has also considered Konark and Baripada in Odisha as an airstrip for promoting spiritual tourism in the state.

Under UDAN, 68 underserved/unserved destinations which include 58 Airports, eight heliports and two water aerodromes have been connected.

With inputs from livemint.

Putting drones at the centre of a technology-led transformation of Indian agriculture can help boost the country's GDP by 1-1.5% and create at least five lakh jobs in the coming years, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in a new report on Tuesday.

The report, prepared by WEF's Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution in India in collaboration with Adani Group and launched here, outlined the potential for drone-based transformation of Indian agriculture.

It also outlines use cases for drones, fusing military and civilian technologies enabled by digital adoption, analytics, digital financing and a well-coordinated local stakeholder effort and provides a framework for development of scalable pilots that can be implemented by various governments, the WEF said.

There is an opportunity for about USD 15 billion in agricultural credit and insurance to be generated through digital interventions.

Arguably, aviation is one of the most regulated sectors globally. India's bold and measured approach to spur unmanned aviation has been celebrated across a wide spectrum of stakeholders.

"To make the most of this regulatory landscape, drones must be part of the core agri-equipment repertoire alongside tractors, cultivators, ploughs, diggers and combine harvesters to fortify our farms." Vignesh Santhanam, Project Lead, Aerospace and Drones (India).

Citing different studies, the WEF highlighted the immense potential in improving agricultural outcomes for farms through precision agriculture expertise and advisory that can enable a 15% increase in productivity in India's USD 600 billion agriculture sector.

However, productivity in agriculture is determined largely by the inputs used by farmers at the time of cultivation, while several studies have indicated that the per-hectare output of a mechanised farm tends to be higher than that of a non-mechanised and irrigated farm.

It is expected that the drone and drone components industry will attract USD 50 billion of investment in the next few years.

The agriculture sector is vital for the Indian economy, providing livelihood for about 58% of families and ensuring food security for 130 crore people.

In comparison with the industry and services sector, which adds a gross value of 80% while employing 54.4% of the country's workforce, agriculture accounts for 45.6% of the workforce at 18.29% of the gross value added (GVA) as of 2019-2020.

With inputs from thehindu.

A new airport terminal building will be constructed with all modern facilities at Imphal International airport, said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Wednesday. The new terminal building will be spread over 22,000 sq m, according to the news agency ANI.

The authority also said the newly-constructed airport, Hollongi Airport, which is 25 km from Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh will be operational soon.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati here, AAI Regional Executive Director Sanmukh Jugani informed that the construction of a new integrated terminal building (NITB) with technical block cum Air Traffic Control tower, apron-linked taxiway and associated city works would be taken up at the Imphal International Airport, Manipur.

New construction work coming up at Imphal International Airport.

The cost of the project is about INR 500 crore and will be spread over 22,000 sq m. The new terminal building, which will have world-class passenger facilities, is expected to be completed in 24 months, the AAI official.

According to the executive director, the NITB will be able to cater to around 800 passengers during peak-hour flight operations. The annual passenger capacity of this NITB will be around 2.5 million passengers per annum.

The ATC control tower cum technical block will be a six-story building of 40-meter height and the service Building of the airport will be built over 2,152 sq m. A new apron and taxiways will also be built with a total number of eight Stands for Code -C type aircraft- Airbus A320 and Boeing B737, as per ANI reports.

A new airport terminal building will be constructed with all modern facilities at Imphal International airport.

The executive director also said that Hollongi Airport would be operational soon. In July 2012, Hollongi was selected as site for the greenfield airport of Itanagar. It is situated at Hollongi village, Yupia Tehsil, Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The government of Arunachal Pradesh approved the Hollongi airport project in May 2018. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the development of the Hollongi Airport in February 2019.

With inputs from livemint.