Is the Ursa Major "Hadley", the next game-changer in hypersonics and space applications?

Hypersonic prowess has become increasingly prominent now, especially with the way things are moving geo-politically around the world.

Representative | University of Central Florida

Ursa Major, a Colorado-based start-up venture founded by Joe Llorente in 2015, has announced that it has completed the qualification of its Hadley rocket engine for use by both a space launch vehicle and a hypersonic launch system.

Although comparatively small as far as rocket engines go, providing 5,000 lbf (6,800 Nm) of thrust, the engine is reportedly more affordable for a wider range of applications, including first stage, upper stage, and hypersonic vehicles.

Startup Accelerator: Ursa Major is 3D Printing Rocket Engines to Grow Space Economy | 3DPrint.com

What makes the engine more versatile is the fact that it can be used in two different environments.

Phantom Space, which is developing its Daytona rocket as a small-lift booster, will be featuring seven Hadley engines in its first stage to lift to 450 kg to low Earth orbit. The company is planning its launches in 2023.

Stratolaunch has built the world's largest aircraft, also known as "Roc", with a 385-foot (117 m) wingspan, and has recently completed its fourth test flight having reached an altitude of 15,000 feet (4.6 km). This massive carrier will be used to launch the rocket-powered Talon-A hypersonic vehicles, which will, in turn, serve as a testbed for hypersonic research.

Stratolaunch | representative | The Drive

Stratolaunch plans to begin test flights this year and offer commercial and government service in 2023.

Hadley - Tech and specs

State-of-the-art additive manufacturing (3D printing) techniques have been employed to create parts and reduce overall part count, thereby reducing development time and allowing for rapid redesign, manufacturing, and test iteration.

Hadley | Ursa Major

Thrust at sea level 5,000 lbfPropellantsLox / Kerosene ReusableLow Earth Orbit, Geostationary Orbit, In-Space, HypersonicsUrsa Major

The engine is also being pitched as being able to support pre-flight ground testing and static-fire testing, in addition to the flight itself without the need for modifications.

Apparently, the Hadley engine has had to undergo significantly more test time, about 40,000 seconds to date, having been tested in air-launch simulations, for multiple-restart capability, deep throttling, and more.

 The Hadley engine now has multiple customers, including the Air Force's X-60A.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud-dE1OnbFg

A brief review of X-60 A | AFresearchlab | Youtube

The company is also working on a more powerful engine, called Ripley, boasting 50,000 lbf (68,000 Nm) of thrust.

The Hadley can power both rockets and hypersonic aircraft.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Inceptive Mind

June 2009- Air France Flight 447, with 228 passengers and crew onboard, disappeared somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. The search and rescue program was called off after a month of intensive deep-sea search led to zero results. The batteries on the flight data recorders’ underwater locator beacons were assumed to be dead. Nevertheless, the black box turned up two years later, following further mapping of potential flight paths.

Air France Flight 447 | Representative | Source

19 May 2016- an  EgyptAir Flight 804,  from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Cairo International Airport,  plunged into the Mediterranean Sea with 66 onboard. The aircraft operating was an Airbus A320 and although the black box was recovered a month later, the data extracted proved to be inconclusive.

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 from the radars on 8 March 2014, happens to be, and still remains one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation today.

Malaysian MH370 | Representative | Business Insider

The very recent crash of a Boeing B737-800, operated by China Eastern airline, with 132 onboard- touted to be the worst crash ever in the history of Chinese aviation has got the investigators on their toes in cracking the true cause of the accident. The black box, although recovered, is damaged way beyond recognition and it will take the best minds in the business and technology to extract useful data from it (if any).

It often takes weeks, sometimes months and years before the black box is actually found out, thereby compounding the woes of the investigation | Representative | USA Today

These events have stirred, and undoubtedly so, a debate on the usefulness of flight recorders that are physically attached to an airplane. At a day and age, when locating a lost cell phone from halfway around the world is a piece of cake, the idea of flight recorders whose data can’t be accessed remotely seems to be unfitting, and rightly so.

The "Black Box in the cloud" concept

Honeywell Aerospace, the global leader in providing the aviation industry with traditional black boxes for over 60 years now, has collaborated with Curtiss-Wright Corp to reinvent the aircraft cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) using inflight connectivity. Apparently, the company has worked on "triggered black box transmissions" and "true streaming" throughout the flight with its new Connected Recorder-25, which uses Curtiss-Wright’s recently certified Fortress hardware – a 25-hour CVR/FDR recorder – as its foundation.

Triggered Transmission(s) is a system by which certain parameters are transmitted only when sensors detect something has gone awry. So if an airliner’s altitude or airspeed suddenly changes, its special transmitter automatically starts sending live data via satellite to the ground.

We look at it a lot of different ways. One option is to set “a data frame and a frame rate that makes sense until a certain event, and then you accelerate it. It’s kind of like, ‘hey you’re pulling a whole chunk of data every five minutes or every 15 minutes, then all of a sudden an event occurs and you’ll be pulling it every 100 milliseconds. Another way is why not take a subset of the data and take that as a continuous stream? And that’s another methodsaid Honeywell Aerospace vice president and general manager, software and services John Peterson in reference to taking black boxes from their present passive state to a real-time connected solution

Honeywell

At the moment however, there are certain regulatory constraints to cross, before  real-time black box transmissions over cabin connectivity can be implemented.

The company is optimistic that Honeywell’s Connected Recorder-25 hardware will surpass the requirements of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) minimum 25-hour cockpit voice recording mandates, supporting more efficient operations.

With the new regulatory requirement, we saw an opportunity to evolve our recorder technology to not only meet the conditions of governing agencies, but also make this product more powerful and better connected, providing aircraft operators with another source of data collection that can be used to improve aircraft maintenance and performancesaid Honeywell president, services and connectivity Ben Driggs

Qatar Airways apparently, has been doing this for quite some time now.

Yeah, we’re already doing this. As a matter of fact, we are doing this for nearly a year. All the data that is being transmitted by aircraft, we are collecting all the data and we have in our OCC [operations control center] three individuals sitting and monitoring every single flight of Qatar Airways. The systems on the ground are receiving data from the aircraft every five seconds. Every fifteen seconds, the OCC individuals will chart those flights and, if there is the slightest deviation, they will receive an ACARS message to explain why this diversion or deviation from the established flight plan happened. All the data from the airplane is constantly transmitted on the ground and is recorded in our operations control centerQatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker in reference to the carrier’s streaming of flight data recorder (FDR)  

Qatar’s Al Baker and Boeing’s Conner in a Q&A with journalists | runwaygirlnetwork.com 

Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband aeronautical service currently provides inflight wifi on Qatar’s Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s.

Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband-Satey technology feeds flight data from onboard an aircraft in real time to a satellite which relays it to a ground station | dailymail.co.uk

Reportedly, an automated flight information reporting system (AFIRS) is already in place on 350 aircraft- touted as a cost-efficient solution for transmitting data from flight data recorders. AFIRS is an Iridium-based SATCOM device that transmits data to the ground in real time, where it is then processed and distributed to subscribers through FLYHT’s (Calgary-based) ground server network. The service offers the same data acquired by the airplane’s flight recorder, providing carriers with up-to-the-minute information if there’s an emergency or, more generally, with data about how their airplane is performing.

Will these upcoming technologies replace traditional black box? Likely not. They will supplement traditional flight recorders at best and for the time being, the black box is here to stay.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Via Satellite

If you're an av-geek like me, interested in various aircraft types and their price tags, chances are, you've rummaged through countless websites on the internet, scouting for aircraft for sale.

King Air 350/350 ER | Representative | Blackhawk Aerospace

And not surprisingly, you might have come across several ads posted by aircraft owners and "brokers", sometimes even aircraft "dealers".

It might be tempting to think the job of an aircraft "dealer" and "broker" is the same, the reality, however, is far from it.

So, what makes an aircraft dealer different from an aircraft broker?

Who is an aircraft dealer?

To put it simply, an aircraft dealer's job is to buy an aircraft at cheaper rates and sell them at a higher price, all the while making sure they do whatever it takes to increase the aircraft's value in the interim. In other words, they are typically businesses that buy airplanes in trade and stack them in inventory for resale.

Arrow Aircraft Appointed as Authorized Dealer for HondaJet | Representative | Arrow Aircraft

Temporary "Dealer Registration" certificates are required to be obtained by the FAA before getting into the business- defined by the time between buying an aircraft and selling it.

How do they stock their inventory?

In contrast to car dealers who acquire their stock from auctions, aircraft dealers procure their inventory in two ways:

From open market(s)From private sales

Dealers typically scout websites like AvBuyer, RightAero and Controller.com to look for aircraft models that are not posted by brokers. Once they zero in on a specific model of their liking, enquiries regarding the aircraft type and pricing are made and purchased to sell on a later date. This is how procurements are made from the open market.

Representative | FLYING Magazine

Purchases are also made via websites that allow dealers to place wanted ads or use their company websites to attract aircraft owners looking to dispose of their aircraft. This often leads to a quick sale and often at prices lower than the market value of the aircraft.

Owing to the unpredictable nature of the aircraft market-with the prices often fluctuating, this is a business that has its fair share of risks as well. A good dealer is, therefore, who has learnt to crack the code of the business and knows when exactly to buy and sell.

The primary advantage of working with aircraft dealers is that they might have certain OEM factory affiliations which will allow you to purchase a factory-new airplane through their business if they are an authorized reseller.

Types of aircraft dealers

1. Helicopter dealers

The Airbus ACH160 VIP Helicopter | Representative | Robb Report

As the name suggests, these dealers specialize in the procurement and sale of helicopters- ranging from small GA-style helicopters to corporate/VIP choppers.

2. General Aviation (GA) dealers

Representative | Wallpaper Access

Touted to be the most active in terms of turnover, these dealers specialize in the sale of GA aircraft, which apparently has a huge market and an even bigger supply of aircraft.

GA aircraft typically spend less than six months on the market meaning there is scope for steady business for smaller-margin dealers.

3. Warbird dealers

Warbird parts for sale | Warbirds News

A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces. They are in great demand from both aviation museums, display teams and veteran military aviators who might now want to fly for leisure.

Again, this niche is economically risky although the sale of vintage warbirds does result in a significant return on investment(s).

Here are some of the big players for revenue, average stock value over the last year and company size:

JetcraftAvproMente GroupAircraft Sales GroupGlobal Jet Monaco

Who is an aircraft broker?

Although the terms, "broker" and "dealer" are used interchangeably, they are fundamentally different in the way they operate.

Aviation brokers are professionals with extensive knowledge in aviation sales and acquisitions and assist buyers or sellers with aircraft transactions. Essentially, they could be thought of as a real estate agent for airplanes - meaning they guide you throughout the sale process.

Representative | Modern Aviation

A broker will assist you with listing your airplane, to performing the marketing tasks and the legal aspects of the entire transaction.

How do they earn in the process?

The broker is paid a percentage of the sales price, typically at closing. This could range anywhere from 1-3% for a particular aircraft, going all the way up to 10%. This is in stark contrast to "dealers" who only cut when they sell the aircraft at a higher price than what it was bought for.

Although an aviation broker is not necessarily required for aircraft transactions, they tend to have a wide network of connections and an in-depth understanding of the market, which might work best in your interests.

Here's a shortlist of some aircraft brokers in India:

Flying Birds Aviation (Mumbai)Jet Serve Aviation Private Limited (Rajasthan)- Single/Multi engine propellor, Piston HelicopterSchneider Air services India Private Limited (New Delhi)Air Works India (Delhi)

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Skies Magazine

The French Aerospace entity, Thales, is reportedly chasing major plans of expanding operations in India.

The company has already started chalking out plans to set up a Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) organization in India in a bid to support Indian carriers- many of which rely on the company for avionics troubleshooting and support.

Representative | Defence XP

We are looking to set up an MRO, so that they don’t have to travel to West Asia or Singapore. Final decision is yet to be taken, but this is a clear intent showing the growth potential in India that we are looking to set up a sub-centre here.said Yannick Assouad, executive vice-president, avionics at Thales, who was on her maiden visit to the group’s India office at Bengaluru since taking charge

Yannick Assouad | L'Usine Nouvelle

Thales would be the second French Aerospace major to have expressed an interest in investing and scaling a major aviation infrastructure in the country.

Earlier, Safran S.A., another French aircraft engine manufacturer, had zeroed in on three places- Jewar, Nagpur, and Hyderabad, for the establishment of a new aircraft engine MRO unit, to cater to its customers.

It is to be noted though, that while Thales is planning an overhauled unit for major avionic components, Safran is targeting an engine MRO unit.

The A320 family of aircraft- one of the most popular among Indian operators, features numerous components, the technical support of which is provided by Thales. Apparently, the company predicts an exponential increase in the aforementioned aircraft type which could translate to an increase in support services of avionics in the fleet.

Given the growth of the economy in this country, more and more people will be travelling and consequently there will be an increase in fleetsaid Assouad

Given its expertise in aircraft avionics, Thales is also reportedly trying to bag a contract from Tata Group for the refurbishment of In-flight Entertainment (IFE) in Air India’s fleet.

In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) | Representative | TripSavvy

The IFE that Air India is currently running is of Panasonic, which is really old. So a new IFE contract is probably a must. Not only that, we see opportunity in IndiGo’s Airbus A321 XLRs which will fly long-haul, for which it is sure it will be fitted IFE.said Assouad

Furthermore, she also added that Thales will pitch its counter-drone technologies to government organisations in India, pointing to the growing use of drones in the country.

The use of drones will only increase if the operation of drones is safe in the skies. Thales has a solution in electromagnetic jammer which can be used for counter-drone techshe said

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Rediffmail

The European plane manufacturer, Airbus, is reportedly in talks with the TATA group and other Indian carriers regarding the procurement of its wide-bodied A350XWB planes - a report which was confirmed by Remi Maillard - president and MD of Airbus India & South Asia, today.

Aviation Voice

We are obviously in talks with all airlines. The new owner of Air India — Tatas — are existing customers of Airbus. Tatas have Vistara and AirAsia India with them, as we know. We have developed long standing, trustful and respected relationship with the Tata Group.Remi Maillard stated at a press conference

Remi Maillard | Social News XYZ

Tatas are Airbus's partner in the defence business too-Maillard said further.

Representative | Zee News

We are industrializing and manufacturing together our C-295 military transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force. Of course, we will be privileged to continue supporting the ambition of the Tata Group in the aviation sector across all the complete spectrumMaillard

With the acquisition of Air India, the TATAs now have four entities under a single umbrella- including Air India Express, Vistara and AirAsia India.

According to Maillard, the fleet of wide-body aircraft in India has remained constant for the past twenty years in comparison to the single-body fleet, which magnified by as much as six times in the same period. Currently in India, only Vistara and Air India have wide-bodied aircraft in their fleet.

The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body airliner, with larger fuel tanks that allow them to travel long distances as compared to narrow-bodied aircraft like A320NEO. Powered by two Trent XWB turbofan engines that result from a very close collaboration between Airbus and the powerplant’s manufacturer, Rolls-Royce, the aircraft can travel above 8,000 nautical miles, with a flying time of approximately 18 hours in one flight.

Trent XWB Turbofan | Representative | Aerospace Technology

According to Remi Maillard, Airbus is aggressively confident when it comes to the long-haul international market out of India.

We believe the kind of revolution we have witnessed in domestic traffic in the last 20 years will now happen in the long haul market. The new generation aircraft, the A350, will be the trigger for this revolution in the international long haul market.Maillard

The A350XWB aircraft features 300 to 410 seats in a three-class configuration. With full LED mood lighting and larger overhead bins, it has the quietest cabin and 25 per cent less fuel consumption among all the wide-bodied aircraft.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Magzter

If reports are to be believed, Boeing has obtained a mandatory licence from the US government for the discussion of a possible F-15 sale with India.

This has been confirmed by Mr Pratyush Kumar, who has been associated with the induction of multiple Boeing platforms into India’s military, including the P-8I Poseidon maritime aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster III heavy-lift transporter, the Apache AH-64E attack helicopter and the Chinook CH-47F heavy-lift chopper.

Boeing F-15EX | Boeing

This also comes as welcome news for the Indian Air Force, which is currently in the process of acquiring 114 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) from the global defence market.

Pratyush Kumar | Business Today

Reportedly, the Eagle-II F15EX will be going head-on against seven other combat fighters in the battle for the Indian MRCA tender.

Back in 2007, the Indian Air Force had the option of choosing between four twin-engine fighter crafts, namely-  Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; Dassault’s Rafale, Eurofighter GmbH’s Typhoon, and Russia’s RAC MiG-35. Additionally, two single-engine aircraft options were also put forward- Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Super Viper; and Saab’s Gripen E/F.

Fast forward 2019, the tender saw the arrival of two more big, twin-engine fighters, vying for the contract-  the F-15EX Eagle-II and Russia’s Sukhoi-35.

General overview of the F-15 EX Eagle II

Touted to be the world’s fastest (Mach 2.5, or 3,100 kilometres per hour) and most heavily-armed (payload of 13.6 tonnes, or 30,000 pounds) fighter, the Eagle II has the longest strike range (1,200 nautical miles or 2,222 kilometres) and its combat resume boasts of 104 kills in air-to-air combat without suffering a single loss.

1. Enhanced survivability

With advanced radars and sensors, the fighter craft brings in fully integrated electronic warfare to combat new and emerging threats.

2. Unparalleled weapons carriage

Features the ability to carry hypersonic weapons, which, otherwise cannot be carried in internal bays.

3. Enhanced mission management

Features a 21st-century cockpit with real-time access to battleground information, thereby enhancing pilot's understanding of the environment.

4. Rapid capability insertion

Features a flexible and Open Missions Systems Architecture wherein rapid digital technology can be integrated for future growth and provide maximum interoperability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTt_TJo9EF4

The F-15EX induction ceremony | Boeing | Youtube

The club of existing F-15EX operators includes the US, Israel, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and, most recently, Qatar.

Apparently. the design of the fighter has been customized to counter possible threats from China which include- hypersonic, re-targetable, long-range missiles and advanced “early warning and control” (AW&C) aircraft that can observe low-flying fighters at longer ranges.

 Kumar describes Eagle-II as “the ideal high-end fighter for the high-end fight".

These are the general specifications of the fighter craft model although India is yet to make a call on the final specifications it would like to be featured on the fighter craft.

India needs to relook at their force structure in the light of Rafale and Tejas orders. If the gap is at the high performance end, the F-15EX could be a fit. But these are early days.A Boeing official said

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Boeing