The Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion system also named as Sustain may come into existence in 2030. Roosevelt Lafontant, a former Marine lieutenant colonel now employed by the Schafer Corporation, a military-technology consulting firm working with the Marines, leads the effort. As we all know due to some political reasons it is not possible to fly in other nation’s air space that extend 50 miles from the Earth’s surface until a proper permission is granted. This big hurdle consumes a lot’s of time and makes it impossible for emergency troops to be transported at desired place instantaneously. Sustain is expected to insert troops any where on earth with in two hours and will not need any permission from other countries as a spacecraft would allow the U.S. to step over other countries and insert forces where they’re needed. The military labs are making efforts to explore new technologies necessary to make it happen, from hypersonic propulsion systems to new composite materials needed to make the vehicle lightweight yet strong. For more details of this project, you can visit the links provided. Via: popsci
Archive for Aircrafts
Rockwell Collins to offer EVS System to Boeing
Boeing Business Jet operators will soon have a new and healthy upgrade in their aircrafts. Rockwell Collins will be developing EVS or the Enhanced Vision Systems for Boeing. The aircrafts will be fitted with the new upgrade in 2008. EVS will allow the pilots to descend their aircrafts below the minimums using the high quality image that will be provided by the Head-up Guidance System and the Head-Down Displays. These displays will increase the situational awareness of the pilots in case of bad visibility such as in case of fog. Rockwell Collins has also teamed up with Max-Viz to complete the certification of EVS on the Boeing. The aircrafts that have to be upgraded to the new system will require an upgrade to the HGS 4000 and also an upgraded infrared camera. Via: gizmag
QSST: Goes supersonic without a boom
QSST or Quiet Supersonic Transport aircraft is the latest concept aircraft from Lockheed Martin that can reach supersonic speeds without those nerve shattering sonic booms. The company has been developing the concept since the last six years under a $25-million contract from Supersonic Aerospace International. The concept QSST will be a 12-passenger plane that would fly at between 47,000 and 57,000 feet with a range of 4,600 miles. The aircraft has been designed to fly at speeds of Mach 1.6 to 1.8. The best thing about the aircraft is that it will produce a sonic boom that’s only one hundredth the strength of the Mach 2 capable Concorde. When an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound it creates pressure waves in the air that collide with one another faster than they can dissipate. These colliding waves result in the sonic boom. QSST has advanced avionics that prevent these waves from colliding and hence the sonic boom is reduced. It has an inverted V tail that means the engines are mounted quite far from each other; this means that the pressure waves are kept more far from each other further preventing their collision. The company plans to develop the plane by 2011. Via: popsci
Guardian anti-missile system takes off from Los Angeles
Guardian is a system deigned to safeguard a plane from any shoulder-fired missile fired towards it. Northrop Grumman’s Guardian is an anti-missile system that is designed to detect a missile launch and then direct a laser to the seeker system on the head of the missile and disrupt its guidance signals. The laser is not visible and is eye-safe. The ultimate goal of designing such a system is to protect passenger airliners from the terrorist attacks. The Guardian system appears as a pod with eye-like features attached to the belly of the FedEx MD-10, a freight version of what was originally the three-engine widebody DC-10 airliner. Though the system has succeeded in various teats conducted on its feasibility, still there are a number of problems that limit its use. The major problem that analysts listed was the high maintenance cost of $365 per flight that will bother all the airlines to use this system. The second major problem is concerning the performance of the system when used for several hours of flight. The DHS has already assigned a sum of $45 million to the company to improve the system and reduce the maintenance cost so that it may be possible to install this system in the all the 6,800 commercial U.S. airliners. During the current test phase, which concludes in March 2008, nine MD-10s equipped with the Guardian system will be in commercial service. Via: newsvine
Boeing unveils the interior of its forthcoming 747-8 Intercontinental passenger jet
The company has changed mended several changes in the interior of its new 747-8 Intercontinental passenger jet. The new design of the plane’s interior has an ergonomic approach. The interior design factor intends to maximize productivity and reduce the fatigue of the passengers. Let us start from the entrance of the plane that has a wide-open foyer area that includes a curved staircase to the upper deck. The staircase has been slightly curved in order to make passengers feel their presence in side a room instead an airplane. The economy class seating does not seems to be impressive but they are far better than the earlier ones provided in older models. Well business class passengers will pay more so they get more. The business class will feature very modern seats, with fold out lights and you have plenty of leg room to stretch and relax. The interior looks much more wider and is company’s full size mock up. Along with this many new ideas concerning entertainment of the passengers have been implemented like; This is very interesting, the airline will feature a small bar where passengers can sit and talk. A purser’s station will be set to control in-flight entertainment and handle passenger communication. This artistic picture shows curved wings that will be the 747-8 Intercontinental’s signature architectural feature. The plane is expected to be introduced in 2010. Via: news
Bigger is better: The Largest helicopter ever
The erstwhile Soviet Union had a penchant for things that were big, and they built huge radars, jets and helicopters. The biggest helicopter ever built, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the Mil V-12 built in the early ’60s. This helicopter looked much like an airplane. Two rotors, each with a diameter of roughly 35meters, were mounted side by side at the end of large wings. The distance between the two rotor disks was almost 67 meters, which is more than the wingspan of a 747! Mil V-12 was a very strong machine and set the record for carrying the biggest payload (40,205kg) for a helicopter. Despite its huge size and great lifting capacity, the Soviets deemed this project a failure. Ironically, its huge size, which brought it into the Guinness Book, was found too difficult to maneuver and be a practical machine. Only two Mil V-12 prototypes were built. [Via: Spluch] Video
RoboSwift: Human-spying robotic bird designed
Technology plays a pivotal role when it comes to defense. But, what catapults it to the headline is the innovation with technology, merging it meticulously with nature, which at times leaves its ‘inspirations’ confused. And birds would surely draw inspiration from a newly designed robotic bird that can fly across the skies without a peep – what is called perfect sweep. It is not just a simple robot, inspired by a bird’s behaviors just to entertain us. It can do the ‘ground surveillance’ job rigorously, without anyone’s notice. Thanks to the engineering students for designing their ‘RoboSwift,’ measuring 20 inches (51 centimeters) from wingtip to wingtip and weighing less than three ounces (80 grams). What is amazing is the robot’s capability to fly up to five times the distance to the moon and back during its lifetime! Ah! That adds up to more than 2 million miles (more than 3 million kilometers). The common swift fly by constantly morphing its wings by responding to the prevailing flight conditions. The bird can also change its wing shape and the surface area, by folding its feathers over one another, sweeping them back and forth. These feathery adjustments help the ‘little spy bird’ maintain its flight efficiency as well as maneuverability. By its features, the robotic bird seems to look like a ‘micro airplane’ which will soar into the air in January 2008. So, ‘humans’ be aware! Next time you see a hovering bird above your head, give a second thought. Image
Remote control airplane that flies at 300km/h
I found this toy that fascinated me a lot. It is faster than most of the cars. It’s a remote controlled airplane that can fly at a speed of 300km/h. The video will describe it much better than I can. The Hole – video powered by Metacafe
More Pilotless Planes to fly from US and Canada
Pilotless planes may raise concerns amongst civil and army aviation safety experts but that’s not restricting the US from brining as many as 100 new remote controlled aircrafts into operation. Not one or two, all four branches of the USA armed services deploy them for different causes. Even non army agencies use these pilotless planes for tasks like finding out lost hikers or illegal aliens, forest department uses the planes to fight forest fires, etc. Last in the news, Canada air force is to purchase pilot less aircrafts to help and protect their troops in Afghanistan. There are some serious concerns raised about these pilotless aerial vehicles. On April 2006 U.A.V., a 10,000-pound Predator crashed while undertaking surveillance work for the Customs and Border Patrol. No property was damaged nor any one got hurt, but its worth mentionable that the size of midesized corporate jet, the 10,000 plane while crashing actually missed a house by about 100 yards. Government has declared the incident happened for soma bla bla technical reasons (which engineers have worked upon soon) and chances of such incidents occurring next is less. Link
Bidding Final Farewell to our Beloved Jets
We all fly frequently and also are emotionally attached to these masterpieces. But like everything in this world these beautiful pieces of architecture also die and are buried. No you are not invited for the mourning ceremony…! All I want you to do is to at least mourn for a couple of seconds and then see the images to find out what all these jets go through after they are taken off air…! Via: knuttz