Australian Research Turns Biomass 

into Aviation Fuel

(biofuelsdigest.com, Jan 2012)

 

In Colorado, the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) today announced formation of a strategic business relationship with BioJet International. CERT is comprised of 57 sovereign Indian tribes as members. CERT members collectively own and manage more than 30% of the coal west of the Mississippi and 10% of known national oil and gas reserves in the United States. CERT members also manage millions of acres of agricultural lands from which feedstock for biofuels may be grown. 

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Photo: Pilot Mike Carriker guides the 787 back to its base at Paine Field in Everett following a 90-minute flight. (Boeing)

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration last week gave Boeing certification for its 787 Dreamliner, saying that the company's years-in-the-making aircraft was finally safe for passengers. The announcement came after the aircraft completed its final flight tests last Wednesday.

 

The green lighting will allow Boeing to make its first delivery to Japan's All Nippon Airways on Sept. 28, at Tokyo's Haneda airport.

The Dreamliner is in many ways the aircraft on which the aerospace giant has staked its future. Constructed with composite materials, the 787 is supposed to be more fuel efficient and comfortable than any comparable aircraft in history - and there aren't too many that can compare to this wide-body aircraft.

 

But the future has been elusive. The aircraft was unveiled way back in 2007 and since then has been subject to a seemingly endless stream of supply chain delays and budget overruns.

 

To date, 827 orders have been made for the much-hyped airplane. Boeing said it expects to produce 10 planes per month by the end of 2013 - seven at its Everett, Wash. headquarters and three in a facility in South Carolina. READ MORE...

 

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Heat Adds Volume to the Carbon Fiber Production Process

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GAMA Commends Obama, Asks Him to Fix Policy Blind Spot

 

 

 

 

Ever wonder what would happen if more people could see what we see?

That's the question the folks at LightHawk pose to pilots during recruiting efforts for the non-profit organization. The question is central to LightHawk's mission, which is "to champion environmental protection through the unique perspective of flight."

 

"We have a way to show other people what we have been seeing for years," says Greg Bedinger, LightHawk's pilot outreach manager. "Sharing what we have seen is a powerful tool. We can post videos and photos online, but it is only a substitute for the real images that you see first hand."

 

Missions for LightHawk's volunteer pilots range from flying over strip mines to flights over the Gulf of Mexico after the massive BP oil spill to flights over areas ravaged by hurricanes. Passengers on the flights range from photographers to government officials, policy makers, researchers, and more. "We get people up in the air who will benefit from seeing things in a different way," Bedinger says. READ MORE...

 

 

 

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Corbi Air has developed an air conditioning system light enough for small general aviation aircraft, including Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA). The launch customer is the S-LSA Alto (pictured above).

 

The gross weight limit of 1,320 pounds for the LSA category is an "imposing obstacle" for most who want to "civilize" their machines, but the Alto already had excellent useful load, said Corbi Air President Ron Corbi. 

 

 

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Sporty's Publishes 

"Then and Now: How Airplanes Got This Way"

(General Aviation News, Jan 2012)

 

Sporty's has published aviation historian Phil Scott's latest book, "Then and Now: How Airplanes Got This Way," which explores how airplanes evolved into the form and silhouette we see today. It is a light-hearted look at the people and events that shaped today's general aviation airplane, company officials said. 

 

 

 

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Vision-based System that Imitates Insects Designed to Improve Navigation of UAVs

(Gizmag, Dec 2011)

 

 

New Research in Fuels Derived from Algae Biomasses

By David Gair

 

Scenedesmus dimorphus algae.

The Petroleum that we use today is actually algae oil that was deposited in shallow oceans eons ago. This is verified by the presence of fossilized algae spores found in oil samples taken from the Ghawar Oil Field in Saudi Arabia. Middle Eastern geological studies indicate the former presence of a coastal reef much like Australia's Great Barrier Reef, rich with zooplankton and other algal species. Our research strives to duplicate this 

natural process.

The space shuttle program may have retired, but space transport may be in for a resurgence.

 

Thanks to some forward-thinking, a project is now in the works that would use a plane to launch booster rockets with cargo (and, eventually, people) into low earth orbit.

 

But not just any plane - it would be the world's largest aircraft ever, one with a wingspan of 385 feet (a whopping 120 feet wider than the Airbus 380).

 

Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, has teamed up with aerospace engineer Burt Ratan and Elon Musk, of SpaceX, to create Stratolaunch Systems. "By the end of this decade, Stratolaunch will be putting spacecraft into orbit," Allen said on Tuesday.

 

The plane will be designed by Scaled Composites, a company founded by Rutan. It will weigh 1.2 million lbs. (including the weight of the 490,000-lb. booster rocket, which SpaceX is designing). The extra-large aircraft will need an extra-large runway - 12,000 feet long, to be exact.  

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When NASA asked the three largest U.S. airframe makers to study advanced concepts for next-generation ultra-efficient airliners so quiet they could barely be heard beyond the airport boundary, it did not count on so many surprises.

 

But surprises there were when Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman presented their final reports to NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) program last week. All submitted preferred system concepts which either met, or closely matched, NASA's stringent noise, emissions and fuel-burn targets for airliners entering service in the late 2020s. Although the fact that each concept scored high marks was not unexpected, it was the array of unanticipated technologies, innovations and system attributes used by the teams that surprised the agency. READ MORE...

  

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Matthew Tanner is a Colorado-based air show pilot who also competes in aerobatics competitions and teaches Air Force pilots how to fly. His current stunt aircraft of choice is a Laser Z300. Much as he is able to do with the nimble little airplane, he wants to be able to perform aerial maneuvers that no one has ever seen before. In order to do so, he intends to equip the plane with a pair vertical wings

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More specifically, Tanner's plan is to remove his Z300's existing wooden horizontal wings, replace them with custom models, and then install removable vertical airfoils through the middle of each of those. Everything will be made from the same state-of-the-art carbon fiber used in the construction of the Boeing 787. READ MORE...

  

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Semi-Human-Powered Flight Project Gets 

 

Environmental VP Blogs About FedEx Winning Lindbergh 2010 Corporate Award 

  

 

Mitch Jackson is vice president of FedEx Corporation's Environmental Affairs and Sustainability. He develops the sustainability strategy and vision to ensure that FedEx minimizes its environmental footprint while still delivering outstanding customer service.  Mitch was recently named to the 2010 Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior by Trust Across America. He was also named to Ethisphere Institute’s 2009 list of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics, placing 27th on this list. He sits on The Keystone Center's national Energy Board and serves on the American Trucking Association's board of directors. He has served on the Keep Tennessee Beautiful Governor's Advisory Council and as an environmental juror for The Heinz Awards, and is a past chairman of the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI).

 

You can read Mitch's blog Here.

The Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona has repurposed six retired military planes into monumental "green" works of art. The exhibit is set to open January 28th. The installation features former Air Force aircraft that had been stored for years in desert "boneyards." Aircraft used as canvases include four DC-3s, a Beechcraft C-45 (a military version of the Beech 18), and a Lockheed VC-140 Jetstar (a 1960s-era jet used for military transport). More than 30 artists from around the world took part in the project. READ MORE...

 

Lindbergh Foundation Reveals 2012 Awardees

 

The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation announced the recipients of two prominent awards, which will be presented at a celebration at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida, on March 29, during the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In. Legendary inventor Forrest Bird has been selected to receive the 2012 Lindbergh Award and businessman-philanthropist James C. Ray has been named recipient of the Spirit Award.

 

 

Pictured: Dr. Forrest Bird (Left) & James C. Ray (right)

 

"2012 is a significant year since we are celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Lindbergh Foundation as well as the 85th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's New York-to-Paris flight," said Lindbergh Foundation Chairman and CEO Larry Williams. "We are particularly pleased and honored to be recognizing such exceptional aviators as Dr. Forrest Bird and James C. Ray with Lindbergh Awards during this historic year." READ MORE...

 

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