Tag Archives: unducted fan

852 Ram Air Turbine

The Air India B787 fatal crash and the ram air turbine, how your personal travel data is sold, next generation commercial aircraft engines, personal electric flying machines that are becoming dangerously affordable, and GippsAero is coming back to Australia to build the GA8 airvan.

Aviation News

Indian authorities begin investigating Air India crash in which 1 passenger survived

India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the fatal crash of an Air India B787. Of the 242 passengers and crew aboard, one passenger survived. Numerous theories are being speculated in the press, including loss of power by both engines, failure to set the flaps properly for takeoff, and erroneously retracting the flaps instead of the landing gear. Some say the Ram Air Turbine appears to be deployed in one video.

The Ram Air Turbine (RAT) extends from the fuselage or the wing to generate power in an emergency. Twin blades [corrected] spin a shaft connected to either an electrical generator or a hydraulic pump that drives a generator.

The B787, A320, and A380 Ram Air Turbines are produced by Collins Aerospace. The company manufactures hydraulic, electric, and hybrid RATs that generate both electric and hydraulic power. Safran also produces Ram Air Turbines.

A Collins Aerospace ram air turbine.
Ram Air Turbine. Image courtesy Collins Aerospace.
US Navy Vought RF-8G Crusader with ram air turbine deployed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia.
US Navy Vought RF-8G Crusader on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia.

Airlines Secretly Sold One Billion Passenger Records—Now The Government Can Track Where You Travel

The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) is a major provider of settlement services for the airline industry. Clients include airlines, travel agencies, and corporate travel departments. ARC is owned by the airlines and sells passenger names, full domestic flight itineraries, and payment details (e.g., credit card used) through its “Travel Intelligence Program” (TIP). Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is reportedly purchasing this data.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is critical of this practice and wants airlines to explain why they allow ARC to resell this information. CBP claims they adhere to strong privacy policies, and only use the data for open investigations.

Open Fan Would Be Suboptimal On Narrowbody, RTX Chief Scientist Says

The next generation of single-aisle aircraft will need to offer at least a 20% fuel burn improvement. Some of that will likely come from the airframe, and most will come from the power plants. The next generation of turbofans under development includes the CFM International open-fan RISE demonstrator and geared turbofans from Pratt & Whitney.

Thermal efficiency vs. propulsive efficiency:

Thermal efficiency measures how effectively an engine converts fuel energy into mechanical work. Propulsive efficiency measures how efficiently the engine converts mechanical energy into useful thrust. Both are dimensionless ratios, typically expressed as a percentage (%). The overall efficiency of the engine is the propulsive efficiency multiplied by the thermal efficiency.

Mentioned

American Helicopter Museum

UAV News Talk

Freakonomics Airplane Food

Spurwink Farm Pancake Breakfast and Fly-In

Personal electric flying machines are becoming dangerously affordable

Aerolite EV-103 

Video: Aerolite EV-103 Electric powered aircraft – First Owner Review at Oshkosh 2021

SP140 electric paramotor 

GippsAero promises Gippsland jobs with new GA8 airvan launch

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, David Vanderhoof, and our Main(e) Man Micah.

476 Synergy Aircraft

The founder and CEO of Synergy Aircraft describes the unique personal airplane he is developing. In the news, we look at airliner nose strikes, new security measures at airports worldwide, the credibility of United Airlines top management, the A330neo maiden flight, and the passing of aviation journalist Ben Sandilands.

Synergy Aircraft

Guest

John McGinnis is founder and CEO of Synergy Aircraft LLC, a seed-stage company developing a quiet, roomy, fuel-efficient aircraft using advanced aeronautical and manufacturing technologies.

John describes the process he employed in designing and developing the Synergy. Where some projects start with a favored design that then gets developed, John looked first at best practice principles that led to the design. These principles include biplane theory, laminar flow, and active drag reduction. They had been explored historically, and John assembled them in one design using advanced analytical tools.

The resulting  “Double Boxtail™” wing-becomes-tail configuration is aerodynamically efficient, fast and quiet, and features a spacious cabin. Synergy has been testing scale models and John reports good results.

John is the founder of MC Squared Design USA (a service bureau providing 3-D design, CNC machining, 3-D printing, and composite fabrication) and MV Aero, a provider of state-of-the-art Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. John is a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and an EAA contributor.

The Synergy Aircraft prototype.

The Synergy Aircraft prototype.

Synergy Aircraft CFD analysis of conventional airplane.

Synergy Aircraft CFD analysis of conventional airplane.

Synergy Aircraft CFD analysis of the double boxtail design.

Synergy Aircraft CFD analysis of the double boxtail design.

News

Mystery surrounds plane’s squashed nose

A Delta Airlines flight experienced some kind of event that significantly damaged the aircraft’s nose. In UPDATE: Delta addresses Thunder plane damage en route to Chicago, the airline said, “Delta flight 8935, operating from Minneapolis to Chicago-Midway as a charter flight for the Oklahoma City Thunder, likely encountered a bird while on descent into Chicago. The aircraft, a Boeing 757-200, landed safely without incident; customers have since deplaned and maintenance teams are evaluating.”

For some past nose strike events, see:

We talked with Marcy Heacker from the Smithsonian Institution, Feather Identification Lab in episodes 253 and 202.

If You Want to Fly to America, Get Ready to Be Interrogated

What You Need To Know About New Airport Security Rules

In March 2017 DHS banned personal electronic devices larger than phones on direct flights to the U.S. from 10 airports. That restriction is now loosened, but additional DHS security measures are in place that affects 235,000 passengers on 2,000 flights daily to the U.S. on 180 airlines from 280 airports in 105 countries.

Column: Can United Airlines brain trust survive another tough journey?

Some financial analysts question the ability of United’s top management to pilot the company through the challenges ahead.

Airbus jet designed to win back sales from Boeing takes maiden flight

The Airbus A330neo made its successful maiden flight with a new engine and improved aerodynamics. The 1,400-hour flying test program will proceed with 3 prototypes and the first production aircraft.

Aviation journalist Ben Sandilands dies after battle with cancer

Ben Sandilands covered aviation for decades and was the editor of the Plane Talking blog on Crikey. His last post was Malaysia will focus renewed MH370 search where Australia refused to look. RIP Ben.

Airline Story of the Week

Our Main(e) man Micah provides an editorial piece he calls “Rave On.”

Mentioned

Airline Weekly Lounge podcast.

#PaxEx Podcast 51: Safety first as allergic passengers endure challenges.

San Gabriel Valley Airport Air Fair and Open House.

Mitchell PBJ

Mitchell PBJ

Air Show: Paris 1989

https://youtu.be/Clp3SntLAd8

Ultra High Bypass Jet Engine Propfan Technology | Aviation Videos | AeroSpaceNews.com

Credit

Intro music courtesy Brother Love from his Album Of The Year CD. Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.