FAA Rule Clears Path for Supersonic Flight Tests

Supersonic airliner developer Boom is planning to flight test its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator to gather data that would be used in the development of the Mach 2.2 Overture airliner. (Photo: Boom Supersonic)
The FAA took another step toward facilitating the development of civil supersonic aircraft with the release of a final rule today that clarifies procedures for obtaining special flight authorizations for flight testing beyond Mach 1.

Adopted largely as proposed in June 2019, the final rule outlines the information needed for applications of special flight authorization and designates the FAA program office that will process those applications. It also creates a more “user-friendly” format, the agency said. The rule further recognizes that supersonic flight testing could be used to gather noise data.

However, the rule does not lift the ban on supersonic flight over land. Nor does it represent a policy change; instead, the rule streamlines and simplifies access to the various information necessary for special flight authorizations.

The FAA did revise language in the final rule involving the environmental review process. It had originally proposed language to clarify information necessary for the FAA to make a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) determination. However, after receiving comments, the agency found the language actually generated confusion.

“The proposed language providing more detail about what an applicant could submit was not intended to imply that FAA would forego independently evaluating the information or closely examining the environmental impacts on a proposed test area in determining whether to grant a particular special flight authorization,” the agency said. “The language was also not intended to imply shifting the burden of complying with NEPA to the applicant rather than the FAA.”

According to the FAA, a number of requests in comments surrounding the ability for more than one program to use a designated test site were received. In response, the FAA said the application process provides latitude for requesting such test sites and added regulations do not limit a flight test area to one applicant. However, each applicant is expected to submit its own environmental information regarding a test site.

That comes as the FAA has reached an agreement with the state of Kansas establishing a supersonic flight-test corridor.

Meanwhile, the agency dismissed more general opposition from environmental groups and certain municipalities about possible harm supersonic operations could have on the environment. These arguments are outside the scope of the rule, the FAA maintained, adding the final rule does not permit regular supersonic operations.

However, in simplifying the approach for special issuance applications, the agency is helping pave a path toward the return of civil supersonic flight. It is one of several steps the FAA is taking, including working with international regulators, as well as developing a separate rulemaking altogether regarding takeoff and landing noise certification standards.

“Today’s action is a significant step toward reintroducing civil supersonic flight and demonstrates the [Transportation] Department’s commitment to safe innovation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in announcing the release of the final rule.

“The FAA supports the new development of supersonic aircraft as long as safety parameters are followed,” added FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. “The testing of supersonic aircraft at Mach 1 will only be conducted following consideration of any impact to the environment.”

FACC Starts Test Flights with Autonomous Aerial Vehicle EHang 216

FACC conducted the test flight of the EHang 216 at its plant site in St. Martin im Innkreis.

As a pioneer in the field of Urban Air Mobility, FACC is setting another important milestone in the development of future urban mobility together with its strategic partner EHang. The EHang 216 autonomous aerial vehicle produced by FACC has completed a successful test flight under the supervision of Austro Control and was granted an experimental flight permit by the Austrian authorities based on the tests performed. This milestone enables FACC to advance further important flight test programs in cooperation with other companies in the industry, research institutions and authorities.

The first test flight of the EHang 216 aircraft in national airspace was successfully carried out under the supervision of the Austrian aviation authority Austro Control at the FACC site in St. Martin im Innkreis (Austria). The close and professional cooperation between the specialist teams of Austro Control and FACC led to this milestone. With the successful completion of the system checks and the associated test flight, the aviation authority granted the experimental flight permit for the further execution of EHang 216 test flights.

“The successful completion of the test flight of our autonomous aerial vehicle in Austrian airspace marks the start of a comprehensive test program of the EHang 216, laying the foundation for the approval of an innovative, highly flexible and sustainable traffic and transport solution for urban agglomerations. I am very proud of the entire team and would like to congratulate them on this groundbreaking milestone,” commented Robert Machtlinger, CEO of FACC AG, after receiving the experimental flight permit for the EHang 216 in Austria.

Especially in the weeks leading up to the test flight, a large series of technical tests and inspections for the flight test unit were completed together with the EHang engineering team and the specialist team of Austro Control.

Autonomous aerial vehicle: development made in Austria

As part of the strategic partnership, FACC and EHang are contributing their respective resources and networks. EHang serves as an inventor and expert for all questions relating to autonomous flying and provides extensive know-how in the areas of connectivity and software solutions. FACC offers support in the field of high-tech hardware with the development, certification and manufacture of lightweight components and systems.

Cooperative activities with industrial partners, politics and aviation authorities are contributing to the further development of this innovative mobility solution. The authorities are working intensively on the design of regulations governing individual air traffic. The implementation of test areas in Austria is also being driven ahead.

“The field of application is complex and ranges from search and rescue services to supply flights for materials in hard-to-reach areas, ambulance flights and taxi flights in mega-cities. FACC and its strong network of innovative partner companies, public authorities, and universities, as well as the state of Austria, are pioneers in this field,” says Machtlinger.

Lighter, quieter, greener and suitable for many applications

The EHang 216 is an autonomous aerial vehicle which can realize vertical take-offs and landings and is powered by sixteen high-performance electric motors mounted on eight double rotor arms. This makes it an additional safe, quiet and environmentally friendly form of mobility. Highly efficient FACC lightweight structures ensure low weight and excellent aerodynamics, and make a significant contribution to the aircraft’s performance. With a range of about 40 kilometers, a maximum cargo capacity of 220 kilograms and a cruising speed of 130 kilometers per hour, the possible fields of use of the EHang 216, designed for two passengers, go far beyond passenger transport within and between cities. It is very well suited to logistics operations such as flights for transporting essential emergency goods or high-risk airborne missions in the event of environmental disasters.

The EHang 216 is currently the most advanced product on the market in the field of Urban Air Mobility. The autonomous aerial vehicle has already completed several thousand manned flight hours in China. In May, it received the world’s first commercial operation approval for logistic purposes from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). With the successful maiden flight of the EHang 216 in Austria, FACC and EHang have taken an important joint step towards establishing autonomous flying in Europe.

US Black Hawks could see robot co-pilots in 2021

By DAVE MAKICHUK

What exactly is it?

The US Army and Sikorsky are converting a pair of UH-60 Black Hawks to use cutting-edge automation and fly-by-wire controls, with side-by-side formation flights, Breaking Defense reported.

Sikorsky’s automation work has been partially funded for several years by DARPA, which calls the program ALIAS, Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System.

Still don’t get it?

We’re talking a robotic co-pilot.

The idea is for the ALIAS systems of two aircraft to connect over a short-range, sharing data instantaneously, effectively letting each aircraft see through the others’ sensors and get a much bigger picture of the world, Breaking Defense reported.

Passing every bit and byte of data is impractical over a tactical datalink, so “we’re working on algorithms that allow us to synchronize the world models between all of these aircraft” so they can update each other while using minimal bandwidth, said Sikorsky Innovations director Igor Cherepinsky.

For example, two ALIAS helicopters coming in for a landing amidst a blinding dust storm could automatically warn each other of unexpected hazards and coordinate their movements to reroute around them and land safely, without hitting either the obstacles or each other, Breaking Defense reported.

Today that process would require a hasty back-and-forth over radio as pilots try to make sense of what their sensors are seeing and explain it; ALIAS could simply show both aircrews the same picture of their surroundings.

The ALIAS UH-60A is already flying and the ALIAS UH-60M will fly “sometime early next year,” Cherepinsky said. After that, the plan is for the two helicopters to fly together in formation –  Army aircraft rarely go in harm’s way alone – as part of a major Army exercise if possible.

“We are hoping to get these two aircraft to participate together in some Army exercise, [not] just test for test’s sake,” Cherepinsky said.

A successful demonstration could pave the way both for upgrades across the entire helicopter fleet – not just Black Hawks – and for the next-generation Future Vertical Lift aircraft, Breaking Defense reported.

Installing fly-by-wire also makes it possible for a computer to fly the aircraft or help a human to do so, potentially preventing deadly accidents due to human error.

Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin, makes the UH-60 – the modern-day mainstay of Army aviation – and is competing to build both the scout and transport versions of FVL.

“Everything that’s happening here,” Sikorsky Innovations director Igor Cherepinsky told reporters this morning, “is going into both of our FVL vehicles – and not just our FVL vehicles, it’s going across our entire product line.”

The company is already working with Erickson to install ALIAS on civilian S-64 helicopters used to fight fires, Breaking Defense reported.

As early as 2018, Sikorsky was able to take a person with no pilot training, hand them a tablet, give them 45 minutes of instruction, and let them control an ALIAS-equipped helicopter.

At that point, the computer was the one really flying the aircraft; the human was just telling it where to go – and they didn’t have to be aboard the aircraft to do that.

But replacing human pilots isn’t actually the primary goal of ALIAS. It’s designed to assist them, Breaking Defense reported.

Sometimes that may mean flying the aircraft while the crew rests, brainstorms tactics, or conducts mission planning. But sometimes it may mean helping them see through sandstorms and dust clouds by fusing sensor data into a clear picture of what’s ahead.

Or it may mean a human has their hands on the controls, but the computer can take over to avoid a collision or crash.

That combination of uninterrupted attention and split-second reaction times is something human brains don’t do well, but computers excel at.

 

We are hiring Air Traffic Control Specialists throughout the US!

Midwest ATC Service, Inc. seeks highly responsible and professional candidates to perform the duties of an Air Traffic Control Specialist. Work involves the responsibility for planning, directing, and coordinating the air traffic control system for the airport and surrounding airspace in accordance with FAA regulations.  The work is performed with a high degree of independence under the overall supervision of the Air Traffic Manager. If interested, email Amy St. Pierre at [email protected] or apply online at www.atctower.com.

–          Must possess a valid Control Tower Operator (CTO) Certificate or Credential with Tower-Rating.

–          Must possess a current Class II medical certificate.

Storied Marine squadron ‘sunsets’ will join new Miramar group flying F-35s

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew, commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron 311, taxis down the flight line in an AV-8B Harrier II assigned to VMA-311, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, during his last flight at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., Oct. 14, 2020. The last flight is a significant event for every pilot and is celebrated by spraying the pilot and aircraft with water. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Julian Elliott-Drouin)
PUBLISHED:  | UPDATED: 

In a final sundown celebration, Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew took an AV-8B Harrier II on its last flight into the skies over Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.

When Bucklew, the commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 311, landed, he and the plane were sprayed with water in a tradition all pilots cherish as the symbol of an end of an era.

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U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Keith Bucklew, commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron 311, taxis down the flight line in an AV-8B Harrier II assigned to VMA-311, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, during his last flight at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., Oct. 14, 2020. The last flight is a significant event for every pilot and is celebrated by spraying the pilot and aircraft with water. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Julian Elliott-Drouin)

The ceremony, held on Oct. 15, ended the service of the squadron known as the Tomcats. During the ceremony, VMA-311 cased their squadron colors and the National Ensign, commemorating nearly eight decades as an integral force in 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing’s forward presence around the globe. But its service will begin anew in 2022 when the squadron merges with another as the Black Sheep to fly the Marine’s new F-35B Lightning II out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

The Tomcats have a proud history dating back to 1942. Since being commissioned as a fighter attack squadron, the Tomcats have taken part in multiple conflicts, including the island-hopping campaigns of World War II and the first jet combat mission in 1950 during the Korean War.

In 1988 and 1991, the Tomcats were named Marine Corps Aviator Association’s Attack Squadron of the Year. The squadron was the first to fly a Harrier in combat during Desert Storm, and later flew during the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The reputable Tomcats have an exceptional level of esprit de corps representing 78 years of superior performance,” said Sgt. Maj. Colin Barry. “The Tomcats imbued a level of morale within each other that was unmatched.”

Barry said he has “no doubt” the future Black Sheep “will continue performing remarkably.”

The squadron joins others at Miramar that have already begun the transition to flying the F-35B – one of three aircraft types in the Pentagon’s trillion-dollar F-35 Joint Strike Fighter weapons program, replacing the aging Harrier, F/A-18 Hornet and EA-6B Prowler.

The Marines are incorporating the aircraft in the new vision for the military branch as a more nimble and stealth force.

The F-35s give pilots greater access to real-time information about the “battlespace,” with a 360-degree view and sensors that provide information from the air and ground. Sensors also can send information to commanders in the field and back in the U.S.

The deactivation of the Tomcats leaves only just one Harrier squadron left in the Yuma-based Marine Aircraft Group 13.

 

Why this space age airplane could change flying forever

(CNN) —It looks like a spaceship, runs on fuel that up until a few years ago experts were calling “crazy,” and has barely left the drawing board, but in the eyes of one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, it’s undoubtedly the future.
Not even the distant future. Airbus hopes we’ll be soaring into the skies on one of its radical new designs in just 15 years, leaving the days of jet engine pollution and flight-shaming far behind us.
The blended wing aircraft is one of a trinity of eco-friendly hydrogen-fueled models unveiled recently by Airbus as part of its ambitions to spearhead the decarbonization of the aviation industry.
It’s a bold plan, and one that just a few short months ago might have seemed fanciful as demand for fossil fuel-powered air travel continued to rise, apparently immune to growing environmental concerns.
But the arrival of Covid-19 and its impact on aviation could’ve inadvertently cleared a flight path of opportunity for efforts to rethink the technology of getting the world up into the air.
Airbus has baptized its new program ZEROe. The designs revealed aren’t prototypes but a starting point to explore the tech needed in order to start building the first climate-neutral commercial planes.
“How can you possibly emerge from the pandemic, with climate neutrality as a core long-term competitiveness factor?” Airbus’s chief technology officer, Grazia Vittadini, asked rhetorically, during a briefing about the new plans.
“It would be impossible not to. Even well before the crisis, it has become an acknowledged and shared view that protecting climate and protecting our environment are key indispensable factors upon which we have to build the future of flight,” she said.

Why hydrogen?

Airbus’s plan to bring to market a zero-emission passenger aircraft by 2035 means it needs to start plotting a course in terms of technology in 2025. In fact it needs to plot several courses.
That’s because no single technology can address the energy requirements to fuel the entire spectrum of aircraft types — from flying taxis through to short-, medium- and long-range airplanes.

ZEROe Airbus zero-emission concept aircraft

The specs of the three new concept planes.
Airbus
While having been recently more focused on electric aviation for small airplanes, Airbus has now pivoted towards hydrogen as a candidate for solving aviation’s CO2 problems.
“Our experience with batteries shows us that battery technology is not moving at the pace we want,” says Glenn Llewellyn, vice president of zero emission aircraft at Airbus. “This is where hydrogen comes in, it’s got several thousand times more energy per kilogram than what batteries could have today.”
Llewellyn says Airbus has already started talking hydrogen with airlines, energy companies and with airports, because “this kind of change really requires a teaming across industry and inside the aviation industry in order to make it happen.”
Hydrogen has long been seen as a viable fuel by academics, but until now it’s had little practical support.
Perhaps now, with batteries not quite cutting it, hydrogen’s time has come.
“Eighteen months ago, when people talked about hydrogen in the aerospace industry, people thought you were slightly crazy,” Iain Gray, director of aerospace at Cranfield University, tells CNN Travel.
“But now hydrogen has become something that everybody is seeing as a very significant solution to the zero carbon problems,” says Gray. Cranfield has been supporting ZeroAvia — a startup that received a £2.7m ($3.3 million) grant from the UK government to develop zero emission aviation technologies, achieving the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered flight of a commercial-grade aircraft at Cranfield Airport in September.
All for one and one for all

ZEROe Airbus zero-emission concept aircraft

Airbus has released this rendering of the turbofan concept.
Airbus
The three ZEROe concepts program include a 120-200 passenger turbofan with a range of 2,000+ nautical miles, capable of operating transcontinentally and powered by a modified gas-turbine engine running on hydrogen. The liquid hydrogen will be stored and distributed via tanks located behind the rear pressure bulkhead.
Then there’s a 100-passenger airplane which uses a turboprop engine powered by hydrogen combustion in modified gas-turbine engines. It would be capable of traveling more than 1,000 nautical miles, making it a suitable option for short-haul trips.
However, the real conversation piece in the trio — pictured at the top of of this article — has a “blended-wing body,” where the wings merge with the fuselage of the aircraft to produce a highly streamlined shape, like a “flying wing”. This option shares its aeronautical DNA with Airbus’s MAVERIC demonstrator aircraft ,which underwent flight tests last year to explore the energy-saving advantages of this futuristic type of airplane layout.
Looking like something out of Star Trek, Airbus’s blended-wing hydrogen airplane could carry up to 200 passengers. Its unique configuration would facilitate a radical new type of cabin interior layout for passengers, while providing ample space for hydrogen storage.
The European aircraft maker has released a new curved design that promises to cut fuel consumption up to 20%.

How a hydrogen aircraft works

Hydrogen can be used in different ways to power airplanes: It can be combusted directly through modified gas turbines; it can be converted into electric energy, using fuel cells; and hydrogen combined with CO2 can be used to produce synthetic kerosene.
“For us, it’s particularly important to combine the first two of these three elements — having direct combustion of hydrogen through modified gas turbines, with an embedded electric motor, powered by fuel cells,” says Airbus’s Vittadini.
“To accelerate on this path, we already have in the pipeline a zero-emission demonstrator, which will be fundamental, especially to de-risk concepts such as refueling of such an aircraft and safe storage and distribution of hydrogen on board an aircraft,” she adds.

Could existing jet engines run on hydrogen?

Since it’s already been successfully proven that sustainable aviation fuel can be substituted into existing jet engines, the question now is whether hydrogen could also be a “drop in” fuel.
This is something that Rolls-Royce (which is not associated with the ZEROe program) has been looking at, having successfully tested its Trent engines with a hydrogen/kerosene blend in the past.
“Moving to 100% hydrogen would require adaptation to current gas turbine design,” Alan Newby, director of aerospace technology and future programs at Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace, tells CNN Travel.
But Newby also explains that the biggest challenge would be managing the flame temperature and stability in the combustion system. Then there is the question of adapting the fuel delivery and management system, notably for liquid hydrogen. Another caveat, he notes, is that one kilo of hydrogen has three times the energy of kerosene, but more importantly, it takes up five times the volume.
“So the answer is — yes, it is possible but there would need to be a big focus on redesigning these elements of the current engine design as well as looking at the gas turbine as a complete tank-to-exhaust system and taking a more holistic, overall system level approach,” says Newby.
ZEROe Airbus zero-emission concept aircraft
This is the ZEROe turboprop concept plane.
Airbus

How these concepts could change commercial aviation

The unveiling of the Airbus concepts symbolizes a milestone in terms of civil aerospace adopting hydrogen at the top tier of industry.
True, ongoing efforts with smaller aircraft and drones using hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells are plentiful. However, Airbus’s announcement signifies a major strategic shift for commercial aviation, whereby hydrogen could become the norm for short- and medium-haul flights for the 2030s and beyond.
“But there’s no point in addressing a hydrogen airplane if you’re not going to look at the system in which it operates,” cautions Gray.
Aviation “needs to address the whole zero carbon issue in a holistic systems way, looking at airports, air traffic control, aircraft, and transport to and from airports,” he explains.
Fortunately, the dialogue between stakeholders appears to be underway.
“This is going to create a massive change in the energy and aviation ecosystem,” says Airbus’s Glenn Llewellyn. “We’ve already started working with airlines, energy companies, and with airports because this kind of change really requires a teaming across industry and inside the aviation industry in order to make it happen.”
This necessity for a holistic approach dovetails neatly with the aspiration among airport operators to reduce their own carbon footprint — hydrogen could power many aspects of airport infrastructure.
For example, in 2015, Memphis International Airport carried out a two-year demonstration of the world’s first zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell-powered ground support equipment, saving over 175,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 1,700 metric tons of CO2.
In a separate initiative at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, a hydrogen production and distribution station is being installed for fueling hydrogen-powered buses.
What makes hydrogen a compelling fuel for airports is the fact that it can be produced on-site as well as from the airport’s waste materials.
Finnish airport company Finavia is among those evaluating its practicality.
“We’re looking at how we could use the waste streams at Finavia’s airports, including the waste from glycol (the fluid used for de-icing airplanes) to generate hydrogen,” says Henri Hansson, senior vice president of infrastructures and sustainability.
ZEROe Airbus zero-emission concept aircraft
This rendering shows the three craft flying in formation.
Airbus

A significant leap towards eco-friendly air travel

Having a common fuel that airlines and airports alike can use is a total gamechanger for the industry.
The introduction of hydrogen airplanes and the extent of its environmental benefit will depend on the degree of uptake over coming years. Airbus’s Vittadini says that “our estimation is that it will contribute by more than 50% along our journey to decarbonizing aviation.”
There are, however, still many technological hurdles ahead in commercializing any type of sizable hydrogen airplane.
This is partly due to weight and size constraints, says Newby, but “also because the industry’s reliability and safety requirements are set very high, which requires very high engineering maturity barriers to be achieved, particularly for passenger-carrying services.”
And hydrogen-powered aviation is no silver bullet, he says. It will take a combination of different solutions, including sustainable aviation fuels, electric, hybrid and more efficient gas turbines, powering different missions, to help the industry reach its emissions goals.
“Timing-wise,” says Newby, “small hydrogen-powered regional aircraft could potentially be available before the end of the decade.”

What this means for fliers

Until Airbus settles on a configuration, it’s too early to know what form the passenger cabin will take or what the on-board experience will look like.
But what can be reliably predicted is what it will feel like from a human sensibilities standpoint. Hydrogen could be the antidote to flight-shaming, if Airbus can get ZEROe off the ground.
Launching these concepts in the midst of a pandemic might even be a stroke of genius on Airbus’s part, now that people have had time, while being cooped up, to reflect on the privilege of affordable aviation while acknowledging its impact on the planet.
“Covid, ironically, has reminded many people of what the world looks like when they’re not seeing contrails and not hearing large jet engines,” says Gray. “Flying, per se, is not the problem; carbon is the problem which we’re trying to address.”
“Flying has given individuals around the world great personal and professional travel opportunities, therefore the emphasis has got to be on solving the emissions and the carbon problems. Hydrogen is a gamechanger, and the industry is up for it.”

Nav Canada tests remote air traffic services

Nav Canada is partnering with Ottawa-based Searidge Technologies in a trial that involves flight service specialists in Saint John, N.B., providing real-time aerodrome advisory services (AAS) to Fredericton International Airport (YFC).

Sitting in a darkened room at Saint John Airport, the flight service station (FSS) specialists peer at three monitors connected to eight cameras installed on the YFC control tower, roughly 100 kilometres (62 miles) away by car.

The trial utilizes six fixed high-definition cameras and two with pre-set zoom capabilities, allowing Nav Canada FSS personnel to take a closer look at key areas of the airfield at YFC. Nav Canada Photo

The trial, which began at the end of June and will continue through December, utilizes six fixed high-definition cameras and two with pre-set zoom capabilities that allow Nav Canada FSS personnel to take a closer look at key areas of the airfield.

The camera equipment and accompanying software were provided by Searidge, which was founded in 2006 and is considered a leader in delivering technical solutions for air traffic control applications, including remote and digital control towers. Its products are currently deployed in 25 countries around the world. Searidge is jointly owned by Nav Canada and the U.K. air navigation services provider, NATS.

For the first time, the use of powerful day-night cameras in Fredericton allows for a visual representation of the airfield, giving remotely-based flight service specialists the ability to provide full aerodrome advisory services, including the ability to direct vehicle traffic on the ground.

Previously, when the Fredericton control tower closed each evening, Saint John-based FSS specialists provided local weather and airport information via a specific radio frequency. This type of arrangement – common across the country at facilities where air traffic levels do not support full onsite services – is referred to as RAAS, or Remote Aerodrome Advisory Services.

While the RAAS system functions well, it has some limitations. For example, there is no actual visual representation of the field, so FSS personnel cannot control ground vehicle movement for things like runway checks.

“By adding a representation of the field with cameras and a remote system, we have real-time contact with the field,” explained Jérôme Gagnon, general manager for Nav Canada’s Montreal Flight Information Region and program director for Digital Facilities.

He added that the trial only applies to providing AAS to Fredericton during the midnight shift. During the day, the Fredericton control tower is in full operation.

Although Nav Canada has installed Searidge camera systems at other Canadian airports, they have so far served only to augment the view of onsite air traffic controllers and FSS personnel.

“The idea was to start using these cameras as support,” said Gagnon. “Let’s say you have a tower and that tower is static. After a while, due to other buildings and different aircraft requirements, we were adding cameras on specific sites just to improve the visibility of controllers and FSS.”

Both Nav Canada and Transport Canada, which approved the Fredericton trial, are particularly interested in evaluating how the cameras perform in all types of weather. Gagnon said it’s an ongoing process to monitor the results, but Nav Canada expects to issue a final report to Transport Canada about two months after the trial ends.

“We see a lot of possibilities,” he said. “The trial will give us more insight into what we can do in the future. One example would be to improve situational awareness by deploying them (the cameras) at certain RAAS locations.”

Safety and efficiency

Nav Canada says the remote AAS technology will allow it to respond quickly to changing service needs. Gagnon gave the example of a flight school moving to an airport with no existing Nav Canada services.

Nav Canada is also working with Transport Canada to initiate another trial in Red Deer, Alta., which will involve 46 cameras mounted on a total of four masts. FSS specialists will have 14 monitors on a video wall. Nav Canada Photo

“One thing that might be possible is that maybe we can establish that type of service remotely and adjust quickly to demand. I would say that for this type of service, the sky is the limit with digital facilities.”

Nav Canada is also working with Transport Canada to initiate another trial in Red Deer, Alta., which will involve 46 cameras mounted on a total of four masts, including two with a 360-degree view of the airfield. FSS specialists will have 14 monitors on a video wall, which will display the data tag of each aircraft alongside its icon.

While Gagnon said this technology may allow Nav Canada to “group some FSS or ATC [air traffic control] sites at some point,” it would be “premature to speculate on the resulting staffing efficiencies.”

The goal, he added, is to improve both safety and efficiency in the provision of air traffic services across the country.

“It’s a clear gain from a safety standpoint. We already had a situation where we picked up an aircraft that was supposed to hold short on the runway but didn’t – we were able to pick that up and advise traffic accordingly. Also, in all seasons, we can see fog and weather coming in. With apron lights reflecting on the low cloud situation, we can see that clearly on the weather camera at night.”

Jean-Sébastien Meloche, chief architect at Searidge, told Skies the company has operational systems around the world and knows they work, but the goal of the Fredericton trial is to refine procedures and demonstrate how the camera-augmented RAAS concept of operation can apply to the Canadian ATC market.

“Ultimately, it adds tools for the advisors to do their job,” he concluded.

Ohio State Airport fulfills critical transportation gap amid COVID-19 pandemic

For the first time in its history, The Ohio State University Airport has logged the most takeoffs and landings of all airports in Ohio for a single month. The unprecedented milestone was achieved in back-to-back months during summer 2020.

The official tallies recorded by the Air Traffic Activity System (ATADS) were 10,447 operations for June and 10,701 for July, with KOSU leading the way by a significant margin. Not only did KOSU have the greatest number of operations in Ohio, it was also eighth highest in the Great Lakes Region.

The landmark was especially celebrated by air traffic control tower staff, who safely guided each of the operations. “What an exciting time to direct air traffic at The Ohio State University Airport,” said Deral Carson, director of Midwest ATC’s tower at KOSU. “I can’t think of a better place to do air traffic control. This airport is a place where aviators can arrive and depart in safety.”

Wolf was quick to praise airport personnel for the success. “Dedication from our students, staff and faculty have made this possible and through these trying times gives me confidence that aviation will continue to drive the economy back from uncertainty.”

While it’s been widely publicized that the commercial airlines industry has seen an overall decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been somewhat less impactful for general aviation and business aviation, according to Stephanie Morgan, executive director of the university’s Air Transportation & Aerospace Campus. General aviation and business aviation are the exclusive sectors of travelers through The Ohio State University Airport.

General aviation includes most flights piloted by civilians outside of scheduled airline service, including for medical transportation, package delivery, law enforcement and pilot training. Flights made for the purpose of conducting business, such as by fractional companies, comprise the business aviation subset.

It’s conjectured that as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified, many travelers on essential business rerouted their plans from commercial airlines to business aviation. General aviation also became a vital means of transporting medical specimens, for which the need has increased during the pandemic.

“General aviation is on fire right now and we are leading the effort to foster this initiative,” shared Morgan. “KOSU provides regional industry members a critical access point for travel. The importance of this role can be seen now more than ever.”

Future focused

Aviation operations isn’t the only area of the Ohio State Airport reaching new heights, flight education is also in high demand.

Despite the current decline in commercial airlines travel and subsequent temporary surplus in pilots, an overall pilot shortage persists. With new safety protocols in place, The Ohio State University Airport’s Flight Education program continues to provide world-class training to students with the goal of becoming professional pilots.

“University flight education programs are crucial to the pipeline of new pilots entering the field,” said Flight Education Director Brandon Mann. “Our enrollment demand has been steadily increasing over the past few years.”

Mann shared that despite closing operations for several weeks in early 2020 due to the pandemic, the training program still surpassed last fiscal year’s flight hours. “Now, with many new procedures in place to help combat COVID-19, we’re back in an upswing and again anticipate record-breaking flight hours over the next fiscal year [July 2020 – June 2021].”

Although not immune to change, aviation remains essential. The Ohio State University Airport is staying true to its mission through the myriad changes imposed by COVID-19.

“KOSU is open for business and we will continue forward in our mission to train the next generation of industry professionals and serve as the premier general aviation reliever airport in Ohio,” said Wolf.

by Holly Henley, communications specialist

“The F-117 force’s presence over the southwestern U.S. has greatly expanded in recent years. Now it appears to have taken on a formal aggressor role”.

The F-117 Nighthawk’s story just gets richer with age. Over the last half-decade, we have seen a consistent expansion of flying operations by the supposedly retired stealth attack jets. Although I have long posited that the F-117s that are still flying would be involved in aggressor operations, the Air Force’s demand for low-observable adversary capabilities has since become clear. Alongside this development, it has become outrightly apparent that these aircraft are in fact providing ‘red air’ support for select exercises and developmental events. Now it appears that their role as aggressors has been expanded in the form of participation in Red Flag, the Air Force’s largest international air warfare exercise held multiple times a year across the sprawling Nevada Test and Training Range, or NTTR, with the central hub of the exercise being Nellis Air Force Base in North Las Vegas.

What we know is that a handful of the roughly four dozen F-117s still stored at Tonopah Test Range Airport (TTR) have continued to take part in research and development efforts, largely in relation to low-observable testing, which includes trialing new radar-absorbent coatings and off-board sensors. They are a central player in what is emerging to be a low-observable integrated testing task force that largely emanates from TTR and includes access to a number of exotic testbed aircraft, sensors, and threat representative systems. But another part of the F-117’s duties has blossomed into a more traditional role.

We were first to report on hard validation of the F-117’s aggressor support mission last December when evidence emerged of F-117s, flying under their now well-known “KNIGHT” callsign and working with 64th Agressor Squadron F-16s, participated in a complex air combat exercise likely related to the prestigious USAF Weapons School. Now, barring some strange coincidence of factors, it seems clear that this mission has migrated to the much larger Red Flag exercise.

Then, in May of 2020, the F-117s did something unprecedented, they flew a number of red air missions out over Pacific against a Navy Carrier Strike Group that was undergoing its most deeply integrated and complex training just prior to deployment. Since then, they have been spotted often over the vast expanses of the Mojave Desert and the NTTR. They even landed at Edwards Air Force Base recently, another first since their retirement a dozen years ago, at least as far as we know. All of this has perpetuated a sense that the F-117s are creeping steadily out of the shadows once again.

As Red Flag 20-3, which you can read all about here, hit its crescendo last week before wrapping-up on Friday, August 14th, a division (four aircraft) of F-117s were spotted intermingled with the 64th Aggressor Squadron’s F-16s, getting fuel from the ‘red air’ tanker and participating in actions downrange. Multiple similar missions are said to have occurred throughout that final week of Red Flag and satellite imagery largely confirms this.

Between Aug. 10 and 14, no less than what appears to be six F-117s appear to have been parked in the open on TTR’s northern ramp. This was a first as far as we know. Usually, no more than two F-117s go about their shy business from the base. These aircraft typically spend a brief time on the ramp and park in their own hangars after their missions are completed. Having six nighthawks consistently on the ramp during the last week of Red Flag seems very similar to the strip alert-like tactics that aggressors of the past have used at the secretive base. Tonopah Test Range Airport was turned into the sprawling installation it is today thanks in part to its use as a clandestine location to fly captured Soviet fighters out of during the twilight of the Cold War. You can learn more about the Red Eagles program and how TTR came to be in this past post of ours. It’s also worth noting that Red Flag increases in complexity to challenge its participants as it wears on, with the most capable threats often saved for the last week or last days of the exercise.

Regardless, the F-117s appear to have staged in force for what would have been an unprecedented tempo of operations, at least since their retirement, in order to support Red Flag evolutions throughout the week. Red Flag includes two sorties per day, one during mid-day and one during the night. It’s also worth noting that by most estimations only four to six F-117s were still in the flying pool. This points to the real possibility that the six jet fleet is a minimum number and more airframes may have been regenerated as the F-117’s flying duties grew.

These latest developments underscore that the secretive F-117 force, which has a direct association with the “Dark Knights” moniker, is very much involved in adversary air support, beyond discreet test and developmental duties. It would make some sense that they are providing a dissimilar, low-observable threat representation for frontline aircrews to contend with, at least until the 65th Aggressor Squadron, which will be outfitted with F-35As, comes online and can assume a similar, albeit more robust role.

Considering that the U.S. no longer has a monopoly on stealth technology, with foreign cruise missiles, fighter aircraft, and even drones being produced with low observable qualities. As a result, new sensors will be hitting the U.S. fighter force very soon that will help detect, track, and engage what radar has trouble seeing. Ever-increasing network connectivity and data fusion will also help in countering stealth threats, but you have to train against them in order to best employ these technologies operationally.

Although the F-117 doesn’t represent the cutting-edge of stealth technology, it does represent a complex foe to contend with, to say the least, and one unlike any fighter pilot or airborne early warning and control radar operator has ever seen before. Considering the edge the U.S. still holds in terms of low-observable technologies, the F-117 is at least a decent stepping stone and stop-gap measure before employing true 5th generation aggressor aircraft.

Paired with electronic warfare and creative tactics, one can imagine just how wily the F-117s could be as part of the greater aggressor force. Far lesser aircraft are used daily in the adversary role in the hands of contractors. How higher-end and lower-end assets are mixed into a potent adversary air plan is what really matters when it comes to stress-testing U.S. and allied fighter aircrews.

All these factors, as well as the need for F-117s to continue to act as a control variable in developmental testing, have led to what appears to be a bizarre renaissance for the once written-off F-117 Nighthawk, even if its shallow resurgence will only be for a limited period of time. Still, an F-117 aggressor gives the Pentagon’s growing adversary air community a highly unique asset to employ against pilots that could very well end up facing off against an enemy stealth asset in actual combat. With their inclusion in this iteration of Red Flag, we may very well be seeing much more of the “Black Jet” in the not so distant future, at least before they finally vanish for good.

Author: TYLER ROGOWAY

Pilots try out new helmet display in F-16V flight tests

An American-made F-16V releases flares during a military exercise in Taichung. Taiwan, on July 16, 2020. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

JERUSALEM — Recent flight tests of the F-16V fighter jet incorporated a new version of the pilot’s helmet that introduces a visor with optical inertial trackers and is designed to provide improved durability, accuracy and comfort for long flights.

The Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System II is manufactured by Collins Elbit Vision Systems, a joint venture between Collins Aerospace and Elbit Systems of America.

The flight tests followed a safety qualification test for the helmet last year meant as a step toward making the JHMCS II the baseline helmet for the F-16 Fighting Falcon Viper (V) Block 70/72, made by Lockheed Martin. The safety test was performed on the ground, and the helmet was subjected to wind blasts.

Jeff Hoberg, a co-general manager with the joint venture, said the helmet was specifically created for aircraft like the F-16V and builds on the legacy of the earlier JHMCS variants used on F-15, F-16 and F-18 jets.

With an optical inertial tracker, the JHMCS II is more accurate than previous models, and its improved center of gravity mitigates pilot fatigue, as the helmet aligns better with the spine, Hoberg said. The optical tracking is made possible by upgrades to algorithms and software, the placement of a tracking part on the front of the helmet above the eyes, and a reference unit on the dashboard console of the aircraft.

“Likewise it has a color display, and when you add color to the display, air crew can absorb more information,” he added.

The next step for the helmet, Hoberg explained, is to continue flight tests this year and through early next year, with the expectation that the new variant will be certified as the baseline helmet for the F-16V. The JHMCS II is the only helmet-mounted display integrated and tested on the F-16V.

“Flight tests is the next milestone as we partner with Collins Elbit Vision Systems on the JHMCS II, and we look forward to continued collaboration,” said Danya Trent, vice president of the F-16 program at Lockheed.

The F-16V aircraft, equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar, are part of a new Lockheed production line in Greenville, South Carolina, announced last year. The company said in a 2019 interview that it expected hundreds of aircraft to be upgraded to the Viper model and up to 500 more to be sold in the next decade, with F-16s estimated to be keep flying into the 2040s. The fourth-generation “V” model first flew in 2015 and is going through a flight test phase. F-16V sales and upgrades to the variant are in the works for Taiwan, Bahrain and Bulgaria, among other countries.