Russian Helicopters and Avicopter to develop AHL rotorcraft - Charles D'Alberto

Russian Helicopters, part of State Corporation Rostec, will cooperate with the Chinese state company Avicopter to develop the AHL (advanced heavy lift) heavy helicopter. A corresponding intergovernmental agreement was signed by the Russian and Chinese parties in Beijing in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.


“China is our oldest strategic military and technical partner, and we are happy that our cooperation has extended to the civil sector,” said Russian Helicopters CEO Alexander Mikheev. “Joint development of the civilian advanced heavy helicopter by our company and Avicopter will not only contribute to the further development of cooperation with the Chinese party in high-tech sectors, but also to the strengthening of friendly ties between Russia and China in general. Russian Helicopters has unique competence to create heavy helicopters and is ready to assist our Chinese partners to implement this project.”

According to the document, the Russian and Chinese parties will jointly develop the advanced heavy helicopter for its subsequent serial production in China, aiming to meet the demand at the Chinese market. Russian Helicopters will contribute its technologies to the project and will also provide technical parameters as well as develop individual AHL systems on the contractual base.

The Chinese side will be responsible for the organization and implementation of the AHL program in general, including engineering design, creation of prototypes, performance of tests, certification, preparation and serial production, as well as market promotion and general coordination of activities.

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India launches 20 satellites in single mission - Charles D'Alberto

The rocket carries the highest number of satellites on a single Indian mission and the third highest in history.

India has successfully launched a rocket carrying a record 20 satellites, as its space agency looks to grab a larger slice of the lucrative commercial space market.

The rocket carries the highest ever number of satellites on a single Indian mission and the third highest in history.

It blasted off on Wednesday from the southern spaceport of Sriharikota, carrying satellites from the US, Germany, Canada and Indonesia.

Most of the satellites will enter orbit to observe and measure the Earth’s atmosphere, while one of them aims to provide service for amateur radio operators.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, known to be highly ambitious about the country’s space research programme, described the launch as “a monumental accomplishment” for the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

ISRO chairman AS Kiran Kumar told the national NDTV news network: “Each of these small objects that you are putting into space will carry out their own activity, which is independent of the other, and each of them will live a wonderful life for a finite period.” .

Frugal space programme

The business of putting commercial satellites into space for a fee is globally growing as phone, Internet and other companies, as well as countries, seek greater and more high-tech communications.

In 2008, India launched 10 satellites on one rocket, setting a world record that has since been broken by the United States and then Russia.

Pallava Bagla, a science editor with the privately run Indian TV channel NDTV, told Al Jazeera that it was significant feat and symbolised why big tech companies were flocking to India.

“It’s like dropping off, one by one, school children from a bus travelling at high velocity” he told Al Jazeera. “It’s a tricky maneuver because you don’t want the mothership and the ‘babies’ to collide with each other.”

“India offers launch costs that are fifty percent cheaper than the rest of the world, so if Space X, Arianespace or NASA can do it at $100, India is willing to do it at $50,” he added.

India is competing with other international players for a greater share of the commercial launch market, and is known for its low-cost space programme.

In 2013, the ISRO sent an unmanned rocket to orbit Mars at a cost of just $73m, compared with American space agency NASA’s Maven Mars mission that had a $671m price tag.

The successful mission was a source of immense pride in India, which beat rival China in becoming the first Asian country to reach the Red Planet.

In May, the ISRO launched a rocket carrying an experimental spacecraft it hopes will mark an important step towards the country’s first re-usable space shuttle.

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Military aircraft accidents costing lives, billions of dollars - Charles D'Alberto

Washington  A rash of recent military crashes has cost the lives of several service members as well as billions of dollars worth of damages. The wave of accidents has raised questions about the training of pilots and the maintenance of aircraft, with top brass pointing to slashed budgets and aging fleets strained by prolonged conflict.

Last week, an MH-60S helicopter crashed in the James River in Virginia during a training mission. Earlier this month, two F-16C fighter jets collided in the skies over Georgia.

In the first incident all of the helicopter crew were rescued and in the second the two South Carolina Air National Guard pilots managed to safely eject. But a few days earlier, a Blue Angels pilot was killed when his jet crashed. An Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration squadron jet crashed the same day, but that pilot managed to successfully eject.

During congressional testimony in March, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. John Paxton, acknowledged the growing rate of accidents.

"We are concerned about an increasing number of aircraft mishaps and accidents," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He blamed funding shortfalls for the increase, saying, "If you don't have the money and you don't have the parts and you don't have the maintenance, then you fly less."

He continued, "If you fly less and maintain slower, there's a higher likelihood of accidents. So, we're worried."

 

The Navy has suffered the heaviest losses of the three military branches since October 2014.

 

From that time through April 2016, the Navy has reported accidents that total over $1 billion in damages, according to statistics provided to CNN by the Naval Safety Center. They included a Marine AV-8B Harrier jet that crashed off the East Coast during takeoff in May, costing about $62.8 million, and a Navy F/A-18A crash in Nevada in January that cost $71 million. Both pilots survived.

 

In joint congressional testimony in April, the senior naval leadership overseeing aviation, Vice Adm. Paul Grosklags, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Jon Davis and Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, reiterated Paxton's contention that planes and funds are running short.

 

"We continue to have lower than acceptable numbers of aircraft available to train and fight," he said.

 

Grosklags said that the 2013 budget cuts known as sequestration had caused the Navy to lose about 10% of its maintenance crews for some of its older planes, including the F/A-18, which first entered service in 1983 and whose planned 30-year life-span has been repeatedly extended due to increased combat operations and lack of replacement jets.

 

The issue is compounded by the fact that the Navy's replacement plane, the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter, has been repeatedly delayed and is not scheduled to reach initial operating capability until 2018.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been beset by spiraling costs, failed testing and schedule delays. The F-35 program had originally promised 1,013 fighters by fiscal year 2016 but has only delivered 179 as of April. The Navy's version will be the last to reach initial operating capability.

 

The Marines, however, suffered the deadliest military aviation tragedy in years when two CH-53 helicopters crashed while on training flight in Hawaii in January, killing 12 Marines. The Navy estimates that the crash cost nearly $110 million.

 

Describing the CH-53s in March, Davis said, "They are getting old and wearing out. We can only keep them going for so long."

 

When Rep. Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, asked about the increased rate of accidents in March, the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Neller, attributed the increase in "our mishap rate" to a lack of training resources.

 

"The simple fact is that we don't have enough airplanes to meet the training requirements for the entire force," he said.

 

The Air Force, for its part, has also experienced a significant number of accidents.

Since October 2014, the Air Force has had 27 "Class A mishaps," accidents that result in a fatality, loss of an aircraft, or property damage of $2 million or more involving fixed-wing aircraft, an Air Force public affairs officer told CNN.

 

But Air Force Public Affairs Officer Capt. Annmarie Annicelli noted that the rate of accidents has decreased in 2016 compared to fiscal year 2015, saying that at this point last year, the Air Force had 13 Class A mishaps compared to eight this year.

 

According to an analysis of the statistics provided before the June incidents, the Air Force has lost over $526 million in damaged or destroyed aircraft since October 2014, nearly half of that from downed F-16s, another plane that is due to be replaced in part by the long-delayed F-35A.

 

During that period, the Air Force lost a B-52 Stratofortress after a crash in Guam in May, a C-130J transport plane after an October accident in Afghanistan and a RC-135 crashed in April 2015. The latter two crashes resulted in $174 million in damage to both the planes and surrounding environment.

 

Gen. David L. Goldfein, the Air Force vice chief of staff, also told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that the average age of the Air Force's aircraft is 27 years old. The F-16s involved in Tuesday's collision first entered service in 1993.

 

The Army has also faced issues with its aircraft, primarily helicopters such as the UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache.

 

The Army's Combat Readiness Center told CNN that the Army had 19 Class A aviation accidents resulting in 6 fatalities from October 2014 to October 2015, including a UH-60 crash near Fort Hood, Texas, which cost the lives of four soldiers.

 

Appearing at the same Senate Armed Services hearing with Neller, the chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Mark Milley, said the increase in Class A accidents "has our attention," citing efforts to increase training hours for helicopter pilots.

 

"Our aircraft accidents have increased and we are very concerned about it," he said.

Top military leaders have said that while they want to increase training, they have had to prioritize combat operations at the expense of other activities in an era of restricted budgets.

 

Goldfein told Congress, "25 years of continuous combat coupled with budget instability and lower-than-planned top lines have made the Air Force one of the smallest, oldest and least ready in our history."

Some Seriously low flyovers - Charles D'Alberto

BREAKING NEWS: US Apache join counter-ISIL fight, says US Dept of Defense – Charles D'Alberto

U.S. Apache helicopters have entered the fight in Iraq against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters. “Commanders have used the Apache capability that we positioned there and that [President Barack Obama] authorized them to use some months ago,” Carter said as he traveled to Brussels for meetings with his fellow NATO defense ministers. .

An ISIL target in Iraq was destroyed in an Apache strike, Carter said, noting this is the “first time that it’s been called into action, and effectively” in the ISIL fight.

U.S. and Iraqi commanders decided the aircraft “could be effective in helping those forces that are positioning themselves for the two-forked envelopment of Mosul,” Carter said, adding “That’s what it was used for — to help them along their way“.

The June 12 strike was in support of Iraqi security forces operating in the Tigris River Valley, a Defense Department spokesman said, adding that the strike was vetted and approved through the same process the coalition uses for all strikes.

“The Apache strike destroyed [an ISIL] vehicle-borne improvised explosive device near Qayyarah, Iraq,” the spokesman said.

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Aviation could be worth $88b to Singapore economy in 20 years: IATA - Charles D'Alberto

Growth of S’pore’s air travel sector will outpace that of several neighbouring markets, says global aviation body

The number of air travellers and aviation-related jobs in Singapore could more than double in 20 years, according to a new study by a global airline body. This would increase the industry’s contribution to Singapore’s gross domestic product by the same quantum to an estimated US$65 billion (S$88 billion) in 2035, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Singapore will remain one of the smallest air travel markets in the Asia- Pacific by passenger numbers but its growth will outpace that of several neighbouring markets including Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

The forecast bodes well for Singapore, which is investing billions in new infrastructure and facilities to prepare for the growth in Asia’s air travel market, industry experts said.

Changi Airport Terminal 4 will open next year and plans are afoot for T5, a mega passenger terminal to be built about 1.6km away from the existing airport premises. By the time T5 is ready, likely by the end of the next decade, Changi will be able to handle up to 135 million passengers a year, up from 66 million now.

IATA expects that, in 2035, Singapore will handle about 117 million passengers – 87 per cent of the planned capacity. The projection takes into account factors including the region’s growth trends and economic indicators.

Mr Kent Yar, deputy managing director and global head of aerospace at Morgan Philips Executive Search, said the forecast is in line with developments in the industry and growth prospects in China and other strong markets.

The growth will bring opportunities for the aviation industry and related sectors such as the retail and hotel industries, he said.

The Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore) is gearing up for the new jobs that will be created, particularly in the repair and maintenance of aircraft and parts.

There are several areas of focus, a spokesman said. The first is to develop aircraft repair capacity and infrastructure through investments at Seletar Aerospace Park and Changi – in tandem with the expansion of Changi Airport. Another priority is to improve productivity and competitiveness by investing in technology and automation, he said.

The study by IATA – the first of its kind for the region – aims to encourage governments and industry players to invest in the necessary infrastructure and services to take advantage of the industry uptrend.

It is estimated that, by 2030, there will be more people flying to, from and within Asia than Europe and North America combined, the association said.

“This growth is generating large regional economic impact from aviation. However, there is concern that the development of aviation infrastructure in the region is not keeping pace with growth in demand, putting some of the potential future economic benefits of aviation at risk,” the report said.

Aviation is a key driver of economic success, IATA said, citing Singapore as an example. While many factors have contributed to Singapore’s success as a trading centre and business hub, “the quality and range of air services available at the country’s main airport, Changi Airport, is a major, if not critical, contributing factor”, it said.

Singapore’s position as a global trading and business hub would not be possible without the high degree of air connectivity – passenger and cargo – provided by the airport, it added.

The air service at the airport also enables employees of multinational businesses to travel to clients, regional offices and global headquarters, it said. “Many of the businesses with regional headquarters in Singapore would not be located there without the mobility that the country’s air services provide.”

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Dramatic footage moments after Military Helicopter crash in Montenegro - Charles D'Alberto

Locals from the village of Kormina rush to save 2 very seriously injured military pilots for the crash site that saw a Gazelle Military helicopter crash near the capital of Podgorica.

The 2 injured pilots Colonel Namik Arifović and Lieutenant Colonel Miroljub Antanasijević, were immediately attended to by locals who did not hesitate to rescue the pilots as the turbine engines were still active. At one points they overturned the helicopter as seen in the footage to rescue one of the pilots.

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Military helicopter crashes in Montenegro - Charles D'Alberto

A Montenegrin army helicopter sits heavily damaged after it crashed on the outskirts of Podgorica, Montenegro, Friday, June 10, 2016. The military helicopter crash landed on the outskirts of the capital and local people pulled the two crew members from the craft, one seriously injured. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)

PODGORICA, Montenegro — A Montenegrin military helicopter crashed on Friday on the outskirts of the capital, injuring two crew members, one seriously.

Montenegro’s air force said the aircraft was on a routine training flight when it crashed in a field southwest of Podgorica.

One of the crew suffered severe brain injuries, while the other was in intensive care, but his injuries were not life threatening, doctors at an emergency hospital said.

“I heard a sound and came out and saw a helicopter trying to land. Then it crashed,” eyewitness Rasim Softic said.

Local people pulled out the two crew members, of whom one was unconscious, before ambulances arrived.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the SA341 Gazelle helicopter to go down.

The tiny Balkan state, which is slated to become NATO’s newest member, has a small air force that includes five Gazelle helicopters which were made in former Yugoslavia under a French license.

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Airbus Raises $2.69 Billion from Dassault Aviation Stake Sale - Charles D'Alberto

• European aircraft maker is disposing of a 23.6% stake
• Stake will be exited through share sale, exchangeable bond

Airbus Group SE is selling its remaining holding in Dassault Aviation SA as the European aircraft maker disposes of assets to focus on its core businesses.

Airbus, which owns 23.6 percent of Dassault Aviation, is selling approximately 830,000 of the company’s shares in an accelerated block sale to institutional investors, representing about 9 percent of the capital, the company said in a statement Thursday. Dassault Aviation will purchase shares equal to about 5.5 percent through its share buyback program, the statement said.

The shares are being offered for 920 euros to 950 euros each, a discount to their market price. Orders below 950 euros may not get any stock, according to terms sent to investors. The books will close at 8 p.m. London time Thursday. Dassault Aviation shares rose 0.3 percent to 970 euros in Paris trading, giving Airbus’s entire stake a market value of 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion).

Airbus is also issuing a 1 billion-euro zero-coupon bond. The bond is due 2021 and exchangeable into Dassault shares at a premium of 35 percent to 40 percent above the equity placement price. Airbus will have exited its entire holding once the share sale has completed and the bonds have been exchanged in full.

Airbus began cutting its stake of about 46 percent in family-controlled Dassault in 2014, reducing the holding it inherited more than a decade ago. Airbus had never reaped synergies by working with Dassault, which makes Rafale warplanes and Falcon business jets, keeping the shares only as a financial investment.

Bank of America Corp., BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JP Morgan Chase & Co. are managing the sale. Rothschild & Co. is acting as Airbus’s financial adviser on the deal.

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This new airplane is further proof of a growing trend in aviation - Charles D'Alberto

Continuing an ever expanding trend, aircraft consumers are proving that one engine is actually better than two.

And to capitalize on this change, Textron Aviation, parent company to famous aircraft manufacturers Cessna, Beechcraft, and Hawker, revealed a widely anticipated new turboprop aircraft, to begin testing in 2018.

The Single Engine Turboprop aircraft, or SETP, will enter a very competitive but fast-growing market segment that includes the Swiss-made Pilatus PC-12 and French manufacturer Daher’s TBM line.

Cruising speed of the new SETP is estimated to reach 285 knots, and the aircraft can be configured to carry up to eight passengers. The cabin features a flat floor as well as a wide rear cargo and passenger door. It pressurizes to a very passenger-friendly cabin altitude of just 6,130 feet. The aircraft also has a service ceiling of 31,000 feet.

While the Textron’s Beechcraft brand already includes the well-known King Air twin turboprop line, consumer demand is increasingly moving customers toward single-engine aircraft thanks to the reliability, efficiency, and speed of modern turbine engines.

The company has also committed to using General Electric’s new Advanced Turboprop engine, a major coup for the company and a loss for Pratt & Whitney, whose PT6 line of turboprop engines has been the industry standard for over half a century.

Textron has yet to reveal the SETP’s final name, the brand under which it will live, or where it will be produced. While it is not releasing an actual number, Textron claimed in a recent press release that the SETP will deliver “best-in-class operating costs.”

The company is accepting preorders at a unit price of $4.8 million.

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Lilium - The future in aircraft - Charles D'Alberto

The world’s first electric vertical take-off and landing plane that you can fly out of your back garden.

• The egg-shaped plane, called Lilium, has been heralded as high up as the European Space Agency (ESA)
• The plane, designed by four German engineers, takes off and lands vertically, meaning it can use helipads
• Lilium has a top speed of 250mph, a range of 300 miles and only requires 50 feet by 50 feet of space

Private jet flying could change forever as the world’s first electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft is about to hit the market.

The egg-shaped plane, called Lilium, has been heralded as high up as the European Space Agency (ESA), who highlight its environmental benefits as well as not needing to land at an airport.

The plane takes off and lands vertically, meaning it can use helipads. The aircraft, designed in Germany, has a top speed of 250mph and a range of 300 miles.

In a release sent out from the ESA, Lilium co-owner Daniel Wiegand said: ‘Our goal is to develop an aircraft for use in everyday life.

‘We are going for a plane that can take off and land vertically and does not need the complex and expensive infrastructure of an airport.

‘To reduce noise and pollution, we are using electric engines so it can also be used close to urban areas.’

The electric jet is set to be available to buy in 2018, although at the time of writing, there is no indication of how much the futuristic plane will cost.

The plane has been designed with environmental targets in mind. As well as being electric meaning there are less emissions, the plane will be a lot quieter than the traditional private jet as it uses ducted fan engines.

The ESA state that although the aircraft will primarily be using airfields for landing and take-off, ‘the goal is for it to take off vertically from almost anywhere – even from back gardens.’

A pilot’s licence stipulating at least 20 hours of training is needing to guide the two-seater plane, that fits into the Light Sports Aircraft category.

A point to note is that the aircraft is designed for flying in daylight, where the weather conditions are ‘good.’

A description of the private jet on the designers’s website reads: ‘Elegance, speed, comfort and sustainability – fusing to a new form of traveling, defining a completely new form of freedom.’

Due to its smaller size, it will not have to fit into airport scheduling to land and take off.

The project, run by four Munich University graduates, began in 2015 with several prototypes based on a similar model.

This, however is the group’s first vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

Popular Science says that ‘the whole plane should fit comfortably in an area 50 feet by 50 feet, or roughly the same area as a modest helipad.’

Lilium has been designed by German engineers Daniel Wiegand, Patrick Nathen, Sebastian Born and Matthias Meiner.

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We are fortunate as humans to have lived in the same era as you #RIP #Champ #FloatLikeAButterfly

#RIP #Champ  #FloatLikeAButterfly

Helicopter crash pilot arrested at airport as he tried to leave country is released - Charles D'Alberto

A man who flew a helicopter that crash-landed next to a pub has been released without charge after being questioned on suspicion of endangerment.

The pilot, a British businessman in his 60s, was arrested by gardaí in Dublin Airport and taken to Longford Garda Station. He was questioned before being released without charge.
A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The dramatic moment the Gazelle helicopter plummeted to earth at the back of the Rustic Inn pub on the banks of the Royal Canal in Abbeyshrule, Co Longford, on Wednesday night, was captured on CCTV.

Locals said it was a miracle two men on board escaped with just cuts and bruises.
Schoolboy Ciaran Doyle (14), who witnessed the incident, was gardening with his father when they noticed the helicopter flying very low over head.

“It was hovering very low. It hit off the Rustic then flipped on to its side, and bits of it went off the side,” Ciaran said.

“I called the emergency services as soon as I could. My hand was a bit shaky but I kept it together because I had to tell them what was going on and where it was.

“The emergency services were here quite promptly and they did a very good job, because the helicopter was leaking aviation fuel as well, so that was a hazard too. Everyone was very lucky.”

It is understood that the pilot made a couple of attempts to land the helicopter on a narrow grass verge at the back of the pub at 9.15pm.

CCTV footage obtained from near the scene then shows the aircraft moving in sideways, but as it turned to face away from the pub it flipped on to its side.

The tail of the helicopter struck the building and caused noticeable structural damage, as pieces of debris landed in the water and surrounding areas. It also narrowly missed a man who had tried to move garden furniture for the landing.

The passenger was named locally as David Bruton, who is involved in the Abbeyshrule airfield. The pilot is said to have more than three decades of flying experience.

Gardaí, the Air Accident Investigation Unit and the Irish Aviation Authority are investigating.

“The issue of endangerment is being looked at in a big way here by gardaí. The pilot tried to land the helicopter in a very small, tiny, parcel of land and obviously it crashed into the back of a pub,” a source explained.

“It is a miracle that no-one was killed or seriously injured.”

The scene as view the back window of the Rustic Inn in Abbeyshrule, Co Longford where a helicopter crashed last night.

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