Raes August2013 Aerospace 1308

FIXED-WING AIR AMBULANCE

ANGLO-FRENCH MISSILE TECHNOLOGY

PILOT SHORTAGE TSUNAMI

PARIS PARIS AIRAIRSHOWSHOWREPORT REPORT

August 2013

www.aerosociety.com

An extraordinary venue set in stylish Mayfair

To make a booking or for further information contact Gareth Halstead, Events Manager on +44 (0)20 7670 4314

or email [email protected]

www.4hp.org.uk

A choice of stylish rooms suitable for meetings

and private use

Elegant setting for weddings and special

celebrations

Excellent service with exciting menu options

for all tastes

Hi-specification lecture theatre which seats

up to 250 guestsNo.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

No.4 Hamilton Place is a classic Edwardian building which has an air of old luxury with a beautiful baroque staircase, opulent Louis XVI

gilt cornicing, glittering chandeliers and our relaxing roof terrace with glorious views of Hyde Park.

Capacity for 10 - 300 guests Wi-fi internet access in all rooms

Air conditioned Access for wheelchairs

1i f

NEWS IN BRIEF

AUGUST 2013@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.com

Editor-in-ChiefTim Robinson +44 (0)20 7670 4353 [email protected]

Deputy Editor Bill Read +44 (0)20 7670 4351 [email protected]

Publications Manager Chris Male +44 (0)20 7670 4352 [email protected]

Production Editor Wayne J Davis +44 (0)20 7670 4354 [email protected]

Editorial Offi ceRoyal Aeronautical SocietyNo.4 Hamilton PlaceLondon W1J 7BQ, UK+44 (0)20 7670 4300 [email protected]

www.aerosociety.com

AEROSPACE is published by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).

Chief Executive Simon C Luxmoore

Advertising Emma Bossom+44 (0)20 7670 [email protected]

Unless specifi cally attributed, no material in AEROSPACE shall be taken to represent the opinion of the RAeS.

Reproduction of material used in this publication is not permitted without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief.

Printed by Buxton Press Limited, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE, UK

Distributed by Royal Mail

AEROSPACE subscription rates: Non-members, £140

Any member not requiring a print version of this magazine, please contact: [email protected]

Please send your order to: Dovetail Services Ltd, 800 Guillat Avenue, Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8GU, UK. +44 (0)844 848 8426+44 (0)844 856 0650 (fax)[email protected]

USA: Periodical postage paid at Champlain New York and additional offi ces.

Postmaster: Send address changes to IMS of New York, PO Box 1518, Champlain NY 12919-1518, USA.

ISSN 2052-451X

Contents

Comment

Wake-up calls

Regulars

Afterburner

The 21st Century character of air power The Sir Sydney Camm Lecture, as delivered by the then Chief of the Air Staff Sir Stephen Dalton.

Flying for your lives The special role of AirMed’s fi xed-wing air ambulance service.

4 RadomeThe latest aviation and aeronautical intelligence, analysis and comment.

9 On the move The latest aerospace job changes and promotions.

10 TransmissionYour letters, emails, tweets and feedback.

20 Awaiting the pilot shortage tsunamiA report on the second RAeS/IATA training conference.

58 The Entente Aerospatiale — time for actionKeith Hayward on the future of Anglo-French defence co-operation agreements.

42 Message from our President/RAeS Golf Day

43 Message from our Chief Executive

44 Book Reviews

47 Library Additions

48 Obituaries

52 Diary

54 Corporate Partners

55 NATS Swanwick

56 RAeS Elections

57 Society News

58 The Last Word

In the space of a less than a year, two civil airliners land short of a runway, one in Bali with Lion Air, the latest in San Francisco with an Asiana Boeing 777 with the loss of three lives.

What connects these two incidents? The answer must be airmanship, pilot monitoring and in manual handling skills. Though the NTSB is still investigating the crash at San Francisco, initial reports suggest that the approach was low and far too slow. Though there was no ILS in operation, the weather was clear and. barring an unknown factor such as a double bird strike, a visual landing should have been straightforward.

Though the fatalities were thankfully low this time, this is yet another wake-up call that manual handling skills need to be re-emphasised and given greater attention. The industry and stakeholders are already working to achieve this with new training concepts. However, the surging demand for pilots raises the spectre that this level of quality will be diluted to fi ll fl ightdeck seats.

These incidents are a warning. Next time the holes in the ‘swiss cheese’ safety model may line up completely to produce a far greater loss of life. Tim Robinson

[email protected]

12

41

Apprenticeships reach new heights An overview of the modern aero apprentice scene.

Age of extremesReport from the 2013 Paris Air Show.

Features

Targeting tomorrow Future research projects from the Anglo-French Materials and Components for Missiles Innovation and Technology Partnership programme.

Gama — 30 years of progress A look at the expanding worldwide business aviation services provider Gama Aviation.

24

30

28

34

18

OnlineAdditional features and content are available to view online on www.media.aerosociety.com/

aerospace-insightIncluding: Europe’s civil UAV roadmap released,

Sweeping up space debris, Five daily blogs live

from the 2013 Paris Air Show and

A400M readies for service.

Volume 40 Number 8 August 2013

Correspondence on all aerospace matters is welcome at: The Editor, AEROSPACE, No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK [email protected]

3

NEWS IN BRIEF

?????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??????

?????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??????

?????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??????

?????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??????

?????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ?????

4

Radome

AEROSPACE / AUGUST 2013

INTELLIGENCE / ANALYSIS / COMMENT

AestheticsExternal styling and the futuristic look of the demonstrator were developed with help from Italian car design house Stile Bertone.

Tilting nacellesSwashplateless blades are contained in tilting ducts for VTOL and conventional forward fl ight. Unlike a conventional rotor with a swashplate, each blade has its own dedicated electrically powered actuator to control the blade pitch.

Beyond hydraulicsNo hydraulics are used in the demonstrator. Instead the demonstrator's retractable landing gear, nacelle tilting mechanism and elevons are controlled by electromechanical actuators (EMA).

Carbon-fi breEntire exterior surface is carbon graphite — produced by Lola Composities in the UK. Outer wing sections can also be detached for missions primarily fl own in VTOL mode.

Agu

staW

estla

nd

AEROSPACE

Electric VTOL dreamsOne of the most eye-catching aircraft on static display at the Paris Air Show was AgustaWestland’s Project Zero electric-powered unmanned technology demonstrator tiltrotor. “The aircraft was Italian, so it had to look sexy,” says James Wang, VP Research and Technology. The aircraft has been secretly in development with a small but international design team and was designed, built and tested in the space of 12 months. The Paris Air Show was its fi rst public appearance. Project Zero is designed to test technology concepts such as propeller blade control and no hydraulics that could be used in future tiltrotor designs. (See Paris Air Show report — Age of Extremes, p 34).

5AUGUST 2013

Battery powerThe Project Zero demonstrator is powered by lithium-ion batteries. An alternative diesel-electric powerplant is planned for longer test fl ights. Windmilling rotors can charge battery storage on ground.

First fl ightsThe demonstrator has already fl own in secret in VTOL mode. Its fi rst tethered fl ight was in June 2011. A smaller sub-scale demonstrator with the same confi guration has also fl own in horizontal fl ight.

@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.comfi

Remote controlDespite the appearance of a one-person sized 'cockpit', the Project Zero is unmanned.

6

Radome


NEWS IN BRIEF

On 12 July an empty Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 on a stand at Heathrow airport was involved in a fi re incident which briefl y closed the airport. At this point it is not thought to be battery-related.

Scandinavian carrier SAS has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for eight Airbus A350-900s and four A330-300 widebodies..

On 10 July, Northrop Grumman and the US Navy made history when the X-47B UCAS made the fi rst jet UAV arrested landing on an aircraft carrier, the USS George H W Bush (CVN 77).

SpaceX has completed two more stages towards certifying its spacecraft for human missions. These included the human certifi cation plan and the pad abort test review.

Cessna has begun delivering the fi rst production versions of its all-composite single-engine Cessna TTx light aircraft.

BAE Systems has sold off its US unmanned air division which it bought in 2009 under the name of Advanced Ceramics Research. The new independent company will now operate under the same of Sensintel.

The European Commission (EC) has announced plans to cut state aid to airports that have over 5m passengers a year, as well as removing subsidies for low-cost carriers opening new routes. The EC claims that such subsidies are costing around €3bn per year.

An Indian Air Force Mi-17V5 helicopter undertaking rescue operations in the fl ooded

state of Uttarakhand crashed on 25 June with the loss of 20 onboard. Five of these were IAF crew members.

On 27 June NASA launched the Interface Region Imaging Spectograph (IRIS) space probe — designed to measure the surface of the Sun. It was air-launched from Vandenberg AFB using Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket using a converted L-1011 airliner.

Asiana 777 crash in San Francisco leaves three deadUS investigators are looking into the causes of the crash landing of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 at San Francisco airport on 6 July.

Two passengers were killed in the crash and a third died later but the remaining 288 passengers and 16 crew members were able to evacuate

safely with180 injured. Flight 214 from Incheon in South Korea hit the seawall at the edge of the airport after coming in too low on fi nal approach. The tail of the 777 broke off, ejecting two fl ight attendants out of the back of the aircraft, while the rest of the airframe spun down the runway before catching fi re. The US

Asian budget carrier Tiger Airways has rebranded itself with a new livery and the name Tigerair. The change is part of a revamp by the carrier’s Singapore-based owner Tiger Holdings which includes more online services

for customers. as well as drawing a line under 2011 when Tiger Airways’ Australian fl ights were grounded for a week.

Siberian chopper crashA Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter crashed on 2 July, killing 24 out of 28 people aboard, including 11 children.

Operated by Polar Airways, the helicopter is reported to have caught

fi re after crashing in the remote Sakha region of Siberia in bad weather.

Four survivors (three passsengers and one crew) were rescued in an operation that involved 400 people and nine aircraft.

GENERAL AVIATION

NTS

B

AEROSPACE

AIR TRANSPORT

NTSB stated that the 777 was fl ying well below its target landing speed. An attempt was made by the pilots to increase speed and abort the landing but too late to avoid the tail hitting the ground. Asiana said that the pilot landing the aircraft had nearly 10,000 hours fl ying experience but only 43 on the 777.

Reaction Engines gets Whitehall boostThe UK Government’s spending review has delivered a boost to Reaction Engines with a pledge to back its air-breathing rocket engine. The SABRE engine was picked out by Chancellor George Osborne as a technology programme the Government would support.

Tiger changes its stripes

7i f AUGUST 2013@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.com

Five people, including the pilot were rescued from the Hudson River in Manhattan after a sightseeing helicopter made an emergency ditching on 30 June.No injuries were reported from the incident which involved a Bell 206.

Lockheed Martin has demonstrated an integrated command and control system which can monitor and

control multiple types of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) at the same time. The demonstration was carried out as part of the US Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System (UCLASS).

Emirates has opened a new Aviation Experience public attraction in central London, with four fl ight simulators (2 x A380s and 2 x 777s) and other educational exhibits.

The Royal Navy has chosen Boeing’s Insitu ScanEagle UAV for its contractor-operated Maritime Unmanned Air System (MUAS) requirement.

China’s Shenzhou 10 manned spacecraft returned to Earth on 26 June. The spacecraft spent 15 days in orbit, during which it docked with the Tiangong 1 orbiting laboratory and also carried out a manual redocking.

Florida-based fractional ownership company Avantair has grounded its fl eet of Avanti P-180 turboprops and furloughed pilots and employees.

The Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) has issued a fi nal accident investigation report on the Qantas QF32 A380 fl ight in November 2010 in which a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine exploded in fl ight. The ATSB states that

the incident was caused by oil feed pipe components which did not conform to design specifi cations.

Statistics published by IATA reports that the air freight market only grew by 0·1% in May compared to April and was 0·8% down from May 2012.

Lockheed Martin fl ew the fi rst MH-60R Romeo shipborne helicopter ordered by the Australian Navy on 26 June.

CSeries maiden fl ight slips As AEROSPACE goes to press Bombardier has announced a delay to its fi rst fl ight of the new CSeries airliner to before the end of July, citing more time needed for software readiness. Ground vibration tests have already been completed on the fi rst CSeries Flight Test Vehicle 1 FTV1). The delay is the second slippage for the CSeries fi rst fl ight, with the original date for the maiden fl ight having been already shifted from November 2012 to June 2013.

AEROSPACE

DEFENCE

AIR TRANSPORT SPACEFLIGHT

BAE to upgrade RAAF Hawks

BAE Systems has won a £90m contract from the Australian DoD to perform a mid life upgrade (MLU) on the RAAF’s fl eet of 33 Mk127 Hawk jet trainers. The Project AIR5438 upgrades comprise new primary and secondary mission computers, OC2 software, datalinks and collision-avoidance systems as well as simulators and training. BAE will fi t the modifi cations to two RAAF Hawks which will bring them up to the standard of the Hawk 128s used by the RAF.

First Italian spacewalkGermanwings reborn as budget carrier Lufthansa has re-launched its short-haul subsidiary Germanwings, six months after closing the airline because it could not compete with low-cost operators. Germanwings has been rebranded as a low-cost carrier for business

travellers and will take over most of Lufthansa’s short-haul routes in Europe. Around 30 Lufthansa aircraft and 800 cabin crew will be transferred to Germanwings. Meanwhile, a new wage deal agreement for staff has averted the threat of costly summer strikes.

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano became the fi rst Italian to walk in space during his mission to the International Space Station. Parmitano spent six hours outside the ISS on 9 July working with fellow Expedition 36 NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy retrieving two materials science experiments, installing two radiator

grapple bars delivered by the unmanned SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and replacing a failed space-to-ground communications control unit.

RA

AF

ES

A


The Russian Kondor E-1 military radar satellite was launched on 27 June from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan.

The Terrafugia Transition ‘fl ying car’ is to fl y at the Oshkosh air show in Wisconsin at the end of July.

Pratt & Whitney has completed 275 hours of Geared TurboFan testing of the ultra-high bypass

system in the NASA Low-speed Wind Tunnel. It was conducted as part of NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project.

Thai Airways will now delay its planned Bangkok-London Airbus A380 service until October 2014, a slip of 11 months.

BAE Systems has reported that it has completed a series of trials to enhance the air-to-surface capability

of Typhoon with Raytheon’s Paveway IV precision guided bomb.

ESA member states have approved the design for Europe's next heavylift rocket — the Ariane 6.

Eurocopter has delivered two EC225 Super Puma helicopters to offshore operators in Vietnam and Malaysia.

Solar-powered demonstrator Solar

Impulse has completed the last leg of its coast-to-coast trans-US fl ight, landing in New York on 7 July.

Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou is to protest the airlines’ recent decision to exercise options on 33 Airbus A320s, as well as ordering 100 of the new A320neos.

The US is considering selling six UH-72A Lakota helicopters from EADS

North America to Thailand. If the sale is approved, the $77m contract would include aircraft, parts, training and logistical support.

After seven months near its touchdown point, NASA's Curiosity Rover has been ordered to drive to its mission objective, Mount Sharp, some 8km away.

The US NTSB is investigating after ten

NEWS IN BRIEF

Radome

The President of Bolivia’s VIP aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 900EX, was diverted to Vienna, Austria, on 2 July after several European countries allegedly refused permission for it to enter their airspace amid rumours that NSA whistleblower

Whistleblower hunt diverts VIP jet

An unmanned Russian Proton-M launcher caught fi re and exploded shortly after take-off on 1 July from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, crashing 2·5km away from the launch site. The launcher was carrying

three GLONASS-M navigation satellites. An accident investigation is now underway on the causes of the crash, with one Russian news report pointing to angular velocity sensors that had been installed the wrong way round.

Proton-M launcher explodes on take-off

Edward Snowden was onboard. The Bolivian President Evo Morales was on his way back to Bolivia when the Presidential aircraft was diverted. It was held there for 13 hours while authorities searched the aircraft for the US fugitive.

AIR TRANSPORTDouble delivery delight for BA

British Airways has taken delivery of the fi rst examples of two new aircraft types to add to its fl eet – the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787. The airline’s fi rst Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrived in the UK at Heathrow on 27 June after a transatlantic fl ight from Paine Field in Washington State, US, followed by the fi rst A380 on 4 July. BA plans to begin operating both new aircraft types from September. The airline has ordered 12 A380s and 42 787s, as well as six 777-300ERs and 18 A350s.

AEROSPACE DEFENCE

Saab begins assembly of fi rst Gripen E

Saab has announced it has begun assembly of the fi rst pre-production Gripen E fi ghter.The fi rst component for the Gripen E test aircraft, 39-8, was the front fuselage. Meanwhile, at the end of June, a Gripen fi red the fi rst production standard example of MBDA’s Meteor BVRAAM air-to-air missile in a trial in conjunction with Sweden's FMV.

SPACEFLIGHT

Brit

ish

Airw

ays

Sw

edis

h FM

V

i f@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.com AUGUST 2013 9

people were killed in a DHC-3T Turbo Otter crash in Alaska on 7 July.

India's Government has approved a strategic national plan to develop a 70-100 passenger aircraft for the civil market.

Nepal Airlines has fi rmed up an order for two Airbus A320 airliners equipped with fuel-saving Sharklet wingtip devices. The original order was placed in April.

France to buy Reapers in $1·5bn deal

AIR TRANSPORT

The US Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) is awaiting the results of an investigation by the Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) into the increased use of personal electronic devices (PEDs) by passengers during fl ights.

The ARC recently asked for a two-month extension to complete its report which may propose a relaxation on the

current ban on using such devices during take-off and landing. The AFA has stated that it is committed to ensuring the use of PEDs will not adversely affected fl ight safety.

Ruling awaited on passenger electronic devices

EC releases UAV roadmap

DEFENCE

The European Commission (EC) has published a new document outlining the roadmap for integration of UAVs into European controlled airspace.

The Roadmap for

the integration of civil Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Systems into the European Aviation Systems puts forward a staged approach to the sharing of skies between manned aircraft and civil UAS.

AEROSPACE

The US Congress has been informed of a potential purchase by France of up to 16 MQ-9 Reaper UAVs, in a FMS deal worth some $1·5bn.

Em

irate

s

GENERAL AVIATION

Saad Hammand, formerly of Air Berlin and easyJet, is the new Chief Executive of Flybe, replacing Jim French. French becomes non-executive chairman.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford is now Chief of the Air Staff, RAF.

Jack Wiegand, aged 21, has become the youngest pilot to fl y solo around the world.

Todd Hattaway is to

become the new VP Technical Services for BBA Aviation Flight Support division.

Xavier Tardy has been appointed new CFO of Airbus Military.

Ryanair CFO Michael Cawley has announced that he will be stepping down next year.

Eurocopter has named Norbert Durcrot as President and CEO of

Eurocopter China.

Northrop Grumman has appointed Nimish Doshi as VP Business Development and CFO for its Technical Services sector.

Colin Lewis has been appointed as the new Director of Marketing for bmi regional.

Tim Prince, Chief Executive of the Royal International Air Tattoo is to step down in September 2014. He

has been in charge for the past 42 years.

Adel Al Redha has been named Executive VP and CEO for Emirates’ Engineering, Flight Operations, Service Delivery and Airport Services while Thierry Antinori becomes VP and CEO responsible for Commercial Operations, Revenue Optimisation, Skywards, Destination & Leisure Management and Emirates SkyCargo.

ON THE MOVE

The package also includes spares, ground stations, engines and radars with the fi rst deployment of the fi rst two Reapers set to be in Mali.

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer has delivered its 400th Phenom light jet. The Phenom 300 business jet was handed over at São José dos Campos on 9 July to the German Hansgrohe Group.

400 not out for Phenom

Em

brae

r

RAeS Conference:Annual UAV Conference Unmanned Aviation: Challenges for Growth 16-17 September —London

More details:+44 (0)20 7670 [email protected]


TransmissionLETTERS AND ONLINE

Save SagittariusIn the year that the Royal Air Force celebrates its 95th anniversary I bring potentially tragic news that unless a new home can be found for Comet C2 XK699 Sagittarius by the end of the summer she will be broken up and scrapped at the now closed RAF Lyneham air base in Wiltshire. Urgent action is now required to prevent this. XK699 is the sole representative Comet C2 in existence and the only one left that spent her whole life in Royal Air Force service. I have been informed that, as owners of the Lyneham site, MoD property services provider the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), are now seeking that XK699 is now removed. My information is that if she is not removed by the end of the summer she will be broken up and scrapped. The former air base is scheduled to become the Defence College of Technical Training and the

fi rst occupants are to be the Army Corp of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). They are due to move in some time during 2015. The condition of the Sagittarius is clearly very poor and she now needs to be moved to a place of undercover storage while plans for long-term restoration and a permanent home are discussed. For the past year my understanding

had been that XK699 was to be moved to RAF Shawbury for storage ahead of fi nal restoration and a probable eventual move to the RAF Museum at Cosford. It was thought likely that on completion of XK699 restoration the existing Comet C1 aircraft housed at the RAF Museum that had originally been built for Air France and registered F-BGNZ before later returning to the UK

to be used as a fl ying laboratory for the Ministry of Technology would then be released to another UK aircraft museum. As the only survivor of 15 C2 aircraft built and as the only genuine Royal Air Force C2 aircraft having seen service from 1957 to 1967 my view is that XK699 Sagittarius is of crucial importance within the overall context of our air power heritage. I now urge all of you to do whatever you can to assist saving RAF Comet C2 XK699.

Howard Wheeldon

Global ETSThe topic of aviation and the environment was mentioned recently in the April issue by Professor Hayward(1) — something with which the Society’s Greener by Design team (GbD) are very familiar. It is now critical that there should be suffi cient consensus on aviation emissions at the next International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in September for EU member States

de Havilland DH106 Comet C2, XK669 (initially G-AMXB), of RAF Transport Command. RAeS (NAL).

(and others) to adopt that consensus (whatever it might be) so as to avoid any resumption of the trade war which had started in response to the EU Emissions Trading System (now ‘on hold’ internationally to see if ICAO can achieve a global consensus). As a member of the 17-nation High Level Group, the UK is playing a leading role in these efforts and already benefi ts from the impartial GbD output. UK endeavours could also be reinforced by an equally impartial input from the Air Law Group to demonstrate the primacy of ICAO versus EU obligations. Moreover the Society has already been granted ‘observer status’ in ICAO. Thus there is an unprecedented opportunity, if not a need, for collaboration between GbD and the Air Law Group (ALG) to provide a co-ordinated impartial, rational foundation in support of the elusive global consensus. The stakes have never been higher.

Harold Caplan

Cockpit confusion

Just been browsing the latest AEROSPACE magazine — still loving the new publication. The picture on p 26 of the July issue credited as ‘A Hawker Siddeley Trident cockpit of the 1960s(2) is not that of a Trident. I’ve attached a couple of photos for comparison (a Trident is on the left). The picture published in the magazine is very similar to the Yak 40 cockpit on the right (note the side-mounted yokes).

Graeme Catnach

i f@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.com 11AUGUST 2013

OnlineAdditional features and content are available to view online at http://media.aerosociety.com/aerospace-insight

1. The Last Word, So what has Brussels done for you, Aerospace International, April 2013, p 34.2. Knowledge transfer, AEROSPACE, July 2013, p 26.3. Book Reviews, No Empty Chairs, AEROSPACE, July 2013, p 48.4. Radome, Eco-elegance, AEROSPACE, June 2013, p 4.5. http://media.aerosociety.com/aerospace-insight/2013/05/31/where-next-for-europes-defence-aerospace-indus-try/8183/6. http://media.aerosociety.com/aerospace-insight/2013/06/28/sweeping-up-space-debris-can-it-be-solved/8352/

Mess high jinksFirstly, congratulations on a great read — the new style July magazine is excellent quality, and full of interest. Secondly, on p 48, Christian Busby reviewing I Mackersey’s book(3) was interested to learn that [the boisterous mess game] ‘High Cockalorum was banned in the 1950s’. So am I. As a young pilot/fl ying offi cer in the early 1970s, I can remember playing, certainly at RAFC Cranwell in 1973 and maybe after! And it’s not old age playing tricks with my memory — I wasn’t born until 1950!

Graham Evans Too good to be trueFirst, let me say that I really appreciate the new format and content of AEROSPACE. However, I notice that a gremlin has crept into the June feature on the AGA-33 future fuel-effi cent design(4), relating to the aircraft’s performance.Apart from the grace of God, things that seem too good to be true, generally are. This relates to the fuel consumption shown as 93mpg. Would not that be great if it were true! If we take the fuel burn as being 4,500lb per hour, and the specifi c gravity of Jet A1 as 0·79, the consumption expressed in Imperial gallons would be: fuel burn = 4,500lb/2·20462 = 2,041kg/hr = 2,041kg/ 0·79SG = 2,583 litres/hr = 2,583/4·54 = 569 imp gal/hr. The aircraft cruises at 468mph for a range of 4,600 miles. Therefore, the fuel consumption would be 468/569 = 0·82mpg (still OK).

Jim Charlesworth

@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.comi f

@TonyGarnerBAE [On latest issue of AEROSPACE] looking good. really impressed with the design and layout of the mag.

@CrispinBurke I miss the golden years of fl ight simulators (Started with F-19 Stealth Fighter, ended with Falcon 4.0)

@4tis [on Satellite Debris removal(6)] The trick is doing it without creating more debris. I worry about things like the harpoon.

Careers callAfter a while of looking at the AEROSPACE magazine I just want to say that it’s fantastic. Looking at the design, it is laid out very cleanly and many of the articles and sections clearly shows its heritage to the past. I like the use of images and colour in particular and would say that photos say more than words. One of my real favourite features of the magazine is in p 12 which shows instant statistics of a particular topic or subject. I also like the use of the font and the font size. With the reduction of the word count on the articles reading feels more enjoyable rather than a chore. One suggestion I have is to add a careers section somewhere in the magazine. Perhaps sounding somewhat biased on this point but, since this magazine would

Response to Where next for Europe’s defence aerospace industry?(5) David Gardner says: But we are buying major platforms, e.g. F-35, at a price which is unaffordable, a project we will not control and is at the expense of our indigenous capability and future exports. We have a very capable alternative in Typhoon which we are contracted to buy and which still has major development potential, leaving open the option of a united European project for the future instead of reliance on the USA (or others) forever more if we lose our design capability.

The European nEUROn UAV on display inside a protective bubble at the 2013 Paris Air Show.

@SimoneRoche Delight-ed to present Jenny Body OBE @Jeffi nerB with @women1st #Shineawards Lifetime Achievement award @AeroSociety with @clarewalkerWAAC

also be aimed at younger members, I think this would be a good thing to add.

Joseph Ho-wing Cheung

Never too earlyI just thought I would share this photo (right) with you. My one-year old fi nds your latest edition of the magazine very interesting. It’s never too early too entice their interest in aerospace :) And keeps him quiet in the car!

Sara Krauss

@BarnettDaniella Had a wonderful evening and met some brilliant people yesterday at the @AeroSociety Amy Johnson Named Lecture. #Aero #engineering #women

@nessysilva Everybody follow @RAeSTimR for #PAS13 updates! My visit to Le Bourget was far too short but Tim’s tweets keep me posted.

@MrCellaneous [on a story of a German F-104G Starfi ghter that skipped the water on a target strafi ng run] A German (sub) Marine F-104G.

12 AEROSPACE / AUGUST 2013

DEFENCERAF Chief of the Air Staff

The 21st Century Character of

Air PowerOn 10 June at one of his fi nal public speaking dutiesbefore handing over to his successor, Air ChiefMarshal Sir Stephen Dalton FRAeSChief of the Air Staff, Royal Air Force gavethe Sir Sydney Camm Lecture. We presentan abridged version of his speech.

Sir Sydney Camm’s accomplishments are undoubtedly well known but I want to highlight his passion for aviation and his determination to improve the technology that underpins it; he was an innovator in

the fi nest British tradition.The thirst for the new and the need to exploit

the novel runs deep within the airman’s psyche and are essential ingredients for a contemporary air force. Collectively, we must always strive to push forward the boundaries of aviation and invest in the new. It is for this reason that innovation is one of the foundation pillars of the strategy for the future Royal Air Force and one I will come back to later.

History — the relevance of air power

Over a century of British military aviation offers a smorgasbord of examples of the critical relevance of air power from which I could choose but I have chosen some that I think highlight the innate ability of airmen to innovate in times of need.

In the fi rst part of the First World War, aircraft were predominantly used to support other military roles through activities such as artillery spotting and reporting enemy dispositions. Only four years later, aircraft operated by an Independent Royal Air Force, conducted interdiction missions against airfi elds and industries deep behind enemy lines, commanded by a great visionary, Major General Hugh Trenchard.

Only one year after the Great War, and with mounting fi nancial constraints, Trenchard offered a new and innovative way of policing the large and ungoverned space in the British Empire.

Known as Air Control, Trenchard’s approach combined accurate political intelligence from locally deployed offi cials with effective air power action.

British Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa, was the fi rst region where air control was utilised. Such was its success, in controlling the belligerent tribes and insurgents, at less than one tenth of the cost of the previous manpower intensive approach, that the air control concept was transported to Iraq and Afghanistan in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

This pioneering use of aircraft to support political intent, demonstrated the utility of air power to shape regional dynamics better and to prevent confl ict from escalating through swift and proportional intervention from the air.

These early doctrinal roots have grown deep and inculcated the RAF with an ethos and heritage built around agility, adaptability and deployability.

During the Second World War, the Government directed Bomber Command offensive was the only direct means of attacking the Third Reich, in its lair, as the Allies fought to stem the inexorable surge of the Nazi War Machine. This year’s 70th Anniversary of the iconic 617 Sqn Dambuster raid is the ultimate example of technical innovation, by Barnes Wallis when he developed his ‘Bouncing Bomb’, combined with ultra-low level fl ying, of Guy Gibson’s aircrew, saw the agility of the aircrew and the adaptability of the Lancaster deliver an innovative capability which still inspires us all today.

In Gulf War I, air power’s destruction, fi rst of the Iraqi Command and Control capacity and the Integrated Air Defence System, and then of Saddam’s deployed forces was decisive, although

13AUGUST 2013

largely unseen by the world’s media and sparsely recorded in the ledger of the day. The results are self-evident: the Iraqi Armed Forces and their leadership were so unhinged by the air campaign as to leave them metaphorically prostrate for the subsequent land force attacks.

Recent operations

Meanwhile in June 1999, NATO suspended air strikes in Yugoslavia after Slobodan Milosevic ceded to demands and agreed to withdraw his forces from Kosovo. Again in 2011, with proxy forces fi ghting the land campaign or, from the Libyan Freedom Fighters’ perspective — NATO proxy forces providing the air and maritime contribution – it was once again the air campaign which utterly degraded the capability and will of Gadaffi ’s forces to continue the oppression of their own people.

And today, in Afghanistan, the aircrew of the Royal Air Force Tornado GR4, Sentinel, Shadow, Reaper, Hercules and Chinook aircraft are operating across the entire country supporting ISAF and Afghan security forces with intelligence gathering; armed over-watch and, if absolutely, necessary precision attack; air command & control; aerial re-supply; casualty evacuation; aero medical evacuation back to the UK; base security and force protection by the Royal Air Force Regiment and Police; forensic analysis; battlefi eld mobility; counter-IED and, of course, air transport to and from the UK.

This vast array of tasks collectively provides a signifi cant asymmetric advantage to ISAF and ANSF forces. Air power provides them the freedom of manoeuvre to conduct their vital security operations with far less cost in blood and treasure.

Without doubt, air power has been a revolution in military affairs; its development rapid and its impact enormous and yet I see new innovative air power concepts everyday and the use of technology that Sir Sydney Camm would have loved to develop but could have only dreamed of.

The early characteristics of air power such as speed, reach and vantage, are now complemented with precision and persistence; especially through the use of space assets. It is these characteristics, underpinned by a credible and capable air force, which provide the political manoeuvre room and expand the decision-making options that have come to underwrite the British, indeed Western, way of war.

Partnerships

But it is important that we remember that it is airmen who are at the heart of air power, not our equipment and, since the inception of military air

power, there has always been a common bond amongst airmen from all nations. That bond is fundamental to our ability to work together with our allies, as we have done so successfully on so many occasions often unexpectedly and unplanned, such as the seamless co-operation with the Emirati and Swedish Air Forces over Libya two years ago.

Over two decades of constant operations for the Royal Air Force east of the Suez and in the Balkans has seen us integrate with a variety of different air forces and helped to inculcate a cross border, cross culture, yet ‘understood’, way of operating within the air environment. This was exemplifi ed by the NATO Operation Unifi ed Protector in Libya which saw the safe and highly effective integration of 195 aircraft from 14 NATO member nations and four non-member nations’ air forces.

The development of the common bond between airmen is underscored by long-term partnerships. These take many forms but at the heart of them all is NATO. Our Secretary of State and the Chief of the Defence Staff have both reaffi rmed the importance NATO must play in our future planning. Whilst interoperability of our equipment, our doctrine and our information systems is vital to ensure effective planning and activation, the best equipment in the world is only operationally effective if it is underwritten by the substantive co-operation of our trained people. To this end, I am ensuring that some of our very best people are placed in key roles throughout NATO and as Air and Defence Attaches around the world.

In these fi scally constrained times, it is clear that the UK needs to be able to rely on its allies

RA

F/C

row

n C

opyr

ight

IN 2011.. IT WAS ONCE AGAIN THE AIR CAMPAIGN WHICH UTTERLY DEGRADED GADDAFFI’S FORCES TO CONTINUE THE OPPRESSION




to provide combat mass and niche capabilities. Additionally, the pooling and sharing of operationally effective resources — not automatically or necessarily the buying of the same aircraft or weapons — becomes ever more attractive to minimise the cost of programmes. It is also vital that we retain some national capabilities so that, if a member of the Alliance is not willing to participate in a particular operation for whatever reason — the willing can still commit to an operation and use their assets — the key, of course, is having the right to use common infrastructure even if certain parties or countries are not participating.

The NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force — more commonally referred to as AWACS — is a good example of a model where the pooling of assets provides a combined capability which is greater than the sum of the parts.

Moreover, such a model allows national control of sovereign assets, if the political need arises: the use of our E-3D AWACS to control and oversee the evacuation of UK nationals from Libya, as the security situation deteriorated, is a perfect example of this fl exible model in action.

Adopting a similar approach, Sentinel could form part of NATO’s Airborne Ground Surveillance requirement to complement the fi ve unmanned Global Hawks it is in the throes of purchasing. Sentinel’s wide area surveillance capability provided by its multi-mode radar offers timely, fully releasable intelligence products that are highly sought after, as demonstrated so effectively on operations in Afghanistan, Libya and Mali where the physical scale and remoteness of the area of operations makes a ubiquitous gaze a diffi cult requirement to fulfi l with limited assets.

Like the UK’s E-3D, Sentinel could be fl exed from NATO to national tasking as the need

and priorities arise, providing NATO with the operationally proven capabilities in a highly capable and readily deployable platform based capability.

The future

In recent years, just as Sydney Camm’s Hurricane, Hunter and Harriers formed a chain of innovative designs that kept RAF air power at the leading edge of capability and exploited innovative technology to the full, the advent of Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS), like Reaper, is now allowing the RAF and others to exploit contemporary technology to the full. Looking towards Future Force 2020, the increasingly close relationship between the information environment and our more traditional kinetic assets underpins our concept of Combat ISTAR.

And let me be clear, it is a concept, not a role nor a mission type. Combat ISTAR exploits the strength of a networked system of combat and ISTAR assets rather than merely using the capability of individual platforms alone. It exploits shared information so that fl eeting targets can be identifi ed, tracked and engaged by the most appropriate weapon system, even in cluttered and contested operating environments.

Central to Combat ISTAR is the need to maximise the advantages of being able to secure, dominate and exploit the information high ground.Put simply, it interweaves the sensors and effectors into one system of systems with the decision maker at its core. Today, the concept is delivering but the potential to do so much more is manifest, as early operational examples utilising Sentinel, Sentry, Typhoon, Tornado and Reaper in Afghanistan and Libya have proven.

I believe that it will become increasingly important, as we seek to integrate cross-component capabilities to counter more complex and sophisticated threats and to be able to prove that what we did was necessary, proportionate and caused the absolute minimum of collateral damage and injuries to non combatants on the ground.

The merging of multiple roles onto single platforms is likely to increase and will be complemented by increased potential for electronic attack and novel weapons such as directed energy weapons. This blending of capabilities to complement and enhance kinetic attack will expand the utility of the Combat ISTAR concept.

Step change in multi-role

F-35 Lightning II and the ongoing developments of Typhoon will see a step change in the multi-role missions we can undertake. E-Scan radars; advanced ESM suites and other sensors will provide

Air Control — old style — RAF Westland Wapitis

RA

eS/N

AL

15AUGUST 2013

far greater situational awareness than before as well as a greater range of tools — kinetic and non-kinetic — with which to respond.

Networking of these systems and real-time reach-back to analysts and commanders will further enhance the quality and timeliness of the decision-making and also the provability.

I use the vision of an agile, adaptable and capable RAF to describe who we are, what we do and how we painstakingly plan every mission and every attack. Increasingly, I have sought to improve our ability to prove that what we have done, the effect that we have had, was exactly that which we set out to achieve, no more no less and with the minimum of collateral damage but nothing in this operational environment is guaranteed. That is why the concept of provability of our actions is so important.

Provability is now demanded by the media-hungry public. The rise of the citizen journalist can put unedited, unanalysed images onto our screens within minutes of the event occurring. Thus the battle of the narratives is key. The battle for information, the battle for legitimacy, is now vital ground. And the battle for legitimacy is contested every day: on ops and during peacetime.

The case for RPAS

Also critical to the future force mix and the realisation of the Combat ISTAR concept is achieving the correct ratio of manned to unmanned platforms. I have gone on record twice before, and do so again today, to say that one-third unmanned to two-thirds manned is where we should be heading in the 2030 timeframe. But we must act now if we are to achieve this.

This leads me onto the topic of unmanned air vehicles — UAVs — and remotely piloted air systems, or RPAS. And let me be clear here, the

lexicon matters. As Min(DEST), Philip Dunne, succinctly put during a commons debate on the very subject.

‘In this debate, I shall use the term RPAS—remotely piloted aircraft systems — as the more accurate description of their capability… Although the vehicles are unmanned, the system is guided by a whole team of highly trained and skilled people. Pilots, sensor operators and analysts all make decisions in real time, just like the crew of a manned aircraft. Defence remains a human endeavour.’

The use of the term drones to describe these systems by commentators and the media merely fuels a narrative of autonomous robots seeking out and destroying targets without human intervention. Of course, nothing nothing could be further from the truth.

RPAS are now an integral component of our force mix and a key contributor to the Combat ISTAR concept. They change the platform from which effects can be achieved, not the effects themselves, nor the legal and ethical framework that underpins everything that we do.

The use of remotely piloted systems for civilian purposes and military operations is increasing despite ill-informed opposition. History has shown time and time again that it is better to embrace new technologies and control them appropriately than try to deny their existence or constrain their usage unnecessarily. There are now over 50 countries who operate a variety of unmanned or remotely pilot systems with many of them developing their own indigenous capabilities.

RPAS can and do conduct multiple mission types for extended periods of time. Their capabilities are exemplifi ed by the RAF Reaper force. Our Reaper operators are highly trained qualifi ed pilots, all drawn from our high calibre offi cer cadre. They operate in Afghanistan using the same strict Rules of Engagement as manned

SENTINEL COULD FORM PART OF NATO’S AIRBORNE GROUND SURVEILLANCE REQUIREMENT


Lock

heed

Mar

tin

Sensor fusion on nextgen fi ghters such as the F-35 will expand the combat ISTAR concept



aircraft and when they use their weapons, they do so in accordance with the same legal and ethical frameworks. The only difference is that pilot and airframe are not co-located.

All our Reaper pilots are offi cers; highly trained; and highly regarded by all those who use their capabilities and, most importantly, those troops on the ground who rely upon them to cover their backs.

This is why I believe they have such a lot to offer in the Future Force mix and why I am keen to invest in their development. Importantly we need to evolve the current capability towards operations in contested environments. This requires early R&D if technological aspects are to be suffi ciently mature.

Innovation to the fore

This is where UK innovation comes to the fore with the work we are jointly doing with industry through programmes such as Taranis.

Sir Sydney would have approved and sought to be a part of the Taranis advanced technology demonstrator programme exploring the future of remotely piloted combat aircraft systems. It brings together several new technologies from a variety of UK industries into a single system with the aim of demonstrating the potential that unmanned systems can play in the future force mix. This programme is not only vital to our future security but it will also ensure that the UK retains a sovereign and competitive aerospace industrial base in the future aviation market place. I am sure that is something that Sir Sydney Camm would have applauded.

In parallel, there needs to be a positive dialogue about the legal and ethical issues underpinning their utilisation so as to educate those who don’t understand how or why we employ these systems. This is essential if we are to avoid unnecessary

constraints imposed upon the civilian and military utilisation of this key capability.

Enablers

I also want to cover the vital role played by the oft unsung but, in reality vital enabling capabilities such as our air mobility and force protection forces.

The crises in Libya and Mali, coupled with the unfolding realities of the US rebalancing to the Asia Pacifi c, have exposed the delicate state of NATO’s enablers, in particular: air-to-air refuelling assets, responsive ISR — especially wide area — and air command and control capabilities — especially Information Systems. The requirement for European air forces to provide such enablers is on the rise.

We should be honest about the fact that Europe’s air forces were challenged by the requirements of concurrent operations in Afghanistan and fi rst Libya and then Mali.

Our own C-17s were involved in assisting the French military to move supplies and personnel into Mali; deploying UK personnel to act as military advisors and helping to train the Malian army; and to move members of Ghana’s Engineering Company and Nigerian forces to Mali’s capital with vehicles and equipment as part of the African-led international support mission.

And concurrently, we deployed the Sentinel to support operations in Mali at the request of the French government to help meet a shortfall in their wide area surveillance capabilities over the vast and remote areas of that country. Sentinel enabled the French to understand insurgent behaviour better and to optimise the activity of their ground forces in the inhospitable terrain. Sentinel also cross-cued French air assets onto numerous areas of suspicious activity, including suspected insurgent

MoD

/Cro

wn

Cop

yrig

ht

16

6,663 RAF AERO-

MEDICAL

EVACUATIONS

FROM

AFGHANISTAN

TO UK:

1 JAN 2006 —

31 MARCH 2013

Reaper RPAS ground control station.


encampments and border and river crossing points.It was only though the dedication and

commitment of our airmen and women, both on the ground and in the air, that we managed to service the coalition and bilateral requirements, whilst still delivering the operational level support to ISAF in Afghanistan.

A tall order with so few assets, but one which demonstrates the continuing need for a highly responsive, modern and capable air force to support our key allies and partners, whenever and wherever it is in the national interest to do so.

But, ultimately, it is the people who turn technology into capability; people who are experts in their profession with a comprehensive knowledge of the operational environment, the science and practical conduct of aerial warfare and commanders and experienced airmen trained, educated and knowledgeable in the art of aerial warfare, such as those in our Joint Force Air Component Headquarters or the JFAC. Those in the JFAC HQ make the vital difference, provide the battle winning command and control; without such expertise we would be hard pressed to employ the technology championed by Sir Sydney Camm and his successors.

Summary

In summary, air power has fundamentally changed the character of warfare. Indeed, it now serves to underwrite much of the UKs way of war.

It is air power’s inherent strengths of agility, adaptability, deployability, precision and reach which enables it to respond wherever and whenever it is

required. It is not, and should not be, tied to one single geographically bounded requirement when its very characteristics fi t it for far greater agility and delivery of multiple effects in both time and space

Air power must enable political decision making by providing options. It must support the strategic narrative, be that through a national or international deterrence posture, the reassurance of allies and partners, increased vigilance over potential trouble spots, or potentially coercive intervention through the application of lethal and non lethal force. The effects it can achieve, in isolation or as part of a joint force, are manifest, integratable, scalable and can be achieved at real value for money.

Future air power technology must seek to offer options which are relevant and convincing. Convincing to our adversaries and convincing to the tax payer.

One way to do this is through the development of the Combat ISTAR concept and by unlocking the potential of an appropriate proven mix of manned and unmanned capabilities. Our current platforms are the trailblazers but investment in the networks that support them and their successors is essential to realise the true potential. If Sir Sydney Camm were here, I am sure that he would say Amen to that. Technology offers great opportunities for the future whether that be on earth or in space. But, it is for us to encourage and support the engineers, the technologists and the scientists to exploit that technology and to continue to give us, the practitioners of aerial warfare, the tools which we can add our skills, our knowledge and experience of the art of warfare to deliver the opportunities for the politicians to negotiate the peace we all seek.

EUROPE’S AIR FORCES WERE CHALLENGED BY THE REQUIREMENTS OF CONCURRENT OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN AND FIRST LIBYA AND THEN MALI

Sir Sydney Camm Memorial lecture sponsored by

Could the RAF Sentinel R1 follow the AWACS model of a pooled NATO asset?

MoD

/Cro

wn

Cop

yrig

ht


Air ambulance Fixed-wing operators

WE WOULD BE CALLED WHEN THE PATIENT EITHER REQUIRES INTENSIVE MEDICAL INPUT ... OR WHERE TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND NEEDS TO BE EVACUATED TO A PLACE OF SAFETY

AND BETTER CARE

Jane ToplissDirector of Business Development, AirMed

medical capabilities, including neonatal, high-risk obstetrics, paediatric and intensive care. The company has EURAMI ‘Special Care’ accreditation, as well as being compliant with all Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulations.

Patient retrieval

“We can be called for both emergency and non-emergency patient retrieval,” explains AirMed’s Director of Business Development, Jane Topliss. “Essentially we would be called when the patient either requires intensive medical input, or is not suitable, for whatever reason, to go on a commercial airliner, or where time is of the essence and needs to be evacuated to a place of safety and/or better care. Our patients range from premature babies through to elderly citizens in terms of age and can be trauma injuries or illnesses or a mixture of both.”

“When we operated smaller and shorter range aircraft we were very affected by seasonality,” she continues, “but, since we introduced jets, the peaks and troughs have evened out. We still see some seasonality, however, though the main differences seen throughout the year are the destinations and

W ‘hen you hear the words ‘air ambulance’, the fi rst image to come to mind is usually that of local charity or emergency services helicopter. However,

fi xed wing aircraft also play a vital role in medical transport. The largest fi xed-wing air ambulance operator in the UK is AirMed which carries an average of 600 patients per year.

Based at London Oxford Airport, AirMed operates a fl eet of six aircraft — two Learjet 35As and four Piper Cheyenne turboprops. The turboprops operate around Europe and Northern Africa while the Learjets can fl y to anywhere in the world, including recent trips to Goa, Bangkok and Brunei.

Founded 28 years ago, AirMed now has over 40 employees working in fl ight and ground operations, maintenance, medical, accounts and marketing. The majority of its fl ights are paid for by health and travel insurance providers but the company also provides support to the MoD, overseas governments, corporate clients and charities.

In recent years. AirMed has made considerable investments into new medical equipment and personnel on its aircraft to increase its range of

Flying for your livesAirMed is the UK’s largest fi xed-wing air ambulance operator with a fl eet of sixaircraft carrying 600 patients per year. BILL READ reports from Oxford Airport.

AND BETTER CARE

Jane ToplissDirector of Business Development, AirMed


slots” says Topliss. “Generally ATC is extremely fl exible in their approach to us as they take our status into account and try and accommodate our needs as much as possible. This is not just with preferable routing but also accommodates our request for changes in fl ight levels, for example, due to turbulence or due to the patient needing a lower cabin altitude. There have been times when we have had to signifi cantly deviate from our fl ight plan due to the patient’s needs and so instead of fl ying at the planned fl ight level of 450 we have changed to FL250, although this is extremely rare due to the extensive patient assessment prior to mission activation.”

Other services

In addition to medical evacuation, AirMed’s aircraft can be swiftly reconfi gured for non-medical fl ights, such as VIP transport or the delivery of an urgent aircraft on ground (AOG) part. However, such work is becoming rarer.” Over 97% of our work is air ambulance and so it is now very rare for us to undertake other charter work,” Topliss points out.

Third party MRO

In addition to medical evacuation, AirMed’s also operates an Engineering Department which is Part 145 and EASA Part 145 Part M approved and offers maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Cessna and Piper aircraft. Work includes aircraft maintenance for the Irish Air Corps, MRO for Cessna C208 Caravans and the fi rst UK conversion of a Cessna C208 Caravan on to fl oats is scheduled for later this year. The department also offers assistance with surveys, technical record checks and systems upgrade for anyone wishing to purchase or sell an aircraft.

“The reason we have our own engineering division is to ensure aircraft availability,” explains Topliss. “Due to the nature of our work and the high utilisation of the aircraft, short turnaround times are extremely important. Having our in-house team means that our fl eet of aircraft get priority for all scheduled and non-scheduled maintenance, reconfi gurations can be done immediately, aircraft stretchers and equipment fi ttings can be maintained appropriately, interiors can be designed and modifi ed to suit medical requirements and cleaning and infection control procedures can be completed after every fl ight.”

Future

Looking to the future, AirMed is looking at ways of improving aircraft availability across a wider range of geographical locations. The company is currently reducing its number of Cheyenne IIXL turboprops and will shortly be looking at the possible acquisition of another larger turboprop or jet.

the age ranges/types of injury/illness sustained. During the ski season we see a considerable number of our patients having trauma injuries. At other times we may see a peak in the more elderly patient having complex needs following strokes, cardiac arrests or cancer. The summer season can see more of the younger generation with injuries sustained during high risk sport activities like scuba diving, mountain and quad biking, climbing, parasailing and surfi ng.”

Team effort

During a fl ight, each patient is accompanied by highly trained and experienced medical teams. “In an air ambulance the crew doesn’t just comprise of fl ight crew but also includes the medical crew,” states Topliss. “Each has to support the other to ensure appropriate patient care and safe aircraft operations. Following a detailed planning process within the operations and medical departments, we have a pre-fl ight briefi ng with all of the crew members to highlight any potential issues or factors which need to be taken into account. Does the fl ight need to be fl own with a sea level cabin pressure due to the patient having an air pocket in their brain cavity? Does a stepped climb need to be carried out in order for the medical team to assess how the patient’s vital signs are reacting to the changes in cabin altitude? Is turbulence going to be an issue? Do additional analgesics (pain killers) need to be given prior to or at a particular point in the fl ight due to forecast turbulence, clear air or cloud? If there is a tech stop scheduled and the weather on the ground is forecast to be very hot, does an air conditioning unit need to be requested and brought to the aircraft during the tech stop? What would the plan of action be if for any reason there was a need to divert due to the patient deteriorating to a point where hospital facilities were needed (for example if the patient was haemorrhaging and more blood products were needed)? Where are the most suitable hospital facilities along the planned route and do they coincide with a suitable airfi eld?”

“We can carry up to two patients at a time,” she adds. “However, if there was any risk of a patient deteriorating during the fl ight, we wouldn’t put them with a second patient, as the medical team could not provide optimal care to both of them simultaneously.”

Priority fl ights

When an AirMed mission is underway, the fl ight is entitled to use the STS/HOSP term on its fl ight plan to give it priority over non-emergency traffi c. “In addition we have approval from the CAA to be AFTM EXEMPT which means we are exempt from fl ight plan restrictions and should not be delayed by ATC

In addition to operating a fl eet of four Piper Cheyenne turboprops

and two Learjet 35As

which can be fi tted with the latest specialised medical equipment,

AirMed also operates an engineering department which can maintain its own fl eet and offer third-party MRO services

Left: One of AirMed’s specialist teams after successfully completing a recent neonatal mission from Denver, US.

All

pics

AirM

ed

TRAININGRAeS/IATA Conference

Tsunami IAN STRACHAN, FRAeS, FlightSimulation Group reports from theSecond RAeS/IATA training conference which highlighted both progressin international standards and concerns over future aircrew shortages.

In June, the Society and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) held a conference at Hamilton Place on ‘the IATA Training and Qualifi cation Initiative (ITQI), Improving Training Provision’. In her welcoming remarks, Society

President Jenny Body pointed out that there were over 120 delegates from no fewer than 25 different countries, showing the international interest in the subject and the suitability of the RAeS as a venue.

The opener was Jens Bjarnason, IATA Operations Director, who pointed out that his organisation represented some 240 airlines and about 84% of total air traffi c. Although accident statistics for western-built aircraft were at an all-time low1, there was room for improvement, particularly in some parts of the world. Figures were good for airlines in the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) programme but were much poorer for non-IOSA operators in Africa and the CIS which includes nine states from Armenia to Uzbekistan and Russia2. Turning to forecasts of future growth, fi gures from Airbus and Boeing indicate that about 1,700 new commercial air transport (CAT) aircraft will be produced each year between now and 2031. Furthermore, some 23,000 new pilots will be required each year over the same period, with the highest growth in the Asia-Pacifi c region. This will require a major overhaul of training and 2007 saw the launch of the IATA Training and Qualifi cation

Initiative (ITQI). Its objectives are to modernise the training of pilots and maintainers, to seek regulatory harmonisation, to encourage a fl exible workforce with good qualifi cations and to improve the attractiveness of our industry to the young. ITQI covers the initial selection of cadet pilots, the various phases of training, then assessment for fi nal qualifi cation for licences. It is therefore said to be a ‘Total System Approach’ and includes Pilot Aptitude Testing (PAT), the Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL), Evidence-Based Training (EBT), Instructor Qualifi cation (IQ), Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTD), and engineering & maintenance training. IATA manuals giving guidance material and best practices for these subjects are now available, see www.iata.org/itqi. So, although the world industry is generally in good shape, there is still much to do in some regions and training for the large growth forecast needs urgently addressing.

Huge future growth The last point was amplifi ed by Captain John Bent, Chairman of Training Practices for the International Pilot Training Consortium (IPTC, see later). Expanding on the fi gures given above, he noted that, in the next two decades, commercial aircraft fl eets are forecast to triple in Asia and double elsewhere. But, forecasts of increased activity have proved wrong in the past, due to unforeseen events, such as the 9/11 attacks, the fi nancial downturn, bank failures and so forth. However, he suggested


Awaiting the pilot shortage

1,700 NEW AIRLINERS BUILT EACH YEAR BETWEEN NOW AND 2031

23,000NEW PILOTS NEEDED EVERY YEAR BETWEEN NOW AND 2031

1. Hull loss rate approaching one per 5 million sectors fl own.2. For IOSA-certifi ed European airlines, about one accident per 2 million sectors fl own; but 6 accidents per million sectors for non-IOSA African airlines and over 15 for non-IOSA CIS airlines.

Captain Dieter Harms

that current projections are more widely accepted and should be planned for.

Considering the US airline industry, he said that it was about 34% of global activity, contributing some $1·3 trillion to the national economy, 5·2% to GDP and 376,000 jobs to the nation’s workforce. There were, however, major problems in the future. For instance, in November 2012, The Wall Street Journal said that US airlines are facing their most serious pilot shortage since the 1960s, with Congress-driven higher experience requirements (1,500 hours) for new pilot hires just as the industry braces itself for a wave of retirements. The FAA’s head of fl ight standards, John Allen, said in 2012 that the projected retirement numbers are “astounding and dramatic” and, a more serious point, “we don’t have a system to address this issue.” There was a possibility, John Bent said, that any spare US training capacity, now used by many airlines in Asia, could be completely absorbed by this US-only demand. The largest US airline trade group, Airlines for America, forecasts that 60,000 pilots will be needed by 2025 to replace departures and cover expansion. A report on pilot supply dated 15 March 2013 has been produced by the US Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) and the US University Aviation Association (UAA). This suggested that the likely result of inadequate staffi ng could be the reduction of fl ying in markets served by regional airlines and this could cause disruption to the entire airline industry. The report concluded that urgent efforts to fi ll the future pilot shortage should begin now.

China crisis?

Turning now to China, its Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) regulates 33 airlines and forecasts a need for over 18,000 new pilots by the end of 2015 (less than two years to go!). Because there is a shortfall in pilot trainees in China, large numbers must be trained overseas, topped up by pilots from other countries who can be paid up to

$180k pa to work in China. Looking wider to the whole Asia-Pacifi c region, between now and 2030 over 10,000 new pilots are forecast to be needed each year. John Bent suggested that training resources in the region would develop but the downside was that this could take ten years or more to cope with forecast demand, not only for pilots but also for maintainers.

Another complicating factor was that airline piloting careers in many regions are less attractive than before, due to factors such as fatigue, jet-lag, shift work, pay, security restrictions and lifestyle generally. Young ‘digital natives’, he suggested, are unlikely to see a piloting career as attractive as in the past. Apprenticeship models are needed, such as the UK Higher Apprenticeship in Professional Aviation Pilot Practice (HAPAPP), an initiative of industry and the RAeS (see Apprenticeships reach new heights p 30). A recent RAeS survey found that 62% were not satisfi ed with current world training standards and 97% saw a benefi t in having international standards for fl ight crew training (see later under IPTC). We already have some tools, he said, and many organisations as well as IATA are addressing future training, and recent ICAO documents have been published on the subject. However, he said that the adoption of ICAO training guidance by National Aviation Regulatory Authorities (NAAs) is slow. Also, the opportunity for NAAs to fi le differences to ICAO, may often be based on attachment to legacy ideas. He concluded that available tools are not being used and that real action is needed.

On ‘what to train’, the classic engine-failure case is now rare but poor reaction to unexpected events and mishandled go-arounds are more common. On the latter, he said that go-arounds rarely occur at the briefed missed approach height, are often poorly performed and have led to accidents. Furthermore, “unstable approaches” are only about 4% of the total but 97% are continued to landing, and 10% result in an abnormal landing, just under 0·4% of total landings. For instance, each year some 30


CA

E O

xfor

d A

viat

ion

Aca

dem

y

DON’T LET US WAIT UNTIL THE PILOT SHORTAGE TSUNAMI HITS US

Eager fl ying training students — but can the pilot production pipeline keep up with demand?


TRAININGRAeS/IATA Conference

over-runs occur, some being severe cases with fatalities.

Summing up, John Bent asked for “clearance for take-off” for safer and harmonised global training standards. This was a disturbing presentation, the implications of which need to be taken on board in many areas of regulation, training providers and airlines if the huge forecast expansion in commercial aviation is to be achieved while at the same time maintaining safety standards.

The Multi-Crew Pilot Licence

One subject that was mentioned in many presentations was the Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL). This uses less real fl ying but much more training in simulators to familiarise the MPL graduate with the right-hand seat role that he or she will occupy with the sponsoring airline. Compared to the traditional CPL syllabus, the MPL contains considerably more ‘cockpit time’ and its fi nal stage includes experience in a Level D Full Flight Simulator, so that conversion to the right hand seat of the airline’s aircraft will be seamless.

Dieter Harms, the ‘father of the MPL’, talked about improving training through the MPL system. He saw a change from training being task-based to being competency-based. Furthermore, the correct management of threats and even errors in the air was part of being competent. He had a dream of a ‘globally harmonised pilot qualifi cation standard’. Up to the end of 2012 there had been about 2,200 MPL students worldwide and about 750 had graduated and were fl ying with their sponsoring airlines. The most growth was in Asia. He wanted to increase the global implementation of MPL and concluded by saying: “Don’t let us wait until the pilot shortage tsunami hits us”.

Brian Haigh of CTC Aviation said that a major difference in the MPL system was the early involvement of the airline in the training process itself, and that a particular challenge was the training of instructors for the new syllabus.

Captain Bai Honqui of the Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) described their MPL course. CAFUC has 200 aircraft at fi ve training bases, 380 instructors and processes 1,200 ab initio students per year. Airline passenger numbers in China had increased from about 190m in 2008 to 320m in 2012, a 68% increase over fi ve years, about 14% per year. Over the same period, pilot numbers in China had increased from 17,300 to nearly 30,000, a 73% increase or 14·5% pa. The CAFUC MPL course had 320 cockpit hours, starting with 95 fl ying hours in a Cessna 172 or equivalent type. The 225 simulator hours are in three phases, basic, intermediate and advanced. On graduation the student will have carried out take-offs and landings in an A320 or Boeing 737 simulator, ideal background for a quick conversion to the airline’s operational type, and quite different to the traditional CPL.

Captain Burkhard Kruse of Lufthansa said that his airline had converted from CPL to MPL courses, and that 20% of MPL students had better grades on conversion to Lufthansa right-hand seats than previous CPL graduates. There was also a 15% reduction in costs. Commenting on the use of simulators in the MPL syllabus, “the right sim for the right task” could be used, from FTD up to FFS at the end of the course.

ICAO Document 9625

Peter Tharp of the RAeS Flight Simulation Group (FSG) briefed on the implementation of ICAO Document 9625 on worldwide simulator criteria.

CA

E

IT IS EASIER TO PRODUCE AIRCRAFT THAN PROPERLY TRAINED PILOTS

FSTDs at the new CAE-Emirates training centre


In documents like this, the term ‘Flight Simulator Training Device’ (FSTD) is used instead of ‘simulator’. This term includes lower-level Flight Training Devices (FTD) up to Full Flight Simulators (FFS) with big outside-world visuals and full 6-axis motion. 9625 was drafted by an International Working Group (IWG) with members from airframe manufacturers, regulatory authorities, simulator manufacturers, pilot representatives and so forth, chaired by a member of the Flight Simulation Group (FSG) of the Society, monitored by the FSG Among other things, the 9625 work has reduced 26 previous simulator categories to seven, the most capable being the new ‘Type 7’, equivalent to a Level D with enhancements in areas such as air traffi c management and motion cueing. The third edition of ICAO 9625 Volume 1 was published in July 2009 and has been implemented by some regulatory authorities but disappointingly is forecast to be implemented by the US FAA and EASA only by 2016.

Enhancements to Volume 1 proposed by the RAeS-led International Committee for Aviation Training in Enhanced Envelopes (ICATEE) include modelling and cueing for stall and post-stall fl ight, the result of accidents such as Colgan 3407 near Buffalo and Air France 447 in the Atlantic. It was pointed out that the RAeS Annual Flight Crew Training (FTC) conference on 25-26 September would concentrate on ICATEE matters, with the title ‘Upset Prevention, Recognition and Recovery Training’. Finally, Volume 2 of ICAO 9625 is for helicopters, was published in 2011 and, in terms of implementation, is at an earlier stage compared to Volume 1 for fi xed-wing aeroplanes.

International Pilot Training Consortium (IPTC)

Peter Barrett of the RAeS briefed on the International Pilot Training Consortium (IPTC), of which he is Executive Chairman. This body is a partnership between ICAO, IATA, IFALPA and the Society. The four Consortium partners aim to build on work achieved to date in the commercial air transport sector, on pilot, instructor and evaluator training and qualifi cation, further reducing the accident rate, and ensuring suffi cient competent pilots in the future. IPTC originated during the Society’s 2011 Flight Crew Training Conference after a meeting between the RAeS President, the

Director of the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau, FAA Administrator, EASA Rulemaking Director, IATA VP Operations, and the Chief Executive of the UK CAA.

IPTC’s ‘mission statement’ includes the development of an international agreement on common standards and processes for pilot training, instruction and evaluation, with a view to ICAO making appropriate provisions in these areas. IPTC has a Steering Committee and Workstreams for Regulation, Pilot Competence, Pilot Recruitment, Training Devices and Training Practices. In the Regulatory area there will be an MPL Symposium at ICAO HQ in Montreal on 10-12 December 2013. On fl ight simulators, IPTC will support the implementation of ICAO Doc 9625 by National CAAs, expand mutual recognition of simulator qualifi cations, and review ICAO provisions for simulators. Additional work includes taking forward the results of the International Committee for Aviation Training in Extended Envelopes (ICATEE) which recommended more Upset Prevention & Recovery Training (UPRT) in both initial and recurrent pilot training. To register for IPTC email: [email protected]

Conclusions

This important conference illustrated both progress and uncertainties in the commercial air transport sector, and there was much more than can be covered in a short article. Training aids are now of very high quality and vary from basic Flight Training Devices to top-level Full Flight Simulators with big visuals and all-axis motion. This was emphasised by FSG Chairman Mark Dransfi eld who said that simulation technology is no longer an issue and, with recent progress “it’s all there” in new fl ight simulators. The Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) exploits these simulators and prepares new pilots for their future environment in the right hand seat Looking wider, the Society has a key role in the International Pilot Training Consortium (IPTC) and recent accidents show the need for more upset prevention and recovery training, the subject of the Society’s September Flight Crew Training Conference (see panel on right).

The major problem for the future is the supply of properly trained pilots and engineers to support the large expansion that is forecast between now and 2030. Predictions are for some 1,700 new aircraft and no fewer than 23,000 new pilots each year. It is easier to produce aircraft than properly trained pilots, and this is the world ‘pilot shortage tsunami’ referred to earlier, for which at present there seems to be no satisfactory solution. Spirited action is required if these huge numbers of pilots and maintainers are to be properly trained and commercial aircraft safety maintained while this expansion takes place.

Brit

ish

Airw

ays

RAeS Conference:Annual International Flight Crew Training Conference: Upset Prevention, Recognition and Recovery Training25-26 September - London

The 2013 Conference at the Society’s Headquarters in London will examine and discuss the challenges of upset prevention and recovery training. In addition to other papers on this theme, the RAeS International Committee for Aviation Training in Extended Flight Envelopes (ICATEE), which arose from the highly successful June 2009 conference on this subject, will report on their progress.

More details:+44 (0)20 7670 [email protected]


MISSILESAnglo-French researchAnglo-French research

Targeting tomorrow The Anglo-French MCM-ITP research programme is looking at innovativeways to develop and improve complex weapon technology for next generationmissiles. BILL READ reports from Lille in France on the latest developments.

MCM-ITP IS A UNIQUE MODEL WHICH HAS PROVIDED UNIQUE GRASS ROOTS RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

Mark SlaterFuture Systems DirectorMBDA

The Materials and Components for Missiles Innovation and Technology Partnership (MCM-ITP) is a UK and French government-sponsored research programme designed to develop novel,

exploitable technologies for future missiles. Funded 50% by the French Direction Générale

de l’Armement (DGA) and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and 50% by industrial partners, MCM-ITP has an annual budget of up to €13m. The programme is open to participation by all UK and French companies and academic institutions, 49 of which are participating in current projects and 89 of which are involved in the overall programme.

Since being launched in 2007, MCM-ITP has held two previous meetings to review progress — at Lille in 2009 and Manchester in 2010. This year, around 250 delegates returned to Lille on 22-23 May to review the fi rst fi ve years of the programme.

Research targets

The aim of MCM-ITP is to develop future UK and French military capabilities at a lower cost by sharing the research budget. The research projects are divided into eight different technical ‘domains’, comprising: systems, radio frequency (RF) sensors, electro-optic (OE) sensors, rocket propulsion, air-

breathing propulsion, warheads, fuzes & self-arming units (SAUs) and materials & electronics. Led by an industrial consortium partner, each domain includes a mix of major UK/French defence companies, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and academic institutions. The research areas vary depending on the specialisation of each domain but, common aims are to reduce the costs of missile development, production and lifecycle, increasing performance. Projects are looking both at new concepts and ways to improve existing systems.

During the Lille conference, technical presentations were given on 32 of the current projects with others being summarised in poster format. A selection of current MCM-ITP projects and participants are listed later in this article.

“MCM-ITP is a unique model which has provided unique grass roots research development,” explains Mark Slater, MBDA Future Systems Director. “Across the eight domains of MCM-ITP you've got real experts in their fi eld who are looking for new ideas. It has also been particularly good at setting up relationships between key defence industry players, industry and researchers that didn't exist before. As confi dence has grown, MCM has got better and better and it is starting to produce some really interesting results which we are beginning to use in actual projects."

25AUGUST 2013@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.comi f

MCM-ITP:

€13M ANNUAL BUDGET

30% OF FUNDS GO TO SMES AND LABORATORIES

90 RESEARCH PROJECTS OVER FIVE YEARS

40 PROTOTYPES AND ALGORITHMS TESTED

89 UK AND FRENCH INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS, SMES, RESEARCH CENTRES AND ACADEMIA

RESEARCH PROJECT EXAMPLE 1

Guidance in Uncertain Shooting Domains (GUSD)Once a long range air-to-air missile has been launched from an aircraft, to maximise the chances of a successful engagement, the shooting pilot needs to maintain a telemetry link with the missile until it can lock on to its target. However, maintaining this link over time may increase the risk of the attacking aircraft coming under fi re itself. Breaking the telemetry link too early, so that the attacker can get to safety, may mean that the missile misses its target. Currently, military pilots must rely on their training and judgement regarding the optimal time to fi re and track a missile. The GUSD project uses algorithms to intelligently calculate all the likely evasive manoeuvres taken by the enemy aircraft and work out a percentage probability of the missile’s likelihood of success. This information would be displayed on a pilot's head-up display (HUD) — as illustrated on this page.

MB

DA

26

MISSILES Anglo-French research


1. Basic principles of technology observed and reported

2. Technology concept and application formulated

3. Analytical and laboratory studies to validate concept

4. Components validated in a laboratory environment

5. Components demonstrated in a valid environment

6. System prototype demonstrated in a relevant environment

7. System prototype in an operational environment

8. System qualifi ed through test9. System proven through operational

operations


Dual Band Polarmetric Target DiscriminationA problem currently being faced in modern warfare is how to differentiate between military and non-military targets in a cluttered environment. This research project uses a dual band polarmetric infrared camera which can more clearly identify targets by measuring both refl ected heat and the properties of light which they refl ect. With this camera it is possible, for example, to see vehicles partially concealed by trees or railings in both day and night time conditions (highlighted in yellow on illustration). Such equipment could be used as part of a missile seeker system or in a loitering UAV.

Maturity levels

For a new research idea to progress from a concept to a working system, it has to progress through nine technology readiness levels (TRLs), starting from a basic concept and ending up in a proven system (see table on left). “The function of MCM-ITP is to take concepts up to TRL 3 and 4,” says Mark Slater. “To go beyond that level, you need to look to places such as the Weapons Science and Technology Centre (WSTC) run by DSTL which can take such ideas and develop them into products.”

Not all the projects being looked at in MCM-ITP will progress beyond the research stage. For a concept to be developed further, it needs more 'serious money' to be spent on it to develop working demonstrators and prototypes. In some cases, the cost of such investment is greater than any benefi ts that might be acrued — although the knowledge gained during research may be used for other projects and may be returned to at a later date. Among the MCM-ITP projects that have so far failed to get off the drawing board due to issues of complexity or cost are work on aerodynamics fl ow, multi-domain options for missiles, human-in-the-loop research and open architecture power management systems.

“Not all the concepts worked but the vast majority was good research,” observes Mark Slater. “MCM-ITP is like a funnel into which you put concepts and speculative ideas, sift through the best ones and then home in on the most attractive product that meets the needs of customers for future military technology. The key to success for a project is to marry with a product, reduce costs or increase performance.

}TRLs covered by MCM-ITP

Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs)

Moving on

When MCM-ITP was fi rst set up by the British and French governments, it was decided that the project would run for an initial six years. However, the project has been such a success that the two governments have agreed that it should continue for a further six years at a similar level of funding and a new agreement (currently being referred to as MCM-ITP 2) is being drafted prior to launching a new tranche of research and call for proposals.

MB

DA


ACADEMIC PARTNER EXAMPLE

University of BirminghamOne of the academic institutions participating in MCM-ITP is the University of Birmingham which is looking at the possibilities for future missile component construction offered by advanced processing of metallic and ceramic materials, including laser metal deposition (LMD), selective laser melting (SLM), hot isostatic pressing, friction welding and gel casting of ceramic materials.

Examples of 3D printed metallic missile components on display at the University of Birmingham stand.

MB

DA

FUTURE PROJECT EXAMPLE

PerseusOne of the next generation weapons projects which could benefi t from MCM-ITP research is MBDA’s CVS401 Perseus supersonic naval and land attack weapon system. Being developed as one of the company’s Concept Visions projects, Perseus is a 5m-long ramjet-powered stealth missile capable of speeds up to Mach 3. In addition to its own warhead, Perseus also carries two additional guided effectors which could be used for dispersed attacks on large warships or ground-based missile systems.


Materials for Hypersonic Structures

There has been much interest recently in the development of new-generation missiles which could travel at supersonic and hypersonic speeds. However, one of the problems with designing missiles to travel at such speeds is that the skin temperature of the vehicle can rise to over 1,000°C — which is higher than traditional aluminium structures can tolerate. Hypersonic airframes need to be manufactured from expensive and heavy high-temperature tolerant materials, such as titanium and ceramic matrix composites (CMC). This project is looking at the potential of a low-cost alternative to CMC materials called HVN-CMC — a carbon fi bre reinforced ceramic matrix which can be formed into complex shapes and can withstand temperatures up to 1,100°C. A test missile nose cone made of HVN-CMC was on display at the event (inset picture).

MB

DA


General AviationAviation services provider

Middle East and Asia. A year ago, Gama announced a new Hong Kong operating base offering aircraft management and charter services throughout Asia. The recent expansion of services has included the exclusive provision of executive aircraft, FBO and maintenance services at Sharjah International Airport and the establishment of Gama Engineering Ltd, offering fi xed and rotary wing aircraft operators a comprehensive design, manufacturing, certifi cation, maintenance, repair, overhaul and modifi cation service at Fairoaks. The group’s most recent acquisition is Ronaldson Airmotive, fully EASA Part 145 certifi ed for the provision of engine and component overhaul services.

According to Edwards, the commercial focus at Sharjah is good, with excellent crew facilities, hangar space and executive lounges. The increase in bizjet aircraft movements at Sharjah in 2012 was 89%. Edwards said that, while Middle East growth was steady, the Asian market was potentially a high growth market but access was diffi cult at present. Europe is struggling in diffi cult circumstances but Gama is diversifying into management and charter operations, and maintenance. Over the coming years there will be a need for more crews and more engineers. “We’ll always need people with the right skills,” he said. Asked where the staff were coming from today, he replied: “Largely by word of mouth. There is more variety today, with more diverse jobs and new destinations being added to operations. Safety is paramount. The emerging markets still rely on experienced crews — there remains a great shortage.”

Gama is a worldwide business aviation services organisation, founded in 1983, and now employing over 400 personnel, fl ying 80 aircraft with over 30 operating bases across Europe,

the Americas, the Middle East and Asia. In the UK, Gama has its headquarters in the impressive business aviation hangar complex at Farnborough. These huge, spotlessly clean hangars, provide a state-of-the-art environment for bizjet operations and the modern Gama offi ces refl ect a dynamic image that is at the heart of the company’s aspirations for growth.

While visiting the UK from his HQ in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, AEROSPACE was able to talk with Dave Edwards, Managing Director of Gama Aviation — and currently the youngest Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He began his career at the age of 14, cleaning and refuelling aircraft at weekends before moving, after achieving his degree in Transport Management, into Executive Aircraft Handling at Luton and Heathrow Airports. In 1998, he began his association with Gama Aviation, in the Operations Department at Fairoaks Airport in Surrey. Gama was then a fi ve-aircraft operator, having started off with a Beechcraft Baron used on air taxi operations. Edwards was promoted in 2005 to Group General Manager and helped oversee the growth of the business with charter certifi cates in Europe, North America and the Middle East. For the past two years he has been responsible for the group’s development in the

RICHARD GARDNERtalks to Dave Edwards, MD of

international aviation servicesprovider Gama Aviation.

Gama — 30 years of progress

400Personnel

80Aircraft

30Operating bases


THE OLD CUSTOM OF CHATTING ABOUT INCIDENTS OVER A BEER IN THE BAR IS NOT ENOUGH — WE NEED A MORE STRUCTURED APPROACH BRINGING OPERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE TOGETHER FOR EVERYONE’S BENEFIT

Dave EdwardsManaging Director, Gama Aviation

Left: Gama is headquartered in Sharjah, UAE. Gama. new SMS initiatives was the launch of the ‘Safety in Numbers’ campaign. This highlights ten areas of safety operational and environmental risk and gives a largely risk focused approach for the Gama team to proactively manage and explore opportunities for improvement.

European expansion

Meanwhile, Gama has also been raising its European profi le. In November 2012 the company opened a new operating base at Geneva. Operations commenced with a Gulfstream V and Learjet 45, joining an existing Learjet 45 based at Zurich. The new company offi ces are located within Geneva Airport’s Executive Terminal. In the UK, the Gama group has teamed with the MoD to support the RAF’s fl eet of Shadow R1 electronic surveillance special missions aircraft. These platforms are based on the airframe of the well-proven Beechcraft King Air 350 and were acquired under an Urgent Operational Requirement to provide specialist ISTAR capabilities as a gap-fi ller in the operational theatre. The Shadow support team was awarded the UK MoD, Chief of Defence Materiel (CDM) Commendation ‘in recognition of exceptional support beyond normal performance expectations’. As well as providing UK support and logistics supply, Gama provides service engineering teams and supply chains to support the aircraft around the world.

The award was presented by Bernard Gray, Chief of Defence Materiel and the head of the MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation. Gama’s Support Services Engineering Director, Paul Bristow, said: “Keeping an operational military registered aircraft within civil oversight has been no mean feat but has demonstrated the industry’s ability to adapt and come up with innovative ideas.”

Consolidation

Gama Engineering Ltd saw the coming together of Lees Avionics and the engineering teams from Mann Aviation Group (Engineering) Ltd last September, with a focus at Fairoaks on a very comprehensive facility at the airport where it all started. Gama Engineering completed its 50th EASA STC, a milestone for the design offi ce with detailed design and certifi cation of a Garmin G600EFIS system into a BN Islander used by the Belgian Coastguard. The work was carried out on behalf of ASP Avionics from Belgium.

Underlining the serious progress being achieved by Gama’s onward expansion was the appointment last year of Sir Ralph Robins, former CEO of Rolls-Royce, and one of the aerospace sectors most respected leaders, as Non-Executive Chairman of Gama Group. Thirty years on, the future looks bright.

Last December, Gama announced that it had added fi ve new aircraft to its Middle East fl eet. This included an additional Embraer Legacy 600 and a Challenger 604 to its UAE-based charter fl eet and, a Legacy 650, Hawker 800XP and VIP Boeing 737 to its growing regional management fl eet. Although Gama is well established at Sharjah, with an additional base in Dubai, the fl eet growth marks the company’s expansion into Abu Dhabi. Edwards said: “To enter our fourth year of operations in the Middle East on such a positive note is very rewarding. The regional market for business aviation remains positive, if slow, so it’s pleasing to see that the hard work and customer service ethic of our entire team here is gaining signifi cant traction.”

In March 2013, the company said that it was to add a Legacy 600 to be based at the Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi. This aircraft was proving popular with regional customers thanks to its two separate cabin zones that allow for increased privacy for up to 13 passengers as well as a large baggage compartment. The aircraft also has an impressive long-range non-stop capability fl ying at 575mph, allowing direct fl ights from Abu Dhabi to Geneva, Moscow or Bankok.

Safety management

Earlier this year, Gama launched a new Safety Management Scheme (SMS) initiative. Intended to pre-empt business aviation regulatory requirements, Gama’s investment in its new SMS initiative is aimed at further enhancing the levels of both safety and service delivery. The company currently operates in some of the world’s most challenging locations and environments and as Edwards points out: “The SMS initiative makes it as good as it can be. Pooling knowledge makes a difference. The old custom of chatting about incidents over a beer in the bar is not enough — we need a more structured approach bringing operational knowledge together for everyone’s benefi t. Feedback on how we manage and look after aircraft, spares and supplies and deal with customer needs is making sure we are very safe. We have a series of visual focus reminders which help to change attitudes and we also use statistics to highlight certain benefi ts,” he added: “We have a blame-free culture but compare what was expected and what we have delivered. Monthly feedback goes into a management newsletter which is read right through the organisation. After a fl ight, all data is fed back and we can use this at the next training event. This is very useful to spot where an incident might become a trend and the analysis is shared widely.” One of the fi rst of the

CAREERSApprenticeship rennassiance

It is a myth that apprenticeships equal greasy hands and limited horizons. ROSALIND AZOUZI, RAeS Careers and

Education Manager, provides an overview of the modernaeropace and aviation apprentice scene.

While, for many, apprenticeships have been the backbone of the UK engineering sector it is only recently that changes in Government policy, including

increases in university tuition fees and renewed support for apprenticeship training, have driven both employers and young people to look at alternative career pathways. The pendulum appears to be swinging fi rmly back in favour of apprenticeships. Aerospace and aviation employers are also increasingly offering apprenticeships in other parts of their business and the recent announcement of the Higher Apprenticeship in Professional Pilot Practice takes apprentice training to the skies and demonstrates the increasingly important role apprentices will play in the future of the aerospace industry.

However, are schools aware of the opportunities on offer and do apprenticeships suffer a reputation as a low-aspiration career choice among those who infl uence young people’s career decisions? And what is the role of professional bodies in recognising and supporting apprenticeship providers and apprentices and promoting apprenticeships to young people?

Engineering the skills chain

At the top end of the supply chain, BAE Systems is an example of a UK prime investing heavily in training. Richard Hamer, Director of Education & Head of Early Career Programmes, estimates that BAE Systems’ investment in education and skills in 2012 was: “£80m which includes the combined development and salary costs of their apprentices and graduates.” He also says: “Presently, the return on investment between graduate schemes and apprentice schemes is fairly similar but we are

watching carefully the impact of tuition fees on graduates, particularly in engineering and science disciplines. Clearly, long term, if there are insuffi cient numbers of quality graduates in the subject areas we need, then we are likely to invest more in areas such as Higher Apprenticeships.

Investment in skills and our future workforce is a core part of our UK business strategy. This is exemplifi ed by our Group Managing Director, Nigel Whitehead who is a Skills Commissioner for UKCES. We have also published our ten-year Skills 2020 strategy to demonstrate this long-term commitment.”

At Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, apprenticeships have underpinned the company which has run an unbroken apprenticeship programme since the 1920s. According to Rob Butler, Manager of AeroAcademy: “The scheme is seen as the jewel in the crown” at a company known both for providing high standards of aircraft maintenance and aerospace design expertise. Butler adds: “The scheme has the full support of the Marshall family who recognise what apprenticeships deliver to the business both now and in the future.”

Marshall ADG runs Craft and Design Apprenticeships with many apprentices going on to complete an Honours degree and gain Chartered status.” So, says Butler: “There is the full career path available to them.” He believes this also helps reduce attrition levels as many apprentices stay on with the fi rm and go into senior management.

Airlines are also an important link in the engineering skills supply chain. British Airways Engineering re-introduced its Apprenticeship programme three years ago and now recruit 100 aircraft engineering apprentices annually as well as investing a further £70m into their engineering facilities at Heathrow, which includes A380 and 787 capability. Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited


Apprenticeships reach new heights

THOSE WHO PERFORM BETTER IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS HAVE HAD HOBBIES WHICH LEND THEMSELVES TO HAND SKILLS, SUCH AS CAR OR BIKE MAINTENANCE

(MAEL) recruit around 12 apprentices each year for its aircraft maintenance programme which has an A Licence built in. Numbers may also increase in future years — as well as the company’s successful Luton and Manchester bases, MAEL is building a new hangar at Birmingham airport which will create 150 new jobs with the potential for a further 150 and will focus on third party maintenance provision from UK and overseas airlines.

Quality and quantity of applicants

Despite concerns that apprenticeships have a poor reputation, aerospace and aviation companies appear to be inundated with applicants.

For example, Butler says that Marshall ADG receives around 200 applications each year for its scheme which has around 16-20 places. Location can be an issue for Marshall which is based in Cambridge. Rob says: “Cambridge is an expensive place to rent property and apprentices also need to drive to work due to hours and poor public transport.”

At MAEL applicant numbers are even higher with 650 applicants in 2013. Jeff Brewer, Engineering Training Manager, says they assess everyone who applies. Brewer does have concerns about school performance, particularly as he feels a C grade in GCSE Maths does not mean the candidate’s Maths skills are of high enough standard for their programme, particularly in areas such as fractions. Monarch’s partner college will provide Functional Skills support for those who require a better standard of Maths which, Brewer says, “often provides better preparation for the workplace than GCSE Maths”. MAEL work closely with local schools to promote the scheme but can see a confl ict with schools who have sixth forms, as they want students to stay on.

Nonetheless, BAE Systems is also attracting high numbers of applicants. Fraser Kennedy, HR Manager — Employer Ownership & Defence Partnering, says: “We received 1,000 applications for the 45 advanced engineering apprenticeships commencing this September for our Military Aircraft business in Preston.” However, Kennedy believes there is an issue further down the supply chain. “Anecdotal feedback from SMEs is that they often struggle to attract quality candidates for apprenticeships and, likewise, they fi nd the quality of training from some training providers not to be always fi t for purpose.” To address the issue, BAE Systems received funding under the Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot (EOP) scheme to begin a Level 3 advanced engineering apprentice overtraining scheme based in Preston from this September. “We had funding for 50 apprenticeships but we have had to lower our target based on demand from local companies,” says Kennedy. “This is likely due to a combination of factors, including the current economic/business conditions; lack of familiarity with the over-training concept, plus employers looking for long-term apprentice training provision, whereas we currently only have funding for single, ‘pilot’ phase.”

Why did not more SMEs commit to the scheme? Fraser comments: “Taking on an apprentice is a major, long-term commitment for an SME and under present economic conditions, some are reluctant to make that investment. Likewise, there is still some scepticism with SMEs regarding the quality of some apprentice training provision. We make a signifi cant investment in our apprentice scheme that well exceeds the funding we draw down from the Skills Funding Agency.”

Hand skills Another issue highlighted by both Butler and Brewer is the hand skills requirement for both organisations’ Advanced Apprenticeship schemes. Both use practical tests during the selection process. Butler says: “Testing hand skills makes the recruitment process more complex and expensive but essential to the role. Engineering capability is just as important as interest in aircraft.” Butler has noticed a pattern emerging among candidates whereby those with high academic achievement have lower manual dexterity. He worries that with the pressure on schools to achieve higher grades that young people are spending more time on their studies to achieve these and less on hobbies which help develop the practical skills required for the apprentice scheme. He notes that often, those who perform better in the recruitment process have had hobbies which lend themselves to hand skills, such as car or bike maintenance. Brewer adds: “Hand skills are simply not encouraged in schools, and


Airb

us

In demand:

200applications for

16-20places(Marshall)

1,000applications for

45places(BAE Systems MAI)


CAREERSApprenticeship rennassiance

graduates who apply after university are particulary weak when it comes to hand skills. Our assessment takes both theory and practical aspects into account as a combination of both is important to succeed.”

Funding

How important is Government apprenticeship funding to employers? Both Marshall and Monarch work with partner colleges who draw down Government funds to contribute to training costs but, as Brewer notes: “Funding is not the main driver in assessing a candidate, most important is that they have the right skills.”

Butler agrees. “We look ahead to our business needs over the next few years and work with our local college who can draw down funding but also look to get best candidate, even if not eligible for funding due to age, etc.” However, Butler believes Government support is essential to apprenticeship providers, without which many would not operate and also for Government to “show their commitment to skills development.”

The funding landscape is changing, such as the UK Commission for Employment’s EOP programme which encourages industry leadership. Phase 1 applications were announced in September 2012 and Phase 2 applications will be announced in the summer of 2013. BAE Systems was successful in bidding for Phase 1 funding and Fraser says: “One of the advantages of the EOP funding to employers is that it enables large employers to use their surplus apprentice training capacity to help support small companies in their supply chain and wider sector. We can offer the proven experience we have built up over many years.’’

Aircraft regulations

For MRO providers, matching apprenticeship framework requirements with aircraft regulatory requirements offers additional challenges. Butler notes it can be a struggle to match NVQ and City & Guild requirements with CAA requirements and believes greater dialogue is needed between awarding bodies and regulators to better align modules to encourage people into the industry.

Colleges also have to adapt. Brewer says it took some time for their partner college to adapt

to the aircraft industry approach and the ‘100% right or in the bin’ standards but now have a very robust programme in place. Brewer’s concern is of those applying from university having completed B Licence modules but without the appropriate practical experience and sometimes unrealistic salary expectations. Brewer says: “Going to university can make it harder to work in aircraft maintenance afterwards” and advises those on this route to address the hand skills requirements and needs of MRO employers.

Return on investment

Most employers agree that they will contribute substantially to apprentice training and the development of new programmes. As Hamer points out: “It is true that the relative return on investment of apprentice and graduate programmes are fairly similar but, importantly, apprentice retention is better than graduate retention. Apprentices are recruited locally and are more likely to stay with our businesses.”

Generally speaking, apprenticeships are an excellent way to retain staff. Monarch has also found that attrition rates among apprentices are lower, and most stay with the company, meaning they are less affected by skills gaps later down the line, such as a lack of B1 Licensed Engineers. At Marshall, Butler admits that some of their apprentices are poached by other companies but notes they usually stay within the aerospace sector thus retaining skills and this also helps demonstrate that Marshall are setting high standards which can lead to more business for the company.

Gender divide

However, Butler highlights that lack of female apprentices as a persistent problem and is a focus for Marshall’s current marketing campaign. In 2014, its Insight into Aerospace programme — which offers two one-week sessions for selected young people to visit all areas of the Marshall business, carry out engineering exercises and experience many aspects of working in the industry — will include a girls-only week. That said, Butler says many girls are not progressing through the selection stages, usually due to not performing well on tests looking at three-dimensional ability. This may be due to less encouragement in activities which develop these skills at a younger age, and we would like to look at ways to improve girls’ performance in these skills.

BAE Systems has also made diversity a focus of its EOP2 proposal which includes Level 2 intermediate apprenticeship concept for local schools. This would provide the opportunity for year 10/11 students to come into its facilities for one day per week to get a ‘hands-on’ qualifi cation over a

Upskilling the supply chain BAE Systems have also been ‘over-training’ applicants to place them with SMEs.

BA

E S

yste

ms


two-year period. Kennedy says: “We would also use this to help address some of our business diversity and inclusion targets to attract both females and ethnic minorities into careers in engineering to refl ect the communities we work in.”

Branching out

British Airways Engineering and BAE Systems are also investing into Business Apprenticeships. BAE Systems has found that attrition levels for graduates on their commercial programmes are higher than they would like, saying: “The ‘big four’ [fi nancial] consultancies can offer more than we can and we have experienced resource shortages for commercial and procurement graduates once they have received their professional accreditation.” Furthermore, the BAE Systems Business Apprenticeship will also allow the company to incorporate business-specifi c experience, such as exposure to US Government DoD sub-contractors requirements which would not typically form part of a usual academic degree.

Finally, apprenticeships have taken fl ight with the Higher Apprenticeship in Professional Aviation Pilot Practice which launched in April 2013, enabling aspiring pilots to become apprentices during their fl ight training and gain a Bachelor’s degree, as well as their commercial pilot’s licence. Applicants can apply directly to participating fl ight training organisations and will be able to access fi nancial support through the Student Loans Company, a UK fi rst. It is also envisaged that airlines will take on pilot trainees who can then earn an apprentice wage to also help reduce the fi nancial burden. This marks a step change for pilot training and, over the coming months, we will report on those who undertake the programme and similar projects being envisaged for other parts of aviation.

Recognising apprenticeships:

the Society’s roleNAOMI PAGE, Membership Manager, Royal Aeronautical Society, reports.

Airbus apprentices can now obtain professional registration via the Royal Aeronautical Society.

GOING TO UNIVERSITY CAN MAKE IT HARDER TO WORK IN AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE AFTERWARDS

In 2013, the RAeS has run a number of initiatives to support apprenticeships. In March we introduced the new ‘Apprentice Affi liate’ grade of membership which is for those on a recognised full-time Craft Apprenticeship. Higher apprentices can also become members by applying for our ‘Student Affi liate’ grade.

The Society also hosted the fi rst ‘Apprentice Engagement Forum’ in May this year. This event was an opportunity for both apprentices and employers to hear about apprenticeship schemes within the sector. The day included presentations from the Society’s President, Jenny Body OBE, Semta, a specialist economist from Kings College London, the Engineering Council and also apprentices from MBDA, who shared their experiences and how to get the most out of apprenticeship training. The Society’s newly formed Education and Skills Committee and the Young Persons Committee are keen to hold a similar event next year and develop ways in which the Society can further support the professional development of apprentices. This year’s annual secondary schools event, the Ballantyne, also compared apprenticeship with graduate routes into both sectors and we will also maintain this theme in the coming years to help inform young people, parents and teachers about the advantages both offer.

The Society can also approve Higher Apprenticeships for Incorporated Engineer (IEng) status and Craft Apprenticeships for Engineering Technician (EngTech) status. Airbus has already taken advantage of the approval for both schemes. Gary Griffi ths, Head of Apprenticeships for Airbus in the UK, commented: “I am delighted with the agreement we have reached with RAeS on having our apprenticeships approved for EngTech and IEng. The new Apprentice Affi liate now enables us to use the Society for all our apprentices in the future.” The Society hopes to meet with other industry leaders to approve their apprenticeship schemes in the coming months.

Jeff BrewerEngineering Training Manager, Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited

Airb

us


SHOW REPORTParis Air Show 2013

Age of extremesWhile civil aerospace continues to soarever higher, the defence sector remainsovershadowed by dark clouds.TIM ROBINSON and BILL READ reporton the highlights from the 50th Le BourgetParis Air Show, held on 17-23 June.

Extremes of dark clouds, torrential rain followed by blazing sunshine during the week at Le Bourget were perhaps a metaphor for the increasing disconnect between booming civil and and stagnant

military aerospace sectors.The week of trade at the 50th Le Bourget saw

some $150bn worth of deals signed, representing 1,250 aircraft — the vast bulk of these civil airliners. Both major OEMs in the form of Airbus and Boeing secured billions of dollars in orders — adding to their already bulging backlog and indicating that the global economy is moving back into better times. (see Order Summary page 40).

This brings new challenges in itself. The strain on the supply chain is one, with SMEs concerned over the big two’s plans for production ramp-ups. The second is that, for Airbus and Boeing, it is notable that, with the fl ight of the A350 in June, we may have to wait perhaps a decade for any all-new clean sheet designs from these manufacturers, rather than derivatives. This has implications for companies searching for large scale programmes to adopt innovative new technology. A ‘bulge’ in civil aircraft development with 787, A350, 737MAX, A320neo, CSeries and MRJ all appearing roughly at the same time means that there is likely to be a signifi cant gap before we see radical new airliner designs. Next generation single-aisle and BWB airliners have now

moved further into the future.The air show, too, was validation for Boeing and its Dreamliner after the earlier 787 grounding this year. Existing customers have kept the faith, and Boeing secured orders for the 787-10 which was launched at the show.

However, one company underperforming at Paris was Bombardier, despite racking up some $1·4bn in other orders. With its CSeries airliner on the verge of fi rst fl ight, the programme could have done with a much needed boost at the show with some signifi cant sales announcements. Instead, it was rival Embraer who stole the regional jet limelight with its re-engined E2 announcement.

This year’s Le Bourget was also noteworthy for the effects of US sequestration (the non-attendance of US military aircraft — usually a major presence and a valuable sales tool for US defence companies). The return of the Russians in the form of the Su-35 and Ka-52 was welcome but this does not disguise the fact that defence is now signifi cantly reduced and becoming a smaller part of the show. Defence companies are having to adapt — and position themselves to take advantage of any revenues in growth markets like cyber, security and UAVs. Doing more with less, support services and retrofi t projects rather than big new programmes are the focus.

This is perhaps best illustrated in the scramble of activity among European companies to gain a

Smile, you’re on cameraDuring the show, EADS Astrium published a satellite image of the Le Bourget site taken from the Pléiades 1A and 1B very-high resolution Earth-observation satellites.

EA

DS

Ast

rium

Boe

ing


foothold, however small, on any future European MALE UAS programme. Meanwhile, the competition for defence contracts in the Middle East/Asia-Pacifi c is set to intensify, as US companies focus agressively on boosting their international revenues.

A tale of two M&A sectors

A sign of the contrast between commercial aerospace activity and the stagnant defence fi eld was provided by merger and acquisition specialist, Michael Richter, Managing Director of Lazard’s Aerospace and Defense Investment Banking arm which has been involved in a fl urry of recent M&A deals, However, while the intense M&A activity in civil aerostructures was leading to companies aiming to ‘clean-up the supply chain’ to meet increasing demand from civil OEMs, the defence side was bleak. Richter said that, due to the effects of US budget sequestration, there was “complete cessation in M&A deals that could and should take place”. The US defence uncertainty had completely eliminated buyers and sellers getting together on prices and the value of a business.

A380 sales drought over?

Only a couple of weeks earlier, there were glum faces at Airbus in Toulouse as the world’s press asked pointed questions over sluggish recent sales of the A380. Were superjumbo sales being cannibalised by the big widebodies such as the 777 and the A350? At the show the answer was a resounding no, with an order worth some $8bn

Airb

us

Thales unveiled a futuristic new design for the aircraft cockpit of the future. Named Avionics 2020, the design is what the company describes as a ‘natural evolution’ of its ODICIS cockpit demonstrator. Thales say that the system could be fl ight ready within seven years.

Airbus formally handed over the fi rst A320 to Air New Zealand fi tted with fuel-saving sharklets on the wingtips. Air New Zealand was the launch customer for the sharklet-equipped A320 and has a total of ten on order.

MBDA’s latest annual Concept Visions project showcased a future weapons system designed to take over the function of artillery and replace it with a ‘one shot, one kill’ guidable accurate weapon. The CVS302 Hoplite consists of two complementary supersonic missiles.

PARIS IN BRIEF

Not-so surprise visitor

It was a topic on everyone’s lips in the run up to the show — would Airbus bring its new A350 widebody to Le Bourget, just days after its fi rst fl ight? Though Airbus played down expectations, the presence of French President François Hollande on the Friday was no coincidence — and visitors were rewarded with a fl yby of Europe’s new composite airliner.

787-10 launched with $30bn 102-aircraft orders

The air show also saw the long-speculated launch of the -10 variant of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner — with Boeing having already gained launch approval for the type earlier this year. For this there was not just one launch customer but fi ve (three airlines and two lessors), buying 102-aircraft in a deal worth nearly $30bn at list prices. The 102-aircraft orders comprises Air Lease Corporation (ALC) (30 a/c) (British Airways (12), GECAS (10), Singapore Airlines (30) and United Airlines (20). The deal is a boost for market interest in the 787-10 model which will feature a 7,000nm range and 330 passengers, as well a vindication of the Dreamliner following its recent grounding. First deliveries will be in 2018.

from lessor Doric Lease Corporation for 20 A380s. Airbus note that the A380 entered service a year before the global fi nancial meltdown, so was this big order a bellweather for the recovering global economy?

Europe’s ‘Game of drones’

This year saw the Le Bourget debut (albeit inside a protective dome) of the French-led Neuron UCAV demonstrator — fresh from its fi rst fl ight in December. (see Year of the UCAV, AEROSPACE, June 2013). Inside, Dassault displayed a notional joint French-UK UCAV model — which showed the close alignment between Paris and London on military matters, following the Lancaster Treaty in 2010. Anglo-French defence co-operation was also highlighted at the show by a Thales Watchkeeper UAV sporting French roundels.

Yet all is not so simple. With Germany’s EuroHawk axed and the BAE/Dassault Telemos MALE UAV in limbo, the hunt is on again for a European MALE or collaborative project which national aerospace companies can co-operate on. On Sunday, Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi, EADS Cassadian and Dassault issued a joint declaration calling for a European MALE programme. Conspiciuously missing from this line-up was the UK’s BAE Systems.

The European ‘game of drones’ is set to enter a new phase of manoeuvring and political jockeying as European aerospace companies fi ght to get on to one of the few remaining combat aircraft programmes in the future.



The 787 back in the air

A welcome sight for Boeing (and its airline customers) is that not one but two 787 Dreamliners appeared at the show — with a colourful example from Air India alongside a Dreamliner from Qatar Airways. Repeating the precedent from last year’s Farnborough, the 787 took part in the daily fl ying display.

New Eurofi ghter boss stresses the three Cs

‘Customers, Competitiveness and Capabilities’ was the message from incoming Eurofi ghter chief Alberto Gutirrez of his biggest priorities for the pan-European fi ghter programme. Only 12 days into his new role, he was thrown to the (press) pack to be quizzed on export orders, reducing costs and unlocking the full capabilities of Typhoon. Though he was unable to give fi gures on how much the Eurofi ghter consortium was aiming to reduce costs by, the approach is not only to reduce operating costs for existing Typhoon operators as the platform matures but to drive down expense in streamlining the development process. Gutirrez said he forsees a market for 1,000 combat aircraft in the next decade — with Eurofi ghter aiming to secure 25% of these sales.

Bombardier confi rms CSeries customer

Another order confi rmed on the Monday was for ten Bombarder CSeries CS100 regional jets from UK start up operator Odyssey Airlines — an order fi rst placed in 2011.

Ka-52 Alligator gets its jaws into exports

At a Russian Helicopters briefi ng, Kamov gave an insight into its two-seat Ka-52 ‘Alligator’ attack helicopter which made its Paris debut. A development of the Ka-50 single-seat Black Shark co-axial helicopter, the Ka-52 adds a second crewmember in side-by-side seating, plus advanced sensors and a radar. A naval variant will also enter service aboard the Russian Navy’s new Mistral assault ships on order from France — although weapons for this variant are unspecifi ed at the moment.

Russian Helicopters is now aiming the Ka-52 squarely at the international market. As a sign of the times, this Russian military helicopter has foreign content in the form of Sagem and German components. Russian Helicopters says they are also willing to incorporate other French or European systems or equipment, should customers request it.

Pilatus PC-24 mock-up

Hidden away on the Pilatus static display was a cabin mock-up of the Swiss manufacturer’s new PC-24 business jet. Claimed to be in a business jet class of its own, Pilatus says that the new aircraft will combine the versatility of a turboprop (operating from runways as short as 2,690ft) with the cabin size of a medium light jet and the performance of a light jet. One of the unique features of the PC-24 is a large cargo compartment in the rear fuselage linked to the main cabin which is accessed through a large (1·3m x 1·25m) cargo door. This would enable the aircraft to carry a standard cargo pallet or to load stretchers if it were used for medevac operations. The PC-24 is powered by two Williams

Rostec subsidiary, Ural Works on Civil Aviation (UWCA), has signed an agreement with Diamond Aircraft in Austria to work on the joint production and design of a new series of light utility aircraft in Russia.

CFM announced that orders for its LEAP-1B engine fi tted to Boeing’s re-engined 737 MAX have now exceeded $35bn. With the fi nal confi guration of the engine now set, the engine programme has moved into the detailed design phase with certifi cation scheduled for 2016.

Qatar Airways announced a fi rm order for two additional Boeing 777-300ERs, plus commitments for a further seven. The aircraft will be powered by GE90-115B engines.

On Tuesday a deal was signed between the Eurofi ghter consortium and NETMA for the integration of MBDA’s Meteor missile, with fi rst fl ights in 2017.

Fantastic Flanker amazesUndoubtedly for many visitors the display highlight was the ultra manoeuvrable Su-30S Flanker-E. The latest variant of the Su-27 family, the 3D-thrust vectoring fi ghter demonstrated its jaw-dropping agility.

At the show, Brazil’s Embraer fi nally launched new versions of its popular EJet series of regional jets with the EJet E2, featuring new wings, new cabin interior and new engines. The E2 will be available in three versions, the E175 E2, E190 E2 and E195 E2, scheduled to enter service in 2018, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Embraer then gave details of its fi rst orders, consisting of a total of 350 fi rm orders, purchase rights, options and letters of intent from seven customers. Five of the customers were not named but US regional carrier SkyWest has ordered 100 with 100 options and ILFC has signed a letter of intent for 25 E190 E2s and 25 E195 E2s plus an additional 25 options for each aircraft.

Embraer launches re-engined EJetE

mbr

aer


WJ44-4A engines and the cockpit is fi tted with the Honeywell Ace avionics system specially developed for the aircraft. First fl ight is scheduled for the end of 2014 followed by type certifi cation in early 2017.

Astrium looks to clean-up orbital debris

A presentation from European space company Astrium provided an update of several programmes that the company is currently engaged on. As well as looking at ways to evolve the technology from the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) programme for future space missions and designing the Ariane 6 successor to the Ariane 5 launcher, Astrium is also working with the French space agency CNES to look at ways to locate and remove ‘non-co-operative’ space debris from Earth orbit. Together with Swedish company ECAPS, Astrium is also developing a new ‘green’ sustainable space propulsion system. Company CEO Alain Charmeau also revealed that the company is still working on the EADS suborbital tourist SpacePlane project and is investing in “necessary technology and propulsion” while looking for fi nancial partners.

F-35 – ‘cautiously optimistic’ at the tipping point

“We’re not declaring victory just yet”, said Lockheed Martin’s VP Steve O’Bryan of the new “cautiously optimistic” (as described by Pentagon procurement chief) outlook that infuses the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project. However, it was clear in a presentation to the aviation media at Le Bourget that things were now starting to go in the troubled fi ghter’s direction — the positive news, said O’Bryan, meant the programme was at ‘a tipping point’. With 65 F-35s now fl ying, fl ight testing is ramping up quickly, with 50% of all fl ight tests done in the past 12 months. In addition, both the US Government and the GAO had confi rmed that concurrency was fi nally starting to pay off — and the fl yaway cost

(including engines) was dropping. In 2020 the US Government estimates that a F-35 will cost some $85m each or less than half of the 2009 initial examples’ cost. Adjusted to today’s dollars the 2020 price would be $75m each.

However, O’Bryan was frank in admitting that challenges still persist — especially in the software. The F-35 computer software has around 8·6m lines of code (in comparison an F-22 has around 2m). While 88% of the code is now fl ying, the remaining 12% is the most diffi cult part, explained O’Bryan, as it integrates existing simpler functions and capabilties together into a whole.

Biofuels get serious

Two years ago in Paris saw biofuels go high-profi le with transatlantic demo fl ights from both Boeing and Honeywell. Does that mean that interest in aviation alternative fuels has evaporated? Quite the opposite said stakeholders at a dedicated Alternative Aviation Fuels pavilion in the Halls. In fact, they argued that, with over 1,500 fl ights undertaken, the status of alternative fuels for aviation is well past demo fl ight and now into productionising the fuels and scaling it up. Paul Steele from ATAG (Air Transport Action Group) also notes that alternate fuels are now ‘closing the gap’ with regular jet fuel in cost terms - making the economic case increasingly solid.

Big evidence of this is in United Airlines recent tie-up with Los Angeles (LAX) airport where the airline will begin biofuel fl ights next year from that hub.

3D spare parts on demand

Jeff DeGrange, VP of Direct Digital Manufacturing for US 3D printing specialists Stratasys, showed off a model of a 3D printed tactical UAV airframe. One potential application of the new technology, he said, is that armed forces could use a 3D printer in forward locations to print new components for UAVs on demand.

AgustaWestland announced a series of new orders, including three AW169s, fi ve AW139s and two AW189s for Lease Corp International, 15 AW169s, AW139s and AW189s (fi ve of each) for Zenisun Investment Group in China and two AW139s for Brazilian offshore transportation company OHI Group.

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson made a personal appearance at the show on Monday to announce that his Welsh aircraft maintenance and fl ight training company, Cardiff Aviation, has received £5m of inward investment — £1·6m from Welsh government run Finance Wales and the remainder from private investors.

ATR received a $2·1bn deal for up to 90 ATR-600 turboprops for Danish leasing company Nordic Aviation Capital. The order breaks down into 35 fi rm orders, divided into 30 ATR 72-600s and fi ve ATR 42-600s

Diamond-wing SpacejetSpotted on the outside displays was an innovative diamond joined-wing ‘personal aircraft’ design — the AOK Spacejet. The 4m wingspan, single-seat Spacejet is billed as the most compact twin-engined jet in the world.

New ‘Super-MALE’ UAVHammerheadsurfaces

Unveiled at the show was the P.1HH Hammerhead UAV — a joint venture between Piaggio Aero and Selex ES. The UAV uses a modifi ed Piaggio P.180 turboprop business aircraft as a base, with autonomous systems and sensors from Selex ES to create what Piaggio term a ‘Super-MALE’ UAV. The Hammerhead, says the company, is twin-engined, based on already civil certifi cated design, can cruise at 45,000ft and has a speed range of between 135kt and 395kt — faster than other MALE UAVs. The demonstrator has already undergone low-speed taxiing trials in Italy and won the support of the Italian Air Force in developing this concept.


BAE locks on F-16 upgrades

BAE Systems, having been selected by South Korea to upgrade its 134 KF-16s, is now targeting the worldwide Viper operator market. The need for upgrades is being driven by affordability says BAE, with its aim to “fi ll the generation gap” between a legacy F-16 and a fi fth generation fi ghter by upgrading its mission computers and avionics. BAE, of course, is not the original OEM for the F-16 but says that in the past, its companies have been responsible for 40% of the F-16’s avionics. It has already upgraded US ANG and is updating Turkish F-16s. While around 1,000 F-16s are the most eligible for a fi fth generation avionics makeover, BAE does not discount early A or B models too, which could be given an update ‘better than the MLU’. While BAE awaits the decision on South Korea’s deal to conclude, other F-16 opportunities may arise with Singapore and Indonesia. The company also does not rule out other legacy fi ghters being given this treatment, such as the F/A-18 Hornet.

Finmeccanica restructures and blasts Russian Superjet partners

At a press conference at troubled Italian group Finmeccanica, CEO Alessandro Pansa outlined the restructuring steps being undertaken to restore the group’s battered reputation, deliver business effi ciencies and target international markets. Pansa revealed the group was focusing on governance, with internal audits and shorter reporting lines. In conjunction, the group is also working to restore its international reputation, reaffi rming the brand and its global presence. Rationalisation is also a key goal of the restructuring to boost business effi ciency.

However, Pansa had harsh words too for Russian partners of the Sukhoi Superjet — and called for a thorough restructuring of that project. It had been a “very diffi cult and very expensive” partnership, he said, and was “signifi cantly unsatisfactory.”

38

Thåkan Buskhe, CEO of Swedish company Saab, revealed the company is considering an ‘optionally piloted’ version of the Gripen which could be fl own as a manned fi ghter or as a UCAV.

Eurocopter has begun work on constructing a new manufacturing and research site at Le Bourget which will consolidate work previously carried out at other locations.

Bombardier is considering setting up a new European maintenance facility for its CSeries regional airliner. No site has yet been fi nalised but the company expects to make a decision before the end of the year.

Following a technical evaluation of its future needs, UK low-cost operator easyJet announced its intention to order 100 Airbus 180-seat A320neos and 35 A320ceos fi tted with sharklets. The order is subject to shareholder approval.

Raytheon celebrated the the delivery of the 5,000th AIM-9X Sidewinder. The Block II AIM-9X is attracting attention on the export market, not only for its air-to-air function but also because its sensitive seeker has a capability to lock-on and attack ground targets too.

Rockwell Collins focus on helicopter safety

Rockwell Collins used the show to launch a new range of products aimed at increasing the safety of rotary-wing operations by enhancing the situational awareness of pilots. Named HeliSure, the fi rst two products are Helicopter Synthetic Vision System (H-SVS) and Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (H-TAWS) which provide 3D visualisation of complex airspace.

Meanwhile, the company’s latest Pro Line Fusion fl ightdeck now has around 100 systems fl ying, according to SVP, International and Service Solutions, Colin Mahoney. The secret of Fusion’s success, says Mahoney, is its ‘open system architecture’ which is highly scalable and equips the Bombardier Global 5000, 6000 and Gulfstream G280. It also is set to appear on the AW609 tiltrotor and Embraer’s KC-390 military transport.

Raytheon to Pentagon — give our JSOW-ER a shot

“We’ll be pushing back on this”, said Harry Schulte VP Air Weapon Systems, Raytheon, of the Pentagon’s decision to skip any procurement competition and hand the upcoming LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile) to Lockheed Martin. Briefi ng reporters on the company’s range of guided munitions, Schulte pointed out that Raytheon’s extended range, powered variant of the air-launched JSOW glide bomb, should be in contention. Raytheon is privately funding the JSOW-ER and argues that its solution would be a third or fourth of the cost of LM’s LRASM, which is being developed from the JASSM-ER.

Public perceptions of civil UAS

Can the aerospace industry and stakeholders work together to counter negative perceptions of UAVs (or drones) and unlock a huge civil market? US


Getting a grip on green taxiing Honeywell and Safran announced that the two companies have completed the fi rst major low-speed taxiing and manoeuvres phase of their electric green taxiing system (EGTS). During the air show, they gave a public demonstration of the system on an Airbus A320. EGTS utilises the aircraft’s auxiliary power unit (APU) to power the main landing gear, enabling an aircraft to perform its own pushbacks and taxiing to the runway without the need for cargo tugs. The system is claimed to be able to reduce fuel burn per fl ight by up to 4%, as well as reduce CO2 and NOx emissions and noise at airports.

Bel

l Hel

icop

ters


industry group Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) believes so. It had commissioned a landmark study by the Christian Science Monitor to poll the public about their attitudes to civil uses of UAS. As might be expected, there were obvious concerns, with privacy being number one (60%), followed by safety number two (57%).

However, there were surprises — in particular that, despite the poll being carried out at the height of the NSA surveillance scandal in mid-June, 54% supported or strongly supported increased non-military uses of UAS, if their concerns were addressed. Those outside the US, interestingly, were even more supportive of non-military UAS applications.

‘Biggest small aerospace company’

Growing at 25-35%, the UK’s Midlands-based Sigma Components which supplies precision engineered components to the industry, is aiming to be the ‘biggest and best small aerospace’ company, according to MD Mark Johnson. Established in 2004, the company has tapped into a niche by providing high-quality components at the lower tiers of the supply chain, close to the OEM’s new facilities in emerging markets. Johnson explained that Sigma started off by asking “how do we make parts cheaper in China”, but has evolved to “how do we develop on a regional basis, where most of the OEMs are wanting you to make locally”. Next on the company’s plans is an acquisition of a US factory.

Is lighter-than-air back?

Among the exhibitors at the show was Aeroscraft, a US company with an ambitious vision to revolutionise the role of the cargo airship. The company is the brainchild of company President and CEO Igor Pasternak who is planning the

construction and operation of a fl eet of 24 helium-fi lled rigid airships fi tted with 67×12·1×9·1m internal cargo compartments which would be deployed around the world to carry oversize or heavy cargoes, including multiple ISO freight containers, point-to-point to remote areas of land, or on sea for mining, power and energy companies. The airships would be fi tted with a control of static heaviness (COSH) system which would enable the airships to change altitude without the need for venting gas or jettisoning ballast. The airships would be operated by a single pilot who would also act as load master and also would require no ground infrastructure.

UAC’s military/civil balance shifting

In a press conference for United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), President Mikhail Pogosyan announced that the Russian conglomerate currently had €25bn worth of orders for over 740 aircraft, one third of which were for civil designs. UAC is investing in new composite aircraft production facilities at its Sukhoi Superjet 100 and MC-21 aircraft programmes in plants in Ulyanovsk and Kazan. The fi rst of an order for 20 Superjet 100s has been delivered to Mexican carrier Interjet.

Countdown to MRJ fi rst fl ight

Company President Teruaki Kawai, together with Marketing Director Yugo Fukuhara gave an update on how the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) programme is progressing. The fi rst test aircraft is now under construction and is expected to fl y before the end of the year. A further six aircraft (four fl ight test and two static test) aircraft are then to be built with the fi rst delivery of the MRJ scheduled for 2015. Mitsubishi currently has 165 orders for the MRJ plus 160 options from ANA, Skywest and Trans States Holdings.

VistaJet increased its total orders for Bombardier business jets with an order for 20 Challenger 350s plus 20 options.

EADS and Rolls-Royce revealed details of E-Thrust, a new hybrid power system to reduce CO2 emissions by powering aircraft with six electrically-driven fans mounted on the wing powered by a gas turbine.

Aircraft lessor ILFC signed a fi rm contract for 50 additional Airbus A320neos.

Thales new RBE2 AESA radar is set for delivery to the fi rst front-line French AF Rafale squadrons.

Enstrom Helicopters is set to develop a new two-seat piston single-engine helicopter for the training market.

Boeing announced that the entry into service (EIS) date for the 737 MAX is to be brought forward by three months from Q4 in 2017 to Q3.

Careers plane inspires

One eye-catching exhibit at the show was The Careers Plane. Constructed in the shape of an aircraft fuselage and wings, the exhibit consisted of a series of workstations manned by employees from different sectors of the aerospace industry who explained their jobs and demonstrated their skills to visitors. The aim of the Careers Plane was to encourage more young people to consider careers in aerospace.

Bell reveals single-engine JetRanger successor

In perhaps the best kept surprise news at Le Bourget, Bell Helicopters revealed it is to develop a successor to its iconic JetRanger single-engine turbine helicopter. The new (as yet not properly named) civil fi ve-seat short light single (SLS) engine helicopter will be powered by a Turbomeca Arrius 2 engine.


EasyJet 35 A320(1) Lufthansa 30 A320(fi rming-up of order placed in March)

Spirit 20 A321(also converted 10 A320s to A321s)

EasyJet 100 A320neo(1) HKAC 40 A320neo(3) HKAC 20 A321neo(3) ILFC 50 A320neo(1) Lufthansa 35 A320neoLufthansa 35 A321neo (fi rming-up of order placed in March)

Syphax Airlines 3 A320neo(3)

Sri Lankan 6 A330-300(2)

Air France-KLM 25 A350-900(1)

Singapore Airlines 30 A350-900(plus 20 options convertible to A350-1000s)

Sri Lankan 4 A350-900(2) United Airlines 10 A350-1000 (also upgraded its previous order for 25 A350-900s to larger A350-1000s)

Doric Lease Corp 20 A380(3)


$68·7bn orders & commitments for 466 Airbus aircraft

$66bn fi rm and provisional orders for 442 Boeing aircraft

Oman Air 5 737-900ER(1) Ryanair 175 737-800(1) Unidentifi ed 20 737(2)

CIT Aerospace 30 737 MAX8(1) Travel Service 3 737 MAX8(2) TUI Travel 60 737 MAX(2) Skymark Airlines 4 737 MAX(2) Unidentifi ed 20 737 MAX(1) Korean Air 5 747-8(2)

Korean Air 6 777-300ER(2) Qatar Airways 2 777-300ER(1) Qatar Airways 7 777-300ER(2)

Air Lease Corp 3 787-9(2) GECAS 10 787-10(2) Air Lease Corp 30 787-10(2) IAG/British Airways 12 787-10(2) Singapore Airlines 30 787-10(1)

1. Firm order 2. Commitment 3. MoU

Paris — total aircraft orders

ordersorders

Nordic Aviation Capital 5 42-600Nordic Aviation Capital 30 72-600 (plus 55 options)

HGI Aircraft Division/Passaredo 10 72-600 (plus 10 options)

Air Lease Corporation 5 72-600LIAT 2 42-600Undisclosed 25 72-600 (plus 25 options)Undisclosed 5 72-600

orders

Skywest 100 175-E2s(1) (plus 100 options) ILFC 25 E190-E2sILFC 25 E195-E2s (plus options for 25 E190-E2s and 25 E195-E2s)

Five undisclosed 65 EJet-2s

orders

A320

A320neo

A380A350

A330

737

737MAX

787

777 747


Afterburner

42 Message from RAeS- PresidentIt was a great privilege for me to present the Churchill Medal to Capt Pip Lines of REME — awarded for outstanding achievements in engineering and technical advancement in support of military operations.

- Chief ExecutiveThe Society organised two international events in June demonstrating its standing on a global platform.

44 Book ReviewsLes Avions Tipsy Airplanes, British Private Aircraft and The Piston Engine Revolution.

47 Library AdditionsBooks submitted to the National Aerospace Library.

48 ObituariesProfessor John Stollery and Bill Gunston.

52 DiaryFind out when and where around the world the latest aeronautical and aerospace lectures and events are happening.

54 Corporate PartnersThree new members join the Society’s Corporate Partner Scheme.

55 NATS SwanwickBoscombe Down Branch visit.

56 ElectionsNew Society members elected in the past month.

Diary16-17 SeptemberUnmanned Aviation: Challenges for GrowthRAeS Unmanned Air Systems Group Conference

www.aerosociety.com

NASA’s Ikhana unmanned science demonstration aircraft, a civil variant of General Atomics’ Predator B, lifts off from Grey Butte airfi eld in California. NASA.

42

Message from RAeSOUR PRESIDENT

RAeS GOLF DAY

Jenny Body Last night I attended the annual Professional Engineering Institutions (PEI) Defence Lecture this year hosted by the Society and given by Cdre R Thompson OBE CEng MRAeS and Gp Capt Willy Hackett MBE on ‘Lightning II — A next generation capability’. We welcomed Philip Dunne MP, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, representatives of all the armed forces and the main PEIs together with Society members to No.4 Hamilton Place. It brought home to me just what a fantastic resource we have for lectures, meetings, debates and networking. It was also a great privilege for me to present the Churchill Medal to Capt Pip Lines of REME — awarded for outstanding achievements in engineering and technical advancement in support of military operations.

My fi rst Council meeting took place on 10 June. As Trustee business is now being handled by the Board of Trustees, we were able to have a healthy debate on the membership offering and what it means to different groups. This will contribute to the Strategy Review 2013-2017. During September’s

Council meeting we will be discussing technology, knowledge and learned output.

That evening, ACM Sir Stephen Dalton RAF, gave the Sir Sydney Camm Lecture with specifi c reference to Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS) reminding us that defence remains a human endeavour with people, pilots and engineers, at its heart. We must embrace and control new technology and tackle the legal and ethical issues (see The 21st Century Character of Air Power, p 12).

Finally I was delighted to attend the Paris Air Show, albeit briefl y, and despite attempts by the train systems and weather to sabotage my journey. I was thrilled to see the A400M in French Air Force colours fl ypast and the British Airways A380 make a stunning display. I met with the President and other offi cers of 3AF, the Association Aeronautique Astronautique de France. Having reviewed the results of our 2012 membership survey they were very impressed by our Branch activities. We discussed opportunities for collaboration on future conferences and publications.


Afterburner

Another sunny day for RAeS GolfersPlayers on the Royal Aeronautical Society Golf Day enjoyed perfect weather conditions for 27 holes of challenging golf at Frilford Heath Golf Club in Oxfordshire. It was a successful event with players from companies representing a variety of sectors within the aerospace community.

The Singles Stableford competition was won by Fred Cahill from Cobham Antenna Systems, who received the trophy and an overnight stay for two

at the InterContinental London Park Lane. Other winners were: Singles Stableford 2nd Prize, Michael Tyrrell, Vector Aerospace; 3rd Prize, Ken Doig, Vector Aerospace; Longest Drive, Craig Harrison, Creative Benefi ts; and Nearest the Pin, James Sturman, TAG Farnborough Engineering. The Cobham Antenna Systems team were the clear winners of the afternoon Texas Scramble competi-tion, and the FlightSafety International team came second.

The Society would like to thank the InterConti-nental London Park Lane, Dish and Frilford Heath Golf Club for their generosity in providing prizes for this event and FlightSafety International for kindly providing top quality golf balls and tees, as well as other golfi ng merchandise.

Left: Fred Cahill of Cobham Antenna Systems wins the Singles Stableford Trophy.Middle: Cobham Antenna Systems win the Texas Scramble.Right: James Sturman of TAG Farnborough Engineering wins the Nearest the Pin.

Simon C Luxmoore

OVER 20 NEW ORGANISATIONS HAVE JOINED THE CORPORATE PARTNER SCHEME IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR, WITH PARTICULAR GROWTH IN THE MRO SECTOR

OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE The Society organised two international events

in June demonstrating its standing on a global platform; partnering with IATA on the Improv-ing Training Provision Conference and hosting the International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics (IFASD) in Bristol, which was a huge success attracting almost 300 international delegates. Our international activity continued with the Society hosting the June meeting of the Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) and we now look to September and the forthcoming CEAS Conference in Sweden.

Over 20 new organisations have joined the Corporate Partner scheme in the fi rst half of the year, with particular growth in the MRO sector. Other leading organisations to join include Singapore Airlines and MOOG, while QinetiQ signed a fi ve-year commitment to its on-going Corporate Partner membership.

Atlantic AirVenture in Shannon, County Clare, recently hosted an RAeS Cool Aeronautics day and then, on 19 June, followed this up by host-ing an RAeS lecture evening. It is hoped that the lecture evening will be the fi rst of many and act as a pre-cursor to eventual Branch forma-tion in the Shannon area.

The event in Shannon is another example of Cool Aeronautics going from strength to strength. RAeS Foundation money has enabled this aerospace day to reach over 800 children between the ages of 7-11 and their teachers from 30 schools in the fi rst six months of 2013 alone. The events are taking place up and down the country and locations have also included Swansea and Heathrow as well as Hamilton Place. The planned programme for autumn and winter will see events taking place in locations including Prestwick, Pontefract, Coventry and Tyneside with the target of reaching over 1,000 children being well in sight.

Jenny Body OBE FRAeS, President of the Royal Aeronautical Society, has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2013 Women 1st Shine Awards. The awards recog-nise outstanding female success and diversity achievement in the hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism industries. The committee assessing the nominations recog-nised that not only is Jenny the fi rst female

AUGUST 2013 43fi@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.com

President since the Society’s foundation in 1866, she is also an inspirational role model to many women as demonstrated by the resound-ing welcome from delegates at the 2012 Women in Aviation and Aerospace Conference.

We enjoyed a fi ve-year Review Visit from our colleagues at the Engineering Council. It was a very positive visit by all accounts and our thanks for this go to the efforts of both Lynn Beattie and her team and the volunteers from the Professional Standards Committees. We look forward to the formal outcome in due course.

Further to my report last month on the formal launch event of the industry-government backed Aerospace MSc Bursary Scheme, I’m pleased to note Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) Board endorsement — including that of the Government — on the progress we are making with the Royal Academy of Engineer-ing in managing this important initiative, with the target of 100 bursaries offered for the next academic year predicted to be met. Continuing on the theme of the work of the AGP, the Society has also been instrumental in the formation of a new AGP People and Skills Engagement Board which will provide oversight and leadership for the skills issues in the sector and will be complemented by a new Education and Skills Committee which met for the fi rst time on 7 June and reports to the Professional Standards Board.

Initial indications seem to suggest that the roll-out of our new Journal editorial system, Aries, launched in June, is going well.

Visitors to the National Aerospace Library will now see a selection of our Society posters, as canvass boxes, now adorning the corridor walls and members are reminded that these are available at the Mary Evans Picture Library (search in Galleries at www.prints-online.com).

The Society has continued to enjoy increasing media coverage, with good exposure, particu-larly throughout the Paris Air Show, where CNN included Society tweets on their own media channel.

We hosted the 2013 PEI (Professional Engineering Institution) Defence Lecture on 3 July where Commodore Rick Thompson OBE CEng MRAeS gave a talk on the Lightning II Project Team.

Book Reviews

For the seven major designs described, the author ably discusses each from both operational and technical viewpoints


Afterburner

‘Artist’ (Gerald Leake), ‘Bank Note Engraver’ (Thomas Macdonald), ‘Brewer’ (William Goff Davis Goff), ‘Com-mander Royal Navy’ (Robert Falcon Scott — ‘Scott of the Antarctic’), ‘Dramatist’ (Samuel Franklin Cody), ‘Experimen-talist’ (Patrick Y Alexander), ‘Farmer’ (Frederick William Bishop), ‘Headmaster’ (Charles Arundel Verity), ‘Master Tailor’ (Samuel Dalziel), ‘Peer’ (Lord Montagu of Beaulieu) and ‘Tinplater’ (Samuel Cattle) are some of the diverse professions recorded on the original application forms of early members of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain held in the archives of the National Aerospace Library at Farnborough.

Did you know?

By V Jacobs

Published by Fonds National Alfred Renard, c/o Didier Campion, 97/1 Rue Royale, 1000 Brussels, Belgium (E campion@cfi group.be). 2011. 256pp. Illustrated. €35 plus postage/packing.

Ernest-Oscar Tips was born in October 1893 and, by the age of 14, was already helping his elder brother Maurice in the construction of a biplane glider made of bamboo and canvas. So started the aviation career of a man who, until his retirement in 1960, came to be admired and respected as one of the most fertile designers of light aircraft to come out of Belgium. This nicely produced book follows his career and charts the development of all his designs.

The book describes how E O Tips left Belgium in 1915 and became one of the earliest employees of Fairey Aviation. He was closely involved with many Fairey designs and, when, in 1928, the Belgian military decided to order 25 Fairey Firefl y II aircraft on the condition that they were manu-factured in Belgium, Tips was the obvious man to establish ‘Avions Fairey’ at Gosselies, north of Charleroi. This new company fl ourished and became a mainstay of the Belgian aircraft industry. By 1935 Tips was designing his own aircraft for the civil market, which were manufactured by Avions Fairey in parallel with its own military models.

The main part of the book is an in-depth look at all E O Tips’ light aircraft designs culminating in the Junior, the Belfair and the Nipper which is undoubt-edly the best known of all. For the seven major designs described, the author ably discusses each from both operational and technical viewpoints. He covers the performance of each type in some detail and gives a history of each aircraft produced as far as is known. It is the wealth of technical detail presented that will probably appeal most to students of light aircraft design. Copies of many original drawings are presented, the reproduction of which is good enough that all the dimensions and text can

be read, albeit with the use of a magnifying glass. These drawings, combined with details of weight breakdown and aircraft performance, make this book a useful source for all aspirant light aircraft designers.

The book has the original French text pre-sented in parallel with an English translation which, although quite adequate, is by no means perfect; where the translator has been uncertain of the correct English word for some of the more tech-nical terms, he has left the original French word by default. Having the text essentially presented twice has naturally limited the amount of detail the author has been able to include; he offers tantalis-ing glimpses when he discusses the differences in opinion between the Belgian and English fl ight test authorities but does not then follow through with any analysis of why these occurred.

These small points notwithstanding, this book would be well worth reading and keeping for refer-ence for anyone with an interest in Tipsy aircraft in particular or in light aircraft design in general. Uni-versity libraries could do much worse than acquire a copy for the benefi t of their aerospace engineering students.

Dr Alex EllinCEng MRAeSKingston University School of Aerospace and Aircraft Engineering

LES AVIONS TIPSY AIRPLANES

Above: Tipsy T66 Nipper Mk2, OO-LEO. Geoff Collins.

Below: Tipsy T66 Nipper Mk1, OO-NIF. RAeS (NAL).

BRITISH PRIVATE AIRCRAFT

Vol 1 — The Re-awakening Years 1946-1970By A W J G Ord-Hume

Mushroom Model Publications, 3 Gloucester Close, Petersfi eld, Hants GU32 3AX, UK (www.mmpbooks.biz). 2012. 318pp. Illustrated. £60. ISBN 978-83-61421-46-7.

Arthur Ord-Hume was fascinated by light aircraft from childhood. He became highly active in this fi eld, acquiring and restoring a pre-war Luton Minor, helping to found the Ultra Light Aircraft Association (ULAA), then Popular Flying Association (PFA), challenging the onerous regulations following the war years and in redesigning both the Luton Minor and the French Minicab to provide plans for home builders. He also worked professionally as a designer, notably for Britten-Norman where he was active on the development of crop-spraying and dusting equipment. Inheriting extensive family collections of material on musical instruments and on the earlier years of light and civil aviation, he developed both of these and established them as important historical archives. He has used them as a basis for numerous publications

This book then covers a subject close to his heart, during a period when he was both an active participant as well as a keen observer. It is a large book, profusely illustrated with many excellent black and white photographs. Ord-Hume’s historical account is a very personal interpretation, a point that he freely acknowledges in the preface. With his easy writing style it makes for a fascinating record of the trials and tribulations experienced by many in the years following WW2, either in trying to create or recreate their businesses or more simply getting their homemade aircraft designs into the air. Diffi culties included the dire economic conditions with shortages and rationing, government preoccupation with growing air transport and indifference towards light aircraft and the changed social attitudes towards fl ying after the experiences of war.

The anticipated return to normality and the pre-war status quo provided the initial suite of disappointments, such as there being no provision for restoring Permits to Fly, the selling back of fl ying fi elds sequestered from the fl ying clubs at the outbreak of war and the ‘unbelievable’ waste of ex-military equipment. Creation of the British Gliding Association, the ULAA and the PFA, are described followed later by the sometimes low expectations of a whole generation that had grown up in a time of restriction. Comparisons are made with the American light aircraft industry which had come out of the war much stronger. Ord-Hume particularly

criticises the disdain with which the British treat their inventors and is in no way surprised at the resulting brain drain. The creation of Beagle and its subsequent demise are described in some detail, including a review of the perceived mistakes made in this last-ditch attempt to compete head on with the dominant American industry.

Ord-Hume is outspoken in his views and not afraid to attribute blame where he feels it lies. His humour can be quite dry and caustic. But he has also clearly gone to much trouble to try to represent both sides of each story. The result is a very human tale of hopes and dreams and of frequent disappointments. From his experience he is not inclined to be too optimistic about a recovery to another golden age of British light aircraft, but he does hail the demonstrated response to change exemplifi ed by the homebuilt movement, which he feels supersedes the need for a light aircraft manufacturing industry in this country.

This is a very comprehensive book, thoroughly indexed. It is easy to dip into, having lengthy captions to the many illustrations, but it is also thorough in looking at the subject from different angles. This is a very welcome and valuable addition to published British aviation history. It will be an essential reference book for any future students of the subject. Highly recommended.

Publication of the second volume of this history, which promises extra technical material and numerous drawings, is imminent.

John M RobertsonCEng MIMechE MRAeS

Ord-Hume is outspoken in his views and not afraid to attribute blame where he feels it lies

Above: Beagle B206 Series 1, G-ASOF. RAeS (NAL).

Below: Miles M65 Gemini, G-AJKS. RAeS (NAL).


46

Book ReviewsAfterburner

Papers from a Conference on the History of Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines held at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, 14-17 April 2011Edited by F Starr et al

Newcomen: the International Society for the History of Science and Technology, The Science Museum, London SW7 2DD, UK (E [email protected]). 548pp. Illustrated. £35 inclusive of postage/packing. ISBN 978-0-904685-15-2.

A comprehensive volume from the Newcomen Society in contemplation of the latter history of the internal combustion engine, this both for contempo-rary readership and for the record of posterity. The Society is positively recognised as of international standing in the history of engineering and technol-ogy, with a breadth of coverage belying the assump-tions of its celebrated title.

This volume consciously adds content to prior scholarship and holdings concerning the history of power, and it is thus more than a record for those attending the seminar, or regretting their inability to do so.

The Society, from its inception in the 1920s, has stood alongside the British engineering institu-tions in buttressing their own papers and publica-tions on historical development and thus ensures a broadened depth in the fi eld. It is regrettable that, in recent years, modern design has not been pre-sented in the traditional manner by its creators and masters. Consider the prime succeeding modern development in motor car engines, and motor sport. Marketers and journalists have displaced the place of the engineers, partially as consequent on sensitiv-ity in immediacy of trade information. But this to the loss of integrity in the overall record.

Stepping back in perspective, the history of the internal combustion engine pre-dates that of the steam engine which overtook it in 1876 and, in the 1880s, the internal combustion sequence initiated by use of town gas was succeeded, with liquid fuels allowing mobility and the subsequent development of aviation. The present volume, with its excellent introduction, supplements the record and covers example through 20 chapters, of which eight are of particular reference to the aircraft engine, this signalling its importance in the overall subject study and in the specifi c interest to be satisfi ed in aero-nautical readership.

Graham Mottram covers work of the early pioneers inclusive of Manly with Langley, and that

THE PISTON ENGINE REVOLUTION

This volume consciously adds content to prior scholarship and holdings concerning the history of power...


of the Wright brothers, and then through WW1 including the Rotary engine phase. Patrick Hassell then covers the sleeve valve engines through from the single sleeve confi guration of Burt and the then persistence of Sir Roy Fedden. P Whiteman also gives good account of the post-war Fedden activity with the little-reported fl at six engine endeavour.

Alan Vessey maintains his dedication to the Napier saga and its engines inclusive of Sabre and Deltic, etc., in a perspective from the fi rm’s early days. Chapters by D Morrison and C C J French cover work by Ricardo recognised as an ongoing infl uence on aircraft engine affairs. B Price covers aero engines in war from 1915 to 1950, and M W Vincent is specifi c per the role of Blackburne engines. Daniel Schaad takes a refreshing view of engines from the fi rst 50 years of powered fl ight, his perspective being that from Santos Dumont 14bis of 1906 to the Lockheed L-1649 Starliner of 1956. Most pleasing! E L Marshall reverts to Ricardo recognised territory on the criticality of octane number tests in fuel development.

Two other contrasting chapters add value in reference. F Starr of the Newcomen Society consid-ers in depth the critical role of exhaust valve cooling for high performance. Graham White describes in some depth the remarkable R-4360 four-bank radial Pratt & Whitney engine, entering service post-war in both military and commercial service, their ultimate in proven development of the aircraft piston engine as prior to the succession of jet propulsion. This latter in good happenstance with the account of the Wright turbo compound in Daniel Schaad’s paper.

An excellent book for the reference library of the in-depth enthusiast.

Peter StokesCEng MRAeS

OOLUTIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON

Above: The Bristol Hercules engine installation on a Vickers Varsity at the 1950 SBAC show at Farnborough. RAeS (NAL).

Below: Lesseps monoplane fi tted with an Anzani engine. RAeS (NAL).


GENERAL

IHS Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft: Development & Production 2013-2014. Edited by P Jackson et al. IHS Global Limited, Sentinel House, 163 Brighton Road, Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 2YH, UK. 2013. 1030pp. Illustrated. £705. ISBN 978-0-7106-3040-7.

AIR LAW

Assembly 37th Session — Plenary Meetings Minutes: Montreal, 28 September - 8 October 2010. ICAO Doc 9982. International Civil Aviation Organization, 999 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 5H7. 2013. 53pp.

AIR TRANSPORT

Airwork: a History. K McCloskey. The History Press, The Mill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2QG, UK. 2012. 272pp. Illustrated. £17.99. ISBN 978-0-7524-7972-9.

Finished with Engines: the Story of Qantas’ Longhaul Flight Engineers 1941-2009. C Lock. Published by the author, Cronulla, NSW 2013. 347pp. Illustrated. ISBN 978-0-646581-56-9.

A detailed account of the important role that fl ight engineers played in the evolution and development of the air operations of Qantas over the years, concluding with a compilation of biographical career summaries of those who served in the role.

Speedbird: the Complete History of BOAC. R Higham. I B Tauris & Co Ltd, 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU, UK. 2013. 492pp. £30. ISBN 978-1-78076-462-7.

Global Air Transport Outlook to 2030 and trends to 2040. ICAO Circ

333. International Civil Aviation Organization, 999 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 5H7. 2013. 152pp. Illustrated. ISBN 978-92-9249-187-1.

Manual on Access to Air Transport by Persons with Disabilities. ICAO Doc 9984 — First edition. International Civil Aviation Organization, 999 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 5H7. 2013. Irregular pagination.

Airport Economics Manual. ICAO Doc 9562 — Third edition. International Civil Aviation Organization, 999 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 5H7. 2013. Irregular pagination.

Designators for Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services. ICAO Doc 8585/164 — 164th edition. International Civil Aviation Organization, 999 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 5H7. 2013. Irregular pagination.

Aircraft Type Designators. ICAO Doc 8643/41 — 41st edition. International Civil Aviation Organization, 999 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 5H7. 2013. Irregular pagination.

HISTORICAL

Miles Aircraft — The Wartime Years: Production, Research and Development during World War II. P Amos. Air-Britain (Historians), 41 Penshurst Road, Leigh, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 8HL, UK. 2012. 432pp. + diskette. Illustrated. £47.50. ISBN 978-0-85130-430-4.

Flying with the Larks: the Early Aviation Pioneers of Lark Hill. T C Brown. Spellmount, The History Press, The Mill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud, Gloucestershire

GL5 2QG, UK. 2013. 200pp. Illustrated. £14.99. ISBN 978-0-7524-8989-6.

Ocean Sentinel: the Short Sunderland. J F Hamlin et al. Air-Britain (Historians), 41 Penshurst Road, Leigh, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 8HL, UK. 2012. 224pp. Illustrated. £39.95. ISBN 978-0-85130-400-7.

German Air Projects 1935-1945 Vol 4: Attack, multi-purpose and other aircraft. M Rys. Published by Stratus, Poland, on behalf of Mushroom Model Publications, 3 Gloucester Close, Petersfi eld, Hants GU32 3AX, UK (www.mmpbooks.biz). 2013. 112pp. Illustrated. £13.99. ISBN 978-83-89450-31-9.

Arranged alphabetically by manufacturer, an informative compilation summarising numerous projected (largely unbuilt) aircraft and missile project designs concluding with a number of colour artist impressions of how they would have appeared.

Churchill and his Airmen: Relationships, Intrigue and Policy Making 1914-1945. V Orange. Grub Street, 4 Rainham Close, London SW11 6SS, UK. 2013. 314pp. Illustrated. £25. ISBN 978-19-0811736-6.

Lockheed P-38J-L Lightning. R Peczkowski. Published by Stratus, Poland, on behalf of Mushroom Model Publications, 3 Gloucester Close, Petersfi eld, Hants GU32 3AX, UK (www.mmpbooks.biz). 2013. 128pp. Illustrated. ISBN 978-83-61421-69-6.

Numerous contemporary photographs and colour diagrams of the famous twin-boom fi ghter aircraft are reproduced in this book aimed at aeromodellers.

Flying Rebel: the Story of Louis Strange. P Hearn. HMSO, London. 1994. 183pp. Illustrated. ISBN 0-11-

290500-5.A biography of one of the

leading airmen of the 1920 and 1930s, who was to serve in both World Wars, having originally learned to fl y in 1913 and soon becoming a notable fi gure in the pioneering days of British aviation.

Financial history and contract evolution of the Hawker Hurricane and Bristol Blenheim (‘Confi dential’). Air Ministry. 1940. 17pp.

Detailed analysis of the unit cost breakdown (raw materials, labour and by section of the airframe) for each aircraft type including a chronology of the fi nancial/contract arrangements made with the manufacturers.

Comparative Performance Charts (including bomb load/range) for Handley Page Halifax I (Merlin X)/Halifax II (Merlin XX), Short Stirling (Hercules XI) and Avro Lancaster/Manchester. R N Liptrot. 1941. 11pp.

LIGHTER-THAN-AIR

Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air. R Holmes. William Collins, HarperCollins Publishers, 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JB, UK. 2013. 404pp. Illustrated. £25. ISBN 978-0-00-738692-5.

NAVIGATION

Performance-based Navigation (PBN) Manual. ICAO Doc 9613 — Fourth edition. International Civil Aviation Organization, 999 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 5H7. 2013. Irregular pagination.

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Manual. ICAO Doc 9849 — Second edition. International Civil Aviation Organization, 999

University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 5H7. 2013. Irregular pagination.

PILOTING

Airmanship. C Edwards. Blacker Limited. 2013. Distributed by The Aviation Bookshop (www.aviation-bookshop.com). 173pp. Illustrated. £19. ISBN 978-1-897739-66-2.

PROPULSION

Company brochures for the Jumo 205/210/211 engines (three items). Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke, Dessau. c.1936-1937.

Includes performance charts for each engine type and detailed arrangement diagrams of the Jumo 210.

SERVICE AVIATION

Air and Sea Power in World War I: Combat and Experience in the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy. M Philpott. I B Tauris & Co Ltd, 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU, UK. 2013. 288pp. £59.50. ISBN 978-1-78076-151-0.

The Lightning Boys 2: True Tales from Pilots and Engineers of the RAF’s Iconic Supersonic Fighter. R Pike. Grub Street, 4 Rainham Close, London SW11 6SS, UK. 2013. 186pp. Illustrated. £20. ISBN 978-1-909166-13-4.

Complementing the earlier book The Lightning Boys (2011), a further compilation of over 20 informal reminiscences of fl ying the famous military jet aircraft recounted by former Lightning pilots.

SPACE

Blue Streak Technical Data. Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Ltd — Space Division, Stevenage. 1969. 100pp. Illustrated.

A handbook of data describing the F11 vehicle designed as the fi rst stage of the ELDO Europa II multi-stage satellite launch vehicle.

BOOKS

Library Additions

For further information contact the National Aerospace Library.T +44 (0)1252 701038 or 701060E [email protected]

Afterburner

ObituariesProfessor John Leslie StolleryCBE FREng HonFRAeS FCGI FAIAA1930-2013

A DISTINGUISHED ENGINEER WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF HIGH-SPEED FLIGHT, WHO INSPIRED THREE GENERATIONS OF STUDENTS TO FOLLOW AEROSPACE-BASED CAREERS AND WHO SERVED AS A REFORMING PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY...

A distinguished engineer who contributed to the understanding of high-speed fl ight, who inspired three generations of students to follow aerospace-based careers and who served as a reforming President of the Society, John Stollery, the son of Edgar and Emma Stollery, was born in Sible Hedingham, Essex, on 21 April 1930.

He attended East Barnet Grammar School in North London from 1941 to 1948. Like so many others of his generation, he built model aeroplanes and, in a sign of what was to come, he was President of the Cockfosters Model Aero Club. After passing his School Certifi cate examinations, he looked for a job with the Aeromodeller magazine, taking a Wakefi eld class rubber powered model aircraft with him to an interview at Eaton Bray. However, he so impressed the editor that, rather than offer him a job, he urged him to return to school, sit the Higher School Certifi cate and apply for a place at university to study aeronautical engineering.

Taking this advice, he duly gained a place at Imperial College, London, in the prestigious Department of Aeronautics led by Arnold (later Sir Arnold) Hall. His studies resulted in a BSc (Eng) in 1951, followed by an MSc (Eng). In 1952, he moved into the aircraft industry, joining the Aerodynamics Department at de Havilland. This was an exciting and challenging time for the company, since their Comet airliner entered service in the same year. However, notwithstanding this and while he was undoubtedly gaining valuable practical experience with de Havilland, he nonetheless found himself being drawn back to academia.

1956 was an important year in his life for two reasons. The fi rst was his marriage to Jane Reynolds and the second was his appointment as Lecturer in Aerodynamics in the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial College.

He proved to be an outstanding teacher and an exceptional researcher. His forte was experimentation, which he saw as a means of exploring the physical world. He worked with Donald Campbell’s design team on both the Bluebird car and boat. This included the installation of a novel, moving fl oor in one of the department’s wind tunnels to correctly reproduce the fl ow around vehicles with very small ground clearance. More signifi cantly, throughout the 1950s and 60s, there was an international race to produce ever faster aircraft and to solve the problems associated with manned

space fl ight. It was clear that, as fl ight speeds increased, new problems would be encountered and new engineering solutions would be needed; not least of these being the management of the extremely high thermal loads associated with atmospheric re-entry. At this time, experimentation was the only reliable tool, but these problems required the invention of new test facilities and John Stollery was a pioneer in the development and use of the ‘gun tunnel’. This device uses a reservoir of high pressure air to drive a piston down a long narrow tube while compressing a fi xed volume of gas ahead of it. This driven gas passes into a contoured test chamber containing the ‘model’ and measuring equipment. His Number 2 gun tunnel could deliver a gas slug with a speed of about 3km/sec corresponding to a Mach number of nine for about ten milliseconds. Making measurements in this environment was very challenging and was at the limits of high frequency data capture and high speed photography. This facility enabled John and his students to make important contributions to the understanding of high energy fl ows.

In recognition of this work, he was promoted to Reader in Aerodynamics in 1962. His increasing reputation produced a number of invitations to work with other groups, most notably Cornell Aeronautical Laboratories in Buffalo (1964) and the US Air Force Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Dayton (1971). Further recognition of the quality of his work came in 1972 with the award of a DSc degree.

In 1973, he was offered the Chair of Aerodynamics at the College of Aeronautics, Cranfi eld Institute of Technology. This was a great opportunity but a big step for the family. However,


Opposite page: John Stollery at the time of his Society Presidency, 1987-1988. RAeS (NAL).

Above from left: Lee Balthazor, then RAeS President, presents John Stollery with the Sir Robert Hardingham Sword in December 2002 for outstanding services to the Society. RAeS (NAL).

the only diffi cult issue he faced was raised by his sons, who wanted to know how they could possibly continue to support Chelsea when living in Bedford. This move was a great success; not only for him, but also for the College of Aeronautics. In 1976, he succeeded Professor David Keith-Lucas as Head of the College; a position that he held with distinction until 1986 and again from 1992 until 1995. He was also Dean of the Faculty of Engineering from 1976 to 1979 and Pro-Vice Chancellor from 1982 to 1985. Notwithstanding his administrative duties, he maintained his international links through visits to the National Aeronautical Laboratory, Bangalore, India (1977), Beijing Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1979) and the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (1983).

Outside Cranfi eld, he served as Chairman of the Defence Technology Board at the UK Ministry of Defence from 1986 to 1989, Chairman of the Aviation Committee at the Department for Trade and Industry from 1986 until 1994 and as a member of the Airworthiness Requirements Board at the Civil Aviation Authority from 1990 until 2000.

He was a life-long supporter of the Royal Aeronautical Society, which he served in almost every capacity. He was the Society’s President in 1987 at a time when the Society was facing some challenging fi nancial and managerial issues. An independent report commissioned by the Council had recommended that a set of radical and far reaching proposals be adopted; including the creation of the post of Director. John Stollery had the diffi cult task of steering the Society through these changes. He did it well, exercising both wisdom and humanity. In addition, and on his own initiative, he persuaded Council to limit the total length of service of its members so that there would be more opportunity for younger people to be elected. In later years, he was the fi rst President of the Cranfi eld Branch, he was the Editor of The Aeronautical Journal from 1996 to 2006 and an Associate Editor until his death. Some would say that he saved the Journal from extinction and all would agree that he improved its quality and its intellectual standing considerably.

In recognition of his contributions, he received many honours and awards. He was an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (1995), Fellow of the City and Guilds Institute of London (1984), Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1988) and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (1992). In 1994, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Outside work he had a life-long passion for football and, in recent years, he had returned to building and fl ying model aircraft. Jane taught him pottery and he developed his own line of pots that were marketed successfully through the Woburn Heritage Centre.

John Stollery had the ability to inspire and he could get the best from students and employees alike. He did not suffer fools gladly, he always spoke his mind and he could be very challenging. However, those who rose to that challenge found a good friend and a strong supporter for life. He was generous with his time and he was always ready to provide enthusiastic endorsements for applications, nominations and proposals.

His teaching style was simple and direct and, as a means of guaranteeing attention in class, he would occasionally invite a student to take over for a while. His lectures were models of clarity and, despite all the developments in advanced teaching technology, were always delivered with nothing more than traditional blackboard and chalk. As a supervisor of academic research, he had few equals. Many of his PhD students have gone on to lead very signifi cant research teams throughout the world, so far, at least four have achieved professorial positions and there is plenty of time for this number to increase. Therefore, his intellectual legacy and his infl uence in both the aerospace profession and in the fi eld of high speed aerodynamics are going to continue for many years.

In February of this year his former students, colleagues and friends attended a one-day colloquium on ‘High-Speed Flows’ at Cranfi eld to celebrate his long and distinguished career. This was a very well attended and truly international affair with participants from as far afi eld as the USA, Japan and Korea.

Although he formally retired from Cranfi eld University with the title Emeritus Professor in 1995, he never stopped working with students; supporting both teaching and research until his health fi nally failed. He died at home on 28 June. Jane died in 2009 and he is survived by their four sons; Simon, Edward, Richard and Ben.

Professor Ian PollOBE FREng FCGI HonFAIAA FRAeS

49AUGUST 2013fi@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.com

50

ObituariesWilliam Tudor Gunston


BILL WAS UNCANNILY CLEVER AT ANALYSING PHOTOS AND DRAWINGS OF NEW AIRCRAFT, DETAILS OF WHICH WERE STILL SECRET OR RESTRICTED. I RECALL THAT OUR [FLIGHT] LOCKHEED F-104G ARTICLE AND CUTAWAY DRAWING NEARLY CAUSED MELTDOWNS IN THE PENTAGON AND THE UK AIR MINISTRY

With the passing of Bill Gunston on 1 June 2013, the mould was broken and the world of aviation journalism is all the poorer. A former Technical Editor of Flight magazine, he was the Associate Editor of IHS Jane’s Aero-Engines and author of over 375 books on aviation.

Born on 1 March 1927, William Tudor Gunston got the aviation ‘bug’ early in life. As a ten-year-old boy he travelled to Germany (with a well-connected uncle with links to British intelligence) and met Willy Messerschmitt. He was shown the Bf109 and the prototype Bf110 fi ghters. (According to family sources, post-1945, he had the opportunity to fl y several German aircraft, including the Bf109 Gustav, Ju88 and He111.)

Educated at Pinner County School, he became a member of the Air Training Corps, also forming Club No.301 in the National Association of Spotters Clubs, taking part in numerous national competitions and being national winner three times.

In 1945 he joined the RAF and attended University College, Durham University on an RAF cadetship. In 1946, he was posted to 4 Flying Training School (FTS), Heany, Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he trained as a pilot. He went to 5 FTS Thornhill, Gwelo (now Gweru) where he continued training and became an instructor on Harvards. Bill once told me he’d fl own the de Havilland Mosquito and his last fl ight was in another DH type — the Vampire F3 single-seat fi ghter. He was demobbed from the RAF in 1948 at the Aircrew Allocation Unit, South Cerney.

Back in ‘civvie street’, Bill attended Northampton Engineering College — now London City University — until 1951. From there he joined the editorial staff of Flight magazine under its legendary editor H F (Rex) King, with the by-line of W T Gunston and was known as by all-and-sundry there as ‘WTG’. He was appointed Technical Editor of Flight in April 1955.

According to J M (Mike) Ramsden, another legendary editor of Flight, Bill: “Was the most infallibly well-informed aviation person I have ever known. He became famous for his technical ‘probes’. His desk was covered with references to jigs and widgets which he had spotted in publications like Aircraft Production. One of ‘Bill’s probes’ resulted in a visit to Rex’s offi ce by an Air Ministry security offi cial.

“He was a real technical editor. I remember the disbelief of industry that he had no access to security or classifi ed sources. He worked closely with our [Flight] team of technical artists, notably Arthur Bowbeer, Frank Munger and John Marsden.

“Bill was uncannily clever at analysing photos and drawings of new aircraft, details of which were still secret or restricted. I recall that our [Flight] Lockheed F-104G article and cutaway drawing nearly caused meltdowns in the Pentagon and the UK Air Ministry.

“He was unfailingly generous with his knowledge and time. You could ask Bill anything and if he didn’t know (a statistically negligible probability) he would fi nd out: Tailskid part number of Albert Ball’s Sopwith Camel? Ask Bill!”

In 1964 Bill launched Science Journal, taking the post of Technology Editor. As his freelance work expanded (requiring a subtle change of by-line to Bill Gunston), he resigned from what is now the Reed group (on the last day of 1970) to devote his time to writing. While aviation was, of course, his prime subject, he tackled many other engineering and scientifi c subjects. He once boasted to me that he had even written a book on submarines (and there is a reported sighting of one on dinosaurs).

Bill had the knack of imparting knowledge in a readable way, inspiring his reader with his own enthusiasm. He was able to write at the rate of several thousand words a day: feature articles took hours, books days! Prolifi c was, indeed, an apt adjective when describing Bill’s work yet, in addition, he made over 600 radio and TV broadcasts.

OBE FRAeS1927-2013

IHS

Jan

e’s.


In 1969, Bill joined the Jane’s team to assist with the Engines section of Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft (JAWA), taking it over the next year, and has contributed to JAWA ever since. Ken Munson (Deputy Editor of JAWA) endorsed Mike Ramsden’s remarks about Bill’s thoroughness. After Bill’s book on Attack Aircraft of the West (Ian Allan, 1974) appeared, he passed Ken his notes for the chapter on the Tornado, an aircraft about which much was still classifi ed at that time. On a whole sheaf of pages, there was scarcely a square inch of unoccupied space, including all four margins.

When his Engines section was spun off as a separate title in 1995 — Jane’s Aero-Engines — he was appointed Editor, a post in which he remained until 2007, when he became Associate Editor. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1991 and was twice Chairman of the Circle of Aviation Writers.

Bill was a supporter of the British aviation industry but a critic of its fragmented nature and the lack of coherent leadership to move complex projects forwards, unlike the French. Members of the Flight editorial team still talk of the Gunston Bet with the-then editor, that the Airbus A300 family would outsell the Boeing 727. During the early/mid-1970s, Bill worked as a consultant for Airbus Industrie, enjoying executive jet travel in a company HS125 from Hatfi eld to Toulouse on several occasions.

I fi rst met Bill during the late 1970s, when I was contributing to the Weapons & Warfare part-work, published by Phoebus. Already ‘a name’ in aviation journalism, he came across as an unassuming guy and was patient with the muted admiration shown by a young tyro and generous with his advice and knowledge. He was a true gentleman.

Although I never worked directly with Bill, over the years as our paths crossed, I would sound his opinion on specifi c queries. He never failed to help. After I joined the Jane’s group myself, he would occasionally consult me on a matter of detail about which he thought my knowledge of detail was greater than his; thus demonstrating the secret of ‘an expert’ that if he did not know the answer, he had a jolly good idea who might.

Among his many books deserving of a highlight, I must mention his Flight Handbook — the theory and practice of powered fl ight — my own copy (sixth edition, 1962) has been well-thumbed over 51 years — the Jane’s Aerospace Dictionary (produced over three editions) and his 1983 tour de force — a comprehensive history of Aircraft of the Soviet Union for Osprey. His Bombers of the West (Ian Allan, 1973) and the subsequent volumes on fi ghter and attack aircraft remain a valued aide-mémoire of the types he described and their capabilities.

In 1996, he was appointed an Offi cer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to aviation journalism. I remember ringing to

congratulate him and he could not fully comprehend “why”. I honestly believe he had no comprehension of the impact his writing had made on young air-minded boys of my generation (and, it emerged at his funeral, neither did his family). I asked if he knew what it meant? “Other Bugger’s Efforts” was his response.

I then reminded him of an old BBC radio sketch. Tony Hancock was berating the Government for, yet again, omitting him from the New Year’s Honours listing. His compadre, Australian Bill Kerr, responded by accusing Hancock of jealousy because he (Kerr) was an OBE. Hancock’s response was instant: “Bill — you were Ordered OUT of the British Empire!” Gunston roared with laughter on the other end of the phone.

In 2007, Bill was awarded the RAeS Decade of Excellence Award at the Aerospace Journalist of the Year Awards. This award was for consistently outstanding aerospace journalism over the past ten years, especially journalism that has covered multiple aspects of the global aerospace industry. It was judged by a panel of fi ve internationally recognised aviation journalists.

Bill married his former secretary, Margaret, who was a glider pilot, so she not only knew Bill’s world of aviation but the way he worked. She and their two daughters, Jeanette and Stephanie, survive him.

The fi nal accolade must be credited to my colleague Peter Felstead, Editor of IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, who provided this caption to the photo which accompanied Bill’s obituary in his magazine: Bill Gunston, who leaves behind him a legacy of aviation journalism that inspired a generation.

Michael J GethingMRAeSThis obituary has been compiled from many sources and contributions, including his family and former colleagues, Dennis Baldry, Paul Jackson, Ken Munson, Mike Ramsden and Ann Tilbury; to all of whom I offer my grateful thanks.

Afterburner


DiaryEVENTS LECTURES

16-17 SeptemberUnmanned Aviation: Challenges for GrowthUnmanned Air Systems Group Conference

17 SeptemberLanchester Lecture: The Aerodynamic Challenges of Aero-Engine Gas-Turbine Combustion SystemsProf James McGuirk, Professor of Aerodynamics, Loughborough UniversityAerodynamics Group Named Lecture

25-26 SeptemberAnnual International Flight Crew Training Conference: Upset Prevention, Recognition and Recovery Training

25 SeptemberCapt Ray Jones LectureLarry Rockliff, Chief Test Pilot, Tianjin FAL, Airbus Flight Simulation Group Named Lecture

1 OctoberCierva LectureRotorcraft Group Named Lecture

7 OctoberAerospace Medicine Autumn LectureAerospace Medicine Group Lecture

14 OctoberBritish Overseas Airways Corporation 1940-50Capt Dacre WatsonHistorical Group Lecture

15 OctoberGreener by Design 2013: Airports & Aircraft Noise

21 OctoberYoung Persons Annual Conference

22 OctoberAerospace Technology: The Road AheadPresident’s Conference

6 NovemberBrabazon LectureRichard Deakin, CEO, NATS

8 NovemberCareers in Aerospace LIVE 2013

11 NovemberLight Aircraft Design: Methods and Tools 2013General Aviation Group Conference

11 NovemberAerospace and Aviation Book Fair

All lectures start at 18.00hrs unless otherwise stated. Conference proceedings are available at www.aerosociety.com/news/proceedings

19 SeptemberSTOVL Flight Control TestingJustin Paines, Fixed Wing Chief Flying Instructor, ETPSFlight Test Group Lecture

www.aerosociety/events www.aerosociety/events

10 October — Concorde — a real life time machine. Capt David Rowland. Joint lecture with IMechE.

CANBERRAMilitary Theatre, ADFA. 6 pm. Jon Pike, E [email protected] August — F/A-18F Super Hornet. Wg Cdr John Haly.10 September — Autonomous nav-guidance for UAVs. Brad Yelland, BAE Systems.

CHESTERAuditorium, Customer Support Building, Airbus UK, Chester Road, Broughton. 7.30 pm. Keith Housley, T +44 (0)151 336 1805.11 September — The Trident. Neil Lomax.9 October — RAF fl ying. Wg Cdr Philip Spencer.

CHRISTCHURCHLecture Theatre Block, Wallisdown Campus, Bournemouth University. 7.30 pm. Roger Starling, E [email protected] September — Wings over Stonehenge — where the seeds of British military air power were sown. Ted Mustard.24 October — From fi rst to last — a life in aviation. Peter Hunt.

COVENTRYLecture Theatre ECG26, Engineering and Computing

Building, Coventry University. 7.30 pm. Janet Owen, T +44 (0)2476 464079. 16 October — Flight testing in the university environment. Dr Mike Bromfi eld, Coventry University. John Boyd Dunlop lecture.

CRANFIELDVincent Auditorium, Building 52, Cranfi eld University. 6.15 pm.15 October — Solar Orbiter. Andy Whitehouse, Solar Orbiter Programme Manager, Astrium.

CRANWELLRAF Cranwell. 7.30 pm.7 October — A history of aircraft fatigue from Comet to Dreamliner. Dr Andrew Halfpenny.

FARNBOROUGHPark Centre, BAE Systems, Farnborough. 7.30 pm. Dr Mike Philpot, T +44 (0)1252 614618.10 September — Title TBC. Sir Gerald Howarth MP.15 October — Satellite technology. Mike Healy, Astrium.

GATWICKConference Rooms 1&2 at CAA Safety Regulation Group, Aviation House, Gatwick (next to the Beehive). 6.30 pm. Don Bates, T +44 (0)20 8654 1150.11 September — Volcanic ash. Padhraic Kellerher, Head of Airworthiness, CAA.

ADELAIDEEngineers Australia, Level 11, 108 King William Street, Adelaide. 6 pm.E [email protected] August — KC-30A air-air refuelling testing — the Australian approach. Flt Lt Tim Spackman, ARDU.

BEDFORDARA Social Club, Manton Lane, Bedford. 6.30 pm. Marylyn Wood, T +44 (0)1933 353517.11 September — Shape-changing structures for aerospace applications. Dr Keith Seffen, Senior Lecturer, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge.23 October — Airbus future concepts. Bob Lange, Airbus.

BELFASTPeter Froggatt Centre, Queen’s University Belfast. 7 pm. Malcolm Cloke, T +44 (0)2890 465650.19 September — The Spitfi re and Seafi re. Rob Dean.17 October — Developing the fi nal frontier: The space revolution. Robert Hill Director, Northern Ireland Space Offi ce.

CAMBRIDGELecture Theatre ‘O’ of the Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge. 7.30 pm. Jin-Hyun Yu, T +44 (0)1223 373129.10 September — Flying the SR-71. Col Richard Graham, USAF Retd. Note date change.

An F/A-18A Hornet about to refuel from a KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport wing pod. EADS.

The F/A-18F Super Hornet will be described by Wg Cdr John Haly at Canberra on 13 August and KC-30A testing will be discussed by Flt Lt Tim Spackman at Adelaide on 27 August.

52


HAMBURGHochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg, Berliner Tor 5 (Neubau), Hörsaal 01.12, 20099 Hamburg. 6 pm. Richard Sanderson, T +49 (0)4167 92012.24 October — Future freighter aircraft — converted passenger aircraft or dedicated freighters? Lecture in German. Dr-Ing Dieter Schmitt, formerly Airbus. Joint lecture with DGLR andVDI.

HATFIELDUniversity of Hertfordshire. 7 pm. Maurice James, T +44 (0)7958 775441.25 September — Sophisticated small satellites from Surrey. Dr Stuart Eves, Lead Mission Concepts Engineer, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.

HEATHROWCommunity Learning Centre, Waterside, Harmondsworth. 6.15 pm. For security purposes please contact David Beaumont, E [email protected] September — 100 years of world-class aircraft from Kingston upon Thames. David Hassard.10 October — Subject TBC. Keith Williams, CEO, British Airways.

HIGHLANDThe Gallery, Elgin Library. 7 pm. Alex Gray, T +44 (0)1224 319464.14 August — RAF Lossiemouth operational activity today and in the near future. Gp Capt Ian Gale. Elgin Town Hall.11 September — North Sea helicopter operations. Mike Simon.

LOUGHBOROUGHRoom U020, Brockington Building, Loughborough University. 7.30 pm. Colin Moss, T +44 (0)1509 23996215 October — F-35B JSF. Graham Tomlinson, BAE Systems Senior Pilot.

MANCHESTERThe Deanwater Hotel, Wilmslow Road, Woodford. 7 pm. John Pedley, T +44 (0)161 653 7104.18 September — First fl ight of ATP. Robby Robinson.16 October — F1 race car aerodynamics. Steve Fenwick, Senior CFD Aerodynamicist, Lotus Cars. Newton Building, Salford University.

OXFORDThe Magdalen Centre, Oxford Science Park, Oxford. 7 pm. Nigel Randall, E [email protected]

17 September — Survivable loads on the pilot and the crashworthiness of glider cockpits. Dr Tony Segal.

PRESTONPersonnel and Conference Centre, BAE Systems, Warton. 7.30 pm. Alan Matthews, T +44 (0)1995 61470.18 September — FAAM — The Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements — Snoopy’s successor. Guy Gratton, Head of FAAM and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Brunel University.9 October — Greenbird Land Yacht Speed Record. George Seyfang, BAE Systems (retired).

PRESTWICKAviator Suite, Terminal Building, Prestwick International Airport. 7.30 pm. John Wragg, T +44 (0)1655 750270.9 September — Naval air power in the 20th century and beyond. David Bradley, Abertay University.14 October — 55 years of flying fun. Clive Rustin.

SEATTLEWilliam M Allen Theater, Museum of Flight, 9404 East Marginal Way, South Seattle, Washington. 6.30 pm.17 September — Kenmore Air. Craig O’Neill, Director of

Marketing & Sales, Kenmore Air.

SWINDONThe Montgomery Theatre, The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Joint Services Command Staff College, Shrivenham. 7 pm. Colin Irvin, T (0)7740 136609.2 October — Flapping wing technology. Dr Nathan Phillips.

SYDNEYSydney University, Shepherd Street, Darlington. 6.30 pm.E [email protected] August — QF32 A380 over Singapore. Capt David Evans.18 September — Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith lecture. Ian Thomas, President, Boeing Australia. Club Burwood (RSL), 96 Shaftesbury Road, Burwood, Sydney.

YEOVILTONNuffi eld Bar, Little Yeovilton, RNAS Yeovilton, Ilchester, Somerset. 6.30 pm. Lt Mike Harris, T +44 (0)1935 455122.24 September — Aerospace in 2050. Prof Graham Roe.

A Tornado GR4 aircraft of 617 Squadron, Royal Air Force, fl ies high over its parent station of RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland. SAC Kay-Marie Bingham, RAF/Crown copyright.

RAF Lossiemouth operations will be described by Gp Capt Ian Gale at the Highland Branch on 14 August.

Make sure your AeroSociety contacts are up to date

Almost fi ve years ago, the Society’s website domain changed from www.raes.org.uk to www.aerosociety.com and, at the same time, all staff members’ email addresses were updated accordingly. We will soon be halting the re-direction that is in place from the previous website and email addresses so please check the contact records you may have stored in your address book and also that you have the correct website bookmarked. If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call +44 (0)20 7670 4300.

UNPARALLELED PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING THROUGH EVENTS AND INVOLVEMENT WITH THE SOCIETY’S 24 SPECIALIST GROUPS AND 67 BRANCHES

Corporate Partners


Afterburner

NEW PARTNERS EVENTS

Please note: attendance at Corporate Partner Briefi ngs is strictly exclusive to staff of RAeS Corporate Partners. Unless otherwise advised, registration for Corporate Partner Briefi ngs is at 16.30 hrs.

Thursday 26 September 2013 / LondonHow does the UK maintain leadership in Air ISTAR?Corporate Partner Briefi ng by Bob Delorge, Chief Executive & Managing Director, Raytheon UKSponsored by Raytheon UK

Wednesday 16 October 2013 / LondonCSeries and Bombardier’s New Facility in BelfastCorporate Partner Briefi ng by Michael Ryan, Vice President & General Manager, Bombardier AerospaceSponsored by Bombardier

Thursday 21 November 2013 / LondonCorporate Partner Briefi ng on Cyber SecurityRichard Nethercott, VP of National Security, CGI

www.aerosociety.com/eventsFor further information, please contact Gail WardE [email protected] or T +44 (0)1491 629912

The Royal Aeronautical Society would like to welcome the following as Corporate Partners.

SINGAPORE AIRLINESChiswick Park, Building 11, 566 Chiswick High Road, London W4 5YS, UKT +44 (0)20 8563 6767E [email protected] www.singaporeair.comContactDominic Allen, Maintenance Manager London

Singapore Airlines is a global company dedicated to providing air transportation services of the highest quality and to maximising returns for the benefi t of its shareholders and employees.

Singapore Airlines has come a long way since our founding in 1972, evolving from a regional airline to one of the most respected travel brands around the world. We fl y one of the youngest aircraft fl eets in the world to destinations spanning a network spread over six continents, with the Singapore Girl as our internationally-recognisable icon providing the high standards of care and service that customers have come to expect of us.

EUROPEAN TRAINING SIMULATION ASSOCIATIONCrawford House, Hambleton Road, Denmead, Waterlooville, Hampshire PO7 6NU, UKT +44 (0)7722 234752E [email protected] www.etsa.euContactSteve Wilkinson, ETSA Company Secretary

European Training and Simulation Association (ETSA) represents the European training and simulation community and provides an environment for users and suppliers to exchange opportunities, ideas, information and strategies on training and simulation technology and methodology. ETSA brings together all those that have a professional interest in improving the effectiveness of training and training-related interoperability, standards and codes of practice. It represents to governments and other users of training and simulation the non-partisan business interests of the industry.

ETSA exists to promote effective effi cient training, and the use of modelling and simulation, for the benefi t of providers, practitioners and users.

SYSTEMS CONSULTANTS SERVICES LTDArlington House, 1025 Arlington Business Park, Theale, Reading, Berkshire RG7 4SA, UKT +44 (0)118 909 0200E [email protected] www.scs-ltd.co.ukContactBill Bird

SCS provides expert advice and services to public and private sector customers in the defence and security markets. SCS has deep expertise across a broad range of delivery areas, including safety and regulatory, training, complex systems and engineering support and support to operations.

SCS provides technical support services to the Defence Equipment and Support Organisation, building an extensive corporate knowledge of air platform designs at both the whole aircraft and sub-system level, Continued and Continuing Airworthiness, Production and Sustainment Policy, Process, Procedure, People and Products, delivered by suitably qualifi ed and experienced persons (SQEP).

SCS also supports major defence exercises at the strategic/command post levels, and has provided these services to the Permanent Joint HQ for a number of years.

Contact:Simon LevyCorporate Partner ManagerE [email protected] +44 (0)20 7670 4346

55fi@aerosociety linkedin.com/raes facebook.com/raes www.aerosociety.com AUGUST 2013

Society NewsNATS SWANWICK

NATS aims to deliver a further £120m of savingsOn 20 June, 15 members of the Boscombe Down Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society were privileged to partake in a guided visit of the NATS Swanwick Control Centre. The centre’s operation room opened in 2002 (combining the London Area Control Centre, London Terminal Centre and the Military Air Traffi c Control) and manages en route traffi c in the London Flight Information Region, which includes en route airspace over England and Wales up to the Scottish border and also traffi c below 24,500ft fl ying to or from London’s airports. This area, one of the busiest in Europe, extends south-east towards the coast, west towards Bristol and north to near Birmingham. The military control-lers provide services to civil and military aircraft operating outside controlled airspace and work closely with civilian controllers to ensure safe co-ordination of traffi c.

Within the building itself, we were greeted by a large screen presenting information and statistics about NATS. UK airspace only covers 11% of European airspace but it handles 25% of Europe’s air traffi c. The Swanwick centre alone handles a staggering 1·9m fl ights per year, with fl ights peaking at 8,500 per day. NATS impressively boasts to have reduced the average fl ight delay from 130 seconds to a mere 1·6 seconds over the ten-year period since Swanwick became operational, to the benefi t of passengers and airlines alike. Another impressive statistic has been achieved through the introduction of NATS intelligent future area control tools (iFACTS) which enhances safety nets and also simplifi es the task of allowing continuous climb departures, continuous descents, as well as most direct point-to-point routeings. In 2012 this allowed measurable fuel effi ciency savings of 25,000 tonnes (worth £17m) and NATS aims to deliver a further £120m of savings to the airlines over the next three years.

So what does it take to be an Air Traffi c Control-ler? From an initial batch of 3,000 applicants, after initial computer-based aptitude tests, scenario-based examination and initial interviews, only 25 will be selected to undertake three years of training at the NATS ATC training college, of which only 20 will be successful and gain full validation. If you are successful, the career rewards are substantial; a six fi gure salary was stated as not being uncommon, with working shift patterns of six days on followed by four days off. According to our host, another benefi t is that at the end of your shift you do not take any stress home with you. He went on to say that the job is very low stress; although this is presumably down to the type of person recruited rather than the job itself. Testament to this concept can be seen when looking out of the observation windows on to the operations room below, far from being a buzzing room of pandemonium with people running all over the place like headless chickens, the scene below was one of complete calm and professionalism.

At the end of the visit we had a Q&A session, where many questions were asked, such as: “What happens to the centre in the event of a fi re?” “How did the controllers handle the changes to UK airspace during the London 2012 Olympic Games?” “How are interactions between the controllers and the aircraft Traffi c Alert and Collision Avoidance System handled?”

Overall, the visit was a great success and thor-oughly enjoyed by all. We left Swanwick confi dent that, despite the density of air traffi c over the south of the UK, next time we take a commercial fl ight our safety will be largely in the hands of a professional and world-class air traffi c management service provider.

To fi nd out more about the Boscombe Down Branch and what we have to offer, please visit: http://www.boscombedownraes.org.

Marc SheridanMRAeSTreasurer, RAeS Boscombe Down BranchE [email protected]

Top: The Boscombe Down Branch outside NATS Swanwick.Above: The NATS Swanwick site is surrounded by woodland and is located adjacent to the Swanwick Lakes nature reserve. The gate guardian is a Harrier GR3. david.nikonvscanon.

Below: Inside NATS Swanwick Ops Room. NATS.

David Suttie

Muhammad Atiq ArshadPauly BarrattLiam CrosbieAndrew ForrestTimothy MilneLuke O’BrienGeorge ThomasJohn WalkerTimothy West

Ruari BrookerHarry MillerAdam PhiloTimothy Tanko

56

Elections


NATIONAL AEROSPACE LIBRARY

Vintage Aviation PostersVisitors to The Hub building in which the National Aerospace Library at Farnborough is located can now view reproductions (40 inch Box Canvas Prints) of original posters held in the Library’s archives, displayed along the corridor leading from the Library to ‘The Aviators’ café bar.

A wide range of giftware items and poster/print reproductions of over 440 vintage colour aviation posters/magazine covers/air show programmes/airline timetables/decorative book covers etc. c.1909-1939 held in the archives of the NAL can be ordered via the following website:

www.aerosociety.com/printsandpostersThe NAL holds probably one of the fi nest

archives of early ballooning material of its kind in the world and, via the website, can be viewed 238 images of 18th and 19th century ballooning lithographs and posters which represents a wide selection of its pre-eminent collection.

The website has been produced in collaboration with the Mary Evans Picture Library (www.maryevans.com) through whom these images can be licensed for reproduction in books, magazines, advertising and other media.

For any enquiries regarding this material, please contact the Librarians at Farnborough (T +44 (0)1252 701038/701060; E [email protected])

SOCIETY OFFICERSPresident: Jenny BodyPresident-Elect: Air Cdre Bill Tyack

BOARD CHAIRMEN

Audit and Compliance Chairman: Prof David Allerton

Learned Society Chairman: Prof Graham RoeMembership Services Chairman:

Martin BroadhurstProfessional Standards Chairman:

Prof Chris Atkin

DIVISION PRESIDENTS

Australia: Air Cdre Noel G SchmidtNew Zealand: Gp Capt Frank SharpPakistan: AM Salim ArshadSouth African: Prof Laurent Dala

Anthony FavaloroChristopher BaecherDaniel HughesDavid GrevesDenis CaraireEdmund AchesonJo-Anne HumeJohn MolloyKurt GrantLeata AlaimoanaMarian TomsaNicholas MaitlandPaul WoodwardPeter-Jon SolomonRichard GrantRichard MumfordRobert CalladineTimothy Durkin

Gerard BrachetMartin ClarkRichard DayMark DeaneyGordon EvansJeffrey ForsbreyAngela GittensPeter HoffmanScott McLartyAlison McMillanMichael MurrayPhilip OsbornJohn PriceGrandhi RaoTed RichardsVladimir ShibaevAlan SiddowayRobert StirlingChristopher Wilson

Philip BirchamChristopher (Mike)

BoyleJaime Gonzalez SolariPeter Griffi nDavid HammondMohsin KhanPeter LipsettScott MacLeodTristan McMillanYeow Wei PangMalcolm WelsbyRobert WesterbergAdrian WoolvenZdenek Zaruba

Peter AustinCharles KingGeraint Laidlaw-WilsonIain Thomson

Jonathan HarriesAnas HassanAaron KabasobokweRoger Laguia BarnolaJack MellorAndrew MilliganRajesh OdedraDavid OliverThomas PittsEmile RayaAdam Todd

FELLOWS

MEMBERS

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

AFFILIATES

E-ASSOCIATES

APPRENTICE AFFILIATES

STUDENT AFFILIATES

ASSOCIATES

Chr

istin

e W

oodw

ard.

Pau

l Bai

ley.

Eutelsat keeps on the high ground

Thirty years of Europe’s commercial telecom satellites were celebrated at No.4HP on 28 June. Stephen Glynn described the success story that is Eutelsat, which has grown to become one of the largest commercial satellite operators in the world. He outlined the path from the single ECS-1 satellite launched on 16 June 1983 to the 31 satellites currently operated by the organisation, resulting in annual revenues of €1·2bn and a staff complement of 780, mainly at the HQ in Paris.

Another part of the story is how Eutelsat, more than any other organisation, has helped strengthen and sustain two suppliers of telecom satellites in Europe — Astrium and Thales Alenia Space. Eutelsat has also favoured the use of Europe’s Ariane family of launch vehicles, with occasional use of American and other rockets in order to avoid being totally dependent on a single supplier.

Originally set up as an international treaty organisation, Eutelsat was eventu-ally privatised leading to an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2005. Its business has, in recent years, been buttressed by the growth of high defi nition TV, with 3D and ultra-high defi nition TV at the demonstration stage.

Its latest Ka-sat satellite illuminates Europe with a matrix of 82 spot beams. The radio spectrum is re-used in non-adjacent spot beams resulting in the satellite being able to support a total throughput of 70Gbps. Eutelsat’s fl eet of satellites stretches across more than half of the equatorial geostationary arc (35,000km high) from 15° W to 172° E, allowing the delivery of services to much of Asia, Africa, South America and the east coast of North America, as well as Europe.

Looking to the future, he envisages Eutelsat continuing to rely on satellites in geostationary orbit, rather than the low Earth orbits (~1,000km high) used by some other operators. As concerns the satellites themselves, he outlined trends towards larger satellites continuing on from Ka-sat and smaller but more fl exible satellites that can adapt to changing market conditions.

Pat NorrisFRAeS

WITH REGRETThe RAeS announces with regret the deaths of the following members:

Capt Arthur Rodney Cane FRAeS 62

Prof John Frederick Clarke CEng FRAeS 86

Alan James Daley IEng FRAeS 75

Edward David Frith FRAeS 79

Richard Alan Jones CEng MRAeS 39

Alan Norman Knowles CEng MRAeS 90

Prof Martin Vincent Lowson FREng FRAeS 75

John Yeates Mann CEng FRAeS 87

Frank Surgenor Reford CEng FRAeS 69

Prof John Leslie Stollery CBE FREng HonFRAeS

83

David Harold John Symons MBE IEng AMRAeS

84

Philip Walter Syms FRAeS 83

John P Townsend IEng AMRAeS 87

ADVERTISINGTo advertise in any of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s publications, website or e-media please contact:

Emma BossomT +44 (0)20 7670 4342E [email protected]

RAeS RECEPTION AT THE PARIS AIR SHOW

During the Paris Air Show, the Paris Branch once again hosted a champagne breakfast reception at the Salon International de l’Aeronautique et de l’Espace (SIAE) chalet. The opportunity was taken to promote the Society’s new members’ magazine, AEROSPACE. Here Simon Luxmoore, far right, shows the June issue to Peter Hall, Public Relations Manager, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty.


initiatives strongly supported would contain an element of fait accompli to shape wider European efforts.

Differences still remainDespite the putative Entente Aerospatiale there are still issues that divide the two countries. Britain’s links with the US places its industry in a very different medium-term environment; the F-35 offers security of production if not the highest level of technology, and certainly not the way to maintain central design integration skills. Rafale competes with Typhoon for immediate business. And while the UK is thinking about privatising its procurement agency, the French government is in a tangle over its control (or lack of control) over its defence industrial base, despite, or perhaps because of, its continuing shareholding in key fi rms.† In principle, this latter dichotomy should not prevent co-operation, but it does suggest continuing, fundamental differences about how to handle defence industrial and procurement questions, which might in the future give rise to diffi culties about, for example, transatlantic defence trade.

But action is needed — and soonHowever, both countries need urgently to address an emerging threat to vital defence aerospace capabilities. The Royal Aeronautical Society and the French Academy of Air and Space have both called for commitments to a future generation of combat platforms — or at least the technology to support new concepts — in particular the need to start a full UCAV development programme.

A recent conference in Paris sponsored by the Academy underlined the seriousness of the threat and outlined possible avenues to meet it. The threat to leading-edge design teams is imminent and the time for talking about launching a coherent programme to support a vital element of European aerospace is pretty well exhausted.

For as long as I can remember, American offi cials have been moaning about European unwillingness to spend money on defence. True enough, and what the continent does spend it does so very ineffi ciently. Moreover, when there is a need to use the stuff, there always seem to be reluctance on the part of somebody to commit their share of capability.

In this context, the Anglo-French axis has emerged as a critical element in developing European defence capabilities. Although there are still differences in emphasis — especially in respect of the role of NATO — London and Paris are the most ready to act in defence of ‘European’ security interests.

The Lancaster House Agreement Co-operation in a material sense was underpinned by the 2010 Lancaster House agreement. This included commitments on joint procurement. But effective collaboration needs substantive activity, and fi nancial realities may yet undermine Anglo-French aspirations. Budgetary austerity haunts both sides of the Channel, but especially so in France, where the government may struggle to fund its share of a new anti-ship airborne missile.

There is also the question of what to do about unmanned systems, one of the central points of the Lancaster House accord. Work on the Telemos project has stalled, although a decision is imminent on how (or if) to proceed with a more advanced UCAV joint development, in effect the leading contender to meet the UK Future Combat Aerospace System outline requirement.

Given that both countries will need to make savings in defence, there is still a powerful case for working more effi ciently together on military aerospace programmes. A strong Anglo-French axis could drive reform in the way collaborative programmes are organised and work shares allocated. They would still have to address German and Italian concerns but a series of bilateral joint

The Last Word

The Entente Aerospatiale: time for action

Professor Keith HaywardRAeS Head of Research

COMMENTARY FROM

GIVEN THAT BOTH COUNTRIES WILL NEED TO MAKE SAVINGS IN DEFENCE, THERE IS STILL A POWERFUL CASE FOR WORKING MORE EFFICIENTLY TOGETHER ON MILITARY AEROSPACE PROGRAMMES


† See Cour des comptes, Les faiblesses de l’État actionnaire d’entreprises industrielles de défense, http://www.ccomptes.fr/Actualites/A-la-une/Les-faibless-es-de-l-Etat-actionnaire-d-entreprises-industrielles-de-defense

A S I A P A C I F I C A I R L I N E T R A I N I N G S Y MM P O S I U MM

Conference By:

Shaping the future of airline training for the region17–18 September 2013Centara Grand Convention CentreBangkok, Thailand

halldale.com/apatsFor more information, visit

REGISTER NOW

EARLY BIRDRATES END 31 JULY

Gold Sponsor:Platinum Sponsor:

www.aerosociety.com/events

President’s Conference

AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY:

THE ROAD AHEAD

LONDON / 22 OCTOBER 2013

Celebrating the presidential year of Jenny Body OBE, the 2013 President’s Conference will inaugurate an exciting new series of annual conferences by examining how aerospace technology may best be fitted for the future.

Technology and its implementation continues to be the key differentiator for aerospace.This conference aims to be the premier conference for the international aerospace community. It will draw on expertise from other sectors and address the strategic challenges, consider changes to current philosophies and set out a vision for the future.


UAS Conference

UNMANNED AVIATION:

CHALLENGES FOR GROWTH

LONDON / 16 - 17 SEPTEMBER 2013

The conference includes an Innovation Award for student RAeS members

Sponsored by:

This year’s annual UAS Conference focuses on the successes already accomplished in getting to a European Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Roadmap covering all 27 member states, developed by the European RPAS Steering Group.

With a timeframe stretching out to 2028 there is much still to happen for the European UAS industry to emerge into a more secure and sustainable future.

3


UPSET PREVENTION, RECOGNITION

& RECOVERY TRAINING

8TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT CREW TRAINING CONFERENCE

LONDON / 25 - 26 SEPTEMBER 2013

Sponsored by

The 2013 Conference will examine and discuss the challenges of upset prevention and recovery training.The Conference will address the remaining challenges in training programmes and processes from the perspectives of aircraft operators, makers and users of training systems, training providers, researchers and regulators.

June 2013 marks 75 years of Boeing’s partnership

with the UK. We’re proud of what we have built

together and we will continue to rely on our UK

partners — customers, employees, suppliers

and researchers — as we innovate for our shared

future. As Boeing continues to deliver aircraft to

UK airlines and remains a committed supporter

of the UK’s Armed Forces, we can’t think of a

better place to grow. Together, we’ll soar even

higher in the next 75 years. Learn more at

www.boeing.co.uk

Raes August2013 Aerospace 1308

Documents

Transcript of Raes August2013 Aerospace 1308