Joint BioEnergy Institute Researchers Demonstrate That Jet Fuels Made From Plants Could Be Cost Competitive With Conventional Fossil Fuels

With an estimated daily fuel demand of more than 5 million barrels per day, the global aviation sector is incredibly energy-intensive and almost entirely reliant on petroleum-based fuels. Unlike other energy sectors such as ground transportation or residential and commercial buildings, the aviation industry can’t be easily shifted to renewable energy sources using existing technologies.

Airline Partner GOL And Santander Brasil Provides Volunteers For The 16Th Annual Delta Global Build

Delta employees have helped families across the globe for more than 20 years through its partnership with Habitat for Humanity, a global nonprofit organization that works with families to build or improve a place they can call home. Last week, Delta employees, along with employees from partner airline GOL and Santander Brasil, were in Recife, Brazil, continuing this commitment to service to communities worldwide.

Notes Role Battling Woolsey Fire With Firefighting Helicopters

Sikorsky has recognized the County of Los Angeles Fire Department’s Air Operations Section for its efforts in combating last November’s devastating Woolsey Fire with firefighting helicopters. The Fire Department operates eight multi-mission helicopters, including three S-70A Sikorsky Firehawk aircraft.

Will Further Develop Autonomous Software For Air Mission Planning

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BAE Systems a Phase 3 contract worth $3.1 million to continue developing autonomy software to improve the resiliency of air mission planning for the military. The program, called Resilient Synchronized Planning and Assessment for the Contested Environment (RSPACE), seeks to develop human-centered software decision aids that can assist air operators to better control daily operations in a complex battlespace.

LeClairRyan Attorneys Present Webinar Covering FAA's Changing Regulatory Framework

Regulators are formulating rules that stand to affect every part of the American drone industry—and the time is now for stakeholders to make their voices heard, advise veteran aviation attorneys with the national law firm LeClairRyan.

Tech That Enables New Missions And Capability With A Software Push Will Be Ready For Launch This Year

Lockheed Martin has announced a new generation of space technology launching this year that will allow satellites to change their missions in orbit. Satellites that launched one, ten or even fifteen years ago largely have the same capability they had when they lifted off. That's changing with new architecture that will let users add capability and assign new missions with a software push, just like adding an app on a smartphone. This new tech, called SmartSat, is a software-defined satellite architecture that will boost capability for payloads on several pioneering nanosats ready for launch this year.

Will Tear Down And Part Out Three Of The Powerplants

Vallair, a company specializing in mature aircraft and engine assets, has partnered with like-minded Contrail Aviation Support LLC, a commercial aircraft trading, leasing and parts solutions provider, in a deal for three CFM56-7B engines.

Will Partner On Launch Solutions For Constellations

Firefly Aerospace, a provider of economical and dependable launch vehicles, spacecraft and in-space services, announced today the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus Defense and Space to develop new space launch solutions for Airbus customers.

Aero Linx: Fairchild Club You need not own a Fairchild to be part of our Club and share our enthusiasm for the Airplanes. To Join or renew your membership in the Fairchild Club, simply fill out our form, send it along with a check for $20.00 (US funds) for annual dues. If your are fortunate enough to have a Fairchild airplane, please let us know about it. We try to keep records by Model Number, by Country/State of the owner and by owners last name. Members will receive the Club Newsletter, Fairchild Flyer, four times a year.

Flight Management Systems A computer system that uses a large data base to allow routes to be preprogrammed and fed into the system by means of a data loader. The system is constantly updated with respect to position accuracy by reference to conventional navigation aids. The sophisticated program and its associated data base ensures that the most appropriate aids are automatically selected during the information update cycle.

“It’s challenging to electrify aviation using batteries or fuel cells in part because of the weight restrictions on aircraft, so liquid biofuels have the potential to play a big role in greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The team at JBEI has been working on biological routes to advanced bio-jet fuel blends that are not only derived from plant-based sugars but also have attractive properties that could actually provide an advantage over conventional jet fuels.” Source: Lead author Corinne Scown, a researcher in Berkeley Lab’s Energy Technologies Area as well as DOE’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), discussing  a new analysis by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Natio