Model Airplanes

DETROIT—Though few drivers suspect it, cars increasingly are held together by glue—as are airplanes, phones and myriad other items.

The process of substituting adhesives for welds, rivets, screws and bolts has been so gradual over recent decades that few people have noticed. Now, it is speeding up in the car world as manufacturers struggle to make vehicles lighter to meet tougher fuel-economy requirements.

That’s good news for…

Article source: http://online.wsj.com/articles/super-glues-are-the-secret-to-making-cars-lighter-1410196062

At the University of Virginia, engineers are printing airplanes.

Three-dimensional printing is the production, or “printing,” of actual objects, such as toys or parts for devices, by using a machine that traces out layers of melted plastic in specific shapes until it builds a piece to the exact specifications of a computer-aided drawing produced by a designer.

With the increased availability of user-friendly computer programs and 3-D printers, that designer can be anybody. Eventually, almost any object, or parts for objects, may become 3-D printable – even including body implants – in a range of materials, including metals.

U.Va. engineers and engineering students are using sophisticated 3-D printing technology to make an array of objects, including a plastic airplane for a Department of the Army project.

David Sheffler, a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in U.Va.’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and 20-year veteran of the aerospace industry, teaches 3-D printing to engineering students. He recently took some time to discuss the future of 3-D printing in industry and society.

Q: Please explain the 3-D-printed, hand-launchable, fully autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicle named “The Razor,” on which you are working with the Mitre Corporation. It appears to be built with off-the-shelf hardware, using an Android smartphone as the central processor.

Sheffler: We were asked to help investigate the feasibility of producing a UAV with the same capabilities in speed, flight time and payload as other systems currently deployed by the military that could be 3-D-printed and utilize non-proprietary hardware for the

Article source: http://news.virginia.edu/content/fixes-fly-uva-expert-weighs-3-d-printed-airplanes-and-more-0

The influence of the aftermarket services on today’s commercial aviation industry is undeniable. The data provided by ICF SHE indicates that the spare parts market has grown by over $5 billion in 12 years’ time and now accounts for almost half of $56 billion worth MRO market. Moreover, with early aircraft retirements affecting the aftermarket, the carriers are increasingly adopting an active surplus materials strategy to become less dependent from the OEMs. However, operators of some popular aircraft types are less lucky than the others.

If in the 2001 the aviation serviceable parts market was worth about $11 billion, with just 10% claimed by surplus parts, today surplus parts account for about 18% of a $15 billion market, and the share could climb to 20% by 2015. According SHE, as the useful life of various aircraft models continues to get shorter, the share of surplus parts being sourced directly from part-outs currently reaches about 82%. Meanwhile, while surplus parts are making their mark, demand is not being met on some of the most popular models, including the B777 and its GE90 engines, and the B737NG.

According to Zilvinas Sadauskas, the CEO of Locatory.com, a lack of B777 surplus parts in the aftermarket should raise no eyebrows: “On the one hand, the aftermarket for the type still hasn‘t been able to form – spares and components of these aircraft are simply disappearing, since the manufacturer‘s tightening control affects the spares‘ pricing and availability. At the same time, long-haul aircraft experience less overload due

Article source: http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/11681470/unmet-demand-where-surplus-aircraft-parts-cant-reach

Boeing, China’s leading provider of passenger airplanes, projects a demand in the country for 6,020 new airplanes over the next 20 years, valued at $870 billion. The company released its annual China Current Market Outlook (CMO) today in Beijing which shows Chinese carriers will take delivery of nearly 45 percent of the total demand for airplanes in the Asia Pacific region during the forecast period.

“China’s aviation market is going through dynamic changes,” said Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of Marketing. “New business models like low-cost carriers and airplane leasing companies, a new generation of fuel-efficient airplanes and evolving consumer needs are driving demand for more direct flights to more destinations.”
Boeing airplanes such as the 737 MAX, 777X and 787 Dreamliner are well positioned to take passengers directly to their destinations and help airlines generate more revenue.

The new CMO also shows how the emergence of start-up airlines and low-cost carriers stimulates traffic and allow more people to fly. Tourism in China and intra-Asia travel support a strong demand for single-aisle airplanes, with total deliveries reaching 4,340 through 2033. Tinseth said both the Next-Generation 737-800 and new 737 MAX 8 offer the airline customers the most revenue potential in this segment.
Chinese airlines with large global networks continue to look for opportunities to expand as international flying increases from secondary cities apart from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. This growth in the long-haul segment is expected to result in demand for an additional 1,480 new fuel-efficient widebodies, such as the

Article source: http://www.eturbonews.com/49891/boeing-china-will-lead-asia-pacific-region-new-airplane-deliveri

interview

By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku

Prof Godwin Igwe is the Director, Centre for Gas, Refining and Petrochemicals, Institute of Petroleum Studies, University of Port Harcourt. In this interview with Chika Amanze-Nwachuku, he posited that setting up modular refineries at strategic demand locations in Nigeria will put an end to persistent shortage of petroleum products in Nigeria. Excerpts:

In the recent time you have been very passionate about modular refining system, what is fuelling this passion?

Leaving Nigeria in 1971 and returning in 2011 to find our citizens queuing endlessly at petrol stations for petroleum products, specifically premium motor spirit (PMS) and all other petroleum products, made me sick. It’s painful for me to see this in an oil producing country. So I thought, why wait for things to happen instead of making things to happen? Yes, a simple modular refinery could solve this problem of fuel scarcity, hereby making life better for our people.

Do you think modular refining is the answer to Nigeria’s products demand challenges and why?

A focused, educated, local experts or think tank would consider the demand and supply needs of our citizens and proffer solution. The first solution to filling the gap should not be to import, but to locally satisfy this demand. Long term thoughtful strategy is very important. Personal primitive acquisition of wealth is not the solution. Therefore, setting up modular refineries at strategic demand locations would be a stop-gap pressure reducing measure to the product demand challenges. Fuel shortages will be greatly reduced if the companies/investors issued

Article source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201409081523.html