Model Airplanes

Elon Musk is once again predicting that the launch of his Mars rocket is just around the corner—and so is a rocket to replace the LAX–JFK red eye. Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, early Friday, the SpaceX (and Tesla) CEO shared the latest on the ambitious plans of his space-travel startup. By 2022, Musk hopes to send the first noncrewed cargo ships to Mars. By 2024, he said, humans could become a multiplanetary species, and leave Earth to begin making a home on the red planet. As for shorter trips, Musk also described plans to use rocket ships for transporting people across the far reaches of Earth, or even single continents. A SpaceX trip from Los Angeles to New York City, he predicted, could take just 25 minutes.

Article source: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2017/09/29/elon_musk_plans_to_send_people_to_mars_by_2024.html

BELFAST (Reuters) – Britain told U.S. planemaker Boeing on Wednesday that it could lose out on future British defense contracts because of its dispute with Canadian rival Bombardier which has put 4,200 jobs at risk in Northern Ireland.

The U.S. Department of Commerce on Tuesday imposed a 220-percent duty on Bombardier’s (BBDb.TO) CSeries jets, whose wings are made at a plant in Belfast, following a complaint by Boeing (BA.N) which accuses Canada of unfairly subsidizing Bombardier.

The ruling is a political headache for Britain’s minority Conservative government, which relies on support from a Northern Irish party to stay in power.

It also undermines the government’s assurances to Britons that free trade and London’s close ties with Washington will be pillars of Britain’s prosperity and global influence after it leaves the European Union in 2019.

“This is not the behavior we expect from Boeing and it could indeed jeopardize our future relationship with them,” British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told reporters in Belfast.

“Boeing wants and we want a long-term partnership but that has to be two-way.”

Fallon later ruled out cancelling existing orders with Boeing for nine P-8 spy planes and 50 Apache helicopters, but added the U.S. firm was seeking other UK contracts.

“We know they will be back at the door,” he told Reuters.

Bombardier is the largest manufacturing employer in Northern Ireland, which is the poorest of the United Kingdom’s four parts and is mired in political difficulties after emerging from decades of armed sectarian

Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-bombardier-britain/britain-warns-boeing-it-might-miss-out-on-business-over-bombardier-row-idUSKCN1C20HH

Airbus is on a mission to 3D print as much of an aircraft as possible and it’s pulling in a number of aerospace manufacturers and additive manufacturing (AM) companies into its massive project. Among them is Arconic (formerly Alcoa Inc.), which recently pulled off a first in 3D printing for aerospace when a 3D-printed titanium bracket was installed on the airframe of an Airbus A350 XWB commercial plane.

Unlike other metal and plastic 3D-printed parts flying on test planes, such as the Airbus A320 neo and A350 XWB test aircraft, this is the first to be installed on a series production Airbus commercial aircraft.

The 3D-printed titanium bracket assembly, produced by laser powder bed fusion and installed on a commercial A350 XWB aircraft. (Image courtesy of Airbus.)

To learn more about the project and Arconic’s overall history in AM for aerospace, ENGINEERING.com spoke with Don Larsen, Arconic Vice President of RD and General Manager of Advanced.

3D Printing Airframe Parts

Right now, we’re in the early stages of adopting AM to produce end parts for use in aircraft. Numerous companies are making their marks, manufacturing engine components and pieces for inside the airplane cabin. Perhaps most famous in this regard is GE, which is 3D printing fuel nozzles for its LEAP engine.

During these early stages, we’re seeing a lot of step-by-step work being done in which businesses perform a battery of tests on a given 3D-printed part before it is installed on a test aircraft. The Arconic news is particularly interesting in that

Article source: http://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/15709/Arconic-Talks-Installing-3D-Printed-Bracket-on-Series-Production-Commercial-Airbus-Airframe.aspx

Posted: Thursday, September 28, 2017 9:09 am
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Updated: 9:26 am, Thu Sep 28, 2017.

AIR RACES WILL COME TO CALIFORNIA CITY

Ann Richardson

Mojave Desert News

It’s called the Race of Champions or Giant Scale Pylon Racing.  It’s also the first time California City has held such an event at the Municipal

Article source: http://www.desertnews.com/news/article_63332f36-a467-11e7-9dcc-17d705ee194d.html