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NASA Aims to Quiet Sonic Booms

On Oct. 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager flew into aviation history by piloting a Bell XS-1 research plane to supersonic speeds of more than 700 mph. These days, NASA is flying unmanned aircrafts at Mach 10 velocity.

A sonic boom is created by shock waves that form on the front and rear of the aircraft flying faster than the speed of sound. The boom loudness is related to the strength of the shock waves. Supersonic flights over land generally is prohibited because of annoyances caused by the loud booms.

Now, NASA is concluding a series of flight tests to measure shock waves generated by an F-15 jet, in an effort to validate computer models that could be used in designing quieter supersonic aircraft.

The Lift and Nozzle Change Effects on Tail Shock, or Lancets, project aims to enable the developmental of commercial aircraft that can fly faster than the speed of sound without the loud sonic booms.

During the flight tests at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., one of two F-15s generally followed 100 feet to 500 feet below and behind the other, measuring the strength of the leading aircraft’s shock waves at various distances with special instruments. Global Positioning System relative positioning was used to guide the pilot of the probing aircraft to the test position and for accurate reporting of measurement locations.

A second NASA F-15B was the probing aircraft. It was fitted with a special nose spike for taking shock strength measurements.

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Chinook upgrade funding in place for all 48 helicopters

Funding has been authorized to upgrade the UK Royal Air Force’s entire fleet of 48 Chinook HC.2/2A/3 tandem rotor helicopters under the ‘Project Julius’ programme.

Previously, funding was only secured for the first eight (8) aircraft. This upgrade will immediately take the entire RAF Chinook fleet up to a ‘glass cockpit’ standard, incorporating a nose-mounted forward looking infrared (FLIR) system. The first two aircraft should be available towards the end of 2011 with an initial operational capability (IOC) shortly after. The 48 aircraft are due to have been upgraded by 2016, giving the RAF a fleet of identically configured aircraft for the first time.

The Chinook HC.2s are equipped with a range of operational enhancements due to urgent operational requirements (UORs). In 2003 eight aircraft were additionally improved with a night enhancement package (NEP), while some were retrofitted with Honeywell T55-714 engines.

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Mooney Ovation 3: Turbo Performance Without The Turbo

Say what you will about American cars, but America builds some of the best civilian airplanes in the world. In the lower rungs of general aviation, especially trainers through four-seat retractables, American flying machines have virtually no equal.

Take, for instance, the Mooney M20R Ovation 3. The current M20R is a third-generation Mooney, the beneficiary of a half century of development. Designer Al Mooney inarguably got it right the first time out of the box back in the 1950s when he created his four-seat M20. While today’s airplane is light-years ahead of its ancestor in performance, comfort, systems, aerodynamics and electronics, you can still see the heritage of design—the arrogant, vertical tail; short, rubber doughnut gear; and tall baggage compartment.

Though it may not be the airplane Luke Skywalker would fly, the basic four-seat Mooney has aged at least as well as Christie Brinkley (who, more than coincidentally, is the same age) while nearly doubling climb rate and adding almost 100 knots to cruise speed.

In fact, Mooneys have consistently enjoyed speed disproportionate to their horsepower. The type has been among the world’s fastest and most efficient personal airplanes since its inception. Today, the Mooney Acclaim S is the acknowledged leader in the turbocharged class, notching near-turboprop speeds on a measly 280 hp.

Similarly, the Ovation 3 is the quickest normally aspirated single—quite simply (or not so simply) the fastest production airplane above the planet without a blower under the bonnet. The Ovation 3 features essentially the same 310 hp Continental engine used on the Cessna Corvalis 350 and the Cirrus SR22-G3. (The only significant differences are associated with repositioning some items to accommodate the Mooney’s retractable nosewheel.)

Indonesian military plane crashes on Java

JAKARTA, Indonesia – An Indonesian military plane carrying more than 100 people crashed into several homes and burst into flames Wednesday, killing at least 93 people.

Others were injured and more were feared dead. Black smoke billowed in the air, as soldiers carried badly burnt bodies on stretchers to waiting ambulances.

Military spokesman Sagom Tamboen said the C-130 aircraft was transporting troops and their families, including at least 10 children, when it tumbled from the sky near an air force base in East Java province. There were 112 passengers and crew on board when the C-130 Hercules crashed near a base in East Java province early Wednesday.

The plane smashed into a row of houses in Geplak village, killing three on the ground, before skidding into a rice field. The tail of the plane and several large parts of its body were scattered in the paddy and nearby bushes.

The country’s air force has long complained of being underfunded and handicapped by a recently lifted U.S. ban on weapons sales. It has suffered a series of accidents, including a Fokker 27 plane that crashed into an airport hangar last month, killing all 24 onboard.

A series of commercial airline crashes in recent years has killed more than 120 people in Indonesia.

B-1B Destroys Enemy Bunker

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 23, 2009 — Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Feb. 22, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.

In Afghanistan, an Air Force B-1B Lancer destroyed an anti-Afghan bunker near Now Zad using a guided bomb unit-31. Personnel in the bunker had been firing on coalition troops.

In the vicinity of Shurakian, many coalition aircraft provided air support for an ambushed coalition convoy after one vehicle was disabled by an improvised explosive device. Enemy forces took cover and pulled back from the immediate area when the aircraft arrived. An Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II destroyed an additional IED using a GBU-38 as the convoy prepared to depart.

An A-10 Thunderbolt II intervened after anti-Afghan forces in fortified positions near Nangalam engaged a coalition convoy with rocket-propelled grenade and assault-weapons fire. The A-10 used a GBU-38 and 30mm cannon strafes to destroy the enemy positions.

While providing overwatch near Lashkar Gah, a Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet used GBU-12 to target an enemy indirect fire position launching attacks on coalition units. The strike successfully ended the attacks.

During a ground firefight on in the Morghab area, an Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle bombed an anti-Afghan forces fighting position using a GBU-12. After the initial strike, nearby enemy personnel tried to flee the area on motorcycles, but paused briefly to abandon their weapons in a nearby settlement. With other coalition aircraft helping to maintain positive identification of the enemy personnel, the Strike Eagle pursued, hitting the motorcycles with another GBU-12 and a cannon strafe once the risk to civilians had passed.

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NYC Toy Fair Offers the Opportunity to Smash Bernie Madoff

NEW YORK – One of the vendors at this week’s Toy Fair is offering the “Smash-Me Bernie,” a $99.95 Madoff lookalike doll that wears a devil-red suit and carries a pitchfork. It comes with its own hammer — so you can pulverize it.

Phoenix, Ariz.-based ModelWorks is behind the caricature Mini-Me figures, which can be customized to look like celebrities or whomever a buyer chooses.

Madoff was arrested in December after investigators said he confessed to his sons that he had swindled investors of $50 billion in a Ponzi scheme.

The toy fair is open only to the industry and runs through Wednesday.