Airbus A350-XWB Clears Full Flight Envelope

The article at the link below provides a very brief rundown of the plans for upcoming tests, and even mentions a bit about which airframes will host which test disciplines.

http://atwonline.com/airframes/airbus-a350-xwb-clears-flight-envelope-trials

Canadian Team Takes Sikorsky X-Prize!

It was truly down to the wire as the Canadian team and an American team in Maryland worked frantically to meet the X-Prize requirements.  You will see the pilot leaning to one side as he becomes more and more exhausted.  At first I thought he was simply favoring one leg because of a cramp or something.  Then I realized: I think he was FLYING the thing via weight shift!  Simple is good!  Congrats!

http://o.canada.com/2013/07/11/human-powered-helicopter-wins-250000-prize/

China's J-20 Stealth Entry Continues Tests

The tests described at the link below are typically vague.  Even the date is not announced.  The fuel dump test might seem odd for a second flight, but it makes more sense when you consider that the dump capability could mitigate the effects of other failures as testing progresses.  If using the dump might appear in an emergency checklist, you need to know if it works before you add that step.

http://focustaiwan.tw/news/acs/201307010036.aspx

National Test Pilot School Reaches out to High-Schoolers

This is now a done-deal, and I'm not sure how it went, but what a great idea!  Once in the past I worked with NASA and a middle school to put on a live "virtual control room" experience.  The aircraft carried a laptop with webcam and cellphone with a skype internet connection.  The students watched the entire flight live from their classroom and could gather data from test points and direct the pilot (me) to the next point.  They got a lot out of it!  Good stuff!

http://www.ntps.edu/information/news/303-2013-flight-test-camp

Northrop-Grumman X-47B Gets First Carrier Traps

Computers are taking away one crowning achievement after another from actual humans.  Not long ago a computer gave the world's best chessmasters some lessons on the game.  Now bragging rights for snagging the wire on-board ship are moving over to a computer-controlled drone.  What's next?

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-navy-drone-x47b-20130709,0,6990478.story

Bombardier C-Series Completes GVT

Ground vibration testing is one of the last things usually done before final tweaks of flight control systems.  If it is mechanical with analog dampers, you'll put in the required notches in the analog filters.  If it is digital fly-by-wire, you put those notches in the software.  GVT is also vital in order to confirm Vne plans.  Looks like we're getting close.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bombardier-completes-cseries-aircraft-ground-vibration-tests-and-final-software-upgrades-in-preparation-for-first-flight-2013-06-26

Czech Flying Bicycle Gets Airborne

Stay Tuned!

http://www.gizmag.com/flying-bicycle-f-bike-test-flight/27924/pictures

Airbus A350 Makes Maiden Flight

The article, including an interview with the pilot, is mainly a "feel-good" story with a lot of "flies great" quotes, but the fact is that the plane went very quickly from assembly into flight.  (Then again, so did the F-35.)  Great timing, though!

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/355073/airbus-next-generation-a350-readies-for-debut-test

Lockheed-Martin F-35 Fires AIM-120

The plane is slowly turning into a weapons system.  You will note comments at the link below about the software delaying the program by three years.  If you will dig back through this blog, you will find that we predicted that way back in June 2011.

http://defensetech.org/2013/06/07/f-35a-launches-first-missile-in-test-flight/

Airbus Describes A350 Test Lineup

The article at the link below explains a bit of the Airbus plan for utilization of flight test resources.

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_06_06_2013_p0-585892.xml

Pratt & Whitney A320neo Engine Flies

Details at the link below.

http://www.financial-news.co.uk/15199/2013/06/pratt-amp-whitney-starts-flight-test-on-a320neo-purepow/

Airbus A-350 Maiden Flight Crew Named

This has happened by now, and details of the flight will be in a subsequent entry, but some may find this interesting.

http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news13/56-A350.shtml

Life Happens!

Updates have been on hold for the last several weeks for personal reasons, so postings over the next several days will be "catch up".  If you are a regular reader with flight test experience and would like to be an occasional "gest blogger" when I am swamped, please let me know and we will see if there is something we can work out.

Thanks for continuing to check in!

mark d