NASA Completes Captive Carry Flight on Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser

This major contender for the next fly-back, horizontal landing, orbital taxi has gotten into the air with a more complete set of hardware, although not under its own power as yet.  Test objectives are outlined in the article at the link below, but are primarily systems testing.  It is not clear whether the first free-flight will be manned or automated.  I'm betting on the latter, but I guess we'll see.

(Photo Credit: NASA)



http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/8/22/sierra_nevada_corporation_s_dream_chaser.htm

Terrafugia Transition Oshkosh Video

While the 8-minute clip at the link below doesn't really include any substantive flight test maneuvers, it does give a few clues regarding the vehicle's flight characteristics.  Rotation for takeoff was extremely crisp, with the plane leaving the ground after only a few degrees of pitch change.  There appeared to be a significant amount of crosswind, because the plane weathercocked perhaps 8-10 degrees immediately upon liftoff.  Once airborne, roll rates appeared to be crisp, and no obvious adverse yaw was apparent, although that could be because of well-coordinated rudder.  Rotation for landing, like for takeoff, was minimal.  It was almost flown onto the runway.  It may have simply been a slightly incomplete flare that time around, but if that is the normal method of touchdown, it could imply a sensitivity to gusty winds, since the airspeed would have to fall within a very narrow band to do that consistently.  (Does it come with an AOA gage?)  It might also mean that the plane is touching down with a lot of residual flying speed, perhaps making pitch control in the flare subject to PIO.  Neat plane guys, but I'd sure be nervous about leaving it in the restaurant parking lot without having a substantial tip for the security guard when I came out.

http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/the-new-178000-flying-car-23105.aspx

Lockheed-Martin F-35B Enters Night Sea Trials

The article at the link below provides some good insights into current carrier suitability evaluations that are going on for the Marine version of the F-35.  The low-light picture shows that the real limiting factor for shore operations close to the front may actually be the landing pad rather than the plane.  How do I keep all the stuff that gets kicked up out of my intakes?

http://www.hqmc.marines.mil/News/NewsArticleDisplay/tabid/3488/Article/148069/marine-test-pilot-makes-first-f-35b-night-landing-at-sea.aspx

Anxious to Test Some Revolutionary Commercial Designs?

Call us in 15 years... we might have something for you.  (See page 3.)

http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/pdf/armd_strategic_vision_2013.pdf

Shengyang: Deng Shilu Begins Flight Test of Original Design

You've got to admire the creative spirit behind this kind of effort.  It seems to be more and more common in China, so it is no surprise that GA is really starting to blossom there.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2385583/Amateur-Ding-Shilu-spends-4-years-building-aircraft-crashes-straight-away.html

Bombardier "Setting the Hook" with C-Series Test Planning?

This is a well-respected test team, so hopefully they are seeing clearly what lies ahead, but the comments you see in the link below are exactly the kind of talk that you hear before a string of predictable schedule slips.  As is so common in today's digital world, the culprit seems to be software integration and validation.  The other side of this coin is a good one: they aren't flying until they are ready.  A good product when it is ready is infinitely better than a crappy one on schedule.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ain-air-transport-perspective/2013-08-05/bombardier-sticks-cseries-flight-test-schedule

Airbus A350 Moves Into Next Test Phase

Short article at the link below gives a quick rundown of what has been accomplished to date.  What isn't listed here, and what I believe is probably a high-priority item, is capturing reliability data on any systems that are fresh from the drawing board.  With Boeing's recent battery debacle, Aibus will be bending over backwards to avoid getting painted with the same brush.  The jury is still out, but I have to bet on Murphy.  There's always something...

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_07_15_2013_p0-597172.xml

U.S. Air Forces Stands Up KC-46 Test Unit

Does anybody besides me remember Darleen Druyun?  This has been a long time in coming.  Hopefully the similarities to their commercial airframe will allow things to move along quickly.  My put: systems and software, especially networking and other features intended to make the tanker compatible with space and "dark" team-mates like future UAS platforms, are the biggest threat to schedule.  Guess we'll see.

http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123356133