Gulfstream G600 Makes Maiden Flight Ahead of Schedule!

Well... ahead of the most recent schedule anyway. Even so, this is pretty rare!

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gulfstream-g600-takes-flight-ahead-of-schedule-300380511.html

Lockheed-Martin F-35s Engage in Multiship Comms Evaluation

This doesn't really sound all that exciting, but those who understand the F-35 concept of operations realize that this kind of test may be more important than weapons clearance, or even performance and flying qualities. Their primary role is more likely to be as nodes in a very robust communications network. If that doesn't work, none of the other stuff really matters. A battle plan is probably right on the money if most F-35s never directly interact with the enemy at all.

http://www.edwards.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1022990/multiple-f-35s-take-to-the-skies-to-test-communication-data-links

Boeing-Saab TX Trainer Entry Scores First Flight

The story at the link below has a lot of the typical chest pounding after a first flight, but it does shae a few details about the envelope cleared and duration of the flight. Looks as though there will be a number of entries for this competition.

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/boeings-t-x-takes-its-first-flight

MUST READ: South African Flight Test CapabiIlity in Jeopardy?

The article at the link below is not about a specific aircraft, but it may represent a "wake up call" for many of us in the flight test world regarding "passing the torch". It is not just about South Africa. A similar dilemma has been facing NASA over recent decades as the ability to do truly complex flight testing of advanced research aircraft has become more and more difficult to maintain.

I would consider this article a "must read".

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/test-flying-in-south-africa-at-a-critical-crossroads-2016-11-11

Bombardier Global 7000 Makes First Flight?

The article at the following link is a bit cryptic...

http://www.reuters.com/article/bombardier-airplane-idUSL1N1D50ZJ

... but there are a few more details at this one, including a few words about the flight envelope opened so far:

http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article112535072.html 

 

Uber? Google? Zee.Aero? Flying Car? New Area 51?

(Photo Credit: Steve Eggleston via Aviation Week)

It would appear that there is yet another entrant in the (nearly 100-year-old) race to develop a marketable "Flying Car". The article at the link below implies that the vehicle has been under development for at least 3 years and is already in flight test. The only photos that I have found do not make it appear to be very roadable, so this may be some kind of early concept demonstrator. You can't discern much from the profile, but if you look closely at the shadow, you will see what look like long, unswept wings, each with 2 (perhaps 3?) extensions from both the leading and trailing edges with some kind of pods at the ends of each extension. This is corroborated by what appear to be red propeller tips visible at the rear of the aft pods. The article has no technical details to speak of, but clearly quotes folks who say they have seen it fly.

http://www.montereyherald.com/article/NF/20161023/NEWS/161029863 

Textron Scorpion Jet Displays Weapons Integration

The story at the link below is more about systems demonstration than about systems test, but it does show the state of readiness of a system that has been in development for a while. As I look at the pictures at the link, I am a bit surprised at the shallow dive angle as well as the low angle of attack. Early launches will often tend to have a wider dispersion and higher CEP than proven systems, so a shallow dive angle allows that wider dispersion to spray munitions over a lot of real estate. It also looks as if the aircraft is operating somewhere near its maximum delivery speed, given the low apparent angle of attack implied by the rocket plumes of the weapons.

http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12271191/scorpion-jet-successfully-completes-first-weapons-capability-exercise

Cessna Citation Longitude Completes Maiden Flight

There are not many details in the story at the link below... a bit about some of the items in the flight profile. A couple of "eyebrow raisers" for me: The gear was evaluated. I presume that this means it was raised and lowered, which is something that is often delayed until subsequent flights. The other item was the pilot comments regarding the "intuitive" nature of aircraft systems. This evaluation was not really a result of the flight test. This assesment took place weeks - maybe months - earlier during evaluations done in ground simulators and hot bench testing. About the best we could expect to hear regarding systems on a first flight would be that they "worked as expected". Presumably they did.

https://disciplesofflight.com/cessna-citation-longitude-first-flight/

UCI Students Launch Human Powered Design on Maiden Flight

This kind of project is so rewarding. In fact, one or two of the students involved listed the project as the high point of their college careers.  The best part was the ingenuity and determination that they showed when it was apparent that modifications would be needed to their plane if it were going to fly. They rolled up their sleeves and made the mods right then and there!

http://engineering.uci.edu/news/2016/9/human-powered-airplane-team-learns-lessons-flight-test

Lockheed-Martin Legion Pod Under Test on F-15C

This story is interesting to me for a couple of reasons. I don't know much about the specs of this pod, but it sounds very unusual. The article at the link is a bit vague, but a little research turns up hints that the pod is intended for use in radar-denied areas and is to provide long-range IR tracking. It is also to contain a secure datalink capability. Okay... putting 3 and 6 together, and given that the F-15C already has a datalink capability, it could well be that the datalink is intended to bridge the 4th-to-5th gen secure comms requirement so that the eagle can work better with F-22 and F-35 partners. But if it were me, that would not be the only possibility. Unless you do a lot of extra work, you can normally only get azimuth and elevation out of an IRST system. You can only make some crude guesses regarding the range of your target. But wait... I probably have a wingman. If he also has a similar pod, and the two pods are talking to each other via secure datalink... then suddenly I have an accurate range as well. Hmmm...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lockheed-martins-legion-pod-completes-125800081.html

Virgin Galactic is Back in the Air

The article at the link below is brief, but it does include about a minute of the obligatory "Here we are flying!" video. I find it interesting that Wibaux anticipates an extended flight test process. I'm not sure what he means by that, but after initial "production flight test" profiles to show that basically everything works, and assuming no major structural or engine redesigns since SpaceShipOne, I would expect the flight test program to pick up just about where it left off.  Guess we will see.

http://www.aeronewstv.com/en/industry/research-innovation/3518-maiden-flight-for-virgin-galactics-new-vessel.html

Virgin Galactic Prepares for Maiden Flight of "Unity"

The brief statement of intent at the link below contains no new flight test information, but for those not directly involved in flight test, it provides an excellent explanation of how and why people continue to push the limits and fly into the unknown. No, it is not written in those terms, but it nevertheless ventures into the thinking of a team of adventurers who refuse to go down without a fight. I salute everyone who shares the same spirit.

Photo Courtesy Virgin Galactic

http://www.virgingalactic.com/update-from-mojave-preparations-for-unitys-flight-test-program/

Airlander 10 Airship Mishap Being Probed

While there is not much detail provided in the story at the link below, the good news is that the team does, indeed, appear to be taking the recent mishap as a wake-up call. The are expressing their intent to learn from whatever caused the crash.

Photo Courtesy K. Atherton - Popular Science via YouTube

http://www.popsci.com/airship-company-plans-to-recover-from-crash

Power Lines: 1 - Airlander: 0

A lot of times it is the little things that get missed during test planning. These airships are not easy to work with. Fortunately, it would seem that the recent incident may simply serve as a wake-up call to the test team.

(Photo Credit: EEDS News Agency)

http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/24/technology/worlds-largest-aircraft-crash-airlander-10/

Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10 Completes First Flight

While not a totally new design (it is an adaptation of a previous DOD test article) the aircraft has still undergone major modifications. The article is non-technical, but provides a little bit of information on the vehicle.

http://phys.org/news/2016-08-giant-helium-filled-airship-airlander.html

NASA Ikhana UAS is Testing Collision Avoidance Software

The article at the link below doesn't necessarily sound all that exciting or difficult, but it is actually both. This project started about 9 years ago and was expected to take about 5 years. It is impossible to overstate the difficulty of introducing leading-edge technologies into an airspace structure that is very resistant to change. And the idea of orchestrating traffic conflicts specifically to generate other conflicts that are supposed to be recognized by the (test) software should make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

Congrats! Now, how about a couple of words regarding the sensors that are being used? Why so mum about how the planes are detecting one another? Radar? ADS-B? TCAS? Something new? Come on, guys (or apparently "ladies" in this case) what hardware is required to make this happen?

http://www.uasmagazine.com/articles/1513/nasa-completes-first-phase-of-tests-readies-for-next-phase

Okay, looks like the answer to the "how did you do that?" question is "All of the above." That provided by NASA in the press release at the link below.

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/two-month-uas-flight-test-series-concludes
 

BAE Taranis Flight Test Approach

While most of the information at the link below is dated, the article itself is relatively recent and provides an interesting "how to" for doing autonomous and semi-autonomous UCAV flight testing. Some of BAE's "walk before you run" approach is described, which may offer clues to future testers.

A bit of an enigma is the mysterious "Third Phase" of testing mentioned in the article. Anything written here would be purely conjecture, but a few years ago NASA did some work along with DARPA on the idea of "packs" of autonomous vehicles working together to improve effectiveness and survive-ability in contested airspace. There is no talk in the article about more than a single vehicle, but a digital surrogate could easily have been injected into scenarios to evaluate multi-ship software.

But, hey... what do I know?

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2016-07-07/taranis-flight-test-details-described

Bell 525 Relentless May Have Suffered Rotor-Fuselage Contact

It is natural to suspect the new fly-by-wire flight control system, but it is obviously too early to be certain. Aircraft from the R-22 all the way to the HH-53 have experienced similar issues.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/aviation/sky-talk-blog/article93468772.html

 

Airlander 10 Moving Closer to First Flight...

... sort of. The same vehicle, with a slightly different configuration, has actually flown several years ago. It has been modified to go from the defense mission to a commercial role. The article at the link below has a few details about plans for the upcoming flight series, but it is about five times as long as it needs to be, since every fact is repeated at least 3 times, and a number of the pictures have nothing to do with the vehicle at all. I continue to applaud the optimism of anyone who decides to develop a new airship.  It is right up there with flying cars and Brussels sprouts based desserts.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3676614/Flying-Bum-air-Route-test-flight-world-s-largest-aircraft-Airlander-10-announced.html

Mitubishi expands MRJ Test Fleet

The article is brief, but it does give a bit of a glimpse into overall flight test planning for the new regional jet.

MRJ FTA2 (Photo Credit: Mitsubishi)

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/picture-mrj-fta-2-completes-maiden-sortie-425861/

"F-35 Flight Test for Dummies"

Although the article at the link below first appeared in a non-aviation news outlet, it does provide a very interesting point of view and a kind of "test pilot for a day" opportunity for those unfamiliar with the profession. It also sheds a bit of light on the of the foibles of flight test in general and of the F-35 in particular. Worth the read, even if only for laughs. The article seems to show that software is and will probably continue to be the long pole in the combat capability tent.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3586220/A-day-life-F-35-test-pilot-Rebooting-failing-computers-fixing-false-warning-lights-repairing-broken-weapons-systems-bit-flying.html

Boeing 737MAX High Altitude TOLD in Bolivia

The full article requires a subscription, but some basic info on the tests is visible. Sorry!

http://atwonline.com/airframes/boeing-737-max-completes-high-altitude-flight-tests-bolivia

Mitusbishi Stealth X-2 Makes Maiden Flight

The picture at the link below is small and grainy, but the shape, while very similar to the F-22 in planform, seems to lack a number of features you would expect to see on a stealth aircraft. An even bigger question, based upon the article's reference to Japan's constitutional limits, is why the Japanese would need a stealth platform for use over their own country. A bit of thought will generate several valid reasons, but it is still a big investment.

http://kaumudiglobal.com/innerpage1.php?newsid=77391

DARPA/Aurora Subscale VTOL X-Plane First Flight

Playing catch-up again... This is from way back in Late March.

(Please ignore the blatantly sensationalist link to a computer beating a real fighter pilot in a dogfight.)

http://www.pcmag.com/news/343839/mini-version-of-darpa-x-plane-completes-test-flight

Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA Continues Air-to-Ground Weapons Integration? Really?

The picture at the link below says something important, but I am perplexed about exactly what that is. No, I am not making fun of the story, I am just confused. The airframe geometry clearly says that stealth is intended to be one of the plane's capabilities, but the discussion of external gravity-bombs as part of the plane's load-out is very confusing. Help me out, somebody...

You've got to get up close and personal with your adversary if you want to drop a gravity-bomb on him. But unless you have done a mighty good job of reducing weapon and pylon radar cross sections, he's going to know you're coming, so the stealthy air frame is not much help. The testing of multiple external-carriage non-stealthy weapons either says that they will have enough stealth assets so that someone else can blow a hole in the Air Defense to make way for this guy, or it says "Whoops... this pig is not as stealthy as we had hoped... Wonder what else these planes can do..."

https://www.ibcworldnews.com/2016/04/14/first-pictures-of-russias-t-50-pak-fa-fighter-fitted-with-air-to-surface-weapons/

B-52 Weapons Integration Tests Outlined

The article at the link below provides a snippet of information on flight test sequencing for weapons systems testing. That makes it worth a peek. But what else it does is show just a bit of the dirty laundry that is laying around the flight test world: the continued question of Developmental vs Operational test. At this late stage you would not expect that the DT guys would still need to wave the flag, but every time a new generation of operators and testers hit the field, some old lessons have to be re-learned. It seems that every new kid says "Why do we need all this DT?" They find out when they try to eliminate it.

http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123470858

USAF Test Pilot School / Calspan VISTA F-16 With Adaptive Flight Controls?

This test is apparently still in the planning stages, but it shows an important point about testing in today's austere environment. The TPS students are not just learning how to test, they are learning by doing, and are often producing results that are useful to paying customers. Of course, the folks at NASA Armstrong have been demonstrating this kind of system for several years, but this one may have some added potential. We will have to wait until the fall to find out.

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/210156/

Gulfstream G500 Test Progress is Outlined

Not really any breaking news in the story at the link below. (It is really just a press release from General Dynamics.) But it contains a nice summary of testing accomplished to date.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gulfstream-g500-and-g600-achieve-program-milestones-300248910.html

Jetpack International Flight Test Offers Lessons

Unfortunately, they are lessons being re-learned. A brief read of the story at the link below shows something of a cavalier approach to flight test after system modifications. "He didn't wear his protective gear because it was just a test flight and he is a great pilot." If that's not on the list of "famous last words" I don't know what is. Come on, guys! If you knew it was going to work properly, you wouldn't need to test it!

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/front-range/denver/jet-pack-test-flight-crashes-pilot-seriously-injured

Volocopter VC200 Performs First Manned Flight

I don't know a lot about the long-term plans for this vehicle, but the implication seems to be that it is working on filling the highly autonomous personal transportation niche. If so, that would explain the odd multi-rotor configuration (a nod to redundancy) and the unusual control inputs (an effort to be intuitive for a "non-pilot" pilot). Have to keep an eye on this one.

Photo: Courtesy Volocopter

http://technabob.com/blog/2016/04/08/volocopter-vc200-manned-flight-test/

Boeing C-17 Undergoes Drag Reduction Testing

The testing discussed at the link below seems very mundane, and it is, but it points out at least two interesting facts regarding military needs and test approaches:
- First, budgets are so tight that a test program designed to save only a few percentage points in the fuel burn of a single aircraft is now worth undertaking. This was not always the case.
- Second, budgets are so tight that the services continue to borrow planes from operational units to do flight testing. This has been going on for a while, and the trend is not going away any time soon, especially for large aircraft.

http://www.amc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123471707

Lockheed-Martin F-35C Doing Separation Tests on JSOW

Weapons clearance work on the plane continues. The software has attracted a lot of attention, but software delays are really just an unavoidable fact of life when writing millions of lines of code. The picture at the link below is interesting to me. It seems to show that some work is needed on the amount of charge being placed in the squibs that are firing the ejectors. A pitch attitude like that only milliseconds after ejection says that the weapon may have a lower-than-desired maximum release speed. Reason? At high Q, that kind of pitch will generate enough lift to "fly" the bomb back into the plane, or at the very least, make computed ballistics a challenge.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/194045/f-35-launches-joint-standoff-weapon#.VwL0vDGJXEY

Solar Impulse is Back in the Air

The story is just a "heads up" on the flight from last week. Sounds like a shake-down before continuing the "round the world" mission. I will keep an eye out for more details.

http://khon2.com/2016/03/31/solar-impulse-2-takes-to-the-skies-again/

Dassault Falcon 8X Nears Certification

The plane is now in the globe-trotting stage, looking for difficult operational environments to prove and/or tweak systems and procedures. They hope to certify by June.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2016-03-28/falcon-8x-nearing-certification-finish-line

Boeing KC-46 Pegasus Tests are Picking up Steam

The article at the link below is mostly about the test team, but it also has some details about test philosophy and test point sequencing. After all the upheaval regarding the USAF follow-on tanker, it is nice to take a breather with a "feel good" story.

http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/705513/putting-the-pegasus-through-its-paces.aspx

Lockheed-Martin F-35 Software Issues Delay IOC

REALLY??? OMG! What a shock!

Go back with me, if you will, to a post I made nearly 5 years ago on June 6, 2011. Then take a look at the issues discussed in the link below. I still have to quote Paul Strassmann, who way back in the 90's was once quoted to have said:

"Complex software systems do not work. Those few that do are always based upon simple systems... that worked."

Our problem today is that there is no opportunity to crawl. We must go from a clean sheet to agonizingly complex, even before getting airborne. The plane is supposed to come out of the hangar running at full tilt.  Guess what...

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/2016/03/23/f-35-full-combat-capability-four-months-late/82187648/

Sikorsky CH-53K Expands Flight Envelope

They also have added another aircraft to pick up the flight test pace. The article at the link below is not the first to hit the streets, but it has a few details about the progress of the test program and the path forward.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/ch-53k-project-expands-to-120kts-and-two-test-helico-423094/

Airbus A321neo Flies with Pratt&Whitney PW1135G-JM Engine

Often when a new engine enters flight test on a multi-engine aircraft, the first few flights may be done with a proven engine on one side and the new power plant on the other side. Another approach is to have a dedicated engine test aircraft with multiple proven engines and an engine station dedicated to whatever engine is in need of test. The article at the link below is hazy regarding the PurePower test. Nowhere does it say PurePower "Engines"... It always says "engine". I'm guessing that the plane was fully configured with two of them, but it never says that straight out.

http://mro-network.com/news/2016/03/first-test-flight-pratt-powered-a321neo/8661

Enstrom Adds to TH180 Test Fleet

I am always surprised by helicopters with the long "Robinson Style" mast. And where are all the swash plates and control rods? A very clean looking design! With the list of target users including private individuals, the flying qualities are going to be paramount. No need to replay the lessons that Robinson learned the hard way.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2016-03-01/enstrom-flight-testing-continues-th180

Ilyushin IL-76MD-M Begins Avionics Upgrade Testing

Almost as venerable and recognizable as the timeless C-130, the plane is doing exactly what other transports have done in recent years. It is amazing how much more you can get out of the same airframe/engine combination with some new black boxes.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-03-01/upgraded-il-76md-m-airlifter-makes-first-flight-russia

U.S. Navy F-35 Testing: A "Must Read" Interview!

If you have any interest at all in general test philosophy and overall progress of F-35 flight testing, you will want to read the article at the link below. Extremely informative!

http://www.sldinfo.com/rolling-out-the-f-35-fleet-from-the-testing-perspective-an-interview-with-the-chief-test-engineer-for-the-f-35-itf-at-pax-river/

Marenco Swisshelicopter Adds to SH-09 Test Fleet

The article doesn't share much regarding the planned role for the new test asset, but does share a bit of planning for early fleet testing.

http://www.verticalmag.com/news/article/Second-Marenco-Swisshelicopter-prototype-now-flying

General Atomics Predator B-ER First Flight

More hard points, longer range... these are obvious advantages, but the lightning protection is no small feat for a mostly-composite air frame.

http://defense-update.com/20160225_predator-b-er-spreads-bigger-wings-3.html