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PRV Engineering > Aerospace
14 Jul 2016

Farnborough International 2016 in full swing

Whilst the weather may have put a premature end to the day on Monday, the Farnborough International Air Show is back on track with attendance and business at the trade show thriving.

Statistics earlier in the year were predicting one of the most successful shows yet with increased numbers of international participants in the trade show and conferences, and more dedicated country pavilions. In addition to first time country pavilions for Austria, Brazil, Republic of Ireland and China, Boeing has a special pavilion celebrating their centenary which falls on the Friday of the show.

The show has become the UK’s shop window for all things aviation from the civilian, defence and space sectors

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8 Jul 2016

Date set for the Bloodhound SSC record attempt

One month on from our last post about Bloodhound, the date for the first record attempt has been set. October 2017 will see the first land speed record attempt for 20 years.

The signing of a major deal means that the project has now secured funding to complete the car and start preparing for their testing in South Africa next year.

When Bloodhound went on display in 2015 it was as a trial build and without fluids. This was done to make sure that the 35,000 individual and bespoke parts actually fitted together. Brackets were checked to see if they were in the right places leaving enough room for service and maintenance activity as well as checking the tolerance of manufactured parts.

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24 Jun 2016

Solar Impulse 2 crossed the Atlantic non stop

Solar Impulse 2 left New York on Monday 20th June and landed in Seville, Spain on 23rd June at 7.30 am. The total flight time was 71 hours and 8 minutes and now means that the aircraft has crossed both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Solar Impulse 2 is attempting the first renewably powered circumnavigation of the globe and is now nearing the end of its 35,000km journey. The trip started in July 2015 and will finish back at the starting point in Abu Dhabi. The immediate next steps are to negotiate a route back to Abu Dhabi via Egypt or Greece.

Solar Impulse 2 has a wingspan of 72m and weighs more than 2 tons. It is powered by more than 17000 solar cells and achieves an average speed of 75 km/h.

Just like the Bloodhound project, the Solar Impulse 2 team are providing an educational platform around their project, giving resources to schools and universities as well as providing opportunities for live hangouts with members of the team.

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3 Jun 2016

Bloodhound inspiring scientists and engineers of the future

At the end of April the Bloodhound Education team, combined with the BBC micro:bit project launched a huge competition for secondary school children; The Model Rocket Car Challenge.

Supported by the army and Microsoft among others, and forming part of the Guinness World record rocket car challenge, school teams are challenged to make foam rocket cars and race them through approved tracks; the aim of course, to be the fastest!

The races are being organised through the network of Bloodhound hubs and will see a series of regional heats that will lead up to a final at the end of June at the Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire. The winners will spend a day watching Bloodhound test runs as well as securing a financial prize for their school.

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5 Feb 2016

3D Printing in Space

Back at the end of 2014, the world was amazed to hear from NASA about the final test phase of a 3D printer in space. The printer, which had been used on the ground prior to its launch into space, went to the International Space Station on a resupply vessel in September of 2014. A ratchet wrench printed from a design file transmitted from the ground was completed in December. The wrench along with a number of other things printed was then sent back to earth in 2015 for rigorous testing.

In December 2015 another resupply vessel went up to the International Space Station and on board this time was the European contribution to 3D printing in space – a Portable on Board 3D printer. The printer, measuring 25cm on each side and weighing just 5,5kg prints objects made from polylactic acid (PLA). PLA is a plastic that is made from renewable resources and is also biocompatible and biodegradable. It was built by Altran Italia in partnership with Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Institute of Technology under the direction of the Italian Space Agency, ASI.

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30 Oct 2015

Additive Manufacturing in the Aero Industry

Back in 2014 we were talking about the experimental 3D printed joints being tested by the Airbus Group. The Rotite Fastener, was being tested on bicycles before being progressed into aircraft, but it was hoped that the technology could be developed and progressed into the aero industry making the attachment of electrical and mechanical components easier.

Additive manufacturing (the process of building components layer by layer) started off being used just for building prototype parts, but has now moved on to producing in flight components in the aero industry.

In March this year 3D printed parts got the go ahead from the FAA to be used in flight and as a result Boeing have used additive manufacturing to install over 20,000 non metallic 3D printed parts in their planes. They are using 3D printed parts in military and commercial aircraft.

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16 Oct 2015

Pilotless helicopter tested in the battle to fight wildfires

First came driverless cars, then came research into autonomous ships to help with transport freight emissions. Earlier this month Mercedes Benz tested an autonomous big rig on a public road and this week the news is of a pilotless helicopter being tested to help in the battles with wildfires in the United States. Autonomous and remote controlled vehicles are being used more and more in the battle for improved efficiency, safety and sustainability.

Earlier this week a Lockheed Martin helicopter capable of flying autonomously was launched in Idaho. Whilst the helicopter is capable of flying without a pilot, there was a safety pilot on board during the testing. The helicopter completed multiple drops of water that it had scooped up and then delivered to a demonstration ridge.

Why a pilotless helicopter?

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26 Jun 2015

University of Bristol partners with Airbus

Airbus signed a partnership agreement with the University of Bristol last week, formalising their commitment to build on training, education and diversity. The agreement was signed at the International Air Show in Paris last week.

Talking about the partnership Thierry Baril, Chief Human Resources Officer of Airbus Group, said: “These partnership agreements underline our commitment to work hand-in-hand with academics and engineering education leaders to develop and secure the competences that the aerospace industry will need in the future.”

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3 Jun 2015

Hybrid Aircraft – Passenger Planes of the future?

The constant mission to reduce pollution and produce more fuel efficient vehicles led to major research and development in the auto industry. Now all major car manufacturers have a hybrid vehicle in their suite of offerings.

With air traffic forecast to continue to increase there are demands for additional runways and extra services. This, of course causes conflict. Flight companies want to meet the needs of the consumers, but plans for increasing runways and flight services are meeting opposition due to the anticipated increase in noise and pollution.

Could there be a solution? Can we ever have quieter runways and less pollution? Siemens and Airbus think we can!

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28 Aug 2014

3D printing to help aerospace industry

Most engineers will tell you that 3D printing represents another significant development within the manufacturing industry.

How does 3D printing work?

Rather than making something by sticking lots of small parts together, a 3D printer can build complicated items in one piece. The printers use a variety of very different types of additive manufacturing technologies but they all share one core thing in common. They create a three dimensional object by building it layer by layer.

3D printing technology could now offer a new way for engineers to think about how to join and fasten components and the technology is moving away from its prototyping roots. Aerospace engineers are now hoping to prove its potential, one component at a time. Some experts claim 3D printing could even create new capabilities in the fasteners and joints that hold together an aircraft.

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