Research & Innovation

The weakness of many electrical drones today, is the reduced autonomy of their batteries. A constraint that could disappear with a prototype micro-turbine designed by ONERA, and presented at the UAV Show, in Bordeaux (south west France).
 

How would you like to travel by ‘plane whilst travelling elsewhere? This is the idea launched by Technicon Design. Their project called Ixion, is a windowless business jet of which the cabin walls are covered with screens. Here’s how…
 

To find out more about passengers' moods throughout a long-haul flight, British Airways recently conducted an amazing, to say the least, experiment. On 24th., June, on one of its routes between London and New York, four volunteer passengers tested the "Happiness blanket."
 

At the beginning of May, and far from curious onlookers, Airbus Group's Defence and Space Division succeeded in dropping a quarter-scale test version of their rocket propelled SpacePlane. At 100 km. off Singapore ...
 

The first commercial space flight in history has never been so close. On May 28th., the F.A.A. ( U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ), gave its authorisation to Virgin Galactic to carry passengers into the thermosphere at more than 100 km ( 60 miles ) altitude.
 

On the occasion of the third and final day of the unavoidable business aviation show, EBACE, in Geneva, Switzerland, the spotlight is on a daring futuristic project from Aerion. This American company, specializing in aerospace engineering since 2002, has introduced a supersonic business jet.
 

The ''E-Fan'' was launched, and successfully completed its first public flight in the presence of the Minister of Economy, Anaud Montebourg, with great pomp and ceremony, last Friday 25th., April, in Bordeaux. This electrically propelled 'plane designed, notably with the aid of the Airbus group, is something of an heir to the ''Cri-Cri'' ( another french electric 'plane ).
 

This is the latest trendy destination for the aviation industry. Based in Casablanca since 2006, CETIM, whose parent company is based in Senlis, north of Paris, has just expanded its Moroccan subsidiary. We take a look at the new testing laboratory premises...
 

Last week, more than 600 exhibitors were present at the Friedrichshafen Aero Show, northeast of Zurich in Germany. On the menu: Business jets, electric multi-copters, drones, pleasure aircraft and "TrixFormer", a 'Transformers' style motorcycle...
 

The sound of lightning has always struck fear into the minds of mankind. Lightning flashes invade the sky and sometimes strike aircraft in flight, normally without mishap. The effects produced are precisely what Gerac analyses with this new lightning generator…
 

When the search area to find the wreck of the Malaysia Airlines 777 in the Indian Ocean has finally been precisely defined, the U.S. Navy will put its TPL-25 ( Towed Pinger Locator ) into action. This 35 lb. ( 16 kilos ) triangular probe, developed by Phoenix International, will actually listen to the sea's sound environment at great depths...
 

Will we one day fly in a fully robot constructed plane? One question that arises when we see these images of the assembly site at Puerto Real Cadiz in Spain. Airbus is currently testing this first so-called collaborative robot to perform specific tasks...
 

Flight at eight times the speed of sound, and with passengers, is the halucinating challenge that the European Space Agency has launched with 16 partners. Since 2005, 17 million euros has been consecrated to the feasibility study of a hypersonic aircraft, called LAPCAT. Unconventional in many ways, the aircraft...
 

Over the last two years Nanolike, a French "start- up", has been developing miniature sensors, or "nanosensors", that could be applied to the external surfaces of the aircraft within the near future - nanosensors the diameter of a human hair in size and capable of measuring deformation, temperature and humidity !