Madurai posted:

I've looked and looked, but I can't find any sign that anyone built a single-engine jet airliner. Was there such a creature?

Tsuru posted:

Madurai posted:

I knew I could count on you, AI.

Tsuru posted:

Not really an airliner as such, of course... but definitely the derpiest-looking of the single light jets and probably what a single-engined jet would look like if someone was crazy enough to build one.

The SF50 is much easier on the eyes

Madurai posted:

I've looked and looked, but I can't find any sign that anyone built a single-engine jet airliner. Was there such a creature?

joat mon posted:

Cessna Caravan?

Mortabis posted:

For whatever reason the SF50 strikes me as the sort of thing that will have a terrible mishap rate.

StandardVC10 posted:

The engines considered for the Hawker Typhoon were the Rolls-Royce Vulture, an "X" block engine (so basically four inline sixes sharing a crankshaft) or the Napier Sabre, with an "H" block engine (basically two flat-twelves kinda chained together. Sleeve valves, too.) If anyone has more specific information, both of them sound totally loving bonkers.

The Locator posted:

One-way tickets only, but every flight is direct to the target destination!

Enourmo posted:

That's rocket-powered.

The Locator posted:

Nope, that's a model 22. Look carefully at the back and you'll see intakes!

Enourmo posted:

That's rocket-powered.

buttcoinbrony posted:

That looks like something you'd slap together in KSP's jet mode. I wholeheartedly approve.

E: That air intake, for one, looks exactly like the radial air intake from KSP.

Fox 21 News posted:

LA JUNTA, Colo.– Drones and unmanned aircraft systems are becoming more and more popular, and they are also causing problems for pilots in low-flying planes.Now, the Colorado Agricultural Aviation Association is conducting experiments to come up with solutions.
The CAA teamed up with a company called Agribotix, a group that sells drones to people in the ag industry.
Together, they put together a program called Think Before You Launch to conduct research about drones and planes sharing the same airspace.
The group took to the air to find out just how hard it is for pilots to spot these small drones.
They said this research is the first of its kind, and that it’s crucial they start finding solutions to help keep pilots safe.
The test is pretty simple. Several pilots fly over fields where drone operators are also flying their machines, and the pilots try to figure out how close they have to be to see the drones.
“These crop dusters are flying low all over the place, all over every field and we need to come up with some way to coordinate with them,” Jimmy Underhill with Agribotix said.
“So the test right now will help us prove, ‘can we see it in time to safely avoid it?’” Jessica Freeman with the CAAA said.
Even though they knew they were there, only one pilot spotted a drone when the sun reflected off of it. Then it was gone.
Freeman said there are 15 industries that use the airspace between zero and 400 feet, and drones cause dangerous situations for all of them.
“It’s a huge deal that we avoid mid-air collisions,” she said.
Even a three-pound bird can cause major damage when it hits a plane while flying. Now imagine what would happen if it were a chunk of metal.
“It’s a scary liability for both parties. You don’t want to have a fatal midair collision and you as a drone operator don’t want to accidentally cause an accident,” Freeman said.
“Everybody who flies one of these should be aware of airspace rules, what’s going around above them and they should inform themselves,” Underhill said.
But even if both parties are following the rules, they can still take each other by surprise.
That’s something this group hopes to prove, before anything bad happens.
“Education is huge, and then catching the attention of the FAA that this is a real problem that needs to be addressed and moving forward with research and solutions,” Freeman said.
Some of the solutions they’ve started to come up with include having large signs on the ground that say UAS to warn pilots that there’s a drone in the area.
They’ve also talked about better communication devices and high-tech sense-and-avoid technology.

quote:

Crop dusters and drone operators have hesitated to share the same sky, but last week in the rural southeastern Colorado community of La Junta they did just that. There, participants in the annual Operation S.A.F.E. Fly-In of the Colorado Agricultural Aviation Association (CAAA) collaborated with UAS Colorado, to demonstrate how technology powered by AirMap can promote communication and coordination of flight operations in agricultural areas. The operation is a proof-of-concept that will be refined and rolled out across the country in the near future.


Sam Rogge, a crop duster from Colorado and a veteran Air Force pilot said, “Drones are a new and exciting frontier in agriculture technology. They are a piece of the puzzle that includes larger manned agricultural aircraft. If both types of aircraft will fly, then finding ways to de-conflict these tools is vital for safety and innovation.” Agricultural aircraft protect more than 71 million acres of United States cropland each year. Both drones and crop dusters operate in the low altitude airspace over agricultural fields. Mr. Rogge explained that the key to maintaining the safety of pilots and drone operators will be education, communication, coordination of flights, technology, and appropriate regulatory guidance.

Over the next several years, increasingly automated systems will help drones navigate safe and efficient paths, taking into account other drones, manned aircraft traffic, winds, obstacles, and other elements. But as the industry works to develop comprehensive solutions, there are simple, pragmatic tools that can be implemented immediately to help keep people safe.

“Crop duster pilots have welcomed technology into their work,” says CAAA Executive Director Jessica Freeman, “but they’re practical people, and they’re excited about real solutions that can help make the job safer right away.”

In last week’s demonstration, crop duster pilots and drone operators will use a simple iPhone app to indicate where and when they intend to fly. The app provides a map visualization of all of the flight plans so that everyone can keep tabs on where other aircraft and drones are operating.

Clicking on a flight plan on the map brings up a chat window so that operators can coordinate with each other to avoid collisions.

UAS Colorado Interim CEO Constantin Diehl explained, “This app, powered by AirMap’s backend technology, organizes and provides accurate and dynamic airspace information. It allows pilots of manned and unmanned aircraft to know where and when operations take place, and provides a way to de-conflict by directly communicating with one another. We believe this simple and effective approach is key to safe UAS operations.“

“We believe information is what will power innovation, and we are making this airspace information available to operators, manufacturers and software developers,” says AirMap CEO Ben Marcus. AirMap’s airspace information is available through APIs and SDKs. This demonstration proves the utility of empowering people to share airspace information, including the location of drones and manned aircraft. “We believe the best way to promote safety is to make information available in useful ways, regardless of which platform someone is using.”

AirMap is focused on creating an open exchange of information to help accelerate the safe deployment of drone-enabled services. The AirMap Software Development Kit has been released for testing to a limited number of application developers and will be fully deployed by the end of November.

In addition to the demonstration, the Operation S.A.F.E. fly-in will feature crop duster spray pattern testing, safety briefings from the NTSB and Colorado State Patrol, and training sessions for first responders from around Colorado.

- See more at: http://www.uasvision.com/2015/10/09/keeping-manned-and-unmanned-aircraft-safe/#sthash.YctkUiPi.dpuf

Vitamin J posted:

I recently took part in a first-of-its-kind test to see if low flying agricultural aircraft like cropdusters and helicopters can spot drones operating in the same area. The test was organized by the NAAA (National Agricultural Aviation Association), the CAAA (Colorado Agricultural Aviation Association), and the precision-ag company Agribotix under their joint campaign Think Before You Launch. There were also observers present from the FAA and the NTSB.

The test consisted of a flight plan across agricultural land and around 5 specific fields and back to the origin airfield. Each manned aircraft flew the pattern with 30 minute separation. The manned aircraft flew to a holding point near each field, when cleared they left the holding point and started an orbit around the perimeter of the target field at 250ft AGL. This is a standard observation pattern that cropdusters make before spraying fields, to check for obstructions or workers. While doing their orbits of the target field the pilots report what they see. They reported a Tally-high or Tally-low if they spotted a drone, or No Joy if they didn't spot anything.

A single drone was present in 2 of the 5 fields. The drones were programmed to fly an autonomous mission well within the field perimeter at 100ft AGL. On the ground were two drone operators, one of which was the PIC with a pilot's license. The drones were flown under a section 333 exemption. These quadcopters were providing "look-down" targets for the manned aircraft pilots to attempt to spot.

Separation between the aircraft was maintained by the 150ft altitude separation, and by the geographical separation of having the drones only operate within designated field boundaries, while the manned aircraft remained outside those boundaries. Air-to-ground radios were also present at multiple points on the ground to coordinate with the pilots in real time.

There were 5 manned aircraft that took part, four cropduster planes and one helicopter. The drones that took part were two Agribotix 700mm Enduro Quadcopters. Fixed wing drones of various sizes were planned to fly at 400ft AGL as "look-up" targets, but they didn't make it to the test.

Also in the test were large ground markings consisting of high contract plastic tarps layed out on the ground with the letters "UAV" spelled out on them.

Overall the test was a great success, it was conducted according to plan and pulled off without a hitch. Two of the five pilots were able to spot the drones with varying levels of effort, but the clear take-away from the test was that visual see and avoid of drones is extremely hard for manned aircraft flying low to the ground. I think everyone pretty much already knew that. The plastic "UAV" tarp on the ground was also a great success, with several of the pilots spotting it. The pilots reported that the orange color is actually pretty common on farms near drainage ditches, so other colors were recommended and will be tested in the future.











News Video Here: http://fox21news.com/2015/10/05/group-conducts-unmanned-aircraft-research-to-protect-plane-pilots/


http://fox21news.com/2015/10/05/gro...campaign=buffer


http://www.uasvision.com/2015/10/09/keeping-manned-and-unmanned-aircraft-safe/

Slo-Tek posted:

Cherry picker crane views of a bunch of experimental aircraft getting moved off-base and into the new USAF Museum hangar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSIFfQXmXe8

Slo-Tek posted:

Cherry picker crane views of a bunch of experimental aircraft getting moved off-base and into the new USAF Museum hangar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSIFfQXmXe8

Plinkey posted:

The YF-23 should have won

Duke Chin posted:

I wish ... the F-35 could have hosed off.

mlmp08 posted:

It'll be cool if drones end up not being super dangerous to aviation but also doesn't get some dumbass ban against anything other than an 8 oz copter without a pilot license.

buttcoinbrony posted:

The most effective solution to this problem I see to this is to mandate some sort of 'get the gently caress out of the way of that larger aircraft' code in every single drone and license drones based off of it. The obvious problem here is that it prevents backyard drone tinkerers from coming up with an idea and then testing it out in their big backyard.

Is there a middle ground with a nice legal line in the sand I'm missing here?

Ardeem posted:

Line of sight rules?

Linedance posted:

Good to see they're field testing. A good start to regulation would be a top and bottom red led anticollision strobe. 3 Watt would be fairly easy to spot even in daylight.

Saukkis posted:

With my experience of trying to spot other gliders while flying I would not be feeling good about my chances with a drone. Flarm is pointing me to the direction of the long-winged white plane, and I can't see a thing.

buttcoinbrony posted:

The most effective solution to this problem I see to this is to mandate some sort of 'get the gently caress out of the way of that larger aircraft' code in every single drone and license drones based off of it. The obvious problem here is that it prevents backyard drone tinkerers from coming up with an idea and then testing it out in their big backyard.

Is there a middle ground with a nice legal line in the sand I'm missing here?

Godholio posted:

Maybe we could set up rules for different types of space in the air...different rules for areas where there's lots of traffic, or at different altitudes, or over landmarks, that kind of thing.

quote:

Aircraft #2 was never used for testing, and instead flown on 25 November 1957 to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio. This aircraft had not been completed and none of the radio navigation systems had been fit. To fly it to the museum, Major Clyde Good intended to follow an F-100 being delivered the same day. After an en route refueling stop the two aircraft became separated, and Good was forced to follow roads to the St. Louis area when it turned dark and overcast. The aircraft was not equipped with cockpit or instrument lighting either, so Good periodically flicked his Zippo lighter to read the instruments. Guessing a heading he flew close enough to Dayton to be seen on radar at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and was talked down to the runway. It was then that Good discovered that the landing lights had not been installed either, but he was able to successfully land the plane while using the Zippo to light the airspeed indicator through the approach.[8]

Plinkey posted:

The YF-23 should have won

Plinkey posted:

The YF-23 should have won

G-Mach posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYLiMYGBE2Q

Vitamin J posted:

Ground markings and a technological solution like an app or transponders I think will be the only way to go..