Pipistrel Virus-SW914 to Circumnavigate Globe

In a collaborative project between Penn State University and Slovenian aircraft manufacturer, Pipistrel, the Virus-SW914 aircraft was launched on 8 January this year from Ljubljana, with the aim of circumnavigating the globe, a distance of around 62,000 miles, over the next two months. As the winner of NASA’s 2011 Green Flight Challenge, Pipistrel aims to demonstrate that small aircraft can play an important role in climate science. One of the functions the aircraft will serve is to study the effect of light-absorbing aerosols and black carbon on the earth’s atmosphere as it travels through areas that are not currently being monitored by sensors. Because of the altitude the light aircraft will be traveling at, it will be in the position to obtain three-dimensional images of the atmosphere in predetermined areas.

The aircraft which won the 2011 Green Flight Challenge for Pipistrel, is the Taurus, which covered a distance of 400 miles on a single gallon of gas as it was primarily electric-powered. Specializing in ultra-light aircraft, Pipistrel holds ten FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) world records.

The Virus-SW914 has a fuel consumption figure of 36 miles per gallon travelling at a speed of around 170 miles per hour. The aircraft being used in the global circumnavigation attempt has extra fuel tanks in its wings and all-electronic instruments. The airplane weighs 640 pounds, has a maximum take-off weight of 1,500 pounds and can climb to an altitude of 30,000 feet.

With pilot Matevz Lenarcic behind the controls, the Virus-SW914 will travel to Morocco, followed by Senegal, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to South America. The route will then travel down the coast of South America before crossing the Antarctic and the Pacific Ocean heading for New Zealand, Australia and southeast Asia and traveling back to Africa. When crossing Mount Everest in the Himalayas, Lenarcic will take photographs and gather data at different altitudes in areas that have not yet been monitored for climate change. The aerosol inlet feature of the Virus-SW914 is designed to measure aerosol optical properties at different wavelengths, providing valuable data for scientists and climate change research.

Dreamliner Kicks Off Tour in China

Promoted as the “first new airplane of the 21st Century”, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrived in Beijing on Sunday 4 December to start its scheduled six month tour which will include Ethiopia, Qatar and Kenya. With China being the biggest Boeing customer outside the United States, the aircraft manufacturer will be demonstrating the Dreamliner’s features and benefits to potential and confirmed customers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Haikou between now and 11 December. Identified as having the fastest growing aviation market, China’s four main airlines – China Southern Airlines Co Ltd, Air China Ltd, Hainan Airlines Co Ltd, and Xiamen Airlines – have ordered a total of 41 Dreamliners, while Hong Kong Airlines has reportedly entered into a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of 32 aircraft.

Boeing’s senior vice-president of sales and marketing for the regions of Greater China and Korea, Ihssane Mounir, noted that in addition to having the fastest growing aviation market, China is on track to become the world’s second largest market, despite being affected by the economic slowdown in both Europe and the United States. As China experiences an impressive level of economic growth, it is anticipated that it will become more competitive both in domestic travel and on an international level.

Although there have been numerous delays in the production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the manufacturer reportedly has firm orders for 821 of the wide-body aircraft. With the current production capacity of two-and-a-half per month, plans for increasing production capability are underway. Featuring between 200 and 300 seats depending on configuration, the Dreamliner is said to be Boeing’s most fuel-efficient model, consuming up to twenty percent less fuel than the Boeing 767 which is of comparable size. One of the unique features of the Dreamliner is the high percentage of composite material used in construction. With final assembly taking place at the Boeing Everett Factory and the new North Charleston factory in South Carolina, the 787 Dreamliner has come about through a large-scale collaboration with suppliers in a number of countries around the world. By the time the aircraft was rolled-out in July 2007 at the Boeing factory in Everett, the company had already received 677 orders, making it the fastest-selling airliner in its class.

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