Sunday, March 16, 2014

This plane has no windows! But it is really fast - David Gilinsky

Spike Aerospace is building what it hopes will be the world's first supersonic business jet, one capable of traveling at Mach 1.8. The S-512, expected to launch in 2018, could cut travel time in half. Spike Aerospace is building what it hopes will be the world's first supersonic business jet, one capable of traveling at Mach 1.8. The S-512, expected to launch in 2018, could cut travel time in half.
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The future of supersonic flight
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • A few companies are developing supersonic business jets
  • Spike Aerospace has a model that will be built without windows, but will instead have flatscreens lining the cabin
  • The biggest challenges to supersonic flight is cost and mitigating sonic boom
        -- Concorde is a thing of the past, but a number of companies are racing to release the first supersonic business jet.
Aerion Corporation is working on a jet that would reach Mach 1.6 and would possibly be ready for release by 2020, while Spike Aerospace has announced plans for the S-512, a business jet that could travel at speeds of Mach 1.8 and would be available by 2018. So why has it taken nearly 50 years to revisit the concept?
According to Vik Kachoria, president and CEO of Spike Aerospace, one of the main issues that plagued the Concorde was the sonic boom -- the disruptive noise that results from the shockwaves created when an object travels faster than the speed of sound.
It would rattle windows and loosen roof tiles
Vik Kachoria, Spike Aerospace
"At its worst, the sonic boom would sound like a loud thunder clap over your head. It would rattle windows and loosen roof tiles. It was pretty jarring. If you lived under the Concorde's flight path, you might hear it several times a day," he says.
The effect was so disturbing that most countries either banned supersonic flights, or restricted them from traveling over land. Understandably, this is an issue that the aerospace industry has needed to address in order to make supersonic flight viable.
Kachoria notes that currently, it makes more sense to develop supersonic business jets than larger commercial aircraft, because the plane's diminutive size results in a smaller boom.
While he's remained tight-lipped about many aspects of the design (some are still awaiting patent), he recently announced that the S-512 will be built without windows (except for the one the pilots see out of), a feature that will reduce drag and overall cost of the unit.
"Even at subsonic speeds, windows add a tremendous cost to the aircraft because the fuselage has to be designed to support those windows. If you eliminate all that, you create piece with less structural issues, less manufacturing costs, and less parts count," he says.
It sounds like a claustrophobe's nightmare, though Kachoria has attempted to compensate for the windowless design by installing flatscreens, which can either display the view outside, or can be used to show a movie or PowerPoint presentation -- should a conference need to take place in the air.
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"It's not a new concept, but in the past we didn't have the technology -- the flatscreens, or digital cameras to capture the resolution, or the ability to stitch together cameras to create a seamless panoramic view," he says.
Overall, the saving in manufacturing means each unit will cost between $60 million to $80 million.
It's all in the wing
According to Aerion, the main detriment to producing a supersonic aircraft in the near future isn't the boom (an issue even Kachoria admits is still another 15 years or so from being fully resolved), but the cost.
"The reasons speeds haven't changed much since the 1960s has more to do with economics than technology. You just can't have supersonic travel at the rock-bottom fares most passengers prefer" says Jeff Miller, the director of communications for Aerion.
"Those constraints don't apply to business jets, so it's most likely supersonic technology will be applied there first. Even so, economy of operation is important, mainly in terms of fuel efficiency. If you can't find a way to reduce fuel consumption, you won't have a supersonic jet that will get you very far," he adds.
When the Concorde slowed down to below Mach 1, it burned though more fuel. Aerion has been researching ways to compensate this with the development of the supersonic natural laminar flow (SNLF) wing, which it has been testing in conjunction with NASA.
The wing, which is thinner and shorter than typical plane wings, has been proven to reduce friction drag by 80%, and overall airframe drag by 20%.
"The more drag, the more power required to push a wing through the air," explains Miller.
A resolution?
While work is being done on the sonic boom issue, neither Aerion nor Spike expect to release a jet before it's resolved completely. The early models will likely only be able to reach high speeds when traveling over seas.

"We don't have the sonic boom issue resolved yet," admits Kachoria, "you wouldn't be able to fly above Mach 1 between New York and Los Angeles, for instance. But between Tokyo and LA? You'd see a big time savings."

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 search grows as pilots face increased scrutiny - David Gilinsky

More countries join Flight 370 search

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: CNN analysts say figuring out motive of whoever steered plane off course is key
  • Background checks on some passengers complete with no red flags
  • Chinese families lose patience with Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines
  • Authorities still looking at flight simulator taken from pilot's home
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  -- Where do you even begin to look, when the search area covers vast swaths of land and water, stretching thousands of miles, from Kazakhstan to the Indian Ocean?
That's the question for Malaysian officials and authorities from 24 other nations as people search for a ninth day, trying to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and the 239 people on board.
As the search area grows bigger, authorities are also increasing their scrutiny of the pilots, searching their homes in the quest for clues. That includes a flight simulator from the captain's home.
It also includes interviewing the engineers who were in contact with MH370 before it took off, according to a statement from acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein to BERNAMA, Malaysia's official news agency. The transport minister characterized the interviews as "normal procedure."
"Police are still working on it. ... Nothing conclusive yet," a senior police official who has direct knowledge of the investigation told CNN on Sunday night, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak to the press.
With news that the Boeing 777-200ER might have flown for more than seven hours after its transponder stopped sending signals March 8, officials said the expanding search area extends over 11 countries, stretching as far north as Kazakhstan, a large nation in Central Asia far from any ocean.
Photos: The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370Photos: The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
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The search for Flight 370 continues
"This is a significant recalibration of the search," Malaysia's acting Transportation Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Sunday.
There are still more questions than answers about the missing flight. Figuring out the motive of whoever apparently steered the plane off course is key, analysts told CNN Sunday.
"I think they had an end game in mind from the very beginning," CNN aviation analyst Jim Tilmon said, "and they have executed a lot of things that have led us down a road. Are we going to the right place? I'm not sure."
The plane disappeared on March 8, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Airline CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said Sunday the missing passenger jet took off with its normal amount of fuel needed for the roughly six-hour flight and did not have extra fuel on board that could have extended its range.
One of the nations involved in the search, Pakistan, said Sunday that the plane never showed up on its civilian radars and would have been treated as a threat if it had.
The Times of India reported that India's military also said there was no way the plane could have flown over India without being picked up on radar.
A study of the flight's cargo manifest showed there were no dangerous materials on board that concerned investigators, he told reporters.
Investigators are still looking into the backgrounds of the passengers to see whether any of them were trained pilots.
"There are still a few countries who have yet to respond to our request for a background check," said Khalid Abu Bakar, inspector general of the Royal Malaysian Police Force. "But there are a few ... foreign intelligence agencies who have cleared all the(ir) passengers."
U.S. intelligence officials are leaning toward the theory that "those in the cockpit" -- the captain and co-pilot -- were responsible for the mysterious disappearance, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the latest thinking told CNN.
The official emphasized no final conclusions have been drawn and all the internal intelligence discussions are based on preliminary assessments of what is known to date.
Other scenarios could still emerge. The notion of a hijacking has not been ruled out, the official said Saturday.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters on Saturday that the plane veered off course due to apparent deliberate action taken by somebody on board.
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'Someone acting deliberately'
The first clue that the captain or co-pilot may have been involved stems from when the plane made a sharp, deliberate turn just after it last communicated with Kuala Lumpur air traffic controllers, and before it would have to communicate with Vietnamese controllers, according to the U.S. official with knowledge of the latest intelligence thinking.
"This is the perfect place to start to disappear," the official said.
Adding to the intrigue, ABC News reported that the dramatic left turn was preprogrammed into the plane's navigation computer. It's a task that would have required extensive piloting experience.
Two senior law enforcement officials also told ABC that new information revealed the plane performed "tactical evasion maneuvers" after it disappeared from radar. CNN was unable to confirm these reports.
Military radar showed the jetliner flew in a westerly direction back over the Malaysian Peninsula, Najib said. It is then believed to have either turned northwest toward the Bay of Bengal or southwest elsewhere in the Indian Ocean, he said.
"Evidence is consistent with someone acting deliberately from inside the plane," the Prime Minister said, officially confirming the plane's disappearance was not caused by an accident. "Despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, we are investigating all major possibilities on what caused MH370 to deviate."
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The unconfirmed possibility that the plane could be on land means authorities need to answer that question -- and fast, analysts said.
"Time is even more of the essence. If this airplane has been taken to be used as a weapon, then the time that has been taken to prepare the aircraft for whatever deed is the plan, obviously to thwart that, it's all about time," said Shawn Pruchnicki, who teaches aviation safety and accident investigation at The Ohio State University.
Tilmon said whoever deliberately steered the plane off course likely did it with help. But what's next is anyone's guess, he said.
"We have been behind them all along, so now, if they had a plan, and if that plan included being able to set down someplace and refuel a little bit, we are looking at something that we may never see the end of," he said.
Police search pilot's home
Who were the men who flew flight 370
The pilots
On Saturday, Malaysian police searched the home of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53. Zaharie lives in an upscale, gated community in Shah Alam, outside Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.
The Ministry of Transport said Sunday that police were examining a flight simulator found at the pilot's house.
It's somewhat common among aviation enthusiasts to use online flight simulator programs to replicate various situations. Simulators allow users to virtually experience scenarios in various aircraft. Programs can simulate flight routes, landings and takeoffs from actual airports.
Two vans were loaded with small bags, similar to shopping bags, at the home of the co-pilot, 27-year-old Fariq Ab Hamid, according to a CNN crew who observed activities at the residence. It was unclear whether the bags were taken from the home, and police made no comment about their activities there.
Najib made clear in a news conference that in light of the latest developments, authorities have refocused their investigation to the crew, ground staff and passengers on board.
Hishammuddin, the transportation minister, told reporters the pilots didn't request to work together.
What we know about the cockpit crew
Peter Chong, a friend of Zaharie's, said he had been in the pilot's house and tried the simulator.
"It's a reflection of his love for people -- because he wants to share the joy of flying with his friends," Chong said.
He was bothered by speculation about the captain's credibility and questions about possible ties to terrorism.
"I think it is a little bit insensitive and unfair to the family," he said, adding he thought there was no evidence to suggest any ulterior motives on Shah's part.
A senior U.S. law enforcement official told CNN that investigators are carefully reviewing the information so far collected on the pilots to determine whether there is something to indicate a plan or a motive.
"In any criminal investigation, the most important analysis is what's the motive," said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. "I think right now, they have to look for it, and they have to rule it out, if they can, with their own pilots, so they can start looking for motives elsewhere."
Undoubtedly, authorities will scour through the flight manifest and look further to see whether any of the passengers on board had flight training or connections to terror groups.
According to The New York Times, one of the passengers was an aviation engineer on his way to Beijing to work for a private-jet company.
Andaman and Nicobar IslandsAndaman and Nicobar Islands
Kazakhstan to Indian Ocean
As the focus of the investigation has shifted, so, too, has the focus of the search.
Information from international and Malaysian officials indicates the jet may have flown for more than seven hours after the last contact with the pilots.
Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. March 8. The last satellite communication from the plane occurred at 8:11 a.m., Najib said, well past the scheduled arrival time in Beijing. It is possible this contact could have been made from the ground, as long as the airplane still had electrical power, Malaysia's civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said Sunday.
That last communication, Najib said, was in one of two possible traffic corridors shown on a map released to reporters. A northern arc stretches from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, and a southern arc spans from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.
"Due to the type of satellite data, we are unable to confirm the precise location of the plane when it last made contact with the satellite," Najib said.
Because the northern parts of the traffic corridor include some tightly guarded airspace over India, Pakistan and even some U.S. installations in Afghanistan, U.S. authorities believe it more likely the aircraft crashed into waters outside of the reach of radar south of India, a U.S. official told CNN. If it had flown farther north, it's likely it would have been detected by radar.
Malaysia's Ministry of Transport said Sunday that both the northern and southern corridors are being treated with equal importance. Malaysian officials are working with 25 countries, many of them along the corridors. They include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Transport said it has joined the search, but said there is no evidence the plane flew over Afghan soil.
Separately, India has "temporarily halted" its search for the missing plane while Malaysian authorities reassess the situation, according to a top military official.
"We are conserving our assets for now," Rear Adm. Sudhir Pillai, the chief of staff of India's joint Andaman and Nicobar command, said Sunday. "We are on a standby."
He said the Malaysians are reviewing India's deployment.
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Families at boiling point
For the families and loved ones of those aboard Flight 370, tensions boiled over Sunday in Beijing at the daily briefing by Malaysia Airlines.
Nine days after the plane went missing, patience is running thin with officials.
Before a packed room, one man told them that the families have already lost faith.
"A liar can lie once, twice or three times, but what's the point (to) keep lying?" he said. "What we ask for is the truth. Don't hide things from us."
In the face of mounting criticism over its handling of the situation, Malaysia Airlines has defended its actions, saying it took time to verify satellite signals and give authorities a chance to analyze their significance before releasing information.
But at Sunday's Beijing briefing, a majority of the people in the room stood up when the man asked how many had lost trust in the airline and the Malaysian government.
Another man rushed the front of the room and tried to throw a punch but was stopped.
The airline has been picking up the tab for families of the Chinese passengers to stay in Beijing during the ordeal.
China is sending technical experts to join the investigation, and two Chinese search vessels headed for the Strait of Malacca, according to Xinhua.
People are across the world have shown their support for those involved.

During his weekly Sunday message following prayers at the Vatican, Pope Francis asked the crowd to pray for the crew members and passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane and their families. "We are close to them in this difficult moment," Pope Francis said.

Wireless electricity? It's here - David Gilinsky

A world without wires

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Dr Katie Hall is developing was to transfer power without wires
  • In the home of the future, wireless energy will be as common as Wi-Fi internet, she believes
  • The technology could lead to new and revolutionary medical devices
         Katie Hall was shocked the second she saw it: a light-bulb glowing in middle of a room with no wires attached.
Looking back, it was a crude experiment, she remembers: a tiny room filled with gigantic cooper refrigerator coils -- the kind you'd see if you cracked open the back of your freezer.
She walked in and out between the coils and the bulb -- and still the bulb glowed.
"I said: 'Let's work on this. This is the future.'"
What's the trick?
"We're going to transfer power without any kind of wires," says Dr Hall, now Chief Technology Officer at WiTricity -- a start-up developing wireless "resonance" technology.
"But, we're not actually putting electricity in the air. What we're doing is putting a magnetic field in the air."
It works like this: WiTricity build a "Source Resonator" -- a coil of electrical wire that generates a magnetic field when power is attached.
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If another coil is brought close, an electrical charge can be generated in it. No wires required.
"When you bring a device into that magnetic field, it induces a current in the device, and by that you're able to transfer power," explains Dr Hall.
And like that, the bulb lights up.
Don't worry about getting zapped: Hall assures that the magnetic fields used to transfer energy are "perfectly safe" -- in fact, they are the same kind of fields used in Wi-Fi routers.
In the house of the future, wire-free energy transfer could be as easy as wireless internet.
If all goes to WiTricity's plans, smartphones will charge in your pocket as you wander around, televisions will flicker with no wires attached, and electric cars will refuel while sitting on the driveway.
WiTricity have already demonstrated their ability to power laptops, cell-phones, and TVs by attaching resonator coils to batteries -- and an electric car refueller is reportedly in the works.
Hall sees a bright future for the family without wires:
"We just don't think about it anymore: I'm going to drive my car home and I'm never going to have to go to the gas station and I'm never going to have to plug it in.
"I can't even imagine how things will change when we live like that."
World outside
Beyond these effort-saving applications, Hall sees more revolutionary steps.
When Hall first saw the wireless bulb, she immediately thought of medical technology -- seeing that devices transplanted beneath the skin could be charged non-intrusively.
WiTricity is now working with a medical company to recharge a left-ventricular assist device -- "a heart-pump essentially."
The technology opens the door to any number of mobile electronic devices which have so far been held back by limited battery lives.
"The idea of eliminating cables would allow us to re-design things in ways that we haven't yet thought of, that's just going to make our devices and everything that we interact with, that much more efficient, more practical and maybe even give brand new functionality."
What's next?
The challenge now is increasing the distance that power can be transferred efficiently. This distance -- Hall explains -- is linked to the size of the coil, and WiTricity wants to perfect the same long-distance transfers to today's small-scale devices.
For this reason, the team have high hopes for their new creation: AA-sized wirelessly rechargeable batteries.
For Hall, the applications are endless: "I always say kids will say: 'Why is it called wireless?'"

"The kids that are growing up in a couple of years will never have to plug anything in again to charge it."