PRESENTATION SYNOPSES
Propulsion Group
WHAT PRICE SPEED?
LONDON / 26 MAY 2016
(1) FLYING TO THE ANTIPODES AT HYPERSONIC SPEEDS
- IS IT EVER LIKELY TO BE POSSIBLE?
Since the birth of aviation, aircraft have been shrinking
the planet and bringing people closer together. Continual
technical developments have enabled ever-faster flight
speeds but even though we regularly escape Earth’s gravity
and bring spacecraft back from orbit and beyond we are
yet to see the operational deployment of systems that can
fly repeatably at hypersonic speeds, that is at 5,700 km
per hour or more. For those of us who live in the so-called
Antipodes our reliance on subsonic transport subjects us to
far too many hours of potential discomfort. It also restricts
the many other civilian and military applications that could
benefit from higher speeds and reduced flight times. This
presentation will briefly examine the case for hypersonic
flight and the current technical state of the art in achieving
it operationally while considering the prospect for its timely
deployment.
(2) AIRLANDER - A NEW PRICE/SPEED OPTION?
Airlander is a new class of aircraft which combines the
properties of an airship, airplane and helicopter by utilising
buoyant, aerodynamic and vectored thrust lift. It offers a
new price/speed option: faster but more expensive than
ships; slower but cheaper than other aircraft. The Airlander
10 will undertake civil flight testing this year. It does not
require a runway and can take-off and land on water as well
as grass, ice, desert etc. With a top speed of 148 km/hour it
offers a new option for short haul travel and a superior and
lower cost performance for sightseeing than helicopters. At
a minimum cruise speed of 37 km/hour it offers best in class
performance for long endurance surveillance missions. The
Airlander 50 will have a top speed of 195 km/hour and offers
lower cost per tonne-km performance for remote logistics
than trucks using ice roads or other unsealed roads.
(3) FAST HELICOPTERS
Airbus Helicopters applied its top three priorities - safety,
customer satisfaction and competitiveness - to its high
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speed demonstrator called the H3. High speed will help
save more lives, improve fleet efficiency and comfort. With
a limited life cycle cost increase, it ultimately can reduce
mission cost. The High Speed Hybrid Helicopter (H3)
reached the speed of 260 knots thanks to its main rotor and
2 variable-pitch propellers, with a minimum development
cost by maximising the reuse of existing technologies.
This concept will help Airbus Helicopters participate in the
European Clean Sky 2 high speed rotorcraft program to
target serial production of an affordable and technologically
proven Fast Helicopter which will pave the way for a wide
range of even safer, more competitive missions, exceeding
customer expectations.
(4) LONDON TO PARIS BY TURBOPROP – WHY NOT?
The upward trend in the cost of fuel and increasing
environmental pressures highlight the need for more
efficient, cleaner and quieter aircraft. Current turboprop
powered regional aircraft offer up to 30% savings in fuel
burn compared to an equivalent turbofan powered aircraft
yet turbofan powered aircraft continue to dominate all but
the shortest regional routes. How the next generation
of regional turboprop aircraft will need to challenge this
situation will be discussed, through advanced engineering to
maintain and increase the inherent benefits of the turboprop
and tackle the other market factors that appear to be
restricting their low utilisation.
(5) THE CHALLENGES OF HYPERSONIC FLIGHT
Efforts to achieve sustained, controllable hypersonic flight
have been ongoing since the late 1950’s. The vision of
hypersonic aircraft revolutionising the aerospace industry
still remains and in recent years feasibility studies have made
tangible progress in turning this vision into a reality. The
technology is rapidly maturing to the point where hypersonic
vehicles may soon be a central part of the aerospace
industry.
This presentation identifies and analyses the major
PRESENTATION SYNOPSES
Propulsion Group
WHAT PRICE SPEED?
LONDON / 26 MAY 2016
obstacles and difficulties which stand in the way of achieving
atmospheric hypersonic flight. It also presents a discussion
on the developing solutions being made to overcome these
difficulties, and the potential applications of this technology.
6) FUTURE LARGE CIVIL PROPULSION – THE NEED FOR
SPEED?
This presentation will explore future developments in large
civil engine propulsion, the technologies which enable them
and how these technologies are developed. It will look at
mega trends in the world of air travel and consider the part
transit speed will play. With the strive for ever more efficient
engine propulsion solutions the barriers to enhanced speed
transportation will be explored and the question “is there
really a need for more speed?” will be asked.
7) AFFORDABLE PROPULSION SYSTEM RESEARCH
One consideration in the cost of speed is the development of
advanced propulsion systems. Testing is an important part
of such a development and can be prohibitively expensive.
S & C Thermofluids has developed an affordable approach
specifically for the development of propulsion system
technologies. This presentation describes the facilities and
their typical application. One such application includes fluidic
vectoring of the exhaust flow to provide an unsteady ejector
aimed at improving propulsive efficiency.
8) MACH 5 AND BEYOND - THE SABRE SOLUTION
This presentation will describe the remarkable technical
challenges asssociated with hypersonic flight and space
access. Different vehicle approaches will be illustrated,
with a comparison of propulsion system options and
capabilities. The future opportunity for very high speed
commercial flight (anywhere in the world in 4 hours) and
lower cost, routine, space flight will be considered. The
unique SABRETM (Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Egine)
concept will be presented along with the novel technologies
being demonstrated to enable its development, most
notably very advanced heat exchangers. The potential for
a transformation of air and space flight in the next two
decades will be postulated.
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