The sixth glide test of Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity was conducted in Mojave, CA Friday, and for the first time, the propulsion system for the suborbital spacecraft was installed and "live" ... but not engaged.
According to Virgin Galactic, "with the exception of the rocket motor fuel grain, called the CTN (Case-Throat-Nozzle), Unity flew with all the spaceship’s principle propulsion components on-board and live. This meant that Unity took off with her forward pressurant tank loaded with helium and for the first time, her centrally positioned Main Oxidizer Tank fully charged with nitrous oxide. A VH-92A configured test aircraft in support of the U.S. Marine Corps’ VH-92A Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program completed its first flight on July 28, signaling the start of the 250 hour flight test program, taking place at Lockheed Martin facilities in Owego, New York. The aircraft achieved its first flight, and later that same day completed a second flight at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, Connecticut. Total flight time for the two sorties was one hour and included hover control checks, low speed flight, and a pass of the airfield. Airbus Perlan Mission II, an initiative to fly a glider
without an engine to the edge of space to collect ground-breaking insights on climate change, weather and high-altitude flight, recently reached a new high altitude in its second season of flight testing in El Calafate, Argentina. Pilots Jim Payne, Morgan Sandercock, Tim Gardner and Miguel Iturmendi have soared the pressurized Perlan 2 glider in a series of flights reaching a maximum altitude to date of 32,500 feet. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!
Airborne 08.09.17 is chock full of info in this Daily News Episode, Wednesday, August 9th, 2017... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Hosts Brianne Cross, Christopher Odom, and Laura Hutson, and is supported by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell, Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, and Aero-Journalist Tom Patton, this episode covers:
- VSS Unity Flies With Propulsion Systems Installed And Live
- First Flight: VH-92A Presidential Helicopter
- Airbus Perlan Mission II Reaches New High Altitude
- EAA's Jack Pelton Makes A Case Against ATC Privatization
- Classic Aero-TV: A Pilatus Aircraft Update - A Unique Kind of Aircraft Company
- U.S. Military Bans Use Of Chinese-Made Drones
- Three Receive Master Instructor Designation In July
- Cessna Pilot Centers Move To Paperless Training System
- FAA, EASA Certify Williams FJ44-4A-QPM Engine
- Two Charged In Australia With Terrorism In Thwarted Plot Against Airliner
Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again tomorrow, LIVE from Oshkosh 2017, for the next edition of "Airborne Unlimited" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, tomorrow!
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ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.26.24): DETRESFA (Distress Phrase)
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