The engines on a French Concorde are to be examined as the first move in a £15m project aiming to get the supersonic passenger jet back in the air.

The Rolls Royce engines of the former Air France Concorde will undergo an initial examination to see what work needs to be done to start the engines.

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The scramjet engine in the experimental aircraft burned for a little over three minutes at around 10 a.m. PDT Wednesday in a test range over the Pacific Ocean, pushing the X-51A to the hypersonic speed of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. That was the top speed reached by the aircraft in its brief flight, according to Boeing and press reports citing U.S. Air Force officials. 

The 200 seconds of autonomous flight by the U.S. Air Force's X-51A set a duration record for an aircraft powered by a scramjet (short for "supersonic combustion ramjet") engine, though in part that can be chalked up to the rarity of any flights at all at this extreme level. The previous record was set by NASA's X-43A, whose scramjet engine burned for only about 10 to 12 seconds in November 2004; that aircraft zoomed to Mach 9.8.

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Today a team of researchers at MIT unveiled their latest feat of engineering — an airplane that uses 70% less fuel than conventional aircraft. The MIT team was one of six groups — and the only university led team — across the US chosen by NASA to help redesign current aircraft to increase fuel efficiency, lower emissions and allow planes to take off on shorter runways. The team accomplished all of NASA’s set goals with their innovative D-series plane, lovingly referred to as the “double bubble”.

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Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is calling the Pentagon out on spending.

"For example, should we really be up in arms over a temporary projected shortfall of about 100 Navy and Marine strike fighters relative to the number of carrier wings, when America's military possesses more than 3,200 tactical combat aircraft of all kinds?" Gates asked. "Does the number of warships we have and are building really put America at risk when the U.S. battle fleet is larger than the next 13 navies combined, 11 of which belong to allies and partners? Is it a dire threat that by 2020 the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China?"

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I love the technology created by the Pentagon.  But nothing puts the context of defense spending into perspective more than a conversation I had while touring naval  construction facility nearly 20 years ago.  The facility built nuclear attack submarines and aircraft carriers, one of which had just been launched and being dedicated.  A tour guide was taking a group of us through and showing us the preparations to build the next carrier scheduled and the parts for several more.   I asked how many more they planned on building...and there was no definitive answer.  

At some point enough is enough.  Defense contractors will always tell us the answer is more.  And there is real need to maintain the workforce to make these amazing vehicles.  But somebody has to say enough is enough.

For the aircraft industry maybe it's time for the government to fund prototype development of next generation aircraft rather than being locked into full production of unneeded aircraft.  Maybe the future is unmanned drones.  But some other model  is needed.  The current paradigm is too expensive and takes too long to produce new models. 

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Investigators were able to track wannabe terrorist Faisal Shahzad through his anonymous, pre-paid cell phone — exactly how, they won’t say. But there was a tantalizing explanation posted — and then quickly yanked — from the website of WCBS TV. “In the end, it was secret Army intelligence planes that did him in. Armed with his cell phone number, they circled the skies over the New York area, intercepting a call to Emirates Airlines reservations, before scrambling to catch him at John F. Kennedy International Airport.”

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Two rocket-powered competitive aircraft took off together Saturday to showcase the Rocket Racing League's new aerial muscle machine as it kicks off a 2010 World Exhibition Tour. 

The league unveiled its new Mark III X-racer rocket plane in the high-flying event, which was part of the QuikTrip Air & Rocket Racing Show in Tulsa, Okla. Beginning this year and stretching into 2011, the Rocket Racing League will conduct a series of demonstrations at air shows across the country. 

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It’s the new secret weapon fueling the US military. A hardy plant capable of growing in poor soil, camelina sativa produces a bio-fuel that’s now the focus of the US Navy’s drive for alternative fuels in its planes.

Last week an F/A-18 Super Hornet flew from the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Md., powered by a 50/50 mix of aviation fuel and camelina, also known as wild flax. It was the first supersonic fighter to fly on a bio-fuel mix. The event was celebrated by US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on the Navy’s new official blog, also launched last week.

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PAK-FA T-50 Presentation includes detailed information and comparison to US aircraft

DeconstructingSukhoi-PAK-FA-Su-50.pdf (4.54 mb)

The space suit was designed by Red Bull Stratos and fabricated by air and space crew protective equipment manufacturer David Clark Company. This is the first space suit ever produced by David Clark Company for a non-governmental space programme.

The suit, along with a pressure helmet, will serve as Baumgartner’s sole life-support system when he steps off his capsule at 120,000ft to attempt a record-breaking free fall from the edge of space. 

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