Farnborough Airshow 2016
On Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th July 2016 I attended the trade days at the Farnborough International Air show. Having already been to the Paris Air show (Salon du Bourget) twice (2009 & 2015), I was impressed by the quality of both static and live aircraft displays. Having registered my attendance with the University of Southampton as a student, I was invited to a quick tour of the UAV monitoring station van parked in one of the exhibition halls. I was also briefed on the latest UAV design projects. One of these followed the path of the University “World First 3D Printed Aircraft” built in 2011, which flew later that day.
Over the course of both days I explored the different stands, keeping up to date with the latest technological advancements and discovering the new/emerging suppliers. A new air-brathing rocket engine known as “SABRE” captured my attention. I was told that the project is currently been developed by BAE Systems to serve a new range of “spaceplanes” such as the “Skylon” which could reach Mach 5 for air travel and up to Mach 25 for space travel. This performance can be achieved by using a series of ultra-lightweight heat exchangers shaped as spirals capable of cooling airflow to from 1000°C to -150°C nearly instantly. Although the use of well know propulsive components such as a ramjet and a LOX rocket engine is nothing new, the layout of these help increase the global fuel efficiency for different speeds and altitude sounds promising. Its versatility could make this engine lead the way for future space travel.
The afternoon was spent visiting the static displays were I was able to get a close up view of the latest civil and military aircrafts. These included the A350-900, 787-900, 737 MAX, Bombardier CSeries, Pilatus PC-12 NG, A400M Atlas and Saab Gripen-E. The second day was closed by an stunning flight demonstration of the new F-35B. After a classic acrobatic show, the fighter came to a stop 15m above the ground and hovered for a few minutes before rotating 90° and translating sideways along the runway length in a remarkably precise fashion. The roar of the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem engine left the stunned crowd silent as the aircraft climbed vertically like a helicopter before setting off as a “normal” plane again.