CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/882089
TRENDS OCTOBER 2017 16 CompositesWorld H i g h T e m p e r a t u r e B o n d T o o l s • BMI • Epoxy M i l l F i x t u r e s P r e s s u r e I n t e n s i f i e r s / C a u l s B a c k u p S t r u c t u r e M a t e r i a l s • Panels, Tubes, Angles B a c k u p S t r u c t u r e K i t s C O M P O S I T E T O O L I N G 6262 W. 34th Street South ● Wichita, KS 67215 Phone: 316-946-5900 ● Email: Sales@BurnhamCS.com The 2017 Experimental Aircraft Assn.'s (EAA) AirVenture airshow, held in Oshkosh, WI, US, from July 24-30, was another blockbuster. Attendance was an all-time high — more than 590,000 plus 10,000 aircraft — prompting EAA's CEO and chairman Jack Pelton to report, "I believe it's the best AirVenture week that I've ever seen." Of interest to composites professionals, a composites-enhanced Airbus (Toulouse, France) A400M Atlas now in service with the British Royal Air Force, in the US as part of a joint training exercise, made the model's first appearance at a US civilian air show. Airbus also showcased two new projects launched last year by its San Jose, CA, US-based A 3 (pronounced "A-cubed") incubator initiative. A 3 's goal is to "disrupt Airbus Group and the rest of the aerospace industry before someone else does," says the company. One project, Vahana, is a self-piloted aircraft designed to carry a single passenger or cargo. Airbus wants to make "the first certified passenger aircraft without a pilot." A small-scale mock-up of Vahana was among the "urban air mobility" vehicles on display at the Airbus Pavilion. Vehicle design is complete, many critical subsystems have been devel- oped or procured, and production partnerships are established, Airbus said. A full-size prototype is scheduled for completion by year's end, and a demonstrator by 2020. A second project, the Voom on-demand-via-app helicopter air-taxi service, is currently being tested in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Towering over the massive airframes covering EAA's Boeing Plaza was Blue Origin's (Kent, WA, US) New Shepard (see photo). The reusable Oshkosh 2017 offers many sights, innovations AEROSPACE Source | EAA / Photo | Lauire Goossens