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01 / 05
Two Airplanes Lugging Cargo Together Is Texas Startup’s Bet

Bloomberg | Air Transport

Two Airplanes Lugging Cargo Together Is Texas Startup’s Bet

“On an abandoned Air Force field near Lubbock peppered with prairie-dog holes, the startup Aerolane is testing a business plan to pull cargo gliders with small freighter planes. The concept from former executives at Amazon.com Inc. and BNSF Railway Co. is that carriers could double capacity by towing a second engineless aircraft.

The potential savings — as much as 65% less fuel burn when the gliders are purpose-built for aerodynamics — are huge for a $135 billion air-freight industry that doesn’t blink at investing in new aircraft engines to reduce fuel use by 15% and that quickly adopted winglets to boost efficiency just 5%.”

From Bloomberg.

Axios | Air Transport

Passenger Jet Prototype Breaks Speed of Sound

“A prototype of a passenger jet designed to succeed the supersonic Concorde broke the sound barrier for the first time on Tuesday above the Mojave Desert in California.

Why it matters: Exceeding Mach 1 speed — 770 miles per hour — is an important milestone in the quest by Boom Supersonic, a Denver-based startup, to resurrect high-speed air travel 22 years after the Concorde retired.”

From Axios.

Live Science | Air Transport

XB-1 Passenger Plane 1 Step Away from Breaking the Sound Barrier

“The unofficial successor to Concorde is one step closer to reality after Boom Supersonic marked the 11th successful test flight of its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator aircraft.

On Jan. 10, the XB-1 completed a sustained flight at 728 mph (1,172 km/h) — equivalent to Mach 0.95, which is just shy of the speed of sound.

The test was conducted at a height of 29,481 feet (8,986 meters); while the aircraft flew at this speed in its 10th test, that test was at a much higher altitude and therefore a lower air pressure.

By flying so fast, so low in the latest test, the XB-1 achieved a record 383 knots equivalent airspeed — indicative of incredibly high dynamic air pressure. The aircraft will never experience such intense conditions again even when it finally breaks the sound barrier, as its in-service flights will take place at much higher altitudes where the air is thinner, company representatives said in a statement.

Putting the aircraft under this strain at transonic speed, just below the speed of sound, demonstrates the robust quality of its airframe and proves it will remain controllable at higher speeds.”

From Live Science.

Wall Street Journal | Motor Vehicles

How Uber and Lyft Are Gearing Up for the Robotaxi Revolution

“Uber Technologies and Lyft gave up on big plans to develop their own driverless taxis years ago. Now, they are revamping their businesses to accommodate competitors who may have figured it out. 

The ride-hailing leaders are preparing to bring driverless taxis to your door with new app features that allow customers to use their phones to open trunks and honk horns. They are building infrastructure to maintain the high-tech taxis and training human support staff to handle riders without drivers. 

Both companies will have driverless cars—from Alphabet’s Waymo and others—on their apps this year. In the coming months, riders in Austin, Texas, and Atlanta will be able to hail a Waymo through the Uber app. Lyft plans to offer May Mobility’s driverless taxis in Atlanta.”

From Wall Street Journal.