Mark Huber is an aviation industry veteran who has worked in the flight training, aircraft sales, aircraft component, and airport development businesses. He has flight time in more than 50 different and diverse aircraft, including helicopters, aerobatic aircraft, vintage warbirds, jet fighters, business jets and turboprops, and transport-category aircraft. He has jumped out of several of these—on purpose—with a parachute. His defense and aviation journalism has been published in a variety of national and international periodicals.

Contributor

Mark Huber

Atlanta-based hypersonic aircraft startup Hermeus has selected the Pratt &amp; Whitney F100 turbofan to integrate into its larger hypersonic engine. The company said the off-the-shelf turbine engine will save it “billions of dollars in research and development costs and years of schedule.”
The F100 turbofan—which&nbsp;recently marked 50 years of service and 30 million flight hours on&nbsp;F-15&nbsp;and F-16 fighters—will act as the turbine portion of Hermeus’s combined cycle engine named Chimera II, which will be used to power Darkhorse, a Mach 5 hypersonic UAV being developed for defense and intelligence customers. Engine testing is scheduled for 2024. Darkhorse will provide the foundation for the eventual development of&nbsp;the 20-seat Halcyon Mach 5 passenger aircraft.
Chimera II is a turbine-based combined cycle engine that is a hybrid between a turbine and a ramjet, a design that provides for both low-speed and high-speed operation and will allow Darkhorse to use existing airports, something that rocket-based hypersonic vehicles cannot do. The hybrid design is an extension of the smaller Chimera engine Hermeus built&nbsp;for its Quarterhorse demonstration aircraft, which it expects to fly next year. That engine uses the GE J85 engine for its turbine section.
Once the aircraft reaches Mach 3, the engine will bypass incoming air around the turbojet, enabling the ramjet to take over.

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

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News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

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News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

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News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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