Aviation 12

A revolutionary new way of

landing the F-35 Lightning on

a ship has been carried out

by a British test pilot on the

Royal Navy’s newest carrier,

HMS Queen Elizabeth, for

the  rst time. BAE Systems

test pilot, Peter Wilson, made

history conducting the  rst-ever

shipborne rolling vertical landing

(SRVL). Prior to this, the aircraft

had only been landed vertically,

hovering by the side of the

ship before moving sideways

and lowering down. The rolling

landing requires the pilot to

approach the ship more conventionally at

speed from behind, before using thrust from

its nozzle and lift created by air over the

wings to touch down at low speed, using

only the brakes to come to a stop.

Peter Wilson said: “I’m excited and thrilled

to have achieved this. I’ve worked on this

for the past 17 years and it’s fantastic to

know that it’s matched the modelling and

simulation we have done over the years.” He

added: “I’ve  own more than 2,000 SRVLs

in the simulator and am honoured to have

been able to do the  rst one on board HMS

Queen Elizabeth.”

The UK is the only nation currently planning

to use this manoeuvre, which will allow the

F-35B to land on board the carrier with heavier

loads than possible by other methods.

In other Lightning news, the RAF has

undertaken its  rst air-to-air refuelling of a

F-35B and a Voyager. The rendezvous with

the tanker,  own by a 101 Sqn crew, took

place on October 16 in Air-to-Air Refuelling

Area 8 over the North Sea. The 617 Sqn

aircraft received fuel from both

underwing stations on the

tanker. Following the sortie, a

Royal Navy F-35B pilot assigned

to 617 Sqn said: “It’s fantastic to

be able to link up the UK’s  fth-

generation asset with the RAF’s

Voyager tanker in UK skies

for the  rst time. Being able to

refuel from an asset such as Voyager gives

the F-35B the ability to deliver world-beating

air power at range in defence of the nation.”

The Voyager  rst refuelled an F-

during trials from NAS Patuxent River,

Maryland, during May 2016 and is the

fourth non-US aircraft type to be certi ed

to refuel the Lightning II. Successful trials

had previously been undertaken with Royal

Australian Air Force KC-30s, Italian Air

Force KC-767s and a KDC-10 of the Royal

Netherlands Air Force.

Embraer introduced a pair of new business

jets at the National Business Aviation

Association’s conference in Orlando,

Florida, held over October 16 to 18. The

Praetor 500 and Praetor 600 represent

Embraer’s latest offerings in the midsize

and super-midsize categories.

The two Praetors are not completely new

designs, being based on, respectively, the

Legacy 450 and 500 platforms. Bene ts of the

latest variants include extra fuel capacity in

additional belly tanks that give the Praetor 600

a range of 3,900nm (7,223km). The Honeywell

HTF7500E engine provides an extra 500lb

of thrust per powerplant. They also have new

Embraer-designed winglets and redesigned

cabin interiors. Existing Legacy 450s can be

upgraded to Praetor 500 standard, although

this is not possible for the Legacy 500/

Praetor 600. The Legacy 450 and Legacy 500

continue to be in Embraer’s product range.

Michael Amal tano, president and CEO,

Embraer Executive Jets, said: “The Praetor

500 and Praetor 600 are the disruptive aircraft

for the entrepreneur, for the pioneer, for the

innovator. The Praetors are aircraft certainly

in keeping with their name, leading the way

in rede ning the characteristics of what a

midsize and super-midsize aircraft deliver to

the market.”

The two aircraft are currently in

development, with two Praetor 600 prototypes

conducting  ight tests as well as an additional

production-conforming example. The Praetor

500 is further ahead in its development as it’s

currently in its maturity campaign. The ’600 is

expected to be certi ed and enter service in

the second quarter of 2019, followed by the

’500 in the third quarter of the same year.

The Praetor 600 was one of two business

jets, along with the Praetor 500, launched at

the National Business Aviation Association

conference in Orlando, Florida.

Embraer/Claudio Capucho

Embraer Unveils Praetor 500 and 600

4

HEADLINES

A revolutionary method of

landing an F-35B Lightning

 ghter jet on a ship has been

carried out for the  rst time on

board the UK’s newest aircraft

carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

LPhot Kyle/HellerRoyal Navy

F-35B Performs First Rolling Landing

on HMS Queen Elizabeth

Aviation News incorporating Jets December 2018