Over half a century ago, strange delta-winged aircraft flew in British skies, portending a future of high-speed passenger flight. These prototypes, the BAC 221 (the modified Fairey Delta 2) and the Handley Page HP.115, were tested in the early 1960s to support the development of a supersonic airliner - which would eventually enter service as the Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde. That future faded with the retirement of this iconic airliner in 2003. However, on 28 November at the RAeS HQ in London, an agreement was signed that may, one day, perhaps be looked back on as one of the key moments in an exciting new era of low-carbon, commercial flight The agreement, signed by Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens, is for a flying hybrid-electric demonstrator aircraft, based on a BAe 146, which is set to fly in 2020 and may potentially be the first British (with international partners) civil X-plane in over half a century. At the press conference, the project partners were coy on where the aircraft might be modified and test flown. Traditionally, the involvement of Airbus might point to Toulouse but with the E-Fan X being based on a BAe aircraft platform, it may be that this hybrid-electric demonstrator is flown from the UK. One location immediately springs to mind - Cranfield University's new Aerospace Integration Research Centre (AIRC) which already has experience of modifying BAe 146s into specialist aircraft. This is, of course, speculation but, should R&D funding from the UK's Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) be secured, there is the possibility that, for the first time in decades, the UK could be home to a prototype testbed designed to investigate new technology for commercial aviation. This could also lead to new opportunities for the UK in hybrid-electric flight for engineers, designers, technicians, operators and entrepreneurs across the whole supply chain. The benefits could be far-reaching.
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