Monthly Archives: February 2024

Pivotal Delivers Four BlackFly light eVTOLs for U.S. Air Force evaluation; Contracted for Eight Aircraft

Pivotal, a market leader in light electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, today announced it has delivered four of eight BlackFlys and two flight simulators for lease to MTSI for evaluation by AFWERX and the United States Air Force. The Air Force is evaluating Pivotal aircraft performance by assessing a host of benefits across diverse applications for the company’s proven tilt-eVTOL architecture, and testing a range of remotely piloted missions. Selected by AFWERX and Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. (MTSI) to participate in the Agility Prime initiative, Pivotal is providing the Air Force with pilot training and support services in addition to the aircraft and flight simulators. The program will operate out of New Braunfels National Airport, Texas, and from the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, Ohio.

“AFWERX’s and MTSI’s decision to partner with Pivotal is a strong endorsement of our platform’s maturity and a milestone on our journey to mission relevance,” said Ken Karklin, CEO, Pivotal. “With over 12 years at the forefront of light eVTOL aircraft development, it is an honor to join forces with AFWERX and MTSI to demonstrate the utility and versatility of Pivotal’s patented eVTOL architecture.”

“Over the next eight months, we will fly eight BlackFly eVTOL aircraft in different environments to test their mission effectiveness and suitability in military uses,” said Vance Drenkhahn, Executive Vice President, DSD, MTSI. “Pivotal’s amazing light eVTOL platform offers an opportunity to support AFWERX and solve real-world challenges.”

“AFWERX continues to look for ways to accelerate our understanding of eVTOL operations, maintenance, logistics and potential use cases.” said Lt Col John Tekell, AFWERX Agility Prime branch chief. “1-2 person eVTOLs have potential for several missions including special operations, surveillance, and disaster and emergency response with local command and control at a much lower price point than traditional helicopters.”

The post Pivotal Delivers Four BlackFly light eVTOLs for U.S. Air Force evaluation; Contracted for Eight Aircraft appeared first on Avionics International.

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Joby Completes Third Stage of FAA Certification Process

Joby Aviation, Inc., a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced it has become the first developer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to complete the third of five stages of the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) type certification process.

During the third stage of the process, Joby submitted certification plans that cover all of the aircraft’s structural, mechanical, and electrical systems, as well as the Company’s intended certification approach to cybersecurity, human factors, and noise.

These certification plans, which detail the tests and analyses that Joby will use to certify every aspect of its aircraft for commercial use, have now all been reviewed and accepted by the FAA, laying the groundwork for Joby to submit test plans and begin for-credit testing across every area of the Company’s aircraft program.

JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby, commented: “Joby continues to lead the industry towards bringing electric air taxis to the commercial market. Our certification and engineering teams are best-in-class and, working closely with the FAA, continue to support U.S. leadership in this new area of aviation.”

Joby is now fully focused on the fourth stage of the certification process, where the Company will complete tests and analysis for FAA credit covering every component and system on the Joby aircraft – as well as the entire aircraft itself.

“With all of our certification plans  accepted by the FAA, we are now completely focused on the execution phase of the certification process. We have a clear path to certifying every aspect of our aircraft, and the team is full steam ahead on executing against that path as we continue to lead the industry to commercialization,” said Didier Papadopoulos, President of Aircraft OEM at Joby.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Joby completed 30 for-credit tests covering a number of flight electronics units as well as structural materials. The testing methods and processes validated through these tests lay the foundation for the Company’s continued expansion of FAA for-credit testing.

Joby also recently received its Part 145 Repair Station Certificate from the FAA, allowing the Company to perform select maintenance activities on aircraft and marking another key step on the path to commercializing Joby’s electric air taxi service.

Joby’s electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, offering high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and zero operating emissions.

The post Joby Completes Third Stage of FAA Certification Process appeared first on Avionics International.

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Sikorsky-Boeing Select New Honeywell Engine To Power FLRAA Offering

Sikorsky and Boeing said Thursday they have selected Honeywell’s new HTS7500 turboshaft engine to power its Defiant X helicopter offering for the Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition.

Honeywell said the new HTS7500 is based on its T55 engine, which powers the Army’s Chinook heavy-lift fleet, noting it’s 42 percent “more powerful” than that system and “has the lowest total weight compared to other engines in its horsepower class.”

“This engine builds upon the battle-proven architecture of the T55, but the HTS7500 takes engine performance, reliability and efficiency to a whole new level,” Dave Marinick, Honeywell Aerospace’s president for engines and power systems, said in a statement.

The Sikorsky-Boeing team and Bell, offering its V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft, are the two competitors for the Army’s FLRAA program to find a replacement for its Black Hawk helicopters.

A production contract for FLRAA is set to be awarded in late fiscal year 2022.

“Defiant X is a transformational aircraft, and Honeywell is giving us a transformational engine to power it,” Paul Lemmo, president of Sikorsky, said in a statement. “Defiant X is optimized for operational effectiveness, sustainment and interoperability with the enduring fleet, and will transform the Army.”

Honeywell called the new HTS7500 engine its “most technologically advanced model,” and said it’s designed to exceed FLRAA’s mission power and fuel consumption requirements. 

“The new engine comes equipped with a modernized control system, which enables a highly secure flow of engine data,” Honeywell wrote in a statement. “The control system improves operating capabilities, reduces life-cycle costs, and ensures engine health status through its digital thread road map.”

Sikorsky-Boeing’s Team Defiant told Defense Daily they have used the Honeywell’s T55 engine in its SB>1 Defiant technology demonstrator platform informing the Defiant X offering as well as in the Propulsion System Test Bed used to gather data for furthering FLRAA development.

Last month, the Sikorsky-Boeing team detailed a recent full FLRAA mission profile flight test with SB>1 Defiant, to include conducting low-level flight and confined-area landings, reaching a speed of 236 knots and conducting 60-degree banked turns.

The post Sikorsky-Boeing Select New Honeywell Engine To Power FLRAA Offering appeared first on Avionics International.

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Bell Demonstrates High-Speed Vertical Takeoff and Landing (HSVTOL) Technology at Holloman Air Force Base

Bell showcased High-Speed Vertical Takeoff and Landing (HSVTOL) technology capabilities upon completion of testing efforts at Holloman Air Force Base. The team has utilized the Holloman’s High Speed Test Track to demonstrate the folding rotor, integrated propulsion and flight control technologies at representative flight speeds.

“The successful sled test completion is a culmination of Bell’s HSVTOL research and unprecedented technology development,” said Jason Hurst, executive vice president of engineering. “The technology demonstration provides Bell with critical experience and knowledge that will inform our X-plane development for DARPA’s SPRINT program. It is a pivotal step in the creation [of the] next generation of high-speed vertical lift aircraft for future warfighters.

The SPRINT program intends to design, build, and fly an X-Plane, an experimental aircraft to demonstrate enabling technologies and integrated concepts necessary for a transformational combination of aircraft speed and runway independence for the next generation of air mobility platforms.

The post Bell Demonstrates High-Speed Vertical Takeoff and Landing (HSVTOL) Technology at Holloman Air Force Base appeared first on Avionics International.

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