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Skylift’s Electric Drones Perform Medical Deliveries in the UK

Skylift’s electric UAV is demonstrating its ability to deliver prescription medications in the UK in partnership with Apian. (Photo: Skylift UAV)

The company Skylift UAV develops unmanned aircraft with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities. Their drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), were selected by the National Health Service (NHS) in England for a pilot program in the Isle of Wight. The delivery method was launched in partnership with Apian, a medical drone startup. Skylift’s CEO, Toby Moores, and Operations Manager, Ben Dexter, provided insights into the development of their UAV in a recent interview with Avionics International.

Skylift’s UAVs will deliver chemotherapy drugs from a pharmacy at Portsmouth Hospitals University to St. Mary’s Hospital. The UAV flights will take about 30 minutes each—a significant improvement from the four hours it typically takes to transport a package to the Isle of Wight. Efficient delivery is particularly important for transporting medications with a short shelf life. Following the trial flights in the Isle of Wight, the pilot program will carry out drone flights in Northumbria.

Boots, a pharmacy chain in the UK, announced last week that it had used a Skylift UAV to transport prescription medications from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight. Apian selected the Skylift drone for this project and also helped to facilitate the test flight. Boots claims that this is is the first time a community pharmacy in the UK has transported prescription-only medications via UAV or drone.

Rich Corbridge, Chief Information Officer at Boots, commented on the achievement, saying that drones have significant potential for delivering medicine. “In this trial, we will be looking at how much time we can save, as well as how we can incorporate drones into our medicines supply chain to create economic efficiencies too,” Corbridge stated.

Ben Dexter, Skylift’s Operations Manager, noted that one of the early use cases their company originally considered was how to increase efficiency in transporting rapid test kits for COVID-19 via drone. Skylift’s objective with the NHS pilot program is to “make it a more reliable service for patients on an island or in remote places around the country,” Dexter told Avionics.

For transporting medications or supplies from one hospital to another, an aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing made sense, since hospitals often have helipads or other infrastructure in place to accommodate VTOL aircraft.

Skylift’s UAV is fully electric and is designed with eight lift motors. It transitions into forward flight once reaching an altitude of about 30 meters. With a conventional multi-rotor, Dexter explained, it would only be able to travel short distances.

The assembly, testing, and certification of the aircraft is all done in-house by Skylift. The company also specializes in fleet management of UAVs with its Skyfleet platform that enables remote piloting.

Skylift’s team works closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said Dexter. Based on their operational safety case, they are permitted to operate the drone for trips up to 35 kilometers. The Skyfleet platform, he added, was the critical piece that allowed the company to operate beyond visual line of sight.

Skylift CEO Toby Moores stated that one of the unique features of their aircraft is its size compared with other VTOL concepts. It’s a larger aircraft with decent payload capacity, he told Avionics, and it offers solid speed and endurance when operating in forward flight mode.

The drone developed by Skylift is designed with eight lift motors for vertical take-off and landing, and it transitions to forward flight. (Photo: Skylift UAV)

The 12 members of the Skylift team have a range of expertise, including a strong background in manned aviation, Moores commented. “Our remote pilot station is very much based around the glass cockpit—the PFD [primary flight display] and MFD [multi-function display],” he said, “things you would normally expect to see on a Garmin 3000 or something like that.”

The remote pilot interface within the Skyfleet platform “should be relatively familiar for anybody who’s flown anything with a glass cockpit,” according to Moores. “Those without manned experience can quickly get up to speed, because it’s something that’s well understood, and we haven’t had to invent all of the UI for that.”

The synthetic vision system is a useful component of Skylift’s concept. Moores explained, “If you lose a camera, or if visibility is poor, you can still fly, just like with any synthetic vision. But it also doubles up as a simulator for training purposes.”

Long-range communication as well as resilient command and control are vital, he added. It is possible that the UAV will be out of range of standard drone comms, so aviation-grade comms are necessary. “We use L-band or S-band and satcoms to stay in touch with the aircraft,” he shared.

Working towards certification of their aircraft with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) may be next on Skylift UAV’s radar. “They’re our nearest neighbors, and I think that would be sensible,” Moores said. To operate under the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulations would be more of a challenge. It will depend on their customers’ needs, he remarked, and whether it makes sense to expand to international operations.

The post Skylift’s Electric Drones Perform Medical Deliveries in the UK appeared first on Aviation Today.

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OneWeb’s Ben Griffin Explains How LEO Satellites Address Capacity, Throughput Needs for In-flight Internet

OneWeb VP of Mobility Services Ben Griffin is the guest on this episode of the Connected Aviation Intelligence Podcast.

On this episode of the Connected Aviation Intelligence Podcast, Ben Griffin, Vice President of Mobility Services, OneWeb, joins to discuss how the introduction of their Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite could provide a paradigm shift for in-flight internet service in the near future.

Last week, Eutelsat and OneWeb reached an agreement to combine, bringing together satellite assets in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) for multi-orbit service. Since this interview was conducted on the day of this major announcement, the discussion does not focus on the Eutelsat-OneWeb agreement; however, Griffin does provide some initial reaction on how the partnership might benefit their plans for in-flight connectivity (IFC) in the future toward the end of the conversation.

Griffin does explain why their LEO constellation a perfect match for IFC service because of the amount of capacity the systems will make available, low latency, and global coverage, including over the polar regions. The OneWeb executive also provides perspective on how the company is evaluating the results of a recent test of their partially completed LEO network conducted on a Boeing 777.

Listen to this episode below, or check it out on iTunes or Google Play. If you like the show, subscribe on your favorite podcast app to get new episodes as soon as they’re released.

The post OneWeb’s Ben Griffin Explains How LEO Satellites Address Capacity, Throughput Needs for In-flight Internet appeared first on Aviation Today.

How Transportation Departments Are Using Advanced Drone Technology for Infrastructure Inspections

Autonomous drones like those developed by Skydio can be useful for inspecting critical infrastructure such as bridges. (Photo: Skydio)

Departments of Transportation are increasingly using autonomous drones for monitoring and performing inspections of critical infrastructure such as bridges and highways. An autonomous drone can eliminate the need for a manual inspection which can be difficult and dangerous. Autonomous drone inspections are also less expensive to perform. Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in Alaska, North Carolina, New York, and other states have found that using autonomous drone technology to monitor and inspect infrastructure can improve workflow efficiency and lower costs.

Autonomous drones, such as those developed by the company Skydio, can easily be operated by less experienced pilots. “They are a lot easier to fly than a traditional manual drone,” according to David Buhrman, Senior Solutions Engineer.

Skydio closed $100 million in Series C funding in the summer of 2020. Shortly after that, the Defense Innovation Unit approved a version of the X2 model, along with four other drones, as trusted purchases for government customers. In the summer of 2021, the FAA granted BNSF Railway approval to remotely operate dock-based Skydio drones for BVLOS operations, including infrastructure inspection.

The unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program within Alaska’s DOT frequently employs drones to perform routine inspections of infrastructure. Ryan Marlow, UAS Program Coordinator, Statewide Aviation for the Alaska Department of Transportation (AKDOT), remarked that they perform an average of 8–12 bridge inspections each day.

AKDOT’s UAS program team currently uses Skydio’s autonomous drones for infrastructure inspections. They have had particular success using the Skydio 3D Scan software that automates the data capture process for generating 3D models of infrastructure. “This has been a fantastic breakthrough for us—to take all of that data and visualize it, and do change detection,” Marlow shared during a webinar hosted by AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) last week.

He commented that the interface of the 3D Scan software is easy to use. “We’re seeing a lot of success with the 3D Scan with our engineers in the field.”

They first used the technology to perform an autonomous 3D scan on a pedestrian bridge over a creek in Juneau. Although the bridge had undergone numerous manual inspections, the drone captured visuals of a previously undetected structural issue that needed repair. “We were able to see something leaking out of the timbers,” Marlow said. “It allowed us to capture this environment in a way that we’d never been able to visualize.”

Skydio’s 2+ model was launched earlier this year at CES. (Photo: Skydio)

The data collected via autonomous drones is also useful for measuring changes in critical infrastructure over time, which helps the AKDOT to prioritize the most urgent repairs.

Skydio’s UAS uses six 4K cameras working in tandem to visualize its surroundings, explained David Buhrman of Skydio. Navigation is supported by deep learning algorithms and advanced predictive artificial intelligence to make decisions. The Skydio Autonomy Enterprise enables close proximity obstacle avoidance which is particularly useful for safely capturing data during infrastructure inspections.

In 2020, North Carolina’s DOT was granted approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate Skydio drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) for bridge inspections. This followed extensive collaboration between NCDOT, Skydio, and the FAA. A key advantage of Skydio’s technology is that its drones do not require GPS, making them ideal for inspections of the more than 13,500 bridges in the state of North Carolina.

The Skydio 2 model was the company’s entry into the consumer market. They quickly realized that it would be useful for enterprise solutions. The Skydio 2+ model, an updated version, was introduced at the end of 2021. It offers “360 degrees of obstacle avoidance based on nine onboard deep neural networks,” stated Buhrman. “We use these networks to identify things like, for motion tracking, people and vehicles.”

He described the enterprise edition, Skydio X2, as an “enterprise workhorse, a ‘ruggedized’ alternative to the 2+.” The X2 model was released last year along with the Skydio Enterprise Controller. The airframe construction of the X2 is based on magnesium and carbon fiber composites, and the controller is built with high-impact plastics as well as a protective cover and built-in antenna.

Skydio’s X2 model was designed to be more rugged for providing enterprise solutions. (Photo: Skydio)

Skydio partnered with DroneDeploy a few months ago to automate the data analysis process. Imagery from the Skydio Cloud is imported to the DroneDeploy platform for immediate processing, Buhrman explained.

“Under Part 107, the FAA does require a remote pilot in command to be present with the aircraft that can see attitude, altitude, and position of the aircraft at all times,” he remarked. “There is no directive about flying in an automated fashion, as long as the pilot can take over for manual flight in an emergency situation.”

Sean Nordstrom, Product Marketing Manager for Skydio, described some of the limitations of manual drone inspections. It is challenging to operate around low bridges, for example, and it is also difficult to operate in a GPS-denied environment. “Prohibitively high pilot skill is required, and manual drones are expensive,” he said.

Enabling BVLOS drone flight is also expensive, and it is notoriously difficult to receive a waiver from the FAA for BVLOS operations. Ground-based surveillance radar, another option, is expensive as well.

Transportation and other individual state agencies throughout the U.S. have been increasingly adopting the use of drones for infrastructure and asset inspections as well.

In partnership with the nonprofit NUAIR, the New York State Thruway Authority launched a pilot program to use drones to perform highway bridge inspections. UAS have the potential to examine components of bridges and other infrastructure that would be difficult to inspect manually, according to the Federal Highway Administration. According to the NYS Thruway Authority’s announcement about the pilot program, drones may improve safety for inspectors and lower overall inspection costs. Another benefit of using UAS is the digital images and video that the aircraft can capture.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) has also used drones to improve safety and efficiency in performing aggregate stockpile inspections. The department stores numerous large piles of crushed rock, gravel, and other materials for use in road building and maintenance. Having a crew physically survey and inventory the stockpiles was inefficient and dangerous.

Following an initial $25,000 investment into drone equipment and pilots, the WVDOT calculated that the savings from just one month of using drones to survey stockpiles totaled more than $343,000. Manual surveying required 15 days of work by 42 employees, whereas the same workload was completed by 7 drone pilots over 9 days.

The WVDOT may expand its drone programs to perform road safety assessments and to assist in designing new road routes by providing topographical maps.

The post How Transportation Departments Are Using Advanced Drone Technology for Infrastructure Inspections appeared first on Aviation Today.

11 Companies Are Developing High-Speed VTOL Concepts for U.S. Air Force Research Grants

AFWERX awarded Phase 1 contracts to 11 companies for the development of high-speed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. One of these companies, Horizon Aircraft, recently announced the successful completion of the Phase I contract. Pictured above is Horizon’s Cavorite X-series VTOL concept. (Photo, courtesy of Horizon Aircraft)

The U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX program initiated a market research program last year to encourage development of a high-speed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The AFWERX challenge accepted submissions from more than 200 companies that designed high-speed VTOL (HSVTOL) concepts.

Eleven companies were chosen by AFWERX for a Phase 1 contract award and received financial aid. Phase 1 began in January 2022 and concluded at the end of June. Bell Textron is one of the companies selected for the Phase 1 contract. Bell, a subsidiary of Textron Inc., partnered with NASA earlier this year to demonstrate detect-and-avoid capabilities of its unmanned Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) aircraft.

Some of the other recipients of a Phase 1 contract award were Whisper, Jetoptera, Continuum Dynamics, VerdeGo Aero, Valkyrie, Transcend Air, American Aerospace Engineering, and Jaunt Air Mobility.

Dr. Reid Melville, Chief Innovation Officer at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Transformational Capabilities Office, remarked, “The HSVTOL Concept Challenge has surfaced an impressive range and caliber of solutions to help us understand how to build a new class of air vehicles.”

As revealed last week, one of the 11 recipients—Horizon Aircraft—has successfully completed Phase 1 of the challenge as it continues to develop its Cavorite X-series VTOL aircraft.

Horizon’s patented fan-in-wing design for vertical lift (Photo: Horizon Aircraft)

The HSVTOL Challenge was created to develop an aircraft capable of flying 400 knots (740 km/h) and conducting missions such as personnel extraction and aeromedical evacuation. Phase 3 of the challenge will enable development of a full-scale technical demonstrator that could replace the Air Force’s CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, which has a maximum speed of 280 knots, or about 519 km/h.

Horizon Aircraft targeted regional air mobility and journeys of 200+ miles in developing its initial concept. E. Brandon Robinson, Horizon’s CEO, noted that their patented technology is unique amongst others in the VTOL space. The vertical lift system includes a patented fan-in-wing design that enables high-speed flight and long-distance flight capabilities. “It flies 98% of its mission as a normal aircraft; you wouldn’t even know it was a VTOL,” he told Avionics International.

Horizon’s X5 Cavorite is a hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft, powered by a gas engine and advanced electric motors. It will be capable of carrying four passengers in addition to the pilot, and will have 1,100 pounds of useful load.

Regarding the HSVTOL Challenge, Robinson said, “AFWERX should be praised for accomplishing its mission. It’s designed to leverage innovative products and accelerate innovation by making these public-private partnerships accessible. And we got to accelerate our development—it’s very much a win-win scenario.”

He remarked that AFWERX’s goal is to assess new technologies and evaluate what could be used to increase overall capability. For successful companies, the HSVTOL Challenge will support further development of the selected technologies through the Phase 2 and Phase 3 contract awards over the next few years.

“AFWERX has done a fantastic job,” Robinson commented. “It was a very positive experience, and we received a lot of excellent feedback that directly helped improve our design.”

The request for proposal (RFP) for Phase 2 is expected to be issued this fall, and the 11 awardees from Phase 1 will be able to respond to the RFP. Phase 2 will provide additional non-dilutive grant financing and will take place over a nine-month period, likely starting in the first quarter of 2023.

Following Phase 2, the Phase 3 contract award will take place in the 30 months following Phase 2 to support the development of a full-scale technical demonstrator, according to Robinson.

Horizon Aircraft’s current product is a 50% scale prototype with a 22-foot wingspan and a weight of roughly 500 pounds. The full-scale version will be about 4,000 pounds.

Though the Cavorite X-series is a hybrid aircraft, Robinson says that they will develop an all-electric aircraft “when batteries get to the point where it starts to make sense at the regional level.”

CEO of Horizon, E. Brandon Robinson, pictured above with a prototype of the Cavorite X-series VTOL (Photo: Horizon Aircraft)

Horizon Aircraft has entered into technical partnerships with multiple aerospace companies, according to Robinson. The company also received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) as part of a three-year collaboration with Fleming College and Ontario Tech University. Horizon Aircraft merged with Astro Aerospace in 2021.

The post 11 Companies Are Developing High-Speed VTOL Concepts for U.S. Air Force Research Grants appeared first on Aviation Today.

Dassault Falcon 8X Dual Head-Up Display Installation Certified by EASA, FAA

The FAA and EASA have issued regulatory approval for the installation of a dual head-up display installation in Dassault’s Falcon 8X business jet. (Photo courtesy of Dassault)

Dassault has achieved civil aviation regulatory approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the installation of a dual head-up display (HUD) modification for its Falcon 8X business jet.

The EASA and FAA approvals were issued for FalconEye, developed by Elbit Systems and first certified as in a single HUD configuration on the Falcon 2000LXS/S and 900LX in 2016. FalconEye is the industry’s first HUD to fuse separate synthetic database-driven terrain mapping and enhanced thermal and low-light camera images in the same display. It is also the first HUD to allow pilots to adjust the split between a synthetic vision system (SVS) and enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) imaging areas.

Carlos Brana, executive vice president, civil aircraft at Dassault Aviation, says the regulatory approval “results in enhanced safety and more capability for Falcons equipped with Dassault’s industry-first FalconEye technology.”

Dassault also has plans for certifying the dual HUD option on the Falcon 6X, due to enter service mid-2023, and on the ultra-long range Falcon 10X, planned for certification in late 2025. Some 8X operators have already scheduled installations for the dual HUD modification.

The French business jet manufacturer also expects the dual HUD configuration to ultimately permit the use of “an EFVS-to-land capability in near zero-zero conditions, pending new EASA regulations.”

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AirAsia Continues Pursuit of Future eVTOL Operations with Skyports Partnership

AirAsia has signed a one-year partnership with Skyports to study the feasibility of deploying eVTOL infrastructure in Malaysia. (Photo courtesy of AirAsia)

AirAsia has taken its latest step toward the future development of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL), signing a letter of intent (LOI) with Skyports to deploy air taxi infrastructure in Malaysia.

The partnership between Capital A Bhd.’s low cost airline subsidiary and Skyports comes following AirAsia’s launch of an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) division and commitment to leasing 100 VX4 eVTOL aircraft from Avolon in February. Skyports, the London-based eVTOL infrastructure developer, has included a one-year partnership in the LOI where it will partner with AirAsia on feasibility studies for the deployment of eVTOL vertiports in Malaysia.

As part of its leasing agreement signed with Avolon in February, AirAsia also launched an Advanced Air Mobility division, which the airline says has tasked with establishing commercial applications for eVTOLs, drones and other emerging technologies. The division has also launched a drone pilot training program under a Certificate of Approval (COA) received from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) in January.

Avolon’s eVTOL leasing agreement with AirAsia is the result of an order for 500 VX4 eVTOL aircraft from Vertical Aerospace placed by the Ireland-based aircraft leasing company last year.

Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, on the left, and Dómhnal Slattery, CEO of Avolon, signed a leasing agreement for 100 VX4 eVTOL aircraft in February. (Photo courtesy of AirAsia)

Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur, will be the initial focus of the eVTOL infrastructure study conducted by AirAsia and Skyports.

“Following the announcement of our venture into the urban air taxi service earlier this year, we have been working around the clock to explore its feasibility in Malaysia,” AirAsia Head of Advanced Air Mobility, Captain Ling Liong Tien, said in a statement. “This partnership with Skyports will accelerate the review of the infrastructure including vertical take-off and landing platforms in the country as well as strengthen our potential as a zero-emissions ultra-short-haul air travel provider in Southeast Asia.”

Skyports has continued to pursue partnerships with key eVTOL aircraft makers, airlines, and air navigation service providers in different cities and countries across the globe this year. The eVTOL infrastructure startup is one of the companies participating in the U.K. government-funded Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium that has been awarded a £9.5 million grant to develop the “essential building blocks” of an AAM ecosystem in the U.K.

Embraer’s Eve Urban Air Mobility (UAM) subsidiary and Skyports are also part of a consortium that includes L3Harris to develop a concept of operations for future eVTOL infrastructure to be deployed in Miami.

Yun-Yuan Tay, the leader of Skyports’ Asia Pacific operations, calls AirAsia “a powerhouse airline operator that brings great synergy to our work at Skyports.”

“This partnership highlights the steady progress of AAM development and interest in Malaysia and the wider APAC region,” Tay said.

The post AirAsia Continues Pursuit of Future eVTOL Operations with Skyports Partnership appeared first on Aviation Today.

JetBlue Expects to Close Acquisition of Spirit Airlines by 2024

JetBlue reached a new merger agreement to acquire Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion, the two airlines said in a July 28 announcement. (Photo courtesy of JetBlue)

JetBlue Airways on Thursday announced a definitive merger agreement to acquire the Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion, an acquisition still subject to regulatory approval that the New York-based carrier expects to officially close by 2024.

The merger agreement comes a day after Spirit terminated a previous merger agreement reached with Frontier in February. If the acquisition of Spirit clears regulatory approvals, the combination would create the fifth largest airline in the U.S., behind American, Delta, United, and Southwest.

Merging the two airlines would result in an all-Airbus fleet of 458 in-service aircraft with 300 outstanding orders, JetBlue notes. According to the merger agreement, JetBlue would bring its “JetBlue Experience” to all of the aircraft in the combined operational fleet.

Robin Hayes, chief executive officer for JetBlue, said the combined carrier will “advance our shared goal of disrupting the industry to bring down fares from the Big Four airlines.”

An image posted to the Spirit Airlines Facebook page notes that under a combined operation, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines would serve 77 million total passengers. (Photo, courtesy of Spirit Airlines)

JetBlue estimates that as the fifth largest airline, it would potentially control 9% of the market for passenger-carrying commercial airline flights operated in the U.S.

Ted Christie, president and chief executive officer, Spirit, commenting on the potential merger, said it would create the “the most compelling national low-fare challenger to the dominant U.S. carriers.”

“Bringing our two airlines together will be a game changer,” Christie adds.

Once approved, the combined airline would employ 34,000 total crew members, and JetBlue has also committed to “insourcing” some of the labor that Spirit currently has outsourced in certain cities. Based on December 2022 schedules, JetBlue expects the acquisition to help expand its operations to 1,700 daily flights to more than 125 destinations in 30 countries.

The merger agreement for the two airlines comes several weeks after JetBlue announced updates on some of the slots and routes operated on its new transatlantic operations to London. Spirit also recently introduced in-flight internet service to passengers for the first time.

Both airlines will continue to operate independently until the merger clears all regulatory approvals.

The post JetBlue Expects to Close Acquisition of Spirit Airlines by 2024 appeared first on Aviation Today.

Zipline and MultiCare Health System Partner to Launch Washington State’s First Commercial Drone Deliveries

A new partnership between Zipline and MultiCare Health System aims to launch drone delivery services for transporting medical supplies in 2024. (Photo: Zipline)

Autonomous electric drone developer Zipline recently announced a partnership with MultiCare Health System for launching the first commercial drone delivery operations in the state of Washington. MultiCare, a not-for-profit healthcare organization, will be able to use Zipline’s drones for delivering medical supplies throughout MultiCare’s network of hospitals, offices, and laboratories. The services will start in the Tacoma area before expanding elsewhere in the state.

Zipline expects to begin drone deliveries in 2024 following regulatory approvals. In partnership with MultiCare, Zipline will continue drone delivery operations for a duration of two years.

In June, Zipline was awarded its Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. This authorizes the company “to complete the longest range on-demand drone deliveries in the U.S.,” Conor French, Zipline’s General Counsel, shared with Avionics International in an emailed statement. The initial certification allows for operations in North Carolina, and French explains that their team will work closely with the FAA in order to continue growing operations and enabling drone deliveries in other regions.

The engineering team at Zipline consistently designs, prototypes, and tests new technologies. One of their recent developments is a detect-and avoid system that uses acoustic-based technology to equip their drones “with 360-degree awareness over a range of 2,000 meters, allowing us to navigate the airspace safely and effectively,” according to French.

The solution utilizes an array of microphones that are situated on the wing of the aircraft. These microphones can differentiate between sound profiles and communicate that information for the aircraft to then determine the best course of action.

“We found that all the other technology solutions were too expensive because they were over-engineered, too infrastructure-heavy, or not precise enough to meet the regulatory requirements we were seeing, based on conversations we were having with regulators,” explained Okeoma Moronu, Head of Aviation Regulatory and Legal Affairs at Zipline, in a recent interview with Avionics.

Zipline has launched deliveries in Kannapolis, North Carolina, where the company has a distribution center. Two healthcare organizations, Magellan Rx Management and Novant Health, are able to use Zipline’s services for delivery of specialty medications directly to patients’ homes. These drone deliveries are “helping reduce barriers to care for patients and increase medication adherence,” French stated.

A Zipline distribution center located in North Carolina (Photo: Zipline)

Another major healthcare organization in North Carolina that uses Zipline’s delivery services is Cardinal Health. They are able to use the drones to quickly deliver products to pharmacies as needed, resulting in fewer scenarios where a patient’s medication is out of stock.

Conor French shared that the company has signed a partnership agreement with Intermountain Healthcare for delivery of specialty pharmaceuticals to patient homes. “Ultimately, our goal is to serve 90% of people in the Salt Lake City metro area, and we expect to begin deliveries later this year,” he explained.

Zipline operates at a national scale in Ghana and Rwanda. They perform deliveries to thousands of health facilities and can transport hundreds of different medical products. “We also recently began deliveries in Nigeria, and will soon begin delivering in Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire,” according to French.

Pictured above is a doctor in Rwanda, where Zipline performs drone deliveries to transport medical supplies to health facilities across the country.

The drones developed by Zipline have a range of 100 miles and can fly efficiently in all types of weather. French noted that one distribution center can provide services throughout a region with an area of 7,800 square miles or more—”roughly one-and-a-half times the size of Connecticut.”

Zipline’s ability to scale up by adding distribution centers has enabled the company’s operational success across Rwanda and Ghana.

The drone developer’s operations have also launched in Asia. As of last year, the Toyota Tsusho Corporation uses the delivery drone system for the on-demand distribution of medical supplies for health facilities in Japan’s Gotō Islands. Toyota Tsusho made investments into Zipline in 2018, and the companies also partnered for deliveries of medical products in Ghana.

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Archer Selects Honeywell’s Flight Control Actuation Technologies For Its eVTOL

Archer has selected Honeywell to provide the flight control actuation technology that will go into its eVTOL aircraft. Honeywell has also agreed to provide its Micro VCS thermal management technology. (Photo: Archer)

Archer Aviation revealed this week that Honeywell will supply flight control actuation technology for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This technology will enable the 12 tilt 6 configuration of Archer’s vehicle. Honeywell will also provide its thermal management technology which will contribute to a more comfortable in-cabin experience for passengers in the eVTOL.

A few months ago, Archer selected another supplier: Hexcel, a company that provides lightweight composites technology solutions. The Letter of Intent (LOI) was signed by both companies in April. Hexcel was chosen to supply high-performance carbon fiber material to Archer for manufacturing its production aircraft.

Archer also chose yet another supplier earlier this month. The company FACC, according to the agreement, will manufacture key fuselage and wing elements that go into Archer’s production aircraft. FACC specializes in lightweight construction of systems and structures for the aerospace industry. The company’s CEO, Robert Machtlinger, identified Archer as one of the market leaders in the urban air mobility space. “We expect this exciting new area of aviation to show strong growth and we’re thrilled to be part of the journey with such an innovative partner,” he said.

One of Archer’s requirements for the flight controls of its eVTOL is precision. The production aircraft will be operating in highly populated urban environments. Honeywell’s flight control actuators were chosen in part because they enable precise navigation. Their actuators have the capability to accept hundreds of micro adjustments and commands—coming from fly-by-wire computers—per second.

Micro VCS (Vapor Cycle System) is Honeywell’s thermal management system. It is designed to provide air conditioning for the cockpits and cabins of helicopters and urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles. The system can also cool down any heat-generating electronic components and batteries. The Micro VCS technology uses power electronics with Silicon Carbide switches, a high-speed centrifugal compressor, and next-generation refrigerant, according to Honeywell.

The thermal management system has been designed by Honeywell to be up to 35% lighter than a conventional vapor cycle system. This is an advantage for Archer’s eVTOL as well as other UAM vehicles, where every pound of vehicle weight matters. Multiple UAM aircraft developers are collaborating with Honeywell to incorporate the Micro VCS technology into their platforms. And Honeywell already provides a range of avionics, actuation technology, navigation, electric propulsion, radar, and communications systems for eVTOL aircraft.

Archer’s CEO, Adam Goldstein, commented on the new agreement with Honeywell, saying, “Honeywell’s position as an established leader in delivering advanced aerospace technologies will be critical to us delivering on our goal of certifying our production aircraft in 2024.”

Archer’s Maker is a full-scale eVTOL demonstrator aircraft with a maximum speed of 150 mph. (Photo: Archer)

Goldstein added that working with the best aerospace suppliers is crucial for Archer to commercialize its eVTOL aircraft that is as safe as possible.

Archer has already received the Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. The company performed the first successful hover flight with its eVTOL in December 2021. According to a Letter to Shareholders earlier this year, Archer is coordinating with the FAA to complete the G-2 Means of Compliance by the end of 2022.

Archer has also received strong support from United Airlines to develop its eVTOL. United agreed to purchase 200 eVTOL aircraft from Archer last year. In April of this year, the two companies formed a joint advisory committee. This committee will research systems and features to improve eVTOL operations, and it will eventually make recommendations regarding maintenance and operational concepts.

The post Archer Selects Honeywell’s Flight Control Actuation Technologies For Its eVTOL appeared first on Aviation Today.

Hyundai’s Supernal Establishes First eVTOL Development Partnership With EP Systems

Supernal has entered into its first vehicle partnership, with the company Electric Power Systems, for eVTOL battery development. (Photo: Supernal)

Hyundai Motor Group’s Supernal, an advanced air mobility company based in the U.S., recently announced its first vehicle partnership. Supernal and Electric Power Systems have agreed to work together in developing and producing lightweight batteries for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

The partnership, which was made official at the Farnborough International Airshow last week, was also formed to enable the introduction of commercial eVTOL flights. Supernal and EP Systems aim to support further enhancements of aircraft performance for the advanced air mobility (AAM) market.

Jaiwon Shin, Supernal CEO and President of Hyundai Motor Group, commented on the new partnership with EPS, stating that the AAM industry “requires an expansive value chain and many aspects—from battery power to digital infrastructure and passenger experience—require improvements and cross-chain integration to enable progress.”

In addition to collaborating with partners in support of AAM value chain creation, Supernal has developed an eVTOL aircraft concept, which was on display at the Farnborough International Airshow.

Supernal displayed its eVTOL aircraft concept at the Farnborough International Airshow. (Photo: Supernal)

Supernal aims to achieve certification for commercial operations of its eVTOL by 2028. The eVTOL concept designed by Supernal’s team offers five seats and prioritizes a low vehicle weight along with overall safety and a comfortable interior.

Supernal’s new partner, EP Systems, develops electric propulsion systems for a variety of industries including aerospace, defense, automotive, and marine. NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing, Bell Textron, Embraer, Safran, and Aura Aero are some of EP Systems’ current customers. EP Systems was also recently selected to develop and manufacture the battery system for SkyDrive’s SD-05 air taxi.

EPiC Power is one of the solutions available from EP Systems—a 180Wh/kg lithium-ion battery system designed for eVTOL and hybrid aircraft. Another solution is the EPiC Energy system, with an energy density of 205Wh/kg. That system is tailored for use in all-electric aircraft, including eVTOLs.

Through its partnership with Supernal, EP Systems aims to support technological advancements that enable broad adoption of eVTOL aircraft, according to the company’s Chief Technology Officer, Michael Armstrong. “The requirements for the battery system of an eVTOL vary based on the design of the vehicle,” he said during an interview with Avionics International. “For some vehicles, the power requirements are very high because of the way they’ve designed the vehicle, while others may be a bit lower.”

The approach that EP Systems uses is developing a solution that meets the requirements of as many platforms as possible, Armstrong explained. “They all need cycle life, and they also all need energy density. The longer a battery can stay on the aircraft—the maximum number of flights it can perform—is extremely important.”

Increased cycle life and high energy density are two important factors for designing batteries to power eVTOL aircraft. (Photo: Supernal)

Now that eVTOL developers have demonstrated the viability of the concept, and proven that these kinds of aircraft can fly, the focus has shifted to economics and lowering the cost of ownership. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is extending the cycle life of the batteries.

The other objective is improving energy density in batteries for eVTOL aircraft. The team at EP Systems expects that the energy density of their batteries will improve rapidly. “We’re looking at transitioning to cells within the next few years that get up to 350Wh/kg, which brings module energy density up to the mid- to upper-200s range at the fully packaged level,” Armstrong said.

“Some eVTOLs really unlock their potential when we get to 400+ watt-hours per kilogram at the cell level. We’re still a few years away from that, but we’re making steady progress towards it.”

Once commercial eVTOL operations begin, it will be vital to charge the aircraft quickly while maintaining or increasing cycle life. EP Systems is “developing technologies to unlock fast charging potential, and at the same time not lose cycle life,” Armstrong noted. “Our batteries can be charged for turnaround times of about 20–30 minutes, from a long-range mission perspective.”

He also mentioned another solution developed by EP Systems that will benefit eVTOL operations: a mobile microgrid truck. This vehicle will enable charging of electric aircraft at airports. It’s an ideal solution for airports that are not able to establish in-ground charging infrastructure immediately. Instead of setting up a permanent charging station, the microgrid truck will be able to move to where the aircraft is. It could enable eVTOL operators to quickly adopt the technology regardless of infrastructure-related constraints.

EP Systems also had their mobile microgrid truck on display at this week’s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow in Wisconsin.

“The mobile microgrid acts as a corollary to the fuel truck. It provides energy at the point of charge,” Armstrong explained. Setting up in-ground infrastructure can be both difficult and expensive. The batteries integrated onto the truck could be charged at or outside the airport as needed. This concept was developed to leverage use of batteries that can no longer be used on the aircraft itself. The mobile microgrid lowers energy costs and maximizes the value of older batteries that are still functioning.

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