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Urban Movement Labs Is Bringing Advanced Air Mobility to Los Angeles

Overair has joined the Urban Air Mobility Partnership, led by Urban Movement Labs, to advance UAM operations in Los Angeles. Other partners include Volocopter, Skyroads, and Helinet. (Photo, courtesy of Skyroads)

Overair, the company developing the Butterfly eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, and Urban Movement Labs have entered into a new partnership which was announced this week. Urban Movement Labs, or UML, is an organization based in Los Angeles seeking to define problems with transportation and explore solutions to these problems through collaboration with businesses and public sector partners. The organization leads a program called the Urban Air Mobility Partnership, which includes the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), Volocopter, Helinet, Skyroads, and now Overair.

Based in Santa Ana, California, Overair is now looking to bring its eVTOL vehicle to Los Angeles and build the necessary infrastructure for urban air mobility (UAM) services there. Overair is planning to begin commercial operations in 2026. Its Butterfly aircraft will be able to transport passengers or cargo at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, and a maximum distance of 100 miles.

Overair and UML aim to take a collaborative approach in implementing safe and sustainable UAM technology through engagement with the community, government, and industry. More specifically, Overair will evaluate the noise impact of eVTOL aircraft on communities, and the company will coordinate with other members of the Urban Air Mobility Partnership to develop plans for establishing UAM infrastructure in Los Angeles.

Overair will explore the applications for its Butterfly eVTOL aircraft in Los Angeles in partnership with UML. (Photo courtesy of Overair)

“The Los Angeles metro area can benefit greatly from advanced air mobility, given the increased travel times in Southern California on a daily basis,” explained Overair’s CEO and co-founder, Ben Tigner. “Working together with UML on planning efforts grounded in community engagement, we’re on the path to providing reliable, affordable, equitable, and sustainable transportation options to the city of Los Angeles and surrounding areas.”

The team at Urban Movement Labs is optimistic about the addition of Overair to their UAM Partnership. By leveraging Overair’s current technology, UML will have more opportunities to engage with the communities in Los Angeles and inform them regarding planned UAM operations, stated UML Executive Director Sam Morrissey.

Last week, Urban Movement Labs announced another company joining the UAM Partnership. Skyroads, developer of intelligent systems for scaling advanced air mobility, will collaborate with the City of Los Angeles in addition to UAM operators and OEMs to study applications for its systems. Skyroads has developed two solutions that could be key for the future UAM: the Automated Airspace Management and Vehicle Guidance Systems.

According to the announcement from UML, the technology offered by Skyroads will integrate safe drone and eVTOL operations into the urban airspace. Their Automated Airspace Management System is a new decentralized networking system for the intelligent infrastructure that will be required to ensure safety and efficiency in air traffic management, and especially in complex urban airspaces.

Achim Kostron, Chief Commercial Officer at Skyroads, commented on the new partnership: “New methods of multi-agency coordination need to be tested to bring all relevant stakeholders to the table and assure that all preconditions for this new transport mode are met. Jointly with UML, we are making sure this happens in a sustainable and socially beneficial way.”

Yet another company joined UML in its UAM Partnership last month. Aviation operator Helinet will assist in exploring integration of new eVTOL technology into their operations in a way that reduces impact on the community. Helinet brings a wide range of expertise in chartered passenger travel, time-sensitive transportation of medical supplies, rapid parcel delivery, aerial firefighting, and filming from the sky. Helinet can also contribute knowledge of requirements for ground-based infrastructure—such as optimal capacities for electric charging stations.

UML announced that Helinet joined as a new partner at the end of April. This partnership will explore how aviation operators could integrate new eVTOL technology into operations to reduce community impacts. (Photo courtesy of Helinet)

The Helinet team will be involved in testing advanced air mobility aircraft and exploration of potential routes. UML’s Sam Morrissey noted that the UAM Partnership will benefit from Helinet’s expertise, which will “inform policy development for both aerial operations and ground-based infrastructure needs,” he said. “Additionally, the social-focused use cases, such as transporting critically ill children to hospitals, organ delivery, and firefighting missions, represent a huge value to the partnership members.”

The UAM Partnership was first announced by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti at the end of 2020. “The Urban Air Mobility Partnership will make our city a force for cleaner skies, safer transportation, expanded prosperity, and stunning innovation, and provide a template for how other local governments can take this new technology to even greater heights,” Garcetti stated. The UAM Partnership initially began as a year-long project, but it continues to evolve as a key force in the advanced air mobility industry.

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First-Quarter Updates from Archer, Joby, and Eve

The newly formed Eve Holding began trading on the New York Stock Exchange last week. Two eVTOL developers, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, released their financial results from the first quarter of 2022. (Photo, courtesy of Eve)

Last week, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation released the details of their first-quarter financial results, and Eve Holding began trading on the New York Stock Exchange following their combination with Zanite Acquisition Corp.

Eve, a subsidiary of Embraer and previously referred to as Eve Urban Air Mobility (UAM), was listed on the NYSE as EVEX on May 10. The business combination was first announced to the public at the end of 2021.

The co-CEO André Stein believes that the UAM market has a potential value of $760 billion. “This transaction is a key enabler of our mission to become a leading player” in that market, he remarked. The company’s launch orders total about $5 billion, or 1,825 vehicles, from 19 customers, according to Eve. Those customers include Azorra Aviation, Falko Regional Aircraft, SkyWest, and Republic Airways. Eve expects deliveries to begin in 2026.

Although Embraer reported a net loss for Q1 2022, they are confident in Eve’s potential. Embraer’s president and CEO, Francisco Gomes Neto, said, “Eve is well positioned to be a global leader by delivering an effective and sustainable new mode of urban transportation. [Eve] plays a key role in our growth strategy driven by innovation and enterprise efficiency.” Eve also shared the gross proceeds generated from the closing of the business combination last week, which amounted to $377 million. These funds will go towards development and certification of Eve’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Joby Aviation, the California-based eVTOL developer with a target commercial launch of 2024, published details of their finances in Q1, including a net loss of $62.3 million and $94.3 million in operating expenses. Other details from the company’s Letter to Shareholders included progress in manufacturing most of the large composite parts for Joby’s first production-intent aircraft, and achieving FAA acceptance of 80% of their means of compliance so far.

Based on data from NASA’s testing, Joby’s aircraft demonstrated the low noise targets the company set for itself. The eVTOL aircraft registered the equivalent of 45.2 A-weighted decibels (dBA) from an altitude of 1640 feet (500 meters) at 100 knots airspeed, according to the company. (Photo courtesy of Joby)

Next, Joby’s focus for manufacturing is the tail and wing structural assemblies, and the company’s first design-intent Electric Propulsion Unit is undergoing testing for durability and performance. Joby also shared that NASA testing has confirmed that the acoustic profile of their eVTOL aircraft was in line with their original expectations.

Archer Aviation also released their financial results for the first quarter of 2022. Net loss for Q1 was $59.2 million, and GAAP operating expenses were $65.3 million. Non-GAAP total operating expenses came in at $39.6 million for the quarter. In the Letter to Shareholders, CEO Adam Goldstein stated, “We plan to fly [our eVTOL aircraft] on a routine basis in the second half of this year and quickly progress through more and more advanced flight tests until the aircraft performs a full flight envelope test flight from hover through to wing-borne flight. We remain on-track to complete this first full ‘transition’ flight with Maker in the second half of 2022.”

“The Archer team remains singularly focused on our vision of getting to commercialization as expeditiously as possible.” – Archer’s CEO, Adam Goldstein (Photo courtesy of Archer)

Archer is currently working to complete the G-2 Means of Compliance with the FAA and expects to achieve this by the end of 2022. The company has also started detailed part design in addition to procuring long lead production tooling for their aircraft’s structure.

Archer’s strategic partnerships formed in the first quarter of this year include the Joint eVTOL Advisory Committee, a collaboration with United Airlines. Another important partnership resulted from Archer’s selection of Hexcel to supply the high-performance carbon fiber and resin systems needed to produce the Maker eVTOL aircraft.

The post First-Quarter Updates from Archer, Joby, and Eve appeared first on Aviation Today.

Volocopter and Microsoft Collaborate to Develop Aerospace Cloud System

Volocopter and Microsoft are collaborating to develop an aerospace cloud system. Microsoft Azure will be used to enable VoloIQ as Volocopter’s digital platform for its UAM vehicles and ground infrastructure. (Photo, courtesy of Volocopter)

Urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter announced this week that they have entered a strategic collaboration with Microsoft, aimed at developing an aerospace cloud system in Microsoft Azure. If successful, Azure will enable Volocopter’s digital platform—VoloIQ—to provide flight and service support for VoloCity, VoloDrone, and VoloConnect, the three electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft models designed by Volocopter. VoloIQ will also be capable of supporting Volocopter’s vertiports, called VoloPorts, in real time.

Volocopter received design organization approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2019, and two years later the company received a Production Organization Approval in July 2021, allowing production of its eVTOL aircraft to begin. In September of last year, Volocopter revealed that they will also explore a U.S. launch of their UAM aircraft, facilitated by a new partnership with Los Angeles-based company Urban Movement Labs.

The VoloIQ software will be used as Volocopter’s standard UAM operating system for its vehicles. The team plans to enable VoloIQ for a variety of functions, including monitoring weather conditions; booking and e-commerce; flight planning; vehicle data logging and analysis; commercial scheduling; and operational network planning. The structure of the VoloIQ software will also supply airspace digital twins. Utilizing Microsoft Cloud/Azure, Volocopter will be able to connect and fully integrate these various elements into one set of services, according to the company’s announcement.

Microsoft has collaborated with Volocopter since 2020, when the UAM company partnered with Lufthansa Industry to enable use of the VoloIQ for autonomous vehicles with Microsoft Azure.

One of the priorities in developing the VoloIQ platform, powered by Microsoft Azure, is to make Volocopter’s services both user-friendly and digitally accessible. VoloIQ also offers the potential to optimize management of the VoloPorts, specifically to make this infrastructure more cost-efficient and to lower maintenance requirements.

Pictured above is Volocopter’s full-scale testing prototype, the 2X, performing a flight test at Pontoise airfield in Paris. (Photo courtesy of Volocopter)

Alexander Oelling, Volocopter’s Chief Digital Officer, remarked in the company’s announcement this week on the selection of Microsoft Azure, “Having Microsoft on board as a project partner and investor is proof that the solutions Volocopter creates—like the VoloIQ—are pioneering and hold remarkable market potential.”

Corporate VP of Cloud and AI at Microsoft, Uli Homann, shared that their team looks forward to collaborating with Volocopter and building the foundation for a commercial model of the aerospace cloud system. “From the newest technologies to regulation, creating solutions to seamlessly address the cloud computing requirements for supporting continued advancements in aviation is a complex endeavor,” Homann stated. “We certainly see the potential a secure, robust, and efficient cloud platform could offer aerospace and urban air mobility operators.”

Two months ago, Volocopter accomplished a significant milestone, becoming the first developer of eVTOL aircraft to conduct remotely piloted and crewed test flights in France. Volocopter’s 2X, the full-scale testing prototype, performed the crewed test flights on March 21 in Paris. The team evaluated the noise emissions of their aircraft and collected data that will inform the launch of UAM services in the region.

The post Volocopter and Microsoft Collaborate to Develop Aerospace Cloud System appeared first on Aviation Today.

Wingcopter Receives FAA Airworthiness Criteria Approval

The FAA just gave Special Class Airworthiness Criteria approval to the Wingcopter 198 drone. (Photo courtesy of Wingcopter)

The delivery drone manufacturer, Wingcopter, just received the Special Class Airworthiness Criteria approval of its Wingcopter 198 unmanned aircraft from the Federal Aviation Administration. Tom Plümmer, co-founder and CEO of Wingcopter, remarked that this was a significant milestone for their team in the type certification process, and it was also important for the company’s efforts to expand internationally. “We are proud to be among the first delivery drone companies worldwide to ever get their Airworthiness Criteria approved by the FAA,” he stated in the announcement from Wingcopter.

Wingcopter has a growing network of partners for distribution of its delivery drone, including the ITOCHU Corporation, a Japanese general trading company. Along with investing in Wingcopter, ITOCHU signed an agreement with the drone manufacturer in March to join their Authorized Partnership Program. Synerjet Corp, a Latin American aviation company, is also an authorized partner of Wingcopter, and operates in several countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Brazil, Chile, and Guatemala.

“We will set up delivery networks that span whole regions, allowing the instant and on-demand delivery of any kind of urgently needed goods,” CEO Tom Plümmer told Avionics earlier this year. An announcement in February made public the news of Wingcopter’s partnership with UAV del Peru, a subsidiary of UAV LATAM. Wingcopter will provide its cargo drones to enable delivery operations in Peru for commercial use cases as well as humanitarian efforts.

The all-electric 198 model was announced in April 2021. A highlighted feature of the autonomous aircraft is its capability to make “triple-drop” deliveries during a single flight. Wingcopter also noted that one single operator will be able to manage 10 of its drones at a time, rather than one operator needed per drone.

The FAA initially proposed airworthiness criteria for 10 drone companies back in November 2020. These companies all design fully-electric unmanned aircraft, including both fixed-wing and rotorcraft models, weighing between 5–89 pounds. Besides Wingcopter, the companies included: Amazon, 3D Robotics, Percepto, Airobotics, Flirtey, Flytrex, Matternet, Telegrid, and Zipline.

The proposed airworthiness criteria from the FAA included design and construction requirements, operating limitations, testing requirements, and a concept of operations, among numerous other criteria.

Wingcopter originally applied for the Special Class Type Certificate in March 2020. Following the FAA’s Special Class Airworthiness Criteria approval, Wingcopter will continue its efforts in developing the 198 drone to ensure that it meets the FAA’s requirements for certification. According to the company, “Once type-certified, Wingcopter will be able to fly conventional routes through airspace and over populated areas, ultimately providing the basis for scaling commercial drone delivery operations across the U.S.”

The post Wingcopter Receives FAA Airworthiness Criteria Approval appeared first on Aviation Today.

Webinar: Need Safety? When Design Assurance is Required and When it’s Not

On Wednesday, May 18, at 2 PM ET, Wind River and Mercury Systems will host a live webinar discussing design assurance is required and when it is not in the process of developing safety critical avionics applications.

Aircraft and autonomous platforms use systems with design assurance to ensure safety, enabling pilots to make accurate, split-second decisions and ensuring self-driving vehicles navigate appropriately and on-time.

Obviously, safety-critical applications require different levels of assurance; but applications that don’t traditionally require safety assurance may also greatly benefit from it.

Here a list of questions the experts from Wind River and Mercury Systems will attempt to answer during their webinar next week.

What is design assurance/safety and what are its security and reliability benefits?
Is safety needed? Use cases
Achieving Safety Requirements: Technology and Architecture
Enabling Future Autonomous Aircraft – UAM, AAM & others via AI/ML/Cloud

Join Alex Wilson, Director, A&D Industry Solutions at Wind River, and Yves Mathys, VP of product management at Mercury Systems, to learn more. FREE registration is available to watch live or on-demand here: Webinar Registration.

The post Webinar: Need Safety? When Design Assurance is Required and When it’s Not appeared first on Aviation Today.

Southwest to Upgrade Anuvu IFC, Add Viasat to New 737s on Order

Southwest Airlines is upgrading the in-flight connectivity service and adding new USB power ports to the seats of its aircraft. (Photo, courtesy of Southwest Airlines)

Southwest Airlines has announced a new $2 billion investment into its current and future all-Boeing 737 fleet that includes upgrades to Anuvu’s next generation in-flight connectivity (IFC) network on some of its in-service aircraft, while all new orders will be equipped with Viasat’s Ka-band IFC service.

According a May 11 announcement from Southwest, starting in the fall, Viasat’s satellite antennas, modems, wireless access points, and other IFC enabling hardware and software will be factory installed on all new aircraft deliveries. Southwest’s 2021 annual report, published in February, shows that the Dallas, Texas-based low cost carrier has firm 394 outstanding orders for the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 8 aircraft.

The Viasat installations will enable both IFC and live television services.

“We’re investing in our onboard connectivity and bandwidth available to each Customer with upgraded technology that’s now installing across our existing fleet, a strategy to diversify our WiFi vendors on upcoming aircraft deliveries, and plugging Southwest customers into in-seat power to keep them charged while in the air,” Ryan Green, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Southwest Airlines, said in a statement.

Southwest has become Viasat’s latest in a series of airline in-flight Wi-Fi wins, after the company signed Delta Air Lines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines last year, and new low-cost airline Breeze Airways in March.

“We admire Southwest Airlines’ deeply customer-centric vision. The overall passenger experience is enhanced by delivering connectivity inflight that is the same as the on the ground experience, from streaming your favorite video content to live television and accessing other internet-based applications during all phases of flight,” Don Buchman, Viasat’s vice president and general manager of commercial aviation, said in a statement. “We look forward to being a part of Southwest’s commitment to continually upping the bar.”

A Southwest Airlines 737 sits inside their new hangar in Houston, Texas. (Photo, courtesy of Southwest Airlines)

While Viasat’s Ka-band IFC will be added to the 737s Southwest has on order starting later this year, the airline will also be upgrading equipment on some of its existing fleet with “longstanding connectivity provider Anuvu’s latest-generation hardware capable of providing a significant improvement in speed and bandwidth up to 10 times the current hardware onboard.” Under a partnership with high throughput satellite manufacturer Astranis announced last year, Anuvu is launching a new constellation of “microGEO” satellites, with the first two of the total eight planned for the constellation scheduled to be launched early next year.

Plans are for the Anuvu latest-generation hardware to be onboard 50 in-service aircraft by the end of May, with a projected 350 aircraft upgraded by the end of October, according to Southwest.

Viasat will become the third IFC service provider to partner with Southwest, as the airline currently features both Anuvu and Panasonic Avionics connectivity onboard.

In addition to the IFC upgrades, Southwest plans to install the “latest-generation onboard USB A and USB C power ports” to every 737 MAX aircraft in its fleet beginning in early 2023.

“The ability to keep your devices charged while you are connected inflight is a request that we’ve heard consistently in ongoing conversations with our Customers,” Tony Roach, Vice President of Customer Experience and Customer Relations said in a statement. “With so much that our Customers love about doing business with Southwest, we’re constantly listening to our Employees and our Customers for improvement opportunities, and we’re excited to share some additional news and updates on this ongoing work.”

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OPINION: Is Electric Aviation a Far-Flung Fantasy, or Near-Team Reality?

Consumers and businesses alike have historically viewed electric aviation as a far-fetched fantasy, without realizing how close a reality this concept really is.

Within the airline industry, there has long been skepticism and doubt cast on the feasibility of functional electric aviation. But what truths do these doubts hold and where are industry experts severely underestimating the potential of electric aviation?

The skepticism held by many is not unfounded. Energy density per mass in batteries is currently not sufficient to power large aircrafts for long distance travel. Sustainable aviation fuel is still very costly, both in terms of price and agricultural land footprint impact. Hydrogen, besides not being a true green source of energy yet, has good energy density per mass, but not fantastic energy density per volume.

This has spurred the design and development of entirely new, and sometimes futuristic looking, aircrafts that could replace current solutions capable of transporting 60 or more passengers on medium to long-distance flights.

Electric aviation offers the potential for an entirely different market opportunity for commercial aviation that still fits within existing technology and infrastructures. It also propels the aviation industry forward in green energy initiatives – something that increasingly defines consumer behaviors and values and which companies and brands they support.

Air traffic Control Meets Climate Control

Public support for initiatives around climate control, sustainability and protection of the environment has exploded during the pandemic. What’s more, these objectives have the potential to water the emergence of new needs for fast and green short distance commuting solutions.

Over the course of the pandemic we’ve witnessed mass departures from crowded, high-density and high cost of living cities to areas with more land, more space and a slower pace of life. There is a massive market opportunity to provide convenient, sustainable commuting solutions for people who choose to live away from major cities, but still want the option to occasionally commute to the main city when needed.

Short distance commuting solutions would offer consumers the ability to do just that. Air taxis or Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles have made tremendous progress in recent years, emerging as a viable green alternative to traditional transportation methods.

These air taxis would serve as the bridge between regional air transportation and offer radically sustainable solutions – from occasional commuting to and from the closest major cities, to local tourism, last or first airfreight leg, and critical medical evacuation or organ transport.

This translates to fully electric air taxis – powered by battery or H2 – servicing short to medium distance flights from a minimum of100 miles to a maximum 500 miles. This, according to the Brookings Institution, accounts for more than 50% of current US flights to locations that are not currently served but already equipped with infrastructures. There are thousands of small airports available in the US ready for small size aircraft, offering great coverage nationwide on small size platforms (like 9-20 PAX). These short distance, economical flights would be piloted by expert pilots who closely understand how electric aviation works.

These small electric aircraft will enable to emergence of “green labeled” local tourism – a new option for consumers looking to commute in more environmentally conscious ways.

AirTaxis would offer the ability for consumers to cut out needless pollution during their short distance commutes or vacations. Consider flying over the Great Barrier Reef or Iguazu falls, an experience made more feasible and environmentally friendly through electric aviation. A family dreaming of leaving central LA could easily take overnight trips to off-the-grid local ski resorts, and busy working professionals could sneak in a quick evening away from busy San Francisco to grab dinner and soak in nature at Lake Tahoe.

Leaders in the space expect long distance commuting to become the norm, as remote and hybrid work continue to dominate worker preferences. Commuters will have the ability to live in Spokane and commute to Seattle when needed, knowing they’re using one of the greenest, fastest and most reliable methods available.

There is no doubt that among the many businesses currently designing, financing and even testing and flying electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) platforms, some of them will propose truly innovative, comfortable and safe solutions.

(Photo, courtesy of ANSYS.)

When Will We Arrive at a Flying Car Reality?

Despite the hopeful outlook there is still much that needs to be done to make this industry a reality. A few of the highest priority needs include:

An aircraft or flying platform
A source of green energy, e.g. H2 or batteries
Infrastructures to transport, store and distribute the source of energy to the point of use (the aircraft)
Certification and air traffic control solutions
Infrastructures for the landing/take off
Last mile transportation of passengers to and from those locations
Pilots, trained and experienced in electric aviation
Noise control
Airlines or operators interested and ready to invest capital in new platforms to open new routes

In addition, current value per seat mile targets of eVTOL urban air taxi may not be economically viable in the foreseeable future for the vast majority of potential customers. That said, it is difficult to find a realistic estimate of the cost per mile for the passenger. Despite this, it is almost certain that solutions will emerge and UAM will become a reality. Some big names, such as Boeing with Wisk, are injecting massive amounts of money to make it happen sooner than later, but there is still a long road ahead.

With this close reality in mind, aviation companies need to align their strategies around the electric aircraft market. Continued industry resistance and skepticism towards electric aviation could result in companies being left behind and consumers wondering why their favorite airlines aren’t integrating green practices into their operations.

By doubling down on proven successful strategies within the aviation industry such as loyalty programs, targeted marketing strategies, in-flight perks, and more, aviation companies will be able to take full advantage of consumer interest in electric aviation when the time presents itself.

Businesses can prepare for the reality of electric aviation by understanding the merits it possesses and realizing that it is not a far-flung fantasy, but a close reality. By embracing a more sustainable and accessible method of transportation, businesses will be able to stay ahead of the curve while tapping into evolving (and greener) consumer behaviors and preferences. Electric aviation will be realized in the near future, and it is imperative that aviation companies act now in order to take full advantage of the benefits this green future will hold.

Scott Thompson is the global aerospace and defense leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers
Thierry Despres is the enterprise strategy director for PricewaterhouseCoopers

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Raytheon Technologies’ New Venture Arm Invests In Hypersonic Aircraft Company Hermeus

Hermeus’ remotely piloted hypersonic aircraft Quarterhorse. (Photo, courtesy of Hermeus.)

RTX Ventures, a capital investment group recently set up by Raytheon Technologies, on Thursday said it made a strategic investment in the start-up company Hermeus Corp., which is developing hypersonic aircraft for commercial and defense applications.

The value of the investment wasn’t disclosed but is part of a $100 million Series B financing round announced in March that is led by investor Sam Altman and includes Founder’s Fund, In-Q-Tel, Khosla Ventures, Canaan Partners, Bling Capital, and the seed fund Revolution’s Rise of the Rest.

Hermeus said the funding round will allow it to finish development of its first aircraft, Quarterhorse—a remotely piloted aircraft scheduled to fly in 2023—begin flight services operations, and accelerate development of Darkhorse, an uncrewed aircraft that can sustain hypersonic flight. Work on Darkhorse will help the inform development of Halcyon, the company’s commercial passenger aircraft.

“Hypersonic technologies are of critical national importance to national security, which is why we made our first investment in a company with such a bold plan and vision in this space,” Daniel Ateya, managing director of RTX Ventures, said in a statement. “Hermeus’ technical approach and business plan balances near-term defense applications with long-term commercial aspirations and will help our customers reimagine the possibilities of hypersonic technologies.”

In addition to the funding, the RTX Ventures investment gives Hermeus access to Raytheon Technologies’ thousands of engineers, development centers, mentors and business leaders.

RTX Ventures aligns its investments with Raytheon Technologies technology focus areas, with an emphasis on secure and connected ecosystems, autonomy and artificial intelligence, power and propulsion systems, and precision sensing and effects.

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United Signs International Purchase Agreement for Sustainable Aviation Fuel

United is the first U.S. airline to sign an international purchase agreement for sustainable aviation fuel. (Photo courtesy of United)

This week, United Airlines announced a purchase agreement with Neste for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). United is now the first U.S. airline to sign an international purchase agreement for SAF, and will be able to buy more than 50 million gallons of SAF over the next three years. According to the announcement, the SAF purchased from Neste will fuel United flights from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

Neste’s SAF is made from renewable waste and residue raw materials that are sustainably sourced. The process involves using hydrogen to turn cooking oil, animal fat, and other materials into HEFA (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids) fuels, or SAF. As Neste increases production of SAF, the company may be able to supply SAF for United Airlines at additional airports around the world. Thorsten Lange, Executive Vice President of Renewable Aviation at Neste, expressed his excitement for the new partnership with United: “Our global, fast-growing SAF production and supply chain supports airlines and their customers in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Neste will supply 2.5 million gallons of SAF to United Airlines in the first year of the agreement. United will be able to purchase 20 million gallons during the second year, and 30 million gallons in the third year of the agreement. (Photo courtesy of United)

This is the largest SAF purchase agreement made by Neste to provide SAF for a passenger airline. Neste has a goal of producing 515 million gallons of SAF annually, which it hopes to achieve by the end of next year.

Sustainable aviation fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel. United has demonstrated its strong commitment to reaching its goal of zero emissions by the year 2050 by signing this new purchase agreement with Neste. Lauren Riley, Chief Sustainability Officer at United, explained that reducing fuel emissions is the fastest way to achieve their sustainability goals. “The demand from our customers to limit their emissions from flying is growing exponentially, and this agreement means that United customers flying from Amsterdam and potentially other airports will be partners in our sustainability efforts,” she remarked in the airline’s announcement.

United Airlines has taken several steps to move towards the goal of zero emissions by 2050. Using more SAF in its operations is one of the fastest ways to reach that objective. (Photo courtesy of United)

United’s mission to reach net zero emissions by 2050 includes supporting the development of electric aircraft, as shown in their recent partnership with Archer Aviation. The two companies formed a joint advisory committee, announced in April, to support development of Archer’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. United has already agreed to purchase 200 eVTOL aircraft from Archer.

United also made headlines in December 2021 when they announced completion of the first commercial flight using 100% sustainable fuel. The aircraft transported more than 100 passengers from Chicago to Washington, D.C. and used 500 gallons of SAF. Boeing, CFM International, Virent, and World Energy supported this achievement.

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Lilium Completes Second EASA Design Organization Approval Audit

Lilium completed its second Design Organization Approval (DOA) audit by EASA “with flying colors,” according to CTO Alastair McIntosh. (Photo courtesy of Lilium)

Lilium recently announced successful completion of its second Design Organization Approval (DOA) audit by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Lilium is working towards type certification of its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the Lilium Jet, with both EASA and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

EASA requires all commercial aircraft manufacturers to comply with Part 21 Subpart J by completing four total DOA audits in order to achieve aircraft type certification. Lilium’s Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Alastair McIntosh, spoke to Avionics International about the significance of achieving this latest milestone.

“It’s a rigorous process,”McIntosh said. “You have to prove that you’re an organization that is fit to undertake aircraft type certificate programs. It’s one thing to claim capability, and another to demonstrate it.”

Lilium’s team was required to demonstrate the company’s organizational structure, the capability of staff members, and the ability to maintain practices and procedures during the DOA audit. “The first audit was about demonstrating fundamentals, what the structure looks like, staff, training, how we maintain it. The second audit that we just went through focused more on core principles—how we do data management, configuration control,” he explained.

The team from EASA spent about three days in-house carrying out the rigorous process of the DOA audit, speaking to multiple engineers and participating in guided tours throughout Lilium’s facilities.

“Without having that DOA, we would not be able to certify the aircraft,” McIntosh stated. “It’s a big step forward for us, to bring control into an organization that is very entrepreneurial and dynamic. Particularly in terms of regulation—the aviation industry is regulated to maintain high levels of safety. We’re really happy to have passed the first two audits with flying colors.”

Pictured above is an engineer installing a flap on the Lilium Jet technology demonstrator. (Photo courtesy of Lilium)

Lilium continues to work towards certification and entry into service in 2025. McIntosh mentioned that they completed their preliminary design review at the end of 2021 and have made some announcements about refinements to the aircraft.

“Now we head into the stage of critical design review and providing detailed data and definition to the supply chain so they can start manufacturing components. We anticipate moving forward from the end of May onwards, releasing more data and definition to the supply chain.”

At the end of next year, McIntosh commented, they will be getting their first aircraft ready to start the flight test program which will last about 18 months. Lilium will use the data gathered during the flight test program to support their efforts to achieve certification in 2025. He predicts that the third audit will happen around December of this year, and the fourth and final DOA audit will likely take place just before certification.

“We’ve had a really good working relationship with EASA,” McIntosh said. “Our discussions have been really critical in shaping the design to make sure it’s compliant and that we can demonstrate compliance going forward. The EASA team actually owns the relationship with the FAA; they secure that concurrent validation on our behalf.”

The news of a second successful DOA audit followed two other big announcements from Lilium this year. In March, the company entered into a purchase agreement with NetJets for 150 aircraft. And just last month, Lilium announced the start of the next phase of flight testing for its eVTOL in Spain.

Lilium also had a busy year in 2021. April marked the reveal of the design of Lilium’s eVTOL aircraft, and in June, the company released details about the path to certification for its 7-seater jet. In August, Lilium announced a partnership with Brazilian airline, Azulu S.A., including a $1 billion purchase order, and in September 2021, Lilium became a publicly traded company following a business combination with Qell Acquisition Corp.

The post Lilium Completes Second EASA Design Organization Approval Audit appeared first on Aviation Today.

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