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Swiss International Air Lines Plans to be First in the World to Use Solar Jet Fuel

The company Synhelion has selected Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) as the first to use its solar aviation fuel. (Photo courtesy of Synhelion)

In a strategic collaboration with solar technology developer Synhelion, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and parent company the Lufthansa Group have partnered to bring solar aviation fuel to market and enable SWISS to become the world’s first airline to use solar kerosene. SWISS and the Lufthansa Group coordinated to develop a strategy for bringing Synhelion’s solar kerosene to market. The fuel is carbon-neutral and is made using concentrated sunlight.

This week, Synhelion’s team announced that they will collaborate with the German company INERATEC to combine their technologies and accelerate solar fuel production. INERATEC’s modular synthesis plant will be used to transform syngas into liquid fuels by way of the Fischer-Tropsch process. Both companies offer technologies that are modular and this collaboration will help to demonstrate that producing solar fuels is profitable and scalable.

“Joining forces with Synhelion shows what can be achieved when partners who share the same vision collaborate. Together, we’re producing sustainable fuel to make transportation more climate friendly. We’re looking forward to demonstrating the production of sustainable fuels at scale.” – Tim Böltken, Managing Director and Founder of INERATEC (Photo courtesy of INERATEC)

Carmen Murer of Synhelion gave an in-depth look at the company’s progress and what’s coming up next in an interview with Avionics. Murer, the company’s head of corporate communications, explained the basic idea of creating solar aviation fuel: “We use solar heat directly to drive the thermochemical processes to produce syngas. Syngas is a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen [H2 and CO], which can then be processed into jet fuel.”

The team plans to start production of the solar fuel in 2023, and their first industrial-scale plant is currently being built in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a demonstration plant, not a commercial one, said Murer, “but it will be the first time that we are really producing fuel at a large-scale plant.” The plant in Germany will serve to demonstrate the potential of Synhelion’s process of transforming concentrated sunlight into liquid fuel for powering airplanes. “Germany is not the ideal location when it comes to solar radiation,” she added, “but the circumstances are ideal to build this plant very quickly to show that the technology works.”

Synhelion’s technology converts concentrated solar heat into the hottest existing process heat on the market, making it possible to drive an unprecedented number of industrial processes such as fuel production and cement manufacturing with solar heat. (Synhelion)

The next plant that Synhelion plans to build will be located in Spain, which is a more ideal location in terms of the sunlight it receives. The plant in Spain will be the company’s first commercial facility, and it could begin production of solar fuel as soon as 2025. Estimated production capacity per year at this commercial plant would be about 500,000 liters of fuel.

By 2030, the company hopes to scale up to production of 875 million liters of fuel per year. “Globally speaking, that’s still a drop in the bucket,” Murer said in mentioning the high levels of fuel consumed by global aviation. However, she explained, if you consider that level of fuel production for one region such as Switzerland, that 875 million liters would cover half of the country’s annual demand for jet fuel. Looking even further ahead to 2040, Synhelion aims to produce 50 billion liters of solar fuel annually.

A key distinguishing feature of Synhelion is what they call the “sun-to-liquid” process as opposed to a “power-to-liquid” process for creating fuel. Murer remarked, “We have a very direct approach with few conversion steps because we use solar heat directly. Solar heat is a very abundant resource, and a big advantage of working with solar heat is that it is storable—we can use it 24 hours a day and produce fuel all day long, which is very important for production of synthetic fuels. With an industrial production facility, you cannot switch it on and off on a daily basis; you want to run it continuously.”

“Our setup is standalone, so all the energy that we need is produced onsite. We don’t have to be connected to an existing energy grid, and we don’t have to wait for renewable electricity capacities to ramp up. We can scale more or less independently.”

“Our involvement with Synhelion is a key element in our long-term sustainability strategy.” – SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx (Photo: Synhelion)

In the company’s announcement, Synhelion CEO and co-founder Dr. Philipp Furler commented on the aviation industry’s interest in sustainable aviation fuels and, in particular, solar fuel. “Our next-generation carbon-neutral solar kerosene is an economically and ecologically viable substitute for fossil fuels,” he remarked. “We believe in a globalized world connected by climate-friendly mobility.”

CEO of SWISS, Dieter Vranckx, looks forward to the opportunity to enable use of solar fuel in regular flight operations in coordination with Synhelion. “We are proud that SWISS will be the first airline in the world to fly with solar kerosene. In partnering with Synhelion, we are supporting Swiss innovation and are actively pursuing and promoting the development, the market introduction and the scaling-up of this highly promising technology for producing sustainable fuels.”

Research and development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) have only been ramping up as of late. The company Pratt & Whitney was awarded a project to develop hydrogen propulsion technology by the U.S. Department of Energy last month. Rather than using solar heat, the technology will take advantage of liquid hydrogen combustion and water vapor recovery.

Safran Helicopter Engines and Bell Textron are also prioritizing research into SAF. The two companies recently announced a new collaboration to test the performance of SAF as well as the economic impacts of using it to power the Bell 505 helicopter. The team at Safran hopes to enable use of 100% SAF for helicopter engines in the near future.

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Canada Chooses F-35A in Future Fighter Competition

An F-35 sits on the ramp at Nellis AFB, Nev. for a Red Flag exercise last August (U.S. Air Force Photo)

The government of Canada on March 28 said that it has begun negotiations with Lockheed Martin on a buy 0f 88 F-35As under the country’s Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP) to replace Canada’s aging CF-18 Hornet fighters for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Canada said on March 28 that it “will now enter into the finalization phase of the procurement process with the top-ranked bidder, the United States government and Lockheed Martin, for the F-35 fighter jet.”

“This procurement represents the most significant investment in the RCAF in more than 30 years,” the government of Canada said. “It is essential for protecting the safety and security of Canadians, it will enhance our Arctic sovereignty, it will ensure we are equipped to better defend North America and it will help make sure we continue to meet our NATO and NORAD obligations well into the future.”

Canada said that during the finalization phase negotiations, “the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin must successfully demonstrate that a resulting contract would meet all of Canada’s requirements and outcomes, including value for money, flexibility, protection against risks, and performance and delivery assurances, as well as high-value economic benefits for Canada’s aerospace and defence industry.”

Last last year, Canada said that it had rejected Boeing as a finalist in FFCP. After that announcement, Sweden’s Saab, offering the Gripen E, and Lockheed Martin were the remaining bidders.

In 2018, Canada announced five eligible suppliers to submit proposals for the FFCP as the U.K. and Airbus with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing with the Super Hornet, France’s Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin with the F-35, and Saab with the Griper E (Defense Daily, Feb. 23, 2018).

However, Dassault withdrew in 2018 and Airbus withdrew in 2019, partially over demanding intelligence data sharing and interoperability requirements.

Canada initially released the final request for proposals (RFP) for the FFCP in 2019.

This article was first published by Defense Daily, a sister publication to Avionics International, it has been edited, click here to view the original version.

The post Canada Chooses F-35A in Future Fighter Competition appeared first on Aviation Today.

Japanese Conglomerate ITOCHU Invests in Wingcopter, Becomes Authorized Partner

ITOCHU joins existing Wingcopter investors SYNERJET, DRONE FUND, Expa, Xplorer Capital, Futury Capital, Hessen Kapital III, and Corecam Capital Partners. The Japanese conglomerate has also agreed to become an authorized partner of Wingcopter and will be able to distribute and lease the 198 eVTOL drone for delivery services in Japan. (Photo: Wingcopter)

German drone manufacturer Wingcopter announced a strategic partnership today with Japanese general trading company ITOCHU Corporation. ITOCHU is not only investing in Wingcopter but will also distribute and lease the Wingcopter 198 delivery drone in Japan. This new agreement means that ITOCHU is now a part of Wingcopter’s Authorized Partnership Program, joining the Latin American aviation company Synerjet Corp as an authorized partner of Wingcopter.

The drone manufacturer announced in February that they are partnering with UAV del Peru for bringing drone delivery operations to Peru. Wingcopter will provide and deploy its Wingcopter 198 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) drones to enable commercial drone services as well as medical supply delivery in the South American country.

Pictured above is the Wingcopter 198 cargo drone model. (Photo: Wingcopter)

The agreement with ITOCHU is the latest example of Wingcopter’s growing global network of strategic partners that are able to act as drone operators, resellers, promoters, lessors, and distributors in a specific region. Wingcopter views Japan as one of the key markets for future unmanned aircraft system (UAS) delivery services, in part because the country takes a progressive approach to UAS integration. The CEO of Wingcopter, Tom Plümmer, expressed his confidence that ITOCHU’s partnership “will help us serve more Japanese customers and allow us to jointly scale Wingcopter’s operations across Japan.”

ITOCHU’s investment into Wingcopter was made through ITOCHU Europe PLC. The CEO of this subsidiary—Takanori Morita, who is also the Executive Officer of ITOCHU Corporation—believes that Wingcopter is in the best position to become a leader in the drone delivery market. “Together with Wingcopter and its stakeholders, we look forward to a great journey with a product that will make a positive difference to people’s lives,” he said. “Drone delivery has the potential to revolutionize how we transport goods, and it can immediately improve the quality of life for many people across the globe.”

In a recent interview conducted over email, Wingcopter’s Tom Plümmer told Avionics International that one upcoming goal for the company is to achieve type certification from the FAA for its eVTOL drone. The team also plans to establish drone delivery operations on every continent. At the beginning of 2022, Wingcopter partnered with a drone company called Spright to set up a nationwide delivery network in the United States. Spright is a subsidiary of Air Methods, a leading air medical service provider. Spright will be acquiring a significant number of Wingcopter 198 eVTOL drones for its fleet as part of their commercial agreement valued at over $16 million.

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Kraus Hamdani Aerospace CEO Talks Long-Endurance Drones and Enhanced Communication Networks

Pictured above is the ultra-long-endurance drone designed by Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, the K1000ULE. “We’ve already flown the sub-scale version of what we want to fly at higher altitudes within the next 24 months,” CEO Fatema Hamdani stated. (Photo: Kraus Hamdani Aerospace)

Aerospace technology company Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, Inc. recently completed end-to-end vertical take-off and landing tests of their unmanned aerial system, the K1000ULE (Ultra Long Endurance). The fixed-wing drone is fully electric and is capable of longer flight times than any electric aircraft in its size and weight category available today. CEO and co-founder Fatema Hamdani offered in-depth details on the functionality and various applications of the K1000ULE in an interview with Avionics International.

When first starting the company, Fatema Hamdani and co-founder Stefan Kraus saw four key areas that needed to be improved upon in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry, including; the distance that UAVs can travel from the operator, maximum flight duration, ease of integration and operational footprint.

“We realized that [drone] innovation had stagnated,” remarked Hamdani, “especially for the larger fixed-wing aircraft.” She described that there were small, incremental changes, but nothing groundbreaking or exponential. Kraus Hamdani Aerospace’s goal was to take an entirely new, open-architecture approach to designing a UAV, integrating concepts from nature in the development of the platform’s onboard AI, its specialized autopilot technology, and energy management systems. Other players in this space, Hamdani said, are integrators of technology. “They have brought in fairly closed technology, and innovation becomes very hard.” In comparison, their team “sits on the entire stack from the hardware through to the software,” from the customization of the motor to the avionics. “Using our open-source approach to software development, when introducing new functionality we can get tens of thousands of users testing it over a weekend. When one of the larger integrators tries to get something introduced, they are barely able to get a hundred hours of testing before moving to production because it’s so closed.”

The K1000ULE has already been flown more than 20,000 feet above sea level. Hamdani added, “A lot of components we’ve already built can extend and scale up as we are growing in size, weight, and power as well as altitude, eventually [going up to] 65,000–85,000 feet above ground level.” The drone has also demonstrated a 26-hour-long non-stop flight, and according to Hamdani, it could fly up to 340 hours depending on the latitude. She noted that it’s not always necessary to have a vehicle capable of operating at the high altitudes mentioned. Instead, the focus has been on long endurance at a variety of altitudes in order to perform different functionalities. These functionalities range from firefighting and disaster management to national security applications. The K1000ULE took part in Project Convergence 21 exercise, providing aerial network coverage for hours during testing of autonomous capabilities that could eventually be integrated into the U.S. Army’s next-generation platforms. “We became the primary network,” Hamdani said. “Because when we were flying, everybody else was connected and could talk to each other across different wave forms because of the radio bridge we have built on our asset.”

Stefan Kraus co-founded the drone company with CEO Fatema Hamdani, pictured above with the K1000ULE. (Kraus Hamdani Aerospace)

Kraus Hamdani Aerospace was awarded an SBIR Phase II contract in 2021 that will be completed in August 2022. The contract’s focus is mission-centric swarming, and the team is contributing enhanced communication across multiple aircraft as well as providing an array of aerial services. “The ability to have smart, fully coordinated airborne assets that are flying and optimizing based on the mission profile, fully autonomously…it changes the game, especially when those aircraft can safely and autonomously deconflict with terrain and other aircraft in the National Air Space” Fatema Hamdani said. Their drones have the AI built- in to coordinate and reconfigure their formation if one is removed.

The technology that the company has developed has the potential to drastically change approaches to disaster management. For example, first responders might carry up to five pieces of equipment for communications; introducing long-endurance drones that could handle communications would help to lighten their load. The K1000ULE also monitors environmental conditions during a wildfire or other disasters and provides critical data to put out fires more quickly or to move people away from danger. In the wake of a disaster, UAVs like these can help in efforts to rebuild by assessing damage in order to receive appropriate funding to replace damaged infrastructure as well as monitoring the recovery process. “We want to be the connective tissue between sea, land, air, and space. We want to enable these assets; we’re making all of us more efficient,” Hamdani explained. “Think of us as satellites that don’t need to be in space; lowering the risk of adding to more potential space-junk.”

The drone developed by Kraus Hamdani Aerospace boasts a small operational footprint, only requiring three people to ensure its operation for a 24-hour period. Another key aspect of their approach is an understanding of low air density and how to fly in it. “Those are the kinds of environments we will be faced with at 65,000 to 85,000 feet above ground level, where air density is very low,” said Hamdani. “We’ve already flown the sub-scale version of what we want to fly at higher altitudes within the next 24 months. We are the only 100% U.S. industrial-based platform with our capabilities.”

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Investigators Recover China Eastern Airlines MU5735 Flight Data Recorder

The team investigating the crash of China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 has recovered its flight data recorder, pictured here. (Photo, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency)

The team investigating the fatal crash of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region last week has recovered the aircraft’s flight data recorder (FDR), according to a media briefing held by leaders involved with the investigation on Sunday.

On March 21, the Boeing 737-800 NG operating as China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou lost contact with air traffic controllers and crashed over the city of Wuzhou, Guangxi. All 123 passengers and nine flight crew members onboard were confirmed as dead on Saturday, according to a statement released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The agency has been releasing updates about the accident investigation primarily through state affiliated media outlets such as Xinhua and CGTN, among others.

Zhu Tao, head of the aviation safety office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told a press briefing held on Sunday that the FDR was recovered approximately 40 meters from the aircraft crash site and has already been sent to a lab in Beijing for decoding. While some parts of the FDR have damage, “the exterior of its data-storage unit is relatively complete,” Tao said.

The cockpit voice recorder from the crashed 737 was already previously recovered last Wednesday.

Flight tracking provider FlightRadar24’s replay of the flight shows that the aircraft reached 29,100 feet before taking a sharp nose dive into the ground. The playback of the flight shows that the aircraft started to climb briefly when it reached 7,200 feet and then took a second dive that ultimately crashed into the ground. The aircraft disappeared from radar coverage around 4,400 feet, according to an update released by CGTN.

Boeing released a statement Saturday following CAAC’s confirmation of the death of all 132 passengers and crew members onboard, stating, “We extend our deepest condolences for the loss of those on board China Eastern Airlines Flight MU 5735. Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers and crew, their families and all those affected by this accident. Boeing will continue to support our airline customer during this difficult time.”

The aircraft manufacturer is providing a technical team in support of the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) to support CAAC, which has assumed the lead role in the investigation. Based on information and statements released by state-affiliated Chinese media outlets about the investigation, the Boeing 737-800 that was operated as MU5735 was first delivered to the airline in 2015 and had been in service for less than seven years.

Investigators are still trying to determine an official cause of the crash.

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Air Greenland to Partner with Avolon and Purchase Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 eVTOL Aircraft

Air Greenland’s new partnership with Avolon includes an agreement to purchase or lease multiple eVTOL aircraft made by Vertical Aerospace—the VX4 pictured above. (Photo: Still from video provided by Avolon)

In a new partnership, Avolon and Air Greenland will form a Working Group to examine the potential of commercial zero-emission air travel in Greenland. Air Greenland has also committed to a purchase or lease of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from Avolon; the eVTOLs will be manufactured by Vertical Aerospace, maker of the five-seater, zero-emission VX4 aircraft.

The new Working Group provides an opportunity for Avolon and Air Greenland to coordinate in identifying local eVTOL requirements related to infrastructure and certification. Once both companies assess the market opportunity, they will be able to determine the number of VX4 eVTOLs necessary for Air Greenland’s fleet. The current fleet includes 17 helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft (Airbus A330-200 and 7 Dash 8-200) for passenger and cargo transportation, and a King Air for medical evacuation.

CEO Jacob Nitter Sørensen: “How can Air Greenland play a bigger part in battling the effects of climate change? Zero-emissions aircraft is the ultimate answer to that question.” (Photo: Avolon / Air Greenland)

The CEO of Air Greenland, Jacob Nitter Sørensen, remarked that this partnership with Avolon is the beginning of their company’s long-term journey towards sustainability. “In Greenland, we see the effects of climate change every day and, as a company, we want to be at the forefront of the climate revolution,” Sørensen said. “The VX4 aircraft will have many uses for Air Greenland and, through our partnership with Avolon, we look forward to welcoming our first travellers onboard in the near future.”

Avolon, the aircraft leasing company headquartered in Ireland, placed an order for 500 VX4 aircraft from Vertical Aerospace in June 2021. The deal could be valued at $2 billion in total. Vertical has also secured partnerships with Rolls-Royce, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Honeywell, and Microsoft. Vertical Aerospace recently shared news of a merger with Broadstone Acquisition Corp. in December 2021. At the time, pre-orders for the VX4 aircraft totaled $5.4 billion.

Key features of the VX4 eVTOL include a low noise profile, a 100-mile range, and a top speed of 200 miles per hour. In addition to a pilot, the aircraft will be capable of transporting four passengers. It is being designed and manufactured to EASA’s (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) safety certification standards.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, CEO of Vertical, commented on the announcement about the collaboration between Avolon and Air Greenland: “We are delighted that Air Greenland has chosen the VX4 to bring zero emissions air travel to the region. This partnership is a significant first step in introducing sustainable air mobility to Greenland.”

“Today’s announcement with Air Greenland means we are taking the zero-emissions travel to the front line of climate change,” commented the CEO of Avolon, Dómhnal Slattery. (Photo: Still from video provided by Avolon)

The post Air Greenland to Partner with Avolon and Purchase Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 eVTOL Aircraft appeared first on Aviation Today.

The Latest 5G C-Band Interference on Radio Altimeters Research, Testing and Technology Updates

Government-industry consortiums continue to research, test, and release new data and insights about the 5G C-band radio altimeter interference issues that became a problem for aircraft landing at certain airports in recent months. (Photo, courtesy of NTIA)

While the number of new directives and policy updates from the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the impact of 5G C-band wireless service interference on aircraft radio altimeters has slowed since January, research, testing, and debate on a long-term solution for the safe co-existence of the two sides continues. Here, Avionics International provides an overview of some of the latest research and testing that is occurring to understand the interference that can be caused by 5G C-band stations located near airports.

“Everything is going fabulous with the FAA,” Jeff McElfresh, CEO of AT&T Communications, said in a response to a question about the company’s 5G C-band wireless service impacting aircraft radio altimeters during the company’s March 11 Investor Day event. “I think we and the industry have done a nice job kind of working through that. And so, no urgent issues or anything that gives us caution.”

On the aviation side of the 5G C-band spectrum equation, research and flight testing continues to occur both at the regulatory and industry levels. Last week, the FAA released its latest 5G C-band related airworthiness directive (AD), with this one targeting older Boeing 747 model aircraft, a total of 126 registered in the U.S.

The latest directive requires airlines flying those 747 models—747-100/200/300/400—to revise operating procedures within their airplane flight manuals for takeoff, instrument landing system (ILS) approaches, non-precision approaches, and go-around and missed approaches, when in the presence of 5G C-Band interference. Boeing has been issuing regular service related updates to operators as new test results become available.

According to the directive, testing on the altimeters featured on those older 747 models determined that the radio altimeter data could produce anomalies when in the presence of 5G C-band interference. Some of the effects of the interference include the generation of erroneous autoland messages and the adjustment of engine thrust levers to ground idle status while in-flight, among others.

FAA pilots and engineers are also actively flight-testing the 5G C-band interference problem on their own aircraft, releasing updates as they become available.

“We are testing for how 5G signals affect radio altimeters using FAA flight-test aircraft outfitted with spectrum analyzers and other specialized equipment,” a representative for the FAA told Avionics in an emailed statement. “Our team is measuring and analyzing the 5G energy that airplanes encounter in flight. Much is known about how these signals behave at ground level, but the details of energy levels at aircraft altitudes are based largely on engineering models.”

By comparing the results of existing engineering models with actual measurements taken during flight tests, the agency believes it can deepen the body of knowledge available on how 5G C-band interacts with safety critical flight instruments.

“We will make all of our analysis available to our federal partners and to the wireless companies participating in these tests,” the FAA said.

Some of the partners that the FAA is sharing that analysis with are members of the Joint Interagency Five G Radar Altimeter Interference (JI-FRAI) group, which includes participation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), airlines, and avionics manufacturers.

The JI-FRAI group was first established last year and includes several individual members who are also performing their own flight testing of real in-flight scenarios evaluating how 5G C-band wireless service base stations can unintentionally impact the performance of radio altimeters. One member of the group, the Institute for Telecommunications Sciences (ITS)—the research laboratory arm of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)—published a special report earlier this month outlining some of the flight-testing its own researchers are doing in Colorado.

The Institute for Telecommunications Sciences is evaluating the impact of 5G transmissions from mobile trucks, pictured here, on a radio altimeter featured on a Robinson R44 helicopter. (NTIA)

A March 9 video released by the agency features Frank Sanders, a senior technical fellow at ITS, providing an overview of how the ITS team has set up an array of 5G transmitters attached to trucks—known as Cell on Light Truck (COLT) technology—at a Department of Commerce test site in Table Mountain, Colorado. The 5G transmitters provide connectivity to active 5G mobile phones at the facility, and the team is using specialized spectrum analyzers to measure the field strength of the 5G transmissions and how they can unintentionally cause interference to radio altimeters featured on a Robinson R44 helicopter that they’re flying over the transmitters. ITS has also equipped the R44 with spiral measurement antennas that measure the field strength of the 5G transmissions within that slice of airspace.

“NTIA’s Boulder laboratory, ITS, has begun performing measurements of the unintentional antenna radiation from 5G base stations, to quantify exactly how much power will impinge on aircraft flying near such tower locations,” ITS notes in its update.

Sameh Yamany, chief technology officer of Viavi Solutions, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based test and monitoring equipment supplier, explained in emailed statements to Avionics how their technology helps evaluate potential interference issues through modeling and simulation.

“The testbed constructs 3D RF models for signals encountered in and around airports extending out at least 10 miles or more and up to 7,500 feet in elevation,” Yamany said, adding that the testbed consists of a signal generator capable of emulating 5G C-band interference along with a test set and handheld spectrum analyzer that monitor the performance of radio altimeter in signal time delay and path loss. “Leakage” emissions that replicate those generated from the 5G C-band 3.98-4.2 GHz spectrum can also be tested and evaluated using the testbed setup.

“By correlating the simulated RADALT emissions, the interference emissions and their power levels, the Viavi testbed records and reproduces the specific conditions where the RADALT impairs or fails,” Yamany said. The company supplies the test equipment for both laboratory simulations and field testing, which can require a different setup, using a vector signal analyzer (VSA) and generator supplied by Viavi called “Ranger.”

Viavi provided this overview of the testbed setup the company provides to test the impact of 5G C-band on radio altimeters. (Viavi Solutions)

“Field Spectrum Monitoring involves spectrum clearance and interference identification,” Yamany said. “In some cases, more detailed spectrum captures will be needed to adequately monitor and assess the RF spectrum in C-Band used by RADALTs and cellular base stations. The Ranger VSA can record live over-the-air (OTA) RF signals as experienced near the RADALT to monitor the spectrum environment in both the C-band and RADALT bands. For example, it can record up to 2.5 hours at 200 MHz IBW per channel, where one channel is set to capture between 3.8-4.00 GHz or 3.9-4.1 GHz , with precision GPS timestamped captures and custom triggering mechanisms.”

Several aviation manufacturers and service providers are also collaboratively researching 5G C-band interference as part of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Special Committee 239 and Eurocae Working Group 119. SC-239 was first established in 2020 and produced the first report that identified the potential interference issues associated with the operation of 5G wireless services in the 3.7-3.98 GHz spectrum range.

Claude Pichavant, an executive communication, navigation, and surveillance engineer for Airbus, participated in a Eurocontrol webinar last month where he discussed the RTCA and Eurocae goals in updating radio altimeter standards to make the technology less susceptible to out-of-band spectrum interference.

“The idea is to create a new standard that will define the new performances that are foreseen for new radio altimeters in order to be robust to the new 5G or even 6G environment. We expect to have this new performance standard by mid 2023,” Pichavant said.

Irving, Texas-based FreeFlight Systems has become one of the first avionics suppliers to directly address the interference issues with new technology, unveiling its new “RA-4500 Mark II (MK II) radar altimeter” during the Helicopter Association International’s 2022 Heli-Expo exhibition earlier this month. The company claims that the upgrade—a replacement for its existing RA-4000 and RA-4500 altimeters—has a “5G mitigation solution” that is a “unique combination of internal filtering and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology that can tolerate out-of-band 5G interference as well as other RF interferences.”

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Shareholders Invest $23 Million in Skyports for Vertiports and Drone Services

At the first close of its Series B round of funding, Skyports received $23 million in investments from new and existing shareholders. (Photo: Hanwha Systems/Skyports)

At the close of its latest funding round, Skyports announced that it had raised $23 million in capital from both new and existing investors. With access to these new funds, Skyports—a provider of infrastructure solutions for advanced air mobility (AAM) and cargo drone deliveries—will be able to accelerate its work in developing and implementing take-off and landing infrastructure in addition to being able to scale operations of its drone services.

The CEO of Skyports, Duncan Walker, remarked that their goal is to be the leading vertiport owner and operator worldwide. “The support of our original investors who have deep experience in aviation and infrastructure and the addition of new capital from world class companies with a global footprint enables us to build the air taxi eco-system alongside our best-in-class vehicle partners for initial operations within a couple of years,” he stated in the company’s announcement.

Another priority for the company is sustainability, and in particular, reducing carbon emissions. The drone services they offer, which include cargo delivery and surveillance solutions, are part of the aviation industry-wide effort to reduce carbon emissions. According to Walker, Skyports’ drone business is expanding, and he sees their competitive advantages as technology development and expertise in regulation and operation of unmanned aircraft.

Existing shareholders Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures, Solar Ventus, Groupe ADP, Irelandia, and Levitate Capital all participated in this Series B round of funding. New investors included the Japanese conglomerate Kanematsu Corporation, the global industrial property group Goodman Group, Italian airport platform 2i Aeroporti (backed by Ardian’s Infrastructure Fund and F2i Italian Infrastructure Fund), and U.S.-based VC firm GreenPoint, according to Skyports. The company will gain two new board members, including a representative from Kanematsu Corporation and the CEO of DHL eCommerce, Ken Allen.

Skyports designs, builds, and operates vertiport networks in major cities to enable air taxi and cargo drone services. (Photo: Skyports)

Towards the end of last year, Skyports announced plans to set up a vertiport in Paris, France, and begin commercial operations in 2024 in time for the Paris Olympics. If successful, this would be the first commercial vertiport in Europe. The Skyports vertiport will feature technologies such as re-charging equipment, weather stations, biometric identity management, and situational awareness capabilities.

Skyports formed a partnership with Eve Urban Air Mobility, a subsidiary of Embraer, in June 2021. Their objective is to create a concept of operations for urban air mobility (UAM) and advance integration of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Asia and in the Americas. Skyports’ Duncan Walker commented, “Our partnership with Eve paves the way for rapid innovation in UAM, accelerating innovation to meet the growing demand for eVTOL services.”

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NASA Workshop Defines Progress and Goals for Advanced Air Mobility Integration

A workshop led by NASA this week offered an in-depth perspective on the progress of advanced air mobility (AAM) so far and the upcoming milestones for advancing and integrating AAM into the current airspace. (Photo: NASA)

NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Ecosystem Working Groups (AEWG) hosted a virtual workshop this week featuring discussions on AAM integration. Starting in June, the AEWG will develop more formal roadmaps based on the priorities and sequencing discussions taking place during this week’s workshop. Robert Pearce, NASA’s Associate Administrator, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, shared his perspective on AAM integration strategies. Two other representatives from NASA, Davis Hackenberg and Ken Goodrich, also discussed some of the next steps for establishing an AAM ecosystem.

NASA’s Robert Pearce emphasized that safety, sustainability, and scalability are top priorities for developing and integrating AAM. At the most basic level, AAM connects individuals to resources, services, employment, and community. As AAM evolves, Pearce stated, it will begin with providing air taxi services and delivery of goods, but the community is bound to find endless ways that AAM can add value. He sees access to healthcare as one area that will offer the most benefit for individuals. “Many Americans today—and people across the globe—living in rural areas don’t have access to healthcare. Imagine if AAM can increase the reach of our global healthcare systems and provide direct access to world-class healthcare,” he explained. “I look at the investments we make, and the benefits on the other end. If we can [achieve] scalability, this is going to deliver value many many times what we put into it.”

Some important challenges that NASA is in the process of addressing are propulsion reliability, noise impact and mitigation, and vehicle safety. The AEWG, Pearce noted, is helping to bring all of these elements together and facilitate coordinated progress in the approach to AAM integration. Pearce emphasized safety in particular: “You have to see safety distributed throughout. The National Campaign series creates an opportunity for more and more complexity in the architecture and in the operations, demonstrating that in flight where needed, to show what’s possible and where the issues are.”

Development of system architecture for AAM is one of the things that Pearce hopes to see next, in addition to research on autonomy and automation in general, for vehicles, the airspace, vertiports, and other areas. “That’s where we should start: to conceive of and develop and integrate automation architecture across all those elements,” he said. “We need to line up our collective efforts to that architecture. If we’re going to be scalable, we’re going to need that.”

Davis Hackenberg, AAM Project Manager of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, shared the big-picture ecosystem goals for AAM. Moving from the Operational Safety Demonstration phase, he said, it will be necessary to hit certain milestones for the next phase: Initial Commercial Operations.

These are the upcoming goals and areas of focus that Hackenberg outlined for developing the AAM ecosystem:

Initial AAM ConOps Development (by the end of 2022)
Mature Certification Projects (2022)
1st-Generation AAM Aircraft (2023)
Initial Aircraft Personnel Training & Licensing (2024)
Initial Operational Approvals (2024)
Integrated Low-Volume Airspace Operations (2024)

In 2025 and beyond, the focus will evolve into localized high-tempo operations, and then scalable, weather-tolerant operations. Initial infrastructure deployment should occur by the end of 2027, and we will see second-generation AAM aircraft before 2029. Finally, by the end of 2030, Hackenberg envisions automated flight and integration of automated systems. “We align our portfolio with how we see this ecosystem progressing and find areas where we can be leaders, build technologies, and partner with those in the industry,” he said.

Davis Hackenberg shared a diagram illustrating AAM and highlighting the four stages of maturity for integrated AAM operations. (Photo: NASA)

NASA’s Ken Goodrich, Deputy Project Manager for Technology, explained their system for defining progression in urban air mobility (UAM)—a framework referred to as UMLs, or UAM maturity levels. At maturity level one (UML 1), Goodrich said, “missions typically occur at the edges of the urban area. A key challenge of AAM is community integration; we see operations in much closer proximity to communities.” The focus will need to be providing benefits to the public, and “industry needs to be able to provide products and services that make investments worthwhile,” according to Goodrich.

At UML 2, initial commercial operations will leverage mainly existing infrastructure and will occur in just a few metropolitan areas to start. The selected regions at UML 2 will be likely to have favorable conditions for UAM including market volume, community acceptance, and weather conditions. Operations would also be taking place within the current national airspace system (NAS). “We expect these to start with low tempo pressure and a small number of operations,” Goodrich stated. “This is where revenue begins, but the ability to scale is limited. We need to complete the type certification process, we need to have the ability to license qualified pilots, and the operators and operations need to receive operational approval.”

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Cebu Pacific Equips Airbus A330neo fleet with SITA Swiftbroadband Cockpit Connectivity

Cebu Pacific received its first new Airbus A330neo, pictured here, in November, and will equip each of the aircraft with an upgraded version of SITA’s AIRCOM cockpit connectivity service. (Airbus)

Cebu Pacific Air, the Manila, Philippines-based low cost airline, will equip its fleet of Airbus A330neo aircraft with an upgraded form of SITA for Aircraft’s AIRCOM cockpit connectivity technology with Swiftbroadband-Safety (SB-S).

The AIRCOM connectivity is being factory-installed on a fleet of 16 new A330neos from an Airbus order first placed by Cebu Pacific in 2019, that now also includes a Flight Hour Services (FHS) materials management contract signed by the two companies during the 2022 Singapore Air Show last month. SITA first signed a global connectivity services distribution agreement with Inmarsat in 2017 to start leveraging Swiftbroadband-Safety within its suite of cockpit communication applications that it now brands as AIRCOM Cockpit Services.

SB-S is Inmarsat’s Aircraft Communication, Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) over Internet Protocol (IP) networking technology that permits previous aircraft data transmissions solely done over the legacy ACARS network to be done faster and cheaper using IP as a gateway for air-to-ground and aircraft-to-controller data transmissions and messaging.

Sumesh Patel, President of Asia Pacific, SITA, said in a statement that “Cebu Pacific is the first airline to take advantage of these capabilities to boost safety and deliver greater operational efficiencies on their new fleet.”

Three specific connection types are provided over SB-S, including character-based ACARS data services for Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Contract (ADS-C) and Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC). ADS-C, CPDLC, real-time prison reporting, and flight data streaming along with aircraft performance data downloads can also be provided over the SB-S prioritized IP channel. Additionally, the regular IP channel can be used as a voice and data communication channel for Airline Administrative Control (AAC) and Airline Operations Center (AOC) applications.

According to SITA, some of the specific applications Cebu Pacific can use on AIRCOM with SB-S that are not enabled without Swiftbroadband include real-time updates for flight optimization tools and graphical weather applications.

The SITA cockpit connectivity agreement for Cebu Pacific comes following the airline’s announcement earlier this month that it will begin expanding its domestic network, including re-starting flights to Siargao, Surigao, and Calbayog after closing those and many other routes due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions.

Cebu Pacific received its first A330neo in December and now has two of the 459-seat aircraft in its fleet. Mike Szucs, Chief Executive Adviser at Cebu Pacific, expects every Airbus model aircraft in its fleet to feature the new engine option variant by 2027.

“We turned to SITA given their expertise in the aircraft domain to help us navigate the challenges and complexities of the aircraft communications landscape, and prepare us for that future,” Javier Massot, Chief Operations Adviser, Cebu Pacific Air, said in a statement. “Having high-speed connectivity and greater capacity is essential to access more advanced digital applications that support decision-making onboard. It will enable our pilots and operational staff to access information in real-time and deliver a better service for our passengers.”

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