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Lilium Expands into Brazil with Billion Dollar Azul Deal

Lilium is expanding operations to Brazil with a new partnership with Azul. (Lilium)

Lilium will be taking its electric air taxi network to Brazil with a new partnership with Azul S.A., a Brazilian airline, that includes a purchase order totaling $1 billion, the company announced on August 2. 

The new partnership will build an exclusive network for Lilium’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, according to the release. Lilium’s eVTOL, the 7-Seater Jet, will be a zero-emissions aircraft designed for regional air mobility with ranges between 40 kilometers and 200 kilometers. 

“Azul has brought convenient and affordable air travel to underserved markets across the Americas and this makes them an ideal partner for Lilium,” Daniel Wiegand, Co-Founder and CEO of Lilium said in a statement. “We’re excited to work with Azul’s seasoned team to deploy a co-branded eVTOL network in Brazil.” 

Through the partnership, Azul will receive 220 of Lilium’s aircraft to operate and maintain on the network created by the two companies, according to the release. The companies expect the network to start operations in 2025. Lilium hopes to have certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2024 through the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA). 

“Azul is the largest domestic airline in Brazil in terms of cities served and daily departures,” John Rodgerson, CEO of Azul, said in a statement. “Our brand presence, our unique route network, and our powerful loyalty program give us the tools to create the markets and demand for the Lilium Jet network in Brazil. As we did in the Brazilian domestic market over the last 13 years, we look forward to again, now with the Lilium Jet, working to create a whole new market in the years to come.”  

Lilium will be responsible for providing aircraft health monitoring and replacing batteries and spare parts on the aircraft, according to the statement. Lilium recently announced a partnership with CUSTOMCELLS to manufacture batteries for its eVTOL. The company will also provide support while receiving regulatory approvals in the country. 

“Since Azul’s founding 13 years ago, the Brazilian aviation market has doubled with Azul capturing almost 60% of the growth,” David Neeleman, Chairman of Azul, said in a statement. “We know how to create and grow new markets, and once again we see huge market opportunity by bringing the Lilium Jet to Brazil.” 

Lilium also announced the two appointments to its board of directors: Gabrielle Toledano, COO at Keystone Strategy LCC, and Henri Courpron, founder and chairman of plan view partners LLC, according to the release. 

“Emissions free aviation is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’. With a unique design, Lilium is bringing together new ideas and talent with proven executives and technology under Daniel’s vision and leadership,” Courpron said in a statement. “I am delighted to have been invited to pass my decades of experience along to the next generation of innovators and leaders in aviation.”

The post Lilium Expands into Brazil with Billion Dollar Azul Deal appeared first on Aviation Today.

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Sagetech Demonstrates Successful Test of DAA System Using ACAS Algorithms

Sagetech Avionics has completed a successful test of its detect and avoid (DAA) system that uses ACAS algorithms to provide collision avoidance for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). (Sagetech)

Sagetech Avionics has completed a successful test of its detect and avoid (DAA) system that uses ACAS algorithms to provide collision avoidance for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), the company announced on July 27. 

The technology was tested as part of a Phase 1 STTR contract from the AFWERX’s Agility Prime, Tom Furey, CEO of Sagetech told Aviation Today. The technology can be used in commercial or military applications to enable beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) UAS flights. 

“What we’re trying to do is put technology on the aircraft so that we can trust it to go where the operator can’t see the environment that it’s in and it can operate without a visual observer,” Furey said. “So aircraft can operate beyond visual line of sight of the operator right now, unmanned aircraft, but often the FAA requires them to have a visual observer, so somebody is always looking out for traffic around that drone. This technology will enable, and is capable right now of enabling, the drone itself to recognize traffic around it and to avoid it.” 

This technology uses the next generation of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) alert and collision avoidance system, TCAS, Furey said. TCAS uses transponder frequencies and Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) to coordinate between manned aircraft to avoid collisions. The new system, ACAS X, improves on TCAS technology and can be used by other types of aircraft. 

“TCAS is designed for, call it a 777 or an Airbus A320 or something like that, it provides cooperative collision avoidance, but it expects ground speed greater than 100 knots, it expects the ability of the aircraft to climate 2,500 feet per minute, and now you’ve got unmanned aircraft that can’t do those things and helicopters have never been able to do those kinds of things,” Furey said. “So ACAS X has versions, not only ACAS XA, which is just like TCAS from for normal commercial aircraft or whatever, but it has ACAS XU that’s been approved, and that’s for a larger fixed-wing aircraft greater than 55 pounds.” 

Furey said that the FAA is also working on different versions of ACAS for UAS under 55 pounds — ACAS SXU — and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft — ACAS XR.

During these demonstrations, Sagetech was able to work with the TCAS program office to implement ACAS XR logic onto a very small device, Furey said. 

“We have a small transponder and then an interrogator that validates ADS-B,” Furey said. “So this was the first time we were able to take all of that, put it in the air, and do a flight test to see how the logic is working.” 

Sagetech ran two different types of flight trials for this: manned and unmanned. They first trialed the technology on two manned Piper Archers with one aircraft’s pilot following guidance from the system that was relayed through a passenger, Furey said. 

“There’s two types of warnings or commands if you will,” Furey said. “So the first is, if it recognizes that there’s an aircraft that’s a potential risk of collision but not anything imminent, it gives what’s called a remain well clear advisory. So then the pilot…gets a warning that says hey you better remain well clear of this thing. So our device did that.”

The second command happens within what Furey calls “the well-clear bubble.” 

Sagetech’s software provides traffic display and ACAS collision avoidance. (Sagetech)

“The logic defines a kind of an aspirin-shaped bubble around every aircraft that is its safety bubble called the remain well clear volume, and if it looks like that is going to be penetrated, then it gives what’s called a collision avoidance maneuver or a resolution advisory that you now have to follow,” Furey said. 

The manned test was successful, so Sagetech moved onto unmanned testing with a UAV Factory Penguin C UAS, Furey said. The UAS, which is about 55 pounds, flew against a Cessna 172. 

“The system performed as expected, as well,” Furey said. “So, the system was put through multiple encounter sets. When expected, the system provided the ground control operator with the symbology that said ‘hey, you’ve got a potential collision, you should remain clear.’ Then, sometimes purposely, we drove that encounter set to that imminent collision situation where it gave the collision avoidance command that says you have to do this to avoid a collision. So in all cases, the logic appeared to do what it was supposed to.” 

Furey said one of the big takeaways from the demonstration was the ability to provide a much smaller system that could be used in smaller aircraft. 

“From our perspective what we proved is that we can appropriately shrink the size of these systems,” Furey said. “So a TCAS box might be the size of cinder block and weigh 10 or 15 pounds, you can’t put that on a small drone.” 

Sagetech’s system was able to fit inside the Penguin UAS resembles a small box the size of an iPhone with a little computer attached, which Furey said will eventually be included inside the small box. 

This system can be used for commercial or military applications. Furey said the company is able to modify the system for military applications like including its military IFF product which is essentially an encrypted transponder that can tell a drone if an aircraft is friendly or not. 

Furey said the company is now working to incorporate new sensors on the DAA system like radar, EO/IO camera input, or acoustic input that could allow the system to recognize and avoid traffic even if the other aircraft is not equipped with a transponder. 

While Sagetech is working on improving its own products, Furey said that DAA technology is not the only critical technology involved in BVLOS flight. 

“The holy grail, right, is beyond visual line of sight flight of unmanned aircraft and collision avoidance, detect and avoid, is a critical technology for that,” Furey said. “We’re also working to make sure that we can appropriately equip aircraft onboard with this technology, right, and that’s because in theory, you could control all airspace from the ground, however, the challenges there are safety and risk. So not only is detect and avoid critical technology command and control is a critical technology.” 

The post Sagetech Demonstrates Successful Test of DAA System Using ACAS Algorithms appeared first on Aviation Today.

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What’s Trending in Aerospace – August 1, 2021

Check out the Aug. 1 edition of What’s Trending in Aerospace, where editors and contributors for Avionics International bring you some of the latest headlines and updates happening across the global aerospace industry.

Commercial 

Boeing Begins Rebound, Turns A Profit On Higher Sales

On Wednesday July 28 Boeing showed it is on the way back, from pandemic lows posting strong sales and a profit in the second quarter as it increased aircraft deliveries and passengers in some domestic markets resume flying.

Sales increased 44 percent to $17 billion from $11.8 billion a year ago largely on the back of its Commercial Airplanes segment as the company delivered more aircraft to its customers. The services and defense businesses also reported top line gains.

“While we still have a ways to go before a full rebound, it is encouraging to see the commercial market improving, enabled by continued vaccine distribution and increasing travel demand, particularly in domestic markets,” Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s president and CEO, said in a message to employees posted on the company’s website. “Going forward, we will closely monitor case rates, vaccine distribution, travel protocols and global trade as key indicators for recovery.”

Calhoun said 2021 is proving to be an “inflection point” in its recovery.

“We are turning a corner and the recover is gaining momentum,” he said on the company’s earnings call.

Boeing reported $567 million in net income, $1 earnings per share (EPS) versus a $2.4 billion ($4.20 EPS) loss a year ago. Excluding various pension adjustments, core earnings were 40 cents EPS versus a $4.79 EPS loss a year ago, well above the 83 cents EPS loss that analysts were forecasting.

Defense sales increased 4 percent to $6.9 billion on higher volume on the KC-46A and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

The commercial airplanes business posted $6 billion in sales, up 268 percent as aircraft deliveries nearly tripled to 79 planes, and a $472 million operating loss versus a $2.8 billion loss a year ago.

CNN: Jet Fuel Shortage at Some US Airports Caused by Lack of Pipeline Space

According to a July 27 report published by CNN Business, some airports based on the western U.S. are facing jet fuel shortages mainly caused by a lack of pipeline space and tank truck drivers.

“At several western US airports, there’s not enough jet fuel to meet the increased demand for leisure travel,” the report says. “Part of the problem is the shortage of tank truck drivers needed to deliver fuel. An estimated 20% of tankers nationwide are parked due to a lack of qualified drivers, according to an industry trade group. That shortage has already been affecting gas stations. But airlines and airports are also struggling to get the fuel they need because pipelines shifted away from carrying jet fuel when air travel ground to a near halt last year. Now jet fuel isn’t getting the pipeline space it needs to keep up with the recent surge in air travel.”

Boeing Publishes First Aerospace Sustainability Report

Boeing on July 26 released its first Sustainability Report. In the report, the company shares its vision for the future of sustainable aerospace, establishes broad sustainability goals and highlights environmental, social and governance (ESG) progress in alignment with global sustainability standards, according to a July 26 press release.

“In September 2020, amidst a global pandemic, Boeing formed a Sustainability organization dedicated to advancing our ESG efforts across the enterprise. As we continue on this journey, we are pleased to publish our first comprehensive report, focused on stakeholder responsiveness and data transparency,” Boeing Chief Sustainability Officer Chris Raymond said in the release. “We know there’s still work to do and are committed to communicating our progress and holding ourselves accountable to ensure the aerospace industry is safe and sustainable for generations to come.”

Check out the full report here.

Avelo Airlines Gets GE Digital Safety Solution 

Avelo Airlines will begin using GE Digital’s flight data monitoring and processing solution to optimize safety, according to a July 29 press release. 

GE Digital’s Electronic Flight Operation Quality Assurance (eFOQA) uses algorithms to provide analytics and data processing, according to the release. The eFOQA will use flight data to create higher safety and efficiency standards. 

“GE Digital industrial software helps our customers embrace the future of flight through sustainable operations, applying proven aviation practices to emerging technologies, and adapting to an increasingly digital world,” Andrew Coleman, General Manager of GE Digital’s Aviation Software business, said in a statement. “We are delivering breakthrough business outcomes for our aviation customers in safety, sustainability, fuel efficiency, predictive maintenance, and pilot performance.” 

Business & GA

First Sustainable Wings Certification Goes to Gulfstream 

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) has awarded its first Sustainable Wings Certification to Gulfstream after the company flew a roundtrip record-setting flight from Savannah, GA to San Francisco, CA and back, according to a July 29 release. 

“Aviation must become more sustainable and is becoming more sustainable,” Greg Principato, President of NAA, said in a statement. “As the official record keeper of American aviation for more than a century it is incumbent on NAA to recognize this and to encourage the use of sustainable fuels and practices.  A more sustainable industry is an industry with a bright future.  We believe this program is one of many initiatives that will encourage a more sustainable industry.”

A company can earn the Sustainable Wings Certification by setting records using sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), according to the release. 

“Gulfstream and the National Aeronautic Association share a commitment to demonstrate environmentally friendly practices in the business aviation industry,” Mark Burns, president of Gulfstream, said in a statement. “Being the first to achieve a ‘Sustainable Wings’ certification on a speed record is a reflection of that commitment and illustrates SAF’s ease of use, which helps us raise its visibility as part of our efforts to increase availability around the world.” 

Skye Aviation Purchases 15 eFlyer 800 Aircraft 

The eFlyer 800 program is aiming to provide a regional all-electric airplane with lower operating costs and no CO2 emissions. (Bye Aerospace)

Skye Aviation, an aircraft leasing company, has purchased 15 of Bye Aerospace’s eFlyer 800 aircraft, the company announced on July 29. 

“Skye Aviation is the first all-electric aircraft leasing company in the world” George E. Bye, CEO of Bye Aerospace, said in a statement. “We are honored by their selection of the eFlyer 800 to be the foundation for their fleet, and we applaud their forward-reaching strategy. Momentum for electric aviation continues to grow at an incredible pace.”

The eFlyer 800 program is aiming to provide a regional all-electric airplane with lower operating costs and no CO2 emissions, according to the release. 

“Skye Aviation is thrilled to be the world’s first all-electric aircraft leasing firm and to be able to exclusively offer Bye Aerospace’s eFlyer family of eCTOL aircraft,” Carol Johnson with Skye Aviation, said in a statement. “Skye fully supports sustainable, safe aviation leasing solutions for our customers while at the same time slashing eCTOL operating costs, aircraft noise, maintenance and supply requirements efforts. We embrace innovation that offers our customers far less capital-intensive solutions for training, passenger, air cargo, private, business, and military operations. In this sense, we all win.” 

Military 

Airbus Sees Stable Revenues in Defense and Space in First Half of 2021 

Revenues at Airbus Defence and Space were flat in the second quarter of 2021, at 2.4 billion euros ($2.9 billion), compared to the same quarter in 2020.

This was in line with the division’s Q1 results as well, and the division reported flat revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in the first half of the year. Defence and Space raised its adjusted EBIT in the first half of the year, up 23 percent to 229 million euros ($272 million).

The company highlighted that revenues at Airbus Defence and Space were broadly stable compared to last year, with two A400M military airlifters delivered in the first half.

Net order intake for the division was down in the first half of the year, at 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion). This is down 37 percent compared to the first half of 2020.

Company-wide, Airbus reported a 70 percent increase in revenue from the same time last year. The company said this was mainly driven by the higher commercial aircraft deliveries at Airbus and higher revenues at Airbus Helicopters. Revenue was 14.2 billion euros ($16.9 billion).

“These half-year results reflect the commercial aircraft deliveries, our focus on cost containment and competitiveness, and the good performance in Helicopters and Defence and Space. Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the numerous actions taken by the teams have delivered a strong H1 performance. This enables us to raise our 2021 guidance although we continue to face an unpredictable environment,” commented Airbus Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury.

Defense, Commercial Power Raytheon Technologies To Strong Second Quarter 

Raytheon Technologies Corp. on Tuesday reported strong second quarter financial results, buoyed by the company’s defense businesses and a rebound in the commercial aerospace market as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic wane somewhat.

Net income swung to a $1 billion, 68 cents earnings per share (EPS) profit versus a $3.8 billion ($2.55 EPS) loss a year ago when the pandemic was raging. Excluding discontinued operations, acquisition accounting adjustments and non-recurring charges, adjusted net income of $1.6 billion ($1.03 EPS) was up 168 percent and topped consensus estimates by 10 cents per share.

Sales in the quarter of $15.9 billion were 13 percent higher than $14.1 billion a year ago with 10 percent of the growth organic.

Based on first half results and ongoing trends, RTC increased its outlook for earnings, sales and free cash flow for 2021. The guidance for sales was increased by $500 million on the low end of the range to between $64.4 billion and $65.4 billion, with gains driven primarily by the Collins Aerospace segment followed by the other three operating groups.

MQ-4C Triton Flies with IFC-4 for the First Time 

Triton takes first flight with IFC-4 intelligence configuration. (Northrop)

Northrop Grumman’s high-altitude long-endurance (HALE), maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform the MQ-4C Triton flew for the first time with the intelligence configuration IFC-4, according to a July 30 release from the company. 

“The multi-intelligence configuration of Triton will completely revolutionize how the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force conduct maritime patrol and reconnaissance missions,” Doug Shaffer, vice president and program manager of Triton programs at Northrop Grumman, said in a statement. “Multi-intelligence capabilities, coupled with Triton’s long-range sensors and 24-hour endurance, will enable an unprecedented amount of maritime situational awareness to inform real-time decision making at tactical to strategic levels.”

eVTOLs

Airbus Releases New Video of CityAirbus eVTOL

CityAirbus is Airbus’ urban air mobility demonstrator aircraft. (screenshot from Airbus’ post)

Airbus Helicopters released a new video of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, CityAirbus, in a social media post on July 29. 

CityAirbus is Airbus’ urban air mobility demonstrator aircraft. The aircraft has a takeoff weight of 2,310 kg and can carry four passengers. It also uses a distributed drive system. 

Archer and Atlas Crest Reduce Valuation by 38% 

Archer debuted its first demonstrator aircraft, Maker, during an immersive event in Los Angeles, California on June 10 where they used movie production technology and a 2,4000 sq ft XR volume space to simulate the aircraft in flight. (screenshot taken from the event video)

Archer, the air taxi developer, and Atlas Crest Investment Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, have revised the valuation of their previously announced transaction from $2.7 billion to $1.7 billion, according to a July 29 release from the company. 

“We are focused on building not just an electric aircraft, but a sustainable, enduring eVTOL ecosystem, and having tremendous investor support and momentum is critical to our near- and long-term success,” Brett Adcock, Archer co-founder and co-CEO, said in a statement. “Today’s announcement reflects our commitment to transparency and shareholder alignment now and into the future. We are making this bold move to ensure our eVTOL market leadership.”

Archer also announced the addition of Oscar Munoz, former United Airlines chairman and CEO, to its board, according to the release. 

Volocopter Takes to the Skies at EAA AirVenture 

Volocopter’s eVTOL performed a test flight during the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) AIrVenture 2021 convention in OshKosh, Wisconsin.

German startup Volocopter’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), Volocopter 2X, completed the first ever publicly crewed test flight of an eVTOL in the U.S., during the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture 2021 event in Wisconsin.

The crewed Volocopter 2X took off at 2:45 PM CST for a 4-minute flight at ~164 ft and a top speed of 18 mph over Wittman Regional Airport as part of EAA’s AirVenture aviation celebration. Event attendees were able to watch the Volocopter 2X fly and take a seat in the VoloCity model at Volocopter’s booth to experience these aircraft.

“Volocopter successfully conducting the first US public manned test flight of an eVTOL company in the US is a milestone for the industry and a reminder that our commercial launch is fast approaching. We can talk about our lead in certification, low noise emissions, and global partnerships all we want, but nothing shows just how close we are to launch UAM as a service as does flying an air taxi in front of crowds and inviting people to sit in our aircraft. Air taxis are coming, and we are working to bring electric flights to cities around the globe in the next two to three years,” Florian Reuter, Volocopter CEO said in a statement.

Space

Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson to Speak at SATELLITE 2021

Less than two months after captivating global audiences with a trip into suborbital space, Virgin GroupFounder Sir Richard Branson will appear at the SATELLITE 2021 Conference to share stories from his experience and his views on the future of commercial space development. Branson will deliver SATELLITE 2021’s opening general session keynote address on Thursday, September 9 at 8:30 a.m. EDT at the Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

Branson made his first virtual appearance at SATELLITE’s 2015 event in a video address to attendees announcing his plans to develop Virgin Galactic into commercial suborbital space travel company.

AST SpaceMobile to Launch Demo Satellite With SpaceX

AST SpaceMobile will launch the prototype satellite BlueWalker 3 for its space-to-cell network on a SpaceX rocket in March 2022. The company announced the launch agreement on July 29.

Describing its BlueWalker 3 test satellite, AST SpaceMobile said it has an aperture of 693 square feet and is designed to communicate directly with cell phones via 3GPP standard frequencies. AST SpaceMobile is working to launch satellites that can communicate directly with standard cell phones to create a broadband network to eliminate connectivity gaps.

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Airbus Targets 2025 for A350 Freighter

Airbus is launching a freighter version of the A350, pictured here in a passenger to freighter configuration preparing for a June 2 flight carrying COVID-19 supplies to New Delhi, India. (Airbus)

Airbus is developing a version of its wide-body A350 aircraft for the commercial air cargo market, according to the half-year results posted by the Toulouse-based manufacturer on July 29.

Revenue increased 30 percent in the first half of the year for Airbus, up to €24.6 billion from €18.9 billion during the same period in 2020. The company is also updating its outlook for 2021, projecting a total of 600 commercial aircraft deliveries, up from 566, and an operating income of 4 billion euros.

While the guidance was updated, Airbus included a cautionary statement that it assumes “no further disruptions to the world economy, air traffic, the Company’s internal operations.” Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury believes the freighter version of the A350 will be an attractive new option to air cargo operators.

“It is our ambition to continuously adapt and evolve our product in line with customer needs, as an example we did it with the A321XLR back in 2019. In that period and following positive customer feedback we obtained the board of directors approval for the freighter derivative of our well-established A350 platform,” Faury said. “Based on the efficiency of the A350, the freighter version is planned to deliver lower fuel burn compared to freighter versions of that size, for example around 20 percent less fuel burn compared to twins, 20 percent less compared to tri-jets, and 40 percent less compared to quads, four-engine planes.”

Faury said the A350 freighter will be compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) CO₂ design certification emissions standard when it becomes effective in 2028. No other major design or performance details were released by Airbus about the A350 freighter during the call.

According to Faury, Airbus is still assessing market demand for the new A350 variant and has not yet arrived at a set production rate but will build its development into existing A350 assembly lines.

“The beauty of that program is that it will be embedded into the A350 production system, so we don’t need to plan for individual rates with the freighter. It’s a commonality with the [A350] dash 900 and dash 1000. The production rates will depend upon the success of the program at a later stage,” Faury said.

The newest variant of the A350 will become a direct competitor to Boeing’s 767 and 777 aircraft, which have both dominated the air cargo segment of the commercial air transportation market over the last decade. Boeing has not committed to launching a freighter version of its 777X—the re-engined 777 variant is scheduled to enter service by 2023—although CEO David Calhoun said that aircraft type would be ideal.

“We need to develop a new ICAO compliant freighter version opportunity. I circle the 777Xs, the logical place for that and the smart place to do that,” Calhoun said during Boeing’s second-quarter earnings call. “Without suggesting that we’ve already launched and/or that we have one plan by the day, we’re confident and I’m confident that that might be the next of our programs. And it will be an incredible freighter with incredible long-term advantages for our major customers. So anyway, that’s where we stand.”

The decision by Airbus to launch the A350 freighter came a day after the International Air Transport Association (IATA) published data showing that air cargo airlines collectively experienced their strongest half-year performance since 2017.

Global demand for air cargo during the first six months of 2021 increased by 8 percent above the same period in 2019, according to IATA.

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Will You Be on the First Air Taxi?

Wisk’s eVTOL aircraft, has been flying since 2017 and has a range of 25 miles with speeds up around 100 miles per hour. (photo courtesy of Wisk)

It’s 2024 and the first air taxi has just received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) – or both. This new transformative technology is promising decreased travel times, zero emissions, and affordable travel to customers. The only question left to ask is who gets to go first?  

While air taxis will provide a bespoke travel option, they incorporate aspects of transport available to commuters today, so its first passengers will most likely be those who utilize those methods of transport now—think people who use helicopters, small private aircraft, and ride-hailing services. According to industry experts and air taxi companies, the first air taxi passengers will be tech-savvy business travelers, tourists or micro-explorers located in dense metro areas. 

“I think the very early adopters will be the ones where it’s going to be easy to put the product into place, and where it basically mirrors things we already have, right,” Robin Riedel, a partner at McKinsey & Company who published a recent study on consumers views of advanced air mobility, told AAR. “So that could be flying into airports, basically taking over from helicopter routes for eVTOL routes or where we don’t need brand new ground infrastructure on both ends of the journey, where we don’t need to get people to do things that they haven’t really done the same way that they did before.” 

The planned launch cities for many air taxi companies are reflecting these views. 

Archer’s demonstrator eVTOL aircraft, Maker, will begin test flights this year. (Archer)

Archer will be concentrating on deploying its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in dense cities and already has partnerships with Los Angeles and Miami, a company representative told AAR. Archer’s eVTOL uses distributed electric propulsion with 12 electric motors and six independent battery packs, the company announced in the recent debut of its demonstrator aircraft, Maker. The aircraft will have a 60-mile range with speeds up to 150 mph. 

“We are redefining transportation for generations to come, leading the fourth transportation revolution,” the representative from Archer said. “We are concentrating on partnering with cities that are in need of a traffic density release effort. The reality is, modern transportation infrastructure cannot support surging urban populations – and cities don’t have adequate space to extend roadways to meet current and future demands. Simply put, cities are overdue for transformation on a global scale.” 

Archer describes its first passengers as people looking for fast, safe, and environmentally friendly travel. The company says these passengers will be micro-explorers who are looking to create experiences from their travel. 

“We believe in the age of the micro-explorer,” a representative from Archer told Advanced Aviation Report. “Micro-exploration is a new way of life, putting soul-satisfying adventure at your fingertips and creating transformative travel experiences each day —even if you’re just commuting to work. From a hike in the mountains after work to a weekend trip to a peaceful cabin or even a new city, micro-explorers will use Archer to discover and explore their cities at previously unobtainable levels.”

A rendering of the 7-Seater eVTOL jet which shows the 36 ducted fans. (Lilium)

Lilium, a German air taxi manufacturer, has announced launch plans that align with Riedel’s analysis with operational hubs at Munich and Nuremberg airports in Germany. The company also announced plans to launch operations in the U.S. in Florida. Lilium’s 7-Seater Jet is designed for efficient regional air mobility with ranges between 40 and 200 kilometers at speeds up to 300 kph. 

Wisk, who is developing an autonomous electric air taxi, is predicting its first passengers will vary across demographics like income and age but will likely lean towards people who already frequently travel. Cora, Wisk’s eVTOL aircraft, has been flying since 2017 and has a range of 25 miles with speeds up around 100 miles per hour. Wisk is currently working on demonstrations with NASA to find solutions to integrate autonomous aircraft into the national airspace.  

“Our research shows that there’s high interest across a wide range of consumer groups, with similar interest levels across a range of demographics, from income levels, ethnicities, commute duration, age, etc,” a representative from Wisk told AAR. “However, we’ve found that early adopters — those most interested in the concept of air taxis — skew toward those that are frequent travelers, tech-savvy, and living in metro areas.” 

These travelers will use eVTOL aircraft for work travel, commuting, and personal use, according to Wisk.  

“We see a variety of potential use cases for air taxi service and validated those assumptions with customer research,” Wisk’s representative said. “The data tells us that the majority of consumers would use an air taxi for work travel, whether out of town for work, around town for work, or commuting to/ from work. It also shows many would also use them for personal use and sheer fun, whether they are meeting friends, traveling to appointments or obligations, or running personal errands.” 

Time savings is one of the biggest benefits air taxi companies are advertising to potential customers and studies show that this will be a top motivator for consumers. In the study from Riedel, over 30 percent of consumers across multiple countries cited quicker travel times as a motivator for using advanced air mobility vehicles. 

“Imagine a world where you are not constrained by traffic — where you can travel from San Francisco to San Jose in 30 minutes rather than two hours, or from Manhattan to JFK in just ten minutes,” Archer’s representative said. “There are millions of daily commuters that will need this service to go to and from work in an affordable, timely manner.” 

Air taxi companies will distinguish their aircraft from already available means of transport like helicopters or private aviation by claiming that their product will be available to a broader audience. However, this will require companies to expand beyond the initial base of passengers who may already be eager to jump into an air taxi. 

“One of our fundamental beliefs is that air taxi services should be accessible to all and our goal is to ensure that anyone that wants to experience everyday flight has the ability to do so,” Wisk’s representative said. “In addition to safety, saving riders time and reliability are a few of the benefits that will drive and expand adoption.” 

Air taxi companies’ strategies for introducing their products to the wider public revolve around education through partnerships with public and private stakeholders such as local governments. 

“In the years leading up to our commercial launch, we will work with our partnered cities to help educate city dwellers on the benefits of an eVTOL system, how they work, and why they are a superior travel option both inconvenience and safety,” Archer’s representative said. 

Volocopter’s VoloConnect will be one of two eVTOLs the company plans to release. (Volocopter)

Some companies have already started exposing the public to their aircraft. Volocopter, the German company creating an urban air mobility ecosystem, is showcasing its aircraft at public events so people can see them for themselves. Volocopter is developing two air taxis: VoloCity for inner-city missions and VoloConnect for intra-city missions. 

“Public acceptance is key when introducing new technologies,” a representative from Volocopter told AAR. “This is why Volocopter has put a focus on educating the public about Urban Air Mobility by giving as many opportunities as possible to the public to witness air taxis and urban air mobility. Most prominent examples are our flights in Singapore, Stuttgart, Helsinki, and recently Paris.”

Air taxis will also have to be affordable to enable the wide public adoption that companies are predicting. Archer is estimating its service will cost around $3.30 per seat-mile at launch and decrease as more aircraft enter the market. 

“Archer’s business model is similar to Uber, Lyft, and other companies looking to make mass transportation more accessible,” Archer’s representative said. “We plan to launch with a pricing structure on par with that of an UberX.” 

Consumers’ most important concern about these vehicles is safety. According to Riedel’s study published by McKinsey & Company, 60 percent of respondents cited safety as a top concern about advanced air mobility vehicles. 

Companies are prepared to answer these concerns by citing their vehicle’s redundant systems and cooperation with respected regulators. 

“Regarding safety education is a key topic to help people understand the steps we take to ensure our aircraft is safe – from years of testing experience, to most importantly the very high entry barrier of being certified by the EASA,” Volocopter’s representative said. “There will be no air taxi player flying in cities that has not proven their safety level to the regulator. That being said, we are also certifying against the highest safety standards in aviation with EASAs SC-VTOL category enhanced aiming at 10^-9 safety levels: one fatal accident in one billion flight hours.” 

However, it will probably be hard to have complete clarity on the public perception of this technology before it is actually in use, Riedel said. 

“I think the challenge is, we just don’t know, right,” Riedel said. “I mean people on both sides of the argument are like it’s going to be really hard to convince people to go but people can also say well we used to have operators in elevators, right? People were scared of elevators…To be honest, I don’t know. I think it will come down to are there any big public-facing accidents early on that will get people worried.” 

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Joby Completes Longest eVTOL Test Flight to Date

Joby’s eVTOL aircraft completed its longest test flight yet with an 150 mile flight. (Joby)

The electric air taxi company Joby Aero completed its longest test flight to date of its full-scale prototype aircraft flying over 150 miles on a single charge of the company’s lithium-ion batteries, the company announced on July 27. 

“We’ve achieved something that many thought impossible with today’s battery technology,”  JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, said in a statement.  “By doing so we’ve taken the first step towards making convenient, emissions-free air travel between places like San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, Houston and Austin, or Los Angeles and San Diego an everyday reality.”

The flight lasted for one hour and 17 minutes and was completed on a circuit at the company’s flight base in Big Sur, California. Joby’s chief test pilot Justin Paines completed a vertical takeoff and then forward flight on the circuit completing 11 laps in total. 

“We’ve been building up to this for several months now, flying progressively longer sorties,” Paines said in a statement. “As we’ve extended the range, we’ve been able to identify modifications to the aircraft that improve efficiency and, for the final few tests, we were able to upgrade the landing gear on our prototype aircraft to one with a drag profile more representative of what we expect to see on our production aircraft.” 

The aircraft uses commercially available lithium-ion batteries, an 811 NMC cathode, and a graphite anode cell, according to the release. In an email to Aviation Today, a representative from the company said the aircraft still had reserves following the flight but could not reveal the amount. 

Joby wants to launch its eVTOL aircraft commercially in 2024. (Joby)

“Since the day I joined Joby four years ago, we’ve worked hard to maximize the energy efficiency of this aircraft and prove what we have always known to be possible with today’s battery technology,” Jon Wagner, head of powertrain and electronics at Joby, said in a statement. “With the right cell chemistry and a lot of hard work across the entire engineering team, we’ve been able to create a remarkably efficient aircraft that can make the most of today’s commercially available batteries.”

The company could not share details on the charging time for this flight but said their goal is to be able to charge the aircraft in the time it takes to unload and load passengers. 

Joby’s eVTOL uses fly-by-wire technology to simplify operations and reduce pilot workload. 

“The Joby aircraft is unlike the complex controls in a helicopter, which require a pilot’s hands and feet,” a representative from the company said via an emailed statement. “We’ve incorporated unified controls which means the pilot only has to manage one directional controller and one acceleration controller. There are no rudder pedals and if the pilot lets go entirely, the aircraft stabilizes on its own. If the pilot selects the ‘decelerate to hover shortcut button, the aircraft automatically brings itself into a hover over the landing zone. Finally, ‘automated envelope protection’ mitigates pilot error by inhibiting commands that exceed safe operating limits.” 

Joby has agreed to a G-1 certification basis with the Federal Aviation Administration for type certification of its aircraft which it hopes to receive by 2023 to prepare for a commercial launch in 2024. The company has also announced on July 29 that it will be seeking a Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate that will allow its aircraft to operate in cities and communities in the U.S. 

“We’re excited to reach this milestone on the path toward becoming the first eVTOL airline in the world,” Joby’s head of air operations Bonny Simi said in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with the FAA as we prepare to welcome passengers to a new kind of air travel — one that is environmentally friendly, quiet enough to operate close to cities and communities, and will save people valuable time.” 

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Boeing Awaits FAA Decision on Requirements for In-Service 787s

Boeing is awaiting a decision from the FAA that would potentially require modifications to in-service 787s, such as the Singapore Airlines 787-10 pictured here, related to a manufacturing flaw that has temporarily lowered the aircraft type’s production rate and delivery schedule. (Boeing)

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told investors Wednesday during the company’s second-quarter earnings call that any decision related to a requirement for in-service 787s to be modified—after a manufacturing flaw was recently discovered on some undelivered Dreamliners—will be left up to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The second quarter was the first profitable one for Boeing since the beginning of 2020, with sales increasing to $17 billion, up from $11.8 billion during the same period a year ago driven by more commercial aircraft deliveries. Boeing’s commercial airplanes business posted $6 billion in sales, up 268 percent as aircraft deliveries nearly tripled to 79 planes, and a $472 million operating loss versus a $2.8 billion loss a year ago.

On July 13, Boeing temporarily lowered the production rate of the 787 and stopped delivering the aircraft due to small gaps identified in the forward pressure bulkhead. The company’s chief executive answered several analyst questions concerning their progress in resolving the manufacturing flaw.

“That’s a determination that has to be made with the FAA, and most of this in light of the fact that the safety margins on the structural elements of our airplanes is huge. So, it’s not the world’s easiest set of analyses to go through and our teams have taken their shot at it. They go through the FAA in great detail. And so, I don’t really know the answer to that,” Calhoun said, responding to an analyst question about whether a retrofit will be necessary for in-service 787s. “But the ideal for all of us is to just incorporate it into ongoing maintenance schedules of the airlines. So that is that’s our hope and desire and sort of anyway, but I’m going to leave it to the FAA and our ultimate conclusions between those two teams as to just what happens on that front.”

There are 100 total 787s currently in Boeing’s undelivered inventory, according to Calhoun. The company expects to deliver fewer than half of those this year.

“We’re progressing through these inspections and rework, including the additional work we shared earlier this month. We continue to engage in detailed discussions with the FAA on verification methodologies for the 787. And based on our assessment of the time required, we’re reprioritizing production resources for a few weeks to support the inspection and rework,” Calhoun said.

In an emailed statement to Avionics International, the FAA confirmed that it was made aware of a manufacturing quality issue near the nose of certain 787s in Boeing’s undelivered inventory. The agency also says that the issue poses no immediate threat to flight safety, however, it is still determining whether some modifications should be made on 787s that are already in service.

Calhoun also stressed that while Boeing is working with the FAA on verification methodologies for 787 fuselages, the identification of the manufacturing flaw and decision to stop deliveries was internally driven by safety protocols and some of the identified components not meeting the company’s design tolerances.

“This is not the FAA getting tough on Boeing. This is Boeing getting tough on Boeing,” Calhoun said. “How do you do it? Well, you have teams inside our suppliers working on process control development understanding of exactly why that spec is necessary and where it is. And on our side, we start putting disciplines in place that make it clear to those supply chains that we’re not going to keep our line running. If we get one that isn’t right. That’s a little bit of what’s going on here.”

Boeing expects the 787 production rate to gradually return to five per month, with the timing of the rate increase dependent on their progress with production stability and delivering the aircraft still in inventory.

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Air Force Could Be Using Air Taxis in 2023

U.S. Air Force leadership watched a manned demonstration of LIFT Aircraft’s single-seat HEXA, one of fifteen companies contracted through Agility Prime’s Air Race to Certification. (Kenneth Swartz / eVTOL.news)

The U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program has been investing in the development of electric air taxis and could have one of these aircraft in use by 2023, Col. Nathan Diller, AFWERX director, said during AUVSI’s virtual Unmanned Systems Defense 2021 keynote on July 28. 

“We’re looking at a variety of different use cases so that by 2023, we are positioned to bring this capability to an operational capability in our Department of the Air Force,” Diller said. 

Since Agility Prime was launched in April of 2020, the program has awarded military airworthiness certificates and over 200 small business technology transfer contracts. 

A LIFT Aircraft electronic vertical takeoff and landing aircraft sits on a trailer at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Texas, March 24, 2021. The eVTOL was transported from Ohio to Texas by the 79th Rescue Squadron as part of an ongoing relationship between industry partners and Air Force units that are working together to develop emerging technologies in support of tomorrow’s fight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob T. Stephens)

In December of 2020, Agility Prime awarded the first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) military airworthiness to Joby Aviation, now Joby Aero. Now, four companies—Joby, Lift, Beta Technologies, and Kitty Hawk—all have military airworthiness certificates. Diller said these certificates help to reduce regulatory risk and allow the military to compensate companies for test flights. 

“We’re looking to help the regulatory risk reduction and we’ve been able to show that just over the last year, with four of our aircraft going through our Air Force airworthiness processes,” Diller said. “We had first Joby followed by Lift, Beta, and most recently Kitty Hawk…These early flight test opportunities, early airworthiness, also gives us an opportunity to pay companies for directed government flight test, so in the near term helping to reduce that financial risk by these early adoption opportunities, early contracts, for the companies that are out there.” 

Agility Prime awarded Beta’s ALIA eVTOL aircraft the first electric aircraft airworthiness certificate for manned flight in May of 2021. 

An Air Force pararescue jump (PJ) expert evaluates how to load a simulated injured survivor or “Rescue Randy” into Kitty Hawk’s Heaviside vehicle as part of a personnel rescue scenario. The event demonstrated dual-use capability for civil and government applications. (Kitty Hawk)

“Achieving the first manned airworthiness authorization in the Agility Prime program is a key milestone,” Diller said in a statement in May. “This not only unlocks the opportunity to begin Air Force directed manned flight tests, but it also shows the high level of maturity of this technology and the high level of maturity of Agility Prime partner companies like BETA.”

The program also conducted its first operational exercise in May with an experiment with Kitty Hawk looking at medical evacuation uses for these aircraft. 

“In just May of this year, working with Kitty Hawk, and looking with our operators to see what would it look like to do medical evacuation with vehicles like this, [to] provide first responders with these vehicles and seeing, they’re really are true dual-use capability,” Diller said. “Seeing that something that is compliant, that supports Americans with disabilities, also is very helpful for a downed pilot.” 

These aircraft will allow the Air Force to conduct operations without the necessity of a runway, Diller said. The Air Force is also interested in investing in these platforms to develop autonomy and electric technologies. 

“In the department Air Force, we are indeed interested in being able to conduct operations away from the runway, and in order to do that, we’ve looked at a variety of vertical takeoff and landing concepts and like the commercial sector,” Diller said. “We are very excited about the potential for reduced operations and sustainment costs, opportunities for large economies of scale in production to make a relatively low-cost vertical takeoff and landing platform, opportunities for simplified vehicle operations or autonomy that would allow near term of reduced risk to life through augmentation for pilots and potentially, eventually but potentially, not having to have those pilots necessarily in the aircraft at all. How can we help lead that autonomy industry? We’re very excited about electrification and everything that electrification has to offer.” 

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Lilium Announces New Partnership to Manufacture Batteries for its eVTOL Aircraft

Lilium’s 7-Seater Jet is designed for regional air mobility and will have ranges between 40 kilometers and 200 kilometers. (Lilium)

The German electric air taxi company Lilium announced a new partnership with battery manufacturer CUSTOMCELLS to provide batteries for Lilium’s 7-Seater Jet, the company said in a July 28 press release. 

This partnership will allow for the industrialized production of lithium-ion batteries for Lilium’s air taxi operations. CUSTOMCELLS will use Lilium’s licensed technology to produce batteries for the 7-Seater Jet at its Tübingen location, according to the release. CUSTOMCELLS will work with an equipment manufacturer, Manz AG, on this effort. 

“With their extensive experience of designing and producing customized high-performance Li-Ion batteries for automotive and aviation applications, CUSTOMCELLS is an ideal partner to manufacture aerospace-quality battery cells for our jet,” Daniel Wiegand, co-founder and CEO of Lilium, said in a statement. “They have already set up manufacturing of silicon anode batteries for several of their customers. We are excited to be working alongside another next-generation company like CUSTOMCELLS.”

CUSTOMCELLS announced a recent partnership with Porsche to produce silicon-anode batteries, according to the release. 

“On the basis of flexible manufacturing concepts, CUSTOMCELLS guarantees high-tech solutions for special applications and tailor-made production of electrodes, electrolytes and battery cells with an outstanding quality and traceability approach, depending on the customer’s requirements profile,” Leopold König, co-founder and CEO of CUSTOMCELLS, said in a statement. “This partnership will bring two leading German innovators together and underlines the strength of the German manufacturing and tech ecosystem.”

Lilium’s 7-Seater Jet is designed for regional air mobility and will have ranges between 40 kilometers and 200 kilometers. The aircraft will use a distributed propulsion system with 36 embedded ducted fans. Lilium is partnering with Honeywell for avionics and flight control systems for the 7-Seater Jet. 

The 7-Seater Jet will operate in Europe and the U.S. Lilium has a partnership with Luxaviation Group to build out an eVTOL network in Europe and has announced plans to develop up to 14 vertiports in Florida. Lilium is expecting to certify its aircraft in 2024. 

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Avidyne Uses Daedalean AI Software in New PilotEye Vision System

Avidyne and Daedalean are bringing a new artificial intelligence-based cockpit vision system, PilotEye, to the general aviation aircraft market. (Daedalean)

A new cockpit vision system featuring artificial intelligence-based software from Daedalean, PilotEye, was introduced by Avidyne on July 26, the first day of the 2021 Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) 2021 AirVenture convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

PilotEye is the first avionics system Avidyne is bringing to the general aviation aircraft market in partnership with Daedalean, the Switzerland-based company that has been working on developing certifiable artificial intelligence software for safety-critical communications, navigation, and surveillance applications. The two companies first started experimenting with flight testing of their neural network software on a Cessna 180 in 2019, and are now ready to prepare PilotEye for certification.

“Through this symbiotic partnership, we are combining the industry-leading artificial intelligence neural network software and certification methodology pioneered by Daedalean, with the proven hardware design, manufacturing and certification expertise here at Avidyne,” Avidyne President, Dan Schwinn said in a July 26 press release.

Daedalean has been working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in recent years on a number of initiatives designed to explain key machine learning software design, development, and verification methods for the use of neural networks in avionics systems. Their most recent effort, Concepts of Design Assurance for Neural Networks (CoDANN) II outlines a new W-shaped model—in place of the traditional V-model— for the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning-enabled avionics hardware and software.

Neural networks are a sub-class of systems within the overall field of machine learning. Experts define neural networks as a computational model, consisting of learning algorithms that function similar to the way neurons within the human brain communicate through synapses to help enable normal bodily functions.

NVIDIA, known for supplying computers for autonomous cars and drones, defines the term as “a biologically inspired computational model that is patterned after the network of neurons present in the human brain” and “can also be thought of as learning algorithms that model the input-output relationship.”

A neural network can be trained to understand the data that it is continuously fed or input, and can then process and generate intelligent decisions or answers to complex problems that engineers have designed the neural network to solve or output.

Daedalean’s neural network functions by taking high-resolution video input extracted in real-time by high-resolution cameras and sends it through a Convolutional Neural Network, which determines whether the images captured by the cameras are part of cooperative or uncooperative traffic. The system can also be used to identify safe landing areas if the pilot encounters an emergency situation.

“Leveraging advanced AI technologies, these solutions will initially include visual-spectrum camera-based systems for visual positioning and traffic detection, hazard avoidance, and landing guidance, as well as providing the data that pilots need for quicker and more-accurate land-anywhere decision-making assistance in the event of emergency,” Avidyne’s Schwinn said.

An overview of the avionics systems architecture for PilotEye provided by Avidyne. (Avidyne)

A March 3 blog post from Daedalean further explains their approach to developing an artificial intelligence-based vision system capable of replicating pilot eyesight, by architecting the system to function in the same way a pilot learns how to fly under visual flight rules.

“Our camera can be mounted under the aircraft, and the neural network can deduce its own position from how the image changes over time. And, separately, it can also recognize static landmarks, such as some unique skyscrapers that constitute the skyline of a city, certain characteristic mountain tops by their shape, or specific lakes and coastlines,” Maria Pirson, a content writer for Daedalean writes in the post.

Avidyne expects to announce pricing and availability for PilotEye “later this year” and will provide more updates about the new technology over the next few months. The two companies have not announced an official timeline yet for regulatory certification and entry into service.

“Certification of safety-critical AI-based systems is a paradigm shift in aviation,” Luuk van Dijk, Daedalean’s founder and CEO said in a statement.  “We are excited to be partnered with Avidyne, who will certify, manufacture, and be the first provider in the aviation market of AI-based safety solutions powered by Daedalean AI software.”

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