Search for:

TXT Joins Iris Program for Satellite-Based Air Traffic Modernization

The Pacelab Flight Profile Optimiser (FPO) from TXT Group will become part of the Iris program, launched by the European Space Agency and powered by the SB-S connectivity platform from Inmarsat. (Photo: TXT)

TXT Group was recently selected as a new partner for Iris, an air traffic management program developed in a public-private partnership launched by the European Space Agency. Iris utilizes satellite technology to modernize air traffic management (ATM). It’s powered by the SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) connectivity platform from Inmarsat, and it enables real-time communication between pilots and air traffic controllers as well as airline operation centers.

In 2023, Iris will enter commercial and operational service in Europe as part of a new phase called Iris Global

TXT will contribute its Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) application, Pacelab Flight Profile Optimiser (FPO), to the Iris program. The Pacelab FPO provides flight recommendations to airlines for cost-efficient operations. According to the announcement from Inmarsat, the FPO uses vertical and lateral route optimization, and more than 1,500 aircraft have already deployed the application.

“We have developed our Pacelab FPO solution to improve the efficiency and environmental sustainability of commercial aviation operations, and Iris provides the most complete and integrated platform to achieve this result,” commented Daniele Misani, CEO of TXT, in response to the company’s new partnership.

Inmarsat recently published findings from its annual survey of more than 11,000 respondents. Passenger confidence in air travel has recovered significantly from the previous year; 83% of respondents reported feeling confident flying in 2022, compared to just 10% of respondents in 2021.

One significant trend from the survey was the increasing importance of in-flight connectivity for passengers in recent years. 55% of respondents in 2018 indicated that having Wi-Fi onboard is important to them when they travel. That number is now 77% in 2022.

A rendering of the satellite-based Iris system (Photo: ESA)

“Passengers expect a connected experience onboard the aircraft,” explained William Huot-Marchand, Senior Vice President of Inflight Connectivity Business Line at Inmarsat, in an interview with Avionics International. He added that there are three pillars to a successful in-flight connectivity experience: coverage, capacity, and certainty.

“Most of the airlines are very focused on the passenger experience onboard the aircraft. This means that we need to continue our roadmap to allow everybody to have connectivity.”

Inmarsat currently has eight active satellites. Huot-Marchand shared that they launched another satellite late last year that will enter into service by the end of 2022. “We have another satellite launching in two months and four more satellites that will be launched in 2024,” he said.

Additional satellites help to establish better in-flight connectivity and coverage for aircraft. It’s increasingly important for airlines to guarantee a strong and consistent Wi-Fi connection because it is integral to a positive passenger experience. 

Inmarsat recently announced the launch of a series of new bundled services on its OneFi passenger experience platform. This provides airlines with more flexibility and opportunities for personalization. The launch was, in part, a response to an increasing demand in the airline industry for ancillary revenue streams.

The post TXT Joins Iris Program for Satellite-Based Air Traffic Modernization appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

Collins Aerospace Signs Agreement With PT Dirgantara Indonesia for Digital Cockpit Upgrades

Collins Aerospace will provide the Flight2 aftermarket avionics solution to upgrade the Indonesian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft. (Photo: Collins Aerospace)

Collins Aerospace and PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) entered into an agreement last week for a modernization effort of the Indonesian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft. The agreement includes upgrades to 11 C-130 aircraft. Collins Aerospace will be supplying the Flight2 aftermarket avionics solution that includes a suite of communications, navigation, and surveillance equipment.

Martin Hoare, Director of Global Business Development for Military Avionics & Helicopters, commented in the announcement by Collins that the C-130 upgrades will increase operational and mission efficiency. “Included in the avionics upgrade is a full glass cockpit with new primary flight displays that provides commonality to many other C-130 users as well as commercial aircraft,” Hoare explained.

Collins will be leveraging its Flight2 Mobility Mission Application architecture along with the upgrade. This architecture enables system customization to meet certain requirements for missions and to ensure compliance with mandates for regional communications navigation surveillance or air traffic management.

PTDI’s President Director, Gita Amperiawan, remarked on the agreement, saying, “This collaboration shows PTDI’s readiness to implement the work of the Indonesian Air Force’s C-130 modernization program, especially in the avionics upgrade.”

Collins and the U.S. Army signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) in September. The aim of this CRADA is to develop a new approach to certifying multicore processors and safety critical systems modularity for airworthiness.

Collins Aerospace is also involved in a collaboration with Intel to develop a virtual pilot for the Perigon flight control computer. The partnership was announced in April, and the companies plan to embed the Atom X6400E multi-core processor into Perigon. The system has been selected for integration into the DEFIANT X US Army helicopter that is under development by Boeing and Sikorsky. Eventually, the Perigon flight control computer could eliminate the need for a co-pilot and enable single-pilot operations in the future.

 

The post Collins Aerospace Signs Agreement With PT Dirgantara Indonesia for Digital Cockpit Upgrades appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

CEO of Netskrt Talks Edge Content Delivery and In-Flight Connectivity

Co-founder, president, and CEO of Netskrt spoke with Avionics International about the company’s connectivity solutions for the aviation industry. (Photo: Netskrt)

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The company Netskrt Systems, founded in 2017, offers an edge Content Delivery Network (eCDN) to meet in-flight video streaming demand. The service is already deployed in the U.K. by some railway operators. Netskrt’s solution combines cloud-based machine learning with network-aware edge caching.

Netskrt and Thales announced a partnership at the APEX Expo in October. They are working together to offer in-flight video streaming services for airlines, using edge caching technologies to significantly reduce internet bandwidth required to support high quality streaming.

At APEX, Siegfried Luft, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Netskrt, talked with Avionics International in detail about the company, their partnership with Thales, and entry into the in-flight connectivity and entertainment (IFC/IFE) industry. Check out our question-and-answer session with Netskrt’s CEO below.

 

Avionics International: Can you share some background information about the company? 

Siegfried Luft: Consumers are switching from cable TV subscriptions to direct-to-consumer video streaming services like Amazon Prime, Disney, and online streaming apps from traditional TV stations. The general video distribution industry is about a $300 billion annual industry; that’s all moving to direct-to-consumer, which has gained about $80 billion of this market. A recent statistic from Verizon showed that their linear television subscribers dropped 26% in 2021.

But not all internet connections are sized to handle high customer demand for streaming video.  Streaming has a big impact on networks, and in many places, such as on airplanes, simply increasing the bandwidth isn’t a viable or affordable option.

We asked ourselves, “Can we take the technology that has been used to scale streaming delivery on the internet and bring it to these difficult to reach places?”

At the same time, content providers are looking at how to grow their business. We’re hearing content owners starting to measure engagement hours. That makes reaching airline passengers an interesting market for them. Transportation became an obvious target for us, and while we initially started looking at rail, it was clear this would be an important solution for airlines.

What is the current focus at Netskrt? 

Siegfried Luft: We’re focused on three market areas that all use essentially the same solution, and all expand market access for content owners: airlines, rail operators, and remote/rural internet service providers. The Netskrt eCDN is in use by passenger rail operators in the U.K. right now and we’re working with Thales, one of the leading providers of in-flight entertainment systems, to embed Netskrt eCDN in their IFC and IFE solutions for airlines. We are bringing multiple like-minded markets together.

What are some of Netskrt’s competitive advantages? 

Luft: We have a fair amount of intellectual property around being aware that you’re in a poorly connected environment. Most CDNs operate on the basis of, “I have a good connection, but I can make it better.” We start with a less dependable connection, where you can’t make the same assumptions. We built a lot of technology around how to make sure the user experience remains solid regardless of the status of the connection. That’s why we’re quite a bit different than any other CDN out there.

What are some of the challenges facing the company? 

Luft: When an airline or a railway rolls out a new service, to really take advantage of it, they want to make it available across as much of their fleet as possible, as quickly as possible. To meet the challenges of this kind of deployment, we need to work with really capable partners. We’ve been working together with Thales for over a year and a half now but just announced the agreement. Having a partner like Thales who is a leader in in-flight entertainment systems, really understands what airlines need, and has the global team to support airlines will allow us to deliver solid video streaming solutions to airlines.

How will Netskrt evolve in the long-term? 

Luft: There’s a lot of areas where we see opportunity. In the short term, we’ll be focusing on transportation in general and other hard to reach locations, such as remote or rural communities. From there, the opportunity is to start looking at the more traditional CDN markets, simply because of the technology we have. If it works small, it works at the large scale as well.

The post CEO of Netskrt Talks Edge Content Delivery and In-Flight Connectivity appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

Moment Launches In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity Systems for Jet Operators

Moment recently launched the Flymingo Jet solution for jet operators. The company has developed Flymingo Box and Flymingo Connect to enable smart, connected cabins. (Photo: Moment)

Passenger experience solutions company Moment launched a new offering last month for private jet operators. The Flymingo Jet solution allows for updates via 4G, Wi-Fi, or a USB key, and passengers can access its services from their personal devices or provided tablets.

Moment, a French company, was started about 10 years ago. Its focus is on the travel industry, including aviation, maritime, and rail, and it also offers solutions for the healthcare industry. The Flymingo Box is the first hardware developed by the company; it enables airlines to quickly deploy a solution to their fleet. It is a lightweight wireless device with a 10-inch frame. Malaysia Airlines, Air Belgium, Air France, and multiple other airlines have deployed the Flymingo Box.

The second hardware developed by the team at Moment is Flymingo Connect, which was launched about a year and a half ago. The system uses IoT technology to manage an ecosystem of interconnected devices and includes a server/WAP (wireless access point) and one simple WAP. 

The Flymingo Box solution was on display at the 2022 APEX Expo in October. (Photo: Jessica Reed)

Michael Serres, co-founder and managing director of Moment, discussed some of the company’s latest efforts in an interview with Avionics International. With Flymingo Connect, he explained, “we are able to bring a lot of intelligence into the cabin, helping the airlines to improve their operations.”

“We are looking to not only provide a state-of-the-art entertainment platform but also to bring more value to the airlines to be more integrated into the operations of the airline,” he noted. The team aims to bring value to the passengers in addition to the crew. 

Serres added, “One of the IoT solutions we’ve developed is for the crew to monitor how many passengers have their seatbelts fastened rather than having crew members count.” He remarked that the company’s main areas of expertise are software and R&D

The passenger portal, called Mood, is another solution that has already been deployed by Moment. “We can install it on every single hardware in an aircraft,” Serres said. “Sometimes airlines receive aircraft from a lessor with hardware already installed, they just need to have a great platform—so we do install these platforms on existing hardware, enabling them to have a very quick deployment.”

In discussing Moment’s Flymingo Box, Serres shared that airlines have been very interested in the solution because it can be either battery-powered or aircraft-powered. “If an airline is coming to us with an urgent request,” he said, “we are able to deploy in four to eight weeks on batteries.” 

If the airline wants to lower operational costs and focus on full autonomous operations, “we can switch to the 28 VDC with minor modifications and with the same unit. We can keep continuous service with either batteries or 28 VDC,” he explained.

The post Moment Launches In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity Systems for Jet Operators appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

Ansys and ZeroAvia Partner to Develop Hydrogen-Electric Powertrain

Ansys and ZeroAvia are working together to develop a hydrogen-electric powertrain using simulation technology. (Photo: ZeroAvia)

Ansys, a leader in engineering simulation, entered into a partnership with ZeroAvia for continued development of ZeroAvia’s new hydrogen-electric powertrain. Ansys enables companies to create digital models of their product during the design and development phases. Many of the company’s key customers are involved in aerospace and defense, and Ansys also enables simulations for other industries such as automotive and energy.

Ansys has been working with L3Harris Technologies and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command since 2020 to advance the use of the FACE (Future Airborne Capabilities Environment) technical standard for cockpit displays. Ansys provides its SCADE software toolset, which is designed to enable a complete workflow.

Avionics International recently caught up with Walt Hearn, Vice President of Worldwide Sales & Customer Excellence at Ansys, to learn more about ongoing efforts at the company as well as the partnership with ZeroAvia. Check out our question-and-answer session with Hearn below.

 

Avionics: What advantages does Ansys offer its customers?

Walt Hearn: Using our technology, companies are able to test all of the different variations so when they build a physical prototype, it works as intended. For example, in the aerospace and defense industry, we do all of the external aerodynamics to understand airflows, lift, drag, et cetera, in a digital model before building. 

We do all of the lighting and the avionics inside the airplane—how do the antennas connect to the ground, headset displays, embedded control software. We simulate everything from a semiconductor inside the cockpit and the display to the full airplane and the full mission of an airplane or a satellite. Everything we do is purely about simulating the physics. All of the major aerospace companies use our technology to design their products.

 

For the aerospace and defense industry in particular, what are the biggest challenges or hurdles that you’re facing?

Hearn: The biggest challenge or opportunity we see is a huge transformation going on inside the aerospace industry. It’s the complete redesign of airplanes, of eVTOLs that are coming to market, fully electric airplanes—that’s a huge engineering challenge. You have a lot of new and existing companies coming into the market designing eVTOLs.

It’s also a huge opportunity because of the redesign of all these new platforms. We haven’t seen this much change in the aerospace and defense industry in the last 50 years, which is tremendously exciting for us and the industry. 

It’s impossible to physically build all of the new systems that are being designed—electric drive systems, hydrogen-electric—and physically test them. 

We have this huge transformational shift coming about in the aerospace industry, and the engineers have to test all of these variations. They’re doing that in simulations. They’re having to design new lithium batteries and connect the new batteries to the system because the range of batteries on the market today isn’t long enough for what we’re looking for.

 

Could you tell us more about the partnership with ZeroAvia?

Hearn: We’ve been working with ZeroAvia for a while. They’re developing a new propulsion technology. It’s exciting to see startup companies like ZeroAvia coming after this big challenge with a new propulsion system that enables them to get closer to zero emissions. 

For this new propulsion system, we have to simulate all of the different applications in the powertrain: simulate how the new motors work, and how the fuel tanks compress hydrogen fuel safely. They’re using our tools to simulate the structure and mechanics of these components. ZeroAvia is testing hundreds of millions of variations and optimizations in a virtual environment so that the platform will perform as seen. It drives down the cost of building physical prototypes. 

It’s a new company so they’re able to leverage these new digital technologies that are in the market today to create a propulsion system that is not only going to be great technology but going to be great for the environment.

 

Can you share details of any other ongoing efforts or projects at Ansys?

Hearn: We’re working with the University of Central Florida and NASA on a $10 million five-year project. We’re working on different sustainable fuels for aircraft, such as hydrogen. UCF, NASA, and Ansys are working on next-generation fuels and research of fuels that can be used in different propulsion systems for different aerospace and defense applications. 

We also enable companies to look at the life cycle of the material they’re using inside their product. We have a tool called Granta, a materials management software that enables engineers to look at the life cycle impact of different materials on the design they’re using They choose the optimal material based on its CO2 footprint and also on its viability inside the design. 

The post Ansys and ZeroAvia Partner to Develop Hydrogen-Electric Powertrain appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

Archer and United Reveal Plans for First eVTOL Route in the U.S.

Archer and United Airlines just revealed plans to establish the first eVTOL route between Newark Airport and downtown Manhattan. (Photo: Archer Aviation)

Today, Archer Aviation and United Airlines announced what will be the first of many routes connecting airports to city centers. This first route will connect Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) with the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City. Archer’s plan is to establish a network across the U.S. for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to provide urban air mobility services.

According to Archer’s announcement, this proposed service between New York City and EWR is the first specific route that has been revealed in the eVTOL industry. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with United and to working closely with state and local government leaders in the New York and New Jersey area as we bring this exciting new form of transportation to life,” remarked Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams also commented on the news, saying, “We are thrilled that Archer and United Airlines have selected to launch their first route right here in our New York City. We want New York to be a place of bold innovation and outside the box thinking, and I encourage other companies to follow their lead.”

The commercial launch of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft, Midnight, is planned for 2025. Designers from Archer recently spoke with Avionics International about the interior and exterior of the production aircraft, although detailed renderings of the aircraft have not yet been revealed. The company is hosting an Open House event to officially unveil Midnight next week, and attendees will also see the full-scale technology demonstrator perform a test flight at Archer’s facility.

The silhouette of Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft (Photo: Archer)

The proposed route between New York City and Newark Airport is estimated to take less than 10 minutes. Traveling by car or train along this route can easily take more than an hour. Michael Leskinen, President of United Airlines Ventures, remarked that the new route will reduce travel time, and the eVTOL is a much quieter vehicle compared to a conventional helicopter. 

“Electric air taxis will fundamentally change how United customers experience comfort, convenience, and efficiency during their commutes to the airport,” Leskinen said in the announcement.

United Airlines has supported Archer in eVTOL development since the companies formed a partnership in early 2021. They also established a joint advisory committee in April 2022 to make recommendations for eVTOL maintenance and operational concepts. And in August, United made a pre-delivery payment of $10 million to Archer.

The post Archer and United Reveal Plans for First eVTOL Route in the U.S. appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

Virgin Australia Chooses Intelsat to Provide In-Flight Connectivity

Intelsat’s in-flight connectivity service was recently chosen for Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737 fleet. (Photo: Virgin Australia)

Virgin Australia recently selected Intelsat’s 2Ku satellite connectivity solution as part of an initiative to improve the passenger experience. The in-flight connectivity (IFC) service will be installed on Virgin Australia’s existing fleet of Boeing 737 NG aircraft over the next 18 months. Intelsat’s solution will also be installed in 737 MAX aircraft delivered to Virgin Australia in the future.

“We’re going to deliver a streaming-quality, always-on, reliable inflight internet product onboard Virgin Australia’s fleet of 737 aircraft,” Dave Bijur, SVP of Intelsat Commercial Aviation, commented in response to the announcement. “We’re adding 737 MAX aircraft for the first time with Virgin Australia, and they’ve made a technology decision that expands our relationship and will delight their guests.”

Bijur shared his thoughts on some of the industry’s biggest challenges during an interview with Avionics International at the recent APEX Expo. “One of the big challenges for airlines is reducing emissions and getting to carbon-neutral by 2050,” he said. Achieving this goal will “require everyone in the airline supply chain to do things differently.”

“The ‘greening’ of in-flight connectivity is a priority for airlines and another big challenge and opportunity,” he added.

Bijur also commented on the fast pace of innovation in the aviation industry, explaining that it can be hard for airlines to know when to upgrade certain parts of a plane. It’s simply not practical to change out network infrastructure or hardware every two or three years. “Satcom communications, antennas, modems, wireless access points are all updating so quickly,” he said. 

Airlines are concerned in particular about the weight of antennas and how much drag they create. One of the latest updates from Intelsat is developing a smaller, lighter solution with less drag and no moving parts. “From a maintenance perspective, it’s going to be a lot better—it stays on the aircraft longer,” Bijur noted.

Pictured above is a rendering of Intelsat-45, based on Swissto12’s HummingSat product line. (Photo: Swissto12)

One of the biggest innovations in the satellite industry is the electronically steered array, or ESA, antenna. This is an improvement from the mechanically steered array. The new ESA antennas can connect to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations.

Intelsat has 50 Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites that are essentially parked at the equator. Because of their position, they can’t provide connectivity for routes over the North Pole. Intelsat is partnering with OneWeb, which flies LEO satellites. In addition to providing coverage of the North Pole, LEO satellites also reduce latency because they are closer to Earth.

“Our strategy is to put those two networks together, because they both have benefits,” Bijur explained.

Intelsat announced this week that it will be the first commercial customer for the HummingSat product line from Swissto12, a startup based in Switzerland. Intelsat ordered the IS-45 satellite, which is expected to launch in 2025. It will offer customers Ku-band fixed satellite services. The HummingSat line comes in sizes that are three to ten times smaller than typical GEO satellites.

The post Virgin Australia Chooses Intelsat to Provide In-Flight Connectivity appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

Skydio Announces New Regulatory Services for BVLOS Drone Operations

Skydio now offers services to help customers document their BVLOS drone program and apply for waivers from the FAA. (Photo: Skydio)

Today, U.S. drone manufacturer Skydio introduced a new offering—Skydio Regulatory Services—for its customers. Skydio’s regulatory team will partner with organizations to work through the necessary documentation and waiver applications to enable autonomous drone operations.

Skydio’s team focuses heavily on cybersecurity and supply chain security, and the company has established a partnership with the Department of Defense based on those advantages. The team has also developed a deep understanding of the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulations for drones.

Jenn Player, Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs at Skydio, has been involved in enabling beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations for more than 10 years. “I’ve helped numerous enterprise UAS programs win regulatory approvals for advanced operations,” she shared during a webinar hosted by AUVSI last week. 

Player has also participated in task groups for the Drone Advisory Committee (now called the Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee), and recently led an industry working group within the FAA’s BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee

She shared that their focus is helping customers to be more productive and safe in their drone operations. Many customers need to be able to fly BVLOS to accomplish their objectives. “For now, the only way to fly BVLOS is through waivers and sometimes exemptions to the Part 107 drone regulations,” she stated.

Skydio’s waiver application packages include the Pathfinder service for enabling ground-breaking autonomous BVLOS operations. (Photo: Skydio)

Product Marketing Manager Sean Nordstrom explained during the webinar that many of today’s use cases for drones are still limited by manual hardware. “We’re moving into the age of AI-driven autonomy,” he stated. “Manual drones struggle to operate in and below structures—for example, under bridges—where GPS is denied.

“When that GPS data is inaccessible, operators are more focused on not crashing the drone than they are at achieving the task at hand. Manual drones are also costly, often requiring large systems, expensive payloads, and highly skilled pilots to capture imagery or video from a safe location.”

In contrast, Skydio’s drones are autonomous and software-driven. The drones build maps of their surroundings in real time using 3D Scan technology. They can autonomously predict upcoming obstacles and avoid them. This enables automation of complex workflows such as data capture, remarked Nordstrom.

“There’s a BVLOS barrier between stages two and three. We have to break down that barrier together with our partners and customers, and working with the FAA, taking a ‘crawl, walk, run’ approach.” – Jenn Player, Sr. Director of Regulatory Affairs (Photo: Skydio)

“The regulatory team at Skydio wants to unlock the full potential of autonomy-enabled operations from the ground up, using a phased approach, to get approvals for complex operations that go beyond Part 107 regulations,” Player explained.

She stressed the importance of making the safety case for using Skydio’s drones in high-value real-world operations. For many of those applications, the drone can be flown just beyond the visual line of sight, she noted, at relatively short distances, and at low altitudes. “That type of BVLOS operation has tremendous utility, but it can also do a lot to reduce ground and air risk.”

Jakee Stoltz, Senior Regulatory Program Manager at Skydio, explained that their new Waiver Application service was developed to help organizations obtain the necessary FAA approval for conducting advanced operations. “We work with you to understand the type of operation that you want to do, what your drone program looks like, and how it’s structured,” he said. “Then we’ll create that documentation package to submit to the FAA for that request.”

A documentation package can include a concept of operations, technical data, and a safety risk assessment, along with other information. Skydio’s regulatory experts provide support while the FAA is reviewing an application in case there are requests for further information.

“We have a lot of experience doing these waivers,” Stoltz noted. “There’s often a lot of synergy between how your drone program is structured and the policies in place that govern your program. It’s common for us to assist organizations in reviewing manuals to make sure they have the components that the FAA expects of an advanced program.”

The post Skydio Announces New Regulatory Services for BVLOS Drone Operations appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

AFWERX Mulls Software and Hardware Efforts For eVTOL Aircraft to Pass Sniper Pod Data

U.S. Air Force and BETA Technologies team members walk toward an ALIA aircraft for a flight test on March 9 (U.S. Air Force Photo)

The U.S. Air Force’s innovation arm, AFWERX, is considering hardware and software efforts under the Project Fast Open X-Platform Agile Combat Employment (FOX-ACE) to pass targeting data from Lockheed Martin [LMT] Sniper pods and other sensors on future electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

AFWERX is asking for industry submission of white papers on the topic.

“AFWERX and its strategic partners in the test enterprise are leading the effort to demonstrate ACE (Agile Combat Employment) capabilities and advanced mission systems integration on eVTOL aircraft through a cross-platform government reference architecture—a culmination of AFWERX Agility Prime strategic investment and other government-led agile combat capability initiatives,” AFWERX said.

Project FOX-ACE “leverages strategic program office relationships, 309 Software Engineering Group (SWEG) and ACC [Air Combat Command] Federal Laboratory partnerships, and cross platform joint service reciprocity to accelerate warfighter-driven combat capabilities,” per AFWERX.  “The FOX-ACE project will rapidly integrate and deploy combat capabilities on relevant timelines and costs required to address the current and future threat environment. This effort will demonstrate the potential for rapid ”

The project is to culminate in an eVTOL demonstration by the 96th Operations Group at Eglin AFB, Fla. AFWERX said that Project FOX-ACE is to align with ongoing Project FOX testing on the F-35 and F-22 and “efforts with A-10, B-2, F-15E and other program offices.”

“Currently, potential image/video will be from Sniper pod or similar formats as well as other potential optical sensors,” AFWERX said in an Oct. 24 response to an industry question on what types of data—images, video, or other sensor feeds—electronic box designs should be able to handle for Project FOX-ACE. “We encourage any recommendations for both hardware and software solutions.”

Asked whether the box is detecting buildings, vehicles, people, or events, AFWERX replied that “vehicles and events will be of interest.”

In March, two U.S. Air Force pilots flew the ALIA, an eVTOL aircraft developed by BETA Technologies—an event that the Air Force said was the first time airmen had flown an electric aircraft with military airworthiness approval (Defense Daily, March 16).

BETA has partnered with the Air Force’s Agility Prime program since 2020 to develop and refine ALIA.

In May 2021, BETA became the first company to receive airworthiness approval from the Air Force for manned flight of an eVTOL aircraft.

The fully-electric ALIA was intended for cargo transportation, but it can seat up to five passengers in addition to a pilot. BETA’s team has been working toward a top speed of 150 knots and a range of 250 nautical miles.

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

The post AFWERX Mulls Software and Hardware Efforts For eVTOL Aircraft to Pass Sniper Pod Data appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

HondaJet Elite II Receives FAA Type Certification

The HondaJet Elite II, pictured above at the NBAA static display in Orlando, received type certification from the FAA last week. (Photo: Jessica Reed)

The HondaJet Elite II aircraft, revealed during the 2022 NBAA Convention and Exhibition in October, just received type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration on November 2.

The Elite II features two key upgrades, stated Kie Nagasawa, Manager, Corporate Communications, in an interview with Avionics International. “Performance-wise, we have more range,” she said. “1,547 nautical miles is the new range, with an extension of roughly 110 nautical miles from the S.”

Honda Aircraft Company increased the usable fuel capacity of the Elite II by more than 200 pounds compared to the Elite S. The total usable fuel capacity for the new model is 3,165 pounds. 

The cockpit of the HondaJet Elite II (Photo: Jessica Reed)

The aircraft received an upgrade to the interior as well as a nose-to-tail acoustic treatment, Nagasawa noted. “The Elite II has two new upgrades for avionics: Autothrottle, which will come in the first half of 2023, and Emergency Autoland in the second half,” she said. 

The Garmin G3000 offers intuitive controls for the HondaJet Elite II. Nagasawa added that many customers for these aircraft are owner-pilots, but they are seeing growing demand from fleet customers.

Mike Murphy, Sales Director, Fleet & Mid-Atlantic, told Avionics that the Elite II model features an increased maximum take-off weight of 11,100 pounds. The practical capabilities of the aircraft include a range of about 1,100 nautical miles with four passengers and two pilots, he said. 

“1,100 nautical miles covers New York to Miami and Miami to New York, the most popular private jet route on the planet,” he remarked.

The G3000 is the “gold standard” for avionics in these types of aircraft, Murphy explained. “There are three main screens. Unique add-ons with the Elite II are faster processors and better acuity.”

He added that having Garmin Emergency Autoland functionality in 2023 will be a huge milestone, especially for single-pilot operations. The Elite II would be the first multi-engine turbine jet in the world with the capacity to perform an autonomous landing in an emergency, he claimed.

“The Autoland activates in an emergency situation to autonomously control and land the aircraft without human intervention,” Murphy explained. “Coupled with the integration of more automated technologies, the HondaJet Elite II offers more confident piloting, enhances operational safety, and reduces pilot workload for more efficient operations.”

(Photos: Jessica Reed)

In designing the Elite II, the Honda Aircraft Company team incorporated a lot of customer feedback. For the upgrade to the interior of the aircraft, it was made to be more refined and a bit more utilitarian, with Onyx and Steel as the two color options for the interior. 

Tim Fagan, Head of Cabin Design and Engineering, shared with Avionics that they did some reinforcing and added insulation around the main entry door to reduce wind noise. “We’ve taken a couple of decibels out of the cabin noise, which is already very quiet,” he noted.

“We’ve also increased the design weight of the aircraft by 200 pounds,” Fagan added, which includes the maximum ramp weight, take-off and landing weights, and maximum zero fuel weight. The higher design weight allows the aircraft to carry more fuel at the same payload, compared to the Elite S, and to carry more payload with the same amount of fuel, he explained.

The post HondaJet Elite II Receives FAA Type Certification appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed
Free Business Hosting
Free Email Account
Dropcatch
Free Secure Email
Secure Email
Cheap VOIP Calls
Free Hosting
Boost Inflight Wifi
Premium Domains
Free Domains

Transcom ISP - Transcom VOIP - Free Secure Email - Dropcatch Software - FastApn Inflight - Aero Connect - Premium Domains