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President of Intelsat Commercial Aviation Shares Thoughts on the Future of Connectivity

“Focusing on the quality of the experience—and the economics of the solution—is how we’re going to drive this in the direction it needs to go in the long term.” – Intelsat’s Jeff Sare, President of Commercial Aviation (Photo: Intelsat)

For many airlines, it is becoming increasingly important to offer in-flight connectivity. The quality of Wi-Fi available onboard an aircraft has a significant impact on a passenger’s satisfaction. The connectivity needs to be both consistent and affordable. IFC is most commonly delivered via satellite, which many of the major service providers use, including Panasonic, Gogo, Viasat, Thales, Inmarsat, and Intelsat.

At the recent APEX Expo, Jeff Sare, President of Intelsat Commercial Aviation, offered his perspective on what the future holds for connectivity. He explained during a panel discussion that Intelsat does not view their constellation as a hybrid network. “It’s a network with different assets and technologies that are all brought together to deliver the end-user experience,” he said. “It’s all about the passenger experience.”

Jeff Sare of Intelsat is pictured above (second from the right) during a panel discussion at the APEX Expo, moderated by NetForecast Director of Business Development – Transportation, Mary Rogozinski. (Photo: Jessica Reed)

While Intelsat currently has more than 60 geosynchronous satellites, Sare remarked that the main focus is on the quality of the in-flight experience. The service is centered entirely around its customers. “At the end of the day, if a passenger on an airplane isn’t getting the service they need, they’re going to complain,” he said.

Intelsat’s 2Ku satellite connectivity solution was recently chosen by Virgin Australia for the airline’s existing fleet of Boeing 737 NG aircraft. The satellite services provider also announced last week that it will be the first commercial customer for Swissto12’s HummingSat product line. Intelsat placed an order for the IS-45 satellite which will provide Ku-band fixed satellite services to customers.

Intelsat’s system enables the correlation of data from an airline on customer satisfaction with particular metrics, such as page load times. With this correlation, it is possible to establish a baseline for the passengers’ experience with the IFC and to determine what improvements will have a positive impact.

Sare also noted the importance of considering costs associated with offering IFC. “All that has to be done in a way that is economically sound so that the passenger can afford to use the service,” he stated.

As more airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi, it may be a better idea to build the cost of the service into the price of the ticket. “Nothing is free,” Sare said. “It’s about bundling services and how customers want to differentiate from their competition. Focusing on the quality of the experience—and the economics of the solution—is how we’re going to drive this in the direction it needs to go in the long term.”

Intelsat announced a global distribution agreement with OneWeb in August. The companies are partnering to offer a multi-orbit in-flight connectivity (IFC) service. Sare commented on the partnership with OneWeb during the panel discussion, saying, “It’s another set of assets, another set of tools to continue to improve our network, to provide coverage in places where our previous fleet by itself wasn’t able to provide coverage, and to be able to take advantage of the kinds of things that a lower latency, more ubiquitous coverage can take advantage of.”

The service that Intelsat delivers matters more than which specific assets are used, Sare noted. “If it makes the most sense to use the LEO [low-earth orbit] network at a particular time, we’ll use the LEO network. If it makes more sense to use GEO [geostationary orbit], we’ll use GEO. Everything has its pluses and minuses.”

In the near future, it will be necessary to be able to “talk” to multiple satellites simultaneously. It’s increasingly important today to be able to shift between satellites quickly, Sare shared. Intelsat’s approach for the near-term will be step-by-step: “We have our traditional geosynchronous orbits, we’re building the software-defined network, we’re launching software-defined satellites, we’re partnering with OneWeb. We’re creating an electronically steered antenna [ESA] and terminal with multiple modems in it so we can talk to the satellites—initially one at a time—just bringing more flexibility to the system as we go forward.”

He commented that airline customers have been much more interested in the CO2 impact of the network than anticipated. “All of them are approaching these new sets of technologies in an appropriately prudent and thoughtful manner,” he said.

The post President of Intelsat Commercial Aviation Shares Thoughts on the Future of Connectivity appeared first on Avionics International.

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Cyber Incident Impacts Boeing Subsidiary Jeppesen’s Flight Planning Tools

A recent cyber incident affected Jeppesen’s flight planning tools, leading to inaccurate navigation data for thousands of pilots. (Photo: Jeppesen/ForeFlight)

On Nov. 2, Jeppesen, a Boeing subsidiary, was affected by an aviation cyber incident. For thousands of pilots across the world, flight planning, instrument approach, and GPS navigation data was inaccurate due to this cyber attack.

In the past year, there has been a 560% annual increase in aviation cyber attacks, according to the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation. Many of these incidents have reminded pilots why they shouldn’t rely too much on one tool during flight, and the recent cyberattack on Jeppesen’s suite of flight optimization tools was no different.

On Nov. 2, Jeppesen reported the incident on their website, stating it could affect the accuracy of their products and services. The data from Jeppesen’s tools like ForeFlight became untrustworthy, with many pilots turning to backup flight optimization tools.

Boeing has given few details on the incident, but pilots have reported that the flight navigation routes and en route area navigation (RNAV) operations were inaccurate, with some receiving error messages while in flight.

In a Nov. 9 statement, a Boeing representative said, “Our subsidiary, Jeppesen, experienced a cyber incident affecting certain flight planning products and services. There has been some flight planning disruption, but at this time we have no reason to believe that this incident poses a threat to aircraft or flight safety.” Boeing has declined to comment further on what caused the cyberattack or the full scope.

Jeppesen’s tailored charts for cockpit avionics (Photo: Jeppesen)

Jeppesen has successfully completed a full restoration after the incident, a welcome announcement to pilots utilizing their flight optimization tools. Tools such as ForeFlight and FlightDeck Advisor are now working as usual and providing accurate data.

Flying with an expired GPS or inaccurate navigation data can be dangerous. FAA Advisory Circular 90-100A, the federal advisory board for RNAV operations and U.S. Airport terminals, states that current onboard navigation must be up to date for all aircraft.

Even during the attack, Jeppesen stated that the current flight information, while not updating in real-time, was still in compliance with current regulations and would be accurate until Dec. 1.

“The most recent Jeppesen chart downloads available in Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck and ForeFlight Mobile are currently effective and in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Any ‘Expired’ messages shown for Jeppesen Terminal Charts prior to December 1st do not indicate that the charts are expired from a regulatory perspective,” Jeppesen wrote.

It’s been determined that Jeppesen was not the target of the attack, but that their method of information delivery to pilots and customers was affected. Boeing and Jeppesen are still determining the scope of the attack, with the potential to share more details as they become available.

The post Cyber Incident Impacts Boeing Subsidiary Jeppesen’s Flight Planning Tools appeared first on Avionics International.

BAE Systems and Amprius Explore Opportunities for Battery Technology

Amprius and BAE Systems are collaborating to evaluate potential business opportunities for the batteries developed by Amprius. (Photo: Amprius)

Amprius Technologies recently entered into an agreement with BAE Systems for a three-year cooperation. The companies will evaluate potential business opportunities for the silicon nanowire anode batteries developed by Amprius to be used in electric products developed by BAE Systems.

Dr. Kang Sun, CEO of Amprius, remarked on the new cooperation agreement, saying, “BAE Systems is at the technological forefront of the defense industry, and this agreement validates the potential of our silicon nanowire anode technology for rigorous aerial applications.”

Ronnie Tao, Vice President of Business Development at Amprius, remarked that BAE Systems will be using Amprius’s batteries throughout BAE’s portfolio of products. “It’s not specifically tied to one product, although there are products that we are being designed into,” he explained in an interview with Avionics International.

Tao also noted that while today’s battery technology is effective, it doesn’t offer enough power to effectively enable business cases. “Our batteries are the first ones to really open up the entire aviation electrification segment,” he claimed.

One of the key advantages of the batteries that Amprius develops is high energy density. The silicon nanowire battery technology contributed to the success of the Airbus Zephyr unmanned aerial system (UAS). The Airbus Defence and Space division awarded Amprius with the Innovative Supplier Award in 2021.

“We’re keen to work with [Amprius] to explore opportunities for the electric products that we’re developing for military applications.” – Dave Holmes, Advanced Projects, Technology and Manufacturing Director at BAE Systems’ Air (Photo: Amprius)

The team at Amprius is now focused on scaling up production. “Research and development efforts are done,” Tao shared. “We are a technology readiness level 9 company, meaning the technology has already been proven out. There’s no need to keep tweaking it. The demand for our product is so high that we need to get it to market quickly.”

Tao views the regulatory environment as one of the biggest obstacles to electrification of the aviation industry. Achieving certification for an aircraft or use case in one country does not necessarily guarantee certification in another country. He has observed that many companies are focusing initially on regulations for just one country because there isn’t a global consensus yet. Eventually, these issues will be addressed, he said; “it’s just a matter of the regulations catching up to the innovation that is actually happening.”

For some of the new entrants to the aviation industry, such as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, there are very high power requirements. “The battery system needs to be able to produce a lot of power,” Tao said. “The discharge rate needs to be very, very high. Most solutions are not capable of doing that.”

Amprius’s technology, on the other hand, has the necessary capabilities to enable eVTOLs to take off and land. “We are by far the most advanced lithium ion battery available in the market,” he claimed, adding that their products increase performance significantly. Using batteries developed by Amprius can double the maximum flight time of an aircraft, for example, and it has the potential to double the payload capacity for a delivery drone.

Amprius recently conducted a demonstration of the charging capabilities of its batteries. The Aviation High Power Fast Charge Cell was tested in order to demonstrate that it can be repeatedly charged from 0% to 80% in less than six minutes.

The post BAE Systems and Amprius Explore Opportunities for Battery Technology appeared first on Avionics International.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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