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Verizon 5G Enables Near-Real-Time Object Detection for Drones

Verizon 5G Edge and AWS enable Easy Aerial’s Easy Guard “drone-in-a-box” to detect objects in near-real-time and to fly for longer periods of time. (Photo: Verizon)

A collaboration between Easy Aerial, Verizon, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) has demonstrated the use of Verizon 5G Edge and AWS Wavelength to enable near-real-time object detection for drones. The Easy Guard ground station, one of Easy Aerial’s product offerings, is described by the company as a “smart” aircraft hangar for takeoff, landing, and charging, and this “drone-in-a-box” solution was selected for exploring 5G integration. Easy Aerial first considered integrating 5G into the Easy Guard at Verizon and Newlab’s Brooklyn, New York-based 5G Studio, which was created to develop a wide range of potential technology solutions.

Through this collaboration, with the 5G-enabled Easy Guard system, successful transmission of telemetry data from Easy Aerial drones was achieved, which made it possible to monitor flights in near-real-time. They were also able to reduce the data transmission rates of the drones by leveraging 5G for communications and reduce latency via use of 5G and mobile edge compute (MEC) on “AI-powered data processing,” Verizon notes in a description of the collaboration with Easy Aerial and AWS.

According to the collaboration announcement from Verizon, the integration of 5G and mobile edge computing for drone operations resulted in savings of about 10% in drone costs and flight time that was increased by about 40%.

The Easy Guard ground station, pictured above, is a “smart” aircraft hangar for takeoff, landing, and charging. (Photo: Verizon/Easy Aerial)

Ivan Stamatovski, CTO of Easy Aerial, explained that a demonstration like this has not been attempted before, in part because of a lack of actual 5G coverage in the U.S.; however, Easy Aerial is optimally positioned to utilize both AWS and Verizon’s 5G Edge. Integrating 5G, according to Stamatovski, “opens up a lot of avenues for using small unmanned aircraft systems [sUAS] for all kinds of applications,” he told Avionics International. The team at Easy Aerial had developed the Easy Guard ground station and, after joining the 5G studio, began working on possible applications for 5G within the Easy Guard system.

Stamatovski explained that “typically, we would have our AI for people recognition and car detection, and we would run it on a local computer, but we said, ‘Since there’s limited space and limited power for it, let’s see if we can put that all on Amazon Edge.’” It was also important to have low latency for object detection so that processing would happen in real-time or near real-time. “We decided to go with Amazon Edge,” he said, “because the cloud is too far out there. The whole setup was made so that the drone talks to Amazon directly, and Amazon does the processing and AI with our algorithms that were deployed on the Edge. Then it communicates back to another 5G unit that is inside our Easy Guard.”

Stamatovski noted that Easy Aerial benefited greatly from using the high bandwidth for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that Verizon 5G Edge and AWS Wavelength are able to provide. By processing data at the edge of the network—in near-real-time—“it shifts the paradigm on what is possible to achieve with airborne sensors,” he said.

Pictured above is the drone landing back on the Easy Guard station after a flight. (Easy Aerial/Verizon)

“I was surprised with how fast it was. I don’t think many people have had a chance to really experience that speed,” Stamatovski shared. “The transfer speed was higher than when we had direct communication via ground link. It opens up possibilities to do all kinds of processing; there is no limitation on the size and weight of the computer that runs on the drone. You can have a whole room of servers running and use all of that processing power for your aerial vehicle.”

A strong partnership formed between Easy Aerial and Verizon as a result of successfully completing this demonstration of 5G integration. “We’re working on a couple of demos with their development center and are going to deploy the same setup, just on the tethered variant of our drones,” Stamatovski remarked. “We’re now exploring all the variations that [Easy Aerial] has made, and seeing how much more we can do with 5G.”

Looking ahead, Stamatovski predicts that within the next five years, there will be new hardware developments available for Internet of Things (IoT0 devices with high bandwidth consumption. “This is really what 5G is all about: giving high bandwidth to all the IoT devices. It will enable a new crop of IoT companies [including Easy Aerial] that can provide real-time situational awareness and all kinds of sensor data to be harvested. It’s something that does not exist today.” For Easy Aerial, he said, the coming developments will help them to stay connected and utilize more of the computing power in the cloud.

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ACG Provides Up To $1B in Financing For Volocopter Customers

Aviation Capital Group (ACG) is providing financing for purchases of Volocopter’s aircraft, up to $1B, after the eVTOL aircraft achieve certification. (Photo: Tom Ziora for Volocopter)

ACG (Aviation Capital Group) has agreed to coordinate with urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter to develop financing solutions to enable Volocopter’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) sales once its aircraft achieves certification. The agreement covers up to $1 billion in financing sales of Volocopter’s eVTOL aircraft.

Once the FAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have certified the aircraft for commercial use, deliveries of Volocopter’s eVTOL vehicles will commence. Three eVTOL aircraft have been developed by Volocopter for zero-emission transportation services, such as carrying passengers (the VoloCity and VoloConnect aircraft) and for moving cargo (the VoloDrone).

Through this agreement, ACG will enable Volocopter to offer customers the option to lease its eVTOL aircraft. The benefits of ACG’s experience and assistance are the flexibility and security provided for customer transactions if they choose the leasing option. After certification is achieved, Volocopter’s commercial business can begin scaling up its offerings for the urban air mobility (UAM) market thanks to this collaboration with ACG. As CEO Florian Reuter put it, “This agreement will allow our business to hit the ground running after aircraft certification.”

Volocopter’s eVTOL aircraft, including the VoloConnect pictured above, are designed for transportation in urban airspace. (Photo: Volocopter)

Some of the competitive advantages of Volocopter’s family of aircraft include the design simplicity and low noise profile. The VoloCity, VoloConnect, and VoloDrone are also all designed with “high levels of safety,” according to the company.

ACG’s parent company—Tokyo Century—is an early equity investor in Volocopter, and the new agreement builds on the existing partnership between the two companies, said Tom Baker, ACG CEO and President. “This transaction highlights ACG’s ongoing commitment to reducing the environmental impact of the aviation industry and to working towards a cleaner and more sustainable future,” Baker added.

The VoloCity is designed with low complexity and a quiet noise profile. (Photo: Volocopter)

Volocopter had a busy year in 2021. Just a couple of months ago, the company formed a joint venture with an enterprise called NEOM to build and operate a public vertical mobility system on the coast of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. NEOM placed confirmed orders for 10 VoloCity aircraft and 5 of the VoloDrones. In November, Volocopter completed a crewed test flight of its eVTOL demonstrator aircraft, the 2X. This marked the first crewed public test flight of a fully electric VTOL air taxi in South Korea.

Another joint venture company was formed in September 2021 between Volocopter and Aerofugia, a subsidiary of China’s Geely Technology Group. This deal set out to bring Volocopter’s aircraft to the market in China within the next five years. Additionally, Geely will purchase 150 Volocopter aircraft and elect a member to join Volocopter’s advisory board.

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Agility Prime Awards Phase III Contract to eSTOL Company Electra

The U.S. Air Force awarded a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Electra.aero in support of the continued development of Electra’s hybrid-electric eSTOL aircraft. (Photo: Electra)

Next generation aerospace company Electra.aero was awarded a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the U.S. Air Force (USAF). The contract will support the continued development of Electra’s eSTOL aircraft as part of the Air Force’s Agility Prime program. A direct-to-phase-II SBIR contract was awarded to Electra back in June 2021, when the Air Force invested $1.5 million in the company’s eSTOL development.

Ben Marchionna, Electra’s Director of Technology and Innovation, shared his perspectives on the Phase III SBIR contract in a Q&A with Avionics International. Electra’s hybrid-electric ultra-short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) tech demonstrator aircraft is on track to achieve its first flight in late 2022, he wrote. “Our team is currently ground testing the hybrid-electric propulsion system at our facility in Bleienbach, Switzerland. Meanwhile, the aircraft fabrication will soon begin in Manassas, Virginia.”

The unique features and capabilities of the eSTOL aircraft created by Electra are valuable for medical evacuation and several other operations. (Photo: Electra)

Electra is developing its aircraft to be capable of flying missions such as on-demand passenger flights, cargo transportation, search and rescue operations, and medical missions, according to the company’s announcement. Ben Marchionna added that their eSTOL aircraft “offers a uniquely compelling capability [to] deliver larger payloads at greater ranges like a fixed-wing aircraft but still access constrained landing zones like a rotorcraft. This allows our aircraft to overcome the challenging ‘tyranny of distance’ in the expansive Indo-Pacom theater, supporting distributed force structures and cargo resupply missions.”

The noise levels of Electra’s eSTOLs are two orders of magnitude quieter than those of helicopters. In addition to facilitating clandestine operations, the unique features and capabilities of the aircraft are valuable for medical evacuation, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response in addition to expeditionary advanced base operations, according to Marchionna.

Hybrid-electric aircraft like Electra’s offer some key advantages for defense mission challenges that eVTOLs are less suited for. (Photo: Electra)

The USAF Agility Prime program will be able to take advantage of the broad and differentiated defense mission applicability of Electra’s aircraft. Agility Prime supports and accelerates the maturation of technology related to advanced air mobility (AAM) solutions such as electric aircraft. eVTOL aircraft are not suited for certain defense mission challenges, said Marchionna, but hybrid eSTOL aircraft such as Electra’s are able to operate within existing infrastructure constraints and for operations that require greater payload and longer range.

Electra shared news of a partnership with Asia’s fastest-growing private air mobility platform, Yugo, in which the two companies will work to expand air mobility services through leveraging up to 12 of Electra’s eSTOL aircraft. The hope is that AAM services can reach both urban and underserved regions in Asia-Pacific. Yugo is based in Singapore and gives members of its digital platform access to hundreds of aircraft, “from light jets such as the Cessna Citation to longer range jets like the Gulfstream G650ER,” according to Electra’s announcement.

An Electra hybrid eSTOL aircraft in Yugo livery approaches a landing near Manila Bay. (Photo: Electra)

Yet another big announcement came from Electra last month regarding an investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures. A strategic cooperation agreement was also signed by Lockheed Martin, in which they plan to work with Electra on potential U.S. government solutions. “Combined with the SBIR Phase III contract, Lockheed Martin’s investment will help us to quickly develop and field this important technology,” Marchionna wrote.

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Wingcopter to Provide Cargo Drones for Delivery Operations in Peru

A new partnership between Wingcopter and a subsidiary of UAV LATAM will support drone delivery operations in Peru. (Photo: Wingcopter)

Wingcopter, a German drone manufacturer, has partnered with UAV del Peru (a subsidiary of Latin American holding UAV LATAM) to provide and deploy its cargo drones for delivery operations in Peru. UAV del Peru expects to be one of the first companies in Latin America to make use of delivery drone technology for a range of applications including commercial and humanitarian operations.

UAV LATAM, which has more than 10 years of experience in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry, has already begun discussions with affiliates in seven countries in Latin America to expand its drone delivery services beyond Peru. Wingcopter has partnered with leading business aviation specialist Synerjet which will, according to Wingcopter co-founder and CEO Tom Plümmer, provide opportunities for reaching other countries in the region. Synerjet currently has operations in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Panama, and Guatemala, Plümmer told Avionics International in an emailed statement.

Wingcopter and UAV del Peru are both partners of WeRobotics’ Flying Labs Network which serves to strengthen local expertise in drone use as well as robotics, data, and AI. Wingcopter chose to enter the new partnership for drone delivery operations in Peru in part because of UAV LATAM’s excellent network in Latin America. “[UAV LATAM] shares our vision to improve and save lives with the help of Wingcopter technology,” added Plümmer.

Pictured above is the Wingcopter 198 eVTOL drone. According to Wingcopter CEO Tom Plümmer, “The motors, flight controller, battery, and airspeed sensors are all integrated redundantly to provide an extremely high degree of reliability and safety.” (Photo: Wingcopter)

An upcoming goal for Wingcopter is to achieve FAA Type Certification for its Wingcopter 198 eVTOL drone, wrote Plümmer; the team is currently in the certification process. Additionally, the company hopes to establish a presence on all continents, either with its own operations or via its authorized partners. Plümmer noted another of the company’s aims: “We will set up delivery networks that span whole regions, allowing the instant and on-demand delivery of any kind of urgently needed goods.”

The Wingcopter 198 eVTOL drone is well-suited for delivering medical supplies not only in Peru but also worldwide. Plümmer explained that they have established a local drone-based delivery network in Malawi for remote health facilities. “In the U.S., we have partnered with Air Methods’ drone subsidiary Spright, which is setting up a nationwide delivery network to improve healthcare access in rural regions of the country with our Wingcopter 198 model.” He also remarked that use cases for their eVTOL aircraft are not limited to healthcare applications. It offers a unique triple-drop mechanism that is capable of delivering up to three packages at different drop-off locations within the same flight. Plümmer believes that the Wingcopter 198 “is the ideal aircraft for all industries that deal with the instant and on-demand shipment of time-sensitive products.”

The Wingcopter 198 demonstrates a unique triple-drop mechanism that can deliver three packages at different drop-off locations in one flight. (Photo: Wingcopter)

UAV LATAM’s CEO Juan Bergelund commented on the new partnership: “Several Latin American countries have partially deficient infrastructure, especially in the health sector, affecting billions of lives. […] We are convinced that with the deployment of Wingcopter drones in Latin America, we can actively support Wingcopter’s vision of creating efficient and sustainable drone delivery solutions that improve and save lives everywhere,” according to the company’s announcement.

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Boeing Purchases 2 Million Gallons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Boeing and EPIC Fuels entered into an agreement for Boeing to purchase 2 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). (Photo: Boeing)

Boeing signed a supply agreement with EPIC Fuels for 2 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the largest purchase of SAF from an airframer to date. The fuel blend—30% SAF, 70% conventional jet fuel—will be used for production, test, and delivery flights, including fueling Boeing’s Dreamlifter cargo plane, and the fuel will come from inedible agricultural waste. This purchase by Boeing indicates the company’s continuing efforts to achieve decarbonization.

In 2022, the SAF will fuel operations in Boeing’s facilities in Washington state (Everett, Renton, and Seattle) and in North Charleston, South Carolina. Sean Newsum, Boeing’s director of Environmental Sustainability Strategy, told Avionics International, “We’ve been using SAF at Boeing for several years as part of our ecoDemonstrator program. Part of the intent of this agreement is to follow up on what we’ve been telling others—that we should use more SAF. This expands the SAF that we’ve been using and makes it part of our normal business operations.”

The ecoDemonstrator program started in 2010 as an outgrowth of existing demonstrator programs at Boeing. The original recurring test program would start over every 18 months, but more recently it has become a 12-month cycle. The team just finished the eighth ecoDemonstrator program and is now planning the next program. Speaking on the value of the program, Newsum said, “You can only go so far with wind tunnel testing and lab testing. At some point, you need to go full-scale.”

SAF has been part of the ecoDemonstrator program since the beginning, either used to fuel the aircraft or undergoing testing itself. So far, Boeing has tested over 200 technologies through the demonstrator programs. One main focus of the 2021 program was reducing emissions and fuel burn, in addition to incorporating more sustainable materials into Boeing’s airframe production.

Boeing’s 777X is a family of long-range, wide-body airplanes including the 777-8 and the 777-9. Newsum commented, “We’re in the flight test phase for the 777-9 which will provide the latest generation of airframe and engine technology and may be about 20% more fuel-efficient than the previous generation.” Given the company’s focus on sustainability in aviation, he said, “All of our new airplanes are designed to be more fuel-efficient and to have lower carbon emissions than the airplanes they replace.”

The 777-9, part of Boeing’s 777X series of airplanes, will be far more fuel-efficient than the previous generation. (Photo: Boeing)

According to Newsum, the 777-9 will have the best engine efficiency in its class when it enters the market. The 777-9 first flew in January 2020, and the first deliveries of the 777X planes are expected by 2024.

Another part of Boeing’s decarbonization strategy comes from their $450 million investment into the Wisk eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft. “The technologies that are being developed through that platform have the potential to deliver for commercial airplane products in the future,” added Newsum. Boeing’s investment in Wisk’s 6th generation eVTOL aircraft made Wisk one of the world’s most well-funded companies promoting advanced air mobility.

While SAF is being delivered primarily just to Boeing’s flight test centers, Newsom explained, “We have plans to use SAF across the enterprise in the long-term. The volumes are still relatively small. In order to maximize the efficiency from a delivery perspective, we are channeling the fuel to just a few sites to start.”

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North Atlantic Track System Policy to Change Below 33,000 Feet Next Month

Starting March 1, oceanic air traffic controllers will eliminate the Organized Track Structure (OTS) in the North Atlantic airspace for flights at or below FL330. (NATS UK)

Operators flying at or below FL330 (33,000 feet) between Europe and North America will be able to file flight plans outside of the North Atlantic Organized Track Structure (OTS) system starting March 1.

According to a Feb. 3 blog authored by Jacob Young, manager of operational performance, NATS UK, the decision to eliminate the OTS tracks at or below FL330 has been discussed by air navigation service providers (ANSPs) managing the oceanic airspace on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean for several years. Now, after introducing trials of OTS track system elimination during periods of low air traffic volume last year, air traffic controllers and airlines are ready to shift to the new at or below FL330 policy.

Young describes the North Atlantic OTS as an “invisible multi-lane motorway that connects Europe and North America.” In the oceanic airspace for aircraft flying from North America to the UK and Europe, since the 1960s, air traffic controllers on both sides have used 12 tracks that change twice daily to account for winds.

When airlines file flight plans, controllers clearing them from UK or Canadian airspace and into the oceanic routes try their best to slot them into the track that matches their intended trajectory. These tracks are sets of waypoints within the North Atlantic airspace that try to take advantage of the east- and westbound jet streams.

Last year, the combination of Aireon’s space-based ADS-B for North Atlantic surveillance and historically low levels of daily flights in the airspace amid the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for NATS and NAV Canada to eliminate the track system on certain days. This also allowed controllers and airlines to study the changes and benefits that the track elimination could provide to airlines that use them.

“In total, [in 2021] we saw 20 days without a single track being published,” Young writes. “We’re now working with 15 of them to analyze the results and simulate ‘OTS Nil’ on busier traffic days to understand if the benefits to them in terms of time, CO2 emissions and fuel burn would make a permanent change worthwhile.”

Young notes that operators flying at or below FL330 have never previously had any restrictions on flight planning in relation to individual route crossings in the North Atlantic. However, NATS UK believes the change could be beneficial to airlines that have internal systems and procedures that prevent them filing individually when the tracks are active with “active flight levels.”

“From our perspective, it’s certainly possible to make the North Atlantic completely track-free with just some minor procedural and system changes required,” Young writes. “Ultimately, it needs to be an airline-led decision. That analysis work is on-going, but we are now able to announce some more immediate changes which will form the first step towards the reduction of the OTS.”

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Airbus VP of Research & Technology Talks Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Hydrogen

The team at Airbus is working towards 100% SAF to fuel all operations by 2030, and having an airliner using hydrogen as an energy source in service by 2035. (Photo: Airbus)

By the end of 2021, for all customers receiving aircraft from Airbus’s final assembly line in Mobile, Alabama, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was incorporated in the delivery process. “In the future, we’re looking at going beyond just Mobile to some of our other production facilities in North America and incorporating SAF into their operations,” Amanda Simpson, Airbus VP of Research and Technology, told Avionics International. They expect to begin using increasing amounts of SAF in all operations, including test flights and acceptance flights, over the next few years.

The SAF that Airbus uses for aircraft delivery is produced by World Energy, which owns and operates California’s only sustainable aviation fuel production hub and supplies SAF to airports across the U.S. “The SAF is primarily based on utilizing waste products,” explained Simpson. “In general, these products could be leftovers from lumber and tree trimming operations; it could be agricultural byproducts, municipal solid waste, or cooking oil.” In all of these cases, she said, the carbon is pulled from the environment, the atmosphere, rather than from the ground via petroleum.

World Energy supplies SAF for Airbus to fuel aircraft deliveries from their facility in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo: Airbus)

All of Airbus’s aircraft are approved to run on blends of SAF up to 50%. According to Simpson, the team is working on increasing that to 100% SAF in all of their aircraft. “Our goal is to have that completed by the end of this decade. The issues there are ensuring compatibility with the engines themselves and all of the fuel systems, as well as the fueling systems at the airport. [We want to] make sure the SAF doesn’t have any adverse effects, that it’s completely safe to use, and doesn’t impact the reliability and efficiency of the engines or the operation of the aircraft. We have done demonstrations, with an A350 and an A319, to show that we can fly aircraft on 100% SAF.”

Apart from advancing the use of SAF, Airbus is working on a project called ZEROe that involves three concept aircraft configurations using hydrogen as an energy source (rather than burning kerosene or SAF). When using hydrogen as an energy source, “the only thing it emits out of the tailpipe is water,” explained Simpson. “Our goal is to have an airliner that uses hydrogen as an energy source in service by 2035.”

The Airbus ZEROe concepts are all hybrid-hydrogen aircraft and include the following configurations: turbofan, turboprop, and blended-wing body (pictured above). (Airbus)

Right now, the ZEROe project is in the technology maturation phase. In addition to using hydrogen as an energy source, Airbus is currently working on leveraging advances in composites, manufacturing, aerodynamics, and other technologies in order to move forward with a detailed design of the ZEROe generation of aircraft by 2025.

All three of the concept aircraft have a hybrid-electric propulsion system. They are powered by hydrogen combustion using modified gas turbine engines, where liquid hydrogen is the fuel source. An advantage of hydrogen combustion is that no carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfurous oxide, nitrous oxide, or other unburned hydrocarbons are released. “You can burn hydrogen in a jet engine, in a turbine engine, very similarly to the way you burn kerosene today. The engines would look the same. The difference is that you have to adjust and optimize the engine to burn a different fuel,” Simpson said.

The first detailed designs of the ZEROe aircraft are expected to be completed by 2025. (Airbus)

Along with hydrogen combustion, the ZEROe concepts incorporate hydrogen fuel cells to power an electric motor in an aircraft, with water as a byproduct. The hydrogen fuel cells create electrical power to complement the gas turbine. “All of these technologies are complementary, and the benefits are additive,” according to the company’s website.

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Frontier and Spirit Airlines Reach Merger Agreement to Become Fifth Largest US Airline

A new merger agreement between Frontier and Spirit Airlines announced Monday would create the fifth largest airline in the U.S., with Frontier holding a majority 51.5% ownership stake in the merged ultra low cost carrier. (Frontier Airlines)

Frontier and Spirit Airlines have reached a definitive merger agreement under which the two companies will combine—if approved by regulators—to establish the fifth largest airline in the U.S.

The two low-cost carriers announced the new agreement Monday that would give Frontier a 51.5% controlling ownership share, with Spirit holding the remaining 48.5%. Both airlines expect the merger to close by the second half of 2022, and will continue to operate independently as Frontier and Spirit while awaiting final regulatory approval of the merger agreement.

Barry Biffle, President and CEO of Frontier, told investors during a call about the merger, “Spirit is very strong in the east, Frontier is very strong in the west, that’s going to drive more customers onto our existing flights which means more low fares to more people.”

Fleet commonality between the two All-Airbus A320 low-cost operators was also highlighted by executives during the investors’ call. Between the two airlines, the combined fleet currently features 283 in-service aircraft with a combined outstanding order book for another 350 A320neo aircraft.

That would give the merged Frontier-Spirit airline a combined 493 aircraft in-service by 2026. According to Frontier, that would allow the merged airline to “offer more than 1,000 daily flights to over 145 destinations in 19 countries, across complementary networks.” Frontier also made some fleet technology investments last year, including adoption of the Airbus Skywise Health Monitoring (SHM) technology, and FLYHT’s Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS).

Ted Christie, President and CEO of Spirit, said the two airlines expect nearly 80% of their fleet to feature A320neo jets that replace legacy A320s operated by the two carriers. Christie said that the Miramar, Florida-based company is “thrilled to join forces with Frontier to further democratize air travel.”

Frontier and Spirit have a combined 350 A320neo aircraft on order, which would give them a combined 483 aircraft by 2026, if the merger achieves regulatory approval. Pictured here is the interior of a Spirit Airlines A320neo aircraft. (Spirit)

“Both of us have an objective to achieve pre-pandemic margins and we feel like that’s achievable, and when we do, the synergies are purely accretive,” Christie said during the investors’ call.

The merger agreement comes as both carriers separately reported net losses in their 2021 full-year earnings. Spirit reported a loss of $440.6 million, while Frontier lost $299 million.

Together, the combined low-cost airline wants to take on the “Big Four” U.S. airlines, as their combined fleet and operational scope would see them move above Alaska and JetBlue for fifth place among the largest airlines in the U.S.

The “Big Four,” as Frontier and Spirit executives described them during the investors’ call, include American, Delta, United, and Southwest Airlines. These four carriers controlled 74% of revenue passenger miles flown by U.S. airlines in 2019, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data.

2021 was also a year that saw several new low-cost U.S. airlines begin operations, including Avelo Airlines, Breeze Airways, and Aha!

When asked by investors about the likelihood of achieving regulatory approval for the merger, Frontier’s Biffle said the two sides are prepared to show regulators that it is “completely different than any other merger in the past in the U.S. It’s not about reducing competition and raising fares, it’s about getting more low fares to more people in more places and we’re excited to tell them our story and we think it will be well received.”

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NUAIR and Sagetech Avionics Partner for Detect-and-Avoid Technology Testing

Sagetech Avionics’ Detect and Avoid solutions and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transponders will undergo testing as part of the company’s new agreement with NUAIR. (Sagetech Avionics)

Aerospace technology company Sagetech Avionics and New York-based nonprofit NUAIR created a new partnership to run tests on two of Sagetech’s developments, their Detect and Avoid solutions and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transponders. Testing will explore concepts of operations such as lateral infrastructure inspection and package delivery as well as operations occurring in airspace with both manned and unmanned aircraft.

NUAIR, or the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, Inc, operates one of seven FAA-designated unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test sites in the U.S. The new agreement with Sagetech, said NUAIR CEO Ken Stewart, aims to solve the problem of safely integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace.” We don’t really have systems that operate under 400 feet en masse across the U.S. for traffic management,” he told Avionics International.

Testing of both manned and unmanned aircraft will support policies and regulations for BVLOS operations. (Photo: NUAIR)

This news came less than a month after NUAIR was authorized by the FAA to begin beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations in a 35-mile stretch of designated airspace within the 50-mile drone corridor between Syracuse and Rome, New York. NUAIR’s Chief of Operations Tony Basile looked forward to testing “more advanced, long-range flights and prove BVLOS operations can be done safely.”

When it comes to detect-and-avoid capabilities for UAS, there are a number of different technologies being developed and improved, said Stewart, such as radiofrequency and electro-optical systems. Some are used for counter-UAS operations to detect and mitigate, but NUAIR is focused mainly on the detection side. They are now in the process of drafting policy for BVLOS operations. NUAIR is one of 23 UAS operators serving as members of the BVLOS Operations Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), and Stewart predicted that the actual policy will come to fruition in the next two and a half to three years.

“What we want to be able to do is have the technologies that support those policies in place. The testing that we’re going to do is going to help support some of those policies and regulations to see if the technology actually meets those capabilities. It’s not a short-term relationship,” Stewart shared.

In discussing the future of advanced air mobility (AAM), he emphasized that the number of drones flying commercially in the U.S. is much higher than most people think. Developments will be iterative, said Stewart; “Once the infrastructure is in place for small UAS, then you’ll start seeing larger and larger drones. Everything we do with drones is foundational for advanced air mobility for cargo drones and air taxis. All this infrastructure really needs to be in place for those types of activities.”

NUAIR’s 50-mile drone corridor is the site for a rollout of a 5G test network. (NUAIR)

NUAIR is also currently in the process of rolling out a 5G test network at their 50-mile drone corridor with the aim of understanding how 5G technologies can be integrated into the drone community. “What role could the advantages of 5G—higher throughput, better capabilities, software-defined radios—play in the UAS space?” Stewart asked. He added that the first use cases will predominantly be for public safety needs.

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FAA, Aviation Industry Continues Research on 5G C-Band Interference Issues and Next Steps

While the FAA has made progress working in collaboration with the telecommunications industry to further its understanding around how 5G C-Band services impact aircraft radio altimeters, helicopters—such as this air ambulance operated by REACH Medical Services—are a major focus for the agency moving forward. A congressional hearing held Thursday shed more light on the issue. (REACH Air Medical Service)

U.S. aviation industry leadership and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are still researching and adding to their understanding of how the new deployment of 5G C-Band services impact the performance of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft radio altimeters, according to a congressional hearing held on the co-existence of flight operations and 5G C-Band Thursday.

The FAA has issued several airworthiness directives and regulatory policy updates in recent months focused on preventing signals from 5G C-Band towers causing performance issues for aircraft radio altimeters, especially during approaches and landings in low visibility at airports located closest to the towers. While the agency published a Jan. 28 statement acknowledging a new agreement that temporarily ensures the majority of in-service commercial airliners can safely operate under temporary restrictions, Thursday’s hearing showed that aviation and telecommunications engineers still have a lot of research to do on the issue.

Whereas the aviation and telecommunications sides of 5G C-Band deployment previously were suffering from a lack of communication and clarity about how signals from the new towers would impact the performance of radio altimeters, now they’re trying to establish a long-term solution that could take a number of years before it is concluded that there is no impact on every aircraft type and radio altimeter flying in the airspace today. That could take a number of years, but what happens in the interim is still being developed.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told congressional members of the U.S. House of Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation that the agency and the broader industry now feels that it has a more thorough understanding of how 5G C-Band interference impacts radio altimeters on most of the aircraft types operated by major commercial airlines in U.S. airspace. The agency recently cleared 90% of altimeters on the in-service fleet as being capable of safely operating under 5G C-Band deployment with the current mitigations on power levels and buffer zones around airports in place. However, there is still more understanding that needs to occur regarding altimeters featured on regional jets, business jets, helicopters, and aircraft operated by U.S. defense services.

“We still have some lower-performing regional jets and other parts of the aviation community that are impacted. I’m concerned about that. Helicopters are another area that we’re going to have to pay close attention to,” Dickson said. “We’re working on Alternate Means of Compliance (AMOCs) for those types of operations—for first responders and air ambulance type operations as well….a lot of the conversation has been about air carriers, but the entire aviation community, we need to make sure that their concerns are addressed as well.”

Aircraft radar altimeters operate within 4.2–4.4 GHz, the lower half of which falls within the C-Band—a frequency range from 3.7–4.2 GHz where the combination of the range of signal transmissions and capacity are optimum. The 5G wireless networks that were switched on by AT&T and Verizon on Jan. 19 operate within the 3.7–3.98 GHz frequency range, close to the altimeters, which has left aviation industry experts with concerns over signal interference issues. T-Mobile has also rolled out 5G wireless service in the U.S.; however, their deployment occurs in the much lower 2.5 GHz band.

According to opening statements given by Dixon, the agency is currently allowing helicopter air ambulances “to continue using safety-enhancing night vision goggles in areas where the aircraft’s radio altimeter could be unreliable due to 5G C-band interference as identified by [Notice to Air Missions] NOTAMs.” The agency is using NOTAMS issued to pilots to let them know where 5G C-Band deployment is present, and AMOCs are also available to airlines and aviation manufacturers who are able to prove the altimeters on their aircraft are not susceptible to 5G C-Band interference.

According to testimony given by Helicopter Association International (HAI) President and CEO James Viola, however, the AMOC procedures for rotorcraft still have not been developed. Viola said that approximately 1,206 helicopters operated as air ambulances are using the exemption that the FAA has developed for helicopters to operate in areas where their altimeters may not function properly.

“The development of new radar altimeters with filters that can withstand 5G interference is critical to the vertical flight industry’s ability to continue flying and serving the public good. However, developing and certifying new radar altimeters will take time,” Viola said. “Additionally, the cost for operators to purchase and install these new altimeters is of significant concern to the industry. My members ask why they should be financially responsible for installing new equipment to mitigate the safety risk imposed by another corporation’s decision to deploy 5G wireless systems.”

The AMOCs available to airlines were also a major topic of discussion during the hearing. Kaiali’i Kahele, a U.S. Representative from Hawaii and member of the House Subcommittee on Aviation, for example, noted that the AMOCs that the FAA has approved for Hawaiian Airlines will expire on Feb. 28. Administrator Dickson noted that the agency has established expirations on the AMOCs as they’re approved to account for the deployment of additional 5G C-Band towers.

Last month, the FAA published a list of 50 U.S. airports that will have 5G C-Band buffer zones, where AT&T and Verizon have agreed to limit the power levels on signals generated by their deployed towers. Several news reports over the last month demonstrated the type of disruption experienced by flight operations at those airports that were identified, as well as those not listed and outside of the buffer zones.

Eugene Airport Director Cathryn Stephens told the committee that low visibility conditions are a regular occurrence at her airport, which can significantly limit operations during those times.

“While it is positive that the FAA has reviewed and approved AMOCs on an expedited basis to cover at least 90 percent of the U.S. commercial aircraft fleet, we are not yet at the point where all aircraft previously serving my airport and others can continue to operate in low-visibility conditions,” Stephens said. “The continued inability for certain aircraft to operate during low-visibility conditions poses a particular problem for airports that may only receive service or that receive the vast majority of service from those aircraft.”

A major focus for aircraft radio altimeter manufacturers moving forward will be the development of new filters and standards that ensure altimeters are resistant to 5G C-Band or any other out-of-band radio frequency interference. The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) published a new “Frequently Asked Questions” page on its website to acknowledge its ongoing role in the development of such standards, although no timeline on that development is currently available. The group has tasked Special Committee 242 (SC-242) with this mission.

Administrator Dickson said that the FAA has telecommunications engineers onboard the flight test aircraft they’re operating to evaluate 5G C-Band’s impact on different altimeters.

“The performance standards for C-Band resistant radio altimeters are in development. That work has been going on for some months now; the standard-setting process takes time,” Dickson said. “The encouraging news to me is that this flight test activity that we are undertaking will also be very beneficial in setting those new standards, because we will have real-world data that we can use to go back to the avionics manufacturers and help inform those new designs.”

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