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Acciona Partners with Embraer’s Eve, Agrees to Invest $30 Million

The latest partnership announced by Eve is an agreement with Acciona, who will invest $30 million and contribute to Eve’s Board of Directors following the company’s business combination with Zanite Acquisition Corp. Eve is developing an eVTOL aircraft, imagined in the photo above, and has already received close to 1,800 pre-orders for the vehicle. (Photo: Eve)

On March 18, Embraer’s subsidiary, Eve Urban Air Mobility, announced a strategic partnership with the company Acciona—developer of renewable energy solutions and infrastructure—that includes an investment of $30 million into Eve. This investment will follow Eve’s business combination agreement with Zanite Acquisition Corp. agreement, after which Eve will list on the New York Stock Exchange. Acciona CEO José Manuel Entrecanales will also become a member of the Board of Directors as part of the new partnership. This is expected to take place in Q2 of this year.

Eve also formed another partnership with Global Crossing Airlines Group (GlobalX) that was announced last week. The two companies signed a Letter of Intent for GlobalX to order up to 200 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from Eve, which will likely be fulfilled in 2026 when Eve expects to begin eVTOL deliveries. The partnership extends beyond the order for Eve’s aircraft; GlobalX and Eve intend to work together in exploring urban air mobility (UAM) and development of a UAM ecosystem, including infrastructure to support eVTOL operations.

Revealed in yet another announcement from Eve last week, the company formed a consortium made up of leading UAM organizations including Skyports, L3Harris, and the Community Air Mobility Initiative (CAMI). The consortium aims to develop a concept of operations (ConOps) for UAM between Miami International Airport (MIA) and the Miami Beach Convention Center. “Miami-Dade County and Florida present a great opportunity for Eve to create a blueprint that can be replicated in markets in North America and other regions as we look toward the introduction of UAM operations,” remarked Eve’s co-CEO André Stein.

Eve Urban Air Mobility recently formed a consortium to develop a concept of operations for UAM in Miami, pictured in the rendering above along with Eve’s eVTOL aircraft. The company GlobalX, another new partner of Eve’s, has agreed to order up to 200 eVTOLs and anticipates significant expansion of operations in Miami and throughout southern Florida. (Photo: Eve)

The partnership between GlobalX and Eve will serve to reinforce the ConOps in Miami-Dade. In the company’s announcement, CEO of GlobalX Ed Wegel commented that Eve’s eVTOLs “will enable us to expand our market throughout south Florida, bringing our customers to their flights at MIA and FLL, as well as local flying within Key West and all of the Keys, Naples, and Palm Beach.”

Through all of these endeavors, Eve is committed to developing and delivering a sustainable UAM ecosystem. In its latest agreement, the strategic partnership with Acciona, Eve hopes to promote novel industrial initiatives such as vertiports and battery charging solutions, while leveraging Acciona’s expertise in building green infrastructure. Acciona’s José Manuel Entrecanales mentioned in the announcement from Eve that the global population is becoming more and more concentrated in large cities. “Keeping the climate footprint of these urban areas at bay is one of the greatest challenges of the decarbonization process we are all engaged in,” he said. “Urban air transport models such as the one proposed by Eve can be very useful when considering different sustainable mobility solutions. Participating in a project as innovative as Eve will allow us to continue advancing along that path.”

The CEO of Eve’s parent company Embraer, Francisco Gomes Neto, is confident in the market potential of future UAM operations. During Embraer’s annual results call earlier this month, he remarked that Eve has Embraer’s strategic support, which includes “access to infrastructure, extensive aircraft certification and manufacturing experience, and already established global network of services and support, intellectual property, and engineers as major differentiators from other projects.”

The post Acciona Partners with Embraer’s Eve, Agrees to Invest $30 Million appeared first on Aviation Today.

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Textron Enters Agreement to Purchase Pipistrel and Form New eAviation Division

Pipistrel, creator of the Velis Electro aircraft, will be bought by Textron, according to an announcement from Textron last week. (Photo: Pipistrel)

Textron Inc. announced a purchase agreement on March 17 to acquire Pipistrel—developer of the Velis Electro electric aircraft. Once the purchase is finalized, Textron plans to create a new business segment called Textron eAviation, which will include Pipistrel and will focus on sustainable aircraft. Pipistrel’s CEO and founder, Ivo Boscarol, commented, “The joining of Textron and Pipistrel provides deep expertise and resources which would otherwise be inaccessible to Pipistrel alone. With Textron, we are together geared to strive for future growth and look forward to announcing exciting new products and projects.”

Textron expects the transaction to be finalized during Q2 of this year. The company’s long-term strategy to develop sustainable aircraft will be strengthened with the acquisition of Pipistrel and the creation of a dedicated business unit, Textron eAviation. The eAviation division will have its headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, and will incorporate Pipistrel’s expertise in sustainable flight in addition to Textron’s product design, certification, manufacturing, and aftermarket solutions, according to the company.

Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly noted that Textron’s ultimate goal is to provide vehicles for applications ranging from urban air mobility and general aviation to cargo transportation and special missions. Donnelly also remarked that they intend to maintain Pipistrel’s existing headquarters and manufacturing in Slovenia and Italy in addition to continuing research and development.

Pipistrel’s Velis Electro aircraft received the first type certification for an electric aircraft from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in June 2020. The vehicle is still the only electric aircraft in the world to achieve EASA type certification. Last year, Pipistrel’s motors, motor controllers, and batteries were selected by the company Airflow for integration into Airflow’s fixed-wing proof-of-concept aircraft. CEO and co-founder Marc Ausman told Avionics in an interview that they chose Pipistrel’s products because the company “had the complete end-to-end system already integrated together [and] have already been tested to work together.”

Developments in aviation have proven to be a critical component of Textron’s recent growth. Textron’s total revenues in 2021 were 6% higher than in 2020, and their aviation segment accounts for 37% of last year’s total revenue. Furthermore, Textron Aviation is projected to grow 21% over the next two years and it is estimated that the Aviation segment will account for 42% of total revenues for 2022.

Just last week, Textron Aviation achieved Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification for the Cessna SkyCourier, a large-utility twin-engine turboprop. According to the company, they are using some of the latest “advancements in aircraft manufacturing, including the use of monolithic machining throughout the airframe” in production of the SkyCourier. The aircraft was launched in 2017, and FedEx entered an agreement to purchase up to 100 units of the cargo variant for its fleet.

Along with Textron’s planned business segment, eAviation, which will be dedicated to sustainable flight, the company’s subsidiary Bell Textron also makes sustainability a strategic priority. Bell Textron is partnering with Safran Helicopter Engines to evaluate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and its economic impacts; this partnership was recently announced during the HAI Heli-Expo event in Dallas, Texas. The collaboration between the two companies will include analysis of the technical performance of SAF to fuel Bell’s 505 helicopter, powered by Safran’s Arrius 2R engine.

The post Textron Enters Agreement to Purchase Pipistrel and Form New eAviation Division appeared first on Aviation Today.

Joby Earns FAA Approval of Initial Systems and Compliance Reviews

Joby announced both completion and approval of its first Systems Review and Compliance Review. (Photo: Joby Aviation)

Joby Aviation took another step towards certification of its fully electric aircraft in completing its first Systems Review and Compliance Review and earning Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval. The team completed both reviews at the end of 2021 and just recently announced FAA approval. Reaching this milestone confirms that Joby’s development approach, production design, and set goals for achieving certification are headed in the right direction.

The Compliance Review assessed the process of development and verification of Joby’s software and airborne electronic hardware. The Systems Review served to evaluate Joby’s approach to developing its aerospace-grade systems and equipment. Tom Ferrell, Development Assurance Lead at Joby, commented on the importance of a clear, repeatable process for development and verification of aircraft in ensuring safety. “Successfully completing our first Systems Review and Compliance Review demonstrates that Joby’s engineering practices are maturing to a level where they can be applied for the most demanding safety-critical development while producing all the required certification data to prove our design to one of the world’s toughest and most respected regulators,” Ferrell stated in the company’s announcement.

Looking ahead, the team will focus on completing additional reviews centered around “the validation of certification requirements, design capture, and implementation of that design in both hardware and software.” according to Ferrell. A launch date of 2024 is the company’s current target.

The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that Joby is developing has undergone more than 1,000 flight tests. A representative of Joby also recently told Avionics International that the team plans “to conduct more flight tests in the coming year in partnership with AFWERX and other government supporters.”

In December of last year, Joby Aviation was awarded FAA Special Airworthiness Certification and U.S. Air Force Airworthiness Approval for their second pre-production prototype aircraft. Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt remarked, “With two aircraft flying at the same time, we’ll be able to increase the speed of our learnings as planned, while continuing to fulfill the requirements of our Agility Prime contract.”

Joby is partnering with CAE to develop flight simulators for training pilots to operate eVTOL aircraft. Pictured above is JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, and Marc Parent, president and CEO of CAE. (Photo: Joby Aviation)

Two other recent big milestone announcements came from Joby recently as well. On March 9, they shared news of a partnership with technology company CAE to develop training devices for flight simulation. These devices will eventually be used to train pilots for operation of Joby’s eVTOL aircraft. In February, Joby began FAA conformity testing of its systems and structures, entering the implementation phase of the type certification process. Lina Spross, Quality and Supply Chain Lead, explained, “Entering this stage of testing demonstrates that we’re capable of manufacturing composite parts in accordance with their design, our quality system is capable of producing conforming composite parts for the aircraft, and that we have the requisite traceability and design verification processes in place to progress toward our type and production certifications.”

The post Joby Earns FAA Approval of Initial Systems and Compliance Reviews appeared first on Aviation Today.

Pratt & Whitney Makes Strides With Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Hydrogen Propulsion Technology

Pratt & Whitney was awarded a DoE project for the advancement of hydrogen propulsion technology. This week, another announcement from the company shared the successful completion of a test on its GTF Advantage engine configuration involving the use of 100% sustainable aviation fuel. Pictured is one of the company’s GTF engine testbeds. (Pratt & Whitney)

Last month, Pratt & Whitney was awarded a U.S. Department of Energy Project to develop hydrogen propulsion technology. As part of this project, they are working to develop highly efficient hydrogen-fueled propulsion technology for the commercial aviation industry. The project, referred to as HySIITE (Hydrogen Steam Injected, Inter-Cooled Turbine Engine), involves the use of liquid hydrogen combustion and water vapor recovery to power aircraft with zero in-flight CO2 emissions. Another aim is to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by as much as 80%, and the team at Pratt & Whitney hopes to reduce aircraft fuel consumption by 35% for next-generation models.

Pratt & Whitney announced just this week that the team has successfully tested the use of 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to power its GTF Advantage engine configuration. Performing this test was a critical part of “an extensive development program to ready the GTF Advantage for entry into service in 2024, by validating the engine’s performance on 100 percent SAF in thrust transients, starting and operability,” according to the press announcement.

Pratt & Whitney’s GTF Advantage engine configuration was fueled with 100% sustainable aviation fuel in recent testing. (Photo: Pratt & Whitney)

Vince Sidwell, director of advanced concepts and technology for Pratt & Whitney, and his colleague Brent Staubach, associate director of advanced concepts and innovation, offered some insights on the company’s progress with hydrogen propulsion and SAF in an interview conducted via email with Avionics International. One of the most significant advancements from the company in recent years, according to Sidwell, is their GTFTM engine with geared turbofan technology. The engine “reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 16% for single-aisle aircraft,” he said, “along with having 50% lower NOx emissions, and a 75% smaller noise footprint. Already, 1,200 GTF-powered aircraft in service have saved the equivalent of 600 million gallons of fuel, and 6 million metric tons of CO2.”

The HySIITE project awarded by the Department of Energy to Pratt & Whitney will be a continuation of the company’s work in the hydrogen-fueled propulsion field, Sidwell said. “It is directed at the development of gas turbine technology that is optimized to take full advantage of the cryogenic properties of liquid hydrogen fuel. If successful, we believe that our targeted 35% improvement in fuel efficiency (on a gate-to-gate energy basis), will be of great significance to making hydrogen a viable and sustainable fuel source for future commercial aircraft.”

Staubach went into more detail about the HySIITE configuration. Their team intends to increase overall efficiency and reduce emissions by incorporating water and steam injection throughout the mission rather than just during takeoff. “The concept is designed to recover water from the engine’s exhaust gas, using a condenser. This water can then be turned into steam and injected into the combustor, resulting in greater engine thrust and lower NOx emissions. Water can also be used to cool parts of the engine, further improving efficiency,” he said.

To take this approach, Staubach explained, a consistent supply of water is necessary, and this is achieved via water vapor recovery. “Hydrogen combustion generates a significant amount of water vapor available for recovery, and the liquified hydrogen fuel provides a cold sink to enable condenser efficiency. The technology challenge is developing a flight-weight and volume water recovery system.”

Three key focal points of the project are integrated system evaluation, notional component design, and component feasibility tests. While the HySIITE program does not include plans to perform any engine demonstrations, it does lend itself to accelerated ground demonstration, which could be done with off-the-shelf engines, Staubach wrote. He added that if there is sufficient funding, the HySIITE concept could potentially support entry into service of an aircraft sometime after 2035. “Viable service entry will also depend on incorporating the engine into an aircraft designed to carry hydrogen fuel and having a hydrogen delivery infrastructure available at airports.”

“We recognize that our technologies have a significant role in making this net-zero goal a reality—both through our drive to continually improve engine efficiency, and through our work to enable the use of non-fossil based alternative fuels, such as SAF and hydrogen,” Sidwell said. He added that the company has several test programs underway geared towards operation of engines with 100% SAF in the future. “We have committed to making next-generation engines like the GTF Advantage compatible with 100% SAF. We’re excited to also develop hydrogen technologies through the HySIITE project, which could contribute to net zero emissions by 2050 and the decades beyond.”

The post Pratt & Whitney Makes Strides With Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Hydrogen Propulsion Technology appeared first on Aviation Today.

USAF Pilots Conduct First-Ever Crewed eVTOL Flight with BETA Aircraft

U.S. Air Force Pilot Hank Griffiths flies BETA’s simulator in preparation for the test flight mission. (Photo: BETA Technologies/Brian Jenkins)

On March 9, 2022, two U.S. Air Force pilots became the first Airmen to fly an electric aircraft with military airworthiness approval—the ALIA, an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, developed by BETA Technologies. BETA has partnered with the Air Force’s Agility Prime program since 2020 to develop and refine their eVTOL, and the company hosted this milestone flight at their hangar and testing facility in Plattsburgh, New York.

In May 2021, BETA made headlines as the first company to receive airworthiness approval from the USAF for manned flight of an electric aircraft. This approval expanded their partnership to include access for the USAF to two of BETA’s immersive eVTOL simulators and its training facilities. A representative from BETA told Avionics International, recently that their work with the USAF and participation in the Agility Prime program is aimed at defining range, altitude capabilities, endurance, and payload limits for the ALIA aircraft as well as to improve the ALIA’s commercial viability. One goal for the BETA team in 2022, the representative said, is to perform testing of specialized cargo and logistics missions in coordination with the USAF.

Major Jonathan Appleby and BETA test pilot Camron Guthrie are performing a flight test in the ALIA aircraft at BETA’s  hangar and testing facility. (Photo: BETA Technologies/Brian Jenkins)

The fully-electric eVTOL aircraft was intended for cargo transportation, but it can seat up to five passengers in addition to a pilot. BETA’s team is working towards a top speed of 150 knots and a range of 250 nautical miles. Hank Griffiths, one of the two USAF pilots that flew the ALIA last week—and AFWERX’s Chief of Engineering and Airworthiness and Test Lead—stated in the announcement that the aircraft “includes an air vehicle and charging network that will surely compete well in this emerging competitive market.” Griffiths also commented that the company has truly embraced all aspects of aviation. “Every [BETA] employee is encouraged to take flight training. It has been a pleasure to work and fly with such a motivated and innovative group of people.”

BETA test pilot Lochie Ferrier (right) congratulates Hank Griffiths on successfully completing AFWERX’s first Airman flight of an eVTOL aircraft. (Photo: BETA Technologies/Brian Jenkins)

Major Jonathan Appleby, the other USAF pilot that conducted the first Airman flight of BETA’s aircraft for the Air Force, remarked, “I am excited to watch BETA continue to develop their revolutionary aircraft for civil and military use cases and grateful for the opportunity to experience electric flight.” BETA’s founder and CEO, Kyle Clark, also commented on the achievements of pilots Maj. Appleby and Hank Griffiths and the continuing progress of the partnership with Agility Prime. “We’re humbled by the Air Force’s continued support and confidence in our engineering,” Clark said. “This flight signifies an important milestone, providing the opportunity for a clean future for our nation’s military and a path to fossil fuel independence.”

The post USAF Pilots Conduct First-Ever Crewed eVTOL Flight with BETA Aircraft appeared first on Aviation Today.

FAA Committee Recommends New Regulations for Drone Operations

The FAA formed a committee last year to develop recommendations on standard regulations for drone operation in the U.S. and has now published a report summarizing their findings. (Photo: Commercial Drone Alliance)

The Federal Aviation Administration’s Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee published a report last week with recommendations on standard regulations and guidance for drone operators. The BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee, or ARC, was established nine months ago to analyze the current regulatory framework for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and subsequently determine appropriate criteria to enable safe, scalable, and environmentally friendly UAS BVLOS operations in the U.S.

At the beginning of 2021, the FAA made its first approval of uncrewed BVLOS drone operations without human operators onsite. This was granted to American Robotics, a company that develops fully-automated commercial drone systems, to utilize their drone technology called the Scout System featuring advanced detect-and-avoid (DAA) capabilities. Prior to that approval, other waivers from the FAA had only allowed for flight along paths while monitored by observers. In June 2021, the FAA announced an amendment to recreational drone operations: from that point on, operators would be required to complete a safety test in order to fly drones in the U.S. Known as the Recreational Unmanned Aircraft Systems Safety Test (TRUST), the assessment is free to take, and it is available online.

The committee researching UAS BVLOS regulations found that the current aviation regulatory framework could not accommodate existing operations of unmanned aircraft, “and certainly not at the levels anticipated as the industry grows,” according to their report. While listing technical mitigations and operating recommendations, the report also prioritized a focus in the UAS industry on the needs of communities. This includes consideration of benefits to underserved areas, use of clean energy, and positive economic, environmental, and equity benefits for the public.

The BVLOS ARC first recommends setting a consistent acceptable level of risk for all types of UAS operations in order to give operators flexibility in adhering to the acceptable level of risk using various methods. Another recommendation is to make amendments to the right-of-way rules in low-altitude areas in order to accommodate uncrewed aircraft operations. These amendments included giving UAS the right of way in shielded areas (within 100 feet of a structure), giving UAS the right of way over any crewed aircraft that do not have Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) or Traffic Awareness Beacon Systems (TABS), and allowing right of way for crewed aircraft that are equipped with ADS-B or TABS and broadcasting their position.

The report from the FAA’s UAS-BVLOS committee explains that the Part 107 rule of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, issued in 2016, was an important first step to normalize and facilitate uncrewed aircraft operations. However, the ARC encourages the creation of a new Part 107, Remote Pilot Certificate with Small UAS Rating that would include Extended Visual Line of Sight (EVLOS) and shielded UAS operations to ensure that operators are knowledgeable on these topics. The ARC also encourages the FAA to establish a new BVLOS Rule for the UAS qualification process. The last recommendation highlighted in the report is that the FAA should adopt a “non-mandatory regulatory scheme for third party services to be used in support of UAS BVLOS operations.”

In writing these recommendations, the UAS-BVLOS ARC incorporated findings from empirical studies and data from reliable sources such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Members of the committee represented diverse interests and viewpoints and were assigned to various groups to collaborate in developing recommendations for BVLOS operations. The first working group, which focused on community interests in safety, the environment, and security, included representatives from Airbus, AT&T, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), and the Helicopter Association International (HAI), among many others.

“Unlocking BLVOS will have a tremendous impact on the world, opening up opportunities only dreamed about in science fiction.” – John Vernon, CTO of DroneUp (Photo: DroneUp)

The second working group within the ARC examined market drivers and incorporated perspectives from organizations and enterprises such as the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the Commercial Drone Alliance, DroneUp, Echodyne, FedEx, NUAIR Test Site, and T-Mobile, to name a few. Lastly, the third working group focused on regulatory concerns and invited input from representatives of the Flight Safety Foundation, National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), One Sky, and ASTM International among others.

John Vernon, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of DroneUp, represented the company as a participant in the UAS-BVLOS ARC and shared his thoughts on the committee’s findings in a statement released by DroneUp. “Unlocking BLVOS will have a tremendous impact on the world, opening up opportunities only dreamed about in science fiction,” he stated. “This report’s feedback and common-sense proposals represent the best from the technology, aviation, municipal, and societal leaders and provide a solid list of recommendations to rule-makers. We are excited to see how these recommendations will shape regulations that will propel this industry forward by providing a clear pathway to BVLOS.” He explained that DroneUp has focused on delivering solutions within current regulatory constraints, while others in the industry have claimed the lack of regulatory options as a barrier to their success. “We are immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to help shape the future of UAS for BLVOS operations,” Vernon remarked.

The post FAA Committee Recommends New Regulations for Drone Operations appeared first on Aviation Today.

U.S. Air Force Awards Contract to Electra and MIT for eSTOL Flight Controls

Electra.aero, in partnership with MIT, will be working to advance development of flight control systems that enable precise landings for its eSTOL aircraft. (Electra.aero)

Electra.aero, the hybrid-electric ultra-short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft developer, was awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II contract by the U.S. Air Force. Electra will work in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop enhanced flight control systems for landing its eSTOL vehicle. This follows several other contracts that have been awarded to the company, including a Phase I STTR contract which was awarded to the Electra-MIT team in 2021 to develop an eSTOL aero-propulsive model in addition to a flight control performance simulation and a vehicle sizing tool.

Electra was awarded a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) just last month as part of the USAF’s Agility Prime program. This contract provided continued support in development of Electra’s hybrid-electric vehicle. The company has also received an investment from Lockheed Martin, who will collaborate with Electra in the development of potential solutions for the U.S. government. Another SBIR contract from the Air Force for $1.5 million—a direct-to-phase II contract—was awarded to Electra last year and will conclude in July 2022.

Now partnering with MIT, Electra will quickly develop “enhanced precision flight control systems for repeatable low-speed, ultra-STOL landings,” enabling safe operation of the eSTOL aircraft in spaces as small as 300 feet by 100 feet, according to the company’s announcement. The team plans to demonstrate said flight control system on a full-scale technology demonstrator later this year. Ben Marchionna, Electra’s Director of Technology and Innovation, told Avionics last month that the team is currently performing ground tests of the hybrid-electric propulsion system at their facility in Switzerland.

Part of the team at MIT that will be participating in this project is Dr. Steven Hall, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He stated that he is looking forward to the opportunity to work in conjunction with both Electra and the USAF on the hybrid-electric eSTOL aircraft. “Electra’s distributed electric propulsion approach has great promise to improve STOL aircraft performance,” Hall remarked.

Chris Courtin, Lead Engineer of Flight Physics and Controls for Electra, commented, “We are delighted to continue working with MIT and the U.S. Air Force to develop state-of-the-art flight control systems for ultra-STOL aircraft. Reliable precision landings are key to Electra’s ability to deliver runway-independent operations with increased payload, range, and safety for both military and commercial uses.”

The eSTOL aircraft developed by Electra is designed with distributed electric propulsion and blown lift technology, and it will be capable of transporting nine passengers—or up to 1,800 pounds of cargo—at a range of up to 500 miles. It is also being developed to have greatly reduced noise emissions compared to conventional helicopters. The design of the vehicle includes a small turbine-powered generator, which can recharge the batteries mid-flight, meaning that construction of new ground charging infrastructure will not be necessary to support its operations.

The post U.S. Air Force Awards Contract to Electra and MIT for eSTOL Flight Controls appeared first on Aviation Today.

PODCAST: IAMA Talks Connectivity, Navigating Crisis and Labor Challenges for Aircraft Modifications

The International Aircraft Modifier Alliance (IAMA) is the guest on this episode of the podcast.

On this episode of the Connected Aviation Intelligence Podcast, we’re joined by the new managing director of the Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance (IAMA), Nina Schulz, and IAMA’s Alliance Manager, Annelouise van Dijke, to discuss some of the organization’s latest progress advancing their goal of making independently provided aircraft maintenance more competitive against offerings provided by OEMs.

IAMA was first launched in 2019, and has grown its membership and subscribers to include Collins Aerospace, CarlisleIT, Envoy Aerospace, Etihad Engineering, and Lufthansa Technik, among others. The organization has been striving to improve the aftermarket supplemental type certification process for airlines and lessors since its inception. Schulz provides some progress updates after the first IAMA member completed the first IAMA audit process, an outlook for 2022, and some thoughts on how the process for acquiring, modifying, and operating in-flight connectivity on aircraft continues to evolve.

IAMA is hosting its next Virtual Think Tank (IVTT) on March 16 at 3 PM CET, registration is free for airlines and lessors.

Have suggestions or topics we should focus on in the next episode? Email the host, Woodrow Bellamy, at wbellamy@accessintel.com, or drop him a line on Twitter @WbellamyIIIAC. Also, check out the agenda for the 2022 Connected Aviation Intelligence Summit just posted to our event website!

Listen to this episode below, or check it out on iTunes or Google Play. If you like the show, subscribe on your favorite podcast app to get new episodes as soon as they’re released.

The post PODCAST: IAMA Talks Connectivity, Navigating Crisis and Labor Challenges for Aircraft Modifications appeared first on Aviation Today.

The Quiet eVTOL Revolution: Designing Acoustics for Public Acceptance

A panel discussion on eVTOL acoustics at Heli-Expo 2022 featured Juliet Page of Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, Ben Goldman of Archer Aviation, Mark Moore of Whisper Aero, and Rex Alexander of Five-Alpha LLC.

A panel discussion at this year’s Heli-Expo in Dallas, Texas, covered perspectives on acoustics of eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft from several industry leaders including Ben Goldman of Archer Aviation, Mark Moore of Whisper Aero, and Juliet Page of Blue Ridge Research and Consulting.

The panel started with a presentation by Juliet Page on acoustic source modeling and the role that acoustics should play in development of eVTOL aircraft. Page is a Principal Engineer at Blue Ridge with over 35 years of experience consulting and directing research related to transportation noise, including acoustic measurement and modeling. She emphasized that manufacturers and designers of eVTOL aircraft, as well as operational designers, need to understand and be able to analyze what’s going on with their vehicle acoustically. “We need to have confidence in these tools, models, and techniques and understand the best way to provide feedback to the designers,” Page explained.

One factor that makes eVTOLs different, and more complex than conventional helicopters is that they have more rotors, which means there are more opportunities for wake interaction and potentially increased noise. The way that the RPM of the rotors on an eVTOL is controlled is also different, says Page. “They may not emit a steady sound; it may be varying in response to what the rotors and control systems are doing.”

She has observed a positive trend in the developing eVTOL industry which is that manufacturers and operators tend to bring noise to the forefront of their consideration. “Often, it is placed second-fiddle to other performance goals on aviation vehicles, so seeing noise and community acceptance as a critical parameter for this industry is really heartwarming.”

An informed approach to eVTOL acoustics should consider sound in three dimensions and should use the available tools and technologies that enable views of full simulations of the aircraft. Many eVTOL manufacturers are targeting urban air mobility (UAM), and designing for urban environments means taking into account the tall buildings present in the soundscape. It’s especially important to understand what an eVTOL aircraft will sound like in the environments where it will operate and to consider the time of day—ambient noise levels will be greater during rush hour, for example, so a louder vehicle may blend more into the background.

Page described “a need for assessing metrics for human response and human acceptability: we tend to talk more about acceptability rather than reducing the percent that are ‘highly annoyed’—the old paradigm. There is a lot of research going on regarding how to quantify that, how to measure it.”

Flight testing, she noted, is incredibly important for measuring source emissions and for informing the development of standards and regulations in the industry. NASA performed multiple flight tests in 2021, including its AAM (advanced air mobility) National Campaign with Joby Aviation, where they collected vehicle performance and acoustic data from Joby’s aircraft. They used a two-dimensional ground array of microphones, which allowed them to characterize the source emissions. “Having the data allows us to come up with best practices of how you measure these vehicles, where you put the microphones, how many you need, how dependent it is on the particular vehicle.”

Joby was the first eVTOL company to test with NASA’s AAM National Campaign. (Joby Aviation)

Ben Goldman, acoustics manager at Archer Aviation, shared that the noise emissions of their eVTOL vehicle have been a focal point for the company since the start. Goldman, who has previously worked on acoustics at both Bell Helicopter and Joby Aviation, stated, “It is a critical aspect of the design of this vehicle, in terms of integrating it into the market. The most important thing to focus on is a gap that exists right now in quantifying the value of these changes that we have. We’re slowly learning how to quantify public acceptance and annoyance, but the question becomes how much is a percent, a dB, worth to the design of the vehicle? That’s been a challenge in driving the noise down as low as it can go while still being able to close the business case.”

Archer Aviation’s Maker eVTOL was unveiled in June 2021. (Archer)

At Archer, much consideration is put into mixing the noise sources in such a way that there are no dominant tones. “We’re really focused on trying to make this vehicle blend into the background,” Goldman explained. “This is very much dependent on understanding not just how tools coming out of the industry can inform us and support the design, but understanding how our testing can feed back. It’s been a challenge to get companies to share that information outright. It’s an intellectual property issue, it’s very much a competitive market, so everyone is interested in keeping this sort of information close to the chest.”

Mark Moore, CEO of Whisper Aero, shared that the company’s mission is “propelling quiet electric technologies from fans to flight,” and that its electric aircraft design was always intended to be a community-friendly solution. Although Whisper Aero was just founded a couple of years ago, Moore has extensive experience in urban air mobility (UAM) and was an engineer at NASA for 32 years in addition to co-founding the Uber Elevate program. He observes that the world is becoming increasingly urbanized, and people are living and working closer and closer together. When neighborhoods and communities spring up around small airports, sometimes the noise complaints from the community result in the airport shutting down. “For any existing heliport and small airport where operators are trying to fundamentally change the nature of the operations and go to scale, it requires a new level of buy-in from the community,” Moore said. “We live in a future—especially in Europe—where noise will be budgeted.”

Whisper Aero is headquartered in rural Tennessee near a small airport. (Whisper Aero)

Moore expects that in advancing eVTOL aircraft and integrating them into communities, there are multiple obstacles to overcome, including customer bias. Based on survey results, he said, “People are uncomfortable with big spinning things in close proximity to them, and with flying in an aircraft that is dependent on a single engine.” Noise is often a catch-all for the many community complaints against helicopters. “When one of these helicopters flies over and they hear it, they can lodge a complaint relating to that noise. Often that noise is being used as a proxy for another complaint—’There’s some rich guy flying overhead, inconveniencing me with his noise, and I will never be able to take advantage of that.’ There’s no derived benefit from the risk of aircraft flying overhead. We have to fix all of these things together to make a difference.”

In addition to customer bias, other challenges are that production volumes for helicopters and eVTOLs are very low, the vehicles themselves are very expensive, and operating costs are high. Moore believes that a way to overcome these challenges is by focusing on solutions that can scale up. “Maximum revenues and cost-effectiveness come with scaled operations. If we’re really going to take eVTOLs or regional air mobility aircraft into the mainstream, we need to be doing a lot more operations than 20 times a day,” he concluded.

The post The Quiet eVTOL Revolution: Designing Acoustics for Public Acceptance appeared first on Aviation Today.

Textron Achieves FAA Type Certification on Cessna SkyCourier

The FAA’s Paul (Vu) Nguyen, acting manager of the Wichita ACO Branch (left), presents type certification of the Cessna SkyCourier to Chris Hearne, Textron Aviation’s senior vice president of Engineering. (Textron Aviation)

Less than five years after announcing FedEx Express as its launch air cargo airline customer, Textron Aviation Inc. has received type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for its large-utility turboprop twin Cessna SkyCourier.

Textron first launched the SkyCourier in 2017, originally targeting a 2020 entry-into-service date, with FedEx agreeing to purchase 50 SkyCouriers to become its launch customer, with options to purchase 50 more. The high-wing twin-engine turboprop has a cargo variant—that FedEx Express will operate—with a 6,000-pound maximum payload, a maximum cruise speed of up to 200 knots true airspeed, and a 900 nm [nautical mile] maximum range.

SkyCourier’s freighter version is capable of transporting up to three LD3 shipping containers. The SkyCourier passenger variant can seat up to 19 passengers and a 5,000-pound maximum payload.

Ron Draper, president and CEO, Textron Aviation, said receiving the SkyCourier’s type certification “demonstrates the expertise and hard work of our employees.”

Representatives from the FAA and Textron Aviation stand in front of the Cessna SkyCourier as they celebrate the aircraft’s certification. (Textron Aviation)

“Our clean-sheet design brings to this segment what customers said they need: the ability to load, fly, unload and repeat with low operating costs and maximum cabin flexibility and efficiency. We expect the SkyCourier to be a workhorse of the fleet for FedEx and many other customers around the globe for decades to come,” Draper said in a March 14 press release.

The SkyCourier cockpit features the Garmin G1000 NXi avionics suite, under a January 2020 agreement between Textron and Garmin. Textron has also stated that it is using some of the latest “advancements in aircraft manufacturing, including the use of monolithic machining throughout the airframe” in the SkyCourier production process.

Textron rolled the first production SkyCourier out of its Wichita facility last month. (Textron Aviation)

“With this technique, major assemblies are milled from a single piece of metal rather than assembled from smaller pieces, reducing the overall number of parts and resulting in more precise tolerances for easier assembly,” according to a Feb. 4 press release from Textron marking the rollout of the first production SkyCourier from the company’s manufacturing facility in Wichita.

Three SkyCourier aircraft accumulated more than 2,100 hours throughout the flight test program, which formally started with an inaugural flight in May 2020. Textron previously stated that the first SkyCourier delivery to FedEx will occur following certification, sometime within the first half of the year.

The post Textron Achieves FAA Type Certification on Cessna SkyCourier appeared first on Aviation Today.

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