February 10, 2020 - No. 009 In This Issue WSU Tech, partners will cover tuition of workers laid off as result of 737 Max grounding Can the aviation industry really go carbon neutral by 2050? Asia-Pacific Stakes Claim to Place in Urban Air Mobility Revolution Arizona aviation schools prepare workforce to meet rising demand L3 Harris Struts Post-merger Profile in Singapore 93 Year-Old Inventor and Former NASA Langley Engineer Recognized for Developing Weather Hazard Advisory Technology for Private Pilots Raytheon Sees MARS, STARS as Enablers to App-based Future for U.S. Air Traffic FLYING CARS INCH CLOSER TO REALITY AS NEW ZEALAND SIGNS HISTORIC DEAL Boeing discovers new software issue on 737 Max aircraft Successful Soyuz launch deploys 34 satellites for OneWeb network WSU Tech, partners will cover tuition of workers laid off as result of 737 Max grounding WSU Tech president Sheree Utash announced Friday that the school and its partners would cover tuition for workers affected by layoffs related to the indefinite grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. "I'm very grateful the community came together to take care of people," Robert Tallie, one of the people being laid off, said at Friday's announcement. "I thought this was a perfect opportunity to add to my skill set and weather the storm." Tallie, his brother and mother were all laid off from Spirit, and all plan to take advantage of the scholarship program. Tallie and his brother, 27-year-old Romar Tallie, both earned an associate's degree in coatings and paint last time they went to WSU Tech. This time, they plan to get certified in electronics technology. Robert Tallie said he's confident things will get better, but he still has short-term concerns, like making his car payment. Wichita lawmakers have introduced two bills in Topeka that could help with some of the uncertainty. One would reduce wait times on people needing to apply for unemployment and the other would extend the length of unemployment benefits. There are other resources available to help people as well: 2-1-1 United Way can help financially, and there are also employment and healthcare resources. A list of them can be found at aircapitaloftheworld.com/commitment. The Air Capital Commitment team, which includes 16 agencies, including WSU Tech and the State of Kansas, formed before Spirit AeroSystems announced in January that it would reduce its Wichita staff by more than a fifth within a couple of months. The layoffs were the result of the Boeing 737 Max being grounded after two deadly crashes. Spirit makes parts for the 737 Max. Predicting those layoffs were coming, the Air Capital Commitment group formed to address the future problem. The scholarship program is one of the solutions it came up with. "We understand how important skills are and the need for skills. We are prepared to weather the storm that we have. We are going to continue to grow this economy," said Keith Lawing, president of Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, one of the agencies on the team. "Skills do drive the economy." Lawing said the Workforce Alliance surveyed about 900 employees being laid off and more than a third said they wanted to pursue more training or education. WSU Tech will help applicants apply for free, federal grant dollars and cover any remaining cost for the classes. The money will come from WSU Tech's budget and a $10,000 gift from the Wichita Aero Club. Lawing said the Workforce Alliance also has some funds available to help and other partners should be able to contribute as well. The hope is that expanding the skills of the laid-off workers will allow them to find other jobs in Wichita or return to Spirit when the production of the 737 Max picks up. Since the announcement of the layoffs, Spirit has announced that it would slowly restart 737 Max work, with the expectation it would be allowed to fly again. Spirit said restarting production would not affect the workers told they would be laid off. Spirit makes parts for more than 70% of the737 Max, including the fuselage. The parts are then shipped to the Boeing facility in Washington for further assembly. Boeing president and CEO David Calhoun said he expects the 737 Max to be permitted by regulators to return to service by mid-2020. The FAA said the 737 Max could have its certification flight in the next few weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Still, Spirit, Wichita's largest employer, doesn't expect to return to producing 52 shipsets a month until late 2022. That represents a major setback in production for the company, which had been producing 52 a month for more than a year. "This is simply a very unique situation in which our community is being affected ...We also know every individual has a Robert Tallie story," Utash said. "We want to provide every opportunity we can for you to stay in Wichita and ride the storm out." The classes start in March and can be completed in six to eight weeks, and in "convenient half-day schedules." More information can be found at wsutech.edu/communityresources/. "I can't tell you enough about how much love I feel from this program, from WSU Tech, this community," Tallie said. "To me, this is the best place in the world for me to be right now. I just feel the love all the time." https://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article240081018.html Back to Top Can the aviation industry really go carbon neutral by 2050? Like all great pledges, it is just the right side of implausible. The UK aviation sector this week committed to making flying "net zero" by 2050, wiping out its carbon emissions despite taking more than 100 million extra passengers into the air each year. At a celebratory event in London, the bosses of airports, airlines and aircraft manufacturers queued to scrawl their signatures on a giant Net Zero pledge card from the Sustainable Aviation [SA] campaign. Greenpeace described it as greenwash. But aviation figures insist the ambition is genuine. John Holland-Kaye, the Heathrow airport chief executive, says: "I imagine it's like it is for alcoholics. The first step is to admit we have a problem - and then do something about it. I'm not sure what the 10 points on the AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] programme are, but you can find the equivalent in the SA roadmap." The steps certainly involve a leap of faith, in future fuels and aircraft technology, and human capacity to endlessly offset emissions. Just how does a growing industry plan to reduce its annual footprint from just over 36m tonnes of CO2 to net zero in three decades' time? Solution: newer, more efficient planes Saving: 23.5m tonnes CO2 Aircraft such as Boeing's 787 or Airbus's A350 already emit significantly less than the older jets they are replacing, through lighter materials and more efficient engines. Sustainable Aviation anticipates that emissions will drop by about 30% on routes operated by Boeing 747 jumbos as they are phased out within a decade. The next iteration of the manufacturers' short-haul workhorses are supposed to be 10%-15% more efficient - demonstrated with the A320neo superseding A320s, although the disastrous introduction of the grounded Boeing 737 Max has delayed airline plans to replace older 737s. Altogether different types of propulsion will be in operation by the 2030s, manufacturers believe. But while new electric planes could revolutionise regional flights, and hybrid-electric could manage short-haul flying, their contribution to cutting UK emissions - about 65% of which hail from flights of more than 1,000 miles - will be comparatively minor by 2050, SA admits. Solution: synthetic and sustainable jet fuel Saving: 14.4m tonnes CO2 "We're not going to be electrifying a London-Singapore A380 for a long time, if ever," says Paul Stein, chief technology officer of aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce. "But sustainable fuels can work on the engines we have today, and the concept has been proved." Creating the necessary volume is the tricky bit. Hopes have been pinned on new schemes, such as the new British Airways-backed plant to create jet fuel from household waste. Stein says Rolls-Royce has been exploring whether a small modular nuclear reactor could be used in a synthetic fuel plant, making hydrocarbons in a way that would reduce CO2 to balance the emissions produced in flight. "Right now we're in analysis phase - understanding the economics ... But what we're going to see over the next 10 to 20 years is a lot of innovation and energy directed at creating sustainable aviation fuel." Solution: flying straighter and cleaner Saving: 3.1m tonnes CO2 Progress in coordinating European airspace and air traffic control has been slow. But with better use of airspace, and coordinated flight paths, planes could be guided more efficiently from take-off to landing. The UK is in the midst of redesigning its airspace to help create better paths. More efficient operations, such as eliminating stacking, would help aircraft carry and burn less fuel. Solution: offsetting emissions Saving: 25.8m tonnes Co2 Environmental groups question the adequacy of offsetting - but the roadmap relies on it to account for more than a third of aviation's projected emissions. Jonathan Counsell, head of sustainability at British Airways' owner IAG, says: "We think that we can get to net zero without it - but not by 2050. This is a transitional measure." The scepticism about offsetting means, Counsell admits, that any schemes have to be high-quality, independently verified and end in actual, additional carbon removal. For now, offsetting means reforestation or restoration of peatland bogs that absorb CO2 from the atmosphere; later, potentially, investment in new carbon capture and storage technologies. Solution: pay more to fly, cut demand Saving: 4.3m tonnes CO2 In an industry run by accountants, some jiggery-pokery was perhaps inevitable: emissions are "saved" as the 70% rise in passengers by 2050 is, in fact, slightly lower than the Department of Transport's growth forecast growth. "We will have to pay more to fly," says Holland-Kaye. Sustainable fuels are more expensive, and the carbon price is expected to rise tenfold, he says. The price of all the offsetting that the industry will rely on will be passed on to consumers through higher fares, constraining demand. So can this work? The industry urgently wants to present an alternative vision to the growing backlash against flying. Stein says: "Flying connects the world - it is a force for good in transporting people and goods, making sure our cultures have great levels of understanding." As an engineer, he says, he is optimistic that emissions can be brought down sooner than the roadmap pledge: "We have the engineering tools to do it; we need the will, and government help." https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/feb/07/can-the-aviation-industry-really-go-carbon-neutral-by-2050 Back to Top Asia-Pacific Stakes Claim to Place in Urban Air Mobility Revolution Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and the new urban air mobility (UAM) business model that they are designed to support have the potential to make a lot of people very happy. Passengers stand to benefit from gridlock-busting alternatives to being trapped in ever-worsening road traffic. Investors expect to be rewarded for their faith in the pioneering startups driving new products to market. And those with mounting concerns about aviation's environmental impact see the electric aviation revolution as a prime opportunity for the industry to get more sustainable. Last year, Nexa Advisors and the Vertical Flight Society published a forecast that the UAM market across 74 cities worldwide will be worth around $318 billion between 2020 and 2040. The study estimated that as many as 1.3 billion passengers could be carried in and around these cities in that 20-year period, generating demand for 28,000 eVTOL aircraft. Spending on infrastructure alone (ground facilities and air traffic management) was estimated at $32 billion. By the same token, the optimism surrounding this much-hyped new sector of aviation often seems ill-founded to seasoned industry watchers. The pioneers face multiple challenges to viably deliver the scale of change they promise, and the next three or four years seem likely to make a mockery of some of the more inflated claims and unrealistically ambitious timeframes for delivery. According to some assessments, there could be as many as 200 new eVTOL and electrically powered fixed-wing aircraft in the works worldwide. Some of these are intended to be operated autonomously, although most will at least begin operations with a pilot on board. It's a safe bet that many of these will never feel the wind beneath their rotors, but it's hard not to be impressed by the energy, imagination and, yes, vast amounts of cash, that are fueling the dream. ASIA-PACIFIC EARLY ADOPTERS The Asia-Pacific region is fast emerging as a key source of momentum for this exciting new sector. Several cities in the region are expected to be early adopters of urban air mobility and a number of leading companies in this part of the world are among providing significant financial backing for eVTOL programs. Here in Singapore, back in October 2019, Germany's Volocopter and the UK's Skyport unveiled a mockup of the VoloPort in the city's Marina Bay district. With the agreement of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (Chalet C512), they also conducted a short demonstration flight with the prototype of the VoloCity aircraft, which Volocopter says will achieve European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification in time for service entry by the end of 2022. In September 2019, Chinese automobile group Geely announced an investment of around $55 million in Volocopter and signaled its intention to bring UAM operations to China. Geely, which also owns a stake in German carmaker Daimler, is in discussions to mass-produce the VoloCity and bring down the cost of operating it. Geely is not the only Asian automobile group making a big move into electric aviation. In recent months, South Korea's Hyundai and Japan's Toyota have each made significant investments in the fast-emerging eVTOL sector. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, Hyundai Motor Company and Uber announced plans to work together to develop a new eVTOL aircraft to be used for the planned Uber Air air-taxi service. Rideshare giant Uber now has eight prospective manufacturing partners, which also include Boeing, Embraer (Chalet CD37), Bell (Chalet Q01), Pipistrel Aircraft, as well as three start-ups: Karem Aircraft, Joby Aviation, and Jaunt Air Mobility. It has identified Melbourne in Australia as a possible early adoption city for eVTOL flights. Hyundai's planned all-electric S-A1 aircraft is projected to offer range of 60 miles, speeds of up to 180 mph and a cruising altitude of between 1,000 and 2,000 feet. The aircraft, which features four sets of rotors for vertical lift and four propellers for cruise flight, will seat four passengers. Hyundai says the aircraft's batteries will need between five and seven minutes to recharge. Also last month, Toyota Motor Corp. was announced as the lead investor in a $590 million Series C financing round for Joby Aviation. The Japanese company has invested $394 million in the California-based start-up and will provide manufacturing and quality control support of its S4 eVTOL, which Joby says will be ready to enter service in 2023. The all-electric S4 features six sets of propellers-four mounted on the wings and two aft-with a cabin optimized for ridesharing operations. Capable of reaching a speed of 200 mph, it will have a range of 150 miles on a single charge. Meanwhile, in late December, China's EHang raised around $46 million in an initial public offering on New York's Nasdaq Global Market. This was a bit less than half the $100 million the company had targeted from the IPO, but the new cash will boost efforts to complete the development of EHang's all-electric, autonomous 216 and 116 aircraft. Takeoff in China In 2019, with the approval of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), EHang began some demonstration flights in its home city of Guangzhou and various other locations in China. It has also conducted demonstration flights in the Netherlands, North Carolina, and Austria, where its Chinese-owned partner FACC is based. In February, it filed an application with CAAC for operations in support of a customer's logistics business under the Pilot Operations Rules (Interim) for Specific Unmanned Aircraft. The company also holds an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) safety certificate from the China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology (CAST). The level II certificate vouches for the safe performance of the 216 and EHang's Falcon drone in a UAS 'fence' in Guangzhou that the company has developed to avoid autonomous aircraft from operating in restricted areas. The 216 can carry a payload of 485 pounds on flights of up to 22 miles and at speeds of up to 81 mph. Its single-seat sister aircraft, the 116, has the same range and speed limits. The company has not yet published dates for anticipated type certification of its first two autonomous aircraft, but it has already started making deliveries to various partner companies who are expected to act as distributors. It claims to hold "orders" for around 1,000 aircraft. The eVTOL sector has also attracted more established aerospace players. Several of these are at the Singapore Air Show this week. In December, Boeing (Chalet WN93) formalized an existing partnership with eVTOL start-up Kitty Hawk by creating a new joint venture called Wisk. The new company will focus on bringing Kitty Hawk's two-seat, electric Cora aircraft, which has now completed more than 1,000 test flights in New Zealand, where California-based Wisk has taken over Kitty Hawk's Zephyr Airworks subsidiary. Boeing has not disclosed the size of its financial investment in Wisk, but it appears to be the majority partner. Gary Gysin, formerly president and CEO of Boeing autonomous marine vehicle subsidiary Liquid Robotics, is head of the joint venture. In addition to Kitty Hawk founder and CEO Sebastian Thrun, Wisk's board of directors includes Boeing NeXt vice president and general manager Steve Nordlund and Boeing Horizon X vice president Logan Jones. Gysin told AIN that New Zealand will continue to be the hub for development work on the Cora, which is being designed to operate autonomously. Wisk has an established cooperation with Air New Zealand and is building on Kitty Hawk's outreach work to the country's aviation and civic authorities. It expects to see the first passenger-carrying flights conducted there and in October 2019 New Zealand officials announced plans for airspace integration trials with unmanned aircraft. Cora is expected to provide a range of up to 60 miles and is being specifically developed for UAM applications. Wisk is just part of Boeing's wider involvement in this sector. Through its Aurora Flight Sciences subsidiary, the aerospace giant is working on a larger Passenger Air Vehicle eVTOL, which is expected to resume test flights this year (after an interruption following a crash in June 2019). Meanwhile, the Boeing NeXt team is developing an autonomous Cargo Air Vehicle intended for freight deliveries. In October 2019, the company announced a partnership with German sports car maker Porsche to work on new designs for a luxury eVTOL model. Nordlund told AIN that Boeing views "the future mobility space" as a big, long-term project that requires the development of a sophisticated eco-system, of which aircraft are only one part. "It takes a very broad approach and is a very long journey," he explained. "They [the Passenger Air Vehicle and Cargo Air Vehicle] are at the research and development stage and provide great platforms for technology maturation. Cora is a very mature vehicle, and, although there is still work to do, our goal is to make this part of our portfolio. Boeing's exact role will be defined over time. The issue now is solving passengers' problems and it is still to be defined what the end products will look like. None of the vehicles underway today have hit all the requirements." BOEING PLAYS THE LONG GAME Quizzed as to whether the Boeing group's wider financial and business challenges might reduce its appetite for investing in the new UAM sector, Nordlund gave no reason to believe this would shift its focus. "We're looking to provide the safest solution," he said. "Speed to market is irrelevant to us and we try not to talk about timelines and dates. Boeing has paralleled this history of aviation and we will be there." Last year, Boeing and Safran (Chalet G18) announced a joint investment in energy storage specialist Electric Power Systems (EPS). The undisclosed investment during a Series A funding round has boosted the Utah-based company's efforts to develop a highly automated industrial base capable of producing aviation-grade batteries at far higher rates than is possible today. The aim is that this will reduce the cost of the batteries, making them more viable for electric aircraft. France-based Safran is actively involved in a number of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developments, including Bell's Nexus (see below), for which it is providing a new turboshaft to support its hybrid-electric powerplant. It has also been involved in Zunum's ZA-10 fixed-wing program, which appears to be stalled due to a lack of funds, and, reportedly with MetroSkyways' City Hawk. Safran views the eVTOL sector as a launchpad for introducing electrical power to larger aircraft, and, in its view, improving the efficiency of energy storage is a key factor in achieving this. "We think that eVTOL is a significant business opportunity that still faces a lot of uncertainty," Hervé Blanc, vice president of the group's Electrical & Power division told AIN. "The eVTOL aircraft are perfect for demonstrating the benefits of electric and hybrid power solutions and we expect them to drive other opportunities with larger aircraft. According to Safran, weight constraints for energy storage units are a far greater challenge for aviation than they are in the automotive sector. So too, are the ability to meet safety standards and to produce large numbers of batteries at an acceptable cost. The company also is working on algorithms to ensure that operators will know with a high degree of accuracy how much charge is left in batteries so that they can be sure of landing safely. Safran also has invested in Oxis Energy, which is developing new lithium-sulfur batteries. In July 2019, it acquired Neelogy, a France-based specialist in electrical current sensors. Further ahead, the group believes electrical power will prove viable for regional airliners. At the Paris Air Show in June 2019, it announced a partnership with Daher and Airbus through which they will seek to improve the aerodynamics of hybrid power solutions on larger aircraft through development work on one of Daher's TBM single-engine turboprop aircraft. Meanwhile, Embraer, which is in the process of merging with Boeing, has its own ambitions in the UAM sector. In early January, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer's EmbraerX division announced a partnership with Elroy Air to develop a cargo-carrying eVTOL aircraft called the Chaparral. The companies said the autonomously operated aircraft, which will have a hybrid-electric propulsion system, will be able to deliver payloads of up to 300 pounds over distances of up to 300 miles. Elroy said it intends to complete type aircraft certification in 2022 under the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s Special Class 21.17 (b) rules. According to the California-based company, Embraer will be involved in the program in an advisory capacity "in the areas of engineering, business, and certification." The Chaparral's propulsion system consists of a forward propeller and vertical flight rotors driven by electric motors, with a turboshaft engine and electrical generator. "The system features unique and patented cargo-handling systems enabling unattended pickup and drop-off of cargo pods, which will unlock high-throughput logistics with very little down-time compared to today's air cargo [operations] in which assets are utilized at lower daily levels," Elroy co-founder and CEO David Merrill told AIN. EmbraerX president and CEO Antonio Campello told AIN that Embraer's experience in providing aftermarket support once the Chaparral enters service could be very valuable and that it is investing in developing an "ecosystem" to support eVTOL aircraft entering service. Separately, Campello said EmbraerX will announce further new partnerships in the UAM sector during the first half of this year. The company has been working on plans for a passenger-carrying eVTOL aircraft but has steadfastly declined to say how advanced this program may be. Campello declined to comment as to whether the future of these plans might change once Embraer's merger with Boeing is complete. NO RUSH FOR EVTOL Boeing's rival Airbus (Chalet CD23-35) shares its belief that success in the UAM sector requires a more gradual approach than many of the eVTOL start-ups racing to be first to market. Two separate Airbus group entities-the Silicon Valley-based A3 by Airbus (known as A-cubed) advanced technology subsidiary and Airbus Helicopters-are leading efforts to launch Airbus's entry to the eVTOL market with a pair of technology demonstrators being used to define the planned design. A3 was responsible for flight testing the single-seat Vahana model, which concluded in 2019, and Airbus Helicopters is working on the four-seat CityAirbus aircraft, which made its first flight in 2019. Neither of these aircraft is intended to become production models, but the lessons learned from the programs will guide Airbus's plans for a passenger eVTOL that is now understood to be at the early stages of product definition work that could be complete by the end of 2020. On October 2, 2019, Airbus Helicopters signed a memorandum of understanding with EASA to cooperate in the field of VTOL aircraft. The agreement will cover work such as the European manufacturer's Racer demonstrator, the certification of new piloting assistance systems such as Airbus's EAGLE technology, and thermal/electrical hybridization of rotorcraft (including new eVTOL designs). "Having lived and worked in Silicon Valley, I'm well aware of the fail-safe-fail-cheap philosophy of many tech start-ups there, but this approach doesn't work when you are planning to fly people over people," Eduardo Dominguez-Puerta, Airbus' senior v-p for urban mobility, told AIN. "We have a strong safety brand and because of our track record, the regulators know we are serious about this. So, we don't want to take a short-term approach." Airbus believes more progress is required to establish a clear legal, environmental, and social policy foundation for operating these aircraft in urban environments. Like Boeing, the European group is committing significant resources to work with all stakeholders to resolve these issues. It also sees significant challenges in terms of integrating the new category of aviation into the air traffic management system and believes that its in-house expertise in this area will give it an edge over new market entrants with shallow aviation roots. "One key difference between us and the start-ups is that we don't need to raise money from venture capitalists," he commented. "The people who have to do that tend to over-communicate what their plans are and, in our view, some of the vehicles that come from this process will not be optimal. They don't have the chance to test different configurations and so they have to take a chance on one configuration." Also, at last month's CES show, Bell (Chalet Q01) displayed a smaller version of its Nexus eVTOL aircraft, with four rotors instead of six. The Nexus is designed for all-electric or hybrid-electric power, but is "propulsion-agnostic," according to Bell, "depending on customer needs." The four-rotor Nexus 4EX model will have initially a 60-mile electric range, but that could be greater with hybrid-electric power. The latest design is a tilting four-duct vehicle configurable in an electric or hybrid-electric platform that features a central wing, integrated landing skids, and a conventional vertical tail but without a horizontal stabilizer. When announced at CES 2019 as a six-ducted design, first flight for Nexus was projected in 2020, with aircraft certification to follow in 2023. Bell has not yet provided an updated plan for the 4EX, which is now the final configuration for the Nexus. Bell also has unveiled what it calls its AerOS urban air mobility operating system, which president and CEO Mitch Snyder described a "smart city ecosystem." The Bell demonstration at CES highlighted how "mobility as a service" software like AerOS can manage a metropolitan area's UAM activities. Bell intends to offer AerOS, which runs on Microsoft's Azure platform, to cities to speed up their adoption of UAM capabilities. The AerOS demo showed how the system takes into account problems that inevitably come up during passenger and cargo flying operations, for example, weather events that might require all vehicles to land immediately. AerOS also creates an optimal flight schedule based on goal-seeking optimization algorithms and artificial intelligence to anticipate passenger behavior and desires and the vehicle's needs for battery recharging to meet the schedule. Last October, hybrid-electric propulsion developer Ampaire (Chalet W87) announced a partnership with fellow U.S. company Ikhana Aircraft to modify Twin Otter airframes to fly with that technology. Ikhana is known for engineering modifications for Twin Otters, including having received a supplemental type certificate for its DHC-6-300HG with a maximum gross weight increase to 14,000 pounds, from 12,500 pounds. The two companies have launched a NASA-funded study to explore the "electrification" of the Twin Otter. Under NASA's Electric Aircraft Propulsion program, the two companies are evaluating various options and produce plans to assess the cost, schedule and risk mitigation for the planned development. The partners' goal is to be able to put a hybrid-electric version of Ikhana's 19-seat RWMI DHC-6 300HG Twin Otter. The 1,500 hp/1 MW power specifications of the current aircraft's Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engines meet the criteria for the NASA program. Since the partnership announcement, California-based Ampaire has made no comment on progress with the prospective Twin Otter re-engining program or its other plans to develop electrically powered versions of other existing aircraft. Ampaire's first project has been to produce a hybrid-electric version of the Cessna 337 Skymaster piston single called the EEL. Hawaii-based operator Mokulele Airlines is supposed to begin flight trials with the aircraft this year and reportedly has placed orders for the model. The EEL aircraft first flew in June 2019 and since then Ampaire has relocated its electric motor from the rear of the aircraft to the front. Both aviation gasoline and electric motors are rated at 210hp (160 kW). The electric motor is throttled via software so that the stock engine can keep up with it. At the EAA AirVenture show in July 2019, Ampaire announced plans to bring hybrid-electric power to the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan and Viking Twin Otter, as well as offering a diesel-hybrid retrofit option for piston-powered aircraft. Company CEO Kevin Noertker said his company's engine conversions cut fuel consumption by between 70 and 90 percent, reduce maintenance expense by 20 to 50 percent, and produce significantly quieter aircraft. Two variants of the Twin Otter will be offered: one with a 310-hp Continental IO-550 piston engine and a 215-hp (160-kW) electric propulsion system and the other with a 300-hp Continental CD-300 diesel engine and the same 215-hp electric system. Customers will have a choice of selecting a pressurized or unpressurized cabin, as well as four or six seats. Winglets and a STOL kit will be standard. Type certification is expected in 2021. SUPPLY CHAIN STEPS UP The UAM and electric aircraft sector also has attracted investment from across the aerospace supply chain. Several other exhibitors here at the Singapore Air Show already have skin in the game. In December, aircraft controls systems specialist Moog (Chalet N87) completed its acquisition of Workhorse's SureFly eVTOL program for $4 million. Workhorse and Moog also have established a 50:50 joint venture to complete the development of the HorseFly unmanned cargo delivery drone. Moog has yet to publish a timeline for completing the development of SureFly. In October, the HorseFly began trial operations delivering medical supplies in San Diego, California, under a pilot program approved by the FAA. The hybrid SureFly is powered by a turbine generator with battery backup and has eight props driven by electric motors. It also has a whole-aircraft ballistic parachute for emergencies. In June 2018, Workhorse said it applied to the FAA to begin the certification process for the vehicle, which made a first flight earlier that year. The HorseFly multicopter has a maximum takeoff weight of just 30 pounds, a 10-pound payload capacity, and a top speed of 50 mph. Collins Aerospace (Chalet V01) is making a major investment in its new electrical power development facility in Rockford, Illinois. The Grid facility, which is due to be fully operational by 2022, will harness expertise from across the group, including UTC Aerospace Systems, which United Technologies merged with Rockwell Collins when it acquired the company. The group is looking to harness its extensive experience of systems integration capability as part of the "more electric aircraft" trend to replace hydraulic systems with electrical systems. Its engineers are engaged in research and development work with multiple component suppliers to work out the best combinations of technology. In Project 804, Collins is working with Pratt & Whitney to develop a hybrid-electric propulsion system that would be capable of powering a regional airliner. The team is preparing for a 2022 first flight by a re-engined Bombardier Dash 8 Q100 twin turboprop with a 2MW powerplant, consisting of a 1MW thermal engine and a 1MW motor controller battery system. "Power management is necessary for [electric aircraft] engines to make them safe and manageable in flight," said Stan Kottke, Collins' v-p for electrical power systems. "Following all the mergers and acquisitions, we can move power all the way from the engine to the load equipment of the aircraft." Collins says it is working with several eVTOL aircraft developers but is not able to confirm which ones for now. It is also expanding partnerships with battery specialists to explore applications for new power storage technology. Honeywell Aerospace (Chalet CS30) is to supply Vertical Aerospace with fly-by-wire control systems for the planned Seraph eVTOL aircraft that the UK manufacturer says will enter service by 2023. Under a strategic-partnership agreement announced last July, Honeywell will provide systems including triplex fly-by-wire computers for a third prototype that is due to fly in 2020. Seraph is expected to have room for around four passengers and could have sufficient range to fly between cities. The proof-of-concept model features four three-blade rotors. Honeywell is expanding its involvement in the emerging electric aircraft sector and is already partnered in at least three other programs. These include Eviation Aircraft's Alice (flight control systems), the Pipistrel 801 (fly-by-wire control system, navigation systems, and avionics displays) and Joint Air Mobility's ROSA (avionics, navigation systems, electric propulsion, and connectivity solutions). Last November, the U.S. aerospace group further advanced its ambitions in the UAM sector with an investment in artificial intelligence specialist Daedalean. Honeywell is working with the Swiss-based start-up to develop an AI-based system that will support autonomous takeoff and landings, as well as a vision-based navigation and collision avoidance capability for light fixed-wing and eVTOL aircraft that does not depend on GPS. BAE Systems (Chalet N74) is developing the energy management system for Jaunt Air Mobility's ROSA eVTOL aircraft. Under an agreement signed in December, BAE's Controls and Avionics Solutions division is handling this part of the program. BAE Systems has 20-plus years of experience in developing and integrating electric propulsion systems. The company has more than 10,000 electric-hybrid systems on transit buses and marine vessels around the globe, including major cities such as Paris, London, New York, and San Francisco. The UK-based group also has more than 40 years of experience in controls and avionics for military and commercial aircraft. Last year, aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce (Chalet N23) took steps to strengthen its ability to capitalize on the demand for electric aircraft. First, in June, it announced the planned (and now completed) acquisition of Siemens's electric and hybrid-electric "eAircraft" business. Then, in July, it reached an agreement with the German state of Brandenburg to establish a new facility for developing and manufacturing hybrid-electric drive systems for aircraft. The initiative aims to pioneer the development of hybrid-electric 400 to 1,000 kW propulsion systems and builds on Rolls-Royce's existing cooperation with the Brandenburg Technical University (BTU) in Cottbus-Senftenberg. The state of Brandenburg and Rolls-Royce committed to co-fund the initiative over the next six years. In December, Rolls-Royce unveiled the design of its first electric race plane under its ACCEL (Accelerating the Electrification of Flight) program. The company is looking to beat the world speed record for an electric aircraft by flying the aircraft at more than 300 miles per hour ahead of this summer's Farnborough Air Show. According to Rolls-Royce, ACCEL will have the most power-dense battery pack ever assembled for an aircraft, enabling it to fly 200 miles (London to Paris) on a single charge of its 6,000 cells. The propeller is driven by three electric motors delivering more than 500 hp. Rolls said that "even during the record run, the all-electric powertrain will deliver power with 90 percent energy efficiency and, of course, zero emissions." Rolls-Royce is also partnered with Airbus on the E-Fan X technology demonstrator project and with Norwegian airline Widerøe on a program that could replace its regional fleet of airliners with electric aircraft by 2030. Thales (Chalet F23) is partnered with Bell in the development of its Nexus eVTOL aircraft, for which it is providing the flight control system. The France-based group is also developing other technologies for the UAM sector, including datalinks to allow aircraft to communicate with each other, sense and avoid systems, cybersecurity applications, and its Soarizon mission planning software. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2020-02-07/asia-pacific-stakes-claim-place-urban-air-mobility-revolution Back to Top Arizona aviation schools prepare workforce to meet rising demand As the aviation industry in the United States faces growing worker shortages, aviation schools across Arizona are preparing to feed the demand with certified and skilled labor. Projections for the next 20 years forecast that the industry will need 804,000 new civil aviation pilots, 769,000 new maintenance technicians, and 914,000 new cabin crew, according to the 2019 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook. There are now dozens of aviation programs across Arizona-and spots available-to train technicians, unmanned flight operators, drone electricians, pilots and more for the industry. High school programs offerings low-cost to no-cost For high school students in Arizona, there are spots available in aviation programs at little or no cost at institutions like Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC), East East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT), and South Mountain High School. At West-Mec in the West Valley, a two-year program and certification in its aviation and drone programs cost high school students $500. Students in the adult program pay about $14,000. Many high school students come from low-income neighborhoods and are able to move into high paying jobs upon graduation, said Greg Donovan, superintendent of West-MEC, which serves 48 high schools throughout the West and North Valley in the Phoenix metro region. "After completion of the program, students walk away with their Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airframe, general, and powerplant certifications. This means they are ready to work in the lucrative aviation industry and become financially independent," Donavan said. Aviation maintenance students work with industry veterans in an airplane hangar with small aircraft and a Learjet. Major airlines and aviation and aeronautics industries and schools partner with or are on the West-MEC's advisory council-companies like American Airlines, Honeywell, Hawaiian Airlines, Concord Aviation, MD Helicopter, Performance airgroup, Lufthansa, Fire-tec Aero Systems, and Embry-Riddle University. Pima Community College aviation program expansion At the college level, there are many offerings for aviation at both public and private schools including Cochise and Pima community colleges. Last year, Pima Community College received $15 million to expand its aviation technology program to double student enrollment. The new space is set to open in 2021. It offers aviation technician and aircraft airframe mechanics certifications. Many of its students are moving into defense industry jobs in the Tucson region. State's aviation industry pours $38 billion into economy For graduates of these programs, there is much opportunity. Arizona's aviation industry continues to grow, and it is home to one of the busiest airports in the world, Sky Harbor International Airport. The industry generates more than 470,000 jobs and contributes more than $38 billion annually to the economy, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority. In addition to 83 airports throughout the state, it is home to hundreds of defense companies and 20 military installations. Top companies like Raytheon Missile Systems, General Dynamics C4 Systems, BAE Systems, and ATK's Integrated Weapon Systems. Spots available Here's a sampling of a few aviation programs across the state: West-Mec in Glendale offers training and FAA certification programs in airframe, general and powerplant certifications, and drone electronics. It has programs for adults as well. East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) serves the East Valley including Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert, offers aviation programs including training to earn an FAA private pilot's license. Eighty-eight percent of high school students in the aviation program earn their private pilot license and/or unmanned aircraft systems remote pilot certificate. Adult programs, too. South Mountain High School in Phoenix offers private pilot's certificate program without cost. Since its inception, the program has produced over 400 pilots. The program also provides students with academic and hands-on training in areas like air traffic control, and airframe and powerplant maintenance. Pima Community College, which is undergoing an expansion of its program and facilities, offers aviation technician and aircraft airframe mechanics certifications. Cochise Community College celebrated its 50th anniversary of its aviation program last year. In addition to a professional pilot program, it offers certifications in aerospace thermal fusion, aerospace welding technology, unmanned aerial system operator, unmanned aerial vehicle flight operator, and more. https://azbigmedia.com/business/education-news/arizona-aviation-schools-prepare-workforce-to-meet-rising-demand/ Back to Top L3 Harris Struts Post-merger Profile in Singapore L3 Harris Technologies (Chalets V73 and CS46) alights at the Singapore airshow just months after the publicly traded U.S. company was created through the merger of aerospace and defense systems provider L3 Technologies and the Harris Corporation, a major technology developer. The merged company is the world's sixth-largest defense company, with some 48,000 employees in more than 400 locations, customers in over 100 countries, and revenue of $17 billion last year. Its products and services are delivered from four divisions: Integrated Mission Systems, Space & Airborne Systems, Communication Systems, and Aviation Systems. It is doubtless that something among its span of offerings is of professional interest to every attendee at the Changi Exhibition Center. Integrated Missions Systems offerings include intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, and electro-optical systems including infrared, laser imaging, and targeting. Space & Airborne Systems specialties include avionics, situational awareness solutions, space payloads, and optical and wireless networking, while the Communications Systems umbrella covers broadband communications, night vision, and public safety. But L3's Aviation Systems is center stage in Singapore, with products ranging from airport security and data link communication to UAVs, collision avoidance systems and flight recorders. Commercial and military training systems include flight and maintenance simulation; its Link Training & Simulation business traces its roots to the pioneering simulator manufacturer founded by Ed Link. L3's aviation division also provides a suite of M3 solutions-missionization, modernization, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO)-for military, government, and commercial customers, and specializes in complex widebody aircraft modifications. An FAA-/EASA-approved repair station with FAA Organization Designation Authorization, the division's Waco, Texas facility has completed projects on more than 95 platform types, including over 50 head-of-state aircraft completions, receiving more than 55 STCs along the way. Notable projects include modifying Virgin Orbit's 747-400 for use as an airborne satellite launch platform; modifying engine manufacturers' 747s for use as flying testbeds for new powerplants; and modifying a 747 SP for NASA's SOFIA program, the world's largest airborne observatory. The MRO center includes a paint bay that can accommodate large civilian and military aircraft including the Boeing 747-8 and Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, and L3 recently highlighted its paint capabilities, which extend far beyond "austere military paint specifications," said Jon Piatt, L3's v-p and general manager. In November, L3 showcased the complex new livery it applied to a 787-the facility's third wide-body custom paint completion of 2019. The 73,000 sq ft (6,500 sq m) paint bay includes multiple onsite component paint booths. Its analog HVAC system was recently replaced with the latest digital technology for temperature and humidity control in a multi-million dollar upgrade, allowing L3's paint specialists to produce custom paint jobs on a variety of aircraft. Rounding out its M3 portfolio, the enhanced paint capabilities make L3 "uniquely positioned to offer world-class aircraft paint services as part of our maintenance, repair, and overhaul solutions," Piatt said. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, L3 Harris has additional facilities in locations including Arlington, Texas, and Rochester, New York. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2020-02-08/l3-harris-struts-post-merger-profile-singapore Back to Top 93 Year-Old Inventor and Former NASA Langley Engineer Recognized for Developing Weather Hazard Advisory Technology for Private Pilots Norman Crabill, a retired NASA Langley engineer, is well into his ninth decade but keeps busy with projects. As an inventor and a part-time employee at V\u00edGYAN, an aerospace research firm in Hampton, Crabill, 93, offered details of his latest masterpiece -- the active ride improvement system. It's something that would help with turbulence by adding a device similar to a shock absorber. "I need to be doing something," he said. Crabill, a member of the NACA and NASA Langley Research Center's Hall of Honor, shared his idea Wednesday surrounded by friends, colleagues and family. They gathered to honor the nonagenarian for his other big invention -- the first pilot weather advisory system for general aviation use. The tool gives pilots, right from cockpit, lifesaving technology with access to real-time satellite views of the skies and destination airport conditions to help when flying into thunderstorms or other hazardous weather. After more than a decade of tests, input and development, Crabill and V\u00edGYAN, headed by Sudhir Mehrotra, sold the technology to be commercially produced. It has been on the market since 2002. "This is not just about me, but it's about the team, about 20 people on a team, and my appreciation with Sudhir at the top," Crabill said, choking up a bit. "The reason this worked is that everyone wanted to make it work." Mehrotra has led V\u00edGYAN, located in the Langley Research and Development Business Park, for nearly 40 years. Using a $1 million small business innovative research grant from NASA, the company spent an additional $1.4 million, Mehrotra said, to commercially develop the product that is available to private pilots, mainly owners of single engine planes. The equipment includes an antenna mounted outside the airplane. Inside there is an electronics box in the cockpit, plus an instrument panel display or an iPad-like device, Richard White, a company spokesman, wrote in an email. Crabill, who also launched his own consulting firm after leaving Langley, received the patent on his invention in 1993. Before the technology was available, pilots had to research the weather forecast before flying. Commercial airliners had air traffic controllers to relay weather data to pilots, said Keith Hoffler, who helped V\u00edGYAN market the product. But pilots flying smaller air crafts and private jets really didn't have anyone to alert them to an oncoming storm, he added. Back in the 1980s, most single engine planes had multiple gauges in the cockpit to help navigate a fluffy cumulus cloud, for example, Crabill said. But there was nothing that offered weather information. "You had to check (the weather) before you went and check as you went because things change. ... You could call the ground station ... and write it all down," he said. It also was difficult to hear sometimes. "The (Federal Aviation Administration) had ground stations ... and they would relay off a lot data and you are flying the airplane and you're like, 'well what are you saying?'" Crabill said. "You could fly in clouds ... but it didn't give you the weather." Drawn to the skies In 1947, Crabill, an aeronautical engineering college student at Catholic University, received a lucky break to ride in a new type of helicopter \u2015 and it changed the course of his life. Inspired when he was about to graduate and on the hunt for jobs, he went straight to NASA Langley, then called NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. He was seeking work with helicopters. "It was so exhilarating," Crabill recalled. "This is what I wanted to do." There were no jobs available in helicopters there, but some six months later he was offered a job in Langley's flight research division, he said. Crabill spent nearly four decades at Langley and during his tenure he did extensive research to develop its storm hazards program. His task was to research and design ways to predict, detect and create procedures involving operating aircraft in heavy precipitation, wind shear, turbulence and lightening, according to a biography about him on NASA's website. There was a plea from the National Transportation Safety Board, to many U.S. agencies, including NASA, to investigate and find a way to help prevent aircraft accidents like those in the 1970s, he wrote. The request ultimately evolved into NASA's program. But it was only after Crabill retired in 1986, a private pilot himself, and working as a consultant with the Federal Aviation Administration, he realized he had an opportunity to serve a real need. Crabill was developing weather data systems using new Doppler radar technology. He suggested also making it available in all airplanes, to which he received a "no" from one FAA official, he wrote. "That sparked my decision to leave that job, go back to Hampton and form Aero Space Consultants ... to develop the Pilot Weather Advisor, with encouragement from another FAA official," he wrote. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/business-general-aviation/news/21124625/93-yearold-inventor-and-former-nasa-langley-engineer-recognized-for-developing-weather-hazard-advisory-technology-for-private-pilots Back to Top Raytheon Sees MARS, STARS as Enablers to App-based Future for U.S. Air Traffic Raytheon seeks to transition the technology used by air traffic controllers to track aircraft in U.S. terminal airspace to a more software-based system that can be continuously upgraded, using application updates instead of hardware replacement - similar to modern smartphones. In January, Raytheon was selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to improve usability and reduce operational costs for the existing Standard Terminal Automation System (STARS), a command and control system that provides the integration of flight plan data and aircraft surveillance for Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities. Through that update, and another platform designed to provide controllers with surveillance of unmanned aircraft systems, the Multi-platform ATC Re-hosting Solution (MARS), Raytheon wants to use software applications as the primary way it introduces new functionality to controllers in the future. STARS STARS is used by air traffic controllers across the U.S. to provide aircraft spacing and sequencing guidance for more than 40,000 departing and arriving aircraft in terminal airspace daily at more than 600 civilian and military airports. It has been deployed at all 11 of the TRACON facilities located throughout the National Airspace System (NAS). Now, Raytheon is focused on shifting this embedded architecture to a more software-based system. The goal is to establish a single national software and hardware baseline for STARS use at all TRACONs. "The new improvements are not necessarily going to introduce a new graphical user interface, but will bring more efficiency to the way controllers manage air traffic," Jackie Dent, software and systems manager for the STARS program at Raytheon, told Avionics International. "Today, everything is a serial hardware input and controllers have up to five to six different displays to monitor. Our goal is to upgrade STARS to a system where you can integrate new controller tools as an app without changing what they do today too drastically." STARS is designed to integrate both radar data and flight information into the displays used by controllers. The displays also receive and process weather reports and other information from terminals and other sensors deployed throughout the NAS, identifying information by colors alongside the actual air traffic to help guide aircraft around bad weather. By mid-2020, Raytheon's goal is to have STARS managed by a single national software and hardware baseline. Chris Rogers, Raytheon's program manager for STARS, said the software updates are phased in one location at a time, providing controllers with the opportunity to continue managing existing air traffic while testing out new features before using them operationally. "One of the advantages to having a common baseline of software is that we can release updates at each individual position and location so that you can go live on new features on a site by site basis when each is deemed ready," Rogers told Avionics. Rogers said the latest selection by the FAA would not be the last time Raytheon introduces new updates to STARS either, as updates will continue as needed well into the future. "There will be a continual evolution of STARS for at least the next 10 years, and probably well beyond that," Rogers said. "We will continue to introduce new enhancements designed to drive down costs. It's not like we have a set of 50 requirements today that are all going to be done six years from now. This is an evolutionary process." MARS While the STARS technology is a key enabler to enhancing the way controllers managed traditional fixed and rotary wing air traffic, the Multi-platform ATC Re-hosting Solution (MARS) was developed by Raytheon to accommodate new entrants coming into controlled airspace, including commercially operated drones and eventually electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis. Raytheon describes MARS as a prototype workstation that it has started showing to air traffic controllers for feedback at industry trade shows, such as the annual Air Traffic Controllers Association (ATCA) conference and exhibition. The prototype includes a 43-inch touchscreen monitor that is designed to turn the current voice recording and switching systems, airport surface detection system alerts, weather display and electronic flight strips components used by controllers into software-based air traffic applications that can be continuously upgraded. "MARS is system agnostic, it will introduce a new display to air traffic controllers that would allow them to continue using their existing keyboards or to start using a tablet as a virtual keyboard," said Dent. The prototype is also designed to extend the surveillance available to controllers beyond what STARS is providing today, which is limited to terminal airspace, or within 60 miles of an airport. Not only will MARS be able to incorporate data about flights within en route and oceanic airspace, but it will also integrate information about new airspace entrants. One way that the information about new airspace entrants will be integrated into the MARS platform is through a partnership Raytheon established with AirMap last year. AirMap, a provider of "airspace intelligence" for unmanned aircraft operations, uses an open platform of application programmable interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) to connect the movements of unmanned aircraft as data feeds into air navigation service providers' legacy and future infrastructure. Moreover, the company's platform is aligned with future unmanned traffic management (UTM) initiatives developing globally that can help to safely integrate commercially operated drones and eventually air taxis into controlled airspace. AirMap's technology has already been deployed in the Czech Republic, Japan and Switzerland. Estonia's ANSP also hired the company as a consultant in December on establishing a new UTM concept of operations. "AirMap is one provider among many other companies with similar capabilities that can show in real time what is happening with drones throughout the airspace," said Dent. "What we've done is to develop a dashboard so that a controller can select a region and understand within seconds where drones are in that particular region and what conflicts they can potentially present to other air traffic." Right now, Raytheon's focus is on how they can integrate data from AirMap and other unmanned service providers into MARS for controllers in the United States. According to Dent, they're currently in talks with other countries that are already using AirMap's data to develop a strategy and advance their MARS prototype further toward future applications. "The U.S. is a little behind some other countries on UTM because our airspace is so much bigger and more complicated," Rogers said. "We're trying to look at what other countries have done, lessons learned and we can extrapolate those for incorporation into the US, we're trying to be more of a thought leader on what is possible from a safety and efficiency perspective, rather than necessarily trying to develop a solution that fits a small segment of the market." https://www.aviationtoday.com/2020/02/07/raytheon-sees-mars-stars-as-enablers-to-app-based-future-for-u-s-air-traffic/ Back to Top FLYING CARS INCH CLOSER TO REALITY AS NEW ZEALAND SIGNS HISTORIC DEAL The government of New Zealand has announced a formal agreement with an American electrical take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) company called Wisk to begin trials, which both hope will pave the way for regular commercial use. Wisk's eVTOL, known as Cora, is a small self-flying vehicle meant to fly around 25 miles on a single charge. "Wisk has been working with the Government and people of New Zealand since 2017," said Gary Gysin, Wisk's CEO, in a press statement earlier this week. "We are excited about what this agreement and trial represents in our journey to bring safe everyday flight to everyone. New Zealand values innovation, excellence and technology that is safe for people and the environment. Being selected as the partner for this program is an honor and testament to our hard work and steady progress." From New Zealand's perspective, the "Government sees great potential in the development of an innovative unmanned aircraft sector in New Zealand and we are in a prime position to work with globally-leading companies here to safely test and go-to-market," said Canterbury, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods, in a statement of her own. "As well as the economic and social benefits the growth of this industry offers, we also share Wisk's vision of a greener, emission-free way for Kiwis and visitors to New Zealand to get around. Enabling the emergence of an entirely electric air taxi service is a natural fit with New Zealand's zero carbon goal by 2050." Cora won't exactly provide mass transit. According to the Mountain View, California-based company's website, a Cora can hold exactly two people. But as a self-flying vehicle, neither of them need be a pilot. It's meant to fly 1500 feet above ground, far lower than the 35,000 that is the common cruising altitude of most commercial aircraft on the market today. Rather than an airplane, a better comparison point for a Cora might be helicopters, which tend to stay below 2,000 feet. But while helicopter rotors can allow their vertical take off, a Cora achieves the same feat through 12 independent lift fans. It also travels slower than helicopters, moving through the skies at around 100 miles per hour while a typical helicopter flies at 160 MPH. "We see this agreement as a sign of confidence in our product and abilities to develop and deliver a safe and reliable air taxi service, starting in New Zealand," Gysin added in his statement. With a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the comapny and the government signed, preparations have now begun for the trials to start in New Zealand's Canturbury region. No timetable for the tests has been given. Wisk, which is an independent company with financial backing from Boeing and was once a subsidiary of the Seattle aerospace giant, is far from the only eVTOL company attempting to prove that the technology has a viable future. Joby Aviation, another California-based startup, recently signed a deal with Uber to form an "aerial ridesharing parternship" program, the details of which will be clear to the public by 2023, the company hopes. An entire burgeoning industry has formed in hopes of cashing in on this future industry, with a dash to become first that at times can seem like a race to nowhere. With an MOU signed, Wisk is betting that a small start will turn into real passengers sooner, rather than later. https://www.inverse.com/innovation/new-zealand-could-make-evtol-history Back to Top Boeing discovers new software issue on 737 Max aircraft Aerospace company Boeing has revealed that it has found a new software issue on its 737 Max aircraft, which are currently grounded. According to reports from Bloomberg, the latest finding is related to the aircraft's indicator light that exceeds the intended time. The indicator light, which is associated with the stabiliser trim system, raises and lowers the plane's nose. Boeing has notified the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after identifying it during flight testing. The latest problem is not expected to defer the aircraft's return to service, which is expected to happen by mid-2020. However, FAA has set no timeframe for the aircraft's re-entry into commercial service. It will be permitted only after its approval from the agency's safety experts. Boeing was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: "We are incorporating a change to the 737 Max software prior to the fleet returning to service to ensure that this indicator light only illuminates as intended." Boeing 737 Max aircraft has been grounded since March 2019 following the second of two deadly crashes. The fatal incidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia together killed 346 people. Earlier last month, Boeing and the FAA confirmed the review on the aircraft's wiring issue. On 31 January, Boeing and aerostructure manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems signed an agreement to gradually resume the production of 737 MAX aircraft. Spirit AeroSystems has stopped all 737 MAX deliveries as of 1 January 2020. https://www.aerospace-technology.com/news/boeing-737-max-faa/ Back to Top Successful Soyuz launch deploys 34 satellites for OneWeb network BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan - A Russian Soyuz launcher fired into orbit from the remote steppe of Kazakhstan Thursday with 34 satellites built on Florida's Space Coast, commencing a sequence of launches to deploy a network of nearly 650 spacecraft for a global broadband network owned by OneWeb. The launch Thursday was the first of up to 10 OneWeb missions this year, each carrying from 32 to 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit from spaceports in Kazakhstan, Russia and French Guiana. By next year, when OneWeb aims to have at least 648 satellites in orbit, the company plans to begin providing global Internet service. Limited service could begin before the end of this year, according to OneWeb. The 15-story Soyuz-2.1b rocket climbed away from the Site 31 launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 2142:41 GMT (4:42:41 p.m. EST) Thursday and shot through an overcast cloud layer in the predawn skies over Kazakhstan, where liftoff occurred at 2:42 a.m. local time Friday. Kerosene-fueled engines generated more than 900,000 pounds of thrust to power the Soyuz launcher off the launch pad. Within two minutes, four liquid-fueled first stage boosters shut down and jettisoned, and the Soyuz core stage switched off and separated nearly five minutes after liftoff. Moments after the third stage engine ignited, the Soyuz shed its clamshell-like aerodynamic payload shroud. The third stage deployed a Fregat upper stage on a preliminary suborbital trajectory more nine minutes into the mission, completing the role of the Soyuz rocket for the mission. The main engine of the Fregat upper stage ignited two times to place the 34 OneWeb satellites into a targeted polar orbit roughly 280 miles (450 kilometers) above Earth, with an inclination of 87.4 degrees to the equator. Then began a series of deployments to release the 34 OneWeb satellites from a composite dispenser, or connecting interface, made by RUAG Space in Sweden. First, two of the 325-pound (147.5-kilogram) satellites separated from the top of the cluster. The remaining 32 spacecraft separated in groups of four at intervals of approximately 20 minutes, with maneuvers by the Fregat's smaller attitude control thrusters in between to ensure the satellites did not collide. The satellite separation events largely occurred when the Fregat was outside the range of ground tracking stations. Officials from OneWeb and Arianespace - which arranged Thursday's launch under contract to OneWeb - updated the status of the deployment sequence as they received data from the Fregat upper stage. The last group of OneWeb satellites flew off the Fregat's dispenser around 3 hours, 45 minutes into the mission. About an hour later, officials received telemetry data confirming the deployment of all 34 satellites. Later Friday, ground teams at OneWeb's satellite operations center received signals from all 34 satellites after several passes over ground stations. The spacecraft were manufactured on assembly lines at a new factory operated by OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus Defense and Space, near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "This is a very significant launch for us, and I think this launch and really the next launch are critical because it will show the success that we've had with OneWeb Satellites, the joint venture between us and Airbus, and getting the assembly line approach actually working," said Adrian Steckel, CEO of London-based OneWeb. "I think the 34 satellites that are on this one are a demonstration that after many months of work, we can get up to that rate." "The real proof will be when we have 34 satellites for Launch No. 3 ready by Feb. 17 or so and shipping out to Baikonur. We're very happy about that," Steckel said. The OneWeb satellites, each designed for a minimum of five years of commercial operations, will extend their power-generating solar panels and activate their xenon plasma propulsion systems to begin post-launch checkouts. Each satellite will use its xenon thruster to reach an operational orbit at an altitude of 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) in about five months, where the OneWeb network will spread an initial block of 648 satellites among multiple orbital planes. OneWeb scaled back the size of its first-generation satellite network in 2018 after finding that the first spacecraft built for the constellation performed better than expected. But OneWeb has ambitions to grow its broadband fleet to 1,980 satellites to meet higher demand. Founded by Greg Wyler, a satellite and telecom entrepreneur, OneWeb announced last year that it demonstrated live HD video streaming through the company's first six satellites launched in February 2019. OneWeb and Iridium, which operates a low Earth orbit network with 66 cross-linked L-band communications and data relay satellites, announced an agreement in September to work toward a combined service offering. OneWeb is in heated competition in the low-latency satellite broadband market with SpaceX, which has launched 240 Starlink Internet satellites on four dedicated Falcon 9 rocket flights since last May. More than 20 additional Falcon 9 launches - each with around 60 Starlink payloads - could take off before the end of 2020, aside from SpaceX's launches for other customers. SpaceX, which builds its satellites in Redmond, Washington, plans to initially launch up to 1,600 satellites on a series of Falcon 9 rockets to fly in 341-mile-high (550-kilometer) orbits. The company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has approval from the Federal Communications Commission to eventually operate up to 12,000 Starlink broadband satellites. Documents filed with the International Telecommunication Union last year suggested SpaceX could seek regulatory authority for up to 30,000 additional spacecraft, bringing the Starlink network to some 42,000 satellites. "Our satellites are at 1,200 kilometers, there's are at 550," Steckel said in a pre-launch media briefing in Kazakhstan. "That's just geometry. Our satellites have a bigger field-of-view. Their system doesn't give them global coverage, even though they have a lot more satellites, because they're lower and they do not have inter-satellite links (yet). "And because ours are higher and we have big ground stations, we're able to sort of reach over the horizon and guarantee that coverage of the oceans and have global coverage," Steckel said. "We have (regulatory) filings for thousands of satellites... and they have for tens of thousands of satellites." Like OneWeb, SpaceX says it could start serving high-latitude regions the Starlink broadband coverage this year, followed by the inauguration of global service. SpaceX can launch Starlink satellites on the company's own Falcon 9 rockets, and the company is using the Starlink program to fill its launch manifest as other sectors of the satellite industry have experienced a downturn. OneWeb has taken a more traditional satellite development approach with an international supply chain. Gingiss said about half of the parts on each spacecraft come from North America, and the other half come from Europe. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is also investing in the planned Kuiper broadband network that could also number thousands of satellites. While Starlink and Kuiper are primarily backed by billionaires, OneWeb's investors include the Japanese company SoftBank, Airbus, Qualcomm and Grupo Salinas. Richard Branson's Virgin Group is also a OneWeb financial backer. OneWeb said last March that it had raised $3.4 billion to date to pay for the construction of the network, which is scheduled to begin providing Internet service over the Arctic before the end of 2020, thanks to ground stations already operational in Alaska and Norway. OneWeb Satellites is producing more than 600 additional satellites for OneWeb on two assembly lines at the company's Florida factory. "These are the first built at our high-capacity assembly lines in Florida," said Tony Gingiss, CEO of OneWeb Satellites. "We've been ramping that factory up over the last six to nine months." "We're already midway through the second batch to deliver at the middle of this month, and that is really demonstrating that we can hit roughly 34 satellites a month to deliver to keep the launch cadence that OneWeb wants," Gingiss said. Steckel said that there's room in the global commercial market for both SpaceX and OneWeb because the companies are taking different approaches to their low-latency broadband networks. "We're going to be competitive," Steckel said. "We have a different approach. We're going to get landing rights (and market access) in places that Starlink won't. We think there's 40 percent of the land mass in the world where they won't and we will. That has to do with our architecture. It also has to do with our approach to doing business. It also has to do with our flag. We're a UK company. That gives us the ability to try to build a bridge ... We have shareholders and support from institutions all around the world. "We're also attacking a different part of the marketplace," he continued. "We're not going to try to compete against the Comcasts or the Oranges of the world. Over time, what you'll find is our technologies and their technologies are pretty much the same thing. But the fact that you're using the same technology doesn't mean you're executing the same business model. It's the difference between being a consumer play or an enterprise play." According to Steckel, OneWeb's network will be more attractive to countries like China and Russia. He said OneWeb's satellites will relay broadband signals through powerful ground stations, or gateways. The company intends to develop or use around 40 to 45 gateways distributed around the globe. OneWeb and the government of Kazakhstan have announced plans to put a gateway in Kazakhstan to create a broadband data hub for Central Asia. Steckel said that partnership could be a model for OneWeb's entry into other markets. "I don't believe that sitting back in our office, me and our team will be able to properly manage a global system, and know what does the client want in Madagascar, versus South Africa, versus Brazil, versus Wales, Scotland, or Switzerland," Steckel said. "You need people locally to implement, and to design the products and sell the product. That goes with the notion of having partners with aligned economics and aligned interests." SpaceX's Starlink network will eventually use laser data links between satellites, enabling the network to route signals around the world without going through ground stations. "SpaceX has gone out of their way to emphasize that they were going to have inter-satellite links, and that they will have inter-satellite links," Steckel said. "That is fundamental to the structure of their system, and that is not something that's acceptable to governments who want to make sure that they have the ability to exercise sovereignty over the Internet." "It's a different business plan," he said. "Nothing in what I'm saying is a criticism of them. They could be highly successful. We're playing a different ball game, but we're both using similar technology." Large constellations of satellites like those being deployed by OneWeb and SpaceX have raised concerns about space junk and their interference with ground-based astronomy. Every OneWeb satellite, including those launched Thursday, has a grapple fixture to allow other spacecraft link up in orbit and bring them back into Earth's atmosphere to burn up on re-entry. But that measure would only be used in a worst-case scenario. OneWeb plans to deorbit its satellites after their useful lives are over, using the spacecraft's plasma propulsion system to lower altitude and re-enter the atmosphere. SpaceX's Starlink satellites are brighter than designers predicted, and they are particularly visible soon after each launch, when the spacecraft are at lower altitudes and relatively close together. SpaceX launched a Starlink satellite with an experimental dark coating in January to see if the change makes the craft less reflective of sunlight. But results from the experiment will not be known until the satellites reaches its operational orbit in the coming weeks. "We're going to do the most we can to mitigate (astronomers' concerns)," Steckel said. "We're not visible to the naked eye. We are visible to telescopes. It's hard to get around some of those facts." Scientists have also questioned whether constellations of thousands of satellites broadcasting broadband data will interfere with radio astronomy, which uses giant antennas to listen to faint radio signals generated from distant stars and galaxies. "With respect to radio frequency ... we'll try," he said. "We're going to do the most we can. I don't know if there will be a solution that will make everybody happy. At least we're in dialog, and we're trying to get feedback on what can we do." OneWeb's next launch is scheduled for around March 18 on another Soyuz rocket, assuming the factory team in Florida remains on track in assembling and testing the 34 satellites for shipment to Baikonur later this month. Soyuz launches with more OneWeb satellites later this spring and summer will originate from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in far eastern Russia, near the border with China. There are also more launches for OneWeb planned from the European-run spaceport in French Guiana. OneWeb inked a launch contract in 2015 for 21 launches with Arianespace, the French launch services provider which oversees commercial Soyuz missions. Arianespace's subsidiary, Starsem, arranges preparations for the Soyuz missions launching from Baikonur and Vostochny, while Arianespace itself manages Soyuz launches from French Guiana. Steckel said OneWeb needs around 16 more launches to fill out the company's network of 588 operational satellites. The company may eventually add at least 60 more spares to get to 648 total spacecraft in the first-generation OneWeb fleet. "The real important number is 588, which are the operational satellites," Steckel said. "The 648 number includes 60 spares, and we're thinking about maybe reducing the number of spares we have up there." Fifteen of the additional OneWeb launches will use Soyuz rockets later this year and next year from Baikonur, Vostochny and French Guiana. And OneWeb has agreed to launch at least 30 satellites on the inaugural flight of the next-generation European Ariane 6 rocket from French Guiana at the end of 2020. Nine more OneWeb launches are scheduled this year. "This launch ... opens a series of up to nine other launches in 2020 for the benefit of OneWeb," Israel said. "We will have up to six launches from Baikonur and Vostochny, two (Soyuz) from French Guiana ... and the Ariane 62 maiden flight by the end of the year." Steckel acknowledged that SpaceX's Starlink satellites, which fly on Falcon 9 rockets with reused first stage boosters, have a lower launch cost than OneWeb. "Of course, they have a launch cost that is far below mine," Steckel said. OneWeb has a contract for four launches on Virgin Orbit's air-dropped LauncherOne rocket, each with two satellites. But those missions are tailored for adding replacement satellites to the fleet, or filling a gap in the network, not for getting a lot of satellites into orbit quickly. Steckel said OneWeb is studying plans for a second-generation network, which could bring the constellation to near 2,000 satellites. He said finding a launch provider with an acceptable launch cost will be a big factor in deciding what rockets would send the upgraded satellites into orbit. "We have conversations with other launch providers," Steckel said. "We're obviously already thinking about the next generation, what it looks like as a system, and what the cost of that is, and launch costs will be a big part of it." "What I can say is launch costs have come down significantly, and we think that the price per kilogram is coming down," he said. https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/02/07/successful-soyuz-launch-deploys-34-satellites-for-oneweb-network/ Curt Lewis