July 8, 2021 - No. 53 In This Issue : Hamburg project testing use of liquid hydrogen in aviation maintenance and ground processes : H2FLY & Deutsche Aircraft working on regional hydrogen airplane : CAE and Volocopter to Partner and Create the Global Air Taxi Pilot Workforce of Tomorrow : No more lost luggage: Smart trays and the future of airport security checks : New $24 Million Helicopter Brings Military Technology to California Firefighting : Collins Aerospace begins fabrication on 500KW electric motor for Airlander 10 aircraft : South Sudan Launches New Air Traffic Management System : Additive manufacturing centre opens for cabin interiors sector : This New Air Taxi Concept Can Haul 1600 Pounds and Fly 200 Miles on a Single Charge : Jaguar Land Rover providing I-PACE EVs for ground support for Rolls-Royce’s electric flight speed record attempt : SpaceX Dragon cargo ship departs space station after stormy delays Hamburg project testing use of liquid hydrogen in aviation maintenance and ground processes In Hamburg, a new development platform is being launched to test hydrogen technology in aviation from as early as 2022. Funded by the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Lufthansa Technik will work with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Center for Applied Aeronautical Research (ZAL) and Hamburg Airport over the next two years to design and test maintenance and ground processes in handling hydrogen technology. For this purpose, an aircraft of the Airbus A320 family will be converted into a stationary laboratory at Lufthansa Technik’s base in Hamburg. Liquid hydrogen (LH2) is increasingly being more concretely envisaged in the development departments of large aircraft manufacturers as a sustainably producible fuel for future generations of commercial aircraft. In order to investigate the effects of the use of LH2 on maintenance and ground processes at an early stage, Lufthansa Technik, DLR, ZAL and Hamburg Airport are now pooling their extensive practical and scientific expertise. The aim is to develop a pioneering demonstrator, and to operate it from 2022. As the world’s third largest aviation industry cluster, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is funding the research project with the largest single item in its special program to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the aviation industry. In the first phase of the project, by the end of 2021 the partners aim to identify the most urgent fields of development for closer scientific examination and, on this basis, to elaborate the concept for subsequent practical testing. The practical implementation of the concept will start at the beginning of 2022 and will involve the modification of a decommissioned Airbus A320 aircraft. It will be equipped with an LH2 infrastructure to be used as a fully functional field laboratory at Lufthansa Technik’s base in Hamburg. In parallel, a virtual environment is being created at DLR that will be used to achieve digital and highly accurate mapping of the defined development fields. The new development platform is to provide inspiration for the design process of the next generation of aircraft by means of parameterized and highly accurate virtual models. Against this background, Lufthansa Technik will primarily contribute its operational expertise in the maintenance and modification of commercial aircraft, and can also incorporate the customer perspective through its close contact with airlines around the world. DLR will add its long-standing and cross-sector experience with hydrogen, and focus on the development of the virtual environment. ZAL will also participate with its extensive know-how in the field of fuel cell technology and its digital process mapping. As an associated project partner, Hamburg Airport will primarily contribute its experience from the operator’s perspective, for example in defining requirements for the ground handling process of future LH2-powered aircraft. There is no alternative to the transformation of our industry towards climate-neutral flying. With this project, we want to tackle this enormous technological challenge at an early stage—for the entire MRO [maintenance, completions, repair, and overhaul] industry as well as for us. In this way, we are actively securing the future, because we are building up know-how today for the maintenance and ground processes of the day after tomorrow. I am therefore pleased that we have succeeded in joining forces with strong partners in this project. And I am very grateful for the foresight of the city of Hamburg and its generous funding for this project. —Dr. Johannes Bussmann, Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa Technik AG With some 35 subsidiaries and affiliates, the Lufthansa Technik Group is one of the leading providers of technical aircraft services in the world. Certified internationally as maintenance, production and design organization, the company has a workforce of more than 22,000 employees. Lufthansa Technik’s portfolio covers the entire range of services for commercial and VIP/special mission aircraft, engines, components and landing gear in the areas of digital fleet support, maintenance, repair, overhaul, modification, completion and conversion as well as the manufacture of innovative cabin products. https://www.greencarcongress.com/2021/07/20210708-hamburg.html H2FLY & Deutsche Aircraft working on regional hydrogen airplane The two young German aviation companies H2FLY and Deutsche Aircraft want to establish the hydrogen fuel cell as a propulsion system in regional aviation. The two companies have set the goal of having a Dornier 328 take off as a hydrogen fuel cell aircraft in 2025. According to the partners, the project should demonstrate the potential for climate-neutral regional flights and underline Germany’s leading role in hydrogen technology. H2FLY is a limited liability company that recently emerged from a partnership between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the University of Ulm. Deutsche Aircraft is a new German aircraft manufacturer that says it puts climate change at the heart of its design philosophy. As part of their now publicised partnership, the duo is converting a Dornier 328 aircraft for hydrogen-electric passenger flight. The demonstration aircraft is scheduled to take off for the first time in 2025. “The program is expected to validate the potential for hydrogen to deliver climate-neutral regional air travel with up to 40 seats, while demonstrating German leadership in this important field,” the company writes. H2FLY has already demonstrated the use of hydrogen fuel cells using the four-seat HY4 hydrogen-electric powered test aircraft. The first flight of the hydrogen passenger aircraft at Stuttgart Airport dates back to 2016; according to H2FLY, the model also holds the record for the longest flight ever powered by hydrogen fuel cells. In the meantime, the HY4 has made more than 70 take-offs. In March, the machine was presented with its sixth generation of propulsion. Thanks to a range of 750 kilometres, it could “open up the market for regional flights in particular”, according to the project initiators. From the partners’ point of view, the newly signed letter of intent with Deutsche Aircraft now marks the next step on the way to climate-neutral regional flights. The teams plan to equip the demonstration aircraft with a hydrogen system with an output of 1.5 MW – “the most powerful hydrogen-electric-powered aircraft to date”, according to the company. The two companies will work together to integrate the energy system into the aircraft and to define the technical specification and certification requirements for fuel cell systems in EASA’s large aircraft class (“CS25”). According to Josef Kallo, co-founder and CEO of H2FLY, flying represents “an incredibly important opportunity for humankind, but today that opportunity comes at a significant cost to our planet”. Hydrogen fuel cell technology offers the possibility of regional flights becoming completely CO2 and nitrogen oxide free – and this technology is already available today, he said. “Over the last 16 years we have worked hard to demonstrate our technology on smaller aircraft, completing record breaking flights based six powertrain generations. Today we’re pleased to be taking that to the next level with Deutsche Aircraft as we scale our efforts up to regional aircraft.” “Deutsche Aircraft is convinced that the higher propulsive efficiency of propeller powered aircraft will drive the change in propulsion technology and will result in reducing fuel consumption and emissions even further in the future,” adds Martin Nüßeler, CTO of Deutsche Aircraft. The combination of this type of propulsion with a long-term CO2-free energy source is the key to climate-neutral air transport. Representatives of Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH and the German government also have their say in the partners’ statement. The former, as Stuttgart Airport acts as a location partner with test flight permits (for the HY4, for example), and the latter, as the new H2 regional aircraft project by H2FLY and Deutsche Aircraft is intended to advance the German government’s aviation strategy. Walter Schoefer, spokesman for the management of Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH, comments: “The process of transforming aviation into a climate-friendly form of air transport is now gaining momentum in a tangible way. This partnership combines pioneering spirit and world-class science with decades of experience in aircraft engineering. We are convinced that this is a milestone on the road to zero-emission aircraft. As an airport, we are called to act as an enabler on this path. As fairport, we want to continue to be a pioneer in the area of sustainability.” Thomas Jarzombek, the Federal Government’s Coordinator for German Aerospace, adds: “From 2035 onward hybrid-electric flying has to be the new standard in Germany. I am happy about the agreed technological cooperation for a sustainable aviation made in Germany. The German Government will continue to support this path to innovation with its R&D funding program aiming to let the vision of a Zero-Emission Aircraft become reality.” https://www.electrive.com/2021/07/07/h2fly-deutsche-aircraft-working-on-regional-hydrogen-airplane/ CAE and Volocopter to Partner and Create the Global Air Taxi Pilot Workforce of Tomorrow CAE, a global leader in aviation training, and Volocopter, a leading pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), announced the signing of a strategic partnership, subject to definitive agreement, to develop, certify, and deploy an innovative pilot training program for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) operations. A first in the industry, this eVTOL pilot training program will develop the pilot workforce of the future and ensure safe introduction of eVTOL operations globally by leveraging CAE's advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), as well as data analytics and Volocopter's leading understanding of requirements for integration into the UAM ecosystem. UAM is an emerging part of the aviation industry focused on aerial connectivity in and around cities. Volocopter's family of electric aircraft are designed to relieve today's heavily fossil-fueled, inner-city traffic for both people (VoloCity, VoloConnect) and goods (VoloDrone) . The company's first commercial eVTOL aircraft, the VoloCity, is well into its certification program with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and is positioned to launch first services in time for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Through existing agreements and partnerships with global leaders, such as Daimler, Aéroports de Paris, Microsoft Azure, and now CAE, Volocopter plans to launch its services in a number of cities globally within the next five years. Volocopter is committed to seeking certification with the highest global safety standards for aircraft and operations. CAE commits to expanding its worldwide training network with a forecasted investment of up to US$40 million to meet Volocopter's projected pilot demand in the early years of operation. CAE will be deploying training equipment and instructors in lockstep with Volocopter's growth. As part of the agreement, Volocopter will purchase a simulator from CAE to be used in its pilot training program certification. CAE will create new, student-centric courseware, specifically designed for the pilots of the future as Volocopter's courseware provider and will also offer pilot trainees customized resources that enable faster, more efficient pilot training. "As we scale our UAM services in cities around the world, specific pilot training and qualification for our Volocopters will be an important element. We are proud to be partnering with CAE, who have a track record in developing best-in-class, innovative pilot training solutions for new aircraft programs. It will greatly benefit Volocopter's entry-into-service timeline and scale," says Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter. "We are excited about CAE's endorsement and look forward to collaborate as partners focused on combining future-oriented technologies to ensure aviation safety." "As a high-technology company and the industry leader in pilot training, we continuously look at providing solutions that make the world a safer place," said Nick Leontidis, CAE's Group President, Civil Aviation Training Solutions. "We are committed to supporting Volocopter's inspiring vision and we look forward to leading in the design of UAM pilot training that prioritizes safety of operations through our data-driven solutions, world-class pilot training experience, and longstanding relationships with civil aviation authorities across the globe." As outlined in CAE's Advanced Air Mobility white-paper published this month, advanced air mobility will create an additional surge in the demand for pilots, with an estimated 60,000 pilots needed within the first decade of operation. Volocopter and CAE will work closely together to obtain regulatory approval for their pilot training program of the future. https://www.aviationpros.com/education-training/flight-training/press-release/21229674/cae-cae-and-volocopter-to-partner-and-create-the-global-air-taxi-pilot-workforce-of-tomorrow No more lost luggage: Smart trays and the future of airport security checks Over the past year, UK start-up UtterBerry has been developing smart security trays and the company now is in talks with airports across the country to roll out the technology from next year onwards. The technology was widely praised both at the government and the industry level. “It’s my ambition for the UK to be the best place in the world for aviation and technology, and improving passenger experiences when travelling will help us achieve this,” said aviation minister Robert Courts in a statement. “UtterBerry’s work to enhance security trays, will not only increase security at the border but make airport checks quicker and easier for passengers.” Joint venture UtterBerry’s smart tray technology was created with the help of the UK Department for Transport (DfT) and the Home Office which jointly set up the Future Aviation Security Solutions (FASS) in 2016. With £25.5m to invest over five years on new aviation security technology, the FASS programme selected the project through the Defence and Security Accelerator’s (DASA) open call for innovation. “As a DASA Innovation Partner, I was delighted to identify this gem of an idea and guide [the company] through the DASA process – where expert technical assessors and the Department for Transport agreed and funded its development,” explains DASA innovation partner Ralph Wilkins. “That they are now demonstrating its value to passenger security with two major airports shows how setting challenges and providing funding for ambitious technical developments can advance technology and help keep people safe.” As part of the programme, UtterBerry will work with DASA as well as the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the Ministry of Defence’s national executive scientific agency. “We have been thrilled to work on this innovative project, providing a revolutionary security enhancement solution within airports without hindering passenger experiences,” adds UtterBerry founder and CEO Heba Bevan. “We worked equally hard to ensure we maintained time scales to deliver this project despite the issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic [and] we hope this new technology will be adopted within as many airports as possible. “Working with HM Government has ensured we have remained within the necessary guidelines to offer the safest, most streamlined solution,” she continues. “Their feedback and guidance has been of great value to UtterBerry, and for that, we are very thankful.” Connecting passengers to their trays without leaking data To enhance security and avoid loss of luggage, UtterBerry’s trays use a mix of blockchain technology, machine learning and AI to provide an overview of the trays in use and the related passenger information. “The UtterBerry team worked extremely hard to seamlessly integrate novel software and hardware, including our patented blockchain technology, machine learning, artificial intelligence and miniaturising hardware for the trays,” says Bevan. When a passenger approaches an airport’s security control, they are issued with a smart card that stores all the flight and basic information. At the other end, a smart reader allocated on the tray enables passengers to link their belongings to the tray, flashing a LED light of different colours depending on the status of the baggage, if it has been scanned or not. In addition to linking passengers to their belongings, the smart trays will provide an analysis of contents as well as the passenger throughput and the factors that contribute to delays. By using an X-ray interface, information will also be displayed on the baggage inspection monitors. “This technology is a grand step in associating a person, and their belongings, with the tray they use in an airport hand-baggage security setting,” explains Dstl principal scientist Dr Martyn Fletcher. “Having such a capability will mean security personnel can instantly determine who put a suspicious object into a tray and so minimising disruption for the public as they prepare to board their planes.” The system will charge wirelessly, enabling long hours of battery operation, and will run on multiple infrastructures due to being Cloud-based. https://www.airport-technology.com/features/no-more-lost-luggage-smart-trays-future-airport-security-checks/ New $24 Million Helicopter Brings Military Technology to California Firefighting Jul. 5—BOGGS MOUNTAIN — With the sound of its twin, 2,000-horsepower turbine engines remarkably muffled, the sleek red and white firefighting helicopter lifted gracefully into an azure sky Thursday morning from a ridgetop base in Lake County. The Cal Fire Hawk, one of a dozen purchased by the state for $288 million, made its debut this week at the helitack base here amid a pine forest in the Mayacamas Mountains near the rural community of Cobb. Copter 104 — capable of flying up 160 mph and carrying 1,000 gallons of water in a steel tank affixed to its belly — can fly to Santa Rosa in 10 to 12 minutes and lay a 300-yard trail of water on a fire from 100 feet above ground or tree level on arrival. "It's the latest and greatest," said Michael Schanley, one of the two pilots assigned to the Boggs Mountain base. "This is frontline Army aviation." The $24 million helicopter's greatest asset is suitability for nighttime firefighting in an era of deadly and devastating infernos like the 2017 North Bay firestorm and last year's Glass fire. Both raged through the night. On the other hand, wildfires sometimes die down at night, with lower temperatures and lighter winds affording an ideal time to attack flames. Cal Fire decided not to deploy its Vietnam War-era single-engine Super Huey helicopters for firefighting and rescues in darkness, but is now moving cautiously into a program with the Hawks flown by pilots wearing night vision goggles. Five bases have been approved for the program, marking Cal Fire's entry into nighttime firefighting for the first time since the agency's aviation branch began with converted crop dusters serving as air tankers in the 1950s. Cal Fire, which operates the world's largest fire department-owed air fleet, now has 58 aircraft, including the Super Huey and Hawk helicopters, 23 air tankers and other fixed-wing aircraft. Boggs Mountain is not currently in line for the night-flying program, and the designated base closest to Sonoma County is the Alma Helitack Fire Station at Los Gatos in Santa Clara County. The other four bases included in the program are in Humboldt, Tehama, San Bernardino and San Benito counties. "The program is in its infancy," Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jake Hannan said. Transitioning from the Huey to the Hawk program is a "complex process" that requires ensuring pilots and ground crew are safe operating by day before expanding to nighttime operations, he said. The $24 million Hawk, which can also ferry seven firefighters in a spacious cabin and conduct rescues with a hoist and a 250-foot cable, is a civilian version of Sikorsky's UH-60 Black Hawk flown by U.S. armed forces and others around the world. State Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, whose district has been ravaged by wildfires, has called the Hawks "game changers that can help us combat this new reality of megafires." In addition to Boggs Mountain, Hawks have also been deployed to Cal Fire bases at Vina in Tehama County, Columbia in Tuolumne County and Hemet in Riverside County. All 10 helitack bases will ultimately acquire one, with two Hawks held in reserve to fill in for helicopters needing maintenance. The Howard Forest Helitack Base near Willits in Mendocino County is scheduled to get a Hawk later this year. Their arrival is timely, with drought-stressed California facing a long, dry fire season that has already tallied more than 4,000 wildfires scorching nearly 32,000 acres. More than 1,000 firefighters were battling three blazes Thursday in Northern California. The Hawk at Boggs Mountain has already responded to a 20-acre fire at Cameron Park in El Dorado County, dropping five tanks of water on the blaze, Cal Fire Capt. Phil Mateer said. C-104 inherited its number from the Super Huey it is replacing at Boggs, as the Hawks supplant all 12 of the aging machines with an undetermined future. Some Cal Fire veterans have sentimental attachment to the half-century-old Hueys. "We talk about the Huey being an old Chevy farm truck. Easy to start; it keeps going," said Schanley, the pilot. In contrast, he said, the Hawks are like "flying a bunch of computers with a rotor on top." Schanley said he flies to fires at about 140 mph, well below the cruising capacity of 160 mph in a deliberate effort to balance speed against fuel consumption and efficiency. The Hueys top out at 126 mph and carry, at most, 324 gallons of water in a bucket suspended from the aircraft. The snorkel on a Hawk consists of a 12-foot long hose on a roller tucked into the helicopter's side, with a 7.5 horsepower pump that can fill the tank in a minute. "I think the taxpayers got their money's worth," Schanley said. "A great value for the dollar." "To me, it's fun," he said, shortly before Thursday's takeoff. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/defense/news/21229533/new-24-million-helicopter-brings-military-technology-to-california-firefighting Collins Aerospace begins fabrication on 500KW electric motor for Airlander 10 aircraft SOLIHULL, U.K. - Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies business, announced it has completed critical design review and started fabrication of a 500 kilowatt electric motor for the Airlander 10 aircraft under a partnership with Hybrid Air Vehicles and the University of Nottingham. Flight qualification testing of the motor is expected to occur in 2023, followed by hybrid-electric operation of Airlander 10 by 2025 and all-electric, zero-emission operation by 2030. To achieve these improvements, the aircraft’s four fuel-burning engines will be replaced by Collins’ 500 kilowatt electric motors—beginning with the two forward engines in 2025 and the two rear engines in 2030. Collins is designing and testing the motor at its Electronic Controls and Motor Systems Center of Excellence in Solihull, U.K., where it recently invested $18 million to expand the campus and add world-class power electronics and motor development capabilities. “Airlander 10 has the potential to be the world’s first zero-emission aircraft, while pioneering game-changing electric flight technologies in the process,” said Marc Holme, senior director, Electronic Controls and Motor Systems for Collins Aerospace. “As the aerospace industry continues to look for ways to reduce its carbon footprint, electric propulsion offers a significant solution that will create a more sustainable future for our industry and our planet.” The Airlander program will address key goals of the U.K. Aerospace Technology Strategy: strengthening the UK’s aerospace capabilities, positioning the UK for developing future generations of civil aircraft, and advancing a new generation of efficient propulsion technologies. The research project to develop the electric motor, E-HAV1, was co-funded by the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme, a joint U.K. government and industry investment to maintain and grow the U.K.’s competitive position in civil aerospace design and manufacture. It is delivered through a partnership between the Aerospace Technology Institute, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate U.K., and addresses technology, capability and supply chain challenges. “The Aerospace Technology Institute has clearly identified the importance of technology developments to support sustainable aviation through the U.K. Aerospace Technology Strategy, Accelerating Ambition,” said Mark Scully, the Aerospace Technology Institute’s Head of Technology – Advanced Systems & Propulsion. “The Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10 offers a unique opportunity to deploy innovative, high performance motor technology from Collins Aerospace initially in hybrid propulsion and, in the future, all electric propulsion configurations. These technology developments will enable economic growth and jobs in the U.K. aerospace sector.” https://www.intelligent-aerospace.com/home/article/14206319/collins-aerospace-begins-fabrication-on-500kw-electric-motor-for-airlander-10-aircraft South Sudan Launches New Air Traffic Management System Jul. 6—JUBA — South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority (SSCAA) has announced the launch of a state-of-the-art online system, which allows the opening of new routes. The newly established lower airspace, launched in partnership with aviation solutions provider NavPass, will boost tourism and generate revenue for the economy, the aviation body said. Through the system, operators of commercial, cargo, and aid aircraft can now integrate Juba International Airport into their routes. "Through this partnership with NavPass, South Sudan will see higher volumes of aviation trade, greater business opportunities, and improved route efficiency, safety, and reliability," explained Capt. David Subek Dada, SSCAA's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He added, "This marks a crucial step towards a more prosperous future for the whole of South Sudan through additional direct and indirect economic activity." The airspace system launch marks a significant milestone in the ongoing expansion of South Sudan's sovereign infrastructure and its continued integration into the global marketplace, SSCAA noted. Speaking during the launch of the air traffic management system, Tom Perkins, the CEO of NavPass said the establishment of internationally compliant and globally accessible airspace is a critical and symbolic move for the country in building economic potential, connectivity and business. "For every dollar invested in sovereign airspace, capacity translates into between five and 20 dollars of economic impact. We're proud to be working with governments across the world, including South Sudan, to optimize and monetize airspace, bridging the divide between nations," he noted. Built on the global-standard Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) system, South Sudan's airspace reportedly uses an AI-powered platform to record all flights in real-time. The system automatically collects more than 99% of eligible fees, compared with the 70-80% collected by some of the world's largest economies. https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/airport-technology/news/21229460/south-sudan-launches-new-air-traffic-management-system Additive manufacturing centre opens for cabin interiors sector AM Global GmbH, a specialist in large-scale additive manufacturing (AM/3D printing) applications, has opened The Aviation AM Centre in Dusseldorf, Germany, founded in partnership with Randerath GmbH, a turn-key project delivery company. The new venture will provide end-to-end solutions for the AM of certified aircraft cabin interior polymer parts. The centre, located within the EOS Innovation Centre, is intended to drive innovative and sustainable manufacturing in the aviation industry through the use of production cells that can be used to develop components that are lightweight, strong, and which use materials efficiently in the production process. The venture will provide full design, manufacturing and certification services for polymer parts, and AM machines (including EOS industrial 3D printing technologies) that meet European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards. Additive manufacturing can reduce the time and money spent by aircraft operators and MRO organisations as they seek to reduce downtime and improve the speed and efficiency with which they can service aircraft interiors. Customised parts in particular involve high prices and long lead times for production, which can be reduced by the flexibility and low costs of AM in the maintenance and refurbishment of cabin interiors. 3D printing can enable structural optimisation and weight reduction of parts, and can also be used to produce parts on-demand, directly from a ‘digital warehouse’, reducing wait times, along with storage and production costs. Primary customers have been identified as airlines and maintenance organisations, alongside cabin interior suppliers and original equipment manufacturers across the commercial aviation sector, as well as VIP charter companies, private aviation and urban mobility. Bernhard Randerath is founder and chairman of the board of The Aviation AM Centre. He has extensive experience in the aviation business, including various management positions in aircraft design, maintenance, engineering, customer support and airline operations at Lufthansa, Airbus, and most recently as VP of engineering at Etihad Engineering. Randerath said, “Airline operations are facing very demanding time- and cost-saving imperatives, especially in the current environment. We are very proud to celebrate the opening of this new venture, which will provide tailored solutions, efficient processes and cutting-edge technology for airlines and other parts of the commercial aviation industry. Our partnership with AM Global brings together deep 3D-printing technology know-how, with our understanding of the market for commercial aviation and additive manufacturing – the perfect basis for a strong business.” The Aviation AM Centre is supported by the newly founded German-Emirati Institute and the ACAM Aachen Centre for Additive Manufacturing, both located in Aachen, Germany. The German-Emirati Institute aims to build greater industrial collaboration between Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), based on the two countries’ framework agreement for industrial cooperation and technology exchange. https://www.aircraftinteriorsinternational.com/news/mro/additive-manufacturing-centre-opens-for-cabin-interiors-sector.html This New Air Taxi Concept Can Haul 1600 Pounds and Fly 200 Miles on a Single Charge Spare the blade, spoil the eVTOL. No one has actually said that, but it’s an ethos that has pervaded the burgeoning vertical-take-off world, where most models use small rotors and some have as many as eight or more. The bias exists largely for two reasons: Vehicles with multiple smaller blades provide a fail-safe redundancy (i.e. safety), and they create greater speed and efficiency during forward flight. RotorX, a prolific manufacturer of two-seat helicopter kits based in Arizona, has a different idea. The company recently introduced the concept for its RX eTransporter, which it bills as “the world’s most efficient helicopter.” And as the build-up would suggest, the design features four large rotors mounted on cross arms, a helicopter-like body big enough for six-to-nine adults, and small wings on the body and the tail. The combination makes for an intriguing mix of performance characteristics, at least according to the company’s projections. The wing will work with the rotors to provide a top speed of 160 mph and, at a cruise of 140 mph, it will have a range of 200 nautical miles on 1.5 hours of battery life. More impressive, the eTransporter will be able to lift 1,600 pounds of people or cargo and hover in one place for 45 minutes. Most small-rotor vehicles can usually hover for a few minutes at best. The numbers are theoretical for now, but they’re well informed, as RX developed the concept in coordination with partner company Advanced Tactics in Torrance, Calif., which built the Marine Corps-funded, eight-engine Black Knight Transformer, a.k.a. The Flying Truck. For the eTransporter, the designers addressed the safety issue by including more than one motor per rotor, so multiple engines would have to fail to lose one. Even if that happened, the size of the rotors would cause them to free spin against ambient air pressure, allowing for a controlled landing. “Our rotor system is one of the strongest in the industry,” Don Shaw, RotorX CEO, told Robb Report. Before RotorX, Shaw made a name for himself designing and building heavy-lift, multi-copters for the military. “In fact, I’d been eyeing these rotor systems for some time and actually bought the company so we could build this new aircraft,” he says. The rotor systems are already FAA certified, says Shaw, which should expedite certification for the eTransporter. The company plans to build the Transporter prototype in the fall, but initially it will be powered with gas engines. At the same time, RotorX will be testing electric engines in its conventional helicopter. Once both both applications have been proven, the electric engines will be installed in the eTransporter. The gas-powered Transporter should start flying by the end of this year, and then testing will move to Alaska, where Shaw is also working on military projects. “The goal is to start using it as an air taxi up there,” he says. “It’s remote and many areas don’t have roads, so there’s a need for aircraft like this.” While the cabin will have “comfortable charter-jet type interiors” for the air taxi market, the payload and enhanced hovering ability make the new aircraft particularly attractive for shipping and other operations, including search-and-rescue. RX hopes to have the eTransporter certified in 2024. https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/evtol-innovative-design-proven-rotor-technology-1234623285/ Jaguar Land Rover providing I-PACE EVs for ground support for Rolls-Royce’s electric flight speed record attempt Rolls-Royce’s all-electric aircraft the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ (earlier post) will take to the skies for the first time in the coming weeks as it works towards a world-record attempt with a target speed of 300+ mph (480+ km/h). The current speed record for an all-electric plane—set by Siemens in 2017—is 210 mph. This project will be carbon neutral and to support this ground-breaking innovation Jaguar Land Rover is loaning all-electric Jaguar I-PACE cars as towing and support vehicles. The aircraft has been created by the ACCEL (Accelerating the Electrification of Flight) program, which includes key partners YASA, the electric motor and controller manufacturer, and aviation start-up Electroflight. The aircraft features three power-dense 750R electric motors, designed and manufactured by YASA. The 6,000 cells of the battery pack are packaged for maximum lightness and thermal protection. An advanced cooling system can withstand the extreme temperatures and high-current demands during flight. The all-electric powertrain will run at 750 volts and delivers 90% energy efficiency. For safety and performance optimization, sensors will collect in-flight information each second across more than 20,000 points on the powertrain, measuring battery voltage, temperature and general performance metrics. Half of the project’s funding is provided by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK. The ACCEL team has continued to innovate while adhering to the UK Government’s social distancing and other health guidelines. The Spirit of Innovation features an electric propulsion system delivering 500 hp+ with the most power-dense battery pack ever assembled for an aircraft, providing enough energy to fuel 250 homes or fly London to Paris on a single charge. The I-PACE uses two electric motors producing a total of 394 hp with power delivered by a 90 kWh Lithium-ion battery featuring 432 pouch cells. Coincidentally, the I-PACE is capable of 292 miles (WLTP) on a single charge—exactly the distance by road from London to Paris. The ACCEL project is part of Rolls-Royce’s journey towards enabling the sectors in which it operates reach net-zero carbon by 2050. Rolls-Royce will be using the technology from the ACCEL project and applying it to products for the market, bringing a portfolio of motors, power electronics and batteries into the general aerospace, urban air mobility and small commuter aircraft sectors. In a similar vein, the Jaguar Racing Formula E team’s experiences on-track help generate real-world improvements in Jaguar’s roadgoing electric vehicles. Several members of the ACCEL project team have come from Formula E backgrounds. Both Rolls-Royce and Jaguar Land Rover are dedicated to decarbonizing their footprints. Rolls-Royce has halved the greenhouse gas emissions associated operations and facilities since 2014 and is on track to meet a 2030 target of net-zero emissions from operations. The company has also committed to ensuring new products will be compatible with net-zero operation by 2030, and all products will be compatible with net zero by 2050. Jaguar Land Rover is aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039. The ACCEL project represents a series of firsts for Rolls-Royce, including being the first Rolls-Royce project to use offsetting to make the whole program carbon-neutral. https://www.greencarcongress.com/2021/07/20210708-jaguar.html SpaceX Dragon cargo ship departs space station after stormy delays A storm-delayed SpaceX spacecraft bid farewell to the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday (July 8) for the journey back to Earth. The CRS-22 Dragon cargo ship undocked from the station's Harmony module at 10:40 a.m. EDT (1440 GMT), departing for a return to Earth and an eventual arrival in the the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida. It will take 37 hours for Dragon to return to Earth, with splashdown set for Friday, July 9, at 11:30 p.m. EDT (0330 July 10 GMT), NASA officials said in a live webcast, likely due to a 48-hour delay in departure caused by Tropical Storm Elsa surging along the eastern coast of the United States. Splashdown will not be broadcast live. Usually a Dragon ship returns to Earth within a day or two of undocking or unberthing, as some of the experiments are typically refrigerated. The experiments will be sent back to NASA's Space Station Processing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to minimize the effects of gravity on the samples, the press release stated. But the agency said it would not rush the splashdown process. "Certain parameters like wind speeds and wave heights must be within certain limits to ensure the safety of the recovery teams, the science, and the spacecraft," NASA said in a Wednesday press release. The ship, carrying 5,000 lbs. (roughly 2,265 kilograms) of equipment, experiments and other things, was supposed to depart the station on Tuesday (July 6) and then Wednesday (July 7), but continued high winds and dangerous conditions from Elsa forced delays. The cargo ship departed the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 3 for a docking on June 5, carrying 7,300 lbs. (3,311 kg) of supplies for the space station crew. Among its cargo were new Boeing-built ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays that spacewalking astronauts have been deploying this month to boost power levels on the ISS. (The older arrays are still working, but are beyond their design lifetime and showing expected power declines.) In NASA's words, some of the key experiments Dragon will return from space include: Lyophilization-2, which "examines how gravity affects freeze-dried materials and could result in improved freeze-drying processes for pharmaceutical and other industries." Molecular Muscle Experiment-2, which "tests a series of drugs to see whether they can improve health in space, possibly leading to new therapeutic targets for examination on Earth." Oral Biofilms in Space, which "studies how gravity affects the structure, composition, and activity of oral bacteria in the presence of common oral care agents." SpaceX's next cargo ship, Dragon CRS-23, is expected to launch from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 18, according to Spaceflight Now's worldwide launch schedule. The flight will be the 23rd mission by SpaceX conducted under a Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. https://www.space.com/spacex-dragon-crs-22-returns-to-earth Curt Lewis