July 19, 2021 - No. 56 In This Issue : CAE to Invest C$1 Billion in Innovation Over Five Years to Develop the Aviation Technologies of the Future : Predictive aircraft maintenance: established practice or future focus? : Air Force, Google to Collaborate on Cloud-Based Aircraft Maintenance Ecosystem : Airlines Show Growing Interest in Electric and Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft : Kit Copter Maker RX Enters eVTOL Market : Universal Hydrogen Makes Deals With 3 Airlines : Rolls-Royce Attempting 100% Electric Aircraft Speed Record, Jaguar I-PACE Offering Ground Support : PHI International and Massey University School of Aviation announce partnership : Collins Aerospace Deploys Biometrics Solution at Tokyo Haneda Airport : Sneak Peek Into Test Chamber for NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology Aircraft : SpaceX tops off Starship launch tower during Blue Origin crew launch briefing CAE to Invest C$1 Billion in Innovation Over Five Years to Develop the Aviation Technologies of the Future CAE announced that it will be investing C$1 billion over the next five years in innovation. The investment will fund Project Resilience, a transformation project to develop the technologies of tomorrow, including digitally immersive solutions using data ecosystems and artificial intelligence in civil aviation, defense & security and healthcare. The project will also allow CAE to position itself as a leader in end-to-end technology, operational support and training solutions for Advanced Air Mobility, as well as develop green light aircraft technologies. In partnership with the Government of Canada and the Government of Québec, the project will allow CAE to play a key role in making air travel safer, defense forces mission ready, and helping medical personnel save lives. The Government of Canada and the Government of Québec will provide a combined investment of C$340 million over the next five years (C$190 million for Canada and C$150 million for Québec). Executives and employees of CAE joined the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, the Honorable François-Philippe Champagne, Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry as well as Mr. François Legault, Premier of Quebec, and Mr. Éric Girard, Québec's Minister of Finance and Minister of Economy and Innovation for the announcement. "CAE is launching a major five-year Research and Development investment program which will reinforce CAE's position as a global technology leader, create high-value jobs and collaborations, and contribute to a greener, safer, and more inclusive world," said Marc Parent, CAE's President and Chief Executive Officer. "CAE is a Canadian innovation powerhouse, and our Research and Development will allow us to reinforce our leadership in training by creating digitally immersive solutions across many sectors and markets to make the world a safer place. The project will also allow us to expand into exciting new markets such as advanced air mobility, green light aircraft technologies and next generation healthcare equipment and services. We thank the government of Canada and the government of Quebec who will be partnering with us to open up these new markets for CAE and Quebec and Canada." "With advanced air mobility, we are on the cusp of a new era of aviation," Parent added. "Disruptive aerospace companies are building cutting edge aircraft and creating a new sector within the industry from the ground up. We are investing to position CAE to be one of the leaders in defining this emerging industry, supporting OEMs with the development, testing and certification of aircraft programs, simulation equipment and the delivery of training to the next generation of pilots and maintenance technicians. It is expected that close to 60,000 uniquely trained professional pilots will be needed to safely fly passengers and cargo in these electric Vertical Take-off and Landing vehicles, and CAE has the expertise to help make it happen." CAE will harness its unique technological capabilities, long-standing expertise in supporting airworthiness test programs as well as its latest innovations in simulation, virtual/mixed reality (VR/MR) and data analytics to be at the forefront of disruptive mobility technologies such as eVTOL vehicles. Through the project, CAE will invest in the development of electric aircraft technologies and solutions, including retrofitting its large fleet of light trainer aircraft to reduce its carbon footprint. CAE announced on Sept 28, 2020 that it became the first Canadian aerospace company to reach carbon neutrality. Creating jobs and investing in future talent CAE will carry out Project Resilience in Canada, utilizing its R&D laboratories, as well as its test and integration, and training facilities. Throughout Project Resilience, CAE will collaborate and co-develop technology solutions with small and medium companies from across Canada and will create 700 new highly skilled jobs at CAE in Canada, including 600 in Quebec. Through this project, CAE will work with post-secondary institutions, research centers and STEM institutions and create 5,000 Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities for students and 100 new scholarship positions. CAE employs more than 11,000 people globally, with approximately half of them working in 18 locations across Canada. The government investments are subject to the finalization of definitive agreements. The investments in Project Resilience are in line with CAE's current pace of R&D investment. Quotes from today's government announcement regarding investments in the aerospace industry "The aerospace sector is a pillar of the Canadian economy, providing good jobs for Canadian workers from coast to coast to coast. It's essential that we support the long-term growth of the sector and help make Canada a world leader in greener, more innovative technologies. The investments announced today will help the aerospace sector increase its research and development efforts so that innovative, greener, more sustainable aircraft can be built right here in Canada for decades to come, creating good jobs for hard-working Canadians." – The Honorable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada "These are major projects that will drive Quebec towards the future! We will design the helicopters and planes of tomorrow here, in Quebec. These devices will generate wealth, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions all over the planet. The aerospace industry will start up again stronger. Your government will be there to solidify our status as a leader and to ensure a bright future for the Quebec aerospace industry." – Mr. François Legault, Premier of Quebec https://www.aviationpros.com/education-training/simulator-training/press-release/21230811/cae-cae-to-invest-c1-billion-in-innovation-over-five-years-to-develop-the-aviation-technologies-of-the-future Predictive aircraft maintenance: established practice or future focus? One of the most prevalent challenges in the airline industry is the need to reduce costs and delays, while maintaining and improving aircraft operational reliability. Currently, airlines and MROs are trying to leverage data and technological progress to better predict and manage aircraft maintenance efforts through predictive maintenance (PdM). What is predictive maintenance and why do airlines need it? Aircraft maintenance is an integral part of ensuring an aircraft is safe for operations. Poor maintenance planning can lead to devastating financial results for air carriers and keep aircraft grounded, passengers waiting and can even lead to flight cancellations. Additionally, an inaccurate overview of maintenance causes overstocking of surplus aircraft parts, resulting in air carriers losing vast sums of money. To increase operational reliability and cost saving measures, aircraft operators follow aircraft maintenance programs. There are three well-known types of maintenance: reactive, preventive and predictive. Reactive maintenance refers to a timeline in which a particular part of an aircraft is used to its limits and repairs are only performed after a failure. This method is usually costly and dangerous for operational safety. Therefore, many aircraft operators use preventive aircraft maintenance (PM), also known as planned maintenance, which refers to a determined timeline of checks on certain airplane components. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines preventive maintenance as “simple or minor preservation operations and the replacement of small standard parts not involving complex assembly operations.” Anything that requires taking apart a structural component does not come under the definition of ‘maintenance’, according to the FAA. The biggest challenge in preventive aircraft maintenance is that it’s not always easy to pinpoint a suitable time to carry out checks. For example, by scheduling aircraft maintenance very early, operators waste a certain component life cycle that might still be usable. On the other hand, scheduling aircraft maintenance too late can lead to a complete component failure, which is not only an issue financially but a huge risk to operational safety. The term predictive maintenance (PdM) is contrary to the reactive or preventive approach that are still widely in use. PdM requires knowledge of the correct information at the suitable moment to perform the necessary aircraft maintenance. PdM uses data analysis and techniques to detect possible defects in the aircraft, which helps airlines carry out better maintenance planning. “It is a predictive tool versus a reactive one. By not only predicting that the part may fail, but providing various solutions for that pending failure, allows an MRO to waste no time deciding which solution is best,” Martin McConnel, director and client relationship manager at Willis Towers Watson said at a WTW Global Aerospace MRO event. During the last decade, technological developments have laid the groundwork for predictive maintenance readiness. The widely adopted use of sensors on aircraft and data routers has allowed tools, such as machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI), to have applications in maintenance planning. The primary data sources used for predictive maintenance include flight crew messages and maintenance messages, parametric data, including sensor, flight data recorder (FDR) data, pilot write-ups, maintenance write-ups, component removals and component shop findings. “The idea is to decrease cases of AOG [aircraft on ground is a term in aviation maintenance indicating that a problem is serious enough to prevent an aircraft from flying], delays and flight cancellations,” Rodolphe Parisot, vice president digital and innovations at Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) was quoted in a statement. Established practice or future focus? The use of analytical data to predict various anomalies and avoid unscheduled aircraft maintenance is not a new practice in the aviation sector. However, the innovation of analytical tools used in the quest to predict when maintenance is needed in real-time is always in constant development. There are many MRO companies, such as Lufthansa Technik, Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance and Collins Aerospace, that provide predictive aircraft maintenance solutions for air carriers across the globe. However, it is worth noting that it’s not only MROs providing such maintenance solutions, but also Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). In fact, OEMs were initially at the forefront of introducing such digital solutions. According to John Maggiore, Managing Director of Maintenance and Leasing Solutions at Boeing Digital Aviation and Analytics, Boeing has a long history of using analytics in providing services to improve the operation and maintenance of commercial aviation. “In the mid-1990s, Boeing, in collaboration with its 777 customers, began sharing data via the In-Service Data Program. Sharing operational data allowed for additional analysis that helped further boost the dispatch reliability of this successful family of airplanes. This programme has since expanded to cover most Boeing models,” Maggiore said at the Predictive Aircraft Maintenance Conference in 2017. However, despite the wide use of analytical data in the aviation sector, sophisticated predictive maintenance tools were introduced not that long ago. In 2017, the best-known OEMs, Boeing and Airbus, launched predictive maintenance tools. Boeing introduced Boeing Analytx, while Airbus presented Skywise. As for MRO companies, AFI KLM E&M has a predictive maintenance tool called Prognos, which was developed in 2015. According to the company, Prognos retrieves data from an aircraft, both inflight and during turnarounds. “Now, with the quantity of data available, the automatic transfer of data, the decreasing cost to store data and to perform the corresponding analytics, AFI KLM E&M has been able to develop its own solution, PROGNOS, which predicts failures which are not seen by legacy solutions,” James Kornberg, Director Innovations at Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) was quoted in Predictive Aircraft Maintenance Conference event. AFI KLM E&M’s predictive maintenance tool can be implemented to provide data on aircraft engines, auxiliary power units (APUs), inventory and more. According to the MRO giant, the Prognos is already implemented on Airbus A320 Family aircraft, Airbus A330, Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 777. It can also be installed on new generation aircraft such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A380, and Airbus A350 aircraft. American MRO company, Collins Aerospace, has also established its own predictive maintenance tool called Collins Ascentia. The Collins Ascentia, according to the company, shows a 30% decrease in potential delays and cancellations related to components and systems monitored on the Boeing 787 fleet. Additionally, it also shows a 20% decrease in unscheduled removals for various components on the Boeing 777 fleet. Lufthansa Technik, one of the biggest MRO solution providers, has also developed its own predictive maintenance instrument called AVIATAR. Airlines, including Wizz Air or Sichuan Airlines, are already utilizing this technology as a predictive maintenance tool to optimize fleets and decrease manual and paper-based processes. “We will support our partner Sichuan Airlines in optimizing their technical operations processes and help to eliminate unscheduled maintenance related events,” Johannes Bussmann, CEO of Lufthansa Technik was quoted in the company’s statement in January 2021. Popularity and difficulties in implementation The supply from MROs and OEMs for predictive aircraft maintenance solutions may suggest that a strong demand in the market already exists. However, that isn’t always the case as PdM implementation does come with some negatives. While predictive maintenance ultimately seems like a key measure to maintain aircraft efficiently and eliminate unscheduled maintenance, it also has difficulties in successful execution. According to findings from an Oliver Wyman annual MRO survey in 2016, the global fleet could generate upwards of 98 million terabytes of data annually by 2026, creating new opportunities for better predictive maintenance implementation. Now, that is a huge amount of data to be processed and interpreted. In airlines, as in other industries, the gap between aspirations for AI and the actual impact from the technology can be wide. One of the biggest hurdles preventing operators from investing fully in predictive maintenance initiatives is the data, specifically its completeness, and the ability to sync data from different sources, departments and formats. Chris Spafford, Oliver Wyman partner and report co-author said: “The obvious challenge for carriers is a focused execution, which produces tangible and demonstrable improvements in cost and reliability. For OEMs accelerating adoption and profitably monetizing investments in predictive maintenance will be a significant challenge.” Another primary concern is data security. Due to the enormous amount of data that needs to be processed, it is critical to guarantee that equipment performance data cannot be accessed by outside parties, and that outside parties are not able to control predictive maintenance systems. At a more baseline level, it also remains important to protect information such as customer data. Another difficulty with the wide implementation of predictive maintenance softwares focuses on old generation aircraft. New generation aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner or the Airbus A350XWB, have more capabilities to implement such tools. So, capabilities for previous-generation aircraft are not available. According to the Oliver Wyman report, this creates “new storage, organization, and application challenges”. The report continued: “As a result, many operators report modest big data programs, reflecting limited readiness for these new challenges.” Predictive maintenance implementation can also be an expensive investment. Its implementation requires manpower, monitoring equipment, skill and experience to accurately interpret data in order to demonstrate the reliable utilization of the technology. Combined, this means that, initially, aircraft condition monitoring software may come at a higher cost than preventive maintenance. In an Oliver Wyman MRO Survey, published in 2016, 19% of respondents said they used predictive maintenance systems for all aircraft in its fleet, while 25% revealed that predictive systems were only used for select aircraft. But the vast majority, 56%, did not use PdM at all. Predictive aircraft maintenance systems are mostly being applied to engine maintenance, component maintenance and airframe maintenance, respectively. According to the latest data, the market remains uncertain regarding predictive aircraft maintenance with 44% indicating increasing or new investment, but nearly 25% indicating a decreasing, or no planned, investment during the COVID-19 pandemic, as per Oliver Wyman MRO Survey 2020 report. Despite the obstacles in PdM implementation, there is a long-standing interest from industry leaders who are in search of more cost-efficient methods to improve aircraft maintenance performance. But visions of a fully AI-enabled future in the aviation MRO sector may have come to a standstill following the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced airlines, MROs and OEMs to consider greater cost-cutting measures. https://www.aerotime.aero/28331-predictive-aircraft-maintenance-MRO Air Force, Google to Collaborate on Cloud-Based Aircraft Maintenance Ecosystem Google Cloud and the U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Sustainment Office have agreed to jointly develop a technology ecosystem that will use company-built computing platforms to support aviation sustainment work at the service branch. The partnership intends to incorporate Google’s Apigee application programming interface management tool and Anthos managed application technology into the aircraft maintenance ecosystem as part of Project Lighthouse, according to a joint release Friday. The open, agile and scalable ecosystem will also provide seamless integration for the Air Force’s network of technology providers, including predictive maintenance software to managing robotics. “What we’re building with Google Cloud will accelerate the way we adopt, integrate, and scale technologies for the Air Force,” explained Nathan Parker, a deputy program executive officer at RSO. “Thanks to Project Lighthouse, more personnel are going to have what they need to do their jobs faster, and we’re committed to playing a key role in this effort,” added Mike Daniels, vice president for global public sector at Google Cloud. The Air Force plans to prototype, validate and test the scalability of the Lighthouse ecosystem within its technology environment before deployment. https://www.govconwire.com/2021/07/air-force-google-to-collaborate-on-cloud-based-aircraft-maintenance-ecosystem/ Airlines Show Growing Interest in Electric and Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft Several major commercial airlines made headlines this week regarding new investments, partnerships, and ongoing studies of electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft. United Airlines and Icelandair signed separate agreements for next-generation aircraft and hydrogen, while Delta Air Lines CEO commented on the international carrier’s interest in the development of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The latest investment in next-generation aircraft from United Airlines came in the form of a July 13 announcement confirming a new investment in electric aircraft startup Heart Aerospace. United Airlines Ventures (UAV), along with Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Mesa Airlines made a joint investment of $35 million toward the development of Heart Aerospace’s 19-seater ES-19 aircraft. United has also “conditionally agreed” to purchase a 100 ES-19 aircraft, once Heart Aerospace meets a set of operational requirements established by the Chicago-based airline. Separately, United’s regional subsidiary Mesa Airlines has also agreed to add 100 ES-19 aircraft to its fleet under similar criteria established by United. Gothenburg, Sweden-based Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-19 as all-electric fly-by-wire regional turboprop aircraft with a range of up to 217 nm. Heart expects the aircraft to be ready to achieve type certification from European and U.S. civil aviation authorities by the third quart of 2026. Heart has been testing a ground-based prototype of the complete propulsion system over the last year and has received letters of intent to purchase the ES-19 from SAS, Wideroe, Air Greenland, and Finnair among others. "Breakthrough Energy Ventures is the leading voice of investors who are supporting clean-energy technology creation. We share their view that we have to build companies who have real potential to change how industries operate and, in our case, that means investing in companies like Heart Aerospace who are developing a viable electric airliner," Michael Leskinen, United's Vice President Corp Development & Investor Relations, said in a statement. "We recognize that customers want even more ownership of their own carbon emissions footprint. We're proud to partner with Mesa Air Group to bring electric aircraft to our customers earlier than any other US airliner.” Icelandair has turned its clean-energy focus to hydrogen, signing an LOI with Universal Hydrogen, to “pursue the implementation of green hydrogen, a carbon-free aviation fuel, as a propellant for Icelandair’s domestic aircraft fleet,” according to a July 14 press release. Universal Hydrogen, the California-based green startup that emerged from stealth last year, is developing an aftermarket hydrogen conversion kit for regional aircraft, as well as a fuel distribution system based on a unique modular hydrogen capsule technology. The startup sees its LOI as the first step in what could become an expanded partnership with Icelandair to include working with Icelandic hydrogen producers, transportation companies, and airports. Icelandair operates a fleet of De Havilland Canada DHC-8-200 aircraft, that could become the first in its fleet to receive Universal Hydrogen’s conversion kit in the near future. “Icelandair sets the standard high for responsible aviation, we are committed to reducing our carbon emissions and believe we are in a good position to become one of the world’s first airlines to fully decarbonize our domestic network,” Bogi Nils Bogason, President and CEO of Icelandair Group said in a statement. “Universal Hydrogen’s work across both fuel logistics and services as well as aircraft conversions would allow us to accelerate our pursuit of a fully decarbonized domestic fleet and we’re thrilled about the option to be an early adopter, that could bring hydrogen-powered Dash 8s to our skies in the next several years.” While Delta Air Lines’ immediate fleet renewal strategy centers around the recent addition of 36 airliners to its fleet—including 29 used Boeing 737-900ERs and seven used Airbus A350-900s—an eventual investment or partnership around electric-powered aircraft is something they’re considering. During their July 14 second-quarter earnings call, CEO Ed Bastian was asked by an analyst to give his thoughts on eVTOL aircraft development based on some of the recent moves made by United Airlines. “As you can appreciate every one of the proposed manufacturers has been after Delta. We've heard from many of them,” Bastian said referring to eVTOL developers. “We're studying this space and we will continue to get good smartness space. I think it's at a very, very early stage right now and I think a lot of the plans that we see are a bit premature, candidly. But it's not anything that we are unaware of and I guarantee every one of those manufacturers would love to have Delta colors on their plane. So hard to predict timing but we're in the marketplace having lots of conversations.” https://www.aviationtoday.com/2021/07/19/airlines-show-growing-interest-electric-hydrogen-powered-aircraft/ Kit Copter Maker RX Enters eVTOL Market A kit helicopter company is entering the eVTOL market. Rotor X (RX) is partnering on the development civilian and military multicopter aircraft that can be powered by either conventional internal combustion (ICE) or all-electric engines. In January, Rotor X acquired the assets of Chandler, Arizona-based Rotorway International, the long-time manufacturer of two-seat kit helicopters, including the A600 Talon Turbo. In partnership with Advanced Tactics (AT) of Torrance, California, RX is now developing the quadrotor, six-seat RX eTransporter for passenger, medevac, search and rescue, and cargo operations. The eTransporter uses a small wing to enhance lift, can fly more than 1.5 hours or hover for up to 45 minutes on a single charge, and can safely fly with one engine out. RX is targeting this fall to begin flight testing and 2022 for FAA certification for a cargo variant, with the passenger version to be approved by 2024. The company said the aircraft’s technology has been in development for “over a decade” and builds on AT’s eight-engine air-land vehicle, the “Black Knight Transformer” that first flew in 2014 and could be driven on the ground. AT is working with the USAF on two contracts related to the eTransporter. RX would build a civilian version of that aircraft. The aircraft will be offered with a choice of a piston engine or all-electric power. Both aircraft have a maximum speed of 139 knots, a service ceiling of 20,000 feet, an 8,000-pound mtow. The piston-powered RX Transporter has more endurance and a longer range of 300 nm and a useful load of 4,000 pounds, compared with 200 nm and 1,600 pounds, respectively, on the eTransporter. RX expects the certified piston-powered version will be able to carry one or two crew and up to 10 passengers while the all-electric version would be cleared to carry one or two crew and up to seven passengers. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2021-07-18/kit-copter-maker-rx-enters-evtol-market Universal Hydrogen Makes Deals With 3 Airlines Universal Hydrogen Co., a Venice-based aerospace company that specializes in carbon- free flight, announced deals with a U.S. airline and two international carriers on July 14. The company signed letters of intent to supply green hydrogen fuel services to Anchorage, Alaska-based Corvus Airlines, which does business as Ravn Alaska, Valencia, Spainbased Air Nostrum, and Reykjavík, Icelandbased Icelandair Group. Financial terms of the deals were not released. “Each day, our airline explores innovative solutions to provide a travel experience with minimal adverse impact on the environment,” Carlos Bertomeu, president and chief executive of Air Nostrum, said in a statement. “This partnership represents a unique opportunity to advance on the decarbonization of our flight operations with the practical and cost-effective application of green hydrogen fuel.” Universal Hydrogen will sell 11 turboprop conversion kits, which include a fuel cell and electric powertrain to replace conventional turbine engines in planes, to Air Nostrum for its existing and future fleet. Icelandair will use the company’s kits to pursue “full decarbonization” of its entire domestic fleet. Under Universal Hydrogen’s deal with Ravn Alaska, its first with a U.S.-based airline, the company will convert five aircraft using the turboprop kits. The deal will also make Universal Hydrogen the carrier’s long-term supplier of green hydrogen fuel services for its regional fleet. “We are thrilled to have Ravn Alaska as our first U.S. domestic airline partner looking to decarbonize their aircraft operations in the near term,” Paul Eremenko, Universal Hydrogen’s co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement. Founded in 2020, Universal Hydrogen focuses on making kits for hydrogen-powered commercial flight. The company developed its kits to retrofit regional airplanes of up to 60 passengers with hydrogen-electric powertrains that are compatible with its existing modular capsule technology as a way to “accelerate market adoption,” the company said. Universal Hydrogen aims to make kits available for commercial airlines by 2025. Though new to the green aerospace industry, the company has attracted the attention of investors. It closed a $20.5 million funding round in April led by Palo Alto-based venture fund Playground Global. The company said it planned to use the funding to further develop its technology and bolster its commercial activities and partnerships. “We see the near-term decarbonization of regional aviation as a first step and catalyst, setting the whole industry on a path to meeting Paris Agreement emissions targets,” Eremenko said in a statement. https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2021/jul/19/universal-hydrogen-makes-deal-3-airlines/ Rolls-Royce Attempting 100% Electric Aircraft Speed Record, Jaguar I-PACE Offering Ground Support Rolls-Royce has been one of the familiar names in the very early electric aircraft market. Its fully electric aircraft “Spirit of Innovation” is on the verge of attempting a new top speed record for an electric aircraft. It is aiming to fly 300+ mph (480+ km/h). In the … spirit of electric innovation, Rolls-Royce is using Jaguar I-PACE electric cars to tow the plane and as support vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover is loaning Rolls-Royce the vehicles. Naturally, this is good marketing for the brand. There’s a bit of irony or humorous coincidence as well. The Spirit of Innovation’s battery pack provides enough energy to fly from London to Paris on a single charge, while the I-PACE has 292 miles of range, which is enough to drive from London to Paris. Highlighting yet again the energy inefficiency of flying, though, if the energy in the Spirit of Innovation was used on the ground instead, it could power 250 homes, according to the companies. The Spirit of Innovation may soon set a top speed record in an electric plane, but that’s not the only superlative under its belt. The airplane is powered by the most power-dense battery in an electric airplane. (That said, the specific figure was not provided — so you just have to take Rolls-Royce’s word for it.) “Rolls-Royce and Jaguar Land Rover are UK pioneers who are focused on advancing electrical technology for their respective sectors,” Rob Watson, Director of Rolls-Royce Electrical, says. “We are delighted that Jaguar Land Rover are loaning us I-PACE vehicles as we bid to develop the world’s fastest all-electric plane. It is important to us that the ACCEL programme is carbon neutral and this will be supported by having all-electric cars for ground-support.” Rolls-Royce isn’t doing this alone, though. It has partnered with YASA, an electric motor and controller manufacturer, and Electroflight, an aviation startup, on an “Accelerating the Electrification of Flight” (ACCEL) program. Furthermore, funding is provided by Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK also provides support. “The ACCEL project is part of Rolls-Royce’s journey towards enabling the sectors in which we operate reach net zero carbon by 2050. We 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,” Rolls-Royce states. “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.” The ACCEL program is also the first program Rolls-Royce has fully offset the emissions for in order to make it carbon neutral. While Rolls-Royce might not be the first company that comes to mind when you think of the cleantech revolution, it is actually on the cutting edge and has some of the most ambitious targets in the transportation sector. “Rolls-Royce has halved the greenhouse gas emissions associated with operations and facilities since 2014 and we are well on track to meet a 2030 target of net zero emissions from operations. We’ve also committed to ensuring our 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 has a similar commitment. “Jaguar Land Rover is aiming to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039.” Is that enough? Many would argue no, and I’m one of those many. Also, I presume the market will force a quicker transition anyway. Is Rolls-Royce New To Electric Flight? Not Even Close I remember when I first discovered Rolls-Royce was working on electric airplane technology. It was a funny shock to me, as I just associated the company with extremely high-end, handmade cars. However, the company has been toying around in this field about as long as any company I know. Back when CleanTechnica was a mere baby, in 2008, we published a couple of stories about Rolls-Royce’s work trying to improve the efficiency of aircraft engines. I presume that set the stage to some degree for the company’s foray into electric powertrains. It started considering considering building its own electric plane, but dropped that idea by 2014. Then, in 2017, it joined two of the other most notable engine aviation firms in the world — Airbus and Siemens — and announced the E-Fan X program. Under this program, the three would collaborate to build a hybrid electric aircraft engine. That partnership ended a few years later, but with each company still working on their own to decarbonize. Rolls-Royce’s arguably more exciting fully electric aircraft projects took shape elsewhere in the meantime. In 2018, it rolled out a concept electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that could seat five people. It almost makes on think of The Jetsons or a simpler life in which traffic didn’t exist. In 2019, Nicolas Zart wrote that Rolls-Royce was working to build the fastest electric airplane in the world — which we can see is still a work in progress today, but that the company is on the verge of achieving that dream. Then, in January 2020, Steve Hanley wrote an update indicating that Rolls-Royce claimed to have developed the most energy-dense aircraft battery in the world. (Perhaps you, like me, are a bit confused here about whether the battery is the most power-dense, the most energy-dense, or both. The company’s latest press release specifically says it’s the most power dense, but the 2020 article goes into detail about how it is the most energy-dense. My presumption, only slightly, is that it’s both, but we’ll try to get to the bottom of this mystery. Here are some more details from 2020: “The aircraft has three 72 kWh batteries, each with 6,000 lithium-ion battery cells and weighing 450 kilograms (992 lbs.). That’s more than a ton and half of batteries — quite a lot for a small plane.”) In the past year, we’ve been eagerly awaiting the record-setting Rolls-Royce airplane to get into the air and set the targeted speed record. I wrote about it again in October 2020, and Jennifer Sensiba wrote about it in March 2021. However, while speed records are fun, we want to see the more mass-market results. The good news is that our most exciting Rolls-Royce story over the past decade+ is the latest one. Rolls-Royce is working with Tecnam and Widerøe to deliver an electric passenger aircraft in 2026. That’s the real deal. Let’s hope it succeeds, or even beats its target. While we wait on that plane, which is expected to hold 11–15 passengers, I hope to get a chance to jump in an Eviation Alice electric airplane, which aims to seat 9 passengers. It is expected to be delivered to Eviation’s first customer, Cape Air, in 2022, and true commercial passenger service is planned for 2024. For now, we have speed attempts and pictures. Stay tuned. https://cleantechnica.com/2021/07/18/rolls-royce-attempting-100-electric-aircraft-speed-record-jaguar-i-pace-offering-ground-support/ PHI International and Massey University School of Aviation announce partnership Global helicopter operator PHI International and Massey University School of Aviation have joined forces in a new partnership that will launch the careers of the next generation of aviation professionals. The tie-up opens the door for the School’s top Aviation Management students to gain valuable, on-the-ground experience working at New Zealand-headquartered PHI, whose global reach spans Australia, Ghana, Cyprus, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. Students will be offered internships working on projects alongside PHI’s teams in fields including flight operations, engineering, safety and quality and information technology. PHI International Safety and Quality Director Rob Cavers said PHI is excited to build a long-term relationship with the School of Aviation and play a role in educating and training the industry’s future leaders. “The new relationship represents one of the ways PHI is nurturing the next generation of talent in our industry,” Rob said. “As a host company to the School, we are delighted to offer a place for the country’s top students to test out their options for careers in aviation. “We will support them to build the knowledge, analytical and research skills that will help set them up for success and a long and successful career in our diverse and essential industry.” Anke Smith, the School’s Business Development and International Programs manager, said as the first helicopter operator in its network of host organizations, PHI offers students exposure to a new type of aviation. “Through our partnership with PHI, we are able to showcase more about the great depth of opportunities our industry has to offer,” Anke said. “Aviation is an industry that gets in your blood. People often underestimate its impact on the global economy. “From tourism to the supply chain – it supports a huge number of professions and is a key enabler of many economic activities. The opportunities are massive.” Seeing a well-developed safety management system that has been rolled out across multiple contracts and locations in action is another aspect Anke says will develop students’ understanding. “Being at the coalface of a globally successful company like PHI, our students will see first-hand the value PHI offers to its clients and why they keep coming back. They will also get exposure to a highly expert, very diverse workforce from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.” Last month PHI welcomed its first student through the partnership, Alisa Izumi, who has joined the business on a three-month placement to support its Safety and Quality team with a project to develop safety cases for three of PHI’s overseas bases while completing her Aviation Management studies. Alisa said PHI’s culture is one of the first things that struck her, closely followed by the opportunity to build real-world experience in many aspects of her study. “This is my first experience in a corporate environment and the perfect steppingstone into a career in aviation. It’s given me so much more insight and a bigger picture of the industry.” The project Alisa is working on has introduced her to bow-tie methodology, which is widely used in the industry to assess risk. “The work I am doing will help ensure the safety management system is in place and the teams have everything they need to prevent incidents occurring.” PHI will offer internships to Aviation Management students on an ongoing basis from November and plans to open up the same opportunity to Bachelor of Aviation students in the near future. https://verticalmag.com/press-releases/phi-international-and-massey-university-school-of-aviation-partner-for-new-era-of-aviation-talent/ Collins Aerospace Deploys Biometrics Solution at Tokyo Haneda Airport Collins Aerospace has completed deployment of its ARINC SelfPass biometrics solution at Haneda Airport, one of the busiest airports in Asia, streamlining passenger processing through reduced physical interactions and bottlenecks at multiple passenger touchpoints. “Our ‘Face Express’ system will allow passengers to efficiently proceed through procedures at the airport (baggage drop, security checkpoint entrance, boarding gate) utilizing facial recognition, eliminating the hassle of showing their passport and boarding pass,” said Shoichi Ohashi, Tokyo International Air Terminal Corporation’s senior manager for the Facility Department. “We worked closely with Collins Aerospace to achieve this and enhance passenger convenience at Tokyo Haneda airport.” Rakan Khaled, vice president, Airport Systems for Collins said, “Our ARINC SelfPass biometrics solution at Tokyo Haneda Airport streamlines passenger processing while improving airport efficiency and security. Despite the challenging pandemic environment, we were able to manage staffing and suppliers to ensure smooth delivery of the solution.” This project includes the installation of 98 Self-Service Check-In Kiosks, 30 biometric enrollment kiosks, 104 biometric devices for Self-Bag Drop, 17 biometric Automated Security Gates and 42 biometric Automated Self-Boarding Gates. https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/airport-technology/press-release/21230832/collins-aerospace-collins-aerospace-deploys-biometrics-solution-at-tokyo-haneda-airport Sneak Peek Into Test Chamber for NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology Aircraft Safety is paramount for NASA’s quiet supersonic flight team who are making great strides in preparing for future flight testing with the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft. To achieve the safest possible environment and aircraft for our pilots, NASA is working with contractor KBR and relying on their expertise to make sure that the aircraft is meeting required standards for the life support and emergency oxygen systems. NASA’s X-59 is a research aircraft designed to take the “boom” out of the sonic boom with its quiet supersonic technologies and design features. The Low-Boom Flight Demonstration mission is reshaping supersonic flight by helping to change the existing aviation rules by collecting community feedback on the gentle thump that they hear when the X-59 flies overhead. This data will then be shared with federal and international regulators to enable them to consider setting new guidelines for supersonic travel over land. To get to this phase of the project, the team needs to ensure that the X-59’s life support system is effective in providing the protection needed to enable flight at the high altitudes required to meet its mission. To ensure the X-59 pilot’s safety, the sophisticated life support system equipment is undergoing a series of tests that include simulating an unlikely cabin depressurization. Military test volunteers are constantly monitored by a team of experts as a live stream of this activity and its data are displayed on monitors. The physiology of the test volunteers is also tracked, and there is a medical professional on-site in the unlikely event that their health requires attention. Rapid decompression testing up to either 50,000 or 60,000 feet in the air makes sure the pilot can survive a sudden loss of pressure at the X-59’s cruising altitude by providing oxygen under high pressure to the pilot’s lungs – to prevent damage to the lungs, the volunteer and pilot must wear a counter-pressure vest and pants. This altitude is more than 20,000 feet higher than the altitude at which commercial airplanes fly. Typically, commercial airline flight passengers experience pressure at altitudes of up to only 8,000 feet. As part of this test, the test volunteer descends back down to ground level at pre-determined rates. Continuous monitoring by the test team ensures proper function of the protective equipment as well as the health and safety of the volunteer. The primary oxygen system testing is now complete, with testing to follow on the X-59’s emergency oxygen system. After completion, the systems will be placed on the X-59 and the team will administer additional checkouts after installation. https://scitechdaily.com/sneak-peek-into-test-chamber-for-nasas-x-59-quiet-supersonic-technology-aircraft/ SpaceX tops off Starship launch tower during Blue Origin crew launch briefing On Sunday morning, SpaceX began the process of installing the last prefabricated section of Starship’s skyscraper-sized ‘launch tower’ around the same time as startup Blue Origin kicked off a preflight briefing for its first crewed suborbital launch. Though both events are almost entirely unconnected and have no immediate impact on each other, the simultaneity almost immediately triggered comparisons between one of the most important media briefings in Blue Origin’s 21-year history and an average busy day at SpaceX’s South Texas Starship factory and launch site. Almost exclusively funded by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos since it was founded in September 2000, around two years before SpaceX, Blue Origin is on the cusp of its first crewed launch less than two weeks after Virgin Galactic completed its first fully-crewed test flight above 80 km (~50 mi). Approximately 600 miles southeast of Blue Origin’s Van Horn, Texas launch and test facilities, in a different corner of the vast state, SpaceX was preparing for the latest in a long line of steps towards the completion of an orbital launch site for Starship – potentially the first fully reusable orbital rocket ever built. First revealed more than three months ago in a cryptic post from owner Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin is scheduled to launch passengers on its New Shepard rocket for the first time ever, marking the end of an extraordinarily long development period. Designed to be fully reusable, New Shepard is a small single-stage rocket powered by one liquid hydrogen and oxygen-fueled BE-3 engine capable of producing approximately 500 kN (110,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff. Designed exclusively for the purpose of ferrying a few tourists above a mostly arbitrary 100 km (~62 mi) line separating Earth’s atmosphere and “space,” New Shepard is about the same diameter as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets but is just 15m (~50 ft) tall. The small rocket launched for the first time in April 2015 and reached an apogee of ~94 km but instability ultimately destroyed the first New Shepard booster during its first landing attempt. Blue Origin successfully launched and landed New Shepard on its next test flight in November 2015, culminating in Bezos’ infamous “Welcome to the club!” comment after SpaceX successfully recovered a Falcon 9 booster for the first time one month later. As of July 2021, Blue Origin has completed just 15 New Shepard test flights – 14 of which were fully successful – in six years. In the same period, SpaceX successfully recovered an orbital-class Falcon 9 booster for the first time, reused a Falcon booster on a commercial satellite launch, debuted Falcon Heavy, reused several orbital Cargo Dragon capsules three times each, debuted Crew Dragon, became the first company in history to launch astronauts, completed its first operational astronaut launch for NASA, hopped three Starship prototypes, flew five Starship prototypes to 10-15 km, successfully landed four Raptor-powered Starship prototypes, rolled out Starship’s first completed booster prototype, completed more than 100 successful orbital launches, flown the same Falcon 9 booster ten times (versus New Shepard’s record of seven flights), reused orbital-class boosters 68 times, created the world’s largest satellite constellation, and far, far more. Along those lines, on Saturday, July 17th, SpaceX teams attached a massive crane to the seventh prefabricated section of a ‘launch tower’ that could eventually support Starship and Super Heavy stacking – and maybe even catch ships and boosters. On Sunday, not long after daybreak and about an hour before Blue Origin’s New Shepard-16 preflight briefing, that tower section lifted off under the watchful eye of several unofficial cameras operated by NASASpaceflight, LabPadre, and others. By the end of Blue Origin’s briefing, most of which involved executives or senior employees reading from scripts and none of which offered a look at actual flight hardware or “astronaut” preparations, the eighth launch tower section was mostly in place, creating a structure some 135m (~440 ft) tall. By the end of NASASpaceflight.com’s unofficial six-hour stream, the outlet’s excellent and unaffiliated coverage of SpaceX erecting part of a relatively simple tower for the seventh time had been viewed more than a quarter of a million times. By the end of Blue Origin’s official preflight briefing for a crewed launch set to carry the richest person on Earth, the company had accrued around 20,000 views on YouTube. Some might see ten times as many viewers flocking to an unofficial live stream of fairly mundane SpaceX construction over a briefing for the first crewed launch of a fully-reusable suborbital rocket and scoff. For those who watched both broadcasts, it’s likely less than shocking that spaceflight and rocket fans almost universally sided with a livestream showing something – anything! – happening over what amounted to a camera pointed at five people reading (mostly stale) statements off of teleprompters. Barely 24 hours away from Blue Origin’s most significant launch ever, the company – save for a few low-res clips from Jeff Bezos – has yet to share a single new piece of media highlighting the mission’s actual New Shepard rocket, crew capsule, astronaut preparations, flight suits, launch pad, or any of the other dozens of things most spaceflight fans – and people in general – tend to get excited about. For whatever reason, Blue Origin has also worked with Texas to shut down the only quasi-public viewing area less than 10-20 miles away from New Shepard’s launch pad despite never having done so in 15 test flights. SpaceX, on the other hand, may not have always been a perfect neighbor in Boca Chica but the company has mostly accepted the buzzing, near-continuous presence of spaceflight fans and members of the media who come to South Texas to see Starbase in person. More recently, SpaceX has actively let at least two media outlets (NASASpaceflight and LabPadre) install and operate several robotic cameras overlooking Boca Chica’s Starship factory and pad. On Sunday morning, SpaceX began the process of installing the last prefabricated section of Starship’s skyscraper-sized ‘launch tower’ around the same time as startup Blue Origin kicked off a preflight briefing for its first crewed suborbital launch. Though both events are almost entirely unconnected and have no immediate impact on each other, the simultaneity almost immediately triggered comparisons between one of the most important media briefings in Blue Origin’s 21-year history and an average busy day at SpaceX’s South Texas Starship factory and launch site. Almost exclusively funded by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos since it was founded in September 2000, around two years before SpaceX, Blue Origin is on the cusp of its first crewed launch less than two weeks after Virgin Galactic completed its first fully-crewed test flight above 80 km (~50 mi). Approximately 600 miles southeast of Blue Origin’s Van Horn, Texas launch and test facilities, in a different corner of the vast state, SpaceX was preparing for the latest in a long line of steps towards the completion of an orbital launch site for Starship – potentially the first fully reusable orbital rocket ever built. First revealed more than three months ago in a cryptic post from owner Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin is scheduled to launch passengers on its New Shepard rocket for the first time ever, marking the end of an extraordinarily long development period. Designed to be fully reusable, New Shepard is a small single-stage rocket powered by one liquid hydrogen and oxygen-fueled BE-3 engine capable of producing approximately 500 kN (110,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff. Designed exclusively for the purpose of ferrying a few tourists above a mostly arbitrary 100 km (~62 mi) line separating Earth’s atmosphere and “space,” New Shepard is about the same diameter as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets but is just 15m (~50 ft) tall. The small rocket launched for the first time in April 2015 and reached an apogee of ~94 km but instability ultimately destroyed the first New Shepard booster during its first landing attempt. Blue Origin successfully launched and landed New Shepard on its next test flight in November 2015, culminating in Bezos’ infamous “Welcome to the club!” comment after SpaceX successfully recovered a Falcon 9 booster for the first time one month later. As of July 2021, Blue Origin has completed just 15 New Shepard test flights – 14 of which were fully successful – in six years. In the same period, SpaceX successfully recovered an orbital-class Falcon 9 booster for the first time, reused a Falcon booster on a commercial satellite launch, debuted Falcon Heavy, reused several orbital Cargo Dragon capsules three times each, debuted Crew Dragon, became the first company in history to launch astronauts, completed its first operational astronaut launch for NASA, hopped three Starship prototypes, flew five Starship prototypes to 10-15 km, successfully landed four Raptor-powered Starship prototypes, rolled out Starship’s first completed booster prototype, completed more than 100 successful orbital launches, flown the same Falcon 9 booster ten times (versus New Shepard’s record of seven flights), reused orbital-class boosters 68 times, created the world’s largest satellite constellation, and far, far more. Along those lines, on Saturday, July 17th, SpaceX teams attached a massive crane to the seventh prefabricated section of a ‘launch tower’ that could eventually support Starship and Super Heavy stacking – and maybe even catch ships and boosters. On Sunday, not long after daybreak and about an hour before Blue Origin’s New Shepard-16 preflight briefing, that tower section lifted off under the watchful eye of several unofficial cameras operated by NASASpaceflight, LabPadre, and others. By the end of Blue Origin’s briefing, most of which involved executives or senior employees reading from scripts and none of which offered a look at actual flight hardware or “astronaut” preparations, the eighth launch tower section was mostly in place, creating a structure some 135m (~440 ft) tall. By the end of NASASpaceflight.com’s unofficial six-hour stream, the outlet’s excellent and unaffiliated coverage of SpaceX erecting part of a relatively simple tower for the seventh time had been viewed more than a quarter of a million times. By the end of Blue Origin’s official preflight briefing for a crewed launch set to carry the richest person on Earth, the company had accrued around 20,000 views on YouTube. Some might see ten times as many viewers flocking to an unofficial live stream of fairly mundane SpaceX construction over a briefing for the first crewed launch of a fully-reusable suborbital rocket and scoff. For those who watched both broadcasts, it’s likely less than shocking that spaceflight and rocket fans almost universally sided with a livestream showing something – anything! – happening over what amounted to a camera pointed at five people reading (mostly stale) statements off of teleprompters. Barely 24 hours away from Blue Origin’s most significant launch ever, the company – save for a few low-res clips from Jeff Bezos – has yet to share a single new piece of media highlighting the mission’s actual New Shepard rocket, crew capsule, astronaut preparations, flight suits, launch pad, or any of the other dozens of things most spaceflight fans – and people in general – tend to get excited about. For whatever reason, Blue Origin has also worked with Texas to shut down the only quasi-public viewing area less than 10-20 miles away from New Shepard’s launch pad despite never having done so in 15 test flights. SpaceX, on the other hand, may not have always been a perfect neighbor in Boca Chica but the company has mostly accepted the buzzing, near-continuous presence of spaceflight fans and members of the media who come to South Texas to see Starbase in person. More recently, SpaceX has actively let at least two media outlets (NASASpaceflight and LabPadre) install and operate several robotic cameras overlooking Boca Chica’s Starship factory and pad. It’s impossible to condense it into one or two simple differences but it’s safe to say that SpaceX’s relative openness and a general willingness to engage with media and let public excitement and interest grow uninterrupted (when possible) is part of the reason that mundane SpaceX goings-on can accumulate a magnitude more interest than on unofficial channels than an official briefing for the most important event in Blue Origin’s history. https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-tower-blue-origin-briefing-livestreams/ Curt Lewis