November 9, 2022 - No. 41 In This Issue : Propellers are making a comeback in the pursuit of Propellers are making a comeback : GE Aerospace, Tata Advanced Systems Extend $1-Billion Contract For Aircraft Engine Components – Indian Defence Research Wing : Flight enthusiasts, students build Kitsap's first electric airplane at Bremerton National Airport (Washington State, USA) : Blue Origin Completes the Delivery of Flight Engines to ULA for Vulcan’s Initial Launch : The titanium supply chain crisis: how it began and what it means for aerospace : Missouri Aerospace Manufacturer Acquires Connecticut Counterpart : IndiGo grounds 30 aircraft amid engine, parts shortage : Canopy Aerospace to supply thermal protection for spacecraft and hypersonics : Emirates to buy 777 freighters in deal with Boeing : Boeing’s aircraft deliveries slipped in October on 737 fuselage flaw Propellers are making a comeback in the pursuit of greener air travel Photo: Schreibe eine Antwort The propeller — a relic from the dawn of powered flight more than a century ago — is making a comeback as an emblem of aviation’s greener future. Rotors are proliferating on futuristic air taxis and plane prototypes powered by hydrogen and electricity. The old-school feature is also central to a radical new engine that could one day replace the turbofans on today’s jetliners as climate change pushes the industry to innovate its way out of fossil-fuel dependence. That design, developed by General Electric Co. and France’s Safran SA, could burn 20% to 30% less fuel with similar or less noise than their latest offering for single-aisle jets, executives say. They’re angling to put the engine, with its giant whirling propellers, on workhorse planes by the mid-2030s. The invention push makes for some dizzyingly expensive and consequential wagers for some of the sector’s most prominent companies. Boeing Co., Airbus SE and engine makers such as Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc need to plough billions of dollars into producing more environmentally friendly planes that will fly well past the 2040s. But it’s not clear yet which technologies will provide the best path forward, or when airlines will be ready to embrace them. The financial toll of a misstep could linger for decades — or even wipe out a company — while engineering hurdles and regulatory scrutiny loom as potential roadblocks. “I wouldn’t want to be a president of Boeing or Airbus,” said Steve Udvar-Hazy, the pioneer of aircraft leasing who’s been one of both companies’ biggest buyers for decades. The challenges they face in trying to make the right call about what will replace today’s technology “are probably the most difficult they’ve faced in my career,” he told a conference on Sept. 7. Futuristic Concept The futuristic concept from GE and Safran’s partnership, CFM International, features scimitar-like blades that spin exposed outside the turbine. It eliminates the casing that is seen on turbofan engines that currently power most commercial aircraft. That so-called open-fan design means engineers can install much bigger blades, which improves fuel efficiency by accelerating more air through the fan section for thrust instead of through the fuel-burning centre. And unlike piston-driven propeller planes of yore, those huge blades are driven by a high-tech turbine made with advanced materials that CFM says can run on biofuels or hydrogen. While they unveiled the concept last year, executives of the partnership offered new details in interviews about how they’ve worked to overcome key technical hurdles that bedevilled earlier open-fan designs. Using supercomputers housed in research labs at the US Department of Energy, GE Aerospace’s Vice President of Engineering Mohamed Ali says company engineers have unlocked how to resolve trade-offs between cruise speed, fuel efficiency and noise. The government machines allowed GE to model turbulence and airflow around the engine on an almost molecular level, revealing how to precisely sculpt blades to make them quieter, he said. Initial flight tests are planned for mid-decade before CFM and Airbus rig the engine to an A380 superjumbo jet for additional demonstration flights prior to 2030. If those trials are successful, analysts say CFM’s open-fan design will be a serious contender to power the aircraft that will eventually replace Boeing’s 737 Max and Airbus A320neo jetliners — the duopoly’s most important cash cows. “Up until now, each new engine family has been evolutionary,” said analyst Robert Spingarn of Melius Research. “These are revolutionary.” As Ali sees it, climate change leaves little choice but to pursue such dramatic reinvention. “Can we really afford to leave that fuel-burn advantage on the table?” he said. Engineering Advances Of course, propeller planes have never completely vanished from the market, even after the modern jet ushered in faster travel decades ago. Such aircraft have been a mainstay of short, regional hops, though never coming close to matching the sales and speed of the turbofan-powered jets that routinely fly hundreds of people across continents and oceans. But the massive, exposed propellers like those in CFM’s open-fan concept would be something of a different species — a throwback, in some ways, to the 1980s. Back then, GE and rival engine maker Pratt & Whitney each developed and flight-tested similar engines as a solution for airlines looking to blunt sky-high fuel costs with a jump in efficiency. Boeing even marketed a plane powered by twin open-fan engines. But the concepts never made it to production, as technical challenges abounded and oil prices plunged. Now, though, the harsh reality of climate change is likely to make for a more enduring impetus for invention than fickle energy prices did last century. Engineering barriers, too, are falling. GE’s 1980s model had two sets of exposed blades that spun in opposite directions, making it heavy, and complex and raising reliability concerns. That is one of the problems GE’s Ali says has now been solved. The second set of blades was needed to reach the necessary cruise speed for commercial airliners. But using supercomputers and wind-tunnel tests, Ali says GE discovered that a single set of blades with stationary vanes behind them can yield the same result. Meanwhile, propellers figure prominently in other efforts to make air transport greener. Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace plan to flight-test 2024 a hybrid-electric propulsion system on a regional, propeller-driven aircraft. Funding is also gushing into startups developing new propulsion systems. Sustainable aviation garnered 23% of the $2.2 billion invested in futuristic air technologies during the first half of 2022, up from just 2% of funding a year earlier, according to McKinsey data. Battery-powered eVTOLs, which aim to whisk travellers over traffic-clogged streets, raked in the most funding. Challenges to Adoption While the auto industry decisively pivots to electric vehicles, Boeing and Airbus are taking more cautious steps to decarbonize, like replacing petroleum-derived kerosene with biofuels that can be burned by today’s jet engines. Hydrogen-powered airliners likely won’t be ready for decades, and in the meantime, going all-in on designs that rely on open-fan engines is risky — not least because conventional turbofans also have room for powerful improvements. “The modern turbofan is one of the most efficient power generators that people have ever created,” said Brian Yutko, vice president and chief engineer for sustainability and future mobility at Boeing. “If you take the duct away,” he said, referring to a jet engine’s protective covering, “you don’t absolve yourselves of integration challenges — you have different ones.” That helps explain why Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney are sticking to a more conventional engine approach. Rolls-Royce, after assessing and ground-testing open-fan technology, is moving ahead with what’s known as a geared turbofan with a model called Ultrafan that targets burning 25% less fuel. Pratt spent $10 billion to develop a geared turbofan that entered service in 2015 and offers a 15% improvement in efficiency versus its predecessors. Geoff Hunt, Pratt’s senior vice president for engineering, said the engine could boost fuel efficiency by another 20% via technology upgrades over time — a similar gain to what CFM expects its propeller design could offer. Such advances in turbofans could present a serious challenge to the widespread adoption of open-fan formats. Airlines might be loath to switch to an unproven new engine when a familiar option — one that fits neatly into the established design of existing planes – is offering comparable improvement. There are other obstacles, too, such as the likelihood that regulators would pay new aircraft special attention. The GE and Pratt concepts of the 1980s bellowed so loudly, they raised doubts they could comply with noise limits. Safety issues, namely how to prevent a blade failure from sending debris slicing through a plane’s frame, would also be scrutinized by authorities — and customers, too. Airbus, for example, was sceptical of open-fan designs pitched by CFM about 15 years ago as it considered engines for what became the A320neo, people familiar with the matter said. The planemaker would’ve needed to completely rework the A320 to make the engine fit, one of the people said, and the blades would’ve been positioned high and on the rear of the aircraft, presenting challenges to winning regulatory certification due to the risk of a blade breaking off or a tail scrape. And that’s all before considering how passengers might react. “Looking out and seeing Cuisinart blades under the wing with double rows, dozens of blades — yeah, that’s disconcerting,” said aviation consultant Richard Aboulafia. New Jets Developing a new airplane can cost $15 billion — or far more if a groundbreaking technology goes awry. The potential of the CFM open-fan engine is likely to factor into planemakers’ high-stakes plans. Boeing and Airbus are already plotting their strategies for the next decade when they’ll need to replace their most profitable jets, which have designs that date to the 1960s and 1980s. The US manufacturer is expected to make the first move. Badly lagging Airbus in the crucial narrowbody market, Boeing is likely working on an all-new jet to counter its rival’s A321neo, and Spingarn of Melius Research expects it to also unveil a 737 Max replacement by the late decade. Airbus’s dominance, meanwhile, gives it more breathing room to devise upgrades to its A220 and A320 families of aircraft. Still, as the company girds for the future, it’s making big bets on unproven technology, such as pledging to bring a hydrogen plane into service by 2035. Many in the industry are sceptical that it can meet that timeline. The open-fan engine should be in the running for both Boeing and Airbus — provided CFM can deliver its engine by 2035, and resolve the issues that caused the planemakers to reject propellers in the past. The conventional jet engine has “gone as far as it can be given the level of challenge that our industry has taken on,” said Francois Bastin, Safran’s vice president of commercial engines. “Now there is something bigger than all of us, which is the environmental challenge.” Source: ‘American Journal of Transportation’. Images: ‘MT-Propeller‘. Propellers are making a comeback Flight enthusiasts, students build Kitsap's first electric airplane at Bremerton National Airport Peiyu Lin Kitsap Sun (Washington State, USA) BREMERTON — It was a continuous process to draw, cut, measure, drill holes and assemble pieces of aluminum. Annika Pexton felt a sense of relief — and accomplishment — when she finished making her first clip on her own two months ago, she said. The aft clip is now positioned at the fuselage tail of the first electric airplane built in Kitsap County. The 14-year-old Central Kitsap High School student is one of the students and adults who have been building a two-seat electric-powered all-aluminum motor glider at the Bremerton National Airport for months under the guidance of Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) members. EAA is a nonprofit headquartered in Wisconsin with 200,000 members in over 100 countries, a chapter in Kitsap County. With the purpose of teaching aviation knowledge and providing hands-on learning experiences to the public, some EAA members in Kitsap established an aviation education center at the airport in 2017. The members turned a former firehouse near the entrance of the airport into the Bremerton Aviation Center for Education (BACE) and positioned a multi-screen flight simulator at the center. ICYMI:Aviation education center proposed for Bremerton airport Earlier this year, the members bought an aircraft kit and welcomed those interested in building an experimental electric motor glider at the center. They've finished about 50% of the project so far: the tail of the airplane is installed and the fuselage is nearing completion. It is hoped that the airplane could be completed by next fall, said Mike Friend, a co-founder of BACE and a retired Boeing executive. "It's more word of mouth, but we have a stable of kids that are coming in," said George Steed, another BACE member. Friend has built and flown electric-powered airplanes during his time working for Boeing, and Steed has experience teaching high school students to build airplanes, they said. The next frontier of aviation Volunteers, including some parents with their kids, go to the airport on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings to build the electric motor glider. Friend believes it is the first electric-powered airplane to be built in Kitsap County. It will also be the first time an EAA chapter builds an electric-powered airplane and tries to fly one after the motor glider is completed, he said. Your stories live here. BACE members bought a partially built kit, called "Xenos," produced by a kit aircraft manufacturer, Sonex Aircraft, from an owner in California. They will install a battery and electrical power system, a Zero motorcycle-based electric propulsion system donated by an aerospace company ZeroAvia, on the glider to turn it into an electric-powered aircraft, which is known as "eXeno," Steed said. ZeroAvia is a developer of hydrogen-electric, zero-emission powertrains for aviation and has locations in the United States and the United Kingdom. The prototype of an electric Xeno was first built by Gabrial DeVault in California in 2020. Friend went to California to help DeVault, who had built other electric planes before, when he was building the eXeno prototype. Now, Friend brings the experience back to help build another eXeno in BACE, he said. Building an electric airplane is a new, cutting-edge field in aviation, Friend said. The field has great commercial interest and provides a clean and green way of flying, he said. "'We're not exactly at the same stage the Wright brothers were at in 1903. It's a little more advanced than that, but it's the same sort of situation where we're just at the very beginning of being able to realize how to build airplanes and power them with electric power," Friend said. The total cost of purchasing the kit materials and all the instruments to fly the motor glider is about $35,000, Friend said. BACE members and some donors contributed to the project. Once the glider is built, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will inspect the airplane and review all the records of the building process to determine its safety. If it passes the inspection, the FAA will issue an experimental airworthiness certificate to allow pilots to fly the glider, Friend said. Using the eXeno to teach students to fly would be much more economical than a gasoline-powered airplane, Friend said. It costs about $35 to $40 per flying hour for the fuel and maintenance of a gasoline airplane. Friend didn't have an estimation of the cost of flying the eXeno, but said it would be "strikingly cheaper" to fly an electric aircraft when operators only have to pay the rate for electricity instead of the fuel fee. Envisioning the future need to charge electric airplanes, the Port of Bremerton is building electric charging infrastructure at the parking area of the Bremerton National Airport, said Jim Rothlin, CEO of the Port of Bremerton. Two electrical vaults, concrete boxes buried underground in the parking area, will provide 220 volts of electricity to charge airplanes temporarily parked at the airport for their next flight. It would take about two hours to charge BACE's eXeno, and the motor glider can operate for about 45 minutes to one hour after it's fully charged, Friend said. Friend said he believes the Port of Bremerton is building Washington state's first two electric airplane charging stations. The construction is part of the port's project to build a $5 million multipurpose facility at the airport, which will include the restaurant Amelia's Hangar, some office space, a pilot lounge and an airplane hanger. The Port of Bremerton hopes to complete the project in December, Rothlin said. "We really see the future of the port," Rothlin said. "We think we have great opportunities for the whole electric airplane market." Check out:Restaurant announced for Bremerton National Airport; opening slated for summer It costs about $150,000 to build the infrastructure for the two Level 2 electric aircraft charging stations in the airport, according to Rothlin. Flight enthusiasts, students build Kitsap's first electric airplane at Bremerton National Airport Blue Origin Completes the Delivery of Flight Engines to ULA for Vulcan’s Initial Launch Blue Origin completed its delivery of the first BE-4 shipset for United Launch Alliance (ULA), shipping the engines to ULA’s factory in Decatur, AL after final acceptance testing. Each BE-4 engine provides 550,000 pounds of thrust and has completed an extensive development program. This state-of-the-art engine will end reliance on Russian engines and power a new generation of U.S. launch vehicles. Dozens of these engines are now in production to support a large and growing demand for civil, commercial, and defense launches. “We’re excited to see ULA’s Vulcan fly,” said Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin. “The BE-4 is a great engine, and we’re proud of Team Blue for achieving this milestone as part of ULA’s team. It’s been a wonderful partnership, and this shipset is the first of many more to come.” “We are very pleased to receive the first two engines for Vulcan’s inaugural flight,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “Development of this new engine is complete, and the performance of the engine is outstanding. It has been a great team effort working together with our partners at Blue Origin and we can’t wait to see Vulcan fly.” About Blue Origin’s BE-4 Engine Blue Origin’s BE-4 is the most powerful liquid natural gas (LNG) fueled, oxygen-rich staged combustion engine made in the U.S., powering the next generation of rocket launch vehicles. The engines are manufactured in Kent, WA and in Huntsville, AL. They are tested in West Texas and at the historic 4670 Test Stand at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Blue Origin Completes the Delivery of Flight Engines to ULA for Vulcan’s Initial Launch The titanium supply chain crisis: how it began and what it means for aerospace Valius Venckunas The Aerospace industry is currently facing a titanium supply shortage after international sanctions were placed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. But what does this mean for the aerospace industry? AeroTime takes a closer look at the facts surrounding the crisis. Back in February and March 2022 much debate surrounded just how far the European Union would go when it came to imposing sanctions on Russia. One reason for this, as well as being the main point of criticism expressed by those who opposed the sanctions, was the damage that could be caused to the European economy as a result. Multiple warnings were issued by industry experts, who called for the sanctions to be well thought-out and prepared because anything less could lead to significant economic damage in the long run. These warnings were often at the forefront of discussion related to subsequent sanctions rolled out by the European Union in the months that followed. This argument was reiterated by Airbus, Europe’s – and the world’s – largest aerospace manufacturer, with the company expressing concerns about sanctions placed on one Russian company in particular - VSMPO-AVISMA, Russia’s state-run producer of titanium. In April 2022 Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said sanctioning the company would damage European aerospace, “while barely hurting Russia’s economy”. Faury repeated the same argument in June amid a new sanctions package imposed on other Russian goods. It was reportedly this argument that led VSMPO-AVISMA to be removed from the sanctions list, allowing the flow of Russian titanium to continue into Europe. READ MORE: EU drops sanctions on Airbus titanium supplier in Russia: report EU reportedly decides not to sanction Russia’s VSMPO-AVISMA, Airbus’ main supplier of titanium. But how have Western companies become so reliant on Russian titanium? Slipping into dependency While the exact figure has not been made public, multiple reports suggest that up to 65% of the titanium used by Airbus currently comes from Russia. VSMPO-AVISMA is a subsidiary of Rostec, a state-owned conglomerate that also owns most of Russia’s defense companies, and is almost solely responsible for the entirety of Russian titanium. Considering current events such an arrangement seems objectionable. However, this hasn't always been the case. The company dates back to the Soviet era and was the main supplier of titanium to the Soviet army. In the mid-1990s, as Russian military and aerospace manufacturing suffered a decline, it turned to Western buyers. By the mid-2000s, VSMPO-AVISMA become closely intertwined with the western aviation industry. In 2006 Boeing selected VSMPO-AVISMA as its main titanium supplier and, in 2009, the companies created a joint venture – Ural Boeing Manufacturing. This paved the way for the “Titanium Valley”, an economic zone located in the Ural Mountains that was envisioned as the global capital for titanium manufacturing. Between 2000 and 2010, Russia’s titanium exports tripled while production companies in the US struggled to keep up with cheap titanium imported from abroad. In 2021 this process reached its peak and the last titanium production facility in North America closed following years of struggle. During the same period, the EU, which does not include any titanium-producing countries, doubled imports of the metal, a trend that followed the rise of consumption. Shifts in geopolitics In 2014 VSMPO-AVISMA provided 40% of Boeing’s, 60% of Airbus’ and 100% of Embraer’s titanium. The Crimean crisis did little to change this. While pledges to decrease Western dependency on Russian supply were made, actual progress was slow. It was not until the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that the situation was altered. Boeing announced that it would no longer import Russian titanium almost immediately, stating that it is able to procure enough of the metal elsewhere. Boeing stops purchase of titanium from Russia, Airbus continues to buy: Boeing suspends titanium purchases from major Russian supplier, while Airbus reportedly continues to buy from the nation. Meanwhile, Airbus did not decrease its imports from Russia. However, according to a statement made by Faury in September 2022, the company is still looking for ways to find other suppliers and gather reserves in case further sanctions are implemented. There are numerous indications that, like Boeing, the company is earnestly trying to move away from Russian supply. However, doing so is difficult and creates further problems. While Russia is only the third largest titanium producer in the world, positioned far behind China and Japan by the amount of material produced, when it comes to aerospace-grade titanium, it was the largest supplier, producing half of world’s titanium used in aerospace before 2022. Through long-lasting partnerships with Airbus and Boeing, VSMPO-AVISMA became an integral part of the global aerospace market, and it comes as no surprise that it is proving difficult for companies to move to other suppliers. But attempts are being made to mitigate this problem. One solution would be to purchase titanium from China, which usurped Russia’s place as world’s largest producer of titanium decades ago. However, this is still problematic because, although China’s titanium production is increasing day by day, it would simply be shifting the West’s titanium dependency to another country. Another solution would be to restart domestic manufacturing. In the US and Canada, for example, companies are attempting to do exactly that, while others, such as Tennessee-based IperionX and Quebec-based Rio Tinto, have already begun. Europe, where sources of titanium are scarce, is in a far more precarious position, and more creative solutions will be needed to address the issue. The titanium supply chain crisis: how it began and what it means for aerospace Missouri Aerospace Manufacturer Acquires Connecticut Counterpart A St. Louis manufacturer of equipment for the aerospace and defense industry has announced its acquisition of a Connecticut maker of precision machined components. Essex Industries said the addition of Precision Aerospace Inc. would bolster its aerospace product portfolio, particularly in the Northeastern U.S. Essex, which already operates a Connecticut facility after its early 2021 acquisition of Stevens Manufacturing — as well as a third in Southern California — makes aircraft components, platform controls, and systems for emergency breathing and liquid oxygen. PAI, whose Seymour headquarters is located near Essex’s Milford campus, says its components support pressure sensors, pressure transducers, and monitoring technology for oil debris across major fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft programs. The company also makes components used in semiconductor production. PAI will assume the Essex name. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Essex CEO Evan Waldman said the two companies share values and the acquisition will allow Essex to expand its product offerings. https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/missouri-aerospace-manufacturer-acquires-connecticut-counterpart/ IndiGo grounds 30 aircraft amid engine, parts shortage The airline is also exploring ways to slow down redeliveries via lease extensions. India’s aviation sector faces serious challenges following the grounding of 10-12% of the fleet Shortage of engines and spare parts has forced India’s largest airline IndiGo to ground more than 30 aircraft, or around 11% of its fleet, the company said. “As we work on various cost-efficient measures with OEM (original equipment manufacturers) partners, the endeavour is to minimise the economic impact of 30 aircraft on ground, resulting from this global disruption," IndiGo said. The airline is engaging with aircraft and engine manufacturers to mitigate the impact of significant supply chain disruptions that the global aviation sector is facing to ensure continuity of network and operations, it said. The aviation industry is facing serious challenges following the grounding of 75 aircraft or 10-12% of the fleet because of maintenance and engine-related issues, aviation consultancy firm CAPA India said recently. IndiGo, which has a 57.7% market share and 279 aircraft in its fleet, faces significant disruption even if one aircraft is grounded, considering that it operates more than 1,600 daily flights connecting 74 domestic and 26 international destinations. The airline reported its third straight quarterly loss at ₹1,583.3 crore in the September quarter. IndiGo is concerned about the supply-chain disruptions, high fuel prices and exchange rate volatility, it said on Friday. “One of the key after-effects of the pandemic in the aviation industry is supply chain disruptions in aircraft manufacturing and subsequent shortage of spare engines. This has affected our operations because of grounding of aircraft and has impacted our ability to fully deploy capacity productively," Pieter Elbers, chief executive, IndiGo, said during the post-earnings conference call. To meet short- to medium-term capacity needs, IndiGo, which primary operates narrow-body planes, carrying 180-200 passengers, has decided to experiment with wide-body aircraft. It will induct three B777 planes on a wet lease to service the India-Turkey route. “One reason could be IndiGo, which has inherently believed that wide-body, low-cost model is difficult to navigate, wants to adopt this indirect approach and see whether it can accommodate wide-body in operations and be profitable. Another reason is wide-body planes can seat 300-350 passengers and can help with immediate capacity needs," said an analyst seeking anonymity. The airline is also exploring ways to slow down redeliveries via lease extensions and reinduction of aircraft in the fleet, besides evaluating wet-lease options under regulatory guidelines. “We are bullish on the market opportunities and will continue to add flights in existing and new markets," it added. IndiGo is not alone in eyeing a lease-based approach to gain capacity rather than waiting for new aircraft. Air India, Vistara, and SpiceJet have also opted to lease aircraft to meet short- to medium-term capacity needs. Air India has chalked out a 15-month plan where it will receive 30 aircraft on lease. As airlines face capacity pressure because of supply chain issues, analysts and industry experts are of the view that this will be a headwind for them and will add to woes with regard to volatility in fuel prices and rupee depreciation. The pace of supply in terms of aircraft, leased aircraft, engines, and spare parts has been severely hit first by the covid-induced lockdowns worldwide that impacting manufacturing lines and then with the slowdown because of the Ukraine war. It will take at least 1-2 years for this to be fully back on track, an aviation analyst said. Any impact on capacity in a high-demand peak quarter of Q3 will be an additional challenge for the industry, he said. Supply chain issues could also reflect in liquidity problems for some carriers as the income from sale and leaseback financing may be less than planned, CAPA India said. Delay in fuel-efficient new aircraft deliveries will also lead to higher maintenance costs on older aircraft in the fleet, it contended. The delay in delivery of new fuel-efficient aircraft, which claim 16% more fuel efficiency, will lead to more expenses for IndiGo on overhauling and maintaining older aircraft. Fuel expenses for Indigo rose to ₹6,257.9 crore in the September quarter from ₹1,989.4 crore in the year-ago. It also suffered forex loss of ₹1,201.5 crore. Aircraft leasing to cater to capacity shortfall also comes with its own set of challenges as it requires commercial negotiations and technical inspections. Besides, the configuration of the interiors is different from what one operates. There are also practical issues during aircraft rotation. Domestic airlines will be better off to hold capacity at pre-covid levels for at least this winter schedule, Kapil Kaul, chief executive officer and director, CAPA India. The next 6-9 months are likely to be turbulent because of the high cost of fuel, high-interest rates, high inflation, and continuing geopolitical tension. https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/indigo-grounds-30-aircraft-amid-engine-parts-shortage-11667850620995.html Canopy Aerospace to supply thermal protection for spacecraft and hypersonics Canopy Aerospace was founded in 2021 by Matt Shieh (right), a former U.S. Air Force officer with a master’s in business administration, and John Howard, an entrepreneur with a PhD in materials science. SAN FRANCISCO – Canopy Aerospace, a startup participating in the TechStars Aerospace and Defense Accelerator, plans to set up a pilot factory in Denver to produce thermal protection systems (TPS) for rockets, spacecraft, reentry capsules and hypersonic vehicles. The company, founded in 2021 by Matt Shieh, a former U.S. Air Force officer with a master’s in business administration, and John Howard, an entrepreneur with a PhD in materials science, is developing a manufacturing process that relies on software, automation and 3D printing to supply heat shields for the commercial space and hypersonic industries. Through FedTech, a Washington-based technology transfer accelerator, the Catalyst co-founders learned about TPS technology developed at the NASA Ames Research Center and discovered problems with the commercial TPS supply chain. Companies often spend years designing and manufacturing heat shields for space and hypersonic vehicles. Canopy plans to compress the design and manufacturing process into months, Shieh told SpaceNews. Through a Space Act Agreement with NASA, signed in March, Canopy gained access to NASA TPS material processing, vehicle modeling and simulation, design, entry systems analysis and testing facilities. “We are transitioning legacy materials out of NASA that have been flight proven,” Shieh said. “We’re going to be to build out this capability over the next decade to support many different vehicles and systems.” Currently, Canopy is expanding its staff, selecting a manufacturing site and forging agreements with potential partners and customers. “Our solutions provide end-to-end turnkey solutions from design to maintenance, repair and overhaul,” Shieh said. A company developing a space capsule, for example, could hire Canopy to assist in thermal modeling: determining how much TPS material is needed, how thick it should be and the cost. Canopy then manufacturers the TPS. Canopy also intends to take over TPS installation for companies that have performed their own aerothermal design and want help manufacturing and installing thermal protection systems. “Think of it like Rolls Royce selling and maintaining engines for Boeing and other companies,” Shieh said. “It makes sense for the space industry to follow more of a path that the aerospace industry has followed it.” Over the long term, Canopy plans to apply the manufacturing processes the company is developing to “other dated manufacturing models in ceramics components,” Shieh said. “Industries such as automobiles, medical components and industrial manufacturing use manufacturing processes that are costly and have long lead times. We are evaluating using additive manufacturing and better design processes for applications in these areas.” https://spacenews.com/introducing-canopy-aerospace/ Emirates to buy 777 freighters in deal with Boeing • Airbus adds capacity for A330 cargo conversion program Emirates operates 11 Boeing 777 freighters. A new deal would increase the fleet by five aircraft. Two transactions on Tuesday will add to the global supply of large cargo jets as airlines continue to invest in fleets to meet projections for growth in air shipping. Emirates, the fourth-largest air cargo carrier by volume, announced that it will expand its dedicated freighter fleet with the purchase of five 777 freighters from Boeing (NYSE: BA). The deal is valued at more than $1.7 billion at list prices, but Emirates is expected to get a discount for the multiunit purchase. A Boeing official said the planes will be delivered in 2024 and 2025. The new aircraft will add to the 11 777 freighters already operated by Emirates SkyCargo, the airlines’ all-cargo division, bringing the fleet to 16 aircraft. At last November’s Dubai Airshow, Emirates announced a $1 billion investment to expand its air cargo capacity, including two new 777 freighters that joined Emirates’ fleet this year. “This order reflects Emirates’ confidence in air freight demand and overall aviation sector growth,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates’ chairman and CEO, said in a statement. Emirates also operates nearly 140 passenger variants of the 777. Emirates SkyCargo manages all the cargo carried on the passenger network. Meanwhile, Elbe Flugzeugwerke, an Airbus joint venture that specializes in converting used passenger jets into dedicated freighters, said Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corp. (Ameco), a large provider of maintenance and overall services for aircraft in China, will provide modification work for A330 aircraft. Conversions will be carried out at Ameco’s facilities in Chengdu, China, with the first induction of an A330 scheduled next year. EFW holds certificates to redesign both the A330-200 and A330-300 for cargo. The A330-300 can carry 69 tons, 2 tons more than the A330-200. EFW recently formed a partnership with Turkish Technic for A330 conversions, part of a strategic plan to expand production facilities around the world to meet demand for passenger-to-freighter conversions. EFW also produces A320/A321 converted freighters. Conversion activity has been extremely brisk during the past three years, but the cargo market is slowing down amid recessionary conditions in the global economy. The number of conversions is expected to slow down by mid-decade but still be above recent historical averages. https://www.freightwaves.com/news/emirates-to-buy-777-freighters-in-deal-with-boeing Boeing’s aircraft deliveries slipped in October on 737 fuselage flaw • Boeing delivered 35 planes in October, down from 51 in September. • The manufacturer said a flaw in 737 Max fuselages hurt deliveries last month. Boeing last week laid out its goals to return to around $100 billion in annual sales by the middle of the decade.’s aircraft deliveries in October fell from a month earlier after a fuselage flaw in its bestselling 737 Maxes delayed handovers of new planes. Boeing delivered a total of 35 planes in October, down from 51 in September. Of those, 22 were 737 Maxes. The Virginia-based manufacturer’s commercial aircraft unit had told investors that the flaw would impact its delivery numbers for the month. “We’ll recover on that quickly,” Stan Deal, chief executive of Boeing’s commercial airplane unit, said during an investor event last week. “We can surge and we will recover for our deliveries at the end of the year, but that adverse quality which we have to manage out of the system was an impact.” Boeing is making about 31 of the 737s a month. Last week, it told investors that it expects to deliver between 400 and 450 of its 737s next year, up from about 375 planes this year. The company logged orders for 122 of its 737 Max planes in October from carriers including Alaska Airlines and British Airways’ parent International Consolidated Airlines Group. Supply chain problems and labor shortages have prevented the manufacturer from ramping production up further, an issue that has hit rival Airbus, too, just as travelers are returning in droves. JetBlue and United are among the airlines that have complained about aircraft delivery delays. Boeing last week laid out a recovery plan for investors and analysts that forecast a return to annual sales of around $100 billion by the middle of this decade. CEO Dave Calhoun said the company could introduce a new airplane, but not until the middle of the next decade since advances in engine technology don’t yet warrant enough of a fuel cut to draw buyers. The company has struggled since two deadly crashes of the 737 in 2018 and 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic, manufacturing flaws that paused handovers of its 787 Dreamliners, and problems in its defense unit, including delays and cost overruns of the two 747s that are slated to eventually serve as Air Force One. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/08/boeings-aircraft-deliveries-slipped-in-october-on-737-fuselage-flaw.html Curt Lewis