January 11, 2023 - No. 002 In This Issue : FAA Forms Committee To Review Boeing Safety Systems : On the Horizon: New Aircraft Feature Fresh Tech and Capabilities : Tesla fan files trademark for the company to make electric motors for airplanes & boats [Updated] : Associate Director of Quality, Military Landing Gear : Airbus Progresses With Folding-Wing Project : Stellantis to mass produce Archer’s electric aircraft in expanded deal : An Engineer’s Delight: GE Aerospace, Boeing, and NASA Collaborations Accelerate the Future of Flight : Garmin Announces GI 275 Electronic Flight Instrument Certification for Airbus AS350 Helicopters : How does a winglet on the wingtip work? : FAA to require airplanes to upgrade altimeters by early 2024 : HK Express Partners with Iberia Maintenance for V2500 Engines : Space manufacturing startup Varda inks deal with Rocket Lab for three spacecraft : These 7 Space Startups Are Revitalizing the Final Frontier FAA Forms Committee To Review Boeing Safety Systems By Russ Niles - Published: January 8, 2023 Updated: January 9, 2023 The FAA has formed a committee of 24 aviation academics and industry representatives to examine Boeing’s safety culture in the wake of investigations slamming the company’s development and certification of the 737 MAX. The panel was mandated by Congress in 2020 as part of a legislation package to change how Boeing creates new airplanes. Congress issued a scathing report that year on the company’s performance with the MAX, which was involved in two fatal crashes resulting from changes to its flight control system. The company has been on a tight leash ever since with the FAA taking over final signoff on some designs before they can be delivered. The panel is made up of experts from NASA, major U.S. airlines that fly the MAX, labor unions and parts suppliers. Airbus also has a seat at the table. It’s report is expected in nine months. Among the experts is MIT lecturer and aerospace engineer Javier de Luis, whose sister was killed in one of the MAX crashes. He was pointed when he spoke to a congressional hearing on the tragedies. “Boeing cannot be allowed to continue to certify its own designs, especially those systems that directly impact vehicle safety, with little to no outside review,” Reuters quoted him as telling the legislators. FAA Forms Committee To Review Boeing Safety Systems On the Horizon: New Aircraft Feature Fresh Tech and Capabilities by Mark Huber - January 3, 2023, 8:04 AM Note: Important graphics included in the original article. Bell’s fly-by-wire 525 is the largest civil helicopter the company has ever built, designed to serve new medium twin markets. OEMs have a variety of new business aircraft models—from helicopters to long-range jets—under development and coming to market soon. They are bringing to market a range of technological advancements that hold the promise of greater range, efficiency, safety, and passenger comfort. HELICOPTERS Bell 525 Announced in 2012 and currently nearing certification, the 525 is the most ambitious project to emerge from Bell since it started making V-22 “Osprey” tilt rotors with Boeing for the U.S. military. With the 525, Bell wasn’t just going after medium twin helicopters like the wildly popular AgustaWestland AW139 or the large Sikorsky S-92 favored by heads of state for VVIP conveyance; it created a new category between the two and is going after both markets. Bell designed the 525 to be cost-competitive for any mission between 50 and 500 nm that either of these other helicopters currently performs. This is the largest civil helicopter that Bell has ever built. It has an all-composite, five-blade main rotor system with a diameter of 54.5 feet. The 525 is comparatively fast with a top speed of 155 knots. It’s aerodynamically slick and features computerized fly-by-wire controls and touchscreen Garmin G5000H avionics. Gone are the traditional cyclic sticks between the pilots’ legs. The cockpit has sidestick controls and a decidedly futuristic feel. The pilots’ seats swivel into position for ease of egress. Ahead of them is a low-slung digital instrument panel and an enormous field of Plexiglas that affords superb visibility over the nose and down to the ground. Entry to the 525’s 4.5-foot-tall cabin is through a pair of hinged doors located between the cockpit and the first of four seating areas or through two large aft sliding doors. Passengers enjoy 88 sq ft of floor space and a 128-cubic-foot baggage hold—bigger than what you’ll find on most corporate jets. VIP cabin layouts are expected to seat eight to 12 passengers and to Hill unveiled the five-seat HX50 turbine-single helicopter in August 2020. It plans to initially offer it as an amateur-built aircraft in 2023, with a certified Part 27 version—the HC50—following in 2026. List price for the kit aircraft is $662,000. The design features an all-composite, three-blade main rotor, retractable landing gear, and ducted tail rotor. Performance targets include a 140-knot cruise speed and a maximum range of 700 nm. Available interior features include in-seat electric heaters and air-conditioned seat ventilation, a refrigerated center console compartment beneath the armrest cushion to chill drinks and snacks, and a power supply for each passenger's tablet computer with audio streamed directly to passenger headsets. The audio is fully integrated with the digital cockpit and onboard audio system. Each passenger seat can be equipped to support rear-facing, forward-facing, and booster seats for children. In the flight deck, the avionics system can include synthetic vision, a traffic awareness system, weather data integration, an additional radio, a navigation radio and HSI, a radar altimeter, and ATC record and replay. All HX50 aircraft will be fitted with a standard two-axis attitude-based stability augmentation system and autopilot and can be upgraded to a four-axis autopilot. The HX50 can also be equipped with a pilot-operable folding blade system that replaces standard lag damper pins with interlocked quick-release pins, allowing the blades to pivot around the blade roots and orient over the tail boom. Safety interlocks prevent the aircraft from being operated with the blades unlocked. A Helimove smart ground handling system uses electric drive units in the aircraft wheels to maneuver the aircraft on the ground after engine shutdown, from either within the helicopter or via a smartphone/tablet app. Similarly, a Home Base secure wireless link enables powered hangar doors to be opened or closed from within the aircraft. The aircraft can be ordered with landing skids as opposed to wheels and an emergency float system is fully integrated into flush-fitting pockets along the fuselage and inflate within 3 seconds of activation. incorporate all the entertainment, information, and high-speed-connectivity equipment that you can find on the latest private jets. Leonardo’s AW609 tiltrotor is nearing certification following completion of final flight test tasks. TILTROTORS Leonardo AW609 Leonardo's first production AW609 civil tiltrotor made its initial flight on October 13 at the company’s Philadelphia facility. Designated AC5, the aircraft was one of three customer aircraft on the production line and will join the other three prototype AW609s currently in the “last stages” of flight test. Leonardo Philadelphia has been gearing up for the AW609’s entry into service, building a new training academy that includes an AW609 full-flight simulator and pilot and maintenance training coursework. The AW609 takes off and lands like a helicopter yet can achieve forward speeds of around 270 knots, on par with a fast turboprop airplane. It will likely transform personal and business travel between cities that are 700 to 1,100 nm apart. In many cases, it will be faster to make these trips with the AW609 than with a helicopter or private jet. The aircraft will be powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67A turboshafts and include Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics. Cabin size is on par with light jets and turboprops—height is 60 inches, width is 58 inches, and length is 13 feet, 5 inches. Finmeccanica gave the main cabin door a clamshell design and widened it to 35 inches, making the 609 more suitable for a medevac role. The VIP cabin features a small refreshment center followed by a club-four grouping and an aft belted lavatory while a less-plush corporate configuration incorporates six to seven seats. Customers will be able to select fabrics and colors, much as they would for a corporate jet. Beechcraft Denali TURBOPROPS Beechcraft Denali Textron Aviation announced this new single-engine turboprop program in 2016 and the aircraft made its first flight in November 2021. The model is aimed squarely at the market for the Pilatus PC-12, which, until now, has not faced a viable competitor and Textron’s goal is for the Denali to offer comparable performance with lower operating and maintenance costs. The Denali’s flat-floor, pressurized cabin is 16 feet, 9 inches long—the same as the cabin in Cessna’s durably selling but unpressurized and slower Grand Caravan EX turboprop utility single; the other cabin dimensions are nearly identical, too: 58 inches high and 63 inches wide for the Denali and 54 inches high and 64 inches wide for the Grand Caravan. The Denali’s cabin is an inch taller, nine inches wider, and an inch longer than that of the King Air 250 twin, which sells for $1.3 million more. It is the same height as the PC-12’s cabin but three inches wider and two inches shorter. Textron expects the Denali to have a range of 1,600 nm with four passengers, a maximum cruise speed of 285 knots, and a full-fuel payload of 1,100 pounds. The aircraft features a 53-by-59-inch rear cargo door (slightly larger than the one on the PC-12) and a digital pressurization system that maintains a 6,130-foot cabin to 31,000 feet. Options include an externally serviceable belted lavatory with a pocket door enclosure in the aft of the cabin. The stylish cockpit will be equipped with the Garmin G3000 touchscreen avionics suite and will offer high-resolution multifunction displays and split-screen capability. The G3000 flight deck will include synthetic vision, weather radar, advanced terrain awareness warning system (TAWS), and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) capabilities. The Denali is powered by a 1,240-shp advanced turboprop GE Catalyst engine that features full authority digital engine controls (fadec) and single-lever power and propeller control.GE estimates that the engine could be 15 to 20 percent more efficient than comparable models. And its manufacture employs 3D printing, which not only cuts its weight and improves reliability, it also substantially reduces production costs. The initial time-between-overhaul interval will be 4,000 hours. Daher plans to deliver its first $3.5 million Kodiak 900 single-engine turboprop in January. Compared to the in-production Kodiak 100 Series III, the unpressurized 900 features a 3.9-foot fuselage stretch, wheel pants, a variety of aerodynamic clean-ups, single-point refueling, and a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-140A engine, which delivers 900 shp, 150 more than the Series III. Maximum cruise speed is 210 knots, range is 1,129 nm, and useful load increases by 100 pounds to 3,630. The stretched cabin increases cabin volume by 20 percent to 309 cubic feet, enough space for an eight-seat, double-club executive configuration. The quick-release single-passenger seats enable multiple combi passenger/cargo cabin configurations. Each seat position has access to cupholders, USB ports, headset jacks, and personal storage. The HondaJet 2600 could usher in an era of light jet, midsize cabin transcontinental travel. LIGHT JETS HondaJet 2600 The 2600 is Honda Aircraft’s next step forward. Announced in 2021 as a “concept,” it promises to bring new economics to transcontinental business travel. Like the in-production HA-420, it will be certified for single-pilot operations and have good short-runway performance: the estimated takeoff distance at maximum weight is just 3,300 feet. Honda claims it will be 20 percent more fuel-efficient than comparable light jets and 40 percent more than midsize ones with similar cabins. Similar in appearance to the HA-420, the 2600 features Honda’s patented and distinctive over-the-wing-engine-mount design, which delivers midsize cabin comfort for seating up to 11 and light jet operating economics with a twist: transcontinental range. The aircraft will have a maximum cruise speed of 450 knots and a maximum altitude of 47,000 feet, where cabin altitude is a comfortable 6,363 feet. The maximum takeoff weight will be nearly 17,500 pounds. The wider fuselage produces a cabin cross-section that is 62.5 inches tall and 61 inches wide, 4.5 inches higher, and one inch wider than on the HA-420. The modular cabin is 25.4 feet long and features a galley and enclosed aft lavatory with seating layouts of either a double club four, for eight passengers, or a single club four plus a half club and a three-place divan, for nine. Honda also has designed a special mattress that mounts atop two facing single seats. The distance between seatbacks on the facing single executive seats is seven feet. Combined interior and exterior baggage stowage is a generous 120 cubic feet. While engines for the new aircraft have not formally been discussed, it is widely believed that it would be powered by a larger version of the GE/Honda HF120 on the HA-420. GE Aviation executives said some years ago that this engine was upwardly “scalable.” About 10 feet shorter than the G500, the G400 can fly 4,200 nm at Mach 0.85. LARGE CABIN Gulfstream G400 Introduced in October 2021, the $34.5 million G400 is a shortened version of the airframer’s new-generation G500, a fly-by-wire symphony of computerized flight controls, modern avionics, and new fuel-efficient engines that Gulfstream first delivered in 2018. The G400 bundles all these G500 attributes into a package with a maximum takeoff weight that is nearly 10,000 pounds less and a cabin that is five feet shorter. (The aircraft overall is about 10 feet shorter at just over 86 feet.) The G400 also accommodates two to four fewer passengers, and its range is 1,100 nm less than that of the G500. The G400 has the same generous, finished cabin cross-section as the G500: a little over six feet tall, about seven and a half feet wide, and 1,441 cubic feet of volume. The interior is available in three basic layouts with seating for nine to 12 with berthing seating for five. Other features include forward and aft lavs, ample galley space, all the comforts and in-flight entertainment and connectivity features offered by the G500, and the same 175-cubic-foot baggage hold. There are 10 big oval cabin windows—a signature design feature on all Gulfstreams—in a cabin with 100 percent fresh air and a cabin altitude of just 3,255 feet while the airplane cruises at 41,000 feet. (Maximum altitude is 51,000 feet.) The airplane will deliver respectable speed, 22 percent lower emissions, and compliance with Stage 5 noise standards from the pair of Pratt & Whitney PW812GA engines bolted onto the back. Anticipated to enter service in 2025, the G400 can fly New York to Los Angeles or London to New York nonstop: 4,200 nm at Mach 0.85 or 3,950 nm at Mach 0.88, and its top speed is Mach 0.90 (as opposed to 0.925 Mach for the G500). Fully loaded at 69,580 pounds, it can take off from runways as short as 5,000 feet. The $57 million Falcon 6X can take off with a balanced field length of 5,840 feet at mtow. Dassault Falcon 6X Dassault announced the approximately $47 million 6X in 2018. It made its first flight in 2021 and deliveries are expected in early 2023. The 14- to 16-passenger aircraft has the largest cross-section of any purpose-designed business jet: eight and a half feet wide, six and a half feet high, and just over 40 feet long. capacious, bright, and airy cabin, which provides 1,843 cubic feet of volume. A skylight illuminates the entryway, and 30 windows flood the space with natural light. All that room allows for a good deal of flexibility, including the ability to have conference-table seating for six and a comfortable aft stateroom. The wider cabin also makes it possible for the 6X to offer a bigger galley. The 155-cubic-foot baggage compartment is accessible in flight, plus there are another 76 cubic feet of unpressurized baggage space. Like most Falcons, this one will blend good short- and long-range capabilities. It will be able to use runways as short as 3,000 feet (partially loaded) while delivering a range of 5,500 nm with a top speed of Mach 0.90. The 6X’s high-efficiency Pratt & Whitney PW812D engines deliver 13,500 pounds of thrust each and 10 percent better fuel economy than legacy engines in their thrust class. The 6X features full fly-by-wire flight controls. Its new wing is designed to mitigate turbulence and is equipped with flaperons, leading-edge slats, and trailing-edge flaps. At maximum takeoff weight, the Falcon needs a balanced field length of as little as 5,840 feet. The new EASy IV cockpit, based on Honeywell’s Primus Epic avionics, features a simplified, one-button, power-up system, the FalconEye combined vision system head-up display for landing in low-visibility situations and better situational awareness. New and larger crew seats provide more legroom and comfort for pilots and can recline to 130 degrees. Featuring the fly-by-wire active sidesticks of the G500/G600, the G700 is next up for service entry. Photo: David McIntosh LARGE CABIN, LONG-RANGE Gulfstream G700 Gulfstream’s new long-range, 107,600-pound (maximum takeoff weight) flagship builds on the success of the G650 and G650ER, offering its widest, tallest, and longest cabin. The G700’s long legs and increased capabilities and comfort are derived from engines, curved winglets, avionics, flight controls, a flight deck, a cabin, and seating that build on the modern systems and design philosophy employed by its smaller G500 and G600 stablemates. The aircraft was announced in 2019 and is expected to enter into service within the next few months. Like the cabins in the G650 series, the one in the G700 provides a sanctuary of understated elegance. The new cabin is 10 feet longer, though, for a total length of nearly 57 feet—a mere three feet shorter than a regulation bowling lane—and is carved into up to five distinct living zones that can be configured to seat from 13 to 19. While the G700 offers many cabin layouts and seemingly endless finer details, what makes it a true lux long-hauler is the available “Grand Suite” in the aft fuselage. It’s the closest thing to a five-star hotel room in a production business jet. It can be equipped with a curved-edge, queen-size bed opposite a full-size dresser. The adjacent aft lav features two windows, a stand-up closet, a large vanity, and an optional stand-up shower. The lav also provides in-flight access to the pressurized, 195-cubic-foot baggage hold, which can convey 2,500 pounds. The G700’s Symmetry digital flight deck was first introduced on the G500 and G600. (The avionics of all three, based on Honeywell’s Primus Epic system, are so similar that pilots can qualify to fly them with a common type rating.) The control yokes of the G650 line are gone, replaced by BAE active control sidesticks linked to a triple-redundant computerized fly-by-wire flight-control system. The avionics feature Gulfstream’s enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) and twin head-up displays—the latter a first for a business jet—along with the new Gulfstream Predictive Landing Performance System (PLPS). Power comes from a pair of Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines that each deliver 18,250 pounds of thrust. The Pearls are improved derivatives of the BR725 engines on the G650 series and are cleaner and more efficient. They provide 8 percent more thrust while consuming 3.5 percent less fuel and meet or exceed international standards for noise and nitrous-oxide emissions. Gulfstream G800 Photo: David McIntosh Gulfstream G800 The $71.5 million G800 borrows many of the elements designed for the G700 and adds 500 nm of range. Those include the cabin seats, cabinetry, and lighting, the Symmetry flight deck, wing, tail, and Rolls-Royce engines. Wingspan grows to 103 feet. Power comes from a pair of Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines, each rated at 18,250 pounds of thrust, and are 18 percent more fuel-efficient than the BR725 engines on the G650, according to Gulfstream. Maximum takeoff weight expands to 105,600 pounds while maximum range increases to 8,000 nm at Mach 0.85 (7,000 nm at Mach 0.90). The G800 made its first flight in June and is expected to enter into service late next year. Bombardier’s Global 8000 pushes the subsonic speed envelope to Mach 0.94. Bombardier Global 8000 This updated $78 million version of the OEM’s current Global 7500 flagship was announced in May 2022 and features increased speed and range via software updates, modification of the existing GE Passport engines that power the 7500, and optimization of space in existing fuel tanks. First deliveries are expected in 2025 and the aircraft will eventually replace the 7500. The 8000’s maximum speed increases to Mach 0.94, positioning it to be the fastest certified of the business jets, and maximum range stretches by 300 nm to 8,000 nm. It already has broken the supersonic sound barrier as part of flight test. The aircraft features the same full-length fuselage and four-zone cabin as the 7500 and its maximum 2,900-foot cabin altitude. Existing 7500 customers will be able to upgrade their aircraft to the 8000 via service bulletin. The 7,500-nm Falcon 10X will feature a unique single power lever and recovery mode. Dassault Falcon 10X In May 2021 Dassault launched a potential kill shot at large-cabin, long-haul competitors Gulfstream and Bombardier, unveiling the 115,000-pound (maximum takeoff weight), Mach 0.925 Falcon 10X. The company expects the $75 million, 7,500-nautical-mile (at Mach 0.85) twinjet to enter service in 2025. Compared with offerings from its bizjet peer group, the cabin of the 10X will be at least eight inches wider and five inches taller. It’s six feet, eight inches tall; nine feet, one inch wide; and 53 feet, 10 inches long, yielding 2,780 cubic feet of cabin space. That’s a full 177 cubic feet more than the Gulfstream G650/700 offers, but six cubic feet less than the Bombardier Global 7500 provides. While the latter has a longer cabin, however, it is considerably narrower, at eight feet wide, and with six inches less headroom. The larger tube also accommodates a more capacious forward lav and a galley big enough for scratch cooking. Natural light floods the cabin through 38 windows that are 50 percent larger than those on the 8X, Dassault’s previous flagship. Humidity levels can be set and a new air filtration system delivers what the airframer says is “100 percent pure air.” Cabin altitude at 41,000 feet is just 3,000 feet. The 10X should deliver good short runway performance thanks to a new, all-carbon fiber, highly swept wing with integrated winglets and a clever flap and leading-edge slat design, as well as a pair of Rolls-Royce Pearl engines bolted onto the back. The Pearls deliver more than 18,000 pounds of thrust each and incorporate a variety of new design features that make them cleaner and more efficient. They are also wired to an advanced engine-health-monitoring system, as is the entire aircraft. The cockpit will have the digital touchscreen “next-generation” flight deck—based on the Honeywell Primus Epic system—features full fly-by-wire controls, automatic flight envelope, and “recovery” protections. It also offers the “FalconEye” system, which combines enhanced and synthetic vision and a dual head-up display. On the Horizon: New Aircraft Feature Fresh Tech and Capabilities Tesla fan files trademark for the company to make electric motors for airplanes & boats [Updated] Fred Lambert | Jan 4 2023 - 10:32 am PT Tesla is hinting at making electric motors for airplanes, boats, and more in a new trademark filing that went unnoticed. Update: It turns out a Tesla fan filed the trademark on behalf of Tesla – seemingly without the company’s knowledge. The automaker filed for a new trademark last week, but it went unnoticed until now. Electrek spotted it today, and while it is for the name “Tesla” again, it still caught our interest because of the category it was filed in. Tesla is extending its trademark to a new category to market electric motors “not for land vehicles.” The definition of the category in the filing is a bit confusing, but it extends Tesla’s trademark on electric motors to “motors for airplanes,” “boat motors,” and “electric motors for toys.” Here’s the filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office: TESLA™ trademark registration is intended to cover the categories of asynchronous motors not for land vehicles; Motors for airplanes; Motors, namely, synchronous motors not for land vehicles; Permanent magnet motors; Boat motors; Drive system having two or more synchronous motors coupled through clutches to drive a common load; Electric motors for toys; Linear motors. In the filing, Tesla specifies that it does not currently use the trademark for those categories, but the company “intends to use” it in the future. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long considered making an electric plane, and he even said that he has a design for an eVTOL aircraft, but he also always said that Tesla needs to focus on ground vehicles for now. The CEO said that the automaker might venture into electric aircraft once battery energy density has improved enough to make them viable. Musk said that 400 Wh/kg would be needed, and some battery technologies are starting to get close to that, but they are not in commercial production yet. As for boats, Tesla has not discussed any plan to make electric boats publicly, but there are already many electric boats on the market. The “toy” category could mean many things. There’s the Tesla Cyberquad for kids, but that uses a generic electric motor not made by Tesla and the entire quad is made and marketed by Radioflyer. The filing also includes “linear motors”, which are used in a lot of different products but are more famously used in trains. Electrek’s Take It’s important to note that some companies can at times file trademarks that they end up not using. We don’t know if that’s going to be the case here, but it’s still an interesting filing – albeit a bit broad. It could mean that Tesla plans to use its electric motors in some or all of these products. Either way, it’s exciting to think of Tesla potentially bringing its vast experience in making electric vehicles to making electric planes and boats. Tesla fan files trademark for the company to make electric motors for airplanes & boats [Updated] Associate Director of Quality, Military Landing Gear Collins Aerospace Haltom City, TX On-site 1 month ago 23 applicants • Full-time · Director • 10,001+ employees · Aviation and Aerospace Component Manufacturing • 2 connections • See how you compare to 23 applicants. • Actively recruiting Associate Director of Quality, Military Landing Gear Airbus Progresses With Folding-Wing Project Thierry Dubois January 04, 2023 At the root of the wingtip extension, a semi-aeroelastic hinge is triggered in cases of strong turbulence. One of the principles engineers follow when designing an aircraft is that it must withstand rare instances of extreme conditions. That approach is used in the design of the wing, a part of the airframe that may have to face exceptional turbulence. Engineers make the wing’s structure strong enough for those occurrences, adding weight in the process. Therefore, for most flights, the wing is heavier than necessary. What if that design margin could be eliminated? That is exactly what engineers at UpNext, Airbus’ technology innovation arm, are endeavoring to do. • UpNext’s “Extra Performance Wing” targets efficiency • Morphing-wing concept to become a reality The design of the OEM’s Extra Performance Wing combines the reduced drag of a high-aspect-ratio wing with the greater efficiency of an adaptive profile. Whereas a greater wingspan usually comes with increased weight, engineers will test features that should keep the weight unchanged. They are making gradual progress toward the first flight of an Extra Performance Wing—on a modified business jet—aiming at a 5-10% improvement in fuel consumption. UpNext relies on so-called agile methods, enabling fast evaluation of the technologies. The timing of the program makes it compatible with the launch of a next-generation single-aisle aircraft. “All the technologies will be validated in a relevant environment by the end of 2024,” says Sebastien Blanc, UpNext technical director for the Extra Performance Wing. That stage corresponds to Technology Readiness Level 6, which OEMs usually take as the basis for a full product development. UpNext has purchased a pre-owned Cessna Citation VII. The technology arm plans to replace the original wing with an extended, composite one measuring approximately 20 m (66 ft.) in span, including 2-m movable tip sections. Increasing the aspect ratio reduces the wingtip vortex and therefore drag. However, as the wing must be able to withstand extreme turbulence, increasing the span generally calls for strengthening its structure. In turn, the weight grows. “The overall objective is to make the greater aspect ratio neutral in terms of weight,” Blanc says. “That requires active control.” At the root of the wingtip extension, a semi-aeroelastic hinge is triggered in cases of strong turbulence. That hinge frees the wingtip to flap and alleviates the loads induced in the wing structure by that turbulence. The need for reinforcements is eliminated. The hinge is designed to be activated by a mechanism incorporating a drive-gear system and clutch. The electro-mechanical system, which is being developed by Curtiss-Wright, also will be able to position the wingtip to specific angles for various flight modes, as well as takeoff and landing. In addition, the hinge will be used to keep the wingspan compatible with airport infrastructures. The demonstration wing’s trailing edge will be fitted with three flaps, each with four multifunctional trailing edges, or tabs, which can change position very fast. “Like a bird’s wing, the demonstrator’s wing will adapt to flight conditions: altitude, speed and aircraft weight,” Blanc says. The flaps can retract, thus modifying the chord. Also to make the morphing-wing concept a reality, tabs can move to alter camber. Just as with the semi-aeroelastic hinge, the additional control surfaces also help curb wing load in demanding maneuvers and strong turbulence. Pop-up spoilers, to be found on the folding wingtips and possibly elsewhere, will contribute as well, Blanc says. Another result of the additional control surfaces is passenger comfort, as they can limit vertical acceleration in turbulence, Blanc says. In addition, they can control the flutter induced by the more flexible wing, itself a consequence of the greater aspect ratio. The Citation VII will be transformed into an uncrewed aircraft and the wing flight-tested remotely. “The idea is that such a breakthrough technology will be evaluated to the limits,” Blanc says. Antennas and probes, to be used with the remote-control system, are being installed in Toulouse. Flight testing of the slightly modified Citation VII will involve on-board pilots in 2023. The new wing then will be put in place. A lidar involving two lasers will be installed simultaneously in the cockpit, making the system able to anticipate turbulence 0.5-1 sec. ahead and move the control surfaces accordingly. Set for the second half of 2024, the flight-test campaign is planned to last about 100 flight hours. It will take place in an area measuring 200 km (124 mi.) in radius from the French Air and Space Force base in Cazaux. Airbus test pilots will conduct the flight-test program from the ground. The wing will be representative of a 52-m wing on a single-aisle aircraft, whereas the A320 family uses a 36-m wing. “All the learnings from the reduced-scale wing on the Citation VII may be applied to a future aircraft wing design, for any platform, using any fuel,” Blanc says. The data would be scaled up by using computational models, such as factoring in the difference in Reynolds number. Airbus Progresses With Folding-Wing Project Stellantis to mass produce Archer’s electric aircraft in expanded deal Kirsten Korosec@kirstenkorosec / 10:30 AM CST•January 4, 2023 Comment Image Credits: Archer Global automaker Stellantis will mass produce an electric vehicle take-off and landing aircraft for Archer Aviation as part of an expanded partnership that includes giving the startup-turned-publicly traded company access to up to $150 million in additional capital over the next two years. The agreement, announced Wednesday during CES 2023 in Las Vegas, will make Stellantis the exclusive contract manufacturer for Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft. Stellantis kicked off its partnership with Archer Aviation in 2020, offering it access to its global supply chain and other expertise. In February 2021, Stellantis expanded its relationship with the aviation startup through a collaboration agreement. That same month Archer announced plans to go public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company Atlas Crest Investment Corp, The announcement Wednesday goes far beyond a collaboration. Stellantis is not only providing capital and its manufacturing expertise to Archer; the automaker said it will also help build out Archer’s recently announced manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia. The companies plan to start producing the Midnight aircraft at the factory in 2024. The Midnight aircraft, which has a 100-mile range, is designed for urban environments where the average trip will be around 20 miles. The aircraft has an expected payload of more than 1,000 pounds and can carry four passengers in addition to the pilot. In December, the proposed Airworthiness Criteria for the Midnight aircraft was been published in the Federal Register by the FAA, a step toward commercializing urban air mobility. Archer has said it is working to certify Midnight with the FAA in late 2024 and will then use it as part of its Urban Air Mobility network, which it plans to launch in 2025. Stellantis said it also plans to increase its strategic shareholding in Archer through future purchases of stock in the open market. Stellantis to mass produce Archer’s electric aircraft in expanded deal An Engineer’s Delight: GE Aerospace, Boeing, and NASA Collaborations Accelerate the Future of Flight Jan 5 2023 | by Chelsey Levingston Note: Important graphics included in the original article. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and technology superfans, unite. In the aviation industry there’s a need for both in the move toward lower CO2 emissions. In the SAF corner, the alternative jet fuel has the potential to replace petroleum-based jet fuel, reducing CO2 emissions from how it’s made. SAF also has the potential to make the biggest impact on reducing aviation emissions toward reaching net zero by 2050. In the technology corner, more fuel-efficient aircraft and engines can reduce consumption of both conventional jet fuel and SAF, also playing a key role. According to the U.S. heavyweights in the aviation industry, both sides will need to come together, an urgent task given that flight currently contributes about 2% of global CO2 emissions. “I think we’re all going to have to be superfans of our particular area and passion if we’re going to achieve the 2050 goal,” said Joseph Connolly, aerospace engineer at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. “The net-zero-by-2050 goal is going to be hard and it’s going to be challenging and it’s going to take all of us advocating for our particular areas.” Christine Andrews, executive hybrid electric systems leader for GE Aerospace, and Joseph Connolly, aerospace engineer for NASA’s Glenn Research Center, at the 2022 Sustainable Aviation Futures North America Congress. Image credit: Sustainable Aviation Futures. Top: The GEnx engine recently completed ground testing with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), powering a Boeing 787-10 in collaboration with NASA. Tests like these help increase understanding of SAF and how it might positively impact air quality in comparison with conventional jet fuel. Image credit: Boeing. Connolly was among the presenters at the recent Sustainable Aviation Futures Congress North America conference in San Francisco, a gathering of equipment manufacturers, including GE Aerospace and Boeing, fuel producers, industry associations, government agencies like NASA, and others. What’s clear is that while both SAF and new technologies hold tremendous potential, they also face big challenges. Wanted: More SAF Supply SAF supplies today are growing but limited, with production currently less than 1% of global jet fuel demand. Still, presenters pressed the argument that the aviation industry can’t move toward its decarbonization goals without SAF, and in fact much progress has been made. For more than a decade, Boeing and GE Aerospace have conducted multiple flight demonstrations with SAF. This work includes the industry’s first commercial demonstration flight of biofuel, in 2008, using a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 powered by GE’s CF6 engines; the first commercial airliner flight with 100% SAF in both engines, on the 2018 Boeing ecoDemonstrator, a FedEx Express Boeing 777 powered by GE90 engines; and the first passenger experimental flight with 100% SAF in one of the two engines, in 2021, using a United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 powered by CFM LEAP engines.* All GE Aerospace and CFM International engines can operate on approved SAF blends today, which can be made from plant-based material, fats, oils and greases, alcohols, waste streams, captured CO2, and other alternative feedstocks. SAF has the same chemical composition as the jet fuel most commonly used today. The key difference is that instead of being made from fossil-based sources, SAF is made from more renewable sources. The use of alternative feedstocks and processes reduces life-cycle CO2 emissions during production, processing, and distribution compared with fossil-based fuels. Additionally, all SAF approved today is drop-in, able to replace conventional jet fuel, requiring no changes to aircraft equipment or fueling infrastructure to use it. Most recently, through Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator program and in partnership with NASA, SAF combustion was tested for its impact on particulate matter emissions. The first airplane to undergo this testing was the 2021 Boeing ecoDemonstrator, an Alaska Airlines 737-9 with CFM LEAP-1B engines. This past fall, Boeing and NASA teams conducted emissions ground testing of a GEnx-powered Boeing 787 running 50% drop-in and 100% non-drop-in SAF. Sheila Remes, vice president of environmental sustainability at Boeing. Image credit: Sustainable Aviation Futures. “We need sustainable fuels,” said Sheila Remes, vice president of environmental sustainability at Boeing. “Aviation is hard to abate. People want to travel, but we have to do it responsibly. The use of sustainable aviation fuel is core to what we need to do to enable the growth in travel — our focus is to change the energy source and continue to innovate around more efficient airplanes.” More Electric Flight On the technology side, the daunting challenge is to develop revolutionary new methods to reduce CO2 emissions more than what’s been achieved in any previous single propulsion update. One promising approach: more electric flight. NASA, Boeing, and GE Aerospace have also teamed up to tackle hybrid electric commercial flight through the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project. NASA and GE Aerospace are advancing development of a megawatt-class integrated hybrid electric power train, with plans to flight-test it later this decade using a Saab 340B and GE’s CT7 turboprop engines. Boeing and its subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences will modify the airplane and perform system integration and flight-testing services. That effort includes nacelle manufacturing, flight deck interface design and software, aircraft-level performance analysis, and systems integration. “Whether we’re going to be burning Jet A, SAF, hydrogen, or if we’re going to have batteries or fuel cells, the electrification of the subsystems and other components within the propulsion system on these aircraft [is] going to be more electric in the future,” Connolly said. Hybrid electric propulsion technologies can help improve engine performance, reducing fuel usage and emissions. Further, hybrid electric technologies are compatible with alternative fuels like SAF or hydrogen, and with advanced engine architectures such as open fan. “It’s actually an engineer’s delight to have a new landscape of technology development both in the actual hybrid electric system as well as in the adjacencies such as certification, airworthiness, quality, power electronics, and components we haven’t looked at before,” said Christine Andrews, executive hybrid electric systems leader for GE Aerospace. “It’s a really exciting time to be moving forward in this space and we’re really excited to be doing it together with our industry partners NASA and Boeing,” Andrews said. Not only is GE Aerospace developing hybrid electric engine systems through EPFD, but the engine manufacturer is also looking to demonstrate hybrid electric capability and other technologies through CFM’s RISE program, in collaboration with Safran Aircraft Engines. The goal of the CFM RISE Program is to develop technologies that enable a future engine to achieve at least 20% lower fuel consumption and 20% fewer CO2 emissions compared with today’s most efficient engines. With any approach — SAF, technology, or others — it will take reaching across industrial sectors to make possible the goal of achieving net zero by 2050. “We continue to innovate. That is what aviation does,” Remes said. “We’re going to learn about energy and technologies, we’re going to test it, and we’re going to make sure it’s safe.” An Engineer’s Delight: GE Aerospace, Boeing, and NASA Collaborations Accelerate the Future of Flight Garmin Announces GI 275 Electronic Flight Instrument Certification for Airbus AS350 Helicopters THU, 01/05/2023 - 10:10 Garmin (NYSE: GRMN), announces supplemental type certification (STC) by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the GI 275 electronic flight instrument in Airbus AS350 helicopters. A powerful solution for helicopter owners and operators, the GI 275 is a scalable, cost-conscious approach to an avionics upgrade that is a direct replacement for a variety of legacy primary flight instruments in the cockpit, including the primary attitude indicator, course deviation indicator (CDI), horizontal situation indicator (HSI), or the multi-function display (MFD). The GI 275 is intentionally designed to take advantage of the common 3.125-inch flight instrument size, reducing installation time and preserving the existing instrument panel. Its bright, high-resolution touchscreen display and wide viewing angle offer superior readability in the cockpit. In addition to interfacing with the flight instrument via the touchscreen, a dual concentric knob allows pilots to access a variety of key functions. Suitable as a direct replacement to many aging flight instruments, the GI 275 is easy to incorporate into a variety of panels and offers operators a simple and straightforward upgrade path to achieve modern flight instrument features and functions. When installed as a primary attitude indicator, the GI 275 offers improved reliability, potential weight savings and reduced maintenance compared to less reliable, vacuum-driven attitude indicators. Optional Helicopter Synthetic Vision Technology (HSVT™) overlays a rich, 3D topographic view of terrain, traffic, obstacles, power lines, airport signposts and more, all within the GI 275 attitude display (1). Additional features include the display of outside air temperature, groundspeed, as well as true airspeed and wind information on the attitude indicator, and wireless functionality like sharing of GPS position and backup attitude information to the Garmin Pilot™ mobile application. When installed as a CDI or HSI, the GI 275 is designed to accept a variety of GPS and navigation inputs, allowing up to two GPS sources and two VHF navigation sources. The GI 275 features an omni bearing resolver that allows the flight instrument to interface to a variety of legacy navigators on the market without the need for an expensive adapter. With an optional magnetometer, it is also capable of providing magnetic-based HSI guidance. The HSI can also provide enhanced features such as map inset and traffic, terrain or weather overlay. Selecting the CDI source is simple and can be accomplished through the touchscreen interface, while course and heading selection is completed using either the touchscreen or dual concentric knob. When AS350 owners replace an older mechanical CDI or HSI, the GI 275 doubles as a modern digital indicator and adds MFD-like capabilities such as a moving map (2), weather (2), traffic, obstacles, WireAware™ power lines, SafeTaxi® airport diagrams and five-color terrain shading. For backup navigation information, a built-in VFR GPS enables convenient direct-to navigation guidance, displaying aircraft position information on a moving map. HTAWS (helicopter terrain awareness and warning system) is available on the GI 275 (3) and offers forward-looking terrain and obstacle avoidance (FLTA) capability to alert in advance where potential hazards may exist. The GI 275 can also be paired with Garmin’s GRA® 55 or GRA 5500 radar altimeters, or other select third-party products, to display altitude above ground level (AGL) while also providing visual and aural annunciations to the pilot. The GI 275 is available as a retrofit through authorized Garmin dealers for the AS350 BA, B2, B3 and B3E variants. The GI 275 comes with a two-year warranty and is supported by Garmin’s award-winning aviation support team, which provides 24/7 worldwide technical and warranty support. For more information on Garmin’s helicopter solutions, visit garmin.com/helicopters. (1) Features and functions depend on configuration and variant selected; visit a Garmin Authorized Dealer for additional information. (2) Not supported in select instrument panels; see a Garmin Authorized Dealer for details. (3) HTAWS enabled WAAS GNS series, GTN series or GTN Xi series navigator required. Garmin Announces GI 275 Electronic Flight Instrument Certification for Airbus AS350 Helicopters How does a winglet on the wingtip work? November 15, 2022Mond Ortiz Note: Important graphics in the original article. Looking out the plane window, you might be beginning to wonder what those fins on the wingtip are for. Some resemble tails, while others resemble arrows; some are large, while others are small, and still others are simply pointed at the edge. They are what you call a winglet, and they are wingtip devices that improve aircraft efficiency by reducing drag. Winglets are not their primarily for aesthetics purposes Drag is defined as the force acting in the opposite direction of the relative motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid, in this case air. When air moves at different speeds at the top or bottom of the wing, a winglet or wingtip device helps reduce the wake of air vortices. These vortices on the wing’s edge create drag, reducing aircraft efficiency as more power is used. By reducing the vortex, which reduces drag, less power is used, making the aircraft more efficient. Wingtip devices have resulted in significant fuel savings and emissions reductions of 3 to 6%, in addition to making the aircraft look more slick and stylish. Wingtip devices of various shapes and sizes are used on various aircraft. Blended winglets and wing fences Photo: Gary Sato The Airbus A320 family employs two types: wing fences and blended wingtips known as “sharklets” by Airbus. The wing-fence seen in the above photo of an AirAsia A320 was first seen on earlier versions of the aircraft. While both a wing-fence and a sharklet serve the same purpose, the latter has proven to increase the efficiency of the A320. Photo: Gary Sato Today, all A320 aircraft use ‘Sharklets,’ or Airbus’ proprietary version of a blended wingtip. The blended wingtip, similar to that of the Airbus sharklet, is used on the majority of the New Generation Boeing 737s. However, prior to the 737 MAX, some versions of the NG were already outfitted with a newer type of wingtip device known as a “Split-scimitar winglet”. Later models of the Boeing 737NG feature Split-Scimitar Wingtips, as seen in the image above. The wingtip may appear to split from a distance, but if you look closely, you will notice a main blended wingtip with an added fin pointing downwards. The wingtip of the 737 MAX, on the other hand, splits in two. This is called “split-tip winglet.” A comparison of both is provided below. The left wingtip belongs to a 737 MAX, while the right belongs to a 737NG. Split scimitar winglet Split-tip winglet Canted winglets The canted wingtip is used by the Boeing 747-400, Airbus A330, and A340. The Jumbo jet was the first to use a canted wingtip, which increased range by 3.5% over the previous model, the 747-300. In 1992 and 1993, Airbus followed suit by using canted wingtips on its A330 and A340. Raked wingtips Almost all of Boeing’s current widebody aircraft, such as the 777, 787, and 747-8, have raked wingtips, which have a greater sweep and a more pointed edge than the rest of the wing. Boeing claims that this improves fuel efficiency, take-off performance, and climbing performance. Wingtip devices, also known as winglets, are not just for show; they also improve an aircraft’s performance and efficiency. Wingtip devices are now used by over 8,000 aircraft flying around the world. Since 2000, this has saved nearly 20 billion liters of jet fuel and prevented over 56 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. How does a winglet on the wingtip work? FAA to require airplanes to upgrade altimeters by early 2024 By Sue Marek Jan 9, 2023 12:13pm C-bandFAA This FAA directive is likely a welcome relief to AT&T and Verizon, which have been unable to fully use their 5G C-band spectrum assets in areas around airports. ( Image by ciggy1 from Pixabay ) The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will require both cargo and passenger airplanes in the U.S. to install 5G C-band tolerant radio altimeters, or an approved radio frequency (RF) filter, by February 24, 2024. In a statement to FierceWireless, the FAA said that this latest directive is an update to the FAA’s December 2021 requirement that prohibited passenger and cargo planes from operating in the vicinity of 5G C-band wireless transmitters unless they were approved by the FAA. RELATED Verizon, AT&T navigate C-band chaos in 2022 To give the airlines more time to upgrade their altimeters and to allow normal flight operations to continue, Verizon and AT&T responded to the FAA’s December 2021 directive by voluntarily modifying their 5G C-band deployments. Both companies agreed to use lower power transmitters and incorporate buffer zones around airports. The FAA said that airlines are making progress at retrofitting their airplanes to accommodate the 5G C-band transmissions, but added that this longer term solution makes the retrofits mandatory. In addition, the FAA is requiring airlines to revise their flight manuals to prohibit low-visibility landings after June 30, 2023, unless the retrofits have been completed on that airplane. The FAA said that it collaborated with “wireless companies, aviation stakeholders and other federal agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration,” on this solution. The directive will be open to public comment for 30 days after it posts in the Federal Register. This latest FAA directive likely comes as a welcome relief to AT&T and Verizon, which have been unable to fully use their 5G C-band spectrum assets in areas around airports. Both operators implemented 5G buffer zones around certain airport runways and also limited their 5G C-band power levels around airports. In addition, this latest FAA directive will likely impact UScellular and other smaller telecom operators that hold C-band spectrum licenses and are currently planning their 5G C-band deployments. UScellular has said that it was in discussions with the FAA ahead of its planned C-band deployment and said that it had determined that only a small number of airports fall within UScellular’s footprint. FAA to require airplanes to upgrade altimeters by early 2024 HK Express Partners with Iberia Maintenance for V2500 Engines Jan. 10, 2023 Related To: Iberia Maintenance Iberia Maintenance and HK Express, a fully-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong home carrier Cathay Pacific, have signed a long-term contract to maintain 32 V2500 engines powering the low-cost carrier’s Airbus A320ceo and A321ceo fleet. Efficiency improvements, such as the extension of Engine Repair in-house capability, workscope adjustments to ensure shop visit optimisation and Used Serviceable Material (USM) sourcing from the market, were the key differentiators in the offer. At the end of 2012, Iberia Maintenance, with the support of International Airlines Group (IAG), started working on the International Aero Engines (IAE) capability to service the V2500 engine. In 2015, it obtained Pratt & Whitney's licence for V2500 engine MRO and joined the network of IAE, which distributes its customers’ engines for repair and overhaul to network partners. At that time, Iberia Maintenance became the first non-IAE member workshop to overhaul V2500’s. Iberia Maintenance Engine Shop specialises in CFM56, V2500 and RB211 engines and provides services to a worldwide customer base of airlines, OEMs and the wider Industry, being V2500 more than half of the current workload. In October, the company obtained the license to service Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engines. The first engine will be inducted in 2023. “We are so very honoured that HK Express has chosen to award Iberia MRO with the maintenance of its V2500 engines. This award is a testament to the Iberia maintenance teams striving for improvement as we continue to develop our service offering on the V2500, working closely with industry partners to bring real value to the customer”, Andy Best, Chief Technical Officer at Iberia Maintenance, said. “Our vision is to be the leading best practice low-cost carrier in Asia. The HK Express team always looks for the most optimal maintenance solution based on the key guiding principles of agility, efficiency and simplicity. We hope this partnership with Iberia Maintenance will be part of the enabler to our vision.” Alan Tang, General Manager, Maintenance and Engineering at HK Express, said. HK Express Partners with Iberia Maintenance for V2500 Engines Space manufacturing startup Varda inks deal with Rocket Lab for three spacecraft Aria Alamalhodaei@breadfrom / 12:51 PM CDT•August 11, 2021 Note: Important images included in original article. Orbital manufacturing startup Varda Space Industries is moving fast. Only a few weeks after announcing a $42 million Series A, Varda has signed a deal with launch company Rocket Lab for three Photon spacecraft to support the startup’s initial missions. The first spacecraft will be delivered in the first quarter of 2023, with the second to follow later that year and the third in 2024. It’s an aggressive schedule for the eight-month-old Varda and would mark the company’s first three manufacturing missions to space. The contract includes an option for Varda to purchase a fourth Photon. Partnering with a more established company makes sense — especially considering the Photon’s bona fides, which includes a NASA-funded mission to the moon at the end of the year. Rocket Lab was also awarded a subcontract by the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory to design two Photon spacecraft for a one-year mission to Mars. Varda, which was founded by SpaceX veteran Will Bruey and Founders Fund principal Delian Asparouhov, is banking big on a manufacturing condition that you can only find in space: microgravity. They think that the potential market for bioprinted organs, specialized semiconductors, fiber-optic cables or pharmaceuticals — products that you can’t make in Earthbound-conditions — is high enough to make the costs of building a spacecraft and launching to space more than worth it. Under this most recent deal, each Photon will be outfitted with two Varda-made modules: The first will be a microgravity manufacturing module, where the space production will actually take place, and the second will be a reentry capsule designed to bring those finished products back to Earth. Asparouhov told TechCrunch that the are designing the reentry modules to bring back “on the order of 40-60 kilograms of materials” for the first couple of missions, with the aim of quickly scaling up for subsequent launches. Varda says this approach is low-risk and incremental. “That’s why we’re seeing so much interest from the investment community, [the Department of Defense], NASA, et cetera, it’s this very pragmatic, one-step-at-a-time approach,” Asparouhov said. “We’ll prove this first space factory. And yes, as we start to scale it allows us to send a larger space factory and then eventually, yes, we might have something the size of the [International Space Station], 10 times the size of the ISS. But that’s not what we’re starting with. We’re starting with a very small, near-term pragmatic approach.” Each mission will last roughly three months from launch to landing, Rocket Lab said in a statement. Space manufacturing startup Varda inks deal with Rocket Lab for three spacecraft These 7 Space Startups Are Revitalizing the Final Frontier September 17, 2021 • Since the Wright Brothers’ first exhilarating flight in 1903, the aerospace industry has enjoyed an impressive record of achievement. This includes landing a man on the moon, something that inspired an entire generation. So many beneficial innovations have been birthed by aerospace startups. These include international space stations, globe-spanning satellite networks, and high-tech lasers used in heart surgery. That’s one of the many reasons why aerospace startups are essential to our civilization’s future. Exciting trends in the aerospace ecosystem Autonomous flight There’s a big push in the aerospace industry to develop fully autonomous flight capabilities. While this has already happened with drones, it’s been a bit more challenging trying to get the technology to work with bigger planes. However, aerospace enterprises have made extraordinary strides in recent years in developing fully autonomous aircraft. Usually, a flight crew consists of at least three people—a pilot, a co-pilot, and a flight engineer. Because of the groundbreaking innovation in autonomous flight technology, you might be able to fly to Hawaii without a single human pilot onboard one day. Ultra-lightweight materials Ultra-lightweight materials such as carbon nanotubes are decreasing the weight of air- and spacecraft, making them more cost-effective to operate. Carbon nanotubes are surprisingly lightweight. They have hundreds of times the tensile strength of a comparable diameter span of steel with just a sixth of steel’s density. This material is opening exciting new design possibilities for space- and aircraft. One day, it might even be possible to manufacture gigantic nanotube cables to be used in a space elevator. 3D printing The most expensive phase of any research and development process is often production. This is no less true in the aerospace industry. For years, the sector has looked for materials that are stronger, more lightweight, and durable. They have also sought out innovative manufacturing methods that could take full advantage of the superiority of these materials. With commercial airliners, even a relatively small weight reduction can save bucketloads of cash. The lighter the components, the faster a plane can fly and the more fuel-efficient it is. With spacecraft, more lightweight components mean bigger payloads. 3D printing makes all this – and more – possible, which is why it’s such an exciting trend in the aerospace industry. Challenges faced by the aerospace sector One challenge faced by the aerospace industry is supply chain interruptions, which are recurring problems. For example, in 2007, there was an acute titanium fastener shortage. This delayed the debut of Boeing’s Dreamliner that year. Aerospace contractors' supply chains can be challenging to manage. That's because they depend on thousands of subcontractors to procure raw materials, build complicated components, and offer secondary services such as specialized finishes. Another challenge the industry struggles with is cultivating a multigenerational workforce. Older workers are retiring in droves, and there is a worry that there are not enough younger people with the right skills to take their place. Without this kind of talent, it could be tough for companies to maintain their competitive edge. Top aerospace startup accelerators getting things going BoomStartup BoomStartup helps founders with a compelling idea find the business model that works best for them. This Salt Lake City-based accelerator began in 2010 and has a proven track record of helping hungry young aerospace startups get off the ground – literally! BoomStartup gives early-stage companies everything they need to create a minimal viable product (MVP). Startups also get connected to dozens of experts who can help take their company to the next level. Investment is based on performance milestones. There are five levels to the program, and how much funding a startup gets depends on what level they’re at. Once a startup reaches the highest level, they’re eligible for up to $100,000 in funding in return for a 6- 10% equity stake. SCALE Aerospace Ventures Los Angeles, a long-time hub for the aerospace industry, is the home of SCALE Aerospace Ventures. The program is funded by a $1.4 million grant from the US Economic Development Administration. Participants spend 13 weeks attending lectures and workshops, in addition to receiving mentoring from top experts in the aerospace field. What’s more, SCALE doesn’t require participants to give up equity in their companies in exchange for accelerator services. The organization also runs an aerospace accelerator open to applicants worldwide. However, the SCALE program is solely focused on LA companies. AeroInnovate AeroInnovate at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is helping aerospace startup founders turn their dreams into reality through an eight-week program funded by a Department of Defense grant. Participants get a chance to pitch their startup idea to investors at the annual “Pitch and Mingle” event. 7 space startups revitalizing the final frontier Exodus Space Corp. Miguel Ayala founded Exodus Space Corp. in 2018. Its mission is to create reusable, AI-operated space planes capable of horizontal takeoff and landing. Currently, the company is working on the Astroclipper, a two-stage aircraft with advanced rocket engines. Unlike most other rockets, it can take off from conventional aircraft runways without damaging surrounding areas. This makes it more versatile than most other launch systems. The company plans to use its advanced technology to transport crew and cargo to outer space. They also plan to use their rockets to help clean up the 128 million space junk pieces that have accumulated up there. The enterprise plans to prove that their technology works by sending up a prototype next year that won't venture outside the earth's atmosphere. However, Exodus's experiments will eventually lead to spacecraft that have orbital capability. Alén Space Traditionally, satellites were large, massively complex objects that were expensive and required the logistical know-how of globe-spanning organizations. However, space technology has advanced to the point where even relatively small startups can quickly develop and deploy small satellites for a fraction of the previous cost. Alén Space is the newest entry in this growing sector, putting nanosatellites in orbit for companies who need the capabilities they provide. Spire Global Spire Global uses its constellation of nanosatellites to collect data for enterprises worldwide. That way, these companies can boost business operations, decrease their carbon footprint, better utilize resources, and reduce operational risk. Spire believes that “insights and information from the ultimate vantage point—space—about our current world can help us build a better one.” This year, the company partnered with Findus Venture to launch the ADLER-2 satellite. The mission of this project is to “enhance orbital debris monitoring in low earth orbit and expand novel atmospheric sensing capabilities to study clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere.” The two companies hope to get the satellite in orbit sometime next year. Enpulsion Enpulsion is an Austrian company developing thrusters for small and medium satellites. This ensures that an enterprise’s satellite can be positioned right where it needs to be. Since its founding in 2016, Enpulsion has manufactured over 130 thrusters. The company uses Field Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP) as the basis of its innovative thruster solutions. This is one of the most cutting-edge ion propulsion technologies on the planet and is preferred by most satellite builders. That’s because it can be more accurately controlled and has a higher specific impulse. It also has a simpler structure with no valves, piping, or gas tanks needed. Infostellar Companies that own satellites must build expensive ground stations to track them. Unfortunately, this often only works when satellites are directly overhead. Since this is usually less than one hour a day, organizations can rent out their spare ground station capacity to companies that don’t want to incur the expense of building their own. This is precisely what Infostellar does, matching station owners to those needing the use of one. Last year, the enterprise raised $3.5 million in convertible bonds. Existing investors Sony Innovation Fund and Airbus Ventures led the round, and Daiwa Energy Infrastructure, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Mitsubishi UHJ Lease & Finance participated. To date, Infostellar has raised $11.5 million in venture capital cash. Skyroot Aerospace Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad, India-based startup, manufactures ultra-lightweight rocket engines. Dr. Pawan Kumar Chandana, Naga Bharath Daka, and Vasudevan Gnanagandhi founded the company. The startup has been busy working on developing its first launch vehicle, the Vikram-I, which it hopes to get into orbit by December. In September of last year, the enterprise unveiled the Dhawan-1 upper stage cryogenic engine, which will power the Vikram II. This is the first Indian cryogenic engine to use liquified gas as fuel. This fuel is clean, reusable, and specially designed for long space missions. The company raised $4.3 million in funding and hopes to secure another $15 million by the end of this year. CesiumAstro CesiumAstro is an Austin, Texas-based enterprise that builds satellite communications hardware. This technology will help provide high-speed internet access to millions of people living in rural regions. Customers include the US Navy, NASA, and the US Missile Defense Agency. In addition, Cesium has backing from the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). Soar to unprecedented heights with Hunt Club You might know how to identify exceptional talent. However, if you’re a busy startup founder, you might not have all that much time to do it yourself. That’s where we come in. Here at Hunt Club, our only mission is to build talent pipelines for startups striving to make their mark on the world. We can take over every part of your recruiting process, ensuring a steady stream of high-caliber candidates. These 7 Space Startups Are Revitalizing the Final Frontier Curt Lewis