February 1, 2023 - No. 005 In This Issue : UPS feeder airline intends to buy 20 pilotless cargo planes : Airbus Making Changes To A350 : Britten-Norman BN2T-4S Islander type approved by FAA : Green aviation company ZeroAvia expanding in Boeing’s backyard with hydrogen-electric tech : Boeing will open new assembly line to build 737 Max planes : Carrier Emirates test flies Boeing 777 on sustainable fuel : Northrop Grumman Brings Carbon Fiber 3D Printing to the Hypersonics Arms Race UPS feeder airline intends to buy 20 pilotless cargo planes Ameriflight attracted by startup Natilus’ promise of lower operating costs Eric Kulisch Monday, January 30, 2023 A futuristic Kona cargo aircraft being developed by San Diego-based Natilus would carry much heavier loads than small drones for last-mile delivery. Cargo airline Ameriflight is considering purchasing the aircraft. (Image: Natilus) A large, regional feeder airline for UPS and other overnight express carriers last week tentatively committed to buy 20 remote-controlled cargo planes, with a novel design, for middle-mile deliveries. Ameriflight, which flies 156 small turboprop aircraft daily to more than 200 destinations in the U.S. and the Caribbean, signed a letter of intent with San Diego-based Natilus for 20 Kona feeder aircraft valued at $134 million, the companies announced. Natilus is developing a family of pilotless aircraft it claims will increase cargo volume by 60% and cut carbon emissions in half, thereby making air shipments more affordable. The efficiency gains are possible because of carbon-fiber composite airframes and a blended-wing body — essentially a uniframe in which sections meld together — that creates more usable volume and better aerodynamics than a traditional airliner. The absence of pilots also leaves more room for cargo. The Kona is a short-haul feeder aircraft with a maximum payload of 4.7 tons and 900-mile range designed to carry the equivalent of seven LD3-45 small shipping containers. It is powered by two rear propeller engines. Other variants are a medium-haul jet with a 73-ton capacity, similar to a Boeing 767, and a long-range unmanned vehicle with a 121-ton payload. The triangular blended wing-body configuration is a departure from tube-and-wing aircraft, which are loaded in a linear fashion. By rotating the cargo to 45 degrees, the diamond configuration maximizes space in the aircraft for more loading positions, a highly desirable quality in an e-commerce era when light boxes fill up planes before the takeoff weight limit is reached. Natilus aircraft will be smaller in size than their legacy counterparts, with more volume, according to the company. Traditional fuselage cross sections are optimized for passengers, with a circular design to aid cabin pressurization. But cargo naturally moves best in rectangular boxes or pallets. Fitting rectangular pallets in a circular fuselage section leaves plenty of empty space. A blended-wing body configuration allows for a single rectangular cross section and full utilization of the available volume. Collins Aerospace will provide the cargo loading system. Co-founder and CEO Aleksey Matyushev has described the blended-wing Natilus concept as an attempt to combine the timeliness of airfreight with significant cost reductions that bring shipping to the point of being a commodity — as it is in ocean freight. “We missed the mark when we started Natilus. We thought what people wanted was autonomy. Talking to our customers, what they really were interested in was a more volume-centric aircraft with autonomy more as a carrot, or the next evolution,” he said in an interview on Think Flight, a YouTube channel. One of Natilus’ advisers is Ram Menen, who is famous in the air cargo industry for building Emirates’ cargo division into one of the largest cargo carriers in the world and helping found The International Air Cargo Association. In a Q&A on the company’s website, he said Natilus’ lower operating cost per freight-ton-kilometer will be a big advantage for cargo operators. “Since Natilus will have large cargo doors and blended wing body design , it will be ideal for long and large/heavy cargo and will be a good replacement for the Boeing 747 freighter. The volumetric capacity of all the variants are very e-commerce friendly and ideal for low density cargo,” he added. Natilus management envisions the Kona freighter as ideal for reaching outlying regions with small airports and as an alternative to road feeder service in the 300- to 430-mile range. The autonomous freighter is better suited for areas with water crossings, mountains, poor highway infrastructure or low-density routes where truck deliveries are less efficient, the company argues. Blended-wing bodies have been used in military applications but were abandoned by previous commercial developers because they weren’t ideal for carrying passengers. Without people to worry about, issues about cabin pressurization, quick access to exit doors for evacuation and G-forces became manageable in a cargo-only aircraft. A year ago Natilus announced $6 billion in advance purchase commitments, including from Kenyan all-cargo airline Astral Aviation, for more than 440 semi-autonomous aircraft. Whether those orders are realized remains to be seen. Natilus is a 7-year-old startup with new technology that has yet to produce an actual plane and will require huge amounts of capital for further R&D and establishing a manufacturing line. The motivation for Ameriflight, and other carriers, to sign expressions of interest is to be at the front of the line when production aircraft become available and get a jump on competitors. Matyushev told FreightWaves the company expects to begin Kona flight tests in late 2024 and customer deliveries in 2026. The larger planes will take longer. Ameriflight invests for future Ameriflight, the largest U.S. carrier in the under-7,500-pound payload category and a major regional partner for UPS Airlines, believes Natilus can deliver on its promise to improve the economics of airfreight. “What we’ve seen from their technology so far has given us confidence that they’re at the forefront of large autonomous cargo planes,” said Jamie Smith, the company’s director of communications. “We’re impressed with Natilus’ continued progress on the blended-wing body aircraft design and their innovation of providing turnkey solutions for specific cargo needs. Natilus’ technology provides a lower cost of operation, while remaining well suited in capabilities for the customers in our corner of the industry. As battery technology increases and/or hydrogen-powered engines are developed and certified, the ability to modify the Kona to those alternate power sources is inviting.” The Kona aircraft will enable Ameriflight to grow its route structure and pursue new business opportunities, she added. Ameriflight utilizes turboprop aircraft to connect rural areas to FedEx (NYSE: FDX), DHL and UPS (NYSE: UPS) air hubs in large cities and also offers on-demand expedited delivery service to logistics companies. The largest aircraft it operates are the Saab 340B and the Embraer 120. The fleet also consists of the Fairchild SSA-227 Metroliner, Beechcraft 1900 and Beechcraft 99. The first few Saab 340Bs entered service late last year under a lease agreement with Miami-based Jetstream Aviation Capital for 15 used aircraft converted to main-deck freighters. Five more are expected to be delivered this spring. In December 2021, Ameriflight reached an agreement providing Boston-based Merlin Labs access to its fleet for testing of its autonomous technology. Merlin’s software and hardware can control an aircraft without human intervention. The Google Ventures-backed company says it has flown hundreds of flights and integrated its platform into four different aircraft types, including multi-engine aircraft. Large aircraft will be able to fly with reduced crews and smaller aircraft will fly themselves, once regulators approve autonomous aviation. The immediate benefit for Ameriflight is an increase in flight safety. If it proves out, the airline could retrofit all cockpits and avionics with autonomous technology, extending the life of its existing fleet — a less expensive proposition than buying purpose-built robot aircraft. A key reason Ameriflight is pursuing the Natilus and Merlin Labs technologies is that they reduce the need for pilots, which are increasingly difficult to find because of retirements, training barriers, licensing costs and quality-of-life issues. “Today, a pilot might come to us with a thousand hours of flight experience,” said former Ameriflight CEO Paul Chase in a news release about the transaction. With the Merlin system “we’re putting the equivalent of much more experience in the cockpit on Day One. You don’t have this learning curve that pilots need to go through, and that lowers the overall risk profile to the airline. “It’s imperative that we complement — not replace — our existing team of fixed-wing pilots with autonomous pilots. We have ample opportunities for growth in front of us with the increased level of e-commerce, disruptions in the supply chain, etc. But we can’t capitalize on that in any significant way unless we solve this staffing problem in a scalable and cost-effective way.” Ameriflight last year significantly revised its pilot compensation program to include substantial pay increases and a six-figure retention bonus plan. “Our intention is to use the Natilus and Merlin technology in tandem, along with our present operations, to support both our current customers and the growth we’re seeing in the demand for our services. They will be entirely complementary to, and most certainly not replacing, our current aircraft or pilot group. It will be an addition to our fleet and used as a separate business avenue, allowing us to grow our diversified aviation platform and to support the unprecedented demand for our services,” said Smith. Autonomous flight evolution The Natilus cargo jets will be capable of fully autonomous flight but initially operate with a remote pilot in an office to comply with current safety standards and enable faster approval. The ability to be certified under current regulations is a big advantage over drones used for last-mile logistics. Switching from a pilot in the cockpit to a “fly-by-mouse autopilot system” is a smaller leap for civil aviation authorities, which are already comfortable with existing autopilot functions that allow most of the trip to be preprogrammed and turn the pilot into a skilled flight manager rather than a manual aviator. The remote operator simply inputs waypoints into the aircraft’s navigation system and monitors the system to make sure everything is functioning properly, Matyushev explained. With remote piloting, a single person could operate three aircraft simultaneously. Natilus moved from Silicon Valley to San Diego two years ago to be close to a sophisticated wind tunnel and a Federal Aviation Administration office that manages certifications for advanced aircraft. Engineers used data from wind tunnel tests on models to predict flight characteristics of the full-scale aircraft and help refine the autopilot. Last spring, the company acquired a 12,000-square-foot hangar and runway facility at Brown Field. It plans to fly a small-scale prototype within a weej to gather more data on flight characteristics and close another funding round this summer, Matyushev said. Final assembly will take place in San Diego with components made by suppliers such as Janicki, which will build carbon fiber panels, bulkheads and other sections. Other companies pursuing middle-mile and heavy unmanned aerial vehicles include Switzerland-based Destinus SA with a hypersonic plane, Dronamics, Drone Delivery Canada and Elroy Air with its hybrid-electrical Chapparal drone. Natilus is the only one with a blended-wing body. (Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to the Kona aircraft as a jet. It is a twin turboprop. Also, the agreement with Merlin Labs was in December 2021, not 2022. In some cases, the airline was incorrectly referred to as Amerijet.) UPS feeder airline intends to buy 20 pilotless cargo planes Airbus Making Changes To A350 21/01/2023 DANIEL FOWKES Airbus’ ongoing legal battle with Qatar Airways has forced them to make changes to their A350. The widebod y has been at the forefront of discussion and debate in recent years following Qatar Airways highlighting surface defects. The change in design focuses on the rear of the aircraft and is a direct response to the legal battle with the Doha-based airline. In addition, Airbus confirms per Reuters that the expanded copper field (ECF) will be replaced with Perforated copper foil (PCF). This is located between the fuselage and the paint and protects the aircraft. Reuters reported in 2021 that Airbus was studying such a copper foil. However, while ECF is lighter, it is more prone to cracking and experiencing wear and tear. Something the European aircraft manufacturer is trying to find ways to avoid. The saga with Qatar Airways dates back to 2021. When the pair locked horns following the airline finding defects on the surface of their A350s. The carrier subsequently grounded over 20 of their A350s and demanded over USD 600 million in compensation. A figure that was only set to grow the longer the saga went on. While Airbus acknowledged the defects they claimed it wasn’t a safety risk, Qatar’s regulators said it was. As time progressed, Airbus believed that the Doha-based airline was impacting the image of the A350. Henceforth proceedings went to court. Since Airbus has terminated contracts with the airline, there’s been further fallout on a fractured relationship. Airbus Making Changes To A350 Britten-Norman BN2T-4S Islander type approved by FAA BRITTEN-NORMAN PRESS RELEASE | JANUARY 23, 2023 Note: Graphics available in the original article. UK aircraft manufacturer Britten-Norman has gained United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification for the Rolls Royce model 250 powered BN2T-4S Islander turboprop aircraft. The BN2T-4S is the larger variant of the piston BN2B Islander and comes with an increased MTOW of 8,500lbs. Certification is included under FAA Type Certificate reference A17EU Revision 22. The BN2T-4S is the larger variant of the piston BN2B Islander and comes with an increased MTOW of 8,500 lbs. Britten-Norman Image This change is an important milestone for Britten-Norman and compliments existing type certificates for the aircraft with the UK CAA and EASA. The new certification opens up new markets for the company in the USA and internationally. BN2T-4S Islanders are currently in manufacture at the company’s Solent manufacturing facilities at Daedalus and Bembridge in the UK. In addition to new aircraft, Britten-Norman also holds stock of factory refurbished pre-owned aircraft. Mark Shipp, Technical Director comments: “Obtaining type certification for any aircraft is a major achievement and requires a huge amount of effort and hard work satisfying the regulator that the product is not only safe but also meets the most stringent standards. The USA is the world’s largest aviation market and the FAA is a hugely respected regulator of that market. We are very proud to have had the opportunity to work closely with the FAA to achieve this important goal and now look forward to the opportunities this will bring.” The Islander aircraft continues to develop its successful proven track record as a thoroughbred work horse. The aircraft is available in multiple configurations, including commuter, medevac, surveillance, and maritime patrol. Britten-Norman is currently progressing type certification approval for the BN2T-4S Islander in India and Canada. Britten-Norman BN2T-4S Islander type approved by FAA Green aviation company ZeroAvia expanding in Boeing’s backyard with hydrogen-electric tech BY LISA STIFFLER on January 30, 2023 at 8:31 am Sustainability: News covering the rapidly growing climate tech sector, funding in the space and other areas of innovation to protect our planet. SEE MORE On Jan. 19, ZeroAvia conducted a test flight of a Dornier 228 outfitted with a prototype of its hydrogen-electric powertrain. (ZeroAvia Photo via Twitter) ZeroAvia recently grabbed headlines for successfully flying the largest aircraft to date under hydrogen and battery power. The startup’s main operations are in California and the United Kingdom — last week’s test flight was at an airfield west of London — but the green aviation company has also touched down in the Pacific Northwest. ZeroAvia is building up its R&D operations at Paine Field in Everett, Wash., and growing its workforce in the area. Washington state, the historic home of aerospace heavyweight Boeing, is proving attractive to ZeroAvia and fellow aviation newcomers such as MagniX, Eviation and Universal Hydrogen. The startups are scrambling to develop climate friendly alternatives to fossil fuel-powered flights. That includes hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen gas burned in combustion engines, batteries, and combinations of the technologies. GeekWire caught up with Sergey Kiselev, ZeroAvia’s vice president for Europe, to learn more about the recent flight milestone and its developments in the Pacific Northwest. Lessons learned from the test flight ZeroAvia launched in 2017 and conducted its first test flight on a hydrogen-electric powered, six-seat plane in 2020. The aircraft flown on Jan. 19, a 19-seat Dornier 228, presented much larger technical and regulatory challenges and required the business to quickly evolve to keep pace. Since that earlier flight, Kiselev said, “we basically professionalized our small company.” The Dornier 228 was outfitted with a prototype of the company’s hydrogen-electric powertrain on the left wing and a petrol-fueled engine on the other. “The systems worked as predicted,” Kiselev said. “We were happy that the hydrogen fuel cell behaved very stably. There were no surprises.” Another plus: the powertrain produced more thrust than expected. Expansion at Paine Field As part of an agreement with Alaska Airlines, ZeroAvia in February will start conducting R&D at two hangars at Paine Field. The company also recently entered a lease agreement to use a third hangar at the field. RELATED: Aviation startup ZeroAvia, backed by Amazon and Alaska Air, is building an R&D center near Seattle In this new space, ZeroAvia will take delivery of a De Havilland Q400 aircraft from Alaska. The startup plans to outfit the 76-seat plane with its hydrogen-electric powertrain for demonstration purposes. As the company keeps expanding, it still hasn’t decided where its North America manufacturing site will be, Kiselev said, but Washington state remains in the running. The startup has about 30 employees in Seattle and Everett and expects to double that number in the near future. Could a Boeing deal be in the works? Boeing still has significant operations in Everett — could a partnership between the old and new guard be taking shape? ZeroAvia is talking to multiple aircraft manufacturers, Kiselev said, “and Boeing is one of them. We cannot share anything in public at this point, but, of course, Boeing is thinking about how the sustainability space will develop.” The startup is already realizing the perks of the aviation titan’s presence, which include the region’s pool of experienced aerospace employees and a well-developed supply chain. “It is already sort of collaborative,” Kiselev said. “We benefit from the existence of Boeing, and are looking forward to a much deeper relationship with them.” Predictions on the first commercial flights. ZeroAvia is aiming for commercial flights powered by hydrogen fuel cells by 2025. The company has selected the Cessna Caravan, a plane first created in 1982 that typically can carry nine passengers, as its “launch airframe,” Kiselev said. So where might passengers book a ticket on ZeroAvia’s first commercial flights? “It’s a good question,” Kiselev said. The answer in large part comes down to approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration or its U.K. counterpart, the Civil Aviation Authority. Still, Kiselev leans toward the U.S. “It is likely that the launch customer will be in America,” he said. Green aviation company ZeroAvia expanding in Boeing’s backyard with hydrogen-electric tech Boeing will open new assembly line to build 737 Max planes By The Associated Press January 30, 2023 Note: Graphics available in the original article. FILE - A Boeing 737 Max jet prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle, Sept. 30, 2020. According to a note Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, to employees from Stan Deal, the CEO of Boeing's commercial-planes business, Boeing will add a fourth assembly line to produce more 737 Max aircraft, as it tries to more quickly translate a backlog of orders into cash-generating deliveries of new planes. The new line will open in the second half of next year. Boeing will add a fourth assembly line to produce more 737 Max aircraft, as it tries to more quickly translate a backlog of orders into cash-generating deliveries of new planes. The new line will open in the second half of next year, according to a note Monday to employees from Stan Deal, the CEO of Boeing’s commercial-planes business. The line will be in an existing facility in Everett, Washington, where space is available because Boeing is shifting production of larger 787s to South Carolina and ending production of the iconic 747. The plant is about 40 miles north of Boeing’s other 737 assembly lines in the Seattle suburb of Renton, one of which has been idle but is being reactivated, Deal said. He said the the company is not relocating the entire 737 program, just adding capacity, especially for newer models of the Max. The Max is Boeing’s best-selling plane. It was grounded worldwide for nearly two years after two deadly crashes involving a flight-control system that Boeing later overhauled. Since U.S. and other regulators cleared the Max to resume flying, Boeing has landed large orders from United, Delta, Southwest and foreign airlines. Boeing will open new assembly line to build 737 Max planes Carrier Emirates test flies Boeing 777 on sustainable fuel By JON GAMBRELL FILE - An Emirates jetliner comes in for landing at the Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 11, 2019. Long-haul carrier Emirates successfully flew a Boeing 777 on a test flight Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, with one engine entirely powered by so-called sustainable aviation fuel. This comes as carriers worldwide try to lessen their carbon footprint. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Long-haul carrier Emirates successfully flew a Boeing 777 on a test flight Monday with one of its two engines entirely powered by so-called sustainable aviation fuel. This comes as carriers worldwide try to lessen their carbon footprint. Flight 2646 flew for just under an hour over the coastline of the United Arab Emirates, after taking off from Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, and heading out into the Persian Gulf before circling to land. The second of the plane’s General Electric Co. engines ran on conventional jet fuel for safety. “This flight is a milestone moment for Emirates and a positive step for our industry as we work collectively to address one of our biggest challenges — reducing our carbon footprint,” Adel al-Redha, Emirates’ chief operation officer, said in a statement. Emirates, a state-owned airline under Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, described the sustainable fuel as a blend “that mirrored the qualities of jet fuel.” It included fuel from Neste, a Finnish firm, and Virent, a Madison, Wisconsin-based company. Virent describes itself as using plant-based sugars to make the compounds needed for sustainable jet fuel, while Neste’s fuel comes from vegetable oils and animal fats. Those fuels reduce the release of heat-trapping carbon dioxide typically burned off by engines in flight. Carrier Emirates test flies Boeing 777 on sustainable fuel Northrop Grumman Brings Carbon Fiber 3D Printing to the Hypersonics Arms Race January 25, 2023 by Joris Peels Note: Graphics included in the original article. The U.S. is in the midst of a hypersonics arms race. Craft traveling five times or more the speed of sound in a guided way could change warfare. In a few hours, a surveillance platform or payload could be put over anywhere on earth. Hypersonic glide vehicles could outrun enemy defensive radar and response. Larger hypersonic missiles would have global reach without the need to travel in great arcs over the horizon. Without giving the enemy any heads up, these weapons could change the nature of a first strike and the concept of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Hypersonics are the new high ground. Key to enabling the technology are the optimization and weight saving structures needed for extremely high performance shapes and materials. That’s where 3D printing comes in. We’ve seen NASA make new oxygen dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys for hypersonics, as well as cases in which the U.S. working with Australia and the UK on hypersonics. There’s been research at Purdue University and the Air Force, too. So far, all the public work has focused around superalloys, intermetallics, ODS alloys, and other extremely high-temperature metals. Metals and ceramics are the only materials that can subsist under the extreme forces and heat of hypersonic travel. However, Northrop Grumman has revealed that 3D printing of polymers may play a role as well. Northrop has developed what it is calling Scalable Composite Robotic Additive Manufacturing Carbon/Carbon (SCRAM C/C), a patented process that relies on a robot arm featuring a combination of material extrusion and automatic fiber placement (AFP) to create carbon fiber structures with high-temperature materials. Northrop has been working on 3D printing for a long time with layered object manufacturing (LOM) patents going back to 2000 or so and a stereolithography die process from around the same time. It also has a method to repair carbon fiber components, as well. It even has a patent on how to manufacture a golf club head with insert. SCRAM and other similar technologies, such as that from Impossible Objects, can make very strong structures that are resistant to higher temperatures than other polymers. The part above is an inlet duct, made with a version of SCRAM C/C that was first mentioned in 2022. The technology was likely in use earlier and has been used for parts on the joint strike fighter and other aircraft. The company touts a 50% labor cost saving, as a significant advantage, but also suggests that quality can be increased. Check out the video below to see some Raise3D printers at Northrop alongside the SCRAM C/C process. What’s new is that now Northrop is framing SCRAM C/C as a way to achieve “hypersonic supremacy,” via weight savings and performance improvement, as well as faster production times. “We’ve manufactured a part that started with a circular cross section, swept through an S shape and ended in a rectangular cross section. That’s an extremely complex geometry that in the past was only possible to create by hand and could take up to a year to make. Now we can make it in a few weeks,” said Tim Dominick, a Technical Fellow at Northrop. “The race to take hypersonics from the research and development lab bench to practical reality over the next few years is one of the greatest technical challenges for the U.S., and it is one we must win to protect the long-term security of the nation. Our work using SCRAM C/C is an exciting example of different teams coming together to tackle this challenge, using commercial innovations like robotics, additive manufacturing, material science and digital engineering to accelerate our progress,” contributed Jeff Yu, Northrop’s corporate director of technology. It is notable that Northrop is going for its own technology, bypassing vendors in the field. Also, one gets the distinct impression that the whole hypersonics arms race is going to cause an ungodly amount of money to rain down on defense companies.We will see a lot of investment and work spill over from hypersonics and the military. The race to develop high-end service bureaus in the vein of Sintavia and BEAMIT is underway to cater to this demand. At the same time, the defense community is sure to buy a lot of very large and very productive machines in the years to come. We do risk militarizing 3D printing and becoming a very defense adjacent technology in the process. Northrop Grumman Brings Carbon Fiber 3D Printing to the Hypersonics Arms Race Curt Lewis