Month: October 2022

Archer has announced plans to ramp up production of its anticipated Midnight production model. According to a company press release, the firm expects to certify Midnight in 2024 and to produce 250 units in 2025.

This production rate will increase to 2,000 vehicles annually or 167 per month with plans to produce 500 units in 2026 and 650 units in 2027.

“We are in the process of developing the infrastructure necessary to manufacture Midnight reliably, at scale, and in a cost effective manner. We continue to expand our portfolio of foundational suppliers that will provide us with critical components for Midnight,” the company said.

“We now have more than 50 percent of our suppliers for our bill-of-materials selected, based on cost, with that being made up of global leaders in the design, development and manufacturing of aircraft components. We are excited by the significant progress we’ve made in securing world-class suppliers for Midnight that will support us in meeting our key design and operational specifications that will deliver on our mission and business objectives,” the company added.

United Airlines, Archer’s largest customer, has already placed a $10m USD pre-payment for 100 eVTOL units, but no other marquee orders have been placed for Midnight against competition with Joby, Wisk, and Vertical Aerospace, among others.

Why it matters: Achieving a production rate of 167 units per month would be an unprecedented rate for the aerospace sector. At their peak Airbus and Boeing produce their most backordered aircraft – the A320 NEO and the 737 MAX – at only 60-75 units per month. To achieve this rate, it would be helpful for Archer to secure several more orders, and take steps to ensure a streamlined supply chain.

At the NBAA-BACE 2022 aviation conference in Orlando, Florida earlier this month, electric aircraft propulsion developer Magnix announced that it will now begin developing hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion solutions in addition to its current hybrid and all-electric propulsion programs.

Above: An image of eViation’s Alice 9-passenger electric aircraft in its first flight, powered by two of Magnix‘s 650-kilowatt electric motors

Magnix has been working on becoming a global leader in electric aircraft propulsion systems for several years. A first major announcement came from the company in 2020, when it flew a fully-electric modified Cessna Grand Caravan, making it the largest all-electric aircraft ever to take flight at the time. Since then, the company has made massive strides by partnering with Harbour Air to create the world’s first all-electric airline, and also by partnering with Eviation, Blade Air Mobility, and even with Surf Air.

Since its inception, Magnix has worked hard to branch out its offerings for zero-emission propulsion, already having announced several iterations of its all-electric and hybrid-electric units. Now, the company has also announced development of hydrogen fuel-cell power production units, likely to be paired with its electric motors for many aircraft.

Said MagniX CEO Nuno Taborda, “The future of sustainable aviation will require a mix of solutions. We are bringing our experience and expertise to advance hydrogen fuel cell technology, which will enable us to power even more aircraft.”

Simon Roads, MagniX’s head of marketing, commented: “We’re very focused on battery development, and we’re also very focused on hydrogen fuel cell development. We’re very focused on battery development, and we’re also very focused on hydrogen fuel cell development.”

Above: Testing a hydrogen fuel-cell aircraft propulsion system

Why it’s important: With this latest announcement, Magnix continues to push forward its breadth of zero-emissions propulsion offerings. Through doing so, the company further solidifies its place as a solid and well-versed provider of these products. As the demand for zero-emissions aviation propulsion rises, more and more aircraft developers will be looking for partners like Magnix, even further growing this new company’s standing in the global propulsion market.

Sources // Magnix, FutureFlight, eViation

Related:

• Eviation’s first all-electric airplane takes flight (September 2022)
• Blade Partners with magniX for Electrification of Lima Cessnas (May 2021)
• Harbour Air Completes First All-Electric Powered Flight (December 2019)
• Australian Airline Skytrans Partners with Stralis for Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Aircraft (July 2021)
• Plug Power Invests in Airflow’s eSTOL for Hydrogen Propulsion (October 2021)
• Airbus Focuses on Hydrogen Power for Flight (September 2021)

Lilium, developer of the all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) Lilium Jet, has announced a partnership with GlobeAir. Under the agreement, GlobeAir intends to purchase 12 Lilium Jets to provide premium and business eVTOL flights to its customer base in the French Riviera and Italy.

GlobeAir is Europe’s leading and award-winning private jet operator offering on demand charter services to over 900 airports. GlobeAir is renowned for its innovative leveraging of data analytics for the optimization of operations, pricing and empty legs to benefit its discerning end customers.

Related:

• Lilium and Helity to Develop High Speed Electric Air Mobility Network in Southern Spain
• AAP Aviation to develop electric regional air mobility in Norway with the Lilium Jet

Bernhard Fragner, CEO GlobeAir, said: “We are proud to be partnering with Lilium as they are changing how we think about aviation and revolutionizing how people travel. Technological breakthroughs, a forward-thinking mindset and a drive to deliver quality time that fits customer expectations have propelled Lilium to the forefront of next-generation air travel.’’

Sebastien Borel, SVP Commercial, Lilium, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with one of the leading European providers in on-demand air mobility, GlobeAir. The French Riviera and Italy are key markets, and we are confident that our shared commitment to innovation and partnership will result in a premium customer experience.”

Lilium has also recently achieved key milestones in its progress toward testing and certifying its production aircraft. The current Phoenix 2 prototype was shown in a short video to have completed transition in June 2022. Just weeks ago, another video was published demonstrating the vehicle reaching winged flight speeds of over 180 kph (112 mph).

Why it’s important: The Lilium Jet will complement GlobeAir’s current offerings in the French Riviera and Italy with a first and last mile service. Enabling considerable time savings for customers, the partnership will exemplify the all-in-one travel experience GlobeAir specializes in. With high demand for a sustainable, efficient and flexible mode of transport, Italy and southern France also offers many opportunities for point-to-point travels where travel time can be significantly reduced, and vertical landing is required.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority announced on October 24th that they’ve selected Airwayz as their partner to build the U-Space Airspace prototype for the port industrial complex.

The partnership will be over a period of two years in which the U-Space services will be set up and the Airwayz unmanned traffic management (UTM) system will be configured to the ports’ needs and requirements.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority believes that monitoring the lower airspace and offering UAS traffic services will in the future greatly support drone services and allow them to thrive. Another primary goal of the U-space is to increase the safety and efficiency of drone services and prepare for the next generation of advanced airspace operations.

Drone services, including surveillance, inspection, incident control, combating crime and drug smuggling, are already making the port area safer and will increase efficiencies across many other port processes. A step further from existing services are delivery drone flights, for instance, delivering parts on board a ship, or take cargo samples before the ship arrives in the port. U-Space services will accelerate these flights. Yet another step further is the hybrid port of the future, in which drones will play a role in freight and passenger transport alongside vessels, trains and trucks.

The Port of Rotterdam is preparing its airspace and procedures for the future and has taken on an investigative role in the expected rise in volume of air traffic. The prototype will provide answers to questions about how to organize and control the low altitude airspace in the port in a way that ensures safety while also expanding opportunities for commercial growth and better processes. PoR’s acceleration of these types of operation will help answer key questions related to the future of unmanned system airspace integration, for both drones and eVTOLs alike.

The prototyping stage for PoR’s U-space is planned to cover a period of two years. In this period PoR and Airwayz will co-operate with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management for the purpose of developing the governance, finance and legal framework for airspace management. The practical experiences, as gained by the prototype, will feed back to regulators.

Why it’s important: The Port of Rotterdam and Airwayz will work together over the coming years to develop experience related to U-space airspace integration in a controlled environment that will accelerate integration efforts and help to increase understanding of key issues that face unmanned air traffic management (UTM) that must be resolved prior to deployment of aerial mobility traffic at scale. This testbed airspace then is importantly distinguished from operational airspaces in that it’ll iterate to handle larger and more complex load factors over time. PoR has also interestingly questioned whether they’ll maintain some level of authority over the resulting airspace in the long run or if governmental agencies will integrate lower altitude airspace into their domains.

Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ampaire, a company developing a family of hybrid-electric aircraft, to develop global resources for electric aircraft support and advancement.

Above: Ampaire’s proof of concept aircraft, which already set the record for the longest ever flight by a hybrid-electric aircraft at 1,075 miles

Ampaire has been developing electric and hybrid-electric aircraft concepts since its formation in 2016, with the mission to become the world’s most-trusted developer of practical electric aircraft. Currently, the company is in the process of certifying its nine-seat, hybrid-electric Eco Caravan, with an introduction to service planned for 2024, and plans to next create a larger 19-passenger aircraft.

In Ampaire’s new partnership with Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance, the two companies will work together to create global resources for electric aircraft support and development. These will include electric aircraft maintenance training programs, Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) upgrades, and potential component pooling and operational data analysis to ensure optimal support.

Said Kevin Noertker, founder Ampaire and CEO of Ampaire, “Ampaire and AFI KLM E&M will work together to explore maintenance support for game-changing low-emissions aircraft on a worldwide basis. AFI KLM E&M’s powerful global network and strong expertise will give operators everywhere high technical confidence in new propulsion systems. These systems will also provide optimized maintenance costs compared to conventional turbines.”

For Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance, the goal of the program is to make AFI KLM E&M a preferred global preferred partner for electric aircraft maintenance and training. Said Ton Dortmans, EVP KLM Engineering & Maintenance, “This MoU anticipates a future with expanded new ways of air transportation options hand-in-hand with lower emissions. We have chosen to collaborate with Ampaire because their approach is visionary and also extremely methodical and practical, which means these beneficial technologies can be already introduced in the very near future.”

The companies are also planning to collaborate on STC installations of Ampaire’s hybrid-electric upgrades through the airline’s global MRO network.

Why it’s important: With this announcement, Air France industries joins the growing number of major airlines investing in electric aviation. By forming this partnership early, AFI KLM E&M has signaled its belief that Ampaire will become a major electric aircraft provider, and has begun laying groundwork to make itself one of the world’s top providers in electric aircraft maintenance and support globally.

Source // Ampaire

Related:

• Delta and Joby to Partner for Seamless Home-to-Airport Transportation (October 2022)
• WingTips Orders Five of Ampaire’s Hybrid-Electric Grand Caravan Aircraft, Options for 20 More (August 2022)
• Ampaire to Collaborate with Black & Veatch on Electric Aircraft Infrastructure (June 2022)

Archer has announced its next generation of eVTOL prototypes and the first candidate for production, Midnight. Following on the success and lessons learned from Maker, Midnight is the company’s first production eVTOL prototype and will be unveiled at an open house event on November 16.

Earlier this year Midnight successfully completed its preliminary design review (PDR) and has been selected to move forward into production. The upgraded model is expected to have a useful payload of 1,000+ pounds to support 4 passengers and 1 pilot. The company has stated it is targeting a lightning fast 10 minute charging turnaround time to keep its aircraft in the air longer.

“From day one, Archer’s goal has been to build a commercially viable business that will revolutionize intra-city travel. We’ve made phenomenal progress in the development of our eVTOL aircraft technology and I am excited to share the aircraft that will deliver on that vision as part of our Open House event” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s CEO.

Partners participating in the event will include United Airlines, as well as global automotive manufacturer, Stellantis. Stellantis has been working with Archer since early in their eVTOL aircraft’s development, and are a key partner in Archer’s plans to achieve manufacturing at scale for its aircraft.

“Collaboration has always been a cornerstone of our mission,” said Tom Muniz, Archer’s Chief Operating Officer. “Delivering a safe, sustainable revolution in air travel will take our collective vision and expertise, and I can’t wait to stand alongside the Archer team next month to share how together we are bringing our long-term plans to life.”

Why it’s important: Like many other eVTOL makers, Archer has taken lessons learned from early developmental flight tests and iterated its design into a more mature production candidate. At the November open house event, we expect to find out more about Midnight’s technical and mission capabilities as well as the company’s progress towards certification.

Source: Archer Press Release

Related:

• United Airlines Completes $10M Pre-Payment for 100 Archer eVTOL Aircraft
• Archer, United Airlines Partner on eVTOL Operations

Toray Advanced Composites has strengthened their commercial partnership with Specialty Materials this October at CAMX 2022. The joint collaboration will improve the supply chain by uniting Specialty’s boron fiber with Toray Composite Materials America’s domestically produced high-strength intermediate modulus carbon fibers T1100G and a variety of Toray Advanced Composites’ resin systems including toughened epoxies, cyanate esters, bismaleimides, and polyimides for the Specialty Materials’ Gen 2 Hy-Bor® product family.

The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) 2022 is currently taking place in Anaheim, CA from October 17-20. The exposition is the largest, most comprehensive composites and advanced materials event in North America.

Toray and Specialty Materials’ next-generation product family is a high-performance hybrid prepreg tailored to enhance the structural efficiency of composite structures such as spars, longerons, rotors, and control surfaces for aerospace applications by tuning compression and stiffness properties. “Our relationship with Toray Advanced Composites has enabled this unique prepreg portfolio which provides engineering teams new options for optimizing performance of composite structures,” said Monica Rommel, CEO of Specialty Materials.

This commercial partnership enables engineers to easily control and manage key variables for unique solution innovations with domestically produced high-quality products within the US supply chain. “Toray Advanced Composites partnership with Specialty Materials leverages both companies’ technologies to tailor a solution to the most demanding applications,” commented Joe Morris, Director of DoD programs from Toray Advanced Composites.

Related:

• Overair Selects Toray for Advanced Composite Materials in Butterfly eVTOL Prototype – July 2022
• Lilium Jet to be Fitted with Toray Industries High Performance Composite Materials – July 2020

Why it’s important: As many eVTOL and air taxi OEMs near production-ready designs and begin manufacturing at scale, they will increasingly be reliant on dependable suppliers to provide affordable composite assemblies. Many OEMs are creating one-of-a-kind airframes with unique geometries that can only be achieved via custom composite structures with top-grade materials. The partnership between Toray and Specialty Materials is likely to culminate in a source of structural components for these nascent air taxi manufacturers, such as Overair, Lilium, and Joby Aviation who already have long-term contracts with Toray.

Electric short takeoff and landing aircraft maker Electra announced today that it has signed a letter of intent that brings Electra’s total aircraft orders to over 1,000 aircraft, which the company states is worth approximately $3 billion.

The aircraft sale was signed with private air mobility provider Welojets, LLC for 32 electric short takeoff and landing aircraft at the National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida.

Welojets joins a broad range of customers for Electra’s climate-friendly eSTOL aircraft including urban and regional airlines, charter operators, VIP transport, medical and emergency response transport, and helicopter operators. Electra’s customers are both established aircraft operators as well as new entrants re-defining how we move and transport goods using Electra’s next-generation eSTOL aircraft, and include Bristow Group, flyv, EBIRD, Harbour Air, Tailwind Air, Ravn Alaska, MintAir, Everts Air Cargo, Yugo, Gold Aviation, Skyportz, Flapper, Northwest Seaplanes, and El Azufre Resort. The global reach of Electra’s order book means that customers will fly in the US, Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

Electra is currently developing a hybrid eSTOL aircraft that will enable people and cargo to transit more rapidly, safely, and affordably within urban and regional networks. The plane’s ability to take off and land in a space the size of a soccer field yet cruise at 175 knots, with in-flight battery recharging, enables flight operations from places previously inaccessible by flight including converted parking lots, barges, and very short landing strips. The piloted fixed-wing aircraft will initially carry up to nine passengers or 2500 pounds of cargo up to 400 nautical miles in all weather conditions.

Why it’s important: Electra’s order book is now substantially strong with four digits worth and multiple billions of orders in their backlog. The company will need to remain focused on operationalizing their production line and also balance their scale-up to meet that demand with considerable resources expended on flight testing their new eSTOL. While the eSTOL is similar enough to fixed wing aircraft enabling certification via more traditional aircraft classifications than some other eVTOL aircraft, its unique systems will require special attention and analysis in order to obtain a type certificate in the United States.

Delta has announced a massive $60m USD upfront equity investment in Joby with a total investment opportunity for $200 million as the airline hopes to be the first to offer eVTOL services for its passengers.

Above: Joby CEO, JoeBen Bevirt and Delta CEO, Ed Bastian

In a press release this week, Delta Airlines announced plans to partner with Joby Aviation for the operation of Joby’s eVTOL aircraft in New York and Los Angeles with seamless integration between Joby and Delta services. According to the release, “The partners will work together to create a differentiated, premium experience for Delta customers featuring seamless booking, simplified transit, and greater time savings. This will run alongside Joby’s standard airport service in priority markets. The partnership will be mutually exclusive across the U.S. and U.K. for five years following commercial launch, with the potential to extend that period.”

“Delta always looks forward and embraces opportunities to lead the future, and we’ve found in Joby a partner that shares our pioneering spirit and commitment to delivering innovative, seamless experiences that are better for our customers, their journeys, and our world,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “This is a groundbreaking opportunity for Delta to deliver a time-saving, uniquely premium home-to-airport solution for customers in key markets we’ve been investing and innovating in for many years.”

“We share Delta’s unwavering commitment to delivering seamless and sustainable journeys to customers,” said Joby Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “Their history of innovation, along with their vast operational expertise and leadership on climate change, make them incredible partners for Joby, and it’s an honor to be working alongside them.”

Joby’s eVTOL aircraft is one of the most technologically mature in the aerial mobility space. The company has conducted over 1,000 test flights to date and was the first eVTOL company to be granted a G-1 (Stage 4) Certification Basis as well as its Part 135 Air Carrier Certification by the FAA.

Why it matters: Joby and Delta’s partnership is the latest in a series of airline-eVTOL partnerships announced this year alone. With Delta offering its passengers a seamless, premium service connecting the last leg from the airport to home, starting with New York and Los Angeles, the airline has an immense opportunity to revolutionize commercial air travel.

Source // Joby, Delta

Related:

• Joby Receives Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate From the FAA (May 2022)
• Joby Aviation Begins Certification Testing (February 2022)
• United Airlines Completes $10M Pre-Payment for 100 Archer eVTOL Aircraft (August 2022)
• American Airlines Solidifies Delivery Slots for Vertical Aerospace eVTOL Aircraft (July 2022)

AT CNBC’s ESG Impact Virtual Conference on October 6th, Mike Leskinen, president of United Airlines Ventures, announced the company’s intentions to fly many 200-mile routes with electric aircraft by the end of the 2020s.

These routes will be flown by the ES-30 aircraft from Heart Aerospace, which will be able to carry up to 30 passengers.

The ES-30 in development by Heart Aerospace will feature both all-electric and hybrid-electric propulsion modes. The aircraft will be able to fly 200km per flight in all-electric modes, and up to 800km in hybrid modes.

In 2021, United placed an order for 100 of these aircraft from Heart Aerospace, targeting routes from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Denver International Airport as key markets for the first batch of aircraft.

Said Mike Leskinen, president of United Airlines Ventures, in a recent interview with CNBC: “Initially we want to fly on routes that are 200 miles or less. But as energy density increases, that same aircraft will have a range of 250 miles, 300 miles, which is going to give us a lot more utility here connecting our hubs.”

Leskinen went on to mention: “Existing technology is going to either cause us to fly less, which is an unacceptable alternative, or continue with a carbon footprint, which we believe is equally unacceptable. We cannot continue doing and operating our business the way we do; it is imperative that we change it, and the way we’re going to change it is through investing in technology”.

Heart Aerospace has also taken purchase orders from Air Canada, Mesa Air Group, and Icelandair, and has received received investments from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and EQT Ventures. The company was founded in 2018, and only recently announced the ES-30 on September 15 of 2022. Currently, Heart is targeting a 2028 entry into operations for the ES-30.

Why it’s important: While Heart aerospace is not developing a VTOL aircraft, the development of is large-capacity ES-30 aircraft will take massive strides for the electric aviation industry, possibly by becoming the world’s largest passenger electric aircraft to take flight. By investing in Heart Aerospace, as well as in aerial mobility companies like Archer, United is continuing to demonstrate its commitment to the future of electric aviation.

Source // CNBC, Heart Aerospace

Related:

• Heart Aerospace Joins European Regions Airline Association (September 2022)
• Heart Aerospace Selects Garmin for its Avionics Package (December 2021)
• United Airlines Completes $10M Pre-Payment for 100 Archer eVTOL Aircraft (August 2022)

Airspeeder completed a first for motorsport and for the developing aerial mobility industry in the salt flats of South Australia last week via completion of their first head-to-head airspeeder eVTOL race.

Pilot Zephatiali Walsh beat fellow competitor Fabio Tishcler in a closely contested inaugural EXA race. The aircraft were remotely piloted, and this was the first time two pilots were given license to race their 4.1m long eVTOL’s in a fully competitive remote race setting.

Airspeeder instituted a number of technologies to enable and operationalize this race, including race control stations, pilot control stations, 5G networks, Augmented Reality (AR) Sky Tracks, and engineering and team control stations. Many of these functions are similar to that of the higher echelons of motor racing, however have been adapted for use in a modified, aerial racing format.

Airspeeder also focused on rule development and safety management, using a system of logistics and race management protocols as a groundwork for future, more complicated races with additional aircraft.

Why it’s important: Airspeeder’s overall development goal is similar to that of Formula 1 racing: to permeate technological advancements from competitive motor racing into general public use technology. As Airspeeder furthers the speed, controllability, and operational ease of their EXA eVTOLs, those same advancements are intended to someday transition to passenger-carrying eVTOLs at larger scale. Further, creating fanfare behind eVTOLs could facilitate and expedite public acceptance of commercial air taxi operations in the nearer term.

Wisk has announced the latest generation of its eVTOL aircraft, the 6th in the company’s history. Generation 6, as dubbed by Wisk, will be the first-ever candidate for FAA certification of an autonomous, passenger-carrying eVTOL air taxi and its go-to-market configuration.

“In 2010, we set out to find a way to skip traffic and get to our destination faster,” said Gary Gysin, CEO of Wisk. “That inspiration evolved into a mission to deliver safe, everyday flight for everyone. Over the past 12 years, we’ve pursued that mission through the development of five different generations of full-scale aircraft. Our 6th Generation aircraft is the culmination of years of hard work from our industry-leading team, learnings from our previous generations of aircraft, commitment from our investors, and the evolution and advancement of technology.”

Above: Generation 6’s newly designed interior with room for 4 passengers and baggage.

Unlike many other new eVTOL firms, Wisk has designed for autonomous flight from its start and has integrated this philosophy into its technical and business strategy. New terminology for this concept of operations has needed to be created, including multi-vehicle supervisors who will act as a human interface, overseeing several flights at once with the ability to intervene if an in-flight failure is encountered.

According to the company, Wisk’s 6th Generation aircraft has been designed with a tremendous amount of thought toward safety, comfort, and overall passenger experience. Generation 6 builds upon previous Wisk prototypes and is capable of carrying 4 passengers autonomously over a distance of 90 miles at 120 knots. Generation 6 also boasts a new, upsized cabin which allows ample storage for baggage and personal carry-on items, with improved passive noise reduction.

Wisk’s 6th Generation aircraft is also designed to be affordable, with a price target of $3 per passenger per mile. If target operating costs are achieved, Generation 6 could be comparable to the price of an ground based ride-hailing service like Uber or Lyft, depending on distance and traffic.

Why it matters: Focusing on autonomy truly unlocks the scale and full potential for the broader aerial mobility industry. As the first certification candidate for a self-flying vehicle to the FAA, Wisk has an opportunity to forge unprecedented advancements. Backed by Boeing’s 100+ year history in aerospace, Wisk may use the Generation 6 to entirely change the way we fly and travel.

On October 20th of 2022, Mám Dron Association will hold the Slovak Republic’s first annual professional conference on drones and their use in industry. Topics will include the management of Unmanned Aerial Operations, legislation and safety, UAS applications in industry and services, and research and development.

The Drontex conference will bring together representatives of relevant national and European institutions, universities, and private companies, allowing them to present on their activities and conduct industry networking, all in the interest of aligning and advancing the UAV industry in the Slovak Republic. The conference is also open to the general public, to promote learning opportunities for both enthusiasts and those interested in the industry.

In particular, organizers of the Drontex conference highlight the immense growing and potential use cases for UAV technologies in agriculture, cartography and energy. “For want of other professional event in Slovakia that would reflect the needs of this developing segment, our Mám Dron Association decided to organize a conference that would fill in the gap, and contribute to improving the conditions for efficient use of unmanned aerial technologies and development of drone services in Slovakia,“ said Mám Dron Association’s president, Rastislav Sopko.

Key topics of presentations at the conference will include the coordination of drone operations in airspace used by civil aviation, speeches by members of EASA on the uses of UAV in emergency response, urban environments, and Air Force, the use of UAS in national industries like energy and agriculture, and the future areas of research and development for these technologies.

For more information about the upcoming conference, visit Drontex’s website.

Why it’s important: The emergence of conferences like Drontex in ever more international settings indicates the spread of UAV, remotely piloted, and distributed electric propulsion technologies in economies worldwide. While the Slovak Republic has yet to introduce passenger-carrying eVTOLs, the implementation of UAV technologies in the regulatory and industrial structure of the country lays the groundwork for future innovations and imports of aerial mobility services from other countries as well.

The $1.2 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract will provide funding for VerdeGo to perform advanced risk reduction on the VH-3-185 hybrid powerplant, which has applications to both military and commercial high-performance electric aircraft.

The contract has a period of performance of 14 months and was awarded under a Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) focused on technologies that have both military and commercial applications. This contract along with a portfolio of other hybrid programs and a recent Series A financing round are leading to substantial growth in VerdeGo’s Daytona Beach, FL-based team of hybrid propulsion experts. 

VerdeGo Aero specializes in serial and parallel hybrid-electric propulsion and battery-electric aircraft systems. The company has completed hundreds of hours of full scale and full power durability and hybrid performance testing, and is working to develop, certify, manufacture, and service the next generation of propulsion units for electrified aviation.

The VH-3-185 is VerdeGo’s third generation of hybrid powerplant. Designed for use in electric aircraft, it features a certified aircraft diesel engine that burns either jet fuel or sustainable aviation fuel and converts that energy into electric power to drive arrays of electric motors, mechanical shaft horsepower to directly drive a propeller or a gearbox, or a blend of electric and mechanical output. 

“Many eVTOL aircraft developers are beginning to realize the limitations in range and endurance when relying upon batteries as the primary energy source,” said Dr. Pat Anderson, CTO of VerdeGo Aero. “In the military context, these limitations combined with the need for established charging infrastructure at every operating location make battery-only designs unsuitable for those missions. Hybrid powerplants, which do not have these limitations, are therefore an attractive solution for the military, and for that matter commercial operators, as well.” 

“The Agility Prime program has been exploring and evaluating hybrid propulsion architectures combined with EVTOLs for dual use applications where additional range over what current battery only solutions may offer is of higher importance. The program office is excited to continue those efforts and better understand what capabilities VerdeGo’s VH-3 Powerplant may offer future systems over the course of this Phase 2 effort,” said Sterling Alley, Agility Prime program manager and technology transition lead. 

The 185kW VH-3 is proving technologies that are also being applied to powerplants up to the 1MW+ power range. The similarities between military missions and high-performance commercial missions lead to a common need for large amounts of reliable onboard propulsion power for VTOL, STOL, and CTOL aircraft. 

Why it’s important: As stated by Dave Spitzer, VerdeGo’s VP of Product Development, “this Direct-to-Phase II effort is exciting because it’s going to accelerate our efforts to bring the VH-3 to market.” “The VH-3 will be a key enabler for bringing new capabilities to the warfighter, and we’re honored that the Air Force recognizes the potential in VerdeGo’s hybrid technologies.”

Source // VerdeGo Aero press release