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magniX, an Everett, WA based company that is producing electric motors for aircraft, recently shared noise testing results from flight tests of its all-electric floatplane, the eBeaver. These tests emphasize the reductions in noise pollution from an electric aircraft versus conventional internal combustion engine powered airframes. While the results are not entirely surprising, they substantiate the benefits of electric motors as both more efficient and quieter than currently available ICE engines. These qualities are key enabling aspects of the growing eVTOL industry, as they support the value proposition for continued investment and development of suitable electric alternatives to the currently available general aviation or light aircraft powerplant.

eBeaver noise testing results

a bar chart of the typical noise levels of the eBeaver aircraft in various phases of operation. Image // magniX

magniX referenced in its press release a study from the Noise and Health International Journal, which found that aircraft noise is one of the most detrimental environmental effects of the aviation industry. This study solidly supported the magniX’s vision for replacing combustion engines with all-electric motors. In particular, the study stated that aviation noise related to ICE engines has the potential to disrupt sleep, adversely affect academic performance in children and even increase the risk for cardiovascular disease of people living near airports. While the general aviation industry did not grow significantly during the past year, projections of the demand for smaller short to medium range aircraft that are efficient and cost effective do provide reinforcement for the value of creating suitable electric alternatives to ICE powered aircraft.

magniX’s data shows an average noise reduction of 16-22 dBA across all phases of flight when comparing the electric ‘eBeaver’ to a traditional ICE-powered Beaver. The eBeaver recorded noise levels of 20.8 dBA lower on average during the takeoff phase and 24 dBA lower at peak compared to the standard Beaver. Noise energy, which is calculated by weighed factors for peak amplitude, and duration, is on the order of 100 times lower in the eBeaver than on a standard Beaver.

“Intuitively, we knew electric powered aircraft should be quieter than traditional powered aircraft, but these results highlight just how significant the difference is which is pretty amazing,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of magniX. “These results are great news for residential communities near airports. A significant overall reduction in aviation-related noise will allow more flexibility in terms of flight times and flight volumes, promoting greater mobility, connection and broader choice in smaller and regional airports.”

Noise regulations continue to be tightened over time by regulators such as the FAA and EASA to help restrict the amount of noise pollution emitted from aircraft. Electric aircraft will enable increased flexibility in operators’ selection of airports and times of operation, as some airports maintain a limited set of hours during which traditional combustion-powered airplanes can perform takeoffs and landings.

Why it’s important: The flight test noise data from magniX’s electric Beaver are clear: electric motors reduce the noise signature in small aircraft such as seaplanes, especially during noisy portions of flight, such as takeoff and when high power settings are used. These same results and powerplant technologies, when applied to eVTOL aircraft, will allow for greater route options and flexibility given a larger suite of airport destinations that are available to aircraft with lower noise emissions.

SF Express, the Chinese integrated logistics provider, intends to expand its delivery network fleet through the deployment of large cargo unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability.

To accomplish the expansion, SF Express has partnered with its Munich-based subsidiary, Amazilia Aerospace, and Slovenian aerospace OEM Pipistrel. The synergies achieved via this agreement will ultimately accelerate the development of a commercial large scale UAV operation. Amazilia Aerospace will deliver an advanced digital flight control and vehicle management system for an innovative VTOL cargo drone designed and manufactured by Pipistrel.

SF Express is in pursuit of a VTOL aircraft capable of service in the environment of remote and isolated areas. Specifically, the envisioned aircraft will be able to lift more than 300 kg of cargo in a 2.3m³ volume space over a range of 500km with cruising altitudes up to 6000m and VTOL capability up to 2500m above sea level. Pipistrel specifically designed the aircraft to meet these demanding requirements. Further, the aircraft will be equipped with 8 vertical-lift packages each consisting of a Pipistrel E-811 EASA Type certified powered rotor with highly efficient and redundant battery packs that assure safe operation even if 2 rotors are inoperative. The aircraft design and component production of the prototype will be carried out in Pipistrel facilities.

The Amazilia Aerospace Automatic Flight Control System and Vehicle Management System (AFCS/VMS) is a versatile system that includes both the avionics hardware and software capable of automating the entire cargo mission. It can be integrated into both VTOL and conventional aircraft configurations and has been designed specifically to meet the requirements for large scale logistical operations by logistics companies such as SF Express.

Amazilia Aerospace builds on years of research at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) reinforced with aerospace industry experience. The team will develop and deliver an ACFS/VMS which is compliant to aerospace industry standards. This system is not only compatible with the economics of unmanned aerial cargo transport but also scalable and versatile, which integrates well with a variety of aircraft types and sizes.

The aircraft prototype is scheduled to undergo flight testing with the Amazilia Aerospace system in Europe followed by operational validation in China starting in 2022. By 2023, SF Express intends to deploy the HVTOL cargo drone fleet in their domestic and non-domestic business operations.

Why it’s important: In a well-articulated address of the challenges and opportunities ahead, SF EXPRESS VP & SF UAS Chairman LI Dongqi said the following: “Our efforts to achieve 36-hour countrywide delivery throughout China face significant challenges, such as natural barriers, underdeveloped logistics infrastructure, and more, especially in rural China. SF Express intends to adopt cargo VTOL drones to solve this bottleneck due to their flexibility and high speed, which is on par with helicopters, and has low costs which are competitive with truck delivery. The high-altitude capability allows us to extend our civil air cargo service coverage to even difficult to reach mountainous areas. We believe VTOL drones will become a major vehicle in China, and SF Express alone will need more than 1000 in the next 10 years. ”

Source // Pipistrel press release

BLADE Urban Air Mobility has announced securing options for up to 20 BETA Technologies ALIA EVA (electric vertical aircraft) for order by BLADE UAM’s network of operators this morning via press release.

The announcement will allow BLADE’s network of operators the option to sign purchase agreements for the EVA, which would be delivered in late 2024, ahead of the initial projected readiness date of 2025. While other manufacturers have outlined challenges in achieving readiness by mid-2020’s, BETA continues to make significant strides to make and beat their timelines.

Additionally, BLADE will enter into a partnership with Jet Linx Aviation, LLC supported by Red Bird Capital Partners, related to the purchase of the ALIA EVA’s. Blade UAM CEO Rob Wiesenthal characterized the motivation behind the announcement, while also stating that BLADE will continue to remain open to other manufacturer’s aircraft as they become available:  “Blade is laser focused on its transition from conventional rotorcraft to Electric Vertical Aircraft. The ALIA’s extremely low sound footprint, coupled with its zero emissions design, will enable us to reduce the noise and environmental impact to the communities surrounding the existing heliport and airport infrastructure we currently use. ALIA is a full scale EVA flying in piloted configuration almost every day.”

UPS announced an order for BETA ALIA EVA’s last week. Image // UPS

Wiesenthal also commented that the ALIA was well-suited for the challenging operational environment that the Northeast presents – cold winters, wind, and periods of inclement weather. Fortunately, the ALIA was developed in a similar environment in the Northeast and is well-suited to address those environmental concerns. A number of other entities have selected the ALIA for other uses – UPS for logistics and package delivery, United Therapeutics for organ transplant, and the Air Force for defense purposes. BLADE UAM’s selection and order of ALIA’s is the first landmark commercial passenger transport announcement for the BETA team.

Further, the two companies maintain a similar stature of operations – BLADE is already flying customers on demand in routes well suited to the ALIA’s capabilities, and BETA is already flying the ALIA EVA regularly during test flights. The two companies are in agreement that a full stack, vertical approach to the on demand commercial aerial mobility problem may be too large of a scope to effectively address, and that leveraging strengths is a more effective means for earlier deployment of EVA services to passengers.

The ALIA EVA includes a unique combination of elements that create a smooth, quiet flying experience, with applications for moving both people and cargo, all while producing zero operational emissions. According to BETA, ALIA can fly six people 250 nautical miles on a single charge and the aircraft is more than 10x quieter than a helicopter, imperceptible over normal urban noise and quieter than cars on a highway.  As part of the agreement, BETA has committed that ALIA will meet the necessary specifications required to operate on Blade’s key routes prior to delivery.  Purchases of ALIA EVA are conditioned on FAA type certification of the aircraft prior to the scheduled delivery date. Blade has committed to facilitate the purchase of at least five and up to 20 aircraft by its network of operators or third parties that will lease the aircraft to Blade operators.

BETA is currently in pursuit of Part 23 Certification with the FAA, and cites the simplicity of design of its aircraft as a key enabling feature to its future success. The ALIA has fixed pitch propellers, centralized batteries, and pragmatism of controllability that is crucial for safe, efficient operation.

Why it’s important: Following suit of UPS’ significant announcement last week for orders of the Alia EVA, BLADE Urban Air Mobility is proving complement to the confidence placed in BETA’s new aircraft, and is similar to UPS in that BLADE is already actualizing the end case – transportation of paying customers, on demand. The net change for BLADE will be an equipment swap, albeit a significant one with reduced noise foot print, operating cost, and increased efficiency. Fortunately, both BETA and BLADE will play to their strengths if the options for up to 20 ALIA EVA’s are exercised.

eVTOL developer Orca Aerospace and the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to research and develop Orca’s new eVTOL aircraft. Both organizations believe this aircraft will offer more affordable and sustainable flight options for emergency medical response and passenger transportation.

Although it also has potential as an air taxi, Orca’s eVTOL aircraft concept is designed specifically for airborne medical services and patient transportation. Orca envisions that its aircraft will complement existing air and ground based EMS in order to provide quicker response times, reduce inefficiencies, and improve economics of operations.

Orca’s aircraft will be entirely electric, featuring 4 vertical lift propellers on its tail, 2 tilt-rotor propellers for VTOL and forward flight on its nose, and 1 rear pusher propeller purely for forward flight. In total, the aircraft can transport up to 3 pax: 1 pilot, 1 patient on a stretcher, and 1 emergency medical service provider. Cruise speeds will be around 296 km/h, while range is estimated at 110-130 km. In accordance with the EASA SC-VTOL, the propulsion system is sized to overcome single engine failures, in both hover and cruise modes.

According to the NLR, the collaboration with Orca will contribute to its goals for more sustainable aviation in the Netherlands. With over 100 years of experience within the European aerospace industry, the NLR will assist Orca with the development of operational concepts on eVTOL vehicles, supporting qualification, certification, and establishing and supporting a mutual R&D network for critical technologies.

Why it’s important: The Orca aircraft is well under development in the Netherlands, and features compliance with the EU’s most recent standards for eVTOL safety. In some aspects, the Orca even exceeds GA aircraft in safety capabilities. While many eVTOL concepts are being developed the world over, Orca’s significant progress, its collaboration with the NLR, and its focus on emergency medical response applications will all give it an edge in its market sectors as eVTOL aircraft begin to move into production.

Pipistrel has selected Honeywell’s next-generation Attitude Heading Reference System and Air Data Module for its Nuuva V300 cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The technologies provide critical navigation and motion-sensing data and will work in tandem with Honeywell’s Compact Fly-By-Wire system onboard the aircraft.

As described by Honeywell, “if the fly-by-wire system operates as the ‘brain’ of an aircraft’s flight controls, the Attitude Heading Reference System (AH-2000) and Air Data Module (ADM) act as the ‘heart,’ supplying critical motion data to all avionics systems and many mechanical systems. Both the AH-2000 and ADM are key enablers for safe and efficient vehicle operations with potential to serve several flight applications, including urban air mobility vehicles, commercial aircraft, business jets and helicopters.”

“Nuuva V300’s groundbreaking operational concept requires highly accurate, dependable and robust navigation sensors, and the AH-2000 and ADM are key enablers of this functionality,” said Tine Tomažič, chief technology officer, Pipistrel. “This technology allows us to deliver simple and intuitive mouse-click control to fly the vehicle, eliminating the need for operators to be trained with traditional piloting skills, which helps ensure rapid scale-up of operations for our customers.”

Pipistrel’s Nuuva V300 is a long-range, large-capacity, autonomous UAV. It will take off and land vertically with battery power, meaning it does not require a runway, and has significantly lower operating costs than helicopters. It can carry loads up to 460 kilograms (around 1,000 pounds) for more than 300 kilometers (about 186 miles), making it an ideal solution for deliveries to areas traditionally accessible only by helicopter.

“Unmanned aircraft, especially those delivering packages, must be equipped with high-performing inertial systems to ensure fly-by-wire systems are provided the best possible information on location, speed and position,” said Matt Picchetti, vice president and general manager, Navigation & Sensors, Honeywell Aerospace. “Vehicles like Nuuva V300 will change the way logistics companies fulfill package deliveries, and we’re proud to add our growing list of onboard technologies to enhance safety and make flying easier.”

Related: Pipistrel Selects Honeywell’s Compact Fly-By-Wire System for its Nuuva V300 Prototype

The AH-2000 uses Honeywell’s next-generation, industry-leading, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)-based inertial sensors to deliver aircraft attitude and velocity information. It delivers safety-critical attitude and velocity data to drive the fly-by-wire flight control system and provides navigation data to the fly-by-wire guidance system. This data provides the high level of safety normally seen on commercial aircraft but in a more compact size. This data is necessary for fly-by-wire control, navigation and cockpit displays.

For more information on Honeywell’s advanced solutions, visit the UAS/UAM page on the Honeywell Aerospace website.

Why it’s important: Honeywell is a major player in the emerging UAM segment, offering a full line of avionics, flight control, navigation, radar, communications, actuation, cooling, motors and turbo-electric propulsion systems — all tailored for piloted vertical take-off and landing, urban air mobility and unmanned cargo vehicles. As a major aerospace industry player, the company’s continued pursuit of aerial mobility technology bodes well for both Pipistrel as a customer of Honeywell and the UAM market as a whole.

Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently released the latest version of its urban air mobility (UAM) roadmap, which now includes the addition of commercialization plans. The document outlines the country’s roll-out plan for aerial mobility services over the next few decades.

Korea’s example of the kind of aircraft it expects to soon see in its skies.

The new roadmap document divides the market’s timeline into three phases: 2025 to 2029, 2030 to 2034, and 2035 and later. The goal of the first phase is to reach a flight distance of 100 km for a single trip, with a pilot aboard. The second phase aims to double that distance to 200 km, replace the pilot with remotely controlled operations, and double average flight speed from 150 to 300 km/h. The third phase expects to reach a 300 km trip length, based on Korea’s predictions for increases in battery capacity and fuselage weight reduction in aircraft.

The ministry predicts that by 2035, at least 50 vertiports will be in operation serving around 200 flight routes in Korea, and average passenger fare per kilometer will be around 1700 won ($1.50 USD).

The announcement comes not long after SK Telecom, a major South Korean telecommunications company, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Airports Corp and the Korea Transport Institute to begin building and testing networks for aerial mobility in necessary areas. Additionally, global industry leader EHang recently demonstrated the capabilities of its 216 autonomous passenger eVTOL in the skies above Seoul. 

The EHang 216 autonomous passenger vehicle flies a demonstration flight over Seoul, South Korea.

Why it’s important: Around the world, aerial mobility companies are beginning to move out of the ideation and design phase and into the implementation phase. Discussions have begun to shift from certification to infrastructure, connectivity, effectualness, and customer experience. This latest roadmap from the Korean government represents an effective strategy to move Korea toward aerial mobility commercialization.

Lilium has officially announced its intention to list on Nasdaq through a merger with Qell Acquisition Corp., a transaction that values the combined company at approximately $3.3 billion pro forma equity value at the $10.00 per share PIPE price. Simultaneously, the company revealed the development of its 7-Seater electric vertical take-off and landing jet, which employs proprietary Ducted Electric Vectored Thrust (“DEVT”) technology, and is projected to deliver the best unit economics, with market-leading capacity, low noise and high performance.

Lilium’s vision is to create a sustainable and accessible mode of high-speed, regional transportation. The Munich-based company is building a transport network and service for people and goods around its 7-Seater Lilium Jet, an electric vertical take-off and landing jet, which offers impressive capacity, low noise, and high performance. The 7-Seater Jet has a projected cruise speed of 175 mph at 10,000 feet and a range of 155+ miles, including reserves. It is the culmination of five years of technology development across four generations of technology demonstrators, including Lilium’s full-scale 5-Seater. Furthermore, Lilium received CRI-A01 certification basis from EASA for the vehicle in 2020.

Qell Acquisition Corp. (“Qell”) is a publicly listed special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, and is focused on developing next-generation, sustainable mobility under the leadership of Barry Engle, a former president of General Motors North America. Upon closing of the transaction, the company will be called Lilium, and it is anticipated that ordinary shares will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LILM.

The combined company is expected to receive approximately $830 million of gross proceeds from a fully committed common stock PIPE offering of $450 million, along with approximately $380 million cash held in trust, assuming minimal redemptions of Qell’s existing public stockholders.

To date, Lilium has secured approximately $200 million of commitments from infrastructure partners, including Ferrovial and Tavistock Development Company. Up to 14 vertiports are already planned in Florida. Lilium is also in advanced discussions with key infrastructure partners for 10 vertiports to build a network across Europe.

Related: Lilium to Announce Air Taxi Hub Coming to South Florida this Spring

Why it’s important: This announcement marks a significant milestone for Lilium, as the proceeds from the merger and public offering will be directed toward serial production and commercialization of the 7-seater Jet. Working in partnership with world-leading aerospace, technology and infrastructure partners, commercial operations are planned to launch in 2024. Notably, Lilium is betting on a vertical integration approach to invent urban air mobility, an approach that Dean Donovan calls “risky” in a recent editorial first published via Forbes.

Source // Lilium press release

Volocopter published a white paper last week titled “The Roadmap to Scalable Urban Air Mobility” which characterized the requirements for future aerial mobility operations and growth. The release of the white paper is joined by the company’s continuing pledge for readiness of commercial scale (starting small) operations of eVTOLs within 2-3 years. Release of V2.0 follows Volocopter’s release of their first White Paper, which occurred in 2019.

Rendering of the Volocopter Volocity in flight

“Volocopter is leading the pack for implementing urban air mobility internationally. With our VoloCity and chosen go-to-market approach, we can fit into the existing ecosystem well enough to get started in the next 2-3 years,” said Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter. “However, in order to subsequently scale our operations in a safe and efficient manner and offer a fantastic experience to our customers, we need to establish a comprehensive and integrated UAM ecosystem. This is what we are doing together with our partners.”

While the focus of the 2019 white paper was largely engineering and systems-based, the second version of the white paper adapts a more holistic view to the ecosystem and supportive infrastructure for successful eVTOL operations and maintenance, real estate development, and customer user interface and experience traits. Additionally, it makes predictions for the relative market share between logistical vs passenger carrying operations in order to determine which should be given more development effort first. In a first for many white papers in the disruptive mobility space, Volocopter places special emphasis on the importance of customer service as the primary determination of recurring revenue from pleased customers.

Volocopter also shared in their white paper how they plan to implement UAM services in cities like Singapore and Paris with a scalable business approach. Some of the special considerations outlined in the paper include:

• The UAM industry is expected to have an €11.3 trillion addressable market by 2035 with a €241 billion market potential. Over half of the market potential lies in passenger mobility (e.g., VoloCity air taxi services), and the rest is covered by logistic-type, cargo services (e.g., VoloDrone services).
• Strong partnerships and an ecosystem strategy will play a pivotal role for entry into the electric air taxi market and will set a precedent for future UAM services – for example partnerships between real estate development companies, airspace integration services, and maintenance and repair operators’ manpower and expertise.
• The most successful approach will put the customer first in all critical areas including safety, infrastructure, aircraft design, air operations, city integration, and acceptance.
• Volocopter supports the high safety standards for air taxis defined by the EASA’s SC-VTOL and the progress with concurrent type certificate validation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).
• Digitalization and autonomous flight will help decrease prices for air taxi services in the long-term. Volocopter is already underway to ensure that the aircraft produced can fly autonomously and that all various components of the UAM ecosystem can be connected using a digital backbone and platform, VoloIQ.

Why it’s important: Volocopter’s white paper 2.0 reflects the progress made over the past two years towards aerial mobility’s commercial implementation. The discussion has shifted from engineering and design of eVTOL aircraft to infrastructure, maintenance, operation, and customer integration – logical next steps in the design lifecycle which are equally as important if not more so than initial design. Further, the white paper provides stratification for the predicted relative demands between logistical and passenger carrying operations, and outlines considerations for how the progression from piloted operations in 2023 will evolve to completely autonomous operations in 2032.

Read the full white paper here.

Source // Volocopter Press Release

UTM systems, short for ‘Unmanned Traffic Management’ systems, are artificially intelligent softwares that will assist in directing and organizing denser air traffic that will be brought on new aerial mobility vehicles.

Currently, urban air traffic management is completed mainly by humans, but this will be become more difficult in the near future when the number of aerial vehicles vastly increases. To avoid collisions and properly direct traffic according to flight plans, softwaters must be invented that will help to manage this air traffic. Companies like EHang, Boeing’s SkyGrid, and AirMap are already working on these softwares, and governments throughout the world are collaborating with them synchronize airspace regulations and policies.

An example of the kinds of aircraft Altitude Angels hopes to one day manage in Europe

Altitude Angels, a UTM software developer that is already working with drones, is now set to assist with Europe’s new Uspace4UAM program. The program is a large-scale demonstration project for aerial mobility that will tackle issues of operational concepts, regulation and standards, and will “build confidence in a safe and orderly integration of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in every day air traffic”.

According to a recent press release from Altitude Angels, the Uspace4UAM project will study safety cases and their impact on system requirements, and look at how regulation and standardization can be set up to build sustainable aerial transportation businesses cases. A series of multi-national demonstrations, both with drones and urban aerial mobility vehicles will be conducted. They will cover different use cases, including mixed operations, to allow the project runners to understand critical enablers for a wide set of UAM service applications that can be applied across Europe. The project is set to deliver results that are of interest to early movers in eVTOL, enabling them to bring a real market impact in the next few years. It also will produce a number of commercial contracts for the provision of fully automated drone services, and present solutions to identified gaps towards fully autonomous urban air taxi services.

A visualization by NASA of the air traffic that UTM systems of the future will manage

Said Cengiz Ari, one of the leaders of the project, “Urban Air Mobility is going to be a critical part of our long-term roadmap to reduce the rising pressure on our transport infrastructure and to build transport capacity in the third dimension – the sky. We are optimistic that this consortium will contribute to a positive development of the Urban Air Mobility industry in Europe.”

Why it’s important: As aerial mobility begins to grow, governments and cities throughout the world will need to be prepared to manage the increased air traffic that will soon come. Programs like Uspace4UAM project in Europe are an excellent strategic move, as they will allow for many countries throughout the continent to begin preparing early, preventing any potential bottlenecks in the rollout of these services.

Reliable Robotics and Daedalean, a leader in machine learning for safety critical avionics, today revealed their partnership to build advanced navigation and situational awareness (SA) systems for commercial aircraft operations. The proprietary solution enables onboard pilots and remote pilots to make faster, better informed decisions based on the advanced sensors provided by the system. 

“Reliable Robotics has the most credible system for remote piloted operations with immediate applications for cargo operators,” said Dr. Luuk van Dijk, Founder and CEO of Daedalean. “Our team has developed advanced machine learning that can adapt to the inherent uncertainties in airspace and increasing levels of onboard autonomy. Bringing our core competencies together was a logical next step to jointly develop a solution set that makes aircraft safer.”

During their most recent flight tests last month, Reliable Robotics demonstrated pioneering capabilities of their systems by remotely piloting a Cessna 208 Caravan from a control center in their headquarters over 50 miles away. In 2019, the company made aviation history operating a remotely piloted Cessna 172 Skyhawk over a populated region with no one on board, and subsequently demonstrated fully automated landing of the larger Cessna 208 in 2020 on the third day of flight testing. 

Daedalean has developed unrivaled machine learning applications based on comprehensive situational awareness that meet and surpass aviation safety level standards defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Their work with EASA examining high performance machine learning algorithms for safety-critical applications resulted in the joint publishing of Concepts of Design Assurance for Neural Networks.

“Both companies have been built on the principle that certification is paramount from day one,” said Robert Rose, Co-founder and CEO of Reliable Robotics. “Daedalean is the recognized leader when it comes to developing machine learning systems within the required regulatory framework. This is not a domain where you build something first and then figure out how to certify it later.”

Advanced navigation and SA systems will reduce pilot workload, are an enabling technology for many types of remote piloting, and provide a clear enhancement beyond existing safety margins. Reliable Robotics and Daedalean are committed to deploying this technology in an incremental manner to enable safer flight operations globally.

Why it matters: Reliable Robotics and Daedalean join a crowded space of businesses focused on making existing airplane platforms remote piloted or fully autonomous. Especially noteworthy is the level of systems maturity in Daedalean’s app and the demonstrated flights in C172 and C208 by Reliable Robotics. If successful, the companies could be well positioned for capturing a share of the UAS market space and help develop technologies of the future for aerial mobility.

Source: Reliable Robotics press release

Textron has formalized their entry into the electric aircraft market with the creation of their newest division: eAviation. Textron’s eAviation has been announced to be headed by Rob Scholl, a long-time senior executive who was previously the senior VP of Sales and Marketing, who will now serve in a senior VP role that will report directly to the chairman and CEO of Textron, Scott Donnelly.

Already well known for producing Cessna and Beechcraft aircraft, eAviation’s role will be a bit of an exploratory one; Scholl’s main role with eAviation was described to be as leveraging the “work across our aerospace and defense businesses to develop new opportunities and take advantage of our fixed-wing and rotorcraft expertise in emerging technologies.” In addition, eAviation under Scholl will also include assembling enterprise talent from throughout Textron, networking to create external partnerships, and ultimately to create a path for further development and application of electric aircraft and related mobility technologies in the global market.

The Bell Nexus, an electric air taxi set to be manufactured by Bell, a subsidiary of Textron. Photograph: Bell Flight

As for eAviation’s stance on aerial mobility, Donelly for now intends to take a cautious approach to the industry, citing concerns with the state of domestic regulations in regards to aerial mobility. “I do think we have to be cautious here in terms of not getting too far out front of a regulatory environment that’s very uncertain to allow that business model to be successful.”

However, Bell Aircraft, a subsidiary of Textron, has been doing work with both manned and unmanned electric aircraft for some time now, most recently with their Nexus air taxi and Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) designs. Bell also established an office on Textron Aviation’s Wichita campus, showing that Textron does hold some interest in establishing a presence in this sector of the market.

Photograph: Bell Flight

Why it’s important: Textron’s move to the electric aviation market will mean several possibilities, from the electrification of some of their most popular Cessna and Beechcraft aircraft to a potential move into the aerial mobility market. In regards to aerial mobility, while they remain cautious for now, a favorable change in the regulatory state for aerial mobility could see Textron making their move into the quickly growing sector.

Source // AIN