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The US Air Force will soon be showcasing over 35 designs submitted for its High-Speed VTOL (HSVTOL) challenge. The program is nested under AFWERX, a government funded initiative to bolster the United States’ national security through the commercial technology sector and provide some level of funding for development of VTOL platforms.

The challenge was launched earlier this summer and aims to seek out agile designs that could accommodate military missions in the future transporting people and cargo into and out of landing sites quickly. AFWERX has now selected 35 entries from over 200 applicants which all feature some form of high-speed cruise, in-air refueling capability, and flexible payload configurations.

AFWERX has yet to officially announce the winners of the challenge, but some of the winning organizations have announced their selection via social media. These include the likes of Bell Helicopter (which seeks to replace its V-22 Osprey with HSVTOL crafts), Jetoptera/Northrup Grumman, and Jetpack Aviation to name a few.

Bell’s HSVTOL artistic renderings submitted under the Air Force’s AFWERX competition.

Many of these designs feature exotic propulsion configurations not usually seen on “conventional” eVTOL platforms including vectored thrust and fluidic propulsion.

Perhaps the most intriguing platform submitted is from Bell which has a long standing partnership with the US military and other defense agencies worldwide. Renowned for its Osprey line, Bell has designed an HSVTOL which features tilting jet engines and can cruise at over 400 knots. Further, Bell states the design can be scaled up to a 100,000 lb maximum take-off weight, which offers an impressive payload capability.

Why it matters: Government-led competitions have an accelerating effect on the development of advanced technologies for the public and private sectors. The Air Force’s most recent competition offers unique insight into how the military plans to next use VTOL technologies. It is reasonable to believe many of these designs will be purpose-built for manned and unmanned missions alike in addition to utilizing novel propulsion configurations. These developments serve to advance the aerial mobility space as manufacturers race to lock in on winning configurations.

EHang recently cancelled its Yunfu Investor Day due to the latest tightening COVID-19-related travel and group gathering restrictions by the local governmental authorities following the recent Delta variant outbreak in China. The event was originally scheduled to take place in person at the Company’s new Yunfu production facility on August 18th. As an alternative, the Company has posted a video of the Yunfu production facility in operation for investors’ reference.

The EHang Yunfu production facility is approximately 24,000 square meters in gross floor area to house the major AAV production processes from manufacturing of key components and carbon fiber composite airframes to AAV assembling and flight testing in designated function areas.

In February, EHang had provided an update on the development of its new AAV production facility in Yunfu city, China.  At the time, the retrofitting process of the existing building was being completed and production of EHang AAVs was expected to start in the second quarter of 2021. The facility is now operational and is the assembly site of both the two-seat autonomous 216 multicopters and the longer-range VT30 autonomous lift and cruise aircraft. The vehicles are currently being manufactured at an unspecified rate, but are being completed and flight-tested at the facility’s vertiport depicted below:

Credit // EHang

Why it’s important: As companies such as EHang and Joby begin their forays into the public markets, they are becoming increasingly cognizant of stockholder pressure and perceived financial value. Business decisions are now made with external influence in mind, and how they may affect the company’s stock price as well as public opinions. This press release from EHang exhibits exactly this mentality – while COVID-19 continues to have a persistent impact on public events and the ability of some companies to make consistent forward progress, EHang counters what could have been perceived as negative news with a media release of the progress it has made on its production facility.

Varon Vehicles and Real-Time Innovations (RTI), a software framework company for autonomous systems, announced on August 17th that they will be collaborating to integrate RTI’s software connectivity framework into Varon Vehicles’ Traffic Management Systems (TMS).

The technology, dubbed RTI Connext® DDS enables the future of UAM by supplying the robust software connectivity framework for all UAM vehicle sensors and systems to communicate vehicle intelligence in milliseconds. Connext underpins vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications with security and resilience, while enabling the vehicle management infrastructure to scale according to demand, all while optimizing control and efficiency. Additionally, Connext offers commercial RTCA DO-178C and EUROCAE ED-12C DAL A certification evidence, accelerating the path to UAM safety certification and airworthiness.

Varon Vehicles is looking at urban air mobility as an answer to mobility infrastructure problems. Credit // Varon Vehicles

“We are proud to work with RTI as we plan for implementation of our operations and progress with the integration of the components required in our Infrastructure Networks. RTI Connext delivers the communication and data fusion capabilities necessary to enable high-end reliability and safety of all the systems we need to bring together,” says Felipe Varon, CEO and Founder. “Data management robustness, reliability, and real-time performance are critical in the highly automated environments required in our Infrastructure Networks.”

“Urban air mobility platforms and ground infrastructure systems have unique requirements and face complex challenges as they move towards wide-spread, commercial deployment,” said Chip Downing, Senior Market Development Director, A&D at RTI. “Futuristic transport systems like these provide the industry with safe, convenient options. We are pleased to work with Varon Vehicles as they drive UAM innovation and build a powerful infrastructure system for UAM in Latin America.”

RTI Connext serves as the connectivity framework for both autonomous air and ground support systems in over 1,700 design wins, including over 250 autonomous systems.

Why it’s important: Varon Vehicles’ decision to leverage out of the box, readily available integrations, including the RTI Connext system, should allow the aerial mobility company to more readily deploy their product while assuming the benefits of a software package that already has considerable application scope among current use cases. More generally, companies that offer full-stack solutions to traffic management and deconfliction, as well as detect and avoid technology are becoming common integration companies for aerial mobility upstarts that are managing multiple challenging aspects of new aircraft design, and seek opportunities to reduce degrees of freedom (especially with regards to entire new system ID and design).

Bell / Textron have been in the vertical lift industry for decades, designing high tech helicopters for both military and civilian applications. Now, after setting its sights on urban civilian air taxis, the company has added a focus on high-speed, longer distance VTOLs as well.

In May of 2021, TransportUP reported that the United States Air Force had granted Bell a $950,000 grant for high speed VTOL research. At the time, the company had filed several drawings for what the configuration might look like. Those original iterations showed a T-tail aircraft with mounted jet engines (similar to many private jet configurations), adding large tilt rotors at the ends of the wings that could provided both vertical lift for takeoff and landing, and additional thrust in forward flight.

Now, Bell has released a more officialized version of its design, including renderings of what the aircraft will look like:

A close up of Bell’s High Speed VTOL concept (HSVTOL) in forward flight mode, with the main vertical lift and forward thrust blades (on the wing tips) folded inward for jet-powered, high speed flight.

This design fits in with the initially released drawings, signaling Bell’s commitment to the folding rotor design that makes the aircraft aerodynamic for high speed flight.

Said Jason Hurst, Vice President of Innovation at Bell, ““Bell’s HSVTOL technology is a step change improvement in rotorcraft capabilities. Our technology investments have reduced risk and prepared us for rapid development of HSVTOL in a digital engineering environment, leveraging experience from a robust past of technology exploration and close partnerships with the Department of Defense and Research Laboratories.” As a reminder, Bell is also responsible for the design of the famous and widely used V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor VTOL aircraft.

Notably, Bell is not the only company to recently release an HSTOL design. Joining the industry is another US-based company called Advanced Tactics Inc, which has partnered with Rotor X Aircraft Manufacturing Co. (Rotor X) to release what it calls Barracuda HSVTOL. According to the two companies, the planned aircraft will cruise three times faster than the current USAF rescue helicopter HH-60 Pavehawk and will have four times the range. The Barracuda features a swinging-arm rotor design that will allow four large propellers to provide both vertical lift and high-speed forward thrust:

AT/Rotor X Barracuda High-Speed Vertical Takeoff and Landing (HSVTOL) aircraft.

Why it’s important: Although Bell had previously focused its VTOL innovation efforts on its upcoming Bell Nexus Air Taxi, the company appears to also be branching out to other advanced VTOL offerings as well, offering a holistic picture of the various types of markets for new vertical lift aircraft. The fact that other companies such as Advanced Tactics and Rotor X are also developing HSTOLs indicates that there are many high-potential applications for these kinds of aircraft, which could include regional transportation for both military and civilians, commercial shipping distribution networks, disaster relief, maritime patrol, and more.

Dufour Aerospace has just published specification details on the Aero3, its flagship VTOL tilt-wing aircraft that aims to combine exceptional space, load and range for various transportation missions including most of today’s helicopter applications. This piloted, multi-purpose hybrid aircraft is a successor to the unmanned demonstrator aircraft test flown by Dufour Aerospace since 2020.

A demonstration of the Aero 3’s transition from horizontal to vertical flight. Credit // Dufour Aerospace

Aero3 will feature a decentralized electric main propulsion system of eight motors powering six propellers fixed to the main tilt-wing and two smaller tail propellers. Its large cabin and wide doors allow for a 6- or 8-seat configuration and offer enough space for patient or cargo transport. The design features an exceptional cruise speed of 350 km/h (189 knots) and a range of up to 1020 km (551 nautical miles), Aero3 will be the perfect tool for most VTOL applications.

According to Thomas Pfammatter, CEO and Co-founder of Dufour Aerospace: “The tilt-wing design of Aero3 combines the best of the worlds of helicopters and airplanes – the ability to take off and land like a helicopter and the efficiency and speed of an airplane in cruise flight. It is the perfect tool to serve future Advanced Air Mobility markets because it is efficient and safe. But even while these markets are in their infancy, our product will replace a significant number of today’s light and medium helicopters, as it meets the requirements of today’s operations at much lower costs, more sustainable and will be much quieter. It will seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure and airspace.”

“Our test flights with a large-scale demonstrator and the wind tunnel tests have clearly confirmed the exceptional performance and versatility of the tilt-wing design,” said Jasmine Kent, CTO and Co-founder of Dufour Aerospace. “The results met our high expectations. The tilt-wing is a proven aerodynamic concept with a long history of thousands of flight hours in several projects, such as the inspirational Canadair CL-84, so there are fewer risks than with other VTOL concepts. Now three years into our tilt-wing development programme, we are confident that this aircraft can be built successfully to meet certification requirements.”

Why it’s important: While Aero3 is the flagship of Dufour Aerospace’s tilt-wing product family, the Swiss company is simultaneously and ambitiously working on a smaller, unmanned aircraft named Aero2, using the same aerodynamic and technical principles. Aero2 is designed for logistics applications, inspection, monitoring, mapping, and public safety tasks; this implies that Dufour will have the capability to reach a wide array of markets and potential customers with its suite of products, thereby diversifying its revenue streams. Earlier this year, the company also announced that it received funding from session.vc and existing investors to accelerate growth; these investments have proven to be essential in the progression towards the commercial launch of its versatile (hybrid) eVTOL platform.

Source // Dufour Aerospace press release

Vinata Aeromobility announced yesterday that their Hybrid Powered Flying car and Air Cargo aircrafts are both set for concept reveal/launch on October 5^th in Excel London, at the world’s largest Helitech Exhibition.The company also released this teaser video of their concept: celebrating their 75th independence day:

Vinata has garnered seed stage funding with angel investor Mr. Mohan Paroha, the founder of Paroha Developers, Paroha Technologies, Paroha Reality. He has 27 years of versatile experience in Management, IT, Real estate and other business in India and Europe. He is currently working on to develop a fintech company, AR-based tryon app and to provide support to many startups along with urban Air Mobility Infrastructure Developments. Mr. Mohan Paroha shares his dream of flying cars and has therefore joined as Cofounder to support the project by Vinata Aeromobility.

With this project, Vinata Aeromobility intends on deploying their concept as early as 2023. The main focus is to harness user excitement with the intention of bringing the future closer to everyone and promoting sustainable development in the Air transport sector.

Yohg CAS  Iyer, founder & CEO, Vinata Aeromobility says, “Urban Air Mobility has been categorized into two, that is, flying passenger cars and cargo. Our passenger car is a 2 Seater Flying car Prototype and this makes it to join the largest Helitech Expo in the world. Vinata Aeromobility is also unveiling and developing a full autonomous 200Kg Payload Capacity Hybrid Air Cargo UAM which will greatly boost revenue earnings in the cargo industry.”

The Hybrid Powered car from Vinata Aeromobility weighs 1100kg and can handle a maximum takeoff weight of 1300kg. Since it has an electric battery, this aircraft type of the Hybrid Flying car is a Made in India Hybrid Electric VTOL. The Rotor Configuration of the flying car is the Co-axial quad-rotor.

Vinata Aeromobility has stated that the Hybrid Powered flying car is more sustainable and it uses Bio Fuel, and it appears that Vinata Aeromobility was very cognizant of the safety of its latest design as well. The Hybrid Powered Flying car has a Distributed Electric Propulsion which provides safety for the passengers through redundancy. The Distributed Electric Propulsion means that the flying car has multiple motors and propellers. Therefore, if one or more propellers or motors fail, the remaining propellers and motors that are still in good condition can land the flying car safely. In case there is a power interruption on the generator, the backup power will provide electricity to the motor.

The Hybrid Powered Flying car will also feature an ejection parachute, along with airbags for those in the flight deck.

Why it’s important: Vinata’s design claims follow the most popular trends in the aerial mobility industry for design at present, however they are still a concept stage company that has not completed flight tests of their aircraft. Continue to monitor Vinata’s progress as October draws nearer and their design is unveiled at Helitech in London.

SkyDrive has accelerated research on aerodynamic characteristics with the cooperation of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the company announced this week. SkyDrive hopes this partnership will expedite Japan’s entry into producing vehicles for the aerial mobility space and will lead to improved noise characteristics and safety.

Aerodynamic modeling for eVTOL crafts presents novel challenges to researchers and engineers alike. SkyDrive intends to study rotor optimization (namely rotor geometry and speed) to enable greater efficiency and reduced noise. JAXA brings to the table the largest wind tunnel test facility for aircraft and spacecraft in Japan and almost all aircraft developed in the country to date, including airplanes and helicopters, have undergone wind tunnel tests at this facility. Various research on aerodynamics has been conducted based on the data from this testing to identify aerodynamic characteristics and improve performance.

SkyDrive had accumulated and studied data on flying cars on its own in the past, but JAXA’s cooperation will allow the company to speed up development and contribute more quickly to the realization of an air mobility society.

SkyDrive CTO, Nobuo Kishi, commented on the partnership, “JAXA’s wind tunnel test facility is indispensable for the development of aircraft and most of the aircraft developed in Japan have undergone wind tunnel testing at this facility. We are certain that SkyDrive’s testing at this facility brings our flying car under development one step closer to becoming a safe and reliable aircraft. The data obtained with the cooperation of JAXA will be useful and helpful in the design and development of the rotor to deliver the aircraft specifications expected by society. The testing was conducted on the rotor itself, but we hope to expand the scope of cooperation to include aerodynamic design and analysis of the entire aircraft.”

Why it matters: Industry partnerships with national aerospace agencies like JAXA (others include NASA, ESA, etc) offer fast tracks to the latest technology for computational modeling and scaled component testing prior to locking in production configurations. For eVTOL manufacturers, this offers a unique opportunity to gain valuable intellectual property and mature their designs.

Overair has recently released new details about their new electric VTOL air taxi, dubbed the Butterfly. Built to withstand rough weather conditions, the 6-seater aircraft will have a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 200 mph. In addition, the Butterfly will be all electric and have zero carbon emissions. The key feature of the Butterfly’s design is the propulsion system. With four large propulsors, the Butterfly’s propulsion system has a large disk area, allowing it to use less power in VTOL mode and make it more efficient overall. 

According to Ben Tigner, CEO of Overair, “Our fundamental technology advantage, the propulsion, that we bring to the party here is inherently more efficient. We get more thrust for less power, that’s why we’re able to go battery only, not needing the hybrid solution. So we have larger rotors, larger propulsors than most other people in the industry so we can generate the thrust unit for flight, using less kilowatts and less kilowatt-hours.” 

Overair’s Butterfly.
Photograph: Overair

The aircraft’s design also factors in noise emissions reductions, according to Tigner. The large disk area allows for minimal pressure disturbances from the system, which generates less noise during flight compared to other similar sized aircraft. 

“It’s also going to be very very quiet,” said Tigner, “We anticipated that will be the quietest eVTOL vehicle in the field, and that is based on the fact that it has the largest rotors in the field and we’re able to spin the rotors very slowly. Not only is the amount of sound, the intensity of the sounds generated by the propulsion system very low, but also the character of the sound is such that the frequency projected is at a place where the human ear is very insensitive. So it really should be an extraordinarily quiet aircraft, quieter than anything else that’s out there in the industry right now.” 

Overair’s Butterfly.
Photograph: Overair

The Butterfly will officially debut as a piloted eVTOL air taxi, capable of flying 5 passengers or a cargo payload of 1,100 lb. However, Overair has plans to implement automated flight in the future. For this purpose, the Butterfly will start out equipped with a full authority fly-by-wire system that provides an avenue for future automated flight. According to Tigner, “We’ve adopted an approach that really bites down on the notion of simplified vehicle operation where we’ve sort of adopted the view that you should have an interface…is a smooth transition between hover control and or flight control in a mode, similar to what you see on the F-35, you know, the unified command approach that defines how the sticks translate from hover controlling to into forward flight control. The fly by wire system, by virtue of the fact that it is full authority, has the ability to implement important envelope protections that prevent the vast majority of human error type accidents.” 

The company expects the prototype model of the Butterfly to first take flight next year, and to receive FAA certification sometime in 2025. As of now, Overair anticipates that their main areas of commercial operation will be in the United States and South Korea.

Photograph: Overair

Why it’s important: Through the Butterfly’s all-electric energy source, efficient propulsion system, and minimal noise emissions, Overair looks to provide the public with a design that addresses some of the biggest concerns in the aerial mobility industry. While in the early stages of development compared to other competitors, Overair’s Butterfly could quickly become a strong contender in the aerial mobility industry within the next decade.

Source // Aviation Today

Transcend Air, maker of the Vy400 tilt-wing VTOL aircraft, has selected GE Aviation for its turboshaft engine and Kaman Aerospace for its manufacturing partner.

Rendering of the Transcend Air Vy400 in horizontal flight mode.

Transcend Air’s V400 is a powerful trans-city VTOL aircraft that’s been in development by the Boston-based company for several years. Unlike many other VTOL concepts in development, the Vy400 will be a hybrid-electric aircraft rather than an all-electric aircraft. According to the company’s team, this will give the Vy400 a much longer range, allowing for intercity travel as an offered service. Planned initial routes for the Vy400 include NYC to Boston, Los Angeles to San Francisco, and Montreal to Toronto. All these flights will be offered at ‘Jet Speeds’, meaning each can be made in under an hour at cruise speeds of 410 miles per hour.

After successfully iterating many prototypes of the aircraft, Transcend Air is now ready to move toward the manufacturing stage, with a planned commercial launch in 2025. To this end, it has selected General Electric to supply its engine, and Kaman Aerospace to build the aircraft itself. According to a recent press release, GE will work with Transcend Air to create a modified version of its CT7-8 turboprop engine, upon which the aircraft will be certified with the FAA. Kaman Aerospace meanwhile will be the prime manufacturer of the aircraft with over 70 years of experience as a supplier of complex aircraft structures and sub-assemblies.

Said Gregory Bruell, Co-Founder and CEO of Transcend Air: “Because of the Vy’s high speed, we can complete many more passenger trips per aircraft. The combination of that with VTOL is key to our revolutionary economics, and Kaman will be key to us scaling up production to meet the huge demand that our mass market fares will drive.”

Said General Electric Vice President of GE Rotorcraft Engines Harry Nahatis: “We immediately recognized the Vy 400’s disruptive potential in both civil and military rotorcraft applications, and we are excited to contribute our own world-class engines and technical expertise in helping to ensure the Vy’s success.”

Why it’s important: Transcend Air’s Vy400 represents a unique market segment for the upcoming aerial mobility industry by providing higher speed, longer distance travel. Unlike many existing VTOL concepts, Transcend Air is aiming to supplement regional travel rather than providing shorter intra-city options. Although this is fairly unique, the company is signaling that it’s moving forward toward certification and operation by selecting two long time experts in high-volume aircraft manufacturing and subcomponents.

A mock-up of a hybrid aircraft engine was presented for the first time in the United Engine Corporation (part of Rostec) exhibition at the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2021. The mock-up consists of a gas turbine engine, electric motors, power electronics units, an electric generator and a battery pack. It is designed for next-generation unmanned aerial vehicles flying with four propellers.

“In 2022, we plan to create the first hybrid engine demonstrator capable of outputting around 150 kW. The demonstrator will be further used for testing a design with ultimate power output of 500 kW by 2023”, said Mikhail Shemet, Deputy Director of prospective engine projects at UEC-Klimov.

The 500 kW hybrid engine demonstrator is based on the VK-650V engine. Potential aircraft of this power class are light multipurpose helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles with a takeoff weight between 2–8 tons, light local airliners, air taxis and various VTOL designs. After the first stage of the project, an additional objective was determined to develop a marine application with 200-250 kW of power.

The advantages of a hybrid power plant include increased fuel efficiency and flight safety, reduced emissions, increased thrust-to-weight ratio, capability for quick power boosts due to the electrical component, as well as increased service life and reliability.

Why it’s important: Russian consideration and investment toward hybridized propulsion mediums indicates the nation’s perceived importance of aerial mobility aircraft. The hybridized, and distributed electric propulsion model that’s more and more common among aerial mobility applications today is the main focus for Russia as Rostec aims to blend the best of currently available, high energy density conventional powerplants (Jet fuel burning turbines) with the regenerative energies of battery packs. The quoted 2-8 ton takeoff weight for aircraft that the powerplant will serve is a large number considering other commercially available power sources are optimized to support aircraft that almost all have weights less than 2 tons.

The agreement between Lilium and Azul, a major Brazilian airline, includes pre-orders for 220 of Lilium’s eVTOL jets. Together, the two companies will build an exclusive eVTOL network in Brazil, with a service launch planned for 2025.

Rendering of Lilium’s 7-seater jet in the skies above Rio De Janeiro.

More than just a purchase of aircraft, this agreement represents a strategic alliance between Azul and Lilium to fully build out an eVTOL transportation network in Brazil. Together, the two companies will build a co-branded transportation system, which will provide efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective air travel to the 100 million air passengers that travel within the country yearly. Although the Lilium Jet was developed in Germany, the company’s goal has always been to provide its highly innovative air transportation all parts of the world. Currently, Brazil’s market represents one of the world’s largest for civilian air transport and helicopter transport, which Lilium and Azul hope to augment and possibly eventually completely replace with Lilium’s all-electric vertical aircraft.

Accroding to a recent press release from Lilium, Azul would expect to operate and maintain the Lilium Jet fleet, while Lilium would provide an aircraft health monitoring platform, replacement batteries and other custom spare parts. Azul also expects to support Lilium with the necessary regulatory approval processes in Brazil for certification of the Lilium Jet and any other required regulatory approvals.

The 7-seater Lilium Jet can cruise at speeds of 175 mph, with a range of up to 155 miles. Unlike any other eVTOL concept, the aircraft uses 36 rotating miniature jet engines, that allow to take off vertically and travel on a fixed wing in forward flight. A full-scale prototype of the aircraft has already been built and flight tested. Watch a tour of the aircraft’s interior below:

Said Daniel Wiegand, Co-Founder and CEO of Lilium: “Azul has brought convenient and affordable air travel to underserved markets across the Americas and this makes them an ideal partner for Lilium. We’re excited to work with Azul’s seasoned team to deploy a co-branded eVTOL network in Brazil.”

Said John Rodgerson, CEO of Azul, “Azul is the largest domestic airline in Brazil in terms of cities served and daily departures. Our brand presence, our unique route network, and our powerful loyalty program give us the tools to create the markets and demand for the Lilium Jet network in Brazil. Since Azul’s founding 13 years ago, the Brazilian aviation market has doubled with Azul capturing almost 60% of the growth. We know how to create and grow new markets, and once again we see huge market opportunity by bringing the Lilium Jet to Brazil”

Why it’s important: With Lilium already making partnerships to enter markets within the U.S and Europe, and other eVTOL companies making deals with large airlines such as Virgin and United Airlines, this announcement from Lilium enters it onto the stage for partnerships and integrations for regional air travel with the world’s largest airlines. As eVTOL companies evolve, we will likely expect to see a combination of major airline partnerships with eVTOL companies making their own networks, which together will begin to form the overall eVTOL global ecosystem within different countries and cities.

Source // Lilium

Related:

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• Virgin Atlantic, Brazil’s Azul Airlines Lay out plans for eVTOL Aircraft Purchases
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