Category: Aviation

Image:The solar-powered Zephyr aircraft could soon be spending up to six months in the air at a time

The aircraft could be used for internet connectivity as well as for military purposes, and Airbus has previously signed deals to provide versions of it to the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

Airbus has flown a solar-powered aircraft on two 18-day trips, and says the Zephyr could soon spend six months in the air at a time.

The skinny plane, which resembles an unmanned glider although it has two small propellers, has had two test flights in civilian airspace.

It operates in the stratosphere, higher than planes but lower than satellites, and the company hopes it could help bring internet connectivity to billions of people around the world.

A rendering of a Lillium jet in flight. The company is planning to build a vertiport in Lake Nona.

By Tribune Content Agency

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando is preparing for when flying cars are an option for those who want to soar over congested highways or between nearby cities. And they may arrive far sooner than 2062, as “The Jetsons” predicted.

The city has signed onto a partnership with NASA to develop strategies for welcoming electric oversized drones, which take off vertically from landing pads called vertiports. The city’s first vertiport, to be built by the German company Lillium, is planned for the Lake Nona area.

Though officials suspect the mode of transportation could take off in coming years, so far the Federal Aviation Authority hasn’t approved any such vehicles for use. But a recent study found that a piece of a projected $2.5 billion market could be in play for early adopters of the technology.

“We’ve heard from different operators that their hope is to be in operation with passengers sometime in the 2024-2025 time frame,” said Jacques Coulon, an Orlando transportation planning projects coordinator. “For us, that means they’ll want to have a vertiport in place and so we’ll need to have regulations set and full understanding of what those impacts are before then.”

By Laurie Foti

Air taxis may still be pie in the sky, but there’s more than one way to move the air travel industry forward. Craft Aerospace aims to do so with a totally new vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that it believes could make city-to-city hops simpler, faster, cheaper and greener.

The aircraft — which, to be clear, is still in small-scale prototype form — uses a new VTOL technique that redirects the flow of air from its engines using flaps rather than turning them (like the well-known, infamously unstable Osprey), making for a much more robust and controllable experience.

Co-founder James Dorris believes that this fast, stable VTOL craft is the key that unlocks a new kind of local air travel, eschewing major airports for minor ones or even heliports. Anyone that’s ever had to take a flight that lasts under an hour knows that three times longer is spent in security lines, gate walks and, of course, getting to and from these necessarily distant major airports.

“We’re not talking about flying wealthy people to the mall — there are major inefficiencies in major corridors,” Dorris told TechCrunch. “The key to shortening that delay is picking people up in cities and dropping them off in cities. So for these short hops, we need to combine the advantages of fixed-wing aircraft and VTOL.”

By Otilia Drăgan

You’ve probably heard of satellite advancements that are taking telecommunication systems and capabilities to the next level, but did you know that there’s an unmanned, solar-powered aircraft that’s about to revolutionize telecommunications services? 9 photos

High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) are an alternative to satellites operating in the stratosphere instead of space. HAPSMobile, a subsidiary of a Japanese corporation called SoftBank, is one of the pioneers in this rising industry and developed the Sunglider. 

This innovative aircraft is meant to carry the telecommunications payload to the required area, and the fact that it’s been backed by NASA shows the importance and potential of this new way of providing connectivity. In addition, this norm-breaking air vehicle was supposed to stay at operational altitudes for a long time without having to return to the ground for refueling.  

According to Airbus, the moment of hydrogen is approaching rapidly. Guillaume Foley, chief executive officer of an airplane maker, has been talked about as a fuel for the future for years, but by the end of the decade the company will manufacture hydrogen-powered commercial airliners. He said he was ready to start.

European aerospace champions are skeptical among other industry leaders about how quickly gas can affect aviation emissions, but the 2035 will be the “ for hydrogen planes to go into service. I am more and more convinced that it is a fair and realistic perspective. 

“You don’t have to change the laws of physics to deal with hydrogen. Hydrogen has three times the energy density of kerosene — [technically it] Foley told reporters at an Airbus event on sustainability in Toulouse.

Foley’s comments show Airbus’ growing confidence that it can tackle the complex engineering and safety challenges needed to make hydrogen-powered aircraft work. However, Foley warned that government and regulatory support would be needed. 

Airbus needs to have “some degree of certainty” about the regulated environment and fuel availability by 2027/28, when the company must decide whether to invest billions of dollars in its new hydrogen airplane program. Said there is. 

“this [decarbonisation] The challenge is not just for airplanes, but for getting the right fuel, the right hydrogen, at the right time, at the right place, at the right price, which aviation cannot manage on its own, “he said. 

Foley’s remarks underscore the growing urgency of the aviation industry as it strives to reach its zero-emissions goal by 2050. Before the pandemic led to many landings of the world’s aircraft fleet, aviation accounted for about 2.4% of the world’s emissions. 

By Madhu Unnikrishnan

The electric aircraft market has gone from zero to 60 in just a matter of months, now that one of the world’s largest airframers has entered the race. Airbus said its Helicopters division is developing an electric take off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi that could take its first flight in 2023. 

This is in stark contrast to Airbus archrival Boeing, which just last week committed only to consider alternative propulsion technologies in the near- to medium-term. 

Meanwhile, Brazil’s Gol is committing to order up to 250 Vertical Aerospace eVTOLs through lessor Avolon and in partnership with Grupo Comparte to create an urban air taxi platform for country’s most congested cities. Gol’s proposed equity partner American Airlines also has a commitment for Vertical Aerospace’s VA-X4 aircraft.

by Otilia Drăgan

As exciting as green air mobility sounds, it’s largely dependent on the development of battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Without the continuous improvement of these technologies, innovative types of aircraft, such as vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (VTOLs), won’t be able to operate on a large scale. 6 photos

According to research cited by HyPoint, a company that’s developing hydrogen fuel cell systems for aeronautics, the global hydrogen aircraft market is estimated to grow rapidly within the next decades, getting from $27 billion in 2030 to $174 billion by 2040. On the other hand, studies also show that the eVTOL market is growing just as fast, so it makes sense to predict that developing hydrogen fuel cells for eVTOLs is becoming increasingly important.

HyPoint has just taken an important step in this direction, by partnering with Piasecki Aircraft Corporation, a rotorcraft and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) platforms manufacturer, for the development of a certified hydrogen fuel cell system for eVTOLs. The $6.5 million agreement is focused on Piasecki’s PA-890 compound helicopter, which is set to become the world’s first hydrogen-powered manned helicopter.

by Otilia Drăgan

Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are evolving fast and are already starting to change cargo operations. You may not be familiar with the funny-sounding name Pipistrel, but this Slovenian light aircraft manufacturer is at the forefront of electric and autonomous aviation. Most recently, it has equipped its autonomous cargo eVTOL, Nuuva V300, with revolutionary satellite communications technology. 

The Nuuva V300 is an autonomous eVTOL specifically developed for aerial cargo delivery. The 1,000 lbs (460 kg) payload, fully autonomous flight capacity and long range are just some of its main advantages. Another huge benefit is that it doesn’t require a runway, which means it can conduct air cargo operations even in areas where runways aren’t available. Plus, it’s supposed to have a ten times lower operating cost, compared to helicopters.