Sports car maker Porsche and aerospace giant Boeing are teaming on urban air mobility (UAM). The companies signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly explore the premium UAM market, including “the extension of urban traffic into airspace,” they announced yesterday. The companies also said they are already developing a fully electric eVTOL concept vehicle and will create a joint team “to address various aspects of urban air mobility, including analysis of the market potential for premium vehicles and possible use cases.” A 2018 Porsche Consulting study predicts that the UAM market will gain momentum after 2025.
"This collaboration builds on our efforts to develop a safe and efficient new mobility ecosystem and provides an opportunity to investigate the development of a premium urban air mobility vehicle with a leading automotive brand,” said Steve Nordlund, v-p and general manager of Boeing NeXt, the company’s organization that is currently dedicated to the UAM market. “Porsche and Boeing together bring precision engineering, style, and innovation to accelerate urban air mobility worldwide."
"Porsche is looking to enhance its scope as a sports car manufacturer by becoming a leading brand for premium mobility. In the longer term, this could mean moving into the third dimension of travel,” said Detlev von Platen, member of the executive board for sales and marketing at Porsche AG.
AINsight: CBD and Flying
You can’t look online or talk to friends or coworkers without being besieged with “information” and anecdotal testimonials on CBDs. I am asked virtually every day in my AME practice about pilots' use of CBD products.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a naturally occurring compound found in the flowers of the cannabis plant (marijuana). Purported uses include everything from arthritis relief, stress reduction, and as a sleep aid, among others.
These products are often found in the form of CBD oil. CBD derived from hemp oil is supposed to contain less than 0.3 percent THC, but there is no true oversight of the actual production of CBD oil. So you really don’t know how much THC there will be in any CBD product.
FAA representatives have stated more than once that they cannot specifically prohibit pilots from using CBD products. But remember that the active ingredient in marijuana is THC. The FAA is quite clearly not endorsing the consumption of THC— marijuana and its active component, THC, are still a federally illegal drug.
Until CBD products are more strictly regulated, pilots need to first and foremost protect their careers. You do not want to risk both your pilot and medical certificates by taking a product that is unregulated and could contain enough THC to cause a positive DOT test.
SyberJet Aircraft’s SJ30i light jet, which is fitted with the new SyberVision flight deck, completed its first flight on Wednesday, launching a certification test program that is expected to span 18 months, the company announced today. The flight-test campaign toward an amended type certificate (TC) kicked off at SyberJet’s Engineering and Product Development Center at the San Antonio International Airport. SyberJet anticipates delivery of the SJ30i to begin shortly after receipt of the amended TC.
Powered by Honeywell Epic 2.0 avionics suite, the flight deck incorporates four 12-inch LCD screens, SmartView synthetic vision system, INAV moving map display, electronics charts/maps, TCAS II, TAWS Level A, synoptic displays, dual flight management systems (FMS) with WAAS GPS/LPV, single inertial navigation system, onboard weather radar, full EICAS, electronic checklists, DME, ADS-B Out, and 0.3 nm RNP. It also offers support for FANS-1A, SmartLanding, SmartRunway, TOLD, ADS-B In, emergency descent mode, and RVSM operations.
“We completed all of the test points planned for the first flight and got a look at how much easier the cockpit and systems are to manage with the new Honeywell Epic 2.0 cockpit,” said SyberJet chief engineering test pilot Mark Elwess. Joining Elwess in the test program is senior flight-test engineer Robert Moehle.
SyberJet will have this test aircraft and an SJ30i cabin mockup on static display at NBAA-BACE later this month.
Bell Bringing Nexus eVTOL to NBAA-BACE
Bell is bringing a mockup of its Nexus concept urban air mobility vehicle (UAM) for the first time to NBAA-BACE, which opens October 22 in Las Vegas. It unveiled the design in January and has formed “Team Nexus”—a development team of seasoned industry OEMs, including Safran (engines/hybrid propulsion), Electric Power Systems (battery and battery management), Garmin (autonomous vehicle management computer systems), Thales (flight control systems and avionics), and Moog (flight control actuation systems). The rotorcraft manufacturer hopes to have a product to market by the mid-2020s said Nexus program manager Chad Stecker.
As currently envisioned, the Nexus eVTOL features a 4+1 cockpit/cabin layout, a central wing, integrated landing skids, and a modified V tail topped by a short horizontal stabilizer. While it is likely early UAM vehicles will need to have a pilot on board, a growing number of industry executives believe that fully autonomous vehicles will be required to drive down operating costs to the point where they can appeal to a mass market.
The Nexus flight model will use a hybrid/electric distributed propulsion system feeding six tilting ducted fans, each powered by individual electric motors. Ducted fans also offer improved performance and a quieter noise signature than comparable open rotor designs, according to the company.
The AOPA Air Safety Institute’s 28th Joseph T. Nall Report finds that 2016 reached new lows in terms of fatal general aviation accidents, making it the safest year on record up to that point. Released this morning, the Nall report further indicates that 2017 continued that trend, AOPA reported.
The report provides a deeper dive into accidents to spotlight potential trends for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less. Nall cites preliminary data for 2017 but focuses on 2016 because it is the most recent year in which the NTSB has determined probable causes on at least 80 percent of the accidents.
In 2016, the number of general aviation accidents increased to 1,214 from 1,173 in 2015. But, correspondently, flight hours grew to 24.65 million, up from 23.98 million. At the same time, though, fatal accidents declined 11.7 percent from 221 in 2015 to 195 in 2016.
Air Safety Institute executive director Richard McSpadden said this reduction suggests that the concerted government/industry effort to tackle key general aviation safety issues is taking root. “These numbers continue to demonstrate historic performance in aviation safety,” McSpadden said.
In fixed-wing, non-commercial operations, weather-related accidents declined by more than one-third and were less than half of what they were a decade ago. Maneuvering accidents and fuel management-related accidents were down, but accidents on landing increased.
AAR’s MRO facility in Miami has begun using a French company’s drones to conduct aircraft inspections as part of its maintenance processes, the Chicago-based company announced yesterday. Under a 12-month technology agreement with Donecle, which specializes in automated aircraft inspection by drone, AAR expects to expand the inspections to its other MRO facilities following further assessment and results. AAR will continue to conduct manual inspections, as well as comply with FAA requirements.
“In the case of our MRO sites, our investments in technologies like drones, machine learning, and mobile devices will drive a more efficient operation, optimized technician schedules, as well as improved turnaround times achieved through faster and more accurate inspections and maintenance plan execution, AAR chief digital officer Rahul Ghai said. “This will lead to ultimately higher customer satisfaction, while helping us build out richer data to enhance our overall maintenance planning and execution capabilities.”
According to AAR, the drone can safely perform nose-to-tail visual inspections of Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s in less than an hour using laser positioning.
Boom Selects Advent for Supersonic Demonstrator Brakes
Advent Aircraft Systems was selected to provide its Advent eABS for Power Brake Systems for Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 Mach-2.2 demonstrator. The XB -1 demonstrator will validate key supersonic technologies that will be used in the design of Boom’s planned supersonic commercial airliner, dubbed Overture.
“It was critical to find an anti-skid control system for XB-1 that met our technical requirements in a responsive, timely, and competitive manner, and Advent’s eABS system exceeded our expectations,” said Boom Supersonic chief engineer Nick Sheryka. “We’re getting closer to flight testing XB-1, and it’s exciting to work with partners like Advent to supply crucial parts of the aircraft.”
Advent’s eABS system incorporates anti-skid technology that is designed to optimize braking action, enhancing safety and reducing risk of tire damage. The system comprises anti-skid control valves, a digital electronic control unit, cockpit control switches, and specially designed wheel speed transducers and hubcaps.
WAI Draws 20,000 To Global Girls in Aviation Day Events
Women In Aviation’s (WAI) Girls in Aviation Day 2019 drew a cumulative 20,000 attendees at 118 events worldwide last weekend. Held on Saturday in 18 countries in North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, the events introduced girls to career and lifestyle possibilities in aviation and aerospace.
Industry leaders were on hand to meet attendees and participate in career panels. In addition, attendees were able to explore airplanes and airports and participate in a range of hands-on activities, from a sectional chart treasure hunt to making jewelry using A&P tools.
“Our primary goal is to introduce girls ages eight to 17 to all the career opportunities aviation and aerospace offer,” said WAI outreach director Molly Martin. “We go beyond piloting careers to include air traffic controllers, mechanics, engineers, technicians, and designers.”
As an example, Martin noted one girl had said she wanted to design aircraft interiors as her career. “That’s a career she would never have even known of, much less considered, without Girls in Aviation Day,” she added.
Tomorrow’s Aviation Challenges
AIN is developing a 14-part series of articles and infographics that speak to "Tomorrow's Aviation Challenges." Drawing on the knowledge base of experts at Honeywell Aerospace, AIN will explore a variety of topics over the coming weeks, including safety in the world of autonomous flight, harnessing the power of big data, beyond the 2020 ADS-B mandate, and reducing pilot fatigue to increase productivity and safety.
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