Electric Aircraft Might Become an Industry Standard Sooner than Expected

As part of Siemens Innovation Day held recently in Chicago – created, in part, to highlight the company’s progress to date in the world of electric and hybrid electric aircraft – the German industrial giant offered a first U.S. look at its electric GA aircraft, a Magnus LSA fitted with a 55-kW Siemens electric motor.

Siemens vice president of electric and hybrid-electric propulsion Terry Hamlin said the company has no intention of becoming an OEM but wants to be part of the electric solution to the aviation industry by partnering with other companies to demonstrate its expertise in designing and building electric propulsion systems. Siemens is currently working closely with Airbus and Rolls-Royce on the eFan regional airplane.

Hamlin said Siemens believes “the aviation industry is on the verge of a major shift in propulsion,” focused around three main drivers. “One is a reduction in [fossil] fuel consumption. Another is a significant reduction in emissions that can only be met by really disruptive technologies. Finally, there’s the needed reduction in aircraft noise.”

Greg Bowles agrees too that a significant change is coming to aircraft propulsion. As the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s vice president of global innovation and policy, he manages the association’s electric propulsion and innovation committee.

Siemens says electric will become an industry standard by 2050 with a move to electrification already moving along much faster than the company expected.

“We might have a market ramp-up to a certified electric system by 2021, possibly before the end of 2020. We’ll be partnering with OEMs to help them integrate and maintain these electric systems,” Hamlin said.

The Chicago event also focused on how Siemens is currently working to bring electric aircraft to the marketplace, beginning with small aircraft like the Magnus and the Extra 330LE. Siemens used the Extra in 2017 to set a world speed and climb record in electric airplanes. The electrically powered Extra achieved a top speed of 211 mph and a climb record to 9,800 feet in four minutes 22 seconds.

Siemens is also blending the cyber and the physical worlds into its production process to reduce time to market for new products like a bearing shield displayed in Chicago. The shield is used in the Extra 330LE’s electric motor. When the original bearing shield was created, Siemens team created a digital twin that allowed them to continue redesigning, testing and optimizing a new version in a virtual reality world. Results were impressive as the original part was reduced in weight from 25 pounds to just 9 pounds.

“With every R&D dollar we’re moving toward increased power density and reduce weight on battery,” Hamlin said. She spoke to one of the newest frontiers in aviation, urban mobility concepts like electrically powered air taxis where the demand is for quiet VTOL aircraft capable of spanning intra-city distances. “Battery power is also expected to change flight training, Hamlin added.

Bowles reminds the naysayers of electric power plants about earlier days in aviation when people said jet engines weren’t going to be all that useful.

“People wondered what good jet engines would be on straight wing aircraft or an aircraft that only flew at low altitudes demanded where jet power plants were quite inefficient. We simply designed aircraft that could take advantage of those new technologies. We need to think of battery power the same way. What additional advantages might electric offer us? Although electric motors become less efficient at very low speeds, they can make torque down to nearly zero RPM.”

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Bankstown plane crash Female pilot survives without injury

A PILOT who survived a light plane crash and walked away from the wreckage with only minor injuries in Sydney this morning has been described as a “miracle”.

Video footage of the moments that followed the woman’s escape shows her walking quickly to a car before climbing into the passenger seat while holding what appears to be a coffee container.

The woman then engages in conversation with a man before she takes a swig of her drink and ducks down, seemingly to avoid cameras, and the car drives away.

It came just moments after a light plane — piloted by the woman in her 50s with no passengers — plunged more than 300 metres to nosedive into trees at Bankstown Airport in Sydney’s southwest about 11.20am Monday.

“I’m losing it,” the woman screamed into the plane radio before the moment of impact.

Paramedics said it was a “miracle” the pilot walked from the wreckage, in the ditch at the edge of a paddock, with only a sore back. She was assisted by airport staff after being assessed by ambulance workers who determined she didn’t need to go to hospital.

“This is a very happy and lucky outcome for the pilot,” Mr Keshwan said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

“It is a miracle she has walked away from the wreckage without any injuries.”

An Australian Transport and Safety Bureau spokesperson said the organisation will decide on Tuesday whether to investigate the crash.

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Post Office celebrates 100th anniversary of airmail

The United States Postal Service will honor the beginning of airmail service by dedicating two United States Air Mail Forever stamps this year.

The first commemorates the pioneering spirit of the brave pilots who first flew the mail in the early years of aviation.

The first-day-of-issue ceremony for this stamp will take place May 1, 2018, at 11 a.m. at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. The event is free and open to the public. Followers of the U.S. Postal Service’s Facebook page can view the ceremony live at Facebook.com/USPS.

On May 15, 1918, in the midst of World War I, a small group of Army pilots delivered mail along a route that linked Washington, Philadelphia, and New York, initiating the world’s first regularly scheduled airmail service.

The United States Post Office Department, the predecessor to the U.S. Postal Service, took charge of the U.S. Air Mail Service later that summer, operating it from Aug. 12, 1918, through Sept. 1, 1927. Airmail delivery, daily except on Sundays, became part of the fabric of the American economy and spurred growth of the nation’s aviation industry, post office officials note.

The second stamp will commemorate this milestone with its first-day-of-issue to take place later this summer.

Both stamps, printed in the intaglio print method — a design transferred to paper from an engraved plate — depict the type of plane typically used in the early days of airmail, a Curtiss JN-4H biplane.

The biplane was also featured on the stamps originally issued in 1918 to commemorate the beginning of regularly scheduled airmail service, officials noted.

The United States Air Mail stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First Class Mail one ounce price.

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Flying Colours expands St Louis facility

Completions and engineering company Flying Colours has expanded its facility in St Louis, Missouri from 5,570m² (60,000ft²) to 9,300m², to cater for the growing demand from business aircraft owners and manufacturers for its detailed cabinetry work and interior completion services.

The extension houses the design, build and finishing of woodwork monuments, such as galleys for VIP cabins, as well as seat upholstery, engineering, and avionics services, says Flying Colours.

Sean Gillespie, executive vice-president of the Peterborough, Ontario-headquartered company, says the project marks the first major infrastructure development at the site since Flying Colours acquired the business in 2009, then known as JetCorp, from JetDirect Aviation.

"Demand for our cabinetry and completion skills was outstripping our capacity," Gillespie notes. "The expansion reflects our overall strategic approach to business growth, and we're not done yet. We anticipate a second phase of development in the USA later in the year," he adds.

Flying Colours says it will undertake three green aircraft completions and 15 refurbishment projects at St Louis in 2018. Its Canadian facility is expected to perform six completions and 25 refurbishments over the same period.

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ANA signs bizjet partnerships with Sojitz and Honda Aircraft

ANA Holdings will establish a new business jet operation in partnership with Sojitz, while also signing a separate support deal with Honda Aircraft.

Tokyo-headquartered ANA Business Jet will be established during the northern summer, and be 51% owned by ANA with the remainder held by Sojitz.

The company will offer private jet connections in Japan, North America and Europe to ANA’s scheduled services, as well as direct charter services from Japan to overseas destinations.

“Utilising the strength of ANA's global network that comprises 85 routes to 43 cities, and Sojitz's expertise in travel by private jet, the two companies will offer a new and enhanced traveling experience to its passengers,” says ANA.

Sojitz is a Japanese trading house that also represents Boeing Business Jets and Bombardier business aircraft in the Japanese market. It also offers a diverse fleet of business jets for charter, largely through partnerships with other operators.

Separately, ANA also signed a memorandum of understanding signed with Honda Aircraft, under which the OEM will support aspects of ANA’s feeder and charter flights through global charter operators.

Although no order for the HA-420 HondaJet was announced, it appears likely that ANA Business Jet will operate the type.

"Through this strategic partnership and use of the HondaJet, ANA will create new demand to utilise business jets, in particular for travelers of various Japanese entities who value convenience and privacy in their overseas travel," says ANA Holdings president and chief executive Shinya Katanozaka.

ANA's move into the business jet market comes after rival Japan Airlineslaunched a private jet connection service at Paris, in association with Dassault Falcon Services last May.

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Air NZ calls for tighter regulation on UAVs after near-miss

Air New Zealand has called for tighter penalties for operators of unmanned air vehicles that flout the rules, after one of its Boeing 777-200ERs came within five metres of a drone while on approach to Auckland airport on 25 March.

The pilots of the aircraft were operating a flight from Tokyo Haneda with 278 passengers and crew onboard when they spotted the drone within controlled airspace. Flights at the airport were subsequently shut down for 30 minutes.

“The pilots spotted the drone at a point in the descent where it was not possible to take evasive action. It passed so close to the incoming aircraft that they were concerned it may have been ingested into the engine," says the airline’s chief operations integrity and standards officer David Morgan.

An engineering inspection after it landed cleared the aircraft and engines of any foreign object damage.

It is the second incident where an Air NZ aircraft has come close to a UAV operating in controlled airspace.

In September 2015, a UAV came close to an A320 at 6,000ft while it was ascending from Christchurch airport.

A Civil Aviation Authority investigation was dropped a few weeks afterwards after it failed to identify the operator of the UAV.

Under New Zealand regulations, UAV operators who breach operating rules face a potential fine of up to NZ$5000. Morgan says however that this does not provide enough deterrence.

"It's clear the time has now come for tougher deterrents for reckless drone use around airports to safeguard travellers, including imposing prison terms in the case of life-threating incidents," says

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35 states deploying drones to save lives, time and money

A survey by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials finds that 35 of 44 responding state departments of transportation — 80%— are using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, for a wide range of purposes.

The March 2018 survey finds that 20 state DOTs have incorporated drones into their daily operations. Another 15 state DOTs are in the research phase, testing drones to determ

ine how they can be utilized.

All state DOTs deploying drones follow FAA’s Part 107 Rule or the state DOT has received a public Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) from the FAA to conduct drone operations.

“This is another example of how state DOTs are advancing innovation to improve safety and productivity for the traveling public,” said Bud Wright, AASHTO executive director. “Drones are being used to significantly cut the time it takes to gather data, which is leading to major time and cost savings.”

All 20 of the state DOTs operating drones on a daily basis are deploying them to gather photos and videos of highway construction projects. In addition to photography, 14 states also reported using them for surveying, 12 for public education and outreach, 10 for bridge inspections, eight for emergency response, six for pavement inspections, five for scientific research, two for daily traffic control and monitoring, and one state DOT was using drones to conduct high-mast light pole inspections.

North Carolina was an early adopter of drone technology. In 2013 the state legislature designated NCDOT’s Division of Aviation to be the statewide authority for drone operations. Its UAS program aims to make drone technology available to DOT employees across the state.

“What we’re focusing on this spring is trying to get drones into the hands of employees in all 14 division offices in our state,” said Basil Yap, manager of NCDOT’s UAS Program. “We’re training our personnel and providing them with drones to meet their specific needs. By encouraging innovation from the ground up our employees will help NCDOT discover new applications for drone technology.”

Yap says the potential time and cost savings are significant. A joint NCDOT/North Carolina Highway Patrol study in 2017 simulated a head-on crash in a controlled environment. The highway patrol Collision Reconstruction Unit took nearly two hours to collect its data. Pilots using three drones took just 25 minutes to complete the mission.

NCDOT says had the simulated crash occurred on I-95 it would have cost an estimated $8,600 in lost productivity for every hour one lane of the interstate was closed. The tally for the traditional investigation in lost productivity was $12,900 vs. just $3,600 using drones — for a $9,300 savings.

“We were blown away by the cost savings that we noticed from this particular research project,” said Yap. “By using drones this way motorists, state DOT crews and emergency responders benefit because we’re getting them out of harm’s way faster by clearing crash scenes quicker.”

The AASHTO March 2018 survey found that 20 state DOTs — Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia — are all using drones in their daily operations.

Another 15 state DOTs — Alabama, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia — are researching how best to utilize drone technology.

Nine states responding to the survey reported they are not deploying drones for research purposes or daily operations.

Of the 35 states deploying drones, 23 have established comprehensive drone policies that cover the acquisition, operation, airspace restrictions and the training and permitting of drones and drone pilots. Additionally, 27 of the state DOTs reported they were adding full time staff to operate and maintain their drone fleets.

Some experts predict that as more public and private organizations begin to deploy drones, the demand for drone pilots and other related expertise will grow, making it more difficult for state DOTS to attract qualified personnel.

“We already have local government agencies coming to us and asking for training and so we’ve partnered with our community college system to come up with a curriculum to train drone pilots,” said Yap. “We’re talking about making an economic development decision here — because commercial drone package delivery is coming and State DOTs across the country need to play a role in developing the highways of the sky — especially in urban areas.”

Yap says NCDOT has submitted a proposal to the FAA’s Drone Integration Pilot Program. Working with global drone delivery companies Matternet and Zipline, NCDOT’s proposal, if accepted, would set up a network of medical distribution centers using drones to make medical deliveries in North Carolina. Blood and other supplies currently travel by courier to hospitals and testing facilities. With drones, medical providers would get the test results and supplies they need much faster.

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