LIFT has developed an electric, vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft called “Hexa” and plans to open LIFT locations in scenic and uncongested areas near major metro areas, tourist destinations, and entertainment hubs where individuals can rent and operate Hexa aircraft without a pilot's license.
Newer, more capable fifth-generation aircraft platforms and systems are outgrowing even the largest U.S. Air Force training ranges – and the service believes modern simulators and virtual reality may be the answer.
The potential of daily on-demand aviation in and around cities is a major goal of many aerospace start-ups, including those that participated in the panel at SAE International’s AeroTech Americas 2019 event in Charleston, South Carolina. Companies like Zeva Aero, Detroit Flying Cars, and Varon Vehicles, are continuing to develop various vehicle types, whether they generate lift during forward flight or use a multi-rotor vertical flight approach, to make widespread personal urban air mobility (UAM) a reality in the coming years.
SAE International in Warrendale, Pa., is inviting members of the mobility engineering community to participate in the SAE Additive Manufacturing Webinar: Considerations When Integrating Additive Manufacturing into Aerospace and Ground Vehicle Development and Production Environments on Thursday, August 16, 2018 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT.
The imagining system, or Pilotage Distributed Aperture Sensor (PDAS) system, is designed to enhance situational awareness and threat detection for pilots and auxiliary personnel in visually degraded environments.
OneWeb has secured $1.25 billion in its latest funding round. The company, which seeks to deploy a satellite communication network by 2021 that will enable global high-speed, low-latency Internet access, has now raised a total of $3.4 billion to fund its mission. Tokyo-based Softbank Group Corp., Mexico’s Grupos Salinas, San Deigo-based Qualcomm Technologies Inc., and the Government of Rwanda led the last round of funding.
McLaren Applied Technologies of Woking, United Kingdom unveiled their “MCLExtreme” (MCLE) vision for the future of grand prix racing. While McLaren Applied Technologies believes that the 2050 Formula 1 World Championship will still feature open-wheel, rear wheel drive cars with humans in the cockpit, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality, autonomous functions, and electric propulsion will play major roles.
Engineering Events staff at SAE International in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, have extended the call for abstracts through September 21 for the organization’s AeroTech aerospace and defense technology conference, which will take place at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas, March 14-16, 2023. Visit the AeroTech call for abstracts page for more information and to get started.
VPT Inc. is introducing its SVPL series space-qualified, radiation-hardened point of load DC-DC converters – covering an input voltage range of 3.1 volts to 13.2 volts and offered in 6-, 9-, and 12-amp output surface-mount options – designed specifically for space applications facing harsh radiation environments while requiring low voltages and tight regulation for high-performance processors.
Counterfeit parts prevention is integral to an effective obsolescence management plan, and the focus of anti-counterfeit standards – including Counterfeit Avoidance Standard (AS5553) and Counterfeit Detection Standard (AS6081) – from SAE International in Warrendale, Pa. SAE International officials are bringing the anti-counterfeit discussion and sharing best practices, which include adherence to critical standards, to the Future of Obsolescence Management (FOM) event on October 10 and 11 in Washington.
Safran engineers tested and validated several operating modes of the company's distributed hybrid electric propulsion system during this first series of tests, with the electric motors powered only by batteries or by a combination of batteries and turbo-generator.
Rolls-Royce in London is unveiling a concept electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) vehicle, including civil and military variants, that could take to the skies as soon as the early 2020s. The flexible design – able to be adapted for a variety of applications, including personal transport, public transport, logistics, and defense – is based upon technologies currently in use and under development.
AeroVironment revealed its critical role in collaborating with NASA JPL to build the “Mars Helicopter” for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Program officials plan to have the Mars Helicopter flying on Mars in less than three years.
Engineers at Martin UAV are incorporating Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network (MANET) technology from Persistent Systems into the company’s V-BAT small, vertical takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The Auto-Tracking Antenna System, a new portable, ground-to-air antenna from Persistent Systems LLC in New York, incorporates aircraft into the Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network (MANET) to boost connectivity, communications, and distribution of critical sensor data, including full-motion video, on the networked battlefield. The precisely aimed tracking system works with the MPU5 radio and Wave Relay MANET to optimize connectivity and reliable communications to enable manned and unmanned aircraft to communicate further than ever before, officials say.
The ability to control unmanned systems from the cockpit of a manned tactical aircraft is coming closer to reality. Textron Systems and Textron Aviation have demonstrated manned-unmanned teaming – specifically the command and control (C2) of multiple unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, from a single manned military aircraft.
U.S. Coast Guard officials are expanding their deployment of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, after achieving a record-breaking year for drug interdiction using Insitu’s ScanEagle sUAS aboard a single National Security Cutter, the Stratton.
Astro Aerospace is partnering with carbon composite manufacturer Paterson Composites i to build components for its new, state-of-the-art, autonomous aerial transport vehicle, the Astro Aerospace Passenger Drone.