The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has made significant progress in developing turbines for efficient and climate-compatible aircraft engines in collaboration with Rolls-Royce Deutschland. Researchers have deployed a trick carried over from many modern aircraft wings: attaching 'winglets' to the tips of the turbine blades to increase engine efficiency. Winglets and other technologies are already being used in the latest Rolls-Royce engines from the Pearl range and have significantly reduced fuel consumption.Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/at" target="_blank">DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology</a> in <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/dlr/locations-and-offices/goettingen" target="_blank">Göttingen</a> worked with Rolls-Royce Deutschland to investigate a new type of two-stage high-pressure turbine. At the Göttingen institute's <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/at/research-transfer/research-infrastructure/turbine-test-beds/next-generation-turbine" target="_blank">Next-Generation Turbine Test Facility (NG-Turb)</a>, which offers infrastructure unrivalled in Europe, the researchers were able to validate turbine computer simulations from Rolls-Royce. In a turbojet engine, the turbine is positioned after the combustion chamber, from where the emerging exhaust gas jet causes the turbine blades to rotate. The NG-Turb test bed replicates this set up, putting turbines through their paces under real-world engine conditions.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1722783344279-image-400-a2810991432fbb2b39ff2a064e2c6158.png" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Turbine blades with winglets Detail of the turbine blades with new winglets at the tips. Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)<h2>Turbine inlet temperature crucial</h2>The initial measurements on the NG-Turb test stand, conducted as part of the German government's aviation research programme (the LuFo HittTurb project), initially focused on the efficiency of the turbine. As the operating point of turbines varies during take-off, cruising flight and landing, determining the relationship between efficiency and the speed and pressure ratio of the turbine was crucial. "This turbine serves as a demonstrator for various technologies that are to be used in the real engine, including winglets on the rotor blades," says Andreas Pahs, Project Manager of the DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology's Göttingen site. Applying winglets to the blade tips significantly changes the geometry of the blade and hence the flow around it, giving rise to improvements in both turbine and overall engine efficiency."We have also carried out detailed flow field measurements," Pahs continues. "We analysed pressure, temperature, flow angle and Mach number using sensors developed in-house here at the institute." The findings were incorporated into the development of Rolls-Royce's Pearl engine range, which powers ultra-long-haul business jets.<h2>Current focus on combustion chamber–turbine interaction</h2>In addition to the new turbine design, the researchers were interested in the influence of the combustion chamber outlet flow on aerodynamics, efficiency and temperature. Given the extreme operating temperatures that turbine materials are subject to, a crucial development task is to identify hot spots early on and target them for cooling by applying cooling air to the turbine blade surface.In the follow-up project, which was recently completed as part of the EU research programme Clean Sky 2 (an EU Transition project), the scientific research focused on the interaction between the combustion chamber and the turbine. For this purpose, a combustion chamber simulator was developed and installed in front of the turbine on the NG-Turb test stand. The simulator generates flow fields with properties comparable to those from the combustion of conventional fuels and which correspond to the exit profile of a real Rolls-Royce engine combustion chamber.A better understanding of the temperature distribution at the transition from the combustion chamber to the turbine is key to generating new technology concepts. "Our task is to precisely measure the thermal load within the turbine in order to make the cooling of the turbine blades more efficient," explains DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology project manager Anna-Samira Söhngen. Using targeted, optimised cooling saves on cooling air and further improves overall engine efficiency.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1722783390887-image-1600-4c05b05d70b4ca8c3a7d5dcd897a4297.jpeg" style="width: 790px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Test facility for future turbines Investigations are conducted at the NG-Turb test facility to research more efficient and climate-compatible turbines for future aircraft and power stations. Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)<h2>Europe's only hydrogen-ready turbine test bench</h2>The NG-Turb test stand works in a closed circuit with dry air as the flow medium. The stand includes air temperature and pressure regulation, allowing the researchers to set the key parameters of Mach and Reynolds number independently. The system also has an air dryer and a separate air-cooling compressor that diverts flow from the system and supplies it to the turbine for cooling air simulation. The test stand also now includes heat exchangers to lower the temperature of the cooling air and thus allow another parameter, the main-flow to cooling-air temperature ratio, to be set as realistically as possible.DLR receives financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) to prepare its ground test rigs, including the NG-Turb in Göttingen, for the investigation of climate-compatible fuel and propulsion technologies in aviation (the UpLift project). The focus of the project is on the potential use of hydrogen in engines, the impact of which is also set to be the subject of future investigations in turbine research. The funding is part of the BMWK aviation research programme LuFo Klima, the central government funding instrument supporting the aviation industry on its path to becoming carbon neutral.<h2>Other projects</h2>Another research focus is currently 'hot streak tracking', where researchers measure temperature streaks and their flow through the turbine.<hr><h2>Related links</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.rolls-royce.com/country-sites/northamerica.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rolls-Royce website</a></li><li><a href="https://www.rolls-royce.com/products-and-services/civil-aerospace/business-aviation/pearl-10x.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The newest member of the Rolls-Royce Pearl engine family</a></li></ul>

The DLR turbine test facility 'NG-Turb' Future high-performance turbines are being investigated at the Next-Generation Turbine Test Facility (NG-Turb) at the DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology in Göttingen. Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

DLR and Rolls-Royce Deutschland are developing more climate-compatible aircraft engines.

DLR and Rolls-Royce Deutschland develop more climate-compatible aircraft engines

A battery component innovation could help keep power delivery high when electric aircraft land with low charge, according to a study led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with expertise from the University of Michigan.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1721205836855-electric-aviation-featured.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The research provides a solution <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsenergylett.8b02195" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">to a problem identified in 2018</a> in a study led by <a href="https://aero.engin.umich.edu/people/viswanathan-venkat/" target="_blank">Venkat Viswanathan</a>, a professor of aerospace engineering at U-M and a coauthor of the new work published in Joule.&nbsp;“Both takeoff and landing require high power, and landing is more challenging because you’re not fully charged,” Viswanathan said. “To get high power you have to bring all the resistances down. Anything that affects the ability to deliver that power.”The team emphasized that this is distinct from the needs of EV batteries, which mainly need to maintain their ranges.“In an electric vehicle, you focus on capacity fade over time,” said <a href="https://profiles.lbl.gov/232755-youngmin-ko" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Youngmin Ko</a>, a postdoctoral researcher at Berkeley Lab’s <a href="https://foundry.lbl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Molecular Foundry</a> and lead author of the Joule study. “But for aircraft, it’s the power fade that’s critical—the ability to consistently achieve high power for takeoff and landing.”<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1721205881180-prop-stand-test.jjpg_.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Tested at the single cell level, the new electrolyte developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory maintains the power-to-energy ratio needed to support electric flight for four times longer than conventional batteries. The next step is for 24M to build the cells into a battery and send them for testing them on And Battery Aero’s propeller stand, running the battery through realistic flight missions. And Battery Aero was co-founded by U-M aerospace engineering associate professor Venkat Viswanathan. Image courtesy of And Battery Aero.Both capacity fade and power fade typically occur when lithium ions can no longer move easily in and out of the electrodes. While the key for capacity fade is the quantity of lithium ions that can move between the electrodes, the main factor for power fade is speed. The problem is that corrosion builds up on the electrodes, taking up space that could have housed lithium ions and making it harder for the lithium to reach available spaces.Under the leadership of <a href="https://foundry.lbl.gov/about/staff/brett-a-helms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brett Helms</a>, corresponding author of the study and a senior staff scientist at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry, the team explored the interactions among the electrodes and electrolyte using an approach borrowed from biology. In studies of life, the field generally called “omics” looks for clues in the constituents of cells—what genes are being read, what proteins are being made, and so on.&nbsp;In this case, the team tried different electrolyte chemistries, looking at subtle changes that occurred within the electrolyte at different locations in the battery during charging and discharging. Prior research has typically attributed power fade to problems arising at the battery’s negative side, as lithium metal is very reactive.&nbsp;However, the team observed that damaging molecules were forming near the positive side—nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide in this case. Reacting with those molecules caused the particles of the positive electrode to crack and corrode over time, hindering the movement of lithium and reducing power delivery.&nbsp;“It was a non-obvious outcome,” Ko said. “We found that mixing salts in the electrolyte could suppress the reactivity of typically reactive species, which formed a stabilizing, corrosion-resistant coating.”The company <a href="https://24-m.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">24M</a> (Cambridge, MA), then built a test cell with this chemistry and sent it to <a href="https://www.and.aero/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">And Battery Aero</a> (Palo Alto, CA)—a startup that Viswanathan co-founded with his former PhD student Shashank Sripad, a co-author of this study and the one from 2018.&nbsp;Sripad tested the cell by repeatedly drawing power from it in a realistic sequence of takeoff, flight and landing, as if the cell were part of a complete battery module powering an electric aircraft. When compared to conventional batteries, the new cell maintained the power-to-energy ratio needed for electric flight for four times longer.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1721205913022-example-electric-aviation-battery.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The next step is for 24M to build the cells into a full-size aviation battery, like the one pictured, for further testing at And Battery Aero. Image courtesy of And Battery Aero.“Heavy transport sectors, including aviation, have been underexplored in terms of electrification,” Helms said. “Our work redefines what’s possible, pushing the boundaries of battery technology to enable deeper decarbonization.”Next, 24M will build a complete battery that And Battery Aero will test on a propeller stand, running the propeller through the flight sequence repeatedly. Then, next year, the team intends to attempt to perform an electric flight test with those batteries.The team—which includes scientists at the University of California, Berkeley—also plans to expand the use of omics in battery research, exploring the interactions of various electrolyte components to further understand and tailor the performance of batteries for current and emerging use-cases in transportation and the grid.&nbsp;The Molecular Foundry is a DOE Office of Science user facility at Berkeley Lab.This work was supported by DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and DOE’s Office of Science (Basic Energy Sciences).&nbsp;Viswanathan and Sripad have a financial interest in And Battery Aero.

Borrowing methods from biology, a team of scientists and engineers designed and tested an electrolyte that keeps battery power delivery high, cycle after cycle.

Electric aviation: Batteries that stay strong for the flight duration

In wind-tunnel tests, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has investigated the lift generated by commercial aircraft using state-of-the-art measurement and simulation technologies. The findings will help to predict the characteristics of future aircraft much more accurately than before, in order to make them quieter, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.The development of a new aircraft is a lengthy and complex process. An interaction between computer simulations and wind tunnel experiments takes place long before construction and the first flight. "Highly accurate simulations of the airflow around an aircraft are necessary to accurately and reliably predict the aerodynamics and thus the flight envelope of current and future aircraft configurations," says Project Coordinator Cornelia Grabe of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/as" target="_blank">DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology</a> in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/dlr/locations-and-offices/goettingen" target="_blank">Göttingen</a>. The same applies to identifying the safe operating range of the engines. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dlr.de/as/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-17581/27883_read-72278/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DLR 'Adaptive Data-driven Physical Modelling towards Border of Envelope Applications' (ADaMant)</a> project aims to develop and demonstrate computer models for such high-precision flow simulations.<h2>Joint endeavour by DLR and NASA</h2>DLR and NASA worked together to carry out tests at the Braunschweig&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dnw.aero/wind-tunnels/nwb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Low-Speed Wind Tunnel (Niedergeschwindigkeits-Windkanal Braunschweig; NWB)</a>, operated by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dnw.aero/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW)</a>, using an internationally recognised research model of a commercial aircraft provided by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA)</a>. Tests with the same model are being repeated in NASA's own wind tunnel, in order to acquire a better understanding of how the use of different wind tunnels affects the resulting measurement data. The airflow around the research model in free flight was examined in the flow simulation, and the wind tunnel was also modelled. The aim was to investigate the extent to which the wind tunnel influences the flow around an aircraft model. This knowledge will make computer simulations and wind tunnel experiments more comparable.<h2>The challenge of turbulent flows</h2>The greatest challenge in the computer modelling of aerodynamic processes is turbulent flows. They require sophisticated computational methods to find a balance between precision and efficiency. While precision is essential to reliably predict the flight envelope of an aircraft or the operating range of an engine, the use of resources such as computing time on supercomputers needs to be reduced to the minimum necessary for such simulations.In the ADaMant project, researchers examined computer models with varying degrees of precision and evaluated them with regard to their suitability both for simulating the airflow around an aircraft's exterior under specific flight conditions and for simulating certain operating ranges of an engine. Ultimately, the knowledge gained should help to improve the computer models used to design and simulate the flight characteristics of future aircraft and engines. This will support and accelerate the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.The wind tunnel tests took place inside DNW's Braunschweig Low-Speed Wind Tunnel. The calculations were carried out using DLR's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/research-and-transfer/research-infrastructure/hpc-cluster/caro" target="_blank">CARO supercomputer</a> in Göttingen. Six DLR institutes and facilities are involved in the project:

The NASA aircraft model inside the DNW Braunschweig Low-Speed Wind Tunnel (DNW-NWB). 'Sheets' of laser light illuminating the inner and outer wings are used to measure flow velocities. Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

In wind-tunnel tests, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has investigated the lift generated by commercial aircraft using state-of-the-art measurement and simulation technologies.

DLR improves the prediction of flight characteristics for future aircraft

Power electrification and automated driving are being promoted at a remarkable speed for automobiles owing to advances in electronic technologies such as batteries, motors, and power electronics. On the other hand, strict safety requirements are imposed on aircraft engines. Therefore, electrifying them has been considered unfeasible on both a technical and commercial basis, which resulted in efforts in that area being shelved.Nevertheless, the number of passengers in air passenger transport increased by about 2.7 times from 2001 to 2019*1. This has led to concerns about the negative impact on the environment from the exhaust gas accompanying the further increase in the number of flights in the future. Moreover, an increase in the number of accidents has also been predicted. Accordingly, there is a particular need for the development of autopilot systems that enhance safety during takeoff and landing when the accident rate is high.We explain here the electrification of engines, which solves the problem of exhaust gas from aircraft, and the latest autopilot system technologies, which enhance the safety of aircraft operation.*1: Source: <a href="http://www.jadc.jp/files/topics/174_ext_01_0.pdf" target="_blank" data-lf-fd-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true">Japan Aircraft Development Corporation</a> (This linked page is in Japanese.)<h2>Electrification of Aircraft Engines</h2>Aircraft engines have been electrified up to now with a focus on auxiliary equipment such as hydraulic pumps and fuel supply devices. However, amid the international trend toward decarbonization, we have come to see that there is a limit to the extent to which we can curb the amount of exhaust gas with conventional efforts. Accordingly, attempts have begun in recent years to completely eliminate or greatly reduce exhaust gas by electrifying the engine itself (propulsion system). We explain here the limits of conventional efforts, the necessity of electrifying aircraft engines, the system of electric engines, and more.&nbsp;<h3>Conventional Efforts</h3>Electrification has already been promoted in various devices installed on aircraft. This initiative is called More Electric Engine (MEE). It is a technology that electrically drives devices previously driven mechanically, hydraulically, or pneumatically. For example, the power required to drive fuel pumps and hydraulic pumps was obtained from jet engine power and bleed air*2. Replacing that with an electric motor reduces the load applied to the engine. Moreover, carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by mixing bio-fuel called Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) into aviation fuel, and fuel consumption has been improved by increasing the size of propulsion fans, among other measures.Nevertheless, these measures are only improvements to the auxiliary equipment other than the jet engine and the fuel. There has been a limit to obtaining effects such as eliminating or greatly reducing exhaust gases.*2: This is when some compressed air is extracted from a compressor in a gas turbine engine.<h3>Trend Toward Electrification</h3>The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and other bodies have set a target to be achieved by 2050 of halving carbon dioxide emissions compared with the level in 2005. In the midst of such international trends, it has become clear that it would be difficult to achieve that target with the electrification of engine auxiliary equipment up to now and improvements in the fuel and the fuel consumption.Accordingly, the electrification of aircraft engines is attracting attention as a technology to both handle the increase in aviation demand expected in the future and to reduce exhaust gases. If we replace jet engines with electric motors for aircraft engines, we will be able to eliminate or greatly reduce exhaust gases from engines. Therefore, the development of electric engines has become a pressing issue for many aviation-related research institutes and aircraft manufacturers.<h2>Electric Engine Systems</h2>There are two types of electric engine systems that replace jet engines: the pure electric system that obtains propulsion with just the electric motor and the hybrid system that employs both a jet engine and an electric motor.<h3>Pure Electric Systems</h3>This is also called the full electric system. The engine in this system consists of a secondary battery, an electric motor, and a propulsion fan (Fig. 1). The electric motor is driven by the power from the secondary battery. The propulsive power is obtained from the rotation of the propulsion fan. Absolutely no jet fuel is used in this system. As a result, there are zero carbon dioxide emissions. However, the propulsive power comes from the electric motor and only the secondary battery supplies power. Accordingly, it is difficult to fly a medium-sized or large aircraft with the energy density of current lithium-ion batteries. That means only small aircraft such as single-seater or two-seater can be flown with this system.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjk0NDY1ODk1OTI1LWltZzFlbiAoMSkucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Fig. 1: Pure electric system<h3 id="isPasted">Hybrid Systems</h3>There are two types of hybrid system: the parallel hybrid system and the series hybrid system. These are systems that combine a jet engine or a gas turbine and an electric motor. It is possible to obtain large propulsion for a long period of time compared to the pure electric system. Therefore, these systems can also be used to fly medium-sized and large aircraft.<h4>Parallel Hybrid Systems</h4>The engine in parallel hybrid systems consists of a jet engine, a secondary battery, and an electric motor driven by the secondary battery (Fig. 2). The propulsive power is obtained by rotating the propulsion fan using both the jet engine and the electric motor.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjk0NDY1OTI2NjMxLWltZzJlbi5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Fig. 2: Parallel hybrid system<h4 id="isPasted">Series Hybrid Systems</h4>The engine in series hybrid systems consists of a generator, a jet engine for driving the generator, and a secondary battery in addition to the electric motor (Fig. 3). The rotation of the jet engine is transferred to the generator to generate power. The electric motor is then driven by that power to rotate the propulsion fan. The jet engine is used to drive the generator. This gives the system some advantages. There is a high degree of freedom in the location where the system is installed on the aircraft. There are also few restrictions on the placement position of the electric fans that generate propulsion and the number of those fans. Moreover, it is also possible to charge the secondary battery by regenerating the surplus power and the rotational energy of the jet engine when not using the electric motor.The power generated by the jet engine drives the electric motor in this system. This means energy loss occurs during power generation. However, it is possible to improve the propulsion efficiency by optimizing the placement and number of propulsion fans utilizing the high degree of freedom in design.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjk0NDY1OTQ5NzU0LWltZzNlbi5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Fig. 3: Series hybrid system<h2 id="isPasted">Latest Aircraft Autopilot (Automatic Control) System Technologies</h2>Aircraft autopilot systems have a long history. They are able to provide stable operation after takeoff. However, it has not been possible to use autopilot systems for taking off and landing in difficult conditions due to the accompanying danger. Nevertheless, it has started to become possible in recent years to operate aircraft with the autopilot system even under conditions that would once have been considered difficult. This has been achieved by improving the precision of radar, image recognition systems, and radio wave sensors, increasing the response speed of actuators such as motors and valves, and enhancing other areas. Against such a background, experiments have also begun recently to perform all operations, from takeoff to landing, with the autopilot system.&nbsp;<h3>What Is an Autopilot System?</h3>The autopilot system automates the operation of aircraft to reduce the operational burden on the pilot. When using the autopilot system, the pilot can operate the aircraft automatically by setting the altitude, bearing, speed, destination, and other conditions based on instructions from air traffic control, weather information, location information, information on aircraft in the surroundings, and other data.In general, pilots leave operation to the autopilot system a few minutes after takeoff in the case of passenger planes. After that, it is possible to fly safely except in fog, strong winds, or other poor conditions. The pilot then manually operates the aircraft during landing when there is greater risk. Of course, pilots have the skills to perform all operations manually. However, there are many tasks performed by the pilot other than operating the aircraft such as flight management and drafting flight plans during the flight. Accordingly, it is possible to fly even more safely by entrusting operation to the autopilot system.<h3>Autopilot System Mechanism</h3>Autopilot systems have an aircraft attitude control function (pitch, roll, and yaw; Fig. 4), an altitude and speed control function, and a function to give guidance to the destination.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjk0NDY1OTc3Mzk5LWltZzRlbi5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Fig. 4: Pitch, roll, and yawOf these functions, the aircraft attitude control and altitude and speed control are performed by the accelerometer, tilt sensor, and other sensors, and the FCC*3, ACC*4, and actuators*5. The sensors detect the attitude, direction, altitude, and speed of the aircraft. The detected signals are then sent to the FCC. The FCC sends the command to operate the actuators to the ACC. The ACC supplies the power required to drive the actuators. Through that, the actuators appropriately operate the ailerons, rudders, elevators, and other rotor blades. Safe flight by the autopilot system is achieved with that.The actuator and rotor blade movements are also normally transmitted to and displayed on the monitors, meters, and other instruments in the cockpit. The pilot can see the operating status of each device and the attitude of the aircraft from the display on the monitors and meters. In addition, autopilot systems comprise multiple systems, as a failure could lead to a major accident. This ensures high reliability.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjk0NDY2MDE3MDkxLWltZzUuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">*3: Flight control computer (FCC): The FCC calculates the optimal steering angle according to the flight control law by taking into account the status of each device in the aircraft, the engine propulsion, the airflow, and other factors. It then outputs the signals that determine the degree of movement by the rotor blades (ailerons, rudders, elevators, etc.) to the ACC.*4: Actuator control computer (ACC): The ACC supplies the power required to the actuators that drive the rotor blades according to commands from the FCC.*5: Actuators: Actuators are devices that convert electricity, pressure (oil pressure, air pressure, etc.), heat, magnetism, and other forms of energy into mechanical motions such as rotation, expansion and contraction, and bending. Electric motors, hydraulic pistons, and electromagnetic solenoid devices are examples of actuators.<h2>Electrification of Aircraft Engines and Autopilot System Electronics Technologies</h2>The issue that must be resolved as a top priority for the electrification of aircraft engines is the realization of a long cruising range. One way of extending the cruising range is to increase the amount of energy the aircraft is equipped with by loading more batteries onto it. However, unlike other transportation devices, it is not possible to tolerate an increase in the weight of aircraft by increasing the number of batteries. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the energy density of the batteries. Research and development are already underway in countries around the world to significantly improve the energy density of batteries. There have been reports such as those that say they have reached 450 Wh/kg at the cell level. If a level of about 500 Wh/kg is realized, it will be possible to expect that technology to be used as assist power during the takeoff and ascent of passenger planes with the hybridization of aircraft engines. Moreover, a water cooling system to cool the converters, inverters, and other devices is also a burden in terms of the weight. Accordingly, it is best to adopt an air-cooling system. This means it is necessary to use gallium nitride (GaN) or silicon carbide (SiC), which generate little heat, for semiconductors. Of course, there is also a need for a wide operating temperature range from high to low temperatures and vibration resistance for the electronic parts used in the peripheral circuits.On the other hand, the autopilot system is a bundle of electronics technologies realized by many sensors, computers, and actuators. Therefore, improvements in electronics technologies lead directly to improvements in the functions and safety of the autopilot system. For instance, the FCC transmits electrical signals to the ACC in a fly-by-wire system in which the rotor blades are operated by those electrical signals. If electrical noise enters into these signals, it may cause the actuators to malfunction. For that reason, it is necessary to take measures against that using an optical fiber cable, which is not affected by electrical noise. Furthermore, it is essential to equip the system with a high-precision attitude indicator and an Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) to realize full autopilot system flight (autonomous flight), including takeoff and landing. These devices require MEMS sensors*6, which provide both high reliability and high performance.In this way, electrical signals and electric power are responsible for many elements relating to flight in electric aircraft. Therefore, it is essential to improve electronics technologies to put electric engines into practical use regardless of their system.*6:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.murata.com/en-eu/products/sensor/library/mems-basic#guide_01" target="_blank">Basic knowledge of MEMS Technology</a><h2>Summary</h2>The advantage of electric aircraft is that they emit far less greenhouse gases than aircraft equipped with conventional jet engines. They are equipped with a flight system suitable for safe operation employing an excellent autopilot system.In addition to improving the aerodynamic characteristics*7 of the aircraft and the efficiency of the power devices, it will also be necessary to do things such as acquiring technologies and knowledge through interaction with a wide range of fields such as aircraft materials and biotechnologies for the aviation industry in each country to advance globally in the field of electric aircraft in the future. The road ahead is by no means an easy one. There is a tendency to think that the realization of electric aircraft is still a long way in the future from the artist&#39;s impressions of such aircraft we can see today. Nevertheless, as we have stated, research and experiments toward the practical use of electric aircraft have already begun.There are many technologies that have already been realized in other fields, including power electronics, high-power motors, and high-energy-density batteries in the field of electronics in particular. It will be possible to divert the use of those technologies to electric aircraft by further improving their performance. All this tells us that there is no doubt that the day is not so far off in the future when we will see environmentally friendly electric aircraft clear stringent safety requirements to be realized both technically and commercially.*7: Aerodynamic characteristics: Examples of aerodynamic characteristics in the case of aircraft include air resistance, the force that pushes up the aircraft, and the air resistance ratio (lift-to-drag ratio). It is possible to lighten the load on the engine and to reduce the amount of fuel consumption by improving these characteristics.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjk0NDY2MDQ1Mjg5LWltZzYuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><hr id="isPasted"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1694466244974-1694466244974.png" class="fr-fic fr-dii">If you have any questions based on this article that you would like to discuss with an expert at Murata, don&#39;t hesitate to reach out. There&#39;s an entire team ready to support you with your question.<a href="https://www.murata.com/en-eu/contactform?&Detail=Wevolver%20request" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="button-main-action">GET IN TOUCH</a>

Power electrification and automated driving are being promoted at a remarkable speed for automobiles owing to advances in electronic technologies such as batteries, motors, and power electronics. On the other hand, strict safety requirements are imposed on aircraft engines. Therefore, electrifying them has been considered unfeasible on both a technical and commercial basis, which resulted in efforts in that area being shelved.

Electrification of Aircraft Engines and the Latest Autopilot System Technologies

In this episode, we delve into the remarkable achievement of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as they successfully execute the maiden flight of their hybrid demonstrator aircraft.

Podcast: Hybrid Takes The Sky With HyBird

HyBird is a small, hybrid-electric aircraft concept. Its goal is to serve routes of less than 1000 kilometres and with low passenger volumes in a climate-compatible way. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum f&uuml;r Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has now successfully conducted the first flight of a 1:4 scale demonstrator of HyBird at the <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/ux" target="_blank">National Experimental Test Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems</a> in <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/dlr/locations-and-offices/cochstedt" target="_blank">Cochstedt</a>. The concept, which combines two gas turbines, batteries and electrically powered propellers, was originally designed by students as part of the <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/latest/news/2019/03/20190927_dlrnasa-design-challenge-en" target="_blank">NASA/DLR Design Challenge 2019</a> and subsequently further developed by several DLR institutes and facilities in collaboration with Airbus ProtoSpace.&quot;Small aircraft carrying few passengers over comparatively short distances are ideal for bringing sustainable propulsion systems and concepts into widespread use as quickly as possible,&quot; says Markus Fischer, DLR Divisional Board Member for Aeronautics. &quot;With HyBird, DLR is providing an innovative stimulus for climate-compatible connections to remote regions as well as for personalised short-haul air traffic from small airports. I am very pleased that this first demonstration flight has been successful. It will be followed by additional exciting flights and the continued development of this promising concept.&quot;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1691147202828-image-1600-584901812d6d7aa60bde62302bec38f3.jpeg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The new HyBird configuration was flown for the first time during flight tests at the National Experimental Test Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Cochstedt. The concept for the 1:4 scale demonstrator was designed as part of the NASA/DLR Design Challenge 2019. Credit: DLRThe flight tests in Cochstedt saw a new configuration flown for the first time. The current configuration of HyBird consists of a high-wing aircraft with a large propeller at each wingtip and at both tips of the V-tail. A hybrid propulsion system with two gas turbines for power generation and with the possibility to switch off one of the turbines in cruise flight significantly increases the energy efficiency compared to existing aircraft of this size. At cruising speed, in particular, it is possible to achieve a fuel consumption roughly as low as the per passenger, per kilometre energy requirement of a modern electric car. A &#39;battery boost&#39; enables an all-electric take-off. The location and size of the propulsion systems also helps to reduce noise emissions.HyBird is designed to carry five to nine passengers at least 700 to 1000 kilometres. The concept, submitted as part of the NASA/DLR Design Challenge by the winning team of students from the <a href="https://www.uni-stuttgart.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Stuttgart</a>, has resulted in a remotely piloted, instrumented experimental vehicle with a maximum weight of 25 kilograms. &quot;After winning the Design Challenge, things really &#39;took off&#39;,&quot; recalls Project Lead Florian Will from the <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/sl" target="_blank">DLR Institute of System Architectures in Aeronautics</a>. This success was followed by employment at DLR for the simultaneously scientifically in-depth and application-oriented research and implementation of the concept.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1691147186420-image-1600-bb629735563542196d91e9f2e9a67f2f.jpeg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The data collected during HyBird&#39;s first flight will be used to improve the concept. The team from the DLR Institute of System Architectures in Aeronautics is planning another test flight later this year. Credit: DLR&quot;With the first flight, we were able to collect a large amount of valuable data, which are now being used for the improvement of our concept,&quot; Will explains. &quot;This is our strategy; with a demonstrator, you can conduct flight tests at a comparatively early stage. This allows us to gain extensive knowledge and expertise, which in turn flows directly into the design of future aircraft. We are planning another flight with the modified demonstrator before the end of this year.&quot;<hr><h3 id="isPasted">FGAA - Future General Aviation Aircraft</h3>The flight tests with the HyBird demonstrator are integrated into the DLR Future General Aviation Aircraft (FGAA) project. The aim of this project is to design a climate-compatible small aircraft that falls into the CS-23 certification category and to bring this into operation. It was within this context that the project team presented itself at the kick-off of the <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/research-and-transfer/innovation-and-transfer/dlr_startup-factory" target="_blank">DLR_Startup Factory</a>.The FGAA early-stage researcher group is based at the <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/images/institutes-1/small-aircraft-technology-research-facility" target="_blank">DLR Innovation Center for Small Aircraft Technologies</a> in <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/dlr/locations-and-offices/aachen" target="_blank">Aachen</a>. DLR researchers from the institutes of <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/sl" target="_blank">System Architectures in Aeronautics</a> (<a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/dlr/locations-and-offices/hamburg" target="_blank">Hamburg</a>), <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/as" target="_blank">Aerodynamics and Flow Technology</a> (<a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/dlr/locations-and-offices/goettingen" target="_blank">G&ouml;ttingen</a>) and <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/el" target="_blank">Electrified Aircraft Engines</a> (<a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/dlr/locations-and-offices/cottbus" target="_blank">Cottbus</a>) work together in the group. The HyBird demonstrator was constructed by <a href="https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/news/2016-03-airbus-creators-airbus-protospace" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Airbus ProtoSpace</a> at the <a href="https://zal.aero/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Center of Applied Aeronautical Research</a> in <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en/dlr/locations-and-offices/hamburg" target="_blank">Hamburg</a>.

HyBird is currently a high-wing aircraft with a large propeller at each wingtip and at both tips of the V-tail. The initial concept has now evolved into a remotely piloted, instrumented experimental vehicle with a maximum weight of 25 kilograms. Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

HyBird is a small, hybrid-electric aircraft concept. Its goal is to serve routes of less than 1000 kilometres and with low passenger volumes in a climate-compatible way. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) has now successfully conducted the first flight of a 1:4 scale demonstrator of HyBird at the National Experimental Test Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Cochstedt.

DLR conducts first flight of HyBird demonstrator

In this episode, we discuss the megawatt electric motor design from MIT that aims to address a critical and unspoken shortcoming regarding the future of electric flight: generating enough thrust.

Podcast: Megawatt Motors For Electric Flight

His startup may physically be in HTC 5 on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, but Jonas Onland&nbsp;lives and works in the future. Air taxis and flying cars may seem like science fiction, but for Onland, founder of Serendipity, these are real-world technologies he&rsquo;s helping cities and countries prepare for now.His goal is to help cities use digital tools to prepare for concepts such as climate-neutral cities, circular neighborhoods and more interconnected communities.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1679492941281-Serendipity+2-1.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Serendipity is a High Tech Campus Eindhoven-based startup that is all about the big picture. Whether it is Urban Air Mobility, real-time monitoring of cities, developing circular neighborhoods or human-centered services, Serendipity looks at how technology can create positive impacts on the environment, the community and the economy. It imagines what cities should look like a generation from now and helps them lay the digital infrastructure for those changes &ndash; not when it&#39;s needed &ndash; but now.To do this, the company has developed its Digital Toolbox, which helps cities choose next-generation solutions that are compliant with the latest and upcoming digital legislation and interoperable. This makes the solutions easy to find, but also helps cities avoid vendor lock-ins,&nbsp;which essentially forces them to continue using a service regardless of quality because switching away from that service is not practical.&nbsp;The Toolbox is the instrument to help cities become adaptive and&nbsp;agile.In many cases, these are entirely new concepts, so cities need advice as to how to move forward. That&rsquo;s why the company also spends a lot of time educating them on next-generation solutions. It helps them set a vision, integrate solutions from its Digital Toolbox and realize new business opportunities from these advancements.&ldquo;We get asked all the time &lsquo;Are you a tech company or consultancy company?&rsquo;&rdquo; says Onland, Managing Partner and Chief Visionary Officer of Serendipity. &ldquo;But I don&#39;t want to be labeled. We&rsquo;re a mix. We advise on strategy and automate the products and services available. We deliver &lsquo;Service as a Product&rsquo; to create the impact a society needs.&rdquo;In California, Serendipity has advised on building circular neighborhoods that are not only climate net-zero, but also generate energy and produce food. It&rsquo;s the first step to create &ldquo;the freemium model of living.&rdquo; The company has consulted with cities such as Den Bosch about prioritizing nature and, as a benefit, receiving carbon credits to boost their economy and human welfare.One of the key focus areas of the company is Urban Air Mobility. It works on the big question of how to create an infrastructure for drones and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) in a safe, secure and regulated way. And doing all of this while complying with the regulations of the European Commission.It&rsquo;s not just about knowing whose drone is flying where and when, but also about developing defined aerial routes above cities and creating rules for the behavior of aerial vehicles based on European laws.As an example of this work, Serendipity works with cutting edge technology and partners such as VERSES, Nalantis and the University of Maastricht to automate policy. With this approach, technology was developed for the operating system of drones based on the laws governing the interaction of drones with nature, such as birds. The team made a machine-readable code from the legal text and then applied it to the drone&rsquo;s operating system.The first results are interesting. Finding the definitions in this specific law were too vague to automate, so they reverse-engineered the intent of the policy to make it workable.Earlier this year, the company received 800,000 euros to refine and accelerate the rollout of its Digital Toolbox in cities and regions throughout Europe. This is part of Flying Forward 2020, a three-year R&amp;D project to develop a state-of-the-art Urban Air Mobility infrastructure.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1679492962587-Serendipity+drone.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Serendipity has developed a vision, together with Digie, for this geospatial infrastructure and selected its partners. Now, the team is proving the effectiveness of its digital tools in small-scale use cases. The consortium is testing this in five field labs throughout Europe, in which the High Tech Campus Eindhoven was the first.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re testing our geospatial infrastructure. Because if a small drone can fly with it, a flying car can as well,&rdquo; said Onland. &ldquo;The real impact of Urban Air Mobility for cities will be passengers and heavy freight transportation within and between cities. By doing this together, autonomously and cleanly, we create the alternative for mobility as we know it.&quot;But also, in the short term, we see impact. Right here on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Serendipity is testing its Digital Toolbox with drones for security and safety. Think drones to monitor building maintenance and bring Automated External Defibrillators (AED) to emergencies.With sensors all around campus, HTCE only needs two or three people in the security department. Onland explained that if someone touches a sensor, a drone is sent to check it in a couple of minutes. &ldquo;The cost reduction is huge,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The business case shows that it saves significant operational costs per year on security just for a campus like HTCE.&rdquo;These experiences in smaller field labs will be later applied to larger-scale efforts. The company is targeting the Dutch National Growth Fund in early 2024, which sets aside more than significant investment to define the future of Urban Air Mobility for the Netherlands and Europe. Serendipity will work with the national government to define the roadmap and work together with all the relevant national players, such as Schiphol, NS and Eindhoven Airport. That&rsquo;s when big things can really happen, like setting up a national infrastructure for flying vehicles.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s too crowded on the ground, but the urban airspace is still completely open in cities. You will have air highways between cities to transport people and goods for warehouses. And all of these corridors will essentially be software,&rdquo; Onland said.This grand vision for Urban Air Mobility and future-proof cities needs planning, forward-thinking and maybe just a bit of serendipity. That&rsquo;s what the company is working on.

Air taxis and flying cars may seem like science fiction, but for Onland, founder of Serendipity, these are real-world technologies he’s helping cities and countries prepare for now.

Developing Urban Air Mobility and future-proof cities needs planning, forward-thinking and just a bit of Serendipity

In a world that runs on data, computer simulations are among our most powerful tools for investigating any scenario. The same is true for NASA <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/aam" target="_blank">Advanced Air Mobility</a> (AAM) researchers as they plan the future of the national airspace. Together with industry partners, these researchers are delivering the data needed to allow self-flying electric air taxis and drones to execute flight paths as easily as your phone maps your car&rsquo;s route. &nbsp;&nbsp;Pilots and flight engineers with NASA&rsquo;s AAM <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/aamnationalcampaign" target="_blank">National Campaign</a> are collaborating with Joby Aviation on a series of flight test simulations in Joby&rsquo;s vehicle simulator. The reference data they gather will provide insight into how these vehicles will fly in the airspace and help develop potential departures, approaches, missed approaches, and mid-flight waypoints. &nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1679448422268-ezgif-3-b4e750a3d7.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data scientist Sarah Eggum, left, and FAA Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Office program manager Brad Drake analyze flight altitude data on Sept.19 in Marina, California. In the background, NASA research pilot Wayne Ringleberg and NASA project operations engineer Andrew Guion execute flight paths in Joby Aviation&rsquo;s S4 simulator. Credits: Joby AviationIntegrating these in-flight maneuvers &ndash; which are used by aircraft to take off, land, and avoid hazards and each other &ndash; into AAM operations is one of several developmental efforts necessary to allow these vehicles to safely enter the airspace.&nbsp;Four NASA research pilots have flown the Joby simulator, which includes joystick controls, avionics, and performance modeling that duplicate the feel of flying Joby&rsquo;s S4 air taxi. The tests involve flying the simulator along designated route waypoints, collecting data to analyze which maneuvers are best for obstacle avoidance, route efficiency, passenger comfort, and noise.&nbsp;The simulations also experiment with a new flight path concept NASA research pilots call a deproach, in which a vehicle can fly in multiple directions as it travels to and from its starting point and adapt beyond its designated flight path if it needs to respond to air restrictions.&nbsp;In this way, the deproach could address the need for AAM vehicles to be able to operate flexibly at low altitudes while conserving airspace.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1679448473985-04158_nasa_and_faa_reseachers_reviewing_flight_path_scenarios_to_determine_deproach_data_in_joby_s4_simulator.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Federal Aviation Administration Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Office program manager Brad Drake, left, tracks flight path data as NASA project operations engineer Andrew Guion provides formulas to NASA research pilot Wayne Ringelberg Sept.19 in Marina, California. In the background, Joby Aviation&rsquo;s Ryan Naru and NASA partner demonstration lead Gerrit Everson observe the work in the Joby S4 simulator. Credits: Joby Aviation&ldquo;You can think of a deproach as a circular traffic profile which consolidates departure, approach, and missed procedures in a way current airspace models don&rsquo;t account for,&rdquo; said David Zahn, a NASA pilot leading the project&rsquo;s Joby simulator work. &ldquo;The ability to explore this new model and help streamline the process of reaching specific vertiports is an example of the value of these simulations.&rdquo;  &nbsp;Alongside fine-tuning this procedure, the simulation test data will establish basepoints of altitude, maneuverability, and ride quality for future tests and ultimately help identify the most successful operating practices for these vehicles. &nbsp;NASA&rsquo;s research pilots and engineers are also using the data to produce autopilot code and navigation information specific to air taxis for airborne navigation system databases. This code has been built in collaboration with the FAA, whose representatives were present at the tests as part of the two agencies&rsquo; broader partnership on AAM. &nbsp;NASA is bringing its aeronautical expertise to this new industry, combining these simulations with other research tools like <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-sets-table-for-safe-air-taxi-flights/" target="_blank">virtual airspace tabletop exercises</a> and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-goes-live-with-surrogate-evtol-flight-tests-in-texas" target="_blank">surrogate vehicle test flights</a>. Data and results from these efforts will be released to the public in the form of a series of technical papers, assisting the industry in moving forward.&nbsp;

NASA research pilots David Zahn, left, and Wayne Ringleberg at the controls of Joby Aviation's S4 simulator entering and testing flight path data to develop navigation codes. Credits: Joby Aviation

In a world that runs on data, computer simulations are among our most powerful tools for investigating any scenario. The same is true for NASA Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) researchers as they plan the future of the national airspace. Together with industry partners, these researchers are delivering the data needed to allow self-flying electric air taxis and drones to execute flight paths as easily as your phone maps your car’s route.   

On the Fly: NASA Researchers Map Air Taxi Maneuvers in Simulator

Alauda Aeronautics today unveils the Airspeeder Mk4, the first crewed version of its flying racing car. Designed and built in Adelaide, South Australia, the Airspeeder Mk4 is the world&#39;s fastest hydrogen electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft.Capable of reaching a top speed of 360 kph (225 mph) in just 30 seconds from a standing start, it&rsquo;s designed to set the bar for performance and technology in the radical new sport of piloted Airspeeder racing. This now opens the door to OEM teams to join Airspeeder in a motorsport revolution, as it unveils the world&rsquo;s first, and fastest, crewed flying racing car for performance sports.With its sophisticated electric propulsion system, advanced aerodynamics and a take-off weight (MTOW) of just 950kg, the Airspeeder Mk4 is also extremely efficient, with a projected range of 300km (188 miles) while producing near-zero emissions.&nbsp;<hr>Airspeeder is the world&rsquo;s first racing series for electric flying cars. &nbsp;Our mission will accelerate eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) advanced aviation technology through intense sporting competition. This mobility revolution, underpinned by future tech will transform urban air mobility (UAM), global logistics and even medical applications with a clean-air electric vehicle (EV) solution. &nbsp;Our racing multicopters are developed at our advanced aerospace engineering hub in Adelaide, South Australia by engineers drawn from elite motorsports, automotive, aviation and even FPV drone, electric plane, electric vehicles and passenger drone backgrounds. &nbsp;&nbsp;Airspeeder&rsquo;s vision will deliver the most exciting and future focused motorsport on the planet. Following an inaugural unmanned season, elite pilots will take to the skies to race prop-to-prop while navigating electronically governed racetracks in the skies above some of the most visually arresting scenery in the world. These manned multirotor electric vehicles will define a new era in advanced air mobility (AAM). &nbsp;Airspeeder&rsquo;s first unmanned air race is scheduled for 2021 and will feature a full grid of multirotor unmanned Airspeeder Mk3 racing craft. The best pilots from drone racing will utilise latest RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft systems) in aerial battles across the globe. &nbsp;Our innovations will hasten the arrival of new advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies. Close but safe air racing is assured through latest LiDAR and radar technologies that create virtual forcefields around the sport&rsquo;s cutting edge quadcopter format flying cars. Rapid hair-pin turning manoeuvrability is delivered using a multicopter layout.&nbsp;This pioneering approach to aircraft design also enhances stability while electronic speed control (ESC) systems empower pilots to exploit the full potential of our advanced electric powertrains.&nbsp;<hr>Subscribe to get the inside track on the creation of the future of motorsport and a catalyst for the rapid development of VTOL technologies.Subscribe to Airspeeder channel&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?%E2%80%8B" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?</a>&nbsp;Website |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbU0xX05OMWFZRWJKT3VOZlZ3eUp5TVZuWGowZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsaF81UlVOb2o1Y0FROGdXRlFRM255d0xCbGI2SVgyeXUySVNiZVFaQW1iXy1JZUY2dWhjRWItNVJmc3ZzZzNqOXEtay1HS3hhZnZuSWxIUjJRNmRkalN2eUtyN0c2LWdKZWxLMmhYZmstSktzTG54cw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fairspeeder.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://airspeeder.com</a>Twitter |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTlmYmxkU20taWUwZ0xYSW1zVlRfMXJQVkNwd3xBQ3Jtc0tsRnhwZGNLSXFtSFQ4MXBLR1U3Q1VTaUZTS2xScFFMTEZNcGpRLUs4cUxFcGUwbXEzREw3RklHX1ZvLUZTODVnQ255Q01TQm85dHBFTWpqaWV2a2tiZGhwam1iV0RMNWtoazAzZm0wcXF0NjN4RDBoUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2FairspeederHQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.twitter.com/airspeederHQ</a>&nbsp;Facebook | &nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1J0Y3ZTV1ZWRjFoV05DaXd6VXRtbXdaZVhfZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttSG4zZkhrakFUcktTMGVqd1ZSZFNjN3hkZmYtb29IQVJiZWduaWhsbklqVVMxUlMxUmdmMTVUb2ZoYW9tZkZlMDR6MkVHMFlZQkdJT2d5enFsRzcwaDZ4S3lxZW11TVZQNlVrV0cwUmd5aFdyc2k4Zw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/airspeeder</a>&nbsp;Instagram |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkpBQlFKZ1ZuREFSbFJ3RW93VUJWa1dpMk14QXxBQ3Jtc0tucGwyQ2FFRUlwY09UcU5UNk5qZjRwOFJtanpCdmlRYXdtS25PekdHZkc4VEJVVWFZeHYtb2dwa2hOc28yOENQNkNoNGhQTnRBUFI5N0hzMUZJa2NVVTlLRnJRNXdRYXk0amcyMVhZSEVnbmVvNkZaSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/airspeeder</a>

Alauda Aeronautics today unveils the Airspeeder Mk4, the first crewed version of its flying racing car. Designed and built in Adelaide, South Australia, the Airspeeder Mk4 is the world's fastest hydrogen electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Airspeeder Crewed MK4 - Motorsport Elevated

Tabletop exercises allow researchers to explore options and test scenarios in fields from military strategy and cybersecurity to disaster response planning. Now, NASA is using tabletop exercises to test how electric air taxis will fit safely into the national airspace &ndash; allowing passengers to one day hop across town or to a neighboring city by using new highways in the sky.To successfully map out this new air transportation system, NASA partnered with industry, academia, and other government agencies in a series of 10 tabletop exercises led by the agency&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/aam" target="_blank">Advanced Air Mobility</a> (AAM) <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/aamnationalcampaign/" target="_blank">National Campaign</a> team. Conducted throughout 2022, these expert-led discussions examined potentially unforeseen technical, operational, and regulatory gaps and defined the best use of combined resources to address them. NASA&rsquo;s AAM mission envisions a revolutionary new air transportation system, and the National Campaign team leads research on the autonomy, infrastructure, and airspace planning that will allow an AAM ecosystem to materialize.&ldquo;To test the AAM ecosystem functionally, we can only do bits and pieces at a time right now,&rdquo; said National Campaign flight engineer Brad Snelling, who leads the project&rsquo;s tabletop activities. &ldquo;A big advantage of flight tabletops is we have the ability to think through a whole mission from a holistic standpoint and examine every piece that&rsquo;s required to make it work. The answers arising from these exercises are what will allow these revolutionary new forms of transportation to operate in the real world.&rdquo;These tabletop exercises are unique, as they will bring together a vehicle developer, government researchers, and airspace service providers to address airspace automation concepts. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/advanced-air-mobility-national-campaign-partners" target="_blank">Industry partners</a> participating in these discussions include:<ul><li>One vehicle developer: Wisk Aero based in Hollister, California</li><li>Five airspace service providers: Avision of Santa Monica, California; OneSky of Exton, Pennsylvania; SkyGrid of Austin, Texas; ANRA of Chantilly, Virginia; and Collins Aerospace of Charlotte, North Carolina</li><li>Two Command and Control Communications Service Providers: AURA of McLean, Virginia, and Collins Aerospace of Charlotte, North Carolina</li></ul>Each tabletop exercise takes place on a video call and includes a realistic set of initial conditions for a flight plan. NASA subject matter experts, a vehicle developer, and additional partners who provide services such as airspace management and flight communications are each assigned roles in all parts of future AAM operations. These include the vehicle itself, vertiports, flight paths, air traffic control, weather, detect and avoid scenarios, and radio communication.The scripted simulated flight scenario then proceeds, with live variables scattered throughout, prompting participants to find the best paths forward while gathering lessons learned &ndash; addressing issues years before pilots, passengers, or cargo are involved.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1671705680733-vtol_airtaxi_tabletop.png" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">A team composed of NASA&rsquo;s National Campaign researchers and representatives from various industry partners participate in a recorded virtual tabletop discussion on Thursday, October 20, 2022. The slide pictured prompts the various actors to read and react to aspects of a hypothetical flight to gather data and develop alternative paths forward when necessary for use in airspace planning. Credits: NASA&rsquo;s Advanced Air Mobility National CampaignThe NASA team worked with Wisk Aero, the primary partner in this activity, to develop the tabletops&rsquo; various &ldquo;user stories&rdquo; based on a concept of AAM operations made public by Wisk. From March to May 2022, the first set of discussions focused on expectations of a real-world commercial operation and varying levels of AAM complexity such as effective radio communication for navigation, landing space available at vertiports, or avoiding buildings, trees and other aircraft in flight. The next phase developed detailed scenarios for flight tabletop exercises conducted from August-October 2022.&quot;We are proud to be the primary partner for NASA&rsquo;s AAM airspace tabletop exercises, which provide a unique opportunity for collaboration among industry partners in the National Campaign,&rdquo; said Sonal Baid, senior product manager for Airspace Integration at Wisk. &ldquo;For Wisk, this effort has allowed us to validate and refine our existing Concept of Operations to help reach the proposed midterm state as a steppingstone, while also working to define progressive AAM maturity levels. These tabletop exercises are laying the foundation that is necessary for long-term success in the AAM ecosystem.&quot;National Campaign will prepare a publicly available final report of lessons learned from these tabletop meetings and exercises by the end of 2022 to assist the AAM industry in proactively addressing issues and begin operations.The tabletop series is one part of a broad collection of National Campaign research activities with partners currently working on AAM vehicles, automation software, and future airspace planning. NASA will share the obtained data with the partners as well as the FAA and use it to inform community considerations and standards development for the future of the aviation industry.NASA&rsquo;s AAM mission&rsquo;s National Campaign team leads foundational research efforts to learn more about aircraft performance, automation, infrastructure, and airspace integration. By executing this critical leadership in the developing AAM sector, the National Campaign reinforces NASA&rsquo;s commitment to transforming aviation by reducing its environmental impact, while maintaining safety.

An electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle flies in a designated lane along a regional route in this render of potential Advanced Air Mobility operations. NASA virtual tabletop discussions allow researchers and industry to conduct proactive problem-solving in areas like aircraft navigation, flexibility, and flight paths, which are necessary for these operations to safely integrate into the national airspace. Credits: NASA / Kyle Jenkins

Tabletop exercises allow researchers to explore options and test scenarios in fields from military strategy and cybersecurity to disaster response planning. Now, NASA is using tabletop exercises to test how electric air taxis will fit safely into the national airspace – allowing passengers to one day hop across town or to a neighboring city by using new highways in the sky.

NASA Sets Table for Safe Air Taxi Flights

Contrails are generated as a result of aircraft emissions. They could amplify the greenhouse effect in the form of long-lasting ice clouds. The soot particles from jet fuel combustion act as particularly strong condensation nuclei for cloud formation in the part of the atmosphere where cold air is present. New engine technologies and the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) offer promising approaches to significantly reduce the climate impact of contrails. To this end, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum f&uuml;r Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is supporting an <a href="https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/zero-emission" target="_blank" title="External link Airbus test flight programme">Airbus</a> test flight programme, operated by its subsidiary <a href="https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/innovation-ecosystem/airbus-upnext" target="_blank" title="External link Airbus UpNext">Airbus UpNext</a>, which is investigating for the first time contrails produced by a carbon dioxide emission-free aircraft that is powered by hydrogen. As part of the Blue Condor project, test flights are planned for the end of 2022 and in 2023 in North Dakota, USA.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1659354260522-measurement-flight-above-the-clouds.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Measurement flight above the clouds. Credit: &copy; AV Experts, LLC. All rights reserved<h2>Engine comparison</h2>Two Arcus gliders operated by the <a href="https://perlanproject.org/" target="_blank" title="External link Perlan Project">Perlan project</a> will be deployed for the test flights, one equipped with a hydrogen jet engine and the other with a conventional kerosene-powered combustion engine. To ensure comparability of the data, the test flights will be carried out in immediate succession under the same meteorological conditions.The respective glider will be towed by an EGRETT, a high-altitude research aircraft, to an altitude of more than nine kilometres. There, the glider will ignite the engine with which it is equipped. The EGRETT, outfitted with measurement instruments, then takes on the role of chaser and flies through the contrail in close formation, which also allows for the emissions from the exhaust plume to be measured.The aim is to measure the microphysical properties of &#39;hydrogen contrails&#39; in the atmosphere for the first time. The data will contribute to a better understanding of the formation of contrails resulting from hydrogen propulsion. In this way, technologies can be developed to modify the properties of the clouds impacting the climate and further mitigate their effect. Airbus is providing the hydrogen system and equipment, including the combustion engine, and is planning the flights of the test mission together with DLR. The <a href="https://www.dlr.de/content/en/institutes/institute-of-atmospheric-physics.html" target="_blank" title="Institute of Atmospheric Physics">DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics</a> is responsible for the measurements and data analysis.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1659354294872-preparing-for-the-blue-condor-measurement-flights.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Preparing for the Blue Condor measurement flights. Credit: &copy; DLR. All rights reserved<h2>Revolutionising future aviation</h2>&quot;DLR is a world leader when it comes to researching aircraft emissions. In order to achieve climate-neutral aviation, research results must be incorporated directly into the development of new products. We are pleased to be able to support Airbus and its subsidiary with this technology transfer,&quot; says Markus Fischer, DLR Divisional Board Member for Aeronautics. Sandra Bour Schaeffer, CEO of Airbus UpNext adds: &quot;The aviation industry is already working hard to reduce all aviation emissions by 2050, and we are proud to have international experts at our side for this next important step.&quot;Hydrogen engines predominantly emit water vapour and nitrogen oxides. Models show that the resulting contrails could have a much smaller effect on the climate. Direct hydrogen combustion does not produce particulate matter. Experts therefore suspect that the ice particles formed tend to be larger and occur in smaller numbers than with soot emissions. As a result, their rainout occurs faster, which means that the contrails are short-lived and contribute only marginally to global warming. However, science has lacked concrete measurement data on these complex atmospheric processes so far.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1659354310881-group-photo-of-the-blue-condor-project-team.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Group photo of the Blue Condor project team. Credit: &copy; AV Experts, LLC. All rights reservedIf the assumptions based on models can thus be confirmed, hydrogen combustion could revolutionise aviation of the future. This is precisely why measurements at cruising altitudes are necessary because it is not clear whether the models cover all relevant processes. Hydrogen combustion also offers significant reduction potential because it does not lead to carbon dioxide emissions. Only the increased emission of water vapour into the stratosphere could counteract the mitigating climate effect of these contrails and must be taken into account in the analyses. The &lsquo;Blue Condor measurement flights&rsquo; will provide fundamental data that will allow reliable statements on contrails to be issued for the first time.The atmospheric researchers at Oberpfaffenhofen are using tried and tested instruments as well as instruments that were developed specifically for the mission. In particular, water vapour and ice particles as well as nitrogen oxides and aerosols are to be measured during the flight. The DLR project group H2CONTRAIL is leading from the DLR side and supplementing the measurements with targeted simulations to investigate the climate impact of contrails from hydrogen-fueled engines.<h2>Research and industry united</h2>The cooperation between research and industry goes far beyond the Blue Condor project. Airbus, DLR and the other stakeholders are active in several demonstration programmes, including ECLIF2, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00174-y" target="_blank" title="External link NATURE Communications Earth and Environment Paper Ausgabe 17.06.2021">ECLIF3 (Emission and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels)</a> and VOLCAN (VOL avec Carburants Alternatifs Nouveaux). The common goal is to gain more precise insights into the climate benefits of contrails resulting from sustainable fuels and modern engine technologies. The Blue Condor project serves to complement these programmes. DLR is thus also supporting Airbus&#39; efforts to develop an emission-free aircraft by 2035. This is in line with the aviation strategy set out by DLR in December 2021 for the European Green Deal: &#39;<a href="https://www.dlr.de/content/en/downloads/publications/brochures/2021/towards-zero-emission-aviation.html" target="_blank" title="Brochure: Towards zero-emission aviation (2021)">Towards zero-emission aviation</a>&#39;.

DLR supports new test flight programme by Airbus and its subsidiary Airbus UpNext for CO2-emission-free flight. The 'Blue Condor' project investigates the effects of contrails from hydrogen engines.

Analysing the contrails of the future

New Airspeeder EXA pilot Fabio Tischler AKA&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRZlHMBsvlwyiodMhPCyuzQ" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">@fabreezy</a>&nbsp;has been training hard in our Speeder flight simulator, in preparation for his first-ever flight test in the field. Simulator training is essential for our pilots to learn Speeder dynamics and flight characteristics ahead of taking the controls in real life.&nbsp;Underpinned by real-life Speeder telemetry data gathered by Alauda Aeronautics during real-life flight testing and recreated in Unreal Engine, in-game physics are ultra-realistic. The simulator is armed with a HOTAS system that will appear in EXA’s ground cockpits and for future Mk4 Speeder cockpits in the main, piloted Airspeeder series.&nbsp;Next up, Fabio will fly a real-life Speeder in Line of Sight (LOS) for the first time.<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/simulator" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#simulator</a>&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/flightsim" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#flightsim</a>&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/pilot" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#pilot</a><hr id="isPasted">Airspeeder is the world’s first racing series for electric flying cars. &nbsp;Our mission will accelerate eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) advanced aviation technology through intense sporting competition. This mobility revolution, underpinned by future tech will transform urban air mobility (UAM), global logistics and even medical applications with a clean-air electric vehicle (EV) solution. &nbsp;Our racing multicopters are developed at our advanced aerospace engineering hub in Adelaide, South Australia by engineers drawn from elite motorsports, automotive, aviation and even FPV drone, electric plane, electric vehicles and passenger drone backgrounds. &nbsp;&nbsp;Airspeeder’s vision will deliver the most exciting and future focused motorsport on the planet. Following an inaugural unmanned season, elite pilots will take to the skies to race prop-to-prop while navigating electronically governed racetracks in the skies above some of the most visually arresting scenery in the world. These manned multirotor electric vehicles will define a new era in advanced air mobility (AAM). &nbsp;Airspeeder’s first unmanned air race is scheduled for 2021 and will feature a full grid of multirotor unmanned Airspeeder Mk3 racing craft. The best pilots from drone racing will utilise latest RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft systems) in aerial battles across the globe. &nbsp;Our innovations will hasten the arrival of new advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies. Close but safe air racing is assured through latest LiDAR and radar technologies that create virtual forcefields around the sport’s cutting edge quadcopter format flying cars. Rapid hair-pin turning manoeuvrability is delivered using a multicopter layout.&nbsp;This pioneering approach to aircraft design also enhances stability while electronic speed control (ESC) systems empower pilots to exploit the full potential of our advanced electric powertrains.&nbsp;<hr>Subscribe to get the inside track on the creation of the future of motorsport and a catalyst for the rapid development of VTOL technologies.Subscribe to Airspeeder channel&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?%E2%80%8B" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?</a>&nbsp;Website |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbU0xX05OMWFZRWJKT3VOZlZ3eUp5TVZuWGowZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsaF81UlVOb2o1Y0FROGdXRlFRM255d0xCbGI2SVgyeXUySVNiZVFaQW1iXy1JZUY2dWhjRWItNVJmc3ZzZzNqOXEtay1HS3hhZnZuSWxIUjJRNmRkalN2eUtyN0c2LWdKZWxLMmhYZmstSktzTG54cw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fairspeeder.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://airspeeder.com</a>Twitter |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTlmYmxkU20taWUwZ0xYSW1zVlRfMXJQVkNwd3xBQ3Jtc0tsRnhwZGNLSXFtSFQ4MXBLR1U3Q1VTaUZTS2xScFFMTEZNcGpRLUs4cUxFcGUwbXEzREw3RklHX1ZvLUZTODVnQ255Q01TQm85dHBFTWpqaWV2a2tiZGhwam1iV0RMNWtoazAzZm0wcXF0NjN4RDBoUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2FairspeederHQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.twitter.com/airspeederHQ</a>&nbsp;Facebook | &nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1J0Y3ZTV1ZWRjFoV05DaXd6VXRtbXdaZVhfZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttSG4zZkhrakFUcktTMGVqd1ZSZFNjN3hkZmYtb29IQVJiZWduaWhsbklqVVMxUlMxUmdmMTVUb2ZoYW9tZkZlMDR6MkVHMFlZQkdJT2d5enFsRzcwaDZ4S3lxZW11TVZQNlVrV0cwUmd5aFdyc2k4Zw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/airspeeder</a>&nbsp;Instagram |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkpBQlFKZ1ZuREFSbFJ3RW93VUJWa1dpMk14QXxBQ3Jtc0tucGwyQ2FFRUlwY09UcU5UNk5qZjRwOFJtanpCdmlRYXdtS25PekdHZkc4VEJVVWFZeHYtb2dwa2hOc28yOENQNkNoNGhQTnRBUFI5N0hzMUZJa2NVVTlLRnJRNXdRYXk0amcyMVhZSEVnbmVvNkZaSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/airspeeder</a>

New Airspeeder EXA pilot Fabio Tischler AKA @fabreezy has been training hard in our Speeder flight simulator, in preparation for his first-ever flight test in the field.

How to Learn to Fly a Racing eVTOL in the Simulator - Fabio Tischler

In this episode, Alauda Aeronautics and Airspeeder Founder and CEO Matt Pearson looks back on the successes of 2021 and early 2022: from our partnerships with IWC and Telstra, to our EXA Series Drag Race and recruitment of our first pilots. Matt also reviews progress on the Alauda Mk3 flight program and how it has rapidly advanced towards the first remotely-flown flying car / eVTOL races in Airspeeder’s 2022 EXA Series international Grand Prix. &nbsp;In the engineering team, vital preparations continue to ensure our Speeders are ready for race day. Alauda Aeronautics Embedded Software Engineer Florian Breut, as he runs through the steps to validate the new control layouts: through simulation, smaller drones and then in full-scale integration with the Mk3C in flight and race testing environments. Florian is integrating HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) control systems into the Alauda Mk3C with support from Telstra Purple and Amazon Web Services. Newly appointed First Draft pilot Zephatali Walsh dives into the importance of simulation as an engineering testbed for validation. His work with Florian is designed to develop and integrate the new controls as well as to improve his own flying skills and familiarity with HOTAS. After all, these are the very systems he will use to race in the EXA and Airspeeder Series over 2022 and beyond. &nbsp;Alauda Aeronautics Embedded Software Engineer Andrei Pavlov also discusses how the team has improved the accuracy of these systems down to a centimetre through the use of fixed ground stations. We dive into the process of localizing Speeders and verifying navigation systems by flying Speeders on predefined flight paths in testing. Ultimately, the system ensures the safety of pilots with a Home Return function to be triggered in the event of loss of control which will return the Speeder to home position safely. GPS data is combined with sensor data and onboard cameras on Mk3 eVTOL race Speeders to enable every racing pilot to have this relative positional data displayed in their HUD. This great progress on collision avoidance is a boost ahead of the first of three international races in the EXA Series across 2022.&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/racing" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#racing</a>&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/evtol" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#evtol</a>&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/engineering" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#engineering</a><hr>Airspeeder is the world’s first racing series for electric flying cars. &nbsp;Our mission will accelerate eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) advanced aviation technology through intense sporting competition. This mobility revolution, underpinned by future tech will transform urban air mobility (UAM), global logistics and even medical applications with a clean-air electric vehicle (EV) solution. &nbsp;Our racing multicopters are developed at our advanced aerospace engineering hub in Adelaide, South Australia by engineers drawn from elite motorsports, automotive, aviation and even FPV drone, electric plane, electric vehicles and passenger drone backgrounds. &nbsp;&nbsp;Airspeeder’s vision will deliver the most exciting and future focused motorsport on the planet. Following an inaugural unmanned season, elite pilots will take to the skies to race prop-to-prop while navigating electronically governed racetracks in the skies above some of the most visually arresting scenery in the world. These manned multirotor electric vehicles will define a new era in advanced air mobility (AAM). &nbsp;Airspeeder’s first unmanned air race is scheduled for 2021 and will feature a full grid of multirotor unmanned Airspeeder Mk3 racing craft. The best pilots from drone racing will utilise latest RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft systems) in aerial battles across the globe. &nbsp;Our innovations will hasten the arrival of new advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies. Close but safe air racing is assured through latest LiDAR and radar technologies that create virtual forcefields around the sport’s cutting edge quadcopter format flying cars. Rapid hair-pin turning manoeuvrability is delivered using a multicopter layout.&nbsp;This pioneering approach to aircraft design also enhances stability while electronic speed control (ESC) systems empower pilots to exploit the full potential of our advanced electric powertrains.&nbsp;<hr>Subscribe to get the inside track on the creation of the future of motorsport and a catalyst for the rapid development of VTOL technologies.Subscribe to Airspeeder channel&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?%E2%80%8B" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?</a>&nbsp;Website |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbU0xX05OMWFZRWJKT3VOZlZ3eUp5TVZuWGowZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsaF81UlVOb2o1Y0FROGdXRlFRM255d0xCbGI2SVgyeXUySVNiZVFaQW1iXy1JZUY2dWhjRWItNVJmc3ZzZzNqOXEtay1HS3hhZnZuSWxIUjJRNmRkalN2eUtyN0c2LWdKZWxLMmhYZmstSktzTG54cw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fairspeeder.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://airspeeder.com</a>Twitter |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTlmYmxkU20taWUwZ0xYSW1zVlRfMXJQVkNwd3xBQ3Jtc0tsRnhwZGNLSXFtSFQ4MXBLR1U3Q1VTaUZTS2xScFFMTEZNcGpRLUs4cUxFcGUwbXEzREw3RklHX1ZvLUZTODVnQ255Q01TQm85dHBFTWpqaWV2a2tiZGhwam1iV0RMNWtoazAzZm0wcXF0NjN4RDBoUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2FairspeederHQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.twitter.com/airspeederHQ</a>&nbsp;Facebook | &nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1J0Y3ZTV1ZWRjFoV05DaXd6VXRtbXdaZVhfZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttSG4zZkhrakFUcktTMGVqd1ZSZFNjN3hkZmYtb29IQVJiZWduaWhsbklqVVMxUlMxUmdmMTVUb2ZoYW9tZkZlMDR6MkVHMFlZQkdJT2d5enFsRzcwaDZ4S3lxZW11TVZQNlVrV0cwUmd5aFdyc2k4Zw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/airspeeder</a>&nbsp;Instagram |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkpBQlFKZ1ZuREFSbFJ3RW93VUJWa1dpMk14QXxBQ3Jtc0tucGwyQ2FFRUlwY09UcU5UNk5qZjRwOFJtanpCdmlRYXdtS25PekdHZkc4VEJVVWFZeHYtb2dwa2hOc28yOENQNkNoNGhQTnRBUFI5N0hzMUZJa2NVVTlLRnJRNXdRYXk0amcyMVhZSEVnbmVvNkZaSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/airspeeder</a>

Alauda Aeronautics and Airspeeder Founder and CEO Matt Pearson looks back on the successes of 2021 and early 2022: from our partnerships with IWC and Telstra, to our EXA Series Drag Race and recruitment of our first pilots.

Getting ready for Airspeeder's eVTOL racing in 2022 - Alauda Aeronautics

In this Taking Flight episode we investigate how Alauda Aeronautics engineers are integrating HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) control systems into the Alauda Mk3C with support from Telstra Purple and Amazon Web Services. &nbsp;Alauda Aeronautics Embedded Software Engineer Florian Breut runs through the steps to validate the new control layouts: through simulation, smaller drones and then in full-scale integration with the Mk3C in flight and race testing environments.&nbsp;Newly appointed&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/firstdraft" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#FIRSTDRAFT</a>&nbsp;pilot Zephatali Walsh dives into the importance of simulation as an engineering testbed for validation. His work with Florian is designed to develop and integrate the new controls as well as to improve his own flying skills and familiarity with HOTAS. After all, these are the very systems he will be used to race in the EXA and Airspeeder Series over 2022 and beyond.&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/fighterjet" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#fighterjet</a>&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/evtol" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#evtol</a>&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/engineering" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">#engineering</a><hr id="isPasted">Airspeeder is the world’s first racing series for electric flying cars. &nbsp;Our mission will accelerate eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) advanced aviation technology through intense sporting competition. This mobility revolution, underpinned by future tech will transform urban air mobility (UAM), global logistics and even medical applications with a clean-air electric vehicle (EV) solution. &nbsp;Our racing multicopters are developed at our advanced aerospace engineering hub in Adelaide, South Australia by engineers drawn from elite motorsports, automotive, aviation and even FPV drone, electric plane, electric vehicles and passenger drone backgrounds. &nbsp;&nbsp;Airspeeder’s vision will deliver the most exciting and future focused motorsport on the planet. Following an inaugural unmanned season, elite pilots will take to the skies to race prop-to-prop while navigating electronically governed racetracks in the skies above some of the most visually arresting scenery in the world. These manned multirotor electric vehicles will define a new era in advanced air mobility (AAM). &nbsp;Airspeeder’s first unmanned air race is scheduled for 2021 and will feature a full grid of multirotor unmanned Airspeeder Mk3 racing craft. The best pilots from drone racing will utilise latest RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft systems) in aerial battles across the globe. &nbsp;Our innovations will hasten the arrival of new advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies. Close but safe air racing is assured through latest LiDAR and radar technologies that create virtual forcefields around the sport’s cutting edge quadcopter format flying cars. Rapid hair-pin turning manoeuvrability is delivered using a multicopter layout.&nbsp;This pioneering approach to aircraft design also enhances stability while electronic speed control (ESC) systems empower pilots to exploit the full potential of our advanced electric powertrains.&nbsp;<hr>Subscribe to get the inside track on the creation of the future of motorsport and a catalyst for the rapid development of VTOL technologies.Subscribe to Airspeeder channel&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?%E2%80%8B" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?</a>&nbsp;Website |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbU0xX05OMWFZRWJKT3VOZlZ3eUp5TVZuWGowZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsaF81UlVOb2o1Y0FROGdXRlFRM255d0xCbGI2SVgyeXUySVNiZVFaQW1iXy1JZUY2dWhjRWItNVJmc3ZzZzNqOXEtay1HS3hhZnZuSWxIUjJRNmRkalN2eUtyN0c2LWdKZWxLMmhYZmstSktzTG54cw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fairspeeder.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://airspeeder.com</a>Twitter |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTlmYmxkU20taWUwZ0xYSW1zVlRfMXJQVkNwd3xBQ3Jtc0tsRnhwZGNLSXFtSFQ4MXBLR1U3Q1VTaUZTS2xScFFMTEZNcGpRLUs4cUxFcGUwbXEzREw3RklHX1ZvLUZTODVnQ255Q01TQm85dHBFTWpqaWV2a2tiZGhwam1iV0RMNWtoazAzZm0wcXF0NjN4RDBoUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2FairspeederHQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.twitter.com/airspeederHQ</a>&nbsp;Facebook | &nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1J0Y3ZTV1ZWRjFoV05DaXd6VXRtbXdaZVhfZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttSG4zZkhrakFUcktTMGVqd1ZSZFNjN3hkZmYtb29IQVJiZWduaWhsbklqVVMxUlMxUmdmMTVUb2ZoYW9tZkZlMDR6MkVHMFlZQkdJT2d5enFsRzcwaDZ4S3lxZW11TVZQNlVrV0cwUmd5aFdyc2k4Zw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/airspeeder</a>&nbsp;Instagram |&nbsp;<a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkpBQlFKZ1ZuREFSbFJ3RW93VUJWa1dpMk14QXxBQ3Jtc0tucGwyQ2FFRUlwY09UcU5UNk5qZjRwOFJtanpCdmlRYXdtS25PekdHZkc4VEJVVWFZeHYtb2dwa2hOc28yOENQNkNoNGhQTnRBUFI5N0hzMUZJa2NVVTlLRnJRNXdRYXk0amcyMVhZSEVnbmVvNkZaSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/airspeeder</a>

Alauda Aeronautics Embedded Software Engineer Florian Breut runs through the steps to validate the new control layouts: through simulation, smaller drones and then in full-scale integration with the Mk3C in flight and race testing environments.

electric aircraft

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