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Testing Talk
“There are a lot of new
things that have to be integrated –
this is not a small airplane and it’s
going to be very challenging”
Israeli company Eviation to help it
develop and test an all-electric aircraft.
Human says a big benefit from
partnering so close with clients is the
knowledge-sharing amongst the
company’s and its client’s engineers that
it facilitates.
“Every OEM has a different style and
approach. We get to see the strengths and
weaknesses of each and see best practice.
We can then help our customers with our
best practices,” he says.
ELECTRIFICATION
As well as Eviation, AeroTEC is working
with separately with electric propulsion
system developer Magnix to develop a
demonstrator and certification platform
for its technology on a Cessna Caravan.
The first prototype of Eviation’s clean
sheet all-electric aircraft, which is called
Alice, is going through ground testing
and will be ready for taxi testing soon.
The second prototype aircraft is arriving
in Moses Lake during October, will be
built there and has its maiden flight
planned to place in 2020.
A major theme of the NBAA show
was the growing trend of urban air
mobility. Hundreds of companies,
including the major OEMs, are now
developing electric Vertical Take Off and
Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. eVTOLs are
being designed to hop across or between
cities and many believe by the middle of
3 // AeroTEC’s project with
MagniX is using a Cessna
Caravan to demonstrate and
certify an electric
propulsion system
4 // Aerotec’s Moses Lake
machine shop can make
components when required
by a client
certification for the product. “That’s
where the first surprises may emerge,”
says Human. “It allows us to recognize
what won’t be certifiable because it
doesn’t meet this or that requirement.
We then make recommendations, such as
a redesign.”
A client will then take those
recommendations and act on them or
partner with AeroTEC to make the
adaptations to the component or aircraft.
“The shop in Moses Lake says if you need
it tomorrow, we’ll build it tonight. It
might just be a new wire harness or
routing for a hydraulic tube, whatever is
needed to keep the test vehicles flying.”
It’s also common for AeroTEC and its
clients to hot desk and work side-by-side.
For example, at its peak there were more
than 100 Mitsubishi employees in its
Seattle offices. The MRJ, renamed the
SpaceJet, is now in the final stretch of
testing for certification. The company is
working in a similarly close way with
DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
the next decade could represent an entirely new section
of aviation activity.
Human believes the work being done on electric and
hybrid aircraft, like the Eviation and Magnix projects,
has to take place before eVTOLs can become a reality.
“Developing and validating the power systems and flight
control systems is a pre-requisite for the eVTOL,” says
Human. “People underestimate the challenge of the
auxiliary systems to the battery, the power systems, the
controller, the cooling systems.
He adds that other prerequisites are increases in the
energy density of batteries, which he believes will
happen in the next five years. Engineers also need to
develop the integration between flight control and
electric propulsion systems. “The Eviation aircraft will
achieve this integration between thrusters and flight
control. The eVTOL needs this link to exist. Before it can
come into say, Honeywell flight control or BAE flight
control systems, there is this first step that has to be
taken with the control systems.”
AeroTEC began to work towards becoming a leader
in the area of electrification of aircraft around three
years ago, says Human. The work with Eviation and
Magnix is the result of investment in the infrastructure
and engineering skills to support these types of aircraft
as a result. But while speaking at the company’s stand at
the NBAA show the stand has become noticeably busier.
Human is also keen to acknowledge that the company
appreciates and understands its core customers: “We are
here to partner with OEMs and Tier ones to get their
products to certification. New aircraft development
programs tend to get all the attention and resources. It’s
the modification and the customer service teams that
want upgrades that can struggle. We can partner with
them to get that stuff done.” \\
5 // Eviation’s Alice
aircraft, seen here at
its launch at 2019’s
Paris Air Show, is
being built and flight
tested at AeroTEC’s
Moses Lake facility
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