Important Innovations

  Wisk Aero's   4-Seat Air Taxi Going After FAA Certification                                             Source:  Wisk Aero New Form of Urban Commuting Mountain View, California-based Wisk Aero, which is financially backed by Boeing, just unveiled its 6th generation, 4-seat, autonomous air taxi.  The eVTOL is all-electric and a very sleek and smart new way to travel.  This is the design that the aerospace startup company intends to put into production and bring to market.  Wisk Aero is now seeking its FAA certification to fly passengers, along with certifications in New Zealand and elsewhere.  The company has performed more than 1600 test flights with its new air taxi.  It is clearly getting ready for take-off. Unique Autonomous Flying with Remote Human Backup The technology underpinning Wisk is highly advanced.  While the eVTOL flies autonomously without a pilot, remote human operators monitor it and are ready to take over and fly it remotely if need be.  The autonomous flying is

  Aerospace Giant Invests a Further $450 Million in Wisk Aero                                                  Source:  Wisk Aero Autonomous Air Taxi Travel Silicon Valley, California-based air taxi startup Wisk Aero has raised $450 million from Boeing to build an air taxi flee, capable of 10 million flights per year.  Wisk has developed an electric, vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle that is capable of autonomous, pilot-less flying and can carry 2 passengers.  Wisk Aero is owned by Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page's flying car company Kitty Hawk.  There are more than a dozen, major flying car companies globally.  But what distinguishes Wisk is its focus on autonomous flying vehicles.  The company says that autonomous functionality is being built into every aspect of the design and development of its 5th-generation Wisk Cora eVTOL. Cora Tech Specs Boeing says Cora will be the first autonomous, passenger air taxi certified for flying in the US.  Certification is ta

 Boeing  Invests a Further $450 Million in Wisk Aero                                                  Source:  Wisk Aero Autonomous Air Taxi Travel Silicon Valley, California-based air taxi startup Wisk Aero has raised $450 million from Boeing to build an air taxi flee, capable of 10 million flights per year.  Wisk has developed an electric, vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle that is capable of autonomous, pilot-less flying and can carry 2 passengers.  Wisk Aero is owned by Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page's flying car company Kitty Hawk.  There are more than a dozen, major flying car companies globally.  But what distinguishes Wisk is its focus on autonomous flying vehicles.  The company says that autonomous functionality is being built into every aspect of the design and development of its 5th-generation Wisk Cora eVTOL. Cora Tech Specs Boeing says Cora will be the first autonomous, passenger air taxi certified for flying in the US.  Certification is targeted fo

  Boeing & Porsche Partner on Flying Porsches                   Source:  Porsche & Boeing Flying Car Concepts Multinational Research Effort Porsche and Boeing are combining their respective sports car and aircraft expertise to create a flying Porsche for your personal commuting.  An international team of experts from Chicago based Boeing and German based Porsche are coming together to work on the development project in three R&D locations: Germany, Switzerland and the United States.  Porsche will design the vehicle's body.  Boeing will engineer and develop the airborne vehicle's capabilities.   Air Traffic Control and Regulatory Environment The two global companies are also taking on a much wider challenge to ensure the eventual rollout of their new flying car technologies and other flying cars and urban air mobility systems.  They intend to focus on air traffic control and the regulatory environment for flying cars, including a new air traffic management system.  N

  Boeing & Porsche Partner on Flying Porsches                   Source:  Porsche & Boeing Flying Car Concepts Multinational Research Effort Porsche and Boeing are combining their respective sports car and aircraft expertise to create a flying Porsche for your personal commuting.  An international team of experts from Chicago based Boeing and German based Porsche are coming together to work on the development project in three R&D locations: Germany, Switzerland and the United States.  Porsche will design the vehicle's body.  Boeing will engineer and develop the airborne vehicle's capabilities.   Air Traffic Control and Regulatory Environment The two global companies are also taking on a much wider challenge to ensure the eventual rollout of their new flying car technologies and other flying cars and urban air mobility systems.  They intend to focus on air traffic control and the regulatory environment for flying cars, including a new air traffic management system.  N

  Looking To Launch Starliner First Un-crewed, Then Crewed                                                       Source:  Boeing Spaceship with Checkered Past Boeing has built the Starliner, a next generation spacecraft, that's designed to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS).  It is an alternative vehicle to the highly successful SpaceX Crew Dragon that brought two astronauts back and forth to the ISS this past summer.   The Starliner has been plagued with development problems, test failures and schedule slippages.  Now it has lost its astronaut Commander Chris Ferguson.  Ferguson is an engineer who helped Boeing develop the space vehicle. December 2019 Test Starliner has experienced a rocky road to development.  In December 2019, during an un-crewed flight, software problems caused the engines to misfire.  Starliner entered the wrong orbital path, never reached the ISS and was forced to return to Earth.  Now, for "personal reasons" Boeing e

  New Plane With World's Largest Engines                                                       Source:  Boeing FAA Clearance For GE Engines The Boeing 777X is the world's largest twin engine passenger plane. General Electric GE 9X engines for the 777X just received FAA certification. It is the largest engine ever put on a plane. Its diameter is wider than a 737 fuselage. The engine is huge but very efficient. It cuts emissions by 30% and operational costs by 10%. This clears a big hurdle to bring the jet to market. After thousands of hours of test flight hours, the GE 9x has been given FAA part 33 certification. Big Boost for GE This is a big boost for GE.  GE has orders and commitments for 600 plus GE 9X engines.  It has delivered 8 GE 9X test engines and 2 test spares for Boeing's four 777X test planes. Long Journey In 2019, GE found wear in a part of the engine, which it fixed.  This will be new business for GE and Boeing, which expects to put the 777X into service

  Licensed, Patented, In Production Source:  Boeing "Magic" Wand That Zaps Viruses Onboard Planes & Elsewhere  Boeing has designed and developed an ultraviolet (UV) wand that quickly kills bacteria and viruses, including COVID-19 in airplane interiors.  Boeing just entered into a patent and technology licensing agreement with Florida based Healthe, Inc. to quickly manufacture and sell the technology to airlines and others.  The device is handheld and, according to Boeing, rapidly sanitizes passenger cabins and cockpit interiors killing any viruses.  The commercial wand is designed to help airlines and other public access areas combat COVID transmission, protect the public and restore public confidence. UV Wand Available This Fall Boeing says the technology should be available for airlines to buy by late fall.  The new UV wand uses 222 nanometer UVC light that research indicates kills pathogens.  Boeing says an entire flight deck can be sanitized in 15 minutes.  It took Bo

Boeing & Porsche Developing Electric Flying Car Source:  Porsche-Boeing flying car Artist Rendering Moving into the 3rd Dimension of Travel Aerospace giant Boeing and luxury sports car maker Porsche have teamed up to create a premier electric flying car.  They say that they are exploring the premium urban air mobility market through the extension  of "urban traffic into the airspace." The car-plane combination is clearly targeted at big city commuters who would relish a lift above traffic snarled streets. Electric VTOL Their goal  is to create a fully electric vehicle that is capable of vertical takeoff and landings - a VTOL.  Both companies view this as a potentially key market segment of the future.  They expect the flying car market to take off in 2025. VW Going Electric Germany-based Porsche is owned by Volkswagen, the world's largest automaker.  VW has committed to building 22 million electric vehicles across its brands over the nex

Google and Boeing Developing Electric VTOL Vehicle Source:  Kitty Hawk's Cora EV flying vehicle New Future of Driving and Flying Boeing and Google founder Larry Page's flying car start-up Kitty Hawk just accelerated, re-booted and re-branded an important flying car, VTOL development venture. They call it Wisk Aero and it's focused on Kitty Hawk's semi-autonomous, 2 seat, electric flying car Cora. Their plan is to make it fully autonomous, all electric and great as a flying taxi for congested urban areas. For a great blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Google's Larry Page, Boeing Flying EV : Wisk Aero Source:  Kitty Hawk's Cora Big Push for Sustained Electric Powered Personal & Taxi Flight Google founder Larry Page...

US Air Force's X-37B Spaceplane - Clouded in Mysteries & Missions Successfully Lands After Record Orbit The US Air Force announced that its top secret, experimental spaceplane - the X-37B - just successfully landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in FL after a record flight. The spaceplane has been more than two years - 780 days - in orbital flight.  This is its longest test mission for a group of military technologies.  The X-37B is an experimental, test spaceship.  It was built by Boeing, is operated by the US Air Force and was launched into its latest mission aboard a SpaceX rocket. Clandestine Missions This is the spaceplane's 5th mission.  What the missions have entailed are for the most part a mystery.  They are top secret missions.  But we do know the purpose is to demonstrate new technologies, such as propulsion systems, avionics and spacecraft reentry systems for what the Air Force hopes will be a "reliable, reusable, unmanned space test pl

Porsche & Boeing's Strategic Partnership to Develop Flying Cars Source:  Porsche AG 2020 Prototype:  Electric VTOL The decision by Boeing and Porsche to form a strategic partnership to jointly develop flying cars underscores the growing importance of the "personal mobility" market.  Flying cars/vehicles are expected to start creating crowded skies from 2025 and onward.  The Boeing Porsche team says they will present their developed prototype of an electric, vertical takeoff and landing vehicle in 2020.  For a great news blog on this by fellow journalist Ed Kane, go to Important Innovations Collection: Boeing & Porsche Flyng Car : New Partnership for 2020 Prototype Source:  Porsche AG Electric VTOL Vehicle US airplane manufacture Boeing and VW's luxury spor...

Boeing Goes Supersonic Source:  Aeriion's As2 supersonic passenger jet Boeing Invests Big in Supersonic Tech Company Aerion Boeing is teaming up with a Nevada based company Aerion on the next generation of supersonic jets. Boeing announced it will provide engineering, manufacturing and test flight resources to bring Aerion's AS2, now a prototype, to market.  Boeing is also making a large financial investment. The amount wasn't disclosed. Cruising at 1,000 MPH+ The companies say the passenger jet will be capable of flying at Mach 1.4 or 1,038 mph/1,671 kmh. That is double the speed of current commercial jets.  The SST could get you to your destination in half the time.  Boeing says the time for supersonic flight has come.  The last supersonic flight in the US was in 2003 by the Concorde. The SST's were sidelined because of the noise from their sonic booms and high operational costs.  The new generation of supersonics are designed to be much quieter and fuel e

Flying Innovation with Greater Fuel Efficiency - Aviation Futures Source:  NASA Prototype BWB plane Blended Wing Body Aircraft This is aviation innovation being developed globally.  The plane architecture is called BWB or Blended Wing Bodies.  It's also being developed as Hybrid Wing Bodies.  No doubt it is potentially revolutionary innovation.  It's a fixed winged aircraft with no distinction between the wing and body and it can have a tail or not.  Bottom-line: it can save significant fuel usage. Prototype Concepts Under Development The potential advantages of this type of new aircraft include efficient high lift wings and could include a wide airfoil shaped body.  The blended wing body can have a lift to drag ratio much greater than conventional planes.  That would result in much greater fuel efficiency. Global Competition and Interest There are a lot of defense contractors, governments and global universities working to bring this technology to market.  It in

$13 Billion Flying Drone Squad The US Navy just awarded Boeing an initial $805 million contract to build Stingray MQ-25A drones.  The Stingray's mission is to refuel aircraft in mid-air.  The Navy wants a Stingray flying by 2021 and 4 Stingrays in service by 2024.  It plans on deploying a total squadron of 72 with a price-tag of $13 billion.. Carrier-Based and Unmanned These are the Navy's first, carrier based, unmanned aerial refueling tankers.  They'll launch from ships and refuel Navy fighter jets in the air. They'll significantly extend the range of the carrier air wing's missions.  Currently, the Navy's using F/A-18 combat jets for refueling. Competitive Advantages This was a 3-way contest for the drone contract.  Boeing beat out Lockheed and General Atomic.  Analysts say the winner Boeing could have an advantage in developing future unmanned systems for the military.

Revolutionizing the Airline Industry Source:  Zunum Aero Electric Passenger Planes to Take-Off in Norway By 2040, Norway is committed to having all of its short-haul flights, from its airports, on electric aircraft.  This is one of the most dramatic government examples of cutting down on carbon dioxide, greenhouse gas emissions from the airline industry. Booming Industry - 100+ Global Projects Currently small planes comprise the electric aircraft market.  There are no airliner sized electric planes being built.  But Norwegian government and aviation industry officials believe that will soon change.  Boeing, NASA and Airbus are diligently working on prototype designs.  Boeing's Zunum Aero has plans for a 12-seater by 2022 and a 50-seater by 2027.  There are more than 100 electric powered aircraft projects currently around the world. Norway's Plans Norway's terrain is mountainous and there are many offshore islands. There are many airports because in many cases

The Pegasus 1 - Winning Personal Flying Machine It's a Y6 tilt rotor with wing, hybrid powertrain and a cruising speed of 70 knots.  The Pegasus 1 is a top 10 winner in Boeing's GoFly International.  It's the creation of USA Team Scoop and captain Alex Smolen, who is a self-taught programmer with experience flying and building multicopters. Personal Flight Smolen sees the Pegasus as the first step toward fun and simple personal flight.  He thinks anyone can fly the vehicle for 30 minutes and will find it a wonder to fly. Tech Specs The vehicle has 6 propellers.  When it hovers, they lift Pegasus off the ground, slowly and in any direction like a drone.  To cruise, the propellers tilt giving it lift and thrust.  As it accelerates, the wings give additional lift making it fly like a plane. Pegasus 1 Promise Team Scoop and Alex Smolen are now building their concept into a flyable prototype to compete against 10 other teams in the GoFly competition for the $2 milli

Boeing GoFly Top 10 Winner - The Hummingbuzz It's a personal flying vehicle with distinctive design and technical specifications that won top 10 status in Boeing's GoFly International Personal Flying Machine competition.  The Hummingbuzz is straight out of Georgia Tech. All Electric Flying Fan True, it looks like a flying fan with a motorcycle on top of it.  The rider sits on top of the motor bike that also houses a battery pack.  The vehicle is an all-electric, ducted fan equipped with counter-rotating coaxial rotors. Boeing Boeing believes that personal flying machines will be part of the transportation mix in the not-to-distant future.  That's one of the reasons their GoFly international competition with teams developing top, workable prototype vehicles, has $2 million in prizes.  The top 10 competitors from an initial field of 160 teams are now converting their designs and technical specifications into working prototypes. The vehicles must have vertical take-

Unveiling of World's 1st Hypersonic Passenger Jet Design Boeing's prototype rendering unveiled today is the world's first look at comercial hypersonic design and what the jet will look like.  The design enables the speed and the speed is awesome. Travel Times Boeing's hyper-speed passenger jet can fly from New York to London in 2 hours versus the current 7 hours.  Or how about LA to Japan in 3 hours, versus 11 hours.  The design plan is for the jet to fly at Mach 5 or 3800 miles per hour, much faster than its predecessor The Concorde at 1,354 mph. No Speed Competition With speeds of Mach 5, Boeing's hypersonic jet has no current competition.  The closest competitor is Aerion Corporation.  It's high speed passenger plane is expected to reach 1.5 Mach.  But, there are many global players working on their design concepts and looking to win the hypersonic flight race. Hypersonic To-Do List Much work need to be done before the high-speed passenger jet ta