HANGAR TALK UAS & eVTOL NEWS RELATING TO UNCrewed, AAM & eVTOL SYSTEMS
Sikorsky Long-Range Hybrid eVTOL Demonstrator Will Inform Future Missions
Sikorsky recently announced it is producing a Hybrid-Electric Demonstrator (HEX), a fully autonomous hybrid-electric vertical- take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) prototype. With a maximum gross weight of more than 7,000 pounds, the uncrewed aircraft will serve as a flying test bed to evaluate large aircraft design, novel propulsion systems and control architectures for sustained hover and ranges greater than 500 nautical miles.
Phenix Solutions Selects Rolls-Royce RR300
Phenix Solutions recently announced the selection of the Rolls- Royce RR300 gas turbine engine to power the Ultra 2XL Co-Axial Heavy Lift UAS. The RR300 engine has nearly two decades of operation in the civilian aerospace industry and has exceeded over 1.6 million flight hours.
Responding to customer demands for superior effectiveness and multi-mission capability, and the challenges of the FAA certification, Phenix Solutions’ engineering team evaluated several aircraft engine OEMs before selecting Rolls-Royce. The extensive history and proven track record of Rolls-Royce coupled with the high pedigree of the RR300 made the selection easy.
Phenix Solutions President and CEO, Brian Riese, announced, “The selection of Rolls-Royce for the Ultra 2XL required input from our engineering and certification teams, but most importantly, from our customers. All parties agreed RR300 was the clear choice. Our engineers liked the standard 300HP available for multi-mission capacity; our aircraft certification team recognized the value that its Part 33 certified engine brought to our certification efforts, and our customers herald the decision based on the well documented safety record, reliability, and superior customer support system Rolls-Royce offers.
Operators of other aircraft using the RR 300 see the selection as an easy addition to, or transition from, their current crewed aircraft to the uncrewed Ultra 2XL. The Ultra 2XL with the RR300 will allow companies to utilize current staff without additional training on a new and highly unique engine, resulting in massive savings for the Phenix customer base.
Paul Matthews, senior vice president of sales for the Americas, said, “We are proud to have selected Phenix Solutions to power the Ultra 2XL platform. The proven R300 engine has delivered over 1 million flight hours of dependable service around the world. We’re excited to continue growing our partnership with the Phenix team in the years ahead.”
Phenix and Rolls-Royce held a formal signing ceremony at HAI’s Heli-Expo in Atlanta to further solidify their collaboration on the Ultra 2XL program.
42 Mar/Apr 2023
“As Sikorsky celebrates 100 years of flight innovations, it’s fitting to highlight our continued commitment to safe and sustainable transformative flight,” said Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo. “Sikorsky’s HEX aircraft will provide critical insights into the possibilities of electric systems in VTOL aircraft. Ultimately, we want to show the potential of large, advanced air mobility vehicles to perform utility missions for the U.S. military and transport passengers between cities.”
For the HEX project, GE Aerospace will offer a CT7 turboshaft engine combined with a 1mw-class generator and associated power electronics, building on hybrid electric propulsion systems being developed by GE Aerospace for both NASA and the U.S. Army.
“Bringing innovative technology is a top priority for GE Aerospace,” said Amy Gowder, president and CEO of Defense & Systems at GE Aerospace. “We are committed to developing hybrid-electric propulsion systems that save fuel and optimize performance for the military and commercial applications. We are thrilled to build off our existing work with NASA and the Army to offer to power Sikorsky’s HEX aircraft and bolster the future of flight.”
Family of large VTOL aircraft envisioned
The Sikorsky Innovations rapid prototyping group will lead the HEX program. Led by its director, Igor Cherepinsky, the Innovations team will design, build, and integrate the HEX airframe and electric motors with the company’s Matrix autonomy flight control system.
Depending on insights learned from the flight test program, and assessment of customer applications, the HEX program could lead to a family of eVTOL vehicles scaled to carry passengers and payload for both military and commercial applications. Sikorsky’s Matrix autonomy system will control flight aboard the HEX aircraft. Developed and tested extensively over the past decade, the software, hardware and sensors that comprise the Matrix system have demonstrated high flight reliability in low-altitude and obstacle-rich scenarios. During the U.S. Army’s Project Convergence 2022 exercise, a Matrix-controlled Black Hawk helicopter without pilots or crew on board demonstrated optionally piloted resupply missions.
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