Tuesday, December 01, 2020 5:36:18 PM
Pretty soon.....before 2030 I would guess. We need some anti-matter propulsion; get rid of the noisy props and jets.
Daily Cover|Mar 9, 2020, 06:40am EDT
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2020/03/08/aw609-leonardo-marines-v-22-osprey-tiltrotor/
After 24 Years, The Civilian Version Of The Marines’ V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor Is Finally Nearing Takeoff
Over lunch in the cafeteria at the North Philadelphia helicopter factory of the Italian aerospace conglomerate Leonardo, test pilot Dan Wells takes dry delight in recounting the confusion the AW609 tiltrotor has caused air traffic controllers.
Flying the experimental nine-passenger aircraft with its propellers tilted forward in airplane mode at a brisk 240 miles per hour toward the airport in El Paso, Texas, the orange jumpsuit-wearing Wells recalls co-pilot Paul Edward asking the tower if they could set it down at the intersection of two runways. “Are you a helicopter?” the controller asked. “Paul says, ‘We will be when we get there.’ ”
An aircraft that can take off and land vertically like a helicopter but fly farther and more quickly like an airplane could be a game changer in civil aviation. The AW609 accomplishes that trick by virtue of twin rotors mounted on huge, swiveling engine pods that look like Popeye’s overblown forearms tacked onto the ends of its wings.
Imagine one-hour travel directly from the downtown Manhattan heliport to Washington, D.C., says AW609 marketing manager Bill Sunick, compared to a 3-hour trip on the Amtrak Acela, opening up the possibility for financiers to have a morning meeting in the capital and get back to Wall Street in time for lunch. Or the ability to fly an injured worker from an offshore oil platform at airplane speed to a hospital and land on its helipad. “Time saves money in business,” says Sunick. “Time saves lives in search and rescue and EMS.”
Others are trying to create futuristic electric and hybrid aircraft that can fulfill that mission. According to the consultancy Roland Berger, there are over 90 initiatives under way around the world to develop electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles intended to enable city dwellers to escape the morass of snarled traffic below. Uber has partnered with a handful of them, including Hyundai Motor and the Toyota-backed, California-based startup Joby, with the aggressive goal of launching an urban air taxi service in 2023.
But the long-delayed AW609, based on a 1990s design, should get there first: Leonardo, a sprawling state-controlled aerospace and defense company with $14 billion in sales in 2018, has begun assembling the first two production versions at its Philadelphia factory, and expects to complete the first this year.
When Leonardo starts delivering them to customers depends on when it wins safety certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which the company had previously said it expected by the end of 2019. It’s no longer publicly hazarding a guess, but a spokesperson said the company “sees light at the end of the tunnel.”
Leonardo’s near-term challenge is to make it the first aircraft to complete certification under the FAA’s new Powered Lift category, which electric urban air taxis will likely fall under as well, and demonstrate its worth to the market.
One potential pool of buyers for whom performance often outweighs costs: governments. For foreign militaries, the AW609 could offer a discount way to get V-22-caliber response times, though the terms of the sale of the program to Leonardo don’t allow it to sell an armed version. The United Arab Emirates signed a memorandum of understanding in 2015 to acquire three AW609s for search and rescue operations; Leonardo won’t comment on whether the order has been firmed up.
Sunick believes that first adopters will create new markets for tiltrotors in the same way that smartphones and microwave ovens redefined how people communicate and cook. “You’re going to find new ways to do things,” he says.
Aboulafia, the aerospace consultant, is more sanguine on the prospects. “The best case scenario at this point is that it’s a niche but survivable program,” he says, with the company delivering one a month.
Daily Cover|Mar 9, 2020, 06:40am EDT
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2020/03/08/aw609-leonardo-marines-v-22-osprey-tiltrotor/
After 24 Years, The Civilian Version Of The Marines’ V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor Is Finally Nearing Takeoff
Over lunch in the cafeteria at the North Philadelphia helicopter factory of the Italian aerospace conglomerate Leonardo, test pilot Dan Wells takes dry delight in recounting the confusion the AW609 tiltrotor has caused air traffic controllers.
Flying the experimental nine-passenger aircraft with its propellers tilted forward in airplane mode at a brisk 240 miles per hour toward the airport in El Paso, Texas, the orange jumpsuit-wearing Wells recalls co-pilot Paul Edward asking the tower if they could set it down at the intersection of two runways. “Are you a helicopter?” the controller asked. “Paul says, ‘We will be when we get there.’ ”
An aircraft that can take off and land vertically like a helicopter but fly farther and more quickly like an airplane could be a game changer in civil aviation. The AW609 accomplishes that trick by virtue of twin rotors mounted on huge, swiveling engine pods that look like Popeye’s overblown forearms tacked onto the ends of its wings.
Imagine one-hour travel directly from the downtown Manhattan heliport to Washington, D.C., says AW609 marketing manager Bill Sunick, compared to a 3-hour trip on the Amtrak Acela, opening up the possibility for financiers to have a morning meeting in the capital and get back to Wall Street in time for lunch. Or the ability to fly an injured worker from an offshore oil platform at airplane speed to a hospital and land on its helipad. “Time saves money in business,” says Sunick. “Time saves lives in search and rescue and EMS.”
Others are trying to create futuristic electric and hybrid aircraft that can fulfill that mission. According to the consultancy Roland Berger, there are over 90 initiatives under way around the world to develop electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles intended to enable city dwellers to escape the morass of snarled traffic below. Uber has partnered with a handful of them, including Hyundai Motor and the Toyota-backed, California-based startup Joby, with the aggressive goal of launching an urban air taxi service in 2023.
But the long-delayed AW609, based on a 1990s design, should get there first: Leonardo, a sprawling state-controlled aerospace and defense company with $14 billion in sales in 2018, has begun assembling the first two production versions at its Philadelphia factory, and expects to complete the first this year.
When Leonardo starts delivering them to customers depends on when it wins safety certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which the company had previously said it expected by the end of 2019. It’s no longer publicly hazarding a guess, but a spokesperson said the company “sees light at the end of the tunnel.”
Leonardo’s near-term challenge is to make it the first aircraft to complete certification under the FAA’s new Powered Lift category, which electric urban air taxis will likely fall under as well, and demonstrate its worth to the market.
One potential pool of buyers for whom performance often outweighs costs: governments. For foreign militaries, the AW609 could offer a discount way to get V-22-caliber response times, though the terms of the sale of the program to Leonardo don’t allow it to sell an armed version. The United Arab Emirates signed a memorandum of understanding in 2015 to acquire three AW609s for search and rescue operations; Leonardo won’t comment on whether the order has been firmed up.
Sunick believes that first adopters will create new markets for tiltrotors in the same way that smartphones and microwave ovens redefined how people communicate and cook. “You’re going to find new ways to do things,” he says.
Aboulafia, the aerospace consultant, is more sanguine on the prospects. “The best case scenario at this point is that it’s a niche but survivable program,” he says, with the company delivering one a month.
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