Flight Training - January/February 2024 - 24

PREFLIGHT FUTURE FLIGHT
BY THOMAS B. HAINES
WHAT'S UP?
HERE'S WHAT WE SAW AT UP.SUMMIT
UP.SUMMIT IS THE ANNUAL
invitation-only conference
that brings together entrepreneurs,
investors, and
visionaries looking to improve
mobility across all lines of
business. Entrepreneurs and
business owners were given
about nine minutes each to
share their successes and
challenges in creating new
products and ventures to
enhance mobility.
Mark Groden, founder of Skyryse,
made the case that GA can be made safer
through the use of more modern and
automated flight control systems, such
as a fly-by-wire system that Groden says
is possible to implement even in existing
GA airplanes. Skyryse's triple-redundant
system will be certified to FAR Part 25
levels of reliability-the same level required
for airliners. The goal is to bring a common
level of technology and safety to GA.
Skyryse has raised more than $260 million
to complete the project.
Robert Rose, CEO of Reliable Robotics,
hopes to bring higher levels of automation
to GA to improve safety. The company's
" always-on autopilot " can manage the
aircraft through takeoff, landing, and
taxiing. " Unmanned can be done, " he said.
Reliable Robotics has been demonstrating
and testing the system in a Cessna Caravan
and deployed it into the complex Southern
California airspace system in a test with the
FAA. The pilot was on board to monitor the
flight; the aircraft was remotely controlled.
Adam Woodworth of drone delivery
company Wing noted that the company has
been demonstrating its system's capabilities
at sites across the country. The company
has created a " path to 100 million deliveries. "
Wing's current system is designed
to deliver small quantities to individuals;
future drones will deliver larger packages
to many types of locations.
Zipline, which has been in the drone
delivery business for several years, showed
24 FLIGHT TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
A larger version, Helix Gen
5, will have 12 motors and will
weigh about 1,000 pounds,
with enough room for a small
hybrid engine to extend range
and to allow for more complex
missions, such as early-onset
firefighting and light cargo
transport.
Jetson flew its personal
aircraft. Looking somewhat
like an aerial personal watercraft,
the Jetson is basically an
off its next generation drone, a larger
quadcopter that lowers a package container
to the ground on a tether. Once on
the ground, doors on the bottom open
to drop off the package. The new system
requires less of a clear landing zone than
the current system, which drops packages
via a parachute and requires a 40-squarefoot
clear area.
Swiss-designed Jedsy demonstrated
its delivery drone and announced that it
has signed a multimillion-dollar contract
with Germany's largest hospital system.
The current version of Jedsy is optimized
for moving blood and other samples as
well as medications between hospitals
and laboratories. The 24-pound drone
utilizes two rotor motors for vertical lift
and four push/pull motors for cruise and
maneuvering. It is designed to dock on a
windowsill or railing where it can charge
while awaiting a package to be inserted.
The drone can fly up to 62 miles and in
maximum continuous winds of 25 knots
and gusts up to 30 knots.
Pivotal flew two of its personal electric
aircraft at the same time. The current
preproduction version of the original
BlackFly personal eVTOL weighs 348
pounds and carries a 200-pound pilot,
keeping it in the FAR Part 103 ultralight
category, even with a slight increase in
weight from the 313-pound prototype previously
unveiled. Two dozen of the
aircraft have been built and flown, with
some already in the hands of 20 operators.
aluminum roll cage with a seat, joystick,
eight motors, and a ballistic parachute. It
too can fly for about 20 minutes at speeds
of about 55 knots and is considered an
ultralight. Designed and built in Italy, it is
available for $98,000, including a $10,000
down payment, with deliveries of production
models expected in 2024.
Lift Aircraft flew its Hexa personal
eVTOL aircraft. Production versions of
the 18-motor, single-person aircraft are
expected by the end of 2023. While Hexa
is meant for personal flying, Rain introduced
a product that is all business-the
business of snuffing out forest fires
before they become uncontrollable. Rain
announced a partnership with Sikorsky.
Rain's software system for optimizing
flight paths to the incipient fires and
delivering retardant immediately will
be paired with Sikorsky's autonomous
flight control system under development
for the Black Hawk to provide a rapid
response system.
This event was the sixth UP.Summit,
which was founded in part by entrepreneurs
Cyrus Sigari and Ben Marcus. With
other investors they in 2021 formed UP.
Partners, a venture capital fund to invest in
mobility projects. The group at UP.Summit
2022 announced the creation of UP.Labs,
which not only invests in young mobility
companies, but helps nurture them.
THOMAS B. HAINES is the former editor in chief
of AOPA media.
THOMAS B. HAINES
Flight Training - January/February 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - January/February 2024
