The great annual gathering of aviation enthusiasts known as Oshkosh Air Show successfully wrapped up on July 31^st. I was there first half of the week to observe the latest innovation on electric flight.

Part of my assignment was to man the GE Aviation Systems booth at the Innovations Center, helping out at the popular all electric aircraft simulator. Luckily for me, I was surrounded by pioneers of electric flight. In the same hangar we have the all-electric Sonex and a PC-Aero, who plans to put solar panels on the Elektra-One electric sailplane.

I had the opportunity to talk to Jonathon Hartman, Research Engineer and project manager of the Sikorsky Firefly project – the all electric helicopter powered by batteries. Jonathon providing updates on the project:

During Oshkosh, many enthusiasts expressed their excitement on the prospect of flying an all-electric airplane. We agreed that there are still a few challenges ahead. The first one is energy storage – flying for only ten minutes doesn’t make the aircraft practical. The other is certification of electric aircraft. For an electric aircraft to become main stream, it has to move beyond the experimental category.  Check out this story (link) from Flight Global on the topic.

For pictures from the show, click here.

-Jimmy

Fantastic day at AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) 2011 here in Washington, DC. It truly is unbelievable to see the amount and diversity of people attending the conference, especially when one considers how small this was only several years ago. To me, it’s yet another of the many signs that UAVs will continue to flourish and grow over the next decade.

I attended a stimulating panel presentation later in the afternoon moderated by Dewar Donnithorne-Tait (President & CEO, Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems). The panel members were Ed Herlik (Market Intel Group), Michael Hutt (UAS Project Office, USGS), and Curt Smith (CTO BP). The topic was “UAS Beyond Defense and Security.” The panel made many very interesting points over the one-hour presentation, two of which I wanted to point out here.

First, I was both surprised and encouraged to see how non-military agencies, such as the USGS, have embraced and utilized UAVs. Michael mentioned how important UAVs were to several of his projects, including how a small UAV was used to assess the status of the endangered pygmy rabbit population in northern Idaho before mining operations could begin. UAVs provided the USGS a quick, cost efficient, and highly accurate way of gathering data that would normally have been done via “boots on the ground.”

Second, I was fascinated to see how private industry companies, such as BP, have been at the forefront in terms of adopting UAV technology for their own uses. Curt discussed BP’s interest in UAVs over the last 10 years in helping to monitor pipelines, identify infrastructure problems, and assist in disaster areas. Although BP’s use of UAVs has been limited due to FAA regulations in the national airspace, it shows how other segments of industry are helping to push UAV utilization forward.

So, I’m excited to listen to the next round of presentations tomorrow, network with other members of the “UAV community,” and report back to this blog on my thoughts.

Fly safe,

Marc

You can also follow me on twitter @captstevefulton.

Hi, I’m Raffaele Delogu - or “Raf” - and I’m the Director of Marketing for Business and General Aviation at GE Aviation Systems. I’m very excited to start a conversation with all the intrigued individuals, aviation industry folks and #avgeeks out there on this blog. If you have any topic suggestions or questions for me, do send them along.

In the meantime, you can watch my video to hear a little more about me!

Cheers,

Raf

Last week at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis, our GE Aviation Systems exhibit held a show-wide competition using our new game, Terminal Command. Thousands played, 400 managed to land on the leaderboard and claim a Terminal Command hat and one skilled gamer walked away with an iPad…sounds like fun, right? Yes it was – but those of you who played the game (online or at Oshkosh) likely learned the same lesson: Managing an airport is hard. And managing an aircraft or an entire fleet of them is just as challenging.

Play Terminal Command online at http://www.ge.com/thegeshow/future-flight

If you’ve been on a commercial flight lately, you’ve probably witnessed delays due to aircraft maintenance or other issues, which ultimately has an impact on business or personal plans. Luckily for all of us, aircraft manufacturers, suppliers and regulatory agencies are working together to make flying as efficient as possible.

One of the ways that GE Aviation Systems is looking to contribute to this effort is with our Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) technology. In the past decade we’ve witnessed an incredible array of solutions that seek to address the ultimate goal of making business and commercial travel less prone to unexpected events. These solutions range from diagnostic systems to more complex prognostic (predictive) ones.

Throughout the course of Skyward, I’ll be discussing IVHM and other Aircraft Health Management systems, but I’m also really eager to engage with all of you and seek new ways to leverage these exciting technologies.

Cheers,

Raf.