Flying Whales is designing the LCA60T – a 200-meter-long vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) airship using helium technology to lift its weight and cargo. The airship can transport up to sixty tons of cargo to customers, including transporting trees for lumber in construction projects, wind turbine blades to utility stations, and even a portable hospital to provide healthcare in remote areas. Direct transport will not only reduce traffic in crowded shipping ports and alleviate reliance on traditional air and land transportation but also cut emissions when compared to those modes of transporta ..read more

When using solar sails, traditional heavy propulsion systems are replaced by using the pressure of sunlight. A team at NASA has enhanced the design of the booms for the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System by incorporating advanced composite materials. This innovation boosts the sails’ durability and strength, making them more resilient in challenging environments.  The new boom, made with flexible polymer and carbon fiber materials and therefore stiffer and lighter than previous models, is using a twelve-unit (12U) CubeSat built by NanoAvionics in testing. Researchers hope to successfull ..read more

In 1996, MAN Truck & Bus introduced the first hydrogen-powered bus, the SL 202, powered by a natural gas engine modified for hydrogen operation. The new MAN hTGX will be the first European small series truck with a hydrogen combustion engine.  The hydrogen system is both efficient and effective. The newly developed hydrogen drive will work well for transport tasks that have limited space for batteries. The H45 hydrogen combustion engine delivers power quickly and offers an output of 520 hp and a torque of 2500 Nm at 900-1300 rpm. High payloads are well tolerated, and the maximum range ..read more

The Swinburne University of Technology’s Aerostructures Innovation Research Hub’s (AIR Hub) AIR Pass program supports small to medium-sized aviation businesses. As part of this program, researchers at AIR Hub partnered with Kite Magnetics, using Kite’s KM-120 electric engine, to develop a new propeller design for electric aircraft that works with aluminum or composite material blades.  Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of the propeller blade design presents the potential for high efficiency and reduced noise emissions. In fact, the new propeller offers efficiencies of up to 92 ..read more

The U.S. economy did better than expected in 2023, avoiding a recession that many experts predicted. Inflation fell, jobs increased and manufacturing investments spiked. But if there’s a theme for 2024 it might be uncertainty due to several factors, including higher interest rates, sluggish global supply chain restructuring, and wars and political uncertainty throughout the world. In this year’s State of the Industry report – one of Composites Manufacturing magazine’s most anticipated articles each year – four experts provide insight on markets and materials to help guide composites companies ..read more

Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, has manufactured more than 40,000 nacelles for dozens of military and commercial aircraft programs. Building on that expertise, a team at the aerospace and defense supplier is working on the next generation of nacelles and other components for single-aisle aircraft featuring thermoplastic composites. Chris Croshaw, senior research engineer in thermoplastic composites, acknowledges that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “There aren’t a lot of opportunities to make contributions to a clean-sheet, single-aisle [aircraft program]. Maybe that happens every fo ..read more

A theory about the wireless transmission of energy, developed by inventor Nikola Tesla more than a century ago, helped pave the way for the recent construction of the world’s largest freestanding GFRP tower in Texas. Viziv Technologies has been researching and building on Tesla’s work for years. The company hopes to use radio waves instead of wires to transmit electric power from a generating source to locations a thousand miles away. One of its experiments involved the use of low-frequency radio waves, which require tall antenna towers for long-distance wave transmission. To test the feasibil ..read more

Visitors to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris may have a new option for traveling from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the city – an electric air taxi. Volocopter, a German-based advanced air mobility (AAM) company, plans to mobilize its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) craft, the VoloCity, for a two-year pilot program that will quickly and quietly convey visitors into the city. Volocopter is one of many companies hoping to introduce commercial services using electric-powered AAM aircraft within the next 18 months or so. The category encompasses a variety of piloted and unpiloted air ..read more

Four-time Stanley Cup winner Wayne Gretsky is well-known for saying, “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” The quote is frequently used because it’s true. Most of us are good at looking back on business decisions and outcomes; we examine lagging indicators and point out what we should’ve seen coming. However, the start of the new year provides an opportunity to plan ahead – to consider leading indicators that help us move in directions that help us grow. This issue of Composites Manufacturing magazine features the annual State of the Industry report (page 15), where cons ..read more

As Washington moves into an election year, news will quickly shift to focus on the latest from the campaign trail. Election years bring about unique challenges to those of us working to help U.S. composites manufacturers. The election will impact what we see coming out of the Biden Administration, the speed with which new policies or regulations move, and the willingness of Congress to cooperate with a White House they oppose. We can expect more tense negotiations between the White House and Congress, and the White House to move ahead numerous controversial items as it works to build support a ..read more