Important Innovations Collection

New Vehicle Delivers Advanced Aerial Mobility                                            Source:  Overair Butterfly Overair's Long Anticipated eVTOL with Newest Technologies California-based Overair has unveiled its much anticipated Butterfly, an eVTOL commercial design that incorporates more than 20 years of the latest, military and commercial, electric vertical takeoff and landing technologies.  This vehicle is expected to be the ultimate for vertical lift capabilities.  The company says Butterfly is designed to be the most robust, efficient, safe and quiet aircraft in its eVTOL class.  It's a zero emissions, operator inexpensive, mobility workhorse with extensive utilization. Tech Specs What differentiates Butterfly from other eVTOLs is its breakthrough propulsion system.  It's called the Optimum Speed Propulsion (OSP) system....

FAA Re-writing the Rules Source:  NASA Supersonic Concept Flying Beyond the Speed of Sound At the Paris Air Show, FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell said the United States is changing the regulations to enable testing and the reintroduction of supersonic flights for passengers.  This is a major milestone for the return of civilian supersonic flights in the United States. New Generations of SST For the flying public and aviation enthusiasts, this is exciting news because there are many innovative supersonic aircraft projects well underway.  Companies like Boom Technologies and Aerion, as well as NASA, are working on next generation SST aircraft to replace the Concorde which ended flights in 2003.  The FAA's plans will give these companies a more efficient process to make SST travel a reality again. Elwell added the FAA and US Department of Transportation are committed to safe and environmentally sound R&D of supersonic aircraft.

World's Fastest Plane: New Hermeus Supersonic Aircraft Source:  Hermeus Artist Concept Money Secured by US Company to Develop the Next Generation SST This would be the fastest plane in the world. The Hermeus supersonic aircraft is designed to reach speeds up to Mach 5.  That would cut the time to travel from New York to London to 90 minutes from 7 hours.  US based aerospace company Hermeus today announced that it has the plans and the financial backing needed to develop the concept into a reality. The funding is led by Khosla Ventures. First Development Stages The firm is working on propulsion technology that would allow the plane to fly at 3800 miles per hour, which is three times the speed the Concorde performed at a decade plus ago when it retired.  The primary material for the new aircraft will be titanium and the propulsion system will be powered by a turbine based combined cycle engine.  Supersonic and hypersonic travel are the future of flight...

 Hypersonic Vehicle Cool Down Essential For Mach 5 ++ Source:  DARPA DARPA's New MACH Program For successful hypersonic vehicle flight acceleration to Mach 5 and beyond, new hypersonic architecture, materials and designs need to be innovated.  Quite simply, there's a big challenge with hypersonic aircraft that scientists have been working on for decades.  It's how to keep them cooler in their hot, leading edges in order to withstand Mach 5 plus speeds. Hypersonic Flights Takeoff The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA - has declared 2019 the year of the hypersonics.  DARPA is pursuing new materials, architecture and designs for cooling the hot, leading edges of hypersonic vehicles as they accelerate to Mach 5 and beyond. The program kicks off in late January 2019.  It's a great example of US innovation leadership.  For a news blog on it, go to my journalist colleague Maryanne Kane at https://www.importantinnovat...