The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made progress towards implementing a framework for certification and operation of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and civil tiltrotor aircraft.
During the US Air Force’s Agility Prime Launch Event in April 2020 (see “Agile Change in Air Force ‘Agility Prime’ Launch Pays Off,” Vertiflite, July/Aug 2020), a presentation by VFS Executive Director Mike Hirschberg mentioned that the potential of hydrogen fuel cells to be a gamechanger for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) led to the founding a few weeks later of what became the Society’s H2eVTOL Council.
This is sidebar of the main article - Melding Old and New Technology: Impact Testing for Crash Safety
The subject of the Gantry’s future was preceded by Vertiflite’s interest in the use of UAS, not personnel, to inspect various-sized structures.
This is sidebar of the main article - Melding Old and New Technology: Impact Testing for Crash Safety
The LandIR became operational in 1965 as the Lunar Landing Research Facility (LLRF). Construction had begun in 1963 to model lunar gravity to allow Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and other astronauts selected for Apollo missions to train for the final 150 ft (45 m) before landing on the moon.
While NASA ponders the fate of the Gantry, tests continue with this unique historic structure.
The NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, has a noteworthy dilemma: to keep and refurbish the Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) facility — typically just called the Gantry — or dismantle the structure that has served as a valuable aircraft and spacecraft testing facility since it was constructed for the Apollo program in the 1960s.
The Vertical Flight Society (VFS), the world’s leading non-profit organization working to advance vertical flight, today announces the selection of Angelo N. Collins as its executive director, effective June 1, 2023. Outgoing Executive Director Mike Hirschberg, who has led the organization for 12 years, will be staying on staff in a supporting role as Director of Strategy. Collins will be only the seventh leader of VFS in its 80-year history.
The 10th Annual VFS Electric VTOL Symposium brought together more than 500 attendees to assess the current state of the industry.
Fairfax, Virginia, USA, Feb. 28, 2023 — The Vertical Flight Society (VFS), the world’s leading non-profit organization working to advance vertical flight, is holding its 2nd Annual H2-Aero Symposium on March 28-30, 2023, in Long Beach, California. This year’s event includes the SAE International airport fueling standards meeting, both of which are open for all conference attendees. Details can be found at www.vtol.org/h2symposium.
This series addresses terminology that is misleading or erroneous, and proffers definitions to be used as canonical.
It's often attributed to German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal to have said, “Designing a flying machine is nothing; Building it is something; Testing it is everything."
