Magnetics Business & Technology - July/August 2019 - 14

FEATURE ARTICLE

Race to Develop Electric-Powered Autonomous Aircraft Opening New Market for PermanentMagnet Motors

Airbus' Vahana aiming for future of urban transport
The race to develop autonomous electric aircraft is poised to
open new markets for permanent magnet motors as several
leading aviation firms are breaking into the skies with new prototypes of vertical take-off and landing craft designed for commercial passenger and cargo transport.
Boeing's Aurora Flight Sciences and Airbus are both flight testing new models powered by an advanced, integrated motor and
controller from MAGicALL, a developer of innovative magnetic
technology. In May, Boeing also completed an important flight
test for a cargo UAV that is fully electric.
Airbus leads the way. It recently celebrated the 50th full-scale
test flight of its Vahana aircraft which the company envisions as a
technological breakthrough in urban air mobility -- a self-piloted,
highly automated vertical take-off and landing passenger aircraft
that can become a replacement for short-range urban transportation like cars or trains. Applications seen for the craft are cargo
delivery, emergency services, search and rescue or even as a
tool to deploy modular infrastructure in disaster sites.
Vahana uses eight 45-kW electric motors and a tandem tilt-wing
configuration that converts between rotor-borne vertical and
wing-borne forward flight. This configuration enables Vahana to
achieve both vertical take-off and landing as well as cross-city
flight range on battery power alone. Its cruise speed is 100 knots,
enabling trip times that are two to four times faster than cars.
The vehicle is fully self-piloted, which is enabled by its onboard
detect-and-avoid systems that can identify both air and groundborne hazards.
Zach Lovering, project executive of Vahana and vice president of
urban air mobility systems for Airbus, reports in a recent update

Magnetics Business & Technology * July/August 2019

Zach Lovering,
project executive
of Vahana and
vice president of
urban air mobility systems for
Airbus

that more flights are planned through the
first half of this year as the development
team studies and checks flight controls,
navigation, failure detection and mitigation,
and noise. "To date we've flown 50 full-scale
test flights totaling over 5 flight hours," said
Lovering. The flight tests take place at a test
range for autonomous aircraft at Eastern
Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton, OR.
Airbus built a specially configured 9,600 sq ft
hangar for the Vahana project there in 2017.
The Vahana project is being developed by
A3, the Silicon Valley outpost of Airbus. A3
functions as an emerging technology development unit for the parent company which is
based in Toulouse, France.

The motors, provided by MAGicALL of
Camarillo, CA, are integrated with controllers to configure the
company's MAGiDRIVE system which features fully bi-directional
four-quadrant operation since they can operate in both directions
as either motors or generators. The latest versions in the product
line feature specific torque greater than 40 Nm/kg and power
levels up to 500 kW, according to Joel Wacknov, CEO. The
units are available in sizes from 4" to 24" diameter, with torque
capability up to 5000 Nm. DC bus voltages can range from 24V
to 800V depending on the model.
Boeing is also using the MAGiDRIVEs in its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV). In January, the prototype performed its first
flight test in Manassas, VA. Boeing NeXt, which leads the company's urban air mobility efforts, worked with Boeing subsidiary
Aurora Flight Sciences to design and develop the electric vertical
takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL).

www.MagneticsMag.com

http://www.MagneticsMag.com

Magnetics Business & Technology - July/August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Magnetics Business & Technology - July/August 2019