While the commercial news was quiet, the airshow was far from it, with crowds everywhere.

On Wednesday, Sustainable aviation startup ZeroAvia revealed that it will be partnering with Dutch flag carrier KLM to attempt a test flight. This would be a flight using liquid hydrogen as fuel between two cities.

As for the timing for when such a test flight could take place, ZeroAvia founder and CEO Valery Miftakhov said that the partners are initially looking at 2026 at the latest.

Asked what kind of aircraft would be used for the test, Miftakhov said that he could not specify but that it would be similar in size to the ATR 72 or DeHaveland Canada DHC-8.

At the moment, ZeroAvia is steadily making progress, having successfully produced multiple turboprop engine variants. These have been fitted to aircraft such as the DHC-8 and Dornier 228.

Thai Airways Extends Agreement to Maintain Boeing 777 Fleet

Thai Airways signed a deal with General Electric (GE Aerospace) to continue to maintain its Boeing 777 fleet. The service provided by GE Aerospace is dubbed the “TrueChoice” service, which includes maintaining, repairing, and overhauling the Thai Airways GE90 fleet.

Thai Airways remains a loyal customer of GE Aerospace, having used the GEnx on its Boeing 787 fleet expansion and equipping its fleet of Airbus A321neos with CFM LEAP engines.

• READ MORE: Farnborough Airshow Kicks Off With a Handful of Orders

The Thai flag carrier’s CEO, Chai Eamsiri, said that GE Aerospace “continues to prove itself as the right maintenance provider for our GE90 engines. This agreement extension ensures comprehensive coverage for our engines well into the future.”

Airbus Makes First Aircraft Lessor Partnership of ZEROe Program

Airbus has revealed that it will be partnering with Avolon in order to study Hydrogen-powered aircraft and reduce emissions in the aviation industry. This is the first partnership with an active lessor in the project’s history.

The European aviation manufacturer’s environmentally friendly project includes four concept aircraft, with all four carrying under 200 passengers. Its main goal is to make the first hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035 and then start selling these commercially.

At the moment, progress is heavily underway, with other partners, including London Gatwick Airport (EGKK) for infrastructure, easyJet, and Air Products, the world’s biggest supplier of hydrogen.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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The Evandale, Ohio-based company plans to put them to work on supporting current aircraft engine programs and developing new technologies for future flight. “Hiring has already started,” according to GE.

Among the programs with openings for new engineers is the CFM International Revolution Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) airliner engine project as well as advanced military engine programs. GE said in a statement that most of the openings are expected to be in the U.S., with some global positions also available. Engineering disciplines GE is seeking among applicants include mechanical and thermal design, analysis, systems, controls and aerodynamics.

“We’re entering a new era of technology development focused on reducing emissions and new architectures, advanced materials, manufacturing processes, and supercomputing capabilities revolutionizing what is possible,” said Mohamed Ali, GE Aerospace vice president of engineering. “Now, as a stand-alone public company with innovation at the core of what we do, we look forward to welcoming more engineers to help us invent the future of flight.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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The Lockheed Martin-owned firm on Tuesday unveiled its plan to build, test, and fly a fully autonomous, hybrid-electric VTOL demonstrator called HEX, which it said will be the first in a series of large, self-flying VTOL models.

Sikorsky said the HEX program is its first attempt to integrate hybrid-electric propulsion systems and advanced autonomy onto a VTOL design. The aircraft is intended to save fuel and improve performance for both commercial and military applications.

The manufacturer first hinted at a VTOL design in December 2022, announcing plans to design the HEX prototype in March. But Tuesday’s announcement revealed the aircraft will feature a unique tilt-wing architecture.

Tiltrotor or tilt-propeller designs are common in the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi space. They involve the repositioning of those components during the transition between vertical and forward flight. Tilt-wings, by contrast, rotate the entire wing vertically during takeoff to minimize their interference on thrust.

Sikorsky also confirmed that HEX represents the inception of a family of next-generation VTOL aircraft, which was only mentioned as a possibility in March. The designs will include both rotorcraft and winged models, the company said.

The aircraft will feature different degrees of electrification, but each will be powered by the company’s Matrix autonomy system for “optionally piloted flight.” Matrix enables an aircraft to be flown by two, one, or zero pilots.

“Autonomy and electrification will bring transformational change to flight safety and operational efficiency of large VTOL aircraft,” said Paul Lemmo, president of Sikorsky. “Our HEX demonstrator program will provide valuable insights as we look to a future family of aircraft built to the scale and preferred configurations relevant to commercial and military customers.”

Sikorsky is exploring the potential for such aircraft to perform utility missions for the U.S. military or fly passengers between cities. Other manufacturers exploring eVTOL designs for air taxi services, recreational flight, or potential military use include Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, and Pivotal.

According to Sikorsky’s website, HEX will be safer to fly and more efficient, cost effective, and sustainable to operate than conventional rotorcraft or fixed-wing designs. It said the aircraft will be capable of traveling 500 nm at high speed, lowering maintenance costs and limiting mechanical systems to reduce complexity.

Sikorsky Innovations—the company’s prototyping arm leading the HEX program—is working with partner GE Aerospace, the aircraft engine supplier subsidiary of General Electric, to finalize the design for a hybrid-electric power systems testbed aircraft, with a 600-kilowatt motor.

The testbed is the “first step,” according to the manufacturer and will be used to evaluate hover performance of the subsequent HEX demonstrator. The demonstrator will have a maximum gross weight of 9,900 pounds and a 1.2-megawatt-class turbogenerator, instead of the 1-megawatt generator proposed in March. Sikorsky in March also said that GE Aerospace would provide a CT7 turboshaft engine, though Tuesday’s announcement made no mention of it.

Over the next two to five years, the testbed and HEX demonstrator are expected to provide Sikorsky with insights into its future class of VTOL aircraft for regional and intercity travel.

“Within Sikorsky’s electric pillar, we are designing electric motors, power electronics and our own vehicle management hardware and actuation,” said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations. “HEX will integrate these components, showcasing the growing maturity of our Matrix autonomy suite and the potential for maintenance-free systems. Seeing the results will lead us to more efficient overall designs.”

Sikorsky Innovations has developed three experimental helicopter prototypes featuring a coaxial design, with a rear propulsor in place of a tail rotor: the X2 demonstrator, S-97 Raider, and SB-1 Defiant. These models fly twice as fast as a single main rotor helicopter, with improved maneuverability and handling at low speeds, the manufacturer said.

Sikorsky has also worked with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to demonstrate military resupply and casualty evacuation. The missions were completed using an optionally piloted UH-60A Black Hawk retrofitted with Matrix and a full-authority, fly-by-wire flight control system.

VTOL technology is a decidedly new addition to the mix, by Sikorsky’s own admission. But the manufacturer’s long history of producing rotorcraft may help it merge VTOL with its existing airframes and autonomous capabilities.

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Under the program, GE Aerospace is developing a hybrid electric powertrain for ground and flight tests planned for the middle of this decade. Boeing and its subsidiary, Aurora Flight Sciences, are working with GE Aerospace to support the flight tests, which will feature a modified Saab 340B aircraft powered by GE’s CT7 engines.

• READ MORE: GE Aviation to Partner with Boeing on Hybrid Electric Program

“GE Aerospace envisions a more electric future of flight. Our research collaborations with NASA continue to advance state-of-the-art propulsion systems with an important aim—to drive industry efforts to improve efficiency and reduce emissions compared to today’s aircraft engines,” said Arjan Hegeman, general manager of advanced technology for GE Aerospace.

GE Aerospace has reached a number of milestones in developing hybrid electric propulsion. The company conducted a ground test in 2016 and last year completed its first test of a megawatt-class and multi-kilovolt hybrid electric power system in conditions that simulated commercial flight at altitudes up to 45,000 feet.

In May GE Aerospace said it plans to invest up to $20 million to enhance the Electrical Power Integrated Systems Center in Dayton, Ohio.

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United said the fund currently has more than $100 million in investments from the airline and its inaugural partners, including Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, Honeywell, and JPMorgan Chase. These and possibly other companies will use the fund to invest in startup companies, which United will identify, that are working on SAF production and technology, United said.

• READ MORE: Bell 505 Becomes First Single-Engine Helicopter To Fly Using SAF

United said that in the past two years it has invested in a number of SAF startups including Cemvita, Dimensional Energy, and NEXT Renewable Fuels.

The airline also introduced a program under which people who buy tickets using the United website or app will have the option to contribute to supplement United’s investment in the fund. The company said it will give 500 MileagePlus miles to the first 10,000 people who choose to contribute.

SAF is an alternative to conventional jet fuel that reduces emissions of greenhouse gas compared with the use of conventional fuel alone. SAF, which currently is blended with conventional jet fuel to meet regulatory requirements for use in aircraft, is made from used cooking oil and agricultural waste. In the future, United said, SAF could be made from other feedstocks, including household trash or forest waste.

• READ MORE: United Airlines Completes First Passenger Flight Using 100 Percent SAF in One Tank

“Solving climate change is doable but it requires hard work and real leadership,” said United CEO Scott Kirby. “This fund is unique. It’s not about offsets or things that are just greenwashing. Instead, we’re creating a system that drives investment to build a new industry around sustainable aviation fuel, essentially from scratch. That’s the only way we can actually decarbonize aviation.” 

United said that to date, it has invested in the future production of more than three billion gallons of SAF, which it said is “the most of any airline in the world.”

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“We are reviewing a technical issue that occurred during GE9X post-certification engineering testing, and we are closely coordinating with Boeing on our findings to support their return to flight testing,” GE Aerospace [NYSE: GE] said.

The potential issue was discovered during a borescope inspection of a flight test engine. Both GE and Boeing agreed to remove the powerplant in question, pending further testing. The engine was sent to GE’s facility in Peebles, Ohio, for further engineering test runs. The engine manufacturer noted that during the test runs there was a temperature alert, and the operator shut the engine down. The GE9X engine involved in the test run is GE’s highest-time engine in the program, with more than 1,700 hours and 2,600 cycles.

• READ MORE: Boeing Lands Qatar Airways as First Customer for 777X Freighter

“We are supporting GE Aerospace as they assess a recent GE9X engine issue and will resume airplane testing once their thorough process and appropriate actions are complete,” Boeing officials said. “Safety is our top priority, and our supplier and technical teams will take the time necessary to support the review as we work transparently with our customers and regulators.”

About the 777X

Boeing’s 777X is the latest generation of the 777 model series. According to Boeing, the 777X is designed using advanced technologies from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and it will be the largest and most fuel efficient twin-engine jet in the world.

The 777X features composite wings and folding wingtips. Unveiled in 2013, the aircraft has two variants: the 777-8, which provides seating for 384 passengers, and the 777-9, with seating for 426 passengers. The 777X is also available in a freighter version.

The first flight of the 777-9 took place on January 25, 2020, and by June of that year there were more than 300 orders on the books for the aircraft then described by the company as “the most sophisticated airliner on the market.” 

Boeing predicted the first deliveries of the 777X would take place in 2023, but that date has been pushed back to 2025.

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