Aerospace

NASA Crash Tests eVTOL Concept

NASA researchers recently completed a full-scale crash test of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) concept vehicle at the Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

The eVTOL was a ‘Lift+Cruise’ test article developed by the Revolutionary Vertical Left Technology (RVLT) project in another effort for NASA to advance research for the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) mission.

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NASA’s vision for AAM is to help emerging aviation markets safely develop an air transportation system that moves people and cargo between places previously not served or underserved by aviation. Understanding how these future aircraft may act in a crash scenario is another key point of research. Hoisted into the air, then released with pyrotechnic cutters, the model swung forward and down back to the Earth with a loud crash.

A variety of experiments were included on the test article. These experiments included several seat configurations including a NASA energy absorbing concept, various sizes of crash test dummies to study the effects of the crash loads on all sizes of occupants, and a modular NASA-developed energy-absorbing composite subfloor.

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The first event was the floor crushing and seat stroking. The subfloor and energy absorbing seats functioned as intended and limited the effect of the impact on the crash test dummies. The second was the collapse of the overhead structure. The effect of the overhead structure collapse on the crash test dummies is still being determined.

For this test, an overhead-mass was designed to represent the wing structure, rotor and battery. The decision was made to assume that all the weight of the overhead structure was over the cabin. There are many other overhead-mass configurations which may behave differently in a crash.

More #eVTOL crash test footage! This was from recent testing at @NASA_Langley. Details: https://t.co/LydMHhxaYr
?️: Gary Banziger pic.twitter.com/Jdy7iMUf17
— Elan Head @[email protected] (@elanhead) December 20, 2022
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The test data will be used to refine modeling techniques and reported to the AAM community so that it can be discussed. The full-scale testing data will be used to improve the simulation models such that in the future, the predictions will be more realistic. The data will further be used as the basis for evaluating potential test conditions and configurations that will be used during a drop test of a second Lift+Cruise test article, tentatively scheduled for testing in late 2023.

Aerospace

When Ratan Tata was denied entry to the airfield at the Aero India show, he waited

During our visit to Aero India 2019, we had the unexpected opportunity to see Ratan Tata at the event, which was a thrilling moment for us. However, there was a surprising hiccup when the security staff didn’t allow him to enter due to a lack of a security pass.

Despite this, he remained calm and patiently waited for about 20 minutes until a member of the Tata team brought him the required pass, after which he calmly proceeded inside. It was a humbling sight, showcasing his composed demeanor even in such situations.

Ratan Tata ji is not only a renowned industrialist but also a trained pilot, holding a pilot’s license. In 2007, he became the first Indian civilian to fly the F-16 Falcon during the Aero India show in Bangalore—a proud moment for the nation.

His passion for aviation extended beyond flying, as he played a key role in shaping India’s aerospace industry. Under his leadership, Tata ventured into manufacturing and maintaining aerospace components while upholding its legacy of quality. Notably, Tata’s collaboration with Airbus to develop and manufacture the C295 aircraft is a testament to its growing influence in the sector.