AIAA PROPULSION & ENERGY FORUM – Day 3
Forum Theme: Trumpeting the Future of P&E
Day 3 Theme: Electrification / Emerging Tech
Day three concludes the Propulsion & Energy Forum portion of this week's programming. For some of you, this was first virtual AIAA conference experience. And AIAA really values your feedback – when you receive the post Forum survey, please take time to respond. Some of you also attended the AVIATION Forum. If you did, I hope you appreciated the changes made to the website – I found navigating the P&E Forum was much easier than Aviation. These are the type of changes that the AIAA staff makes, in response to your feedback. They want to make your experience as easy and enjoyable as possible. I know many of you also are participating in the Electric Aircraft Technology Symposium (EATS). As was mentioned, if you did not sign up for EATS, you can still do so – it runs through Friday. The symposium addresses perhaps one of the most exciting developments in aircraft propulsion. Whether your interest centers around specific technologies that will make electric aircraft feasible, or whether you focus more on systems engineering, EATS has a comprehensive lineup of speakers, panels and technical sessions that you will find worth your time.
Day 3 - My Top Take-Aways
- We learned first thing this morning, from Dan Dumbacher, the AIAA Executive Director, that the 2021 SciTech Forum would be conducted virtually. I'm sure this was an agonizing decision for AIAA. To tie that to what we've been learning and discussing this week during P&E, that announcement shows the magnitude of the challenge facing the aviation part of our industry. As I recall, last year's attendance at SciTech was around 5000 individuals. Assuming the vast majority were not from the Orlando area, means that the vast majority of those 5000 people flew in to and out of Orlando the first week of January. On average (pre-COVID), more than 100,00 passengers pass through MCO every day. That's a lot of business lost until such time as its deemed safe to attend conferences or take your family to Disney World. This is especially troublesome for the aero-propulsion companies, as they've taken a double hit. First, on sales, and second, on their aftermarket services. The latter of which is where engine companies make so much of their profit. The aerospace industry's ability to invest in R&D is truly stressed. All the more reason that organizations like NASA sustain R&D and partnerships with industry and academia, just as Bob Pearce, from NASA, noted this morning in his plenary address.
- The kickoff to the Electric Aircraft Technology Symposium was this morning's Forum 360 Panel on Perspectives on Electrified Aircraft Propulsion. My take away – batteries, batteries, batteries. Until such time as we come up with an energy storage scheme that rivals existing carbon- based aviation fuel's energy density, all-electric aircraft will be limited to small, relatively short-haul aircraft. And the development of all-electric propulsion will be dependent on how much air-taxis and on-demand mobility are embraced by the public. In the meantime, for large civil transport, the industry will continue with the electrification of aircraft, as doing so will result in favorable direct operating costs and will provide for design space flexibility.
Quote of the Day: "Electric Aircraft provide the opportunity to change flygskam (flight shaming) to flugvergnugen (flying pleasure)" – David Hall while discussing the enthusiasm that students have for the electrified aircraft.
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Thomas B. (Tom) Irvine
Consultant
TBI Aerospace Consulting LLC
Cedar, MI
tbirvine3@gmail.com------------------------------