Society news

Society news

LOUGHBOROUGH MEng PROJECT

The Yellowfin all-electric seaplane

How does one design an aircraft for zero-carbon tourism and humanitarian missions in one of the most beautiful but ecologically fragile places in the world? OLIVIA TOMLINSON explains how a Loughborough University student design team took on the challenge of sustainable aviation in the Maldives.

As part of a final year project, 13 MEng Aeronautical Engineering finalists from Loughborough University (team Abeona) were tasked with designing a solution to relieve some of the pressing transport issues experienced within the Maldives. Due to its remote nature and lack of infrastructure, this posed quite a challenge. The final concept was an all-electric, low-emission seaplane which can be used in both the tourism and medical sectors due to its convertible cabin. The aircraft was named the Yellowfin, a tribute to the Maldives’ national animal – the yellowfin tuna.

A model of Yellowfin. Abeona.

The challenge

The Republic of Maldives (the Maldives), is an archipelago state located southwest of India, consisting of 200 inhabited islands and 80 tourist resorts1 grouped into 20 natural atolls. The current transport system utilises a fleet of 57 de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otters, operated by Trans-Maldivian Airways (TMA), as well as boats and ferries. (see https://www.aerosociety.com/news/seaplane-paradise/) However, these can be unreliable, particularly in bad weather and only operate during daylight hours. Through group research we found that it has become increasingly apparent that this is becoming inadequate for the needs of the Maldives. The Maldivian tourism industry is expanding but the transport system has not evolved with it, and is becoming dated. The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed short-comings in the transportation of patients and medical equipment. In a country with an above-average number of Beta-thalassaemia patients, efficient transport is essential.

As a result, the student team developed a concept for a multi-use aircraft, the Yellowfin, to suit the needs of both the tourism and medical sectors. The Yellowfin is an all-electric aircraft, with an entry-to-service date of 2035, and has been designed to align with the ACARE Flightpath 2050 targets, reducing Abeona’s emissions contribution. The Yellowfin has a cruise speed of 275km/h at an altitude of 5,000ft, with a design range of 300km on one charge. It also has a flexible interior, so it can be easily adapted to suit operator needs, with removable seats and hardpoints for medical equipment. The primary use of the Yellowfin will be in the tourism industry but, outside of the main tourism season (November to April), medical transport will serve as a secondary use, increasing revenue for operators. With a capacity of six passengers, the Yellowfin can reduce the wait times associated with seaplane transfers in the Maldives due to the high usage of the Twin Otters.

LIDAR for 24hr operations

Detailed design from the team has resulted in a competitive aircraft with an advanced navigation suite and LIDAR allowing for safe water landings at night. Lithium-sulphur batteries power the Yellowfin and offer a much higher energy density compared to competitors. The landing gear consists of two sets of hydrofoils, allowing for a significant drag reduction during take-off when compared to traditional seaplane float landing gear. The aircraft structures team designed the structures to give a high factor of safety over all flight phases and the aerodynamic surfaces were designed to ensure stability in all configurations.

An artist’s impression of Yellowfin. Abeona.

As part of this project, the Abeona team also developed a comprehensive business plan as if the aircraft were to be integrated into the Maldives and sold to operators. During the first five years, operator feedback will be utilised to update the aircraft, ensuring it satisfies operator needs and remains a competitive solution within the Maldives. Initially, it is intended that Yellowfin will be adopted by current and new seaplane operators and potentially receive funding and support from the governmental bodies within the Maldives, particularly for humanitarian and essential missions. This will increase the appeal of the Yellowfin to operators, as they will be able to open new revenue streams. With multiple years of experience in the Maldives, Abeona would then look to expand into other archipelago regions, such as Canada or the Philippines. The Yellowfin would be marketed as aiming to solve similar transport system issues that arise due to the geographical similarities between these countries.

Once the Yellowfin is well established in each region, Abeona’s plan would be to work with operators to implement an ‘air taxi’ system, operated via an app or website. This would allow both tourists and residents to easily book cheap transfers between islands, without having to wait for scheduled flights or boats. The Yellowfin is particularly suited for this use, due to its small passenger capacity of six.

Leasing the batteries and recycling composites

The team also noted potential issues in terms of short battery lifetime and the negative outlook associated with waste from the aviation industry. As a result, a battery lease scheme will also be implemented to increase Abeona’s income. After the battery packs on each aircraft deteriorate past suitability for use (expected to take a minimum of five years), they can be leased to third-parties as high-capacity electricity storage solutions. One potential customer could be the resorts and hotels operating in the Maldives, which currently use diesel generators to meet their power demands. With the Maldivian government pushing for an increase in usage of renewable energy2, the used battery packs could help resorts transition to renewables by smoothing the demand on natural sources. For example, the pack could store solar power during the day, and release it during the night. The batteries could also be leased back to Yellowfin operators, as fast-charging stations for the aircraft. This would increase their utilisation of the Yellowfin and allow both Abeona and the operators to move towards net-zero carbon operations.

Another major issue within the aviation industry is the waste generated from carbon fibre components which have been notoriously difficult to recycle. Therefore when carbon fibre components reach their end-of-life, operators could participate in a component ‘buyback’ scheme, selling components back to Abeona (bypassing the Maldives current fee for scrapping3). These will be broken down by solvolysis, after which Abeona could resell the raw materials to third parties. Alternatively, the raw materials could be used to reinforce and repair existing aircraft.

A Trans-Maldivian Airways DHC-6 Twin Otter taxiing to dock after landing. DD.

Further work

The team have identified some limitations of the Yellowfin’s design. The relatively small design range of 300km means that some resorts are inaccessible from the main international transport hub in Malé and the Yellowfin would be unable to operate return journeys from some resorts without additional infrastructure. Another limitation is the requirement for regulatory change and development in the Maldives. Although the Yellowfin’s LiDAR system offers a similar accuracy to a CAT III Autoland, night water landings would still be prohibited under current legislation. Furthermore, the Maldives currently produces much of its electricity using diesel generators, so an all-electric aircraft may not be as viable or as environmentally friendly as hoped, without a shift to renewable energy generation.

The team have also identified some further work to be completed on the Yellowfin including more in-depth interior design to maximise passenger comfort and ease of use for aircrew; greater definition of the control systems used in the FMS; and the detailed design of drag-reducing geometries, such as wing-fuselage fairings. Furthermore, work could be completed on the ‘air taxi’ platform, to serve as a proof of concept before the scheme would be pitched to operators as outlined in the long-term business plan. However, it is believed that, even in its current guise, the Abeona Yellowfin would be a viable solution to existing problems in the Maldivian transport supersystem, while also having a positive impact on the economy and assisting the government in achieving their environmental targets.

Summary

As mentioned, this has been a purely conceptual student project. Abeona is made up of a group of 13 Aeronautical Engineering finalists from Loughborough University who have completed this design project as part of their final year. We would like to thank the Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering for supporting and facilitating this project, in particular the lecturers who have helped over the year! As a group, we are extremely proud of the Yellowfin design and our achievements over the past year.

Bibliography

  1. Lux* Resorts and Hotels, ‘Discover the Maldives’, Lux*, 2021. [Online]. Available. [Accessed 8 May 2021].
  2. ‘World Data – Energy Consumption on the Maldives’, [Online]. Available.
  3. S Job, G Leeke, P Mativenga, G Oliveux, S Pickering and N Shuaib, ‘Composites recycling: Where are we now?’, Composites UK Ltd.
WOMEN IN AVIATION

AeroWomen21 – the new home of engineering adventurers

Imagine this: You are standing in a classroom about to deliver a STEM workshop on encouraging a new generation of students to consider a career in engineering, and you look around the room to see a large group of male students, with a few female students sitting at the back.

This isn’t a scene from the 1970s, ’80s or even ’90s but it is one I experienced in the past year, so why hasn’t the mix of male and female students who feel engineering is for them changed over the decades?

Leonardo

“Why don’t you start a network yourself?” When my Mum made this remark as a throwaway comment on a long drive home, I began to realise that I couldn’t think of a reason why I couldn’t start a network. One of the things I have enjoyed the most about Leonardo’s Graduate Scheme is the fact that you are actively encouraged to go out into the community to deliver STEM outreach in local schools. After having been on Leonardo’s Graduate Scheme for one year, I was offered the chance to be the local RAeS Branch Young Persons’ Network Representative (YPN). This role would allow me to create my own ways of reaching out to students and young people in my local community. I was then in a position to start building an event, making sure that the message we were broadcasting was ‘YOUNG WOMEN, WE NEED YOU IN STEM!’. This is how AeroWomen21 was born.

Nick Whitney, Managing Director Leonardo Helicopters (UK) and site lead for Leonardo in Yeovil where I work, put his full support behind the formation of the network. Momentum soon started to build. I spoke to the women around me at Leonardo and gathered a team of amazing examples of women in STEM at Leonardo and we got to work! They included Holly Ward, Jessica Chamberlain, Holly Phimister, Bethany Elwell, Samantha Hubbard, Kealey Judd, Karolina Piatek and Holly Marner.

​The event went through several different iterations due to Covid-19. We worked on the project together from May 2020 and finally on 23 June 2021, we hosted our inaugural event virtually. Having started in Yeovil, the initiative had since expanded to other Leonardo sites across the UK and we invited students aged 16 and 17 (Yr12) from schools local to Yeovil, Edinburgh, Luton and Lincoln, and opened up the event to women in aerospace from anywhere in the world. Hosting the event online meant that we could increase the numbers from 100 total attendees to 200! We had 90 students and 100 women in industry who attended the day’s events, from 18 different schools and over ten different aerospace companies and organisations.

AeroWomen21 aims to educate, celebrate and unite women in the aerospace industry, with support from Leonardo and the Royal Aeronautical Society. The network aims to address the shortfall of female engineers in the UK and increase the diversity of candidates who apply for apprenticeships, graduate schemes and STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) courses.

Some of the leading lights of the aerospace industry participated in the event, acting as role models to demonstrate that women can reach the top of their industry and pursue highly influential roles in engineering. They included Angela Owen OBE, founder of Women in Defence; Anna Keeling, Managing Director of Boeing Defence UK; and Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology Officer at Airbus, who participated in discussions, workshops and presentations. Dr Cristina Garcia Duffy, Head of Technology at the Aerospace Technology Institute; and Paula Clarke, Engineering & Projects Director at Leonardo (UK), also hosted a panel discussion on women’s professional experiences in the aerospace industry.

The workshops focused around networking and building skills to create elevator pitches, which they practiced delivering to each other and exploring the best ways to present themselves professionally online, whether they were a student or a woman in industry.

AEROWOMEN21 AIMS TO EDUCATE, CELEBRATE AND UNITE WOMEN IN THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY​

In the years running up to the formation of the network, I had regularly visited schools and colleges in the local area to deliver presentations, run events and coach groups through competitions. When I arrived, I always hoped that there would be an equal number of male and female students who had been selected to take part. However, I was always greeted by a very enthusiastic group of boys and only a small number of girls.

In the coming months I will be proactively seeking to invite teachers to join AeroWomen21, as I think they need more support from industry to give them the most up to date information on jobs in the engineering world. Young people start to form ideas about their careers based on input from their parents, teachers and friends years before they are typically targeted for STEM activities in their teens. So we have to help primary school teachers to access information on engineering careers early on in children’s development. I think it would be powerful for teachers to have the opportunity to meet some of the female leaders in the aerospace industry in person, not only so they gain an understanding of the careers that can offer long-term, stable and well remunerated roles but to impress upon them that women are needed in engineering.

The Women’s Engineering Society’s Engineering UK report confirmed that just 12.37% of women in the UK are engineers and an Engineering Council attitudinal survey of more than 2,500 young people, 1,000 STEM secondary school teachers and 1,800 members of the public provided compelling evidence that STEM outreach can and does work. Young people attending a STEM careers activity in the previous 12 months were over three times as likely to consider engineering careers as those who had not.

For me, one of the most memorable moments of our first AeroWomen21 event was when Nick Whitney, Managing Director of Helicopters (UK) shared an inspiring quote from a female engineering pioneer and adventurer Amy Johnson, who was the first woman to fly solo from the UK to Australia in 1930: ‘Believe nothing to be impossible.’

I want AeroWomen21 to become the new home of engineering adventurers – because engineering is the most exciting adventure you could ever hope to experience.

Olivia Gribler
Leonardo UK 

 

 

Message from RAeS Book Reviews e-Library Additions New member spotlight Diary Elections Journal of Aeronautical History RAeS - are you eligible for e-Associate membership?