We speak with the Founder and CEO of Wright Electric, an aviation company with a goal to make all regional single-aisle flights zero-emissions. In the news, Boeing testified before the NTSB about the 737 door plug incident, American Airlines new standby rules are criticized, Space-X may bring the Boeing Starliner astronauts back from the International Space Station, and the impact on Delta Air Lines after the Microsoft/CrowdStrike global IT outage. We also have an Australia News Desk report.

Guest

Jeff Engler is the Founder and CEO of Wright Electric. The company develops ultra-lightweight electric motors, generators, and batteries for aerospace and defense. Wright is leveraging the company’s megawatt-class propulsion system to transform a 100-passenger BAe 146 into an all-electric, zero-emissions aircraft. Wright and Columbia University are developing batteries that are up to four times lighter than lithium-ion.

Jeff explains how the company all started with a newsletter and came to focus on flights with more than 100 passengers and shorter than 800 miles. He describes what distinguishes aircraft propulsion electric motors from other electric motors, and how the transportation market segments into different technologies for different applications.

We consider the important issue of battery energy density and why Wright has decided to develop their lightweight batteries. Also, we discuss programs the company is involved in, the C-130/LM-100J and BAe 146 aircraft that support the technology development, and Wright’s commercial, government, and academic partners. Jeff describes Wright’s timeline targets for retrofitted and clean-sheet electric aircraft.

Jeff started the company when he learned flying tripled his carbon footprint. He incubated Wright through a Harvard University fellowship and led Wright through the selective Y Combinator accelerator program. He previously co-founded Podimetrics, a medical device company that has raised $70M+ in venture funding. Jeff has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Columbia and Harvard.

See:

• Wright Steps Up Ground Testing for 2.5MW Electric Motor
• Wright Electric assembling 2.5MW WM2500 electric propulsion unit
• Wright Electric & Columbia University Receive U.S. Department of Energy Award for Ultra-Lightweight Battery Development
• U.S. Air Force Backs Wright’s Work On Rechargeable Thermal Batteries
• Surprise test flight heralds ultra-long-range electric aircraft by 2028
• Samsung’s EV battery breakthrough: 600-mile charge in 9 mins, 20 year lifespan
• Alliance for Zero-Emission Aviation (AZEA) – The Alliance is a voluntary initiative of private and public partners who share the objective of preparing the entry into commercial service of hydrogen-powered and electric aircraft.

Other articles supporting our conversation:

• DOD Report: Consolidation of Defense Industrial Base Poses Risks to National Security [PDF]
• Reducing the Cost of Space Travel with Reusable Launch Vehicles – NSTXL.

Aviation News

NTSB chair: Boeing reassigning workers to Everett was retaliation

NTSB chief rips Boeing over lack of 737 Max answers

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held an investigative hearing open to the public in the NTSB Boardroom on August 6-7, 2024. During the hearing, the NTSB gathered sworn testimonies about the Jan.​ 5, 2024, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 door plug incident. This was a fact-finding step in the safety investigation and the testimonies became part of the public record.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy asked Boeing Director of Quality Hector Silva if he was “100 percent sure a defect will not occur tomorrow” and whether he was “100 percent sure there will never be an unauthorized removal” of a door plug. He replied, “No.” Boeing factory workers told the hearing they felt pressured to work fast and complete jobs for which they did not feel qualified.

Videos of the hearing are publicly available. Note: Each video is over 8 hours long.

• NTSB Investigative Hearing – Alaska Airlines flight 1282 (Day 1)
• NTSB Investigative Hearing – Alaska Airlines flight 1282 (Day 2)

Cost-Cutting Chaos: New American Airlines Standby Rules and IT Glitches Leave Loyal Flyers Stranded

Gary Leff writes that “American Airlines standby is a mess, and it encapsulates much of what is wrong with the carrier. They don’t have their customer in mind when making and changing policies. Instead, the focus is on reducing costs, and getting customers to change their behavior.”

Standby isn’t allowed if you have checked bags, unless you’re an AAdvantage elite. Once you check a bag, you can no longer add yourself to standby using American’s mobile tools. But Gold and Platinum elite members aren’t allowed to add themselves any other way. Also, passengers cannot get help from an agent to get on a different flight, and passengers still have to follow their original routing.

Dragon Rescue For Starliner Crew Looking More Likely

Test pilots Sunni Williams and Butch Wilmore flew to the International Space Station in the Boeing Starliner crew capsule on an eight-day mission. It docked with the Space Station on June 6, 2024. However, thruster and helium leak issues have plagued the capsule, preventing their return to earth. Boeing and NASA have conducted many space and ground tests of the propulsion system, but root cause of the problems is still not understood.

According to its most recently published Mission Update on August 2, 2024 Boeing’s confidence remains high in Starliner’s return with crew: “The testing has confirmed 27 of 28 RCS thrusters are healthy and back to full operational capability. Starliner’s propulsion system also maintains redundancy and the helium levels remain stable. The data also supports root cause assessments for the helium and thruster issues and flight rationale for Starliner and its crew’s return to Earth.”

Yet on August 7, 2024, NASA held a teleconference to discuss the options for getting the two astronauts home. The safety of the Starliner is still being discussed. An alternative for bringing them home is to use an upcoming SpaceX Crew 9 mission delayed and launched with two empty seats. The Starliner crew would return in February 2025 and the Starliner would return to Earth autonomously.

NASA likely to significantly delay the launch of Crew 9 due to Starliner issues

Sources tell Ars Technica that “Officials are contemplating moving the Crew-9 mission from its current date of August 18 to September 24, a significant slip.” Such a delay would give NASA more time to determine the safety of the Starliner, and time for Boeing to implement a software update that could take up to four weeks.

NASA safety discussions center around “the performance of the small reaction control system thrusters in proximity to the space station. If the right combination of them fail before Starliner has moved sufficiently far from the station, Starliner could become uncontrollable and collide with the space station. The thrusters are also needed later in the flight back to Earth to set up the critical de-orbit burn and entry in Earth’s atmosphere.”

Microsoft says Delta ignored Satya Nadella’s offer of CrowdStrike help

Last month a significant global outage of some Windows systems followed a flawed CrowdSource software update. Microsoft estimated 8.5 million Windows devices were disabled. Airlines, and many others, were unable to operate some of their systems.

Delta Air Lines took longer to get back online than other airlines and says it was forced to cancel around 7,000 flights over 5 days. Delta has criticized Microsoft and CrowdSource and wants compensation for the $500 million it claims was lost. Microsoft said that Delta was operating with an outdated IT infrastructure, and refused help from the Microsoft CEO.

Delta is being investigated by the US Department of Transportation and a lawsuit has been filed against Delta on behalf of passengers whose flights were canceled. CrowdStrike has since been sued by its shareholders.

Australia News Desk

In our last report, we spoke of the difficulties new entrants to the Australian airline market face, and how it almost always ends in tears.  With startup LCC Bonza Air exiting the scene earlier this year, we were full of praise for Regional Express (Rex), who seemed at least on the surface of things to really be kicking some goals.

So imagine our surprise when it was announced on July 30th that Rex had been placed into voluntary administration;  its 737 fleet grounded and their associated flights canceled.  It was news that blindsides many in the industry and media alike and appears to have come in the wake of a board-level stoush that’s left the carrier starved of funding.  

News out today suggests Rex’s deficit may be as high at $A500million.  

Affected passengers (including Steve and his wife) were re-booked on Virgin Australia flights – a process which has so far been flawless, with VA taking leases on three of Rex’s 10 737-800’s (jets which ironically had come from VA in the first place) to bolster capacity.

Rex’s regional SAAB 340 services remain operational at present, as administrators Ernst & Young seek to find a buyer for the airline.

In defence news, the USAF have parked a handful of F-22’s at RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales, allowing joint training exercises with local F-35A’s from 3SQN & 77SQN.  Two of these Hickam-based Raptors will be making their way north to Queensland for the upcoming Pacific Airshow Gold Coast.  Raptors are not often seen in this part of the world, so it’ll be a treat to see them perform at the event.

And speaking of the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast, Steve and Grant will be there for all the action, along with the Airplane Geeks’ very own Brian Coleman.  Be sure to let us know if you’ll be there too! August 16-18, 2024.

Mentioned

Making an ATR-72 Spin

Flighty

Australiadesk.net

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, and Rob Mark.