Small Air Transport (SAT) - GAM 2018

Project Information

SAT GAM 2018

Grant agreement ID: 807088

DOI

10.3030/807088

Project closed

EC signature date 1 January 2014

Start date 5 January 2014

End date 31 December 2019

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 1 043 575,54

EU contribution

€ 727 206,03

Coordinated by

PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES SPA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SAT GAM 2018 (Small Air Transport (SAT) - GAM 2018)

Reporting period: 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Mobility is one of the most important societal needs for amusement, business activities and health. Thus, transport needs are continuously increasing, with the consequent traffic congestion and pollution increase. Aeronautic effort aims at smarter infrastructures use and in introducing greener concepts. A possible solution to address the abovementioned topics is the development of an innovative Small Air Transport (SAT) system, able to guarantee operability from today underused airfields in an affordable and green way, helping meanwhile travel time reduction, too, for thin haul operations.
In the framework of Horizon2020, EU (European Union) has funded the Clean Sky 2 SAT TA (Transverse Activity) initiative to reduce technology gaps enabling a reduction of SAT operational cost and environmental impact, ensuring good levels of operational safety. SAT related activities join more than 80 beneficiaries across the Europe with an overall budget of about 68 millions (about 4% of total Clean Sky 2 funding).
Nowadays, most of the key technologies to reduce DOC (Direct Operating Costs), while allowing improved passenger comfort have reached an intermediate level of maturity TRL(Technology Readiness Level)3/4. Thus, the key technologies must be developed, validated and integrated on dedicated ground and flying aircraft demonstrators to reach higher TRL levels (5/6). These targets have to been achieved by improving aircraft safety (through the reduction of pilot workload for SAT), and reducing emission and community noise.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The work performed can be divided into three main packages:

1) Management: In cooperation with other ITDs (AIR, ENG, SYS) and Transverse Activities (Technology Evaluator) the coordination, driving and monitoring of the technical functions of the Transverse Activity, has been carried out, by means of SAT TA CCM (SAT Transverse Activity Coordination Committee). The main scope was to address and monitor SAT-related activities, also by means of the implementation of CfPs (Call for Proposals) issued in other ITDs and related to SAT activities, in order to harmonize and have a high-level budget control.
2) Reference and Green Aircraft: the main goal of this activity is to deliver aircraft simulation model for the 19 seats Green configuration Entry Into Service 2025, in order to assess the overall impact at aircraft level of the developed technologies, to forecast both market demand and environmental impact. Aircraft simulation model includes a LCC (Life-Cycle Cost) for the Green SAT aircraft, which has been derived as input to TE for small commuter regional transport.
3) Advanced Integration of Airframe, Engine and Systems: in order to properly support the requirements specifications for technologies development, and to properly assess their benefits, preliminary integration studies of technologies developed within Airframe, Engine and Systems ITDs on 19-seats Green Loop1 aircraft configuration have been carried out, as matured at PDR (Preliminary Design Review) level for the several subsystem demonstrators.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

SAT TA will address market innovations able to reduce small aircraft operational cost and environmental impact, ensuring good levels of operational safety, in order to revitalize European market in the small commuter category.
In particular, the following Beyond State-of-the-Art technologies are addressed:

1) Low cost composite wing box and engine nacelle using OoA (Out of Autoclave) technology, LRI (Liquid Resin Infusion) and advance automation process.
2) Innovative high lift device (blowing flap), able to allow aircraft operations from short airfields (<800m).
3) Affordable small aircraft manufacturing of metallic fuselage by means of FSW (Friction Stir Welding) and LMD (Laser Metal Deposition).
4) Affordable fly-by-wire architecture for small aircraft (CS23 certification rules).
5) More electric systems replacing pneumatic and hydraulic aircraft systems (high voltage EPGDS -Electrical Power Generation and Distribution System-, hybrid de-ice system, landing gears and brakes).
6) Advanced avionics for small aircraft, to reduce pilot workload, paving single pilot operations for 19 seats.
7) Advanced cabin comfort with new interiors materials and more comfortable seats.
8) New generation of turboprop engine with reduced fuel consumption, emissions, noise and maintenance costs for 19 seats aircraft.
9) Alternative diesel engine option for small 9 seats commuter aircraft.

The preliminary integration of the abovementioned technologies into the Green Loop 1 aircraft configuration shows that:

1) Both the block fuel and CO2 reduction of the Green A/C with respect to the Reference aircraft is about 20% at 195 KTAS and 18% at 230 KTAS.
2) NOx emission reduction of the Green A/C with respect to the Reference aircraft is about 25% at 195 KTAS and 24% at 230 KTAS.
3) Noise emission at the microphone for the Green A/C is about 71 dB(A), against 81 dB(A) for the Reference aircraft.
4) The introduction of Clean Sky 2 technologies guarantees a sensible reduction in terms of DOC: maintenance and flight crew reduction is more than 40%, fuel cost reduction is equal to 20%, ownership and insurance cost reduction is about 10% each one. The introduction of Clean Sky 2 technologies produces also a reduction of fare per seat/km equal to about 25-28%.

19 seats Green Loop 1 configuration

Green vs Reference Noise

Green vs Reference block fuel for High Speed Cruise

Green vs Reference CO2 emission for High Speed Cruise

Summary of high level objectives, actual technology, CS2 technology and expected benefits.

Green vs Reference Costs

Green vs Reference NOx emission for High Speed Cruise