ENGtechnica

Tag: FutureOfFlight

  • Altair Strengthens Aerospace Ties with Piedmont Aerospace Cluster

    Altair Strengthens Aerospace Ties with Piedmont Aerospace Cluster

    Image: Altair

    TROY, MI, Feb 27, 2025 – Altair has been selected to join the Piedmont Aerospace Cluster. As a member, Altair will contribute to several of the Cluster’s innovative projects and strategic initiatives.

    In aerospace, supply chains play a crucial role, as optimizing them requires companies with deep knowledge of the processes and methods of a regulated, quality-driven industry. As a leading technology provider in the realm of digitalization for engineering, testing, manufacturing, and maintenance, Altair is poised to support the Cluster by offering critical tools and expertise. The focus is on delivering advanced digital engineering solutions and the application of AI for the development, production, and maintenance of aircraft and their subsystems.

    “Altair has deep roots within Piedmont and Turin, where we have had our Italian headquarters for more than 20 years. Throughout that time, we have established close relationships with the world’s leading aerospace companies,” said Pietro Cervellera, senior vice president of aerospace and defense, Altair. “Joining the Cluster is our way of strengthening our bond with the region, its universities, and its businesses within the aerospace ecosystem.”

    “We are pleased to welcome Altair to the Cluster, which already includes among its members some of the most innovative aerospace companies in our country,” said Fulvia Quagliotti, president, Piedmont Aerospace Cluster. “Simulation, data analytics, and AI are essential elements for aerospace organizations of all types.”

    Source: Altair

    About Altair

    Altair Engineering Inc., founded in 1985 and headquartered in Troy, MI, is a computational science and AI leader. The company offers software and cloud solutions across various domains, including product development, high-performance computing (HPC), simulation, AI, and data analytics. Altair’s comprehensive, open-architecture platforms empower organizations to design more efficient and sustainable products and processes. Altair has established itself as a key player in engineering and enterprise analytics, serving industries such as automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing. In 2024, Siemens announced its agreement to acquire Altair for $10.6 billion, aiming to strengthen its position in industrial software.

    About Piedmont Aerospace Cluster

    Established in 2019, the Piedmont Aerospace Cluster is a non-profit association headquartered in Turin, Italy, dedicated to enhancing the competitiveness of the Piedmont region’s aerospace industry. Building upon the efforts of a previous committee active since 2005, the Cluster brings together key stakeholders, public authorities, universities, research centers, and over 90 local businesses involved in aeronautics and space sectors. Its primary mission is to coordinate public and private investments in technological innovation, promote internationalization, and foster collaboration across the supply chain. The Cluster serves aeronautics, space, and defense industries, focusing on activities like research and development, training, and supply chain optimization. The Cluster’s impact is evident through its strategic initiatives and partnerships, including being a founding member of the National Aerospace Technology Cluster (CTNA), which unites Italy’s leading aerospace hubs.

  • Radia Selects Collier for WindRunner Structural Sizing

    Radia Selects Collier for WindRunner Structural Sizing

    Artist rendering of the WindRunner airframe model showing optimization zones in HyperX software interface. Image Collier Aerospace Corp.

    NEWPORT NEWS, VA, Feb 27, 2025 – Collier Aerospace Corp., developer of the HyperX CAE solution, announced that Radia, Inc. selected its design and analysis software for the structural sizing of WindRunner – the world’s largest aircraft. Structural sizing is the critical process of determining the size and weight of primary aircraft structures.

    Radia is developing the WindRunner aircraft, an outsized aerial logistics platform designed to efficiently and effectively deliver the world’s considerable cargo, such as wind energy turbine blades, spacecraft, satellites, defense cargo, airplanes, and large commercial payloads. WindRunner solves transportation bottlenecks with its ability to fly cargo up to the length of a football field and land on semi-prepared dirt runways as short as 1,800m (6,000 ft) when required.

    Collier Aerospace’s software and services help Radia’s engineering and design teams optimize and accelerate sizing for the massive aircraft’s airframe and efficiently evaluate and analyze many different design configurations under rigorous time and cost pressures.

    Aircraft size comparison of the WindRunner and a Boeing 747-400. Image credit Radia.

    “Using Collier’s technology, we can create and analyze design concepts in hours and automate the time-consuming process of evaluating hundreds to thousands of load cases,” said Mark Lundstrom, founder and CEO of Radia. “Collier’s software helps us efficiently evaluate design options and optimize WindRunner’s weight and structural performance in support of its critically important mission.”

    Radia began the WindRunner project in 2016 and brought in Collier Aerospace at an early stage as a software provider and engineering consultant. To support the design process, Radia used Collier’s methodology for structural sizing and analysis. The team conducted configuration assessments of the wings, fuselage, ribs, spars stringers, and other parts made of composite and metal. Radia leveraged the tool’s automated sizing capabilities to account for unusual variables such as the huge size and capacity of the unpressurized fuselage.

    Artist rendering showcasing the WindRunner aircraft, approximately the length of a football field (356 ft), shown in HyperX software interface. Image Collier Aerospace Corp.

    HyperX software automates stress analysis and design. It performs rapid structural sizing, lightweighting, and margin writing for all load cases. The software also helps ensure the producibility of a composite part by creating a design that is optimized for manufacturability. It reduces schedule time by speeding up the engineering cycle and shortening the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification processes.

    “It’s been a thrill to work with Radia on its breakthrough WindRunner aircraft and contribute to its extraordinary mission,” commented Craig Collier, professional engineer and CEO of Collier Aerospace. “This collaboration brought together the vision of the Radia team and our collective deep knowledge and experience in aerospace structural engineering. We contributed to the success of this design project by providing guidance on our software’s capabilities. We can’t wait to see the final result of this groundbreaking design when WindRunner makes its maiden flight.”

    About Collier Aerospace

    Founded in 1995, Collier Aerospace Corporation specializes in developing structural analysis and design optimization software for the aerospace industry. Their flagship product, HyperX, assists engineers in performing rapid stress analysis and structural sizing for both composite and metallic airframes, aiming to reduce weight and expedite certification processes. Headquartered at 760 Pilot House Drive, Newport News, Virginia, USA, the company serves sectors including space launch vehicles, commercial aviation, business jets, and urban air mobility. As of 2025, Collier Aerospace employs 31 professionals. While specific annual revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, the company has secured funding through grants and private debt financing. Notable clients include NASA, Boeing, and Bell Helicopter, reflecting the company’s significant role in advancing aerospace structural engineering.

  • Dómhnal Slattery Appointed Chairman of Vertical Aerospace

    Dómhnal Slattery Appointed Chairman of Vertical Aerospace

    LONDON, UK and NEW YORK, NY, Jan 15, 2025 – Vertical Aerospace has announced the appointment of Dómhnal Slattery as chairman of its Board of Directors with immediate effect. Mr. Slattery brings over three decades of global aviation industry expertise to Vertical and rejoins the Board having previously served as chairman from Jan 2022 to Aug 2023 during which time Vertical built a strong order book and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

    Mr. Slattery is one the world’s leading aircraft leasing and finance pioneers having founded and built Avolon and SMBC Aviation into leading industry players. As of present day, they are respectively ranked as the number two and three aircraft leasing companies in the world. Dómhnal Slattery is also CEO and chairman of Clahane Capital.

    Vertical will benefit from Mr. Slattery’s leadership and capital markets expertise and, in particular, his understanding of and track record in the global aviation sector. The businesses he has founded and built have collectively raised and deployed over $75 billion in capital.

    Mr. Slattery was the 2023 recipient of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) Award and the “Outstanding Contribution to the Aviation Industry” award at the Aviation Industry Awards in 2016. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Dublin City University in 2022 and the NYU Lewis L Glucksman Award for Ethical Leadership in 2020 – both of which recognized his contribution to aviation and entrepreneurship.

    The appointment of Mr. Slattery as Chair follows significant progress for the business on its path to commercialize zero emissions air travel. Vertical recently strengthened its balance sheet by $180 million including securing $50 million of new committed funding. Vertical also became the second company in the world to achieve piloted thrustborne flight with a full-scale vectored thrust eVTOL aircraft.

    Stephen Welch, the outgoing chairman, will continue to serve on the Vertical Board as a non-executive director.

    Dómhnal Slattery, Vertical chairman, said, “Vertical is leading one of the most transformative shifts in aviation history, driving the transition to zero-emissions flight. I am excited to re-join the business at such a pivotal time. We have the team, technology and vision to pioneer electric aviation and deliver on our ambition to be the world’s leading eVTOL company by the end of the decade.”

    Stuart Simpson, CEO at Vertical Aerospace, said: “Dómhnal’s remarkable track record of founding and scaling world-class businesses positions him perfectly to guide Vertical’s journey. His leadership, understanding of capital markets and deep industry expertise will be invaluable as we accelerate towards achieving our Flightpath 2030 goal of becoming the global leader in the eVTOL sector.”