Northwest Aerospace News June | July Issue No. 15 | Page 13

Human added. But he said they also sell the software to
other companies who need the same data management services.
Their projects are diverse and it’s easy to join the owners in
their excitement. One current project for Rolls-Royce is a
flying test bed, which is essentially a flying laboratory in a
747 aircraft to test a new engine. They are doing engineering
development flight testing for high altitude, extreme
cold, and other points of measurement that cannot be simulated
somewhere else.
Their work will validate the engineering analysis, which
Human said, “Gives confidence and proof of data that it is
ready to go on a commercial airplane.”
The inside of the 747 will contain racks, equipment and
workstations for engineers to be on board while the engine
test is going on. Human noted that, “A 747 has four engines
on it. The airplane will have the capability of taking
the fifth engine on board,” he added that this is the best
way to test an engine. “We’re able to do this testing in a
controlled, safe environment and test it to its limits. We are
not certifying the engine; we are building the flying laboratory.”
Their deliverable to Rolls-Royce is the modified 747
with the testing capability.
Aside from traditional, commercial aircraft projects,
AeroTEC is now getting into electric aircraft through
work with MagniX and their electric propulsion system.
This project will allow MagniX to replace a traditional
turbo prop engine in a Cessna, for example, with modifications,
to create an electric propulsion system qualified
to take short hops, a half an hour away, to an airport on an
island, for example.
Another electric airplane project is with Eviation, the first
all-electric commuter aircraft. AeroTEC is helping with
engineering design, electric power distribution, fuselage,
cockpit and human factors, and flight control systems,
said Human.
In a robust company like AeroTEC, with so many competencies
and depth of experience, Human said one of their
greatest challenges is communicating their value to the
client. Companies know that they need to go through a
certification process, but he said that most don’t understand
the path to get there. Human said, “Every customer
is different; some customers are very familiar with the
services but with many we are taking a leadership role in
some of these pieces.”
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