A demo version of Aridea
Solutions’ pneumatic actuated
valve system, which reduces
response time to potential leaks
along secluded pipelines.
to control valves securely from any device
connected to the internet.
“We saw a challenge and need in the
oil and gas industry to be able to remotely
activate valves in areas where traditional
communications and power are not available,” says Moore. “We felt our technology of low-powered, long-range communications could greatly aid in this need.”
This year, the pneumatic actuated
valve system won Aridea Solutions the
5th Annual Shale Gas Innovation Contest,
an annual competition conducted to help
drive innovation aimed at fully developing the shale gas industry in the region.
“As West Virginia looks at ways to move
our abundant natural gas to markets where
it is needed, it is important that we carry
it out safely and efficiently,” says Evans.
“The pneumatic actuated valve system
will allow oil and gas pipeline operators
to have the ability to quickly respond to
emergencies, as well as better utilize their
resources and manage pipeline assets.”
Aurora Flight Sciences’ LightningStrike VTOL X-Plane
The sky’s the limit for Aurora Flight
Sciences, creator of the new LightningStrike
Vertical Take-off/Landing Experimental
Plane (VTOL X-Plane). The aircraft, which
will be assembled in Aurora’s Bridgeport,
WV, manufacturing facility, will be the first
in history with an electric-drive system
and hybrid-electric propulsion ducted
fans that will also offer high efficiency in
both hover and high-speed forward flight.
In addition to completing the plane’s assemblies, the Bridgeport facility will build
its carbon fiber parts. The company’s West
Virginia branch employs 120 engineers,
technicians and other staff and specializes in complex aerostructure assemblies
and carbon fiber parts for military and
commercial planes.
“The LightningStrike VTOL X-Plane is a
game changer in that it has plane-like speed
with the agility of a helicopter,” says Eric
Thompson, general manager of Aurora’s
Bridgeport facility. “Long runways are
not always easy to find, and this aircraft
can land anywhere a helicopter can land
while being much quieter with electrically
distributed propulsion.”
Weighing in at 12,000 pounds, which
is comparable to a standard commercial
Katlin Swisher
or business jet, the LightningStrike VTOL
X-Plane is 38 feet long with a 61-foot
wingspan. The product of a Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) contract, the goal of the research
and development of this plane is to increase
efficiencies, reduce noise and use the technology for different platforms, such as
manned and unmanned flights.
The LightningStrike VTOL-X is part
of DARPA’s VTOL X-Plane project. Initiated in 2013, Aurora Flight Sciences was
one of four companies chosen for phase
one of the DARPA contract. After evaluation, Aurora Flight Sciences was selected
as the sole recipient for phases two and
three, which encompass fabrication and
assembly of one aircraft up through flight
tests. In partnership with Rolls-Royce
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