True Intermodality:
The Future of Air Cargo?
The FanWing concept is the brainchild of Pat Peebles who started flying small radio-controlled models of his design for an aircraft that would provide distributed propulsion and augmented lift at low speeds, combining the short-field performance of a helicopter with the lower costs of a more conventional aircraft. His challenge has been attracting the funding for a larger scale version of his concept. His prayers have been answered in the form of The Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics and the EU-funded SOAR program. One of the aims of the SOAR program has been to find a way to bridge the gap in global logistics with an aircraft capable of carrying ISO-standard intermodal shipping containers (Twenty-foot Equivalent Container or TEU). Currently, standard containers must be broken up and repackaged into small, lighter weight air cargo containers. Peebles concept would takeoff on a 300 ft runway, cruise at 150 kt at 18,000 ft.
The FanWing is not the only concept under development to fill this void. 4X4 Aviation, a United Kingdom-based company, has developed an unmanned-aircraft concept called th Versatile Vehicle. This design uses gimbaled electric turbines for a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL). As currently envisioned, the vessel could be as small as a drone with a payload of 7-10 kgs or large enough for full-sized TEU containers and 30 tonnes of cargo. Power would come from a combined-cycle engine that would use both fuel and recovered heat to produce steam to drive a rotary shaft. Energy would be stored as compressed gars to provide additional electrical energy.
While neither concept has been tested in a full-scale model, interest in the concept of true intermodality in the air continues.
Questions:
1) What challenges to these concepts face in development?
2) What is the competitive landscape in air cargo look like?
3) What potential regulatory obstacles would it face?
References
4×4 Aviation, Available at http://www.4x4aviation.com/intermodal-freight-vtol-drone-transport-shipping-containers-opposed-road-haulage/
Warwick, G. (2014) Cargo Cult: Can an unproven market bring success to unproven aviation concepts, Aviation Week & Space technology, August 25, p. 15.
