The Georgia Institute of Technology has officially opened its new Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory, which is dedicated to advancing research in electric and autonomous flight in collaboration with academic, government, and industry partners.
The 10,000-square-foot facility has been purpose-built to accelerate innovation in electric and hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion, as well as autonomous flight systems, according to Georgia Tech officials.
Designed as a hands-on research and teaching environment, the Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory includes a suite of specialized laboratories: An electric powertrain lab, a propulsion system test cell, an avionics lab, a composites fabrication area, and a high-bay integration space capable of housing prototype aircraft with wingspans up to 20 feet.
One of the facility’s first major projects is RAVEN (Research Aircraft for eVTOL Enabling techNologies), a collaboration with NASA to design, build, and fly an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) research aircraft in the 1,000-pound weight class. The aircraft will serve as a research platform for electric propulsion reliability, flight controls, noise reduction, and autonomy, officials noted.
“The Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory is the centerpiece of an ecosystem of flight research that we are building at Georgia Tech, focused on eVTOLs, drones, and other advanced air vehicles,” said Brian German, professor of aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech. “We greatly appreciate the long-term partnership we’ve had with NASA in the development of RAVEN, and we’ve designed the facility specifically to support RAVEN and aircraft of a similar scale.”
Other projects underway in the Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory include a solar-electric aircraft demonstrator and SETTER, a subscale eVTOL testbed focused on developing software for safety-critical applications.
For more information: GATech.edu
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