About 350 aerospace engineers listened for 30 minutes to the innovative work Collins Aerospace is doing in the hybrid-electric propulsion of aircraft when it came time for questions.
Electric vehicles have been around for years, said one of the engineers, so what has Charlotte-based Collins Aerospace learned from the makers of the Prius?
“Here’s one of the dilemmas the aviation industry has,” answered Henry Brooks, president of Power and Controls at Collins Aerospace. “Cars run on the ground and airplanes don’t.”
Brooks leads one of six Collins Aerospace business units from his office in Charlotte. He says the aviation industry has learned a lot of lessons from EV makers as it enters the “third era” of aviation, which started just 120 years ago with the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. First there were piston-driven engines, then jet turbines and now, in the next few years, airplanes will move to hybrid-electric propulsion, says Brooks…
Electric vehicles have been around for years, said one of the engineers, so what has Charlotte-based Collins Aerospace learned from the makers of the Prius?
“Here’s one of the dilemmas the aviation industry has,” answered Henry Brooks, president of Power and Controls at Collins Aerospace. “Cars run on the ground and airplanes don’t.”
Brooks leads one of six Collins Aerospace business units from his office in Charlotte. He says the aviation industry has learned a lot of lessons from EV makers as it enters the “third era” of aviation, which started just 120 years ago with the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. First there were piston-driven engines, then jet turbines and now, in the next few years, airplanes will move to hybrid-electric propulsion, says Brooks…
