SBIR/STTR Research Award

Six Seat 2nd Generation Hybrid Electric Orb

Award identifier 375f8a92aa9d13451294d216c5ccf0fabec7ba35abbac1e1171b100f719c9a18Awarding agency Department of Defense · Air Force

Award amount

$150,000

Program and phase

STTR · Phase I

Award year

2021

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Award details

Awarding agency
Department of Defense
Branch
Air Force
Recipient company
Orb Aerospace Inc
Proposal award date
2021-02-03
Contract end date
2021-08-02
UEI
SJHBK88T2JU6
Solicitation number
X20.D
Topic code
AFX20D-TCSO1

Research abstract

Wind Craft Aviation is an Aerospace company developing 2nd generation, small form factor, hybrid-electric Orb technology able to out-compete existing turbine solutions both in terms of cost and utility. Our proposed 6-seat aircraft detailed in this proposal is being developed for commercial applications but will undergo a feasibility study on modifications required to service air force needs through a broad sweeping customer discovery campaign and prototyping. Our Airframe is designed with forward flight efficiency as a priority, and thus uses high efficiency propulsion incorporated into the structure of the aircraft in a low-profile configuration. The airframe incorporates rugged, lightweight, long-travel suspension and a wing design that allows for an efficient cruise, favorable forward flight handling and the ability for 8 fully assembled aircraft to fit in a C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft, making our platform globally deployable with minimal effort in a matter of hours. Our powerplant options are scalable, with significantly greater energy density compared to lithium-Ion batteries able to bring the cost of energy down to 6$/Kwh . The sustainable electrocatalytic solution has zero-emission, uses an agricultural by-product that is readily available, affordable and has existing global distribution. The Turbine generator solution has high-power density and is scalable even beyond the proposed 6 seat iteration of our technology. Our avionics introduce advanced situational awareness and synthetic vision with an entirely re-engineered ergonomic user interface. Our flight control system is being developed for push-button autonomy on the commercial level, with options for conventional pilotage, remote pilotage, or unmanned operation. Michigan Technological University, as our research partner, is validating our technologies through the Phase 1 STTR Feasibility Studies.

Technology keywords

Not reported

Other awards by this recipient

Verified by the same UEI. These are other public SBIR/STTR award pages, not a merged company record.

Awards with the same topic code

Verified by an exact topic code match. This is not a text-similarity match.

Research funding history

4 SBIR/STTR records share this UEI (2021–2026). Reported award amounts total $2,940,000. Reported amounts are not federal obligations.

Phases: Phase I, Phase II – Direct to Phase II, Phase II

Agencies: Department of Defense

Agency intelligence

Department of Defense

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