{"id":433354,"date":"2022-04-29T15:48:45","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T18:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=433354"},"modified":"2022-04-29T15:48:45","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T18:48:45","slug":"for-the-short-haul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/for-the-short-haul\/","title":{"rendered":"For the short haul"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fleet of 5,700 small aircraft with an approximate 20-seat capacity and 2.5 metric-ton (t) takeoff weight are currently plying the skies around the world. Many of the 14 different models operating in this category were manufactured in the 1970s and 1980s and have now been discontinued. One example is the Bandeirantes, a turboprop developed and built by Embraer between 1973 and 1981. Experts estimate that around 2,000 of these planes will need to be decommissioned and replaced within the next 15 years.<\/p>\n

It is this emerging gap that Desaer\u2014an aerospace startup at Incubaero, an incubator sponsored by the Casimiro Montenegro Filho Foundation at the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (FCMF-ITA), in S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 dos Campos, southeastern Brazil\u2014hopes to fill. Founded in 2017, Desaer is offering potential customers two aircraft models currently under development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe created the company to serve regional airlines, a segment neglected by large aircraft manufacturers,\u201d says founder and CEO Evandro Fileno. \u201cThis sector has a demand for small-sized aircraft to connect minor cities.\u201d Brazil, he continues, has more than 1,000 airports but only 60 of them have a constant flow of cargo and passengers. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge market to be tapped,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The ATL-100, the first model to be developed at Desaer (a Portuguese acronym for \u201cdesenvolvimento aeron\u00e1utico<\/em>\u201d, or aerospace development), is a simple yet sturdy airplane\u2014a twin-turboprop, high-wing aircraft with a fixed tricycle landing gear. It has a capacity for 19 passengers or three LD3 containers\u2014the standard container size used for air cargo. The plane\u2019s flight range of 1,600 kilometers (km) is equivalent to the distance from S\u00e3o Paulo to Cuiab\u00e1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ATL-100 [ATL being Portuguese for \u201clight transport aircraft\u201d] will compete with other modern aircraft such as US manufacturer Cessna\u2019s SkyCourier,\u201d says Jorge Eduardo Leal Medeiros, an engineer in the Department of Transport Engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (POLI-USP). The Cessna model, also still under development, is slated to enter commercial service within the year. Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR currently dominates the global market for turboprops, with a current offering of four different models, all of them larger than the ATL-100, with a seating capacity starting at 30 passengers. Embraer also manufactures aircraft for regional airlines, although all of them are jet-powered, larger models seating 70 or more passengers.<\/p>\n

Fileno, who previously worked for 20 years at Embraer, agrees that the SkyCourier is similar to the ATL-100 in design and capacity, but says the Brazilian model has a differentiator from its competitor. \u201cOur plane has a rear loading ramp that allows it to be loaded without the need for container lifts. The Cessna SkyCourier is loaded and unloaded via a side cargo door that is not accessible from the ground,\u201d he explains. Another benefit of the ramp is greater accessibility for people with disabilities. \u201cWe\u2019ve also been approached by customers in the medevac segment\u2014being able to easily bring patients aboard on stretchers offers an advantage over regular aircraft with above-ground doors.\u201d<\/p>\n

From his early talks with prospective buyers of the ATL-100, Fileno realized there could be demand for a larger aircraft model. Desaer has since decided to develop a second, 40-seat model\u2014the ATL-300\u2014with a 4 t takeoff weight. This model similarly has a rear cargo ramp but is more sophisticated, with a pressurized cabin and retractable landing gear, allowing it to fly at higher altitudes\u2014the ATL-100 is non-pressurized.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n \n \n \n <\/picture>Alexandre Affonso<\/span><\/div>
\n

The estimated price tag on the ATL-100 is US$5.5 million\u2014in the same range as the Cessna SkyCourier\u2014while the ATL-300 version will cost US$20 million. Desaer is currently preparing the reports needed to certify the two models with Brazil\u2019s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC). \u201cThe ATL-100 project is at 58% progress. We estimate that another year and a half of engineering will be needed before we build the first prototype,\u201d says Fileno. \u201cBecause we only started on the ATL-300 last December, development progress is currently at just 6%. It will take another two years and a half to build our first prototype.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a technical staff of 36 engineers, Fileno has invested R$ 700,000 out of his own funds across the two projects. He is now looking to raise funding from investors and potential partners. The COVID-19 pandemic could not have come at a worse time. Talks with prospective buyers were stalled due to the economic uncertainties stemming from the health crisis. On the upside, growth in e-commerce during the pandemic created added demand for airfreight to non-major cities.<\/p>\n

FCMF-ITA Chairman Luiz S\u00e9rgio Heinzelmann believes there are other factors working in favor of Desaer\u2019s two aircraft models. \u201cBoth are ideally suited to fly Amazon routes. They can take off and land on short, unpaved runways, connecting villages unreachable by larger aircraft,\u201d he says. As another favorable development, he expects Brazilian aviation regulations will soon require flights in the country\u2019s North to be operated exclusively by twin-engine aircraft in replacement of the current fleet of single-engine airplanes\u2014twin aircraft are in theory safer because if one engine malfunctions, they can use the other to stay airborne. The new legislation, if enacted, would create demand for aircraft like Desaer\u2019s ATL models.<\/p>\n

Turbulence zone<\/strong>
\nAs it develops the two aircraft, Desaer plans to build a manufacturing site to produce them in Arax\u00e1, Minas Gerais State, where it will benefit from tax incentives offered by the municipal government. The plant will operate as an assembly line using off-the-shelf components\u2014any customized components will be developed with partners. Construction of the manufacturing site is expected to begin this year, with the plant having an estimated capacity to produce four airplanes of each model per month.<\/p>\n

Fileno is undaunted by the many challenges and uncertainties that a project of this complexity entails\u2014including a strengthening US dollar, rising prices on imports, and their effects on an aerospace value chain that is highly dependent on imported materials and components. \u201cDeveloping a new product from the ground up, especially something as complex as an airplane, will always involve risks,\u201d he says. \u201cWe already half prospective orders for five ATL-100s from a Brazilian company and another seven from a Uruguayan company. This gives us assurance that we will be able to attract investors and accelerate development of our aircraft and the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Desaer is relying on innovation to navigate the turbulence. The ATL-100 has already secured four patents, including one for a container loading and unloading system. Solutions like these are helping to attract partners and funding. In February, the company closed a deal with electric propulsion company magniX to develop a hybrid-electric model\u2014the ATL-100H\u2014with two conventional engines and two electric propulsion units.<\/p>\n

\u201cDesaer is targeting a segment with real operational demand. And the aircraft they\u2019re developing are simple yet robustly designed,\u201d says Fernando Teixeira Mendes Abrah\u00e3o, a professor at ITA\u2019s Logistics Engineering Lab. \u201cBut their product is still in development. There\u2019s still a long way to go before their aircraft are operational and a viable option for the market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brazilian startup to manufacture aircraft specially designed to operate out of underserved small-town airports in Brazil ","protected":false},"author":690,"featured_media":433355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[228,243],"coauthors":[3491],"class_list":["post-433354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-engineering","tag-innovation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":433371,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433354\/revisions\/433371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433354"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=433354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}