| PROPOSAL NUMBER: | 03-II T7.01-9784 |
| PHASE-I CONTRACT NUMBER: | NNL04AB49P |
| RESEARCH SUBTOPIC TITLE: | Personal Air Vehicle Research for Rural, Regional and Intra-Urban On-Demand Transportation |
| PROPOSAL TITLE: | Low Noise PAV Ducted Propeller using Automotive Manufacturing |
| SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (SBC): | RESEARCH INSTITUTION (RI): | ||
| NAME: | Munro and Associates | NAME: | Michigan Small Aircraft Transportation System, Inc. |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADDRESS: | 1749 Northwood | ADDRESS: | 1749 Northwood Drive |
| CITY: | Troy | CITY: | Troy |
| STATE/ZIP: | MI 48084-5524 | STATE/ZIP: | MI 48084-5524 |
| PHONE: | (248) 362-5110 | PHONE: | (248) 362-5110 |
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER
(Name,Email)
David Grieco
dgrieco@munroassoc.com
U.S. Citizen or Legal Resident: Yes
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Munro & Assoc. and MISATS (MU&M) recognize the explosive market pull for low cost airplanes, i.e. PAV, that provide affordable, comfortable and safe traveler. MU&M propose a revolutionary convergence in design integration for propulsor manufacturing technology as a decisive enabler for PAV. The critical target for a sub $100,000 PAV is a $10,000 propulsion system. Munro & Assoc.'s (Munro's) innovation will allow this target to be met by adapting advanced automotive manufacturing technology through Lean Design REG. The MU&M target is a $7,000 engine and drive train and a $3,000 PAV propulsor that is efficient and produces low community noise by design. Upon successful Phase II development the Lean Manufacturing can take place across an organized supply chain of 4 elements:
1) An off-the-shelf automotive Corvette LS-1 engine
2) Aviation certified accessories
3) The propulsor (shaft, flanges, hub, pitch change mechanism, duct and fan)
4) An FAA certification process for the propulsion system based on the QA system in place for the LS-1 engine production line.
POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 100 WORDS)
Clearly the MU&M STTR Phase II is an enabler for the NASA PAV mission because its Phase II research will directly provide solutions to the first and second bullets of the above mission. Furthermore MU&M interpret the final paragraph above to mean that NASA's PAV program seeks Phase III collaborative investigation in subsystems design and testing. Our Phase II will complete design and fabrication of a full scale propulsor, however the budget will only allow design verification wind tunnel aero and acoustic testing. Therefore a potent collaboration would be to continue the test program as a Phase III and cover the full matrix of aero and acoustic testing in order to lay down the design refinements needed for NASA to progress to an optimum propulsor in terms both efficiency and noise. Only after clearing this hurdle can NASA's PAV program embark on their stated objective of a PAV proof of concept vehicle design for which this Phase II will have a manufacturing method evaluation metrics.
POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 100 WORDS)
Three breakthroughs for PAV that offer high customer value are now evident to our company:
1) The automotive produced off the shelf Corvette LS-1 engine,
2) Automotive propulsor manufacturing processes
3) The SATS and PAV programs.
These three changes can materially affect the future of personal aircraft from our perspective. They have caused our management to solidify new alliances with an experienced fan designer ACI, a successful automotive manufacturing alliance, MISATS, with supply chain and manufacturing cost/planning process developers. By adding our successful Lean DesignREG expertise, we now have the capability to assemble and substantiate the PAV propulsion system technology, justify the market and set-up the business operation into a credible program to create a modern manufacturer of the PAV to a cost target of approximately $100,000.