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Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division said it will provide an ultra-small form factor (USFF) flight control computer and vehicle Ethernet switch for the flight test stage of an eVTOL air taxi program.
Curtiss-Wright didn’t identify the vehicle in question, describing it only as a “fully electric fixed-wing aircraft, designed to function as a piloted urban air taxi.” The company said its USFF electronic subsystems have previously been selected for use on multiple eVTOL development programs in addition to this most recent design win.
Under the new contract, Curtiss-Wright will supply the customer with its Parvus DuraCOR 311, a USFF embedded computer/controller; and the Parvus DuraNET 20-11, an eight-port Gigabit Ethernet switch. Curtiss-Wright said that both products are optimized for space- and weight-constrained aircraft. The DuraCOR 311 measures less than 40 cubic inches in volume and weighs less than 1.5 pounds, while the DuraNET 20-11 is 10 cubic inches in volume and weighs 0.5 lb.
The products will be manufactured at Curtiss-Wright’s facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, with deliveries scheduled to begin in September 2020.
“We are very pleased to be selected to support this exciting new eVTOL aircraft program with our industry-leading, ultra-small processing and networking avionics solutions,” stated Lynn Bamford, president of Curtiss-Wright’s Defense and Power segments, in a press release. “We look forward to the development of this new all-electric aircraft for which our extremely compact, highly rugged, and cost-effective electronic subsystems are ideally suited.”
