Sophrodyne Aerospace

How does the aerodynamics of eVTOL aircraft compare to that of helicopters? When designing an electric-propelled rotorcraft, what compromises need to be made and what advantages can be exploited - and thus what differences in the behaviour of these machines can we expect compared to more conventional craft? Our CTO, Richard Brown PhD, CEng FIMechE FRAeS will be contributing his aerodynamic expertise to Elan Head’s course "Introduction to eVTOL Aircraft for Helicopter Pilots" to be held on 9 March 2025 at VERTICON (formerly HAI HELI-EXPO). ( More information at https://lnkd.in/ePy7cn6J ) Join us for an in-depth, fast-paced exchange of information and ideas by signing up at https://lnkd.in/e-Kwjw_G

Our CTO, Richard Brown PhD, CEng FIMechE FRAeS, will be in Amsterdam next week attending the EASA Rotorcraft and VTOL Safety Symposium and the European Rotors exhibition. Please feel free to catch up with him to talk about his latest work on rotorcraft aerodynamics and eVTOL safety!

As we celebrate our 9th birthday, Sophrodyne Aerospace reflects on a year of real progress and discovery. A heart-felt thank you to all our supporters, friends and colleagues for the hours spent discussing, debating and learning with us.

Two years ago at the 48th ERF in Winterthur, our CTO Richard Brown PhD, CEng FIMechE FRAeS, presented his paper on Vortex Ring State, drawing the attention of the eVTOL community to an issue he felt was being dangerously neglected. Two years on, it’s interesting to see to what extent the community has addressed this important issue. Perhaps the most important outcome of the work has been to renew interest in the VRS as a safety issue, for helicopters as well as eVTOL aircraft. In that vein, the first in-person meeting of a pan-European research group, that aims to investigate the phenomenon in detail, will be held at the 50th ERF in Marseille on Monday.

Sophrodyne is thrilled to congratulate Eleni Sotiropoulos and co-authors on receiving the Alfred Gessow award for the best paper presented at this year’s Vertical Flight Society Annual Forum, held in Montreal in May. Eleni’s paper, titled “Scenario-Based Helicopter Flight Simulation of Accident-Prone Vortex Ring State (VRS) Encounters,” is the latest output of an ongoing project at the FAA, supported by Sophrodyne Aerospace, the Vuichard Recovery Aviation Safety Foundation, Loft Dynamics and Robinson Helicopter Company, to understand the piloting issues surrounding the Vortex Ring State, and, in particular, the recovery therefrom. https://lnkd.in/ePtZys93

Here is the link to the second part of the podcast in which our CTO, Richard Brown PhD, CEng FIMechE FRAeS discusses various aspects of eVTOL aerodynamics with #SkyShift‘s Martin Richardson: https://lnkd.in/eKFGAezH

A few days ago our CTO, Richard Brown PhD, CEng FIMechE FRAeS, had the pleasure of talking to Martin Richardson on matters eVTOL and physical, and generally aeronautical. You can watch the recording of the #SkyShift podcast at https://lnkd.in/e92n-q2C

Our CTO, Richard Brown PhD, CEng FIMechE FRAeS, recently had the privilege of delivering a set of lectures on the fundamental physics of the Vortex Ring State to a mixed audience of students and staff from the Empire Test Pilots School, based at Boscombe Down near Salisbury. The students subsequently go on to experience and investigate the VRS on the school’s instrumented H125 aircraft as part of their flying curriculum, and the lectures are fundamental to ensuring that the students have a solid foundation on which to base their test and evaluation careers. With Deborah Payne and Derek Rodger.

Congratulations to all the recipients of awards at the recent GU Rocketry prizegiving, and especially to the winner of the inaugural Sophrodyne Aerospace prize for Aerostructures, Santiago Rivero Fafian (right).

Our CTO, Richard Brown PhD, CEng FIMechE FRAeS, recently spent a few very productive days in Immenstaad helping the Dufour Aerospace team to understand the aerodynamic complexities of their new tilt-wing aircraft.