Events
Collier Trophy 2020 finalists announced
The nominees are:
The Bell V–280 Valor. The Bell V–280 tiltrotor aircraft has a 12,000-pound useful load and can deliver up to 12 troops from 500 to 800 nautical miles at 280 knots.
Boeing Confident Travel Initiative. Through the Boeing Confident Travel Initiative, health and safety remain high on the priority list during the resumption of air travel and the relaxing of coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Garmin Autoland. The revolutionary Garmin Autoland system was certified for the Piper M600/SLS in 2020, making the aircraft the first certified with a system that will land the airplane on its own should the pilot become incapacitated.
Reliable Robotics Remotely Operated Aircraft System. Reliable Robotics is working to bring autonomous technology to airplanes, and in 2020 the company announced achieving “historic firsts for global commercial aviation by completing successful test flights of remote-piloted passenger airplanes in United States airspace.”
SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon 2. Space exploration technologies venture SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket is “the world’s first orbital class reusable rocket,” designed and manufactured to safely and reliably transport “people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.”
U.S. Department of the Air Force Green Propellant Infusion Mission Team. In 2020 NASA “validated a new type of propellant, or fuel, for spacecraft of all sizes,” as a substitute for toxic hydrazine, which requires handlers to wear protective suits and calls for special loading procedures.
Yates Electrospace Corporation’s Silent Arrow. The Silent Arrow one-ton-gross-weight disposable cargo drone demonstrated autonomous flight after being deployed from U.S. Air Force C–130s and rotorcraft sling load operations. The aircraft was designed to deliver critical equipment anywhere in the world for tactical aerospace and defense or civilian disaster-relief operations.
The Collier Trophy Selection Committee plans to meet virtually in June, followed by an announcement of the 2020 winner of the Collier Trophy. A formal presentation “will take place when health and safety protocols allow,” the NAA said.
