Start-up cargo aircraft developer Radia has landed at Singapore, making its show debut in a bid to raise the profile of the WindRunner, its concept for an ultra-heavy-lift freighter.
“We are interested in customers worldwide, and Singapore is a wonderful chance to get more exposure to the Asia-Pacific,” says Radia airplane configuration technical fellow Etan Karni.
Colorado-based Radia came on the scene several years ago, initially pitching the WindRunner concept as designed specifically to haul wind turbine blades.
The firm has since expanded the four-engined WindRunner’s mission to include hauling all manner of heavy and oversize cargo. Antonov’s An-124 is the only comparable aircraft now in service, says Karni; roughly 20 of those are still flying, according to fleet data provider Cirium.
“It’s a huge market for civil cargo,” Karni says.
He also sees an opportunity for the WindRunner to supplement the US Air Force’s Lockheed C-5 and Boeing C-17 heavy transports, saying the freighter will be capable of carrying Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters and Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotors in its cargo hold.
Radia has selected the engines for the high-wing WindRunner, but declines to be more specific beyond saying they are an existing turbofan model.
The aircraft is to be 109m (358ft) long, have 1,080nm (2,000km) of range and be capable of carrying 72.6t of payload.
Radia sees a viable path to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, with Karni noting that the firm’s vice-president of regulatory affairs Mel Johnson spent much of his career working on certification projects for the agency.
Karni says Radia intends for WindRunner to be a “minimum viable aircraft: as simple a product as [possible] to do our mission safely”.
“Simplicity of certification is more important to us than squeezing the last tenth of a percent out of operating efficiency,” he adds.
The company, which employs some 70 people, aims to complete first flight in the early 2030s, followed by an 18-24-month flight-test programme culminating in FAA approval. Radia intends itself to operate a fleet of WindRunners.
Radia is now transitioning from the WindRunner’s preliminary design phase to a joint development phase. It is working with partners including Leonardo, which will supply the aircraft’s aluminium fuselage, Aciturri for the empennage, Aernnova for the composite wing, and Magnaghi for the landing gear.
