Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Collins Aerospace is a prominent aerospace and defense company specializing in the development and manufacture of advanced technology solutions. They offer a wide range of products and services, including avionics, aircraft interiors, mission systems, and space systems. 

Collins Aerospace has produced a prototype of the solid-state power controller and distribution panel as part of its contribution to the European Union-backed SWITCH project to develop hybrid-electric propulsion technology for short- and medium-range airliners. The hardware was developed at the RTX group company’s facility in Nördlingen, Germany, and is now being shipped to The Grid electric power systems laboratory in Rockford, Illinois, where it will be integrated with a powertrain demonstrator.
SWITCH stands for Sustainable Water Injecting Turbofan Comprising Hybrid-Electrics, and the consortium behind the project encompasses RTX companies Pratt &amp; Whitney and Collins Aerospace, as well as MTU Aero Engines, GKN Aerospace, and Airbus. The demonstrator combines a Pratt &amp; Whitney Geared Turbofan engine with a pair of Collins’ two-megawatt electric motor generators mounted on the low and high spools of the engine.
Part of the work being conducted for the EU’s Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking is focused on how to provide the high-voltage distribution capability that will be needed to support anticipated megawatt levels of electrical power for future aircraft. According to Collins, its power controller and distribution panel will safely manage high-voltage electricity at altitude throughout the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2024-07-22/preliminary-design-complete-switch-hybrid-electric">SWITCH hybrid-electric powertrain</a>.
<img alt="Collins Aerospace's solid-state power controller for the SWITCH program" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3ec7de04-88fb-40dc-a3ad-314beba7e986" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Collins%27%20solid%20state%20power%20controller.jpg" width="1558" height="822" loading="lazy">
“Hybrid-electric aircraft are an integral part of the aviation industry’s drive to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, yet without new, safe high-voltage power distribution systems, they will not fly,” said Tino Schuldt, general manager for Collins’ Nördlingen facility. “Here in Nördlingen, we’re leveraging our decades of experience in power distribution solutions and our world-class facility to break new ground in the development of these critical enabling technologies for the next generation of hybrid-electric and all-electric platforms.”
In addition to SWITCH, RTX companies are engaged in several <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2024-07-21/rtx-pools-power-expertise-accelerate-propulsion">other hybrid-electric propulsion technology programs</a>, including STEP-Tech, HECATE, and the Airbus PioneerLab. Work on the Collins solid-state power controller began as part of an earlier collaboration between the RTX Technology Research Center and Pratt &amp; Whitney as part of NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program.

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Collins Delivers Power Control Unit for SWITCH Hybrid-electric Propulsion

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RTX subsidiary Collins Aerospace has developed a power controller and distribution panel to manage high voltage for hybrid-electric propulsion for airliners.

Collins Delivers Power Control Unit for Hybrid-electric Propulsion

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In this article

Collins Aerospace

RTX

Pratt & Whitney

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