TE Connectivity addresses the challenge of weight in electric flight

As the development of eVTOL continues apace, it is important to think about the weight of everything in the aircraft from the largest propellor to the smallest component, according to TE Connectivity’s Martin Cullen.

“When we talk to our customers about what they’re looking for from our components, weight is of huge importance. Some of our customers are really trying to shave grams off cables and connectors and are looking for every opportunity to fly further with more people,” he explained.

The complexity of electric aircraft means they comprise metres and metres of cables and many relays and connectors, which can add up to quite a significant amount of weight.

“It really does come down to how you do your architecture for these vehicles and that is something we provide. We have a very broad portfolio of cables and connectors, fibre optics and relays, but we have this capability where we can really understand the system, the architecture to make these small gains which end up being very important for our customers,” Cullen said.

With a presence across 140 countries and 93,000 employees worldwide, TE Connectivity is well placed to help its customers address some of the challenges of electric flight, including understanding the effects of flying at altitude and the complex safety requirements.

“TE, with its aerospace heritage, can really understand and help – we can think about how we design our components, and how our customers use these components, to ensure these vehicle are safe and reliable and people have confidence to fly them,” concluded Cullen.

For more stories on eVTOL developments, click here.

Subscribe to the FINN weekly newsletter