Apogee Worxs research objective is to provide filtered cooling air to KC-135 aircrew and patients for all Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) missions, including missions dealing with COVID-19 and other similar airborne pathogens on the ground and in flight. Our innovative approach involves rapidly adapting our commercial, non-COVID-19 Aircrew Ground Cooling Unit (AGCU) with HEPA filtering, a modified cabinet, and modified ducting to provide filtered, cooled air where cabin and cargo temperatures can reach 170 degrees Fahrenheit during ground operations in summer months or tropical areas. The modified AGCU will be a modular, high performance, self-contained, roll-on/roll-off, power efficient, HEPA filtered, cooling system with a core unit and an integration kit. The modified system will provide filtered, cooling air with either a positive or negative pressure to capture COVID-19 virus. The cooled air will reduce or eliminate the heat stress experienced by aircrew and patients during operations today. The innovative design of the AGCU requires no aircraft modifications and will provide on-board cooling for aircrew, AE crew and AE patients while eliminating the need for AGE-based ground cooling. Our work plan will take less than ten months.
