Wingcopter, the German developer, manufacturer and operator of unmanned delivery drones for commercial and humanitarian applications, has joined forces with the Flying Labs Network as a Technology Partner. Their global initiative will improve supply chains through locally led cargo drone projects and equip local talent with the skills to operate Wingcopter’s unmanned systems in long range drone applications, including beyond visual line of sight. The Flying Labs Network is reputable for strengthening local expertise in the use of drones, robotics, data and AI for positive social change in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and beyond.

Credit // Wingcopter

Andi Fisanich, Wingcopter’s Head of Humanitarian Programs, comments: “I truly believe that to strengthen supply chains with drones it requires an active and supportive ecosystem that knows and involves their local communities. Together, we can establish a drone service for developing countries that allows its citizens to take the lead in building out this new industry and directly benefit from it.”

Wingcopter is currently implementing a drone delivery network in Malawi to strengthen local healthcare supply chains together with UNICEF and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Within the project called Drone + Data Aid the company cooperates with the African Drone and Data Academy to train youth from across the continent in drone operations.

In other parts of the world, Wingcopter is preparing for safe and efficient on-demand delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to remote areas by drone, building on experience from earlier vaccine and medical delivery projects, which took place amongst others in Vanuatu, Ireland and Tanzania. The company recently raised $22 million in Series A funding, led by Silicon Valley-based Xplorer Capital and German Futury Regio Growth Fund. In 2020, Wingcopter was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, recognizing its significant social impact as part of the fourth industrial revolution.

Why it’s important: With its extremely efficient cargo drone design and proven track record of reducing turnaround time to access vital supplies from days or hours to minutes, Wingcopter offers local Flying Labs a state-of-the-art technology for the delivery of urgently needed medical goods in hard-to-reach areas – an asset that is of even greater importance during a pandemic. Wingcopter has also recently closed successful fundraising rounds which will aid in the company’s continued effort to provide humanitarian, parcel delivery, and logistics services with its reputable technologies.

Related: Thales, Skyports, Wingcopter to Conduct Trial of Drone Based COVID Response Flights

Source // Wingcopter press release

The latest iteration of ASX’s eVTOL tiltwing aircraft, dubbed Six Sigma, rotates its propeller orientation to optimize for its current phase of flight. The company intends to perform a demonstration flight of its full-scale concept vehicle in the third quarter of 2021. ASX co-founder and CEO Jon Rimanelli presented the company’s latest updates to a virtual audience at the Vertical Flight Society’s eighth annual Electric VTOL Symposium on Jan. 27.

“Over the last four years, we designed, modeled and built as many as six different subscale electric VTOL configurations, and what we have now is a design that incorporates innovations and lessons learned into a very exciting configuration which we have now frozen, that we are now calling the Sigma Six aircraft,” Rimanelli proclaimed.

Back in 2019, Rimanelli discussed the long-term plan to execute on ASX’s vision – a plan that involves applying strategies from the mature automotive industry to the production and operation of a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles in order to benefit from the economies of scale accompanied with high-volume production. The company will rely on Detroit’s traditional automotive supply base, and repurpose it for aviation use. “We’ve got this great industrial base here, we’ve got skilled labor and capacity,” he says. “We can leverage this at scale and make it an accessible product that everyone can afford through ride-sharing programs.”

Check out the ASX MOBi-ONE’s technical specifications in the TransportUP Hangar. 

The Sigma Six VTOL differs greatly from MOBi-ONE V1 due to multiple design changes such as major architectural changes, repositioning the propeller locations, major improvements to its powertrain, revising its landing gear, and more. The aircraft cannot takeoff and land as a plane, the aircraft has only VTOL capability. The number of passengers the aircraft can hold is unknown as of the January 27th Sigma Six reveal.

The company is aiming to launch remotely piloted cargo operations by 2023, and pilot-optional autonomy by 2030. With the Sigma Six design, ASX is targeting a payload of 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms), a top speed of just under 200 miles per hour (320 kilometers per hour), and a cruise speed of 126 mph (202 km/h). ASX anticipates a fully electric range of up to 90 mi (145 km) with 25 percent reserve and a hybrid range of over 200 mi (320 km).

Related: ASX and Transcend Air Will Use VerdeGo Propulsion Systems

Why it’s important: ASX has streamlined the design of the payload module for manufacturing, and also simplified the payload stabilization mechanism which will allow the commencement of flight module testing in advance of the payload module being completed. This iterative design and focus on manufacturability will be instrumental to ASX’s success and its ability to scale production of its Six Sigma eVTOL while leveraging Detroit’s automotive industrial base.

Horizon Aircraft‘s Cavorite X5 eVTOL is “built to solve real-world problems,” designed to be capable of disaster relief, cargo transport, med-evac, and air taxi services. The impressive canard-style plane with in-wing fan rotors was just unveiled to the public this week, and features a hybrid power system and safety-first design.

Horizon Aircraft was founded by father-and-son team Brian and Brandon Robinson, primarily as an engine conversion company specializing in the task of putting GM LS-series V8 motors into kit planes. The company transitioned to modern aircraft prototypes with its pursuit to create a modern high-lift, hybrid-electric cargo version of the amphibious Republic RC-3 SeaBee sport plane. However, the Robinson team quickly realized that adding a vertical lift system would make for a long-range, high-speed air taxi design that could offer a ton of operational flexibility. Ultimately, this led to the conception of the Cavorite X5 eVTOL, a vehicle designed for short runway or urban landing operations.

Image Credit // Horizon Aircraft

The primary objective of the X5 is to deliver unprecedented efficiency and versatility; its patent-pending fan-in-wing design is ultimately expected to support a 350 km/h cruise speed, 500 km range, and 5 passenger capacity. At its lightest payload, Horizon predicts the vehicle will be capable of a maximum range of 625 miles (1,000 km). Low-volume production is slated for 2024, at which point Horizon hopes to sell the X5 first as a kit plane in the amateur-built experimental category. For the time being, Horizon will slowly scale up prototype versions as it iterates and improves upon its design. Below, see a full list of the concept aircraft’s published technical specifications:

* designed for fully-electric power when the operational infrastructure and battery technology permit. Source // Horizon Aircraft

Why it’s important: Given its fairly nascent foray in to the aerial mobility industry, Horizon Aircraft must make rapid progress if it’s to catch up and compete for market share with Joby Aviation and other industry trailblazers. When asked about the regulatory process in an interview with New Atlas, Brandon Robinson admitted: “we’ve been in stealth mode until we got our patents locked away and our ideas coalesced a bit. But you’re right, that’s a conversation we want to start sooner rather than later.” However, Horizon does have the fuselage and wings of its 17-percent model all built and assembled, and expects to fly the prototype in the next two months.

Sources // Horizon Aircraft; New Atlas

The CEZERİ Flying Car, developed by Baykar as the ‘transportation concept of the future’, is designed to reduce traffic congestion in urban transportation, minimize the time spent in traffic, and reduce air pollution caused by transportation. Further, the CEZERI’s characteristic design is optimized to reduce traffic accidents, provide a faster cargo transportation service, and respond quickly to the urgent needs of health institutions (blood, organ transport, etc.).

Photo Credit // defenceturk

Unveiled at Teknofest in 2019, the original CEZERI prototype is one seater quadcopter with a target flight ceiling of 2000 meters and a maximum speed of 100 kph. The craft’s name is inspired by Ismail al-Jazari, a renowned Muslim engineer who lived between 1136 and 1206. The company already produces drones for both armed and non-armed forces as well as control systems, simulators, and avionics systems.

Since 2019’s Teknofest, Baykar Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems  has executed various flight test sorties with its prototype. Just following CEZERI’s first successful hover test in September of 2020, Baykar Chief Technology Officer Selcuk Bayraktar claimed that “we will make more advanced prototypes in the upcoming process, and perform flights with a human [on board].”

The Cezeri flying car was on display at Teknofest in Turkey, from Sept. 17-22, 2019

The latest iteration of the CEZERI is designed to be flown with minimum technical and aviation knowledge and high-level security. As safety has also been highly prioritized in its design, the flight deck is equipped with a joystick, altitude control lever, touch command screen, two physical buttons (Emergency In, Stop) and two switches (Engine Battery Switch, Avionic System Switch). The aircraft is powered by rechargeable batteries with 8 electric motors and propellers and flies under 100% electric power, all while featuring a three-times redundant intelligent flight system. As battery technology improves, Baykar strives to achieve a maximum range of 70 km.

Why it’s important: According to Baykar, within the scope of urban air transportation, the prototype is aimed to give life to the reliable passenger and cargo transportation ecosystem that covers city centers and suburbs. In addition, studies are underway to be used for logistic support in the health sector and military fields. Progress continues to be made on the development of the CEZERI air taxi, yet it appears that regulatory and certification discussions have not been initiated. If Baykar proceeds with manufacturing a certifiable vehicle in Turkey, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will likely be tasked with establishing new guidelines for safe operational protocols as are currently under development by larger regulators including the FAA and EASA.

The Manta aircraft, developed in Switzerland, works on a flexible hybrid-electric canard aircraft design capable of both vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and ultra-efficient short take-off and landing (STOL) operations. A one-third scale model has been built, and the team is preparing for its first flight tests.

Manta’s hybrid eVTOL takes off and lands vertically when needed, but also can operate from airstrips as short as three vertical landing pads lined up for a considerably higher payload capacity. In practice, this means it can fulfill the same mission requirements as either a small helicopter, or a slightly larger airplane. This cross-functionality makes it an extremely versatile and well-rounded aircraft.

The ANN1 and ANN2 aircraft are single- and tandem double-seat versions of the same airframe:  a carbon composite-bodied plane shape with a small V tail, a large reverse wing at the rear, and a smaller canard wing at the front. Forward propulsion is provided by four ducted electric fans hanging under the front edge of the rear wing, and for VTOL operations, these can tilt to face upwards.

Measuring in at almost 10 feet long, this one-third scale prototype has four vertical lift rotors, four tilting rotors and a canard wing arrangement. Source // Manta Aircraft

Why it’s important: Manta has evaluated the efficiency of VTOL flight dynamics and made a practical design choice for adding conventional takeoff and landing capabilities to its prototype. Operating as an eSTOL allows for heavier payloads, and uses significantly less energy, which could also assist in maximizing range for longer journeys. Although the Manta may not be best suited for commercial air taxi use due to its limited passenger capacity, its versatility gives it great potential for a wide array of short-landing and VTOL mission types.

Source // New Atlas

Jaunt Air Mobility signs a memorandum of understanding with VerdeGo Aero of Daytona Beach, FL, to explore the development of a hybrid-electric aircraft. The combined technologies of Jaunt Air Mobility and VerdeGo’s hybrid powertrain offer customers the opportunity to fulfill a variety of market segments and missions. Jaunt and VerdeGo plan to develop a hybrid-electric version of the Jaunt aircraft utilizing VerdeGo’s hybrid-electric diesel (Jet-A) generator system combined with same battery systems being used for the Jaunt Journey. The added energy from the hybrid system will enable significant enhancements to mission capability for passenger, cargo, and military variants.

Rendering of how VerdeGo’s electric propulsion technology will integrate into an Airflow cargo eSTOL

Jaunt’s patented technology offers a proven aerodynamic design of a fixed-wing aircraft with efficient vertical take-off and landing capabilities. VerdeGo’s hybrid power system allows for longer missions, faster turnaround operations, and current infrastructure utilization. VerdeGo’s hybrid power systems run on globally-available Jet-A fuel, which will reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 40% when compared to competing turbine products, while providing 4X+ more energy than battery-electric powertrains.

“While confident in the battery-electric Jaunt Journey, for the urban air mobility market, our customers also have different operational mission requirements,” says Martin Peryea, CEO of Jaunt Air Mobility. “VerdeGo’s system offers a unique bridge to meeting those demands.”

The Jaunt Journey
Photograph: Jaunt Air Mobility

According to NASA, Hybrid-electric architectures have shown the potential for significant improvements when applied to fixed-wing aircraft; such improvements include energy consumption, noise, weight, propulsive efficiency, and aero-propulsive interactions, among others. The U.S. Air Force’s chief acquisition officer, Will Roper has stated that with the military’s goals of flying two to four military personnel 100 miles at speeds above 115 mph, it is likely that these aircraft will be hybrid-electric.

Why it’s important: As VerdeGo Aero’s CEO Eric Bartsch said, “the additional range enabled with VerdeGo’s hybrid system applied in the Jaunt aircraft will enable either longer missions or multiple short back-to-back missions without the requirement for energy infrastructure at every landing site. Rapid turnaround, high utilization, and enhanced mission capability make the hybrid aircraft extremely competitive.”

Source // VerdeGo Aero press release

Ampaire is a Los Angeles-based company whose mission is to be the world’s most trusted developer of practical and compelling electric aircraft. To start, the company is retrofitting existing passenger aircraft to electric power – the quickest and most capital efficient approach to making commercial electric air travel a reality. Ampaire flew the largest hybrid electric aircraft at the time in May 2019, and they have recently accomplished the longest flight to date for any commercially relevant aircraft employing electric propulsion, in this case a hybrid-electric propulsion system.

Ampaire’s Electric EEL, a six-seat Cessna 337 twin-engine aircraft modified with an electric motor in the nose and traditional combustion engine in the rear, took off from Camarillo Airport just north of Los Angeles at 12:20 PM. Test pilot Justin Gillen and Flight Test Engineer Russell Newman, flew up California’s Central Valley at 8,500 feet, landing at Hayward Executive Airport at 02:52 PM. Straight line distance was 292 statute miles, and the route as flown 341 statute miles.

Speed during the cruise portion of the 2 hour, 32-minute flight averaged around 135 mph. “The mission was a quite normal cross-country flight that we could imagine electrified aircraft making every day just a few years from now,” Gillen said.

This milestone in electric aviation took place after four weeks of flight testing in the Camarillo area for this second Electric EEL test aircraft, which first flew on September 10th. In that period, the aircraft flew over 30 hours during 23 flights, in 28 days, with 100% dispatch reliability. “Our success in taking this aircraft in a short period from the test environment to the normal, everyday operating environment is a testament to our development and test organization, and to the systems maturity we have achieved with our second aircraft,” said Ampaire General Manager Doug Shane. A former president of Scaled Composites, Shane is one of the world’s foremost experts on the development and flight testing of new aviation concepts.

The EEL flown to Hayward is dubbed the Hawaiʻi Bird, as it will take part later this year in a series of demonstration flights with Hawaiʻi-based Mokulele Airlines on its short-haul routes. The flight trials with Mokulele will not only demonstrate the capabilities of the EEL but will help to define the infrastructure required for wide adoption of electric aviation by airlines and airports. These flight demonstrations will mark the first time an electrically-powered aircraft has flown under an FAA “Market Survey” experimental aircraft certificate in order to gain real-world flight experience.

In Hayward, the aircraft will be partially disassembled for shipment to Hawaiʻi. The Hawaiʻi flight trials are funded in part by Elemental Excelerator, a global climate-tech accelerator based in Honolulu.

The Electric EEL can generate fuel and emissions savings up to 50 percent on shorter regional routes where the aircraft’s electrical propulsion unit can be run at high power settings, and generate savings of about 30 percent on longer regional routes such as the Camarillo to Hayward flight.

“The Electric EEL is our first step in pioneering new electric aircraft designs,” said Ampaire CEO Noertker. “Our next step will likely be a 19-seat hybrid electric retrofit program that will lower emissions and operating costs, benefiting regional carriers, their passengers and their communities.” Ampaire, with funding from NASA and others, is in the midst of design studies for such an aircraft based on the popular de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft. Ampaire has named the hybrid-electric 19-seater aircraft the Eco Otter SX.

Why it’s important: Ampaire’s strategic approach to retrofitting existing aircraft has allowed the company to rapidly progress in the development of its propulsion technology and demonstrate the potential for making commercial electric air travel a reality. The Los Angeles-based startup has achieved so in the most capital-efficient manner, and is well-positioned to continue its progress given its current partnerships and funding. As said by Ampaire General Manager Doug Shane, “the ability to put innovative electric technologies into the air rapidly in order to assess and refine them is central to Ampaire’s strategy to introduce low-emissions aircraft for regional airlines and charter operators within just a few years.”

Related: Ampaire To Electrify Caravan, Twin Otter

Source // Ampaire press release