Category: Vehicles/Manufactures

The Airbus Vahana prototype has achieved flight with its wings fully transitioned to horizontal cruise mode.

Earlier this year, the Airbus Vahana test aircraft successfully completed a test flight in which the aircraft’s wings rotated partially into horizontal cruise stage, reaching speeds of about 57mph. In the latest test (Vahana’s 66th), the tilt-wing rotates into “full cruise configuration”, allowing the aircraft to reach speeds of over 100mph. Watch the full flight test video from Airbus here:

This latest test flight marks a significant step forward for Airbus, whose eventual goal is to make the Vahana part of a larger UAM system. The version of the Vahana seen here is planned as a demonstration vehicle for airbus to introduce to the public. Although it only has one seat, the Vahana Alpha Two is piloted autonomously, and features a completely finished interior, which will give riders the full sense of what autonomous flight will be like.

A close-up of the Airbus Alpha Vahana Two

According to Zach Lovering, Vice President of UAM Systems for Airbus, the latest full transition flights “represent everything we set out to achieve when we began our flight test campaign.” The Vahana demonstrator is still undergoing testing in Pendleton, Oregon.

The Airbus Vahana represents just one of Airbus’s many bids for UAM flight. Airbus has several prototypes being tested for various types of UAM, including the Airbus Pop.Up Next modular concept, which is capable of both road and air transport, as well as the Airbus CityAirbus, which is designed for intracity transport and completed its first test flight last month. Both vehicles are capable of autonomous flight.

The Airbus CityAirbus, which completed its first test flight last May.

Why it’s important: The successful test of the Airbus Vahana in cruise represents another step forward for Airbus UAM flight. The Vahana has successfully proven Airbus’s concept for tilt-wing transitions,  which is often considered the most difficult aspect of eVTOL design. With this latest achievement, Airbus even more deeply establishes its UAM presence in preparing for the larger industry launch.

XTI Aircraft has announced additional sales from from North America and Australia for the XTI TriFan 600, brining the order total up to 80 aircraft.

XTI Aircraft is a company making history by developing a luxury hybrid eVTOL for private flight. The company was founded in 2012, and to date has raised over $25 million from crowdfunding platform Startengine as well as from private investors.

Last week, XTI announced three additional aircraft pre-orders from buyers in North America and Australia, bringing the total order count up to 80. Specifically, two of those orders came from XTI’s new partner Heliflite, a VIP helicopter service in Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, Indonesia and the Philippines. The full pre-order list began at the 2017 Paris Air Show, and continued at the October 2017 and October 2018 NBAA conventions, as well as a notable recent order from Brazil’s Icon Aviation.

XTI has been steadily making progress, having flown its 65% scale prototype in May. The company expects to begin delivering aircraft imminently.

According to the newly formed partnership with Heliflite, XTI will work exclusively with Heliflite to develop XTI TriFan 600 services in Helifite’s operating areas. Said XTI CEO Robert LaBelle:
“This is a major development for XTI. We’re pleased to be working with Heliflite on an exclusive basis in this part of the world. They’ve been providing sales, service and spare parts support to the helicopter industry and other aircraft owners since 1977, and have earned an excellent reputation.”

“Heliflite is looking to the future, anticipating the next big thing in air travel, which has led us to proudly establish this relationship with XTI’s highly experienced design and management team. Heliflite looks very much forward to being instrumental in the TriFan 600’s success in our region,” – Heliflite Director Scott Edmonds.

Why its important: The new partnership with long-standing helicopter operator Heliflite marks a major step forward for XTI. Heliflite will enable the spread of XTI Aircraft throughout the Australia, New Zealand, and Oceana areas, creating an opportunity for the TriFan 600 to go into commercial use sooner rather than later in major global markets.

Israeli startup NFT Inc. is developing its own autonomous electric flying car. Named the Asaka (or ASKA), which means ‘flying bird’ in Japanese, the flying car is equipped with 14 propellers for flight, as well as conventional wheels for ground travel. NFT will showcase the ASKA at the Ecomotion 2019 smart mobility show in Tel Aviv, and intends to begin test flights by next year.

The ASKA was designed to address inner city road traffic congestion, and will be available for private purchase in the coming years. To take off, the ASKA will need a runway of about 20-30 meters in length, and will be able to fly up to 3 people a distance of 550 km (~342 miles) at a speed in between 160-240 km/hr (~ 99-150 mph). While electric, NFT Inc. states that the ASKA will still need a petrol engine to charge its batteries.

Chairman of NFT Inc. Guy Kaplinsky envisioned the ASKA for use in inner city and suburban commuting. The car, says Kaplinsky, would allow people to live away from city centers without having to spend hours on the road. Kaplinsky estimated the initial price of the flying car will be between $200k and $300k (USD), but noted that he expects the price to drop once commercial production begins.

NFT Inc. was founded 4 years ago by Kaplinsky and his wife and CEO Maki Kaplinsky. To learn more about the company, visit the site here.

Why it’s important: The ASKA, poses an interesting angle to approaching to urban air mobility. While most other designs incorporate electric-based aviation, there are not many eVTOLs that are designed for both ground and air transportation. Combined with the fact that the Asaka will be available for private transportation, rather than public, the possible success of the Asaka will determine whether there is any potential for UAM in the upper-class demographic.

Sources // World Israel News

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EmbraerX and Pipistrel have both released images and specifications of their new eVTOL designs, both of which have competitive performance standards preparing to meet the needs for urban aviation.

Embraer has over 50 years of experience in making private jets, and is now turning to eVTOLs as the fulfillment of its dream of regional flight. Its newly unveiled eVTOL is its second iteration. The first version (pictured on the bottom left) was smaller than the new one, which an additional wing as well as an additional rotor.

Orginal EmbraerX design (left) VS. new EmbraerX design (right)

EmbraerX:
The new EmbraerX eVTOL will be ‘autonomous-ready’, and according to Antonio Campello (CEO of EmbraerX) will reach full autonomy once community acceptance and regulation are at necessary levels. EmbraerX prides its new eVTOL on being made to use by anyone, no matter their age or ability. So far, it is the only eVTOL on the market advertising easy access to people using wheel chairs:

Importantly, EmbraerX notes that the most important and difficult part of developing eVTOL operations will be the integration of aircraft design, airspace management, and maintenance. Said Campello: “Now it’s not just about the aircraft, it’s about the entire ecosystem.” To this end, Embraer already rolled out last week a new maintenance platform.

EmbraerX also released last week its ‘flight plan 2030’, which outlines the path to autonomy. Read more about the Flight Plan 2030 here.

EmbraerX eVTOL Design Overview:

Pipistrel

The Pipistrel 801 eVTOL was designed with three goals in mind: acoustics, safety and speed. “801” stands for 8 lift rotors, 0 titling parts, and 1 thrust rotor. Notably, both the EmbraerX eVTOL and the Pipistrel 801 were designed without tilt-rotors (unlike Karem Aircraft or Bell).

The Pipistrel 801 offers seating for 5 (including the pilot), with a range of 60 nautical miles and a top speed of 175mph. It’s capable of transitioning from vertical to horizontal flight in under 1 minute, and (according to Pipistrel president Dr Tine Tomažič) is “more powerful than a jetliner take-off.”

Design overview of the Pipistrel 801

Notably, the pilot’s seat of the aircraft can eventually be converted to a first class passenger seat once full flight autonomy is realized. Pipistrel is currently working with Honeywell for its avionics, navigation, and fly-by-wire technology, as is Volocopter, Vertical Aerospace, and others.

The 801 achieves safety standards by using redundant battery packs and redundant propellors. For example, although the 801 has four battery packs, it’s capable of flying on only two. Acoustics goals are achieved by having each of the rotors turn at different frequency, which diminishes noise output.

Pipistrel was one of the first companies to make electric recreational aircraft available in the U.S and parts of Europe, and has been developing electric aircraft for over 12 years. Learn more about Pipistrel.

The Pipistrel 801 model on display at Uber Elevate 2019

Why it’s important: With Pipistrel and EmbraerX’s latest announcements, other UAM companies may soon begin to release new aspects of their designs as well. eVTOLs are the first new type of commercial aircraft since the helicopter, and many developers are racing to be first in the skies. Companies like Pipistrel and EmbraerX encourage innovation, pushing the industry even further forward.

Honeywell has released a new compact fly-by-wire system, about the size of a small book, as their newest development for the UAM industry.

“Honeywell’s technology truly enables these innovative aircraft to fly more safely, accelerating a whole new era in what is quickly emerging as a new transportation economy,” said Carl Esposito, president, Electronic Solutions, Honeywell Aerospace

Fundamentally, Honeywell’s fly-by-wire system performs the same job as any other one: it connects an aircraft’s manual flight controls to a intuitive electronic interface, interpreting and executing the commands inputted by the pilot. It also provides stability to the aircraft by driving electric actuators and dynamically adjusting flight surfaces and motors to smoothly follow flight paths. It reduces turbulence and eliminates the need for heavy hydraulics, control cables or pushrods.

But while most conventional fly-by-wire systems are roughly the size of a large suitcase, Honeywell’s new system is small and lightweight enough to be held in one hand.

Honeywell’s fly-by-wire systems have been used by conventional aircraft for decades

The new system is based off of the same functions as Honeywell’s fly-by-wire systems for conventional aircraft, featuring a triplex flight control computer architecture, with backup options and lockstep processing, meaning that the system will constantly double-check any work and provide a stable, secure means to electronically guide the aircraft.

Honeywell and Volocopter entered a partnership to develop a new eVTOL for UAM; this fly-by-wire system will likely be featured in the vehicle

Additionally, Honeywell’s new system will require less power, has a wide variety of applications in terms of types of aircraft, and will cost less compared to a conventional fly-by-wire system while still providing the same functions.

Honeywell plans to debut their new system at the Uber Elevate Summit in Washington D.C. on June 11-12.

Why it’s important: This new fly-by-wire system possesses many benefits for any company that is focused on developing a UAM vehicle, considering that most UAM vehicle designs are much smaller than that of a conventional aircraft. The size, weight, power requirements, and overall cost are all designed with this in mind, meaning that now, the electronic flight control system that guided commercial and military airplanes safely for decades can now be ported over to the UAM industry.

Sources // Honeywell Aerospace

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Honeywell has signed an agreement with yet another urban air mobility company. This time, it’s with the UK’s Vertical Aerospace, which has an eVTOL currently in flight testing.

The Vertical Aerospace eVTOL prototype, which entered into flight testing in September of last year

The Vertical Aerospace eVTOL has one of the sleekest designs on the market, comparable to the Bell Nexus Air Taxi or the Lilium Jet. Based out of the United Kingdom, Vertical Aerospace completed autonomous flight tests of its two seater prototype last September. Watch the full test flight here. 

A top-down view of the Vertical Aerospace eVTOL

Earlier this week, the tech giant Honeywell announced that it has signed a ‘memorium of understanding’ agreement with Vertical Aerospace. According to the agreement, Vertical Aerospace intends to integrate Honeywell’s avionics, navigation, fly-by-wire and advanced technologies into future Vertical Aerospace vehicles. Although the images seen here are only of a two passenger prototype, Vertical Aerospace plans to build a version that can seat up to four passengers.

The agreement with Vertical Aerospace is Honeywell’s third agreement with an urban air mobility company. Honeywell signed with Pipistrel in January and Volocopter in April. Pipistrel is currently one of the named companies working with Uber Elevate, and Volocopter plans to complete demonstration flights in Singapore in late 2019.

The Volocopter, one of Honeywell’s other UAM partnerships.

Said Honeywell Aerospace Electronic Solutions President Carl Esposito: “Honeywell’s expertise in integrated avionics, systems integration, certification and manufacturing, combined with Vertical Aerospace’s capabilities in developing eVTOL vehicles, will spur the advancement of urban air mobility.”

He also mentioned Honeywell’s ability to assist Vertical Aerospace with the aircraft certification process: “Through years of working with the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency, Honeywell is well equipped to help Vertical Aerospace navigate the civil airspace landscape and develop their vehicles.”

Notably, Honeywell also plans on developing an electric engine specifically for urban air mobility. Learn more about the upcoming electric engine here.

Honeywell’s HTS900 engine, planned for an urban air mobility adaptation

Why it’s important: Honeywell is beginning to establish itself as an expert in UAM avionics technology. While not many companies have entered this space yet, Honeywell has great depth of experience in advanced aviation tech, and is an excellent candidate to provide reliable solutions for the industry. By becoming one of the first major suppliers for UAM, Honeywell’s expertise will only grow in momentum and reputation.

Sources // Vertical Aerospace, Honeywell, Aerospace Technology

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Leonardo Helicopters is building a civilian version of the V-22 Osprey. Unlike the military version, the AW609 has a pressurized cabin, allowing it to fly at heights up to 25,000 feet, and comes with a luxury interior.

The Leonardo AW609 is the one of the world’s first private tilt-rotor aircraft, built for a number of possible applications from search and rescue to transportation of c-suite executives. The aircraft is capable of ascending completely vertically, like a helicopter, and then flying on a fixed-wing at over 300mph.

The AW609 in horizontal flight

The AW609 represents a unique approach to eVTOL development: While many companies such as Transcend Air, XTI Aircraft, and others have chosen to design completely new vehicles, Leonardo Helicopters has chosen to accelerate the design, production, and FAA certification processes by using technology that’s been in the military since 1997.

Leonardo plans on selling the AW609 privately only, and is not planning on building a shared ‘air taxi’ network as other short-range eVTOL companies are doing. This business model is most similar to the development of the XTI Tri-Fan 600 private eVTOL.

The AW609 Interior

Leonardo is currently working with the FAA on certification, expecting deliveries to begin in 2020.  Said Gian Piero Cutillo, managing director at Leonardo, “We are certifying a new helicopter — but at the same time — a turboprop [airplane]…..It’s not an easy path because we are certifying a unique product.” This challenge of certifying a new aircraft type,  which can sometimes take up to five years, is being faced by a large majority of other eVTOL aircraft on the market.

The United Arab Emirates government has placed a tentative order for three AW609’s, at a price of about $25 million USD per aircraft. It plans to use the aircraft for search and rescue operations. Learn more about the AW609 at the TransportUP Aircraft Page.

A larger version of the AW609 planned for development in 2023

Why it’s important: Leonardo Helicopters is paving the way for other unique aircraft currently in the pipeline for certification. While the AW609 is new for civilian production, it’s a well used aircraft type in the military, possibly making for an easier path to urban flight. With the FAA certification of the AW609 completed, other new eVTOLs will stand a much higher chance of certification as well.

Sources // CNN, Leonardo Helicopters, Wired

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