Category: Vehicles/Manufactures

The Cyclocopter: Another Way to Approach UAM

17 April 2019 || 4 min read

Russia’s Advanced Research Foundation (FPI) is taking another angle at approaching urban air mobility. The FPI cyclocopter, a technical design thought up by the FPI, is a hybrid eVTOL vehicle driven by rotating, cylindrical wings, with each individual wing composed of many small paddles, or ‘winglets’. Utilizing this design, the cyclocopter can quickly change its direction of thrust by altering...

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One of the most exciting reveals at the AERO Friedrichshafen 2019 in Friedrichshafen, Germany came from the German startup AutoFlightX, who showed off the V600, an eVTOL prototype designed for cargo and passengers. The V600, reminiscent of a futuristic P-38, was announced to be all-electric; a technical prototype two-seater intended to qualify under EASA’s new 600-kg threshold for ultralights, as...

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Honeywell is a Fortune 100 technology company with products that reach every corner of people’s everyday lives. The company has an “extensive aviation hardware and software product portfolio, including advanced navigation technologies and fly-by-wire flight controls tailored for the unique needs of UAM aircraft.” Now, Honeywell plans to have their technology aboard the Volocopter, an 18-propellor electric VTOL aircraft based...

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Terrafugia, the company that’s been developing the Transition flying car since 2006, has recently hired Chao Jing, a business leader with extensive experience working in international companies in the U.S., China, Philippines, Singapore, Belgium and Japan. Terrafugia was founded by a group of MIT students in 2006, then acquired by Chinese firm Geely Holding Group in 2017. While Terrafugia is...

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In a recent article published by Dufour Aerospace, video footage was released on the performance of its tilt-wing technology last week, validating its design efforts using a systematic engineering approach to confirm that its proposed solution for transition from horizontal to accelerated forward flight was feasible. This technology is ultimately planned to be incorporated on the aEro family of vehicles....

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MMCUAV recently released the Griflion M8, a multi-rotor, fixed-wing, VTOL UAV. Designed for high precision surveying, mapping or patrol missions, the Griflion is outfitted with a versatile interface that can connect with multiple types of cameras, depending on the user’s needs, such as the orthographic camera, the oblique camera, and electro-optical pod. The Griflion’s main feature is an autopilot function...

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Samad Aerospace, having already announced its partnership with Strand Aerospace, has also recently announced its concept for the Samad HUMA-a smaller modular transportation method that utilizes the same technology Samad is developing for its larger eVTOL. Samad Aerospace is a startup in the UK focusing on developing a business-class style eVTOL called the Starling Jet. More than just developing a jet, Samad...

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The EHang 216 Takes Flight in Vienna

08 April 2019 || 4 min read

On April 4th, the EHang 216 made its first successful public test flight in the Generali Arena in Vienna, Austria. The flight lasted only a few minutes, and the drone was restricted to an altitude of about 30 ft. inside the stadium, as the drone was not yet certified to fly in Austrian airspace. However, the Chinese firm EHang remained...

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“Starling Jet is a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) hybrid-electric propulsion aircraft for civil aviation use. It is an embodiment of our dream at SAMAD Aerospace — to revolutionise the way humans and goods fly around the globe. It will change the way you see the world and how you view your opportunities. What once seemed impossible will become routine.” – Samad Aerospace Samad has placed...

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Boeing Go-Fly Phase II Winners Announced

04 April 2019 || 4 min read

GoFly is an international competition to design, build, and fly a personal flying device. Grand Sponsor Boeing and Corporate Sponsor Pratt and Whitney have been able to reach a group of highly qualified competitors from across the globe. Thus far in the competition, 3,500 teams from 101 different countries have entered a design to be considered. Ten of those teams...

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Opener, backed by Alphabet founder Larry Page, is the creator of the Opener BlackFly, a single-seater eVTOL Aircraft, and has recently hired Ben Diachun, formerly of Scaled Composites as its new president. At Scaled Composites (founded by legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan) Diachun was also president. The company, acquired by Northgruman in 2007, most famously won the $10-million Ansari X-Prize in 2004...

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Jetpack Aviation has opened pre-order offers on the Speeder, a self-stabilizing, jet turbine-powered flying motorcycle capable of 15,000 ft in altitude and a max speed of 150 mph. From the same company that designed and released the JB series jetpacks, the Speeder utilizes similar technologies and is fully VTOL capable, capable of effectively taking off from anywhere the size of...

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Goodyear Aero Tire: An In-Depth Look

02 April 2019 || 6 min read

TransportUP recently conducted an interview with the designers and engineers behind the Goodyear Aero tire, which can be both a rotor set for flight and a wheel for traditional land transportation. Although this tire is many years away, it incorporates many of the key technology elements that Goodyear is currently adding to its tires, and pushes Goodyear forward into the...

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What UTC’s Project 804 means for hybrid-electric propulsion. United Technologies Corporation – previously part of the conglomerate comprised of Pratt & Whitney, UTC Aerospace Systems, and Rockwell Collins – has recently launched a new startup-like division. United Technologies Advanced Projects (UTAP) “moves at intense speed to build and pilot ambitious product and service demonstrators, while simultaneously distilling UTC’s curious and...

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Vancouver-based seaplane airline Harbour Air and the recently founded airplane electric motor company magni-X are partnering to transform Harbour Air into an ‘all-electric commercial fleet’. Since 1982, Harbour Air has become North America’s largest seaplane airline. The company now runs between 12 scheduled destinations including Vancouver, Seattle, and Whistler, carrying 500,000 passengers a year for a total of over 30,000 annual...

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