Unconventional eVTOL Designs

Flying car manufacturers are taking interesting approaches to propulsion technology to solve the problem of personal aviation. Neva Aerospace’s AirQuadOne and DeLorean Aerospace’s DR-7 are two examples of such vehicles.

Neva Aerospace AirQuadOne:

The AirQuadOne uses 20 ducted fans to provide distributed thrust for vertical flight of a single passenger. Fore and aft pairs of large fans and two rows of four small fans are fixed and provide vertical lift. Four pairs of medium-size fans can tilt to also provide thrust for forward flight. The ducted fans have greater redundancy but are consequently more resilient to engine failures.

DeLorean Aerospace’s DR-7:

The DR-7 has a 20-foot wingspan that can fold to fit in a garage. The aircraft has two ducted fans mounted fore and aft on the fuselage in a push/pull configuration. VTOL engineers are concerned the ducts can generate sufficient moments to provide roll control in hover. The company also needs to consider what happens if fans are blocked during forward flight or lost completely. The DR-7 has a target price of $250,000-$300,000 with max speeds of up to 240-300mph.

Related Links:

• Aviation Week Article: http://aviationweek.com/technology/unconventional-designs-vie-personal-evtol-success