At the Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K., Eve unveiled its first full-scale eVTOL air taxi prototype, assembled at Embraer’s test facility in Brazil’s São Paulo state.

In the U.S., Archer Aviation was the first to hit that milestone, followed shortly after by Joby Aviation and Overair. German eVTOL manufacturers Lilium and Volocopter each have rolled out full-scale prototypes as well, as has China’s EHang.

Eve’s 100 percent electric design now joins them. The lift-plus-cruise model is built to fly up to four passengers and a pilot on 60 sm (52 nm) air taxi routes in and around major cities. It will be piloted at launch, but the company intends to transition to uncrewed operations in the future.

The air taxi includes eight dedicated propellers for vertical flight and fixed wings for cruise, as well as an electric pusher powered by dual electric motors.

Eve seeks to introduce the aircraft commercially in 2026, in line with many of its competitors. The company received proposed airworthiness criteria, a key step toward that goal, from Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) in December.

“Our global team of engineers have shown exceptional dedication and expertise to successfully assemble our first full-scale eVTOL prototype,” said Johann Bordais, CEO of Eve. “This is a significant milestone that underscores our commitment to safety, accessibility and innovation.”

Eve is building its flagship air taxi using components and systems from a massive network of suppliers, and it announced two more at Farnborough: Diehl Aviation will design the eVTOL’s interior, while electric aerospace systems provider ASE will supply a power distribution system. Other Eve suppliers include Honeywell, Thales, Garmin, and BAE Systems.

On Tuesday at the airshow, the manufacturer announced another key collaborator, the smart infrastructure arm of technology conglomerate Siemens. The partners will work to gauge just how much energy an eVTOL network will require, as well as the best way to get that energy into the aircraft.

“The results and insights that Siemens and Eve Air Mobility will gain from this collaborative effort are expected to inform our strategy in preparing the ecosystem and developing services at scale for customers in the U.S. and, potentially, around the world,” said Luiz Mauad, vice president of customer services at Eve.

Eve last year announced the site of its first eVTOL manufacturing plant, where it intends to produce as many as 480 aircraft annually. Per the manufacturer’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings report in March, it has an order pipeline of 2,850 aircraft, with the total value of nonbinding orders exceeding $8 billion.

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The manufacturer has begun ground testing a new, more advanced full-scale prototype of its flagship VX4 air taxi after an initial prototype was damaged during an uncrewed flight test last year.

A failed pylon affected the way the aircraft’s flight control system communicated with its motors, causing it to tumble from about 30 feet in the air onto the runway at Cotswold Airport (EGBP) in the U.K.

Vertical’s latest prototype air taxi is more powerful, capable of reaching 150 mph—the intended cruise speed for its flagship model—courtesy of an improved power-to-weight ratio. It features new propellers, which were developed prior to last year’s crash, and proprietary battery technology manufactured at a dedicated facility in Bristol.

Sixty percent of the aircraft’s technology and components come from suppliers including Honeywell, Leonardo, GKN Aerospace, Hanwha, and Molicel, compared to 10 percent on the first prototype. The company is also developing an identical prototype.

The new aircraft and its systems have been tested and commissioned, and Vertical has already completed initial ground testing, including propeller balancing and spinning tests that measure the weight distribution of each blade. The next step will be powered propulsion system testing of the air taxi’s powertrain and battery packs, during which the engines will be run while the vehicle is anchored. 

After that, Vertical will need to secure a permit to fly from the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which will allow it to move to the “wheels up” phase: crewed testing of tethered aircraft and low-speed untethered flights. It will also need to perform thrustborne, wingborne, and transition flights, demonstrating that the aircraft can maneuver and gain lift as expected.

The manufacturer’s type certification safety target is the same as that for commercial airliners. Its flagship model will enable a pilot to fly as many as four passengers up to 100 sm (87 nm) while producing zero operating emissions and just 50 dBA of noise during cruise, which the company says allows it to fit seamlessly within an urban soundscape. The firm claims it will be capable of flying from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in only 11 minutes.

Despite suffering a crash, Vertical continues to receive support from the U.K. government, which in February awarded it $10 million to develop its next-generation propellers. The allocation brings the manufacturer’s total U.K. government grant funding received to $47 million

Vertical founder Stephen Fitzpatrick also committed $50 million to the company, which he predicted would keep it liquid through mid-2025. The money will be used to support the aircraft testing and certification process, which the manufacturer hopes to complete by the end of 2026.

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On June 24, the firm’s “first-of-its-kind” hydrogen-electric, vertical takeoff and landing (hVTOL) demonstrator completed a 532 sm (462 nm) flight—about the distance between San Francisco and San Diego—above Marina, California, home to the Joby’s test facility and pilot production line. The aircraft landed with more than 10 percent of its hydrogen fuel remaining, with water the only byproduct of the flight.

Joby believes the test, which included a vertical take off and landing, represented the first forward flight for a liquid hydrogen-powered eVTOL aircraft. The company said hydrogen is a key piece of its future plans.

“We’re excited to now be building a technology stack that could redefine regional travel using hydrogen-electric aircraft,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “Imagine being able to fly from San Francisco to San Diego, Boston to Baltimore, or Nashville to New Orleans, without the need to go to an airport and with no emissions except water. That world is closer than ever.”

The development signals a shift in Joby’s stated business philosophy, which before Thursday was centered around flying urban air mobility (UAM) routes within cities.

In a blog post penned by Bevirt and Raffaele Russo, business manager for new technologies at Joby, the company’s top brass said regional air mobility (RAM) is also on the agenda. The firm has alluded to a regional service before, but Thursday’s developments appear to confirm that one is in the works.

“Although the specific energy of batteries is improving, their weight will continue to limit the application of electric aircraft to short-distance travel,” the blog post reads. “To serve regional markets, we plan to use hydrogen to increase the potential range and payload of electric aircraft.”

Joby’s hydrogen-electric program builds on the technology developed by its subsidiary H2FLY, acquired in secret in 2021.

The manufacturer built the hydrogen-electric demonstrator by modifying one of its battery-electric aircraft, which has already flown more than 25,000 miles, with a hydrogen fuel tank capable of storing up to 40 kilograms of liquid, supercooled hydrogen. It includes a smaller battery cell, which provides extra power during takeoff and landing.

The design employs the same airframe and overall architecture as its battery-electric counterpart. It will use the same takeoff and landing sites and operations team, as well as ElevateOS—a proprietary, Uber-like software suite unveiled in June.

ElevateOS comprises a pilot app, rider app, operations suite, and matching system that connects riders with aircraft based on departure time, arrival time, and location. It includes an integration with the Uber app, allowing Uber customers to book Joby flights and vice versa.

The hydrogen-powered model also includes the H2F-175 hydrogen fuel cell, built by H2FLY, which produces electricity and heat with water as the sole byproduct. The fuel cell powers the aircraft’s six electric motors, which feed into tilting propellers that assist in both hover and forward flight, and charges the batteries while they are deactivated in cruise mode.

The technology was deployed about one year ago during a milestone H2FLY flight, which Joby claims was the first crewed flight of a hydrogen-electric aircraft with a runway takeoff.

According to Joby’s estimate, the hydrogen-electric model will have a greater payload than a battery-electric design or an aircraft using an equivalent amount of jet fuel.

Bevirt is also bullish on hydrogen production, pointing to the U.S. Department of Energy’s $7 billion investment in clean “hydrogen hubs.” He noted that hydrogen can be produced using a variety of low- or zero-emission sources such as wind or water power, which could help the aviation industry meet commitments to eliminate emissions by 2050.

“We recognize that broadly commercializing hydrogen will require doing the hard miles on regulation and infrastructure, along with fuel storage and distribution, but we have demonstrated that regional hydrogen-electric flight is possible today,” Bevirt and Russo wrote in Thursday’s blog post.

Bevirt said the bulk of the work Joby has done to certify its flagship, battery-electric air taxi will carry over to commercializing a hydrogen-electric variant. The company’s hydrogen-electric activities are supported by Agility Prime, the vertical lift technology division of the U.S. Air Force innovation arm, AFWERX.

“Agility Prime has been very supportive of hydrogen-powered aircraft development and testing as it aligns with the program’s goals to advance transformative vertical lift technologies and broader Department of Defense operational energy goals of energy substitution and diversification, and energy demand reduction,” said Jacob Wilson, acting branch chief of Agility Prime.

Joby is also collaborating with AFWERX’s Autonomy Prime division, which, as the name implies, develops self-flying aircraft.

The company in June acquired autonomous flight company Xwing for an undisclosed fee and intends to build a self-flying version of its flagship air taxi in the future, using Xwing’s Superpilot software. U.S. competitor Wisk Aero and Chinese eVTOL manufacturer EHang are among the handful of firms looking to fly autonomous air taxis at launch.

Joby aims to launch commercial operations with its flagship battery-electric air taxi in 2025, in partnership with Delta Air Lines. New York and Los Angeles are slated as the company’s first U.S. markets.

The aircraft is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers on trips up to 100 sm (87 nm), cruising at 200 mph (174 knots). In the U.S., Joby will operate the model itself.

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XTI on Monday announced it signed a capital distribution agreement with investor FC Imperial Limited worth as much as $55 million, giving the firm a post-money valuation of around $275 million should the transaction go through.

“Assuming the completion of the proposed investment, we believe the additional capital will help accelerate the development of the TriFan through several major milestones, including completion of the updated preliminary design review along with launching the critical design review phase in preparation for the assembly of XTI’s Test Aircraft No. 1,” said Scott Pomeroy, chairman and CEO of XTI.

XTI, which is publicly traded on the Nasdaq, was borne out of a merger between manufacturer XTI Aircraft Company and Inpixon, a developer of real-time location systems. That transaction went through in March.

The company’s proprietary aircraft design has received patents in the U.S., Canada, Japan, China, and Europe. In 2019, a two-thirds scale prototype aircraft made its maiden voyage.

The TriFan design was inspired by the hummingbird using its wings to suspend itself in air while collecting nectar: fast, quiet, and able to hover. In the same way, the aircraft uses tilting fans to easily transition from hover to forward flight, much like the tiltrotors on the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey or Leonardo AW609.

Unlike the cylindrical shape of most commercial airliners, the design takes the form of a bird in flight to provide lift, similar to the Boeing B-52 or Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

The TriFan seats a pilot and as many as six passengers. It can operate from a helipad, airport, or any “improved surface,” with no need for new infrastructure or airspace regulations.

Two massive ducted fans on either side of the aircraft’s fixed wing aid in hover and cruise flight, while a third rear fan—which stows during flight—provides power and stability during vertical takeoff. The fans are controlled using simple fly-by-wire controls and powered by a pair of turboshaft engines. The company says it will later switch to hybrid-electric and eventually full electric power to enable zero-emissions operations.

According to XTI, the aircraft’s 700 sm (600 nm) range from helipad to helipad—equivalent to the distance between Dallas and Denver or San Francisco and Portland, Oregon—is double that of most helicopters and seven times that of battery-only VTOL designs. It can also use its fans to perform a short takeoff and landing (STOL) from an airport runway for increased range (750 nm) and payload.

XTI says the TriFan’s 345 mph (300 knots) cruise speed is also twice that of a typical helicopter and will save passengers time compared to business jets and airliners. It will fly at around 25,000 feet and have a configurable fuselage for executive, commuter, and medical use cases.

At the same time, the aircraft is expected to be affordable. In 2021, XTI estimated that an eight-passenger TriFan configuration flying from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport (KJFK) would cost 80 cents per seat-mile, compared to $3.19 for the average eVTOL and $3 for the typical Uber ride.

The TriFan will be certified as a single-pilot design with IFR permissions, including flights in inclement weather. XTI is collaborating with AVX Aircraft Company on the aircraft’s design, development, and certification.

As of March, the company has a total of more than 700 conditional aircraft purchase agreements, non-binding deposit agreements, options, and letters of intent for the model.

Last month, regional airline Mesa Airlines, which works with United Airlines, placed a conditional preorder for up to 100 aircraft, the value of which XTI estimates at $1 billion. The firm also became an investor. The pending transaction represents one of the most significant so far for the young company.

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The company on Thursday said it is moving to the next phase of flight testing using production prototype aircraft, the first of which came off its pilot production line at Marina Municipal Airport (KOAR) in California in June. The company on Monday rolled out a second production prototype. Until now, Joby had only flown tests using two preproduction air taxi prototypes.

So far, the U.S. Air Force is the only Joby customer to operate a production prototype as airmen are deploying the manufacturer’s first model for logistics and other missions during joint testing at Edwards Air Force Base (KEDW) in California. Joby says its second prototype will soon join the first at Edwards and so far has committed to two further aircraft deliveries to MacDill Air Force Base (KMCF) in Tampa, Florida.

Now, though, the manufacturer is ramping up to perform its own production prototype testing ahead of for-credit evaluations with the FAA.

Joby in 2023 completed 30 for-credit tests of the air taxi’s structures and components. But successful for-credit testing of the entire aircraft would represent a key step toward the pinnacle of the eVTOL air taxi industry: type certification.

“Our preproduction aircraft were the second full-scale generation of Joby’s design, and their performance met or exceeded our predictions throughout the program, successfully achieving our targets for maximum range, speed, and a revolutionary acoustic footprint,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby.

The manufacturer’s flagship air taxi is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers on trips up to 100 sm (87 nm), cruising at 200 mph (174 knots). Unlike competitors such as Archer Aviation, Joby will operate the aircraft itself in partnership with Delta Air Lines.

The company is eyeing commercial urban air mobility (UAM) routes in and around large U.S. metro areas, such as New York and Los Angeles, starting in 2025. But that target will hinge on its success in for-credit evaluations.

Joby’s two preproduction aircraft together have flown more than 33,000 miles over the course of more than 1,500 test flights, 100 of which had a pilot on board.

These included the first electric air taxi exhibition flights in New York City in November, when the company’s second preproduction model flew from the Manhattan Downtown Heliport over the Hudson River. Another demonstration in 2021 included a 154.6 sm flight on a single charge.

“Over the past four years, we thoroughly tested and studied our aircraft in flight, from precision landing and outwash to human factors,” said James Denham, chief test pilot for Joby. “We often flew multiple flights per day, demonstrating our ability to fly in a wide variety of weather and operational conditions.”

Since October, the company has been flying preproduction prototypes with pilots on board. That month, four Air Force test pilots completed the eVTOL’s first crewed transition from hover to cruise flight. The crewed test program includes 31 flights over a span of two days, completed at the start of 2024 in partnership with the FAA.

Joby has also entrenched itself with NASA, working with the space agency to evaluate air taxi traffic and noise. The ability for eVTOL aircraft to fly alongside other aircraft at low volume is considered essential for UAM services, which are largely expected to take place over cities.

“Learnings from the flight test program have been invaluable to our certification program and to the broader development of regulatory frameworks around electric VTOL aircraft, validating the performance, safety, and acoustics of our design while providing insight into daily operations and maintenance,” said Bevirt.

Joby competitor Archer Aviation is also looking ahead to for-credit testing. It expects to begin those evaluations later this year following the production of three type-conforming air taxi models, which is already underway.

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Joby rolled out its first production prototype from Marina in June, delivering it in September to Edwards Air Force base (KEDW) in California ahead of schedule. There, U.S. Air Force personnel are using the aircraft to conduct logistics and other missions during joint testing. Joby and AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Air Force, signed an aircraft development and flight testing contract in 2020 that has since been expanded multiple times.

Joby says it expects its second prototype, on display at Marina on Monday, to join its counterpart at Edwards later this year following final testing.

The manufacturer designed its flagship air taxi to carry a pilot and as many as four passengers on trips up to 100 sm (87 nm), cruising at 200 mph (174 knots). The company is targeting commercial launches in major U.S. cities such as New York and Los Angeles, where it will ferry customers to and from airports in partnership with Delta Air Lines, in 2025.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Marina expansion, which Joby expects will more than double the facility’s production capacity, was attended by a who’s who of local stakeholders, including the city of Marina and the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP), and Drone, Automation, and Robotics Technology (DART) groups. A representative of the company’s manufacturing partner, auto manufacturer Toyota, was also present.

“This facility will play a foundational role in our future success, and it is a privilege to once again be growing our footprint and our workforce in California,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “I am grateful to the local community and our many supporters who have advocated on our behalf to reach this point and to Toyota for everything they continue to do to make manufacturing a success at Joby.”

Joby expects the expanded Marina facility to be open for operations by next year. The company is targeting a production rate of 25 aircraft annually as its scaled manufacturing plant in Dayton, Ohio, comes online.

The Dayton facility, selected in September, is expected to initially churn out 500 aircraft per year when full-scale operations begin in 2025. The 140-acre site has enough space for the company to one day fill it with more than 2 million square feet of manufacturing assets, which figures to expand capacity further.

However, Marina also has an important role to play for Joby. The company in its 2023 earnings report said a significant portion of the approximately $450 million in cash and short-term investments it projects for 2024 will go toward the site’s expansion. On Monday, it confirmed that a pilot training and flight simulation center as well as a maintenance hub, intended to support early operations, are among the planned facilities.

The expansion is funded in part by the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), which in November awarded Joby a $9.8 million California Competes grant.

The prototype aircraft being built at Marina will further support Joby’s quest for type certification. The company’s initial prototype was responsible for its first $1 million in revenue, as reported in its 2023 earnings: early flight services provided to the Department of Defense, conducted at Marina Municipal Airport.

Since then, the manufacturer has committed to two more air taxi deliveries to MacDill Air Force Base (KMCF) in Tampa, Florida, in an expansion of its $131 million contract with AFWERX. The agreement calls for the delivery of nine aircraft, of which the company has now firmly committed to four.

Evaluations conducted under the contract figure to help Joby refine its air taxi design ahead of for-credit type certification testing with the FAA. The company in February said it is ramping up to for-credit testing following the regulator’s acceptance of the certification plans for its aircraft, components, and systems.

Following the rollout of its second air taxi prototype, Joby says another two aircraft are in the final assembly phase. Parts for “multiple subsequent aircraft” are in production at the company’s recently acquired facility in Ohio, from where they will be shipped to Marina.

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Rotor Technologies has unveiled the first production uncrewed aircraft built on the Robinson Helicopter Company platform.

The manufacturer of autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft on Wednesday revealed the R550X helicopter to the public for the first time. The uncrewed aircraft, which is based on the design of Robinson’s R44 Raven II, was on display at Helicopter Association International’s (HAI) Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California, from February 27-29.

In December, Rotor said it expects the aircraft to fly commercially in the U.S. this year, followed by an international expansion. The partners claim that greater automation will drive safety, scalability, and expanded mission profiles for helicopters.

The R550X is the first production uncrewed aircraft to be built on the Robinson platform. Rotor first announced the design in December with plans to build two models, intended to be delivered to agricultural aircraft operators for crop spraying.

However, the helicopter is also designed for utility, maritime, and cargo operations—specifically, in situations where the pilot might be exposed to a hazardous environment or which are too difficult for lighter aircraft.

The experimental category aircraft has a 1,200-pound payload with no pilot, capable of flying for three hours at a top speed of 130 ktas. Its range extends beyond the vast majority of drones and eVTOL air taxis, the partners claim.

The R550X’s lidar system provides 360-degree situational awareness, which enables flights at night or in low visibility. Onboard software, meanwhile, helps avoid accidents such as inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions, loss of control, mast bumping, and controlled flight into terrain.

A static prototype of the design called the Spirit of New Hampshire—which completed its first live test flight in January before guest of honor Chris Sununu, the governor of New Hampshire—was on display at Heli-Expo alongside a Robinson police helicopter, implying at least one potential use case. Visitors could interact with the aircraft’s lidar systems, camera, and synthetic vision.

The R550X will continue its North American tour next month with a planned display at Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI) Xponential in San Diego, which begins April 22. The following month, the partners intend to take it to Vertical Flight Society’s (VFS) Forum 80 in Montréal, starting May 7.

Rotor CEO Hector Xu added that he and newly minted Robinson CEO David Smith are developing plans to begin low-rate manufacturing for the aircraft.

“David and I share a common product vision,” said Xu. “Our collaboration will combine Rotor’s technology with Robinson’s dynamic and scalable supply chain to deliver the world’s most capable commercial uncrewed VTOL.”

Heli-Expo marked a major leadership transition for Robinson, which has had just three chief executives across its 50-year history. Smith replaced Kurt Robinson, the son of Robinson founder and aviation pioneer Frank Robinson, as CEO in February. The company positioned Smith as a fresh face, emphasizing his commitment to innovation, expanded manufacturing capabilities, and the development of new product initiatives.

“I look forward to working with the more than 400 service centers and dealers and the more than 1,100 employees of [Robinson] as we pursue new products, markets, partnerships, and technologies,” said Smith.

Rotor is not the only company exploring automation with Robinson rotorcraft.

In 2022, an R66 single-engine helicopter completed the first Guinness World Records-certified automated autorotation procedure for an emergency landing. Skyryse, whose technology was installed on the aircraft, will sell a retrofit R66 called Skyryse One for about $2 million. But the model will not be capable of fully uncrewed flight.

Robinson competitor Sikorsky, owned by Lockheed Martin, is also exploring uncrewed prototypes. The manufacturer last year unveiled an autonomous, hybrid-electric VTOL concept called HEX, which it said will be the first in a family of self-flying VTOL models. Last month, it revealed that the aircraft will feature a unique tilt-wing design.

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Airbus on Thursday unveiled the full prototype of its four-seat CityAirbus NextGen to the public. The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) design makes its debut ahead of its anticipated maiden voyage later this year.

CityAirbus NextGen is a zero-emission, lift-plus-cruise design for a variety of missions in major cities and urban environments, including passenger transport, medical services, and ecotourism. Airbus will partner with operators and airlines to fly the model worldwide.

At first, the eVTOL will be flown by a pilot. But it’s equipped with an operational automated flight mode that could enable autonomous operations in the future.

“Rolling out CityAirbus NextGen for the very first time is an important and very real step that we are taking towards advanced air mobility [AAM] and our future product and market,” said Balkiz Sarihan, head of urban air mobility (UAM) at Airbus.

Airbus revealed the NextGen concept—a descendant of its CityAirbus demonstrator—in 2021. The aircraft is designed for a pilot to fly up to three passengers, with a range of about 50 sm (43 nm) and cruise speed of 75 mph (65 knots). It weighs approximately two tons and has about a 40-foot wingspan.

The NextGen design includes a V-shaped tail, fixed wings, and distributed electric propulsion system, with eight electric propellers and 16 electrical power units. Airbus in 2021 said these features will keep sound levels below 65 dBA during fly-over and below 70 dBA during landing.

The aircraft was built using a mix of in-house and externally supplied components, such as wings from Spirit AeroSystems, flight controls from Thales and Diehl Aerospace, and electric motors from MagicAll.

CityAirbus NextGen will include a human machine interface, with a single piloting stick controlling all aircraft axes and replacing cyclic, pedal, and collective controls. Airbus claims the design is a first in the helicopter industry. Using the stick, a pilot will be able to perform takeoff and landing, climb, descent, acceleration, deceleration, turn, and approach.

Airbus will certify the air taxi in the enhanced category under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) Special Condition for VTOL (SC-VTOL) regulations. The manufacturer describes these as “the most stringent certification requirements.” FAA certification is expected to follow in the months and years beyond.

The unveiling of the NextGen prototype took place as Airbus opened its CityAirbus test center in Donauwörth, Germany, a site dedicated to eVTOL aircraft development. Donauwörth will host remaining tests of the aircraft’s electric motors, rotors, and other systems such as flight controls and avionics, required before it makes its maiden flight. Airbus began operations at the facility in December after powering on the first NextGen model.

Airbus intends to fly the air taxi in countries such as Italy, Germany, Norway, and Japan, as well as regions such as Latin America. But it will need to establish operational partners and infrastructure such as electric aircraft chargers prior to a rollout.

Recently, the manufacturer expanded its partnership for service in Italy—which already included ITA Airways, nation’s flag carrier—to include vertiport operator UrbanV and green energy firm Enel, which will help airports transition to electric infrastructure.

It also intends to collaborate with international helicopter and fixed-wing lessor LCI to develop business models and partnership scenarios revolving around AAM strategy, commercialization, and financing.

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The Lockheed Martin-owned firm on Tuesday unveiled its plan to build, test, and fly a fully autonomous, hybrid-electric VTOL demonstrator called HEX, which it said will be the first in a series of large, self-flying VTOL models.

Sikorsky said the HEX program is its first attempt to integrate hybrid-electric propulsion systems and advanced autonomy onto a VTOL design. The aircraft is intended to save fuel and improve performance for both commercial and military applications.

The manufacturer first hinted at a VTOL design in December 2022, announcing plans to design the HEX prototype in March. But Tuesday’s announcement revealed the aircraft will feature a unique tilt-wing architecture.

Tiltrotor or tilt-propeller designs are common in the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi space. They involve the repositioning of those components during the transition between vertical and forward flight. Tilt-wings, by contrast, rotate the entire wing vertically during takeoff to minimize their interference on thrust.

Sikorsky also confirmed that HEX represents the inception of a family of next-generation VTOL aircraft, which was only mentioned as a possibility in March. The designs will include both rotorcraft and winged models, the company said.

The aircraft will feature different degrees of electrification, but each will be powered by the company’s Matrix autonomy system for “optionally piloted flight.” Matrix enables an aircraft to be flown by two, one, or zero pilots.

“Autonomy and electrification will bring transformational change to flight safety and operational efficiency of large VTOL aircraft,” said Paul Lemmo, president of Sikorsky. “Our HEX demonstrator program will provide valuable insights as we look to a future family of aircraft built to the scale and preferred configurations relevant to commercial and military customers.”

Sikorsky is exploring the potential for such aircraft to perform utility missions for the U.S. military or fly passengers between cities. Other manufacturers exploring eVTOL designs for air taxi services, recreational flight, or potential military use include Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, and Pivotal.

According to Sikorsky’s website, HEX will be safer to fly and more efficient, cost effective, and sustainable to operate than conventional rotorcraft or fixed-wing designs. It said the aircraft will be capable of traveling 500 nm at high speed, lowering maintenance costs and limiting mechanical systems to reduce complexity.

Sikorsky Innovations—the company’s prototyping arm leading the HEX program—is working with partner GE Aerospace, the aircraft engine supplier subsidiary of General Electric, to finalize the design for a hybrid-electric power systems testbed aircraft, with a 600-kilowatt motor.

The testbed is the “first step,” according to the manufacturer and will be used to evaluate hover performance of the subsequent HEX demonstrator. The demonstrator will have a maximum gross weight of 9,900 pounds and a 1.2-megawatt-class turbogenerator, instead of the 1-megawatt generator proposed in March. Sikorsky in March also said that GE Aerospace would provide a CT7 turboshaft engine, though Tuesday’s announcement made no mention of it.

Over the next two to five years, the testbed and HEX demonstrator are expected to provide Sikorsky with insights into its future class of VTOL aircraft for regional and intercity travel.

“Within Sikorsky’s electric pillar, we are designing electric motors, power electronics and our own vehicle management hardware and actuation,” said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations. “HEX will integrate these components, showcasing the growing maturity of our Matrix autonomy suite and the potential for maintenance-free systems. Seeing the results will lead us to more efficient overall designs.”

Sikorsky Innovations has developed three experimental helicopter prototypes featuring a coaxial design, with a rear propulsor in place of a tail rotor: the X2 demonstrator, S-97 Raider, and SB-1 Defiant. These models fly twice as fast as a single main rotor helicopter, with improved maneuverability and handling at low speeds, the manufacturer said.

Sikorsky has also worked with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to demonstrate military resupply and casualty evacuation. The missions were completed using an optionally piloted UH-60A Black Hawk retrofitted with Matrix and a full-authority, fly-by-wire flight control system.

VTOL technology is a decidedly new addition to the mix, by Sikorsky’s own admission. But the manufacturer’s long history of producing rotorcraft may help it merge VTOL with its existing airframes and autonomous capabilities.

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The National Transportation Safety Board is citing blade failure as the cause of the crash of a remotely piloted Joby Aviation electric aircraft in 2022. According to the NTSB’s final report, the accident, which took place on February 16, happened during the second test flight of the day for the JAS4-2, the first of two second-generation preproduction prototypes.

Since JAS4-2, an uncrewed experimental aircraft designated N542AJ, was involved in flight testing, it was being observed from a manned chase airplane.

The flight began about 09:42 PST with a normal vertical takeoff, transition to wing-borne flight, and climb up to 11,000 feet msl. The remote pilot in command (PIC) put the aircraft into a descent, with the unit reaching a maximum dive speed of 181 knots. As the aircraft passed through 8,900 feet the propeller from propulsion station 3 located on the right inboard wing experienced oscillations in rpm and motor vibrations.

Per the NTSB report, “after reaching a maximum dive speed of 181 knots indicated airspeed (kias) at an altitude of approximately 8,900 feet, a propeller blade on propulsion station 3 experienced a bending failure near the root of the blade which culminated in the release of the propeller blade.” 

The released blade impacted the propeller on propulsion station 4—located on the right wing outboard—which subsequently resulted in a release of the impacted blade. 

The result was a cascading effect, with the other propeller blade failures and separations from the propulsion motors, resulting in loss of aircraft control. The aircraft rolled to the left then entered an inverted dive, and crashed in an uninhabited area near Jolon, California. There were no injuries, and the aircraft was destroyed.

“Experimental flight test programs are intentionally designed to determine the limits of aircraft performance and, in doing so, provide critical insight and learnings that support the safe operation of aircraft as well as inform final design elements,” Joby said in a statement to FLYING. “Since the accident, we’ve incorporated a range of improvements to our design and testing methodologies, many of which were already planned, and our second preproduction prototype aircraft has flown nearly 25,000 miles, including more than 100 flights flown by a pilot on board as well as exhibition flights in New York City.”

The company added it will continue to work with the FAA to resolve any safety issues before type certification. It will also share any relevant findings with other electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturers.

According to information recorded by Joby during the test flight, “the variable pitch actuator for station 3 was commanding a typical cruise pitch when the blade release occurred, whereas video evidence indicated a steeper pitch on some blades immediately before the initial blade release.”

The company went on to state that accelerometer data for station 3 “showed a rapid growth in vibration after reaching the accident flights test condition before the initial blade release.” There was also an oscillation present for station 3 at the time, and examination of Joby’s prior flight test data revealed “consistent asymmetric behavior between station 2 and station 3, despite identical mirrored designs.” 

About the Pilot

The remote PIC was 62 years old and held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine and multiengine land along with ratings for helicopter and glider in addition to unmanned aerial systems (UAS). At the time of the event, the PIC had a total of  2,965 hours total time, with 43 hours flying the JAS4-2.

About the Aircraft

The aircraft was all-electric, fly-by-wire, and capable of vertical takeoff and landing. The design has space for five occupants, pilot, and four passengers, though it could be piloted remotely. The design’s maximum gross takeoff weight was 4,200 pounds. 

The aircraft was configured with six tilting propellers directly driven by six dual-powered electric motors with power supplied by four battery packs. The six electric propulsion unit (EPU) stations are identified numerically based on location as station 1 (outboard left wing), station 2 (inboard left wing), station 3 (inboard right wing), station 4 (outboard right wing), station 5 (left tail), and station 6 (right tail). Each of the six variable pitch propeller assemblies were equipped with five blades and actuated by a single variable pitch actuator driving a mechanical pitch change mechanism.

Joby conducted a frame-by-frame review of GoPro video captured during the test flight to help the NTSB reach a conclusion as to the cause of the crash.

The accident did not slow down Joby, as last week the FAA accepted its propulsion system certification plan. According to company officials, this is a “critical step” toward type certification of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi.

The post NTSB Cites Blade Separation in Electric Aircraft Accident appeared first on FLYING Magazine.