Sikorsky's new tilt-wing hybrid VTOL aircraft promises 575-mile range
By David Szondy
February 28, 2024
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/sikorsky- ... tilt-wing/
Sikorsky is developing a hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (HEX/VTOL) tilt-wing demonstrator, one of a new family of hybrid rotorcraft that will also offer pilot-optional autonomous flight.
There are so many companies building unconventional rotorcraft, many of which are electric or hybrid electric, that one more added to the growing list wouldn't warrant much attention. However, when the newest one is a major player in the aerospace world like Sikorsky, it's time to sit up and take notice.
The February 27 announcement isn't heavy on details, but does present a lot of insight into what's to come in the field of rotorcraft – especially from the mainstream competitors.
Will This The Electric VTOL Fullfil the Dream of the Flying Car?
March 10, 2024 by Brian Wang
The Doroni H1-X is a design for new two-passenger eVTOL that sets new standard for efficiency, sustainability, and versatility in air mobility. A full-scale system will have test flights by the end of this year, 2024.
Doroni has $3.8 million in funding. The Doroni H1-X is an electric flying car that has an estimated cost between $300,000 and $400,000.
Key Specifications of the H1X:
– Range: Up to 60 miles, enabling substantial urban and semi-urban commutes.
– Flight Time: 40 minutes of operational flight time on a single charge.
– Charging: Rapid recharge capabilities, achieving full charge in about 20 minutes.
– Takeoff Weight: A total takeoff weight of 1850 pounds, including a 500-pound payload capacity.
Rust to riches? Ohio city’s fortunes set to rise with flying taxi startup
Fri 29 Mar 2024 11.00 GMT
For a decade, Dayton in south-west Ohio has fought to shed its rust belt past. New apartment blocks, hotels and breweries have cut into a landscape dominated by derelict warehouses and general industrial decline. But today, that transformation is shifting gears and taking to the skies.
A town that 120 years ago produced the pioneers of human flight the Wright brothers is set to build hundreds of futuristic flying taxis each year.
It’s here in Dayton – rather than in its home state of California – that Joby Aviation is planning to manufacture its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Joby’s Didier Papadopoulos cites a couple of reasons for the company’s plans to employ up to 2,000 people at a $500m facility north of Dayton scheduled to open next year.
For one, it “has a tremendous history in aviation – it’s the birthplace of flight”, Papadopoulos said recently. Also, he remarked, “Ohio is home to a talented and skilled manufacturing workforce, and we expect to hire and train a mixture of both local and national applicants.”
As far as I am concern the closes thing to a flying car we will have is a mini-jet or rotor personal plane with the ability to drive on the street. We will never have anti-gravity as in the movies and probably will never have superconductivity.
I think some people may have such minis that they will be able to drive on the street one day soon but will probably need to go to a airport or some other set up to take off to become airborne. Driverless tech may open this door for this.
A new sport kicked away this month when the first ever jet-suit race was held in Dubai. Each racer wore an array of seven 130-hp jet engines (two on each arm and three in the backpack for a total 1,050 hp) that are controlled by hand-throttles. After that, the pilots use the three thrust vectors to gain lift, move forward and try to stay above ground level while negotiating the course … faster than anyone else.
They begin the race with 5 gallons of jet fuel in the backpack, and end it with very little – the total flight time possible is around 9 minutes, so long races are not on the agenda for a while yet.
For safety reasons, races are held over a water course, so the sport can be staged in the center of any city with a suitable water course and now that the ice has been broken, we expect there will be more and bigger events staged.
A new sport kicked away this month when the first ever jet-suit race was held in Dubai. Each racer wore an array of seven 130-hp jet engines (two on each arm and three in the backpack for a total 1,050 hp) that are controlled by hand-throttles. After that, the pilots use the three thrust vectors to gain lift, move forward and try to stay above ground level while negotiating the course … faster than anyone else.
They begin the race with 5 gallons of jet fuel in the backpack, and end it with very little – the total flight time possible is around 9 minutes, so long races are not on the agenda for a while yet.
For safety reasons, races are held over a water course, so the sport can be staged in the center of any city with a suitable water course and now that the ice has been broken, we expect there will be more and bigger events staged.
A new sport kicked away this month when the first ever jet-suit race was held in Dubai. Each racer wore an array of seven 130-hp jet engines (two on each arm and three in the backpack for a total 1,050 hp) that are controlled by hand-throttles. After that, the pilots use the three thrust vectors to gain lift, move forward and try to stay above ground level while negotiating the course … faster than anyone else.
They begin the race with 5 gallons of jet fuel in the backpack, and end it with very little – the total flight time possible is around 9 minutes, so long races are not on the agenda for a while yet.
For safety reasons, races are held over a water course, so the sport can be staged in the center of any city with a suitable water course and now that the ice has been broken, we expect there will be more and bigger events staged.
Well, I want one! The fucking jet pack of the future is here. I wonder how far you could fly with one? 10 miles is all I'd need on one charge.
weatheriscool wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 7:49 pm
Well, I want one! The fucking jet pack of the future is here. I wonder how far you could fly with one? 10 miles is all I'd need on one charge.
I want to go further. I want to jetpack on Mars!
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
weatheriscool wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2024 6:00 pm
As far as I am concern the closes thing to a flying car we will have is a mini-jet or rotor personal plane with the ability to drive on the street. We will never have anti-gravity as in the movies and probably will never have superconductivity.
I think some people may have such minis that they will be able to drive on the street one day soon but will probably need to go to a airport or some other set up to take off to become airborne. Driverless tech may open this door for this.
In my mind a flying car has to be able to 1. Drive on the highway and 2. fly. I won't be too strict considering the reality that you'll have to go to the airport to take off in the short term.
FlyFree eVTOL takes off like five quadcopters strapped together
By Loz Blain
April 09, 2024
How did we miss this one? This Spanish eVTOL has been flying in prototype form for a number of years now, using a unique 4x4-prop FlyFree tilting mechanism designed to keep the cabin level – and a new five-seat design takes things up a level.
Madrid-based Crisalion Mobility (formerly UMiles Next) has an integrated vision for the future of transport, with a range of autonomous and remote-controlled ground vehicles working in fleet-managed concert with electric VTOL aircraft to streamline cargo and passenger operations.
As such, the company has designed a range of little autonomous, chain-capable mobility pods, golf carts, baggage carts, personal minicars and even the super-slick rock-carrying future dump truck below, which wouldn't look out of place on the Moon.
Beta Alia eVTOL nails first piloted heli-to-airplane transition
By C.C. Weiss
April 23, 2024
Ever since its launch, we thought Vermont's Beta Technologies might prove itself the real deal in an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) world dominated by renderings, concepts, prototypes and other "maybe somedays."
That was back in 2020, and the company has since emerged a leader in the space. Now it's taken another major step, becoming the first to perform a successful transition – from helicopter-style hovering to airplane-like cruising – with a pilot on board. And it's kindly captured the achievement on video.
A big reason Beta landed the #2 spot on the Advanced Air Mobility Reality Index (AAM RI) back in 2021 was that it had just received the very first military airworthiness approval for manned electric aircraft flight, meaning the Air Force was confident enough to put its own pilot in the seat and take flight. A few months ago, Beta delivered the Alia platform (in conventional takeoff and landing/CTOL form) to the US Air Force at Florida's Eglin Air Force Base.
China green-lights mass production of autonomous flying taxis
The EHang EH216-S autonomous flying taxi is the first eVTOL ready for mass production and could lead the way for flying cars around the world.
Autonomous flying taxis could soon be a reality after vehicle manufacturer EHang obtained the world’s first production certificate to manufacture them in China.
EHang's EH216-S "passenger-carrying pilotless" electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle received clearance to be mass-produced from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), company representatives announced in a statement on April 7.
Many companies manufacture eVTOLs, but they have so far only been developed as prototypes for test flights. This decision represents a notable step towards introducing eVTOLs commercially.
"Our vision is to introduce safe and reliable pilotless eVTOL aircraft to the global market, thereby offering safe, autonomous and eco-friendly air mobility services to everyone," Huazhi Hu, CEO of EHang, said in the statement. The production certificate gives EHang the go-ahead to manufacture flying cars, encompassing the sourcing of raw materials, supply chain management, quality control and testing, in addition to after-sales repair and maintenance — all verified by comprehensive reviews and inspections.
$190,000 eVTOL deliveries begin July - no license required
By Mike Hanlon
May 03, 2024
Personal flight is currently undergoing a renaissance thanks to the rapid advancement of so many requisite industrial technologies. The next phase of personal flight is poised to begin and the production version of this aircraft could well mark the occasion in history.
In 2016, when the World eVTOL Aircraft Directory first began, it listed just a handful of electrically-powered Vertical Take Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft designs. Eight years later, it lists over 1,000 eVTOL concepts.
Many of these new aircraft are planned for launch over the coming 36 months, but it looks to us like the Pivotal Helix has beaten everybody to market as the world's first commercial eVTOL because it is about to begin deliveries of its scaled production units.
DARPA's new high-speed, blended-wing VTOL X-plane
By David Szondy
May 22, 2024
Aurora Flight Sciences has revealed its latest concept for a low-drag, fan-in-blended-wing body design for DARPA's Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program aimed at producing a high-speed VTOL aircraft for Special Forces missions.
The idea behind SPRINT is to develop the technologies needed to create a new class of aircraft that combine VTOL capabilities with high speeds. While it's true that such aircraft have been around for over half a century – the Harrier and the F-35 Lightning II, for example – these fighter planes aren't suited for commando operations or similar missions that require high speed, high agility, plus independence from conventional runways.
Cruise-capable eVTOL flying motorcycle rocks tilting thrusters
By Joe Salas
May 30, 2024
Czech company UDX is flying scale prototypes of a tandem 2-up eVTOL it calls Airwolf. With individually-tilting ducted fan propulsion, it's got enough wing surface for efficient cruise flight as well as agile movement from a hover.
Imagine waking early Sunday morning to ride the twisty coastal mountains of beautiful southern California. It's going to be a perfect day and you expect exactly zero traffic, because you're leaving the Hayabusa in the garage and taking your UDX Airwolf hoverbike.
You don your lid, crank up your favorite tunes, spin up the ducted fans, lift off and hover out of your garage before blasting off with all the youth and vigor you've ever known. Within seconds, you're doing 142 mph (230 km/h), speeding over traffic, stop lights, and police with radar like a Peregrine falcon on your way to your favorite canyons...
Handles like a go-kart, flies like a heli: Flying car coming to the USA
By Loz Blain
July 05, 2024
It drives at highway speeds, handles like a go-kart, transforms from drive to fly mode in three seconds, takes off vertically, and can fly for up to three hours on a hybrid powertrain. This remarkable road-going rotorcraft is now headed to the USA.
Based in Melbourne, Australia – but clearly also with a presence in China – Pegasus is now moving its head office and production facilities to Las Vegas. The company says it's been working on its flying car design since 2009. Indeed, the project looks well advanced, and the company's naked early prototypes, first flown around 2016, have long since given way to the handsome, fully-enclosed Pegasus E, which made its debut in 2021.
Joby smashes eVTOL aircraft range record with liquid hydrogen
By C.C. Weiss
July 11, 2024
In a stunning validation of hydrogen's potential in aircraft, Joby Aviation has made an incredible 523-mile non-stop flight with its S4 eVTOL air taxi. That's more than triple its range on batteries, and an absolute landmark moment for clean aviation.
It's the first flight of its kind ever announced, an enormous technical milestone, an absolute demolition of Joby's previous 154-mile (248-km) record, and a strong move that looks beyond the company's first priority: putting battery-powered air taxi operations in the sky by 2025.
