Airflight Prototype 1

Airflight Prototype 1
Airflight APS
Brønderslev, North Jutland Region, Denmark
www.airflight.io

In 2019, four men from Denmark, Travis James Mathers, Mikkel Bundgaard, Kasper Fuglsang Christensen and Mikkel Kærsgaard, founded Airflight. The company has the goal of providing safe, exciting, and relatively inexpensive low-altitude electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft available to the public that do not require completeon of difficult training to operate. Their first Facebook post was on July 2, 2019. 

According to one of Airflight's YouTube videos from December 2019, the title of each team member is the following:

• Mikkel Kærsgaard Sørensen, Technical Director and Enthusiastic Visionary
• Travis James Mathers, Head of Business Development and Organized Strategist
• Mikkel Bundgaard, Head of Hardware Engineering and Disciplined Performer
• Kasper Fuglsang Christensen, Head of Software Engineering and Creative Problem Solver

The company is financially supported solely by the founders, with no bank loans or money from venture capitalists. The partners are working for very low salaries, some have part-time jobs and some have borrowed money from family and friends. 

It has been very intense. A lot of hours have been spent on the project, and there have been a lot of challenges because we do not have a kitchen recipe or can look at someone who has done it.

—Mikkel Kærsgaard Sørensen

While Airflight has not stated the cruise speed of their eVTOL aircraft, the company states it can hold one person up to 100 kilos (220 lbs) and fly for about 10 to 15 minutes. The prototype aircraft has four sets of propellers, four electric motors and 1,120 battery cells for its power source. On July 16, 2020 a 29 second video was posted to Mathers' Vimeo account that showcased the prototype's first flight. This flight occurred indoors and was unmanned. On their website, the Airflight team emphasizes the value of their prototype drone in industrial hoisting missions.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL aircraft 
• Piloting: Pilot with auto-navigation taking over if pilot makes a mistake
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Flying time: 5-10 minutes
• Propellers: 12 
• Electric Motors: 4 (44 horsepower each, each engine can lift 100 kg [220 lbs])
• Power to weight ratio: 1.54 hp/kg
• Maximum weight: 225 kg (496 kg)
• Empty weight: 125 kg (276 lbs) 
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber 
• Windows: Full canopy for spectacular views 
• Landing gear: 4 fixed landing struts
• Size: 4X4 meters (13X13 feet)
• Safety Features: The aircraft will compensate for any type of pilot error and will not allow the aircraft to crash into any object or the ground 

Resources:

• Search eVTOL News posts  
• Airflight APS website   
• Airflight APS Facebook  
• Airflight APS Twitter  
• Airflight APS YouTube Channel  
• Airflight APS Instagram  
• Airflight APS LinkedIn  
• Video: Break-testing our Homemade Forged Carbon Fiber Components, Airflight, Dec. 2, 2019
• Video: Making our own Forged Carbon Fiber!, Airflight, Dec. 4, 2020
• Video: Airflight’s First Flight, Airflight, July 16, 2020
• Article & Video: Watch the video: Huge drone with space for passengers, TV2Nord, July 25, 2020
• Video: Flying car, TV2Nord, Sep. 14, 2020