Airborne Motorworks AeroRunner

AeroRunner
Airborne Motorworks Inc.
Spokane Valley, Washington, USA
www.airbornemotorworks.com

Airborne Motorworks was founded in 2014 and is based in Spokane, Washington, USA. The company's purpose is to make electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) flying cars for advanced air mobility (AAM) and other practical delivery drones urban and rural areas. The company also specializes in developing high performance electric powertrains. The company has developed artificial intelligence software capable of providing flight training and autopilot features called iPilot™. The core of Airborne Motorworks green propulsion technology is safety, utility, thrust capacity, stability, design freedom, battery life/power and efficiency.

The Research and Development facilities of the company are located in Spokane, Washington. Initial manufacturing will take place outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Corporate management is based in the greater Houston area in Texas, close to NASA.

In planning a trip with their eVTOL aircraft, the pilot can input their destination into iPilot™ and will see a virtual roadway appear on the windshield. A dashed center line will give drivers the impression of a highway in the sky, allowing them to stay on track during the flight. Airborne Motorworks will use a combination of cameras, LiDAR, and ultrasonic sensors to provide Spherical Visibility™ around vehicles at up to 820 feet (250 meters) of range.

Autopilot enables automatic steering, acceleration and braking on virtual roadways. These sensors will detect nearby hard and soft objects when they encroach on virtual lanes and they will provide guidance when parking. All Airborne Motorworks aircraft will have hardware for self-driving with safety as a priority. iPilot™ will allow short and long distance trips with minimal assistance from the pilot. Pilots simply need to tell their aircraft where to go.

The company has also designed, manufactured and patented their Electromagnetic Gyroscopic Propulsion (EGP) system which includes a shrouded nacelle with a propeller guard which includes the propeller-fan, electric motor, gyroscope and other electronics for a powerful yet stabilized flight. The company states their shrouded propellers produce 10 times the amount of thrust than a similar sized open propeller. The propeller assembly also has a redundant motor design.

The Airborne Motorworks AeroRunner is a one passenger eVTOL hoverbike specifically made for advanced air mobility. The aircraft can be flown autonomously using iPilot™ or can be flown manually. The aircraft has four propeller-fans used for vertical lift and forward flight. The cruise speed, range and flight time has not been disclosed by the company as of April 2022. The aircraft is powered by battery packs.

The pilot sits in motorcycle-styled seating with an open cockpit wearing a protective helmet, gloves, a long sleeve jacket, long pants and closed toed shoes. While this hasn't been stated by the company, the fuselage, stub wings and propeller-nacelles are most likely made from carbon fiber composite material to keep the weight of the aircraft as light as possible and also providing a strong superstructure for the aircraft.

The four propeller-fan nacelle assemblies are located on four low stub wings which are attached at 45 degree angles from the corners of the hoverbike. The stub wings will help with increasing the range of the aircraft and should also help with the stability of the aircraft when flying. The aircraft has a small rear luggage compartment for hand luggage, a grocery bag, carrying a lunch or things of this nature.

The aircraft lands on its fuselage making the aircraft less complex, have a lower purchase price and requires less maintenance in the field. There are also several safety features and redundant systems for the aircraft.

iPilot™ software will make the AeroRunner hoverbike easy to fly and will also allow the pilot to enjoy autonomous flights. The aircraft can also be ferried autonomously to a set location and once landed, a person can fly the aircraft to their destination. The company expects the hoverbike to be used for recreational purposes, as a commuter aircraft used to and from work, for tourism, for vacations, for search and rescue (SAR) operations, for military use and more.

The company has not stated when a prototype will be flown or when they expect to see serial production of the AeroRunner eVTOL hoverbike.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL passenger hoverbike
• Piloting: 1 pilot with motorcycle styled seating with an open cockpit (piloted or autonomous)
• Cruise speed: Unknown
• Range: Unknown
• Flight Time: Unknown
• Propellers: 4 propeller-fans
• Electric Motors: 4 electric motors (with a redundant motor design)
• Power source: Batteries
• Fuselage: Unknown material, possibly carbon fiber
• Wings: There are four stub wings at a 45 degree angles from each corner of the hoverbike and each propeller nacelle is located on the end of each stub wing
• Landing gear: Lands on the airframe
• Safety feature: The propeller-fan is in a shrouded nacelle with a propeller guard to prevent large items such as birds or people from being hit. The propeller-fan assembly uses a gyroscopic type of gimble suspension making the propeller-fan assembly extremely stable. There is a redundant motor design and a patented thrust system for emergency landings.

Company Insights:

• Pitchbook
• Crunchbase
• EquityNet

Resources:

• Airborne Motorsworks website
• Airborne Motorsworks Facebook
• Airborne Motorsworks Twitter
• Airborne Motorsworks YouTube Channel
• Airborne Motorsworks LinkedIn
• Video: eVTOL Issue: Thrust, Airborne Motorworks, Sept. 12, 2020
• Video: Stability, Airborne Motorworks, Sept. 12, 2020
• Video: Safety, Airborne Motorworks, Sept. 12, 2020
• Video: Design Issue: Flexibility, Airborne Motorworks, Sept. 12, 2020
• Video: Airborne: What We Do, Airborne Motorworks, Sept. 13, 2020