Bartini (Technology Demonstrator)

Bartini  (technology demonstrator)
Bartini Aero, Inc.
Cupertino, California, USA
www.bartini.aero

In 2015, Ilya Khanykov, CEO, founded Bartini Aero, Inc. in Moscow, Russia. The company's goal is to design and manufacture a comfortable and highly maneuverable hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) passenger for advanced air mobility (AAM). The company plans to construct manufacturing plants in markets that are in demand of their aircraft. Components for the aircraft will be made by both Bartini Aero and will also purchase components from other suppliers from around the world.

The team of more than 40 people includes specialists in aeronautics, aviation engineering, airspace integration, manufacturing, and urban planning. The company is also in collaboration with Italdesign (Turin, Italy) for industrial design and manufacturing.

Bartini Aero unveiled its hybrid-electric VTOL passenger concept design in July 2017. The company's first slogan was “Weird to think of in 1985. Easy to hop on in 2020.” Vladimir Salatov, CTO, stated he was inspired by the movie, Back to the Future, for the Bartini Aero aircraft project. (The founding date of the company is from Bartini's LinkedIn's web page.)

The company is named after the Soviet aircraft designer Robert Ludvigovich Bartini who was pioneer of amphibious aircraft and ground effect vehicles. Bartini was one of the most famous engineers in the Soviet Union. According to one website, the "Bartini Effect" is the increase in thrust created by mounting co-axial counter-rotating thrusters within a nacelle. The company's aircraft is frequently called the Bartini Flying Car.

Bartini has developed several technology demonstrators to validate the technology, materials needed for the body, electronics needed and the rotating ducted thrusters for multicopter flight. One of the subscale prototypes with open propellers was made and flown in Russia.

The half-scale Bartini eVTOL technology demonstrator, pictured above, is an uncrewed aircraft piloted remotely, is made of polymer materials, has steel rods for the tilting ducts, is powered by lithium batteries and has four fixed landing legs. The company began building the half-scale technology demonstrator in October 2018. The The top speed of the prototype is about 201 km/h (125 mph) and the weight of the aircraft is approximately 60 kg (132 lb).

The half-scale prototype was assembled at the National University of Science and Technology’s (NUST MISis) High Complexity Prototyping Center in Moscow (Russia), at the request of Bartini. According to news reports, the half-scale demonstrator was used for ground tests only.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Half-scale eVTOL technology demonstrator (never flown)
• Piloting: Remote control
• Capacity: No passengers
• Maximum speed (approximately): 201 km/h (125 mph)
• Range: Unknown
• Flight time: Unknown
• Cruise altitude: Unknown
• Empty weight: 60 kg (132 lb)
• Propellers: 8 propellers
• Electric motors: 8 electric motors
• Power source: Batteries
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Landing gear: Fixed landing legs
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers (or ducted fans) and motors on the aircraft so if one or more propellers (ducted fans) or motors fail, the other working propellers (or ducted fans) and motors can safely land the aircraft. There are also redundancies in the sub-systems of the aircraft.

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Resources:

• Bartini Aero website
• Bartini Aero Facebook
• Bartini Aero Twitter
• Bartini Aero LinkedIn
• Patent application Dec. 4, 2014, granted July 20, 2016
• Article: Flying cars ready to take to Moscow’s skies, Skolkovo, Aug. 3, 2017
• Video: Bartini Scaled Functional Prototype, McFly.aero, May 5, 2018
• Video: Bartini: From Vision to Prototype, McFly.aero, Aug. 20, 2018
• Article: Russian air taxi prototype passes flight tests, Aerospace Testing International, Oct. 30, 2018
• Article: Prototype of a ‘flying taxi of the future’ assembled at NUST MISiS, Vertical Magazine, Nov. 13, 2018
• Article: Russian tech startup showcases flying taxi prototype in demonstration flight, EFE, Dec. 7, 2018
• Article: Bartini’s Ilya Khanykov talks flying cars and collaborating with competitors, Finn, Jan. 23, 2019
• Video: Interview with Ilya Khanykov Bartini, We Are FINN, Jan. 23, 2019
• Article: Russia’s Bartini “successfully flight tests prototype urban air taxi”, Urban Air Mobility News, May 7, 2019
• Article: The Bartini eVTOL Passenger Aircraft – From Vision to Prototype, SIA Magazine, June 14, 2019
• Article: Escaping The Traffic, Auto & Design, March 2020