DeLorean Aerospace DR-7 (concept design)

DR-7 (concept design)
DeLorean Aerospace
Laguna Beach, California, USA
www.deloreanaerospace.com

DeLorean Aerospace was founded in 2012 in Laguna Beach, California, USA by Paul DeLorean, the nephew of famous car designer John DeLorean. The purpose of the company is to build electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) passenger aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM).

DR-7 passenger eVTOL concept design aircraft
The DR-7 is a two passenger eVTOL concept design aircraft that carries one pilot and one passenger using tandem seating. The aircraft has a canopy over the cockpit that lifts up from the front of the end of the cockpit. The estimated cruise speed of the aircraft is 150 mph (241 km/h) and the maximum speed is intended to be 240 mph (389 km/h). The target range for the aircraft is 120 miles (193 km).

The eVTOL aircraft has two ducted fans located at the front and rear of the aircraft. During forward flight, the front ducted fan is a tractor propeller and the rear ducted fan is the pusher propeller. The ducted will be capable of 360 degree forward and back tilt and will provide propulsion for all directions of flight. The counter-spinning fans will help stabilize the DR-7 as well as provide roll and yaw control while hovering and yaw while in cruising flight. The thrust-vectoring system precludes the need of a rudder.

The aircraft has tandem wings and has two rear downward angled strakes under the fuselage for aerodynamic control. The fuselage will act as an airfoil and the front wing is stall-resistant. According to the company, design of the aircraft will increase efficiency and decrease stall resistance at low speeds. The length of the aircraft is 19 ft, 8-11/50 in (6 m) and has a wingspan of 18 ft, 4-13/32 in (5.6 m). When parked, the wings can be folded to 7 ft, 6-5/9 in (2.3 m), allowing the aircraft to fit into a standard garage. The aircraft has retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear allowing the aircraft to be easily rolled around on a driveway, vertiport or airport tarmac.

A ⅓ scale proof-of-concept composite aircraft has been tested successfully. There is no hard timeline for additional tests and the company is currently seeking investors for a full-sized prototype.

DeLorean intends for the DR-7 eVTOL aircraft to be a high-end flying car for commuting and personal travel. Costs are expected to be in the $250,000.00–300,000.00 USD range.

Aircraft type: eVTOL passenger concept design aircraft

• Piloting: 1 pilot
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Cruise speed: 150 mph (241 km/h)
• Maximum speed: 240 mph (389 km/h)
• Range: 120 miles (193 km)
• Propellers: 2 ducted fans
• Electric motors: 2 or 4 electric motors
• Power source: Batteries
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Length: 19 ft, 8-11/50 in (6 m)
• Wingspan: 18 ft, 4-13/32 in (5.6 m)
• Wings folded: 7 ft, 6-5/9 in (2.3 m)
• Window: Canopy over cockpit
• Wings: 1 set of tandem wings and in the rear are two downward angled strakes
• Landing gear: Retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear with retractable wings form strut landing gear. The aircraft can also fold its wings inward allowing the aircraft to fit inside a standard garage.

Company Insights:

• Crunchbase
• Dunn and Bradstreet
• Tracxn

Resources:

• DeLorean Aerospace website
• DeLorean Aerospace LinkedIn
• Paul DeLorean LinkedIn
• US Patent 9,085,355, filed Dec. 7, 2012; granted July 21, 2015
• Article: Air Mobility Bonanza Beckons Electric VTOL Developers, Vertiflite, March/April 2017
• Article: DeLorean unveils DR-7 VTOL, Electric VTOL News, June 11, 2017
• Article: A Flying Car From DeLorean Really Won't Need Roads, Wired, Aug. 13, 2017
• Article: DR-7 could make a flying DeLorean a reality, New Atlas, Aug. 14, 2017
• Article: The new DeLorean is all about flying cars, TechCrunch, Aug. 14, 2017
• Article: DeLorean DR7 Wants To Fly Us Back To The Future, Clean Technica, January 2, 2018