Electric Airspace Y6

Y6
Electric Airspace
(Location of company unknown)
www.electricairspace.com

Electric Airpace is a company in the business of making electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) passenger aircraft for Urban Air Mobility (UAM). The inventor is doing everything possible to reduce the complexity of the aircraft which will reduce weight, increase reliability of the aircraft and increase safety.

The company has designed and made a subscale flying demonstrator which has been tested thousands of times in multiple types of weather conditions. All the tests have proven the subscale prototype is safe in all types of weather. Transitions from hover to forward flight has been done safely against the wind, with the wind or in crosswinds without losing altitude.
 
The company foresees its first production aircraft to be named the Y6 and is an all electric two passenger eVTOL aircraft with few moving parts, with full redundancy and power to spare. The aircraft has six propellers, four rotating propellers near the front of the aircraft and two propellers in the rear of the aircraft. The aircraft has canard wings with one tail vertical stabilizer with retractable landing gear keeping the aircraft very streamlined and simplified. The canard design makes the aircraft safe, efficient and completely stall proof.

The cockpit has a tinted canopy which provides excellent visability for the pilot and passengers. The vehicle has a steerable nose wheel and can taxi, takeoff and land like a conventional airplane or take off and land vertically like a helicopter.

The vehicle can loose one motor on each arm and continue to hover safely. The company's proposition is that a solid tilt shaft is safer and more robust than individual tilting nacelles and the tilt shaft has only one moving part. When transitioned from hover to forward flight the front motors tilt forward and the rear motors are switched off. The aircraft has conventional ailerons, elevator and rudder control surfaces to assist with forward flight. If all motors are switched off, the aircraft can glide down for a safe controlled landing.  For additional safety and piece of mind a common ballistic parachute can easily be installed in the space behind the cockpit.

The Y6 is powered by a large bank of lithium ion batteries. The motors, batteries and power electronics run cool to the touch and are never in jeopardy of overheating, the company says.

The company has not provided any timeline when a full scale prototype will be made and when the production models will be ready for sale.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL subscale demonstrator aircraft, to be made into a passenger aircraft
• Piloting: Unknown
• Capacity: 0
• Cruise speed: Unknown
• Range: Unknown
• Flight Time: Unknown
• Propellers: 6 propellers
• Electric Motors: 6 electric motors
• Power source: Batteries
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Windows: Canopy over cockpit
• Wings: Canard wings
• Tail: Vertical stabilizer
• Landing gear: Retractable tricycle landing gear
• 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. The aircraft can also take off and land like a convention aircraft is if the pilot chooses this option. The aircraft as a whole aircraft parachute in an emergency situation.

Resources:

• Electric Airspace website
• Electric Airspace YouTube Channel
• Video: Y6 Flying around the lake from the ground, Electric Airspace, June 27, 2021
• Video: Y6 FPV Flying around the lake, Electric Airspace, June 27, 2021
• Video: Y6 Electric VTOL Aircraft Prototype, Electric Airspace, Aug. 19, 2021