Flyt Aerospace Liberator (defunct)

FlytCycle Liberator (defunct)
Flyt Aerospace
Cupertino, California, USA
www.flytaerospace.com

Flyt Aerospace was founded in June 2013 in Cupertino, California, USA by Ansel Misfeldt. In ninth grade, Misfeldt dreamed he could fly to school each morning so he could sleep in longer in the mornings. He studied at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California, USA) obtaining a business degree in 2010 while taking courses in mechanical engineering and in material science at the same time. He also studied some aerospace engineering on his own time while at the university. All the while, he continued his dream of creating a small one person flying machine and had made hundreds of drawings and sketches of aircraft up to 2013. The company is currently seeking investors. (Image credits: Ansel Misfeldt)

Misfeldt quit his job in early 2013, started his own aerospace company and has focused on building his own personal flying eVTOL aircraft and small drones since then. Misfeldt reveals that creating a personal flying machine is a very difficult and a complex problem. He has designed, manufactured and flown at least nine different prototypes. Two of his early prototypes were vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) multicopter aircraft powered by gasoline engines using mechanical gears, shafts and pulleys to transfer the power to the propellers. The remainder of his prototypes are electric VTOL (or eVTOL) multicopter aircraft made with the ultimate goal of creating a personal aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM).

Flyt Aerospace is now in the business of selling a small eVTOL drone called the Defender X4E with a maximum payload of 5 lb (2.27 kg) with over one hour endurance that are sold to government entities and the military. The Defender X4E has been designed to allow it to have many options so the drone can be adapted to the customer's requirements. Recently, Misfledt has partnered with the Land Rotor, based in Florida, USA and is creating passenger eVTOL aircraft for Land Rotor, for advanced air mobility.

Liberator one passenger eVTOL multicopter defunct prototype aircraft
The Liberator is a one passenger eVTOL multicopter defunct prototype aircraft. The aircraft was originally intended for personal use for advanced air mobility (AAM) but never made it to the point of a production aircraft. The aircraft has one pilot and is not remotely or autonomously controlled. The aircraft has an open cockpit with a rollbar cage for safety purposes.

The single person Liberator multicopter aircraft was originally designed specifically as a military aircraft and the roll bar created to fully protect the pilot. The aircraft also had to be able to accommodate solider with the heavy equipment soldiers carry with them on the battlefield. The fuselage was completely designed in a CAD (computer-aided design) program using finite element analysis (FEA) to ensure the aircraft could handle its heavy payload. The aircraft was also designed with storage space behind the pilot's seat and could be used for any cargo soldiers would need to carry. The propellers booms were also foldable allowing the multicopter to easily be stored and transported in military vehicles, ships and aircraft. The aircraft was quite compact when all the booms were folded inward.

While there is a hypothetical cruise speed for the multicopter it was never flown at the actual cruise speed. This is because as a prototype aircraft, it was only flown close to the ground for testing purposes. The aircraft was never intended to be flown at what would be considered its cruise speed. The aircraft was flown about 15 times with very short test flights. All test flights were uncrewed. The maximum flight time of the aircraft was 25 minutes. The aircraft was flown using a remote drone controller and hypothetically, the aircraft could be flown by a pilot using cockpit joy sticks to control the aircraft.

The aircraft has 12 propellers and uses 12 electric motors to carry its heavy payload. Having 12 propellers and 12 electric motors is also distributed electric propulsion (DEP) which provides safety through redundancy to protect the passenger and cargo. The empty weight of the aircraft was 126 lb (57 kg), and the empty weight with batteries was 254 lb (115 kg), the maximum payload of the aircraft was 250 lb (113 kg) and the maximum takeoff weight was 504 lb (229 kg). The aircraft used 64 batteries and the total weight of the batteries was 128 lb (58 kg). The opened framed fuselage of the multicopter was made from 4130 steel. The aircraft lands on fixed skid landing gear.

The aircraft is defunct now because two of the 12 electronic speed controllers caught on fire during testing and it was decided the company that was providing the main electronics couldn't be trusted, so the Liberator aircraft was put into storage.

Current Flyt Aerospace design and manufacturing capabilities
Flyt Aerospace is now in the business of selling a small eVTOL drone called the Defender X4E with a maximum payload of 5 lb (2.27 kg) with over one hour endurance that are sold to government entities and the military. The Defender X4E has been designed to allow it to have many options so the drone can be adapted to the customer's requirements. Recently, Misfledt has partnered with the Land Rotor, based in Florida, USA and is creating passenger eVTOL aircraft for Land Rotor, for advanced air mobility.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL one passenger multicopter prototype battlefield aircraft
• Piloting: 1 pilot and military equipment
• Cruise speed: There is a hypothetical cruise speed for the multicopter but because this is a prototype and is only flown close to the ground for testing purposes, the aircraft was never intended to be flown at what would be considered its cruise speed.
• Flight time: 25 minutes
• Cruise altitude: Unknown
• Empty weight: 126 lb (57 kg)
• Empty weight with batteries: 254 lb (115 kg)
• Maximum payload: 250 lb (113 kg)
• Maximum takeoff weight: 504 lb (229 kg)
• Propellers: 12 propellers
• Electric motors: 12 electric motors
• Power source: 64 batteries
• Weight of batteries: 128 lb (58 kg)
• Cockpit: Open cockpit with rollbar cage for safety
• Fuselage: 4130 steel
• Landing gear: Fixed skid 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. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft.

Related Aircraft:

• Flyt Aerospace FlytCycle 16 (defunct)
• Flyt Aerospace FlytCycle V1 (defunct)
• Flyt Aerospace FlytCycle V1.5 (defunct)
• Flyt Aerospace FlytCycle V2 (defunct)
• Flyt Aerospace FlytCycle V3 (concept design)
• Flyt Aerospace Hoverboard (defunct)
• Flyt Aerospace Mark III (defunct)
• Flyt Aerospace Mark IV (defunct)
• Flyt Aerospace Medivac Drone (concept design)
• Flyt Aerospace Red Hummingbird (concept design)
• Flyt Aerospace Supply Drone (concept design)
• Flyt Aerospace Troop Transporter FT-2 (concept design)
• Land Rotor AAM Sportster (concept design)
• Land Rotor AAM Sportster (prototype)

Resources:

• Flyt Aerospace website
• Flyt Aerospace YouTube Channel
• Video: Flyt 16 miscellaneous flight tests, Flyt Aerospace, Sept. 27, 2016
• Video: Guy builds working hoverbike in garage, Flyt Aerospace, July 17, 2017