Flyt Aerospace Mark III (defunct)

Mark III (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.

Mark I uncrewed gasoline powered VTOL defunct prototype aircraft
The Mark I is an uncrewed gasoline powered VTOL defunct prototype aircraft. The Mark I is Misfeldt's first attempt at designing and building a personal VTOL passenger aircraft for advanced air mobility. The aircraft did not have a pilot's seat. The Mark I was a good start for Misfeldt into the nascent eVTOL and hybrid-electric VTOL aviation industry.  

The multicopter had two propellers. The aircraft had a cable bundle connecting the prototype drone to the handheld drone flight controller. If you look closely at the multicopter, you can see a pulley system is being used to get the power from the gasoline engine to the propellers. The aircraft had two custom made ducted propellers on top of the rectangular open-framed fuselage with the gasoline engine located on the lower portion of the aircraft. The propeller ducts were made from plastic or a fiberglass material with five layers of the material to make the large round duct work.

The fuselage was made from mild steel. The landing gear was off the shelf furniture fixed wheeled landing gear. Many of the specifications of the the Mark I have been lost. While the Mark I multicopter aircraft never flew, this was the first step for Misfeldt to learn how to build passenger VTOL aircraft.

Mark II crewed gasoline powered VTOL defunct prototype aircraft.
The Mark II is a crewed gasoline powered VTOL defunct prototype aircraft. This was Misfeldt's second attempt at designing, building and learning to make a VTOL passenger aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM). The aircraft has an open-framed fuselage and is rectangular in shape. The fuselage was made from mild steel. There is a pilot's seat inside the fuselage. From the picture, you can see the back of at least two control panels for the aircraft. There is also a protective plastic shield around the pilot's seat. This aircraft is the second step to Misfeldt creating his first eVTOL multicopter aircraft.

The multicopter had four propellers used for all directions of flight but the propellers are not installed in the picture. The maximum flight time of the aircraft was approximately 30 minutes. The empty weight of the aircraft was 550 lb (249 kg), the empty weight with gas was 580 lb (263 kg), it had a maximum payload of 200 lb (91 kg) and has a maximum takeoff weight of 780 lb (354 kg).

You can see the aircraft has two engines sitting on the bottom frame of the fuselage with horizontal and vertical drive shafts connected by gears and to transfer the power to the four propellers on the top of the fuselage. You can see the four vertical shafts the propellers will connect to. There is also a pulley system near the top of the fuselage to transfer the power to the four propellers. Under the two gasoline engines you can see the fuel tank and four mufflers. The gasoline tank held five gallons of gas. The Mark II aircraft flew only a few times.

Mark III one passenger eVTOL defunct prototype multicopter aircraft
The Mark III is a one passenger eVTOL defunct prototype multicopter aircraft. The Mark III actually flew but only several times, according to the inventor. When the aircraft was airborne, there was too much propeller inertia for the aircraft to be stable. The aircraft's flight time was estimated at eight minutes. There is a pilot's seat inside the fuselage and there are plastic protective shields around the pilot's seat.

There is a hypothetical cruise speed for the Mark III multicopter but because this is a prototype, the aircraft 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 multicopter has four propellers, four electric motors and was powered by 64 batteries. The propellers are located inside four ducts located at the top of the fuselage. There are multiple booms from the four top corners of the fuselage that support the propeller ducts.

The empty weight of the aircraft was 444 lb (201 kg), the empty weight with batteries was 552 lb (250 kg), its maximum payload weight was 250 lb (113 kg) and the maximum takeoff weight was 802 lb (364 kg). The aircraft has an open-framed rectangular vertical fuselage and was made from 4130 steel. The aircraft has fixed quadricycle wheeled landing gear, that was purchased off the shelf at a hardware or supply store.

Current Flyt Aerospace design and manufacturing capabilities
Flyt Aerospace is 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 advanced air mobility (AAM).

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL one passenger defunct prototype multicopter aircraft
• Piloting: 1 pilot
• 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: 8 minutes
• Empty weight: 444 lb (201 kg)
• Empty weight with batteries: 552 lb (250 kg)
• Maximum payload weight: 250 lb (113 kg)
• Maximum takeoff weight: 802 lb (364 kg)
• Propellers: 4 propellers
• Electric motors: 4 electric motors
• Power source: 64 batteries
• Fuselage: A vertical rectangular open-framed fuselage made from 4130 steel
• Cockpit: Inside the middle of the open-framed fuselage
• Landing gear: Fixed quadricycle wheeled 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 Liberator (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