NASA Tiltrotor (concept design)

(Image credit: NASA Ames Research Center)

Tiltrotor (concept design)
NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California, USA
www.nasa.gov/ames

Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. NASA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has 10 major field centers. NASA has made space ships, explored space, the moon, launched satellites, gathered data about Earth from space, made the Skylab Space Station, explored Mars, studied our solar system using space probes and more.

NASA's Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) research
NASA started researching distributed electric propulsion (DEP) on electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft in 2009. DEP was introduced to the world in November 2009 when Mark Moore, while still at NASA, unveiled the Puffin, a personal an all-battery eVTOL concept design aircraft. For the first time, the world caught a glimpse at how electric propulsion might transform everyday flight. In 2010, according to one website, the first eVTOL aircraft flown was NASA's Puffin subscale eVTOL tail-sitter aircraft.

In 2014, NASA built both eVTOL and fixed-wing DEP technology demonstrator aircraft. Some of the key design features for NASA's advanced air mobility (AAM) common reference models is to increase safety exponentially, reduce the complexity of the aircraft, decrease the cost of manufacturing, minimize maintenance costs, lower the final ticket cost to the consumer, lessen or have no carbon footprint for the aircraft and decrease the noise level for the general public.

NASA has continued making passenger eVTOL concept designs, technology demonstrators and research eVTOL aircraft for any company that wants to take advantage of NASA's research. In addition, NASA is now making eVTOL and hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft to explore planets and their moons in our solar system. As of 2026, NASA's space probes have not traveled to any other solar systems in the Milky Way galaxy, yet.

NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Langley and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory eVTOL contributions
All electric common reference models (eCRM) designs came from the NASA Ames Research Center. The Greased Lightning drone, the LA-8 testbed, the Puffin (concept design and subscale prototype), the Raven (Research Aircraft for eVTOL Enabling Technologies) concept design and the Raven-Swft (Subscale Wind-Tunnel and Flight Test model) subscale technology demonstrator were designed and built in NASA Langley. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is the primary facility responsible for designing and building the Dragonfly eVTOL space probe.

Mark Moore statement on Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP)
Mark Moore, Co-Founder and CEO of Whisper Aero (formerly a Principal Investigator and Chief Technologist for On-Demand Mobility, NASA and Engineering Director of Aviation, Uber Elevate) at the Vertical Flight Society's 7th Annual Electric VTOL Symposium, Jan. 21-23, 2020 in San Jose, California, USA, stated concerning distributed electric propulsion, "There has not been this pace in aeronautics since the Wright Brothers."

NASA Tiltrotor passenger eVTOL aircraft (concept design)
The NASA Tiltrotor is a six passenger eVTOL concept design aircraft that can accept battery packs as a power source or use a hybrid-electric power source. NASA calls this concept design aircraft an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Reference Vehicle, also known as a common reference model. The aircraft has two distinct modes of flight, helicopter and cruise flight. The aircraft is either piloted or uses autonomous piloting. The aircraft has large windows providing spectacular views for the pilot and passengers.

The expected cruise speed for best endurance using a batteries as a power source is 137 mph (221 km/h). The estimated cruise speed for best endurance is 149 mph (240 km/h) using a turbine engine power source. The anticipated cruise speed for best range using battery packs for a power source is 192 mph (309 km/h). The predicted cruise speed for best range is 196 mph (315 km/h) using a turbine engine power source.

The maximum speed is calculated at 235 mph (378 km/h) for a turbine engine power source and the projected maximum speed using only battery packs as a power source is faster than the turbine engine at 245 mph (394 km/h). The cruise altitude has been calculated at 10,000 ft (3,048 m). The aircraft is recommended to have reserve cruise power for 20 minutes.

The aircraft has two tilt-rotors at each end of the aircraft's high main wing and are powered by electric motors. Each main rotorblade is expected to have six rotors. The high main wing increases the range of the aircraft. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite for a high strength and low weight ratio. The aircraft has one V tail and has retractable tricycle wheeled (bogies) landing gear. A bogie is the name or when wheeled landing gear has two or more wheels.

For the turbine powered aircraft, the estimated empty weight of the aircraft is 3,100 lb (1,406 kg), has an anticipated maximum payload weight 1,200 lb (544 kg) and has a forecasted maximum takeoff weight of 4,300 lb (1,950 kg). For the all-battery powered aircraft, the targeted empty weight of the aircraft is 5,853 lb (2,655 kg), has an intended maximum payload weight 1,200 lb (544 kg) and has a projected maximum takeoff weight of 7,053 lb (3,199 kg). The all-battery power source aircraft is 64% heavier than its turbine powered counterpart. NASA noted that batteries are heavier than the fuel.

NASA advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft research areas:

• Aircraft Design
• Noise and Annoyance
• Operational Effectiveness
• Performance
• Propulsion Efficiency
• Rotor-Rotor Interactions
• Rotor-Wing Interactions
• Safety and Airworthiness
• Structure and Aeroelasticity

NASA's advanced air mobility (AAM) facilities and capabilities include:

• Air Traffic Operations Lab
• Airspace Operations Lab
• Ames UAM Lab
• CERTAIN Range
• Cockpit Motion Facility
• Cognitive Engineering Lab
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Developmental UAM Simulator - Flyer
• Dryden Aeronautical Test Range
• Exterior Effects Room
• Flight Loads Lab
• Future Flight Central
• Icing Research
• Landing and Impact Research Facility
• Low Speed Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel
• Mobile Acoustics Facility
• Mobile Operations Facility
• Research Flight Deck
• Testbed Virtual Infrastructure
• UAS Flight Test Control Room
• Vertical Motion Simulator
• X-57 Maxwell
• 12' Tunnel-Low-Cost Exploratory Facility
• 14 by 22 Foot Subsonic Tunnel

NASA Advanced Air Mobility Playbook
In February 2023, NASA published an article title, "NASA is Creating an Advanced Air Mobility Playbook." NASA is working with academia, government agencies, industry, cities and tribal nations to make advanced air mobility (AAM) a reality. NASA's areas of support include accessibility, automation, cargo delivery, emergency response, future airspace, healthcare, infrastructure, noise, ride quality, safety, travel time, vertiports and more.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Passenger eVTOL tilt-rotor concept design aircraft
• Piloting: Unknown, possibly piloted or autonomous
• Capacity: 6 passengers
• Cruise speed for best endurance (estimated): 137 mph (221 km/h) using batteries as a power source
• Cruise speed for best endurance (estimated): 149 mph (240 km/h) using a turbine engine power source
• Cruise speed for best range (estimated): 192 mph (309 km/h) using batteries as a power source
• Cruise speed for best range (estimated): 196 mph (315 km/h) using a turbine engine power source
• Maximum speed (estimated): 235 mph (378 km/h) using a turbine engine power source
• Maximum speed (estimated): 245 mph (394 km/h) using batteries as a power source
• Reserve cruise power: 20 minutes
• Cruise altitude: 10,000 ft (3,048 m)
• Empty weight (estimated): 5,853 lb (2,655 kg) using battery packs as a power source.
• Empty weight (estimated): 3,100 lb (1,406 kg) using a turbine engine power source. 
• Maximum payload weight (estimated): 1,200 lb (544 kg)
• Maximum takeoff weight (estimated): 4,300 lb (1,950 kg) using a turbine engine power source.
• Maximum takeoff weight (estimated): 7,053 lb (3,199 kg) using batteries powered power source
• Propellers: 2 main rotorblades (6 blades are on each main rotorblade)
• Electric motors: 2 electric motors (or it could have 4 electric motors depending upon the manufacturer)
• Power source: All batteries or a hybrid-electric power source
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Windows: Panoramic wrap around windows allowing forward, left and right visibility for spectacular views with a solid roof above
• Wings: 1 high main wing
• Tail: 1 V tail
• Landing gear: Retractable tricycle wheeled bogies (each landing gear has two wheels) landing gear
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) means having multiple propellers (or electric ducted fans) and multiple electric motors on an aircraft so if one or more propellers (or electric ducted fans) or some electric motors fail, the other working propellers (or electric ducted fans) and electric motors can safely land the aircraft. DEP provides safety through redundancy for passengers or cargo. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure.

Related Aircraft:

• NASA Dragonfly (space probe)
• NASA Greased Lightning (defunct)
• NASA LA-8 eVTOL Testbed (prototype)
• NASA Lift+Cruise (concept design)
• NASA Multi-Tiltrotor (concept design)
• NASA Puffin (concept design)
• NASA Quadrotor (concept design)
• NASA Quiet Single Main Rotor (concept design)
• NASA Raven (concept design)
• NASA Side-by-Side (concept design)
• NASA Tiltduct (concept design)
• NASA Tiltwing (concept design)
• NASA Tiltwing-Two (illustration)

Company Insights:

• Crunchbase
• Tracxn
• Wikipedia

Resources:

• NASA website
• NASA Advanced Air Mobility Mission web page
• NASA Advanced Air Mobility Mission More News web page
• NASA Air Mobility Pathfinders(AMP) Project More News web page
• NASA Advanced Air Mobility STEM Learning Module web page
• NASA Aeronautics Research Institute web page
• NASA Air Mobility Pathfinders Project web page
• NASA Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Reference Vehicles web page
• NASA Facebook
• NASA Twitter
• NASA YouTube Channel
• NASA Instagram
• NASA LinkedIn
• Advanced Air Mobility Wikipedia
• Article: NASA Talk Looks at the Future of Electric Propulsion in Aviation, PR News Wire, July 9, 2015
• Article: The eVTOL is in the Details, Vertiflite, March/April 2018
• Article: Lift+Cruise, a candidate research design for the UAM airspace, Research Gate, Jan. 2021
• Article: Building the Infrastructure for Advanced Air Mobility, NASA, July 18, 2022
• Article: NASA is Creating an Advanced Air Mobility Playbook, NASA, Feb. 2, 2023
• Article: NASA’s Autonomous Aircraft Decision Tech Gets Simulated Urban Test, NASA, Feb. 24, 2023
• Article: AFWERX, NASA collaborate to develop digital Advanced Air Mobility operations center, U.S. Air Force, Nov. 28, 2023
• Article: NASA Autonomous Flight Software Successfully Used in Air Taxi Stand-Ins, NASA, Jan. 25, 2024
• Article: NASA Noise Prediction Tool Supports Users in Air Taxi Industry, NASA, Apr. 4, 2024
• Article: NASA on Advanced Air Mobility Integration, Drone Life, Apr. 30, 2024
• Article: NASA Prepares for Air Taxi Passenger Comfort Studies, NASA, June 27, 2024