Category Filtering: 'hydrogen'
While essentially all of the news on electric aviation in Vertiflite has focused on electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, developments of electric conventional take-off and landing (eCTOL) airplanes have recently accelerated.
On May 29, Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based Alaka’i Technologies revealed a “non-flying prototype” of its hydrogen-powered Skai electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The unveiling was held in Newbury Park, California, at the facilities of BMW-owned global creative consultancy Designworks, which was contracted for the vehicle design, with a focus on the passenger experience.
Two years after announcing plans to produce a five-seat, hydrogen-powered CityHawk eVTOL, Metro Skyways, a subsidiary of Urban Aeronautics, released more details of its design on June 2, including the hydrogen-based powertrain. While CityHawk will initially be powered by jet fuel in order to expedite its certification under the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FAR Part 27, following certification it will be converted to 10,000 lb/in² (700 bar) compressed-hydrogen propulsion.
Urban Aeronautics has launched full-scale development of its CityHawk hybrid-electric VTOL (see Vertiflite, Jan/Feb 2018). The vehicle will be developed at Urban’s subsidiary, Metro Skyways Ltd, with first manned flights in 2021–22, followed by full certification to US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FAR Part 27 requirements
Imagine a time in the not-too-distant future when unmanned vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft stealthily cross urban battlefields, while piloted versions easily navigate crowded cities and quietly touchdown in confined areas inaccessible to conventional helicopters or winged VTOL aircraft.
The UKi Future of Transportation World Conference was held 5-6 July in Cologne, Germany. The session on "Getting Transportation Off the Ground" focused on how electric VTOL and "personal airborne transportation systems (PATS) will shake up personal transportation before 2030.
Metro Skyways Ltd., a subsidiary of Urban Aeronautics plans to launch the design and development of a four-passenger, Vertical-Takeoff and Landing (VTOL), flying car based on Urban Aeronautics' internal rotor, Fancraft™ technology. The vehicle will initially be powered by jet fuel, but will be designed from the outset to convert to liquid hydrogen and eventually also to 700 bar compressed hydrogen, once such options become commercially feasible.
