• 01 Jul 2023 06:33 PM
• 0

Dufour Selects Suter Engines for Hybrid Drone

On March 31, Dufour Aerospace announced that it would work with Suter Industries on aspects of the development of the Aero2, a tiltwing hybrid-electric VTOL drone. Suter Industries, which like Dufour is based in Switzerland, will also provide a “significant number” of TOA 288 engines for the Aero2, according to a Dufour press release. The TOA 288 — a 288 cm³ (17.6 in³) displacement, two-cylinder, horizontal opposed, air-cooled, two-cycle engine with an electronic engine management system — will generate 17.4 kW of electricity to power the batteries and four electric motors.

Dufour has called its original all-electric Aero2 demonstrator its X2.1 and is working on a test vehicle for hybrid-electric propulsion, the X2.2 (shown); flights are expected in early 2024. On June 12, Dufour announced that it had completed the maiden flight of the second-generation prototype of the Aero2, the X2.2, which allowed the company to evaluate “greater load on the structure,” as well as automated flight functions of the aircraft. Deliveries of the first serial Aero2, which is expected to have an 88-lb (40-kg) payload and a 216-nm (400-km) range, are planned for 2025. Spright, the drone division of Air Methods, announced last year that it planned to purchase 40 Aero2 drones with options for an additional 100 aircraft, which Dufour calls one of the largest purchases of civilian drones in US history.