• 11 Sep 2021 03:39 PM
• 0

SAMAD’s 50% eVTOL Demos

SAMAD Aerospace, headquartered at Cranfield Airport in the UK, completed hover tests for its second prototype eVTOL eStarling aircraft at the end of July. These hover tests were conducted with a crane system, and they focused on the validation of the flight control system in hovering mode. The aircraft consumed 65% of the available power to take-off and hover with a healthy power surplus for adverse weather conditions. The eStarling is a hybrid-electric, semi-blended-wing-body (BWB) design that SAMAD says will have a cruising speed of 300 mph (480 km/h) and a range of 800 miles (1,300 km). Both eStarling prototypes are 50%-scale models of the planned six-seat first operational vehicle; the first prototype flew as an electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) demonstrator.