Smolensk Aviation Plant AeroTaxi
AeroTaxi
Smolensk Aviation Plant
Smolensk, Russia
www.smaz.ru
Founded in 1926, the Smolensk Aviation Plant is located in Smolensk, Russia and its parent company is the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation. The company has built many types and sizes of planes and jets, both civilian and military. The company has now entered into the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) industry by designing and making a small passenger eVTOL aircraft which was revealed at the Russian MAKS 2021 International Aviation and Space Airshow.
The AeroTaxi eVTOL aircraft holds three passengers and has been specifically designed for autonomous Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and for autonomous air cargo services. The aircraft has a main wing to extend the range of the aircraft, uses six stationary propellers for vertical takeoff and landings, and uses four tilt-propellers for VTOL and forward flight. There are two booms above the high wing, parallel to the fuselage, with eight propellers and the front two propellers on these booms are tilt-propellers. There are two tilt-propellers at the end of each wing-tip for VTOL and forward flight.
The AeroTaxi aircraft is expected to travel at a cruise speed of 180 km/h (112 mph) with a flight time of 50 minutes. This is an aircraft which will be very useful for Urban Air Mobility in medium-sized to large Russian cities. As of the summer of 2021, there is no word yet from the Smolensk Aviation Plant when subscale or full-scale prototypes will be made, or when they expect to see production aircraft roll off their production lines.
Specifications:
- Aircraft type: eVTOL passenger and air cargo aircraft
- Piloting: Autonomous
- Capacity: 3 passengers
- Cruise speed: 180 km/h (112 mph)
- Flight Time: 50 minutes
- Maximum payload: 280 kg (595 lb)
- Propellers: 10 propellers
- Electric Motors: 10 electric motors
- Power source: Batteries
- Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
- Windows: Panoramic windows with a wrap around window design allowing forward, left, right and top visibility, for spectacular views with a solid roof above the passenger compartment
- Wing: 1 high wing
- Tail: T-tail
- Landing gear: Fixed wheeled tricycle landing gear
- Safety Features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers and motors on the aircraft so if one or more motors or propellers fail, the other working motors and propellers can safely land the aircraft.
Company Insights:
Resources:
- Smolensk Aviation Plant website
Recent Pages
- Flowcopter FC100 (production model)
- Seahorse Air SH5-3E (concept design)
- teTra Aviation Mk-7 (prototype)
- AutoFlight Firefighting (production model)
- AutoFlight CarryAll V2000CG (production model)
- AutoFlight Prosperity (production model)
- Velo X Aerospace Velocitor X-1 (concept design)
- Vivame Stycraft Iside (prototype)
- Grasshopper Air Mobility e350 (concept design)
- Auburn University VT-02 Sevak (concept design)
