Sora Aviation Limited S-1 (concept design)

(Image credit: Sora Aviation Limited)

S-1 (concept design)
Sora Aviation Limited
Bristol, Southwest, England, United Kingdom
www.soraaviation.com 

Founded in 2020, Sora Aviation Limited is in the business of designing and manufacturing a regional short-haul 30 passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM). The company stated in July 2026 they have closed a private investment round and secured funding grants and will be seeking to raise additional capital as it progresses through development milestones.

S-1 passenger regional short-haul eVTOL aircraft (concept design)
The S-1 is a regional short-haul 30 passenger eVTOL aircraft that has a maximum range of 161 km (100 m). The aircraft is flown by one pilot, has one flight attendant and has enough room for luggage for each passenger.

The eVTOL aircraft has six tilt-props, 6 electric motors and is powered by battery packs. The aircraft has tandem wings with in-wing battery packs. The company states that having battery packs inside the wings provides structural bending relief and improves passenger safety by physically separating the batteries from the passenger cabin. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. The aircraft has retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear.

Future
The company has reported their aircraft can land on many current heliports, even though the aircraft is larger than most eVTOL aircraft being built today. Sora Aviation has stated their goal is have the first flight of their full-scale prototype to take place in 2028. The company is expecting to have the aircraft's type certificate in place and enter into service by 2031.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Regional short-haul passenger eVTOL aircraft (concept design)
• Piloting: 1 pilot, 1 flight attendant
• Capacity: 30 passengers and their luggage
• Flight range (estimated): 161 km (100 m)
• Propellers: 6 tilt-props
• Electric motors: 6 electric motors
• Power source: Battery packs
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Windows: Typical regional airline windows
• Wings: Tandem wings
• Landing gear: Retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) uses multiple propellers or electric ducted fans, each powered by electric motors, to increase safety through redundancy. If one or more components fail, the remaining ones can still ensure a safe landing. 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. 

Company Insights:

• Crunchbase
• Pitchbook

Resources:

• Sora Aviation Limited website
• Sora Aviation Limited LinkedIn
• Article: Sora progresses S-1 development and targets first flight by 2028, Flight Global, Nov. 7, 2025
• Article: Sora Aviation Completes Subscale S-1 eVTOL Testing, Aviation International News Online, July 13, 2026
• Article: Sora Aviation partners with Toray for 30-seat S-1 eVTOL development, Aerospace Global News, July 22, 2026
• Article: Sora Aviation Completes Subscale Flight Testing for S-1 eVTOL Aircraft, Advanced Air Mobility International, June 29, 2026