Titan Air Mobility HEXI Solo (concept design)

(Image credit: Titan Air Mobility)

HEXI Solo (concept design)
Titan Air Mobility
Lagos, Nigeria
www.titanairmobility.com

Founded in 2020, Titan Air Mobility is a global team with diverse backgrounds from Nigeria, Italy, Bangladesh, the United States and the United Kingdom. The company is in the business of designing and manufacturing passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (heVTOL) aircraft for regional advanced air mobility (AAM). The company has revealed they plan to focus on selling their aircraft first to Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. As of August 2024, the company is actively seeking to hire more employees.

HEXI Solo passenger eVTOL and heVTOL concept design aircraft
The HEXI Solo is a very modern and sleek passenger eVTOL and heVTOL concept design aircraft. The aircraft can be powered by batteries alone (known as an eVTOL aircraft) or can be powered by a hybrid-electric power source (known as a heVTOL aircraft). The aircraft carries one pilot, one passenger and their luggage. The pilot will have the assistance of advanced semi-autonomous navigation systems and AI powered algorithms to fly the aircraft. The model number with an electric power source is called the Hexi 332e. The model number with the hybrid-electric power source is called the Hexi 312h.

The estimated cruise speed of the aircraft is 200 km/h (124 mph) and has an anticipated maximum cruise speed of 280 km/h (174 mph). The range with an all-electric power source is calculated to be 300 km (186.4 m) and the range with a hybrid-electric power source is expected to be 1,000 km (621 m). The aircraft has a predicted maximum payload weight 300 kg (661 lb). The aircraft has six tilt-propellers, six electric motors and can use multiple types of power sources. The aircraft has one canard wing and one rear high main wing and both wings have winglets. The aircraft is made from carbon fiber composite for a high strength and low weight ratio. The concept design aircraft has two gull-wing doors and the aircraft has fixed tricycle wheeled landing gear. The front landing strut doubles as a ventral fin and the rear landing struts double as ventral strakes.

For safety features, the aircraft has distributed electric propulsion (DEP) which means that if one or two propellers or electric motors fail during flight, the rest of the propellers can land the aircraft safely. The aircraft could also glide and land to safety as a conventional aircraft if an unforeseen emergency happened and all the propellers stopped working. 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.

The company has reported their passenger and air cargo aircraft will have significantly lower emissions than conventional aircraft, have a higher margin of safety than conventional aircraft due to distributed electric propulsion (DEP) and other redundant systems, and their aircraft will enhance the ability for more people to travel and have needed air cargo transported to its destination.

Prototype Information
The company has made five subscale prototypes and have successfully flown them. Titan Air Mobility is currently in the process of making a full-scale prototype as of August 2024.

Future Plans
The company is currently preparing for the GoAero Challenge (USA), Aerial Emergency Response Operations, where teams will compete for more than $2 million (USD) in total prizes. The GoAero Challenge announced the launch of its three year global competition on Feb. 6, 2024 at the Vertical Flight Society's 2024 Transformative Vertical Flight conference. The company also intends to submit an application to the Oregon UAS Accelerator (Oregon, USA), where they have the potential of being awarded grant money and can also use the testing facilities at the Pendleton UAS Test Range (Oregon, USA).

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Passenger eVTOL or heVTOL concept design aircraft
• Piloting: 1 pilot using advanced semi-autonomous navigation systems and AI powered algorithms
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Cruise speed: 200 km/h (124 mph)
• Maximum cruise speed: 280 km/h (174 mph)
• Range (electric): 300 km (186.4 m)
• Range (hybrid-electric): 1,000 km (621 m)
• Empty weight: Unknown
• Maximum payload weight: 300 kg (661 lb)
• Propellers: 6 propellers
• Electric motors: 6 electric motors
• Power source: Batteries or hybrid-electric
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Doors: 2 gull-wing doors
• Windows: Canopy over cockpit allowing forward, left, right and top visibility for spectacular views for all occupants
• Wings: 1 canard and 1 rear high main wing, both wings have winglets
• Wingspan: 7.62 m (25 ft)
• Landing gear: Fixed tricycle wheeled landing gear. The front landing strut doubles as a ventral fin and the rear landing struts double as ventral strakes.
• Safety features: Distributed electric propulsion (DEP) means having multiple propellers (or electric ducted fans) and multiple electric motors on an aircraft so if one or more propellers (or electric ducted fans) or some electric motors fail, the other working propellers (or electric ducted fans) and electric motors can safely land the aircraft. DEP provides safety through redundancy for passengers or cargo. 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.

Related Aircraft:

• Titan Air Mobility HEXI Solo Cargo (concept design)

Company Insights:

• F6S
• DORODESIGN

Resources:

• Titan Air Mobility website
• Titan Air Mobility YouTube Channel
• Titan Air Mobility Instagram
• Titan Air Mobility LinkedIn
• Video: Introducing Titan Air Mobility, Titan Air Mobility, July 14, 2023
• Article: Nigeria-based Titan Air Mobility details its EMEA air cargo and mobility network, Avfoil News, July 25, 2023
• Article: Nigeria-based Titan Air Mobility details its EMEA air cargo and mobility network, eVTOL Insights, July 25, 2023
• Online brochure (44 pages): TITAN AIR MOBILITY, Issuu, Oct. 3, 2023