Trek Aerospace DuoTrek 1.0

DuoTrek 1.0
Trek Aerospace, Inc.
Folsom, California, USA
www.trekaero.com

Founded in 1999, Trek Aerospace, Inc. is a small engineering company based in Folsom, California, USA. The company has designed and made multiple vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft including its exoskeleton jetpacks using shrouded propellers in the airframe design. The company has also designed and made watercraft. Trek Aerospace also assists companies in the design, fabrication, and licensing of projects involving shrouded propellers and/or autonomous control systems.

The company states their core technology has the highest thrust to hp/kw in the industry. This allows their aircraft to carry a lot of weight in a smaller footprint. Trek’s shrouded props require less power, use fewer batteries than other battery powered aircraft, have a greater payload and have a farther range. The company has stated all their VTOL aircraft designs can be powered with a hybrid-electric power source or using batteries as their main power source (electric vertical takeoff and landing - eVTOL).

The DuoTrek 1.0 is a VTOL aircraft concept design with a rotary engine and uses gear boxes to turn the propellers. However, the company has stated this aircraft can be converted to a hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft or to an eVTOL aircraft. By retrofitting the aircraft with new eVTOL technologies that exist today, the aircraft would become lighter, safer, more stable, more flight worthy and be a more eco-friendly aircraft.

The DuoTrek 1.0 holds two passengers, has a canopy over the cockpit, has eight propellers, eight electric motors, a petroleum powered engine to create the electricity for the entire aircraft, has stub wings, a T-tail and has fixed skid type landing gear. This aircraft could be used for a variety of applications such as personal air transportation, on-demand air taxi service, emergency medical service, government use, military use and more.

An important point about this aircraft design is that it was way ahead of its time. The New Atlas article that discusses the DuoTrek 1.0 (the link is listed below), is dated June 20, 2011. The Vertical Flight Society started supporting electric and hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in 2013. It is unknown whether this aircraft was ever made or will be made into a sub-scale or full scale prototype.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Hybrid-electric VTOL passenger aircraft
• Piloting: 1 pilot
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Cruise speed: Unknown
• Range: Unknown
• Flight Time: Unknown
• Cruise altitude: Unknown
• Propellers: 8 propellers
• Electric Motors: 8 electric motors
• Power source: Hybrid-electric
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Windows: Canopy over cockpit
• Wings: Stub wings
• Tail: T-tail
• Landing gear: Fixed skid type landing gear
• Safety features: The aircraft has a whole aircraft ballistic parachute

Resources:

• Trek Aerospace website
• Trek Aerospace Twitter
• Trek Aerospace LinkedIn
• Trek Aerospace Wikipedia
• Article: SoloTrek developers planning two seat electric hybrid Air Car, New Atlas, June 20, 2011