Trek Aerospace Nightingale (concept design)

Trek Aerospace Nightingale emergency medical services hybrid-electric VTOL concept design aircraft

(Image credit: Trek Aerospace)

DuoTrek Nightingale (concept design)
Trek Aerospace, Inc.
Folsom, California, USA
www.trekaero.com

Trek Aerospace, Inc. is a small engineering company based in Folsom, California, USA. Founded on March 18, 1996 as “Millennium Jet, Inc.”, the company changed their name to Trek Aerospace on July 3, 2002 because people thought the company was building jets. To clarify, SoloTrek was a name for certain models of Trek Aerospace's aircraft. SoloTrek was never the name of the company. The company is dedicated to understanding and improving shrouded propeller performance and efficiency. In the process, they developed their own proprietary CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software, TASPA (Trek Aerospace Shrouded Propeller Analysis).

The company has stated all of their aircraft designs are very flexible when it comes to scalability, electric motors used, propeller types and the type of power source used. That is, all previous conventionally powered aircraft the company has created can be converted to eVTOL aircraft and can be updated with the latest in avionics, electronics, propellers and electric (all batteries or hybrid-electric) power sources. All of the company's aircraft have been designed for advanced air mobility (AAM).

The company has designed and made multiple vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft including its exoskeleton backpack "helicopters" using shrouded propellers in the airframe design. Some articles refer to the exoskeleton backpack helicopter as a jetpack, even though there are no jet engines involved in the backpack aircraft. The company has also designed and made watercraft. Trek Aerospace also assists and teams with other companies, large and small, in the design, fabrication, and licensing of projects involving shrouded propellers and/or autonomous control systems. For example, Trek Aerospace built XTI Aircraft Company's TriFan subscale proof of concept (POC) aircraft.

Trek Aerospace Shrouded Propeller Analysis
Testing at NASA and university wind tunnels has validated the accuracy of the Trek Aerospace Shrouded Propeller Analysis (TASPA). Flight testing of both crewed and uncrewed vehicles has further verified the real-world applications of Trek’s technology. The company states their core technology has the highest specific thrust (lb/kW) in the industry. Aircraft designed by Trek define the efficiency curve used in the UBER Elevate white paper.

This efficiency allows aircraft to carry more weight in a smaller footprint. According to the company, their shrouded propellers require less power, use fewer batteries, have a greater payload and have a farther range than other battery powered aircraft. Furthermore, the company states their shrouded propellers have outperformed similar free propellers to airspeeds in excess of 230 mph (371 km/h), negating much of the drag penalty associated with ducted propellers.

Nightingale rescue hybrid-electric VTOL concept design aircraft
The Nightingale is a one patient autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL concept design aircraft. The aircraft was specifically designed for emergency medical service air transportation for combat medevac use. The aircraft could also be used for civilian purposes. The Nightingale medevac concept design aircraft was designed in 2006.

The estimated cruise speed of the aircraft is over 200 mph (>320 km/h), has an expected maximum cruise speed of more than 300 mph (>480 km/h), has a forecasted range of over 575 miles (>925 km) and has a planned flight time of over three hours. The aircraft has two ducted propellers, two electric motors and is powered by two 115 hp rotary engines. The aircraft has a canopy over the patient area. Has two rear dive wings which enhance the stability of the aircraft during high-speed maneuvers and steep descents. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. The aircraft has fixed skid type landing gear, with four fixed wheels for ease of movement of the aircraft when on a landing pad, tarmac or hangar. There are redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy.

The target hover altitude of the aircraft is 6,000 ft (1,825 m) and has an intended maximum altitude greater than 17,000 ft (>5,180 m). The calculated empty weight of the aircraft is 660 lb (299 kg), with an anticipated payload weight of 440 lb (200 kg), has an set maximum fuel weight of 100 lb (45 kg) and has a planned maximum takeoff weight of 1,200 lb (544 lb).

The fuselage has a tinted canopy window which lifts up to allow the stretcher to be loaded into the aircraft and there would be a climate controlled air conditioning system in the aircraft so the patient will be comfortable during the flight. The aircraft could be used for a variety of emergency medical air transportation missions. The name Nightingale was choose due to the woman who founded modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. It is interesting to note that Nightingale was also a pioneer in statistics.

An important point about this aircraft design is that it was way ahead of its time with the hopes of making a safe, efficient and useful VTOL aircraft for emergency medical service air transportation. The aircraft was never made into a prototype or production aircraft.

Specifications:

Aircraft type: Medevac passenger hybrid-electric VTOL concept design aircraft
Piloting: Autonomous
Capacity: 1 patient on a gurney
Cruise speed: >200 mph (>320 km/h)
Maximum cruise speed: >300 mph (>480 km/h)
Range: >575 miles (>925 km)
Flight Time: >3 hours
Hover altitude: 6,000 ft (1,825 m)
Maximum altitude: >17,000 ft (>5,180 m)
Empty weight: 660 lb (299 kg)
Payload weight: 440 lb (200 kg)
Maximum fuel weight: 100 lb (45 kg)
Maximum takeoff weight: 1,200 lb (544 lb)
Propellers: 2 ducted propellers
Electric Motors: 2 electric motors
Power source: Hybrid-electric power source with 2 115 hp rotary engines to create the electricity for the entire aircraft
Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
Height: 6.2 ft (1.9 m)
Width: 9.7 ft (3.0 m)
Length: 13.1 ft (4.0 m)
Windows: Canopy over cockpit
Wings: Rear dive wings
Landing gear: Fixed skid type landing gear, with four fixed wheels for ease of movement of the aircraft when on a landing pad, tarmac or hangar
Safety features: There are redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy.