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AMSL Aero Vertiia (prototype)

Vertiia EMS eVTOL aircraft full-scale prototype

 

Vertiia (prototype)
AMSL Aero Pty Ltd
Bankstown Aerodrome, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
www.amslaero.com

AMSL Aero was founded in June 2017 by Andrew Moore and Siobhan Lyndon in Australia. Moore is an engineer with more than 20 years experience in helicopter and aircraft design. Lyndon previously worked in senior positions for Google for 11 years and is in charge of the company’s business operations. Moore said his aircraft design was inspired by Lawrence Hargrave, who created the box kite in 1893. Hargrave was a British-born Australian engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.

Early in development the aircraft was known as the Verti-plane, but the name was soon changed to the Vertiia. The early 2017 concept design aircraft can be seen on this Electric VTOL News web page. The current version is an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that holds six people and can be flown autonomously. Its cruising speed will be 300 km/h (186 mph) with a range of 250 km (155 miles) when using electric batteries. In the future, the aircraft could also be fueled with hydrogen, which would extend its range to a possible 1,000 km (621 miles). The mission of the company is to change the way the world travels with safe, clean, fast and affordable advanced air mobility (AAM) passenger aircraft.

On July 8, 2020 the company announced they will be moving into the Narromine Aerodrome Industrial Park, northwest of Sydney and are planning to hire five to ten people. The company was able to expand to the industrial park to build essential testing facilities due to a $950,000.00 AUD grant from the New South Wales Regional Investment Attraction program.

As of November 2020, the company has completed both a one-fifth (20%) sub-scale and full-scale model of the aircraft. Their goal is to make a commercial aircraft available to the public by 2021, according to Western Magazine.

Vertiia co-founder Andrew Moore and design engineer Brian Wilson with ⅕-scale prototype

Vertiia co-founder Andrew Moore and design engineer Brian Wilson with ⅕-scale prototype

Vertiia ⅕-scale prototype

Vertiia ⅕-scale prototype

Vertiia ⅕-scale prototype lateral view

Vertiia ⅕-scale prototype lateral view

In November 2020, New Atlas covered the company's completion of a full-scale airframe and tilt-propeller system for the aircraft. The Australian emergency medical service (EMS) helicopter operator Careflight announced a partnership and AMSL announced that it expected to have the Vertiia certified and flying medical missions by 2023. In the same month, an article on evtolinsights.com stated that the Vertiia's major launch mission has shifted from advanced air mobility to the provision of safe and fast medical transport to vulnerable areas in Australia and abroad.

Vertiia full-scale prototype, lateral view

Vertiia full-scale prototype, lateral view

Computer Render of the Vertiia

Computer Render of the Vertiia

Vertiia full-scale prototype, rear view

Vertiia full-scale prototype, rear view

The company has developed patents which they hope will make their aircraft stand out from their competitors. Some key advantages for their aircraft is proprietary technology which extends battery life, a light weight and simplified airframe and easy passenger entry and exit. They plan on using 5G technology to their advantage to keep the aircraft secure, enhanced control features and allow for high reliable communication. The company has stated their eVTOL passenger aircraft will be longest range and energy efficient in the world. When using only batteries as the power source, the aircraft will have range of approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles). The expected range for the aircraft model that will have a hybrid-electric power source, will be 1,000 km (621 miles).

Vertiia prototype remotely piloted tethered flight testing in February 2023

Vertiia prototype remotely piloted tethered flight testing in February 2023

The company reported the first test hover flights (remotely piloted and tethered) of their all-electric eVTOL prototype occurred in the first week of February 2023 in the Central West region of New South Wales, just west of Sydney, Australia. This is big news as this is the first time that an eVTOL aircraft has been designed, built and flown in Australia, according to the company. AMSL Aero has reported that multiple test flights were made in February 2023 and the prototype flew better than they expected.

Vertiia passenger and air cargo hydrogen-electric VTOL prototype aircraft
The Vertiia passenger and air cargo hydrogen-electric VTOL prototype aircraft. The company has plans to make custom interiors for its customers such as five passenger air taxi interior, an aeromedical interior or an open cabin for air cargo. 

The aircraft has a planned cruising speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) with a calculated range of 1,000 km (621 miles). The payload weight has been estimated at 500 kg (1,102 kg). The aircraft has a box wing design with eight propellers, eight electric motors and uses a hydrogen hybrid-electric power source. The wings will tilt for VTOL and cruising flight. The company has triple redundancy in its aircraft systems for passenger safety. The fuselage will be made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. The aircraft will have tricycle wheeled landing gear.

It is important to remember that prototype aircraft specifications typically estimated and can or will change as prototypes and production models are made and test flown.

The company plans to market their aircraft for advanced air mobility, personal air transportation, military use, disaster relief and emergency medical response. The company has already obtained an experimental airworthiness certificate for the flying prototype and predicts the Vertiia will be certified and serial production will begin in 2026.

Specifications:

  • Aircraft type: Passenger and air cargo and hydrogen hybrid-electric VTOL prototype aircraft
  • Piloting: 1 pilot for now and in the future, autonomous optional
  • Capacity: 5 passengers
  • Cruising speed: 300 km/h (186 mph)
  • Range: 1,000 km (621 miles)
  • Empty weight: <2,000 kg (<4,409 lb)
  • Payload weight: 500 kg (1,102 lb)
  • Propellers: 8 propellers
  • Electric motors: 8 electric motors
  • Power source: Hydrogen hybrid-electric
  • Recharge time: 10 minutes
  • Wings: 1 box wing (with 4 tilting wings)
  • Tail: 1 V-tail
  • Landing gear: Fixed or retractable tricycle wheeled 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. Autonomous pilot allows for a safer flight. The company has triple redundancy in its aircraft systems for passenger safety. 

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