VTOL Aviation India Akshat HNX75

Akshat HNX75
VTOL Aviation India PVT. LTD.
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
www.vtolaviations.com

On July 13, 2017, VTOL Aviation India was founded by Mr Kalyan Chowdhury in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The goal of the company is to be the first in the Indian aerospace sector to make hybrid-electric and all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) passenger aircraft. The reason for this is to achieve the "Make in India" goal, a government-launched initiative to encourage 100% of a product to be manufactured domestically. The company is partnering with the Indian Institute Of Technology-Kanpur and with the EFC Group of Companies. The company has designed and manufactured multiple types of drones. VTOL Aviation India has been funded with $150 million with the plan for $2 billion total investment from internal sources and bank loans.

The Akshat HNX75 is an autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL and an eVTOL military war fighting heavy-lift high-altitude cargo and surveillance drone, concept design aircraft. The aircraft can carry a very heavy payload. The power source (either hybrid-electric or all-electric) will be determined by needs of the mission required by the military branch purchasing the drone.

The Akshat HNX75 has been made for specifically for military cargo use and with the ability to provide visual-based feedback and surveillance capability for military forces. The heavy-lift drone can also provide tactical air support, target acquisition and designation, and more during wartime. The drone has been made to attach multiple types of external military surveillance and tactical equipment needed based on the aircraft's mission, mounted on its fuselage and wings.

The aircraft has eight dedicated VTOL propellers, one pusher propeller for forward and reverse flight, has a carbon fiber composite fuselage, has one high wing, one boom mounted rear inverted horizontal stabilizer (the tail of the drone) and four fixed legs for landing gear. The outer wing-tips can be folded down for easier storage and during transportation.

The payload of the drone is carried inside the cargo bay and the bay doors swing open at the bottom, digitally, so that little to no human interaction is needed to load and unload the drone. The aircraft provides precision cargo deliveries at any altitude, including high altitudes and in battle zones.

The aircraft has been engineered to reduce the complexity of the drone by having no tilting propellers and no retractable landing gear. Lowing the complexity of a drone reduces the purchase cost of the drone, increases the safety of the drone, increases the reliability of the drone and reduces maintenance costs. The drone has also been designed with multiple redundancies which also increases the safety and reliability of the drone. The high-wing increases the range of the drone making the aircraft more useful for military use and also lowers the power needed for forward flight.

VTOL Aviation India's aim is to reshape the future of flight with the ultimate breakthrough in clean and safe aviation, made in India. The company has not stated when sub-scale or full scales prototypes will be made and tested for the military Akshat HNX75 VTOL autonomous military cargo/surveillance/tactical drone.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Hybrid-electric or eVTOL heavy-lift military cargo, surveillance drone and more
• Piloting: Autonomous
• Capacity: Cargo, surveillance, tactical air support, target acquisition and designation, and more
• Cruise speed: Unknown
• Range: Unknown
• Flight Time: Unknown
• Top altitude: 6,096 m (20,000 ft)
• Maximum payload: Unknown (but is a heavy-lift drone)
• Propellers: 9 propellers
• Electric Motors: 9 propellers
• Power source: Hybrid-electric with batteries or battery packs-alone
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Wings: 1 high wing (the outer wing-tips can be folded down for easier storage and transportation)
• Tail: 1 boom mounted inverted horizontal stabilizer
• Landing gear: 4 fixed landing legs
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers (or ducted fans) and motors on the aircraft so if one or more propellers (ducted fans) or motors fail, the other working propellers (or ducted fans) and motors can safely land the aircraft. There are also redundancies in the sub-systems of the aircraft.

Company Insights:

• Tracxn
• The Economic Times (India)
• Zauba Corp
• Easy Leadz

Resources:

• VTOL Aviation India website
• VTOL Aviation India Twitter
• VTOL Aviation LinkedIn
• Indian Institute of Technology website
• Article: Bringing Flying Taxis to the Masses: India’s VTOL Aviation Redefines the Future of Mobility, Auto Futures, Aug. 4, 2019