Pegasus International Group Pegasus E Class (production model)

Pegasus E Class (production model)
Pegasus International Group
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
www.bepegasus.com

Pegasus was founded in 2009 by Michael Walton Yang and the company is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company is in the business of designing and manufacturing one passenger hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) helicopter and roadable vehicles. The company announced in 2023, they will start the process to design and manufacture a multi-passenger electric VTOL (eVTOL) air taxi and roadable vehicle.

Some history. It was reported in September 2020 that Wenzhou Duofu Aviation Industry Group Co. (also referred to as "Doof") established a joint venture with the Australian Tianma International Group to develop and produce the eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft Pegasus referred to by the company at the time as a flying automobile. The company currently calls their Pegasus E Class and Pegasus S Class a flying car.

Pegasus E Class passenger hybrid-electric helicopter and roadable production model vehicle
The Pegasus E Class is a one, two or four passenger hybrid-electric helicopter and roadable production model vehicle that has fixed quadricycle road wheels. The vehicle has engine, batteries and electric motors. The company states to change from helicopter to road vehicle and back takes only three seconds. The vehicle is so compact it can park in a standard parking space.

The Pegasus E Class has a canopy over the cockpit providing excellent views for the driver/pilot. The top ground speed of the vehicle is 120 km/h (75 mph) and has a range of 75 km (47 m) for road travel. For air travel, the helicopter mode has a cruise speed of 130 km/h (81 mph) and has a maximum air speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). The flying range of the helicopter is 482 km (300 miles) and has a flight time of three hours. The maximum altitude of the aircraft is 1,800 m (5,906 ft). The maximum payload weight for the driver/pilot is 101 kg (223 lb).

The vehicle has one main helicopter rotorblade and a standard helicopter tail rotor. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite material to provide the vehicle with a high strength and low weight ratio. The vehicle has fixed quadricycle road wheels that act as landing gear and are used for road travel. Videos online show the company driving the vehicle on a race track showing how nibble the vehicle is for road travel. The aircraft has multiple redundant systems to increase the safety of the vehicle. In case of power failure while flying, the rotorcraft can autorotate and land safely on the ground.

The Pegasus is being sold directly to consumers, businesses and the government for personal transportation, law enforcement, firefighting and other civil uses. The vehicle was designed to fit in a standard parking space, further emphasizing the aircraft's potential for use in urban settings. The aircraft can park in a regular parking space because the vehicle has automatic folding rotorblades.

July 1, 2024
The company wrote an article stating their helicopter will be scaled-up for a two person and four person helicopter model. The article also noted the air range for the E Class roadable helicopter has been extended to 482 km (300 miles).

The company has received a Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA) from Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) of Australia in 2023.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Passenger hybrid-electric helicopter and road vehicle
• Piloting: 1 pilot
• Capacity: 1 person, 2 person and 4 person models
• Time to change from VTOL to road vehicle: 3 seconds
• Top speed (ground): 120 km/h (75 mph)
• Cruise speed (air): 132 km/h (82 mph)
• Maximum speed (air): 160 km/h (99 mph)
• Range (ground): 75 km (47 m)
• Range (air): 482 km (300 miles)
• Flight time: 3 hours
• Maximum altitude: 1,800 m (5,906 ft)
• Maximum payload weight: 195 kg (423 lb)
• Rotorblade: 1 main rotorblade
• Tail rotor: 1 tail rotor
• Electric motors: Unknown
• Power source: Hybrid-electric power source (uses batteries for ground travel and a piston engine and batteries for flight)
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Window: Canopy over cockpit
• Landing gear: Fixed quadricycle road wheels
• 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 its passengers or cargo. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy for its passengers or cargo. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure. If there is a power loss during flight, the aircraft can autorotate and land safely.

Related Aircraft:

• Pegasus Air Taxi (concept design)
• Pegasus S Class (prototype)

Resources:

• Pegasus International Group website
• Pegasus International Group Facebook
• Pegasus International Group YouTube Channel
• Pegasus International Group LinkedIn
• Article: China's Rising eVTOL Industry, Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2021
• Video: Pegasus flying car driven on the track!, Pegasus Flying Car, Dec. 14, 2021
• Video: Pegasus flying cars - invest in the transportation revolution!, Pegasus Flying Car, May 22, 2023
• Video: Skynews 'Avalon Airshow highlight: Pegasus police flying car', Pegasus Flying Car, Mar. 7, 2023
• Article: Pegasus debuts the Pegasus E flying car at Avalon 2023, Aviation Photography Digest, Mar. 12, 2023
• Article: Pegasus E Flying Car Receives CofA, Australian Flying, June 2, 2023