The Airbus Vahana (Sanskrit: Vāhana, or Vahanam literally means "vehicle") was an electric-powered eight-propeller VTOL personal air vehicle prototype, or eVTOL, financed by A³ (pronounced "A-cubed"), by Airbus and Airbus Urban Mobility. The Vahana project started in 2016 as one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in Silicon Valley. Airbus "envision[s] Vahana being used by everyday commuters as a cost-comparable replacement for short-range urban transportation like cars or trains". It was planned to be a part of urban air mobility. The project was finished in December 2019.

The convertiplane aircraft design, funded by the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, called Vahana (Sanskrit: "vehicle"), started in 2016. It was being developed at A³ (A-cubed), the expanded project and partnership outpost of Airbus in Silicon Valley. Airbus said "Our work on this demonstrator confirms our belief that fully autonomous vehicles will allow us to achieve the scale required of Urban Air Mobility."[6] Then-CEO Tom Enders said: "I'm no big fan of Star Wars, but it's not crazy to imagine that one day our big cities will have flying cars making their way along roads in the sky."

To test the Vahana concept, small models flew in Santa Clara, USA in 2017. Vahana was planned to become part of urban air mobility. In June 2017 at the Paris Air Show the prototype Vahana Alpha One (registration N301VX) was publicly presented for the first time. 31 January 2018 the first flight took place in Pendleton, Oregon. The full-scale aircraft Alpha One demonstrator reached a height of 5 meters within 53 seconds. By August 2018, more than 25 hover flights had been completed and the transition to forward flight had been tested.

By January 2019, the second aircraft, Alpha Two, was completed, while the first was testing transitions to forward flight, but was not yet flown with the wings horizontal. On 3 May, it achieved its first full transitions to forward flight, reaching 90 kn (170 km/h) on its 58th flight. Airbus will not produce serial versions of the Vahana or the ducted-rotor CityAirbus demonstrators.

Airbus finished the Vahana project in December 2019 in favor of the CityAirbus. The last flight took place on 14 November 2019, after 138 test flights with a total flight time of over 13 hours and a distance of 903 km were made. The longest single flight duration until then was 19 minutes, 56 seconds and the longest single distance covered has been 50,24 km.

Configurations include electric helicopter and eight fan tilt-wing. For both configurations the hover performance estimates were based on blade element momentum theory. Vahana found the electric helicopter configuration superior at low ranges, and the tilt-wing configuration superior at longer ranges. The designer has not finalized the Vahana project and hope that "the electric tilt-wing configuration provides a DOC advantage and many other advantages such as reduced noise and enhanced safety for urban mobility".

For both vehicles a common payload weight will be 200 lb (90 kg). A helicopter gearbox power density is assumed to be 6.3 kW/kg. Both configuration will assume 15 kg for avionics components and 15 kg for a crash rated seat. electrical actuators will take 0.65 kg each (8 units for helicopter and 12 units for tilt-wing). Additionally, the tilt-wing has two actuators (4 kg each). An additional 10% is for fittings and miscellaneous hardware.

The cruise power of the tilt-wing is lower than the cruise power of an electric helicopter. The disk loading for both configurations is similar to those of many existing light helicopters. The electric helicopter hover power at short ranges is lower than those of the tilt-wing. Some drawings and explanations of Vahana can be seen under SELF-PILOTED AIRCRAFT FOR PASSENGER OR CARGO TRANSPORTATION.

One of the reasons why Vahana was being developed as a self-steering aircraft was because the developers expected the available human pilots would not be sufficient in number for the anticipated volume of flights. Another reason was the higher payload and saving on labour expenses. In contrast to autonomous driving, autonomous flying has to be navigated at a significantly higher speed and in three instead of two dimensions. This requires higher computing speed and faster sensors and actuators. Autonomous navigation is carried out with a Lidar system, together with cameras and radar.

The Airbus CityAirbus is a multinational project by Airbus Helicopters to produce an electrically powered VTOL personal air vehicle demonstrator. It is intended for the air taxi role, to avoid ground traffic congestion.

The CityAirbus follows other Airbus Urban Air Mobility initiatives: Skyways to deliver packages by UAVs on the National University of Singapore campus, the A³ Vahana single-passenger, self-piloted VTOL aircraft and the A³ Voom on-demand shared helicopter booking service app by Airbus.

A 2015 feasibility study confirmed the design's operating costs and that it could meet safety requirements.Full-scale testing of the ducted propeller drivetrain was completed in October 2017.Type certification and commercial introduction are planned for 2023.

The iron bird systems test prototype was completed and powered on in December 2017 on a test bench in Taufkirchen, Germany, to test the propulsion system chain, flight controls and propeller dynamic loads, verifying the electric, mechanical and thermal dynamics before being installed on the flight demonstrator by mid-2018.

The first structural parts for the demonstrator were produced by Airbus Helicopters. The aircraft's first uncrewed flight was on 3 May 2019. Crewed flights have been planned for 2019.[5] 31 August 2020 the CityAirbus demonstrator moved from Donauwörth to Manching near Ingolstadt in Bavaria.

After 242 flights over 1,000 km (540 nmi) in total with the Vahana and CityAirbus demonstrators, Airbus updated the CityAirbus project in September 2021. The new configuration boasts a fixed wing, a V-tail, and eight electric propellers without moving surfaces or tilting parts. It should carry up to four passengers over 80 km (43 nmi) at 120 km/h (65 kn) with sound levels below 65 dB(A) during fly-over and below 70 dB(A) during landing. First flight is planned for 2023 and certification is expected around 2025. As of mid-2025, one test flight has been advertised.

EASA is already working on a special condition VTOL (SC VTOL) means of compliance (MOC) to certify eVTOL aircraft. The final version of the MOC for eVTOLs will use newly developed Eurocae standards. The second flight control computer will be developed in collaboration with Diehl Aviation and Thales.

The multirotor is intended to carry four passengers, with a pilot initially and to become self-piloted when regulations allow.The overall system is being developed in Donauwörth, with the electrical propulsion system built in Ottobrunn/Munich.The use of four ducted fans contribute to safety and low acoustic footprint.The fully integrated drivetrain has eight propellers and eight 100 kW (130 hp) Siemens SP200D direct-drive electric motors.The fixed pitch propellers are controlled by their RPM.The four electric batteries total 110 kWh (400 MJ), weigh 500 kg[10] and can produce a combined output four times 140 kW (190 hp). The design should cruise at 120 km/h (65 kn) on fixed routes with 15 minutes endurance.

The Airbus E-Fan is a prototype two-seater electric aircraft that was under development by Airbus. It was flown in front of the world press at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom in July 2014. The target market was intended to be pilot training, but production of the aircraft was cancelled in April 2017.

Airbus Group developed this electric aircraft with Aero Composites Saintonge. The aircraft uses on-board lithium-ion batteries to power the two electric motors and can carry one pilot and one passenger. A test flight was conducted in April 2014 at Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport, France, landing in front of a large audience, the French Minister of Industry Arnaud Montebourg being one of them. At the 2014 Farnborough Airshow, Airbus announced that the E-Fan 2.0 would go into production by 2017 with a side-by-side seating layout.[3] Airbus stated at that time that there are plans for development of a commercial regional aircraft in the near future.

The E-Fan is an all-electric two-seat twin-motor low-wing monoplane of composite material structure. It has a T-tail and a retractable tandem landing gear with outrigger wheels. The two motors are mounted on either side of the rear fuselage.

Two production variants were initially planned, a two-seater E-Fan 2.0 for use as a trainer, and the E-Fan 4.0 four-seat touring aircraft. The E-Fan 4.0 appears identical to the E-Fan apart from a fuselage stretch. To increase flight duration the planned E-Fan 4.0 would have had a hybrid-electric system that will have a small engine to charge the battery (like a range extender), which would have increased its duration from 2 hours to 3.5 hours. The first flight of the E-Fan 2.0 was originally planned for 2017 and the E-Fan 4.0 for 2019.

The E-fan is of all-composite construction and is propelled by two ducted, variable-pitch fans spun by two electric motors totaling 60 kW of power. Ducting increases thrust while reducing noise, and having the fans mounted centrally provides better control. The motors moving the fans are powered by a series of 250-volt lithium polymer battery packs made by South Korean company Kokam. The batteries are mounted in the inboard section of the wings. They have enough power for one hour and take one hour to recharge. An onboard backup battery is available to make an emergency landing if power runs out while airborne. The E-fan's landing gear consists of a retractable fore and aft wheel, and a fixed wheel under the wings. Unusually for an aircraft, the main wheel is powered by a 6 kW electric motor, which allows the plane to be taxied without the main motors, and is able to accelerate it to 60 km/h (37 mph; 32 kn) for takeoffs. Having the takeoff run performed by the undercarriage relieves some of the burden on the flight motors.

In December 2014 Airbus announced that DAHER-SOCATA would complete the design work on the aircraft and certify it. VoltAir, an Airbus subsidiary, developed the initial prototype and worked with Daher-Socata during the testing phase as the project manager. At this point the aircraft became the VoltAir E-Fan.

In April 2017 Airbus cancelled production of the E-Fan, preferring to concentrate on a proposed hybrid-electric, regional jet-sized aircraft, with an initial service date of 2030.

On 9 July 2015, the E-Fan crossed the English Channel from Lydd Airport to Calais–Dunkerque Airport. It was flown by Didier Esteyne, the chief engineer of the E-Fan. Initially this was claimed as the first electric aircraft to cross the English Channel, but it has since been pointed out that there were previous such flights, including MacCready Solar Challenger as long ago as 1981, and Airbus now say it was the "first all-electric two-engine aircraft" to make the crossing. Siemens has sponsored electric equipment on the E-fan, but not motors.

Variants

E-Fan
Two-seat concept aircraft and technology demonstrator, first flown March 2014.
E-Fan 2.0
Proposed all-electric two-seat production variant, initially forecast to fly in 2017.
E-Fan 4.0
Proposed hybrid-electric four-seat variant, to fly 2019; a kerosene fuelled generator would have extended endurance from 2 h to 3 h 30 min.
E-Thrust
Proposed 90-seat regional jet based on the principles of the E-Fan.

The Beta Technologies Alia (officially stylized as ALIA) is an electric utility aircraft built by Beta Technologies. The Alia is built in two models; the VTOL A250, and the CTOL CX300. An unmanned military variant is also in development as the MV250.

Beta Technologies unveiled the Alia A250 eVTOL prototype in June 2020. A successor to the company's Ava prototype, the Alia is a small 6,000 lb (2,720 kg) aircraft with an arched 50 ft (15 m) wing. An electric aircraft, the Alia A250 is powered by a single pusher propeller for forward flight as well as four rotors mounted at wing level for VTOL flight. Beta announced a five-passenger variant of the Alia in September 2024, though a prototype had yet to be built.

After several months of ground and tethered vertical flight testing at Beta Technologies' headquarters in Burlington, Vermont, the Alia A250 was airlifted to Plattsburgh, New York in June 2020 for advanced flight testing. In March 2021, the A250 made a test flight from Plattsburgh, across Lake Champlain, and back to Burlington.

In May 2021, the US Air Force's Public Affairs office announced that Beta Technologies was granted the Air Force's first airworthiness certificate as a part of the AFWERX Agility Prime program, allowing the military to begin using the company's aircraft for test flights.[8] In July, the company completed a 205 mi (330 km) crewed flig[9]ht of its aircraft, its longest flight up to that point.

The company announced on January 31, 2022, that it had won a US Army contract to support flight testing of its Alia electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The partnership is designed to help the Army test specific military cargo and logistics missions for eVTOLs, while allowing Beta to accelerate development for both military and civil applications. Initially, Army engineers and Beta's team would evaluate how Alia might best be applied to specific missions by measuring its range, altitude, endurance, and payload limits.[10] In March 2022, the company hosted the United States Air Force and USAF test pilots flew the Alia aircraft for the first time.

In May 2022, an Alia aircraft completed a flight of 1,400 mi (2,300 km) in total, from New York State to Arkansas. This included stops along the way for recharging on the company's network. In December, an Alia completed another test flight after traveling 876 mi (1,410 km) to UPS Worldport, where its founder was met by US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

In March 2023, the company sought FAA certification for the Alia CX300 and had received orders for the new product from Bristow, Air New Zealand, and United Therapeutics. The company said that FAA test pilots had flown the aircraft during a qualification evaluation earlier that year.

For more details of operational history, orders and variants, click here.

The Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 (formerly the Sun Flyer 2) is a light electric aircraft designed and under development by Bye Aerospace of Denver, Colorado.

The aircraft was first publicly introduced on 11 May 2016, and first flew on 10 April 2018.

The two seater is designed for the flight training market with a single tractor electric motor powered by Lithium-ion batteries.

The design was originally developed by Bye Aerospace subsidiary Aero Electric Aircraft Corporation (AEAC). Arion Aircraft of Shelbyville, Tennessee constructed the proof-of-concept prototype and delivered it in March 2016.

The eFlyer 2 was first publicly introduced at the Centennial Airport in Colorado on 11 May 2016. Ground and taxi tests on the prototype were started in November 2016.A four-seater derivative model, named the Bye Aerospace Sun Flyer 4, was announced in July 2017. It will be a day/night IFR aircraft with an 800 lb (360 kg) payload, capable of 150 kn (280 km/h) maximum cruise speed and a 4.2 hour endurance.

The eFlyer 2 first flew on 10 April 2018.[9][10] AEAC and Bye Aerospace merged in 2018 and Bye Aerospace took over the project.

For more details of development, design and operational history,

click here.

Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 02.avif Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 02.avif

Electravia - Helices E-Props is a French aviation manufacturer based in Vaumeilh, specializing in the non-certified light aviation sector. At one time it produced electric propulsion systems and now designs and manufactures carbon fibre propellers for light aircraft.

The company was originally organized as an association called APAME to build and fly electric aircraft. It first flew its BL1E Electra on Sunday, 23 December 2007 at Aspres sur Buech airfield, Hautes Alpes, France. Test pilot Christian Vandamme flew the electric-powered, open-cockpit, strut-equipped airplane for 48 minutes, covering 50 km (31 mi). The BL1E Electra is powered by an 18 kW (24 hp) disk-brushed electric engine driven by a 47 kg (104 lb) KOKAM Lithium polymer battery. The BL1E Electra was the first registered aircraft in the world powered by an electric motor running on batteries.

The company was founded on 19 September 2008 by Anne Lavrand, Jérémie Buiatti and Christian Vandamme. At the time of its founding it mainly produced electric motors for light aircraft.

Starting in 2008, Electravia began designing and manufacturing carbon fibre aircraft propellers, including fixed pitch, ground-adjustable pitch and variable pitch models. Propellers for paramotors, ultralights, light aircraft and UAV are made in the 1,700 m2 (18,000 sq ft) workshop on Sisteron's airfield (LFNS). E-Props propellers claim to be the lightest on the market.

No specificatios or performance available for this aircaft. The company has stopped making aircraft and is concentrating on carbon fibre propellers.

The Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-C is an American experimental electric aircraft that was designed by Randall Fishman and produced by his company Electric Aircraft Corporation in 2008. The aircraft is a converted Monnett Moni motor glider intended to test electric propulsion technology for the future Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-X.

The design was only intended as a prototype and proof of concept aircraft.

The aircraft features a cantilever low-wing, a single-seat enclosed cockpit with a bubble canopy, fixed conventional landing gear and a single 18 hp (13 kW) electric motor in tractor configuration. The sole example built is registered in the US Experimental - Amateur-built category.

Constructed from a Monnett Moni motorglider with taildragger landing gear, the original fuselage and wing were retained, but the tail section and tailwheel were extended to improve control on the ground, and to elevate the fuselage.

The aircraft is made from sheet aluminum. Its 45.6 ft (13.9 m) span wing has an area of 157 sq ft (14.6 m²).

The motor is an 18-horsepower ElectraFlyer direct-drive propulsion kit DC electric motor, powered by a pair of custom-made 5.6 kwh lithium-ion polymer battery packs, weighing 75 pounds (34 kilograms). The batteries are mounted in custom-made, ceramic-stainless steel firewall boxes, sized to fit the space available in the fuselage.

The motor returns an 88% efficiency (90% at cruise), with the motor controller consuming 2% of the power. The batteries fitted give an endurance of 1.5 hours and take six hours to recharge at a cost of 70 cents for the power consumed. While descending the propeller generates power to recharge the batteries. The ElectraFlyer-C received its airworthiness certificate on 11 April 2008.

Fishman indicated that he would sell the aircraft in April 2009, but as of February 2017 it remains owned by his company.

The Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-ULS is an American electric ultralight motor glider, designed by Randell Fishman and produced by the Electric Aircraft Corporation of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, introduced in late 2012. The aircraft is supplied complete and ready-to-fly.

The ElectraFlyer-ULS was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's 254 lb (115 kg) empty weight limit. The design has an empty weight of 245 lb (111 kg).

The design features a cantilever mid-wing, a single-seat under a bubble canopy, a twin boom tail, fixed tricycle landing gear and a single electric motor in pusher configuration.

The aircraft is made from carbon fiber and foam composite materials. The motor and drive train are supplied by the Electric Aircraft Corporation in the US, while the airframe is built under contract by Airsport in the Czech Republic and is adapted from an existing design, the Airsport Song.

The drivetrain includes a Fishman-designed 20 hp (15 kW) motor, electronic controller and 3.3 kWh LiPo battery pack. An additional 3.3 kWh battery pack is a US$5,000 option, which gives a two-hour endurance. A two-bladed fixed pitch propeller is standard equipment, but a folding carbon fiber propeller is optional.

The Eviation Alice is an electric aircraft designed to accommodate nine passengers and two crew members. Currently under development, its construction incorporates 95% composite material, is powered by two electric motors, and has a T-tail. The prototype first flew on 27 September 2022.

In February 2018, a 650 lb (290 kg) scale model UAV was flown to validate the aerodynamics and flight controls. Kokam was selected to supply pouch lithium polymer batteries to power the full-scale prototype.[5] Work on the power system and drive train was begun.

Eviation teamed up with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to launch a research and development program in the spring of 2019 at its Prescott, Arizona campus. The program would focus on performance analysis, validation and testing, along with preliminary design and sub-scale testing of future electric propulsion and airframe design concepts.

By early 2019, Eviation had secured $200 million of investment to cover certification and production while the first prototype was assembled in Vannes, northwest France. In April 2019, Eviation selected MagniX Magni250s 375 shp (280 kW) electric motors turning at 1,900 rpm as an alternative power option to Siemens 260 kW motors.

The prototype had tailwheel landing gear and three propellers, one on each wingtip and one on the tail. It also had a V-tail (a la Bonanza). On 22 January 2020, a fire broke out and the prototype was destroyed, but no-one was injured. The fire broke out in an under-floor battery compartment located in the "operator/passenger area". Producion models have tricycle gear, two propellers on pods attached to the rear fuselage, and a T tail.

The aircraft had its first flight on 27 September 2022. Following the first test flight, Eviation announced it has revised the proposed range from 440 nm to 250 nm. The projected service entry date has been delayed to 2027. Before this range reduction, endurance at MTOW was planned at 2.8 hr.

The first buyer for the Alice was Cape Air, a regional airline serving the Northeastern United States as well as the Caribbean. In August 2021, Deutsche Post announced that it had ordered 12 aircraft for use by DHL to transport cargo, with delivery planned from 2024. In April 2022, Eviation stated that Cape Air ordered 75 planes. In September 2022, GlobalX Airlines ordered 50 aircraft, with deliveries starting in 2027. In January 2023, Mexican regional carrier Aerus ordered 30 aircraft.

Prototype

Production model

The Jetson ONE is a type of personal ultralight known as an eVTOL. It is a 102-horsepower battery-operated ultralight with eight electric motors. A Swedish startup company, Jetson, produces the personal ultralight, which is manufactured and tested in Arezzo, Italy. To fly the single-seat ultralight, the operator does not need a pilot licence or special training in the US. It is equipped with a parachute.

Late 2017, Tomasz Patan built a working "proof of concept" of an electric VTOL personal flying vehicle with the goal of "making everyone a pilot." In 2018, Patan designed a personal flying car. The design was improved, and in 2021, Patan invented a new model called the Jetson ONE eVTOL. In 2022, the company offered the Jetson Ones for US$92,000 each. In 2022, the company began manufacturing the Jetson One in Poland.

In 2022, the company moved production and testing of the Jetson ONE from Poland to a facility in Arezzo, Italy. The company's CEO is Stephan D'haene, and he announced that the company obtained approval from the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) to fly the aircraft in Italy's uncontrolled airspace. In 2023, the company announced that it had raised US$15 million to fund the project. They planned to begin delivering the next Jetson ONEs in 2024.

The vehicle has a charger which can recharge in one hour at 230/240 V or two hours with 120 V power. Batteries may be removed and changed to avoid waiting for charging. The person piloting the ultralight must be less than 210 lb (95 kg).

The ultralight is capable of flight even if one of the engines fails. It is equipped with lidar sensors to avoid obstacles. There is a rapid-deploying ballistic parachute, and the ultralight has a mode which allows the craft to hover without operating the controls. Joysticks control it, and it has a throttle lever to adjust power. The left controller operates the ultralight's altitude, and the right controls the direction.

Joby Aviation is a United States venture-backed aviation company, developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that it intends to operate as an air taxi service. Joby Aviation is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, and has offices in San Carlos, California; Marina, California; and Munich, Germany.

Joby Aviation was founded as Joby Aero on September 11, 2009 as one of several projects incubated by JoeBen Bevirt on his ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains, using the proceeds from successful exits of previous companies. According to the company's website, the early years were spent exploring different components of electric aviation, including electric motors, flight software, and lithium-ion batteries. This research led Joby to participate in the NASA X-57 Maxwell and LEAPTech projects, before developing its own air taxi concept.

Joby's early concept, publicly called the S2, had eight tilting propellers arrayed along the leading edge of its wing and four more tilting propellers mounted on its V-shaped tail. Later, the company moved to a configuration that features six rotating propellers.

By 2015, the company was operating subscale prototypes of its eVTOL aircraft, moving to full-scale unmanned prototypes in 2017, and a production prototype in 2019. In 2018, the company announced a Series B funding round of $100 million, led by Toyota AI Ventures. By 2019, the company was in active conversations with the FAA about certifying the aircraft and announced a partnership with Uber's Elevate division.

For its first ten years, Joby operated in stealth mode, sometimes leading to skepticism of the company's claims. The first journalist granted access to the aircraft in 2018 agreed not to disclose details about the aircraft. In 2020, however, the company began releasing significantly more information, starting with its January announcement of a $590 million funding round, led by Toyota Motor Corporation. At that announcement, the company revealed its production vehicle. In January 2020, Bevirt was a keynote speaker at the meeting of the Vertical Flight Society.

The Joby air taxi is intended to be a four-passenger commercial aircraft with a pilot, capable of traveling up to 150 miles (240 km) on a single charge at a top speed of 200 mph (320 km/h), with a maximum payload of 1,000 pounds. It is designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter, and transition to horizontal cruise like a fixed-wing aircraft. Nearly silent in flight, the electric-powered aircraft is designed to operate with no emissions and to be 100 times quieter during takeoff and landing than a helicopter. Joby plans to mass-produce its eVTOL, with a plan to operate a piloted on-demand air-taxi service. The aircraft will be operated as a service with per-trip passenger pricing.

Joby described the Uber Elevate acquisition as a way to accelerate its commercial launch through Elevate's tools and personnel. Elevate had previously operated a service called Uber Copter, which allowed all Uber users in the New York area to book a trip to John F. Kennedy International Airport, with a car taking riders to a heliport and a helicopter then taking riders to the airport. While the service used Bell 430 helicopters with Uber branding, the aircraft were operated by a separate helicopter company, Heliflite. Joby Aviation cited Elevate's software tools enabling market selection, demand simulation and multi-modal operations as the reasons to purchase Elevate, suggesting the acquisition may play a significant role in Joby's commercial service. Joby has not commented on whether it will continue Elevate's plans to launch in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Melbourne.

In Dec 2024 Joby became the first company to fly in Korea’s K-UAM Grand Challenge.

For details of development financing, click here.

Flying Joby's Electric Air Taxi with a Pilot On Board

The Lange Antares is a glider built by Lange Aviation produced with three different wingspans, 18, 20 and 23 meters. The 20 and 23 meter variants can be equipped with a 42-kW electric motor and SAFT VL 41M lithium-ion batteries.

The EM 42 is a fixed-shaft brushless DC electric motor running at 190-288 V, and drawing up to 160 A, the 42 kW motor can deliver up to 216 N.m of torque over a speed range of 160-1600 RPM with a total efficiency of 90%. Maximum continuous power is 38.5 kW, the motor weighs 29 kg, and the weight of power electronics is 10 kg. The motor turns a two-blade fixed-pitch propeller, LF-P42, constructed of composite materials, having a diameter of two meters.

The battery system consists of two battery packs positioned in the leading edges of both inner wings (72 cells divided into 24 modules containing 3 cells each). The battery life is expected to be 3000 cycles or 20 years. The capacity of the battery is 41 Ah (specific energy 136 Wh/kg and specific peak power 794 W/kg). The batteries can deliver 13 minutes at maximum power and maximum climb speed, and can climb 3,000 meters on one battery charge; in reality, in warm climates, motor and electronics temperature limitations can limit the achievable climb height. The charger is integrated inside the fuselage so when landing elsewhere the pilot merely has to find a (16A) electric outlet socket. The glider has a modem connected to its main computer so that Lange technicians can, in theory, run diagnostics remotely. The same modem allows the pilot remote control & monitoring of the battery charging process.

The undercarriage and engine doors are electro-hydraulically operated. The tailwheel is steerable. The wing has an elliptical planform, with winglets and wing-tip wheels. The glide polar shows excellent high speed performance.

Variants

Antares 18S - 18 meter wingspan pure glider.
Antares 18T - 18 meter wingspan glider with Solo 2350 two-stroke gasoline sustainer engine.
Antares 20E - 20 meter wingspan with 42 kW electric self-launch capable engine.
Antares 23E - 23 meter wingspan with 42 kW electric self-launch capable engine.

The Siemens-FlyEco Magnus eFusion is a German hybrid diesel-electric aircraft that was designed by Siemens and FlyEco, introduced at the AERO Friedrichshafen show in 2018. The aircraft is intended for series production as a ready-to-fly design.

The design was first flown on 11 April 2018 in Hungary. On 31 May 2018, the prototype crashed in Hungary, while on a training flight, killing its two occupants. The accident investigation concluded that the crash was most likely due to pilot error in causing a high bank-angle stall close to the ground.

The aircraft featured a cantilever low-wing, a two-seat side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed tricycle landing gear, and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft was made from composites. The power train consisted of a Siemens SP55D electric motor which was intended to be powered by batteries for take-off and landing. A FlyEco three-cylinder diesel engine, derived from a Smart Car engine, with common rail injection and electronic controls, was intended to recharge the batteries in flight for extended range.

Status    Production planned (2018)

The approximated cost of the Magnus eFusion  airplane is around

US $ 200,000.

Specifications below gleaned from three websites.

The NASA X-57 Maxwell was an experimental aircraft developed by NASA, intended to demonstrate technology to reduce fuel use, emissions, and noise. The first flight of the X-57 was scheduled to take place in 2023, but the program was cancelled due to problems with the propulsion system.

The experiment involved replacing the wings on a twin-engined Italian-built Tecnam P2006T (a conventional four-seater light aircraft) with distributed electric propulsion (DEP) wings, each containing electrically driven propellers. Test flights were initially planned to commence in 2017.

The first test phase used an 18-engine truck-mounted wing. The second phase installed the cruise propellers and motors on a standard P2006T for ground- and flight-test experience. Phase 3 tests were to involve the high-lift DEP wing and demonstrate increased high-speed cruise efficiency. The leading-edge nacelles would be fitted, but the high-lift propellers, motors and controllers would not be installed. Phase 4 was to add the DEP motors and folding propellers to demonstrate lift-augmentation.

The Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology (LEAPTech) project is a NASA project developing an experimental electric aircraft technology involving many small electric motors driving individual small propellers distributed along the edge of each aircraft wing. To optimize performance, each motor can be operated independently at different speeds, decreasing reliance on fossil fuels, improving aircraft performance and ride quality, and reducing aircraft noise.

The X-57 project was publicly revealed by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on 17 June 2016 in a keynote speech to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) at its Aviation 2016 exposition. The plane was named for Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell.

NASA's first X-plane in over a decade, it is part of NASA's New Aviation Horizons initiative, which will also produce up to five larger-scale aircraft. The X-57 was built by the agency's SCEPTOR project, over a four-year development period at Armstrong Flight Research Center, California, with a first flight initially planned for 2017.

In July 2017, Scaled Composites was modifying a first P2006T to the X-57 Mod II configuration by replacing the piston engines with Joby Aviation electric motors, with plans to fly early in 2018. Mod III configuration will move the motors to the wingtips to increase propulsive efficiency. Mod IV configuration will see the installation of the Xperimental, LLC high aspect ratio wing with 12 smaller propellers along its leading edge to augment its takeoff and landing aerodynamic lift.

Modified from a Tecnam P2006T, the X-57 would have been an electric aircraft, with 14 electric motors driving propellers mounted on the wing leading edges. All 14 electric motors would be used during takeoff and landing, with only the outer two used during cruise. The additional airflow over the wings created by the additional motors generates greater lift, allowing for a narrower wing. The aircraft would have seated two. It would have had a range of 100 mi (160 km) and a maximum flight time of approximately one hour. The X-57's designers hoped to reduce by five-fold the energy necessary to fly a light aircraft at 175 mph (282 km/h; 152 kn), including a threefold reduction due to switching from piston engines to battery-electric.

For more details, click here.

The Pipistrel Velis Electro is a Slovenian light aircraft, designed and produced by Pipistrel of Ajdovščina. The aircraft was EASA CS-LSA fully electric type certified in June 2020 and it is intended primarily for the training aircraft role, particularly multiple successive take-off and landings at the airfield. The design is the first type certified electric aircraft and is supplied complete and ready-to-fly.

The aircraft is based on the Pipistrel Virus airframe and features a cantilever high-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration in an enclosed cabin accessed via doors. It has a stick shaker and fixed tricycle landing gear and a single electric motor in tractor configuration.

The airframe is predominantly made from composite materials. Its 10.71 m (35.1 ft) span wing, has an area of 9.5 m2 (102 sq ft), an aspect ratio of 12.03:1, an IMD 029-b airfoil and mounts three-position flaps, with settings of 0°, 8° and 19°.

The sole approved powerplant is the liquid-cooled Pipistrel E-811 electric motor, rated at 57.6 kW (77 hp) at 2500 rpm for 90 seconds for take-off and 49.2 kW (66 hp) at 2350 rpm for continuous operation. The motor was developed in conjunction with the Slovenian engineering companies Emrax and Emsiso. It is powered by a 345 VDC, 20 kWh battery pack, in two 70 kg (150 lb) each, liquid-cooled lithium batteries by Pipistrel, connected in parallel for fault tolerance. One battery is mounted in the nose and one behind the cabin for balance. They take 2 hours to recharge from 30% to 100% capacity, and allow an endurance of up to 50 minutes plus 10 minutes of VFR reserves when flying in proximity of the aerodrome. The motor radiator is mounted in the nose, which necessitates a different engine cowling from the Virus design. The battery radiator is mounted in the rear. The to the liquid cooling and the weight of the battery unit, the batteries are not swappable, unlike the battery replacement system in the Alpha Electro. The-off is not allowed when battery state of charge (SoC) is below 50%.

The aircraft has a built-in continuous health-monitoring system displaying the estimated 'age' of the battery, and the battery must be charged using proprietary equipment. The E-811 is the first certified electric aircraft motor and was certified by EASA on 18 May 2020.

The Velis Electro has a maximum noise level of 60 dBa.

The aircraft has an empty weight of 428 kg (944 lb) and a gross weight of 600 kg (1,300 lb), giving a useful load of 172 kg (379 lb).

For more details of development and operational history, click here.

Note: There is an electric variant of the Pipistrel Alpha Trainer, which is covered in Recreational (3 Axis) section.

The Pipistrel WATTsUP is an electric aircraft proof-of-concept trainer design that was built in Slovenia by Pipistrel.

The aircraft is based upon the Pipistrel Alpha Trainer, which was itself related to the Pipistrel Sinus and Virus designs. The WATTsUP was first publicly shown at the Salon de Blois airshow, in France on 30 August 2014.

The proof of concept resulted in the Pipistrel Alpha Electro production aircraft.

The WATTsUP is a high-wing, cantilever monoplane of pod-and-boom configuration with a T-tail. The cabin has two seats in side-by-side configuration. The WATTsUP is powered by an 85 kW (114.0 hp) electric motor developed by Siemens AG, that weighs just 14 kg (31 lb). The initial climb rate is over 5.1 m/s (1,000 ft/min).

The manufacturer claims the electric motor produces more power than a Rotax 912 and can be fully charged in about one hour. The airplane is expected to be capable of flying for about one hour with a 30-minute reserve and it is most efficient in the traffic pattern where as much as 13 percent of the energy is recuperated during each approach.

The initial base price is intended to be less than 100,000 Euros.

The Rolls-Royce ACCEL (Accelerating the Electrification of Flight) is an electric aircraft demonstrator developed by Rolls-Royce plc.

Rolls-Royce developed the ACCEL as a racing aircraft to gain the all-electric air speed record, targeting over 260 kn (480 km/h). The existing electric aircraft record at that time was 182 kn (337 km/h), set in 2017 by a Siemens powered Extra 330.

Designed at Gloucestershire Airport, the project is partly funded by the UK government and involves partners such as electric motor and controller manufacturer YASA Limited and aviation start-up Electroflight.

The team aimed to reach the 1931 Schneider Trophy speed, which was won by a R-R-powered Supermarine S.6B, reaching 298 kn (552 km/h).

On 15 September 2021, Rolls-Royce announced the aircraft, named Spirit of Innovation, had successfully completed its first flight, flying from MoD Boscombe Down for fifteen minutes. It subsequently reached a top speed of 336 kn (622 km/h), and sustained 300 kn (560 km/h) over 3 km, 287 kn (532 km/h) over 15 km, and was able to climb to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 3min 22s. The speeds achieved were accepted as world records for electric aircraft by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in January 2022.

The 7.3 m (24 ft) span aircraft is powered by triple stacked 200kW YASA 750R axial flux motors with a high power density driving a single three-blade propeller spinning at 2,400 RPM. The 750 Volt, 216 kWh battery has 6,480 cells, with cork insulation and active cooling. Battery output power will be 500 hp (373 kW) continuous, reaching 750 kW (1,010 hp) at maximum power.. It is designed to have the highest energy density for an aircraft, and should allow a 170 nmi (310 km) range.

The aircraft is derived from the carbon fibre Sharp Nemesis NXT racer, which has a cruising speed of 282 kn (522 km/h) with a 350 hp (261 kW) piston engine, but can reach 355 kn (657 km/h) with a highly tuned engine. The maximum take-off weight of the NXT is 1,200 kg. Rolls-Royce intend the battery, motors and control equipment in a production system to weigh the same as the regular engine and fuel tank in a conventional aircraft, but the battery pack alone in the Spirit of Innovation currently weighs 1350 kg.

The aircraft's livery was designed by the renowned Italian designer Mirco Pecorari, known for his expertise in aviation aesthetics and branding.

The aircraft is in development and testing, so specifications areestimatews, and are limited.

The Liaoning Ruixiang RX1E is a Chinese two-seat electric aircraft, designed by the Liaoning General Aviation Academy at Shenyang Aerospace University and manufactured by the Liaoning Ruixiang General Aviation Manufacture Company Limited of Shenyang.

The aircraft was first shown at the Zhuhai China Airshow, in November 2012 and in 2015 at the AERO Friedrichshafen show in Germany.

The result of a three-year development process started in June 2012, the RX1E is an electric powered, two-seat side-by-side configuration, carbon fibre composite construction aircraft with a T-tail and tricycle landing gear and is one of the first electric airplanes in production. The company said in April 2015 that they had 28 orders for the design.

The manufacturer claims that the aircraft conforms to US Light-sport Aircraft requirements and has a Type Design Approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, issued in 2015. As of September 2016 it does not appear on the US Federal Aviation Administration list of approved LSAs and, in fact, the category excludes electric-powered aircraft and requires a single reciprocating engine.

The first two customer aircraft were delivered in June 2015. The launch customer was the Liaoning Ruixiang General Aviation Co., which will employ the aircraft in the flight training role.

An improved version, the RX1E-A, was first flown in November 2017 and features a two-hour endurance and a new ballistic parachute design. The original RX1E has a 45-minute endurance.

The Siemens-FlyEco Magnus eFusion is a German hybrid diesel-electric aircraft that was designed by Siemens and FlyEco, introduced at the AERO Friedrichshafen show in 2018. The aircraft is intended for series production as a ready-to-fly design.

The design was first flown on 11 April 2018 in Hungary. On 31 May 2018, the prototype crashed in Hungary, while on a training flight, killing its two occupants.

The aircraft featured a cantilever low-wing, a two-seat side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed tricycle landing gear, and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft was made from composites. The power train consisted of a Siemens SP55D electric motor which was intended to be powered by batteries for take-off and landing. A FlyEco three-cylinder diesel engine, derived from a Smart Car engine, with common rail injection and electronic controls, was intended to recharge the batteries in flight for extended range.

The prototype crashed in Hungary on 31 May 2018 killing both occupants. The aircraft was on a training flight at the time. The accident investigation concluded that the crash was most likely due to pilot error in causing a high bank-angle stall close to the ground.

Translated from a Spanish language website.

Sora-e is a single-engine two-seater, with propeller of wood and carbon. Its basis is the Sora, a plane to aerial acrobatics, with combustion engine, which was the first model produced by ACS. With structure of carbon fiber, weighs about 650 kilos and is 8 meters tall wingspan.

Uses two electric motors Emrax of 35 kW each, produced by the company Slovenian Enstroj. The motors are powered by six sets of polymer-ion lithium batteries, which together deliver 400 volts.

The apparatus features a rise ratio of 1,500 feet per minute. Its flight range is 90 minutes at 190 km/h, reaching a maximum speed of 340 km/h

Vertical Aerospace Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer based in Bristol, England. It designs and builds zero emission, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered aircraft. The company was founded in 2016 by Stephen Fitzpatrick, an ex-Formula One team owner, and founder and CEO of OVO Energy.

In June 2018, the company flew its first prototype aircraft — an electrically powered quadcopter that weighed 750 kg (1,650 lb), named VA-X1.  In 2019, the company became Honeywell's first eVTOL customer, buying their fly-by-wire aircraft control systems for a future Vertical Aerospace aircraft, the VA-X4.

in February 2021, the company announced it was partnering with Solvay S.A. for the development of the composite structure of its vehicle. In March, the company announced it was partnering with Rolls-Royce for the development of its electrical power system.   

  In the period between 2020 and 2022, under the leadership of Chief Engineer, Tim Williams, Vertical Aerospace successfully designed, built, and flew the VX-4 prototype aircraft. This achievement marked a historic moment in the aerospace industry, as it was the first of its kind – a new technology, electric-powered aircraft – to be created in the United Kingdom in living memory. The aircraft accomplished its first takeoff and landing while tethered to the ground in September.

In 2023, the VX4 successfully completed an unmanned test flight at Kemble Airport, Cotswold UK. The aircraft demonstrated its capabilities by lifting off, hovering, flying, and landing solely through the thrust generated by Vertical's proprietary battery packs. The prototype was damaged during uncrewed flight testing on 9 August 2023 at Cotswold Airport. The company attributed the accident to a fault with the propeller, but said it was an older design that had since been replaced.

In 2024 the second full-scale prototype of the VX4 was revealed. It was claimed to use a proprietary battery and a powertrain system with 20% greater power. The prototype also included redesigned carbon fiber propellers to lower noise and improve performance.

In January 2025, piloted hover flight tests were successfully carried out. The next testing stage is low-speed manoeuvres.

Vertical Aerospace says that the VX4 is a piloted, zero emissions electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle with an expected range of over 100 miles (160.9 km), capacity for 4 passengers and a pilot, and runs quieter than a helicopter. The proposed aircraft is intended to operate in and out of cities and other confined locations.

It would rely on its fixed wing for lift during most of a flight. This shift follows the eVTOL industry, which is shifting towards wing-borne lift + cruise and vectored thrust concepts, due to the efficiency gains wing-borne lift offers while cruising.

It features eight propellers mounted to the wing. The four front-mounted propellers shift from providing lift in take-off mode to providing forward thrust while cruising. The rear motors operate only during take-off and landing.

No specifications are available at this time.