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Fancy a quick aerial taxi ride to the airport . . . or perhaps to a fancy restaurant? That dream may become a reality sooner than you think. Some very large companies, including Airbus, Bell Helicopter, Boeing, Daimler, Intel, Toyota and Uber, as well as many smaller ones, are involved in the development of aerial drone taxis. And some are planning to have that taxi service available as early as 2020! Kitty Hawk’s “CORA” – now flying in trials in New Zealand (see panel page 23). Courtesy www.kittyhawk.com A By Dr David Maddison lmost two years ago (August 2016) we looked at Personal Flight Vehicles and their future (www. siliconchip.com.au/Article/10035). In that time, some have disappeared completely, some are still in planning and some are actually in production. But most of those featured were not intended for commuter use, nor did many have the option of operating autonomously. So we thought it opportune to look at the subject again, with particular emphasis on aircraft intended for public passenger use. Based on quadcopters These vehicle are primarily based on the familiar quadcopter or other multi-rotor formats used for hobbyist and professional photographic “drones” or more correctly, unmanned aerial vehicles. Quadcopters (four rotors) or other multi-rotor aircraft such as hexacopters (six) or octocopters (eight) are an attractive and potentially cheaper option than helicopters for commuter use, for a couple of reasons. They are mechanically much simpler, as their blades 14 Silicon Chip are usually fixed pitch (rather than variable pitch) and they have a potentially smaller landing footprint than helicopters of the same passenger capacity. They also usually use electric motors for propulsion, which are easier to maintain than internal combustion motors. Some of the first attempts at vertical flight in the early years used multi-rotor craft similar to quadcopters but they were mechanically complex and very difficult, if not impossible, to effectively control. The advent of high speed computers, three-axis accelerometers and solid state gyroscopes now enable these aircraft to be controlled with simple commands, eg, speed, yaw, pitch and roll that are One major problem yet to be fully solved with electric aircraft translated into complex comand passenger drones in particular is the length of time required mands to control the aircraft. to recharge their batteries. Most passenger drones will be used In this article we will surlike taxis and therefore will have a large number of relatively short vey some of the large number trips with battery recharging required after each trip. of passenger drones now unAs an example, a trip of ten minutes might require a few hours der development. to recharge the batteries. This will adversely affect the economNote that while many comics of operation and one solution may be a hybrid system with panies have passenger drones a liquid-fuelled generator to recharge the batteries in flight or a in development, relatively replaceable battery pack system. few have flown prototypes Uber has partnered with ChargePoint (www.chargepoint. and many will inevitably fail com), a company that makes electric vehicle infrastructure, such to survive. as charging stations, to develop a standardised rapid charging Some of the illustrations connector that will fit any electric VTOL vehicle that uses its shown are artist’s impresUber Elevate Vertiports (see below). The system is planned to sions; very few actually show be ready by 2020. the aircraft in flight. Battery Charging Celebrating 30 Years siliconchip.com.au Uber vision for the future showing various flight paths of Uber Air vehicles around a city. Airbus CityAirbus Airbus Pop.Up The CityAirbus by Airbus (www.airbus.com) is designed for an air taxi role and will carry up to four passengers. Initially there will be a pilot but the aircraft will operate autonomously once regulations permit. Eight propellers and motors are used and in each ducted fan nacelle there are two motors and two fixed pitch propellers. The motors are Siemens SP200Ds with an output of 100kW each. There are four battery packs with a combined capacity of 110kWh, with a total power delivery of up to 560kW. The aircraft can cruise at 120km/h with an endurance of 15 minutes. So it has a range of up to 30km. Unmanned flights are expected to start at the end of this year. This is a demonstration concept only and not intended to be built. It is a joint exercise between Airbus engineers and automotive engineers at the Italian design company Italdesign. The concept has either an automotive “undercarriage” or a quadcopter “over-carriage” attached to a common passenger module. The module can also be carried by other modes of transport such as rail. A video “Pop.Up” may be viewed at siliconchip.com. au/link/aajf siliconchip.com.au Celebrating 30 Years May 2018  15 Airbus Vahana AirSpaceX AirSpaceX (http://airspacex.com) [not related to Elon Musk’s SpaceX] is developing the MOBi 2025 which carries a range of modules for different purposes such as passengers or freight. It will have a range of 115km and a cruise speed of 241kph. It will operate either autonomously or with a pilot. A TEDx talk about eVTOL flight by Jon Rimanelli, founder of AirSpaceX: “Traffic is taking over our lives. The solution is to look up. | Jon Rimanelli | TEDxDetroit” siliconchip. com.au/link/aajh Airbus Vahana prototype first test flight which occurred on January 31, 2018 in Oregon, USA. Another flight occurred the next day. A3 by Airbus (www.airbus-sv.com) is the advanced projects and partnerships division of Airbus in Silicon Valley, California. The single-seat Vahana has eight motors and propellers on two tiltable wings. The wings rotate for vertical take-off and rotate again for forward flight. It is 6.2m wide, 5.7m long, 2.8m high and has a maximum take-off weight of 745kg. Its cruise speed is 175km/h and each motor is rated at 45kW. The Vahana is equipped with a ballistic parachute as a safety measure. Video: “Airbus Vahana Flying Taxi” siliconchip.com.au/link/aajg Artists impression of the Vahana when fully developed. AirSpaceX MOBi 2025. It has a range of modules for different purposes such as passengers or cargo or specialised modules for other purposes such as military surveillance. Another concept by AirSpaceX is the MOBi One. This electric passenger drone will have a range of 104km, cruise at 240km/h with a maximum speed of 400km/h, a passenger capacity of 2-4 and be capable of piloted or autonomous operation. It will be 10m long, 12m wide and 3m tall. Production is expected to start in 2020. See video: “Mobi-One: AirSpaceX’s autonomous, electric air taxi lands in Detroit” siliconchip.com.au/link/aaji AirSpaceX MOBi One concept. Multi-rotor flight mechanics In a conventional winged aircraft, variations in roll, pitch and yaw are made with aerodynamic control surfaces but in a multi-rotor aircraft (which usually lack control surfaces), these variations are effected by altering the rotational speed of one or more propellers. In a quadcopter, one pair of propellers rotate in one direction and the other pair in the opposite direction. This is to counteract the tendency of the aircraft to rotate in the opposite direction to the propellers, as would be the case if they all rotated in one direction. In helicopters, this tendency is counteracted by the tail rotor, or more rarely by a contra-rotating pair of main blades. When the speed of all propellers is increased, the vehicle goes up; conversely when the propeller speed is decreased the vehicle descends. 16 Silicon Chip To make a quadcopter in an “x configuration” roll or pitch pairs of propellers corresponding to the desired direction are sped up. For example, to pitch forward, the speed of the two rear propellers is increased or to roll to the right the two left side propellers are sped up. Pairs of propellers are matched in speed to prevent the quadcopter rotating due to torque reaction. If the quadcopter is to be deliberately rotated about its yaw axis, opposite pairs of propellers are slowed or sped up (compared to the other pair) which removes the balance against the torque reaction and the quadcopter will rotate about its yaw axis. In multi-copters with more than four sets of propellers such as hexacopters and octocopters control of the vehicle is similar but with more groups of propellers being controlled. Celebrating 30 Years siliconchip.com.au Aurora eVTOL Safety and Regulations Concept of Aurora eVTOL in production form. Aurora Flight Sciences (www.aurora.aero/evtol), owned by Boeing, is developing the eVTOL passenger drone. It is an electric design with eight propellers for vertical lift plus a wing with a pusher propeller for horizontal cruise. It will carry two passengers including pilot or cargo. Operational testing is anticipated to start in 2020 in Dallas-Fort Worth, USA and Dubai, UAE. Uber has partnered with Aurora to be the manufacturer of one of the drones it intends to use for its Uber Air service. Video: “Aurora Flight Sciences’ Electric VTOL Aircraft” siliconchip.com.au/link/aajj Subscale demonstrator of Aurora eVTOL aircraft in a test flight. During the this test flight there was a successful transition from vertical to forward flight. Image credit: Karen Dillon, Aurora Flight Sciences. Bartini Flying Car The Russian Bartini. The electric Bartini Flying Car by Bartini in Skolkovo, Russia (https://bartini.aero) will be offered either as a two or four-seat model and uses ducted fans for vertical take-off, after which the fan pods are rotated for horizontal flight. It uses variable pitch propellers. siliconchip.com.au In contrast to helicopters, multi-rotor aircraft cannot auto-rotate to enable a relatively safe landing in the event of an engine failure – providing there is somewhere safe to land! And unlike almost any other aircraft, most proposed “passenger” drone designs are unable to glide any distance (if at all) in the event of loss of power. So additional levels of redundancy for critical aircraft systems such as twin motors coupled to twin propellers, partitioned power sources (ie, all batteries normally contribute to flight but if one bank fails remaining ones can supply power to all motors), redundant flight control systems and even a ballistic parachute may be needed. A ballistic parachute can be ejected from, then open and save the aircraft at a relatively low altitude; they are becoming more common on light aircraft now. Regulations As there are (as yet) few or no regulations allowing for the flight of autonomous passenger drones in most jurisdictions, one way these drones may be introduced is to fly them with pilots first, until regulations can be established for autonomous operations. This assumes that the vehicles can gain appropriate airworthiness certification, given their radical differences compared to existing certified aircraft types. In April 2017, A3 by Airbus (a division of Airbus Industries) in partnership with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) [www.auvsi.org] called for industry co-operation in developing standards for “urban air mobility”. At a workshop held at the Airbus Experience Center in Washington, DC, which included participants from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the two key regulatory areas considered were certification of autonomous passenger aircraft and air traffic management of such aircraft. Currently there is no clear pathway to certification of autonomous passenger aircraft, including airworthiness standards for Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL), electric propulsion, fly-bywire systems, software and sense-and-avoid systems. Such a pathway for certification needs to be developed. In terms of air traffic management, such aircraft need to be managed in point-to-point autonomous operations in an environment that also includes manned aircraft. Rules would also be required that allow for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations and operation over people. A ballistic parachute (such as that seen here on a small unmanned drone) could save an aircraft that has run out of battery charge or has a motor or control failure. Such parachutes are already used on many manned light aircraft. Image courtesy Mars Parachutes. Celebrating 30 Years May 2018  17 It is designed to be able to use hydrogen fuel cells when suitable models are available which will dramatically extend its range. The cost is expected to be a relatively low: US$100,000 to $120,000. The company plans to demonstrate flight of a two-seat model later this year (2018) and a possible four-seat model in 2020. Tests will be conducted in Dubai, Singapore or Sydney. Funding for this project is via the Blockchain.aero consortium. This aircraft has unusually detailed specifications published for it, such as: width 4.5m, length 5.2m, height 1.7m, range 150km or up to 550km with hydrogen fuel cells, payload 400kg, take-off weight 1100kg, lift to drag ratio 4 to 5, propeller loading 146kg/square metre, battery weight 320kg, battery density 200Wh/kg with the possibility of up to 700Wh/kg with hydrogen fuel cells. Battery capacity is 64kWh with the possibility of up to 224kWh with hydrogen fuel cells, power output 30kW, eight thrusters each rated at 40kW, maximum altitude 3000ft, cruising speed 300km/h, energy used for flight 51kWh, energy used for one minute of hover 5.3kWh, energy used for 30 minutes of cruise 45.9kWh, energy reserve 13kWh, energy used per 1km of flight at cruise 0.30kWh, energy used per minute of cruise 1.5kWh. A video (computer generated) of this vehicle can be seen at “Bartini Vision 2020 - Bartini Aerotaxi Is Man’s Wheels In the Air for Blockchain community” siliconchip.com. au/link/aajk Bell Air Taxi Carter CarterCopter Electric Air Taxi Carter Aviation Technologies in Texas, USA (www.cartercopters.com) are developing an electric helicopter based around their highly efficient “slowed rotor” technology. They are also working in collaboration with Uber to develop a four-passenger drone that can cruise at 280km/h. It has a rear-mounted rotor that provides an anti-torque force for the main rotor up to a speed of 160km/h. Then the main rotor is disengaged from the engine and the antitorque rotor turns to become a thruster and thus the aircraft operates like an autogyro. The main rotor is 10.4m in diameter and the rear rotor is 3.0m. The maximum payload is 363kg. The empty weight of the vehicle is 1451kg. The range of the vehicle is from about 180km to 256km depending on payload and speed. For detailed technical analysis of the design decisions made for this aircraft, see: siliconchip.com.au/link/aajm Cormorant and CityHawk Bell Air Taxi concept. Bell Helicopter company (www.bellhelicopter.com) is also working with Uber to develop an air taxi but is a concept only at this stage. See: siliconchip.com.au/link/aajl Taxi, sir? Rendition of the CityHawk on the streets of Manhattan Passenger space in the Bell Air Taxi concept. 18 Silicon Chip The Cormorant is being developed by Israeli firm Urban Aeronautics (www.urbanaero.com as part of their “Fancraft” series of VTOL vehicles, without external propellers and with internal ducted fans powered by a single gas turbine engine. The autonomous military aircraft is designed to take a 500kg payload of cargo or battlefield casualties. This payload limit imposed by the international Missile Celebrating 30 Years siliconchip.com.au DeLorean Aerospace DR-7 Artist’s conception of CityHawk flying over an urban area. Note the large internal counter-rotating ducted fans and associated vanes which are steerable. Technology Control Regime which also applies to military drones. See the video at: “Cormorant UAV (formerly AirMule) Pattern Flight Over Terrain (short)” siliconchip. com.au/link/aajn In April 2017 it was decided to design a vehicle based on the Cormorant for civilian use as an air taxi for four people as well as for emergency medical transport use. This vehicle is called the CityHawk. It will use a gas turbine engine at first but will later may be converted to compressed hydrogen at 10,000psi, or battery power. As of November 2017 the Cormorant was fitted with a Safran Arriel 2S2 735kW gas turbine engine. The plan with the CityHawk is to relocate the engine from the centre to the side to enable a passenger compartment to be installed there and to add an additional engine on the other side for redundancy in the event of one engine failure. A ballistic parachute will be fitted. Some specifications for the CityHawk are as follows: empty weight 1170kg, maximum take-off weight 1930kg, maximum speed 270km/h, range with four people 150km plus 20 minute reserve, range with pilot only 360km with 20 minute reserve. Video: “CityHawk: the flying car you’ve been waiting for” https://youtu.be/A1TPviF8YqU DeLorean Aerospace (www.deloreanaerospace.com) is developing the patented DR-7 which has two tiltable ducted fans which are horizontal for take-off and are rotated for forward flight, with lift being generated by wings. Ehang 184 Ehang, based in China, is developing the single-passenger Ehang 184 drone. It is reported to be very close to market, assuming regulatory permission is granted. It is a four arm, eight motor, eight propeller aircraft that weighs 260kg, has a cruise speed of 100km/h, a flight duration of 25 minutes and can carry a payload of 100kg. Recharging takes one hour. There have now been numerous manned flights of this drone (see below). Note that in the company’s own promotional video there is an eight arm, sixteen propeller two passenger model that is also designated an Ehang 184 but there is no mention of this on the company website at www.ehang.com See the video at: “EHANG 184 AAV Manned Flight Tests” https://youtu.be/Mr1V-r2YxME This has been widely broadcast in recent news bulletins. Flexcraft Flexcraft Consortium (http://flexcraft.pt/en) of Portugal is designing a nine-person plus pilot hybrid electric aircraft. It has two fans in its wings for vertical take-off and a separate motor for forward flight. Quoted range is 926km, with a fuel capacity of 532 litres. Different passenger and cargo modules can be attached. Look mum, no hands! One of the few drones already flying: the two-seat model of the Ehang 184 in a manned flight test. siliconchip.com.au Celebrating 30 Years May 2018  19 US$59,000) but their latest project is to make a patented five seat “flying taxi” passenger drone “Formula” which they say they’ll place into commercial service sometime this year. It uses a linear crank-less “free-piston” petrol engine to drive a turbine to produce electric power for propulsion. It has 48 vertical thrusters at four corners plus four horizontal thrusters and foldable wings that can be deployed for forward flight. The company quotes a remarkably affordable US$97,000 for this aircraft. Its range is quoted as 450km with a speed of 320km/h. Video: “Formula Project by Hoversurf” https://youtu.be/sxoG3eT6WJ8 The Portugese “Flexcraft” hybrid electric VTOL. I.F.O. Jetcapsule HopFlyt I.F.O. above a city street. Landing gear folds down to form legs. The capsule is lowered for entry and exit. HopFlyt’s eight-engine, four-person “Venturi”. Founded in December 2016, HopFlyt of Maryland, USA (https://hopflyt.com) are developing the four-person Venturi. It has its propellers mounted in venturi channels within tiltable canard wings to give improved efficiency and longer range. It has eight wing channels containing the motors and contra-rotating propellers. Some specifications: weight 815kg, wingspan 8m, length 7m. Video of test of 1/7th scale model: “HopFlyt Hover Test” https://youtu.be/oc_hUL0v-3s HoverSurf Formula HoverSurf (www.hoversurf.com), a Russian company with offices in Virginia, USA, are currently making or about to make a quadcopter format “hoverbike” (priced from HoverSurf’s Taxi R-1 20 Silicon Chip The I.F.O. or Identified Flying Object is a proposed design by Pierpaolo Lazzarini (www.lazzarinidesign.net) for Italian company Jet Capsule. To be powered by eight electric motors, it has an estimated speed of 200km/h with a claimed duration of around an hour. Video: “I.F.O. The Identified Flying Object” https://youtu.be/3ysmPDwVZFI Jetpack Aviation Jetpack Aviation (www.jetpackaviation.com) of California, USA was first mentioned in the August 2016 SILICON CHIP article on Personal Flight Vehicles for their personal Jetpack. Their unnamed multi-rotor aircraft is in very early stages of development but is expected to have 12 motors and propellers mounted on six arms. It will carry one person. Jetpack Aviation’s concept for a passenger drone. Celebrating 30 Years siliconchip.com.au Jetpack are looking at extending flight times beyond the 20 minutes it would have with batteries by the use of a small generator, possibly based on a small gas turbine engine. Two arms will fold so that it can fit in a domestic garage. There will be a number of safety features such as a ballistic parachute and an energy absorbing structure. See video at “Jetpack company developing new electric VTOL flying car” https://youtu.be/Bfo_iOjsbvc For an interview with one of the inventors, Australian David Mayman, see https://newatlas.com/david-maymanvtol-flying-car-jpa-interview/47700/ Joby Aviation It is envisaged that a passenger will request a Lilium Jet directly from their smartphone. The 36 electric jets work much like turbofan motors in a conventional jet aircraft but the compressor fan at the front is turned by an electric motor rather than a gas turbine. The wing assemblies are rotated for vertical take-off. There is a ballistic parachute for safety and multiple redundancy in the engines and other flight systems. Video: “The Lilium Jet – The world’s first all-electric VTOL jet” https://youtu.be/ ohig71bwRUE Passenger Drone California-based Joby Aviation (www.jobyaviation.com) is developing an electric S2 two-passenger aircraft which has 16 propellers – 12 for vertical lift, which fold back for forward flight and four mounted on the rear of the wings for forward propulsion. This company has received US$100 million in backing from Toyota and Intel. The aircraft is powered by lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide batteries and will be capable of flying at 320km/h. The cost of the aircraft is expected to be US$200,000. Video: “30-sec TECH: the amazing Joby S2 tilting VTOL multi-rotor” https://youtu.be/AYhs4OFEgDw Lilium The German Lilium Jet drone (https://lilium.com) is a unique five-seat electric jet with a large 300km range and a 300km/h top speed. The first manned flight is envisaged to be in 2019 and it is expected consumer flights will start in 2025. The price for a typical airport to city centre flight such as from JFK Airport to Manhattan is anticipated to be less than a typical road taxi. siliconchip.com.au Passenger Drone operating autonomously – without pilot or passenger. Passenger Drone (http://passengerdrone.com) is a California-based company developing a two seat autonomous passenger drone, about the size of a small car. It can also be flown manually if desired and has eight motor positions with sixteen motors and sixteen propellers. When operated in autonomous mode the aircraft is monitored and guided via the company’s “Ground Control and Monitoring Center” using the 4G mobile telephone network. Some specifications of this vehicle are as follows: empty weight including batteries 240kg; maximum take-off weight 360kg, maximum payload 120kg; maximum thrust 560kg; maximum speed 60-70km/h; flight time 20-25 minutes (without range extender); dimensions 4.2m x 2.3m x 1.8m. No details on the range extender option have been released but it is assumed to be a small petrol or jet fuelpowered generator to recharge the batteries. A corporate promotional video can be seen at “Passenger Drone - The most advanced Manned Autonomous VTOL in the World !!!” https://youtu.be/IStmyk3R3Hc Also see “Passenger Drone First Manned Flight” https:// youtu.be/V3pi4HfQ0Gc Videos of the avionics system display can be seen at “PassengerDrone Avionics Demo Video 1” https://youtu.be/L43JZ3_CgAI; “PassengerDrone Avionics Demo Video 2” https://youtu.be/o4sZIWZFYKc and “PassengerDrone Avionics Demo Video 3” https://youtu. be/OvHhK-8LkQA Celebrating 30 Years May 2018  21 Sky-Hopper Terrafugia TF-X Sky-Hopper proof of flight concept. Sky-Hopper (http://tinagebel.wixsite.com/sky-hopper) is a Dutch company in an early start-up phase and currently only have a proof-of-flight concept. Their stated goal is to “develop an eco-friendly electric aircraft that is as safe, reliable, affordable and easy to use as a mainstream car”. The skeletal prototype has 16 motors and several flight controllers and it will be developed as autonomous vehicle. Video: “Sky-Hopper, first manned flight of electric multicopter” https://youtu.be/Omv_WdryGRc Volocopter SureFly The Workhorse Surefly (http://workhorse.com), based in Ohio, USA, is a drone under development that will offer both an autonomous mode and piloted mode. It has a petrol-powered generator based upon an automotive engine as well as batteries that drive eight motors at four locations with eight propellors. It seats two including the pilot and has a kerb weight of 500kg and a maximum takeoff weight of 682kg. The 4-cylinder 2-litre engine drives two 100kW generators, which also keep the batteries charged. They comprise a twin pack each of 7.5kWh which will enable a 5-minute flight time in the event of an engine or generator failure; otherwise the engine and generator will power the eight 3-phase AC motors. The top speed is about 113km/h with a service ceiling of 4000ft and an estimated range of 113km (70 miles). It has a ballistic parachute as well as redundancy in other critical systems. Videos: Static ground test, “Workhorse Surefly CES 2018 Test” https://youtu.be/8gIBujk7cAE; “SureFly Octocopter Behold The Future” https://youtu.be/hr8vksAI3jI The Workhorse Surefly. For storage, the rotor arms can be folded down to the side of the vehicle for storage. 22 Silicon Chip Terrafugia (www.terrafugia.com) is designing an autonomous mass market four-seat flying car. It will have folding wings with wingtip mounted propellers used for vertical flight which later fold back to allow The TF-X in driving mode. . . forward propulsion via a and flying mode. The wing-tip rear mounted ducted fan. propellers (used for vertical One megawatt (1341hp) take-off) are folded back during of power is available at forward flight and thrust comes launch via a gasoline hy- from a rear-mounted ducted fan. brid electric drive. Range is 800km, cruise speed is 320km/h and pricing will be in the range of high end luxury cars. Video: “The Terrafugia TF-X” https://youtu. be/wHJTZ7k0BXU Rendition of the Volocopter 2X in operation. The fully electric Volocopter 2X (www.volocopter.com/ en) is an 18-propeller 2-seat autonomous drone and has the backing of German car company Daimler. Each of the 18 motors delivers a power output of 3.9kW and it has a cruise speed of 100km/h. One of the advantages of this design is that it is relatively quiet. It is currently certified in Germany as a light sport multicopter and also as an ultralight. Its maximum take-off weight is 450kg (including a payload of 160kg) and its range is 27km at the optimal cruise speed of 70km/h. It has a ballistic parachute and redundancy in motors and propellers as well as other safety systems. Its nine separate battery packs can be fast-charged in under 40 minutes, or slow-charged in under two hours and the packs can also be quickly swapped if necessary. Videos: “Volocopter’s flying taxi takes off at CES” https:// youtu.be/tODIvUmH6cs and “Making of Dubai Public Demonstration Flight” https://youtu.be/ROJ76foyihs Celebrating 30 Years siliconchip.com.au XTI Aircraft TriFan 600 The Y6S in forward flight. The XTI TriFan 600. Once the plane reaches cruise speed, a door closes over the fuselage-mounted fan. XTI Aircraft Company, based in Colorado, USA (www. xtiaircraft.com) is designing the hybrid fuel and electric power TriFan 600, primarily aimed at the business market. As the name suggests this aircraft has three combined lifting and forward propulsion fans. The company claims this aircraft can be flown under current aviation regulations. The maximum cruise speed will be 556km/h and the range will be 2222km. Cruise altitude will be 29,000ft. There is space for a pilot and five passengers. Video: “XTI Aircraft Video 2017 with Slides.mp4” https://youtu. be/AOapUy1ee64 Y6S The 2-seat Y6S is being developed by Autonomous Flight Ltd (www.autonomousflight.com) in the UK. It is a tri-fan design with a tiltable pair of front rotors and wings for forward flight. It will have a maximum speed of 113km/h, 1500ft cruising altitude and a range of 130km. Manned test flights will start later this year. A remarkably inexpensive price of US$27,500 has been stated. Video: “‘Y6S’ drone will be the first in the world to carry passengers and could revolutionise city commutes” https://youtu.be/CtMPe24-WtA Uber flight demonstrations in 2020 As stated earlier, Uber are not building any aircraft of their own but are working in conjunction with other manufacturers. By 2020, Uber will need aircraft such as those mentioned in this article which are in advanced stages of development for its demonstrator flights; vertiport infrastructure to be built; permission to fly in the airspace of the flight corridors between vertiports and appropriate regulations to allow operation of the aircraft and certification of aircraft types. Initially aircraft will be piloted but they will eventually become autonomous. By the same year, Uber plan to have overcome three factors: (1) efficient flights, meaning the passenger drones can fit into existing airspace use; (2) acceptance of noise made by the vehicles and (3) acceptance by passengers that the vehicles are safe. Stop Press: Kitty Hawk’s “Cora” trialling across the pond . . . As this issue went to press, inforIt appears to be supported at mation came through that Google Cohigh level in the NZ government, Founder Larry Page’s company, Kitty with Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern Hawk, had received certification to helping to launch the Cora trial. trial their “Cora” self-flying taxi in The company’s aim is to have a New Zealand, under approval from the commercial flying taxi service in New Zealand Government Department operation before 2022. While it can of Civil Aviation. land and take off from a normal It had previously been certified as an runway, Cora doesn’t need to do so. experimental aircraft by the US FAA. Kitty Hawk’s “Cora” in flight And with a noise level far beThe fully-electric, two-seat Cora has low that of a helicopter, it will not an 11m wingspan, with twelve wing-mounted rotors to cause great disruption when it does pop down in builtenable vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) plus a sin- up areas – in places like building rooftops and car parks. gle larger pusher-prop to enable it to fly like a normal It is somewhat ironic that Kitty Hawk chose New Zeaaircraft once airborne. (see also photo page 14). land for this next phase of aviation: Kitty Hawk is of Capable of completely autonomous flight, Cora is said course the site celebrated as the first manned flight by to have a range of 100km and a top speed of 150km/h. the Wright Brothers on December 13 1903 – but many in New Zealand was chosen as a test site because of its New Zealand claim that local farmer Richard Pearse flew more relaxed regulations for such projects than, say, (and landed) a heavier-than-air machine on 31 March Australia. 1903, nine months earlier than the Wright Brothers. SC siliconchip.com.au Celebrating 30 Years May 2018  23