VTOL On Demand Mobility

The sketch view looks well propotioned, obviously, but not the photo. Look at the pilot inside and compare it with a bell Ranger similar view.

1980-Agusta-Bell-206-Jet-Ranger-for-Sale-Fly-en-360x360.jpg


I don't know what's their targeted clientele but it's not NFL players... BETA petite?
 
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TomcatViP said:
The sketch view looks well propotioned, obviously, but not the photo. Look at the pilot inside and compare it with a bell Ranger similar view.

1980-Agusta-Bell-206-Jet-Ranger-for-Sale-Fly-en-360x360.jpg


I don't know what's their targeted clientele but it's not NFL players... BETA petite?
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First and foremost eVTOL are in competition with other eVTOL, not helicopters.
 
This does not exist. There is no segregated market. For example, a lot of city workers have traded their compact limousine for scooters and light motorbikes.... Despite Automotive OEM telling their employees exactly the same.
 
TomcatViP said:
This does not exist. There is no segregated market. For example, a lot of city workers have traded their compact limousine for scooters and light motorbikes.... Despite Automotive OEM telling their employees exactly the same.
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Good point. Consequently, cabin size is not the determining factor (limousine vs scooter). What matters is how suitable a certain vehicle is for a specific use case.
 
A scooter offers the whole atmosphere of this planes as cabin size, but this advantage is in fact ignored by most car users, so cabin size is not always a criterion… Despite that, if one has to share any vehicle with strangers, a decent amount of space would be necessary for comfort and user acceptance.
 
Tunnel model for Jetoptera new config VTOL 5000lb MTOW high speed vehicle:

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Notice that it's not one of their publicized model:

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Working with composites, one gets to smell some pretty strong resins and glues. I note all of these eVTOLS use a lot of composite materials... ;)
 
Working is a word of your own choice ;) But you can clearly see that there is some improvement in realism in their STOL line. Probably the result of some shuffling in their team.
 
A max. range of 400 miles in combination with 400 mph would be even much superior the earliest "version" of the Lilium jet, which is now down to very modest level when it comes to range an speed...
 
I think they intend to fly horizontally with the turbine engine and use it as a compressor to blow air during landing and takeoffs. Nothing unproven.

Then, if they don't have collapsible or at least retractable ejector units, their 400mph top speed might only be typical Startup overhyped advertising.
 
I believe Jetoptera´s focus is the propulsion technology and they are showing how that could be employed on different concept ideas. The wind tunnel model looks at upper surface blowing with their new propulsion technology, similar to what Lillium is doing.
 
www.flightglobal.com

Will electric air taxis really soar over LA during the 2028 Olympics? Industry players bank on it

Some believers in emerging aviation technology have a futuristic vision of a highly connected fleet of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles in the sky above Southern California within five years. Type certification is the next big step.
www.flightglobal.com www.flightglobal.com

Some notable quotes:

"Some aerospace analysts have serious doubts about the viability of the envisioned air taxi operations."

“There’s been so much focus on the technologies and the aircraft, but not enough focus put on the operators of those aircraft… [and] how the hell they are going to make money,”

“You’re planning on flying 3,000 hours per year… Are you kidding me?” Michaels says. “That’s what twin-aisles fly.”

"There is risk that the FAA will ask start-ups to undertake costly and time-intensive redesigns of their aircraft before granting approval to operate in the national airspace"

“Just think about the… organisational nightmare of trying to pull together all this infrastructure across jurisdictions, across state lines,”

"Goldstein has previously estimated that the price of one aircraft design to reach certification could be up to $1 billion."

So in a nutshell, there are still major questions about the long term viability and profitability of this industry. Hopefully if Volocopter can get their aircraft certified and operating by next summer's Olympics, that should give these machines massive amounts of publicity that can boost their image.
 
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Nicknick said:
I find it hard to believe, that their funny propulsion system will result in "high efficiency", no way!
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Reminds me of the Rockwell XFV-12...

"...Lab tests showed that 55% thrust augmentation should be expected, however differences in the scaled-up system dropped augmentation levels to 19% for the wing and a mere 6% in the canard. While the augmenters did work as expected, the extensive ducting of the propulsion system degraded thrust. In the end the power-to-weight ratio was such that the engine was capable of vertically lifting only 75% of the weight of the aircraft..."
 

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Notice that they are not contracted for their VTOL projects but to study how their main (non-original) design can be used for boundary layer reattachment on STOL
 

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seekingalpha.com

Eyes on the sky: Joby Aviation is a sell at Deutsche Bank, Archer Aviation a buy

Joby Aviation (JOBY) fell in early trading on Tuesday after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to a Sell rating from Hold. Read more.
seekingalpha.com seekingalpha.com

Looks like some potential issues with Joby have been called out, such as the weight of the aircraft and whether the prototype they have now is actually production conforming. I do agree that like Tesla, Joby seems to be massively overvalued considering that they have yet to carry a single paying passenger and that the economics of evtols will make profitability elusive. I am surprised that they still recommend buying Archer since they are so far behind Joby and have not yet flown a full scale prototype.

I posted this article previously but it is an eye opener on the long term viability of evtol aircraft.

leehamnews.com

Bjorn’s Corner: Sustainable Air Transport. Part 51. eVTOL wrap. - Leeham News and Analysis

December 23, 2022, ©. Leeham News: After 25 articles about the eVTOL, it’s time for a wrap. We have looked at most aspects of this new form of air transportation, including how sustainable it is. Today we summarize... Read More
leehamnews.com leehamnews.com
 
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Somehow they all (like Elice, Lilium etc.) seem to manage to fly a maximum distance of about 250 km as maximum range when transporting batteries only. The practical operational range will be very likely around 100 km. This is not suitable to replace conventional aircrafts, but enough for air taxis, which was once the target application.

I dont understand why they focus so much on replacing conventional planes instead of opening a new marked, just as E-Hang and Volocopter did with their first designs.,
 
The are startups. The less they build, the less their expenses. But the catch phrase is that they have to produce design, new design, revisited design...
 
Sure, but Elice burned one prototype before it ever flew, than they builded a totally different second prototype which flew only 8 min (very likely never with retracted landing gear) and now they are going to third design which will again be very different....

Quite a lot of building without a lot of testing...
 
Nicknick said:
Sure, but Elice burned one prototype before it ever flew, than they builded a totally different second prototype which flew only 8 min (very likely never with retracted landing gear) and now they are going to third design which will again be very different....

Quite a lot of building without a lot of testing...
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It certainly looks like they realised there was something seriously wrong with the prototype, but they had to provide some first flight of sorts so as not to spook the investors.
 
Additionallyt could be, that they knew before the first flight, that they need something much simpler and they have allready been working on the third design long before.
 
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The runway for futuristic electric planes is still a long one

www.technologyreview.com

electrek.co

BETA Technologies details fixed wing electric plane: 22K miles flown, interstate travel [Video]

Electric aviation company BETA Technologies has been quietly working on some impressive zero-emissions aircraft technology and is now sharing its...
electrek.co electrek.co

www.flightglobal.com

Beta to develop conventional electric aircraft amid eVTOL regulatory, infrastructure hurdles

Electric aircraft company Beta Technologies has shifted to pursue certification of a conventional fixed-wing electric aircraft - while still developing an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi. The US company has for years been flight testing a conventional fixed-wing electric...
www.flightglobal.com www.flightglobal.com

Pretty big development. They are delaying the VTOL version and are going to certify a simplified conventional version that needs a runway. Looks like they ran into development issues with their ambitious design and are trying to bring something to market before their funding runs out. They also seem to be concerned about the prospects of getting VTOL's past the hurdles of certification. Their primary prototype never made the transition to vertical flight. I wonder how practical this design is for conventional flight, considering that efforts are being made to electrify popular aircraft like the Cessna Caravan. But honestly, they have a point. The path to certification for a conventional aircraft with batteries is easier than that of an electric helicopter that requires advanced fly by wire controls and has multiple engines.
 

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I dont believe that they ever get the promised range out of their plane. One by one, the eVTOL companies are finding out, that conventional designs are more efficient and there are no vertiports anyway. Lilium added a retractable landing gear to their eVTOL and so they improved the range to (not so impressive) 250 km.

I guess, there are two approaches for electric aviatio which are sound, on is a simple air taxi like the Ehang or Volocopter and the other is a simple standart plane for short distances.
 
electrek.co

EVFLY spins up one of the first commercial eVTOL operations in deal for 200+ AutoFlight aircraft

Weeks after successfully completing the longest eVTOL flight to date in its Prosperity I all-electric aircraft, AutoFlight has secured a...
electrek.co electrek.co

"EVFLY states that it will operate flights with 10 of AutoFlight’s Prosperity I Cargo eVTOLs in the Middle East to start – particularly the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia,"

Aviation Week recently had an article on Evtols saying that this was one company to keep an eye on.
 

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