Innovations in the vertical-lift world
New vertical-takeoff-and-landing offerings are expected to receive type certification and join the market soon.
By Owen Davies
Contributing Writer
Some cynic once observed, “You can always tell the pioneers. They’re the ones lying in the sand with arrows in their backs.” Variations have been heard at least since California was settled.
The nascent electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) industry is starting to prove them right yet again. In 2024 alone, Lilium declared 2 of its subsidiaries insolvent and faced shuttering the business completely until a last-moment promise of investment allowed it to continue work on a factory for its eVTOL electric jet.
Rolls-Royce shut down its electric propulsion unit, which was working on a motor for air taxis and another for regional aircraft. And Volocopter halted its operations after running out of capital last December.
Yet, improvements in vertical-lift technology are still coming fast. Since we last looked at this field (Pro Pilot, Feb 24, p 28), helicopters have grown sleeker and more efficient, incorporating new materials and using advanced manufacturing methods.
Compound helicopters are making progress. Some whirlies even sport electric or hybrid-electric powertrains. At least one eVTOL is pioneering a unique propulsion system, and it looks like they all will have longer-lasting batteries with higher power densities in a year or two.
Almost-conventional helicopters
Many new rotorcraft offer advanced powertrains, slipperier bodies, and other new technologies. Here are 3 of the most interesting:
The hybrid electric Airbus Racer compound helicopter took to the air in April 2024. Two months later, it reached 227 kts – 7kts above design specs. Future refinement could raise that to nearly 300 kts. Emergency medical services (EMS) and search-and-rescue (SAR) flights could reach trauma victims 50% faster than today’s models while burning 20% less fuel. Airbus has not announced when the Racer might reach service.
Piasecki soldiers on with its PA-890 hydrogen-electric helicopter. With space for 7 pax, the aircraft offers 200 nm plus IFR reserve at half the cost of a conventional helo. The company sees it in roles from military transport to EMS and perhaps air taxi service. First flight is expected in 2028.
Hill Helicopter is developing 2 single-turbine models – the HC50 and HX50. The HC50 is intended for commercial users, while the HX50 is targeted at private pilots and homebuilders. The aircraft are identical, save that the HC50 will be certified, while the HX50 will fly with an amateur-built airworthiness certificate.
The Hill Digital Cockpit is a thing of simplicity and beauty. Buttons, warning lights, and other distractions have been replaced by a computer monitoring system that tells the pilot what he/she needs to know whenever an issue comes up. At center console, an iPad integrated into the onboard GPS, autopilot, and flight management system handles VFR-only navigation.
On either side are screens which gamers would drool over. VFR instruments appear as computer graphics that look like something from a high-end BMW circa 2040. Add a single stick for cyclic and collective. In all, the pilot’s workload plummets to levels not seen before.
All this comes in a package that can carry 1760 lb 700 nm at 140-kt cruise. Hill’s schedule calls for the HX50’s first flight in Dec 2025 with production to begin a year later. First deliveries of the HC50 are expected by the end of 2026.
Not your average rotorcraft
For now, the only tiltrotor aircraft for civilians is Leonardo’s AW609. For VIP and executive transport, parapublic, EMS, SAR, and energy services, it will carry 9 pax, up to 6000-lb payload, 1000 nm at 270 kt cruise. Compound helicopters may eventually match its speed, but none is likely to equal its range. Certification flights are expected soon, with type certification (TC) by the end of this year and deliveries soon after.
The Overair Butterfly offers 2 pairs of tiltrotors with 20-ft-plus propellers, pivoting on the ends of tandem wings. Specifications for this electric single-pilot-plus-5-pax design include a 100-mile range and speeds of up to 200 kts.
The company pictures a typical mission from SNA (Santa Ana CA) to LAX (Intl, Los Angeles CA), a 70-minute drive, reduced to 18 minutes. Testing for TC began early in 2024. Overair hopes to begin commercial operations in 2028.
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)
Around the world, hundreds of companies are working on eVTOL air taxis and faster VTOL people-movers with longer ranges. A great wave of them should reach the market in the next few years. At least, that’s the impression we often get.
It’s not true. Weed through the latest census from Electric VTOL News, and the 1079 projects listed shrink to only 47 companies working on real-world aircraft. Make it 46, as Elytron Aircraft has folded.
China. In early 2025, 2 Chinese companies are the clear leaders in electric air travel. EHang has delivered 216 of its EH216-S autonomous octocopters. Capable of traveling 162 nm at 108 kts, the 2-pax craft is used so far only for low-altitude sightseeing.
AutoFlight’s Prosperity and CarryAll variants all carry 13 propellers – 10 for lift and 3 pushers. All but a prop at the rear of the fuselage are mounted on 4 booms sprouting from a high gull wing. Cruise speed is 108 kts with a range of 135 nm.
A Prosperity 5-seater (1 pilot plus 4 pax) was delivered to Japan in 2024. Full certification is not expected for 2 years, but the customer plans demonstration flights at the 2025 Osaka World Expo in preparation for a broader rollout.
The CarryAll V200CG cargo version received its TC in March 2024. It can carry up to 882 lb of payload. AutoFlight has 200 orders in hand.
The Albatross V400 “heavy-lift air cargo eVTOL or hybrid-electric aircraft” has a max payload of 220 lb. It carries 8 lifting motors on 2 booms mounted on a long, narrow wing, and drive motors at each end of the fuselage. Little has been heard of it for several years.
One last Chinese company deserves mention. It’s Terrafugia, the MIT spinoff that Geely bought in 2021. Renamed Aerofugia Technology and based in Chengdu, it has 2 eVTOL designs, both of them 5-seaters, in development. Both sport 4 booms under a high wing.
The TF-2 carries 6 dedicated VTOL props and a pusher at the rear of the fuselage. A prop at the front of each inner boom tilts up for takeoff and landing, and forward for cruise flight.
Cruise speed is 135 kts. Range is listed as 108–162 nm. Certification is expected this year or next, with deliveries soon after. However, the company also predicted a first flight in 2022.It has still not been reported.
The AE200’s 4 wing-mounted booms each carry a prop at front and back. The rear props are strictly for lift. The front 4 serve as tiltrotors. Planned range is 108 nm at 135 kts. When the craft first flew in early 2023, Aerofugia hoped to have it certified by 2028. It has reported no progress since then.
Uncounted more Chinese companies are hoping for success in air mobility, but it is time to move on.
Europe. Slovakia’s Pipistrel is developing an autonomous cargo hauler with 2 wings joined by 2 booms. A single pusher prop drives the Nuuva V300 forward, while 8 horizontal props handle takeoffs and landings.
Power comes from a generator spun by a piston engine. In a typical mission, the aircraft will carry 660 lb around 160 nm at 90 kts. However, 12-hr endurance gives a max range of 1350 nm. For small deliveries, a Nuuva V20 is also in the works.
In Linz, Austria, CycloTech has opted for a unique propulsion technology. Its “CycloRotors” are aviation’s tribute to the paddlewheel. Between circular plates at each end, 6 blades provide both lift and vectorable thrust as they change pitch angle during each rotation. They make for uncommon maneuverability.
A new demonstrator called the BlackBird can even back up or fly sideways. It is equipped with 6 large CycloRotors, modeling the planned 2-pax CruiseUp. Tentative specs give it a range of 54 nm at 81 kts. The company envisions TC by 2030.
The United States. This is a hotbed of AAM. Rather than making an exhaustive census of American eVTOL developers, let’s limit ourselves to the top 5.
AirEV, founded in Israel with a base in Fort Worth TX, takes first place. Even before receiving TC, it has delivered an Air One Cargo to a customer in a country where it can be used under an experimental license. The better-known 2-place Air One is in testing for TC, but AirEV has not set a target date for certification. The vehicle has a top speed of 135 kts, a range of 95 nm, and 1170 reservations from would-be buyers.
Joby Aviation’s S4 is a 5-seater (1 pilot plus 4 pax) design propelled by 6 tiltrotors. Its cruise speed is 174 kts, with a range of 130 nm. TC for the S4 is expected late this year. It already has its Part 135 certificate, so it can begin taxi services immediately. Joby has partnered with Delta Air Lines to provide flights between Manhattan NY and regional airports.
Farther out, Joby’s Shy4 uses hydrogen-electric propulsion. In July 2024, a prototype completed a 487-mile flight at 95 kts. This humble air taxi may grow into a regional aircraft.
Archer Aviation’s Midnight air taxi is a 5-seater (1 pilot plus 4 pax) design. It carries 6 tiltrotors on booms forward of the high wing and 6 more at the rear. With a cruise speed of 130 kts and a range of 43 nm, the aircraft is clearly an inner-city hack or transport to regional airports.
The Midnight has not begun FAA TC, but the company’s factory should be ready to begin production now. The craft is likely to enter service in Abu Dhabi, where a consortium hopes to serve the center city and regional airports this year. In Japan, a joint venture between JAL and Sumitomo will use it for urban taxi services. Archer has roughly 1200 units on order.
Beta Technologies offers the IFR-capable Alia A250 6-seater (1 pilot plus 5 pax) eVTOL aircraft. It has 4 lift propellers on booms connecting the gull wing with a wide V-tail. A pusher prop on the fuselage propels the craft forward.
With a cruise speed of 135 kts, the A250 has a range of 250 nm. A cargo version is called the A250c, and a runway-bound variant is known as the Alia CX300. With a demonstrated range of 336 nm, the CX300 should receive TC this year, with the A250’s coming a year later.
Beta will have nearly 150 charging stations online down the US east coast by the end of this year.
Wisk Aero, a Boeing subsidiary, offers the Generation 6 – a 4-pax autonomous all-weather eVTOL with one main wing and a V-tail. Twelve motors are mounted on 6 short booms under the wing. The rear props are strictly for lift. The front 6 are tiltrotors. This combination offers a 120-kt cruise speed with a range of 78 nm. Payload is 900 lb.
As early as 2021, the Generation 6 had flown more than 1500 test flights. The craft began working toward TC in 2023. The company has not announced a timeline, but observers anticipate TC around 2028, with market entry planned within the following 5 years.