Many manufacturers are investing in plans for electric taxis, seen as a way to ease congestion and pollution in crowded cities.
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is the latest airframer to unveil its next-generation aircraft plans during its first Airbus summit on “Pioneering Sustainable Aerospace” as the emerging Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market begins to firm up.
Dubbed as the CityAirbus, the fully electric vehicle is equipped with fixed wings, a V-shaped tail, and eight electrically powered propellers as part of its uniquely designed distributed propulsion system. It is designed to carry up to four passengers in a zero emissions flight in multiple applications.
“We are on a quest to co-create an entirely new market that sustainably integrates urban air mobility into the cities while addressing environmental and social concerns. Airbus is convinced that the real challenges are as much about urban integration, public acceptance, and automated air traffic management, as about vehicle technology and business models. We build on all of the capabilities to deliver a safe, sustainable, and fully integrated service to society,” said Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO.
The prototype Airbus eVTOL, City Airbus is being developed to fly with a 80 km range and to reach a cruise speed of 120 km/h, making it perfectly suited for operations in major cities for a variety of missions.
While sound levels are a key factor for an urban mission; Airbus’ extensive expertise in noise-friendly designs is driving CityAirbus’ sound levels below 65 dB(A) during fly-over and below 70 dB(A) during landing. It is optimized for hover and cruise efficiency, while not requiring moving surfaces or tilting parts during transition.
City Airbus is however not the first eVTOL Airbus has been developing. In November 2019, Airbus Vahana, a single-seat eVTOL demonstrator, took off for its final test, bringing the flagship program to its end.
Meanwhile, City Airbus, an all-electric, four-seat, multicopter vehicle demonstrator, took off for its first full-scale test flight in May 2019. According to Airbus, the Vahana and CityAirbus eVTOLs together have conducted 242 flight and ground tests and have flown around 1,000 kilometers in total.
City Airbus NextGen is in a detailed design phase right now and the prototype’s first flight is planned for 2023.
“We have learned a lot from the test campaigns with our two demonstrators, CityAirbus and Vahana”, said Even. “The CityAirbus NextGen combines the best from both worlds with the new architecture striking the right balance between hover and forward flight. The prototype is paving the way for certification expected around 2025.”
Beyond the vehicle, Airbus is working with partners, cities, and city inhabitants in order to create the ecosystem that is essential to enabling this new operating environment to emerge in a true service to society.
By Victor Shalton Odhiambo
