Aussie Firm Designs Hydrogen-Powered eVTOL Aircraft

Australian company AMSL Aero is preparing to start flight tests on what it claims will be the world's most efficient electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft design that will be most affordable in the market, Loz Blain reported for New Atlas.

Photo Insert: The Vertiia “is a hybrid between a tilt wing and a tilt rotor.

The box-wing aircraft, the Vertiia, will travel up to 1,000 km (620 miles) on a tank of hydrogen, carrying five people or 500 kg (1,100 lb) of cargo at a quick cruise speed of 300 km/h (186 mph).

First emerging from stealth mode late last year, AMSL has a unique design, a prototype nearly ready to fly, and a target date of 2024 to get its aircraft certified and into production.

Its small team has achieved an impressive amount on a shoestring budget, and it's now raising another round of funding to finance flight testing and pre-production as it moves toward the certification process.

AMSL Aero co-founder said the Vertiia “is a hybrid between a tilt wing and a tilt rotor. It has the advantages of a tilt rotor in the sense that you've got a fixed structure, but it reduces the blockage and the waste by having a large, flat area that that tilts with the rotors.

There are a number of good reasons for it, but essentially it makes it lighter and removes all the problems that tilt wings have with gust response and the ‘barn door’ effect.”

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