VTOL

Image: LegoA few years ago Lego already came out with an epic R2-D2 model in its Ultimate Collector Series range. But now the heroic astromech is getting a more condense, but still finely detailed replica to launch Lego’s celebration for 25 years of Lego Star Wars. The build itself is great, but the secret killer add-on? The brand new Darth Malak minifigure included as an anniversary bonus, the first time the Knights of the Old Republic villain has made it to Lego. $100, available here. Image: LegoA few years ago Lego…

Sikorsky is developing a hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (HEX/VTOL) tilt-wing demonstrator, one of a new family of hybrid rotorcraft that will also offer pilot-optional autonomous flight.There are so many companies building unconventional rotorcraft, many of which are electric or hybrid electric, that one more added to the growing list wouldn't warrant much attention. However, when the newest one is a major player in the aerospace world like Sikorsky, it's time to sit up and take notice.The February 27…

DARPA has announced the four companies that will compete for the contract to design, build and test an X-Plane demonstrator capable of high-speed cruise, hover and VTOL for its Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) project. The SPRINT X-Plane will be "a proof-of-concept technology demonstrator and its flight test program seeks to validate enabling technologies and integrated concepts that can be scaled to different size military aircraft." Specific technical requirements for the demonstrator, according to Top…

The four-seat Aska A5 is the size of an SUV, but at the touch of a button it extends an array of electric propellers and converts to a cruise-capable eVTOL aircraft with an impressive hybrid range. The FAA has cleared it for flight testing.Last time I looked, the year 2000 was 23 years ago. When I was a young'un, the year 2000 was supposed to be the future. We weren't just supposed to have flying cars and jetpacks, we were supposed to be commuting vertically on the daily. Today, there are most certainly jetpacks,…

As of 2023, the new millennium has proven to be way less full of flying cars than the movies promised. In today’s present, the sky isn’t dotted with compact vehicles zipping back and forth through an aerial metropolis. But maybe tomorrow could be. Or at least that’s what a handful of tech startups are angling for, Eve Air Mobility included.Cops Pull Over Self-Driving CarThe company announced on Monday that it has wrapped up wind tunnel testing for its electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL). Using a…

The STRIX was unveiled this morning at Australia's Avalon Air Show, in front of air force chiefs from around the world – with the notable exceptions, according to the ABC, of Russian and Chinese delegates, who have been excluded from the conference. BAE Systems has developed the aircraft in conjunction with Perth-based company Innovaero. It describes the Strix as a "hybrid, tandem-wing, multi-domain and multi-role UAS," capable of performing missions including air-to-ground strike, persistent intelligence, surveillance…

What if your car could fly? That’s the basic question behind Jetoptera’s ongoing mission to create a fluidic propulsion system that makes aerial mobility more commonplace. Enter the company’s newest project, the Jetoptera 2000, a VTOL flying car that can lift off and land vertically. But if a flying car wasn’t intriguing enough, the Jetoptera 2000 is also designed to reach speeds of Mach 0.8. Traffic is terrible. Chances are, you’ve had at least one incident where you’ve found yourself stuck in traffic on the…

Like bladeless Dyson fans on steroids, Jetoptera's unique aircraft propulsion systems look like pure sci-fi. But they're beginning to demonstrate some fascinating capabilities in testing, and the next step will be a super-fast VTOL aircraft design.How Jetoptera's Fluidic Propulsion Systems workWe've explained these fluidic propulsion systems before in detail. Indeed, Sir James Dyson did a pretty decent job of explaining the basic concept to The Telegraph back in 2010. But in a nutshell, they're not magic, they don't use…

Aura Aerospace has proposed a crazy new take on advanced air mobility. The five-seat Ranger looks like Darth Vader's shuttle when it's folded up, but it promises to fly further than any normal airliner, with roof-to-roof vertical takeoff and landing.Exactly how Aura proposes to do this is fairly simple. Vertical takeoff and landing is achieved using a coaxial octacopter system, with eight 70-inch (178-cm) two-blade props hanging fore and aft of the large main wing. This system gets you on and off the vertipad, and once…

It goes without saying that the heavier a load a cargo aircraft can carry, the more useful that aircraft becomes. Well, the RG-1-A Alpha has reportedly just broken a record, by "dead-lifting" more weight than any autonomous VTOL has previously managed.Designed by California aviation startup Sabrewing, the Alpha is a pre-production version of the company's Rhaegal uncrewed cargo VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft.In its recent maiden hover flight, it lifted a payload of 829 lb (374 kg). According to Sabrewing,…