A 40-seat hybrid electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has been introduced by startup Lyte Aviation, and it is designed to be five times more fuel efficient than current helicopters.
The company is designing two versions of the eVTOL, a passenger sized SkyBus and a cargo variant called SkyTruck.
The eVTOL is designed to carry a 4.5 ton payload, offers a range of 1,000 kilometers and a maximum speed of 300 km/hr. The aircraft features a hybrid electric tandem tilt-wing design.
Lyte Aviation plans to have a full-scale prototype available in the next 24 months.
Two propulsion systems
The SkyBus version will feature two separate propulsion systems — one electric and powered by hydrogen fuel cells and the other a turbine powered by jet fuel.
“The use of turbine engines will likely remain unavoidable for the foreseeable future, so in order to achieve useful and business-sensible ranges as well as quicker time to market, we have opted for a hybrid, partly electric VTOL,” said Freshta Farzam, founder and CEO of Lyte Aviation.
The aircraft design includes four conventional turbine engines running on sustainable available fuel complemented by four electric motors for control and stability.
The SkyTruck will be designed for cargo and be able to move items faster from point-to-point without needing any runways, the company said. The cargo eVTOL will be designed for rugged operational conditions for remote areas with a total gross weight of 17 tons with a 4.5-ton payload.
“The LA-44’s unique design will enable us to tap mass transport capabilities, displacing air transport and land transport modalities such as buses, trains and trucks, ” Freshta said.
