e-flight-Journal_4-2022
The E-flight Magazin the world of electric and sustainable aviation. Evtols and Aircraft
The E-flight Magazin
the world of electric and sustainable aviation.
Evtols and Aircraft
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News<br />
Archer’s Maker eVTOL<br />
succeeds in transition <strong>flight</strong><br />
As reported by the American eVTOL developer Archer, its twoseat<br />
prototype Maker, equipped with six pivoting and another<br />
six horizontally arranged propellers, successfully completed<br />
a full transition <strong>flight</strong> from hover to forward <strong>flight</strong> and back<br />
for the first time on November 29, <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
According to Archer, the Maker climbed to almost 80 meters<br />
and then accelerated to a speed of almost 170 km/h in a transition<br />
phase, during which only the wings generated the necessary<br />
lift. Then the speed was said to have been slowed down<br />
again and the transition to hovering took place, so that the<br />
Maker then landed vertically again. While the maker is purely<br />
a technology demonstrator, the recently presented “Midnight”<br />
prototype, with its twelve rotors in all, is set to go into certification<br />
and series production. The all-electric aircraft, which<br />
is, like the Maker, representing an intermediate between vectored<br />
propulsion and the lift-and-cruise concept, is flown by<br />
one pilot and offers space for four passengers. “Midnight”<br />
has a payload of just over 450 kg. However, the range still<br />
leaves a lot to be desired: according to Archer, Midnight is optimized<br />
for trips to destinations about 30 km away and back.<br />
The charging time between two rotations is designed to be<br />
only ten minutes.<br />
www.archer.com<br />
SWITCH consortium<br />
develops hybrid engine<br />
The SWITCH engine concept, which is being developed by a<br />
broad-based technology consortium, is intended to enable a<br />
major leap towards climate-neutral aviation through the combination<br />
of different technologies. The international project is<br />
funded by the Clean Aviation research program of the European<br />
Union. A total of 20 projects are being supported with 700<br />
million euros. MTU Aero Engines, Pratt & Whitney,<br />
Collins Aerospace, GKN Aerospace, Airbus,<br />
DLR and universities from Germany, Greece and<br />
Sweden are involved in SWITCH (Sustainable<br />
Water-Injecting Turbofan Comprising Hybrid-<br />
Electrics). The aim is to develop and test a new<br />
hybrid-electric drive that has the potential to reduce<br />
fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by<br />
up to 25 percent compared to current engines<br />
for short- and medium-haul aircraft.<br />
www.clean-aviation.eu<br />
4 / <strong>2022</strong><br />
e Flight <strong>Journal</strong><br />
7
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