Eve Air Mobility to Build First Full-Scale
eVTOL Prototype in H2 2023
(29/05/23)
Eve Air Mobility has advanced its electric
vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) testing phase as it
continues to make strides towards key program milestones.
Eve has completed propeller tests on its
propeller rig in Brazil in order to measure aerodynamic
performance and sound properties for modeling and development.
The
number and the overall characteristics of blades (torsion, shape,
etc.) are critical in defining vibration, load and sound profile,
as well as energy requirements of the eVTOL. Engineers tested
multiple models to improve efficiency and reduce sound footprint
and operating costs.
“We are very pleased with our program development
activities to date and making very good progress as we move toward
the selection of primary suppliers and finalize the definition of
our aircraft systems architecture,” said Alice Altissimo, Vice
President of Program Management and Operation of Eve. “We continue
to invest and our team is working hard with the goal of developing
a mature aircraft for certification and entry into service in 2026.”
The company also recently
began testing its vertical lift rotors aboard a new custom
truck-mounted platform. The mobile testbed was designed
specifically to evaluate the performance of rotors during the
transition phase of flight.
The engineering team has already begun
testing and gathering data on the aerodynamic characteristics of
rotors in forward flight. Eve’s eVTOL features a lift+cruise
configuration with dedicated rotors for vertical flight and fixed
wings to fly on cruise, with no components required to change
position during flight. This configuration favors safety,
efficiency, reliability, and certifiability while also reducing
the cost of operation and additional maintenance, repair and
overhaul costs.
The results from the company’s
recently completed wind-tunnel tests, along with the findings from
the propeller and truck-mounted rig, are being used to increase
the fidelity of the company’s flight simulator and fly-by-wire
system.
Eve is also utilizing learnings from ongoing enhanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations to mature the
analysis of the transition between the hover and cruise phases of
the flight, among other tools.
Eve expects to
conclude the selection of main equipment suppliers in the first
half of 2023 and start the assembly of the first full-scale eVTOL
prototype during the second half of 2023, followed by the test
campaign in 2024.
Eve’s eVTOL is scheduled to be certified and
enter service in 2026.
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