AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2020 - 62

JAUNT ROSA. The ROSA (Reduced rotor Operating Speed

Aircraft) is classified as a Gyrodyne, with a tilting pylon
rotor and wing-mounted propellers. It can accommodate
one pilot and four passengers and cruise at 152 knots.
More than 100 hours of flight testing has been accomplished.

jauntairmobility.com

nautical miles, and endurances as low as 30 minutes.
Lithium-ion batteries have long charge times, and can
also generate so much heat that cooling systems are
necessary. Thermal runaways are possible, so battery
management systems are necessary. Protective cases
and insulated battery cells are needed to guard against
damage in case of a crash or improper handling or storage. And if exposed to air, lithium-ion batteries can
catch fire. Thermal runaways and fires involving lithium-ion batteries in Boeing 787 airliners caused them
to be grounded until a redesign was made.

JOBY S4. A 170-knot cruise and a 130-nautical-mile range

are posted for the six-tiltrotor, retractable-gear S4. Power
is from lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese-oxide batteries.
Funding from Toyota should speed production at Joby's
new manufacturing site, with certification currently set
for 2022, and entry into Uber service in 2023. The
company says it needs to fill 1,600 high-paying tech jobs.

jobyaviation.com

says CEO George Bye. "Our current eFlyer 2 has a 250
to 270 Watt-hour per kilogram energy density, but the
lithium sulfur batteries we're researching have twice
that density, meaning takeoffs with lower states of
charge, and twice the potential endurance and speed."
At this writing, Bye had yet to begin flight tests with
the new batteries.
Hydrogen cells are also being explored as eVTOL
power sources. One manufacturer, Alaka'i Technology,
has advanced a six-rotor, four-passenger design with
an advertised speed and range of 118 mph and 400

Even industry stalwarts must move and shake when disruptive trends
work their way toward mainstream acceptance.
Bell's Nexus offers a hybrid power arrangement to
boost power and range. This involves using an internal combustion engine as well as batteries. Power can
be used to drive its rotors as well as charge its batteries, or the pilot can use electric power for takeoff and
landings, then switch to engine power in cruise-to
recharge the batteries. A similar arrangement is used
in Pipistrel's Panthera low-wing single.
Bye Aerospace is testing lithium-sulfur batteries
for use in its eFlyer series of low-wing, electrically
powered singles. "Lithium-sulfur batteries have twice
the energy density of lithium ion batteries, cost less,
weigh half as much, and are more thermally robust,"
62 | AOPA PILOT August 2020

nm. Dubbed the Skai, the craft will be powered by six
100-kilowatt motors (equaling a total of about 800
horsepower) and have a 1,000-pound payload.
In a major development, Pipistrel announced in
November 2019 that it was dialing down its pace on its
Uber eVTOL offering-the Pipistrel 801-and embarking on a hybrid-electric cargo drone project. Coming
from Pipistrel, the industry leader in electrically
powered aircraft and the manufacturer of the first electrically powered two-seat trainer, the Alpha Electro,
this was a weighty move.
Although scale models had flown and full-scale systems tests were made, a Pipistrel spokesman said that

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2020

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