S H E L L
I S S U E
•
n ° 1 8
•
2 0 1 9
SHELL ISSUE - n° 18 - 2019 - € 10
The Art of Sailing
Custom Line Nav
etta 42
QUART ERLY - P.I. 31/03 /2019 Intern ationa l € 10, Spedizione in Abbon Chf 10,50 , UK £ 7,50- Poste Italian amento Postale e S.p.a. - 70% - LO/MI
[ FLY ]
DON’T CALL A CAB, CALL A PAV Urban mobility is about to undergo a revolution, with flying taxis entering the realm of possibility. Aurora Flight Services is set to ride this new wave, and the company has just tested their first prototype in Virginia by Sergio Barlocchetti - Ph. Courtesy by Aurora Flight Sciences
46
47
[ FLY ]
ago the Americans financed an innovation startup called Aurora Flight Sciences. Last January the company, part of the Boeing NeXt Group, flew its Autonomous Passenger Air Vehicle (A-PAV) for the first time at its experimental centre in Manassas, Virginia. The flight was successful, and provided the first practical results for the Seattle-based giant’s urban air mobility programme. Its passengers will not control the flight carrying them to their destination as the taxi’s operations will be totally automated. Boeing NeXt is also involved in a CAV (Cargo Air Vehicle) project for an aircraft that can carry a goods-only payload of up to 225 kg as well as other urban, regional and global mobility platforms.
E
There is still some way to go, and the challenge of creating veryone dreams of flying taxis, vehicles that can take off
an electrically-powered vertical take-off aircraft, known as
vertically like a helicopter and whisk at least two passengers
e-VTOL, meaning Electric Powered Vertical Take-off and
across the city. Companies in Arabia, China, America and
Landing) is still to be overcome. In January Boeing’s A-PAV
Europe are working to develop them, with money no object.
completed a take-off, sustained flight and landing cycle to
Investment and vision, though, aren’t enough, because building
confirm that the aircraft and its systems are functioning
a prototype and getting it to fly is only 30% of the task – the real
correctly. The upcoming flight profiles are designed to test
hurdles are winning approval for the solutions and meeting the
the PAV on long range trajectories powered by its propellers
minimum safety requirements that will enable the new craft to
and supported by its three wing surfaces. “In the space of a
gain its airworthiness certificate and be launched onto the market.
year we’ve moved from design concept to flying prototype”,
Inevitably, the two international giants, Airbus and Boeing, are
says Aurora-Boeing’s chief engineer Greg Hyslop. “Boeing’s
in the race to develop the taxi of the future. The Europeans have
experience and innovation have been crucial elements in
flown a scale model of their Vahana project, and a few years
the aeronautical development of a form of transport that’s
48
The PAV, which stands for Passenger Air Vehicle, is 100% electric VTOL craft designed for totally autonomous flight. It has a range of around 80 kilometres
53
[ FLY ]
the safest and most efficient in the world. We’ll continue to
Developed by Aurora Flight
steer this development through an approach that emphasises
Sciences, the PAV is intended
safety and new mobility solutions�. Technically speaking, the
for passenger transport, but the
Boeing Aurora PAV is designed for totally autonomous flights
company is also working on a
from take-off to landing, with an operational range of up to
CAV (Cargo Air Vehicle) capable
80.47 km. The vehicle is 9.14 metres long and 8.53 metres
of carrying up to 225 kg of goods
wide. Completing the tests is the final obstacle for Boeing
with no passengers on board
NeXt, which is already working with the aviation authorities and its industrial partners to gain aircraft certification for the new design.
www.aurora.aero
50