Aerospace Testing International reports that Russian startup Bartini and engineers from Russia’s National University of Science and Technology Misis in Moscow have successfully flight tested a prototype urban air taxi.
“The 5 x 5m (16 x16ft) EVTOL (electrical vertical take-off and landing) air taxi features ducted propellers that rotate perpendicular to the vehicle’s body to enable horizontal flight… The company is developing a two-seater and four-seater EVTOL, with the four-seater version planned to have a top speed of 300km/h, a range of 150km (93 miles), a maximum altitude of 900m (3,000ft) and a maximum flight time of 30 minutes. Bartini is a Russian startup based in Moscow’s Skolkovo Technopark, and a participant in the McFly.aero online air taxi incubator. The company, which is named after the Soviet aircraft designer Robert Bartini, plans to have its urban air taxi available for commercial use by 2020.”
“The device is controlled remotely and has four engines each with twin propellers fixed to the movable axes – to carry out its take-off, air support and movement. This use the Bartini effect, named after the famous Italian aircraft designer. Bartini’s aerodynamic effect happens when propellers are arranged in a pair with the motors rotating in different directions. The arrangement increases thrust and decreases drag and was named after Bartini, who was the first to use the aerodynamic phenomenon in the DAR Russian seaplane he developed.”
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