Electric Air Car Funded; CycloRotors Replace Propellers

A novel version of technology to fly an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle has received a $22 million investment to further develop its advanced propulsion system.

The funding from Breeze Invest and Konos Holdings is intended to further develop the first full-scale prototype of the CycloRotor propulsion system.

CycloTech in Austria created an air car called CruiseUp by using CycloRotor technology rather than traditional propellers.

The two-passenger concept vehicle uses CycloRotors as its electric propulsion system.

The technology allows the vehicle to do sideways and backward flight and mid-air braking without tilting or banking the vehicle.

“CycloRotors open the door to a new mass market in sustainable aviation, with the potential for millions of vehicle propulsion units to be produced per year,” said Markus Steinke, chief development officer at CycloTech. “The long-term goal with our CycloRotors is to turn the vision of the flying car into reality.”

CycloTech aims to raise funding of $57 million this year to prepare the CycloRotor for certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). 

CycloTech has created what it calls an air car called CruiseUp by using CycloRotor technology rather than traditional propellers.

Related:Electric Air Car Trades Propellers for CycloRotors

The two-passenger concept vehicle uses CycloRotors as its electric propulsion system.

The technology allows the vehicle to do sideways and backward flight and mid-air braking without tilting or banking the vehicle.

The propulsion system, developed over the last 10 years by CycloTech, comprised six generations of CycloRotors. 

The aviation propulsion system contains several parallel blades rotating around a central rotation axis.

“The thrust is generated by a combined airflow through the rotor originating from each blade and its periodic change of the pitch angle during one rotation,” states the company. “The individual pitch angle of the blades is controlled by a certain pitch mechanism. Usually, each blade is mechanically connected to a central hub with a conrod.

“The moving parts of the CycloRotors are encapsulated and the specific configuration of CruiseUp shields the passenger cabin.”

Flight testing using CycloRotors has been conducted at a general aviation airport in Austria following EASA regulations. 

The CruiseUp vehicle contains six rotors and can fly and land safely in the event of a rotor failure, according to the company.

CycloTech is positioning itself for the second wave of electric flying, for the decade following the current phase of electric flying taxis and other piloted eVTOLs entering the market in the relatively short-term future. It plans to develop a marketable product by 2030.

Related:Personal Flying Vehicle Designed to Land on Yachts

The company sees that phase with “individual air mobility with privately owned eVTOL vehicles will begin to satisfy the ultimate customer expectation – true point-to-point transportation capability at one´s own disposal.”

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