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By Jon Fingas, Engadget
The flying taxis from Airbus and Uber may have some fresh competition, albeit not quite in the way they might have expected. Rolls-Royce has unveiled
an EVTOL (Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) concept that could
carry four to five passengers to virtually any large-enough landing spot
thanks to wings that can rotate 90 degrees. It wouldn't be purely
electric, despite the name (gas turbines would produce the 500kW of
power needed for six propellers), but it would be quiet while ferrying
people up to 500 miles at a peak speed of 250MPH. Its wing propellers
would fold away once at cruise height to avoid irking either passengers
or people below.
[post_ads]The hybrid powerplant approach may not be the
most environmentally friendly, but Rolls is pitching it as a time
advantage. While there would be a battery for energy storage, you would
only need to fuel the turbine to get back into the air. That's
potentially important for commuter services that may need turnaround
times measured in minutes rather than hours.
The design is focused
on "personal air mobility" for congested cities and could be used for
both flying taxis as well as private transportation for the well-off
(this isRolls-Royce, after all). However, it's flexible enough that the company sees it as useful for cargo hauling and military purposes.
There's
nothing to show beyond 3D renders at this point, and Rolls-Royce hasn't
listed any customers. However, you might not have to wait too long to
see it in action. The firm stressed that the EVTOL concept is based on
technology that either already exists or is in mid-development, giving
it a chance to fly sometime in the early 2020s. That is, of course,
dependent on whether or not partners are sold on the idea. Airbus'
smaller-scale approach may be more effective for dense urban areas, and
Uber has aerospace heavyweights like Bell and Embraer on its side.
Rolls may need to deliver a strong sales pitch if it's going to attract
partners and put its airborne taxi into service.
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce
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