Single-seat electric plane from Japan

The Japanese company Tetra Aviation has unveiled a new single-seat electric aircraft, the Mk-5, which can travel around 160 kilometres in complete silence and with zero emissions.

It has been in development for three and a half years and has just been unveiled at an aviation event in Wisconsin. The vehicle has a striking, futuristic design, but it also features highly innovative technology. Constructed from aluminium and carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP), the so-called eVTOL – an electrically powered vehicle capable of vertical take-off and landing – is 8.5 metres wide, 6 metres long, 2.1 metres high and weighs just over 450 kilograms empty.

No fewer than 32 vertical rotors are used to move the machine through four fixed wing spars, and a horizontal propeller complements these to increase thrust at the rear of the machine. As for the power supply, the Mk-5’s motors are powered by a 13.5 kWh battery, which the Japanese startup claims will give it a top speed of 160 km/h and a range of around 160 kilometres.

The cockpit is for one person only, and the developers say the plane is so easy to fly that even beginners can fly it. In any case, the developers still have more test flights to do and regulatory approvals to come.