A French company near Bordeaux won big in the crisis because it essentially got one of its pullers back from Airbus. The two electric pioneers, led by VoltAero, have reunited and the hydride aircraft, which can be scaled up to 10 people, is essentially ready.
Didier Esteyne and Jean Botti were the founders of the small French county start-up who created the E-fan two-person electric-powered aircraft. The Airbus Group saw fantasy in them, took E-fant into its development department and became Botti’s Chief Technology Officer at the group. The two professionals have started cooperating earlier. In 2011, the Green Cri-Cri electric aerobatic aircraft, already developed by the specialist duo within an association, was unveiled at the Paris Air Show. New features of the aerobatics are lightweight composite structures, four brushless electric motors with counter-rotating propellers, and lithium batteries that store a lot of energy in a small size. The electric airplane can spend 30 minutes in the air on a charge as a walking flight at a maximum speed of 110 km / h. In aerobatics, this is reduced to 15 minutes, but up to 250 km / h, at speeds of about 5.3 m / sec. perform aerial maneuvers at ascent speeds.
Their next aircraft was already in the Airbus jersey, the E-fan, where they increased performance with an unusual solution. One is a turbine propulsion instead of a propeller, plus doubling, which delivers more thrust with less energy than their two-person counterparts with conventional propellers flown so far. The other idea is electro-motorized wheel drive, not only in taxiing but also in takeoff. Up to sixty kilometers of climb speed, wheel drive also helps, as you will need maximum propulsion. The Airbus E-Fan can fly two people for one hour at a cruising speed of 160 kilometers. As an aerobatic plane, it runs out of energy after half an hour, but can land for recharging.
The path of the two professionals split for a couple of years. In recent years, Jean Botti, as Airbus ’Chief Technology Officer, has also led the large-engine hybrid electric drive project, which ran as the Airbus E-fan X. Due to the coronavirus crisis, Airbus canceled the program, so Botti returned as CEO to VoltAero, which he also founded. The next flying demonstrator currently running in the video is VoltAero Cassio 1. Based on the 6-person Cessna 337 Skymaster, a tried and tested dragon. All that has been changed about it is that the main engine is also a hybrid, not just the drive system, both are their special features. The push propeller is powered by a hybrid main engine, a three-cylinder Nissan six-cylinder car engine. Interestingly, it acts mainly as a generator, but is also capable of direct propulsion of the pusher, which increases flight safety.
In addition, instead of the previous front traction motor, two electric motors were placed on the wing, plus, as previously said, even a wheel is driven by an electric motor. And at the front of the aircraft are high-performance batteries, CEO Botti has previously developed battery cells at General Motors. They were already thinking about a family of machines five years ago, the picture shows a plan for the two- and four-person business versions of the E-Fan, which then became nothing. Back in 2020, the VoltAero new Cassio family was announced, where the next performance is promised for each version. At a cruising speed of 350 km / h, the range is approximately 1,500 kilometers. A 600-meter runway is enough for him and he will be able to run for ten hours a day.
They will be produced in three versions. Cassio 330 is the four-seater configuration, Cassio 480, with six seats and finally the Cassio 600, with 10 seats. The numbers behind the names indicate the performance of each type of hybrid electric drive. The VoltAero Cassio models will be well-suited for air taxi and business aviation, as private planes, but also as rescue aircraft or other services. For the Cassio 330 four-seater, the assembly plant is planned in south-western France. The crisis is also good for them, as Airbus and other European factories will produce fewer aircraft, and suppliers are happy to work. The first customer copy of the new aircraft is expected by the company to roll out of the assembly hall by the end of 2022.
Recent article
Air taxi News & Articles
Crash landing with an air taxi
Drones News & Articles
The drone navigates like a bat
Drones News & Articles
Weightlessness with a drone
Air taxi News & Articles
Cities of the future, where air taxis and drones populate the skies
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Finnish engineers have created a small robot that can fly
Electric airplane News & Articles
The world’s largest unmanned electric cargo plane
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Japanese startup that makes flying “motorcycles” goes public
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Rolls-Royce’s microreactor is a new dimension in propulsion
Flying Cars News & Articles
The X2 flying car can fly under certain conditions
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Jetoptera is developing an FPS-powered aircraft
Air taxi News & Articles
Development of Airbus’ air taxi could accelerate
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
NASA’s new engine in action
Drones News & Articles
India also sees potential in agricultural drones
Drones News & Articles
Airbus launches drone production
Flying Cars News & Articles
SkyDrive Japanese flying car to enter commercial service in 2026
Additional aircraft
ARC Aerosystems’ newest aircraft the Linx P9
Drones News & Articles
Expect lots of drones in the future
Propulsion-Fuel
NASA funds development of a new type of nuclear engine
Drones News & Articles
The world’s fastest flying four-rotor drone
Drones News & Articles
The drone market is a good long-term investment
Drones News & Articles
In Romania, a drone is already taking samples from hospitals to the robotic laboratory
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
ZeroAvia’s Dornier with hydrogen-electric propulsion system flies for the first time
EVTOL & VTOL
What growth can we expect in the Evtol market in the coming years ?
Drones News & Articles
Flying drone home delivery is also being tested in Budapest
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
How are air traffic control and air navigation services adapting to eVTOL ?
Flying Cars News & Articles
What safety measures would be introduced in flying cars to prevent accidents ?
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Revolutionising crop production with aircraft
Drones News & Articles
Valkyrie drone placed in the US Air Force National Museum
Drones News & Articles
Black Swan unmanned aircraft can handle transport in Europe
Drones News & Articles
Drone-operated motorway planned in the UK
Air taxi News & Articles
What impact will the development and introduction of air taxis have on the workforce and the labour market ?
Drones News & Articles
Edible wing drone could save people in distress
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Could modernised versions of airships return ?
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Aviation on the verge of a revolution
Drones News & Articles
Chinese drone could stay in the air almost forever
Additional aircraft News & Articles
The world’s first flying motorcycle is about to fly
Drones News & Articles
Walmart’s drones now deliver in seven Member States
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
How are companies and governments working to develop and regulate electric Evtols and what challenges do they face in bringing these vehicles to market ?
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
What developments have been made in the field of electric motors ?
Air taxi News & Articles
Stellantis joins forces with air taxi developer Archer
More articles you may be interested in...
Additional aircraft
ARC Aerosystems’ newest aircraft the Linx P9
Drones News & Articles
Expect lots of drones in the future
Propulsion-Fuel
NASA funds development of a new type of nuclear engine
Drones News & Articles
The world’s fastest flying four-rotor drone
Air taxi News & Articles
What impact will the development and introduction of air taxis have on the workforce and the labour market ?
The introduction of air taxis, also known as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles,.......... READ MORE
Drones News & Articles
Edible wing drone could save people in distress
The developers thought about those who are stuck in hard-to-reach places and help takes time........... READ MORE
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Could modernised versions of airships return ?
Aviation in its current form is not sustainable. The emissions associated with it are staggeringly.......... READ MORE
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Aviation on the verge of a revolution
Humanity has always had a desire to fly, starting with hot air balloons in the.......... READ MORE
Drones News & Articles
Chinese drone could stay in the air almost forever
Researchers at Northwestern University of Technology in China claim to have developed a method to.......... READ MORE
Additional aircraft News & Articles
The world’s first flying motorcycle is about to fly
The Jetpack Aviation Speeder, one of the tiniest jets ever built, could soon receive its.......... READ MORE
Drones News & Articles
Walmart’s drones now deliver in seven Member States
Walmart's drone delivery program is expanding nicely. According to the company, shoppers in seven US.......... READ MORE
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
How are companies and governments working to develop and regulate electric Evtols and what challenges do they face in bringing these vehicles to market ?
Electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, or Evtols, have garnered significant attention in recent years.......... READ MORE