"Commuting any Other way now Seems Like an Ancient Idea" - FlyNow Aviation CEO Jürgen Greil

Austria's FlyNow Aviation GmbH is working on a family of modular eCopters consisting of a cargo vehicle and a single and twin seat passenger version which it intends to be available and affordable to everyone. The startup's team is made up of people with experience in aviation as well as automotive development and production.

The eCopters feature a cabin, a lift generation unit and a battery electric drivetrain. Two coaxial counter-rotating rotor-propellers are driven by two electric motors, which are connected via a gimbal joint to the top of the cabin.

"By increasing and decreasing rotor rpm the aircraft can climb and descend making this a simple and robust solution for controlling the six degrees of freedom in a 3-dimensional space. The low disc loading in combination with a high blade loading guarantees a best-in-class power to weight ratio and low noise emissions on the one hand as well as a smooth ride in bumpy weather conditions on the other," Jürgen Greil, FlyNow's CEO, tells Auto Futures.

"This concept provides a stable, robust and cost-effective platform and allows a level of industrialization only known in the automotive industry so far," he adds.

The cargo eCopter shares the same drivetrain, landing gear and exterior design as the passenger versions. It can transport cargo of up to 200kg.

"She has two automatically operated, vertically hinged doors with the size for storing a Euro-pallet with a volume of 1m3 and 200kg of payload. The range is 50 kilometers. Charging as well as loading and unloading can be done automatically by using an autonomously operated fork lifter respectively an adapted conductive charging system originally developed for the automotive industry."

Safety is a basic prerequisite for FlyNow Aviation.

"With its patented tilting head mechanism FlyNow Aviation has managed to downscale this proven solution and adapt it to a widespread use case by substituting the very complex rotor head with a much simpler tilting head for thrust control in combination with a four times redundant drive train. This principle enables a one in a billion-fatality rate and shows that safety is system-immanently embedded in our concept," explains Greil.

Introducing 3D Mobility

The first eCopters to be used commercially will be the cargo variants.

"The cargo-version of our eCopter will contribute to set up the necessary ecosystem for the infrastructure and will help to define the interfaces between private companies and public bodies for economical operation throughout the entire process chain. First, these operations will be conducted in a very controlled environment and once proven reliable and robust can be adopted to a broader, commercial application," says Greil.

"In a second step, after the new means of transport system is well accepted by authorities and customers alike, the transport of passengers over populated areas will be implemented." 

FlyNow Aviation recently announced a partnership with Bayanet, an Abu Dhabi-based company that specialises in geospatial mapping. The two companies plan to bring this new means of transport, called 3D mobility, to the UAE.

"The countries of the GCC region have a young, well-educated, tech-savvy and open-minded population that is drowning in traffic. This fact and the recognition of the governments in this region regarding the potential of reducing resource and energy consumption per passenger kilometer in production and operation leads to a high willingness to implement new means of transport and to take into account the necessary adjustments to the infrastructure, the regulations and the accompanying changes in transport policy," he says.

Belonging In The Skies

The eCopters are developed to fly automatically using autopilots. Currently, the company has no plans to develop autonomous vehicles.

"Each aircraft will be following a flight plan and fly from predefined waypoint to waypoint controlled by ATC (Air Traffic Control). Therefore we mainly can rely on existing regulations and processes with only some minor adaptions and blend in without compromising other air traffic," says Greill.

 Finally, he described what urban mobility will look like in the future from the perspective of a first-time FlyNow customer.

"Helicopters are supposed to be complicated machines, and yet this feels elegantly simple. Stepping inside, I am welcomed by a modern, yet comfortable looking cabin. A bit hesitant, I stow my luggage, take a seat, and put on the seatbelt, curiously awaiting to see what will happen next. Intuitively, I wait to hear the sound of an engine roar to life, only to be surprised that the rotors are already turning, calmly and almost silently spooling up."

"As the eCopter effortlessly glides through the landscape like a river through an endless valley, I am overcome by a feeling of belonging. I belong here - up in the skies, flying among a flock of birds," he adds.

"The eCopter touches down just as calmly as it took off only a dozen minutes ago. Instructed by the voice, I undo my seatbelt, grab my luggage, and exit the aircraft."

"Commuting any other way now seems like an ancient idea" conclude Greil.