Airbus has unveiled its electric CityAirbus NextGen prototype eVTOL aircraft ahead of its maiden flight later this year (warning – turn down the volume on the video above when playing).
The two-tonne class CityAirbus, has a wingspan of 12m (40ft) and can fly up to 80km (50 miles), reaching a cruise speed of 120km/h (75mph). The four-seater eVTOL aircraft’s design was first revealed in 2019 as an update from earlier work to develop an air taxi and the Vahana R&D program.
At the same time as the unveiling of the prototype Airbus officially opened its new test centre for the CityAirbus in Donauwörth, Germany, which will be used to test eVTOL aircraft systems.
Construction of the Donauwörth test center began in July 2022. Donauwörth is Airbus’ main helicopter production and technology site in Germany, with several hundred engineers working at its development centre. The company developed and makes the H135 and H145 light utility helicopters in Donauwörth.
The eVTOL test centre began operations with the CityAirbus NextGen’s power-on in December 2023. Ground testing will continue there over the coming months, and will cover the electric motors with their eight rotors as well as the aircraft’s other systems such as flight controls and avionics, before the prototype’s maiden flight.
Balkiz Sarihan, head of urban air mobility at Airbus said, “Rolling out CityAirbus NextGen for the very first time is an important and very real step that we are taking towards advanced air mobility and our future product and market. Thank you to our community, team and partners all over the world for helping us make this a reality.”
Airbus recently signed a partnership agreement with aircraft leasing company LCI to focus on the development of partnership scenarios and business models for commercialising and financing the CityAirbus.
