Cityairbus

Conceived to transport up to four travellers via overcrowded mega-cities to key locations such as major cities, railway and airport locations, it is quick, cost-effective and green. Testing of the fully integral driveline with 8 fan and 8 specifically developed Siemens SP200D (100kW operational output, DC drive) drivelines with outstanding torque/weight ratios are anticipated soon.

First of all, the large-scale demonstration will be put to the test on the floor. During the first half of next year, the engineering staff is expecting the "Power on" landmark, i.e. all engines and electrical equipment will be turned on for the first one. Our first flights are planned for the end of 2018.

Mobility's future: CitycityAirbus - Mobility & Engines - Pictures of the Future - Innovations - Home

The CityAirbus, a breakthrough demonstration plane that is tailored to the specific needs of the city' aerial transport, is one of the groundbreaking planes using these techniques. The plane has now achieved an important landmark on its way to its debut mission, which is planned for the end of this year: We' re standing in front of the CityAirbus "Iron Bird".

CityAirbus is an electrical multi-copter airplane design for urbane transport. Using the steel bolt, we test the complete drive system throughout. These include the battery, electrical current sharing system and electrical drives, which are powered in a self-contained circuit by the Autonomous Flight Management System. We operate and verify the complete system dynamics on this complete system test bench, encompassing electrical, thermic and mechanic issues.

It is an important landmark on the way to the first planned departure at the end of this year. Of the eight engines you can see here, they are electrical propulsion units with a max. output of 200 kW each, specifically developed for this use. Besides the engines, we also supply the inverter and the system for managing electricity.

By the way, we were able to supply this propulsion system in an incredibly fast manner. We took a little more than nine month to design it from the first draft to the final prototypes. Could you tell us more about the CityAirbus and its applications?

Besides, how important is this projekt for the brainchild of electrical flying? CityAirbus is a battery-operated city bus for the secure and fast transportation of up to four people at low operating cost and without causing pollution across overloaded mega cities at speeds of up to 120 km/h. The CityAirbus is an environmentally friendly vehicle that can be driven by batteries.

For the time being, it will be flown with a pilots on aboard, but an autonomous airplane is also being planned. In any case, the concept of shifting transport to the "third dimension" - i.e. to the atmosphere - can profit from the fact that electrical drives are much more quiet and cause significantly less emission than traditional drives.

These are just some of the benefits of electromobility that this technology fully exploits. CityAirbus has to be able to take off and landing vertical and manoeuvre in all direction and has no wing to glide. That means that its buoyancy must be produced solely by the propulsion system.

Made up of high-torque electrical motor drives, the system is the perfect answer. What are the next few stages on the way to the debut plane? We plan to install the powertrain system by mid-year on a physical basis in the demonstration. Construction of the first CityAirbus structure has already begun and is now underway.

In the case of a production aeroplane, the configurations are further optimised to meet the needs of municipal mission and increased cost-effectiveness in the case of a city. Whereas a commercially viable solution could be implemented by 2025, it depends on the level of development of public acceptability, the infrastructures and the rules laid down for this type of city transport. Our work on this research shows the technological viability of the electrical aeronautics complementary road transport scheme.

Hopefully, the testing on our airborne demonstration will help us to complete our type-certification request and will also inspire the general community to adopt this approach.