A few years back, when we were standing in locked traffic jams, we often thought that our car should have wings that could fly and take us to work and back home, reducing the travel time from hours to minutes. Though the pandemic has taken all the fun out of travel, whenever the world resumes back to normal, one of the dire needs is smoothen the traffic and make the travel experience seamless.
According to Morgan Stanley, this has evolved a new sector in the mobility world - Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL), which is pegged to become $ 1.5 trillion by 2040. But at present, the sector is already transforming logistics and even providing medical supplies to remote regions.
Eyeing the rapidly growing market, Matthew Pearson, Founder, Airspeeder and Alauda Aeronautics, conceptualised Airspeeder Series, a proposed motorsport series for electric flying vehicles. It was founded by Matt Pearson and powered by performance eVTOL manufacturer Alauda.
He says, “Some of the very first Mercedes, Bentleys and Renaults were racing cars. The pioneers of these marques knew that in order to advance a mobility revolution, they must build their machines for racing. At Airspeeder, we proudly echo that philosophy. To accelerate the arrival of advanced air mobility technology, we must leverage sporting competition. The Airspeeder Mk3 is the result of years of engineering, testing and development with the pure purpose of creating the ultimate performance electric flying car.”
However, all the racing series in the world are devised to attract customers and demonstrate the technology at its optimal performance, be it a Formula 1 or 24 hours Le Mans.
With a similar intention to attract and make customers aware, Airspeeder Series has been devised to introduce the concept of ‘electric flying taxis’, which promises to transform urban environments and free them from congestion with safe and sustainable transport.
Airspeeder will pioneer a suite of technologies that will refine and demonstrate safety requirements, build acceptance for eVTOL and answer key questions around battery technology, noise, and regulation as a form of future transport.
Alauda Aeronautics, sister-company to Airspeeder, is currently building ten of these vehicles for races set to take place on three continents in the coming months.
Felix Pierron, Head of Design, Airspeeder and Alauda, said, “My first principle is that our Speeders are racing craft first. In ideating a design approach, I explored the classic forms of racing cars from the 1950s and 1960s. This was a time when the requirement for beauty was equal to technological and aerodynamic necessity. As a designer, there is no better place to start. I am excited to see something that started as a vision on paper taken to the air. My dreams are no longer my own; they are now an incredible reality to inspire the world.”
Mk3 Remotely-Piloted Electric Flying Racing Car
Alauda Aeronautics unveiled the Mk3 last February. It was also coined as the world’s first fully functioning electric flying racing car. The MK3 comes with a maximum power of 320kW, equalling an Audi SQ7 performance SUV.
The Audi weighs 2,500 kg, while an Airspeeder racing craft (without pilot) weighs just 130kg. It can lift more than 80kg, proving the viability of the powertrain for piloted races. Acceleration from 0-62 mph takes 2.8 seconds, and the Speeder can climb to 500 meters.
The Mk3 vehicle has a thrust-to-weight ratio of 3.5, which exceeds that of an F-15E Strike Eagle (thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.2), one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world.
The rapid hairpin turning potential achieved through an octocopter format has been compared to that of a Formula 1 car, generating up to 5Gs, with the added capability to manoeuvre vertically.
Flying Racing Car Concept
An Airspeeder vehicle consists of a chassis and carbon fibre moulded ‘tub’-style skin. This ensures overall strength to maintain the structural integrity of the vehicle under extreme racing conditions and manoeuvres.
Batteries have been re-designed versus the previous iteration of the Airspeeder to have 90% more capacity with only a 50% increase in weight. Ground crews can change power delivery profiles to respond to the different requirements of the electronically governed sky-tracks that Airspeeder pilots will follow.
For example, a layout that demands rapid manoeuvres through sharp turns and ascents will require a different power delivery curve from those that demand outright straight-line speed. Ground crews will have to make instant decisions around sacrificing raw power for outright range.
Every Airspeeder includes rapid pit stops. To facilitate this, Alauda’s engineers have developed an innovative’ slide and lock’ system for the rapid removal and replacement of batteries when on the ground.
This technology debuts on the Mk3. Intense internal competition between in-house pit crews has driven the pitstop time down to just 14 seconds, which is entirely compatible with any form of ground-based legacy motorsport. This is expected to continue to fall. For context, a Formula 1 pitstop used to take more than a minute.
Airspeeder employs a systems-based approach to safety. This is a recognised methodology from military, civilian and performance aviation. This means that no single operational failure can lead to the loss of the vehicle’s primary function, which is controlled flight.
In the early stages of the Mk3’s development simulation, bench testing and integration testing techniques were employed to fully map out these systems.
Ahead of live testing, this gave engineers confidence that in the event of a systems failure, vehicles will remain in the air but at reduced performance to ensure the pilot, whether operating remotely in the case of the Mk3 or in the cockpit in future iterations, will be able to safely return to the ground.
During flights, all systems are monitored on the ground through state-of-the-art telemetry. This means that the ground crew is immediately aware of issues and can take appropriate action to bring the craft to the ground under control.
Prioritising safety is also inherent to the architecture of the vehicle. The octocopter layout ensures stability in the event of rotor failure or breakage. At the same time, the carbon fibre structure of the Speeder has been engineered for overall structural integrity.
The Mk3, which will be operated by an expert remote operator from the ground, features a suite of technologies and engineering elements never before seen on an eVTOL craft.
These innovations will be validated in this key uncrewed proving phase and include LiDAR and Radar collision avoidance systems that create a ‘virtual forcefield’ around the craft to ensure close but ultimately safe racing.
Terabytes of data from sensors within every area of the Speeder’s architecture is drawn over any testing or racing cycle. This means on-the-ground pit crews can constantly analyse and react to even the slightest variance in performance.
From a racing perspective, this dictates strategy and the pilot approach. In overall technical terms, it allows engineers to understand details like aerodynamic performance and even adjust propeller settings in accordance with Speeder behaviour in a multitude of conditions.
Airspeeder works with global cyber protection leader Acronis and their delivery partner Teknov8 to secure this data.