Hexa eVTOL – The first ever electric commercial drone

The Hexa eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) is a personal aerial vehicle designed and manufactured by the company called LIFT Aircraft. It is a single-passenger electric aircraft that offers vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, similar to a helicopter or drone. Hexa system is developed by the Lift Aircraft team. Having their headquarters in Texas (US), their eVTOL solution for Urban Air Mobility is one of the pioneer systems performing manned flights with a full electric drone system for person transportation. Lift Aircraft is the first company worldwide to offer eVTOL vertical flight as an experience. “We believe everyone should be able to experience the thrill and magic of personal, vertical flight”. From the first steps, the whole system has been conceived to be extremely safe, user-friendly and intuitive. The high degree of reliability and automation in the system permits to operate it even without a pilot license.

Key Features of Hexa eVTOL Drone

  1. Drone Design: The Hexa eVTOL has a unique design with 18 independent electric motors and propellers. It features a central cabin with six arms, each equipped with three motors and propellers. This configuration provides redundancy and enhances safety by allowing the aircraft to continue flying even if multiple motors or propellers experience failures.

  2. Electric Power: The Hexa eVTOL is fully powered by electricity. It uses rechargeable batteries to supply power to the 18 electric motors, which drive the propellers. Being electric, the aircraft produces zero emissions and operates quietly compared to traditional combustion-powered aircraft.

  3. Vertical Takeoff and Landing: One of the key capabilities of the drone is its ability to vertically take off and land. It does not require a runway for take-off and landing, which increases its versatility and accessibility. This allows the aircraft to operate from various locations such as helipads, designated landing zones, or other suitable areas.

  4. Pilot Experience: It is designed to be user-friendly and accessible to pilots without extensive flight training. It features a joystick-based control system that simplifies the flying experience. Additionally, the aircraft utilizes a fly-by-wire system that helps stabilize and control the flight automatically.

  5. Safety Features: It incorporates several safety features to ensure a secure flight experience. It includes a ballistic parachute system that can be deployed in case of emergencies. The aircraft is also equipped with redundant systems to maintain stability and continue flying in the event of any component failures.

  6. Flight Duration: The Hexa eVTOL has a flight duration of approximately 10-15 minutes per charge, depending on factors such as payload, weather conditions, and flight maneuvers. The batteries can be recharged between flights to allow for multiple flight sessions.

  7. Intended Use: LIFT Aircraft designed the Hexa eVTOL for recreational use and short recreational flights. It offers a unique and thrilling flying experience, giving individuals the opportunity to explore the skies and enjoy the sensation of personal flight.

In addition to the redundancy in the autopilot system. The aircraft has been designed with a unique architecture conformed by a redundant network managing eighteen independent rotors. This architecture makes the eVTOL fail-operational and the extensive network of sensors permits early failure detection, so an automatic fail-safe is quickly activated.

The flexibility in 4x Veronte Autopilot permits to control the drone from the onboard sticks or from a control center in the ground. With this dual architecture, the control center can monitor the status of all the person transportation drones in real-time. Personnel in the control center are in charge of ensuring safety in the operation so they can command automatic actions. Such as go home, fly to a point, increase altitude or others. System operators in the control center can also override the onboard manual control from the on-ground joystick to ensure that all eVTOL pilots can enjoy a safe flight.

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