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IPFS News Link • Transportation: Air Travel

US Air Force partners with Electra on ultra-short takeoff aircraft

• https://newatlas.com by Loz Blain

Electra's design is a reasonably traditional looking plane capable of carrying up to seven passengers and a pilot. Eight smallish electric rotors provide forward propulsion, and they also blow air over the entire span of the wing and its flaps, producing enough extra lift that this thing can take off or touch down at speeds below 30 mph (48 km/h).

That means it can take off or land on a runway as short as 150 ft (45 m), which means there might possibly be urban rooftops or other convenient spaces where this plane can make stops just as easily as an eVTOL.

Why? The benefit here is efficiency. Taking off conventionally on wing lift uses vastly less energy than VTOL operations, so Electra can get extra range out of its flights.


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