Light Sport eVTOL

Ed Haywood

Ed Haywood

Final Approach
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Anyone paying attention to this?

www.airev.aero

Home | AIREV

AIR is the developer of a personal eVTOL for the consumer market. AIR ONE is a sporty, easy-to-operate electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed for individual consumer ownership.
www.airev.aero www.airev.aero


Projected specs: 2 seats, 550 lb load, 150 mph, 100 mile range, BRS, $150K.

Not vaporware, it's real and flying. They claim LSA certification in 2026, though we know how that goes.
 
The one design feature that surprises me is the lack of rotor enclosures. Seems like a hoop around the radius of each engine pod would prevent people from walking into the blades. But I don't know what the aerodynamic impacts are.
 
Looks like it will fit right in the LSA group. Price is good if they can keep it .
 
Ed Haywood said:
They claim LSA certification in 2026, though we know how that goes.
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LSA certification is on a completely different level than Part 23 aircraft. And given the position of LSAs on the FAA's Safety Continuum, which provides guidance to ensure the safety measures are appropriate for the risks involved, certification timelines will be reset going forward. I think once the LSA cert rules go live this year, it will take a year or two for the industry to get going but I anticipate more "AIREV" type aircraft to emerge. And the economies of scale will rule at this level, so the more people that adapt to these changes in the recreational market, the better for everyone.
 
Motor failure and you are done flying. No autorotation.
 
Brad Smith said:
Motor failure and you are done flying. No autorotation.
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Looking at its specs, it uses distributed electric propulsion technology (DEP) which controls each propulsor (2 motors and 2 props) independently. So lose a motor or maybe two, and the system will land the aircraft. However, since it only has 4 propulsors of this type, it probably doesn't meet the same failure probability as the others which is why it has a BRS installed. Regardless, none of the current eVTOLs can autorotate except the Jaunt Air but its an outlier developed on the Carter Copter concept.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Projected specs: 2 seats, 550 lb load, 150 mph, 100 mile range, BRS, $150K
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If it follows the normal trajectory for this kind of thing, that will translate to 2 seats, 250# load, 120 mph and 30 mile range for $375K and delivery at some unspecified future date but we’ll take your deposit to hold your place in the delivery queue.

But maybe they are the outlier. That would be nice to see.
 
DaleB said:
If it follows the normal trajectory for this kind of thing,
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Thats the point for an LSA eVTOL version as there is no previous "trajectory" to compare it to. Plus you'll be able to maintain it right from the start. About as close to a plug and play aircraft as you'll get at the moment.
 
Bell206 said:
Thats the point for an LSA eVTOL version as there is no previous "trajectory" to compare it to. Plus you'll be able to maintain it right from the start. About as close to a plug and play aircraft as you'll get at the moment.
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There is a well established trajectory to projects like this. Doesn't matter that it's an LSA EVTOL. Icon, Alice, Terrafugia, Lilium, Volocopter, Kittyhawk, Pivotal, Otto, the list goes on and on. We'll circle back in a couple of years and you are free to crow about me being completely wrong if it turns out that these guys are the standout exception that actually deliver anything close to what they claimed.
 
DaleB said:
There is a well established trajectory to projects like this. Doesn't matter that it's an LSA EVTOL. Icon, Alice, Terrafugia, Lilium, Volocopter, Kittyhawk, Pivotal, Otto, the list goes on and on.
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No crowing necessary. But it does matter that it is first an LSA; second, it is electric; but most importantly it is powered-lift. The Lilium and Volocopter comparison is moot on several levels. Some started using the large UAS market to research a private component to eVTOLs which Joby, Archer, Lilium were not designed for. However, when you get to the smaller 2 or 3 place models the potential private market cost numbers deviate considerably lower. Time will tell, but my money is on the innovation side at an aviation scale not seen in many decades.
 
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Borrowing parts from other types is a time-honored aviation tradition. Unfortunately, in this case, the landing gear came off a baby jogger.
 
I can't see anybody on board this thing in the video. Is it really in flight test? Drone OPS?
 
X3 Skier said:
I can't see anybody on board this thing in the video. Is it really in flight test? Drone OPS?
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Good eye. Looks like all their demo videos are all remotely piloted.

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The company website says the AIR ONE received "experimental airworthiness certification" in September 2025. Does that mean the traditional 40 hour EAB testing is complete, or that it can start?

These guys are chasing military contracts too, both here and in Israel. IDF is very innovative so I would not be surprised to see them in field testing soon.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Does that mean the traditional 40 hour EAB testing is complete, or that it can start?
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They are certifying under LSA vs E/AB. So the flight testing will be per the ASTM standard and their manufacture processes. LSA is much different than E/AB. And from what I've read, its an Israeli/American company with a number of pics posted with a prototype in Israeli registration markings. Also its stated first manned flights to be this April. And with Part 22 for new LSA certification due to go into effect in July, it seems they might finish up and get one of the 1st Part 22 certifications.
 
Bell206 said:
Thats the point for an LSA eVTOL version as there is no previous "trajectory" to compare it to. Plus you'll be able to maintain it right from the start. About as close to a plug and pray aircraft as you'll get at the moment.
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Yep.
 
One of the biggest benefits of EV autos is reduced maintenance. The annual checklist on my Tesla is rotate the tires and check the brake fluid. In 6 years, I've had 2 minor repairs. A little plastic tab on the charging port broke off, and the 12v system battery needed to be replaced.

Electric power trains are just much simpler systems ... except for the battery, which is a black box of mystery.

Once the tech matures, eVTOL aircraft should see a similar advantage compared to helicopters, which are insanely complex Rube Goldberg devices.
 
Question for the helicopter peeps: will eVTOL have to comply with aircraft altitude and obstacle clearance minimums?
 
Ed Haywood said:
Electric power trains are just much simpler systems ... except for the battery, which is a black box of mystery.
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Plus a lot of the core parts for the eVTOLs electrical side are OTS so minimal specialized production is required. And if you throw in hybrid-power sources the "battery black box mystery" becomes a secondary item.

Ed Haywood said:
Question for the helicopter peeps: will eVTOL have to comply with aircraft altitude and obstacle clearance minimums?
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Part 194 Subpart C should answer your questions as different Part 91 rules apply whether its in vertical mode or horizontal mode while in flight.

2-Bit Speed said:
Yep.
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So what makes you think you shouldn't be praying just as much, if not more, while flying in your current aircraft?
 
Bell206 said:
So what makes you think you shouldn't be praying just as much, if not more, while flying in your current aircraft?
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The number of customers who plug in their devices into random network ports and hope their device will work. It's so bad that plug-and-play is a misnomer. Correctly, it would be plug-and-pray.
 
DaleB said:
There is a well established trajectory to projects like this. Doesn't matter that it's an LSA EVTOL. Icon, Alice, Terrafugia, Lilium, Volocopter, Kittyhawk, Pivotal, Otto, the list goes on and on. We'll circle back in a couple of years and you are free to crow about me being completely wrong if it turns out that these guys are the standout exception that actually deliver anything close to what they claimed.
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Absolutely. In fact, the pattern goes back for 50 years at least. But I’m sure we’re just about to make it work. Any day now.
 
DaleB said:
There is a well established trajectory to projects like this. Doesn't matter that it's an LSA EVTOL. Icon, Alice, Terrafugia, Lilium, Volocopter, Kittyhawk, Pivotal, Otto, the list goes on and on. We'll circle back in a couple of years and you are free to crow about me being completely wrong if it turns out that these guys are the standout exception that actually deliver anything close to what they claimed.
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The biggest one of all time is Boom’s absolute pipe dream of a Supersonic Passenger Jet. The biggest challenge is the engine which is currently vaporware.
 
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