Dreaming Aerospace Technology Completes First Stage Flight Test of Hybrid Tilt eVTOL
TapTechNews August 9th news, Dreaming Aerospace Technology today announced the successful completion of the first stage of flight test of the ton-level hybrid tilt eVTOL (DF600), with the progress ranking first in China and being the second global hybrid tilt eVTOL enterprise to enter the flight test stage after the US company JOBY.
Dreaming Aerospace Company said that hybrid power is of great significance for the development of eVTOL and solving the mileage anxiety, just like in the new energy vehicle industry. Currently, the range of pure electric eVTOL is about 150-200 miles (about 240-320 kilometers), and it is expected to increase to 300-400 miles (about 480-640 kilometers) by 2030, but it still cannot meet the needs of special transportation, emergency management and inter-city travel, and it is also difficult to achieve short-distance and high-frequency economic operation when the fast charging/battery swapping facilities are not perfect.
Tilt rotor, compared to multi-rotor and compound wing configurations, can achieve faster speed and more efficient flight. The related technical solutions are gradually maturing, and the advantages and characteristics are increasingly prominent, and have become the preferred solution for most leading eVTOL enterprises, such as Joby, Archer and Wofe Aerospace, etc.
According to the introduction, Dreaming Aerospace Technology originated from the high-speed vertical takeoff and landing aircraft team of Tsinghua University and has been focusing on the research and development of hybrid tilt eVTOL. After completing the verification of key technologies and principle prototypes from 2018 to 2023.
After the DF-600 engineering prototype was offline at the beginning of 2024, the company efficiently completed the first stage work such as flight control avionics closed-loop test, structural strength and vibration mode test, power system bench test, range-extending power generation system calibration, electrical network ground joint test, full-aircraft ground mooring test, rotor mode flight control parameter adjustment flight test, etc. within just over six months, achieving many key technologies' breakthroughs from zero to one in China.
TapTechNews learned that the company also carried out the work such as the function and durability of the tilt mechanism, the power system road test and the dynamic modeling and control law design of the tilt transition state, and will complete the full-state flight test work before the end of 2024.