SAN FRANCISCO - Aura Aerospace has proposed a crazy new take on advanced air mobility. The five-seat Ranger looks like Darth Vader's shuttle when it's folded up, but it promises to fly further than any normal airliner, with roof-to-roof vertical takeoff and landing, Loz Blain reports for New Atlas. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
8 December 2022 -Â Aura Aerospace in San Francisco says its five passenger Ranger is able to fly 22 hours non-stop on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a range of just over 11,000 miles. The Ranger's long range puts it in a unique category of eVTOL aircraft that allows it to fly passengers from New York to Australia rather than across Manhattan. The vertical take-off and landing capability is the main focus of Aura's helmet-shaped flyer, it can also fly down and land on a traditional runway.
Blain writes that "Once in cruise flight and fully supported by the wings, the propellers slow to a halt and line themselves up with their support strut, and little retractable pontoons come out to cover them over for minimal drag. With the props thus stowed, the Ranger is free to accelerate to its monster 820 km/h (510 mph / Mach 0.66) cruise speed, a little slower than most airliners since it cruises in the thicker air at 10,000 ft (3,050 m) instead of 30,000 ft (9,150 m)."
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Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
