The electric-hybrid eVTOL by Skyfly is called the Axe, and is a manned fixed-wing vehicle capable of vertical and conventional take-off and landing. The innovative design allows Axe to glide and take off vertically without the need to rotate wings or engines, all thanks to the integration of Embention’s Veronte Autopilot 4x which integrates advanced flight controls for automatic stabilization.
Axe, scheduled to complete its first manned flights later this year and start production in 2024, will operate like a private helicopter, avoiding traffic jams, reducing travel time and minimizing pollution. It will be manufactured according to aeronautical certification standards, hence the key role of the flight control system supplied by Embention.
Veronte Autopilot 4x will play a critical role, as its compliance with DO178C and DO254 enables eVTOL certification for integration into UAM environments. In addition, the system has successfully passed environmental tests according to DO160 / MIL-STD-810 and has MTBF data, ATR (Acceptance Test Report) and other documentation for certification.
The Veronte Autopilot 4x flight control system is designed for integration into critical systems, it is especially suitable for eVTOL, incorporating advanced functions for both fully autonomous flight and fly-by-wire flight controlled by an on-board pilot. The redundancy of the Veronte 4x Autopilot is managed by a different arbitration system, and thanks to it, there is no single point of failure and it is reliable even in the event of an arbitrator’s failure.
The design of the Axe therefore focuses on pilot safety, and to this end, in addition to using an advanced flight controller such as the Veronte Autopilot 4x, the aircraft is integrated with components that have been extensively tested in traditional aeronautical design.
The main features of the eVTOL Axe are:
- Canard fixed wing design
- 9:1 glide ratio
- Non-rotating wings and engines to reduce complexity, failure and weight
- Veronte Autopilot 4x redundant flight control system
- 4 redundant flight systems
- 8 electric motors (2 per wing for hover redundancy)
- 16 redundant lithium-ion batteries
