Air Force Leaders Witness Manned Electric Flight Demonstration By LIFT Aircraft's HEXA

摘要

Leadership from the U.S. Air Force observed a manned demonstration of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft last week near Austin, Texas. Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett and Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown, Jr. were on hand to witness LIFT Aircraft's HEXA, a single-seat eVTOL aircraft powered by 18 overhead electric motors and propellers, fly for four minutes in a demonstration that included hovers, turns and forward flight within 40-feet of the ground. The demonstration was part of a leadership visit to AFWERX, the Air Force's innovation center and home to its Agility Prime initiative. LIFT Aircraft is one of 15 companies the service has contracted with under Agility Prime, encompassing three categories: One to two seats, three to eight seats, and unmanned cargo aircraft with greater than 1,320-pounds gross takeoff weight. Development of the HEXA was announced publicly in December 2018. LIFT intends to certify the aircraft under the Federal Aviation Administration's Part 103 as an ultralight and allow paying members of the public - after less than an hour of training and no pilot's license - to fly it recreationally in scenic locations.