The flight is the first time that the aircraft’s pusher propulsion system is activated while in the air and it confirms the key features of Eve’s eVTOL design.
Eve Air Mobility’s engineering prototype has completed its first partial transition flight, which involved the activation of the aircraft’s rear pusher propeller and thus signified the start of the transition phase from vertical to wing-borne flight. During the test, the aircraft attained a stabilised speed of 27 knots and a maximum ground speed of 30 knots while the pusher was activated up to 1,200rpm.
The flight took three minutes and nine seconds, travelled approximately 0.84nm and attained a maximum height of 90ft above ground level.
“This first partial transition flight is an important milestone in Eve’s development journey,” says CEO Johann Bordais. “Successfully activating the pusher propulsion system in flight validates a key aspect of our aircraft design and brings us one step closer to delivering safe, efficient and scalable air mobility solutions.”
The transition phase is one of the most critical aspects of eVTOL flight, as it involves the aircraft moving from vertical lift to forward flight. The successful completion of this initial partial transition test further advances Eve’s efforts to expand the aircraft’s flight envelope and validate system performance.
“This flight successfully demonstrated pusher activation in flight and validated key performance targets at the start of the transition phase,” adds Marcelo Basile, head of engineering. “The data collected will support continued envelope expansion as we advance toward higher speeds and more complex transition flight testing.”
Eve’s flight test engineering team is continuing ongoing loads and structural analyses to support future envelope expansion. Following the flight test programme, the company plans to conduct datalink testing to validate radio link performance and support operations at speeds up to 50 knots.
Over the coming weeks, Eve expects to progressively expand the aircraft’s airspeed envelope, including additional flights with pusher activation as part of the broader transition flight-test campaign.
