The new zero-impact aircraft by Leonardo and Vertical Aerospace
Added on Wed March 2nd, 2022
The Italian company Leonardo and the British company Vertical Aerospace will work together to produce the fuselage of the VX4 for a new zero-impact aircraft. The new aircraft will carry up to four people and take off vertically with a battery range of up to 150 kilometres and a top speed of 320 kilometres per hour.
The material will be composed mainly of carbon to lighten the weight but ensure maximum structural strength.
The project will help revive the Apulian aerostructure division’s factories, which have lost orders from Airbus and Boeing due to the pandemic.
Designed by Vertical Aerospace, as well as having zero emissions and a low noise impact, it has the advantage of having very low operating costs.
Because of these characteristics, many companies- including American Airlines and Virgin – would like to have a fleet for transport between airports and city centres (a new sector in which many others are investing).
The absence of emissions guarantees environmental sustainability, and it is a project that began as early as 2020, leading towards the aviation of the future with much quieter flights and lower maintenance costs.
The collaboration between Leonardo and Vertical is absolutely in line with the mission of innovation based on cutting-edge technologies that the partners have set themselves, as well as that of transforming the way people travel over time. The VX4 flight test programme can be started by the end of this year.
The plant is one of the most advanced facilities in Europe for the production of composite aerostructures, according to Giancarlo Schisano, managing director of Leonardo’s Aerostructures.
Read more here
Read also our post “Electric planes: the news frontier of zero emission flights“
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