Image: SkyDrive
Japanese eVTOL manufacturer SkyDrive Inc has announced at the Paris Air Show it has selected Thales’ FlytRise flight control system to equip its three-seat, zero emission SKYDRIVE aircraft.
With ground traffic congestion and associated pollution becoming a major concern in cities around the world, eVTOL aircraft represent a disruptive solution to mobility challenges.
Designed to be flown with one pilot and two passengers on board for intra-city flights, the SKYDRIVE requires flight control solutions securing safe flights above populated areas.
Flight control system
Flight control system is one of the key elements of eVTOL aircraft. Calculating and adjusting the position of the aircraft’s control surfaces and managing engine thrust, the fly-by-wire system is a critical element of flight safety.
Thales pioneered Fly-by-wire solutions in the 1980s with the first installation on Airbus A310. Since then, more than 12,000 aircraft have been equipped with Thales solutions. Today, Thales FlytRise materializes a new generation of flight controls, offering the SKYDRIVE the combined benefits of proven experience and adaptation to eVTOL requirements, in particular lightness, compactness, and autonomy-readiness.
Safety first
“We are very pleased to have Thales as our partner in the field of flight control for our eVTOL aircraft the SKYDRIVE. Thales’s flight controls have long been trusted in the aviation industry. As an eVTOL manufacturer, SkyDrive values safety above all, and we believe that partnering with Thales in flight control, which is a key safety-related technology, will enable us to achieve the safety objectives of our aircraft,” said Arnaud Coville, SkyDrive Inc. Chief Development Officer.
“While mobility is seeking new sustainable solutions, we are proud to support SkyDrive in opening the skies to urban transportation, thanks to our new generation flight controls solution enabling SKYDRIVE to fly safely,” added Jean-Paul Ebanga, Thales VP Flight Avionics
