While program activity on CityAirbus NextGen is set to be “paused” at the end of the year, the prototype eVTOL is flying “weekly” at an undisclosed location as it expands its flight envelope — allowing Airbus Helicopters to continue to learn from the technologies it has developed for the aircraft.
The aircraft’s flight test campaign began in November at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Donauworth, Germany.
“On the multicopters, we put emphasis first on the on the stability, on the controllability, on the maneuverability, then on the . . . flight control system, and the energy management,” said Stefan Thomé, EVP Programs at Airbus Helicopters, during a wide-ranging pre-Verticon media briefing. “Last, but not least, ultimately also [the] performance. These are the test points we are pursuing throughout the year, and it’s still a very active program this year.”
He said the aircraft has flown “many times” and is flying at least “weekly.” While flight tests began in Donauworth, they have now been moved “elsewhere.”
“We went to a test site where we have more, let’s say, degree of freedom than here,” he added.
The tests have seen the aircraft leave the airfield and move beyond ground cushion work to transitions, he said. Plans for the year include transiting over distance with a payload.
Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even announced the planned program halt earlier this year, pointing primarily to his belief that battery technology wasn’t far enough advanced for a full program launch.
And while he maintained that to be the case — and one of a range of factors preventing a full program launch — he reaffirmed his belief in the need for urban air mobility during the pre-Verticon briefing.
“I’m still convinced — we are still convinced — that there is a need for the development of urban Air Mobility, [for] new vehicles, bringing less noise, bringing more safety, [and] bringing less CO2 emissions,” he said.
When Airbus launched CityAirbus NextGen in 2021, it targeted first flight in 2024 and the potential to begin a full program in 2026.
“The performance that we project for the battery in the coming years will not, from my perspective, allow [us] to deliver the minimum level of performance and mission that we need to launch a program and to start commercial operation,” he reiterated.
When asked whether the company had been too conservative with the design of the eVTOL — using a winged multicopter design rather than a tilting wing, he said the aircraft was bringing the level of performance the company was expecting from the architecture of the aircraft.
“But it’s not enough — we need also [the] performance of the battery,” he said. “And we are not the only one mentioning this.”
And the lack of sufficient battery performance is only one of several crucial conditions preventing Airbus launching a program, he added. Regulations and the urban air mobility business model still need to mature, he said, as well as social acceptance of the technology.
“Of course, things are progressing, but not at the speed the industry was expecting,” he said.
“We continue to monitor the situation and adjust/adapt our strategy when necessary. But today, we consider that the right decision is from one side, to continue to perform the flight test campaign in 2025 — we still have a lot to learn — but at the same time to pause the program and to wait for better conditions to launch a new program.”
He pointed out that the manufacturer’s decision to invest in CityAirbus NextGen was not only to position itself within the eVTOL market, but to develop technologies that could be used on other platforms.
A little too late for “learning” – sounds more like whistling in the dark. Won’t solve the general eVTOL battery problem, anyway.