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Assembling the taxi prototype at the Prototyping Center of NUST MISiS. NUST MISiS Photo

Prototype of a ‘flying taxi of the future’ assembled at NUST MISiS

National University of Science and Technology MISiS Press Release | November 13, 2018

Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 43 seconds.

A prototype of the aircraft of the future has been assembled at the National University of Science and Technology’s (NUST MISis) High Complexity Prototyping Center in Moscow, at the request of the Russian company Bartini.

Assembling the taxi prototype at the Prototyping Center of NUST MISiS. NUST MISiS Photo
Assembling the taxi prototype at the Prototyping Center of NUST MISiS. NUST MISiS Photo

The “air taxi” has successfully passed several tests. Bartini plans to complete development and present the air taxi on the commercial market by 2020.

The air taxi will operate on three main principles: electric traction, the aerodynamics (mobility) of its wing, and taking off and landing vertically.

The device takes off vertically like a helicopter and then accelerates on a horizontal plane, its screws rotating perpendicular to the vehicle’s body so it can continue flying like an airplane. Landing takes place in the reverse order, operating on the same principles.

“The functions of a quadcopter, a flying wing, and convertiplanes [have been] implemented in our electro-flight,” said Vitaly Salatov, Technical Director at Bartini.

As part of the cooperation between NUST MISiS and Bartini, the engineers from the KINETICA Prototyping Center started assembling the prototype of the device in March 2018. By May, the design was completed and the technical tests had begun.

During repeated tests in open space, the prototype demonstrated good maneuverability and stability of its control systems.

“We had to produce certain parts and components-equipment for the composite coating of carbon fiber — as well assemble the final version of the air taxi prototype on a 1:2 scale,” said Pavel Kosyatov, head of the Production Department at KINETICA.

“The body is made of polymer materials and the axesof steel, powered by lithium batteries. The prototype’s weight is about 60 kilograms, and its top speed is about 125 miles per hour (200km/h). The device is controlled remotely and features four wings — twin screws fixed to the movable axes carry out [its] takeoff, air support and movement. This is the Bartini effect, named after the famous Italian aircraft designer,” Kosyatov added.

Bartini’s effect is an increase in the thrust of the aircraft screws and a decrease in the drag due to the special paired arrangement of the motors rotating in different directions. The motors are aligned in a special metal ring, and the whole structure is called an impeller.

“NUST MISiS’s KINETICA High Complexity Prototyping Center opened in 2017,” said Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of NUST MISiS. “It is a high-tech platform that has no analogues in Russia or abroad. Thanks to our talented engineers and unique equipment, the University can implement a full cycle of prototypes commissioned by our business partners. The developments are unique andanticipate customer expectations.”

Cooperation between NUST MISiS’s KINETICA Prototyping Center and Bartini will continue into the future. The short-term plans are to recalculate the air taxi’s aerodynamic characteristics to create a full-size pre-production sample.

Bartini is a Russian startup, a part of Skolkovo Technopark, and a participant of the McFly.aero industrial air taxi incubator. The company, named after the Soviet aircraft designer Robert Bartini, has been on the market since 2015, and its main goal is to create comfortable and maneuverable small-sized flying transportation for everyday use in urban environments.

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