Airbus launches new generation of CityAirbus aircraft

Airbus launches new generation of CityAirbus aircraft

As the emerging Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market begins to take hold, Airbus announced its new CityAirbus program at its inaugural "Pioneering Sustainable Aerospace" AirbusSummit.

The CityAirbus is a zero-emissions, all-electric vehicle that can carry four passengers and features a distributed propulsion system with fixed wings, a V-tail and eight electric propellers optimized for hovering and cruising efficiency, with no need to deflect rudder or tilt components during the transition.

With a range of up to 80 km and a cruise speed of up to 120 km/h, the CityAirbus is suitable for a variety of missions in major cities. cityAirbus has a low-noise design with a flight sound level of less than 65 dB(A) and a landing sound level of less than 70 dB(A). The aircraft can meet the highest European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification standards (EASA SC-VTOL enhanced category) and is designed with simplicity in mind and will provide best-in-class economic performance in terms of operations and security.

CityAirbus benefits from years of dedicated Airbus research, innovation, two electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) proving aircraft, noise reduction technology developed in the portfolio, and decades of aircraft certification experience.The Vahana and CityAirbus proving aircraft have jointly conducted 242 flights and ground tests, accumulating approximately 1,000 kilometers of flight. In addition, Airbus has implemented extensive scale-down flight and wind tunnel testing and leveraged its computational and modeling capabilities. cityAirbus is currently in the detailed design phase, with the first flight of the prototype scheduled for 2023.