Eve has unveiled its first full-sized prototype eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) air taxi today during the UK's 45th Farnborough Airshow. It's called the Eve Air Mobility.
Eve, a company in Melbourne, Florida and a subsidiary of Embraer, has also just announced an additional US $94 million in funding from multiple investors on top of the $492 million it's already raised, putting Eve in a strong financial position for the successful development and manufacturing of the Air Mobility through at least 2027.
It's looking as though Eve has the most pre-orders of any eVTOL company so far, with 2,900 letters of intent from 30 customers in 13 countries to date.
The Eve Air Mobility eVTOL is a 'lift & cruise' design similar to the Autoflight Prosperity, using 8 dedicated propellers for vertical flight and an additional prop at the rear to push the eVTOL forward for fixed-wing cruise flight. Where the Autoflight aircraft uses three pusher props, Eve's rear prop uses two electric motors for redundancy and performance.
Unlike the Joby S4, which features a tilt-rotor design to switch from vertical to winged flight, the Eve has fixed propellers and wings to reduce manufacturing and operating costs, have fewer parts, and lower noise while in cruise flight.
And unlike the Autoflight aircraft, which broke Joby's flight endurance record (well, until Joby broke out a liquid hydrogen-powered prototype and went three times as far), Eve is targeting this machine toward much shorter flights, with a 60-mile (100 km) range between charges that'll mainly be suitable for cross-town hops.
While it may look unrefined in the photos, the prototype isn't meant to carry passengers just yet. It contains all the electronic components necessary for flight but will be remotely piloted during its in-flight testing phases which Eve hopes to start this year. When Eve is ready for manned flight, it has chosen Diehl Aviation as the designer and producer for the four-passenger plus one pilot interior.
No figures are available for flight times, distances, or speeds for this prototype as yet.
Eve's Brazil-based parent company, Embraer, has been manufacturing aircraft for 55 years. As the world's third-largest civil aircraft manufacturer – the "best of the rest" after Boeing and Airbus – Eve potentially has a leg-up on getting through its upcoming testing phase as well as certifying and manufacturing aircraft. Eve applied for certification in 2022 and aims to have its eVTOL certified by Brazil's civil aviation regulator by 2026.
Last year, Eve announced it would have an eventual capacity of producing 480 aircraft per year, with four equally-sized production facilities in the city of Taubaté, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, capable of producing 120 units each.
With a backlog of 2,900 flying taxis already, it may be some time before you get yours.
Sources: Eve Air Mobility, Embraer
