Aircraft

First Airspeeder EXA Series eVTOL race takes off in South Australia

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Airspeeder remote pilot Zephatali Walsh (silver) has secured victory against fellow remote flyer Fabio Tischler (black) in the first EXA Series eVTOL race
Alauda Aeronautics
Airspeeder remote pilot Zephatali Walsh (silver) has secured victory against fellow remote flyer Fabio Tischler (black) in the first EXA Series eVTOL race
Alauda Aeronautics
The Airspeeder "flying race car" features eight motors for a total peak output of 320 kW and a zero-to-100-km/h sprint in 2.8 seconds
Alauda Aeronautics
The remotely piloted EXA Series racing "will serve as the feeder series for Airspeeder crewed races set to take place in 2023"
Alauda Aeronautics
The inaugural EXA Series race was completed over two circuits of a track at Lake Lochiel in South Australia, with a quick battery swap pitstop inbetween
Alauda Aeronautics
A top speed of 102 km/h was recorded during the first EXA Series remotely piloted Airspeeder race
Alauda Aeronautics
The EXA Series course over the salt flats at Lake Lochiel near Adelaide, South Australia, was a kilometer long
Alauda Aeronautics
A suite of onboard sensors caters for close-proximity racing thrills
Alauda Aeronautics
After a close race with multiple overtakes, Team Silver (right) eventually won the day
Alauda Aeronautics
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After nailing a remotely piloted eVTOL drag race last year, and successfully completing its 250th test flight recently, Alauda Aeronautics has now announced the winner of its first uncrewed Airspeeder EXA race above the salt flats of South Australia.

We've been following the progress of Matt Pearson and Alauda Aeronautics since the unsuccessful Kickstarter in 2017, where an ambitious plan was hatched to not only develop a piloted racing eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft but also to build a fast-paced thrill-packed sport around it.

That sporty flying race car was unveiled early last year, and the team has since clocked up more than 270 test flights and thousands of simulator hours.

The Airspeeder is constructed from carbon fiber, measures 4.1 m long (13.4 ft), tips the scales at 130 kg (286.6 lb), sans pilot, and is capable of hauling more than 80 kg (176 lb) into the air. Onboard motors can deliver some 320 kW of peak power for a 0-100-km/h (0-62-mph) sprint in 2.8 seconds, it can climb to 500 m (1,640 ft) too, if needed, and is packed with a suite of sensors to allow for close-proximity racing thrills.

The inaugural EXA Series race was completed over two circuits of a track at Lake Lochiel in South Australia, with a quick battery swap pitstop inbetween
Alauda Aeronautics

Now two Airspeeder pilots have been pitched against each other for the first in a series of remotely piloted EXA races, which recently took place around a kilometer-long circuit at Lake Lochiel near Adelaide – and involved developing and rolling out pilot control interfaces and AR (augmented reality) "sky tracks" plus engineering/team control stations and 5G networking, as well as coming up with race rules and safety protocols.

In the virtual pilot seat for the team silver racer was Zephatali Walsh, while the black team aircraft was controlled by fellow flyer Fabio Tischler. Race thrills were served up straight from get go, with the lead changing three times in the first circuit. The black Airspeeder clocked a lap time of 0.39.784 and a top speed of 102 km/h (63.3 mph) with team silver coming in a little slower at 0:44.173 for the lap and topping out at 99 km/h (61.5 mph).

A suite of onboard sensors caters for close-proximity racing thrills
Alauda Aeronautics

The teams each had to factor in a quick pitstop to swap low-charge batteries for fresh ones, which only added to the race tension, before taking to the air for the second leg, which saw Walsh nosing in front to lap in 0:39.917 and getting up to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) while Tischler managed a circuit time of 0:43.038 at a top speed of 99 km/h.

The pivotal moment in the inaugural EXA series race was when Tischler went wide during a turn, allowing Walsh slip by about a meter below and maintain the lead to secure the win.

Commentators for the race were former F1 driver and Airspeeder development pilot Bruno Senna and motorsports broadcaster Nikki Shields. The highlights video below gives a brief taste of the kind of coverage future sports fans can enjoy when the piloted Grand Prix races kick off in 2024, which will host wider grids, take place in different locations and landscapes around the globe and feature various track layouts.

Source: Alauda Aeronautics

View gallery - 8 images
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6 comments
Username
I won't find it interesting until the pilots are in the machines.
Brian Beban
I would hesitate to be pit crew with the slicers and dicers unshielded.
Towerman
It has BEGUN !!!! An outstanding start to what is about to become one of the biggest air events in history.

This is merely scratching the surface !

Well done ! ! !
Steven Clarkson
3 words

I CANT WAIT for this to go GLOBAL

HOOOT ! ! HOOOOOT!!
ljaques
Just =slightly= more exciting than watching paint dry!
HokenPoke
@ljaques for avid horse hockey weenies or bowling junkies yes ;) but for pure aviation enthusiasts like myself i'm totally with Towerman and Steven Clarkson.
Let this EXCITING revolution BEGIN ! ! ! ! ! !