Japan's Tetra Aviation plans to start delivering single-seat electric VTOL lift and cruise aircraft to customers by the end of 2022, and it has now released video footage of its Mk-5 aircraft making test flights in California.
A lightweight personal fun machine for pilots under 200 lb (90.7 kg), the Mk-5 places a slim cabin between two wide wings. The front and rear wings have a total of 16 propulsion pods attached, each with two vertical lift rotors fore and aft, making for a total of 32 lift fans for VTOL operation. A single cruise prop on the back enables cruise speeds up to 160 km/h (100 mph), and a 13.5 kWh battery offers flight ranges up to 160 km (100 miles).
The multiple lift motors provide a solid degree of propulsion redundancy, and there may be a ballistic parachute included as a last resort safety option.
Tetra says it's already taken an unspecified number of orders for the Mk5, and plans to start delivering them to customers at the end of 2022. In the USA, they'll be registered as homebuilt/experimental aircraft. So you'll need a private pilot's license and each build will need to be inspected and registered by the FAA.
The company has now released video of a test flight taken in rural California, showing the Mk5 SN2 prototype flying unmanned, and apparently only in VTOL operation. Still, it's a pretty handsome thing if you can ignore the wobble in the wings, and it's a simple and sensible enough design that'll draw plenty of attention wherever it's wheeled out.
Check out the video below.
Source: Tetra Aviation
