Airbus has presented their fully-electric CityAirbus NextGen prototype to the public in advance of its maiden flight later this year. The two tonne class CityAirbus has a wingspan of around 12 meters, and has been designed to fly 80km with a cruise speed of 120 km/hr.
On Thursday (March 7, 2024), Airbus publicly unveiled their CityAirbus NextGen fully-electric eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft, ahead of its maiden flight later this year. The two tonne class CityAirbus NextGen has a wingspan of approximately 12 meters, and is being developed with an 80km range, and a cruise speed of 120km/hr. The big reveal coincided with the opening of the new CityAirbus test center in Donauwörth, Germany. The new center is part of Airbus’ long-term investment in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), and will be dedicated to testing systems for eVTOLs. The CityAirbus NextGen will now undergo remaining tests covering the electric motors with their eight rotors, as well as the aircraft’s other systems such as flight controls and avionics.
In Thursday’s announcement, Airbus’ Head of Urban Air Mobility, Balkiz Sarihan, said,
“Rolling out CityAirbus NextGen for the very first time is an important and very real step that we are taking towards advanced air mobility and our future product and market. Thank you to our community, team and partners all over the world for helping us make this a reality.”
As CityAirbus NextGen testing continues, Airbus is expanding their global network partnerships to create an ecosystem that will foster a viable AAM market. Recently, Airbus signed a partnership agreement with LCI, a leading aviation company, to focus on partnership scenarios and business models in three key AAM areas, namely strategy, commercialization and financing.
Presenting Airbus' CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL Prototype - Courtesy Airbus
Source: Airbus