AMSL Aero Vertiia (concept design)

(Image credit: AMSL Aero)

Vertiia (concept design)
AMSL Aero Pty Ltd
Bankstown Aerodrome, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
www.vertiia.com

AMSL Aero was founded in June 2017 by Andrew Moore and Siobhan Lyndon in Australia to design and manufacture autonomous passenger and air cargo hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM). The name of the company is derived from Andrew Moore (AM) and Sibhan Lyndon (SL) which formes AMSL Aero. Moore is an engineer with more than 20 years experience in helicopter and aircraft design. Lyndon previously worked in senior positions for Google for 11 years and is in charge of the company’s business operations. Moore said his aircraft design was inspired by Lawrence Hargrave, who created the box kite in 1893. Hargrave was a British-born Australian engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer. The goal of AMSL Aero is to change the way the world travels.

Early in the development, the aircraft was known as the Verti-plane but the name was soon changed to the Vertiia. The company has planned from the beginning to have their aircraft have autonomous piloting. The expected production version is currently an autonomous six passenger hybrid-electric electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The aircraft can also be reconfigured for emergency medical service, air cargo or other configurations specified by the customer.

Vertiia passenger eVTOL concept design aircraft
The Vertiia is an autonomous two passenger eVTOL concept design aircraft. There is a canopy over the cockpit allowing excellent views for the passengers. The canopy lifts up for entry and exit of the passengers.

The aircraft's design is a box wing with with four tilting wings. The estimated cruise speed for the aircraft is 300 km/h (186 mph). The aircraft has eight propellers, eight electric motors and is powered by batteries. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. There is fixed rear wheeled landing gear and the front edge of the tilt-wing is used for its landing gear.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL or hybrid-electric VTOL passenger
• Piloting: Autonomous
• Capacity: 2 passengers
• Cruising speed (planned): 300 km/h (186 mph)
• Propellers: 8 propellers
• Electric motors: 8 electric motors
• Power source: Batteries
• Wings: 1 box wing with 4 tilting wings
• Landing gear: Fixed rear wheeled landing gear and front tilt-wing edge landing gear
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers and motors on the aircraft so if one or more motors or propellers fail, the other working motors and propellers can safely land the aircraft.

Related Aircraft:

• AMSL Aero Vertiia (prototype)
• AMSL Aero Vertiia Production Model (concept design)
• AMSL Aero Vertiia Tilt-Prop (concept design)

Company Insights:

• Crunchbase
• MarketWatch
• Pitchbook
• Tracxn

Resources:

• AMSL Aero website
• AMSL Aero LinkedIn
• Lawrence Hargrave Wikipedia
• Article: Vertiia – is this the “flying car” we have been waiting for?, EFTM, Apr. 10, 2018
• Article: This Aussie Startup’s VTOL Air Taxi Could Be Telstra’s Entry Into Pilotless Aircraft, Drone Below, Apr. 13, 2018