Hover Drone Taxi R-1

Drone Taxi R-1
Hover
Moscow, Central Federal District, Russia
www.hoversurf.com

Hover was founded in Moscow, Russia, in January 2014 by inventor, tech entrepreneur and businessman Alexander Atamanov. Atamanov holds bachelor’s degrees in engineering and law as well as a masters degree in the management of innovation processes. He has founded and sold several companies before founding Hover and holds numerous patents relating to the various products and services that he has successfully brought to the marketplace. Hoversurf was the company's original name.

It has been reported that some of the investors in the company include Qiwi, the Starta Ventures, Ismail Akhmetov, Nikolai Belykh, Evgeny Medvednikov, Maxim Korobov and possibly other Russian investors. In 2018, the company moved its Moscow headquarters to Burlingame, California but in 2019, Hover moved their headquarters back to Moscow.

The Hover Drone Taxi R-1 is an outgrowth of the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) Hover Scorpion 3. The one passenger autonomous concept aircraft has an estimated cruise seed of 300 km/h (186 mph) with a range of 400 km (249 m). The aircraft can fit in a standard parking space due to its folding wing.

Like the Scorpion, the R-1 is a quadcopter used for VTOL flight and for forward flight uses one main wing and a pusher-prop. It employs a hybrid-electric propulsion system design with a free-piston engine (FPE) Venturi engine for electrical power generation and uses standard gasoline. It can also use charging stations for its batteries. It carries a single passenger and an automatic flight control system. A patented system would engage the vertical quadcopters in an emergency landing.

Hover has introduced the R-1 as a concept for a single-seat "flying taxi" that can take off and land from a standard parking space. As far as we know, the R-1 is no longer being developed. In addition to the Scorpion and drone taxi aircraft, Hover is currently developing the 2-seater Formula (a multi-ducted fan eVTOL) and will possibly develop a 5-seater Formula with folding wings.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Hybrid-electric VTOL air taxi concept aircraft
• Piloting: Autonomous
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Cruise speed: 300 km/h (186 mph)
• Range: 400 km (249 m)
• Propellers: 5 propellers (4 for VTOL flight, 1 for forward flight)
• Electric Motors: 5 electric motors
• Power source: Hybrid-electric using a piston engine
• Wings: 1 main high wing which folds up when landed
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Windows: Open cockpit with roll bars
• Landing gear: The aircraft rests on its propeller arms

Company Insights:

• Pitchbook
• Crunchbase
• MarketWatch
• Tracxn

Resources:

• Hover website
• Hover YouTube Channel
• Article: GoFly Enters Phase II, Vertiflite, July/August 2018
• Article: FAA Confirms Hoversurf S3 is Ultralight, Electric VTOL News, Oct. 15, 2018
• Article: GoFly Hits 40, Electric VTOL News, Feb. 6, 2019
• Article: eVTOL Captures the Attention of CES Vertiflite, March/April 2019
• Article: After The Hoversurf Bike Comes The EVTOL Hoversurf Formula, Clean Technica, Aug. 18, 2019
• Article: Hoversurf at Dubai Airshow 2019, Electric VTOL News, Nov. 24, 2019