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Skyfly Technologies Axe (prototype)

Axe VCA passenger eVTOL prototype aircraft

(Photo credit: Skyfly Technologies)

Axe (prototype)
Skyfly Technologies Ltd
London, England, United Kingdom
www.skyflytech.com

Founded in 2019, Skfly Technologies Ltd designs, builds and sells electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) passenger and hybrid-electric VTOL passenger aircraft and is based in London, England, United Kingdom. Skyfly Technologies CEO is Michael Thompson. The company is foresees selling its initial aircraft for personal air transportation (the general aviation market) and then in the future, expect their aircraft to be used for on-demand air taxi service. The company has made and flown a subscale prototypes, validating the technical aspects of their aircraft design.

Axe VCA passenger eVTOL prototype aircraft
The Axe VCA (vertically-capable aircraft) is a one passenger eVTOL full-scale prototype aircraft. The aircraft has a canopy over the cockpit for excellent views for the pilot. The prototype has a tail number of G-SFAX. The reports they built the prototype aircraft in just over four months.

The prototype has four propellers, eight electric motors and is powered by high-capacity lithium-ion batteries. The empty weight of the aircraft 550 kg (1,213 lb) including batteries, the maximum payload weight is 200 kg (441 lb) and maximum takeoff weight: 750 kg (1,654 lb). The aircraft has tandem wings with a convention tail. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. The aircraft has fixed tricycle wheeled landing gear.

2022. Flying the aircraft and estimated pricing
In 2022, Skyfly stated if you can fly a drone, you can learn to fly the Axe VTOL aircraft in about an hour because the controls are similar to a drone. The company has estimated the aircraft will sell for £150,000.00 ($180,566.00 USD). The company expects their aircraft to be in production in 2024.

On Feb. 1, 2023, the company announced that Edwin Brenninkmeyer, founder and CEO of Oriens Aviation, has invested in Skyfly Technologies. Brenninkmeyer is not only an accomplished business and venture capitalists but he is also a commercial and private pilot and flies corporate jets to performing aerobatics in high-performance former military jets.

On Mar. 23, 2023, the company announced that Bill Minkoff is investing in Skyfly Techologies. Minkoff is a former US Navy fighter pilot with 300 carrier landings, was an instructor at the Navy Strike Fighter Weapons School and was a Line Check Captain with Delta Airlines. Minkoff has also had a successful career selling private jets. He later founded AltiSky, the largest authorized sales and service center for Tecnam, an aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Italy. He also co-founded an advanced air mobility (AAM) consultancy company called Air Advisory LLC and has also consulted and worked for other aviation companies and organizations as well.

2024. The start of crewed prototype testing
The company reported before flight testing, the aircraft was put through two months of ground running. On October 16, 2024, Skyfly began crewed flight testing and achieved its first hover for the Axe VCA prototype. On November 20, 2024, the company reported the Axe VCA  completed its first phase of manned hover flights. 

2025. More prototype flight testing.
On March 7, 2025, the company reported the Axe prototype completed its first flights as a fixed-wing aircraft, meeting or exceeding all performance and handling expectations. These flights included circuit and stall testing. On Jund 30, 2025, Skyfly reported the Axe VCA prototype has conducted its first flights between two airfields, flying from Turweston to Bicester in the United Kingdom. The company stated this marks the first time in Europe that a crewed eVTOL aircraft was flown between two airfields. On November 14, 2025, Skyfly announced the crewed Axe VCA conducted the first test flights in the United States, following a six-month flight test campaign in the United Kingdom.

Preorders and first delivers expected in 2026
The company has been taking pre-orders since September 2022 and expect first deliveries of the Axe VCA production model in 2026.

Specifications:

  • Aircraft type: Passenger eVTOL full-scale prototype aircraft
  • Piloting: 1 pilot during test flights
  • Cruise speed: Unknown
  • Empty weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
  • Maximum payload weight: 200 kg (441 lb)
  • Maximum takeoff weight: 750 kg (1,654 lb)
  • Propellers: 4 propellers
  • Electric motors: 8 electric motors
  • Power source:  High-capacity lithium-ion batteries 70 kWh. Hover power required 200 kW. 280 kW peak. The batteries are housed in the fuselage and are easily swapped out for fully charged batteries.
  • Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
  • Window: Canopy over cockpit
  • Wings: Tandem wings
  • Tail: 1 conventional tail
  • Landing gear: Fixed tricycle wheeled landing gear
  • Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) uses multiple propellers or electric ducted fans, each powered by electric motors, to increase safety through redundancy. If one or more components fail, the remaining ones can still ensure a safe landing. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure. There is also a whole aircraft emergency ballistic parachute in case of an unexpected inflight emergency.

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