Trek Aerospace Scorpion (concept design)

Scorpion (concept design)
Trek Aerospace, Inc.
Folsom, California, USA
www.trekaero.com

Trek Aerospace, Inc. is a small engineering company based in Folsom, California, USA. Founded on March 18, 1996 as “Millennium Jet, Inc.”, the company changed their name to Trek Aerospace on July 3, 2002 because people thought the company was building jets. To clarify, SoloTrek was a name for certain models of Trek Aerospace's aircraft. SoloTrek was never the name of the company. The company is dedicated to understanding and improving shrouded propeller performance and efficiency. In the process, they developed their own proprietary CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software, TASPA (Trek Aerospace Shrouded Propeller Analysis).

The company has stated all of their aircraft designs are very flexible when it comes to scalability, electric motors used, propeller types and the type of power source used. That is, all previous conventionally powered aircraft the company has created can be converted to eVTOL aircraft and can be updated with the latest in avionics, electronics, propellers and electric (all batteries or hybrid-electric) power sources. All of the company's aircraft have been designed for advanced air mobility (AAM).

The company has designed and made multiple vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft including its exoskeleton backpack "helicopters" using shrouded propellers in the airframe design. Some articles refer to the exoskeleton backpack helicopter as a jetpack, even though there are no jet engines involved in the backpack aircraft. The company has also designed and made watercraft. Trek Aerospace also assists and teams with other companies, large and small, in the design, fabrication, and licensing of projects involving shrouded propellers and/or autonomous control systems. For example, Trek Aerospace built XTI Aircraft Company's TriFan subscale proof of concept (POC) aircraft.

Trek Aerospace Shrouded Propeller Analysis
Testing at NASA and university wind tunnels has validated the accuracy of the Trek Aerospace Shrouded Propeller Analysis (TASPA). Flight testing of both crewed and uncrewed vehicles has further verified the real-world applications of Trek’s technology. The company states their core technology has the highest specific thrust (lb/kW) in the industry. Aircraft designed by Trek define the efficiency curve used in the UBER Elevate white paper.

This efficiency allows aircraft to carry more weight in a smaller footprint. According to the company, their shrouded propellers require less power, use fewer batteries, have a greater payload and have a farther range than other battery powered aircraft. Furthermore, the company states their shrouded propellers have outperformed similar free propellers to airspeeds in excess of 230 mph (371 km/h), negating much of the drag penalty associated with ducted propellers.

Scorpion submersible hybrid-electric VTOL concept design aircraft
The Scorpion is a submersible military hybrid-electric VTOL concept design folding-wing aircraft which holds eight people including the pilots. The aircraft design was due to an October 3, 2008 DARPA issued BAA-09-06 Submersible Aircraft Program. BAA = Broad Agency Announcement.

The proposed aircraft has three ducted propellers, three electric motors and is powered by a hybrid-electric power source including batteries. The aircraft has one main forward-swept wing is movable allowing the aircraft to submerge into the water and can also move against the fuselage for compact storage. There are two rear wing mounted fins on the aircraft.

The aircraft has an estimated low altitude dash-in and dash-out speed of 115 mph (185 km), has an estimated low altitude cruise speed of 201 mph (324 km/h) and has a planned cruise speed of 230 mph (370 km/h) at 17,000 ft (5182 m). The aircraft also has a forecasted emergency dash speed of 357 mph (574 km/h). The desired range of the aircraft is 500 miles (805 km) and has a loitering flight time of three days. The anticipated cruise altitude of the aircraft is 1,151 m (1,852 km).

For underwater operations, the predicted submerged cruise speed is 9 mph (14.8 km/h) and has a calculated submerged dash speed of 28.8 mph (46 km/h). The operational projected submerged depth is 30-50 ft (9.1-15.2 m).

The calibrated empty weight of the aircraft is 6,800 lb (3,084 kg), has a targeted maximum payload weight of 3,200 lb (1,452 kg) and has an intended maximum takeoff weight of 10,000 lb (4536 kg). The fuselage diameter was designed at 5.5 ft (1.67 m). The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. The aircraft has retractable wheeled landing gear.

The program was never moved forward to an award stage. No prototype was made.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Hybrid-electric VTOL or eVTOL passenger aircraft
• Piloting: 1 or 2 pilots or autonomous
• Capacity: 8 people total, including the pilots. (Either 1 or 2 pilots)
• Low altitude dash-in and dash-out: 115 mph (185 km)
• Low altitude cruise speed: 201 mph (324 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 230 mph (370 km/h) at 17,000 ft (5182 m)
• Emergency dash speed: 357 mph (574 km/h)
• Range: 500 miles (805 km)
• Loitering flight time: 3 days
• Cruise altitude: 1,151 m (1,852 km)
• Submerged cruise: 9 mph (14.8 km/h)
• Submerged dash speed: 28.8 mph (46 km/h)
• Submerged depth: 30-50 ft (9.1-15.2 m)
• Empty weight: 6,800 lb (3,084 kg)
• Maximum payload weight (personnel and their equipment): 3,200 lb (1,452 kg)
• Maximum takeoff weight: 10,000 lb (4536 kg)
• Propellers: 3 propellers
• Electric Motors: 3 electric motors
• Power source: Hybrid-electric and batteries power source
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Fuselage diameter: 5.5 ft (1.67 m)
• Windows: Typical windows found in executive jets
• Wings: 1 high forward-swept high folding-wing
• Tail: 2 rear wing mounted fins
• Landing gear: Retractable wheeled landing gear
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers (or ducted fans) and motors on the aircraft so if one or more propellers (ducted fans) or motors fail, the other working propellers (or ducted fans) and motors can safely land the aircraft. There are also redundancies in the sub-systems of the aircraft.

Related Aircraft:

• Trek Aerospace Dragonfly (prototype)
• Trek Aerospace DuoTrek 1.0 (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace DuoTrek 2.0 (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace Elesi (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace FlyKart 1 (prototype)
• Trek Aerospace FlyKart 2 (prototype)
• Trek Aerospace FlyKart 3 (prototype)
• Trek Aerospace LogDrone (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace Mule (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace Nightingale (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace Nytngale (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace OAV-II (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace OVIWUN (production model)
• Trek Aerospace SoloTrek Springtail EFV (prototype)
• Trek Aerospace SoloTrek XFV (prototype)
• Trek Aerospace SoloTrek XFVC (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace SoloTrek XFVM (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace TERN (concept design)
• Trek Aerospace Tyrannos (concept design)

Company Insights:

• Crunchbase

Resources:

• Trek Aerospace website
• Trek Aerospace Twitter
• Trek Aerospace LinkedIn
• Trek Aerospace Wikipedia
• Article: PICTURE: DARPA seeks submersible aircraft concepts, Flight Global, October 8, 2008