While it is likely that long-range travel will still be powered by combustion engines for the foreseeable future, there is great potential for short- and medium-range air travel to be performed by vehicles that are clean, safe, quiet, and have lower operating and maintenance costs.
What are the different types of electric aircraft emerging in the market? There are three types, recognized by their acronym: eVTOL, eSTOL and eCTOL. Next, we will provide an overview of their differences, scope, and main qualities.
The Multicopter type design.
The Lift & Cruise, which combines the Multicopter design for vertical takeoffs and landings, with a conventional aircraft during flight.
Tilt Wing and Tilt Rotor, which are capable of minimizing the impact of noise thanks to the use of multiple slow and open rotating propellers.
Deducted Vector Thrust type. This design uses fan ducts on the same fixed wings, controlled by an electric motor for vertical and horizontal operation, using the Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) concept
Slowed Rotor Compound, in which the main rotor of the aircraft is slowed down to produce less resistance with the air, which eliminates almost all of the noise emitted.
eSTOL
The Electric Short Take-Off and Landing (eSTOL) vehicles have as their main difference with eVTOLs their lower energy requirement to take off and land. Because they are fixed-wing, the engines are only used to push the aircraft forward, without affecting vertical takeoffs or landings. In other words, an eSTOL aircraft requires less energy to take off and land, and can also store more cargo than an eVTOL of similar size and weight.
eCTOL
Conventional Take-Off and Landing (eCTOL), are similar to eSTOL but different in their performance. In a way, it’s a simpler proposition that doesn’t require new designs, with the challenge of creating engines efficient enough to convert current combustion-powered aircraft to electric ones.