Britain has a new leading eVTOL air taxi candidate – Seraph by Vertical Aerospace. It’s a 12-rotor electric human-operated drone capable of carrying up to 250 kg (551 lb) of cargo while going as fast as 80 km/h (50 mph). The company recently released the video below showing off their chubby, carbon composite body aircraft in flight!
The 12 rotors of the Seraph are mounted coaxially on six arms. The battery is in the roof, getting cooled-off by the extra air wash from the side propellers. It can be modified to use skids, wheels, or floats for water landings. There will also be the option of having it built bigger or smaller, depending on the users’ demand for operation.
With a load-carrying capacity of 250 kg, the Seraph is capable of carrying up to three passengers. However, it will not be flying people. The company is currently designing a different aircraft for that. Instead, the Seraph will be assigned the task of transporting heavy-lift cargo. Vertical Aerospace expects to have the drones flying by next year.
There is a downfall to this aircraft. Its design is not revolutionary – it’s just a huge battery-powered drone. The fact that it’s so big would seem like a good thing; however, it’s only going to shorten its flight capacity due to excess weight. So, it may be the world’s first drone capable of carrying 250 kg, but it’s only going to be able to take it for about 20 minutes.
Regardless, Vertical Aerospace is working closely with global aviation regulators, including EASA. They hope to achieve certification for commercial flight as soon as possible. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) did permit it to fly back in 2018, making the Seraph the first eVTOL aircraft granted flight permission in the UK. Anyway, batteries are advancing quicker every year, so they’ll likely be able to fly longer distances soon enough!
