Key Milestone for UK’s Famous Personal eVTOL

Every eVTOL flight test campaign includes three key phases: hover, forward flight, and transition. Skyfly's Axe has just completed the first phase, which included vertical take-offs and landings, hovering, and low-speed rotor-borne flight. These first important tests were a success, according to Skyfly's CEO, Michael Thompson, who flew the Axe SN001 aircraft himself.

The second phase, which switches gears to conventional take-offs and landings on a runway, in order to test Axe's wing-borne forward flight capabilities, is set to begin early next year. Once that milestone is reached, the campaign will move to the airborne transition phase, where the aircraft has to transition smoothly from one mode to the other.

This major milestone comes after another big win this same month when the British eVTOL maker was officially selected to join the UK Ministry of Defense's UASHLC (Uncrewed Air Systems Heavy Lift Capability) framework. The military version of Skyfly's Axe is named the eHarrier, and it can be piloted either in full autonomous mode or remotely. Just like its civilian counterpart, it offers the benefit of a fully-electric or hybrid-electric configuration (for greater range), but only this military version is adapted for uncrewed flights.

The two-seat Axe is available for pre-order, with pricing starting at £250,000 ($312,000). A quick look at the existing customer orders shows that many of them are US-based, which is remarkable considering that there's significant competition already in the emerging sector of personal eVTOLs. The Skyfly Axe's two key assets compared to all of the existing one-person and two-person aircraft in this sector are its glide ability and complete power redundancy (the ability to land in the case of complete electronics failure).

The Axe is also presented as one of the top options for training future eVTOL pilots, whether experienced or rookies, due to its fixed-wing forward flight and conventional take-off capability, and that’s huge – it is estimated that the emerging AAM industry will require tens of thousands of eVTOL-trained pilots before the end of this decade.

Skyfly's Axe personal eVTOL promises a range between 100 and 300 miles (161 to 483 km) at 100 mph (161 kph) cruising speed. As a personal aircraft, it's easily charged at home, similar to an EV. The fast charger that comes with the aircraft is designed to take it from 20% to full percent in just three and a half hours. As for the locations where it can be flown privately, this varies from country to country, depending on the existing regulations (except for all big airports and city centers).

While the Axe continues its flight test campaign next year, the first lucky owners should also get their personal eVTOL delivered starting in 2025.