Releases On-Board Video Of Full Transition Flight

This summer, Dufour reports that it completed the first phase of flight testing of their eVTOL demonstrator, with 550 test flights. They were able to show a high degree of stability and control in all conditions, including full transitions from hover to cruise and back again.

The demonstrator was designed as a research platform to prove their understanding of the flight dynamics and develop their control laws for large size tilt-wing aircraft. It has helped them build the technology for aEro 3, their upcoming manned tilt-wing aircraft for medical transport and regional air mobility.

As a research platform, it has not been optimized for noise emissions. Nonetheless, they think it is interesting to hear the character of the noise it produces, and they are sharing some footage of a full transition flight with audio to show their progress as of summer 2020. Note that this is an on-board recording, from directly below the props, and even so it is significantly less noisy than a helicopter.

As a result, they are equipping the next pre-series prototype with more optimized props, which reduce the total noise signature.

Dufour beleives that tilt-wing aircraft with electric propulsion enable many new opportunities in vertical mobility. They offer much greater safety, efficiency, and speed than helicopters. Because they are also reportedly so much quieter and more affordable, they will be far more accepted by the public.

FMI: https://dufour.aero/, https://youtu.be/7IXNqgi0aJs