YouTubeBartini: From Vision to Prototype
Let's have a look at the current progress of Bartini, the eVTOL development company, at the National University of Science and Technology prototyping and engineering center.
Here is Bartini half-sized functional prototype. Though it is not a vehicle ready to get passengers on board yet, it is a significant milestone on a roadmap to a certified passenger aircraft — scaled ground and flight tests. There are essential differences between this model and the full-scale aircraft in the future. Firstly, the size, secondly, the ring cowlings were not intended to take part in the flight tests but provided critical info during the ground tests.
It takes a lot of time and investments to design the shape of coaxial props to work with a fenestron. It is better to do it for the exact weight and thrust required. So it is only feasible to do for the full-scale vehicle. Before embarking on that task, Bartini had to establish that they mastered materials and manufacturing that will yield a cowling with certain levels of stress and vibration resistance at a specific weight. Done! If you stand on a fenestron, it will only bend 2 mm.
How will the final product look?
A duct around the blades may provide up to 30% additional thrust — this is something initially discovered by Roberto Bartini, the famous aerodynamicist and aircraft designer. Ducts also provide physical safety and the feeling of security near the vehicle.
Coaxial blades will double the thrust per that size of engines and allow better noise control. The carrying body will provide full lift at up to 300 km/h speed. So Bartini will cross most cities in under fifteen minutes. Passenger measures commute in travel time. Speed becomes one of the important needs for humans.
The footprint is almost as crucial for adoption, as the speed. Five by five meters footprint is perhaps twice smaller than that of the common winged eVTOLs. It is possible when the body is designed to provide lift. Such a footprint allows more flexibility in locating the landing pads in a city, which is essential for the adoption of the air taxi systems. Last but not least we, as passengers, will enjoy the large doors, allowing convenient embarkation and disembarkation, as well as spectacular panoramic views over the landscapes.
This user experience-driven design gives Bartini a chance to become a visible player on the emerging air taxi market.