1. Design and Development

2. General Characteristics

3. Performance

4. References

5. External links

Cora, an electric Air Taxi prototype, has been developed by Kitty Hawk Corporation in the United States and is currently testing in New Zealand under Zephyr Airworks, Kitty Hawk's operator in New Zealand.

The core concepts behind Cora’s design are vertical take-off and landing, self-piloting software and electric power. The Kitty Hawk team have described Cora as ‘special’ for the following reasons: convenient - the ability to rise like a helicopter and glide like a plane means no runway is required, easy - the software and human oversight means no flight training required, and sustainable - its powered by the same type of technology as electric cars^[1]

Cora has been described in The New York Times as: “It looks like a cross between a small plane and a drone, with a series of small rotor blades along each wing that allow it to take off like a helicopter and then fly like a plane.” “The aircraft, known as Cora, has a wingspan of 36 feet with a dozen rotors all powered by batteries.” ^[2]

Design and Development

In March 2010, the Kitty Hawk team brainstormed the design for an electric and autonomous aircraft that could transition from rising like a helicopter to flying like a plane.^[3]

In December 2011 the engineering team achieved the first hover - a major milestone in the development of vertical take-off, given the weight of the craft and it being solely electric-powered.^[4]

Four years following the initial conception, the unmanned 'proof of concept' craft was able to transition from vertical take-off to fixed wing flight. The first piloted transition flight (outbound and inbound) was 28 August 2017.^[5]

Later that year in October 2017, ‘Cora’ was shipped to New Zealand and then began testing. In November 2017, Cora took its first self-piloted transition.^[6]

In March 2018 (12th March PST and 13th March NZST), Zephyr Airworks and Kitty Hawk Corporation publicly announced it had been testing an electric air taxi prototype in New Zealand^[7], and shared Cora as their vision for the future of transport and everyday flight. The New Zealand Minister of Research, Science and Innovation Megan Woods [https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/helping-international-innovators-connect-collaborate-and-undertake-rd-nz announced] Zephyr Airworks was one of the Government’s innovative partnerships (under the [https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/science-and-innovation/international-opportunities/new-zealand-r-d/innovative-partnerships/ New Zealand Government's Innovative Partnerships Programme]) and said that Cora fits in with the country’s aim of having net zero emissions by 2050^[8].

In October 2018 it was [https://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/press-release-2018-air-new-zealand-partners-with-zephyr-airworks-to-bring-air-taxis-to-new-zealanders announced] that Zephyr Airworks had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Air New Zealand to work collaboratively to bring the world’s first autonomous electric air taxi service to market in New Zealand^[9]. Bloomberg reported that the New Zealand Prime Minister Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern had announced Zephyr would be testing the autonomous aircraft “Cora” as part of an official certification process^[10].

General Characteristics

• Type of Machine: Air taxi
• Power: All-electric
• Capacity: Designed for two passengers.
• Wingspan: 36 feet/about 11 meters
• Vertical take-off and landing: Cora is powered by 12 independent lift fans, which enable vertical take off and landing
• Fixed wing flight: On a single propeller.

Performance

• Range: Initially about 62 miles / about 100 kilometres.
• Speed: About 110 miles per hour / about 180 kilometres per hour.
• Altitude: Operates between 500 ft to 3000 ft above the ground.

References

External links

Lift Fans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift_fan

Fly by Wire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly-by-wire

VTOL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VTOL

Electric Aircraft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_aircraft

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