Development and integration of an electro-hybrid powertrain for the Silent Air Taxi

  Copyright: © eSAT GmbH  

The vast majority of the German population lives less than 25 km from the nearest airport for general aviation aircrafts. This offers considerable potential for directly connecting regional centers and rural regions and for significantly reducing the time needed for travel. The general aviation aircraft as transport ideally matches urban electric mobility and fits into other intermodal mobility concepts, such as the Urban Air Mobility Initiative. The necessary infrastructure already exists, but the establishment of a market for regional air mobility requires small aircrafts that are significantly quieter, safer, more comfortable and cost-effective. Therefore, a group of Aachen-based companies and universities is working on the development of the Silent Air Taxi (SAT), an innovative four-seater aircraft.

In the E-SAT project the ILR is involved in the integration of the innovative electro-hybrid propulsion system and the analysis and evaluation of the external aerodynamics. Special attention is paid to the optimization of the propulsion system positioning. Using CFD calculations, the interactions between the wing, engine nacelles and fuselage are analyzed, evaluated and optimized. In order to ensure operational safety in all flight conditions, the nacelle outer contour will be optimized under consideration of high angles of attack and side slip. The insights obtained, will be validated by wind tunnel investigations.

This project is funded by Europäischer Fonds für regionale Entwicklung (EFRE).