LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN The LAA and B

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Steve Slater
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LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN The LAA and B

Post by Steve Slater » Wed Jun 29, 2022 10:06 am

Skyfly at LAA red.jpg
The LAA and British company Skyfly have agreed to collaborate on a radical new aircraft design. It is a two-seat, side-by-side compact E-VTOL, aimed at private owners rather than the Urban Air Mobility sector. It will be available in kit-built form, supported by a factory build centre and it is hoped that the first customer aircraft will be flying in two years.

The LAA is working with Skyfly in liaising with the CAA on certification and pilot licensing of the aircraft. While initial flights will be made under the e-Conditions experimental programme it is intended that the aircraft will be accepted under BCAR approvals and the LAA and Skyfly are working with the CAA to propose pilot training to NPPL requirements or similar with appropriate differences training.

The aircraft is capable of vertical flight, but has wings, and uniquely its design does not require swivelling engines or rotating wings – instead the motors are at a fixed angle, saving weight and complexity, improving safety and strength. The two pairs of compact wings give the Axe a longer range, allow glide landings for greater safety and enable an energy saving, standard “fixed wing aircraft” take-off and landing where a conventional runway is available.

LAA CEO Steve Slater says “The Axe has been developed by an experienced engineering team led by LAA member Dr William Brooks, with proven capability in designing and certifying sport aircraft. One of the assets in Skyfly’s approach is in not re-inventing the wheel. The aircraft uses established market leaders to supply control systems, batteries and electric motor technology, combining them in a cutting-edge package with the potential to revolutionise affordable sport aviation in a few years’ time. It’s just the sort of innovation that the LAA is proud to be a part of.

Michael Thompson, CEO of Skyfly predicts the Axe will have a range of 100 miles fully electric and 200 miles using a novel, lightweight rotary generator capable of charging the batteries whilst in the air. A remotely piloted scale prototype has already flown and performs well across the different modes of operation, as can be seen from a video on the Skyfly website at www.skyflytech.com.

For further information and images, please take a look at the Light Aircraft Association’s Facebook page.
Stephen Slater
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Rob Swain
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Re: LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN The LAA a

Post by Rob Swain » Wed Jul 27, 2022 12:57 pm

And the expected / projected / target price point?

I do wonder how much money the LAA is expending on this given its relevance to most of the membership.

I also wonder how much engineering resource the LAA is expending on this given the backlog of mod, radio, IFR and Night applications that are already in 'the system'.
Rob Swain
If the good Lord had intended man to fly, He would have given him more money.

Matt Dovey
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Re: LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN The LAA a

Post by Matt Dovey » Thu Aug 04, 2022 8:19 pm

Will the LAA membership see any return on its investment. The engineering teams time is not free after all. As Rob says above, what's the relevance to the membership.
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neilld
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Re: LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN LAA and SKYFLY TO COLLABORATE ON RADICAL NEW DESIGN The LAA a

Post by neilld » Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:48 pm

Rob Swain wrote:
Wed Jul 27, 2022 12:57 pm
And the expected / projected / target price point?

I do wonder how much money the LAA is expending on this given its relevance to most of the membership.

I also wonder how much engineering resource the LAA is expending on this given the backlog of mod, radio, IFR and Night applications that are already in 'the system'.
Full price details on Skyfly website but basically £150k plus £20k for assisted build all plus VAT so c.£204k for the "basic" version. Hybrid version is extra.
Presumably Skyfly will be paying commercial consultancy rates for LAA involvement therefore a financial plus for the membership.
Perhaps someone form LAA HQ can confirm commercial arrangements?

DFN
David Neill
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