Chris Walby Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Picked this up from an AAIB report Routine checks were completed, and the aircraft set up according to the test card. At 0712:16 hrs aircraft flight mode was selected, and all the electric propulsion units (EPUs) began idling. At 0714:25 hrs G-EVTL completed a normal vertical takeoff with all EPUs operating. Once the aircraft was stable in ground effect, the remote pilot shutdown EPU1 in accordance with the test card. At 0714:40 hrs the remote pilot then began a gentle climb to 30 ft agl. The test card required the aircraft to be stable at this height for 10 seconds before proceeding with the flight. This was completed and the remote pilot began a gentle acceleration towards 7 kt ground speed (GS). At 0715:47 hrs, as the aircraft speed passed 2-4 kt GS, a loud ‘pop’ was heard, and a propeller blade was released from EPU3. The resulting imbalance caused the structural failure of the right inboard pylon (pylon 3). Despite EPU1 restarting automatically the aircraft was unable to maintain height and at 0715:50 hrs it struck the ground on the left edge of the runway with a vertical descent rate of 19.45 ft/sec. During the impact the right wing failed outboard of pylon 3, the nose gear collapsed and there was other structural damage. There were no injuries and no damage to any third party. Guess what surprised me? MTOW! Aircraft description G-EVTL is an Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) prototype with a carbon fibre composite structure, fixed tricycle landing gear, V-tail and a high wing. In its configuration for this test the aircraft had a maximum takeoff mass of 3,737 kg and could be flown with a pilot onboard or remotely. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Big bin bag for that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zflyer Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 I dont see a CAA registration number, had the pilot completed his drone certification, and was there any RID on board..... just asking p.s. Does Bruce (X jet Know) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Cooper Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 I have absolutely no idea what MTOW in the original post is but the project looks quite good. Morework required on the propellers though, eh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 7 hours ago, Zflyer said: I dont see a CAA registration number, had the pilot completed his drone certification, and was there any RID on board..... just asking p.s. Does Bruce (X jet Know) He does now 🤩 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Robson Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Max Take Off Weight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Cooper Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Must Take Off Wellies... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun Walsh Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Caused by an adhesive bonding failure in a prop...............It came to an unsticky end. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 G-ETVL is its CAA registration. It is registered as a FIXED-WING LANDPLANE (UNMANNED) belonging to VERTICAL AEROSPACE GROUP LTD. At its MTOW of 3900kg or just a bit heavier than an EC135 air ambulance 😮 I expect it requires a very specific Permit to Fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Walby Posted June 15 Author Share Posted June 15 You lot are missing the point 3,737 kg or 8,221 lbs in old money Or am I the only one that thinks that's a darn big UAS!...when it falls out of the sky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC57 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Chris Walby said: You lot are missing the point 3,737 kg or 8,221 lbs in old money Or am I the only one that thinks that's a darn big UAS!...when it falls out of the sky So is an EC135 (at nearly 3 tons MTOW) when it falls out of the sky. Just ask the people involved in The Clutha pub incident in Glasgow in 2013. Edited June 15 by EvilC57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 I am far more concerned about the average UAS as they are much less restricted. As the CAA have pointed out just 1kg at 60 mph can kill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterF Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Looking at some pictures the movable mounts for the motor/prop combos look a bit flimsy. I know they will have been engineered and should be suitable. They will experience a mix of forces, torque from the prop rotation along with tension from prop thrust not to mention the gyroscopic forces when the props transition from hover to forward flight and back again and added in to that in hover the prop is forward of the hinge point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Cooper Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 It sounds like they were doing experiments to see how the thing handled when losing a motor or two. . You know, real world stuff. They should be applauded for their work. I am sure nobody wants something like this to fall out of the sky at the slightest hiccup. Keep experimenting, lads. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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