Silent Air Taxi, a flying taxi that promises to be silent

In Germany, a start-up is developing a silent hybrid aircraft called Silent Air Taxi . This small airplane with a strange wing would be able to considerably reduce the take-off noise.

The taxi drones flying multirotors are experienced in years. Designed for urban mobility, they allow you to take off vertically and then move like helicopters, but at low speeds.

In Germany, the philosophy of the flying taxi seems different with the project called e.SAT ( Silent Air Taxi ). Supported by the German Council for Science and the Humanities (RWTH), the University of Aachen and The Fraunhofer IPT ( Institute for Production Technology ), the project aims to develop a hybrid-powered aircraft fixed wing.

Scientists have been working on a demonstrator for more than four years, which has already been the subject of numerous patent applications. With its wing that surrounds the fuselage , the aircraft is powered by two engines designed by MTU Aero. The firm does not yet give details on the hybridization, but explains that the aircraft will be able to move at 300 km / h. Its range will be 1,000 kilometers.

Objective silence

The wing profile recalls the Transonic Truss-Braced Wings concept(TTBW) from Boeing. At the start of 2019, the aircraft manufacturer had unveiled a short-haul aircraft project with a capacity of 150 passengers with ultra-thin wings supported by aerodynamic supports. The advantage of such a wing is that it has only a low drag and therefore delivers excellent performance.

In the case of the SAT aircraft, in addition to adopting this wing profile with high efficiency, the idea is also to minimize the noise of the aircraft especially during its flight phases near the ground. According to e.SAT, the firm carrying out this project, during takeoff the noise should be limited to 65 dBA, which is to say about as loud as the ambient noise in a restaurant. The plane would even be inaudible above 100 meters above sea level.

In terms of carrying capacity, the “ taxi ” would only carry three passengers and since it is not a drone, a seat for the pilot is also provided. The designers still explain that they do not rule out making the aircraft autonomous in the future. The project was presented during the last Paris Air Show and e.SAT announces that the first flight is scheduled for 2022. The company wishes to obtain certification from the European aeronautical authorities in 2024.