Israeli-Made Flying Cars May Be Floating into Our Future

The Cormorant is powered by standard jet fuel. Hydrogen is more environmentally friendly and packs more bang for the buck, boosting the distance an aircraft can operate by 300 percent over gasoline.

With hydrogen power, the CityHawk is intended to travel for 100 miles before refueling (depending on weight) at a speed of up to 125 miles per hour. The CityHawk will get up to 200 miles on a tank.

Fuel Cells
Fuel cells convert the chemical energy of a fuel – in this case, hydrogen – and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen, drawn from the atmosphere) into electricity. The only residue is pure water vapor.

Other “flying cars” are trying to incorporate lithium-based electric batteries – similar to the type found in a Tesla. Yoeli thinks that’s a mistake.

“A kilogram of battery has just 5% the equivalent amount of energy as hydrogen fuel cells, plus it’s not 100% sustainable like hydrogen,” he says.

We asked Yoeli why, if hydrogen is so much better, battery-powered electric cars are all the rage these days.

“Hydrogen was tried two decades ago, but it was to power normal internal combustion engines,” he explains. Today, with the advent of fuel cells, the hydrogen goes “into a solid-state box and electricity comes out the other side.”

In this case, modern electric cars can have electric engines even if the fuel source is hydrogen. The Honda Clarity and Toyota Mirai are examples. The same will be true with the CityHawk, which is actually an “eVTOL” – an electric VTOL – because its engine is all electric.

Hydrogen can be refueled in minutes rather than hours for batteries. And hydrogen tanks are lighter than electric batteries. When it comes to flying, every kilo saved is critical.

“If you have a one-ton helicopter and you shave off 70 kilograms, you can carry another ticket-buying passenger,” Yoeli says. “Weight can make or break an aircraft design in terms of useful payload and range.”

Ticket to Ride
The question that readers are undoubtedly asking by now is: When can I ride in an Uber of the air?

The answer: Not until closer to the end of the decade.

“The CityHawk is not in service yet,” Yoeli admits. “We still need to design and build it.” The Cormorant won’t be ready for another three years.

While a working Cormorant demo has made 300 flights already, “it’s not a production aircraft, it’s a one-off.”

The CityHawk “will be ready two years later,” he adds. “We’re talking 2028 or 2030.”

The lengthy process of applying for and receiving FAA certification alone could take five years. “We’re not in a race,” Yoeli stresses.

Meanwhile, the 20-person company will be raising additional rounds as its aircrafts move toward commercialization. And there are key strategic partnerships to ink. In addition to HyPoint, Urban Aeronautics has agreements with Boeing, with the French manufacturer Safran Helicopter Engines, and with Asian mobility service Ascent.

“We won’t stay 20 people in Yavne,” Yoeli predicts.

Will we eventually see pilotless air taxis, similar to self-driving cars? Yoeli isn’t banking on it.

When you’re driving on the road, “if there’s a problem, you can pull over and stop the car. You can’t do that in the air.”

For more information, click here 

Brian Blum writes about startups, pharmaceutical advances, and scientific discoveries for Israel21c. This article is published courtesy of Israel21c.