2024-01-11 20:32:33
It is an electrically powered high-flyer and is as quiet as a dishwasher. It will soon be used as a flying taxi.
At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Hyundai presented the Supernal S-A2 “aircraft”. The South Koreans are showing that they not only build good electric cars, but are also successful in the air.
Hyundai’s subsidiary Supernal has been working on the air taxi of tomorrow for several years. The vehicle is a so-called eVTOL. The “electrical vertical take off and landing” is an aircraft that takes off and lands vertically.
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It offers space for four passengers, flies at a cruising speed of 190 km/h and is intended to take people in metropolitan regions from A to B in the future.
Equipped with fixed wings and a V-tail, the new aircraft is said to be ideal for taxi routes between 40 and 60 kilometers. This distance is common for taxi rides in metropolitan regions.
► Since the fully tiltable rotors are powered by electric motors, the aircraft is super quiet. During the flight it only produces 45 decibels of noise, and during take-off and landing it is around 65. Modern dishwashers and washing machines are about that loud.
Tomorrow’s air taxi will fly at an altitude of 450 meters and be able to carry four passengers at once.
Photo: John Locher/AP
Supernal’s engineers are working on the design of the aircraft together with experts from Hyundai, who usually develop cars. It is based on a similar aircraft presented at CES 2020.
The new S-A2 is scheduled to come onto the market as early as 2028. However, Supernal has not yet announced the sales price.
► The takeoff and landing sites for the new aircraft – the “Vertiports” – will also be shown at CES. Anyone who wants can take part in a simulated flight over Los Angeles and see how the new air taxi will be networked with other means of transport.
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